Naruto Uzumaki dreamt of becoming the Hokage of Konoha and by adulthood, he saw to it that his dream became a reality. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto became the savior of the world and fought off the likes of Kaguya and Madara to bring peace to the shinobi countries. Thought to be at his very peak, hardly anyone could compare to his level of strength.
Yet, in the Boruto series, stronger enemies kept appearing in the form of the Otsutsuki clan and Naruto, being the strongest human, was forced to grow stronger as well, which is what led to the birth of Baryon Mode, a form that is unique to Kurama and its Jinchuriki. Used in order to defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki, Baryon Mode sees Naruto Uzumaki reach the very pinnacle of strength and surpass all his limits. With his newfound abilities, he did things that would've been deemed impossible otherwise, much to the surprise of those witnessing his power. Although Baryon Mode might look simple on the surface, there is great depth to its powers.
How Baryon Mode Works
Baryon Mode isn't a power that Naruto awakened in Boruto. Instead, it is an ability that always existed within him, or to be more specific, within Kurama, his Tailed Beast. However, this ability was never mentioned before simply because it is a double-edged sword. While Baryon Mode offers a tremendous amount of power to the user, it also brings forth the risk of death. It makes sense why Kurama, who is incredibly protective of Naruto, never brought it up as an option before. However, when Konohagakure ran into the problem known as Isshiki Otsutsuki, Kurama was left with no other choice.
To match the overwhelming power of Isshiki Otsutsuki, Kurama suggested using Baryon Mode, an ability completely new to Naruto Uzumaki. Essentially, this power sees Naruto Uzumaki and Kurama's chakra be used as raw materials to give rise to a completely new energy that is far greater than the one that they had access to before. This process is very similar to nuclear fusion and similarly paves way for Naruto to access tremendous amounts of energy. While the energy that it offers is far greater than anything seen in the story ever before, Baryon Mode is a double-edged sword, as mentioned earlier.
The energy that it generates comes at the expense of both Naruto and Kurama's chakra, meaning their very lives are on the line when using this form. Slowly by steadily, Baryon Mode eats away at their lifespan the more it is used. This form cannot be used recklessly either. According to Kurama, the best way to maintain Baryon Mode for long is to rid the body of any unnecessary movements that would expend more energy and even superfluous thoughts. All focus should be on what's in front of the user and every effort should be made to ensure that it lasts for as long as possible. If overused, however, Baryon Mode could lead to the death of both Naruto and Kurama. When Naruto used this form against Isshiki, the price to pay was Kurama's life. Despite the Tailed Beast dying, however, Naruto himself was alive and well.
How Strong Is Baryon Mode Naruto?
Baryon Mode is by far Naruto Uzumaki's strongest form in the franchise. It sees Naruto attain tremendous power that is great enough to not just match Isshiki Otsutsuki, but also overwhelm him in combat. As noted by Sasuke Uchiha, Baryon Mode causes an incredible spike in Naruto's chakra levels, making it unlike anything that he's displayed before. Even Isshiki, who was toying with both Naruto and Sasuke, wasn't able to keep up with the incredible power that it offered. The amazing concentration that Naruto displayed allowed him to counter everything that Isshiki threw his way. His speed was boosted to the point where the Otsutsuki could hardly keep up, his reflexes became great enough to avoid every single blow that Isshiki tried to throw his way, and above all his power was great enough to give him a beating of a lifetime.
According to Kurama, Baryon Mode's power is more than enough to surpass Isshiki Otsutsuki's level and in combat, this much was very apparent. Naruto was able to parry and dodge every single attack of the Otsutsuki and, even more surprisingly, catch or dodge his chakra rods before he even enlarged them, something that even the Mangekyo Sharingan or the Rinnegan couldn't achieve with their tremendous vision.
The biggest power of the Baryon Mode, however, is far greater than just a power boost. Baryon Mode's drawback of draining the user's chakra rapidly comes handy in this form as all chakra is connected, as stated by Hagoromo Otsutsuki. This means whenever Naruto Uzumaki makes contact with someone while in this form, he drains their chakra as well. During the fight against Isshiki Otsutsuki, Naruto was able to land countless blows on Isshiki, which effectively reduced his lifespan from over 20 hours to less than 10 minutes. What's even scarier is the fact that Naruto didn't even need to hit him hard or ensure that he landed a solid blow. Just making contact alone was enough to shave away Isshiki's lifespan, which just goes to show how dangerous this form is.
Unfortunately, the risks of using Baryon Mode ended up being too steep and while Naruto did succeed in playing a big part in Isshiki Otsutsuki's demise, it eventually led to Kurama's death as his chakra completely ran out. For the very first time since he was born, Naruto was left without a Tailed Beast and ever since this fight, has been weakened quite drastically.