Boruto Episode 89

A Piercing Heart

The Hidden Stone arc is almost complete, and we’re finally getting to some interesting developments. I’m hoping this arc is done within the next two episodes and we can move on to some new content, but I’m not all that convinced this will be the case.

Interestingly, the OPs in Boruto follow the Naruto/Shippūden model of changing roughly every 25 episodes, which means the current one should be retired around episode 100. However, none of the content we’ve seen has anything to do with the OP animation, as would be expected.

So, maybe I’m just being optimistic, but this could mean that the arc we see in the fourth OP will start at some point before episode 100. Just from what little we see during the OP, I was more interested in that than anything happening in this current arc from the first time I saw it.

But, onto the episode at hand, we pick up where we left off with Boruto and Sarada being forced to have a duel after being caught up in Kirara’s genjutsu. I mentioned last week that Sarada should be able to easily break free from this due to her Sharingan, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that this was addressed.

While I feel that a skilled Sharingan user should be able to break free of genjutsu fairly easily considering genjutsu is one of their specialties, Sarada isn’t exactly her father when it comes to raw talent. Because of this, she instead plans to use her Sharingan to break Boruto out of the genjutsu by casting her own genjutsu on him.

However, Kirara sees this coming and forces Boruto’s eyes closed so that the Sharingan no longer works on him. Now, with seemingly no way to stop their battle, the two are left by Kirara to continue fighting to the death while she goes to meet up with Ku and the others.

It’s at this point that Boruto knocks Sarada’s sword out of her hand, and while she’s defenseless, strikes.

Obviously Sarada isn’t going to be cut down by Boruto here, but it’s unclear exactly how she’s going to get out of this situation. Personally, I figured that Sekki, the Hidden Stone shinobi who met Boruto in the Sanzu Plains, was going to appear and put a stop to their fight.

But, what actually happened was even better than I imagined. Just before Boruto’s sword cuts her, Sarada uses her Sharingan on herself by reflecting it off the surface of Boruto’s sword. With her chakra disrupted, she’s able to break free of Kirara’s genjutsu, dodge Boruto’s attack, and then release him as well.

These are the kinds of things I want to see more of in Boruto. I love when characters use their established abilities in unique ways based on their situation, surroundings, or other external forces. That’s what makes a fight interesting, not the development of new, even more powerful abilities.

The Counter-Revolution Begins

While Sekki doesn’t appear to stop the fight between Boruto and Sarada, he does meet up with a wounded Akatsuchi. Akatsuchi then asks Sekki to find and rescue Ohnoki in his place, which he agrees to after briefly trying to make excuses for why he can’t.

I’m sure Sekki’s going to play some kind of important role once again before the end of this arc, but for now I can’t really see what it’s going to be. Ohnoki doesn’t really appear to need any help considering he broke out of his room and defeated the Akuta guards on his own.

So, then maybe Sekki will help free the other Hidden Stone shinobi who have been captured? Nope, Kurotsuchi has already done that too. What’s left for Sekki to do other than randomly appear during a battle and “save the day” for no real reason?

As for the rescued Hidden Stone shinobi, I know they’re probably going to retake their city, but let’s be honest, it’s all going to be Kurotsuchi’s doing. Any shinobi who’s unnamed, regardless of their rank, it essentially useless. This is why a single akuta can take down a group of Hidden Leaf jonin, but not Boruto and his friends.

Mitsuki’s Will (Yes, Again)

Although we’re just about done with this arc, and it was definitely a longer arc than I would have liked considering the content of it, we still don’t really know what Mitsuki’s Will is. Since the first episode of the arc we’ve been hearing about his will, but what exactly is it?

I made a prediction many weeks ago about Mitsuki’s will having something to do with him learning the true meaning of the Will of Fire, and while that could definitely still be true, this may not be the case. For a while now, it’s really seemed like Mitsuki truly wants to help the homunculi with their plan, but is that his will?

Towards the end of this week’s episode, Mitsuki seemingly delivers the first human heart to Ku for transplantation. However, it’s quickly revealed to be a ruse, with Mitsuki striking him through his chest from behind with his Snake Lightning jutsu while Ku is distracted.

The injured Ku then drops the container holding the heart, which turns out to have been a fake made up of Mitsuki’s snakes, and topples down the long staircase which he was standing on. I honestly think the only reason that building had such a long staircase was simply so this scene could be included.

He then apologizes to Ku, Kirara, and most importantly, Sekiei, for deceiving them all this time in regards to helping with their plan. Though, it’s still unclear at this point why Mitsuki really went with them in the first place.

In the next episode preview, we hear Mitsuki tell Sekiei that there’s another way to stop their bodies from crumbling that doesn’t involve acquiring human hearts, but Sekiei doesn’t want to hear any more of his “lies.” I’m interested to hear what this alternative is, but my guess is that it’s going to be something similar to “the power of friendship.”

As for why Mitsuki went along with the homunculi in the first case, it was likely to determine whether or not he has a will of his own via using them as a proxy and observing them. As he got to know Sekiei, he realized that Sekiei has a will, and so therefore he might as well.

Once he came to this conclusion, Mitsuki had gotten all the information he needed, but he couldn’t just sit back and allow the homunculi to go through with this plan he knew was clearly wrong. Though, while he wants to stop them, he also sees them as his friends who are similar to himself.

Conclusion

So, what are your thoughts on this week’s episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations? What do you think Mitsuki’s will actually is, and have your thoughts on his will changed as the arc has progressed? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this post, then be sure to click the like button ❤ down below and follow me over on Twitter @DoubleSama. Twitter is the best way to keep up with new content here on DoubleSama.com since I tweet out a link to each post when they go live.

And, finally, if you’d like to help support DoubleSama.com then consider becoming a patron. To learn more about the various tiers of patronage and their respective benefits, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of the next episode is available here.