Boruto Episode 132

Boruto Episode 132

Jiraiya’s Assignment

I don’t think I’ve hidden the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of this arc, but I do like that it gives me a lot of things to discuss. And this episode was a great one in that regard. But before I get into the two main topics I want to discuss today, chakra and Sasuke, let’s cover all the little things.

First we saw Boruto having PTSD flashbacks to when Naruto, in his Nine Tails cloak, scratched his hand. This doesn’t really make all that much sense. I get that it’s included as a way to show that Boruto is learning about Naruto’s past and how many in the village treat him, but it still makes little sense.

Boruto already knows Naruto has the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him. He’s known this for a long time, though he didn’t know much about it until recently. He also already confronted Naruto in his Nine Tails cloak form without showing any fear. So why did a little scratch change all that?

Naruto on the swing outside the academy from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Naruto on the swing outside the academy

The other small thing I want to mention is that Boruto finally had an actual conversation with Neji. He previously met him when the two had to help clean the public bath, but they didn’t actually interact with each other. And as we find out, Neji never even heard Boruto’s name.

This, and the fact that Neji mentions he should have asked for his name after Boruto leaves, is actually a reference to Boruto’s name. Neji is the Japanese word for screw written in Hiragana and Boruto is the Japanese word for Bolt written in Katakana.

So, yes, if you didn’t already know this, Boruto is named after his uncle Neji. Also he has a screw necklace.

Flow, Power, and Nature

When training Boruto and Naruto, Jiraiya mentions something a bit odd. He states that Boruto and Naruto have very similar chakra natures, and because of this they may be able to come up with a collaboration jutsu. I’m going to say right now this is going to be some Rasengan variant.

But the issue is that they don’t have similar chakra natures — or at least not to a huge extent. The only chakra nature we know Naruto naturally has is Wind which is his affinity. Also, by this point in the series Naruto doesn’t even know what a chakra nature affinity is anyway.

Boruto, on the other hand can use Lightning, Wind, and Water. So, yes, they both have Wind in common, but Naruto doesn’t know he has an affinity for Wind yet and Boruto’s affinity is for Lightning. That’s not exactly what I would call having “similar chakra natures.”

Chakra Flow, Power, and Nature from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Chakra Flow, Power, and Nature

And, having similar natures to someone else doesn’t necessarily mean you can perform a collaborative jutsu with them. When Jiraiya explains this further, we’re shown that there are three main components to chakra: nature, flow, and power.

I think it makes much more sense to say that Naruto and Boruto have a very similar chakra flow, not nature. We already know a lot about chakra natures, and what Jiraiya is saying here doesn’t match up with that.

Really, I’d say nature has nothing to do with this particular collaborative jutsu. They have similar chakra flows, but right now they just need to sync them up and match each other’s power output. Nature would come into play if Naruto and Sasuke did a Wind/Fire collaboration attack.

Sasuke Uchiha

At the end of the episode Jiraiya reveals that he knows who Sasuke really is — Sasuke. I mentioned that this might happen in my previous episode review, so let’s briefly go over that one more time.

Even though Jiraiya knows that Sasuke has traveled into the past from the future, that doesn’t change anything. Jiraiya never meets Sasuke again, and his knowledge of future Sasuke doesn’t change any future events. If anything, it would only reinforce Jiraiya’s sacrifice of himself because he knows Naruto will succeed.

But will anyone else learn of future Sasuke’s existence?

Despite Sasuke telling Naruto all about himself, Naruto is too stupid to realize who he is, so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him figuring it out. After all, that would cause some major canon problems.

What about Sakura though? After she bumps into Sasuke on the street, some sort of letter falls out of Sasuke’s jacket which she then picks up. Could this note reveal the true identities of Sasuke and Boruto? Does Sakura know the truth?

Again, I’m going to say no. That would also have some major canon implications. But what’s the deal with the note then?

My guess is that it would have revealed their identities had it not gotten soaked in the puddle. It was probably the slip of Naruto signing off on Boruto working under Sasuke for the state of emergency. However, the note was ruined and Sakura simply wants to return it to Sasuke because she’s a good samaritan.

It’s all a ploy to make us think she learned about their true identities.

Conclusion

But what are your thoughts about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 132? Does Boruto have reason to fear Naruto? Did you like the nod to the Boruto/Neji naming scheme? Do you think the way Jiraiya explained chakra makes sense? And, does Sakura know Sasuke’s identity? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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