Boruto Episode 141

Boruto Episode 141

The Shinobi Prison: Hozuki Castle

When I saw the preview for this episode last week, I figured that it would be a single filler episode. However, it turns out this is actually going to be a full arc. I’m still assuming it’s filler, but at least filler arcs are generally better than standalone filler episodes.

In this episode, Boruto and Mitsuki have been sent into the shinobi prison, Hozuki Castle, in order to protect a specific inmate. This man was once a member of a prominent shinobi gang, and has agreed to trade information to the Hidden Leaf in exchange for protection.

But while Boruto and Mitsuki have infiltrated the prison by disguising themselves as prisoners, Sarada must use a different method. She enters the prison disguised as a journalism student looking to write about the prison.

There are two main reasons for Sarada not pretending to be a prisoner like the other two. First of all, we don’t see any female prisoners, so we can assume they’re held separate from the men. This means that even if Sarada was one of the prisoners, she wouldn’t have access to the man they’re supposed to protect.

The second reason is that with Sarada pretending to be a prison visitor, she has more freedom within the premises. Boruto and Mitsuki are supposed to focus on protecting the target and gathering intel from the other prisoners. On the other hand, Sarada is canvassing the prison and gathering information from the guards.

Celestial Prison Jutsu

A prison for shinobi doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of place that would hold prisoners for long. After all, the prisoners there are experts at infiltration, assassination, and escape. And if you look at Hozuki Castle itself, there aren’t many physical defenses stopping the prisoners from leaving.

However, the prison has been run by the same family for generations, and there’s a special reason for this. Lord Mujo’s family specializes in a jutsu known as the Celestial Prison jutsu. This jutsu restricts those affected by it from using ninjutsu of their own.

Now, something you may have noticed is that we’re told the Celestial Prison jutsu specifically prevents the use of ninjutsu. So does that mean those affected by it can still use genjutsu? Probably not. If that were the case then this prison would have been destroyed long ago by a genjutsu user.

Lord Mujo using the Celestial Prison jutsu on a prisoner from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Lord Mujo using the Celestial Prison jutsu on a prisoner

So how exactly does the Celestial Prison jutsu work?

We know it’s a fire style jutsu, but that doesn’t really matter for the purpose of restricting jutsu. It can be assumed that it somehow blocks the flow of chakra within the body, and that’s how it prevents those affected by it from using jutsu — perhaps it burns the chakra network in the body.

But then comes the second part of the jutsu. Anyone affected by it is unable to leave Hozuki Castle. We don’t know how exactly this area of effect is designated, but we see that it does in fact exist. If a prisoner attempts to escape, the jutsu will burn their body from the inside.

The Mujina Gang

The Mujina Gang is a fairly prominent robbery gang which primarily functions throughout the five great nations. However, it’s actually not the first such gang we’ve seen in this series. The Byakuya Gang, way back in episode 42 before I started reviewing the series weekly, was very similar in that regard.

Also, I’m pretty sure the Byakuya Gang arc was the last canon arc in the anime as far as the manga is concerned — though the Boruto anime is also sort of considered canon.

While the Byakuya Gang’s name means “White Night,” a reference to the fact that they’re an underground organization based out of the Land of Snow, the Mujina Gang’s name isn’t quite as obvious. Mujina typically means badger, but it can also be used to refer to similar animals, such as the tanuki.

As of this episode, it’s not exactly clear what badgers or tanuki have to do with the gang at large. It could just be a random name, or there could be some significance to it. If the name is referring to tanuki, then it could have something to do with the fact that tanuki are considered somewhat mystical.

Sarada disguised as a journalism student from the anime series Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Sarada disguised as a journalism student

If we do learn more about the gang and why it’s named what it is, I’m sure we’ll have Sarada to thank for that information. She’ll probably figure out what the name of the gang means, and that will somehow help explain what’s going on with the gang at Hozuki Castle.

Perhaps the name of the gang has something to do with the shadowy figure we saw attack Kokuri. But, I’m also still not entirely convinced there was an attacker to begin with. Kokuri admitted to faking the fight that sent him to the infirmary, after all.

Chinese Lantern Plants

The final important piece of information from this episode has to do with the Chinese lantern plants which Hozuki Castle is named for. These plants can be found on the outer perimeter of the castle, and are said to be poisonous. However, that hasn’t stopped at least one inmate from eating one in the past.

And as Boruto and Mitsuki are told, this is one, not very recommended, way to get sent to the infirmary where Kokuri is located. But, if they do decide to go down that path (which Boruto does), they’re warned to only eat red blossoms, not white ones.

Of course Boruto does end up eating a white one, though.

For now, we don’t know what the difference between the red and white blossoms really is, but it’s sure to become important later on. Perhaps they restrict chakra flow, which would be bad for Boruto considering the Celestial Prison jutsu used on him was actually fake.

We haven’t seen Boruto use jutsu yet, so that’s a very real possibility. Or, perhaps it has some other sort of delayed side effect which will become apparent later on in the arc.

But if I had to bet, it would be on the former. Perhaps Hozuki Castle wasn’t named as such because it was near a field of Chinese lantern plants. Perhaps it was named that because the Celestial Prison jutsu works in a similar way to the white blossoms.

Conclusion

What do you think the importance of the white Chinese lantern plant blossom is going to be? What about the name of the Mujina Gang? And, do you think Boruto is going to cause a prison riot by releasing all the prisoners’ Celestial Prison jutsu with his water release? Let me know your thoughts on Boruto episode 141 in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.

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