Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 229

A Surprisingly Dark Episode

I’m not sure if Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 229 is a “filler” episode or if it’s actually from the manga. I’m going to guess it’s anime-original. But, even if that’s the case, I think this was a pretty good episode overall.

I never expected that an episode about Kawaki going on an escort mission with Shikadai and Chocho would turn out to be interesting. However, it had a dark plot (which I like), some good action, and some new jutsu for me to discuss.

Considering Boruto is a series about shinobi, people die. That’s to be expected. However, it’s not very common that we see children be killed within this series. But, that’s exactly what happened at the start of the episode.

If it had simply been stated that Kurobane and Jujumaru killed the other six boys who came from the Land of Calm Seas with Mozuku, that would be one thing. But, we actually see one of these boys get captured, tortured, and killed (not graphically, but enough for it to be more than simply implied).

And, not only do we have antagonists in this episode who have been confirmed to have killed children, but one of them also uses a blood-based jutsu. There have been a few blood-based jutsu throughout the Naruto series, such as the Ketsuryūgan. Generally, these kinds of jutsu are connected to darker stories, and this week’s episode is no exception.

With that said, I’m not expecting the rest of this arc to be overly dark. I don’t expect to see anyone else get killed, even the enemy shinobi. But, the story is still going to be about the feudal lord of the Land of Calm Seas extorting the civilians and perpetuating an epidemic. So there’s that.

Land of Calm Seas Shinobi

The two Land of Calm Seas shinobi we meet in the episode are Kurobane and Jujumaru. Both of them seem to have fairly interesting jutsu, though we mostly know about Jujumaru’s jutsu at this stage.

Even so, let’s start with Kurobane since he’s the leader of the two. Kurobane was shown to use two jutsu so far. The first was a mist jutsu, which implies that he can use Water release at the very least.

His second jutsu is what he uses to kill the boy at the start of the episode, and I have a feeling it also uses Water release. When he was done torturing the boy, the boy’s body was dried out and shriveled up. My guess is that this jutsu extracts moisture from the body, but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Jujumaru is the one with a blood-based jutsu. He can seemingly control his blood freely. First, he uses this jutsu to shape his blood into spider-web-like nets that trap the Leaf shinobi so they can’t escape. Then, he fires drops of blood out of his fingertips like bullets.

However, being able to control his blood like this is only half of Jujumaru’s jutsu. When his blood gets on another person, it allows him to control them. When Chocho uses her Human Boulder jutsu to break through Jujumaru’s blood webs, he can then control her body and mind.

In a lot of ways, this is similar to Hidan’s ability. Upon ingesting the blood of his opponent, Hidan was able to perform a ritual that allowed him to control their body as a mirror of his own. And since he was immortal, this allowed him to stab himself, thus killing his opponent.

But, unlike Hidan’s ability, Jujumaru’s is probably a kekkei genkai like the aforementioned Ketsuryūgan.

Mozuku’s Mission

Something I’m not a huge fan of in this episode is that Mozuku lied about the true nature of the mission he was hiring shinobi to complete. It’s not that I don’t like the act of Mozuku lying, but more that this same thing has happened multiple times throughout the series so far. It’s a classic Naruto trope.

I guess it’s not that big of a deal. But right from the start of the episode, I knew this was going to be the case. As soon as there were enemy shinobi involved, this escort mission was no longer D-rank. I’d say that it’s probably A-rank, maybe B-rank.

But, for anyone who doesn’t understand why classifying the mission as a lower rank matters — aside from the cost associated with it as Mozuku points out — allow me to explain.

The main reason the Hidden Leaf Village, and most other hidden villages, want to know important details that could increase the rank of a mission isn’t so that they can charge more. That may be the case in a small, poor, or corrupt nation, but not the big five.

The Hidden Leaf Village wants missions to be accurately ranked because higher-ranked missions require higher-skilled shinobi. While a genin team can complete D-rank and some C-rank missions, they’re not equipped to take on A-rank missions.

If an A-rank mission is falsely labeled as C-rank, the genin or chunin team assigned to it may simply fail the mission and all wind up dead along with their client. A properly labeled A-rank mission would be completed by jonin because their skill and expertise are necessary.

Obviously, this mission is ultimately going to be a success. But sending Kawaki, Shikamaru, and Chocho on an A-rank mission is like letting the intern perform surgery.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 229? Were you as surprised as I was that the boy was killed at the start? How do you think Kurobane’s jutsu works? And what rank do you think this escort mission is in reality? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 230 is available now.