Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 270

Hana-sensei Returns to School

I wasn’t a fan of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 270. And it’s not because, once again, my predictions were wrong. I don’t think the whole reveal about Hana-sensei was very good. It could have been so much better than it was.

But, before we get onto that, let’s go over Hana-sensei’s return to the Academy. After healing from her injuries, Hana-sensei learns about the plot to assassinate Kae. Until this point, only Shino, Anko, Kawaki, and Himawari knew of the plot. As far as I remember, Iruka was not aware.

Now, why wouldn’t Iruka be aware of the assassination plot? Because of his rank. He may be the principal, but he’s also only a Chunin. Shino and Anko are both Jonin. And while Kawaki is a Genin, he’s actually taking part in the effort to protect Kae, so he needed to know.

If you think about it, making the plot on Kae’s life more well-known could have prevented all this. I understand why they wanted to limit who knew about it. But, at the same time, having more people who know to keep an eye on Kae wouldn’t hurt.

And, with the power of hindsight, it seems Hana-sensei would have awakened to her true self sooner. Although she’s the assassin, she genuinely didn’t realize that was the case. She only started suspecting she was involved after she heard about it and her memories didn’t add up.

Though, it’s also possible that she wouldn’t have recognized her involvement. Even if she knew about the plot from the start, she hadn’t yet experienced lapses in her memory. There would have been no evidence pointing to her being the assassin. It definitely would have put pressure on her other self, though.

The Ultimate Twist

Episode 270’s twist is that Hana-sensei was being controlled by none other than… herself. I’ll call this evil persona Dark Hana. So, it turns out that Hana-sensei suffers from dissociative identity disorder. She has her normal Hana-sensei persona. And then she has her Dark Hana assassin persona.

Which one is the true Hana and which is fake? Well, the answer is that they both are. They’re two sides of the same coin, as the episode title puts it. The original Hana Kaka was a mixture of both these personalities. But, they split in two as a way for Hana to cope with the horrors she experienced in the past.

As it turns out, Hana and Kawaki share the same past. Both of them were orphans raised for battle through battle. Okay, so Jigen purchased Kawaki from his father — Kawaki wasn’t a true orphan. But other than that, their backstories are the same. And this may lead Kawaki to sympathize with Hana.

I didn’t mind this backstory for Kawaki. And I don’t mind the fact that Kawaki and Hana have the same backstory. But, I do feel like this backstory is a bit too simple of an explanation. It’s too convenient. I would have rather it been that someone was using genjutsu on Hana-sensei.

Also, what’s the end solution going to be here? Is Hana-sensei going to defeat Dark Hana through the power of friendship? Is Dark Hana just going to conveniently disappear? I can’t see the Hidden Leaf actually throwing her in prison.

The best way out of this whole situation, to me, is for someone to seal Dark Hana. That seems to be the obvious solution. But, we can’t forget that this is a shounen battle series. They love relying on the power of friendship.

Hana Kaka of the Land of Bamboo

One good thing to come out of Hana being the assassin is that we may learn what fire-style jutsu she used. Unless that jutsu gets sealed with Dark Hana, she should still be able to use it. That’s pretty neat.

But, let’s also consider the absurdity of Hana being in the right place at the right time to assassinate Kae. Hana is originally from the Land of Bamboo. She moved to the Hidden Leaf Village 10 years ago. How old are the kids in her class? They’re 10 years old (except Kawaki).

You could make the argument that Hana wasn’t sent to the Leaf Village to assassinate Kae. That would actually make the most sense. Because if she did, it would mean this assassination plan was set in motion as soon as Kae was born.

There’s no way to have planned for that. From the moment of her birth, there would have been no way to know that Kae would go to the Hidden Leaf Village. And, on top of that, no way to know she’d attend the Academy and be in Hana’s class. It doesn’t make sense.

So, the logical conclusion is that Hana was working as a general sleeper cell in the Hidden Leaf this whole time. It just so happens that Kae also went there and ended up in her class. If Kae had gone somewhere else, a different assassin would have tried to kill her.

But, this has to make you consider the relations between these two nations. How’s the Land of Fire going to feel about Land of Bamboo assassins in its midst? And, if the Hidden Leaf does expel Hana from the country, what does that mean for Kawaki? Again, he shares the same background as her.

Conclusion

What do you think about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 270? Do you think more Academy teachers should have known about the plot to assassinate Kae? How do you feel about the split personality twist? And, what do you expect to happen to Hana-sensei when her role is inevitably uncovered? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 271 is available now.