Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 274

Search for the Senri Hawk

In Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 274, Sasuke and Boruto head out of the village in search of a hawk. As Sakura tells Sarada (and us), Sasuke’s messenger hawk is retiring and he needs to find a replacement. And so, he’s set his sights on a legendary Senri Hawk.

Now, as far as I know, we’ve never gotten a name for Sasuke’s messenger hawk. So, it’s possible that we’ll get a name for his new hawk in the next few episodes. That would be pretty neat. Though, I’d still like to know the name of his original messenger hawk.

Anyway, Senri Hawks are special because of the long distances they can fly. And, naturally, that makes them good messenger hawks. Sasuke travels all over the place in search of threats to the Leaf Village. He needs a messenger hawk that can send word back to Naruto as quickly as possible.

One of the problems with getting a Senri Hawk, however, is that Sasuke doesn’t know where they are. But, he knows of a man named Maruta who does. So, rather than searching for a Senri Hawk themselves, he and Boruto set off to find Maruta.

On the way there, they come across Rakuen, a large, exotic animal store. The owner of Rakuen is Mozu Shitakiri, a woman who wants to get her hands on a Senri Hawk to sell. Mozu has been trying to get Maruta to lead her to the Senri Hawks since opening her business nearby.

That’s right. This arc about Sasuke getting a new hawk is actually about wildlife conservation. If you want to be cool like Sasuke, you should only buy pets from sellers who source them responsibly. But, Sasuke doesn’t care about endangered species enough to not get one as a pet.

Tsuzura and Yuki

Tsuzura Shitakiri is the son of Mozu. He’s a shy boy who seems to be a bit younger than Boruto. And while his mother wants him to take over the family business when he grows up, he doesn’t agree with her methods. He likes animals and dislikes how his mother treats them.

In an ironic twist, Tsuzura actually has a pet Senri Hawk, the species his mother is looking for. When we first found out Tsuzura had a pet Senri Hawk, I assumed he kept it a secret from his mother. But, later in the episode, we find out that’s not the case.

Because Yuki is white instead of the usual grey, Mozu doesn’t realize what he is. In fact, because of his coloration, Yuki is even rarer than other Senri Hawks. But, Mozu is under the impression Yuki is a normal hawk. And it seems like Tsuzura thinks this, as well.

After we’re introduced to Tsuzura and Yuki, Boruto helps Tsuzura train Yuki to survive in the wild. Tsuzura took Yuki in when he found Yuki injured as a chick. And his goal is to one day release Yuki back into the wild.

So, obviously, we’re going to see Mozu figure out what Yuki is and try to sell him off. But, Boruto (and maybe Sasuke) will help Tsuzura free Yuki. However, I’m not expecting Yuki to return to the wild in the end. As Maruta told Sasuke, Senri Hawks choose their owners and stick with them.

Even after Tsuzura frees Yuki, I’m expecting Yuki to stick around with Tsuzura. And maybe we’ll even see Tsuzura and Yuki join up with Maruta after Rakuen goes under. There’s no way Rakuen is still in business by the time the arc ends. Boruto’s not going to leave it.

Sasuke’s New Hawk

Let’s talk about Sasuke and his Hawks. While we never got a name for the messenger hawk he’s replacing, we do have the name of another one of his hawks. Garuda is the giant hawk Sasuke has a summoning pact with.

Now, something you might not realize is that Sasuke is more connected to hawks than snakes. And this can be a bit confusing since Garuda is the only giant hawk he’s ever summoned. Meanwhile, we’ve seen him summon 3 giant snakes, an unnamed white snake, Manda, and Aoda.

The thing is, snakes are really the summon animal of Orochimaru. Sasuke has a summoning pact with them because he was Orichimaru’s student. But, he doesn’t have much attachment to them beyond that. As evidence, look at how he uses them. He tends to treat the giant snakes as meat shields.

In Shippūden Episode 122, he uses the white snake to protect himself from Deidara’s explosion. And he does the same thing with Manda (Orochimaru’s summon) in Episode 125, leading to Manda’s death. He has a better relationship with Aoda. But, this seems to be the exception rather than the norm when it comes to Sasuke and snakes.

Meanwhile, Sasuke has been depicted with hawks since Naruto Chapter 1. On the cover page (not the cover) of Chapter 1, Sasuke is riding a giant hawk. So, right from the start of the series, this connection was clear.

With all that in mind, it’s a bit weird that Sasuke doesn’t summon more hawks. What’s stopping him from forging a pact with a messenger hawk he can summon on demand? Even Jiraiya had special types of toads he summoned to send messages. It’s a bit strange that Sasuke doesn’t use summoned hawks to send messages.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 274? Do you think we’ll get a name for Sasuke’s new messenger hawk? Will Yuki actually return to the wild by the end of the arc? And which of Sasuke’s personal summons do you prefer, Aoda or Garuda? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 275 is available now.