Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 286

One-Handed Seals

Boruto Episode 286 concludes the Sasuke Retsuden arc. And, overall, I wasn’t very impressed by this arc. I remember hearing a lot of good things about the manga when it released. So, when I saw that the anime was adapting it, I had high hopes.

Anyway, what I want to talk about here actually isn’t the arc itself. I want to talk about Sasuke’s fighting style now that he only has one arm. Though, it’s not like this is new. He’s only had one arm for the entirety of the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations series.

We’ve seen Sasuke form one-handed signs for jutsu before. It’s not something most shinobi can do. The whole point of hand signs is that they help channel and manipulate chakra. But, since this is Sasuke we’re talking about, it’s not very uncommon for him.

What I think is the coolest thing about Sasuke’s one-handed signs, though, is that he’s been doing this for a long time. Well, sort of. Way back in the original Naruto anime, Sasuke was doing some pseudo-one-handed signs. In his first fight against Naruto at the Valley of the End, he used Naruto’s hand to complete his own signs.

In a way, those still count as one-handed signs. And then, under Orochimaru, Sasuke learned kenjutsu, or sword fighting. When fighting with a sword, Sasuke doesn’t have both hands free to make seals. So, by the time he loses his arm at the end of Shippūden, he has a bit of experience fighting this way.

Something else to consider is that Sasuke has the Sharingan and Rinnegan at this point. I believe most shinobi we’ve seen using one-handed signs also have Sharingan/Rinnegan. So, that could be playing a part in how Sasuke can do this.

Jiji and Margo

Next, let’s talk about the whole Jiji and Margo situation. First of all, it seems that Jiji does have some sort of true reincarnation jutsu. It doesn’t work in the same way as the reincarnation jutsu we’re familiar with. And, we don’t actually know exactly how it works.

But, the fact that he has a reincarnation jutsu is important because of his goal. He wants to use the Ultra Particles and his jutsu to revive his dead wife, Margo. That’s why he teamed up with Zansul and the prime minister. But, it wasn’t only the Ultra Particles he needed.

You see, unlike the reincarnation jutsu we know and love, Jiji’s doesn’t use a stand-in. He can’t use some other, random corpse to revive someone. He needs the corpse of whoever or whatever he’s reviving. And this is an issue because he doesn’t have access to Margo’s corpse.

In a very creepy line, Jiji talks about the prime minister making Margo’s corpse “available to him.” When he said that, it didn’t sound like he was talking about reviving her if you know what I mean. But, regardless of what Jiji planned to do to Margo’s corpse, it doesn’t matter now.

Not only was the prime minister’s plot stopped, but it turns out Margo is still alive. The prime minister and Zansul lied to Jiji about her death as a way to get him to help them. And this means Jiji’s reincarnation jutsu was known before he went to prison.

Had Jiji attempted to use this jutsu before? It’s very possible considering he claims to have formerly been a rogue shinobi. He left the Hidden Sand village and joined Redaku’s military. So, his use of this jutsu may have been what forced him out of the Hidden Sand.

Sasuke and Sakura – The Perfect Combo

When I say Sasuke and Sakura are the perfect combo, I don’t mean in a romantic sense. As we all know, Sakura is actually my wife. When I say they’re the perfect combo, I mean that their strengths cover each other’s weaknesses.

Sasuke has a lot of long-range attacks with his Fire and Lightning release. Also, at this point, he can do things like teleport thanks to his Rinnegan. So, he can quickly close the gap between himself and his opponent to use his sword. Oh, and let’s not forget he has genjutsu at his disposal.

On the other side, Sakura is the ultimate close-quarters fighter. She has the strength to defeat most opponents with a single punch. And thanks to her healing jutsu, she can take a beating and keep fighting. Though, we haven’t seen her actually use her Strength of a Hundred technique in a while.

Obviously, both of these characters are strong in their own right. But when combined, they don’t really have any weaknesses. We saw this early on in the Boruto series when they faced off against Shin Uchiha. That’s still one of my favorite fights in the whole series.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Sasuke and Sakura do a tag team fight in this arc. During this episode, they each focused on their own respective fights. But, they did still divide up their duties based on their skill sets. For example, Sakura helped the prisoners while Sasuke went after Zansul.

Sure, Sasuke can take out a bunch of dinosaurs at once with a variety of jutsu. But, Sakura can take them out, as well. And she has the ability to heal the prisoners. Meanwhile, Sasuke’s Rinnegan made him the optimal choice for getting up to Zansul in the air.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 286? Are you glad Sasuke can use one-handed signs or would you rather him fight without ninjutsu? How did you feel about Jiji’s comment about Margo’s corpse being made available to him? And what character combo is your favorite in the series? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 287 is available now.