Becoming the Messenger

In Boruto Episode 284, Sasuke makes his way into Zansul’s secret cellar. But, he couldn’t do this alone (for some reason). I’d assume that Sasuke would be able to sneak in when Zansul isn’t in his office. However, that’s not what Sasuke does. That would be too easy.

Instead, Sakura helps him by distracting Zansul. A messenger from the Prime Minister of the country is coming to deliver a message to Zansul. So, Sakura intercepts him and uses the transformation jutsu to become him. Sasuke then also uses the transformation jutsu and becomes the messenger’s staff.

During her meeting with Zansul in his office, Sakura rolls the staff toward the cellar door. While Zansul isn’t paying attention, Sasuke un-transforms and unlocks the door. I’ll discuss how exactly he does that in the next section. But, for now, I want to focus on the absurdity of this whole plan.

As I already mentioned, Sasuke could have snuck into the cellar when Zansul wasn’t present. Like, Sakura could have distracted him elsewhere in the observatory. There was no reason for Sasuke to try sneaking in while Zansul was in the room. Also, he could have transformed into anything else.

Why did he transform into the messenger’s staff? Sakura had to carry a second staff for when Zansul noticed the first one went missing. He could have transformed into something else that wouldn’t have been as noticeable. Though, there does seem to be a limit on how small of an object one can transform into.

For example, I don’t think Sasuke could become a piece of paper that’s dropped and slides under the door. But, he could become a coat that Sakura puts down near the door. Or, better yet, he could become Zansul while Zansul’s out of his office.

The Secret in the Cellar

Moving back over to how Sasuke actually got into the cellar, I thought this was cool. First, he used his chakra to make a mold of the internal structure of the lock. I don’t really understand how he was able to use chakra like this, but I’ll allow it.

Once he had the mold, he used Earth style to make a key out of the wall. And yes, Sasuke can use Earth style. He can actually use Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Yin release. It’s just that we usually only see him use Fire, Lightning, and Yin.

In the cellar, Sasuke finds some odd things. There are a lot of live chickens, a lot of fossils, and a mysterious altar. Now, when I saw all the fossils, it seemed to confirm a theory of mine. Back in my review of Episode 282, I said it wouldn’t surprise me if Zansul was reviving fossils.

And, considering Meno’s existence, it does seem like that’s what’s going on here. But, what about all the chickens? What do they have to do with reviving dinosaurs from fossils? One possibility is that these chickens are what Zansul feeds to the dinosaurs he revives.

The other possibility is that the chickens themselves are the dinosaurs. Technically speaking, chickens are already dinosaurs — all birds are. But, what I mean is that Zansul is bioengineering these chickens into dinosaur-dinosaurs. You know, like what we see with Meno.

What’s interesting is that by the end of the episode, it seems both of these possibilities are true. They don’t appear to be mutually exclusive. Zansul is trying to turn chickens into large dinosaurs. But, this also doesn’t seem to be how he created Meno. So, it’s still possible that Meno was revived from a fossil.

Manufacturing Dragon Beasts

So, here’s my current theory regarding what Zansul’s up to. He can revive dinosaurs from fossils as evidenced by Meno. However, dinosaur fossils are pretty rare. And I’m assuming it’s not easy to revive them. But, Zansul wants an entire army of dinosaurs.

Obviously, he’s not going to have an army of them by reviving them from fossils one at a time. So, he turns to chickens. If he can reverse engineer the chickens into Meno-like dinosaurs, he can mass produce them. And once he does that, he can sell them to the Prime Minister.

But, let’s take a closer look at how Zansul turns chickens into dinosaurs. Or, at least, how he’s attempting to do it. The first transformation we see didn’t exactly work. But, it actually looks closer to how dinosaurs of that size probably looked in real life. You know, with feathers.

The weird thing is that it wasn’t Zansul who was turning the chickens into dinosaurs. Someone else is there with him doing the work. And it looks like all they’re doing is using a transformation jutsu. But, I have to assume that isn’t the case.

Using the transformation jutsu to turn chickens into dinosaurs should be easy. This is especially true if you already have a living dinosaur to look at and copy. But, the problem is that they’d transform back into chickens once the jutsu user’s chakra runs out. So, that’s not viable for an entire army.

This means whoever’s transforming the chickens is likely using a unique jutsu. And that’s the reason it’s not Zansul doing it. He can’t use that particular jutsu. So, who is this mystery person? My guess is that it’s Jiji, Sasuke’s cellmate with blonde hair. He seemed to have a lot of knowledge about Meno.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 284? Do you think Sasuke and Sakura’s plan was a good one? How do you think Zansul created Meno? And who do you think is creating the chicken dinosaurs? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 285 is available now.

Pre-Kara Destruction

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 283 reveals when Sasuke’s Story takes place. Well, it gives us a general idea of when the arc takes place. And, we have to assume that the animators didn’t make a mistake, because that could change things.

As you might have seen, the animators accidentally gave Sasuke his left arm back at one point in Episode 282. This was an obvious mistake. Sasuke hasn’t had his left arm since Naruto: Shippūden Episode 478. However, I’m assuming they didn’t give Sasuke his Rinnegan back in this episode by accident.

During his fight against the dinosaur (is this one also named Meno?), Sasuke uses his Sharingan. And when he does this, we also see that he has his Rinnegan. What this tells us is that this arc takes place before the fight against Isshiki and the collapse of Kara.

So, why does it matter when this arc takes place? Well, I wanted to know because I was wondering if Sasuke still had his Rinnegan. So, since we saw his Rinnegan, I got the answer to my question. Now, why did I want to know whether or not he had his Rinnegan?

In the previous episode, we saw that Sasuke’s Sharingan genjutsu didn’t work on Zansul. And we saw multiple times that it doesn’t work on the dinosaurs, either. But, the Sharingan isn’t the only dōjutsu Sasuke has access to. And there’s not much Zansul can do against the Rinnegan.

Well, we don’t know the extent of Zansul’s abilities. But, I have a hard time believing he could actually defeat Sasuke. Sasuke can literally teleport or send Zansul into another dimension. What’s Zansul supposed to do about that? And this is exactly why Sasuke needed to lose the Rinnegan. It’s overpowered.

Tatar and the Ultra Particles

So, as we saw, Sakura shows up at the prison as the new nurse. She went because she needed to deliver a message to Sasuke. Apparently, Kakashi had been successful in finding information in the national library.

But, that doesn’t mean Sasuke’s mission is over. It only means that he now has another lead to follow. The book Kakashi found says that the secrets of the Sage of Six Paths’ treatment can be found in the Map of the Heavens. So, what is the Map of the Heavens?

It’s a 12-page picture book that Sakura and Sasuke find in the stacks of the prison library. The book features drawings of the tailed beasts, the Sage of Six Paths, and some other stuff. It also tells the story of how the “Ultra Particles” are what treated the Sage.

But, before I get to the Ultra Particles, why was this book in the prison stacks? Remember that this isn’t only a prison. It’s also an ancient observatory — somewhere research occurred. It was only recently turned into a prison. And Zansul likely chose this spot for his free labor camp for a reason.

Now, back to Ultra Particles. Tatar was the guy who ran the observatory when the Sage of Six Paths visited. Together, they witnessed a starfall that resulted in “Ultra Particles.” That’s the name Tatar gave to whatever the meteorite released. And it’s these particles that healed the Sage.

So, what are Ultra Particles? At this moment, we don’t know. But, they look a lot like chakra. So, it’s possible that Ultra Particles are essentially space chakra. We know the Ōtsutsuki clan came from space. And the Sage was a first-generation descendant of this clan. So, that could be the connection.

Sakura’s Ruby Ring

Let’s talk about Sakura and Sasuke’s relationship. Look, I’m sure there are a lot of fans who love this romantic content we’re getting with them. But, I don’t really care. I like both of them as characters. Yes, I’m a Sakura fan. However, romance isn’t what I watch this series for.

It’s not like I hate romance in anime. There are a lot of very good romance anime out there. Fruits Basket is one example. When it comes to Naruto/Boruto, though, I’m here for action and world-building. So, let’s look at this relationship from a world-building perspective.

One of the big things we learned through this arc is that exchanging rings doesn’t happen in the Land of Fire. Sasuke and Sakura never exchanged rings when they got married. And so, the people of the Land of Redaku assume they’re single.

Later in Episode 283, Sasuke gives Sakura a ruby ring. He does this because he likes the idea of having something to signify that they’re together. Since he’s always away from the village, they’re not physically together all that often. And giving Sakura a ring is his way of reminding her that the space between them isn’t what matters.

Now, I have an issue with this ring. In Episode 282, Sasuke flashed a large ruby to his cellmates. We don’t know where he got this or why he had it. And now, that ruby is cut and implanted into a ring? How’d that happen? When did Sasuke manufacture the ring?

Anyway, I wonder if Sakura is ever going to give Sasuke a ring in return. Sasuke’s cellmates made it pretty clear that wedding rings aren’t only for women. So, it would make sense for Sasuke to have one, too. Sakura had better return the favor.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 283? Do you think Zansul would stand a chance against Sasuke’s Rinnegan? What do you think Ultra Particles are? And, do you expect Sakura to give Sasuke a ring in return? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 284 is available now.

Sasuke’s Story: Infiltration

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 282 begins the Sasuke’s Story arc. Sasuke’s Story is a spin-off manga that only began serialization in October of 2022. You may also know it as Sasuke Retsuden. And, while Sasuke is the titular character of the arc, it also prominently features Sakura.

Something else important to note about this arc is that it doesn’t take place in the present. The episode starts off in the present with Sasuke and his new hawk heading to the Land of Redaku. This is where he’s going after he and Boruto split up and Boruto found himself in Ouga’s maze.

But, we then shift into a flashback for the main content of the arc. It’s about the first time Sasuke visited the Land of Redaku when he went in search of a treatment for Naruto. According to legend, this is where the Sage of Six Paths went for treatment.

As it turns out, there are 2 independent investigations going on in the Land of Redaku. First, Kakashi was sent there to see if he could gain access to the nation’s library. To do this, he became the prince’s tutor. But this is a quick way to get the information the Leaf wants.

And so, Sasuke decides to take matters into his own hands. He travels to the Land of Redaku and infiltrates a prison camp at an observatory. The observatory is where the country holds a number of important historical documents.

Before I wrap up this section, I want to bring up the fact that this arc takes place in the past once again. I may have missed it, but I don’t think we know exactly when this arc takes place. If it’s after the Isshiki fight, then Sasuke doesn’t have his Rinnegan.

Welcome to Jurassic Prison

The most notable feature of the observatory prison camp is the dinosaur that guards it. That’s right, there’s a literal dinosaur that kills anyone who tries to escape. Well, they call it a “dragon beast,” but we all know it’s a dinosaur.

Upon seeing the dinosaur, named Meno, Sasuke even comments that they should be extinct. So, he’s well aware of what he’s looking at. But, he then needs to start rationalizing what he’s seeing. If this really is a dinosaur, how did it come to be here? The most likely answer is that it’s a summon animal of some kind.

However, he also mentions that something still doesn’t add up if Meno is a summon. Whoever summoned him would have to have an immense amount of chakra to keep him around 24/7. Usually, summons don’t stick around for too long because of this limitation.

During his fight against Meno, Sasuke inflicts some pretty server wounds. For example, he cuts the fingers off one of Meno’s hands. But, when he sees Meno the next day, the wounds are gone. So, what’s going on here? Even if Meno was a summon, his wounds shouldn’t disappear.

My theory is that Meno isn’t a summon animal at all. Instead, what we’re seeing is something out of Jurassic Park. Look at what the prisoners are doing out in the “yard.” They’re digging with pick-axes. And we even see one using a brush to clean off rocks. It looks like an archaeological dig.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we find out Zansul is somehow reviving dinosaurs from fossils. At the end of the episode, we learn that he has some robotic body parts. So, it’s not impossible that he has some other futuristic technologies, as well.

Zansul the Outer?

Alright, let’s talk about Zansul, the obvious antagonist of the arc. He’s the warden of the prison. And, as we learn, he has robotic eyes. This detail is important for two reasons. First, it means he’s immune to Sasuke’s Sharingan genjutsu.

And second, it means he has access to advanced technology. Who has the most advanced technology around? Kara. Delta, Code, and Boro were all cyborgs. And Koji Kashin was a clone of Jiraiya. But, Kara’s technology use extends beyond the Inners. Even Outers like Ao benefited from their advancements.

To me, it seems very likely that Zansul has some sort of connection to Kara. But, I don’t think he’s another secret Inner like Ouga. One secret Inner is enough. Introducing another in the very next arc would be lame. So, my assumption is that Zansul is an Outer.

Really, Zansul’s technology is the only reason I think he’s an Outer. There’s no other information pointing to that being the case. And it’s unclear how he would be benefitting Kara in his current position. The other Outers were sent out on missions for Kara. Because of his position at the prison, they can’t use Zansul this way.

So, what if he’s not associated with Kara in any way? Well, then I guess Zansul is the one creating this technology on his own. There’s also still the question of “why?” Why does he have robotic eyes? And why does he use a dinosaur to guard the prison?

It also seems that Zansul knows who Sasuke is. He knows Sasuke can use genjutsu with his eyes. And you’d have to imagine he recognizes the Sharingan considering how famous it is. But if this is the case, why doesn’t he seem concerned that Sasuke is there?

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 282? Have you read any of the Sasuke Retsuden manga? How do you think Meno the dinosaur came to be? And, do you think Zansul is a member of Kara? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 283 is available now.

Yatsume’s Biggest Blunder

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 281 confirmed my suspicions about Yatsume. I started suspecting her in Episode 278 when the idea of a second traitor was introduced. Because she was so mysterious, that naturally made her a prime suspect.

And, since Episode 278, there have been many times when Yatsume has said or done something strange. It even got to the point that I suspected she was Ouga herself. And, as we now know, that turned out to be the case. But, Yatsume’s biggest blunder actually came in Episode 281.

After Boruto, Rokuro, and Yatsume “escape” from the genjutsu, Yatsume does something suspicious. She claims she got a keycard and a map off the Hidden Grass shinobi who was working for Ouga. But, you may have noticed a key detail that makes her claim impossible. She never opened his containment pod.

How could Yatsume get these items off his body if she never touched his body? She never opened the pod he was in. So, she couldn’t have gotten these items from him. And that’s what sealed it, for me. At that point, I was certain that Yatsume was the one behind everything.

Though, I will admit I had some doubts for a second. Even though I knew what Yatsume claimed was impossible, I figured it could be a mistake. It could be poor writing or us simply not getting to see the part when Yatsume opened the pod.

However, once I decided that probably wasn’t the case, something else seemed off. Why didn’t Boruto or Rokuro call out Yatsume here? Rokuro still didn’t seem to trust Yatsume as Boruto did. So, he shouldn’t have been blinded by trust. He should have noticed that what she said didn’t make sense.

Ouga, the Eighth Inner of Kara

Something I wasn’t expecting at all was for Ouga (Yatsume) to be an Inner of Kara. I expected an Outer to be behind all this. But, I’m not sure I like the reveal of Ouga being an Inner. It doesn’t feel like a natural development.

As she describes it, Amado turned her into an Inner by experimenting on her brain. And, just to be clear, there isn’t anything inherently different about Inners. That’s the name for the inner circle of Kara. So, it’s a bit unclear how she could be “turned into an Inner” through experimentation.

She followed Jigen like the other Inners. But, it doesn’t seem like she had some grand goal she wanted to achieve through working with him as the others did. Instead, she seems to have been a proxy for Amado. And this makes it strange that Amado never told the Leaf Village about her.

As I’m sure you remember, Amado defected from Kara to the Leaf Village. In fact, he was never a “true” member of Kara. His goal was to take down Jigen by using Koji Kashin — and he failed. However, that still doesn’t explain why he never brought up Ouga.

Now, I want to go back to Ouga being Amado’s proxy for a moment. All the Inners have Roman numeral face tattoos going from 1 to 9. Amado doesn’t have one of these tattoos, though. Instead, Ouga has his VIII (8) tattoo. In that respect, I guess it does make sense there was an Inner we never met.

And, as Ouga tells it, Jigen attacked her and damaged her brain because she was trying to study him. It’s very possible that Amado believed Jigen killed Ouga at this time. Or, he figured a non-combatant wasn’t worth mentioning.

Not a Desire, a Dream

Let’s quickly go over the Inners of Kara as a refresher. Going by their numbers, there was Delta, Koji, Boro, Jigen, Victor, Code, Deepa, Ouga, Kawaki, and Amado. Amado’s the only one who doesn’t have a number, which is why I put him last.

Also, you could argue that Kawaki was never actually an Inner. That’s fair. But, since he has the IX (9) tattoo, I’m going to include him here. Of these 9 numbered members, we know Amado controlled at least 2 directly. These were Koji Kashin and Ouga.

Additionally, he had indirect control over a few others. We know for a fact that he could control Delta’s body with voice commands. And the same is likely true for Boro since his body was also heavily experimented on. So, Amado pretty much controlled 5 of the 10 total Kara Inners.

Now, let’s get back to Episode 281 and Ouga. At the end of the episode, Boruto uses his father’s signature Talk-no-Jutsu on her. And thanks to his words, Ouga became cute. I preferred her Yatsume form over her Ouga form at first. But, once we got the shot of Ouga blushing, that all changed.

What’s a bit unfortunate is that Ouga is an anime-original character. This means that it’s doubtful we’ll get to see her again. And, I would have actually liked for her to make a return. It would have been cool to see her again in the future after she finds a dream of her own.

But, if Ouga is anime-original and we won’t see her again, was there a point to this arc? Most likely, yes. The anime has used anime-original arcs to set up main story arcs in the past. Ouga’s arc seems like a soft introduction to Code’s arc.

Conclusion

What do you think about Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 281? Did you notice the mistake Yatsume made with the keycard and map? How do you feel about Ouga being the eighth Inner of Kara? And, do you think we’ll ever see her again? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And, come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 282 is available now.

Who Framed Kiseru?

Did you know that Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 280 is the 1,000th episode of Naruto? That’s a huge milestone. And yet, Episode 280 wasn’t anything special. In a lot of ways, this episode was actually bad. I’d say it’s the worst episode so far in the Ouga’s maze arc.

But, just because it’s the worst episode of the arc doesn’t mean there aren’t things to talk about. And the first of those things is, who framed Kiseru? He claims that he wasn’t the one who killed Batta and Fugou. So, if not him, then who?

Even though we went over the possible culprits in last week’s review, let’s briefly do it again. We know it wasn’t Boruto and we can be pretty sure it wasn’t Shamo. Despite Rokuro having Batta and Fugou’s cards, he claims it wasn’t him either. And despite Kiseru having a motive, he says someone set him up.

Why should we believe Rokuro and Kiseru, though? Well, in Rokuro’s case, it’s simple. Why would Rokuro lie? He’s a convicted killer whom we’ve seen kill other people in this arc. He has no incentive to lie about not killing Batta and Fugou. In fact, he’d want to brag about it.

As for Kiseru, of course, we know that he’s actually an ANBU plant. So, he wasn’t the one to kill Batta and Fugou. But, think of it this way, why would he offer up his communication device as evidence? Doesn’t that make him look more guilty?

Well, not if he’s trying to clear his name. He’s admitting he took the device back from Batta. If he was guilty, why would he do that and then still insist he’s innocent? He wouldn’t.

We can also be pretty sure it wasn’t Namua. So, that leaves Yatsume.

Kiseru’s Mission

One of the two big twists of the episode is that Kiseru is a member of the Hidden Leaf’s ANBU. I already didn’t think he was a plant for Ouga. But, this confirms it. He’s only in Ouga’s maze because of his mission to get to the bottom of the disappearances.

With that said, Kiseru is still very much an Outer of Kara. Does this mean Kara has infiltrated even the Leaf’s ANBU? No. It’s the opposite. Kiseru is an ANBU operative who infiltrated Kara as an Outer. The ANBU believe Ouga’s maze has a connection to the remnants of Kara.

Since the ANBU believe there’s a connection, it’s very possible that there actually is. But, I have to say that from my perspective, this connection doesn’t make much sense. Who from Kara would be running this experiment? And what would they be trying to achieve with it?

There’s only 1 Kara Inner remaining: Code. And based on everything we’ve seen of Code, he doesn’t seem like the kind of person to run an experiment. That was Amado’s job. So, if Ouga’s maze really is run by a Kara member, it would have to be some new Outer we’ve never met before.

But, this leads to another question. Does whoever’s running the experiment not know that Kiseru is an Outer, as well? Or, do they know he’s an ANBU plant? If they know Kiseru’s an Outer, you’d expect them to have tried to make contact with him.

So, either they don’t know he’s an Outer or they know he’s actually a spy. If Kiseru is lucky, it’s the former. If it’s the latter, then I don’t expect him to survive the arc. And, he might actually be the only character to die, in the end.

Ouga’s Genjutsu

At the end of Episode 280, we learn that Ouga’s maze is just a genjutsu. None of those who died in the maze are actually dead — though, that doesn’t mean they’re safe. But, this brings us back to the question, “what’s the point of the experiment?”

Let’s assume that someone associated with Kara is behind Ouga’s maze, as the ANBU suspect. What do they get out of this experiment? I don’t see how this experiment has anything to do with Kara’s original goal. Didn’t they want to create a second Infinite Tsukuyomi?

The only explanation I can come up with is that they want a lot of data on the line between life and death. Why do they want this? Maybe they can implant that data into Code somehow and help him awaken as a new Ōtsutsuki. I have no idea, though.

There are some issues with this theory, though. For starters, what’s the point of keeping all the test subjects alive? We know that everyone who “died” in Ouga’s maze is actually alive. Why is that? What reason does the experimenter have for keeping them alive? It seems more like a liability, to me.

Another issue is the inclusion of Boruto in the experiment. Surely, if a member of Kara is running the experiment, they know who Boruto is, right? I mean, he’s the vessel of Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki. That’s kind of a big deal for Kara.

So, does the experimenter not know who Boruto is? Or, was Boruto their target all along? If it’s the latter, why didn’t they target Boruto from the start? The Thunder Train he was on wasn’t the first to go missing. We know this from the ANBU. So, it doesn’t seem like he was the target.

Conclusion

What do you think of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 280? Would you have rather seen a special episode for the 1,000th episode of the franchise? Do you think Ouga’s maze is connected to Kara? And, if so, what’s the point of the experiment? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media site of choice — links are in the footer. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 281 is available now.