‘Naruto Shippuden’ Ends, ‘Boruto’ Begins: What To Expect In Coming Spinoff


The highly-anticipated Naruto Shippuden Episode 500 finally aired last Thursday, March 23. While the episode featured the joyous occasion of Naruto and Hinata’s wedding, fans cannot help but feel a bit sad; the episode was also the finale of the long-running Naruto Shippuden anime series. However, fans need not worry, as the spinoff, titled Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, will start airing next week and will also feature characters from the parent Naruto series.

Naruto’s First Teacher

In the recently released Naruto Shippuden finale, which may be viewed on Crunchyroll, started with Naruto’s first teacher, Iruka, remembering the time when the young Naruto’s antics almost went out of control. At that time, Naruto was still a boy studying at the Ninja Academy. With no family and people fearing him as Nine-TailS Jinchuuriki, he was generally shunned and avoided.

As a result, Naruto is willing to do anything for others’ attention. Unfortunately, this included pranks, usually silly little attention-getters. However, there was one particular prank that was way out of line. Naruto stole a scroll from the office of the Third Hokage, a scroll that contained the teachings of the forbidden technique, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, or Shadow Clone technique. After Iruka caught up with Naruto, he reprimanded the child for his rash behavior. This surprised Naruto, as it was the first time that someone is genuinely concerned for him. This simple gesture from his teacher spurred Naruto to change for the better and strive to become the best ninja he could be.

While he still considered Iruka as his first teacher, Naruto always wanted their bond to be more than a mentor and pupil connection. As such, Naruto asked Iruka to be present during his wedding in the Naruto Shippuden Episode 500 not just as a teacher, but as his father. It was a decision that Hinata already guessed, as she thanked Iruka for guiding Naruto and eventually called him father too.

[Image by cocamert|Flickr|Cropped and Resized|CC BY-SA 2.0]

It was a joyous occasion as all of Naruto’s friends were present. The gang arrived at the festivities bringing with them the gift they thought would be most appropriate for the occasion, but proved to be a very subjective benchmark indeed as people were shocked when Team Guy made a spectacular, although a bit unusual, entrance. Led by Might Guy and Rock Lee doing handstand walks, the team proceeded to the reception area. Guy and Rock Lee entertained onlookers by juggling their gifts, which was a pair of dumbbells, while a thoroughly embarrassed Tenten could do anything but watch her teammates.

Surprisingly, Sasuke was able to send his congratulatory message in the Naruto Shippuden finale as well. Unfortunately, he did not personally come to the wedding, but sent the message via his pet hawk, which sought out Sakura to deliver the message.

End of An Era

After the finale aired, fans flooded social media with messages expressing how they felt with the closure of Naruto Shippuden. While there were those who expressed sadness that the series has finally ended, a lot also expressed their heartfelt thanks to the long-running series and its characters whom they already considered as friends as they practically grew up with them.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Spoilers

But the story of Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of his friends does not have to end with Naruto Shippuden. The spinoff, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, is already scheduled to start airing on April 5. In the coming anime series, fans will still be able to see their favorite characters, as Naruto’s generation is still part of its storyline. For fans not wanting to know some of the plot details, please stop reading, the paragraphs ahead contain some spoilers.

As the name suggest, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations follows the life of young Boruto, Naruto’s son. And just like his father before him, Boruto is in that awkward stage of struggling to be recognized for who he is. Most people see him as the Hokage’s son, but the identity does not suit him well, he feels the need to forge his own ninja way, just like his father did before him. And since Naruto is already the Hokage in the coming spinoff, he will be very busy in running Konoha, making Boruto feel neglected.

Fortunately, Sasuke will become his mentor, giving him the guidance and direction he sorely needs. The village will be attacked by powerful enemies once more, allowing Boruto to put to good use the skills he honed under Sasuke’s tutelage.

Part of his team will be Sarada, Sasuke’s daughter. Yes, Sasuke will finally settle down, but it is left to fans to figure out the identity of his wife, a very easy task to do. Completing their three-man team is Mitsuki. As for a big surprise: Mitsuki is actually Orochimaru’s son, but fans will have to wait for the anime to see how that happens.

[Feaured Image by cocamert|Flickr|Cropped and Resized|CC BY-SA 2.0]

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