‘Boruto’ Shows-Off Just How Strong the New Ino-Shika-Cho is

The Ino-Shika-Cho formation is one of the stalwarts of the Naruto franchise, and it has carried over to Boruto: Naruto Next Generations with a new line up of Shikadai, Cho-Cho, and Inojin.

The strength of this new combination has been tested before, but the latest episode proved just how strong their teamwork can be as they attempted to stop Boruto and Sarada from following after Mitsuki.

Team 10 was ordered by Shikamaru to retrieve Boruto and Sarada, who have been labeled as rogue ninjas since they have left the Hidden Leaf Village in order to figure out why Mitsuki abandoned the village. Though Boruto and Sarada tried giving them the slip, Team 10 eventually caught up to Boruto and Sarada and had to stop them from running by force.

It’s here where the series pits the two teams against one another, and fans see the strength of the new Ino-Shika-Cho combination. Shikadai is pretty confident that he’ll defeat Boruto and Sarada, and in a way that makes up for his loss to the cheating Boruto during the Chunin Exams, Shikadai proves his intelligence far outweighs Boruto’s.

Sarada gets pinned down by Cho-Cho’s giant hand techniques, so Boruto is left to face Shikadai and Inojin alone. Having to dodge both the Shadow Paralysis and Inojin’s paintings, Boruto soon finds himself in hot water. He tries a counterattack in which he launches a smoke bomb at Shikadai, blocking his vision.

Using this window, Boruto attempts to make his way in with a group of shadow clones and is successful at reaching Shikadai, but it’s revealed to actually be Inojin in disguise. The real Shikadai, in fact, was successful in capturing Boruto in his Shadow Jutsu and Boruto loses the match. Shikadai and the others were about to take Boruto and Sarada back to the village, but when Boruto pleads with Shikadai and he learns about Mitsuki’s left behind snake, Shikadai becomes curious.

Mitsuki’s leaving the village left Shikadai with plenty of questions, and there are too many suspicious elements, Shikadai, Cho-Cho, and Inojin decide to accompany Boruto and Sarada as they all try and find out Mitsuki’s wherabouts. With this, Boruto and Sarada now have a better chance and goes to show the strength of this new Ino-Shika-Cho line-up.

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto, Naruto ran in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump for 700 chapters. The story follows a young ninja with a sealed demon within him that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and featuring the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.