Naruto: 'Boruto' Pits Its Heroes Against Each Other

The latest chapter of the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations turned out to be a double episode release to commemorate reaching the milestone 75th episode of the series. Both halves of the 1-hour special were good and full of twists and reveals - however the first episode delivered a highlight fan-service moment: Boruto and Sarada taking on their Team 10 classmates, Inojin, Shikadai, and Chocho!

The battle between Team 7 and Team 10 was a good as fans had hoped, with Shikadai leading his squad in a coordinated chess game against his two friends. Even though Boruto and Sarada both dug into their respective bag of tricks (shadow clones, the Sharingan, etc.), arrogantly believing themselves to be more than a match for Ino-Shika-Cho, but man where they ever wrong!

In what might be his greatest moment of badassery yet, Shikadai proved how far he's come as both an individual shinobi, and a potential future leader of the Hidden Leaf. Shikadai was able to correctly predict Boruto and Sarada's combined attack strategy, and used that insight against them. Even when Boruto and Sarada tried to escape after the initial dust-up with Team 10, Shikadai had a plan in the works to track them and strike at them again - not holding back on the second attempt. Boruto was certain he had his friend's number, using his shadow clones to launch one of his signature Boruto strike attacks - but that's exactly what Shikadai was counting on, as he and Inojin switched appearances, drawing Boruto in to attack the fake Shikadai, while the real Shikadai finally trapped his friend with the Shadow Imitation Technique, while Cho-Cho shutdown Sarada. The fight ends with Shikadai declaring a "checkmate" win over Boruto.

The members of Team 7 and Team 10 managed to surprise each other with secret techniques they've held back - with Boruto revealing to his friends the "Invisible Rasengan" technique he developed under Sasuke's tutelage, for the battle with Momoshiki Otsutsuki. Ultimately, the group of friends bridged the schism between them, as Boruto's impassioned defense of Mitsuki, plus the mysterious snake Mitsuki left as a message to Boruto, ultimately convinced Shikadai that the truly "right" thing to do was believe in and support his friends.

Right now, the kids of Boruto are still young and growing in their abilities, and the belief systems that will drive their growth as shinobi. While this first big conflict between them felt like an exhibition match, it did tease the possibility of what could happen later, if one day a truly serious division came between them.

Catch new episodes of Bortuo: Naruto Next Generations Thursdays streaming on Funimation, Hulu, and Crunchyroll.