'Boruto' Preview and Synopsis Reveal a Big Kage Ambush

The latest episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations saw a drastic turn in the "Mitsuki Arc," as Boruto, Sarada, and the members of Team 10 all reached the border of the Land of Earth, hoping to rescue Mitsuki from the two mysterious villains who seemingly absconded with him from Hidden Leaf. That resulted in Boruto and Co. having to battle Kokuyou and Sekiei, the two enforcers of new villain Lord Ku. The fight ended when Boruto finally caught up to Mitsuki, only to have his mysterious friend betray him, as he hit Boruto with a nasty Lightning jutsu strike.

As you can see in the preview above and synopsis below, the next episode of Boruto will be titled "Mitsuki's Friend", but it will certainly be about something much bigger than what's going on with Mitsuki. After hearing from Naruto that there's some kind of plot brewing within her borders, the Kage of the Land of Earth, Kurotsuchi, will find herself in Lord Ku's crosshairs, facing an ambush from Ku and his Akuta monsters!

"Episode 80: Mitsuki's Friends - Mitsuki refuses to return to the village with Boruto and the others, and instead wish to continue on with Kokuyō's group. During this, Sekiei's become more ill, and his condition also worsens. In order to help the suffering Sekiei, Kokuyō heads in the direction of their comrades, and during this time Sekiei says to Mitsuki "I want you to teach me about humans". Around this time, Kurotsuchi, the Fourth Tsuchikage, is looking after her grandfather, Ōnoki, who's health is in shambles, when she is attacked by a group of unidentified people."

As you can see in the preview footage, it won't just be Kurotsuchi going up against Lord Ku's forces - the Land of Earth Kage will have to throw down with Lord Ku himself! With fans suspecting that Ku's identity is tied to the classic Naruto series, this battle between him and Kurotsuchi could have much greater significance and resonance than most fans realize. If Lord Ku is actually Onoki's "dead" grandson Kozuchi resurrected in some way, then his battle with Kurotsuchi would be a family rivalry, possibly built around the resentment of Onoki favoring Kurotsuchi in his grandson's absence.

With the "Mitsuki Arc" being exclusive to the Boruto anime, there is no real way to predict how the various story threads are going to come together. What we have seen is that the new Boruto opening credits tease a major battle that will involve the reunited Team 7, Team 10, and Gaara's adopted son Shinki and his team from the Chunin Exams; whether or not that battle is tied to Lord Ku, or some other threat, remains to be seen...

Catch Boruto streaming weekly on Crunchroll and Hulu - and the English Dub Saturdays on Toonami.