Boruto Brings Back Ibiki in Latest Episode

With Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto franchise officially crossed the 20 year mark last year, there's been lots of time to go back and think about some of the more memorable characters introduced throughout its tenure. This is especially true for one of the most memorable arcs in the franchise overall, the Chunin Exams, which opened up Naruto's world and showed fans its inner workings as the young Naruto fought hard to become a Chunin. The most intriguing element of this, however, was the first test that introduced us all to the intense commander of the Torture and Interogation Force, Ibiki Morino.

But appear fading into the background as the series continued, Ibiki surprisingly made his grand return to the anime with the latest episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations as he finds himself assigned as the leading shinobi commanding a new young team of ninja.

Episode 139 of the series introduces us to Team 40, which features some of Boruto's former ninja school classmates. With their leader currently injured, Ibiki is assigned as the replacement. What's most interesting, strangely, is that he still appears to be the commander of the Torture and Interrogation Force. In fact, he's still just as famous for being intense as he was in the original Naruto series.

As the leader of Team 40, he nearly breaks them all apart. But after seeing just how willing the three of them would be willing to work together, and what they're willing to sacrifice to do so, Ibiki decides to keep the team intact as they head in the future of the series. Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is preparing itself for its next big arc adapting elements from the original manga, so these episodes taking time out to revisit older characters are sure to be a hit with fans.

Ibiki made a huge stamp on the series as he oversaw the written part of the Chunin Exams, and while he's admittedly less intense in this latest episode, it's clear that the current peace time that Konoha is enjoying has not really changed his style. But what are your thoughts on Ibiki's return? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.