Boruto’s response is not the typical shonen “I will beat you and we will be friends.” Nor is it Naruto’s “Talk no Jutsu.” Instead, Boruto acknowledges Kankitsu’s pain (“I understand wanting to protect someone important”) but firmly rejects his method. The pivotal line comes when Boruto says: “Using your master’s legacy to destroy what he protected—that’s not honoring him. That’s just your own selfishness.”
On paper, he is a Sasori-lite. In execution, however, the episode cleverly avoids the trap of imitation. Kankitsu’s puppets aren’t humanoid masterpieces; they are rugged, utilitarian, and animalistic (a scorpion tail, a spider-like trap). The choreography is rough, scrappy, and refreshingly low-tier. Unlike Sasori’s hundred puppets or the later Otsutsuki dimensional warping, this fight feels like a ninja fight again. Boruto can’t spam Rasengan or vanishing tricks; he has to think, dodge, and use wire strings of his own. The episode’s true strength lies in its protagonist. Modern Boruto (the manga/anime) often struggles to balance the character’s privilege with his growth. Here, Boruto faces a foe who is essentially a mirror: a talented young shinobi who lost his mentor and blames the entire system. boruto 122
This is mature writing for a 12-year-old character. Boruto doesn’t try to convert Kankitsu; he simply exposes the hypocrisy of revenge disguised as grief. And in the end, Kankitsu is arrested, not redeemed. The episode resists the saccharine conclusion that every villain deserves a hug. Some people, it argues, just choose the wrong path. Visually, Episode 122 is not going to appear on any sakuga reels. The character models are stiff, and the backgrounds are sparse. But director Yuki Kinoshita makes a virtue of necessity. The puppet battle is shot in wide, static frames that emphasize positioning and strategy over impact frames. When Boruto’s Shadow Clone feints and he slips behind Kankitsu’s puppet, you feel the tactical geometry of it. Boruto’s response is not the typical shonen “I