Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×268 Review – “Target: The School Festival”

Boruto anime episode 268, titled ‘Target: The School Festival’, showed the mysterious assassin growing quite bold in their mission to attack Kae. Also, Kawaki made a mistake that might cost him his current mission.

With Kawaki coming face-to-face with the hooded assassin in the previous episode, it made sense for him to act a bit paranoid in ‘Target: The School Festival’ as the public was invited to watch the kids put on a school play. Kawaki became so focused on protecting Kae that he ignored following the recommended ninja protocol of reporting the assassin attack. I get that Kawaki wanted to protect Kae on his own, but I wouldn’t be surprised if not reporting the incident will come to bite him down the line.

Not only that, but I can also see some drama arise once Kae realizes that Kawaki was told to attend the Ninja Academy to keep an eye on her. It’s obvious that Kae thinks of her classmates as her friends. She’s closest to Kawaki. And while Kawaki’s feelings for her are genuine, I can see Kae doubting their friendship because it all began after Kawaki was handed the current mission. I think it’s clear that a rift will occur between the two with Kawaki having to regain Kae’s trust somehow.

As for the assassin, and the evil group behind wanting to kill Kae, they grew quite bold to complete their objective. After failing to attack Kae in the infirmary, ‘Target: The School Festival’ had Kae’s enemies attacking the entire Ninja Academy for a chance to end Kae. I liked how the adult teachers worked together with Boruto and his crew to find and collect the numerous paper bombs spread across the school. They couldn’t call for outside help because the assassin threatened to blow up the entire school, and the civilians inside, if they did.

While Boruto and his classmates weren’t directly involved with protecting Kae, I appreciated Shikadai (the smartest of his generation) stating how everyone collecting paper bombs felt as if they were playing into the assassin’s plan. At least, he was aware of the situation even though the writers didn’t allow him or anyone else to do anything important because of the current arc being Kawaki-centric. None of Kawaki’s actual peers appeared when he confronted the assassin on the Ninja Academy grounds or when he used a Shadow Clone to have a paper bomb detonate away from the Ninja Academy.

The writers continued to confuse the audience when it came to Hana and her possible link to the assassin. I don’t know about you, but currently, I feel that Hana’s under some kind of Genjutsu or mind-control shenanigans. The way she was yawning and even had a headache (that made her fall to the ground in front of her students) were clear signs something was up with her. And while Hana getting hurt in the explosion when trying to help Kawaki was expected from a teacher like her, I couldn’t help but side-eye the action. Was Hana the actual assassin and did she deliberately get caught in the explosion to keep up her disguise? Hmmm.

Also, where was Kae’s butler during all of the commotion? He does know ninjutsu. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s revealed to have nefarious motives. He’s the closest to Kae due to being with her outside the Ninja Academy.

As for the comedic moments in the episode, ‘Target: The School Festival’ had Boruto and his peers have a lot of fun. Yes to kids being allowed to be kids. I laughed when the younglings realized they should have banned professional ninjas like Boruto and the rest from playing kunai throwing games to win prizes. Salad got so serious about winning she activated her Sharingan to hit the targets.

Denki, Iwabe, and Metal Lee got to visit the ‘Haunted House’. Their little scene connected to what the younglings went through back in episode 264. The point Neon made about using insects and drones to hunt ghosts was interesting. From what I could understand, I think it was meant to show Denki how even the supernatural space had room for scientific ninja tools.

And the kid from Kae’s class (who is into creating the best sweets) going to Chocho for advice made a lot of sense. Chocho is undoubtedly an expert in the Hidden Leaf Village when it comes to judging food.

What did you think of ‘Target: The School Festival’? Do you think Hana should be trusted?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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