Boruto: Naruto Next Generations 1×271 Review – “The Island of Treachery”

Boruto anime episode 271, titled ‘The Island of Treachery’, was all about the evil Hana figuring out a way to end Kae’s life on a secluded island.

With the evil version of Hana (whom I call Hana B) taking over the good version of Hana (Hana A) in the previous episode, I liked how the writers didn’t waste time showcasing what Hana B had planned. ‘The Island of Treachery’ opened with Hana B’s plan already in progress. She had somehow talked the Ninja Academy into letting her take the entire class to a secluded island for a one-day-long field trip. Apparently, it was supposed to make up for the kids not being able to go ahead with performing in the school play during the school festival.

Compared to her more timid counterpart, Hana B’s quite dangerous as an assassin. And I liked that about her. It’s about time we got to see Kawaki face someone that posed a bit of a challenge to him. Of course, it’s clear that Hana B’s not as strong as Kawaki if they ever were to fight each other head-on. Fortunately for Hana B, she just needed to seize the right moment to kill Kae to complete her mission.

The way she went about everything was impressive, in my opinion. The first thing she did was make sure the kids lost their tracking or searching capabilities. She injured a student’s ninja dog named Kikuchiyo (poor puppy!) and then proceeded to destroy Neon’s drone. There was a kid who could use the Aburame Clan‘s insect-centric techniques for surveillance, but his range wasn’t the best. So, Hana B didn’t have to worry about him.

Other than that, she played along with the rumor that Sosha shared about a rogue ninja hiding deep in the island’s forest to keep the kids on edge. She also made sure the class lost all the food they brought for the trip.

I liked the statement Hana B made about how she could have easily disposed of the kids if only she didn’t need to maintain her cover as a teacher to remain in the Hidden Leaf Village. Hana B did come across as an assassin who was all about sticking to her orders no matter how many inconveniences said orders created between her and her current goal. Except for an action she did at the end of the episode, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Along with Hana B slowly growing closer to striking Kae, the episode also focused on Kawaki’s sense of uneasiness. He knew something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He just couldn’t make himself blame his teacher without proof. And while the way Kawaki finally realized what Hana B was doing was predictable (by making use of the footage from Neon’s damaged drone), at least it got the job done to get him on the right track.

With Kawaki and Himawari chasing after Hana B (who had taken Kae hostage), I’m a bit confused about Hana B’s endgame. Throughout the episode, she did a lot to maintain her cover as a teacher in Konoha. However, she was quick to drop said cover and even strike Kae in front of Kawaki and Himawari.

Did Hana B do that because she had another way to get off the island? Or was she ready to play a deadly game where she went after the students stuck on the island one-by-one Predator style? But if outright murdering her entire class was the case, again, what was her plan to deal with Kawaki? Hmmm.

I’m looking forward to seeing the students banding together and giving Hana B a tough time.

As for whether or not Kae’s actually dead, I highly doubt it. I think that Hana A was somehow able to take control of Hana B’s body to ensure the kunai strike wasn’t deadly for Kae. I would be incredibly surprised if the writers took such a dark turn with the narrative and confirmed that Kae was dead.

Coming to the possibility of Hana A surviving the current ordeal, I wouldn’t be shocked if she sacrificed herself to protect her students from Hana B. I could be proved wrong, but as of right now, I really don’t know how the Naruto/Boruto world could give her the mental aid she required.

With the current arc ending in basically two more episodes, I’m definitely quite excited to see how the writers will wrap everything up.

What did you think of ‘The Island of Treachery’? Do you think Kae is dead?

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.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary