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.”
The best moment is the climactic counter: Boruto uses a wire string to redirect a puppet’s arm into disabling its own core. It’s a callback to Sasori vs. Sakura/Chiyo, but simplified, slowed down, and made readable for a younger audience. In an era of Demon Slayer levels of flash, Boruto 122’s quiet, mechanical fight is almost nostalgic—not for Naruto , but for the pre- Shippuden era when tactics mattered more than explosions. The episode is not flawless. The premise—a stolen scroll containing a “forbidden puppet technique”—is a MacGuffin so generic it hurts. Tanigakure’s worldbuilding consists of exactly one cliff and one house. And Konohamaru, the team’s jonin leader, does absolutely nothing except look worried, continuing the series’ unfortunate trend of sidelining interesting adult characters. boruto 122
But beneath its modest budget and low-stakes premise, Episode 122 succeeds for a simple, almost subversive reason: it stops trying to be Naruto and finally remembers how to be Boruto . Let’s address the elephant in the room. Puppet jutsu is sacred ground. In Naruto Shippuden , Sasori of the Red Sand elevated puppetry from a gimmick (Kankuro’s Karasu) into a haunting philosophy of immortality. Episode 122 invites that comparison immediately. Kankitsu, the villain of the week, is a failed Tanigakure shinobi who uses Kugutsu no Jutsu with a tragic backstory (dead master, destroyed village, desire for revenge). Boruto’s response is not the typical shonen “I
In the sprawling, high-stakes world of Boruto , where gods and cyborgs now dictate the power ceiling, Episode 122, “The Puppet Battle,” is a curious anomaly. On its surface, it is a filler-lite detour: Team 7 (minus Sarada) arrives in the hidden village of Tanigakure—the "Village of the Meteor Hammer"—to retrieve a stolen scroll and encounters a rogue puppet user named Kankitsu. It’s a callback to Sasori vs
Furthermore, the emotional weight of Kankitsu’s backstory is rushed. We learn of his master’s death in a single flashback of two shots. Compare that to the layered grief of Zabuza and Haku, and the episode feels thin. Boruto Episode 122 is not a masterpiece. It won’t convert detractors who despise the sequel. But for those still watching, it offers a quiet reassurance: the series understands that its protagonist’s strength should not be raw power, but perspective. Boruto wins not because he is the son of the Hokage or a vessel for a god, but because he sees through the self-deception of revenge.
– A lean, thoughtful filler episode that respects its lineage without being crushed by it.