WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 229, "Breach of Orders," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In the Naruto series, one of the most intriguing things has always been how animals have been depicted. They've been mostly used as weapons, in addition to being companions, as seen with the toads that Jiraiya and Naruto allied with while in their Sage Modes, as well as the dogs that Kakashi and Kiba's clan used in the various wars over the years. However, many saw this as the animals being robbed of agency, with missions such as rounding up various bears and cats when the kids were young being deemed as animal cruelty. Well, in the Boruto anime, major mistakes are made once more as the young shinobi come off way more violent and uncaring in the Konoha forest.
The Tailed Beasts, for example, could also be considered victims of animal cruelty as the Sage of the Six Paths, while he had good intentions for them, lost control when he passed. They were blamed for so much turmoil in the ninja world, with the likes of Madara and Obito turning Kurama into a destroyer as they were left unchecked for humanity to attack. It's only when Naruto accepted the Nine-Tails as his brother, that he changed everyone's minds so they could treat the beasts with love and respect rather than tools and enemies.
Unfortunately, Team 5 didn't get that memo to treat animals better as seen when Kawaki joined up. He watched on as they hunted an endangered panda in the wild, but what ensued was utter chaos and a mean streak that Naruto or Boruto didn't even have that when they chased animals around in the Hidden Leaf.
Here, the teens ran down the bear, with the brazen Metal Lee trying to show off his taijutsu. He cornered the animal and began kicking it up, brutally assaulting the animal with his taijutsu techniques. The panda was able to swat him away and flee, but as it ran, Iwabe then used his Earth-Jutsu to trap the creature before Denki, decided to use an electric net. It shocked the animal unconscious but what was truly scary was the close-up of the panda's face. It was literally screaming in pain from the abuse, with its facial expressions being that of suffering. The panda ended up collapsing with smoke coming off its skin, and the kids basking in the glow of victory, which even Kawaki found strange.
It's not a good message and honestly, a terrible practice because the youngsters should be more careful and tender, especially with such rare species. It'd have been better to see them catching petty thieves, rescuing runaway kids, and embarking on other missions rather than bullying animals they're supposed to corral. Hopefully, this changes moving forward because it just doesn't paint Konoha in a good light as these kids could end up killing animals accidentally, defeating the vision Naruto had for animals in general.
