WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 231, "The Rusty Sword," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Episode 231 of the Boruto anime managed to deliver with an intense thriller centered around the largely untested Team 15. As blades flew, Hanabi Hyuga's former pupils, under the leadership of Wasabi Izuno, struggled against a band of murderous bandits. Team 15 was barely able to succeed in their mission, with Tsubaki forced to kill the bandit's samurai leader, rather than team leader, Wasabi, highlighting a pitfall in Hokage Naruto's new Chūnin selection process.
The rank of Chūnin is meant to represent a ninja who has achieved enough mental acuity and physical prowess to lead a team of other ninja. Team 15's performance and reliance on Tsubaki exemplify a key criticism many fans have levied at Lord Seventh. That is to say, Hokage Naruto allowed detrimental changes to occur in the most recent Chūnin Exams.
Tsubaki Proves the Exam was a Sham
As Tsubaki struggled with her emotional arc throughout the episode, she reflected on Sazanka, her former peer who had gone rogue. Tsubaki directly stated to her teammates that, in the past, Sazanka was known as "The Second Coming of Mifune," drawing direct comparisons to the legendary samurai.
If this statement is taken at face value, this would place Sazanka among the likes of Mifune, Hanzo the Salamander and the less experienced Sannin. Tsubaki's ability to defeat Sazanka in combat should in turn represent a feat surpassing Chūnin level, and well above Wasabi.
Considering that Tsubaki casually utilized her Secret Sword: Snowstorm Slash to devastating effect during her battle with Sazanka, the results of the Chūnin Exams become more questionable. The Snowstorm Slash is a move Tsubaki never used in her battle against Denki, and as this episode suggests, she essentially threw the match against him. While this could be due to her desire to remain in Konoha for as long as she can, there is no doubt that she could have easily overwhelmed Denki in combat.
At the end of Boruto Episode 231, the audience is offered a brief glimpse at the aftermath of Tsubaki's climactic clash with the rogue samurai. As Tsubaki limped alongside her teammates, Wasabi admitted that she does not think she would have been able to handle the mission as well as Tsubaki did. The young Chūnin's honesty is endearing, and this is yet another confirmation that the most recent Chūnin Exam, depicted in Episodes 222 to 226, was not as effective in its selection as its predecessors.
Naruto Went Back on his Word
The Boruto franchise made a distinct effort to demonstrate that Hokage Naruto held the Chūnin Exams in high esteem in the movie, manga and anime adaptations of the "Versus Momoshiki" arc. That arc, which featured Boruto's first Chūnin Exam, used the Exams as a focal point for the philosophical battle between Naruto's "hard work" and Momoshiki's "chakra harvesting." This is why it is particularly disappointing to see that Lord Seventh has yielded on his firm beliefs.
The Chūnin ceremony was abnormally less strict than it had been in the past. In both of the previous anime Chūnin Exams, only one contestant out of dozens became Chūnin. Although this was not mandated, it reflects the strict guidelines by which these ninja were judged. Looking at the most recent exam, a total of four contestants were able to achieve the rank of Chūnin, suggesting that Naruto has allowed the bar to be lowered during these supposedly peaceful times.
With the inclusion of ninja technology, Naruto has allowed physically incapable ninja, like Denki, to have a chance at succeeding during the exams. While this may be a positive step in terms of communal accessibility, the rule change insults the sacrifices made by Naruto himself, as well as all Five Kage, to defeat Momoshiki, who represented the quick-and-easy nature of ninja technology.
Naruto uncharacteristically allowing such changes to be made would make sense when looking at the politics of the Boruto-era world. During an era where there is peace, between the five nations at least, mission requests have declined heavily, and many modern families do not view the ninja path as a viable career path. With Naruto, even as Hokage, still forced to take orders from the Land of Fire's feudal lord, there's sure to be pressure to add more Chūnin to Konoha's ranks, at any cost.
Even so, it ultimately falls on Naruto as the Seventh Hokage of Konoha to prepare his seedling ninja for the upcoming threat. In the face of the Otsutski danger, only capable ninja will be able to fight alongside Lord Seventh and the new generation of powerful shinobi, like Sarada Uchiha and Boruto Uzumaki.
