The Legend of the Monster Cat

Iwabee stokes himself up, sure that reaching chūnin brings him nearer to becoming Hokage, and his teammates back him. Wasabi is far quieter, and her own teammates notice. Her family arrives already celebrating a promotion, and her grandmother, proud to see the Izuno clan represented, presses a scroll into her hands for a technique that channels a monster cat, passed down their line. Overwhelmed, Wasabi dismisses it as something her grandmother invented, noting only a handful of her relatives ever made chūnin and none as jōnin. Though she wants to make them proud, their expectations sit heavy on her.

The bout with Iwabee begins, and he senses her low spirit. When he tries to crush her with an earth technique, she dodges, activates her Cat Covering jutsu, and strikes back. Meanwhile Shinki, Araya, and Yodo join Sarada and Chōchō in the stands, sent by Gaara, and remark that Konoha's genin are slow to advance. Prodded by her cheering parents, Wasabi blurts out that Hokage was never her goal, only her family's assumption, which angers the reverent Iwabee. She insists that for ordinary shinobi such a dream is fantasy.

Iwabee, seeing her paralyzed by others' hopes, dares her to dream bigger and molds a mountainous earthen cat to prove a point, arguing she cannot match it only because she has decided it is impossible. He overspends his chakra and collapses, and the cat's head snaps off toward him. Wasabi finally unleashes her clan's jutsu, shattering the falling head and saving him. Her family is moved to tears, Konohamaru ends the match since Iwabee can no longer stand, and Naruto and Shikamaru liken the bout to Naruto and Kiba. The next names drawn are Sarada and Chōchō.

Wasabi's family gives her the Izuno clan's monster cat scroll and openly expects her to become Hokage. She fights Iwabee and admits Hokage was never her own dream. When Iwabee's giant earthen cat collapses on him, Wasabi finally uses her clan's technique to save him and wins her family's pride. Konohamaru declares the match over and draws Sarada versus Chōchō next.

Episode two-hundred-twenty-four of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations falls in the Chūnin Re-Examination arc. It aired in Japan on November 14, 2021, and in English on June 13, 2023. The opening theme is Reckless and the ending is Prologue. A subplot notes that Boruto and Mitsuki have located Amado and his captors.