Where I Belong

As the Kirigakure and Funato fleets trade blows on the water, Isari and Jibiki reveal that the naval clash is bait meant to draw the Mist forces in. Boruto and Iwabee catch up with Kagura, Sarada, and Denki, who are stuck on a cipher they recovered. An offhand remark from Iwabee about origami sparks the folding trick Kagura needs to crack it. The message exposes the real plan: while the sea fight distracts everyone, an elite Funato unit is slipping toward Kirigakure by land to strike its thin defensive crew. Kagura resists Boruto's push to intervene, since the war has stripped away their earlier cover of escorting Team 5 and the Konoha researchers, but Sarada sides with Boruto. Bargaining with the swordsmen, Kagura promises a full pardon rather than a reduced sentence to win their aid.

Kagura knows the mountain village the enemy column must cross and resolves to head them off there, arranging for refugees to clear out and dispatching warnings to Chojuro and Naruto. Boruto discovers Ikada has vanished from the docks, leaving even his idea journal behind, and Kajiki insists the young shipwright would never simply desert his training. When Kagura's group reaches the village, two residents recognize him as the boy who grew up among them. He rallies the locals to reinforce their homes, and Sarada and Buntan hatch a plan to funnel the Funato into a ravine by dropping the bridges. Team 7, Buntan, and Kyoho harden the defenses while Team 5 and Hebiichigo demolish the crossings. Kagura opens up to Boruto about being hidden here because his blood tie to Yagura made Kirigakure unsafe for him, and how he still cherishes the friends he made practicing kenjutsu beneath a tree. By nightfall, Boruto feels prepared to meet the coming assault.

The episode falls within the Great Sea Battle of Kirigakure arc of the Boruto series. Lighter beats punctuate the tension, from village children warming to Kawaki to Metal Lee's suit tearing open during the bridge demolition, which Hebiichigo mends while confessing her nerves about the fight. Hebiichigo also puzzles over why Kagura keeps trusting her after she once tried to kill him.