Inojin vs. Hōki

On finals day, Boruto and Mitsuki talk over their odds of making chūnin before Himawari calls to flag something odd. Her friends Ehō and Yuina have been shadowing suspicious strangers, and the worry is enough that Boruto agrees to look into it while he still has time. At the arena, Konohamaru and Shikamaru note the repairs since Momoshiki's assault and the separate broadcast each village now runs. Naruto tries to coax Kawaki into cheering Boruto on, tempting him with the range of ninjutsu the matches will showcase. Sarada frets over her absent teammates, though Konohamaru's rules mean they stay eligible until their names are drawn. The bracket sorts Inojin Yamanaka against Hōki Taketori first.

Inojin opens with his ink beasts, but Hōki answers by raising earthen columns across the whole floor, turning the ground into a maze. Sai explains to Naruto that Hōki circles the pillars to memorise the layout and strike from blind angles, a habit rooted in Sai's lessons about how rarely covert work is honoured, and how Kakashi still rose to Hokage from Anbu. When Inojin takes to the air, a pillar knocks him down, and dwindling chakra pushes him toward his Mind Body Switch Technique. He lays an ink trail to bait a strike from a known spot, then fires the jutsu, only to be repelled inside Hōki's mind by a defensive mental construct. Held at kunai point, Inojin is declared the loser.

Sai clarifies that Hōki's mental guard is the kind of anti-interrogation training given to captured Anbu to protect secrets, and Renga and Hako confirm such dangerous duty is routine for them. Hōki thanks Sai for the coaching and helps Inojin up, grateful to have been pushed. Iwabee Yuino and Wasabi Izuno are drawn for the next bout. Meanwhile, Himawari leads Boruto and Mitsuki to Ehō and Yuina, whose targets are seen putting Amado aboard a train; the pair hop on but cannot locate him or his captors. This is the two hundred twenty-third episode of the Boruto anime, part of the Chūnin Re-Examination Arc. Ryōko Shiraishi and Kokoro Kikuchi voice Ehō and Yuina here without being credited for those roles.