Tsubaki Kurogane: Mifune’s Samurai in Konoha

Absent from the main Boruto manga, Tsubaki Kurogane makes her entrance in episode 137 of the Boruto anime — the Land of Iron sends her to Konoha to fill a vacancy on Team 15.

A Student of Mifune on Team 15

Tsubaki Kurogane is a young samurai from the Land of Iron and Mifune’s most recent disciple. She wears her hair in a high ponytail, held by an ornament with two pink beads, each shaped like a flower. In Japanese, her name is written 鉄ツバキ, Kurogane Tsubaki.

When Sumire Kakei leaves Team 15, the Seventh Hokage asks the Land of Iron to send a replacement as a way to close the gap between samurai and shinobi — and Tsubaki is the one selected. In the anime, Team 15 thus becomes the first official shinobi team to include a samurai. Tsubaki makes her debut in episode 137, “The Samurai Exchange Student,” which aired in Japan on December 22, 2019, and in France on November 2, 2021.

On arrival, she assures her two new teammates, Wasabi and Namida, that she is in Konoha only on her superiors’ orders and that she has nothing to learn there. When Wasabi wants to test her, Tsubaki takes her stance, then calls it off: had she drawn her blade, she says, Wasabi would be dead. She considers the shinobi of the modern, peaceful era sloppy and lacking commitment, and at first sees her assignment as nothing more than a temporary obligation.

Yet it is when she sees Wasabi and Namida ready to protect each other that she starts to respect what Konoha’s shinobi are made of. Sumire later comes to tell Tsubaki that she approves of her as her replacement, a gesture Tsubaki appreciates.

📿 On Tsubaki, two pink beads hold her ponytail in place; on you, the jewelry moves to your wrist with our Naruto bracelets, no matter how you wear your hair.

Tsubaki’s Swordsmanship, From Scabbard to Tornado

Despite her young age, she easily defeats two wanted criminals, listed in the Bingo Book, and Konoha’s leadership rates her skill as comparable to a chunin’s. She can defend herself with nothing but her sword’s scabbard and excels at quick-draw techniques. With her drawn sword in one hand and the scabbard in the other, she also fights in an ambidextrous style, as if with two blades. Lastly, she is among the users of the Flash (Issen), alongside Mifune.

With “Secret Sword: Snowstorm Beheading” (Escrime Secrète - Lame Cataclysmique in French), Tsubaki unleashes a shockwave that turns into a huge tornado around her and pushes back everything nearby. This technique drains so much chakra that it can only be used once a day.

Also in Tsubaki’s repertoire is “Mifune-Style First Tachi: Blaze” (Sabre Numéro 1 de l’École Mifune - Flamme in French), a chakra-charged downward slash, powerful enough to disperse a huge fireball.

From Fries to Teamwork

In Konoha, Tsubaki remains proud of the Land of Iron’s commitment to tradition, but comes to admit that this tradition also constrains her country and hinders its progress. When it comes to food, she adores fries, a pleasure she prefers to keep hidden, anxious to maintain her poise.

In episode 153, “Harmony in Gold,” the stats compiled by Denki show that Tsubaki’s results exceed those of a typical genin, but that Team 15’s results have dropped since her arrival. To raise them, she convinces Wasabi and Namida to turn every mission into a competition among themselves. After a failure, Hanabi tells them they will not take part in their next scheduled mission with Team 5.

Finding it ridiculous that she eats nothing but fries, Boruto offers her his drink and his burger, and she is amazed by the combined flavors. Later, in the middle of a fight, she notices that each member of Team 5 covers the others’ weak points, and likens this teamwork to the food pairings Boruto introduced her to.

Facing bandits, she asks Wasabi for a smoke screen so she can throw herself into their midst with her sword. The effort exhausts her, and it is Namida who strikes the fleeing leader.

☕ Along with his burger, Boruto hands Tsubaki his drink. At your table, the drink that goes with your meal belongs in our Naruto mugs and cups, and you’re the one who pours it.

The New Chunin Exams: Stay or Go Home

After Isshiki’s attack, Naruto organizes a new session of the Chunin Exams. Tsubaki is not a shinobi, but she takes part in it to prove her worth as a samurai.

In episode 222, “The Night Before the Final Round,” a message from the Land of Iron informs her that, once the exam is over, she will be called back to take up a leadership position, and she is delighted. Before her match, however, she overhears her teammates discussing their mixed feelings about her departure, and feels ashamed for not having taken them into account.

The last match of the final round pits her against Denki in episode 226, “Samurai vs. Science.” Tsubaki attacks with both her sword and her scabbard, and manages to destroy the visor of Denki’s Lightning Release suit. She offers him the chance to forfeit; he refuses, sacrifices his suit to block Tsubaki’s attack, and knocks her out with a Lightning Release technique: she loses the match.

When she wakes up in the infirmary, she announces that she is turning down the leadership position — she feels she still has a lot to learn in Konoha.

Sazanka, the Senior Disciple Turned Criminal

After becoming Mifune’s student, Tsubaki befriends an older disciple, Sazanka, whom she admires for his commitment — the two often train together. A prodigious swordsman, he earned the nickname “Second Coming of Mifune.”

During one tournament, a rumor goes around that the winner will earn the right to claim Kurosawa, Mifune’s sword, once Mifune retires. In the final, Sazanka dominates the entire fight, but Tsubaki exploits an opening at the last moment and wins. Horrified by this failure, Sazanka tries to seize Kurosawa by force and kills all the other disciples who stand in his way, except Tsubaki. He flees the Land of Iron as a wanted criminal.

In episode 231, “The Rusty Sword,” an investigation into an attack on a merchant puts her on his trail: she recognizes Sazanka’s mark on cut bamboo. At their first clash, he draws and wounds her while her own sword is still sheathed. She asks to be taken off the mission: she holds herself responsible for Sazanka going astray and believes she won the tournament by chance.

Wasabi warns her that her regret will keep growing if she does not face Sazanka herself. In the decisive fight, Tsubaki unleashes her Secret Sword: Snowstorm Beheading, but Sazanka cuts through it. She then assures him that she has grown stronger thanks to the friends who trust her, and when their blades cross again, she cuts him down. Before he dies, Sazanka finally acknowledges her as a strong samurai.

Her Name, Her Namesake, Her Voices, and Her Other Appearances

The given name Tsubaki, written ツバキ in katakana, refers to the Japanese camellia, 椿 in kanji. Sazanka’s name also refers to a species of camellia, the sasanqua.

Same name, different character — Tsubaki, Mizuki’s fiancée, is a Konoha kunoichi from the Naruto anime, unrelated to the samurai of Boruto.

In Japanese, she is voiced by Juri Nagatsuma and in English by Erica Mendez, while in the French version she is dubbed by Lucie Flamant. Outside the anime, she makes several appearances in the Boruto gag spin-off manga and features in the game Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage.

🎧 Juri Nagatsuma, Erica Mendez, or Lucie Flamant: depending on the version you put on, a different Tsubaki voice reaches your earbuds. Between episodes, our Naruto AirPods cases keep them safe, the way a scabbard guards its blade.

Summary Table

FAQ

• Who is Tsubaki Kurogane in Boruto?
  A young samurai from the Land of Iron, Mifune’s most recent disciple, sent to Konoha to replace Sumire Kakei on Team 15 in the anime.
• In which episode does Tsubaki Kurogane first appear?
  In episode 137 of the Boruto anime, “The Samurai Exchange Student,” which aired in Japan on December 22, 2019, and in France on November 2, 2021.
• Is Tsubaki Kurogane in the Boruto manga?
  No, never in the main manga. She makes several appearances in the Boruto gag spin-off manga and features in the game Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage.
• Does Tsubaki become a chunin?
  No. A samurai, not a shinobi, she takes part in a new session of the Chunin Exams to prove her worth, but loses the last match of the final round to Denki, in episode 226.
• Who is Sazanka to Tsubaki?
  An older disciple of Mifune whom she admired. Beaten by her in a tournament final, he kills the other disciples who stand in his way when he tries to seize Kurosawa, then flees; Tsubaki cuts him down in episode 231.
• Who voices Tsubaki Kurogane in French?
  Lucie Flamant. In Japanese, she is voiced by Juri Nagatsuma, and in English by Erica Mendez.

In summary

Sent to Konoha under orders, Tsubaki Kurogane stays by choice: after her loss to Denki, she turns down the leadership position awaiting her in the Land of Iron, then faces Sazanka herself, as Wasabi urged her to. In the end, it is Sazanka, the senior disciple she admired, who acknowledges her worth as a samurai, the worth she wanted to prove at the exam.