Raveneira

Though if neji WAS alive, I think most likely they would’ve paired him with Ten Ten.

Idk why ten ten gave off the vibes that she would be single but maybe adopt a kid. Idk I just can’t see her in a romantic relationship.

Nah you and alot of ppl tend to feel the same way, for me I had no strong feelings one way or thee other, there wasnt really ever much going for the ship outside of filler that made me really get on board.

But I do believe if Neji lived then he’d probably be with Tenten, its just one of those ships that fly under the radar but you knew if anything was to happen that that’d be it.

LeeTen always felt 100% familial, to me atleast, I could see the potential, maybe, for something more if something changed but it never did.

But I did think that since Kishimoto pulled ChoKarui outta nowhere to keep the Akimichi goin, I figured he might just pair Lee and Tenten for the same reason, the next Lee, and Tenten is the most convenient as his teammate so it’d be less out of the blue than Karui.

Fr, but hey, the only one to blame is Ikemoto.

Everyone, including Kishimoto, emphasizes that this is truly IKEMOTOS manga now so hey, take all the responsibility for how ass it is then.

When they let Kodachis go and Kishimoto refused to come back since he told them he wanted a break from Naruto and he meant it, they should've dropped it or put it on indefinite hiatus.

Or be fair and give Ikemoto a shot, see it's ass, and then put it on indefinite hiatus until they find a new writer, or just cancel it altogether.

But no, some money was better than no money so they let him continue to drag Naruto legacy through the mud just to make some extra $

It sucks, it really sucks, and it all could've been prevented if they just did what Kishimoto asked and

Exactly, Ikemoto clearly doesnt have any strategic business knowledge at all 😭 he be havin GOLD at his disposal and he’ll toss it in a blender and then wonder why the reception aint improving 💀 hes legitimately incapable of seeing the problem.

Like Boruto’s return for an example, personal bias aside, it could’ve been a PEAK entrance like when Naruto appeared against Pain.

The stakes should’ve been at al all time high since Code was hyped up as such a threat, even if Ikemoto wanted to avoid any major deaths right away then fine, he could still get the point across by having the claw grimes bite many Konoha citizens and nameless shinobi droppin like flies.

Everybodies panicked, everybodys scrambling, ppl are turning into trees, nobody knows what the hells goin on, the other cast is doing their best to fight em off but its only so much they can do, Sarada just happened to be by herself but she’s holdin it down, maybe we see Sumire, since she dont fight apparently, escorting civilians to safety and helping the injured.

Like this could’ve been a large scale invasion with MASS casualties, I mean when Orochimaru invaded he caused some massive damage, and when Pain invaded dude literally annihilated Konoha.

It makes no sense for Code unlimited to be hyped up and feared the way he was in part one, just to return for a single chapter invasion that Boruto immediately intervenes in before any real damage has been caused.

I mean the claw grimes attacked the village, bit ppl and turned them into trees and they all moved on from that like nothing happened, you’d think there’d be mass panic and hysteria after something like that but mostly ppl just went right back about their day, but them demanding answers from Shikamaru, and being angry at him not getting involved, questioning his leadership on how he even allowed this to happen, putting pressure on his leadership early on and escalating from there as more things go wrong under his watch and his lack of action, then suspected ally-ship with Boruto.

But thats just me, consequences? Ikemoto? Forget about it.

Anyway this invasion should’ve lasted way longer, Code and Kawaki should’ve clashed and that would be where we, and Kawaki, really notice something is off with Kawaki’s power level, cuz even if Code is stronger now, Kawaki shouldnt be getting washed THAT badly by him, so that encounter could plant the seeds of suspicion there.

You got team 10 protectin Hima while Kawaki tries to handle Code, then Sarada arrive trying to do a sneak attack and Shikadai uses his shadow possession to keep Code still to hopefully allow her to take him down but sadly a claw grime takes the hit instead and goes after Shikadai causing him to lose his hold on Code and he turns his attention to Sarada.

So now the situation is dire, you got team 10 and Hima surrounded by claw grime, now claw grime surroundin Code and Sarada too, and now Kawaki is stuck between two bad options.

He either go help Hima and team 10 and abandon Sarada whos gripped up by Code, or he helps Sarada since shes on her own while Hima atleast has team 10 to protect her. But either route has its risks, I mean if team 10 gets bit then Hima has no one, and if he abandons Sarada then Code might kill her, its a lose lose situation that either way Kawaki looks like an asshole for abandoning either.

But Code doesnt kill her, instead THIS could be where he attempts to kidnap her to use her as bait to lure out Boruto, instead of making that weird comment about her screaming real pretty so he can hear her. So NOW Boruto could show up.

Now this is just me, it could’ve happened plenty of other ways, but this is just my take.

But lets say instead of dropping down steppin on Code making the corny comment of basically ‘this why you get no bitches’ lets go with something lets cringe.

Right as Code is plotting his escape and it seems like all hope is lost, one of Borutos little metal pieces falls to the ground behind him and poof, Boruto appears, Uzuhiko in hand and BAM, hits Code right in the back and sends him flying, if Ikemoto wants Boruto to get all the cool points he can cut down the claw grimes as well, but me personally I feel like Boruto would handle one group of claw grimes while Kawaki disposes of the other cuz thats more important than tryin to kill Boruto right now.

Ya know everybodys still shocked and confused like why is he helping etc etc, Sarada is happy, Sumire is happy when she hears he’s back, all that good stuff.

Boruto pretty much does the same as he did canonically, tells the others to go prioritize saving the villagers since theres claw grime still biting ppl and they need their assistance more than he does, they’ll reluctantly agree and go help them since hey, besides Sarada, everyone there wants Boruto dead anyway, so its a win win for them either way, either he removes the Code threat from them, or Code kills the ‘Hokage killer’, so it works out either way.

Then in between Boruto dealin with Code we’ll see the others doin their thing against the claw grimes helping civilians, we’ll get cool moments with team 10, Hima, Kawaki, and Sarada all doin their thing until eventually Code retreats and the claw grime with him.

Sure you could say thats similar to Naruto’s big entrance but if Ikemoto was aiming to make a callback to that here anyway then he might as well have gone all the way and give ppl their ‘like father like son’ nostalgia.

Again, this is just me, theres plenty of other ways it could go, Im just giving one of them.

Ikemoto had gold in the palm of his hand, Boruto’s return should’ve been a BIG hype moment, not a moment filled with weird af comments by Code and then Boruto’s cringe comment when he appeared, it really undercut the seriousness of the scene and just felt way too try hard and unnatural.

Hell even if you wanted to make it a semi comedic moment, theres ways to do it than literally writing the shounen version of the ‘No bitches?’ Meme like come on.

Execution is everything, what I laid out is just one instance of better execution for something as big as Boruto’s return after 3 years being away, it should not be so lackluster that the only memorable thing from it is Boruto stepping on Code’s face, like yea its a cool looking panel but name something other than that that ppl actually remember or talk about from the entire invasion? You can name several memorable moments from the Pain and Orochimaru invasion, but Codes? Its literally just Boruto stepping on Code which again, cool panel, but having that be ALL that invasion is known for is hella underwhelming.

This really should’ve lasted way longer, it was hyped up for longer than it happening actually lasted which is crazy, theres so much Ikemoto could’ve done with Boruto’s return ALONE and he just squandered it.

Then theres things like Sarada’s MS reawakening, he had the golden opportunity to do something really great with it and instead he made it cheap with Yodo dying a preventable death and telling her its ok to use her power for just Boruto, that is the most lackluster bs route Ikemoto could’ve gone when he had GOLD.

Then theres things like Kawaki’s limiters, he could’ve done some interesting conflicts with that slowly planting the seeds of doubt and suspicion and Kawaki realizing himself that he’s NOT this danm weak and somethings up, instead he has Boruto just spell it out for him, just super lazy and nothing creative or imaginative, just tell Kawaki Amado put limits on him so he can go get em off.

Then of course theres Hima, whole ass clan is alive and more than capable of training her alongside team 10 but we dont see none of that, their not even a thought, can you imagine 3 years of Hima training in both Hyuuga techniques and what team 10 taught her? Can you imagine 64 palms amplified with Kurama’s chakra? Forget shutting down the chakra system she could straight up murder someone with that.

But we dont get any of that, Ikemoto doesnt use any of the great potential he has at his disposal, he just tosses it in a danm garbage disposal.

I’ve never seen a mangaka more determined to ruin his own success, countless opportunities to do something great and he passes everytime.

So you right, if he were gonna do the bsa bait then he should’ve planned it out better, but he thought if he just spammed it over and over that was enough to be a ‘hit’ and it wasnt, all it did was make ppl become immune to it, bored of it, and now sick of it.

Now its so bad ppl even resent Sarada’s character, because they know if and when she’s involved its always gonna be about Boruto and ppl are tired of it, everytime Sasuke got focus it was not all about Naruto or Sakura, he had his own thing going on and his whole life and character didnt revolve around Naruto or Sakura which is why he was entertaining to watch and a massive fan fave.

Sarada is the complete opposite, ppl are sick of her Boruto centrism, ppl are sick and tired of Sarada just being wearing Boruto’s skin atp, she only thinks about Boruto, only talks about Boruto, only cares about Boruto, and she even dresses like danm Boruto.

And ppl are sick and TIRED of it, if you cant think of anything else to do with her, then just dont show her at all cuz Sarada was legitimately one of my favorite characters and now I literally resent anytime she’s on screen because I know shes just gonna annoy me in some way with this bs and guess what? She does everytime.

Even the sneak peak is her just leaving the hospital and already being implied theres gonna be some Boruto interaction, after last chapter had her bawling about how much she wanted to help him

CAN THIS GIRL FKING EXIST FOR 5 SECONDS WITHOUT IT BEING ABOUT HIM FOR ONCE? FOR ONCE!? 🤬

Lemme chill…and her fans wonder why she gets hate…maybe because shes a boring and infuriating character to watch now.

But yeah, now that it has gotten this bad, just baiting bsa and hoping it’ll work isnt gonna fly anymore because ppl are tired, they already know where its goin, oh wow they care about eachother and Boruto saves her who ever saw that coming? Omg Sarada wants to help Boruto? How original.

And your right, her focus ISNT justified because she brings nothing to the story, blame Ikemoto for that not me but she doesnt, she SHOULD, but she DOESNT, Sumire has contributed more to the story in some way than Sarada has and shes a danm side character, how is that even possible? Hell Hima who is still a newbie ninja has contributed and she didnt get any focus until TBV, HOW TF IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?

Sarada is a day one character and since Ikemoto has taken over she hasnt contributed shet? Yall can cling to that MS bs with yall lives all you want but do you not realize how pathetic that is that thats the only concrete thing you have to credit to her contributing to the plot? Do you deadass not see the problem that an MS that needed Sumire to make her even get up to try and do something in the first place, to convince her father to go help Boruto, not her making any efforts to help him herself, but asking her FATHER to help him for her.

Does nobody see how embarassing that is? Her only credible contribution WASNT ANYTHING SHE DID ON HER OWN but what OTHER ppl made happen.

Sumire got her to do something, Sasuke is who got Boruto to safety, if her MS ex machina didnt activate at that exact moment then Boruto would be dead cuz she wasnt movin from that spot, only beggin someone else to.

Is that not embarrassing to you? That thats all she has credit for? That anything else you can remove her from the equation and everything still plays out without her?

She adds NOTHING to the story or plot, MS ex machina is ALL she’s contributed, she hasnt gotten Boruto a single ally, hasnt defeated a single enemy that wasnt fodder or literally rigged for her to win, she hasnt made Boruto’s situation easier and actually often makes it more difficult, she hasnt lifted any of the weight off his shoulders, she hasnt contributed a danm thing to Kawaki’s plot cuz she doesnt even confront him on anything, she said she wouldnt let him have his way and then proceeded for 3 years and more to let him have his danm way 😭 now shes going blind and she STILL aint contributing anything other than getting kidnapped and guess what? Making Borutos life more difficult, AGAIN.

Himawari saved 2 lives after awakening her power, Sarada cost one, almost 2 if not for Hima cleaning up her mess

Hima has caused zero deaths both with and without her power up, Sarada has caused SEVERAL.

Same goes for Kawaki, Mitsuki, Sumire, Inojin, Chocho, Shikadai, none of them has caused as innocent body yet, just her.

At what point do we say her screentime is indeed completely undeserved? If you dont contribute anything other than being a hinderance, a nuisance, and liability, then you shouldnt be gettin any screentime cuz nobody wants to see that, we’d rather see ppl who ARENT complete wastes of time and actually doing something to get things movin.

Sarada stalls the plot, everyone else gets it movin in some way shape or form.

And it shouldnt be that way, Sarada shouldnt be that big of a waste of a character, its like giving one of the background trees tons of focus and chapter/volume covers, what the hell does the tree do? Not a danm thing but hey atleast it looks cool right?

Im done ._. This topic truly angers me because it didnt have to be this way, it really didnt.

So yeah, her screentime is unjustified, she brings nothing to the table and is indeed getting tedious.

Lawd god forbid that happens…GOD FORBID…the hell that panel of Sakura encouraging Sarada to keep making herself go blind all over a single boy caused will be nothing compared to that.

I mean Sakura offered NO solutions or even made any attempts or mention into looking into how she could improve her daughters sight, can you imagine Karin appearing and doing her job FOR her?

Sasuke’s eyes were ‘fine’ too after using his MS several times until this happened

I can already see ppl now sayin she arrogant like her papa, yea but she aint built like her papa to justify the arrogance.

Sasuke fought Itachi 1v1 without the MS which yea Itachi wasnt fighting to kill, but he pulled very little punches, used his MS AND Susanoo and pushed Sasuke to his absolute limit so its not like it was a walk in the park.

Then he fought Killer Bee, the 8 tails jinchuriki, the second strongest tailed beast, even though he didnt successfully kill Bee, he still pushed him to the point where he needed to retreat.

Then theres Danzo who he 100% did beat, he pushed that man to suicide cuz he knew he was gonna die, he also did that right after JUST having to fight against the other kage, which yea he needed to be healed from but the point is Sasuke wasnt in no small scale fights with only a couple little boo boos, and he used his MS WAY more than just 3 times in the span of a day.

Sarada suffered no injuries, no pain, and no loss and she got the MS simply by crying and worrying about a friend.

Sarada suffered no injuries at all in the fight against Ryu, she used one fireball, 2 chidori, and then her MS ability and supposedly ran out of chakra from that and passed out.

Sarada once again suffered no injuries from the Mamushi fight, but her eyes were severely blurry after using her MS once on just 16 of them, then she uses her MS again later to try and kill 50 and her eye explodes instead and she falls unconscious.

Her fight with Hidari was the only time she’s actually suffered any injuries since after the Boro fight.

Every other fight she’s been in has been with everybody else suffering some type of injury BUT her, or going through some type of struggle EXCEPT her.

So yea Sasuke was arrogant, but he was built FOR his arrogance where it was justified for him to feel that way.

Sarada is arrogant with no justification, she doesnt even pride herself on the Uchiha name, just as aspiring Hokage, and her Hokage goal has stopped being about wanting to be a great ninja whos there for the entire village like family, to simply her wanting to help Boruto and only Boruto, thats what she prides herself on now.

But she doesnt back it up, she doesnt accomplish anything that would make her feel arrogant in the first place, she just believes in herself with nothing to show for it.

Now Im not saying she’s arrogant like Sasuke, Im just saying I can already see when ppl point out how stupid she is playing down her blindness once again thinking she can do more than she really can, I know first thing they’ll say is well she’s arrogant like her papa and yall aint have a problem with him ._.

Its ironic if that becomes the argument, because wasnt the whole point of the Ryu arc about her actually feeling weak and insecure in herself? But now suddenly she’s arrogant and thinks she can do anything?

So was THAT the character development? Cuz I thought it was just about her embracing her feelings for Boruto and accepting her weakness and no longer looking away, but was the development actually Sarada going from extreme insecurity, to extreme arrogance? Is that why we see this shift?

Woo boy if thats the case…

It really doesnt make sense for it to be Boruto, but Boruto sending Kawaki with a kunai with his families emblem on it makes sense for Boruto to show their cooperation, especially if he sent Kawaki to fill her in on the situation on his behalf.

If Code is targeting Sarada to get to Boruto, then it makes sense that he would wait till he’s around Sarada so he could come for her right infront of him.

After all its more hurtful for him to see Code take her and be powerless to stop him than for Code to take her when he isnt around and just leave a note sayin ‘I got her’

So, assuming Boruto does avoid her to hopefully keep Code away long enough for Kawaki to relay the danger to her so she can be prepared, then yea it makes sense he’d send Kawaki as the messenger since theres no omnipotence brainwashing involved, like Inojin is still skeptical of him even tho their allies, Ada already complained about being used as a messenger for him once already, Shikamaru is still fighting the effects of omnipotence, same for Mitsuki, so its just more convenient to send Kawaki who already knows everything about everything.

I dont have my hopes up very high tho, just saying thats a potentially logical route he could go.

Like when I seen the sneak peak I felt so annoyed, tired and irritated inside. INSIDE, like why are we going into another moment that has something to do with fighting, I wanted something calmer after the mamushi arc. Raven help me I’m literally going to crash out 😣 This upcoming chapter got to be rage bait.

Tbh I think we’ve finally reached a boiling point for the series, it took way too danm long imo, but I think we’ve finally reached the breaking point of just how much ppl are willing to take anymore.

Like you can slap the most patient person several times and they just take it but eventually that patience is gonna run out the longer that goes on and they’ll eventually snap and wont take it anymore.

Everybody has a limit, you cant repeatedly treat your fans like garbage and expect to still keep their support, you cant treat fans of a 15 yr long beloved franchise like shit and expect them to stick around just cuz you OCCASIONALLY show an OG character or two, or make a few half assed references.

Its not sustainable, sooner or later, ppl were gonna be fed up, ppl were gonna run out of excuses and patience, its only so long you can say ‘give it time it’ll get better the more it develops’ and it never does before the delusion finally wears off.

Im seeing more ppl finally being done with the nonsense, finally getting fed up with the lack of story direction, focus on other characters, and just being the BoruSara show.

I dare you to tell me if Naruto was just the NaruSaku show, scraps for everyone else, even if they arent endgame or a couple the focus is still just entirely on them and Naruto’s one sided feelings for Sakura.

The Akatsuki? Orochimaru? Zabuza? Sasuke goin rogue? Side quests no big deal, lets talk more about how Naruto is madly inlove with Sakura and gives all his energy to protecting her and helping her and even made that his motivation for becoming Hokage while Sakura remains completely indifferent and oblivious to how he feels and has her priorities elsewhere [becoming a better ninja, medic, etc]

I dare you to tell me Naruto would’ve ever made it to Shippuden I DARE you, cuz you know danm well it wouldnt have.

Naruto already gets simp allegations for what little he did do, imagine if thats ALL he did, he would never stop being called one of the worst MCs in shounen going above and beyond for a woman that does not want him or reciprocates any of the energy he gives her, but treats him just like she treats anyone else, a close friend.

Naruto would never be respected in that scenario, shit wouldnt make it to shippuden before getting canned cuz this is a battle shounen, why tf are you drowning it in one sided romance bs? This aint what readers came here to see.

So if it wouldnt fly for Naruto, why would it fly here? Boruto was surviving purely off the hype Kishimoto and Kodachi set with the flashfoward and early Boruto arcs, after the Kawaki arc, which is when Kodachi left, the hype that had readers invested for more than just a romance plot that WAS and SHOULD’VE remained a minor sub plot, was completely abandoned, and the romance plot became the MAIN plot while the actual story became a minor side quest.

Ikemoto would focus on the romance for multiple chapters and multiple days in verse and then introduce a plot relevant conflict that lasts literally less than a day in verse.

The Zabuza arc happened over the course of days, Code invaded Konoha and retreated the same danm day

The Orochimaru conflict lasted for months, Matsuri and Ryu were killed the same exact day, and then Mamushi in the same day he invaded.

The Akatsuki were a long running threat from part one long into part 2 and were extremely difficult to kill, Kara lost every single member almost effortlessly [minus Isshiki] with barely any time passing in just 50 chapters with only 1 survivor [Code] while 4 became ‘allies’ of Konoha [Amado, Delta, Ada, Daemon]

Now the ‘new’ semi Akatsuki-esque threats, the Shinju come in seemingly like their gonna be the real deal, the real problems that need to be handled that’ll require all the help they can get, their entire squad is down to only 2 members now cuz the rest were all killed off.

Keep in mind threats that Boruto supposedly couldnt handle, Inojin was able to tag in and save the day against one of em. Even Konohamaru was able to kill Matsuri easily if not for his hesitation. Araya also could’ve taken care of Ryu along with Mitsuki if not for his sword being plot conveniently stolen.

Hidari is also a joke, Kawaki is his literal weakness, he stops him from escaping, and can destroy him entirely with a single blast, he’s no threat.

Jura is portrayed as a threat NOW but does anyone really expect it to stay that way? Does anyone believe that Jura, when its convenient for Ikemoto, will be defeated on some bs? He’s so curious about love, would anyone really be surprised if at some point he concludes ‘the greatest act of love is self sacrifice’ and just off himself? Thinking if he does that he’ll finally understand love? Does anyone put that past Ikemoto? Come on.

My point is ppl are getting sick of it, the plot is a side quest, it gets started, gets handled quickly, back to the romance, back to Sarada only bein focused on Boruto and nothing else, back to Sarada being in some type of danger again that Boruto needs to protect/save her from, back to her ‘loving’ him so much and wanting to help him so bad while she’s the last thing on Boruto’s mind as he’s doing other more important things.

Ppl are tired, ppl are fed up, ppl have finally got it that Ikemoto really isnt gonna change.

He found a fomula that worked, and hes stuck to it for as long as he saw he got away with it.

But its finally starting to wear off, the formula isnt working anymore, more ppl are fed up and pretty soon gonna drop it in mass because like I said, bsa is the main audience carrying it to keep going, but I never said they were the ONLY ones still reading, just that their the main ones.

So what happens when you finally lose that last section of normal readers who are finally done with the hyper bsa focus and nothing else? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but a shounen battle manga cannot be sustained purely by just one shipping fanbase, even if that ship base is very large, the shippers are NOT the target demographic, its young boys, and the genre is now a shoujo romance manga, its a shounen battle manga.

Ikemoto playing this same card over and over wasnt a long term solution for ppl who were displeased with the story and character direction, rather than addressing the issues, he isolated every other fandom and only honed in on appeasing one, the easiest one to please and keep around, the ones he has to put the least amount of effort to satisfy, bsa shippers.

But everyone knows when you isolate your fanbase like that eventually you’ll lose them, and maybe Ikemoto has in his mind that he can afford to lose em, maybe he thinks bsa fans really are enough to carry it all on their own.

And if he does well, he’s bout to find out real soon just how small that fandom actually is without the other fans support around it.

Even if the sales are still enough to keep the sequel going, its reputation is for danm sure taking a massive hit from that kind of dip, after all it IS the sequel to the legendary Naruto franchise, for it to drop that low in sales you had to fk up BAD cuz the sequel to Naruto should be a smash hit, and when enough ppl see that sales drop, the less their gonna wanna read it because what GOOD manga, what GOOD sequel to something as massive as Naruto would sell that low?

So yea, I feel you, and Im seeing more and more ppl finally getting fed up as well who was still sticking it out, but now their tired of the repetition, tired of hoping for more, hoping for better, and getting the same ol same ol.

No stakes, trash villains, countless character assassinations, worldbuilding nonexistent, character focus is literally 99% Boruto and 1% everybody else [yes the MC would get more focus than anyone, but it wouldnt be literally 1% that counts for every other character, INCLUDING the deuteragonist] romance taking center stage while conflict and actual plot takes a back seat, is underwhelming, lasts a second, and we’re just constantly moving from one threat to another after barely getting to know or explore the last one.

So long story short, just go ahead and let Ikemoto dig his own grave, I encourage everyone whos getting fed up to just stop following it altogether, dont even give it manga plus views, read it on other sites, abstain from buyin merch, just give it very little to no support as possible, and if you can pirate or get merch without supporting him then go for it.

Like I said at the end of the day, this is business, so if you want any results, if you want to get your point across, then you gotta hit em where it hurts the most.

Their pockets.

Then see how long it takes before you start seeing a little more ‘care’ bein put into the sequel.

Because realistically nobody wants just bsa fans, those mfs are scary, and if their all thats left, imagine the hell their gonna go through with their entitlement? They dont want just THEM reading, they just couldnt afford to lose them, but I think any writer of any series will tell you that the ship fanbase, especially a very POPULAR ship fanbase is scary and uncomfortable as hell as your primary viewership, look no further than the whole Voltron situation and you’ll see how how insane ship fans can get.

So they definitely dont want ONLY bsa fans reading, but if this is how its gonna be then hey, yall wanted to cater to these ppl, yall didnt consider other fandoms as worth investing in, you put all your chips in one basket so hey, deal with the consequences cuz now they backed themselves into a corner.

They could confirm bsa mutual now and nothing would happen, they can truly invest in bsa full time if they truly believed their enough to carry the sequel by themselves, if they were fine with only bsa fans reading, if thats the only fanbase they wanted to indulge in then they could easily ‘persuade’ Ikemoto to just cement it already so they can capitalize off them, and if Ikemoto truly didnt give af about other fans and were on board, he’d invest entirely on them.

But like I said, realistically, nobody wants the popular ship base as their main, let alone only viewership, especially if its not a romance show to begin with, nobody wants to be harassed by a fanbase that isnt even the target demographic.

Again, if you dont know just how bad that sorta thing can get, look into the Voltron situation 😭 Im telling you, a single ship base in a non romance genre who arent the target demographic is a nightmare waiting to happen.

Sorry for rambling on a bit there but yea, wanna send a message that your really fed up? Dont read mangaplus or buy any volumes, wait till alternative websites upload it, and dont buy official merch, if you wanna rub salt in the wound only by Naruto era merch lol and if you do buy Boruto merch, make sure its unofficial so they dont benefit from it.

Bsa only works now, let the money flow take a sudden dip and you’ll see the tone change.

But ok ppl wanna support their faves right? So if you cant resist, only buy Sumire, Hima, Kawaki, and Mitsuki merch, dont touch Sarada or Boruto’s at all, not cuz you hate them, but just to get the point across that your tired of them, that the ‘formula’ isnt working anymore, ppl are gravitating more towards other characters, investing money in other characters, so the message received is calling up Ikemoto and telling him hey focus on these characters more cuz their selling.

Of course this is just my suggestion, I cant dictate what anyone does, just saying thats kind of all we can do atp, Ikemoto doesnt listen to criticism, the promoters have zero faith in Ikemoto story that they have to rely purely on bsa ship bait to get anyone to consider reading, so our only course of action to finally be listened to, is to hurt their pockets.

Even down to the manga volumes, only buy the ones focused on Hima, Kawaki, Sumire, anyone else, and the ones Bsa centered skip.

It may not seem like much but they’ll take notice.

Oh how in several posts and even a recent one I’ve been saying how Boruto and Sarada havent had a single conversation since chapter 6, and as of now they have yet to have a one on one conversation just between the two of them, now this sneak peak implies Boruto is going to speak to Sarada alone since we dont see anyone else with her and then a kunai drops with the Uzumaki symbol on it, which is obviously supposed to give the impression that Boruto is appearing before Sarada about what happened.

As I’ve explained in another post tho, this logically doesnt make sense, because Boruto never used marked kunai for flying raijin, he uses the little metal symbols on his clothes, his own version of flying raijin, so it makes no sense for him to suddenly use a marked kunai when he never has before.

Im just saying, the impression is Sarada’s alone just leaving the hospital and Boruto immediately goes to her, exactly the thing I said Ikemoto hasnt been doing which is odd if he was ‘genuinely’ catering to bsa, then he would’ve managed to do even this bare minimum right?

Someone threw a shuriken at Sarada and of course Bsa fans are claiming it’s Boruto

But knowing Ikemoto it probably is the most predictable outcome

Well unfortunately it makes sense to be Boruto given the Uzumaki symbol, but what doesn't make sense is since she has Boruto ever used a kunai to signal anything?

Remember Boruto created his own version of flying raijin using little metal symbols instead of kunai tags, so why now would he suddenly use a marked kunai for this? It doesn't add up.

Even tho it makes sense for it to be Boruto cuz of the symbol, logically speaking it doesn't make sense at all.

My thoughts are it's probably a misdirection, your supposed to think it's Boruto but it isnt, it's someone else.

Someone said it might be Code pretending to be Boruto so he could snatch her while her guards down, which I doubt tbh cuz that'd be actually making him competent and Ikemoto can't do that.

Some ppl said Kakashi which is even more unlikely, Ikemoto completely forgot he existed, and quite frankly nobody wants him involved anyway because we all know he's just gonna get butchered like every other OG.

It's not Hima cuz it really makes no sense for her to use a marked kunai without something like flying raijin.

I really don't know who it could be if not Boruto, but it doesn't make sense why it would be, he doesn't use tagged kunai.

Since it's impossible to predict I'm just gonna make a wildcard guess with the least expected person.

Kawaki.

Kawaki randomly started wearing the konoha forehead protector after calling a truce with Boruto, so if he kept that headband around all this time, it wouldn't be farfetched he kept a kunai with the Uzumaki symbol as well.

Maybe it's something Hima drew and gave to him herself, or maybe it was already in the Uzumaki family home and Kawaki took it as a momento for when things were still happy and peaceful.

Or he could've just already had it on him, a gift from Naruto maybe as his student, his first kunai, marked with the Uzumaki symbol officially acknowledging him as one of them.

There's infinite reasons he could have it, bottom line is, he'd 100% be the least expected one to show up here.

I'm not betting on it, but since I have no clue who else it could be, I'm just going with a wildcard guess.

As for why Kawaki would show up here, maybe Boruto gave him the kunai and sent him to go talk to her, cuz if he did it's more likely Code will show up, the kunai is probably to show he and Boruto are on good terms for now, since Boruto gave that to him, obviously Kawaki didn't try to kill him, plus Boruto sent him there to talk to her instead of himself so obviously he trusts Kawaki to relay the message.

I dunno, I'm just throwing out ideas.

ugh i’m tired of them forcing that bs😪

You and everyone else reading, I've seen several ppl saying their tired of seeing them and wanna see other characters.

Even ppl who said they liked them are saying their tired of them and want focus on other characters.

I used the jumpscare analogy but it really does fit, when you overuse jumpscares constantly it eventually stop having any effect and you just get bored with them now.

Same with BSA, it was nice at first, but the over saturation of them is just boring now. There's a whole nother cast, whole other main characters (Kawaki and Mitsuki) and all they can focus on is Boruto and Sarada ship bait.

And let's be real Hima isn't treated much better, she's treated as a package deal with Kurama, she's used less like promoting Boruto sister who went through losing her parents and her brothers suddenly turning on each other and living alone for 3 years, and moreso basically a prop to play on Kurama nostalgia.

They don't respect any of these characters frfr and it shows, I mean Hima hasn't gotten one of these mag covers yet, nor Kawaki, just a small cameo behind Boruto once.

Then you finally stop making this the Boruto only show and add someone else and you literally go for 'power duo' with Sarada, someone who in this very arc this is advertising for gets kidnapped.

Also someone who needs this promo the least, she has more than enough, this could've been an updated Boruto and Kawaki cover, atleast giving 'power duo' vibes with them would actually be true.

Or hell instead of acting like Hima character is only Kurama, have the cover be just her and Boruto standing back to back, Boruto looking forward while Hima is looking back at him, referencing how Boruto is keeping his distance/avoiding Hima while she still desires to reconnect.

Ya know, SOMETHING Other than just beating a dead horse atp.

He always picks the worst aspects of anything someone says and everything good he ignores 🫠

Pffffft not supporting AI or giving BSA ammo, but it's funny how they didn't go for a 1 to 1 copy of the cover, but actually showed reciprocation lol

Cuz their not interested in understanding, their only interested in winning, it doesnt matter how thoroughly you break it down to explain their appeal, why the ship isnt as bad as they say, why alot of the arguments are false, why they actually work well together and could happen.

None of that matters, they dont care, they only wanna win, and you making valid arguments and being rational upsets them because they expect you to have no real reason or good argument so they can laugh and say see? You dont even know why you like it, you just wanna spite bsa cuz its popular, even you know those ships are ass thats why you cant defend it.

Thats what they really want, so when they actually get a good response with facts, evidence, valid arguments, and actually well thought out and put together explanation, they snap because they dont WANT you to actually have an argument, let alone a good one, they want to WIN.

They want to ‘own the haters’, they dont want the haters to actually bite back, they dont want us to actually challenge their beliefs, they despise it, because it calls all their bs into question, and they dont wanna question, they wanna gloat.

Its childish really but alot of this new gen fandom is young anyway so Im not surprised, they just wanna go ‘HAHA our ships winning and yours not 😜 our ship actually has good reason to be together and yours dont, you cant defend your trash ships but we can cuz ours is real and yours not nananabooboo’

And to that I say whatever, let em have it, you cant reason with ppl who dont wanna be reasoned with, when your dealing with ppl who only wanna win, theres no debating them, its a losing battle because they’ll NEVER concede to anything, they’ll always claim victory, and you either keep wasting your time arguing with them, or spend your better elsewhere.

Like with fellow BoruSumi and KawaSara fans, let them rant and rave to themselves and ignore them, that bothers them more than you responding lol celebrate bsu and ksa even more and they’ll get even madder.

‘STOP HAVING FUN!!!!’

How bout no? 😭 how bout we have even more fun?

Your not the only one who has pointed this out, several moots of mine have as well and even some ppl here as well.

I think its weird too tbh, and even gives off a really weird psychology of it

The research where girls are drawn to guys like their dad and guys drawn to girls like their mom, the attraction isnt LITERALLY them being attracted to their parents, but typically good parents are the model for what type of ppl the child should date.

So for example a good father who teaches their daughter respect, who respects their mom and treats her with respect and dignity, buys her flowers, shower her with love etc etc, then the daughter would seek out a similar man, same way girls from an abusive household would most likely end up in an abusive relationship herself thinking thats normal. Same for sons with they mothers.

This is the psychology that we saw play out in Naruto as well, Naruto was already like his mom so he married someone like his dad, Shikamaru married someone fierce like his mom, Sasuke married someone like his mother [nuturing, loving, supportive of her husband even with his absence]

So when ppl said Boruto would be drawn to someone like his mom [Sumire] and Sarada someone like her dad [Kawaki] ppl werent being weird, but just following the pattern we’ve seen play out both in Naruto and irl which wasnt weird in the slightest.

BoruSara however DOES cross the line into that weird area, because Boruto isnt like Sasuke, he’s like his father BUT Boruto has adopted Sasuke’s entire persona, including his clothes, basically become Sasuke junior.

Kawaki is just his own character who just happens to be similar to Sasuke in ways.

Boruto has literally BECOME Sasuke.

So how on earth is it not hella weird to be attracted to someone thats literally identical to your dad?

This is where the NORMAL psychology I mentioned leans into the more WEIRD psychology instead.

I forget the word for it, but it is basically where from lack of a mother or father figure, you seek that out in your romantic partner, looking for not just a bf/gf, but a mother/father.

Thats still semi in the normal category, because typically the person isnt literally the same as your dad, theres still a distinction between dating someone identical to your father, and dating someone you just seek a father figure in, which could be someone the complete opposite of your father.

Where it gets weird is I forget the term for this as well, but basically the situation where you have an ACTUAL attraction to that parent, in this case her father.

When you look at it from that perspective, it recontexualizes the entire foundation of their relationship and many of the arguments for it.

Ppl claim that it makes sense that Sarada is closer to Boruto than her own father because Sasuke wasnt around for most of her life while Boruto was so she grew attached to him instead.

Sarada never blushed or showed any interest or indication of MAYBE liking Boruto until the Hokage mountain scene, which nothing he said affected her until he said his dream is to become a ninja like her dad and that since she’s becoming Hokage, he’ll be her right hand and protect her as the supporting shadow like her father, Sarada freaks out, blushing, and thinks to herself ‘its just Boruto, when did he get so cool?’ Implying that prior to him wanting to be like her father and follow her fathers path, the entire time he was just Boruto acting more like Naruto, she wasnt attracted to him, not until he became ‘cool’ wanting to be like Sasuke, the complete opposite of Naruto.

Then Boruto returns after 3 years, without her father, but has completely adopted his entire person and wardrobe and she doesnt react to it at all, no acknowledgement or even just confusion whatsoever.

Boruto returns again without Sasuke and tries to tell her what happened to him, Sarada doesnt care, doesnt listen, isnt even concerned with her fathers whereabouts or status, and jumps straight into hugging him and saying he’s late.

After this she sits awkwardly only thinking about the hug, nothing about what Boruto said about her dad, nothing about why Boruto only returned by himself without her dad, and thinks to herself that she has so many things she wants to ask but doesnt know what to ask first, meaning her fathers status wasnt even a top priority to find out.

Boruto being a clone of her dad still is never something she addresses or acknowledges, only Kawaki points it out.

When she finally admits her feelings, she names literally NOTHING about Boruto himself for why she likes him, not that she needs a reason, but you dont need a reason to say why your attracted to someone which literally everyone whos ever liked somebody could say.

The attraction for Naruto for Sakura was because she was cute and wanted the acknowledgement of the person she liked the same way he did from her.

How hard is it to say Sarada is attracted to him because he’s always there for her? Because he always protects her? Because when her dad was nowhere around Boruto was always there for her and made sure she wasnt lonely?

You dont need to say ‘I like Boruto because he’s handsome and cool yatta yatta’ like a grocery list, just say SOMETHING that drew her to BORUTO specifically and nobody else, what was it about HIM that made him SPECIAL is not something hard or complicated to do.

So the fact that she cant even NAME something about Boruto that attracted her to him is highly suspicious, almost like there ISNT something about him that attracts her, only that she worried about him alot, which isnt a form of attraction, nobody ever says they love someone because they worried about them, theres no such thing as ‘I was attracted to them because of my own worry about them’ it just doesnt exist, thats pity, not attraction.

My point? If you recontexualize all of that, it very eerily makes alot of sense.

Her initial attraction to him happened right as he said he wanted to be like her dad and would protect her the way Sasuke protects Naruto, this is what makes her suddenly find him ‘cool’

Boruto returns without her dad, lookin and actin identical to her dad and she isnt fazed by it at all.

Boruto returns again without her dad and she once again isnt fazed, hes telling her what happened to her dad and she doesnt care to listen, doesnt care that he didnt return with Boruto, she just immediately goes for a hug and her only concern is Boruto being late.

After this she STILL doesnt care about her fathers whereabouts, her only focus is the hug, she cant even think of what to ask him even though her father should’ve been the top question she wanted to ask since Boruto came back twice without him.

And when she finally admits her feelings, she names nothing about Boruto she actually likes, just that she worried for him alot and realized she liked him based on that.

And the most important detail to mention is Sasuke’s absence being filled by Boruto.

Looking at all of that, I aint saying it has to be true, but when you really look at it you cant help but see how weird it all is that her only attraction to Boruto began when he vowed to be like her dad, how the empty space Sasuke left was filled by Boruto, how Boruto returned with Sasuke’s whole persona and clothes and she had no reaction to it and wasnt turned off, how she didnt care that her father didnt return with him and only cared that Boruto was finally back, that asking about her dad wasnt a top priority and she could only focus on the hug, and how she cant even name what she likes about Boruto.

All of that is very weird and paints the very creepy picture of her using Boruto as a surrogate for Sasuke, that her attraction stems with her desire for her father in her life, that Boruto was always there when Sasuke wasnt, and now he wants to be more like her dad, so in a weird twisted way its like Boruto is her way of finally having her father she never had before, and the more he’s like Sasuke, the more attracted she is to him.

But the whole time he was Boruto acting very much like Naruto, she never had these feelings, but when he’s more like Sasuke, thats when she wants him.

Now I wont go as far as saying she’s romantically attracted to Sasuke, but it is still equally weird that she’s attracted to Sasuke 2.0.

Its like she can justify it with Boruto because she can be with her dad without the taboo of it actually being her dad, which is weird regardless.

Again Im not saying she LITERALLY wants to be with Sasuke, it hasnt gotten to that extreme yet.

What I am saying in her own twisted deluded mind, she likes Boruto because she can have the father she never had in her life without the taboo, because she can just justify it with Boruto is Boruto so its not weird to be attracted to him.

Boruto was always in her life the way she wanted Sasuke to be, the loneliness she felt from Sasuke’s absence was filled by Boruto, the only consistent male presence in her life was Boruto, she grew up with Boruto always involved like family, probably was there for every birthday, special occasions etc.

So in a very weird twisted way, she’s using Boruto as a surrogate for Sasuke, making him the Sasuke, the father she never had, the one who was always there for her like she desperately wanted, and the one still there for her even now, after all only Boruto came back to her, embraced her, not Sasuke [even tho thats out of his control].

Am I saying this is what Kodachi and Kishimoto wanted? Hell no, Im saying Ikemoto is the only one who made what initially wasnt weird into something weird.

Because lets be honest, if Boruto never became more like Sasuke, can anyone actually say she would’ve been attracted to him? The whole time Boruto was acting like himself and Naruto she never batted an eye and was annoyed by him, only AFTER embracing Sasuke’s role in life did she start finding him ‘cool’, and only after he became a literal Sasuke clone did she finally admit to having feelings for him.

Notice how she says to Sumire that she didnt lie about not having feelings for him at the time she told her she didnt which was chapter 19 not long after the movie, so she might’ve thought he was cooler, but she still like him romantically yet.

When did she start liking him romantically? When did she finally admit she liked him? After becoming a Sasuke clone.

Now you can say Im reading too much into this, that Im making it weirder than it is, that oh your just reaching to discredit them.

You dont have to take my word for it, look it up, theres real studies on this exact subject, hell maybe I’ll even come back later and add links to them myself but yea, this isnt me pullin stuff outta thin air.

And if you think Im making it weird then no, your wrong, I dont believe Kishimoto or Kodachi meant intended for this to be weird at all, I believe this is solely Ikemoto who yes we all know is hella weird and not above doing something like this.

And if you still think its not weird then lets be real and honest for a second.

If your friend went away with your dad for 3 years, came back without him, but adopted his whole personality, his outfit, his demeanor, the literal split image of you dad minus his looks.

Tell me honestly, would you still be attracted to them? Would you not be weirded out and turned off? Would you not even acknowledge how abnormal it is that just because your friend looks up to your dad that he went as far as to become literally JUST like him? You wouldnt find that weird or off putting at all? You would still wanna date him? A literal copy of your dad?

Same, if not for Ikemoto constantly refusing to just make them canon then I’d believe BoruSumi had no chance too, but he literally loses nothing by just making Boruto and Sarada feelings mututal, if anything he gains more, so why not do it? This isnt a case where NS and SNS were equally popular like SS and NH was where they had more to gain by dragging it on than revealing it right away.

BoruSara is the biggest fandom and the main one supporting the manga, he could cut off BoruSumi and KawaSara fans right now and it wouldnt be TOO big of a hit, its a hit, but not enough where he couldnt survive without em, so why not just go ahead and commit? Just reveal that Boruto likes her also and simply hold off on the confession, ppl will keep reading in anticipation for when it finally happens and them getting together.

So why would you refuse to set it in stone if you already have it set in your mind you definitely want them together? I mean Kishimoto wasted no time making ShikaTema clearly mutual, nor Yahiko and Konan, if you already have it set in your mind that hey these characters are definitely endgame and I have nothing to lose by making that obvious, then why the hell not do it?

Thats why I dont believe Ikemoto is actually committed to them, if he was, he’d just say it already, hell he’s not even asked in interviews about it when Kishimoto was questioned all the time about shipping, but Ikemoto gets asked nothing? Nothing to atleast let us see his mindset at all? Thats very suspicious, almost like its already a known fact that he doesnt have in mind what he plans yet, or he DOES know but he doesnt wanna make any comments on it because he still wants to lead them [bsa] on, and his lack of clarity [being vague] and non commitment [making it clear Boruto and Sarada like eachother] would make them angry since they WANT and NEED to believe Ikemoto is on their side, so if he refuses to take a hard stance to prove their set in stone already, their gonna be pissed off at him and he knows it.

So rather than give them a chance to riot, he just steers clear of the topic altogether [interview questions are usually screened ahead of time so he probably asks ship topics to be removed]

Another reason I dont believe BoruSumi is hopeless is why tease it at all? What did he need a love triangle for? What does it gain? What does it add to the story? Sarada could like Boruto all on her own and nothing changes, thats what ppl wanted anyway, they HATED that Sumire liked Boruto too, they BEGGED for her to move onto Kawaki, so why not do that? Why not make her move on? Hell why not have her not like him in the first place? Bsa fans are pissed at her inclusion, so why not make them happy by removing her? He panders to them about everything else so why not Sumire? Why is she the ONE thing he never gives them what they want about? Its hella sus.

Listen if Im pandering to the popular fandom, and they say hey I hate this Sumire character and dont want her to like Boruto I want her to like Kawaki instead and for her to leave Sarada’s man alone.

You know what Im doing? Im making Sumire fall out of love with Boruto and inlove with Kawaki and making her the biggest BoruSara shipper she can be.

He could so easily do that and gain a ton of praise, they’d be like ‘Yay! Thats our Ikegoat! He knows what he’s doing’ and hey, who wouldnt want that? I mean thats who he’s truly catering to right? So why wouldnt he want their praise and admiration?

Simple, if that was the goal, thats what he’d do, the only reason he wouldnt is if that WASNT his goal because again, he gains nothing from now making BoruSara mutual, he gains more by making them mutual and Sumire moving on to Kawaki, so why not go for it?

The math aint mathin no matter how you look at it, Sumire’s inclusion and persistence in pursuing Boruto ANGERS bsa fans, they HATE her involvement, so wouldnt it be better for him to remove her? Why would you take the route that pisses BoruSara fans off instead of the route that would make them happy? Why INTENTIONALLY and CONSISTENTLY piss off your main fanbase? It aint addin up.

So yeah, thats why I dont believe its a lost cause, especially the sword cover, like that was completely unnecessary and SURE to piss of BoruSara fans, so why would he do that? You cannot explain it as anything other than intentional, and if its intentional, then why would he intentionally upset his core fans?

The only explanation is because he isnt entirely catering to them, he just wants to keep them around because he cant afford to lose them, but he is not entirely on their side, or maybe not even on their side at all, just because he baits them doesnt mean he’s on their side, just like just because you put food on a hook for a fish to eat doesnt mean your trying to feed the fish, your trying to hook and trap them, the ‘food’ is simply to get them to bite.

Same way the ‘food’ he gives bsa is just to get them to keep reading, they believe the ‘bait’ is to feed them, completely oblivious to the hook its attached to, he wants them to bite and stay hooked on the line for as long as possible, until he finally has nothing to lose by revealing his true agenda to them, the stories reached its end so he has nothin to lose by pissin em off now.

What are they gonna do? Burn all their books? The moneys spent already so he loses nothing from that.

So yeah, thats why I dont believe BoruSumi has lost just yet, and as you said, the only ones really pushing bsa really hard IS promoters and advertisers, but Ikemoto consistently just gives them the bare minimum and very little focus or interactions, and when he does, its either just Sarada yapping to other ppl about her feelings for him, or shes unconscious when Boruto’s around.

Think about it, they havent had a single conversation since chapter 6, let that sink in, not ONE conversation since then, and they have YET to have a solo conversation with just the two of them, and not once has Sarada been hurt and Boruto was shown and mentioned to have checked on her.

Even now Boruto had the chance to go see Sarada in the hospital, or take her there himself, he didnt HAVE to save Bug because who the hell cares? Bug is nobody to him, he never even met the guy, so what was the rush to go try and save him? Code would’ve stayed there and waited regardless, since he knew he was listening, he could’ve said he was going to confront Code after he made sure Sarada was ok.

OR he could’ve used the Ada plan, how they used Ada to lure Mamushi so they could finish him off, since he knows Code is gonna target Sarada anyway, it’d be smarter for him to stay near Sarada and wait for him to make his move, pretending he doesnt know Code will come after her, Boruto could’ve teamed up with Kawaki and set up an ambush so when Code tries to nab her and escape via claw mark Kawaki could shrink them and they both do a combo attack to take him out.

Would THAT not have been a better plan for Boruto to go with? Would that not have been more ideal to show how much Boruto prioritizes Sarada if thats what Ikemoto is trying to convey?