#naruto boruto

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Kishimoto always showed that Naruto and Sasuke had a strong bond built on pain, brotherhood and not just about rivalry

I see them as yin and yang opposites who balance each other. Naruto was the light. Sasuke was the shadow.

They both shared the same pain losing their parents and loneliness.

Naruto saw him as a brother someone he couldn’t give up on. That’s just who Naruto is.

He believes people can be saved.

He did it with Gaara, and he wanted the same for Sasuke because he saw himself in both of them.

And Naruto’s bond with Sakura?

That was something else entirely.

Naruto made a promise to bring Sasuke back not just for himself but for her too

Sakura was his first love. He cared about her happiness.

And she was one of the reasons he started his rivalry with Sasuke in the first place not just because he wanted to be stronger than him.

Not the way The Last movie tried to twist it later, which honestly just made things worse.

And when Sai asked if he’d ever confess his feelings, Naruto said:

“How can I, when I couldn’t even keep my promise to her?”

That wasn’t obligation.

That was love selfless, and real.

And Sakura tried to kill Sasuke not out of hate, but to protect Naruto and do what she believed was right for the village.

It broke her… but she still did what she thought was the best.

While Sasuke chased revenge, it was Naruto and Sakura who stood side by side through thick and thin

fighting, healing, and growing together.

And through everything, they still tried to protect their teammate even when Sasuke was being selfish

Naruto and Sakura bond wasn’t just friendship. Their bond was built on years of pain, trust, and growth.

It was something deeper.

And I truly believe…

it could’ve been love.

If only the story let it happen.

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And then there’s Sakura a character who went through so much growth.

In the beginning, like many girls her age, she liked Sasuke because he was cool and handsome. She just wanted him to notice her, and she thought that was enough. She didn’t see Naruto’s worth back then.

But she grew up.

She trained under Tsunade, became one of the most powerful medics, and fought on the front lines of a war.

She learned to stand on her own to protect instead of always being protected.

She always wanted to catch up with Naruto and Sasuke and she did.

She became someone reliable, respected, and strong.

And after all of that…

She ended up with the same boy who once tried to kill her.

The one who pushed her away over and over.

The one who barely acknowledged her feelings.

That ending felt unfair to her character development. She deserved more.

She deserved someone who saw her strength, valued her openly, and stood beside her.

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As for Hinata, I always felt her story could have been something more powerful.

She was the heiress of the Hyuga clan the one born to lead.

She could have been the one to fight against the cursed seal, to stand up for Neji and the branch family, to finally break the cycle of control and pain passed down for generations.

That could have been her legacy

Not just “the quiet girl who loved Naruto”

but the Hyuga princess who rewrote the rules.

Honestly?

I think Hinata loved Naruto the way you admire someone you wish you could be.

She loved how he spoke his mind, how he never gave up everything she was afraid to do.

It felt more like idolizing than a true emotional connection.

I wish her story had been about finding her own voice,

And become the Hyuga princess who rewrote the rules of her clan

———-

That’s how I believe the ending should’ve been.

But Kishimoto chose a different path.

One that, to me, felt rushed and confusing.

Naruto and Sakura had a deep bond built on pain, trust, and real growth.

It didn’t need a movie to explain.

Neji’s death was used to push Naruto toward Hinata.

And The Last movie tried to make it make sense.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura’s connection was already there.

It didn’t need a movie.

💉🐍I FINALLY HAVE DECENT MERCH OF THESE TWO TOGETHER!🐍💉

This was supposed to be a cute, wholesome little tribute for Father's Day, but obviously that's no longer the case. I never seem to have inspiration for holiday-themed compilations until too late. It's also surprisingly difficult to cram setup and payoff into a three-sentence limit (not to mention varying grammatical structure in a way that's coherent), so as per usual I kind of cheated with quotations and inserts.

Chrom, Lucina, and Inigo

"H-Heh-Ha-Ha! Stop that...Ha-HaI'm...I'm g-hoing to...be....Ngk...your f-ha-ther someday, and...Heh...I-I...order you to...Heh-Heh Ha-Ha!" Chrom laughed and jumped around in his creaking wooden chair, while Lucina turned blue and scurried in a tornado of panic around the war room table.

In his right hand, Inigo was holding a rigid yellow quill, and its purpose was twofold: to tickle the father-daughter pair at intervals, and to scrawl the results of his "research" in a small red leather notebook.

"Sheesh, you two, get a grip...you're always so on edge," Inigo grinned as he chased Lucina around the room like an exuberant toddler, menacingly waggling the feather toward her, desperate pleas of "No, keep that away from me!" jostling his eardrums.

For those unaware, in Fire Emblem Awakening, Inigo has canonically tickled Lucina and Chrom just to make them smile. ^^

Ellie and Joel (Game)

Sure, Ellie knew that her awful dad jokes weren’t all that funny, but at least she was trying to ease the tension, and Joel’s irascible stone face was really getting on her nerves…especially now that her backup plan wasn’t working either.

“URRRGH, shit; you’re seriously not ticklish?!” she griped, jabbing her index finger repeatedly into Joel’s lower back like an impatient kid with an elevator button.

Ellie quickly regretted her impertinence when her guardian wordlessly picked her up by her armpits and shoved her against a brick wall, and soon, she found herself kicking her legs, cursing, and giggling uncontrollably above the ground as rough fingers squeezed into her belly over and over, no matter how much she yelled…maybe Joel did have a sense of humor after all.

Ok, so not every dad on the list is ticklish, but I wanted to write about him pulling an Uno Reverse Card on Ellie. XD

Jake, Kiri, and Tuktirey Sully

"Huhuh, Huh-Ha...Heh! Heh HAA HAA HA...Qu-hittit! Ah-Hn-Hn Hng-Hng Hng!!" Jake Sully laughed loudly and futilely attempted to shield his armpit among the grass.

"Hihih! T-hickle tickle tickle tickle tickle," Tuk giggled sweetly, scratching her dad's belly button with her impish finger while he thrashed around.

The olo'eyktan had slipped from his mount and landed in the midst of the direhorse herd, and now, surrounded by curious baby calves, his whole body was being lashed by their long, fleshy tongues...his stomach, his underarms, his feet...everywhere...but rather than restraining their pets, his two daughters had decided to gleefully join in the tickle torture, and were poking Jake wherever their wicked little hands could reach.

Johnny and Dennis

One of the first skills a young vampire learned was to control bats, but despite the tutelage of his mother and grandfather's combined centuries of experience, Dennis was rapidly losing control of his "training swarm."

A torrent of the little beasts (over a hundred of them) careened around the castle's dining hall, upending candlesticks and chairs as they went, until they eventually dove headlong into Jonathan like a blast from a fire hose and carried him high into the air.

"WhoaAAho, hohohohohold it, YAAaHahaaaaThatssouncomfterble, NG! Wha - Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Hehelp me down!" the incomprehensible syllables blurted out of Johnny's mouth at a warbling pitch and his body twisted into noodles...dozens of the bats were swarming inside his clothes...but his wife and son were too busy giggling to assist.

Naruto and Boruto Uzumaki

Naruto stood rooted to the training courtyard ground, iron and resolute, taking body-blow after body-blow with nary a flinch as his son's practice dummy.

This test was one of Boruto's strength, to see if he could force the immovable to move, but Naruto remained steadfast for a long while, until the boy’s knuckles dusted across his abdomen one too many times and he shuddered in place.

“HHEHH; Heehee-Heehee Hee, Quihit it!” the Hokage snickered like a little kid, slightly embarrassed and frustrated that he (like many other "tough" adult ninjas) hadn’t quite outgrown a ticklish tummy yet - a fact which delighted Boruto.

Kass and His Kids

Of Kass’ five daughters, Cree struggled the most with playing his bandoneon, always fumbling with it and letting it slip through her feathers (but in her defense, it was difficult for the bird bard to teach her properly while the rest of his chicks used him like a jungle gym).

“No, you gotta squeeze it really hard,” Kotts instructed during a slow glide down off of her dad's shoulder, continuing as she landed behind him: "...liiiiiiike......this!"

One harsh pinch around his waist, and Kass fell down helpless on the flight platform in a heap of laughter, a wide open target for the army of five teeny soldiers that hopped and bounced all over him with their iron talons and fluffy wings, grinning and squealing…he wasn't sure how many more tickle attacks he could take in one day!

Miguel and Gabriella O'Hara (Earth-TRN1042)

This one’s for @trrickytickle, who was the only one to offer me a suggestion for this comp. 😂

Every Miguel O'Hara throughout the vast multiverse was always tethered to some type of “spider” in one way or another, and young Gabriella...skittering slowly along the living room floor, all four limbs splayed out and giggling excitedly...certainly looked the part.

“Hmm…must’ve been my imagination…could’ve sworn I heard a little bug crawling around somewhere…” Miguel smirked and politely pretended not to see or hear her (not even when her tennis shoes squeaked on polished hardwood), until she cried out “Spider attack!” and dove onto him with insectoid hands.

"AHH-HA No no wait wait wait wait wait; Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!" Miguel's raspy laugh broke out as soon as those sharp, unclipped little fingernails nibbled his stomach, for that was his jubilant girl's superpower - tickle torture! - and no weapon was powerful enough to stop her reign of terror…well, except maybe the big raspberry he blew right on her squishy tummy.

Mufasa and Simba

Like all cubs, Simba firmly believed he could take his dad in a fight despite their 600-pound size difference, but his illusion was quickly broken by the set of jaws that lifted him up by the scruff of his neck, and the lion prince had no other recourse than to struggle wildly, swiping and pawing and wagging his tail at Mufasa's belly.

“Hn-Hn, Heh-Heh Heh-Heh Ha-Ha Ha-Ha!” That voice wasn’t just deep, it was subterranean, and Mufasa's booming laughter always drew big smiles out of his mate and cub alike.

Collapsing into one another, the king and his son tumbled down the grassy hill until they were both exhausted, warm and safe in a snuggle of dandelion fuzz.

Phoenix and Trucy Wright

For her 13th birthday, Phoenix Wright scrounged together enough dough to buy his little magician a new Hans Moretti Sword Box, and he'd even agreed to let her practice with him...with the provision that she use floppy toy weapons, of course.

"Now just hold still dad, I've gotta get this right!" Trucy announced and shoved a wobbly rubber sword into the box's open slot.

Its hard tip bent against Phoenix's spleen, causing him to warble "BaAAaah, that tickles!" and rattle inside his felt-lined prison, and he realized: this was probably gonna take a while.

Ashley and Richard Robins (Trace Memory/Another Code)

Ashley’s bond with her father was still tenuous, even after all they’d been through...so many questions unanswered and lost years irretrievable...and so she spent most of her vacation in awkward, divorced silence with him, usually draped over the couch and moodily leafing through a book.

But one afternoon, as she laid there on her stomach and doomscrolled through Instagram, Ashley suddenly felt a nerve-tingling scratch along the bottom of her bare foot, and with a loud and involuntary scream, she whipped around and pulled her knees into her chest, her cheeks the color of strawberry jelly.

“DAaaA-aaaad!” she whined, full to bursting with angry embarrassment, but instead of letting her socially-awkward father mumble an apology, she angrily hopped up and tickled under his arms until he slid down to the floor in fits of anxious laughter...which surprisingly made her feel better.

Will Taylor and his Dad (NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams)

“Hey, dad, you're gonna be at the game on Thursday, right?” Will asked with a twinge of trepidation in his voice (he didn't want to seem too concerned) as he carried the soccer ball under his arm.

Smiling, his father teased the blonde boy “Oh, you think I forgot…huh, you think I forgot?!” and suddenly wrestled him down into the sunny campsite grass in a merciless flurry of tickling fingers.

Will had been lonely and missing his dad terribly these past few weeks, but as he lay there squeaking and laughing helplessly (amid his struggle to tickle his dad back through that heavy three-piece suit), all that heartache slowly melted away.

Aang and Kya

Ankle-deep in the Nan Shan River (for familial waterbending lessons), Katara was struck from the heavens with a brilliant idea, and while Aang was distracted, she knelt down delivered wicked whispers into the ear of her young daughter, whose grin grew wider and wider.

At the direction of Kya’s wildly-flapping limbs, bubbles and seaweed and soft nodes of jasmine ice all gently coalesced into swirling, semisolid eddies that snaked beneath the water and wrapped around Aang’s lower legs before he even noticed them, and suddenly, the Avatar went cross-eyed and began to dance around in the whirlpools like a caffeinated monkey - they tickled!

As father and daughter both failed to contain their hysterics, Katara stood there snickering at her own clever prank, beaming with pride at her little girl...but in her mirth, she failed to realize that Kya might want to try out this "traditional Southern Water Tribe technique" on her next.

Vander, Vi, and Powder

Vi and Powder plopped down on the elder sister's bed and angrily wiped their bruised, stinging cheeks and damp lips, only marginally comforted by Vander's tree-trunk arms around their shoulders...though the thing that really hurt most was their pride.

"That's what you get for taking on boys twice your size...you learned your lesson or do they need to whip your hides again?" their guardian teased the girls and tussled their hair, and Vi (who was clearly trying not to smile) answered by twisting her left elbow into his ribs.