Shui

a lot of people have already talked at length about the bento scene in gaiden, but I wanted to do it too, and specifically how it, gaiden, and the rest of the manga posit (through naruto himself and outside observers) what family is, and that by that metric nh aren't a true family. namely, food and protection. long post warning i like to talk.

so first let's set the stage and go back to chapter 3, where it's observed by kakashi that naruto has been drinking expired milk:

chapter 3 is a huge chapter for establishing naruto the character, it's early on enough that any information we're presented about him is going to massively affect our perception of the character, where chapter 1 is the turning point in his life through iruka, this is the one that really sets the status quo; naruto has a rivalry with sasuke and a 'crush' on sakura, and we're shown sasuke understands naruto's loneliness. we're shown naruto lives alone and eats alone and the food he eats is expired. we get three panels at the end of this chapter of outsiders (kakashi and hiruzen) commenting on naruto's home, and two are dedicated to pointing out the milk, which makes it the most memorable detail and more likely to affect the readers understanding of naruto. while it's part of the comedic story of the chapter, it also symbolises his loneliness, his lack of a family.

so next is iruka. before iruka protects him, he offers to buy naruto food. while iruka's bodily protection is a very obvious bonding moment between the two, it's the offer of food that sets the stage for them actually bonding:

naruto also reflects specifically on them eating together, rather than physically saving him, when calling iruka his family at vote1:

this is connected later in chapter 536, where iruka reflects that he thinks of naruto as a brother (which also lightly refutes narutos vote1 misunderstanding of their relationship being fatherly, and that it further refutes the sns 'brothers' thing, but that's besides the point)

specifically, he thinks of himself as unable to protect naruto and that that means he's failing to live up to being family. but bee, an outside observer, recognises that they are family regardless:

and this page ends with naruto eating the letter iruka wrote him, emphasising that it's not just protection that makes a family but food.

so let's go to gaiden and talk more about outsiders. there are five people present in the first part of the bento scene, most importantly boruto, sarada, and shikamaru. boruto is the only one who could be considered a part of the nh dynamic, and he's visibly upset about what he sees in that relationship:

sarada's role in this scene is to tell us explicitly the meaning of the food, boruto's is to show his dissatisfaction with the state of his father's relationships to him and hinata, but shikamaru's is to take over what naruto isn't there to say (his apology), just as bee did above with iruka, and to watch the rest unfold, and we see him every three or so panels, reemphasising that his observation is a critical part of this scene. the big difference is he can't offer any true reassurance, he can't help them, he can only give instructions and relay messages, because unlike iruka and naruto's relationship, this one has no solid foundation

gaiden further emphasises the connection between food and family through cho cho. when we first see her and choji in a scene we understand she knows her father well through her observations on his chip habits (and serves to further show sarada's lack of a father). the chips are not just food but symbolic of cho cho's connection with her father

which is why she offers them to sasuke to make up with sarada, even bringing the same flavours as in the above panels. it may come across simplistic, even naive, but it also evokes the lack of connection between sasuke and sarada

speaking of offering food, let's quickly go back to the bento

speaks for itself really but it also parallels iruka as the first change and moment we, the readers, see of bonding between sasuke and naruto is not training together or the bodily protection of the land of waves, but once again the offer of food. he also goes on to eat lunch together with sarada and cho cho, but won't come home for dinner. also the favourite restaurant tidbit:

so it's not just the offering of food but the sharing of food too, we go back to chapter 152, where naruto observes a father and son sharing an icey pole, and even mentions food waiting at home.

it's another physical symbol of his loneliness, and the association of family, through jiraiya, and then connected again to iruka

furthermore, the minato one shot strengthens this connection by having minato and jiraiya share the same food in the same scenario of training the rasengan (which in turn was created for kushina)

kushina and minato are also associated with food in their relationship to naruto, firstly through his name

but more importantly through their few and last moments with him. the first thing kushina says with her last words is her wish for him to eat well, it's an extension of her wish for him to have connection and family.

and in his goodbye to minato, naruto begins by mirroring this speech, listing off the foods he likes; these moments are bookends so obviously they'd mirror each other but it shows an understanding on naruto's part of the role food plays in his relationships, and a deeper connection by him listing specifically foods he likes, letting his father know actual facts about him (something cho cho knew about her father)

he also assures his father he does now have connections:

so back to gaiden once more. when naruto talks about family he says what's most important is love:

when sarada reflects on her mother after this, she's specifically shown eating, because food is connection and family. this was about her yearning for a relationship to her father, while her mother was the one there for her, providing her food

in contrast, nh have never shared food. hinata's offer of food is delivered through boruto and sarada, not from her own hands, and the entire scenario is subject to criticism from the characters and readers. when naruto receives the food he thinks of sasuke instead, someone he has claimed as family over the course of the series, and who is shown through the series to meet the criteria of love and family as food and protection. ergo, nh are not truly family in the eyes of the narrative.

as an addition, ss do not actually share food either. in chapter 173 he physically rejects sakura's offer of food:

when they do end up 'sharing a meal' in gaiden, they're actually not. beyond the fact they both look miserable, this scene is about appeasing sarada, showing her in a naive contrast to boruto from earlier who accurately understands his parents lack of connection. it's the same as the previous scene where she thinks back on her mother, eating her mothers food and wanting a connection with her father. the table shown only seats two either side, in fact we don't even know that as we can't accurately see how wide it is, we see no place set up for sakura, she's not part of this meal beyond making it. and unlike sarada who is obviously ready to eat by the chopsticks in her hand, sasuke has made no move to touch the food. he is not an active participant in this meal, and therefore in this relationship

I love Hinata. And anyone else that does, or has memories about liking her, or at the very least, not minding her, needs to hear this, because your love for her character, is going to be tested here. And if I lose you, that's on you, because this time, I really don't have many kind words to share with the overall direction her character was taken towards. So don't let the adorable GIFs fool you, I am really not pulling my punches here.

Part 1: Genin Hinata was PEAK

This is where Hinata peaked as a character. Nuff' said. She was soft, but that wasn't a weakness. She took on Neji's hatred, but not because, she wanted to be painted as the victim afterwards, she knew he had every reason to hate her, and the Main Branch. She should be applauded for this, and if you disagree, then don't even start arguing it, because human complexity is not your strong suit, and discussions are off-limits for you around me. She did this, for Neji, not for herself. And this is why, I will never understand this narrative that, later on in life, she became a "slave owner".

In all seriousness, WTF, dude? Considering she knowingly risked her own well-being, hoping to soothe Neji's anger, and to show to the Hyuga clan elders, that she was just as disposeable as him and the Side Branch, despite being from the Main Branch, do you really want to tell me, with a straight face, that this is something a "slave owner" would do? Do you even understand what this word implies in her case? 'Fraid not, 'cause that is not only HELLA insensitive to say in the context of what she endured growing up, being considered the "failure" of the clan and all, it also serves to undermine the fact that, she literally risked her own life, just hoping to soothe Neji's blazing and completely justified hatred. That means, she is agreeing with him. She didn't run from it. She didn't care about what she "represented", she loved Neji more, than her own birthright. She could have chickened out, but she STAYED. She ate it all, not for the clan, but for her family. She is many things, but being a coward, is NOT one of them. In spite of her timidity and shyness.

In fact, it may be filler, but this scene here, is just... Hinata, to me. This is Hinata. Not this freaking parody of herself in the Boruto era. This is Hinata, in her purest and undiluted form.

*insert video here of the filler arc in Part 1, episodes between 189 - 190, because Tumblr is stupid*

She stands up for Naruto. She shows backbone. She is shy and timid, but none of that ever really held her back as a character, she still ends up being her own person, with agency and goals, Naruto was on her mind, all the time, but it was never to her detriment as a standalone character...

...At least, NOT YET.

Part 2: ...Where is she?

Literally, that may sound dumb, but... Where the hell was Hinata? Throughout most of Shippuden, she was pretty much absent. Zero plot relevancy. Outside of the obvious proverbial dead horse being beaten to beaten town city, because I do not plan on bringing up her fight with Pain for the billionth time, like every other Hinata fan with gripes to share, I am just going to say this, and I am not doing that lightly:

...Hinata doesn't exist in Shippuden.

And I don't mean that literally. She is just... There. And that's about it. She sees Naruto, she faints. End of story. That is basically her character, for the hundreds of chapters to follow. When really, let's be realistic for a second, if Kishi's word is to be believed, that NaruHina was supposed to be "endgame", and he "always planned for them to sail the seas", you really mean to tell me that, after travelling with Jiraiya, who must have taught him more than just a bigger Rasengan, he would NOT become shy, BEFORE Hinata? He doesn't blush and faint, first (Hinata literally represents all of Naruto's dire, masculine needs, she has it all, he doesn't need Sakura to feel grounded and appreciated ((no hate to Sakura, tho)), and yet her having grown so pretty in Shippuden, it really does NOTHING for him? REALLY???), despite Jiraiya's pervy tendencies, clearly having rubbed off on him, one way or the other? He sees her again, and he is back to being a dumbass, just for comic relief? Not even her bigger milkers impress him, despite the fact that Jiraiya must have clearly taught him something about women (questionable, as the advice may have been, it makes even LESS sense that Naruto is not actively gooning for Hinata, since she is literally everything, that even his godfather would have approved, Naruto is easily impressionable, he would easily replicated his demeanor, only without trespassing into creep territory, but then again, he kept invading Sakura's space, without her consent). And to start the absolute regression trainwreck journey, that is Hinata's storyline, from this point on?

And the fact, that Hinata's literal love confession was completely ignored, despite this literally being a canon event (and for the love of god, PLEASE, don't come to me and say "oh, she didn't mean it that way, it was friendship talk in the context of the Japanese language, don't be so fucking lame, it just gets on my nerves, the intent in the text, was more than clear, but it means NOTHING, because it was never brought up again, until the freaking movie, not even the war arc brought it up. If you reduce this to the intent "she loved him as a friend", then her risking her own well-being for Neji, was also just "friendship" too, despite him literally being family to her, so kindly, go fuck yourself), is exactly the turning point, where Hinata's character landed on a steady decline. Like a landslide of hot turkey farts and beer. Again, her loving Naruto is NOT a weakness. He clearly inspired her. She draws strength from his courage. Not that hard to grasp, isn't it?

I am just clarifying that now, because some fans have the uncomfortable tendency to always mentally live in another dimension, in which they may live through Spongebob's "Opposite Day" episode on repeat, assuming that romance is holding the female characters back. Yeah. I have seen it all, at this point. But strictly speaking:

...No. It doesn't. And it should NEVER be seen or treated as such. Whatever the medium, or the dudebros in the fandom say. Romance keeps things interesting, and that's literally a fact...

...As long as the execution checks out, which, in the context of Naruto, only SasuSaku got that sort of tension and character growth on both sides, and I am happy for the SasuSaku peeps...

...if only I could say the same thing about NaruHina, because I can't.

Kishimoto was just an overworked dad, by this point, who just couldn't care less, anymore. Much less about female characters, he already had difficulty writing them, so why even bother? Just make them all housewives later. And that just reflects in his writing, after the Pain arc. I have pretty much come to terms with all that. I am not mad. I am disappointed.

And this scene here in the anime...

...The fact that, Hinata AND Sasuke, were never around to absolutely smack Naruto across the noggin' for not only being an obnoxious shithead (seriously, dude, why did you do that? Comic relief needs timing and setup, and that was not it, you deadass lie to your dead pop's face about Sakura), but also for lying like this...

...Again. Hinata may be soft, but she was never a spineless bootlicker to ANYONE, not even Naruto. This is the same girl to purposely present herself as disposeable to the entirety of the Hyuga clan, just to make a point about Neji's hatred probably being justified, but here: Nope. Hinata never reacts. She isn't around to smack him. She isn't around to clear things up. She never stands up for herself, or Naruto... Nothing.

I feel genuinely scammed as a NaruHina lover, reliving these moments.

And no, NaruHina fans, this all comes from a religious lover of NaruHina here, I have loved them since I was a kid. But with the years, having been exposed to way better examples of their kind of relationship, and growing older, I had to understand that: This ship has sunken, long ago. Way before Boruto or The Last. Because the canon story clearly didn't give a damn about their relationship anymore, so pray tell, why would the NaruSasu fans be so loud and obnoxious? Because Hinata and Sakura were never important enough to add weight to either Sasuke's or Naruto's individual character arcs (even if, Sakura did assist in healing Sasuke's heart, and that isn't just headcanon speaking). A canon ship, having been treated as non-canon fluff, is what I am saying. They didn't fight any allegations. And we know how fandoms operate: You give them a finger of something, they will take your arm, instead.

...Again, what was I saying? She was clearly missing, so why did I speak so much about her? Maybe, she is John Cena--

Part 3: Blank Period / Boruto... I am good, thanks.

This entire part should be named, "Everything that made Hinata special, was essentially made null & void".

Like, even back then, when I first saw The Last, I didn't exactly LIKE it, but I appreciated it, since it was clearly catered towards me, and I am not hating this experience. However...

...Hinata's character, from this point on, well into the Boruto story, was just so... Empty. Everything that made her so special, was just dulled down and muted, and when there was a small semblance of it to be seen and felt, it was so insignificant, it's as if you can only look for crumbs. Which also explains why half of the "Pro Hinata" points online, mostly consist of super obscure and hard-to-find flavor text from either the novels, which aren't canon, by the way, or complimentary material from Boruto's manga. Isn't that telling enough? I appreciate the thought, but if we really have to scoop this low into the trash pile to find even the tiniest ounce of gold about her, all hope is already shot to the stars. It almost feels like, all that character progression she had in Part 1, means absolutely nothing now, since... She has no agency anymore, beyond becoming Naruto's personal trophy for a wife. I just absolutely HATE how The Last frames Hinata's entire character. It felt like a heinous, spiteful self-parody of what she used to represent, while also ignoring all of it, because god forbid her actually having her own character, beyond just wanting to finally confess to Naruto.

That's literally what this feels like, man. The movie pretends as if, Hinata never had any goals or ambitions of her own, beyond just wanting to get into Naruto's pants, and he gets shown off as "romantically dense", when this is the same story, that had previously shown Naruto, literally INTERROGATING his own mother, about how her relationship was like to his father.

"Romantically dense"? More like SELECTIVELY dense, then. And that would make Naruto a complete POS, in hindsight. Hinata was always there, yet he never appreciated, nor was he ever there for her, when it absolutely counted, if the movie's overall romantic messaging is to be believed, that is. This framing is so freaking gross and demeaning (not just for Naruto, but for Hinata, too, because it gets shown off as if, they were always right there, but they never saw one another to begin with, even after all the trauma they endured, this just SUCKS!), bro. How did we NaruHina fam go all these years, without ever calling it out how disrespectful this portrayal of their relationship is. Hinata gets reduced to a Naruto-obsessed parody of herself, and Naruto, apparently, even in the eyes of Kishimoto, since he still greenlit the freaking script of The Last, is a total piece of work, who should never get together with ANYONE, period, if he is knowingly being selectively dense, in whatever narrative fancies him most, in that very moment.

And again, let's go back to what we know about Hinata, since Part 1.

She is cute, but she is feisty in battle

She is shy and timid, but she is not a coward

She is easily terrified, but she still has a spine

She hates her family (with the exception of Hanabi and Neji), but she doesn't want them to suffer, either

She is soft, but she is still ambitious and driven, she clearly wants to grow stronger and not remain stagnant

She loves Naruto, but his love doesn't define her, he inspires her, without it hurting her character

But by the time The Last, and Boruto, were conceived, we ended up having all this, by the end of it, which is also why I said, that the point about "female empowerment", in regards to Hinata, that the fandom seems to really enjoy pushing about her, is purely performative and vapid:

Rarely participates in fights, despite being a war vet, and being sidelined completely, in combat, and in relevancy

Her shyness, that once masked her bravery, became her core selling point, her backstory, her trauma, her clan, barely explored, as such, reducing her to just that: Trophy waifu housewife

She has a spine? Color me shocked, because apparently, she left the Hyuga clan, all to focus on her family, and she can't even do that, because she never calls Naruto out for overworking himself, nor does she ever put her own son in his place for talking so much shit about her husband (reminding you, she defended Naruto, in filler, why couldn't she do that, as a grown ass adult?), meaning, she not only left the clan, never challenging it, never honoring Neji's legacy by challenging the system that ruined his life, naaah, ambitions and staying morally consistent, is clearly too much work, Naruto matters more, and they rarely even touch each other anymore, great job, Hinata, hope that was worth it

Hating her family, welp, that never reached a meaningful conclusion, because to this day, we may never even know, what changed about the Hyuga clan, whether the Caged Bird Seal is gone now or not, or if the Side or Main Branch system is finally broken up, nope, family above everything else, a family, that never respects her, too

Effectively retired, because all the ambitions she used to have as a Genin, all gone, in favor of a domestic family life, and while there is nothing wrong with it PER SE, it DOES become a problem, when literally, every other female in her year, still pursues their career, while also being a mother, so what excuse does Hinata have?

Seeing Naruto as an inspiration, was actively used as an excuse to now have her actively regress as a standalone character, being always "Naruto-kun! this, Naruto-kun! that", becoming a damsel-in-distress, who seemingly can't even use basic ninjutsu anymore, despite the fact, she NEVER needed saving, she had her own goals and ambitions, she had a spine, she had consistency, Naruto was just part of her journey, not the core center of her universe

So now, allow me to ask... Does ALL THIS, still sound like "female empowerment" to you all, or more like moral re-packaging to cater purely to the shippers, no matter what personality-based damage you may end up leaving behind for both parties involved?

And again, let me repeat myself: There is NOTHING wrong with choosing family life, over work, being a housewife is tough, do not get it twisted. I will always love and respect women like this...

...BUT...

...It came, at the expense, of her own identity. The plot no longer allowed Hinata to just be... Hinata. And what little remnant she ever had left, about her backstory, her experiences with either the clan or the village, her familial struggles, etc. All of that, barely even shines through anymore, even while raising her kids, and being Naruto's wife. It's like, she is actively dodging everything that basically made her the person she is now, as an adult, and that gets re-packaged as "moving on", because she isn't involved with the clan anymore. Despite the fact that, she said it herself, in her fight against Neji:

Well, too damn bad, because Boruto apparently tells us something else: She departed from the clan, never confronting any of the issues dead-on, that had plagued her own clan and family for decades, apparently not even giving a damn anymore about all the innocent people, that may be forcibly tied to this clan without any means of defending themselves, with the same clan having played a part in defining Hinata's journey early on, but hey, that's just my humble opinion:

Being empathic, using her past as motivation to actually improve things for everybody, not just herself, and not wanting to become like her father, honoring Neji's sacrifice, literally, ALL POINTS THAT MADE HINATA SO SPECIAL...

...is apparently something, that Hinata fans seem to be totally fine with being totally ignored and overwritten, as long as Naruto is her dear ol' hubby.

...And then you wonder, why narratives like "Hinata being a slave owner" exist, not because it's knowingly wrong, but because the canon story literally does NOTHING to prove them wrong, DIRECTLY. Not in sub-context, not in throaway novel text, not in author notes, DEADASS. IN THE CANON STORY.

#NotMyHinata

(Little Addendum incoming: Another reason why I absolutely despise this character direction with Hinata, is for another, far more egregious reason entirely. That being, years upon years of trauma, enforced either by her father, the passing of her mother ((whom we never learned anything about, because humans aren't aliens, you need two, to reproduce, yes, educational, amirite, Kishimoto?)), or the Hyuga elders' unreasonable expectations, get practically retconned out of existence, because we absolutely needed Hiashi to be a loving grandpa with Alzheimers in Boruto, who conveniently forgot the irreparable, emotional damage and scars he had left behind for Hinata, Hanabi and Neji to chew on, well into adulthood. This, right here, is DISGUSTING, and may shame hit you in the form of a stubbed toe, if you think that this was even remotely acceptable of a conclusion to be had, to the story arc of a clear-cut abuse victim here. This is a writing pattern, that I absolutely HATE. I am downright ALLERGIC to shit like this. There is just something so deeply unsettling about taking characters, who were clearly written to be the victims in their own backstories, suddenly having their entire backstories getting rewritten, mid-narrative, just to make it "easier to digest". Instead of dealing with the damage dealt to the obvious victims here, everything gets swept under the rug, because god forbid, any reckoning or justice existing in this world. Why else do you think, people get so frustrated for Hinata, Sasuke, and especially Anko? Not because their trauma existed, but because it was treated as background fluff, with a beginning and middle, but no clear end. Hiashi never answered for what he did, and Orochimaru -- Who is quite literally the Jeffrey Epstein and Josef Mengele of the Narutoverse, at this point -- somehow gets to walk free, instead of rotting in a cell. I feel like vomiting, I swear. Frankly, Kishimoto should be ashamed of himself, for never concluding Hinata's and Neji's character arcs, and then having the audacity to just let it all evaporate into thin air, in favor of already having the next-gen characters at the door, when half the OG cast he introduced, barely got any satisfying conclusions to their own character arcs, in the last 700 chapters. This is nothing short of disturbing to me, and it just further proves my point that, Hinata was robbed of her agency, the moment The Last came around. She was no longer a character. She was a reward, with no face. And when you bear the knowledge that a character like her, fought so hard to get out of the ditch that she was thrown into, after earning herself the rank of shinobi, you just can't help but have this uncomfortable feeling in your gut that: Something crucial was taken from her.)

i am actually double majoring and on of my majors is sinology (chinese studies) so for example shisui is actually zicui but the reason is actually quite simple japanese people read the same signs diffrently for example ka zuigetsu - 華瑞月

in chinese you would read it as

華-huá

瑞-ruì

月-yuè

the meaning is the same but they read it diffrently!

It was everything I imagined plus helped me better understand the Shi Clan's backstory through visual and audible storytelling. And is this the first time we got through a major plot point without Maomao? She wasn't even in this ep till the end credits and we've been following Jinshi's POV the whole time.

It was fascinating to see Shisui/Loulan and Jinshi/Zuigetsu interact properly for the first time (even though he visited her regularly in the rear palace as part of his job). It's the first time they showed their true colors to each other. I'm dying to know how they truly felt about each other. Resentment? Somehow it doesn't feel that way despite Loulan being the one who caused so much political trouble and kidnapped the girl he loved. Would Jinshi have listened to Loulan if he hated her so much? Does Loulan resent Jinshi or was he just a tool for her grand finale? Hmm. Side note, their passive aggressive jabs at each other were frickin hilarious.

I came up with two conclusions about Shishou and Shenmei after this. One: Shishou is a loving coward who deserved better. Two: Shenmei has always been a total bitch. The sins of the Shi clan and the Ka clan (namely, the former emperor) were overlapping one another that it negatively affected generations later. What sins did Suirei and Jinshi have? Being born? Having the same face as the Emperor? It's despicable. And Loulan, who was a child trapped in a cage of deceit and resentment. She grew up as a villain and ended her life as a villain.

Finally, Jinshi was sure: this was her stage. And all those around her were merely supporting actors drawn into her performance. (...) Should he have stopped her? No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t mar the performance of the great villainess of her time. Couldn’t even take his eyes off it.

Jinshi comparing what he witnessed to a play/performance and Loulan calling herself an actress is pure poetry. Everything about Loulan's dance was breathtakingly, hauntingly beautiful. Suirei helplessly reaching out to her sister. Jinshi unable to look away. Loulan's laughter. Her smile as she fell, knowing she was finally free. The music. The starlit sky.

-Sakura top left: ボルトの力に なりたいんでしょ…？

“To Boruto's power... you want to become his strength/support, right?”

-Sakura: …ホントにさ…… つくづくあたしの子だよ

“...Seriously... through and through, you really are my child.”

-Sakura: たった一人の男の子のためにさ……

-“For the sake of just one single boy...”

-Sakura: 他のぜんぶを投げうっても良いなんて……

-“..To be perfectly fine with throwing away everything else...”

** I need to add this but Sakura's framing of Sarada's MS as something used purely 'for just one single boy' is reductive on the narrative's part regardless of whether it is accurate or not. By BV, Sarada's characterization has been increasingly Boruto-centric and the narrative itself has not done enough to complicate that. But in this specific scene, Sarada's silence is the narrative choice that matters, she nods to Sakura’s words about her feelings and cries. She had every opportunity to push back, to say her reasons were broader, that her village, her teammates, her Hokage dream were part of it too. She says none of that. Her silence allows Sakura's reductive framing to stand completely unchallenged, and as a result of that, what should have been a complex conversation about trauma and ambition, the sacrifices, they all collapse into an oversimplified repeat of Sakura's own past. Even as a mother trying to comfort her daughter in a painful moment, this is a missed opportunity for a much deeper conversation, they’re literally discussing her MS but the way its framed here is very underwhelming.**

-Sakura:パパにもそっくり…

-“You're the spitting image of your dad, too...”

-Sakura:いつだって何か とてつもないものに立ち向かってる

-“Always standing up against something absolutely immense.”

“Sakura:どんなに汚名を着せられようともね…

“No matter how much dishonor/infamy is forced upon them...”

Sakura: パパのお兄さんもそうだった

*"Your dad's older brother was the same way."*

-Sakura: あたしはね… サラダ パパとあんたの事 何があっても信じてるから…！

-As for me... Sarada... regarding you and your dad... I will believe in you both, no matter what happens...!”

There are theories floating around online that claim that the previous words regarding Itachi and Sasuke prove that Sakura has full knowledge of the Uchiha Coup and the hidden truth behind the massacre, however, the grammar structure and history completely contradict all of this by itself. Starting with Sakura's dialogue in the second page: she links Sarada to Sasuke first and notes that Sasuke always stood up against ‘something absolutely immense’ (とてつもないものに立ち向かってる). The actual Japanese is vague: とてつもないもの ("something tremendous/immense") with no object specified. From Sakura's life experience, that "something" could be anything from the tragedy of his clan, to the Akatsuki, the war, and later on dimensions full of Otsutsuki.

...どんなに汚名を着せられようともね... ("No matter how much infamy is forced upon them..."). The word Omei (汚名) means a bad name, a stigma, or a ruined reputation it is modified by the passive-causative verb 着せられる (kiserareru), which means to have an undesirable trait or reputation draped over or forced upon you by outside forces or public perception. The volitional form 着せられよう＋とも means "no matter how much they try to force infamy on them." The agent is unspoken: the village, history, public’s opinion, Sakura doesn't name anyone specifically, the infamy was always there and she is simply pointing it out. English translations often flatten this to 'infamy forced upon them,' losing the volitional 'no matter how much they try' and the passive-causative 'draped on by outside forces.' This vagueness lets readers imagine a specific conspirator (Danzo) where the Japanese only implies public opinion.

パパのお兄さんもそうだった ("Your dad's older brother was the same way").

This is a surface-level link at best, and frankly I don't know why people are treating it as if she unveiled the whole truth. Sakura makes exactly two observations: that Sasuke and Itachi always faced something immense, and that infamy was forced upon them while doing so. That is the full extent of what she says. There is no political revelation, no classified detail, no inside knowledge required to say either of those things.

Sakura is connecting a specific phenomenon she has observed in the Uchiha men as they end up labeled as criminals or outcasts while standing up against "something immense." That's the thing both men share and what is known of them. To assume Sakura knows the classified truth requires one to ignore what the entire ninja world already knew about Itachi at that time, it isn’t hidden knowledge he is a “traitor,” he is a famous, high profile historical figure. What Sakura is stating isn't new information as many already know that too. Itachi was a rogue ninja who slaughtered his clan and joined the Akatsuki, Sasuke abandoned the Village, joined the Akatsuki, killed Danzo, was hunted down, that all gives them infamy it’s the outcome of their actions. She doesn't need a top-secret file from Danzo to say that because we readers also saw how they reacted back then too. She is describing what was already known by then, the common surface-level tragedy of the family’s history.

Now let’s go into the dynamic Sakura set up. Sarada is an Uchiha whose stated life goal is to become Hokage, a leader who must prioritize the collective safety of the village and protect everyone and her MS is awakened through immense psychological trauma—Boruto who was framed as a traitor and their friends tried to hunt him down. Instead of treating her impending blindness as a devastating physical handicap or a dark systemic tragedy that needs to be solved the narrative instead chooses to frame it as a sacrifice for her crush, literally look at the direct trajectory of the conversation:

Sakura says: “You're going blind”

Sarada responded: *"I'm sorry, but even so, I must..."*

Sakura concludes: “Ah, you want to be Boruto's strength. You are completely fine with throwing away everything else (他のぜんぶを投げうっても良い) for just one single boy (たった一人の男の子のために). You really are my child.”

Sakura doesn't ask a single question about Boruto—why he needs Sarada's strength, what he's done, whether he's even worthy of Sarada’s suffering or not, not even if her daughter’s devotion is based on anything real. She fills in the blank herself and validates the answer she invented in her mind. Her using the word Nageutsu (投げうつ to recklessly discard, toss away, or abandon value), Sakura herself explicitly is shown validating the idea that Sarada is willing to throw away her eyesight, her health, and her future career as Hokage (everything else) purely for the sake of Boruto. The narrative in this chapter completely strips Sarada of her independent drive and reduces her ultimate power down to a tool for romantic devotion which isn’t inherently wrong, but as the writing stands it still is shown to be shallow.

Sakura has her daughter admit that she is actively going to destroy her own eyes and instead of acting like a doctor, looking for solutions, or expressing horror at the fact that her daughter is entering a cycle of self destruction that will ruin her, Sakura completely surrenders her parental and professional authority and just tells her to do what she wants. She is an elite Medic nin, her daughter has just described a progressive combat induced blindness condition. A real doctor would log the case and restrict the patient or at least consult specialists to try and avoid it, even if it is ‘impossible’ many before her managed to create jutsu, or improve their medical ninjutsu, study it more, give alternatives address it with their patients regardless of intentions. Sakura does none of this and worse, she validates the self-destruction instead and she normalizes the behavior by calling it a genetic trait (つくづくあたしの子だよ / Through and through, you really are my child). And don't tell me the story didn't have room for medical realism, or that this was "just an emotional moment." Tsunade, Sakura's own mentor, faced an almost identical emotional situation with Naruto's Rasenshuriken. Naruto was desperate to get stronger to protect Sasuke—just like Sarada with Boruto. But Tsunade didn't romanticize his sacrifice because she saw that the Rasenshuriken was destroying Naruto's arm at the cellular level, and she outright banned the technique because as a medic nin, a doctor, she prioritizes a patients health above all no matter what they try to argue, if she sees something that is damaging, she will point it out, that’s her job and profession. Thats a real medic nin. She told Naruto "I'm telling you, you're not using it." She acted as Hokage and head medic, she sure as hell didn’t act like a sentimental bystander or a cheerleader just because “his heart was in the right place,” she knows the risks so she put a line. Tsunade also gave Lee a 50% survival rate for his surgery and made sure he understood the risks, she never said "it's your resolve, I won't interfere." She makes sure her patients are aware of their situation, she consults them, she advises them because that’s how someone with experience and actual resolve acts. Tsunade drilled into Sakura that a medic ninja never gives up on their patients, no matter what. Tsunade had no blood relation to Naruto or Lee, yet she intervened to protect them from themselves. Sakura, trained by Tsunade, looks at her own daughter choosing blindness and says "I won't tell you not to use them" and "it's not for me to interfere." She tells her own daughter that. Compare her to Tsunade. One is a medical authority who enforces boundaries to prevent permanent damage regardless of intention. The other is a mother who frames her patient and daughter that her self-destruction is a beautiful inheritance. Where we see Tsunade act and take control, Sakura performs “acceptance.” Essentially it’s medical negligence on Sakura’s part. Her tears won’t reverse her actions or encouragement.

She admits her own defining trait was sacrificing her own identity for a boy, for Sakura’s case specifically, it wasn’t true love or care, it was pure selfishness as Kishi himself describes her love for Sasuke:

“But personally, I actually quite like Sakura's design and character. Everyone has an inner voice like 'Inner Sakura,' and I think it's good that she has a realistic humanness to her, including things like a selfish love. Manga girls aren't just about being cute! ...Though writing this makes me sound like I'm making excuses... Well, I can draw rowdy brats and old man characters as much as I want, but... girls are difficult... truly”

What he uses to describe her love for him is 自分勝手 (jibunkatte) which means selfish, self-centered, egotistical, it carries a negative or at least morally ambiguous connotation doing what you want without regard for others or for practical consequences and 恋 (koi) romantic love, Koi is traditionally viewed as a romantic desire centered on the self, the longing to possess someone or have your feelings reciprocated as opposed to ai which is a more mature, selfless act of love. He acknowledges that the realism in her (her selfish one-sided love) is the human trait itself. Kishi in another interview also calls her “サスケ 中毒” which literally means “Sasuke obsessed” the word 中毒 is a medical/slang term that translates directly to "addiction" "poisoning" or "toxicity" for example things like alcohol addiction or food poisoning. In internet slang attaching Chuudouko to a person’s name or hobby means someone is obsessed with, hooked on, or completely consumed by something. The manga itself shows us through patterns that Sakura’s love for Sasuke is selfish. In their first parting, she makes Sasuke’s tragedies about her, and Sasuke replies with an ‘I knew it..’ in part 2, she chooses to serve the village like her other classmates and go on to play the martyr role by fueling her thoughts on ‘Naruto is doing this for me’ and she decided she will end Sasuke, again proving not only does she not know anything about him (including Naruto), but she’ll also throw him away once he is deemed by others as ‘too deep into the darkness’ she doesn’t bother asking why, or hoping that with every cause there is a reason, she just accepts that Naruto is doing this for her, and he won’t give up because of her, so she plays the middle man. In part 2, she acknowledges the differences between her and Sasuke and Naruto, and says she can’t reach him, but even then she plays a pity party ‘if there even is a thought of me in your heart’ which there isn’t and Sasuke knows this so does she, even then a little part of her hopes if only a little, he thinks of her. Even when we reach the end, when Sasuke leaves the village yet again she tries to leave with him, no matter what Sasuke does, or tries to do, it doesn’t matter because as Kishi says, she is “サスケ 中毒.” And she’s proving it here herself, one can argue that Kishi was describing her as a kid, but Kishi goes on to show that Sakura’s traits don’t change when she becomes an adult.

She romanticizes the Uchiha cycle of martyrdom, brushing off literal blindness as a poetic family trait (パパのお兄さんもそうだった) without ever questioning whether Sarada's relationship with Boruto does justify such sacrifice—but here's the contradiction the scene doesn’t want to acknowledge, if Sakura just finished saying Sarada is willing to throw away her eyesight, her health, her Hokage dream—all "for just one single boy” that's becomes reductive because it frames the Mangekyo (a power born from psychological trauma) as nothing more than a love token, then, in the very next breath, she links Sarada to Sasuke and Itachi: "standing against something immense," "bearing infamy." Now suddenly it's a tragic Uchiha legacy. Which is it? Is Sarada just a girl sacrificing herself for a crush? Or is she carrying on a lineage of martyrs? It seems the narrative wants both—to romanticize her devotion as cute inheritance while also giving it weight it hasn't earned however, this inevitably results the framing to lack depth. Someone might argue these two framings can co-exist, that Sarada's devotion is both personal and tragically Uchiha but the problem is that the scene never shows us what's "immense" about Sarada's fight beyond her feelings for Boruto. Itachi and Sasuke faced world-shattering stakes, war, genocides, manipulation, Sarada is facing blindness for a boy whose situation she doesn't even fully understand. The narrative invokes the Uchiha legacy to add weight but the problem still remains that it doesn't earn that weight. Simply put, the contradiction isn't that two themes exist—because they can—it's that the story treats them as interchangeable when they're not. Itachi and Sasuke faced world-altering stakes whereas Sarada is going blind for a boy with an unknown situation, what makes this (rightfully) infuriating is the narrative borrows the weight of their tragedies without showing us why Sarada's situation has earned that same gravity which inevitably makes Sarada’s story shallow in comparison to the latter Uchiha’s.

Sakura however, exits the conflict completely by saying: あたしが口を出す事じゃない (It's not something for me to interfere with), and walks away with a generic "I'll just blindly believe in you guys no matter what” again, bo questioning about Boruto or why her daughter is doing this, if it might affect her which is the logical thing to think about at this crucial moment—she accepts it. Tsunade never once said 'it's not my place to interfere' about any patient's self destruction but somehow we see Sakura saying it to her own daughter?

(Reviewed**) Another crucial comparison we need to make is one between Sakura's response and Sasuke's. Sasuke knows the history of the MS because he lived it himself, he knows exactly what it costs and the significance behind the awakening so seeing Sarada, awaken her MS while crying over Boruto, he takes notice quickly and plays the middle man until things cool down because his own daughter just awakened the MS while telling him something is wrong with Boruto’s situation, he trusts Sarada's judgment and takes Boruto away to investigate him after her awakening. Later when they are alone, he realizes that what Sarada was saying of “things gone wrong” was actually true, we see his suspicions confirmed when he sees the headband with his own eyes, the one he himself gave to Boruto, not only the headband but he also sensed Momoshiki in Boruto, he himself says that those two things make him doubt his memory, if Kawaki is Boruto, and Boruto is Kawkaki, then why is Momoshiki with Boruto (who’s believed to be Kawaki) and not with Kawaki? The headband too, why is it with him instead of Kawaki? In short, the weight of the MS, the history and reason behind the awakening made Sasuke trust his daughters judgement, later he senses something is wrong (headband, Momoshiki) realizing that there is a feeling silencing his doubts about Kawaki and Boruto, his own memories are unreliable, so he decides to trust Sarada on this because he himself acknowledges that his memories aren’t as reliable as he thought, this doesn’t accrue often so he trusts Sarada on this realizing that something might genuinely be wrong (after piecing the puzzles himself). MS awakened, headband and Momoshiki with Boruto, feeling that tries to silence his doubts, realizing that his memories aren’t as reliable as he thought, all of this leads to his trust with Sarada. Sakura on the other hand, upon learning her daughter is going blind and has accepted it for a boy, asks zero questions about Boruto. Not who he is now, not what he has done, not whether Sarada's devotion is even based on accurate understanding of the situation, none of it. She fills and validates the answer herself saying 'I will believe in you no matter what,' as if trust can be thrown randomly especially considering the situation, throws in a Shannaro, and leaves. This is the second contrast the scene sets up whether intentionally or not: where Tsunade would have intervened medically, Sasuke intervenes investigatively, Sakura does neither. We’re only shown one parent investigate and question not just blind trust because Sasuke knows the significance of the MS so it lead to trust, that and the “feeling” he tries to suppress, Sakura doesn’t know anything yet she’s here blindly throwing in her own trust seeing her daughter suffer for a boy who didn’t even yet reciprocate her feelings. Sure, to some, the narrative frames this as a touching mother-daughter moment and on the surface, it is, but that image crumbles the moment you place Sakura next to the two people who should be her reference points, Tsunade never romanticized self-destruction in a patient and Sasuke never confirmed trust without evidence, what’s awkward is Sarada’s own mother, Sakura, does both.

What fans mistook for a lore drop was never about hidden knowledge because it was about inherited blindness, literal and otherwise. The rumors were entirely manufactured but fans ignoring this contrast invented a lore drop where none exists, the scene is a massive disservice to both characters, the author used the ultimate biological consequence of the Uchiha bloodline—blindness—not to advance a complex plot about clan history but to create a superficial parallel where Sarada copy pastes Part 1 Sakura's obsessive devotion, and Sakura stands by and cheers her on for it (even if her later actions show otherwise)

I do have to note that by the end Sakura also says this:

-家族の事で色々言われんのもさ！

- "Being criticized/talked about all kinds of ways because of my family!"

So in these years, with what Sasuke did—protecting Boruto— he has been regarded as a traitor once again. Here she is acknowledging that Sarada is doing the same, and she blindly says that she will trust them both hereafter no matter what. She does leave the room after being called upon to by a nurse, once she leaves, she sheds a tear. The whole interaction was obviously a way to comfort Sarada, the fake smile, comparing her willingness to throw everything away for a guy, telling Sarada what she observed from Itachi and Sasuke, saying she will stick with them even though they have been criticized, it is too much, no matter how many smiles she plasters her true emotions come out. Sakura's cheerful acceptance was a performance, she does feel the weight of what Sarada is doing, she knows it's painful. But rather than confront it directly she chose to normalize it, aestheticize it, and laugh about it in front of her daughter as if the situation isn’t that dire. One might argue that Sakura's tear proves she isn't truly validating Sarada's self-destruction—that she's merely putting on a brave face. But this interpretation actually makes the scene worse. Sakura knows, on some level, that her daughter is walking into blindness and public stigma. She feels the weight of it enough to cry the moment she's alone. Yet she still chooses to say nothing medical, nothing protective, nothing questioning (up until now). She still frames Sarada's sacrifice as a beautiful inheritance ("you're my child") rather than a preventable tragedy. The tear represents the moment a doctor and a mother silence her own better judgment to perform acceptance, she aestheticizes the pain instead of acting on it. The scene does not end with Sakura's tear however, as after she leaves Cho turns to Sarada and asks: あれって どーゆー意味 'what does that even mean?' referring to the ‘Shanaroo’ Sarada's answer is 実はあたしも 'actually me too.' Sarada does not know what her own mother's signature phrase means. But then she says: すっごい… 気合いが入るの…！ — 'it's amazing… how fired up it gets me.' This small exchange is the scene's most honest moment and it changes everything that came before it, we see Sakura spend the entire conversation delivering what looked like maternal wisdom—we see her reframing to the blindness as strength, invoking Sasuke and Itachi, laughing off public judgment. But the actual content of what she said was never the point as Sarada absorbed none of the meaning. She instead absorbed the energy, the intensity, the performance all that led her to feel fired up. Sakura successfully passed down the feeling of conviction without its substance. Sarada doesn't need to understand Shannaro for it to work on her just like she doesn't need to understand the full cost of what she's doing for Sakura's acceptance to validate it.

I decided to reread Boruto and notice some new things. Starting with the novel Jura cried for.

Looking closely, the book cover appears to be a gun. I assume this is Nakamura’s The Gun since it affects Jura, he likely cried because he saw himself in the MC.

In The Gun by Nakamura, the MC becomes obsessed with a handgun he finds, leading to a cold, existential awakening that replaces his boredom with a dark sense of curiosity. Similarly, Jura’s tears suggest that reading this novel has triggered his own "ego" to surface.

He is actually feeling the tragic weight of human obsession. By mirroring the book’s themes, Jura is starting to feel burdened by the same "irrational" emotions that define humanity, suggesting his quest for knowledge is becoming a dangerous psychological evolution. That is also starting to trigger Hidari.

In this case Jura’s “Gun” is love and Naruto, his target. In the book the MC ends shooting a detective, this is when everything ends for him and gets arrested. This book could be a premonition of what could happen.

Jura gets his “Gun”= Love, by “shooting” it= Devoring Naruto. He experiences the nature of his obsession to finally lose interest and feel empty once again like the MC of the novel he was reading. But I would prefer something like this wouldn’t happen.

And I think it won’t because of Hidari.

Hidari is not only starting to show interest in human’s emotions but he already showed interest in Naruto too!!

Jura calling out Hidari highlights the constant tension the authors want the audience to notice. Jura is only on edge when he is around him. I believe he chose Hidari as his right hand not for his strength, but to keep him close, study him, and keep an eye on his every move.

I’ve mentioned in other posts how Jura chooses Hidari to look for Naruto because he wants to study him. He wants to see if Hidari, even in his current state, is still capable of feeling love for him.

Jura’s ultimate existential question is to understand love.

What better way to test this than to see if Naruto’s love is powerful enough to move Hidari, even without his memories?? He is using their bond as a benchmark for what is humanly possible.

It’s subtle, but Kishimoto and Ikemoto are pulling a move straight out of The Last. The difference is that Hidari is completely clueless and has no memories. However, we have to remember Ikemoto’s interview, “The Divine Tree person is the one showing the 'true’ face of their original.”

If that’s true, Hidari’s reaction to Naruto might be the most honest version of Sasuke we've ever seen.

His curiosity and interest in Naruto are visceral. Even when he was in the village, knowing his “real” target, Sarada, was right there, he could only think of Naruto. It shows that his instinctual pull toward Naruto outweighs his actual mission.

Maybe they decide to develop this as in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the Legend of Zelda or the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

I love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I honestly can see the authors developing something similar with Hidari/Sasuke.

Let me explain...although the plot in Bortuo: Two Blue Vortex is beyond strained and convoluted, the main thread is that the sentient god tree beings are on a quest to understand their new found consciousness and a way to do that, is to devour people their originals had a strong connection to (I'm over simplifying).

In an interview, Kishimoto/Ikemoto stated these tree beings are the ego manifested from their originals, therefore any actions or things they say are going to be the truest we've ever seen them since they're not constrained by societal norms and/or self imposed boundaries or controls.

There's a couple of great posts from this user where they go into more detail as well as proposing that Hidari's true target is Naruto, not Sarada.

Cool, so in the latest chapter we get this gem:

After Jura announces the death of Mamushi, Hidari ponders on the nature of his death and asks why Jura brought him back, specifically, while he let others die. (A very Sasuke thing to say...Why are you so obsessed with me? But I digress).

Then we get this:

Okay, that's a bit intense no? Considering they don't know one another, there's no relationship, they're not friends...this is a very romantic/intimate thing to say to someone.

AND then the best part...

So...against such a loving declaration by Jura, how does Hidari respond? 'Weirdly, I'm okay with it'

No subtext, not reading between the lines, explicit text he's okay with a guy having intense feelings for him. Even Eida acts as the audience and comments on it, surprised that they're...flirting? Having such an intimate moment?

Now, I stated earlier these tree incarnations express the inner most self of the person they've taken over. So, what can we gather from this interaction about Sasuke? Although not news for SNS people (and most of the fandom at his point), if there was any doubt, Kishi has made it clear Hidari (aka Sasuke) is okay and accepts male affection towards him.

And for those sceptics at the back, he doubled down by showing us another parallel to the real Sasuke, so that even they can't argue this is just Hidari and has no connection to Sasuke. Yep, the random cat book:

I think most of the fandom knows Sasuke likes cats? He's been pictured many times in official art and, doesn't the Uchiha have some link to cats? I remember Sasuke visiting the cat people while putting together team Taka or something (memories are a little blurry here.)

So yeah, this was a great chapter and I am curious as to how is Kishi going to unravel Sasuke's true inner self through Hidari going forwards. Bear in mind that unlike the anime, in Manga canon, Naruto has no clue to Sasuke's true feelings for him, since the revelation only happened inside Sasuke's head and was never voiced out loud. So...how will Hidari react upon seeing Naruto? Will he have a reaction like Matsuri which we know Moegi (her real self) has a crush on Konohamaru? I now think this scene was laying out the groundwork for what could happen...

So...you got me interested Kishi. I can see where the threads are converging and although this is still a Shonen publication, being able to remove SNS from the main character cast could be a good device for Kishi to double down on his beautiful gay ninja story he's so desperate to tell and defend.

"People see you as sincere and introverted person. However, deep in your heart, you also possess a bold side. Sometimes being courageous and taking bold actions can be a catalyst for a great fortune."

This is basically Sumire's character, everyone sees her as a shy, meek, quiet and introverted flower girl, but deep inside also hides a full blown war and boldness she carries, which no one would expect. In fact, people do get confused about her different personality and versions. So what is a real Sumire?

Sumire is naturally a kind girl who was forced to face an early hard life with intense and inhuman training with the Root style from her father, which ended up developing her strategical, hiding and espionage skills. Sure her physical abilities were trained too, but the former are the ones that mostly contributed with her personality.

During the Academy, she built herself a persona of a shy girl that cared for everyone, to deceive her classmates (that's why she asked to be class rep), but as time passed by, she was getting comfortable around them. She found that being that kind was not something hard for her, rather something natural. But she constantly had to remind herself that she had a mission, and she doesn't have the rights to enjoy and be happy, and convinced herself everything was a lie (when in her deep heart it wasn't). At that moment, the only words and philosophy in her mind were those of her father and to fulfill his goal of revenge. She used to have auditive hallucinations of her father's voice, being angry if she fails and praising her if she continues with the mission, so much that she couldn't remember her mother's voice and always had the impression that the last words of her mother before dying were something important.

Also, she even found how Boruto was a very kind boy that truly cared for her. So she literally built a "Sumire Shigaraki" version to give Boruto a person who he could completely hate, not as a Class rep but a mastermind of the Ghost incident, so that he wouldn't feel hurt or conflicted.

Even now, she also builds a persona of a worried/"stupid" girl in front of Amado so that she could gather more information from him without any suspicion and cause. It's like playing chess piece.

At the end of the day, Sumire has a soft heart, she is empathetic and understanding, but also highly intelligent, with an amazing determination and ability to act boldly, and to control her emotions. That's her true personality. Plus her flower name (Violet) in Japan also symbolizes modesty, faithfulness, sincerity and love.

Now the real question lies: "Where will this honor student's research and love lead to?"

Currently she is no longer walking on her father's path, rather her own path, where her mother always wished for: happiness in life.

She gets to live in Leaf village and build friendship with her Academy classmates, something she always wanted to.

She is now working in the science division to build scientific ninja tools, so that she could control Nue for a better use, and fulfill her dreams of supporting the village.

She silently but confidently holds a deep gratitude, understanding and feelings for a person who saved her from darkness, keeping those feelings evolving. And now, she's more proactive and courageous of those said feelings.

And now, like the quote says, her bold actions have always leads to a great fortune, i.e. thanks to her contribution:

Sasuke was able to save Boruto during omnipotence after her words reached Sarada to convince him.

Shikamaru gains trust and allies with Boruto even during omnipotence.

Boruto's whereabouts isn't known now that him, Koji and Eida are the singularity of fates,

And finally, but most importantly, Boruto's sword upgrades came in handy thanks to her "future" research.

Plus, let's also not forget about Koji's words: "follow your heart to achieve the good future", and Sumire is shown to be following her heart, which is her love for certain person. You see where this is going? Maybe sooner or later, we'll see more of her bold actions, related to her research and love, that can bring great fortune, and I'm truly excited for that moment.

I love the slow buildup of Sumire letting others know to call her by her name to the point where boruto will call her name last which will be more of a special moment. Like Sumire actually finding herself and gaining confidence is very cute and comfortable.

I think a cute moment for Borusumi would be where Sumire is sleeping in the lab while doing work but boruto came to visit her.

This is why I love Sumire and ship Borusumi and hope they will be canon lol.

no frrrr !!!!! we are slowly, but surely being shown how sumire is being seen as an equal to her peers now! seems she’s coming out of her shell and with that, comes her feelings for boruto ♡

yeah! seems everyone is slowly getting used to hearing her want to be addressed by her name, and everyone will slowly do so. i definitely do believe boruto will be the last one to say her name. it’s what makes sense given he’s busy trying to save the world, so he doesn’t get any downtime compared to his friends (like when sarada was in the hospital, and no shinju are in the village. that gives the others downtime)

aww that would be cute! i can see boruto visiting her in the lab cuz his sword needs repairs or something and sumire is just sleep sksk xD boruto would leave her be, but not before watching her for a few seconds :3

Eida’s Character Growth ?

I feel this really gives credence to my interpretation that Eida’s character arc is about learning what real love is. & that Sumire is one of the main people teaching her that. (Link to theory)

Matsuri & Sumire both are upset- they feel close to people that want to use impersonal names with them. Unrequited levels of care/love/feelings suck.

It’s interesting that Eida watched Sumire’s outburst highlighting her feelings not being considered, (or boruto’s either) and Eida watches that same thing here; & Eida considers Matsuri’s feelings during her fit of rage & even takes a dig at konohomaru for not being able too. I think this is a signal of growth in her ~learning what real love is~ arc.

It’s honestly a big change, during Sumire’s outburst Eida didnt really take her feelings seriously and was kinda callous. Which leads me to believe I may be right that Eida’s later references in that chapter to Boruto’s interrogation & “follow your heart” was likely her being moved by Sumire’s outburst. It started to weigh on her and she started to take it seriously.

Eida’s introduction to Sumire was impactful because of 2 reasons

1, Sumire stood up for Eida (esp when no one else did) & 2, correctly interpreted how Eida felt which shows some wisdom.

This moment was important for Eida because it wasn’t revealed she was watching until Sumire stood up for her. & later, the writers stress how Eida specifically asks for Sumire to visit her along with Sarada. While everyone is confused as to why Eida specified Sumire.

But later on in chapter 76, we get the confirmation that Sumire accurately interpreted Eida’s feelings. They both said she wants an ordinary romance. But what’s interesting is that Eida is also confirming now that she also wants ordinary friends. Describing her desire the same way.

So we know Eida is not just interested in having a boyfriend but also real friends. She chooses to trust Sumire’s words. Showing again that Sumire is someone that’s impactful to her.

Mitsuki hit an insecurity for Eida when he discussed how Boruto has helped him realize his feelings may be misguided. Deep down, Eida is worried that she doesn’t know what real love is and that kawaki isn’t her soulmate. I believe the reason she wants to talk to Boruto is because he helped Mitsuki begin to understand his feelings and what love really is (Boruto showing care and respect towards Mitsuki in their fight and believing in him)

Eida feels unsure & is really just looking for someone to guide her. Hoping Boruto could possibly do that. But Sumire’s outburst seems to have done that for Eida before she’s had a chance to talk to Boruto.

I talk about this more in depth in the linked post, but I believe since Eida saw with her own eyes that Sumire was right about Boruto’s feelings, as well as Sumire being right about Eida’s feelings; she not only is consistently gaining respect for Sumire, but is likely looking towards her as a guide to understanding her feelings & real love (platonic or romantic)

***one last interesting note for now

When foreshadowing a possible altercation between Sumire, Sarada & Eida- the manga panel depicts Eida & Sarada glaring at each other suspiciously, with Eida having her back to Sumire. Possible sign of trust.

Eida also responds suspiciously towards Sarada’s inquiries in TBV chapter 1 but is soothed by Sumire. It seems like they’re building tension between Sarada & Eida as well.

Eida asks if they’ll confess to Boruto, she finds Sarada’s answer boring & is excited by Sumire’s.

She keeps acting so invested in Sumire’s opinions on love. It’s rly interesting bc she says Sarada’s comments about being ordinary friends is when she decided to exclude them from omnipotence (subconsciously) but looks at Sumire and says how she actually wanted that before meeting them. (Ref to her listening to Sumire defending Eida?)

Then Eida holds back Sarada from leaving with Sumire. Wanting to bond more. Depending on how the story goes from here could mess up my theory. But it’s definitely interesting that when she holds her back, it allows Boruto & Sumire to have a private moment.

I wonder if Eida checked his location and knew beforehand, or if it was just a coincidence. But definitely gives more steam to my theory that Eida respects Sumire’s take on love & is learning from & rooting for her.

Hot take:

We know Eida wants to talk to Boruto (about love) but hasn’t had a chance still. Eida seems invested in Sumire’s love life. I’m wondering if Eida tells Boruto something to help out Sumire in a Kakashi/Neji way. Since Eida is excited for Sumire to blurt out her confession, she might just tell him Sumire is immune rather than blatantly saying Sumire likes him. Or she may ask his feelings lol.

EXAMPLE: the time where boruto tried to tell her what happens to her father and she hugs him and don’t know what happened, hugged him in front of sumire, made Boruto lose his eye, almost expose themselves to Eida talking like she isn’t the enemy here, tries to follow boruto even though he doesn’t want to be, and be inconsiderate of others (of course their fans be too blind to see that) but you get what I’m saying? Right?

like it gets to a point with her honestly especially her fans like atp it’s okay to ship borusara but literally I see them as like siblings and family even if they’re not blood related and didn’t Sarada brother-zoned boruto too? Like come on it’s SO OBVIOUS that Sarada doesn’t have feelings for that man. Plus people say how sumire and Sarada are immune to omnipotence bc of their love for boruto. Now we already know sumire feelings for him which is romantically but ppl say for Sarada how her feelings for him is romantic as well but people have to know that love doesn’t equal to romantic feelings all the time like love can be expressed in different ways other than romantic.. if you know what I mean

Also by reading your post about tbv it actually wakes me up. :)

Also by reading your post about tbv it actually wakes me up. :)

Aww this is actually so sweet thank you 😊

so here’s the thing I don’t love Sarada but I don’t hate her either it’s just she, idk pmo so bad idk how to explain it.

Honestly its hard putting how I feel about her into words too, I dont hate her cuz I loved Kishimoto and Kodachis version of her, but I hate what Ikemoto has turned her into, I dont blame Sarada for his awful writing of her, but I cant just ignore it either since as long as Kishimoto acknowledges this as an official sequel this IS her canon character now and I despise it. So its really hard to put it into words because its hard hating and loving the same character because their written well by one writer and written terrible by another.

This is why Im neutral towards her now, I still love who she initially was but hate what Ikemoto turned her into, so now Im just neutral, Im still her fan but Im a fan that isnt gonna bite my tongue about how dirty shes being done or gas her up for doing the bare minimum things just to prove Im a fan, nah, the only way for her writing to improve is to call it out and let Ikemoto know that the way hes writing her is terrible and needs to change, but as long as her so called 'fans' keep defending and gassing up her writing then Ikemoto will see no reason to change it.

Saradas character is written so poorly that all her praises are literally all rooted in what she MIGHT do in the future.

Oh her MS abilities are gonna go crazy thats why their not letting her use it yet cuz its gonna be saved for a crazy moment

Oh Sasuke said her and Boruto are the only ones who can do something about omnipotence, that means shes gonna be a key role in stopping it

Sarada is gonna be the one to take down Hidari and save her dad

Saradas probably learned alot over these years we just havent seen it yet

You get the point, everytime they praise and defend her its always based on they THEORY of all the things she could potentially do, what she might do, what she might know, how she might help.

Notice how its never what she actually CAN do or HAS done but only what she MIGHT do or MIGHT be capable of, that alone tells you everything you need to know about how poorly written she is, she has no real outstanding praise worthy feats or contributions, everything is just what she MIGHT do, never what she actually HAS done.

I wouldn’t want to try to say her character REVOLVES around boruto and dont want to be wrong but at the same time she kinda is or I rather say she’s too focused on boruto. Like she’s too focused on him to the point where she don’t even care about the others around her and how her careless actions can affect people too.

This is the part that puts me off most about her writing, because I could tolerate her being hyper fixated on Boruto if thats the direction they wanted to go because Naruto was the same way with Sasuke, is it irritating at times? sure, excessive? sometimes yea, but its their closest bond so whatever you can give it a pass.

My issue is the obsession ppl say Kawaki has towards Naruto, Sarada has that x10 to an extremely unhealthy degree not even Kawaki has reached. Lemme explain.

With Kawaki theres justifiable reason for why he developed his unhealthy obsession, look at his upbringing, his biological father abused and sold him at a young age, and his adopted father abused him and forcefully had his body modified and implanted with karma against his will, then finally he meets Naruto who was the one and only father figure hes ever had that truly loved and cared for him

It makes perfect sense why Kawaki would have an unhealthy obsession with him wanting to protect Naruto at any cost, because to him Naruto is more precious than life itself, hes willing to make Naruto hate him and be killed by him in the end just to protect him from the Otsutsuki threats. He is willing to be HATED and KILLED by the person he cherishes the most, thats how important Narutos life is to him, and how little his own life means to him in comparison, for as long as Naruto is alive and well, he doesnt care what happens to him.

THAT makes sense, same as Naruto with Sasuke, in both those cases the 'obsession' made sense, Sarada's however does NOT and thats why her sudden character shift is so off putting.

Why is she wearing a mens sized jacket in Borutos style? why is she adopting his hot headed and irrational attitude when she used to be level headed and analytical? why is she no longer involved with her own bestie because of a boy? why does she show ZERO concern for her dad at all and never asks about him until Boruto brings it up? why is the only time she brings up her dad in defense of Boruto?

In all of Gaiden and even when Kodachi was writing Sarada and Chocho were inseparable and who she opened up to.

But after Ikemoto took over, apparently Sarada and Sumire are inseparable besties cuz they both care about Boruto, and if you dont care about Boruto apparently Sarada doesnt wanna hang around with you anymore, shes physically incapable of putting her feelings for Boruto aside to interact with anyone other than ppl equally as fixated on him as she is, that is Ikemotos take on her character.

You can try to argue 'Well Chochos not part of the plot thats why' neither was she a part of Sarada's daddy issues or her jealousy here towards Kawaki, shes THERE because shes Sarada's best friend, who shes closest to, who shes comfortable being open with, she doesnt have to be a part of the plot, she should be there just for being Sarada's FRIEND.

Do you know how ridiculous it is that Sarada is going through one of the hardest times of her life and Chocho isnt there beside her? supporting her? comforting her? even if she doesnt believe her she's still there to support through this hard time? do you know how ridiculous it is that Chocho is supporting HIMAWARI who she had NO prior connection to before TBV is now apparently besties with Hima and supporting her? and we see her supporting Boruto didnt make Chocho treat her any differently so she would've had the same attitude towards Sarada because again, thats her best friend.

Thats strike 1, strike 2 is dressing like this mf, that is a whole new level of weird literally no other character has ever stooped to BUT her which is why its such a bad look for her character, because she literally is the ONLY one whos ever stooped this low with their obsession and friggin Obito exists.

Kawaki is obsessed with Naruto but he isnt dressing like him, Mitsuki is obsessed with Boruto but he didnt dress like him, Obito was obsessed with Rin but he didnt dress like her, Naruto was obsessed with Sasuke but he didnt dress like him.

This is literally a Sarada exclusive thing and that is why it is one of the worst looks for her character, and Ikemoto's explanation for it is even worse because he doesnt even say its to rebel and show the village that she stands with Boruto [stupid still but atleast its a valid reason] but no, Ikemoto just says its how she coped with her complicated feelings about the whole situation which is just...so friggin stupid I cant even find the words to explain how stupid it is.

I've expressed my feelings about that enough so Ima leave it there.

Strike 3 is the biggest offense even worse than the jacket, her zero fks given about her dad.

This girl right here

Is the same as this one?

Doesnt ask Boruto where her dad is and instead just asks if hes sure he wants to fight alone

Doesnt let Boruto finish telling her what happened to her dad, even though his words strongly imply something bad happened to him, hugging him was more important than finding that out.

Doesnt ask about her dad until Boruto brings it up again because she was too focused on being embarrassed about hugging him

Barely reacts to the news that her fathers been absorbed ^

DOESNT THINK TO RUN AFTER THE THORN SOUL THAT'LL SAVE HER FATHERS LIFE UNTIL BORUTO LOOKS AT IT.

Is more upset and focused on what Sumire said about her being inconsiderate of other ppls feelings than she is anything regarding her dad.

By this point she found out her father has become a tree, that Hidari possesses the Thorn Soul Bulb that'll save her father, that her fathers clone tried to kill her and wants to steal her eyes

But none of that weighs on her mind, she feels nothing about her father being absorbed, nothing about Hidari having the key to saving her dad and her failing to save it, nothing about nearly being devoured

No the only thing weighing heavy on her mind is some fkin boy beef, THATS what got her shaken up, nothing to do with her fathers situation, his literal LIFE hanging in the balance, her FAILING to grab the one thing that could save him when she had the chance, NONE of that matters to her.

But Sumire saying shes inconsiderate of Borutos feelings? THAT struck a nerve, nothing else did but oof when it comes to Boruto boy he will ALWAYS have her undivided attention and concern so please be nice to her, please dont say anything about it and hurt her feelings, thats her best friend, who cares if she doesnt care about any of her other friends or her own parents? thats her childhood friend, her closest bond, she cares more for him than anyone else and whats wrong with that? shes acting just like Naru-

Yeah Im gonna stop it right there cuz no, no she is not, she is acting NOTHING like Naruto, because Naruto actually gave af about other ppl besides Sasuke, yes he cared about Sasuke the most, but he didnt ONLY care about Sasuke.

The fact that it is a canon fact now called out by Sumire that Sarada doesnt care about anyone elses feelings but her own tells you that this isnt just the fandom making up something to hate her or that she cant care about her friend, it is now a canon fact that Sarada is inconsiderate of other ppl, even of Boruto, she doesnt care about anyone elses feelings or struggles except Borutos and shes so inconsiderate she cant even take the hint that Boruto is keeping his distance for a reason, she is mentally incapable of seeing the bigger picture because she doesnt WANT to see it.

She thinks only SHE understands him and knows whats best for him which yea Naruto thought the same way but the difference is Naruto actually DID know what was best because he eventually did understand Sasuke's feelings and desire for revenge to a degree and he knew the path he was going down was only gonna lead him to misery, but he also accepted the fact that if he failed to convince him then he and Sasuke would just die together and be freed from all their burdens, either way Naruto knew Sasuke wouldnt be happy down the path he was going and he was completely right.

Sarada however has NONE of that insight or understanding, nor does she try to get it, she doesnt try to see anything from Boruto's pov, she doesnt try to understand how Boruto is feeling at all, she only thinks about HER feelings, HER concerns, HER wants, what SHE doesnt want him to do, how SHE thinks she needs to help him cuz he cant handle it on his own [which he has for 2 years]

Notice how when Naruto wanted what was best for Sasuke he always had his happiness and freeing him from loneliness in mind? what exactly has Sarada said she wants for Boruto exactly? she simply wants to help him against the major threats hes up against, thats it, you never see her thinking about how he feels or what'll make him happy or what he wants.

Sound familiar? yea, shes reached Kawaki's level of obsession but with none of the justification for it, but they essentially have the same thought process, protect Naruto/Boruto regardless of how they feel about the methods or them getting involved even if its something they dont want them to do they do it anyway because protecting them from harm is more important than respecting how they feel.

Protecting them makes THEM feel better, its both a selfless and selfish desire, its selfless because they are willing to put themselves in harms way for their sake, but selfish because their not honoring their wishes and doing things they DONT want them to do for them.

Its alright to wanna protect someone and keep them safe because you care about em, but its not ok to completely disregard how they feel and prioritize your wants and needs over theirs, thats when it becomes unhealthy.

That is not a dig at Kawaki's feelings for Naruto but just the realistic take on it, his obsession is understandable but its still an unhealthy obsession nonetheless and Sarada's is the same way, she has a very unhealthy obsession with Boruto, just as Naruto occupies Kawaki's mind 24/7 so does Boruto for Sarada.

If Sarada had Kawaki's justification for her obsession then it wouldnt come off as bad since she'd have valid reasoning but she doesnt, this obsession literally comes out of NO WHERE and is just there for no explained reason, she just suddenly has a one track mind on Boruto and Boruto only, and only hangs with Sumire because thats who she can talk to about Boruto and completely ditched all her other friends because of it.

Ppl still drag Sakura till this day for breaking off her friendship with Ino over a boy but nobodys giving that same energy to Sarada despite her ACTUALLY dropping her friendships over a boy, nah ppl just accept this like this wasnt a main talking point for why Sakura was a poorly written character, wheres that same energy for Sarada? shes the one who actually DOES deserve the backlash for it but its crickets which is only because its for the MC, the 'nice guy', if Sarada had dropped all her friends over Kawaki she'd be getting dragged like crazy, only cuz its Boruto its fine to drop all your friends for a boy now.

EXAMPLE: the time where boruto tried to tell her what happens to her father and she hugs him and don’t know what happened, hugged him in front of sumire, made Boruto lose his eye, almost expose themselves to Eida talking like she isn’t the enemy here, tries to follow boruto even though he doesn’t want to be, and be inconsiderate of others (of course their fans be too blind to see that) but you get what I’m saying? Right?

Yep I gotcha loud and clear

like it gets to a point with her honestly especially her fans like atp it’s okay to ship borusara but literally I see them as like siblings and family even if they’re not blood related and didn’t Sarada brother-zoned boruto too?

In the anime yea but not in the manga yet, so far shes only friendzoned him, but there are slight hints to their familial bond

For starters he wanting Naruto to be her dad at one point, if you had a crush on someone I doubt you'd want to be their fathers kid

Sarada and Boruto are always promoted together alongside Sasuke and Naruto, the two MCs of the OG series, showcasing them passing the torch, and since Naruto and Sasuke are based off twin brothers its not exactly hard to believe Boruto and Sarada are intended to have a similar dynamic just no longer with the brothers feud.

The hokage mountain scene shippers use as concrete proof of their ship literally sets them up to be carrying on the mantle of Naruto and Sasuke, with Boruto following Sasuke's path and Sarada following Naruto's, once again emphasizing their similarities and intent to be following in their foot steps, which again if they were intended to be romantic then constantly comparing them to Naruto and Sasuke isnt the way to go.

Alot of their moments are eerily similar to Naruto and Sasuke, and if not Naruto and Sasuke then Naruto and Sakura, both platonic ships, and both ships that canonically view eachother as family.

Her hugging Boruto is almost an exact replica of Sakura hugging Naruto during the pain arc, both took place after an invasion, both were over joyed to see them ok, and both hugged them infront of their love interest who actually is inlove with him.

Just because Naruto didnt hug Sakura back or Sumire wasnt smiling like Hinata was doesnt make it any less of a parallel, no matter how they try to spin it as the SS or MinaKushi hug, the contexts and executions of the scenes are completely different with their only similarities being a hug. The SS hug and the MinaKushi hug are the ones that parallel eachother, not BoruSara's.

Like come on it’s SO OBVIOUS that Sarada doesn’t have feelings for that man. Plus people say how sumire and Sarada are immune to omnipotence bc of their love for boruto.

I genuinely HATE how that theory is even a legitimate possibility, like the fact that this is a plotline with even the slightest bit of potential of being canon is CRAZY.

If ppl had theorized Sakura and Hinata's love for Naruto and Sasuke made them immune to the Infinite Tsukiyomi everybody would LAUGH in your face thats how ridiculous such a theory would be, but Boruto? we have to legitimately wonder and FEAR if Ikemoto is actually gonna do something that stupid because of his abysmal track record.

I dont think he will cuz I'd like to think even he wouldnt be THAT lazy, but given his track record I dont have total confidence he wont, and that is pathetic.

Now we already know sumire feelings for him which is romantically but ppl say for Sarada how her feelings for him is romantic as well but people have to know that love doesn’t equal to romantic feelings all the time like love can be expressed in different ways other than romantic.. if you know what I mean

Im hoping this is the route hes going but unfortunately it doesnt add up with whats being presented, because if it were any kind of love then Himawari and Mitsuki wouldnt be affected either but they are, so it really does seem like only romantic love is what makes the difference.

Again I dont wanna believe thats the case, but given whats being shown that is the only logical conclusion until proven otherwise, so I hope Ikemoto thinks long and hard before making this canon, because not only will this ruin Sarada and Sumire's characters but the sequel as a whole.

If canon, then that means Sarada and Sumire's characters are only relevant as love interests, not any actual importance or special connection to the plot, but just loving Boruto.

As for the sequel, it now recontextualizes the entire theme from being about a boy defying his fate and the shinobi way vs ninja tech/Otsutsuki dna, to a story about true love conquers all, mainly romantic love since platonic love barely gets any focus in this sequel, not even the new sand trio or Konohamaru and Moegi could stay platonic, Ikemoto just HAD to insert romance there that nobody asked for.

So yea, I dont wanna believe Ikemoto would sink that low but I cant in complete confidence say he wont, his track record is just too abysmal for me to have that much faith in him.

But yea I know what you mean and I agree, thats how it SHOULD be handled, platonic love SHOULD be getting focus just as the romantic, since its a shounen the platonic love should be getting more attention than the romantic, but Ikemoto seems to think this is a shoujo cuz the platonic bonds take a backseat while the romance has taken complete center stage.

In EVERY single arc since Ikemoto has taken over theres been romance inserted in some way.

Code arc? Adas entire introduction and Kawaki finds out Sumire's feelings for Boruto

Omnipotence arc? Mitsuki asks if Sarada likes Boruto, Shikamaru reveals to Kawaki Ada likes him and forced him to live with her, everybody falls for Ada the second they see her, Boruto asks why Ada chose Kawaki instead of him, Ada requests Sarada and Sumire for some girl talk, Ada asks Sarada how she feels about Boruto, Ada sides with Boruto and asks if hes really 12 and Boruto still says age shouldnt matter

Boruto return arc? Inojin now spends lots of time with Himawari and promises to protect her and nearly died against Jura to save her, Hima awakened Kuramas power because of Inojin and healed him, Meogis clone confirmed Moegi likes Konohamaru, Ada still simps for Kawaki, Mitsuki still simps for Kawaki (Boruto), Mitsuki begins to fall for Boruto again which yes his feelings are implied to be romantic, Ada is somewhat implied to be growing interest in Boruto too

New Kazekage rescue arc? Sumire is jealous of Sarada hugging Boruto and being inconsiderate of her feelings despite her being considerate of hers, Yodos implied to like Shinki, Araya's implied to like Yodo, Matsuri likes Konohamaru because of Moegi, Konohamaru is implied to like Meogi and refuses to let anyone else call him Konohamaru-chan even for the sake of the mission

Every, single, got danm arc since hes took over has had romance shoved in it repeatedly as a main theme every got danm time.

Kishimoto said the reason he didnt make a messy love triangle with Sakura and Hinata is because this is a battle shounen and he had to prioritize what should really get the main focus and what shouldnt which is why he made romance take a back seat, as he should've.

Nobody is reading a battle shounen for some Disney love theme, if ppl wanted that they'd just watch a Disney movie, ppl watch battle shounen for the fights and the plot and the platonic bonds and if theres romance its a bonus not a main focus.

Ikemoto doesnt seem to get that, and thats precisely why Im nervous he might pull that abysmal plot twist.

Np np, glad you enjoy them.

Honestly from what we've seen so far, it seems like Sarada does believe Naruto is dead, which explains her hostility towards Kawaki since duh, Naruto was her idol, the one who was her light when she was at her darkest place, the inspiration for her dream, her role model, the one she looked up to as her ideal dad [before reconciling with Sasuke] so of course if she believes Naruto is dead and that Kawaki killed him, then her hostility is understandable, especially since they bonded over their shared loved and admiration of Naruto to the point Kawaki was the only person she ever opened up to about her complicated feelings towards her dad.

So imagine opening up about something so sensitive and personal to you because you see yourself in them, and relate to them on a deep emotional level being saved by the same person, only for later they kill said person.

Now I cant claim for a fact that she doesnt know, but nowhere in NNG or TBV are we ever shown Ada telling them that Naruto isnt dead, infact we're shown she didnt tell them at all.

Sumire didnt know Naruto was alive until Jura confronted Kawaki, who confirmed that he was right in his assessment, so its safe to assume Sarada doesnt know either and still doesnt know.

Which is incredibly stupid writing btw, it makes no sense why they would only JUST be finding this out, they should've known the second they went back to Ada after Boruto left, she had literally NO reason not to tell them that Naruto was alive, and yet ppl still wanna try and act like Ada is such this big 'ally' when she didnt even do that bare minimum.

Anyway so my point is its never said outright, but all signs point that Sarada doesnt know Naruto is alive which is why she is being more hostile towards Kawaki than she might've been if she didnt think he actually went that far.

Keep in mind this is what Sarada witnessed between Naruto and Kawaki.

So it goes without saying that for someone who she trusted, who she thought was just like her and felt the same way towards Naruto as she did, if she witnessed first hand just how much Naruto meant to him, how kind Naruto was to him, only for Kawaki to suddenly turn on him and kill him, yeah her hostility is understandable, infact its impressive that she doesnt outright hate him if she truly is the only one that doesnt know Naruto is alive still, if anything the fact that she doesnt hate him considering thats what she thinks happened shows maybe theres part of her that doubts it, part of her that knows better than to believe Kawaki would actually do that, but since literally NOBODY has told her otherwise, shes torn between denial and what she's been told.

Now lets dive into the other possibility just for the sake of the argument, lets say she does know, or does believe that Naruto isnt dead, because she knows the odds of Kawaki of all ppl killing him is 0, she still would be hostile towards him like she is not because this is what Shikamaru and Ada told her.

Ada doesnt elaborate at all, she just says that Kawaki is trying to kill Boruto again, which understandably causes Sarada to freak out cuz she was lied to that Code was the one who killed Boruto, but now suddenly she's told it was Kawaki?

Shikamaru does not help the situation either because even tho he tells her that Boruto asked for it, and that Kawaki was doing it to protect them from the threat of Momoshiki, he still leaves the most crucial details out.

Compare it to how Naruto explained the situation to Sumire.

Naruto specifies that if it wasnt for Kawaki that they would've all died, that Boruto feels the same and says he took on a painful role.

This is crucial because its not just Boruto asked to be killed, Kawaki killed him to protect them from the threat of Momoshiki' in Naruto's explanation it gives CONTEXT.

You tell me which sounds worse, Kawaki killed Boruto to protect everyone else from the threat of Momoshiki at Boruto's request

Or Kawaki killed Boruto at his request to save everyone there from Momo, and if he wasnt there everyone would've died, that Boruto understands that he took on a painful role

You tell me which of those gives you a better idea of what went down.

Obviously to Sarada, all she hears is that Kawaki killed him because of the THREAT of Momoshiki, Shikamaru isnt specific on just what type of threat he was, for all she knows Kawaki just thought Momo was gonna do something and tried to kill Boruto before he could, after all thats what he's doing now right? but again, context matters, and Sarada lacks that context that lead up to this fallout.

So to us the audience we KNOW how Kawaki got to this point, we KNOW just how big of a threat Momo is, we've SEEN what Momo has done, the ppl he's hurt, the ppl he's TRIED to hurt and nearly succeeded in killing etc

But Sarada hasnt, all she knows is what she's told, and if shes not even told the bare minimum and only given vague info on the things that happened, then obviously she is not gonna have the correct perception and understanding of the situation and Kawaki's mindset.

Anyway, so in her mind for all she knows Kawaki killing Boruto before is no different than it is now, Kawaki is trying to kill Boruto ahead of time BEFORE Momo does something which of course Sarada would never go for since Boruto isnt a threat or possessed right now, so Kawaki would be killing an 'innocent' guy for no reason.

When Sarada goes to save Boruto, all she sees is Kawaki attacking Boruto who is still himself, not possessed or doing any harm, so this only furthers her perception that Kawaki is being irrational and paranoid and attacking Boruto unjustifiably.

BORUTO doesnt help this either, because he doesnt explain ANYTHING to Sarada, he only gives her vague information like Shikamaru did.

'Run Sarada! he isnt gonna listen to anything you say! he really will kill you!'

'Im fine just run! he aint messin around!'

He doesnt explain anything thats going on, all he does is tell Sarada to run and that Kawaki will kill her, that he isnt messing around, that he really will kill her.

All of this just tells Sarada that Kawaki is acting this way for no justifiable reason, I mean Boruto is telling her that Kawaki wont listen to anything she says and that Kawaki really will kill her, which Kawaki does try to do when she intervenes, so from Sarada's perspective Kawaki has pretty much lost his mind.

At this point all Sarada knows is that Kawaki made Naruto and Hinata disappear, and then she learns that it was Kawaki who killed Boruto before, and now he's trying to kill him again, and all she knows is that he was trying to kill him because of the threat of Momoshiki but not the full context of what that threat actually is, and Boruto only furthers the misunderstanding by making it seem like Kawaki has snapped and is just killing indescriminantly.

Keep in mind, Shikamaru just told Sarada that Kawaki killed Boruto at BORUTO'S request, but now Sarada sees Boruto fighting for his life, screaming at her to run, that Kawaki will kill her, and he actually does try to kill her.

So from her perspective she doesnt see the Boruto we saw here

She see's a Boruto who's scared, who doesnt want to die, that Kawaki is trying to kill AGAINST his will, and at no point does Boruto clear his name, he just shuts Sarada out altogether and tells her to run when he knows danm well she wouldnt just leave him there to die.

My point is Sarada has no idea what all is really going on, and you have Shikamaru, Boruto, and Ada to blame for her lack of knowledge, hell even somewhat Sumire but she isnt an eye witness to the stuff that took place that lead to all this, Shikamaru, Boruto, and Ada were, so their the most at fault for Sarada's ignorance.

So taking all that into account, its understandable why Sarada is as angry as she is at Kawaki regardless if she thinks Naruto is dead or not, she knows that Kawaki betrayed him, that he made him and his wife disappear, she has no idea what his status is, she's only seen Kawaki attack Boruto against his will while not being possessed, he's tried to kill her for 'seemingly' no good reason, and everyone is telling her that Kawaki has just snapped and is irredeemable.

But despite all that we dont get any indication that she 'hates' him, just angry at him, if she hated him she would've been fighting him instead of Shikamaru for 3 years straight, why yell at Shikamaru who's brainwashed instead of Kawaki? hell she even calls Shikamaru 'blockhead' and gives him a literal hateful stare, again, someone she KNOWS is brainwashed, THIS is how she looks at him

Compare this to how she looks at Kawaki and its night and day, the way she looked at Shikamaru here was pure hatred, but the way she looks at Kawaki is just anger or mild annoyance, and she hasnt lashed out at him with any insult either like she has Shikamaru.

Some may say Im reaching but seriously, think about it, which interaction looks more hateful to you? Sarada cant even look at Shikamaru, she turns her back to him and then gives him a cold hateful glare.

When talking to Kawaki she's faced forward, looking him straight in the eye, talking calmly, not yelling, she looks mad, not hateful, and she doesnt lash out at him, if anything what she has with Kawaki is more of a heated stand off, while what she had with Shikamaru is a pure shouting match and rage quit essentially.

And I get it, some may argue well how she 'looks' is subjective, some might see it as a look of hate, while others may not, so its really up to interpretation, especially since anger and hate are similar looks.

This is why I didnt only use her look for my point, but how she acted and spoke as well.

Maybe a look can be up to interpretation, but not the rest, the way Sarada speaks and acts towards Shikamaru vs Kawaki is a very clear difference in her level of anger/dislike towards them.

She flat out rejects Shikamaru and what he stands for, saying that her role model is Naruto not him

Yet when she's faced with Kawaki she doesnt even mention Naruto at all, and she doesnt reject him nearly as harsh as Shikamaru, all she says is that she wont let him have his way in Konoha as a ninja who aims to be Hokage

No lashing out, no complete and utter rebuke of him, and she doesnt use Naruto to push back on what he said.

Even when Kawaki stoped Himawari from healing him and has Boruto cuffed first, all she does is get mad and then just accepts it, she doesnt yell at Kawaki or demand he not have him cuffed etc.

Think about it, Sarada has gone to Shikamaru's office several times for 3 years and has lashed out at him more than once according to her since she says she snapped at him 'again'. And even now she STILL runs to his office to confront him on issues regarding Boruto.

If Sarada hated Kawaki like this fandom insists, then why are we never shown her harassing Kawaki nonstop the same way? why isnt she constantly yelling at Kawaki to tell the truth, to clear Boruto's name, to tell her where Naruto is, or why he killed him, or even when he was being hostile to Boruto right infront of her, why did she barely react to it? why didnt she snap at him?

Sorry but her attitude towards Kawaki isnt that of someone that hates him, look no further than Code if you need a comparison of what ACTUAL hate for Kawaki looks like.

Sarada shows far more hatred towards Shikamaru, who is a literal victim in this situation, than she has shown Kawaki who atleast IS somewhat to blame for what happened.

Anyway, long story short, I obviously completely reject the idea that Sarada hates Kawaki, theres just no evidence of it other than ppl conflating anger/disagreement with hatred.

The only way I see Sarada's perception of Kawaki changing is if and when she's finally given the full story, or at the very least being told Naruto is ALIVE then Sarada might soften up on him since she knows he didnt actually kill Naruto, which may open her up to be more willing to hear him out or at the very least ASK QUESTIONS to try and LEARN more about what actually happened.

But its all gotta start there, their not gonna get anywhere WITHOUT that crucial piece of information, she NEEDS to know Naruto is alive for any real progress to take place.

Even if they reach some type of understanding without her knowing, the bitterness and misconceptions will still be there clouding her judgement and perception of him.

Which going back to what you said, most likely might be intentional like it was with Sakura, cuz ya know, gotta make the protag special and all.

Basically its not that Sakura COULDNT have known about Sasuke's past and the truth about Itachi, but that Naruto would'nt have been as special if both he and Sakura had the same info, then you wouldnt have had the 'Only you never gave up on me' line if Sakura was included in that, because obviously Naruto was supposed to be the 'chosen one' and the only one who saved Sasuke and got through to him in the end.

Again, not saying it HAD to go that way, just saying that was the route Kishimoto chose to go with it.

Same applies to Boruto, Sarada is gonna be kept in the dark because if she knew the truth behind everything then she'd be less harsh on Kawaki and maybe reach out to him, but Ikemoto is clearly following the same path as Kishimoto where he only wants BORUTO to reach out to him, he wants Kawaki to be completely isolated with nobody on his side so he can go further and further off the deep end with Boruto being the only one who doesnt give up on him and fights to save him against all odds etc etc.

Same as with Sakura, it doesnt HAVE to go this way, but this is the writing choice he seems to be going with.

So in that case, I wont be surprised if shes left in the dark, but at the very least she MIGHT be allowed to know that Naruto is alive, the rest is probably all gonna be told and learned off screen when things are over, same way Sakura learned all the Uchiha lore offscreen after marrying Sasuke.

I know, I hate it too, but thats the route I see Ikemoto going right now, but I do atleast hope shes allowed to know Naruto is alive, it really is beyond stupid to let Sumire and Mitsuki have this information but not Sarada who they literally interact with frequently ._. like imagine sitting on that information.

It'd be like Ino learning the truth about Itachi and just not telling Sakura about it, despite seeing how much she loves and is heartbroken about what Sasuke is doing, Ino just keeps that info to herself.

Naruto atleast had a reason why he kept quiet, he WANTED to tell the others but Kakashi stopped him since he wanted to verify the information as true first, that was a valid reason atleast for why they left Sakura out.

There is literally NO reason why Sumire and Mitsuki wouldnt tell Sarada Naruto is alive, its beyond stupid.

But hey, only time will tell I guess.

interesting how it seems like boruto has yet to know the way sumire has been supporting him before but especially around the omnipotence event

As for this I see it the same way as it went for SS, but this time with NH, Hinata was never really recognized much by Naruto for her admiration and support [mostly cuz he never noticed her] until she started taking a more active role and making herself noticed, THEN she was acknowledged by him and he noticed her efforts.

The same will go for Sumire eventually probably, the breadcrumbs are already there with her now no longer holding back and making herself more noticed by Boruto, starting with being directly linked to his most precious item, Sasuke's aword, and her asking to be called by name and not class rep, she, just like Hinata, is now taking a more active role and will steadily be more acknowledged by Boruto the more she puts herself out there.

Hinata also wasnt allowed to know everything about Naruto or what he was going through either until after they were officially together, so thats just the writing choice apparently.

The girls are left mostly in the dark until their officially together, weird and dumb imo when it should be the other way around but sadly I dont make the rules so this is what we get.

do you think sarada's perception of kawaki will change in the upcoming chapters?

Anyway, yes to this, but only if she's allowed to know Naruto is alive, and if not, then maybe it'll be through Boruto finally speaking up on Kawaki's behalf to her since HE'S the one at the center of the misconception, its all because of HIM so only HE can clear it and give Sarada the correct perception of things and that he isnt just some innocent victim that Kawaki just snapped and betrayed for no reason, but that they were and are on the same page actually.

kinda hope she keeps trying to look at things from other people's perspective as she did with sumire and eida? idk just seems interesting, i could be reaching.

It'd be nice if she actually did look at things from other ppls perspectives, but so far she's only had tunnel vision on herself and herself only. But hopefully after the recent arc she'll stop being stuck in her own head and open her mind to other perspectives.

Just making this post because I see a lot of hate on twitter X towards people who ship borusumi and the ship itself.

People need to realize that it is a major development not just for sumire to have fixed boruto's main weapon and registered herself to it but for the ship itself. I don't think people really realize how huge that actually is.

And this should worry the borusara fandom (like, ship what you want but don't be meanspirited to people who ship other pairings or are happy that their favs are together having a moment) which is why they're crashing out cause they've prob figured out deep down(they trying to deny it) that this sword ties in with boruto's future fate, which is why we see him in the flash forward with kawaki already having the jougan and potentially nue infused in the sword.

I don't think it will be sarada who will save boruto like a lot of borusara fandom think from momoshiki there is nothing in her arsenal or anything she has researched to help boruto with this Karma/momo problem(which we really should have seen her doing more than just screaming at shikamaru for 3 years). We've only seen kawaki who tried back in part 1 about transferring it to code, which this might come back into play when momo takes over boruto.

Take also into account that the sword is not registered to sarada so she wouldn't be able to help regardless and if she were to pick up the sword without knowing the effects, unfortunately she would become a burden.

There is a reason why ikemoto made only sumire registered to the sword and its not only for fixing it I think its also to help boruto scientifically through Nue with his karma problem, we see in the flash forward that he has control without any issue with kawakis resonating insight which means momoshiki has been erased cause I doubt he'd cooperate with boruto an be on friendly terms. With all this pre-destined, singularity and timelines this connects more to sumire/nue than sarada.

The fact we don't see kashin koji relay any information regarding sumire is really weird too, especially in those timeline panels, because she is literally in the center of all this with her also being one of the immune, koji is def keeping information secret on her for a reason?.

With her remaining calm when omnipotence activated and her words making sarada composed which had sauske help boruto escape causing a chain of events in favor of boruto, to making shikamaru challenge his fake memories because of what sumire said to amado. Sumire making sarada realize that she needed to be considerate of other peoples feelings, hers and borutos which made sarada think deeply about it thus her MS activating and now sumire fixing his sword. She is moving the plot whether some people like it or not, like if you take her out of the story it changes tremendously.

So yeah, I would make sure to not have any expectations going forward for all ships until a confirmation is confirmed by boruto himself else you be disappointed with the cannon pairing because I see a pattern with narusaku and sasusaku an borusara is looking more and more like a red herring for borusumi to reveal it self as the canon pairing.

If people are making death threats now to ikemoto just for sumire having a cover and only her being registered to the sword I'm not looking forward to what they say/think when sumire does something more, like her confession as we know this will come sooner than later or even a hug since we know sumire is not holding back anymore so she'll do anything which might come out of nowhere.

We also know sarada isn't gonna make any moves because she's not thinking about stuff like that which is weird when she did a whole confession about liking boruto, almost seems ikemoto wanted us to know her liking boruto wasn't the point and it was mainly accepting herself and that she can have these feelings, which I think is still bait. But we'll see.