Boruto: Have Naruto And Sasuke Lost Their Importance To The Plot?

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is the continuation of Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto series and is set years after the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Although a lot has changed in the timeskip, the core of the story remains the same, from the ninjas to the ninja villages. The biggest change that the fans have had to see is the jump from the old generation of shinobi to a new one, with Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto's son, at the helm.

Boruto Uzumaki is the protagonist of the story and he aims to become a great shinobi who can defend the village and support the Hokage like Sasuke Uchiha, all the while battling his own destiny. It is quite clear that Boruto is his story and not of the characters from the old era, such as Naruto and Sasuke, however, the two remain crucial in order for the plot to move forward and their importance to the fans remains paramount. Lately, however, the story appears to have made some questionable decisions that impact their influence on the plot quite a bit.

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What Happened To Naruto And Sasuke?

Naruto and Sasuke have remained crucial to the plot of Boruto ever since its very beginning. Having risen through the ranks in Naruto and become the two strongest shinobi to exist in the entire shinobi history, it is no surprise that both were immensely important for the ninja world as a whole. In the Boruto movie, fans saw how Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha managed to handle the Otsutsuki threat and protected their village while doing so. As the Hokage and the Other Hokage, the two have always had a responsibility to defend what is clearly extremely important. Following the events of the movie, the two remained key in every event that came to pass once again, with Naruto fighting the likes of Delta and even defending the village from the threat of Jigen. Around this point, the two were already nerfed quite often, however, their importance to the story was still highlighted quite well.

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Together with Sasuke, he even fought Isshiki Otsutsuki, the strongest known Otsutsuki to ever live. Unfortunately, this fight changed the characters drastically as Naruto Uzumaki ended up losing Kurama, and Sasuke lost his Rinnegan. While Isshiki was eventually subdued, the plot felt incredibly contrived and way too convenient just for the next generation to take the stage at the cost of the old. Since then, the importance of Naruto and Sasuke in the story has dwindled and the two are barely influential even in their old jobs.

Naruto And Sasuke's Importance To The Plot

It is quite apparent that the two are clearly not as important to the plot as they once were and perhaps won't be in the future either. Naruto, for one, wasn't even able to defend his village against the threat of Code or even do anything of value when the village was attacked. Instead, he needed to be protected by Kawaki, and as the Hokage, that certainly doesn't paint a good picture. Later, he was helpless to save his own son from Kawaki, who ripped a hole through his chest. For someone known to be the strongest and holding the title of the Hokage, Naruto certainly failed to live up to the expectations. It goes without saying that Naruto is much weaker now than ever, yet, he is the Hokage and things are expected of him.

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Sasuke, on the other hand, seems to have received even worse treatment. Unlike Naruto with the Baryon Mode, Sasuke wasn't even given a grand send-off and his Rinnegan was taken from him in an incredibly ridiculous way. Following the loss of his eye, Sasuke has barely been involved in the plot at all. All he's done of significance in over a year is track down Code's hideout and for someone who held a crucial position in the Naruto series, it is quite painful for the fans to see. Naruto and Sasuke are, without a doubt, the face of the entire franchise. For the author to weaken them significantly and use them cheaply in moments for the next generation to save is quite simply lazy writing. What's worse is that neither of the two seem to have a definitive role in the story anymore. Naruto's role as the Hokage is no longer as big since he can't even protect his people anymore while Sasuke doesn't even get a chance to be involved in the plot.

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While making the next generation stronger eventually is something that had to happen for the story to be interesting, to have it come at the expense of the old characters that are beloved to the fans is mind-boggling. For now, things certainly aren't looking good for either Naruto or Sasuke, and eventually, the two could simply get reduced to characters who need protection all the time. Despite having Kishimoto in the writing department, Boruto has taken a rather strange turn, but hopefully, things will turn out for the better for both Naruto and Sasuke.

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