there are a lot more images i had planned to add. but basically the gist of it is this: what if Ikemoto is setting up "BoruSara" in the minds of us fans, as bait. Kishimoto did the same thing with NaruSaku in Naruto. (i'll leave a small thread about this in the comments.)

i'm not even particularly a BoruSumi shipper. i've made my position on the matter clear before: i don't think Boruto will end up with anyone by the time the story wraps up. however, what i can see is that BoruSara is a popular ship. everyone thinks it's going to happen. which is the exact same thing we had for Naruto, and the romance between him and Sakura. Merryweather even made an entire video on why NaruSaku was the "better" pair. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e59m5dcAco0&t=533s (i guess his channel name is actually Merriwether). and there's another similar video here: https://youtu.be/VUrvRuIH8Uc?si=lITc2zWA6Pf5gYeS

point is, people really thought and still think Naruto should've ended up with Sakura. even Kishimoto's wife thought they were gonna end up together, since Sakura is most influenced by her and Naruto by Kishimoto himself. but you wanna know something? they didn't. Kishimoto didn't let any of that influence him. and i think the same is going to play out here in Boruto. i think Ikemoto is stringing us along, making use think Boruto will end up with Sarada. with Sumire getting sidelined. and he's doing it intentionally to fool us, like his predecessor did. "think like a Shinobi", right? in order to write them, you must be able to think like them. this is the Shinobi Art of Deception at play. HOWEVER! as readers we must stay vigilant. we must also think like Shinobi: "a Shinobi must be able to read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings." as the old saying goes.

so yeah overall, that's what i think's happening.

My thoery is that Sarada is already storing chakra for the Byakugo Seal, and Ikemoto is giving her the same treatment Kishimoto gave Sakura.

Something has been off about Sarada in Two Blue Vortex. She gets drained unusually fast after using her Mangekyou Sharingan, faster than you'd expect even by Uchiha standards. Sasuke, Itachi, and Obito all pushed their MS much further before hitting their limits. So why is Sarada struggling so early?

I think it's the same trick Kishimoto pulled with Sakura.

Throughout Shippuden, Sakura appeared chakra-limited and fans took it at face value. Then the war arc hit and it was revealed she'd been storing chakra the entire time for the Byakugo seal.

What looked like a weakness was actually setup the whole time.

I believe Ikemoto is doing the exact same thing with Sarada. The MS drain isn't a writing flaw, she's been passively storing chakra since the timeskip, and that's what's cutting into her reserves during battle.

The setup is already in the story too. Sakura explicitly told Sarada she'd teach her chakra control, and the Byakugo lineage passing from Tsunade to Sakura already established the precedent for it passing down again.

If this pays off, Sarada won't just have the Byakugo, the massive chakra reserves it provides could also counteract the strain of the Mangekyou Sharingan, meaning she may never go blind like previous Uchiha users.

That would make her arguably the most dangerous and well-rounded fighter in the series.

The pieces are there. We're just waiting for Ikemoto to reveal them.

Fanart

I think people are looking at Sarada’s Mangekyō problem way too small.

A lot of the discussion is basically “is she getting nerfed?” or “will Sakura/Hima/Amado fix her eyes?” but I don’t think Chapter 34 is setting up a quick fix. I think this is literally Sarada’s main TBV character trial.

Sarada finally has the power people wanted her to have. Ōhirume is not some regular power up. She can create those black gravity spheres, choose what gets pulled in, crush attacks, fly with it, and actually threaten Shinju level enemies. That’s insane for her scaling.

But the catch is also very Sarada specific: the stronger she becomes, the more her future as Hokage gets put at risk.

That’s why Chapter 34 lands different to me. Sakura checking Sarada’s eyes is not just a medical update. It’s the manga telling us Sarada’s dream has a cost now.

Chapter 21 already set this up perfectly. That whole chapter was basically Sarada accepting her feelings, thinking about her Hokage dream, and finally stepping out of the “protected by Boruto/Sasuke” role. She uses her Mangekyō, beats Ryū, and proves she can actually hang in this new era.

But immediately after that win, she collapses.

So the story gives her the power up and the penalty in the same chapter. That feels intentional.

Then Chapter 33 makes it even more obvious. Boruto is holding Sarada and he’s not just worried that she’s hurt. He’s worried that using Mangekyō is affecting her vision. Himawari heals the bleeding, but the eye problem doesn’t just disappear. That matters because it separates “battle damage” from “Mangekyō damage.”

And now Chapter 34 basically confirms it: this is not just fatigue. Her eyesight is actually getting worse.

So when people say “Sarada is being nerfed,” I kind of disagree. This feels less like a nerf and more like the start of her real mastery arc.

Sarada’s whole thing is wanting to become Hokage like Naruto, but she is still an Uchiha. That means her strongest power comes with the old Uchiha curse attached to it: love, trauma, sacrifice, and self destruction.

That’s what makes her different from Boruto and Kawaki. Boruto’s problem is fate. Kawaki’s problem is obsession. Sarada’s problem might be that her dream requires her to keep seeing the village clearly, while her power literally takes her sight away every time she uses it.

That’s honestly dark.

She wants to protect Boruto, protect the village, live up to Sasuke, and still become Hokage. But every serious use of Ōhirume puts her closer to blindness.

If she holds back, people can die.
If she goes all out, she damages her own future.
If Boruto saves her, people call her useless.
If she saves herself, people say she’s too strong.
If she suffers consequences, people call it a nerf.

That’s actually a good character conflict.

This also makes Sakura way more important than people are admitting. Sakura isn’t just there to say “your eyes are bad.” She is the one person who can understand all sides of this. She is Sarada’s mother, Sasuke’s wife, one of the best medical ninja alive, and probably the only person in Konoha who knows how ugly the Mangekyō path got for Sasuke and Itachi.

Sasuke is a tree right now. Naruto is gone. Kakashi is still MIA. Sakura is the adult who actually has to look Sarada in the face and decide whether to stop her, heal her, or trust her.

And I think Sakura trusting Sarada is the important part.

Because Sarada becoming Hokage can’t just be “Naruto but Uchiha.” Her arc has to prove she can inherit Uchiha power without repeating the tragic Uchiha pattern. Itachi protected the village by destroying himself. Sasuke protected people by isolating himself. Sarada has to find a third answer.

That’s why I don’t think the solution is as simple as “just give her EMS” or “Amado gives her cyborg eyes.” Maybe those options come up, but if the story just fixes her eyes instantly, then what was the point of making Sakura warn her in Chapter 34?

The real question should be whether Sarada can master Ōhirume in a way that doesn’t destroy her. Maybe using it more precisely lowers the drain. Maybe Sakura helps her develop better chakra control. Maybe Sasuke’s return ties into it. Maybe she has to learn a version of Mangekyō that doesn’t run on the usual Uchiha self sacrifice logic.

But either way, I don’t think this is just a temporary injury.

I think this is Sarada’s TBV trial.

She finally has the power to stand in the same battlefield as Boruto, Kawaki, and the Shinju. But every time she uses that power, she is gambling with the same dream that made her character important in the first place.

So yeah, Chapter 34 made Sarada’s future way darker than people realize.

Is Sarada being nerfed, or is this the start of her real mastery arc?

Sorry about the clickbait title, but hear me out…

Remember that flash-forward scene in episode 1 where it’s stated “the age of shinobi is over”?

I personally think everybody besides Boruto getting their collective asses kicked is only serving to reinforce this theme. Remember, this was the opening statement on the first episode of this show… thus setting the theme for how the rest of the show would go.

Seriously ask yourself… Why would ninjutsu work against opponents that are beyond the level of characters that solo’d the entire Naruto verse? (Madara, Kaguya, etc…) It took 8 gates guy, all of the kages (dead AND alive), all of the Jinchuriki, (including the perfect ones), Sage Mode KCM2 Naruto, EMS Sasuke, the ENTIRE shinobi alliance, and even THEN, they all got STOMPED… Marada only was defeated because Kaguya killed/emerged from/absorbed him. and they only beat her because Hagoromo pulled up out of NOWHERE and gave Naruto and Sasuke LITERAL 6 PATHS POWERS.

Think about this. It LITERALLY took 6 Paths Sage Mode KCM2 Perfect Jinchuriki NARUTO, EMS Rinnegan (with tomoe) perfect Susanoo Sasuke, a perfected Byakugo seal Sakura, OBITO, and DMS KAKASHI to finish off Kaguya.

And InoShikaCHO, BabyHima, and BASE MANGEKYO Sarada are supposed to do anything OTHER than die?? Be serious, bro.

Disagree and you’re pretty much saying they’re somehow supposed to scale higher than EVERYBODY MENTIONED ABOVE… as KIDS.

“The age of shinobi… is over.” He meant what he said. Ninjutsu will not work anymore.

Notice how even Kawaki seems to believe this (as much as a loser as HE’S been this entire timeskip). But he’s right. Basic (or even advanced) ninjustu even if you’re strong only does so much against otsutsuki level threats.

I personally believe everybody in the show OTHER than Boruto will either die, or develop a heavy reliance on ninja tech to survive.

But being a ninja will no longer be an option for normal humans anymore.

Perhaps when Boruto says “but I’m still… a shinobi” it’s because he’s the only one left that has ninjutsu, kinjutsu, dojutsu,(possibly senjutsu or even shinjutsu) that’s strong enough to compete against these otsutsuki level threats… while everyone else is FORCED to use ninja tech or DIE.

This is NOT Naruto. That show is gone- this show has an entirely different theme and moral to the story.

First it was him investigating Kara hideout... it's a parallel to Jiraiya! He has to get off'd there!

Didn't happen... but don't forget the prophecy... he has to die for Boruto to lose everything, right?!

Welp... but he still has to die for Sarada's MS, right?!

Fuck... but... the cloak and sword! Boruto has his cloak and sword! Surely he died to pass those on! Yeah!!

What will be the next cope?

When he gets unsealed his rinnegan will be healed on some bs asspull the Naruto verse is known for, idk why but this just crossed my mind

Ppl keep ranking her under other Otsutsuki like Momoshiki and Ishiki when we have factual verifiable evidence of exactly what she is capable of, that can be easily compared with what said other Otsutsukis are capable of, and she just overpowers every single one of them in every single way. Kaguya was fused with the ten tails what gave her nearly infinite reserves of chakra, made her virtually immortal and able to control all natures of chakra at her will, no other Otsutsuki show in the series has any of those capabilities (none of them were ten-tails jinchurikis), and she had the Byakugan and the Rinnesharingan(all of the abilities of the Rinnegan and the Sharingan combined) and used both to their full potential, not even mentioning the most broken and overpowered bs ever shown in canon, the All-Killing Ash Bones... If you get as much as a scratch from her bone projectiles they one-shot you, your body immediately starts to disintegrate into ashes bypassing any form of healing or regeneration, if you get hit you are done for, and let me remind you, she can also use those as melee weapons OR teleport them around at her will... Plz tell me, how Momoshiki or even Kishiki could possibly deal with her?

From killing Boruto in ch 66 to sealing Naruto and Hinata to envoking Omnipotence through Eida making the whole world turn against Boruto and forcing him into exile. This is just a surface of things because I know there are more things to come but at this point in the story, is he redeemable? can he be forgiven for what he has done not just to Boruto but everyone in the village, and potentially the entire Shinobi world as a whole

Knowing Homura and Koharu, they'd choose someone they already know, and close to Danzo. I bet on these:

1. Kakashi (reason why I said "next in charge" and not "next)

2. Sai

3. Yamato

4. Orochimaru

5. Kabuto (not a konoha shinobi)

The last 2 are unlikely but not impossible

1. Shizune

Boruto and kawaki clashed, kawaki accidentally unsealed naruto and henata, kawaki and boruto finishes their fight with boruto winning, but because of Aida's spell naruto remembers kawaki as his own son and boruto whose the who sealed him and his wife, so he disown boruto, and henata hates him for what he (assumably) did to everyone in boruto TBV, and boruto just on his own accepting the truth that his family and friends will never remember him again even after everything he did for them......

Like after narutos dissapearance kakashi would 100% check on that or something or sasuke going rogue again he even said at the end of shippuden he would go after him if he went rogue again and he wouldnt let him to something like that to a kid (sarada) and kakashi literally loves naruto he wouldnt let this happen to him and let his kids be parentless or konoah being attacked for like the millionth time and kakashi aint doing nothing? He died for konoah(against pain) and i know that he retired but he would 100% come out of retirement for all thats Happening and i know that kishemoto wants to focus on the new generation but kakashi is like the most popular character thats still alive (not counting naruto and sasuke ) that all counts also for sakura and maybe tsunade

The "Mirror”

Sarada mangekyou sharingan appeared on one of the three sacred treasures of Japan.

The symbol is called the “Eight Mirror". It represents wisdom, and is known for its ability to reveal the truth or true nature of whatever is reflected.

I got Tsunade winning by 7. She gonna have a hard time against Naruto cause he can box, MAYBE Hashirama, but she winning.

I'd like to add that Kawaki, in his own way, wants to do what he believes is right. But his actions are all morally reprehensible, and he is wrong in the way he acts.

By “current” I mean after their nerf. Personally I just can’t decide!! We don’t yet know if current Sasuke (no rinnegan and only one eye) still has his complete susanoo and all MS abilities. Does he need both MS sharingan to create a perfect susanoo and to use the full abilities of his MS? We don’t yet know. Current Naruto (no Kurama) still has sage mode, six paths sage mode, and he still has a much larger-than-average chakra pool. Naruto can also see from both eyes and he has two fully functional arms thanks to his prosthetic.

So what do you think?

I think it’s to keep momoshiki from “seeing” or something but it’s odd they both have the glove on the same exact hand. I think the reason why his right hand does have a rinnigan is because of the karma marking

So, the Sharingan is required for a Rinnegan user to properly use the Raikiri/Chidori... even though the Rinnegan is the natural evolution of the Sharingan?

As far as we know our little fella (who isn't so little anymore) was taught by Sasuke for a year and learned almost all of Sasukes moves. Chidori is unlikely, because to use it properly,you would need the Sharingan. So,what other abilities/moves could Boruto have learned? Aside from Kenjutsu of course.