Although Naruto is one of the world’s biggest anime and manga series, its sequel spin-off, Boruto, fell short of its predecessor’s popularity and fame. And while there were a lot of reasons behind this, for me especially, it was the inability to create an enticing narrative, that not only connected to the past storyline but also brought some new elements.
I was quite excited when Boruto was announced, but as the story went on, it lost the essence that made it a part of the Narutoverse and thus, was destined to fail sooner or later. However, with the recent developments in the ongoing Boruto storyline, my hope within the franchise has been renewed as they have brought back the iconic Mangekyou Sharingan through Sarada.
While Sarada unlocked her Mangekyou Sharingan before the time skips, it wasn’t used at all and thus I and many other Naruto fans were disappointed. But finally, the most recent chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has shown what Sarada’s Mangekyou Sharingan is capable of and it has motivated me to believe in Boruto once again.
Sarada unlocked her Mangekyou Sharingan but couldn’t use it
Naruto fans are well-versed with the concept of Mangekyou Sharingan and the significance it holds within the storyline, especially for the Uchiha clan. The Mangekyou Sharingan is an advanced form of the Sharingan that grants enhanced abilities to each eye which can prove quite useful in battle. There are only a few Uchiha clan members who managed to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan in Naruto.
Generally, the Mangekyou Sharingan is awakened because of a heartbreaking experience that could lead to intense emotional pain. However, in Sarada’s case, it was different. Sarada awakened her Mangekyou Sharingan in Boruto chapter 80 but her awakening was the result of her love for Boruto, the protagonist of the story, who was turned into a villain.
Because of this aspect, her Mangekyou Sharingan awakening was particularly special for me and I assumed that Masashi Kishimoto would give it more significance and make it a special call back to the old concepts from the original Naruto storyline. But, as soon as Sarada unlocked her true potential, the time skip of the series started, and the manga went on a hiatus.
Boruto finally gives Sarada’s Mangekyou Sharingan a chance
While I was excited for Sarada to awaken her Mangekyou Sharingan, my excitement was suddenly turned into disappointment because the manga went into hiatus, and when it returned it did not give Sarada a chance to showcase the potential of her hidden power. However, I am once again hopeful as chapter 20 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex finally displayed a glimpse of Sarada’s Mangekyou Sharingan.
In the chapter, Sarada is seen conflicted as Ryu, the human god tree, has targeted Mistuki, Araya, and Yodo and is toying with them in order to extract information about Boruto. He used his iron sand manipulation technique and once he stabbed Yodo, Sarada had no choice but to use her Mangekyou Sharingan to create a space-time tunnel and sucked all the iron sand.
The space-time tunnel has got me excited because it is quite similar to the technique that Obito Uchiha used in Naruto Shippuden. This is certainly a callback and with this single move, Boruto has managed to gain my belief once again and I am hopeful that the story is going to get even more thrilling, especially for major characters like Sarada.
Boruto manga is available to read on Viz Media.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
