Highlights
- Sasuke's character has been treated unfairly in the Boruto series, being stripped of his powers and turned into a tree.
- Fans expected Sasuke to train and make up for losing his powers, but he did not return after the timeskip.
- Sasuke's fate is revealed in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 4 - he has turned into a tree and a new villain with his abilities has emerged.
Sasuke Uchiha is one of the main characters in the Naruto series and certainly one of the most powerful Shinobi to have ever lived. Fans have come to love and admire this character for years now, and the fact that he was one of the most important characters in Boruto became one of the biggest reasons why fans watched the series in the first place.
Boruto Author Hints At Naruto's Return
Naruto Uzumaki could be making his return with Kurama in Boruto Part 2.
Sadly for the fans, Sasuke has been treated unfairly in the series and, after having a chunk of his powers stripped from him, Sasuke has now been subjected to an even more terrible fate, being turned into a tree.
Sasuke At The End Of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Sasuke Uchiha was quite strong at the beginning of the Boruto series. In fact, one could say that Sasuke was in the prime of his powers, having equaled Naruto in terms of strength and gained even further control over the abilities such as those of the Rinnegan. Sasuke was beaming with power when he took on Momoshiki in combat and it was only a matter of time before he strengthened himself even further. At the beginning of the series, it was clear to see that Sasuke was nothing short of amazing. However, with time, his character was treated unfairly and it was clear that the path that he was on was destructive.
The authors decided to weaken Sasuke for the sake of the next generation. In fact, this wasn't specific to Sasuke alone. Both Naruto and Sasuke were treated in a humiliating manner, despite being the characters responsible for the series' popularity in the first place. When it comes to Sasuke, he was stripped of his Rinnegan after Boruto Uzumaki stabbed it towards the end of Isshiki’s arc. That certainly was not the worst of it. Sasuke was then made to acknowledge his own weakness and at the end of it all, he left Konoha with Boruto in an attempt to train to get stronger and return better than ever before so as to save Naruto Uzumaki and, at the same time, fulfill his duty as a powerful shinobi of the village.
Fans fully expected Sasuke to train hard and make up for losing the Rinnegan in some ways. A three-year time skip was certainly long and fans expected quite a lot from his character. However, things took a very strange turn when Sasuke did not return after the timeskip.
Sasuke During The Boruto Timeskip
Fans did not get to see any of the Boruto timeskip, which is usually how most series deal with these events. In the very first chapter, however, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. Fans knew something was not right because Sasuke is a character that usually leads from the front. There was absolutely no way that Sasuke would let Boruto take the brunt of the load and simply not take part in protecting his own village. The only possibilities in front of the fans was that either Sasuke was on a different mission or he was incapacitated in some way.
Naruto Uzumaki's Kekkei Genkai, Explained
Naruto Uzumaki showcases some of the most incredible Kekkei Genkai in Naruto.
Major hints were dropped about Sasuke's fate as Boruto's fight against Code progressed. Code mentioned having chased down both Boruto Uzumaki and Sasuke during the timeskip. According to him, Boruto kept running away from him and his hunt eventually led him to Konoha. It is likely that Sasuke met his cruel fate during one of these encounters. Fans had already started to theorize the fact that Code killed Sasuke during the timeskip, however, it was clear to see that the authors of Boruto wouldn't kill Sasuke and risk losing their entire fanbase. Instead, they chose a very different approach.
Sasuke's Fate – Sasuke Turns Into A Tree
In Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter 4, a terrible fate was finally revealed to the fans. At the very end of the chapter, Boruto Uzumaki teleported to a different location, where it was revealed that Sasuke had turned into a tree. While this might sound bizarre to many fans, it is factual and how this happened was also explained in the chapter. As Code created the Claw Grimes, they started looking out for sources of chakra and consuming them. These Claw Grimes weren't all that intelligent at first.
They simply attacked any source of chakra they saw in front of themselves, however, the more they ate, the more they evolved. In fact, some of the Claw Grimes even possess powerful abilities, such as the Rinnegan, which signified a difference in terms of strength between various Claw Crimes and the fact that they were continuously evolving.
It appears that during the timeskip, Sasuke ended up fighting against Code and his Claw Crimes. At some point, Sasuke was likely bitten by one of them and, when that happens, the Grimes then start sucking the chakra out of the person and turning them into a tree itself. The person who gets caught in the tree is alive, however, barely. That is precisely how Sasuke became a tree and has been effectively cut out of the story now.
What's even worse is that Sasuke being bitten means that a new villain is born with the powers of Sasuke. He has his chakra, and every single aspect of his ability is absorbed by the 10 Tails, which means now, a newer form of the 10 Tails has emerged. This 10 Tails Clone bears the appearance of Sasuke and has all of his abilities as well. Boruto was seen clashing against this 10 Tails Clone momentarily towards the end of the chapter and it was clear to see that he was not strong enough to take it down. Boruto needs to level up further if he is to defeat this clone and save Sasuke.
While Some fans might like this twist in the story, it is certainly not a good one. Time and again, Boruto has been disrespecting the characters of the old generation and, once again, they have pulled it off with Sasuke. Naruto Uzumaki was subject to similar treatment towards the end of the original Boruto manga and, now, Sasuke has met a similar fate. What's worse is that the writer is afraid of killing off these characters, because if they do so, they will end up losing a large portion of the fanbase. After all, it is these two characters that keep Boruto relevant to quite a degree.
However, at the same time, they want to use their popularity to put the next generation of Naruto on a pedestal and keep the fans hooked. Essentially, by turning Naruto and Sasuke into pawns, they can ensure that fans stay hooked to the series, all the while propelling the next generation of characters, which is largely uninteresting, even further in the story. There is no reason as to why the old generation and the new generation couldn't have coexisted, however, that would require better writing from the staff and they appear to be incapable of that. Regardless, with this, Sasuke has now been effectively cut out of the manga and he'll largely stay irrelevant for the vast majority of the sequel to Boruto.
Boruto is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of Boruto, Boruto part 2 chapter 5, is set to be December 20, 2023.
