Sarada's growth isn't limited to strength but her evolving affection for Boruto

Modified Sep 06, 2024 14:31 GMT

With Sarada Uchiha finally unlocking her Mangekyo Sharingan at the end of Boruto manga, fans have been looking forward to seeing her growth in the sequel manga series, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. However, as evident from the manga, her growth isn't limited to her strength but also her evolving affection for the protagonist.

In most cases, when anime fans talk about a character's growth in the series, it is accounted for their strength or mental fortitude. Similarly, while fans wished to see Sarada use her Mangekyo Sharingan in the sequel manga, her mental fortitude has been more on display.

However, in her case, mental fortitude has to do with her affection for the protagonist.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Boruto manga.

Sarada's evolving affection for Boruto depicts her growth

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As fans may remember from the prequel manga, at the start of the series, she was shown to keep an eye on the protagonist from the shadows. The manga did not outrightly claim that Sarada liked him but only hinted at it through subtle instances.

Even in the anime, whenever the protagonist fought a strong opponent, the animation studio depicted Sarada to be worrying about him through small gestures. These gestures were typically not depicted on her face but by her body language. Through this, the creators wanted to paint the picture that Sarada wanted to hide her affection for the protagonist.

Sarada and Sumire as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

The first time Sarada's feelings for Boruto were questioned openly was when Sumire Kakei asked her about how she felt about him. She asked this question as she was interested in the protagonist herself. Despite such rivaling interest, Sarada denied any romantic interest towards her Team 7 teammate.

However, all of this changed close to the end of the prequel manga as Sarada could no longer see her love interest get cornered into problems by himself. She went to his aide and tried to openly defend him against Kawaki.

Sarada Uchiha's Mangekyo Sharingan eyes as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

While she failed in her mission, her evolving emotions for Boruto eventually helped her save him. This is because her father Sasuke Uchiha was also affected by Eida's Omnipotence and was set to go after the protagonist. However, Sarada's evolving affection for the protagonist helped her unlock her Mangekyo Sharingan. Upon witnessing this, Sasuke listened to his daughter and helped his student.

However, that wasn't the end of Sarada's growth. In the sequel manga series, she has been seen openly defending Boruto and trying to get the Hidden Leaf Village, especially the interim Hokage Shikamaru Nara, to hear his part of the story. Even though Eida's Omnipotence made her efforts useless, she kept defending the protagonist, hoping to one day get others to accept the truth.

Sarada Uchiha as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

Even when Boruto returned to the Hidden Leaf Village, Sarada, unlike before when Sarada hid her feelings, hugged him. This moment proved that while she was still conscious about displaying her affection for the protagonist openly, she had accepted the same internally.

Sarada's feelings for the protagonist were also depicted after the Shinobi's battle against Hidari and Jura. While her own arm was injured by Jura, she was much more worried about Boruto, who had been hit at a vital spot by Divine Tree Jura's attack. Hence, while fans may still be waiting to see Sarada use her Mangekyo Sharingan, they shouldn't be disappointed as she has clearly shown some growth.