'Boruto' Just Called Back A Touching Sasuke, Itachi Moment

When it comes to nostalgia, Boruto isn't afraid to make callbacks to its deep shonen roots. The sequel may want to be acknowledge as more than a Naruto sequel, but the series doesn't waste any of the rich material Masashi Kishimoto put into the franchise over the last decade. So, fans have come to expect Boruto to give them good throwbacks, and the anime definitely didn't let them down with its most recent episode.

If you have already seen the latest Boruto episode, then you know the update brought the anime a bit closer to the Chunin Exams. After Sasuke said he would train Boruto, the boy has been working on tedious shuriken and kunai exercises that have him more annoyed than anything else. However, in the episode's last moments, fans couldn't help but notice how Boruto and his training mirror a moment Itachi and Sasuke had years ago.

At the end of episode 55, Boruto managed to pull of a shuriken technique he never thought possible, but Sasuke was not ready to let up so easily. The older Uchiha told Boruto to take it to the next level and try to hit an even more angled target with a single throw. Boruto kicked up a fuss over the demand, so it fell to Sasuke to show him how it was done. Taking to of his stars, Sasuke was able to hit the target he wanted Boruto to train with easily, and the sequence mirrored the training Itachi used to do with Sasuke.

Growing up, Itachi was not one to train with Sasuke, but the boy did treat his younger brother to the occasional outing. Most famously, Itachi would give Sasuke a peak at his complicated kunai and shuriken throws. The montages would see Itachi go through a series of impossible throws, and Sasuke was left amazed if not disgruntled by how good his brother was.

These days, it is Sasuke who has mastered the throws, and Boruto has taken the place of the Uchiha's younger self. Sasuke has the unique chance to do what Itachi never could be becoming a full-on mentor, and his big test for Naruto's son is to see how creative he can be with his ninja tools. And, if Boruto keeps his cool, then he will surely master the lessons Sasuke is putting in front of him.

Will Sasuke be a better teacher to Boruto than his brother was to him? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!