Naruto Fans Spot Touching Asuma Reference In Boruto

Naruto is always down to make drop references to its past, and Boruto has taken that suggestion to heart. With more than 100 episodes to its name, the sequel has included all kinds of nods to the early days of Naruto, and it looks like Asuma has come into focus once more on Boruto.

After all, the fallen ninja still lives within fans to this day, and his daughter Mirai proved that recently.

This week, fans watched as a new episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations went live. The update kept on with its current Konoha Shinden arc as Mirai escorts Kakashi and Gai around the Land of Fire. It is during this trip Mirai begins to wonder about her father, and she accidentally taps into his character towards the episode's end.

Towards the last bit of the episode, fans meet up with Mirai as she tries to bring peace to a warring village. The ninja decided to trick everyone using a jutsu, but she needs some help to get a Fire-release technique going. Mirai is finally able to get her plan in action after she borrows a lighter from Gai last minute, and the older ninja were rather shocked to see Mirai use a lighter much like her did did.

"It worked out because you have a good head on your shoulders," Kakashi later tells Mirai about her plan. "Just like your dad."

"The lighter was Asuma's trademark. Even if you don't remember, Asuma lives on inside of us."

Mirai was clearly surprised by this information as she never got to meet her dad, but fans will know Kakashi speaks the truth. The former Team 10 leader was known for his smoking habit, and he always had a lighter on hand. Gifted with both Wind- and Fire-release energy, Asuma would use smoke and fire to launch attacks. So, it seems Mirai took after her father without even realizing it this past week.

So, did you catch this moment when it came up? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Originally created by Masashi Kishimoto for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1999, Naruto follows a young ninja, with a sealed demon within him, that wishes to become the leader of his home village. The series ran for 700 chapters overall, and was adapted into an anime series by Studio Pierrot and Aniplex that ran from 2002 to 2017. The series was popular enough to warrant a sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations which is set several years after the events of the original Naruto story and features the children of many of its key characters such as Naruto and Hinata.