Naruto: Boruto Reveals Emotional Asuma Flashback

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations is in the midst of the Konoha Shinden arc which changes the focus of the series to the returning Kakashi, Guy, and Mirai Sarutobi. As Mirai has journeyed through the hot springs spots with the two former legends, fans are learning more and more about what kind of shinobi she is. And fans have also seen just how little she knows about her late father, Asuma.

With Asuma coming up in the series more often lately, this has opened the door for the series to debut some emotional flashbacks to series' past in the latest episode that demonstrate just how strong of a teacher Asuma Sarutobi really was.

Episode 109 of the series begins with one flashback to Shikamaru and Asuma playing Shogi sometime before his eventual death. It's here that Asuma mentions how he finally understands what the "King" piece is. He asks Shikamaru who in the Hidden Leaf would be the King, and when Shikamaru says the Hokage, Asuma says that's what he used to think to but it's wrong. He says Shikamaru will know the answer for himself soon enough.

This continues into a second flashback as Choji tells Mirai about her father. He mentions how he had Asuma's support when he was younger, and a flashback scene sees a younger Choji before taking the Chunin Exams. He mentioned how he had trouble learning jutsu, and Asuma tells him to have more confidence in himself.

Asuma mentions how he used to be shy and unconfident in himself as well, and says that Choji will one day become a full fledged shinobi if he focuses on the things only he can do. Choji mentions how Asuma's words helped him build the strength to protect the "King," and refuses to answer this for Mirai as it's something Mirai will have to figure out for herself. This sort of thing only builds up more of the mystery about her father, and it seems that will be coming to a head in the next episode as the preview teases that she will confront her father's past directly.

Asuma's death was one of the biggest moments of the original Naruto series, so these flashbacks (along with the current arc exploring his and Kurenai's daughter) has been welcomed by fans with open arms.

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.