Naruto Theory Argues Boruto’s New Arc will Break Hearts with Sasuke

When it was first announced that Boruto would be going back in time for a special arc in celebration of the Naruto franchise’s 20th Anniversary, we were all excited about the kind of possibilities that would present themselves. Not only has the new arc promised we’ll be seeing long lost characters like Jiraiya again, but that we’ll be able to see just how Boruto bounces off of the younger version of his father. But what wasn’t expected was seeing that Sasuke went back in time as well. But there might be something deeper planned for Sasuke.

A theory from @hatakefox on Twitter is quickly gaining steam for arguing that we’ll get some heartbreaking moments as Sasuke sees everything he missed when leaving the Hidden Leaf Village as a child. As @hatakefox argues, “what about Sasuke seeing everything he missed by leaving, and regretting his life choices?”

As the theory notes, Boruto will most likely be able to call his father on a recent hypocritical moment before he went back in time, but Sasuke definitely is an interesting addition to all of this as well. If it merely were just supposed to be Naruto’s journey, then he would’ve gone on his own. There must be some narrative reason Sasuke went back in time too, and this theory finds a good explanation.

From recent promotional materials, it seems like the time period Boruto and Sasuke find themselves in is after Sasuke leaves the village and shortly before the Naruto: Shippuden time jump. Young Naruto is training with Jiraiya, and this is sometime before Tsunade’s face had been carved in the mountain as the fifth Hokage. This was also pointed out in the previous episode, which Hinata remarks about how Sasuke wasn’t around at the time of a group photo featuring the rest of the group.

So the anime could be laying the groundwork for an emotional breakthrough in which Sasuke sees just how much of the Hidden Leaf Village he lost while he himself was stuck in a miasma of hatred. But what do you think of this theory? Do you hope Sasuke will have a time travel breakthrough of his own? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly @Valdezology on Twitter!

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.