The Uchiha clan has never had a truly great time across Naruto and its Boruto sequel series, but its strongest fighters have typically fought to their last. In the case of Sasuke Uchiha, who has been trapped by the Divine Trees since 2023, things may get worse before they get better, especially for his daughter, Sarada.

Sasuke & Sarada Uchiha Face a Grim Future Choice

As seen in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #31, Sarada has begun reaping the downsides of overreliance on her newly-awakened Mangekyō Sharingan eyes. While her particular dōjutsu, Ōhirume, has enough devastating gravitational pull to obliterate Divine Trees, her eyes are not immune to a classic Uchiha weakness. She’s showing signs of going blind, and losing her powers.

This has been a common struggle for Uchihas across the Naruto universe, but unlike the Fourth Great Ninja War’s absurd eye-swapping moments, Sarada doesn’t exactly have much of a pool left. Given these eyes are best-harvested by close Uchiha family members, Sarada may be forced to take Sasuke’s remaining good Sharingan eye.

With Sasuke being imprisoned in a tree in what appears not to be a safe location in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #4, it almost feels like bait to have his right eye, and not his destroyed Rinnegan, be exposed to the elements. Beyond a hypothetical Byakugō-level save to restore Sarada’s eyes, the likely conclusion is a tactical choice.

Should the wrong elements catch wind of the greatest living Uchiha of the last generation being practically open to have his eye stolen, this would be an even greater loss. But unless the crew is able to defeat Hidari after the current mission to take down Mamushi, Sarada may be pushed to the difficult choice of harvesting her father’s eye.

Sarada Has One Other Sharingan Option (But It’s Unlikely)

With Boruto seeing even fewer surviving Uchihas than the bulk of Naruto’s story, where its previous remainders were rocked by a massacre, one other option exists for Sarada to retain her Mangekyō Sharingan: Shin Uchiha’s clones. Surviving after the demise of their predecessor, they bear the organs and eyes necessary to do the job.

But it’s an unlikely solution for Sarada’s eyes, partially because the Shin clones got a happy ending, joining Kabuto’s orphanage, but also because such a fate would undo their salvation from being fodder to the original Shin. They’ve also only appeared in Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring and six early episodes of Boruto; returning is unlikely.

One could reasonably argue that restoring their Sharingan and developing the Eternal Mangekyō only comes from harvesting close relatives, so Shin’s clones may not even work in this instance. With Sasuke being the only surviving close relative with intact eyes, the story seems, for now, to hint toward Sarada inheriting her father’s good eye.

The Strongest Uchiha Debate May Soon Have Its Clear Winner

Custom Image by Rodrigo Sandoval Lahut.

Adult Sasuke is a hard act to follow, once possessing his special six-tomoe Rinnegan before Boruto, under Momoshiki’s influence, destroyed it. This, combined with his fully developed Mangekyō Sharingan and a wide array of powerful jutsu have cemented him as the strongest Uchiha of all time. But he’s no longer in play, and may lose prominence soon.

With Sarada’s phenomenal powers showing her able to obliterate Ten-Tails/Ōtsutsuki-scale threats like Ryū and even en masse like with Mamushi, she has made a name for herself in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. This comes despite spending years as an underachieving Genin, much like her father, while showing greater prodigious abilities than a Sasuke at her age in Part 1.

It’s uncertain whether Sarada will reach similar heights as Sasuke did, unless Momoshiki turns over a new leaf and acts as the new-gen Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, or she draws additional power from a similar source. After all, a return by the Sage of Six Paths would be a lazy way to grant Sarada a boost like her father received.

But more importantly, Sasuke has been heavily nerfed by the start of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex. Chapter #5 revealed his faith in Sarada as well as Boruto, believing the latter to be a genius and that only Sarada and his protege can handle the threat ahead. Sasuke’s down one arm, one eye, and incapacitated while his successors live to fight another day.

Sasuke Has Already Lost (But He Saved His Village)

Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapter #5 detailed what got Sasuke imprisoned, namely, by fighting Code with his Claw Grimes to buy time for Boruto to escape. Even if he is rescued once the team recovers Hidari’s Thorn Soul Bulb, the story has clearly written him into the position of passing the torch to the new generation, with Masashi Kishimoto’s approval.

Sasuke has already set the bar incredibly high for future Uchihas, but he is past his prime, with Boruto inheriting his jutsu, sword, and signature attitude, while Sarada inherits his Kekkei Genkai. It’s unlikely his heights will be matched by Sarada, but the series could still build her up further.

However, the bigger issue may be when Sasuke is rescued, and whether he’ll take issue with the measures used to save the village thus far. While having a brutal streak to his name, Sasuke has carried out his atonement admirably, so Boruto’s cooperation with Koji Kashin, recently endorsing the death of a Land of Fire official, may rub him wrong.

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  First Film

  Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

  Latest Film

  Boruto: Naruto the Movie

  First TV Show

  Naruto

  Latest TV Show

  Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

  First Episode Air Date

  
  October 3, 2002
  

  Cast

  Junko Takeuchi, Maile Flanagan, Noriaki Sugiyama, Chie Nakamura, Kazuhiko Inoue, Nana Mizuki, Hideo Ishikawa, Yûko Sanpei

  Naruto is a franchise spawned from the manga series penned by Masashi Kishimoto that began in 1999. Generating several tv series, games, movies, and more, Naruto follows the exploits of a young outcast ninja harboring the spirit of a demon fox who seeks to become the Hokage, the leader of his ninja village, to break the stigma against him. Upon the conclusion of the initial series, Naruto expanded into Boruto, following many series protagonists’ children and returning faces.

  
  

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  Writer

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Writers

  Masashi Kishimoto

  Penciler(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Inker(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Colorist(s)

  Mikio Ikemoto

  Publisher(s)

  Viz Media

  Years after fleeing his village with Sasuke, Boruto returns to confront the dark changes that have occurred. With memories altered and Kawaki now seen as the hero, Boruto faces a world where he is the outcast. The two rivals must settle their differences as their Otsutsuki powers grow more dangerous.