This article contains light spoilers for Boruto

Though Boruto may be the son of Naruto, the Hokage of Konoha, that doesn't exactly mean that the protagonist is identical to his well-known father. Sure, he may share the same spiky yellow hair and infectious charisma, but the journey that the new protagonist goes through within the Boruto anime and manga is a lot different to what his father experienced, resulting in two wildly different adventures that fans have been able to enjoy over the years. Though Boruto and Naruto do eventually start to warm up to one another and create a strong familial Bond, as the story goes on, it's clear that there's always been something that separates the two of them.

This is something that author Mikio Ikemoto has actually spoken about, and when taking a look at his recent comments on the topic, it starts to make a lot of sense why Boruto actually feels a lot more similar to Sasuke than his own father. This may seem like a fairly unlikely pairing on paper, but the two actually get along very well in the Boruto manga and anime, and Ikemoto has shared shed some light on why exactly the two formed such a deep connection in the first place, and how they are so similar despite still being drastically different in many ways.

Boruto And Sasuke's Relationship

The Infamous Uchiha Acted As A Mentor To Boruto

Sasuke took Boruto under his wing
Boruto's troubled relationship with his father led him to Sasuke
Ironically, Sasuke taught Boruto to respect his father

It would be easy to assume that Naruto would be the one who would end up teaching Boruto the responsibilities that come with being a ninja. The truth is, though, due to being Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village, the plucky former protagonist now has barely any time to take a break from his constant paperwork, let alone teach his son how to perform Jutsu abilities and hand-to-hand combat.

This ended up causing a lot of friction near the beginning of the series where Boruto desperately tried to attract the attention of his father, even putting himself in danger. It wouldn't be long before Boruto decided to instead follow in the footsteps of none other than Naruto's own former rival, Sasuke Uchiha, who teaches the young boy not only how to defend himself, but also what it truly means to be a ninja, and the plethora of unwritten rules that come along with it.

"You've grown to hate losing, to the point where you'll never give up and never back down" - Sasuke to Boruto

While Sasuke himself may claim that he is only teaching Boruto due to him being Naruto's son, author Ikemoto has indicated that there is a much deeper reason why this relationship formed in the first place. Long-time Naruto fans will probably have picked this up already, but when looking at the personal story arc that the two ninja have gone through, it becomes easy to see why fate brought them together.

Boruto And Sasuke Had Everything Taken From Them

They Started With Everything, But Eventually, Lost It All

During a conversation with Masashi Kishimoto, the author of the Naruto series, Ikemoto is asked how Boruto's development as a protagonist differs from that of his father, and the answer he gives is pretty revealing. Ikemoto explains that Naruto is a character who starts off the story with nothing, being hated by everyone around him and having little to no family or friends to speak of. However, by putting in the time and effort, the protagonist is eventually able to have everything he wants by the very end, though getting to this point was certainly far from easy.

Boruto, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. According to Ikemoto, Boruto has somewhat of a perfect life when his standalone story begins, but it doesn't take long before everything that the boy holds dear to him is ripped away in one form or another. This is also what ultimately makes Boruto and Naruto so different in their personalities when they were still kids. While Naruto could be pretty annoying at times, he was simply desperate to make new friends. Meanwhile, Boruto is known for being a lot more brash and cocky than his father, but slowly learns how to be a trustworthy and responsible ninja over time.

"Boruto resembles Sasuke in terms of loss and Naruto in terms of gaining" - Mikio Ikemoto

Ikemoto goes on to connect Boruto's character arc to that of Sasuke, which honestly makes a lot of sense considering everything that Uchiha has been through with losing his loved ones at such a young age. These comments indicate that Ikemoto had a much more specific reason for pairing Sasuke and Boruto together, and it's because they are instantly able to connect because of the hardships they both faced as kids.

How Did Sasuke Lose Everything?

His Older Brother Ruined Sasuke's Hopes And Dreams, Sending Him Down A Dark Path

His clan was wiped out when he was a child
Sasuke became obsessed with getting revenge
The Uchiha eventually made peace with what Itachi did

No ninja would complain about being born into the prestigious Uchiha Clan, but for Sasuke, he didn't exactly get to spend all that much time around his own people before they were mercilessly slaughtered. Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, took it upon himself to wipe out the clan in a single night, only deciding to spare is younger brother, who would go on to become obsessed with getting revenge on Itachi for his heinous actions.

By the time fans get to see Sasuke in the main story after he enlists at the academy, he comes across as a dangerous but powerful ninja who has already been honing his Jutsu techniques and ninjutsu skills for many years in order to take down his older brother. While Itachi's true motives do become clearer much later in the story, the events of that fateful night completely destroyed Sasuke's hopes and dreams, and while Boruto can't quite relate to this level of suffering, what's most important is that Sasuke was eventually able to crawl out of his pit of despair.

In the Boruto story, Sasuke has come to peace with what happened to his people, and even managed to form a bond with Itachi after learning the truth behind the Uchiha massacre. As a result of this, he's the perfect person to take Boruto under his wing, since he can teach him how to keep himself together when all seems lost. Since Sasuke has so much experience of being manipulated and groomed by characters like Orochimaru who wanted to take advantage of him, he's probably also concerned that Boruto would experience the same thing, so it's a good thing Sasuke is there to keep him on the straight and narrow for a good portion of the story.

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