Reimagining Konohamaru: The Overlooked Hero of Konoha

When talking about Naruto side characters, fans usually look upon them with fondness, despite being, in most cases, underutilized. This is a case for Konohamaru Sarutobi, a character we met in the first Naruto series, a nephew of Asuma Sarutobi who has taken a liking to Naruto. At first a kid that idealized the Gutsy Ninja, Konohamaru became a strong shinobi whose potential was never truly fulfilled by Masashi Kishimoto.

Enormous Pressure for the Heir of the Famous Shinobi Bloodline

The story of Konohamaru Sarutobi is very interesting. He's the grandchild of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and a nephew of a jōnin and one of the strongest Konoha shinobi, Asuma. A very lively kid who was not very burdened by his family's status; instead, he enjoyed not being held accountable for his actions. Not until he meets Naruto, an even louder kid who doesn't care about one's status. He never showcases restraint to a young Sarutobi heir, which the younger boy appreciates. This starts Konohamaru's appreciation of Naruto, and eventually, the Gutsy Ninja gets his first real fan, if we don't count Hinata first. Throughout many years, we see Konohamaru learning about the shinobi way and life and even starting to appreciate his family's and village values.

Konohamaru becomes a strong shinobi and eventually becomes a jōnin like his uncle Asuma. This leads to Konohamaru becoming a mentor to Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, symbolically teaching his idol's son, just like Naruto mentored him.

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A Character That Was Never Utilized

Despite having the fundamentals of a great character, Konohamaru has fallen into the same hole as many of his peers in the series—he was simply forgotten by his creator. Looking back at the Naruto series, there are many supporting characters that had amazing debuts in the series. Kakashi, Jiraiya, Rock Lee, and others became staples of Naruto and fan favorites that are still considered some of the best; certainly, that is the case in many online rankings.

However, not many other characters had that luxury, and we saw many characters, especially female ones, being absolutely massacred by Kishimoto's not-so-good writing and his inability to create good and cool women. In the case of Konohamaru, his underutilization isn't the result of him being female, but simply being part of a huge cast that got forgotten during the series. Konohamaru was supposed to be Naruto's pupil and successor, and that made sense since he was the grandchild of the Third Hokage, and his clan was part of the elite in Konohagakure. Unfortunately for him, Konohamaru's role in the Naruto series waned, therefore leading to fans not caring about his character in the end.

Even in his new role in the Boruto series, Konohamaru still feels 'empty' and boring at times, especially when he barely showcases his strength in the series that thrives on action. Despite all of those problems, Konohamaru seemingly got a new role in the new Boruto: Two Blue Vortex series, giving hope for his character for the future.

Conclusion: A Forgotten Character With a New Chance

As previously mentioned, Konohamaru's role in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was bland and very uninspiring; however, it seems that the 'Post-Boruto's Return' arc in Boruto: Two Blue Vortex gave Konohamaru a very important purpose. He's leading a secret mission that will play a major role in the series storyline and potentially ascend his character from the graveyard of Kishimoto's underutilized characters. Hopefully, we see some good developments for Konohamaru, who could finally shine after more than a decade being in the dark.

If you want to read more Boruto: Two Blue Vortex chapters, check out Viz Media.