The Uchiha Legacy: A Deep Dive Into Sarada’s Journey

The Uchiha clan massacre was one of the most defining moments in the Naruto series. The whole legacy of the clan fell on the shoulders of Sasuke Uchiha, once an enemy of Konoha Village; however, with the help of Naruto, Sakura, and the rest of his friends, he managed to get back to normal. He started the family with his teammate Sakura Haruno, who gave birth to their daughter Sarada Uchiha, now one of the main characters of the Boruto series.

The Uchiha Heires Raised by her Mother

Many people have issues with how Masashi Kishimoto dealt with the Uchiha family post-Fourth Shinobi World War. After being pardoned by the Sixth Hokage (Kakashi), Sasuke decided to go on a journey of redemption to mend the devastation he bestowed on everyone during his path of revenge. However, not before returning Sakura's affection and eventually getting married to her. During his mission, Sasuke very rarely returned to Konoha to visit his wife and friends, but despite that, he became a father of a little girl, Sarada. The girl was raised solely by Sakura, who promised her daughter that one day she will meet her father, but until then, she has to attend to her duties as the future shinobi and seek training and education.

Sakura taught Sarada many things, including the healing abilities, chakra control, and physical prowess, with the addition of some prominent ninjutsu of the Uchiha Clan, like Fire Ball jutsu. Sarada appreciated everything her mother had done for her, but she still felt the absence of her father, which in some ways jeopardized the legacy of the Uchiha clan.

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Underutilization of Sarada's Powers

However, the true start of Sarada's journey of upkeeping the Uchiha clan legacy was when she awakened her Sharingan when she finally met Sasuke. The strong emotional reaction prompted that to happen, and we finally started seeing how much potential Sarada has—the potential to be even stronger than her father. Although Sarada awakened her Sharingan and we finally started seeing her path through the Academy and then becoming a genin, it felt that Sarada's powers were always a bit underutilized. Unfortunately, once again we saw Masashi Kishimoto failing to develop female characters powers—instead settling her as the cheap and shallow trope of 'a love interest of the main protagonist.' It seems harsh, but throughout the whole Boruto: Naruto Next Generations manga and anime, we barely saw Sarada use her powers to full potential and beat extremely dangerous opponents.

In the original series, even Sakura had the opportunity to showcase her powers against the member of Akatsuki, Sasori, and Sarada couldn't do that throughout the whole run of the Boruto series. Whenever a fight against an Ōtsutsuki member ensues, Sarada is always rescued by Boruto or someone else, setting her up as 'a damsel in distress.'

Hope for Changes in the New Series

Throughout the whole original Boruto manga series, we barely saw Sarada showcasing her potential and power. She has clear goals in her life: to become a strong shinobi and to one day become a Hokage, the latter a result of her admiring Naruto since she was a little girl. These facts should've been explored more, especially since she's the heir of the Uchiha clan, and the whole bloodline is 'held by her shoulders.'

However, the timeskip in the new Boruto: Two Blue Vortex could be an important point of her journey and even a true awakening of her character. Sarada even has a Mangekyō Sharingan, which she awakened after the fact that Eida swapped everyone's memories, ensuring everyone thinks Boruto killed Naruto. This is a rare occurrence because an Uchiha awakens the Dōjutsu out of fear of losing a loved one, not with the anguish of actually losing them. Once again, Kishimoto made Sarada's circumstances unique, driving her to an epic showdown with the new enemies.

Conclusion: Sarada's Great Potential Needs to be Utilized

In the end, we can only wait and hope that Sarada will become the driving force of power in Boruto and that this new series will make her one of the coolest characters out there. It's great that Kishimoto likes to focus on Boruto and Kawaki's story, but having an heir of the Uchiha clan and the daughter of Sasuke and Sakura simply standing there and being a standing piece of the dreaded 'damsel in distress' or just 'a love interest' trope is a heresy to the entire Naruto and Boruto Universe. Hopefully, the newest Boruto: Two Blue Vortex will finally showcase Sarada's full power, as it's been teased in the previous chapter—Sarada Uchiha deserves it, for the legacy of the Uchiha clan to continue.

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