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Sarada Uchihabeing the daughter of fan-favorite Sasuke Uchiha meant fans have quite a lot of expectations for her full potential - especially now that she had just recently activated her Mangekyo Sharingan. After being simply teased near the ending of theBorutomanga, Sarada is finally ready to show the world how her Mangekyo Sharingan works - specifically her Orihume, which is seemingly a spatial ability. As per Boruto’s flashback, Sasuke explained it’s precisely a young Sarada activating her Mangekyo at the thought of Boruto dying that convinced him to help Boruto, despite what his “memory” tells him.
Now that Sasuke is presently captured and Boruto is still on the run, Sarada has decided to stop hesitating and letting her feelings move forward - finally convincing her to step up and activate an ability that initially frightened her. As per Boruto, Sasuke told him the Mangekyo Sharingan is activated in times of extreme stress. But his explanation to his student has quite the interesting implications.
The Mangekyo Sharingan Recap
What Did It Take To Awaken This Kekkei Genkai?
As fans ofNarutoare already aware, the Sharingan dojutsu is the hereditary Kekkei Genkai of the Uchiha Clan - but this isn’t its final form. InNarutolore,the original variants of the Mangekyo Sharinganwere only awakened after its user faces extreme loss. This is often attributed to the loss of a comrade or a loved one, and usually at their own hands.
Such a method to awaken the “true” form of this hereditary ability is an ironic play into the Uchiha Hatred - where the clan’s disposition towards emotions is so strong that their feelings are enough to endow them with great power. Unfortunately, the wartorn times of the past (and Tobirama Senju’s own anti-Uchiha propaganda didn’t help) meant the Uchiha were always in a state of tragedy. And sadly for them, this also meant they got so accustomed to their Mangekyo Sharingan being awakened out of such horrific situations.
But Sarada Is An Exception To The Rule
Pure Feelings Awakened Her Mangekyo Sharingan
It’s for this reason that Sarada Uchiha’s awakening of her own Mangekyo Sharingan was a jaw-dropper in the series. In the final chapters ofBoruto: Naruto Next Generations,Kawaki invoking the Shinjutsu Omnipotence had switched his life with Boruto’s- practically making everyone believe Kawaki was Naruto’s true son while Boruto was the one that made him disappear. Only Sumire Kakei and Sarada Uchiha - both possessing feelings for Boruto at the time - seemed to remember the “real” version of events.
While Boruto was being pursued, Sasuke was prepared to engage until Sarada pleaded with him to help him. Sasuke was ready to ignore his daughter when he noticed Sarada had awakened her Mangekyo Sharingan in the process - something that makes him reconsider his own version of reality. It’s for this reason that Sasuke helps Boruto escape and even train him, regardless of what his brain tells him. All because Sarada had awakened her Mangekyo Sharingan in that crucial moment.
What Makes Sarada’s Awakening So Important?
Introducing A Twist To The Mangekyo Awakening
Some might be wondering what makes Sarada’s Mangekyo awakening such a big deal when it’s an inevitability given her lineage. Was it her age, as even the likes ofItachi and Shisui had awakened their Mangekyowhen they were years older than Sarada? Was it her nature, as she’s technically only half-Uchiha and not whole? Or was it perhaps the part of the story when she awakened it, as it seemed too early when compared to the originalNarutoseries? However, the real surprise surrounding Sarada’s Sharingan upgrade actually had to do with the circumstances of the awakening of her Mangekyo Sharingan, not necessarily the awakening itself.
See, Sarada had actually awakened her Sharingan not in the sight of the death of a loved one but the mere thought of it. Prior to the awakening, Sarada had contemplated how unfair life was for Boruto, as he had to face yet another burden when he was just trying to help. Not only did he become an Otsutsuki but was now branded a traitor over something he hadn’t really done. The distress of such a situation had awakened her Mangekyo - an unprecedented circumstance at the time.
A New Way Of Activating The Mangekyo
The Mere Thought Of Losing Someone Is Enough
The subject of Sarada’s Mangekyo Sharingan is once again explored in the recent chapters ofBoruto: Two Blue Vortex, during the fight between Sarada’s team and Ryu. Faced with overwhelming odds and the apparent death of Yodo, Sarada is provoked into activating her Mangekyo Sharingan. She even provided a slight showcase of its abilities,specifically the Orihume- black spheres that exert great gravitational pulls towards Sarada’s designated targets. Behind the scenes, Boruto recalls his past self talking to Sasuke about the nature of Sarada’s awakening.
According to Sasuke, it’s not the circumstances that declare one’s tapping into the Mangekyo but rather the emotional distress that came with it. Death just so happens to inflict a great deal of trauma to an Uchiha, prompting their Mangekyo Sharingan to awaken. In Sarada’s case, the mere thought of Boruto dying had been enough to trigger her Mangekyo’s release. The seriousness of a Mangekyo awakening was enough to convince Sasuke that what Sarada had said about Boruto was true, to the point that he was willing to once again become a missing-nin to help Boruto survive.
Weren’t There More Impactful Moments In The Past?
Boruto’s Death Could Have Been The Catalyst
Sasuke’s explanation to Boruto made Sarada’s awakening somehow make sense - if the Mangekyo is awakened due to immense emotional distress and trauma, death isn’t quite a necessary factor in its initial activation. If anything, death just so happens to be an unfortunate additional catalyst to the awakening of such a powerful ability.
Thing is, if this is the case, shouldn’t earlier events have already awakened Sarada’s Mangekyo Sharingan? While she’s not present whenBoruto died at the hands of Kawaki, her being made aware that Boruto has become a “full Otsutsuki” and seeing his scar at the hospital meant she likely knew something life-threatening happened to her comrade even before he got fully resurrected. Not to mention, if the anime was indeed considered part of canon, Boruto’s presumed drowning in front of her should have been a potential catalyst, too. Compared to Boruto in near-death at the hospital or seemingly drowning, the “thought” of Boruto being pursued to death somewhat pales in comparison.
Could This Be The First “True” Mangekyo Sharingan Awakening?
An Awakening With No Uchiha Interference
Sarada’s awakening of her Mangekyo Sharingan remains a focal point inBoruto’s recent chapters primarily due to its implication: she is the only one whose Mangekyo activation didn’t require witnessing or enacting the death of one she holds dearest to her. This is quite unlike the Uchiha’s wartime peak where the Mangekyo awakening became synonymous with the death of loved ones, orthe unfortunate Uchiha traditionof killing one’s dearest simply to activate the power-up. Sarada’s awakening is the most genuine activation of the Mangekyo Sharingan, with no outside interferences.
Not only that, but she is, after all, Sasuke’s daughter. This is the same Sasuke who is the last pureblood Uchiha, the incarnation of Indra Otsutsuki, and once the recipient of the Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s chakra that unlocked his Rinnegan. It’s unknown whether any of these past events in Sasuke’s life has affected Sarada’s overall genetic makeup - but it won’t be that much of a surprise should Sarada get thematic power ups related to her biological and metaphorical legacy, and perhaps even get Rinnegan due to her close ties to Boruto, this time the son of Asura Otsutsuki’s incarnation.
