I saw a post saying how impressive it was that Sarada is so important to the plot when her story hasn't started yet and I was so confused. Both on the importance aspect because that's debatable, but did we not get a whole volume/arc focused on her? What was that if not her story developing? If anything I would say we've already got 90% of what her role in TBV will be and it's very optimistic (potentially delusional) to expect a greater arc for her. This chapter could've set up some nice development but as usual it was wasted and all we got is that she's going to keep trying to help Boruto. That's all her story is. Aside from her reaction to Sasuke being saved I don't think we're getting much more then that. She's always knocked out when information is being exposited so she knows less then some side characters. She is actually weirdly disconnected from the plot and her only anchor to it is "helping" Boruto
I'd argue thats not even an anchor atp because her desire to help Boruto never comes to fruition, from the moment she FIRST said she wants to help Boruto this is what always happens.
She's worried about Boruto, Sakura says she wont be any help to him if she doesnt focus on herself first.
No help, no involvement, Sarada was in the hospital this entire time meanwhile Boruto got his arm broken, ribs crushed, was taken over, then stabbed her fathers eye out and tried to kill Kawaki.
Know who did help Boruto?
And who was the one Boruto said he felt he could depend on?
Kawaki, Sasuke had already told him prior that he could count on him to deal with him if he ever lost control so Boruto already know's Sasuke has his back, but now he has Kawaki he can rely on too.
She complains about being on indefinite hiatus, says she understands and doesnt blame Boruto, yet does she do anything to help? does she come up with any ideas on how to help his situation? does she do any research? no.
Know who does come up with some type of plan to try and save Boruto?
But Boruto not only ignores his advice, he claims that since it was just a theory there was no guarantee, yet contradicts that very statement by taking pills from Amado that ALSO wasnt a guarantee fix for his problem, yet he chose to take the gamble on Amado's plan than Kawaki's.
Then to make matters worse, not only does he reject his plan to help him in favor of Amado's, but he also rejects his very basic and reasonable suggestion for their training, combat training, something literally every ninja does.
Mitsuki is the only one with sense in the situation and doesnt object while Sarada and Boruto do, keep in mind by this point Sarada hasnt offered up ANY SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS for how to deal with either problem, Boruto being Otsutsukified, and Code's eventually invasion, she has contributed nothing to EITHER of those and yet she is one of the ones who has the most to say in objection.
'Its an important chakra control drill! a real basic one! acting all bossy despite being a newbie'
Kawaki LITERALLY already mastered chakra control, he learned to climb trees in a day which SHE witnessed him do, and both Chocho [Mitsuki in the anime] said Kawaki had a knack for ninjutsu and could easily become a ninja.
Sarada trained him herself in shurikenjutsu.
Kawaki despite being a newbie like she said, was able to do one handed handsigns after losing his arm which is something only few very skilled shinobi can do, one including her father. And he also learned how to use shadow clone jutsu, even if he can only make one clone, the point is its not exactly an easy jutsu that just anyone can learn and pull off effectively.
THIS is the guy she calls 'newbie' and insists needs to do these 'basic chakra control drills' instead of real training, something he ALREADY has a good grasp of doing.
So not only was her attitude here stupid, but she's arguing this for ALL of them when Boruto and Mitsuki dont need this training at all, Kawaki was objectively right in this situation, why the hell are they sitting around doing basic chakra drills that everyone there already has a grasp of instead of ACTUALLY training to prepare for Code's arrival? WHY was combat training such a 'rash' suggestion?
Here Kawaki is explaining his rationale, how even though the training was cruel, it DID get results, so even though Jigen was a bastard, he DID help Kawaki get stronger.
What does Sarada do? instead of actually LISTENING to his point she just calls it 'extreme logic' and asks if he's really that dumb.
Ironic coming from her here because two crucial things I want you to notice here.
This whole thing started because Boruto took sus pills from Amado and disregarded Kawaki's plan because it wasnt a guarantee, yet took pills that also werent a guarantee.
notice how at no point does Mitsuki say anything, because unlike Sarada, he knows he has nothing to contribute, HE didnt come up with any plans or solutions, HE didnt offer Boruto any options, so where does he get off saying anything?
Sarada doesnt have this self awareness, she offered NOTHING yet runs her mouth anyway like she has anything better.
But did she object to the sus pills? no, no issues with Boruto taking unknown pills with unknown side effects recklessly but Kawaki saying basic chakra control drills is a waste of time and they should do combat training instead is where she has a problem and draws the line.
Notice how Mitsuki doesnt say anything to Boruto because he knows he isnt contributing anything, but he confronts Kawaki when he complains and asks him alright so how would YOU suggest we train? because THATS how those types of ppl need to be handled.
If your gonna run your mouth, back it up with something to offer, if Kawaki is gonna complain about THEIR training method then surely he has a better idea then right? and he did, combat training, and he had a valid explanation on why that was better.
Sarada? she complains but offers nothing, ok she has a problem with the way Kawaki's going about things, what does she offer thats better? nothing, she intervenes in their conversation about their plans but did she offer any of her OWN ideas on how to help Boruto? no.
She's doing all the talking but none of the contributing, all the complaining yet offering no solutions, she wants to claim she's the captain of this team, yet offering none of the leadership.
All of this just to point out further how she WANTS to help Boruto, yet never has anything to offer.
So what happens after this huh? she had the most to say and in the end got her way not because of her own acting regaining control of her team and actually countering Kawaki's points, but cuz Boruto took over and got things under control FOR her.
So after all that complaining, all that judgement, all that 'extreme logic' she claimed Kawaki had for wanting to train SERIOUSLY for the threat that Code was, what happened after that? what happened after Kawaki gave in and sat there doing her basic chakra control drills she and Boruto wanted?
Was she anywhere to help? no, as Kawaki feared the pills WERENT a reliable solution and actually helped enable Momoshiki to take over and not only form a partnership with Code, but almost kill his own father.
WHO is the one that stops this? Kawaki, WHO saves Shikamaru from Code? Kawaki, WHO saved Naruto from Borushiki? Kawaki.
Once again Boruto got zero help from Sarada when he needed her most, she wasnt there at all, and everything she condemned Kawaki for trying to do and insisted her way was better ended up being exactly what Kawaki said it was, a waste of danm time.
Meanwhile she didnt object to the pills, yet those very pilled helped Boruto get taken over, Kawaki had 'extreme logic' yet pills with unknown side effects were a non concern to her, yet THATS what ended up hurting Boruto later, NOT anything Kawaki suggested.
I need to emphasize this point because its a pattern, as you'll see with the next one.
Here she is again after what happened saying she wants to help Boruto more, wondering if their 'undependable'
Well lets see what Boruto thinks
'He's the only one I could've made such an unreasonable quest to'
Translation, yes, they ARE that undependable, and the only ppl Boruto knows he can count on are Sasuke and Kawaki, hence why we always see him go to THEM instead of Sasuke and Mitsuki.
This again is a pattern as you'll see in my next points.
Once again she yaps about wanting to help Boruto, that she cant stand around and do nothing, and what does she do?
Stand around and do nothing.
Boruto loses his eye, because of HER.
Keep in mind, she said she wanted to HELP him, yet so far everytime she's wanted to 'help' shes either never there, complains about things she wasnt there for nor is offering any suggestions on how to help with, or she is there and makes things WORSE.
Boruto forever only has one eye now BECAUSE of her, because she 'cant stand around and do nothing' only to stand around and do nothing.
Now onto TBV, has anything changed? no
Does she convince anyone of Boruto's innocence and gain him more allies? no, Amado gets Shikamaru on his side, and Boruto convinces Mitsuki to his side all on his own, and Inojin joins his side of his own volition for Himawari's sake, same for Shikadai and Chocho, and Konohamaru also sides with him because of Boruto himself.
NOBODY joins his side because of Sarada, she hasnt gotten Boruto a single ally despite 'fighting on her own' for him for 3 years straight and not ONE person she convinced to join him? Boruto has gotten more allies BY HIMSELF than Sarada has.
Keep that in mind, Boruto has helped himself get more allies than Sarada, all while everyone is under the same omnipotence, yet Boruto has to gain his own allies because Sarada is so ineffective, hell even Sumire contributed by getting Amado talking which convinced Shikamaru, Sarada aint even do THAT.
Has she helped Boruto in any fights? no, her contribution with Hidari was a failure because she failed to buy Boruto enough time to land a killing blow resulting in Kawaki havin to finish the job instead.
Ryu could've been defeated by Araya, he had the perfect counter to Ryu's sand, Sarada was not necessary, it was only plot convenience that demand she was needed by having Araya lose his sword, but Ryu was not an opponent that only Sarada could've dealt with to help Boruto, she was just rigged to win, not vital to win, thats a very important distinction.
After that Sarada claims to Sumire that helping Boruto will only make her stronger, and she even feels like she could become Hokage.
Ok so what about recently after she made this declaration? Mamushi was more something Sarada was best suited to handle, something you can argue yes she really WAS a key needed player in taking him down because of her gravity orbs, so surely this time she's of help to Boruto for once right?
No, she can barely handle 16 without almost fainting and going blind, then she overestimates herself thinking she can do 30 or 50 and then not only does her eye explode, but she fails to take out all the Mamushi she gathered before fainting, allowing him to multiply to 1000.
Everyone was literally fked after that, Kawaki overheated, Hima was on healing duty, Boruto, Mitsuki, and Delta were defedning Ada by themselves and backin up Daemon who was running outta stamina, Boruto asked SHIKAMARU for help on what they should do cuz know who failed to help him when he needed it? Sarada
Guess who's unconscious when he's askin for help now? Sarada
Know who ends up helpin him? Inojin, he finishes what Sarada failed to do.
What happens after this? any reflection? any acknowledgement? nope
Just 'I want to help Boruto' again
Well surely 3rd times the charm right? surely next arc she's gonna be of help to-
Need I say anything more?
Her wanting to help him is not an anchor because nothing comes of it but her being a liability and a nuisance, she doesnt ADD to the plot or Boruto's in any meaningful way, and what little she did was entirely through her father, not Sarada herself, she sent Sasuke his way and thats literally it, everything else is all Sasuke's own contributions to Boruto, his wisdom, his training, and his sword, Sarada contributed nothing.
Nevermind, she did contribute one thing, which is being made an obligation by Sasuke for Boruto to look after since he sacrificed himself to save Boruto at HER request.
So even when she does contribute something, its negative contributions, not positive.
I'd go as far as to say Sarada yapping at everyone so hard for 3 years about Boruto actually had the opposite effect on ppl and made them distrust him more because it made it look like she had lost her mind, she wasnt strategic in how she went about arguing his innocence at all, and its because of that that I wouldnt be surprised if thats why nobody believed her, just angrily yelling at ppl 'YOU BLOCKHEAD!' everytime brainwashed ppl understandably dont believe her doesnt exactly scream 'sane' to ppl who are already being strongly influenced not to believe you.
But thats just speculation, I cant prove thats what happened, but it wouldnt surprise me.
My point is if anything rather than an anchor I'd describe it more like her only defining character trait, the only thing connecting her to Boruto isnt anything to do with her, but Boruto's obligation to Sasuke, he asked him to take care of Sarada, so Boruto feels an obligation to go all out in protecting her to honor his masters final wish.
Without that obligation from Sasuke, Boruto would treat her no different than everyone else, he already doesnt, but when she's in danger the weight of Sasuke's words is clearly on him to make sure she isnt hurt.
Or so we thought until he carelessly let Code get away knowing he was gonna go after Sarada and barely even reacted when he was told she would be targeted.
So atp not even his obligation to Sasuke is giving him any special motivation, he literally let Code get away knowing she'd be targeted, so the one thing that connected her to Boruto's story is gone cuz her being in danger has even lost its impact on Boruto atp, even he's not fazed anymore thats how frequently it happens.
Which just makes Sarada look so danm pathetic when you combine all of this together, not ONCE has Boruto relied on her for ANYTHING.
Now ONCE has Boruto COME to her for anything, he doesnt talk to her, doesnt inform her of anything, doesnt include her in anything, doesnt ask for her help.
He has proven and shown time and time again that the only ppl he sees as reliable and dependable is Kawaki and Sasuke, now in TBV he's relying on more ppl like Inojin and Shikamaru, Mitsuki and Konohamaru, and even Sumire.
Sarada is the odd one out, he never goes to her for anything, and the fact that she hasnt taken the hint yet is pathetic because while she is literally bawling about how much she wants to help him after failing miserably for the millionth time, Boruto could care less and expected nothing from her to begin with.
He's never asked for her help, she keeps saying she wants to, she keeps getting involved and 'attempting' to, but when has Boruto ever asked? when has he ever come to her personally to ask for her assistance?
Not enough ppl understand how bad this really looks for her, its one thing her saying it and succeeding whether Boruto asked her to or not, but its another thing when Boruto never once asks her for help yet she tries to anyways and ALWAYS FAILS.
Sorry for the long rant but...yeah, when you mentioned anchored it made me think of just how much even that doesnt truly tie her to the story.
The best way to describe Sarada is she doesnt make the plot happen or move forward, she doesnt add to Boruto or Kawaki's plotlines but instead actively takes away from because her involvement is never anything productive, its either talking about liking Boruto or being a damsel in distress needing saving again.
She doesnt make the plot happen or move forward, she halts it, and if she isnt halting it, then the plot simply happens AROUND her rather than because of her.
For example, Kawaki coming to Konoha got everything with Kara and Isshiki and karma movin, none of that starts without him.
Remove Sarada from chapter 78 and Boruto still has his eye and is saved by the others arrival
Remove Sarada from the Ryu fight and Araya is capable of dealing with him instead with help from Yodo and Mitsuki, Yodo doesnt die
Remove Sarada from the Mamushi fight, and they could've gathered all the Mamushi's in one place with the combined effort of Shikdai, Chocho and so on binding them in place for Hima to use a bijudama to take them all out in one shot, but even if that wasnt the case, then the Inojin save still plays out the same way regardless, no Sarada needed.
Boruto confronting Code and the Shinjus and being outmatched happens with or without Sarada being taken, her being a pawn doesnt raise the stakes cuz we all know Boruto isnt gonna die and neither is she.
The plot doesnt need Sarada to move or happen, the plot happens TO and AROUND her, a plot she's supposedly one of the 'keys' to resolving according to Sasuke, but we were very quickly shown his assessment was very wrong cuz she's contributed absolutely nothing and never will.
Lets just be honest about it, Mamushi and Hidari were her last hopes and she fumbled Mamushi and now she's only gonna be used as a pawn to make Boruto easy killings, her role isnt to fight Hidari and save her dad, its to be kidnapped by L Code and used as bait for Boruto.
If Mamushi wasnt her shot at redemption, and Hidari isnt, then nothing will be.
She will never move the plot, she will never be important to the plot, she will always be nothing more than a bystander.