Just a few years later, Naruto’s sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations was announced and it followed the journey of Naruto’s son, Boruto Uzumaki as he aimed to become an accomplished ninja and unravel his own path in life. Ever since its serialization in Jump, Boruto has had its ups and downs and while it definitely deserves some praise, Boruto is not nearly as popular as its predecessor and neither is the quality of the story on the same level. In fact, had Naruto received a different sequel, things could’ve potentially have been much different right now.

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Boruto does an average job at filling the shoes of Naruto and it would be unfair to say that the story is a failure, however, at the same time, its low popularity among the fans and below-average sales is proof enough that the series is simply not up to the same standard as its predecessor was. While Boruto Uzumaki is a good protagonist, he isn’t Naruto Uzumaki – a character with whom felt a connection. In Boruto, Naruto was, expectedly, made into a side character for the likes of Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, Mitsuki, and Kawaki. While that is exactly what Boruto needs, it has also proven to be its biggest downside.

Regardless of how good Boruto is, it is an undeniable fact that a lot of its popularity stems from Naruto and the nostalgia factor that the old characters bring with them. Had the characters not been relevant in Boruto, the series would likely have been less popular than it is today. Yet, it is the very same characters who get constantly downplayed in Boruto to allow the next generation to take the stage and save the day.

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In theory, this works well for the series, however, with fans who are connected to the core of the story, that is, the old generation of characters, this proves to be detrimental. What’s more, Boruto often uses the old characters to attract fans to the series with Naruto and Sasuke’s major fights being a prime example. This just goes to show that had Naruto’s sequel been focused on the characters from the series itself, it would’ve been a much bigger success and would certainly have been loved more by the fans.

Despite Naruto’s abrupt ending with Kaguya’s introduction, the story still carried loads of potential for a great sequel. For one, the threat of the Otsutsuki clan was already established and needed to be explored more. The plot thread could easily have been explored more with Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and the Konoha 11 in more defined roles. The time-skip era that fans never got to see could very well have made for an excellent sequel.

The story could even have headed into the Boruto era, however, instead of Boruto Uzumaki, Naruto could well have remained the protagonist of the story. It goes without saying that fans would’ve preferred a story from his perspective and one where he was the main character once again instead of having a completely new character who, often, feels like a poor imitation of his predecessor. A great example of this is how Dragon Ball handled Gohan following the events of the Cell Saga. Naruto could well have done something similar and allowed for Boruto to grow under the shadow of his father. Undoubtedly, this would’ve satisfied the fans and made for an excellent story where the threat of the Otsutsuki was explored properly.

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Another fantastic idea for a spin-off that is prevalent among the Naruto fans is a series where the legends of the ninja world would’ve been explored more. Granted that this would’ve been more a prequel than a sequel, but it certainly would’ve been an incredible one where the ninja world could’ve been brought to life by Masashi Kishimoto. Often in Naruto, some legendary figures with great potential for a story were left hanging. The likes of Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, Sakumo Hatake, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Itachi Uchiha, among many others come to mind. Had Naruto continued with a series where the several legendary characters of the story were explored, the story and its world would’ve become even richer.

The fact is, Naruto held tremendous potential and could’ve continued as a great series by either telling the stories of the olden days or further exploring the life of Naruto Uzumaki and covering the redemption arc of Sasuke Uchiha. In doing so, the story would’ve built upon its already amazing success and become a beloved piece of media. Whatever the result, it would definitely have been better than Boruto which, while not bad at all, just can’t reach the same heights as the original series.

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