Of all of the main characters in the Naruto franchise, Sasuke Uchiha might be one of the most popular, despite the fact that he gets significantly less screen time than his Team 7 cohorts Naruto and Sakura. Perhaps this is why so many fans are interested in what he was doing in the years between Naruto Shippūden and Boruto: Naruto Next Generations.
The time period between these two chapters of the franchise was just about a decade. A lot can happen in 10 years. The Naruto generation all grew up, launched their careers, and started families. Naruto himself became Konohagakure’s Seventh Hokage. Sasuke, the only one in his peer group to rival his power, seemed pretty satisfied with the way this shook out.
Of course, just because Sasuke didn’t do something like become the village kage in the gap years, also known amongst fans as the “Blank Period,” doesn’t mean he didn’t have plenty to do. Sasuke started a family of his own in between going on missions, visiting new countries, and trying to make up for the terrible things he did in his youth. In addition to starting a relationship with his biggest supporter, Sasuke also spent a lot of time saving lives in the shadows.
We’ve combed the manga, the light novels, and the anime to figure out as much as we could of what Sasuke was up to. Here are the 20 Wild Things Sasuke Did Between Shippūden And Boruto.
He Refused A Prosthetic Arm
When Naruto and Sasuke finally fought things out in their “final battle,” it was the culmination of years of build-up. The duo gave it their all, and in the end, both men lost an arm. Naruto eventually had a prosthetic made for himself, but Sasuke opted not to have one. Interestingly, before he left Konohagakure, Sakura pointed out that one was already being made for him. However, he didn’t want it.
There are a lot of theories about why he made that decision. What’s clear is that the lost arm reminds Sasuke of everything he and Naruto went through to get to that point. He learned how to use one-handed seals, and still accomplished plenty without both limbs.
He Left Konoha For Years At A Time
Following the Fourth Shinobi World War, Sasuke spent a little time in Konoha’s prison for his actions. Defecting from the village and training with Orochimaru initially made him an enemy. His decision to help the shinobi world bought him some favor, though, and officials released him.
Instead of staying in his home village, he opted to travel throughout the shinobi world. He spent years away from his old home at a time. We know he returned at least twice over the course of the next decade. He returned during the events of The Last: Naruto The Movie, though it’s only briefly. Sasuke also returned to see Sakura at least once (though likely more than that).
He And Sakura Went On Their First Date
Sasuke has never been known for his people skills. Though he knew Sakura had a huge crush on him as a kid, he only referred to her as “annoying.” That didn’t necessarily mean he didn’t like her; he just never expressed his emotions well outside of anger.
That being said, fans never got to see the two of them pair up and go on dates. What we know about their dating history comes to us courtesy of a line from Ino Yamanaka in the Boruto series. She believed Sakura and Sasuke’s first date only lasted two and a half minutes. Sakura denied that what Ino talked about was even a date. More likely than not, it was a planned date, but the duo were interrupted and Sasuke left for another mission.
He Saved Hiashi Hyuga
During the events of The Last: Naruto The Movie, Hiashi Hyuga found himself attacked by Toneri just outside of Konoha. While Hiashi escaped, he didn’t make it all the way back to Konoha alone. That’s where Sasuke came in.
For some reason, Sasuke was pretty close to Konohagakure at the time. He and Hiashi happened to be on the same path. When Sasuke witnessed Hiashi collapse, he brought the older man back to the village. Of course, he didn’t stick around. It’s unclear just why Sasuke was so close to Konoha at the time since the movie occurs early during his traveling period, but perhaps he planned on paying the village a visit and changed his mind.
He Stopped A Meteor
After dropping Hiashi off in Konoha, Sasuke apparently didn’t get too far. He must have decided to stay close to home for a while because shortly after he had the chance to not only save Hiashi, but the entire village. Toneri’s plan in The Last involved the moon falling to Earth. Before his plan could be enacted fully, pieces fell to the planet’s surface, some of them heading straight for Konoha.
Luckily, Sasuke saw one very large meteor coming, and he managed to destroy it all by himself. He probably would have been a great asset on the rescue mission that most of his friends (Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sai) went on, but it’s a good thing he was left behind.
He Sent Naruto Well Wishes
The light novel Konoha Hiden sees Naruto and Hinata get married. Though it was adapted for a small batch of episodes of Naruto Shippūden, its events don’t occur in the manga proper. During the novel, Sasuke doesn’t make an appearance at his friends’ nuptials.
Instead, Sasuke sent his well wishes for the happy couple in a letter sent by a hawk. Though he learned to summon hawks as a teenager, we rarely see him use them in a fight, so it’s nice that he was still keeping in touch with his summoning animals. It’s also pretty well in line with Sasuke’s character that instead of fretting about the perfect gift, he would just send a letter. Everyone else in Naruto and Hinata’s life stressed themselves out about what to give them.
He Got Married
Sasuke might not have made it to town for Naruto’s wedding, but he had to make it back for his own, right? Sakura spent pretty much her entire childhood pining for Sasuke, so it’s a nice reward for her that Sasuke did eventually return her affections. It’s a bit of a letdown for some fans of the relationship that he left (again) to travel and atone for his sins once they got together.
Unlike the other couples in the franchise, we never see Sasuke and Sakura actually marry, or really even see them in particularly romantic situations. They do, however, call one another husband and wife in the manga. Whether or not they tied the knot, they consider one another husband and wife, and that’s all that really matters here.
He Traveled To Orochimaru’s Secret Bases
When Orochimaru decided to help Konoha during the Fourth Shinobi World War, it made many see him in a new light. As a result, Orochimaru was allowed to go free. Though he might have left many of his evil ways behind him, there were still plenty of secret bases around. Sasuke likely used them for supplies during his travels. He proved that he knew where even the obscure ones were when he recruited Karin and Jugo to his own cause in Naruto Shippūden. We know of at least one time he paid a visit.
Sakura clearly got fed up with his traveling because while she was pregnant, she decided to go along instead of allow him to leave again. When she went into labor, Sasuke, Sakura, and Karin all hunkered down in one of the secret bases to deliver the baby.
He Had A Daughter
It was lucky for Sakura that she had Karin there to help deliver her baby. Sasuke and Sakura had a baby girl. The duo named their daughter Sarada, which translates to “salad” in English. Plenty of fans have wondered how they came up with that name since many of the other Naruto characters named their children after family traditions. Some fans theorize that she was named partially after Sasuke’s brother.
Two of the three Japanese characters in Sarada’s name correspond to characters in Sasuke and Sakura’s names, while the third is in Itachi’s. Other fans point out that her name is also a reference to the Hindu deity named Saraswati. She’s the Hindu goddess of wisdom, among other things.
He Helped Teach Sarada To Walk
Sasuke didn’t spend long at home after Sakura gave birth to Sarada. He did, however, spend a long enough amount of time there to help teach Sarada to walk at some point. Sarada had no real memories of her father. He spent so much time away, and due to the nature of his self-appointed job (spying for Konoha), he didn’t keep in contact with his family. When Sarada found a picture of him with Karin, she suspected that Karin was her mother and that Sakura had lied the entire time.
Eventually, the truth came out that Karin was a family friend who helped during Sarada’s birth. One of the few hazy memories Sarada had of her father was of him helping Sakura teach her to walk. It’s not even clear if it’s a memory or just something Sarada hoped happened.
He Deactivated His Rinnegan
The Rinnegan is an interesting ability in the Naruto franchise. We know it has a lot of power, but we don’t know all of the limitations. Part of this is a result of most Rinnegan users stealing the ability from others. It’s widely accepted in the Naruto fandom that a Rinnegan user can’t deactivate its power. Much like Kakashi couldn’t deactivate his Sharingan, those users have to keep their eyes partially covered to lessen its use.
This might be why Sasuke so often keeps the eye that has the Rinnegan covered by long strips of hair. Interestingly, during the events of The Last: Naruto The Movie, Sasuke did actually deactivate his Rinnegan. Did he figure out how to do the impossible? Or are there more Rinnegan rules that haven’t been explained?
He Saved A Bamboo Village
The novel Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise follows Sasuke’s self-imposed isolation from Konoha as he searches for redemption. It gives us a lot of information about just what he was up to while he was away. One of his many feats during that time including saving the lives of citizens in a bamboo village.
While Kakashi acted as the Sixth Hokage, he sent Sasuke a message about missing ninja from three different lands. When investigating, Sasuke happened to make a stop at the bamboo village in the Land of Hot Water. It was there that he found the village under attack from a group of outsiders. He single handedly saved the village from the leader of the group, Karyu, but didn’t have the chance to turn him over to authorities. One of the villagers ended the ninja’s life.
He Ignored Official Letters
Though he frequently received communications from Kakashi (and later Naruto) as Hokage, Sasuke didn’t always respond to them. In fact, more often than not, he continued on his travels without even acknowledging them. Sasuke wanted to be left to his own devices, but he did still want to help the village. This created quite the conundrum when rumors swirled that Sasuke was actually plotting against the village. Konoha officials repeatedly tried to contact Sasuke about the rumors during the novel Sakura Hiden, but he never responded.
For some, this meant that he was back to his old tricks. However, others, like Naruto, believed in Sasuke and knew he found the rumors ridiculous. Sasuke didn’t show his face until he learned that someone had abducted Sakura. He showed up to help save her from danger, though she had already saved herself.
He Learned About His Brother
As a toddler, Sasuke admired his older brother Itachi. Itachi was a prodigy and everything Sasuke hoped to be as a shinobi. Those childhood dreams shattered when Itachi wiped out the entire Uchiha clan, leaving only Sasuke alive, as he fled the village.
As a result, Sasuke grew up with intense hatred for his brother, wanting nothing more than revenge on the person who stole his family from him. Eventually, he learned that his brother’s betrayal actually came under orders from village officials. He protected Sasuke from a larger plan, giving him a chance to live his life. Sasuke didn’t know much about his brother’s real life. During the novel Akatsuki Hiden, though, he was able to learn a little more. Various strangers called Itachi a hero, recounting his stories to Sasuke throughout the novel.
He Kept In Touch With Naruto
Though Sasuke seemed to prefer isolating himself from his home village, he kept in contact with one person. Once Naruto became Hokage, the duo became their own peacekeeping force for the village. While traveling through other shinobi lands, Sasuke frequently took on secret missions under Naruto’s instructions. Though he did the same for Kakashi before him, Sasuke didn’t keep in contact with Kakashi the same way.
Naruto and Sasuke even met up to discuss intelligence on occasion. This was quite the contrast to Sasuke’s relationship with his own wife. Sakura never heard from him the entire time he was away. She spent years not knowing where he was or what he was up to, much to her daughter’s displeasure.
He Received A Nickname
Just like Itachi and Kakashi before him, Sasuke got one nickname as a kid because of the Sharingan in his eyes. He was already called Sasuke of the Sharingan before Naruto Shippūden. During the time between the series and its sequel, though, he gained another nickname from Naruto. Naruto liked to refer to Sasuke as the Shadow Hokage.
Even though Naruto achieved his childhood dream of becoming Hokage, it’s not something he could have accomplished without the relationship he had with Sasuke. The two are easily the most powerful residents of Konoha, and as adults, they support one another with their different abilities. Having Sasuke as his own personal backup certainly benefits Naruto. With Sasuke taking care of business outside of Konoha, he is essentially an extension of the Hokage.
He Investigated Kaguya
Right around the time Naruto became Hokage, Sasuke was deep into an investigation away from Konoha. His job was to see what threats might make their way to the village. One of the threats he started investigating was Kaguya. Kaguya was one of the Otsutsuki. An ancient being from another dimension, Kaguya and the rest of the Otsutsuki essentially caused the creation of the shinobi on Earth as they harvested chakra for their lifeforce.
Sasuke believed that when he and Naruto encountered Kaguya, the encounter hid a larger threat. He spent much of his time traveling following leads on the ancient beings. He traveled through different dimensions to do it, finding ancient scrolls, and sending intelligence back to Konoha. His investigation eventually paid off during the events of the Boruto series.
He Teamed Up With Orochimaru And Team Taka
Despite the fact that training under Orochimaru causing many of Sasuke’s problems as a teenager, he gave his old ally the benefit of the doubt as an adult. Orochimaru and Sasuke’s former Team Taka were all pardoned for their crimes, just like he was. By the time the Boruto series roles around, they all live just outside of Konoha, so Sasuke would know where to find them if he needed them.
During the events of Sasuke Shinden, set just before the events of the Boruto series, he did need a little help. While helping the bamboo village under attack, he suspected a larger plan in place. In order to get help investigating the possibility of a new gang in the land, he recruited his former teammates for their own investigative skills.
He Battled The Dark Thunder Group
The group that kept getting in Sasuke’s way during his Shinden novel was the Dark Thunder Group, made up of rogue ninjas. Like teenage Sasuke, they were people who abandoned their villages and found a home with like minded individuals. What Sasuke discovered was not only was this group plaguing the bamboo village, but they were tied to the missing ninja he investigated, and even his own clan.
One of the leaders originally belonged to a village where her clan had a powerful inherited jutsu. Most of her clan was eliminated because they were feared by outsiders. She held the Uchiha clan partially responsible for what happened to her family. Sasuke defeated her group and put in a good word for them when he delivered them to prison, feeling badly for whatever small role his family might have played.
He Changed His Wardrobe
To be completely fair, all of the major characters in Naruto went through a wardrobe change before Boruto began. Sasuke had a dramatic change in attire, though. As a kid, he wore shorts and a top along with the requisite sandals that it seemed like everyone liked. Working for Orochimaru, his style shifted to resemble the rest of Orochimaru’s team. By the time Naruto Shippūden ended, though, it was time for yet another new look.
While Sasuke’s friends have clothing that essentially resembles more grown up versions of their childhood preferences (Naruto and Sakura are great examples), Sasuke went almost completely formal as an adult. He still has a penchant for dark blue and black, but his full pants, vest, and coat make him look like he’d fit in at a board meeting instead of in a shinobi battle.
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Sasuke Uchiha certainly got a lot done between the end of Naruto Shippūden and the beginning of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Is there anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!