Vanessa Piña has been a freelance writer for the ScreenRant anime section since 2024. As a senior writer, she focuses on timely coverage of the latest anime releases and updates on popular franchises.
Warning: Spoilers Ahead for Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter #35!
Naruto Shippuden ended nine years ago, but the franchise still finds ways to surprise its fans. While Naruto's sequel manga, Boruto, has taken a different path from the main series, with battles against enemies capable of draining the Earth's energy in the form of the Divine Trees, it has also provided room to offer a deeper look at the beloved original characters.
The latest chapter of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex shook the established canon of the franchise with a revelation about Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke's role in Boruto has undergone some changes as he doesn't actively participate in the story after being sealed in a sort of suspended animation.
However, since his chakra was harvested to create the Divine Tree, Sasuke remains very much present, albeit in the form of Hidari. Being his clone, Hidari's self is heavily shaped by Sasuke's feelings and attachments, becoming a kind of reflection of him. This situation allowed Boruto's manga to subtly turn into canon one of Sasuke's most endearing traits, explored in a classic Naruto filler episode.
While Jura, the leader of the Divine Trees, acquires knowledge through books, chapter #35 of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex confirms that Sasuke's clone, Hidari, has very different (and adorable) interests. Hidari reveals that the book that has held his attention for a long time contains only pictures of cats. But to top it off, Hidari is curious about Jura's opinion of the photos, asking him if he doesn't find the cats cute.
The fact that Hidari is borrowing Sasuke's raw personality indirectly shows that the Uchiha is a big cat enthusiast beneath his taciturn demeanor, making a callback to a couple of filler episodes of Naruto Shippuden. Sasuke's connection to cats dates back to Naruto chapter #121, where he visits Granny Cat, the owner of a supply shop frequented by the Uchiha clan. Their interaction served as the basis for Naruto Shippuden episode #189, "Sasuke's Paw Encyclopedia," released in 2010, which revealed that he not only respected Granny Cat but also interacted a lot with cats due to a challenge posed by Itachi. As a result, fans tie Sasuke with cats often.
Cats suited Sasuke's character, since they tend to be solitary and independent, actively seeking isolated places like him. Even so, the only other hint to this was in the novel Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise, which included a scene of Sasuke smiling after feeding a cat and her kittens. This scene was adapted in Naruto Shippuden, episode #484. However, as part of the series' main timeline, Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has settled the debate thanks to Hidari, officially confirming that Sasuke has a great affection for cats to the point that it has become one of his biggest personality traits.
One of the best aspects of Boruto is that, while it follows mostly new characters, it still includes callbacks and Easter eggs to Naruto. Besides highlighting a side of Sasuke that Naruto's story barely showed, Hidari's book was called "Cat Cat Paradise," a reference to Jiraiya's Make-Out Paradise novel series, which also happens to be Kakashi Hatake's favorite book.
One key bond in the Naruto franchise may shape devastating future events.
Since Boruto: Two Blue Vortex has temporarily excluded Sasuke and Naruto from the current battles to focus on the new generation, these details serve as a good reminder that the heroes remain a fundamental part of the series. Furthermore, exploring this aspect of Sasuke's character so many years later demonstrates the series' potential to canonize other elements of the story, which will undoubtedly excite longtime Naruto fans for the upcoming chapters of Boruto: Two Blue Vortex's manga.
