Tear Jerker / Boruto

On the surface, it may just be a happy story of the new Generation. But that doesn't mean that there aren't many tears to be shed.

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Manga

Part I

• Both the manga and the anime start with the destruction of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and the implication that Naruto is either dead or badly incapacitated. Can't get any more tear jerking than that.

Chapter 26: A Present

• Kawaki accidentally breaking Himawari's vase for Hinata. Upon learning of the concept of a mother-daughter bond, he makes sure to find all the pieces to glue it back together. What really gets him is that he couldn't find one piece.

Chapter 49: Prepared

• Upon learning that the Karma could result in Momoshiki taking over his body and potentially even replacing him with Momoshiki, Sasuke promises to kill Boruto if it means saving him, as he knows Naruto will not have it in him to do it. Boruto agrees with him.

Chapter 55: Legacy

• Good news is Naruto doesn't die. But Kurama does. Kurama knew that the Baryon Mode would kill him, but he didn't tell Naruto because he knew that he would hesitate or worse, reject the notion. This is a character who's been there since the beginning of the manga (and actually is the very first character shown in both the anime and manfa) so to see him die is gut-wrenching. His farewell is suitably somber and sweet by the standards of the ill-tempered fox.
  Kurama: ...You be well... Naruto.

Chapter 56: Code

• Team 7 is on indefinite hiatus due the Karma, meaning Boruto is being constantly watched on. Despite being dubbed a hero for helping defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki, the boy still wishes he can go on missions with his friends again.

Chapter 66: Do Or Die

• It turns out that the drugs Amado gave to Boruto in order to suppress Momoshiki didn't entirely work. By the time Boruto regains his senses, he realizes he's been backed into a corner: Code has Shikamaru hostage and Naruto can't stop him and Momoshiki at the same time. So he decides to go with his and Kawaki's backup plan: he allows Kawaki to kill him, knowing Naruto doesn't have it in him to do it. Naruto and Shikamaru can only watch in horror as Kawaki accepts and impales Boruto. And the last thing Boruto does is to tell Naruto to give his best regards to Hinata and Himawari, knowing how devastated they will feel.

Chapter 67: Rift

• As Naruto holds Boruto's body close, Shikamaru tries to snap Naruto out of it, telling him that Boruto planned for this to happen. But Naruto is so shaken up that he can't even bring himself to keep Sage Mode up anymore. Then when Code escapes, Shikamaru reminds Naruto that Kawaki is potentially a dangerous threat now only for him to snap at Shikamaru that he will not lose a second son. That's when Boruto's eyes open and he asks why everyone thinks he's dead. Naruto breaks down sobbing as he holds the son he thought he lost close. In all honesty, we've never seen him cry like this since the death of Jiraiya.

Chapter 80: What Dad Would Do

• After Kawaki's wish inadvertently causes Ada's Omnipotence to make everyone (except Sarada and Sumire) to think Boruto is the villain and Kawaki is Naruto's son, Sarada begs her father to help Boruto. What makes Sasuke believe her and go to Boruto's aid despite falling under the omnipotence's spell? The sight of Sarada awakening her Mangekyō Sharingan for the first time. That's how traumatized she is of the whole situation.

Part II/Blue Two Vortex (After the Time Skip)

Chapter 1: Boruto

• It's been three years since Boruto and Sasuke left the village, and everyone in the village except for Sarada and Sumire think he's a traitor because of Ada's Omnipotence. Sarada is shown desperately trying to convince Shikamaru to rescind the order to kill Boruto with no success, unable to convince him of the truth.
  • Even worse, it's made clear that even when people do notice the inconsistencies in their memories and reality, the Omnipotence makes them stop questioning it after some time has passed, meaning that even proving it with obvious evidence won't convince anyone that their memories have been rewritten.

Chapter 4: The Awakening

• The end of the chapter shows that Sasuke is among the victims who has been assimilated into a defective God Tree by a Claw Grime. Boruto is currently searching for the means to free his mentor with Koji's help.

Chapter 5: Target

• We see how during the time skip, Sasuke and Boruto were attacked by Code and his Claw Grimes, with Sasuke holding them off to save Boruto. He successfully kills all but one of the Claw Grimes and forces Code to retreat with a lost eye, but gets assimilated into a tree in the process.
• Konohamaru and Team 10 are utterly anguished to see Moegi assmilated by a Claw Grime, and it's mentioned how she was shielding a mother and her child.
• When Sarada and Sumire are discussing how Amado managed to deduce that his memories were tampered with based on physical evidence, Sarada mentions how she tried to prove to everyone that Boruto is the real first-born son of Naruto with a family photo, only for no one to believe her. We see that a photo frame of Boruto with his family has been smashed, implying that when Sarada tried to present it as evidence, they smashed it because they would rather believe in their memory over any physical evidence.

Anime

Academy Entrance Arc

• After Shino became an Academy instructor during the Time Skip, he's doing his best to get his students to listen to him but they always ignore him or say negative things about him. It started out funny with him becoming a Butt-Monkey but Episode 5 turned it into a Cerebus Retcon. When Shino was younger, he didn't have a clear goal in his life and didn't know what he do with himself. He had No Social Skills and was a loner until he attended the Academy and made many friends. Becoming an instructor was his way of repaying the village and all he got in return was his students disrespecting him which created doubts in himself. Things get better fairly quickly though, to the point that Shikadai and Boruto come to respect him immensely.
  • It's even sadder when you take into account that Shino making friends in the Academy was itself a retcon. According to the manga, he didn't bond with his classmates until after the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, which is what inspired him to reach out to his teammates. The anime revealed Shino had one friend during his school years: Torune Aburame, who was unable to go to the Academy because he couldn't control his bugs.
• During the dinner with the Uzumaki family, Himawari starts out happy at the dinner table, but then becomes sad when Hinata brings up that Naruto isn't coming home again and a frustrated Boruto mentions that Naruto keeps ignoring them.
• Everything that Shino goes through in episode 5. After getting some helpful advice from Kurenai to interact with his students in his own way, he decided to throw a welcome party with food and stuff animals for Mitsuki with his students attending it. The party started out great with the students having fun and some of them socializing with Mitsuki, and even Shino was happy with the results. But when he made the stuff animals at party move with his bugs, one student made the mistake to hug the stuff animal causing the bugs to come out and cause chaos during the party. Mitsuki uses his wind technique to blow away the bugs but he overdoes it and blows away the party supplies and messes up the reconstruction of the school. While Shino is apologizing to the construction workers, his students start badmouthing him, like saying he's undependable and useless, which Shino overhears and takes personally. Shino becomes so depressed that he doesn't show up to his class and has them study on their own. After another Demonic Possession attack, Shino feels even worse when he realizes he put his students at risk and caused more damage to the school by not being there. His doubts about his ability to teach have gotten to the point that he becomes vulnerable to another chakra-like snake possession.
  Shino: What a mess... Just because I missed class, my students were put in danger and the school was damaged again. It just doesn't work out. Nothing works...

Sarada Uchiha Arc

• Sarada spends the entirety of episode 19 wondering where her dad is, or if he even exists. She goes to the library to seek information and learns that the Uchiha clan is almost extinct, for obvious reasons. Then when she wants to see the file regarding Uchiha Sasuke, she learns that the file is classified as Top Secret.

School Trip Arc

• The tragic upbringing of Buntan, where she is shunned by her own mother because of the latter's hatred against her late father's Raiga. Buntan also accuses Naruto of killing Raiga, when he actually killed himself. She knows nothing about her father aside from his name and prestige, and hates the Konoha for all the wrong reasons.

The Path Lit by the Full Moon (Episode 39)

• For the majority of the episode, Mitsuki was frightened the whole way through his test, and also plagued with Identity Amnesia thanks to the test. When Mitsuki is first seen waking up, there are clear marks left over of injuries from his previous attempt. But there are also tear marks under his eyes. He had been crying in his previous attempt, and judging by the marks, crying pretty hard.

Chūnin Exams Arc

• Episode 51 revolves around Boruo's birthday. After a flashback to the day before, in which we're shown how Naruto missed Boruto's birthday, we see a scene of Himawari marking the calendar. Her reason for doing so? She wants to make sure that her father doesn't miss her own birthday. The look upon her face when she asks Boruto if Naruto will miss her birthday too is absolutely heartbreaking, as is Boruto's own reaction.
• The reveal that Boruto cheated using a Scientific Ninja Tool is treated worse here than in the manga and the movie. The crowd is jeering at him for being a cheater, his classmates are all feeling angry, betrayed and hurt (with the exception of Mitsuki, who knew what Boruto was doing but chose not to say anything), and to make matters worse, Katasuke, when advertising the Scientific Ninja Tool to the crowd, labels Boruto a test subject. The shocked and saddened looks on the crowd and Boruto's face when he says this says it all.
• Naruto's sacrifice to protect the village. Not only were the other villagers pleading for him to get away while he still could, but Boruto has finally seen his father for who he is.
• Boruto waking up in the hospital to find out from Sarada and Sakura that his father had been taken by the Otsutsuki. Himawari cries over her mother who had tried to rescue her husband, but failed. When Boruto asks about the welfare of everyone else, Sarada reveals that everyone was okay, except that Mitsuki had fallen into a coma and is in critical condition thanks to his chakra being stolen earlier in the chaos. Boruto's face says everything.

Mitsuki's Disappearance Arc

• Mitsuki lives in a dark and empty apartment where there's nothing but a single portrait of Boruto. Boruto and Sarada comment on how depressing it is, and a close up of medication on a table in Mitsuki's room reveals why Mitsuki doesn't eat. It's not that he doesn't need to eat, but rather he can't survive on eating alone. Food doesn't give him enough substance to live; he needs specialized medication.
• Boruto expresses that he and Mitsuki were so close that they practically were in sync. The moment Boruto realizes that he doesn't know Mitsuki at all is a harsh reality for him.
• Konohamaru not only finding out that his Genin abandoned the village, but finding out that Mitsuki is Orochimaru's son. His two remaining genin has also run off and deserted the village as well.
• Boruto sitting in Thunder Burger by himself, looking across from him at the table where Mitsuki would sit. In his imagination, Mitsuki looks at him and gives him a gentle smile. Shikadai appears to try comfort Boruto and warns him not to do anything drastic, but Boruto merely shrugs it off and leaves, leaving Shikadai looking sadly after him.
• Konohamaru rushing to beg Naruto and Shikamaru to let him on the team to retrieve Boruto and Sarada (and Mitsuki as well) since he was their teacher while also questioning why Naruto put Mitsuki on his team in the first place. There's a whole slew of mixed feelings on both side, Konohamaru saying he cares about Mitsuki, but could not forgive Orochimaru for killing his grandfather. He was eventually told that he had to sit his due to his emotions getting so strong that it might influence his ability to act in battle.
• Boruto and Orochimaru's talk. Boruto seemed appalled by the fact that Mitsuki was the result of Orcohimaru's experiments and the questionable relationship Orochimaru had with his own son, even going so far to say that Mitsuki had a suicidal curse mark on him that would activate it. Boruto's desperation can be easily felt throughout the whole scene, as he tried to answer the question why his best friend had suddenly disappeared.
  Boruto: Why didn't Mitsuki let me know so I'd understand? Why did he go off by himself? I just don't get it!
• The whole idea that both Boruto and Sarada didn't know a single thing about Mitsuki was really starting to set in. It becomes more heartbreaking with Boruto realized that they had spent all the time together, all that time he could have asked Mitsuki, but he didn't even think to ask Mitsuki about himself and how he was doing. Boruto knows that he took Mitsuki's friendship for granted and that's what hurts him. Talk about not knowing what you have until you lose it.
  Sarada: I don't have a clue what Mitsuki was thinking. And he didn't tell us at all.
  Boruto: No, you're wrong. We didn't even try to listen to him. All this time. Not once. We were together all the time, we had all the time in the world to talk...But...I...
• After almost ten episodes being separated from Mitsuki, Boruto and Sarada finally catch up to Mitsuki, much to Boruto's delight. Boruto is elated to see his friend is well, but Mitsuki completely ignores him and instead turns to help Sekiei, one of the people he had been traveling with. Faced with the idea that Mitsuki really did betray them, Boruto asks Mitsuki that they should just home, offering Mitsuki his discarded forehead protector. Mitsuki approaches Boruto and for a moment, it did seem that Mitsuki was going to oblige, he instead slaps away Boruto's hand and attacks him. The last thing Boruto sees before passing out is his now turned friend walking away from him.
  Boruto: ...Mitsuki...why...?
  • An aftershot of Mitsuki helping Sekiei shows his face darkened with shadow, hiding his emotions, but it's clear that he himself wasn't happy that he did this.
  • This becomes all the more painful when Sekiei asks Mitsuki if he had ever cried, to which he says he has never done so. Sekiei then wonders if Mitsuki would cry if Boruto died, to which Mitsuki replies that Boruto was the light and sun of his life; that he would probably cry if Boruto did die. The implications of this confession makes the fact that he attacked Boruto all the more tragic.
• Onoki is dying of old age, and Kurotsuchi is obviously grieving over the possibility of his condition.
• Mitsuki and Sekiei start having a falling out while the latter's body is decaying, all the while Seikei's doubts nearly result in him killing his newfound friend, all the while trying to understand how to be human.
  • Following this, suddenly it makes perfect sense why Mitsuki went with the Earth Kingdom ninja. Seikei, and possibly his whole group, are suffering the same Clone Angst as Mitsuki. Despite knowing that they are the enemy, Mitsuki empathizes with these people and feels compelled to help them, similar to how Boruto helped him.
• Onoki is revealed to be the mastermind behind this arc. Why? Because he felt that the Stone Village's current youth was weak compared to the previous generation who participated in the Fourth Great Ninja War.
• Onoki reveals the real reason why he's doing this. His grandson, who reminds him of Boruto, died trying to stop a gang of rogue ninjas. Worse still, Onoki blamed himself for what happened because he believed his grandson took his advice to not run away in a fight too literally.
  • In guilt, Onoki kneels down and gavels his fists against the stone until his hand bleeds and a rain soon follows.
• Sekiei telling Mitsuki he heard Kokuyo and Kako have been killed. He then tells Mitsuki he feels pain in the area his heart would be.
• Akkun dying in Inojin's arms. The adorable little creature making the ultimate sacrifice for his friends, and Inojin's reaction afterwards, are utterly heartbreaking.
  Akkun: Inojin...
• Sekiei's death as his hand crumbles to dust just as Mitsuki reaches out to him, the two having reconciled in his final moments as he felt his comrades pass one by one, and realizing that Mitsuki only wanted the best for them after all. The dark blank expression on Mitsuki's face says it all. It's unclear whether or not Mitsuki was crying since his expression was darkened, but it wouldn't be a far stretch to say that he was.
• Mitsuki wanting to sacrifice himself by battling Ku so that Boruto and Sarada can escape with Ohnoki. He tells them if anything happens to him, it's okay because there are more clones of him in Orochimaru's Lab. The fact that Mitsuki says this means he has no regard for his life and he doesn't mind being replaced, nor does he mind dying as long as his friends, especially Boruto, is safe.
• Ohnoki's death. He dies a hero, saving the village from the monsters he had unleashed in one final act of redemption, before using his final moments to pass his wisdom on to the new Team 7.
• How do Hinata and Sakura react to seeing their children return? Like how any concerned mother would: tearfully berate their children for running away. Boruto and Sarada can only tearfully apologize for frightening them.
• Since Mitsuki had been detained beforehand and interrogated, Boruto and Sarada didn't have a chance to talk to him. When Mitsuki was released from being detained, he was nowhere to be found and Boruto and Sarada's immediate assumption is that he left the village again, since there would be nothing keeping him at the village, causing them to frantically search for him. Heartwarmingly, they find him and after sharing some touching words, they finally able to hang out together peacefully.
• Mitsuki makes a grave not only for Sekiei, but for Kokuyo, Kako, Kirara and Kuu as well in the Hidden Leaf Village. They may have been bad guys, but there is no doubt that being Artificial beings like Mitsuki, he felt bonded to them enough to give them a final farewell.

Parent and Child Day Arc

• On the new holiday, Parent and Child Day, Naruto returns home after dealing with lots and lots of paperwork so he can be with Boruto and Himwari. Boruto goes off to train, telling Naruto that Himawari is waiting for him. To Naruto's shock, she's sleeping on the floor, wrapped in a blanket just at the foot of the stairs. Could also be a funny moment.
  • It's pretty clear Tenten's not making enough money. She considers her weapon shop outdated.

The Little Roommate (Episode 104)

• Mitsuki letting the kitten return to his mother despite growing fond of him. Luckily, he decides he can go back to Mitsuki any time.

Jūgo Arc

• The reveal that Mitsuki is actually developing as a human too fast and as a result, his brain is unable to keep up with his growth, which had caused him significant distress. Orochimaru later revealed that it was causing his brain cells to die, which could lead to his death.
  • The idea that Mitsuki may one day may have to make a choice to either erase his memories to stay alive or keep his memories, continue to suffer for it, possibly forget them anyway due to his brain cells dying, and then die.

Steam Ninja Scrolls Arc

• Mirai still misses her father despite not having met him.

Konohamaru's Love Arc

• A girl that Konohamaru develops a crush on saves her village from a demon...but at the cost of her losing her memories.

One-Tail Escort Arc

• Shukaku almost makes Himawari cry when he tells her he didn't really want to be friends with her.

Time Slip Arc

• Genin!Naruto and Boruto's sleepover and when the former asks the latter about his father. It's a reminder to older fans of the series that Naruto, as a Genin, was a lonely boy who wanted to know what it's like to have a family.
• Episode 131 has Boruto confront Naruto in his One Tailed form, only for Boruto to get a cut on his hand as Jiraiya knocks Naruto out. In the aftermath, Jiraiya tells Boruto about Naruto's origin and horrible past, to Boruto's utter shock and horror. Worse is that Naruto wakes up, sees Boruto's bandaged hand, and immediately realizes he hurt Boruto. He then bemoans that he's not strong enough to even save a friend, as Sasuke listens. Like the sleepover, it's a reminder of how painful Naruto's life used to be.
• In Episode 132, Jiraiya asks Boruto and Naruto to practice a new "collaboration ninjutsu" since their chakras are so similar. Unfortunately, because of the previous encounter, Boruto becomes afraid of Naruto, so it doesn't go so well. The true punch in the gut, however, is when Boruto falls down and Naruto tries to help him up...and Boruto slaps his hand away. He understandably becomes hurt. Boruto has become afraid of his own father. Luckily, he gets over it once he has a talk with Neji.
• Boruto and Sasuke saying goodbye to Genin!Naruto and Jiraiya before Sasuke uses his genjutsu to erase their memories, which extends to Hinata, Neji and other genin Boruto came into contact with. Despite knowing it's for their own good, Boruto does feel a bit desolated they won't ever remember meeting him in their teens.

Kara Actuation Arc

• The fate of the quadruplet brothers. Not only did they all die in the end, but they all died in vain. Each of the brother's last wish was to bring their earring to the peach tree they had spent together in their childhood, which did not happen.
  • Yoruga and Yuuga both used self-sacrificial forbbidden jutsu to allow their brothers to proceed forward.
  • Hiruga had a Face–Heel Turn after having a heart to heart talk with Boruto, who manages to save him from self-sacrificing himself. Hirgua is then able to convince Asaka of the same thing, but was unfortunately murdered by Deepa.
  • Now the only of the siblings left alive, Asaka tries to sacrifice himself using a Forbidden Jutsu to save Boruto from being killed by Deepa and take him down with him. Not only did Deepa survive the suicide attack, but Asaka had died thinking sacrifice had taken Deepa down.
• Deepa absolutely devastates Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki, despite their best efforts.
• In order to save his two friends, Mitsuki taps into his Sage Transformation to buy an opportunity to escape and save them from death. He forces himself through the transformation and does manage to get Boruto and Sarada to safety, but his organs failed and cells died in the process, putting him in critical condition.
  • Later, both Sarada and Boruto recognized that if Mitsuki hadn't protected them, they would have likely have died. They look absolutely distraught over this.

Kawaki Arc

• Due to building up his character much, much more, Mugino's death is incredibly more impactful in the anime. After returning to Konoha, Boruto and Konohamaru go to his apartment to retrieve any of his belongings including his pet turtle who takes a liking to Konohamaru. queue the waterworks....

• Kawaki's backstory...is given a whole episode expanding upon it. Good lord its even more depressing than what we saw in the manga...the one person who shows him kindness was actually a child trafficer...then cue Jigen promising to give him a better life...

Isshiki arc

• The anime substantially extends Naruto's final conversation with Kurama, with him declaring, among other things, that they are in a sense closer than brothers and that they should stay together in the afterlife too. It culminates in a montage of Kurama's scenes from throughout the original series, while "Who Are You?" plays over these images and the other tailed beasts look up within their linked mindscapes, apparently sensing what is happening. Naruto's screams during this farewell are absolutely brutal.
  Kurama: But until that day comes, be well... Naruto.
  Naruto: Kurama...! KURAMA!
• Under pressure from the other kage and his own responsibilities to protect everyone with a plan that doesn't involve simply hoping they can beat Momoshiki should he take over Boruto, Naruto in a heartwarming scene embraces Boruto and assures him he can trust him to protect him and stop Momoshiki from hurting anyone. But the scene turns much sadder as once Boruto goes to sleep in his arms Naruto begins to shake and hyperventilate, something we haven't seen happen since Shippuden when his effort to overturn Sasuke's kill order failed and his friends asserted their own intention to kill Sasuke. It's clear the fear of his own inability to handle Momoshiki without Kurama, to be a effective hokage at all, the prospect of having to kill his own son, etc. is clearly getting to him. Thankfully Amado arrives with good news before Naruto can truly break down.