Naruto Uzumaki is the Seventh Hokage of Konoha in the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations series and the strongest shinobi alive, along with Sasuke Uchiha. Known to have surpassed the human limits in the Fourth Great Ninja War, he became powerful enough to fight against the likes of Madara Uchiha and even Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Unfortunately, Boruto's story can hardly continue with a character as strong as Naruto around and for that reason, the writers often decide to nerf him to ensure the next generation gets to show off what they're capable of instead.
8 When Naruto Lost His Truth-Seeking Balls
Thanks to the power of the Six Paths that Naruto received during the Fourth Great Ninja War, he gained access to nine Truth-Seeking Balls which granted him great offensive and defensive powers. He had three of the nine at his disposal by the end of the war and could easily have retrieved the ones that he had lost as well. Surprisingly, Naruto's Truth-Seeking Balls are nowhere to be seen in Boruto, and this weakens him by quite a good amount. Had Naruto still got access to his Truth-Seeking Balls, his already great arsenal of Jutsu would have additional sealing techniques and even the highest form of shape transformation.
7 When The Nue Rampaged Across Konohagakure
The Nue attacked Konohagakure in an anime-only arc of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Being unleashed by Sumire Kakei, the Nue proved to be incredibly dangerous as it could absorb chakra to grow stronger. Naruto Uzumaki was, thus, asked to not hit it with ninjutsu in order to avoid making it stronger by accident. Strangely enough, Naruto's skills with taijutsu, which are of the highest level, could easily have dealt with the beast. And after gaining Six Paths powers, Naruto's hand-to-hand combat is all that he needs to deal with most enemies. Still, Boruto's writers instead chose to push him to the side and let his son Boruto handle things his way.
6 When He Fought Shin Uchiha Along With Sasuke
Naruto Uzumaki found himself clashing with Orochimaru's experiment, Shin Uchiha, in Boruto. Although Shin was quite strong, he was nowhere near the level of the Seventh Hokage, who fought the likes of Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Otsutsuki during the war.
Naruto was made to look quite weak during the fight and even received an injury from one of Shin's telekinetically controlled weapons. In the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto was seen able to dodge light-speed attacks with ease. Evidently, he was nerfed in this fight just for the enemy to look more formidable.
5 When He Fought Momoshiki Otsutsuki
Naruto's first big battle in Boruto saw him join forces with Sasuke Uchiha to take on Momoshiki Otsutsuki, who had absorbed Kinshiki's powers. Although the fight wasn't too difficult for neither Naruto nor Sasuke, it would've been even easier had the Hokage not lost half of his chakra to Momoshiki shortly before the battle began. If Naruto had been at full power, the fight against Momoshiki would've been over much sooner, and fans would've got to see the full extent of his powers as well.
4 When He Fought Against Delta Of Kara
Naruto Uzumaki took Kawaki under his care shortly after he was brought to Konohagakure by Team 7, but Kara's pursuit of him involved Delta attacking them in the training grounds of the village. The two fought an incredibly high-level battle where Naruto made use of his Six Paths powers to get the better of her. Once again, Naruto Uzumaki was nerfed by having them fight in the village itself. This meant he had to be extra careful and make sure Delta didn't harm the kids around him, which prevented him from going all-out even more.
3 When He Fought Jigen, The Leader Of Kara
Naruto's fight against Jigen, the leader of Kara, was his biggest defeat in the entire story to date. Even with help from Sasuke, Naruto lost to the leader of Kara without even providing a decent challenge.
Surprisingly, Naruto's ability to sense everything in existence using the Six Paths Sage Mode was completely neglected during this fight. Whereas Sasuke Uchiha could see Jigen's microscopic form with his Sharingan, Naruto should've been able to sense him and act accordingly. Unfortunately, he was nerfed once again and lost to Jigen miserably.
2 When He Fought Isshiki Otsutsuki
Naruto Uzumaki clashed against the strongest being in the entire story, Isshiki Otsutsuki, shortly after being defeated by Jigen. Once again, Naruto's Six Paths sensory powers were toned down quite a lot in the fight. While Naruto could sense and counter Kaguya Otsutsuki's attacks in the Fourth Great Ninja War, he couldn't even think about retaliating against Isshiki. Ultimately, Naruto had to rely on Baryon Mode's power to deal with Isshiki, and, thankfully, he successfully managed to push Isshiki to his limits.
1 When Naruto Lost Kurama After Fighting Isshiki Otsutsuki
The power of Baryon Mode came at a huge price, which was Kurama's death. To defeat Isshiki Otsutsuki, Kurama burned up all his chakra to help Naruto attain a stronger power. Although the gamble paid off, Kurama's life was lost forever. Naruto Uzumaki is no longer a Jinchuriki now, and this weakens him considerably. Evidently, Naruto cannot fight against the likes of the Otsutsuki and the Kara members anymore with any hope of winning. By weakening Naruto severely, Boruto has created the perfect opportunity to throw more focus on the next generation of shinobi, who were all being outclassed by Naruto Uzumaki in their own story.