Konohamaru Sarutobi is one of Konohagakure's elite Jonin who currently serves as the sensei of Team 7 in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. As the grandson of the Third Hokage and the disciple of the Seventh Hokage, Konohamaru aims to be the Hokage himself. While he does have a lot of room to grow still, there's no doubt that he's an able shinobi already and someone who can definitely take the helm after Naruto Uzumaki.
Konohamaru may not be on his level yet, but he's his own shinobi, at the end of the day. Here are 15 things that Konohamaru Sarutobi can do that Naruto Uzumaki can't.
Updated By Amanda Bruce On November 14, 2020: When originally introduced in Naruto, Konohamaru is an immature kid who doesn't yet know just how difficult becoming a powerful shinobi will be. In the years since, he's shown so much promise and perseverance that he's outstripped his mentor in a few areas - and gotten lucky in others. To better reflect his character, we've added some entries to this article.
15 Perform Sealing Techniques
Despite Naruto being the one who takes Konohamaru under his wing as a teenager, there are a lot of techniques Konohamaru learns from other shinobi. Amongst those are a myriad of sealing techniques.
Sealing can run the gamut from locking power inside a shinobi, preventing certain gifts from being used, hiding weapons in plain sight, and more. Naruto, despite having parents and grandparents who were adept at sealing, never learns the techniques.
14 Sealing Jutsu Release
In addition to actually being able to use sealing techniques very well, Konohamaru also has a trick for eliminating them that it appears only he uses. So far, the technique has only appeared in the Boruto manga and no other character has demonstrated it.
The technique is something Konohamaru claims to always have on him, and the symbol that appears on the ground when he uses it includes his clan symbol in the middle. It allows him to undo any seal placed on him, making it incredibly useful.
13 Sarutobi Fire Release Abilities
The Sarutobi clan is as old as a family can get in the Naruto universe. They tend to have an affinity for Fire Release, and with that affinity comes a lot of tricks that other characters in the manga and anime don't use.
One of those is the "ash pile burning." Naruto fans first see Asuma Sarutobi, Konohamaru's uncle, use it in a fight. It involves infusing gunpowder with chakra and literally spitting it at an opponent before using the wind to surround the enemy, then lighting the gunpowder to finish the job. Konohamaru also apparently learns this technique at some point following the original series as he's used it in the anime. In fact, he picks up a lot of Asuma's skills as a way to honor his uncle.
12 Talk To Family For Advice
Both Naruto and Konohamaru lose a lot of family at a young age. Naruto grows up not knowing his parents, but Konohamaru has his grandfather and his uncle until they're tragically killed in the fights against Orochimaru and the Akatsuki.
Konohamaru, however, still has other family left - that aren't his children. When he needs advice or a helping hand, he can still go to his cousin Marai, just as he does when he has trouble reconciling the fact that one of his students is the child of Orochimaru.
11 The Barrier Releasing Technique
This particular technique involves using explosive tags in a particular formation and utilizing hand seals to "release" them to break a barrier. Konohamaru has demonstrated proficiency with it in the Boruto anime.
Naruto isn't someone who uses quite as many hand signs as his peers. He also doesn't use explosive tags very often - unless the team he's with is using them. That doesn't mean he isn't capable, but it is interesting that Konohamaru is more willing to use practical shinobi skills than Naruto, who is more likely to rely on bigger displays of power to get the job done.
10 Teach At The Academy
Aside from being a great shinobi, Konohamaru Sarutobi is also a decent teacher, by the looks of it. For a certain period of time, Konohamaru Sarutobi has served as a teacher in the Konoha Ninja Academy, which shows that he has enough talent to pass on what he knows to others.
While Naruto Uzumaki is a marvelous shinobi, his job as the Seventh Hokage of the village keeps him from teaching the students of the Academy. For Naruto, there are bigger things to tackle, while Konohamaru can pass on what he knows to a younger generation at will.
9 Lead a Ninja Team
Being a Jonin, Konohamaru Sarutobi has the authority to lead a Ninja team of his own. As seen in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Konohamaru is the leader of Konohagakure's Team 7 which, apart from giving him a team to lead, also gives him a high level of importance in the show. Naruto Uzumaki has never led a team of his own, and as the Hokage of Konoha, he most likely never will.
That's not to say that Naruto hasn't taught people. In Naruto Shippuden, Naruto Uzumaki took Konohamaru as his apprentice, while in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, he is often seen training Boruto Uzumaki and Kawaki.
8 Work as a Jonin
Throughout the Naruto series, Konohamaru Sarutobi's progression has been depicted better than Naruto's. Although he wasn't focused on as much, Konohamaru took the Chunin exams, and by the Gaiden, was promoted to the rank of Jonin. In the future, Konohamaru will possibly rise to the spot of the Hokage as well.
In contrast, Naruto passed the Academy and jumped to the rank of a Kage. Although the end of Shippuden did imply that Naruto had to gain the title of a Jonin first, it was never confirmed whether he actually went through with it or not.
7 Summon More Than Just Toads
Naruto Uzumaki signed a summoning contract with the toads of Mount Myoboku back in Naruto. He's managed to summon the likes of Gamabunta and Gamakichi among other toads. As seen in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Konohamaru is also capable of summoning toads of Mount Myoboku, implying he signed a contract with them.
However, that's not the extent of his summoning abilities. Just like his grandfather, Konohamaru Sarutobi can also summon a monkey called Enra. Efficient as he is, he's also displayed magnificent skills in working in tandem with his summons, especially Enra.
6 Use Wind Release: Rasengan
Being Naruto's apprentice, it goes without saying that the Rasengan was passed down to him. Just like Naruto Uzumaki himself, Konohamaru Sarutobi also attempted to add nature transformation to his Rasengan, although unlike Naruto, he didn't end up creating the Rasenshuriken.
In Konohamaru's case, a Jutsu known as Wind Release: Rasengan was created, which is a stronger variant of the regular Rasengan, powered by wind-natured chakra. Throughout Boruto, Konohamaru has been heavily reliant on this Jutsu, as it has become his go-to technique, much like Naruto Uzumaki with his Rasengan.
5 Showcase Other Nature Types
As a Jonin, it's no surprise that Konohamaru is capable of using more than just one nature type. In both the anime and manga, he's known to be a user of Fire Release, Wind Release, and Lightning Release, along with Yang Release. Konohamaru has seen his fair share of battles and displayed this ability extensively in the fights.
Naruto, although being a user of all five basic natures, hasn't used any other nature other than Wind Release, and Earth Release. His Six Paths Sage Mode gives him the ability to use all the nature types, but he's rarely seen using them, which isn't the case with Konohamaru Sarutobi.
4 Read The Situation
Naruto Uzumaki is the strongest of all the shinobi in the entire series, with Sasuke Uchiha being his only rival. While there's no debate that Naruto is leagues above Konohamaru in terms of strength, he certainly doesn't read the situation as thoroughly as Konohamaru does. In Boruto, Konohamaru is seen being exceptionally prepared at all times.
For instance, when attacked with a Sealing Jutsu by Kashin Koji, Konohamaru reveales his Jutsu to undo seals as a precautionary measure. Furthermore, the young Sarutobi ninja seems more level-headed than Naruto who, in his youth, lost his cool way too quickly.
3 Use Ninja Tools
Being a splendid shinobi, Konohamaru Sarutobi is skilled when it comes to using ninja tools. He's been seen using chakra blades that his uncle Asuma once used. Other than that, Konohamaru Sarutobi also makes use of the Adamantine Staff in battle.
In doing so, he proves that he's far superior to your average Jonin, and at the same time, he possesses a skill that Naruto doesn't. Evidently, with the level of strength that Naruto possesses, it is highly unlikely that he would ever feel the need to rely on them.
2 Go on Frequent Missions
As one of the strongest Jonin leaders of Konohagakure, Konohamaru and his team are often given some of the most difficult of missions. With the help of his exuberant team, Konohamaru, more often than not, gets the job done. In the manga, his team recently completed an S-Rank mission of finding out the information on the vessel, in the process of which they retrieved Kawaki.
Being the Hokage of Konoha, Naruto almost never goes on missions as that's simply not his job. His time is spent looking after the village, and managing the resources as well as possible. Since Naruto never led a Jonin team, he never got to lead one on missions either.
1 Serve in the ANBU
Although not officially a member of Konoha's ANBU, Konohamaru Sarutobi recently took on a mission as one of its members during the Mitsuki retrieval arc. The anime saw him infiltrate Hidden Rock Village and rescue his subordinates from the grasp of the enemies dressed as an ANBU.
For Naruto, this opportunity never arose in the series as he spent much of his youth trying to fight off the Akatsuki, and then saving the world from impending doom. Furthermore, knowing Naruto, he was never cut out for a stealthy infiltration mission, to begin with.