The Sasuke we know from the original Naruto series is not a person we would think would make a good father. In fact, it didn’t seem likely he would procreate at all, especially not with Sakura, who he was constantly mean to.
But despite seeming totally ill-suited to it, he and Sakura have a daughter, Sarada, and, in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, we get to see how well he does at being a father. While he sometimes stumbles because he doesn’t have a lot of experience being a dad, he also does his best to be the best dad he can. Here are five times he was successful and five times he failed.
10 Good: Very Protective Of Sarada
A parent’s very first job is to protect their child. Even if they’re kind of bad at all the other stuff, they should be able to look after their child and make sure they remain safe. Sasuke at his core is really good at protecting people, and his feelings for Sarada make him defensive of her. He’s constantly thinking about her whenever they’re in a dangerous situation and, sometimes at the expense of his own safety, protects her fiercely, doing whatever he needs to do to make sure she gets out of any situation safe and sound.
9 Bad: Emotionally Distant
Most people don’t completely change who they are just because they have children. Sasuke is no different in this regard. The Sasuke we knew as a teenager is still around, a distant person who has trouble connecting with people, if he even wants to connect with people. With his family, he often seems equally emotionally distant.
This must be difficult for Sakura, since it’s hard to maintain a relationship with someone who’s closed off from you, but even harder for Sarada, who can only guess at what her dad is thinking.
8 Good: Tries To Spend Time With Her
Sasuke understands that his daughter needs him to be present in her life. He does his best to spend time with her, such as on Family Day, when the two of them spend the day together, and Sasuke tries to make it as fun as he can. He makes a point to try to be around her and to get to know her, which must be incredibly difficult since he wasn’t around for her childhood as she was growing up. Still, sometimes the effort is enough, even if it turns out sort of weird.
7 Bad: Not Knowing Anything About Her
On the other hand, Sasuke doesn’t know anything about his daughter because he hasn’t been around to see her grow up. He also just generally doesn’t know what someone is supposed to do while hanging out with their kid, because he’s never had one before, and hasn’t spent a lot of time with the one he does have.
So Sarada is rightfully pretty frustrated by the attempt he makes at spending time with her on Family Day. Instead of doing something together that would be fun for them both, he falters and fails to connect with her on a meaningful level.
6 Good: Supportive Of Her Goals
Having ambition is hard, but it’s even harder when your parents don’t support you. Sarada has the lofty goal of being Hokage of Konoha, a difficult thing that’s on par with becoming President of the United States. Still, she works hard toward this goal, and when she shares it with Sasuke, he commends her for it and says that he will do whatever he can to support her in efforts. He makes it clear that he’s happy she’s determined to be something special in this life, especially when he considers how his own life has turned out.
5 Bad: Missed Much Of Her Childhood
Sasuke is always a bit of a drifter in the series, and he has trouble being held down to any one place. Even after he and Sakura become a couple, he goes on a long trip without her, in order to get redemption for the actions he took when he was more misguided, leaving her behind.
After they get married and Sarada is born, he sticks around for a little while, but he ultimately ends up leaving again while she’s young. Sasuke misses out on much of her childhood and also leaves Sarada without a lot of memories of him.
4 Good: Acknowledging He’s At Fault
Sometimes, it’s really hard to be honest about what your role in a relationship going sour is. Sasuke, fortunately, is willing to do so with Sarada. He’s very honest with her about the fact that their relationship is strained because of his own actions and the choices that he made for how to live his life. This understanding of how he’s negatively affected Sarada by not being more present in her life, and his willingness to say as much to her, is a good step in the right direction toward repairing their relationship.
3 Bad: He Doesn’t Recognize Her
This is a pretty big one. Imagine being gone from your child’s life for so long that when you do finally see her for the first time in years, when she’s almost a teenager, you don’t even recognize her. What’s more, when he sees her both using the Sharingan, a skill that his particular clan is known for, and sees the clan’s crest on her clothing, his immediate first thought isn’t that she’s his daughter. Instead, he thinks that she’s an enemy and considers attacking her. Not great parenting, all in all.
2 Good: Being Honest With Her About His Feelings
As we established above, Sasuke is pretty standoffish and aloof. This doesn’t change once he comes back to Konoha and makes amends for his bad decisions, and having a child didn’t change that either. Sakura is pretty used to this behavior, but Sarada is a kid, and it’s hard to know what’s up with your parents on the best days, but it’s especially hard when your dad doesn’t talk to you. Still, Sarada asks him frankly if he’s happy with her mom, and he responds frankly as well, telling her that he is and that that’s clear because Sarada is evidence of the bond that they have together. This is pretty reassuring for a kid.
1 Bad: Telling Her He Has Nothing To Do With Her
Again, Sasuke is not the world’s best communicator. When Sarada comes looking for him, having tagged along on a mission with Naruto expressly for the purpose of finding him, she understandably has a lot of questions. She’s never known him and wants to, and she wants to know a lot of things about their relationship. Sasuke, frustrated and stressed about the mission they’re on, tells her that his actions have nothing to do with her. Not exactly the best thing to tell the child who’s traveled a long way looking for you, especially when you also haven’t expressed any happiness to see her.