Naruto fans are very familiar with the rivalry between Sakura and Ino over who would win the heart of the handsome lone-wolf Sasuke. But, as the old adage says, be careful what you wish for. While Sakura came out victorious, it may not be for the better. Sasuke is barely home because of his job as a Ranger, meaning his daughter Sarada barely knows him. It's also been implied that Sakura doesn't give her daughter the time that Sarada wants or needs as a growing child. This may be the one area Ino has Sakura beat -- the household.

While having a parent who is away for work a lot isn't necessarily a bad thing, it can definitely can in the way of parent-child bonding time. Sarada spends much of Boruto longing to know her father better and create memories with him. Inojin, Ino and Sai's son, grows up with both of his parents in his life, and is able to rely on them much more than Sarada can or has with her own parents. Sasuke's work has practically made him a stranger to his daughter and, while Sakura definitely does her best, there's nothing quite like the sting of knowing your other parent's there, but unavailable.

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Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno

Sasuke's absence doesn't only affect Sarada; it affects Sakura as well. She rarely gets to see her husband and, as a single mother (not that there's anything wrong with that), has to raise a child that's coming into powers she doesn't quite understand. Going it solo was much easier when Sarada was younger and they had a chance to parent as a team. But, now that she's older and training to fight, things are different. Not only that, but Sakura spent so long trying to prove she was worthy of Sasuke's affections but, now she's won, she doesn't even get to enjoy the outcome.

It isn't that Sasuke isn't around because he doesn't love his family. It's the way he shows that love -- by leaving to protect the village as a whole -- that causes issues. To be fair, he probably thinks it's obvious that his absence is because he wants to protect his family, but for someone as young as Sarada, no matter how intelligent they are, it doesn't come across that way. It even gets to the point where she questions whether he's actually her father. While this is easily put to rest, the emotional turmoil that sort of thing puts on a person can skew their views on love and how to show it -- as Sasuke knows all too well.

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Sai and Ino

Ino's family, on the other hand, is more like the typical nuclear family. Both parents have more of a presence in their child's life, celebrating holidays and birthdays with him and guiding him as he matures into a young adult. The differences between the families are even more evident when we remember that, when Sai was first introduced, he was conditioned to not show any emotions. Sai and Sasuke have similar backgrounds, both being orphans and growing up emotionally stunted. However, the way they overcame those obstacles and the way it affects their families is where the main difference lies. Ino's family has been shown to have strong bonds with each other and even stronger communication skills. Sarada and her family also have powerful ties, but lack the closeness and familiarity of Ino's and definitely isn't the same between both parents and their child.

But Sasuke isn't a bad parent. He loves his wife and daughter. However, his job as a Ranger has created a wall between him and Sarada, making it difficult for her to form the father/daughter bonds that many of her peers have already formed. The Yamanaka family has stronger bonds because the parents have made sure to be in their child's life as much as they can. So in the end, some fans believe that while Sakura won the battle, Ino won the war.

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