Naruto may not be much into romance, but that doesn’t stop fans from checking out his ships. From the series’ inception until now, the anime fandom has been as intrigued by Naruto’s couples as they have been by their fights. Of course, this is why mainstream couples like Sasuke x Sakura are some of the best-known ships in anime, and their fan bases are huge. So as you can imagine, fans have a bone to pick with Boruto during a cutscene.

The whole thing dates back to the most recent episode of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations when it brought the Sasuke Retsuden arc to an end. It was there that fans watched Sasuke’s worst nightmare play out before his eyes as his wife was buried under a building. The two eventually reunited after an emotional scene from Sasuke, but the aftermath was originally planned to feature more SasuSaku goodies.

In the novel, after Sasuke finishes healing Sakura, he wipes her tears. In the anime, this was changed to Sakura wiping her own tears from Sasuke #SasukeRetsuden #Boruto pic.twitter.com/YupqiyqDW5

— ❀ ◓ (@uchihassasusaku) February 5, 2023

And how do we know? Well, we have Sasuke Retsuden’s original novel to thank. Years ago, the light novel laid the groundwork for this arc, and it was there that fans first observed this scene. In the novel, Sasuke is much more hands-on with Sakura, and their physical intimacy prompts him to wipe away his wife’s tears once the couple is reunited. “The wound on her back closed slowly and familiar fingertips wiped her damp cheeks,” the novel reads.

Of course, the anime treats this scene very differently. Sasuke still heals Sakura and are gentle with her, but there are no lingering touches. The pair are very much in mission mode, so the cute SasuSaku scene between the two was cut. As you can imagine, fans of the pair were disappointed by the change, but Boruto has kept his version of Sasuke consistent on screen. The on-screen depiction of the ninja may be flatter than in Naruto novels, but Sasuke feels things nonetheless. So even if he didn’t wipe away Sakura’s tears here, his love is still made clear in other ways.

What do you think of this Boruto edit? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or give me a call on Twitter @Megan Peters CB.