Ever since the beginning of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, fans have pointed out how badly Naruto has been nerfed. In order to make the next generation of shinobi shine, it looks like the OG cast has been diminished to a bunch of exhausted men.
Many fans are of the opinion that Naruto should have ended after the protagonist became a Hokage; at least no one would have to see his gradual decline then. Instead, fans have been subjected to seeing their favorite character slowly diminishing in the background.
Being a Hokage and a Parent at the Same Time Nerfed Naruto
Being a Hokage not only consists of a cool title and multiple accolades, but it also comes with innumerable responsibilities. Ever since Naruto became a Hokage, he has been burdened with paperwork as well as many other miscellaneous tasks. In fact, the amount of paperwork that he deals with on a daily basis borders on absurd.
It almost seems like he never delegates his tasks and takes on all responsibilities upon himself. This is also a very Naruto-like behavior, as he would love nothing more than to do everything himself and do it perfectly. But the matter stands that Naruto is more suited to the field rather than behind stacked files. He is an incredibly powerful ninja, which is how he became the Hokage, but due to his workload, he is suddenly too busy, running the risk of becoming rusty.
In several instances, it has been pointed out that the Hokage workload is wiping out Naruto. He often has to stay over at the office and is almost always in a dazed state. He can rarely visit his loved ones and is often an absent father to Boruto and Himawari. Boruto begins to resent his father due to his prolonged absences from their lives, and it seems like Naruto is suddenly unable to keep his work and personal lives under control.
Naruto’s Workload is Even Impacting His Shadow Clone Jutsu
Naruto’s Shadow Clone Jutsu is nothing short of a legendary move. While average users can create five shadow clones at a time, Naruto has the ability to create hundreds and thousands of clones due to his huge chakra reserve. His technique was a major help in all previous battles and might be a tide-turner in the 5th Shinobi World War as well.
However, due to his workload, Naruto can barely even maintain a few clones. In Naruto Shinden: Parent and Child, Naruto could only manage to make two clones because of how tired he was. In the Himawari’s Birthday episode, Naruto could not be present with his family so he used a clone to visit them. However, the clone soon disappears, which makes Boruto reasonably furious. He expressed that he was tired of hearing the same excuses.
This seems like a mighty downfall of Naruto since the difference between his physical prime and the current version of him is like night and day. The Seventh Hokage cannot even maintain a clone of himself, making it look like a great joke. Naruto is exhausted both mentally and physically, and it is evident that he can no longer afford to take care of himself. He barely even has time to visit his own family, and thus, the tiredness has been transferred to the clones as well.
You can read Naruto on Viz Media and watch the anime on Crunchyroll.
