The following contains spoilers for Chapter 6, Part 1 of Naruto: Sasuke’s Story — The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust, by Masashi Kishimoto, Jun Esaka, Shingo Kimura and Snir Aharon, now available in English from Viz Media.
One of the most intriguing components of Naruto: Sasuke’s Story — The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust has been how the spinoff has filled in the blanks with Sasuke and Sakura. It’s added more romance and meat to the married couple, who were right up there with Kiba and Tamaki for the worst relationship from the Naruto era.
Thankfully, we’re finally seeing just how much Sasuke misses Sakura, and how valuable she is to him in the field. It’s created a cute spy dynamic, with both going undercover at a Redaku jail to find a cure for the sickly Naruto. Interestingly, come Chapter 6, Part 1 of Heavenly Stardust, Sasuke’s poetic side appears, adding to the surprising romantic edge fans learned of recently.
Sakura Learns of Sasuke’s Pink Crush
Chapter 6, Part 1 of Sasuke’s Story finds Sakura sitting at the lunch table, chatting with Jiji. His words encouraged Sasuke to give Sakura a wedding ring, although he has no clue they’re married — or so Sakura thinks. As Jiji talks and finds out more abut her mysterious husband, he lets it slip that he knows she’s with Sasuke.
Sakura’s shocked but Jiji is solid, promising to keep it a secret. As for how he knew, he admits that he wondered why Sasuke would look at the tree out the window. He was clearly waiting on something, with Sakura now realizing he was waiting on the cherry blossoms to bloom. He’d spend a ton of time there during the incarceration, as the pink reminded him of her iconic hair, reaffirming he missed her dearly. It’s why he’s grateful that she’s here, helping him unlock a political conspiracy, too.
Sasuke’s Vulnerability and Emotional Side Is a Good Thing
This sort of endearing arc is a great addition to the Naruto lore, as it’s not often seen in the Boruto anime or manga. It’s disappointing that such sentiment is often omitted, as it would make Sasuke a better father to Sarada, having him set down an example on love, care and consideration. It would also create more warmth between him and Sakura, shaping a dynamic similar to Naruto and Hinata, who have more romance to them. Simply put, it’s a great way of making these characters, especially someone so reserved like Sasuke, more human.
After all, his sinister Uchiha clan wasn’t as emotional and caring back in the day, ergo why the civil war popped off where Itachi (Sasuke’s brother) had to cull them as they became terrorists. There just wasn’t any compassion and empathy in the tribe at that time, but Sasuke’s displaying all these traits now. It’s a welcomed U-turn, and while he’s not reciting loquacious speeches or writing heartfelt poems, this subtle way of baring his heart, mind and soul makes him more layered, nuanced and multidimensional. Sasuke’s Story — The Uchiha and the Heavenly Stardust is slowly making him into the kind of family man Naruto always knew he could be.
