Naruto's sequel series Boruto follows the lives of the children of the Konoha 11. While there are plenty of parallels to draw between the children and their parents, the members of this new generation aren't just carbon copies of their parents. With their new approach to the shinobi lifestyle, and by living in a world without the threat of war (initially), they're free to be kids in a way their parents weren't. That also means they aren't always the most mature shinobi in training.
One of the most common traits amongst the children of the Konoha 11 is their tendency to get caught up by what others think of them. They are a reactionary group, prone to allowing the ways they're perceived dictate their behavior. Some of this next generation, however, learn from their experiences and grow faster than others, showing a maturity that their peers lack.
8 Himawari, The Youngest Of The Konoha 11 Children, Has Time To Grow
Himawari is the least mature of the Konoha 11's children by default. That doesn't mean she isn't mature for her age, but she's not going out on shinobi missions or being forced to confront dangerous situations in the same way that her older brother and his friends are.
Himawari is an empathetic person, and she understands more than her young age might initially make viewers think. Even when she's hurt by Kawaki breaking a piece of pottery she made herself, she forgives him pretty quickly and welcomes him into her family. It'll be interesting to see just how much Himawari grows over the course of the series.
7 Boruto Has Come A Long Way, But Still Has Far To Go
Ever since his initial appearance in his own series, Boruto has always been one of the least mature of his friends. That's in large part due to his attention-seeking behavior.
To be completely fair to Boruto, his desire for attention comes from his feeling like his father has completely abandoned him once Naruto becomes Hokage. He just wants his father to care about him as much as Naruto cares about the rest of the village. The trouble is that Boruto doesn't choose the most mature ways of engaging with his father. Instead, he does things like cheat during the Chunin Exams and lash out at the people who care about him the most. Once he and his father hash out their differences, Boruto starts to understand just why his choices weren't the best, but he's still got a long way to go.
6 Chocho Cares Too Much About How Her Crushes See Her
Though Chocho demonstrates that she's one of the strongest shinobi in her generation with her quick mastery of her family's skills, she doesn't actually put them to use. That's because she's too busy worrying about what the boys think of her.
Chocho even uses her size-changing jutsu to make herself appear thinner, and as she believes, more appealing, to a boy she has a crush on. While she learns her lesson in that particular situation, Chocho still spends her time considering how she appears to others before making decisions about what's best for herself.
5 Metal Lee Also Focuses Too Much On How He Appears To Others
While Chocho might focus on how she appears to her crush, Metal Lee is more likely to focus on how authority figures see him. That's why he's one of the most polite shinobi of his generation, never dropping a honorific.
He's so focused on making sure he seems like the best and most hardworking shinobi, however, that he can put a little too much pressure on himself to succeed. That leads to his performance anxiety when teachers and other authority figures are watching him. Like Chocho, Metal needs to focus more on what's best for him.
4 Inojin Doesn't Always Think About How Other People Feel
Part of the newest iteration of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and one incredibly close friendship, Inojin hasn't just inherited the Yamanaka shinobi abilities. He's also got his father's talent for drawing — as well as his blunt way of speaking.
While Inojin cares deeply about his friends and family, he doesn't always show it. He doubts his preference for his father's skills over his mother's to be sure, and worries about her feelings, but when it comes to his peers, he often speaks without thinking. Inojin doesn't always consider that he might hurt feelings with his blunt nature, and he'll become more mature as he learns to better empathize with others.
3 Kawaki Matures As He Deals With His Trauma
Kawaki might not have been born into one of the families of the Konoha 11, but when Naruto and Hinata take him in, he's as close to the Uzumakis as their own blood. Kawaki is their family.
When Kawaki first meets up with Boruto and his team, he's hostile, quick to anger, and even violent. He doesn't put anyone else first. That's largely a result of the trauma he endured as a child. Experimented on and forced to follow the orders of others, Kawaki isn't used to people actually caring about his well-being. Just staying in the Uzumaki household for a day helps him realize that he can put others first and think about situations before reacting to them.
2 Sarada Keeps A Logical Head On Her Shoulders
Sarada always wants to have an answer for everything. That doesn't always work out for her, but she tries to approach everything in her life logically, just as she studied it. That helps her as a shinobi, but not always as a kid. On occasion, though, Sarada allows her emotions to override her logic. That happens most often in regards to her teammate Boruto and her father Sasuke.
She is quick to jump to conclusions and argue where Boruto is concerned; the two are like oil and water, no matter how much they care about one another. Despite knowing this about their friendship, Sarada still gets riled up around him. Likewise, when given the first chance to see her father in years, she opts to essentially run away from home and follow the Hokage on a mission. While she sees how irresponsible she is in the latter situation, in the former, Sarada still has a lot to learn.
1 Shikadai Isn't Just The Smartest Of His Friends, But The Most Mature
Shikadai is one of the few shinobi of his generation who isn't overly concerned about appearances. If his friends don't like his decisions, he deals with it. After all, his best friend is the impulsive Boruto Uzumaki. He knows exactly how to deal with a hothead who tells it like it is. It helps that he's easily the smartest of his generation with keen observation and strategy skills, so he knows what to expect from the people around him.
Shikadai grows up learning the Nara family jutsu, but he also makes a point as he grows up to ask his mother to teach him how to use her fan. He commits to the In0-Shika-Cho trio, despite initially being closer to Boruto than his assigned teammates. Shikadai understands the responsibilities that are a huge part of his life, but that doesn't mean he always does what's expected of him. The most mature moments in Shikadai's life come when he does things that he knows will likely go against his family's wishes, but he also knows that they're right. Not only does he think about the consequences of his actions, but he's always prepared for them.
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