5 OG Naruto Characters Who Deserve a Power Upgrade in Boruto, Ranked

First Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, and now Boruto: Two Blue Vortex, handed the spotlight to a shiny new cast, and in the process, plenty of the original ninjas got left standing still while their kids ran laps around them. Some of the Konoha 11 haven’t picked up a single fresh trick since the Fourth Shinobi World War ended, and it shows every single time they wander back on screen.

From Ino still having a major ninjutsu disadvantage to Hinata becoming a housewife more or less, it felt like the story abandoned them. Here are five OG Naruto characters who’ve clearly earned a glow-up, ranked by how badly they need one.

5 Kiba Inuzuka Never Got a Single New Trick After the Great War

Kiba from Boruto | Credits: Studio Pierrot

Konoha 11’s Kiba settled into adulthood after the war and now works on Konoha’s streets with the Military Police Force, moonlighting as a famous dog breeder with Akamaru by his side. Combat-wise, though, he’s frozen in time. Fang Over Fang, the two-headed wolf transformation, the nose that could track anyone through the Land of Fire; it’s all still there, and nothing new has joined it. Compare that to Naruto’s growth, and Kiba starts looking like he peaked as a teenager. He lands last since his stagnation is about screen time more than raw weakness.

4 Ino Yamanaka Still Bets Everything on One Same Risky Old Jutsu

Ino from Boruto | Credits: Studio Pierrot

Ino built her career on Mind Body Switch, and it’s still doing all the heavy lifting decades later. The technique works, but it’s risky: if she misses, her own body sits there defenseless while her mind possesses someone else. She’s clearly brilliant, sharp enough to run interrogations and read a battlefield instantly, yet the show never pushes that jutsu into anything sturdier. Watching her gamble her body on one old trick feels like a waste. She ranks above Kiba since her signature move carries a weakness that never got patched.

3 Choji Akimichi Hasn’t Grown Past the Same Butterfly Transformation

Choji from Boruto | Credits: Studio Pierrot

Butterfly Mode turned Choji into a war hero, tearing through Akatsuki muscle and matching one of Asuma’s killers blow for blow. That was years ago. In Boruto, he mostly cooks, dishes out fatherly advice, and coaches Cho-Cho through the same transformation. Real mastery sits buried in the Akimichi clan techniques, but the show hasn’t given him one new gear since the war ended, even while his daughter tries variations he never chased. He edges out Ino because he already got a power-up, nothing built on top of it.

2 Hinata Hyuga Barely Uses Her Byakugan For Anything In Boruto

Hinata from Boruto | Credits: Studio Pierrot

Hinata Hyuga mastered the Gentle Fist, can spot a chakra network from ten kilometers out, and once stood her ground against Pain himself. In Boruto, though, she’s almost entirely a mother watching from the sidelines, mostly using her Byakugan to track her kids rather than to fight. It’s a lovely arc personally, but it means one of the original cast’s most dedicated fighters barely throws a punch anymore. Her Hyuga techniques deserved more than a few worried glances. She lands second since her skills didn’t stall; they got sidelined almost entirely.

1 Tenten Deserves Way More Than Running A Naruto Weapon Shop

Tenten from Boruto | Credits: Studio Pierrot

One of the wasted female characters, Tenten earned the Sage of Six Paths’ Treasured Tools during the war and is, by every account, Konoha’s premier weapons expert. What does she get for it? A shop counter, a Chunin Exams proctor badge, and a rank stuck at chunin despite outclassing jonin with a scroll of blades. Neji got a tragic send-off, and Lee got jonin, but Tenten’s arsenal sits unused while newer characters get flashier toys. She’s the clearest case of wasted potential around. She tops the list because nobody’s gap between skill and recognition runs deeper.

Do you think we got the perfect five candidates who deserve a power boost in Boruto? We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions in the comments.