WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 177, "The Iron Wall's Sensing System," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Boruto series has tried hard to break the new generation of shinobi in Konoha out of their predestined fates. It's something we saw a lot in Naruto, with the titular character pegged as a troublemaker due to Kurama the Nine-Tails Fox being inside him, while Sasuke was always gauging revenge for the Uchiha clan by killing Itachi. It didn't seem like they had a choice as they were pushed down paths informed by their parents and their clan's mistakes.
However, the latest Boruto episode makes major strides to correct this through Ino. Her dual role proves why she needs to be a more prominent mentor in the anime -- and could teach Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke a thing or two about parenting.
She and Sai's son, Inojin, is struggling with his destiny as he's not adept at being a sensory perception ninja like the Yamanaka clan. Ino's revered for it, as was her dad, the war hero Inoichi who fought against Kaguya's forces, but Inojin is better at conjuring beasts from drawings like Sai. He feels inadequate, though, as he wants to master his mom's talents given the legacy his family left behind, and while he's good at it, the chakra barrier tests prove he's not good enough yet.
Ino even admits he isn't up to scratch enough to join her unit but when they have a heart-to-heart, she makes it clear she isn't angry. He should focus on his strengths and not force his future, carving a warm, understanding moment. This exchange of empathy leads to him asking Ino if she'll close down her flower shop to focus on the chakra project, but she makes it clear that with Kara lurking around, Konoha needs her.
There's no reason why she can't do both: she loves flowers and making people happy just as much as she loves keeping them safe. It's not something the old generation could have done, so this luxury afforded to her now is something she must grasp. She can't take her flower shop -- the life she etched out on her own -- for granted. Rather than just being a full-fledged warrior like her stern dad so she must enjoy the best of both worlds. Konoha has changed, after all. The new shinobi need to embrace that fact.
Inojin takes this to heart as his mom nurtures and steers him away from the Yamanaka path. If he wants to improve and someday come back, that's fine; right now, she doesn't want him stressed out by that drama. It shouldn't be a burden or something he must do, which she suffered from and worked hard to overcome in her day. She wants an easier tomorrow for him, as well as the other youngsters, and as she's now using this new model of adapting to help young shinobi evolve, it's clear she can aid Naruto's vision of progression.
This kind of parenting and tutelage is something not even Naruto, Sasuke or Sakura have nailed with their kids, at home or in the training field, so hopefully, we see Ino imparting more of this kind of knowledge onto the up-and-comers by getting the chance to train more of them.
