WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Chapter 68, “Scar,” by Masashi Kishimoto, Mikio Ikemoto, Mari Morimoto and Snir Aharon, now available in English from Viz Media.
In the Naruto era, one of the biggest setbacks was how the Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura love triangle unfolded. Many fans were annoyed because Sakura wasn't developed properly at all, fan-girling over the last Uchiha rather than genuinely forging a connection with him. Naruto also had no reason to love Sakura because she never bonded with the orphan underneath all that mischief, which eventually made their finales so weird.
Naruto was chucked into a marriage with Hinata, leaving folks disappointed the anime and manga didn't flesh their romance out more. Most of all, there was never any romantic spark to hint that Sakura could marry Sasuke, yet it happened and they had Sarada. All of this lacked substance but thankfully, Kawaki and one key player in Konoha could undo those mistakes as another love triangle comes to light in the Boruto manga.
Chapter 68 of Boruto brought Sumire back into play, charged with taking care of Kawaki once more. Now, to understand how nuanced this is, one has to dissect Sumire's past. While she's one of Konoha's quieter students, she wasn't always this emotional and caring. After initially being sent to the Hidden Leaf to destroy it as part of Danzō's murderous legacy, Sumire redeemed herself and became a key teenage influence on Boruto. This allowed her and the Hokage's son to develop crushes on each other, reinforcing that just like Sasuke's U-turn, second chances were always welcome.
It's why she initially tended to Kawaki in the anime fillers when he was first brought over from being a Kara terrorist, relating to him based on her own search for freedom, agency and liberation. This added humanity to his arc and made him understand how kind strangers could be, what family meant and why Konoha could be a second home. In that sense, she set him up to accept Naruto's offer to move in. Now, their bond irked Boruto at first but he eventually let it go because he was busy training. Admittedly, part of his ego didn't ever think Sumire could like Kawaki, or vice-versa, but they did have a warm dynamic to them, which first planted seeds of this love triangle.
Now it has resurfaced once more with Kawaki back after the Code battle. He's not being viewed in the best light, though, because he accessed his new Karma and almost killed Boruto, all to stop Momoshiki from returning. Thus, he's a bigger black sheep than ever, so should Kawaki feel hated, Sumire will be crucial to bringing him back toward the light -- especially because the animal inside her, Nue, is akin to Kawaki's new, possibly-corrupting power.
Thus, Sumire guiding Kawaki home would feel a lot more organic than when Sakura tried it with Sasuke, because they barely had a connection outside of Kakashi's training. But with Sumire, she may be Kawaki's True North away from darkness, ready to use her feelings to change him. Given that Kawaki likes her too, this would really feel like a powerful love story. And this time, Boruto as the third wheel would make sense because he'd try to protect her from the teen. Given that he almost died, he'd want to ensure he can use Momoshiki's power within to keep his loved ones, like Sumire, safe.
It would also test him mentally because he'd be torn between his mother Hinata and his adoptive brother, knowing maybe if he gives up Sumire, it could help Kawaki heal with someone intimate and loyal. Ultimately, it's a trifecta that has a lot more sentiment invested, which teases an endearing yet heartbreaking story moving forward as it's known Kawaki will break bad and decimate the village. But in the meantime, Boruto's version o fthis story is being handled more pellucidly than the soulless, cosmetic love triangle Naruto had.
