WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Boruto: Naruto Next Generations Episode 178, "Our Fathers' Example," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In the Naruto franchise, the Sensory Perception Division was one of the most important assets in the Kaguya War. It didn't get that much air-time during the course of the series, but it did play a key role later on in helping the budding ninja alliance to overcome the Rabbit Princess and her minions.
With the Boruto series now expanding on the unit through Ino and her son, Inojin, linking to the new chakra barrier from the manga, let's dissect the tragic history of this team and why its painful past has helped carve out a brighter future.
The division usually consists of two teams, one scouring data in and out of Konoha, and another using mental techniques to help put up sensory walls. It's been a staple of the Land of Fire for years and something every Hokage in the Hidden Village in the Leaves wants to protect. Its most revered team was in action during the battle against Kaguya, with Shikaku (Shikamaru's father) and Inoichi (Ino's dad) back at the headquarters, helping their kids lead battalions in the field.
They were responsible for sending strategies into the minds of the squadrons to help them after collecting intel but they also transmitted Naruto's faith and belief, which made all the ninja nations stronger and resilient. This was one of the first issues Madara and Obito Uchiha had with the unit as they could tell they underestimated them and their ability to unite fractured lands.
Their main mission was to separate the Ten-Tails Beast from the evil Uchihas' hold but along the way, their kids ran into severe problems. They helped them, however, defeat the all-powerful Kinkaku (who had Nine-Tails chakra in him), and then formulated tactics for Team 10 (including Choji) to stop their former teacher, Asuma, who was reincarnated as an evil shinobi by Madara's team. This was a particularly emotional fight and it proved to Shikaku and Inoichi that they really needed to show their kids more love.
It inspired them to be better fathers in the little time they had left, and this helped them manage the squads against other soldiers like the Sound Four and White Zetsu. Angry that each obstacle was overcome, Madara wanted the sensory unit taken out of the equation and had the Ten-Tails fire a beast bomb at HQ. There, the parents, realizing time was running out, confessed how much the kids meant to them before perishing. It broke Ino and Shikamaru but thankfully, the last plan transmitted was one to separate the Ten-Tails. They ended up doing so, but seeing as the Ten-Tails ran wild without Madara and Obito's rule, it allowed Kaguya to be reborn.
This was a necessary domino, however -- one that would result in Naruto and Sasuke saving the day. And ultimately, when Naruto became Hokage, he beefed up the division by incorporating his science unit into it. But as Remembrance Day occurs in one of Boruto's recent episodes and the lone survivor of the bomb, Ao, tells of the tragedy, one can't help but feel sorry that Ino and Shikamaru had to endure such a harsh sacrifice in their journey to become mature heroes.
