Perhaps the most baffling contradiction of Naruto is how genetics, which was a huge element in developing powerful characters throughout the series, was excluded in the latter half of the story. This is especially evident in how Masashi Kishimoto appeared to have forgotten the greatest genetic potential of one lineage, one that would have produced the most overpowered shinobi of all time.
Think about it: Hashirama Senju, the strongest of his clan, a literal walking god of war, and Mito Uzumaki, a powerful kunoichi from a clan famous for their massive chakra reserves and sealing abilities, had children. By all reasoning, their offspring should have inherited a mix of unmatched abilities. However, their descendants do not feature in the story at all, and there is no reference to their great potential. But why so? Let’s find out.
The overlooked bloodline in Naruto: Hashirama Senju and Mito Uzumaki’s descendants
Throughout Naruto, genetic lines and inherited abilities played a crucial role in establishing the power level of a character. The Senju and Uchiha families were central to this idea with their bloodlines carrying the burden of the Sage of Six Paths legacy.
Although the Uzumaki family is less often brought up, they were also respected for having huge stores of chakra, long lives, and seal technique. With this in mind, it does not make sense that the children of Hashirama and Mito, the combination of Senju energy and Uzumaki chakra did not turn out to be one of the most powerful shinobi to have ever lived.
Rather, this line of the family is all but removed from the story. Compare this to Boruto Uzumaki, whose family line contains the Namikaze, Uzumaki, and Hyuga clans, and who shows amazing potential because of this genetic mix.
All these raise a very important question among Naruto fans: Why was the Hashirama-Mito lineage disregarded when the series so much focused on bloodline-based power?
A narrative inconsistency that can’t be ignored
In the climactic final battle, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki (Sage of Six Paths) unexpectedly asserted that having powerful parents doesn’t mean powerful offspring. If this were to be the case, then the Uchiha clan would not have had an extensive history of producing top-class shinobi.
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byu/TasteLive5819 from discussion
inNaruto
The whole premise of Kekkei Genkai, which is about inherited powers, would also become pointless. No wonder as a result so many fans simply dismissed this as a last-minute retcon by Masashi Kishimoto. It also does not clarify how Naruto’s own success was directly related to his bloodline.
A core argument in Naruto was the debate between natural talent and hard work. Early on, he was set up as a character who had to fight for his abilities, as opposed to a natural genius such as Sasuke. But later in the series, it emerged that Naruto was always meant to be great because of his bloodline.
Naruto’s massive chakra reserves weren’t solely the result of training, they were a direct result of his Uzumaki lineage and his body adjusting to Kurama’s chakra leakage. His wind-type chakra affinity, which made him a natural fit for the Rasengan and its advanced forms, was probably inherited from Minato. However, he picked up the Rasengan in days, something that Minato took years to master.
He also became proficient in shadow clones immediately, even though he had terrible chakra control because his massive chakra pool made up for inefficiencies. Though never promoted during battle, Naruto’s capacity to seal Kurama at an early stage indicates hidden Uzumaki potential for sealing jutsu. In spite of all this, the series Kishimoto attempted to push the narrative at the last moment that Naruto’s power came from his bonds rather than his bloodline.
By trying to shift the story’s moral at the last moment, Kishimoto created a contradiction that many fans still debate. Genetics were crucial to Naruto‘s worldbuilding, yet they were downplayed in favor of a feel-good message that didn’t align with the story’s history. And in the end, ignoring the greatest genetic freak of the series, Hashirama and Mito’s child only served to highlight this inconsistency further.
Naruto is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
