Naruto and Sasuke are two of the most important characters in Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto series, and their journey in the story certainly shows it. In a world where strength holds a lot of weight, Naruto and Sasuke rise from being mere rookies to becoming the strongest ninjas of all time, surpassing even the greats such as the many Hokage and even the legendary figures of the ninja world. By the end of the series, the two are astronomically stronger than any other character, almost reaching godly levels during the fight against Kaguya Otsutsuki.
Yet, Boruto paints quite a different picture entirely. Instead of being the absolute force in the story, both Naruto and Sasuke often get dominated in their battles, and, surprisingly, most of their powers seem to be forgotten, much to the dismay of the fans. It's almost as if Boruto is trying to elevate the next generation of ninjas at the expense of everything that came before it, which certainly isn't ideal and strays from what makes for good writing.
How The Strongest Of Naruto Were Weakened
It goes without saying that the Fourth Great Ninja War is when both Naruto and Sasuke made their biggest leaps in terms of power. Naruto, the Hero of Konohagakure at this point, went from being someone who struggled against Pain despite using Sage Mode to someone who reached levels of the likes of Kaguya Otsutsuki, while Sasuke attained the same level as well. Perhaps Naruto and Sasuke's biggest power upgrade in the Naruto series was the Six Paths Sage Mode and the Rinnegan respectively. As seen towards the end of the war, this power helped them overwhelm not just Madara Uchiha but also the likes of Kaguya Otsutsuki at times.
Yet, in Boruto, things are quite different. There is no denying that both Naruto and Sasuke keep their powers in the Boruto era as well. Naruto is, after all, seen using the Six Paths Sage Mode and Sasuke still has the Rinnegan. On paper, nothing looks off at all, however, it is how the story has been written that makes fans question what exactly happened to the two. In Naruto's case, one of the biggest powers that he doesn't have anymore is the Truth-Seeking Balls. These balls gave him the ability to use the highest form of nature transformation, making him one of the very strongest characters and only those with senjutsu could counter him.
At the same time, Naruto also lost the ability to use the Yin-Yang Release to heal those around him. As seen in the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto was essentially a ninja god who could bring back eyes lost years ago, save a person's life from wilting away and even rejuvenate a dying Jinchuriki. In Boruto, however, all this has simply ceased to exist. What's more, Naruto's sensory perception, which was once known to be the very best in the world, is weakened quite a bit as well. With Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto's power to sense things that exist in a different plane of existence entirely was demonstrated in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Now, the ability to sense a man who shrinks himself appears to be beyond Naruto's level.
Sasuke isn't much different from Naruto. The only consistency in his powers is that he's still relative to Naruto, meaning just like Naruto, he was severely weakened as well. Sasuke's Six Paths Yin Powers simply don't exist anymore. His ability to infuse techniques such as Chidori with Six Paths chakra or even Kagutsuchi is no longer deemed necessary to the story. But, what's even worse is Sasuke is simply not making use of his powers at all. When Sasuke awakened the Rinnegan, he attained the Six Paths Powers, the very same powers that made Nagato and Madara a menace and earned Hagoromo Otsutsuki the title of the Sage of Six Paths.
Sasuke's only use of the Rinnegan appears to be teleportation for the most part, which is simply not good enough. In fact, the biggest powers of the Rinnegan, such as the ability to use the attractive and repulsive forces, the ability to steal someone's life force, absorbing chakra to rejuvenate oneself, interrogation using the King of Hell, and damage restoration simply don't exist in Boruto. That's not all the Rinnegan does either. Fans have also never seen Sasuke utilize the undying animals of the Animal Path or a mechanized arm to make up for the one that he lost, simply because this isn't their story anymore. Evidently, Naruto and Sasuke are suffering because they're too strong for their own good.
What Next For Naruto And Sasuke
Things have only gone from bad to worse for Naruto and Sasuke as their latest encounter against Isshiki Otsutsuki ended badly for both. While they did survive, the price they paid was certainly huge as Naruto lost Kurama and Sasuke no longer has the Rinnegan. In Naruto's case, the ability to tap into the Six Paths Sage Mode also seems to have gone away with Kurama for some reason, which is also questionable as this power was used in the Fourth Great Ninja War without tapping into any Tailed Beast's power. His chakra cloaks and every benefit that Kurama gave him are also gone now.
As for Sasuke, losing his Rinnegan means that he's lost his ability to swap places using teleportation ninjutsu and open portals to other dimensions. Sasuke barely made use of his Rinnegan abilities so not much damage has been done to him, however, the writers will surely come up with a way to make him look weaker than he is. The fact is, both Naruto and Sasuke are being taken down from the pedestal that Kishimoto put them on.
After years of hard work and effort that made them an inspiration to countless people in the real world, treating Naruto and Sasuke in what appears to be a bizarre manner certainly doesn't bode well for Boruto. Although Boruto is, undeniably, its own series, the fact is that it uses factors such as old characters and nostalgia heavily to get fans invested in the story. Without Naruto and Sasuke, Boruto would certainly not be as big as it is today and nerfing characters just for the sake of making the next generation look better is due to have an adverse effect on the story as time takes its course.
For now, Naruto and Sasuke are still somehow relevant as they still hold some power, however, with how the story has been going on, it wouldn't be a surprise if the writers found more ways to nerf them even further. Perhaps they'll be killed off entirely just to showcase how amazing the next generation of ninja is when that is something a skilled writer should be able to portray while being consistent with the original series.