Spoilers Off applies to all Heartwarming pages, so all spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned!
Chapter 1
- Naruto and Boruto playing tag. Even if Shikamaru ruined it, it's nice to see Naruto compromise and spend some time with the son who so desperately wants his attention.
- Sarada even makes their game lasts longer, despite finding Boruto's antics stupid.
- Sarada's relationship with Chouchou. The poor kid might never have had a father, but she at least seems to have a good, solid friend.
Chapter 2
- Sarada confides in Shizune, telling her what's been troubling her since she found the photograph of Team Hawk. Shizune acts like a caring aunt and tries to understand, while Sarada trusts her so much she's able to tell her she's having doubts about her identity.
- Mitsuki ends his snarky assesment of Chocho's Changeling Fantasy by assuring her she has no need to worry about not being her parents' daughter.
- Sasuke has been in semi-regular contact with Naruto all these years, judging by the fact Naruto immediately recognized the messenger bird. It's nice to see he hasn't been cut off from everyone.
Chapter 3
- Boruto and Mitsuki seem to be very good friends. When Boruto pouts and turns to leave, Mitsuki tells him they could still catch up to Naruto.
- Sarada goes out of her way to convince Boruto to let her deliver the lunchbox to Naruto. She didn't have to do it, she could just have taken Chocho and run after him. Instead, she tells Boruto she wouldn't mind running an errand like that and promises to deliver it safely.
- The turning point in the argument that ensued was Hinata. Boruto looks doubtful the whole time but when Sarada points out Hinata made that lunch for her beloved husband, Boruto's expression completely changes and he gives the lunch to Sarada. He might have issues with his father but he sure loves his mother very much.
- Mitsuki notices that Sarada and Boruto need to talk alone and drags Chocho away to give them some privacy. Shikamaru stays nearby, watching and nudging Boruto to give the lunchbox to Sarada.
Chapter 4
- Immediately after Shin leaves, Sarada checks the lunchbox, making sure it wasn't ruined during the fight. Then, she offers it to Naruto, telling him it's from Boruto. This gesture reminds Naruto of the time Sasuke and Sakura shared their lunch with him back when they were Sarada's age. The smile he gives Sarada is identical to the one he gave his first friends all those years ago. Then, he apologizes for the trouble and shares the meal with the girls.
- The expression she gives after Naruto's Declaration of Protection is full-on Squee material. Since she's pretty much lacked a father figure for most of her life, having arguably one of the most badass Ninja's in the setting suddenly promising to protect you would be enough to inspire some hero worship, if not a precocious crush along with it.
- Naruto's interactions with Sarada. Patting her head, talking about Sasuke with her; it's the first time Sarada learned anything about her father as well as experienced any kind of paternal affection. To elaborate on that a bit:
- When Naruto talks to her about Sasuke, Sarada has this adorable smile on her face. She doesn't care if the story is not 100% accurate bacause it's (probably) the first time someone has talked to her about her dad to such an extent. When he declares that Sasuke was and still is his rival, she seems pleasantly surprised.
- After that, he tells her that she looks exactly like Sasuke minus the glasses (since he never needed them) and the sharingan. However, she acts just like Sakura; he thinks she'll be just as scary if she's angered. Hearing all that, Sarada gives him a big, happy smile unlike any we've seen; with a few words, he's managed to stop her inner turmoil over her parentage.
- As for what prompted all that reminiscing: Sarada admits to not having a single memory of her father, so Naruto decides to fill in some of the gaps before taking her to meet Sasuke.
- Sarada's excitement to meet Sasuke is so great, she activates her Sharingan for the first time. Correct: Sarada is, to date, the first and only Uchiha to activate the Sharingan through hope and love rather than desperation or hatred.
Chapter 5
- Sasuke shouts at Naruto, demanding to know why he brought these children here. And by "children", he means "Sarada". Coming from Sasuke, it's like a temper-tantrum directed at the one who put his daughter at risk.
- After Sasuke botched the reunion with his daughter, Naruto goes out to reassure Sarada like a real dad would.
- Chocho offers Sasuke a bag of chips, saying he should use them to patch things up with Sarada. It's not the most elegant of gifts, but it's the thought that counts. Despite clearly going through a self-absorbed phase, Chocho is a true friend to Sarada.
Chapter 6
- Sasuke jumping without hesitation to intercept the kunai meant for Sarada, especially given his expression of genuine fear right before he does it.
- Sakura's concern for Sarada, Sasuke and Naruto. She's grown into a true Mama Bear.
- Sasuke may have been an ass to Sarada when they first met, but he admits he's regretful for not spending more time with his family after Sakura starts apologizing to Sarada for hiding the truth.
Chapter 7
- Sasuke demands answers from Orochimaru about the ones who attacked them. The reasons he cites: those guys tried to kill Sarada and harmed Sakura. Then, there's the implied threat that if Orochimaru doesn't speak willingly, Sasuke is going to make him talk. The Uchiha family might be messed up, but Sasuke really cares about his wife and daughter.
Chapter 8
- As Sarada confesses she'll abandon Konoha, Naruto refuses to let her go. To Naruto, the whole village is his family, and he won't doom Sarada to a life of loneliness, as he once suffered. Even more so, her words paraphrased Sasuke's own when he abandoned Konoha... but this time Naruto succeeded in talking her down.
- Before Sarada's flashback, you see the image of her growing up with both her mother and her father, something she had imagined all her life and kept hoping for until she met Sasuke. The image fades away as she lets go of her fantasy about a perfect family and remembers her past: growing up with Sakura, who was always with her.
- Sakura teaching Sarada the forehead poke - the "next time" tradition Itachi started with Sasuke.
- After the peptalk from Naruto and her flashback of Sakura, Naruto lets Sarada decide for herself if blood ties are more important than shared feelings. Sarada comes to terms that while they may not be blood related, Sakura is still her mother.
- Sasuke acknowledging Sakura and her strength. Coming from Sasuke, this is a big deal.Sasuke: "My wife isn't a weak woman. When we get there we might find she's tidied up the place."
- This one is heartwarming for another reason too: Sasuke was once afraid of losing those who were precious to him (namely, Team 7) after what happened to his family. His faith in Sakura is in her strength and in their bonds. Because she can take care of herself, he knows their bond won't be severed so easily, and he isn't panicking the way he would have back in pre-Shippuden. Now that's character growth!
Chapter 9
- Sarada starts wondering how her father feels about Sakura and what's his relationship with Karin. Naruto notices her troubled expression and gently squeezes her shoulder, giving her an encouraging smile. She smiles back and decides to push all that out of her mind until Sakura is safe, because that's all that matters now.
- Sasuke shows his violently protective side by destroying Shin Sr's mechanical arm with a Susano'o arrow and then using the Susano'o to break his bones. After that, he takes out the blades stuck on Sakura's arm, uses Amaterasu to destroy them so that they can't be used by Shin again, and gently asks Sakura if she can heal her wounds.
- After seeing their love is genuine, Sarada gives off a light smile, having found relief from one of her worries.
- Sarada thinks to herself that she's going to protect her mom and jumps in the middle of the second wave of Shins, activates her Sharingan and then punches the ground, shattering it. Meanwhile, everyone watches on in shock as she does so, except Sasuke. He's got this subtle little smile (and again, as this can't be emphasized enough, this is Sasuke we're talking a bout here) that says, "That's my badass little girl."
- For extra heartwarming, it looks very similar to the small smirk he gave when he saw Sakura first demonstrate her White Strength Seal, during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Chapter 10
- Naruto decides that all the Shin Jrs shouldn't be killed. Instead they're taken to the village to be raised properly under the care of Kabuto, who's now running the Orphanage of Love he grew up in.
- Kabuto insists on giving each Shin Jr. a different name in order to emphasize on each's individual identity to prevent them from going through the hardships he faced in his childhood.
- Sarada asks Sasuke if he truly loves Sakura. His answer is simple: He does, and Sarada is proof of that love.
- Sasuke comes home and spends some time with his family, giving Sarada the normal life she desired, if only for a moment.
- While Sarada's sad to see Sasuke leave again, he gives her a big hug and, most importantly, the forehead tap. Sarada is absolutely beaming when she finally understands the gesture.
- Sasuke is seen smirking and clutching the bento Sakura made him a bit tighter as he walks away. Even though he teased her by not kissing or poking her in front of Sarada, he clearly loves his wife.
- Boruto thanks Sarada for delivering the lunchbox. She assures him it was no big deal; in fact, the whole experience helped her find a new goal: To become Hokage. As Naruto supported her in her darkest hour, she too wants to support the village.
- Karin tells Suigetsu that she and Sakura are friends; she may not really be over Sasuke, but she's happy for him. Then, she angrily scolds Suigetsu for meddling where he shouldn't and tells him he's going to have to apologize profusely to Sarada.
- On another note, the familiarity between Karin and Suigetsu is heartwarming in itself. Years later, long after Taka has ended, they are still working side by side - though they're still bickering...
- Sarada finally has a proper picture of her family.
