Where Is Sasuke’s Left Arm? How Did He Lose It?

Naruto and Sasuke’s fight at the end of Shippuden was most-awaited and carried the weight of their complicated relationship.

It was a fight to understand the truth of their feelings, but most of all, their friendship. So it was no surprise that there is no clear winner: just two equals.

Symbolically, it is Naruto’s belief in their friendship that wins. And it is during this fight that both of them lose an arm. But despite the advancement in technology — Sasuke seems only to have one arm, which raises questions. 

Sasuke loses his left arm during his fight with Naruto. He views this loss of arm as repentance for all the pain and suffering he put his friends and village through. Therefore, he refused the arms created by Tsunade from Hashirama cells. 

How did Sasuke lose his arm? 

For people who have not explored Boruto’s prequel series — Naruto Shippuden — this might be puzzling.

Towards the climax of Naruto Shippuden, Sasuke and Naruto battle each other with their conditions at stake.

Sasuke’s condition being to destroy all tailed beasts and the Kage — thereby destroying the flawed system of the world. Naruto, on the other hand, fights Sasuke in disagreement with this plan and to get him back to the village.

The fight ends with both of them losing one of their arms and Sasuke conceding to Naruto’s wishes. A true understanding between them is born. Even the fans who’ve followed the series from Naruto would wonder why Naruto had managed to get an arm, whereas Sasuke hasn’t?

Can Sasuke’s arm not be recovered?

Well, Sasuke had left the village to protect Konoha from the outside world before he was offered the arms made of Hashirama’s cells.

Although, later in Boruto, it’s seen that he still doesn’t have a left arm despite visiting the village. Therefore it is possible that he was offered an arm made via Hashirama’s cells under the guidance of Tsunade’s expertise, but he refused.

In Boruto, Naruto does possess a prototype of a scientific ninja-tool arm that could work on chakra along with other benefits. Yet, Sasuke only has one arm.

The reason for this is not the availability of technology or resources to create an arm for Sasuke but his own personal choice.

Sasuke sees the loss of his arm as a symbol of the consequences of his actions. He believed that this would remind him to atone for his sins while protecting Konoha from the shadows.

Why doesn’t Sasuke heal his arm as Naruto did?

Since he is the descendant of Indra, the implantation of Hashirama cells would awaken his second Rinnegan and make him an extremely powerful shinobi (more than he already is).

This would create an imbalance in the world that Sasuke was not willing to risk. He wishes to create a balance between him and Naruto, so Naruto can always keep him in check.

About Boruto

Boruto: Naruto Next Generation is a Japanese manga series written by Ukyo Kodachi and illustrated by Mikio Ikemoto. It was serialized monthly in Shueisha’s shonen manga magazine Weekly Shounen Jump in May 2016 until it was transferred to their V Jump in July 2019. The manga has been collected in 10 tankōbon volumes.

Boruto follows the exploits of the next generation of Konohagakure. This includes Naruto’s son Boruto Uzumaki and his friends, who are out to determine their path in the shinobi world. Although peace in the shinobi world has been brought to a halt as the Otsutski clan begins to hatch a sinister plan.