Mirai Sarutobi

As a toddler Mirai was sociable and fond of her parents' students, doting on Shikamaru, whom she called her big brother, and handing out nicknames by mashing people's names together. Growing up without the father who died before she was born, she came to revere both him and her grandfather, driving herself hard, at first recklessly, to be worthy of their memory. Naruto and Kakashi both felt she took her duties far too seriously, and escorting Kakashi and Might Guy stirred fresh doubts in her: a peaceful world left her wondering whether she would ever measure up to her seniors. She picked up some of Asuma's habits, shrugging into her hand when annoyed, and carried a quiet longing to somehow meet the father she never knew.

Mirai is the child of two of Konoha's strongest jonin, born as autumn settled over the village; Asuma chose her name for the sake of the world's future children before dying ahead of her birth. Shikamaru Nara honoured a promise to her late father by watching over her as she grew, becoming her teacher and a brotherly figure who regularly beat her at shogi. She trained under him after the Academy, mastering whatever he showed her within a few tries, and later supervised his son Shikadai's development in turn.

Her defining assignment came when the Seventh Hokage sent her to escort Kakashi and Guy, hoping the trip would loosen her up. What she took to be an S-rank mission proved to be the veterans' cover for investigating girls vanishing in the Land of Hot Water. Following the orphan Tatsumi's map to a hot spring rumoured to reunite people with the dead, Mirai briefly glimpsed her father before unmasking the operator, Ryūki, a Jashin fanatic and admirer of Hidan. She shocked the entranced women free with Lightning Release, outmanoeuvred Ryūki with genjutsu, and finished him with Wind Release.

Across later chapters she serves as a proctor and mock enemy in the Chunin Exams, testing genin such as Boruto and Sarada, joins the response to the Byakuya Gang and to Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, who once brainwashed her as a diversion, and takes on assorted bodyguard and patrol duties. Requested by name to guard the Sixth and Seventh Hokage, she stands as living proof of her clan's legacy.

Daughter of two elite jonin, granddaughter of the Third Hokage and trained by the Eighth, Mirai matured into a highly capable kunoichi able to rout an entire band of missing-nin on her own. Her greatest strength lies in genjutsu, inherited from her mother; ranked Konoha's finest in the art, she can ensnare even the Sharingan-wielding Sarada and cast illusions faster than a target can react. She wields her father's techniques as well, using Flying Swallow to extend the reach and cutting power of her chakra blades and favouring Wind Release alongside her Fire and Lightning natures. Skilled from a young age in shurikenjutsu and close-range taijutsu, she strikes at several foes in quick succession and is, on top of it all, an excellent cook.