Boruto Uzumaki

"I'm just like you. I wanted my dad to notice me. I did lots of stupid things to get his attention. Even got banned from being a ninja once. I'm able to be one now only because everyone forgave me. I might not be much now, but one day I want to be an amazing ninja who can support the Hokage."

- Boruto To Tentō.

Boruto Uzumaki (うずまきボルト, Uzumaki Boruto; Viz "Bolt Uzumaki") is a shinobi from Konohagakure's Uzumaki clan, as well as a descendant of the Hyūga clan. He is a member of Team Konohamaru.

He is voiced by Kokoro Kikuchi and Yuko Sanpei (child and teenager) in the Japanese version of the anime, and Maile Flanagan and Amanda Celine Miller (child and teenager) in the English version of the anime.

Background
Boruto is the first and only son of Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyūga. He was born approximately three years after the Fourth Shinobi World War. On one peaceful morning during the winter time in Konoha when he was a child, Boruto and his younger sister, Himawari, were seen embracing their father and starting a snowball fight, along with their mother.

Years later, on the morning of Naruto's inauguration as Hokage, Hinata asked her two children to wake their father up and when Himawari was unable to do so, Boruto proceeded to yell and jump on their father, effectively waking him up. While getting ready to go out, Boruto and Himawari got into an argument about taking her stuffed panda toy to the ceremony, which escalated to the toy being ripped in half. Despite Boruto's apology, Himawari, in her anger, awakened her Byakugan and began attacking him. Naruto quickly rushed in to see what all the commotion was about and tried to calm Himawari down, however she refused to listen. When Naruto stood in front of Boruto, Himawari knocked her father out by hitting his tenketsu in a single strike, making Boruto flee throughout the house in fear.

Personality
Much like his father in his youth, Boruto is brash and energetic. Similarly, he appears to exhibit an inclination towards pranks. Like his father, his reason for pulling pranks is also to seek attention; in this case, it's from his father, as Naruto's role as Hokage appears to be draining on his personal life. Like his father and late paternal grandmother, Boruto also inherited a verbal tic: "dattebasa" (だってばさ).

Although he loves his father, Boruto's relationship with him grew more complicated as Naruto's duties as Hokage detracted him from spending enough time with his family, which made Boruto feel neglected, as well as resentful of the Hokage title. Boruto occasionally pulled pranks such as defacing the Hokage Rock just to seek his father's attention. Boruto reacted with dismay at the mention of him following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and often felt like he lived in their shadows. As a result, Boruto tended to rebel against his father and would use any means to surpass his legacy.

Due to never experiencing any of the hardships that both his parents had gone through during childhood, Boruto became quite cocky with his prodigious skills and failed to understand the meaning of being a shinobi. Unlike his parents who strive to work hard and never give up, Boruto was lazy and lacked the motivation to take his training seriously, even resorting to cheating if it meant getting the task done easier, whether at video games or at life. The overbearing attitude affected not only his shinobi performance, but also his relationship with his team-mates and peers. However, after seeing his father nearly die, the experience changed Boruto, making him understand the meaning of being a shinobi, and making him respect the title of Hokage and his father. Boruto holds great admiration for Sasuke Uchiha, stemming from the knowledge that he is his father's good friend and rival. Through his tutelage, Boruto develops a familial bond with Sasuke and refers to him as "Uncle Sasuke". Inspired by Sasuke, Boruto decided to take the same path as his teacher, wanting to become a shinobi who protects and supports from the shadows.

Despite Boruto often arguing with his team-mate Sarada Uchiha, who in turn finds him annoying, they have a mutual respect for each other that is more civil than it had been for their fathers when they were kids. Initially, Boruto scoffed at Sarada's dream of becoming Hokage, but after discovering the path that he wants to take, Boruto still admitted that although he does not wish to become Hokage, he would support Sarada in achieving her dream and would protect her. Their status as childhood friends and rivals prompts him to want to look good in front of Sarada, to the point of him being reckless. However, he trusts her to the point where he is willing to follow her advice, and he is willing to try his best in regards to his abilities for the sake of his and Sarada's dreams. While Boruto finds Sarada always watching him annoying, he realises that he has also been watching her with the same curiosity and interest she looks at him with. Being close friends, Boruto and Sarada care very deeply about one another, and Boruto doesn't hesitate to put his own fear aside in order to protect her. It is implied that Boruto has feelings for Sarada, who seems to feel the same way about him.

Appearance
Boruto appears strikingly similar to his father, with blonde hair and blue, similarly shaped, eyes. Unlike Naruto, however, he has wavy hair which flares out on the sides and back, and an ahoge that which resembles the stem of a leaf. His face has a rounder shape like his mother, and he has two whisker markings on each cheek, which he inherited from his father. Boruto wears a black tracksuit, reminiscent of the orange one Naruto wore for most of the series, with red lining and red stripes along the bottom and sleeve cuffs. Beneath the jacket, he wears a plain white T-shirt and a bolt tied to a string around his neck, referencing his name. He also wears black shinobi sandals.

In The Last: Naruto the Movie, Boruto has lavender coloured eyes, his tracksuit has a red fire symbol on the left breast matching an insignia his mother once wore on her jacket in Part I. Like with the outfits of many Konoha shinobi, the jacket also features a red Uzumaki swirl crest on the back, red stripes along the sides of his pants, worn with this outfit are a pair of flat white sandals.

In the epilogue, Boruto wore a black tracksuit with red lining and red stripes along the bottom and sleeve cuffs. Beneath the jacket, which he wore open and cuts off at the midriff, he wears a plain white T-shirt and a bolt tied to a string around his neck, referencing his name. He also wears black shinobi sandals. In subsequent illustrations, Boruto had worn a V-neck-style shirt and similarly-shaped white sandals.

By the time of Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, he wears a longer black tracksuit jacket and has switched out for the style of standard high-top shinobi sandals. In Boruto: Naruto the Movie, he wears with this a black Konoha forehead protector and black open-toed boots. Later on, when he goes to rescue his father, Boruto wears the original orange tracksuit jacket that Naruto wore during Part I, wearing it unzipped. Along with Naruto's jacket, he is seen wearing Sasuke's scratched forehead protector in place of his own.

Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto is Boruto's father.

Boruto used to be very close to his father before the latter became the Hokage, although he still loves his father, Boruto's relationship with him had grew more complicated and strained, as Naruto's duties as Hokage detracted him from spending enough time with his family, which made Boruto feel neglected, as well as resentful to the Hokage title. Boruto would occasionally pull pranks such as defacing the Hokage Rock just to seek his father's attention.

He would also react with dismay at the mention of him following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, and often felt like he lived in their shadows. As a result, Boruto tended to rebel against his father and used any means to surpass his legacy, even by cheating in the Chūnin Exams, after being caught cheating, Naruto removed Boruto from the exams and told Boruto that he will lecture him when they get home. Enraged, Boruto lashes out at Naruto for when does he have time to lecture him and Boruto blames Naruto for everything that has happened. However, as they first fought Momoshiki and Kinshiki, and Boruto witnessed his father's true powers for the first time in Tailed Beast Mode and his efforts to defend the village, Boruto started to feel guilty for how badly he treated his father and he started to understand the kind of person Naruto is. After this Boruto started to mature to the point where he was willing to risk his life to join Sasuke and the other Kage to rescue Naruto. When Naruto tried to apologize for inadvertently neglecting him, Boruto replied things are fine the way they are but what he wanted most was to hear stories of Naruto's past.

After the battle was over, Boruto and Naruto reconciled their differences and their relationship significantly improved, to where Naruto was home more often and Boruto asked him to do his best at work.

Hinata Hyūga
Hinata is Boruto's mother.

In contrast to his strained relationship with his father, Boruto is very close to his mother and is very sensitive to her well-being. That doesn't mean he doesn't get angry at his mother sometimes. When Boruto got angry at Naruto for failing to come to Himawari's birthday party, Boruto lashed out at her that he prefers no father than a father who is rarely home and he believed Naruto's life as an orphan was better than the kind of life Boruto has. Although deeply troubled by his words, Hinata assured him that Naruto loved them dearly and his duty as Hokage was keeping them and the village safe. Hinata loves her son dearly and contantly worries about him, and she even refused to let him join the mission to rescue Naruto until she saw Boruto wearing Naruto's old jacket and Sasuke's headband protector. This caused her to remember see Naruto in him and she decided to trust her son.

Himawari Uzumaki
Himawari is Boruto's younger sister.

Boruto loves his little sister dearly and is very protective of her. However, Boruto is sometimes terrified of his younger sister, when she is provoked enough and she can become very confrontational, showing an intimidating and violent side, enough to make Boruto run away and hide from her. Boruto is also very considerate of her feelings, such as when he got mad on her behalf at their father for not being able to come to her birthday party.

Sarada Uchiha
Sarada is Boruto's childhood friend and rival.

Because their parents have known one another their whole lives, Boruto has known Sarada for as long as he can remember. During their childhood, Boruto didn't pay much attention to Sarada, who often secretly followed him around the village. When Sarada announced her dream of becoming Hokage, Boruto scoffed at her. After being placed on the same team, Boruto showed no interest in working together with her, which left her angry at him and accused him of trying to ruin her dream. Boruto initially was willing to work together with Sarada if it benefited him. However, in spite of how much they argue, it is shown that Boruto cares deeply for Sarada and they have a strong bond of trust; Boruto trusts Sarada the most due to her intelligence and Sarada truly believes Boruto can be a strong ninja. Boruto is also protective of Sarada and doesn't hesitate to put his own fear aside in order to protect her from harm. Due to their interactions with each other, it is strongly implied that Boruto has romantic feelings for Sarada, who has long been suspected of having a crush on Boruto. This first evidence is when Boruto blushed when Sarada commented that his eyes were bluer than his father's. After realizing his dream, Boruto told Sarada he wanted to be her right-hand man when she becomes Hokage and he promises her that he will protect her, which caused her to deeply blush.

Sasuke Uchiha
Despite not officially meeting Sasuke until he was around 12-years-old, Boruto greatly admires Sasuke, based on stories Naruto told his son about Sasuke. Boruto refers to Sasuke as "Uncle Sasuke", which is evident of a strong surrogate family bond formed between Naruto and Sasuke and their families. After meeting Sasuke, Boruto asked to be taken as his student so he can surpass Naruto. Sasuke, having known Boruto's unwillingness to take his ninja training seriously, told Boruto to learn the Rasengan first, which Boruto did after several days of training with Konohamaru. Boruto frequently complained during his training and preferred easy ways, but Sasuke tried to teach him the importance of hard work and to stop making excuses. Sasuke also explained to Boruto that it was more important to known Naruto from the past than the Naruto in the present because of all the hardships Naruto went through to become Hokage. While he was disappointed in Boruto for cheating in the Exams, he knew lecturing the boy was pointless and expressed sympathy for Boruto making mistakes to gain recognition. It would be Sasuke's encouragement that would led Boruto to risk his life to help rescue Naruto and put his doubts aside in order to defeat Momoshiki.

Abilities
Unlike his late-blooming parents, Boruto was recognized as a prodigy by the time he became a shinobi. Before graduating from the Academy, he showed noticeably sharp battle instincts and a degree of taijutsu and ninjutsu proficiency while playing with his father. He proved himself capable during the battle with Momoshiki, working with Sasuke to take out one of Momoshiki's Rinnegan with a kunai.

Ninjutsu
Boruto has shown the ability to use high ranking ninjutsu, despite being only a genin. He's shown proficiency in using the Shadow Clone Technique, which he is able to skilfully switch places between himself and the clone. Boruto can use his grandfather's technique, the Rasengan, after it was taught to him by his sensei. Just like his teacher's was as a child, Boruto's Rasengan is smaller than the average size. Eventually though, he was able to create a standard sized Rasengan after more training. Sasuke also taught Boruto how to curve his shuriken in Shurikenjutsu, increasing their accuracy and lethality.

Nature Transformation
Unlike his predecessors, Boruto is capable of throwing the Rasengan by unconsciously applying theWind Release nature transformation, and letting it vanish mid-flight. As a sign of his prodigal abilities, despite being a new genin, Boruto learned to use Wind Release, Lightning Release, and by the time he took the Chūnin Exams, he had recently learned Water Release.

Cooperation Ninjutsu
Boruto has shown some skill in cooperation ninjutsu through his training with Sasuke. He was able to replicate his master's and his father's feat against Zabuza Momochi, which took out Momoshiki's Rinnegan to prevent him from absorbing anymore ninjutsu. He and Naruto can also perform their own version of the Parent and Child Rasengan, which finished Momoshiki off after overpowering his attack.

Taijutsu
Boruto has shown a degree of taijutsu proficiency since he was an academy student, being able to spar with his father's shadow clones. He is also capable of using the Gentle Fist fighting style albeit to a limited extent as he does not possess the Byakugan, thus he cannot target an opponent's tenketsu.

Jōgan
Boruto's dōjutsu is called The Jōgan. it would independently activate in his right eye at the presence of dangerous/hidden targets. It can perceive the flow of chakra, enabling Boruto to see the visible changes in one's chakra and likewise track a target through their chakra. It can clearly see the chakra pathway system and determine its most key point. It can also see through invisible barriers that connect between dimensions. Years later, at age 16 he could activate it at will shown in his battle against Kawaki.

Juinjutsu
After Momoshiki's death, Boruto retrieved a curse seal mark on his right palm from the deceased Otsutsuki clansman. This mark is called Kāma that enable for Boruto to absorb Ninjutsu.

Kenjutsu
At age 16, around the time when Konoha was destroyed, Boruto presumably through training with Sasuke has become a master in Kenjutsu, showing proficiency with a sword when battling Kawaki.

Epilogue
After a day in the Academy, Boruto told his classmates that he would show them a prank. The new generation of Ino–Shika–Chō tried to convince him not to pursue it because a five Kage Summit was about to commence; he replied that being able to pull off a prank despite the heightened security would prove their talent as shinobi. In the end, none of his peers joined in on his prank, though an intrigued Sarada Uchiha did follow and observe his handiwork: defacing the Hokage Monument statues with red paint, as his own father had once done. Knowing that his father would come to punish him, Boruto prepared to ambush him with a well-timed shuriken throw, but was stopped when Naruto suddenly appeared using the Body Flicker Technique. While reprimanding Boruto, Naruto recognised that his son was lashing out in an attempt to get his attention, and explained that he has to be a father to everyone in the village, so he can't always give Boruto as much attention as he would like. He asks Boruto to endure this hardship, because true shinobi are "those who endure".

Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring
Upon hearing that he and the rest of the class would be going through graduation exams in a week, Boruto went off to vandalise his father's Hokage statue to instigate a round of tag as well as a training session with Naruto using his shadow clones. With Sarada watching and helping Boruto extend the length of the game, Shikamaru Nara arrived and ended the game, much to his annoyance.

Later, Boruto was sent by his mother to deliver a lunch to Naruto for his trip. To Boruto's annoyance, the Hokage had already left. While Boruto was content with just leaving it at that, Sarada and Chōchō suddenly appeared, with the Uchiha insisting that they would give it to the Hokage. While Boruto was reluctant, Sarada insisted to do it on the grounds it was made by someone who loves Naruto. Seeing how important this was to Sarada, without asking why, Boruto agreed to let the kunoichi do as she pleased.

After Sarada returned, Boruto thanked her for delivering the lunch, only for Sarada to thank him for giving her the opportunity to figure out what she wanted to do with her career. When he asked her what it was, Sarada answered to become Hokage, an idea Boruto only scoffed at.

Boruto: Naruto the Movie
After becoming a genin, Boruto is assigned with Sarada and Mitsuki to Team Konohamaru. They are given a mission to capture a panda, but gets into an argument with Sarada over whether it is a regular panda or an aggressive bear that looks like a panda. Boruto shows off his prodigious talents by using multiple shadow clones with ease, which earns him praise from Mitsuki but a scolding from Sarada for being reckless. After the bear is caught, Boruto reacts in amazement when Konohamaru gives them a demonstration of his Kote and uses it to launch a Rasengan, which ends up veering off course and destroying a farmer's house, much to the local's anger. When they report to Naruto, Boruto gets into an argument with his father when Naruto asks his son to address him as "The Seventh" rather than "Dad". Angered that his father is still spending more time working, Boruto reminds Naruto that it's Himawari's birthday and he better be at home or else Boruto will never forgive him. Afterwards, Boruto meets up with Katasuke, who gives him a new software for his video game and asks Boruto if he would be taking part in the Chūnin Exams, which Boruto says that he will not. Boruto then joins Shikadai Nara and Inojin Yamanaka to play video games before Mitsuki and Sarada arrive shortly afterwards. Sarada informs him that the Chūnin Exams are coming up and she wants him to take his training seriously so that she can get closer to her dream of being Hokage. Boruto angrily retorts that if she wants to become Hokage, she better stay alone otherwise it will cause problems for those around her, which causes Sarada to realise that Boruto is simply acting out because of the lack of time he gets to spend with his father. Sarada encourages Boruto to take the Exams with them so that they can show off their amazing skills to Naruto. Boruto then asks Sarada if her father will come to watch the Exams, to which she says that she doubts it. While briefly discussing Sarada's father, Mitsuki says that he was told by his parent that Sasuke is the only person to be able to fight equally with Naruto, which causes Boruto to question Mitsuki about his parentage. Before Mitsuki can reveal to them who is parent is, Hinata and Himawari show up to pick Boruto up so that they can go home to prepare for Himawari's birthday.

At his sister's birthday party, Boruto was happy when his father was seemingly able to make it home; however, when it turned out to be shadow clone, he became angry and heart-broken when he thought that his father did not care about their family. He lashed out at his mother, who tried to calm him down and reassure him that Naruto does love them very much. He rushed upstairs and wandered into his father's room and finding his father's old, tattered uniform, he threw it out of the window in his anger. After hearing the doorbell chime, Boruto rushed downstairs, thinking that it was his father and answered the door, ready to punch him only to find that it was Sasuke Uchiha instead, who was asking if Naruto was home. After Sasuke had a brief conversation with Hinata about Naruto's whereabouts, Boruto realises who Sasuke is and is instantly impressed by him. Later on that night, while Sasuke is walking home from meeting with Naruto, Boruto attempts a surprise attack on him, however Sasuke instantly sees through it and confronts Boruto. Boruto begs Sasuke to make him his apprentice as there was someone that he wanted to defeat. Sasuke asks him if he can use the Rasengan, which he replies that he can't so Sasuke tells him to learn it and then come and see him. That same night, Boruto goes to Konohamaru's house and demands that he start training him in how to use the Rasengan. After a few days of training, Boruto is finally able to create a Rasengan and shows it to Sasuke. Although Sasuke is impressed with Boruto, when he tells him that the Rasengan is small, Boruto mistakes this as Sasuke telling him he failed. Becoming frustrated, Boruto throws the Rasengan and runs off. Because of this, Boruto believes that hard work doesn't bring results, as he tells Katasuke. While comforting him, Katasuke entices Boruto to use the Kote to create the Rasengan, telling him that by using it, he will be able to surpass his father. Boruto agrees to use it without hesitation. Sasuke takes Boruto on as his student and prepares him for the Chūnin Exams so that Boruto can impress Naruto. While taking a break from their training, Boruto asks Sasuke about Naruto's weaknesses and Sasuke elaborating about the hardships Naruto endured to become Hokage intrigues Boruto.

The first round of the Chūnin Exams required the teams to answer a true or false question. After answering the question, Boruto and his teammates find themselves falling down a pit with a lake of ink at the bottom. Boruto is saved by Sarada from falling into the ink when she uses a kunai to pin him to the wall by his clothes. Mitsuki deducts that anyone who falls into the ink is disqualified regardless of if their answer. Boruto feels hopeless when he realises he would have been disqualified if Sarada had not intervened. After winning the first round, Boruto was annoyed with Naruto congratulating him via email, leaving him more desperate to anything to win his father's recognition. Progressing to the second round, they are forced to compete against other teams for flags. While Sarada and Mistuki leave to attain other teams' flags, Boruto stays behind to defend their flag and is attacked by another another genin. Boruto resorts to using the Kote when he was overpowered by genin's shadow clones. He is able to defeat them by using Water Release and Lighting Release on his opponent and he and his team are able to pass the second round. Sarada hugs Boruto once they regroup and then tells him that his eyes are even bluer than his father's, which makes him blush. Boruto returns home that evening and is congratulated by his mother and sister for passing. As he sits in his room, Boruto starts to feel guilty about using the Kote. Naruto enters his room shortly afterwards to personally congratulate him on passing the second round. Naruto attempts to initiate a fist bump with his son, but Boruto doesn't return the gesture since he didn't want to risk his father discovering the Kote on his arm and simply smiled at him. After Naruto left, Boruto smiled happily with tears in his eyes. In the third round, Boruto was matched against Shikadai and won after cornering him with multiple Shadow Clones. However, Naruto noticed that Boruto wore a Kote that stores ninjutsu techniques on his forearm and was disappointed that Boruto has been cheating throughout the exams. He takes his son's forehead protector, deems Shikadai as the winner, and disqualifies Boruto, telling him they will talk when they get home. Angry, Boruto berates him for giving him a lecture when Naruto is never home and therefore doesn't understand that a lecture from his father is something that Boruto wants.Momoshiki and Kinshiki Ōtsutsuki appear soon after and start attacking the arena, causing massive chaos. Boruto tries to fight Momoshiki with his device only for Momoshiki to absorb all of his attacks, leaving him scared and defenceless, however Naruto jumps in to protect his son just in time. They are then joined by Sasuke and Sarada. When Sarada shows fear at Momoshiki's impressive display of his strength, Boruto creates a Shadow Clone to protect Sarada. While trying to defend themselves as well as well as all the people evacuating, Naruto ends up sacrificing himself to protect Boruto, Sasuke, and Sarada from Momoshiki's jutsu and asks Sasuke to take care of Boruto. Before Naruto disappears, he turns to smile at his son and Boruto calls out to him before falling unconscious.

When he wakes up, he finds that his mother, is being healed by Sakura Haruno due to her attempts to save Naruto. Feeling guilty for how he treated his father, Boruto wonders into his office and finds his father's old jacket and puts it on, and Sasuke comments how idiotic he looks compared to Naruto. Sasuke gives Boruto his former forehead protector to wear and Boruto decides to go with Sasuke to rescue his father. Teaming up with Sasuke and the four other Kage, they teleport to the dimension where Naruto is being held, and engage in battle upon arrival. After Momoshiki absorbed Kinshiki, Boruto watched on in awe as Naruto and Sasuke fought against Momoshiki and defeated him. However Katasuke rushed in and used his device to shoot a barrage of attacks at Momoshiki, which Momoshiki absorbed and used his new strength to attack them, and Boruto is protected by Sasuke from Momoshiki's attacks. While Momoshiki had Naruto and the Kage trapped and was preparing to finish them off, Sasuke ordered Boruto to use his Rasengan to stop Momoshiki and although Boruto was hesitant that his jutsu would not work, Sasuke encouraged him that he can give his best. Boruto is ultimately successful in hitting Momoshiki with his Vanishing Rasengan and thus able to free Naruto and the Kage. With his father's help, Boruto is able to create a giant Rasenganwhile Sasuke holds Momoshiki off long enough for Boruto to hit him with the Rasengan, destroying him. As a result, Boruto's right arm is severely burned. After the battle, Boruto and his father are able to reconcile with each other. At some point, Boruto posed for a photograph with Naruto, Sasuke, and the four other Kage. One morning as Boruto prepares to meet with his team and Naruto to head over to his office, the two of them bump fists and encourage each other to do their best. Boruto and his teammates are given a mission to capture the giant panda, which is running loose in the village. Sarada questions Boruto on whether or not he wants to become Hokage now, however Boruto explains to her that he has no interest in becoming Hokage and instead wants to become a ninja like Sasuke and adds that he supports Sarada's dream of becoming Hokage and he will protect her no matter what, making her blush. Boruto and his teammates then leap into the air from the Hokage Rock, while he prepares to launch a Rasengan.

In the post credits, Boruto and Sarada capture the wild panda and Boruto finally asks Mitsuki who his parents are. Mitsuki replies that he is the son of Orochimaru, which shocks Sarada, who asks if Orochimaru is his mother or father. When Mitsuki says it doesn't matter, Boruto gets angry and demands to know who Orochimaru is.

Trivia

 * "Boruto" (ボルト) is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "bolt," as evidenced by the bolt he wears around his neck. His name is a reference to his cousin Neji, whose name means "screw" (捻子). It may also be a reference to his late paternal grandfather's famed Flying Thunder God Technique, as the kanji rai (雷) can be translated as "lightning bolt."
 * Like his sister Himawari, Boruto's hair resembles the shape of a leaf.