Board Thread:Episode Discussions/@comment-1181222-20170809100834/@comment-30323490-20170810113859

@UntappedRage Well, in the Gaiden Naruto's role was to protect the children, and the only sure way was via Kurama's chakra. It's not like he needed SPSM to face Shin. In the Boruto movie however, he was facing Otsutsukis, so it's understandable why he used SPSM.

@Vandiir Yes, apparently there is a time skip since as you said, the kids are around 11 now. I think the only reason why they decided to start the anime from the academy is to introduce Boruto's dojutsu and to let the manga go a little bit further and gain some ground since it's only a monthly, so the anime won't catch up any time soon.