Board Thread:Boruto Discussions/@comment-26389992-20171226011920/@comment-734582-20171227131629

TheUltimate3 wrote: Let's be honest with ourselves here. Naruto stopped being about hard work and dedication as soon as it became very clear you could hit the genetic lottery and have magic eyes that could cause a planet-level extinction event. Hard work beats talent, but hardworking talent beats just hard work. And hard work + genes + talent beats everything. Naruto was never about just hard work, or else Lee would've actually beaten people like Gaara (who had immense natural power) or Kimimaru (advanced genes).

Also, the most powerful figures worked both hard, had talent and came from respected clans. Hashirama and Madara are gods, but also fought all their life in order to refine their skills to that point.