Because Sarada can literally get more powerful in an afternoon and boruto needs plot to help him out
It's called Naruto Gaiden by kishimotocan you plz lend me this fanfic to troll teh Borutobase???..
Well, going by what happened in Naruto, the author only needs to say they're equal (even if feats say otherwise) for people to consider them equals. So she good.


Boruto's been stronger than Sarada since the Academy Arc. He literally got better overall scores than her in the physical assessment.
It's not the #1 vs #0 thing naruto and sasuke had.
Boruto and Sarada move on their own. His rival is either gonna be Kawaki, Mituski, or Shinki. I can't tell anymore