#// sasuke was never a complete prodigy

[every-sasuke-uchiha]

[boinin]

Batten down the hatches: Rin's ego is about to land

The latest chapters show Rin playing with an unfamiliar aura: what looks like swirling rivulets of water.

This represents the refinement of his ego and playstyle since the under-20 match. But what exactly are they going for with the swirling water? Here's my two cents.

Rin is strongly associated with water, specifically the sea. He grew up by the coast; he and Sae shared a love of watching the sunset over the water after training together. Those childhood memories are turbulent now, like dark clouds on the ocean's horizon.

It's here he realises that he can no longer play the puppetmaster football that helped him thrive in Blue Lock. As good as he is, it wasn't authentic... and it's nowhere near where he needs to be to compete with his brother, or even Isagi.

Rin's flow state is the most unique out of any others we've seen. Let's dig into it. All panels are from the official translation, which is important as the translation choices are 1) consistent and 2) likely chosen carefully.

In the dying moments of the match, Rin complains about feeling restrained. Being Itoshi Rin is eating him alive.

Cool, calm and aloof.

A genius. Prodigy. Puppetmaster.

Team player. Team captain.

Isagi Yoichi's partner. Shidou Ryuusei's rival.

Itoshi Sae's little brother.

The prospect of defeat rudely wakes him up. His pretence comes crashing down hard, triggered by his ineffectiveness in spite of the teammates around him. It's one of the best rugpulls in sports manga.

When the power of friendship comes knocking, Itoshi Rin tells it to fuck off and die.

What a glorious moment... and not just because it posits Rin as a Uchiha Sasuke kinnie. I prompt you to examine his eyes in this panel.

They're a swirling vortex of hate and destruction, befitting Blue Lock's angstiest character. The shape reminds me of this:

Satellite images of Hurricane Franklin and Hurricane Idalia, August 2023. Image credit: NOAA Satellites.

Rin's true ego, which he unleashes against Sae, is a storm.

Optional soundtrack for the rest of this post (because Rin 100% listens to this once it comes out in Blue Lock's universe).

Although it isn't portrayed visually as such in the under-20 arc, the metaphor fits Rin's evolving playstyle. What is more destructive, more uncontrollable, more senseless than a hurricane? A violent force of nature that we can predict but never avert?

When a storm approaches, all we can do is rank it, track it, then attempt to mitigate the inevitable damage.

In football terms? Sounds a lot like playing Rin.

It's even alluded to in chapter 250: the graphics for Rin's formation are similar to the satellite images of large storms.

Within the U20 match, there are exchanges that support this theory. Darai calls Rin's evolving playstyle arrogant and avaricious. The latter (meaning extreme greed) is evocative of a force that pursues what it wants without regard for anything in its surroundings. What it can't have, it destroys.

Niou is confident enough in his physicality to try withstand his opponent's attrack. Rin literally flips him into the air. Niou's hubris brings to mind all man-made constructs which are supposedly storm-proof... until a cyclone comes along and proves otherwise.

The contrast between Rin and Sae's egos are interesting. If we accept Rin's is a storm, i.e. a destructive force of nature that cannot be controlled, Sae's is the opposite despite being as impossible to defy. Sae's motif is defined in the manga as "beautiful destruction", plays and passes depicted in graceful data strings. Rather than natural, his playstyle is sleek and controlled, and dominant to the point of appearing pre-ordained by his opponents.

Their attitudes are equally different. While Rin drools and loses composure in the final minutes, Sae does little more than raise his eyebrows throughout the entire game. He's completely emotionless.

It's the extremes of human nature: animalistic rage versus robotic detachment. This time, the latter wins. Will Rin have an opportunity to face his brother again, with a better grasp on his ego? Here's hoping.

My final thoughts on Rin are speculative. How does one beat a storm? Not just endure—but subdue and calm one?

It's beyond human capability. The ability to control the weather exists only in myth and fantasy, and even then it's usually in the hands of powerful entities, not mere heroes or wizards.

Subduing something as powerful as a hurricane would require a god.

Is this Isagi and Rin's endgame?

Time will tell.

[peekintoeternity]

Naruto - Chapter #385

"An immortal man who is both my comrade and my mentor."

Itachi calls Uchiha Madara (Obito) his comrade and mentor.

The former descriptor may have been simply a lie to get Sasuke to distrust Obito as Itachi was also presenting himself as one whom Sasuke should never trust.

Nevertheless, it is interesting he said it at all, considering the antipathy there.

Naruto - Chapter #385

"For no matter how good you were, you couldn't have taken down the entire police force by yourself!"

These are also panels often used to show that Itachi to an extent saw Madara (Obito) as superior (in strength), admitting that without his help he would have failed to take down the Uchiha clan members, especially the police force.

(Also note that in the Itachi novels it is shown that Obito actually took down the entire police force by himself.)

In other words, Konoha (Danzō et al) knowingly set up Itachi to fail, as he would have died — and most likely become the excuse for Konoha's full forces (perhaps including Kakashi) to descend to directly complete their state-sanctioned Uchiha genocide — if he hadn't swallowed his pride and asked for (and received) Obito's assistance.

And evidently, the Uchiha clan members were far stronger than most fans think; they weren't just swiftly annihilated by a single 13yo, no matter how much of a prodigy.

Rather, it required arguably the two strongest Uchiha alive at the time to take them down; one of whom was also the strongest shinobi alive (even if no one knew it). Fugaku himself could have very well been a force to reckon with, but merely gave up without fighting as he could not stomach killing his own son.

[tora-the-cat]

A happy ending for Sasuke is literally not even POSSIBLE for basically ALL of Naruto like it's not even funny. He really never even had a CHANCE he has of living a decent life, it's not even on the TABLE, by literally no fault of his own (because he's never done anything wrong). I'm going to scream.

0-6? Forces unbelievably outside of his control are organizing, ensuring, and executing an ethnic cleansing of his entire clan at the hands of his favoritest person in the world. Forces including the shattered psyche of said favoritest person, who tortures him until he is too terrified and traumatized to even think about anything else for years.

7-12? enrolled in Child Soilder School, completely isolated socially (not as a pariah but as a prodigy) befret of any support system, still traumatized beyond belief, and left with no outlet for any of his issues besides obsessing over the day, one day in the future, where Itachi will be dead and all this unresolved suffering and guilt and love and anger and fear and fear and FEAR will go away forever. Right? Because it has to. There has to be an end. Right?

12? Government assigned found family give him the support and love and attention and outlet and for the future that he's been craving for so long he didn't even KNOW it's what he needed. Has a soulmate and a bestie that can read his mind and a mentor who actually is willing to meet him where he's at and help him and maybe even love him and is this......Hope? That perhaps he can have a life outside of what Itachi did to- Itachi. Itach- FUCK. ITACHI IS LITERALLY HUNTING NARUTO FOR SPORT WITH ALL HIS WAR CRIMINAL FRIENDS AND SASUKE SHOULDN'T HAVE LET HIS GUARD DOWN BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW STRONG KAKASHI OR EVEN THE WHOLE VILLAGE IS, ITACHI WILL KILL ANYONE SASUKE IS STUPID AND SHORT SIDED AND CRUEL ENOUGH TO CARE ABOUT, HOW DID HE FORGET, HOW DARE HE FORGET, HE NEEDS TO GET STRONGER HE NEEDS TO AVENGE HIS CLAN HE NEEDS TO FUFILL HIS FRATERNAL DUTY HE NEEDS TO LEAVE BEFORE ANYONE ELSE IS MURDERED BY ASSOCIATION-

13-16? He dropped a lit match on his support system behind him him and ran into the cold shadows of obsessive anger that he only stepped out of long enough to loose the ability to ignore the gnawing want for warmth. That's bad enough, not even taking cohabitating with goddamned OROCHIMARU. No further explanation required there.

17? Kills his brother, gets NONE of the 'benefits' he spent his life convincing (begging) himself must be awaiting at the end. Instead everyhting has, in fact, gotten much worse very quickly and now all he has is a list of powerful people and systems that don't work and hurts and kills and tortures the people they've promised to protect that no one except him will oppose because it's basically suicide, and isn't he already so familiar with being on the shit side of this dynamic? Isn't it the normalest thing in the world, to fill the hole where his vengeance used to be with a hunt with near identical goals and intentions of his first vengance, the only real difference being his increasing dissalussion with ever being able to 'go back home', his almost all comsuming doubt that there's a 'home' waiting for him still, if there ever even was? So he dives into another goal before it goes as cold as the love he doesn't dare indulge, accumulating more power and rage then he knows what to do with (where can he put it down? where can he put it down?) and no reason NOT to challange corruption until it's either all gone or it kills him. Naruto, once the only person who looked at him with empathy instead of pity or expectation, thinks he should grit his teeth and bear it and go back to the village, as if that was ever an option for him. Sakura, once the only person who understood him, who followed his every thought process with ease and loved him even when he thought himself a monster, has finally given up on him and tries to kill him. What can he do but laugh as the world burns? It burned him first.

(but if that was true, then why is he still so cold?)

[leportraitducadavre]

You know there’s a weird connection between the fandom’s perceived idea of “good writing” and their personal feelings about specific characters. “I like this character, therefore, they’re well written” and viceversa, “I dislike this character, therefore, they’re badly written” –I’ve seen this in many fandoms and with different characters, but there’s no fandom where this is more noticeable than in the “anti Sakura” portion of the audience.

Before we start, let me be clear on something: I don’t personally like Sakura, I don’t consider myself a fan of hers (or her stans, which are just as annoying as Hinata’s), nor I believe she’s the “heroine” of a story that has no room for a character with such status (I’ve said this before, Naruto is the hero and Sasuke is the antagonist -there’s no necessity nor space for anyone else as Sakura is merely the female character with most panel time, yet she doesn’t move the plot forward and she isn’t relevant to the development of other key characters, as most of them completely ignore her existence).

“Likeability” isn’t a determining factor when it comes to labelling a character “well” or “badly” written, such notion relies on subjective factors which makes it impossible to objectively determine the overall value of a character inside a story.

The most important factor to label a character “goodly written” has more to do with how well they represent their theological narrative. For instance, Danzo -who I genuinely despise, is amazingly written, as he spot on tackles the subject of extreme-nationalistic world view, while Itachi -on the other hand, is sort-of all over the place as he subscribes to Danzo’s ideology and defends it with the same actions, yet Kishimoto desperately wanted to keep him inside the “good guys” group, which ultimately failed and took down anything Itachi might have had going for him (besides other inconsistencies as he’s presented as a genius who made nothing but mistake after mistake). There’s a reason why the antagonists are often the ones with the best characterizations, as they aren’t tied to been “morally correct” or “likeable” in order to reflect their thematic plot, which is why the better characters in Naruto happen to be Uchiha (Sasuke, Obito, Madara).

Sakura has no weight inside the plot, as she is mostly used for support of either Naruto and (to a lesser extent) Sasuke, she stands narratively in the same spectrum as most “good” characters of the show, so she’s thematically not much more relevant than the rest of K-11; yet she’s given more depth than many other characters, as she’s a layered character of whom we see both her strengths and flaws, something we can’t say for other characters, such as Hinata.

In the Hyüga princess™’s case, her personality is mostly one dimensional as she is a thematic piece used to deepen Neji’s character. In case you haven’t noticed, she was constructed in opposition to him: She needs to be shy in order for Naruto to take pity on her when Neji insults her (as Neji is mostly arrogant and outspoken), she’s comically bad because Neji is a prodigy, she’s “a freak” (said by Naruto himself) because Neji isn't, she’s a slave owner because Neji is her slave, and so on –the only thing she has that wasn’t built in order to oppose her cousin was her infatuation with Naruto, something she makes a priority.

Everything we “know” about Hinata was mostly fandom-made, Hinata is shy and soft spoken, why is she considered “nice”? We never saw her worrying about anyone but Naruto: She was glad Kiba lost his match and offered Naruto the ointment to treat his wounds, she diminished her cousin’s trauma and endorsed the oppressive system of her clan, we never see her visiting Kiba after he returned from his mission to bring Sasuke back to Konoha (something we see Ino and Sakura do with their respective teammates, and while Hinata was recovering from Neji’s attack, she had enough strength to train and go see the Chünin Exams final stage, at no point is mentioned she was bed-ridden, as Sasuke had enough time to recover from Gaara’s attack before escaping the village), she thought about Naruto’s warm hand seconds after her cousin died and she was the only character not shown to be glad about Shikamaru being alive as we saw her pouting and thinking about how much she wanted to be beside Naruto. Furthermore, is there any scene in which she appears where she’s not thinking or talking about Naruto or where he is not the main focus?

How come a character designed to be nothing more than support (for Neji and Naruto, as her infatuation with him was built in order to have some oppositional force to the idea of “nobody likes him”, as Naruto has an unrequited love for Sakura during the whole duration of the manga) is “better written” than Sakura, who despite herself being also support she has far more thematically ground to move around (Kishimoto explores through her different themes, even if they aren’t relevant to the plot itself, such as romantical obsession, low self-esteem and the decisions/characteristics that are driven by it, female friendship, and few others).

Honest question: It’s her sad background reason enough to like Hinata? Do you truly need a “compelling” backstory in order to claim a character is “better written” than others? Sakura was bullied because she was shy, Hinata -being the Hyüga heir, wasn’t shown to suffer the same fate at the hands of her classmates. Think about it this way, while Sakura was being bullied and had to be helped by Ino, Hinata was being trained by her father and witnessing Hiashi torture her uncle while Neji cried, helpless! –and just a few years later, she used that exact knowledge to insult him! So she’s not really that nice after all!

What is it with the obsession of both fandoms with the idea of “potential” and how, apparently, they were “robbed of it” (what “potential”? When did Hinata even hint at improving her fighting techniques? She was defeated every single time! When did Sakura, who canonically has a smaller chakra pool than both Sasuke and Naruto, have the possibility of surpass literally Ashura and Indra’s reincarnations? Them having more panel time will mean absolutely nothing as we’ll see them doing the exact same thing we already see them do only twice as much. “Potential” is about exploring a latent ability of them, Hinata has none and Sakura’s chakra flux control was properly exploited!).

There’s more to say about this, but I’m honestly tired at this point…

[realkyuhoney]

Still so proud of this... 🥺

SasuNaru ASMR.

Written by me. Performed by Yuri Lowenthal.

~~~~

Naruto…

Are you… already asleep?

Heh… Of course you are. It's been a long and exhausting mission. Feels like we’ve had a lot of these lately.

You know, despite everything that’s happened. I bet you’ve never experienced a bad night’s sleep a day in your life. But… you’ve always been that way, haven’t you? Even when we’ve had to sleep outside on the ground like this.

You’re fierce and you’re determined and you protect the people that you love and you love the people you should hate. I suppose there’s nothing to keep you awake. You’ve always had this innate ability to just know that everything’s going to turn out alright. You just…

*Sasuke chuckles softly at what he’s about to say*

Believe it… You always have and you make others believe with you. Or you beat them down until they do.

I, on the other hand, am riddled with regret… and… if I’m being completely honest. Fear.

My past haunts me to no end and I fear I may have ruined the future. I’m terrified of losing the people I love. I’m terrified that, no matter how powerful I may have become, that I’ll never be able to protect them. But the thing I’m most afraid of… is me. I’ve spent most of my life alone and I’m still terrified of making the wrong choices. I’m afraid that I’ve ruined any chance at any kind of relationship with my daughter. I still struggle to even think of myself as a father. Because I haven’t been.

I’m glad she has you, Naruto. I’m glad they all do.

I’m no longer… angry… all the time. And I’m still learning how to express any other emotion. I feel them… I just *sigh* I don’t know how to shut off my indifference. I’m not indifferent. I care. Deeply. Maybe too deeply…

I suppose I’m much like Kakashi in that respect. But maybe he’s braver than I am. Maybe I’m just such a coward that I won’t ever be able to truly let go of that darkness. It’s like a comforting blanket that I can never let go of, even though it’s cold and it's wet, I still cling to it. How did he let go of all of that? How did you? And what’s so wrong with me that I can’t? Especially with all of the good things I have in my life. I’m surrounded by beauty. So why am I still like this?...

All those times you came after me and I just ran away... I don’t know if I would’ve ever done that for you had our roles been reversed. I’m not sure I’d do it now… I’d want to. But something dark would stop me. It would tell me to give you your space. It would tell me to let you have your revenge. Let you be angry. Let your hatred consume you so that you can be stronger for it. I would want to help you, but I don’t have the light for that. I’ll never be like you. But you make me want to try.

I’m sorry for fighting with you. That time on the roof… I was such a petulant little brat. Throwing a tantrum, because I’d always thought of myself as some kind of prodigy, I put myself so high above you, but I wasn’t and it drove me crazy. I don’t know why I did. And it’s not true that I only spared your life on a whim. I was just trying to sound detached and… well, maybe a little cool. I never wanted to kill you. I never even wanted to hurt you. I just knew that you wouldn’t let me go if I didn’t. One of us was going to end up in the hospital after that fight. I couldn’t let it be me… And then that fight after the war. *soft chuckle* We were both a bit foolish that day. But you know, you already had my respect. I just… I wanted to make sure that I had yours too. I wanted you to see that my time away from the village wasn’t a complete waste.

Though, looking back now… of course… I no longer believe that. I should’ve let love guide and motivate me.

Not hatred.

You were the first light in my life. Even though I kept trying to shut you off. I tried so hard to blow your flame out, but you’d just light it again. And then you’d make it bigger. And everytime I’d get more and more angry, furious. You’d match my darkness with your light until finally… I couldn’t extinguish your fire. Everything suddenly stopped feeling so cold and empty. It was like… I looked up one day and finally saw how full my heart was and the warmth just… washed over me.

You pulled me from my darkness even when I didn’t want you to. I’m not sure where I’d be if you hadn’t. Probably trying to burn the world to the ground.

I would love to just put my past behind me entirely and be the person I want to be. Not just for me, but for Sakura and Sarada. Even for you and Kakashi. Say thank you. Say I’m sorry.

Say… I love you…

I can’t be too sure, it’s all still so unfamiliar and new to me, but I’d like to think that I am motivated by love and light now.

And… well… I know you’re asleep, but I guess all I mean to say is. Thanks.

Loser… (said affectionately)

[team7-headquarter]

My personal headcanon is that Naruto is brilliant in battle tactics because he doesn't care about certain rules like decency or what is appropriate.

We're talking about the little prick that tricked Kaguya with the sexy jutsu, that threatened Kakashi with icha-icha spoilers, that won one of his Chunnin Exams fights by farting. A complete idiot, but brilliant nonetheless.

So it takes some time but eventually people start to realize just how creative he is and how well he uses the resources at hand. Kakashi says he must have got it from Minato.

Sakura is a genius with theories and concepts, with the technical implications and the facts. Sasuke is a more traditional battle tactics prodigy, preparing himself before the fight and evaluating the situation with critical eye, in order to decide how to act and what is the best path of action. Naruto? He's Mr. Wild Card. You never know what he'll throw at you and he uses that to his favor.

That's how the "losers team" is actually balanced in terms of intelligence and skills.

[theheirofthesharingan]

I didn't knew you were pro-uchiha too, so I would love to deepen this discussion ahead. I stand corrected about the war thing. Well, I admit that coup would have started a war which makes choosing the village a safest option to guarantee the peace. But when I think about it, maybe Itachi might have played it out differently. Both Itachi and Shisui were prodigies who had prestigious powers and talent. Especially for Itachi, he was promoted to the Anbu at 11 years. Both had a lot of political influence. They could have used this to their advantage to stop the coup. In the novels, he did say that he understood the clan's predicament. But he could have asked the clan about their distress or could have tried to comfort them with lightening words. This might have ensured that the clan trusted him completely just like how they did for Shisui. It isn't like he didn't know how to sympathise or verbally comfort, since he did very much so with Sasuke. So, he would have been able to succeed gradually to convince the clan to not to launch a coup by slowing illustrating/explaning them why they were wrong, without having any harsh disagreements or critisms. This also would have been possible with Shisui too. It's just a alternative not sure if it would have worked.

Now that you mentioned about Madara(which I completely forgot about)now I think that his decision did made sense. Madara, a dangerous enemy for the village was better handled by Itachi. He successfully managed to keep Madara away from the village for more than 7+ years till strong Shinobi like Naruto and Sasuke was brought up who could save their people from him. The honour of the Uchihas, his little brother's life and the well being of the people of the village were shouldered upon him ultimately becoming a greatest victim. I never did disagreed on that. But I felt as if that would have been avoided but now I understand better.

I'm very much pro-Uchiha. Loving Itachi doesn't mean I don't love Sasuke or don't understand the clan's plight. They were all victims of Konoha and none of them deserve to be scorned for what happened to them.

You're mistaking Itachi's IQ with his EQ. He was a genius doesn't mean he was good with people. Him and Shisui are two very different people. Shisui was sociable and amiable kid and Itachi was reserved. He was also much younger than Shisui. Expressing himself in front of Sasuke and expressing himself in front of people are two different things too. Sasuke was a kid. The clan wasn't. You're expecting too much from a literal child here who was trying his own best to stop the destruction and was burdened with all the impossible things. From the moment he saw war and decided to change the system/world and make it a better place, he took this burden upon himself and he had no one to stand beside him. Shisui's death left him completely alone.

I'll be repeating myself because I'd already answered why there was no other way either for Itachi or the clan. Itachi would have done something else had there been any other way. If he were a little bit older, he'd be more mature and your suggestions might be executed, but you're talking about a kid who wasn't even a teen at that time. He had his own set of ideals and lack of any other options left him with what he did.

Yep. He knew the Akatsuki, Madara were upto no good. So he warned the village and even talked Kisame out of capturing Naruto when they captured the Four Tails.

Itachi is a tragic character not only because of all the horrible things that happened to him but also the things he did. He took their full responsibility instead of blaming others, and suffered enormously. Even if the clan forgave him, Sasuke forgave him, everyone else forgave him, he would never forgive himself. He knew killing people was wrong, destroying Sasuke's life was wrong, and in the hindsight he did see flaws in his original plan, but he couldn't have acted much differently while he made those decisions.

[sleeplesslark]

3 and 15 for the end of the year ask game!

Thank you very much for the ask!

This took awhile to answer because you made me reread my own writing, and I wanted to answer it properly.

3: Your favorite scene of the year:

Kabuto used up the rest of the sunlight walking aimlessly. He wasn’t looking to go anywhere in particular, but he ended up atop the Hokage monument, watching the sunset. He sat atop the Fourth’s head, not sure how he got there.

It wasn’t like he had anywhere else to be. No one was waiting for him back at the apartment. Besides, this had always been one of his favored spots, away from crowds, but allowing him a complete view of the village.

Kabuto did what he did best. He turned his attention to what he could control. After Lee’s surgery he’d help rebuild the village. From this high, it was easy to mentally map the damage the invasion of Konoha had caused. A trail of destruction with its origin in the stadium where the Chunin exams had ended. That had been Sasuke’s match against Gaara, hadn’t it?

 Kabuto tapped his fingers on his kneecap. He didn’t like physical labor. He’d never been strong, especially for a shinobi. If it got him out of staying in his apartment all day though, helping with the repairs would at least keep his mind safely away from reality. After that he’d be back in his element. Spy work would keep him from ever needing to think again.

“Soon,” Kabuto said, leaning back. He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “Soon you’ll be out of here and you’ll never have time to think again.”

Kabuto sat back up, staring down at the village, biting his lip. “How do you do it, keep marching on like that?”

From this high the people were unrecognizable dots, like pieces on a game board. They moved in a kind of controlled chaos. Even so, Kabuto picked apart, and made mental notes of their movements, watching a few specific people and tried to figure out their routine. Some habits never die, Kabuto suspected he’d be inclined to automatically gather information until his last day. Several people moved like shinobi, leaping to and between rooftops.

Kabuto rested his chin on his hand, it was this kind of grandstanding that made him uncomfortable with Konoha shinobi. Well, any kind of shinobi really. So many of them were the kinds of people who thought they were the most powerful, important, person in any room they were in. That mentality ended with a bigger, quieter, fish eating them. Seven Chunin exams under his belt, and this was one of the few things about Shinobi he was certain of.

“Should I be more charitable?” Kabuto asked. He kicked the Fourth’s stone hair when he wasn’t given an answer. “Hm, quiet are you? I guess I can respect that.”

He should be more charitable. Maybe they were trying to convince the civilians that Konoha was still strong, maybe even strong enough that tragedy would never touch it again. It would be stupid for anyone to believe that. He’d yet to be convinced of Konoha's intelligence as a concept.

“You know, this isn’t a good exercise, it doesn’t take enough focus,” Kabuto said. Again, the Fourth’s stone head didn’t offer any good advice, bastard that he was.

Kabuto groaned loudly, laying back and staring at the stars. No matter how hard he tried to distract himself, his mind went back to Sasuke. Oh, he understood Kakashi not letting him anywhere near Konoha’s prodigy. It didn’t make it sting less though, not out of shame, or even the knowledge that Konoha still didn’t trust him. He’d be given ample trust in time.

No, the reason he was irritable was that he wouldn’t have the satisfaction of playing a part in keeping the boy from Lord Orochimaru. Kabuto knew he was clever. It was why he was worth being traded between factions. He was certain he could find a phrasing that would bypass the seal. There were, after all, many things he could say that would undoubtedly cause Sasuke doubt about Lord Orochimaru’s ability to give him the power to defeat Itachi Uchiha.

“I don’t think I’m that necessary though, not on that front,” Kabuto said, rolling onto his side so he could go back to looking at Konoha.

He doubted the boy would go for it. Sasuke may be unsatisfied. with the rate of his growth right now, but he had strong bonds with the people of Konoha. If Kabuto had someone look at him with the same expression Naruto had when he found Sasuke awake in the hospital…he struggled to think of anything that could convince him to leave them.

End scene

I generally don't like my writing. I'm trying to move to having more of a neutrality to it though. I wanted to pick a scene I'd enjoyed writing the first time and editing. Also not something too recent.

This scene is from LP 1. It's kinda the moment I started enjoying the story. I think I finally got into Kabuto's head a bit here. I still have a ways to go with writing him in a way I like, but this kinda had me thinking I might be able to enjoy writing him. More than just, this is a thing to write and finish. Something I could enjoy on par with my original work.

15: Something you learned this year:

This was also hard. I graduated college this year, moved halfway across the country twice, and began focusing on a long fanfic rather than original novels.

Writing wise? I'm kind of learning to enjoy writing again. I don't wanna say a complete process. I still can't reread most of my writing. It's lesser though. I can finish my own projects now, something I've struggled with for years. It's not about being perfect I suppose, not the first go around. I'm learning to edit, identify my issues rather than just cringing and restarting.

Fanfic helped a lot with that. Even if I'm the worst author to write Kabuto I'm one of hundreds. So it's easier to just go "ok I'll just tell the story I see here" than fixating on doing it the right way. Soo, kinda getting over perfectionism? Not there yet, and this isn't to say I haven't got to improve as an author but, maybe I'm getting there. Maybe someday I'll be able to release a piece and just be proud of it. Here's to 2024.

[empressofthesunwriter]

Goddess of the Sun, Queen of the Stars

On a night shooting stars cross over Konohagakure the life of 12-year-old Hinata changes forever. A white wolf named Shiranui searched for her to end the reign of the “Planet Eaters” as she calls the enemy. The young Hyuuga awakens power beyond her imagination. But will it be enough to end the millennia-old conflict?

OP!Hinata

Goddess!Hinata   

Chapter 3: Beginning

Slowly breathing in and out Hinata stood before her classroom door.

When she goes through this door…she will start her life as kunoichi of the village hidden in the leaves.

Even with all the training she had done over the year with Shiranui, the Hyuuga Heiress was still in disbelief that she managed to become a Genin yesterday.

Also, Iruka-Senei congratulated her, as being kunoichi of the year. 

A spot Haruno Sakura would have gotten if her Hoshi-Kami friend never had stepped into her life, she was sure.

“Nervous, Hinata-Chan?”, asked Shiranui in the form of a star brooch on the dark blue Obi she wore.

As a graduation gift, Shiranui had given her a new ninja gear. 

Hinata wore a sleeveless black turtleneck made out of soft fabric. Woven in it was the plate of a headband from Konoha.

An off-the-shoulder white kimono jacket with golden trims and the already named dark blue Obi with Shiranui in the form of a silver star brooch.

Simple dark blue baggy pants and the standard ninja sandals, kunai holder and pouches on her back completed the outfit.

It was one of the most beautiful things she ever wore.

It also made her nervous.

Showing her shoulders…also her clothes did nothing to hide her..erm…developed figure…if this wasn’t a gift, Hinata would never wear such a thing.

Nervously she played with a kimono sleeve, answering her wolf companion: “Kind of…I’m not used to such clothes…also what will happen now that I’m a Genin.”

“We will cross the bridge when we get there.”, advised Shiranui. “Already making yourself freak out will do nothing good. Keeping a calm head is the key to being a good shinobi and one day a powerful goddess.”

Only because she heard the Hoshi-Kami say this for a year, Hinata managed not to sign and again saying she would never be the goddess, the Messiah, Shiranui wanted.

Did the hellish training of Shiranui turn her into the best kunoichi of her class?

Yes.

Did it turn her into the heiress her father wanted? 

Also yes.

Could she use advanced Jutsu like Kagebushin and was she not affin to all 5 elements?

Yes, Yes!

But it didn’t mean she was a goddess.

Maybe, and even thinking this made Hinata feel unworthy, a prodigy in the ninja arts.

There were still a lot of shinobi out there who would clean the floor with her without breaking a sweat.

Sadly she couldn’t win against Shiranui. She was a blockhead trough and trough.

Hinata only waited for the day she WOULD undoubtedly screw up and her wolf companion would see what big mistake she made in laying all her hopes in the Hyuuga Heiress.

So she only thanked Shiranui for her words and entered the classroom. 

Swift, she found a place to sit down, hoping no one would take note of her.

Thankful no one did.

But she took note of something pleasing.

Naruto was in the room, proudly wearing a headband.

Naruto-Kun was able to graduate…she thought happily for him.

Then Sakura and Ino formally burst into the room and all got downhill from there.

Our goddess-to-be didn’t need to see Naruto and Sasuke accidentally kiss. 

Naruto's first kiss was stolen in such a stupid way. 

She wanted to cry.

In her brooch form, Shiranui nearly died of laughter seeing the scene.

Over the past year, the Hoshi-Kami had learned that the blond boy was always good for a laugh.

Still, neither of the two females liked that Sasuke’s Fanclub beat the poor boy up.

It was a stupid accident, not like both boys wanted to lock lips.

Anyway, Iruka-Sensei finally arrived, which calmed the class down. 

He sends them all a warm and happy smile.

“Starting today, you are all official ninjas, but…You all are still new Genin…”, he began. “It’s going to get harder from here.”

He explained how they would form a group of three with a Jonin instructor as their sensei doing missions together.

Again Hinata played with her kimono sleeve. It would be nice to be with Naruto-Kun in a team…I don’t know who should be our third. I’m open to anything.

For her growth and allies, she needs…Uzumaki and Uchiha., thought Shiranui. No doubt the reincarnations of the sons of the Sage of the Six Paths will play a major role in this world…

Calmly Iruka-Sensei began to read the teams aloud, Hinata got more twitchy any second she didn’t hear Naruto’s or her name.

She didn’t want to hope…but it would be so nice to finally talk and interact with Naruto. 

Even if they were only teammates, Hinata wished to be closer to her crush.

“Next the 7th group, Uzumaki Naruto…”

So hard Hinata gripped her kimono sleeve so that Shiranui thought she would rip it apart any second.

“...Hyuuga Hinata…”

…Did she hear right?!

A tiny happy squeak came out of her mouth. Blushing she put her hands over it.

Please, let nobody have heard it…

If someone did it was forgotten since the third and last name was Sasuke Uchiha!

Not only did Naruto crumple like a balloon, but Sasuke’s Fanclub, mostly Sakura and Ino, screeched in outrage!

“Why her?!”

“This is not fair!”

“She doesn’t even like him!”

“No Sasuke-Kun belongs with me, how could destiny be so cruel!”

Oh Kami, Hinata wished to crawl into her kimono, why did it have to be off-the-shoulder?

“Girls calm down!”, shouted Iruka-Sensei over the hyestric fangirls. “Hinata was placed on the team since she is the top kunoichi. It’s tradition to put the Rookie of the Year, Sasuke here, the top kunoichi and the dead last in one team. It balances their weaknesses out.”

Naruto didn’t seem to have listened since he asked how a top student like him was placed in a team with Sasuke. Again Iruka-Sensei explained the reasons. 

Sasuke told Naruto arrogantly to not get in his way.

The two boys would surely fought each other if Iruka-Sensei hadn’t stopped them.

I take it back…not anyone with Naruto and myself…even Sakura would be better…

Damn, that sibling rivalry transcends lifetimes…my poor Hinata-Chan…

The Hyuuga and the wolf in brooch form had a sweatdrop running down.

After Iruka-Sensei called for the other teams, Shiranui took only note that Team 8 would be the Inuzuka boy, the Aburame and the Haruno-Fangirl and Team 10 Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi, it was time for lunch.

Thoughtful Hinata ate the Bento she had prepared for herself. She had wanted to ask Naruto and Sasuke out to eat with her. 

It would be good to bond with them, but she had chickened out.

For all the power she was wielding now…she still was shy and timid.

Also, her wolf friend wanted to talk with her.

So she sat down alone on a secluded bench and waited for Shiranui to speak.

“What do you know about the Sage of Six Path, Hinata-Chan?”, was she asked.

Okay, she didn’t expect that.

“Not much.”, she admitted. “Only that legends say he was the one who first unlocked Chakra and he taught it to the rest of the world.”

“Remember when last week I returned for the weekend to my home planet?”

“Yes, you didn’t want to tell me why.”

“I needed some information on this world, just in case you would be placed in a team with Naruto and Sasuke.”

The Hyuuga stopped mind-chow. Confused she looked down at her brooch.

“What? Why Shiranui-San?”

“Both are reincarnations. Important ones. Let me tell you the story of the Sage of the Six Paths.”

And she listened.

[kiigan-archive]

The reaction was immediate.

Itachi's sharingan activated with a vengeance, the moment his instinct took note of something - namely, hands - so close to his eyes; ever the most prized possession to an Uchiha. In what could only be qualified as a miracle, however, no dreadful consequences came to be other than that moment of slight panic. Because... the same instinct was promptly telling him there would be no need to fell this person by means of retaliatory genjutsu, despite being a complete stranger. Because, instinct insisted, someone with shark-like features would never mean Itachi any real harm. Gods. He had to have a concussion. No other explanation for such naivety, if even his most basic self-preservation instincts were that dazzled. Deciding to not fight against it, already having far more than enough to deal with for the time being, Itachi exhaled and willed his heartbeat to return to normal - irises once again fading back to mostly harmless black.

With all that, he even missed out on the whole whatever the young lady was busy with, in order to, apparently, offer Sasuke a sliver of healing and care. The only thing that mattered. A medic shinobi, then? Despite all else, Itachi couldn't keep a smile from his lips when the most-likely Kiri-nin claimed to be protecting him [again, why was he so at ease with the notion of being kept safe by someone from the Bloody Mist, of all the places?] from scenes not suitable for younger audiences. This sweet summer child; if only he knew half the things Itachi had seen and felt and touched and tasted and, overall, experienced. He dutifully did not move, then, nor did he attempt to peek, because keeping that image of innocence and purity in Sasuke's mind was also something that greatly mattered.

All of a sudden, however, the group mood did a one-eighty and all to be blamed on a single word: ANBU. Itachi's eyes widened slightly in response to the animosity being thrown at him, brain promptly entering overdrive yet again to try and puzzle the pieces together. Sasuke did mention something about the two of them being wanted criminals... therefore, his friends' reaction was accordingly. What was not accordingly, never would be even if Izanagi and Izanami themselves wrote it by decree, was the implication of a brother who was out to kill Sasuke. What, why, how, when, where, by what force in existence...? Itachi could feel his eyes burning, despite remaining unchanged and inactivated, as if about to spill tears made of blood.

"What brother-"

In what had to be the worst timing in the entire generational line since Madara himself, Sasuke's words interrupted his own, and Itachi was left bereft of an explanation for what brother are you talking about; hardly the first, that day, and he highly doubted it'd be the last. But it thoroughly displeased him all the same. Prodigy and genius, most would call him; helpless control freak, might be the words of choice from his ANBU teammates. Whatever the adjectives, few things bothered Itachi more than to be ignorant when it came to relevant matters and what, pray tell, could be more relevant than his little brother's life being threatened by another implied ghost brother? Breathe in, regulate your emotions, compartimentalize for later. Never in his life, just as much, had he been more grateful for the unforgiving ANBU training. With a silent nod, he took a moment to study the sun's position and determine the right direction to go, trusting the group of friends to follow his lead as he took off.

It should have been quick, given the short distance - yet, with carrying along Sasuke's injured form and with Itachi himself running on his last wisps of chakra, the journey took the best part of an hour. An hour of forcing himself to focus solely on the way to go, of trying not to mull over the question he so desperately wanted to return to, of having his throat seized by an invisible hand made of dull anxiety. Not the worst trek of Itachi's life, but by far he'd had better. Eventually, the safehouse came into view - nothing special, just an ordinary little cabin with a single room and a single bathroom, built from wood and half-encrusted in the hill growing above and around it, for proper concealment. From the nearest tree branch, Itachi landed in a manner heavier than usual, exhausted and sore and aching and dazed, stumbling a little as he approached the entrance. The barrier formula presented no issue and soon he was pushing the door open, stepping out of the way so that Sasuke could be taken inside.

"There is only one bed, let him have it."

Four teenagers and a single child out in the middle of nowhere. The perfect amount of variables for anything to go wrong, Juugo thinks. The others, well they were more worried about their self-imposed leader laying near incapacitated in Karin's arms. Never quicker was she to bare her arm, revealing the onslaught of blue-purple teeth marks that vanished somewhere into the fold of her sleeve, alluding to a trail that likely led up to her shoulder.

"Sasuke," her hand gestured his face over, tapping two fingers at the pressure point where his jaw connected with his skull. His mouth lulled open near the abused skin before biting down, hard, into already existing bite tracks to extract enough chakra to self-repair. Feasting for himself like a parasite, her hand pulse over his midsection to perform a diagnostic scan, determining where he needed to be mended.

Suigetsu, on the other hand, flipped his hands over Itachi's eyes. "Oop-- sorry, bub, this ain't for the young," he shuffled around him to block the view, deeming it too 'risqué' for a 'child'.

The child went on to mention something about medical care, which earned him a curious tilt of the waterling's head and a confused quirk of a brow from the boulder of a teen behind them all. Both heard 'ANBU' and their guard immediately raised, far enough for them to touch their fingers together in ready positions; resting on hilts and handsigns just in case reflex needs to pull through.

"Now give me one good reason why we should bring him anywhere near an ANBU establishment?? How do you even know what that is? Who even are you?" Suigetsu started his spur of questions, pale lavenders inspecting the older Uchiha a second time. "You're not colluding with that brother who was out to kill Sasuke, were ya?"

'Out to kill' were not fitting terms to what have been the momentous turning point in Sasuke's life; his climax and ending. However, the Uchiha's secrecy allowed little room for interpretation, leaving the rest of them to assume that his elder brother wanted to finish the job and carried a guilty conscious about murdering a child. Which didn't add up, as Karin would argue, given the rest of the clan children were murdered.

This was a point of argument almost quarterly for them.

After moments, enough of Sasuke's strength returned to him to manage a thread of conscious. Not nearly enough to rise, but enough to open his eyes to scene before him.

Just as he fears— nothing changed.

Itachi forever immortalized in the past, haunting Sasuke like his many nightmares, replaying endlessly in his waking moments. He wanted to scream. Amaterasu help him, he wanted to scream and cry until his throat bled and he could cry no more tears. But he can't, not with his team here looking to him for strength and leadership.

"Listen to him—" Sasuke chokes out, bitter and angry, with all the hate shirked from his pride," he knows where to take us."

"Haa— Sasuke-"

"Don't argue with me."

Defeated, Suigetsu slumped his shoulders in the most exaggerated forward tip of his weight with Karin sharing the feeling as she hoisted Sasuke against her.

" 'Kay, lil' man you hear 'im. Where we goin'?"

[peekintoeternity]

Why Obito?

Among many possible plot holes mysteries in Narutoverse, an interesting one is Madara's choice of apprentice: in a clan of elites and prodigies, for the completion of his singular life's goal, Madara chose... the black sheep.

Naruto: Shippūden - Episode #119

So, seriously, why Obito?

aka unhinged barely-coherent ramblings brought to you by @al-hekima's request :')

part 1: wtf old man you made no sense

Now, even though Madara himself has answered this question, he only engaged with it on a very superficial level, that is, he stated that he chose Obito because of his "deep love"—but why would this be a good reason?

Just because great love can be corrupted into great hate?

Naruto - Chapter #675

If only Madara wasn't a character marked by his manipulative ways and (poetically ironic) self-deception and (just a touch of) "madness"-

If only we refuse to assign him more depth & complexity (perhaps more even than the creators intended?)-

If only Madara wasn't revealed to have been so isolated and paranoid and lost in regret that he got conned by a strange lifeform claiming to be his own will...

Then, maybe, it'd be easy to take Madara at his word: Obito was his ideal pawn because he loved deeply, and love evolves into hatred, like a goshdarn Pokémon!

...except human ideals and sentiment (and bonds and emotional attachments) aren't so simple. Love doesn't always transform to hate, if ever, even when tainted—and certainly not so easily.

(Anddd let's not even get into the whole racist Uchiha biological determinism propaganda—courtesy of Tobirama—aka Curse of Hatred & "uCHihAz R oVeR-sEnSitiVe", etc.)

Just look at Sasuke.

Sure, he had grown to love his teammates (even almost dying for Naruto), but he didn't seem to particularly love his village, least of all in a brainwashed-by-state-propaganda kinda way...

(Ahem, hello, Uchiha "I'm gonna become Hokage and stop the war" Obito!)

Naruto - Chapter #653

Sasuke never was a crybaby, nor so soft-hearted that he couldn't stop himself from helping every elder he came across—to the point of being chronically late.

He never had a childhood friend with whom he shared true companionship and who was his whole support system (though his team was probably on the way to becoming a healthier version of that)—whom he simply couldn't lose.

And certainly, his whole mission in life wasn't to become Hokage and end the war for the sake of not only his loved ones, but also his village—even, as Madara said, all shinobi.

(Madara be like: Hashirama, is that you?)

All in all, Sasuke never exhibited what Madara would call "deep love" for the people around him, which Madara saw in Obito.

And yet, Sasuke grew to hate Konoha so strongly, he vowed to destroy it entirely.

(That Sasuke is a victim of the fucked up system and his "hatred" should actually be understood as, at least in part, righteous and justified anger—is a whole other topic.)

Naruto - Chapter #416

At the peak of it, Sasuke's hatred might have even surpassed Madara's himself; and it certainly eclipsed that of Obito, who never touched Konoha after the Kyūbi attack.

If one were to cite his "pact" with Itachi, well, many have rightly concluded that Obito was never really threatened by Itachi, whom he could easily eliminate—not least because Itachi was growing blind and succumbing to Ninja AIDS his mysterious lethal illness. Even if Obito were weaker, well, all he had to do was sic the entire Akatsuki on Itachi. (Deidara would have been delighted!) So, clearly, Itachi's pact is sadly inconsequential. Obito could've, and would've, destroyed Konoha—if he really wanted to.

In other words: this devotion & kindness that Madara cited are actually bad indicators for "who could grow to harbor the greatest hate", and Madara, on some level, should know this.

After all, Izuna—moreso than Madara, who'd even foregone vengeance on Tobirama for killing his beloved brother—held the most hate/distrust toward the Senju, and clearly he was more similar to Sasuke (as canon itself indicated via Hashirama's words) than to Naruto or Hashirama, let alone "crybaby" Obito.

Hence, our little thesis: there is another reason, the real reason, that Madara chose the boy who loved deeply.

(and as a quasi-outline, here I lazily quote the tags that started the convo lol)

real bruh moment from madara like hmmm mr warlord-

is it perhaps some unresolved issues/trauma

leading you to *choose obito* not for his talent/potential but... his love

has it not occurred to you that maybe- just maaaybe- this is your subconscious' desperate call for help (read: a therapist)?

your soul unwittingly yearning for an escape from the bitter unending road to the infinite tsukuyomi

on which you're shepherded by black zetsu- a thing that claims to be your own will

but only demands of you & never works for your happiness?

(​moment of silence for our fallen uchiha grim reaper)

like do yall ever think if madara never put a cursed seal on obito's heart

he might've been able to help madara and free him from bz

fr it really makes no sense for madara to choose a latebloomer like obito (black sheep?) when he could've picked literally any uchiha kid

i meannn genius shisui who *already had a mangekyo* at age 6-8... was RIGHT THERE

shisui got MS *during* the third war so even if the MS was after obito's rock moment-

shisui's sharingan had to have already matured (awakened up to 3 tomoe) BEFORE obito awakened his *base* sharingan

and i bet there were other unnamed uchiha kids- even orphans- who would've been a better apprentice for madara

madara & zetsu had no idea about kamui and could never have guessed so rly obito should've just been clearly shitty investment

and YET zetsu verbatim stated madara *chose* obito

even the ''obito is madara's direct descendant'' interpretation alone doesn't fully excuse this seemingly bad/risky call of madara's

so what if madara chose obito because- after watching all these random kids in the uchiha compound- he saw that nice loving kid and thought

deep down- without even admitting it to himself- without even *understanding* the pull he felt from this loser crybaby slowlearner kid-

"maybe this kid could save me"

part 2: so wait wdym "choose obito" (or: what zero pussupport system does to a mf)

First, let's note that Madara willingly and knowingly made the choice to pick Obito to be his "apprentice" / the next Madara.

Since Zetsu is the one cognizant of Madara's true intentions, their thoughts hold more weight than Madara's own words to Obito, who was his target for manipulation.

So when Madara said he "accidentally" found Obito because the cave-in (oh so conveniently) happened right on top of one of his secret underground passageways, while Zetsu said Madara chose Obito, we can safely conclude Zetsu isn't the one withholding truth here.

Naruto - Chapter #605

Next, let's consider the gravity of this role—especially for Madara—which many (including myself at first) have missed or failed to seriously ponder.

Sure, many have called Madara an "asshole" for turning on Obito and using him for Rinne Rebirth after Obito emerged heartlessly (sorry) from Kamui-

Sure, one could argue this adds to his characterization as a one-dimensional sociopathic villain who doesn't care about anyone or anything other than himself; his goals and quest for power-

Sure, many think Madara never regretted any of the damages he'd done, only that causing said damages still didn't get him what he wanted-

But didn't canon itself disprove this; through Itachi's false accounts of Madara stealing his brother's eyes in his blind (no pun intended) grasping for power—and how both Obito & Hashirama's accounts flip that idea on its head?

And maybe this is just me reading too much into this, but since it adds depth to a major character who (in popular fanon) lacks it, I'll go right ahead and conclude:

Through the reveal of Izuna's "gift" (rather than Madara's theft), i.e. the narrative evidence of Madara's love for his brother, which Hashirama said exceeded that of Itachi's for Sasuke, the text was drawing a clear parallel between Madara and Itachi on a level beyond that of "being a protective older brother":

Madara isn't a one-dimensional villain; he is a character meant to be misunderstood as a one-dimensional villain.

After all, his entire "descent" hinges on his loss of Izuna (read: his failure to protect his last & dearest brother) and his disappointment in Hashirama & Konoha (read: his failure to protect his brethren).

Naruto - Chapter #625

It's no wonder Madara reacted the way he did when Hashirama offered him the position of Hokage.

He saw himself as a failure—not that he would ever admit it. He fell in love with the idea of a world of dreams precisely because reality left him with nothing but pain and loss. It forced him to confront the idea that he, Uchiha Madara, the strongest alongside the God of Shinobi, in a world that (falsely) taught him power would grant you everything... He, Uchiha Madara, was still helpless to prevent tragedies from befalling his brother; from encroaching upon his clan.

To say Madara knew no regrets is to call blood devoid of red.

All of this is easy to miss, since only Hashirama ever got to see even glimpses of Madara's "weakness" (read: humanity). It's highly unlikely he would show that side of himself to anyone except one he trusted so like Hashirama and, certainly, Izuna (and maybe to a lesser extent, Obito; in genjutsu conversations they may have had "off-screen").

It would actually be strange and out of character for him to ever explicitly exhibit any of this in the text, just for the readers' benefit; especially since it would have had nothing to do with the plot or progressing it.

It just makes sense that, in an era where power (read: cruelty) meant everything, Madara would learn quickly to hide any vulnerabilities and purposely paint himself as something that detached or careless observers would see as a "one-dimensional villain".

Naruto - Chapter #398

And that's why Obito and the role he was chosen to fill—its sheer existence—is so important to assigning more depth to understanding Madara. It's the single biggest evidence for (post-Black-Zetsu) Madara's humanity.

After all, if Obito (the apprentice) was really meant to be nothing more than a disposable tool, why didn't Madara just use Nagato? Might as well get a 2-for-1 deal.

Orphaned Nagato would've been just as easily manipulated as kid Obito. And at worst, Madara could've mindfucked him with indoctrination or genjutsu (psychological shenanigans or sharingan shenanigans) or both. Could've even sicced him with a cursed seal—just like Obito.

If he had the chance to discreetly implant the Rinnegan into Nagato without anyone noticing, then he must've had the chance to abduct the boy.

So why the need for Obito, a second Madara?

Here Madara's humanity bleeds through.

(Anddd so we dive into straight-up headcanon nonsense-)

While it's less likely, perhaps in some small way, Madara didn't wish to get up close and personal with a child who would one day be sacrificed for his own revival, and get accidentally attached; hence leaving the "dirty work" to his apprentice. (Note that Madara never revealed himself to Nagato at all.)

(It would fit @al-hekima's interpretation of Madara & Izuna's dynamic too: Izuna is the one who's actually better with the "dirty work" compared to his clan-head/commander older brother, mirroring the dynamic of Hashirama & Tobirama.)

Most likely, though, after all those decades alone in that damn cave... well, Obito's date of birth should've already spoiled it:

Naruto - Chapter #386 + #612

Madara wanted—needed—someone to stand beside him: a stand-in for Izuna (and perhaps, in his wildest dreams, where lived on their ideal selves free of hatred & reality's corrosive claws... Hashirama).

But wait, wasn't Obito just another sacrificial pawn to Madara, no different from Nagato?

Welp, let's review the circumstances of Madara's using Obito as a "sacrifice":

FACT 1: The plan was always to use Nagato for Rinne Rebirth. (damn Anti-Uzumaki discr-)

FACT 2: Since Obito lost them Nagato (and presumably not just anyone can be forced to perform Rinne Rebirth using Black Zetsu), Madara's only option was to use Obito, or... forsake his one, true dream.

FACT 3 (conclusion): Obito—the apprentice—was never meant to be sacrificed.

If Nagato weren't already dead, Madara would've never "sacrificed" the apprentice.

(It's also worth noting that Obito was the one to first declare to Madara that they weren't comrades.)

Let's imagine Madara's ideal scenario—where Nagato lives (only to be sacrificed for Madara), Obito never betrays Madara, and... they "win".

Where would Obito be then?

Here the true nature of the vacancy Obito filled is revealed.

(For Obito, it's just another way to be used as a tool, of course; but this betrays something about Madara: something achingly, dearly human-)

The role of the apprentice that Madara sought and didn't consider Nagato for—that of the second Madara—was to not be sacrificed (hence Nagato was not an option) nor serve as a disposable tool (though they'd be a nice back-up for a worst-case scenario); it was to stand by Madara.

Of course, Madara (by that point) had been so unable to trust anyone (read: twisted by Black Zetsu), and so placed a cursed seal on the heart of his apprentice / surrogate brother / enforced support system.

Even so, it's curious that he seemingly didn't turn the chosen child (Obito) into a completely helpless puppet, or completely mindwash them with genjutsu (since Obito was at least able to refuse to revive Madara) or use a jutsu like Orochimaru's Fushi Tensei—yet another thing that could only point toward "the second Madara" being a role borne of Madara's subliminal need for companionship: a quasi-brother, a fellow warrior he could respect and rely on, and heck, a comrade to make his eventual victory feel not-so-hollow; so he wouldn't have to stand alone the day he achieved his "true dream"... someone controllable enough not to mess up the plan or "take Madara's back" as he always feared, but nonetheless human.

When Obito "rejected" this role by denying Madara his comradeship, it likely wounded more than just Madara's pride (though he probably never realized it), and his attitude slowly shifts from before vs after this proclamation:

Where before he was almost giddy ("you're like a kid"), excited for battle; addressing Obito in attempts at banter ("you look like you're having fun"); and almost in denial about the signs that Obito betrayed him or strayed from the plan...

Naruto - Chapter #601

...he switched to heartlessly objectifying (and not in the sexy way) the heartless Obito (sorry - reprise) and stating (out loud, anyways) that he was a mere "back-up".

Still, all this sounds like a flimsy cover-up (do we dare say lies?) for the sting of rejection by the closest person he had left to a brother/comrade—which must've been a painful reminder of Izuna's glaring absence—and the real reason he waited decades for someone to entrust the plan & even his own name to... something he couldn't fix or defeat or perhaps even confront—for all his "god-like" powers, and for all that it is so disgustingly pedestrian: loneliness.

(And how dear is it to imagine Madara in his cave, picturing the day of his glorious "victory", when he sends mankind to the perfect, eternal dreamworld... only to taste bitterness, as he saw himself standing on top of the world, all alone?)

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

I have to say this because I hate when Sasuke or SNS being compared to Bakugou or bkdk. For starters, the fandom tends to hate Sasuke because many talk about his character arc as a spoil kid who just wanted to kill for fun. This isn't true, Sasuke's story begins as a child who had everything, a family, a powerful clan, etc and who lost everything. We have to add that Sasuke himself sought approval of his father to proudly carry the Uchiha emblem, the boy spent a month practicing the fireball jutsu, which was a family tradition if someone wanted to carry the family emblem with pride. He trained until exhaustion and physically hurting himself to win his father's recognition in the same way as his brother how was the prodigy. However, Sasuke and Itachi's relationship is interesting, because instead of having a sibling rivalry or Sasuke loathing Itachi, Sasuke loved him, he was one of his most important people and wanted to spend time around him. When the massacre happened, it was carried out by his brother, the one he admired and loved so much, and put him in a nightmare to relive each murder and told him that he had killed everyone because he wanted to show that he had power, and then leave him alive telling him that when he gets stronger go and try to kill him (this is the story at the beginning then it develops completely differently)

After this, Sasuke only knows the pain of loss and the obsession to increase his strength to avenge his clan, even team 7 wasn't enough, Orochimaru, Itachi and many other events made Sasuke make decisions that some consider bad or erratic, but that comes from the previous trauma and this follows him throughout the plot but with different characters. What I'm getting at with this is that Sasuke's story is meant to be a complex character, with a developmental arc that was devised by the mangaka from the beginning and therefore developed accordingly, Sasuke's reasoning could be wrong for some readers, I'm not going to judge, people can love or hate the character if they want, but Sasuke stands by himself, his character doesn't need Naruto to tell his own story, that is very different from Bakugou which he doesn't share greater attribute than being the supposed rival/abuser of the protagonist and where Horikoshi didn't know how to propose a development arc that would separate them.

About SNS, here I can get hate from those who hate or have different opinions, but both characters are written by Kishimoto not only because of the odd parallelism, but mostly because they are complementary opposites (to the point that at end of the work both represent yin and yang). Kishimoto develops both characters together, both are characters who lived through great loneliness, one doesn't want to create bonds with others because he knows the pain of loss, while the other desperately seeks to create bonds because he has never had them, and that how their relationship develops, it's not pretty, it's not healthy because the world they live in never gave them the opportunity to be otherwise. They get hurt and fight because it's the only way they know and yeah, Sasuke wants to kill Naruto, but he says "When Itachi died I thought I was finally alone, but there was still Naruto." Naruto ironically is the last connection he has left and he needs to kill him because otherwise he will never be able to follow the path he determined to follow. It should be clarified that I'm not saying this to romanticize violence, but rather I want to emphasize that every fight and moment between them is loaded with anguish and has a meaning, compared to this bkdk has no chance, because their relationship is not half as deep, Bk he hurt Midoriya for his own insecurity, he believed that Midoriya was a stone in the road that he should kick, and throughout the manga he hurts him for the simple fact that he doesn't mind doing it, he attacked him and said "he won't die if he dodges it" and he continued being violent, the only reason he changed his mind is because Midoriya got a quirk, or someone seriously believes that Bakugou would have thought of a quirkless Deku if he entered the UA alone and fulfilled his goals? Sasuke and Naruto's relationship is complicated but their story doesn't allow them to be anything else, Bakugou is just the mangaka's favorite character who became popular and who has no other plot than hanging on the MC, because he can't contribute anything by himself thats why Horikoshi would tie every important moment of Bakugou to Midoriya and OFA.

Sorry for this long post and sorry friendly bkdk shipper an even Bakugou fans I don't want to shit in your fave but his character will never be Sasuke because even if Horikoshi took Naruto like a reference he never did a good job about this relationship.

^All of this. I’ve got nothing to add.

[moviekid826]

sns fic rec II 🤍✨

hiii again!! sharing a few of my fav sns fics again just for fun 😌

(in no particular order) ((pls remember to check out a fic's tags before reading it))

simmer by moonwatcher

Naruto scrubs at his cheek with the palm of his hand, feeling his face flush with the remnants of anger from the day. “He’s not easy to please. Always has to have the last word. Tries to one up me in the subtlest ways, the bastard.” “Oh?” his mother sounds more curious now and Naruto starts to pout. “What are you thinking?” "Just that he sounds a little familiar is all.”

recently read this and it instantly became one of my fav sns fics ever. everything about it was just perfect. slow burn usually makes me impatient, but it was done so lovely in this fic. i could really feel the way they fell in love with each other 🥺 the writing is also absolutely flawless and moonwatcher's Sasuke was so freaking spot on (i'm usually really picky with Sasuke in fics so!!!)

In Any Lifetime by MadeNew

When Sasuke's thirteen, he wakes up crying for a life lived long ago and a boy he's never met. When he's sixteen, he remembers the boy's name. When he's nineteen, he decides it's time to find him.

reincarnation AU my beloved <3 this was sosososo beautiful. "He’ll always choose Naruto, every time. And Naruto has always chosen him, even when it was beyond stupid to do so." ugh, my heart

The Twenty-Third of July by moonlitmantras

Naruto brings Sasuke a gift on his 18th birthday and the Uchiha clan is there to embarrass the shit out of him.

the Uchihas alive and well, do u need another reason to read this fic????

Last Ones Out by hereforwords

Sasuke just stood there, wondering what expression he was making, numb all over with a distant ringing in his ears. It was only when they were pulling away from each other and Hinata turned and met his eye that Sasuke finally remembered himself and looked down, forcing himself to stop standing so stiffly. (Naruto and Hinata start dating. Naruto and Sasuke try and fail to be okay with it.)

this fic 🤧 sasuke's pain was so raw and real, i teared up multiple times. i'm also a sucker for soft!sasuke and he's so soft in this fic <3 it also gave me multiple cavities lmao, such a good read!!

Tea for Two by Unknown_de_Mordor

Sasuke was pronounced a violin prodigy when he was seven, a genius virtuoso when he was twenty. As far as he was concerned, a jazz violinist shouldn’t hold a candle to him, should he? Then why couldn't he stop being obsessed with Uzumaki Naruto?

i love pining <33333 also i tend to prefer canon fics, but sometimes adult sns in a modern universe hits the spot

Armistice by surveycorpsjean

Sasuke is still here. Or maybe; love hasn't passed them yet.

i don't usually read any sns fics set in the Boruto universe, but this one gets a free pass. there's just something about it... i've probably read it like 10 times. it's really so amazing, and there were so many parts that had me legit screaming such as:

"Sasuke’s sharingan spins threateningly, and Naruto thinks of the Uchiha curse. They are burdened to love so intensely, so completely that the loss of it drives them into madness and power. They’re feared for the strength of their obsessions, scoffed at for their clinginess. Naruto must be wrong in the head, because the mere thought of it turns butterflies in his stomach."

spring days by sanguinedawns

Naruto rolls his eyes, knocking his shoulder into Sasuke’s sternum, “You manage fine on days without me.” Sasuke purposely says next, “You hardly know my woes.” “What now?”

i don't think i'll ever be able to make an sns fic rec post without including sanguinedawns, they're my fav sns author for a reason <3 this fic has everything: soft boys, idiots in love, team taka, STUDIO GHIBLI. such a gem!!!!

for more fic recs, u can always message me if you're looking for a specific fic or feel free to check out my sns fic spreadsheet!! it's just a silly spreadsheet compiled of almost every single sns fic i've ever read. i hope u enjoy!!! happy reading 🧚‍♀️

[kiigan]

Is that not also true about everything else?

ㅤThis... is a very good point, and Itachi for once does not bother to camouflage the glint of awe that comes to the blood-red of his irises; evidently, captivated by the unexpected and quite rewarding depth their conversation keeps developing.

«I had never thought of that generalization, yet I do agree.»

ㅤAlso humble enough to give credit where it is due. Whereas the Uchiha prodigy is someone who, admittedly, prefers to have the last word on literally everything [remnants of a childhood he was never truly allowed to indulge and, therefore, never truly grew fully out of], he is even more so someone who loves to learn of new perspectives and to broaden his own horizons.

ㅤ«Though, at the same time, I also believe those examples are not comparable. Agreeing on the fact that the word 'sun', for example, represents the star at the center of our system, does not grant one power. We agree on such conventions because they facilitate communication in that all of us call the same names to the same things. But money - it grew beyond this practicality and that's why it confuses me. Why money, of all things? Why can't we be powerful because we collect knowledge instead of coins? Who decided that money was the best option and who granted them authority for such a decision to begin with?»

ㅤAn idealist, yes, borderline naive; Itachi can see it written all over Kakuzu's expression despite the lack of verbal confirmation so far. Which he does not mind, frankly. Who also said that a cold-blooded, detached murderer of his own people cannot cling to humanitarian values? At this point, Itachi reckons his co-workers simply accept that his sanity is of a peculiar kind and they do not bother to question the quirks and eccentricities that bloom from it.

Every cloud has a silver line, even red clouds on black fabric.

ㅤ«I don't completely agree with that much, now, and I don't completely disagree.» Back to more murky answers, because the topic of children is a touchy one. Touches far too close to home, far too close to Sasuke Itachi's spare eyes.

ㅤ«Would you say a predator is evil because it hunts to eat? I believe the human being is essentially the same - however, society twists us. No newborn comes to this world as evil. But, as we are exposed to society, we develop our sins - greed, envy, wrath, the seven traditional ones and all the others. However, I believe we also develop our virtues. And what sets us apart from other animals is, precisely, that we have the sentience needed to make the choice between one or the other. Bearing in mind that the lines are incredibly ambiguous - what is sin to me may be virtue to you, and vice-versa. On this much, I can concede that no universal agreement will ever be reached.»

And who would have thought that Kakuzu makes for such enjoyable company?

      Kakuzu doesn’t stop the chuckle that leaves his mouth at the boy’s initial response. Whether something like that from Hidan would have prompted the miser to decapitate him, he felt no malice behind Itachi’s words. ❛  I did mean that too,  ❜ he acquiesced, amusement colouring his baritone voice. It was why you could easily find Itachi, Deidara, Sasori and Orochimaru on that very list.

      The older shinobi took Itachi’s silence for the end of their conversation only to be pleasantly surprised by the younger’s furthering their topic at hand. It was a misconception Kakuzu did not feel like clarifying, but the truth was that he despised this system they lived in. Where money was worth more than what should actually matter. Still, he understood how it worked — no matter how ridiculous, Kakuzu understood how to work the system to his advantage. And so if people saw him as a miser, greedy and heartless, well he would not stop them.

      ❛  Indeed,  ❜ he began, almost endeared by the younger’s idealistic views. It was as if seeing a young fawn running for the first time. So sure of his invincibility, of his ideals unaware of the wolves lurking in the shadows. ❛  but is that not also true about everything else? A name is but a collection of sounds, that we’ve decided hold any meaning, and one answers to it because one craves identity and recognition. Would that not be as meaningless to a god or a creature from another world as money?  ❜

      There are five hearts inside of his body, and Kakuzu knows deeply the rot of the four he claimed for himself. But he knows even more what became of his own heart, once good and hopeful — pure, if one could say that about a human heart. Eaten away by anger, hatred and betrayal, perhaps now the most rotten out of the five. ❛  A society such as the one you’re describing can never truly exist, because the truth is humanity is rotten. Nothing truly unified and peaceful can come out of it.  ❜

      Kakuzu had been raised by his grandmother, a woman he watched suffer through unspeakable things so she could feed him. And she used to tell him something, that stuck with him ever since she died. ❛  Even the children, thought of as the purest of humans can so easily be corrupted, can so easily harm of their own volition. That is because evil loves children, and the children love evil. We were all children once, and look what became of us.  ❜

[depressedhatakekakashi]

Imagine if this AU stars like in canon. Kakashi at first doesn't bother much with training, but after the Wave mission he completely changes as a teacher because having team 7 risk their lives like that (and Sasuke actually almost dying if only it weren't for Haku deciding to hit non-vital spots only) was like a wake-up call for him

He still gets late to training because he likes messing with his genin, but when he does arrive the training is brutal (and brutally efficent)

There’s no proof Kakashi didn’t train his students? The mission was over their skill level (and over the level it was even supposed to be set for, so any chunin who had been sent would have probably died) . We just never see any of the training because it all gets skipped over. Kakashi’s late to training ya (and that’s a result of a really bad cooping mechanism) but we never actually see Team Seven training except for little glimpses so there’s no reason to believe Kakashi didn’t train them.

I think the wave arcs mission would be more of a realization that taking them through the regular process isn’t going to be enough. Sasuke is a prodigy, Naruto is hard headed and brash and Sakura is getting left behind quick

It’s not about not training them well enough but finding a way to train all three to improve them in a balanced way, when he was given the most unbalanced team (like seriously i know the reasons behind it but the prodigy with the dead last of the group? A civilian girl with a jinchuuriki and an uchiha? That’s so incredably unbalanced and Kakashi had to train them all. He was either forcing Sakura and Naruto ahead faster than they were ready to keep up with Sasuke, or forcing Sasuke to learn things he already knew/learned fast. Even with the tree training we see Sakura not needing to train while Naruto and Sasuke pull an all nighter/day to get the skill down.

Given what he had, Kakashi did a really good job.

I think after the wave arcs mission would be less about ‘oh i have to take this seriously’ (we’re never shown him not taking training seriously) and more about ‘hey if my brash dumb genin is going to end us with missions over their heads i’m going to have to train them more appropriately’ which he didn’t even get time for in canon cuz the chunin exams happened right after and then everything went downhill real quick.

I mean, i assume Kakashi taught Sakura the Ki release technique to dispell Genjutsu while Naruto and Sasuke were training during the land of waves mission, because he had so little time to teach her that between the tree trainjng and the chunin exam finals, yet he did