#THE FACT THAT HE'S STILL COUNTING ON HIM IN BORUTO.. I'M-

[owlithere]

Missed Opportunities: Naruto #2

Sasuke should not have been the last Uchiha! And I am not counting our dear villains, because by the end of the story, they have all died.

For as long as I can remember I've always questioned the Uchiha massacre. I understood pretty well why it happened, it wasn't Kishimoto's biggest screw-up in terms of plot either, but I never understood why only Sasuke survived. Ba, to create a narrative in which it would turn out that more people survived, further leaving the plot of Sasuke being the lonely prince, seemed quite simple to me. It wouldn't even have been necessary to change the main plotline, because it would have been enough that Sasuke would not have been aware of it.

Ah and I'm not including the Boruto storyline here, involving the existence of Sarada. I was never convinced about that continuation.

Why is it illogical that Sasuke was the only survivor? The simplest answer: experienced ninjas and a matter of chance.

Without questioning the abilities of Itachi (who, let's remember, was 13 years old) and Obito (who, while a bit older, was not in the best mental state).

Firstly, Konoha has highly developed medical assistance. The decision to massacre was made by three Hokage advisors. Even if he approved it, I do not believe that if it turned out that help had arrived quickly enough and someone could be saved he would not have allowed it. He has plenty of guilt anyway. (I don't deny that Danzo could have ordered his minions to finish everyone off, but well statistically as they say there is always someone.) Plus being in this profession - most tend to learn how to take a punch, and millimetres sometimes mean a lot.

Secondly how come everyone was supposedly in the village on the Uchiha land at the same time (and only Sasuke was returning late from the academy, where did the rest of the students go, were they faster than Sasuke?). I saw a post once that touched on this, but to repeat. It is known that as a result of the repression and resentment of civilians and some of the shinobi, the Uchiha tended to stay on the sidelines, but that doesn't change the fact that some of them were actively involved in missions - not all of them were in the police force. (I still don't believe that only Itachi and Shisui were in the Anbu.) And even if by some miracle no one had a mission outside the village, or Obito managed to kill all the active shinobi on a mission and no one noticed. It is to be believed that just that day, no one had any urgent business to attend to that would knock him out of his planned rhythm from even that morning. Sickness or childbirth that would have required the main hospital. A sudden visit to a further acquaintance, ba a visit to that cat village of theirs. People really are unpredictable and this kind of stroke of luck happens more often than we think. For example, the survivors of aeroplane crashes - the one girl who fell out of the plane, ended up in a jungle and found her way to civilisation.

Third, even persecuted societies are not homogeneous and the proverbial black sheep will be found everywhere. The proverbial considered from various angles. No matter how many times it was emphasized that everyone wanted to rebel against the village authorities, surely if a poll was conducted the results would not be everyone "- Itachi, Shisui and maybe Sasuke". Statistically there would certainly be votes of I don't know, yes but not strongly, or no but not strongly. So there were definitely a few people who had friends of friends or lovers outside the clan.

And this brings up the argument about infidelities, secret lovers and unplanned pregnancies. Regardless of the situation the clan was in and what rules were in place (trying to maintain the bloodline within the clan, etc.) - people are only human. Hence, as far as I remember, a good example is Izumi, who was drafted into the clan with her mother after it turned out that she had a sharingan (or maybe it was a fan interpretation? anyway). You mean to tell me that there were no Uchih children in the village who either didn't know they were Uchiha, or kept it a secret because that's what their parents wanted - so there wouldn't be a scandal. Especially considering that no matter how good a contraption is it's not foolproof. Additionally, from what I remember it was said somewhere that not every Uchiha needs to activate sharingan. Of course, if one succeeds, there is pride and all, but even considering Obito, no one denied that he was one even if they had different expectations of him. So there's probably a chance that the gene responsible for sharingan could skip a generation-which gives even more room for maneuver when it comes to these types of children.

Truly, I think there is a need for people with Uchiha blood who activated the sharingan, and thus confirmed their blood, as a result of the massacre - as they learned of the death of someone close to them. Or during an attack during the third round of the chunin exam. Or when Pain attacked. (Especially knowing that some activated in through Kyubi - Izumi). The chances that someone was pregnant with an Uchiha child and no one knew about it at the time of the massacre may not be that high, but the possibility that it happened a few times in the past is quite high.

Lastly, the argument goes back to our dear "villains", because if I'm already thinking like that, I could go back to them after all. Although their deaths had a purpose, I still think that both in Itachi's and Obito's cases, if they survived by some miracle, it would be more interesting to see them atone for what they have on their conscience. Particularly Itachi who we know was sick and went untreated anyway. Probably even if they had started treating him after the war he would not have had many years to live.

I would really like to see a scene, especially after the final battle with Naruto, where Sasuke learns that he is not the last one and that if he had stayed in the village he would have found out, either as he gained the rank of chunin (if they were untrained adults) or as soon as it became safe again (in the case of children, to help them - especially if any had trained at the academy).

Let's not kid ourselves, Sasuke always wanted a family (or at least when he was younger he certainly would have appreciated it).

[stilldreamx]

Debuting my pentab with a redraw exercise...

Here's to me acknowledging that people change.

For the longest time... I didn't really like Sasuke. I understood why he was an asshole, I knew his pain is valid, but even when I didn't like Naruto himself... I just... didn't like the the Uchihas? Maybe it was the hype? Maybe I just didn't like his broody, emo personality? I'm not sure, but I just kept thinking, that he's "meh".

After what seems like a decade and a half... I finally finished his story with Naruto.

And unlike how I pictured it unfolding, 90% of the time he really was just an asshole. Somehow I didn't really feel sorry for him, which was odd, cos I have a soft spot for "misunderstood" characters, or even just batshit crazy ones. Because they're interesting. But not Sasuke... for some reason.

Unfortunately I caught up with the Boruto story line first before I finished the entirety of Naruto/Shippuden.

Despite knowing the general story for Shippuden since I grew up with it, it was still somehow a spoiler. But somehow I started liking the adult Sasuke in Boruto especially after I rewatched the time travel arc for like... 10 times and counting.

I got swayed by comments I've read that Sasuke and Naruto's friendship didn't make sense. Naruto's over the top efforts to get his friend back was ridiculous. I didn't appreciate it then. But after going through the actual journey... it started to finally sink in.

There was a reddit thread that really had an impact with me. It was discussing how Sasuke was just an asshole all through out. But somebody pointed out that we all know a Sasuke in our lives who are beyond help. Could be drowning in depression, struggling with drugs, stuck with the wrong people... and how those Sasukes need a Naruto in their lives to help them through.

With all these being fictional and laced with out-of-this-world powers and abilities, there was still a big truth to it.

There were times that I was really toxic. There still are. But I knew that I was human and a lot of times I wish I weren't alone. I needed a Naruto in my life. While it's true that the best people to save us are ourselves, we can't deny the fact that there are times that we need someone to lean on and help us. Someone who won't give up, someone who will acknowledge your struggles and not let you drown in your own demise.

And so, when I saw Sasuke tear up after his battle with Naruto, I felt sorry for him. It hurt me so much because it reminded me of the times I was alone and couldn't find a hand to hold when I was actively reaching out. It hurt a lot.

It's just... comforting to know there will be someone always looking out for you no matter how much you fuck up. Not to enable you, but to let you feel valid and real.

Most people would think it's just kid's fiction, but when you realize its underlying inspiration and analogy in real life... it's so much more than that.

The Naruto story will always have a special place in my heart.