#blogging about naruto lol

[randomnameless]

Eh, i'm not sure i agree with the point about needing to have scenes where characters who did bad things apologize to the people they've hurt, especially when it can be inferred that they did so off-screen; Iruka wasn't in the war, Kurama and Naruto only go back to the Leaf after a timeskip, and then there's a 12-year timeskip in chapter 700, and Kurama could have easily apologized to Iruka for what he did during either of those timeskips, especially after Naruto reignited his faith in humanity. Characters can change, regret bad things they've done, and apologize to the people hurt by said bad actions, and i don't think it's necessary to have scenes where they list off all their regrets and apologize to everyone they hurt on-screen.

Also, i don't recall there being any proof Obito had anything to do with starting the Blood Mist tradition, though i could be wrong on that.

Also also, i don't remember the scene very well, but it's fine for Naruto to call Kurama a brother after they spent 12 years being on very good terms and the two of them being nothing but helpful to each other; it's bad if he says that he was one of his first bonds, sure, since that's blatantly wrong, but if he just said that he grew a close attachment to Kurama after all they went through in the og series, that seems perfectly fine to me.

In regards to the Raikage scene, Naruto wasn't arguing that he should forgive Sasuke outright, just that he shouldn't go out and kill him because that'd just cause the people in the Leaf who still cared about Sasuke to hold a grudge against the Cloud, which could spiral into something much worse given enough time; he never tells Ay that Sasuke should go completely unpunished for what he did, just that there's no reason to put out a kill-on-sight order on him.

With the convo between Naruto and Nagato, while it is kinda underwhelming, i think it still works decently, though not as well as Obito's; Nagato's worldview had just been shattered by not only being beaten despite considering himself an almighty god above humanity, but also by Naruto, someone whose life he'd just ruined and who admitted to hating him, refusing to act on his anger and wanting to listen to his side of the story, before proclaiming that he'd find a way to succeed where Nagato had failed and end the cycle of hatred. While it's a bit of a stretch that being proven wrong about being above humanity and seeing one counter-example to his theory that people can't truly understand each other and will always fall back on their anger caused him to change his mind as much as he did, i wouldn't call it a “bad” convo.

It's long so I'll put it under a cut!

Eh, i'm not sure i agree with the point about needing to have scenes where characters who did bad things apologize to the people they've hurt, especially when it can be inferred that they did so off-screen; Iruka wasn't in the war, Kurama and Naruto only go back to the Leaf after a timeskip, and then there's a 12-year timeskip in chapter 700, and Kurama could have easily apologized to Iruka for what he did during either of those timeskips, especially after Naruto reignited his faith in humanity.

Sure anon, but imo, it reads as another dark spot against Kishi's manga -

There wasn't enough screentime for the victims to gain reparation, but we always had the adequate screentime to get the villain's backstory?

As I said in an earlier post, we're eons away from Part 1 Gaara who, just after being beaten by Naruto, apologises to Temari and Kankuro while they're taking him away.

The anime and the manga are different, I know, but even Pierrot (who did wonders for this verse!) had time to show Ino'n'Sakura arguing about a trinket to offer to Naruto and Hinata for their wedding, but no time for, idk, while Naruto isn't sure he should ask Iruka if he can act as his "father figure", Kurama trying to resolve the situation and/or thinking he might be the problem because he killed Iruka's parents all those years ago and deciding to apologise for doing so - with Iruka basically rehearsing what he said in the very first chapter, Naruto is Naruto and Kurama is Kurama, he would have came to the wedding regardless of anything, but he is glad Kurama is now someone who can worry for others like Naruto, and not only the person who killed his parents -

I mean, something, anything else than "and they made up off screen during the timeskip when Naruto gave free wifi access to Konoha".

Also, i don't recall there being any proof Obito had anything to do with starting the Blood Mist tradition, though i could be wrong on that.

I've checked the wiki (i know :() but I was under the impression the Bloody Mist era started when Yagura was the 4th Mizukage? And when we know Yagura was manipulated through Genjustu by Obito...

It's funny because in Boruto we have his grandson (?) who says his family was basically ostracised in the Mist because of Yagura's actions - I guess no one told him or the people of the Mist that Yagura wasn't the demon and despot everyone remembers him as, he was acting like this because he was being controlled ? By Obito?

Grandson dies in the Boruto plot, so hopefully, no one will ever give a fuck about this "who did the Bloody Mist" anymore.

In regards to the Raikage scene, Naruto wasn't arguing that he should forgive Sasuke outright, just that he shouldn't go out and kill him because that'd just cause the people in the Leaf who still cared about Sasuke to hold a grudge against the Cloud, which could spiral into something much worse given enough time; he never tells Ay that Sasuke should go completely unpunished for what he did, just that there's no reason to put out a kill-on-sight order on him.

My Bad, I misremembered!

However, Naruto's pleas are completely worthless because, while I know "death for death" isn't solving anything, Ay's brother was killed by a member of Akatsuki - the same organisation Konoha (and Naruto himself!) has been hunting for years know.

Sasuke's situation is a bit complex, but usually, the second someone joins the Akatsuki, they're a missing nin, a criminal and are marked as threats who have to be supressed.

Sure Hidan'n'Kakuzu happened before Naruto talked to Pain, but I doubt Naruto stopped by the village of Waterfall to talk to people who loved Kakuzu to "break the cycle of hatred" and not take revenge on Konoha.

I don't remember if it's during this moment or later, but Naruto basically pleads for Ay to apply a double standard because Sasuke is his friend.

This is where Naruto as a manga completely fails, and the issue that brought this entire discussion lol - characters face no consequences for their actions, especially when it comes to dealing with victims of said actions.

In his novel (iirc?) Sasuke behaved like an adult - or the better man compared to Naruto - and ultimately went to Ay to apologise for his arm, the Kage Summit and everything else, and Ay accepted his apologies.

With the convo between Naruto and Nagato, while it is kinda underwhelming, i think it still works decently, though not as well as Obito's; Nagato's worldview had just been shattered by not only being beaten despite considering himself an almighty god above humanity, but also by Naruto, someone whose life he'd just ruined and who admitted to hating him, refusing to act on his anger and wanting to listen to his side of the story, before proclaiming that he'd find a way to succeed where Nagato had failed and end the cycle of hatred.

This is the petulant child/tantrum I was talking about, I'm sure if Nagato accepted to listen back the Tsunade instead of Shinra Tensei'ng her to oblivion, he might have had a change of heart, but he was full of himself because of his might in a "might makes right" mindset - as you pointed out, he believed himself to be a god, so he had to be beaten up before finally being willing to listen to people.

I liked the part where Kurama came out during their "discussion", I remember when the raws (a very long time ago lol) were released people were wondering if Kishi made a blooper with Naruto's eyes, but no! Kurama, was also pissed at his story/discourse!

Naruto being the better man/the adult and not bashing his head in was a great sign of maturity from his part* - but then everything failed, because that discussion he had with Nagato about the cycle of hatred and his backstory was... only between him and Nagato.

Nagato solves this issue before it can arisen, but when Choji will ask why his father died, what Naruto is going to tell him? When Sakura will ask for some sort of reparation/justice/consequence against the man who killed both of her parents (assuming they were in the village when it was destroyed), what is going to happen?

Why only Naruto, as a victim, was allowed to get closure/an answer for Nagato's crimes, and not the 48752 other victims who might have had the same grievances?

And again, the cycle of hatred created by Nagato broke, the second he died to resurrect everyone - so there's no hatred to deal with. Naruto had to deal with his own hatred and sadness, accepted to listen to Nagato, and Nagato "undid" all the hatred he created and on top of that, dies, so no one will ever talk him shit for what he did (and undid). That's it.

We don't know if Sakura would have reacted like Naruto, if Shikamaru would, if Chouji would etc etc.

I know the manga is called Naruto and not Choji, but when the answer is supposed to be an answer for the world, it's completely ridiculous that Naruto gives it, and later forgot to tell to the rest of the village what was the result of his discussion, instead basking in the fame of "having defeated Pain".

There's no greated discussion between Naruto and his friends and the village council or whoever about what happened to Pain, what was the "cycle of hatred" and how to prevent future Pains from popping up.

*even if I prefered Asta's version, but in this specific Naruto situation, instead of listening to Nagato's answer and ultimately only talking about Jiraiya this and Jiraiya that and forgetting the 2k people who died due to Nagato's warped vision of "peace", Naruto could have thrown him his og head protector, the thing he received from someone who should, by all means, hate him because the demon inside of him killed his parents - but no, that man put an end to that cycle and became the first person who ever acknowledged him and became his family - and in his trantrum, Nagato killed that man.

of course this entire arc was build around a "child of the prophecy" bullshit - which later needs zombitachi to remind Naruto that no, no one can do anything alone, they need to be surrounded by people and rely on them - so the "you gave up on ending the cycle of hatred but it doesn't mean you should kill anyone who still tries to get rid of it, like Jiraiya, Iruka, random konohasian 86 or even me" since only naruto/nagato had to have the answer, but well, to be fair, that arc and its entire premise was pretty shitty to begin with.

While it's a bit of a stretch that being proven wrong about being above humanity and seeing one counter-example to his theory that people can't truly understand each other and will always fall back on their anger caused him to change his mind as much as he did, i wouldn't call it a “bad” convo.

His theory completely sucked, because wow very surprising, when you kill someone's loved one that someone is going to be pissed.

Sure that's his entire backstory and motto, iirc, some konoha loldiers accidently killed his family (they thought they were other people?) so in the shortcutted Uchiha deduction by Tobirama (tm), the more you love, the more you're going to hate.

Also, the "people can't truly understand each other" theory is rich coming from the guy who hired a psycho like Hidan.

But in general, in Naruto, there's this weird conflation between "understanding" and "accepting" - people can and will understand each other by fighting, and the loser (if he survives) will understand the winner's pov? Or he died, so he accepted it ?

Take post Pain Arc Naruto, if he met, for some reason, Hidan who didn't die before. What was he going to say? To understand with a guy like Hidan? Would he be worried about spreading the cycle of hatred?

Would Naruto tell Shikamaru not to kill Hidan, the guy who nearly had a boner when he executed Azuma?

What did Pain/Nagato (or even Kishimoto in this manga) meant by understanding?

[boltruto]

Akatsuki alignment chart (accurate)

[bitchy-peachy]

Some people in social media really be self-inserting into their comfort characters so hard that you can't even dislike said character.

"Oh so you're racist, homophobic, ageist, misogynist, ableist, misandrist, hate everything with a vagina or dick, abuse animals, abuse everything that breathes, throws legos under everyone's bare feet, sacrifice babies to Moloch, touch babies, touch inanimate objects, collect rocks to stone christians, steal the walkers from old people and YOU ALSO WANT ME TO COMMIT SUICIDE! HOW DARE YOU NOT KISS THE ASS OF THE CHARACTER I PSYCHOLOGICALLY FUSED MYSELF TO, YOU CUNT?! LET ME DERAIL THE WHOLE POST AND MAKE IT ABOUT HOW EVIL YOU ARE FOR NOT PANDERING TO MY BULLSHIT!

I still don't like your fave and go get some therapy.

[denkisauce]

ahh hi i never really post here anymore, i still love my hero just haven’t been as into itt but im on my main blog @faerie-fang more if you wanna see stupid shit and art for other fandoms and what have you <3

[everymadara]

Chapter 623

[diobrando]

Remember that I made a naruto blog so I wouldn't post that shit on here? I failed and I'm sorry to everyone

[yuhenglesbian]

you know i really have no clue what i want to do here. like i come and i rt stuff but ah. should i cross post my poetry here? do you want to hear my thoughts about yut-lung banana fish? do you want incomplete fics and blurbs i have?

[lesbiankoby]

A ship that makes me want to look into the camera like I'm on The Office

For the first fandom that comes to mind

oh yeah ka//kairu. at the moment.

[cokoakeostuff]

Hero’s Paradox, The legend of Zelda AU

Brief summary | [Versión en español aquí]

The story takes place in the present timeline of Tears of the Kingdom, after the encounter with Ganondorf beneath Hyrule Castle and the disappearance of Princess Zelda. In this story, Link—Wild, our protagonist, awakens with more than one remnants of the past: he bears the arm of the first King of Hyrule and is joined by several other Links. These heroes have been pulled from their own timelines, where they had lived in peace after completing their respective adventures.

Now, they have been dragged into Wild’s present-day Hyrule, a kingdom facing imminent doom due to the destruction of the Master Sword and the reemergence of an ancient threat. The central plotline will focus on uncovering how they arrived in this timeline and, most importantly, how to return to their respective timelines.

Related Art

Beginning

Character list

Christmas Art 2024

FS + Wild n Worlds doodles

Time & Malon

Wind & tracks

Legend

Relationship chart Zelink

FAQ & boundaries

This AU won’t include any type of LinkxLink. It’s not focused on romance, angst or heavy topics. Hero’s Paradox is mainly about the interactions between the chain and their personal feelings regarding their experiences.

Hero’s Paradox will be posted in comic form. Occasionally, I’ll post text updates about the main plot. [I’m an artist not a writer lol]

You don’t need my permission to draw my designs, If you do I would love to see :]

You can use my art as pfp but please do not repost my artwork.

I don’t have patreon yet but you can support me on Ko-Fi <3

About Me

Hello, just some additional information about me here!

* You can call me Keo, I am +20 Yrs old and ARO/ACE, so keep that in mind

* My art blog is mainly about my AU but sometimes Im gonna post unrelated art stuff.

* My fandoms are exclusively The legend of zelda, Pokemon, Naruto and Halo lol, Im VERY NORMAL about them.

* Art requests are totally okay, I may or may not do them but you can always make ur request, my commissions are also open if you REALLY want that art idea realized (DM me via instagram) 🗣️

Anyway! Thanks for reading

[randomnameless]

Orochimarus kid being allowed into Konoha without any proper supervision would anger Tsunade I feel since she has zero context about Mitsuki, who he is, why he came to Konoha(Orochimaru being No.1 Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss Parent), and the like especially as a former Hokqge would get her angry I feel. Especially as Kakashi the other former Hokage was kept in the know and did his own work with the students in disguise.

I don’t see it as a retcon so much as Naruto not trusting her gives her plenty of reason to be angry, especially as he only reveals this after Mitsuki left the village for reasons they don’t know but which can affirm Tsunades worse case scenario. Naruto refused to even trust Konohamari with the same info even though Konohamaru had never suggested he’s a sin of the fathers type person.

Naruto’s failures are even seen in how he didn’t keep his promise with Nagato and Konan about the Rain Village, so the place has become a lawless hellscape that Kara has been using as minor bases of operation.

I'd say it's a retcon in the sense Tsunade is angry at Mitsuki, and not at Naruto for keeping her in the dark.

To Tsunade, Mitsuki is only a kid - Oro's kid, but still a kid. Would Tsunade out of everyone, blame a kid for his parent's actions?

In a sense yes, if everyone but her knew, I'd see how pissed she would be, but imo, not at Mitsuki at all. Maybe at Naruto and Kakashi, for not trusting her and thinking she could really harm/hate a kid for stupid reasons. Ditto for Konohamaru - like those people, and the entire village, was able to accept Sarada without hating her for being Sasuke's child - but for Mitsuki it would be "too complicated"?

Nah.

But I agree in a sense with this entire "issue" if it was indeed supposed to be portrayed as Naruto being a shit kage who doesn't hold his promises - even if he still changed the Hyuga clan like he promised Neiji he would, now they are virtually useless, and the heir of the main branch was transformed in a "dinner is ready!" prop!

[guidaozongshi]

I know Kishimoto probably wrote sns gay on accident but sometimes I see things and it look on purpose like double suicide. No way he didn't know what it meant.

I strongly disagree with the idea that Kishimoto unintentionally wrote Naruto and Sasuke's relationship with homoerotic and romantic elements.

While I am in disagreement with many of Kishimoto's writing choices, claiming that he or even the editors working at Jump don't understand what he is writing about is just condescending.

Firstly, let's make one thing clear: no Shonen mangaka since the 1990s has ever unintentionally put homoerotic subtext in their work.

Statements like :

" Shonen mangakas accidentally make their male characters gay because they can't develop their female characters "

Is simply not true.

Shonen Jump deliberately allows homoerotic subtext in their works because it is profitable; it attracts a considerable female audience, i.e., fujoshi, to be interested in their series. This is not a recent phenomenon but something that can be traced back to the 1980s with the advent of series like Gundam, which at that time had a primarily female audience due to the intense personal relationships between the cast.

Take this snippet from an interview with Yoshiyuki Tomino, the creator of Gundam

What I want modern day Gundam fans to understand is that Gundam wasn't nurtured by the PlaModel enthusiasts. It was young women who first came to the after recording studio, and Gundam is a work that began with their support. And it was a work that had no connection to the popularity of Gundam PlaModels. So I think the most important thing is creating a work that will attract those kind of girls to it again. I don't think movies as an entertainment industry can succeed without touching on that kind of fundamental portion.

The girls he is referring to are those people who are invested in the emotionally charged male-male relationships of the series.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that Weekly Shonen Jump solely targets boys, which is understandable given its name. However, the strategy of WSJ has continuously evolved alongside its readership, and for many of its series, more than half of the audience is female. In fact, many of its titles, such as Prince of Tennis, Kuroko no Basuke, Haikyuu, etc, have a primary female audience, you can guess why. The homoeroticism and shoujo-esque elements are deliberately added.

To quote a blog that does scholarly work on manga

I also want to make it clear i think any analysis of shonen manga especially Jump manga being soooo friendly to fujoshi and m/m shipping due to misogyny in writing falls flat when you think the authors and editors are thick headed and have no idea how the readers could possibly get that kind of interpretation from their works when Jump has been a STAPLE of the comiket yaoi corner ever since the mid-80’s and their whole shtick is being hyper aware of reader opinion. they know and have always known how female readers read into the works and authors who enter jump only get more and more savvy about how to feed into it. You can’t see the accidental kiss gag and trick yourself into thinking Kishimoto didn’t know what he was doing with that

Now that we have made it clear that whatever written was deliberate, let's discuss whether Kishimoto wanted to portray Sasuke and Naruto in a romantic relationship. This is something I cannot give definitive answers on.. as there are certainly mixed messages

Once again to quote the same blog

When talking about fujobaiting boys manga from now on i will have to put an asterisk on Naruto bc yes i know Kishimoto knows what he’s doing but this really isn’t normal behavior

-

The way that he does everything from being self aware by having the boys get called a slur ( homophobic ) for trying to save Sasuke to the lol wouldn’t it be gross and funny if Kakashi and Gai were gay for each other moments it all contrasted by Sasuke and Naruto playing out a fantasy novel marketed to girls where Sasuke (love interest) turns to the dark side and Naruto (the protagonist) misses him and yearns to have their time together back and is conflicted about the idea of having to fight him one day and the person who comforts him the most during this is Sakura (secondary love interest who gets the short end of the stick) like they can try to repeat the line that they’re like brothers but Naruto doesn’t have siblings like 🤨 how is he sure 🤨🤨 simultaneously to all this Gai and Kakashi are called gross old men for giving each other piggyback rides

But you are right. Kishimoto invokes a lot of romantic tropes that are impossible to ignore altogether or even dismiss as a simple fujobait, and concludes that he never intended to portray Naruto-Sasuke in a romantic light in the text. Libraries worth of content has been written about their relationship so I wouldn't be saying anything new that hasn't been said before.

As you mentioned, the prospect of Shinjū (心中), meaning "double suicide" is invoked between Naruto and Sasuke. At a point in their relationship, Sasuke stands against Konoha. He asks for an ultimatum from Naruto whether he would kill Sasuke to save Konoha or be killed by him, and Naruto says he wants neither. But they will inevitably have to face off against each other because of their obligations as a Uchiha annihilated by Konoha and a Jinchuuriki bound to Konoha. It's also inevitable that when they both clash, they will have died together since they are both equally matched in power. Naruto is ready to face Sasuke's hatred against Konoha and to die along with him. Naruto then says that if the above happens, in the next life they would be able to meet each other without their respective obligations.

This is an obvious romantic trope, especially how straightforward it's played in Naruto that doesn't allow for any other interpretation.

In Japanese theater and literary tradition, double suicides are the simultaneous suicides of two lovers whose personal feelings (人情, ninjō) or love for one another are at odds with giri, social conventions or familial obligations.

Lovers committing double suicide believed that they would be united again in heaven, a view supported by feudal teaching in Edo period Japan, which taught that the bond between two lovers is continued into the next world.

Dying together, because of their respective obligations, despite their feelings for each other, with the hope of being able to unite again in the next life. Is this literally not Naruto and Sasuke?

When one talks of the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, the Land of Waves arc is considered one of the most pivotal points in the trajectory of their story. Their relationship is frequently made analogous to that of Haku and Zabuza.

And one of the most controversial points I will make is that Kishimoto added blatant romantic intent in Haku and Zabuza's relationship, portraying them as lovers, to make their relationship resemble wakashūdō.

In the warrior (samurai) class it was customary for a boy in the wakashū age category to undergo training in the martial arts by apprenticing to a more experienced adult man. The relationship was based on the model of a typically older nenja, paired with a typically younger chigo. The man was permitted, if the boy agreed, to take the boy as his lover until he came of age; this relationship, often formalized in a "brotherhood contract", was expected to be exclusive, with both partners swearing to take no other (male) lovers.

Wakashū were prominently featured in Edo-period woodcuts, where they are often distinguishable from the female beauties in the same pictures only by a sword or the shaved spot on the crown of their head. In erotic prints ( shunga ), they are often depicted as more feminine than their female partners.

You can't possibly believe that Kishimoto, who is known to imbue Japanese historical and mythological motifs throughout the series, does this by accident.

Why would Kishimoto make Naruto and Sasuke's relationship be compared to that of Haku and Zabuza, two people with heavy romantic implications? It also doesn't just stop at Land of Waves. Even the ending scene of the series, where Naruto and Sasuke lie together, is made to be a direct parallel to the final moments between Haku and Zabuza.

I am not condoning 'shipping' Zabuza and Haku at all, and I think people have the right to be repulsed by a romantic reading of their relationship, but this is a very obvious observation.

Even to an average viewer without any shipping intentions, Zabuza and Haku's relationship has always been weird and it has spawned countless discussions speculating the nature of it

Kishimoto could have easily used a less controversial and more recognisable platonic relationship as the one that onsets the trajectory of Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, but he didn't.

Why?

Decide for yourself.

[narutouzumakiarchive]

Hello! I hope this doesn't reach you at a bad time.

Looking at your blog I've thought that you may have some information that I've been looking for unsuccesfully, or may know someone else who does.

So. You know this quote from a SJ interview with Kishimoto?

Shonen Jump: Naruto and Sasuke kiss (accidentally) in the first chapter where they appear together. Does this add a special dimension to their rivalry? Masashi Kishimoto: I didn't have any particular reason for it, other then to surprise readers. I mainly did it because I don't think there has ever been a manga where two rivals kissed. Also, by having this encounter, it was easier to set up the love triangle: Sakura, who had intended to be the first one to kiss Sasuke, has it stolen by her rival Naruto, Sasuke and Naruto are rivals, so there's and added tension there. And so on and so forth.

I've been trying to find the source to verify it's not a convincing fake, but I've spent a couple hours searching and nothing fully reliable turned up. I did find the full interview, which lends credence to it being legit, since most fake quotes are isolated and/or from unlikely contexts, but all the blogs or forum posts where I found it on call it just "an Interview with Shonen Jump", no date, magazine issue, voluem, event, anything. Some linked a source, but the links are dead and not archived in the Wayback Machine so I can't check them. The earliest posting of the interview that I could find is from March 2006.

I'd appreaciate it if you could tell me when/where it was published, or if there's a Japanese version of the interview. This quote is so interesting due to the implications of the kiss being used to set up the love triangle and Naruto being "[Sakura's] rival" (for Sasuke's attention, I imagine Kishimoto meant?) and I'd hate it for it to be fake after all.

Thanks in advance!

First of all, thank you for the ask and sorry for the late response. I've been making my way through my asks, slowly but surely, and I only got to this message a few days ago.

This one was definitely a nice (challenge). You are very right about the lack of very reliable sources. But, the saving grace was that, like you said, it was a part of a larger interview. The reason why it was so hard to find anything convincing when only searching for the kiss quote was because it was incredibly shippy, and there was so much fanfare surrounding it. So, I decided to search for information about one of the other moments attributed to the interview and that I figured it would have gone under the radar in fan spaces.

I key searched "alpha male" "monkey" "Kishimoto" "interview" (it felt so ridiculous typing this out lol) and it allowed me to find a credible a blog post from 2004, written long before Naruto started gaining online popularity in the west around 2006/2007. More importantly, it included a credibly cited source.

[Original blog post] [Archived blog post]

So, I searched "Ninja Master Kishimoto" and three links popped up, one of which was a Japanese website that actually posted pictures from the original source in question, including the magazine cover and a snippet of some of the questions/answers that were connected with the kiss answer — but not the kiss answer itself.

[Original post] [Archived post]

That said, from here I realized that the chances of the kiss answer being real were high and all that was left for me to do was buy the magazine and check. And I can officially confirm the interview's veracity! The quote about the kiss was real.

And you're definitely correct about the interesting implications it sets up.

When Naruto talks about how he finds Sasuke handsome, Sakura shows her fake smile. Even other SS have notice it though they've tried to rationalize it away. @badgalsasuke has written about that situation here. And during Sakura's last confession, she references what Naruto said during the 5 Kage Summit when he said he'd bear the burden of Sasuke's hatred and they'd die. The word she uses (sashichigaeru) carries the meaning of "dying at eachother's hand" —which is a nuance English translations failed to capture — and right after she makes this lamentation there's a close-up of Naruto's face. So there is a very real sense of a subtle tension between Naruto and Sakura in that regard.

[Aside: Not to get up on a soap box, but it's ridiculous that was of the most heavily referenced interviews in the Naruto fandom only had 3 links with an available source, one of them being a Japanese website who luckily decided to randomly review the English magazine (the interview was only available in English. You hear so much about how things on the internet remain there forever, but that's far from the truth. Many important websites, forums, essays, art pieces, etc. have unfortunately been lost to time. If y'all can, please make use of the internet archive. It's crucial, especially during a time when misinformation is at an all-time high.]

[badgalsasuke]

Hi,I have one question, many fans say that Sasuke liked Sakura since childhood, and give examples that he blushed in childhood,he blushed in front of her only twice, during the acquaintance and the bell exam when she bugged him, but he literally called her annoying on the same day,it turns out she annoyed him and did you like it at the same time? I realized these moments that he was still an innocent boy and all this confused him,because he blushed later in front of Kakashi and Naruto , but after the land of Waves he became more collected and rarely blushed

Hey anon!

Your ask is a bit over the place but I'll try to answer the best of what I could understand lol

The first instance you mention of Sasuke blushing is while Sakura introduces herself to the team.

Another SNS blog has already pointed this out but I don't remember which one exactly otherwise I'd just link their post so I'll explain it again. What Kishimoto did here is very interesting; when Sakura is talking about her big crush on Sasuke we don't see Sasuke at all, it's only after Sakura says she doesn't like Naruto and Naruto makes one of his stupid faces we get to see Sasuke blushing.

You gotta remember every manga panel exists in context and you have to take into account what comes before and after. So let's jump to ch. 27 on Naruto & Sasuke's battle against Haku.

These are Sasuke's most precious memories that make his body move on its own to protect Naruto, pretty romantic stuff. I've circled three specific moments here.

The one in the middle is from ch. 3, if you recall Naruto had transformed into Sasuke so he could ask Sakura what she thought of him whereas the real Sasuke was tied in a room. But then Naruto got diarrhea, ran to the bathroom and in the meantime Sasuke managed to liberate himself, tell Sakura she's annoying after she made fun of Naruto and then went on to look for Naruto.

When Sasuke eventually found him, Naruto once again made one of his stupid faces. Sasuke is fond of this moment.

The circle on the right is from ch. 10 after Sasuke saves Naruto from those evil ninja twins and decides to tease Naruto calling him scaredy cat (this translation says big chicken but same thing). How does Naruto respond? by making yet again another of his stupid faces.

The final circle is from ch. 19 when Naruto and Sasuke are trying to learn how to manage their chakras. Naruto is trying to focus but Sasuke calls his name, distracting him and making him fall resoundingly lmao

How does Naruto react? you guessed, with another one of his stupid faces. This moment is another precious memory for Sasuke.

So, the first time we see Sasuke blushing is not because of Sakura talking about her feelings for him, it's because of Naruto's stupid faces that he's very fond of. Sasuke is consistently endeared by Naruto's clumsy behaviour throughout the manga, ofc he blushed when Naruto reacted so exaggeratedly after Sakura said she did not like him. Awww.

The second time you mention is Sasuke blushing after Sakura hugs him when he wakes her up after she fainted. SS shippers tend to omit manga panels that come before or after a "SS moment" to make their point, but here's how the whole interaction went

Sasuke tried to steal the bells from Kakashi but Kakashi instead buries him underground and then Sakura finds him. I've seen some people say that when Sakura finds sasuke, he's blushing out of embarrasment for being found in such humilliating position or that those are just scratches on his face. But anyway, once Sakura wakes up, she tackles Sasuke and hugs him tight, Sasuke tells her to back off, notice he never returns the hug or touches her. So it could be that those are the same scratches that Sasuke had when he was underground (they appear and dissappear across panels, Kishimoto isn't consistent) or it could be he was indeed blushing.

However, if Sasuke is indeed blushing, I do not consider this to be an indication that Sasuke has a hidden crush on Sakura. As we see right away, Sasuke goes back to being hostile towards Sakura when she's giving him the chance to do the mission of retrieving the bells together. If he was secretly in love with her, don't you think he would try to spend time with her to get close to her??? and she gives him the chance multiple times and every time he rejects her...

Let's take for example when they're training their chakras to climb some trees. Sakura is the first to achieve the goal, but Sasuke ignores her and she acknowledges this herself

Instead, Sasuke asks Naruto for tips on how to channel his chakra properly after he saw Naruto ask Sakura. Mind you, Sasuke could've asked Sakura himself, he's aware how much she loves him and how she's always dying to train with him, but instead he went straight to Naruto

SS shippers think this is another proof of Sasuke being secretly in love with Sakura because "he's blushing while asking about Sakura" LMFAO

Baby, Sasuke wants to train with Naruto and he's dumbfounded when Naruto *rejects him*. Also Naruto stupid faces after Sasuke asked him for tips on how to climb trees lmao (mind you, Naruto could not yet climb trees).

But the point here is that Sasuke wants to spend time with Naruto and we're constantly shown that.

Like when Naruto spent all night training by himself that Sasuke asks about him and then goes looking for him to check up on him.

That same day he spent the entire night training with Naruto and even let Naruto put his arms around him in the way he didn't let Sakura.

This moment from ch. 22 is also part of Sasuke's precious memories. AND THIS is how you behave when you have a crush on someone but want to act nonchalant about it. Ask in the most casual innocent way possible if you can hang out with them. Go check on them without telling people where you're going. Spend all night training together. Let them put their arms around you and act casually about it. Tease them to make them act clumsily because you're endeared by that.

Sasuke doesn’t act like this with Sakura because he doesn’t have a secret crush on her, he’s just being mean and rude to her.

What's even funnier is that in ch. 11 we see Sasuke blush for no reason other than he's walking right next to Naruto, this moment would too, become a precious memory for Sasuke. Right after this Naruto would go on to almost kill a rabbit and make even more stupid faces when he realizes his mistake.

Remember how in ch. 698 Sasuke says he's been looking at Naruto since they were little kids and the more he looked at him, the more Naruto would weigh on his mind and how Sasuke would feel warm and fuzzy? Connect that to ch. 1 and Sasuke's first appearance in the manga: him looking at Naruto during class.

Sasuke has always had a crush on Naruto and Kishimoto wrote it that way from the very beginning because that's what he always intended. This is also for the sns shippers that wonder "when did Kishimoto decided to make Sasuke and Naruto's bond romantic/gay?"

So, yeah, Sasuke blushes kinda often when he's a genin but for different reasons. Make no mistake, Sasuke did care for Sakura for a time, he considered Sakura a comrade and he did care for her and Kakashi because they were his teammates. It's only after he wakes up from his coma caused by Itachi when he returns and beats up Sasuke, that Sasuke no longer cares about Sakura or the team 7 thing because he has to focus in his vengeance, he only keeps on caring about Naruto (against his will) because Naruto had already permeated into his heart, as Orochimaru would state

The whole "Sasuke was secretly in love with Sakura and the couple times he blushed in front of her proves it" is just grasping at straws and cherry picking panels. You know, ignoring the forest because you're focused on a couple trees.

As another blog stated once: Naruto isn't a story of Narusasu vs. Sasusaku. It's the love story between Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura also happens to be there.

EDIT: I just want to add that some SS shippers might mention that during the war arc Kakashi remembers the moment Team 7 members were introducing themselves and he remembers Sasuke blushing exactly when Sakura was talking about her feelings for him (basically the moment we don't see Sasuke because he's covered by dialogue circles). I discuss that argument here on why Kakashi is an unreliable source/narrator and you should not feel cornered by that SS argument.

[sneezemonster15]

When I had started writing this blog, I was told by other SNS to tag my Sakura and Hinata posts as anti Sakura and anti Hinata so I wouldn't be hounded by their crazy ass stans. Well that didn't work. Lol. Anyway, I began to tag my posts as Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata, because even if I don't like them, my analysis of them is based on their characters, I am rock solid secure about it and I don't care who reads it and cries about it.

My suggestion to SNS fans would be, take the antis head on if you wish so. Take any anti SNS head on. Any single one of them. Confront them if you want, without hesitation or doubt. No need to be afraid.

As a SNS shipper, just know you are in the right. I am ready to sign it on a bond paper. Just know that they are ALL CATEGORICALLY WRONG, and you SNS stans are right, as long as you have sincerely read and understood the manga.

Know that you are backed by the author of the manga, media experts and aficionados and several casual fans who value accountability and have a mature outlook towards storytelling and life. Say it with arrogance and conceit even, because sometimes intimidation works just as well. Don't waste your energy on things that don't deserve it. But if you do choose to confront, never be meek, never surrender. Be cool about it or aggressive, your choice but don't feel disheartened at their takes, they don't know what they are talking about. Laugh at them if you want, that's what their theories are good for anyway.

Enough of this homophobic caterwauling. This is 2024, and this is a global fandom with many fans who are impressionable and naive. Let them have the advantage of understanding the true meaning of this manga. You are the torchbearers of Naruto's legacy, like I have said before, SNS fans are true Naruto fans, the rest are just posers and bigoted dumbfucks. No more bigotry, no more prejudice, no more bullshit. It's high time. Enough time has passed and all the 'they are just friends waaah' or 'they are just brothers waaah' or 'It is unintentional waaah' type of takes need to GO! Naruto fandom is your space to explore, take advantage and have your fun and thrill too. YOU own it. Go crazy. Saturate the fandom, open up the discussion, destroy the prejudice and dumbfuckery, confront whothefuckever you wish, and do it with relish because you are right and they are wrong. Period.

Do it. Be bold, be strong, be proud. You have the fandom's support, passionate support too because that's what this story engenders in responsible fans. Confront them without hesitation if that's your vibe and smack them in the face with panels from the manga and explain them too, they are quite easy to decode. Just know you can do it because that's what the story is supposed to be, you can't miss it. High time to change this heteronormative narrative. Naruto is a gay love story and there's nothing anyone can do about it.

[maoam]

This post has to be about me lol since op has me blocked. Though it could be about someone else, or many people. But there's always someone who is the last straw. They wanted us to see the discourse post yet blocked...

I guess I am an older fan, spiteful and entitled... but the thing, sn is still popular, the ooc version of it that is. In some ways it's worse than before, because they go out of their way to argue it's in character using shit like weird fillers or merchandise which are not CANON. They are not an oppressed minority by any means, just because me or maybe someone else writes posts criticising their portrayal. SN fics still portray Naruto as a doormat (tbf, it's hard to find ic fanfics in general) and Sasuke as weirdly sexually aggressive.

SN is popular "there aren't a lot of us anymore" is not true at all. The most popular sn blogs still make Sasuke daddy jokes, talk about Sasuke's dick size endlessly (and clearly think whoever has the bigger dick HAS to top), and compare Naruto to bimbo women like Ariana Grande and so on, and use Naruto as a fandom bicycle claiming everyone wants access to his butthole, while Sasuke of course cannot be shipped with anyone else (despite the fact both of them are only obsessed with each other). People even use someone like Megan Thee Stallion to argue Naruto has to be bottom lol. Even someone I know who is new to the fandom, admitted that SN portrayals are rarely ever in character, even if she finds many NS portrayals who are ooc, there are many times more SN ones that are like that.

Also I use Kishimoto's manga to argue about Naruto and Sasuke's characters, not 'headcanons'. I have gotten anons tell me they like my blog specifically because I focus on canon, don't mischaracterize either of them, instead of focusing on whose dick goes where all the time. :)

However, I do think there's more variety nowadays! But the ooc:ness is much more aggressively pushed at the same time. But what I heard from other people the person who made this post also likes Naruko and Naruto in a maid dress acting all girly and demure mostly and follows all the artists who mischaracterize them so I doubt they are the most unbiased person themselves when it comes to the question if sn fandom has changed or not. And you can just admit you only like sn, there's no need to pretend you used to like ns... and you aren't the person to yell at other people for their "ooc headcanons". I'm sorry to tell you but the Naruto in Kishi's head is not the type to dress up in frilly stuff and acting all girly girly. Also an actual female Naruto would be a tomboy.

[kidsinsaturn]

OMG HIII! I'M SO GLAD TO SEE YOU HAVEN'T ABANDONED THIS BLOG. YOU'RE LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CREATORS HERE.

I hope that your life has been well so far and sorry for my little outburst of joy.

I'm really looking forward to your new posts but please don't stress yourself about it.

Have a lovely day

boyfriend obito headcanons

[🗼] just because I've been feeling a bit silly about this little guy, and I know I already have hcs of him but,,, it's not enough

and YESS I may have been off for a year but i'll always have that annual Naruto brainrot that lasts like six months lool but thank you lots anon love yaaa

character: obito uchiha

genre: sfw; fluff; nsfw

warnings: gn!reader; established relationship; silly obito; everyone happy au bc uwu; mention of insecurities; slight size kink

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-god, obito has been in my mind lately, and how could he not? he is sooo boyfriend material, he created the basic rules for a relationship to work, he is basically the creator of love

-he is just so silly at the beginning of your relationship!! like!! as if kakashi wasn't the reason you two got together because obito couldn't just go and confess to you!! are you nuts?? he'd lose it

-speaking of which, his confession was probably so messed up, but!! he didn't want to, wouldn't allow you to confess because he has that idea that it should be him who brings the relationship to a start

-"may I have the honor of being your boyfriend?" type of guy

-he literally asks everyone for advice and that's probably how you ended up knowing his feelings. obito told everyone and his friends just passed the word until it landed on you

-regardless of that messy start--obito will remember it and feel bad about it until the day he dies--, obito is a great boyfriend, like I said, he is a bit silly and the thing is, he may have idealized relationships too much

-obito may have watched all those stupid cliche movies in secret and thought that's how relationships are supposed to work!!

-would get into a fight for you, write you love letters, plan a secret date. any situation that appears on the kissing booth movies he is so willing to recreate them lol

-obito believes there is no such thing as the "3-month honeymoon phase" LIKE all the time, all the months, all the SECONDS he is with you should be honeymoon phase. only to be reinforced once you two get married

-of course it is beautiful and everything he does makes your stomach flutter with joy-- he is a gentleman ALWAYS, he holds the door for you, steps in first if it's a new place, and goes behind you everywhere

-and ok this is a bit angsty im sorry but this silly dude right here is very insecure okay:( I gotta be real here

-he didn't have a lot of recognition when he was a little boy and that may have messed him up a little. he will always feel like he is not enough for you, and that may cause some arguments sometimes

-he just says that you are too much for him and that he doesn't provide you that much and you're just like obito please go to sleep it's 4am

-and that's the tiring part probably: that he has these random bursts of self-consciousness at the most random times. you two are just eating and talking about some things your friends did, and oh obito just got this tight tug at his chest the second he thinks too much about your or his male friends. or even if he just saved you in a mission or whatever and it takes him like three business days to realize that he could have done a better job at rescuing you

-just be thoughtful with him ok because he seems the kind of guy that goes to sleep thinking about everything you said, nice or rude. overthinking king

-aside from his little insecurities heheh obito is giving you princess treatment like always and duhh if he doesn't do it, he beats himself up. obito has some "traditional ideas" about boyfriend and girlfriend, such as the woman should always receive flowers, never go alone in the street, and always have something of him with her (like a picture hahah silly boy)

-if you're into something like a sport or ballet or just something that's similar to a performance, he will be there at EVERY show or game, he will not miss any of them, and the day he is not there, that's probably because he is dead

-he is there holding the largest and most obvious poster with your face on the middle and the most Tumblr phrase he could think of. he blocks the view from the people in the back but he does NOT care

-if you are into something more private, obito will always be so happy providing your with materials and just his sweet time watching you as the most marvelous creature the gods ever created

-he always has the best intentions for everything. if something goes the wrong way, he is so devastated. say that you have too much work/paperwork/homework lately and he just wants to relieve some stress off your shoulders!! poor baby just made things worse: everything is on the wrong place and just his help wasn't helpful. obito feels stupid and dumb. he ends up cooking you something

-obito has all the love language because mmm his partner should feel loved in all the possible ways. just give him quality time and that's enough for him

-but overall, great boyfriend, he is your number one fan, admires absolutely everything you do and when you're not looking, little hearts form in his eyes when he looks at you, he is just so smitten he might as well just ask you to marry him after three weeks of dating

nsfw ->

-man gets hard just by hugging you

-please do not make fun of his condition okay:( he was just sexually restrained as a teen, and just overall shy about anything that had to do with sexy times

-my own hot take but obito probably stayed virgin by choice. like he was desperately waiting for the one to lose his v-card with because otherwise he feels like he is betraying his true love

-and ohhhh obito has NO idea of the beautiful, marvelous, oozing body he possesses. he is big, strong, tall, thick, and just mmmmm

-the first time you mention somehitng about his physique, he gets all flustered!! if you were in the middle of the act, he would need two minutes to calm down or he will cum by just hearing sweet words

-beautiful dick OBVS, he doesn't know how to use it, lets be reals. if you are his first time, he is so messy. his movements are so asymmetrical and have zero rhythm. after a few times, he learns

-I can only dream about obito's cock PLEASE. large, thick, curved just the right way to make you squirm. just BIG. his dick just springs up every time he takes his pants off and it hits his abdomen in the most sensual way posible. cock possible as large as your head whaaat

-his pre-cum is so bitter!! the first time you tasted it, you made a face. his cum is even sourer. obito feels a bit bad but he understands and doesn't say anything

-you are literally what matters during those sexy moments. he does not allow himself to feel any pleasure before you. it takes you a lot (just kneeling) to give him a head

-please all your sounds should be moans, or whimpers, or small screams of satisfaction, because if he SEES, or hears, or just senses that he may have hurt you, he stops completely and doesn't touch you until you convince him you are fine

-king of aftercare