#naruto war arc art

[kakashi-from-accounting]

Really love the idea of wartime sakuino- like they got closer during the time skip and started to develop feelings for each other and then it comes to a head during the war.

Sakura just rewired some guys entire cardiovascular system and now she’s making out with her girlfriend before they both have to go face death again

Sasuke wouldn’t really care much but I do think it’d be funny to have him looking for Sakura to help with something only to find her… busy.

[bononocat]

obito uchiha my beloved 🫶🏽🥽

[latenightsonrooftops]

Day 4: The Great War

🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸🍅🌸

Art by me

Follow me on Twitter|Insta @lateroofnights

Or here thnx!

[ironfoxgiver]

Warrior

[veryblazedreamland]

𝗦𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗝𝗞 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 | 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝟮 She got no knowledge about this new world but she slowly adapted.... Painfully... Was a broke ass gal for days and learn how to earn money even pick up cents in the streets. She got 43 cents... Started screaming about it.

𝗦𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝘅 𝗝𝗝𝗞 | 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁

Part 1

[09levi]

Progress

[oh-no-its-bird]

Team 7 gets zapped into the warring states era but it's like, team 7 either mid or directly after wave-arc.

They're babies!! They're untrained little babies!!! None of them have gotten that good good character development yet!! Kakashi is still actively desperately wanting to not teach them!! (tho he may have just gotten his "ahh fuck. I actually have to teach them, huh." Moment)

Sasuke looks like a carbon copy of a younger Izuna and it's going to cause problems

Naruto thankfully doesn't look much like an Uzumaki, but his tendency to very loudly introduce himself is going to get him into trouble

Going w my usual flavor of "the Hatake are a very small but very famous clan known for being fucking insane", people are seeing Kakashi and going "oh god oh fuck what are one of THOSE guys doing here oh sage preserve us please don't eat me" as Kakashi just kinda stands there like 🧍‍♂️

Sakura is the only one safe from not being fucked up and over her clan, good for her!

-> back to the Hatake thing.

The kids still know virtually nothing about their sensei so they're learning all this stuff about his clan and believing every word of it, from the believable rumors to the insane.

Sakura, in a hushed, worried voice: "Sensei,, is it true ur clan eats people??"

Kakashi, who's father died before he could tell him almost anything about their clan and genuinely doesn't know but at this point is starting to get a little worried about it:

Kakashi, who also never passes up the opportunity to fuck with someone: "only stupid little students who ask stupid little questions <3"

Sakura and Sasuke: *worriedly look at a confused Naruto*

For convoluted reasons they run into the Hatake of the era and after introductions they look at the kids and are like,

"Oh!!! Ok, so this is your kid, right? :)" pointing at Sakura.

And Kakashi is like. ",,no."

"Ohhh, ok. So this one is your kid then?" *points at Naruto*

",,,,,,,,no."

They look at him confused then nod at Sasuke. "So then that one's your kid, right?"

"None of them are my children."

*visibly disapproving / disbelieving side eye*

One big difference between this and the team ro time travel one is how much less trustworthy Kakashi comes off to literally everyone who looks at him.

He's a trained adult shinobi, probable bloodline thief (with no way to prove his innocence), and he has 3 children from 3 different clans (2 of which are indirectly enemies bc the Uzumaki is a Senju ally) (1 of which might have a direct relation to the Uchiha main house) and comes from an infamously volatile "wild clan" from another country entirely (Iron country)

He is NOT getting out of this with talk no jutsu bullshit. He has a target on his back from day 1 and it will take a minor miracle to get even a single person hear him out

Anyways uhh—

Saying Tajima and Butsuma are still alive but due to die in some months (till team 7 accidentally interfere and somehow accidentally save Tajima, maybe also Butsuma but I'm more biased towards Tajima so I'm thinking just him actually)

Kakashi sees baby Kagami and feels like he's been hit by a truck bc he looks just like a miniature Shisui and he has hang-ups about his "suicide"

Half-Hatake Tobirama is catching HEAT from Kakashi's antics. Why does one of ur cousins have a sharingan. Where did he get those children. Do you know anything about this. Is it your duty to help hunt him down bc hes your blood. If not yours then it's definatley the Hatake's, call them immediately and tell them to clean up their mess.

Bloodline theft is like THE ultimate no-no for all shinobi, especially in this era. To the point that even ancient enemies will sometimes temporarily set aside grudges to kill bloodline theives. Kakashi is so fucked, someone get him out of there

Mmmm there are like still bits and pieces of thoughts floating around in my head for this but I can feel myself getting distracted and want to get back to art fight so I'll leave it here for now

[monsterfactoryfanfic]

30 Sickos, 3.5 Stars, and Pervert Writers

As I gear up to publish Detente for the Ravenous, I've been thinking a lot about these tweets. I know that my writing is solid, but it's not groundbreaking. My designs are fun, but they're not revolutionary. My prose is simple, my plots well-trodden. The fights and monsters kick ass, but god help me my romance is milquetoast at best. It's not what I'm interested in. I'm interested in the 30 years war and Catholic kaiju.

We like to quantify things, online. When I'm shopping for games, I sort by "most popular" and "highest rated." I don't want my time to be wasted, I don't want to spend my money sub-optimally. It's easier to connect to folks over a movie that 3 million people watched as opposed to a podcast listened to by a few hundred. I am not criticizing the impulse. Life is too short, and none of us have enough money.

But as a creator, whatever that means, I think I have to get comfortable with my shortcomings, and be honest about what I actually care about. I am not interested in writing a novel that appeals to all people. I am interested in writing a novel where they assassinate Pope Kissinger. That doesn't mean I won't ever try to improve my romance, or make my character arcs less predictable. But if I am gonna write another book, I have to write it for me, not for my imagined literary agent or Big 5 editor.

There's this great manifesto on itchio by “Average Urotsukidōji Enjoyer," called "Good Writers are Perverts." It touches on this sentiment that I've been stewing on, and I think this passage crystalizes what I'm trying to do with my own work.

I know my best work is the work of the pervert, the ex catholic who grew up on Naruto, the military history dork who trained for years to save lives instead of taking them. That is the stuff that makes me want to create, the hope that I can take all my stupid interests and life experiences and twist them into something at least partially interesting, to hit that 3.5 star rating that isn't all things to all people, but is at least one really good thing to a few people. If a handful of young folks get ahold of my work and it changes their lives in a small way forever, then I'll be happy.

I hope that as art becomes less profitable, as financial incentives only encourage the bland and inoffensive, the tried and true instead of niche and experimental, more artists double down, go deep instead of wide. I'm not afraid to fail, I'm afraid of trying so hard to be loved that I stop giving a shit about the craft

[carmenserenity123456]

The big answer for some questions from ss stans who state that Sasuke would always choose Sakura over Naruto and Retsuden is the proof…. Guys Retsuden is not and never will be canon because firstly Kishimoto did not write it, secondly Eska said it is her interpretation, thirdly it has Kishimoto’s name and art on it because Naruto was created by him and he has a contract that states he have to draw cover etc. and lastly the story of Retsuden contradicts itself with what Kishimoto wrote.

In Naruto manga we have many instances where Sasuke always chooses Naruto over Sakura. The war arc is the best example: he let her fall into lava, he wanted to left her when the bomb was going off, he did not want to save her from Kaguya and through out the manga he always said to her that it is not her business but he always engages Naruto into his life. Of course I understand that ss stans will say that he was into darkness blah blah but so what? Why would he choose Naruto then if he was into darkness? Come up with something more creative please.

Bless Kishi that he wrote Gaiden because there we even find more proof that Sasuke will always choose Naruto over his wife. This is Sasuke’s face after 12 years of not seeing Sakura. He is not happy at all, kind of annoyed or angry even.

This is Sasuke’s face when he stops Sakura from apologizing and in that moment he wanted to tell the truth why he does not come home. His face looks here really angry and Sakura looks worried. Why is she worried? because Sasuke would say the hard truth right there because he is honest.

This is Sasuke when Sakura was captured. Sarada is more worried than her own father, husband of her mom. Instead he is talking about time space ninjutsu…. He did not even want to sense her and she was taken somewhere on Earth.

And here is Sasuke when Naruto was attacked. Sasuke knows that Naruto can heal right away but look at the horror on his face. Ss will say that he does not worry about Sakura because she is strong but that is not the case because even if someone is strong but if you love them you will always worry about them because of these feelings.

In Boruto movie which was written by Kishi, Sasuke sensed Naruto’s chakra in the other dimension right away and went to save him as fast as possible. He even gave him support by touching his back while with Sakura he asked if she can heal herself. Great support and his face 😂

Lastly, you base everything on the novels but in the novel after Retsuden Sasuke wanted to die with Naruto and was so ready to leave Sakura but then you will say it is not canon 😂 So yeah Sasuke will always choose Naruto. Always because he is his one and only. That is why Kishi wrote Gaiden because every non canon trash that comes out about SS will always be massacred by it. Kishi is genius.

[sneezemonster15]

In the art of sasuke with the bottle naruto is keeping score of his beetles fighting and the page says "nasa" or NS too lol

I see SA and NA. And Naruto is apparently winning.

Interesting visual language.

Not only it shows team seven dynamic pretty accurately, it is also humorous and clever.

So it's summer season and it's hot out and team seven is enjoying watermelons. Watermelon as a fruit is quite tied up in Japanese culture. It's considered quite a luxury. Watermelons are offered as gifts. Fruit is generally quite expensive in Japan. And watermelon is quite a popular summer fruit there. It's symbolic of summers. As it should be. They also grow square watermelon in Japan btw. They are always up to something, in that country. Lol.

Anyway, I digress.

Naruto is in his own world and it makes sense because the time period is pre time skip, when Naruto was generally more obtuse about his feelings for Sasuke. He is playing a Beetle match, where Naruto beetle is winning against Sasuke beetle. Naruto is on top of the world heheh, my lil sweetheart. This is basically proof that their rivalry was never rivalry in the true sense. It was always a way for Naruto to get close to Sasuke, which is something Naruto tried to repress a lot but it all came out during vote one. In war arc, Naruto doesn't even hesitate to admit Sasuke is better than him. Like it's not even a matter of concern for him. He has already seen what Sasuke is capable of, he also knows Sasuke holds contempt for Kakashi and Sakura, for valid reasons too, but he tries to keep peace. But he is not lying about Sasuke being a remarkable shinobi, he already knows Sasuke is better than Sakura or Kakashi at battles.

It was never really about rivalry. And even though they both improved with a healthy competition between them, at the core of it, they are a team, a unit, the real cell 7, the main act. All Naruto wanted was to be able to talk to Sasuke, have his friendship and companionship. He didn't know any other way, he is an orphan who has always been on his own. He acts on instinct and his instinct told him that Sasuke was equally motivated to be a better warrior, just like him, and that was one platform where they could converge, they could establish contact that didn't require them to confront the more confusing feelings they felt for each other. At least for Naruto.

Sasuke of course is much more in touch with his feelings regarding Naruto, pretty much in his character, he knowingly and premeditatedly died for his beloved in land of waves arc, for love. In this art, even though Sasuke is annoyed at Naruto's obliviousness, his gaze is entirely focused on Naruto, oblivious to everyone else there. Including Sakura lol. Again very much in character. It's one of Sasuke's pet peeves, how much he is not able to resist Naruto's charm despite his obliviousness and Sasuke loathes himself for it but still cannot help it. His expression here looks like annoyance with a hint of longing. He loves Naruto and certainly tries to get his attention.

In land of waves arc, he matches his pace with Naruto while blushing as Naruto is rattled and suspicious of Sasuke but all Sasuke intended was to be by his side, as it is later symbolised as well, in chapter 698, where they are holding each other's phantom hands, lying half dead side by side but smiling and happy. And their interlocked hands look like a bloody heart. Btw Sasuke had already accomplished something in the first arc itself which happened to be something Hinata wanted since day one and couldn't accomplish until her cousin had to facilitate it for her in the last arc. By dying. And even in that panel, holding Hinata's hands, Naruto looks like he just saw a ghost lol. With Sasuke, he looks finally at peace.

Sasuke tries to get Naruto's attention when he asks him about chakra control. Naruto is so surprised hehehe. Subtext - Why is he coming to me for help, is he up to something? Well, I am not going to give him the satisfaction. 👅.

And Sasuke mentally facepalms himself.

Naruto's obliviousness needles Sasuke, he is the ultimate tsundere, PTSD ridden warrior/avenger who has steeled his heart against love, but still can't help opening up to that one idiot he adores so much but the idiot is too naive to get it. Alas. Lol. I mean there's a reason he anointed Naruto as his 'usuratonkachi' (thin hammer, a casual insult meant for slow, useless folks).

Sakura is standing at a distance, focused on Sasuke and trying to get his attention but to no avail because he is busy mentally cursing both himself and Naruto.

Sakura is practically wetting herself, pun unintended, her body language is reminiscent of Hinata's in this panel.

Look at the body language of both Sakura and Hinata. Both holding their knees together, bashful, their bodies bunched up what with all the butterflies in their stomach, probably increased heart rates and resultant nervousness, you can practically see their heart eyes that are focused on their object of desire. Sakura of course is more obvious about her object of desire while Hinata is more shy. But both are in the throes of their crush, while the boys are totally, indubitably, entirely unaware of the girls' existence. Lol.

Kakashi obviously is far away from them, camouflaged, almost invisible to the eye. Not interacting with his team. Pans out. The great copy ninja, never even began to understand Sasuke, Naruto or Sakura. Mostly instinctively wrong about all of them. heh. Where you see Gai's involvement with his team, where he backs Lee without question, where he scolds Tenten when she complains about the hard training, treating her just like how he would treat a boy. Or Neji, when he is the only one to back him up after his chuunin battle with Hinata is concluded, what with her embarrassing defeat and everyone descends down to defend her.

Kakashi on the other hand thinks Sakura is not violent, who is not the bragging type, who loves Sasuke like a mature woman, who thinks Sasuke was in the wrong about everything he did including his disdain towards Sakura and his own goal of killing Itachi, who thinks Naruto and Sasuke are rivals and that's what motivated Naruto. Of course he is wrong about all of it. But that's all in his character. An emotionally inept yes man.

Finally, there was something I had noticed about Sasuke in this art but I always felt a little hesitant talking about it. Yes, the bottle in his mouth. Now if you look at it, the mouth of the bottle stops at Sasuke's lips. It doesn't seem that the neck of the bottle is that long that part of it would be inside Sasuke's mouth.

You can clearly see the rim of the bottle at Sasuke's lip. Which is the right way of drinking from a bottle. But the sweat drop, the towel and his bangs collectively make it look like the neck of the bottle is totally inside his mouth and is protruding when it isn't. It's a visual trick. lol.

Kindly refrain from saying it's accidental, please don't insult your intelligence and the artists'. Kishi is not an amateur, he knows what he is doing. Very well. He has admitted Sasuke was the character he put the most effort in order to render his design and expressions right.

He is very attentive to detailing and his own brand of visual approach. And it's not like this is the only suggestive art he made for Sasuke and Naruto. Heheh.

The only thing that seems out of character in this art is the plate kept under Naruto's chin that is collecting all the dripping watermelon juice. No way Naruto would use a plate for this reason. I doubt it would even occur to him. Hahaha. Maybe Sasuke kept it there, it's possible. That would be in his character.

In any case, the supposed team seven dynamic is pretty visually consistent in this art, where Sakura is kept out of the picture, so is Kakashi. Both of them quite far back in the background. So Kishi wants you to notice Naruto and Sasuke first. And the watermelon. Sasuke's expression naturally takes your eyes to Naruto again and forces you to pay more attention. And then you see the other details, like the beetle match and scoreboard. After that, you see Sakura in the background and it surprises you that she is so far at the back doing something suggestive like that. But it makes sense because when it comes to Sasuke and Naruto's relationship, that's where she stands. Far away in the back, lol. And then, you are just entirely surprised to see Kakashi is even there. Most people simply miss him. And when you do notice him, you think, well that's silly.

Sakura wants Sasuke's attention desperately but she cannot have it, it's registered only for Naruto. Heheh. While Naruto is just lost in his own fantasy of being with Sasuke while Sasuke is just frustrated at his innocence.

Bang on Kish. Once again.

[your--isgayrights]

Seeing your answered ask about metas makes me want to share this list someone made about ORV’s literary references: https://twitter.com/Jomeimei421/status/1806147303004336632

I think this same person also said something about ORV being a blend of low-brow fiction and high-brow literature and I agree. I would like to see a legitimate academic paper referencing or breaking down ORV, and now that I think about it, maybe this has already happened and I just don’t know how to find something like that.

This list is honestly such a great resource, thanks for sharing :)))) <3333

I would add the samguk yusa and samguk sagi to this list tho, even though the references might count as 'myths' or an oral tradition that's the nature of the older historical texts. I think I have a couple breakdowns of the references to the Samguk yusa, a post about ljh's name and the historical ancestors referenced, and some stuff about JttW.

In the concept of high brow and low brow, I agree that ORV is very good at being like very respectful of anything that is a 'story' and I think good at portraying the sort of 'character' that some genres or reading types represent. I think one of my posts is definitely about how the KDJ relationship with his mom is very representative of the sort of evolution of webnovel culture out of classical literature and trauma literature scenes in the sort of 'professional,' established Korean publishing. Also as a Naruto guy I really respect the JttW arc for being like 'hey all middle grade action stories and shounen a little bit comes from JttW tbh.' I also think the premise of ORV is great as sort of the natural conclusion to like American gods or Rick Riordan type justifications for all religions being true bc people believe them: ok, then here's also one man's favorite anime boy being real because he believes in him and he's actually going to punch God now. Oh also a literary reference I guess is that metatron and etc are from the Talmud rabbinic scriptures. Though I think myths about him are mostly from kabbala / oral tradition (which stems from Judaism but even now there are Jewish people who think it's very wrong to call them Jewish beliefs. Part of that is probably that in more modern history kabbala has partially been developed and sort of appropriated by non-jewish people in a way that is kind of similar to orientalizing / mysticizing the more 'normal' Judaic beliefs practiced by wider Jewish communities ((think tiktokkers who are like I Am a Witch doinG Qabala but actually she's basically just writing creepypasta in her brain about things other people actually believe in that she knows nothing about)). At the same time, there is kabbala that naturally developed from people Jewish faith in the same way orphism or other 'occult' beliefs developed out of governmentally/societally enforced/accepted Greek and Roman religions throughout history. Fun fact: Sefer ha-bahir is apparently an influential text in the development of og kabbala and apparently literally describes the idea of transmigration so that is fun.)

Ok besides the historical stuff the media on the list I'm actually exposed to is just Han Kang and then Naruto (I watched some of one piece in middle school but retained very little of it tbh I just know who some of the guys are. Actually I just had a dream where I complimented a guy's one piece shirt and then he asked me if I liked the anime and I had to be like oh... No).

I did some research on YSA's reading 'taste' though and I think it's very fitting because they're realistic books with "literary value" that are like very relevant to society but obscure enough that you wouldn't make up reading them just to impress someone, unlike Han Myungoh claiming 'art of war' is his fave book (that's another lit reference in there somewhere I think? I just remember finding it fitting... It's the type of fit for business men who want to seem macho and smart but actually don't enjoy reading at all... I would say if they said three kingdoms was their favorite I would at least believe they read it or saw an adaptation but like art of war just isn't really a Story it's more like self help? Like there are stories but they're showing 'lessons' about war lol.)

[ironfoxgiver]

Duality

[metamatar]

need your thoughts on csm and particularly part 1 now that you're caught up

I think my immediate reaction on finishing part 1 was like

loved the art, loved the characters def feel like the story has a lot further to go thematically, only really picked up for me with the reveal of the gun devil

I now think CSM's strength in the early arcs is the patience of the construction of Denji as an everyman resisting the reality that the promised capitalist horizon he imagines is a lie.

now that you can tell the horrible direction my thoughts are going in I will continue under the cut, this is so long oh god. cw: canon typical violence, sexual assault etc.

Initially the repeated invocation of wanting to kiss a girl and eat a good meal as ultimate dreams and Denji being presented as an idiot for it felt like a cheap way for readers to get to root for him in a very Naruto sort of way yk? Poor orphan boy wants a basic life. This is disrupted right from the start ofc, starting with the Himeno's assault and Makima's whole deal. I think this construction becomes more valuable in part 2 when with Nayuta there is a very intentional attempt to construct a family, where the horizon is a normality that includes saving up for college. Nayuta's resistance to some of it becomes more interesting than just jealousy or protection imo.

I think the complications of the "workplace" as it functions for Denji in part 1, living quite literally under Aki's supervision with Power invokes the very familiar team as family stuff under threat. The explicit knowledge of how he has exchanged one debtor for another is v effective especially when they take care of Power. You have him and the readers being forced to confront that purpotedly transactional relationships do not exclude the sort for the simple honesty of care we idealise. And that the care will be weaponised anyway. Aki's abortive attempt to opt out is chef's kiss.

The reveal of the use of the gun devil by nation states might functionally be the first moment Denji is forced to acknowledge the complicated incentives of the Bureau. You get to link the exploitation of people to the more obvious rot in liberal institutions. Part 2 then ratchets this up with the discourses on propaganda and mass participation.

I thought the "Killing of Makima" involving the use of the Bureau insiders led by the old man leaned a little too much on their heroism, vibes wise but I also get why narratively that needs to be done. Which is why Kobeni is so important to me lol. The art and creativity on display at the end of Part 1 was like gorging yourself on one of those early pictures of Paradise. The apartment scene could get read as Makima's personal cruelty but I think it's just making explicit the cruel seductions of modernity etc etc. As a violation of Denji esp. it is almost complete, structurally taking the form of kink and the parody of care after. Mwah.

With that, the reconciliation of Denji's past and present when his past in debt bondage is also constructed with the societal complicity about domestic violence becomes delicious. Nayuta is reborn out of a cannibalism not really done in the service of personal survival and def not out of a commitment to self sacrificing heroism.

I'm excited for Part 2, Asa esp lets you get at some of the same neuroses Denji has as a teenager but from a gendered perspective. Her relationship with Yuko is some of the strongest bit of writing about bullying and justice I have read in a while. I've enjoyed the lead up to Fami and War's apocalypse so far, but their motivations are still a little inscrutable and fallback on devils, wyd? despite their sisterhood. I think Fujimoto's focus seems to be the public discourses around devils in this arc, so thats probably why it feels like that but I'm personally always interested in all of it.

[hellcifrogs]

So... I never was a Naruto fan or anything else, but MEU DEUS, your art are amazing and besides so many things that could be better written, you make me believe on the powers of fan, and I kinda curious, do you like 100% of the series? Like you have anything you hate? (besides Obito)

LOL no! Nowhere near 100%! I love it and the characters and it's a comfort series I've been into since my early teens~

But it has SO MUCH I don't like :( most of it it's just me being able to look at it as a complete work and notice all the "plot holes" - and I can even let those slide, because it's a long work so mistakes are understandable and all - But there's two main plot related things that I just hate :(

-> Everything after the Pein arc. I'm one of those fans who wishes the series' end started there. Everything was perfect and in the right direction for a conclusion, but then they had to add a whole war in there, with edo tenseis for characters whose arcs were already supposed to be closed (Asuma, Dan, the hokages, akatsukis, Haku and Zabuza) or new characters who honestly? Why even? (Those brothers Kurama ate, wtf was up with them?)

-> But then the worst is the way Naruto's character ended :( post Pein Naruto is not the same Og Naruto to me.

[tamelee]

Hi, Tamelee❤, I absolutely adore your art and your analysis.

Do you think Kakashi's choice of words regarding Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke "She's hurting from loving you" is a forshadowing? Is there any chance that both Sasuke and Naruto are fully aware that Naruto's "I hurt whenever you hurt" is a shonen-appropriate version of ILY? And in general,to which extent do you think Naruto is aware about the nature of his feelings for Sasuke post-vote2?

Hi @lilasskickergrimes !! thankyou so much! 💕 I apologize for this being so late. This post went into a different direction at first and then it was sitting in my drafts for a long time >.< sorry!! Hope you're doing well 🥹

__

Very long post, 🍵

Was Kakashi’s “she’s hurting from loving you” about Sakura to Sasuke basically Kishimoto telling the reader that if hurting because of the other person means they love them, then that is the same for Naruto and Sasuke? Since they hurt for each other, do they then love each other too? I mean, in a way, Kakashi's words can be used as another clue. It came up before and with other characters too (Sai), but I believe with anything- context matters. 

Oh, Sakura was hurting alright, but why was she hurt? 

Why was Sasuke? Or Naruto? 

Kishimoto often uses parallels, but I feel like some don’t realize that a parallel doesn’t mean something is the same thing. That’s why storytellers use alternate timelines or universes to explain a parallel, but it is in the name, right? “Alternate”. They go in the same direction and are similar in nature but never touch. A comparison of sorts. That’s why it always matters why a parallel is linked to the alternate element and why it never touches- thus is different. 

So, Kishimoto has shown what he values in romantic relationships for which he writes before. Like Dan/Tsunade, Minato/Kushina or even in earlier works like ‘Mario’. He always was able to convey a romantic relationship well if he chose to do so and if it was his intention. The same sorta clues are shown in earlier chapters where Naruto projects onto Sakura as she explains why she likes Sasuke and then he says that he understands her (pain) very well. A shonen-appropriate version (in your words) of “I completely understand how you feel Sakura, because if that's what it means, then I like Sasuke too and I feel the same way”. It is enhanced in the way he visualizes his art and message that Sakura is used as a tool (red herring) in order to mislead and yet have enough surface-level ammunition against criticism to make it seem like its otherwise. Unfortunately, those were the circumstances, but we wouldn’t have the story we do now if it weren’t for this.. 

However, Sakura hurting for “loving” Sasuke is not the same as Naruto and Sasuke hurting for the other. Kakashi even literally said that Sakura was hurting because she wanted to save Sasuke and she wanted him by his side.

Which means, Sakura is hurting because of selfish reasons. (Kishimoto’s words.) It is always about her and her wishes or what she thinks is best for another character without bothering to understand them first. (Note Naruto's expression as well.)

Sakura can’t hurt because of Sasuke.

Sasuke, apart from him and Sakura being teammates, never bothered with her and legitimately during the War couldn’t give a f- whether she lived or died. He didn’t have a personal bond with her, she was just part of team 7 and one he broke off the same way as everyone else excluding Naruto. She was never special nor precious as an individual. He reacted only to her intention of wanting to stab him in the back after she lied and had to knock her annoying ass out twice so she would stop following him because she selfishly thinks for some reason she’s more important to Sasuke, Naruto or even her team and the Shinobi world in general than she really is. But that is part of her character arc. Wanting to be included and then go beyond that so people will look at her back as she is insecure about the contrast between herself and Naruto/Sasuke, not just in terms of ability, but also the strength of their bond as said right before VotE2 where she points out what she lacks compared to Naruto. That she isn’t on equal terms in regard to Sasuke. Where she stops believing in both Naruto and Sasuke which she said she would after the bridge-scene, but then, yet again tries to interfere...

I mean... I have to give it to her, Sakura also does not give up when it comes to this. 

That’s why Sakura fans, the very hardcore ones, that see Sasuke as some price that only belongs to her, blame him for her pain. They favor Sakura and her selfish wish and want Sasuke to repent and live a life full of guilt and regret for all he’s done to her. For all the pain he has caused their favorite character even though that’s totally unbefitting to all that happened. Which is kind of why that scene with Kakashi is mostly criticized because he sounds like an irrational fan. (I don’t believe that’s exactly why that was put there, but alas.) Her pain is her own. And as much as people dislike Kakashi defending her, I understand why Kishimoto put it there, especially amidst all the contrast and especially because it was placed right before VotE2 and it continued with a talk about love/hate with the Hermit. What usually is the ending of a story, is where Naruto and Sasuke’s journey still only begins... really.. considering the entire Shinobi world and what they were supposed to do :/ 

Sakura doesn’t know or understand anything about Sasuke that’s why she also can’t hurt for him. 

She didn’t even try. And when Sakura did pick up on things here and there, she never bothered questioning those words like Naruto did and just went with the general narrative that Sasuke is a mindless criminal or that he’s changed for the worst. Therefore she stopped believing in him, his intentions and abandoned this version of Sasuke she didn’t like. She even had the time during the time-skip to do some research (as she did) as she had access to Tsunade’s notes, yet never, ever, once bothered to learn more about Sasuke to see if she could understand him. She only learned that Itachi is the one he wants to kill which was used as a moment to show that “she was going to do this whole thing with Naruto together” (and then failed multiple times). Like?? 

And also thought then it was okay to deliver Naruto to Akatsuki knowing he was a target if it meant “getting close to Sasuke-kun”. 

Tbf, Naruto deliberately kept her in the dark about certain information and didn’t want to wait for her, hence his reactions when he finds out Sakura knows a few details too. Even later when Sakura asks him when Akatsuki started targeting him, he’s not fully honest.

When Sai later says that Naruto is also hurting because of Sakura, (for a different post) there is some truth to that as part of Naruto’s fear is letting people down. 

That was the pain of the promise. It had nothing to do with Naruto wanting to keep it for her sake.

Sakura reacted very fake while ignoring Naruto completely who was bandaged all over, when she visited him after VotE1 to hear about Sasuke. Not a "hey Naruto how are you doing?" was heard or anything, but guilt tripping him in regards to the promise making even Shikamaru angry because he understood the hell Naruto went through.

Naruto didn’t take that well as you can see throughout the story. Maybe it looked that way at the moment because he’s somewhat of a people pleaser and hides his emotions well and he reacted with that Naruto-confidence, but it certainly did damage to their.... uh, friendship? Camaraderie? But that’s a different pain, yes? It stems from Naruto’s own character which made her treatment towards him worse just like Sakura’s insecurities and fantasies about romance aren’t Sasuke’s fault. At all. But because of it, they do clash, sometimes more subtle than other times.

I guess it was okay to Naruto as long as she could keep up. In times where she did, sorta help. But Sakura didn’t keep up, made her own resolve to get rid off the thing in her life that hurt her because she couldn’t stand seeing it, therefore tried to kill Sasuke and didn’t bother to understand, question or rely again on Naruto because she thought for some reason she was important enough to get through to him. Or rather lie to him as she did with Naruto. She failed what? 4?? 5??? times? Embarrassing. It just hurt her too much to not see that ideal image of Sasuke. That’s not love.

All those misconceptions that she holds hurt her too because it doesn’t reflect that ideal image she has of herself or Sasuke because her fantasy romance doesn’t exist. Not even Jun Esaka, her number one fan, can make it believable. Not even the sequel shows how rewarded Sakura was because even if "she got Sasuke", she never got his heart. She never received that love from him, but she can fake it.

Her ideal Sasuke is the one that stays by her side because otherwise she’d “just be as lonely as Sasuke was after the genocide of his family/clan” 👀 even though she made fun of orphans and then was willing to throw away her own friends and family even after Sasuke defended Naruto, all for this fantasy. She’d be willing to make light of Sasuke’s trauma by not giving a shit about her bonds as long as she would be together with him. It is the Sasuke she hopes that admits thinks of her in his heart as she preached about before VotE2, one she hopes she can be relevant enough to save even though she was never able to reach him. She didn’t go through some character assassination, it was always like this. The contrast was deliberate. Naruto said to her and Kakashi that after Pain’s attack, he understood why his words during VotE1 didn’t reach Sasuke. That’s because Naruto went through growth and development. Sakura never cared to find out and her plea is completely irrelevant and focussed on herself. And watch this!! We have a cover of Chapter 231 “a special power” with Naruto where the side text says:

“I won’t look away. I won’t give up. I am fighting for you.” 

Which is about Sasuke as this is a Chapter during VotE1.. and then the very next Chapter is Sakura with these words:

“Straight ahead. I think. I wish. I believe. I am.” 

Naruto faces what's coming but Sakura is stuck in this me-me-me fantasy. Come on!!!! If anyone doesn’t think any of Kishimoto’s author-narration is deliberate either then I dunno man. This is back-to-back contrast. All the other covers around them look different. There is a lot more of this but the point is, Sakura’s always been the same. Her pain is based on lies for which people blame Kishimoto it to be bad writing even though this is just her character. And that’s not me hating on Sakura, that’s just what it is. If anyone’s going to blame something, blame her lack of development, but that’s not always bad writing if it was a choice that Kishimoto made with a purpose... her selfish love was contrasting to Naruto for a reason. I hope the day exist where people can accept at least that. 

It is okay to not like how an author portrayed a character, but don’t blame it on something else when it is a consistent thing, lol. She constantly wants to try and prove herself in a way that would make Naruto and Sasuke (even Tsunade by making fun of her age or her oh-so-dear-friend-Ino that she ditched) less, by putting them down or wanting them to look at her back out of insecurity. She wants to keep up, yet portrays herself as better- ...then fails. Badly. So of course, Sakura is hurt. But no one is to blame but herself and its completely based on her own persistence to be relevant. 

___

Sasuke and Naruto share a history of similar pain even though they’re very different, opposites even. 

Before that, Sasuke yells at Naruto that he doesn’t understand what it means to lose bonds with the people who are precious to you. And that is true.

But Naruto is scared, confused and about to lose Sasuke. As well as losing Sasuke to Orochimaru whom Naruto very much knows that he wants Sasuke’s body only (as he learned during his fight with Kimimaro too). And Sasuke, to Naruto is a precious bond as established in LoW who also just admitted that Naruto is his closest friend! Not only have they shared secret smiles before they even talked to each other, but Sasuke already sacrificed his own goals twice for Naruto and his body moved on its own to protect him and cushion his falls. Sasuke showed his vulnerable self (what he calls a weakness) to Naruto by showing he cared more about him than his own life. Hence them being so awkward with each other after LoW. Next to Iruka it is the first bond he’s ever had and it’s more than just a bond. Of course he fights so f- hard and would not give up even he didn't quite understand what it meant. Sasuke understands what Naruto means here though as his third tomoe awakens at the thought of breaking that bond with Naruto. Because it hurts. 

Kishimoto spends 8(!!!!!!!!!!) pages visualizing how much Sasuke is in pain because of this and then some more. I want everyone to know how absolute insane that is. Not panels, PAGES. 

Then, in order to avoid breaking that bond "on a whim" (okay Sasuke), Sasuke sets a resolve to gain power his own way by sacrificing years of his life to go to a man that only wants him for his body because of the resentment towards his brother, but mainly because he couldn’t kill Naruto. And the only way you can do something like going to Orochimaru willingly, knowing what his intentions are even if you’re afraid... is the Shinobi way, to kill your emotions as much as possible (at least not show them which is different, yay to subtext), but when it came to Naruto... Sasuke couldn’t get rid of his emotions and feelings. The only way to break off that bond, his past completely was by getting rid of all of Naruto. All he had left was Naruto. (Sakura who?) And no matter what he said afterwards, his actions speak louder than words. Throughout the story, despite his front, Sasuke is in a lot of pain. 

Naruto spends majority of part 2, ‘pining for Sasuke’, which hehe yes, but it’s way more than that, right? 

Naruto fought tooth and nail to hold onto his bond with Sasuke and when he was fed information about Sasuke having changed and him just being a mindless criminal, he fought against that too. He constantly questioned whether things were true and didn’t just blindly trusted the people that told them things as Naruto rightfully already doesn’t trust people that well, but despite his limited view, he trusted Sasuke. He never once abandoned him regardless of anything. No matter what he heard or saw, he knew what he felt and he knew that Sasuke would be able to look in his heart (bumping fists through fighting) where his resolve lied which completely contrasts Sakura’s. Naruto wanted to bear Sasuke’s burden together and if it came to it, die. To not be Jinchuriki or Uchiha, to not be pained with the burdens or see Sasuke hurt by them because of it..

Helloooooo~~~ 

Pain is a large chunk of that understanding between them that ultimately mutually happens as Sasuke says:

.. that they’ll now be able to share the pain in each other’s hearts. Among many other things. That not only did they look inside each other’s hearts, they accepted it all. That Sasuke too will open up to Naruto’s pain, that he accepted him fully, including their shared feelings. And with that, hope and dreams. Naruto and Sasuke in this kind of future where they are Ninja and peace is not certain, will most likely stumble upon conflict but then willingly hurt for the other as they share their burdens since they are able to live and work towards a future they both wished for in a way that doesn’t include self-sacrifice or people-pleasing. That was part of the promise of this chapter.... 

Naruto and Sasuke. 

Not Sakura who decided on her own while lying to everyone to bear the Shinobi burden to kill the one she thinks she loves but doesn't believe in and painted as a changed-for-the-worst criminal because it is too painful for her. Then got brushed off with a brotherly forehead-poke. Wtf. Like actually? Lmao. 

"And in general,to which extent do you think Naruto is aware about the nature of his feelings for Sasuke post-vote2?"

Naruto is very aware of his own feelings and it is for sure love. But what else can you say about it with an open-end (699) like that? I'm genuinely not sure but I feel like any more than what we got would've been perfect for a blank period story 🥲

[yotonyokai]

In Defense of Indra and Asura

I feel like these two characters alongside Kaguya are easily the most contentious part of Naruto with a lot of fans saying that their introduction into the story outright ruined it for them. I can't really agree, I think they're such good additions to the lore and fit so well into the theming of the manga.

Starting out with the biggest problem most people seem to have is that it turns Naruto into a "chosen one" and seemingly goes against the series' stance on fate from earlier on in the series. I have a couple of things to say about this. The first is that Naruto and Sasuke inherit surprisingly little from their previous incarnations. it's a matter of will and talent. Naruto is intrinsically drawn to camaraderie and fails at anything he tries to shoulder on his own while Sasuke is intrinsically drawn to solitude while having a natural aptitude for the art of ninjutsu. These things affected their personalities, but Asura and Indra don't directly control either. This can be seen in Hashirama and Madara, the previous incarnations. They are similar to Naruto and Sasuke, but only because of these shared wills and talents. Otherwise, they're their own people. Naruto likens it to being haunted for a reason. An incarnate is still their own person, but with the ideals of the brothers constantly looming over them. When you begin talking about "Chosen Ones" and "Fate" it becomes interesting because as the chosen inheritor of Asura's chakra, Naruto is only chosen to do one thing - Fight Indra's reincarnate and either kill him or get killed by him. That is the way that the lives of Hashirama and Madara played out and presumably how every other incarnate pair has played out. Naruto's stance on fate is pretty interesting because in it's world, fate IS a real thing. There are certain actions that are simply fated to happen. However, fate can be fought, it isn't a hard rule. Someone like Rock Lee who has no aptitude for Ninjutsu is fated to never become a ninja... but he fights fate and does so anyways. It takes a lot more effort than simply following flow, but arguably the entire point of the War Arc is that humanity would rather struggle against a flow than take an easy answer.

Fate doesn't play out for Naruto because while he is fated to fight and kill Sasuke, he never gets to that second step despite having the chance to do so over and over again and when you look at Sasuke... He's also fighting that fate the entire time too, albeit more subconsciously. If he killed Naruto before leaving for Orochimaru he would have played his role well, but just... couldn't. Naruto and Sasuke are fated to kill each other, but it doesn't really make sense for them to. They are spiritually linked, soulmates even. No one really understands Sasuke like Naruto and vice versa. And this was the case for Hashirama and Madara, too. And probably also the case for Indra and Asura given that they were literal brothers. This entire reincarnation cycle is people killing the ones who know and understand them the most. It is a similar dilemma to what Gato mocked ninja for back in the first arc. The person most likely to kill a ninja is another ninja. Even though they have shared culture and similar traumas, they fight and kill each other for the will of those outside of the culture. Indra and Asura is the epitome of this and just a callout of what we do irl, humans have been killing the people who understand us for years. Wars are waged by kings, senates and presidents but fought by soldiers on both sides who probably didn't make that much and just would like to go home to see their families. There's brotherhood between the enemies and Indra and Asura makes that very literal.

I wanted to also get into why I don't mind Kaguya, buuuuut this is already pretty long and she doesn't fit super well into the brothers' story, so I'll just save that for another post