tesk

 

Case in point: Yakushi Kabuto

I am late, I know. It’s not like I have not been following NARUTO. I never forget to look up the Thursday spoilers. I just had to have my hopes absolutely crushed, because I am a stubborn (read: stupid) one and thought that despite all the anvil-sized hints, things might not be as bad as they looked like.

For the n’th time, they really are.
I mean, I was one of those that saw Kabuto being pro-Orochimaru as one of the worst possible nightmares ever. Lucky me. Life seems to never be short of disappointments here, how exciting.

From now on, spoilers all over!

If I wanted to follow the pattern, I should now try to analyze why on earth Kabuto has been the way he is lately. Or rather not, not even that lately. It took him ages to appear again.
I must admit that the moment Kabuto told ill Orochimaru that he (Kabuto) was leaving only for a minute and would immediately return, I could have sworn upon my life that he was giving Uchiha Sasuke (or whoever took any liking in the idea) opportunity to do it the easy way.
Or that he was trying to feed Orochimaru some medicine that would have ended any health-related problems the latter had. Forever. Yes, that kind of „medicine“.

But no. He probably was really trying to be a good lapdog and was suddenly infected with a huge amount of stupidity so he could possibly not feel any strange chakras floating around or any scary killer intent or any genjutsu somewhere over there....in the next room, I mean.

But regardless, it seems he was just trolling around at the now-abandoned Otogakure for days(maybe weeks) and then suddenly felt the urge to give a notebook to a random Konoha-nin.

Okay. Despite the fact that nothing in canon has supported this interpretation so far, let’s assume that from now on it’s official that Kabuto had always Orochimaru’s best interests at heart. Orochimaru was such a nice person, what’s not to like, anyways, right?

Now that I have written down the two sentences above I want to shoot myself. It does not make any sense. At all. What are the readers supposed to make of it?
I feel like I cannot analyze Kabuto anymore. I have read (long time ago) a really good summary of Kabuto’s appearances in the manga with all the pros and cons and the author made an excellent analyzis. Whoever you were, take credit.
Now nothing seems right.
I liked to think that Kabuto was just a really creepy person and when he helped Hinata Hyuga, he really wasn’t concerned about the girl’s well-being. The fandom seems to agree that at that time he didn’t gain much (if anything) from healing the girl. And I have no counter-arguments.
But. Occasionally Yakushi Kabuto has shown some of the most mean strikes I have encountered among the characters of NARUTO. At least, in my opinion. Which, as you know, is not all that humble, but I try. I really try.
Orochimaru, who had a little town-corps of prisoners whom he used for lethal experiments, told Kabuto that in his (Orochimaru’s) opinion the glasses-boy was a bit cruel.
And I had to agree with him there. Which says something.

And what’s with that change of attitude towards the jinchuuriki? Didn’t Kabuto just RESENT them? It sure seemed like that when he called Naruto monster and showed hostility on personal level. Up to almost killing Naruto (I am not making things up, he blocked chakra from flowing to Naruto’s heart and Tsunade saved the Kyuubi-prat).
But obviously this was not the case. You see, actually (as it’s been revealed) Naruto inspired Kabuto to become a better person and whatnot. Yes, you heard that right.
And thanks to Naruto Kabuto was able to find himself again, after he had been mourning over the remains of beloved Orochimaru-sama.
Not that he has met Naruto recently or anything. And not that Orochimaru has ever been in the list of Kabuto’s favourite people.
But now you heard it, the manga’s been wrong all along. And the databook probably, too.
We should only regard the latest chapters as correct, if we, by any miracle, would like the story to make any sense.

Yes, I know. It is not impossible for me to use the argument that everything we have seen lately is an act. A crazy act, but nonetheless.
Crazy because it does not make sense, either. As I said, I loved to think of Kabuto as a mean guy with relatively less human characteristics than other characters.
But I never wanted him to be a dependent freak(and idiot). Well, who cares.
The point about his acting can be proven right or wrong, however, only when we’ll see him the next time. When he antagonizes Uchiha Sasuke, that is. He claimed he would do that (you know, willingly antagonize a bit robot-like bloke who just wiped the floor with Orochimaru). And not even then firm conclusions can be made.

In a way I shouldn’t be complaining so much. Unlike with another issue I have been complaining about, regarding Kabuto everything remains the same for me, in a way.
Not really, but I said once that I found him really enigmatic.
I still do. Not in a good way though, sadly enough.

Case in point: revenge



I am forced to write this despite the fact that I have already explored the issue in my Uchiha Sasuke essay.

And you know why. Because of the chapter 339, of course. And because of Nara Shikamaru. And because I have been (obviously?) proven wrong.
I thought (the thoughts will remain available in the Sasuke essay) that Kishimoto will make a point of the so-called "Power of goodness and forgiveness", which, albeit cheesy, is usually part of just about every standard story. My bad.

I do not think I should actually hide my feelings, but for the sake of fair play, I have absolutely no right to accuse the author of Naruto, whose fictional work I have (voluntarily) decided to read, of anything.

I would gladly say that I think (once again) I have figured out what morals Kishimoto is trying to get across his fans. The problem is, I have failed already, so what follows should be given no credit whatsoever.

Part of the fandom now supports the idea that Uchiha Sasuke and Nara Shikamaru are to be seen as moral opposites. That while young Uchiha temporarily abandoned his friends(which along with leaving Konoha temporarily is unforgivable..?) to seek personal (unforgivable?) revenge(which itself is not considered disgraceful since when?), Nara Shikamaru inherited his teacher's spirit and commited just revenge with the help of his friends and with Hokage's support and blessing.

And I have to swallow all the bitter words I might be willing to say and admit that this is very likely the case. Oh, yes, Uchiha Sasuke will be proven wrong. But not because he seeks revenge(not really, but is trying to convince himself so) but because his means (nothing truly evil in my opinion) to his end (understandable but truly despicable in my opinion) do not match with Konoha's Will of Fire. Will of Fire, actually, is overtly a double standard. No one cares, though. Nara Shikamaru, however, does not seem to be proven wrong, ever, at least when his revenge is concerned.

I will not, of course, discontinue reading Naruto just because my own beliefs clash with the author's. Although I can not really see then what purpose Naruto (who has yet to be seen to kill anyone...)as the main hero really serves. He was obviously set up to be the main changing force in the horrible society that Kishimoto has (and I thought on purpose as well) created. But if murderers among the protagonists such as Nara Shikamaru are justified in their actions Naruto has nothing left to change. Everything is perfect. You can kill everyone if you feel they have insulted your existence as long as you support that Will of Fire. And now I thought children should be given better examples of good behaviour (how silly, indeed). It does not matter what you do, the only thing that matters is whose side you are on.

Haku who? Hyuuga branches what?

Case in point: Uchiha Sasuke


I have to warn some of you. This piece is meant to voice my personal POV regarding the anti-hero of Naruto. I approach him differently and this is why the interpretation of some issues will seem too simplistic and the rest, on the contrary, too complex.

I shall, however, start with the most general things.
What is young Uchiha like?
Is he the brooding, inconsiderate, pseudo-confident and ill-bred young man we have seen since the very beginning of the series?
Sadly enough, I can not tell. I know that very many people have problems with what he is.
Then again, I have rather problems with what he seeks. Or to be precise, what he thinks he is seeking. But this is going to be explored later.
So, he may seem to be everything I mentioned above. Still, it is not in his nature and everyone knows what has made him the way he is. Which leads us to the next question: what was he like?
Well, everyone knows that too. He was a cute kid, now was he not?
Of course he was, as well as a very trusting, too naive for his own good, jealous (now this trait will probably never disappear) workaholic. It is probably just me being foolish but I do not (and will not) get how anyone could claim he is a genius who has never worked to be what he is. First, he is not a genius. He is merely slightly above the average, but that, in everything. Which was the reason for his good grades when he was studying at the academy. He has no extraordinary talent in any particular area and neither(which is even more important) does he have any major weakness. We are talking about ninja skills, of course, not the personality. In this he is different from many other characters we have seen so far.
Second, we are talking about a person, who snapped at a fellow teammate just because the latter had wasted a couple of minutes to have a meal and to exchange a few words with him.
Young Uchiha told the fellow teammate that she should be training instead. Excuse me?
I agree that when a stupid girl is talking rubbish about how great it is to be an orphan (puh-leese!) she should be bitchslapped. To be honest, in my opinion Sasuke was incredibly patient and delicate when he told Sakura off.
But what was that training-thing for?
Who is he to tell his teammate (not a subordinate) what to do during their leisure?
Correct me if I am wrong, but last time I checked their teacher was Hatake Kakashi.

And still I would not claim that Uchiha Sasuke is arrogant. He IS ill-bred, but he really does not think that much of himself (later about this).

So, he has never been a slacker. When he was a kid he went out of his way to be recognized (no one gave a shit, though). So what did he do to get the recognition and attention? What do kids normally do? Well, you do not want to know (or if you already do you do not want to be reminded). Sasuke, surprisingly, just worked really hard. He was a little kid and yet he trained incessantly. But then again, it is the shinobi-world we are talking about.

Now, the naivetè and blind trust. As a kid he was very fragile. Now he is just weak. In fact, I can not recall any other character who was so weak (mentally and especially emotionally). And this is not meant to be a negative comment. The trust was abused, nothing less and nothing more than that.

And I still have not explained what he is like. I am not able to. There is that supposed goal of his life that leaves any other side of his personality in shadow. Apart from jealousy and a huge inferiority complex, that is. A poster from livejournal named cephiedvariable noted with, in my opinion, pure brilliance that „Sasuke,---, has an inferiority complex about as wide as Russia”.
Excluding these not very flattering traits Sasuke does not seem to have any personality, because his obsession(with everything related to his brother) and shallow goal overshadow everything and just do not allow him to be what he really is. I cannot tell what he is, but I can tell what he is not. He is not an avenger. And I know that I will get shot for this statement, most likely. I shall explain why I am making it anyway, but I would like to finish with the complex-issue first.

He feels like crap, all the time. Partly because almost every time Team 7 has a fight Sasuke is the first one to damage the opponent and then he is defeated and remains knocked out for some time. Naruto is probably the one ending a confrontation and he does it usually successfully. Of course, he can do it due to the fact that Sasuke has already done a great part of what needs to be done. What is regrettable, now, is that Sasuke does not know this. Because no one bothers to tell him. And this is a mistake. Here is the point at which Sakura and Naruto’s brains fail them miserably(to be truthful, Kakashi is not a shining example of emotional intelligence, either).

He feels like crap partly because he cannot feel his progression in the ninja field. It is because, as I already mentioned, he needs to train very much to improve. Yes, co-students were impressed when his taijutsu improved greatly during only two weeks after he had seen (with his Sharingan) Rock Lee fighting. And compared to the other teams of Rookie 9 it is certainly an achievement.
Too bad he is in a team with Uzumaki Naruto. Two weeks is not an achievement anymore. Naruto can learn Rasengan in a very short amount of time. Sakura’s chakra-control is amazing but luckily enough she is so spoony on him that she is not capable of “shining” in his presence.

However, this is enough to destroy any self-esteem that Uchiha Sasuke had.

Now let me present:

Sasuke’s goal or how much of an avenger he actually is.

What does young Uchiha wish to achieve?
Seems like an obvious question, does it not? Well, I never said it was a million dollar one.
So I shall gladly answer it.
First, he wants to understand what the hell is wrong with his brother.
Itachi acted like an idiot and excused himself with saying he wanted to test himself, or, to test whom, really? There is that stupid confusion with the first and the second person anyway in his statement, not to mention that “utsuwa”(the word he used) can mean about four different things.
And everyone should just believe him? Oh really? You know, even Sasuke, who regards every piece of bullshit that happens (not so rarely) to come out of Itachi’s mouth as the holiest truth ever uttered, said it was total crap. He only later reconsidered it (and thought up some really stupid things) because it was too difficult to cope with the ignorance. With suffering from not knowing and not understanding.

Second, he wants to “cure” his dear brother, whom he, yes, still loves. Nothing strange there. A bit twisted in a sense, but hey, Itachi was a really lovable person in the past.

Third, he wants to have the warm tenderness he (and only he!) once was treated with by Itachi and which he cherished the most(even more so than his father's attention). He wants his brother to smile at him, he wants to feel loved again (Itachi really did love him, I believe he still does. He has no reason not to) and by this particular person.

He wants everything to be the way it once was. Because it was the only happiness he had in his childhood*.
He himself admitted as much. He said he lives in the past. Okay, I am fine with that, it is obvious. He said he now has only the bond of hatred with his brother. And then we saw, as a flashback of some sort, young Itachi smiling and piggybacking a really happy Sasuke (one of the sweetest moments in the whole series).
Now what are we supposed to think of it? That Sasuke shares only the bond of hatred with his brother? No, thank you very much. He may say whatever he wants, but he is clearly delusional. It is ironic that he does not understand it himself. Then again, not many people are able to understand what goes on in their sub-consciousness. And Sasuke is still emotionally stuck in his childhood so it is understandable why he has been so successful in convincing himself of the necessity of the revenge.

He decided that Itachi left him alive (which is also uncertain yet…) to get killed by him later. Logic fails me, I have to admit. If Itachi wanted to die he would have committed suicide long ago. I would say, Sasuke has a really weird way of thinking. Itachi mentioned Sasuke killing him, but he never, never-ever uttered a single word about dying. And he mentioned the revenge only in a statement with “if”. If Sasuke wants. Sasuke definitely had too much time to think stupid thoughts during his years alone.

What is strange about the whole thing is that in the end Sasuke has to get what he really wants.
Not that stupid revenge on Itachi which I even called shallow. It is shallow because it is not real.
He has to get the three wishes I listed and he is going to have them because otherwise he is just going to wither. His life is Itachi and his life is those three wishes. If he does not get them he will not survive. And if Sasuke dies, Naruto will cry his eyes out and jump off a cliff. And this is never going to happen.

What is strange, is that according to all appearances Itachi’s chances of surviving are not high.
Makes one wonder, what is going to happen.

*I, as a person with very happy childhood and fairly normal surroundings would say that Sasuke’s childhood was dark, lonely and not happy. Well,Itachi seemed to really try to improve things for him but he was not particularly successful.
Children like Sasuke always appreciate what they never had. Sasuke says he lost everything while I would say he never even had that much to begin with. By ninjaworld standards he had an exemplary family, but by our standards the household was seriously disfunctional.
*

Oh, and one more thing. The revenge is bound to fail for another reason as well. Not just because I say that brotherly love ftw and that Itachi and Sasuke(even more so) are nice lads who would never be able to hurt one another out of their inner goodness. Before I am going to deal with such a tricky business as morals of any kind I have to deal with the metaphysical issue.

The revenge is bound to fail because it is, in essence, an intended murder. Yes, it is, my dear friends. Which makes it morally wrong. It does not matter what the person (who is wished by some others to be executed) has done, Sasuke is a human being and human beings do not have any right to decide who of those that live deserve to die. Because no human being can bring back the dead. By committing a murder Sasuke would be earning no brownies, in fact, he would get some really bad karma. Orochimaru has already done it and it is rather sad. But then, Orochimaru is a villain so he can afford himself things like that.
Sasuke, however, is an anti-hero, a positive character and positive characters do hold the morals that the creator is intending to rub our noses into.

Just a while ago I was afraid that Kishimoto does not give a damn about this issue. That perhaps he, like so many people in the real world, thinks that Vigilante Justice(what revenge essentially is) is right and Sasuke would be doing world a favor when he committed a murder. And that it is right to do so according to the laws of the ninjaworld. And that it is not a bit disturbing that kids in this world who have not even reached their teens work as assassins and die randomly. And that killing is a great business and a way to make money.

But then (and I am positively rubbing my hands now) Akatsuki’s leader presented his goal. And the goal is to make sure that this exact structure of society will never perish. And no matter how sympathetic some of the Akatsuki members may be, the leader has been presented to us not like a White Hat. Of course, the leader may be lying (rather likely), but this is not the point. He has presented something he supposedly wants to achieve and he has done so in a way a villain would.
And after all this it suddenly makes sense. Namely, Naruto’s promise to Haku, that he, Naruto WILL change the shinobi society. He gave another hint of that when he told the Hyuuga that their disgraceful family traditions will be changed when he, Naruto, finally becomes Hokage.
True, he has forgotten about his promise, but I am quite convinced now that he will eventually remember it.
He will ensure that the system will be reformed. Which actually means that ninja as a status will also disappear. Because there will be no need for that kind of a status. Or at least, the protagonists of the Narutoverse should work to achieve it.

Some are saying now that Akatsuki’s leader wants to reform the shinobi society. He does not. He wants to eliminate all the changes for good that have happened and to create a military empire that the society was not so long ago.

Naruto is the reformer.


Next topic: Sasuke’s relationship with Sakura and Naruto.


The funny thing here is that I very often hear people saying that Sakura is just an appreciated teammate for Sasuke whom he treated like shit and whose girly behaviour he hated.

Reality check: Sakura put up a tantrum to sit next to Uchiha Sasuke in the class. He acted indifferent, even a bit annoyed.
What people fail to notice is that Sakura did get what she wanted and Sasuke voiced no objections at all. Mind you, he did not do anything to Naruto, who had just kissed him (in public), either.
But seems he rather liked Sakura from the beginning, for during their very first lesson together he confessed his darkest secrets to her, he admitted having cried, out of blue. He did not to Naruto. Just a bit, when he was "dying" later.
The scenario occured again in the forest of death (the name is embracing the cheese....Valley of the End? Give me a break) where Sasuke did not care about Sakura seeing him weak, defeated and miserable (the second case already. Seems like he trusts Sakura. Strange, that, when you keep in mind his past).
He forbade her from telling Naruto of the outcome of the incident with Orochimaru. While Naruto may understand Sasuke better, he does not accept what Sasuke is doing. So Sasuke would rather not entrust him with things like that. Besides the whole rivalry issue, of course.

While Sakura may not be able to grasp the degree of Sasuke's loneliness (because I think she does grasp the level of his suffering), she accepts him for who he is (currently a monstrous jerk) and supports him. While this is not perhaps the most right thing to do, it (to be accepted unconditionally) is most essential to any human being from their own personal perspective.
And Sasuke is thankful.

[He did not treat her badly, either. He is just ill-bred and inconsiderate, he treats everyone like that. What is notable, he treats Sakura much better than anyone else in general.]


The little blonde one can be considered even more important to Sasuke than the little pink one. Many fans do think so. However, while fighting with Gaara he demanded that Naruto save Sakura at ANY cost. But this issue of importance can be approached from different POVs. So I will not bother.
It is still rather ironic that both boys have naturally very high moral standards (except the one thing regarding Sasuke which I have already dealt with).

It was Sasuke who initiated teamwork. Usually Sakura is seen as the one smoothing conflicts between the other two.
But I would like to point out that Sakura and Naruto did not get along all that well in the beginning. Sasuke had to defend Naruto from Sakura's stupid accusations.

It just plain cannot be claimed that Sasuke is an arrogant prick and Naruto is a fluffy bunny.
I already explained why the former one is untrue.
And Naruto, well, is sometimes an ass (although I really like him personality-wise).
Did he really have to kiss Sasuke so disgracefully, now, did he? Jokes aside, he really should not have picked fights with Sasuke. And how about this: I shall beat you senseless, because you are mine, all mine!!!!!!!

One can argue, though, that later Naruto and Sakura's levels of acceptance and persistence have switched.

Now I have reached the final point.

Why I think that even if not effectual, Sakura's way of dealing with Sasuke leaving Konoha was appropriate and Naruto made a(nother) stupid mistake.

Because I believe Naruto could have managed to keep Sasuke from going. But again he picked up a fight (I am not saying that Sasuke acted reasonably, but Naruto should have been wiser than the most common sense-lacking boy in the whole Narutoverse) and threatened to beat Sasuke up. He of course failed. And not only because Sasuke was not in the mood of losing at that time. Because he, Naruto, chose the wrong way to approach Sasuke. He chose violence but he should have known by that time it was never going to work with Sasuke. And it is never going to work from the metaphysical POV either. Because it is morally wrong. We should try better. And Naruto has to understand this, if he does not, he will never justify his Hero-status in this story.

Imagine this. What if Naruto, at VotE, had just said a few supporting words to Sasuke and just hugged him gently. Like a friend. Do you think Sasuke would have left?
I am not sure, but I am inclined to think he would have not.

Case in point: Sai

A boy the fandom has only recently been (un)fortunate to meet. And as promising a character he might have been, he has already disappeared. And as interesting as ROOT, Danzou and Konoha’s political affairs might have been, nothing so far has supported the thought that we are to hear much of them ever again. However, like usually, I prefer to remain optimistic. Which means I hope we will not lose the absolute treasure of a character that is Sai. Although I understand I am quite alone in that hope, almost nobody I have had opportunity to hear likes the boy.
And there is nothing strange about that, actually.

What do we, the readers, know about him, anyway?
Not much, for sure. Heck, we do not even know his name. But the name really is not the most important thing. And I am very well aware of the theories flying around. Which does not mean I am prepared to give them any credit or support, ever. I do not believe that he is of some uber-important heritage, a(nother) survivor of some randomly *cough* killed clan or a jinchuuriki.
Just, no.

Many things regarding his past are unclear as well. He does not seem to have got any parents alive anymore. It seems he never had, but we cannot be sure. As we still know nothing about how (very young) orphans are raised in Konoha, let’s just drop it.

We know he had a friend whom he refers to as his brother. We know the other boy was shinobi, too, and it seems like he is dead.
It is also almost certain Sai has been brainwashed, thoroughly.
I would have said that Danzou’s intentions were good, but then we found out he was trying to make a deal with Orochimaru. Mind you, I think Danzou really has some chivalrous ideals and Orochimaru is a nice fellow in general, I have nothing against either of them. Just one minor contradiction – Orochimaru (although he usually is not petty ) has sworn to destroy Konoha.
But this is subject for another essay.

Sai is not dim, naturally, but some of Danzou’s ideas are rather fair and I doubt many intelligent people would have anything against these. So it is understandable that Sai was successfully molded into a perfect shinobi – an emotionless tool. All ninjas are basically emotionless tools and apparently they are needed.

Now we know that Sai is trying to revalue his past and some of the principles that were beaten into his (again, rather intelligent) head.

// Although it may turn out I will be forced to eat my words. Recently I found a very neat explanation regarding the name Sai which, sadly enough, is tied to a national fan festival (uchiwa-fan). It can be examined here:
http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=147458 //

So as the result Sai has managed to befriend Uzumaki Naruto and, perhaps, Haruno Sakura. And I was surprised, I really was. You know, for a person who has never been able to truly unterstand what a real friendship is (he claimed he did not know what to feel when his „brother“ died, for god’s sake), he was unexpectedly quick to cherish it.
Unlike Uchiha Sasuke Sai immediately grasped the importance of love - the most precious you could be ever offered. Which means he is capable of beautiful feelings, or rather, he has always been.
I have to admit I was deeply touched when Sai swore (right into young Uchiha’s face) to protect the bonds Naruto once had, because he himself holds Naruto dear now. Ergo what is dear to Naruto, the friend he values, must be protected.

I do not know, but in my opinion ingratitude is not one of Sai’s flaws. Or inability to return love.

And I do not think he is that good at acting, for that matter. Really, we are talking about a boy, who smiles to everyone (all the time) to charm it through their defences, but every time people get mad at him for some reason *cough* and he gets beaten up. Well, I would not call it success.

Makes me feel for him, but well, I know I am not supported by other fans of Naruto in this.

Sakura still seems to be a bit uneasy around Sai (is it because she had been nasty to him? Because she had accused him of commiting really disgraceful deeds? Somehow sounds doubtful to me).

The following is just musing.

Seems like there is no love lost between Sai and Sasuke. No wonder. They are nothing alike (I do not get why people think they are, sorry). Which forces me to ask a question. Is Sai going to die?

Because it is painfully obvious that Sasuke is going to come back(how and when is yet to be seen) and Team 7 is going to be what it was, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. What is going to happen to Sai then, I wonder. Sasuke and Sai would not be able to share Naruto’s friendship.
Sasuke threw it away like trash, in public. And Sai saw it. He saw how young Uchiha spat(not literally) into Naruto’s heart. While Naruto’s heart, metaphorically speaking, is the only thing that has been offered to Sai by now.

(I have to admit, Sasuke managed to make Naruto cry. It is certainly an achievement....)

When Sasuke comes back he will still be loved by Naruto as a brother, while Sai is just a really good friend. And I am not making this statement to discredit Naruto. He is undoubtedly a very loving person, it just happens so that Sasuke is absolutely unique to him because of their past.
And Sasuke is also the embodiment of Naruto’s inner demons(no, no, not the fox!!!). If Naruto failed to bring Sasuke back, his life would be crushed. There would be no more Uzumaki Naruto, he would never regain his self-esteem. He would likely commit suicide.
But we know this will not happen. So Sasuke, no matter what he has done, will be embraced as the prodigal son who came back. At least by Naruto. And this is all that matters to Sai.

Although I believe that Sai would rather die than betray anyone out of petty jealousy.
Unlike *cough* someone.

Case in point: Uchiha Itachi

So, despite being part of the Naruto Fandom for a rather short time, I have noticed that the black sheep of the Uchiha clan is considered very enigmatic by majority.
Which, I have to admit, I am not sure I can always understand. I agree that there are unsolved mysteries about him and we do not have even a proper timeline concerning his (supposedly)most notorious deeds. But I still think that Yakushi Kabuto and Jiraiya are the truly undecipherable ones. Then again, the exact degree of Uchiha Itachi’s mysteriousness is not all that important, I believe.

I feel a bit confused because I do not know what to think of the mangaka himself either. I know he got some acclaim for his previous work, but I have absolutely no idea what kind of story that one was, so I cannot guess what cliches and standards he is leaning towards in Naruto.
Some say he is a mastermind, the others claim his plot occasionally makes no sense whatsoever.
Another thing which I think must not be disregarded: what kind of morals does he support/is intending to point out? Nature vs nurture? Forgiving vs Vigilante Justice?

Well, I have yet to work out what to think of these things and personally, I have not lost faith in Kishimoto. The only thing that makes me worry (and I mean, really worry) is that in Naruto, the author seems to follow the pattern of the feudal Japan rather seriously. Which is, in my opinion, a bit disturbing. The whole solution, whether it is regarding solely Uchiha Itachi or the whole Narutoverse, depends on what Kishimoto thinks of the ethics and morals he is currently showing us. If he thinks there is nothing wrong with the system we are going to get a happy end with the „conflicting side“* defeated.

If he thinks he has created a world really flawed and is willing to show that it cannot longer function like that, he is probably going to give us very complex and interesting solutions. Or no solutions at all, for that matter. Which would be no less interesting.

Now, it is obvious I can’t tell who Itachi really is. In reality, I can’t claim anything about neither him nor his motives. We have practically no facts to base our assumptions upon. I can only interpret the things according to my experience (regarding fiction, in general), beliefs, and analysis that seems logical to me. Perhaps, only to me.

For that matter, following is really just some subjective interpretation and well, I like theorizing too. So some predictions are probably going to take place.

Problem number one: Uchiha Shisui.

I have to admit, in a way I really like Wikipedia. Without it I could not claim that his name means „still water“. However, here facts end.

He was considered „very talented“ and „very loyal“ whatever these statements are supposed to really mean. Who is the measuring stick for talent and loyalty, for that matter? It is not impossible that rather than „exceptionally gifted and faithful“ we are dealing with a person that just suffered from the syndrome called „people just liked him more than others for reasons unrevealed“. But, I digress.
He was believed to be Itachi’s friend. Well, Itachi did not decline this. In fact, we are led to believe that the certain Shisui of the Mirage was Uchiha Itachi’s best friend. Again, we do not have anyone to compare him to. I, for once, did not get the impression that Itachi had any friends. And yet, Shisui was ordered (by whom?) to keep an eye on Itachi, his best friend. It appears unclear which came first, the order, or the friendship. But, I digress, again.

To take the matter unnecessarily further (but I will always do that, so now you have been warned), we do not know whether Shisui took those orders seriously. He was believed to be a person who „would have done anything for the clan“, so it is likely he did what he was told to do. But it is possible that he only used the image of the person who „would have ...“. It depends on whose side he decided to take. Itachi clearly seemed to be not on the side of the clan (and seemed to have no problem with that whatsoever, which makes one wonder how was it possible with that upbringing of his?). If you can take a side, that is. And for all the claims concerning Shisui’s point of view regarding the Uchiha clan politics, we cannot really tell just how devoted to the clan/its ideas he was.

However, despite the fact that I have just expressed my doubts, Itachi did not remain calm and collected when he was told that Shisui had died. Well, at least not when he was accused of murdering Shisui, who had seemingly committed suicide. Itachi, if we are to believe him, claimed with certainty that he had not killed Shisui. He might have lied (and I do not buy any of those „he just doesn’t seem to be a liar“ arguments), I have no problem with that. But, when he is later questioned by Sasuke, he avoids answering question „Did you kill Shisui?“. I am open to different interpretations. What can I say for sure?
The answer is: the chances of Itachi being the killer and being innocent are equal. We can only guess. This is official. What is my opinion?

Well, this is a totally different matter. Currently I believe he did not kill Shisui. Nu-huh. Why?
His reaction seems rather off to me. He was a clever kid, why on earth would he have lashed out in anger when he was accused? If someone says it was to cover up murder by acting offended I just have to disagree, beacuse the behaviour on his part that followed only made them(the clansmen that came to question him) certain(or gave them excuse to look certain) that he had something to hide. They immediately asked for permission to arrest him. See, when you have nothing to hide you do not have to go berserk because of some random accusations, since you a r e n o t a f r a i d. But if you are lying for some reason(and happen to feel uncertain about the whole thing) you may lose your control, out of fear. And I do not believe that Itachi was stupid enough not to know this. If he had anything to hide he would have used the first strategy to look like he did not. Instead he exploded.

Well, my own (undoubtedly subjective) theory is that he was deeply shocked by the death of Shisui which then caused mental breakdown. And this is why he gained Mangekyo. Emotions overwhelming, this is what makes Sharingan develop in the first place, after all.

You can theorize a bit, asking whether some guilt was present on Itachi’s part and if/how much Itachi knew about his friend’s death. Mind you, I think it was suicide, just like it appeared. But you can say that perhaps it was part of some great conspiracy (c’mon, everyone likes good conspiracy-theories) and Shisui was indeed killed. We just do not know by whom then. Or, yes, one more possibility: he is not really dead. But this would open another can of worms(as if I have not opened some already) so I won’t go there.

So, the feeling of guilt(survivors guilt, for example, those close to people that have commited suicide always take some blame, although it’s almost never reasonable) or just that of great loss probably was the reason that Itachi’s Sharingan developed into Mangekyo(u).
And regarding that suicide note....is it just me, or honestly, did it not seem to you absolutely bizarre that men with Sharingan accused another one of copying the handwriting? As if they have never had any idea how to use their kekkei genkai?

Yes, yes, I know there is that ultimately important detail I have been trying to avoid for yonks.
How old was Uchiha Itachi when Uchiha Shisui died?
Well, fine, I do not know. However I know that IF I would be bold enough to take a stand and suggest some possibilities I would get tons of hatemail-like letters telling me that I am ignorant and have never bothered to read the manga carefully.


Now this is pure speculation. I have linked Shisui’s death to Itachi gaining Mangekyou(we can not be entirely sure that he had not had Mangekyou before Shisui’s death, although I am basing my assumptions upon „Mangekyou followed friend’s death immediately“ at the moment).
To me, it looks like Shisui died six months after Itachi had become an ANBU member. Itachi took the test to join ANBU six months after he had become chuunin, which happened when he was 10. Some people have said that after passing the test it still took him some time(about half a year again?) to become truly a member of ANBU. I cannot exclude this possibility however it seems oxymoronic to me. I am not able to buy it at all, makes no sense. So, I think he was about 10,5 or 11 when he became an ANBU member, right after passing the test(which I will talk about later, I promise). Then another six months passed and Shisui died. Itachi, I think, was about 11 or 11,5 then. Ergo he had Mangekyou by the age of 11,5 at most.
Now, I am well prepared for hatemail. Just keep in mind I am not claiming anything of this as a fact.

Problem number two: joining Akatsuki


This matter is slightly different from the previous one. As we know that Itachi was member by the time he briefly re-visited Konoha, we can take for granted he has joined them sometime in the past. But no, we can not take for granted it happened just during his 4-5 year long absence. Because Orochimaru left 7 years ago (pre-timeskip) and complained about oh-so-strong Uchiha Itachi being one of the reasons. Itachi was about 11 then. He had to be connected to the Akatsuki somehow because he had to have some time and space to meet the old fag before the latter ran away in horror.
And it’s not very likely that Orochimaru would have been unable to get what he wanted (Itachi) unless What He Wanted had Mangekyou Sharingan, besides just some smarts and decent enough speed. See, old fag or not, be fair and give Orochimaru some credit, he is arguably the strongest sannin, for heaven’s sake.
This again supports the idea that Shisui dying and Itachi gaining Mangekyou had to take place much earlier than the Uchiha clan massacre. But no, he was not a fully recognized member before he left Konoha.You cannot be true member unless you have got the ring. And Itachi is not seen wearing Shu neither before the massacre nor immediately after it. Instead he is wearing ANBU uniform, but more about this one later.

Which means that Akatsuki do not organize important meetings in which every other member is involved when a new(although relatively) member is joining.
And no test is actually required, you can just find a ring while sunbathing and shout that you got it and you will be in. Tobi clearly proved this.
Besides, can you really see Itachi running between Konoha and Akatsuki doing missions assigned by both during two years? Well, I can’t, sorry.

But he was associated with Akatsuki and well-known to Orochimaru for about two (or more, in case the previous owner of Shu did not die immediately after Itachi had fled Konoha) years before he became an „official“ member.
His reasons for association/joining?

Honestly, I have no idea. We can (yeah, I have said this already) only guess. But it’s fairly obvious he doesn’t give a damn about the tailed-beasts and what not. He openly ruins his missions and hides information that is essential. The message he is sending is actually rather clear, really: go fuck yourself.
But he is still with them......why then? Did the AL force him to be a member? Okay I shall present the question differently: can you see anybody forcing young Uchiha Itachi into doing anything? Anything at all? You can see Orochimaru did not cope with the task. So I do not see anyone threatening him or using brute force to persuade him. But for some reason he is staying with them although he seems to have (mildly put) dislike of the situation. (As a sidenote, Sasori had to take a test before he was accepted and it seems as a hint, but we have no evidence whatsoever that Itachi had to prove himself like that, too, so I’ll just drop it)
Now, facts end. Here goes my personal speculation. Is it far-fetched? I think it is.
Remember the S-class mission? I have an idea about what that was.

I know it’s highly unlikely, but I think his mission might have been infiltrating Akatsuki.
This would be why, despite having been exceptionally brilliant, it remained his only S-class mission ever. Well, actually, at the moment I am re-examining this point and we have no proof that it was for joining ANBU when Itachi was assigned his S-class mission. It might have been a B-class mission and the S-class one might have been given him later(then again I do not think that it would be possible to join ANBU with completing just a B-class one and Itachi has never had any A-class missions) . For instance, before becoming ANBU captain(years later). But, no matter what, it had to be difficult to prove yourself worthy of ANBU at the age of 10,5-11. So, lets just say that The Mission He Did To Join ANBU(from now on referred to as The Mission) was infiltarting Akatsuki(which sounds pretty S-class to me, anyway).
Now, for Konoha it would have been extremely useful to have their own man in Akatsuki. Orochimaru has promised to destroy Konoha AND he was a member at that time. And, speculating again, how on earth does Jiraiya have so much information regarding Akatsuki? Well, I think from Hokage(whoever it happens to currently be). ANBU is directly under Hokage.
And I have no doubts Itachi would have succeeded in any mission he was given if he just didn’t happen to totally dislike it. As he is a part of the organization now, I can say that if this was his mission, then yes, he succeeded and was exceptionally brilliant. Although, I would have to admit that if he was told by Hokage(who else?) to gather information and remain strictly under-cover he is not doing very well, especially regarding the latter.**

But then, I would be a bit annoyed as well, after being „under-cover“ for about 9 years, really.

** Being doing a really long mission assigned by Hokage would explain why nobody was given orders to hunt down Uchiha Itachi after the Uchiha clan massacre, which he was suspected of.

[Being one of Hokage's proteges would explain why he showed up in Konoha immediately after Sandaime's death.]

Of course, now I have reached the next problem, but before I continue, I shall say that The Mission is still a mystery. We do not know what he was asked to do, we can only guess. But it is almost certain that ANBU missions are given by Hokage. And I still don’t get why nobody tried to catch him after he „officially left Konoha“(you’d think they were restricted?).

Problem number three: the Uchiha clan massacre


First, we never see anyone, including Itachi Uchiha, killing them. We see corpses. In the street. At „night“(Well, maybe Sasuke was just stupid enough to not distinguish night from afternoon. I would not be surprised, if this was the case). You would think they were in their houses already. But, I digress. No explanation can be given, yet.

(And I do not see a kid killing a couple of dozens Sharingan-users with kunais and katanas. Or with anything except some mass-destruction jutsu. Which, by whomever the people were killed, was NOT used. Although you can do everything with plot-no-jutsu.)



Now, besides the undeniable fact that immediately after the massacre Itachi is seen wearing (clean!) ANBU uniform (with unscratched forehead-protector), I have no certain information to explore.

So, time for raw speculation again.
To me, it seems that Itachi arrived just seconds before Sasuke. What was he (or was it him?) doing on the telephone pole, anyway?
He clearly was willing to prevent Sasuke from seeing their dead parents. It is no less clear that after he had failed he made an extra point of mindraping Sasuke with showing exactly what he was just trying to hide. Which is oxymoronic.

And then he went out of his way to leave Sasuke under the impression that he(Itachi) was directly or not so much guilty of the massacre. Simultaneously he was avoiding making any clear statements whatsoever. As if he was afraid of lying. Which is oxymoronic again. Do you really think that (quote)“I continued acting as the elder brother you desired..blah-blah“ has any credibility?
Well, I would say that Itachi is, sadly enough, not capable of coming up with a decent lie even if his life depended on it.

[Sidenote, to me it seems obvious that Sasuke is put under genjutsu right after he sees a man on the telephone pole. But I cannot claim anything. ]

Take a look at some of Itachi’s words now:
„To awaken Mangekyou Sharingan you have to kill your closest friend“-WTF? Please explain to me, how on earth then is Hatake Kakashi able to run around and show off his Mangekyou?
And even before the fandom had solid evidence that this exact statement was total rubbish it really should have been clear to any (somewhat) intelligent reader that you can not, even in a fairy-tale, gain from doing evil like that. Even if it was not meant literally (all the other Uchihas in history who had got Mangekyou were surely not monstrous murderers, were they?). While we are at that, who is Itachi Uchiha to tell me what „friend“ really means?

Besides, Itachi knows Sasuke, he knows that the young brat would never do anything like that. It sounds like he was making up the best excuse for Sasuke to never get Mangekyou. And Itachi never seems to be happy about the fact that he has Mangekyou. He seems actually quite bitter when he says that he has it „Thanks to Shisui“. I would say he was trying to prevent Sasuke from obtaining the second level, but again I can not claim anything.
„Because of your wish to surpass me I will let you(Sasuke) live.....for my sake“- lovelorn puppies aside, what is he talking about?

„It would be worthless to kill someone like you(Sasuke)“- this statement is granted no logic. It is stupid, especially when you keep in mind that Itachi supposedly(in case he is the one to blame, that is) did not find those ripe-old grandmas and grandpas worthless to kill.
Yeah, I just so believe everything Itachi said and showed in genjutsu(in which he controls literally everything).

Sidenote, it seems that when he was Tsukiyomi-ing Sasuke he did not show the latter anything but just some of Sasuke’s private memories concerning their family and some random fantasies of some random blood being shed.
Another sidenote, he constantly says that Sasuke is foolish. If I am correct(I have to check it) he has never, before that evening, called Sasuke foolish. So, what is he trying to point out?

So, really, the whole speech(and the „special effects“ which would not survive any criticizm either) consists of big lies and/or big nonsenses.
(He also says for the second time that Sasuke hated him. This is not true. Even now, Sasuke does not really hate him, but this is another essay for another time. Does he really believe that Sasuke was hating him? If so, it is a mystery how he came to this conclusion. And then he isn’t nearly as smart as we are led to believe he is. In fact he would be an absolute idiot. Despite the latter being a possibility I sincerely hope this is not the case. Itachi being stupid would ruin the story.)

The massacre is not related to Akatsuki. No.*** Kisame had never in his life seen Sharingan other than Itachi's, before he met Sasuke (and please note, neither had Deidara). And he did not have a faintest idea of who Sasuke was, he had only heard rumours of the massacre. But everyone has. Even Zabuza had. So, for the last time, the Akatsuki's leader is not an Uchiha. While I agree that Kisame is not the brightest bulb on the stage, he is not THAT dim(although close enough). Neither is he blind. And Itachi obviously went out of his way to hide the very existence of his little brother (should not be surprise, though, Sasuke is dear to him). Orochimaru must have been a sneaky little bastard indeed to find out.
In addition: this means, that we are going to have an entirely separate Uchiha arc. For there is another Mangekyo(u) Sharingan user. Or at least, the person just recently was alive. The more I try to keep everything in mind the more complicated things get.

[***There might be a connection, but it is possible only if Kisame joined Akatsuki much later than the Uchiha clan massacre took place.]

[EDITED ON 20.07.07: Well, no. Separate Uchiha story-arc is not required. While the AL is not an Uchiha, he's taking orders from another person. And this opens a whole new can of worms. And I cannot really exclude the possibility of SOME Akatsuki members being involved in the massacre anymore.]

Now, for the reason that we have only smoke and mirrors some fishy circumstances given to us regarding the massacre, I have to leave the matter where it is.
Just one more thing: how happened that nobody neither noticed nor heard that in their neighbourhood-district was a mass-murder going on? No answer. How happened that just Itachi’s most precious Sasuke was having a training at that time? No answer.






* In Naruto no Voldemorts or Saurons can be noticed. The luck of ours is unbelievable.

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