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[sharkfreak-official]

This is "Sasuke's Chidori", which was first performed at the Chunin Exam Finals. Kakashi had been teaching him all the time for a month, and he had just learned it. At this time, Sasuke seemed happy to have learned a new jutsu, and he was wearing a new version of his clothes. But for some reason, his Chidori is in "left handed".

Kishimoto is someone who doesn't use unnecessary depictions...There must be some important reason for Sasuke's left chidori.

When Kakashi performs Raikiri (or Chidori), he usually uses his right hand. Then he activate it with both hands at the same time (against Kakuzu), and then he activate it with only his left hand (when Tobi appears in the Land of Iron). If you think about it normally, you might wonder why Sasuke doesn't use his right hand? I know we've seen him emit chidori all over his body and he was able to wield lightning-empowered sword in his right hand.

I think...The truth is, there is a more important meaning.... The hidden necessity that Sasuke's Chidori must be on his left hand.

During their first encounter, Sasuke & Naruto only did the "Seal of Confrontation", and then they left without making any sign of reconciliation with each other.

It doesn't really matter whether he normally use chidori with his left or right hand. But, The only time it becomes meaningful is when it collides with Naruto's Rasengan. In the Valley of the End when the two hit each other with Chidori and Rasengan... For a moment, they were able to read both of their minds.

And then there is the ``inner scene'' that Naruto exchanged with Sasuke at the Valley of the End in the collision of Chidori ( left hand ) and Rasengan (right hand) . They always wanted to be friends, even if they couldn't admit it out loud. But they couldn't accept and come to terms with how they felt inside:

I think the fact that the two of them clashed Chidori and Rasengan at that time meant that they clashed their true feelings. Each of them used Chidori and Rasengan to express their true feelings that they could not express out loud.

Sasuke said that if they bumped into each other and "exchanged fists", they could read each other's thoughts. So rather than using each other's bodies, they bumped each other's techniques (hand to hand) and "exchanged fists to communicate their true feelings". Chidori and Rasengan are meant for Sasuke and Naruto to have a heart-to-heart conversation.

★ The moment they collided for the second time (and finally) in the Valley of the End, the two returned to their childhood and the fingers they exchanged in the spiritual world were an unmistakable "sign of reconciliation".

★ In the bridge (KSA)....Naruto shares his inner feelings to Sasuke. To convey the most important words that he wanted to convey to him at that time. This is Sasuke and Naruto, Chidori vs. Rasengan for the third time. (To be exact, the first Chidori vs. Rasengan fight was on the roof of the hospital...then it's used twice in the Valley of the End, so it's four times). It's been almost 4 years since then. Naruto now understands Sasuke's pain. He also gained confidence in his ability to have internal conversations with Sasuke. Maybe that's why he wanted to convey what he couldn't convey at that time, or the answers he didn't understand at that time. When Naruto said, “I'm glad I met you”, Naruto looks very happy. This is Naruto's true feelings. That smile on Naruto's face is not just a fake one, it really shows how happy he is to have met Sasuke. Naruto must have been wishing to convey these words through his ``inner conversation'' for three years.

★ No matter how amazing new techniques they acquire, this is still the one thing these two will clash against. Again their Chidori & Rasengan collided but this time there is no "spiritual world". When they woke up they were both lying next to each other. They had used all their strength, their eyes were exhausted, and kurama was already asleep. And now you could say that they were no longer Uchiha or Jinchuriki...They were just two people, "Sasuke and Naruto". Then...the conversation between the two is lit by the moon, and it's interesting how Sasuke's "true feelings'' gradually, or rather, begin to emerge from this point.

After all, Rasengan and Chidori have meaning only when their right and left fists meet. Only when the two people face the same direction will the ``Chidori'' on the left hand and the ``Rasengan'' on the right hand be firmly connected with their five fingers. In other words... Sasuke's left hand and Naruto's right hand should join hands with interlaced fingers. When holding hands, it is only possible to hold hands with the right and left hands. The right hand and the right hand cannot connect. Sasuke's left hand -> Chidori, Naruto's right hand -> Rasengan...It's not for two people to collide, but for two people to hold hands!

If Sasuke had activated Chidori with his right hand... Naruto's right hand and Sasuke's right hand, the two of them could not hold hands and their relationship ends with a unison sign and they remain divided into ``this side and that side.'' However, holding hands is possible only if two people are standing on the same side, facing the same direction.

I think, That's why...Sasuke's Chidori only works with his left hand.

But in reality, they want to stand next to each other. They want to stand next to each other and hold their hands...facing the same direction

In the case of left hand + right hand, if they are side by side and facing the same direction, their hands will be joined.

Both of them lost their dominant hands. Naruto's right hand and Sasuke's left hand were blown away and lost...the blood flowing from their arms makes it look like they are holding hands. It looks more like "holding hands" than a "sign of reconciliation". This has more meaning than a ``seal of reconciliation.''

A ``seal of reconciliation'' is a greeting that says ``face to face'' with each other. It is a greeting exchanged between people who are in conflict while standing on one side and the other side, ``remaining in the position of conflict.''

However, Naruto and Sasuke went one step further, achieving true reconciliation and understanding.

In Vote1, Naruto held out his hand to hold Sasuke by saying, "I don't want you to be taken away by someone like Orochimaru," and Sasuke held out his hand as a farewell and said his "Goodbye." Chidori in his left hand and Rasengan in his right hand...No matter how many times they clash, their left and right hands couldn't able to "hold hands" properly. They were still unable to understand each other's feelings.

In Vote2, Naruto and Sasuke... they stood side by side, looking in the same direction and holding hands. Sasuke was finally able to ``release'' himself from his burdens and darkness...Sasuke accepts and acknowledges his own weakness (his desire to connect with Naruto)... and Naruto was finally able to save his "one & only....friend'' through his "love"...through his understanding, trust, affection, and devotion. They both saved each other. They both completely understood, with no need for further explanation; everything is straightforward and transparent, leaving no room for confusion or ambiguity.

[sharkfreak-official]

SORRY FOR THE DELAY 😭

Guys, I'm not going to lie, when I started posting on Ao3 I was like

"Haha! I've seen how authors on here sometimes get hit with the Ao3 Author's Curse, but what could happen to me? It's not like anything bad will happen, I'm just writing gay Naruto fanfic :)"

Well.

If any of you are wondering why I haven't updated my fic in a little over a month...the Author's Curse finally hit 🫠 Guys. I moved TWICE this July. Moved. As in moved where I live. And then the rest of the shitstorm hit 💀🙏.

I literally cannot process the absolutely, borderline COMICAL series of unfortunate events that happened last month, like genuinely, what the actual fuck. Anyway, fear not, I am halfway through writing the next chapter 🥰 Hopefully I can post it; fingers crossed that I get alllll this other fuckery over with 😅

[sharkfreak-official]

gay people always gotta do the craziest stuff instead of just saying i love you

“i’m cute?”

“the cutest girl in the whole world”

“ ———“

“atleast curse me a little in the end,”

“hey hachi, that love letter you sent me, i still cherish it,”

“looking back on it now, the way i felt about you nana, felt a lot like falling in love”

“without meaning to, i started talking to you! you’re so mean sometimes and i hate it. but my idea of a victory is so tied to the image of you in my head, that in those moments, i can’t help but imitate you,”

“when he’s near me, his kindness and honesty, his warmth.. it flows right through me, it made me complete.”

“you’re not alone. i’m by your side. my soul is always by your side.”

“if belief in god is human, if all i can do as a human is to believe… my god..my universe”

“thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions,”

“if i were a woman, loving you wouldn’t be a sin,”

“You fool, If I keep regressing, will I see you again?”

[sharkfreak-official]

the homosexuality and romance in naruto and sasuke’s relationship is textually supported inside the story

this is just an expansion of my own old post (rip sasukesun), but panels will be included in this edition. i also took inspiration from my friend @narutouzumakiarchive who so accurately wrote, and i quote, when determining the validity of something in canon you need to look at the internal logic of the world and the values that the author promotes, my post will only show other instances where naruto and sasuke do exactly (to each other) what is established by the manga itself as “love” or “romance” and even “gay”, many of them have already been pointed out by myself or other people in the fandom, but i wanted to put them all together to reinforce how a narrative is built and how an in universe logic is established. sit down cause it’s gonna be long and i will not leave it under a read more because i’m afraid to lose it forever if i do.

haku and zabuza

land of waves is such a well written arc that its presence, ideas, values etc keep showing up for the whole story. it’s the essence of the manga, if i’m being real, and if i were to put all the references here, it would be endless, but for the purpose of this post, i want to point out the implication of romantic feelings in haku and zabuza’s relationship, without any value of judgement whether i find it “problematic”, and how they parallel naruto and sasuke’s.

sasuke sacrificing himself for naruto parallels haku sacrificing himself to zabuza. but it goes beyond it because haku establishes the importance of wanting to protect people who are precious to you, an idea that persists for the entire manga. the same way haku considers zabuza precious to him to the point that he would die to see zabuza’s dream come true, sasuke’s sacrifice implies he feels the same for naruto, sasuke himself implies in his “deathbed” he wants naruto to fulfil his dream. and later in the manga, naruto internalises this thought, he wants to protect sasuke, who is precious to him.

almost 200 chapters later, and we still have land of waves clear references.

and as if that’s not enough, the feeling of acceptance that makes haku so devoted to zabuza is also shared by naruto towards sasuke.

in the arc itself, naruto recognises clearly that what haku felt for zabuza was love, the word he uses denotes feelings of affection, it’s not a mere “care about” the translation here is saying. the devotion, the desire to protect someone who is precious to you, the feelings of acceptance, they all fall under love as a definition, recognised by naruto himself when he calls zabuza out, but it goes beyond that, because kishimoto wrote haku to have romantic feelings for zabuza, something pointed out by many people in this fandom, haku blushes while calling zabuza’s body beautiful. kishimoto draws them in angles where their mouths are aligned. zabuza wishes to go to the same place haku went in the afterlife.

and yet the devotion, the desire to protect someone who is precious to you, the acceptance, all of those aspects that fall under the definition of love in haku and zabuza’s relationship, are applied to naruto and sasuke. i guess it’s easy to accept that what they feel for each other is love, but it’s very curious how they parallel two people with implied romantic feelings in every single aspect of their relationship. again, i’m not here to morally judge haku and zabuza’s relationship or kishimoto’s decisions, the age gap isn’t part of naruto and sasuke’s relationship anyway, but i want to follow the internal logic of the manga, it was certainly a choice to add this romantic subtext for zabuza and haku while making naruto and sasuke follow the exact same patterns.

shikaku

shikaku talks about someone rough having a soft spot for the person they love, and shikamaru thinks his father likes to be bossed around by his mother. this is a trope kishimoto is fond of, in his manga mario, he likes that saori is tough but has a warms up for mario, but inside the naruto manga, the logic is no different in naruto and sasuke’s relationship. sasuke clearly has a soft spot for naruto, naruto is the only one sasuke shows weakness towards, sasuke admits naruto made me him feel at ease, and one of the things that actually got sasuke’s attention in naruto’s behaviour was his prankster gremlin antics, a trait generally rejected by others. when naruto yells at chuunin exams, people think he’s loud and annoying, but sasuke smiles fondly.

naruto also enjoys to be bossed by sasuke, this was shown in war arc, he says sasuke is “pissing him off” for giving orders but he doesn’t really do anything about it, he smiles and agrees on following sasuke’s ideas anyway, like a smitten boyfriend. shikaku says this is love, and again how naruto and sasuke act towards each other fall under what is defined as love by someone else inside the manga.

tayuya

i made a specific post about this one already, but i can’t leave what tayuya says out of this compilation because it’s one of the most interesting ones to me. tayuya doesn’t define love, she defines homosexuality specifically.

in sasuke’s retrieval arc, during tayuya vs shikamaru, tayuya asks if sasuke is that important for them to waste a team for one guy, and says that’s gay, there’s no euphemism or disguise on her words, she says they are homos. shikamaru himself explains at that moment that no, in his case at least, he wants to save sasuke because he is a brother of the leaf and shikamaru trusts his comrades, he doesn’t think he’s wasting his team for one guy, perfectly understandable, but that doesn’t change how tayuya has established a logic inside the narrative: there is a line to cross.

tayuya talks about “wasting a team” for one guy but it’s not the “wasting a team” aspect that is gay, it’s the idea of “going too far” for a guy that’s very important to you, now i wonder who has an entire narrative surrounding this idea, of many people questioning “why would you go that far for one guy?”.

“is that boy sasuke that important to you?” and the answer to naruto is yes, but not because sasuke is a “brother of the leaf”, and then you continue with what tayuya says after… so you are a homo. how naruto acts towards sasuke is established in the narrative of the manga as homosexuality, not only love or romance.

sai and nicknames

when trying to improve his social skills, sai reads a book on the matter. what kishimoto chose to show the readers by the social rules of the naruto universe is that using sufixes like “-kun” expresses distance, an emotional barrier, something that both hinata and sakura use with naruto and sasuke. but using nicknames and terms of endearment help to combat that distance, and it allows you to form an especial and close relationship. sasuke uses a term of endearment with naruto, a special nickname he doesn’t use with anyone else, actually, naruto is the only person to have that with sasuke.

in a flashback, we learn that naruto called sasuke an “usuratonkachi” first, but sasuke kept it and started using it with naruto. through the manga we see that sasuke calls naruto that multiple times, and sometimes it is when naruto is being an “idiot”, but it’s also in endearing moments, the most remarkable one being vote2, after their reconciliation. in the boruto movie, we learn that sasuke has its own definition for usuratonkachi, someone who hates to lose, a very noticeable trait of naruto’s personality, but something endearing to sasuke nonetheless. naruto’s strong will is something sasuke admires.

kishimoto uses a book on social skills to establish another in universe rule, that using nicknames with someone expresses emotional closeness, a special relationship. through the manga, kishimoto portrays sasuke to follow the same rule with naruto, showing that they are close and their relationship is special.

hinata’s confession

hinata confesses her love to naruto during pein’s invasion, in her confession, she explains the reasons for her feelings.

naruto doesn’t say anything about hinata confessing to him, but one arc later he says the same things she said, but to sasuke, basically the same reasons.

hinata to naruto: i nearly went the wrong way, but you showed me the right one / naruto to sasuke: one misstep and i could’ve ended up like you, but my connection with you helped go the right way.

hinata to naruto: i was always chasing you, wanting to overtake you, i just wanted to talk to you, i wanted to be with you / naruto to sasuke: i wanted to talk to you but i didn’t know how to approach it, you made me feel jealous so i made you my rival, but i wanted to be like you, i was always chasing after you.

on vote2, sasuke’s monologue reveals he feels the same about naruto, it’s a direct response to everything naruto has said, he even remembers that very conversation in kage summit, sasuke also adds the loneliness he and naruto were familiar with, but the same feelings of admiration naruto talked about in kage summit are there.

sasuke to naruto: i saw you growing stronger and i reciprocated the rivalry, when you started growing more, i felt jealous, you had a strength i didn’t, you had always walked in front of me.

hinata doesn’t have the same proximity with naruto as naruto and sasuke have with each other, the way she refers at him (the -kun suffix) expresses distance and an emotional barrier, meanwhile the way sasuke refers to naruto expresses a special relationship and closeness, as we can see by the social rules of this universe, and yet, what hinata says to naruto is defined as love. the way naruto and sasuke speak about each other is indicated in the manga as reasons for someone to romantically love one another, but they have a plus that their relationship is seen by the narrative as special, and what they have is mutual.

omoi and shinjuu

another one that has been pointed out by many people in the fandom, i’m not here to exactly discuss shinjuu and its references outside the manga, even though other tumblr uses have done a pretty good job on this. what i’m about to say has already been explained by @narutouzumakiarchive on the same post i linked at the beginning, i just want to compile all the references together and pay attention to the logic built through the entire story.

at the beginning of kage summit, omoi wonders about shinjuu, he specifically uses that word and frames it as romantic, translations are sometimes watered down because omoi says shinjuu (しんじゅう), the furigana is unmistakable, it means double suicide not merely “can’t let me go”, the text that doesn’t say suicide is omitting relevant information. omoi’s thoughts are basically: what if someone is so in love with him they can’t bear to be apart from him, making them propose a lovers suicide if he and the hypothetical person are to separate? omoi wonders about a romantic situation, it is not framed as anything else but romantic.

everybody knows what happens at the end of kage summit right?

the context of the entire arc shows everybody telling naruto to stop going that far for sasuke, to cut sasuke off, and yet naruto has a panic attack over the thought of sasuke dying. when naruto meets sasuke, he tells him the same things hinata said to him, and after everything, naruto proposes a double suicide with sasuke because he can’t bear the idea of existing without him, with this kind of separation. how exactly does that differ from what omoi imagined?

kishimoto throws a random and seemingly comedic and unrelated information at the beginning of the arc, frames it as romantic, and then not so innocently makes naruto repeat the same behaviour towards sasuke at the end of the very same arc. he could’ve chosen anything for omoi to say, and still, coincidentally, what he says fits naruto and sasuke’s relationship perfectly, please someone warn him the things he be writing accidentally.

kushina and minato

able to piss off even people inside the naruto and sasuke pile of shippers itself, what sasuke says about naruto parallels what kushina says about minato and why she fell for him, there are many many narusasu/minakushi parallels, actually, even more after the minato one shot, and it’s not about their personalities or looks, but rather about roles and themes.

kushina tells naruto that she fell for minato because he saved her, the only one who was able to, and he was capable of changing her heart, if those are reasons to make someone fall for another person, what can we say about sasuke that says naruto saved him, the only one who was able to, and was capable of changing his heart?

kishimoto even gives sasuke and kushina the same role of explaining to their son (k) about their fathers, and what they say about naruto and minato is also similar.

(this collage is maoam’s btw, you can check their posts, they also point out a lot of stuff i’m talking about).

kushina about minato: he looked like a sissy and unreliable, he said he wanted to be hokage but there was no way i believed in that / sasuke about naruto: he was always talking about becoming hokage but he a loser, full of weaknesses, a good for nothing.

kushina about minato: i looked down on him, but i was wrong, he saved me and became a slpendid ninja (and later hokage) / sasuke about naruto: he pulled himself with his own strength and became hokage.

my point here is not even to show how their relationships parallel one another, but rather to talk about how the way naruto and sasuke act towards each other is framed as reasons why people fall in love in this universe, it can be seen as platonic for a reader’s standard, but for the naruto world’s rules, it isn’t, it is romantic.

not giving up

when kakashi wrongly claims that sakura has never given up on sasuke and that she’s only wanted to save him, he associates those feelings with love. this is not the first time kakashi’s judgement on sakura is objectively wrong, in kage summit, sakura was shown to be the same as any other konoha ninja when it comes to sasuke, well any other konoha ninja but one.

sasuke himself acknowledges that naruto was the only one who has never given up on him, not only that but it was naruto who saved him, that’s solely on naruto, nobody else mentioned. despite kakashi being wrong about the person, he also has a definition on love, one that was already used with kushina and minato. saving someone and not giving up on them is framed as love, and it comes out of sasuke’s mouth that only naruto did that for him.

i’ve only talked about the content itself, but in some of those instances kishimoto also uses visual language to get the message through, though that would be for another occasion, i guess.

i wonder how come so many different characters can name what’s love and romance and even homosexuality and have naruto and sasuke meeting every single standard, but people still claim kishimoto wrote it all accidentally because he is, without any proof except for the claim that he is japanese and old and a man, homophobic. i’m sorry, but it’s not “up to the audience” to decide wether naruto and sasuke’s relationship is romantic or platonic. you can disagree all you want and i know people will, but no one has yet provided the textual evidence that shows otherwise. by every metric, the narrative establishes that, in the logic of the naruto universe, what naruto and sasuke have is not only love but romance, and not only romance but homosexual.

[sharkfreak-official]

NSFW!! Explicit. Deleted Snippet.

[Deleted Snippet – Ashes and Embers, Chapter 22] POV: Naruto. Timing: during Chapter 22, The Next Worst Thing After Love, of my fic, Ashes and Embers.

This didn't make the cut because Chapter 22 is told from Sasuke’s POV—but Naruto was clearly going through it too. Horribly down bad. No thoughts, just Sasuke’s dick.

(Also: despite this snippet and the existence of Chapter 22, yes, this fic will feature mostly Top Sasuke. They do switch, but the ratio is not balanced. Consider that a threat or a promise depending on your orientation.) This is also my apology for the emotional devastation in Chapter 23 😅

🔞 NSFW / explicit. Read with your whole chest.

It was just Sasuke.

Of course it was.

Naruto’s hand wrapped around him again—slow, tight. Testing. He’d touched him before—his hips, his chest, the scar on his shoulder—and this wasn't any different. Really. This was just...intimate. Heavy. Better.

Sasuke’s cock was flushed and thick in his hand, impossibly hot. Slick already, twitching faintly, betraying just how worked up he was. Naruto’s breath caught as he watched a drop bead at the tip, slow and glistening. It clung there—obscene—before slipping down the shaft.

His thumb followed it, spreading it lower.

Sasuke’s thighs jerked.

Naruto’s eyes didn’t leave the sight. Couldn’t. He stared like he was committing it to memory—every vein, every twitch, the taut flush of the head, the way the skin gave beneath his palm when he tightened his grip.

Pretty.

Too pretty.

Unfair, really. For Sasuke to look like that. For his cock to be this beautiful. Pale skin flushed dark, so responsive, so needy, like it had been waiting for Naruto’s hand this entire time.

Naruto traced the underside with a knuckle. It jumped.

Sasuke exhaled sharply—sharp enough for Naruto to feel it in the rise of his chest.

Naruto pressed closer.

Watched his own fingers curl around the base. Watched the muscles in Sasuke’s abdomen tense. Watched his cock throb when Naruto twisted his wrist slightly, just to see what would happen.

More slick gathered at the tip.

Naruto licked his lips.

He hadn’t even touched himself—hadn’t thought about it once. Everything in him was locked on this. On Sasuke. The weight of him. The warmth. The sound of his breath catching every time Naruto did something right.

He shifted lower. Nosed at the crease of Sasuke’s thigh, inhaled slow and deep.

Salt. Skin. Sasuke.

His teeth scraped lightly against sensitive flesh, just to mark it. Not hard. Just enough to make Sasuke twitch again.

His hand resumed its rhythm. Firm. Focused. Reverent.

The flushed head peeked between his fingers again and again, like it belonged there—like it had always belonged there.

Naruto didn’t blink.

Didn’t breathe.

He just moved. Slow, sure strokes. His grip tightening slightly every time Sasuke’s hips bucked, adjusting for the way his cock pulsed in his hand like it was pleading for more.

This wasn’t about dominance.

It wasn’t even about sex.

It was about Sasuke.

About every inch of him.

And how Naruto needed to see him undone.

By him.

Only him.

[sharkfreak-official]

I'm never escaping them...

Many people in the manga have spoken about Naruto and Sasuke's feelings for each other, but no one has done so more than Orochimaru.

1. Kishimoto is someone who pays attention to sound symbolism. And Kishimoto explicitly emphasized Sasuke looking at and reacting to Naruto 3 times with his heart beating in response, thus establishing a metonymic relationship in which Sasuke's heart beating represented Naruto having an effect on Sasuke's heart. Naruto was the only comrade Sasuke's heart beat for. When Sasuke finally decided to wholly reject Itachi's words, Sasuke's heart beat again, symbolizing Naruto being connected to Sasuke's heart changing.

Orochiamaru took note of Naruto's effect on Sasuke and, in the more accurately translated panel, stated that Naruto was changing Sasuke's heart. And this is part of a larger pattern of heart symbolism being integral to Naruto and Sasuke’s bond. Naruto made Sasuke's heart beat, Sasuke made Naruto clutch at his heart, Naruto made Sasuke's sharingan (a reflection of the heart) transform repeatedly, and in the end, their hearts were able to mutually merge in their shared feelings of empathy for each other.

On a less meta scale, this scene is emblematic of Naruto and Sasuke being integral to each other's development and mutually pushing the other to get better. They drive each other.

Kishimoto also validates Orochimaru's Forest of Death observations in the narrative.

Orochiamaru indicates that Naruto was extinguishing the darkness from Sasuke's soul, and we repeatedly see Naruto framed as Sasuke's light in narrative. In order to enter the darkness, Sasuke needed to leave Naruto. When Sasuke talks about Naruto walking in front of him, the text is placed on a panel of the sun. Even in Boruto, when Sasuke reflects on Naruto and talks about Naruto's Hokage dream that Sasuke "died" to protect in the Land of Waves, Naruto is pointedly encased in bright light. Kishimoto has even stated that Sasuke likes Naruto's "sunny" personality. It's all connected to their recurrent yin and yang symbolism.

Kishimoto also referenced Orochimaru's statement in Sasuke's 698 monologue. Orochimaru said that in order to counteract Naruto's influence on Sasuke, he needed to "dye" Sasuke in his colors. [That particular phrasing coming from Orochimaru has a very negative connotation and a disturbing innuendo.] But, Sasuke used the word "dye" in an innocent context to refer to Naruto being his weakness and unconsciously having an emotional effect on him.

2. Orochimaru specifically brought Sai to Sasuke so that they could reminisce about Sasuke's "dear Konoha." When Sai specifically riles Sasuke up by disrespecting Naruto, he's swiftly met with Sasuke's fierce genjutsu, and Orochimaru warns Sai about baiting Sasuke too much. This moment is particularly interesting because it resembles the way both Orochimaru, Kabuto AND Sai used Sasuke's name to provoke Naruto earlier in this very arc.

It's also narratively fitting that in the same way Sasuke's introduction in Part 1 began with him angrily telling off Sakura for not being understanding about Naruto, he began his Part 2 introduction with putting Sai in a genjutsu because of how he mentioned Naruto. And it aligns with Sasuke confirming his feelings for Naruto never changed.

3. Orochimaru recognizes that Sasuke is worried about Naruto when Sasuke (and the others) sensed his chakra and Sasuke rushed Orochimaru so they could "revive" the Hokage. Sasuke had been on his way to Naruto to keep true to their promise to fight each other first (Chapter 574) before he'd come across Itachi. Kishimoto really built up Naruto and Sasuke's desire to meet each other, which is fitting given that Kishimoto discussed wanting special feelings to be born to them when they finally returned to eachother.

Kishimoto also referenced the the word that Orochimaru used to describe Sasuke's feelings in Sasuke's monologue as well, lending further credibility to Orochimaru's statement.

4. In Chapter 646, Sasuke is established as looking at Naruto with a pained expression. Chapter 647 maintains focus on Sasuke staring in that same direction with a look that Orochimaru indicates represents Sasuke being in a foul mood. And that foul mood that Orochimaru noted was only lifted after Sasuke specifically encouraged Naruto to keep fighting, and Naruto stated he was coming with Sasuke. It also gives us the iconic moment where Naruto's heart pours out to the shinobi alliance, and his regrets about not reaching out to Sasuke are at the very forefront. This moment also connects to the heart symbolism that is significant in Naruto's and Sasuke's bond as well as the theme of them feeling the others' pain.

5. Rather than making Orochimaru comment on Naruto and Sasuke's bond via direct speaker reference, Kishimoto utilizes semantic reference to have Orochimaru indirectly comment on Naruto's status as Sasuke's wind. Wind is directly meant to represent Sasuke's future and life force. That's why when Sasuke (and Naruto) dies, Orochimaru wonders if this was as far as Sasuke's wind was meant to go. But, in the text, there's one other thing, or person, regarded as Sasuke's wind: Naruto. Orochimaru could have more straightforwardly said that he was looking forward to to seeing Sasuke's future and what lied ahead for him, but instead, Kishimoto deliberately made him use the more unusual wording of wind to foreshadow that Naruto, Sasuke's wind, was intimately connected with his future. Given Kishimoto's love of puns and wordplay, the intention was clear.

6. It doesn’t end there. In Gaiden, Orochimaru states his desire for Mitsuki to find a sun that can illuminate the darkness... a moment that's a clear allusion to Naruto and Sasuke's relationship, and the very aspect that threatened Orochimaru and his plans so much that he desired to separate them.

7. Mistuki mentions in the Boruto movie, which was proudly written by Kishimoto and was stated to be a movie that was more about Sasuke than Boruto, that Orochimaru told him Sasuke was the only one who could rival Naruto.

[sharkfreak-official]

We don't talk enough about SNS' official lyrics. They're so tragic. It's also significant that whenever the motif of escaping the village (even by means of death) is invoked in Naruto and Sasuke's stories, Sasuke and Naruto are the respective biggest/sole factors.

[sharkfreak-official]

Sasuke wasn’t the problem. The writing was. Stop punishing female characters for feeling, and stop forcing men into relationships they never wanted. Everyone lost. No one was fed.

Hot take but the truth™️: Naruto’s women deserved better and I will die on this hill 🧍‍♀️

We don’t talk enough about how cruel it was to shove Hinata and Sakura between Naruto and Sasuke—two emotionally constipated soulmates with god-tier trauma bonding and a love language consisting of fighting each other to near-death every six months.

Like… imagine being Hinata. You’ve spent your whole life admiring this sunshine idiot from afar, and when you finally get his attention, suddenly he’s got a whole-ass emotional husband who:

left the village for years and Naruto never stopped chasing him

shows up once every blue moon and Naruto still smiles like the sun

had a final battle with Naruto so intense it blew off both their arms

got the “I’ll die with you” speech more than once

shares more eye contact with Naruto in one episode than with his wife across an entire spin-off series

Be so for real.

And Sakura?? Babygirl carried the weight of the “strong female lead” label on her back for 700 episodes, only to be handed the most confusing, unresolved romantic arc in the entire series. She should’ve ended up with Rock Lee—who respected her, supported her, and actually grew as a person—or with Ino, her rival-turned-soulmate who challenged her, loved her fiercely, and actually talked to her like a human being. That rivalry had more chemistry in one forehead insult than her entire canon romance.

Instead, the writing forced her into a marriage that never made sense—and this is where we need to get real:

✨ Sasuke never owed her love. He never promised her anything. ✨

He was traumatized. Broken. On a mission of revenge. He didn’t have room to love anyone—not even himself.

The problem wasn’t Sasuke. The problem was the narrative pretending this was romance.

Instead of letting Sakura grow, let her choose herself, or realize that her love wasn’t returned in the way she deserved—the story punished her for feeling too much and called it a reward. That’s not Sasuke’s fault. That’s bad writing.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke were out there:

gazing at each other like lovers across battlefields

calling each other their one and only

collapsing into each other’s arms like it’s a Tuesday

having full breakdowns when the other one was gone for 10 minutes

bleeding, dying, and nearly destroying the world for each other

BUT SURE. Let’s pretend the real endgame was two exhausted women and a pair of war husbands trying to pretend they weren’t already married spiritually, emotionally, and metaphysically.

Let’s be honest:

Hinata had more chemistry with Kiba, her actual teammate who supported her and saw her as a partner—not a mystery to be noticed for the first time after 600 episodes and a war.

Sakura had a whole destiny arc waiting with either Lee or Ino, and we were robbed. She didn’t need to be “chosen.” She needed to be loved—and the story didn’t give her that.

Naruto and Sasuke should’ve gotten forest married.

Sakura and Ino should’ve started a psychic-medical clinic.

ROCK LEE DESERVED EVERYTHING!!!

Hinata and Kiba should’ve raised ninja puppies and babies together.

Tenten should’ve had a weapon empire.

And all of them should’ve been rich, moisturized, and unbothered.

[sharkfreak-official]

I'm going to cry this is so fucking funny like 😭

Obito: Wait WAIT time out, Kakashi, we're not even gay! Kakashi, mustering on an expression like a kicked puppy and wiping a tear from the corner of his eye: So...you gaslit me. What a player. *Chuckles bitterly* Kakashi, looking him dead in the eye: Can't believe you're a homophobe *Naruto and Sakura glare at Obito. Sasuke crosses his arms and says "Tch. Figures."* Obito: What the fuck is happening??

Kakashi: Just like you to forget our anniversary…

Naruto: SENSEI’S TRAUMATIC EX IS THE FINAL BOSS??

Sakura: I KNEW YOU COULD DO BETTER.

Sasuke: Hn. (Which means: "I always knew.")

Really stupid au where when they were younger, Kakashi and Obito shared an accidental kiss a lot like Sasuke and Naruto. (Kakashi commits to his mask shortly after but will never not insist it's unrelated)

Years later and Kakashi, trying to cheer up Naruto and Sasuke ab their own embaressing accidental first kiss, shares his own story

Then, years later when Obito reveals himself on the battlefield, instead of going "woah, another Uchiha!?" when he hears his name, Naruto can't help but point and shout OH MY GOD UR THE GUY WHO KISSED SENSEI!!!!!!!!

Instant dead silence. (Obito wants to die)

Sakura, who never heard the story ab how it was a one time accidental kiss: "omg... sensei's childhood boyfriend went evil on him... this is so fucked up"

Obito is VIOLENTLY thrown off by this turn of events (and also hasn't actually thought ab it in years oh my god that did happen didn't it)

Kakashi, seeing how badly it threw him off, and also the kind of person who plays hard into throwing people off and generally fucking w them to gain an edge, seeing Sakura mumbling ab lovers to enemies and just kinda goes "Yeah Obito I can't believe you'd do this to me I thought we had smthn special."

"Yeah a rivalry????"

"So I was only ever a way for u to get stronger,, figures u were using me,,,"

[Confused Obito car crash noises]

Sakura yells smthn ab him being a deadbeat and how Kakashi can do so much better and Naruto is instantly shouting in agreement as Sasuke stands there like "hn." Which is basically the same thing for him

Kakashi just starts straight up lying actually

"What about all those picnics we went on... watching the sun set over konoha..."

"Are you talking about when Minato said we weren't allowed to come back inside till we stopped arguing and ate on opposite ends of the roof bc we couldn't even look at eachother without yelling???"

"It was so romantic."

Obito, starting to actually doubt himself, "was that a date????"

(It was not.)

"You died in my arms..."

"I died under a rock"

"We literally got eye married" (not a thing, he just made this up 3 seconds ago)

"We got WHAT" (no one can prove him wrong tho bc no surviving Uchiha knows that much ab their clans marriage traditions)

"Oh my god sensei's husband is a deadbeat" - sakura, horrified (and maybe a little delighted)

"Figures." -Sasuke, who's been in proximity w Obito for some time now and absoloutley believes every word ab this topic Kakashi is saying

"Woah. This is almost as bad as the fact he murdered my parents when I was a baby dattebayo" - Naruto who's priorities are NOT what they should be

"Ok. I wouldn't go that far." - Sasuke, who's priorities are also fucked but not THAT fucked, oh my god Naruto

"No, no he's right. We should kill him even harder for this" - Sakura, who doesn't actually agree but wants an excuse for more juicy sensei love drama (and also wants to see Obito beaten to death anyways)

[sharkfreak-official]

ATEEZ + 🌈

[sharkfreak-official]

Konoha really let a man with chronic absenteeism, visible trauma, and no confirmed chin run the village just because they really liked his 'mysterious' ✨vibes✨ (it was depression). RIP to the villagers. You would've loved Wattpad.

[sharkfreak-official]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

HELP YEOSANG THAT INSANE FACE CARD HELP THE BICEPS HELP I'M BEING ATTACKED ON ALL SIDES HELP

I'm sobbing hysterically right now I wish I was half as pretty as Yeosang. I apologize to the world for even gazing upon such beauty, for simply existing on the same plane should be a sin, as I am not up to the mark.

Captain...the sass...the glowing skin...the attitude...the double denim...he's really feeling himself, huh?

Did not know that Hongjoong with freckles was something I needed until now. Wow. I'd literally sacrifice, like, a good chunk of my makeup to see Freckle Hongjoong again and that stuff was EXPENSIVE.

Ofc Yunho will always serve till the end of time. It's giving casual. It's giving chic. It's giving 'I didn't even try, I'm just naturally this hot'

Yunho truly is the most Boyfriend Material looking man Ever. All of his pics are so boyfriend coded. If you're delusional (like me), I'd recommend him as a bias.

Mingi. Minki. Princess Minki. The blush makeup, once again, will give me heart problems. I have never seen a man look finer while leaning out a car window, you truly are something else, Song Mingi.

Direct eye contact? From a car? A bit scandalous no?

...I need them to ban direct eye contact in the concept photos now because Jung Wooyoung, the man that you are, I'd do something cringey like cry over your jawline.

Blond Wooyo is literally so special to me because I literally just dyed my hair a few days before he hard launched his fully blond hair. I dyed it based on his Oreo Hair era. He was literally the inspo pic.

I'm going to be so honest, I previously thought that Jongho could not possibly get any cooler. Well. That was before I was introduced to the concept of Jongho Driving™. Anyone who happens to be within a 10 kilometer range of this man will instantly get their aura zapped because they could never dare to hope to ever be as cool as he is.

The infinite aura exuding from this man...Sung Jinwoo doesn't stand a fucking chance.

[sharkfreak-official]

ATEEZ teaser pics 😭😭😭 just dropped 😭😭😭 and I am 😭😭😭 so gone 😭😭😭

What do you MEAN we're showing....waist? Skin? Arms? Is this legal? Is this allowed?

Hwa, my love. My ult bias. The heatburn blush. I'm going to die. This is how I go. I'm serious. I'm a simple person that likes simple things. I really love Seonghwa's makeup in this pic, it's so pretty! I like it so much that I can't breathe! Haha. I'm casual.

My bias wrecker... Listen. I woke up at 7 am today and was greeted with these pictures. I am glad to be alive. The sun is shining. The wind is blowing. My skin is clearing. My bank account keeps draining. Sannie looks better than ever 🫶🏼 I am 😌 so 😌 so normal 😌 about this 😌

[sharkfreak-official]

“You ever hold your daughter and think, “She has my eyes,” but then remember his eyes? The way they blazed when he said your name like it was a promise, a prayer, a curse? How you tried to kill him—tried—but he forgave you anyway? And then made you forgive yourself?

And suddenly, fatherhood feels like atonement, not love.

You ever wake up beside a woman who says she waited for you, but all you can think about is the way he never stopped chasing you, even when you told him not to? The way his chakra always reached for yours, even when you were miles apart?

And suddenly, marriage feels like settling.

You ever walk through Konoha, rebuilt and thriving, and realize you still don’t know peace? Because peace meant standing beside him. Not behind him. Beside him.

And suddenly, being redeemed feels like punishment.”

— Uchiha Sasuke, emotionally unavailable reformed war criminal, currently on a redemption arc with zero emotional supervision

[sharkfreak-official]

I feel like Naruto in Boruto Era is miserable

Naruto in Boruto is just… so unbearably sad. He’s overworked, always exhausted, barely present for his own family. Half the time, he sends shadow clones home instead of going himself. And the thing is—he could delegate. He should delegate. He’s the Hokage, not the entire damn village. But he doesn’t, because deep down, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he stopped.

He’d go home to a beautiful wife who loves him, eat the home-cooked meals he used to dream about, look at the family he always said he wanted—and still feel that gaping, hollow ache in his chest.

Because Sasuke isn’t there.

And he’d rather throw himself into work, into endless battles and crises, even risk his life out on the field, if it means he can fight beside Sasuke again—even for a moment. Because at least then, the world makes sense again. At least then, it feels like home.

[sharkfreak-official]

“You ever look at your wife and kids and think ‘I love them’ but then remember the way he used to say your name? How his chakra felt wrapped around yours? How he left you for dead but you still begged for his forgiveness? And suddenly love feels like a cheap knockoff of whatever the hell that was?”

— Uzumaki ‘Definitely Straight’ Naruto, shadow-cloning a therapist out of desperation

[sharkfreak-official]

Anyway now that the intro’s out of the way, here’s my official position on Naruto’s ass and postwar justice.

Guys, I'm just saying. Konoha probably has like a ton of homophobes, right? How would they get around the fact that their Golden Boy and Konoha's Top War Criminal are together now? (in my fic, at least) I imagine it'd go somewhat like this:

📰 KONOHA PRESS CONFERENCE — OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT

Topic: “Uzumaki Naruto: A Bold Act of Reparations”

Location: Hokage Tower, Room B-69 Time: Too early for this shit Dress Code: Traumatized

Ino (looking like a girlboss who skipped five therapy appointments to be here):

“Effective immediately, the Seventh Hokage has chosen to bottom for Uchiha Sasuke. This is not a kink thing. This is diplomatic policy. We call this: The Uchiha Revitalization Initiative: Ass First Edition. As compensation for the massacre, surveillance, gaslighting, and general bad vibes Konoha inflicted on the Uchiha, Uzumaki Naruto will be, quite literally, throwing it back in the name of peace.”

Shikamaru (half-asleep, fully done):

“He’s getting dicked down so the village doesn’t burn down. We’ve run out of options. Don’t ask me shit.”

Sai (raising his hand):

“Should this be recorded in the historical archives under ‘sexual diplomacy’ or ‘interpersonal reparations’?”

Naruto (somewhere backstage, in absolute agony):

“WHY DID I AGREE TO THIS I THOUGHT THIS WAS A PRIVATE ARRANGEMENT WHY ARE THERE SCROLLS???”

Uchiha Sasuke (arms crossed, smug, victorious, glowing like a smug cryptid):

“It’s not reparations if nobody knows about it, dobe.”

Public Response:

Civilian aunties faint in the crowd.

A rogue ANBU starts clapping. He is swiftly tackled.

The Uchiha Memorial ignites with spontaneous blue flame.

Somewhere, Orochimaru sheds a single tear of perverted pride.

Ino (wrapping up):

“Three cheers for the Hokage’s hole, everyone.”