strawberrysasuke

[strawberrysasuke]

Some things never change

Naruto ch. 27

Naruto Gaiden ch. 6

Y'all see what Kishimoto did here? Forcing Sasuke to drink the juice by activating his "my body moved on its own" instinct

Sasuke's body will always move on its own to protect Naruto (and by extension Sarada in Gaiden)

Bonus 🥰

[strawberrysasuke]

Continuing the re-read of Naruto Gaiden.

While at first he looks shocked to see Sarada for the first time ever

The rest of the manga he's simply not happy to see her

Like, not in the slightest. You'd think if she was the child Sasuke had with someone he loved and wasn't able to see her due to a very dangerous important mission like SS shippers claim, he'd be happy to see her, a little smile here and there at least.

He's so uncomfortable by his daughter's presence

YIKES

I find very interesting what Kishimoto did here: 1. He had to place Sarada next to Naruto and 2. he had to make sure Naruto was injured and couldn't defend himself to get Sasuke to move and become a shield for them, basically bring back the whole "my body moved on its own" instinct Sasuke has to protect Naruto to then be able to create some sort of father-daughter moment so Sasuke wouldn't look absolutely terrible as a father.

It reminds me a lot of the interview Kishimoto gave years ago about forcing Sasuke to drink the juice he doesn't like, which is basically creating scenarios where Sasuke is forced to interact with certain characters in some way. You can read more about it here

he hates Sakura's guts so bad, like damn not even containing himself for the sake of Sarada.

The difference in Sasuke's reaction when Naruto is stabbed vs when Sakura is sent to a difference dimension.

They really don't give a fuck about Sakura at all, this is so sad.

Mmmmm the hesitation. When Naruto got stabbed and said *four* times it was no big deal Sasuke was still scared shitless for him but when Sakura is kidnapped, he isn't worried (or dgaf) and struggles to talk confidently about her strength as kunoichi. If he was smirking or something it wouldn't feel like he's forcing himself to talk that way, but he still has that uncomfy face he makes whenever Sarada and Sakura are concerned.

Kishimoto really refuses to write an interaction between Sasuke and Sakura where Sasuke shows genuine care for her. Sakura also looks kind of resignated to Sasuke's treatment here.

And this is Sarada's reaction and I cannot really decipher what Kishimoto is going trying to communicate here. It's not really a smile but she's not totally sad either. She looks baffled? Is she, just like the readers, trying to make up where Sasuke and Sakura really stand as a couple? It seems like so to me.

Okay, finally for once he shows some positive emotion towards Sarada and is proud of her strength.

Oh brother, he truly does not give a fuck about Sakura. I also find it an interesting choice that we don't see Sasuke's face when he's talking about his feelings for Sakura.

Don't worry Sarada you're not the first child to come from a loveless marriage, multiple children across the world see themselves in you!

Right here I almost felt like despite not loving Sakura, Sasuke doesn't find it necessary for Sarada to pay for that and that his uncomfortable face has more to do with not knowing his child and not knowing how to act around her rather than some actual misplaced anger against her.

But then Sasuke did this, meaning he has no issues to make false promises to Sarada just like he did to Sakura and just like Itachi did to him. He doesn't feel close to her nor is he interested in strengthening their bond.

Sakura is so pathetic like you cannot even feel bad for her because she herself refuses to stand up.

Some SS shippers interpret Sasuke smirk as him liking to tease Sakura. Now, Sasuke's VA had apparently stated that Sasuke does like to deny Sakura affection as you can see here.

So if that's the case then Sasuke is not denying Sakura a kiss in a playful way as SS imagine (they like to say he doesn't like kissing her in public when Sakura had already implied they've NEVER kissed), but he's rather smirking because he's happy he's on his own again, like he rejected Sakura again plus used the forehead poke on Sarada that symbolizes distancing and false promises, it's a sensical conclusion to me.

And ofc we could not not talk about Studio Pierrot doing damage control of Kishimoto's work. In the family portrait made by Kishimoto Sasuke is the only one that isn't smiling and instead has a hard look on his face which fits his attitude and demeanor during all of Naruto Gaiden, but in the anime they have him smiling and gave him a softer look... Mmmmmmm...

[strawberrysasuke]

Sasuke yelling at Naruto for supposedly upsetting the kids earlier when he got stabbed is really funny because that's just an excuse he's using to mask how badly Naruto getting hurt affected him.

In this scene, upon hearing that Sasuke's eye powers had been down for a while, Naruto immediately expressed concern, even stuttering slightly from how worried that info makes him, urging Sasuke take it easy.

In the next panel, the flames on Sasuke's shoulders are small, crackling quietly as he pinpoints the exact location and gauges the amount of chakra he'll need to get them all there. He's also in the midst of processing the feelings of concern Naruto conveys to him, and once it gets through, it instantly triggers him. The tiny flames grow to a roaring inferno behind him, coupled with that monstrous expression on Susano'o acts as a mirror showcasing the sheer gravity of Sasuke's anger. It's anger rooted in lingering worry, hurt, and guilt.

Naruto getting stabbed earlier clearly affected him so badly that he's still not over it. The lingering hurt is rendering him highly sensitive. In his perspective, Naruto's not playing fair here. The audacity to start grumbling at the sight of Sasuke merely over-exerting himself a little when earlier, Sasuke had to endure watching Naruto get hurt in a much worse way? He will not tolerate this LMAO

It's so funny that he uses the excuse 'don't upset the kids like that' to justify his outburst, and in the same panel we have a clear view of said kids, no hint of harboring any upset, instead busy being in awe of Susano'o.

In fact, even during that incident, said kids were either a) safe and completely unaware indoors, in Cho-Cho's case. Or b) initially distressed but soon got caught up in other upsetting occurences such as her dad also getting injured and her mom being kidnapped by the enemy, in Sarada's case.

The kidnapping that Sasuke could barely conjure up a meaningful reaction to, btw. He spends more time focusing on being shocked at the enemy's ability to use that jutsu than the fact that Sakura just fell victim to it. His tone is more aggravated when he's demanding why she showed up here than when she's in actual danger.

Yet when the strongest shinobi in the world suffers from a stab wound that he'll likely take seconds to heal from, Sasuke is in turmoil.

So Sasuke's claim of this stabbing incident allegedly weighing so heavily on the kids is quite faulty. Since you know who it did upset, severely? As evidenced by this look of pure, unadultered despair...

Upon finding out it was his katana that got marked too and he failed to realise, this tight-lipped look of guilt crosses Sasuke's face. Of course it wasn't really possible for him to notice such a thing and prevent it, but he still feels responsible. He holds himself to impossible standards when it comes to ensuring Naruto's safety.

I've seen another post point this out, too (thanks to op, i managed to find it! c: you can check it out here & here) - how the panel where the enemy's shurikens are shown to be targeting Sarada and we're lead to think Sasuke jumps in front of them for her sake, yet Naruto is also occupying a chunk of the frame right next to her.

Sasuke then blocks the incoming shurikens using his body as a shield. The only other incident of Sasuke's body 'moving on its own' like this is primarily associated with Naruto. During the Haku & Zabuza arc where we saw that his love for Naruto ran so deep that his body practically moved on its own to save him, even at the cost being his own life. To repeat this action at the heels of Sasuke agonising over failing to protect Naruto moments prior, it's clear what his primary motivaton here was.

Of course, Sasuke is someone who would protect his daughter and anyone about to become shuriken target practice, for that matter. But, it's the way he goes about it that gives it away. Using your body as a meat-shield is unbelievably reckless. Especially, considering the only other shinobi capable of dealing with this powerful, unpredictable enemy is momentarily incapacitated - Sasuke should be taking care not to injure himself. He could've, idk, done literally anything else to knock those shurikens away. He's a ninja with techniques like space-time ninjutsu at his disposal for goodness sake, yet he opts for the most reckless option. Witnessing Naruto get hurt completely eroded his rationality. Only Naruto is able to drive him to such means.

Hence why he's still so badly shaken up by it hours later to the point of blowing up at Naruto when reminded of it.