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mrs-barnes-library · 1 year

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That's Right I Win Or I Thought I Would || Naruto characters x fem!Light!reader

Including : Kakashi Hatake, Shikamaru Nara, Naruto Uzumaki

A/n : Okay now this is really interesting, I'm affraid it'll turn angst but I love angst so tha'ts cool ahah. Also dear and everyine please if you have request I prefer to receive them on @moumouton4 which is my main account where I post my fics whereas @mrs-barnes-library is just a library where I gather fics of hundreds of amazing writers. That being said thank you and let's go

A/n 2 : Also dear @pinkienoobie I'm sorry I wrote a LOT but I got inspired I hope you'll like it

A/n 3 : The quote from Light should have been in red but Tumblr didn’t let me post it this way I’m sorry for this

Warnings : Death Note graphic scenes of death, angst, betrayal, extreme sadness, mistrust, god complex, reader is a brain, mention of loss and grief, death of reader only in one, spoiler for a character death in Naruto Shippuden season 4 for Shikamaru's part, chronology not respected for Kakashi and Naruto's part, Shikamaru and Naruto are the same age as in Shippuden S12

Masterlist ⚜

I don’t give permission to repost my work, if you want to share it just reblogue it

Words count : 4086

Kakashi Hatake :

You were very close to the Uchiha clan and you were devastated by the events of that famous night which had deprived you forever of your two best friends Shisui and Itachi.

It seemed to be a twist of fate when you stumbled upon a strange black notebook that you had found in the forest under a bramble bush - ouch

Once you got to know the God of Death, whom you discovered was called Ryuk, you decided to use the extraodinary power of this find to avenge the death of your friends and the Uchiha clan

The first person you used it on was of course Danzo Shimura, the one who caused the situation to go wrong

Of course you didn't do this in the normal way, you could have just written his name down and made him die of a heart attack but you made a show of it, you made him go to the public square, explain his crimes, show the eye he had stolen from Shisui and the eyes he had grafted in his right arm, after that you made him tear out his eye and cut off his arm before cutting off his tongue, the tongue that had caused so much harm before he stuck the kunai in his lung and let him die of asphyxiation

Of course everyone - or almost everyone - had witnessed the scene and was almost more shocked at what he had done while he was alive than at the violence of his death

Kakashi had noticed that day that the atmosphere in the village had changed, a climate of fear reigned

All thought it was made by a Genjutsu but Sasuke had disappeared, only Kakashi remained, who of course knew that he had done nothing. However he noticed that you didn't seem to be really upset, dare he even say that you seemed happy about it. After all it was legitimate but still

So he decided not to worry but to keep an eye on you, not because he suspected you but in case the author of this act tried to come after you

But if only he knew

After that you started to go on missions for the Hokage, without telling him, you always took missions that would allow you to be in the same area as the enemies that you wanted to get ride of with your Death Note and thanks to the power of the Shinigami eyes

No one ever made the connection between your missions and his unexpected deaths

Well, nobody except Kakashi, who noticed that the deaths were taking place during the same periods as your absences, he just didn't know where you were going or where the enemies you were killing were

He had also noticed a strange change in your aura, a kind of melancholy associated with eagerness but what he didn't know. It also seemed that on the rare occasions when you were in Konoha and he came to spend time with you, you refused to go out all the time and even did everything to get him out of your house as soon as possible, as if you had better things to do

He would have advised you to sleep, because of the dark circles under your eyes that showed your lack of sleep

But EVERYTHING went wrong one evening, when he was walking in the forest to clear his head, he stumbled upon a familiar figure lying on her stomach on the ground behind a bush, writing frantically and laughing psychotically

His eyes widened and he stepped on a branch that cracked making you stop moving before whipping your head towards him

"Y/n what are you doing here ?" he asked his voice shaking as if it knew something more than he did. He held his hand out to you to help you up, but it didn't have the desired effect at all

"Don't touch it ! Stay back !" you yelled clutching the Death Note against your chest, he took another step in your direction, resuming in you throwing a kunai at his feet made him stop his advance

"Y/n what the hell are you doing ?" he asked surprised in his voice clear and noticeably out of breath

Another noise was heard and Anbus ninjas, which obviously took you in tailing for a while already, unfortunately your measures did not allow you to escape

"L/n Y/n you are under arrest" one of them shouted at you but you didn't listen to anything

You quickly wrote their names while avoiding their attacks, they all started to fight again one another and the last one fell down dead of a heart attack in the next 30 seconds under the frightened eyes of Kakashi

"I'm ridding the world of evil and creating a utopia. No matter how much time I have, it won't be enough. I have no time to loose on you"

He couldn't believe his eyes, his legs were shaking slightly and his breathing was shallow "Oh no not again" he thought, he felt like the day he had seen Obito again after all those years thinking he was dead

Your wild eyes locked on his, and he took a step backwards for fear that you would decide to attack him if you felt rushed by his proximity

"Please Y/n put that down we'll settle-"

"No ! I did this for all of us ! I have avenged the village and I will continue to purify the world as a vengeful and protective deity-"

"Protective deity ? Can you hear yourself talk ?!?" his brain was working at full speed, how should he handle the situation, should he arrest you or let you execute criminals at all, should he go as far as killing you- no no it's impossible, he already lost everything, he can't afford to lose the person he cares about the most to die, not by his hand, not again ( I'm not saying that he loved Rin only that he killed her with his hand )

"Don't you find life in the village better now that I have blessed it with my power ! Don't you feel the serenity of the place ?

"Y/n..." he said sadly, his voice low, "You are rambling. You are not in your right mind. Let me help you-" he took another step slowly towards you

"Not one more move or I'll have to clean the village of your presence as well !" your trembling hand holding your pen, holding it perpendicular to the page of the notebook, your voice echoed in the moonlit forest in a frightening manner

Kakashi couldn't believe his eyes you were going to coldly kill him, but he couldn't let you do that, however he couldn't bring himself to kill you either, but little by little he realized that it was either you or him, and who knows what you would be capable of doing after killing the man you had shared your life with for all those years

Suddenly you saw him put his hand in the pocket of his bag and you rushed to write his name on the notebook

"Kakashi Hata-"

Too late, an erasure coming down from your "A" scratched the bottom of the page as your hand jerked uncontrollably as the pen - your weapon - slipped from your hand, as the kunai in your throat made you choke, so that you spat blood on the open page of the notebook and dropped it to the ground

Kakashi had acted without thinking, out of survival, he didn't think either when he set fire to the damned book he thought was cursed

He took you in his trembling arms, tears forming in his eyes, he uttered apologies expressing all the regret that consumed him secondes after what he did, but nothing reached your ears which could only hear a white and continuous sound, like a whistle

You continued to flail frantically in his arms as you watched your Death Note burn, until exhaustion forced you to close your eyes

You wondered if it was the kunai that would take your life first or if it was the burning notebook that would have the upper hand, but wasn't it you who started it all ?

"It was the right thing to do... you'll be more useful to them than me" you coughed blood on his chest leaning over you, as if the old you wanted to speak one last time

"Don't wear yourself out, I-I'll take you back to the village, you'll be fine, I-I love you please stay with me" he was talking so fast, but yet he was slowly realizing what was happening and that maybe you wouldn't make it

You closed your eyes in exhaustion, feeling his love surround you, it almost didn't hurt anymore with his warmth against you

He panicked as he felt your body relax in his arms, he repeated your name over and over frantically like a mantra, tears flowing from his eyes like streams

And just like that it was over, after a lifetime together with each other, you were going separate ways for the first time

Kakashi would continue to curse himself for the rest of his life for not knowing how to handle the situation in a better way and for not realizing it before

However what was done was done and he would have to live with it, he just hoped that once everything was over he would be able to find you, in heaven or in hell

During his next battle he will be informed that his pupil has changed, thanks to you he developed the Mangekyō Sharingan

Shikamaru Nara :

Let's say that if you found the Death Note and got the Shinigami eyes 5 months ago, well he was suspecting it since the first month

Actually you knew each other since your first year at the Ninja school and you were dating for almost 3 years now

His intelligence helped him a lot but contrary to what we can think it's not a change of your behavior that made him have this intuition

In fact, your intelligence was neck and neck with his, so you always pretended to be less intelligent than you were, so that those who thought were manipulating you would be caught in their own trap

However in this case you got caught in your own trap, at first you only used your eyes to know the names of the people you had to kill for the sake of the Ninja World - you were convinced of that, after all who could have done it if you didn't

But it only lasted a month and soon you turned to bigger and bigger criminals, which of course attracted the attention of Konoha's intelligence services

It was Shikaku, Shikamaru's father, who realized that the killer had to be from Konoha, because the deaths happened just after the said criminal had harmed Konoha in any way

Of course to complete your mission you had to infiltrate the Intelligence Service to keep up to date with everything that was going on and so you know about their progress on the investigation

Shikamaru noticed the dark circles under your eyes, or the twitch of your eyes the moments when someone made you angry, you could really look mad in those moments but being the relaxed boy he is he didn't pay more attention to it but he smtill kept it in a corner of his mind... just in case

The moment you got caught was the moment you let your feelings show the most

Indeed, Azuma sensei had been killed by Hidan's hand with the assistance of Kakuzu his Akatsuki companion. Shikamaru, Ino and Shoji were devastated

Shikamaru's eyes were full of sadness and hatred, which made you do what would start the process that would end your reign

Just two days after this tragic event you returned to your room and retrieved your Death Note which you had cleverly hidden in a wall in your room. You had been on the said mission which had ended with the death of your boyfriend's sensei, so you had thanks to your Shinigami eyes been able to see the first and last names of Hidan and Kakazu, and it was a piece of cake for you to remember them

You began to smile unhealthily as you wrote down the little story you had prepared for their grand finale

You made sure to manipulate Naruto ( sorry bro but I had to ) so that he asked the 3 ex-team members of Team 10 to go near the Konoha village gate

As you expected, Hidan and Kakazu arrived, all your friends who attended the scene mouth agape for some and jaw clenched for Shikamaru, he tried to use the Shadow Possession Jutsu to stop them but nothing happened for the good and simple reason that the power of the Death Note was greater

The two men continued to walk with ease, in an almost robotic way until they reached the group. Once they were at a decent distance, they bent down to 90 % and in a monotonous voice apologized for what they had done. Kakazu gave a kunai to Hidan, everyone jumped backwards but Hidan turned the weapon towards Kakuzu and pierced all his hearts and he died in a pool of blood. Then Hidan ( I'm so sorry baby T.T ) took the kunai and after apologizing one last time he stuck it in the throat, under the astonished eyes of everyone

Of course you knew that because that's what you had written, for obvious reasons you couldn't risk going to blow your cover on the field

Of course this was hidden from the other members of the village and the Intelligence Service started to do the necessary research to find the origin of what had just happened

After this eventful night, Shikamaru went to the Intelligence Office reluctantly, he went to get the information about the serial deaths. Of course it didn't take him long before he was caught by a colleague of his father and was thrown into his office. His father half-heartedly made it clear to him that you were the prime suspect and Shikamaru reluctantly explained what he had seen change in you over the past 4 months

And so in the same way that L found out that Kira was living in Tokyo, it was broadcast on your television that Shikamaru had died, killed by the same cold hand that had perpetrated all these murders, and you had run to his house, losing all notion of your plan, forgetting that it could only be a crazy scheme, and you had screamed that you it wasn't possible, taht something else must have killed him and that the killer was going to pay from your hand

But as you were about to go home to think, you felt that you had lost control of your body and you were completely frozen in place

"Shadow Possession Jutsu now complete"

When you recognized him you burst into tears, not only out of relief but also because you realized that you had they must have found out

"No I-I-I did everything for the good of the village y-YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME ! NOT AFTER ALL I'VE DONE !" as you started to scream your voice had changed in a frightening way and you started to shout to - it seemed to someone that nobody else could see - to do something

Shikamaru was frightened and disconcerted by the situation, he grabbed you in his arms as if he suspected that it might be the last time he could hold you like this, he understood why you did it but he couldn't validate your way of doing it

"Ryuk you FUKCING PIECE OF SHIT I'M YOUR MASTER YOU MUST OBEY-"

"Shhhhhh Y/n please don't make it anymore difficult" Shikamaru's voice slightly broke which made you look up at him, your crazy eyes staring into his, a pang in your heart was felt when you saw the tears rolling down his cheeks

You tried to bring your hands to his cheeks but you couldn't move any more "I did it for you Shikamaru, for us, for the village" as you spoke you thought of everything, maybe you could give up the Death Note and get the Shinigami eyes back until the division of your life expectancy would be not enough to keep you alive but unfortunately it was impossible the Death Note was still in your house

You were thrown into the dungeon, of course they tried to make you talk, but nothing happened as they expected, it seemed that you had found a way to get a piece of a page of the Death Note with which you proceeded to assassinate Ibiki, his screams were almost hidden by bursts of voice as you stood over him "I am righteous ! I'm the Hero who's liberating people from fear. I'm the Savior who's going to be like a Goddess of this perfect new world !"

Then everyone agreed on the fact that you were a threat to Konoha and they chose to end your life as quickly as possible

Of course back in those days no one knew what had happened to you and Shikamaru didn't learn this until years later when he was hired as the Hokage's right hand man.

The news took him back to that very dark part of your childhood and he was once again devastated

But did he know that you managed to escape just in time ? How could he ? Konoha had been so ashamed that they preferred not to mention anywhere this important information In any case you were still there preparing your return. Oh yes, it was going to be a blast "That's right. I win !"

Naruto Uzumaki :

Naruto is a smart boy but in this case it's not him who will realize it, not by himself, maybe Shikamaru will tell him or he will realize that Tsunade is hiding something from him, if for example she would ask him to keep an eye on you for your safety, when he is already doing it, or if she would ask Yamato or Sai to follow you

You used the Death Note to get rid of the Akatsuki members who were stealing their lives ( except Itachi because he deserves the world )

Of course nobody understood and everybody was chocked when they learned the news of the death of the powerful nunkenins who formed the Akatsuki

Your behavior had also changed a lot, dark circles had appeared under your eyes, you fidgeted a lot, but most of the time you managed to keep the act of the happy girl you used to be, wonderfully foolinganyone who crossed your path

Finally the only problem was that you didn't think that Kurama, the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit that Naruto had just befriended, would have the ability to see the God of Death that had been with you since you had found the Death Note. And of course he had told his host

Naruto couldn't believe his ears, how could he believe that you, his sweet and compassionate girl, would be able to kill in such an arbitrary way

"They say that love makes you blind Naruto, not stupid" Kurama had warned him and his words were still echoing in the head of the blond after 3 good days

Naruto being Naruto he didn't bother to think about it and just confronted you

Of course he didn't lose sight of your objective and refuted everything he said with a big smile painted on your lips

Of course convinced that you would never do any harm in this way he left your house reassured and serene

While you quickly went back to your room to add some names in your Death Note

But if you thought you were alone now that Naruto was gone, you didn't count on a ninja sent by Tsunade who had totally disappeared his presence to spy on you

Of course you were caught, and taken by force to the office of the Hokage, your Death Note forgotten on your desk, too bad Tsunade should have taken an Anbu rather than a vulgar jönin

Of course your screams had alerted many people and Naruto had found himself in less time than it takes to say it in the 5th Hokage's office

"Grandma Tsunade ! Where is Y/n ?!? Why did you take her ?!?"

"That's none of your business Naruto !!" she roared at him

He immediately understood that if she didn't want to tell him it was because you were in a bad situation

He rushed into the dungeons, once in front of it he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard your screams, he panicked thinking that you were being tortured, he moved forward discreetly to be able to hit from behind whoever was hurting you but when he arrived in front of your cell he only saw you and he could hear clearly what you were saying, and it was as if his world had just collapsed

"I order you to let me out of here you subhuman. I've never been so humiliated in my entire life"

"Y-Y/n ?"

"Naruto ?!? Please come and help me ! I'm the only one who can save the village !"

He didn't understand what you had to save the village from and obviously his lack of action made you snap at him

"Naruto write her name in my notebook ! Don't listen to anyone and write her name ! Don't let her keep us apart like this !"

He shook his head as he took a few steps towards you "Y/n what are you talking about-"

"I'll tell you how to do it ! Just get me out of this cell !"

"Sorry I can't-" you didn't listen to the rest of his excuse and invoked your Death Note ready to manipulate anyone - even him - to get you out of that damn cell

"Hey no ! Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu !" a clone of Naruto caught you in his arms and kicked the notebook out of the cell

Held in his arms you were fussing around like a wild animal "Don't you dare touch me I'm your Goddess !

"Dattebayo Y/n calm down ! What's wrong with you !"

You started to shake and suffocate in his arms, he was going to ruin everything you've been doing all this time just like that with a stupid clone when you had the power of a God of Death on your side

"Y/n ! Oh fuck ! Dattebayo breathe !" he prayed as he ran his hand reassuringly over your back "It's okay we'll get through this together ! All is not lost !"

And finally by dint of talking you were forced to listen to him and breathe calmly, his words gave you hope, but not like he would have wanted

If you were thinking well the Death Note was not the only way to come to your ends. There were great ninjas out there who had left the village to try to become more powerful - cough cough Orochimaru - that you could try to find and try to be the student of

You looked up and met Naruto's eyes, he had succeeded in making peace with Kyubi, the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit so why couldn't you succeed in leaving the village and following the teachings of these great ninjas

You couldn't give up on the Death Note though because if you did you would forget the fight you had now decided to lead

"Fine" you let your body clamor in the arms of his clone as he brushed your hair with his fingers, far from thinking that now and with half of the life you had left you were going to do everything to reach this divine power in another way than with the help of Ryuk

Whether you like it or not, you will get out of this cell, you will leave this village and you will become powerful and you will purify the world of the filth that poisons it

And they would fear the wrath of a Goddess, they would fear you

Cut to Naruto following you all around the country like he did with Sasuke

A/n : I hope you liked the angst 😏 Again my requests are open 😘

Taglist : @foxxymunson, @cl0vr, @ilovemanypeople, @glossy1pearl, @jane57sstuff

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anime97-99 · 1 month

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NARUTO COMPLEXITY

⚠️Sorry, this is going to be long and I may sound repetitive at times!! I have to say this is my point of view thought I tried to make it as objective as possible!! Hope you like it!! Also I apologize for a bad use of grammar and vocabulary since English is not my first language!!⚠️

This post is dedicated to exploring and analyzing Naruto’s characters through the whole series including Boruto. Starting with Naruto, he is supposed to be a pure and innocent boy, naive who doesn’t understand feelings and seeks acceptance from other people in search to experience those positive feelings such love, friendship and what feels like to have a family.

Since Naruto was young he tried to get attention from other people even if this attention resulted in disgust towards him, he acted out of fear of being alone, just imagine a child living alone in an old flat located on the outskirts of the village which is probably a dangerous area full of criminals arm with swords, shuriken…

Like this isn’t enough he is hated by the whole village without him knowing the reason and the only support came in money from Sarutobi, I suppose being the third hokage took a lot of time and he did what he could with Naruto but at the same time I think you shouldn’t just give money for the rent to only a child and that’s it. I think he wanted to secure his image at the same time protecting Naruto and the villagers from harm (if the villagers noticed that the hokage was supporting “the demon” they probably would have started to distrust Sarutobi and a fight between the higher ups and the villagers to get ride of Naruto would have taken place because of the fear of thinking that Sarutobi is allying with the enemy), so he chose to spend less time with him, which is not the best decision but it was made with good intentions.

Then Naruto has a goal and a dream, to be recognized and accepted by everyone becoming the hokage, that translates to turn the hate into love, the naive dream of being loved by everyone (falling in love with being in love, like Ada said, (fall in love with the love from others, when mother said “you just loved how much I loved you” in the movie Mother, which I recommend, they touched on this topic) Naruto is really idealistic and romantic (romantic not as love but as romanticism), themes that are presented in classic literature and offend end in tragedy, It almost looks like part of Naruto is heavily inspired by Romanticism literature, for example some similarities are that it is really idealistic, it has drama, love, tragedy, though the ending may not be the best it could be actually be considered a happy one.

The definition of Naruto’s personality as a selfless and self-sacrifice person. His worse fear is to be ignore and be alone, that is why he is loud and problematic, to attract eyes towards him. He is not self centered, he is the whole opposite, he cares a lot about what other people say that is why he is explosive since young, he is sad and shows that sadness with anger and a fleeing personality.

The first person that makes him not feel alone is Sasuke and this is really important, we have two kids with problems, they are obviously different from Naruto point of view but then one afternoon he sees Sasuke alone and they meet eyes, this is a really important scene they see themselves reflected in each other eyes that is why Naruto finally recognizes Sasuke and Sasuke sees Naruto who used to be only an annoying child, and with this it shows an union, two children who hates each other because of their differences have a lot in common and ends in them being the only ones to truly understand each other pain and loneliness. Thought this is more complicated since Sasuke knows about love, what is a family, what is friendship and he is popular and loved by teachers and students, but he also experienced since really a young age the pressure to be part of an important clan and to have a genius brother being constantly compare to you by everyone even his family, though his mother tried to calm him down by saying Itachi is different this is really bad to say to a child!! This comment will make him think that he is less that Itachi and will create distance between his brother and family, it will end in an inferiority complex.

Through Naruto’s series he will be so obsessed with revenge he will forget about himself and others, hurting the people that loves him in the process, he is so fixated in revenge that he forgets there’s more than just killing his brother but he is stuck in the past, showing obvious signs of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), OCD (obsessive compulsive syndrome). He could be compare with Coriolanus Snow from the Hunger Games who loved someone, looked like a good person and was loved by his family but his obsession with power made him a villain and someone to be feared. Like Niccolò Machiavelli said “the end justifies the means”, this is their ideology, thought Sasuke is still unable to kill Naruto, his feelings towards him are so big that killing him is worse than committing suicide.

Following Naruto, he is someone who only knows about negative feelings that is why he seeks acceptance an love, he is in love with the idea of love like Ada, he chooses Sakura as his crush because she is really intelligent and a very good student (I believe Sakura has the same fear as Naruto, she was bullied because of her forehead and she wants to be liked by everyone, so she studies hard to be the best student and if Sasuke who is the most popular and handsome boy sees her then those bullies who constantly hurt her about her appearance will shut their mouth, so just as Naruto she wants to be seen and recognized, though the way they act is different, Sakura is really insecure and has to prove herself through others praise this probably because of the bulling even if Ino is there they got separated at some point which made Sakura limit herself even more, she is like a white canvas that change not because of what she likes but what the others want to see on her. Sasuke likes long hair then she will have long her even though she obviously prefers a shortcut, that is why Ino was really important in her life, she was the first to tell her she is beautiful and she doesn’t need to listen to other bullies but Sakura necessity of being recognize through Sasuke and Ino liking Sasuke made them get separated and a healthier development for Sakura to explore herself with the help of someone to support and guide her as an equal was stopped). Sakura didn’t fall in love with Sasuke, she fell in love with the idea he represented.

Also Sakura’s inner voice is totally normal, it is not her having another personality it is just showing her subconscious and unconscious mind who everyone has. Just stop and analyze yourself then you will notice a tiny voice going on an on, it is just your brain thinking, it is completely normal. This reflects real Sakura, what she desires compare of how she acts to be liked by other people, or didn’t you notice for example a friend showing you a dress and you telling them is beautiful to not hurt their feelings but inside you are thinking it is horrible, it’s the same thing with Sakura is very human!!

You can’t analyze Naruto’s characters like Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke without taking account of their closest influence including each other, Kurama, Jiraya, Iruka, Ino, Tsunade, Sarutobi, Kakashi, Gaara, Rock Lee and maybe Sai with the other friends such as Shikamaru and Choji… So continuing with Naruto who works really hard the same as Sasuke and Sakura (even thought he doesn’t know and thinks of then just as genio is), but contrary of them he doesn’t obtain results ending in frustration, (thought he does gardening which is something psychologist recommend, is really good to maintain the mind relax focused and concentrate in just one thing and make yourself conscious of reality, this is to make the brain take a break from overthinking which saturates it, make it concentrate in just one thing at a time will help you to control yourself, it could be through meditation, but also through gardening, doing crafts, reading whatever you like always doing it without pressure just to enjoy, understand your feelings and let them pass being conscious of them but not avoid or succumb to them just taking notice of reality and that those negative thoughts and feelings exist and you can just let the past without judging yourself), (judging is negative while feedback is positive).

At the beginning of Naruto, since the first episode, you see Iruka as a parental figure to Naruto who loves him and supports him, who scolds him and teaches him, who protects him and accepts him, and Naruto realizes he is not alone, but also discovering that he is seen as a monster because he has a “demon” inside him. This gives him a reason to prove himself as a separate entity from Kurama and confirms the possibility of being loved and accepted because of Iruka (a villager who feared and hated him from killing his parents, but Iruka realized that he didn’t hate Naruto but the demon inside him thanks to the guidance from Sarutobi), and that is enough for him to keep trying.

Naruto’s goal to be hokage is getting stronger, but he is too worry about it to stop and analyze himself the same happened with Sakura and Sasuke.

The boy wants to love and be loved but he didn’t even know the meaning of this feelings that is why Naruto, the series, is about self discovery, the most important part when people realized what they are or want to be is during their teen years that is why we see the characters going through a roller coaster of emotions!!

Kishimoto has called Naruto too idealistic and naive who didn’t understand Sasuke, Sasuke as a pure and self-centered and Sakura as more than just cuteness!!

If we analyze it I interpret that Naruto love for Sasuke is too pure and he is too naive, someone that doesn’t understand love and is experiencing it, he is supposed to realized that he loves Sasuke in a different way and there are different kinds of love but it is still too early to understand, Sasuke who understands love and experienced all kinds of love realized that what he feels for Naruto is romantic love, that is why he gets frustrated at him when called his brother or friend, but Naruto that at the end explains what means to be his friend, (which is the same Ada said in Boruto to Mitsuke when explaining her love to Kawaki) he realized that he was special and their feelings were the same even if Naruto didn’t notice the difference.

And both, Ada and Naruto called themselves fools because of love!!

Now Sakura is not cute, it was said by Kishimoto, but for real being cute or not is not that important that is why Kishimoto says she is more than just cuteness!! She is intelligent and determined and if she wanted she could be really powerful remember she is the best at understanding and controlling chakra a quick learner, and she is the smartest of the three but her fixation in Sasuke limited her.

Talking about Naruto’s development as a person, for me Naruto puts a lot of limits on himself because he wants to pleased everyone and is scare of what other people will think of him. Naruto’s world is closed minded, with traditional thoughts, the representation of Japan at that time. The same way Sakura chose Sasuke, Naruto chose Sakura. Though I think he realized that what he felt for Sakura is the same he felt for others like Shikamaru or Choji, still since he liked Sakura a lot as a friend he thought it was good to love her, he didn’t understand what romantic love is, he just wanted to experience it, to explore it and to not be lonely.

His self dicovery soon would be questioned in the form of Sai, a sexualize boy who will make Naruto question his sexaulity, Naruto has never show interest in any woman, (he actually show interest in one and that one looked like Sasuke and that’s it) even Jiraya thinks it is strange for a teenager full of hormones to not get interested in beautiful woman or describe porn as boring. But Naruto gets loud and nervous towards Sai, he gets shy and blush when bathing with naked men and protected himself hiding under the water (it reminds me of the bath scene from Mulan), to make it more obvious for the readers Kishimoto makes Yamato say that Naruto shouldn’t act strange between men, showing what Naruto felt and Yamato acting as their society that they categorize his behavior as strange and not normal.

Naruto starts to understand himself and the possibility of being sexually attract to men but is afraid of what other people would say and rejects himself, he is just a repressed boy. He doesn’t like Sai he is a person who doesn’t care about being labelled and shows interest in Naruto without embarrassment (because yes, Sai is someone who doesn’t understand himself not his feelings but being with Naruto and Sakura made him understand what friendship was, the way he act showing it made Naruto nervous overthinking things because he was attracted to him and being too close made him nervous at how careless Sai was). He also got nervous and overreacted with Kakashi when he praised him thinking he likes him, and when ask what he is thinking about, when he is thinking about Sasuke changes and says he is thinking of going on a date with Sakura, which could be also a way to make others don’t worry about him being so upset and depressed about Sasuke or it could be his repressed feelings towards him, which he unconsciously has but is not aware of them and their meaning.

In Naruto Shippuden we see a development of Sakura’s character, in the first part she cut her hair symbolizing breaking through her fixation in being and do everything to please Sasuke, now in Shippuden to me she started to see herself as a whole, with her own identity, separating herself from Sasuke.

The decision of Sasuke leaving was positive for her character, she found a new goal and her feelings for Sasuke became more dull. I would say that see started to see Naruto as a love interest, someone good for her, a good friend that respects her but since she is observant and intelligent realized Naruto’s real feelings at the end and decided to not confess or she didn’t realized her feelings towards Naruto because she was too fixated in Sasuke and was confused at her change of heart.

For Sasukeas I said before, he always knew about Naruto’s feelings that is why when Naruto says that for him Sasuke is a friend he looks angry an confuse, as Kishimoto said Naruto is just too naive to understand Sasuke frustration, he showed it pretty clear, and as a Chinese proverb says “A picture is worth a thousand words”

Naruto is idealistic and naive, in this picture he is oblivious and daydreams imagining his own world without realizing that his world is centered around Sasuke and him, and that makes Sasuke frustrated because Naruto doesn’t understand his feelings. Naruto is obviously drawn in a compromising way, he is wearing shorts and a shirt, or maybe he is not wearing a shirt with the angle we can’t tell for sure, that shows a lot of skin, Sasuke is supposed to be thirsty but he is lost looking at him that he forgot the water, then we have Sakura looking at Sasuke, and Kakashi who is in his own world Xd. The water could be a representation of arousal, sexual deviance and the repression of desire.

Even thought at the end Sasuke understands Naruto, the guilt overtakes him and he decides to leave the village for redemption hoping that when he returns Naruto will be there for him but he is not, Naruto moved on and is getting married and Sasuke distanced himself from him too hurt to attend the wedding, also sending a poor congratulating letter which feels more like a mocking than anything else, though we don’t know what happened for two years, from Sasuke leaving to Naruto marrying Hinata, so maybe many things could have happened, I say this because Naruto seems to have changed, he looked serious when marring Hinata and he sleeps in another room separate from her, he is a workalcoholic and spends little time with his kids, he is a bad father.

People will get mad saying it doesn’t make sense, Naruto doesn’t understand love in The Last and he is a bad father but they forget that he never had a father or mother and he doesn’t understand the different kinds of love so through his adulthood he realized his feelings for Sasuke, that is why when Kurama said that Sasuke and Naruto are like brothers he said that he never felt it that way, Sasuke has Itachi and Kurama is like a brother to him not labeling his relationship with Sasuke.

Remember I said that he didn’t fell in love with Sakura but since he liked her as a friend and wasn’t able to differentiate the different types of love he confused it as a crush probably because he liked her (as a friend) and she was a girl.

Sakura was confused because she knew about Naruto’s feelings for Sasuke but at the end decided not to comment on it showing her dislike and opinion as a reflection of Naruto’s closed minded society, which is a critic to Japan’s society at the time, maybe it was not that and she just thought that Sasuke could hurt him again as she saw Naruto suffered during Shippuden. So instead of making him realized his feelings she encouraged Hinata thinking that she would be better for him, I believe she did it with good intentions but the decision she made was made based on her values and that wasn’t the correct decision for Naruto.

This way of thinking also shows in Iruka, his parental figure, and Kakashi, they know but they don’t say anything, this is obvious when Iruka gets mad at Naruto deciding to marry Hinata but doesn’t encourage him to talk with Sasuke, Iruka suffers in secret and thinks he did wrong not talking with him but at the end he will just observe (we are talking about Iruka, he is extremely strict, diplomatic and a person who always follows rules and he didn’t prepared anything to say in the wedding day that should be enough in what he truly though of it), Kakashi also knows but he never served as an emotional support at that scale those were Jiraya, who died, and Iruka who is part of the same village, maybe he is just afraid of what they will think and how could affect Naruto’s reputation since his “dream” is to be hokage, which actually was to experience love and be loved (like Ada) and not feel lonely.

The last two pictures compare a Sasuke’s card vs a formal card to give in a wedding and if you notice the villagers card is like the formal one but Sasuke is different, like making fun of it!!

As this quotes says, “hell is paved with good intentions not with bad ones. All men mean well”. George Bernard Shaw

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.” Simon Wiesenthal

“Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.” James C. Collins

A little poem reflecting Sasuke losing Naruto;

what's it to me

if you love me or

miss me or need me

when you are doing

nothing to be with me

if you can't allow me to be

the love of your life I will be

the loss of your life instead By Rupi Kaur

Japan at the time practiced arranged marriage, a marriage without love is not hard to imagine happening in Naruto’s world, even more between people with high occupations to unite important families. Hinata also commented on it.

The people that loves us can hurt us even if they have the best intentions.

Actually there are a lot of things that I didn’t say but I decided to stop here because if not it would be too long and for being repetitive!! Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it and feel free to comment!!

Also if you watched Shang-Chi and the legend of the ten rings you may notice why Kishimoto is so excited with Destin Daniel Cretton he really likes him because he is open minded, but actually the film when watching it reminded me a lot of Naruto!!

12 notes · View notes

sneezemonster15 · 2 years

Note

Hey, thank you so much for answering my previous ask. I love reading your blog and what you have to say. Also I forgot to mention the person who thinks Sasuke fucked Karin also talked about what you said on your blog with someone else, https://dushman-e-jaan.tumblr.com/post/663748673413464064/i-saw-a-post-where-anyone-who-says-that-sasuke-and I'm pretty sure that's your post bc I read it. They're basically making fun of the whole thing and again slapping the "brothers" label onto practically everything you said 😭 What are your thoughts on this?

Hello.

Woah, yeah, that is my post. I wrote it a long time ago, I had no clue that they got this triggered by it, that they went through it line by line, as a response to me, replying to every statement I made in second person and didn’t even tag me. If it weren’t for your ask, I would never have found out about it. Well, I am going to take it as a compliment, whether they like it or not. Lol.

I don’t generally write my content to defend my takes, I give all the reasoning and cite evidence within my posts, and if someone has a problem with it, I generally reply to them in the comment box. But since this aforementioned post seems like it has gone some way into the anti SNS fandom, and because I wasn’t even aware of it, I will address some of these issues.

Okay. Gear up, this is going to be long.

First things first. They are offended because they don’t agree with my statement :

“Well, at least you are being consistent. Because people who think Sasuke and Naruto are brothers are the same people who think Sakura and Hinata are feminist role models.”

And they want to make it clear that there are other fans who don’t think highly of Sakura and Hinata, but still consider Sasuke and Naruto brothers. Well, I will give them that. I am aware there are additional fans who consider them brothers, CASE IN POINT. My bad.

Honestly, there’s a lot of stuff here, that just doesn’t require my response. Like my mention of Tarkovsky. It was used as a figure of speech by which I wanted to say that decoding Sasuke and Naruto’s romance wasn’t rocket science, it’s a straight statement, I don’t know why they gotta twist it. I think the mention of Tarkovsky threw them off, because they feel that only they have the authority to talk about more brainy things. Lol. So I am going to sidestep all the fountains of their insecurities and come to the point.

Okay so, they insist that Sasuke and Naruto are spiritual brothers, mainly because their chakras are reincarnation of Indra and Ashura’s chakras who happen to be biological brothers. And they take great offence to my statement that people who think of them as brothers are heteronormative and homophobic. I will come to that part later, I will address the reincarnation part first.

I honestly thought we were past this non-sensical and juvenile non-argument of them being brothers for the aforementioned reason. These antis use such big words and cite academic papers and articles and then, flip right over to say something so counterintuitive and irrational, without even considering any alternative understanding, it hardly seems like an argument and more like intellectual masturbation. Which it is.

Okay. This is their argument to support their stance.

“However, this story includes chakra, Indra, Ashura and is very much tied to spirituality. Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism deal with that. Kishimoto took his inspiration from there.Hindu scriptures exhort spiritual people to lead exemplary lives, control their sexual desires and abstain from sex, just as they are expected to control all desires and practice renunciation and detachment with their minds absorbed in the contemplation of God or the Self.”

And it doesn’t stop there, this rambling goes on and on and on…phew. I appreciate the amount of effort they have seemed to put in their arguments. Sadly, it's all as misguided as it can be, lol.

While I agree that one can see the myriad influences of various philosophical schools of thought and spiritual belief systems in Kishimoto’s work, NONE of it proves their brother argument. Why? Because it’s all out of context. I see this a lot, the pitfalls and trappings of sticking to one’s projection in one’s favourite piece of art/literature and bending text and context to their will, with citations, whether it’s relevant or not.

Such mental gymnastics, lol. I have seen this kind of response by student film theorists when they analyse Ozu's films. Oh why did he put that vase in the centre of the frame, what did he want to say by showing that vase? Did he mean to depict loneliness or does it indicate the effects of capitalism and consumerism in an insular, collectivist, traditional Japanese society of the times, or is it about the soul that is trapped in the material prison of flesh etc etc etc. Over analyzation. Which they apparently have accused me of, hahaha.

Unfortunately, that’s not how storytelling works. And it definitely doesn’t work in Naruto’s case. They would do well to remember that writers are not out to con you. Any writer worth his salt uses a combination of narrative tools to tell his story. Sad thing is most fans in this fandom just don’t understand how stories are written, the specific tools that a writer uses and the narrative devices that guide and lend a certain flow and approach to the story. Kishi is just like any other writer, in that context. So when he wants to give a certain narrative or visual information to the audience, he will use these common tools to drive his point home. For example, foreshadowing. What is foreshadowing?

Sourced from Wikipedia :

“Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and it helps the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events. A writer may implement foreshadowing in many different ways.”

And do we see this foreshadowing in Kishi’s plot? You bet, :).

And this is Chapter 3. Lol.

If Kishi wanted to depict Naruto and Sasuke as brothers, he would not have made them kiss. Even if accidentally. This scene, right at the start of the manga, indicates the very romantic nature of their relationship. I wonder why these stans don’t find it suspicious that even though this kiss is supposed to be accidental, both Naruto and Sasuke think of this kiss as a precious memory, not as a joke, but something significant, something that contributed to develop their dynamic in the manga. I have seen hundreds and hundreds of films in my life, but I have never seen anywhere where two likely brothers were made to kiss like this, for the sake of developing their dynamic. Only in romantic relationships.

Let me state it out in as clear words as possible. - In a macro sense, the overarching narrative of this manga includes a clear intention by the author to push the characters of Naruto and Sasuke to give an appropriate name to their relationship, continuously harping on defining and redefining their relationship with plot points strategically appointed to affect their dynamic that further propels the central narrative of the story.

Simply put, Kishi forcefully insists on weaving this story in a way that forces the protagonist to think and rethink the meaning of what he feels for Sasuke, as instigated by Sasuke himself, who every time they meet, insists Naruto answer his question as to why Narutio is so hell bent upon following him, why does he care so much so that he is ready to leave his training and the people he loves behind, just to bring Sasuke back. And everytime Naruto even breathes the word ‘friends’ or ‘brothers’, Sasuke’s either annoyed or surprised or displeased, never satisfied, never convinced. The satisfaction comes at the end of the manga, in chapter 698, when Naruto finally gives some explanation as to what he means by it. Shippuden didn’t end with the war arc, it ended with Sasuke and Naruto’s reconciliation. It didn’t end on the note of an ideological conflict and its eventual resolution, it ended on the note where Sasuke asked Naruto : But what does being friends mean to you?

And Naruto said with a clear sense that he understands what Sasuke is asking of him and so after thinking for a very pregnant pause, says : Even if you were to ask me that, I don’t think I would have an answer. But when I see you carrying your burden, it hurts me, so much so that I just can’t take it.

You really don’t need a PhD to see the nuanced significance of this text.

Point is, this going back and forth trying to define their relationship is not an isolated incident, it basically makes the backbone of the story. Which is why the aforementioned dialogues make sense, as they form the conclusion of this story. If they were brothers, why would this element exist?

Everything in the story serves to contribute to the central narrative and for the sake of character development of its main players.

That Kishi saw a need to even discuss why they were not friends, and that they were not brothers, but that Naruto feels immense hurt at seeing Sasuke hurt, is indicative enough that Kishi was definitely not trying to portray them as brothers. That these stans consider them brothers, when this art made by Kishimoto himself exists, is proof enough that they are highly indulgent of their self projections.

They are so motivated, for their own projections, to ignore the nuanced characterization of Naruto’s closeted gay self, or Sasuke’s oft pointed disinterest in women, that their understanding comes off as extremely lacking.

Ask yourself, why would Kishi even write these nuances in the way of visual imagery and strategic scenes where Naruto is made to react so strongly to even mild and unintentioned homoerotic moments? Why would Naruto be written to overcompensate to cover these moments up with something distinctly heterosexual? Why would Kishi even put so much effort in writing these characters this way if Kishi only wanted to portray them as brothers? What would even be the point of it?

Every single chapter goes through multilayered scrutiny by editors after it’s written, which means anything that is unnecessary or extraneous to the narrative is taken out. It’s supposed to be concise, and yet have the desired effect on the readers. Why keep those texts or panels that don’t serve the story? Instead, why do these elements serve to develop the characters? They obviously mean something, don't they? They are there for a reason, and anyone who has seen the portrayal of homosexuality in media will instantly recognise it. Those who haven’t can at least wonder why and venture to find out instead of giving their relationship names that are incongruent with their actual dynamic.

No other brotherly dynamic in the manga itself is even close to Naruto and Sasuke’s. Honestly, I have seen so much Japanese media outside of manga and anime in the last year, and I didn't see two men or boys depicted as brothers who make kissy faces at each other, or stand side by side looking like they are giving each other hand jobs and orgasming, or where one man’s mouth is deliberately drawn over another man’s crotch. To say that this indicates they were depicted as brothers, is not only counterintuitive, but downright ridiculous and plain stupid. It’s some real heavy duty denial.

If Kishimoto meant for them to be brothers because their chakras were reincarnation of Ashura and Indra, he would have made some character say it out loud in some context. Like I said, writers are not out there to con you. They will make sure that their intent is clearly shown to the audience, through text, subtext and visual language. And everything about Naruto and Sasuke, everything that contributes to their dynamic, whether it be dialogues, orchestrated situations, plot points, visual imagery, some of which exudes sexual tension, in no way indicates a platonic relationship. Those who have the presence of mind to pick it, will pick it, those who don’t would spout non-sense like our antis here. Lol.

Kishimoto knows how to use foreshadowing. Case in point.

He gives us an advance hint of what’s to come, and the narrative takes its twists and turns, being developed with this thread in mind, and then the arc ends with a conclusion of the underlying idea foreshadowed earlier with the hint. NONE of this is accidental. It’s all part of writing, it’s a literary tool, a narrative device. Hell, it isn’t a coincidence that Kishimoto keeps repeating this element over and over and over again, where Naruto goes through a whole range of situations and emotional upheavals in order to understand his feelings for Sasuke. First, he wonders if Sasuke is like a brother, or a friend, or more. Kishi can’t say it explicitly, but honestly, he doesn’t need to. These antis look for all sorts of reasoning and proof OUTSIDE the manga. If they were a little more honest with themselves, they would see that one really doesn’t need to do that, all the pertinent information that one needs to decode the nature of their relationship is inside the manga, in panels, visual imagery, dialogues, narrative development and notes.

Like I always say : First rule of deduction : Work with what you have. Facts, use what’s is available to you in the source material.

It is absolutely valid to look for outside source if you see a solid and legitimate reason to, which is congruent with the source material, like in the case of Chikamatsu. It’s already established clearly that Kishimoto is his fan, he has put a lot of effort to pay tribute to him in his own manga, he makes sure that this element is clearly present in the context and text, and the editors have talked about it in the notes. And ALL of that makes it a legit link, for one to connect it with Shinjuu.

The antis talk of irrelevant sources such as Jainism and Hinduism and whatnot, lol, it honestly looks like a super desperate attempt to twist and deform and bend the narrative to their interpretation where they conveniently ignore all the relevant panels where Naruto clearly says that him and Sasuke aren’t really brothers to Hagoromo, where Sasuke makes it a point to say to Sai that he only has one brother, clearly implying that he doesn’t consider Naruto a brother. All these extra interpretations that antis force upon the narrative is a result of their own projection. It's as simple as that.

If Sasuke was satisfied with the explanation that they were brothers, why would he keep asking Naruto the same question again and again? Doesn’t that indicate that he isn’t satisfied with Naruto’s understanding of it? And he is only convinced of it at the very end, when Naruto is bleeding out, about to die, when he finally, with much visible reticence, admits that he doesn’t know how to explain it?

Think about it, if they were just brothers, why would there be this hesitation? Being brothers is not a controversial thing, it’s not a taboo thing, it’s not abnormal, opposite in fact, given how much the characters of this story are shaped by their familial bonds. Instead of thinking of the most obvious things, these antis round up obscure and entirely irrelevant articles to sound smart and intellectual, as if that’s gonna make a difference. How is this extraneous intellectual regurgitation gonna help your case if your basic premise is wrong? That’s not how dialectics work. Lol.

Then they said this.: “(Considering Ino to be a closeted queer who only went for Sasuke to gain Sakura’s affections would be another one of these hilarious mishaps.)”

I honestly don’t know who they are referring to, because I have never said or implied anything even close to it. Maybe they are just assuming things. It’s not the only time they assume things. They also think I am some Western Man with my capitalistic and consumerist takes on Naruto. hahahaha.

Damn, I can't help but notice that whenever someone disagrees with them, they instantly label them as Western. Well, they are wrong on both counts, because neither am I western, nor a man. In fact, my socio-cultural understanding of the world is pretty close to Japan’s. I would also like to mention that my community practises the same religion that happens to be the official religion of Japan. But of course, I have never needed to flex on that, because it’s just not needed. The information that I got from the manga itself, plus my own experience of media is enough for me to make my points. I am able to qualify my content with the evidence found INSIDE the manga, and if I see clearly delineated references to outside material in it, I point them out. Like I have done here.

Honestly, it’s as simple as that. No need to twist your head at a 180 degrees to prove your point, if you are trying that hard, it becomes clear you have no legit leg to stand on and you are making shit up, just to validate your headcanon.

Don’t act against intuition, don’t act against text and visual language, don’t act against what is both explicitly and implicitly given in the manga because that is the opposite of examining something objectively. But well, people do worse to keep sticking to their denial.

Anyway, this foreshadowing can be seen in the first arc, where the central theme is ‘protecting one’s precious person’ and how one can unlock special hidden strengths when one is motivated to protect the person most dear to them. This element is foreshadowed in the relationship between Zabuza and Haku and through twists and turns, is finally concluded at the end of the arc, where Sasuke almost dies to protect Naruto and both unlock special powers for each other. Not rocket science. Kishi is a generous author that way, he wants this reader to know what he is saying and what he means by it, and so he will supply enough textual and visual information to make sense of the overarching story and themes. To simply ignore that for one’s head canons is a gross injustice to the story and the artist. If you have to ignore what he is saying explicitly or drawing explicitly, why even bother to engage with this manga? lol. What a waste.

It is not a complicated thing at all, in fact, it would have become a lot easier for Kishimoto to write this story if he could just have explicitly written them as brothers, a lot of effort would have been spared, no? And it would have all been believable, because it makes total sense that Naruto would want to save and protect his brother. The story would not change at all. Then why the hammer like insistence on having this whole brother or friend or comrade dialectic? Why? You know why?

Because they are NOT brothers.

Next, they said this : The problem with a lot of western readers is that they discard any and all relationships, familial and platonic, in favor of their romantic obsessions and delusions of “freedom” in a capitalistic society,................... ... the widespread consumption of amorous rituals constitutes the core of contemporary romantic love, reinvigorating capitalism and lovers alike.”

And this goes on and on….I am not going to put the entire thing here, it’s basically unnecessary blathering and intellectual masturbation.

Snickers, Delusions of freedom in a capitalistic society. Bwahaha. Where is this even coming from? Entirely irrelevant. Reminds me of my younger self when I would deliberately attach esoteric sounding citations to my papers to impress the professor and would still get a B. Lol.

I have written enough on the subject of the importance of familial bonds which shape the characters in this manga, so they are definitely wrong on that count. But well, they think they are the authority on Japanese media, what can I say? Sidestepping what’s actually in the manga and supplementing your argument with entirely disproportionate and irrelevant pointers only indicates that they are floundering. When you have no legit foundation for your argument, this happens. Lmao. I am no stranger to it, thankfully I got over it in my teens.

Then they claimed this : (Remember, Kishimoto comes from a very small village and is from a different generation altogether; so the odds of him penning anything even close to the “sexual categorizations” of the post-modern western sexual-domains are less than the second coming of Christ.)

Hahahahahaaha, I know you can’t tell, but I am literally wheezing here.

These stans literally talk like Kishimoto is a hundred year old man. Like…the lack of reason and logic in this statement is so apparent, I am surprised that they thought it would be worthwhile to make this comment. Lol. Sexual categorizations of the post-modern western sexual-domains??? What crap!!! Hahahah. Just say you are a straight homophobic woman who wants Sasuke’s dick and go!

So what if Kishi comes from a small village and a different generation? Does that mean he doesn’t know what homosexuality means? He doesn’t know sexual categorizations of the post-modern western sexual domains? What a bunch of hooey, lol. These stans talk of homosexuality like it’s some kind of western propaganda. Go ahead, tell me it’s not homophobic, heh. PoSt mODerN WEsteRn SexUal DomaiNs. Lololol.

Truth is, pre Meiji era, Japan was perhaps the most progressive of all cultures when it came to sexual categorizations. Here, this post is educational. Funny how these stans call SNS western and then do the same thing that most western fans do, who know absolutely nothing about history of sexuality in Japan. Here, they should maybe learn about it before sounding this ignorant, the video is pretty self-explanatory.

Edo period Japanese culture accepted homosexuality as the purest form of love that could exist between two samurais. Young men were allowed and even encouraged to have young male lovers, and after a certain age, they were expected to get married to women. A lot of men chose not to. And even though it was frowned upon, it wasn't a punishable offence.

Hell, one doesn’t even have to go there, check out Edo and Meiji period art, you will find lots of peculiar, very creative art with homosexuality as its subject. I would put those pictures here, but it would make this post x-rated, lol. The sexual imagery is off the charts, like Japan’s imagination is mind-boggling, like woah. They might be a small country but the scope of their imagination is huge. With the advent of Meiji era, that changed, as homosexuality became illegal, but this art was still produced underground.

Hell, a lot of the most celebrated artists in Modern Japan have created art about homosexuality. Film makers such as Nagisa Oshima, Takashi Miike (Shinjuku Triad’s Society, Big Bang Love, Juvenile A), Toshio Matsumoto (A funeral Parade of Roses), Akira Ogata (Boy’s Choir, a film about two orphaned boys who study at the same institution, and eventually fall in love with each other), have made excellent cinema on the subject matter. And these aren’t your run of the mill commercial yaoi creators, these are serious film makers whose films have done their rounds in national and international film festivals, earning awards and accolades from critics and audience alike.

The film, ‘Funeral Parade of Roses’ is a story about a young, gay, cross dressing boy who is in love with his father, a modern day adaptation of Oedipus Rex, only flipped. And this film was released in the 60’s. A product of the Japanese new wave cinema, it is considered to have influenced Stanley Kubrick’s ‘A Clockwork Orange’. It was considered quite a controversial film for its time in the west. It took over forty years for ‘Hereditary’ fame film maker Ari Aster to make a film on the subject, ‘The strange thing about the Johnsons’ in 2011, and the audience was shocked to their core with it. Japan was doing this shit in the 60’s. Lol. Oshima belonged to a small region in the southern Okayama prefecture called Tamano, founded in the 40’s. So? Kishi also belongs from the Okayama prefecture. What, people from small villages remain ignorant throughout their lives? They can't learn? They can’t be exposed to stuff?

Oshima was a pioneer of Japanese New Wave cinema, going forward to become one of the most celebrated film makers in the world, with a beautifully distinct voice. He made films on themes of homosexuality, and his stories were inspired by real life events in Japan. He made Gohatto, a Jidaigeki film (which basically translates to Japanese period drama, usually set in the Edo period) which is about Samurais lusting after a bishonen boy, training at the Shinsengumi, organization of Samurais. People of Japan are more than familiar with the tales of Shinsengumi, they grew up with it. He made ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’, which also features homosexual themes, starring David Bowie btw.

Kishimoto wasn’t even born or was of legal age when some of these films were released. Japan was experimenting in the fields of cinema and various subject matters, including unsimulated sex in a legit film.

They think he wouldn’t be aware of these films, Kishimoto who happens to be a film buff himself? Honestly, how insular do these stans think the Japanese are?

These people talk like the Japanese are some dumb, ignorant group of people, who don’t know shit about what’s going on in the world. Honey, that’s you, not them. Kishi is a well read, well exposed, well rounded writer.

Like yes, Japan was quite insular at some point of time, but after the second world war, they were forced by the allied nations to open up their borders. And the influence of western elements and themes can be seen in their art. In fact, western influence had already taken roots since Meiji era. The men even had to cut their hair for it. Even kabuki wasn't left alone. And it's not like this is some well kept secret. Kishimoto’s manga is definitely very much Japanese, but it has a cross cultural appeal as well. I don’t think one is doing their due diligence when one simply ignores that factor.

Okay. Let’s talk of Kishimoto’s influences.

These are a few excerpts from Kishimoto’s interviews, the Western influence is pretty clear. Does this look like some dude who doesn’t know what he is talking about? Does this look like someone who is inert and insular and ignorant?

Look how inspired Kishimoto is by Akira and its mangaka, Katsuhiro Otomo.

For those who don’t know, Akira was the anime that opened up the western markets for Japanese animation and manga. The film was made for the express purpose for Japan to open the western markets for her products, show off their goods to the world, that this is what they can do, and as it turned out, it was better than anything western audiences had ever experienced in terms of animation and storytelling at that point of time.

Cartoons were earlier considered to be for kids, the common perception was that animated media was supposed to be infantile, catering to a certain target audience. Akira changed that perception. The legacy of Akira is humongous. It opened up doors for other animes and mangas such as Dragonball Z, Ghost in the shell, Naruto even. This was the time in late 80’s when Japan was experiencing an overall good economy for the first time in 20th century, their financial shares were soaring. This was the time when corporations had opened up in Japan, and anyone who was ready to become a salary man could take advantage of the financial benefits resulting in significant disposable incomes. So people had more to spend on entertainment, and so production companies were chasing talented mangakas left and right to adapt their work into anime. Japan was so committed to this great enterprise of Akira, they formed a committee to finance the very high budget that a commensurate and successful rendering of the manga’s adaptation would require. The committee consisted of Kodansha, Mainichi Broadcasting System, Bandai, Hakuhodo, Toho, LaserDisc Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation (if you can’t tell, these are big, huge corporations) who all forwarded money and promotion towards the film, and appointed the mangaka himself to direct the film, because who else would be able to tell this story better when so much was at stake?

Otomo worked his ass off, drawing hundreds of storyboards to condense the 120 chapter long manga into one film. And he did it, and what a film it is. Like wow, I was blown away. Akira, being a cyberpunk manga, also has that cross cultural appeal, even though its major themes are still very much Japanese, but if you look closely, this film tells a story the entire world can benefit from.

Kishimoto is inspired by American film makers such as Michael Bay, Quentin Tarantino. He talks of Takeshi Kitano, lovingly known in Japan as Beat Takeshi, a very popular figure in the west, who also was a regular in Oshima’s films, having played major roles in his gay films. These stans think Kishimoto, a cinephile himself, isn’t aware of these films? Bullshit. Lol. A lot of mangakas want their work to be recognized by the entire world, especially in the west. It speaks of their global success, why would they want to just keep to their native audience?

Truth is, otaku culture evolved in a very specific way. The second world war, especially after Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, drastically affected the ethical and emotional landscape of the collective Japanese psyche. While the reverberations could be seen in their media, unfortunately, it wasn’t in the mainstream media where these effects were manifested, rather it was in alternative media, in the subcultural genres. You don’t have to take my word for it.

Takashi Murakami, a product of Otaku culture himself, talks about this, someone that Kishimoto himself has paid a significant tribute to in his manga (Deidara’s aesthetic is super flat, which is basically a socio-politico-cultural art movement pioneered by Murakami). And I saw for myself what he was talking about. Japan is a collectivist society, there isn’t much freedom for individual expression. Japanese emperor Hirohito, who is directly held to be responsible for the Japanese contribution to second Sino-Japanese war and the second world war by many historians, was considered to be a God by the Japanese, literally. Like Kim Jong Un style. No one questioned him. But after Japan’s role in the war as the predator and subsequently a victim, it broke the Japanese in a major way. Turned them humble, repentant. This collective grief and shock and widespread devastation brought the people together, they forgot their differences for the moment, to somehow pick up the pieces and go on living their lives, with gratitude for what they had. But yes, it’s not as explicit in their mainstream media as others. I mean the amount and variety of films based on the second world war that I have seen in European and American cinema, like damn. Japanese cinema on the other hand? Pretty tame in that regard.

Takahata made ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ on this subject, a heart rending and deeply disturbing story about two orphaned siblings living during the war, is considered as one of the most effective anti war films ever made in the history of cinema, as said by Roger Ebert, the man himself. Anyone who has seen the film will know it is an anti war film. But when Takahata was interviewed about it, he denied it. He said he didn’t make an anti war film, he wouldn’t even talk about it and later, stopped giving interviews about it altogether. Never underestimate the censorship of the Japanese administration. Oshima, a staunch modernist himself, a huge critic of Akira Kurosawa’s old world values and humanism, equally critical of the right wing and extreme left wing politics of Japan, made heavily political films, broke up with the studio system that launched his career, because of how left leaning, political and individualistic his voice was. His films were often banned or taken off screens, he was subjected to numerous court cases. But he persevered and even a stroke couldn’t stop him. But that’s Oshima. Oshimas are a rare breed.

So what couldn’t be seen in the mainstream media, you saw them in alternate or subaltern media. Akira is a direct testimonial to this. Akira is a story about a bunch of orphaned kids living in a dystopian world, that has been devastated by a bomb blast, past which Tokyo, now Neo Tokyo, is submerged in corruption and civil wars. The administration uses children as weapons to protect their own borders, but is eventually destroyed by these same children, when they couldn’t handle their powers. The reverberations of the post war atrocities can be viscerally felt in the themes of this manga, prompting a myriad of ethical implications and queries, questioning one’s understanding of a nation, of responsibility towards one’s people, love, hate, revenge borne of that hate, power, megalomania, philosophical implications of technology and the destruction borne of it, conflicts between different ideologies and so on and so forth but it’s resolve is quite familiar.

The resolve is about love, redemption, atonement and peace. That wars happen because there is love and hence there is hate, it's the people that make wars happen and it’s the people that pick up the pieces and go on living. That one can be hopeful even in adversities. No one is singularly condemned, no one is singularly held to blame even though it’s not difficult to see that things could have been handled better. But it’s not as black and white as that. It’s complex. World is complex.

But what we do see is that Tetsuo, an orphan who lives on the streets, who loses himself in the quest for power, fuelled by his need to be acknowledged, finally gives up on destroying everything when his lover Kaori dies protecting him, and at the urges of his best friend Kaneda, Tetsuo finally sees light, for the sake of his love for Kaori and Kaneda, and so he repents before dying. That all his passions come to nought when he loses the one thing he held dear to him, love for his friend and girlfriend, the only people that made him feel like he mattered.

Similar themes can be seen in another manga Kishi is influenced by. Ruruoni Kenshin, basically a romance manga in shounen, written by Nobuhiro Watsuki. Battosai, the political assassin, falls in love with Tomoe, a spy, basically two people from opposing ideologies. Tomoe sacrifices herself for Battosai, even after Battosai has discovered her true identity. The manga is structured with themes of ideological conflicts of love, revenge, love for one’s nation and adherence to one’s philosophy/belief systems, as it's set in the time period of transition between the Edo and Meiji era, but the resolution is similar. That love trumps all, that true love is greater than all the constructs made by humans.

Is there any wonder we see similar themes in Naruto? Kishi uses similar effects and themes for his world building in Naruto and Shippuden. A dystopian society where children are barbarically used as weapons, where gross injustices happen, but people go on living. This world imagined by Kishimoto is a reflection of the real world, richly dramatised with similar themes of love and conflicts and ideological differences and war and devastation and revenge and human ethos and peace and atonement. Similar resolve? I would say so.

And I won’t even dismiss that Sasuke’s character is definitely left leaning. Sasuke is partially based on Sasuke by Sanpei Shirato, a popularly known leftist voice in the manga industry. It’s pretty clear for anyone with half a brain to see that Sasuke is anti-establishment, and for good reasons too. The collectivist, utilitarian, highly corrupt system of the shinobi world leads to utter devastation and genocide of his entire clan overnight directly under the noses of the citizens and leaders of Konoha, and whose body parts are then commodified in the name of protection of the same nation that was built around the philosophy of ‘Will of Fire’, which was supposed to protect them but instead who slaughtered them in their sleep.

Sasuke’s interests and need for justice stands in sharp contrast with the ways of the shinobi world, and where no one could understand him, Naruto finally does. He is the only one who tries. He is the only one who is capable, who is made to be capable by the way of the narrative where Kishimoto develops his character accordingly. Naruto is naive and simple minded to start with, but he is written to learn and evolve and understand different points of view. To learn from people’s tragedies and losses and grief and motivations. He is exposed to the way of this world through anti hero archetypes such as Nagato and Obito and Zabuza, where after Naruto, through his own inherent moral and humanistic code, begins to understand a world that is founded on love turned hate, which further paves the way for revenge, but is determined to put a stop to it. By proving his love for Sasuke, and Sasuke accepts his love. Sure, had it not been for Sasuke, he would have let it continue or have simply died with Sasuke before he could witness a better world. But my point is, similar resolve : Love trumps all, peace, redemption and atonement.

This is not to say that I approve of the ending, I do not. I hate it. Firstly, if the theme of Naruto and Shippuden was already established and concluded as 'love trumps all else including the socio politico cultural structures and institutions made by humans ', then why the hell were they made to marry women when they are clearly gay? And secondly but equally importantly, Sasuke should have gotten his dues, he deserved it, so did Neji and Naruto. The truth of the Uchiha massacre should have been revealed, and Konoha should have taken accountability and repented, these are after all, some major themes in the manga. Kishi broke all sorts of storytelling rules at the end and I am mad as hell at him for that. But unfortunately, I didn’t write this story and couldn’t have had if I tried. Doesn’t mean I will look for things in it that aren’t there. Kishimoto is not a communist or a right winger. He is Japanese. Both extremist interpretations of manga are misguided. Tobirama was a bigot that plotted against the Uchihas, Hiruzen was a complacent failure of a leader who let things happen in his regime that by no means indicates good leadership, Uchiha clan was discriminated against. But Kishi could not have made Sasuke reach his goals, not if Naruto, the protagonist, was supposed to be of any consequence, which essentially makes Naruto hold a moderate position. I also don’t like the fact that the ending and consequently Boruto, diluted Sasuke’s belief systems and very justified goals, I wish they could have modified it to a conclusive ending where him and Naruto could have worked towards changing the status quo, but I don’t think it would have materialised, Shonen Jump is strict about these things, namely pedagogic values appropriate for a certain target group.

The conflicting ideologies definitely serve to make this manga drama and intrigue rich, but let’s not go overboard and look for things that aren’t there, which is what these stans seem to do. There’s no use in chasing shadows.

Then they said this : “He (Miura) actually does talk a little about the sexual tensions between Guts and Griffith! Must’ve been one of the parts I was having a hard time putting into decent English. Basically Miura says that he doesn’t really agree with how people read sexual tensions into the Guts-Griffith relation, because men can have passionate feelings about each other without it being like that……..Yet none of this is meant to be “romantic love”. There’s passion here, intensity, obsession, but it isn’t sexual. ”

Truth is whether it be western or Asian media, the concept of misinterpreting homosexuality as brotherhood is quite well explored in global media. Don’t believe me? Here. All facts, no frills.

One doesn’t even have to go very far, just look at Clamp, and you would be lucky if you were able to find more than five heterosexual characters in their entire range of mangas, lol. And honestly, their example of Berserk actually works in my favor and not theirs? GriffGuts is a valid gay ship. But of course, if they can reject SNS, it’s likely they would reject GriffGuts. Kishimoto and Miura, no matter what they say in their interviews, why is that more important than the story itself? Not like Kishimoto sounds all that confident in his interviews either, when he talks of them being more brothers than blood brothers.

I have not looked very deeply into Berserk, so I would like to invite veteran blogger @maoam to shed some light, one of the very few bloggers that I find with one of the most balanced and informed takes on Naruto and other relevant mangas.

Going ahead, let’s see what Miura says of boys.

Really Miura? Now what is this 'tingling' feeling?

What does this remind me of?

Lol. Now this isn’t the most accurate translation. This is the accurate translation, I am not sure of the source, I got this screengrab a long time ago, but I know for a fact it is legit.

Btw, the 'kyun' sound effect used here is used in Hentai to denote sexual arousal, lol.

Tell me what kind of brothers feel these feelings for each other? I have seen numerous Japanese films whether it be family dramas, Jidaigeki films, Japanese LGBTQ+ films, and I have never seen brothers behaving with each other like this once. Not once. What spiritual brothers? Lol. Why go against reason, intuition, narrative, visual imagery and cultural context to prove something using irrelevant sources?

Like I thought we were past this Brother argument, it’s the 21st century, there are more discussions on homosexuality, the subject of homosexuality has gained more exposure and a lot of talented and individualistic creators have explored this subject. So why is Naruto fandom this backward and narrow minded??

I find it hard to believe that despite Kishi’s subtle but not really, and repetitious ministrations on the issues surrounding a stigmatized subject such as homosexuality, is that invisible. All you need is an open minded approach, that is all. You do that and the manga will unfurl itself so you will be able to see things that you so conveniently ignored before to satisfy your headcanons. Is it that unfair of a request?

Do these fans think they know everything about everything? They couldn’t have missed something? Something as glaring and apparent as SNS? Before they claim that they are some omniscient, all-knowing being, maybe watch some LGBTQ+ media, and compare notes? Analyse tropes? Give themselves some credit, that they have done their due diligence before spouting things they obviously do not understand? Or is that too much to ask for?

Maybe they have learnt everything in the world that is to be learnt and there’s just no free space in that highly evolved noggin of theirs.

Maybe we are all just stupid fans who don’t know what we are talking of, even if we give the most objectively valid reasoning and evidence found inside the manga. Maybe they know best, maybe that’s why they think Sasuke slept with Karin, even when he shows no interest in her apart from maybe once or twice protecting her as his teammate, something he also does with ALL his other teammates? And generally, gets really annoyed and uncomfortable with Karin’s over the top sexual proposals, and then doesn’t think twice about getting rid of her when she is used as a bait to have him captured. Hmmm, I see their logic. They must really be the all knowing omniscient being, the Arahat, the wise one, the one who finally achieved Nirvana, proper enlightenment and all huh? Damn I feel so small. (A tear rolls down my downy cheek as my bosom trembles in humiliation). LOL.

Interestingly, the way Miura talks of boys, that they give them a ‘tingling’ feeling, makes me think. Keep in mind, Miura never married, there is no evidence of him having had a girlfriend. But let’s not speculate, even if it sounds fishy.

Understanding homosexuality in a conservative society is crucial in order to understand the SNS dynamic. There’s no doubt that Kishi wrote Naruto as a closeted homosexual and Sasuke as a homosexual boy. If one denies this, I can’t even take them seriously.

But it reminds me of an anecdote my gay friend told me. He is a national award winning filmmaker, an intellectual in his own right, and works a lot with the trans community in my country. A conservative, ultra religious, non-western country. As a young man in his twenties, when he had just come out, he would date men who would simply not identify as gay. He would sleep with them, and do what do people sexually attracted to each other do. But sleeping willingly with a man and accepting the gay identity are two different things. Where my friend understood these nuances even then, as having come from a conservative society himself, he would not force them to come out. These men would never even acknowledge that being attracted to men and not women makes them gay, it was not even a part of their understanding. Rather, they would think of it as something that ‘certain’ men do. Doesn’t mean it’s weird or uncommon, even though they knew straight men did not do this. But they would simply not go there. They would just chalk it up to something temporary, something that they needed to do before they got married to women they didn’t feel anything for, because that’s how it’s done. It’s not like they weren’t aware of the gay dialectic, my friend would talk to them about it, but they would simply not acquiesce, the denial was so strong. Till date, these men don’t admit to it, now they are married and have children. But still look for sexual relationships with men outside of it.

Which brings me to my next anecdote, told to me by another friend of mine. He is a stylist, absolutely flamboyant and openly, proudly gay. Very adventurous and experiment loving. He told me that in his experience, the best carnal fun he had was with Muslim men. And that most men who approached him for sex were Muslim men. (This is not an attack or criticism of the religion or community, it’s just something my friend told me). He would be approached by these men who would have the most voracious of appetites and tastes, and my friend went with it because he preferred to suck circumcised dicks, lol. Quite a lot of them were married, but my friend didn’t discriminate. He told me the same thing, these men would never identify as gay, not even during intimate moments, nope. Accepting your sexual identity is a more than a matter of sex. People in conservative societies face a lot of challenges and obstructions before even coming to certain realizations about themselves, it’s not that easy. In many ways, my country is even more conservative than Japan. Homosexuality is quite a taboo, hell, I didn’t even know the concept myself till I was well into my teens, and even then, I was only told the most stereotypical of things. I also grew up in a small town. It was later, when I went to the city to study, when I came into contact with people from all walks of life, nationalities, tastes, and sexual orientations, that was when I understood them as people, and not categories and labels. And now I have a friend who works as a dominatrix for a living and I still learn a lot.

I refuse to judge people on the most basic and stereotypical of preconceived notions.

The reason why I consider these fans to be homophobic…. Honestly, what gives them so much confidence to consider Sasuke and Naruto as brothers despite everything that is in the manga? Everything, from characterisation to plotting to the overarching themes to visual imagery to cultural context to text indicates their very romantic relationship, not platonic. Naruto admires the way Sasuke looks physically more than once and effectively calls him hot in Gaiden, what kind of guy thinks of his brother in those terms?

These stans are so pressed to label them brothers without even looking at gay media, or gay narratives, without even paying attention to nuances in the manga, or Japanese historical context or their own gay media, appropriating everything for the sake of their projection, dismissing or ignoring loads and loads of text and panels and characterisation, why? Why can’t they at least entertain the idea for once and reread the manga with that approach? You can’t be so sure of your projection, c’mon, you know it’s counterintuitive, it just simply doesn’t gel with what’s in the manga. So why this extended stubborn denial? Give me proof that reincarnated chakras make two people brothers. Where does it say in the manga? Show me. I can show you everything that I claim, it’s all inside the manga. Where’s yours? So just because it satisfies your ego, it’s a valid take? Why are you this sure of your takes? Given you have gotten multiple things wrong? Like objectively wrong.

Look, I understand denial is a strong factor, when we don’t want to see things we don’t like, our minds act like blinders. It would restrict your vision and make you see only what you want to see. And what a sad way that is to live, what a waste of time. I don’t believe in living that way, not in my media and not in my real life. But this obstinate refusal to accept SNS as romantic, is nothing but one’s desire to not accept Naruto or Sasuke as homosexual because you think it’s icky? Undesirable? Unattractive? Different from shounen norms? And because you want them to be straight so you can self insert? Whatever the reason, as long as you ignore real evidence and real proof, I will see you not only as heteronormative but also homophobic, you don’t gotta be overt, your underlying beliefs reek of prejudice and bias, especially when you haven’t done your due diligence, something that you mandatorily should have done in order to analyse this story. Doesn’t take a PhD degree to see that.

Like Denis Diderot said - We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us. But we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.

My advice to them? Give yourself a break. Give yourself enough credit that you are open minded enough to entertain an alternative understanding, even if just for the moment if nothing else, and see where that takes you. Watch more media, watch gay media, talk to people, listen to their stories, try and understand their point of views, read more, compare notes, learn more. And ask if you don’t know. There’s no shame in admitting you might not know something. Because you obviously don’t.

I am always of the mind of learning more and more, and I know I have strong opinions, but give me reason and logic and evidence, and you can bet I will listen, and even acquiesce to you, if I find it satisfactory. Because that’s how things should be, if we can’t grow and learn from what life teaches us, what’s the point? We all have a lot to learn, don’t we?

Anyway, there’s some more shit that they claim which is essentially written in a similar vein, more or less, albeit in the same condescending tone. Lol.

But I am done for the day, I am tired. So imma stop, this is me.

#ask #naruto #sasuke #sns #sasunaru #narusasu #naruto analysis #naruto meta #uzumaki naruto #uchiha sasuke

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hikibeeplus · 1 year

Note

Is Shin Gensokyo at all inspired by Osana Reimu?

Not really, I get a lot of comments how the current story really sounds like osana reimu but the root really started with this silly sketches

The story in which the sketches took place in is a much more modern Gensokyo. There’s the scarlet devil mansion being a huge corporate entity, the kappa having a tech company with a monopoly on it and former hell having a nuclear energy that powers the whole of Gensokyo. The Protagonists are these 3 little fellas but eventually I decided to scrap the story all together because I really don’t know where to go with it. However the theme of modern Gensokyo persists throughout the iteration.

The next iteration is more of a next generation of Gensokyo Incident Solver, kinda like how Boruto is to Naruto (I know, I don’t have any other comparison). This is also where I first came up with ShinGensokyo as a name (Not on my own, my friend gave it as a suggestion and I took it). The story is centered around 3 characters too, which is Reiyu Hakurei the daughter of Reimu, Hatsuma Morichika the daughter of Marisa and Rin Satsuki, a half youkai kirin. The modern setting of Gensokyo was toned down in this iteration, no big bad evil corporation SDM, the kappa tech company is not really a tech company anymore, and the Moriya become the huge factor of technology trickling into Gensokyo.

The main theme of the story here was about Reiyu looking up to take up the mantle of Hakurei Shrine Maiden like her mother but she is timid about it and Reimu don’t really want to push that responsibility to Reiyu as she doesn’t really know how to teach Reiyu to become a shrine maiden herself. Really had difficulty with this iteration because it changes a lot of the major characters in Touhou and I really have a hard time to do them justices, I’d also have to worry about the theme of modern Gensokyo and how everyone copes with the changes made while at the same time I have to focus on Reiyu’s and the other characters’ arc. Overall it’s a story heavy project for a first timer attempting to make a comic series. But then….

I made these little sketches of “wouldn’t it be funny if Rumia gets adopted by Yukari as a shikigami.” it got some attention and I keep drawing it because I adore drawing a simple character design and also I love Yukari. I tried making it a separate series than ShinGensokyo and titled it Sunshine but my ambitious dumb self thought that I should add some substances other than “haha silly Rumia.” and so I got the idea of combining ShinGensokyo and Sunshine and it’s a formula that I came to accept.

Rumia is kind of a blank template for me to start working out her character which is good. Initially, I came up with a gag slice-of-life comic about a modern Gensokyo as seen through the eye of a clueless Rumia but then I decided to add some character development to Rumia too which is now the current state of the comic.

In conclusion, No, ShinGensokyo is not at all inspired by Osana Reimu. The main theme of ShinGensokyo is about dealing with changes and growing up while Osana Reimu and it's subsequence sequel Reireimu from what I can tell is dealing with tragedy and past traumas (I never really watched it, only heard about it, my apologies if I get the theme wrong). the only similarities I could tell is Rumia's questionable origin both in Osana and Shingensokyo. If you read this far, thank you and sorry for going on about it with a long post when the answer is just simply No. Thank you for asking.

#long reads #long post #shingensokyo #touhou rumia #touhou #alternate universe #rumia

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psychewritesbs · 8 months

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I was reading your post about the megumi character trope and this is related but not?

Anyways, as someone who likes both sasuke and megumi, and I've come to like sasuke recently as I've finally checked out naruto, but it's bizarre to me how superficial their similarities are and it's crazier how people reduce their characters to their aloofness or dar hair or things like that and use that as a way to judge a character overall when their character arcs are so different imo. I have issues with how sasuke's character was handled in the story, but I've become very fond of the things he did for the story overall, so no problem for me, but I'm not sure megumi's arc will end or proceed any similiar to sasuke's with revenge as the main motivation, or at least I don't think so, I'm a couple chaps behind, but yeah, the way both characters process their own trauma or how their motivations are different enough for me to ignore the superficial ways in which they are similiar

I say it's also tough liking both in fandom spaces because naruto is still really popular and jjk is in the spotlight currently, so fandoms can be tense with each other and it's exhausting to see the slander going every which way lol

They say this as a way to slander mgm, but the "Megumi will never be sasuke" is funny because I don't think he's trying to be???

HOLA!

WELCOME to THE ULTIMATE SHONEN BATTLE FOR THE BEST "QUIET AND ALOOF DEUTERAGONIST-KUN": MEGUMI VS SASUKE!

Who's better? Well... let's ask the internet...

ok nvm. NEVER ask the internet for an opinion. ESPECIALLY when the Naruto fans who think Kishimoto is the mother of all anime tropes get involved.

This isn't even a question of whether Gege took inspiration from Sasuke for Megumi because 1) Sasuke himself takes inspiration from a Togashi character and, 2) "quiet and aloof deuteragonist-kun" is one of the most prevalent tropes in animanga--the trope is not even unique to shonen, hell even the 3-man team isn't unique to Naruto.

Nothing against Kishi but... he's doing the same thing every mangaka or author EVER has done--copying tropes.

At least Gege subverts them.

Let's taco'bout it more under the cut because I have many words to vomit about the topic.

Also... man, this is a fantastic conversation to have because, based on the comments I've seen about why Sasuke is "objectively" better, I feel like it comes back to a lack of introspection, dare I say toxic masculinity (?), and perhaps just not understanding or relating to Megumi as a character.

I've written before about Megumi's character development and how relating to him has a lot to do with how deeply you can be introspective about yourself. I won't address character development much here, so if you want to, you can read that post here.

But when it comes to Megumi vs. Sasuke, it's almost like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, they're both fruit (quiet and aloof deuteragonist-kun), AND they also have a different flavor profile, different texture, different scent... the list goes on.

And the way I see it, if someone can't see how the differences between Sasuke and Megumi make them fundamentally different despite sharing the same trope, then they can't "objectively" claim one is better than the other.

So I'm going to go ahead and just say it.

I don't like Sasuke. I never did and I never understood why he was so popular.

The comments about Megumi having the depth of a kiddie pool?

I feel the exact same about Sasuke.

I literally can't think of much to say about him other than he was pissy and had a sour attitude the whole time... umm... he wanted revenge and power... ? I guess?

And you know what? It's perfectly ok that I don't like Sasuke because my subjective opinion does not mean that someone who loves Sasuke is wrong about loving him. After all, my opinion should not be a measuring stick for someone who loves Sasuke.

In fact, I have moots who think very highly of Sasuke AND Megumi, and like them for different reasons. So I actually try to refrain from speaking negatively of Sasuke because I respect my moot's opinions and know that perhaps I am not seeing something they can.

That said, when we compare Sasuke and Megumi, we're measuring the characters against standards that don't apply to either of them.

Since Sasuke is on a revenge character arc, you can't really talk about how he explores his sense of self in order to re-define it (which is one of the main reasons I love Megumi). Sasuke wants power, but that just means he has to train harder.

Megumi does go the training route, but in the end, perhaps it was a moment of clarity and introspection that helped him level up, not just the physical training.

Likewise, since Megumi is on an arc meant to re-define his sense of self, you can't really talk about how he went about seeking power to reach his goal because Megumi is not interested in power for the sake of power, and/or does not have grandiose aspirations.

As you say, their motivations couldn't be more different.

Now, I think it bears repeating that when I started watching jjk, even though I liked him right from the beginning, I thought Megumi was underwhelming af given his trope.

But that's only because, again, I was measuring Megumi against the wrong standards.

In retrospect, I also do feel like Gege wanted Megumi to be perceived as "underwhelming given his trope" (MOST ESPECIALLY SASUKE imo), otherwise the payoff in chapter 58 would not have had the same impact.

So anyways.

To your point. Existing at the intersection of these two fandoms must be an interesting experience because most of the bad comparisons are rooted on surface level similarities.

Thing is, being able to see the nuance between the two characters and why neither is objectively better than the other, does require the ability to read below the surface AND to at least have a certain degree of emotional investment in the story and the characters.

Also, can I just say fandom wars are so pointless?

It's just a bunch of people who can't handle the idea that other people could have a different opinion because they see their opinion as the ultimate truth.

And don't let me act like I'm not the kind of pretentious asshat who will say something like "Megumi is a purposeful deconstruction but Aki is a copy" because I can be quite elitist myself. I just also don't take my opinion too seriously because I know I don't own the ultimate truth about what is and isn't good media.

Also I like to indulge in trash tv like every normal human being in this planet so that alone makes my taste questionable.

To that point, I saw a really good quote that is so relevant to your ask:

The price for certainty means that other people must be wrong. And that leads to holy war.

Lionel Corbett

"uwu Megumi is weak"

But... there's something that has been nagging me about why people don't like Megumi in general that is highly related to how his predecessors, Sasuke included, set the bar we use to measure the trope, most specifically in Battle Shonen.

And that's that the way me measure what makes Megumi a good character is based on toxic masculinity values.

Now... I'm not an expert on the topic, so please correct me if I'm wrong or need to expand my perspective here but...

There's something inherently "toxic" about how people are approaching both Megumi independently of Sasuke, and Megumi compared to Sasuke.

Like... if Sasuke wouldn't curl up in a ball because he's had to experience a traumatic event and instead just keeps on going, that's called repression and/or suppression and it's both not a healthy coping mechanism AND not realistically written.

So what if Sasuke would never?

Why is it wrong for a character (or a real human for that matter) to feel so defeated after the trauma they've had to face?

I am more interested in learning why we are so obsessed with looking down on a fictional character for feeling down on himself... like, Momo, are you ok, dude?

Do you ever allow yourself to feel all your feels or do you just berate yourself when you feel down on yourself?

And why are we measuring trauma on a scale of who has it worse just so that we can cancel someone else's trauma?

Actually, the fact that we can sit here and talk about who has it best and who has it worse like it's a competition?

That's gaslighting, and it's toxic af.

But again. The problem is that jjk fans themselves hate on Megumi independently of whether they compare him to Sasuke or not.

And I'm not sure whether kin here just has shitty reading comprehension skills, but...

I'm noticing a trend that has EVERYTHING to do with my female gaze and it's the fact that I kind of don't give a fuck about power scaling.

Like, it's cool. I'm not hating on people who do, you know. I'm just saying I don't care for it. But what I'm trying to say here is that people hate on Megumi for weird reasons...

Like... I don't think Hyena here is reading the same manga if he can't tell that Megumi has had character development, unless what he expects in terms of character development is...

Which is fine too... I loved dbz back in the day.

Who could ever forget Goku looking like he has to poop so bad his hair grows really long?

But like... are we fucking for real? JJK is far too nuanced to limit your experience of the manga to flashy fights and power ups only.

Again, if this is the standard we are using to measure Megumi as a character, no wonder people are disappointed.

So I say let them eat cake.

No shade to all of the people who I screenshotted here, but they're going to have to come up with smarter arguments to back up their subjective opinions about Sasuke's supposed objective superiority and why Megumi sucks.

In all honesty, the fact that Megumi is perceived as weak strikes me as toxic masculinity.

I get that some people read fiction to escape from their daily lives and not have to face the failures and successes they experience in the real world, but I personally want more human characters who fail and cry because that's more relatable to me than Goku's super powered instinct Saiyan form or whatever its called.

I guess we all read for different reasons. All I'm saying is "don't hate on Megumi for shortsighted reasons."

To bring it back to where it all started, let's be real here:

Megumi will NEVER be Sasuke

and that is fantastic news because Megumi is Megumi and that's exactly why we love him.

Dear anon, I think I went on a rant there hahahaha.

BAH! I just get so annoyed when people hate on Megumi for shallow reasons. Like, if you don't like him, you don't like him and that's that. But like some of the comments about him are just...

LOL!

Thank you for stopping by anon!

#fushiguro megumi #god i love jujutsu kaisen #fushiguro megumi lovers unite #ask the mental gymnastics anime girl

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uzuma-take · 22 days

Text

This probably won't get many views here or Twitter, but I'm genuinely thinking of writing my own version of Naruto.?? The relationships won't change. So Hintata will still get together with Naruto .

I have ideas based on interviews with kishimoto. Like Team Gai and Team Kurenai being sand Ninja (yes, that means the Hyuga , Inuzuka, and Aburame clan won't be leaf ninja) . Had the idead since I read Gai in particular wasn't originally planned to be a leaf ninja. That he and Lee where made on the fly for the exams.

One thing to mention is that all teams have four students. This is to include the filler students like Sora , Yakumo, and Yagura (yes, gai had a student named Yagura)

Team Gaara also has new people from the chunin filler being Shira , Sen, and Yami.

But what happened to Kankuro and Termari? Well, dear reader, that will come in due time..

Here's the major changes I have in my head so far, starting with Team 7.

Naruto

He's still an orphane born of the 4th homage minato. He's maybe a year older than Sakura and sasuke . Due to flunking the graduate exams . He was adopted by the third Hokage. In this version He's younger and much more naive than the original. (More on hiruzen later)

Sakura

She was a girl who witnessed her parents constantly fight . They both struck at each over multiple times, and eventually, she was but in foster care. Not really being taught violence wasn't the way she'd often lash out at people, including her teachers. When being put into team 7, she was scared of kakashi after some of the stories she'd read about him. She actually sometimes tries to hit Sasuke , Naruto and Sai

Sasuke

He's still the same, only real difference being that he looks more like Fugaku . He's still broady and crabby even more so with Sai.

Sai

Joined Team 7 much earlier on and is one of the reasons Sasuke left the village. Being a spy for Danzo, he worked with orochimaru closely and slowly wormed his way into Sasukes mind convincing him to accept the sound fours offer.

Kakashi

Born of a Samurai clan, that later fled to the leaf and a Inuzuka / Hyuga (haven't decided) mother from the sand . He's much the same man from the series except he's got a secret pacht with the sand due to his mum being from there.

Team Asuma

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji are pretty much the same. I really don't see any change Nessasary .

Asuma

The brother of the third hokage it inst until after the sand attacks the leaf he fall head over hills with kurenai yuhi of the sand . At first, he has no idea she's a sand Ninja. When he initially finds out her secret he's of course, horrified . Kurenai was from the village that tried to destroy his home and ultimately took his brother from him. During the time skip they do make up and eventually start dating in secret..

Sora

Same as filler exept hes the new five tails after it recarnated, he just joins the team early on . He's constantly worried because he doesn't fit in with Ino-Shika-Cho formation. Asuma tries to help him .

Team Kurenai

This is where the divations really begin .. as Said before Major clans now live in the sand village. Hyuga , inuzuka, and Aburame. Inspired by two things . The concept of gaara owing a dog and the interview stating Gai was from another village.

Hinata .

Apart from location a lot hasn't changed. She first met Naruto in the Exams and really liked his energy and will never give in. The thing that made her mind up was the fight with Neji. The Cousin she was going to be forced to Marry eventually. Naruto does the same shouting. But this time, her motivation is based on 'why does this stranger I've maybe met one or twice cheer me on?' She actually goes on the journey with Jiriya, Naruto , Sorra, Neji, and Gaara. (Three jinjurki and three people to sort out if anything goes wrong)

Kiba

He has a strong rivalry with his Twin Gaara and says he's going to beat him at being kazakage. Gaara doesn't really care but later on indulges him and challenges him to see who gets stronger during the time skip.

Shino

Same as canon just more dessert like bugs

Yakumo

Uses paintings much like Sai, but instead of physical . They trap people in genjutsu, which are much like in her filler episodes.

Team Gai

It's pretty much the same, except Lee now has two brothers. Yagura and Shira . Both whom he likes to to one up. Gai was 16 when he had a one night stand, resulting in Lee and his brothers. He never really knew their mum. He's regretted ever since. He has a major Crush on a certain Spikey haired leaf shinobi. Whose to say that man doesn't share the same feelings .

Team Gaara

The filler characters are the same

Baki is the sensei.

Gaara is the twin of Kiba, and he's pretty much the same as canon . The biggest difference is his dog. Don't hurt, or else shukaku will come out. After the Konoha Crush, he softens quite a bit and looks very different from how Naruto met him.

Temari and Kankuro are Sand Anbu like shinobi that are the older siblings of Kiba and Gaara. They resent Hana at first for caring about their brother, whose only seen as a weapon. It's not until rasa dues do the realise that Gaara, if taught correctly, can harness his powers, so they set up a meeting with the leaf village . As long as Gaara is safe and cared for, then could he train under Jyriya. Tsunde reluctantly agrees... that's all I have so far...

part 2

#naruto #kakagai

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zarinthelwrites · 11 months

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can i ask what the inspiration and thought process was for the premise of the scorpion and the frog?

I love nothing more than talking about my own ideas. Absolutely!

So the absolute initial thought process actually came from a scraped video essay idea that I had been working on, the idea for a series tentatively titled 'distaff counterparts' where I looked into what it really meant to turn a predominately male trope and apply it to a girl. From there, I focused on the Aloof Big Brother trope and its "distaff", Cool Big Sis. And then, while I was writing that out, I used Itachi as an example.

Here's a short excerpt from the script.

Older sisters don’t get to die with questions about their private hatreds still hidden in their hearts.

Here’s the thing. Changing a character’s gender doesn’t have to alter their personality traits, but it absolutely will change audience perception. What if Itachi had been a girl? Working under the (false) assumption that the Naruto mangaka is capable of giving girls character arcs, then everything would be exactly the same--

But what would people think of Itachi?

Abandoning her younger brother. Dying of a mysterious disease. Unknowable power, a genius since birth. Manipulating things behind the scenes, then dying peacefully...

>flashing words ‘mary sue’

That’s a lot of dangerous things to lay on the shoulders of a female villain. She could have been the next Hokage, Hiruzen sighs...

Narratively, the idea of having an older sister be the one who ruins their entire life for the sake of a society that destroys them, and a brother that never follows through on his decision to destroy or save that society could say something.

Of course, a lot of Naruto could say something, and it doesn’t for far less interesting reasons than this.

Now, you may notice this isn't, in fact, Scorpion and the Frog's premise. Between writing this and writing Scorpion and the Frog, I came up with the story's most fundamental twist, and in fact, the chapter 2 quote: "You take the burden, I'll take the blame"

Kaeru doesn't replace Itachi in the narrative, but opposes him: but she also inherits his role in the story as the antagonist. She's a very bitter and cold person, and even when history exonerates her of the crime it can't exonerate her personality: she never had good intentions, and she DIDN'T secretly love peace.

Or rather, she didn't believe that Naruto's world could become peaceful. If she'd been truly apathetic about the state of the world, she wouldn't be so angry, and so bitter. And so she and Itachi face each other with contradictory beliefs: he killed his family to preserve Konoha, she took the blame for his actions because she wanted him to suffer for his ability to believe in peace. The contradiction comes from the fact that Kaeru could have done a lot of what Itachi could not. She was better with people than him, she knew the future, if she had worked together with Itachi then maybe everything would have been different. But instead she and Itachi are both dead and speaking to each other through the sharingans that killed them, and Itachi still reaches out to the sister that he loves--

And he tells her, and through her the reader, that an change in perspective is enough to justify existence. Even if nothing except how he and Sasuke see the world is different because she knew them, then her existence is not irrelevant. Which, I suppose, is the final irrefutation of Kaeru's believe that change is impossible.

#lol #anon #my writing

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kyogre-blue · 2 months

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Hey so, I wanted to let your know that I really love your Naruto: Dashing Rescue fic. It's one of my all times fave time travelling fic. I still have the tumblr tag followed lol it's a lil reminder to self to reread whenever I come across it in the 'followed tag' section

I don't ever if you ever confirmed that it's abandoned work or not, I was wondering if you had anything to share about naruto rescue? Maybe your thoughts while writing it or scraps. Maybe not, it's been years also

Anyways, the main purpose was that I wanted to let you know that I really love your writing and a lot of your old works (oh khr too! but esp Dashing Rescue). You were an author that made me smile whenever I see your name as a teen learning about fandoms and searching out fics. I really enjoyed reading a lot of your works!

(Dumb me refresh the page before sending so I had to retype that twice and ahh I realised this got long. My bad)

Wow, that's really nice to hear. I'm glad that you enjoyed those fics! Looking at the dates, it's been almost 10 years since I posted that particular one... hard to believe.

Time travel has always been one of my most favorite fic tropes, and Naruto was really great for those because we had so many time periods, each with their own cast. The possibilities were endless.

For Dashing Rescue, I can see I posted three parts. I dug up my old doc, but there isn't much in it past those. I think I considered part 3 a good stopping point, though it looks like I wrote about a page of part 4 and outlined a few general ideas after that. I'll add that under the cut, in case you're curious.

Aside from that, the only thing I recall is that was using the movies for material and visual inspiration, but that part was probably obvious.

Anyway, thank you again for this really sweet ask. I really appreciate it ^o^

Title: Dashing Rescue

Part IV: Sand and Black Iron

Summary: AU, time travel. Finding himself in the past, Naruto has so far managed to hold back the tide of the Third Shinobi World War. That proves increasingly difficult as the Sandaime Kazekage goes missing.

~.~.~

“Thanks for agreeing to see us, Jiji,” Kushina said, bowing deeply in complete contradiction to her impolite way of addressing the Hokage — she had picked it up from Naruto. Next to her, Minato did the same. Both of them spared a glance at Sakumo, who was also waiting in the Hokage’s office and greeted them with a friendly nod.

“This is about Naruto, isn’t it?” Sarutobi guessed, setting aside his brush to give them both his full attention.

It had been two years since Naruto became an official member of the Uzumaki clan, and thus Konoha. That time had been plenty for the Sandaime to start feeling like he was going grey under his hat.

Especially after Naruto took off for Suna a few months ago and refused to come back, despite the many diplomatically worded but rather displeased messages Sarutobi received from Suna. He just hoped that whatever this was didn’t turn out to be an international incident.

“Yeah,” Kushina said bluntly. “He, uh, sent me a message.”

Or rather, he and Kushina had set about abusing the fact that they held two halves of a single bijuu, which could communicate with each other regardless of distance or circumstances. Kurama had been nothing resembling pleased at being used as an elaborate communication system, but agreed to relay urgent messages in exchange for Kushina changing the form of confinement she used on her half. She still had no idea how Naruto managed to sweet-talk the bijuu into it from his side.

“The Kazekage’s disappeared,” Kushina relayed, “but Naruto thinks he has a lead, and he wants help tracking the person responsible.” He had been increasingly evasive about what exactly he knew or at least suspected, and why, but Kushina didn’t mention that. Naruto got like that sometimes.

Still not used to these sorts of things, especially stated so baldly out of nowhere — the Kazekage, really? — Sakumo choked a little, but quickly swallowed his surprise. The Sandaime simply closed his eyes and sighed. International incident didn’t begin to cover it.

“With the Kazekage has gone missing, it’s naturally a very urgent request,” Minato added. “I might be able to expedite the journey there, if I can be assigned to the team.”

Kushina nodded sharply. “And I can file the mission request for him,” she offered.

“There is no need for that,” Sarutobi said, forcing down the urge to massage the bridge of his nose. “I will offer our services to Suna as a peace gesture.”

“Who will you send?” Sakumo asked, as he finally processed what he had heard.

“Sakumo-sempai, perhaps you could…?” Minato suggested. After all, there was no doubt about who possessed the best tracking skills in the village.

Sakumo shook his head. “That would be a terrible idea. They hate me there,” he summed up. “I was on the Suna front during the Second War, and…”

There was no need to continue. That was where Sakumo gained his fame — and notoriety, upon a path of corpses. He didn’t regret what he had done for Konoha’s sake, but war bred hatred in a vicious cycle. Back then, he had been the same, hating his enemies for what had been done to his comrades and paying back with the same in turn.

“Sending me would be more like a declaration of war than a peace gesture,” Sakumo concluded.

“It would not send the correct message, and would be a complication in itself,” Sarutobi agreed. “Unfortunately, most of the others who would be my second choice are out of the village and won’t be able to return quickly enough. Do you have a recommendation, Sakumo?”

Frowning, the man looked out the window across the village. There was more at stake than first appeared — a situation like this, involving a Kage, no less, could easily deteriorate quickly and violently. So far, they had just barely managed to avoid the outbreak of another war, but the balance was delicate at best. If Suna faltered, it wouldn’t take Iwa long to strike. And then...

On the other hand, this was Konoha’s chance to build a strong alliance with Suna. It would put the Suna council, and possibly even their Kage, in Konoha’s debt. They would be able to present a united front against Iwa, and further strengthen their position with Kumo as well.

A chance to bury the ills of the previous war…

“Kakashi,” Sakumo said, startling the others. “I recommend Kakashi.”

“Sakumo, are you sure?” Sarutobi asked, his brow furrowing as he sat forward and studied his old comrade.

“I’m sure. Kakashi has been a chuunin for four years now. He lacks experience, but his skills are top notch. His nose rivals mine, he’s observant and analytical, and he can call on one of our summons to assist him,” Sakumo explained.

The pride was clear in his voice. Minato, as Kakashi’s jounin teacher, nodded in agreement, though he also still appeared surprised by the choice.

“And… This is our chance to bury the grudges of the past. We have to take the first step. What better way to prove that we trust Suna and are serious about this alliance?” Sakumo smiled. “And I trust Minato and Naruto to keep him safe, should something go wrong.”

“...I won’t let anything happen to him,” Minato promised, recovering first.

Sarutobi took several moments longer to consider the suggestion. Finally, he nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Then I will dispatch Minato and Kakashi to Suna in all haste.”

“What? I want to go too! We’ll be a four-man team then!” Kushina protested.

While Sarutobi tried to think of some subtle way to tell her that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki wasn’t going to be allowed off into a foreign village, which could very well turn unstable at any moment, all without letting Sakumo know the situation, Minato quickly spoke up, “I don’t think I could take you that far,” he said apologetically. “Kakashi and myself will already be difficult…”

Kushina eyed him dubiously. Even though she was one of the few who understood the theoretical underpinnings of Hiraishin, she didn’t have the experience to judge how much and how far Minato could teleport.

Theoretically, Hiraishin’s chakra cost depended on the size and weight of what he was teleporting, though there were some specific caveats regarding distance and the placement of the seals — it all depended on how you went about it.

Kushina was right to distrust him. Minato might have still been able to manage another person, but at least this way there was a legitimate reason for her to stay in Konoha.

But she didn’t call him out on it. “He better come home after this,” she said instead. “It’s been months.”

Minato nodded sharply. “I’ll bring him back once we’re done.” Even if it meant a quick ambush.

“I’ll let Naruto know you’re coming,” Kushina said, and both the young jounin took their leave.

Left alone with Sakumo, Sarutobi shot the other man a considering look. “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “I have no doubt Minato and Naruto will protect him to the best of their ability,” and that ability was really quite impressive, “but you don’t have to risk Kakashi on this. We can send someone else.”

aaaaaa

///////The Third World War was put off, but relations are rough, especially when the Kazekage suddenly goes missing. (Minato is eighteen, Kakashi is ten, and Naruto is twenty one.)

Naruto knows that the true cause is Sasori. He talks to Chiyo and takes off, with Minato and Kakashi following. Chiyo suggested that Sasori would have gone to the old Rouran ruins.

Naruto asks Sakumo to make Konoha into a village that never abandons even one of its people.

—————

Timeline

Naruto arrives 21 yrs pre-series, 25 yrs pre-Shippuden, 10 yrs before he was born.

Part I, Kumo's kidnapping attempt Minato, Kushina — 13 Kakashi — 5 Naruto — 16

(Part II — 3 years in between)

Part III, Sakumo's mission Minato, Kushina — 16 Kakashi — 8 Naruto — 19

Part IV, Kazekage abducted Minato, Kushina — 18 Kakashi — 10 Naruto — 21 Sasori — 15

Kannabi Bridge, old timeline Minato, Kushina — 20 Kakashi — 12

Kyuubi attack, old timeline Minato, Kushina — 22 Kakashi — 14

—————

Title: Dashing Rescue

Part IV: Bare Your White Fangs

Summary: AU, time travel.

The Third War almost breaks out when people with bloodlines start to go missing,

Pakura from Suna, Gari from Iwa, Toroi from Kumo, and Mei from Kiri.

Obito gets kidnapped by Hiruko, Orochimaru's childhood friend and assistant.

Orochimaru is disgraced for his support and participation in the research.

—————

Title: Dashing Rescue

Part V: Rose-tinted Dawn

Summary: AU, time travel.

Jiraiya gets word of his old students being in trouble and asks Naruto to look into it. It's Madara confrontation time.

Minato and Kushina get trapped in a genjutsu world where Naruto is their son, and blond. It's really weird for them.

—————

Because the third war never happens, Minato is not nearly as famous. Orochimaru is not a Yondaime candidate either. Instead, Sakumo takes it.

—————

#asks #Naruto Rescue AU

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