Hi. Could you help me understand the meaning of this line "かけがえ無き、"繋がり”…だからこそ捨てた…孤独なる闇に限りなき力を求め、サスケの闘いが今始まる!!"? It appears in the farewell scene between Sakura and Sasuke in the first manga published in Weekly Shonen Jump. SS uses this line to emphasize Sakura's special place for Sasuke. When translated with DeepL, it reads: 'The connection between us is irreplaceable. That's why I abandoned it… Sasuke's battle begins now, seeking unlimited power in the lonely darkness!' This seems consistent with SS's interpretation. However, MangaPanda's translation is: 'The ever precious friendships formed…only to be thrown away! In the depths of solitude, in search of unlimited power, Sasuke's fight begins here…'. Personally, I think MangaPanda's translation fits the context better, but I don't have knowledge of Japanese to be sure, so could you clarify this for me?
*Below is the image accompanying the line above
Hi @ymamsp
SS fans really try to twist everything they can, huh!
kakegae naki , "tsunagari"....dakara koso suteta! kodokunaru yami ni kagiri naki chikara wo motome , sasuke no tatakai ga ima hajimaru!!
The Precious/Priceless, "bonds/ties" (that formed) ... now that (he) cut them off! In the solitary darkness, seeking for an endless/unlimited power, Sasuke's battle begins now!!!"
Let me break it down:
繋 がり (tsunagari) : connection , friendship, relationship, bond
孤独なる闇 (Kodokinaru Yami) - it expresses loneliness/solitary and darkness. This refers to being in a state of loneliness or being enveloped by darkness. 闇 symbolizes difficult situations, challenges, or an internal feeling of loneliness.
闇 is also used metaphorically. And, 闇 may also be used figuratively referring to something in hiding or dark side such as in "dark place in ones mind"
に 限りなき力 (Ni kagirinaki chikara) - endless/unlimited power
力 is usually used as a noun, meaning "power, strength or force".
を求め (womotome) - to seek or to search for. 「を」 is a particle that indicates purpose. In other words, it means "to seek/to search for infinite/unlimited power."
戦い (tatakai) - a fight; a battle
今 (ima) an adverb, meaning "now."
When something begins, you use ~が始まる (ga hajimaru)
かけがえ無き、"繋 がり”... だからこそ捨てた! - this sentence expresses that Sasuke cut off his Teammates in order to pursue his Goal. Relationships with important people can sometimes hinder judgment in the process of moving towards a goal. So he needs to sever that ties. Cutting off bonds and connections, it indicates a situation in which one searches for strength and answers in the midst of loneliness and darkness. "Seeking unlimited power in lonely darkness" means striving for infinite power, strength, or influence. And it also describes a situation where someone faces tremendous challenges and seeks to gain immense strength or power to overcome these difficulties.
In other words, the phrase suggests that new trials and growth will occur as a result of throwing away past actions (bonds), and it expresses that he has started to take up a new battle.
All in all it means that he has left the village after severing ties with his teammates and now begins his new journey to gain strength and power in the lonely darkness.
SS uses this line to emphasize Sakura's special place for Sasuke.
If that's the case, then, why didn't her confession awaken his Sharingan, but when Naruto confessed, Sasuke awakened his third Tomoe.
And Sasuke himself said that severing the bond between Naruto makes him stronger.
Yes, he pierced Naruto's chest with his chidori and tried to kill him several times. But he couldn't cut his bond with Naruto.
He never showed any pain when leaving Kakashi & Sakura... Whereas he felt immense pain when he leaving Naruto alone after Vote1 battle
Whenever Sasuke saw Naruto, he reminded him of his family....for no reason, and that would make Sasuke happy. But he thought that feeling happy was a form of weakness, so to avoid being distracted by Naruto's presence, Sasuke trained even harder to avenge his brother. And this is way before Team 7 was formed. Despite Sasuke's best efforts to stay away from the weakness Naruto had instilled in him, Sasuke ended up on the same team as him... and once again he reminded him of his family.
There is no mention of Kakashi or Sakura instilling him the feeling of family in him. But, all these feelings were attributed to Naruto and Naruto alone. And Sasuke only considered Naruto as his family, not Kakashi or Sakura.
So, are the other teammates equal to Naruto???
• At the age of eight, Naruto already gave him the feeling of a family, but not Sakura or Kakashi.
• He feeling the Pain of Naruto alone, but not Sakura or Kakashi.
• Naruto was changing Sasuke's heart and not Sakura or Kakashi.
• He felt relieved because of Naruto and not because of Kakashi or Sakura.
• Naruto is his weakness, but not Sakura or Kakashi.
• Sasuke called Naruto his (extremely) closest friend, but not Sakura or Kakashi.
• His body moves on its own for Naruto, but not for Sakura or Kakashi.
• Ever since he left the Village, he doesn't care about Sakura & Kakashi.
Also, When Sasuke thought about Team 7 during Killer Bee battle, the text says: "Looking back he wasn't alone"
But the word "alone" later pointed to Naruto and Naruto alone:
"After losing Itachi, I thought I was finally alone... But there was Naruto... I absolutely must kill him"
"And now... With this I will finally be able to be alone"
Not to mention, during the War Arc, Team 7 picture makes an appearance again... and Sasuke exclusively slashes Naruto's image out of this picture... because it's necessary for Sasuke to become a lonely.
If that bento offering to Naruto was about Team work, then why did he cut Sakura out of the panel and treasured this as his precious memories in his dying moments?
Sasuke can easily cut his ties with Sakura and Kakashi, because they are only his teammates. He cared about them during his Team 7 days but that does not mean he cared for them to the same extent as he cared for Naruto. He prioritizes Naruto and it was always about Naruto and he always individualizes him outside of the team.
In a recent interview, Eiichiro Oda said that he probably won't do any more manga after One Piece (or at least nothing huge) because the world he constructed for One Piece inadvertently allowed him to explore pretty much every type of story he wanted to: Mock Town was a Western, Egghead is both a sci-fi and a murder mystery, Thriller Bark was a horror, etc. He never did it, but Oda probably could have found a way to work in a high school drama or romantic comedy if he'd really wanted to. I would argue that's how the Hungry Days promotion came about, he probably wanted to see it explored at least a little bit but couldn't quite find a good excuse for it
Undead Unluck, as I think at least one of us has mentioned before, is very similar: it can be whatever it wants to be whenever it wants to be. A sci-fi horror against the emotion-eating aliens on the space station, a zombie apocalypse Western against Spoil, a wuxia against Feng, competitive gaming against Spring, sports against Void, and now of course the high school AU centered around Chikara; Undead Unluck can do it all! If we end up going into Lucy's mind and it becomes a swords and sorcery fantasy with Lucy captive in a castle by a dragonified Ruin, would any of you really be surprised? Would any of you even complain? I wouldn't, and in fact I hope it happens now. That'd be such a funny way to get both Ruin and Lucy back into the main story
I don't know if I've ever really talked about it before, but there are certain niches that Jump manga fill. I don't mean in the sense of genre like sports or gag manga, I mean more thematically. When My Hero Academia started, the consensus was that it was the "new Naruto," with its plucky underdog protagonist competing with a cruel and prodigious rival and a society that discredits him for the circumstances of his birth. Black Clover draws inspiration from a ton of big name manga, but Bleach is probably the one that it best resembles in the structure of its world (the Clover Kingdom resembles Soul Society, the Magic Knight squads resemble the Thirteen Court Squads, and the Grimoires are basically simplified Zanpakutou)
Over the years, I've seen many things take major inspiration from Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball, etc., but shockingly, there was a long stretch where I never saw anything try to emulate One Piece, at least not in a way that was particularly obvious. The closest was Toriko, creating wild and imaginative animals, plants, etc. the same way that One Piece creates its islands, but nothing had a cast that felt reminiscent to me
Interestingly, the first one that I noticed that felt like what I was looking for was Dr. Stone, and that only sunk in for me when Senku had his group build a boat and put up a sail with their own unique symbol. I realized in that moment that where Toriko had covered the spirit of adventure that One Piece had, Dr. Stone covered the spirit of friendship and togetherness: every time a dilemma came up, the solution was almost always finding a new ally and awakening their talents, applying them in a way that they'd never thought to before, or reconciling with an old enemy for the sake of progress. "My friends are here to do the things I can't, and I'm here to do what they can't." This is one of the core tenets of One Piece, and while it took me a while to notice, it was equally a part of Dr. Stone's core as well
Undead Unluck does something pretty similar, though not as overtly, since the cast don't really have neat roles like "navigator" or "doctor" or "chef;" instead, everyone has their areas of expertise that can be used in multiple situations, so the individuals best suited for each situation are carefully selected, and if none are available, the hunt begins for someone who is. I think this didn't sink in because it didn't become nearly as prevalent until after the timeloop, but in retrospect, the first half of the story was like the pre-timeskip Straw Hats', unprepared and unable to reach the world's ceiling when finally faced with it, only to come back stronger and wiser in their journey to come back together
Coupled with its ability to be (Chucky voice) genre-fluid, Undead Unluck has unexpectedly become in my opinion a more than worthy successor to One Piece's particular niche in Jump. I've had this thought for a while now, but I think that Undead Unluck might actually be a good glimpse into what One Piece would have been like if Oda had been able to stick to his original five-year plan. It isn't able to take nearly as much time to flesh out its world, but its streamlined approach elegantly allows us to get to know enough about the cast to be invested while still allowing attentive viewers to pick up on fine details. Where One Piece ballooned to be a 30-year venture because Oda kept having more ideas he wanted to share and angles he wanted to analyze, Undead Unluck seems to have a stronger clarity to its vision and commitment to ensuring that vision is realized ASAP without sacrificing any of the essentials. Neither approach is wrong, it's just good to see that there is in fact a world that exists where One Piece would have been able to be just as solidly executed even without entertaining every whim and flight of fancy that its author could dream of
Of course, One Piece is still going, and likely will be when Undead Unluck naturally concludes, so calling UU its successor is definitely a bit of an overstatement, but my main point is that I'm glad that we're starting to see authors who aren't afraid of sharing One Piece's niche, and more importantly are doing it in a way that's fairly subtle, but identifiable. It's an extremely comforting sign for the rapidly approaching post-One Piece world, and I can't wait to see what fills the coming power vacuum
Iruka: Sōda yo nā... Naruto... Samishikatta n da yo nā... Kurushikatta n da yo nā... Gomen nā... Naruto. Ore ga motto shikkari shite rya konna omoi sasezu ni sunda noni yo
Mizuki: Ano bake-gitsune ga chikara wo riyō shinai wake ga nai. Aitsu wa omae ga omotte iru yō na...
Iruka: Ā!
Naruto: (ki!) Keh... Yappa sou dattebayo! Hora na... Iruka-sensei mo honshin de wa ore no koto......... Mitomete nēe n da
Iruka: Bake-gitsune nara na. Kedo Naruto wa chigau. Aitsu wa...
My Translation:
Iruka: That's right... Naruto... It's lonely, isn't it... It hurts, right... I'm sorry... Naruto. If only I tried harder (with you) you wouldn't feel like this at all
Mizuki: There's no way that monster fox won't use (its own) power. (That brat) isn't the person you think he is...
Iruka: Yeah!
Naruto: (face harden) Hmph... As I thought dattebayo! See... Iruka-sensei also doesn't truly... Accept me
Iruka: If he were a monster fox that is. However, Naruto is not. He is...
Rōmaji:
Iruka: Aitsu wa kono ore ga mitometa yūshū na seito da. ... Doryoku-ka de... Ichizu de... Sono kuse bukiyō de dare kara mo mitomete morae nakute...... Aitsu wa mō hito no kokoro no kurushimi wo shitte iru... Ima wa mō bake-gitsune ja nai.
Naruto: (gyū...)
Iruka: Aitsu wa Konoha-gakure no sato no...... Uzumaki Naruto da
My Translation:
Iruka: He is a brilliant student that has (received) my own recognition. (He is) hardworking... Devoted... And yet tactless (that) no one wants to accept (him)...... He already knows human's emotions and pain... Now he is no longer the monster fox.
Naruto: (clutching tight...)
Iruka: He is Konoha's...... Uzumaki Naruto
Rōmaji:
Iruka: Naruto...!?
Mizuki: (guh) ......... Yatte kureru ja nē ka......
Naruto: (don!) ... Iruka-sensei ni tē dasu na... KOROSU ZO...
Iruka: Ba... Baka! Nande dete kita!!NIGERO!!
Mizuki: Hozaku na!!Temē mitai na gaki ippatsu de naguri-koroshite yaru yo!!
Naruto: Yatte miro kasu! Senbai ni shite kaeshite yakkara
Mizuki: Don't bullshit me! I will kill a brat like you in one punch!!
Naruto: Just try it, trash! I'll return it in a thousand-fold
Mizuki: You bastard just try if you can, monster fox!!!
Rōmaji:
Iruka: Heh! Hontō ni sennin ni bunshin ni shiyagaru to wa...Sono ue ......Zanzō de wa naku jittai sono mono wo tsukuri dasu Kōtō Ninjutsu "Kage Bunshin" ...Koitsu hyotto suru to...Hontō ni dono Hokage wo mo...
Naruto: Hehe...Chitto yari sugichatta
Iruka: ... Naruto chotto kocchi koi. Omae ni watashitai mon ga aru!
Naruto: Sensei... Mada?
Iruka: Yoshi! Mō me akete ī zo...
My Translation:
Iruka: Hmm! To think he truly duplicated himself into one thousand clones... What's more......They're not afterimages (instead they're) High-level Ninjutsu "Kage Bunshin" that produces materialised bodies... Perhaps this boy... (Will) truly (surpass) any Hokage...
Naruto: Hehe... I overdid it a bit
Iruka: ...Naruto come here for a sec. There's something I want to hand over to you!
Naruto: Sensei... Not yet?
Iruka: All right! Open your eyes...
Rōmaji:
Iruka: Sotsugyō...Omedetō. Kyō wa sotsugyō iwai da rāmen wo ogotte yaru!! Wa! Itē yo oi..
Iruka: Naruto. Shinobi ni totte hontō ni taihen nano wa kore kara da!!Tte sekkyō suru tsumori datta ga. Ma! Sore wa rāmen-ya made gaman shitoite yaru kana...
My Translation:
Iruka: Congratulations... on graduating. Today is celebration for graduating (so) I'll treat you ramen!! Whoa! That hurts oi..
Iruka: Naruto for us shinobi it's truly going to be hard from now on!! ― I was going to lecture him of that but. Well! (I'll) probably going to hold in until we are in the ramen stall...
Sasuke mentioned that he knew Naruto wanted attention, so he did idiotic things to get attention from others and he also searched for connection. Maybe Sasuke also knew that Naruto wanted attention from him. "I want to fight you" & "I acknowledged you".... these were the words he desired to hear from Sasuke. Sfx: ドキン means a heavier notion of *doki* or describe one's heart skipping a beat.
When that moment Sasuke said, "Naruto, I want to fight you too"..... He truly felt happy. Because Naruto himself says that he admires him and wants to be like him. So when he heard what Sasuke says he acknowledged his skill and he acknowledged Naruto , he felt glad. The only person he has always admired has now acknowledged him. It was his desire and his desperation to become Sasuke's equal and be friends with him. Because his Bond with Sasuke was what he always longed for.
Naruto also motivated by Sasuke's acknowledgement and trained very hard to face him in the Chunin Exams.
He also got existed by the anticipation of fighting sasuke... 「キュン」 Kyun is a common onomatopoeia in Japan when you fall in love and also used for feeling spark or thrill in one's heart. SFX for momentary tightening of one's chest caused by powerful feelings Or to have butterflies. 「ゾクゾクする」 zokuzoku suru- Thrilling is an expression for shaking, to get chills, to be shaking as from joy or excitement Or having tingling sensation (excitement). In here tightening (Kyun) happening in his lower abdomen.
This is what Naruto said:
Raw: 何だ... にの気持ち下腹の辺りがキュンとする それに…ゾクゾクする
Romaji: nanda... Kono kimochi shita bara no atari ga kyun to suru Sore ni… zokuzoku suru
Literal: "What... is this feeling? My lower stomach feels tight/feels butterflies! And... I feel a thrill/shivers."
This expression uses when butterflies take flight in your stomach when you're sexually aroused. It is that feeling in your stomach when you get turned on. But what can I do? This is what Kishimoto wrote in his manga. So I can't avoid it (it was his long time dream [to fight Sasuke and show him his skills] and now it's happening...). I only pointed it out because it was all connected to their fight.
(( I'm not sexualizing a 12 year old kid [character]. I'm just pointing out what's written in the manga. That's all.))
It reminds me of Sasuke's reaction (shivering) when he seeing Naruto summoning Gamabunta. Sfx used in here was 「ゾクゾクッ」 Zokuzoku. 「ッ」 added to make the onomatopoeia "stronger". Zokuzoku means - , to feel chills, to feel tingling, to tremble/ shaking with tension, fear, nervousness or excitement.
Sasuke himself said how he felt when he saw Naruto with that tremendous power..... And also.... How did Naruto become so strong, how could he become as strong as him, he trained with this in mind.
Raw: オレは...何も出来なかった...
Romaji: ore wa ... nani mo dekinakatta...
Literal: I... I wasn't able to do anything...
Raw: ナルトは異常なまでにどんどん強くなっていく…
Romaji: Naruto wa ijōna made ni dondon tsuyoku natteiku...
Literal: Naruto is rapidly getting stronger... almost abnormally....
Romaji: "ochikobore" yobawari sareteta ninja gakkō no koro kara mitara... shinjirarenai kurai no seichōda...
Literal: Looking back from when he was at ninja academy, where he was called a "failure"..... It's (absolutely) unbelievable growth .
[[ "信じられない" is a more surprising expression. What Sasuke means : "Comparing Naruto from when he was at the academy to now.... I can't believe his incredible growth. How much he has grown from what everyone called a "failure" to this incredible growth."]]
Raw: 近くでずっと見ていると分かる... アイツは... 何が凄い力を秘めてる...
Romaji: chikaku de zutto miteiru to wakaru... aitsu wa... nani ga sugoi chikara o himeteru...
Literal: When I keep watching him up closely, I can tell... He has... some kind of amazing power hidden inside him...
Raw: 時に... 恐怖すら感じるほどに...
Romaji: tokini… kyōfu sura kanjiru hodo ni...
Literal: sometimes.... I even feel fear (towards him)...
[Means- Seeing Naruto with that hidden power is terrifying/frightening.]
Raw: うずまきナルト... お前は一体何者なんだ...
Romaji: Uzumaki Naruto... omae wa ittai nanimonona nda...
Literal: Uzumaki Naruto.... What on earth are you/ who the hell are you...?!
Raw: オレは... どうしたら強くなれる...
Raw: ore wa... dou shitara tsuyoku nareru...
Literal: I... How can I get stronger... (What should I do to get stronger)
After that he went to see kakashi for training... even though he was jealous of Naruto's growth.... but when he heard that Itachi came to the Village and looking for Naruto.... he desperately went to look for Naruto. So, Sasuke really wanted to do something... he wanted to train with Kakashi to become stronger, he wanted to mind his own business.... but the thought of Naruto always distracted him. That's why when he heard Itachi looking for Naruto, he instinctively went to save him from Itachi.
In the 'Forest of Death', when Naruto arrives, Sasuke wanted Naruto to run away from that place ASAP because Orochimaru was scary and so powerful. Sasuke suddenly gave up the scroll and abandoned his goal of passing these rounds of the Chunin Exams.
You know what, he could have given up the scroll when Orochimaru cast a killing intent at him and Sakura. He clearly saw Sakura was trembling in fear in front of Orochimaru. But he didn't. But he decided to give up only after Naruto came on the scene.
He was yelling "Run away Naruto" the whole time. That disappointed Naruto as well. It was Sasuke who taught him not to run away and not to be afraid of the enemies. Whatever happens you must be face them. That's why Naruto protected him from the attack of Orochimaru and called him a 'scaredy Cat'.
We know how scared Sasuke was when they were fighting Zabuza. Here too he got scared and ran away from Orochimaru because he didn't want to die.
But that only changed after Naruto's action.... he pointed out Sasuke getting scared and running away from it like a coward. "There's no way.... such a stupid coward like you is the Sasuke I know!!" After that (listening to his words) Sasuke decided to fight back without running away again and face the enemy. (It wasn't because of Sakura's words that Sasuke decided to fight. She just gives a push and that's it).
If you look back at the context of why Sasuke decided to give up the scroll….. Why he was giving up his goal there? Why was he acting like an idiot ? Why didn't he think that if he gave Orochimaru the scroll what was the guarantee that Orochimaru would let them go?
Because when it comes to Naruto "Sasuke's body move on it's own". Do you think Orochimaru was an idiot who didn't notice all this? Right from the start.... As they entered the forest of death.... Orochimaru's plan failed one by one because he used Naruto's disguise. Sasuke saw through his disguise... Like... he can tell the correct angles of his whiskers if it's slightly different from the original. When he was with his teammate he attacked him directly and he ran away from him, but Sasuke never considered giving up the scroll. But when the Naruto kid appeared in front of them, Sasuke quickly give up the scroll. He listened to Naruto's words and fight Orochimaru without any fear of death... even though he knew he couldn't defeat him. He listened to Naruto's words and fight Orochimaru without any fear of death... even though he knew he couldn't defeat him.
If Naruto was in danger…. Sasuke would overexert his body to use his last chakra…. even if it cause him in great pain.
When they are in the Forest of Death with Kabuto.... Even though the curse seal hurting him… he risked it and used his last chakra to help Naruto.
when Naruto was fighting against Gaara, even though he was exhausted and his body was hurting.... when he saw that Naruto was in danger, he tried to get up to help him.
In forest of the death Sasuke's emotions were overflowing. The main reason he gave up the scroll was to keep Naruto out of harm's way. And his heart was hardly pounding as he watched Naruto get hurt. ドクン - The way (or sound) of the heart beating strongly. Shape of his eyes, the inclination of his eyebrows are effective yet simple way to express his emotions. Look at his facial expression in the second 「ドクン」.... Sasuke was so hurt to see Naruto being beaten.
Because he's the one who said; " Every time I see you appearing to be suffering. . . I become pained"
His heart beat again when Naruto called back him 'scaredy cat'. ドクン used in here means 'When you are extremely surprised and feel your heart beating strongly'.
Then Sasuke taunts Naruto in the vote about that interrupted fight. Naruto felt really happy when Sasuke invited him to fight him at the hospital that time....but he didn't know that Sasuke was fuming inside. Naruto clearly regrets it. “That wasn't the fight I wanted. even now... "
Even now...he didn't want to fight....they were both hurting equally. This is not what either of them wanted.
He went to Orochimaru layer in order to not obtain power by killing Naruto. If you haven't already established such strong feelings, it is not possible to gain the Mangekyou Sharingan. That whole fight started out as a way to get MS, but then it turned into his desperate attempt to sever his bond with Naruto, which could only be severed by killing him because it was that powerful. But...No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't cut his bond with Naruto. Sasuke leans into his face to say goodbye to him by being closer to him for one last time. He painfully says goodbye for the last time and it hurts him a lot because he knows that it is not easy to leave his 'precious' person who has become a part of him and he hurt him so much during the fight.
Naruto tells him in vote1 and vote2 that this wasn't the fight he wanted because they were both hurting each other… This wasn't the fight Naruto wanted when Sasuke tries to hurt himself. This was not a fight about who wins or loses. This was never about beating the shit out of each other. It is about acknowledging the strength of the others as an equal. It's something that their heart wanted to do from the start. They had to fight their feelings throughout the fight. They cannot live without the other, they cannot bear to see the other one suffer, they always wanted to stay close to each other sharing happiness and pain in their hearts.
I was watching the final episode of the _Chikara_ arc when I noticed something interesting. This was immediately after Shiseru apologizes to Mina for slapping her and so all of the kids and the 2 adults are crying but look at Tenzo. He is so moved by the scene that he not only closes his eyes, but he physically turns his body away from it. Their goodbyes and their grief was not his to witness. Coming from a lifelong shinobi and a former ROOT operative this is a lot of emotion. So proud of him.