Team 7 - Greater than the sum of its parts
Damn, I see I've missed the NejiHina talk. Ah well.
Someone recommended that I post this here as well. This is my study of team 7.
Intro
I. The characters in team 7.
I.1. Naruto in team 7 - fighting for those precious to him, learning the pain of loss
I.2. Sasuke in team 7 - from descent into darkness to shades of grey
I.3. Sakura in team 7 - from a normal teenage girl into a shinobi
I.4. What about Kakashi and Iruka?
II. The cycles of interaction
II.1. Naruto and Sasuke's Humanity cycle.
II.2. Sakura's Protection cycle.
II.3. The cycles of Failure.
III. The scenes!
Conclusion
Introduction
Here's a quick recap:
I'll have to apologize though, this essay was completed around chapter 296, so might not be up-to-date in some parts. I did update some of the texts though.
I.1. Naruto in team 7 - fighting for those precious to him, learning the pain of loss
- in the Wave arc, it was Sasuke's teasing that made Naruto stop acting like a coward and truly fight. "I won't lose to Sasuke!" This very thought, among others, then had him initiate the badass Naruto + Sasuke vs Zabuza fight, a marvelous display of teamwork.
- most of the first half of part 1 he had "I won't lose to Sasuke!" as his motivation. His long-term goal was becoming Hokage, but Sasuke provided the concrete benchmark for him to attain. Sasuke gave substance to his goal.
- when Sasuke "sacrificed" himself for Naruto, that's when Naruto truly understood what it meant to lose someone precious, and that's when he learned to fight so desesperately for those dear to him. Haku: "When a person has something truly precious to protect, that's when they can become truly strong."
- in the forest of Death, Sakura using Naruto as example prompted Sasuke to snap out of his daze.
- in the forest of Death, it was thinking of him, Sasuke and Lee that got Sakura actually fighting.
- again, in the prelims, thoughts of Naruto (and Sakura) snapped Sasuke out of CS.
- he cheered on Sakura, on thus making her tie to Ino.
- against Gaara, he showed that it was actually the thought of Iruka and team 7 that made him fight so desesperately on. This group of precious people expanded post-timeskip to much, much more people, but Iruka then team 7 were the first, the first people he'd fight to the death for.
- Naruto's changing attitude towards Sakura is actually one of the aspects I admire most of him... With Sakura, he truly displayed selflessness. In the hospital, when Sakura hugged Sasuke, he looked pained but looked away. When Sakura begged him to bring back Sasuke, he looked pained again but made a promise of a lifetime. For Sakura, for the first time, Naruto showed that he was willing to sacrifice his Emotions for those precious to him. Even if it pains him to do so, he was willing to let go of the girl he likes so that she may be happy. Imo this was Naruto's single biggest display in emotional maturity. In my opinion anyway. This culminated in the Promise of a Lifetime, which got a lot of people badmouthing Sakura for making Naruto promise that. But doesn't this backlash show just how strongly people feel about Naruto going this far?
- Naruto vs Sasuke: This time, Naruto shows that he is what he is today because of Sasuke. Yes, getting acknowledgement from the whole village was tied as motivation, but the flashback in Naruto vs Sasuke's fight showed the concrete goal Naruto sought after: "I wanted to be like him." Sasuke provided the direction in which Naruto decided to head. But not only that, Sasuke represented one of his very first bonds, those very bonds that made Naruto strong.
- then people badmouthed Sasuke for beating up Naruto. But it is the challenges in life that shape you into what you are. If Naruto manages to get through this, then he'd come out stronger for it. Naruto pre-timeskip already had most of his issues resolved: he had people precious to him, he has a great teacher. There was the problem of Akatsuki but he no longer had truly emotional pains (well, he didn't have a girlfriend yet, but that's not the biggest pain in the world). So for him to move to the next step, there truly needed to be a challenge to match. That challenge was the pain of losing one of his first bonds.
- Naruto failed to bring back Sasuke, but he managed to knock him from a path straight into darkness to a grey path from which Sasuke can still be redeemed. By the time Sasuke left Naruto's unconscious but still living body, he was no longer the Sasuke who was calmly evaluating how to kill his best friend.
So Sasuke, then Iruka and team 7, provided Naruto with his first true motivations to do his best, and saved him from the pain of loneliness. Sasuke was Naruto's first concrete training target. Just look at the number of times Naruto has been going "I Must Not Lose To Sasuke!" So Sasuke is Naruto's first shinobi development, his first goal in truly improving himself. Sakura made that rivalry stand out even more since Naruto was trying to catch Sakura's attention. Sasuke and Sakura, as two of the first who saved him from the pain of loneliness (after Iruka and Sandaime), are Naruto's continued shinobi development as Naruto fought hard to protect them. And imo, few other people would have had Naruto displaying as much strength. Because Sasuke was his rival, because Sakura was the girl he cared most about, that's why he was willing to grow so strong For them, to protect them. Haku told Naruto that if you have someone truly precious to protect, that's when you truly become strong. For Naruto, team 7 and Iruka were it (moreso for Sasuke and Sakura since Iruka and Kakashi... well... didn't quite need protecting).
And now, he is losing one of those precious people. Because of that, he might end up falling into the darkness himself. This last point isn't exactly a "good" thing, no. But... what else do you want then? The problem I had always felt with Naruto before is that he reached the peak of his character development too soon. You know he'd always win, or always get back up, convert everyone he comes across, etc. It could have continued that way. Then it'd be like the fillers. =\ Only a challenge as high as possibly losing one of those closest to him to the point of having that person turn on him could once again plunge him into pain, make this (imo) too strong character vulnerable again. But it is through facing the challenges that Naruto grew strong and became who he is today, it is through fighting for those he cares about that he truly became the Naruto we know. Nowhere was he more himself than when he told Jiraiya "If that what it means to be wise, then I'd rather remain a fool!" If he comes out of this alive, he'll be stronger than ever.
You know it's ironic that him losing himself to Kyuubi now is actually the display of his humanity and of how much he cares for his friends: to the point of giving up absolutely anything. Naruto haters may find this pathetic but isn't this human aspect one of those that Naruto fans so cherish about him? And he became what he is today through his interactions with those around him, and most of all, team 7.
Nick Soapdish and Lexiefaye had their own comments as well:
Nick Soapdish:
Naruto had been fighting Gaara without his usual spunk because he believed that Gaara was stronger than him because he lived only for himself. But Sasuke reminded him that true strength came from fighting for your precious people.
Lexiefaye:
Naruto's change after fighting Sasuke:
Naruto's personal goals and his ambisions have been put on hold ever since. Naruto's desire for constant attention (which he now even has in negitive ways from Akatsuki!) and his need to be acknowledged (sated at first by his fellow genins and eventually even by Sasuke during the VOTE fight) were fulfilled and now his efforts and determination is aimed in a more altruistic way.
He was not just HUMBLED; Naruto was emotionally CRUSHED. And he still hasn't really gotten over it so to survive, he has had to rebuild himself from the bottom up. He really isn't himself anymore ... just like how he forced himself to completely change his mindset and stop running away after the oath of pain ... Naruto again has completely changed his mindset to force himself to keep his oath to Sakura. This isn't to say his ultimate goal to be Hokage has disappeared because he is more interested in Sasuke ... just that Naruto now supresses it with his other more instinctual desires - he's become stoic and hardened mentally in order to allow himself to follow Sasuke into the darkness.
Naruto is only NOW able to joke about things like his strength because loosing Sasuke has put things into perspective. Naruto NOW realizes there are things much more serious and important than how the world generally views him. He doesn't feel the need to brag to prove his confidence anymore because in reality, he actually IS more confident in who he is and actually IS more determined about what he now needs to do. He no longer needs other's validation because the pursuit of Sasuke is purpose enough.
Thanks to both of them. @__@
In the meantime, Naruto himself was source of growth for both Sasuke and Sakura.
I.2. Sasuke in Team 7 - from descent into darkness to shades of grey
Sasuke started as the stereotypical avenger. He wanted to kill his brother, and would have done anything to do so. As a stand-alone character without further interactions, he'd probably have gone to Orochimaru as soon as Curse Seal level 1 was placed on him, killed a best friend along the way, become a monster under Orochimaru and that would be it. No more humanity, no nada. Just another revenge story.
But then there's team 7.
- when he told off Sakura who was claiming that Naruto was lucky to have no parents, for the first time, we see him as more than an arrogant prick.
- he offered the bento to Naruto, an action that first painted him as more than a selfish closed off character (even if he used an excuse).
- Naruto's incessant tree training prompted Sasuke to train harder as well.
- he jumped in front of Haku's attack in order to save Naruto. That was imo the first hugely emotional scene of the manga (unless you count the Iruka scene). For the first time, Sasuke was shown as someone who'd sacrifice his life for those he cares about.
- when Orochimaru first showed up, Naruto and Sakura's combined screaming knocked some sense into him and gave him the courage to face Orochimaru.
- Orochimaru then told Kabuto that indeed, it was Naruto's influence that caused Sasuke to start risking his life, instead of living it like a coward like Itachi told him to
- when the curse seal acted up, Sakura's hug brought him back under control.
- when it acted up again during the exams, it was the thought of Naruto and Sakura that gave him the will to push back the curse seal, an accomplishment that made Orochimaru drool (erm... yeah. Just to show that it was quite a display of will).
- it was thanks to this that Kakashi was willing to teach Sasuke Chidori as well.
- against Gaara, he expressed that he did care, and that he was willing to sacrifice himself for Naruto and Sakura. "Sakura... you have to save her no matter what. [...] I already lost everything once before. I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again..." This also prompted Naruto to fight doubly hard.
- after the rooftop fight, Kakashi told him again that he was taught the Chidori because he had "precious comrades" now. And Sasuke did think about them, both Naruto and Sakura.
- when he decided to leave, Sakura failed to stop him. But he showed that he was grateful for everything with a "thank you." Imo it showed that he wasn't just a cold-hearted bastard who didn't care about what he left behind, but that he had to leave Despite the loss. He was grateful to team 7, but couldn't accept the happiness they offered.
- a side detail by the way: in the databook 1, in the Kishimoto character interview (damn, the link has since died), "Sasuke" said of Sakura that he viewed her "I think of Sakura as an important comrade. Since she's helped me out a lot." That coupled with the previously cited scenes shows that indeed Sasuke was somewhat grateful. Loneliness. He taught this to Sakura. He, too, was lonely, and with team 7 he found a family again, but nonetheless decided on revenge.
- And finally: his confrontation against Naruto. Whereas some of the previous scenes imo established that he did care about Sakura, if only as a teammate, this battle in the end established just how dear Naruto is to him, a reminder that his friendship for Naruto did not just dissipate after the Haku scene. In the end, he did spare Naruto.
- but most importantly is how Naruto affected Him: both Sasuke and Naruto haters can say what they want, but Naruto actually managed to change the whole course of Sasuke's life. His whole life, Sasuke had been following his brother's orders blindly. Within team 7, he had started to veer from the course, but it wasn't enough back then, it wasn't enough to destroy that seed that would have made him desperate enough to do anything, including what Itachi told him to. But by refusing to kill Naruto, he finally rejected the whole path. He still chose the path of revenge, but it was no longerItachi's path of revenge. This small change in direction nudged Sasuke out of a path leading straight into darkness, and instead pushed him on a grey path from which he can still be redeemed. A small fundamental change in Sasuke's whole life, from a puppet to one who seeks his own way. All thanks to Naruto.
So within team 7, Sasuke showed himself as more than a cold-hearted bastard of an avenger. I don't know, maybe the rest of you would think it more interesting if he were nothing but a cold-hearted Puppet of Itachi's, I sure don't. Within team 7, he showed himself as someone who was willing to sacrifice his life for those he cares about. He showed that there was a heart beneath that cold facade. While I'm no Sasuke fan myself, I'm sure Sasuke fans will agree with me that all those actions of self-sacrifice he's made within team 7 is what portrays him as more than a one-dimensional character just obsessed with revenge. Instead he's someone who does care, and that makes the choice he made that much harder because he Did have to let go of something dear to him in order to pursue this lonely path. It wasn't a case of him simply not caring. He did care, but just couldn't accept a path of happiness.
In the meantime, team 7 did things for him. Only with Naruto and Sakura could Sasuke imo have acted this way. He may seem just annoyed by Sakura's crush, but the crush turned into care and concern and it seems he's grown truly grateful somehow, even if he can't reciprocate (see character interview again). Those who deny it by the way can try to explain why Sakura did manage to calm him down from CS form, and why he called her and Naruto people "dear" to him against Gaara: Naruto and Sakura have both become dear to him. And both have been a source of strength for him: taking courage against Orochimaru, resisting the Curse Seal. And of course, most important of all, Naruto managed to shove him from a straight decent into darkness onto a thin gray path instead where he choses his own conditions.
In the future: These last points are what made me believe that even after 2.5 years, thanks to team 7, Sasuke has probably found the internal strength to continue resisting the effects of the Curse Seal as well. Orochimaru imo probably did not try to brainwash Sasuke beyond letting the Curse Seal do its job, if anything because he seems to like being amused by such things (like how he lets Kabuto run freely around). This also leads me to believe that Sasuke will never willingly attack his teammates for the kill now. Attack to hurt, sure, to scare them away, but he refused the path of killing his best friend. Naruto and Sakura believe that Sasuke can still be saved. Sasuke refusing to kill Naruto was that fundamental a decision, after all.
Also, because Naruto and Sakura are who they are, because he's shown that he did care for them, it means that in the future, they might still be able to reach out to him. And beyond that, perhaps after most of this is over, he can once again, fight for Them.
I.3. Sakura in team 7 - from a normal teenage girl into a shinobi
A thing that's interesting about Sakura is that Kishimoto specifically stated in an interview once that he intended for Sakura to start as someone "not likeable". And boy did he succeed. Arrogant, naive, in a stupid crush, while talking down those who have suffered much more than her... Sakura sure started on the wrong foot. In fact, Sakura did not do much in part 1. Kishimoto imo purposely set her into a role of uselessness as contrast to how desperatly she'd train to make up for it.
Sakura in team 7: her development came very gradually.
- in the beginning really, Sakura was Far from portrayed as an ideal girl. She told Sasuke that Naruto was lucky to have no parents, resulting in Sasuke turning on her and told her about the pain of loneliness. She also fainted the first time she saw an injured Sasuke (the genjutsu).
- when she saw the "dead" body of Sasuke, this was the first emotional Sakura scene: for the first time, she understood how hollow the words she had so proudly memorized were. This normal girl for the first time realized the harsh realities of the shinobi life.
- Forest of Death: thoughts of both her teammates(and Lee) got her to her first major step: she wanted to be like the ones who have always protected her.
- in the prelims, Naruto's yells made her tie to Ino.
- against Gaara, she jumped in front of him to protect Sasuke. When she was unconscious, she actually muttered both the names of Sasuke and Naruto.
- all the while, she slowly came to acknowledge Naruto. In the first test, she started showing support for Naruto's dream. In the Forest of Death, she also listed him as one of the people whom she looked up to. She cheered for him during his fight against Kiba, then again in his fight against Neji. In short, she'd come to slowly acknowledge him, until she trusted him so much that she told him about Sasuke's Curse Seal, against her promise to Sasuke, and she believed in him to bring back Sasuke.
- somehow, she managed to slowly grow on Sasuke as well. When Naruto was out and Sasuke was about to give the scroll to Orochimaru, her yelling and comparing him to Naruto snapped him out of it. Then she managed to get Sasuke to calm down the first time from the curse seal. In the fight against Gaara, Sasuke called her someone dear to him.
- when Sasuke tried to leave, she tried to stop him. Even though people have interpreted this scene in many ways, I must say I found it to be a heck of an emotional scene. I was actually touched by how far Sakura was willing to go for Sasuke, I was pretty sure that she realized that she'd even have to throw away her comfort and happiness to be with Sasuke, but still she pleaded for him to stay, and brought up the theme of loneliness again.
- when Naruto promised with his life to bring back Sasuke, that's when Sakura truly realized how much Naruto had done for her and how much he understood her. At that moment, she was truly grateful to Naruto.
- and Naruto failed to bring back Sasuke. That's when Sakura promised to go With him the next time and asked Tsunade to train her. This scene highly increased my esteem of Sakura back then, though it was royally botched in the anime, courtesy of bad watering down via lame lame fillers. :o
- post-timeskip, she vowed twice to save her teammates, once thinking about Itachi, the other time while fighting against Sasori. It's the thought of her teammates that helped her push through that fight.
- in the meantime, she learned that Naruto could not get rid of Kyuubi without dying, then she witnessed him going 4-tails against Orochimaru, making her further realize what a harsh life Naruto must live.
So Sakura was a normal teenage girl. She was, for lack of better words, naive, presumptuous, and childish. Like most 12 years-olds. She didn't even seem to have a shinobi background. But the events of team 7 forced her out of her simplistic view. Sasuke first made her aware of difficulties beyond school-work, she truly realized what loss meant when in the Wave arc, Sasuke laid "dead" on her knees. Slowly, she started standing up for her teammates, against the Sound 3, against Gaara, and started acknowledging Naruto while showing a growing concern for Sasuke. But she was still useless. And when Sasuke left, for a while, she still held hope in Naruto, who somehow managed to always come out on top, but when even He came back on the brink of death, she finally snapped out of her daze and understood that if she ever wanted her teammates to be safe, she too, would have to work hard.
In the meantime, she had succeeded in growing dear to both Naruto and Sasuke, with Naruto seeing her as one of those who acknowledge him (and basically willing to do anything for her, though he seems to have kind of forgotten her post-timeskip in favour of Sasuke, but let's overlook that for now >.>), and Sasuke, well: he did snap out of the CS when she hugged him; he told Naruto to protect her, calling her someone "dear" in the process; he thanked her before leaving; the databook character interview also had him saying that she was "an important comrade. Since she's helped me out a lot.". This means that she now has emotional ties to both, which means that she's actually Emotionally invested in her role of helping both teammates post-timeskip. Naruto and Sasuke are her double motivation to become stronger now, and she might actually get a reaction back.
Still, she was portrayed as essentially useless. I think this was on purpose: it was this feeling of helplessness that finally pushed her to Tsunade. Sakura didn't have a dark background like Naruto or Sasuke to bring out the pain in her. But as the result of her helplessness, imo, Sakura must have trained with the desesperation of one who could do absolutely nothing. Sure, she could have been a little more useful pre-timeskip, but then she'd be... well... Tenten. =\
In the future: at this point, I consider Sakura to be the unpredictable element of team 7. She could actually end up doing nothing as well, but she could also end up doing Something. What this something would be, I have no idea. All I know is that Naruto alone had already failed to bring back Sasuke, and it's upon realizing This that Sakura decided that they have to do it Together. So I have no idea what Sakura's future role would be, but without her, I do not see how a Naruto vs Sasuke fight would turn out differently from the first one, especially now that Naruto too, is losing himself to his demons. Yet I have no idea how she can contribute either. Then again Kishimoto surprised us with her fight against Sasori, where I Also kept thinking that she'd back down. As I said, the unpredictable element. I'm looking forward to seeing the development.
Splintered has also made the following thought once:
But it seems at times the only way that they realize what they're trully doing, Sakura has to be hurt. Point in case, the first fight between Naruto and Sasuke right before the Valley of the End, Sakura physically stepped between the two to stop them and it almost killed her. Sakura had to physically reach out to Sasuke to revert him back after the Forest of Death. And now potentially when Naruto sees what he did to Sakura he's going to have to realize his consequences (though you would think that when he almost killed Jiraiya warning bells should have gone off).
Because she is who she is, Sakura has the best chance of reaching out to these teammates who have done everything for her in the past. Even if it's by practically getting herself killed. >_>
Lexiefaye had her own comments:
When we first meet Sakura, she has no confidence in herself so she tries to get confident by leeching off those around her. Of course she will crush on the most popular and strongest boy because of what it will mean if he likes and acknowldges her (even if it is a lost cause from the start) and because instead of gaining joy in her own accomplishment (which she struggles to do) she can easily gain joy in his more certain success. It's something she has to grow out of ... and hopefully she has by having her crush become something of a more authentic love (wanting to deserve and share with him and help Sasuke instead of just using him as a safety blanket) and gaining emotional well being through her own accomplishments.
Sakura definitely put two and two together and realized Naruto is also doing all this for her. It also has shown how much she's grown ... she really wants to help and not be a burden anymore ... she just needs better timing for her moments of epiphony.
Naruto is much more reliable to Sakura right now. I think Sakura truely and deeply loved Sasuke but she realized that had become an obsticle to her own growth ... and despite her heart is moving on. Yet, now that Naruto has a chance with Sakura, he has become altruistic about the Sakura/Sasuke relationship. And Sakura is not just looking for eyecandy anymore ... she wants something more.
NaruXSaku has no chance until both resolve their Sasuke issues, no matter what feelings are developing between the two. Naruto hasn't been letting Sakura in since he returned nor is allowing her to express her worry over him. Just like how Sakura is no longer letting her feelings for Sasuke hinder her own development and has made him instead be a catalyst for her growth, Naruto won't let his feelings for Sakura (nor any feelings returned from her) hinder him from his personal conviction to save Sasuke but instead prefers just to use those feelings as a further motivation.
I.4. What about Kakashi and Iruka?
Iruka: Yeah! What about me? (and Kakashi)
Me: Um, you're obviously one of the first bonds Naruto has had, one of his most important ones...
Iruka: Yup! And?
Me: ...you pay for his ramen a lot of time...
Iruka: Hahah, um... yeah. I can't help it. And?
Me: ... and outside of ramen scenes, you've essentially disappeared from the story unless you count the fact that you're a prime candidate for yaoi doujins...
Iruka: Y-... HEY!!!
Kakashi: Hmm, what about me?
Me: You taught all of them teamwork. ^_^
Kakashi: Hmm, anything else?
Me: Yeah. The teamwork aspect was important since it allowed them to form all those ties they've formed as said above. But Sasuke left anyway. And you neglected Naruto and Sakura. >.> At least you tried! And they have the Legendary Sannins as teachers now! Aren't you proud?
Kakashi: u_u
So yeh. In case you can't tell, I was too lazy to include them more. >.>
II. The cycles of interaction
While everything said here's been said above, I thought I'd point these out in clearer because of how significant I've found them. In Naruto, there's a boomerang effect in emotional ties, that's only possible because of who each character is.
II.1. Naruto and Sasuke's Humanity cycle
I've chosen this cheesy (*cough*) title because both Naruto and Sasuke are currently losing themselves to their "inner demons", so to say. After the Naruto vs Sasuke confrontation, Sasuke managed to gain back some humanity, but Naruto on the other hand, because started losing it. Ironically, his current loss of "humanity", by giving himself in to Kyuubi, is Precisely due to this humanity, to how much he cares about the precious bonds he's made and that saved him from the pain of loneliness in the first place. Naruto loss of humanity is due to how much he cherishes those bonds, but these very bonds is what might save him again.
And ironically, if you look back, it's the same for Sasuke. Sasuke can no longer find happiness precisely because he Did lose the bonds most precious to him as well. Both Naruto and Sasuke are the same in this aspect. They suffer because they've lost their most precious bonds, the ones that made them human in the first place.
II.2. Sakura's Protection cycle.
Sakura as one might obviously have noticed, is completely left out of the humanity cycle because she didn't have any inner demons to deal with in the first place. For me though, it's interesting to see that she reached the same stance of "protect/save" for both teammates, but through completely different paths, and (my interpretation anyway) it's actually possible because of the team dynamics at the beginning of the series.
Sakura's first major evolution, in the Forest of Death, came from when the fact that she wanted to protect those who have always protected her. She failed to make a big difference back then, but whatever. As said though, she reached the stance in her second major evolution through completely different paths for both teammates, though with the realization of her and their own failings as trigger. With Sasuke, her crush had turned into a deeper feeling of care and concern, which in turn evolved into the need to save him. With Naruto though, it was actually His crush on Her that turned into a willingness to do anything for this precious person, to the point that he made the Promise of the Lifetime, something Sakura felt strong gratitude for. The force of this promise, even when he failed to bring Sasuke the first time, plus the realization that he can't do it alone, is what prompted Sakura to decide to go by Naruto's side the next time, a feeling that then evolved into a need to protect as well once she realized his inner demons as well.
So in the end, Sakura has no ties to Naruto and Sasuke's grander "humanity" cycle, but she ties into team 7 through the team 7 emotional bonds.
Personally I'm curious about the repercussions of 292. Depending on Naruto's response, Sakura's need to protect Naruto might clash with Naruto's own need to save Sasuke.
Update: Yay! As I said, Sakura's actions have given Naruto a reason to control himself again! \m/ ^_^ \m/
And to finish...
II.3. The cycles of Failure.
Not really a cycle, but close enough. The first major failure was Sasuke's failure to prevent the Uchiha massacre. This faillure prompted him into becoming the person he is today. Now, you must have noticed that I've established an indirect link between this and Naruto's training attitude. It's an oversimplification of the actual situation, but it's more or less this: after the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke became that person "alone" that Naruto wanted to talk at first. But Sasuke didn't talk to him either, instead trained and became strong in his corner. So between Sasuke's isolisation and the fact he's strong (at least partly due to him training for revenge), Naruto decided to take him for rival. Not Quite a direct "failure" of Naruto either (feeling inferior etc), but more or less. C'mon, give me a break.
Sasuke then got caught between the fact that Naruto started catching up to him, and to his big shock, the object of his revenge is more interested in Naruto than in him. This perceived failure of his avenger aspect is what caused him to go to Orochimaru. Naruto in the meantime, went after Sasuke with all the will he developed as described in the Humanity arc: the will to protect his precious people, something made more critical to him because they saved him from the pain of loneliness. And he failed, he lost Sasuke not to death, but to "the darkness", something even worse, as he knows how painful such a thing is.
So both of them were directly or indirectly motivated by the first sufferings that shaped them - the pain of the Uchiha massacre or the pain of loneliness as a jinchuuriki-. Sasuke's whole life was shaped by the fact that he Failed his family. Naruto, haunted by his past without bonds, thus feels double the sting of failing to get back Sasuke as well. So both of them are spurred on by failure. Not just any failure: the one of failing their most precious bonds.
Sakura has no such inner demons to make her loss as poignant. She's the normal one. That's why, imo, she had to be spurred on by failure on behalf of Both her teammates. First she failed to bring back Sasuke. And when Naruto came back half-dead, she realized that she failed him too, as she wasn't able to do Anything for him, thus prompting her to want to be by his side Next time. As I said in the Sakura part of this essay, she must have trained with the desesperation of one who has failed to help both her precious people. It made her into who she is today. In the meantime, she doesn't have any inner demons to lose herself to (so much the better, as both her teammates are already battling with theirs), but on the other hand she stands a nastier risk of losing herself to well... death. XP Because she's "weaker" as a combatant, and has the nasty habbit of jumping in at the worse possible moments. *cough*.
As Splintered once again put it:
everyone is running around in circles trying to save each other to the point of destroying themselves, and the only reason they haven't is because they are busy running around saving each other as well. XD
Ah well. At least Sakura's got guts now.
Kotonoro once made a beautiful view of things as well:
This. This is why I love Team 7 so much. Why I like Sakura so much as well. They're fighting against a lot of things, and it's so risky that they might repeat the Sannin's sad story again. In their own way they're fighting against fate but they've differed int he crucial ways that make them better. Sasuke, by rejecting Itachi's word, Naruto by not giving up like Jiraiya, and most especially Sakura by facing and swearing to protect them both, instead of runing away with her grief like Tsunade.
As much as I love the Sannin, they're a broken team, and it's possibly the saddest story ever. I have no doubt they were really good friends once. there's no way Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't care about their own team considering how strongly they were affected by Orochimaru leaving. They're the broken and dark Team 7.
Thanks to both of them!
III. The scenes!
And to conclude, a reminder of the scenes. The team 7 interactions represent most of the emotional pillars of the manga. Many scenes were badmouthed Afterwards and analyzed in objective ways, I sure jumped on the bandwagon many times myself, but I'll readily admit that when I was reading them for the first time, I was really touched and ready to bawl my eyes out (okay, maybe not):
- when Sasuke jumped in front of Naruto to save him from Haku's attack.
- when Sakura cried over the body of a "dead" Sasuke.
- when Sasuke when he told Naruto to save Sakura and let him handle Gaara.
- then Naruto specifically fought Gaara with the thought of his precious people - Iruka and team 7, in mind
- hell the goodbye scene! I'm not a SasuSaku fan, but that was one of the most bittersweet scenes in the manga no matter what people (including fellow NaruSaku fans of mine *cough*) say.
- then Naruto's promise of a lifetime. And Sakura's resulting tears and thanking Naruto.
- the Naruto vs Sasuke fight. I felt very sorry for Naruto when he asked in his mind: "How can you kill me so calmly?" Then when Naruto said: "When I was with you, I wondered... if it was what it felt like to be with a brother."
- and when Sasuke said: "I will not... be your puppet!" I found that really badass. =\
- then Sakura asked Tsunade to train her. My opinion of Sakura shot up that moment, though the anime did a Real good job of botching that scene and watering it down with a lame lame preliminary filler. x_x
- Sakura stating "This time, I'll save them both!" was also one of the scenes I found most badass in part 2, but then again I'm sort of biased. >.>
- um... 296. Do I have to elaborate?
As far as I'm concerned, even if you dismiss half of them, the above represent a good half of the most emotional scenes in the manga. And they're due to team 7.
As said, I've found myself belittling many of those scenes afterwards in the context of forum discussion, forum shapes your view in a weird way sometimes. But I remember how affected I was back Then, and when I re-read the manga, I wonder why I had turned so negative on them afterwards...
Conclusion
So Naruto is not just the story of Naruto and how Naruto grows up, but the story of team 7, and they grow up together, learn difficult lessons together, before clashing and finally seperating. Team 7 isn't made of just stand-alone characters: the characters have shaped each others' lives until they're more than the one-dimensional characters they mostly started out to be. You can be a Naruto fan and hate Sasuke for example, but Sasuke too is responsible for who Naruto is now. You can love Sasuke and say what you want about him being the most "grey" character in the series, but it's Naruto and to a lesser degree Sakura who have made him into this grey character as opposed to one falling straight into darkness: *insert image of Sasuke dropping straight into the pits*. And you could just love Sakura and um... well obviously she wouldn't be the way she is today without Naruto and Sasuke. =\ And just maybe, she will provide the small difference needed to change the outcome of a new Naruto vs Sasuke fight. Or not. >_<
So team 7 is not perfect. But how else can they be? It's by surmounting their weaknesses that they truly grow up and become who they are. It's the bonds between them that for better or for worse drive the story. Either directly or indirectly, or even despite themselves, the characters have shaped each other. Because they are so different from one another, yet at the same time similar (all striving for bonds, either the ones they have or the ones they have lost, including Sasuke who can't let go of the memories of his deceased family), they influence each other in good or bad ways, but ultimately they get each other to grow. Not all the things they've done can be considered "good" actions, but they've brought out the best in the Others: Sasuke looking down on Naruto drove Naruto to push himself harder, and while Sakura's attitude towards Naruto was far from ideal in part 1, through his promise to her Naruto showed how strong a character He is.
So really. You don't have to like each of the characters. You might even hate some of them for some of the things they've done, for the challenges they've set on each other at times even as they help each other grow. But the best and even worst of some brought out the best in the others. I personally am not interested in the individual characters of Naruto and Sasuke, but Sakura wouldn't be who she is today without them, just like Naruto won't be the same without Sasuke and would not have appeared as selfless without Sakura, and Sasuke would not have appeared as a deep-down caring character without both of them. At one point I hated Sasuke, but then I realized that if he weren't to come back, Naruto and Sakura would not be able to grow either. So now I'm waiting for his to come back (for real I mean, not as a damn shadow).
So this is team 7. Much more than the sum of its components. And without each of its parts, it wouldn't be what it is today, and would be so much poorer in the future.
In the meantime, I'll just start poking at the essay myself! :P
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, minus team 7!
Someone recommended that I post this here as well. This is my study of team 7.
Intro
I. The characters in team 7.
I.1. Naruto in team 7 - fighting for those precious to him, learning the pain of loss
I.2. Sasuke in team 7 - from descent into darkness to shades of grey
I.3. Sakura in team 7 - from a normal teenage girl into a shinobi
I.4. What about Kakashi and Iruka?
II. The cycles of interaction
II.1. Naruto and Sasuke's Humanity cycle.
II.2. Sakura's Protection cycle.
II.3. The cycles of Failure.
III. The scenes!
Conclusion
Introduction
Here's a quick recap:
I'll have to apologize though, this essay was completed around chapter 296, so might not be up-to-date in some parts. I did update some of the texts though.
I.1. Naruto in team 7 - fighting for those precious to him, learning the pain of loss
- in the Wave arc, it was Sasuke's teasing that made Naruto stop acting like a coward and truly fight. "I won't lose to Sasuke!" This very thought, among others, then had him initiate the badass Naruto + Sasuke vs Zabuza fight, a marvelous display of teamwork.
- most of the first half of part 1 he had "I won't lose to Sasuke!" as his motivation. His long-term goal was becoming Hokage, but Sasuke provided the concrete benchmark for him to attain. Sasuke gave substance to his goal.
- when Sasuke "sacrificed" himself for Naruto, that's when Naruto truly understood what it meant to lose someone precious, and that's when he learned to fight so desesperately for those dear to him. Haku: "When a person has something truly precious to protect, that's when they can become truly strong."
- in the forest of Death, Sakura using Naruto as example prompted Sasuke to snap out of his daze.
- in the forest of Death, it was thinking of him, Sasuke and Lee that got Sakura actually fighting.
- again, in the prelims, thoughts of Naruto (and Sakura) snapped Sasuke out of CS.
- he cheered on Sakura, on thus making her tie to Ino.
- against Gaara, he showed that it was actually the thought of Iruka and team 7 that made him fight so desesperately on. This group of precious people expanded post-timeskip to much, much more people, but Iruka then team 7 were the first, the first people he'd fight to the death for.
- Naruto's changing attitude towards Sakura is actually one of the aspects I admire most of him... With Sakura, he truly displayed selflessness. In the hospital, when Sakura hugged Sasuke, he looked pained but looked away. When Sakura begged him to bring back Sasuke, he looked pained again but made a promise of a lifetime. For Sakura, for the first time, Naruto showed that he was willing to sacrifice his Emotions for those precious to him. Even if it pains him to do so, he was willing to let go of the girl he likes so that she may be happy. Imo this was Naruto's single biggest display in emotional maturity. In my opinion anyway. This culminated in the Promise of a Lifetime, which got a lot of people badmouthing Sakura for making Naruto promise that. But doesn't this backlash show just how strongly people feel about Naruto going this far?
- Naruto vs Sasuke: This time, Naruto shows that he is what he is today because of Sasuke. Yes, getting acknowledgement from the whole village was tied as motivation, but the flashback in Naruto vs Sasuke's fight showed the concrete goal Naruto sought after: "I wanted to be like him." Sasuke provided the direction in which Naruto decided to head. But not only that, Sasuke represented one of his very first bonds, those very bonds that made Naruto strong.
- then people badmouthed Sasuke for beating up Naruto. But it is the challenges in life that shape you into what you are. If Naruto manages to get through this, then he'd come out stronger for it. Naruto pre-timeskip already had most of his issues resolved: he had people precious to him, he has a great teacher. There was the problem of Akatsuki but he no longer had truly emotional pains (well, he didn't have a girlfriend yet, but that's not the biggest pain in the world). So for him to move to the next step, there truly needed to be a challenge to match. That challenge was the pain of losing one of his first bonds.
- Naruto failed to bring back Sasuke, but he managed to knock him from a path straight into darkness to a grey path from which Sasuke can still be redeemed. By the time Sasuke left Naruto's unconscious but still living body, he was no longer the Sasuke who was calmly evaluating how to kill his best friend.
So Sasuke, then Iruka and team 7, provided Naruto with his first true motivations to do his best, and saved him from the pain of loneliness. Sasuke was Naruto's first concrete training target. Just look at the number of times Naruto has been going "I Must Not Lose To Sasuke!" So Sasuke is Naruto's first shinobi development, his first goal in truly improving himself. Sakura made that rivalry stand out even more since Naruto was trying to catch Sakura's attention. Sasuke and Sakura, as two of the first who saved him from the pain of loneliness (after Iruka and Sandaime), are Naruto's continued shinobi development as Naruto fought hard to protect them. And imo, few other people would have had Naruto displaying as much strength. Because Sasuke was his rival, because Sakura was the girl he cared most about, that's why he was willing to grow so strong For them, to protect them. Haku told Naruto that if you have someone truly precious to protect, that's when you truly become strong. For Naruto, team 7 and Iruka were it (moreso for Sasuke and Sakura since Iruka and Kakashi... well... didn't quite need protecting).
And now, he is losing one of those precious people. Because of that, he might end up falling into the darkness himself. This last point isn't exactly a "good" thing, no. But... what else do you want then? The problem I had always felt with Naruto before is that he reached the peak of his character development too soon. You know he'd always win, or always get back up, convert everyone he comes across, etc. It could have continued that way. Then it'd be like the fillers. =\ Only a challenge as high as possibly losing one of those closest to him to the point of having that person turn on him could once again plunge him into pain, make this (imo) too strong character vulnerable again. But it is through facing the challenges that Naruto grew strong and became who he is today, it is through fighting for those he cares about that he truly became the Naruto we know. Nowhere was he more himself than when he told Jiraiya "If that what it means to be wise, then I'd rather remain a fool!" If he comes out of this alive, he'll be stronger than ever.
You know it's ironic that him losing himself to Kyuubi now is actually the display of his humanity and of how much he cares for his friends: to the point of giving up absolutely anything. Naruto haters may find this pathetic but isn't this human aspect one of those that Naruto fans so cherish about him? And he became what he is today through his interactions with those around him, and most of all, team 7.
Nick Soapdish and Lexiefaye had their own comments as well:
Nick Soapdish:
Naruto had been fighting Gaara without his usual spunk because he believed that Gaara was stronger than him because he lived only for himself. But Sasuke reminded him that true strength came from fighting for your precious people.
Lexiefaye:
Naruto's change after fighting Sasuke:
Naruto's personal goals and his ambisions have been put on hold ever since. Naruto's desire for constant attention (which he now even has in negitive ways from Akatsuki!) and his need to be acknowledged (sated at first by his fellow genins and eventually even by Sasuke during the VOTE fight) were fulfilled and now his efforts and determination is aimed in a more altruistic way.
He was not just HUMBLED; Naruto was emotionally CRUSHED. And he still hasn't really gotten over it so to survive, he has had to rebuild himself from the bottom up. He really isn't himself anymore ... just like how he forced himself to completely change his mindset and stop running away after the oath of pain ... Naruto again has completely changed his mindset to force himself to keep his oath to Sakura. This isn't to say his ultimate goal to be Hokage has disappeared because he is more interested in Sasuke ... just that Naruto now supresses it with his other more instinctual desires - he's become stoic and hardened mentally in order to allow himself to follow Sasuke into the darkness.
Naruto is only NOW able to joke about things like his strength because loosing Sasuke has put things into perspective. Naruto NOW realizes there are things much more serious and important than how the world generally views him. He doesn't feel the need to brag to prove his confidence anymore because in reality, he actually IS more confident in who he is and actually IS more determined about what he now needs to do. He no longer needs other's validation because the pursuit of Sasuke is purpose enough.
Thanks to both of them. @__@
In the meantime, Naruto himself was source of growth for both Sasuke and Sakura.
I.2. Sasuke in Team 7 - from descent into darkness to shades of grey
Sasuke started as the stereotypical avenger. He wanted to kill his brother, and would have done anything to do so. As a stand-alone character without further interactions, he'd probably have gone to Orochimaru as soon as Curse Seal level 1 was placed on him, killed a best friend along the way, become a monster under Orochimaru and that would be it. No more humanity, no nada. Just another revenge story.
But then there's team 7.
- when he told off Sakura who was claiming that Naruto was lucky to have no parents, for the first time, we see him as more than an arrogant prick.
- he offered the bento to Naruto, an action that first painted him as more than a selfish closed off character (even if he used an excuse).
- Naruto's incessant tree training prompted Sasuke to train harder as well.
- he jumped in front of Haku's attack in order to save Naruto. That was imo the first hugely emotional scene of the manga (unless you count the Iruka scene). For the first time, Sasuke was shown as someone who'd sacrifice his life for those he cares about.
- when Orochimaru first showed up, Naruto and Sakura's combined screaming knocked some sense into him and gave him the courage to face Orochimaru.
- Orochimaru then told Kabuto that indeed, it was Naruto's influence that caused Sasuke to start risking his life, instead of living it like a coward like Itachi told him to
- when the curse seal acted up, Sakura's hug brought him back under control.
- when it acted up again during the exams, it was the thought of Naruto and Sakura that gave him the will to push back the curse seal, an accomplishment that made Orochimaru drool (erm... yeah. Just to show that it was quite a display of will).
- it was thanks to this that Kakashi was willing to teach Sasuke Chidori as well.
- against Gaara, he expressed that he did care, and that he was willing to sacrifice himself for Naruto and Sakura. "Sakura... you have to save her no matter what. [...] I already lost everything once before. I don't ever want to watch those dear to me die before my eyes again..." This also prompted Naruto to fight doubly hard.
- after the rooftop fight, Kakashi told him again that he was taught the Chidori because he had "precious comrades" now. And Sasuke did think about them, both Naruto and Sakura.
- when he decided to leave, Sakura failed to stop him. But he showed that he was grateful for everything with a "thank you." Imo it showed that he wasn't just a cold-hearted bastard who didn't care about what he left behind, but that he had to leave Despite the loss. He was grateful to team 7, but couldn't accept the happiness they offered.
- a side detail by the way: in the databook 1, in the Kishimoto character interview (damn, the link has since died), "Sasuke" said of Sakura that he viewed her "I think of Sakura as an important comrade. Since she's helped me out a lot." That coupled with the previously cited scenes shows that indeed Sasuke was somewhat grateful. Loneliness. He taught this to Sakura. He, too, was lonely, and with team 7 he found a family again, but nonetheless decided on revenge.
- And finally: his confrontation against Naruto. Whereas some of the previous scenes imo established that he did care about Sakura, if only as a teammate, this battle in the end established just how dear Naruto is to him, a reminder that his friendship for Naruto did not just dissipate after the Haku scene. In the end, he did spare Naruto.
- but most importantly is how Naruto affected Him: both Sasuke and Naruto haters can say what they want, but Naruto actually managed to change the whole course of Sasuke's life. His whole life, Sasuke had been following his brother's orders blindly. Within team 7, he had started to veer from the course, but it wasn't enough back then, it wasn't enough to destroy that seed that would have made him desperate enough to do anything, including what Itachi told him to. But by refusing to kill Naruto, he finally rejected the whole path. He still chose the path of revenge, but it was no longerItachi's path of revenge. This small change in direction nudged Sasuke out of a path leading straight into darkness, and instead pushed him on a grey path from which he can still be redeemed. A small fundamental change in Sasuke's whole life, from a puppet to one who seeks his own way. All thanks to Naruto.
So within team 7, Sasuke showed himself as more than a cold-hearted bastard of an avenger. I don't know, maybe the rest of you would think it more interesting if he were nothing but a cold-hearted Puppet of Itachi's, I sure don't. Within team 7, he showed himself as someone who was willing to sacrifice his life for those he cares about. He showed that there was a heart beneath that cold facade. While I'm no Sasuke fan myself, I'm sure Sasuke fans will agree with me that all those actions of self-sacrifice he's made within team 7 is what portrays him as more than a one-dimensional character just obsessed with revenge. Instead he's someone who does care, and that makes the choice he made that much harder because he Did have to let go of something dear to him in order to pursue this lonely path. It wasn't a case of him simply not caring. He did care, but just couldn't accept a path of happiness.
In the meantime, team 7 did things for him. Only with Naruto and Sakura could Sasuke imo have acted this way. He may seem just annoyed by Sakura's crush, but the crush turned into care and concern and it seems he's grown truly grateful somehow, even if he can't reciprocate (see character interview again). Those who deny it by the way can try to explain why Sakura did manage to calm him down from CS form, and why he called her and Naruto people "dear" to him against Gaara: Naruto and Sakura have both become dear to him. And both have been a source of strength for him: taking courage against Orochimaru, resisting the Curse Seal. And of course, most important of all, Naruto managed to shove him from a straight decent into darkness onto a thin gray path instead where he choses his own conditions.
In the future: These last points are what made me believe that even after 2.5 years, thanks to team 7, Sasuke has probably found the internal strength to continue resisting the effects of the Curse Seal as well. Orochimaru imo probably did not try to brainwash Sasuke beyond letting the Curse Seal do its job, if anything because he seems to like being amused by such things (like how he lets Kabuto run freely around). This also leads me to believe that Sasuke will never willingly attack his teammates for the kill now. Attack to hurt, sure, to scare them away, but he refused the path of killing his best friend. Naruto and Sakura believe that Sasuke can still be saved. Sasuke refusing to kill Naruto was that fundamental a decision, after all.
Also, because Naruto and Sakura are who they are, because he's shown that he did care for them, it means that in the future, they might still be able to reach out to him. And beyond that, perhaps after most of this is over, he can once again, fight for Them.
I.3. Sakura in team 7 - from a normal teenage girl into a shinobi
A thing that's interesting about Sakura is that Kishimoto specifically stated in an interview once that he intended for Sakura to start as someone "not likeable". And boy did he succeed. Arrogant, naive, in a stupid crush, while talking down those who have suffered much more than her... Sakura sure started on the wrong foot. In fact, Sakura did not do much in part 1. Kishimoto imo purposely set her into a role of uselessness as contrast to how desperatly she'd train to make up for it.
Sakura in team 7: her development came very gradually.
- in the beginning really, Sakura was Far from portrayed as an ideal girl. She told Sasuke that Naruto was lucky to have no parents, resulting in Sasuke turning on her and told her about the pain of loneliness. She also fainted the first time she saw an injured Sasuke (the genjutsu).
- when she saw the "dead" body of Sasuke, this was the first emotional Sakura scene: for the first time, she understood how hollow the words she had so proudly memorized were. This normal girl for the first time realized the harsh realities of the shinobi life.
- Forest of Death: thoughts of both her teammates(and Lee) got her to her first major step: she wanted to be like the ones who have always protected her.
- in the prelims, Naruto's yells made her tie to Ino.
- against Gaara, she jumped in front of him to protect Sasuke. When she was unconscious, she actually muttered both the names of Sasuke and Naruto.
- all the while, she slowly came to acknowledge Naruto. In the first test, she started showing support for Naruto's dream. In the Forest of Death, she also listed him as one of the people whom she looked up to. She cheered for him during his fight against Kiba, then again in his fight against Neji. In short, she'd come to slowly acknowledge him, until she trusted him so much that she told him about Sasuke's Curse Seal, against her promise to Sasuke, and she believed in him to bring back Sasuke.
- somehow, she managed to slowly grow on Sasuke as well. When Naruto was out and Sasuke was about to give the scroll to Orochimaru, her yelling and comparing him to Naruto snapped him out of it. Then she managed to get Sasuke to calm down the first time from the curse seal. In the fight against Gaara, Sasuke called her someone dear to him.
- when Sasuke tried to leave, she tried to stop him. Even though people have interpreted this scene in many ways, I must say I found it to be a heck of an emotional scene. I was actually touched by how far Sakura was willing to go for Sasuke, I was pretty sure that she realized that she'd even have to throw away her comfort and happiness to be with Sasuke, but still she pleaded for him to stay, and brought up the theme of loneliness again.
- when Naruto promised with his life to bring back Sasuke, that's when Sakura truly realized how much Naruto had done for her and how much he understood her. At that moment, she was truly grateful to Naruto.
- and Naruto failed to bring back Sasuke. That's when Sakura promised to go With him the next time and asked Tsunade to train her. This scene highly increased my esteem of Sakura back then, though it was royally botched in the anime, courtesy of bad watering down via lame lame fillers. :o
- post-timeskip, she vowed twice to save her teammates, once thinking about Itachi, the other time while fighting against Sasori. It's the thought of her teammates that helped her push through that fight.
- in the meantime, she learned that Naruto could not get rid of Kyuubi without dying, then she witnessed him going 4-tails against Orochimaru, making her further realize what a harsh life Naruto must live.
So Sakura was a normal teenage girl. She was, for lack of better words, naive, presumptuous, and childish. Like most 12 years-olds. She didn't even seem to have a shinobi background. But the events of team 7 forced her out of her simplistic view. Sasuke first made her aware of difficulties beyond school-work, she truly realized what loss meant when in the Wave arc, Sasuke laid "dead" on her knees. Slowly, she started standing up for her teammates, against the Sound 3, against Gaara, and started acknowledging Naruto while showing a growing concern for Sasuke. But she was still useless. And when Sasuke left, for a while, she still held hope in Naruto, who somehow managed to always come out on top, but when even He came back on the brink of death, she finally snapped out of her daze and understood that if she ever wanted her teammates to be safe, she too, would have to work hard.
In the meantime, she had succeeded in growing dear to both Naruto and Sasuke, with Naruto seeing her as one of those who acknowledge him (and basically willing to do anything for her, though he seems to have kind of forgotten her post-timeskip in favour of Sasuke, but let's overlook that for now >.>), and Sasuke, well: he did snap out of the CS when she hugged him; he told Naruto to protect her, calling her someone "dear" in the process; he thanked her before leaving; the databook character interview also had him saying that she was "an important comrade. Since she's helped me out a lot.". This means that she now has emotional ties to both, which means that she's actually Emotionally invested in her role of helping both teammates post-timeskip. Naruto and Sasuke are her double motivation to become stronger now, and she might actually get a reaction back.
Still, she was portrayed as essentially useless. I think this was on purpose: it was this feeling of helplessness that finally pushed her to Tsunade. Sakura didn't have a dark background like Naruto or Sasuke to bring out the pain in her. But as the result of her helplessness, imo, Sakura must have trained with the desesperation of one who could do absolutely nothing. Sure, she could have been a little more useful pre-timeskip, but then she'd be... well... Tenten. =\
In the future: at this point, I consider Sakura to be the unpredictable element of team 7. She could actually end up doing nothing as well, but she could also end up doing Something. What this something would be, I have no idea. All I know is that Naruto alone had already failed to bring back Sasuke, and it's upon realizing This that Sakura decided that they have to do it Together. So I have no idea what Sakura's future role would be, but without her, I do not see how a Naruto vs Sasuke fight would turn out differently from the first one, especially now that Naruto too, is losing himself to his demons. Yet I have no idea how she can contribute either. Then again Kishimoto surprised us with her fight against Sasori, where I Also kept thinking that she'd back down. As I said, the unpredictable element. I'm looking forward to seeing the development.
Splintered has also made the following thought once:
But it seems at times the only way that they realize what they're trully doing, Sakura has to be hurt. Point in case, the first fight between Naruto and Sasuke right before the Valley of the End, Sakura physically stepped between the two to stop them and it almost killed her. Sakura had to physically reach out to Sasuke to revert him back after the Forest of Death. And now potentially when Naruto sees what he did to Sakura he's going to have to realize his consequences (though you would think that when he almost killed Jiraiya warning bells should have gone off).
Because she is who she is, Sakura has the best chance of reaching out to these teammates who have done everything for her in the past. Even if it's by practically getting herself killed. >_>
Lexiefaye had her own comments:
When we first meet Sakura, she has no confidence in herself so she tries to get confident by leeching off those around her. Of course she will crush on the most popular and strongest boy because of what it will mean if he likes and acknowldges her (even if it is a lost cause from the start) and because instead of gaining joy in her own accomplishment (which she struggles to do) she can easily gain joy in his more certain success. It's something she has to grow out of ... and hopefully she has by having her crush become something of a more authentic love (wanting to deserve and share with him and help Sasuke instead of just using him as a safety blanket) and gaining emotional well being through her own accomplishments.
Sakura definitely put two and two together and realized Naruto is also doing all this for her. It also has shown how much she's grown ... she really wants to help and not be a burden anymore ... she just needs better timing for her moments of epiphony.
Naruto is much more reliable to Sakura right now. I think Sakura truely and deeply loved Sasuke but she realized that had become an obsticle to her own growth ... and despite her heart is moving on. Yet, now that Naruto has a chance with Sakura, he has become altruistic about the Sakura/Sasuke relationship. And Sakura is not just looking for eyecandy anymore ... she wants something more.
NaruXSaku has no chance until both resolve their Sasuke issues, no matter what feelings are developing between the two. Naruto hasn't been letting Sakura in since he returned nor is allowing her to express her worry over him. Just like how Sakura is no longer letting her feelings for Sasuke hinder her own development and has made him instead be a catalyst for her growth, Naruto won't let his feelings for Sakura (nor any feelings returned from her) hinder him from his personal conviction to save Sasuke but instead prefers just to use those feelings as a further motivation.
I.4. What about Kakashi and Iruka?
Iruka: Yeah! What about me? (and Kakashi)
Me: Um, you're obviously one of the first bonds Naruto has had, one of his most important ones...
Iruka: Yup! And?
Me: ...you pay for his ramen a lot of time...
Iruka: Hahah, um... yeah. I can't help it. And?
Me: ... and outside of ramen scenes, you've essentially disappeared from the story unless you count the fact that you're a prime candidate for yaoi doujins...
Iruka: Y-... HEY!!!
Kakashi: Hmm, what about me?
Me: You taught all of them teamwork. ^_^
Kakashi: Hmm, anything else?
Me: Yeah. The teamwork aspect was important since it allowed them to form all those ties they've formed as said above. But Sasuke left anyway. And you neglected Naruto and Sakura. >.> At least you tried! And they have the Legendary Sannins as teachers now! Aren't you proud?
Kakashi: u_u
So yeh. In case you can't tell, I was too lazy to include them more. >.>
II. The cycles of interaction
While everything said here's been said above, I thought I'd point these out in clearer because of how significant I've found them. In Naruto, there's a boomerang effect in emotional ties, that's only possible because of who each character is.
II.1. Naruto and Sasuke's Humanity cycle
I've chosen this cheesy (*cough*) title because both Naruto and Sasuke are currently losing themselves to their "inner demons", so to say. After the Naruto vs Sasuke confrontation, Sasuke managed to gain back some humanity, but Naruto on the other hand, because started losing it. Ironically, his current loss of "humanity", by giving himself in to Kyuubi, is Precisely due to this humanity, to how much he cares about the precious bonds he's made and that saved him from the pain of loneliness in the first place. Naruto loss of humanity is due to how much he cherishes those bonds, but these very bonds is what might save him again.
And ironically, if you look back, it's the same for Sasuke. Sasuke can no longer find happiness precisely because he Did lose the bonds most precious to him as well. Both Naruto and Sasuke are the same in this aspect. They suffer because they've lost their most precious bonds, the ones that made them human in the first place.
II.2. Sakura's Protection cycle.
Sakura as one might obviously have noticed, is completely left out of the humanity cycle because she didn't have any inner demons to deal with in the first place. For me though, it's interesting to see that she reached the same stance of "protect/save" for both teammates, but through completely different paths, and (my interpretation anyway) it's actually possible because of the team dynamics at the beginning of the series.
Sakura's first major evolution, in the Forest of Death, came from when the fact that she wanted to protect those who have always protected her. She failed to make a big difference back then, but whatever. As said though, she reached the stance in her second major evolution through completely different paths for both teammates, though with the realization of her and their own failings as trigger. With Sasuke, her crush had turned into a deeper feeling of care and concern, which in turn evolved into the need to save him. With Naruto though, it was actually His crush on Her that turned into a willingness to do anything for this precious person, to the point that he made the Promise of the Lifetime, something Sakura felt strong gratitude for. The force of this promise, even when he failed to bring Sasuke the first time, plus the realization that he can't do it alone, is what prompted Sakura to decide to go by Naruto's side the next time, a feeling that then evolved into a need to protect as well once she realized his inner demons as well.
So in the end, Sakura has no ties to Naruto and Sasuke's grander "humanity" cycle, but she ties into team 7 through the team 7 emotional bonds.
Personally I'm curious about the repercussions of 292. Depending on Naruto's response, Sakura's need to protect Naruto might clash with Naruto's own need to save Sasuke.
Update: Yay! As I said, Sakura's actions have given Naruto a reason to control himself again! \m/ ^_^ \m/
And to finish...
II.3. The cycles of Failure.
Not really a cycle, but close enough. The first major failure was Sasuke's failure to prevent the Uchiha massacre. This faillure prompted him into becoming the person he is today. Now, you must have noticed that I've established an indirect link between this and Naruto's training attitude. It's an oversimplification of the actual situation, but it's more or less this: after the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke became that person "alone" that Naruto wanted to talk at first. But Sasuke didn't talk to him either, instead trained and became strong in his corner. So between Sasuke's isolisation and the fact he's strong (at least partly due to him training for revenge), Naruto decided to take him for rival. Not Quite a direct "failure" of Naruto either (feeling inferior etc), but more or less. C'mon, give me a break.
Sasuke then got caught between the fact that Naruto started catching up to him, and to his big shock, the object of his revenge is more interested in Naruto than in him. This perceived failure of his avenger aspect is what caused him to go to Orochimaru. Naruto in the meantime, went after Sasuke with all the will he developed as described in the Humanity arc: the will to protect his precious people, something made more critical to him because they saved him from the pain of loneliness. And he failed, he lost Sasuke not to death, but to "the darkness", something even worse, as he knows how painful such a thing is.
So both of them were directly or indirectly motivated by the first sufferings that shaped them - the pain of the Uchiha massacre or the pain of loneliness as a jinchuuriki-. Sasuke's whole life was shaped by the fact that he Failed his family. Naruto, haunted by his past without bonds, thus feels double the sting of failing to get back Sasuke as well. So both of them are spurred on by failure. Not just any failure: the one of failing their most precious bonds.
Sakura has no such inner demons to make her loss as poignant. She's the normal one. That's why, imo, she had to be spurred on by failure on behalf of Both her teammates. First she failed to bring back Sasuke. And when Naruto came back half-dead, she realized that she failed him too, as she wasn't able to do Anything for him, thus prompting her to want to be by his side Next time. As I said in the Sakura part of this essay, she must have trained with the desesperation of one who has failed to help both her precious people. It made her into who she is today. In the meantime, she doesn't have any inner demons to lose herself to (so much the better, as both her teammates are already battling with theirs), but on the other hand she stands a nastier risk of losing herself to well... death. XP Because she's "weaker" as a combatant, and has the nasty habbit of jumping in at the worse possible moments. *cough*.
As Splintered once again put it:
everyone is running around in circles trying to save each other to the point of destroying themselves, and the only reason they haven't is because they are busy running around saving each other as well. XD
Ah well. At least Sakura's got guts now.
Kotonoro once made a beautiful view of things as well:
This. This is why I love Team 7 so much. Why I like Sakura so much as well. They're fighting against a lot of things, and it's so risky that they might repeat the Sannin's sad story again. In their own way they're fighting against fate but they've differed int he crucial ways that make them better. Sasuke, by rejecting Itachi's word, Naruto by not giving up like Jiraiya, and most especially Sakura by facing and swearing to protect them both, instead of runing away with her grief like Tsunade.
As much as I love the Sannin, they're a broken team, and it's possibly the saddest story ever. I have no doubt they were really good friends once. there's no way Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't care about their own team considering how strongly they were affected by Orochimaru leaving. They're the broken and dark Team 7.
Thanks to both of them!
III. The scenes!
And to conclude, a reminder of the scenes. The team 7 interactions represent most of the emotional pillars of the manga. Many scenes were badmouthed Afterwards and analyzed in objective ways, I sure jumped on the bandwagon many times myself, but I'll readily admit that when I was reading them for the first time, I was really touched and ready to bawl my eyes out (okay, maybe not):
- when Sasuke jumped in front of Naruto to save him from Haku's attack.
- when Sakura cried over the body of a "dead" Sasuke.
- when Sasuke when he told Naruto to save Sakura and let him handle Gaara.
- then Naruto specifically fought Gaara with the thought of his precious people - Iruka and team 7, in mind
- hell the goodbye scene! I'm not a SasuSaku fan, but that was one of the most bittersweet scenes in the manga no matter what people (including fellow NaruSaku fans of mine *cough*) say.
- then Naruto's promise of a lifetime. And Sakura's resulting tears and thanking Naruto.
- the Naruto vs Sasuke fight. I felt very sorry for Naruto when he asked in his mind: "How can you kill me so calmly?" Then when Naruto said: "When I was with you, I wondered... if it was what it felt like to be with a brother."
- and when Sasuke said: "I will not... be your puppet!" I found that really badass. =\
- then Sakura asked Tsunade to train her. My opinion of Sakura shot up that moment, though the anime did a Real good job of botching that scene and watering it down with a lame lame preliminary filler. x_x
- Sakura stating "This time, I'll save them both!" was also one of the scenes I found most badass in part 2, but then again I'm sort of biased. >.>
- um... 296. Do I have to elaborate?
As far as I'm concerned, even if you dismiss half of them, the above represent a good half of the most emotional scenes in the manga. And they're due to team 7.
As said, I've found myself belittling many of those scenes afterwards in the context of forum discussion, forum shapes your view in a weird way sometimes. But I remember how affected I was back Then, and when I re-read the manga, I wonder why I had turned so negative on them afterwards...
Conclusion
So Naruto is not just the story of Naruto and how Naruto grows up, but the story of team 7, and they grow up together, learn difficult lessons together, before clashing and finally seperating. Team 7 isn't made of just stand-alone characters: the characters have shaped each others' lives until they're more than the one-dimensional characters they mostly started out to be. You can be a Naruto fan and hate Sasuke for example, but Sasuke too is responsible for who Naruto is now. You can love Sasuke and say what you want about him being the most "grey" character in the series, but it's Naruto and to a lesser degree Sakura who have made him into this grey character as opposed to one falling straight into darkness: *insert image of Sasuke dropping straight into the pits*. And you could just love Sakura and um... well obviously she wouldn't be the way she is today without Naruto and Sasuke. =\ And just maybe, she will provide the small difference needed to change the outcome of a new Naruto vs Sasuke fight. Or not. >_<
So team 7 is not perfect. But how else can they be? It's by surmounting their weaknesses that they truly grow up and become who they are. It's the bonds between them that for better or for worse drive the story. Either directly or indirectly, or even despite themselves, the characters have shaped each other. Because they are so different from one another, yet at the same time similar (all striving for bonds, either the ones they have or the ones they have lost, including Sasuke who can't let go of the memories of his deceased family), they influence each other in good or bad ways, but ultimately they get each other to grow. Not all the things they've done can be considered "good" actions, but they've brought out the best in the Others: Sasuke looking down on Naruto drove Naruto to push himself harder, and while Sakura's attitude towards Naruto was far from ideal in part 1, through his promise to her Naruto showed how strong a character He is.
So really. You don't have to like each of the characters. You might even hate some of them for some of the things they've done, for the challenges they've set on each other at times even as they help each other grow. But the best and even worst of some brought out the best in the others. I personally am not interested in the individual characters of Naruto and Sasuke, but Sakura wouldn't be who she is today without them, just like Naruto won't be the same without Sasuke and would not have appeared as selfless without Sakura, and Sasuke would not have appeared as a deep-down caring character without both of them. At one point I hated Sasuke, but then I realized that if he weren't to come back, Naruto and Sakura would not be able to grow either. So now I'm waiting for his to come back (for real I mean, not as a damn shadow).
So this is team 7. Much more than the sum of its components. And without each of its parts, it wouldn't be what it is today, and would be so much poorer in the future.
In the meantime, I'll just start poking at the essay myself! :P
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, minus team 7!