Naruto 694: Naruto and Sasuke (1)
I'm later than usual, and there's no pictures this week (unless I find a moment to put them in later) but I will try to make up for that with the discussion, even though I feel like I'm rehashing a lot of old issues with it. It also might interest you all to know that Shonen jump has confirmed Naruto will be ending in 5 chapters, so this is possibly my last review. Even if that's the case I'm thinking we should all do something to give the series a send-off, if time and enthusiasm allows.
This week the chapter is all talk. Despite not having a megaphone to hand, Naruto and Sasuke have a conversation across the Valley of the End while standing on Hashirama and Madara's heads. Sasuke tells Naruto what his notion of a Hokage is.
He goes back to what Hashirama said about the village being the framework to peace. As Itachi was used to maintain that peace, Sasuke believes his brother was a true Hokage. To him the Hokage is not someone who is acknowledged by others, but someone who can carry the burden of everyone's hatred. According to Sasuke, Itachi's sole mistake was to leave him alive, because once he found out the truth all his hatred for Itachi had nowhere to go and was redirected at Konoha.
Sasuke says he has no one left now, and that he's prepared to shoulder all that hatred. He will deal with all the problems of the shinobi world by himself.
Naruto remembers what Itachi told him about trying to do everything alone: that he would end up like Madara. He says that Sasuke doesn't understand what Itachi lived his life for, and that he would've thought the fight against Kaguya would've proved he can't do everything himself.
Sasuke remains adamant that he will "sever" the past: he will forget Itachi, and he kill kill the Kage, the bijuu - and Naruto. Naruto says he has learned everything he knows from the people of the past and that he won't allow Sasuke to get rid of all that.
Meanwhile, just before the Sage disappears, he remembers the conversations he had with Naruto and Sasuke, and that they both said they were friends (or in Sasuke's case "the closest thing to a friend I've ever had").
With nothing left to say, Naruto and Sasuke charge at each other and attack.
Sasuke's notion of a Hokage is apparently a tyrant who stamps out any dissent. He even says, "As of now, I'm the only one with the power to take control." TAKE CONTROL. Crime rates were very low under the reign of Vlad the Impaler too, but that doesn't mean it's a system of governance we should aspire to. Sasuke does not have my vote for Hokage 2014. (But then, neither does Naruto. They are both much too immature.)
Sasuke's character in general seems to have taken a significant nosedive, all for the sake of appeasing the type of fan who wants to see Naruto finally kick his butt. Maybe I'm missing something here, but he doesn't appear to have learned anything at all, or rather, has un-learned everything and regressed to the age of twelve. The idea that he wants to forget about Itachi also seems ridiculously OOC. I can understand him wanting to move on from everything that happened with his brother, but he shouldn't be trying to forget about him he should be loudly broadcasting the truth behind the Uchiha massacre! What better way to bring about change than to drag Konoha's ugliness into the light so everyone can see it?
But once again this comes down to the problem that no one seems willing to admit that Konoha is a flawed system. It does not protect children, it trains them to be hired killers. It is a military dictatorship. If Naruto and Sasuke want to start changing Konoha then they need to introduce real democracy, not Tobirama's version of it. I can't remember far back enough, but has this manga ever said that to use chakra you must begin training as a child? Because if it didn't they could introduce an age limit on ninja training, much as we do with soldiers in the real world.
Regarding Itachi, there is a cultural barrier where his actions are concerned, though the value of loyalty to one's lord above loyalty to one's family is a very feudal thing based in Confucianism and not so much the case now. But it would be really great if Kishi would make characters stop hailing his loyalty and his bravery and how much he went through, and instead made them focus on the fact that Konoha ordered a child to reduce his entire Family Tree to a stack of Family Kindling and admit that this is WRONGWRONGWRONG. I repeat, everyone needs to know the truth about what happened with Itachi, even if he would have wanted it otherwise.
I was under the impression that killing a tailed beast was not possible since they are made of chakra and they simply return again years later. But I suppose the Deus ex Machina powers the Sage gave them may enable them to do that. Or at least to seal them all away. Though I'm assuming Kishi remembers what he's written in the past, which has often seemed not to be the case.
I expect there's not going to be too much left to comment on, since four of the five remaining chapters will likely be taken up with this fight. Though this manga is not what it used to be, I have enjoyed reading it over the years and I am attached to it.
(Last thing: if Naruto and Sasuke destroy the statues of Hashirama and Madara, I will be annoyed.)