What's your response to people saying Sasuke viewing Team 7 as his family is “unrealistic” because they only knew each other for a few months?
Ouuu I’m sorry this is such a late response, I was drafting it out and I totally forgot to finish it!
Figuring out the timeline of Naruto is HELL, but from what I gather, Sasuke was a part of Team 7 for about a year. For plot purposes, we don’t really see how Team 7 bonds, but we know they basically meet up / train / go on missions every day. During the Wave arc, Kakashi gives the whole “abandoning your teammates makes you worse than scum” speech to a group of impressionable 12 year olds. Not only that, he’s been drilling the idea of teamwork since the very first meeting. On top of all that, it’s established at the academy that it’s essential for teams to gel if they want to survive on the field (the team becomes your second family, wink wink.)
Considering all of that, no I don’t think it’s unrealistic to believe that Sasuke begins to cherish Team 7 (something that is CANONICALLY proven, and I’ll prove it after this.) His time with his team provides structure, routine, and an escape from his relentless thoughts abt revenge (and if there’s one thing I know, kids need routine and structure, even if regrettably, that comes from being a fucking child soldier.) Team 7 becomes Sasuke’s support system. I’m not pulling this out of my ass btw - after seeing Itachi again, Sasuke himself acknowledges that because he spent so much time being with his team, he forgot abt his revenge (for clarification cos I’m too lazy to find the manga page, this is when Kisame and Itachi come after Naruto while he’s training w Jiraiya.)
During the invasion arc / Naruto’s fight against Gaara, Sasuke calls Naruto and Sakura his “precious comrades.” (Even without the words, if you read the manga, it’s clear from Sasuke’s body language that he cares about/is very protective over his team.) When Kakashi is trying to convince Sasuke to forget about his revenge, Naruto and Sakura are the people he thinks about.
Somewhere between the formation of Team 7 and Sasuke’s defection, Naruto and Sakura have become important people to Sasuke, so much so that the thought of leaving them behind almost convinces him to stay (but of course, in the end, his hatred for Itachi and need for revenge wins over.)
I’ve seen the criticisms and I’ll admit that the execution of Team 7 as a family is not as strong as it could’ve been. But I do think that if you read the manga, you can see Kishimoto’s efforts. And canonically, Sasuke cares deeply about Naruto and Sakura, and anyone who tries to argue against that is wrong 🤷🏻♀️
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