No way, I just saw a post by a Sasusaku fan trying to justify the ship by bringing canon proof from the manga to counter the arguments mainly used to discredit the ship. I decided to give it a go, see what points they offered, and well.
First things first: I'm not here to make fun of anyone. I don't like hurting anyone's feelings, I can't be comfortable knowing I've hurt someone's feelings. This is the reason I'm not gonna provide a link to said post cause I don't want that person to be harassed or receive hate from Antis for trying to defend their fave ship. That person likes SS they attempted to provide proof of it, and I can respect that! However, I'm also very honest: and most of that 'canon proof' didn't actually prove anything. So here I am, also to disprove the main excuses employed in that one SS defense post.
The first claim they tried to prove is that Sakura does actually know and understand Sasuke, and she cares about him.
The proof provided were the scenes of her in the forest of death and after noticing Sasuke's discomfort from the curse mark, bringing it up to him, asking him to withdraw from the exam, and warning that she'd inform the sensei in charge if he didn't give himself a break. All right. While these scenes do show Sakura being caring towards him, which is good! They don't show her knowing him or understanding him in any way. The only reason she was more observant towards his discomfort is because she was the only other person there when Orochimaru appeared to them. Naruto was absent from the scene cause he'd been swallowed by a giant snake, and he was stuck inside it for a while until he figured out to use the Shadow Clone jutsu to explode that snake and free himself. Sakura was the only witness to Orochimaru's and Sasuke's fight and how Sasuke was marked (cause, obviously, she just sat on a branch and did nothing). So, it makes sense that literally being the only person in the know, she'd notice it and ask him about it.
If her and Naruto's roles were switched and she was the one separated from the guys for whatever reason, not being there to witness the placing of the curse mark, I'm sure she wouldn't make any comments about it later, or notice Sasuke's strange behavior. This argument is further foiled cause once Naruto's free and goes back to them and Orochimaru, he starts taunting Sasuke for being scared or whatever, and Sakura sides with Naruto! She specifically has a line telling Sasuke that not even Naruto would be this scared or whatever (rn I don't remember her exact lines, but she does berate Sasuke for not wanting to fight Oro? Cause he was the only one who wanted to escape cause he knew they didn't stand a chance). If she really cared for Sasuke, wouldn't it have made more sense for her to side with Sasuke's idea of trying to escape from Orochimaru instead of siding with Naruto's dumbass, idiotic words about Sasuke being a scaredy cat? Do SS fans know it's mainly Naruto's and Sakura's faults that Sasuke got that mark in the 1st place cause they're the ones who both berated him for not wanting to fight? Bunch of clowns, Istg.
The second claim in that SS defense post was that Sasuke noticed Sakura acting weird before they entered for the chunin exams and tried to cheer her up so she wouldn't feel sad, so he does care bout her!
All right, the scene being referenced in this instance is the one before they presented themselves for the written test, where Sasuke's staring at Sakura and thinking to himself that somethings wrong with her. Well, I'm sorry to inform you that Sakura wasn't precisely keeping it a secret either. She was making very obvious sad, nervous expressions of hopelessness, so it makes sense that Sask noticed. He was doing it all to be a good friend. Besides, Sasuke is very smart and observant. He already knows Sakura is the weakest link of the team and, as such, the one who needs the most watching out for. He notices her sad feelings because: 1- it was pretty dang obvious to anyone seeing her. 2- Sasuke is a very caring person deep down. Not just to Sakura but in general. 3- He's very smart and observant and noticed her apathy cause he was probably expecting it and saw it coming cause as I've said: she is the weakest link, and Sasuke knows it.
Same with him trying to cheer her up by mentioning the floor genjutsu: it doesn't mean he has any special feelings for her specifically. We all know Sask most likely noticed it way before Sakura. He just let her get that win before the exam cause 1- as I've said before, he's a nice person who cares about the people close to him in general. 2- he urgently needed her to stop mopping and get her head back in the game so her emotions wouldn't negatively impact the team's overall performance in the exam. Being the smart cookie he is, Sasuke also knew that if no one cheered her up and she went into the exams still sad, that could affect her negatively into performing badly and he can't allow for her to have a bad performance cause it could potentially also affect him. Above all, Sasuke sees the chunin exams as another chance to get stronger so he can enact his revenge against Itachi. To him, it's just getting a step closer to his goals. That's why he can't let Sakura be sad cause her sadness could've potentially ruined the whole exams for them. He shows it again with Naruto not knowing how to get the test answers and feeling Sasuke's and Sakura's menacing stares on his back. It's very clear that Sasuke doesn't want any of them to mess up, and for that, he needs for them to be at full mental capacity.
Another argument brought forward is that Sasuke also noticed when Sakura was lying to Naruto about her cut hair in the forest of death, after the fight vs. The sound team.
I mean, I don't know what to say to this. The scene is clearly shown in a way that makes it clear that everyone present there can tell she's lying, with the exception of Naruto cause he's that dense, I suppose. Sasuke noticing she'd cut her hair and that she lied to Nart about it to not worry him doesn't mean shit. He doesn't care if Saku cuts her hair or not. He literally also asks her no questions about it or checks on her injuries, despite knowing she'd had to fight alone for a while, before Lee and Ino-Shika-Cho showed up. Lee, Naruto, and Ino were the only 3 people present there to show any real, genuine concern for Sakura's well-being. Sasuke himself? Not at all. It would've made more sense for the ship if he was given at least a panel worrying about her or checking her injuries, but nope. That doesn't happen.
Another excuse frequently brought forward and that could be used as an argument for my words above about Sask not caring is how when Sasuke awoke from his unconscious state and saw that Sakura was injured he was so furious and overtaken by his curse mark that he asked her who did that to her and then proceeded to break Zaku's arms for it.
Now, this can very well serve as real proof that Sasuke does genuinely care and show concern for Sakura! And you know what? For once, I agree! Sasuke showed great concern for her in that scene. However, that concern was purely platonic. Besides, we shouldn't forget he was under the influence of the cm powering his negative feelings and making him lash out. When he broke the guy's arms, it was presented as a horrid "wtf" moment that was out of the ordinary cause regular Sasuke under regular circumstances would've never done that. The main point of the scene and Sasuke's whole violent outbreak was to 1- show the effect of the cm. 2- serve as foreshadowing for what would happen in later arcs (Sasuke deserting the village for Oros' offer of power). His concern for Sakura came as a byproduct, a result of these 2 main factors. Again, it is also cause he's just naturally a very kind, caring person. His emotions were out of control then because of an external factor, so it can't be taken as genuine when Sasuke wasn't really in control of his emotions there.
Another one of their arguments is when Nart and Sask are facing a Gaara who's slowly transforming into Shukaku. After Gaara had pinned Saku to a tree, Sask asked Naruto to save Sakura at all costs and run cause he wanted to personally face Gaara.
Once again, Sasuke is shown as caring. He sees Sakura in danger and is concerned with her safety and wanting to face the aggressor. The detail that's ignored more often than not is the fact that he also shows concern for Naruto. He wanted both of them to escape and leave Gaara to him. He does it cause he cares about both of them. The reason he also insists on facing Gaara alone is not just for Sakura but because he genuinely believed he was the only one strong enough to do it. He didn't think Naruto could do it, so once again, he was willing to risk himself for both his teammates cause he's that kind and selfless. Idk why SS fans act so surprised every time Sask shows care and concern, and they immediately attribute Sakura as the only source of those feelings. The only one who can make Sask feel that way cause he's normally distant and brooding and emotionless when that's not true. Sasuke's always been a good person. Every time he's shown caring and protecting, he's not just doing it for Sakura, but for Naruto's sake just as much. The reason he just seems to care for her more is just cause she couldn't defend herself back then, so she needed extra attention, not because of any budding romantic feelings. Sask knows that, unlike Sakura, Naruto can fight, and he still cares bout him, too. During Naruto's fight vs. Gaara, there's a scene where the blond is thrown by Gaara and Sasuke's body reacts on its own despite barely being able to move, throwing himself in the way just to cushion Naruto's hit against the tree, so he ends up impacting with Sasuke. If that's not true love, idk what is.
Other arguments brought up were all concerning Boruto and the Sasuke Retsuden manga, which isn't canon, so I won't discuss them here. It was stuff about a character named Jiji touching Sakura's hair and Sask feeling jealous, and him telling Sarada that she's a result of their love or whatever? Fam, your argument loses all weight and credibility the moment you decide to bring that Sasuke Retsu-trash into the discussion. The comic itself was written by another SS fan who knows little to nothing bout the og work, and the author herself has a tweet confirming her story is not canon.
Anyways, this is all I've got for now. Yeah, Sasuke definitely cares, or used to care bout Sakura, I won't deny that. Those feelings, tho, are purely platonic, stemming from a heavily traumatized survivor of genocide who doesn't want to lose any more of his friends and hates to see them suffer cause he knows what it feels like. It's all because Sasuke is naturally kind and caring, and he hates inflicting violence on the innocent. Not even on people who do deserve it, in fact. Of course, SS fans have to make it all about Sakura every time Sask shows any smidgen of concern or care, believing her to be the only reason he shows those feelings, that he doesn't feel for anyone else. That Sakura, and only Sakura, brings those emotions out of him. When the truth is, he has way more scenes caring for Nart than her (their fight against Haku?) All while ignoring the bigger things and factors at play that may influence Sasuke's emotions (such as the cm), the main goal fueling him (killing Itachi to avenge his clan), and that in his mental state Sasuke really wasn't open for romances (he says so, on multiple occasions. But why would Sakura fans care about Sasuke's mental health, amirite?) Period.
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