Chapter 181: The Star Crossed Lovers - Sasuke’s “Thank You”
Out of all the chapters in Part 1 of the series, Chapter 181 is by far the most emotional chapter in regards to Sasuke and Sakura’s love story. It was at this point in the series that we get our first glimpse into Sasuke’s feelings towards Sakura in it’s purest form. For she’s the only one in the village who gets to see Sasuke’s gentle side before he hardens himself to everyone.
Sakura’s feelings for Sasuke had grown exponentially from infatuation to true love. She didn’t want him to suffer because of the curse mark and she didn’t want him to be consumed by hatred or revenge. While Sasuke had allowed her to present her argument to him without running away, knocking her out, or killing her immediately. Instead he tried to reason with her and listened to her feelings once again before hinting to her that he remembered her first confession just like she did.
When Sakura threatened to scream in order to warn the village, Sasuke came up close behind her and softly said: “Sakura...Thank you.”
Here are some of the Data book descriptions about this scene.
"Growing distant, towards darkness.. the one to appear before him as he began to leave was Sakura. To the back of a Sasuke that tried to face away from what was left behind, Sakura desperately conveys her feelings. Bright and earnest feelings - feelings that did not want to lose Sasuke. The one who filled his lonely existence with the emotion called love was Sakura. But as expected, Sasuke cannot respond to those feelings. Sasuke was only able to leave a single word of thanks as a parting."
"Sakura, who needed him to the last. His words are not a deceit but his true feelings."
"Sasuke is trying to leave the village, and Sakura implores him to give up that idea. In response to her wish, Sasuke answers her with a simple 'You're annoying.' They are the same words that he uttered back when Team Kakashi was formed... but so many missions have passed since then, and now the meaning that he puts into those same words differ greatly. Even though he understands the love that she feels for him, in order to sever all his connections Sasuke turns his back to the village."
I’d also like to point out Sasuke’s first expression as he walks past Sakura:
His eyes are closed. his eyebrows are furrowed, and his expression isn’t indifference: it’s pained.
I counted how many pages their conversation lasts and it goes on for 14 pages. Translate that into time during this moment and Sasuke listened to Sakura for around 5 to 7 minutes tops. Would he give Naruto this much attention? Or Kakashi? Or literally anyone in the village? No. He would later go on to fight Naruto almost to the death and he already threatened to kill Kakashi back at the hospital. But Sakura? He cursed because he thought it was too late to stop his attack when she interrupted his fight on the rooftop with Naruto, he didn’t shove her away when she hugged him in the hospital, he didn’t threaten to kill her or physically harm her at any point leading up to his departure.
As Kishimoto states “Sakura was the last person Sasuke ever wanted to hurt.”
We can see this is still the case in Shippuden when they meet again for the first time in years when Sasuke uses his Chidori Stream to attack Sai, Naruto, and Yamato but doesn’t use it against Sakura.
Sasuke’s eyes were hidden when he said “Thank you” and hidden when he walked past her. Love comes in at the eyes and if Sasuke had looked her in the eyes as he past would he have been able to leave?
Chapter 181 was a scene straight out of Shakespeare’s plays. It was almost like Hamlet’s “I LOVED OPHELIA!!” scene or the infamous balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet.
If they were not considered a couple or their feelings weren’t considered romantic for each other, would this scene carry the lasting impact that it does today for Naruto fans across the board?
(PS: Please don’t remove anything from this post. Thanks)
