#naruto wtf

[risseeeeee]

who did this

[kitsmits]

SasuSaku

You got it!

who’s the cuddler: Sakura. But deep down, Sasuke loves being held by her.

who makes the bed: Sakura, usually. She has a tendency to automatically assume the domestic role at home. Sasuke will do it if she’s not around.

who wakes up first: Sakura. Sasuke is notoriously difficult to wake up.

who has the weird taste in music: Sasuke doesn’t really have a taste in music, so I’d call that weird :P But that also means that Sakura has the “weird taste” by default.

who is more protective: Sakura. Sasuke loves his wife, but part of the reason he loves her is that he believes in her abilities and strength. Thus, while he would certainly step in if she couldn’t handle something, he tends to err on the side of “she can handle it.”

who sings in the shower: Sakura. Sasuke wouldn’t be caught dead singing, ever.

who cries during movies: Sakura’s winning this answer game.

who spends the most while out shopping: Three guesses, and the first two don’t count :P (It’s Sakura.)

who kisses more roughly: This is actually a tricky one. I’m inclined to say Sasuke, but I can totally see Sakura being much bolder once she gets past the “schoolgirl” phase of her attraction.

who is more dominate: You’d think it would be Sasuke, wouldn’t you? And sometimes, you’d be right. But in private? Behind closed doors? When no one else can see? That is when Sakura takes the lead, eight out of ten times. Mind you, it took a while for her to discover that side of herself, but once she did, they both found they enjoyed it.

my rating of the ship from 1-10: Ehhhhh…in theory, it would rate higher, and I do think they work in some ways, but honestly? The way Kishi wrote them? Maaaaaybe a 4/10. Seriously, their “romance” is stupid. Sakura, who should be a total badass in her own right, becomes a floppy rag anytime Sasuke comes near. And I can understand when she’s a young teen - hormones and all, plus societal expectation for how young girls “should” behave around their crush. But later? After the series is over? I wish we could’ve seen her be more bold, setting boundaries and expectations that Sasuke would have to honor rather than just having her accept whatever crumbs of affection he’ll give her.

And I can also understand Sasuke’s situation after the series. He’s fucking broken, for the most part. He’s been through a few different kinds of hell, made some hella bad choices, and probably feels (at BEST) conflicted about Konoha. I can understand him not wanting to spend a lot of time there. I can understand him having such a broken psyche that it’s nearly impossible for him to be vulnerable enough with ANYONE to have something resembling a romantic relationship. But I wish that Sakura hadn’t just bent over backwards with all that in her head and had instead advocated more for herself. So yeah. Low-ish rating on these two due to apparent lack of healthy foundation, and for turning Sakura into a “perfect waifu” who never naysays her hubby ever.

(Yes, I’m ignoring the whole “he tried to kill her!!!11!!” thing, because this is a world of NINJA. Ninja kill each other. It’s kinda part of the culture in that world. Enemies become allies become enemies again. I’d say it’s pretty ingrained. So her forgiving him for that time that he was kinda crazy with grief and rage? I can be okay with that. But I still don’t like HOW she forgave him - with no questions asked, no period of “how dare you,” just submissive acceptance.)

(Also, if you want an excellent example of forgiveness done amazingly in a story, check out the podcast Alice Isn’t Dead. Forgiveness comes up toward the end, and it’s fucking beautiful how it’s communicated.)

[uzumaki-sayuri]

Don’t give me the power of Photoshop.

@narutomemeoftheday

@narutowtf

[kitsmits]

Itachi’s visit to Konoha in Part 1

I know this has been said before, and discussed, and whatnot, but I have an issue here.

Itachi being sent by Akatsuki to take Naruto in Part 1 makes no sense in the big picture of Akatsuki’s goals.

At some point in the series, it’s stated that the Kyuubi has to be sealed last, or the statue will become unbalanced. Now, this could be interpreted a couple ways: One, the Bijuu have to be sealed in order, or Two, certain Bijuu have to be sealed later due to their sheer chakra “weight.” Either one is a fair and interesting idea; I personally prefer the “have to seal them in order” for a few reasons, though I won’t get into them here, because...

...whichever one it is DOES NOT MATTER for this discussion.

I know there were plot reasons for Itachi showing up in Part 1 (in relation to Sasuke’s arc and leading to his departure, in relation to introducing an even Bigger Bad than Orochimaru, setting up Shippuden...and in retrospect, a nice little plot point for Itachi’s true motives). However, by later stating that the Kyuubi HAD to go in LAST, this makes you wonder why the hell Akatsuki agreed to send ANYONE to capture the Kyuubi Jinchuriki so early on.

Keep reading for my theories and thoughts, and by all means, I want to hear yours, too!

Some possible explanations for sending a team to Konoha early, and how they’d work in both canon and in a hypothetical AU (like, say, a fanfiction):

They WEREN’T supposed to capture Naruto - just scope things out.

Konoha had just been invaded; the village’s stability was in question, as was the state of their Jinchuriki. After all, if the Jinchuriki had died or the Kyuubi had changed hands during the invasion, they’d want to know. It was a good time to sneak in, since Konoha was down a lot of personnel, including their Hokage. Plus, theoretically, it’d be easier to get in and out unseen (...despite wearing these really obvious uniform-like cloaks that just SCREAM “oh hey I’m part of an organization you should be suspicious of”...but anyway). So, Itachi and Kisame were sent to do some recon on the state of the village and its Jinchuriki.

The canon support: There’s a scene late in Shippuden (during the Itachi filler?) where Pein assigns Itachi and Kisame to go to Konoha post-invasion to check on its state. I don’t recall off the top of my head if he specifically told them to capture the Kyuubi kid if the opportunity presented itself.

Why it doesn’t work in canon: Itachi and Kisame actively pursued Naruto once they knew where to find him. You could still sell the “they were just checking on the state of the Jinchuriki” explanation here; they could’ve pursued Naruto not to kidnap him right then, but to just make sure that yes, that kid IS still the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. But then you get the whole scene at the inn where Itachi and Kisame tell Naruto point-blank to come with them, and that kinda throws that theory out the window.

So, for this scenario to work in a non-canon setting without making Itachi look like a dumbass:

-Itachi and Kisame - or Akatsuki as a whole - would have to not know about the whole “Bijuu order” thing yet. Maybe Obito, Zetsu, etc were still gathering final bits of information to make their plan work. Maybe it was only after sealing the first few Bijuu that they realized that a power imbalance could result if they brought as powerful a creature as the Kyuubi in too soon. This would mean that Itachi & Kisame (apparently) attempting to take Naruto actually does makes sense; they didn’t yet know that it wouldn’t help.

Yes, I know - Itachi never intended to take Naruto that time, it was just a show to keep up his cover while also getting important information across. But as far as Akatsuki knew, he was on their side, helping their plans - and unless you do a little canon-divergent tweaking, their plan to capture Naruto so early on was dumb.

So yeah. That’s how I’d probably fix the whole “but they weren’t ready to seal the Kyuubi yet” plot hole. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Please let me know what you think! Would this tweak work? How would you work around the hole left by Kishi? Reblog or comment!

What other plot holes/issues do you want to hear my rambling opinions on? Send me an ask!

[uzumaki-sayuri]

This new ep has me WTF 😩Just my thoughts

[kitsmits]

About the Kakashi Anbu Arc...

Specifically, the anime filler arc in the final season that explores Kakashi’s life post-Kyuubi, pre-Team-7. First of all, I actually really like this filler arc. It fleshed out several character relationships (not least of all, Kakashi and Yamato/Tenzo/Kinoe) as well as the dichotomy between Danzo’s Root and the Hokage’s Anbu. There was action, political intrigue, Kakashi being a badass, Kakashi being vulnerable, Kakashi interacting with baby Yamato and baby Itachi...plus, I’m a sucker for glimpses into Root’s culture. Sure, there were some flaws, some plot holes, but for the most part, they were relatively minor in my mind.

Except for one.

The plot to assassinate Hiruzen.

I have several problems with this whole plot thread. Let’s take a look, shall we?

First, a quick recap: In this anime-only filler arc, after the Kyuubi attack, teenage Kakashi was left grieving, angry, alone. Along comes Danzo, giving him someone to blame for the tragedy: Hiruzen. It was Hiruzen who ordered all the young Shinobi (including Kakashi) to NOT interfere during the attack; if Kakashi had been allowed to fight, perhaps things would have turned out differently. Danzo then makes Kakashi an offer: Work for him. Spy on Hiruzen. Help Danzo put Konoha back on the right path.

Kakashi, in his grief, agrees.

So we see him passing along information to Danzo for a bit...and then, Kakashi comes across a Foundation kid with a supposedly extinct ability: Wood release. Put a pin in that - it’ll come up again soon.

Anyway, eventually, Kakashi becomes part of Danzo’s plot to assassinate the Hokage. However, Kakashi has a change of heart and instead warns Hiruzen of the plot. Danzo is thwarted; Hiruzen confronts him...and then essentially forgives him. Hiruzen tells Danzo that if he ever found the individual responsible for the plot, he would have every right to charge the person with treason and execute them...but he’d rather that person instead focus their energies on protecting the village. 

Some issues.

1. It was unnecessary from a story perspective.

From a story point of view, the assassination/double-cross subplot is supposedly what made Kakashi turn “back to the light,” so to speak. But here’s the thing: I don’t think that was the reason he turned on Danzo. It’s not that I think Kakashi was perfectly fine with the idea of assassinating the Hokage; it certainly contributed, I imagine. However, given the trauma in his life so far, especially being forced to kill a friend for the sake of the village, I think the Kakashi of this time had resigned himself to being a tool of assassination. If killing the Hokage was really the best thing for Konoha - as Danzo said it was - then he was probably prepared to do it. (Or at least believed he was.)

However, something else happened during this time that lead Kakashi to doubt Danzo’s intentions: Kakashi discovered that Danzo was hiding a Wood release user. It’s significant to me that Kakashi investigated the matter BEFORE deciding to tell the Hokage about Danzo’s plans. Hiruzen bringing up that Wood Release was one of the only ways to subdue the Kyuubi made Kakashi think: That ability is more important than ever in the village now. Why would Danzo be keeping it hidden away if he truly had the village’s best interests in mind?

TL;DR: Kakashi already had the doubts he needed about Danzo. An assassination, while certainly good for drama, wasn’t completely necessary for him to turn on Danzo. Plus...

2. The aftermath is VERY problematic.

There are two sides of this: Hiruzen and Kakashi. By allowing Danzo to get away with a thinly veiled warning, they both wind up looking at naive and/or horribly negligent - and well into the future, in Kakashi’s case. Hiruzen giving his old comrade the benefit of the doubt despite trying to KILL him...that’s one thing. I mean, I’m generally a fan of forgiveness, but this is extreme, even for me.

But Kakashi knowing about all of this, and NEVER bringing it up, say, to Tsunade? Or the Elders? (Not that I have the highest opinion of those two windbags...) Staying quiet about it while Danzo took power? I know, I know - Kishi didn’t actually figure this whole filler arc into the story. But do you see the problems it creates in hindsight, especially for consistent characterization? It makes Kakashi, a character defined partly by his intelligence and judgment, seem at best an idiot and at worst willfully negligent. A lot of the filler arc adds to his characterization and shows his growth (though most of that is focused on Kino-Tenz-Yams). But this? This takes away from it. It doesn’t make him flawed; it makes his actions (or lack thereof) reprehensible.

3. It could almost be seen as “out of character” for Danzo. (Yes, I’m serious.)

Yeah, we get it, Danzo is power-hungry and has wanted the Hokage hat ever since Tobirama tossed it to Hiruzen in the middle of a mini-war. He regularly undermines the Hokage office, acts on his own without the Hokage’s approval, and utilized shady, sometimes illegal means for his ends. He even holds his own forces back from assisting during Pein’s assault - while you could debate how much help they’d really have been, it’s still possible they COULD have saved at least a few lives. (...which would have been resurrected anyway, but let’s not open THAT can of worms.) Danzo has certainly committed egregious acts of subterfuge and sabotage.

But if he’d wanted to simply kill his way to the Hokage seat, he’d have done so long ago.

I put forth that assassinating a political figure of his own village was NOT in Danzo’s character, at least at that time. Assassination of a Konoha official is messy, risky, blatant. And it might not have even worked! Danzo would still need to be nominated, then chosen as the prime candidate, then approved by the Daimyo, then voted in by the Jonin...there were (apparently) quite a few hoops to jump through. Simply killing off the current Hokage wouldn’t have gotten all the work done. Heck, since the Uchiha clan was still around at the time, and I somehow doubt he had the best relationship with them in public, he’d have had a HARDER time getting the political support he needed.

(Huh...come to think of it, that COULD be part of the reason he wanted to get rid of the Uchiha clan...hmm...)

Point is, Danzo as he’s presented in strict canon is an opportunist, a reactionary, and frankly, a coward. From youth to old age, he’s preferred to stay back and let things play out around him, then take advantage of the outcome. We see this when he fails to volunteer himself as bait for Shinkaku and Ginkaku; we see it (in filler, but still) when he hesitates to put himself or Orochimaru forth as a Hokage candidate, post-third-war. We see it again when he keeps his troops from fighting Pein. Considering all of this...would he really be so bold and direct as to kill a Hokage?

“But the whole point of the failed assassination and Hiruzen’s forgiveness of it is that it made Danzo prioritize the village over his own ambitions!”

He still prioritized his own ambitions after that. He kept Root going in secret so that he’d have his own personal army. He continued to undermine Tsunade, trying to assassinate Sasuke without her knowledge. And again, there’s his purposeful inaction during the Pein attack. He may have convinced himself that he was only acting in the village’s interests, but he still prioritized his own.

Conclusion and caveats...

So, from a plot perspective, I kind of understand why they needed something other than the whole “Danzo’s hoarding a Mokuton user” thing for Kakashi to bring to Hiruzen at the start. I can see 2 uses for it:

A) It helped Kakashi prove his ability to judge situations for himself, thus making him one of Hiruzen’s most trusted Anbu operatives.

B) The writers wanted to save the Mokuton reveal for later - after “Kinoe” became “Tenzo” and had his own life-changing encounters that prepared him for leaving Root. After all, once Hiruzen was told of Kinoe/Tenzo’s existence, it became necessary to pull him out of Root. (I’ll admit, my memory on the timeline of this arc is a tad fuzzy...I can’t recall if Kakashi had already told Hiruzen about Kinoe before or not...and I’m too lazy right now to check.) Anyway, if they had Kakashi tell Hiruzen sooner, we might not have gotten the whole “Tenzo”/smoke-clan thing, or the whole “to kill Kakashi or not to kill Kakashi” thing, both of which wound up shaping Tenzo.

But I still think the assassination subplot made less sense than it attempted to make.

Also, it’s a tad inconvenient for certain aspects of my own fic, soooo yeah. There you have it: the real reason I want to retcon it :P

[kitsmits]

Gahhhh Naruto has too many antagonists Kishi whyyyyyy

[kitsmits]

TMW you’re getting all sleepy and you go on a rant about how Izanagi and Izanami are total BS jutsu because if we’re assuming they’re MS-only abilities, then how the fuck did Danzo have them in all 10 eyeballs in his ARM and how do you even learn those abilities in the first place which leads me to the Rinnegan and Rinne Rebirth because how the hell would a Rinnegan bearer know they could BRING BACK THE DEAD at the cost of their own life without having tested it before and AH MY BRAIN HURTS