Now, I’m really not usually one to swear, but I’d like every TRUE SasuSaku fan who is currently hyperventilating/losing hope over the possibility of the SS ship ever becoming canon to kindly sit the fuck down and READ THIS.
READ THIS, because we’ve all been reading Kishi’s manga for long enough to recognise when symbolism and hidden meanings rear their controversial heads.
THIS IS GOING TO BE A LONG POST/ANALYSIS, BUT PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU READ EVERY SINGLE WORD.
So last night, before I went to bed, I kind of half-heartedly hoped for a SasuSaku scene in Chapter 693. I have to admit, I got a little more than I bargained for, and my initial reaction was RAGE. I mean, I’m not going to lie, the first time I read the chapter, I was like, what is this SHIT I’m reading. Sasuke you BRAT. You bastard. I hate you forever, I HOPE YOU DIE IN A DITCH SOMEWHERE AND ROT ALL ALONE YOU LITTLE UNGRATEFUL PIECE OF SHIT.
I thought it was surely OVER for a second. And I genuinely was ready to give in and concede defeat.
But then I read it AGAIN. And I realised something.
Kishi is trolling us hard, yes - but he’s also sending us mixed signals which DON’T MAKE SENSE IF SASUKE REALLY DOESN’T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT SAKURA AT ALL.
Why all this sudden increase in drama for the Sasuke and Sakura dynamic? It’s been happening for multiple chapters, not just a one-off.
Why waste all that panel time bringing Sakura’s feelings back into the spotlight, Kishi? If it really means NOTHING?
Funny how NS doesn’t get anything like this. OH WAIT. BECAUSE NARUTO IS THE BIGGEST SASUSAKU SHIPPER, ALONG WITH KAKASHI AND NOW THAT HAGOROMO’S IN, TOO.
I’ll do a panel by panel commentary to show you what I mean. This is the mangastream translation, by the way.
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I knew the moment I saw this, that Sakura was going to do something or say something to Sasuke in desperation. The HEARTBREAK in her eyes, it just made me so sad. And the way NARUTO AND KAKASHI SEE AND RECOGNISE her pain, too… THEY KNOW HER SO WELL. THEY KNOW HOW MUCH THIS HURTS HER, to see that idiot Sasuke continuing on the destructive path he is so insistent on following.
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HERE is where it gets interesting.
So Sakura ONCE AGAIN confesses her undying love. She tells Sasuke, ONCE AGAIN, that even now, despite all the shit he’s done, and how he’s completely torn her heart to pieces, she can’t help but LOVE HIM. BLINDLY, ABSOLUTELY, UNCONDITIONALLY, EVEN WHEN SHE KNOWS IT IS UTTERLY PATHETIC. EVEN WHEN SHE KNOWS HE REDUCES HER, TO THIS DAY, TO A WEEPING, EMOTIONAL MESS WHICH COMPLETELY MAKES HER FEEL POWERLESS.
