Naruto Chapter 693 Breakdown: KevinPhoenix is in the house!

To say that anticipation has hit an all-time high is an understatement. People everywhere are positively stoked about the upcoming fight between Naruto and Sasuke, a fight that has been years in the making. Along the way, we’ve wondered what the eventual catalyst would be for that fight. At first, we thought it was Sasuke’s desire for vengeance against Konoha over what the village elders (namely Danzo) had Itachi do. And we saw Naruto proclaim that if he had to fight Sasuke to defend the village, then they would both die together. But then Sasuke finally found himself having to take Itachi’s eyes to restore his eyesight and more than ever he wanted to avenge Itachi’s suffering. So when he finally encountered Itachi once more, we thought that perhaps Itachi might be able to change Sasuke’s path with some clarification as to what he had intended for him.

But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Everything has already been said and done and the words and actions of Sasuke’s brother could not be taken back. Like it or not, Itachi made Sasuke the way he is now because he thought he could steer him to follow the right path. But then we got Sasuke’s interaction with the past four Hokage and after his decision to protect the village rather than destroy it, here we thought that perhaps Sasuke had finally changed for the better. After all, Itachi died so that the village would remain safe. So it only makes sense that Sasuke would realize that he should be honoring Itachi’s sacrifice by carrying on his will…

…But then we hear him state early on in the battle with Obito after he had just become the Jinchuuriki of the Juubi that only he can erase the past. And that me and a lot of people wondering just what he meant by that. Throughout that battle with Obito, the battle with Madara, and the battle with Kaguya, we’ve been left wondering just what Sasuke’s motives really are. If he had finally let go of his thirst for vengeance, then what else could he be planning? Of course, given the urgency of the battles with Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, he wasn’t exactly in any position to really do anything about it. For the time being, he could just cooperate with Naruto on a common goal. So then once the last big threat in the world was defeated, we finally arrive at the present and Sasuke’s answer.

I must say though, this chapter shows that despite everything Itachi and Hashirama explained to him, Sasuke learned nothing. While he had at least given up on plain revenge, he is clearly going down the same kind of path that Madara took. But of course, we always knew this day would come when Naruto and Sasuke would fight one last time. And with Sasuke stating his intentions to use the tailed beasts rather than Naruto to undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I liked how Naruto pretty much told him that that just isn’t going to happen. He said it like a boss! There was only two other people who were left. Kakashi was quick to be put out of commission due to the heavy aftereffects of using such a strong Sharingan, so Sasuke paid him no mind. But Sakura? Damn! I think it’s safe to say that I speak for a lot of people when I say that this girl has abuse issues. She’s the kind of girl we good guys don’t like, the kind that always wants the bad guy. Even when she is treated like crap by that guy, she still pines for him.

OK, so Sasuke stabbed Orochimaru in the back (or rather the front, I should say), yet after being brought back by him, Orochimaru chose to support Sasuke with his only goal being to witness where Sasuke’s new destination led to. And then there was Karin, another person who cared for Sasuke, only to be tossed aside like used baggage when he used Chidori Spear on her just to kill Danzo. And yet she too is so quick to forgive him. But Sakura just takes the cake. Already, she was badly burned (no pun intended) by Sasuke not once, not twice, but three times including now. She keeps thinking that if she pleads and cries to him enough, he’ll finally just go back with her. You would think that she would have gotten the message the last time when Sasuke very nearly killed her. But instead, she’s badly misguided in her perception of Sasuke’s own feelings. That’s not to say her feelings towards him aren’t genuine. But considering the past encounters; if Sasuke hadn’t made it clear by now that he just isn’t interested in her, I’d say he finally got his message across when he genjutsu stabbed her. And with it, he brought that message full circle by saying once more that she was as annoying as ever.

Well, Sakura finally got penetrated by Sasuke…

And so with nothing left to say, Sasuke tells Naruto to follow him to a more suitable and familiar battle ground. Naruto takes the opportunity to impart upon Kakashi the promise he made way back, the promise he swore he would keep no matter what: to bring Sasuke back. He didn’t need to reiterate what his ninja way is, because he has told it enough times now that anyone who knows Naruto knows it: He never goes back on his word. This is the moment of truth where we’ll see if he can finally make good on that promise. With Naruto taking off after Sasuke, Hagoromo talks of how the mistakes of the past aren’t about history repeating itself, but a lesson to the current generation to learn from it and succeed where past generations have failed. Instead of love becoming hate, he hopes that this time, hate will become love once again. And in those words, I feel as if we’re being given a vague hint that perhaps maybe we’ll see the true power of Naruto’s talk-no-jutsu and whether or not it works on Sasuke. I sometimes think that the talk-no-jutsu is THAT jutsu that we’ve been told about throughout the series, perhaps.

But one thing is certain, in order for the Inifinite Tsukuyomi to be dispelled, it requires both Sasuke’s Rinnegan and the power of the tailed beasts. It had already been agreed upon that they wouldn’t be necessary as Naruto’s chakra would be sufficient. But what we should realize is that Naruto wouldn’t be able to just kill Sasuke because he needs him to do that as he has the only Rinnegan left in the world. But there’s nothing holding Sasuke back from killing Naruto, since he already made it clear that he can just use the chakra of tailed beasts themselves to undo that jutsu rather than Naruto, before killing them off afterwards.

The chapter ends with the two arriving at a familiar place, a place that was shaped by Hashirama and Madara way back, and the place where Naruto and Sasuke had their first big battle: The Valley of the End. It’s quite fitting, actually. The Final Valley (what I personally like to call it) seems to represent battles of this sort of scale where two friends battle over differing ideologies. Of course, we know that the battle won’t start quite yet as Sasuke has some explaining to do as to what his version of a Hokage is. But that’s for the next chapter.

As for the winner for the Naruto vs Sasuke debate, I think the answer was pretty near unanimous:

Naruto! (Who would have thought?)

This breakdown was bought to you by KevinPhoenix. Aka, last night’s dinner.

~ by Tenrai Senshi on October 8, 2014.