#naruto ask

What really annoys me are the pro-Uchiha fans. They’re the ones who made me hate that clan even more, even more than the Hyūga. I’ve never understood the argument that “the village isolated them.” From what I remember in the manga, there isn’t a single scene where they’re treated with hostility—in fact, they were often shown respect and admiration. The ones who were truly marginalized were Naruto and the other jinchūriki. And if Kishimoto was capable of showing that kind of treatment, then why didn’t he show it happening to the Uchiha?

I’m not a Konoha fan or anything, but the last time someone told me that “the Uchiha were isolated and marginalized,” I asked which manga panel showed that… and all I got in return were insults; They’re just as unbearable as the Hinata and Sakura fans the worst part of the fandom

Hi anon!

Then allow me to give you another perspective. I assume you already read that post about Tobirama. I explain that the Uchiha clan was denied political power. When the first Hokage was supposed to be chosen, he stated that the Hokage had to be selected by popular opinion and that the village should be administered democratically. I guess that didn’t last long, since he named Hiruzen himself as Hokage, and his students were very much opposed to granting the Uchiha clan any power. He suggested an election because he knew Madara wouldn’t be chosen. This already shows an early sign of isolation. In that panel, Koharu clearly doesn’t want to share her power with the Uchiha. Her remark, "Want to usurp our power," clearly indicates that Konoha is no longer being administered democratically.

Remember that during Tsunade's leadership, Shikaku is asked for his opinion on the future Hokage and allowed to participate in the councils regarding the upcoming war. If Shikaku can have some political power, then why not the Uchiha clan?

In that post, I explain that Fugaku wanted Itachi to be the bridge between the clan and the existing power structure. However, the fact that the Uchiha were ready to initiate a revolution proves that plan didn't work. Additionally, it’s clear that the elders of Konoha—who are all surprisingly Tobirama's students—don’t want to share “their power” that was assigned to them by Tobirama. They’re essentially just continuing what Tobirama taught them.

So they’re being denied political power not once, but twice. And since the elders refuse to give the Uchiha a political voice, what’s their solution? A massacre—dare I say, a genocide...

"The Uchiha clan will not be dissuaded"… Ah yes, because the elders didn’t just stick to their positions, right?

A while ago, I made a post about Naruto. He has been treated with fear and hate, and the villagers clearly despised him. I’m very aware that poor Naruto (as well as B and Gaara) was shunned, ostracized, and hated by his village. He had to fight to prove his worth and be treated as a human. However, I believe the Uchiha were ostracized in a different way. They were denied political power and a voice twice, which is already an act of isolation. The Uchiha were a founding clan, just like the Senju. So why are they treated differently from the Senju?

My second point is that the Uchiha are closely associated with the police because Tobirama decided it. Orochimaru, who is far from being an angel, called him out on that matter, and Hashirama wasn’t happy about it either.

So he gave the police to the Uchiha clan and built the prison near the police station... Did you see any other clan have a role like that? Some clans specialize in certain fields of shinobi arts, but it’s not the same as being specifically assigned the police force.

From Sasuke's point of view, we see that very few Uchiha have taken on other jobs. Itachi being in the Anbu is actually an exception.

The Uchiha are so used to being part of the police that they don’t allow themselves to pursue anything else. It sounds to me like they accepted the role imposed on them by Tobirama without question. Let’s not forget that it was also a way for him to control them... not very nice.

Tobi confirms that the police force was, in truth, one of the problems between the village and the Uchiha. He’s basically reinforcing Orochimaru's words. The police force was one of the reasons the Uchiha started to feel discontent with the village. The rebellious spirit didn’t emerge out of nowhere; it had its roots in Tobirama’s reign, much like the isolation.

The situation worsened after the second attack of the Kyubi. That’s when the isolation became unbearable for the clan.

There’s a reason we’re told that and not shown—it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. We’re seeing things through Sasuke’s eyes. He was just a little child when the massacre occurred and kept in the dark by his father, mother, and brother. Even Itachi's perspective doesn't reveal that, as he chose the village and Sasuke over the clan. He’s a victim of the system himself, yet he agreed to it. Even later, he continues to do so, even after his death. It’s a sad reality.

What we are shown, however, is that Sasuke is just as alone and isolated as Naruto. This was perfectly depicted in the first part (panel 1), and his isolation parallels Naruto’s (panel 2). You can see spider webs in Sasuke's kitchen, and there are plenty of panels illustrating that he’s on his own. He lives alone; nobody checks in on him. When he wakes up in the hospital after the first Tsukuyomi, he finds himself alone in his own home. When he leaves, it’s Sakura who finds him, having been the one to keep watch. He doesn’t have someone like Iruka to pay attention to him and care for him (Iruka being the first one to acknowledge and appreciate Naruto for who he is). If that doesn’t scream social isolation, I don’t know what does.

Later, in the Valley of the End (Vote2), Sasuke realizes that people shunned him because he’s the last Uchiha. And isn’t he right? If the Uchiha were admired and liked in the village, then why is he always alone? Why aren’t we shown anyone talking to him politely or trying to help?

More recently, I explained in another ask that Naruto and Sasuke paralled one another in the way the village treats them. They’re both dehumanized by the village. Sasuke is sort of a reverse mirror to Naruto. He’s “admired” by the village for being the last Uchiha. They literally came to watch him fight during the Chunin Exams with little regard for his safety. In comparison, Naruto is known as “the demon fox” or “the fox boy” and is hated for it. But that doesn’t mean Sasuke’s situation is any better. You can see the spectators asking about Sasuke, “Where’s the Uchiha?” They just want to see him fight.

And you know what Orochimaru does? He takes advantage of that excitement and objectification to get what he wants. Plus, it’s his words that convinced Hiruzen to postpone the match. It’s heresy. Under different circumstances, Sasuke would have been simply eliminated.

I'm not sure of the order of the pictures, but I think you understand the message. Orochimaru's statement is absolutely true. Everyone is excited about the idea of Sasuke fighting, being the last Uchiha, and Orochimaru confirms that the lords feel the same way, with Hiruzen not even denying it.

I should add that there are orphanages in the village. Kabuto was in one of them before Danzo and Orochimaru decided to shut them down. Kakashi, as far as I remember, was also isolated after his father's death—the father who committed suicide because the village ostracized him. Konoha is well known for these issues.

He is an incompetent coward.

...

Okay, okay. Real answer. Before I go onto a full-fledged rant about all (or at least the gist) of my grievances with the Third Hokage, let me explain. I personally consider Hiruzen to be the "victim of the plot".

In spite of an earlier, much more sympathetic characterization, Hiruzen gradually became less and less likable as the story went on. But Hiruzen's fall from grace, so to speak, didn't strike me as Kishimoto's "goal", rather than a plot necessity. Konoha itself falls into a similar category.

It is no secret that the story is always positively biased when it comes to everything Konoha. Whether it is child labor or straight-up genocide, the story will always find a way to conveniently gloss over the fact that the Village of the Hidden Leaf is actually the Village of the Hidden Horrors.

None of this was done to fool the audience, however. Naruto's story simply grew more complex. Characters were in need of compelling backstories to make them sympathetic, and they needed compelling motivations to pit them against our heroes. In order to achieve both, systemic issues were introduced to the village's world-building and, as the village's head honcho, it was physically impossible not to have that reflect back onto Hiruzen. The village's grievances would always either act as proof of the Hokage's incompetence or complicity.

This is why I view Hiruzen primarily as a tool of the plot rather than his own character. As for my thoughts on Hiruzen as a character, that one is far more complex.

Yes, this really aligns with what I had in mind when it came to the creation/expansion of Ushizo. The Senju and Uchiha had a lot of power and wealth in comparison to other clans. But with the Uzumaki's prestigious nomadic roots and pacifist ideals, they would need land where the damiyo aligned with their views. And thats how Ushizo came to be, but what further established their political and royal roots would be Mito's mother's marriage with the prince. Causing the Uzumaki to rise in power that's beyond the Senju and Uchiha. As we know, in Konoha, the one who provides the funds, missions, and so on is the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. By having the Uzumaki clan be a part of the damiyo family for the land of the whirlpool, they aren't under the Damiyo and have to listen to their request and do as they please.

Also, we know ninjas were treated as weapons even before the founding of hidden villages and since both the Uchiha and Senju are indeed one of the strongest clans within the Narutoverse it make's sense alot of their wealth and prestige came from missions taken from higher ups.

Mito also gave me princess vibes and also priestess vibes, which aligns with what I'm writing for the Uzumaki clan and for her. I do agree that their marriage is a political strategic union. For their marriage, I thought it would work well that it was Mito's grandfather who arranged the marriage alongside Hashirama's father to restrengthen the alliance between the Senju and Uzumaki, but also because Mito's grandfather wanted even more political power and since Hashirama wished to create a hidden village in similar fashion to the Uzumaki. In his mind having his granddaughter marry Hashirama who comes from a clan their already allied with whose also strong and have the politcal poweress.

I feel like before the Uzumaki settled and created/expanded Ushizo, they weren't as politically strong as the Uchiha and Senju, but that doesn't mean they didn't have the prestige of either clans. They avoided conflict, and conflict avoided them. During their nomadic days, I do think other clans and ninjas alike would avoid the clan at all costs. The Uzumaki weren't the common ninjas; they were instead guardians, protectors of their secrets. They were a nomadic clan full of scholars who excelled in the sealing arts; they have so much to offer and so much to take from.

The Uzumaki clan would already be a culturally enriched clan before their settlement, and since they focused so much on building their foundations, Ushizo was able to come to fruition quickly. And as I mentioned with another person since the Uzumaki was most likely the only clan within Ushizo, they held the most influence and power.

I'm in the middle of creating what kind of fighters the Uzumaki clan was, and one of it involves fan dances, and I was thinking of how there would be a rumor that the whirlpools in Ushizo are manmade by the Uzumaki. This would be half true as the whirlpools occur naturally but the Uzumaki who are proficient in either wind or water elements would strengthen or calm the whirlpools depending on whether it's an enemy or ally approaching their broaders.

😤 Who apologizes first after a fight, even if they weren’t wrong?

...Probably Ino.

Interesting. I'll look into that fic, thanks!

Personally though, while I think the ship could work with better writing, I kind of decided to headcanon something other than shikatema. I'm not a writer AT ALL but I constantly "rewrite" the story in my head, and as much as I think Shikamaru and Temari make a lovely couple and tried imagining Temari having some prestige role in Konoha, at the end of the day I just can't picture her moving to a different village with all that entails. If Shikamaru needs a woman who's a house-wife I prefer to make up some OC that actually fits that role and let Temari keep her position, home and family. Nothing wrong with being a house-wife, it's a hard job, but it really rubs me the wrong way to see main female characters doing that particular job after already being so underused in the main story.

Unfortunately I have not watched a lot of Boruto, only clips here and there. I didn’t particularly care for the premise, and though I tried, it just wasn’t doing it for me. I have done a few lore studies on characters in it that interest me, but I haven’t actually watched very much of it. So at large, I’m probably not a good judge of their dynamic post-canon.

However, in the context of Shippuden, the language doesn’t really change a lot from Sasuke to Sakura; he just gets more sarcastic and rude in general, and that applies to Sakura too. (The only person he isn’t AS much of an ass to is Naruto. Sparingly. lol.)

BUT. Sakura does alter — albeit not the way you’d think.

In pt1, Sakura is pretty formal with Sasuke, in a girlish kind of way. She’s putting him on a pedestal as teenage girls are wont to do with their crushes, and that’s reflected in her speech as well, though she’s not actually that crazy about it; she doesn’t insist on calling him -san, for example, just -kun. For kids, that’s appropriate, and normal formality, which wouldn’t stand out so much if Naruto did the same thing— but he doesn’t, lol. First because he’s trying to be rude, then because he’s actually that close to Sasuke.

It’s one of the things that makes her interactions/feelings with him seem less genuine, in my opinion. Yes, it’s pretty “normal” for girls to insist on being polite with their crushes because they’re trying to impress them with the fawning, (which Sakura isn’t the only girl that over-emphasizes it like that, Ino does too. It’s a common anime/manga thing that insofar as I can tell doesn’t reflect reality so much.)

But ironically, when she addresses him in Shippuden, she drops most honorifics entirely. This, in my view, might have been one of the things to seriously annoy him about her while the team was trying to “save” him after the 5 Kage summit. Mind, Sasuke has never really seemed to care how people address him, but it DOES come off a little bit…odd, considering how estranged they are at that point, that all of a sudden she’s “acting so informal” about him, as if they’d been friends the whole time. It’s not entirely rude, per se, but it feels a little disingenuous, especially since she continues, periodically, to use -kun when addressing him in a bid to reinforce the shadow of what used to be there, I.e. her crush on him. Which doesn’t come across as very nice, or very genuine.

To be fair, although the comparison is a little flat, Naruto does still call Sakura -chan, during moments when he’s being cute or trying to make nice with her. It’s something you expect old friends to do. So she’s probably doing it for that reason more than anything — but it feels kinda fakey and hollow, because her actions don’t immediately match up with her words very much at all. Though I will honestly say that her trying to kill him some time afterwards is likely one of the reasons he decided to “forgive” her at all, inasmuch as that forgiveness was necessary, because in that moment she WAS trying to act genuinely as his friend, in Sasuke’s view. (and let’s not forget, he’s a very unreliable narrator) He respected her for putting her duty before her feelings for once. And yes, I’m sure I’ll get heat for mentioning Sasuke’s need to forgive Sakura, but I didn’t write their relationship like that lol.

So, no, there’s not a lot of change per se for Sakura specifically. He just gets a bit more disrespectful with his language while he’s in Mad With Grief Mode, and turns that on Sakura just as much as Kakashi and everyone else, Sans Naruto a bit. That’s not to say they don’t have different “conversations” there; Sasuke makes his annoyance at Sakura painfully , rudely obvious, whereas the attitude directed at Kakashi is more like a teenager arguing with their parent because they think they’re stupid. Which is on point, since Sasuke doesn’t know that Kakashi knew Itachi personally. So his “pontificating” about what Itachi might have wanted DOES come off a bit Patronizing and disrespectful, from his POV.

I know it’s not what you asked, but frankly it’s one of the big reasons I don’t understand people getting their feelings hurt about how much of an ass Sasuke is in that particular scene. Cause from Sasuke’s perspective, they’re the ones being disrespectful as hell — except Naruto, who actually addresses his feelings instead of trying to tell him he’s wrong for being angry. Which is what Kakashi’s argument comes off like, and Sakura inadvertently prioritizing her own feelings there draws attention away from his, which feels invalidating. So like, yes, he’s going to be a Pissy Teenager about it.

If I had to guess, though, from the handful of clips I’ve seen of them from Boruto, Sasuke seems to address his wife a little more formally than normal, but you have to account for the fact that that’s just how his own parents talked to each other; it’s a traditional sort of “casual formality” that’s not seen much except in older or more traditional couples. Shikaku and Yoshino, Shikamaru’s parents, do the same thing, so it’s not too out of the ordinary. Sakura, from what I can tell, still just uses his name or -kun in a teasing-ish way. At a glance it makes them seem comfortable with each other, but still respectful in a way married couples are. But as I’ve not watched many of their interactions in Boruto, I can’t really speak on it at large.

Also, necessary caveat that I am still learning Japanese, so there’s quite possibly something I’ve missed or misunderstood in this, but that’s my understanding of it.

Lots of love. 💕

Thank you!! It makes me so happy to know that people enjoy them so much!

I don't actually have a lot to say about these two, but I imagine them pretty close to their canon selves! There isn't a whole lot different about them, but I think Temaki would be slightly more protective of his little sisters. Like the kind of brother that would intimidate any partner that comes along and make them feel like he'd kill them if they made a mistake with his sisters. And he would!

I imagine Shikako would get flustered more easily than Shikamaru would, especially when it comes to Temaki (who tries to fluster her on purpose when they're in a relationship). She'd also be the first to develop feelings out of the two of them, which makes her even more flustered when he's around

Thank you again! I appreciate your kind words 💕 Also, a lil doodle for you:

I’ve just been wondering where Madara’s original eyes went. I don’t think he’d just throw them away.

There’s a headcanon on this that I really like: where Madara put his eyes into Izuna’s corpse as a way of honoring his little brother by letting him die with sharingans in his sockets.

Hello there mscarraway! That’s one interesting question, and I’m happy to share my thoughts on it.

I do not think that Madara would just have thrown away his eyes, especially not since the Sharingan is the pride of the Uchiha Clan (and we have seen the consequences, when the Sharingan is not destroyed, in the form of Danzō).

I do like the headcanon that Madara gave his Sharingan to the corpse of his little brother, it would fit his character to do something like that.

I personally headcanon that Izuna’s corpse was cremated, and thus - if he gave his brother his eyes - Madara’s eyes were destroyed that way.

And I like the simplicity - and the many layers of symbolism that are possible to attach to this - of Madara just erasing his eyes like that.

It adds a layer of tragedy to the Sharingan (and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan) of Madara and Izuna, if everyone believed - and feared - the power of Madara’s eyes: while not knowing that he carried a (literal) piece of the person dearest to him, and that his eyes belonged to Izuna originally.

It is a tragic thought that Izuna became more of a myth over the years as well.

I’m also not suggesting with this that Izuna’s eyes were superior to Madara’s or anything, but I do like the idea that only one person could use them to their full potential, as there is so much anguish stored on these pair of eyes (as well as love and protectiveness towards only one person), and that person is Madara.

Thank you for this question and I wish you a lovely day and all the best o/