Naruto Chapter 386: My New Light

Summary: With genjutsu, Sasuke probes Itachi's mind and discovers that the Mangekyou can reach its final form when the eyes are transplanted between brothers, bypassing blindness and granting immortality (?). He realizes that Itachi had always meant for them to fight to the death, as they have each others 'spare' eyes. (Read 386 here)

Snowyowl Says: Wow, this heavy chapter deserves a long post!

Well, what do you know. An Inner-Itachi!

Regular Itachi:

Inner-Itachi:

I'm glad Inner-Itachi is chatty, because we finally have an answer to the long-standing question: what does Itachi want with Sasuke? Poor Sasuke, if he wasn't so arrogant, his sense of self-worth would be shot with people keeping him around just for spare parts (Oro for his body, Ita for his eyes, and Naru...er...Sakura for his heart!)

(On a side note, ever notice that of everyone who wants his body, Sasuke runs away from the girls and towards the guys?) *ducks tomatoes*

[Big Brother]
At first, I was a little disappointed that Itachi kept Sasuke around for something petty like 'I don't want to be blind' or something cliche like 'I want immortality.' However, upon reflection, Itachi is driven by neither - Itachi has always been ambitious and struggled to escape the confines placed upon him by tradition, expectations, and his own mortal shell. He is not at heart a megalomaniac, but simply put, he just wants to be the best. Obtaining the final stage of the Mangekyou is the next step. What I find a little ironic is that he is desperately trying free himself from 'this wretched clan's destiny' by perpetuating the tradition of filial bloodshed.

I was so pleased that Itachi holds contempt for Madara. That's so...Itachi. While I accepted the idea of mentor!Madara, it didn't sit well that Itachi had stayed, and was apparently, still under him. Now we know that Madara himself was just another stepping-stone. This chapter solidified my view that Itachi does not need relationships like most, but fosters them based on how he can benefit.

[Little Brother]
Wow. I'm actually rooting for Sasuke. Not because he's a bit more sympathetic, but for the first time, his character represents hope. He didn't grow up knowing and accepting his clan's past and if he feels at all disgusted or ashamed he could take this chance to not just revive his clan, but change it. I'm not sure how to interpret his reaction to the Forth's name, but the fact that he reacting to Konoha gives me a little hope that he may realign himself with the Leaf.

If Sasuke ends up plucking out Itachi's eyes out for himself I'll be so disappointed.
Check out the last panel. Someone's gonna get whooped. Reminds me of a certain someone before he buried someone alive for all eternity.

[Questions]

-Does the transplant itself grant immortality?

Inner-Itachi only confirmed that it 'gave birth to a new eye-technique' and that having a new host gave the Mangekyou an 'inextinguishable light.' However, I read this as bypassing the side-effect of blindness. When Itachi said 'achieve true immortality' does he mean that literally or figuratively?

-Do the transplanted eyes already need to have the Mangekyou Sharingan to work?

From Itachi's words in the past and his disappointment that Sasuke doesn't have the Mangekyou would suggest that one needed the transplanted eyes to already have the Mangekyou. I'm confused because Itachi seems to want to continue the battle. Of course, that was Inner-Itachi speaking. Outer-Itachi may want to just disable his brother and walk away until next time.

-Did the Uchiha's bloody practice still occur up until the massacre?

It's only been five generations since Madara and the First Hokage, yet from Sasuke's memory it seemed as if the Uchiha had renounced that past and prized strong clan bonds. Is this another case of Sasuke's rosy selective memory, or is Itachi being overly dramatic? It's true history can be erased but if Itachi's claim that killings had been happening for decades, then at the very least Madara's bloody legacy is something that Fugaku's generation was aware of.

-Did Madara seriously just pluck his brother's eye out?

I'm going to give Sasuke-clone the benefit of the doubt and say he was under the Mangekyou's spell. Because any healthy person dumb enough to sit there and let a weak dying person dig his eyes out while he's awake deserves it.

Final note:

I don't know if it was intentional, but the panel with Madara's hand and saying sorry echoed Sasuke's memory of Itachi poking his forehead and apologizing. Creepy foreshadowing.

Naruto Chapter 385: The Secret of the Mangekyou

Summary: Sasuke asks Itachi who the third Mangekyou Sharingan user is, because he figured he was Itachi's accomplice in killing the Uchiha, and thus next on his hit list. Itachi tells him it's Uchiha Madara, his mentor, and an immortal who was the first to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan. It's true power is the power to tame the nine-tailed fox, but the price is blindness. (Read 385 here)

SnowyOwl Says:

I was pleasantly surprised that Sasuke asked an unexpected question. It was forward-looking and action-oriented (this is what I'll do next) vs. what I expected, (i.e. Why'd you do it?) which would have been backwards-looking, as Sasuke has been this entire time. Granted, his mission is rooted in the past, but at least his mind isn't trapped there. The question also dispelled any theories that Sasuke had planned on dying with his brother (end of mission).

Madara = immortal, confirmed. But it still doesn't rule out the possibility that Madara is inhabiting Obito's (dead) body. Ew. It actually makes a lot of sense that Itachi had a mentor who gave him direction, nurture and validate his sense of superiority, and helped extinguish the Uchiha. A lot more sense than 'Itachi just is,' or Itachi just decided to,' anyway.

For an in-depth discussion about Itachi's philosophy and personality, go read zapenstap's Itachi Analysis Essay. The ideas there are consistent with Itachi's motives, which are revealed in the next chapter if the spoilers prove true.

By the way, don't read spoilers. They...spoil stuff.

On a side note, yes Itachi may be going blind, but at least his eyes make funny noises. Swuuu!