Naruto Chapter 397: The Man Who Knows the Truth

Summary: Tobi reveals to Sasuke that he is Madara and that Itachi lived to protect the shinobi world, the Leaf village, and Sasuke. (Read 397 here)

Serenphoria Says:

Apologies for the late update. There was so much I wanted to say that I kept putting it off. Thanks people who commented to give me a nudge.

This chapter was chalk full of goodies and food for thought. I'm sure Kishimoto timed the break to give readers plenty of time to speculate and prepare for a twist in our understanding of Itachi.

[Truths, Half-Thruths, and Un-Truth: Reliability of our Sources]

Without taking sides in the Is-Itachi-Evil debate, I think the big question is 'Is Madara reliable?'

Remember that since Tobi revealed himself as Madara (see 364) we knew that Sasuke was integral to his great scheme, whatever it is. Thus, any interaction with Sasuke, and any information he offers will be to manipulate Sasuke towards an end goal. Any 'Truth' that he reveals about Itachi must be taken with a grain of salt because Madara ultimately has an ulterior motive. And to that point, everything we've ever known about Itachi has been based on unreliable sources:

- Sasuke's childhood memories (filtered through the eyes and understanding of a child)
- Itachi's words and illusions (and we know everything he does is to fulfill a purpose)
- Madara's words (which is motivated by his end goal)

The only way we can ever have a clear understanding of Itachi's motivations is to see into Itachi's flashbacks (with mental commentary), which now seems unlikely. I know some people are frustrated about where Itachi's character seems to be headed, but I think Kishimoto has done a masterful job at keeping this particular villain so complex and mysterious. Whatever will be revealed in the coming chapters I'll take as another piece to the puzzle, but certainly not as a replacement for what we've seen already.

[Sasuke's Next Move: Fragile Mental State]

Sasuke is a wreck. His body is drained, he can't control his eyes, and is being told that every 'Truth' that has guided his life was wrong. Mention of his brother still gets a rise out of him - clearly, his brother issues has not been resolved by Itachi's death - something's still wrong, and he can't put his finger on it. Great use of silent panels, the dark backdrop, and nuanced expressions to capture the mental turmoil.

Most interesting to me is that even now, Sasuke is not in control of his fate. Itachi had planned the fight, had the final say, and sought to guide the future by implanting his technique into Sasuke. To protect him or not, even now Sasuke is a puppet. No wonder Sasuke is so dissatisfied.

Unfortunately, Sasuke's fragile state leaves him extremely vulnerable to further manipulation - whether to act due to guilt or to relieve himself from cognitive dissonance. I'm leaning towards the latter.

[aside: I also wanted to note that one thing which has been consistent about Itachi is that his actions always has a purpose. While the fandom was busy wondering if the forehead poke was out of affection or exhaustion, we are again humbled by the revelation of what that action actually did. I think this is something we can keep in mind if we ever try to deconstruct Itachi based on actions we actually witnessed.]

I look forward to what insight Madara has to offer.

Naruto Chapter 396: Introduction

Summary: Madara abandons his confrontation with Team Konoha to retrieve the Uchiha brothers. The team fails to reach Sasuke first. Elsewhere, Madara introduces himself as a friend and an Uchiha to Sasuke. (Read 396 here)

Serenphoria Says:

Silly me. I actually thought focus would switch to Naruto and gang for a little bit. Nope, just long enough to pull the rug from under Naru again and back to the Uchiha. Yeah, Naruto's a little upset about this too.

Did Kishi always use the white flare for Sharingan activation? I wonder if it has any significance.


I'm a little worried about Kakashi. He's probably really straining his body to use the Mangekyou. And why though? They are not actively engaged with the enemy right now? And I'm still very curious as to how he got it in the first place.

And I think I've given up on the Tobito Theory. Madara's face is not messed up enough to be Obito's.

Maaw. Look at Sasuke's sad face. He looks a little numb and lost. But more interestingly, I'm wondering about the one Sharingan. It's too distinct to be a trick of the shadow. There hasn't been an instance in the past where anyone with two Sharingans activated them separately, but Sasuke's left Sharingan did matured more quickly than his left (the third tomoe on the right didn't appear until the Valley of the End), so it could be the case that his left matured to the next level. This is the same eye that we were shown 'bleeding' two chapters back.

The juxtaposition with the panel above may also be significant, and signal that Madara had somehow influenced one Sharingan to activate (the one that mirrors the eye he presumably doesn't have).

Naruto Chapter 395: The Mystery that is Tobi

Summary: Team Konoha puzzles over Tobi's abilities, who seems to somehow literally disappear/cease to exist. Zetsu reports to Tobi/Madara that Sasuke defeated Itachi, but suffered damages. (Read 395 here)

Serenphoria Says:

Nothing too deep this time, but a lot of really great moments:

- Shino: I love how everyone else calls out really complicated names for their jutsu and he utters such simple commands for his. (Fly. Spread. Swarm.) I think it fits him perfectly. I also noted a quirky speech pattern in which he doesn't just explain what's going on, but prefaces by verbalizing the implied question. Silly Shino.

- Kiba: He totally missed. I love how he tries futilely to salvage his dignity.

<-- read right to left --

- Zetsu: He reports to Tobi? How many of the others are in cahoots? So far Pein, Konan, Itachi, and Zetsu knows Tobi isn't just a goofball.

- ExclamationFace!Kakashi: He saw Tobi's Sharingan. I'm dying to know what he's thinking.

- Naruto: "Yo, Aloe Vera!" - I nearly died. I love you, Naruto.

*ah hem* Am I the only one who gave pause at Naruto's command of 'Suck him dry, Shino!'? First snaketongue!Orochi and now this. Maybe it's just me... :(