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.