Naruto Chapter 401: Illusion

Summary: Sasuke tries to deny Madara's version of Itachi, but Madara persisted that Itachi valued Sasuke's life more than the village. (Read 401 here)

Serenphoria Says:

I know just moments ago I was trying to keep a healthy skepticism of Madara's version of Itachi, but to be honest, I really want to believe it. It doesn't excuse the fact that Itachi murdered his clan, but being aware of the motivation and self-sacrifice makes him more sympathetic. Both the reluctant villain and an unacknowledged hero in a small measure. And I love that this information (if Sasuke chooses to believe it) opens up possibilities for a whole new type of angst. ANGST!

The explanation for the Itachi Returns arc was interesting and explains his apparent lack of objective and minimal drive to take Naruto. (I'm also intrigued that Danzo's name came up more than once recently...the implication being that he's got a bigger role to play, and by extension, maybe we'll learn more about Sai!) Itachi taking medicine for a disease was news as well. So were the bloody coughing fits unrelated to the condition with his fading sight or battle injuries?

Oh, and I really liked the tie back into the discussion about illusions. So many layers. I love it.

What is Madara's objective?!? Why did Itachi want to keep Sasuke from him?!? What is Kisame and Team Hebi doing all this time? Is Naruto still crying? Narutooooo!

Edit 5/26/08

I completely forgot to mention one of the more interesting points that came up in the chapter and that is Itachi cornered Sasuke to force Orochimaru out. (This reminds me of the method of purging poison by sweating it out). The little white snake that escaped the battle scene (presumably Orochi) and Sasuke's missing cursed seal corroborate this. This has several implications:

1) Sasuke can no longer call upon the power of the cursed seal - thus a power-down
2) Orochimaru doesn't have a (physical) hold over Sasuke - thus avoiding the previously possible kill-Sasuke-to-kill-Orochi scenario

Now, are there now effectively TWO separate Orochi's? The one that broke from Sasuke and the part grafted into Kabuto? Or are these two parts of the same entity and they eventually will need to get back together? (Full Kabuto take-over, anyone?)

(Aww, this would also explain the interest Itachi had when he heard the news about Sasuke defeating Orochi.)

And it's been confirmed that the term 'lover' (as in Itachi's) was 'koibito' in Japanese, which can mean girlfriend/boyfriend, sweetheart, or 'my dear.' That...makes so much more sense.

Naruto Chapter 400: In Hell

Summary: Madara tells Sasuke that Itachi was a peace-loving person who acted as a double-agent between the Uchiha and Madara and ultimately accepted the mission to eradicate the Uchiha in the name of peace. Madara also claims that Itachi bargained to spare Sasuke's life and had told Sasuke to hate him in order to give him a goal. (Read 400 here)

Serenphoria Says:

Madara's version of Itachi's character is everything fangirls wanted...which makes it highly suspect. I mean, it was the twist we were expecting: Itachi sparing Sasuke because he was the one person he couldn't kill, a tortured soul who had to sacrifice everything for the greater good. It's a little TOO predictable.

I will say that Itachi wanting Sasuke to live being proud of the Uchiha was a nice touch. However, if the Uchiha were as dishonorable as that statement implied, I'm surprised Sasuke wasn't ostrocized as a child for being one. (Unless he was? Or he already isolated himself so much that he didn't notice? Unlikely, since his peers didn't grow up being discouraged by adults to avoid him)

Again, highly suspect.

I'd like to see what counter evidence Sasuke can offer up. I'd be annoying if he's just going to emphatically deny Madara's version on pure stubbornness, though I wouldn't put it past him.

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Naruto Chapter 399: The Beginning of Everything

Summary: Madara recounts Senju and Uchiha's rivalry and subsequent truce with the establishment of Konoha. Madara left, feeling betrayed and sought revenge against Konoha. After the Kyuubi attack, the leaders were suspicious of the Uchiha and planted Itachi as a spy. (Read 399 here)

serenphoria says:

Cue the world's smallest violin. Tobi's telling a sob story...

[a failed attempt at sympathy]

I don't know what Kishimoto's intent is, but what I got was Madara trying to get us to sympathize with him but in the same breath makes him seem self-centered and jealous. He used a lot of language to communicate isolation, like he was the lone hero who saw the truth and was unwisely and unjustly turned away from his own clansman whom he wanted to protect.

Protect from what? From the way I see it, it was Madara's fault that they were in danger to begin with:

Madara sought revenge by attacking with the Kyuubi >> Made leadership suspicious of Uchiha involvement when Kyuubi attacked again >> Uchiha suspicious of Leaf's suspicion, breeding rebellion >> Leaf struck preemptively and ordered their massacre.

This part struck me as funny: "There was a dispute over the position of Hokage...everyone the the village and the land of fire choose him"

Erm...that doesn't sound like a dispute to me. More like...unanimous decision and Madara was the only one that had a problem with that. I think he was jest jealous of how much Senju's clan symbol pwns his own.

Naruto Chapter 398: Konoha's Beginnings

Summary: Madara claims that Itachi massacred the Uchiha on orders from Konoha's leaders and begins to tell the tale of Konoha's origin. (Read 389 here).

Serenphoria says:

I love flashbacks!

[Framing the Story]

I think Kishimoto was very clever having Sasuke question Madara's trustworthiness and then having Madara admitting he can't back up his words so it's up to Sasuke whether or not to believe them. Here, Sasuke is a proxy for the reader - we are just as skeptical and wary of new information about Itachi as he is. (I personally think Sasuke would not even have the curiosity or patience to hear Itachi's story at this point, but he did it for our benefit ^_^). Thus, when Madara says 'You'll have to decide to believe or not, but hear me out,' he's talking to us as well. By not insisting on convincing us he is trustworthy, he in fact becomes more trustworthy. (It's a basic psychology principle that people doing something not their self-interest are more trustworthy)

And by putting the onus on readers to decide truth from untruth, Kishi protects himself from any direction he wants to go. Plot point later that doesn't meet expectations? Well, you can't be upset because it was never 'Truth,' you just chose to believe it was.

This gives Kishi significant leverage to have Madara lie, omit, modify history for his own ends. But I like where it's headed so far...

[Coming of Age and the Loss of Identity]

I really liked the fact that Sandaime was in on the supposed order to get rid of the Uchiha. Through the lens of the Rookie 9 and especially Naruto, Sandaime is the evangelist of Konoha's most cherished values: empathy, kindness, family, connections, the will of fire ... to have been part of such a brutal decision and to have kept this secret to his grave casts him in a different light. The peace that Konoha knows was bought with blood and is still perhaps a facade. It's a slap-in-the-face reminder that Konoha is not the sun-shiney safe haven that we know, but a village in which its main economic trade is mercenary work and have no qualms putting sharp metal weapons into the hands of toddlers.

I think the revelation that Itachi was on orders is a bit of a coming-of-age moment for Sasuke, as it is for us. The scope of your world is bigger than your immediate family. Evil does not start and end with a person. The green glasses are lifted and we find that home is not perfect - far from it. I won't go so far as to say Itachi is a victim of his broken society, but he was used as a tool to fix (or perpetuate?) it.

To overly simplify things, Konoha hides its ugly foundations (with good effect, esp. with the new generation) but the reality is that it still has an ugly core.

[But this is also where I see Naruto becoming the true hero of this tale. His idealism, naiveté, and stubbornness allows him to redefine the values which govern his life, his way of the ninja, and live it out steadfastly. And it's his utter commitment to them gives him the power to shake everyone else's preconceptions of how things are and should be. Unbeknownst to him, he's not just striving to inherit Sandaime's legacy, but to enact real change.]

I had more to say, but I'm sleepy and dying to read the next chapter!