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.
posted by serenphoria @ 2:21 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
I really only have one thing to say about this one. Lover. LOVER?! Itachi had a lover? What was he, all of thirteen when he went on his psychotic killing spree/ noble sacrifice/ purging of the unbelievers, or what-have-you? THIRTEEN. No. Just no. Please be a weird translation... please!
I can hear the fangirls now. Their high-pitched squealing is leaving a horrible ringing in my ears. *goes to find a place to hide until she recovers from the stupid*
Yeah, I tried to gloss over that. I'm all for poor translation. Asian languages are pretty nuanced, so I'm betting there just wasn't a good English equivalent to very-close-friend-with-other-qualifications or something (please be the case!)
You can try, but there is nowhere to hide from the stupid.
Lover.
Lover.
;ldkgha;sdgh;asdkasdg wtf/
... it was Shisui wasn't it... >.>
and what's with the sea-side thing? o_0
@snowdevil and taters,
There's been clarification on the term 'lover' - as we suspected, it just means girlfriend/boyfriend. 'Lover' might have been used because it's genderless, but still, way to cause chaos, translaters!
Stupid English.
Oh, and taters? Zapenstap thinks it's TB too :) There's something so poetic and classic about dying from TB in literature.
Hey, sorry for being MIA recently, but I wanted Madara to finish saying his piece before I drew any conclusions.
Argh, Itachi. I don't think I'll ever be able to take any of his persona's as 'canon'. Ironically the only one that will hold any weight for me now is the sadistic yet lovable older brother from fanfic fame. May he live long and prosper.
Seriously, though, I'm with you on wanting to believe Madara's version of Itachi. Not only because of the oh so exquisite angst that this brings to the table, but mostly for the fact that it's so much better than the 'I killed our entire family just because I wanted your eyes... nothing personal.' thing he had going on.
This new outlook on Itachi's character makes certain scenes all the more intriguing. Like when he confronted Naruto and asked him why he would go through such lengths for Sasuke. That smile... was it an amused 'if only you knew' kinda thing? Or perhaps an acknowledgment and passing of the baton? Also, the mystery of what he mumbled before poking Sasuke will haunt me forever D:
About Itachi's lover. You already said in your edit that the word in the raw was 'Koibito' so yeah... Since it was implied that Itachi killed this mysterious person as well, I'm guessing they're part of the Uchiha clan too. So I'm thinking that it's an arranged marriage deal, perhaps?
Hm, I'm curious about Danzou as well. If I had to pin the driving force behind the Uchiha massacre on one of Konoha's higher ups it would be him. Come to think of it, didn't Danzou send Sai to kill Sasuke in the first place in order to finish the job (I wonder if he knew about Itachi's sickness so he ignored his warnings) ? Did he really believe that Sai could have killed Sasuke in the first place? Hope we'll get some answers soon.
As for Madara... well I'm still not willing to trust him. He's proven to be an excellent actor with the entire Tobi thing and that he's willing to demean himself to the role of bumbling moron. Not to mention he made it obvious that he wants Sasuke for whatever reason. Plus most incriminating of all is what Kyuubi said about him.
Madara has chakra more corrupt than a demons.
So, yeah, whatever Madara has to say I'll assume there's some kind of nefarious purpose to it. But more importantly I wonder if Sasuke still nurses the same amount of healthy suspicion we do... the Uchiha crest seems to be proudly displayed on his back once again. I wonder what that means (likewise will Sasuke ever get rid of that damn rope?)
Concerning your edit: The white snake that got away from Itachi was burned to a crisp with Amaterasu so Kabuto is the only part of Orochimaru left I think (though with Kishi you never know).
There's just one last thing I have to say: The First Hokage defeated Madara, the strongest of the Uchiha, at his prime along with Kyuubi. Minato, I'm sorry, but your position as the most badass Hokage to ever Hokage has been compromised. And Naruto, you've got quite the Legacy to live up to.
Spoiling without spoiling
*headdesk* *headdesk* *headdesk*
Sasuke continues to be gullible. I continue to be right. I also continue to be unsympathetic. (For once! I'm on to you, Kishimoto! You can't keep using that trick on me! You have no sad piano music on your side this time!)
@Jedi
Hey, welcome back. And YES to everything you said.
Well, good think Kishimoto is not CLAMP, because Itachi's mumblings were revealed. And it was GOOD.
And thanks for the catch about the snake. So they'll only have to deal with Kabuchimaru (and Sasuke, and the Akatsuki). Maybe Sasuke can just lose control of his new eyes and just black burn all the baddies to death. And then his rope.
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