56 replies to this topic

[OrenjiSakuranbo]

I see a lot of hate Sakura gets for her actions in this kage summit arc, mostly for the following reasons:

 

1) Lying to Naruto telling him she loves him.

 

2) Trying to kill Sasuke by herself.

 

Despite liking Sakura, I as well thought that her actions did not make much sense, 

I wondered things like why would she even confess to Naruto knowing that he would not change his mind about saving Sasuke,

what was really the point of it if she knew the outcome.

or why would she not take Kiba and Lee (that were very cooperative with her) to help kill Sasuke,

Instead she tried to do it alone.

 

I realized there must be something I"m missing

so I went back and started to analyze her actions and than it hit me,

there is an another interpretation that makes it all make sense.

 

First Sakura didn't plan to kill Sasuke, instead she was planning to sacrifice herself for Naruto's sake and for Konoha.

For Naruto because after Sai told her she causes Naruto pain just as much as Sasuke did,

Sakura really took that to heart she believed she caused Naruto the most pain and to make up for the that burden of always relying on him,

she is willing to free him even at the cost of her life,

as for Konoha, the K11 decided they must kill Sasuke themselves to avoid war with Iwagakure,

and Sakura wasn't as naive as Naruto to think there is any way to realistically save Sasuke,

that is why she figures when she dies by Sasuke's hands,

Naruto and everyone else would not have any more issues if Iwagakure kills Sasuke,

also it means Naruto would in fact stop wanting to save Sasuke, Naruto would not be able to forgive Sasuke for killing Sakura. 

 

So here are my reasons for I believe this to be true:

 

Kakashi knew she is going to get herself killed as she really didn't have any chance to beat Sasuke by herself and Sakura knew that.

Sakura didn't bring Lee and Kiba with her because she didn't want them there as it would be a problem for her plan, she will be just dragging them with her to get killed.

It also explains why Sakura brought a poisoned Kunai, she thought that if she stabs Sasuke with that he would truly believe she was trying to kill him and kill her as an enemy, only "problem" Sasuke wanted to kill her even without that incentive.

Another thing that suggests that Sakura didn't plan to kill Sasuke is Karin telling Sasuke to stop when he was about to kill Sakura, Karin would never tell Sasuke to not kill someone that intends to harm him, but it was clear that Karin realized through Sakura's chakra that she is not a real threat to Sasuke.

There is also the fact that the whole Sakura means to kill Sasuke herself was just Sai guessing and than Kakashi also started to believe that but when Kakashi asked Sakura directly not sure it that really was her plan, Sakura didn't him she just kept quiet.

Perhaps the biggest evidence is The fact that Kakashi knew that the poisoned kunai Sakura made would not work on Sasuke, hmmm strange, why would Sakura plan to kill Sasuke using a lethal weapon that is not lethal to Sasuke and she should know that because of two reasons, the first is her expertise in poisons and making antidotes to them if Sakura really meant to kill Sasuke she would of used something much more lethal frankly her fist at full strength is more lethal than that kunai is to Sasuke,

and second reason is after team 7 first reunion with Sasuke in shippuden Sakura knew how Sasuke's growth is not natural that Orochimaru gave him some enhancing drugs and poison immunity, we even see Sakura studying on this very subject so she definitely knew that Sasuke would be immune to the poison in her kunai.

 

Now about the confession itself, first I truly believe Sakura didn't lie to Naruto she did in fact love him,

but Sakura coming there in the middle of nowhere to tell Naruto she loves him suddenly, did feel strange

(I mean she could of waited for him to return to the village to do that)

What was really strange is her bashing Sasuke in her confession,

almost like Sakura is trying to convince herself that there is no way to save Sasuke now

(her plan while different than killing Sasuke is still basically gives up on saving him).

I think Sakura in a way did lie to herself like Naruto said but only when it comes to not caring about Sasuke anymore,

I think that is what Kishimoto truly intended when he called her terrible woman because she basically abandons her shared goal with Naruto to save Sasuke,

which her bond with him like Naruto's is also familial not just about some childhood crash,

Even Yamato (a narusaku shipper at heart) knew that was wrong which caused him to lose his temper.

Sai that guesses Sakura means to kill Sasuke because she loves him and wants to stop him from,going further into darkness was wrong about her motives and her true plan,

Sakura's actions were about about Saving Naruto rather than Sasuke, she truly gave up on Sasuke, she was okay with him being killed but she was not okay with Naruto continuing to suffer anymore because of Sasuke or herself that she couldn't bear.

 

The reasoning I have on why Sakura truly meant her confession to Naruto is because when he tells her she is lying to herself, we can see in her reaction how hurt Sakura is for Naruto not believing her, also instead of admitting or backing out the situation, Sakura was defending her confession by saying only she knows how she feels, and most crucially is that Sakura never needed to go see Naruto to begin with, she could of just gone looking after Sasuke from the start telling Kiba that Naruto would never agree so there is no point in trying to convince him which is true and Sakura knew this, so her showing up to tell Naruto how she felt only served one thing,

For Sakura to say goodbye by telling Naruto how she feels about him. 

How far Sakura was willing to go for Naruto's sake how much it broke her heart learning that he loves her and that she caused him pain,

is also strong indication for how much she loves him.

 

It was only after she learned about Sasuke's plan to destroy Konoha and after Sasuke tried to kill her, plus Kakashi arrival to save her, that is when Sakura had to change the plan she didn't want Kakashi to have to bear the burden of killing Sasuke especially that it's her fault Kakashi is even there, 

That is when  Sakura truly meant to kill Sasuke but realized she couldn't do it she couldn't turn off her emotions and kill someone she used to love and still cares about.

There is also another interesting scene afterwards where Sasuke tells Naruto he can't possibly understand him and calls him an outsider, that is when Sakura snaps at Sasuke for bad mouthing Naruto (Sakura snapping like that at Sasuke only happened once before in the forest of death).  In the chunin exam she was telling Sasuke to get it together, while this time it's only about telling Sasuke off to defend Naruto.

 

Even in the war arc we see Sakura worrying quite a lot about Naruto (Sasuke has already arrived to the war) it's only after a chapter that is called the true end it's when Sakura started to change her behavior and seem to return to focus on Sasuke while stopped worrying about Naruto almost completely like Kishimoto just flipped a switch on her character.

 

As for the ending and the late parts of the war arc, I am pretty sure  Kishimoto just retconned her feelings,he realized he could get away with it because he never clarified Sakura's actions he could just change things enough for everyone to believe Sakura lied to Naruto about loving him and that she truly planned to kill Sasuke herself 

It's similar to how Naruto's feelings toward Sakura were retconned in the last and made to be only Naruto lying to himself just to win against Sasuke.

 

Well there is another explanation for the ending but I will leave that for another post.

 

Please tell me what you think of this interpretation in the comments, or if anyone has a question please do not hesitate to ask.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jak123]

It always seemed like that to me. And if you think about it, that gives credence to The Last. Like Sakura wasn't just setting up Naruto and Hinata. It felt like she was making up excuses to push him away as if she was guilty that wasn't good enough for him.

Edited by jak123, 03 June 2018 - 07:45 PM.

[Yyubie]

@OrenjiSakuranbo

Welcome to the forum!! Hope you enjoy it here.

 

I agree with you about the confession part , and i think most of us too. The confession itself in my opinion was true , but when she talk about Sasuke that is a lie. If she just confess to Naruto and never bring Sasuke subject ... NS maybe have been cannon that day. This is my personal rule .... rule number one when confessing your love , you must not bring other people names , especially ex-boy/girl you use to love , because confession is a very special moment for both of you. So in my opinion Sakura ruin her own confession by bringing Sasuke name into the mix.

 

And about the killing Sasuke part , i think it was true .... she really plan to kill him. Sakura is a smart girl she knows what shes doing , in her mind , her plan was flawless but she never expect that when she stand there looking at Sasuke , all the past memories of him coming back and thus she got cold feet and her resolve shatter. I already said this it's just like when you think you prepare for something "I can do this!!!" , but when the time comes you suddenly questioning yourself "Can i do this??". It happened to me when i'm about to go job interview i was sure days before that i was ready and i reassure myself that it was easy , but when the day finally come i got cold feet and starting to questioning myself , there i was wondering where the hell did all my confidence go?? only nervous feeling left . I think that is what happen to Sakura , she think she can .... but when the time comes and when she got a perfect chance to kill Sasuke (when Sasuke slightly lose conscious of overuse his new mangekyo sharingan) she realize that it is not that easy .... deep down in her heart she still at least care about him whether it's friendship or love at least she still care , which to me it makes her looks stupid , that guy trying to kill her multiple times already  .

 

But ultimately it was because kishi himself that can't draw a good female heroine is the ultimate downfall of Sakura (with "I can't write romance" as his alibi) , the interference of his new editor and the higher ups in SP and SJ and western fan otaku such as forneverworld / sawyer that keep pushing Hinata to be the new heroine is the nail in the coffin.

[OrenjiSakuranbo]

@Yyubie

Thanks, it's good to be here! 

 

I am  happy to know that others believe she was not lying about her feelings to Naruto,

I was seeing a lot of hate for Sakura for the confession in reddit and tumblr.

it made me wonder if I am alone in thinking her feelings for Naruto are genuine or It's just my imagination. 

 

You are right Sakura did mess up the confession by bringing up Sasuke too much,

but it wasn't something that couldn't be fixed if Kishimoto would of wanted to make an NS ending.

 

As for killing Sasuke, the part you mentioned is her second attempt which I believe at that point it was a real attempt on his life on her part,

after all he tried to kill her and wants to destroy Konoha not to mention she wanted to help Kakashi by doing the deed herself thinking she was ready like a true shinobi,

but like you said she lost her nerve and couldn't kill someone she cares about, even if he is a dangerous criminal that just tried to kill her. 

 

But I have big doubts if it was really her original plan, 

because like you said she is smart and did know what she is doing,

so that poisoned Kunai is strange almost like she deliberately chose a weapon that will give the appearance she wants to kill Sasuke,

only the weapon is actually ineffective against him because of his poison immunity,

There is something I forgot to mention in the original post is that when Sakura draws the weapon the first time,

she is thinking if I stab Sasuke everything will be over, notice her choice of word is stab not kill.

so it gives two options in my opinion either Sakura really thought that poison is gonna work (that's why a stab should do the job)

or she didn't plan to kill Sasuke but intended to provoke him to kill her.

Thinking the poison is going work would go against her expertise on understanding poisons and creating antidotes as quickly as she did to Sasori's poison.

it would also disregard the research she did on Sasuke's drug enhancements made by Orochimaru.

Another argument I can make is Kakashi knew the poisoned kunai isn't gonna work on Sasuke, I see no reason for Sakura not to know that as well.

 

It also reminds me how in Part 1 of Naruto, Haku deliberately used a weapon that has very low probability of killing,

because he didn't want to kill Naruto or Sasuke he actually fought them to protect them, so Zabuza won't kill them.

Edited by OrenjiSakuranbo, 03 June 2018 - 11:11 PM.

[hisaberpie]

I don't agree with this. The confession was just badly handled plot that led nowhere. I really doubt sakura was trying to get herself killed. She wanted to kill sasuke not get killed by him.

Sakura wanted to save naruto from getting hurt in his pursuit of his man crush so much so that she was willing to have naruto hate her forever for it. but while this all sounds very good for NS, kishimoto made deliberate blunders so the pairing war would never end.

First mistake was naruto telling sakura that he hates people who lie to themselves when sakura confessed. Second, was making sakura hesitate hitting sasuke time and time again. If the sakura from the sasori fight was fighting sasuke in that scene i am convinced she wouldve managed to injure sasuke enough that by the time naruto and kakashi got there, sasuke wouldve been weak enough to be apprehended.

But nope, we didn't have that because then narutos whole prophecy child thing wouldnt have a point and instead we got weak, confused sakura crying infront of a crazed sasuke unable to stand up to him.

Ever since shippuden began, kishimoto showed sakura getting over sasuke. She repeatedly told naruto and promised herself that they would get sasuke back together. But when the time came, she fell apart emotionally not because her character was weak but because it wouldve resolved two of the biggest plots in naruto: 1) getting sasuke back 2)NS becoming canon or at least SS dying.

[DrK]

I don't agree with this. The confession was just badly handled plot that led nowhere. I really doubt sakura was trying to get herself killed. She wanted to kill sasuke not get killed by him.

Sakura wanted to save naruto from getting hurt in his pursuit of his man crush so much so that she was willing to have naruto hate her forever for it. but while this all sounds very good for NS, kishimoto made deliberate blunders so the pairing war would never end.

You are right. Kishi the Gutless Fool was unwilling to resolve anything. This interpretation is as likely or unlikely as one where Sakura wanted to die together with Sasuke because he loves him, or some other BS.

[KClaws_2]

I've pretty much given up trying to make sense of it. Either she meant it and Kishimoto handled it badly, or she didn't and Kishi unintentionally made her a terrible woman. She could have been redeemed,but Kishi is just such a yes man that he can't handle pissing off people over petty things and does everything in his power to pander to everyone.

 

Doesn't really matter to me anymore anyway.

[OrenjiSakuranbo]

It always seemed like that to me. And if you think about it, that gives credence to The Last. Like Sakura wasn't just setting up Naruto and Hinata. It felt like she was making up excuses to push him away as if she was guilty that wasn't good enough for him.

I am glad to know that I"m not the only one that sees it like that, so thanks,, everyone else seem to blame bad writing and not caring if Sakura actions made sense or not considering how things turned out.

[OrenjiSakuranbo]

You are right. Kishi the Gutless Fool was unwilling to resolve anything. This interpretation is as likely or unlikely as one where Sakura wanted to die together with Sasuke because he loves him, or some other BS.

I can't help but feel insulted when you compare that absurd interpretation to mine.

The Sakura wanted to die together with Sasuke is just some fan fiction level idea someone got from Romeo and Juliet.

It doesn't have anything in canon that even remotely supports that.

But in my Interpretation  I use logical arguments that each and every one of them I can backup using manga panels. 

[DrK]

I can't help but feel insulted when you compare that absurd interpretation to mine.

The Sakura wanted to die together with Sasuke is just some fan fiction level idea someone got from Romeo and Juliet.

It doesn't have anything in canon that even remotely supports that.

But in my Interpretation  I use logical arguments that each and every one of them I can backup using manga panels. 

The argument I saw was actually based on bushido or something. Like Sakura wanted to stab Sasuke while Sasuke stabs her at the same time and they both would die, and there was some esoteric term being used for it. IT is a good argument for the SS standpoint as Sakura would be disregarding Naruto completely as she would have to not care that she is killing both Sasuke and herself in this instance which would cause Naruto to be left completely alone and purposeless. Not much of a heroine she would be if that happened.

 

But I am just saying that spineless Kishi didn't care enough to stand by whatever he had planned when he originally wrote the scene. He may not have actually cared what her motivation was because what he wanted was to create a scenario where Naruto and Sasuke would encounter each other and Naruto could express his disgusting obsession yet again. Obviously I agree that Sakura loved Naruto as I have a thread analyzing the overwhelming number of manga panels that show this. It's just that Kishi didn't care that he had clearly portrayed her this way or that a SS ending would make her look horrendous.

 

Personally I think she planned to kill him but she wasn't able to, and she loved both of them but would have chosen Naruto. It's the case that she would have chosen Naruto regardless of the veracity of anything that Sai says. This is because regardless of how important "saving" Sasuke by killing him was to her, it was not more important than the welfare of Naruto because she first approached Naruto with the proposition of love and returning to Konoha. If Naruto accepted, she would not then be able to do anything to Sasuke as they would have gone back home. Ergo she cared more about Naruto regardless of her intentions with the useless poisoned kunai. Similar to how at the bridge of Heaven and Earth, her risking her own life for the sake of Naruto's peace of mind represents a rejection of Sasuke in the sense that she cannot help or love Sasuke if she dies.

 

Kishi didn't care that the ending didn't make sense with the scenes that he wrote. He just wanted to be done with it and have Naruto and Sasuke reconcile. Every other character and plot point was thrown into the trash bin.

Edited by DrK, 04 June 2018 - 12:56 PM.

[catsi563]

wlel I may remain in a minority herre but Ive always beleived and maintined the truth of the confession and i will fight to my dying breath to get rid of the so called FALSE lable that gers incorrectly and continuously applied to it,

 

She was truthful in the confession but made an error in which she thought she could get Naruto home and safe and out of the way so she could fkill Sasuke to protect him, And Yes I do beleive she intended to kill Sasuke. Sacrafcie is a big part of that action, she intended to take Narutos hate on herself by killing the man he thought of as a brother and whom hed made a promise to her about.

 

I think she felt shed take on all his hatred and lose him to Hinata or someone else but it would be ok because hed be safe and know that she did return his feelings in the end, even if she was lost to him.

 

where she miscalculated was that Sasuke had so badly and drastically changed to the point of being willing to kill her and Karin on the spot. And faced with this revelation and the additional memories burden she carried she simply wasnt ready to face him down and pull the trigger so to speak.

 

Note on this If Naruto had been in trouble I think she wouldn't have hesitated but with only her own life on the line she had nothing else to buffer her from the memories and faltered.

 

In some ways also from a story telling perspective I believe the confession was intended to be a speed bump in the relationship something to cause them to stumble a little bit. this type of story telling plot device can happen where a pairing is advancing nicely but suffers a brief setback when something happens that causes both members to reevaluate things and take in new information.

 

Inevitably the relationship is strengthened by this event and advances in a positive manner allowing the pairing to growth in a healthy manner..

 

Sadly we never got follow up save some minor stuff in the war.

[James S Cassidy]

Welcome.

As for your post, well, I just want to add this.

Ever notice how Naruto was mostly shocked by what Sakura said and actualy believed her UNTIL she mentioned Sasuke? That was the button push. He only called her a liar after she mentioned Sasuke. Not after she confessed she loved him, not after she said said she wanted him, but after she said she didn;t care about Sasuke anymore.

Naruto's "Goku Button" is Sasuke.



However, DrK does have a point. It is all pointless now since any purpose, if there was one at all, is thrown out because of two very big reasons that people seem to forget.
1) Naruto lied to Sakura first. According to the Last movie, Naruto only "loved" Sakura because of his rivalry with Sasuke and Naruto never understood love...so, yeah, Naruto is a manipulative bastard of a hero who uses people for selfish gain. Unironically, they still blame Sakura for being a horrible person. Meanwhile, ironically, Kishimoto said if Sakura moved on from Sasuke she would be a terrible woman, but apparently they already see Sakura as a terrible woman with or without the confession scene.

2) Retcons....retcons everywhere.

Edited by James S Cassidy, 05 June 2018 - 05:02 PM.

[Kasimir38]

Aah, I remember when I first saw a youtube video called "Sakura confesses her love to Naruto" - it was like a dream came true. I was like: Really, did Kishimoto finally realize that she loves him?    When I found out that this is a "fake confession" and Sakura actually still likes Sasuke, I felt like: Ah, really, it was just a red herring... It felt like it was purposely done to show all those NaruSaku fans that they are morons.

More than that, I felt as if he just tried out the concept of NaruSaku and then, midterm, decided that it wont work out for him or whatever reason he might have had.
Sakura trying to kill Sasuke is explained to me like: She still likes Sasuke, but also kind of feels bad about the situation because some people talked to her and she saw Naruto being hurt and all so she does something to convince herself that she is still a good person. I think she was lying to herself and just being a hypocrite and she had no real intention of killing Sasuke. It just had to show that Sakura ist still realistic and also feels like she is the one responsible for the mess (she is) so she tries to take care of it herself and tries to get rid of the guilt, probably.

I just say, all that fake confession and Sakura's sudden change of heart did make no sense and it felt very much like a parody.

[OrenjiSakuranbo]

Welcome.

As for your post, well, I just want to add this.

Ever notice how Naruto was mostly shocked by what Sakura said and actualy believed her UNTIL she mentioned Sasuke? That was the button push. He only called her a liar after she mentioned Sasuke. Not after she confessed she loved him, not after she said said she wanted him, but after she said she didn;t care about Sasuke anymore.

Naruto's "Goku Button" is Sasuke.



However, DrK does have a point. It is all pointless now since any purpose, if there was one at all, is thrown out because of two very big reasons that people seem to forget.
1) Naruto lied to Sakura first. According to the Last movie, Naruto only "loved" Sakura because of his rivalry with Sasuke and Naruto never understood love...so, yeah, Naruto is a manipulative bastard of a hero who uses people for selfish gain. Unironically, they still blame Sakura for being a horrible person. Meanwhile, ironically, Kishimoto said if Sakura moved on from Sasuke she would be a terrible woman, but apparently they already see Sakura as a terrible woman with or without the confession scene.

2) Retcons....retcons everywhere.

I think Naruto realizing something is wrong with the Sakura's confession, it's not only because, Sasuke is his Goku button, but Sasuke was also Sakura's Goku button to an extent, so Sakura out of the blue saying stuff like she doesn't care about Sasuke anymore and wanting Naruto to stop chasing him is enough for Naruto to know something happened, and makes him distrusts the whole confession.

It's like Naruto face reactions show he is hearing something he can't believe in a good way (Sakura saying she loves him)  followed with something he can't believe in a bad way (Sakura saying she doesn't care about Sasuke anymore). It explains why Naruto thought she was lying to herself.

 

It is ironic really that Naruto that accused Sakura of lying to herself, when he was the one lying to himself all along, so him saying he hates people that lie to themselves is basically self hate in Naruto's case.

but The Last movie was just a giant retcon so technically there is only 1 reason everything seem pointless- retcons

[Bryon_Konoha_Ninja]

It is ironic really that Naruto that accused Sakura of lying to herself, when he was the one lying to himself all along, so him saying he hates people that lie to themselves is basically self hate in Naruto's case.

but The Last movie was just a giant retcon so technically there is only 1 reason everything seem pointless- retcons

 

And it just shows how full of crap Pierrot was when making the ending what it was since they basically destroyed everything and for what? Not a damn thing!

[James S Cassidy]

It is ironic really that Naruto that accused Sakura of lying to herself, when he was the one lying to himself all along, so him saying he hates people that lie to themselves is basically self hate in Naruto's case.

but The Last movie was just a giant retcon so technically there is only 1 reason everything seem pointless- retcons

Well, it would be only one reason until you realize that this happens


So you go from Naruto being in love with Sakura....to Naruto using Sakura in his rivalry with Sasuke...back to Naruto was crazy in love with Sakura....

Basically, whether or not Naruto loves or loved Sakura comes down to a flip of a coin.

Edited by James S Cassidy, 12 June 2018 - 03:23 PM.

[hisaberpie]

Well, it would be only one reason until you realize that this happens


So you go from Naruto being in love with Sakura....to Naruto using Sakura in his rivalry with Sasuke...back to Naruto was crazy in love with Sakura....

Basically, whether or not Naruto loves or loved Sakura comes down to a flip of a coin.

 

They bring up narutos love whenever its convenient.

[Yyubie]

The thing is if what she said is true and she doesn't care about Sasuke anymore then she should never speak about him anymore. The fact that she still mention his name during a crucial love confession and worse ... even while hugging and holding Naruto is what makes her looks really bad. Second .... if Sakura doesn't care about Sasuke anymore then STOP calling him Sasuke-KUN. The fact that she still adding that suffix until the end is a clear sign that she still have feelings for him.

[DrK]

Second .... if Sakura doesn't care about Sasuke anymore then STOP calling him Sasuke-KUN. The fact that she still adding that suffix until the end is a clear sign that she still have feelings for him.

It didn't have to mean that. I mean, it did, but it didn't have to. It's not necessarily a super affectionate honorific and she was never really close enough to him to call him by his given name only like she does Naruto. So she would only call him by his given name only if she had no respect for him. Like how she didn't have any respect for Naruto at first. I have her keep calling him Sasuke-kun forever even if she loves Naruto. There really isn't room for her to do anything else. You don't backtrack to something more formal and if she dropped it it's either because their relationship progressed, which it wouldn't. She would only be around him in the company of Naruto. Or if she hates him. Which wouldn't happen, because Naruto at least loves him.

[jak123]

It didn't have to mean that. I mean, it did, but it didn't have to. It's not necessarily a super affectionate honorific and she was never really close enough to him to call him by his given name only like she does Naruto. So she would only call him by his given name only if she had no respect for him. Like how she didn't have any respect for Naruto at first. I have her keep calling him Sasuke-kun forever even if she loves Naruto. There really isn't room for her to do anything else. You don't backtrack to something more formal and if she dropped it it's either because their relationship progressed, which it wouldn't. She would only be around him in the company of Naruto. Or if she hates him. Which wouldn't happen, because Naruto at least loves him.

Yeah I always thought that not using honorifics like san/kun/chan meant that you were closer to that person. She only ever called him Naruto.