I agree with your basic point and I am equally let down by the fact that four of Konoha's finest were rescued from the Death God and resurrected for THIS?! An expose about how the Uchiha love too much and seem predisposed as a group for this type of behavior. For me, there is little that frustrates me more than author's writing in plot devices that absolve, softens, or removes responsibility or culpability from bad actors. It would be on thing if he were setting up a scenario where he wanted to looked deep into genuine mental illness issues, but this isn't that. This is a naked attempt to move a clan that generally been portrayed as evil and move them into gray territory: to say these are not inherently bad people (I don't people thought that anyway), but good people predisposed to more extreme reactions when bad stuff happens to them, which explains why they kill everything in sight when it all goes to hell.
I could say ohyou'resoright after every graph...but I'll stop myself and just say it here.
Kishimoto has latched onto this affliction as something that hinders all Uchiha, and thus gives Sasuke something new to overcome. He has created a new problem to backpeddle from.
I already had problems with Itachi wiping out the entire clan (handy side-effect of sharingan brain fever: it delivers an off-handed justification to Itachi's massacre), because not every single clan member (even the babies and grannies) could have been potential revolters. But this new "illness" only works if everyone in the entire clan gets it. My understanding of the sharingan was that not every Uchiha member could awaken the sharingan. Only the fairly talented ones. Just as only a very small handful were supposed to have awakened the Mangekyo.
So if you're sharingan is not awoken then you should be safe right? Hmmm.... Ah...hell, better wipe 'em all out, just in case!
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I think it's a preemptive strike to try and justify Sasuke's later treatment, particularly any redemption (and any actions associated with it) he receives later on down the line. I think this is the predominant purpose of this. It also gives him chance to expand on the power of love, generally. In short, tow show that people like Danzou and the second are wrong. It has the added benefit of pilling on his earlier retconning of how Sasuke awakened his eyes.
Yes, I think it is put out there to make us sympathize with what Sasuke is going to do later on. Lessen the blow and make him redeemable.
It's frustrating that Danzo gets the bulk of the blame when his behavior is keeping with the role that was assigned to him. As a shinobi tasked with a secret police to keep the village safe. But this "love" stuff - which is completely one-sided and subjective and selfish — will, I feel, will be used as an equal comparison. When...it's not.
Obito's situation is a perfect example. We don't know how Rin feels about him. Yet Obito has gone crazy and become a mass-murderer anyway, all because
he loved her. It would be like if Hinata (one-sided love) lost Naruto to Sakura (mutual love), and Hinata became the next Obito. It's not Naruto or Sakura's fault (they didn't do this to her - to warrant some kind of revenge). And Hinata's feelings aren't for the good/safety of the village or the love of those around her.
Using love as the justification is for why individuals do horrific things — then hanging your plot on that — is fraught with problems. By pinning this as a mental problem of the clan, it absolves the whole group of their responsibility, and justifies Itachi's extermination. By pinning this on an individual, like Sasuke, it absolves him of the responsibility of his revenge driven actions.
Just as we know Obito's actions are going to be absolved by his love of Rin.
And yes, not a complete absolving, as you say. But a softening. If the ultimate goal is redemption, and Kishimoto has written himself into a corner and is not willing to write storylines for his hero to do the very hard thing of affecting change and saving the fallen character, then this chapter is what has to happen. A cluster of ooc behavior, for the sole purpose of telling Sasuke about "love."
These are leaders, military men. How the hell would they know about something which apparently the Uchiha clan couldn't even grasp? If it was this straightforward and simple, so much so that all the kages know it without questioning, why the hell did they order their genocide? Why didn't they just hug it out? lol
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I'm reminded of an old Family Guy episode where Peter explains his obsessive controlling behavior by stating he just "loves too much." This stinks of that. I suppose we could make the claim that this means he cannot be allowed to be in a pairing because who knows what great calamity the world will face if it doesn't work out. Of course, it seems obvious to me Sasuke will prove to be the one who overcomes it, which is how I agree with your argument that this could used as an avenue for SS. It's not something unique to that or SK or even the Naru-Sasu relationship, but it is rather convenient that a guy so full of hate is only so because he was so full of love before. As for the spulation that this hints at SK, I'd rather hope not because something like this making it's way to that relationship it nauseating.
It's very fishy to me that Sasuke is talked to about love, and we have no idea where the prime giver of his childhood love and main subject of tension in adult love for his rival (Sakura, obviously) is no where to be found. It is completely ooc that instead of wiping out Konoha when he had the means and opportunity, Sasuke is instead listening to a lecture on love. Not that he's going to turn all soft and squishy. Just that the whole thing is out-of-character and out of place with the plot and motivation.
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Yeah, and I'm a bit confused as to why they would provide these kind of answers (and why the first would screw around) in front of the guy that made the first two fight the third and then later kill the third AND who used the fourth's tools to bring them all back again. The third his objective for many years was to lay waste to what they worked so hard to create, but let's forget about that. Of course the info they provided so far is so lame...that it's really...who cares if they know?
Totally. Don't you think Sarutobi should have some harsh words for Orochimaru? Same as the First and Second, who Orochimaru brought back and forced to fight their own student? Minato seems to be the smartest of the bunch, and even he's quiet.
At the very least Minato should be telling Sasuke to gtfo of the story and let his son have it back!
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