I'm working on an ending fix, starting from the end of the battle, but honestly I've had the hardest time with Sasuke. In the manga, he has one moment of change, with Naruto on the battlefield, and then he's back to being his awful careless self. So when I started writing it, I realized that would be something that I'd have to address. How does he move forward? How is his character resolved? It's been a pain.
My other fics are so in my head though, once I start to reread them I forget about the stupid manga and how wrong it was, and I see the ending of my fanfic and how right it will be for the characters. So really, it's been a little bit of a relief to know that there are other versions of Naruto and Sakura, where they love each other and will have a happy ending, and it's guaranteed. It's not Kishimoto's story, so he can't screw it up.
This is why I sought to start with chapter 693. Sasuke's change makes no sense. It's utter bullsh-t. In order to make his change make sense, you not only have rewrite the ending, you have to rewrite the fight too and the prelude to said fight. The way I had intended to do it (which I'm happy to point out since I've given up on finishing this fic), it was going to involve bringing this series themes full circle.
During my version of the fight, Sasuke has an overwhelming advantage (rinnegan + the power of all nine tailed beast, Susanoo'o with Itachi's sword of totsuka and yata mirror, etc) and has more or less prepared well enough to shut down everything in Naruto's arsenal. A fight Naruto should by all means lose (and comes awfully close multiple times), but doesn't after a long hard fought battle tactical battle. What gives him the edge this time is him remebering what true strength is (the willingness protect those you care about). Something he's only able to remember after Sakura gives him the ultimate pep talk, makes him remember his promise and rightfully calls him out for all that earlier nonsense about him and Sasuke having to die together (seriously, how the hell is he keeping his promise by acknowleding he will die if they fight again? One of the most OOC moments in this manga). He comes realize that he lost the previous fight because he got too caught up in wanting to save Sasuke for himself as oppossed to the people who give him strength in the first place (i.e. Sakura.) Long story short, Naruto beats Sasuke by the skin of his teeth (none of that blowing each other's arms off stuff, but a clear definitive win on Naruto's part), proceeds dragging him back to the leaf village like he said he would. On the way back, after talking with naruto, Sasuke comes to understand why he lost despite having an overwhelming advantage. Naruto had the strength of everyone he wanted to protect coursing throughout him (during the fight, I'd probably even have him seeing faint images of Sakura and Kakashi lifting Naruto up when it looked like he had been beaten) whereas Sasuke fought alone. Naruto has bonds; Sasuke has nothing. Sasuke concedes realizing that his way is weaker than Naruto's; that he can't make the world a better place on alone. Him losing the fight in spite of his advantages is the ultimate proof of that.
With this sort of resolution, I think it's okay for him to return to his old careless self, but not quite in the way we see in the manga. Rather, first off, no amount of asspull talking from Kakashi and Naruto is going to get Sasuke off scott free for his crimes. Rather, the way I see it, the reformed Sasuke decides to leave the village after Sakura has healed him and after him and Naruto have undone the infinite tsukiyomi. But not for some meaningless self-exile, but for a much greater ambition. Regardless of him losing the fight with Naruto, he's still serious about wanting to change the world; as of now, he's simply agreed to amend his methods. The way I see it, this involves him going under the radar, starting his own vigilante organization (with Taka as the base), perhaps serving to accomplish the goals Naruto cannot accomplish as hokage.
Edited by ThroughWithLove, 06 December 2014 - 06:45 AM.
Just go to the tag. He's a ns kid with no ugly hair or daddy issues.
