The Defection of Uchiha Sasuke

[kyuubigan]

Add to that Sasuke has no idea about the Kyuubi. As far as Sasuke knows Itachi wanted Naruto because he was strong or talented or anything else his insecuritiers could come up with.

Well, in T8 Sasuke knows that Naruto is his superior. There is no way he can deny that because he has several instances of proof. This may alleviate some of Sasuke's jealousy, but on the same token destroy his self-esteem. But you also have to consider that Sasuke probably won't go after Naruto to warn him about Itachi. Sasuke cares much less about Naruto in T8 than in canon. Plus he is now under a much more intense Kakahsi-sensei, which means he probably won't hear about Itachi's arrival in the first place as he'll be to busy.

[ewuvi]

And while Kurenai might be a better teacher, Kakashi is almost undeniably stronger than she is. Sasuke respects strength, so I don't know if he'd account for the whole 'better teacher' part.

[Phht]

Well, while Kakashi might be stronger, whose genin dropped the rookie of the year with one punch?

It doesn't matter if Kurenai isn't as strong as Kakashi when their genin face off against each other. Considering that Naruto was dead last in the standings and he got strong enough that he could win the match by defeating Sasuke in one shot, Sasuke might likely think that she could help him get stronger faster than Kakashi. After all, look what she managed with Naruto in six months.

[MorphCross]

One can't forget that while Kurenai set Naruto on the path, he was the one to walk it. Remember, 14-15 hour days of training and missions and Naruto dedicated himself to it.

[Tempest Kitsune]

And don't forget that Naruto winning that match in one shot was just as much because of Sasuke's arrogance and stupidity as it was Naruto's rapid increase in skills. Sasuke didn't bother checking to see if Naruto had advanced any, he automatically assumed that he'd stayed the on same level he'd always been on. Which is a completely suicidal attitude for a ninja to take if they want to survive beyond their second battle. And if he'd been any real judge of people, he'd have been able to tell that taunting Naruto about Hinata wasn't going to rattle the kid, it was going to motivate him to shut the arrogant bastard up.

[Dechstreme]

Ah, yes... that one hit knock out is something for the records, and the stuff of legends.

[unknown545]

Ah, yes... that one hit knock out is something for the records, and the stuff of legends.

Best. Fanon(canon to some of you). Moment. Ever.

[Dechstreme]

Man, I still remember when I first read that moment. I was like "What just happened? DAMN!" I was totally unprepared for what happened. Of course, logically speaking, this Sasuke was trained by a pretty much unchanged Kakashi, while T8 Kurenai went all out to train her genin. Sasuke was badly outmatched from the get go.

Still, it was cool. Naruto beat Sasuke with ease, and it was very well done.

[serbii]

Hey the kid is the son of the greatest ninja the world has ever seen, he masted Kage Bushin in a night and Rasengan in a month. Sooner or later he's gotta kick someone's ass.
I'm glad it was Sa-chan's

[Racheakt]

Hmm... the Sasuke retreival arc...

As far as the actual arc goes... Well, my only hope is that the sound four survive. I always rather liked them, and it was a dissapointment that they got killed off so suddenly.

With the current changes, I wouldn't put it past Danzo (Hiashi, actually) to tell Sasuke the truth of his clan's deaths. The slaughter of the Uchiha clan was an incedible injustic, however you cut it. I wonder how Naruto would react...

[Zerrat]

The only major problem with that being, the Authorlord's canon cutoff for Team 8 is way before that. So we can't take it for granted that it will be included if it goes against the plot for Team 8.

[Racheakt]

The only major problem with that being, the Authorlord's canon cutoff for Team 8 is way before that. So we can't take it for granted that it will be included if it goes against the plot for Team 8.

Yeah, I hear ya. The only problem is, the retrival arc pretty much set the stage for the rest of the series. If it dosen't happen, then who knows were this'll go? :D

[MorphCross]

Someplace wonderful? :?

Really, I'd have no problem if the Authorlord decided against Sasuke's betrayal. Or if Sasuke was recovered in the retrieval arc.

I have little doubt that Team 8 Naruto could still wallop Team 8 Sasuke at VotE. Even after Sasuke "dies" to bring out the power of the Curse Mark.

But in the end it could come down to Kiba vs. Sasuke at VotE, and I won't favor Kiba's chances of survival.

[SLAMU]

Assuming it does happen, I see it turning out rather different. Naruto's power levels aside, (and the first person to make some joke about 9000 gets a dirty look ) his attitude is different. The old Naruto might have been willing to abandon his teammates to their fates, but Team 8!Naruto would need a very good reason to leave Chouji to take on someone twice his size and experience. With his improved strength, agility, deadliness and tactical foresight, they ought to breeze by the first two enemies iin short order, I think.

As for people coming along, I see all of Team 8 going along. This is the kind of mission that they're trained for, after all, and I don't think that Shino would be split up from the team this time around. If Shikamaru is still appointed to lead (despite his non-Chuunindom), and we add in Fire of Youth, 1st Class Rock Lee, and Shika's sidekick, I mean teammate, Chouji, you've got the initial team. Neji might join in as the Calvery, saving someone's bacon at the last minute. (Bonus points if it is Hinata, he's got some karma to work off)

[Phht]

Something that's got me wondering. Hunter Nin are supposed to go after missing nin and all, right? So how the heck were so many deployed out of the village at the time of Sasuke's defection that Tsunade couldn't have sent them after the Uchiha?

Unless they also double as regular ANBU or ninja for mission purposes.

[Farmer_10]

They probably were all busy because Konohas situation was pretty precarious post-invasion (incindental alliteration FTW), and they wanted to put up a strong front by having their best handle difficult misssions more or less flawlessly.

[JumperPrime]

Someplace wonderful? :?

Really, I'd have no problem if the Authorlord decided against Sasuke's betrayal. Or if Sasuke was recovered in the retrieval arc.

I have little doubt that Team 8 Naruto could still wallop Team 8 Sasuke at VotE. Even after Sasuke "dies" to bring out the power of the Curse Mark.

But in the end it could come down to Kiba vs. Sasuke at VotE, and I won't favor Kiba's chances of survival.

Why is everyone so sure the battle at the Valley of the End will be Sasuke vs. Kiba? In the other canon, Kiba did not peel off willingly. The gruesome twosome blindsided him as he and Naruto were leaping across a gorge in pursuit of Kimimaro who had the casket. Kiba and Akamaru went down into the gorge with the parasite twins while Naruto continued on in an effort to finish the mission. Who's to say the same won't happen in Team 8? I can imagine the team having been pared down a bit due to injuries in the fights with the Sound Four, the gruesome twosome send Kiba & Akamaru into the gorge, maybe one or two of the team peel off to help him out, knowing how tough Sakon & Ukon's teammates were, while what's left of the team, including Naruto, continue on and fight Kimimaro in the field. During the fight, Sasuke makes like a Jack in the box and hightails it, team leader orders Naruto to go after him whie the rest keep Kimimaro busy(As far as the team leader is concerned, Naruto pwned Sasuke before, if he doesn't want to come back, Naruto can obviously MAKE him come back with little trouble) Naruto catching up to him at the Valley of the End.

[Ironwolf]

Someplace wonderful? :?

Really, I'd have no problem if the Authorlord decided against Sasuke's betrayal. Or if Sasuke was recovered in the retrieval arc.

I have little doubt that Team 8 Naruto could still wallop Team 8 Sasuke at VotE. Even after Sasuke "dies" to bring out the power of the Curse Mark.

But in the end it could come down to Kiba vs. Sasuke at VotE, and I won't favor Kiba's chances of survival.

Why is everyone so sure the battle at the Valley of the End will be Sasuke vs. Kiba? In the other canon, Kiba did not peel off willingly. The gruesome twosome blindsided him as he and Naruto were leaping across a gorge in pursuit of Kimimaro who had the casket. Kiba and Akamaru went down into the gorge with the parasite twins while Naruto continued on in an effort to finish the mission. Who's to say the same won't happen in Team 8? I can imagine the team having been pared down a bit due to injuries in the fights with the Sound Four, the gruesome twosome send Kiba & Akamaru into the gorge, maybe one or two of the team peel off to help him out, knowing how tough Sakon & Ukon's teammates were, while what's left of the team, including Naruto, continue on and fight Kimimaro in the field. During the fight, Sasuke makes like a Jack in the box and hightails it, team leader orders Naruto to go after him whie the rest keep Kimimaro busy(As far as the team leader is concerned, Naruto pwned Sasuke before, if he doesn't want to come back, Naruto can obviously MAKE him come back with little trouble) Naruto catching up to him at the Valley of the End.

I think the belief is that since Kiba and Akamaru are Sasuke's teammates this time arround that they would be the ones that Sakura asks to bring the Uchiha back and as such the universe will then accord itself to that new reality and give us Kiba and Akamaru vs. Sasuke in VotE. Personally, I think that the five of them are going to build their strategy arround the one among them who what actually has defeated the Uchiha in the past.

[unknown388]

Well, while Kakashi might be stronger, whose genin dropped the rookie of the year with one punch?

And is it just fanon, or wasn't Neji the Rookie of the Year from the year before? I can see some people (Iruka, for instance) thinking, 'We need to work on our ranking system, if this is what we're fielding as our best students...'

[MrRigger2]

Well, while Kakashi might be stronger, whose genin dropped the rookie of the year with one punch?

And is it just fanon, or wasn't Neji the Rookie of the Year from the year before? I can see some people (Iruka, for instance) thinking, 'We need to work on our ranking system, if this is what we're fielding as our best students...'

No, that's canon as far as I know. However, you have to remember who they were facing. Naruto, who has the Kyuubi in him. Kyuubi's the ultimate wildcard, even if Naruto didn't actively use Kyuubi in the fights, he did take advantage of the Kyuubi when it allowed him to train sixteen hours a day every day since graduation (excepting the border patrol, of course). No one else in Naruto's age group is able to do that with the possible exception of Lee (we don't know how late Lee's training goes). I think they'd be a little less worried when they realized just how much training Naruto's been doing. Then take into account that Sasuke obviously underestimated him, and it's not so surprising. And with Neji, everyone saw Naruto go onto beat Gaara, something that no one's done before, so everyone knows it wasn't just because It Was Personal. The academy teachers likely aren't looking at more stringent testing to make sure the top students are really the top students, but to make sure the low end students aren't faking.

MrRigger

[Minion]

Personally, I think that they pair the deadlast with the Rookie of the year because they know that the deadlast always has some sort of hidden potential that is just waiting to boil to the surface. *coughJiraiyacough*

Sasuke would stand a much better chance against Naruto afterwards, if only because he would actually be able to activate his Sharingan next time around... But I doubt he would be able to win, for reasons probably already stated.

[NaruHinaPyroWolf]

Awesome idea. It should be called the Brightslap no Jutsu.

I was thinking more like Bi*ch slap no jutsu.

Bi*ch 'NO' jutsu?

HILARIOUS PLEASE O EVIL AUTHORLORD PLEASE MAKE THIS WONDERFUL BI*CH SLAP no JUTSU Or the Bi*ch no Jutsu

[Minion]

This is something that only just came to my attention when I was rereading ch. 17.
Here is a little piece of Sakura's recollection of the aftermath of Team 7 all losing their matches:

The last month had been very different from their earlier training. During the first team meeting since their elimination in the preliminaries, Kakashi-sensei had said he’d been very disappointed by their poor showing. Sasuke, who’d been silent since the medic-nins fixed his jaw, simply exploded, demanding that Kakashi train them. Kakashi-sensei had claimed that he was allowing them to develop their own skills, but if they couldn’t be that responsible… What followed had been the most grueling work-out Team 7 had ever undertaken.

So when demanding training, Sasuke said them, instead of just demanding training for himself. Group-oriented indeed...

And given that Sakura previously came to realize harsh truths about Sasuke's personality, such as him not visiting her in the hospital if her could train, I don't think that her recollection is marred by any delusions.

[Stormseed]

That is interesting. It will be fun finding out what comes of it, to be sure.

[WarriorDrgnMage]

It's been awhile since I read that part of the manga so correct me if I'm wrong. But I seem to remember thinking that the real impotus behind Sasuke's defection was the Curse Seal and everything else was just 'the straw on the camel's back' so to speak. Which leads to my questions/points:

Is the Curse Seal actually gone or do the doctors only think it is? If the Seal really is gone is that the real reason he's working better and feeling like he's more a part of Team 7? If the Seal isn't really gone then is his determination to have Team 7 trained because of how bad they lost?