Naruto Shippuden concluded in 2017. It was an end to a great story, and the fans loved it throughout. Naruto is considered as one of the Big Three of anime. It is significantly responsible for changing the trajectory of the anime and manga industry to become mainstream. Naruto Uzumaki’s journey to become the Hokage, from being treated as an outcast, serves as motivation to every person.
Masashi Kishimoto’s magnum opus has taught the fans several things, and one of the most important things was forgiveness. It was such an important thing that Kishimoto sensei would not have ended if he had not created a scenario based on forgiveness. Due to the scenario, the fans got one of the most iconic moments in the entire franchise.
Naruto Forgiving Sasuke Will Remain An Iconic Moment
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are two sides of the same coin. They began at the same place, went different ways in between, but got back together at the same place. While Naruto always respected and adored Sasuke, the latter was too focused on revenge. He needed to get stronger so he left the village to train under Orochimaru and even tried to kill several people later in the story. Even after so much, the protagonist always chased him.
Naruto’s only motive was to bring Sasuke back to Konoha, even though he had turned evil. After the Uchiha joined the Allied Shinobi forces and helped eradicate the threat, the two friends decided to have a death battle. Both of them lost a limb, and Sasuke was brought back to the village. Later, when he decided to roam around the world and find traces of Kaguya Otsutsuki as a form of atonement for his sins, Naruto gave him back his Ninja Headband.
It was a sign of a truce between them, and the protagonist forgave his friend. It was one of the most heartfelt moments in the entire anime. Naruto had a soft nature and tried to find the good in people. He did it with Nagato. On the other hand, he knew Sasuke personally and even had to bow his head to protect his friend. Even after all that, Naruto forgave him, and Sasuke was thankful for it. In Boruto, he often mentions how Naruto finds the good in people.
Masashi Kishimoto Wanted Naruto To Forgive Sasuke
In 2015, Masashi Kishimoto visited the New York Comic Con. He received lots of love and respect. He was asked several questions during his Comic-Con interview. One of the questions was whether it was difficult to end Naruto.
He said,
“It was a slightly bumpy road, mainly because I wanted one of the themes of the end to be Naruto forgiving Sasuke. I wanted to make sure the intervening story lead naturally to that in a realistic way to make it plausible. Because if one minute they’re fighting and then ‘Oh, I forgive you!’ would be weird. So definitely there were little bumps on the way to getting there.”
Being a great mangaka, he wanted everything to go in the perfect flow. Naruto forgiving Sasuke was poetic and did not feel out of place. Several incidents led to that one incident. Hearing Kishimoto sensei’s answer, it can be said that he had to give his all to bring out the best in every aspect. The road was not always smooth, yet he made it smooth so that the fans could enjoy every bit of it.
Naruto Shippuden is available on Crunchyroll.
