MY VIEW ON EVERYTHING THAT HAS HAPPENED IN AND AFTER THE LAST CHAPTER OF NARUTO

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto franchise. This post will contain some spoilers (If you aren't updated with the recent development). I am merely a fan and an admirer of Naruto. And this is my take on the ending and aftermath of Naruto Manga. Please, if you're not mature enough to understand why I wrote this, or to understand Naruto, please do not continue reading further. I don't want my readers to get enraged by the content written by me. So please, bear with me. I was very emotional while writing this.

Warning: Please do not be offended by what you read next, it's just what I think. Anyway, you can voice your opinion and criticism in reviews or emails (kellylockhart85 ).

Ok! I'm just going to come out here and say what I feel about the way Naruto ended; because really, for me, it truly does feel like it has been done for.

First of all, I'd like to say that Kishimoto sensei has a huge amount of respect in my heart, considering how he's the genius behind NARUTO which also brings me to the current topic. If Kishimoto sensei truly felt like he really needed a break from Naruto and its madness, he should just have gone on hiatus for a few years (I think we all can agree that he had done great work for the last fifteen years and he deserves a break from it all. Being pressurized to write a new chapter every single week can be stressful and even the greatest of writers come across writer's block once in a while. Also, I think that we would have managed if we didn't get a new manga from Kishimoto for a while—it would be nothing as compared to the agony we feel about seeing the sorry state Naruto has currently been reduced to).

At least then we would have gotten to witness true justice being done to Naruto. After fifteen years of growing up with Uzumaki Naruto, I don't think a mere chapter set after a decade did any fairness to this great tale. We all know he was going to be Hokage someday—for he has already surpassed his predecessors in ways more than one. We all knew Naru-Hina was bound to happen. We all knew peace would be established someday. But this chapter has made us feel that Kishimoto wanted nothing more than to put an end to Naruto, for- he has placed Naruto in a coffin even when it wasn't truly dead. I hope someday Kishimoto sensei returns back to Naruto and does it the justice it deserves by tying all the loose ends of the story. Because as of now, the task has been given to his assistant, who is a newbie in Naruto-verse, and is failing to keep up with Naruto's reputation and Kishimoto can do nothing but 'oversee' everything. I hope Kishimoto Sensei will return someday and then Naruto shall truly be reborn.

The cliché ending:

Ok! Naruto becomes the seventh Hokage, after Kakashi Hatake. The village is prosperous and happy. Technology has spread itself everywhere and it's safe to say that Kakashi's reign has a lot to do with it. Peace has finally been established in the Shinobi world, Naruto is happily married with Hinata and has two lovely children (The last really did a good job summing it all up, and we all are more than happy that Naruhina is cannon).

Sakura Uchiha

Uchiha, yes, she is married to Sasuke Uchiha and has a daughter, Sarada Uchiha who looks more or less like her father. Sakura is a single parent and Sasuke is out of the village on an important mission (Naruto Gaiden did a poor job explaining how Sasuke and Sakura got together). If you ask me, SasuSaku has been given very little screen-time in the manga as if they are extras. Then small glimpses are given about the people of Konoha. Ino-Sai happened (HOW? WHEN?), Shino becomes a teacher in the academy. Kakashi and Gai have retired. Nothing is explained. None. Again, it feels like the epilogue gives off too much information which is indeed hard to digest considering the loose ends that the author didn't bother to tie up.

The thing that pissed me off—Sakura is a house wife. Okay, we get it. Sasuke is on a mission and Sakura has to be the mother and father to Sarada. But you didn't have to portray her like a maid cleaning up the Uchiha household. You have fan-fictions for that. (It has already been established that Sakura is NOT weak. She is far from weak, having surpassed Tsunade already—which was the Hokage and the Legendary Sannin). Somehow the ending about Sakura makes me feel like the hard work done by Sakura in so many years amounted to nothing. It could have easily been said in the start that Sakura would end up a housewife when she was weak, pathetic and useless. But the grown up Sakura is not that Sakura. She is the queen of fist. So the ending leaves me unsatisfied and I want to snort at the thought.

Seriously? Is this the end that we deserve? Is this the end Naruto deserves? Is this what Sasuke Uchiha deserves? Is this what Sakura deserves? I think giving an answer to these questions is useless. Keep in mind that this is not a Harry Potter movie. And a cannon epilogue is far from what Naruto deserves. This is Naruto—the tale of a gutsy ninja. The tale of an orphaned child that literally started from the very bottom with nothing and reached the very top. We have seen him struggle. We have seen him cry. And we have cried along with him.

One could have at least acknowledged the fact that Naruto has taught people to never give up. One could have at least acknowledged the fact that Naruto has given people hope in despair, one could have at least acknowledged the fact that Naruto is not just a story. It is a legend, and this abrupt ending has somehow tried to destroy the meaning and the message behind Naruto. We are being persuaded to give up here, on Naruto. But then again, I'd like to remind my reader that they should give up, on making me give up.

Pardon me, for I am nothing but a fan, nothing but someone who has been given hope by Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto is a person with a bigger heart than his chakra reserves. Which is also why he cannot truly exist in today's world, but he already exists somewhere in a far better place—which is in our hearts. Uzumaki Naruto is someone whose reassuring smile has saved so many people from their inner demons—real people. Because watching him gives you a surge of energy, of hope, and of inspiration. Naruto was nothing but a failure. And the story of Naruto was nothing but a failure too, I'm talking about how Kishimoto actually wanted to make a one-shot on a boy who loves ramen. And it became something so much more. Isn't this an enough sign for Kishimoto? This is why I feel that one day, maybe years later, Kishimoto sensei will return back to Naruto, after he feels like he's had an adequate break from it. Uzumaki Naruto is someone who ignites your soul with the will of fire. He is someone you have watched for the last couple of years. You have grown with him. But sadly, the abrupt end put to Naruto made me feel like the last fifteen years of Kishimoto's life have been wasted for nothing, because the Naruto that he wrote about, the Naruto that we love, deserves better than this.

Really now, don't get me wrong. I wasn't disappointed that much about the things that came to be. I was just disappointed about how we aren't given even a glimpse of how things really came to be—something which Kishimoto sensei specializes in. He truly does have the magic of a story teller. But then again, the ending has made us feel like we are slapped across the face. It is safe to say the fans would have reacted the same way about the end if we were told about how the tale of Naruto would end only after reading/watching a few chapters. Again, the fifteen years amount to nothing. And I refuse to accept so. Do you understand what I truly mean? It is good, but it is inept. It makes us feel as if the struggles that Naruto faced, the hardships that he overcame, the efforts that he made, were all for nothing. And this can be safely said for all the important Naruto Characters.

Naruto Gaiden:

Set after a few years after Chapter 700, it focuses on Sarada Uchiha. Daughter of Sasuke and Sakura. All we have known about Sarada is that she was born while Sasuke and Sakura were on their travel. Karin delivered Sarada. Sasuke had to leave on an important mission when Sarada was an infant for the safety of Konoha and the Shinobi world, which is why she knows little, almost nothing, about her mother and father, and about their relationship. Sarada is just like us (Laugh) even we do not know how they came to be—even if we've been watching them grow up since they were 12. Anyway, Sarada is clueless when it comes to her father (really now? Do you seriously think that Sakura wouldn't have told Sarada anything about her dear Sasuke-kun?) But okay, I get it. Many years have passed and it's perfectly natural for Sasuke to not recognize his own daughter (Because obviously, he wouldn't recognize chicken-ass flattened raven hair and signature Uchiha onyx eyes, right? I must remind my readers again that Sasuke Uchiha is all but not an inobservant man. Get your facts straight, dear writers of Naruto Gaiden!) At the end of the day, Naruto Gaiden felt like a spin off mainly aimed at filling up some gaps even with a cliché plot which more or less like one of those one-shots you can easily find on fan fiction archives. The over the top plot line made us do nothing but yell "Tch, This is annoying and troublesome"

About SasuSaku Relationship:

Alright, don't even get me started on this. I'm going to be as blunt as I am in this post. We have all known for an entire decade that Sakura has harbored a crush on the last Uchiha since she was 12 and that crush only developed into strong unconditional love as the time passed by. Even if her love is a little ridiculous considering how Sasuke tried to kill her thrice (let's forgive him, he was blinded by bloodlust), it still doesn't waver. It was also one of the things that made her stronger. As Sakura has said, she used to walk behind Sasuke and Naruto and wanted to one day walk side by side with them. And she does become strong, very strong. If Naruto wasn't a jinchuuriki, and Naruto-Sasuke weren't reincarnations of God with powers given by the sage of six paths, it can be said that Sakura would be their equal. Sasuke has the kekkai genkai to aid him, and Naruto has Kyuubi. But if we talk about the strength obtained from sheer hardwork and not power that was passed onto them, Sakura is the one with no special privileges, she was a commoner, and she accomplished everything from hard work only. Hence, she is strong.

Now, about Sasuke. He was always so consumed in revenge and power that he never properly addressed his feelings which more or less were present inside him, all but locked away in his heart. So when he finally comes back from the darkness, after the great battle between him and Naruto. Sasuke has finally come back to his senses and now he wishes to see the world with clearer eyes. It all makes sense, him leaving on the path of redemption, thanking Sakura for everything. And the unsaid promise to return. It all makes sense at some point after you read about mini novels (Sakura Hiden and the others). And Sakura waits for him, of course she waits for him, because then, she would always wait for him. A little of Sakura's feelings are explained when Sakura tells Naruto in the last movie that when a girl falls in love, it doesn't just fade away, it only becomes stronger. And it more than applies to her and Sasuke's case.

So after a few years Sasuke is back in her life for good. They get married and settle down and have a kid. My question is: How? When? How did Sasuke's feelings develop towards her? How do they get married? What all happened?! How does Sasuke learn to love again?

I think that we at least deserved to know how they got together. How Sasuke realized his feelings. How he came back to her. But no, what did we get? One cliché page in Chapter 700. One useless spin off with NO sasusaku scenes at all. Nil! Nothing~! Nada!

I think we can all acknowledge the fact that Sasuke Uchiha is an important character throughout the series. Also, Sakura's love for Sasuke has been interwoven in the series throughout. Also, we know that loving and trusting doesn't come easy to the Uchiha. So, we can also acknowledge that we deserve to know more about what all happened with him. I think we can safely say that justice, again, has not been done to SasuSaku (again). While Naruhina get an entire movie (The last: Naruto movie) decicated to how they got together, SasuSaku doesn't even get one single scene in the next movie (Boruto: the Naruto movie).

I've got to be crazy writing this on a piece of paper (the first draft of this madness) at 2AM in the morning, but this is something that I must get off my chest else I won't be able to sleep. I agree with Kishimoto sensei that Boruto the movie is perfect and it even had me emotional over the nostalgic moments (I cried so much). They really did well and the fight was sensational. But then, time and time again, they have happily skipped off the last couple of years, leaving so many lose ends that the true story of Naruto has gotten lost.

What they do not understand is that we are not interested in knowing about the next generation of Naruto. Why? BECAUSE we don't know them enough. Why? Because we're still hung up thinking about what all happened after the manga ended. This is exactly why Boruto will not get as much audience as Naruto did. Why? Because we are not ready for that kind of information. We can't just ignore unexplained years and jump off to their kids' life. We do not know them enough to be bothered to care.

In my opinion, even the mini novels that were released to fill in the gaps and loose ends (Sakura Hiden, Kakashi Hiden, Naruto Gaiden, Konoha Hiden, Shikamaru Hiden, etc), they do not fill us in at all about sasusaku relationship or about anything that actually matters at this point.

About Boruto the movie and beyond:

Naruto is an ignorant father

(First of all, it is really hard to digest the fact that Naruto is a father. It has happened too fast for us. One moment he's 16 and fighting in the war, the other moment he's in his 30s having kids. Like, NO!)

We have all known about Naruto Uzumaki ever since he was an infant (No bragging here, it is true). Naruto has never known a shit about parental love and very often he has craved for it. The only love he got was from Iruka Sensei, Jiraiya sensei and even a little from Kakashi. So, do you think that Naruto would be a bad father to his own kid? That he would deprive Boruto of something he wants to shower his kid with? Because he knows what it feels like to be unloved, Naruto would make sure his kids know how much he loves them. And about him not having time, Naruto would always make time for his family, because a family is what he never had. I do think that the writers didn't have a concrete plot for the story, so they just went ahead and twisted all the characters (Dick move). Regardless, I love Kishimoto sensei and his work in the movie.

Another thing, we all know Naruto Uzumaki as the happy go lucky person who can lift anyone's mood with a reassuring smile. Let me take you back to a scene in The Boruto movie when he goes to his son's room to congratulate him. He just stands there awkwardly—not knowing what to do or say. Naruto always knows what to say. This quality has allowed him to win over hearts of so many people, including declared villains such as Obito, Pain, and Nagato. Hence, this shy-awkward-introvert-pretending to be serious because he's the hokage, Naruto is someone I do not personally know (Too OOC). Hell, he didn't even so much as blush when he confessed his love for Hinata. Do you expect him to be shy about congratulating his own son? He's a knucklehead, a loudmouth, people!

BORUTO MANGA: NARUTO NEXT GENERATION

Herein, my friends, lies the crux of my anger and the reason why I wrote such a long review at 2AM in the morning.

Here I'm going to describe what all I felt by reading the initial pages of the first chapter. And then stopped because I couldn't bear to go on any further.

Shabby.

Lewd.

Vague.

Irrelevant recap of the Boruto Movie.

Shitty drawing.

Don't even get me started on Sasuke's hair.

Let's get our facts about the manga straight, shall we?

NARUTO IS DEAD

UZUMAKI NARUTO IS DEAD.

Yeah, dead. Or gone. Or whatever. Did the writer expect us to laugh at this incredulous joke? I'm going to openly criticize the new writer, since he's not Masashi Kishimoto, he doesn't know how things work in Naruto. You can't just kill off The Seventh Hokage, the wielder of powers of Sage of Six Paths, and the reincarnation of a God and a jinchuriki. You just can't. And by the hands of a kid brat no less! This is totally unacceptable. A round of applause for the new writer of the Boruto Manga, Congratulations, you've managed to fuck up the hard work of Kishimoto sensei (I shouldn't even bother to mention how his drawing is worse than that of a child who does fan-art and posts it on social media. If Kishimoto really wanted to get rid of Naruto so bad, he should just have picked a fan instead, so that the story of Naruto would still be saved.) You can't just declare that Naruto is dead.

WHERE IS UCHIHA SASUKE?

Okay, Sasuke is the only person who can truly rival Naruto. Sasuke is the only one who can protect Naruto. So where is he? Wouldn't he have already sensed that something is going to happen and gotten rid of the brat? We all know about the brotherly love between the two in the Boruto movie (it was so touching!) Sasuke wouldn't even scoff at the incredulous brat who looks like a hybrid made out of Naruto and Sasuke's DNA. So really, how does an Orochimaru wannabe, a shitty experiment that looks like he's made out of Naruto and Sasuke's shit manage to destroy the village and 'kill' off the seventh? Which only means that Naruto is MIA not dead.

But then, where is everyone else? Shikamaru? Sakura? Tsunade? Kakashi? The Gokage? (Do you expect the Gokage to sit down and watch Konoha being destroyed? Gaara would never allow it!) Where are they? Do you think that such strong people would just let the hokage disappear? We need answers.

BORUTO IS A ROGUE

Okay, just because he's Sasuke's pupil, doesn't mean you can just copy his story and paste it in Boruto's face. Do you think Naruto would allow Boruto to go rogue? Just like that? Naruto spent half of his life bring Sasuke back—that's how stubborn he is. And Boruto is no match for his father's powers, so really now, do you think Naruto would even have to bat an eyelash to drag his ass back home and ground him for months? Even Sasuke wouldn't allow it.

Let's go with the flow for a moment. Supposedly if somehow the brat is as powerful as Naruto and Sasuke combined, (Which he actually can't, in any way whatsoever!), and managed to destroy the village and proclaim that the age of shinobi is now over (-Rolling eyes-), why is Boruto still alive? Boruto is no match for Sasuke, or Naruto. How do you expect him to match the prowess of someone who has the capabilities of them both? Boruto would be dead before he can say "dattebasa". The brat is not Itachi, and Boruto is certainly not Sasuke, so why would the brat spare him off?

Then straight off, we're taken back and an annoying recap of Boruto the movie starts, leaving out everything. What about everyone else? Is Sakura dead too? And Shikamaru? The genius of the leaf? What about them?!

At the end of the day

I must apologize altogether now, after reading this insolence, I could not bear to witness the damage being done to Naruto. So, I stopped. I stopped reading. I couldn't even sleep after that. At this point, everything seems so pointless. It looks like all the sacrifices made by so many shinobi, all the things that were entrusted to Naruto by his master, all the shit about him being the child of the prophecy, everything was a waste. Naruto is reduced to just another Kage, just another one of the failures. Because, what they all strived to protect—the will of fire and the future of shinobi—has already faded somewhere along the blurred lines of these incompetent and shabby spin offs that are only made to make money at the cost of crushing our admiration towards our hero—Uzumaki Naruto. Hence, I stop here. My love for Naruto will never waver and I refuse to accept such an abrupt end to our dreams and inspiration. It would always be like a dilapidated fan fiction for me, one I didn't bother to finish.

Also, I would like to say that the idea of having a manga about the next generations of Boruto is not bad at all, in fact, it will be quiet interesting to see how their lives are shaped. Maybe it's just that the timing is wrong, and there are so many loose ends in Naruto's tale that one can't simply just jump to Boruto's gen. Maybe one day I can peacefully partake in the adventure of Boruto (I love Sarada-Boruto-Mitsuki! The kids are so similar to their parents, it's cute. I also think Sarada will be hokage someday, and be the first female Uchiha to be Hokage). Nevertheless, I shall look forward to the day I will read about Boruto.

I do hope, that one day the great legend of Naruto is given a fitting epilogue, that all ends are properly tied, that Sakura will get the end she deserves—with Sasuke, that Sasuke will achieve true peace, that one day I can come back to Naruto again and that Kishimoto Sensei will also come back to Naruto, until then, it is goodbye.

(P.s: My only hopes left are Naruto Shippuden and maybe more episodes from the Naruto Anime franchise.)

I will always love Naruto. For, the will of fire burns deep within us, and will continue to burn the brightest and the fieriest. Naruto is my Hero and Sasuke is my salvation. They will continue to inspire me throughout the course of my life. Thank you, Masashi Kishimoto, for the great rollercoaster ride. Naruto has taught me how to live life, and he will forever continue to do so.

-MissKireiUchiha