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tokoroth93 · 3 years

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Hi, why do you think Sasuke always asked Naruto Why are you doing this for me? Being that Naruto had answered over and over again that they were friends and that changed in Naruto's last answer that calmed Sasuke. P.S. I love your content and the SNS

Wonderful Ask, Anon!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍

I initially believed that Sasuke was asking this question, 'Why are you doing this for me?' is because he expected more from Naruto. Because many people think that it’s a question to know about Naruto’s feelings towards him, I was also one among those people. But then I realized that’s not really the case after multiple re-watches and the meaning behind that question has some extremely painful love hidden behind all those hard built cold exterior facade that Sasuke has constructed so far.

And when I put everything together I just couldn’t handle the magnitude of the unconditional love these boys were willing to offer for each other.

Well, this is only my interpretation.

[[Lengthy post ahead... Read at your best time... Little bit emotional too]]

WHY SASUKE ASKS NARUTO "Why are you doing this for me" OVER AND OVER?

Well, the fact that Sasuke is asking this question specifically over and over to Naruto alone and not to Pinky is the proof that he is curious about Naruto and his feelings towards him. Or atleast that’s what I thought in the beginning.

But I somehow I realized, this question is inappropriate considering the timing, location, and situation if he just wants to know about Naruto’s feelings.

Sasuke asked this question to Naruto 3 times.

First time in VoTE 1 after Naruto makes a confession.

Second time under the Bridge after Naruto promises to bear the burden and die with him.

Third time in VoTE2 after losing his arms.

I'll start with the Bridge scene in Chapter 485 first.

If Sasuke felt indifferent towards Naruto, he definitely could have said, ‘I don’t care about you or how you feel about me!!’. Or if he really was interested to know about Naruto’s feelings, this is the right place to ask as there were no one around them and it won’t be awkward.

And yet the moment when Naruto says, 'I'll die with you', Sasuke is crunching his teeth.

I was extremely confused by Sasuke's reaction here, because Sasuke blatantly told Naruto, just before this scene in the Psychic Plane that, "It's too late now, Naruto. I am going to kill every last person in Konoha INCLUDING YOU!!". It’s funny that Sasuke is singling Naruto out of everyone in Konoha. According to his lines, Sasuke already made up his mind to kill everyone including Naruto. And in the above panel, basically Naruto was also saying the same thing that he is ready to die.

Yet Why Sasuke looks extremely affected?? Why such an outburst on Naruto who was ready to die whereas some moments before, he claimed that he will kill Naruto in their private talk?? Like what’s the difference between Sasuke saying “I’ll Kill you” and Naruto saying “I’ll die for you”??? In both the cases, Naruto will die.... Why such an outbreak???

If Sasuke really wanted to kill Naruto along with others, then this is the place he should've said, "Fine!!!! You said it... You are ready to bear my burdens of my hate and so I'll Kill you first". It’s just so simple....

But he didn't. Because he was seriously bothered by Naruto's words.

Logically speaking, Did Sasuke really looks like someone in the mood to know about Naruto, under the bridge??? Well, just before this scene, Naruto and Sasuke met privately in the psychic plane where Naruto poured out his heart by confessing how he felt about Sasuke from his childhood days, What else Sasuke expects from Naruto here??? Is this the right place or a situation to verify Naruto's feelings with so many people standing around??

I really don't think so.

It's more about Sasuke is bothered about Naruto who is getting closer to him which will hurt Naruto as well. It's more like, 'Why are you coming in between my goals and hurting yourself which will also hurt me eventually? Why don't you stay away from me?'

I'm 100% sure that Sasuke, if by any chance, comes to Konoha and starts to destroy it, he would definitely single out Naruto from everyone and will keep him alive. But Naruto coming in between Konoha and Himself, is bothering him to the core!!!

Why?

Let’s just forget about the above scene for a moment.

Kishimoto is a genius when it comes to making parallels. If there is something that’s not clear when it comes to SNS, he would have already explained it in another Plotline. It’s just we have to find and make parallels with it. Because if he spoon feed everything directly, then that will scream 'They love each other'... LOL.

This goes way back to part 1, Chapter 129 named ‘Pain’. This chapter is all about Gaara and his terrible childhood and we also get to know how he became a monster. As we all know, Gaara had his Father, an Elder Brother named Kankuro, an Elder Sister named Temari and an Uncle named Yashamaru.

Just like Naruto, Gaara is also a lonely kid sitting in the swing expecting to be included among other kids. But it seems none of the kids want to play with him.

When the kids lost their ball, Gaara returns it back and wants to play with them too. But the kids got scared and started to run away. Probably, because Gaara might have went out of control earlier due to the fact that he carries One-Tail Shukaku and kids don't want to do anything with him.

But Gaara chases them relently and saying, “I don’t want to be alone anymore”. Poor Kid!!! But due to his uncontrollable impulses, he started to attack the kids which was not his intention. He just wanted to approach them and it always ended up in disaster.

Gaara is trying to reach the kids to ease off his loneliness but unfortunately he harms them. And his uncle Yashamaru comes in between Gaara and the girl and stops him by taking the hit. And Gaara looks shocked and troubled here because Yashamaru was injured because of his outbursts.

[[Isn’t this scene very similar to how Naruto stopped Sasuke from killing Sakura? Sasuke just stopped his rampage on seeing Naruto’s eyes just like Gaara stopped after seeing Yashamaru]]

And then we move on to the next chapter 130, named ‘Love’. An interesting chapter with an interesting Title.

Gaara is a little kid who doesn’t know what pain or love means. Because his Sand always protected him from getting any injuries. As for Love, he never got one from anyone so far. But he will understand what it is eventually, in this chapter.

Gaara asks ‘What is pain? How does it feels like?’ to Yashamaru and he defines it.

“Your body is in an unbearable condition in which you feel that you are unable to stay in your usual self”

The moment he explains it, Gaara could pick up what he meant in an instant and asks him, “Do you hate me?” Because he already inflicted some injuries on Yashamaru. Meaning, “Since you feel immeasurable pain because of my attacks earlier, do you hate me?”

“In Life there are times people hurt and get hurt by others... But it’s not that easy to dislike someone from such an experience”

And Gaara looks extremely happy that atleast Yashamaru didn’t hate him. And then Gaara reveals something very touching.

“It doesn’t bleed but it hurts right here (near his heart)”

Like whenever Gaara hurts someone and Yashamaru gets wounded he feels immense pain near his heart. This kid can’t even understand pain because he couldn’t get injured but somehow he gets affected near his heart when someone he likes got hurt because of his act, in this case Yashamaru.

[[This is how Sasuke must have felt whenever Naruto comes in between his Goals and him, and trying to get hurt]]

It’s interesting that the word ‘LOVE’ is given a separate panel here.

“Love is the feeling that makes you want to strive for and protect those around you who are precious to you”

And he ends the conversation with this.

So, Gaara is feeling loved by Yashamaru in this moment and that eases the pain near his heart.

Now getting back to the Bridge Scene,

Why “I’ll bear the burden of your hate and die with you” bothered Sasuke????

Because Naruto was basically telling Sasuke, “I know you are in Pain and you want to hurt the people back for indirectly causing you this pain. However instead of hurting them, why don’t you hurt me and show all your Anger & Hatred on me???. And I will bear everything and die with you”

Naruto is declaring to Sasuke, what Yashamaru did for Gaara, that is stopping Gaara from attacking someone else by taking the hit on himself. But when Gaara accidentally hurt Yashamaru, he felt immense pain near his heart. That’s the same pain Sasuke will be feeling eventually if Naruto comes between Konoha and himself. And SASUKE KNEW THIS VERY WELL.

And that’s why I feel Sasuke asking ‘Why are you doing this for me?’ is all about

‘Why are you coming between me & my goals and hurting yourself...? Hurting yourself will also hurt me. Why are you doing this for me? Don’t you hate me?’

Gaara also asked Yashamaru, ‘Do you hate me?’ to which he said No. And finished the conversation that ‘To me, You are a precious person’. And that means Yashamaru loved him and is ready to protect Gaara by stopping him no matter how much pain he has to endure. And Gaara was so happy to receive love from atleast one person in that village.

Isn’t this line “To me, you are a precious person” uttered by Yashamaru is very similar to Naruto’s response, “Because you are my friend” ????.... Since this is a shounen Manga, if Naruto says, “To me, you are a precious person” to Sasuke... Then people would go crazy... But Kishimoto implicitly wanted to convey this message in a round about way like this.

This panel makes it all clear!!!! Where Gaara utterly felt betrayed when Yashamaru tried to kill him. Gaara says, “You... You always... You were the only one who ever loved me”

Does Gaara’s word choice rings the bell?

Imagine this entire Gaara flashback with Sasuke in Gaara’s place and Naruto in Yashamaru’s place. The only difference here is Gaara hurts people unintentionally whereas Sasuke wants to do it intentionally.

So whenever Sasuke ask that question every time, Naruto always responds with, “Because we are friends” Which indirectly means “We are connected” or “You are my precious person”. or to put it simply, “A Love”. You can even insert ‘I love you’ here and still it wouldn’t change the context. Again, am not romanticizing this love. It’s just an absolute purest form of love they feel for each other without any blood connection. Here, Yashamaru and Gaara shares Uncle and Nephew relationship.

What does Sasuke and Naruto shares???? Absolutely nothing. And yet why do they feel strongly towards each other??? Because they love each other.

Despite trying to kill Sakura and Kakashi, when Naruto said, ‘It’s because we are friends’ his love towards Naruto was reciprocated and was feeling genuinely loved by someone at that moment where everyone was trying to kill him. It’s very similar to how Naruto felt in episode 1, when the entire villagers were hating him, atleast there was one person, Iruka, who was willing to accept Naruto for whatever he was and still able to love him. That changed Naruto from taking revenge on the Village. Similarly Sasuke was also changing at that moment and hence the shocked reaction.

You may ask now, whether Sasuke really had any feelings for Naruto, at that point of time?

Well, Yes. If he didn’t have any feelings, then he shouldn’t have to stop his rampage immediately after seeing Naruto.

He didn’t have to single out Naruto when he said, “I’ll kill everyone in the village INCLUDING YOU”

He didn’t have to question him ‘Why are you doing this?’... Instead he could’ve said ‘Well, if you are ready to bear my hatred. Then fine. I’ll grant your wishes and be prepared to die’

And most importantly, this following scene that takes place in Chapter 403 shouldn’t have existed. We find this scene where Taka and Akatsuki plots to destroy Konoha and capture Eight Tails.

There is no need for Sasuke to ask this question to Obito if he wasn’t concerned about Naruto. Whatever shitty situation Sasuke was going through, he cannot stop himself from caring about him and this proves that he is still connected with Naruto.

It’s just that Sasuke couldn’t handle the reciprocation because if he accepts this love then Sasuke would eventually stop what he was planning to do, in this case, Destroying Konoha. Just like how Naruto stopped his revenge after Iruka’s acknowledgement. That’s why every time Naruto acknowledges his bond with him, Sasuke wants to sever this bond followed by a stronger resolve!!! Because Naruto affects his heart and his decisions and Sasuke hates this!!!

“That’s the only way to reject everything he stands for”

Meaning, Sasuke wants to reject the bond by destroying Naruto.

So, the pattern of their interaction throughout Shippuden is

Naruto confessing his feelings about Sasuke and ready to get hurt or die for him.

Sasuke looks bothered by the pain Naruto is willing to undergo for his sake and questions, ‘Why are you hurting yourself for me and hurting me even more? What’s wrong with you?’.

Naruto says, ‘We are bonded’ or “We are friends” or “You are a precious person”.. Take whatever you wish.

Sasuke looks shocked and surprised by the reciprocation, and what follows is a clear resolve to destroy this bond, because he doesn’t want to be reciprocated for which he believes it will make his resolve weaker.

If you take my interpretation and apply this pattern in VoTE1 and VoTE2... It still matches perfectly.

VoTE 1

In this scene, Naruto just wondered his feelings about Sasuke, “When I’m with you, I wonder... If it’s like being with a brother”

But Sasuke still asking Naruto with some regretful face “Why do you go this far for me?”.

To understand this, let’s rewind what happened before. Naruto was beaten left and right by Sasuke and even got hit by Chidori through his lungs. After that Naruto got back with the help of Kurama’s powers and knocked Sasuke. But Sasuke retorted back with a question, ‘What do you understand about me?’ to which Naruto answers back with what is in the above panel.

So Naruto just went to a near death experience for the sake of stopping Sasuke and still not giving up. The more he fights with Naruto, the more it’s hurting him. It really bothers him. Unlike with Sakura, Sasuke can’t be indifferent towards Naruto’s sufferings. And that’s why I feel ‘Why do you go this far for me?’ is more like, “Why are you putting yourself under such a pain for me and also hurting me? Why don’t you stop this? Why are you not going far away from me?’

To which, Naruto said, ‘It’s one of the first bonds I’ve ever had’, and Sasuke looks clearly surprised.

Why is this look of surprise?

Because he knew Naruto smiled at him on that day to which Sasuke smiled back secretly and formed a bond all by himself. But He never expected Naruto would also do the same from his side. Sasuke thought it was only from his side. And that’s why he reacted that way,

Meaning, Sasuke wanted to keep his feelings inside him without letting Naruto to realize. But this time Naruto acknowledges his bond with him to Sasuke’s surprise.

Logically speaking, this is not some grand confession like, ‘I Love You’. And yet why it affects Sasuke?

Because Sasuke couldn’t handle the Reciprocation from Naruto. Sasuke has a special feeling for Naruto ever since that day he smiled at him. When Naruto also confesses that ‘We are bonded/connected’... He felt really connected for a moment but his Goals would not allow him to be.

Like I mentioned earlier, Sasuke feels having bonds as a sign of weakness.

According to Sasuke, the stronger he bonds with someone the more he has to worry about losing them and the very thought of losing them will put him in a precarious position which is considered as a weakness. And Sasuke doesn’t want to experience this again.

Meaning, Sasuke doesn’t want to feel the pain of loss over someone, ever again. He wants to be the person who don’t care about anyone.

But somehow he couldn’t stop himself from creating a bond with Naruto because no one can embrace loneliness forever and he wanted to keep this bond from his side without expecting any reciprocation which explains why he jumped into protect Naruto and asked him not to die. Because once this bond was reciprocated, it will make him even more weaker. How should I put it?

When you unconditionally love a person which extends only from your side, it’s easier for you to leave that person when you have to achieve your goal. All you have to do is to carry their precious memories and leave. Just like how Sasuke left the village without telling anyone, especially Naruto. But once that feeling was reciprocated, you simply cannot ignore that person. You will really feel the need to stay with that person, meaning feeling bonded and being loved. And staying with that person is an obstacle to achieve your goal because it will fill you up with love instead of hatred. And Hatred is necessary to achieve his dark goals.

And what follows after this?

A clear resolve to break that bond with an evolved Sharingan. Which signifies even more pain Sasuke is experiencing now.

Naruto’s reciprocation is giving Sasuke a greater pain because Naruto just broke Sasuke’s first wall of defence. The closer Naruto comes to him, the more it’s going to hurt Sasuke to cut him off. It’s like what Sasuke said earlier.

“We suffer because of our bonds!! You don’t know how it feels to lose them”

The mere thought of going to lose his reciprocated bond with Naruto is making him suffer inside and that evolved his Sharingan.

Why did Sasuke leave the village?

Because Naruto was changing his heart from being a person filled up with Hatred to a normal boy filled his heart with Love who can enjoy a peaceful life doing missions.

And Sasuke knew this. That’s why he wanted to keep Naruto far away from him and just carry his memories he shared with him and accomplish his Goal in the darkness. But the moment Naruto tries to come closer to him he feels affected and that irritates him and then he wants to sever the bond he had with him. Severing his bonds means pushing Naruto far away... You will not push away something if you don’t feel affected.... You will simply ignore it... Just like how he ignored Sakura. Why couldn’t he ignore Naruto?? Because Naruto was really affecting his mind and heart like Orochimaru and Kabuto claimed in Part 1.

Like I mentioned earlier,

The same pattern applies in this scene too,

Naruto confessing his feelings about Sasuke and ready to get hurt or die for him.

Sasuke looks bothered by the pain Naruto was willing to undergo for his sake and questions, ‘Why are you hurting yourself for me and hurting me even more? What’s wrong with you?’.

Naruto says, ‘We are bonded’ or “We are friends” or “To me, You are precious”.. Take whatever you wish.

VoTE2

The same outburst was seen in VoTE2 as well,

Sasuke looks extremely shocked on seeing Naruto’s arm got blown off. He wasn’t thinking about his own loss or his pain. And Sasuke was seen closing his eyes with some regret in the above panel and thinking like, “Why did this happen? Why did he do this?”

The anime captures his reaction so well,

This reaction proves Sasuke couldn’t able to handle what Naruto did for him. It’s like Sasuke’s mind wanted him to kill Naruto but when he saw Naruto really lost his arm, his heart couldn’t handle the damage he caused to Naruto.

In this panel, Sasuke again directs the same question with some anger ‘Just answer me!!!’

That’s why I came to the conclusion that the question ‘Why do you care about me?’ is not for understanding Naruto’s feelings but it’s all about, ‘Look how you ended up now... You lost your arm ...Why are you hurting yourself and also hurting me?’. Because this painful moment is not when someone wants to know other’s feelings.

However, The following panel is really when Sasuke wanted to validate his own feelings.

According to Sasuke, he doesn’t have a set definition or boundaries for a friend. But he has his own meaning of what Naruto means to him!!! Now that Naruto said the same ‘We are friends’ thing again, he really wanted to know what does it means to him? In Short, “What am I to you?”

それ説明しろって言われても...オレも正直...よく分かんねェょ. そんなの… ただお前のそゆ...背負ってゴチゃゴチャしてるとこ見てっと...なんでか... ...オレが...痛てんだ

Sore setsumei shiro tte iwa rete mo... Ore mo shōjiki... Yoku wakanne yo. Sonna no… Tada omae no so yu... Seotte gochagocha shiteru toko mitetto... Nande ka...Itenda…

Even if I were to say that explanation.. I still honestly… don’t properly understand…that kind of thing… It’s just that you…I see that (you) are being burdened with complaining about doing various things, endlessly.…Why (is it that)…I…am pained…

すっげ。。。痛くて。とてもじゃねけど。。。そのまま。。。ほっとけねんだってばよ！

Sugge... Itakute. . Totemo jane kedo... Sonomama... Hottokenen datteba yo!.

Exceedingly pained. But not just as awfully…as it is now...I can’t leave you alone!

Sugge = extremely, exceedingly

Itenda, Itakute = hurt, This is not just ‘Ouch’ or ‘Ssshhh’ kind of feeling or something like an headache.. It’s the sensation that affects both body and mind which denotes a whole new magnitudes and level of pain. This is also the same word Gaara used for explaining his pain to Yashamaru.

Now, When Naruto said these words Sasuke was dumbfounded.

Why?

This is where Sasuke’s confession shines!!!! Especially the following 3 panels.

。。。だが、何度もバカをして叱られている。。。お前。。。ずっと見ていると...なぜだか...気になるようになった。

... Daga, nando mo baka o shite shikara rete iru... Omae... zutto mite iru to. ... Nazedaka... Ki ni naru yō ni natta.

…But, time and time again you would get scolded for doing stupid things…You… (I) was watching (you) this whole time. Without knowing why, somehow…For some reason, I became (worried about) by you.

Ki ni naru = (To be on one’s mind, Anxiously worry over, worry about, concern about, care about, bothered by, feel uneasy about)

** You can substitute any of the words above to get the real feel **

その時思った…お前の弱きが...だんだんオレに...染まってきたんだと. それからのお前を見る度にどんどん。。。気になるようになっていった。。。他人とつながるうと必死なお前を見ていると。オレの家族を。。。思い出すよぅになた。

Sonotoki chu tta… omae no yowaki ga... Dandan ore ni... Somatte kitanda to. Sore kara no omae o miru tabi ni dondon... Ki ni naru yō ni natte itta... Tanin to tsunagaruu to hisshina omae o mite iru to. Ore no kazoku o... Omoidasu yo~u ni nata.

(The fact is that)…At that time, I thought…your weakness…gradually…came to taint me. And then after that, steadily, every time I saw you…I became (Worried about) you… I was watching you desperately (trying to) be connected to any other person. (Because of that) I began to remember…my family.

Ki ni naru = (To be on one’s mind, Anxiously worry over, worry about, concern about, care about, bothered by, feel uneasy about)

This ‘Ki ni naru’ word Sasuke uses here means, ‘The thought of Naruto always made him feel worried/concern about him’. which is way too direct. Since Japanese is an indirect language. People like Sasuke won’t directly accept their feelings that easily. And yet, here he does. Which shows how delicate he was at this moment.

Simply put, Sasuke was feeling very vulnerable whenever he saw Naruto doing crazy stuffs to ease his loneliness.

だから。。。お前の苦しむ姿を見る度。。。そう。。。オレも。。。オレが...痛く...なったんだ.

Dakara... Omae no kurushimu sugata o miru tabi... Sō... Ore mo... Ore ga... Itaku... Nattanda.

So, whenever I saw you appearing to be suffering…that’s right…I, too… (The reason is that) I became hurt.

Itaku = hurt... This is not just ‘Ouch’ or ‘Ssshhh’ kind of feeling or something like an headache.. It’s the sensation that affects both body and mind which denotes a whole new magnitudes and level of pain.

Why particularly ‘I felt pain. It really hurts. I can’t just ignore you’ struck a chord with Sasuke????

Sasuke was always worried about Naruto whenever he gets scolded by the villagers or may I say rejected by the villagers. There is this word called ‘Ki ni naru’ which Sasuke used twice in his confession which means ‘feeling worried’. And also ‘Itaku’, which means a pain which affects his mind and body. Both of these words screams negative feelings. That is, Without knowing why, Sasuke was experiencing those negative feelings whenever he saw... Naruto was not okay. So, if you put Sasuke’s confession in a nutshell, It conveys only one thing. Sasuke simply doesn’t want to see Naruto getting hurt. If he does, Sasuke would get uneasy. (similar to how Gaara felt an immense pain near his heart for Yashamaru because of the word choice ‘Itenda’)

For me, this is the ultimate love a person can offer for another person. And this made me cry. And, please don’t call this as empathy. It’s definitely not.

Why?

If you love someone deeply, and when that person seems to be suffering it just bothers you and you cannot simply keep quiet. You will always do anything to help them ease from their suffering. In my life, I felt like this only for my sister and my partner. Feeling bothered here I mean, some uneasiness near my heart. That’s why it cannot be called Empathy. It’s just an inherent feeling I feel automatically for which I cannot label it. With my sister, it’s very obvious for me to feel like this because she shares my blood. Why do I feel like this for my partner with whom I don’t even share any relation? It’s because I truly love that person.

With other people though, like my parents and friends, I never felt such uneasiness but I definitely empathize with them, feel bad for them and try to advice them and even help them to some extent on how to approach their problem. That’s all. I won’t be actively going out of my way to shoulder their suffering. Now, this is called Empathy

And Sasuke’s love towards Naruto is million times more powerful than mine.

How?

Because Sasuke started to worry about Naruto way before he had a decent conversation with him let alone becoming friends. Plus they are not even connected by blood.

Can someone really worry about another person without any strong friendship or blood relationship? Well, Sasuke seems to be. And that’s why this level of love he has towards Naruto is just incomprehensible for me and that made me cry. All because Sasuke doesn’t like to see Naruto suffer or die in front of him.

Sasuke knew his feelings about Naruto way back in Part 1, the moment he died protecting Naruto in the land of the waves Arc, by thinking all his precious memories about him. He loves Naruto in his own way that he simply doesn’t want him to suffer in front of him (I mean someone else trying to hurt him physically and mentally). At the same time, he never wanted or expected Naruto to reciprocate his feelings. He wanted to do this unconditionally from his own side.

At some point, Sasuke felt that his one-sided bond with Naruto is making him feel less Hatred and that was weakening his goals. Hence he decided to carry the memories he shared with him, keep the bond with Naruto intact from his side and pursue his goal in the darkness. Something like the following panel.

Well, Even though Sasuke acted like he severed his ties with Naruto in VoTE1 and Orochimaru Hideout, Sasuke could able to smile just by seeing the name ‘Naruto’ written somewhere and the painful memories associated with it, which means he couldn’t sever it but he wants Naruto to sever the bond. This was what Sasuke wanted when he left the village. Like keep the bond from his side intact and not expect anything from the other side.

But what he didn’t expect was that Naruto would also feel the same way about him the whole time.

Finally in VoTE2, when Naruto said the same, ‘It’s because we are connected’ again, Sasuke finally wanted to know the meaning of Naruto’s words. And that’s when Naruto says, ‘You know, whenever you were trying to do stuffs that will hurt you or make you suffer, I felt your pain too. It’s hurting me inside so much so that I just couldn’t ignore it and leave you alone. It’s just like how you could never ignore me even though you could have

when you offered me your food in the bell test because you couldn’t see me suffering.

when you came to train with me because you didn’t want me to be alone.

when your body moved on its own for me in the Land of the Waves because you didn’t want me to die.

when you motivated me in the war because you couldn’t see me crying.

when you instinctively protected me throughout the war because you couldn’t able to see me die.

And I too don’t want to see you die or suffer alone just like how you didn’t want me to.’

And that’s why this piece of confession from Naruto made Sasuke to go astounded because it broke his final wall of defense. Because at that moment, Sasuke truly felt being loved by the person he also loved in his own way. Because of this love, he suffered a lot before and hence he tried to push Naruto away many times. But Naruto despite suffering a lot, never tried to push Sasuke away, instead he came closer and closer and was ready to suffer more by saying, “Then I’ll stop you again” meaning “I don’t mind suffering like this for you again”

And that’s why Sasuke for the first time shedding happy tears!!! Because Sasuke felt extremely amazed by the enormity of Naruto’s love towards him even though he tried to hurt him many times. And this is not a guilt Sasuke is feeling towards Naruto. It’s just that Sasuke is realizing that there is atleast one person in this world who was willing to shoulder his pain without any complaints.

Part 1 is about Sasuke showing his unconditional love towards Naruto because for him Naruto is precious. Part 2 is all about Naruto reciprocating his love and reminding Sasuke that ‘You are the one who unconditionally loved me when I was alone. And I feel the same way about you and now that you are alone, I simply can’t leave you alone just like the same way you can’t ignore me back then because you are my precious person’.

So, to conclude,

Sasuke asking ‘Why are you doing this for me?’ with a painful or angry expression is all about “I like this person. I wanted to be around him because he made me feel relieved. But somehow whenever this person is suffering I feel pain too. I just don’t want this feeling because it’s a weakness. That’s why I left him. Now this person is coming closer to me again, ready to stop me even if it means hurting himself.... But that will also hurt me back again. Why is he doing this? Why is he not hating me? Why is he coming closer to me?”

Naruto’s last answer in VoTE2 made Sasuke smile and cry because... so far, Naruto always acknowledged the bond/connection/love between them. The fact that Sasuke was hellbent on severing this love only confirms that Sasuke also felt the same way about him. But in VoTE2, Sasuke’s question can be interpreted as, “You were always saying ‘We are friends’... ‘We are connected’.... What kind of feeling you had for those words?”.... To which Naruto replies, “You know, the fact that you cannot tolerate seeing me suffering from hunger and hence you offered me food long back. Because you felt some uneasiness, right?. Same way whenever you say that you were willing to offer your body to someone or whenever someone was planning to hurt you... I also felt uneasiness which was extremely painful. It pains so much inside so that I just can’t leave you alone”. This time rather than the acknowledgement of the bond/love , the feelings behind those words were also reciprocated. And that made Sasuke cry rivers.

Even if Naruto told him, ‘I love you’ all those times, Sasuke would’ve definitely asked him, ‘You were saying you love me every time, what kind of love you have for me?’.... Because for Sasuke the word ‘Love’, “Friend’, ‘Bond’ are all same. But the way how Naruto feels about him does matter a lot for him. And that’s why Pinky’s ‘I love you’ never reached him. Because he knew those were just empty words with no meaningful feelings behind it.

That’s why the love between these boys made me cry because it’s so pure and innocent... If I have to describe their Love in a Short and Sweet manner, “If you are happy, then I feel happy. If you are hurt, then I feel hurt too”

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