M.S.210 Mohammed Rahman
893 03/20/16
Weekend Prompt #2
Title: Naruto 63
Author: Masashi Kishimoto
Pages: 225
Prompt: Write an overview of one of the character’s in your book.
Sasuke, now one of the last surviving Uchiha, was alone. He spent the first few days after the massacre wandering his family's complex, reflecting on the people who were now gone, killed by Itachi. Sasuke decided to do what Itachi had instructed and dedicated his life to vengeance, having no other interest than bringing about Itachi’s death. He threw himself into his studies at the Academy, making no efforts to form friendships. One of his classmates, Naruto Uzumaki, disliked Sasuke’s cool personality and the attention he received, and developed a one-sided rivalry in his pursuit to prove himself just as good as, if not better than, Sasuke. For his part, Sasuke thought little of Naruto and was usually annoyed by his outbursts, but would, at times, secretly smile at how hard Naruto worked because of him. Ironically, for all the attention he received, Naruto was the only person among his peers who understood Sasuke due to the painful experiences he had.
After his final encounter with Itachi, Sasuke is left uncertain about what course to take. From long observation, Sasuke decides that the desire for vengeance that drove him for so long is the perfect solution to the world's problems: if a single individual, what Sasuke calls the “Hokage”, is solely responsible for making the difficult decisions for the greater good, then everybody will be unified in their hatred of that individual. He volunteers himself for that responsibility and, in order to prepare himself, plans to eliminate what few friendships he still has, namely Naruto Uzumaki. But Naruto, by refusing to give up on saving Sasuke from darkness, demonstrates that their friendship is too fundamental to who Sasuke is and that it cannot nor should it be broken. On coming to terms with this, Sasuke stops fighting the many bonds he's made as well as the pursuit for revenge.
After accepting defeat to Naruto and returning to Konoha, Sasuke matures by becoming a genuinely warm and caring person to his friends and comrades, although he is still reluctant to acknowledge certain people and retains his habit of insulting others, but more comically than coldly. He is also still capable of being indifferent if it is necessary. Also, despite travelling often, he still keeps tabs on Konoha and returns to protect the village whenever Naruto is away. Despite this, Sasuke spent much of his travels ridden with guilt for choosing his selfish desire for revenge over his friends, showing tremendous maturity.