Amazing episode. Naruto finally catches up with Sasuke, at the valley where Hashirama and Madara had their last fight. Naruto tries to reason with him, he doesn't understand why Sasuke has turned to the dark side, why he abandoned the village to look after Orochimaru. Naruto is as naïve as usually, he doesn't know what it is to lose all your family in a blur, and to be forced to hate a brother you always loved. Sasuke's reality is harsh, and no one in Konoha can understand this. Like he said, he's on his own road. The mission for Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Choji, Kiba and Lee was to retrieve Sasuke but not because of his vengeance, but because they have to stop Orochumaru regaining his power by obtaining the Sharingan. Still, Naruto also wants to stop his comrade from turning into the dark side of hate, power, and loneliness. After team 7, he thought that Sasuke wanted that life, but he doesn't get that it will be never be that way. He tries to reason with him, that Orochimaru only wants his body, so he'll fade away, and that each member of the pursuit team risked their life to retrieve him. But this means nothing to Sasuke, who is blind and selfish, only looking for the power to achieve his revenge. Also, he already decided, he's turning his back to a life in Konoha for good, yet Naruto can't understand why. All this storyline is great, perfect. I get the feeling, like trying to reach a friend, a partner, but you can do anything about it. You feel powerless, helpless, not useful at all. And it's clear, Naruto can't say anything to change Sasuke's mind. It's a dramatic storyline, especially considering how close to death Neji and Choji came to be, how much effort everyone put into the mission. But the Uchiha tragedy is above everything. After seeing all the series, and knowing why Itachi did what he did, it's hard, because he made a mistake with his brother, he tried to protect him, but he only pushed him to worst place possible, causing him a big mental trauma. And everyone in Konoha is helpless about it.
Naruto tries to stop him by force, but Sasuke laughs maniacally, happily surrendered to the power of Orochimaru's curse. And so he hits Naruto with a renewed force, who falls into the lake. Here I want to praise the score, the music, was brilliant, perfectly playing the dramatic situation. The drawing, the image, another great point. Back into the plotline, it has to be remembered that Naruto manages to recover from each blow thanks to his determination and the Kyuubi's force, if it wasn't for the fox, he wouldn't be there. At the end of the episode, Sasuke ties him and prepares the Fire jutsu. Obviously Naruto will escape, but it ends big way. What happened here it's important, since Sasuke gave up his life in Konoha. He realized that his vengeance, the road that Itachi made for him is the only possible way, and so comes joining Orochimaru. He can't get stronger in the village, Kakashi failed on trying to lead him away from Itachi, he didn't get that the trauma was too big. Orochimaru simply took advantage of the situation. Kishimoto wrote this part very well. Did Sasuke change? Yes, because before he thought sometimes that he could achieve his goal while training and becoming stronger in Konoha. But like I said, that's over. If Jiraiya helped Naruto, Sasuke would ask for help to the other Sannin. The parallelism suits well. Now he is cutting all his bonds to Konoha, first by ignoring Kakashi's advice, then by rejecting Sakura's pleas to leave, and at last, by trying to defeat/kill the closest thing to a friend he had, Naruto (though he is more a rival than a friend).
Naruto tries to stop him by force, but Sasuke laughs maniacally, happily surrendered to the power of Orochimaru's curse. And so he hits Naruto with a renewed force, who falls into the lake. Here I want to praise the score, the music, was brilliant, perfectly playing the dramatic situation. The drawing, the image, another great point. Back into the plotline, it has to be remembered that Naruto manages to recover from each blow thanks to his determination and the Kyuubi's force, if it wasn't for the fox, he wouldn't be there. At the end of the episode, Sasuke ties him and prepares the Fire jutsu. Obviously Naruto will escape, but it ends big way. What happened here it's important, since Sasuke gave up his life in Konoha. He realized that his vengeance, the road that Itachi made for him is the only possible way, and so comes joining Orochimaru. He can't get stronger in the village, Kakashi failed on trying to lead him away from Itachi, he didn't get that the trauma was too big. Orochimaru simply took advantage of the situation. Kishimoto wrote this part very well. Did Sasuke change? Yes, because before he thought sometimes that he could achieve his goal while training and becoming stronger in Konoha. But like I said, that's over. If Jiraiya helped Naruto, Sasuke would ask for help to the other Sannin. The parallelism suits well. Now he is cutting all his bonds to Konoha, first by ignoring Kakashi's advice, then by rejecting Sakura's pleas to leave, and at last, by trying to defeat/kill the closest thing to a friend he had, Naruto (though he is more a rival than a friend).
