So I thought of something after reading all those posts about how Sasuke might have made a deal with Hagoromo that will eventually cost him his life.
But what if Sasuke is already dead?
Judging from what we saw from Naruto’s viewpoint, Hagoromo appeared while Naruto was on the verge of death and helped him level up to save the world. Seeing how we saw Sasuke in a similar position at the end of the exchange, we naturally assumed that it was the same for him.
But what if Sasuke didn’t survive his near-death experience? What if Kabuto wasn’t able to heal him, and Sasuke’s meeting with Hagoromo was much like Kakashi’s with his father when he “died” in the Pain battle? This could also be supported by canon because Karin did “feel” him die (or almost die?) at one point.
If this is the case, then Sasuke is currently running on borrowed time — Hagoromo prolonged his life in exchange for Sasuke’s agreement to help save the world… but now that the world is essentially saved (at least according to Hagoromo), then Sasuke’s time is up.
This would also explain Sasuke’s considerably more agreeable behavior after being stabbed by Madara. He seemed more willing to work together with Team Seven. He tried not to get too attached to his old teammates and tried to convince himself that he didn’t care about them. (Naruto called him out on this bullshit, as you recall.) He expressed concern for his team’s and especially Sakura’s well-being, probably because he wanted to keep the number of casualties to a minimum.
But Sasuke found himself growing more and more attached to his old team, despite his efforts — and that’s why he looks so sad in the latest chapter. He knows his time is up, but he wants to be with his team for longer. But at the same time, he has nothing left to fight for now that the world is saved, and fighting is all he really knows how to do — so he knows that there’s nothing left for him, even if he gets to spend more time with his team.
And that would, in turn, make Hagoromo the “final” villain, because Team Seven will no doubt fight for Sasuke’s life when they find out.
