Okay, now that the manga is long finished, we've all had some time to look back and reflect on how the manga came to an end. I've been re-watching some Naruto Shippuden episodes lately, and I came across something I had forgotten about a long time ago (it's also in the manga btw, so don't jump any gun just yet!), something which more or less already back then seemed to reveal Kishi's plans on how Naruto and Sasuke's battle was going to end. The thing is, nobody seemed to grasp its full meaning at that time, labeling it as just another flashback. We all speculated whether the both of them were going to die (like Naruto claimed), if Naruto was to actually end up killing Sasuke (either for good or the way Hashirama "killed" Madara), or if Sasuke was going to be the one to win. Now, the title mentions the 'Unison Sign,' which in another way could be looked upon as the "Symbol of Harmony." Before I get to that, let's take a look at the Madara and Hashirama statues at the Valley of the End:
As you can see, the statues represents Hashirama and Madara's battle at the Valley of the End, but they are also made in a specific way with both of them having the same posture. Both Hashirama and Madara are showing the "Symbol of Combat." This symbolizes the beginning of a battle or rather the one half of a seal that might be use to activate a 'ninjutsu.' Now, the reason why I think Madara and Hashirama's statues were made that way was also to symbolize the "brother's feud," the never ending battle.
In chapter 538, Kishi took the time to show a flashback from the Academy days in the middle of the blue, showing information which didn't seem to add much new to the overall story at that time other than to even further establish Sasuke's hatred for Itachi. This however was only a cover-up for the real message of this flashback. This flashback is probably the most significant foreshadowing Kishi ever did. The flashback itself displays Iruka trying to teach the young students on the prospects of shinobi battle, or rather shinobi sparing. At the bottom left panel, Iruka tells Shikamaru and Choji to do the "Symbol of Harmony" aka The Unison Sign:
At the next page, we see the two of them preform it:
It looks familiar, doesn't it? I'll get back to that in a bit. What happens next is that Naruto and Sasuke is about to spare, but before they are allowed to begin, Iruka insists that they need to do the "Symbol of Combat." See bottom right panel:
Iruka then goes on to explain what the "Symbol of Combat" means and then how it is used to form the "Symbol of Harmony (The Unison Sign)." What's important to notice is that the "Symbol of Combat" means; 'I have come to face you in battle!' And it's the very sign both Hashirama and Madara's statues displays. The "Symbol of Harmony" is used to acknowledge that the two are still friends... Read the whole page to grasp the full meaning of it:
Naruto didn't seem to pay much attention at that time, but nevertheless, he was later on always true to both Sasuke and himself having to do battle with their headbands on to symbolize the two of them as equals:
And:
Now, we've both seen Asura and Indra, and Hashirama and Madara use the "Symbol of Combat," but we've never seen them use the "Symbol of Harmony." As for Naruto and Sasuke...
After Iruka's statement, the two of them preforms the sign as they ready themselves to do battle which Sasuke immediately wins. Jump two pages, and Iruka instructs them to do the "Symbol of Harmony:"
Instead of doing it however, they do this and Naruto then runs away:
In a way you could say that this very scene symbolizes that their rivalry has begun but it has yet to end (as friends). After that, we never see the two of them do the "Symbol of Harmony" aka. the Unison Sign, until the very end. Yep you guessed it. Jump 200 chapters towards the end of Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. Here you see that Hashirama and Madara's statues are broken to pieces and are shown doing the "Symbol of Harmony" with Naruto and Sasuke overlapping the scene. First at the first page of the chapter:
Then a few pages down:
Even the chapter itself is called; "The Seal of Reconciliation," which in turn is just another way of saying the "Symbol of Harmony" or the "Unison Sign." Not only does this symbolize the end of the Naruto and Sasuke's battle, but also the end of the "Brother's Feud." Kishi uses the crumbled statues of Hashirama and Madara to further increase the empathy on this; with Naruto and Sasuke's hands missing they are still able to do the sign through the broken pieces of the statues.
To get to the point of this thread, taking everything mentioned into consideration, it seems that not only did Kishi plan all along for Naruto and Sasuke to have one final battle, but he also always had the outcome in mind. Not only that, but the reason he did that flashback in chapter 538, was to put further empathy on how he displayed the end, and even more significantly... Now that you look at it, it doesn't seem like this was just another one of his many foreshadowings throughout the manga, but that this specific flashback was perhaps the most significant one he ever did. I don't know about you guys, but it all makes sense now. He deliberately had Naruto run away in that flashback, only to finally have the two of them do the "Symbol of Harmony" in the end and thus coming full circle as friends.
In a way, you could have already elaborated and claimed that there could and would only be one outcome of their battle in the end after seeing that flashback, over two years ago, if it hadn't been for Kishi's cleaver ways of placing focus on Sasuke's hatred rather than the real message of the flashback... That the two of them still needed to do the "Seal of Reconciliation," or in other words, the Unison Sign, which ultimately would end their battling and have the two acknowledge each other as friends.
Thoughts??
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As you can see, the statues represents Hashirama and Madara's battle at the Valley of the End, but they are also made in a specific way with both of them having the same posture. Both Hashirama and Madara are showing the "Symbol of Combat." This symbolizes the beginning of a battle or rather the one half of a seal that might be use to activate a 'ninjutsu.' Now, the reason why I think Madara and Hashirama's statues were made that way was also to symbolize the "brother's feud," the never ending battle.
In chapter 538, Kishi took the time to show a flashback from the Academy days in the middle of the blue, showing information which didn't seem to add much new to the overall story at that time other than to even further establish Sasuke's hatred for Itachi. This however was only a cover-up for the real message of this flashback. This flashback is probably the most significant foreshadowing Kishi ever did. The flashback itself displays Iruka trying to teach the young students on the prospects of shinobi battle, or rather shinobi sparing. At the bottom left panel, Iruka tells Shikamaru and Choji to do the "Symbol of Harmony" aka The Unison Sign:
You must be registered for see images
At the next page, we see the two of them preform it:
You must be registered for see images
It looks familiar, doesn't it? I'll get back to that in a bit. What happens next is that Naruto and Sasuke is about to spare, but before they are allowed to begin, Iruka insists that they need to do the "Symbol of Combat." See bottom right panel:
You must be registered for see images
Iruka then goes on to explain what the "Symbol of Combat" means and then how it is used to form the "Symbol of Harmony (The Unison Sign)." What's important to notice is that the "Symbol of Combat" means; 'I have come to face you in battle!' And it's the very sign both Hashirama and Madara's statues displays. The "Symbol of Harmony" is used to acknowledge that the two are still friends... Read the whole page to grasp the full meaning of it:
You must be registered for see images
Naruto didn't seem to pay much attention at that time, but nevertheless, he was later on always true to both Sasuke and himself having to do battle with their headbands on to symbolize the two of them as equals:
You must be registered for see images
And:
You must be registered for see images
Now, we've both seen Asura and Indra, and Hashirama and Madara use the "Symbol of Combat," but we've never seen them use the "Symbol of Harmony." As for Naruto and Sasuke...
You must be registered for see images
After Iruka's statement, the two of them preforms the sign as they ready themselves to do battle which Sasuke immediately wins. Jump two pages, and Iruka instructs them to do the "Symbol of Harmony:"
You must be registered for see images
Instead of doing it however, they do this and Naruto then runs away:
You must be registered for see images
In a way you could say that this very scene symbolizes that their rivalry has begun but it has yet to end (as friends). After that, we never see the two of them do the "Symbol of Harmony" aka. the Unison Sign, until the very end. Yep you guessed it. Jump 200 chapters towards the end of Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. Here you see that Hashirama and Madara's statues are broken to pieces and are shown doing the "Symbol of Harmony" with Naruto and Sasuke overlapping the scene. First at the first page of the chapter:
You must be registered for see images
Then a few pages down:
You must be registered for see images
Even the chapter itself is called; "The Seal of Reconciliation," which in turn is just another way of saying the "Symbol of Harmony" or the "Unison Sign." Not only does this symbolize the end of the Naruto and Sasuke's battle, but also the end of the "Brother's Feud." Kishi uses the crumbled statues of Hashirama and Madara to further increase the empathy on this; with Naruto and Sasuke's hands missing they are still able to do the sign through the broken pieces of the statues.
To get to the point of this thread, taking everything mentioned into consideration, it seems that not only did Kishi plan all along for Naruto and Sasuke to have one final battle, but he also always had the outcome in mind. Not only that, but the reason he did that flashback in chapter 538, was to put further empathy on how he displayed the end, and even more significantly... Now that you look at it, it doesn't seem like this was just another one of his many foreshadowings throughout the manga, but that this specific flashback was perhaps the most significant one he ever did. I don't know about you guys, but it all makes sense now. He deliberately had Naruto run away in that flashback, only to finally have the two of them do the "Symbol of Harmony" in the end and thus coming full circle as friends.
In a way, you could have already elaborated and claimed that there could and would only be one outcome of their battle in the end after seeing that flashback, over two years ago, if it hadn't been for Kishi's cleaver ways of placing focus on Sasuke's hatred rather than the real message of the flashback... That the two of them still needed to do the "Seal of Reconciliation," or in other words, the Unison Sign, which ultimately would end their battling and have the two acknowledge each other as friends.
Thoughts??
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