SuperChief
Jōnin Strategist 🧠
- Joined
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Was Sasuke really nerfed?
This seems to be the most frequently asked question as of late around here, and I felt like trying to answer that question by analysing Sasuke in recent events.
The one thing I'm going to focus on more than anything else is context. It's an unfortunate reality that NB has a bad reputation due to members simply not being able to account for context during recent developments, and because of that, our members, or rather, the fanboys, come to wildly inaccurate conclusions that are based on embellishment of facts to the point the true meaning of events is lost.
Sasuke is one such example, and as of late, due to his perceived under-performing in the battle against Kaguya, frustrated members - by and large Sasuke fanboys - claim that Kishimoto is "nerfing" their favourite character. They come up with ludicrous theories accusing Kishimoto of suddenly hating a character he has spent 15 years of his life developing.
Let's get something straight. These fanboys have no one to blame but themselves. They're the ones that let their bias and petty agendas obfuscate events and facts illustrated in the manga to make their illogical, and oft ill-considered rationalisations.
So, in my attempt to answer (or perhaps more accurately discuss) the question whether Sasuke was actually nerfed or not, I want to establish two things.
One, an ocular power boosts does not equate to an overall power boosts. A set of new, prettier eyes does not make any character stronger in every regard. To clarify some more, the fact that Sasuke now possesses the Rinnegan does not mean he has obtained a boost in physical attributes. Sasuke isn't physically faster or stronger because of his new eye.
And secondly, teleportation is not speed. Teleportation is instant travel.
This means Sasuke gets from point A to B in literally no time. This, however, does not account for the physical speed required to attack, so these fanboy delusions of Sasuke instantly killing anyone in his way with a single move are pure fantasy.
Any individual with some common sense would question why Kishimoto gave Sasuke this particular ability. The answer is pretty damn simple.
Sasuke needs teleportation to keep up.
When it comes to actual speed, Sasuke does not top any list. He is not even top 5 if you consider the likes of Naruto, Madara, Minato, A, Tobirama, Third Raikage and Gai - just to name a few from the top of my head. However, with his teleportation technique, Sasuke can actually fight and potentially beat these characters.
Sasuke's teleportation ability is, for the most part anyway, the main reason he was so overhyped to begin with. Sasuke fanboys got in their heads that Sasuke was "owning" Madara with his new power, which couldn't be further from the truth, and of course they would have realised this if they had looked at the context of the situation.
And to prove my early point about context, let me breakdown the go-to scene Sasuke fanboys post to make their "point" that Sasuke is as fast as they claim he is. This Madara "versus" Sasuke panel is used quite a lot.
The problem with this panel is that when Sasuke fanboys use it, they deliberately ignore all context.
Now never mind the fact Madara was smiling at Sasuke when he got bisected, if you recall the Konan VS Obito fight, using Kamui on himself made Madara vulnerable.
Furthermore, Madara was being condescending about it towards Sasuke, because he knew that Sasuke's attack was inconsequential - which it was seeing as he was able to get this second Rinnegan and regenerate without problems.
Yes, obviously, Sasuke is faster than the vast majority of shinobi, however, you have to keep in this is Madara, and his god complex is well documented.
Don't believe me? This is the same Madara that actively provoked Eight Gates Gai just to see how much damage he could take. Madara was analysing Gai out of fascination, he was interested in the power of the Eight Gates, and he wasn't even fighting back seriously despite taking damage.
By the end of it, Gai was almost completely and thoroughly done, and Madara, who was supposedly "getting owned" - wanted to see more.
These are some the facial expressions and inner monologues of Madara during his fight with Gai.
Now let's take a look at Madara during his "fight" with Sasuke.
As you can see there is a world of difference. Both Gai and Sasuke had powers that were unknown quantities to Madara, but the big difference is that Gai was a much more dangerous opponent. Sasuke took him by surprise once, and even then Madara clearly did not give a shit and analysed the situation calmly. There was not a single moment in which Madara felt even close to being overwhelmed.
So, coming to a conclusion, was Sasuke really nerfed? I believe I've pretty much answered that question already by now. I don't think Sasuke was nerfed at all, I just think that his feats against Madara were overblown and taken out of context, which thus led to unreasonable expectations that Sasuke could not meet later on in his fight against Kaguya where it was revealed that his teleportation has a cool down period.
Sasuke was not nerfed. He simply was not as powerful as his fanboys believed him to be, and now that's become clear, they're mad because they're embarrassed.
This seems to be the most frequently asked question as of late around here, and I felt like trying to answer that question by analysing Sasuke in recent events.
The one thing I'm going to focus on more than anything else is context. It's an unfortunate reality that NB has a bad reputation due to members simply not being able to account for context during recent developments, and because of that, our members, or rather, the fanboys, come to wildly inaccurate conclusions that are based on embellishment of facts to the point the true meaning of events is lost.
Sasuke is one such example, and as of late, due to his perceived under-performing in the battle against Kaguya, frustrated members - by and large Sasuke fanboys - claim that Kishimoto is "nerfing" their favourite character. They come up with ludicrous theories accusing Kishimoto of suddenly hating a character he has spent 15 years of his life developing.
Let's get something straight. These fanboys have no one to blame but themselves. They're the ones that let their bias and petty agendas obfuscate events and facts illustrated in the manga to make their illogical, and oft ill-considered rationalisations.
So, in my attempt to answer (or perhaps more accurately discuss) the question whether Sasuke was actually nerfed or not, I want to establish two things.
One, an ocular power boosts does not equate to an overall power boosts. A set of new, prettier eyes does not make any character stronger in every regard. To clarify some more, the fact that Sasuke now possesses the Rinnegan does not mean he has obtained a boost in physical attributes. Sasuke isn't physically faster or stronger because of his new eye.
And secondly, teleportation is not speed. Teleportation is instant travel.
You must be registered for see images
This means Sasuke gets from point A to B in literally no time. This, however, does not account for the physical speed required to attack, so these fanboy delusions of Sasuke instantly killing anyone in his way with a single move are pure fantasy.
Any individual with some common sense would question why Kishimoto gave Sasuke this particular ability. The answer is pretty damn simple.
Sasuke needs teleportation to keep up.
When it comes to actual speed, Sasuke does not top any list. He is not even top 5 if you consider the likes of Naruto, Madara, Minato, A, Tobirama, Third Raikage and Gai - just to name a few from the top of my head. However, with his teleportation technique, Sasuke can actually fight and potentially beat these characters.
Sasuke's teleportation ability is, for the most part anyway, the main reason he was so overhyped to begin with. Sasuke fanboys got in their heads that Sasuke was "owning" Madara with his new power, which couldn't be further from the truth, and of course they would have realised this if they had looked at the context of the situation.
And to prove my early point about context, let me breakdown the go-to scene Sasuke fanboys post to make their "point" that Sasuke is as fast as they claim he is. This Madara "versus" Sasuke panel is used quite a lot.
You must be registered for see images
The problem with this panel is that when Sasuke fanboys use it, they deliberately ignore all context.
Now never mind the fact Madara was smiling at Sasuke when he got bisected, if you recall the Konan VS Obito fight, using Kamui on himself made Madara vulnerable.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Furthermore, Madara was being condescending about it towards Sasuke, because he knew that Sasuke's attack was inconsequential - which it was seeing as he was able to get this second Rinnegan and regenerate without problems.
You must be registered for see images
Yes, obviously, Sasuke is faster than the vast majority of shinobi, however, you have to keep in this is Madara, and his god complex is well documented.
Don't believe me? This is the same Madara that actively provoked Eight Gates Gai just to see how much damage he could take. Madara was analysing Gai out of fascination, he was interested in the power of the Eight Gates, and he wasn't even fighting back seriously despite taking damage.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
By the end of it, Gai was almost completely and thoroughly done, and Madara, who was supposedly "getting owned" - wanted to see more.
You must be registered for see images
]These are some the facial expressions and inner monologues of Madara during his fight with Gai.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
Now let's take a look at Madara during his "fight" with Sasuke.
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
You must be registered for see images
As you can see there is a world of difference. Both Gai and Sasuke had powers that were unknown quantities to Madara, but the big difference is that Gai was a much more dangerous opponent. Sasuke took him by surprise once, and even then Madara clearly did not give a shit and analysed the situation calmly. There was not a single moment in which Madara felt even close to being overwhelmed.
So, coming to a conclusion, was Sasuke really nerfed? I believe I've pretty much answered that question already by now. I don't think Sasuke was nerfed at all, I just think that his feats against Madara were overblown and taken out of context, which thus led to unreasonable expectations that Sasuke could not meet later on in his fight against Kaguya where it was revealed that his teleportation has a cool down period.
Sasuke was not nerfed. He simply was not as powerful as his fanboys believed him to be, and now that's become clear, they're mad because they're embarrassed.
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