I mean imagine this ending
1) Sasuke actually kills Sakura. None of this Genjutsu bullshit. There's a million ways he could have knocked her out but Kishi went with that for a cheap shock panel. And really, he had no real reason to knock her out in the first place. All it served to do was further telegraph the obvious conclusion: Sasuke's conversion back to the side of the good guys. **** that. Sasuke should have gone full on evil, and done so in such a way that would irreparably shatter Naruto's hippie-ass worldview. Naruto would have no choice but to confront the cruel truth.
2) Naruto kills Sasuke. Sure, he can show emotional uncertainty in the process. But Naruto must purposefully bloody his hands for the first time (**** Yura, disguised fodder) and do it with the blood of the man he once considered his best friend. You know what would have especially made this ending work? Not only would it be more realistic than Sasuke's redemption it would actually serve to excuse the fact that Naruto, a supposed ninja by trade, had managed to kill absolutely nobody worth mentioning in the prior 698 chapters. Thematically it would justify that otherwise silly conceit.
3) Instead of Sasuke going on a pilgrimage it would be Naruto. His idealism has been shattered. He's killed his best friend. His other best friend is dead by the aforementioned's hand- despite her professed love for him. Naruto would probably be feeling pretty shitty about the world. So instead of Sasuke's vague journey of redemption it is Naruto who ventures out with the clearly defined purpose of reminding himself why the world is a wonderful place. He will see it with open eyes for the first time, not clouded by his youthful misconceptions, and in the process rediscover what there is to love about it.
4) Kakashi inherits the title of Hokage without the blatant certainty that he is no more than a disposable placeholder for Naruto. Who knows if Naruto will return? And if he returns, will he do so with an emotional state that is acceptable for accepting suck a position?
5) No goddamn Urban Konoha. No ****ing magical peace and brotherhood. There's happy endings and then there's "shove it up your ass how ****ing awesome Naruto is" endings. In chapter 700 Kishi went and annihilated everything that made his ninja world an interesting place- the subtle blending of modernism and traditional styles, the cool ninjas doing cool ninja things. Instead we get an ordinary city with ordinary technology, and a political landscape that complete deprives ninjas of their usefulness. Whoop-dee-do.
6) ShikaTema- hey! He got something right! Although I still woulda preferred a daughter
Would that have been better? 'Cause I'm pretty damn sure that would have been better.
uttahere:
