Naruto vs. Sasuke: A Thematic Breakdown

    

    Naruto has actively been doing much more than simply winning his battles as unconscious now as it may be. Yet ironically, Sasuke is the first character that vocalizes a phenomenon similar to Naruto's current abilities but goes even beyond them. If one could understand everything about a person merely through an exchange of blows, then all that's left is to solve those problems, something Naruto has already been doing. But, it's a process. Naruto could never do anything without empathy derived from experiencing similar pain as his adversaries. It takes understanding to achieve resolution, so this phenomenon experienced by high-level shinobi must be the perfect solution to conflict. 

    While it seems paradoxical to say that conflict leads to peace, it is the only way Naruto has ever saved anyone. It is through conflict that he was saved. Sasuke actively seeks conflict. He does so to progress. It is through strife that one becomes stronger. "Can you read what's in my heart, Naruto?" Sasuke taunts. Yet, he does not throw those same words back at himself. He believes himself to be a skilled enough shinobi, but refuses to acknowledge Naruto as on par. 

    These two cannot connect because Naruto is still lacking. And lacking he is. But Unknown to Sasuke, he is lacking as well. They could not understand each other because they had yet to grasp themselves fully. Naruto was confronted with opponents he could conveniently connect with due to his past experiences. But here, the only thing he can relate to with his rival is solitude. It's painful, yes. But for a man who knows it and is willfully subjecting himself to it again, how could Naruto ever understand something as ludicrous as that. 

    Naruto knows what it means to be vengeful as a result of circumstance, not what it means to be wrathful due to a calculated atrocity. This though is the most ironic aspect of this entire fight. Because for both characters, it's the opposite. The true origin of Naruto's suffering was planned destruction, and the true root of Sasuke's was a circumstantial ultimatum. As I said, how can these two opposites ever connect when they cannot even distinguish the differences that shape them as diametrical in the first place. 

    Naruto loses on this path when faced with the unknown, but Sasuke is no different. His current path would end the same way too, but it would take longer. Thus it would be all the more painful.