Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Personality

At the start of the series, Sasuke's desire to get stronger is the dominating factor in his interactions with others and takes precedence over all else. As such he is initially unconcerned with the concepts of socializing, be it with his teammates or the many girls in his age group vying for his affection. Likewise, Sasuke is uninterested in working with Naruto or Sakura for the good of the mission, believing himself to be much more talented and as such working with them will only inhibit him. Soon after the three set out on missions together, however, Sasuke begins to discover that these perceptions are inaccurate; Sakura is a valuable source of information, and Naruto is an effective ally and incentive to get stronger. As a result of these revelations, Sasuke begins to value his teammates more than he did during their first meeting. While he tries to deny this, his willingness to risk his life to help them even if it could mean never getting a chance to kill Itachi slowly begins to manifest.

During the second phase of the Chunin Exams, Orochimaru notices this change in Sasuke's ideals, witnessing first hand Sasuke's valuing of his teammates' safety over his own. Having need for Sasuke's craving for revenge, Orochimaru brands Sasuke with the Cursed Seal of Heaven to give him a taste of the power he can have and steer him back towards the more "favorable" path of vengeance. Although Kakashi does what he can to weaken the cursed seal, discourage its usage, and give Sasuke other means of getting stronger, Sasuke comes to realize the potential the seal allows him. To test his newfound power, Sasuke begins to seek out strong opponents that he can fight, believing each victory he obtains to be an indicator of his growth. As time goes by, however, Sasuke becomes dissatisfied with the progress he is making in getting stronger, largely a result of his quick defeat by Itachi during their brief encounter. All the while, Naruto, someone he finds to be of lesser skill, continues to surpass him in ability, creating a sense of envy within Sasuke.

Ultimately, Sasuke decides to abandon Konoha in order to seek out Orochimaru and gain power. Naruto, sent to stop Sasuke from escaping the country, eventually catches up with him and pleads for him to return. Sasuke, believing Naruto to be his closest friend, decides instead to use the last bit of advice Itachi ever gave him: in order to gain the Mangekyo Sharingan, the highest power of the Uchiha clan, kill your best friend. No longer valuing his teammates over his own self-betterment, Sasuke tries to kill Naruto and meets him in battle. Naruto, unwilling to let Sasuke go, fights with equal earnest, now willing to break Sasuke's body to bring him home. As the battle concludes, neither can bring themselves to defeat the other, instead exchanging negligible blows. As Naruto lies unconscious, Sasuke considers killing him, though upon realizing that that is what Itachi would want, decides to spare Naruto to find power in his own way. He goes to Orochimaru, ready to do whatever is necessary to gain the power he desires.

In Part II, Sasuke sees little change from how he was at the end of Part I, still craving power above all else. His lust for strength is such that, during his reunion with Naruto and Sakura, he claims to be willing to give his body to Orochimaru if it means killing Itachi. Sasuke has at least changed to a point that he no longer cares for his former teammates' well-beings, being more than willing to kill them since neither is of any use to him. His relationship with Orochimaru shows a similar lack of loyalty, as during their time together he applies no honorifics to Orochimaru's name, nor does he express his allegiance with Otogakure by wearing a Sound headband. Of the loyalties Sasuke has, the only one he displays is that of the Uchiha clan, the symbol of which he wears on his back collar. Despite this lack of allegiances to those close to him, Sasuke seems to unable to bring himself to needlessly harm others he has never met before, and makes it a point to prevent their deaths when possible.