{"id":1071,"date":"2014-06-02T09:26:58","date_gmt":"2014-06-02T13:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=1071"},"modified":"2014-06-07T09:36:34","modified_gmt":"2014-06-07T13:36:34","slug":"chapter-38-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=1071","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 38 Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter Notes:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 \u201cLosing Everything\u201d<\/i> \u2014 the chapter title directly refers to Pain\u2019s words in the last chapter: \u201cThink about what I\u2019ve said. Akatsuki offers you protection, the Rain offers you a place to belong,\u201d Pain said, watching him from hooded eyes. \u201cYou are still young. You have not experienced the loss that brings understanding. So you could not fully understand the value of what is offered\u2026. You do not know what it feels like to loose everything you hold dear.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The chapter is very much about loss<\/i> \u2014\u00a0So it\u2019s about the deaths of Katsuro\u2019s team and then the captain, plus Katsuro still dealing with the loss of Sakura, but in the very end, also about Katsuro inflicting pain on Konoha so that they will see what they\u2019ve lost. In anger and pain, he turns to things he never would have done before. Very much like what Pain was explaining. In order to join Akaktsuki, or want to join, he had to loose everything, but still survive. Only then could he begin to understand how it twists you.\u00a0Katsuro didn\u2019t realize he had more to loose than just Sakura. But he did. And just at the moment he understood his team\u2019s worth and his captain\u2019s worth, its all taken from him.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Katsuro\u2019s motivation to join Akatsuki (Or how to make him turn bad without making him evil)<\/i> \u2014 The searing loss is as a result of warring ninjas. Katsuro blames them, directs his immediate anger at them, and lets that anger shape his future choices. It was very important not to have Sakura be wound up in that cathartic revenge-driven anger. He\u2019s heartbroken over her. And he buries that<\/i> pain instead of acting on it. It was very important for me to establish that this chapter. He decides to join the Akatsuki because of his own issues, not as a vengeful rebound from Sakura. His love for her (a true love) should not make him flip a switch and make harmful, bitter, resentful choices when it is withdrawn. And this is important for later in the story, when he returns to Konoha. His love was true, and even when it\u2019s gone he can\u2019t hate it. As much as he\u2019d like to or tells himself that he does, that\u2019s the cruel truth. He can\u2019t. So it would never motivate him to make bitter decisions like joining the Akatsuki.\u00a0So while on the one hand he gives into hatred and revenge for Konoha, his feelings for Sakura are very different and are buried down deep, so they are actually insulated from his anger.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Fang country ninjas vs. Konoha nins from last chapter. \u2014<\/i> So the Fang country ninjas are in stark contrast to the Leaf nins. They want to kill, whereas the Leaf nins don\u2019t. (From last chapter: As he left, he heard one of the nins yell, \u201cDammit! Taichou wants \u2019em left alive for questioning\u2014\u201c<\/i> ) The Konoha shinobis wanted them alive for questioning. But they were young and little over-zealous, their aim with less-lethal weapons was still good, and they killed his teammates instead of disabling them. Fang country nins want to kill. Also an image that not all shinobis in this world are good, as Konoha nins try to be.<\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Katsuro forced his legs to move. A cry of desperation tore from his throat, but it was cut short when black-clad nin dropped in front of him, hitting the leafy floor with in a squat. A coil of rope landed beside him like a snake. He stood slowly, drawing up the rope with him. As he approached Katsuro he cracked it in giant figure eights in front of him. A silver blade at the end of it licked the ground.<\/i> \u2014 So, I\u2019m focusing more on real life weapons, and letting the powerful aspects of the manga be very unique and special. Most nins in this story have to fight on their own abilities. That makes the ones lucky enough to have special power\/chakra\/element\/sharingan\/whatever\/bijuu be <\/span>very<\/i> powerful. But regular ninjas can be just as dangerous. I don\u2019t want to hand out special powers like candy. So the battle with the Fang ninjas is an example of that. They are very powerful, without the aid of special powers.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 His voice ricocheted against the darkened ceiling and bounced back to him, sounding angrier than he\u2019d ever been. More rings of water rippled from his legs, rolling out towards the walls and the cell bars. \u2014<\/i>\u00a0Katsuro\u2019s own anger is spiraling outward, and this is what the demon responds to. This connects up at the end, with the demon curling up satisfied behind its bar. Katsuro decides to give in to his angry side, and the demon decides to stop fighting him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Predator and prey imagery \u2014\u00a0use to reinforce the change in Katsuro:<\/p>\n

– Katsuro blinked again. The canopy was drenched in red. Each branch was perfectly etched against the sky. He saw every detail, even down to a small owl clinging to a high branch, watching for its next meal.<\/i><\/p>\n

– There was silence, but only for the time it took to heave a terrified breath, then the men scattered like mice, dashing in all directions for the safety of the forest.<\/i><\/p>\n

– Katsuro perched on a high branch, waiting\u2026watching\u2026. Suddenly the man scrambled across the forest floor. Katsuro watched him tear through the red woods, dashing from tree to tree. His chakra signature was flaring. He knew he was in trouble.<\/i><\/p>\n

<\/i>\u2022 He vaguely remembered sensing chakra before, but he couldn\u2019t remember when. It felt like a lifetime ago. \u2014 <\/i>Again, reinforcing that this time is different, Katsuro can\u2019t remember the last time the kyuubi took control with Sakura and Mai at the farm. It\u2019s a lifetime ago, like it\u2019s another life. And really it is for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 But the captain\u2026. The captain saw him as a person. A soldier, the highest term of respect the captain could give. To him, Katsuro was someone worth waiting for. Someone worth dying for <\/i>\u2014 So, for Katsuro, this is loosing everything. The captain was the last good thing that he had. He sees Itachi as someone who uses him for an end. But the captain didn\u2019t. So this is the final blow for Katsuro.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Somewhere deep down inside him, beyond the orange-tinged water and the golden cell bars, a black shape turned around and around before coiling up on the cell floor. It had given up some of its chakra control, but in return there was a warmth in his cell, a consuming heat like the demon hadn\u2019t felt in a long time. And it wasn\u2019t all coming from him. Eyes like fire flickered closed, certain in the knowledge that it would survive another day, and, judging by that angry heat, many more days to come.<\/i> \u2014 From the kyuubi\u2019s pov, we see that Katsuro has finally given into his anger. It\u2019s not a passing thing. So not only is the demon feeding him malicious chakra, Katsuro is producing his own fury.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He had been here before, at this very fire circle\u2026with her\u2026. But that felt like another life now\u2026. \u2014<\/i> It was very important to me to have Katsuro\u2019s transformation based on a culmination of things. Not just a knee-jerk reaction to Sakura’s supposed betrayal. So every time he thinks of her it is with a sense of loss, not hatred. But those emotional wounds, coupled with the loss of other things he held dear, are enough to drive him to change his life. Anyway, this last memory, bringing it all completely full circle and having him dismiss it as another life, is absolutely like him closing the door on her and the way he was when he was with her.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Katsuro pushed down the wayward thoughts, locking them away deep inside as just a memory now. They faded away easier than he\u2019d ever thought possible. He turned toward his next task.<\/i> \u2014 This line is in specific reference to the room locked in the temple. Katsuro and Sakura both have secret spaces inside where they lock away the things that hurt them (very much like the kyuubi\u2019s cell). But the things that are inside, like the gorgeous painting in the temple room, don\u2019t disappear. Instead they wait there, untouched by time, until those doors are opened again.<\/p>\n

\u2022 But this time it didn\u2019t make him sad. He devoured the pain, and fed it into the burning furnace that had taken over his soul. \u2014<\/i> Again, this \u2018burning furnace\u2019 isn\u2019t necessarily the kyuubi. Katsuro is now generating his own anger that will protect him and keep him warm.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Water streamed down Katsuro\u2019s face, carrying dirt and blood and grime from his hair. Black streaks ran down his forehead, fractured beside his nose and continued in spidery cracks over his cheeks and neck.<\/i> \u2014 Strong imagery that Katsuro\u2019s mask is finally cracking.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Itachi looked up suddenly, meeting Katsuro\u2019s fierce expression. \u201cYes,\u201d he breathed. \u201cYes\u2014 It will work. I\u2019ll take it off.\u201d His eyes glittered. \u201cYou will become Naruto Uzumaki.\u201d He let the words roll off his tongue. \u201cAnd Konoha will learn what they have lost.\u201d \u2014<\/i> Flipped the chapter title at the end to also represent the loss of Naruto to Konoha. By having him stolen, Tsunade herself has said that they have already lost their most important asset. So, the chapter title works on different levels! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u00a0Spoiler Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Instead, it seemed like there was a deep internal fire keeping him moving. It was blocking out his need for sleep, staving off his hunger and giving him energy when he should have had none. He was weary but not exhausted, and his stomach wasn\u2019t growling at him constantly to find food.<\/i>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0This will be a facet of Katsuro\u2019s life later on, that his stamina allows him to do much more than others can. But it\u2019s not always healthy for him.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Katsuro closed his open mouth, grabbed for the Rain dagger in his waistband, sunk into his stance. The handle was more round than he was used to and felt heavy in his hand. He watched and waited.\u00a0<\/i>\u2014 So this a little reference for things much later in the story. Basically, all these people around him have weapons that are well-suited to them. But Katsuro has none. Even the Rain dagger feels strange in his hands. So this is a set-up for when he gets back to Konoha, and has to choose a weapon style for himself. It\u2019s to illustrate being on a path that was already laid out for him, and to show the differences between a village life and a guerrila one, where there is an armory and a blacksmith, etc. And lastly, to reinforce the idea that Naruto is putting down roots somewhere, settling in and acquiring things that belong solely to him.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0The pounding of his feet blew up leaves in his wake, revealing, for the barest of moments, a fresh set of tracks next to his. Then the leaves drifted back down, resettling themselves over both prints.<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 This scene, and a little while later on the trade road when Katsuro hears a crack of twigs behind him, are to illustrate a little of the paranoia that comes on with borrowing the kyuubi\u2019s power for long stretches of time. Katsuro is in fact being tracked by a Fang nin. But the animalistic tendencies of the kyuubi keep him on greater edge. In the future, he will have to learn to trust again, that the people around him will not let anything happen to him. But right now, he\u2019s on his own and the kyuubi is pretty much feeding his instincts, even though he doesn\u2019t realize it.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0It was deep under the cover of night when he closed in on the old campsite. Sakura had been here too. He had brought her here, to the site hidden in an rerouted riverbed.<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 The old trade road and the riverbed campsite reinforce that things are coming full-circle for Katsuro. He\u2019s going back to the place where it all started, and where he lets it all go.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The ninja took advantage of his distraction and came at him from another angle. The blade bit into Katsuro, but didn\u2019t catch him. But the next hit would\u2026and Katsuro was counting on it.<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 Katsuro\u2019s using a fighting approach from earlier on, but he underestimates his opponent, and so it doesn\u2019t work for him.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Standing among the dead bodies of their compatriots to fight him, the ninjas worked in unison, a perfect harmony of muscles and whips, spinning in turns so none tangled together. It would have been impressive to watch if they weren\u2019t fighting for their lives.<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 Setting up for future interactions with Konoha nins, where he is impressed to see teamwork in action. His life and fighting skill is solitary, so he is surprised to see it. This scene will tie in to that future one, where Katsuro learns that there is great power in a group instead of alone.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The captain\u2019s death: \u201cYou\u2019re my soldier,\u201d he said, locking eyes with Katsuro. \u201cI die for you, boy.\u201d The captain moved his hand to pat Katsuro\u2019s arm, but he winced suddenly. More blood seeped from his neck. He exhaled, long and deep. The words came much slower. \u201cNot the other way around\u2026. I\u2014\u201c<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 The captain represents a good mentality. He fights for Rain, so he has to fight for Itachi now, but his love and devotion is the same as the Konoha nins. The mentality that the captain has \u2014 that it\u2019s an honor and a duty to die for the ones you love \u2014 will be brought full circle with Jiriaya much later in the story.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chapter Notes: \u2022 \u201cLosing Everything\u201d \u2014 the chapter title directly refers to Pain\u2019s words in the last chapter: \u201cThink about what I\u2019ve said. Akatsuki offers you protection, the Rain offers you a place to belong,\u201d Pain said, watching him from hooded eyes. \u201cYou are still young. You have not experienced the loss that brings understanding. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chapter-notes","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-hh","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}