Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha are the two main male characters from the Naruto series by Masashi Kishimoto. Naruto is the series’ protagonist and main hero, the one who saves the day in the end, and that is a status he has maintained throughout the series. On the other hand, Sasuke’s loyalties have fluctuated from him being a grumpy protagonist, a villain, and an antihero. Although they ended up being very close friends and allies, Naruto and Sasuke had a very turbulent relationship over the years. At some point, they were enemies, with Sasuke openly hating Naruto. In this article, we will explain why Sasuke hated Naruto and why they were enemies.
Sasuke Uchiha never really hated Naruto, but he did find him annoying in the beginning, and later, they were rivals because Naruto wanted to bring Sasuke back to the side of good. While he was never evil, Sasuke was heavily traumatized and focused on his revenge, so he became an enemy of Konoha and, of course, Naruto, but that was never permanent.
In the rest of this article, we will focus on the relationship between Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. We will explain why there was a feeling of animosity between the two shinobi, whether Sasuke really hated Naruto, and why the two of them were enemies for a while during the story. You’ll also find out how and when this situation resolved itself. We have to warn you that there might be spoilers in this article.
Did Sasuke really hate Naruto?
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had a very intriguing relationship. Namely, they were obvious rivals from the very beginning, and while it was not clear how sincere their animosity was, it was present. Naruto, especially as a child, was certainly quite annoying, and his energetic behavior got on the nerves of numerous characters, not just the generally introverted Sasuke.
Since the beginning of the series, Sasuke has been a withdrawn loner who did not need to have friends. This is because, at the age of seven, he saw his brother wipe out his entire clan, and from then on, he decided to kill his brother for it. So he lived a lonely and unfulfilling childhood, marked only by this revenge plan. When he became a genin at age twelve and became a member of Team 7, Sasuke was mildly warmed by the presence of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Kakashi Hatake. He relied on teamwork and began to form true friendships.
Nevertheless, Naruto was his eternal rival, with whom he often quarreled, and both always tried to outdo each other. But Sasuke hardly had time to become a friendly, always cheerful, and fun-loving boy because his revenge plan, which he saw more as an obligation to revenge, was becoming increasingly distant. Even with his newly learned Chidori, he couldn’t harm his brother. When Sasuke then loses, even in the ultimate comparison with Naruto, he decides to leave Konohagakure and follow Orochimaru’s enticing call.
This shows that for Sasuke, getting revenge on Itachi is simply paramount and imperative for him to become stronger, even if it means becoming a nukenin. Sasuke even leaves his best friend, Naruto, for this. But even after getting his revenge, Sasuke seems to have no way out of the vicious circle of revenge. And that was Sasuke from the very beginning until his final clash with Naruto. He was introverted, and while he was Naruto’s rival, he never actually hated him; this is an obvious misconception.
Namely, while the two did have completely different personalities and Naruto did annoy him, Sasuke never hated Naruto (while Naruto openly liked him as a friend). In fact, he felt very nice around him because Naruto was, like him, an orphan and someone who was able to understand his pain; sure, Kakashi and Sakura helped there, too, but Sakura never really knew the experience of such a loss and Kakashi… well, he was their mentor. This is why Naruto was the ideal friend for Sasuke, regardless of all the differences between them. And this is why Sasuke never really hated him.
He could not be his true friend at the time because of his traumas and revenge plans, but he tried his best. When he left Konoha after being beaten by Naruto, it was not because he hated Naruto, but because he realized that if he couldn’t defeat Naruto, he would not be able to avenge his clan and kill his brother, Itachi. So, he was manipulated by Orochimaru and became an enemy of Konoha, but he never really hated Naruto or any of his friends from Konoha.
Why were Sasuke and Naruto enemies?
Well, as we have explained, Naruto and Sasuke never hated each other. Still, they were enemies for almost the whole duration of the original Naruto manga. It wasn’t until the end that they finally reconciled and became best friends again, as was witnessed in Boruto. The reasons for this are quite complex and cannot be explained with one single answer. The roots are connected to the Uchiha Clan Massacre perpetrated by Itachi Uchiha, Sasuke’s brother, which ended with Sasuke being severely traumatized and focused on getting revenge on his brother.
This has been Sasuke’s focus ever since the beginning, and neither his friendship with Naruto nor the love he had for Sakura could shake his firm decision to kill Itachi; this is why Sasuke left Konoha and joined Orochimaru, who was a vile villain at the time and tried to manipulate Sasuke because he was still a child but ended up underestimating him heavily, which would ultimately lead to his death, but also his resurrection later on in the story (and no, he is not a villain anymore, ha!).
Because he left, Sasuke became an enemy of Konoha. While Naruto and Sakura plotted to bring him back to the village and his senses, it was a complex process, and Sasuke was, for a while, a big enemy in the story. Although he did help Naruto and Sakura defeat Kaguya, a final clash with Naruto for the fate of Konoha was inevitable.
In the Valley of the End, Naruto and Sasuke stood on the heads of their respective predecessors, watching each other after a bitter exchange of words, where neither managed to convince the other, both found themselves looking at each other, launching into the attack colliding, and starting their long-awaited battle, each one staring at the other.
The battle was fierce and long, completely draining both shinobi, and while both had chances to kill each other, they ended up falling, losing an arm in the process, and reconciling in the end. Naruto had his arm healed by Sakura, while Sasuke refused, deciding to use the lost arm to symbolize his past mistakes and his own progress. And this is why and how Sasuke and Naruto were enemies, as well as why and how they stopped being enemies in the Naruto series.
