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No. 72386
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>>72377
>You're right in that the chuunin exam was the series' first foray into tactics and what it took to be a successful ninja.
>But...you're kind of wrong in that the differences in gender usefulness were already pretty apparent by then.
Your absolutely right, I went on a tangent without addressing my main point, my bad.
- Looking at gender and fighting capability in Naruto it's hard to say that there are many female characters that outright win their respective confrontations. This honestly makes what Madara said in >>72348 and the previous pages in this chapter hard to argue against.
- If winning a fight and/or having access to powerful techniques defines strength then sadly yes women in Naruto are functionally inferior to men because most fights involving a female end with them losing, or someone else showing up to help/avenge them.
- However. since I failed to connect what I said in >>72369 with the gender issue I'll try again. In the early parts of Naruto we introduced to the idea that Ninjas are weapons to be used by the state. A weapon is only as good as it is sharp, there is no need for weak weapons in an arsenal. Therefore, exams like the chunin exam are designed to weed out the strong from the weak within a given generation of shinobi. Those who are able to cope with the harsh conditions may find themselves promoted from Genin to chunin, or they might just live to see the exam another year. Generally speaking the losers wind up dead. So the important fact to remember is that not becoming a Chunin on your first try is not a negative thing, knowing when to fold is something vital to being a ninja. What is important is that each contestant is able to understand the conditions of their challenge and try their best to overcome them while ensuring their safety.
- In the Chunin exams we can look at Sakura and see how this conflict plays out. Up until now in the story, Sakura has been a glorified cheerleader. When the Land of Waves arc was going on she spent most of her time standing in front of an old man while Kakashi, Sasuke, and later Naruto did all of the fighting. She didn't do many ninja like things, nor did she display any real technical ability. What she was good at was providing limited commentary on the basics of ninjitsu, but that was more for the sake of the reader than the cast. And most times some threat was aimed at her, she froze up or fell back to a defensive position. Honestly, while I didn't hater her character in the early series she didn't have much to do with anything except being apart of the Naruto/Sasuke/Sakura Love triangle.
- Later during the second phase of the Chunin exam Sakura is forced into an uncomfortable situation. Both of her teammates have been incapacitated, she is trapped in hostile territory, and she has no idea when or where her opponents might attack. Not to mention that she is suffering from fatigue and possibly even lack of food and water. So how does she react? By laying several traps throughout the immediate area in order to neutralize her foes. Then shows up the Sound 3.
-Dosu immediately notices signs of traps being placed on the ground and all 3 move in for a vertical assault. But Sakura just smiles and releases another trap she set above that one in anticipation of her opponents moving to the air. yes Dosu just breaks the log into pieces, but what is important to know is that Sakura exercised forsight and forthinking. These are pivotal to the type of ninja she was becoming at this point.
- I'll keep the next couple of scenes brief. Rock Lee shows up, acts manly in protecting Sakura, and then gets his ears raped by Dosu dropping him out of the fight. The long haired girl (rin?) dodges around Sakura and grabs her hair, mocking her for the quality and luster it has. Pic related They taunt her because she of the situation she is in, and mock her for her weakness. Sakura is on the ropes, with nobody to protect her, nobody to watch her back, and with no real abilities or techniques to turn the battle in her favor.
- However, rather than fold in the face of 3 superior foes and risk losing her teammates Sakura does something different. She fights back with a vengeance. Sakura shows that while she doesn't have any unique techniques or abilities, she if more than capable of using her opponents thought processes against them. Sakura falls back to using the Substitution no justsu a general ninjitsu techniques used by everyone else. She then uses this to great effect to confuse and injure the the guy with the sound cannons in his arms.
- She does this even though she has no idea if backup will arrive to save her. She has no idea if she will even live past this confrontation. We then see Ino and her group watching from the bushes, and a flashback happens where we see that Sakura used to be a very shy and withdrawn child. Constantly bullied because of her appearance and with little to no self confidence. Ino gave her a hair band and shows Sakura to be happy about her features and Sakura is later shown being more outgoing. A rivalry forms between the two friends when it becomes revealed that both Sakura and Ino have feelings for Sasuke. The two friends part and have been rivals ever since...over a boy.
>andfeminismmarcheson.jpg
- It's right here where Sakura is still just a stereotypical female character motivated to do what she does because a) It is what is expected of her as a member of her village, and b) because she want's to follow Sasuke. It is also here where Sakura stops being that character and starts to become someone who would protect her friends, just like others have protected her.
- Yes it is true that someone swooped in to save the day, Ino and her crew were a minor distraction and ultimately it was curse-marked Sasuke to the rescue. But what I took away from this encounter was that Sakura had an epiphany regarding who she was and what kind of ninja she wanted to become.
- Sakura decided then and there that she wouldn't let her own personal shortcomings, Gender related or not, get between her friends and her duties. If memory serves, Sakura never grows back the back portion of her hair which could mean that she has moved past that part of her life.
- However, she does still exhibit some of her weaknesses past the Chunin exams. Namely her still pining after Sasuke when he decides to be emovil and leave with Orochimaru, but I don't hold that against her because at that point in the story she still has a crush on him. Plus simply acknowledging your weakness doesn't always give you immediate power over them.
- So my argument was just echoing what Tsunade said at the end of this chapter; "It's not the techniques I hold that give me strength, it's my will"
- If and when Tsunade lands some serious blow to zombie-Madara it won't be because she used her ancestors uber-hax techniques. It will be the same way Sakura and Hinata confronted their problems. It will be because she used what strength she has and reinforces it with her iron will. That is the true shinobi way.
- Hope this actually answers the question this time.
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