I have a theory about how the rest of Naruto will play out. Well, it's more of an outline than a detailed blow-by-blow theory. I also have a theory about how the final pairing will happen, but I'll keep that theory separate from the "Naruto Ending" one, because I know some people don't like pairing debates.

How Naruto Could Possibly End

I'll start off from where we are now: Sasuke VS. Itachi. Kishimoto said in the 2008 interview that the manga this year will begin with a focus on Sasuke, and it has. In this arc, Kishimoto will finally conclude the Uchiha Brothers Conflict. However, Sasuke has expressed a desire to kill Madara as well, and guess who's currently fighting/interacting with Madara? Team 7 (and Team 8 as well).

Before Sasuke reaches Madara (because he has no idea about who Tobi is and whatnot), the focus will shift to Kakashi, just as the Kishimoto interview described. We will likely learn why Kakashi has a Mangekyou Sharigan, without killing a best friend. I mean, Tobi/Madara is probably very curious about that, since he was described to "know all of the secrets of the Sharigan," so it's bound to come up. Not only that, but Kishimoto said that "something big will happen to Kakashi." There are a couple possibilities. One, it could mean that the ObiTobi theory isn't quite dead yet. Another is that Kakashi could be killed. Kishimoto was talking about how one of the reasons why Asuma died was because he needed Shikamaru to grow up. It is possible that he wants to do something similar for Team 7 as well.

Just like Team 9 and Team 10 took on Akatsuki members, Team 8 will have a fight against at least one as well. My guess is that it will be Zetsu. For starters, Zetsu would finish watching the big Uchiha battle and then find the other Uchiha. Besides, with Zetsu's abilities (or what we have seen so far), it looks like only the tracking expertise of Team 8 would be able to bring him down.

Kishimoto would use Team Hebi to finally bring down Kisame as well. Kishimoto said that he was instructed by a superior to "do something" with Team Hebi. Suigetsu has already expressed an interest in fighting Kisame, anyway, and Kishimoto needs to bring the Akatsuki down fast if he wants to finish the manga by August like he said in 2007.

The long awaited Team 7 reunion would likely happen in the aftermath of all of these battles. In fact, Sasuke will definitely help Team 7 finish off Madara. Also, the Suigetsu is Sai's Brother theory (found at the bottom of the journal in the link) could fit in here as well This leaves us with two Akatsuki left: Pein and Konan. However, they will go back to Konoha immediately. Remember, Jiraiya sent the encoded message containing Pein's identity to Tsunade, not to Naruto or Kakashi or anyone else. Team 7 will NEED this information if they are to defeat Pein, and so they HAVE to go back to Konoha. The focus on Sakura will go here, when she has to choose between Naruto and Sasuke (which I will discuss in the second theory).

After learning about what Jiraiya discovered, Team 7 will go to take down Pein and end Akatsuki. I truly believe it will be a team effort between Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke. It wouldn't feel right if the manga ended without a collaboration between the three of them, especially since all of the Team 7 fights were either Naruto and Sasuke or Naruto and Sakura (on top of the individual fights too). We have yet to see all three fight alongside each other, and I can't think of a better ending.

As for the Kabuto/Orochimaru thing and Root. . . I have absolutely no idea where Kishimoto is going with those. Maybe Kabuto will. . . dang, I dunno.

The Focus on Sakura: The Choice (skip this if you dislike pairing debate, and go to the third part of the journal)

I truly believe that the "focus on Sakura" will be her internal struggle over her feelings for her teammates. She has developed strong feelings for both of them, and the Team 7 reunion will force her to make a decision (which, I believe, will happen when they return to Konoha). Before I describe how I think this will play out, I will analyze Sakura's crush on Sasuke.

According to Kishimoto on a special page in Volume three, Sakura is "pursuing a selfish love" or has selecting an "arbitrary love object" in the American translation (arbitrary means "determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or principle". [link] She selected Sasuke as her crush as a little girl because he was good-looking and talented. Many claim that her originally vain crush had developed into "love," but why? According to what Sakura said in the "Goodbye" scene, Sasuke never talks to Sakura. [link] Quite often, he had glared at her, put down her skills, called her "annoying" more than once, knocked away the apples she cut so nicely for him, told her to stay out of his business, and the list goes on.

It is my belief that Sakura's feelings for Sasuke deepened in the scene when Naruto disguised himself as "Sasuke" when Team 7 was first formed. Sakura was sitting on the bench, thinking about an idealized Sasuke that would compliment her large forehead. Then, "Sasuke" says the exact same compliment she imagined. [link] This "Sasuke" also made her comfortable enough to confess her feelings to him (without any pressure of Sasuke abandoning the village) and to try and kiss him. [link]

Throughout the manga, I think that Sakura has been trying to bring this "Sasuke" out again. Sakura has made it perfectly clear that she wants a guy that would compliment her and feel good about herself. ( [link] ) That's why she blushed at the "Genjutsu Compliment;" she thought she was seeing that "Sasuke" again, the one that compliments her and takes an interest in her. Of course, as a prominent SasuSaku fan put it, Sasuke isn't the complimenting and comforting type. She, however, fell in love with that "Sasuke," and she still doesn't know that it wasn't even Sasuke in the first place.

Now, on to my theory. Sakura will likely request some private time to talk to Sasuke, one-on-one. Here, we might finally learn how Sakura feels about Sasuke in Part II (since we don't truly know if her feelings have stayed the same; it's been three years). If my theory about why Sakura's feelings for Sasuke "deepened," then it is very likely that she will bring up that scene on the bench. I mean, that was when she FIRST confessed feelings to him, and she tried to kiss him. What reason does she have to not discuss that scene?

Of course, it wasn't Sasuke, and Sasuke was fully aware that Naruto had impersonated him on their first day as Team 7. Sasuke would tell her right off that it wasn't him, but Naruto. Sakura would first try telling Sasuke that he was "just being modest," like in those other times that she had mistakenly credited Sasuke for Naruto's accomplishments. (ex: [link] [link] [link] ) But Sasuke would still insist that it was Naruto all along. Sakura would probably begin thinking of all of the things Naruto has done for her (cheering her on during the Prelims, defending her interests, complimenting her, protecting her from harm against Gaara, assuring her that everything would be alright after the hospital fight, Promise of a Lifetime, etc). Just as Kakashi said to Sakura in the very beginning, "instead of Naruto, who was right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke, who was far away." [link] All three of the comments Kakashi makes pretty much foreshadows the events of Part I, but that's another debate.

In Conclusion. . .
Well, I'm not Kishimoto, so I could be off about all of this. However, the fun in making theories is to see what you guessed right and wrong as the series progresses. I think I'm bound to get something right, eh? Theories are what make me enjoy fandom the most.

Please share any theories that you guys have made or have heard from somewhere else. Also, if you find something really wrong about my theories (like I forgot to address something major, or something I said wasn't true), please let me know as well. Keep in mind that I spent a long time on this (it's about four pages on a Word Document), so leaving a comment like "this theory sucks, and you're stupid" without explaining why is rather tactless.

So, discuss!

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