Naruto is filled to the brim with spectacular fights, but the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke is widely considered the series’ best, which is why it’s so surprising that this iconic fight was almost much different. The fight was a culmination of hundreds of episodes, and it settled the long rivalry between the two. However, series creator Masashi Kishimoto originally had another plan for how the fight would go down, and it could have been much more brutal.
The final fight between Naruto and Sasuke featured everything the two learned during the 500+ episodes of the franchise. It was truly a sight to see. From dynamic choreography, beautiful visuals and diverse jutsus, the fight was the perfect way to end the highly-rated series. If it had been left up to Kishimoto, however, the fight would not have been a spectacular display of power, but instead a realistic and tragic struggle.
Kishimoto Wanted To Make Naruto & Sasuke’s Fight Hand-To-Hand
In a 2014 Fuji TV Interview, Masashi Kishimoto stated that he didn’t want Naruto and Sasuke to use any Ninjutsu during their final fight. He instead wanted to make them have a fistfight but changed his plans after being pressured by the editorial staff at Shueisha. He settled for a compromise with the beginning of the fight mostly featuring an exchange of punches and kicks and as the fight progressed, more and more complex jutsus such as Sasuke’s Kirin were employed. Once they exhausted all their chakra and strength, they went back to a brawl which ended up with both losing an arm and Sasuke admitting defeat.
This isn’t the first time Masashi Kishimito has been coerced to change an aspect of the series. He was forced to write Naruto’s Chunin Exams Arc in the first part of the series. It seems that he didn’t have total control over how the manga progressed. Shueisha has strict guidelines for all its manga, especially for series as huge as Naruto. In both these instances, the editors’ persistence was a good thing for the series. The Chunin Exams Arc is widely considered one of its best and the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke was a fan favorite that showed how much Naruto and Sasuke grew as Shinobi since their earliest days. Still, the realism of these two young men beating each other half to death would have been brutal in a way that is lost just a touch with the use of their more fantastical jutsus.
Naruto & Sasuke’s Fight Would Still Work If There Was No Ninjutsu
If Shueisha had decided to go with Kishimoto’s plans, the fight might still have gone down as one of the best. Naruto boasts some of the best art in manga and the anime does it justice. There are other fights that had no or barely any ninjutsu involved. The most notable one is the fight between Kakashi and Obito in Naruto Shippuden Episode 375. It had the same level of emotion as the fight between Naruto and Sasuke; two childhood rivals with one of them turning evil. The fight featured gorgeous hand-to-hand combat and the way sound effects were utilized was the cherry on top. There is no doubt that Studio Pierrot would have replicated the same quality again if the final fight was a fist fight. Naruto’s final fight with Sasuke would have certainly had a different feel to it if Kishimoto got his way.
