So I remember watching this scene many years ago and I was super angry. Naruto had just dealt with someone as strong as Pain and saved the village, earning respect from the people who didn’t even like him in the beginning. He was basically a hero of the village. It almost felt like a perfect ending to the show. But right at the moment you would think Naruto would become highly respected not only in his own village but also outside it (since the Akatsuki was basically a threat to everyone), the next thing you see is him letting himself get beaten up, offering his face as a punching bag for that ninja girl from the Cloud village because of the alleged capture of Killer Bee by Sasuke and his team. Regarding this scene, my question is… **Was this really necessary or was it more of an emotional show by the protagonist?** I’m not going to talk about what Sasuke means to Naruto here, or how deep their bond is. So there are two POVs here:

1 - The first one is that it’s widely seen as “Naruto not selling out his friend.” But like, how? The Cloud village was already in the process of getting any relevant info about Sasuke, which they did later anyway. Naruto was ready to talk about the Akatsuki members and the general info they knew about them. How exactly could he even sell out his friend here when he basically knows nothing? He didn’t know where Sasuke was or what his intentions were, nor did he know the truth about Itachi and all the Uchiha history yet. Naruto didn’t have any relevant info about where Sasuke could be or what he was planning. So this whole “not selling out his friend” is pretty baseless. 

2 - The second POV is about Naruto maturing and trying to stop the cycle of hatred that he discussed and promised Nagato he’ll stop. But how exactly is he doing that in this case? His face getting destroyed won't bring back their master or give any justice, right? Nor will it make them feel any better when they have zero context. Was this supposed to look selfless but is actually selfish in its own way? 

From a practical standpoint, the beating was completely useless. Naruto would still go find the Raikage, get down on his knees and beg him to let Sasuke go. Feel free to share your thoughts or point out anything =) 

Was Naruto here actually protecting Sasuke and trying to prevent a war? Or…