[Manga] The last poke

[Hunter]

At long last Itachi finally kicked the bucket in his battle against Sasuke but he couldn't go before doing one last blooded poke™ on Sasuke's fronthead.
http://kaosounet.free.fr/Naruto/lastpoke.JPG
credit to -=Ghost=- for the coloring.

Many things have been said about this poke, was it only symbolic to add a nice touch to Itachi's death or was it a more dreadful action from Itachi using a Genjutsu or a seal on Sasuke to pass his last thought, some secrets, instruction to gain the MS or even the transfer of his twisted personality? Some have even said it could be the passing of Madara's spirit trespassing from one brother to the other.
What do you feel and think about the last poke? Theorize away.

[2H-Dragon]

I think it was only symbolic when written, but Kishi you never know if he's going to add another layer mystery to it. I think it's symbolic, because at the next chapter they show blood running trough Sasuke eyes and it looks like he's crying for the death of his brother. Eventhough they didn't mean to poke or cry. It looks like they did and that they cared for each other deeply.

[Kenu]

I think simple answer is the best.

It was a poke Itachi used to give Sasuke to say: "I love you as my younger brother, please take care"

The blood is a symbol of their bond and Sasuke's blood tears are tears for his brother whom he misunderstood to his death.

Simple as that.



In my eyes Itachi has always been loving older brother. The insane Itachi who wanted to possess Sasuke's eyes is completely out of left field for a stupid gimmick to mitigate a so-called weakness in the MS. It just does not make sense for Kishimoto to write it like that. In doing so he has ruined the Uchiha clan storyline and also the legend of Madara.

[Goshin]

I think simple answer is the best.

It was a poke Itachi used to give Sasuke to say: "I love you as my younger brother, please take care"

The blood is a symbol of their bond and Sasuke's blood tears are tears for his brother whom he misunderstood to his death.

Simple as that.


although I agree, but that is not the simplese answer, :D the simplest answer is that he collapsed right before he go to the eyes

In my eyes Itachi has always been loving older brother. The insane Itachi who wanted to possess Sasuke's eyes is completely out of left field for a stupid gimmick to mitigate a so-called weakness in the MS. It just does not make sense for Kishimoto to write it like that. In doing so he has ruined the Uchiha clan storyline and also the legend of Madara.

LOL
______________
I liked the idea of passing some thouht or some last seal into sasuke, whether or not sasuke knows it. reminds me of HunterxHunter where killuas brother did some forehead thing to killua, it was only later that killua figured out that was some kinda of magic thing. so if ksishi most is copying from hunter x hunter (as my friend believes) then this poke could end up saving sasuke one day(if itachi is good) or be the cause of his destruction (if itachi is evil) but only time can tell, actually only kishi can tell :D

[tatami]

imo its just he tried to take sasukes eye, missed and collapsed to the ground. poke was just a good memento of their relationship, an epic ending of brothers...

[HiroInazuma]

I don't know if it is a translation thing or not but on the manga page I read it said Madara was possessed by the MS when he took his brother's eyes for his eyes to gain a new light and before he went to go take it he said Sorry like he was sympathetic for his brother but could not stop and if that is true then it could be possible that Itachi has been possessed by the MS to find a new light and finally when he was dying he lost the MS and was able to return to the sweet caring brother he used to be. I don't know but it is just a speculation.

[tatami]

yet he was never a sweet caring brother from the start :d

[james0246]

yet he was never a sweet caring brother from the start :d

Are you kidding. I wish my brother would come and slaughter my parents. That would be a great way to show affection, just like expressing your love for a girl by killing her puppy, or having your friends over for dinner and then serving them their parents as the main course. You know, nice and sweet, just like Itachi taught me...that kind of ryhmes "Just Like Itachi Taught Me", move over WWJD? I've got a new favourite slogan.
...
...
...Wait, maybe you are right Tatami.

:D

Besides the evocative image of Itachi poking Sasuke's forehead, I doubt there is any hidden message or meaning, nor do I want there to be any hidden messages. But, if there is, it should be noted that the finger Itachi uses was also the finger he used to place a genjutsu on Naruto back at the start of Part II.

[Rembr]

Everything's always a potential plot device.

I too was hoping that Itachi was going to redeem himself, but oh well.

[Last of the Uchihas]

Some have speculated that Sasuke might have gained the MS during the post timeskip since he almost killed Naruto at the end of part one. Although he didn’t go through it, his mind at some point was willing to go through it. We thought that was the catalyst for him to gain it later on. We also had another reason to believe he had it since Kakashi also had it. Many obviously didn’t assume that Kakashi killed his best friend Gai for MS since he is still alive, and it’s not in his nature to do such a thing. Some said it was a plot hole in Kishi’s part. Some said, it wasn’t a plot hole, because if people remember correctly, Uchiha Fugaku said that in order to gain MS, it must be under special conditions. Thus, implying that there are other ways of obtaining MS, than rather killing your own brother, and Kakashi, Madara and his brother are proof of that. It still a mystery how Kakashi found the secret for obtaining MS. I think, he went back to the Uchiha clan with his dogs, and were able to discover the secret room due to Sasuke’s smell. It’s another mystery how he obtained MS. Some speculate that his guilt for feeling responsible for Uchiha Obito’s death, trigger that, but I disagree for the simple reason that Sasuke also feels a lot of guilt. He blames himself each day for the massacre of his family, in how he was powerless to defend them. So guilt must not have caused the trigger for Kakashi to gain MS. Another question that is raised from this, is that why didn’t Sasuke get MS if the scroll mentions the way of obtaining MS, (unless it was erased) besides the method of killing your brother as Fugaku mentioned. Apparently, MS might have been something that Sasuke didn’t want, because it reminded him of Itachi. Maybe the MS power would corrupt him further to the point of no return.

During the brief reunion with Naruto and Sakura, we saw a power of the sharingan foreign to us, and that was the power to look inside the mind of someone else by making eye contact. Further more, we also witnessed how Sasuke was able to extracts old memories from Oro as seen when Itachi fought Oro. Which to say the least, was what saved Sasuke’s life, since he was able to witness his brother’s genjutsu and applied it to Oro. We also thought that a sharingan user could only copy a jutsu by witnessing the jutsu in person, but it turns out that there are other ways for them to copy jutsus, and that is seeing the jutsu in someone else memories, which is how Sasuke copy the binding genjutsu. This method and blood might play a huge part in Sasuke obtaining MS and discover the whole truth about Madara’s powers

As you know by now, Itachi is dead, and Sasuke is not, so the victory goes to Sasuke. However, we the viewers now know that Itachi was stronger than Sasuke, as he was badly wounded and blind before the fight even started. Not to mention that Itachi held back several times. Also important to note is that Itachi used two Kage bushin in order to talk to Naruto and Sasuke, and we know that Kage Bushin splits your charka in half. But most importantly, Sasuke must know he was no match for Itachi and if he want to confront Madara, he needs EMS. It was clear to him that MS is a power he cannot defeat, even less EMS with his regular sharingan. Considering that the CS and Oro’s powers are long gone, he needs to fill that power void, and MS will fill that gap to some extend. Of course this is all according to Kishi part, especially since he was talking about Sasuke shedding his serpentine skins, and becoming a hawk. Now, we all saw how Jiraiya was able to pass his memories to Pa, and it was very similar to what Itachi did to Sasuke in some weird way. Sure, there are several speculations to why Itachi poke Sasuke’s forehead. One of them being, giving closure to the past scene where Itachi poke Sasuke’s head when he was a kid, while the other was that he tried to take Sasuke’s eyes and missed. I think it’s a long shot of Itachi transferring his memories to Sasuke by Jiraiya’s method, but I think what was important in that part was not actually the poking but Itachi’s blood that dripped into Sasuke’s eyes. That blood might trigger the MS in Sasuke, like a blood “ritual” or “sacrifice”. After all, Sasuke was looking at his dead brother eyes, so he could have accessed his memories and his jutsus. After all, it was looking at Oro’s memories that gave Sasuke the insight in how to subdue Oro by watching his brother doing the binding genjutsu. This time, it might be the case with Madara, to give Sasuke an insight to Madara’s powers and EMS. After all, Itachi was Madara’s disciple. This might also explain why Sasuke was sad and grin at the end, as he possibly understood Itachi’s farewell gift from the after life. By awakening Sasuke MS and giving his an insight into Madara’s powers.

[Lendial]

it looks like the story came full circle. a sad and bittersweet end.

[Sazelyt]

Maybe what Itachi did is passing the will of Uchiha fire. Itachi should know that he is dying, and that makes you wonder, why at that point, and not before reaching him and shouting your eyes. Kind of strange but this kind of things, including the theories listed in the opening post, can happen, especially if you think that the fight was being watched carefully by Madara's spies. Acting different would trigger Madara to take action earlier. But, anyways, I would have never imagined that there would be a thread about the last poke.

[Hunter]

Since the whole Sasuke feels guilty about Itachi mudering his clan was completely off topic and unfit for any others thread I could think of I simply deleted it all.
I'm starting to be fed up with some of you derailing threads again and again so if I have to do it another time I will just kindly distribute Infraction to everybody that can't stay on topic.

[james0246]

I would preffer if the "poke" stays an ambiguous image, left entirely up to the audience member to decide on. I do not want some hidden meaning, I just want the image to be emotional, and as to which emotion, each viewer will have their own opinion.

[vision55]

The "poke" means nothing trust me! Itachi is arguably the biggest criminal in the whole naruto universe, so Light Yagami had to bring him to justice. Itachi had a sudden heart attack, good thing too because he was about to snatch Sasuke's eyes...so sad :(

[Ero-Senn1n]

People should take into account Sasuke's evil smile at the end of that scene and make their theories with that in mind. Itachi says something very important to his brother, it's surely very important simply because Kishimoto makes it a secret. Then the poke just after that, also at the same time Itachi looks like being more of a tragic hero (just look his expression) than a mass murderer ready to kill his brother. And then Sasuke shocked and then Sasuke sad. But suddenly comes the evil smile. For me all that looked like Itachi suddenly becomes a good guy scene until the part with the evil smile. If i go with the "Itachi was not evil" theory than to make a reason for that smile i was thinking about a theory (originally from Hunter) that Madara is a parasitic entity that posesses people, and in this case Madara did transfer from Itachi's body to Sasuke, and after the successful transfer it is Madara to make the evil smile. That theory would also help the "save Sasuke" storyline, because Sasuke would be posessed by Madara. And the meaning of the unknown sentence and the poke of Itachi would be that for a short period of time Itachi was Itachi again, meaning that Madara left his body and Itachi had a short time to talk to Sasuke and act on his own will (make the poke).

But unfortunately that theory can be dropped by reading the next chapter, since Madara was unaware of what exactly happened in that fight.

Also a little theory about a possible future implication of the "poke":
With the poke Itachi secretly transfered to Sasuke the super-powerful artifacts. The sword and shield that Susano used are then hidden into Sasuke, a gift from Itachi. But since Sasuke does not have the MS now he cannot use it and maybe does not know about them. It would be cool if Kishimoto does not tell us about this for the next hundred chapters, but some time in the future Sasuke develops MS but is still losing his fight against Madara, and that's when the gifts from Itachi help him to win the fight.

[nines]

I think he was really going to poke him like when he was a kid he used to poke him on the head simple :O

[Kishimyu]

I think that the poke was a lil' token of congragulating Sasuke on defeating him, or Itachi just wanted to have that feeling of when he and Sasuke still lived in Kanoha and everything was pretty normal right before he collapsed.

[HikariYume]

Y'know what would've made me laugh histarically? If Itachi just flicked Sasuke on the head and said "Foolish little brother" and died...That would've been HILARIOUS!

Do you know how pissed Sasuke would be?

[Last of the Uchihas]

Y'know what would've made me laugh histarically? If Itachi just flicked Sasuke on the head and said "Foolish little brother" and died...That would've been HILARIOUS!

Do you know how pissed Sasuke would be?

he might have said that;)

[Bloom]

I think it was just symbolic...

[HikariYume]

I think that's what he said...

[CommS007]

He was going for the eyes the whole time. His hand was in a "eye gauging" form/whatever. He just simply collapsed due to apparent damages incurred in a previous battle... (And all that he has given in this battle)

Gaining a new light shouldn't be "just" switching bodies with your sibling, I hope D=

[ShadowAssasin]

The way I see it, Itachi has always poked him on the forehead as a way of saying "I'm still better than you",(in a sort of playful way) as we all know what getting a hit off on someone's forehead means in the naruto universe. I think he did this as a way of saying he's still better than Sasuke; and I'd have to agree with him (although I don't believe the gap is that wide). I love this scene.

[HikariYume]

You make a very good point.

[ace_TZ]

I think it symbolize Itachi's LOVE. Either a small love for sasuke or a dangerously mad one at sasuke's eyes.

[morgus]

I think it was an admittance of defeat.

[Tsuyoshi]

I mostly tend to think it was symbolic, but I agree with the last Uchiha on some points. It may easily have been a kind of blood ritual. How else to explain Sasuke crying blood the way Itachi was? I think that somehow, Itachi transferred some part of him, perhaps memories, part of his soul, some of his abilities, or the sword and sheild of Susanoo. Any of those are possible to me. I'll just wait to see what the chapters in future have to say.

[james0246]

I mostly tend to think it was symbolic, but I agree with the last Uchiha on some points. It may easily have been a kind of blood ritual. How else to explain Sasuke crying blood the way Itachi was? I think that somehow, Itachi transferred some part of him, perhaps memories, part of his soul, some of his abilities, or the sword and sheild of Susanoo. Any of those are possible to me. I'll just wait to see what the chapters in future have to say.

"How else to explain Sasuke crying blood the way Itachi was?", well that is easy, Itachi deposited enough blood on Sasuke's forehead that it trickled down symbolically like tears. Sasuke's eyes were not once actually bleeding. No matter how much I hate the idea, I can grudgingly accept that Itachi may have bestowed upon Sasuke some memories/etc., but in no way were Sasuke's eyes actually bleeding.

[Zek]

First of all, I don't think there's any special explanation like a final jutsu he performed. The poke was clearly symbolic of the relationship they once had, the only question IMHO is whether or not he did it intentionally. Either he realized Sasuke had won and gave him the poke as a final gesture of brotherly love, or he really just passed out while going for the eyes and it was a coincidence. It's conceivable that Itachi really did care for his little brother despite and regretted the necessity of taking his eyes. I admit I was expecting his character to be redeemed a little more than that before dying but I certainly never thought he was actually a good guy all along.

[demon espio]

The way I see it, Itachi has always poked him on the forehead as a way of saying "I'm still better than you",(in a sort of playful way) as we all know what getting a hit off on someone's forehead means in the naruto universe. I think he did this as a way of saying he's still better than Sasuke; and I'd have to agree with him (although I don't believe the gap is that wide). I love this scene.

i agree with you mostly from anything else ppl here said

[ILikeSquiReLz]

The way I see it, this scene is a symbolism of the sad nature of his revenge. Kishi loves symbolisms as much as he loves obvious secrets. It’s definitely one of the best scene after Kakashi Gaiden if not the best thus far.

[malvado]

I believe Itachi tapped Sasukes forehead and gave him all of his powers.

[Last of the Uchihas]

I believe Itachi tapped Sasukes forehead and gave him all of his powers.

you don't say?:rolleyes:

[malvado]

you don't say?:rolleyes:

wat is that supposed to mean?

[iBeast]

I believe Itachi tapped Sasukes forehead and gave him all of his powers.


I believed the chapter came out on the 10th...or that the spoilers were almost confirmed on the 10th.............so I think that Itachi poked Sasuke to try and protect him from Madara.....

[ForgedGlory]

Itachi was marking his territory, to ward off any one else that would wanna sex him up. Kinda like a pimp branding his hoe, lol

[NarutowithSharingan]

Itachi was marking his territory, to ward off any one else that would wanna sex him up. Kinda like a pimp branding his hoe, lol

Yeah - no touching before payment. The right way Tobi should have went about it was by throwing Sasuke money before taking off his clothes. (he took his mask of - clothing).

[reloaded]

since Madara stated Itachi transfered all his eye techniques to Sasuke does that now mean...both MS techniques and probably enhanced genjutsu abilities....as well as deteriorating eye sight.

[steam_cannon]

If Itachi can transfer his skills with a forehead poke, maybe he did help his brother with
Shuriken practice and Sasuke didn't even know it?

A lot of interesting points so far:

* Touching a persons face has special significance in many cultures, like injuring someone honor.
And scratching out their forehead symbol might mean they lost their honor.

* Itachi used that same finger for genjutsu...

[HayashiTakara]

Itachi was marking his territory, to ward off any one else that would wanna sex him up. Kinda like a pimp branding his hoe, lol

seems like he was right, lol

[Ero-Senn1n]

since Madara stated Itachi transfered all his eye techniques to Sasuke does that now mean...both MS techniques and probably enhanced genjutsu abilities....as well as deteriorating eye sight.

Well it seems he lied, since according to Itachi there's no other way to obtain MS than killing your best friend. And neither Sasuke nor Kakashi did do such thing. Just wait the next chapters to finally see a decent Itachi explanation with hopefully cool flashbacks. I expect some tragic story where we see Itachi's "fate" was this, and that he probably hated himself for thing he has done in the past or has to do in the future. This whole Uchiha story is full of lies and illusions, just as a good mistery story should be.

As for Sasuke, it may be he does not have an MS like Itachi or Kakashi have, it may be only something that works in extreme conditions when Sasuke is about to be killed, or only if he sees Madara's face. It also may be that only amaterasu was transferred, however i think that Itachi implanted his susano (with the artifacts) too, it's just that Sasuke is too weak to use those right now.
For me it was clear from the beginning that jutsu named god of the sun/moon cannot be simply erased from the story with Itachi, both their names and their power are too cool to be dropped from the story. Susano was like the death god but without the summoner's death part, so it's safe to assume that it will be used in boss fight at the very end (Sasuke vs Madara or similar).

[james0246]

I expect some tragic story where we see Itachi's "fate" was this, and that he probably hated himself for thing he has done in the past or has to do in the future. This whole Uchiha story is full of lies and illusions, just as a good mistery story should be.


I am not commenting one way or another, but I was wondering if the in-bold text is a typo or a combination of misery and mystery to create mistery. Again, I am not criticising, I am just trying to grasp your full point, and if mistery is actually misery + mystery, then your point is a little deeper.

(I am partially joking.)

[Ero-Senn1n]

I am not commenting one way or another, but I was wondering if the in-bold text is a typo or a combination of misery and mystery to create mistery. Again, I am not criticising, I am just trying to grasp your full point, and if mistery is actually misery + mystery, then your point is a little deeper.

(I am partially joking.)

haha, nice combination :)

Anyway, i did simply mean mystery. Isn't it a mystery, where after almost 400 chapters of mystery you are supposedly told the whole truth, which seems so simple (Itachi being simply evil and even crazy) but then a few chapters after that we are again at the starting point, nothing is known for sure. So many hints were shown about Itachi not being a plain evil guy, but then again there were so many parts where Itachi behaves like an evil guy. We still don't know anything about Naruto's parents and their fate, only their names. So basically after 400 chapters we don't know what happened to Sasuke's and Naruto's families that resulted in the conditions that they were in (Sasuke alone and seeking revenge, Naruto alone and hated by many villagers) whe the manga started. We only know that, whatever the story is, the evil guy who was most likely behind the scenes is Madara. But we don't even know how Madara looks, and it's even more funny that Kishimoto makes him take off his mask but we don't see his face and then he puts on the mask again. Kishimoto hiding his face and making him put back the mast was really annoying, i actually expected much more complaints about this stupid move :)

[jimlad]

Nah he showed us enough to confirm what everyone was already thinking-
Madara has Obito's body
I mean come on who didn't see that coming? Obito had his sharingan taken out and Tobi happens to have a one eyed mask with a sharingan and Obito's hair.

What I don't get-
"I guess i'll show you my face...
OMG I'M ON FIRE WITH THOSE FLAMES THAT APPARENTLY NEVER GO OUT UNTIL THEY BURN THEIR TARGET" (run away)
Comes back fine...

Bunshin or what? Was it like a bunshin he just loaned his mask to (wierdly) or he can counter the amaretusu so long as he has a moment to himself in the shadows?