kishimoto set out a fictional world where he could have made a statement on unfounded bigotry, systematic oppression and child abuse….and then turned it into a story about a boy who confuses the hatred he faced as the need for acknowledgement and “resolved” everything by making him hokage with a trophy wife. that’s why i’m like *no response* when naruto makes his 129th speech about the friends he made along the way because everything he says is from a personal level that has no impact on the bigger picture. his constant sacrifices and personal victory of becoming hokage changes absolutely nothing and i hate the typical shounen manga ~friendship is end all be all~ propaganda. i like naruto as a concept but i can’t bring myself to fully enjoy his arc because so much of a typical straight man’s idea of success is projected onto him.