It’s not often that I read a story in which Yagura sticks around long enough to develop a personality and with Sealkeeper’s recent arc in Mizu no Kuni I’ve taken the opportunity to platy around with his character a bit.

The first thing I had to do was determine what kind of person might do the things he did in cannon when Obito was no longer a part of the equation. There were several answers to that, of course, but one that just felt right was a man of order and control who is simply unable to cope with the chaos of the outside world.

That desire for organization and a focus on his thoughts about administrating the country he rules also served to make him similar to Naruto which I quite liked.

Reading chapter 96 and 97 I’m sure you can see that they are pretty similar but there is a very big difference that keeps them from getting along- how they deal with change and emotion.

Yagura is very steadfast in his ways, stubborn and unyielding. He has his own visions on how the world should spin around him and he does whatever he can to enforce his personal laws and beliefs upon everyone he can.

Naruto, in this case, is the exact opposite. Naruto is flexible, adaptable, and will not think twice about dropping what he’s working on to address something that pops up unexpectedly. It’s not neat, it’s not organized, and despite all his attempts to reign it in it’s best described as chaos.

Regardless of how similar they might be in their cruelty, administration, and willingness to go to any length for their goals the two conflict in how they react to situations and why they react.

Yagura only recognizes two emotions, irritation and satisfaction. He is a creature of habit and a being of his own twisted logic, an unyielding machine driven by a need for things to be ‘right’.

Naruto has the reverse problem, allowing emotions like fear, anger, love, loss, and his greatest weakness pride to control his actions. Whatever has the largest emotional weight at any given time is given first priority, everything else cast aside until it’s resolved.

Neither method is correct, and neither way of thinking is necessarily healthy. Naruto could benefit from being able to look at situations more objectively, setting aside feelings to determine what’s best for the future of his Wolves while Yagura would be amazed at how well things go for him if he managed to care for his village, his country, and the men under his command.

Both are, most simply, wrong and both see their weaknesses in eachother.

Yagura cannot abide the chaotic drive of Naruto who storms into Mizu no Kuni without warning to ensure his forces are safe and Naruto is unable to allow himself to be so restricted in his actions by personal choice that his Wolves become nothing more than numbers on a report.

Were their beliefs not so opposed on that one front than there is no doubt that the two of them would get along very well and the rest of the world would have great cause to worry. Because they see their own weaknesses and aspects they hate in eachother their similarities do little more than remind them of what they are not and what they never want to be.

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love it. Having them so similar but so incompatible that they could never manage to work with eachother for long amuses me greatly and provides excellent opportunities for the story.

Opportunities you may be seeing pretty soon.

Until I next have your attention,

–Eyazahrid