>>1827496Okay... The problem with understanding the fight that I see is that people can't tell the difference between the kind of restraint Naruto was using. They hear Sasuke say Naruto's hholding back and they get this idea that he was lowering his chakra, or using weaker versions of his attacks for Sasuke's sake. That's not what happened.
Naruto held back against Sasuke by not attempting lethal blows. He DIDN'T hold back in the sense of using his full power. Naruto's full strength comes from Rikudou Sage Mode. Which he used. Hell, he used it because he needed it, or else he would've died.
Sasuke wasn't holding back in the sense that he used everything he had to kill Naruto, and it wasn't enough. That's fine though, because it took all Naruto could muster to hold back that onslaught; the full amount of strength he could scrape out, EVERYTHING in his being to keep from dying. Just to keep from dying.
Now the real fuck-up is assuming that had Naruto wanted to kill Sasuke, that things would've gone differently. It wouldn't, because Naruto's power level would've remained the exact same. The only difference is he would've wasted more chakra and potentially lost because he would've given Sasuke more opportunities to steal chakra from him. Add to this the fact that Sasuke was far more handicapped for the fight than Naruto (lack of knowledge of his doujutsu while Naruto is a Senjutsu master and a Perfect Jinchuuriki, less chakra than Naruto, no access to all the abilities he could have, less stamina and chakra, unenhanced body).
-continued
