not to be too emo over naruto in the middle of the night but naruto doesnt owe the village shit and they dont deserve him. the reason naruto was neglected so badly was bcus they never saw him as a human being but rather a tool to protect the village

naruto was never put in an orphanage or adopted out to a family bcus of the kyuubi and his devastating power. they couldnt risk him not being shinobi and so he is mostly left to himself in a government controlled environment so that when the time comes he'll die to protect konoha

naruto has never been valued as a person by the system, or even by his own parents. he's always just been a tool, a means to an end and that's why the only time he ever gets recognition and acknowledgement is when he's willing to die to protect it

sasuke and the uchihas are very much the same. kekkei genkai users are feared and hated for the most part but as long as they are considered useful and loyal to the state and system then they are allowed to live. when the uchihas challenge that, they're killed

as long as sasuke and his sharingan were loyal to konoha then they were worth keeping alive. when sasuke left to study under orochimaru, while that was personally destructive, it wasnt a direct threat to the village. with his loyalty in a question tho he couldnt be left alive

hence sai's assassination attempt. it's so weird to see where naruto ended up because the whole land of waves arc is just about the corruption of the ninja world, the devaluing of human life and what is worth fighting for.

the whole moral of that arc is that it's not ok to throw your life away for a village that has never given a shit about you, but it is ok if you're protecting the people you love. that's what's important and worth fighting for, and it's the only thing that is

i once read a fic where sasuke convinces naruto to leave with with him after VotE 1 bcus of all of this but it's set up as very manipulative and self serving on sasuke's part even tho he was absolutely right