Sai (Naruto)
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| Sai | |
|---|---|
| (サイ) | |
 Sai by Masashi Kishimoto |
|
| Debut | Manga Chapter 281 |
| Profile | |
| Notable relatives | Older brother (deceased; not blood-related) |
| Information | |
| Current rank | ANBU |
| Current affiliation | Konohagakure, Root |
| Current team | Team Kakashi (Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno Sai). |
| Previous team | Team Yamato (Yamato, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sai) |
| Signature jutsu/Kekkei genkai | |
Sai (サイ?) is a fictional character in the manga Naruto.
[edit] Background
A member of a now-defunct independent subdivision of the ANBU called 'Root,' Sai is a ninja specializing in artistic ninjutsu. His real name isn't Sai; this was a codename given to him by Danzo for his mission to infiltrate Team 7 as the replacement of Sasuke Uchiha. His birth name is currently unknown, as are any other details about his life. The only thing that can be said for certain is that he is close to Naruto's age.
Sai use a scroll, brush and ink to draw animals that will jump out of the scroll and obey him. He can also use this method to produce a fully flight-capable bird on which he can ride. He also wields a short sword, which he keeps in a scabbard on his back at all times.
His first mission upon joining Team 7, which is unknown to his new teammates, is to kill Sasuke because of the supposed danger to Konoha he represented. But after realizing the bond between him and Naruto, he decided against it, stating instead that he wished to protect that bond by rescuing Sasuke from Orochimaru.
Sai's initial attitude toward Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno is quite rude. He introduces himself to Naruto by attacking him, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, followed by an insult to Naruto's manhood by asking him if he even has a penis. In fact, the subject of Naruto's (lack of) manhood is brought up time and again by Sai during their first mission. Calling Sakura ugly later doesn't win him any points with her, either. He tops it off by vehemently denouncing Sasuke using quite colorful language. This earns him a rather emphatic, flat-out refusal from Naruto to accept him as a member of the team, who insists that Team 7's third member is still Sasuke, even though he had defected. Sai also receives a well-aimed power punch from Sakura for bad-mouthing Sasuke.
As the story unfolds, Sai reveals that he has problems showing and actually feeling emotions (even when his big brother died) because of the special training which Root's aspirants are put through. He values the completion of his ANBU mission more than the safety of his teammates, as shown during training with Naruto, as well as when he ignores Yamato's order to catch an unconscious Sakura, who falls from a bridge during the confrontation with Orochimaru.
[edit] Sasuke and Sai arc
After the fight between demon fox-powered Naruto and Orochimaru ends, Sai confronts Orochimaru with a message from Danzo. The message prompts Orochimaru to leave with Kabuto, taking along Sai as his new subordinate. However, this event is not done so without witness, as Yamato's clone spies the group's dealings before they leave.
Following them, Yamato discovers what is apparently Sai's dead body hanging from a tree. In the following chapter, he is discovered alive and well, still on the run with Orochimaru and Kabuto. The "body" was an elaborate fake body created by a technique of Kabuto's. Yamato is able to discern the true nature of the body due to unnatural appearance of the stitching around the body's neck from which it was hung.
Sai discovers that his sketchbook is missing, and it is revealed to be in the hands of Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato. The sketchbook contains mysterious drawings of Sai and his assumed older brother growing up and going through a gauntlet of enemies. In each later image, Sai took the weapons and armor of his previous opponent. The center pages, where the two brothers are supposed to meet, are unfinished. The left page is completely blank whereas the right page has an image of Sai in full ANBU attire, only without a face. The true meaning of this is unknown to them.
Following Orochimaru to his hideout, Sai is introduced to Sasuke himself, who has been training under Orochimaru for the past two and a half years. Sasuke seems indifferent to him, expressing discontent towards Orochimaru. When Sai mentions that he might get along better with Sasuke than he did with Naruto, Sasuke fixes him with a stare, freezing Sai with a huge amount of killing intent. Sai expresses surprise that his emotionless self experiences fear after just a glimpse into Sasuke's eyes. He then relates that Naruto has not given up on Sasuke, and thinks of him as a brother. Sasuke once again seems indifferent and says that he only has one brother, the one that he has vowed to kill.
Orochimaru then orders Kabuto to get started in making a bingo book on the Konoha ANBU, from the information contained within the message from Danzo. Kabuto then leads Sai to a room within the hideout and locks the door, stating that he is not needed at this time. However, he forgets the bingo book information in the room. Sai makes sure that Kabuto is gone, before pulling out a scroll to summon a book, which he immediately starts to read, surprised at its contents.
However, when he hears a sound at the door, Sai quickly stashes the book in his bag. The sound turns out to be Yamato unlocking it using a wooden skeleton key formed from his finger, followed by the rest of Team Kakashi, who had infiltrated Orochimaru's hideout and tracked Sai by a wood "seed" that Yamato had planted earlier on his body. Although Sai expresses gratitude towards Sakura when she returns his art book, he is barraged with questions from the team about Danzo's motives. Sai just stands there, emotionless, with his eyes closed, until he cracks a smile and says that all of their assumptions about Danzo were incorrect. However, Naruto recognizes Sai's fake smile for what it is and yells that he is lying. Sai then admits that his mission is a failure and confirms that Danzo is indeed planning an attempt to destroy Konoha. However, he is also to spy on Orochimaru for Danzo, since Danzo knows that as soon as Konoha is destroyed, Orochimaru will turn on him. Sai's abilities made him the best choice for Danzo to send, as he can turn his messages into animals that can make their way back to Danzo, providing him with information.
When Sakura yells at him about the collateral damage that would occur due to Danzo's planned invasion, Sai states that he doesn't care, as those were his orders and he is only following them. Sai considers himself only as Danzo's emotionless tool. However, Sakura says that a shinobi cannot be completely emotionless, and uses Sai's attachment to his art book as a link to his brother as an example. Yamato mentions that Danzo had implemented special training to eliminate emotions in 'Root'. This training is similar to the former graduation exam of Kirigakure, in which fellow students had to fight each other to the death. Sai denies this and claimed that his brother merely died from sickness, and the book was supposed to be a present for him. Furthermore, he claims that he and his brother were not related by blood, they were merely two orphans who found a strong connection between each other. He says that the book is unfinished because he forgot what he had wanted to put there after his brother died.
After they return to the surface, Team Kakashi ties Sai up, leaving him under the watch of one of Yamato's wood clones. Naruto states that they will now go rescue Sasuke. However, Sai doubts their success, stating that he met Sasuke, who no longer cares about Naruto. If they go after him, Orochimaru will defeat them and use them for his experiments. He then asks Naruto why he is willing to oppose Orochimaru even if he hasn't been ordered to do so. Naruto responds that he used to hate Sasuke, but now he has formed a bond with him over time due to their shared experiences. Sai still doubts their success against Orochimaru, but Naruto states that he will do whatever it takes to retrieve Sasuke.
Before Team Kakashi could set out, Kabuto shows up and frees Sai. However, Sai, moved by Naruto's words and hoping to understand his relationship with his own brother, shocks everyone by helping Yamato immobilize Kabuto.
After his capture, Kabuto is forthcoming about information on the lair, but not Sasuke's whereabouts. Team Kakashi splits into two pairs; Sai is paired up with Naruto, and Sakura with Yamato, in search of Sasuke. After Naruto collapses inside the lair due to fatigue from when he activated his Demon fox form, Sai suggests that they should rest. During this rest period, Sai says that Naruto reminded him of his brother, and it is at that moment when he finally remembers how to draw the final picture in his book. He draws his brother and himself, both wearing ANBU uniforms, and holding hands and smiling. This appears to bring an actual smile to his face. Orochimaru then appears questioning Sai's loyalty.
Naruto tells Sai to escape while he holds off Orochimaru, telling him to find Sasuke and bring him back. Sakura and Yamato arrive to back up Naruto, as Yamato has sensed Naruto's chakra emission. Orochimaru decides not to fight due to these odds and retreats. After he leaves, Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato find Sai's bingo book, which contains orders for assassination. His next victim is supposed to be Sasuke, as Danzo considers him a threat to Konoha.
Sai uses drawn rats to locate Sasuke, and when he finds him, uses drawn snakes to attack him while he is seemingly asleep. Sasuke senses the attack, but does nothing to prevent it. However, Sai reveals in a surprising move that he is going to bring Sasuke back to Naruto, instead of following his assigned mission. This is because he doesn't want to break Naruto's bond with Sasuke and will fight to protect that bond which Naruto was willing to give his life to defend.
As the fight between Sasuke and Team 7 begins, Sai moves to prevent Sasuke from stabbing Naruto with his hiltless version of the Kusanagi sword. However, before he can counterattack, Sai is stunned by Sasuke's new jutsu, One Thousand Birds Current.
Sai gives comforting words to Sakura and Naruto after they realized that Sasuke was gone. Upon returning to Konoha, Sai decides to continue using his alias, and receives permission from Danzo to stay with Team 7, despite some minor objections. In his home he remembers what Naruto has told him and regains his emotions. Naruto then calls for him to go on their next mission together. He leaves his house to join Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato on their new mission, but not before placing a scroll in front of his window that says "Friends".
[edit] Current arc
During a little R&R, Sai reads up on relationship skills and gaining people's trust at the Konoha library. As one could expect from someone who learned to communicate with others via a book, Sai initially has problems putting what he read into practice, but Naruto tells him not to worry about being formal. Reading earlier that giving friends nicknames was a positive thing, Sai calls Sakura "hag" in a friendly way, which solicits a not-so-friendly reaction from Sakura. At the hospital, Kakashi tells the new Team 7 about a training technique that will help Naruto become strong enough to compete against Sasuke and possibly even surpass Kakashi himself.
However, further talks are postponed as Team Asuma had come to visit them. Team 7, along with Choji and Ino, ended up going to the Yakiniku restaurant to re-introduce themselves to each other. Sai attempts again to put what he read into practice by giving nicknames to Asuma's team. He almost makes the severe mistake of calling Choji "fat", but is stopped by Naruto at the last second. Taking into consideration his prior experience with Sakura, Sai determines that nicknames based on compliments are more suited for women. To this end, Sai calls Ino "beautiful" — promptly earning another severe beating from an annoyed Sakura.
