Sai (Naruto)

Sai is a fictional character in the manga Naruto.

Background

Template:Spoilers A member of a now-defunct independent subdivision of the ANBU called 'Root, Sai is the codename of a ninja about Naruto's age specializing in artistic ninjutsu and functioning as an undercover agent sent by Danzō to infiltrate Team 7 as Sasuke's replacement. His mission and its full objective was to kill Sasuke because of his supposed danger to Konoha, but after realizing the bond between him and Naruto, he decides against this, instead stating that he wishes to protect that bond by rescuing him from Orochimaru. When he successfully became a part of Team 7, his initial attitude toward Naruto and Sakura would not be evidence of this. His introduction to Naruto was an attack on him, Shikamaru and Chōji, which was followed by an insult to Naruto's manhood by asking him if he even has a penis (and makes several other comments about it in later chapters). Calling Sakura ugly later does not win him any points with her either.

Later, he tops it off by vehemently denouncing Sasuke using quite colorful language. With this, it earned him Naruto's rather emphatic flat-out refusal to accept him as a member of the team, insisting that Team 7's third member is still Sasuke, even when he's gone. Sai also earns a well-aimed power punch from Sakura for bad-mouthing Sasuke. As the story unfolds, Sai admits that he has a problem of showing his emotions (even when his big brother died) because he is somehow devoid of his own emotion or thoughts. 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 ignored Yamato's order to catch an unconscious Sakura who fell from a bridge during the confrontation with Orochimaru.

Sai uses a scroll, brush and ink to draw animals that will jump out of the scroll and attack to his will. He can also use this method to produce a fully flight-capable bird, which he can ride. He also wields a short sword like weapon that he keeps on his back at all times.

Grass Country Arc

After the fight between Kyūbi Naruto and Orochimaru ends, Sai confronts Orochimaru with a message from Danzō. 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 body hanging from a tree, dead. But 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 dropped his sketchbook and left it with his things where Sakura, Naruto and Yamato find it. 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 empty, probably because Sai's brother has died, 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 2 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 felt afraid 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 from the information contained within the message from Danzō, complete information on the ANBU directly under the control of the Hokage. 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 envelope full of information in the room and leaves the room. Sai makes sure that Kabuto is gone, before pulling out a scroll and activating the seals on it to summon a book, which he immediately starts to read, surprised at its (unknown, as of now) contents.

However, when he hears a sound at the door, Sai quickly stashes the book in his bag. The sound turns out to be the Yamato unlocking it using a wooden skeleton key formed out of his hand, 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 Danzō's motives. Sai just stands there, emotionless, with his eyes closed, until he cracks a smile and says that all of their assumptions about Danzō were incorrect. However, Naruto recognizes Sai's fake smile for what it is and yells that he is lying. Caught, Sai states that his mission is a failure and confirms that Danzō is indeed planning an attempt to destroy Konoha as it exists today. However, he is also to spy on Orochimaru for Danzō, since Danzō knows that as soon as the old Konoha is destroyed, Orochimaru will turn on him. Sai's abilities made him the best choice for Danzō to send, as his jutsu can make the ink he writes with turn into animals that can make their way back to Danzō, providing him with information.

When Sakura yells at him about the collateral damage that would occur due to Danzō'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 Danzō'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 Danzō had implemented special training to eliminate emotions in 'Ne'. This training was similar to the former graduation exam of Kirigakure no Sato (Hidden Mist Village), in which fellow students, or family members in this case, 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 claimed 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 Moku Bunshins. 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, before a battle could develop, Sai, moved by Naruto's words and hoping to understand his relationship with his own brother, shocked everyone by helping Yamato immobilize Kabuto.

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Sai finally showing a true smile after completing his picture book about him and his brother.

After his capture, Kabuto was forthcoming about information on the lair, but not Sasuke's whereabouts. Team Kakashi split into 2 pairs, Sai was 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 Kyūbi form, Sai suggested that they should rest. During this rest period, Sai said that Naruto reminded him of his brother, and it was at that moment when he finally remembered how to draw the final picture in his book. He draws his brother and himself holding hands and smiling as both wear ANBU uniforms. 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 backup 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 he is considered a threat to Konoha by Danzō.

Sai uses rats he drew 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, Chidori Nagashi (One Thousand Birds Current).

Sai gave comforting words to Sakura and Naruto after they realized that Sasuke was gone. Finally, Sai has been accepted by Team Kakashi as their "companion". Upon returning to Konoha, Sai decided to continue using this name, and requested to stay with Team 7, despite some minor objections from Danzō. 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".

Preparing Naruto Arc

During R&R, Sai has been working on his personality and relationship skills by reading about it at the Konoha library, where he reads books on how to gain people's trust. Sai has gotten very close and friendly with his team members and they head out to meet Kakashi. 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. Possibly even surpass Kakashi himself.

However, further talks are postponed as Team Asuma had come to visit them (chūnin exams had ended). Team 7, along with Chōji, Shikamaru and Ino, ended up going to the Yakiniku place 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 Chōji 'Fat', but is saved by Naruto at the last second. At this point, 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 "gorgeous" — promptly earning another severe beating from an annoyed Sakura.

Trivia

• His ability is believed to be based on the Chinese folktale Liang & the Magic Paintbrush
• "Sai" is his false name, and was assigned only for the Grass Country mission. He has no name, as he his mostly cut off from the rest of the world. There is a good chance he can't remember his original name.
• When Sakura first met him, she commented that Sai's appearance and voice bear striking resemblance to Sasuke (possible that he will be voiced by the same seiyu as Sasuke once he appears in the anime), though Naruto disagrees, and claims that Sasuke is much better than him. However, such negative thoughts no longer held true.
• Sai truly has changed thanks to Naruto because he didn't go through with his original mission to kill Sasuke, and he tried to save Naruto without a second thought. Sasuke even called Sai "Naruto's Protector."
• The Grass Country Arc seemed to put an end to some of Sai's personal problems, such as a lack of friends, inability to show emotions, and only caring about the mission instead of his comrades. With Naruto's help, Sai has now become more human, and he is another example of people Naruto changed for the better, with the possible exception of not being informed of what Sakura takes offense to being addressed as.
• It was stated by Uchiha Sasuke during the Grass Country arc that Sai seemed stronger than Yamato.
• Like Naruto, Sai has a tendency to come up with his own pet names for those he is close too. In his case however, he doesn't realize how people react to offensive words so he just goes with how he feels. So far he has called:

Sakura: Hag/Ugly-Dog (which promptly earned him a nasty beating from Sakura)

Chōji: Fatass/Fatty/Fatso/Tubby (Japanese term is "Debu", which is an offensive way to call someone fat; Naruto prevents him from actually doing so)

Ino: Ms. Lovely/Ms. Beautiful/Beautiful/Gorgeous (afraid of receiving a similar reaction like the one Sakura gave him, he decided to give Ino a compliment instead of what he was really thinking; this greatly annoyed Sakura to the point where she beat him again)

• It seems like it has become a running gag that Sai is unable to read social situations correctly or inadvertantly calls people offensive names without realizing it.