Naruto is driven less by a need for glory than a desire to be accepted. He works diligently and learns as much as he can about his world so he can make as many connections as possible. He is very sympathetic toward people who feel alone. Naruto strives to convince others that unity can overcome any suffering. He derives his power from the connections he makes with others, through senjutsu, his relationships with the tailed beasts, and his relationships with his friends. He is stubborn and hyper-focused on his goals. He is so possessive of his bonds with others that he will chase people down and sacrifice his body, especially for Sasuke. Besides unity, Naruto focuses on the future rather than the past, and is more existentialist than essentialist. He believes that everyone has the power to choose who they want to be, and that no matter what mistakes you’ve made in the past, there’s always a way to change yourself. As such, Naruto doesn’t accept fatalist or essentialist logic as excuses for not changing, leading to clashes with such people as Neji, Gaara, and Obito. Despite his parents’ death and the deaths of mentors and friends, Naruto shoulders the memory of the people he’s lost and goes on to foster new relationships

Sasuke focuses more on the past, and is more essentialist in nature. From the beginning of the story, Sasuke falls back on his innate Uchiha abilities and prides himself on his heritage. He is so distraught by the pain of losing his family that revenge becomes more important to him than protecting the bonds of the friends and mentors he’s come to know. Like most other Uchiha, Sasuke tries to take everything on himself without acknowledging anyone else. This escalates to the point that he would rather appoint himself dictator who oppresses everyone equally than strive for cooperation on an even footing. Obito, Itachi, and Madara are also examples of Uchiha who tried to take on too much by themselves.