Naruto Chapter 474

[poopdeville]

Yea! those fodder ninja had families too!

Not to mention Sasuke willingly left the village (a crime in and of itself)

Meh, a "crime" Jiraiya did. Jiraiya didn't ask for permission to stay and teach Nagato and the other kids. He just stayed behind, for three years. Sasuke has been gone only slightly longer than Jiraiya was.

and allied himself (first) with one of the Leaf's biggest enemies

And then proceeded to kill one of the Leaf's biggest enemies.

then (second) with an international criminal organization.

Even that's not really enough to make it on Konoha's hit list.

Sasuke crossed the line when he attacked Killabee, like Sakura and Sai and the Land of Lightning people said. Considering how ruthlessly ANBU Roots and the like fight, it is not implausible that Sasuke is an agent for SOMEBODY in Konoha who could possibly protect him after his mission is over -- like Danzou or Tsunade. (Though as much as I want to think Sasuke a "good guy", or at least on a mission, I know he probably isn't)

[RyougaZell]

Meh, a "crime" Jiraiya did. Jiraiya didn't ask for permission to stay and teach Nagato and the other kids. He just stayed behind, for three years. Sasuke has been gone only slightly longer than Jiraiya was.

And then proceeded to kill one of the Leaf's biggest enemies.

Even that's not really enough to make it on Konoha's hit list.

Sasuke crossed the line when he attacked Killabee, like Sakura and Sai and the Land of Lightning people said. Considering how ruthlessly ANBU Roots and the like fight, it is not implausible that Sasuke is an agent for SOMEBODY in Konoha who could possibly protect him after his mission is over -- like Danzou or Tsunade. (Though as much as I want to think Sasuke a "good guy", or at least on a mission, I know he probably isn't)

Oh yes. Its definitely the same case.

Sasuke went with Konoha's #1 enemy.
Jiraiya went with 3 powerless kids.

Yet Jiraiya did return. And the 3rd probably knew what he was doing and allowed him to stay. Sasuke never told anyone what he was going to do and left with the enemy.

The same case indeed.

So Sasuke should be left off the hook because he killed Orochimaru?

Why not let Itachi off the hook? He killed Orochimaru too. And Uchiha traitors.

According to your words, Zabuza should not be a missing nin, cause he tried to kill a bad kage (Madara?)

If defecting one's village, allying with your worst enemy and almost killing a fellow nin is not worth being on the hit list... why was Itachi in the hit list?

Seriously... what the fuck poop?

[poopdeville]

Oh yes. Its definitely the same case.

Sasuke went with Konoha's #1 enemy.
Jiraiya went with 3 powerless kids.

So Sasuke should be left off the hook because he killed Orochimaru?

Why not let Itachi off the hook? He killed Orochimaru too. And Uchiha traitors.

According to your words, Zabuza should not be a missing nin, cause he tried to kill a bad kage (Madara?)

Actually, we SHOULD let Itachi off the hook. He was on a mission. And if Sasuke is on a mission, he should be let off the hook too. And if he hadn't crossed the line and attacked Killabee, he could have been let off the hook still (even if he wasn't on a mission when he went to stay with Orochimaru), like Naruto (and apparently Tsunade) wanted.

The point being: Sasuke wasn't a "serious" criminal until he started waging war on people Konoha doesn't want to fight with. Nobody in Konoha thought he was a serious criminal when he killed Orochimaru, or Deidara, or Itachi. In fact, people thought/hoped he was coming home. Itachi wanted people to see Sasuke as a hero who left the village to get his revenge, and return to Konoha victorious.

More to that point: Konoha is only hunting Sasuke because he attacked Killabee. "Missing-nin" status is something villages give ninjas they want to distance themselves from politically. Konoha would have been happy to let Sasuke be a "missing nin" if all he ever did was kill Akatsuki guys.

I get the impression that the current Mizukage and her cronies respect Zabuza. For trying to kill the last Mizukage. The younger swordsmen still call Zabuza "senpai". The current Mizukage has specifically said (something, which I will fill in shortly -- if I recall correctly, the previous Mizukage was removed -- edit: nope, they haven't said how the last Mizukage left, but the current one called the "BloodMist Village" years a nightmare). If I (and I suppose we) are right about Madara being the previous Kage, I suspect that the current Kage wouldn't consider Zabuza a missing nin, but a hero and patriot (or something).

And to answer your question: Itachi was on the Konoha hit list because Danzou and the advisors want him dead. But Konoha was not actively seeking Itachi. Indeed, after Sandaime died, Itachi returned to Konoha to remind Danzou about the elders' promise to protect Sasuke (and to remind Danzou that Itachi is still around to protect his little brother)

[Sidnne]

Meh, a "crime" Jiraiya did. Jiraiya didn't ask for permission to stay and teach Nagato and the other kids. He just stayed behind, for three years. Sasuke has been gone only slightly longer than Jiraiya was.

Sasuke "leaving" the village is more than just not being physically present for a while. Sasuke has abandoned the village, severed all ties, dissolved his affiliation, and committed unsanctioned acts of war. Do we also need to mention that he was on his way to attack Konoha before Madara interrupted him and told to go kill the new Hokage instead?

There's really no way you can sensibly compare that to Jiraiya.