Board Thread:Wiki Discussions/@comment-24098614-20141025062417/@comment-3511763-20141029002304

How I view it, Sasuke wins to look superior. This battle, when Naruto wins, it will show how he finally overcame previous failures. It is a pretty simple plot device to bring a sense of accomplishment for the main hero. A good example of this is Ash with the majority of his rivals from the Pokemon series, namely Paul.