How come Naruto is still training at times like this??
Doesn’t he know that his beloved village is in grave danger?? I know that he didn’t get the messege that Tsunade sama sent him, but can’t he at least felt somewhat uncomfortable??

As for Kakashi, I do not think that he is dead yet.. I mean come on.. Someone that strong couldn’t just die that easily.. And I think he dreaming about meeting his father (that has already die ages ago…) is a sign.. I think that his dad is gonna say to him not to die easily.. Keep moving forward.. At least, I hope that he will say that..

And for Konoha.. This village is famous for it’s ninjas.. I really hope that they can still stand.. At least till Tsunade could get Naruto back. When Naruto sees his village and the people he love getting destroyed, he will probably go berzerk! Maybe to his full kyuubi… But that ain’t good either..

My,my.. Masashi is really putting us in a state where guessing ain’t an option.. Somehow, I feel that Naruto is getting more complicated each chapter.. And I somewhat feel that Naruto is close to it’s end..

I hope things turn really good in the next chapter.. And I also hope that Sakura can heal the injuries of many ninjas.. At least till Tsunade sama gets back..

@ Kitsune, lol yes Kyuubi doesn’t want to merge with frog. Somewhere Gamabunta is in a really pissy mood.

Ah, yes, the final battle of the first season. That was indeed awesome and meaningful, once you realize who the two figures are. Plus, flashbacks.

The sheer number, and the fact that he beat them without killing them – it is harder to subdue than to kill – is a testament to his powers, and I think that’s what Kishimoto was trying to show.

Absolutely agree, maybe its the girl in the me that also wants to see it as compassion on his part too.

While his unwillingness to kill might have died along with Itachi though I still think there is a big difference between Danzou and a young kid. If Sasuke really does go that far, then I think for sure I’ll be done with this manga. If Sasuke were to kill innocent villagers, there would be no way they could redeem him in my eyes.

I really enjoyed Hinata’s battle too and Lee’s because it just goes to show its not always about the winning. It didn’t matter than Hinata lost, what mattered is she finally stood up for herself and found some confidence. Lee gave it everything he’s got, he always does, win, lose or draw, he’s all heart that guy, that is really what makes the fight thrilling. Not the awesome power or super duper spiffy new jutsu of the week. Its the will that goes into that fight, the desire behind the battle.

Kind of like the battle at the valley of the end. The passion there (down yaoi girls I don’t mean it like that) with Naruto desperately putting everything he had into it, to bring Sasuke back. And Sasuke pushing him away just as hard because his need for vengeance had finally overtaken him completely. Awesome battle not because of the power they display in their fight, but because of the emotion behind their fists.

At least that’s what I find interesting.

I’ll say it right here, right now. KAKASHI IS NOT GOING TO DIE. If he had stopped at the part where he apologizes to Obito and shit, then he’d be dead. But no, he’s meeting with his dad. I can just imagine the conversation now.

“And yeah, dad, I love my students and Konoha.”
“I see.”
“What… am I doing here? Can I just let it end like this?”
“Go, Kakashi.”
“Kay, dad.”

And then he appears when someone is in trouble. Of course, the conversation might play out in a different way. The White Fang might say something and urge Kakashi to stay, or something. There’s like fifty different possibilities, each other ending with Kakashi going back. Except the hidden fifty-first one, where Kishimoto has a heart attack and dies, allowing for us to imagine how Naruto will end, which will ultimately lead to a FAR MORE satisfying conclusion.

Sasuke’s decision to no longer kill ended with Itachi’s death. I don’t think it’s more of his compassion towards the weak, but more like he feels slaughter is meaningless – hes got nothing against those ninjas that he beat the crap out of in his training sessions. Moreover, I think the training session thing was more of a way to show just how powerful Sasuke is, rather than giving insight to his compassion. The sheer number, and the fact that he beat them without killing them – it is harder to subdue than to kill – is a testament to his powers, and I think that’s what Kishimoto was trying to show.

Really, this “Pein Attacks Akatsuki” arc ruined what a good time in Naruto, just when I was trying to recover from the sheer stupidity of the series. Naruto’s been crappy for a long time now, and I’ve learned to find the good in its flaws, but this is just lame. I hated the Itachi versus Sasuke battle, which was basically the two of them pulling out random illusions and throwing fireballs at each other, sprinkled with some god-hax. And that sucks, cause I was really looking forward to it.

I miss the good old days. Once more, I repeat, the Chunin Exam arc was my favorite. The battles back then had actually depth and were much more visually exciting for me. Sasuke’s first battle in the Exams, the one against the guy who absorbed Chakra, was fucking awesome because he managed to win with a handicap AND used that sweet combo attack. Both Neji battles were awesome, because you get to see Hinata standing up for stuff and Naruto fought with some amount of tactics, rather than the usual “I GOT INFINITE POWER” shit that we have to go through. And the Rock Lee versus Gaara battle is, in my opinion, the only time where Naruto actually made me cry, when Rock Lee’s unconscious body stands up again and Guy starts weeping. And of course, there was Shikamaru, who proved that REAL ninjas fight with their brains instead of flailing their fists.

The problem with Naruto – or the problem with most Shounen – is that the next boss has to be infintely stronger than the previous one. This changes the power levels by extremely, meaning that the stuff previously learnt becomes useless. With the exception of a few staples, all the characters simply use a skill once, throw it away and then bring in a new one. The exceptions are, of course, the Kage Bunshin, the summons and the Bloodlines. Of course, BLEACH is different in that most of the characters only have one or two skills in the first place (the shikai abilities and the bankai abilities) and the main character pretty much does nothing but spam black crescents. Which is why One Piece remains superior, in my opinion. Despite the sheer amount of moves, most of the characters will use nearly all their moves again sooner or later, except the situational ones, which can’t be helped.

Poing being, I’m a gigantic One Piece fanboy.

…

I mean, point being, Naruto is ruining itself, just like Madonna ruins her career every time she opens her mouth.

I don’t know whether Sasuke said what he did in the heat of the moment or just because he was trying to convince Madara he was on his side.

But I don’t actually think he intends to kill everyone in the village. In the past he’s been unwilling to kill those weaker than himself. Remember his training sessions back with Orochimaru and how he wouldn’t kill?

I understand back then that he didn’t know the truth of the situation and how his brother had been sacrificed for the village.

But he did allow the Hachibi to go, I really do think that wasn’t just a mistake. I think it was a deliberate move on his part. That may simply mean he has no wish to see Akatsuki’s plans come to fruition either, or maybe he didn’t want to see the host die.

He’s shown that he cares for the welfare of his current team, so the emo Uchiha can still feel for others. Would he really be able to stand before a small child and slaughter their parents before that kids eyes? Would he be able to plunge a swored into that child a completely innocent party?

Despite how angry Sasuke is, I don’t think he could go that far. Whilst Danzou for certain deserves his anger I don’t think the rest of the villagers do and I think that raging and saying he wanted the destruction of the village was just a smokescreen for the benefit of Madara.

After all if he wants to kill them all for blindly living their lives thanks to his brothers sacrifice then his end goal must be to kill himself. Because wasn’t he just like them? Hating his brother, being able to live freely thanks to his brothers sacrifice without knowing it. Really he is no different from those villagers he says he despises so much right now.

He knows Itachi considered Madara powerful enough that he felt he couldn’t take him out and Sasuke doesn’t really know the extent of his powers. Sasuke isn’t stupid enough to just all out attack Madara, when he isn’t sure of his capabilities. Much better to bide his time and learn what he can about Madara.

Or maybe history is repeating itself and instead of slaughtering an entire clan he’ll take out an entire village and he’ll follow the footsteps of his brother. Except Itachi did it to protect and Sasuke will be doing it simply for vengeance.

Do we really think Sasuke has become that cold hearted? Has his hatred finally reached the level Itachi wished for? Poor Itachi, all that work and his efforts go to waste then, because that power won’t save the village he sacrificed himself for. Instead it will destroy it when all he intended all along was to save it.

I don’t think its gonna turn out that way. Itachi passed on powers to both Sasuke and Naruto, his intention probably being that whilst he alone couldn’t destroy Madara, the two of them fighting together could. So at some point that has got to happen and it totally won’t if Sasuke kills the villagers of Konoha.