Christmas is here and so is another new chapter of Naruto. This week though, it’s not so much about Madara—okay, it still is—or Naruto as it is about Gaara, who takes the show this week with Shukaku. There’s something great about seeing him actually stand-up and get some time in the limelight here as a former Jinchuriki, because it not only highlights his growth, but how much Naruto has influenced both of them over the course of the series. Plugging in that flashback to one of Shukaku’s previous masters was a great choice that really added to this, as did the fact that the kanji (“love”) on Gaara’s face could also be split to reveal the kanji for “receive heart”. It’s a symbolic gesture to say the least, and one that highlights the fact that Kishimoto’s meant to use this at some point—something that he deserves some props for.

That said, the most significant part for me wasn’t any of the above, but rather the emphasis Kishimoto put on Shukaku’s first reaction to Gaara. Because ultimately, there’s a kind of irony to them both hating each other while theoretically sharing the same hatred for other humans. Combine that with the 180 they’ve since both pulled and the fact that Gaara’s been given a chance to be Shukaku’s equal now that he actually isn’t a Jinchuriki makes this all the more significant, and makes this a pretty nice chapter in my books.

Furthermore, the dialogue about how we tend to sometimes say things we don’t really mean was something that really struck home for me—not only because it’s quite true for some people, but because it emphasizes the logical vs. illogical nature of humanity and the fact that you can’t just always assume you know what someone else is thinking. It’s a wall that can only be overcome by communication, and it can be said that’s always been an underlying theme within this series—complementing the whole “power of friendship bit.” Of course, this doesn’t mean the series is suddenly some kind of super complex thing—it was never intended to be—but there are some messages this series is trying to send, and this chapter did it a lot better than many of the previous ones in my opinion.

Here’s to the next chapter. And here’s hoping you’re enjoying your Christmas!

27 Comments

  1. Quite the cliffhanger ending now that we have two weeks of break incoming. The chapter was indeed good, and that’s coming from someone who didn’t really enjoy Naurot at all lately. O and I was amused when I saw some people panicking that Naruto is dead now that Nine Tails was extracted….

    Misk
  2. This chapter was good. No Obito to screw it up, that’s first and foremost. This makes me wonde though what will happen to Naruto? I mean his Uzumaki blood could be the only thing keeping him barely alive at this point, and even if Minato gave Naruto the other half of Kurama’s power, I bet Madara would be Madara and take that half as well.

    I bet a lot of people already realized this but Madara has one big weak spot. It’s located at Hashirama’s face, it’s Madara’s heart. It’s wide open and its one of the main places Madara is getting his power and regeneration from right now. The ninja need to aim for that. Though it won’t be easy.

    Whoever watches Forneverworld, he said that during an interview Kishi said that he doesn’t know how to kill Madara off, which Forneverworld hopes is false info.

    swordhack4
      1. Well at last, we all know Narutos weakness…. Yes yes, he want to turn every Enemy into to understand him, or become his Friend

        Sasuke is the more merciless version. He has the Guts and Will, to end one Life. Sasuke is the Black part of Yin and Yan, where Naruto is the White one

        Both together are the Bond that the Manga lives from

        Germanguy
      2. Unless Sasuke gets the Rinnegan and magically gains decades of hard combat experience and abilities, there is no way he could be anywhere near Madara’s level right now. Even with the Eternal Mangekyo, I doubt Sasuke is anywhere near as powerful as Madara was before he first died either. Even Itachi, despite being called the “second coming of Madara” when he was a kid was nowhere near THAT powerful and he was shown to be one of the most haxed characters in the story up until the real Madara appeared, and that was when he was in his Edo Tensei body. Now that he’s alive again, and apparently even MORE powerful than when under Edo Tensei on top of having the Runnegan and Hashirama’s abilities, there really is no one single person who could stand up to him, much less beat him, unless the first Rikudo Sennin suddenly appears.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
  3. lol if Naruto loses Kyuubi, he’s done for. No more OP sage cape. No more unlimited magical chakra.

    Then Madara wins by killing everyone. The End.

    Would be the best ending ever. Do it, Kishi!

    EamonX
    1. Anyone can see that Naruto only really made it this far, through most of his battles, due to Kurama’s chakra in some way. Otherwise, he would’ve been dead long ago.

      It’s what helped him overcome Haku, it’s what allowed him to last against Neji, it helped him stand up to Gaara, it kept him alive against Sasuke, it helped him take down the shape-shifted clone of Itachi (at only 30% max, no less), it’s what kept him alive against Orochimaru, it helped greatly weaken Nagato, it helped him during the early parts of the war, and now it’s the only thing that helped him fight now.

      Without it, now all he has is normal Sage Mode, which only BARELY helped against Nagato and Obito, and, with Obito, that was WITH Kurama’s chakra added to the mix to increase the power too.

      Kurama’s chakra has largely been nothing more than a crutch for Naruto since early on. What makes it feel a bit more lame is Naruto’s determination, after his fight with Orochimaru and re-encounter with Sasuke, in trying to NOT rely on Kurama’s power anymore, but “his own” power, which is what lead to him getting the elemental training (which he has yet to even finish) and developing the Rasenshuriken (which I still personally say he hasn’t truly mastered). It was even said a few times throughout Part 1 that Naruto’s own chakra reserves were much bigger than even many adults. But then after Nagato, it goes right back into seeking to use Kurama’s power again leading to the training to forcefully take control of it. It also doesn’t help that Jiraiya pretty much encouraged that reliance during their training trip (which also helps explain why Naruto alone had changed VERY little at the start of Part 2; Jiraiya not really training him in much besides improving the basics while focusing mostly on unlocking more of Kurama’s chakra).

      I know there are people who try to say, “But Sasuke wouldn’t have gotten this far without the Sharingan” as some sort of “fair” comparison when it really isn’t. The Sharingan has always been “built in” into the Uchiha Clan, something a majority of members can awaken and use. Kurama, on the other hand, is an entirely separate, sentient being of chakra that was forced into Naruto with sealing. It’s not “his” power, but “Kurama’s” power (and, by extension, a chunk of the “Jubi’s” power). Even if they work together, like Bee and Gyuki, or Naruto and Kurama later, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still two entirely separate powers working in conjunction with one another through the Jinchuriki. It’s not solely the Jinchuriki’s own power like the Sharingan is for each individual Uchiha.

      Of course, that’s just the regular Sharingan, and even the normal Mangekyo Sharingan is still “their” power. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, on the other hand, is debatable, given the requirement of transplanting the Mangekyo Sharingan eyes of a sibling to obtain it, so in a way, it could be said that it’s both the user’s AND “their sibling’s” power. Though, Sasuke still only got the Eternal Mangekyo pretty recently (in-universe wise anyway) and, before now, he’s only ever used it in combat against Kabuto, and that was ended largely due to Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan and Izanami much more so than Sasuke and the Eternal Mangekyo.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. ^So much this.It’s why it’s hard to really appreciate Naruto’s growth as much as the series would want us to.

        Not only has the Kurama acted like plot armor throughout the ENTIRE series,it didn’t have any real consequences either like they were once making it out to be.It was what? Injurying Jiraiya once and I hitting(hardly even injuring if I recall) Sakura once.Now that they’re all good friends,it really shows that Kurama has been mostly a good thing for Naruto – the pros outweight the cons by a long shot.

        Heck,Mangekyo has big consequences despite not being a separate entity and not being nearly as powerful – you can eventually loose your eyesight after excessive use.

        MgMaster
      2. They made out the initial usage of it, with 4-tails and higher, that the constant self-inflicted injuries and healing from the chakra resulted in shortening Naruto’s lifespan, yet when Naruto goes 6 and 8-tails, exponentially more powerful and potent, there’s NO mention of it whatsoever. Same with the Rasenshuriken and its risk of damaging Naruto’s chakra coils beyond repair and ending his life as a shinobi. He suddenly starts using it more and more and, once again, no mention.

        And the Mangekyo Sharingan eventually makes the user go blind JUST from awakening it. Using its abilities merely accelerates the process. This is why Itachi was able to (barely) keep his eyesight up until the very end of his fight with Sasuke, several years after awakening it; because he didn’t need to rely on its usage because he was more than skilled enough to win without them. Sasuke, on the other hand, barely lasted, at best, a few weeks after awakening it because he completely relied on it and its abilities, spamming/maintaining Amaterasu and Susano’o constantly during the Kage Summit and against Danzo.

        Even then, at least the Mangekyo Sharingan’s weakness has the “cure” explained with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan whereas the stuff with Kurama and the Rasenshuriken just…disappear.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
      3. You missed a few key points here. Naruto having a bijuu has been a constant deterrent to Naruto really until Bijuu Mode. For one, his chakra was constantly being eaten by Kurama as well as being used to seal him, so for the majority of his life he’s never had access or proper use of all his chakra. The other drawback was later introduced that continued use would allow Kurama to take him over.

        This is very similar to the limit of MS, that you mentioned, as going blind was never a real threat to Sasuke, who we always knew would just get Itatchi’s eyes eliminating any drawback.

        Finally your Rasenshuriken point completely leaves out the fact that it was the explosion of the technique that damages Naruto not just using it. When he gained the ability to throw it, that drawback was eliminated.

        Tez
      4. “You missed a few key points here. Naruto having a bijuu has been a constant deterrent to Naruto really until Bijuu Mode. For one, his chakra was constantly being eaten by Kurama as well as being used to seal him, so for the majority of his life he’s never had access or proper use of all his chakra. The other drawback was later introduced that continued use would allow Kurama to take him over.”

        At the same time, however, the Shiki Fuin was also forcefully taking Kurama’s chakra and adding it to Naruto’s own so it was essentially an even trade-off there, probably more so in Naruto’s favor given how much stronger Kurama’s chakra is.

        And it wasn’t using it in general, but a combination of if he used TOO MUCH at once before he was ready, which is what resulted in such uncontrollable states like the 4, 6, and 8 tailed states, alongside his own emotional state which, as we saw, he’s not always the most emotionally mature person (partly to blame for how he grew up and people not really taking the time to teach him otherwise).

        “Finally your Rasenshuriken point completely leaves out the fact that it was the explosion of the technique that damages Naruto not just using it. When he gained the ability to throw it, that drawback was eliminated.”

        Actually, the explosion had little, if anything, to do with it.

        Just forming it and the time holding it in his hand damages the chakra coils throughout his whole arm, so even with being able to throw it later, that doesn’t take away that fact as he’s still forming and holding it before throwing it. The only reason the explosion might play any sort of role is due to how Naruto was forced to use it when it was incomplete; that he didn’t have the control to maintain the Rasenshuriken for more than a few seconds, forcing him to get in close and directly hit the opponent with it like the regular Rasengan.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
      5. Sorry man, but you are 100% wrong about the damage Rasenshuriken does to Naruto. The needles that cause the damage don’t release until it explodes. Please re-read that chapter. Think logically… How would it not damage him at close range, but would damage the opponent?

        Tez
      6. Tsunade makes no mention of it being due to the explosion specifically. She says there was damage to Naruto’s whole arm, but nowhere near as much as to Kakuzu’s body. How could that be if Naruto was right there when the explosion happened? And if it was from the explosion, how could it ONLY be to Naruto’s arm and not to parts ALL over his body, considering how big the effect was?

        It only logically means that the damage came from him simply holding it in his hand. Remember, the Futon chakra is flowing all around the Rasengan, not simply contained all inside the sphere, meaning it’s affecting whatever is within its range the entire time, like Naruto’s arm.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
  4. Yes! Keep on winning, Madara!

    Be a man, Kishi! Say, “Screw you!” to your publishers most likely forcing you to drag stuff out, and make Madara win and end it there! lol

    And, once again, this is all with just ONE Rinnegan eye.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  5. I love you, you love me, we’re a happy family…

    Yeah, I know the sappy friendship stuff is inevitable (and I even enjoy it most of the time), but the biju personality twist was far too easy to be satisfying. On a more technical note, the action near the end was way too muddled; I have practically no idea what was happening or how it ended.

    Obligatory ‘where was everyone else’ as well.

    Hochmeister
  6. I think Sasuke just could have burned those chains with Amaterasu or even cut them all with Susano like Madara did.. Sasuke is useless as allways.
    And did you all see that Kurama said something to Gaara. I think it will be something like this in this situation: “Remember how Naruto saved you, now it’s your time to do the same”.

    Aldebaran
  7. Naruto will still live a few more minutes just like her mother. I think Minato will just pass the other half of Kurama’s chakra to Naruto. Or the whole shinobi alliance will give back a some of some of Kurama’s chakra.

    Also!!!

    Killer Bee will still live!!

    He cut off one of his tails. That means that he still has a tail worth of chakra to survive.

    That also means that Bee can give Naruto a tail worth of Gyuki chakra to Naruto. All that’s left is Shukaku chakra to complete all Bijuu chakra inside Naruto.

    Christian
    1. I don’t think Minato will give Naruto the other half of the nine-tails chakra. If he did that Madara will just look at them thinking they are dumbasses and take the other half just like he did with Naruto’s half. The best thing for Minato to do is to stay the hell away from Madara, but most likely he will come to Naruto’s aid where Madara will take Minato’s half. Also Naruto will NOT die. He is an Uzumaki which gives him huge vitality and stamina. He will survive the extraction like his mom, but severely weakened. Kushina wasn’t going to die after the extraction, but she had not much chakra. She decided to use the last of her chakra to use the chains to capture the nine-tails and seal it in herself which leaves her with 0 chakra= dead, but Minato decided to seal half in him and Naruto. As with Bee I have no idea what will happen to him or shikaku or Gaara. There are many different theories like sasuke getting rinnengan or maybe Naruto is descended from Harashirama which could all be true

      Tyler
  8. /人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\ : would u like to make a contract with me to save ur friends and the world?
    Naruto : yes ! i’ll do anything !
    Sasuke : please ! lend us ur strength
    Mahou Shoujo Naruto & Sasuke was born.

    Sasuke :NARUTOOOOOOO !!
    Naruto : SASUKEEEEEEE !!
    Sasuke :NARUTOOOOOOO !!
    Naruto : SASUKEEEEEEE !!

    Madara : HASHIRAMAAAAA !!

    /人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\ : heh, bitches

    Destiny-
  9. At this point we have… yet another flashback. And of all the characters it’s a Shukaku’s flashback? Really Kishimoto? Can’t this guy tell a story without using the time machine to go back to the past half of the time?

    Ananas
  10. BREAKING NEWS FAIRY TAIL ANIME RETURNS APRIL 2014, THAT’S RIGHT FT FANS THEY ARE BACK AGAIN.
    And don’t tell me that you already knew it because you didn’t until you heard it from me 1st.

    K C M
  11. It’s been a long time, but I seem to recall back in the Naruto early days that it was explained to Naruto that he had such a hard time with Ninjutsu due to the being a Jinchurikai as it interfered with his chakra control. I’m hoping we’ll see this opportunity to finally see that Naruto has not simply been relying on Karuma’s chakra but rather wielding despite great difficulty of doing so. Without the encumbrance of Karuma’s chakra I think we’ll see that Naruto without Kurama is still as strong and fast as he was with it. Putting him skillfully wise surpassing the Kage’s, the Legendary Sannin and near par with Madara himself.

    That’s what I hope anyway.

    Jeremy Giberson
    1. It was largely because he had a lot of chakra to begin with, even if you discount Kurama’s chakra being used. Remember, Kurama’s chakra, up until he forcefully took it later, was kept mostly separate from Naruto’s chakra, and didn’t really manifest itself unless it was actually being used during the times Naruto’s chakra was looked at (like Neji with the Byakugan). This is largely why you never see Naruto really doing all that much, aside from the basics (tree walking and water walking), besides higher-powered, chakra-consuming jutsu rather than anything Genjutsu-based or anything that actually requires more control.

      Even with the Rasengan-based techniques, he’s off-setting the control needed, even for the normal Rasengan, by essentially having multiple hands (Kage Bunshin) doing each part individually rather than “on his own”, simply because he completely lacked the control necessary to do it himself (then further used Sage Mode to throw the Rasenshuriken and such).

      The only way Naruto and/or Sasuke could possibly end up being as powerful, much less more powerful than the Sannin or Kages, and much less ones like Hashirama and Madara, would be if Kishi really pulls some BS hax. And even if they could end up close in terms of just brute power, “skill” would be nowhere near any of them (“skill” requires far more than just brute power).

      HalfDemonInuyasha

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