I had a hard time deciding where to start with this chapter, but ultimately I think one’s pretty much obligated to start with the fact that everything was supposedly part of Madara’s plan to begin with—including everything about Rin and Obito’s fall into the darkness. Looking back, I guess I should’ve seen this coming from a mile away, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was surprising to see Rin addressed again out of the blue like that—or the fact that Madara’s one sly son of a gun. To set that up and intentionally use Obito’s more noble traits (then his hatred) against him? That’s just devious.

I guess it’s only fitting though, that Obito’s manages to save the Team 7 equivalent of Rin before losing his eye to Madara—at least one assumes this will be the case—and it’s actually quite nice how everything gets linked together here. Because whereas there’s the whole Madara gaining yet more powers with a second Rinnegan, there’s the sense that our main cast has gained something by coming together one more time like this as well, and there’s much that could be said about how they’ve developed since they first formed their team. Needless to say, that quick flashback to the past was placed in a great spot, and it was nice to see how our team has either met or exceeded many of the goals they had initially. Furthermore, it highlighted how they’ve both changed and kept some of their core personality traits despite that, and it was a strong chapter through and through.

In the end, it’s only fitting that the team that started off the manga together will probably end up finishing up the manga together as well, and although it’s been a rocky path getting to this point, it’s impressive how things have managed to wrap back together despite that. Looking forward, it could very well be the last Madara power up we’ll see this series, and gosh darn it’s really starting to hit how close to the end we really are. Phew*

42 Comments

      1. The competition for the most manipulative, future-predictiing, just-as-planned villain sure is tough!
        – Light from Death Note
        – Aizen from Bleach
        – Petyr Baelish from Game of Thrones
        – Now Madara from Naruto 🙂
        Who will win the prize? Stay tuned…

        Domo-kun
    1. I’m wondering if Kishi’s intentionally making his manga as silly as possible at this point just for the sake of laughs. He can’t possibly expect people to take this seriously anymore. I know I’m laughing.

      MgMaster
      1. Beats being blind in one eye. It’s funny how Naruto couldn’t explain himself. I bet it’s one of those “any-explanation-is-not-good-enough” explanation that coming from Naruto will still not make sense.

        random viewer
      2. “Kishi decided that it’d be cool if I could heal others too,better & easier than any other medical ninja.”

        I think that explanation would sound about right.

        MgMaster
      3. Lol, well if you take his partial explanation at face value, then he’s just using his newfound powers to use Kakashi’s normal cells to regenerate back his eye. Kinda like grafting another part of the body.

        Not quite far fetched compared to much of the other explanations we’ve been given, heh.

    1. As he went along, he saw a man blind in one eye. 2 His friends asked him, “Ninja Jesus, blah blah blah, that he is blind in one eye?”

      “Blah blah blah sharingan blah” said Naruto, “but this happened so that the works of Sage of Six Paths might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

      After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. So the man blah blah blah came home seeing.

      His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him blind asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to have some other fool’s sharingan?” Some claimed that he was.

      Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

      But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

      “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

      11 He replied, “The man they call Naruto made some mud and put it on my eyes. Blah blah blah So I went and then I could see.”

      12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

      “I don’t know,” he said.

      FlayvorOfEvil
  1. Kishimoto smoked a very bad blunt when he wrote this during golden week. As for madara been a complete manipulative S.O.B., he’s competing with Palpatine/Sidious for the title of biggest bastard of all.

    GP1301
  2. “Looking back, I guess I should’ve seen this coming from a mile away”

    It is kind of a “Oh yea… well duh” moment to realize that the guy who has been manipulating everyone from the shadows to serve his purposes manipulated someone from the shadows to serve his own purposes.

    qwert
    1. Pretty much. The only half-assed thing Kishimoto let her have, that required years of training and study under the best known medic in the world, Naruto gets at 10x the effectiveness for no effort whatsoever. Might as well put things right back at the beginning where she cheers Naruto and Sasuke on in Wave.

      I suppose it’s possible that, once Sasuke and Naruto beat Madara and take his eyes, they might decide to give them to Sakura ‘for safekeeping’ or some such tripe, so Kishimoto can pretend he did something nice for the character. Not like the boys need them; they’ve already got their own hax eyeball upgrades.

      I’ve only read like the last 5 chapters, after not having read anything since the Sound invasion, and I’m already sick of the story. I need to go back to pretending that nothing after the timeskip ever happened, and quit torturing myself.

      David
  3. Prediction:

    Team Seven “work together” (just for the convenience of this battle) and steal Madara’s Rinnegan eyes right out of his head somehow through more hax maneuvers and powers pulled out of nowhere.

    Why else would Kishi bring up the whole Bell Test memory?

    HalfDemonInuyasha
  4. Just can’t help but sympathize with the ex-antagonists whom were used by other antagonists. This will probably happen with how I will think about Madara’s back-story by the end of this series. I laughed so hard at Sakura’s “oh sh*t” face while her flashback with Obito came up. Sasuke will get to no nominations if he’s going for the Hokage’s position.
    So he’ll get his consolation prize with getting the “girl.” -> No intention of objectifying girls or offending anyone from this statement, just a comment I don’t know how else to say.

    random viewer
  5. That whole Madara’s plan was so obvious…remember that he was the one who was controlling the misukage and hidden mist village from the shadows, so that part was not a real revelation after all

    Melgar
    1. It wasn’t Madara himself doing so. It was Obito while using his name. Though, in that context, I suppose one could argue it was “Madara” doing it as part of his plan through Obito’s actions.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
  6. Remember you must let the final boss power up to his final form before you can defeat him. Madara getting both his Rinnegan back is inevitable. But then what happens to Kakashi’s Sharingan? O.o

    BraveSong
    1. Given Kakashi was literally given his normal eye back out of thin air by Naruto, Madara will most likely destroy it unless Obito somehow hax lives and uses it himself somehow (especially given the whole “eyes work best when they are together” exposition).

      HalfDemonInuyasha
  7. I don’t understand how an old madara managed to put the seal in rin and the mist shinobi…? and why didn’t they report to their respective villages that they were attacked by madara

    sena
  8. PLEASE KISHI END THIS. It’s bad enough that Madara was Gary-Stu, but now he’s full Aizen! Never go Full Aizen! And now Naruto has the power of Jesus. WTF? I tried defending this manga and this war cause it’s ending but, now it’s getting to the point where it’s stupider than Bleach. Hell it’s on the same level as it. STOP PADDING!!

    Corey Lucas
  9. Madara, you aren’t Aizen. Stop. You are by far more interesting villain then he is. Stop.

    Seriously I love Madara as a villain, who unlike Aizen was actually had been build up through out the series as one of the strongest and best shinobi during his time. We even saw some backstory of Madara for why he is doing his evil scheme.

    Aizen? Not so much, we didnt get anything out of the guy. No crucial backstory on what got him to do the things he did. What motivated him to evolve himself? The only thing we knew is that he was strong, very ridiculous zanpakuto and very confusing mind games. “What you actually defeated was just an illusion of me, I foresaw your plan before you even put it in motion.”

    XxVanitasXx
  10. Oh man, Naruto seems to be wrapping up (in a good way) and I am looking forward to it, as Zephyr said, it has been a rocky path and there were definitely ups and downs in this series but overall, it was a good read and I look forward to this most likely final battle to end this series. The ending for this chapter was really nice, having team 7 reunite and fight once again, I really am looking forward to the next chapter!

    TrapMaster

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