Call me unsurprised about Sakura being unable to keep her resolve and stab Sasuke in the back. Some part of me was hoping that she would do it though, just so that she’s not a completely wishy-washy character to me, even if she didn’t outright kill him. Anyway, good call for those who were expecting Naruto to arrive in the nick of time and cut the Kakashi/Sasuke fight short. Kakashi’s relatively low stamina isn’t really suited for excessive Mangekyou usage, so I’m not even sure how the prospective Hokage would’ve fared if that fight happened.

Now that Naruto has arrived, I really hope he gives Sasuke a good beating even if he’s practically blind. It seems like that’s only thing that’s going to get through to him at this point. Blaming all of Konoha for what a few leaders decided on their own is simply retarded. He already killed Danzou, the ringleader behind the decision to use Itachi as a scapegoat, so his anger towards innocent people is just stupidly misguided. Orochimaru is a freak, but at least he’s not driven by raging “emo-ness”. I really don’t buy nor feel sympathetic towards how Sasuke’s being consumed by darkness. It may work for some people, but it doesn’t for me.

Other than that, I’m still wondering where Karin will go from here. Also, seeing her completely bitten body’s always unsettling, unless you have that kind of fetish. So we have Sennin (Sage) Mode versus a bruised, battered, and nearly blind Uchiha. Anyone making bets? Given his condition, I think Sasuke will withdraw after they exchange a few heated words.

 

* I doubt that anyone really cares, but I’m going to fall behind on Letter Bee for “Olympic reasons”. I really can’t be bothered to keep up-to-date on any of my shows when there’s so much live coverage to watch on TV. Canada > Russia for the first time in 50 years!
* Also, Omni and I are still trying to find time to cover the new Universal Century Gundam Unicorn OVA that came out earlier this week (original timeline, hell yeah!). I haven’t gotten around to watching it yet, but I’m a big fan of the old school UC series.

81 Comments

  1. No doubt Sasuke is just going to flee if they do fight (I’m kinda hoping so anyway so Naruto can crush him at full strength). Maybe Madara will come in and swoop him up. There is also the chance that they will talk and naruto will somehow convince him that revenge is wrong like he usually does and if that happens I think I will lose all faith in this series.

    iZen
  2. At this point I don’t really care just kill Sasuke everyone seems to be doing fine without him. I really thought she would, if she did everyone would look at her differently, but as always she’s a liability. I like the Naruto angry face and the Sasuke shocked face.

    Cobra Bird
  3. It’s been more than a week since Sasuke started using Mangekyou. It was started at the start of the time skip travel took 2-3 days to go from Konoha to the village of sand. Sasuke has been all over the place, it’s been at least a few weeks since he started spamming it.

    I’m not too unhappy with Sakura not being able to finish it. Like someone posted in a thread I read, Sakura is a doctor, do you want your doctor to be able to stab someone in a back? Granted, Sasuke is fallen, but he used to be a friend. And Sasuke doesn’t need another wound right now anyway.

    Eaglestrike
  4. it all boils down to simple logic:

    kishimoto <3 sasuke

    therefore sasuke would win =X

    that aside………..what the heck’s happening with this manga? o_0 just when i thought things were looking up during pein’s invasion. . . .i even overlooked the deus ex machina at the end…….

    would someone just kill sasuke please? D=<

    duragon
  5. eaglestrike, tsunade is also a doctor yet she used to go around killing her enemies.same for that girl that follows her around

    i’m very disappointed in sakura.i thought for once she would have been useful.even hinata was able to stand up against pain to save naruto yet sakura couldnt stand up against sasuke to save naruto

    paul
  6. CANADA>RUSSIA HELLS YES!!!! U.S.’ll beat finland and we’ll beat sweden (not that those two countries are pushovers, but canada has so much momentum coming out of germany+russian games and US has miller that fins+swedes won’t really have a chance) and then REMATCH!!! CANT WAIT!!

    Shebear
  7. Sakura really is a stupid character, she can only fail. She has failed continually throughout the series, she doesn’t need to be strong, but she has zero resolve. It is weird that “minor” characters like Karin and Hinata are far more likable, while getting zero screen time.

    Vandro
  8. @Eaglestrike:

    doctors can also practice euthanasia :’D sasuke’s a lost cause, just kill him ^ ^

    on a more serious not though, sakura’s also a ninja and sasuke’s a missing-nin who’s hellbent on destroying sakura’s village; y’know, village where her teachers, friends, and family live in o.o sure he was en ex-friend….if they ever really were friends o_o

    fangirling aside, what other interaction did they have that’s meaningful? o.0 her hugging him during the chuunin exams was one-sided. . .. makes me wonder why exactly she’s so infatuated with sasuke..

    it better not be another “zomg, pretty boy saved my life!!11!ein! TRUE LOVE!!!”. if it is…i’m gonna scream >_<

    confused soul
  9. Eh, I don’t buy Sasuke’s reasons for going emo either, although I understand his (twisted) logic, a la he’s lashing out because Itachi and the rest of his family were sacrificed, and yet nobody took notice of it while life continued on. But then that’s all cancelled out by the fact that Itachi (and I’m sure his father and mother too) wanted him to go on with his life and not dwell on their clan’s fate, thus he rightfully deserves no sympathy. Doesn’t help that Madara is playing on his rage like a Stradivarius.

    As for Sakura, I’m not surprised either. While I had originally thought her meeting him after so long would cause some reaction on Sasuke’s part (obviously I was wrong), I figured that she wouldn’t have the heart to go through with killing him. So much for her being a true kunoichi, but then I doubt any of the other Konoha “youngsters” would have done better in her position.

    On Sasuke retreating now that Naruto’s appeared, I doubt he’ll do that before a timely beating; types like him won’t let things like a bruised a battered body or near blindness get in the way of fighting their “hated enemy”, especially when Itachi could still fight and use Susanoo despite being blind. While he’ll be handicapped, he’s still formidable even for an undamaged Naruto. My bet is Naruto knocks him out, but before anything else Madara swoops back in and takes him back.

    For Naruto, somehow I doubt he’s going to resolve himself to kill Sasuke either; I could be wrong, and in a way I hope I’m wrong, but if he does he’d go against his ninja way blah blah blah. At best he’s going to keep to his original plan of trying to turn Sasuke back to the light, but not without kicking his @ss to the moon first. Just my two or three cents.

    RZA
  10. I think Madara will either leave Sasuke alone because he’s gotten better plan from Danzou’s remain or Madara save Sasuke after a few exchange of words with naruto and others. Sasuke will sooner or later died is what my guess would be when this series concludes.

    ala!
  11. I doubt the series would conclude when Sasuke dies. Theres still the whole Madara Moon plan project and the whole 5 Kage alliance bit, which seems too epic to just toss aside. Though it seems like that the conclusion of 5 Kage Alliance VS Madara would be a viable end to this series.

    YanDaMan
  12. It’s probably safe to say that Kishimoto is making Team 7 mirror the Sannin, but I get the feeling he’s planning to have Naruto do what Jiraiya wasn’t able to — save his friend from being consumed by hate/darkness. This manga doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon (especially with the way they’re milking the anime), so I gather I’ll find out if I’m remotely correct some 5-10 years later. >_>

    Shebear:
    Actually, Slovakia upset Sweden last night, so we’re playing them next.

  13. I think the Mandara will enter the stage before the fight and retrieve Sasuke. However, Sasuke will feel more hatred towards Naruto and Team 7 because they were against him and all. He had feelings but now it will end. Likewise, Sasuke is gonna accept Itachi’s eye or someones from the Mandara’s eye collection.
    Sasuke = “Gara emo mode” + Orochimaru
    Sakura = Failure…!!!…no word to describe

    And GO USA!!!!!!!!

    Walker
  14. ^ LOL.

    Anyway, I wasn’t surprised Sakura couldn’t do anything like many other people said. Seriously if they pull that bull-crap of Naruto being able to talk him out of it I will punch something. Sasuke is already too far in the darkenss to be brought back so I am expecting something epic by the end of this. In all honesty, I want at least one person to die, preferably Sasuke ONLY because it would, IMO, be really, really good for the plot. Next week though, is going to predict how this series is going to go, either really crappy or really good.

    I lost all hope on Bleach so this is my last saving grace (besides Fairy Tail and One Piece).

    anon
  15. Naruto won’t kill Sasuke.. he’ll just start saying the same old thing, since Sasuke leaved the village. I’m losing my hope ’bout Naruto… and ’bout Sakura, she’s very emotional, it was kinda obvious she was not going to kill Sasuke..

    This is getting really boring.. it’s going to be hard to me to keep this manga/anime..

    SummonEr
  16. @divine

    I’m with you on Naruto not ending. If anything, I think we’re going to experience another time skip in the next few chapters where Naruto and co. are now adults, a la Dragon Ball Z.

    RZA
  17. Sasuke was a far better character while he had Orochimaru sealed within him. His Cursed Seal and Oro’s powers were a parallel to Naruto’s Sage Mode and 9-Tails, plus he had more techniques and strategy than “use unbeatable Susanoo and spam Amaterasu until eyes stop working.” I wanted to see the old Sasuke fight Naruto, not this guy.

    Shad P
  18. Anyone notice that Naruto was using Sage Mode when he ran there and Sasuke was using Mangekyo? The second they enter the same area, their eyes go back to normal so they can stare at each other in the last panel. Art error or important foreshadowing?

    grandeforce
  19. I think Naruto will fight Sasuke with all his heart and will say something stupid like ” take your hatred and focus it on me blablabla” They will fight until Sasuke goes willingly blind and berserk. His willingness to go blind for revenge will trigger a super skill. When Sasuke is about to win or falls into deeper dispair Itachi’s skill will activate inside Naruto. And he will learn that this super skill that sasuke just gain was the skill needed to defeat Mandara which would have been Itachi’s plan since he would have known that Naruto would be the only one not willing to kill him no matter what. This skill will be either naruto and sasuke share the same sight or naruto becomes the only one able to restore Sasuke’s eyes. IDK maybe the closest friend will be the only one able to unlock the eyes hence is the reason why u need to kill the closest friend. maybe this is done to prevent the unlock of the strongest eye technique

    Sin1505
  20. Really, Sakura stood no chance. After all, she’s a girl. Which means she’s totally useless in this manga.
    Kishi does not do female characters well, frankly she never stood a chance and had to be rescued not once, but freaking twice!
    Let alone ANYONE going against sharinghax.

    senefen
  21. Like others have mentioned, I find it interesting that Sasuke is going blind so quickly. Itachi had MS for many many years. The only thing I can think of is that he used it very sparingly? Which I think is complete bs. Here is yet another huge inconsistency in the Naruto storyline; but whatever. I think the author could have gone with something like becoming extremely weak.

    It’s going to be interesting to see how this pans out. I for one think that Madara will save Sasuke. Unless Sasuke goes SSJ4 or higher, there is no way he can fight Kakashi and SM Naruto.

    I’ve wondered what Madara had to gain by forcing Sasuke to fight so much. I think he is trying to force him to implant Itachi’s eyes.

    animeE
  22. I have a feeling Sasuke isn’t going to escape, rather Naruto will let him go. I don’t think naruto is going to be willing to fight Sasuke while he’s blind. I think he’ll probably prevent Kakashi or any one from further attacking Sasuke. Sasuke will probably lash out at Naruto, but Naruto will only defend himself. Finally, madara will probably show up and take sasuke for healing.

  23. “Kishi does not do female characters well”. Understatement of the century. If I remember right, he even once said Sakura was supposed to represent emotional weakness, so yeah.
    Anon- Check Negima for actual current shonen awesomeness.

    OverMaster
  24. The only real female role model with character and balls is in a coma right now (Tsunade). The other females Sakura, Hinata, Karin, and Ino are all fail/next to useless. Its a shame the manga creator thinks females are useless.

    Splash
  25. Heres my theory for next weeks chapter

    Sasuke faints from exhaustion, in the last page Sasuke’s eyes were normal eyes and not sharigans, so maybe it hints at him loosing his chakura.

    Sasuke wakes up to a sleeping naruto and sakura who cried themselves to sleep(emos…) and trys to kill naruto while he is sleeping, but then gets a flashback and Sasuke gets all emotional and runs away (like a little girl)

    And the glasses girl and sakura decide they are going to find sasuke and return him to his old self

    and then pain comes back and revives all of sasuke’s family and everyone lives happily ever after

    oh and saskue learns the shadow clone jutsu and dates both girls at the same time

    naruto ends up alone. The end 🙂

    LeftArrow
  26. meh we all know whats gonna happen. As a shounen manga they dont want to give the morale of the story “consume yourself in hate and revenge” its “power of friendship! shit,” eventually Sauske and Naruto fight and Sauske is gonna see the errors of his ways and they team up and beat Madara in a multicolored rainbow energy ball of some sort shit in his face. I think we all know how its gonna end just when and how it happens >.>

    Nymbryxion
  27. In regard to the Itachi eyesight loss being more gradual than Sasuke’s rapid blindness, I imagine there are multiple explanations. I think it goes without saying that Itachi was the far superior ninja of the two, and as a result probably used the abilities less often. Sasuke has been spamming these techniques at every opportunity. I would wager length of use also has increased effect along with little to no rest on Sasuke’s part. He fought Killerbee where he used the eyes, then fought Raikage where he used the eyes heavily for extended periods of time, then had a short fight with another Hokage, then fought Danzo where he heavily used the eyes. I really doubt Itachi relied on them as much as Sasuke has.

    From Madara’s recounts, it seems like he went blind pretty quickly too when he was spamming the eye techniques during the early ninja wars.

    Also I think everyone of the genins would have stabbed Sasuke in the back except for perhaps Ino. Neji, Shikamaru, and Shino would have showed the least amount of hesitation. Sakura lacks a fundamental trait that has kept her from keeping pace with Naruto and Sasuke: Resolve.

    So Very Odd
  28. I think there should be more hinata… She seems way more capable to do things then sakura is… sure sakura beat sasori, but she’s been inactive most of the serie.. Okey… she got brutal strength… who cares? if she had equal skilled ranged against her.. she would lose.. there’s no doubt against it… you can’t kill something you can’t reach.

    pantsumaster
  29. I almost wish Sasuke had shoved his hand through Sakura. She’s such a frikkin quitter. If she knew what was good for her, she’d stay out of things and just do her healing stuff. Hey, maybe Karin will fall in love with Naruto and become the new main chick xD

    As for Sasuke, I’d be okay if he lived and just became the blind guy. Losing his eyesight is redemption enough for me, but he’s crossed the line once too many, so he’ll probably have to be put down. I love how he has this whole revenge plan against Konoha, but has seemingly forgotten that Itachi’s death is entirely his fault.

    Steamgirl
  30. Naruto won’t kill Emosuke… at least not yet. (I do hope he does later on though) And off-topic, Gundam Unicorn has a bit of epic moments in it… which makes it hard to wait for the next one episode, which I think comes out this fall? And further off-topic; Ladies Versus Butlers is pretty great for a harem anime.

    Kyzel
  31. lol booo how the hell did Naruto get there so fast(meh maybe the effects of his sage mode huh) and I have lost all interest in Kakashi now. I uses the Mangekyou once and is all “URGH that’s it for me cant move that good now.” He definitely shouldnt be the new Hokage with such a handicap. I wanted my epic Obiwan vs Anakin fight darn it. I know Naruto wont be fighting Sasuke right now though. They will probably exchange words but Kakashi will order Naruto to get Sakura and Karin to safety. Madara will come and pull Sasuke away and give him some new eyes most likely since Sasugay doesnt know the meaning of the word restraint with his ultimate jutsus. He really isnt all that bright now is he. Which is why he is Madara’s perfect little pawn.

    abe
  32. perfect ending for this manga…
    Naruto dies, sasuke dies, sakura gets mauled to death by a bear…

    3 annoying characters gone Whooopy then we can change the title to Shikamaru…

    on a serious note,

    just as we have been lead to believe sakura was gonna have a great moment that honestly made her more than a prop, this moment between team 7 is just gonna be very stale imo,

    just a few words and sasuke leaves…

    then just to milk the series dryer than it already is, kishimoto will do another time skip into their adulthoods and we get to see an adult Crying whining Naruto,Sakura,Sasuke… oh joy =)

    darklsins
  33. there only three ending for sasuke
    1- became blind and suffer the rest of his life(like katejina from v gundam)
    2- ended up dead. a very THE HAPPY ENDING…FOR ME
    3- become good and helped naruto,fires a rainbow colored beam cannon at madara at the end…..the ending with most possiblity.

    i really give up on naruto now.kishimoto is becoming a disappointing mangaka.i really hope he can changed for the better.

    killerthunderstorm
  34. God, I like this manga, but even I am getting stretched to my limit here. Its becoming way too predictable (even more so than it always has been.) Sakura continues to fail, which frustrates me to no end cuz i actually like her. Sasuke is ansgsting Over 9 thousand, and Naruto is just…Idk…he’s not gonna do anything!

    GAH!!! I miss this show when it was actually interesting and had well thought out story arcs. Like Chuunin exams and Search for Tsunade, Search for Sasuke etc.

    fullmetalQAF
  35. Kishi dropped the ball a long time ago, when he started concentrating so much on sasuke. While taking away everything that made him great like his actual combat ability to out think his opponents. Now you would think he had a demon inside him, i mean when did sasuke have more chakra than naruto? He continues to use super high end techs without much effort or worry of use. No more strategy, But he can fight on par with 5 hokage and just only be refilled once by karin. Such BS!!!And his continued use of useless whinning sakura has ruined her character beyond repair.
    While Naruto faints like a girl just at the thought of fighting sasuke, after taking on pain who killed everyone in the village. You would think he would be mentally strong from that experience alone.
    If things don’t get back on track soon, this manga will be lost!!

    darkloco
  36. Despite what an emo little bitch sasuke is being I have to hand it to the writers for pushing him deep down the dark path. They could have just buckled and thrown us a cheesed carebear conclusion (still might I suppose) but they are really dragging his character through the mud, and I applaud them for having the gaul to turn sour such a widely loved character.

    In the same sense, we still have naruto who is constantly hailed as the one special person who can get through to people. His special touch which made it even to paine. And his best friend and arch nemesis rolled into one is the most misguided and lost character there has ever been. Noone could miss the obvious compatibility of the two roles and the intention that noone is capable of saving sasuke APART from naruto.

    I’m waffling, point is.. I’m enjoying what they’re doing with sasuke. Really pushing him past the point of no return. I still think naruto will be the one to save him from himself. Maybe that means killing him, either way the way they have set up the lost soul and the finder of souls is too apparent to ignore.

    Maz
  37. Yeah, again…Sakura hadn’t proved herself…again, she became a liability. Geez, Sakura…get a grip!!! And thank goodness, Naruto ended the fight in time…I don’t want Kakashi to be the shortest acting Hokage in the history of Konoha! That will be too tragic!

    Now, it’s a showdown between Sasuke and Naruto…What will be Naruto’s decision? I can’t wait for next weeeeeek!!!

    Eri
  38. I can see the hatred… He probably sees it as the village turned there back on his clan… He probably also believes the 3rd probably allowed his clan to fail, didn’t protect them… But also i think he has been convinced by Tobi that this is what needs to be done… I am not if he would have killed Sakura, maybe his logic is that she knows what he wants to do so he needs to get rid of her… Oh well…

    Matt
  39. @darkloco
    No Kishimoto dropped the ball with allowing Pein be influenced by a kid he was suppose to kill and get his tailed beast and then by doing RETCON-jutsu to bring back everyone he killed except my favorite character the Pervy Powerhouse Sage.

    abe
  40. I really hope that Naruto don’t say, “Don’t worry Sakura, I’m gonna save Sasuke” but I can still see him say that. Kishi always make Naruto looks good then make him look naive and pathetic in later chapters. This should be Sakura’s wake up call that Sasuke doesn’t want her and will kill her without hesitation. Hopefully this upcoming war will giver her the resolve she needs. Its pathetic to have carryout a plan for 14 chapters and hesitate at last moment. Especially in front of somebody that kill anybody who comes close to him.

    ssj4jw
  41. Sakura’s innate special power: Staring at a thrown kunai with a shocked expression on her face will invariably summon someone else to catch said Kunai.

    She is the only person that has reliably almost been killed by a kunai like a dozen times. She needs to consider wearing a thick ass helmet.

    Samurai Pumpkin
  42. Maybe Madara gives Sasuke Itachi´s eyes to restore his sight, since he needs him.

    About his losing sight, as mentioned before, Itachi was a better ninja, and in all most of the fights we saw him fighting in the manga he rarely used the Mangekyou sharingan, and when used he never used more than one power, and normally did not use amaratsu or susanno( probably the ones more draining), maybe with the exception of his fight with Sasuke. Maybe resting between uses helps the eye to last longer.

    Sasuke used amaratsu and susanno a lot, and against his every enemy, without rest, so he continuosly damaged his eyes, until he went blind.

    Spucka
  43. i have a feeling that madara will give sasuke the eternal MS. he had mad eyes in storage back wherever the hell he took danzo. the balance of power is in narutos favor right now for the first time ever in the manga (besides when hes tailed). the story is always naruto chasing power cause hes weaker. so my prediction is madara will swoop in and steal sasuke and once again naruto will chance some new crazy power, and the cycle repeats.

    sup
  44. @Hayate Yagami
    sasuke probably overused his susanoo+amaterasu..well watever..its good that he’s blind..he’s too confident that he can destroy konoha and his hunger for revenge is soo damn annoying..naruto should just go into sage mode and kill the bloody bastard since he’s weaken and almost blinded.. 😀

    in my opinion i think naruto is much stronger than sasuke now for having sage mode and the kyuubi and the resolve to stop him. Sakura is just useless other than the use of healing..how many times she kept saying she would stop sasuke herself..its just pure talk but no action..lol

    noctis
  45. well I got a feeling sasuke has something up his sleeves and betray Madara… If sasuke Really that smart he should have understand what Itachi said to him…hmmm.. Is this the way the author make Sasuke an Evil Bastard and at the end everyone will be shock he wasn’t… and it was all an act…that would be a good laugh to those who diz sasuke so much

    Denshi Otoko
  46. What you thought she would kill him? seriously and you think Naruto has the resolve to kill him?, quit ripping on a character that you dont like using you misguided angst. Apparently she’s a fail for not killing an admittedly retarded friend.. but its heroic for Naruto to fail at killing him.. tch and some people who whine about her constantly hitting him you people need to learn about something serious and something done for comedic purposes.

  47. It’s rather obvious what’s going to happen. Considering Sasuke’s condition there is no way that there will be a battle. Madara will very likely take him away, and if his sight is gone.. I’m sure Madara has something up his sleeve.
    As for not really buying that plot of Sasuke going mad.. Well, it would only make sense that his hatred would turn to obsession. Rage is blind as they say. So you can’t expect anyone under those circumstances to see the bigger picture, really.

    EscapeGOAT
  48. of course sasuke had to turn evil, so that naruto can be the hero and bring him back in the end when all others failed………….-_-

    ……..I’m sick of this manga now, the only reason i read it was for sasuke and itachi,
    itachi’s dead
    sasuke’s ‘dead’
    don’t care anymore….

    sailormarsrulz
  49. exactly. At this point if they were to fight and Sasuke actually manages to hold his ground I’ll boycott Naruto so yeah a few words, possibly a little back and forth and then Madara to the rescue…

    gawrshness
  50. pls kill sasuke, i couldn’t stand his guts since day one and its because of him that i have stopped watching naruto because its getting draggy and highly irritating. everything is sasuke, this and sasuke that blah blah sasuke, sasuke, sasuke. some one just hand that boy to some sake factory and kill him there please.

    riddle
  51. I’m betting that at the end of the next chapter the guy with the spiral mask will show up, save sasuke, fight Naruto, (and try to capture the 9 tails) and maybe give sasuke a set of his brother’s eyes.

    charizardpal
  52. haven’t been following Naruto for sometime but Madara want to go to the moon?
    if Naruto characters start going to outer space then they’ll go Sain Seiya or Dragonball or maybe even get rides like in Rayearth or gundam summoning jutsus 😀
    can you say “Sharingundam”? XD
    or “Rasengundam” XD

    Gaarara

Leave a Reply to v Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *