…is what I would’ve liked to say about Neji, except he’s beyond gone when he can’t differentiate Kiba from Akamaru. Admittedly, I was amused by their short dialogue more than most people probably were. Their comedic routine also served as a nice juxtaposition to the hardworking and extremely devoted Hinata, whom I’m secretly hoping Naruto will continue to see in a better light. In addition to Sakura being reminded of Sasuke after a sudden confession — and not Naruto — Hinata has the whole “Mizuki Nana factor” going for her in the anime, which to me is a clear edge over Sakura’s Nakamura Chie. (Not that I watch the anime anymore…)

Seiyuu justification notwithstanding, the fact that Sakura is still so heavily “invested” in Sasuke spoke volumes about how Naruto is still competing against another guy who doesn’t give a damn about her. It’s almost insult to injury that his love rival so to speak is still “winning” after all these years when he’s not even around and trying to. While I personally don’t care for the character shipping one way or another, Sakura’s blind love beyond reason is ultimately why I find it hard to favor her over Hinata. The only reason I care to point it out is because I tend to favor a brash tsundere over the quiet, devoted alternative, yet Naruto (as a series) continues to go against that trend.

As for the developments of actual interest, Sakura does deserve praise for catching onto white Zetsu’s chakra-perfect cloning technique when the latter didn’t realize that Tonton is Tsunade’s pet pig. It didn’t look like she was purposely using it to check if Neji is really who he seemed to be, and simply became suspicious mid-conversation, so kudos to her quick thinking after learning that spies had infiltrated their ranks. I presume the reason for keeping both Itachi and Pain (Nagato) away from the front lines was to cause further confusion as to whether this is the work of a Sharingan or a Rinnegan, much like it did in this very chapter when Ao was frantically throwing out possibilities.

The question now is what Shikaku will do to deal with all the white Zetsu clones. The ninja alliance can’t really discuss the next phase of their plan let alone execute it with spies snooping about, so I’m looking forward to seeing what type of countermeasure he comes up with. Much like Shikamaru, I’m never quite sure what the Naras will come up since they plan numerous steps ahead. I don’t care to speculate either for that very reason, and will just be content about suspecting that “Neji” was a white Zetsu clone last chapter.

Of course, what I’m looking forward to more is Bee checking out Tsunade’s rack partnering up with Naruto and potentially getting into a bit of an exchange with their Kages. I highly doubt the four of them will get into a heated clash, but I can see Naruto convincing Tsunade to let him participate in the war efforts from now. It would be pretty messed up if all this build-up towards our hero joining the war only resulted in him getting sidelined again. I can only imagine the readership rage over having to wait another twenty or so chapters before Naruto comes face-to-face with Madara or Sasuke. Kishimoto-sensei, please don’t go out of your way to prove me wrong.

86 Comments

  1. Every time I’m reminded of Sakura’s infatuation(and I can’t stress that word enough) for Sasuke, I hate her a bit more. I just don’t get it. At least in Hinata’s case, she fell in love with someone who cares about the people around him even if he’s too stupid to notice if someone loves him. But Sasuke just hates everyone. He never cared about Sakura in any way whatsoever so why does she continue to love him. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it makes me so angry.

    Anyway, I expect Naruto to wreck shop even if he is fighting two kages. I suspect Bee will help of course, but I’m betting Naruto will do most of the heavy lifting which will end in a nice speech about his determination or something.

    Other than that. Zetsu is one cold mofo.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    That’s just messed up.

    Also, Sakura go die in a fire.

    BabyChooChoo
    1. Sakura fell for good looks and status, the typical shallow girl routine. Hinata is the opposite in how she fell for Naruto’s good personality traits while he was an outcast. So I don’t think it’s strange that one of those romances is far easier to sympathise with and find romantic.

      Znail
    2. Hinata is so much better then Sakura for all the reasons folks have mentioned. Hinata confessed and after everyone picked their jaws up off the floor that confession has never been mentioned any more per se. If I remember right Naruto himself didn’t really say anything about it to her. Naruto only has eyes for Sakura who only has eyes for Sasuke (which is an errie generation repeat of the 3 Sanin with Jiraya in love with Tsunade who never had any love for him but she seemed to be attracted to Orochimaru).

      I just hope that the “dumb as a rock with a heart of gold” Naruto will wise up (and if the manga creator allows it) and start looking towards the cute girl that has always loved him and was prepared to die to protect him.

      Karmafan
      1. I’m also a huge Hinata fan and a big Sakura hater. I would love nothing more than for some relationship to build between Naruto and Hinata. My biggest fear, though, is that Hinata will end up like Jiraiya.

        From what I can tell after reading Kishimoto’s personal statements, he somehow resents making Hinata so popular and didn’t do a good job of making Sakura a heroin. So, I am preparing myself now for her to be killed. Though, I also have heard the animation staff love Hinata, as do a large number of fans. Doing so might garner some rather harsh blow back. Luckily she didn’t die from Pain.

        Sakura’s main role from here on out should be the sacrificial lamb. Sasuke killing her in front of Naruto would probably be the only thing that could snap Naruto out of his delusion that he can save this murderous psychopath who deserves sympathy from no one!

        Ricalloo
      2. Since the beginning of the series, Hinata has been my favourite. But as Sakura has found out love isn’t just something you can brush away. You can’t choose who to love. You can’t choose to stop to love someone. Just as Naruto still loves Sakura and Hinata still loves Naruto, Sakura still loves Sasuke.

  2. @BabyChooChoo:

    when kishi does try to justify her infatuation several chapters later, i bet it’ll be some childhood flashback of pre-massacre sasuke… or something like that. meh, i’ve stopped caring about sakura after her attempt to off sasuke was foiled by her lack of guts. ‘chuunin-level’? seriously?

    or, the infatuation can be explained the same way karin’s was (which actually made me headdesk). kishi’s done well not developing characters; makes it easy to explain stuff using lulzflashback no jutsu…

    Dalman
  3. they’d probably need neji, hinata and kiba in there. il assume they’ll be able to tell the diff.

    as for sakura, hope she wont get naruto in the end. she can have sasuke for all I care. im neutral on her unlike most people.

    amado
  4. I will say this once: HinataxNeji forever.

    Naruto can go drown in a lake for all I care, he’s an idiot. Why do these goddamn shounen series all ways glorify idiots anyways? This why I don’t even read Naruto. The only smart shounen series protagonist we’ve had was L from Death Note and Death Note shot itself in the foot for me by being so misogynistic. It was insulting and demeaning for women, the women were all dumber then the guys and they all supposedly found happiness by doing whatever their men told them to. GAG. I was ready to put a gun to my head and put myself out of my misery two episodes after Misa showed up.

    But back to Naruto, this is once more a “please God just shoot me” type of Manga, and here’s why;

    1). Naruto is an idiot. There’s nothing wrong with that in and of itself, however it is wrong when the Mangaka tries to turn it into a good thing. Being stupid does not make you a good person. I mean, good grief, haven’t we had enough centuries of human history demonizing smart people???

    2). An extension of number one. Of course the villain “Orochimaru” or whatever his name was, is a “mad scientist” type villain, AKA the only smart one in the entire series. And of course the Mangaka didn’t fail to mention the twisted Sasuke got great grades, because, you know, being smart makes you EVIL.

    3). Naruto is a boring person to read about. He’s such a goody-goody two shoes you all ways know what he’s going to do, did anyone ever really think he would let the nine tailed fox out?

    4). Too much filler.

    5). Again all the toughest characters are guys and most of the women are medics. Classy. Keep in mind it’s a fantasy where people have magic powers so there’s no reason for that.

    6). Whoever that girl with the pig tails is who tries to steal Neji from Hinata. She’s a completely unnecessary add on character that really pisses me off.

    Well, those are just my top six, but really? It isn’t as bad as Bleach, and it’s given the world some killer Doujin’s so I think it evens out.

    Setsuna-chan
      1. Well of course twincest is better then just cousins when you cam get it. Sadly, most Mangaka’s are too cowerdly to write an incest series, even when they walk right up to the line, I read KissxSis for the first time recently and I was very “wtf?” the mangaka is OK with pedophilia and pee fetishes but draws the line at incest and makes them step-siblings? Really?

        The Mangaka is a pervert and a coward.

        Viva la Koi Kaze!

        Setsuna-chan
      2. I dont really like in anime/manga(or any media) that will have the reveal that they arent related so kissXsis was dropped. it seems a lot was wasted since they were never related anyway.
        well as long as the plot is still great(like the mortal instruments), id keep on reading it.

        amado
      3. @amado

        I agree with all of that.

        @Gablonk

        I didn’t see that anime but stop me if I’m wrong didn’t have some weird homophobic “cure the gays” plotline where the main character hooks up with a lesbian or something?

        Setsuna-chan
      4. the anime of yosuga no sora is like amagami SS. each girl gets their own arc.
        good thing sora has the longest one.
        but I prefer the manga since it goes only for sora and has better developments.
        the anime is great if you like NSFW scenes. and if you want to see the other girls get haru.

        amado
      1. I don’t know, because I had something to say? Should people just never have to hear an opposing view point again? Obviously my comment wasn’t just saying I don’t like the series, if I like the series and you don’t then I probably wouldn’t have posted it, but I did have something more important to say; I alleged that the series had misogynistic tendencies. Now, I wasn’t singing the praises of the series but I did have something to say, so that’s why I posted.

        And FYI by your own logic if you didn’t like my comment why write a response trashing it? Why not go read and respond to comments you do like?

        Setsuna-chan
    1. 1.) It’s not about “demonizing smart people” really, but rather that they like to make the person a very obvious underdog in things. This is supposed to help the audience root for him/her a lot more because they have a lot more stacked against them then if the main character was a smart, well-liked, person. Being a Jinchuriki only further enforced that in that it would keep a lot of people from even WANTING to help Naruto get over such an underdog position (or at least make it very difficult for them to).

      Unfortunately, like with Naruto, it gets very tiresome for them to STAY such idiots, especially after 3 years of such things. I mean, 2 1/2 years of “training” under Jiraiya and he comes back STILL AS BIG AN IDIOT AS WHEN HE LEFT with VERY little actual development both personality AND ability-wise, so Kishi ends up having to rush his development and shoving power after power in, even in Naruto-time, ridiculously short amounts of time. Yet, even then, he’s STILL so naive, gullible, etc.

      2.) Similar to one, it’s not about “smart is evil”. Shikaku and Shikamaru are GENIUS’ after all and people like Neji, Kakashi (despite how he acts sometimes), some of the Kages, and such are certainly no slouches either.

      Sasuke may have been smart too, but there is more than JUST him being smart, you know? The whole Massacre, revenge obsession, finding out his life to kill Itachi was a lie, and so on would have a part in there somewhere.

      It’s rather, giving the underdog(s) a seemingly overwhelming opponent to fight against; someone who seems to be the complete opposite of everything they are, thus making the battle extremely difficult when it comes around. Sadly, this also means dumbing down some of those actual smart characters and/or overpowering the villains to make it better. It’s just a typical anime “hero” situation really.

      3.) Unfortunately, in many situations, I have to agree here. Especially more recently and, like I said in #1, lack of personal development overall. It doesn’t help that he’s constantly succeeding with his little speeches or in fights too, thus there’s little “reason” for him to actually develop right now. If he ends up actually convincing the Raikage (Tsunade would obviously bend over backwards for him like she always does), I will literally scream BS considering how he completely shot down Naruto’s views the last time he cried and begged to him in terms of sparing Sasuke.

      It’s why I keep saying that I wish (not just in Naruto, but other things) that Naruto would just FAIL and causing a ripple of consequences because of that failure(especially due to his own recklessness, like right now). It doesn’t have to completely destroy him or anything, but it WOULD force him to mature more and realize how idiotic, naive, gullible, etc he’s been for a long time, just like the Kyuubi has been just saying.

      4). I only agree with Part 1 (of which they had NO relevance to the story in any way) and only most recently Part 2 (the whole “after Wave” bit that had NO place in Shippuuden). At least the first 3 fillers corresponded to the series in some way.

      The first, I’m guessing, was to show us more on Asuma’s background, given it was right before the Kakuzu and Hidan Arc, since we knew little to nothing specific on him or his relationship to Hiruzen, so his death in the Kakuzu and Hidan Arc really didn’t make me feel much besides it being meaningless except for motivating Team 10 (or just Shikamaru really).

      The second giving us a much more detailed view on HOW the Sanbi ended up in that lake in the first place given, in the manga, it was just there with a lot of people wondering how/why and such.

      The third being more on a personal Naruto level because of the whole Master and Student relation angle with Hotaru and Utakata being like Naruto and Jiraiya. Considering Jiraiya just died against Nagato before, such a situation would only make the news of his death hit Naruto a lot harder emotionally.

      …but the ones after like, as said, the “After Wave” fillers were just pointless.

      5.) Also true. I guess Kishi tried to make up for that by having Tsunade and Mei as Kages (the first 2 female Kages no less), but it doesn’t help that all they’ve been doing has been sitting behind desks/tables and not really doing anything after their initial debuts of fighting.

      6). Tenten…no comment…

      HalfDemonInuyasha
    2. “The only smart shounen series protagonist we’ve had was L from Death Note”

      This is just a small point and doesn’t really matter but I just wanted to mention that Lelouch from Code Geass is a genius. I love series with smart protagonists.

      iffy525
  5. @Setsuna

    I’ll address your points one by one, neh?
    1) Naruto isn’t actually all that stupid. He’s very brash, yeah, but not downright unintelligent. And Kishimoto has stated he simply doesn’t like intelligent characters as much, which is why he didn’t make Naruto into a Neji-esque genius. Hardly demonizing.
    2) Orochimaru stopped being the villain ages ago. He wasn’t the only smart villain. And if “being smart makes you EVIL” then why isn’t Shikamaru the most sadistic evil person in the entire series?
    3) That’s more of your opinion I suppose, not much I can do about it. He’s not my favorite character in the series either but I wouldn’t say he’s boring.
    4) Moreso in the anime but alright.
    5) Tsunade. The Mizukage. (I forget her name) Konan. Hinata, Sakura and the like are up there but not terribly powerful. They’re average.
    6) Not sure who you’re talking about here.

    Rek
    1. 1) How I see it, Naruto is suppose to be the complete opposite of Sasuke, not gifted with super intelligence or born with bloodline limits, but hes far from an idiot; he’s a “genius of hardwork.”

      2) As Rek said, then Shikamaru would be the most evil character out there.

      3)That’s your opinion. Personally I find his determination to be much more interesting to watch than Sasuke or Neji or Pain etc… “I was born with these special powers nao watch me hax you.”

      4) You can’t blame the manga for filler. The Anime’s production company puts that in, normally so that they don’t catch up to the manga so they have time to actually animate it. (I find Naruto filler to be much more bearable to watch than Bleach filler, just an opinion)

      5) I would normally agree with this, but its a Shounen manga, as in action/adventure that appeals to boys. So, it makes sense that the male characters would be the strongest also why they are the main characters. On a side note, I somewhat recall Jiraiya saying he was afraid of Tsunade cause she once broke his ribs(something along those lines.)

      Also on this point, when Pain was destroying Konoha, the one person who actually stepped up and helped Naruto out might’ve been a girl…just saying Hinata(a girl) was the only one with enough balls to help out.

      6) I think you’re talking about TenTen, who I’m pretty sure likes Lee, so I’m not sure where you’re getting the NejixTenTen thing from.

      Nojamforme
    2. @Rek

      1). I forgot about Shikimaru, so I apologize I shouldn’t have said there were no good-guy smart characters. I still think the point stands for 90% of shounen series though. And I do think the Mangaka glorifies Naruto’s stupidity in a way, his simpleness and lack of understanding are (again, at least in my memory of the series) often portrayed as being at the heart of his kindness. Which is insane, how kind you are is a completely separate thing from how smart you are.

      2). Tsunade = medic, and if I’m remembering correctly wasn’t she training Sakura to be a medic? And Hinata is the weakest character on earth! … emotionally I mean, and yes that counts. It doesn’t matter if they’re powerful physically if they play up the super-emotional-weak-girl-who-can’t-do-anything-without-the-big-strong-guy element. I don’t remember who Mizukage and Konan are.

      3). Someone else said I was talking about ten-ten and that sounds right to me.

      Setsuna-chan
      1. Medics are considered the most important part of the squad and are suppose to be able to protect themselves. There are a lot of male medics like Kabuto but they are all no names. The female characters like Sakura and Tsunade are considered to be much much stronger and more skilled than the average ninja. The only reason why they seem weak is because they are being over shadowed by people like Madara and Tailed-beasts because they are practically gods.

        Suppa Tenko
  6. Ahem…Well, this will be a rather long comment. I’ll basically talk about why the second part of the Naruto series is being so good in many ways the first part wasn’t.This is because it troubled me how many people in some earlier Naruto posts ranted how Shippuuden was no good; and I’m thus writing this in an effort to (hopefully) change some people’s minds…Or at least level some of their likes and hates.

    But before that, I’ll briefly comment about this post :p . Divine, I’m enjoying more than ever your posts because of how long and analytic they are! Seriously, keep them up; they’re great!

    Okay, here goes. I apologize in advance for the length…I just had some free time :p .

    So I see that the second part of Naruto is getting much undeserved hate. Personally, I am really digging this very part of the manga. It feels like everything is coming to a close by tying all the loose ends in the history of Naruto. That is not only a very difficult thing to do, but Kishimoto also expands the Naruto universe to fill some gaps. All this sums up for some long-awaited moments (and a pleasure to read them too!), like Naruto finally grasping the Nine-Tails’ power after so long, Akatsuki finally taking action to complete their plan, etc. Hell, even the Seven Mist Swordsmen’ appearance came as a delightful surprise. Some character backstories (Juugo) usually help to get even more information; while at the same time giving them some much deserved cameos…

    To me, Shippuuden had a really dull start; I’ll agree on that one. The only big surprise in the first arc was how awesome Sakura seemed to be when she fought Sasori (a pity that was her good moment to shine…in the entire manga). After that, the whole Orochimaru-Sasuke hideout arc…Encountering Sasuke for the first time…Deidara, even Asuma’s death, Hidan and Naruto’s Fuuton Rasen-Shuriken…Looking back, everything was quite boring and seemed like the manga did not have a clear goal. The worst moment, in my opinion, must have been when Naruto went on yet ANOTHER training, now with frogs, to get stronger. In my opinion, that ‘training’ was very very corny and lacked any good emotion to it…It seemed like an excuse to achieve Sage Mode in a ridiculous short time to be able to take on Pain.

    However! The Pain arc, while I began reading it very skeptic, it soon turned out to be my favourite arcs of all Naruto….It really shone compared to everything Shippuuden had until that moment. Why? Because Kishimoto introduced this whole Hate theme with Pain. And boy, the message is a deep one, one that can really get you thinking in real life…Hinata’s confession (though a bit random and out of place for that moment), Naruto’s sudden transformation into Kyuubi and the whole fight made it all the better. I loved how Naruto, after beating Pain, yelled at his formers that he wouldn’t be killing Nagato (like most Shounen usually end up doing)but instead was seriously interested in having a talk with the guy. I felt Nagato was one of the deepest characters the manga has to offer up till now, with his whole hate issues and then redeeming himself.
    People say that they loved Naruto pre-time skip so much because it was about a boy who just wanted to be acknowledged by his people. Well, this arc for the first time almost stole a tear from my eye when Naruto was finally acknowledged by his entire village after defeating Nagato. It was a heart-warming moment, that felt very rewarding after the, I dunno, 400+ chapters of hard work by Naruto to finally get to that moment of happiness. It finally closed the forever-fight to be acknowledged—and I was glad it did so with such finale.

    Yes, Naruto’s answers usually involve overcoming things with GUTSSSS like someone said, and even if vague, methinkss that’s the message Kishimoto really wants to deliver:
    Don’t try to think too much how to overcome such big issues (erradication of hate; making everyone in the world understand each other)…Just try! Yes, even if that means being bold and naïve. But someone has to make the first step! After all, if the word got spread enough, and everyone tried it, you’d finally achieve that goal! I think Naruto is trying just that…I agree on what he told the Kyuubi some chapters back (in that last panel that made me pause and say ‘whoa’ at the picture…): ‘You can’t look back or falter…If you do, then it’s all over’. That explains his naiveness on this issue.
    He may not be a Shikamaru that can think of a rational solution to such big issues and a careful plan of how to achieve so…He just tackles the issue with good will, and boy, I wish society could be as pure-hearted as that nowadays. In fact, I think that’s the only solution: spreading good will + time = Everyone will develop a pure good-will. It may take generations…But what the hell, we have all the time in the universe.

    Anyway, all that thought and messages was inspired by the second part of Naruto; and that’s why I love it so much. I feel like it introduced much more serious topics to the fantasy that Naruto is.
    People complain about the overpowered fights…I mean, really? Are they that overpowered? I feel like it’s only natural, and about damn time we see them. I could honestly say this is one of the few mainstream shounen mangas that have not messed up the power levels even after 500+ chapters. Even after so long, we still have fights that are all about whose chakra completely runs out first. Of course it’s not perfect: i felt that the introduction of element jutsus was a taaad bit late, but hey, some of that stuff does make some fights more interesting, and I’m glad Kishimoto included them, even if late.
    Characters from WAAY long ago still hold up pretty well against the standard power levels: I feel like characters such as the 3rd Hokage showed just as ubber-ness as is seen in today’s chapters. We really just got a sneak peak of that in the pre-time skip…And honestly, as the plot gets thicker and stakes rise (currently at the villain declaring global war and if he wins he’ll basically control the planet), it’s only natural that every uber-strong person -Hokages, Jinjuuruukis (or however it’s spelled ha ha…) and the remaining Akatsuki- finally show up to put up fight for what they want. It adds to the feeling that the manga’s getting closer to an end.

    After all this, regarding how the manga is developing, it really adds some meaning to what looked like to be a dull start for Shippuuden. Everything was a big setup for this conclusion. It was not perfect, and I’m sure there could have been lots of ways to make things more interesting, but be as it is, overall I like Shippuuden as a whole because of the vibes it gives: it really looks like Kishimoto had a solid (though not 100%…But give the guy kudos nonetheless) idea of how events would unfold till the very end. Even meaningless fights like Deidara’s or Hidan’s can have a purpose now: Madara was just stalling for time till he could get a hold of more Jinjuurukis/Sasuke, and now that he’s satisfied with what he’s got, he’s moving. After the Pain Arc, everything got a waaaay more serious tone, what with all the introduction of the Hokage’s, Sasuke’s definite (and cliché) downfall into darkness. And much more.
    It’s not perfect, but it’s currently damn enjoyable with every weekly release–each release moves the plot forward, by either further developing/concluding characters’ stories, adding more historical background that has been demanded for quite some time, or moving the plot forward. In my opinion, Naruto is shining like never before, even more so when compared to the rest of the mainstream series.

    So please, don’t mindlessly bash Naruto. Instead, look all the good things it has accomplished. And seriously, they are many–even more so with the 500+ chapters it’s got…Most mangas lose all purpose by then. Naruto’s just got stronger.

    Anyway, those are just my two cents. Thanks for reading if you really did~

    Justinnnn
      1. Seriously, Bossun. Why do you comment? It’s always something really dumb that no one wants to read. If I could ban one person permanently, it would be you. I can’t be the only one who thinks this way, can I?

        Inquisitive Mind
    1. Well said. You explained the whole Shippuden experience better then I could. And I was the one that originally Said I liked Shippuden better then earlier kiddie Naruto and got flammed for it. When Pain all but destroyed the village and someone cried (can’t remember who but I think it might have been Sakura) out asking where was Naruto and suddenly he appeared out of a puff of smoke in Sage mode with a giant scroll on his back and 2 huge toads by his side (in the anime) it was amazing! Then when everyone in the village cheered for him and acknowledged him finally I rejoyced with him.

      I got no problem seeing a time warp and 3rd series with him the young leader of the leaf (maybe with Hinata as his wife and a son of his own) and his troubles leading the village.

      Karmafan
    2. :p Sorry, I apologized for the length, didn’t I? It’s just that I didn’t feel like posting this in some forum I don’t know about, and when I feel much more attached/related to the RC community than anything else anime-related.

      Now because of that post, you will all have to scroll down some extra 5 seconds if you wanna check out the comments below, mwaha!

      Justinnnn
      1. I originally named myself Justin, but as I saw there was another Justin, I renamed myself to Justinnnnn to try to differ from the rest. I don’t post much anyway (I think I only posted once when I went by the name of Justin (last ep of P&GwS)).

        Justinnnn
  7. been a NarutoxSakura shipper for the longest time but this is just getting ridiculous. How much devotion does she have for Sasgay? The prospect of jumping ship is getting more appealing.

    Oni
    1. I don’t ship anyone and before this chapter, I would’ve just said Kishi’s probably going to push Naruto/Sakura if only because poor Hinata got ignored (seriously, DOOD! She CONFESSED AND ALMOST DIED FOR YOU! Don’t you think that deserves SOME notice?) and Sakura and Sasuke have barely exchanged a word all second arc. But alas, with this bit I’m left facepalming and reminded the poor state of Sakura’s growth and development. I’d say just jump ship and don’t look back.

      Acerbus
  8. I don’t particularly understand Sakura’s character either. Her infatuation is getting really ridiculous.

    I bet you anything she’d side with Sasuke over Konoha if she had the choice. Even if she DID side with Konoha, Sakura will never end up with Naruto.

    Why?

    Because Sakura doesn’t deserve him. The best thing that could happen at this point to her would be to die doing something really epic. Too bad my dreams probably aren’t going to happen.

    Jo
    1. Screw that, she needs to die old and along and forgoten. Sakura should get NO ONE! Even Ino who was Sasgay fangirl #2 seems to have moved on now, thank god. Seriously get a clue. The guy was ready to killer her, hell kakashi should’ve been just a fraction late saving her ass so she’d actually get stabbed (but not die, no fun in that).

      GP007
  9. I guess love really is blind. It’s good to see Sakura in action though. She hasn’t done anything other than being the damsel in distress for a very long time.

    I would love to see a bijuu vs. Kages fight but I really doubt that’s going to happen.

    Too bad Neji’s already down. I was looking forward to seeing some Hyuuga action but I guess they’re just not favoured by Kishi.

    Seishun Otoko
  10. I get the feeling that Naruto doesn’t remember Hinata’s Confession. He went all Fox Demon right afterward and he usually can’t remember much before and during the time he gets consumed by the Demon Fox’s Chakra as I recall. He even had to try hard to recall if he had been the one to hurt Hinata and had to be told by Katsuyu that it was the Fox. This would explain why it was never followed up on. I maybe just giving Kishimoto the benefit of the doubt. But at least he has subconsciously began to take notice of her a bit more afterward.

    stephsageek
  11. I disagree that Sakura’s love for Sasuke is shallow. Certainly it started that way, but during their time as Team 7 he got to know the actual him and not the image she built of him. I think many people are missing the point of the Sakura-Naruto dynamic. Divine wrote “It’s almost insult to injury that his love rival so to speak is still “winning” after all these years when he’s not even around and trying to.” Naruto likes Sakura precisely because of this, not in spite of it. Because she goes all out for her love, and doesn’t ever give up on it, ever. When she was trying to forget Sasuke, it was Naruto who stopped her. When she was trying to kill him, it was Naruto that got pissed and turned her off that idea.

    You make it sound like Sakura is purposely ignoring Naruto’s feelings, who’s doing everything for her, and idolizing Sasuke, who tried to kill her. This isn’t so, and as a reference I’ll refer to probably the most misunderstood parts of the manga, when Sakura “confesses” to Naruto. That entire scene and subsequent action was Sakura recognizing that Sasuke had become completely twisted and everything that Naruto had done for her. She was basically forcing herself to try to hate Sasuke and love Naruto, and Naruto saw through it in an instant: “I hate people who lie to themselves!” He says this because he admired and liked the Sakura who liked Sasuke, not the one who gave up. Fact is sometimes you can’t change who you love, even if all common sense rebels against it, and that’s part of the current conflict she’s experiencing. She is way, way past the “wow he broods and is a genius and he is so hawwt!.”

    As for “blind love beyond reason” for Sasuke, yeah, she has it and Naruto does too (in a brotherly way). The ability to forgive pretty much anything and break the cycle of hatred is one of the main themes of the manga, it really shouldn’t be surprising. They both have had internal conflicts about it, but Naruto has gotten past his, while Sakura is still going through hers. Out of all Konoha, only she and Naruto still believe in Sasuke to any degree, and this is not a coincidence.

    Viper764
  12. If he still remembers it, then Naruto at the very least should be straight with Hinata “I know you almost got yourself killed trying to protect me but I love Sakura-chan who does not love me.”

    But I do think Kishi is keeping the NarutoxHinata moment for later, the reasons however are not very convincing (goldfish memory for characters).

    Lectro Volpi
  13. “He must be a really great guy if you’re in love with him.”

    Lol. I find that part very funny since Sasuke is not a great guy. And I agree with you on
    “While I personally don’t care for the character shipping one way or another, Sakura’s blind love beyond reason is ultimately why I find it hard to favor her over Hinata. The only reason I care to point it out is because I tend to favor a brash tsundere over the quiet, devoted alternative, yet Naruto (as a series) continues to go against that trend.”

    For once, I’m actually not looking forward to Naruto vs. Raikage. I hope their fight (if there will be one) will be short and it’ll just be much talk.

    Valerie
  14. @Setsuna

    you are an idiot, and here is why.

    1. Naruto is a good show because the main character is an idiot. If he were a smart-ass and if he were normal and popular from the beginning, it would be like any old boring shit out there. The manga is made different and unique this way. It’s better to see a not so popular “idiot” grow to a well-respected hero than to see a genius grow into an elite fighter.
    2. if you don’t like the manga, don’t comment here, especially when you have your information wrong. THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD AND SMART GUYS as people said: shikamaru, shikaku, kakashi….. Yeah, so at least go read the manga before you go trash something
    3. nothing i can say here. it’s impossible to change your opinion. go read dragonball or something.
    4. every anime has filler, or else the anime would catch up in no time. and besides, this is a post about manga, not anime. i guess you are an idiot after all. you shouldn’t comment on naruto’s intelligence when you are pretty dumb yourself.
    5. not trying to be sexist, but in general men are just better fighters and are more intelligent than women. that’s a fact. women are just more suited for jobs such as medics. this manga has tried very hard to make the girls useful; other shows make women completely useless. in most action movies, the woman is the one protected, and the man is the one doing the “hero” actions.
    6. you are talking about ten-ten? seriously, go read the manga before you trash something. although tenten is not a popular character, you should at least know her name. besides, ten-ten is not stealing neji from hinata. In case you didn’t notice, neji and hinata are cousins, and hinata apparently likes naruto.
    7. you are an idiot. you are better suited for this kind of stuff: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
    goodbye
    5.

    boomboa
    1. I agree with everything you said expect number 5. Men may be naturally stronger then women but there are some excellent women fighters and not every man is smater then a women. It just depends on the person. It has nothing to do with gender.

      infinite
  15. @boomba
    The main character in Death note was really smart and this is one of the best manga.

    If naruto was clueless it could be ok but he is more stupid than anything else.
    Can you really believe that someone like him can lead people. He could be like his father and the story could be good too.
    People are saying bad thing about sasuke but he is the real ninja. He did what he had to do to have an other life. Like naruto he had a purpose in his life.

    As for sakura, for me she is side character, useless in the story. To save her, to bring sasuke back for her make naruto strong. With hinata he could be stronger, sooner.

    @viper764
    BULLSHIT….BULLSHIT
    She did this shit BECAUSE sai told her how much naruto suffer because of her. She is his teammate since the beginning and she doesn’t know a damn thing about naruto. And you want her with naruto, like hell. I rather see him in a gangbang with sasuke and orochimaru.

    cafard
  16. It took me a while but I think I figured out what is going to happen Tsunade is going to explain to naruto what the zetsus are doing and he is going to use his “I can sense” evil new powers to save everyone from killing everyone

    Sigh
  17. @infinite
    i will take back my point that men are smarted than women since that’s not really true. however, in a world of ninjas and fighting, men, with greater strength and masculinity, are just more suited to be fighting on the front line with power. women are more suited for medics, genjutsu, that kind of stuff.
    @cafard
    don’t understand what you are trying to say here. my point is that watching a smart, popular guy grow into some hero is boring as shit, and Naruto is unique because it doesn’t do that like every other story does.

    boomboa
  18. I’m looking forward to a fight between Naruto and Tsunade. If you recall the first fight they had, Naruto totally got pawned. Things are coming full circle.
    I wonder what she is planning on doing because Naruto did save her no-bra-wearing ass during when Pain was about to clean her clock.

    animeE
  19. The way how sakura find out tat neiji was a white zetsu, the method is overused in Naruto!!
    We have seen this 1 too many times, where enemy mistakes Akamaru as a teammate..
    In relation to last weeks Bakuman, this means the author had just reused the same idea again n again in different settings.

    I laughed my ass off when Bee was checking out Tsunade’s racks.. and Raikage words to him!

    alvin
  20. To be a Sakura hater means only to have standards.
    This new chapter once again showed how much of a pathetic idiot she is.
    And i find amusing how Kishimoto try to convice us that Sakura is such a sharp genius…with one of the most lazy plot device ever.

    Lala
    1. At this point, i like Ino better than Sakura. Despite Sakura has become more skilled and powerful than Ino. Ino seem to have matured better than Sakura.
      Sakura is still as selfish and shallow as she was before Shippuuden. Often making things worst by lying to Sasuke, Naruto and her fellow villagers.

      The one and only moment where i liked Sakura was during her (tag-team with Chiyo-baasama) fight against Sasori.

      NexJin
  21. I HATE HOW EVERYONE KEEPS CRITICIZING SAKURA AND CLAIMING HINATA’S BETTER THAN HER. BOTH OF THESE GIRLS ARE GREAT IN THEIR OWN WAY AND IT’S NOT SAKURA’S FAULT THAT SHE WASN’T GRANTED ANY SPECIAL POWERS. THE FACT THAT SHE STILL LOVES SASUKE DOESN’T MAKE HER LOVE ANY LESS REAL. MOST GIRLS THAT I KNOW DON’T FALL IN LOVE WITH THE PERFECT GUY. YEAH, NARUTO CHANGED HINATA BUT SASUKE ALSO CHANGED SAKURA. INDEED, SAKURA USED TO BE THIS ANNOYING FAN GIRL THAT LEAD A NORMAL LIFE, BUT THAT WAS YEARS AGO. SASUKE TAUGHT HER HOW TO APPRECIATE OTHERS AS WELL AS THE MEANING OF SOLITUDE AMONG OTHER THINGS. SAKURA WITNESSED SASUKE’S PAIN FIRST-HAND AND SAW HIM TRANSFORM INTO A DIFFERENT BEING. AFTER EVERYTHING SQUAD 7 WENT THROUGH WITH SASUKE THERE’S NO WAY SAKURA REMAINED IN LOVE WITH SASUKE’S GOOD LOOKS. EVEN AFTER HE’S ATTACKED SAKURA SHE HAS PROVEN THAT SHE LOVES HIM FOR WHO HE IS. SHE DOESN’T ONLY SEE THE EVIL THAT OVERWHELMS HIM, BUT THE TRUE SASUKE THAT’S BURIED DEEP INSIDE. CALL IT BLIND, CALL IT WHAT YOU MUST BUT THAT’S TRUE LOVE, SAKURA’S FIRST LOVE.

    Cookies
  22. how is it shallow? its hard to forget your first crush… i know i for one haven’t just cause its an experience you can’t just simply brush away. the rationale from what im reading in most of these comments is ridiculous. why was is this whole debate based on one brief flashback sakura had reminiscing on sasuke? aside from sakura’s infatuation, can we not simply comment on how badass she was in this chapter, ‘PIGLETS DON’T HAVE HANDS’ i lol’d so hard at that.

    pon

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