It was nice to see Tobi get some jitters in the face of Tailed-Beast-infused Naruto whom he still highly underestimates, and I didn’t even mind how the fighting came to a standstill while Inoichi rallied the troops until his brain almost burst — providing some great emotional build-up in the process — but then Sasuke had to show up on the final page to try and steal Naruto’s thunder. His appearance was used as a cliffhanger, so it looks like the story is gearing up for another fated encounter where the Sasuke whips out some overpowered abilities and push Naruto to his “seemingly limitless” limits. Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan or not, the mere thought of that is somewhat ridiculous given Naruto’s drastic transformation in recent chapters; however, I guess it would probably feel even more wrong if the Naruto x Sasuke rivalry didn’t go out with bang.

What I’m wondering now is if he’s only going to make a brief appearance to back up Tobi and help him retreat or if he’s actually going to scrap it out with Naruto for a bit. I’m guessing it’s going to be the former, considering the massive reinforcements on route, as I really can’t see a one-on-one battle happening with that huge of an audience. Whatever the case, all the focus on Naruto, Tobi, and now Sasuke has kind of made light of the Five Kages’ ongoing fight with Madara that we haven’t seen too much of yet. On the plus side, with both fronts lined up for some pretty big clashes, we can’t go wrong with whichever one is going to be focused on next. If I had a choice, I’d actually pick the Kage/Madara fight though, as it was just heating up.

Edit: Go Hinata! Sakura didn’t even think of walking hand-in-hand with Naruto in that way.

86 Comments

    1. How about all that rain? I’m sure it’s just Kishi tickling us, but I’m still seriously hoping Naruto (being an uzumaki) develops an affinity for water (I mean the Uchiha has fire affinity right?). Uzumaki – Maelstrom. Why is it Raining? Nagato’s Rain Tiger at Will Technique (I hope!).

      Water against Sasuke’s Fire.
      Wind against Sasuke’s Lightning.
      Negative emotion sensing against Sasuke’s Emo.

      Naruto the Anti-Sasuke. Just a theory. 😉

    2. I’m thinking the final arc is still a ways off before the Naruto-Sasuke fight.

      I’m thinking this chapter shows Sasuke completely side-stepping the Shinobi Army to try to ambush the Konoha village. Cuz you know, he got that whole revenge motive going. The Tobi/Madara arc will finish up with Naruto, and then cut back to Sasuke in the ruins of Konoha. I mean…they got have some reason to fight.

      Ptolemaios00
    1. I am actually pretty convinced how Kishi will end his story. He will probably do some more horrible acts, kill a lot of canon fodder, may be even side characters, then in the climatic moment he will turn on Tobi and weaken him, dying in the process.
      This will proove that he accepted Itachi’s legacy and followed in his footsteps in beeing traitor for greater good. He will get a long flashback of how he plotted to deceive Tobi and lalala, and then a near-death dialogue with Naruto.

      I as far as my wishes go, i would rather see him just killed without redemption, since I dislike him as well.

      Arri-att
      1. Well Sasuke does have a track record for killing his teachers, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he does turn on Tobi.

        At the end of the day though, it’s weird. I liked Sasuke even when he betrayed Konoha… but it was like how I liked Light from Death Note in the beginning too. Then they both went down the “I’m going to become a giant DICK!” path and I’m just like “k no”, despite the fact that both characters had solid stories as to why they did what they did and lots of character development.

        But yeah. At this stage, I am very much over Sasuke. I just want him gone and more Kurama/Naruto interaction. <3

        Skins Thunderbomb
  1. I am pretty sure, Sasuke is just a tease. I dont think there would be any fight btwn him and Naruto or even an encounter. Even though Fake Madara prob. has more plot kai than the original M. to counter whatever Naruto & co will throw at him. Something/Someone will interrupt the fight (not really banking on Sauce or his bro.

    Smurf
    1. No matter how much people hate sasuke, his role in the story is way underrated. There’s no way he’s just a tease or will end up just weakening tobi. I think he will have a well planned encounter with naruto and it will end with a solid conclusion to their story.

      Considering what naruto told him last time about fighting him, their fight could be the very last fight of the series (even after they’re done with the war).

      dxb_blackwolf
  2. My greatest wish from the ending of this manga is for Naruto to drop all of this “let’s all be friends” bullcrap in the middle of his fight with Sasuke and just murder him.

    No Kurama powers.

    No Ninjutsu.

    Just choke that bastard with his own two hands until Sasuke is a lifeless sack of Uchiha flesh.

    Then I will be satisfied.

    Da5id
    1. I also dislike sasuke, I have such a hard time to read the manga when he is around, maybe is that Naruto is in love with him, otherwise I don’t understand why “I hate Sasuke too. Would be great if Naruto punches a hole thru Sasuke’s chest with a rasengan and then stops to pee on his dead body. Probably not gonna happen tho.”

      oscuda
    2. Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely. Naruto is is very sturdy about his nakama decisions, so if he kills Sasuke it will ruin his will and throw him into depression. Remeber how he said, that can’t fullfill his hokage dream before “saving his friend”.

      Actually it would be a rather dark and interesting twist if Naruto chose do defeat-kill Sasuke to save other friends for example, and this choice mentally butchers him, which is followed by him becoming a rogue ninja. It would rather interesting to see him as anti-hero travelling through the world, fighting off anbu chasers, killing bad guys occasionally. The story could even take another timeskip and show him as a grown man with sunken grimm eyes, whering tobi mask on his shoulder with, uchiha cloth as a memento about Sasuke. Okay I am falling into fanfic direction.

      The point is, he is not killing Sasuke for sure.

      Arri-att
  3. Ah, hell, I’ll always like Sasuke even after all the bullshit he’s pulled. He was such a compelling character for me before the big Itachi reveal, though now he’s lost all the momentum from those early days.

    It always amazes me how much effort people put into hating a fictional character, but then again the internet was never founded upon the principle of people getting along.

    Actene
  4. Watch Sasuke disappear again. Just like last time – showed up with a colour page and that was it. That being said, I still like the ‘footstep’ pages (i.e. everyone else’s vs. Sasuke’s lone footsteps). Once again, contrasting between Naruto and Sasuke.

    There’s also the possibility that Sasuke will attack Konoha directly, since that has been his main goal anyway. But as much as I like to see him back in action, I hope to see some conclusion with the other fights.

    And am I the only one still curious about how Itachi will stop the Edo tensei?

    Yoruhime
  5. yes i think naruto should start winding down an finish in some decent manner where there is no hope or need for a follow up story. like a few chapters bout his life an accomplishments as hokage an his eventual peaceful dead after which his legacy as one of the great shinobi will b remembered forever.

    as for the naru x sasu fight its gonna happen. not that both of them have equally sized body covering chakra modes there is no way they r not gonna meet on the battlefield. as for sasuke’s redemption im waiting to c how dats handled cause at this point all hope for disappeared since he left the village so long ago.

    and i would have loved to c an elated ay an tsunade hearing news of naruto an bee’s fight giving them an the other kages the boost to finish off madara.

    Evil In7en7
  6. What? No mention of Hinata?

    I actually as kinda disheartened by her matter of fact statement… “next time” she said.

    Next time… so there will be a next time… and here I was thinking this arc would be the last one.

    fluca
    1. This arc could be the last one. Or at least, close to it. By “next time”, Hinata just means next time she sees Naruto again. I really like how Hinata is improving herself. She’s no longer that shy child anymore. She’s stepping up and becoming more bold now. 😀

  7. HNGGGGG I can hardly contain myself! Not so much for the current chapter, but for this week’s episode of the anime! Yes, the anime. This week’s show (episode 248) is all about the events before Naruto’s birth and the Kyuubi attacking Konoha. Besides being one of my favourite parts of the manga where so much stuff was going on, from the preview it looks like the studio is blowing the budget in this episode! It’s been a long time since I was this excited for a Naruto episode…So I’m writing this to encourage everyone to go watch it, even you Divine, though I’m sure you may not end up watching it given how busy your schedule can be.

    …I’m sure it’ll be a treat to any Naruto fan. It airs this very Thursday!

    1. Well, I just finished watching, and it was as sad and awesome as I thought it’d be.

      The soundtrack that played with Minato’s victory against Tobi was pure greatness.

      And Kushina and Minato’s last words to Naruto really teared me up…

      Also, we got episodes 248 and 249 in one go, that was the best treat the studio gave us. I’d like to insert a japanese sentimental-quote from the episode to end this post, but since I don’t have any…I’ll stay with “HNGGGGGGGGGG GOOD STUFF KNSOONASNOBFOABF”.

  8. I have no pity toward Sasuke. After all these chapters,this guy has full of hates. He never listen to other people when friends and mentor try to help him to lay down the unnecessary, pointless burden. Instead, he just blindly continue pursue hatred. If Sasuke live in the real world, oh boy he is gonna suffer to death. Good luck to him..

    Nine
  9. “Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan or not, the mere thought of that is somewhat ridiculous given Naruto’s drastic transformation in recent chapters;”

    God, some of your are so far up Naruto’s ass it makes me sick.

    Unagidon
    1. Uh, what? Sasuke dislike aside, in the last few chapters Naruto has made peace with Kurama the Nine Tails, almost completed his nine tails fox mode, has the power to flick away 5 tailed beasts bombs himself, and to top that off, he now has the souls of every tailed beast. If Sasuke stands any chance right now, then the Sharingan is WAY too overpowered.

      Snipyro
    2. Let’s look at it this way: Not too long before this arc, Sasuke and his two pawns had a little 3 on one with Killerbee.
      After they thought they had him completely powned, it just turns out they had that much trouble with only one tail of Killerbee.
      Killerbee is an 8 tails, and doesn’t have the souls of every tailed beast.
      Now Naruto didn’t split himself to one of the nine tails and DOES have the power of all the beasts, so just imagine what kind of power the kid has at this stage.

      Crook
    3. Snipyro pretty much sums up what I’m getting at. i.e. If Sasuke can somehow match up really well against someone who’s harnessed all the Tailed-Beasts’ chakra — effectively the “nuclear warheads” of the Naruto universe — then I don’t know what there is left for Naruto to do against the “genius” Uchiha.

      1. Considering how powerful Naruto is right now. I just want Sasuke to attack him with all his hax and Naruto will be like ‘Is that all you’ve got?’ *forehead flick to oblivion/SKADOOSH*

        0927123
  10. Isn’t Itachi still in the battle field? wouldn’t it be Sasuke Vs Itachi? I think what we will be seeing from now on is how Sasuke’s power will drastically increase. Someone please tell me if im wrong but isnt itachi still somewhat alive?

    Sin1505
    1. I wqas just about to post the samething!

      People Itachi will either intercept Sasuke before he reaches Naruto, or Sasuke will take advantage of the weakened Naruto to help Tobi escape, but the Itatchi will show up to allow Naruto to retreat.

      Tez
  11. This manga needs moar Hinata…! =3 God, women needs more screentime in this anime like Fairy Tail! P.S.: Someone should continue Fairy Tail coverage (at least manga) here in RandomC, epic shounen deserves it! =)

    Kingdragun
    1. Agreed, although I only watch the anime, I thought Fairy Tail has better proportions of plot development, battle, comedy (usually fanservice-type)than other popular shonen series out there.

      And just wondering, people at randomc cover Naruto and Bleach manga, but not covering One Piece manga, which is MOST POPULAR among the three, at least in Japan. Why?

      Kusabi
  12. I want to see Itachi vs Orochikabu though I imagine that it will be Kages vs Madara first with Madara winning until Itachi manages to break the Impure World Resurrection. Something like that.

    Cream
  13. I’m not a fan of Sasuke’s character, as his decisions and aspirations don’t make any sense. On that note, I don’t hate his character, either. And I don’t really understand how so many of you can put so much effort into hating a fictional ego (e.g, Actene’s explanation). Sasuke’s an extremely troubled kid who’s gone through some extremely troubling events. Him not being a god-loving, nature-smothering saint is no friggin’ surprise. In that regard, Kishi really should have added some much-needed depth into Sasuke and have his gait not be so nonsensical.

    And Divine, “Sasuke whips out some overpowered abilities…” Are you implying Naruto’s abilities aren’t overpowered? If anything, Naruto’s abilities are 100x more haxed than Sasuke’s.

    AsianDisaster
  14. “On the plus side, with both fronts lined up for some pretty big clashes, we can’t go wrong with whichever one is going to be focused on next. If I had a choice, I’d actually pick the Kage/Madara fight though, as it was just heating up.”
    Same here. As much as I’ve enjoyed the Tailed Beasts/Tobi vs. B/Naruto/Kakashi/Guy fight, I’m so curious to see what the Kages can pull off as a team.

    This keeps feeling like a finale arc to the series, so I’m wondering what will come after the war ends.

    Lastly, I loved how sincere and wonderful everyone’s feelings towards Naruto were… until they reached Tenten. I lol’d at hers, even if it was sweet to show concern for her teacher; it added nothing to her character. She indeed seems doomed to the one-dimension.

  15. For me Hinata was the star of this chapter, I have always hoped that Naruto would end up with Sakura! But after the Pain arc, I have gain so much respect of Hinata! And too me it doesn’t really matter who Naruto ends up with.

    Pera
  16. Look Who Comes Raining on the Parade? >>> Oh snap its the gay dude <<<
    Seriously, I mean who wants to see a 3 page full panel of Sasuke walking. 1st he is too emo and top it off 3 pages of lone man walking in stormy rain. SMH
    I want more Naruto action and Hinata too. Sakura can just go after the emo dude.

    Walker
  17. Don’t tell me that Sasuke is going to massacre an entire army. Mmmm. At this point I wonder if that guy as awaken his Rinnegan.

    Anyway, we have heard that Mandara has dropped another HUGE ROCK on the war yet so the Kages must be doing a good job keeping him at bay.

    L002
  18. I think there’s a chance that Sasuke isn’t going to arrive at the Naruto/Tobi fight, but will intercept the reinforcements heading there.

    Maybe a Sasuke versus the “Konoha 11” is the next mighty clash?

    Ryan
  19. Correct me if I’m wrong. But whatever happened to Itachi whooping up Kabuto’s ass?

    Well, we were so focused on Naruto’s seemingly godlike SSJ transformation that we forgot some minor details. LOL

    Lance
  20. Hinata and Naruto’s babies are going to be PRETTY f*ckin strong I’m guessing. Lucky god d*mn children, here I am cursed to mediocrity! Hmmm. This show is so immense in scope now when the manga is over hopefully I get some cool epilogues and back story spin-offs.

    KRILL
  21. I know this is a manga review, but has anyone else tuned to the anime recently, i just watched minato thwomp tobi in glorious fashion.

    It was a pleasure to see the normally assured tobi poop himself slighlty…

    defunkt_bots
  22. Is anyone else thinking Sasuke is about to murder a serious amount on the Allied Shinobi army even the main characters like Kiba, Lee, or Neji (since they’ve completed whatever purpose they had or never had “Kiba” in the show) Then Naruto will have no choice but to kill him because who in the village would accept forgiveness.

    Azul Flamed Samurai
  23. why cant shounen heroes be relatviely stronger than the other pple?
    I know Ichigo and NAruto are hax more powerful than everyone else(not sure about Luffy),
    I hate when cool characters like Lee become kinda pointless later on

    omeganx
  24. hey guys, sorry for stupid question, is Naruto anime still on air? I never saw it covered in the schedule topic here…
    I dropped it during firts bunch of fillers . eons ago, now wanted to resume watching.. as I read reviews on the manga are quite okeish

    woope
    1. Not at the moment. They’ve just covered the chapters where Naruto meets his mother’s chakra spirt inside of him. Check it out while you can before they inevitably go back to the (god awful) filler. The recent episodes have been very touching, to say the least.

      Blueblu
  25. I don’t understand everyone hates sasuke and said all kind of bullshit. All the power you LOVE so much is not his own. Even sage mode.So think bebore saying crap. You hate the sharingan’s power but you’re OK with naruto using someone else power . How come is it so EASY for you to swallow kurama fucking out of nowhere redemtion. He was full of hate for centuries and then BAM. BUT it’s impssible for sasuke. PFF this is stupid.

    Cafard
    1. Well for me, I think Naruto deserves it. He’s shown working hard for his power-ups, Sasuke on the other hand is fed with a silver spoon.
      Sasuke already knows the reason full well behind his clans slaughter but still he insists on having revenge on Konoha.

      He also agreed to start working with Tobi and, as a result, is classified as an international criminal, something Itachi had tried to prevent by sacrificing everything he had, but even that had not been enough to deter Sasuke. NARUTO WIKIA

      I think this is one of the reasons why he’s still hated as it is pointless right now, and it disregards/nullifies Itachi’s sacrifice and love for Sasuke.

      0927123
      1. Where has Naruto shown that he’s any more effort into obtaining those Bijuu powers than Sasuke? Cafard is right. Out of no where, Naruto suddenly has the ability to turn into Kurama, repel 5 Bijuu balls, and create one of the same magnitude. How did Naruto work towards that? And Naruto and Sasuke “working” for their power has nothing to do with how likable their characters are. Both of them obtained wildly overpowered abilities without having to work for them. However, in Naruto’s case, his abilities are about 100x more haxxed than Sasuke’s. There’s no conceivable way Sasuke could take on Naruto at this point. He would be utterly crushed; much like an ant is under the boot of a person.

        AsianDisaster
  26. Mangafox still has the manga going so check it out there. And I have to agree with “a” that there is far too much love and far too little blood for this to be a proper Fourth Shinobi World War.

    As for Naruto’s current hax and Sasuke future hax, that just looks like lazy plot development. Sage Mode was exciting because it had serious risks, was very hard to do, and took a lot of work for Naruto to get it straight. It also took a lot of time, which prevented Naruto from saving Konoha. Now that’s how you do powerups right.

    Not this instant grat., no-risk, all-positives, DBZ-style super-saiyan mode thing we are seeing right now.

    A realistic way for Sasuke to match this is to use his Sharigan to seal away the Tailed Beasts’ power from Naruto, restricting him to Sage Mode and recreating the fight from the 2011 OVA. An unrealistic way is to reveal another new power that the likes of Madara, Itachi, Pain, and Tobi have not revealed yet despite their losing battles. Like that’s believable.

    Havocs
    1. dont think Sasuk can seal away Tailed Beasts power if he can tobi woulda done that rite away b4 Sasuke as able 2 surpass some of it was because he was alrdy rejecting it because he didnt want 2 hurt hes friends when he want out of control when he fought Orochimaru

      T_T

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