Well, that one week break felt much longer than it was. But here we are, back in action. Continuing on from last time, it seemed for a moment there that Madara was going to stay summoned for one reason or another, but alas, it seems like the cancellation of the Edo Tensei also works on him. As such, the Kages’ battle is effectively over, as are most of the other battles elsewhere. And I reckon things are going to get rolling in the coming chapters now as Tobi is officially the only thing standing between everyone and the end of the war. But before that…

We get one last interaction between the Uchiha brothers. For the most part, it was a straight forward moment where Itachi shows Sasuke of the events leading up to the massacre of the Uchiha clan… but I felt it was a pretty nice flashback this time around, especially in how it sets up the pretty emotional ending where Itachi states his love for Sasuke (the Yaoi fandom is probably totally giddy at this point). But for the most part, the flashback makes you realize that despite everything we’ve heard/seen from previous chapters, there were still some aspects we never actually saw… and this fills in all the blanks. And to say the least, there were some surprising moments in between it all. For one, there was the emotional dialogue between Itachi and his parents… who not only accepted that his views were different, but also told him explicitly to watch after Sasuke. I had originally assumed that Itachi just went straight up and killed them without talking or anything, but this goes to show the kind of person his parents were, as well as Itachi himself as a person. Another interesting twist was how Itachi actually met with Tobi behind the scenes, agreeing to spare his brother in exchange for him getting his revenge on the Uchiha clan. Didn’t quite expect that they’d met that long ago, but alas, it does make a lot of sense in the grand scheme of things though. Moving on, I have to say it was also a bit nice to see the Third Hokage for a few fleeting moments, considering how long it’s been since we’ve seen/heard any mention of the guy. I can’t help but think of the influence he could’ve had if he was still alive at this point… although it’s a kind of moot point considering many of the events stemming from Tsunade’s rise.

In any case, in the overall plot, I suppose nothing really happens this chapter… although that’s not entirely a bad thing. We get a nice flashback, some emotional content, and it sets up the calm before the storm so to speak. It would’ve felt slightly strange shifting immediately over to the Tobi fight, so this chapter provides a nice cushion until that, while also potentially pointing a reasons why Sasuke may not endeavor to destroy Konoha after all. Guess we’ll see. Things’ll definitely start rollin’ soon and I’ll definitely be along for the ride.

Author’s Note: Now on twitter! @ZephyrRC

51 Comments

    1. Ahhh, site map seems to be down. Thanks for the heads up. Will get on that.

      Sankarea’s gone from the current series section because there hasn’t been a recent post on it. The current series only lists series who have had posts within like the last week to two weeks or so. It’s not dropped or anything so, no worries. It was onbreak last week is the main reason.

      1. OMG thanks 🙂 for the heads up on Sankarea… I thought it got randomly dropped
        Btw there is an Episode of Sankarea but its An OVA … Does Cherrie do OVA posts ?? or is she going to do it at the end of the series? Because i think its important as it explains some background behind the two main characters

      2. Ah np. I am unsure if Cherrie’s going to do the OVA. I would presume so, but she’s pretty busy as is though. If she does it, you’ll probably see it sometime in the next week or two. If anything, when the next Sankarea post comes out, you can also ask there as well. 😀

    1. For the most part, I’m with you.

      The last two-spread was a nice scene, though. Having said that, I dread to think about next week, when the whole chapter may be spent with Madara’s conlcusion.

      It’s too bad, honestly, thinking just how awesome Naruto was 8-10 weeks ago. But I guess if this manga is really ending here, some stuff must come to an end, and that end may not be what certain fans are eager to see the most at the moment. If this is it, then it’s understandable. But if Kishi is going to pull another 100+ chapters with this story, all hell will break loose…

  1. And in the end, not a damn was given as Sasuke will further see this as even MORE reason to destroy Konoha.

    It should be obvious to him now that Itachi made a choice, but he’s still acting like he had none. It may have looked threatening with the way the options were given, but it’s not like anyone forced Itachi to do one thing or the other. As Danzo brought up before during his fight with Sasuke, Itachi was a true patriot who put the welfare of the village before the Clan, which is pretty much what greatly influenced Itachi’s decision as he also knew what Danzo was saying in that if the coup did take place, the village would weaken tremendously (from the loss of the Uchiha, most likely, to the loss of countless other Clan members and civilians, if not entire Clans and disrupting the village entirely) and leave it as a huge target for attack (as keeping word from getting out about what happened would be impossible).

    It was, no doubt, an extremely difficult decision to make and follow through on, but it’s another case of choosing the lesser of two evils. Either choice would still end with the loss of the Uchiha Clan, but the lesser one would see far fewer casualties and, at least with his hope through Sasuke at the time, the Clan would retain its honor by not having the coup exposed to the public.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    1. Agree with you that Itachi choose the lesser of two evils. In either case the Uchihas would end up wiped out. But after all that has happened and how Sasuke reacts each time a new bit info is revelead to him, I don’t think he will make a Heel Face Turn. What’s more I’d expect him to say it’s the more reason to hate and destroy Konoha.

      Kamui04
  2. I get the feeling that Madara is going to leave behind something…a revelation of his own one way or another like how some speculated that Tobi is indeed Madara but in a weakened state

    gawrshness
      1. Well if I am to give a theory I’m going to say that Tobi’s basis is like the Tailed beasts who were established as sentient masses of chakra. Given that it was already shown just how ridiculous Madara’s chakra levels are I’m going to guess that he indeed died during his battle with Hashirama but left a remnant of himself behind in the form of a chakra mass that became Tobi that’s why Tobi took the claim that he is Madara and even Itachi called him so but as we have seen Tobi is significantly weaker than Madara given that he is just a portion of him. In this situation Tobi’s mission would have been to resurrect Madara and rejoin him which is why Kabuto summoning Madara as an Edo Tensei summon screwed him over.

        gawrshness
  3. At the end of the chapter, when Itachi reaches out to Sasuke, it seems as if Itachi is going to impart some jutsu onto his brother just as he did right before he died. But they touch foreheads, he closes the gap between them with the truth and his love. A slow, but emotional chapter, Kishimoto!

    valdor
  4. Still wondering how shisui got his eye if itachi was his best friend. I’m really starting to think its when the person gets all the answers they are looking for and thats when they see the truth.

    Ryan
  5. when i only look at the last page of this chapter i can already forgive that we had to wait 2 weeks for this (not that i was mad or something 😀 )
    kishi delivers again
    hes writing not only a damn great stroy but those touching moments are so damn good that it makes one start crying !!!
    great chapter and we finally know what really happened. everything was true and itachi really killed his parents…guess madara killed most of the uchiha since he had a deal with itachi.
    the only thing im wondering is how donzo stole shisuis eye…did they fight and donzo won (which i highly doubt) or did danzo use the opportunity when shisui was about to do koto-amatsukami…or i wonder if danzo used one of his sealings. we know, thanks to sai, that every anbu member, which are under the direct control of danzo, have a seal in their mouth and their body gets numb etc. if they say anything they shouldnt…
    wonder what will happen next now that we know that kabutos edo-tensei is stopped
    damn i cant wait for next week already :((((

    dmN
  6. All I got from this chapter was that Itachi cried a bit before killing his parents. That’s it? “I killed my clan for a good reason (Danzo), but I felt really bad about it.” THAT is suppose to redeem Itachi?

    Anyway…NOW can Sasuke kill Kabuto?

  7. Potential yaoi bait aside, that was a nicely emotional chapter on Itachi’s part, who has probably just now bared his heart to anyone in the entire series.

    Also, it could be me who easily gets the heebie jeebies, but I find it hilariously horrifying how eyes can easily be pulled out. Like, Shisui just plucked out his eye like it’s no big deal? Like it’s a goddamn grape off a stem?

    The Truth is in the Axe
    1. Shisui: hey, Itachi need an eye?
      Me:(⌐■_■)
      Itachi: um sure why not
      Me:( •_•)>⌐■-■
      Shisui:plops out eye like its nothing
      Me:( •_•)
      Itachi: thanks! ^/_\^
      me:(ಠ_ಠ)

      Naske
  8. I’m happy to see that the 3rd was against killing all the Uchiha. Him agreeing to that just seemed so out of character. Also seeing that he talked to his parents before killing them, that was some heavy stuff. Itachi is a tough SOB, physically obviously, but emotionally too. The end firms up my belief that at the end of his fight with Naruto(it will happen after all the build up) he will turn and help Naruto against Tobi

    ZeroHour17
  9. I thought it was already revealed that Tobi and Itachi met prior to the Uchiha massacre. I recall Tobi (or was it Itachi?) mentioning a while ago while speaking to Sasuke how it’d be impossible for Itachi to slaughter EVERYONE by himself and he had help from “Madara” (who we thought was Tobi’s identity at the time).

    YanDaMan
  10. The last time Itachi saw Sasuke he said “Until next time…” but now that he says he loves him I’m thinking that’s the final time Itachi will appear to speak. I will be sad about that again.

    random viewer
  11. This chapter unravels all the hidden contradictories, which finally sums up a coherent storyline. The many vs. the few doesn’t mean jack. The greater good is crap. Before we’ve been constantly bagging on sasuke on his emo vendetta, which of course he has a right to uphold. Like Madara has the right to hate the uchihas after they sided with konoha and discarded him. Although Itachi was preserving the greater good, but the uchihas were as good as dead regardless.

    Now sasuke has the right to avenge the uchihas, despite Itachi’s whole cause to save him. See the contradictories still make sense because of one thing, human emotion. We actually see itachi’s parents accept him in the end and the same continues. Now itachi finally accepts sasuke because for right or wrong, he has a legitimate reason to go after konaha. Because human beings are full of contridictories themselves, which without these emotions we would not find believable or relatable why one does anything in this complex, jumbled story already presented. In the end it would not be a surprise if sasuke doesn’t want to destroy konoha, although the resentment is ever present, but because of the emotions the brothers share at the end. I know this sounds girly or too simple, but otherwise how would the sasuke storyline find the resolution needed to not destroy konoha, unless being controlled via shisui’s eye or something. Or destroy them and naruto and sasuke fight to the death.

    All in all his is all unbiased hatred, because if sasuke were to attack another country it could be perfectly sound, right? but because he knows the people and lived in konoha it is not? Why is that? The pov is heavily focused on konoha so no bad should fall on them, but others have their own pov to consider. (or not)

    If this makes any sense, feel free to discuss.

    theog
    1. Wall-o’-Text time! lol

      Yes, they (Sasuke and Madara) have the right to be angry and the (perceived) transgressions towards them, but HOW they go about it is another thing all together.

      It’s not like Madara was overthrown and cast out for no good reason other than someone else wanting control or something like that. It was because he was the ONLY one among the Uchiha Clan at the time that STILL wanted to continue waging battle against the Senju all because of his jealously and lust for power over Hashirama being chosen as the Shodai Hokage of Konoha instead of him, but the rest of the clan was tired of all the constant fighting and wanted peace themselves, but also knew that as long as Madara continued his little tantrum, it would no doubt end up resulting in further battles and, given he was the Uchiha Clan Leader at the time, it would end up reflecting badly on them as well.

      And, as we know, even after he left Konoha, it still resulted in the huge battle between him and Hashirama all because he refused anything besides absolute control (further illustrated with him trying to force Iwagakure to submit to Konoha’s rule not long after its creation), believing the only way to take it then was killing Hashirama. It was exactly that kind of result that the rest of the Uchiha Clan could see happening and why they turned their backs on him. Unfortunately, Madara’s actions forever cast a shadow of doubt towards them after. (Even just forming a peace and Konoha with the Senju was done because of the rest of the Clan wanting him to when he didn’t.)

      While Sasuke may SEEM all “noble” and whatnot with his latest path of vengeance, when you get down to it, it’s really no different than when he was a kid. He merely seems to use the whole (perceived) “oppression of the Uchiha” and “forcing Itachi to kill the Clan” and such to further disguise his own similar thinking of Madara; that HE, not the Uchiha, but HE was the truly superior one to all others. Like before, he tended to use the whole “I must kill Itachi and avenge the Clan” thinking as an excuse to gather power quickly and easily to stomp down others who would be a “threat” to him and when he doesn’t, and people start matching and surpassing him anyway, well damn everyone and everything else so long as he gets more power to, once again, cement his position as “#1”, hence his easy defecting to Orochimaru and then turning on Orochimaru, and so on. (And he already once tried to kill Tobi to get past him to continue on to Konoha before the Kage Summit, and already, of course, plans to use and betray him, which Tobi himself also expected of him.)

      Both Madara and Sasuke had other (and better) choices to pick from without having to not be angry. Both of them came to the conclusion of “kill those who wronged you”. The problem is is that both of them absolutely refuse to let go of that anger and, instead, bathe in it until it consumed them entirely and they just NEED to have some kind of “reason” to keep up their path because they threw away everything else in their quest for total power over others.

      Who knows how events could’ve turned out if Madara simply talked things out diplomatically with Hashirama and the Senju, or if Sasuke let go of his ego and actually LIVED his life, worked with others, and so on. The only good thing to come out of Madara’s, Tobi’s, and Sasuke’s actions/manipulations thus far was the whole rest of the continent uniting together against them which probably wouldn’t have happened if they kept their peace (at least for a long time).

      That’s another one of the polar opposites between Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto will forever remember his treatment by the villagers for most of his childhood for the rest of his life, but unlike Sasuke, he doesn’t let that anger (even with Kurama’s influences) take control (it usually requires Kurama forcing a lot of his chakra into him) and he doesn’t let it be the only thing he thinks about all the time. He actually chose to live his life the best that he could and eventually made it to places nobody could’ve ever imagined he would (even if it felt rushed and haxed a lot).

      I’m sure everyone here (myself included) understands what you mean though. I’m sure everyone has had some point in their past where they still get pissed off if they think about it. What sets us (and Naruto) apart from the likes of Madara and Sasuke is that most of us don’t obsess over it and eventually letting it control us to the point of insanity and irrationality.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      1. I do concern with a lot of what you said, HDI. Of course I’ve wondered too if some of the superiority complex comes from Madara being the first Uchiha to gain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan as well as Sasuke being the last hope for it and letting that get to their heads. After all, I’ve believed at times too that Sasuke is as he is due to jealousy towards the acknowledgement Itachi received from their father, and how he was ready to give up a lot of times when he was bested or just let his anger that he’d lost get to him rather than allow himself to try again and grow stronger too. All in all, it’s why I feel sorry for Sasuke; even if Itachi had good intentions, in the long run, even if Sasuke knew the truth that he wouldn’t care and would just want strength and power to finally “surpass” Itachi, which is one reason along with Naruto’s growth in strength that I feel led to his defection to the Hidden Sound and to Orochimaru.

        Bryon
  12. I was impressed by the last spread like several of the other reviewers; I was also expecting for Itachi to put his two fingers on Sasuke’s forehead but was left staring when he actually went past and said he loved him so sincerely, that was a truly deeply emotional moment, I think these 2 brothers deserved to have a honest heart to heart moment, and Kishi has given it to them.
    I was glad to finally see Itachi smiling, but sad thinking this was truly The End of him… We clearly won’t be seeing him ever again ;_;

    sherry
  13. Itachi didn’t kill his parents; they committed seppuku… just look at the panel.. where the dad gripped the sword tightly which he stabbed through his own torso… itachi was behind the whole time, up till the pt where Sasuke opened the door…

    another panel shows the tip of the blade stopping short of itachi…

    also, his parents were very calm, suggesting that they were resigned to death… and his dad maintained that he loved itachi..mostly likely they decided to kill themselves already.

    So it seems to me like he didnt kill his parents. Also, his convo with the masked man seems to suggest that he’ll take care of his family while the masked man will vs the rest.

    devortex
  14. I was expecting to see one or two kages moving unto the next plane, but sadly no sgnificant character died… Maybe…

    This doesnt neccesary meant that there is no more fighting, have the allies defeated all the zetsu clones?

    noblesse
  15. I love this chapter. One of the best this arc. Also can’t believe Kishi managed to top Itachi’s first death. Love the symbolism of Itachi finally closing the gap between the two of them and being truthful with his feelings. Next week Sasuke will of course ruin the moment by going full retard, but still very emotional. This really feels like the end is near.

    ari
  16. You forget one thing. Maybe Sasuke is angry but his anger might switch to someone else. He always held a grudge against the Konoha elders because of their command to kill the Uchiha or so he thought. In the end the main figure was Danzou and he already killed him. Also he never knew before that Tobi murdered his whole clan as well, he lied to Sasuke just telling him he wanted revenge on Konoha. Understandable .. why would he tell sasuke if he wanted to use him for his own good. Sooooo Sasuke might make him responsible also, hopefully not being that easy to manipulate anymore. Maybe he just realizes that he was used by Tobi… holding on to Itachis truth now. The thought is not that far away that he might attack Tobi in the future.

    What also came to mind: Sasuke always wondered about his father though … what he thought of him, remember the flashbacks … i think the scene at the end showed very clearly how much his parents cared for sasuke and itachi … they never laid a finger on itachi, didnt even try, even when they were realising what was happing (they were the last ones to kill for itachi since itachi already saw sasuke coming home beforehand-everyoneelse was already dead at this point regarding to the manga) and especially his father…. he showed how much he cared (for sasuke) (and trusted Itachi) when he asked Itachi to take care of sasuke. This was very very far away from cold blooded murder .. in fact Itachi couldnt even hold his sword straight .. its a wonder that they were dead by the time sasuke came into the room. But none the less it´ll probably intensify the loss sasuke was already feeling. I´m just wondering now on whom he will take it out.

    You know what else I always thought? That danzou might be tobi 😀 … tobi was watching when sasuke killed him couldve been genjutsu ya know 😀 , the hair, the uncanny voice and left eye .. all those revenge stuff would fit .. but i know its just a vague idea

    And i dont think Tobi is madara. A)Madara was resurrected AND B) had the Rinnegan by the time he died. Why would a Tobi steal the Rinnegan from Nagato when he would have got it all the time if he would be MAdara? We never saw his right eye until the time he had nagatos rinnegan implanted remember? He just got his left eye left. Would explain why he couldnt use Susanoo for which you would need two Mangekyousharingans in both eyes. Madara had them .. Tobi DID NOT ^^. Even with his one eternal mangekyou and a rinnegan he never used susanoo or else amaterasu (right eye power) just simply because he can´t. Maybe he might be a son or grandson or something of madara maybe even carry his name but not Madara “Nr.1” in person .. would also explain that he is still living almost 80 to 90 years later.

    leaf ivy
  17. And now that edo tensei is undone Tsunade probably won´t meet up with Dan :(.. would have been interesting ^^ … all the speculations running … To bad everyone else got his emotional scene lol

    leaf ivy

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