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See, I expected there’d be a chapter filled with exposition/dialogue coming up, but not quite so soon. I’d love to say it was a pleasant surprise, but… for the first time since I started covering Naruto here, I’ve found myself with a chapter that I just didn’t like. I mean, part of it could be the translations making some phrases awkward, but quite a few things in this chapter irk me in some shape or form.
For one, there’s the story about Kabuto’s past. It’s always nice to get some more background on a character, especially when there hasn’t been much of it, but it just felt out of place here. I understand he was trying to use it to get Sasuke to join his side, but after all that’s happened up until this point, I would think he’s smart enough to know there was no point to try it in the first place. Heck, even I found it hard to care much about his past, and I’m typically someone who has quite the emotional attachment to characters in shows/manga that I follow. I mean, granted, it might just be Kabuto trying to buy time and it did bring a positive in getting Itachi to say something, but the overall revelation just doesn’t have the kind of impact it could have had a long time ago. Also, Itachi’s dialogue once again comes off as a tease, as he once again refuses to say anything remotely resembling an answer to Sasuke’s question at all, which is getting slightly irritating. At this point, I figure there’s no better time than this to just talk with him for a little bit, if not just to make it so that he’ll be able to focus on the fight more, but alas, it seems like it’s just not to be.
Finally, there’s the portion where Sasuke says his reasons for crushing the Leaf Village are his own. It sounds nice and all, but his assertions come off a bit weak and even slightly contradictory when considering that he’s fighting Kabuto, and with Itachi nonetheless, the man who sacrificed everything for the very village he’s planning to destroy. Furthermore, he doesn’t quite say exactly what those reasons are, even though I suppose some assumptions can be made from what we already know. I mean, his reasoning could easily revolve around what inconsistencies of the Leaf Village and the things the village has done, but kinda makes Itachi’s sacrifice somewhat meaningless, and links back with the above about his actions being contradictory. Furthermore, it hammers in how inexplicable Itachi is for not just spending a few moments to talk to Sasuke, as it seems like just a few words could make it so Sasuke doesn’t go trying to destroy the village he sacrificed so much for. I get letting Sasuke decide what he wants to do for himself, but that alone doesn’t seem to be an adequate reason, especially considering that Itachi’s the older brother and the one who should be giving answers/advice when it’s sought, especially when so much has happened.
In any case, I apologize for the wall of text this time around, but there’s just a lot in this chapter that seemed a bit off to say the least. It looks like we’ll back to the battle next chapter though, so it looks like things will start picking back up from here. As much as I disliked this chapter, I’m definitely looking forward to the next chapter, if not just to see what this new “Izanami” technique does.
BRAAAAAHHHHMMMMM! BRAAAAAHHHHMMMM! BRAAAAAHHHHMMMM!
Oh yeah, Kabuto had a backstory too.
MORE Sasuke-Flashbacks?! Well, okay, just don’t overdo it.
Anyway, we all know that nothing at the end of this fight will change Sasuke’s mind about wanting to destroy Konoha, so I’m just gonna enjoy seeing him and Itachi take Kabuto out and not worry about any future plot shenanigans.
Yeah, much like Zephyr said, it all seemed a bit off. But especially that Sasuke flashback, lol! I read it till it ended 3-4 pages later and was like ‘…So?’
It actually reminded for the first time of Bleach, where senseless flashbacks are brought in often. Admittedly, lots more things happened this chapter, unlike Bleach’s normal pace, so I guess this point is moot…
Also, I can’t say I’m happy to hear about this Izanami technique…Surely you’d think that with Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Susanoo and Izanagi there’d be enough overpowered moves for an eye…Oh well, at least Izanami fits in with the Izanagi/Izanami folklore (Darker than Black memories flooding in, anyone??), so I guess it’s not like Kishimoto pulled it off his ass to let the brothers solely defeat Kabuto…
Could anyone give a more accurate description of what this Izanami technique is supposed to do, read from the raw manga? The translated version’s explanation wasn’t much different than Izanagi’s explanation…
Just corner Harry Potter and burn the whole damn place with Amaterasu, let’s see how his senses help him. KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!
Wait, wouldn’t he be Tom Riddle, since he’s part snake?
You just know that Kabuto has done something to the unconscious Anko.
He has turned her into a Horcrux!
Hm, in the version I read, the part was translated as “Izanagi allows you to change your destiny and Izanami allows you to decide your destiny”. Izanagi’s ability revolved around turning reality into an illusion, changing destiny by allowing stuff like avoiding a sure death… so Izanami’s might be the opposite in that it allows you to turn illusions into reality? I can definitely see how that’ll let Itachi cancel the Edo Tensei… O_o Pure speculation though.
😛 Da5id, glasses plus parseltongue equals only one clear answer…
And Zephyr, well, if it really turns out to be that, I’d fear it’s the most overpowered Sharingan technique yet! Actually, maybe the most powerful technique ever in the Naruto universe?
I always saw Izanagi as that, actually: turning illusion into reality, given the user surviving a sure death would clearly be an illusion turned into reality. But like you said, it could be the other way around…But problem is, it’s the same thing really :S (this topic easily gives Matrix-Inception vibes lol)
If Izanami really turns out to make an illusion become reality, well, Itachi could well end the whole manga right now and give everyone their happy ending…
And to think; Itachi doesn’t have Tobidara/Sasuke’s upgraded Sharingan…
shouldn’t the Rinnegan be capable of these techniques, too? o.0
It still boggles my mind how Sasuke can have Itachi’s eyes when edo-tensei’ed Itachi is standing right next to him. And if Izanami steals itachi’s eye sight, could he theoretically spam it if Kabuto releases the edo tensei on him and then re-do edo tensei?
Perhaps his eyes will regenerate.
I’m not sure but I remember edo tensei allows the person brought back to life to retain all their kekkei genkai. Edo Tensei requires a sacrifice so the body that Itachi is using isn’t his own I’m thinking.With Itachi having a body with two completley different eyes being able to use sharingan even when his original were transplanted to sasuke doesn’t seem that far fetched. =P
god damn don’t apologize for “walls of text”. it is a blog. we’re here to read things.
Lol, my bad. I just figured it’s probably something much longer than what you’ve seen from manga posts, and I felt like I might’ve rambled a bit toward the middle eh.
It’s actually a tad shorter than before. Don’t be afraid of writing too much~
Everyone is a former leaf, just like how every red-head is a Uzumaki.
Just call all the people from person 4 to come. 😀
I think Sasuke is doing the “Destroy Konoha out of my will” thing because he believes that the system is corrupt and not just for his brother
@Zephyr No need to apologies for the wall of text. It just show that you know and found something that a normal person can’t and then pointing it to us.
Makes sense. Sasuke’s previous (long) major fight was against Danzo who personifies said corruption.
I didn’t like this chapter either, but this is the only manga I read, beside claymore.
Who’s the guy from last week’s review that said Naruto is better than other series because it doesn’t resort to infinite powerups? Evidently Kishimoto heard you and set out to prove you wrong lol
With Izanami this makes, what, the third “ultimate” power of the Sharingan? When it was just Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu it was fine since, as the legend, Amaterasu was born from Izanagi’s left eye and Tsukuyomi from the right. That worked and was actually pretty clever. But then Kishi went too far and named a technique named after Susanoo (who was born from the nose) and was not eye-related in any way. Then we got a technique named after Izanagi himself and now we have one named after his wife.
There really is no limit on these Sharingan powers and they just come off as complete cop-outs. What Kishi is doing is just a really cheap of way of making characters with a Sharingan look badass by unlocking the “next level” of Sharingan, which for all intents and purposes, can last as long as Kishi needs it to.
Also there are two hilarious things in this chapter. (Well, they’re funny to me!)
First is Kabuto. “I am the performer of the Edo Tensei, you cannot kill me because (Blank)”.
Now instead of filling the blank in with “I am the one who summoned you and can desummon you,” (Which is how the technique is prominently characterized) he turns it into “I’m invincible”. Interesting path of thinking there Kabuto.
Second is Sasuke and Tobi just chillin’ at the bar. The hell? You guys are like the most wanted villains in the entire world. I mean c’mon those are like the most conspicuous hoodies… er, disguises ever. Transform into other people, other animals, even inanimate objects. Or come at night or less crowded areas. Jesus, were they that thirsty? Imagine Kim Jong-Il walking into a restaurant rockin’ a trenchcoat and shades. Somebody has to notice.
What I would give to have Rock Lee just bust in and smack em all in the face.
THIS CHAPTER SUCKED!!
I like how this fight has had more consecutive chapters than either Naruto or the Kage fight seems to have had. For Itachi/Sasuke lovers, Kishi is making up for lost time. For Sasuke haters, he’s just trolling.
There’s no point in Kabuto talking. Just kill him and then let the brothers catch up on the time they missed. I doubt after hearing the truth will it change Sasuke’s goal in mind. This chapter is just a cushion for the big slam from the next chapter. I’ll look forward to Izanami.
I know a lot of you guys are flaming on the exposition and what not but my issue is did anyone else get pedophile vibes from Kabuto?
“I’ll be your big brother, sasuke”
Lol poor sasuke being handed down from one abuser to another orichimaru, madara,…. ALL HE WANTS IS HIS BIG BROTHER!! (;A;)
Nothing wrong with this chapter…
Izannigger?
lmao at saskue’s rage face!
Felt a bit rushed this chapter, it seems that the uchiha have a huge backstock of eye techniques. Each seems to come with the promise of shutting down more and more eyes.. its a wonder anyone in the clan could ever see….!
Itachi: Wait, you know about Izanagi?
Sasuke: Yeah I saw it when I fought Danzo.
Itachi: YOU BEAT DANZO’s IZANAGI HAX!? HOLY COW!! Impressive!
Itachi certainly doesnt think much of Sasuke still does he? Lol.
Considering Sasuke hasn’t really changed his fighting style much since we first see him start fighting in Shippuuden, it’s no surprise.
After “playing around”, he’s all about throwing out more powerful/flashy jutsu in attempts to simply overwhelm his opponents most of the time. Only times he showed some sense of strategy was Deidara and Danzo. Of course, after getting the Mangekyo, it’s been all about throwing around Amaterasu and, after awakening it, Susano’o, and even with the Eternal Mangekyo, it’s still like that, only now he doesn’t have to worry about going blind from it.
Like we saw with his fight against Itachi. After their little playtime with Genjutsu and kunai/shuriken throwing, he just kept going on bigger and stronger jutsu (which Itachi just kept avoiding/countering easily), all the way until Kirin. But when even Kirin didn’t work in killing Itachi, his strongest technique at the time, he had nothing else to use or to fall back on, going so far as to even just desperately chuck his sword at him before being frozen with fear.
Show that all his power doesn’t matter and Sasuke can’t do crap. Only reason that doesn’t happen often is because stuff like Amaterasu and Susano’o are so powerful that only THE strongest/smartest opponents can get past them. It would’ve happened again at the Kage Summit too had Zetsu and Tobi not arrived to assist/save him. (As Susano’o was melting from Mei’s Acid Mist and his chakra was at its limit.)
We’re wanted criminals, thus we go to the bar coz we can’t get our own sake at the local store.
It is called Refuge in Audacity.
Blah. I really don’t care about this. Itachi always pissed me off anyway. I mean, FUCK, torturing your little brother and expecting him to stay and be a nice little brother?
Dude. He’s a genius, right? Right?
Well, being a genius doesn’t necessarily mean that that person would make a good teacher.
Itachi and Kakashi were both geniuses in the shinobi arts, as assassins, and so on. As we saw, they were both a lot more lone wolf while being a teacher means forming close bonds to the students which neither were really very good at, thus teaching was something totally new to them and they obviously didn’t know the “proper” way to do it, especially to impressionable children/fresh Genin from the academy in a time of peace.
In Kakashi’s case at least, he kept seeing the present Team 7 as embodiments of his old team and kept treating them as such; Sasuke was himself (the genius top of the class) Sakura was Rin (lovestruck fangirl), and Naruto was Obito (talentless dead last), all due to their personalities and attitudes at the time. He never really took into consideration that each of them was their own person with their own personality, their own paths, their own rate of development, and their own individual problems.
He took the basics of what he remembered from his team and applied them to his own team and that even applied to, as a team anyway, their training. He never went beyond the basics until several months after, on their first C-ranked mission to Wave, and only after they had 2 battles, that they finally started to learn tree walking. After that, it was all about the Chunin Exams and, per Jiraiya’s advice, focusing on training Sasuke. Problem is, that training was simply giving Sasuke more power and speed to fight Gaara and never about trying to get him out of his obsession with revenge. By the time he really tried to, the planted seeds (Itachi’s actions, the Curse Mark, his upbringing, etc) had long began growing and Sasuke was too far gone.
In ways, even Jiraiya, for all his skill and abilities, reputation for training Minato, and even being similar to Naruto himself, wasn’t exactly a prime teacher for Naruto during the 3 year training trip. Besides just the basics (physical training like their spars and such) and slightly improving on what Naruto already knew (bigger Rasengan), the only thing Jiraiya really did with Naruto was unlock more of Kyubi’s/Kurama’s chakra, but as we well-know by now, that didn’t work out at all.
He seemed to have completely forgotten the fact that Akatsuki was a group whose teams were made specifically to combat and counter abilities of (certain) Biju/Jinchuriki. In Naruto’s case, that was Itachi and Kisame; Itachi’s Mangekyo Sharingan would be able to suppress Kyubi’s chakra (as we saw with Sasuke) and was a powerhouse in his own right (even just the shape-shifting clone at up to 30% of Itachi’s full power was still easily holding off Naruto and Kakashi) while Kisame was a chakra powerhouse himself (even his shape-shifting clone at up to 30% power was, as observed by Neji, to have a chakra capacity as great as Naruto’s) and Samehada could “eat” Naruto’s/Kyubi’s chakra, regardless of how much he and/or Kyubi output against them. So simply unlocking more biju chakra alone wouldn’t have done crap in the long run. (And we already saw Kakuzu and Hidan, and Kisame alone, handle Jinchuriki fully capable of utilizing the power of their Biju which would still be no small feat at all.)
As a result, when Shippuuden started, Naruto was, compared to how much others have improved by then, and especially compared to the powerhouse names on any side, not THAT much better than he was when he left. So that makes all his hax power-ups just really stupid in the long-run after getting down the 50% Rasenshuriken.
Well, if Sauske didn’t learn the truth, the plan would have probably worked.
I was actually under the impression that, based on Sasuke’s upbringing, even if Itachi hadn’t massacred the clan and screwed with his mind, Sasuke STILL wouldn’t eventually ended up where he is today, only the circumstances would be slightly different.
We already saw that Sasuke tended to have a bit of an inferiority complex to Itachi ever since he was a kid, always looking to match/surpass him and have Fugaku (father) recognize and praise him, but he never could because of Itachi. The only reason Fugaku even started paying attention to Sasuke after he performed the Fireball as a kid was because, by then, Itachi’s behavior was noticeable to everyone and Fugaku was really just starting to see Sasuke as a budding replacement tool for Itachi.
If the Uchiha Massacre had never happened and Fugaku ended up paying full attention to Sasuke, training him, praising him, etc, then Sasuke most likely still would have grown up similar to how we saw him at the beginning of the series in thinking he was so superior to everyone (due to his inferiority complex that most likely would not go away so easily since Itachi would still be around along with other Uchiha) and when others would begin surpassing him because of his attitude, he would still make a prime target for Orochimaru (though he’d probably mark other Uchiha too, if possible). But even if Orochimaru never marked him, I’m willing to bet that once Sasuke felt he was “strong enough” and had “nothing left to learn” from the clan, he’d end up betraying and deserting Konoha anyway.
And another Uchiha technique pulled out of nowhere. No training whatsoever, just because they’re geniuses.
More exehax. Great.
Eye* – Aw man.
Now this chapter had way too many trolling for me…
I disliked the fact that Itachi was overly silent and Kabuto was talking too much…
However, I feel that Kabuto always talked to much, from when he was first introduced, blabla bla when fighting Tsunade, blabla during the chuin exam blabla bla while healing Orochimaru… Kabuto is simply a dis-likable character, his motivations are displace and honestly he has always been a support character. I don’t like the idea of having him become a main acting villain. He never seemed mysterious to me, mean while Orochimaru seemed genuinely interested in his objectives
.
He has always been a supporting villain. The most recent chapters do not change that.
Or do you think the Madaras aren’t the main villains?
AWESOME
I was wondering when they would use a technique called that. In the myths izanami is izanagis wife.
Well pretty cool chapter imo. I’m hoping they would make another sharingan technique called izanagi no okami XD
I got no objections against Izanagi, but the whole ‘Sharingan’s ultimate technique’-thing got old since Tsukiyomi, Amaterasu, etc.
But I’m really waiting for the moment that Kabuto the cockroach is finally dead, I didn’t like him ever since the first time he appeared 😐
Didn’t one of the previous chapters mention that the bijju were split from juubi by the rikkudo sennin using izanami technique?
Tobi was spouting some shit about izanami making dreams a reality or something like that … don’t remember which chapter
He used the “Creation of All Things” (万物創造, Banbutsu Sōzō) to split the Jubi apart.
It’s basically the core technique that Izanagi was based off of. The “perfect” Izanagi, as Tobi talked about while the one used by Danzo, himself, and the Uchiha was an “imperfect” version, hence the literal losing of a Sharingan eye in exchange simply because it’s so powerful.
kabuto talking just keeps dragging on and on, while sasuke and itachi just stand there eating up his sob stories. Nobody paid attention to me so i lost myself. boo hoo…
Give that man a puppy and call it a day.
Gee, what a surprise that there’s something called Izanami…not…
And watch it conveniently need 2 separate Mangekyo Sharingan users to use because it’s so strong or something (hence the “stay close” from Itachi), lol.
I actually found this chapter ironically funny, because everything Kabuto said was completely true and voiced the nagging thoughts at the back of my mind ever since Sasuke went on his “I’m going to destroy Konoha!” rampage. Sasuke’s answer was so weak..it’s hard to suspend my disbelief anymore. It’s like Kishimoto got tangled up by his own logic. He better come up with a more believable reason than it being a matter of choice for Sasuke. We’re not talking about ice cream flavors here! Or are we?
I think you overestimate Sasuke if you expect him to have some logical reason for his actions. He has always been an emo kid, so I think he just keeps going to avoid having to admit to being wrong and thus hurt his ego.
Yeah, if he was more logical, he’d see that what he’s doing now goes completely against what Itachi wants, and Sasuke claims to be doing what he’s doing for Itachi’s sake and all. He’s really just been nothing but vengeance of some kind since the Massacre and everything he has done up until he learned the truth had been to accomplish that goal, but now he learns that it was all just a lie and wasted effort in the long run, but it’s all he’s ever (chosen to have) known, so he tries to make excuses so he can continue walking that path while twisting things around to justify it.
Like he tries to make the Uchiha Clan out to be innocent victims of oppression from Konoha while purposely ignoring the part about how the massacre was brought about by their own hands because of their own lust for power and control. Or he tries to make it look like Itachi had a kunai to his throat and forced to perform the massacre and ignoring that he CHOSE to carry out the mission himself because he knew that if the coup had taken place, Konoha would erupt in civil war that would most likely result in the clan being destroyed anyways, and the rest of Konoha severely weakened and left vulnerable to attacks from other villages.
He’s just, like a lot of ignorant/immature people tend to, hears what he wants to hear or changing it to make it how he wants to hear it.
Rubbish. The Uchiha’s rebellion was brought about by the village’s policy of segregation and discrimination. The Senjus and their cohorts pretended to trust the Uchihas, but in secrecy they used their secret networks to spy on everyone in the Uchiha clan. The Konoha police force that was purportedly given to the Uchihas, was, in fact, a farce. It was meant for making them easier targets for spying.
Further, the Senju leadership was unwilling to share power with the Uchihas as agreed when the village was first established. Instead, we have a bunch of ‘elders’ – all from the First Hokage’s own inner circle of friends and students, inheriting the title of Hokage and other top leadership positions. They were actively keeping the Uchihas out of the village’s leadership, segregating them and eventually forcing them to rebel.
Anyone who thinks that the Uchihas brought it upon themselves with the massacre is, unfortunately, having the same line of thought as the tyrants in our real world.
The Uchihas have the best techniques in the Narutoverse. Those who routinely complain are simply bitter about the fact that their own favorite characters pale in comparison when it comes to jutsu diversity and awesomeness.
Here’s my issue with this chapter; Itachi tells Sasuke lets beat this guy first and then I’ll tell you everything. Except if they do beat Kabuto and get him to cancel the Edo Tensei, Itachi will disappear also leaving Sasuke again with no answers.