we'll just have to find out.

No go. He had them coming out. Look at the chapter again.

They did try to fight. They just died too fast. We're talking about an Eternal Mangyeko Sharingan (with abilities we haven't full seen) owning Uchiha with control of Space and Time. They were so fucked they didn't stand a chance even if we had full plot exposition on every single one of them.

 

Whirlpool was not what is now Wave. Wave is a lot closer to Fire. Whirlpool was an island that has been previously unnamed in maps of Naruto's world.

Minato had to sacrifice himself because he used the Shiki Fuin, he used it to seal half of the Kyuubi's chakras (either the yin or the yang). Whatever is the reason Minato felt he had to do that is the reason why Minato had to die sealing the Kyuubi.

Could be that sealing the Kyuubi into Naruto at his age carried risks to his son that Minato found unacceptable, or it could be that with time Minato would have achieved the same result with a safer jutsu .

 

I know, I was just wondering how much cool would it be if he got them different way.

 

http://www.leafninja.com/images/country/World-2_0.gif

http://mangastream.com/read/naruto/87110441/3

If what you say is true, then Kishimoto's sense of his own world's geography sucks.

I could've bought the Whirlpool = Waves argument too, though. If Whirlpool, as it's said, has been destroyed, it would kind of make sense if the survivors or new immigrants took over and renamed the place.

 

I assume you mean Kishi is missing an island. There should be another unamed island around that area not counting Whirlpool or Wave.

 

Well, not just the missing island(s)...the fact that his in-chapter map placed Uzu a bit more south than the World Map kinda made me gravitate to Wave as being the likeliest island.

It's a pity, though. If Wave was indeed Uzu in the past, it would've made Naruto's actions there and the reaction he got for them a hella more significant.

 

Another point in favor of the Wave = Whirlpool argument is that it would explain why the country was in a sorry enough state for a crime lord to come in and pretty much take the country over. It would also explain why Wave went to Konoha for help in the first place.

Did Kishimoto actually add in new information that not only fails to conflict with established cannon, but actually explains and clarifies things from the very beginning of the series? How can this be? What's next, writing a strong, and effective female character whose existence does not revolve around one or more male characters?

 

Very True.

@Wave/Whirlpool Connection: My guess is that they got attacked during the Second War, which is around when Kushina was a child in Konoha. After that, the survivors and refugees from Water's civil war came and renamed it Wave.

 

I think it's probably a coincidence it happened that way....
Surely Kishi would never knowinglyadd back story with no major plot holes you could spot from a mile away.

And i wouldn't hold your breathe for the female character, either

 

I'm nitpicking here, but from narutopedia;

I wouldn't call them 'just chuunins', they're more the like the elite.

 

Considering the only ones we've known by name have been non-jounin before hand (with the exclusion of Kakashi?), the likelihood that most are actually not elite is pretty high. Narutopedia seems more like a repository for fanon and accepted-canon than a pure canon-oriented source.

I lol'd. Temari and Tayuya almost fit this bill. I'm still hopeful for Karin.

 

It would have been funny if under all that explanation of how badass ANBU are, was a writing saying this:

"You know, pretty much like Stormtroopers"

*bad joke music*

 

It's basically whatever the moderators like that they add. They've add maybe half a dozen Elemental Releases from the movies that aren't even confirmed as such, give characters affinities based on real-life Japanese mythology and are general douches to anyone who edits something in a way they don't like.

 

Itachi? But then comparing Itachi and Kakashi to everyone else doesnt really work. Itachi was easily one of the most powerful and talented shinobi in the world. Itachi was on a level with Jiraiya, Nagato, and Minato. Kakashi while not on the same level as Itachi is an elite shinobi whose only equals in konoha are Naruto and possibly Tsunade. Im not sure about Tsunade becaue all we really have is her reputation as a Sannin.

 

Also remember Ibiki as the Head of Torture and Investigation for the ANBU (from leafninja.com, which is generally more canon-compliant that narutopedia), so we know that they're at least responsible for classified things like that.

To be honest, the only things that I think really matters when joining the ANBU is how loyal you are to the Hokage. I expect they're like the Secret Service in a way, with the rest of the Konoha ninja being like the armed forces. I wouldn't expect them to lead an assault or fight an extremely dangerous foe, but I would expect them to have the most highly classified missions simply because they're known to be absolutely trustworthy.

 

I always saw them as the black ops. They did the stuff Kohona denied all knowledge of being involved in. Although the line between black ops and regular ninja is quite small. Regular ninja defend the village, attack other villages, do missions from clients and for the village. Whilst black ops, aka ANBU, do the shit like assinations which Kohona can't be implicated for, secret attacks on other villages, hunt down missing ninja etc. Stuff the village can't do without effecting their public image and thus the number of clients they have.

In effect, all ninja are hired killers.

 

These four people are not on the same level. It's like saying "Harry was on a level with Kingsley, Moody and Dumbledore."

 

No, Harry was on average joe's level. He was lucky the whole time that he didn't get his ass handed to him.

I'd say Itachi is even with Orochimaru in his prime, below Jiraiya, way below Minato and Nagato.

 

For the most part, you are correct, but I feel that Orochimaru was in his prime when he died, if not for the physical ills he was suffering.

His ninjutsu was at his peak, at least.

 

Well, before he was bed ridden waiting to take over sasuke's body. Meaning his fight with Naruto I'd have to say when Naruto went four tails?