Updated

 

Yeah, I concur, really looking forward to the Kakashi stuff.

Also, Shikamaru seems to have acclimated to having no arm, guess we'll see more on that front as well.

 

Updated. Now with 100% more medical science!

 

I'm a little disappointed that the author has decided to ignore the later stages of canon that came out after she started writing. It's not like I'm particularly attached to the fourth war, but I'm disappointed that we're never going to see the end of Shikako's knowledge. I was sort of looking forward to seeing Shikako react to some of the bullshit reveals that she had no clue about.

 

Are you kidding? I nearly popped a bottle of champaign when I read that DoS was going to ignore most of the godawful things that happen late in canon.

Maybe it will even skip the light bulb form and tsundere Kyuubi

 

Updated

Got to say, I like how they solved the problem.

 

Fully canon-compatible, too.

Although it doesn't mention the blindness downside. Sure "eternal" is an upgrade, but it misses the reasoning behind *why* brothers were meant to kill each other.

 

CheddarTrek: I'd say how you feel is the flaw of the story structure at this point. In most stories, something like this would be a B plot, woven in as a strand between the meat and main thrust of the story. However, most of the B plots in DoS have been linear -- as in, 'here is an issue, here is its solution' right after one another with no time to breathe.

The linear structure of DoS is probably it's biggest issue. Remember when we were slogging through what felt like every single anime filler episode in order? It read like the author had a checklist and was ticking them off. No matter how interesting the contents of the fillers were, that tidy closed-box feeling got grating fast.

 

I'm still enjoying it, I just feel like a bunch of the recent chapters have 85% of the word count they should.

 

Yes. There are lots of subplots that occur, they're good, but they feel very bare bones. This was an interesting way to resolve the MS issue but I continue to not be a fan of how strict experimentation seems to be regulated here-- the whole thing with Shikako's experimental seals getting her into trouble.

 

A thoroughly pleasant chapter. I continue to enjoy Shikako's relationships with various people, be it her sensei and team or the friends she made along the way, chief among them Ino. Those two really have a great dynamic.

 

Really fun chapter. Its nice to see just how 'powerful' she is getting. Shikako keeps getting better and better with her Shadow State. I wonder if she will eventually get to the point where she keeps her whole body in the jutsu at all times kind of like Suigetsu? Also has anyone else noticed the dates? If my math is even remotely accurate, there is still 2 years or so before Naruto returns. Yoshina got pregnant only a few months after Naruto left and she is about to deliver her baby, so about a year has passed. I am really curious what Silver has planned to fill that gap.

I am actually excited that Naruto is still so far away. I feel that the story didn't really get great until Naruto left and Shikako could come into her own without Naruto getting in her way as a character. So I am personally going to be sad when Naruto shows up again. I do assume that Shikako will be a jounin by that point.

Since Silver has acknowledged that the ending will not follow the canon, does anyone think that she will have war break out between the nations? I would enjoy it if she went that route.

 

So, given the coin notice...

Spoiler

Does the timing match up with the Fuu extraction? Are we about to see Fuu and Shikako vs. Hidan and Kakuzu?

 

It's really the little things that truly sell the story for me, above everything else. These nuggets og genuine interaction between Shikako and her friends and family is what really makes all that is happening around her plausible and worth reading. That silly mention of her throwing a beanie or something at Shikamaru in a moment of normalcy like this? Better character development and interaction than any monologue or saying how much the they love each other.

 

Spoiler

Fu was potentially one of the two jinchuuriki who were extracted before Gaara (along with Han or Utakata) but I don't think Akatsuki starting capturing them until nearer the end of Naruto's two and a half year trip. I haven't kept track of how long it's been since Naruto left but I think it could be a bit too soon for that.

Or not. Supposedly they weren't mean to be capturing anyone until three years after the Sasuke Retrieval Mission but obviously started earlier than that in canon anyway.