http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/697

NaruHina OTP!

 

I quite liked this chapter, even though it's effectively a filler. It's good to see some watered-down hand to hand fighting again, even though I'm a bit wary of the translations.

Shouting 'WOOH' while hitting somebody?

Now that it's coming close, I gotta ask, though. Looking back, when is the last time you loved every bit of a Naruto manga chapter/ a series of chapters?

For me, it'd have to be him meeting Kushina and the following bits. I really, really loved it. It was probably the last time I actually felt that the characters were portraying genuine emotions.

 

Hmmm... This scene looked eerily familiar to the Hashirama Vs Madara last fight in the flashback. I also think the heads of both the statues falling off is symbolic.
My prediction: Naruto pulls something like what Hashirama did but spares Sasuke's life.

...Or I might be giving Kishi too much credit and its out of whack as usual.

 

Naruto kicking the shit out of Sasuke never fails to bring a smile on my face. And Kishi finally remembers that having a new eye doesn't automatically grant infinite chakra to Sasuke.

This chapter was pretty good. What would make the series better is Naruto ramming a Rasengan to to Sasuke's head.

 

It was better than before simply because they actually fought now, instead of using zords and energy blasts.

 

Good chapter I guess.

Yes Sasuke, your eyes are great Shinobi. They should be Kage.

Btw, why the fuck does Kakashi think their fight will solve any of their issues, never mind all of them?

 

He probably figures that if they can't kill each other now they never will. Of course what is Kakashi or Sakura going to do if Sasuke kills Naruto? Naruto is basically their shield.

 

With both Naruto and Sasuke both almost out of chakra and Sasuke about to kill Naruto, Kishi might as well make a Sakura interrupt to give her a time to shine. It would be about how Naruto wants people working together to make peace and how Sasuke was doomed to fail since the moment he choose to try and shoulder that burden alone. To rub salt in the wound they point that Sasuke couldn't cut ties like he claimed, otherwise he would have killed Sakura rather than place her in a genjutsu and that is yet another reason his plan was doomed to fail.

Cue end of the chapter, Sasuke reasoning he will give Naruto's plan a chance and despairing about all he sacrificed, him using rinnegan and tailed beasts to resurrect everyone who died and then leaving yet again amidst all the celebration because he has to think what he wants with his life now, but not before promising Naruto that they will finish their fight one day and that he will come back to kill everyone and reattempt his plan should Naruto fail.

Then comes the movie in December showing the plan about to succeed, some guys trying to sabotage it by causing people to fight each other while going about what a real ninja is and being curb stomped when people realize they are tricked. Then Sasuke makes an obligatory cameo saying how he realizes Naruto was right now. As a possible comedy bonus, some secondary characters find him and complain that he should be detained by all his crimes. Sasuke just looks at them and tell them to try to stop him, by which point they make an excuse about second chance and let him go.

At the end of the movie, thousands of fans leave the theater foaming after realizing that Hinata is still pining for Naruto and either he still pins for Sakura or just settles for Hinata instead of falling in love with her.

 

In a weird way I can see that happening.

That Sakura will interrupt their fight was the first thing that sprung to my mind, too, as they showed the panel with her and Kakashi.

 

If Sakura is able to interrupt that fight, either all of a sudden she's The yellow flash reincarnated, or Naruto and Sasuke really didn't zip over to a new country to have their symbolic "final fight"....

 

I don't think Sakura's going to intervene in the fight. It's pretty clear that this has always been about Sasuke and Naruto.

Sakura, regardless of how much she's tried to include herself in that relationship, cannot help being the third wheel. Always late to the party, never on par with Sasuke's talent or Naruto's determination, Sakura's story is someone completely ineffectual doing her best to change and failing in the process. She's a spectator at heart just like Kakashi. They can't do anything to change the outcome.

As for this chapter, I'm pretty satisfied. I'm glad that they ran out of chakra and had to fight the old-fashioned way. It's much more personal and we're finally getting closure on that same fight scene that's been played over and over again. That Naruto tripped honestly just makes this so much better - this fight felt desperate as it should be. Finally, Sasuke really acknowledges Naruto. I think this means the conclusion will be different this time.

 

I wonder if Sasuke can use the tailed beasts' chakra to bypass the cost of rinne tensei.

 

So Naruto and Hinata will be going on a Hanabi rescue mission in the last movie.

FV sketch

 

Reminds me of Susanoo from Akame ga Kill.

 

I figure either Naruto will do what Hashirama did, and this is a trick and he has one final shadow clone hiding. Or Sakura will indeed suddenly arrive to the scene and stop Sasuke. She may be massively weaker than Sasuke, but with Sasuke utterly out of chakra, that won't really matter.

It would be a huge plothole for Sakura to have reached their position so quickly though. I can sorta buy that Naruto and Sasuke could have traversed that distance so quickly considering their Sage given powers.

But for Sakura to do it would just be silly. But then its not like that would be the only plothole. Heck, for all we know Kishi could say that there was just enough residual energy left for Kakashi to use a sharingan technique one final time, and he will use Kamui to teleport Sakura to the valley. That would be a huge asspull, but hardly the biggest we have seen.

 

Sakura might use a slug to cover the distance faster. I know, sounds contradictory but hardly worth mentioning at this point.

Anyway, I doubt that's going to happen, since that would portray Sakura in a positive light and Kishi has sworn that he was never going to let that happen again.

 

This is exactly what I think will happen. Kakashi will somehow get Sakura in close enough to stop the fight then the two will beat up Sasuke who will realise the error of his ways. Though therapy no jutsu seems to only have a temporary effect on the Uchiha.

 

Screw that. If Naruto wins because Sakura or Kakashi jumped in I'll be livid. If Naruto doesn't win by himself(and I guess with Kurama) then it doesn't count.

 

If this manga like any other shonen manga has had anything to say about girls. It's "Bros before hoes." Sakura won't have anything to do with this Naruto and Sasuke are both going to embrace their brotherly love and run off into the sunset.

 

Naruto uses something to evade Sasuke's attack and knock him out/they both blackout from exhaustion. Naruto is awoken by Sakura and Kakashi, but Sasuke is nowhere to be seen. Last chapter winds down, lays out what might happen between now and the movie timeskip, maybe some foreshadowing of the villain. Sasuke becomes a hermit wandering around until they need him for the movie.