Recent Naruto Manga (Chapters 400+)

[Myoti]

No, he ain't evil. Just obsessed, like ya said.

However, I believe there's a 99% chance that the final battle of the series will be between Naruto and Sasuke...

[Aka-chan]

True, but I was most surprised that he seemed to be betraying Orochimaru and then would be caught at it. I was quite relieved to find it all a ruse; anything less would have been out of character for Kabuto and an insult to his intelligence.

Also, I am SO happy Orochimaru's back. I missed him terribly, and hopefully things will get better from now on. Just please don't let them drag this fight out for months.

[uc pseudonym]

Or, if they drag the fights out, at least hopefully something will be accomplished. The early battles with "Akatsuki members" were terrible simply because they served so little purpose. If something is going to take several issues, I want the plot to be advanced or someone to die.

[Yeito]

LOL xD For some reason I found that funny uc... sorry. : )

And why are you happy oro's back aka-chan? I mean I do admit that he adds good story line and stuff.... but I'm not all that extatic to see him. T_l

[Lady Arianrod]

I've certainly missed a lot of the series... But I'm glad that Kishimoto decided to move the plot forward so rapidly in the latest chapters.

I have one question, though:

[spoiler]Who is Sai?[/spoiler]

[uc pseudonym]

The best answer: we don't know. If you've seen his introductory chapters (only 10 or so issues ago) you know as much as we do. Of course, for the moment I'm sticking to my asinine theory that he is Sasuke in disguise. [I read it on a forum... earlier this thread, specifically.]

LOL xD For some reason I found that funny uc... sorry. : )

I intentionally phrased it to be funny in a dry sort of way, so that's fine by me.

[Lady Arianrod]

The best answer: we don't know. If you've seen his introductory chapters (only 10 or so issues ago) you know as much as we do. Of course, for the moment I'm sticking to my asinine theory that he is Sasuke in disguise. [I read it on a forum... earlier this thread, specifically.]

Ah, thanks for the answer. I thought that he looked suspiciously like Sasuke, but I didn't assume that it was him just yet.

[Myoti]

I really doubt it's him. :l

SIMILAR, yes, but not him... guess we'll just have to wait and see if Oro decides to bring him out soon...

[Aka-chan]

Hey, uh, has the manga been on hiatus a few weeks, or is the site I use just not updating? The latest chapter has been 290 for a while.

[MasterDias]

Well see, what happened was that the last chapters of Weekly Jump manga were leaked a week before they were supposed to come out.

So everyone wound up having to wait three weeks for the next chapters of Naruto, One Piece, Bleach, and all of the other SJ manga.

Naruto 291 just came out although I haven't read it as of this post and am uncertain if it has been scanlated yet.

[Myoti]

Hmm... interesting...

Yamato having the cells of the First Hokage was a slightly interesting twist, though I'd like to see more how this plays out.

Naruto going Kyuubi again... kinda bittersweet. It's like, it's cool when used at times, but I don't want to see it overused, a la Super Saiyan (of course, I've haven't seen DBZ, so I'm not sure if it really compares like that...).

On a lighter note: knocking Orochimaru through those trees was pretty sweet, I must say, even it's something we've seen before. :p

As for predictions: We either see Sasuke next issue (or very soon, at the least), OR we end up with a long, LONG wait filled with training before actually beggining another battle, OR perhaps, something else, involving the reappearance of the Akatsuki at some point (which I'm sure we're hoping for).

[MasterDias]

Alright, I've read the chapter.

Naruto needs to calm down or he will end up hurting himself and his allies.
Losing control is about the greatest mistake he can make.

The notion that Yondaime's seal has been weakening could be an interesting path for the Naruto manga to take.

[Myoti]

Except that most fans probably knew it was weakening long before now. The way he acted way back during the Haku fight seems proof of that.

Of course, what was said about him going into four-tails mode seems interesting... if he went that nuts during just four, what'll happen if he goes to nine?

[uc pseudonym]

Regarding 291: I still don't really care about Yamato, but at least he has somewhat of a backstory now. Similarly, I want Orochimaru or Kabuto to do something special. Soon.

Kyuubi Mode: It looks as though Naruto is going to do this a lot. Personally, this disappoints me, as I think it ruins the general operation of ninja fighting. They should be about speed and skill, not about releasing vast amounts of power. This manga will win points in my book if he never goes beyond four tails, and lose points if he does this too frequently.

As for the demon spirits actually coming out, I'm not sure what I think about that general trend. I know I didn't really like the part of the Gaara arc where they had to fight Shukaku. We'll have to see. If the final battle was some theoretical tenth demon against Kyuubi-Naruto I'd be very disappointed.

Well see, what happened was that the last chapters of Weekly Jump manga were leaked a week before they were supposed to come out.

Plus there were two weeks in a three week period in which Kishimoto didn't have to produce a chapter. The leaking then accented this.

Naruto needs to calm down or he will end up hurting himself and his allies.
Losing control is about the greatest mistake he can make.

I really hope we see this. I would like to see his explosive power made useless due to his rage.

[Myoti]

If the final battle was some theoretical tenth demon against Kyuubi-Naruto I'd be very disappointed.

Meh. I still see it being Naruto vs. Sasuke.

[uc pseudonym]

That is more likely, though I don't want to see that either. However, I still hold to my theory that Akatsuki is attempting to free a tenth demon.

[Myoti]

Don't? I thought that would have been a better final battle...

I hadn't thought about what Akatsuki was going to do with these demons (oddly enough)...

[uc pseudonym]

They're opening the eyes of something huge that looks like it was shackled... it seemed an easy connection to make.

Don't? I thought that would have been a better final battle...

Better, definitely. But I certainly hope the characters have developed past that point before the end of the series.

[Myoti]

They're opening the eyes of something huge that looks like it was shackled... it seemed an easy connection to make.

True... though I had thought it was simply some sort of "altar" of sorts, used to hold the bijuu.

Better, definitely. But I certainly hope the characters have developed past that point before the end of the series.

I thought this as well. However, I think that even if Sasuke comes back, he may still have a strong feeling of rivalry against Naruto, so even if he doesn't want to kill him, I can still see the final battle being between the two of them (more like after they finish off all the villains).


Also, does anyone else think it's possible we could see another time-skip in the future?

[MasterDias]

Also, does anyone else think it's possible we could see another time-skip in the future?

I guess it's possible. But I have my doubts.

I'm hoping the story will get past this whole "retrieve Sasuke" plot and get more...I don't know... complex is the word I guess I'm looking for.

[Myoti]

Indeed. It seems that, in a word, most of us are now thinking "forget Sasuke", and/or "at least get to him already".

[uc pseudonym]

That sentiment is very high. All that is balancing it is the fact that there are also a great many people who want to see Sasuke again, so they're willing to live with this for the time being. But I agree with MasterDias. We should move on to better things.

True... though I had thought it was simply some sort of "altar" of sorts, used to hold the bijuu.

And that still isn't out of the question. But it has eyes that are opening... I assume it will do something when they get all 9. I would be disappointed if they just wanted the bijuu for the sake of their power (though that doesn't appear to have been a terrible challenge to them so far).

I guess it's possible. But I have my doubts.

Same here. If the manga intends to go until Naruto becomes Hokage, something radical would almost have to be required. I'd much prefer if it ended at a good stopping point, such as the defeat of Akatsuki.

[Myoti]

That sentiment is very high. All that is balancing it is the fact that there are also a great many people who want to see Sasuke again, so they're willing to live with this for the time being. But I agree with MasterDias. We should move on to better things.

Well, it's not that I don't like him or anything, but the guy was basically a jerk to everyone and the entire of everything new is focused on getting to him.

And that still isn't out of the question. But it has eyes that are opening... I assume it will do something when they get all 9. I would be disappointed if they just wanted the bijuu for the sake of their power (though that doesn't appear to have been a terrible challenge to them so far).

Yes, I agree. I just thought that the thing itself wasn't the thing (demon, possibly) that they're trying to "free", but simply an "altar" for whatever purpose they're going for. Of course, I could be wrong.

Same here. If the manga intends to go until Naruto becomes Hokage, something radical would almost have to be required. I'd much prefer if it ended at a good stopping point, such as the defeat of Akatsuki.

You know, I wouldn't be too surprised if Naruto dies a Hokage (as the fourth did)...

[Aka-chan]

I wonder if Orochimaru has already taken Sasuke's body. He keeps talking about Sasuke as if he were there and ready to fight, rather than hidden away somewhere. Plus, he started losing his face when the kyuubi came out, and we didn't get to see which body was beneath it. I'd like that if he were already gone; it would be interesting to see how the characters dealt with it.

[Myoti]

Plus, he started losing his face when the kyuubi came out, and we didn't get to see which body was beneath it.

I thought it was pretty obvious that the guy underneath was the one he took earlier.

[Aka-chan]

I thought it was pretty obvious that the guy underneath was the one he took earlier.

Was it? I couldn't tell. Boo. I want it to be Sasuke.

[Myoti]

Yeah. He had lighter hair, the same as the guy he took earlier. Plus, he can only do that jutsu ever three years, remember? This has only be a little over 2 and a half.

[Aka-chan]

I didn't see the hair. And I thought it had been a longer time. Thanks for clearing that up.

[Myoti]

Hmm... Sai's even more of a jerk. Who could have seen THAT one coming? *rolls eyes*

And of course, we get four-tail Naruto. I am a bit interested to see how this one turns out...


And Oro's new jutsu = O.o

[desperado]

Agreed orichimaros new jutsu is very disturbing even though how powerfull it could be. I mean he had his arm ripped off and when he did that he had one back.

Secondly I really cant wait to see the four tailed kyuubi naruto vs orichimaru. I mean if four tails can almost take out juriyabi then its going to pretty much be an insane fight between him and orichimaru (also wasnt it funny when kabuto got owned?)