Hi folks...thanks to Binktopia and Mangastream we got ourselves another Naruto chapter this week. We appreciate your effort of delivering our weekly dose.
This time things are slowly being put in place as the whole shinobi world prepares for the upcoming war
This time Kishimoto offers us a larger view of the Narutoverse presenting us the meeting of the daimyous of each great nation.
Last week we got a glimpse of Kumo and Kabuto, both key elements in the development of the story.
We learned of Kisame's infiltration, and that Kabuto is making a move in order to join in the upcoming battles.
This time the Kishi expands the number of scenes, and as the title says we are witnessing the behaviour of each country.
What's interesting in this meeting that it is a video conference, which after I saw the faces of the daimyous it felt fitting for wealthy, and comfortable people. The Kages travelled to a certain location, they discussed with their rivals, maintained their pride, they even got a chance to meet the enemy face to face.
I'm a bit disappointed in the daimyous, they attitude doesn't reflect the gravity of the situation, the speed at which they came to an agreement, implied that they can't survive without their respective villages, they depend on it and pass all the responsibilities upon them.
At another location there's a meeting of friends, and the atmosphere confirms that.
There's a small conversatio between Kiba, Sai and Naruto. The situation is funny, and Lee remarks that he feels like old Naruto is back. This somehow shows, the lack of insight and gives hint upon the future development of the rookies. It's admitted that they weren't at the scene, but as their conversation shows they can't grasp the situation that Naruto created.
In this whole scene I think the most important remark is made by Karin. She analyzes Naruto's chakra and comes to the conclusion that Naruto is the complete opposite of Sasuke, personality and chakra-wise as well. But when she senses Kyuubi she shows sign as if she recognized the chakra, which somehow hints us that Sasuke's malice can be compared to that of Kyuubi's. I reached this conclusion because, she couldn't have the chance of experiencing Kyuubi's chakra, and the only coldness which ever sort of frightened her was Sasuke's chakra.
Scenes are changing in rapid succesion. The villages are shown, with the respective Kages as they find out that the Shinobi Alliance was approved by the daimyous. These scenes show the solid relationship between the villages and the country's leaders, and further confirms the fact that the Hidden villages are the main military force of the country and they cannot move an inch without the approval of the daimyous.
Konoha is without a leader, and is certainly the most important place in the story.
Konoha rookies are gathering and debating the Sasuke problem. I mentioned that the rookies cannot grasp the situation. Sadly this goes for the whole lot, including Shikamaru, who at least should be able to figure out something.
Naruto reassures them that he made the right decision, and when the time will come he will explain everything. So he quickly dumps them and uses Ichiraku as an excuse.
But as he turns around he shows a serious, and powerful face and this puts him an respectable light.
I noticed that after pain his diplomacy skills improved a lot. This speech no jutsu is not just for converting people,though. This time he managed to drive away Sasuke's focus on Konoha, but he even managed to make the rookies stay put regarding Sasuke.
Another important thing is Sakura's reaction to all this, as she notices that Naruto hides something. This puts her in a good light as well, and I dare to say that with this I can call Team 7 the most powerful among the rookies. Their experiences, personalities, backed up by each members battle abilities, confirm this.
We got a change of scenery again, though this time it's not that far from the rookies meeting. Conveniently when all things are in motion, Tsunade wakes up and she is welcomed warmly by Shizune and fellow doctors. This complicates things a bit, but sets up the scene for the next chapter where we will witness more of Konoha's politics. Kakashi is recognized by the Elders and the other countries as the person who will represent Konoha in the war. According to this the elders and Fire country leaders appoint him as Hokage, or at least are in the process of appointing him, when they hear the news. This raises the obvious question, that will Kakashi remain Hokage? And I think he will.
First of all as a we all saw, during the meeting of the Kages everyone accepted Kakashi as future Hokage. Also given the fact that the elders don't really like Tsunade, I think most probably Tsunade will have to retire. I also remember the Tsunade's promise when Jiraiya left, that she will join the fight herself, if something were to happen to her dear friend.
Basically so far Tsunade couldn't take action by herself due to her title, but this time she will have the freedom of participating in the war and hopefully we will witness the legendary battle capabilities of Princess Tsunade.
And because there's no real Naruto chapter without Sasuke appearing in it, this time he even gets to be the focus of the cliffhanger. Though there's not much surprise. The operation is successfull and he gained the hyped EMS. We learn something important which is more like a confirmation of a theory. The operation was not a simple transplant. Sasuke can feel Itachi's eye, and he is slowly gaining power. So the eyes were somehow merged and Itachi's eye becomes a power source for the new product. Sasuke will definitely need time to get used to the new power, and how else if not by fighting. Last week's cliffhanger was Kabuto, so considering Kabuto's goal, it can be accepted I think that the guinea pig for EMS will be him. Hopefully the power of the White Snake will not disappoint us.
Quick summary/OpinionsIt's a good chapter. Kishi is setting things up, which is needed in order to have consistency in the story. These chapters will probably continue at least for 1 more week, because preparations seem to get near to finish.
So good story progression in this chapter as well, but we also got ourselves some character development as well, as we got some insight in the rookies attitude towards current circumstances.
There can be no complaints about the art, so all in all 8+/10 for this chapter.
Predictions/ Want to happenThe events in Konoha will be presented that's for sure. Maybe Naruto will have a conversation with someone, Tsunade, or maybe Shikamaru will wait him at a corner to tell him the truth. We should expect some funny scenes as well, since Yamato is not around and he was probably forgotten by everyone. That should piss him of. Sai's meeting with Root should also hold some importance, because they are leaderless, but they are an important force in Konoha.
So politics and life in Konoha first, then we should see how will EMS look like.
As a cliffhanger, maybe some more Kabuto, probably searching for Sasuke, but Madara should start moving as well, towards Ame.
Thanx for UR patience everyone, if U even read it. This chapter seemed a bit chaotic to me, so the review cannot fall far from the chapter. But certainlt tension is slowly building up, towards the outbreak of a violent war.Thx MS and Binktopia, and everyone...
Mata ne!
