Naruto Anime/Manga (Manga Spoilers Not Tagged) [WSJ]

[X-SOLDIER]

Well, we have yet to see anything actually HIT him, so it's too early to tell, but I would have assumed that he'd have done that to escape Gaara's grasp if that was the case, though that's in NO WAY any indication that he couldn't do it. I'm wondering if the Mizukage's name will also be something about the Moon too (___getsu).

I really like how just this little fragment of information makes Suigetsu's character very, very different. His joking nature that's very unindicative of his level of power makes a lot more sense. This is the type of subtle background information that I hope they keep delving into with Kirigakure for the next good number of chapters.

Kishimoto does really well with his ties to Japanese Mythology. That's why I check the wiki a lot, because I don't notice all the references, and I love learning about them.


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[Makoeyes987]

The Mizukage is dangerous.

Fucking Hell, I can't believe this guy is so fucking ridiculously hard to hit and kill. What is he and his pet fucking clam DOING?

They don't play in the Village Hidden in the Mist, apparently.

And wow, him being revealed to be part of Suigetsu's clan is epic. God, what's it gonna take to seal him up?

Thankfully he's the last Kage left...

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Soooooooo, here we go!

The Mizukage's Jokey Boy technique got me thinking about Mangetsu & Suigetsu, and wondering if their anatomy functions in a similiar way. We know that they have to remain hydrated constantly, and I'm curious if this is because their physical exertions causes the water in their bodies to evaporate more quickly than normal, but rather than exploding, it just dissipates into the air. Similiarly, we know that Suigetsu can expand the size of his limbs, and even change the form of his body when he's in water, which seem to mimic the general capabilities of Jokey Boy, though I'm now curious to know if they could also create blades. They've always seemed slightly more viscous than just being water, and the presence of the same type of oil could account for that, as well as what would prevent them from freezing in somewhere like the Iron Country. That still leaves the question open: What the hell are they?

Even without knowing that, it looks like Gaara's rather expert tactics gives insight into the types of things that would be able to slow the two of them down. While I did know that Gaara was using a sand clone, I hadn't anticipated the rest of his tactics with the gold & hail. I did really like that the Mizukage wanted to challenge him still, because he believes that Gaara is something special. Mizukage's a hilariously smug bastard, but he's got MORE than enough right to be. I'm hoping that this battle and the developments also means that Gaara will get to play a key role in some of the later/final battles, since we're still just seeing his own techniques come into their own. It's nice to see Naruto running in to the rescue, but still seeing Gaara take care of things on his own.


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[Obsidian Fire]

That still leaves the question open: What the hell are they?

Kiri seems to have this thing with not-quite-human ninja. Forget Suigetsu, what the hell is Kisame and why can he fuse with Samehada? Suigutsu's potential is getting more and more badass, although that really shouldn't be surprising us at this point.

The Mizukage has some crazy reasoning although he does have a good point. How can the ninja alliance beat the likes of the resurrected Jinchuuriki, Kabuto and Madara if they can't beat him?

I'm kinda hoping that if Naruto gets involved the Mizukage will find out he's a jinchuuriki and spill about Kiri's Jinchuuriki. The Mizukage still isin't sealed.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Kiri seems to have this thing with not-quite-human ninja. Forget Suigetsu, what the hell is Kisame and why can he fuse with Samehada? Suigutsu's potential is getting more and more badass, although that really shouldn't be surprising us at this point.

They also have an absurd number of ninja with Shark Teeth. Kisame looks similiar to the former master of Samehada, so it might be a clan-specific trait of some kind.

There's a super curious thing going on in Kirigakure's history. There's Haku's kekkei genkai where it's so feared that his parents try to murder him. You've got Ao, who has a Byakugan surgically implanted into his head. Plus we know that their Mizukage was a perfect Jinchuriki. It seems to me like there's a lot or experimentation and testing going on, and they may have been one of the few villages where it wasn't considered completely taboo. (They probably would have embraced someone like Orochimaru, but the attempted coup and political strife probably kept them far too wary of an outsiders to have welcomed him once he left Konoha). I mean, how else are you going to keep up with a village like Iwagakure who's got their elemental weakness, and their Hokage has a Kekkei Dotai. They'd be mad NOT to go to those sorts of extremes.

The Mizukage has some crazy reasoning although he does have a good point. How can the ninja alliance beat the likes of the resurrected Jinchuuriki, Kabuto and Madara if they can't beat him?

Super true. He gives them what they need, but he doesn't baby them.

I'm kinda hoping that if Naruto gets involved the Mizukage will find out he's a jinchuuriki and spill about Kiri's Jinchuuriki. The Mizukage still isin't sealed.

I'm hoping that they don't seal him right out, and that the Mizukage history thing starts next chapter, because he seems to have a genuine interest in Gaara. I forgot that we's still just a Pyramid head without all the seals around him right now.


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[Obsidian Fire]

There's a super curious thing going on in Kirigakure's history. There's Haku's kekkei genkai where it's so feared that his parents try to murder him. You've got Ao, who has a Byakugan surgically implanted into his head. Plus we know that their Mizukage was a perfect Jinchuriki. It seems to me like there's a lot or experimentation and testing going on, and they may have been one of the few villages where it wasn't considered completely taboo. (They probably would have embraced someone like Orochimaru, but the attempted coup and political strife probably kept them far too wary of an outsiders to have welcomed him once he left Konoha). I mean, how else are you going to keep up with a village like Iwagakure who's got their elemental weakness, and their Hokage has a Kekkei Dotai. They'd be mad NOT to go to those sorts of extremes.

And their current Mizukage, Mai, has not one, but two Kekkai Genkai and both of those are more dangerous then Haku's. How is she still alive much less the Mizukage?

And this is after a civil war about bloodlines. If these guys are the survivors, what must Kirigakure have been like when you had whole clans of bloodline users living there? Scary.

Interesting thought about Kirigakure. It's the only Hidden Village that isn't on the mainland. In order to get to there, the rest of the Villages would have to take a boat/fly. Kiri would have ample warning that someone was trying to invade. The flip side is that they would have a hard time invading anyone else and can more easily ignore the wars on the main land. Might be one of the reason's why Madara set up shop there; the rest of the nations ignore Kiri unless it's actions directly affect them. This might also have to do with why Konoha keeps winning the Shinobi wars; the element they're weak against isn't even on the same continent they are.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

And their current Mizukage, Mai, has not one, but two Kekkai Genkai and both of those are more dangerous then Haku's. How is she still alive much less the Mizukage?

And this is after a civil war about bloodlines. If these guys are the survivors, what must Kirigakure have been like when you had whole clans of bloodline users living there? Scary.

Interesting thought about Kirigakure. It's the only Hidden Village that isn't on the mainland. In order to get to there, the rest of the Villages would have to take a boat/fly. Kiri would have ample warning that someone was trying to invade. The flip side is that they would have a hard time invading anyone else and can more easily ignore the wars on the main land. Might be one of the reason's why Madara set up shop there; the rest of the nations ignore Kiri unless it's actions directly affect them. This might also have to do with why Konoha keeps winning the Shinobi wars; the element they're weak against isn't even on the same continent they are.

This also brings up an interesting point. We know that Kiri was referred to as "Village of the Bloody Mist" when Yagura was the Mizukage. Part of me thinks that Madara may have intentionally manipulated a lot of the socio-political strife that the village experienced in order to both weaken the village (only half of their students could become Chunin, which would greatly eliminate the size of their military force in comparison to the other villages), but what happens to one nation directly affects the others. If as you suggest that helped to cause Konoha became the primary power of the 5 great nations, that would serve to his advantage, as it's the village that he's most capable to eliminate.

Seriously, if they don't start digging into Kirigakure's history soon, I might just die.
(Also - what happened to the 3rd Mizukage?)


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[Obsidian Fire]

If as you suggest that helped to cause Konoha became the primary power of the 5 great nations, that would serve to his advantage, as it's the village that he's most capable to eliminate.

I meant that Konoha would be the stronger village even without Madara's meddling simply because Kiri would have issues just getting to the mainland. With Madara messing stuff up, it would be an even bigger issue.

Seriously, if they don't start digging into Kirigakure's history soon, I might just die.
(Also - what happened to the 3rd Mizukage?)

Why is he dragging out the backsory???? And yeah, great question. Especially since there are people older then the 3rd Mizukage still around. I have a feeling he was killed by Madara in order to make room for his puppet government.

Another interesting thought. According to Ao, he knew somebody was controlling Yagara and they were using some sort of jutsu to do it. That implies that at one point, Yagara was not controlled. I'm wondering how many other people in Kiri knew this and of what rank they were. More importantly, how did they defeat Yagara when Madara was in control of him? As this is Kiri, I don't think it happened quietly or without a lot of bloodshed. Given the Sanbi is roaming free when it is caught by Akatsuki, I'm thinking unsealing it from Yagara on purpose was the winning strategy. This probably wasn't the first time it was tried either as Zabuza was said to have launched a coup against the Mizukage. If the 2nd Mizukage doesn't talk, Yagara had better.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I meant that Konoha would be the stronger village even without Madara's meddling simply because Kiri would have issues just getting to the mainland. With Madara messing stuff up, it would be an even bigger issue.

Yeah, I know what you meant, and I was simply stating that it would be an easy thing for Madara's influence to exacerbate the effects of through meddling with the country, especially when it's potential for impact is already reduced due to the geography of the nation.

Why is he dragging out the backsory???? And yeah, great question. Especially since there are people older then the 3rd Mizukage still around. I have a feeling he was killed by Madara in order to make room for his puppet government.

Fingers crossed for good Kiri-centric conversations or references next chapter. It's certainly got the potential to happen now, but there've been opportunities that weren't taken before like Nagato telling Naruto that they're both members of the Uzumaki clan.

Another interesting thought. According to Ao, he knew somebody was controlling Yagara and they were using some sort of jutsu to do it. That implies that at one point, Yagara was not controlled. I'm wondering how many other people in Kiri knew this and of what rank they were. More importantly, how did they defeat Yagara when Madara was in control of him? As this is Kiri, I don't think it happened quietly or without a lot of bloodshed. Given the Sanbi is roaming free when it is caught by Akatsuki, I'm thinking unsealing it from Yagara on purpose was the winning strategy. This probably wasn't the first time it was tried either as Zabuza was said to have launched a coup against the Mizukage. If the 2nd Mizukage doesn't talk, Yagara had better.

Assumedly, Madara would have taken control of Yagura only AFTER he became the Mizukage, since Akatsuki wasn't yet stalking Jinchuriki that far back. Madara may have had the personal motivation at that point, but I don't think that there's enough benefit to offset the risk until he became Mizukage. Madara is also exceptionally good at espionage and entering areas undetected, as his infiltration of Konoha on two occasions shows, as well as his presence in Akatsuki with even Kisame not knowing who he was. I figure that he could have accomplished it unnoticed, even in Kirigakure.

Regardless of what was taking place at the time, it's likely that Yagura's death with both a win-win situation as well as a mutual loss for Madara & Kirigakure:
• It put the country at risk for civil war and other attacks, but it ended a period of internal bloodshed and shame.
• It briefly destabilized the government, but it got rid of the puppet master.
• They lost a Jinchuriki, but they also prevented Madara from obtaining it or the Biju.

However the scenario actually ended, we know that it resulted in the 3-Tails running free. Since Madara wasn't in control of it, even after directly manipulating the Mizukage it's likely that Kirigakure took the logical path and killed their own Mizukage (and the one that the Raikage was suggesting when confronting Naruto). This would mean that neither party could take control of the Biju at the cost of it re-emerging at random some time after the Mizukage's death.


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[X-SOLDIER]

Mangareader's translation is up.

Muu's still alive - to be predicted given his little hint when he was sealed. It'll be interesting to see what he summons, and that Gaara's still got his work cut out for him. We're back and covering Dan & the Hyuuga clan, which is really good to see. I'd forgotten those things still needed to be tied up properly.

Also, Naruto saving Hinata just made my whole day. (Now I hope that the two of them actually get to have a proper conversation, since they haven't really addressed the things said in the Pain Battle).


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[Makoeyes987]

Wow, Muu is fucking awesome. I'm sorry, but if my opponent was trying to tell me something, I'd have paused and listened to their words at least. I don't know why Oonoki thought it was smart not to listen to what his Master was trying to tell him before he sealed him up.

Thank goodness Muu is now at half strength, but depending on what he summons that may just be irrelevant.

Those fucking Zetsu are still a pain in the ass though, and I'm really annoyed at how Sakura was so goddamn stupid and fell for that obvious trick to attack her. She should know better, especially since she fucking dealt with one herself. Did she think she could handle it if it were a Zetsu? Even so, that puts everyone else around her at risk.

That was just some seriously fail ninja common sense. I suppose though her duty to help people clouded her judgment but...this is a damn war with shapeshifting plant people. You can't trust anyone!

Also, why hasn't Itachi killed Kabuto yet?

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Yeah, I'm also pretty impressed that Naruto's attacks are taking time to regenerate. That's pretty impressive. The more we learn about the former Tsuchikage & Mizukage, the more I can't even afthom how absolutely MINDBLOWINGLY epic their final battle together must've been. I'm wondering if Muu's summoning the Edo Tensei that's Kabuto's real Trump Card, or if that Edo Tensei is still to be revealed later on, and he's doing his own summon.

I really like the Zetsu, because they are really the display of some amazing tactics by Madara for the entire plan of the war. Plus, while the first one is obvious, the one disguised as Hinata that gets decked into a wall still manages to make you notice that it's a really nerve wracking situation.

Also - I loved Shikamaru's everyone stay in your goddamn circle solution. Fucking classic logic. I'm pretty sure Naruto & Dan will need to have some kind of conversation.

I think that Itachi will be travelling for a while still while the rest of this settles out. Plus, there's still whatever the fuck Maradara & Black Zetsu are up to.


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[Makoeyes987]

Shikamaru's not an idiot. I would kill whoever crossed into my circle, regardless.

It's a simple solution. Don't fucking come near each other until you're confirmed to be non-hostile. The shinobi need to make like Root and ANBU and detach their emotions and stay focused. The only reason the Zetsu are even effective is because of basic social engineering mind games

They don't even have the knowledge of who their shapeshifting into. That's so whack. I really hope Naruto gets rid of these things cause its seriously a distraction at this point. Zetsu thinning out the ranks of the shinobi is sad.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

Shikamaru's not an idiot. I would kill whoever crossed into my circle, regardless.

It's a simple solution. Don't fucking come near each other until you're confirmed to be non-hostile. The shinobi need to make like Root and ANBU and detach their emotions and stay focused. The only reason the Zetsu are even effective is because of basic social engineering mind games

Totally agreed there. But in group combat situations like war, being forced to sit isolated essentially eliminates the entire force with no effort, because you can't afford to risk cooperating. Dead or not, you've still neutralized a HUGE force.

They don't even have the knowledge of who their shapeshifting into. That's so whack. I really hope Naruto gets rid of these things cause its seriously a distraction at this point. Zetsu thinning out the ranks of the shinobi is sad.

Well, I think that they may have been able to glean some basic information from their combat against the various people, plus - they're supposed to be able to copy almost perfectly as I recall. I'm glad that Naruto is a tool to aiding to their downfall though, but I hope that once they're down, he really has to take a moment to cope with the horrors of what the war's done to the Shinobi, rather than just get pulled off into the next battle. I think that this is where he'll start to realize that he needs his friends as much as they need him *cough*Hinata*cough*.

Oh - I also wanted to mention that not being able to remove the Fuda tag from the seal was really cool. I wonder if those places will become monuments of some kind one day. It's interesting to think about.

EDIT: Did anyone else fail to notice at first that Naruto blocked the 3 swords from hitting Hinata with his BARE ARMS!?


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[X-SOLDIER]

I just wanted to comment that Mangastream & Mangareader's translations seemed to jump back an forth at the sections that they translated accurately. I think I might start reading them both every week now to make sure that things aren't getting lots in one translation. I'll break down what I mean:


Mangareader's translation of Kabuto's statement about Muu's clone getting sealed before he had an opportunity to reveal that he'd split in half is much more clear than Mangastream's. Likewise, the descriptions of how his technique works without using handseals, as well as if the summon will be underpowered, or just delayed is different between MR & MS. The Mizukage's dialogue is also less clunky in MR's vs. MS's.

In the bits afterwards, aside from using "the predecessors of the five kages" instead of "the previous kages" & "get yourself to a medical team" rather than "go with a medical team" Mangastream seems to have much better casual dialogue, up UNTIL Naruto actually arrives. Then MR does much better, and MS gets clunky, and Shikamaru's dialogue comes across completely differently, and Naruto's dialogue continuing onto the next page makes it seem much more like a unified effort is taking place.

After that section, it changes back again and Mangastream's translation of the Zetsu's dialogue is a lot smoother and puts more emphasis on the fact that the one is going to kill herself if they can't get help, which makes the situation seem a little more manipulative. In moving into the Hinata section and the end, Mangastream still has MUCH better translation and flow with Kiba & Neji's dialogue.


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[Xinda]

http://mangastream.com/read/naruto/94539395/1

 

[X-SOLDIER]

HOLY FUCK, MY BRAIN IS SPINNING SO HARD RIGHT NOW!

I'll collect my thoughts and post again when I get to work.



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[Super Mario]

How did

Spoiler

madara revive himself???

 

[Rumpelstiltskin]

He didn't

Spoiler

Im guessing this was the trump card that Kabuto had over "Madara" all along

 

[Super Mario]

Spoiler

Then who is this prick behind the mask who calls himself Madara? D:

Don't go Kingdom Hearts on me, Naruto.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

COOL! Seeing Kakashi using Zabuza's Sword was awesome. Heh. All the fights have been taken care of by Naruto. Where is the real one? NM, with Bee.

Damn. We have an INMORTAL Madara walking around now who may or may not have the same agenda as Tobi-Madara. Kabuto is nuts. Itachi had better hear about this. It'll be really interesting to see who Tobi has been this entire time. My guess is that between the time Madara was thrown out of Konoha and his fight with the Shodai, he somehow made a contingency plan that would let his agenda go on living even if he died.

On that note, it looks like Madara did die with his battle vs. the Shodai, which kinda makes it no one's fault that he's still alive. IE, the Shodai did find Madara's dead body at the Valley of the End. What I find really interesting here is that Edo Tensai-Madara knows about Nagato, in fact, it sounds like he thinks Nagato is the one who summoned him. However, he's surprised that he's been summoned at all. It sounds like what ever Tobi-Madara's plan was, this wasn't part of it. Really makes me wonder on who's side Edo Tensai-Madara is.

All I can say about the next chapter is EEEEK!

 

[Alex Strife]

So it's not Madara!! My Japanese friend was convinced that Tobi being Madara was bull, and I always said he was wrong. However, lately he started explaining some inconsistencies to me, and how he thought it could not be Madara. He started to convince me a bit, but I would never be sure until I saw something like this.

Amazing! Now we need to know who that guy is!! Madara's twin brother? Obito? A new character? It's so full of possibilities.

 

[Obsidian Fire]

Spoiler

Then who is this prick behind the mask who calls himself Madara? D:

Don't go Kingdom Hearts on me, Naruto.

If Kishimoto worked on KH, we'd have a plot that's twice as complicated as it already is and three times the amount of important characters. Of course, he would probably have the entire plot of the franchise figured out since game 1. On that note, you have no idea how many times I've wondered what the Compilation of FFVII would be like if Kishimoto had been the scenario writer (hardly any plot holes!).

Just thought of something else. Tobi-Madara has at least one of the original Madara's Eternal Mangekyou and Madara had both at the Valley of the End. Somewhere along the line Tobi-Madara found the original Madara's body.

 

[peaches]

Could totally be Madara's brother behind the mask. But I wouldn't know, this is pretty legit twist in story even though I was expecting something like this.

And I'm just waiting for Suigetsu to come get the sword back from Kakashi.

Suigetsu and gang (besides Sasuke) don't even come off as bad guys really, they just felt threatened by Sasuke to follow him D:

 

[X-SOLDIER]

So, in light of this chapter's revelation, I'm going to go into a few hypothesis about Madara that I've touched on before, but I have a much better backing for now. There're lots of hyperlinks in the text if you need references to when things happened in the manga. Here we go!


First of all, when Madara's resurrected, he says, "it finally happened" and expects that it was Nagato who raised him, which suggests that he WAS in fact in charge of Akatsuki during a period of time. He was also expecting to be brought back using Nagato's "Rinne Tensei" technique (that Tobi mentions was supposed to be for him), and seems to be rather appalled that he was brought back using "Edo Tensei" instead. This means that SOME of what we've learned about him has to be true, and he also has to have been actively involved in some of the goings on with the war and other planning.


We'll start with what I'll consider to be confirmed appearances of Madara thus far in the manga.

• We know that he battled the Shodaime Hokage, and was defeated.
• It seems that met Kisame while controlling the Mizukage.
• He apparently also met with Itachi before the Uchiha massacre.
- Later illiciting Itachi's statement that Madara is a "pathetic shell of his former self."
--- After this point, we haven't seen Madara alive. ---
• He's partially resurrected in front of Tobi by Kabuto to negotiate an alliance.
- Tobi's "wise guy" comment after Kabuto calls him 'Madara' makes sense now.
• And finally, he's fully resurrected by Kabuto during the War.


Since we know that the White Zetsu's abilities are that they can perfectly copy the appearance of a target. This would allow Tobi to mimic Madara's appearance and take his place in a number of important scenarios. The difference is that he's distinguishable by his short hair, and the fact that his body is made of Senju DNA:

• He shows up in Konoha and fights the Yondaime.
- He alludes to Madara being alive, but doesn't state that he's Madara.
• He meets Sasuke & triggers the Amaterasu.
- Because of his body, he doesn't risk permanent injury.
• He reveals himself to Kisame (who saw the real Madara).


This brings up some interesting observations about Tobi & allows me to make some hypothesis about him, because we know that, Tobi has some features which differentiate him from the other generic Zetsu copies.

• The fact that he has short hair means that he has a degree of a unique appearance from his host.
- This is something that none of the other Zetsu have shown thus far as they are all perfect copies.
• He has a completely unique dimensional transfer ability that he can keep active for 5 mins.
• He possesses a Sharingan capable of controlling Kyubi.
• He's obtained some (weak) Mokuton techniques & a tougher anatomy since Yamato was fused with the Senju Lotus.
- While this hasn't been shown directly, his Senju DNA comes from the same source and should receive the same benefits.
• Tobi can use a 'complete' version of Izanagi, because he's combined 2 of the 6 paths.
- Due to what we've seen with Danzo, Tobi's Senju body & Sharingan may be the only way to accomplish this, though even if Tobi's ambitions mimic Madara's as closely as his appearance, there's still no telling if Madara's consciousness truly IS both Tobi & Madara or not.
• Tobi had a unique goofy persona that was a subordinate to Zetsu, but this persona completely changes, seemingly reverting to that of who he is mimicing.
- When Naruto becomes a threat, Tobi's original persona shifts and he supplants himself as the 'real' Madara.
- Whether or not this is a plan by the original Zetsu persona, or a technique used by Madara to control a more durable body (like Orochimaru uses) is unclear, though both are plausible, given the above point about Izanagi.
- Tobi states that the Senju DNA has no mind of its own despite having a torso, meaning that it's not a side effect of the Shodai's cells, despite them also forming a face on Danzo's shoulder.
• He wears a mask, possibly because, the other Zetsu loose their resemblance to their host when injured. Significant injuries can also cause the Senju cells to turn into trees, even for partial cellular combinations.
- While Tobi seems to have learned to adapt to injury (detailed below), he can't risk his cover being blown and would always wear a mask:
> His arm initially begins growing branches when he's injured by the Yondaime, after which he swiftly vanishes.
> When he gets infected by destruction bugs, he willingly breaks it off, and doesn't seem to suffer from appearance degredation.
> He then replaces his arm with material from the Senju Lotus. (This is likely what he had to do to survive Amaterasu)
> When Konan blows off his arm, and a portion of his mask, he seems unaffected, suggesting he may have completely learned how to deal with sacrificing limbs for injury while maintaining his appearance by this point.



I'm figuring that we'll start to get some real answers soon, now that Madara's on the battlefield, and Itachi's headed to confront Kabuto, that means that we've got a lot of key people who hold a majority of the information to this mystery on the playing field now. What's also interesting is that Kabuto made a bargain to obtain one of the Zetsu for experimentation, which makes me question his motivations towards Tobi, especially if my above listed assumptions here are correct, (though it still doesn't explain why something appears to have been cut out of Gedo Mazo's stomach, or what that something might be). I'm greatly looking forward to seeing how these details develop.




SO! Now for everything else from 559!

Aside from that, it was nice to see a little conversation between Naruto & Hinata about how she feels, as well as referencing her previous act from the Pain battle. It was short, but it covered an important connection between their characters.

Sai's sealing technique is pretty badass. I'm glad that we got a look into the battle with the Swordsmen, Kimimaro, & Black Zetsu even if they seem to have skimmed over them for the most part. I'm hoping that we'll get some more detailed combat from them, while Naruto has to deal with the Muu/Madara tag team. I'm personally hoping to see at LEAST Kushimaru (needle sword) & Mangetsu from the Seven Swordsmen in a proper battle, because I think that Kushimaru's weapon is the coolest, and Mangetsu needed some dead members so that he can have some of their weapons.

Lastly, it seems like Tobi, and his Ex-Jinchuriki are headed towards Naruto & Bee. There're some BIG conflicts approaching.


Overall, it was a big, well executed reveal this week, and I'm quite looking forward to seeing how things progress on all fronts. Hopefully this post will also serve as a good reference point for the whole Tobi/Madara business.



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