Recent Naruto Manga (Chapters 400+)

[Myoti]

Ah, I see what you're saying UC. I DID enjoy those two fights, but yes, they were pretty pointless.

[uc pseudonym]

I enjoyed them too; that point was actually the last time I was really positive about Naruto. They moved quickly, showed some decent planning, and introduced new techniques without talking about them for half a chapter. I thought that if the story was moving in that direction overall it would be rather impressive.

[dreamhacker]

On the other hand, Orochimaru didn't really do anything. He tried a few half-hearted attacks, then up and decided to leave.

Well, if Oro couldn't defend well enough against the Kyuubi, I doubt he would ever be able to hurt him. I mean, to survive is what Oro is best at, and his body could became kinda broken after some Kyuubi attacks, so he have to replace it. And to win he have to survive in addition to acctually deal damage to the Kyuubi, and when you think about it, the Kyuubi can even protect himself with pure chakra. Don't see how Oro would ever won that match even if he tried

[Yeito]

well 298 is out. What did you guys think? :/

Think its a trap?

[uc pseudonym]

If he's really dead, I'll be surprised, and inclined to say that he was pretty pointless overall. My question is now focused on how it is a trap, and whose trap it is.

For all the talking in that chapter, surprisingly little was accomplished.

[Myoti]

Yeah, um... how many times can these guys ask "What's going on?" and be surprised at obvious things in one chapter?

I'll just wait for the next one till I pass judgement on this one... (though yeah, it seems kinda... pointless o.o ).

[Yeito]

::nods in agreement::

Maybe Kishimoto just forgets that he's already assessed things and then retalks about them over and over (?). o_o

[uc pseudonym]

I would think it would be difficult to manage such a project if done one chapter at a time. Still... one would assume he has time to review what has already been covered. Or get one of his aides to cover continuity (a la the American comicscape).

[Yeito]

Well I suppose it turned out to be more of a diversion than a trap. :/

Wonder whats in the book? o.o

[uc pseudonym]

That is the mystery of the hour, isn't it? I can't imagine Sai would have left anything terribly important, but perhaps it will reveal something about his character. Meanwhile, I was also disappointed in the corpse... what purpose did it serve, really? Even if the clone catches up to them, what will it do? Unless, of course, they're just trying to lose him. But even in that case, they could have given it explosives or something. It strikes me as something added just so the previous chapter would have a shocking ending.

I will note that we have an allusion to an "experiment" which I'm vaguely curious about. Meanwhile, I just continue to hope the next plot arc will be fairly complex and involve Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and Daichou simultaneously.

[Sai]

I hope the next plot arc fights don't last too long..:/ Well the one with naruto and sasuke can.

[Aka-chan]

Sasuke's back! Normally this would annoy me terribly, but I'm hoping (perhaps uselessly) that NOW the story will get moving again.

...He seems to have gotten more arrogant, though. I just might end up liking Sai better (though, unfortunately, now we know for sure that Sai and Sasuke are not one and the same, as perfect as that would have been.)

[uc pseudonym]

Well, in Naruto you can always claim that people are just copying one another with illusion jutsu. I'm still holding onto my theory that Iruka killed Naruto and has been impersonating him since the first chapter.

Anyway... indeed, Sasuke is back. Not a bad re-entrance, compared to everything that might have been done. I do find myself vaguely curious as to what new skills he will have learned. Hopefully not just rip-offs of Orochimaru's snake jutsu.

[Aka-chan]

I can't see Sasuke being satisfied with only learning rip-offs; I'm sure he's insisted on learning something cool. Or, at least, I hope so.

I love your whacked-out theories, uc. ^__^

[Sai]

Sai's just wierd. He is so hard to read sometimes. Well not just sometimes, all the time. I'm also excited to see what new jutsus(jutsu's?) Sasuke has learned.

[Myoti]

Ack! I wanna see how Sasuke really looks... but what happened to his hair? O_o

[Mr. SmartyPants]

This has been bothering me for a bit, but how does Kakashi get the Magekyou sharingan? Doesn't he have to kill his best friend in order to get it? Or did he get it through some sort of loophole

And Sai's a total weirdo lol

[Sai]

You can find how Kakashi got his sharingan in the kakashi gaiden (i think thats what it is called) chapters. He didn't kill his friend though, but that's when he came up with his motto "those who don't help their friends are worse than trash".

[uc pseudonym]

I'm also excited to see what new jutsus(jutsu's?) Sasuke has learned

I think jutsu is also the plural form of the noun, but I'm not sure.

I love your whacked-out theories, uc. ^__^

Thank you. Speaking of that, you'll note the other boy in Sai's book has blond hair... I now put forth that he is Naruto, and that Sai just thought he was dead and didn't recognize him. That, or because Naruto was used as the seal for the demon fox he is metaphorically dead to Sai.

That or the Fourth Hokage. Because you can't have a stupid fan-theory without him somewhere.

This has been bothering me for a bit, but how does Kakashi get the Magekyou sharingan? Doesn't he have to kill his best friend in order to get it? Or did he get it through some sort of loophole

I've always thought this was one of two things:
1) Because his best friend died that counts, or
2) This fact should be indicative of a loophole.

Either way, I think it is safe to assume Sasuke will be getting it via some kind of loophole. And in actuality that makes sense, because it seems that the emotional trauma is what causes the change, and the manga allows for plenty of angst.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

it seems that the emotional trauma is what causes the change, and the manga allows for plenty of angst.

That seems to be the most logical answer

I think it is safe to assume Sasuke will be getting it via some kind of loophole.

Does Sasuke think that Naruto is dead? Or does he know that he is alive? I read somewhere that somebody let the other person win during the Sasuke/Naruto battle. But I haven't been able to confirm that.

Was Itachi told how to activate the Mangekyou? Or was it just all the trauma/evil-feelings from killing his own friend that he told Sasuke to hill his own best friend?

You can find how Kakashi got his sharingan in the kakashi gaiden (i think thats what it is called) chapters. He didn't kill his friend though, but that's when he came up with his motto "those who don't help their friends are worse than trash".

Oh I know, I read it. Obito gives it to him as a graduation present. He was going to die anyway and Kakashi got a cut on his eye. I was asking how he got the Mangekyou Sharingan.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I remember. Sasuke was saying that he didn't want to use Itachi's methods. Rather his own methods via Orochimaru

[Myoti]

I think jutsu is also the plural form of the noun, but I'm not sure.

It is. In Japanese, singular and plural are the typically the same (though if you need to specify something being plural, you can add "-tachi", I believe).

And I sorta thought Kakashi's Mangekyou was his own specialize version he created or something. o_O

[uc pseudonym]

Does Sasuke think that Naruto is dead? Or does he know that he is alive? I read somewhere that somebody let the other person win during the Sasuke/Naruto battle. But I haven't been able to confirm that.

I don't see how Sasuke could think Naruto is dead. Also, while I wouldn't say that Naruto "let" Sasuke win, it was shown that the entire battle he hadn't been aiming to kill, but instead to scratch his forehead protector (having to do with their conversation beforehand). So the true result of their final attack is unknown.

Was Itachi told how to activate the Mangekyou? Or was it just all the trauma/evil-feelings from killing his own friend that he told Sasuke to hill his own best friend?

He definitely knows, but we don't know why. It is possible that someone told him how (the leader of Akatsuki, perhaps?) or that he figured it out on his own.

And I sorta thought Kakashi's Mangekyou was his own specialize version he created or something. o_O

No, it definitely changed into the version Itachi used, we just don't know exactly how. Most of the information on this subject is back in the Kakashi vs Itachi battle.

[Myoti]

No, it definitely changed into the version Itachi used, we just don't know exactly how. Most of the information on this subject is back in the Kakashi vs Itachi battle.

Hm... I guess I didn't pay much attention to the way Itachi's Sharingan looked then. >_>

[uc pseudonym]

Actually, it does look slightly similar. Observe the link (the information pertaining to this is midway down the page):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naruto_kekkei_genkai

[Mr. SmartyPants]

In the present, there are only two known people who can use the Mangekyō Sharingan; Uchiha Itachi and, newly introduced, Hatake Kakashi, though he might have developed it another way...

...The appearance of the pupil and tomoe differ from that of Itachi's. Before this was shown, it was thought that one had to have Uchiha blood and had to kill their best friend to acquire the Mangekyō Sharingan. Kakashi is not an Uchiha, and he stated long before developing his Mangekyō Sharingan that everyone close to him was already dead.

Very good info. Wikipedia is the best

[Sai]

Has anybody yet suggested that Naruto is the Fourth's Son? I didn't read through all the posts so sorry if someone already said that. It would then make 1/2 sense why Naruto didn't have parents. Maybe his mom would have then blamed him for the fourth's death. Also the new team leader (forget his name), said Naruto had strong power not relating to the Kyuubi, maybe that is where it comes from.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I assumed this since the beginning actually XD. Yandaime might of done the "sealing thingy" on naruto and sacrified himself. Much like Sandaime did with Orochimaru.

Heres a cool speculation. What if Yandaime was the leader of Akatsuki?

[Sai]

That would really be bad. Wikipedia said Yandaime did do the seal on Naruto. Wikipedia also said the Itachi refered to Naruto as Yandaime's legacy in the Itachi vs. Kakashi battle.

[uc pseudonym]

Has anybody yet suggested that Naruto is the Fourth's Son?

Heres a cool speculation. What if Yandaime was the leader of Akatsuki?

Ah, these two classic theories. They haven't been discussed in this thread, no, but I'm sure they have been mentioned at some point.

Personally, I maintain neutrality on both subjects. It would be an easy narrative step for Naruto to eventually be called the Fourth Hokage's son, and it would make sense that Yandaime wouldn't just subject some random child to that. Of course, that does bring up the mother question.

As for the 4th being the leader of Akatsuki... I'm pretty sure that this theory developed because his silhouette looks similar. If I saw this I'd be somewhat surprised, simply because it doesn't make a great deal of sense. Though you could say that by "sacrificing his life" to stop the fox demon he was actually just trying to capture its power and fall from public view in one move; that would put a rather dark tone on the entire story.