Gavin

[quote name='Magus'][FONT=franklin gothic medium][COLOR=darkred]I'm more intrigued about Naruto meeting up with Bee. Kind of wondering how that's going to turn out. Give or take, I don't like Kisame's position here if he actually interfere's with the both of them. 2 Jinny's at once is a scary situation to find oneself in.[/COLOR][/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]Nahh, he'll get killed by an epic Triple Lariat this time.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Lawliet']There needs to be a list released of how strong each person is, or someone needs to make one... but that'll never happen.[/quote] [SIZE=1]Problem is that "power levels" for the lack of a better word don't seem to stay consistent in Bleach. The one you brought up is pretty glaring, but to be honest the worst one for me is Yammy/Byakuya/Kenpachi where Ichigo beat the latter two in combat and couldn't even wound Yammy after his release.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Calibri]I think you might want to call it Sign Language because on the internet ASL translates to age/sex/location. ._.[/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]I eventually just gave up and wiki'd it.[/SIZE]

[quote name='Ikillion'][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS]http://www.gurren-lagann.net/gurrepala2/ [COLOR=#ededed]K-ON s2 sux[/COLOR] [/FONT][/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1] Sounds interesting. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I figured it was Izuna myself the moment I read about it in the spoilers. We know Madara has some kind of physical body given there is actually a face behind his mask and given Edo Tensei actually resurrects the soul rather than the body it can't be him either. I'm actually kind of intrigued at the idea of Naruto mastering the use of the Kyuubi chakra, but more so happy that Kishi seems prepared to go back and actually acknowledge that just because Naruto doesn't want to use the Kyuubi's chakra in battle any more doesn't prevent him from being a Jinchuuriki and it is time he faced up to his responsibility of being the host of the most powerful tailed beast since the Juubi. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Heh if you think that's bad, I toss out posts like that pretty regulars in the Jedi Knight forum of the SWTOR boards. I consider OB kind of my rest boards by comparison. On the topic of Gin's bankai, you have to love the name "God Slayer Spear" instantly causing fanboys to assume Gin is going to backstab and finish off Aizen due to his proclamation of godhood. I actually found this chapter quite good for characterisation, Ichigo has apparently become a very skill swordsman if he's able to read the intentions of his opponents from just their sword moments. The fact he could read nothing from Gin is unsurprisingly really, dollars to donuts nobody but Gin knows who the real Gin is. The fact he opened his eyes twice in this chapter, which is pretty much half of the amount of times he's ever opened his eyes is also cool. Looking forward to next week. Also Aizen's kidou attack, God damn. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=Black][FONT=Verdana]Aside from English I studied Irish and French in school, my Irish was and remains pretty terrible (despite learning it since I was about 4) but my French was supposedly quite good however a lack of practice over the last two years since I finished high school has caused it to fade somewhat. My current university degree is a Bachelors of Business with Japanese and I'm nearing the end of my second year of study though to be honest my written Japanese is probably significantly weaker than my spoken Japanese. I speak a little Italian, Spanish and Turkish too, mostly taken from travel books before I go on holiday as I like to be able to communicate even just slightly in the native tongue, in case the shop owners English isn't very good.[/FONT] [/COLOR][/SIZE][quote name='Miss Anonymous']皆様、こたえを書いてくれてありがとう。:catgirl:[/quote] [SIZE=1][COLOR=Black][FONT=Verdana] どういたしまして.[/FONT] [/COLOR][/SIZE]

[quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Ichigo has always had an enormous amount of Reiatsu, as evinced in the abnormally large size of his normal Zanpakutou. If you recall, Rukia herself stated that she'd never seen a Zanpakutou that large before.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] True but Urahara stated as he was carving Ichigo's sword into pieces, and I think Renji said something similar, that Ichigo's sword is "Just big. There's no spiritual power in it. It's just a fluffy and swollen object in the shape of a sword. That's why it breaks up so easily like that." We know from Kenpachi that when two zanpakutous collide, it weaker one gets cut through, so evidently Ichigo's normal output of reiatsu back then was lower than Urahara's and Byakuya's (even though the latter's power was sealed to a fifth of normal). Equally Isshin when fighting Grand Fisher in his Arrancar form states that all Shinigami of captain class would be swinging around skyscraper sized zanpakutou's if they weren't able to properly control their output. Like Grand Fisher, Ichigo initially has little or no control over his reiatsu output which results in a large sword which is cut through very easily by stronger, more condensed swords. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]This is also the reason why he is unable to seal his sword once more. It is not so much a matter of he has MOAR MOAR MOAR Reiatsu, but that he *still* lacks the fundamental control necessary to seal it. To put it one way, Yamamoto's sword is almost always in its sealed state, and Yamamoto is not lacking in Reiatsu at all.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] That's exactly what I meant when I said it, like Zaraki (and apparently all full-release users) Ichigo lacks the control over his large reiatsu output to be able to properly seal his sword. Yamamoto very likely has/had a stronger reiatsu than Ichigo and yet was able to seal the vast majority of his power into a normal sealed sword. It feeds back into Isshin's point to Grand Fisher, you cannot judge a Shinigami (or any spiritual being) by the size of their zanpakutou. I think the problem of judging a Shinigami's growth based on his zanpakutou's sealed form is that we know a zanpakutou and Shinigami (and inner Hollow) are all essentially the same being, thus the more of their zanpakutou's power they are able to bring out (such as Ichigo did against Zaraki) is actually just them being able to reach further into their own well of power. Thus bankai is a zanpakutou's power fully released, or in actuality, it is a Shinigami's power fully released for combat. The problem comes, as Hitsugaya points out because of his immature bankai, that bankai uses far, far more spiritual energy than a sealed sword or shikai therefore a Shinigami can only maintain that form for so longer before their internal battery has to recharge and they're forced to lower their reiatsu output again. Essentially it's still all always been their power used, the problem comes with maintaining that output level. As a Shinigami gets stronger, their ability to maintain their bankai becomes better. For Ichigo these seems more demonstrated by the length of time he's able to use his Hollow powers before his mask shatters. It's sort of the same for Arrancar, they seal the majority of their power into their zanpakutous to be released when they need it for combat which enables them to likely better conserve their power, or go without consuming for power as Yammy does. I think we're supposed to view shikai and resurreccion, and bankai and segunda etapa the same way. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]By switching into Bankai, the Zanpakutou essentially *forces* Ichigo's reiatsu to become more focused, easier to use, and overall just brings Ichigo's weakest area up to par. Even if he is operating on the same level of reiatsu, the amount of reiatsu he can effectively use at once, and the efficiency at which he uses it, is increased *entirely* due to his bankai state. There is a reason he cannot reach the same speeds in shikai as he can in bankai. There is a reason why his Getsuga Tenshou is more powerful in his bankai state.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black] That may be true, but when fighting against Grimmjow the first time, Grimmjow directly asks, having fought Ichigo using shikai and then after he switches to bankai (and Grimmjow is able to bare-hand Ichigo's sword at this point) is increasing his speed all his bankai does ? Maybe this was just a jibe of course, as when he's fighting Dordonii Ichigo can't cut him with his shikai but manages to do so with his bankai. That for me is where the Kenpachi's power-up problem comes from, he's able to cut Kenpachi with his shikai, then can't cut Grimmjow with his bankai, then Kenpachi is able to cut Nnoitra initially with the same level of power he was supposedly using against Ichigo. Finishing Nnoitra off after he uses his resurreccion required kendo and to be honest given he nearly died against Ichigo I can't imagine why he didn't use it there too. I had a theory a while back that Hollowification actually weakened Ichigo as some of his reiatsu was going towards suppressing his Hollow on an unconscious level and the effective leap he made by mastering his mask was in part that reiatsu being used in a different manner along with the Hollow reiatsu. I think that better explains why the captains had such little trouble with the Espada when Ichigo had very obvious difficulty. [/COLOR][/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]A "cleaver" shikai is probably the best form for Ichigo's fighting style and personality.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black] Maybe, but if you compare the way Ichigo fights with his daito in bankai as compared to the cleaver in shikai, I imagine a daito shikai or regular katana might suite him better. To be honest I thought the only one who looks in any way comfortable using that cleaver is Hollow Ichigo.[/COLOR] [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]I am also skeptical about Unohana stating that Ichigo's base reiatsu has grown to be twice that of a regular captain. It feels more like a ploy by Kubo to simply show off Ichigo's prowess in a sort of... non-abrupt way. It's much easier to have Ichigo give that explanation and Unohana say "what? But he's already *this* powerful..." than to have Ichigo say "Oh man, I'm only at about twenty percent of my power level, think you can patch me up?"[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black] It was somewhat contrived yes, but at the same time I see no reason for Ichigo to claim his reiatsu was only at half its normal level if it wasn't and the mistake was Unohana's for assuming just because Ichigo was outputting a captain level reiatsu that that was his normal level. I think the most likely cause for this was Unohana had seen Ichigo's reiatsu level in Soul Society and it was roughly the same, maybe a bit higher than what it was after she encountered him again in Hueco Mundo. Unohana has always shown to be a rather sharp mind so her making a simple like that doesn't really make sense. [/COLOR][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]But is Ichigo really reaching his potential? To be 100% honest, I vastly prefer Hollow Ichigo to Ichigo, and it has been shown time and time again that Hollow Ichigo is far more skilled than Ichigo in all areas. [/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]They share they same body and base reiatsu, it's just that one of them knows how to use it to more effect.[/quote] I agree actually that Ichigo hasn't come anywhere near reaching his full potential yet, I think the reason Hollow Ichigo demonstrates such proficiency with Zangetsu is the same reason Zangetsu himself is able to, both somehow have supremely intimate knowledge of the zanpakutou and its abilities. Zangetsu like all zanpakutou understand and have full access to their own powers at creation. Hollow Ichigo and Zangetsu have both shown they're merely parts of one another at different times. The differences comes in that Hollow Ichigo seems reliant on Ichigo himself reaching higher levels of power with the zanpakutou (like bankai) before he too can use it. Personally I do love watching Hollow Ichigo fight out of how interesting a style it is. [/COLOR][/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]And, yet, Shinigami don't exactly reincarnate into humans again, do they? Just when does a soul in Soul Society reincarnate at all? What would happen if the shinigami's natural enemy, hollows, were to die off? Would the number of shinigami grow until the very balance of souls tilted? Hollows are a natural part of existence, just as natural disasters are. Things that may seem destructive are actually very important.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1]Based on what Urahara said about the balance between worlds, when Shinigami die it makes sense that they, like regular souls in Soul Society, are reincarnated back to the real world. We know most souls naturally go to Soul Society, only certain ones which require konso, and then Hollows require purification. Otherwise we're left asking exactly what happens to those souls that "die" in Soul Society (Byakuya's parents, Hisana, Kira's parents). [/SIZE][SIZE=1] In comparison to Hollows though there seem to be considerably less Shinigami, as far as we know the Gotei 13, the Omnitsukidou, the Kidou Corps and the Academy make up the entirety of the Shinigami forces and I would consider that to be probably at max no more than a few thousand overall. By comparison we know that Grimmjow's group alone has consumed supposedly three thousand other Hollows (which meant more than 3,000 individual souls) in their quest to become Vasto Lordes, and that Aaroniero consumed over 30,000. Hollows may indeed evolve naturally, but their inability to find equilibrium with their environment without outside intervention and culling makes them extremely detrimental to the balance. The fact is the balance doesn't occur between Hueco Mundo, the real world and Soul Society, instead just the latter two. They're an unbalancing factor like the Quincy. To be honest though, I've always wondered exactly how Soul Society is going to cope with the deaths of all the Espada and Arrancar, when those souls are reincarnated, if individually there are going to be tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands or even millions of souls at once, and that's not even counting Fura and the Menos he spawned. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Actually, I do believe all of the original Vizards served under Yamamoto either as captains or lieutenants. [/SIZE][SIZE=1]And, yes, that is what I am referring to -- he obviously felt he may have some reason to defend himself and, while it may be a stretch to say that he would try to exterminate them given the other circumstances, it is hard to say that he sympathizes with them. I simply don't see that fitting with Yamamoto's character, to be honest.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] Heh I went back and changed "captains" to "captains and officers" and forgot to change the four part, silly me. Maybe it is in the middle with Yamamoto, they're not Shinigami any more so he doesn't feel he owes them anything, and was just trying to ascertain if they had even more enemies to deal with. I think saying he'd have tried to exterminate them would take it a bit far. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]I do apologize if it appears I took pieces out of your argument to pick at, or brought them out of context (I thought I had addressed them with its original context in mind?) as that was never my intention.[/quote] [/SIZE][SIZE=1] No worries, having read this post I see now I was misunderstanding what you meant by growth so that's where the crossed wires are coming from. [quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]As for artificial growth, I consider activations of Shikai and Bankai, regardless of whether they belong to Ichigo or not, to be artificial as they are sustained only by external influences.[/SIZE][SIZE=1]We see this present in Kenpachi all of the time. His efficiency against Ichigo shot up considerably when he removed his eye patch (removing an accessory that reduced his power), and also when he began using standard Kenpo against Nnoitra (fighting with a more "advanced" form and technique). His internal power did not change -- Kenpachi always had that same amount of reiatsu, even before he removed the eye patch, and Kenpachi didn't suddenly get a huge dose of strength boost in the middle of the fight with Nnoitra even though he was suddenly able to strike with much more force.[/quote] [/SIZE][SIZE=1][COLOR=Black]OK fair enough, I've been considering a Shinigami/Quincy/Hollow/etc improvement in any area of their arsenal, such as attaining shikai or bankai to be growth or development but there's argument to be made for both ways of measuring. If we're arguing base reiatsu, such as demonstrated by Kenpachi I think there's still an argument to be made that Ichigo has still developed substantially. Like Kenpachi Ichigo's zanpakutou is in a constant shikai state because neither of them are capable of limiting their power that much to fully seal their swords. Equally we know Ichigo's bankai doesn't actually give him a power increase, it allows him to wield his cleaver-like zanpakutou in a much more combat-friendly daito form (admittedly this is a change of medium, Kenpachi is more fortunate his shikai lends itself well to sword-battles) as well as giving him a phenomenal speed boost. Therefore even in bankai, Ichigo is still only operating of the same level of reiatsu as he was before. When he first attempts to rescue Rukia (on the bridge) Ukitake comments that the unknown reiatsu is "clearly captain level" and both Byakuya and Rukia comment that Ichigo's power has increased substantially from when he was in the real world. Since his fight with Ulquiorra, perhaps even before, from Ichigo's discussion with Unohana we know that Ichigo's base reiatsu has grown to the point it is twice that of a regular captain at full power. [/COLOR][/SIZE][SIZE=1] In terms of skills, Ichigo has shown his flash-steps to be comparable to any other master, and his sword-fighting ability seems to have developed to the point he could fight fairly equally against a highly trained swordsman like Byakuya having previously swung his zanpakutou around in a rather ungainly fashion. His ability to manipulate his Getsuga Tenshou in both size, style and power (which would cover technique, knowledge and power) has also improved considerably since he learned the technique. Maybe I'm taking what you mean by growth up wrong again though. That and I've always firmly believed that Kenpachi got a power-up off-screen before Hueco Mundo if he was able to fight against Nnoitra when he could only draw with Ichigo in Soul Society, and Ichigo knew he had to exceed his previous strength to face Grimmjow. [/SIZE][SIZE=1][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]The problem arises in that you can't take individuals such as King Fisher or Shrieker to classify the whole. Aizen is a shinigami, and he has done some decidedly dastardly deeds. The shinigami were also not presented in a wholly pleasant light in the beginning of the series, either -- Byakuya is a shining example of somebody who performed "evil" actions even though he, himself, can hardly be called evil. Even if Neliel says, in her opinion, that hollows are monsters that need to be purified/destroyed, there are also hollows that believe that Shinigami shouldn't prosecute them so cruelly. Saying that because a human-sympathizer like Nel states hollows should be destroyed makes it true is similar to saying all Shinigami should try to fight "on equal ground" because Ichigo wanted Ulquiorra to "even it" after awakening from his Hollow Mk II state. I highly doubt any shinigami aside from Ichigo would even think about doing such an admittedly insane thing, as I'm fairly certain most "sane" Hollow would disagree with Nel's statement with great vigor.[/SIZE][SIZE=1][/quote] Those are fair points, I'm sure like Zommari there are Hollows who consider themselves merely another type of spiritual beings who have a right to exist despite the fact they are forced to feed on other spiritual being as part of their nature. I suppose it just boils down to the balance of souls between worlds again, much like the Quincy were destroyed because they were annihilating rather that purifying Hollows and therefore destroying the souls that the Hollow had consumed as well Hollows negatively affect the balance because they don't replace the souls they consume over their lifetime until they're purified. The would simply consume until there were no souls left other than Hollows, whether they are good or evil doesn't really factor into it in that case, it's a simple case of necessary preservation. I suppose I should say that I equally don't consider the Shinigami to be wholly good, it's clear they're willing to do morally wrong in what they view as being necessary. What occurred with the Vizards and Rukia merely reinforced that point. [/SIZE][SIZE=1][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]It appears we took different meanings from his question, then. If I recall, he asked if they had come for revenge and then moved his hand to his sword to prepare to bring it out if he had to. From his actions, it felt more like Yamamoto was trying to figure out if he had another enemy on the battlefield as opposed to sharing sympathy for their condition at the council's hand. Once they declared they were here for Ichigo or to kill Aizen, they were chalked up as a beneficial force and left at that. Yamamoto certainly couldn't exactly afford to be picky at this point, now, could he? Any other time and he would probably have tried to exterminate them.[/quote] Personally I think he only put his hand on his sword to defend himself if the Vizard proved to be out for revenge against the Shinigami forces present. I don't think it'd be mutually exclusive for him to feel that the Vizards were unduly sentenced to death by Central 46 while at the same time trying to work out if they were enemies or not. Remember that four of the Vizards had served as apparently loyal captains and officers under Yamamoto until they were experimented on by Aizen and forced to flee with Urahara. Given he seemingly forgave Ukitake and Kyouraku for standing against him over the execution, as well as accepting Ichigo's nature and working with him, I can't see him ordering the deaths of the Vizard unless they proved dangerous. [/SIZE] [SIZE=1][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]I honestly think this is coincidence. If you consider a Vizard to be a shinigami-hollow hybrid, then their reiatsu would be distinct from either hollows or shinigami. I think the main reason why Ichigo was unable to progress with the Vizards was because he had neither the resolve at the time, nor did he feel he was in any actual real danger. If you recall his training with Urahara, Urahara specifically put his life in danger, pushed his life to the edge, and I think that is something the Vizards neglected to do as they weren't aiming for that. Ichigo especially seems to gain more from battle than those around him, although this is hard to say since the higher ranking shinigami don't appear to fight for their life nearly as often as Ichigo has.[/quote] Fair enough it's just my theory for the moment with some circumstantial evidence to back it up. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Due to a slight accident my younger sister had at the weekend with my DS Lite I'm now in the market for a new Nintendo hand-held but am unfortunately having some problems in deciding whether or not to buy the new DSi XL over its smaller sibling, which is slightly cheaper. The XL's increased size supposedly preventing it from being very portable makes absolutely no difference to me as I do all my gaming at home during my free-time or on the train/bus where I'll have a backpack with me to store it when I'm done. Apparently all the internal software is the same as well so there's no deciding factor there. To be honest the only thing that concerns me about the DSi XL is its supposed pixel problem owing to the fact it has only the same screen resolution as the regular DSi. Some reviews I've read online say that it's not noticeable, others swear that unless you're extremely short-sighted, not wearing your glasses and holding the thing at arms length you can't help but notice. Has any OBer played both or know someone who has played both who can pass on first hand information ? [/SIZE]

[quote name='Korey'][FONT=Franklin Gothic Medium][SIZE=1][COLOR=Navy]Hey Gavin, where's part two of the Nifty Fifty? :catgirl:[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/quote] [SIZE=1]It'll be up when it's up Kor I'm afraid, can't give you a straighter answer than that for the moment. We've had some issues involved that are taking longer than expected to work out but I promise as soon as everything is ready it'll be up, I just can't say when that'll be for now because even I don't know. [/SIZE]

[quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Actually, Ishida has not developed his powers so quickly. He had to make use of an ancient artifact to artificially boost his level of power and then, after he misused it against Mayuri, had to train to get his *regular* powers back with a Master Quincy (his father). Even afterward, he hasn't really increased in *power* insomuch as he has increased the variety of artifact-esque weapons he possesses. Only his speed and analytical abilities have improved, really.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] I don't think that invalidates my point though, Ishida was able to get much, much stronger as a Quincy by using a Quincy artefact, which would've exposed him to a lot more Quincy reiatsu than he was used to. Up until that point Ishida was as far as he was aware the only Quincy alive which prevented him from training in any way other than solo. Initially when we meet Ishida he's apparently been a Quincy for several yet he's defeated rather handily by Renji, a Shinigami lieutenant whose power had been sealed to 1/5th it's norm for a trip into the spirit world. Later, having exposed himself to considerably more reiatsu via the glove (because Quincy fight by gathering energy rather than generating it) he was able to stand fairly evenly for a few minutes with a captain before releasing the seal on the glove and being able to access considerably more spiritual energy than he had before. I don't think a Quincy using an artefact is any more of an artificial boost than a Shinigami using their shikai or bankai. I think a better example though comes from when Ishida lost his power and had to retrain from scratch with his father. Admittedly knowing all that he has to relearn made the process quicker but he is still significantly more power than he was before he lost his power with the exception of when he broke the glove as shown by the fact he was able to fight and beat one of the Privaron who are supposedly captain class enemies. The fact he has a wider array of tools/weapons at his display is again no different in terms of how a Quincy becomes stronger than a Shinigami learning the likes of kidou or shunpo. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Comparatively, however, I would say that he didn't really achieve any upgrade of note until he went to Hueco Mundo, which really wasn't due to training at all, but to the unique root of his power.[/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1] Again that was exactly my point, Chad developed his powers initially fighting a Hollow and was only able to augment that power by using his own life-force. In Hueco Mundo he directly states his power was only able to grow, due to its Hollow origins, by fighting other Hollows and the power-boost went from Chad not being fast enough to see D-Roy punch to be able to use a Sonido-variant to keep up with one of the Privaron, from being defeated by a back-hand from Yammy to be able to tank Gantembainne's strongest attack with one hand. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Orihime has seen little to no growth at all, and her power is based upon "willpower". In order to improve, she has to hold the desires the fairies represent -- the desire to heal, the desire to protect, and the desire to kill. Everything is based on her personal emotions and, since she has yet to really find a backbone, her growth is stunted heavily. As for her abilities, however, they came like that without any training necessary. She was always able to "heal" (which is actually reversing time, if I recall, which allows her to heal even body parts that no longer exist). She never needed to "train" in the first place except to figure out how to call the fairies forth or to steel her heart for what she has to do.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1]The problem with arguing about Orihime is that her powers, and her reiatsu are for all intents and purposes unique, so she's entirely reliant on solo training and her willpower to develop and her powers have developed if you look at the fact: - It took her originally three days to reverse the damage to Jidanbou's arm. - It took her only a few hours to reverse the damage Ichigo had taken against Byakuya and Aizen. - Was apparently able to completely reverse Ichigo's damaged arm after his fight with Grimmjow in a single touch without even using her Shun-Shun-Rikka. - Reversed Grimmjow's lost arm in a few seconds. - She resurrected Menoly from practically nothing in only a few minutes. - She resurrected Ichigo to full-health in what appeared to be even less time when Ulquiorra used him as a pin-cushion. - Was able to block one of Ulquiorra's sword attacks with her shield where previously Yammy had broken it with a single finger. So either her will has become considerably stronger over the course of the manga, or she's achieved a base-level of rejection she can call on regardless which has developed. Either way, it points to the fact her powers have developed beyond their original level. Admittedly, where Ichigo is involved her will to act seems to either disappear or sky-rocket, but her level of power demonstrated on Jindabou, Grimmjow and Menoly gives us a sort of base indication. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]His "growth" has been largely superficial owing to his increasing repertoire of special moves ("power-ups") and his evolving hollow state. There has been *some* marked progress in terms of abilities and power, but the biggest difference between Initial Ichigo and Current Ichigo is his Bankai and Hollow form and, possibly, self-control, as opposed to a sheer difference in reiatsu level. Which means that, in his eighteen months, he has basically learned how to tap into what was already present inside of him as opposed to improving what is there, as members of Soul Society typically have to do. It is no surprise that his "growth" exceeds how fast the other Shinigami grow, as they had to actually improve themselves and increase their power instead of simply learning how to use it. It is similar to comparing teaching an already very physically fit person the correct way to fight to a person who is not fit at all trying to bulk up.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] That's a slightly unfair argument to make, I mean you're saying Ichigo has only ever been learning to tap further into the huge well of reiatsu he possesses all along but other Shinigami definitely do this and have to achieve their power through just graft ? There's absolutely no proof that other Shinigami don't simply learn to tap further and further into the depths of their own power through training. In fact as I recall Byakuya states that nobles are born with a higher reiatsu level in comparison to commoners. The fact that Ichigo's "well" of power runs so deep by comparison to other Shinigami shouldn't make the fact his training causes him to become much stronger by comparison any less valid. Other Shinigami train to use shunpo, and Ichigo despite his poor reiatsu control was able to master the art (Byakuya states he's mastered it) in only three days while mastering his bankai as well, a training which Zangetsu admits could kill him in the process. [/SIZE][SIZE=1] Aizen is directly interested in Ichigo, he calls him the perfect material so there must be something unique about his development which Aizen hasn't seen in anyone else he'd be able to access more easily, that causes him to be so interested. A huge reiatsu reserve could be Yamamoto, the ability to quickly master the Shinigami arts could've been Hitsugaya, Byakuya or Renji. I mean really, calling his Hollow powers, shikai and bankai "power-ups" rather than growth means that every Shinigami/Vizard who's achieved them has just "got a power-up" rather than displayed any growth, which to be honest is silly and disingenuous. We know that Shinigami can only achieve shikai by training and communicating with their sword, we know that they can only achieve bankai by materialising their zanpakutou and defeating it, the can only achieve stable Hollow powers by defeating their inner hollow. It's not as if Ichigo just woke up one morning and was able to do all these things, he has trained to achieve them. All that said, you've taken my points out of context. I was making the argument that it appears over the course of the manga that facing a similar type of reiatsu to one's own increases one's growth and development. If you want to refute that, refute that, please don't just pick at segments out of my argument and then take them out of context Rune. [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Once again, I must bring up the statement that Hollows do not eat souls because they are hungry, but to help cover the pain they are feeling within themselves. A Hollow that is hungry is in pain, for the most part. I see hidden tragedies in hollows. Even though their current actions might be destructive, I sympathize with them and the actions that would make their once human soul loathe themselves.[/SIZE][/quote][SIZE=1] I never said anything about their need to feed. Grand Fisher and Shrieker were genuinely evil beings who did evil things because it seemed to amuse them. If we take other Hollows who seem to act like wild-animals hunting for food I suppose there's an argument to be made that they're ultimately tragic creatures. In the end however, and Neliel herself admits this, they're monsters that need to be destroyed/purified [/SIZE][quote name='Rune'][SIZE=1]Interestingly enough, the Vizards were "to be dealt with as hollows" even though *they* also did not seek out those abilities, either. It makes me wonder just how long ago Aizen put the council into his pocket and whether he was the one who actually forced Urahara's banishment.[/SIZE][/quote] [SIZE=1]Maybe, or maybe Aizen had to continue to act in the same manner that Central 46 had acted when he ordered Rukia's execution so as not to have them seem to be acting strange. Based on what we've seen of Central 46 they seem to be a pretty uninterested in extenuating circumstances in the enforcement of the law, so when Yamamoto came to direct power after their execution he was able to make the decision. Likewise he asked Shinji if they'd come for revenge, he obviously felt they'd something to be vengeful about, which hints he disagreed with their execution orders and he seemed to trust the Vizard to fight with the Shinigami against Aizen and the Arrancar even if they weren't fighting for Soul Society but rather Ichigo.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]If that was the case, then there was absolutely no need to have that in the form of a "cliff-hanger". Since cliff-hangers don't exist inside the Bleach universe (I'm pretty sure Ichigo didn't go "I'm half what, Aizen?!" for the week afterward), I am going to assume it was meant for the readers. There's nothing new to see here, though -- it's outdated information we received a long, long time ago. I will begrudgingly admit that there are far worse ways to transition into chapters, and that used in that way, I don't have as great a problem with it, though it still irritates me since I had my hopes up.[/quote][/SIZE][SIZE=1] To be fair, I think the cliff-hanger for us was supposed to be Isshin showing up to the fight and the flubbing of the line just threw things completely out of whack in regard to what the cliff-hanger was supposed to be. Essentially Ichigo got the reveal his father is a Shinigami and we got the reveal that Isshin is fighting now. [quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]The thing is is that I *don't* believe Ichigo is special because he's part human. I am hoping beyond hope that that is also the direction Kubo is *not* going with this revelation, because while I can accept that somebody like Ichigo can do all of these things that took everybody else forever to do, having the explanation be "because you are human" just... it doesn't sit well. Heck, Ichigo even has to abandon his human body just to use his Shinigami abilities -- the only way I can imagine being a human would allow Ichigo to grow at such rates is if it was somehow explained that the souls that enter Soul Society do not grow in power, or have stunted growth, compared to the growth of souls inhabiting a living body. Even this explanation would be a long stretch to me, and would have to be presented very well for me to accept it. It simply doesn't take into consideration a good deal of factors.[/quote] I'd say you had a point Rune if not for the fact we have other human characters in the series who have displayed phenomenal growth levels over the course of the series. Ishida and Chad for instance in roughly the same space of time that Ichigo has developed into an elite captain class combatant have also reached a state where they can fight evenly with low-captain class opponents. Orihime's powers are comparable to the strongest healing techniques Soul Society can offer. Then you have Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki who have yet to be seen since their training begin. Sure, according to Urahara Chad and Inoue (and likely Tatsuki and co.) only developed powers from being near Ichigo when he was spilling out reiatsu unconsciously but that doesn't come anywhere near explaining the Quincy who were regular human souls who developed (if we take Ryuken as an example) the ability to become comparably powerful to Shinigami in considerably less time. I think saying that humans are special was wrong of me, I think it more so has to do with living souls (for the lack of a better term) who've been able to access their own reiatsu and develop it. Under those circumstances it seems they're able to grow in power much more quickly than dead souls like Shinigami or Hollows. [/SIZE] [SIZE=1] [quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]I believe he's gotten to be as strong as he is thanks to his constant fighting against strong opponents, which is, really, Aizen's doing. It can be argued that Abarai Renji attained his Bankai in much the same way -- from his fight with Ichigo and his upcoming fight with Byakuya. Even when Ichigo was trying to get his Bankai, he was fighting against his pseudo Zanpakuto spirit. For his Hollow powers, against his inner hollow. I also believe it is entirely possible that a good deal of Ichigo's growth can be attributed to Isshin's abilities. If you recall, all of Ichigo's entire family is able to see spirits in some manner, even though they are not full-blown Shinigami. Ichigo's sealed state Zanpakuto was also incredibly large owing to his already rather sizable spiritual pressure (with lack of control). These were already inherent within him thanks to, I believe, the nature of his father. His subsequent growth is not so great a surprise, considering that he was probably as powerful as, at least, a fifth or fourth seat upon taking Rukia's power.[/SIZE][SIZE=1][/quote] [/SIZE] [SIZE=1] That's a fair point, I think Urahara mentioned back when Ichigo was first retraining as a Shinigami that when souls are placed in danger they become stronger we know that that Aizen has been intentionally pitting Ichigo against stronger and stronger opponents to make him stronger. Again though I think the boils back to my previous point about living souls, we've seen equally that Chad only developed similarly under his training with Renji but ultimately became much more powerful when fighting with Hollows because of their similar nature to himself. Ishida developed while training with his father. I think maybe it might be more accurate (and feel free to disagree with me here) that based on what we've seen so far, development occurs more quickly when fighting a similar type of reiatsu. We saw Ichigo develop quickly when fighting other Shinigami, but his early encounters with Grimmjow ended in very obvious defeat but as Ichigo began to gain control and develop his Hollow powers through fighting other Hollows (Shinji comments that Ichigo isn't developing by training with the Vizards) until ultimately he closes the gap with Grimmjow and then surpasses his power and the same thing along with further evolution for Ichigo occurs against Ulquiorra. I think Grimmjow even asks Ichigo directly if he became stronger from training, or just fighting. It's definitely fair to say that obviously Isshin has had a direct effect on Ichigo's potential. Byakuya states that the nobles tend to produce powerful Shinigami because of their more powerful reiatsu which is why Ichigo is much more powerful than Chad or Ishida in the same training period, because he inherited a powerful Shinigami reiatsu potential from his father but I think his development speed hasn't come from that or at least not all of it, otherwise Aizen should be equally interested in Shinigami like Byakuya who come from powerful lineages as well. I think Aizen is so interested in Ichigo because he's the perfect combination, he's a living soul (very quick development) who's the son of a very powerful Shinigami (will likely also be a very powerful Shinigami) who has also developed Hollow powers through regaining his Shinigami powers (hybridisation). I can definitely empathise that it's not as interesting from a story point of view that Ichigo isn't half Shinigami half Hollow, but based on the evidence in the manga so far, it makes sense. [quote name='Rune'][/SIZE][SIZE=1]It would make for an interesting psychological blow to Ichigo and would most likely push the manga into another interesting direction. How would *any* of the Shinigami in Soul Society feel if they learned that Ichigo is in fact a spawn of the very things they view as ultimate evil, while he has also been the one to bail them out of tough times at crucial moments? How would Ichigo's opinion of his father and mother change in response to this? It's all very interesting, and, once again, perhaps I am simply thrusting my own preferences into the future of the manga with wishful thinking. I cannot, however, consider hollows to be the ultimate enemy, no matter what action they may take. Considering that I managed to see a few hollows and how they were born (the baker and his mother, Orihime and her brother) as well as their actions and the distorted views which made them behave in such a way, I simply can't view any run-of-the-mill hollow as a possible tragic story and victim of circumstances. There must be *some* reason why shinigami do not appreciate the quincies' view of hollow removal (complete destruction as opposed to purification), but I also feel that Kubo himself is somewhat pushing his old plot device aside in favor of another, so it may be an unfortunate moot point.[/quote][/SIZE][SIZE=1] Certainly it would've been a very interesting (although maybe a bit obvious) twist for the manga. I think the thing about it though is that Hollows are only initially tragic characters, and even then it only applies to some of them. When they succumb to their monstrous nature (their loss of a heart which seems to be reason, empathy and morality) and embrace it, as Grand Fisher and most other Hollows seem to do, I think it's quite hard to view them as tragic. Sora was tragic because he was turned against his will into a Hollow. The thing is that Ichigo for all his camaraderie with the Shinigami hasn't assimilated into the Shinigami culture, nor did he accept himself to be a Vizard when Shinji initially introduced him (nor has he ever referred to himself as Vizard). He seems to be on friendly terms with the Shinigami captains as peers but equally was comfortable with rescuing Orihime against Yamamoto's explicit orders. I think for the moment Ichigo is still a very independent character outside his own group. Komamura made it clear that Soul Society doesn't view Ichigo as a monster despite his part Hollow nature because he didn't seek out those powers for himself. Maybe the revelation Ichigo wasn't human at all might change that, but honestly at this point given all the fighting he has done for Soul Society I wouldn't see it happening. Ichigo was in the right morally trying to rescue Rukia, so even his conflict with them was their fault. Maybe it would change how Ichigo viewed himself and his parents, but I don't think so either. He's shown himself to not view Arrancar as monsters in the same way Soul Society views Hollows, and given his rapport with Nel I don't think he'd view his mother any worse than he already did. In fact Ichigo has always treated the Hollows he's spoken to as people rather than monsters, admittedly they're monsters he's had to defeat and purify but still not mindless monsters to be destroyed. I might but wrong of course. One thing I always wondered about was that when Zangetsu told Ichigo he had his own Shinigami powers, surely he wondered where they came from. And given his father never displayed any power, yet his mother died saving him from Grand Fisher (who ate children, not women in the manga) perhaps he thought she was the Shinigami he got his powers from. It's just a theory. The reason the Shinigami wiped out the Quincy was because they were destroying the balance of souls between the Soul Society and the human world. Every Hollow killed isn't just one soul, it could be dozens, hundreds, even more when you get into Menos territory. Apparently when you get to a certain level of imbalance there's no going back, and because souls reincarnate from Soul Society back to Earth it's pretty obvious why what the Quincy were doing couldn't be allowed to continue. Given Ishida is still killing with his bow perhaps he's either changed the way his bow works to purify rather than kill or that plot point has been dropped. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]*sighs* Reading up on One Piece has made me decide to continue reading the manga if only because some of the stuff sounds rather good. (I've also inadvertently spoiled several deaths for myself).[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Jedi Pain was indeed my favourite of the group as well.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I think the flubbing of the line really threw people as far as creating theories goes. We, the readers, have known Ichigo's full parentage since Isshin was revealed to be a Shinigami, the big reveal is supposed to be a huge surprise to Ichigo, not us. What we've been supposed to take out of Bleach for ages is that Ichigo is special because he's part human, he puts every one of Soul Society's geniuses and prodigies to shame. Hitsugaya is a prodigy because he attained bankai, mastered the Shinigami arts and became a captain in fifty years, Kyouraku and Ukitake talk about how one day he'll replace them as the top-tier captain. Ichigo has done all that in less than 18 months, there's something about the fact he's part human allows him to attain these level of proficiency and power in a fraction of the time it would take other geniuses. Even if Isshin was as powerful as Yama, and to be honest with the strength he's displaying at the minute (I think his "flick" to Aizen was actually the Level 1 Hadou [I]Shou[/I]) it's looking like it might be likely, that wouldn't explain how Ichigo is able to advance at the speed he has been advancing at. It seems, put simply that Shinigami/Human hybrids (although that begs the question of how something dead can mate with something living I'm thinking Urahara had a hand here) are much more powerful than purebreed Shinigami. I'm not really bothered that Masaki didn't turn out to be a Hollow, even if the Arrancar and Espada humanised them which is what Shinigamification is supposed to do, or at least give them back their reason they're still ultimately the bad-guys of the show. Maybe it's because outside of Stark and Ulquiorra I never cared for any of the Espada (I loathed Grimmjow and Nnoitra in particular) so the idea of legitimising their existence by proving that they could co-exist in their original forms with Shinigami didn't seem right to me. Ultimately how would Ichigo feel if he knew his mother was the gestalt of tens of thousands, if not more other souls [/SIZE][SIZE=1] (if she's was supposed to be a Vasto Lorde) [/SIZE][SIZE=1]she'd consumed over her lifetime? Neliel even though she has become a better person since becoming an Arrancar realises that she is ultimately still a monster. Aizen is interested in anything he views as capable of breaking through the limits of his power, originally he seemed to believe Hollowification was that road but given his comments on the Vizard and the fact he chose not to Hollowify himself but fuse with the Hougogkyu instead it seems that's not the only avenue he's been exploring. Perhaps since Ichigo he believes a part-human Shinigami who undergoes Hollowifcation is that limit breaker, or at least the path to pure hybridization. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hmm does indeed look like next week is going to be very interesting. I'm only hoping that if Gin ends up losing he has the good sense to flee rather than get killed, as I think every Bleach fan wants the fox to survive. Apparently Kubo flubbed the line last week, it was originally supposed to be "you are a human and a..." and shinigami was written accidentally, so no big mystery any more. Regarding Isshin, I still believe he's a former Royal Guardsman who got exiled, which would explain why Soul Society has never made mention of him (Yama was/is probably the only one alive who knew/knows him) and his name probably wasn't originally Kurosaki Isshin as aside from my own Shiba theory, he's surprised when Ryuken calls him "Kurosaki". Aizen knows about him...well because according to Kubo Aizen knows everything, so an exiled Royal Guard in the human realm isn't beyond his knowledge. The talk between Ichigo and Isshin was good, I've always tried to figure out how that would go down and to be honest I think Kubo probably handled it as well as it could be. Ichigo knows his father wants to explain stuff to him when things have settle down and is willing to wait for it. I guess it's only a matter of time before Karin and Yuzu develop their powers now. Also, major lulz at Isshin flicking Aizen through a building, people were going ZOMG when Shinji used Kyouka Suigetsu-lite to cut him and Isshin just blew that out the window...literally. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I don't think Kishi is necessarily bad at these downtime segments Magus, more so that he seems determined to show as much as possible at the same time. I would prefer we get full chapters dedicated to Konoha that actually go somewhere, rather than these split Akatsuki/Konoha ones that really start to do something and then have to wait a week to continue it. I actually think the reason Kishi had Kabuto ally himself with Akatsuki was to actually get him out of the way for a while (although that team is still tracking him) so we may be getting a Konoha-centric focus for a while, given Sasuke is down for upgrades and Madara on his own doesn't do much. As I said I didn't like that Kabuto is throwing his lot in with Madara because I think like Oro he should've been an independent operator, sometimes an ally, sometimes an enemy, he probably will be but as it is I'm not happy. Regarding the Second, I think we'll get bits and pieces about it rather than big story chunks like we have with the others, sort of the same way we've got info about the Fourth. The thing is the village was already established when he came to power, and he had to try to keep the peace with the Uchiha so I imagine that's where we might get more info about him. Makes me wonder if while Madara was fighting Hashirama, was Izuna fighting Tobirama. Edo Tensei would've probably been a rather handy jutsu fighting a Mangekyou. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Not a bad chapter, but nowhere near as epic feeling as Bleach this week. Yet another hint about "that jutsu" which if the Lensman Jutsu Race continues is probably going to give Naruto the ability to absorb all the other Bijuu into himself and become the reincarnation of the Rikudou Sennin, or something equally ridiculously overpowered to keep up with the EMS, maybe Eternal Sage Mode (ESM? Plot-senses tingling), who knows. Konoha seems prepared to mobilise for war, Karen can moan however she wants and here's hoping Ibiki tears her a new one if she fails to cooperate. Biggest disappointment for me though is that Kabuto is once again becoming someone's lackey, after all his talk of becoming his own boss, and even giving Madara cause for concern with his Edo Tensei mastery (which to be honest causes me to view the Second in an entirely different light, creepy bastard) he just decides, "I want to help Akatsuki". Epic Fail. I'm assuming he has some grand backstabbing plan, but I just don't like the idea it, along of course with Akatsuki having three S+ ninjas in the ranks now. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Hmm again another good point that I'd overlooked, my only concern is that when Hollows eat other Hollows, such as when Grimmjow and co. were stalking other Adjuchas and Menos before they became Arrancar it seems to be to increase their own power and evolve rather than to fill a void. Admittedly the reason give was their fear of reverting to a lesser form would render them permanently without sentience rather than a desire to evolve, but it does seem that Hollows of Menos class or above consume other souls for a different reason. The Vasto Lordes being the opposite of Shinigami evolutionary-wise is an interesting theory, as a platform they seem to be the only stable Hollow once in terms of power and personality although whether or not they need to feed is supposition for the minute, because we really don't know anything about them. The only thing that's throwing me on the consumption part is that when Yammy did his Gonzou in Karakura he spoke as if he was eating souls for sustenance as opposed to power, this probably feeds into his own unique evolution but it's still curious. On the spoiler side, it seems we're not going to learn what the second half of Ichigo's hybrid nature is this week. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1][URL="http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Kiss_Players_%28franchise%29"]The reason I stopped being a Transformers fan.[/URL][/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]That's a fair point with the hunger-trigger Rune, I'd actually completely forgotten about it. I was going to say that Shinigami are merely souls which gain control over their hunger and through controlling their energy are able to manifest a zanpakutou and other Shinigami abilities but are effectively still human souls where as a Hollow undergoes a distinct physical transformation on becoming Hollows which seem to be distinctly different from human souls. The problem with that theory is we've seen souls manifest zanpakutou without being Shinigami (Kenpachi) and Shinigami abilities are mostly just the control and moulding of their reiatsu for a specific purpose. Given Hollows also possess reiatsu, although it seems to be distinct from Shinigami reiatsu, perhaps I was wrong to call them separate species but are rather two distinct sub-species of souls whose differences are based on their ability to control their hunger and reiatsu, Shinigami attaining control of both where as Hollows are very much driven by their hunger and don't possess any great level of reiatsu control until the undergo Shinigamification or perhaps become Vasto Lordes (although that's speculation). Regarding why Isshin would be banished/exiled I've always believed he's the former head of the Shiba noble family and a Royal Guardsman but never come up with a concrete reason for his exile. If he did indeed father a child with a Hollow, Ichigo would be viewed as an abomination and that could very likely have lead to his exile/fleeing from Soul Society. As much as I don't like the idea, because it's so cliche it does make sense. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Ahhh, I missed these.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Firstly welcome to OB Rune, it's great to have another Bleach fanatic here. I think you've certainly made some interesting points, and yes obviously Ichigo's level of hybridisation goes beyond that of what I'm tentatively going to call 1st Generation Vizards like Shinji and go and is closer to Tousen's 2nd Generation level, although for the moment it appears Ichigo lacks Tousen's high-speed regeneration in just mask-form (but then Aizen did just taunt Ichigo with "you're stronger than this"). I agree there's something of a discrepancy regarding Ulquiorra's surprise regarding Ichigo's mask and when they first fought but not necessarily his ability to use cero when they fought on top of Las Nochas. It's actually not even that Grimmjow would've told anyone about Shinji's cero and mask (and I don't think he would've because he's so prideful and wouldn't want to admit being thoroughly whipped by Shinji) but that Ulquiorra himself seems to be watching, or at least near the location of the fight in order to drag him away. Ulquiorra's surprise above Las Nochas about what Ichigo has become is not entirely without merit, after all he and most of the other Espada (although Harribel is the only one to comment directly on it) assume that Ichigo is completely human rather than a hybrid Shinigami/whatever. Obviously he's right, a human is completely different both a Shinigami and a Hollow so it would seem odd enough he's able to use Shinigami powers and then to go on and effectively activate a ressurrecion while keeping his bankai from Shinigami-form would be surprising. His use of high-speed regeneration in Hollow-form isn't that surprising to us, but then again remember Ulquiorra is still thinking of him as a human (which given Ulquiorra's tactical acumen would seem strange). While obviously Ichigo being born half-Shinigami and half-Hollow would certainly make him a prime target as "material" for Aizen, I'm still having trouble accepting reproduction between the two, given physically and I extend this even to Vasto Lordes because just looking human-esque doesn't ensure they'll have reproductive organs in the appropriate place they're almost entirely different species. That said we know that Hollow's can naturally Shinigamify (the Privaron) so an Arrancar/Shinigami union isn't out of the question. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]I think he's outright lying when he says he couldn't have killed Sasuke in that fight. If he'd sent out a couple of shadow-clones to gather sage-chakra I don't think Madara's interference would've made any difference (and even then he had Kakashi to help keep him occupied). Killing Sasuke is just not part of Naruto's plan, nor was it ever I think. It was good to see some dissent among the Konoha teams, and yes Sakura should've been told "STFU!" given she was responsible for taking them out in the first place. If Naruto is going to become Hokage at some point, he needs to deal with those who disagree with his plans without just saying "leave it to me" and walking away. Hell the fact he's still a Genin surrounding by Chuunin and Jounin doesn't help. I'm actually somewhat intrigued as to what Sasuke's new eyes will look like, as there doesn't seem to be an obvious fusion between the two sets of eyes (Sasuke having a six-point MS after all) , although less happy he's getting another ridiculous power-up so soon after his last one. At least this may be the last we see of him for a while as he recovers and trains with his new EMS. Tsunade's return was somewhat unexpected, I'd been under the impression releasing all her chakra like that would've been fatal (seems to only affect poor Kakashi) or at least kept her in the coma permanently as a sort of "this is what it means to sacrifice yourself for the village" but whatever. [/SIZE]