Manga Naruto Manga [Warning: Spoilers]

[Kei]

[spoiler][size=1]You may have a point with that. I think that Sasuke has been trying to prove a point thus far with testing his powers: that you don't have to kill for the sole purpose of finding out how strong you are. He's bascially trying to prove that he's better than his brother by going that route. That it took me that long to catch on to that fact is pretty retarded on my part. XD

Anyway, taking that into account, he still may or may not kill Kabuto when it comes down to it. Like I've said, Kabuto is a badass mofo in his own right (you pretty much have to be to pull some crap like he did with both the ANBU and the Akatsuki). He could have a serious throwdown with Sasuke and manage to hold out for a decent amount of time if and when it came down to it. However, I suppose it all depends on Sasuke's "whims," if he's still alive. XD[/spoiler][/size]

[Raiyuu]

Is it confirmed that Itachi is [spoiler]blind[/spoiler]? I thought that was just bandied around by Kakashi as a [i]potential[/i] aftereffect of too much Mangekyou Sharingan.

The sidetext is likely misleading. It often is, in Jump. So there's also the possibility that [spoiler]both Sasuke and Orochimaru remain intact in some form. Though if it's true and only one has survived then it [i]has[/i] to be Sasuke, otherwise Naruto's entire reason for existing/fighting is negated[/spoiler].

[spoiler]I'm intrigued by the closeup on Orochimaru's severed hand, complete with Akatsuki ring. It'd be interesting if Sasuke's next move were to take the ring and join Akatsuki. Tobi seemed able to join just by finding Sasori's ring, so it's feasible, especially if he says "yo I killed the guy that betrayed you". That would bring him close to Itachi, allow him to prove to his brother that he's harder/better/faster/stronger, and also bring him into conflict with his old Konoha buddies.[/spoiler]

And I doubt he'll seek out [spoiler]Naruto as a means to obtaining Mangekyou Sharingan. If he wanted to obtain it that way he had a golden opportunity at the Falls. He even spelled it out for us: "I won't obtain it this way because then I'd just be doing what my no-good brother told me to and I'm better than that", or words to that effect. Kakashi's proven you can get it without Itachi's method, so perhaps Sasuke will go after him in an attempt to discover his method[/spoiler].

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray][spoiler]If Orochimaru just died within a span of two chapters, I hate Kishimoto. Am I the only one here boggled over how lame that would be?

I mean, hopefully this isn't what really happened.[/spoiler][/color]

[Jiazu]

hm.. IS he [spoiler]blind[/spoiler]? I'm not sure..

[spoiler]Anyway, as far as kabuto goes, he doesn't seem like the type who would decide that he had to kill sasuke (if he's still sasuke, of course) for some kind of revenge or something. And even if he does feel the need for revenge, he'd probably go about it in some sneaky sort of way, anyway. He may be badass, but he probably isn't better than sasuke, and he isn't the type to randomly throw his life away in a losing battle.

sasuke joining the akatsuki would certainly be interesting, though I'm not sure how sasuke would feel about their whole killing-off-jinchuuriki plot.. i suppose that at this point there isn't really much else for him to do, other than going after kakashi to find out how to obtain the mangekyo sharingan, or setting off on his own somewhere to train (even though "training" alone tends to be more random destruction than actual training..) But him joining the akatsuki wouldn't be just to prove that he's better than itachi, since after all, the whole point of all his training and whatnot is to be able to kill him to avenge the uchihas. Though i guess that wouldn't be the first instance of enemies joining a common cause in order to kill each other off eventually...

About orochimaru, even if he didn't manage to take over sasuke's body, there's no way he's out of the picture. That would be too easy. maybe he took over kabuto? just a random thought... or maybe he's in sasuke's body, but not in control of him? kinda like ichigo's hollow or something...[/spoiler]

[Kei]

[spoiler][size=1]At present, it is only confirmed that Itachi is in the process of going blind. During Kakashi's battle with him, Kakashi made a mention of it and Itachi confirmed it in his silence. I remember that chapter pretty vividly.

Anywho, you have a point in that Jump's preview text is incredibly misleading, Raiyuu. It is quite possible that Sasuke has Orochimaru trapped in his subconscious with the possibility of him being able to drive Sasuke insane (which would prove interesting).

As far as Sasuke joining the Akatsuki, I find that pretty unlikely. If anything, he'll try and defeat them to further test his power, saving Itachi for last. That's my assumption, anyway.[/spoiler][/size]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#0e1030][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Lunox][color=dimgray][spoiler]If Orochimaru just died within a span of two chapters, I hate Kishimoto. Am I the only one here boggled over how lame that would be?[/spoiler'][/color][/quote]

I agree but then again [spoiler]he already was weakened in his current body and since Sasuke took that time to go and attack I could see how its possible. Yet for someone with his reputation to be taken care of so easily really is displeasing.

Besides, I bet that the next chapter will be something that has absolutly nothing to do with this plot.[/spoiler][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Raiyuu]

[spoiler]Taken care of "so easily"? The Third bravely sacrificed himself to weaken Orochimaru enough that someone else could take him out. The Third and Sasuke: the most time-consuming tag-team in history.[/spoiler]

[KyuubiKhaos]

[I]TOO[/I] time consuming.

Still, [spoiler]as mentioned before, having Orochimaru die now would kill the entire story. Technically, Orochimaru [I]is[/I] the lead villain, and to have him killed in such a vague fashion? Anything BUT epic. He's still there, I can tell.

With Itachi going blind, will that serve as a problem concerning his strength?? I mean, will he be as strong as he was when he was able to see? Or will it greatly affect his ability to do....well, anything?

Does Sasuke even [B]know[/B] about Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan? Because then, I could understand him trying to chase after him...[/spoiler]

[Ikillion]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][SIZE=1][COLOR=#0e1030][quote name='Raiyuu][spoiler']Taken care of "so easily"? The Third bravely sacrificed himself to weaken Orochimaru enough that someone else could take him out. The Third and Sasuke: the most time-consuming tag-team in history.[/spoiler][/quote]

Really? I thought that ever since Orochimaru [spoiler]took on Genyuumaru's body he was able to move his arms (as we have seen him do before), as that was what the third was able to extract from him.[/spoiler][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Jiazu]

[COLOR=DarkRed]well... that was interesting, though not exactly unexpected...hehe.. Kabuto's face...
[/COLOR]
[spoiler]Was Orochimaru really the main villain? Yeah, he was important, but as far as Konoha goes, they were more concerned with the Akatsuki, weren't they? Anyway, Orochimaru being taken over by Sasuke doesn't kill the story. Naruto-tachi are after Sasuke, and Orochimaru was just a.. complication i guess you could say (albeit a dangerous one), and besides, the Akatsuki are still around, and they're more of a threat than Orochimaru was, since they're actually going after Naruto...

Mizugetsu... another one of Orochimaru's body candidates? Or one of his guinea pigs? Not that you can tell from like two pages, but....

And of course, can't forget to mention Naruto's rasen-shuriken... damn...
[/spoiler]

[Magus]

Ok, after reading these past few chapters of Naruto, I have to say that I've been growing more fond of Sasuke as of late. He's not up there with Itachi, but he's definately catching up. I swear, after reading 346, one would think Sasuke has already obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan. Well, ever since [spoiler]that encounter with Naruto for the 1st time[/spoiler], I've always thought he obtained it, but then again, Orochimaru did say that Sasuke's eyes are better than Itachi's. (Not the exact words, but "shrugs" It was something along those lines.)

[spoiler]So they say Orochimaru is dead, or Sasuke took over him.[/spoiler] Whatever the case is, I still don't think [spoiler]Orochimaru is dead. In some ways, I think there's going to be an internal conflict when Sasuke gets a run-in from either Itachi and / or Naruto.[/spoiler]

Anyways, I don't know why, [spoiler]but I think that guy at the end of the chapter resembles Kimimaro from the back.[/spoiler]

[eleanor]

[color=dimgray][spoiler]Orochimaru (better not be) isn't dead, he's probably lying dormant somewhere in Sasuke's mind, or where ever the hell he'd go. In any case, I agree with you. They'll probably be internal struggles...

I'm mostly still in shock that the battle was so quick. Perhaps Kishimoto will go back to it later when the conflicts between Sasuke and Orochimaru arise.

The mystery character [i]does[/i] look like Kimimaro, but if it is, I think Kishimoto is pushing it too far. With Orochimaru dying within a span of two chapters and wild rumors about Tobi being Obito, resurrecting Kimimaro when he was clearly crushed by Gaara would sort of push me off the cliff.

For now, the only white-haired character I can think of that we've seen earlier is Sai's brother.[/spoiler][/color]

[Ikillion]

[FONT=Trebuchet MS][COLOR=#0e1030][SIZE=1]I think its already been cleared that [spoiler]Orochimaru is still alive as he did succeed in the body transfer only sasuke was powerful enough to suppress him in his mind (well orochimaru's world but whatever), so its very plausible for him to come back in the end.

As far as I will say for Suigetsu, since Orochimaru is well... Orochimaru, he probably had a back up plan and made a clone out of Kimimaro just in case he would be unable to get Sasuke. (Hey he did it with the first after all, of course that had a very low success rate but he has probably learned since then).[/spoiler][/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

[Jiazu]

[spoiler]hmm.. I forgot about Sai's brother.. that would be interesting... and it's a good way to bring Sai into the plot more, instead of him just being that-guy-who's-in-team-7-instead-of-sasuke...
and no, Orochimaru isn't dead... that was made pretty clear.. yay for future inner conflicts!! maybe when Sasuke uses his curse mark again??[/spoiler]

[xmystic_silverx]

[COLOR=Sienna]Like Ikillion said [spoiler] I'm sure Orochimaru is still alive because well... he's Orochimaru. As much as I wanted Sasuke to kill him I don't believe that he did in that short amount of time. If there are internal conflicts I can only hope that Sasuke wins in the end.[/spoiler]

Did it made anyone else angry that [spoiler]Tsunade was being pretty strict about Naruto's new jutsu? He went through a lot to learn that! Doesn't it defeat the purpose of creating a new jutsu if you can't use it? I get the feeling that Naruto is going to find a way to use it without it hurting him in the process.[/spoiler]

I agree with you Jiazu. As much as I like seeing Sasuke I think there needs to be more of Sai. He's always just kinda "there". He needs more panels to himself XD[/color]

[Jiazu]

well, like orochimaru said to the 4th, there are kajillions of jutsu, and it would stand to reason that not all of them will be safe... take the sealing jutsu that the 3rd used on the kyuubi and the 4th used on orochimaru... that's not exactly the kind of jutsu that you just use whenever.. it's like a last resort. [spoiler]and that new jutsu isn't even what naruto was trying for. It was just a really kickass hey-look-what-i-discovered jutsu. he probably will come up with something... maybe have one of the clones do it instead?? then he's not sustaining any damage....[/spoiler]

[xmystic_silverx]

[quote name='Jiazu] [spoiler']and that new jutsu isn't even what naruto was trying for. It was just a really kickass hey-look-what-i-discovered jutsu. he probably will come up with something... maybe have one of the clones do it instead?? then he's not sustaining any damage....[/spoiler][/quote]

You're right, you're right. He'll come up with something.

BTW, did anyone read chapter 347? Heh, wow... a bit unexpected.

[Kei]

[size=1][spoiler]Kishimoto is made of win and victory for the Ichiraku scene. XD

Anyway, it seems interesting that Suigetsu was once a pupil of Zabuza's. Makes me wondering if any other ghosts from the Old Team 7's past will be rearing their heads again. It'll also be interesting to finally have a female antagonist again. :D[/size][/spoiler]

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#0e1030][SIZE=1][FONT=Trebuchet MS][quote name='Kei][size=1][spoiler]Kishimoto is made of win and victory for the Ichiraku scene. XD[/size'][/spoiler][/quote]
Heck yes!

Although I really did enjoy the former scene before the latter one >.>;

[spoiler]I'm glad to see Zabuza getting another brief apparence again though (since Him + Haku are still one of my favorite teams in the series. I was surprised to see that he wanted to become on of the mist seven swordsmen. At least now his great sword will no longer go to waste =D[/spoiler]

[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[eleanor]

[QUOTE=Kei][size=1][spoiler]Kishimoto is made of win and victory for the Ichiraku scene. XD
[/size][/spoiler][/QUOTE]

[color=dimgray][spoiler]I was so [i]not[/i] expecting that to happen, but when it did, it was more hilarious than sexy.

Like, even when Sasuke's about to do the dirty his facial expression is [b]still the same[/b]. And his hair... so... duck-butt-y. *snigger* Both of them looked incredibly stoned, lol.

It was made of win, though. Much win. And also so true.

I've actually taken a liking to Sasuke's new partner, whose name I have forgotten because I suck with names. And I look forward to meeting whoever this new chick is, who wears awesome short-shorts.

[/spoiler][/color]

[Jiazu]

well... konohamaru has certainly progressed a bit XD... turning the tables on sakura like that was awesome... hehe :catgirl:
[spoiler]so sasuke's gathering up orochimaru's experiments/prisoners now? hmmm... to what end, i wonder? i'm sure he doesn't intend to take on itachi in anything less than a one-on-one fight, so what else is he planning? or maybe he's just realised that having allies is better than just being all on his own?

it'll be nice to see zabuza's sword again... great swords were NOT meant to be mere grave markers...

and it's about time there's another girl.. i mean, sakura has to have someone to face off against, right?[/spoiler]

7 days is too long.. just so's next week isn't "hey-lets-see-what-the-hidden-sand-village-is-up-to-and-annoy-everyone" week...

and of course sasuke's expression never changes... he's "my whole clan is dead and my life sucks and i hate my brother and am going to kill him and i keep all my emotions locked up inside because the pain is too much to bear and i might cry like sakura would and that wouldnt be manly now would it"-boy, the reigning prince of emo...

[Tatsubei Yagyu]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS]That's crazy...I was just thinking about Inari and stuff, wondering how he's progressed as a man. I was thinking the whole time, [spoiler]"Dude, I wonder if Inari would appear in front the grave site and be like 'hey, I remember you!' and other stuff would happen..."[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I'm really expecting an appearance of Inari now. :D[/spoiler]

As for whatever the hell [spoiler]Sasuke[/spoiler] is doing...

[spoiler]I really have no idea. :animeswea

The only thing I can possible think of is that he needs those dudes as scapegoats to take down the other members of the Akatsuki while he goes for Itachi.

Can you say...Suigetsu versus Kisame? ;) [/spoiler]

That's all I got for now. And Konohamaru is my hero. What? <_<[/FONT][/COLOR]

[KyuubiKhaos]

Yeah......Konohamaru......uhhh, [spoiler]You can only imagine what he was doing over the two years with his Sexy Jutsu. I wonder, what kind of "research" he did for the "Double Knockout Guys Jutsu", and where he got the idea for "Double Knockout Girls"......Kid's been reading too much.[/spoiler]

Sasuke?? Heh, who really [spoiler]knows what that kid's planning? This Suigetsu guy is what interests me the most at this point. I'd really like to see him go up against Kisame.

As for that girl, yeah, her vs. Sakura.[/spoiler]


Hardcore.

[Jiazu]

hm.. another sasuke fangirl, huh? hehe... *imagines sakura when she sees her fawning on sasuke*

so he's been planning this all along, hmm? [spoiler]sounds like he probaby is planning to go after the akatsuki now.. i wonder how long it'll take for naruto-tachi to hear that sasuke killed orochimaru? (and is going to bring peace to the whole world.. wtf?? wonder what sasuke will think when he hears that bit?)

that juugo guy sounds interesting. i wonder what "unique abilities" karin has? i can't wait to see these guys fight... suigetsu chopped through that door like it was nothing (as expected, of course):animesmil[/spoiler]

[Magus]

[font=times new roman]Meh, it's getting a little too old to see these girls becoming so attached to Sasuke. [spoiler]But I'm going to assume Karin (that is her name right?) is one of those females that flaunt her body to be manipulative to get what she wants. [strike]SLUT[/strike][/spoiler]

So far, I'm not seeing anything special about the two new characters though. (In terms of personality.) [spoiler]Maybe that new guy at the end of the chapter will be more interesting.[/spoiler]

I happy that they're taking time away from Naruto and company to focus on Sasuke and all (I would've been more happy to see them focus of Akatsuki a little more.), [spoiler]but since Orochimaru's been out of the picture[/spoiler], it just seems a little boring.[/font]