TerrorKing

So was Hashirama absorebed by Madara? That's kind of a bummer...but I guess him and Madara already had their ultimate fight. There's no need to have them fight again, that's what Naruto and Sasuke are here for. 

Sasuke seemed genuinely pissed at Madara, even going so far as to call him a "relic of the past". A bit ironic coming from a guy who has spent the better part of his life living in the past. Still, I get what Kishi is trying to convey. Madara wants to utilize the bijuu's, while Sasuke wants to destroy everything that has to do with the old and then rebuild the world.

So Black Zetsu apparently doesn't feel any remorse for Obito's death. It seems like he's about to utilize his real power. I wonder what that is.

I have to wonder though, why didn't Minato stop him from overtaking Obito's body? Isn't he supposed to be one of the fastest shinobi in the world? Perhaps I'm overthinking things.

It seems like all the fodder is being weeded out. Soon there will only be named characters left. It's been a while since we've seen Sakura. If it's true that the series is nearing the end and Kishi really does have more planned for Sakura, then I hope he delivers soon.   

In my opinion, the only time when Sakura was ever really mean towards Naruto was in chapter 3, especially with the "He doesn't have parents..." comment. Then Sasuke scolded her and made her see the error of her ways and ever since then her character has been slowly improving.

I get that this wasn't exactly the best way to introduce the heroine (or rather "would-be heroine"). I also get that first impressions are really important, reagardless of whether they're positive or negative. Still, there comes a time when you're gonna have to let go and acknowledge that your initial impression isn't applicable. Sakura has improved. To hold the current Sakura accountable for things she said and did when she was twelve simply isn't fair.      

I very much doubt that Kishi would just "resolve" Naruto and Sakura's relationship off panel.  That would be pure insanity. So far NS has had such a slow and consistent build up and as such, resolving it off panel would be beyond sloppy.

That's why I love NS so much. It's pretty much the perfect representation of a "friendship ---> lovers" type relationship.   

@DeviouslyChaotic

This always reminds me of Shikaku's speech to Shikamaru back in part 1. Not only did he provide us with the now famous line "Even the roughest woman is tender to the guy she loves", but he also said that "Men are no good without any women around". This was all in response to Shikamaru's less than enthusiastic attitude towards a women being appointed as the fifth hokage. 

So yeah, I also don't think that Kishi is sexist and I certainly don't think he hates women. I think he genuinely cares about his female characters just as much as he does his male characters. In that regard, I think he has done a decent job with Sakura. He could have done better of course, but all things considered I think she's turned out pretty well. As long as there are still important roles for her to fill later on, then I'm okay with it.   

Besides, he could always ask his wife to assist him once again.     

Well that was an exceedingly dark chapter. It's been a while since we've had one of those. Still, I'm glad that Sakura is okay. I also have a feeling that Shikamaru will live as well, because for some reason I just can't imagine him dying. He's a part of the new generation after all, but then again we used to say the same thing about Neji and look what happened. Still, he promised to look after Asuma and Kurenai's child and become a cool adult. Don't give up Shika. I know you can do it! I believe in you! 

Sakura was awesome in this chapter. It's always awesome to get a look inside her head, because she has such a unique character. She's both strong and resourceful, but at the same time she's also incredibly fragile and to me it seems like she might still be struggling with some confidence issues, especially in regards to her abilities as a kunoichi. 

She's just so damn...human.   Yes, I can see why she would somehow blame herself for the death of the other shinobi, but at the same time I feel like this is a situation where she couldn't really have done anything. It all happened so fast and with such force that it would have just been impossible for her to react in time, let alone attempt to shield everyone. It might even have cost her her life and if that had happened, the alliance would have lost it's best medic. Plus, Naruto would have been very upset.

Ino was also pretty awesome, what with her being able to relay Hashirama's message to the entire alliance. Something that, to my knowledge, is quite taxing. 

I liked how everyone was able to see into Naruto's heart. It's such a monumental event and yet it makes perfect sense in this context. Throughout the entire series, everyone has been mesmerized by Naruto's determination to never give up and now when both his ideals as well as his will power is being pushed to the limit, everyone might finally comprehend what it is that drives him.

The last thing I want to say is that if Kishi wanted to make me feel like when I'm going up against the final boss in a video game with the fate of the entire world hinging in the balance, then all I can say is "Mission accomplished!", because that is exactly how I felt when I read this chapter. 

15 minutes left. I would seem like the next chapters will be the end of the war arc. It's almost been two years now, but it feels like so much longer. So much has happened. It's amazing! I'm really looking forward to see what will happen next. 

The most interesting part of this chapter was easily the Rin part. I do agree that Obito's struggle to regain his consciousness after absorbing this savage and primordial power was rather brief. At the same time, it just goes to show how strong his feelings for Rin truly are.

I too believe that a comparison will be made between Rin and Sakura. I don't think that Sakura will die though, but I do believe that she will either come close to dying or be placed in a perilious situation. Naruto will then be able to save her. Something which Obito failed to do.

The tricky part is that, just like ramenanmitsu mentioned, it's hard for Naruto to truly TNJ Obito if he hasn't experienced the same pain that he has. Perhaps we could have a situation like the 2011 OVA, just with the roles reversed. Naruto will then TNJ Obito and puff...it then turns out that Sakura wasn't really dead. The only problem I see with this is that, just like Nagato's mass resuccection, it would sort of cheapen the moment.

What if Sakura would actually be the one to TNJ Obito? That would be really awesome and it would also be a fun way to establish the Rin/Sakura parallel. I don't think it's very likely, but I still find the idea very endearing.