Branden

I like how Sasuke is staying focused. At the moment Kakashi and Sakura are nothing more than liabilities. I don't doubt that Kishi is going to randomly throw in something to make them relevant just for the sake of storytelling but realistically Sasuke has the right idea and even Naruto can't argue with it. I know it seems heartless but if Kakashi and Sakura were able to live for a few more minutes with Naruto protecting them just to end up losing the battle and dying anyways then all of their struggles so far would have been pointless. On the other hand if Naruto were to focus 100% on fighting his current opponent then he has a better chance of succeeding.

Moving on, I'm already bored of Kaguya. With the previous villains like Nagato and Madara they are presenting real (and highly controversial) solutions to the endless cycle of war in the Naruto universe. Kaguya is just a generic evil villain Kishi created because he needed someone that everyone can hate. She has no personality and doesn't even look like a human. She might as well be some bloodthirsty monster at this point. Think of the other villains we've seen so far like Zabuza, Neji, Gaara, Sasuke, Sasori, Nagato, Obito and even Madara. None of them are completely evil like Kaguya is. The worst part is that Kishi has already given us Kaguya's backstory which means it's never going to get any better.

Lastly I can see that Kishi is continuing to focus on Sakura's feelings. It feels like he has been doing this at every opportunity in recent chapters so chances it's building up to a significant plot point for Sakura. It actually feels like too much to be honest. There's a time and a place for pondering your love life and dangling above a lavalake during a battle the will decide the fate of all humanity is definitely not it. In any case I'm really not too upset with anything in this chapter as I've learned to accept Naruto for what it is. I'm just here for the ride.

I get the feeling that Kishimoto has something planned for Hinata. She has been getting a lot of attention during the war and is Sakura's only real competition at the moment. I think it would be very odd to give consistent focus on her feelings for Naruto without some kind of resolution. I'm going to bet that Hinata will have one more major scene before the end of the pairing war.

Moving on to the chapter itself I still wasn't too excited by it. Madara isn't all that scary anymore now that we know that nobody will die in this war. Gai sensei could have changed that but Kishimoto was too afraid to follow through. However, Kishimoto did do a good job setting up interesting chapters to come. I would really like to know how Naruto and Sasuke are going to fight Madara now that they are trapped within Susanoo. Maybe a new super-armored kyuubi transformation or something? I'm also looking forward to the explanation of why some people aren't affected by the infinite tsukuyomi.

I'm not sure what Sakura is going to do. She could potentially summon Katsuyu into the susanoo thus splitting a portion of her conscious away from the tsukuyomi giving her back her free will. That could theoretically allow the slug to disperse and use her own chakra to break people out of the genjutsu while still maintaining free will from the portion inside the susanoo It's a longshot I know but I'm just throwing ideas out there.

Naruto can now permanently fix any injury in an instant. That's great for him but now what's Sakura's purpose on team 7? Her years of studying medical ninjutsu are now pointless because Naruto can heal people better than she can. I don't think Kishi thought this one through. I bet he made this power up on the spot so that he could save Guy sensei even though doing so undermines his sacrifice.

I was also confused by Kakashi's bell question. It really seems like he's saying they're going to work together to fight Madara but at this point I don't think Sakura or Kakashi are going to be of any help. If anything they would be a detriment because Naruto and Sasuke will have to actively try to protect them from Madara.

Overall it wasn't a particularly bad chapter but I just feel as though Kishi keeps digging himself into holes that he'll never get out of.

Okay, I can see what you're referring to now but this detail is so small that it's unreliable. I would imagine that if you had the actual page you would have to hold it under a magnifying glass in good lighting to be able to see it.

I'm disappointed. Kishi had to give Naruto some never before mentioned power to save Gai which takes all the meaning out of his sacrifice. Furthermore Madara is letting Gai attack him when he could have used a genjutsu or used Susanoo or anything besides just standing around waiting to be hit. It also makes no sense for Gai to be able to do this so easily considering how much raw power Madara is wielding. Naruto with a 4 tail chakra cloak was far more durable than Madara is right now. If a 4 tail cloak gives that much speed, durability, and raw power then having the Juubi should be overwhelmingly powerful compared to any normal ninja. Keep in mind that Madara before getting any Bijuu chakra was able to defeat all the kages with ease. It would have been much better if Gai was simply able to force Madara to act defensively without doing any major damage until Naruto returned. That would have at least been believable.

Honestly Kishi is just so inconsistent with the power of these characters and is making Madara look like an idiot. I just hope he doesn't mess up the final fight.

The first 8 pages were literally spent with Naruto and the sage bickering at each other. The rest of the chapter was reconfirming all of the stuff we already knew. For some reason the sage is apparently a time traveler now who's speaking to Naruto inside the talk no jutsu dimension. To wrap things up we get further reason to believe that Naruto was never an underdog and was in fact the destined child of prophecy who would become a strong leader regardless of what he did in life. I just don't know what message Kishi is trying to display with this manga anymore because history keeps repeating itself and Madara is stronger than everyone from the new generation combined. In any case I just hope we'll move on from this next chapter and get back to Gai and Lee.

I admire how in the West the fans are level-headed. In Japan people are calling the CPR a kiss including the non-NS fans.

That's because the culture is different in Japan and in the west people have more reasons to call it just CPR and not a kiss.

In Japan physical contact is very personal. In the west it's a bit more common.

There's also the fact that in the west there are a lot more anti-NaruSaku fans so not only will they call it CPR but NaruSaku fans will call it CPR so that they don't seem overly biased to the anti-NaruSaku fans.

There was most likely deliberate symbolism by Kishimoto, but if it were real life and not a manga then it would only be CPR. Manga is not real life. You have to judge it as a piece of literature where every scene has a purpose and you often have to read between the lines. This is especially true because of the already complicated relationship between Naruto and Sakura. The CPR itself shouldn't be the main focus. It should be Sakura's inner thoughts that are focused on.

Why are we asking how Sakura got to Naruto's heart? I mean Tsuande anyone? Orochimaru? Kabuto? She is a medical ninja she knows what she is doing and we shouldn't expect nothing else considering this is Naruto and people who are cut in half can survive and heal themselves.

It's bothersome, that's why. The scene was intense because it seemed like a real medical procedure but in reality it would just kill him even more.

I haven't seen this posted yet but this chapter reminded me of this scene from the sandlot:

The chapter that Anti-NS still find more romantic than 663. 

Neither of them was romantic in my opinion. But if I have to choose, I would definitely pick this chapter up. Not because I'm a NS fan but because, that was only between Naruto and Sakura, while with Naruto and Hinata, it was all about Neji and nindô. ANd here, the "romantic" vibes came from Sakura (I'm not talking about mouth to mouth, I'm talking about her thoughts), the one who's supposed to change felings, while in 615, the "romantic" vibes came from Hinata. 

I don't think he was literally asking what it was. He has over 9000 posts on this forum, the man practically breathes Naruto.

EDIT: this picture seems fitting

Some of you need to stop being so hopelessly cynical :/

 

Sure, the CPR does not necessarily reflect a romantic act but to say that it has no bearing whatsoever to NaruSaku? Come on.....

Trying to call a doctor-patient interaction romantic is just plain creepy. Sakura performing CPR is purely in the interest of saving his life and her mind hasn't shifted from that.

guys just calm down, it was CPR not a kiss. this is the same as her healing him last chapter except this time she has no chakra to spare.

I just realized Sakura can form a chakra blade. Lol

Well of course, medical ninujutsu works both ways. You can use it to heal an injury or inflict an injury.

There was nothing romantic about that CPR, but I bet it's still going to make everyone freak out.

That said the thing that surprised me the most about this chapter was this part :

"I'll have your heart, one way or another...."

Sakura is getting very close to becoming a yandere with this scene.

Uh...ooookay...creepiest wish for Sakura has been found. Apparently this guy in his upper 30's or early 40's wants Madara to pin Sakura down and tickle her to death.

 

Am I the only one who is disturbed by this? Creepy posts of 2014 we are a go!

 

Just to make it even creepier, this guy's FB picture was the emperor from Star Wars... 

And why did you feel the need to post this here?