Wow, surprisingly that assumption about Madara acquiring senjutsu and emphasis of the two clans comprised of Hagoromo's Yin and Yang coming together to create an incredibly powerful force was proven to be accurate after all. The chakra infused on his chest might be attracting the senjutsu to it since it would resonate with the same essence as Hashirama. With it, the door should be opened to the vast expanse of strengths and abilities that nature affords a sage.
Madara has been forced to close his eyes. That would significantly weaken him under normal circumstances, but with the senjutsu he's fighting like how DSM Kabuto would. Relying on chakra sensory awareness and quick reflexes to avoid attacks as he closes the distance between himself and his enemy for an attack. It's a mystery how he would have handled his enemies in the alternate scenario where he is resurrected without the modifications Kabuto provided for him. He had already injected himself with Hashirama's DNA prior to the war, but Madara seemed to be emphasising the face that was inserted onto his chest as the source of his Yang abilities particularly.
It's the long awaited interaction between Sasuke and Madara. The chemistry that suddenly arose between them seemed expected. An elder warrior who is easily deflecting and countering the strikes of a young, seemingly unfledged novice as he lectures him. You can see that Madara has a greater feeling of sentimental fondness towards Sasuke than anyone else that he's encountered so far (excluding Hashirama). Even Tobi didn't receive this much preferential treatment when he was still working together with Madara. Remember that Tobi was integral to his plans, Sasuke isn't. He may have taken a liking towards Sasuke because he can sense the quality and nature of chakra that he has. Since they have been paralleled with each other, it stands to reason that Madara's ideology (as the embodiment of the Older Son) and personality would reflect upon Sasuke. Madara might sense this and like Kakashi, who in the original series had taken a close interest in Sasuke as well because of how similar they were, wants to counsel the young Uchiha because he realises the potential that he has. Not just in the technical sense, but for how he can so easily indoctrinate this impressionable "blank canvas" (as he's been referred to by at least three different people) with his philosophy. Many of the overarching antagonists and some of the "good" characters have tried this now. Kakashi, Hashirama (mostly philosophical), Itachi, Orochimaru, Tobi, and now Madara...
I'm looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops.
Well we now understand how Black Zetsu survived. He's definitely a crafty one. Sadly, it looks as if his programming has completely overridden any compassion he might have once had for Tobi. Just listen to his matter-of-fact tone of speech as he callously hovers over his dying companion. Still, even if his motivations are predictable, he's still a fascinating character to have around. He's the only active Akatsuki member remaining (technically Madara never joined Akatsuki) and it looks like he might finally receive an on-screen battle. The last time we saw him in combat was against Mei and the protection squad at the beginning of the war. Despite looking competent, the fight was off-screen so we couldn't accurately judge how efficient Black Zetsu is. This is the best opportunity that we're going to get for a full-fledged presentation of what Zetsu is capable of. The fact that he's using Tobi's body is disappointing somewhat, but it should still be good. Considering who he is up against, it's logical that he would attempt to strike at them psychologically by having Tobi's unwilling body fight them. So I'm really looking forward to his fight.
Like many others have already expressed, it's disappointing to see Sakura relegated to the background again with the Alliance fodder. Every member of Team 7 is now directly participating in the conflicts besides Yamato. Even Sai, who has no sentimental or narrative relevance to these enemies, was personally involved this chapter when he made a move against Madara and when Sasuke flew onto the scene on the back of an ink hawk (which is odd since he has a hawk summoning). Every young member of the team was standing around Madara, poised to fight, except for the female member. Can Kishi just not find a proper area to inject Sakura into the scene where she might be effective? I'm reminded of his statement given far back about his general ineptitude when it comes to drawing heroines. Which is odd because we know that he has the potential to write effectively for Sakura. The Kazekage Rescue arc is the shining example of that. So why can't he portray the assertive and heroic Sakura that had taken charge back then?
All things considered, I think many people will agree that the best part of this chapter is how utterly badass Madara was. Single-handedly repelling the so-called "saviour" of the world and a highly adept Uchiha with EMS, blitzing and berating the "god of shinobi" who is at his mercy, and at the end he's standing on the emacitated body of a shinobi he disposed of off-screen looking out towards the vast expanse of men and beasts that have him in their sights, calm and collected, while blinded.
I understand that many of us weren't expecting Madara to endure for long, but now that he seems poised to take on an entire army and all of the bijuu simultaneously, I hope he proves to be amazing in destroying them.
Edited by Atheck, 04 December 2013 - 11:55 AM.
This topic is locked
.
