Naruto Chapter 347: Diversion

Summary: There is some tension between Suigetsu and Sasuke, but Suigetsu acknowledges Sasuke's strength and agrees to go with Sasuke. They detour to Wave country so Suigetsu could take Zabuza's sword from the grave. In Konoha, Konohamaru shows off a perverted bunshin-henge and Sakura embarrassingly exposes herself to be dirty-minded.

SnowyOwl Says:

This chapter is Love.

A new beginning: So the action with Orochimaru was just a transition (That's what you are, Orochi, just a transition point!). Looks like the real arc will focus on Sasuke gathering his band of baddies and then doing ... whatever. I'm surprised that Sasuke's teaming up with others ... I've always pegged him as a solitary guy, but maybe he'll do it as long as he's in charge and the others aren't holding him back (he's hand-picking them afterall).

Pssst. Is it just me? Or does Suigetsu pass for Sakura?

Two thoughts: 1) rebuilding his team indeed... and 2) Sakura ... is just not pretty in her civilian outfit.

Remembering the past: The Great Naruto Bridge! I enjoy references to the past, it really grounds and fleshes out the created universe. It's promising that Sasuke reacts with ... not something in the anger spectrum ... when Suigetsu assumes Sasuke was responsible for beating Zabuza. He knows the credit goes ultimately to Naruto and he's not bitter, which, by extension, make me think he has come to truely acknowledge Naruto.

So Suigetsu is from Wave country, like Zabuza and Kisame, the large-sword wielders. With those teeth, I wonder if he isn't related to Kisame (Oh! Big brothers and little brothers are partners!)

And a ton of laughs: Can you say fan service?
No plot development, just OMG did-he-yes-he-did (fake) Sai and Sasuke action that I can't believe actually appeared in canon. Yaoi fans are squeeing for joy and series' shonen readers are going O.o WTH? I really enjoyed the parallel reactions and I'm tempted to just post the whole page, but you can check them out yourselves. Poor Kakashi.

I do want to share my laughing-til-me-sides-hurt joy of Sai's reactions:

Sai's surprised face:


Sai's scandalized face:
I love Sai.

Witherwing writes:

The Recruitment- I'm just so surprised at Sasuke's actions. First he chooses to recruit teammates to help him do what ever. Then he chooses someone his age. Are there no other stong old people around? I'm also so boggled by their interaction. They speak like good aquaintences, if not friends. They joke, and Sasuke even goes out of his way to get Zabuza's sword for Water-kun. Not to mention, they have an entire conversation while he's naked!

My favorite part: Mizu-kun trying to kill Sasuke using the Voldemort method from movie 4. I slay you with this finger-of-doom to the head. -poke- Die! (insert poking head picture)

The Diversion- When I first read this part I thought that the chapter was a fake. I was thinking, 'no way. He would never...' Yes he did. What is Konohamaru doing a Kage bunnshin for? I thought that that was a forbidden techneque. Well I can't see Naruto doing this diversion on Sasuke and it actually succeeding. It most likely will get him killed.

Poor Kakashi. (insert Kakashi picture)

The Bridge- Technically Zabuza's death was due to Kakashi and his dogs. I wonder what Sasuke is really thinking. Perhaps he's remembering his great death montage?
Of the three mist folk that we've met, I think that Zabuza is the best looking. The Sakura look just isn't working for me. And the teeth... (insert teeth)

Enter...another girl. (insert butt picture)due to my computer not being able to crop again, I'll have to ask Snowyowl to insert pictures. :-p

SnowyOwl Says: Pictures inserted! And I thought the same thing about the finger-of-death. Looks kinda lame on the surface, but if water-kun pulls a T-2000 and spears Sasu-kun through the head, well, I'd like to see the Sharingan illusion him out of that! But yeah, they seem like comrades ... at least Suigetsu thinks they're chummy.

Naruto Chapter 346: The New Jutsu's Secret

Summary: Sasuke's doujutsu overcomes Orochimaru in the body-swap dimension as Kabuto watches in disbelief. Sasuke then releases Suigetsu from his watery prison to travel with him. In Konoha, an autopsy of Kukazu reveals that Naruto's Rasen-shuriken damages nerve-channels at the cellular level for both the user and the victim. Kakashi attempts to warn Naruto against using the technique, but Naruto interrupts him with the implication that he understands the consequences.

SnowyOwl Says:

Let's recap the highly anticipated, epic fight between Sasuke and Orochimaru, shall we?:

Yes, this story-altering battle came down to a staring contest (And I didn't even include Kabuto staring at the other two staring at each other). This anti-climactic battle is why I believe that we haven't seen the last of Orochimaru (read: denial). From a comic artist's standpoint, there's no way that he'd let a battle with such high action potential pass by. From a story standpoint, there's only one person that deserves to defeat Orochimaru, and that's Jiraiya. He's the only one at a level to give the Legendary Sannin closure. This viewpoint was heavily influenced by a fanfic I read. I'll link it when I find it again. The door is wide open: Orochimaru isn't "dead," but "taken-over," according to Kabuto's and Sasuke's conversation. All I have to say is, I'll forgive this turn of events as long as Sasuke goes Hichigo* later on.

On a completely unrelated note: isn't Sasuke pretty? It's been awhile.

I had a moment of panic where I thought they kept Raggedy Akatsuki alive. When I came to my senses, it dawned on me that someone had to carry that guy with his guts hanging out all the way back to Konoha. Ew.

Finally, I'm at a loss for what Kishimoto has in store for Naruto. So far, he's learned a lot of stuff that he's not allowed to use: four-tails, that jutsu Jiraiya warned him against**, and now the Rasen-shuriken he spent half a year (our time) learning. Let the boy do something already! Will it come down to him using these forbidden jutsu, everyone working to save him, and the thing that finally shakes Sasuke to his senses? We'll see.

Wait, last thought: was I the only one that for a split second thought OMG Kimimaro's alive!?

*Hichigo is how I refer to Hollow-Ichigo from Bleach, in which an evil spirit, like a second personality, possesses Ichigo from within.
**Chapter 251 (start of Rescue Gaara arc)

Witherwing writes:

Ah yes, the epic battle between pupil and master. It most definitely will lead to another battle for these reasons: 1) There was not actual fighting so clearly this 'battle' doesn't count. 2) Sasuke himself clarified that Orochimaru isn't dead. It's just that Sasuke has taken over which means that he can lose control as well. Maybe he'll pull a Gaara and never be able to sleep because as soon as he does, Orochimaru will take over and do evil things ... until Sasuke get's head-butted ... maybe not. I think it might be similar to Hichigo or Rogue*. 3) It just can't be the end because that would be very lame.

I don't think that Jiraiya has to be the one to defeat Orochi. Not having been influenced by the fanfiction that Snowyowl has, I never felt a close relationship between Jiraiya and Orochi. Maybe I just forgot the flashbacks but they seemed more like teammates than friends, and there was no other betrayal but the one to the country. But again, I state that I could have forgotten.

I totally thought that that was Kimimaro too. They were just trying to keep him preserved and alive or something. Did anyone else notice that the Waterboy seems to not only be able to breathe in water but also speak clearly? On second thought, maybe he was the water because otherwise, I don't see how he could get out of such a small crack. And notice that he and Sasuke are on first name basis given that there has been no error in translation.

Sidenote: He's still in sandals. How can you kick butt in shoes like this?

* Rogue from X-men got her flying and super strength from Ms Marvel who's consiousness was dormant in Rogue until she was strong enough to try to break out.

Naruto Chapter 345: Ritual!

**Updated 3-25-07**

Summary: Orochimaru draws Sasuke into an alternate dimension to start the body transfer ritual, in which Sasuke continues to battle with his Sharingan. In reality, only Sasuke remains, leaving Kabuto wondering who is in Sasuke's body.

Snowyowl Says:

I am Pizza the Hut!*

Ok, now that that's out of my system...Was it just me, or did it seem like there is no preparation whatsoever for the soul-transfer ritual? (Hm, master could last until tomorrow, but maybe he'll kick it today. Lalala.)

I guess Orochi is one of those people who don't learn very quickly. And what are the odds that Sasuke and Itachi both use the same technique on Orochi? That should have been Oro's first clue that this will not turn out well.

Gah! Creepy! Why, why would you keep a disembodied hand Kabuto-san? Really, if you wanted to display the ring, you could use a mannequin. At least put it in a jar of preservatives or something.

I do suspect something more about the hand, though, since it was focused on twice in the same chapter. Having something of the original body (if that's what it is) does seem to be a prime ingredient for a jutsu to reconstruct the whole body. (Replace jutsu with spell, and we draw another parallel to Harry Potter's baddie. Geez.) Perhaps this backup plan is why Kabuto seemed so relaxed about the nearing deadline?

Finally, check out Kabuto's nervous face. I think I gave him too much credit as far as assuming he's always in the know and highly attuned to Orochimaru. Here, I think Kabuto's fear is less about the possibility that Oro is defeated and more about the fact that someone could actually do it.

*Reference to Spaceball (the movie).

Witherwing writes:

So sorry for the delay. I'm trying to get all caught up tonight.

The Ritual! - I don't think that there was anything to prepare for the ritual. It just happends when Orochimaru eats the other person. Or maybe he tries to make them fight him and cut off his head and then eats them. That could be a potentially complicated ceremony. And I loved how Kabuto leaves for five minutes and comes back, and the whole ritual is over with. No preparation needed so he didn't have to worry about it.

Hand-of-fate: ...Kinda. I couldn't agree more that keeping the hand is gross. I mean it's surrounded by jars of perfectly preserved snakes and worms and stuff, but they just keep the hand out in the open. I don't know if you realized that the first time they focused on the hand, Itachi totally blew it off. He literally exploded it off his body. Maybe Orochimaru wasn't doing the ritual right. He got distracted by the eyes or something. (Itachi does have pretty eyes.) So now, he is keeping the hand as a reminder of the grudge that he has against all Uchihas everywhere. And Sasuke got to witness the whole thing.


Orochi seems a little too obsessed with those eyes. I mean, couldn't he have pulled a Minority Report and found one of the several Uchihas that Itachi killed and just have done an eye transplant?

SnowyOwl Says:

You're right! I didn't realize the hand was actually blown off. And Itachi does have pretty eyes...

Naruto Chapter 344: The Snake!

Summary:
Sasuke reaveals his true colors against Orochimaru. Orochimaru reveals his true self as a creepy scaley snake. A fight ensues in which Sasuke becomes poetic and a flashback of young Orochimaru which perhaps reveals his facination with rebirth.

Witherwing writes:

The Traitor...again: Ah yes, the ever arrogant Sasuke is still ever arrogant. Gotta love it. He still has that Quin---Uchiha pride. But now it seems that his cool arrogant demeanor is just a way to cover up his more embedded hatred. It seems that he likens Orochimaru to his brother in the quest for meaning and playing with other's lives. Maybe he has the same hatred for Orochimaru as he does for Itachi but is cooly hiding it. Maybe.

Also, he seems to know that the reason that Orochimaru wanted him as a vessel was because he couldn't control Itachi. I never thought of that. Perhaps he resents the fact that he's a replacement for his brother.

You-know-who: Thought #1) Ewwww. Thought #2) Orochimaru is Voldemort. I mean, the obsession with imortality, the switching bodies to live, the becoming snakes...kinda.

The Hawk: I still can't help but think that Sasuke is still fighting on borrowed power. I mean if he uses the power that Orochimaru gave him to defeat the snake, isn't it pointless?


Note: I updated below.

SnowyOwl Says:

WitherWings, how can it be that we both are weeks behind and then you update the moment I was drafting mine? So I'm going to include my less bias/speculative summary, since I took the time to think it out. (P.S. We have a new reader!)

Summary: Sasuke belittles Orochimaru and attempts to kill him, but Orochimaru leaves his temporary body and reveals his true form, a great white snake. Sasuke activates the cursed seal and the two face off. We see a flashback of Orochimaru finding a white snake's molted skin and Sandaime informing him that it was a symbol of good fortune and rebirth.

Commentary

So much psychological meat here, so please excuse the long post. And be forewarned that there's a lot of Sasuke hating in this post. I don't dislike him as an integral part of the story, but I do dislike what I saw in this chapter.

Can you say power struggle? We knew this already, but Oro and Sasuke are not nice people. So much hypocrisy, selfishness, arrogance, sarcasm, and hurtful words all to establish the power relationship, I'm suffocating here.

Orochimaru is the lesser of two evils in this chapter: he jibes at Sasuke sense of self-importance (Big words...from the leftover Uchiha), the sarcasm implying that Sasuke was the worthless one, tossed aside. This, I think is a bit of a 'who do you think you are?' defence strategy to get Sasuke to back down mentally, since Sasuke physically has the upper hand.

Sasuke comes back five-fold strong, attacking all of Orochimaru's insecurities, belittling his aspirations, laughing at his actions, and disrespecting his identity. I guess I'm just a bit disappointed that Sasuke chose to bully Orochi mentally and emotionally and didn't just kill Oro out of survival or for the good of Oro's enemies. It goes to show that Sasuke is not just poopy (an adjective I've associated with him since the Valley of the End) but actually mean. A bully.

I find it ironic that Sasuke is using the the cursed seal to fight Orochimaru. Orochi facilitated his own demise, and Sasuke is just an ungrateful jerk. Really, he just used Orochi -- just as Orochi always meant to use Sasuke. They didn't have a healthy relationship, to say the least. Calling Orochi pathetic for experimenting on his own body...isn't that what he did when he accepted the level-two cursed seal? Hypocrite. Yes, fighting with borrowed power, not heroic or noble.

I agree that Sasuke drawns similarities between Orochi and Itachi (ooo, they're both 'two-syllable+chi's). I'm fairly certain that the 'You sicken me' line was meant for Itachi.

I had an 'Oh no!' reaction to the flashback. Don't make Orochi a sympathetic character! Wha! Now it will be less satisfying when he's finally defeated. Orochi had regrets, felt lonliness, and found hope. His interpretation and methods came out all twisted, but the initial motivation for becoming immortal was very human, maybe part of him wanted to live until he could meet his parents again. (He had a non-creepy smile! Awww.)

But enough of the heavy stuff. I had a good yuk at this:

Be awed by my whiteness! I blind you into submission!

And I still don't get the 'hawk' comparision. Those protrusions look like thick flesh to me. I don't see any pratical functionality to those things.

Naruto Chapter 343: Heartless...

**Updated 3-17-07**

Summary: Team 7 bond over ramen and Naruto's healing arm. While Kakashi acknowledges Naruto's strength, he warns that the strength of a jutsu is proportionately damaging/riskier to the user. Meanwhile, Orochimaru's body reaches its limit and as Kabuto retrieves stronger medication, Sasuke attacks the sannin.

SnowyOwl Says:

Yay new Team 7 love!

There's a wonderful chemistry to this team that the old Team 7 never had. Not just because of Sai, but because the entire dynamic between members have changed, even if 2 out of 3 members haven't. I'm not saying that Team 7 is any less important, just less healthy. Consider:

Kakashi = hierarchy; authority

Naruto -> Sakura -> Sasuke = love interest
Naruto -> Sasuke ( -> Naruto?) = rival
Sasuke -> Naruto + Sakura = dead weight
Old Team 7 = tension, opposing energies

Kakashi = equal; mentor
Sai + [Naruto, Sakura] = partners in jest
Sakura + Naruto -> Sai = ally
Sai + Sakura + Naruto = friends
New Team 7 = synergy

You'd think the great Orochimaru would have a bigger bed. What is that? A twin-size?

You know the man's gone crazy when he switches from kukukus to hahahas. Check the snake on his jammies. The Uchiha's aren't the only ones who brand themselves.

Sasuke's coolest pose post-time skip to date. Still not digging the ensemble.

Finally, this makes sense. At least Orochi-sama saw this coming. Did Sasuke really have to make such a dramatic entrance? Kabuto's going to come to the rescue now (unless he's been slowly poisoning Orochi for this moment...). What did Sasuke mean 'I guess I can be cold-hearted even in front of you?' I think something is lost in translation, because that would indicate that the norm is he is only cold-hearted in Orochi's absence, as if to spare him from it.

Witherwing writes:

Sorry for the really late post. Real life again. I just chose to escape for a while.

Team 7 Dynamic: I loved this. Just the teasing and the Naruto feeding. I understand that the new team seven has a better balance but I can't help but feel that you're selling the old team seven short. Keep in mind:
They were Eleven, therefore 1) Kakashi had to be the authority. 2) Boys will be boys. 3) Sakura will be Sakura.
I mean, the whole love interest-triangle thing had to disappear because Sasuke is gone. Maybe if Sasuke stayed (and didn't go crazy) then they would have a good team-energy as well. Or you can say that their good balance is due to Sasuke. Who knows?

Crazy Orochimaru: Just another thing to add to the how's Orochimaru's crazy list. I mean, who does this? 'You're almost mine.' It seem's kind of shady to me and more than a little creepy.

Dynamic pose: Gasp! Sasuke revolts! I bet this was his plan all along. He'd just play along and learn all he needs to know and then....revolt! Now, all we have to do is wait for Kabuto to show his true colors.

Sidenote: Sasuke's sword jutsu reminded me of Ichimaru Gin's first release from Bleach.