Naruto Chapter 367: Itachi and Sasuke

**Updated 9-17-07**

Summary: Sasuke defeats Itachi, only to find out it was a clone and was told to meet Itachi at the Uchiha hideout to 'end this.' Tsunade expresses concern for Jiraiya's safety as he prepares to confront the leader of the Akatsuki. They discuss hokage, past, present, and future, and reminisces about Naruto's parents.

SnowyOwl Says:

[The Uchihas] - Despite the title, this chapter really wasn't about them, but a few quick words anyway. Bunshin or illusion, I thought the Sharingan was suppose to see through it. Or his emotions prevented him from seeing clearly. Even if Itachi deems Sasuke worthy of a face-to-face fight now, it goes to show that Sasuke's got a ways to go and he's the one that doesn't know Itachi. Like Itachi would go down that easily!


There were two instances in this chapter that made me indescribily happy (two in one chapter? surely you jest...)

1) Kakashi acknowledged as Hokage material.

Yay!! And it was done so off-handedly, like there was never any question. I'm stoked that Kakashi finally got the canon recognition he deserved. He's not just some genius machine-like ninja, but a human who humbles himself, recognizes his own weaknesses, and yet keeps working to better himself and who has internalized the Will of Fire.

Plus, this allays my fear somewhat for Tsunade's sanity. I really thought she was going to let teenage Naruto take over when she steps down.

2) Yondaime has a name!

And it's not Arashi (too bad, I liked that better than Minato). Lot's of things gleaned from the sannin's conversation:

Naruto took his mother's maiden name. OMG is he illigit? Or perhaps they did that to conceal the fact that he's Yondy's son. Now that it's canon that Naruto is son of a hokage, it's good that it was hidden from him. If he knew, I can imagine:

1. extra bitterness that his dad would screw him like that (wow, the Gaara/Naruto parallels are only getting stronger)
2. extra pressure to live up to his lineage, and
3. Naruto being the cockiest brat in the village.

I'm kinda bummed that Naruto is an Uzumaki because his mom's from Whirlpool country (are you kidding my Kishimoto?! Whirlpool is not even an element! The country's probably some seceded part of Water Country. Meh.) I've always liked the idea that the swirl was symbolic of Konoha (see Leaf symbol) and that Naruto was generically named after the village because he was born without a family name. But no, named after some dinky country named after an appliance.

And now we know why Naruto is a wind-type and prone to swirly-jutsu. Yondy is a kaze (meaning wind, of course) and mommy is an Uzumaki (swirl).

One thing I thought was interesting is that Naruto's relationship with Yondy was revealed so casually. I take that to mean that Kishimoto either built it up so that the relationship was obvious, or that it had become so obvious that there was no point trying to dramatize the reveal. (Tsunade: ah, Naruto is so much like his father, that... NEXT CHAPTER: Naruto's Father is?!?). Kishi could have include pictures of mom and dad though, instead of Tsu and Jirai just talking - it's a comic! Use images and words simultaneously!

Finally: Pein made it rain and gets paranoid when someone walks around in it? Man, that must suck.


Witherwing writes:

Men-gomen ^_^;;

Ah Sasuke, he just revealed his newly-learned moves to Itachi. Now he's lost the advantage. It's the same as before only this time he's not screaming. Now they are heading back to the Uchiha hideout which Sasuke just came from and I can picture them fighting in a big underground arena with cat statues on the side.

Poor Tsunade - I bet she knows that she's sending her closest friend to his doom. I mean it's a given. They've had their last drink together, remenisced on the past, and he has refused her help should he get into trouble. But perchance he could pull a Sasuke and hide in the stomach of his frog seeing as he does that anyway. (why didn't sasuke use a smaller snake?)

The 'rents - What do we know about Namikaze Minato and Uzamaki Kushina?
Naruto looks like his dad but has the personality and fighting style of his mom. Kushina was a tomboy, always talking, and had red hair but she grew up to be very beautiful. Does that mean that they grew up together? It makes me wonder what the fourth's personality was like to fall for her. Loud as well? Well he was gifted and determined.*fanart by orin - depiction of Kushina

Naruto Chapter 366: Brothers

Summary: Itachi refuses to fight Naruto, claiming that he wanted to talk, but leaves to meet Sasuke before he does. Jiraiya and Tsunade reminisce and discuss their role in the future.

SnowyOwl Says: Quick update because I want to read the next chapter!

Itachi/Naruto confrontation recap:

N: Let's fight!
I: Let's talk.
N: No, we fight because I'm a better brother. You can tell from the bags under my eyes.
I: No, we talk. But first let me cast you in an illusion because I like showing off my crows.
N: Man, you got me again. Ok, let's talk.
I: Oops, gotta run!

Seriously, Itachi. That's what I call inefficient use of time and effort. Unless the whole point was to screw with Naruto's head, or stall him. Or he really did want to know why Naruto is obsessed with his brother (check out that smirk). All I'm saying is that if Itachi really wanted to talk to Naruto, he would have: the shadow clone could have stayed and the real Itachi could go deal with his foolish brother.

I have no idea what going on and if anything is real. Where's the rest of team Hebi? Why is Sasuke in a cave? Why are his sandals so girly?

S: Who are you?
I: It's me, Sasuke.

Check out Sasuke's shocked face. And this whole time he thought he was Sasuke. (heh)

And the Sannin? Either Jiraiya's going to kick the bucket (smiling) soon, or this really was a filler chapter.

Witherwing writes:

Fight scene extended:

Naruto: I attack you with my bunshin.
Itachi: I defeat them.
Naruto: I won't fall for that trick again for I have wised up.
Fight: over

Oh the irony. Naruto is chasing Sasuke who he sees as a brother who has abandoned him while Sasuke in turn, is chasing the brother who abandoned him. Was that really Itachi? What's with the disapearing crows act? It's like he's Dracula but not.

Sasu-Ita confrontation (which I know Snowyowl already mentioned. I just really get a kick out of it)

S: flip-flop, flip-flop,
I:...
S: who is there?
I: It is I, Sasuke.
S: If you are sasuke, who am I?
I: You are a cod fish.

So that third wanted Jiraiya to become the fifth which we knew from before but it's interesting how the Third wanted someone with Naruto-esque qualities. It'd be really weird to succeed his student though.

Naruto Chapter 365: Chasing Itachi

**--Updated 8-26-07--**

Summary: Team Hebi senses they are being tracked and decides to avoid confrontation to concentrate on finding Itachi. Karin and Juugo confuses Team Konoha by using birds to split up Sasuke's scent. In response, Naruto scatters his clones to look for Sasuke, only to have one of them encounter Itachi instead.

SnowyOwl Says:

Erm...Karin's starting to creep me out. Did anyone else feel 'raper' vibes? Maybe she bought perfume, but my first thought was that it was a sedative to take out Sasuke, or the other boys.

Rapage aside, I'm really enjoying Hebi's team dynamic. When it comes to their mission, they discuss, collaborate, and think in terms of each other's skills to form plans. I'm still surprised that Sasuke is so team oriented ("we move as Hebi") but maybe I shouldn't be, since he was the one who helped Team 7 pass the bell test. Team 7 just didn't do it for him.

- How did Hebi conclude that Leaf-nin were after them? (???) As far as Hebi knows, they are doing the pursuing; the confrontation with Deidara was the first indication that they were being pursued (and as far as Sasuke knows, it's because Dei had a personal vendetta against him, and not because the Akatsuki in general is interested in him)
- Major points for Sasuke and Kishimoto for the new shirt! Regretfully, I have to take those points back for failure to change his ridiculous pants and rope-belt. And for magical healing powers. Come on! Humph.
-I still don't get Juugo's bird powers. Is it innate? I don't think Juugo was ever trained as a ninja. Seems like he was just some dude who had crazy uncontrollable powers and then he got locked up.
-And worse. Map. Ever. They should use Google Maps.

[Not Hebi but still Uchiha]

Itachi is getting interesting. Thus far, he's just some non-emotive guy that half-heartedly collects jinchuuriki and looks at people and either scares them or pisses them off. Now we have enigmatic storm symbolism, odd reactions to news about Sasuke, and now a confrontation with Naruto.

Oh. You know that it wasn't a coincidence. And odds are, Itachi is interacting with a clone and knows it. If so, the purpose would be to divulge information, not to capture Naruto. What will you reveal Itachi-san?!? (Or it's a trap. Where's Kisame?)

I think what we know about Itachi is not entirely reliable, since the only information we have is through heresay and a 7-year-old's memories. I mean, has any adult said anything more than 'Itachi wiped out his clan?' Were there witnesses? Was their only source Sasuke? Yes, Itachi answered 'to measure my capacity' to Sasuke's 'why brother?' but can we trust Itachi to speak the truth? The only crimes we know for certain is that he Sharingan'd Sasuke and Kakashi; everything else is conjecture.

I'm not trying to redeem Itachi if he is a sociopath, but now with the complication of Tobi-the-Sharingan user, and suspicious I-know-more-than-I-let-on behavior, I think there is a really exciting possibility for a twist. Itachi seems really intelligent, which is why neither capacity-measuring nor world-domination seem to be his true motivation. Or maybe I just really, really want to believe Itachi is smarter and more complex (anything but world domination! That's so lame!)
To conclude: "There's no time to think!" That's so Naruto ^_^

Witherwing writes:

Again just a few quick notes since I seem to be once again a few weeks behind.

If you look on page 3 they really are traveling in a really big pack. I mean, in that one shot you can see 7 ninjas and 7 nin-dogs. I wonder why Karin was only able to sense one dog. What about Kakashi's dogs? Shouldn't they have more experience or somthing?

Gotta love Kiba: Shut up and let me concentrate!
Like yelling at Naruto isn't distracting.

Karin = creepy

Sasuke - Now that he have his fancy healing powers, that kinda puts Sasuke on the same level as Naruto. For the final fight, they'll be forever locked in combat.
There are two ways to interpret Sasuke's reaction to the leaf following them. He either doesn't want the leaf to get involved in his fight and in running away is protecting them or he doesn't think that they are worth his time and in running away is saving himself a lot of trouble. I think it's the latter since this is poopy-Sasuke we're dealing with here.

What's with the bird with the letter tied to it's leg perched above Naruto?

Naruto Chapter 364: The Objective

**updated 8-7-07**

Summary: Itachi is confident that Sasuke is alive despite Zetsu's report. The team from Konoha arrives at the explosion's epicenter and with Kiba's tracking skills, they pursue Sasuke's trail. Meanwhile, Tobi is revealed as the mysterious person ordering Pein to capture the Kyuubi jinchuuriki and that he has a Sharingan.

SnowyOwl Spazgasms: 0.0~!

I'll get the comments about the big reveal out of the way first, because that's what the fandom is buzzing about!

Tobi nooooo! I was honestly surprised since I was expecting someone much more nefarious to be the master of the leader - like Kabuto or the guy who wanted to be Hokage (Sai's boss, whatshisname?). But the most nefarious of them all was Tobi! Oh, how you've played with our hearts Tobi, making us love you! The moment we finally have more supporting evidence that Tobi = Obito is the moment I suddenly DON'T want Tobi to be Obito. More on that later. Just to lay it out there, here are the theories about Tobi:

1) Tobi = Obito
2) Tobi = Some unknown Uchiha
3) Tobi = Some unknown non-Uchiha
4) Tobi != Tobi, but is someone else dressed like Tobi (hey, he doesn't have any other distinguishing feature besides the mask)

As it stands, Theory 1 is the most probable, since:

a) 'My power' implies that he is an Uchiha (he's born with it), not someone who acquired the Sharingan externally (like Kakashi)
b) The mask's construction suggests that Tobi only has one Sharingan, the right one (Obito gave his left Sharingan to Kakashi)
c) We only saw the regular Sharingan, not a Mangekyo Sharingan, so we can't compare it to Kakashi's Mangekyo Sharingan to eliminate the possibility that Tobi is Obito.

Even though the evidence supports the Tobito theory, at face value, I hate it! Right now Tobi seems very evil and powerful and like he's taking his "good boy," cheerful, funny persona and throwing it in our face. So, the alleviate this cognitive dissonance:

Tobito Corollaries:

1) Tobi is Obito and he is aware of his identity as Uchiha Obito.
2) Tobi is Obito and he is NOT aware of his identity as Uchiha Obito
3) Tobi is Obito and he is NOT aware of his identity as Uchiha Obito, and/because he is POSSESSED

Ok, may the last one was a stretch.

Now the question is, if he's been pulling the strings the whole time, why was he not part of the group from the beginning? Or, did he gain influence of the leader (Pein) after the establishment of the group? Is the true objective of the Akasuki Tobi's objectives, or was goal of *ahem* taking over the world the true original objective? If Tobi did come into the picture later, did his goals replace the original, or is it in addition?

From the suspicious way Itachi is acting, I feel like only a select few know the true objective of the group and the rest are just pawns. Big, powerful, monster pawns, but pawns. Hm...interesting that the two Uchiha are in the know...

Moving along, I have some Awesome points to award:

-Kisame: Accuses Itachi of 'crying' over Sasuke's death and lives. Points!
-Kiba: Impresses Kakashi. Looks good. Smells good. Points!
-Suigetsu: Totally deserved to be pummeled into a puddle, but his witty quip to Karin earned him a bucket of Awesome points. Points!

Just...whatever happens next, don't kill Kakashi please!

Witherwing wonders:

Oh man! Tobito! Noooooo! I'd like to think that Snowyowl's corollary 1 is right. I mean, squished by a boulder, it's got to do something to your brain. Or it could be like Morph from the x-men animated series where he was taken in by the bad people and brainwashed to do their bidding.

I heard a theory where someone thought that Tobi is actually Uchiha Madara probably brought on by the line in the above Tobi picture. While this goes with thoery number 2 I don't think it's possible for these reasons.
1) Madara would be really, really, ridiculously old.
2) Mentioning Uchiha Madara's power could mean that all Uchiha power comes from Madara.
3) It would not explain why he wears the one-holed mask.

Pain: Heheh, his name is Pain... I still don't understand how Tobi has rank over him. Since he's never been deafeated in battle...or has he? He could be under the Sharingan's power or maybe just really likes Tobi and his plan to take over the world!

Storm: What is the storm supposed to symbolize? The turmoil of the world. The inner battle rageing in Itachi? The special effects used to make Shadowking more menacing?

Kiba? A super smeller huh? Man it must stink to be him. Having to smell everything all the time from miles away. Not to mention Naruto. How do you improve your sence of smell and can you turn it off? Better than a nin-dog. Amazing...

Best part of the chapter: Page 10 when Sasuke falls asleep while sitting up. ^_^