Chapter 692: Revolution
Chpater 692: Revolution
Spoilers and large images under the cut, as usual.
SUMMARY
The chapter opens just after Naruto's farewell to his dad. The other Hokages also say their farewells, leaving things up to the next generation. As he vanishes, Hashirama hopes that Naruto and Sasuke will be able to achieve what he and the other Hokages couldn't.
Meanwhile, the Tailed Beasts are overjoyed to finally be free! A few say that they're heading back to their caves, forests, etc. One says that finally being able to return home is just like a dream. The Eight-Tails says he's actually going to go back to B, because he's gotten used to B's rapping and it would be weird not to hear it all the time.
Eight Tails asks Kurama what he'll do, but Kurama only says "Exclamation point!" Before he can articulate anything a bit more detailed, the Sage says that Naruto has a little of all the beasts' chakras in him now, and any time the beasts want to meet up and chat, Naruto is the meeting place. So Kurama has to stay inside Naruto and manage any meetings. Kurama doesn't seem to have any objection, however.
With this decided, the Sage asks Naruto and Sasuke whether their answers have changed after the fight with Kagura. Presumably, he means their answers to his questions when he gave them their special powers. Naruto says his answer has not changed, but he has something to say, which might hurt the Sage's feelings...
He's glad Kushina, and not someone like Kagura, was his mother, because Kagura felt different than everyone he's fought before. According to Naruto, it felt like she had no heart. The Sage says that in the past, people actually used to worship his mom as a goddess! He doesn't know what the heck happened that she changed until people called her a demon instead. He figures it was somehow caused by eating the chakra fruit of the tree...
But then the Sage just shrugs and says that anyway, Naruto isn't like his mom, so even though he has the chakra from all the Tailed Beasts he won't go crazy and become a demon or whatever. So no worries, Naruto!
But enough chat, there's still work to do! Although Kagura is gone, they still have to undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Everyone but Team 7 is still trapped by the chakra tree. The Sage explains that undoing it will be very simple, they just need Naruto, who has all the Tailed Beasts' chakra, and Sasuke, who has the Rinnegan. The two just have to te the spell's roots together and the whole thing will come apart! Nice and easy.
Kurama is shocked by how easy that sounds! But the Sage tells him it's totally true, he researched the Infinite Tsukuyomi back when his mom used it in the past. He then turns to Sasuke and asks whether he, too, still has the same answer.
Sasuke doesn't have time to answer that question though, he's having an intense crazy-face practice session. And it's understandable, because with the many fine Uchiha crazyfaces we've seen, he has a lot to live up to. Not sure he's going to beat Madara but we can see he's giving it his all!
The rest of the gang spends a panel each staring at him before Kakashi is like, haha, wait, what. Because you know, Sasuke may or may not have just threatened to murder some people, but that doesn't mean there's no time for dramatic staring. Skipping that would be just LAZY and Team Seven are hard workers you guys.
Sasuke turns on the magic eyeballs and says that actually he's gonna mind control all the Tailed Beasts and murder them later too! Kurama tries to bitchslap Sasuke, but it's too late, in just the space of a panel all the Tailed Beasts have Rinnegan eyes.
The Sage is shocked and tells everyone that Sasuke put the Tailed Beasts under a spell! The Sage is apparently under the impression that nobody figured that one out on their own. Anyway he's impressed because Sasuke managed to do it with just one glance.
But the Sage is going to disappear soon, so he's leaving it all up to Naruto. The Sage doesn't really seem that worried; perhaps Sasuke's answer to the Sage all those chapters ago was literally "I'm gonna steal all the Tailed Beasts and kill some dudes, hope that's cool with you" and this is why he's not surprised?
Naruto tells the Sage that's fine, he's not going to turn out like the Sage or his kids. He and Sasuke aren't Ashura and Indra! The Sage, hearing this, is kind enough to show us a flashback of what question he actually asked Sasuke way back when.
Yep, at long last we know at least a little bit of what the Sage and Sasuke talked about. The rest of the characters seem confused though. Kakashi asks Sasuke if he's still seeking revenge. Sasuke says that it's true, in the past all he wanted was just pure destruction. But things have changed!
He no longer wants to JUST destroy everything, he wants to destroy AND ALSO build a new one! In fact, what Sasuke wants is nothing less than...
...a revolution. And wow, all that crazyface practice has payed off, Sasuke is doing the Uchiha family proud here as he carries on the long tradition of crazyface.
Meanwhile, the rest of the characters have some quick flashbacks. Sakura remembers that when Sasuke first showed up to the Ninja World War, he said that the current Kages had caused the problems they were facing, and therefore he would become Hokage and change the village. Apparently he's merely expanded from change the village to change the world. Meanwhile, the Sage flashes back to how he asked Sasuke just what a Hokage was to him...but we don't get to find out Sasuke's answer because he interrupts the flashbacks with an attack! I think this officially makes Sasuke the strongest ninja ever, because he's the only to realize that you can, in fact, attack while your opponents are standing around staring off into space having flashbacks.
He casts Chibaku Tense, which makes the ground explode or something. Then all the Tailed Beasts get captured in giant balls made of dirt! Kurama calls out to Naruto for help, and he says that he'll save them!
Soon all the Tailed Beasts are just balls floating in the sky, and Sasuke is well on his way to becoming a Pokemon Master. Turning to Naruto, he says that all the obstacles are gone...except for Naruto!
The Sage sadly remarks that nothing ever goes the way you want. When he handed over his powers to just one kid, they fought. So this time he hands over power to both kids, and they still fight! Man, kids, what are you even gonna do with them. Not give them world-destroying magic powers I guess.
But Naruto is sick of these shenanigans and says that the sibling rivalry will end now! He has apparently decided that the best way to end it is to match Sasuke crazyface for crazyface, but his technique could use work. The Uchiha have been perfecting this for generations man, they are simply the best there are at crazyfaces.
And that's all...until two weeks from now! Alas, this cliffhanger has come JUST as the manga takes a break.
REVIEW
So as may be evident from the less-than-serious tone of the chapter summary, I really can't take this dramatic twist ENTIRELY seriously. Sasuke has become some strange mashup of a Miss America contestant and a supervillain: his words say world peace, but his face says crazy!
Also, it seems that Sasuke actually told the Sage that he was going to do all this...which raises the question of why the Sage didn't, I don't know, warn the others or something. Maybe he just really trusts that Sasuke won't hurt anyone? Like, he knows something we don't and thus knows there's no need to intervene?
But really, I don't have that much to say about the whole Sasuke thing. I can't even figure what he wants to do; he says he wants to put the Gokage out of their misery, so...I guess he wants to murder all the current Kages? And then the Tailed Beasts? And this will create world peace...somehow? Yeah, okay.
Instead, what I want to talk about is Naruto keeping Kurama. It disappointed me a little, for two reasons. First, most of the Tailed Beasts are thrilled to finally be able to go home and not be trapped. Hachibi works for as an exception because their friendship has been well-established ever since his and Bee's first appearance. Whereas Kurama...is going to go live in a cage in the sewer in Naruto's brain again? I feel like not enough time was spent building up Kurama and Naruto's friendship, so Kurama's desire to stay with Naruto just doesn't feel convincing to me. Secondly, this maintains the status quo rather than letting the main character experience a major change. It feels like Kishimoto just didn't want to take away Naruto's various Kyuubi-based signature abilities. And yet, here at the end of the story is the perfect time for the main character to undergo a major change like that. There could have been some interesting character development from this, but instead it's just kind of skipped over. It's too bad.
Also, now that the Kagura arc is over...wow, what a disappointing villain. Naruto might say she had no heart, but I feel like what she didn't have were motivations, a coherent backstory, or a personality. She just wasn't very interesting as a villain. Well, maybe Kishimoto was building up to this Naruto vs. Sasuke battle and all the drama has been saved for this.
In two weeks, it seems that Naruto and Sasuke will have some sort of ultimate final battle...while everyone else on the planet besides Sakura and Kakashi are trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I hope that Sakura and Kakashi end up doing something important in all this, because otherwise...it will seem a bit silly to have them just standing around watching this battle.
And that's this week's chapter! Was everyone surprised by Sasuke's sudden attack? Disappointed? Pleased? What does everyone think will happen in the next chapter, when Naruto and Sasuke face off for what seems like the last battle of the manga?
Spoilers and large images under the cut, as usual.
SUMMARY
The chapter opens just after Naruto's farewell to his dad. The other Hokages also say their farewells, leaving things up to the next generation. As he vanishes, Hashirama hopes that Naruto and Sasuke will be able to achieve what he and the other Hokages couldn't.
Meanwhile, the Tailed Beasts are overjoyed to finally be free! A few say that they're heading back to their caves, forests, etc. One says that finally being able to return home is just like a dream. The Eight-Tails says he's actually going to go back to B, because he's gotten used to B's rapping and it would be weird not to hear it all the time.
Eight Tails asks Kurama what he'll do, but Kurama only says "Exclamation point!" Before he can articulate anything a bit more detailed, the Sage says that Naruto has a little of all the beasts' chakras in him now, and any time the beasts want to meet up and chat, Naruto is the meeting place. So Kurama has to stay inside Naruto and manage any meetings. Kurama doesn't seem to have any objection, however.
With this decided, the Sage asks Naruto and Sasuke whether their answers have changed after the fight with Kagura. Presumably, he means their answers to his questions when he gave them their special powers. Naruto says his answer has not changed, but he has something to say, which might hurt the Sage's feelings...
He's glad Kushina, and not someone like Kagura, was his mother, because Kagura felt different than everyone he's fought before. According to Naruto, it felt like she had no heart. The Sage says that in the past, people actually used to worship his mom as a goddess! He doesn't know what the heck happened that she changed until people called her a demon instead. He figures it was somehow caused by eating the chakra fruit of the tree...
But then the Sage just shrugs and says that anyway, Naruto isn't like his mom, so even though he has the chakra from all the Tailed Beasts he won't go crazy and become a demon or whatever. So no worries, Naruto!
But enough chat, there's still work to do! Although Kagura is gone, they still have to undo the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Everyone but Team 7 is still trapped by the chakra tree. The Sage explains that undoing it will be very simple, they just need Naruto, who has all the Tailed Beasts' chakra, and Sasuke, who has the Rinnegan. The two just have to te the spell's roots together and the whole thing will come apart! Nice and easy.
Kurama is shocked by how easy that sounds! But the Sage tells him it's totally true, he researched the Infinite Tsukuyomi back when his mom used it in the past. He then turns to Sasuke and asks whether he, too, still has the same answer.
Sasuke doesn't have time to answer that question though, he's having an intense crazy-face practice session. And it's understandable, because with the many fine Uchiha crazyfaces we've seen, he has a lot to live up to. Not sure he's going to beat Madara but we can see he's giving it his all!
The rest of the gang spends a panel each staring at him before Kakashi is like, haha, wait, what. Because you know, Sasuke may or may not have just threatened to murder some people, but that doesn't mean there's no time for dramatic staring. Skipping that would be just LAZY and Team Seven are hard workers you guys.
Sasuke turns on the magic eyeballs and says that actually he's gonna mind control all the Tailed Beasts and murder them later too! Kurama tries to bitchslap Sasuke, but it's too late, in just the space of a panel all the Tailed Beasts have Rinnegan eyes.
The Sage is shocked and tells everyone that Sasuke put the Tailed Beasts under a spell! The Sage is apparently under the impression that nobody figured that one out on their own. Anyway he's impressed because Sasuke managed to do it with just one glance.
But the Sage is going to disappear soon, so he's leaving it all up to Naruto. The Sage doesn't really seem that worried; perhaps Sasuke's answer to the Sage all those chapters ago was literally "I'm gonna steal all the Tailed Beasts and kill some dudes, hope that's cool with you" and this is why he's not surprised?
Naruto tells the Sage that's fine, he's not going to turn out like the Sage or his kids. He and Sasuke aren't Ashura and Indra! The Sage, hearing this, is kind enough to show us a flashback of what question he actually asked Sasuke way back when.
Yep, at long last we know at least a little bit of what the Sage and Sasuke talked about. The rest of the characters seem confused though. Kakashi asks Sasuke if he's still seeking revenge. Sasuke says that it's true, in the past all he wanted was just pure destruction. But things have changed!
He no longer wants to JUST destroy everything, he wants to destroy AND ALSO build a new one! In fact, what Sasuke wants is nothing less than...
...a revolution. And wow, all that crazyface practice has payed off, Sasuke is doing the Uchiha family proud here as he carries on the long tradition of crazyface.
Meanwhile, the rest of the characters have some quick flashbacks. Sakura remembers that when Sasuke first showed up to the Ninja World War, he said that the current Kages had caused the problems they were facing, and therefore he would become Hokage and change the village. Apparently he's merely expanded from change the village to change the world. Meanwhile, the Sage flashes back to how he asked Sasuke just what a Hokage was to him...but we don't get to find out Sasuke's answer because he interrupts the flashbacks with an attack! I think this officially makes Sasuke the strongest ninja ever, because he's the only to realize that you can, in fact, attack while your opponents are standing around staring off into space having flashbacks.
He casts Chibaku Tense, which makes the ground explode or something. Then all the Tailed Beasts get captured in giant balls made of dirt! Kurama calls out to Naruto for help, and he says that he'll save them!
Soon all the Tailed Beasts are just balls floating in the sky, and Sasuke is well on his way to becoming a Pokemon Master. Turning to Naruto, he says that all the obstacles are gone...except for Naruto!
The Sage sadly remarks that nothing ever goes the way you want. When he handed over his powers to just one kid, they fought. So this time he hands over power to both kids, and they still fight! Man, kids, what are you even gonna do with them. Not give them world-destroying magic powers I guess.
But Naruto is sick of these shenanigans and says that the sibling rivalry will end now! He has apparently decided that the best way to end it is to match Sasuke crazyface for crazyface, but his technique could use work. The Uchiha have been perfecting this for generations man, they are simply the best there are at crazyfaces.
And that's all...until two weeks from now! Alas, this cliffhanger has come JUST as the manga takes a break.
REVIEW
So as may be evident from the less-than-serious tone of the chapter summary, I really can't take this dramatic twist ENTIRELY seriously. Sasuke has become some strange mashup of a Miss America contestant and a supervillain: his words say world peace, but his face says crazy!
Also, it seems that Sasuke actually told the Sage that he was going to do all this...which raises the question of why the Sage didn't, I don't know, warn the others or something. Maybe he just really trusts that Sasuke won't hurt anyone? Like, he knows something we don't and thus knows there's no need to intervene?
But really, I don't have that much to say about the whole Sasuke thing. I can't even figure what he wants to do; he says he wants to put the Gokage out of their misery, so...I guess he wants to murder all the current Kages? And then the Tailed Beasts? And this will create world peace...somehow? Yeah, okay.
Instead, what I want to talk about is Naruto keeping Kurama. It disappointed me a little, for two reasons. First, most of the Tailed Beasts are thrilled to finally be able to go home and not be trapped. Hachibi works for as an exception because their friendship has been well-established ever since his and Bee's first appearance. Whereas Kurama...is going to go live in a cage in the sewer in Naruto's brain again? I feel like not enough time was spent building up Kurama and Naruto's friendship, so Kurama's desire to stay with Naruto just doesn't feel convincing to me. Secondly, this maintains the status quo rather than letting the main character experience a major change. It feels like Kishimoto just didn't want to take away Naruto's various Kyuubi-based signature abilities. And yet, here at the end of the story is the perfect time for the main character to undergo a major change like that. There could have been some interesting character development from this, but instead it's just kind of skipped over. It's too bad.
Also, now that the Kagura arc is over...wow, what a disappointing villain. Naruto might say she had no heart, but I feel like what she didn't have were motivations, a coherent backstory, or a personality. She just wasn't very interesting as a villain. Well, maybe Kishimoto was building up to this Naruto vs. Sasuke battle and all the drama has been saved for this.
In two weeks, it seems that Naruto and Sasuke will have some sort of ultimate final battle...while everyone else on the planet besides Sakura and Kakashi are trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. I hope that Sakura and Kakashi end up doing something important in all this, because otherwise...it will seem a bit silly to have them just standing around watching this battle.
And that's this week's chapter! Was everyone surprised by Sasuke's sudden attack? Disappointed? Pleased? What does everyone think will happen in the next chapter, when Naruto and Sasuke face off for what seems like the last battle of the manga?