Naruto 614: and so the 1st of the Konoha 12 falls
WARNING, HUGE SPOILERS FOR THE NEWEST NARUTO CHAPTER!
Wow, just, wow. i knew Kishimoto said that some named characters would die, like Shikaku and Inoichi did, but i always thought that the Konoha 12 (12th being Sai, not Sasuke) were kill proof since they were the Konoha 12, but with this chapter Kishi has proved me wrong in one heck of a way. Naruto was about to get hit by one of the Juubi's attacks and Hinata jumps infront of him to shield him... and then Neji jumps infront of her... and gets stabbed in the back. Naruto calls for the medic team but Neji says it's too late and dies resting his head on Naruto's shoulder.
um, wow, Kishi, i wasn't expecting the deaths of Shikaku and Inoichi, but that was only because of their location. but to kill off a Konoha 12 member?! i guess Kishi wanted to prove to us all that no character is safe now, and boy did this drive it home...
Sooo, is anyone worried for their favorite characters now? i was worried about Kakashi and Gai before, now that fear has intensified.
R.I.P. Neji Hyuuga, i never liked you, even though you did become a nicer character after Naruto beat you. but now strangely enough, this chapter made me like you after all.
EDIT (copy/paste from forums post)
i'm sure a lot of us (myself included) thought that the Konoha 12 (with the exception of Naruto and Sasuke) were safe all the way to the end of the manga, until Neji died and that was thrown out the window.
this has brought me to question the fate of the rest of the K12. who do you think will die before the series ends? who will be safe?
i see the following dying at some point before the end:
Shino (he has to be the rookie with the least focus and the most "fodder" of the K12)
Chouji (see Shikamaru below)
Ino (see Shikamaru below)
Tenten (another case like Shino, though she has a little more focus than Shino)
Kiba/Akamaru (i dunno why, i just always felt that if a K12 member were to die, it'd be him, or at least Akamaru)
who i see as completely safe:
Shikamaru (it just seems Kishi's style to make Shika the sole survivor of his team)
Hinata (after what happened with Neji, i see her as plot protected)
Lee (too popular to die, plus what would happen with the Lee manga?)
Sakura (Sakura is the "Rin" of Naruto's generation, for that alone i don't see her dying as it's too obvious)
those whose deaths are 50/50
Naruto
Sasuke
Sai (yes i count Sai as Sasuke's replacement in the K12)
i don't actually see Sasuke dying, for some reason i see Naruto sacrificing himself in some way to get Sasuke to return to Konoha as a good guy (as much as i'd rather see Sasuke die by Naruto's hand, i don't think Kishi would do that).
Wow, just, wow. i knew Kishimoto said that some named characters would die, like Shikaku and Inoichi did, but i always thought that the Konoha 12 (12th being Sai, not Sasuke) were kill proof since they were the Konoha 12, but with this chapter Kishi has proved me wrong in one heck of a way. Naruto was about to get hit by one of the Juubi's attacks and Hinata jumps infront of him to shield him... and then Neji jumps infront of her... and gets stabbed in the back. Naruto calls for the medic team but Neji says it's too late and dies resting his head on Naruto's shoulder.
um, wow, Kishi, i wasn't expecting the deaths of Shikaku and Inoichi, but that was only because of their location. but to kill off a Konoha 12 member?! i guess Kishi wanted to prove to us all that no character is safe now, and boy did this drive it home...
Sooo, is anyone worried for their favorite characters now? i was worried about Kakashi and Gai before, now that fear has intensified.
R.I.P. Neji Hyuuga, i never liked you, even though you did become a nicer character after Naruto beat you. but now strangely enough, this chapter made me like you after all.
EDIT (copy/paste from forums post)
i'm sure a lot of us (myself included) thought that the Konoha 12 (with the exception of Naruto and Sasuke) were safe all the way to the end of the manga, until Neji died and that was thrown out the window.
this has brought me to question the fate of the rest of the K12. who do you think will die before the series ends? who will be safe?
i see the following dying at some point before the end:
Shino (he has to be the rookie with the least focus and the most "fodder" of the K12)
Chouji (see Shikamaru below)
Ino (see Shikamaru below)
Tenten (another case like Shino, though she has a little more focus than Shino)
Kiba/Akamaru (i dunno why, i just always felt that if a K12 member were to die, it'd be him, or at least Akamaru)
who i see as completely safe:
Shikamaru (it just seems Kishi's style to make Shika the sole survivor of his team)
Hinata (after what happened with Neji, i see her as plot protected)
Lee (too popular to die, plus what would happen with the Lee manga?)
Sakura (Sakura is the "Rin" of Naruto's generation, for that alone i don't see her dying as it's too obvious)
those whose deaths are 50/50
Naruto
Sasuke
Sai (yes i count Sai as Sasuke's replacement in the K12)
i don't actually see Sasuke dying, for some reason i see Naruto sacrificing himself in some way to get Sasuke to return to Konoha as a good guy (as much as i'd rather see Sasuke die by Naruto's hand, i don't think Kishi would do that).