Naruto Chapter 453 *Spoilers*

[DarkNataku]

After the time skip and Sakura teaming up with Granny to take on Sasori was an amazing improvement but it was too good to be true. She is still crying and being useless as the first part of the series. HAHA Zetsu tell Sasuke that Naruto is stronger than him now. Zetsu splits in half and takes Sasuke to the Kages meeting. Sasuke's new plan is to kill the Kages, apparently Tobi was planning to be brought back to life by Pain in case something happen. He says that they need to implement "Moon's Eye Plan."

[Mr. sickVisionz]

Sakura is far from useless. She may cry but she also defeats Akatsuki members and is a brilliant medic. That more than makes up for it in my book.

The best part imo was seeing Gaara's new outfit.

[Brill]

Well both of you appreciate different things. As a fighter Sakura is worthless. She has yet to once connect with any human with that chakra super-punch she has. She's great at destroying walls, but sucks at people. Of course that means all the women of Naruto suck-except Temari. However, if too many women were bad-a$$ the series would totalyy tank as a shonen series. The same is true for American movies. Have a guy as the main hero but the girl packs more heat and the show bombs. So you got to put in a substitute, a.ka. medical ninja.

As for the chapter it was totally fine. Sakura proves she's still in love with Sasuke. I love Termari's new hand-held fan. I wonder if she uses 2 in her attacks now. But the most important part was that Naruto really had matured. He put off his hunt for Sasuke to find Killerbee even though Sasuke has a price on his head now. I think he's starting to realize the big picture now and that's a big feather in his cap.

[Mr. sickVisionz]

How does a worthless fighter beat Akatsuki members? That seems like an oxymoron... unless you're saying the people in Akatsuki are garbage when it comes to fighting.

[ffl]

That worthless fighter had the aid and expertise of a puppeteer legend while going up against said legend's puppeteer/puppet grandson. Also, as Chiyo mentioned, Sasori allowed Chiyo's final attack to hit, otherwise they would both be dead. Aside from that, Sakura hasn't really fought and won against anyone else.

Anyway, I felt that Sakura's breakdown was just evidence of her hope for Sasuke's redemption being crushed even further. Being a rogue ninja is one thing, but joining a super rogue ninja organization that's also trying to kill her closest friend... yeah, that sort of changes things.

I loved seeing the Sand Siblings return though.:)

[FARIQABDUL]

Anyway, I felt that Sakura's breakdown was just evidence of her hope for Sasuke's redemption being crushed even further. Being a rogue ninja is one thing, but joining a super rogue ninja organization that's also trying to kill her closest friend... yeah, that sort of changes things.

I loved seeing the Sand Siblings return though.:)

God, I hope so. And I hope Naruto realizes this too. I don't know if Kishimoto really thought about what he was doing when he apprenticed Sasuke to Orochimaru, but he did, and now Sasuke has spent the last 3 years at the side of his master performing illegal medical experiments and tortures and murders on countless unknown people. Their hideouts usually had secret prison concentration camps with imprisoned human beings they could manipulate and destroy, and I guarantee Sasuke was a full time helper in order to learn new jutsu and powers. Imagine if Doctor Mengele at Aushwitz had chakra powers, that's what Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Sasuke have been doing to people, and the only redemption he should be given is Darth Vader style, as he dies.

[Mr. sickVisionz]

I feel so isolated on this site... :( Haha, like every opinion I hold seems to be the opposite of what everyone else thinks. Orochimaru is considered to be the worst ninja ever and Sakura is #2. I'm afraid to bring up Gaara and Neji cuz you guys might jump up and say those two are battling for #3 on the all time crappiest Ninja list.... and that Shikamaru is a retard... at best.

[ffl]

What are you talking about? If you're feeling that way about this small section of AN reserved for Naruto-related discussions, then I can only imagine you posting in much larger Naruto-related discussion boards/forums. Although, it's more likely for there to be others who share your opinions there anyway.

Anyway, it just happens to be that there aren't many Orochimaru fans who actively post here. It's no biggie.

Also, about Sasuke being with Orochimaru, it's been pointed out that Kishimoto has written it so that Sasuke is still relatively innocent and free of any blood that stains Orochimaru's hands. Sasuke tries not to kill and he wasn't really involved with any of the goings-on at Orochimaru's hide-outs. That way, fans won't really see him as being a villain or criminal.

[DarkNataku]

Also, about Sasuke being with Orochimaru, it's been pointed out that Kishimoto has written it so that Sasuke is still relatively innocent and free of any blood that stains Orochimaru's hands. Sasuke tries not to kill and he wasn't really involved with any of the goings-on at Orochimaru's hide-outs. That way, fans won't really see him as being a villain or criminal.

And he hasn't kill anyone yet, Oro was imprison, Itachi's time ran out, Dei killed himself trying to kill Sasuke and Killerbee was supposed to be brought back alive.

Same could be said about Naruto. My beef with Sakura is that she said she would help Naruto bring Sasuke back together but all she has done since is cry and wait for Naruto. And she does seem to still have romantic feeling for him but i could careless because for me it has always been NaruXHina.

[jeremy]

It will be interesting to see what Gaara can do now without Shukaku.

On the topic of Sakura, I agree with DarkNataku. In the Chunin arc, Sakura was made out to be a resourceful ninja who although lacking elaborate jutsu made up for it with brains. She has kind of fallen by the wayside after Shikamaru became reknowned for his strategy.

[Kcets]

Zetsu tell Sasuke that Naruto is stronger than him now.

Heh...... eheheh........ ha ha....... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh god, thank you Zetsu, best chapter EVER! Sasuke says, "I don't care." on the outside, but inside he's probably like, "GOD DAMINT RAWR!!!"

[Mr. sickVisionz]

It will be interesting to see what Gaara can do now without Shukaku.

On the topic of Sakura, I agree with DarkNataku. In the Chunin arc, Sakura was made out to be a resourceful ninja who although lacking elaborate jutsu made up for it with brains. She has kind of fallen by the wayside after Shikamaru became reknowned for his strategy.

Sakura was a clown for the Chunin arc and everything before the time skip. The best she could do was bite someone while getting punched in the head.

[Pessimist]

She did one hit kill a bug. And it was one big bug.

[Zechs]

HAHA Zetsu tell Sasuke that Naruto is stronger than him now.

Lol that one line to me made the entire chapter just epic. I mean EPIC!!! What now Sasuke huh? Oh and seeing Gaara back was a treat as well. Hope he's not a total pushover now. That would sadden me :(

[f2akid]

Oh and seeing Gaara back was a treat as well. Hope he's not a total pushover now. That would sadden me :(

I just can't see that happening. After being defeated by Deidara and being given a second chance once he was resurrected I'm assuming he trained his *** off to avoid being put in a vulnerable situation ever again.

[DarkNataku]

Well i wonder why Kishi made it a point to zoom in on the gourd Gaara is still caring around. Gaara Vs Sasuke part 2 who is with me...

[goddessofanime]

I confused.

Isn't Granny dead?

[Tidusauron12]

I confused.

Isn't Granny dead?

Coma

(filler)

[ffl]

Well i wonder why Kishi made it a point to zoom in on the gourd Gaara is still caring around. Gaara Vs Sasuke part 2 who is with me...

I'm thinking the same. Sasuke never knew about Gaara's change and progress, since he was busy running from Konoha, so he may be surprised to see that Gaara is the Kazekage now, unless he already knew...

Anyway, the current Gaara is far beyond the Gaara that Sasuke remembers. Sasuke may just shat bricks if/when he sees Gaara bring the power of a whole desert to bear on his rear-end.

Looking forward to it.:)

[goddessofanime]

Oh wait..this was referring to Tsunade right?

Never mind...

[final flash]

I wonder how much power gaara has lost now, because even though he didnt use one tail against Deidara he must have lost some

[f2akid]

I wonder how much power gaara has lost now, because even though he didnt use one tail against Deidara he must have lost some

He wasn't considerably stronger with it though. The only power he used was the sand shield from the Ichibi, but apart from that Gaara trained himself up to a point where he wouldn't need to rely on Ichibi's powers. Gaara has still maintained some of his sand abilities and who knows, he might have developed them enough to create his own sand shield (since they did say at one stage it was his dead mother or something that was protecting him).

[FARIQABDUL]

Also, about Sasuke being with Orochimaru, it's been pointed out that Kishimoto has written it so that Sasuke is still relatively innocent and free of any blood that stains Orochimaru's hands. Sasuke tries not to kill and he wasn't really involved with any of the goings-on at Orochimaru's hide-outs. That way, fans won't really see him as being a villain or criminal.

I know Sasuke hasn't been shown with blood up to his elbows dissecting corpses and torturing children, but to me, he was on an insane power quest to learn new skills in order to kill his brother and Orochimaru and Kabuto learn new jutsu by some sick techniques so of course Sasuke joined in. Or even if he just watched them do the hard work with his Sharingan, isn't that just as bad? I don't believe Sasuke just emo'ed in his room and Uncle Oro-chan came in after nap time with some nifty magic tricks to teach him.

I'm not disagreeing with you that for the true story Sasuke is still an innocent angel full of sweetness and light, but I prefer to connect some hidden dots and make Sasuke and Kabuto the willing inheritors of Orochimaru's evil by their own choices, and I'll probably have to live with eventual disappointment from the eventual Sasuke lovefest/reunion that is gonna happen.

And don't get me wrong, I think Orochimaru was the best villian of this series, because he was perfectly evil and inhuman and played God with other lives. No other villian has come close, because they've had much more mundane motivations, like "We just want the x-tails to make a little money", or "we just want a little revenge because the world made me sad", or "i like making puppets", or "art is explosions", or "Uchiha clan got dissed".

[FARIQABDUL]

He wasn't considerably stronger with it though. The only power he used was the sand shield from the Ichibi, but apart from that Gaara trained himself up to a point where he wouldn't need to rely on Ichibi's powers. Gaara has still maintained some of his sand abilities and who knows, he might have developed them enough to create his own sand shield (since they did say at one stage it was his dead mother or something that was protecting him).

I agree, Gaara didn't have a chakra mixer like Naruto does on his stomach, so he didn't really get the hidden power benefits, it just made the sand egg to protect him and took over if he let it by playing possum jutsu.

[ffl]

Actually, in the battle against Deidara, you can see parts in which the sand looks like Shukaku's limbs. In my view, he was amplifying his attacks with the power of the Ichibi. Although, if his sand attacks still look like that now... it would make me wonder about whether he consciously formed the sand in that shape or... if a part of Shukaku still exists within him. I can't really imagine a chakra-being, which has essentially been mixing chakra with the host since the host's birth, to be a totally separate entity. So if Gaara came back to life... maybe a part of the Ichibi still resides in him... and maybe it's regenerated some of its strength back as well.

[DarkNataku]

Well to me the difference in Naruto's seal and Gaara's seal is Naruto's seal is both separate and combine to his own. The bulk of Kyuubi's chakra is locked but since it is way to much it spills over to Naruto's own. While Gaara's seal is a merger of Ichibi's chakra and Gaara's own.

On to Sasuke, he does have lightning based jutsus so Gaara is at a disadvantage. And if the Kage meeting actually takes place will we finally see Tobi/Madara's face?

[ffl]

On to Sasuke, he does have lightning based jutsus so Gaara is at a disadvantage. And if the Kage meeting actually takes place will we finally see Tobi/Madara's face?

Well, Gaara has wind jutsu as well, so Sasuke doesn't have that much of an advantage. If Gaara had water jutsu though, that would just seal the deal.

[SonRyu]

And if the Kage meeting actually takes place will we finally see Tobi/Madara's face?The Kazekage wore a face covering, so the Mizukage may wear one as well (though he WOULD have to hide his Sharingan somehow (sunglasses/goggles?). I don't think we'll get a full face reveal so easily.

[ffl]

Madara's not the current Mizukage.

[SonRyu]

Madara's not the current Mizukage.I guess that makes part of what I said true back from the ch404 discussion:

I wonder though if Kisame called Madara "Mizukage" because he's the current one, or he was the founding one (and retains the title even if not the current active Mizukage).Though at the time, I also meant to put Madara could have been a previous one, not just founding.