If you need to catch up: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

(Recap: When last we left our story, Jiraiya had just inadvertently crushed everyone in the bar with his riatsu and Kuukaku convinced him to lighten up.  She had just smacked him for releasing his riatsu and then confused him by telling him he should know better…)

Jiraiya’s cheek twitched in confusion, hating the feeling of being so out of his element.  The woman’s gaze snagged on him, and she cut off her braying laughter.  Eyes locked on his in sudden seriousnes.

“Your riatsu.  Hell, it’s nearly captain level.  People with that amount of riatsu should know not to do that around regular town folk, so why? Who are you? What are you up to?”

He lunged into his best pose, the slap of his geta on the sticky barroom floor put the world back the way it should be.  “Ha!  I am the Legendary Toad Sage, JJJJJJJJIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRR—oof.”

He bent double as her good arm rang across his solar plexis like an axe felling a tree.  “Stuff the theatre, big guy.  We don’t have time.”

Dark eyes crackled in complete seriousness, and he fought to draw air against the ripples of pain in his gut. 

He straightened, and tried not to sound petulant.  “I’m…uh…Jiraiya. I…just got here. I have no idea what just happened.”

“Then we are about to have visitors, they’ll have felt that explosion of riatsu.”

Before Jiraiya could respond, she grabbed his arm and flashed him a wicked smile. “I won’t give those bastards the pleasure.”

Jiraiya stumbled after her as she dashed out of the bar and into a large building flanked on either side by two giant arms holding a banner.

Inside, Kuukaku pulled Jiraiya up a set of stairs, down a long hallway, and into dimly lit room.  He still worked up something to say, only to be pushed back onto an enormous bed piled with soft comforters.

“I think…”

Kuukaku held a single finger to her lips. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, big guy.”

The door slammed shut behind her, leaving Jiraiya in the silent room listening to his own breath. Empty bottles littered the floor and clinked as he stood up, picking his way through them.  He stepped closer to a comical pyramid of haphazard empties, snorting appreciatively at the remains of a night of drunken debauchery.  He jumped and turned toward the door.

Crash BOOM crash

Thunderous knocking at the front door of Kuukaku’s home drew him towards the door.  If those were the ‘visitors’ she’d mentioned they hadn’t wasted any time.  Muffled voices drew his ear to the grainy wood of the door.  He pressed his face against the cool surface and cracked the door enough to see her standing at the front entrance, inviting in a Shinigami.

This one was a little shorter than the one who had sent him to Soul Society, with black slicked hair, Sunglasses and a black mustache.

The Shinigami chided Kuukaku. “I’m supposed to believe that was YOUR Riatsu we sensed all the way from Seireitei?”

“Have you not heard of the world famous Shiba spiritual pressure,” she cooed, running her hand across her chest, distracting the Shinigami.

Jiraiya’s mouth stretched into a crooked smile, as her target clearly lost his train of thought.

“I-I uhhh, hmmmm… well… please Shiba-sama…”

Jiraiya fought back a laugh, even as he felt his own blood pressure rise. “Poor bastard, I’ve fallen victim to that tactic one too many times.”

“W-w-why…ahem, why would you release your spirit energy in such a way, Shiba-sama?”

Kuukaku held her hand to her face in a sorry attempt to act embarrassed. “I’m so sorry, sometimes I just get myself worked up to the point where I just can’t…help…myself…” Kuukaku’s breathing got heavier as she leaned in close to the Shinigami.

“A girl has needs you know,” she purred, pressing her chest against the Shinigami who staggered backward to the front door.

The Shinigami covered his bleeding nose. “Shiba-sama!  I.. I’m sorry I bothered you!”

Jiraiya straightend and felt around for his note pad and pen.  He heard the Shinigami tripping over himself out the front door. “I could use that, if I don’t forget…”

“Looking for something?”  She murmured as she pulled open the door.

Jiraiya looked up, forcing his eyes to keep moving until they caught hers.

“Your clothes are the only items you take to Soul Society. I’m sorry, big guy.”

The changes pressed on him like a weight–so far from home, so alone. “I feel so out of place here.”

A gentle hand brushed his arm and retreated.  “You’ll find your niche here before you know it.”

He nodded and tried to smile.  “Why would anyone be after me?”

“The Shinigami are sure to want you for the Gotei 13, but…”  Her eyes glinted and sparked like fireworks.  “I want to get first crack at ya before you become one of those stiffs; too many rules and regulations for my liking.”

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, liking the sound of that. “I’ve never been one for either of those.”

“That’s what I like to hear.  Now, why don’t you buy me a drink?”

Jiraiya inhaled deeply as he stepped into the street. For the first time since waking up with a hole in his chest, it felt like everything was going to be fine. He surveyed the city, it wasn’t so different from Kono…

His heart dropped into his stomach; across the thoroughfare the unmistakable red eyes of the Sharingan stared directly at him.

Notes from the authors:  This was kind of a transitional period, sorry if it bored you guys.  Hope it at least entertained a bit.  The next chapter should be much better *nice gai pose*

Ja

Jeremiah and Kumori

Hey Hey Hey !!

Dean here, first off i’ll start by saying i was originally gunna do a Bleach breakdown, but not much happened this week so its Naruto this week from me ^_^

So yeah i liked this chapter alot, bit of action and sakura having a hissy fit and walking off. We First see the discussion between Naruto and Sakura go on (yawn, just slap her and get it over with), and to spare all the boring details of this discussion i will not go into great detail on it: Sakura shouts at Naruto, he shouts back, Kakashi stops Naruto revielling their discussion with Madara, more shouting then Sakura storms off with her ‘possy’ and ask Kiba to help her look for Sasuke (=O lul wut?).

As you can see in the image that there is somebody overlooking all of this, and is it just me or does it look like Sai (this is top left panel btw), infact i thought it was Sai at first but after thinking bout it in even more depth i came to the conclusion that it was that guy that Danzo told to watch Naruto (i think, im not entirly sure tbh).

Now to the bit that made this chapter soo enjoyable: Kisame vs Killer Bee… and as you look at the first page of this part you see both Kisame’s sword revieling itself and the giant racoon on its back (which proves that racoons cannot beat shark men with wierd ass swords)… then Killer Bees enka teacher jumps in correcting Kisame on his idioticness with mistaking the Racoon with a bear.  Before i go on i would like to know who thinks will win this battle, Kisame with his monster sword, or KB with his 8-Tails chakra??

Ok anyway back to the fight, and it begins with Kisame making the first move and changing towards the Enka bloke (yes i said bloke im british, get over it) when suddenly its a flying pencil, a very powerfull pencil actually, because after narrowly missing Kisame you see it pierce a tree. Kisame has a little think about KB using the vibrations to make the pencil more penatrating. We then see what looks like Kisame getting overwhelmed by the Enka and KB duo … however its not what it looks like … Kisame blocks the highly penatrable blades (that KB charged at him with) and comes out of it with just a graze.

Can i just draw your attention to the middle pannel… wtf is with the bear paw above Kisame’s sword?

Anyway as you can see if left both the two of them looking rather confused, so what do you do if something like this happens… you get some Hachibi chakra going, KB follows through with a Hachibi chakra headbutt … but it fails(at least it looks like this fight isnt going to finish quickly), as KB looks a little pissed and confused Enka man notices the sword absorbing the “octopus chakra” where he then realises what happened to the previous attacks, so things look a little grim for Killer Bee, but i personally wasnt focusing on that i was staring at how cool Kisame’s sword looks:

may i just ask … is there a mouth on the end of that sword or is just me?
So what did you guys think of this chapter and my second attempt at a breakdown ??

-Oh and btw sorry for getting the ends of the pics cut off still cant figure out how to avoid that-

Not only is this my first post on this site, this is my first blog post ever. That being said, I would consider myself a bad neighbor if I let this little gem go unnoticed.

So you like ninjas and swords and chicks that kick ass, huh? Then check 0ut this web series about a traveling warrior that kinda reminds me of Samurai Jack, but in live action and with way more awesome music and blood and gore (always a plus in my book). There are ninjas and demons and hot chicks and did i mention blood and gore? Or ninjas?

I promise it will not disappoint or my name isn’t Pookie McSnookie.

Hail Swayze!!

WARNING – THERE BE DEMON SWEAR WORDS

AND ADULT CONTENT BELOW

…bitches.

Don’t look if you can’t handle it. 

Nope. 

Move on. 

Not for you.

Seriously, fuck off if you can’t handle it.

———————————-

Okay, now that all the self-respecting ‘adults’ have gone, here’s something for all you fuckfaces who enjoy a hearty bit of trucker mouth with your belly laugh.  Put the two together and you have one bigass (O.o) zerbert that would curl the hair in your nose just by the sound.

Unfortunately, what I’m about to bring you is not of my own creation (more’s the goddamn pity, I SO wish I had).  I laughed, I cried–I had to look up the more difficult words like:  “BLAMMO!”  Better than that, it must have taken me  a kajillion e-mails to convince Jeremiah to read it, he’s working so hard to avoid a Rick Roll (that in itself had me LMAO).  So, no, this isn’t a Rick Roll.  Yes, you will laugh.  Yes, there will be swearing and naughty-ness.

The title of this little article is:  It’s Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers and it’s posted to McSweeney’s Neighbors All Have Animal-Themed Mailboxes.  I don’t know who Colin Nissan is (the writer, dumbass or is that dumbass writer? hmm not sure…), but I’d sure like to meet him.   Some of the highlights: 

1. “It’s fall, fuckfaces. You’re either ready to reap this freaky-assed harvest or you’re not.”
2. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of mutant fucking squash.
3. The next thing I’m going to do is carve one of the longer gourds into a perfect replica of the Mayflower as a shout-out to our Pilgrim forefathers. Then I’m going to do lines of blow off its hull with a hooker. Why? Because it’s not summer, it’s not winter, and it’s not spring.

Want to read the whole thing?  Hop on over to McSweeney’s and give Colin a little zerbert using THIS fucking link, assholes. (and you know I mean asshole with complete love, don’t you? c’mon, you know I do…er…just don’t hug me.  Blech.  Bitch, get off me…)

^.^ Ja mata,

-Kumori

Naruto Manga 471 <spoilers><pics><raw><translation> Put spoilers in comments section…

<Naruto Bleach Crossover Series>

-Naruto Manga 470 Discussion is below-

You got a better demotivational poster idea for this pic? Put it in the comments section ^_^

Hey everyone,

This post is going to be short and sweet.  I’m sure some of you will have some funny reviews of 471 but I’m in a rush and had only a single good idea for this weeks post and wanted to drop it on you.

1) It was cool seeing Kisame fight at full strength, unlike his clone that fought Maaaaaaaaaitooooooooo Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiii!

No excuses this time, winner takes all.

2) The whole Sakura thing was more awkward than anything.  It was like someone getting dumped infront of the whole school but refusing to believe it.

“You don’t dump me!  I’m dumping YOU!”

*shrugs*

Ya'll bitches betta rec o nize!

3) Did anyone else break out into laughter as Sakura verbally bitch slapped Kiba, Sai and Lee?

Aight, thats it… remember to come up with something better for the demotivational poster and I’ll dub someone the winner at release time, next week.  I know we used to do the bubble contest but that got old and WRA seems to have continued that tradition for the people that still like it.  I’ll do another open Demotivational poster next week if this goes over well.

Do ur wurst

10 points for whomever tells me what movie I’m pseudo referencing in the demotivational poster that I created ^_^ Nice job DomoSenpai for naming the Over the Top reference earlier this week.  Totally made my day

Ja,
Jeremiah

Yo!  not really been active on here for the past week but i make my ‘exciting’ return with spoilers *cheers quietly*

(Btw this is Confirmed)…

Naruto 470: Killer Bee Vs Kisame!! Kakashi, Yamato, Lee, and Kiba in silence, as the snow is falling
Sakura: I…are you saying I’m lying to myself?
Naruto with an ambiguous face: …
Sakura: You have to decide what your true feelings are!! If you hate me then be straightforward about it!! Don’t make selfish excuses.
Interrupting Sakura while talking, Naruto: That’s why it’s strange! To say something like that until now!
Sakura: …Something…like that!?
Sakura talking on and on: That something–a girl’s confession–do you think this is something to take lightly!?
And until now!?
I came all the way here for that!
You and Sasuke, Sasuke, it’s always you chasing after Sasuke and getting yourself into danger.

As the Jinchuuriki of the 9-tails, you’re a target of Akatsuki! Why don’t you worry a bit for yourself! You know, I…I’m saying it would be better if you stop getting into trouble and quit chasing after Sasuke.
I came here to tell you I’d like for you to return to the village now. That’s it.
Naruto: I don’t hear anything but painful excuses.
Sakura: That’s what I don’t understand! I don’t have feelings anymore for the criminal that Sasuke’s become.
Naruto: It’s not a matter of this promise.
Naruto, whose eye line is dropping: It’s about Sasuke wanting to violently take revenge…it’s something I understand, even if just a little…
Kakashi: …
Naruto: Sasuke loved his family and his clan…if anyone wounded that love, I don’t think I could forgive them.
Kiba: If that’s the case, why then after defeating Itachi, is Sasuke supporting Akatsuki?
Naruto: It’s not like that…he really—
Kakashi: Naruto!
Naruto: !
Sakura: ?
Kiba, Lee: !!
Naruto remembers a conversation with Yamato & Kakashi
(Don’t mind what Madara said. For the being, we’ll keep what he said to us. We want to avoid unnecessary conflict. Moreover, until we can find proof to what he said, we can’t trust him. To believe that Itachi was used by the uppers in Konoha to kill the Uchiha clan…) Naruto: Even if that promise to Sakura is gone, it doesn’t matter.
Sakura: !
Naruto: I’ve been thinking that I, myself want to save Sasuke.
Sakura with her eyebrow’s raised: …
Sai watches in silence

Kiba, whispering to Sakura: What should we do Sakura…? Isn’t it better if we just tell him like it is?
Lee: !
Footsteps interrupt Sakura and Kiba
Sakura: I’ve had enough! I’m going back!
Kiba squating: Oh geez…
Akamaru worried: Ku~~~n
Naruto stares at Sakura’s back
Sakura: Let’s go! Kiba, Lee-san, Sai!
Lee: Sakura-san…
Kiba: Let’s go
Naruto watches everyone from behind
Sakura’s eyes closed (looks like she’s crying?): (Naruto…I’m sorry!)
Sai looks to the side from the end of his eyes
There’s another small in hiding
Kiba: Is this ok Sakura?
Sakura: Kiba, I have a favor.
Kiba: ! What?
Sakura: From here I want to search for Sasuke! Please help!
Wind, Lightning, Water, and Earth dispatch from the treetops and are moving.
Kurotsuchi: If we dispose of the Hachibi and Kyubi, Madara’s plans won’t go as planned and we can weaken the military force of the Cloud and Leaf, killing two birds with one stone ?
Tsuchikage: This time there’s no point in doing that.
Kurotsuchi: Why!? You’ve become a stubborn old man huh.
Tsuchikage recalls Gaara’s words: (When did you guys cast yourselves aside?)
Tsuchikage: …it’s because I remembered…
Kurotsuchi: Remembered what?
Akatsuchi: ?
Tsuchikage: …how I was before I became stubborn.

You to see Samehada’s true shape from his bandages
Ponta falls: Uguu
Kisame: I didn’t get any shavings from this giant bear.
Sabu-chan wields his axe: Ponta is a raccoon! I’ll have you realize my sentiments!
Bee taking notes: (Sentiments…so you use it at a time like this…Alright! Ok!)
Kisame attacks Sabu-chan: You’re trying to get in my way huh!
Bee throws his pencil, and Kisame avoids it
Kisame slashes at Bee, but Bee dodges
The pencil he threw sticks into the ground
Kisame: (With a Raiton, he used a high frequency vibration to increase it’s to penetrate. A pencil huh…a piercing ability greater than that of Fuuton…that’s some crazy vibration…if I take a hit like that, it will undoubtedly pierce right through me)
Sabu-chan takes this opportunity to slash at Kisame: Yosakukiri!!
Kisame blocks and stops the attack with his sword
Kisame: (He’s tracking my movements with a mid-range Raiton using projectile weapons)
Switching to Bee
Kisame: Moreover, that oscillation, they’re trying to me in-between huh)
Bee goes after Kisame with Raiton flowing through his sword: (With this, two hole~s! I despise you!)
Kisame take the attack, stopping it with his sword
Bee: !?
Sabu-chan: (What’s going on!? Bee’s Super Vibrato Raiton blade didn’t pierce!?)
Bee roaring: Uiiii!
He puts on the 8-tails (chakra) form
Bee aims at Kisame: Heddo Hatto* (Eight Headed Sword) (they butt heads)
Sabu-chan: (The form of the Hachibi! Ok! With this he’s getting serious!)
Sabu: !
Kisame stops the blow with his head
Bee: …! You..my chakra…
Sabu: Bee! I saw it! That sword! That sword sucks chakra! With that last attack (the super vibrato raiton blade), before you made contact with his body, your chakra was absorbed! That’s why it didn’t pierce!
You see more and more of Samehada
Kisame: Because of the tailed beast your chakra tastes of octopus. At this rate Samehada’s going to get overexcited over something this rare…some shavings will do.
Bee, bumping his left forehead to Kisame’s: It’s unexpected you’d make such cute eyes? Soon you’ll be making the eyes of a dead fish?
Bee separates himself from Kisame
You see more and more of Samehada’s form
Kisame: Hoshigaki Kisame, after this you will recognize that name.
Samehada changes…a close match with Killer Bee!?
The End

(click on the pics to see more)

(Also im well aware im way over word limit … sorry)

In my journey through the dark realm that is fanfic, I’ve come across so HORRIBLE ones. Some, so bad that I laughed maniacly while pointing at the computer screen.  This made me laugh in a similar way

by kari342 from Deviantart.com

]]> http://iareawesomeness.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/making-fun-of-fan-fic-writers/feed/ 6 火影 千手 Jeremiah Funny Bleach Fan Fic http://iareawesomeness.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/japanese-sniper-game-show-wtf/ http://iareawesomeness.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/japanese-sniper-game-show-wtf/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:29:58 +0000 Kumori 水影 http://iareawesomeness.wordpress.com/?p=7727 ]]>

I couldn’t believe this is the kind of thing that leads to laughter, but hey, I can celebrate diversity.

And I just couldn’t leave it at that, I found it so disturbing I went in search of something, anything to restore my faith in humanity and came across this. A cosplay skit, sending up routines to the same old songs as done by a couple Espadas.  Just had to share…c’mon, you know you’re curious.  (Skip to 2:20 if you’re short on time…)

Ja,

-Kumori

Ok, I know the title assumes everyone agrees that Kishi has lost his groove.  I also know many of you disagree.   We’ll start with my premise; and if you still disagree after reading the post, prove me wrong.  As I recall, Negato’s suicide no-jutsu, left IRA virtually split on whether it was a cop-out or genius.  I still haven’t flushed that discussion out of my system.  Although Kishi has introduced some cool new characters and moved us towards the next story line, he still hasn’t reeled me back in.

So, where to start.  Let’s see…How about a poll.

Now if you voted that Kishi let us in on his genius, let’s see if I can change your mind.

The Set-up

We need to go back to the beginning of this arc.  Kishi had defined Akatsuki as an incredibly powerful organization.  Ostensibly, the head of that organization was Negato.  In order to lead such a powerful group of shinobi, he must have been dominant.  During the build-up of this arc, Kishi developed Negato’s character into a shinobi with god-like power and an evil aura.

Kishi then set events into motion that screamed for a massive showdown involving much of the shinobi world.  Many of the key players were on the fast slow train (the tracks were long and tortuous) to Konoha.  We were all guessing who would show up, when, and what would they do.

1. Team Hawk – To DESTROY Konoha
2. The Six Paths of Pain – To Capture Kyuubi
3. Naruto – Returning from his sage training in  Myobokuzan 
4. Danzo – Crawling out of the sewer
5. Team Samui – An envoy from Raikage- they are assumed strong but also provide some comic relief
6. Negato & Konan – Debated whether they went to Konoha or stayed in the power tower
7. Killer Bee – A wildcard, debated whether he might head to Konoha instead of Enka
8. Sand Siblings- A wildcard, but often discussed that they might be headed to Konoha
9. Madera & Zetsu – After discovering Bee’s deception, they could have teleported to Konoha at any time
10.  Team Gai - Dyyynnnnaaammiicccc EEEnnntryyyyy, remember they weren’t in the village at the start of the attack
11. Kabutoro – Another wild card, but he/it/they have motive to board the train

 So we had a mountain of kinetic energy converging on Konoha.  There were so many potential battles and subplots to be explored; so many potential surprises, alliances and betrayals.  What does Kishi do with most of these subplots?  He ignores them.  Evidently only Naruto and Negato got the “Meet me in Konoha, and don’t be late” memo.

The Good

Yes there were some great elements in this arc.  Among them, the Naruto/Pain battle was Awesomeness.  There were several twists that were also phenomenal.  Naruto’s entry into the melee was EPIC; Hinata’s mid-battle confession was masterful; Naruto going eight tails was massive; and Minato’s subconscious appearance was an event.  In the end, these great elements were not enough to overcome the debacle of an ending that Kishi authored. 

The Bad

There were some misses too.  Konoha’s intelligence corps looked more like the Keystone cops.  Kakashi’s fireside chat, which should have been an awesome surprise, ended up being a strange letdown.  Minato’s appearance was great, but Kishi left so much unexplored; Naruto didn’t even ask about his mother, WTF.  Negato’s flashback was full of information that we already knew… well except for TIIIIINNNYYYYY!  In the end we were left with the impression that Negato wasn’t a god, but a little boy who lost his parents (and puppy dog) then couldn’t figure out Yahiko’s dream of peace and turned it into a nightmare.  However, these imperfect elements wouldn’t have killed the arc if Kishi had delivered on the ending.

The Ugly

Of course the most important miss in this arc was Negato’s suicide by Gedo Rinne Tensei No Jutsu.  First, killing Negato off was such a waste, especially given the amount of story line invested into building the character.  Second, having Gedo Rinne resurrect all the dead leaf ninja was indefensible.  It diminished the sacrifices of the ninja who gave their lives defending Konoha, and it devalued Naruto’s decision not to kill Negato.  Of course I’m happy that Kakashi is still alive, but it should have been accomplished through his own strength of will, not some cheap plot device.  It was a writer’s cop-out.

There were a lot of you who claimed that preventing Naruto from fulfilling his primal desire for revenge was brilliant.  This showed, according to many of you, how much Naruto had matured.  I call bull$h!t, it’s the same story we saw in the Gaara arc, and as usual the sequel didn’t live up to the original.  The process through which Negato transformed from judging Naruto with absolute contempt to pledging fealty to Naruto’s path… lacked any semblance to credibility.  Negato showed virtually no internal struggle, no real admission that he understood the error in his ideology.  Someone just turned the light switch to the “ON” position.  Since there was no believable reason for this about-face, what was Kishi to do?  Quick suicide no jutsu before somebody turns the switch back “off.”  If you go back and read the Garra arc, Kishi presents a much better flashback, engages Gaara in a struggle to understand himself and his opponent, and the “Naruto effect” is subtle – not immediate and absolute. 

Negato Arc Wrap Up

So now Kishi has to wrap up this DUD of an ending to what was such a promising arc.  He starts by having Konan give Naruto a bouquet of paper mache roses, and then she walks off into the sunset towing the mummified remains of Yahiko and Negato.  I won’t even address the fact that she gives flowers to the kid who just talked Negato, her reason for being, into committing suicide.  No that’s not my big problem.  We know that Kishi has a penchant for playing switchy-switchy with tasty eyeballs.  How could Konaha (which includes the newly minted MATURE-Naruto, the Keystone cops…err intelligence corps, ANBU, Root, and all other thinking shinobi) allow the only existing pair of rinnegan eyes to just saunter back down that yellow brick road to the Hidden Rain?  It defies logic; the most powerful eye technique known just waltzes out of Konoha to an unknown end.  Who will claim them; is this a way for Kabutoro to get back into the “life-wouldn’t-suck-so-bad-if-you-didn’t-have-to-die” game?  Next, Kakashi pops up from his slumber, runs through the woods, directly to Naruto.  No debriefing; no, “Where’s Negato, or was anyone else with him, or where’s his eyes?’ Just, hop on my back and let’s get to the party.  Did he forget that Konoha was in a fight for its existence? 

At the Hurricane party, Naruto gets his hero’s welcome.  It was well deserved, but the timing was rotten.  That said…what does Hinata do, given her earlier heroism?  She hides in the crowd and whispers, “Thank God” under her breath.  So much for her Dyyynnnaaammiiccc Entry Connnffffeeesssioooonnnn, and  Naruto doesn’t even look for her.  Then Pinky shows up.  How does she greet the hero for whom, she had shrieked, “Hurry back Naruto!! Naruto please!!”  She punches him in the gut and calls him a “dummy.”  And what was Naruto’s reaction?  “OW!” Yep, he sure has matured.  Ok, she does hug him and say, “Thank you.”  The hug does have a more intimate appearance; note her hand on his cheek.  But if in a later chapter she makes a big confession to Naruto, Kishi will fall into the manga hall of shame… Unless, Naruto tells her to pound sand.  (Yah, I had to throw that in after Kishi vomited that load on us in the last chapter.)

Then comes the meeting to decide who will become the next Hokage.  The ruling class of the fire country turns out to be a bunch of absolute nimrods.  How could they have chosen so well in the past, then demonstrate the complete ineptitude portrayed in this chapter?  If this decision was caused by Danzo’s genjutsu, wouldn’t some of The Leaf’s elite shinobi seen through it, and why didn’t Danzo use genjutsu to prevent Tsunade’s ascendance in the first place?  Again, it seems that Kishi has a direction in mind and doesn’t care how foolish it looks as long as he gets to his destination.

Other Nagging Issues

There were also some inconsistencies that bothered me.  Kakashi died from Chakra depletion, and then got resurrected.   Tsunade is almost dead from what… chakra depletion, yet after Gedo Rinne takes his pilgrimage through town, she remains in a coma.  I know, I know - Tsunade wasn’t dead and Shikamaru’s broken leg wasn’t healed either.  That’s an apples and oranges comparison.  We’re expected to believe that Tsunade had to completely deplete her chakra reserve before Negato could infuse her with some of his?  It just doesn’t make sense…  until we find out that Danzo uses Tsunade’s coma as his opportunity to usurp the Hokage hat from her unconscious, wrinkled fingers.  How convenient.  I suppose that it would have been a little more difficult for Kishi to accomplish this coup d’etat if Tsunade was in a position to defend her leadership. 

There’s another inconsistency that has bothered me; although it appears to be pretty picky, it’s telling about how Kishi didn’t think through the ending and wrap up of this arc.  Remember Tazari and little Izuna from the Zabuza arc; they show up to help rebuild Konoha.  What a nice stroll down memory lane.  One question, how the hell did they show up hours after Konoha was leveled?  Team Samui had been racing to Konoha for 20 chapters, yet old man Tazuna gets started building a tavern before they arrive.  Worse, Raikage’s ”messenger” hawk, demanding a meeting of the five Kages, showed up after Tazuna.    I know that it’s a small mistake, but it adds another brick to the argument that Kishi is off of his game.

Beginning the New Arc

 It’s been said many times before, but it’s worth repeating; a great villain makes for a great hero.  We start this arc with no new antagonist and Akatsuki has been virtually destroyed, its strongest member/leader embalmed by origami.  Madera, the puppet master, now takes overt control over what’s left of Akatsuki.  By his own admission, Madera is but a “shell of his former self.”  Akatsuki is on life support.  What does Madera do? He declares war on the Five Great Nations.  Five apparently very powerful Kages, a treasure trove of strong shinobi, the two strongest jinchuurikis, and the pooled resources of five independent nations.  What was he thinking?  That’s right, he has a plan.  Moon pie, Red eye…whatever.  It’s laughable.   Yes, Madera has the seven captured bijuu sealed inside Gedo Mazo, but there’s a couple of problems with utilizing that power.  One, can he even use their collective chakra pool?  As far as we know, Negato and his rinnegan were the only forces that controlled the statue.  In fact, why didn’t the statue crumble when Negato slit his anorexic wrist?  Can the Gedo Mazo even be exploited without all nine eyes being activated?  We know that the massive power it contains requires balance, which is why Kyuubi had to be the last bijuu captured.  Two, let’s say that Madera can employ the Gedo Mazo in its current condition.  Then why wouldn’t Akatsuki have used it all along as they captured each bijuu, the next would have been easier, right?  It’s just another plot hole that seems to defy the rules that Kishi had set when he introduced us to Akatsuki.

And what about Naruto?  He should be sitting on top of Kage Mountain waiting for Granny to pass the torch.  Instead he’s had Sakura sucker punch him in front the entire village.  He’s been told by Kakashi to stay out of village politics.  He’s had Team Samui beat the snot out of him.  He’s lain prostrate before the Raikage begging on behalf of Sasuke.  And finally, half of his manga appearances have shown him pining away for Sasuke, I’m beginning to wonder if he’s changed teams on us…err, Hinata.  Come on Kishi, you moved Naruto two steps forward only to walk him back three.  If he’s matured so much, show it.  If Naruto is going to be an equal to Sasuke, who in my mind will become the final, most evil antagonist of this Manga (but that’s another post), Naruto must also become a true leader of men.  So far that type of growth has only been alluded to… but not defined.

Final Thoughts

I’ll finish by stating the not-so-obvious; I really am a fan of Kishi’s work.  I didn’t start reading the manga until a month after finding IRA.  I was amazed at some of the hidden, surprising, and meaningful nuggets that were explored within individual panels and expanding to the overall plot.  I never even noticed many of those nuggets, until Jeremiah and Ibiki pointed them out in their posts.  As a result, I now expect more from Kishi’s story lines.  The ending to the last arc and the start of this current arc, don’t seem to have the same commitment to the story.   I hope I’m wrong about the current arc, but as of this writing, Kishi has yet to find his muse.

So, did I change any minds?  If not, go to the comments and try to change mine.  But first…