NARUTO 663: NO MATTER THE COST
Gratuitous Naruto and Sasuke panel.
The conversation between Gaara and Kurama from the last chapter is explained. Gaara is bringing Naruto over to Minato to have the dark half of Kurama sealed inside him.
Naruto has stopped breathing and his heart is no longer beating. Sakura pulls out all the stops to save him.
Tobirama, just feet away from Sasuke, attempts to save him, but fails. What forbidden jutsu is he talking about?
Karin takes the lead and heads over to Sasuke, Team Taka assists in taking out Spiral Zetsu.
Even Orochimaru gets into the act.
Madara's final transformation into the Juubi.
Who is that standing before Sasuke? Will Team Taka get there in time?
NOTE: As a rule I use mangastream for my reviews, but if you notice, and maybe you didn't, for Karin's panel I used mangapanda. They had different translations so I went with the panda in order to avoid profanity. Now I'm not a prude or anything, but for some reason I was feeling sensitive. Is bastard any less offensive then a-hole? For me, yes. Could I have used a different panel. Yes I suppose, but this was by far the best one to illustrate her participation in the chapter.
MY THOUGHTS
SAKURA
She is showing herself to be as skilled a medic as Tsunade. So she doesn't have anything that is as flashy as Naruto and Kurama or as cool looking as Sasuke's Susanoo. But her medical ninjutsu skills are just as important. What good would Naruto's shadow clones do him if he dies on the battle field? How would Sasuke's chidori save his life? I said this a long time ago. While the front line fighting ninja and ANBU are vital, so are those who fight behind the lines and support them. They would not be able to do their job without medical ninjutsu users like Tsunade, Shizune, Sakura, and Karin. And don't forget those who taught the current generation of ninja - Iruka and Ebisu.
KARIN
Ok, she is still Sasuke's number one fan girl, but she is finally showing us why Orochimaru chose her. I'm pretty sure this is the first time we have seen her use those chains. Is she as skilled as Kushina? Hard to say. I don't think she has proven she is, yet. Since Orochimaru knew Kushina, I'm going to believe he is right. We should be seeing more from her.
OROCHIMARU
Not surprised he decided to act. He surely doesn't want Madara to succeed with IT. And after working closely with Sasuke for three years he has some affection for his student. It is hard for me to see him becoming the final villain after Madara or even attempting to take Sasuke's body. But its possible I'm totally misreading him.
MADARA
How does his version of the Juubi differ from Obito's? A great deal I expect. What new powers will he unleash? If he wasn't already overpowered he is now. How will he be beaten? Will Madara be defeated in a way that doesn't feel like Plot No Jutsu?
SASUKE
Who is that standing over him? All you can see is a bare foot. It's not Madara. He just had a major wardrobe change and is sporting swanky black boots. Obito is out of commission. I've read all kinds of theories on this. Kabuto and Yamato top the list. After seeing a panel of Kabuto from a previous chapter I agree it could be him. The foot could also be White Zetsu's. But if I had to make an educated guess, I would say it is Zetsu. Why? He is already on the scene. Kabuto would be better, but I am afraid to hope for this at the risk of being disappointed.
OVERALL
This was an awesome chapter. I really enjoyed it. The artwork was pretty amazing. Good to see Sakura and Karin in action. While the chapter seemed too short for my liking the last panel of Sasuke has me wanting more.