chapter 667: The Green Days are over
As always hidden behind cuts for spoilers, pictures and length
Chapter Summary
With this chapter we return to Sasuke, or, more exactly, to his team who is approaching him. Karin is scared:
She's shouting at the person who's with Sasuke. We learn that it's indeed Kabuto, as many fans have suspected. (I had hoped that it might be the Rikudo. I still hope we will meet him in this manga, and maybe also Sasuke's and Itachi's parents, and Jiraiya.)
Kabuto is feeding chakra to Sasuke with some kind of umbilical cord. (I find that picture plain creepy.)
We learn why Karin was not able to recognize Kabuto: his chakra is different, because he has absorbed a lot of people's chakra. There's still the open question why she described the chakra as "terrible". (I don't remember the exact word, and I don't have time to look it up.) Karin is still scared: she fears that Kabuto might try to absorb Sasuke's chakra. Also, Kabuto and Orochimaru wonder why the other is at that place. Suigetsu realizes that he has no idea about Orochimaru's plans, and also he does not have much ideas about Kabuto's plans. He suspects that he's trying to absorb Sasuke and fuse with him, and he makes jokes about their future name.
Kabuto explains that he does not have any plans of this kind, and Karin realizes that he has actually saved Sasuke's life. He used medical ninjutsu, Hashirama's cells and some advice from the Second Hokage. He explains that inspired by Itachi he has remembered his true self and his true home, and now the place he belongs to.
He has accepted himself and his pain and hurt, and now the jutsu "Izanami" has nothing to build on. Only Suigetsu is not content.
Kabuto explains how both he and Obito felt that they had no place in this world any more.
Then the story returns to Madara and to Kakashi, Minato, Gaara and Gai. Obito is still in the Kamui-World, together with Naruto and Sakura. They have a rather lengthy discussion how they might defeat Madara, with Madara listening. Only Senjutsu and Taijutsu work against him, and as Minato is not very good at Senjutsu and does not have any arms at the moment, it's Gai's turn to attack. He's extremely quick and also manages to change the landscape:
Still he gets defeated and Madara is on the point of killing him with one of his black balls. Minato and Kakashi try to save him, but it's not them, but Lee who carries Gai away and saves him from being hit. After a couple of seconds Gai is able to get up, and he declares that he will fight Madara again. Apparently he has not yet opened the eighth gate, but only the first seven gates. Apparently now he is ready to open the eighth gate as well.
Thoughts about the Chapter
I don't care much about the second half of the chapter. In the chuunin-thread there have been jokes about the villains listening patiently to the good guys discussing how to defeat them. Maybe with Madara this is okay: he can afford this kind of behaviour. I hope that Gai will get his chapter in the spotlight if he is going to die. Else, not much is happening there.
The first half was more interesting, but also I had to force myself to read it in spite of a couple of pretty drawings of Sasuke. Kabuto's words are preachy, but what's worse, they are all hollow. Itachi, who has committed so many evil deeds, has now become a source of inspiration that makes people return to the right path. Also, remembering your true home makes you also become good - that is quite a poor form of moral philosophy. Then there's the fact that a lot of problems are still not addressed, e.g. that it's Danzou and Orochimaru who have turned Kabuto from his home. But Kabuto does not have any right to be angry at them - only Naruto is allowed to get angry in this manga. I mean, none of what Danzou or Orochimaru did is an excuse for what Kabuto did himself, but imo he is entitled to hold Orochimaru responible for what Orochimaru did.
Also I cannot help thinking of those who are excluded from that ideal community that sees that everyone has a place: Sasuke's parents and the rest of the Uchiha clan.
Btw, the third anniversary of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima is approaching, and following Greenpeace Japan on twitter I have found an article on how the victims of the disaster are still struggling: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/safety/accidents/Fukushima-nuclear-disaster/fukushima-dont-forget/ They are people who have lost their homes, and the Japanese state does not care much about them. It's TEPCO that basically decides whether they get any compensation or not. (I haven't read all the stories in the article, but I have read the interview with the lawyer.) In the aftermath of the catastrophe there were some people, often elderly men, who volunteered to help with the cleaning, basically deciding that rather them than some young people should die of cancer. They were ready to sacrifice themselves, but what was not sacrificed was TEPCO. It's the individuals having to sacrifice themselves for the state, but on the other hand, when individuals are in need, they don't get any help. What's protected is TEPCO, as if the fate of TEPCO is the fate of the state...
Chapter Summary
With this chapter we return to Sasuke, or, more exactly, to his team who is approaching him. Karin is scared:
She's shouting at the person who's with Sasuke. We learn that it's indeed Kabuto, as many fans have suspected. (I had hoped that it might be the Rikudo. I still hope we will meet him in this manga, and maybe also Sasuke's and Itachi's parents, and Jiraiya.)
Kabuto is feeding chakra to Sasuke with some kind of umbilical cord. (I find that picture plain creepy.)
We learn why Karin was not able to recognize Kabuto: his chakra is different, because he has absorbed a lot of people's chakra. There's still the open question why she described the chakra as "terrible". (I don't remember the exact word, and I don't have time to look it up.) Karin is still scared: she fears that Kabuto might try to absorb Sasuke's chakra. Also, Kabuto and Orochimaru wonder why the other is at that place. Suigetsu realizes that he has no idea about Orochimaru's plans, and also he does not have much ideas about Kabuto's plans. He suspects that he's trying to absorb Sasuke and fuse with him, and he makes jokes about their future name.
Kabuto explains that he does not have any plans of this kind, and Karin realizes that he has actually saved Sasuke's life. He used medical ninjutsu, Hashirama's cells and some advice from the Second Hokage. He explains that inspired by Itachi he has remembered his true self and his true home, and now the place he belongs to.
He has accepted himself and his pain and hurt, and now the jutsu "Izanami" has nothing to build on. Only Suigetsu is not content.
Kabuto explains how both he and Obito felt that they had no place in this world any more.
Then the story returns to Madara and to Kakashi, Minato, Gaara and Gai. Obito is still in the Kamui-World, together with Naruto and Sakura. They have a rather lengthy discussion how they might defeat Madara, with Madara listening. Only Senjutsu and Taijutsu work against him, and as Minato is not very good at Senjutsu and does not have any arms at the moment, it's Gai's turn to attack. He's extremely quick and also manages to change the landscape:
Still he gets defeated and Madara is on the point of killing him with one of his black balls. Minato and Kakashi try to save him, but it's not them, but Lee who carries Gai away and saves him from being hit. After a couple of seconds Gai is able to get up, and he declares that he will fight Madara again. Apparently he has not yet opened the eighth gate, but only the first seven gates. Apparently now he is ready to open the eighth gate as well.
Thoughts about the Chapter
I don't care much about the second half of the chapter. In the chuunin-thread there have been jokes about the villains listening patiently to the good guys discussing how to defeat them. Maybe with Madara this is okay: he can afford this kind of behaviour. I hope that Gai will get his chapter in the spotlight if he is going to die. Else, not much is happening there.
The first half was more interesting, but also I had to force myself to read it in spite of a couple of pretty drawings of Sasuke. Kabuto's words are preachy, but what's worse, they are all hollow. Itachi, who has committed so many evil deeds, has now become a source of inspiration that makes people return to the right path. Also, remembering your true home makes you also become good - that is quite a poor form of moral philosophy. Then there's the fact that a lot of problems are still not addressed, e.g. that it's Danzou and Orochimaru who have turned Kabuto from his home. But Kabuto does not have any right to be angry at them - only Naruto is allowed to get angry in this manga. I mean, none of what Danzou or Orochimaru did is an excuse for what Kabuto did himself, but imo he is entitled to hold Orochimaru responible for what Orochimaru did.
Also I cannot help thinking of those who are excluded from that ideal community that sees that everyone has a place: Sasuke's parents and the rest of the Uchiha clan.
Btw, the third anniversary of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima is approaching, and following Greenpeace Japan on twitter I have found an article on how the victims of the disaster are still struggling: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/safety/accidents/Fukushima-nuclear-disaster/fukushima-dont-forget/ They are people who have lost their homes, and the Japanese state does not care much about them. It's TEPCO that basically decides whether they get any compensation or not. (I haven't read all the stories in the article, but I have read the interview with the lawyer.) In the aftermath of the catastrophe there were some people, often elderly men, who volunteered to help with the cleaning, basically deciding that rather them than some young people should die of cancer. They were ready to sacrifice themselves, but what was not sacrificed was TEPCO. It's the individuals having to sacrifice themselves for the state, but on the other hand, when individuals are in need, they don't get any help. What's protected is TEPCO, as if the fate of TEPCO is the fate of the state...