Chapter 679 Review
Chapter 679: The Beginning of Everything
I love the color spread, with Team 7 styled as a classic fantasy RPG party - appropriate considering their recent reunion and teamwork.
The Black Zetsu/Obito hybrid still has a hold of Madara, who screams violently as chakra begins to build up around him. Sasuke notices that all his “shadows” have disappeared. An explosion of chakra sends Team 7 reeling and Sasuke observes that this enormous amount of chakra is probably coming from those caught in the genjutsu.
Naruto and Sasuke rush in to the maelstrom that has surrounded Madara, but are caught by two “arms” that I guess are made of chakra. Black Zetsu threatens to steal their chakra as well. Sakura tries to rescue them, but Kakashi stops her from rushing in without a strategy.
The boys rush in to the mealstrom.
Naruto urges Sasuke to help him stop Zetsu before everyone dies from chakra depletion, but Zetsu says he doesn’t plan to kill them. Instead, he will do as Kaguya did long ago, and gradually turn those trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi into perfect soldiers - just like the white Zetsus.
As Team 7 reacts with horror to this news, Madara begins to swell bizarrely, filling with too much chakra. I’m a little unclear on what happens next, but I *think* that Madara and Black Zetsu merge into one being at this point, while Obito drops away from the strange cloud of flesh and chakra that they’ve become. The cloud shrinks back down to a normal size and what emerges from it is that ancient being who started it all. Because of their meeting with the Sage of the Six Paths, Naruto and Sasuke are able to recognize and name her: Kaguya Ootsuki.
After the cloud of flesh and chakra shrinks back down to size, Kaguya emerges.
Kaguya still has the two boys in the grip of her chakra arms from earlier, and she senses the sun and moon symbols given to them by the Sage. She slams them to the ground, worrying Sakura (but not Kakashi), and declares that they are her sons’ - but no, she corrects herself, they are her grandsons’ (Indra and Ashura, the Sage’s sons) incarnations. She activates an eye power that appears identical to the Byaukugan, reading their chakra, and noting that they gained techniques from Hagaromo (a.k.a. the Sage of the Six Paths).
Kaguya displays all the known eye techniques, including the Byakugan.
Kakashi asks Kaguya what her goal is. She answers that this ground is her nursery, and that she will not let them damage it anymore. She wants to stop the fighting. But she’s not making peace; she’s going to make Team 7 vanish. She uses her power to lift them off their feet, and…
Thoughts on the chapter:
The white Zetsus
Black Zetsu reveals the true origin of the white Zetsus. They are people previously caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi who have been transformed into obedient soldiers. This could raise some ethical questions about destroying them in battle, although I wonder if the manga will really address this. I’m also not sure about the plausibility of this explanation. Before this, they have always seemed more or less infinite in number. Haven’t we actually seen them replicate themselves? I want to go back and read certain sections where white Zetsus are featured to see how well this explanation holds up, but I don’t have the time today.
Mention of Itachi
Black Zetsu also makes a cryptic mention of Itachi that I didn’t understand. When Sasuke questions him about “creating soldiers,” he says, “Heh…seems you’re not as smart as Itachi.” Does this mean that Itachi previously figured out what the white Zetsus really are? I wonder if there were any hints about this previously.
Obito
Obito looks like he could be dead, but I think he's just unconscious. The fact that he wasn’t absorbed when Madara and Black Zetsu turned into Kaguya suggests that he still has a role to play. I wonder what that could be.
Madara, Kaguya, and “the final villain”
Madara, on the other hand, might be gone for good. Or, maybe he will get a chance to assert his will again. Right now, though, I lean toward thinking he has been permanently overcome. He might still get to make some sort of deathbed valediction, probably accompanied by some last, redeeming flashback, after Kaguya is defeated, but I think this is it for him as far as plot relevance. I predict Kaguya will be the so-called “final villain”.
Confusing sons and grandsons
I noted that Kaguya initially calls Sasuke and Naruto, “Hagoromo and Hamura’s” before correcting herself to say “Indra and Ashura.” Once again, the idea is repeated that the same conflict between brothers-or spiritual brothers, as the case may be-gets passed down again and again over generations.
Kaguya’s eye techniques
Kaguya’s eyes-all three of them-seem to combine all of the known eye techniques. Her third eye has a combined Rinnigan-Sharingan look, which makes sense since we now know those techniques are related, while her two normal eyes look and behave like the Byakugan. I guess now we know where the Byakugan comes from, although it’s still not clear how it was passed down to the Hyuuga.
Joie
I love the color spread, with Team 7 styled as a classic fantasy RPG party - appropriate considering their recent reunion and teamwork.
The Black Zetsu/Obito hybrid still has a hold of Madara, who screams violently as chakra begins to build up around him. Sasuke notices that all his “shadows” have disappeared. An explosion of chakra sends Team 7 reeling and Sasuke observes that this enormous amount of chakra is probably coming from those caught in the genjutsu.
Naruto and Sasuke rush in to the maelstrom that has surrounded Madara, but are caught by two “arms” that I guess are made of chakra. Black Zetsu threatens to steal their chakra as well. Sakura tries to rescue them, but Kakashi stops her from rushing in without a strategy.
The boys rush in to the mealstrom.
Naruto urges Sasuke to help him stop Zetsu before everyone dies from chakra depletion, but Zetsu says he doesn’t plan to kill them. Instead, he will do as Kaguya did long ago, and gradually turn those trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi into perfect soldiers - just like the white Zetsus.
As Team 7 reacts with horror to this news, Madara begins to swell bizarrely, filling with too much chakra. I’m a little unclear on what happens next, but I *think* that Madara and Black Zetsu merge into one being at this point, while Obito drops away from the strange cloud of flesh and chakra that they’ve become. The cloud shrinks back down to a normal size and what emerges from it is that ancient being who started it all. Because of their meeting with the Sage of the Six Paths, Naruto and Sasuke are able to recognize and name her: Kaguya Ootsuki.
After the cloud of flesh and chakra shrinks back down to size, Kaguya emerges.
Kaguya still has the two boys in the grip of her chakra arms from earlier, and she senses the sun and moon symbols given to them by the Sage. She slams them to the ground, worrying Sakura (but not Kakashi), and declares that they are her sons’ - but no, she corrects herself, they are her grandsons’ (Indra and Ashura, the Sage’s sons) incarnations. She activates an eye power that appears identical to the Byaukugan, reading their chakra, and noting that they gained techniques from Hagaromo (a.k.a. the Sage of the Six Paths).
Kaguya displays all the known eye techniques, including the Byakugan.
Kakashi asks Kaguya what her goal is. She answers that this ground is her nursery, and that she will not let them damage it anymore. She wants to stop the fighting. But she’s not making peace; she’s going to make Team 7 vanish. She uses her power to lift them off their feet, and…
Thoughts on the chapter:
The white Zetsus
Black Zetsu reveals the true origin of the white Zetsus. They are people previously caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi who have been transformed into obedient soldiers. This could raise some ethical questions about destroying them in battle, although I wonder if the manga will really address this. I’m also not sure about the plausibility of this explanation. Before this, they have always seemed more or less infinite in number. Haven’t we actually seen them replicate themselves? I want to go back and read certain sections where white Zetsus are featured to see how well this explanation holds up, but I don’t have the time today.
Mention of Itachi
Black Zetsu also makes a cryptic mention of Itachi that I didn’t understand. When Sasuke questions him about “creating soldiers,” he says, “Heh…seems you’re not as smart as Itachi.” Does this mean that Itachi previously figured out what the white Zetsus really are? I wonder if there were any hints about this previously.
Obito
Obito looks like he could be dead, but I think he's just unconscious. The fact that he wasn’t absorbed when Madara and Black Zetsu turned into Kaguya suggests that he still has a role to play. I wonder what that could be.
Madara, Kaguya, and “the final villain”
Madara, on the other hand, might be gone for good. Or, maybe he will get a chance to assert his will again. Right now, though, I lean toward thinking he has been permanently overcome. He might still get to make some sort of deathbed valediction, probably accompanied by some last, redeeming flashback, after Kaguya is defeated, but I think this is it for him as far as plot relevance. I predict Kaguya will be the so-called “final villain”.
Confusing sons and grandsons
I noted that Kaguya initially calls Sasuke and Naruto, “Hagoromo and Hamura’s” before correcting herself to say “Indra and Ashura.” Once again, the idea is repeated that the same conflict between brothers-or spiritual brothers, as the case may be-gets passed down again and again over generations.
Kaguya’s eye techniques
Kaguya’s eyes-all three of them-seem to combine all of the known eye techniques. Her third eye has a combined Rinnigan-Sharingan look, which makes sense since we now know those techniques are related, while her two normal eyes look and behave like the Byakugan. I guess now we know where the Byakugan comes from, although it’s still not clear how it was passed down to the Hyuuga.
Joie