Naruto Chapter 460 Review

[zapenstap.livejournal.com]

Naruto Chapter 460 Review
By Zapenstap


This review is mostly a reiteration, with some analysis, of chapter 460, followed by a little bit of speculation on how things are shaping. X-posted at my journal.

What Happened in Chapter 460

Zetsu announces that Sasuke is somewhere nearby and proposes that everyone look for him. His intentions are not clear. It’s possible it was something Madara wanted, for reasons unknown, or maybe Zetsu just likes to make trouble. Even the manga states that the intention behind it is not known.

Reaction among the Kages is interesting.

Gaara is surprised. Kankuro has his hand up and fingers half curled, which makes me suspect he is controlling puppets, but that may not be relevant. Temari begins with “He…” and then trails off. These three are an interesting group to have at the meeting as they were all acquainted with Sasuke before he left Konoha and fought him when he was protective of Konoha and his team members.

Danzou doesn’t say anything, but he does think that Sasuke’s presence is ‘impossible.’ It is still unclear if Danzou shoulders any secret feelings of responsibility regarding Itachi.
The Rock ninja speculate on Zetsu, I believe, when they ask “Who is he?” Contextually, it could be Sasuke, but as Sasuke was discussed already, I suspect it is Zetsu’s identity that confuses them, especially as Raikage deals with Zetsu directly after.

The Raikage seizes Zetsu’s neck. Zetsu has time to think ‘he is really fast’ and likely has time to do something to protect himself before he says “I’ll give you a hint” and Raikage gets mad. The Raikage has no interest in playing guessing games, as he is after Sasuke’s blood. It looks like the Raikage snaps Zetsu’s neck, but I suspect that this wasn’t actually fatal. My guess is that it is similar to breaking off the stem of a plant, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Zetsu ‘grows back’ somehow once everyone leaves the room. Of course, I could be wrong.

The Raikage then says ‘let’s get started’ by which he probably means ‘let’s find Sasuke.’
The Mizukage objects to the Raikage’s behavior. She doesn’t think it isn’t necessary to ‘kill him’ and that capturing him may provide more information on Akatsuki. However, I’m not sure if she’s talking about Zetsu or Sasuke here. It may be the translation (I’m reading from onemanga.com). Anyone who read something a little clearer is encouraged to jump in.

Gaara states that Akatsuki won’t betray each other. I’m not sure why he thinks that. After all, Zetsu just betrayed Sasuke. Perhaps it is from his private intelligence and/or somehow related to the time he was captured. Maybe he doesn’t consider Saskue to be Akatsuki. More likely, that whole conversation is about Zetsu and Gaara doesn’t believe (probably correct) that they wouldn’t have gotten any useful information out of Zetsu.

A decision is made to send a search team after Sasuke, presumably the Samurai we see later. Not trusting Danzou, the Raikage orders him to be watched as well, and then breaks through the wall to engage in his manhunt. The Rock Kage mentions that the Raikage was also unruly as a child and hasn’t changed much.

Three guard teams are sent to the entrance of the building, presumably either to keep Sasuke from getting or to lock him in if he is already inside.

Karin senses the attack. Juugo surmises that Zetsu betrayed them. Sasuke is shown to have a small smile, which might indicate he expected to be betrayed and might indicate that he’s just excited to fight someone. As the battle begins, the scene cuts abruptly to Naruto.

Madara is watching Naruto when he wakes up, and greets him with a request to chat. Naruto reacts with an immediate clone and a Rasengan, but of course, this fails to work against Madara. However, Yamato’s Wood jutsu seizes Madara’s body, and Kakashi appears armed with the Chidori. As Naruto blew out part of the wall, they seem to be standing in the snow.

Kakashi reveals that they know who Madara is and there is a brief conversation where Madara informs them that he’s not surprised but that he doesn’t think they have what it takes to injure him. Yamato reveals that he understands something of Madara’s jutsu, and that in order to capture Naruto, he must need a physical body, so that was what the aimed for. I think he’s saying that Kakashi and Yamato were waiting for Madara to attack in order to capture him.

Madara objects that it won’t be that easy, but that it doesn’t matter because he only wants to talk.

Everyone, of course, is surprised.

Madara wants to ask Naruto how he managed to turn Nagato against him. It is unclear why Madara wants the answer to this question or what it was he thinks Nartuo did. Knowing this would help us understand Madara’s position (is he a really bad guy….maybe not?) but no hints are given other than that Madara didn’t expect to lose Pain.

Naruto isn’t very helpful either. Instead of explaining about Nagato, he asks about Sasuke, which was probably the smart thing to do as they both want information from each other. Yamato and Kakashi are silent. Do they have any idea what Madara knows about Sasuke (anything about Itachi’s back story) or are they just suspicious? I don’t think Kakashi and Yamato know anything about Itachi’s back story, but I could be mistaken

Madara agrees and prepares to tell Naruto all about how Sasuke became ‘eaten by the ninja world’s hatred and bitterness.’

At this time, we are taken back to Sasuke and shown just how bitter (and emotionally unstable) Sasuke has become. Sasuke’s team feels a little overwhelmed by the samurai gathering around them. These guys are armed and wielding chakra through their weapons.
Sasuke wants to fight. He says he won’t go easy on them, presumably because he wants to kill somebody, anybody. My interpretation is that Sasuke is experiencing blood lust from a combination of things: dwelling on his brother’s tragic life, seeing Danzou, being betrayed, and being attacked.

There’s some massive destruction. The samurai say that Sasuke deflected their attack and that it looked like their technique. As Sasuke has faced one samurai already, he may have copied their ability with the Sharingan. Alternatively, he could just be using Chidori through his sword the way we have seen him do before. It is hard to tell in black and white, but I suspect he copied their technique as this will identify him as an Uchiha.

Juugo asks Karin to find Danzou and leave the samurai to him. Karin hesitates. She senses that Sasuke’s chakra has changed.

Indeed, Sasuke’s chakra is demonic. Sasuke starts killing in cold-blooded ninja style, ‘showing’ that what Madara said to Naruto is true. Suigetsu is surprised and upset, saying that he asked Sasuke not to kill them, which is interesting as Sasuke has asked the same of Suigetsu in Orochimaru’s hideout and Suigetsu complied. Sasuke doesn’t.

Karin panics over what she is feeling from Sasuke. He is darker and colder than he has ever been, even under the influence of the second level curse mark. It turns out that Sasuke doesn’t need Juugo’s help as he is able to take care of the samurai on his own. Karin senses ‘something big coming’ which turns out to be the Raikage.

The Raikage and Sasuke face off. Both of them are very emotional and very angry, coincidentally about their brothers. The hate and anger they feel brings them into immediate violent conflict.

Some Thoughts on This Chapter

The set-up in this chapter is explosive and pretty much anything can happen. It is unlikely that either Sasuke or the Raikage are going to slow down and talk to each other, which is all the more terrifying as we know that if they DID talk it would be revealed that the 8-Tails is perfectly fine, and that, as the Raikage hates Danzou, he might be interested in hearing what Sasuke has to say about Itachi.

Instead they’re poised to kill each other.

Meanwhile, Madara is about to tell Naruto about how Sasuke came to this place of darkness. This is very exciting. I’m hoping that Kishimoto doesn’t ‘skip’ the conversation (as we’ve already heard it already…). More likely, it will be a summarized version in which Naruto learns that Itachi was betrayed by Konoha and that Sasuke’s feelings of hate and revenge have been magnified and redirected.

I want to see Naruto’s reaction. Presumably, Naruto will be angry on Sasuke’s/Itachi’s behalf, but only if he believes Madara. He is likely to believe him as the story will explain Sasuke’s behavior and also as he might remember the time he was approached by Itachi for a ‘talk’. He might wish he had listened. He might also remember the ‘choice’ that Itachi predicted he would have to make, when he promised that between siding with Sasuke or Konoha he would find a way to do both.

Looking forward to that!

In the meantime, there is still Sasuke to deal with. Sasuke is beyond reason. Talking isn’t going to calm him down. Friendship was something he rejected already. Revenge is the only thing on his mind. Even if Danzou is arrested and brought to trial (I would like to see this, but do ninja have trials?) Sasuke is not in the frame of mind for a diplomatic or civil resolution.

Presumably, Sasuke has done nothing but dwell on what Itachi must have gone through, not just in killing his family (Sasuke’s family) but living with it afterwards, in exile, among criminals, until the day the little brother he spared killed him in cold blood. As Itachi was revealed to actually have been a ‘gentle’ soul, someone who didn’t like fighting, someone who just happened to be good at many things, who didn’t even desire a ninja’s life, the situation is particularly heartbreaking.

Sasuke has become a cold-hearted killer as a result, though nobody’s tool (he thinks—unclear but highly probably that Madara is using him). Sasuke has all the violent skill of a ninja but none of the discipline and he is very very angry. His anger is well-founded, but his actions can’t be allowed, so what is to be done with Sasuke?

I’m trying not to jump too far ahead as there are many unresolved conflicts that need to be resolved and can be resolved in a variety of ways, but at some point before the end of this manga, Naruto and Sasuke are going to fight. That’s a given. The questionn is with what intent and what resolution?

Looking forward to next week!



*****

For anybody reading my Naruto fanfic, I will be updating that in just a moment. This chapter coincidentally has a focus on a darkened, emotionally wrecked Sasuke (mitigated somewhat in the future) who can’t quite ‘get over’ Itachi’s life/death, so that was good timing. ^^

Comments

[wings-on-fire.livejournal.com]

Did Sasuke really kill the samurai? Or did he just knock them out? I find it a bit difficult to interpret the sfx. Plus the fact that it is Sasuke...

I found it interesting that Sasuke's chakra resembled Kyuubi's. And there are theories flying that somehow Kyuubi's yang(or is it yin) power must have been transferred to Sasuke. And since Naruto has some of Itachi's power transferred to him, I'm really looking forward to Naruto vs Sasuke.

I wonder what story Madara will spin for Naruto.