Naruto Chapter 689 – 690 Breakdown: Is this the end?

Well, it looks like we might have finally reached the end of what can only be described as, a “long ass war arc”, and what an end it was indeed. We got just about everything one could ask for as far as a finale is concerned, which includes, but is not limited to, epic jutsu, great teamwork, lots of flashiness, Naruto being his usual awesome self, feminist empowerment and… Kakashi’s delayed rampage.

Kakashi has awakened a power greater than any other. The power to open plot holes…

And let’s face it, Kakashi was probably the real star of chapter 689, and it goes without saying that his impressive use of both Kamui and Susanoo was nothing short of epic.

But it does beg the question as to how, even with Susanoo and the Sharingan, Kakashi was not only able to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Kaguya, the incarnation of the power of the Juubi and the precursors to just about every blood limit and power that exists in the world, but was even able to push her back. Well, we did get an answer to that question it seems, although it only truly becomes clear in the mangastream scanslation of this chapter, and that is that Kakashi had also inherited some of the power of the Sage of the Six Paths. How did this happen, you ask? No, it wasn’t because Naruto healed him, but rather, was directly related to Obito himself.

We need to remember that Obito was not just a wielder of the Sharingan, but was also a container Hashirama’s cells as well. His body was, for all intents and purposes, almost the same as the Sage of the Six Paths himself, and Obito even had the Rinnegan and was container for the Juubi at one point. So, it stands to reason that, despite having the Juubi extracted and the Rinnegan taken from him, Obito still had both Uchiha and Senju power within him, and thus, when he passed on that power to Kakashi, the latter benefited from the acquisition of both as well.

Ouch, that burn… even Naruto knows that Kakashi is more awesome than Sasuke right now.

Once again, it still remains to be seen whether or not this power-up for Kakashi is only temporary or permanent, but one thing is certain, and that’s that he has now joined the list of people who are currently more impressive than Sasuke.

Speaking of Sasuke, I have to say that he’s found himself dealing with quite a dilemma at this point, and that is the fact that everyone else on his former team is outshining him. I will admit that I find this quite surprising, given that Kishi usually doesn’t hold back when it comes to flaunting Sasuke’s power, but the reality is that Sasuke really hasn’t contributed much to this battle as a whole. Aside from his ability to seal Kaguya, Sasuke’s eye power does seem remarkably underwhelming when we compare it to the recently upgraded Sharingan of Kakashi’s, and in addition to that, even Sakura has contributed more to the team’s success than Sasuke as a whole, and that’s saying a lot.

I can only help but wonder if this is perhaps an intentional setback on Kishi’s part in the hopes of pushing Sasuke even deeper into a corner of inferiority, perhaps as a means of creating a rift between him and his former team so as to create conflict. I’m still a fan of the idea that Naruto and Sasuke will end up confronting one another at some point, so perhaps this is the build-up to that confrontation.

It probably also doesn’t help that Naruto, whose own contributions to the battle have been nothing short of praiseworthy, also opts to continue to protect Sasuke, even perhaps to the point of seeming overprotective.

Did Sasuke just invite Naruto to a threesome?

All-in-all, the real highlight of chapter 689 was definitely the teamwork. It was really great to see everyone coming together to take down Kaguya in the end, and I personally think it was a far better alternative than just having Naruto and Sasuke doing it on their own.

It was a truly triumphant moment, not just from a literal perspective, but also from a symbolic perspective as well, because, as Kakashi continues to watch his three students unify to save the world, he conveys a few thoughts that bring us back full circle, from the very start of the manga. In a way, it shows us Kakashi’s ever growing admiration for his team, which culminates over the span of a few years into this single moment, where he can at last show his true pride.

Aw… :’)

Chapter 690 marks what appears to be the true end of Kaguya. I say “appears to be” because with this manga, you can never really tell when a villain is truly gone, or when they are really just hiding inside a sword while white Zetsu copies their chakra and dies in their place are just playing dead.

In this case, it’s interesting to note that the sealing technique that was ultimately used on Kaguya was none other than Chibaku Tensei itself, which makes sense when you consider everything.

If you’re OP and you know it clap your hands!

Not only did this mark the end of Kaguya, but also Black Zetsu as well, thank goodness. I was really starting to grow tired of that guy to be honest, so it was great when Naruto kicked him to the proverbial curb.

I also thought it was great how Naruto rejected Zetsu’s vision of what Shinobi was, and gave his own answer through his life experiences, as to what the true history of Shinobi entailed. Seeing all the people that influenced Naruto in his thoughts, was really a great moment, especially now at the end of all things.

Not sure whether he’s snot nosed, or just snot at this point…

One thing I was curious about, given that Naruto and Sasuke have managed to seal Kaguya away, is whether or not this meant that the power they had acquired from Hagoromo had been lost for good or whether they’ll keep that power. Given that each is the successor to Ashura and Indra, it makes sense for Naruto and Sasuke to still retain the powers of Yin and Yang respectively, but the chapter itself seems to give us conflicting visual clues regarding this matter.

On the one hand, when we see Sasuke in this chapter, he still appears to have the Rinnegan in his left eye. On the other hand though, when we pan back to Hagoromo a few panels prior to this, we see the sun and moon symbols on his hand either begin to reappear, or perhaps disappear. If they are, in fact, reappearing, it might mean that the chakra that was given to Naruto and Sasuke was returning to Hagoromo.

As far as visual clues go, this one seems to be leading us in circles. @__@ *Gets eaten for lame joke.*

I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether or not Sasuke and Naruto have retained their powers, but even if they haven’t, technically speaking Naruto still has half of Kurama sealed within him while Sasuke still has the EMS, so they wouldn’t be left wanting either way.

And with them being summoned home by Hagoromo and all the previous Kage, Bijuu and all, it really does leave me wondering where things go from here. Team 7 has quite literally saved the world, but despite that, there are still some loose ends to tie, not the first of which is the fate of the Bijuu themselves.

Sorry, but the red slippers we gave you turned out to be duds, so we had to do it this way.

When we consider that one half of Kurama is most likely still sealed away inside Naruto, does this mean the other half that had been with him all his life will opt to return to him, or will he remain as is, in the outside world? And what of the other Bijuu? Will they perhaps take up the role of guarding humanity in their current forms, or will they follow Hagoromo’s original prophecy and adopt a new form, with a new purpose? And how does Naruto fit into that prophecy as a whole?

The other, more pertinent question is whether or not this is the end of Naruto as a series. Given that Kaguya, the ultimate threat, has now been dealt with, does that mean this is it? Or is there perhaps more to come. I’d personally like to believe that Naruto and Sasuke will still have to settle matters between each other and that a conflict between them is still on the cards, but aside from that possibility, there’s also Madara. Now, I’m not sure whether he’s dead (given that most Jinchuuriki die when losing their Bijuu, or in Madara’s case, losing the Juubi as a whole), but if he somehow survived, there is a chance that he still hasn’t had his last say, though it’s questionable what he could achieve with most of his power stripped from him now.

Or who knows, maybe even Hagoromo was the real villain all along… *cough*

The future is uncertain, but what do you guys think? Now, this is usually where I’d insert a poll to get a general idea of what everyone’s thinking, but, it seems wordpress is being a pain in that regard, so feel free to pop your own thoughts in the comments section.

Why does Hagoromo seem so creepy all of a sudden?

Well, in any case, that’s all from me this week. I hope you all enjoyed the breakdown, and I’ll see you in the comments! ^ ^

~ by Tenrai Senshi on September 3, 2014.