Naruto (spoiler heavy)

[Raichu]

Naruto number 436 is now up at MangaVolume.com. I STRONGLY recommend reading that before continuing, because my own commentary can't do this justice.

I mean it.

Shikamaru asked the ninja interrogator (sorry, I don't remember his name) what he means, and he said that when Shikamaru mentioned dead bodies, something clicked in his mind that may give away the real Pain's location. The autopsy of the body for the former summoning Pain was found to have his body pierced all over with chakra recievers. He remembered probing the mind of the Amegakure man whose job it was to carry bodies to the tallest tower inthe Rain Village, and he heard a rumor that Pain was inside that tower. A tall tower is best for transmitting signals over a long distance. Therefore, Pain must be located at the most elevated point within sight of Konoha. Shikamaru immediately issues an order for the search of all elevated locations nearby. Kishimoto once said that Shikamaru was his favorite character. Are we about to see him shine again?

It's always interesting to look into the heart of a madman, and that's exactly what we get in Pain's chat with Naruto. I'll spare you the philosophy, and say that it's scary how much I understand Pain right from the start. We already know his ultimate goal, to create a weapon that can bring about mutually-assured destruction on an unprecidented scale, which will deter war for a while, and ensure wars will end quickly, with little suffering. His intentions almost sound noble, but his blatent disregard for the value of human life sickens me.

At the tail-end of his speech, the scene segued to to the real Pain. I had guessed it was the Rikudou Sage himself, but that would have been a little unrealistic. If you guessed that it was Nagato, you would be correct. His appearance was cybernetic, with his bottom half hidden beneath a 4-legged machine that resembles the Spider Mastermind from Doom. His arms apparently have little movement of their own, as they are suspended by cables on an apparatus placed on the back of the machine granting him mobility. Coming from his back are numerous long spires that apparently allow him to broadcast his chakra to the Pains. I almost don't want anyone finding him. If they did, they would likely get killed. Not only is a fully-powered Konan with him, the fact that he is the Rinnegan user concievably gives him access to every jutsu imaginable. It's also hard to imagine that he'd move outside his home country without some form of high security. If he has enough chakra to send to six bodies long distance for an extended period of time, any attempt to take him head-on would quickly turn nasty.

I can hardly wait for issue 437. Come on, Naruto! You have to find a way out of this!

[Andyman24715]

WTF.
Hinata: I LOVE YOU NARUTO.
AND THEN SHE DIES.
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URGH.

[Raichu]

Naruto 439 is up at MangaVolume. Go read that.

Rather than write a full commentary, I'll just comment on issues released so far. After all, it's pointless when you can just read the manga, right?

Anyway, it looks like the God-Realm Pain has one more technique, Chibaku Tensei. This technique was used to create a small dense sphere, which pulls everything into it's gravity. According to Nagato, the moon was made when the Rikudou Sage used this same technique. Dude.

Anyhow, I'm surprised at who shows up at the end. Didn't see that one coming.

So, it's time for Speculation Corner. Can Naruto escape capture?

On the one hand, Naruto with the Kyubi is no pushover. He put up one heck of a fight after showing up with three frogs, including Gamabunta, and smashed all but one of the six Pains with his Sage abilities. Supposedly, he has one more shadow clone gathering natural energy at Myobokuzan. If Naruto can call him over, then he'll have a good chance against Pain, and possibly Nagato.

On the other hand, Pain isn't going to accept failure. I know how things like this go down. If Nagato returns to Madara with news of failure, he'll likely be repaid with death. That's how things go in criminal syndicates like Akatsuki. Also, Madara already made clear that failure wouldn't be tolerated from him. As strong as Pain may be, even a weakened Nagato will be on a whole other level. Being a Rinnegan possessor, he can use any jutsu imaginable, including anything that the other Pains have done, and then some. I wouldn't envy the Leaf shinobi that manages to find him.

I still think that this can go either way. This is one heck of a match.
This is Kage-level combat, where the powers at play are so strong, it's really a matter of who can out-wit whom.

[Raichu]

Oh man. I just had a thought. What if Naruto actually talks his way out of capture without fighting? That would be ironic, not at all what you'd expect in a manga about ninjas.

I've said that you can't hate someone you understand. And with openness comes understanding. Perhaps Naruto is about to learn a critical step to lasting peace?

[Raichu]

Told ya. It all ends with hugs and kisses.

Hur hur hur...

[Raichu]

This thread is obviously dead, and I wouldn't normally do this, but go read Naruto 455. Truly epic ending.

It looks like I was right about him.