Blackjack612's Review of Naruto 577 Sword of Hatred

[blackjack612]

Welcome all to my review of this week's Naruto chapter. For weeks now, two of my biggest complaints were 1) that Tsunade has been underutilized in the war and 2) that we have seen so little of Dan considering his skills have been teased so much. Sword of Hatred solves both of these problems so let's jump right into the review, shall we...

Naruto 577 Sword of Hatred
The images in this review are credited to Dragon&Fly Scans.

Sword of Hatred begins with Madara refuting Tsuande's claims that the Will of Fire she inherited will allow her to triumph in battle. Tsunade counters that the will she inherited (from the First and Third) led her to pioneer new frontiers in medical ninjutsu and (as we've seen earlier in the manga) develop a system utilizing/training medical ninja. There are three rules Tsunade gives her students:

1. As long as a teammate is breathing, never give up on treating them.
2. Do not engage in battle.
3. Be the last to die.

Moreover, she mentions that only medical ninja capable of using the Fine White Hair* jutsu (an extension of her Creation Rebirth jutsu) are given free license to disregard those rules. She releases the forbidden jutsu that only she knows how to use and rushes at Madara. He soon discovers that Tsunade's more than just a medical ninja as she unleashes a brute strength greater than the Raikage's. He attempts to turn the tide of battle with a fire-style jutsu but Mei counters with a powerful water-style jutsu of her own. Then Onoki and A, once again combine their abilities to increase their speed, attacking Madara from behind.

*This jutsu has a variety of translation, but this is the one that I'm going with since, as naruto.wikia points out, it alludes to the diamond seal mark on her forehead.

This momentary distraction gives Tsunade enough time to deliver a swift kick that shatters Susanoo and sends Madara crashing back down to Earth. Even after this impressive teamwork, Madara remains unimpressed. He thinks Tsunade was foolish to rush out since she is the only Kage capable of healing the others. Seeing that attack as the limit of her ability, Madara laments that he would have taught Hashirama (through use of the Rinnegan) how to rise from the grave if he had known Hashirama's will would have been so squandered. Madara perversely sees himself as carrying on the First's power through his prosthetic.

In a somewhat humanizing moment, Madara mentions that the only thing the living can inherit from the dead is hatred. He's thinking about his brother in the example which is curious. We've yet to learn Tobi's identity. He's an uchiha yes. He's not Madara, but he's been awhile for some time. The obvious answer was that like Madara, his brother didn't die when it was assumed he did. But if we take Madara's claim at face value, Tobi can't be him....unless Madara brought his brother back from the dead. That motivation would explain Madara's obsession with the Senju and his desire to unlock the Rinnegan, even though that decisive battle against Hashirama almost cost him his life.

Elsewhere, Dan is given a double whammy. learning that Madara is alive again, fighting the Kage, and that Tsunade is the Hokage. Just as Choza is reassuring his former comrade that Tsunade won't lose, Tsunade lands a punch against Madara which gives Gaara an opening to seal him. With that, the battle looks wrapped up...

...until Tsunade gets stabbed through the chest. It turns out Madara had either hidden a wood-style clone in the tree he had earlier created or used his clone as a decoy to be sealed. It's one of Hashirama's techniques that only Madara had been able to see through back in the day. Now that the medical ninja is taken out, Madara believes that his victory is inevitable. As Dan grimly tells Choza, the only way to stop Madara is to end Edo Tensei because only someone of Hashirama's caliber stands a chance against that man. Even five Kages aren't enough to do the job.

The chapter ends with Itachi, having slowed Sasuke down with a summoning technique, confronting Kabuto. He reveals that a risk of Edo Tensei is those summoned by the jutsu are able to trace the chakra of the person controlling the jutsu. Of course, it's not like anyone's ever freed him or herself from Edo Tensei before, so Kabuto wasn't expecting that. Working in Kabuto's favor, though, is the fact that only he can end this jutsu. Thus, the chapter ends with Itachi realizing he can't kill Kabuto if he wants to stop that technique and Sasuke's shadow approaching the scene.

There was so much to like about the art this chapter. The dynamic jutsus. The design of Tsunade's Fine White Hair. The action in general. The look in Madara's eye when he mentions his brother. The way Madara crumbles once hit by Tsunade. How Kishimoto chooses that image of rippling water to transition to Dan's first scene this chapter. This is a good example of Kishimoto firing on all cylinders artistically. Everything clicks. The flow of action is smooth and easy to follow, and Kishimoto's eye for composition gives the chapter a cinematic feel. You can just imagine how it'll look animated.

My favorite panels this chapter were: the full-page panel of Tsunade being stabbed and the last panel of the chapter with Itachi standing in front of that hole in the wall. The former is effective at creating shock because the previous page ends with Tsunade triumphant. There's no hint at coming trouble, and then you turn the page to see suddenly she's critically injured. The latter is just a well drawn scene. Question: How many chapters feature Itachi standing in front of ruined architecture? Because I feel like I've seen similar scenes with Itachi before.

This was a wonderful chapter. I didn't even mind that Gaara didn't have much to do this chapter because everything worked so well. The dialogue was solid with the highlight being Madara and Tsunade's back and forth about what the dead are able to entrust to the living. The art was stellar. There was action aplenty and plot momentum on many fronts. Tsunade was critically injured. Dan was featured once more. Itachi finally caught up with Kabuto. With all these plates spinning, it'll be interesting to see how Kishimoto balances it all.

Overall, I was very happy with Naruto 577 which is why it's getting a ...

5 out of 5.

Predictions

Well, my predictions last chapter are showing up golden, so let's see if I can't continue the trend. I said Dan would feature and he did, and the Uchiha brothers would show up at Kabuto's hideout and they have.

It's important to remember that Mu's on the loose still too. I don't think he's headed to help out Kabuto. I think he's headed to make mischief and free Dan. Either that or the Allies will refocus their efforts on Kabuto giving Kabuto the opportunity to free Dan from his imprisonment. I don't think Tsunade died. Madara, having never heard of her technique, probably attributes Tsunade's incredible strength to that jutsu. Instead, she'll probably be able to more actively heal herself, possessing something like the regeneration Edo Tensei's possess. She could use that to come back instantly, but it might make more sense to borrow a play from Madara's playbook, fake at being defeated and when Madara's back is turned, nail him. Which brings us to Kabuto, Itachi, and Sasuke. I would be very surprised if Itachi lives past their encounter. I'm hoping he is killed by Kabuto who is himself ultimately killed by Sasuke rather than Itachi disappearing when Edo Tensei ends. That way, Sasuke sort of redeems himself against an enemy of the Allies and sets himself up for his ultimate redemption.

That's it for the review. See you all next week...

Stray Observations

• "Power has nothing to do with will. It's an actual thing."
• "Right...you are not that weak..."
• "If I could know how weak they turned out to be, I wouldn've taught you how to rise from the dead."
• Tsunade on Madara: "You're a dead man..." in more ways than one.
• Kabuto once more boasting before his enemies dead: "So my luck has finally turned."
• I was tempted to give this one a 6 out of 5 but held off because so much of this chapter is set-up. How well Naruto 577 works will be determined on how Kishimoto handles the cliffhangers therein.

One Line Reviews

• One Piece is picking up steam with the latest chapter that features more of the same entertaining hijinks, a decent sword fight, and the surprise appearance of one of my favorite characters.
• Bleach had moments of both greatness and weakness this chapter. On one hand, I like the design of the presumed Big Bad and his fortress. On the other hand, there's still nothing about this current arc that resonates with me besides the promise of coming war and I wasn't over the moon about the character design for that one guy posturing as the Big Bad before the actual Big Bad put him in his place.

[Knatz]

Thank's for sharing your thoughts with us every week.
The review was great as usual but I have a different rating for this chapter 2/5 because nothing really happened plot wise.
what I found interesting was Itachi's last words for the chapter that imply that Itachi may have realised that Kabuto is prepared to counter Itachi's Genjutsu.

[mattiaildivino]

Black,this may be your best review! What I liked most were the predictions,especially your explanation of the theory that Madara won't expect tsunade's technique to heal herself,but he just attributed her a strength higher than A's. even your writing was excellent. But for what concerns the analysis,I disagree with you in some things: first of all,I doubt madara meant to revive hashirama by the rinnegan(you meant gedo rinne tensei,didn't you?). I rather think he meant "Hashirama, your will you passed down failed,and since your heirs disappointed you,instead of dying leaving everything to them,you should have stolen my eyes,when u killed me,and should have resurrected yourself to finish the job"

[Taraku]

Nice review. However, I tend to believe that Edo Tensei may end with Kabuto's death. Ever since the jutus was introduced we were told, that killing the caster wouldn't do anything. But we were told so by the caster himself - where do they know that from? I doubt they have met an Edo Tensei user, killed him and then realized it didn't stop Edo Tensei. So far I'd say it's a simple assumption by Kabuto (or Orochimaru) that their death won't end Edo and maybe they use it as a means of self protection.

P.S.: I voted that Tsunade is done for good but just because I don't like her very much. Her regenerative ability is so high and with that new technique it might even be on par with Edo Tensei's regeneration.

[mattiaildivino]

after Oro used that technique,Hiruzen thought this: "the edo tensei doesn't end by killing the user" . so it's something he learnt by tobirama,and the only proof should be that tobirama died while his zombies stay there,imo.

but,is that technique of tsunade really new? I didn't notice it was different from usual,is it really the next step of her rebirth?

[Shinomori Aoshi]

Nice review black! Just one thing though, was it shown/told somewhere in the manga that Dan and Choza were teammates? Because Dan is Tsunade's/Jiraiya's generation and Choza is Minato's/Shikaku's generation (the next one). Moreover, Choza surely was at some point a member of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio.

[shinsengumi]

nice review there
since we havent seen the actual effects of tsunade's release (she didnt regenerate even once ) i hardly believe shes out of the picture yet

[mattiaildivino]

Nice review black! Just one thing though, was it shown/told somewhere in the manga that Dan and Choza were teammates? Because Dan is Tsunade's/Jiraiya's generation and Choza is Minato's/Shikaku's generation (the next one). Moreover, Choza surely was at some point a member of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio.

yeah,I wanted to say the same thing,but my first post was full of congratulations on the review,so I didn't want to complain . By the way,Dan may have been choza's master (something like iruka for the genins of naruto's generation) since he is at least as old as tsunade,if not older.

about the analysis,I'd like to share my point of view with you guys. It's not that itachi didn't know he couldn't kill kabuto,imo. since Hiruzen knew that http://www.mangareader.net/93-126-2/...apter-121.html ,and the Alliance knew that as well http://www.mangareader.net/93-58746-...apter-517.html . Not to mention that when Bee in volume 58 told itachi they had just met a zombie (Toroi) and that physical attacks were meaningless against them,he stayed impassive. I believe Itachi said things are turning out to be worse,because sasuke appeared. Itachi sensed him when sasuke reached him,kisame and naruto in volume 17 http://www.mangareader.net/93-150-18...apter-145.html http://www.mangareader.net/93-150-19...apter-145.html ,so he was referring to sasuke's arrival,100% sure

[blackjack612]

However, I tend to believe that Edo Tensei may end with Kabuto's death. Ever since the jutus was introduced we were told, that killing the caster wouldn't do anything. But we were told so by the caster himself - where do they know that from? I doubt they have met an Edo Tensei user, killed him and then realized it didn't stop Edo Tensei. So far I'd say it's a simple assumption by Kabuto (or Orochimaru) that their death won't end Edo and maybe they use it as a means of self protection.

Kabuto could easily be lying, but that would seem so obvious from such an untrustable individual. But from what we've seen already, I'm prepared to believe him. When Orochimaru and Kabuto have used the technique, they've had to use talismans to bind the summons to their will which makes it seem like once revived the dead are bound to the world rather than the user.

P.S.: I voted that Tsunade is done for good but just because I don't like her very much. Her regenerative ability is so high and with that new technique it might even be on par with Edo Tensei's regeneration.

Haha, but that would still put her skills below the First Hokage who didn't need to form seals to heal. Personally, I'm a fan. Her ability is in keeping with her having excellent chakra control and a pioneer of medical ninjutsu. Medical ninjutsu is portrayed as something that a lot of study goes into as opposed to other abilities (particularly bloodline limits) that aren't derived as much from hard work. A lot of shinobi dedicate themselves to training, but at the end of the day, some nameless ninja whose put as much time into practicing fire jutsu as Itachi isn't going to best his Amaterasu.

but,is that technique of tsunade really new? I didn't notice it was different from usual,is it really the next step of her rebirth?

It actually is. The seal itself extends further down her body as if it's a more advanced extension of that technique. When she first used that jutsu to heal in the last battle of the Sannin, the seal spiraled outward only to the edge of her head. It was the same as when she released her seal after teleporting. With just that level of jutsu she survived being stabbed and cut multiple times by Orochimaru. Her current injury doesn't seem as bad as the beating she took in chapter 169.

Just one thing though, was it shown/told somewhere in the manga that Dan and Choza were teammates? Because Dan is Tsunade's/Jiraiya's generation and Choza is Minato's/Shikaku's generation (the next one). Moreover, Choza surely was at some point a member of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio.

I used comrade to mean ally from Konoha rather than specifically being a teammate, similar to how Kakashi, Iruka, Shukaku, and Asuma are some of Naruto's comrades. Sorry if there was any confusion about that. I was pointing out that Choza and Dan were obviously familiar with one another so Dan must have known Choza while he was still alive.

[mattiaildivino]

oh thank's,that's a good explanation,and it must be right. but what do you think about what I pointed out about itachi's words' true meaning?

[blackjack612]

oh thank's,that's a good explanation,and it must be right. but what do you think about what I pointed out about itachi's words' true meaning?

You're interpretation of Itachi's last line makes sense. He could just as easily be referring to Sasuke's stubborness. Kabuto's death not ending Edo Tensei shouldn't faze Itachi since Itachi is an expert Genjutsu user. What I'm more curious about is how Kabuto plans to counter Tsukuyomi since MS genjutsu is the obvious choice for ending Edo Tensei.

[mattiaildivino]

You're interpretation of Itachi's last line makes sense. He could just as easily be referring to Sasuke's stubborness. Kabuto's death not ending Edo Tensei shouldn't faze Itachi since Itachi is an expert Genjutsu user. What I'm more curious about is how Kabuto plans to counter Tsukuyomi since MS genjutsu is the obvious choice for ending Edo Tensei.

1)what do you mean by the sentence "it shouldn't faze itachi,since he is an expert genjutsu user"? that he is so intelligent not to worry about that?
2)I don't think tsukuyomi is useful now,since it looks rather like a torture than a technique which manipulates the opponent. But it's true that the MS can use other illusions than Tsukuyomi,as sasuke showed in volume 44 http://www.mangareader.net/93-413-4/...apter-408.html and recently http://www.mangareader.net/naruto/574/11 .Yet,I doubt these will work on kabuto,since he is immune to them.

Furthermore,someone pointed out that oro's skin and chakra in kabuto's body will work perfectly versus itachi's illusions,even against tsukuyomi.

[blackjack612]

1)what do you mean by the sentence "it shouldn't faze itachi,since he is an expert genjutsu user"? that he is so intelligent not to worry about that?

Yes, Itachi is talented and intelligent enough for Kabuto's reveal to not be a huge setback in his mission.

[Shinomori Aoshi]

@blackjack

You're absolutely right, I probably made a mental link of this with the preview on mangastream where they do say 'teammate'. Sorry for confusing it.