The action in this chapter was rather slow with a few high points. With so much talking surrounding the Uchiha Brothers and Kabuto, there was little room for any action from them aside from some shuriken tossing . As for the Kages, they really haven't shown us much we haven't already seen, however Madara has brought out another jutsu that might bring the Kages near death.
We'll start out with the first exchange between Tsuande and Madara.
Tsuande's Byakugō no Jutsu (Strength of a Hundred) is essentially an extension of her Sōzō Saisei (Creation Rebirth) without handseals. Essentially, Tsuande has re-created Hashirama's ability to heal the body without handseals. This in of itself is an incredible feat, and combined with her incredible chakra enhanced strength Tsuande is high near invincible in close range combat.
Saying this, I can't think anyone can say they are surprised she lived through her stabbing by Madara's Sussano, which by the way is still not being evolved to it's final stage (more or on that in a second). What was surprising and very bad ass was the fact that Tsuande pulled the sword from her chest and attempted to strike Madara with it. Granted, this only got her pummeled into the ground (with no damage mind you thanks to her Byakugō no Jutsu) but it just goes to show her ability to get in their and do the dirty work for the Kages (something the Raikage should be doing as well). Tsuande is often hated on for not being "as powerful" as other ninja, but there are few ninja who are capable of doing what she is doing at this juncture.
As for Madara in this little exchange, we see him utilize Sussano for both offensive and defensive purposes, which is nothing new. But strangely, his Sussano is not evolving to it's final form like Sasuke and Itachi's are capable of. Some possible explanations for this are.
1) Madara isn't capable of doing so, because he lacks the skill (highly unlikely)
2) Madara doesn't deem it necessary since he is immortal (most likely)
3) Madara doesn't want to waste his chakra (*See end note).
Onoki is doing his best Goku impression with his Kamahama Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu (Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World). But sadly, this awesome jutsu is useless, just like all ninjutsu in the eye of the Rinnegan. Madara easily uses his Hungry Ghost Path powers to absorb it, mentioning that he only "allowed" Onoki to hit him before in order for the Kages to see Hashirama's face.
Now, up until this point in the whole Five Kage vs. Madara fight, Madara has pressed the Kages with individual jutsu that are by all means trump cards, and the Kages of somehow managed to survive (mostly thanks to Onoki). He has yet to truly press them continually, but that has all just changed.
Taju Mokuton Bushin no Jutsu! (Multiple Wood Clone Technique) may just be the end of the Kages. Fighting one Madara has proved difficult enough, but now each Kage is individually outnumbered 5 to 1. By all means, just by using his unbelievable fighting skill and speed, these clones of Madara should be able to over-take the Kages and kill all of them. Nevermind the fact that he mocks the Kages by mentioning that each of these clones is fully capable of using Sussano. This is the most overkill and helpless situation I have ever seen in the manga. Even though these are the Five Kage, Madara is EASILY the single most powerful ninja we have witnessed in this manga. With each clone fully capable of doing all Madara can, the outlook is grim.
Moving on to The Uchiha Brothers vs. Kabuto, we have very little physical action. However, Itachi has said he will use his Tsukuyomi Genjutsu to control Kabuto and stop Edo Tensei....
That is all fine and dandy, but it will never work. Kabuto is everything Orochimaru is not, he has surpassed his master in every way possible, and that should include his defense against genjutsu, specifically that of the Sharigan. Itachi's genjutsu will likely fail, as to how that will happen, there is little information we can use to speculate. But...it could have something to do with the with the White Snake transformation Kabuto has undergone. Perhaps the snakes act like a cooperating Biju, as an instant counter to all genjutsu (so long as they know it is happening). Or, perhaps Kabuto has somehow re-created Orochimaru inter-dimensional soul transfer jutsu and when Itachi invades his mind with Tsukuyomi, he'll become trapped, meaning Sasuke would be all alone.
In the coming chapters though, prepare to see a vintage Sasuke (No MS, aside from Sussano maybe) vs. Kabuto. I feel as if Itachi won't be doing much fighting, leaving Sasuke to break Kabuto down with his amazing and wide array of skills since he can't outright kill Kabuto.
Also prepare to see the Kages get smacked around. They had the right strategy to press Madara into a corner and try and have Gaara seal him, but all may be lost right now. Their best bet is for Onoki and Gaara to help everyone take to the sky where Madara can't get them (hopefully) and work from their.
Final Verdict: This was a build up chapter action wise, but none the less Madara's WTF moment of creating Wood Clones was enough for me to give this chapter an average 3/5 in the action Dept.
Notes:
*Edo Tensei should not allow for ninja to become fatigued. People have the misconception that Muu and the Second Mizukage ran out of gas, this isn't the case.
Muu: Used his Splitting technique which cut his soul in half. By doing so he lost the use of Jinton because he lacked the required parts of his soul to preform it. This had nothing to do with stamina, but with the jutsu he used.
Mizukage: Mizukage hails from the same clan that Suigetsu and Mugetsu hail from. Meaning, he gets dehydrated like they do. Edo Tensei brings ninja back the way they are when they died, but it also bring them back with all their imperfections. Hence why Nagato was still crippled, Hanzo was still able to be affected by his own poison without his mask, and while the Mizukage became dehydrated due to his pre-existing physical condition. His stamina was still unlimited, but the type of body he had due to his genetics made him look fatigued because he was dehydrated.
Some may point out that Kimimaro and Itachi were unaffected by their physical aliments when brought back. True, but then again Kabuto could have altered them like he did Madara. Or, since their sicknesses fatigued them (they literally overexerted themselves and died) it would seem that in their case Edo Tensei overrides their disease since they can't die from fatigue any longer being immortal. As for Itachi's eyesight, perhaps being dead restored the eyes power, afterall if his eyes were useless Sasuke should be blind right now.
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Originally Posted by jdw
