Naruto manga - chapter 469

[askerian]

http://www.mangafox.com/manga/naruto/v50/c469/1.html



I looked at the spoilers. Very fast, so i didn't get the details. Still, I knew the main events. So I spent the last three-four days snarling to myself about how sucky it was for Sakura's character development and how pissed I was that Kishimoto couldn't showcase Naruto's amazing faithfulness without breaking Sakura's own faith that was one of her core characteristics and making her look like a self-centered bitch on the rebound.

Still, the actual chapter wasn't quite as bad as I had feared. The body language helps a lot. Also my desperate hope that Kishi has a plan to salvage this, sort of maybe. I know it's not very likely, but I'll cling until next week at least.


1. Blahblah KillerBee rhymes and that's funny lol blah. giant raccoon blahblah...


2. Dead plant guy blah oh hey I like this byakugan eye guy. OHH AN ACTUAL EXPLANATION OF ZETSU'S JUTSU i didn't understand a word of it but then again i should have been in bed five hours ago :DDD; will read over later! (unless someone can summarize in a manner my poor brain will comprehend)


3. -- eeeee Danzou!
"I don't care if i die, but gouge out my eye and take it with you"
BADASS. Okay, man, I need a younger-no-jutsu so I can actually ship the hell out of you. (... WITH KAKASHI, I THINK. YES. Strangely enough not with Sai. Older!Danzou/current!Sai gives better ohsowrong pings. *wise nod*)

Creepy soft doll with hand scythes! It looks kind of neat.


4. "I cuddle you... WITH MY BLADES."


5. Eeee. It looks kinda like a Yamanaka technique except one stage evolved. SHINY.
(but but but he can't be a yamanaka, he's got PUPILS! also he actually used his jutsu in combat. That's just plain wrong. XD
you know, the Yamanakas have a cool ability... and what do we see them use it for? To take over birds and spy from afar and be a hindrance to their teammates who have to shield the empty body. I don't mind the shielding thing as a normal drawback to a potentially devastating ability, but at least do something *shiny* with the things you take over, damn it! It's so *chilly*, all the things they could do with that ability! One fic I read once -- I forgot the rest apart from that, which stayed with me -- had Ino possessing a target, and then jumping from a building and leaving the body just before it crashed to the ground, so it would look like a suicide. That was fucking cool! I wish Kishi would be more inventive with her abilities. He gave Shikamaru a dozen bazilion ways to be creative with his, even before the powerups! Hn.)


6. "You're the one who was trash talking us, Mifune."


7. "... I was perhaps a little hasty! :D lalala um what do you mean i got totally tricked by danzou and acted all badass and now i'm in a room with four people who kinda don't like me ahaha um. Hey Raikage, let me suck your metaphorical cock a bit more. You'll be an awesome leader because, um... you're an awesome brother! Yeah. Totally."
"Bitch, I don't want no metaphowhatever. Do it for real or shut your trap."


8. If only Tsuchikage wasn't a drunk old midget with a fat nose I'd totally ship him with Raikage. He's the only one who doesn't take Raikage's shit and then asks for more, they have a "we will ally for now... SO THAT WHEN WE'RE DONE I CAN FIGHT YOU" thing going on, and Raikage actually used his real~ name~ truelooove~ XD


9. Raikage: *tries to smile in an approving way* *forgets how to unclench his eyebrows*

Naruto: ... repeat plz? I haz snowz in my earz. (NNNGHSOCUTE.)
Kiba: :/
Lee: D8
Yamato: DDDD8
Kakashi: e_\\;;;


10. "What I said, Naruto... is that I love you!"
Okay so she did her love declaration right here in the open with four other guys with them. Not even just in the background watching, but right there in the group with them. And she looks coyly to the side instead of staring right at him.

"I don't know what I was thinking, liking a person like that."
Yeah, what were you thinking? I bet Naruto could tell you, 'cause he's even more in love with Sasuke than you've ever been. >__>

Naruto's O__O face is SO CUTE though. SO CUTE.

11. ... and then his slow 0___0 ... e.è ... è_é ... ouch. Just ouch.
Sakura: *looks surprised when Naruto fails to look grateful and jumps for joy*
Naruto: "Just what happened?"
Sakura: :D "Nothing really I just realized there's no sense in keeping on liking a criminal. I can't stay a kid forever, I have to face reality."

I'm trying to read this as something mature and reasonable, but it still comes across as "I never really loved him because you can't control love, I just had a crush which you can switch on and off at will and now it's inconvenient." Thing is, Naruto is the one who said that if growing up and not being a fool meant letting go of Sasuke then he'd rather be a fool all his life, so he's not gonna be impressed she's settling for him.


12. "So Naruto, no need to keep that promise... won't you stop chasing Sasuke?"

I think the only thing that redeems it a little for me, is the very fact that her smile is fake and way too bright and shallow and nervous for the situation. No matter whether she's aware that she's trying to shield his poor little feelings by nobly sacrificing herself, or whether she's honestly confused and lost and hurting, there's still a part of her that doesn't even believe the shit coming out of her mouth.
Of course it doesn't help that she seems to think Naruto WOULD believe it... or does she? because, um, what.

Yamato: >:/ "What the hell are you..."
*snerk* "Oh Sakura, I can tell that in reality you... LOVE NARUTO WITH ALL YOUR HEART, I CAN TELL BECAUSE AS A CAPTAIN I CARE SO MUCH ABOUT LOVE MATCHES BETWEEN TEAMMATES WHICH I WILL THEN ENCOURAGE YOU TO LEAVE BEHIND FOR THE GOOD OF THE MISSION" hahaha not so much.

Kiba having the flashback to the genin reunion...
Sakura: "I'll do all the talking so let me blahblah"
-- I'm srsly hoping we then discover that the full talk was something about how Sakura was gonna PROVE once and for all that Naruto wouldn't give up and she knew it and they better know it too. It's the only thing that could fully redeem it for me.
(and whoa, hinata was there in the genin crowd, too. When Sakura knows perfectly well that she just risked her life for him. That adds another layer of bitch on the "oh, I'm so special to him his little heart might never recover from losing me so i have to sacrifice myself as a consolation prize boohoo sob sob" cake)

Naruto: Did something happen? *still can't believe it. And whne Naruto can't even believe it, you better believe there's something to be disbelieved. believe it.*


13. Sakura: Nothing happened!
Sai: *.....* 9__9 *oh, good, Sakura is about to make Naruto-kun happy. I will sure like to see Naruto-kun happy.*
Sakura: If you want to know why I started liking you, I'll tell you clearly! *melancholic prettyface as she gathers herself*
Naruto: *flashbacks to bench incident, Dead Porcupine Sasuke incident, Promise of a Lifetime, We'll do it together, OMG SASUKE i see manchest o_o*

(frrrgh as if her "next time we'll do it together" wasn't ALREADY taking the "promise you'll do it for me naruto!!" back. gah.)


14. Sakura: *...hug?* *not even with her arms thrown around his back, but just with her hands curled around his arms*
Naruto: ... *stands there*
Kakashi: ... e_\\ "Sakura, you..."
Sai: è__é *this better be working, bitch. Put more boobs in it!* *strange how I like it less than I believed I would...*
Kiba: >__é;;;; (oh god this looks like a "this better be working" face. XD)
Lee: ò.o;;
Yamato: >:/ (what, Doctor Love doesn't encourage this turn of events? *gasp* I thought he'd be throwing a party!)


15. Sakura: "Sasuke keeps getting further away... but you, you stayed." *this is not at all a case of "settling" à la "if you can't be with the one you love, try to love the one you're with."* "You became the hero who protected the village... beloved by everyone... i'm just one of them."
(it's a little hard to read this in a way that doesn't come across as "I love you because you're worthy NOW, just like everyone else, but I would never have loved you as you were before." I'm sure she hasn't fallen THAT low and she just means that he's been impressing everyone, her included.)
"But all Sasuke's done is break my heart and become a gangsta... And that's why I love you! Because Sasuke is a gangsta now, but that doesn't mean I love you because I have to have SOMEONE and I've given up on him so i'm on the rebound, I mean if that were the case I'd have fallen for you FIRST and then my feelings for him would stop being relevant, huh? But Naruto, you're right here where I can touch you and Sasuke isn't and i've been getting real horny lately and you make me feel safe

I reached the "safe" part and was all "... yeah, that's not being in love, honey, that's fear of getting hurt."


16. Naruto: "Gimme a break, Sakura-chan, I told you that joke is not funny!" >((
Oh Naruto why are you so cutely drawn when you're getting your heart kicked.
Sakura: ))):
(huh, no tear in her eyes. Considering how much of a fountain she's been recently...)


17. Sakura: ^-^; ahaha "but i just switched from sasuke to you, everyone knows women are fickle how come you're not happy?"
Naruto: "I hate people who lie to themselves." >:|

DUNDUNDUNNNN.

Okay, yeah, that little "Sakura secretly loevs Naruto she just hadn't noticed before and she totally doesn't care about Sasuke anymore!" argument is pretty much dead. With that SRS frown he had almost from the moment she said it, and that utter certainty in his simple "No. You're not" -- as a shounen, pure hearted, hero there's NO WAY he's wrong about it. I'm... still not saying it couldn't develop! But from a basis like that, man would it be angsty and bitter. Naruto just wouldn't trust her easy even after she HAS sorted out her feelings for Sasuke (*if* she's going to).


I... hate it less than I had thought, but that's mostly because of the art -- she looked so uneasy and unconvinced and the mood was about as far from a true confession as you can get, I mean come on she used her love confession right there in front of everyone because it was a *tool* to attempt to change his mind; even before he rejected it, the whole feel of it was just wrong.

I'm clinging to the idea that Sakura knew it wouldn't work, she just tried anyway because it was a last ditch effort, everyone pressured her to give in, Sai did a thorough job of crushing her soul, she's scared Naruto will get killed too and she needs to have at least one of the two of them left, she's really not looking too crushed there by the end because she was just proving a point to the other assholes and it'll turn out she was in perfect agreement with naruto from the start and her devotion never wavered just to make naruto's look steady and true shut up i can dream. I'd forgive her that. I wouldn't appreciate it much if she truly believed that all it would take for Naruto to give up on Sasuke would be her flashing her tits and a promise of a love she knows she doesn't feel, but she'll pretend because she's Just That Noble.

I'm gonna hold up hope until next week. After that, well, I'll just take it as proof that Kishi can't show Naruto being greater than your average joe without contrasting him with someone being worse, and Sakura drew the short straw just so Naruto could look noble, selfless and all-knowing, and I'll replace it with my own headcanon where her core devotion in either of her boys never wavered, just maybe the strength she needed to see it through. >_>

Comments

[questofdreams.livejournal.com]

*PUMPS FIST* RECHARGING OPTIMISM. FAITH IS NOW RENEWED. WOOO~

Also, I am changing my msn message to '0___0 ... e.è ... è_é'

♥

Oh right, I need to go read all those pages before the confession that I totally skipped over >_>;;;

[askerian]

... *snerk*

What, you mean there's actually, like... POLITICS and FIGHT SCENES in this manga? *gaspu*

[annwyd.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my reaction to the spoilers was "Sakura can't even be the hero of her own heart anymore? Naruto has to be the only hero even there?" But it's nice to know that the art kind of helps make it just another level of the sexy fucked-up-ness that is Team 7...even if we're going to have to fanwank hard to keep Sakura from looking like a complete tool.

[askerian]

I'm not saying the reaction doesn't make any sense, even though it's illogical and is a case of thoughtlessly hurting people while trying to protect them -- it's very human, but Sakura comes out of it looking rather bad and since it's been a while since she had a good kickass moment she's been spending all her "one good emotional cry" tickets. I really hope she's got awesome moments coming up and she's not gonna be sidelined until the end of the manga. Sure, she's a faillible human and that's what I like about her, but I'm tired of only seeing the failing parts in recent chapters.

But yeah, even if next chapter has "heh, I knew that you knew, i just wanted to make it clear to everone now let's save sasuke" she'll still come off as callous. *sigh*

[houkouonchi.livejournal.com]

Argh! I really have to catch up on the manga. My brother who enjoys spoiling things for me (and apparently I enjoy spoiling things for myself as well because I read it) sent me the confession part. It just all seemed a little too convenient. At least Naruto had the presence of mind to stop her. There was no way Sakura had gotten over her love for/infatuation with Sasuke just yet.

[askerian]

Especially since only a few chapters ago she was crying her heart out over Sasuke. Again. And now she's supposed to be all calm and rational about her suddenly discovered love for Naruto. Thank god Kishi was planning to make the confession fail because it would NOT have been believable if that was his plan. Now i'm just hoping she'll get to actually do something right soonish. *kicks Kishi*

[ramenmaster.livejournal.com]

lol Yamato totally looked like he wanted to choke Sakura or at the very least tackle her to the ground just to stop her from her crazy talk. Anyway, I really hope you're right about Sakura.

[askerian]

yeah, Yamato's and everyone's faces made this a lot better to me. I was so busy loling I forgot to be ragey. XD

*crosses fingers* T___T

[yira-heerai.livejournal.com]

You know it's fake, Naruto knows it's fake, Sakura knows it's fake, hell even KAKASHI knows it's fake or else he wouldn't have shut Yamato up like that.

I feel like there's more meaning to it. Maybe it's the art, I dunno, but I really do have a feeling that there's something else to it. Like you, I think it's just better to wait for the next chapter. She's getting the yelling of a lifetime from him, you know it.

[askerian]

I feel like there's more meaning to it. Maybe it's the art, I dunno,

yeah, there's something in the way the flashbacks were presented, especially Kiba's, and the way Lee and Kiba just watched her confess after the first moments of D:, and also the very last page... I dunno, I seriously hope it's implying something else is going on underneath.

[nekokriszty.livejournal.com]

You know, I actually believe Sakura did it because she didn't realize how much Naruto really understands her, and thought it would work. I feel she decided to put Naruto's safety and happiness in front of her own.

Though I agree with your flashing tits comment. Maybe she was so blinded by her fear FOR Naruto that she just forgot to think.

Still, the sacrifice I feel she was willing to make - that feels like her most awesome act in the manga yet. Not counting her ninja fights and medical achievements. That's strength of the mind; this was definitely strength of the soul. (Now I'm a little afraid you'll think I'm a retard, knowing you disliked the chapter so much :D)

[askerian]

Yeah, it's all me, thinking people are retards for fandom opinions. XD ♥

I can see Sakura trying it because she believed it had a chance of working, yeah. And I can see her doing it out of the fear of losing her second teammate to war and revenge -- that's pretty much the only reason I can see, actually, because simple peer pressure would never be enough.

I just don't see it as an amazing kind of strength. Mostly because in the manga giving up was never presented as a strength, and that's pretty much what she's doing -- thinking that she has already lost Sasuke body and mind, and letting her fear of losing Naruto as well or seeing him broken talk. She's not really putting Naruto over Sasuke in terms of importance; she's just being pessimistic (okay, realistic XD) about how unlikely it is that they'll ever get Sasuke back, and thinking that they should cut their losses right now so it won't get even worse. It's not a choice she's making between the two of them and what they represent to her -- her romantic love versus her trusted friend and her village and peace and stability and the responsibility of all the villagers' lives. It's losing faith that they can ever succeed and trying to limit the damages.

I think she's doing it out of love, but also out of fear of more grief. It's not the strongest reaction she could have had to me.

[quoth-the-ravyn.livejournal.com]

.... wut?

0_o

I have this urge to cry in a corner.

[askerian]

*petpetpetpetpet* there, there. we'll always have fanfic. And the first half of Part 2. ;___;

[araine.livejournal.com]

I'm clinging to the idea that Sakura knew it wouldn't work, she just tried anyway because it was a last ditch effort, everyone pressured her to give in, Sai did a thorough job of crushing her soul, she's scared Naruto will get killed too and she needs to have at least one of the two of them left

Ohman, I hope that this is the way it works out. I hope so. Because the bulldozering of Sakura's character is really, really killing me right now. To the point of my losing faith and wondering why I ever emotionally engaged with this manga in the first place.

I just... I hope that this is handled well, and that there is more than there appears to be on the surface. Because otherwise I will be so confused as to wth Sakura was thinking. And emotional whiplash may make me retreat to fanficworld alone.

[askerian]

Nooo she'll be awesome again, we have to BELIEVE. ;__; If any, there's the foreshadowed showdown against Karin... (tho seeing how Karin has been shown to be a non-fighter I'm not sure how interesting it'll be, or whether the rivalry will ever be on a physical plane to start with. Also, urg, chicks only getting to fight other chicks.)

[garmiet.livejournal.com]

It's what I hate about spoilers. You never seem to get the whole story along with the chapter and it ends up deceiving you in some way or another. I looked at spoilers once or twice around the time of the Uchiha Battle, and I was a mess until the actual scanlations turned up.

Blog entries mentioned something about Sakura and Naruto, but I tried not to see more than that.


What I don't get is why so many people have it in for Sakura for this. I mean, she's not a bad person and she's just trying to help.


Creepy soft doll with hand scythes! It looks kind of neat.
Happy Halloween indeed. ^^

That bit about Ino causing an apparent suicide ... I'm curious about that. What fic was it?


Lol, I love your facial interpretations on pg 14. XD



Honestly, I hadn't thought of Sakura doing this just to prove a point to the other guys, but it's possible. But even if that's not the case ... she's human. She's trying to do the right thing.

[askerian]

You never seem to get the whole story along with the chapter and it ends up deceiving you in some way or another.
yeah, that and making up your mind and biasing your impressions before you even see the real thing too, but the spoilers were so hard to avoid this week, everywhere i went there was talk about it. DX


As for the fic, I really don't remember, it was like five years ago and really the assassination part was the only truly memorable thing in it. ... I think there was Gaara in it?

[flourite-roses.livejournal.com]

I think I'll prefer your version much better too. Let's just take Teamwork as canon, ya? Actually, I already do.

[mandy347.livejournal.com]

I keep wondering when the anime will get to the part where Teamwork begins.

I might be delusional.

[ookami-ryuu.livejournal.com]

Ok I'm glad I was not the only one who found Naruto so incredibly CUTE this chapter. XD With his cold little nose and wide eyes. Made it harder to concentrate on the other things going on (almost...) *smile*
And you sort of gave me hope there. That Sakura was just doing it to show that Naruto would never give up, I'm hoping with you! I really like Sakura and that was just.... *wrinkles nose* But I'm holding my horses until we get some more chapters to base facts and opinions on. ;)

[askerian]

That cold nose and cold cheeks -- SO CUTE. and the wide stunned eyes! i wanted to cuddle him and warm him up. X3

*braces self for another week of waiting* T___T

[rosalui.livejournal.com]

.....I'm really, really hoping Sakura secretly Has A Plan, or something. ...Though we see how hat sort of hoping worked out with Sasuke.

BUT FUCK YOU KISHI. FUCK YOU.

Hey, at least we have confirmation that, um, Naruto's not giving up? >>

KISHI YOU ASSHAT.

You know something's gone wrong with a story when you complain about the author, not the characters.

[rosalui.livejournal.com]

PS - But lawl, Naruto's face WAS the cutest thing ever. :3

[phantomshade]

The only thing about this chapter that I really, truely, honestly hated - without whatever information the next chapter is going to give us about Sakura's motivation this chapter just makes her look so, soooo bad. I can't tell you how hard I've been fighting with my friends from a SasuNaruSasu site who insist that this chapter is proof that Sakura is (and I quote) a "useless, dumbass whore".

Kishi, please stop hurting your female lead and let us have Team 7 love of some kind already. Even if it's just happy flashbacks or Sakura and Naruto having a confident "We'll get Sasuke back!" speechmoment (personally I'd like to request the speechmoment).

Cute!Naruto and Facepalming!Lee made me happy.

[askerian]

i'm not even going to glance at the yaoi side of the fandom for the next dozen weeks. God, the backlash must be fierce. DX

I want team seven love too. T__T next week! next week!

[akapiratequeen.livejournal.com]

I dunno...if you look underneath the underneath (the underneath), isn't Sakura really in love with Naruto after all? She doesn't realize it, and she thinks she's just lying to save him or something, but the eents during and right after the Bridge of Heaven and Earth seemed to make that pretty clear.

[askerian]

Pfffft. XD

So she confessed while thinking it was fake when in fact it was true? XD XD XD Whoa Sakura. Who knew you couldn't worry for a friend busy destroying himself for what you assume is your sake without being secretly in love with him. XD

The once Jammaster_Goat

[oo-da-lally.livejournal.com]

You are one of my last ties to the Naruto fandom and I am grateful for it. I need you weekly wanks and reminders of a new chapter and the places to find them.

I love reading a chapter, yelling "Argh!" and pulling at my hair, then running back to your journal and reading what like minds have to say about it. It keeps me sane in this crazy, crazy Naruto world.

Just thought I would let you know :)

Re: The once Jammaster_Goat

[askerian]

*squishes you* ;_; b-but the fandom is still loads of fun!

... says the girl who almost never ventures out of her own corner okay i'm shutting up DX


♥ Okay now I have to work on linking your two usernames in my mind. XD I CAN DO IT! *memory of a goldfish* .___.

[nothri.livejournal.com]

::looks left, looks right, shrugs and sighs::

Okay, I admit it. I'm dumb. Can someone fill me in on what's so horribly detrimental about everything? I mean, yes, its going to profoundly impact their relationship. I get that. But I don't really see how what's happening here really undermines anyone character, Sakura included. I mean, looking back...this is nothing new. Sakura has been feeling guilty about begging Naruto to go after Sasuke since before the time skip. Her whole hearted "bring Sasuke home" no matter what philosophy has only ever faltered when it came to Naruto- for her its always been one thing to chase that poisoned rainbow with all her strength when it came to her own choices and life, it was always an entirely different thing to watch Naruto do the same. Yes, she's said "we'll do it together next time"...but in the back of her mind its always been that every time Naruto gets hurt and needs to be healed, its because of that goddamned promise she shackled him to years ago. This is the same impulse that inspires her to run in front of a naruto possessed fox demon and ask him to stop chasing after Sasuke. She's afraid naruto will get killed because of her. In her mind, she's managed to eclipse her own self-sacrifice for Sasuke with naruto's self-sacrifice for her and Sasuke. Both her and Naruto share the same noble impulse, but in her that impulse feels wrong because she thinks Naruto wouldn't be here fighting so hard if it wasn't for her. She'd be wrong, as we know, but let's ignore that. Now, here we have Sasuke, officially declared a criminal by Konoha and the ninja world. Now, there is literally no life he can come back to, no way to associate with him without getting your name in a bingo book for aiding a terrorist. Meanwhile, Naruto is a hair's breath away from fulfilling his dream! Savior of the village, stronger than the hokage, acknowledged by everyone! This is what he always wanted....and Sasuke could take it away. Sakura is looking for some way, any way, to keep that from happening. Its a desperate kind of plan, and she is indeed choosing to give into her old guilt over Naruto than following her real feelings for Sasuke. But...I don't get why this is a change from her established characterization, or why it somehow lessens or undermines her.

[askerian]

I like the way you think, and yes, if we see it from that angle what she just did wasn't exactly a total 180°.

Though ultimately what really bothers me is that it might come from good intentions but it was still horrifically WRONG, and pretty much just so that Naruto could look righteous in comparison.

What I loved best about Sakura was that her feelings had endured for so long and that she had been acting so determined. I know it's all just so that naruto can give her faith again, but in the meantime she just comes across as a quitter, manipulative, and thinking Naruto is retarded and doesn't deserve to be with someone who actually loves him but that he's a little kid who has to be pacified and bribed with a lolly even if the parent truly believes it's bad for his health. After her huge cry and her determined, serious "i have a plan now" faces, I expected a return of the kickass teammate Sakura, not her getting comfortable in her role of Nothing But A Love Interest, and if bribing naruto with her fake confession so he'll give up as well is the whole of her great plan then it's a real let-down.

I'm tired of seeing Kishi giving her scenes that make her look like she has no resolve and serves no purpose other than to illustrate how great a guy Naruto is by contrast, whereas Naruto's decision to get beat up in secret and go without her was treated by the text as something noble and pretty normal and which she didn't even get angry at him about. It's a double standard that gets really frustrating.

[kiwi-socks.livejournal.com]

Like everyone else, I was all 'lol what' at the beginning. And then the part about stopping chasing Sasuke, there was an OIC moment. On the "Nothing happened! ...If you want to know why I started liking you, I'll say it clearly--" and after Sai's and Naruto's reactions, you see her looking...sad, resigned, thoughtful, guilty, for what seems like what she was saying before and what she will say. She doesn't believe anything coming out of her mouth, hence the "I hate people who lie to themselves!"

I have faith in Sakura! please don't let her turn into a tool

Naruto believes that he can't love her because he can't even keep his promises, so he's gonna be denying himself the idea of romantic love until he gets Sasuke back (chapter 457). "I'm the one who's caused him the most pain, I've done nothing but make mistakes. I don't want to make another one" (459). She doesn't specify what she thinks the mistake will be, but she knows how much Naruto cares for Sasuke, and the above mentioned keeping himself from expressing feelings for her, so I'm betting that the mistake would letting Sasuke get 'taken care of'. The panel before it, she says she wants to talk to Naruto. AND FINALLY, in 467, there's the whole thing about Ino crying her guts out while Sakura is looking determined. From all those past experiences, she would be crying if she beleived that Sasuke would definitely be killed. As Lee says: "I think Sakura-san has her own ideas of how to handle this situation."

That, combined with the unexplained "let me handle this" flashback, I'm sure she has a plan. Not sure what it is, although the first thing I can think of is that she is aiming for turning the conversation to "YOU CAN'T GO BY YOURSELF ANYMORE, I BE COMING WITH YOU TO SAVE SASUKE. DON'T RUN OFF AGAIN AND LIE TO ME." And then maybe her and Naruto's enthusiasm will get Sai to understand finally, and make killing Sasuke plan B, and plan A being the whole team that was sent working with Sakura and Naruto's plan. And it would be Lee/Kiba/Sai against Sasuke's minions, Sakura and Naruto against Sasuke, or maybe Sakura against surprise enemy like Kimimaru was...

And wow that was a long ramble.

[askerian]

OH GOD I WISH I WISH I WISH. T^T

but i have to admit if she has a plan that ISN'T blackmailing naruto with her fake feelings, I really wonder why she brought that one up in the first place, because whoa that's a bitch move. Maybe if it was, like, Shikamaru's plan and he thought it would work or something and she had to prove to him it wouldn't... ;_;

But I think Kishi might be gearing up to a "and now that i have put your mind back on the right track and you are grateful to my amazing awesomeness, let's get Sasuke together" by naruto. I'd be kinda pissed. ~__~

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

I actually took it from the perspective of Sakura wanting to release Naruto from his promise to her to retrieve Sasuke. She has to assure him that "it's okay" that they're going to (try to) kill Sasuke, so she's trying to clear that road? She's not after Naruto so much as making sure he doesn't feel bound by his promise.

[askerian]

That interpretation only makes logical sense if you take out the "Since I love you now, you can drop Sasuke" part of it.

There was no reason for her to confess if all she wanted was for Naruto to stop, the other part of it "I don't love Sasuke anymore, he's bad, he has hurt me too much" would have been enough and it wouldn't have added a "here, you're good enough for a rebound I guess but I'm gonna pretend it's not a pity fuck because I'm that nice" vibe that drags Naruto in where "I don't love Sasuke anymore" was only fake and painful toward herself. (I'm sure Naruto would have hurt *for her* if she had tried it but he wouldn't have been lied to to his face in such a hurtful way.)

The fake love confession was either a pity fuck sort of thing (which I don't think she's bitch enough for) or her being persuaded that she couldn't change Naruto's mind any other way -- and that she could actually change it that way because she had misread the importance of his promise to her as a motive. It's a bit too far if her intent is just to let him out of a promise.

She's likely not "after Naruto" but in my mind that makes it worse, not better. What if he had believed her?

[kitty-silver.livejournal.com]

Huh, I must have misread the manga on "Onemanga" because that one had Danzo say more or less "I don't care if he's dead or alive just get me his right(Hyuuga) eye"

[kitty-silver.livejournal.com]

Also it seems Danzo is saying it to the Yamanaka like ninja which makes more sense to me since he's going to be fighting the guy with the right eye that belongs to the Hyuugas

[ennui-demorte.livejournal.com]

Wow, I have just lost any and all respect I might have had for Sakura--the little that I did have. I can't believe that she is trying to manipulate Naruto like this--like some floozy kunoichi. And her doing it like this shows how little faith she really has in Naruto.

That she thinks her 'affection' will get Naruto to do what she wants, instead of her flat out just asking him to do it, shows that she seems thinks that Naruto would rather believe a pretty lie than hear a terrible truth. Yeah, seems after all these years, she still doesn't know him at all. This is one of the (many) areas where Sasuke understands Naruto better than anyone.

I actually thought that Sakura was going to go up to Naruto and tell him that he doesn't have to fulfill his promise to her anymore, that she is releasing him that promise she made him make in the heat of the moment, before I read this chapter. Evidently, I gave her way too much credit. I can't believe that she thinks Naruto is so shallow that he'd stop looking for Sasuke just because she said she loves him, but it seems she is. Naruto would not be who he is if he was wishy-washy like that, allowing someone else's feelings to determine his course of action. I think that even if she truly did love him, he still wouldn't stop. It would make him feel warm and glowy, but he's still go after his brother because that's what family does and he's stubborn like that.

That she really would think that Naruto has gone through all this--all the training, traveling, insane un-winable fights, following Sasuke all over the Elemental Countries--just for her shows how much she hasn't grown up. Even if she doesn't really believe that this will work, that fact that she even tried, that she thought maybe, just maybe it would work, makes me want to strangle her.

I was waiting for Naruto to do something to her, maybe slap her or something, but was disappointed. It's what he would have done to Sasuke if Sasuke had ever tried this crap. That he restrains himself around her like that makes me want to smack him! Bah! She should have just asked him. He would have said no, but he would have respected her for it, for being truthful with him.

It's similar to how some of the villagers treat (treated?) him. I'm sure many were outright hostile or just ignored him, and, even though he wasn't happy about it, a part of Naruto respected those villagers for being honest with their feelings toward him. The ones that pretend, though...I'm those are the ones that he pranked more often.

Now I feel better--got all that off my chest. Wow, I wrote a lot. I bet, ironic as it is, that even Sai knows that this type of ploy won't work, especially with someone as blunt as Naruto. Wonder what was going through that pink head to make her even entertain the thought that this would work. Maybe we'll find out next week.

[editrixfox.livejournal.com]

Agree totally with your estimation of Sakura in this chap. She really did come off as a whiny, self-centered, shallow, fangirly bitch who follows around the current hottie. Regardless of how she may or may not have felt about him before. I wanted to smack her.

And the Yamanakas have used Shintenshin in combat. It was only Ino's dad though, so maybe she just isn't up to the level of concentration necessary to use it in direct combat. Come to think of it, she doen't get along all that well with her team and that will affect its usefulness in battle. She also happens to be slow esp. compared to Daddy-Yamanaka. from what I gathered during the Sound Invasion, he seems to be able to pop them off like fireworks. Shintenshin is also a justu that requires that your mind be stonger than the one you seek to take over. Ino's mind just isn't quite up to using it rapid-fire in that way. She takes time to locate her targets and infiltrates instead of just shoving the other mind aside. perhaps it's just a difference in the way the two use it.

Ah, poor Naruto. He's getting everything he ever wanted thrown in his face, his for the taking, and he's just sad because he knows it's not real. I forget, is Sakura any good at genjustu? cause she's sure working Naruto over good. Psychological attacks are the most insidious weapon out there.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm just kind of... embarrassed for her, or maybe embarrassed to watch this. But then, I've accepted that Naruto is Numero Uno on this ride, and Sakura and the rest are just gonna get whatever's left over after he's done being improbably awesome.

-- Guile

[askerian]

yeah, me too. Especially right there in public, wtf! DX I've got such a bad cause of secondhand embarrassment over this, it's only barely better than when Naruto crawled for Raikage, and even then it's still squicky. Blergh.

[skellywag.livejournal.com]

The description of Zetsu's jutsu reminded me of Shino's, honestly. (Though I'm not sure I'm not just misinterpreting it too.) Like, the plant microorganisms invade a healthy body, but instead of being like the relationship between the Aburame clan and their insects, in which both the humans and the insects benefit from the relationship, the parasitic plants allow Zetsu to take control of the person they've infected. I'm just wondering how Zetsu controls the extra life forms. Is it like...each copy contains his genetic code, and therefore can share information and intent, like the way kagebunshin works (though minus the delay of waiting for a clone to be destroyed). It would kind of explain how he can travel the way that he does, if he can control his body(ies) at a cellular level...

Okay, maybe I'm no closer to understanding this than I thought. lskjdalsdkjsdf slkjd sdjlf sdlfkj

[askerian]

ooooh.

Yay, an explanation I can wrap my mind around! :D (Who cares if maybe that's off, like kishi doesn't pull them out of his ass anyway XD) thank you, dear.~

[inkanaitis.livejournal.com]

"You became the hero who protected the village... beloved by everyone... i'm just one of them.

I feel like this was the moment where everyone had to stop believing it was just for Sakura; or that Sakura was this giant motivating force in Naruto life so that her childhood wish was enough to push Naruto to do all of the stupid things that he does for Sasuke. It was like a "Stop paying any more attention to me than you would to any of the other villagers you've adopted. I'm nothing more or bigger than them; right? right?"

It read like someone trying to live down to expectations? She doesn't expect Naruto to turn around and declare his love to her- and definitely wouldn't respect him if he did. I feel like she might want him to just... stop respecting her? Or seeing her whatever it everyone else seems to think he sees her as?

It's both a social performance and a test. It really did feel like Sakura knew she was sacrificing something of her bond with Naruto, in the hopes that it would set Naruto free... from what though I'm not clear...