Loved this episode.
It was fresh and new .
The character of sasuke has matured and grown . Always loved this character and the potential it held.
Happy the writer is still doing him justice , unlike some characters (read shikamaro , hyuga negi).
Karin is nauseating . Did not feel sad at all .
Sakura , Hinata , such weak character. Always the same .
Unhappy by the way the writer melts out the female characters. ( )

In this volume of Naruto, we have the showdown between Sasuke and Danzo, a true battle of superpowers - especially considering the firepower Danzo's got on his right arm and the abilities Sasuke's been able to wring out from his Sharingan. Meanwhile, a doppelganger of Sai delivers some startling news to Naruto: that Sakura's confession of love in the previous volume was just a cover so she could go and kill Sasuke by herself. As Sakura breaks away from her fellow shinobi to go after Sasuke, Naruto sneaks away from the watchful eyes of Yamato to follow suit. The end of this volume leads up to a Team Seven reunion that is sure to be explosive in a multitude of ways.

You can read the rest of this review at Nagareboshi Reviews! ( )

This volume was pretty special for me, but I had issues with Danzo. Sasuke was awesome and crazy the way he used everything he had to defeat Danzo, all the new skills and abilities he inherited from his brother, but I hated the get out of jail free card that Danzo kept playing. Sure, it made for a pretty cool story with rules that had to be figured out in lots of peril, but it felt too much like a cheat to me.

At least Sasuke pulled it off regardless. Very impressive. ( )

It has clearly been too long since the last time I read this series, because I was so confused. I couldn't remember what Karin's power was, so I wasn't sure why she had Sasuke bite her (I think biting her healed him some?). I couldn't recall why/how Sai could be in two places at once. And the weirdness of just about everything surrounding Danzo was a bit much for me. The man hadthe First Hokage's cells implanted in his right arm, sharingan eyes all over his arms, and a collateral damage sealing jutsu set to activate upon his death and drag anything in range into his corpse (um, what would have happened if he'd died of a heart attack?).

People spoke of Kakashi becoming the next Hokage as if this was a given, but the news left me in shock. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's a strong fighter, but most Kage practically qualify as weapons of mass destruction. I think he'd have the kind of cool head that would make sure things got done and the village was rebuilt, but I can't see him fighting, say, some of the baddies Naruto has fought in the past few volumes and actually surviving.

Now on to Sasuke. OMG, that guy seriously needs to die already. He's so dead inside that he'll mortally wound an ally in order to accomplish his goals. While Sakura's attempt to trick him was incredibly weak, at least she tried. Naruto's insistence that Sasuke is still saveable makes me tired.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )