[Manga] Chapter 343 Discussion

[kishinfoulux]

my prediction...

it seems convenient that kabuto just left. something tells me that him and oro knew this was gonna happen (and i dont mean because oro said it). it wont be sasuke vs. oro. it will be sasuke vs. kabuto. sasuke will defeat kabuto which will show his progress is akin to naruto surpassing kakashi (since kakashi and kabuto are supposed to be on equal terms more or less).

*edit*

is it just me or is this site acting kind of screwy. my post should be the last one yet its up here. the same happened with my prior one. is this happening to anybody else?

[Vicious108]

Kabuto to make the save FTW.

[Lemartes]

Originally Posted by ShurikenJay

I was interested to know that Kakashi would have used the Mangekyo Sharingan (are they ever going to explain how he got that thing?!) on Kakuzu.

He probably killed Gai. Haven't seen him around for some time.


Just kidding.

[Syaoran]

Originally Posted by Hunter

A summary may be added later when someone *cought*Syaoran?*cought* will make it.

I'm sorry... although I've time to make one tonight, I'm feeling empty/depressed/disappointed (not sure which one it is) so I don't even want to start. I didn't even care to download the chapter yet. Just checked out if the thread was created.

[Sazelyt]

Two interesting points:

Sasuke vs Oro: Oro seems to be quite sick. I am not exactly sure, but, the moment might be good for Sasuke to cause big problems for Oro. I am wondering how Oro will get out of this one. And, we might be able to see, whether the seal will really give some advantage to Oro, in terms of controlloing or pacifying his opponent.

Sasuke's act: If Sasuke assumes that he will not learn anything else from Oro and, at the same time, in his own words, not being able to beat Itachi alone, what is he thinking, trying to betray and leave Oro? I am wondering, if he learned something about Kakashi gaining MS. If that is the case, I can understand Sasuke's latest decision.

[rman0099]

I see some writing that Oro should use the CS on Sasuke like he did to Anko. But will that be possible with Sasuke? I remember the seal used to cause him pain as well. But after the whole rescue Sasuke arc and he "died" or whatever in the drum the CS is different. It reacts differently to his body now doesn't it? He could use it without pain and access lvl 2. I don't remember Oro using it on the sound 4 to keep them in line.

The only reason I bring this up is so that next chapter if Oro doesn't use the CS like a shock collar on a puppy, people don't start screaming PLOT HOLE!!! I have a feeling Kishi will use this as a device so that Sasuke is not bound by the CS, can get free, and become a bigger part of the main storyline agian.

[Sabaku Kyu]

Originally Posted by kishinfoulux

also its funny some people bitched about naruto nuking kakuzu but when sasuke wipes out a field of sound nin on one raises an eyebrow. thats no easy feat, generic henchmen or not. i know kishi loves his sasuke but i hope he doesnt make him so horrendously overpowered. doesnt matter i suppose in the end because if he faces naruto again, he willl surely fail.

Heh. You must've not read the 342 discussion thread. In fact, the whole "Sasuke defeating 1000 ninja" is what convinced most people that the then-spoiler had to be fake until we were proven otherwise. Both Sasuke defeating a ninja army and Naruto outsmarting Kakuzu seem forced, but Sasuke's skills seem a lot more tacked on because we were at least shown how Naruto defeated Kakuzu. To be honest, I would've been a lot more impressed if they had simply shown Sasuke sparring with Oro or Kabuto and being able to keep up. I also don't care for Oro's comment were he compares himself to Sasuke, it doesn't seem fitting for someone like him.

Enough ranting.Thoughts about the chapter:

Not a big fan of romance in the series, but I think the progression of the Naruto/Sakura relationship was made very clear here. Hinata better get over her shyness soon, 'cuz Sakura's starting to put the moves on. Sai's akwardly creepy behavior was funny as always, as was Kakashi's mysterious speed-eating skills being able to sit down and finish Naruto's ramen then have his mask back on when Naruto turns around. And it appears there are severe side effects to the Fuuton Rasengan. At 50%, the jutsu gave him multiple fractures. You can imagine the damage he'll receive at 100%. Luckily the justu is a finishing move anyhow, and he always has the Kyuubi to heal him in a pinch.

Anyways, I like the direction they're taking with Sasuke betraying Oro which was inveitable. Like most others, I'm most curious to see what Kabuto's reaction will be, whether he will remain loyal to Oro or whether he will aid Sasuke. If Kabuto was ever intending to betray Oro, he may not get a better chance than this. Kabuto has stayed to loyal despite potential opportunities to overthrow Oro in the past. However maybe that's because those weren't the right opportunities. We'll see what happens.

Also. Title of the next chapter (according to translation):" Regeneration". To me, a small hint that Oro won't be defeated here.

[323Familia]

I wonder if maybe Sauske's see Oro as his new best friend? eh? mmmm...

[Xellos-_^]

Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu

And it appears there are severe side effects to the Fuuton Rasengan. At 50%, the jutsu gave him multiple fractures. You can imagine the damage he'll receive at 100%. Luckily the justu is a finishing move anyhow, and he
always has the Kyuubi to heal him in a pinch.

Basically this means the Fuuton Rasengan is reserve for Naurto to use exlcusively. Since no one else has the rapid healing that he has. Even if others have enough chakara to use this, they would be kill using it. Sasuke can't use this even he can copy it.

Also. Title of the next chapter (according to translation):" Regeneration". To me, a small hint that Oro won't be defeated here.

I swear Oro is more like the 4-leg type lizard then the no-leg type.

[Hunter]

Originally Posted by Sazelyt

Two interesting points:

Sasuke vs Oro: Oro seems to be quite sick. I am not exactly sure, but, the moment might be good for Sasuke to cause big problems for Oro. I am wondering how Oro will get out of this one. And, we might be able to see, whether the seal will really give some advantage to Oro, in terms of controlloing or pacifying his opponent.

I find interesting Kakashi's little speech about great power coming with great price just before Sasuke decides to eliminate Orochimaru using the CS.

Sasuke's act: If Sasuke assumes that he will not learn anything else from Oro and, at the same time, in his own words, not being able to beat Itachi alone, what is he thinking, trying to betray and leave Oro? I am wondering, if he learned something about Kakashi gaining MS. If that is the case, I can understand Sasuke's latest decision.

I don't think this has anything to do with that. Sasuke knows about Orochimaru's purpose and while he was ready to make a pact with the devil to gain power he obviously decided that Orochimaru finally outlasted his usefulness.
But contrary to the countless ninja he just defeated who were no threat for him, Oro does represent an obstacle in his path of vengeance so it's best to take care of him right now, especially if Oro is weakened because his body rejects his soul.

[onepiecelover]

Nothing unexpected, I knew that Sasuke sooner or later would do that but I still dont know if Sasuke is good or not, cuz if he kills Oro that would mean he is bad as to kill his own master in an ungrateful way and good as in he killed him for the sake of peace or he could NOT kil Oro and prove that he is good or I just need to stop thinkng about it and just get some sleep -_-

[Kenu]

I don't think Orochimaru will just go without putting up a fight.

If we remember back to when Orochimaru had his last body transfer, prior to that he was in pretty bad shape. But he went on to consume or possess the strongest fighter now his current body.

What I would hate to see is this happen to Sasuke, but I don't see it beyond Kishimoto to make this happen.

If it were to happen, I think there will be ambiguity as to whether Orochimaru really possessed Sasuke or not. After this fight, we may just see Orochimaru's slumped body somewhere and Sasuke looking victorious. In actual fact it could be that Orochimaru has achieved his goal, to have Sasuke-kun. Remember Orochimaru's physical transformation back to his original visage doesn't take place automatically. His beautician Kabuto helps him with a make over.

It could be that Sasuke will also have to fight & struggle with his inner demon, Orochimaru to regain his body in future more final chapters, just as Naruto has to struggle with the Kyuubi.

[DeDe]

I just can't believe we might be close to the end of Oro. I know it won't happen in the next few chapters. But it just feels like it will happen in this arc. And we will finally know what Kabuto is up to.

I guess we'll never know where Oro got 1,000 ninja. Just like how a head can keep talking without a body. It's magic!

Originally Posted by Sabaku Kyu

Not a big fan of romance in the series, but I think the progression of the Naruto/Sakura relationship was made very clear here. Hinata better get over her shyness soon, 'cuz Sakura's starting to put the moves on. Sai's akwardly creepy behavior was funny as always

There was a definite NaruSaku hint here, although it wasn't quite as major as I thought from the spoiler. Girls offering to feed boys is a classic romance cliche in manga and anime. But then Sai sort of "blocked" him before it could have developed into more. I think he wants Naruto for himself.

I can't see how Hinata gets involved with Naruto now. Kishi seems to have set up the relationships the way he wants them. We pretty much know who the couples will be and all we have to do is want.

[Sazelyt]

Originally Posted by Hunter

...Oro does represent an obstacle in his path of vengeance so it's best to take care of him right now, especially if Oro is weakened because his body rejects his soul.

Oro is both an obstacle and a big helper in Sasuke's path, towards achieving his ultimate goal of eliminating Itachi.

And both cases will stay valid as long as Sasuke stays weaker than Itachi.

So, it is really not easy to understand Sasuke's intentions. If he is currently weaker than Itachi, why would he want to enter an "unknown" path and try to create a further delay in his vengeance? One cannot help but thinking "Is he really serious about his revenge?". He wanted to become stronger as soon as possible, but, right now, since he assumes he is not going to become stronger without giving his body to Oro, he wants to quit his previous decision, and tries to search for another path, that "may or may not" lead to the result he desires.

At the end, if Kishi is going to make him leave Oro and then go back to Naruto and the others for asking help, I don't know what to think of that. If that happens, Sasuke is going to become even worse than before.

Originally Posted by DeDe

I just can't believe we might be close to the end of Oro. I know it won't happen in the next few chapters. But it just feels like it will happen in this arc.

There are zillions of people expexted to die before Oro (including all the Akatsuki members except for Itachi). He is one of the most important villains and characters in this series. I don't think Kishi will make a big mistake of eliminating one of his best characters just to satisfy a few Sasuke fans...And, I don't think Sasuke will be the one to do that, at least not without MS.

[Soulnin]

Originally Posted by Sazelyt

He wanted to become stronger as soon as possible, but, right now, since he assumes he is not going to become stronger without giving his body to Oro, he wants to quit his previous decision, and tries to search for another path, that "may or may not" lead to the result he desires.

Thats just it though. I don't believe giving his body up to combine powers was ever seriously a decision for Sasuke. He just said what he did to get Naruto and co out of his way for good. There's no chance of him looking to them for help any time soon. As he said himself 'Only I can kill that person.'

[rpgkiller999]

hmm, NaruSaku hint.... Kishi is doing good to show Sakura's slow change of heart. In my opinion Sasuke will return to the good side, he just kill those he hate, and those he hate are villians anyway.

[MysticNinjaJay]

Originally Posted by Kenu

Remember Orochimaru's physical transformation back to his original visage doesn't take place automatically. His beautician Kabuto helps him with a make over.

I wasn't sure why Oro had all of those bandages on himself after gaining the body of the prisoner, but I don't recall it ever being stated or indicated that Kabuto gives him a makeover.

Rather, Orochimaru appears to use a jutsu to conceal his true form inside another body and masquerade as his original self, similar to the way Tsunade retains the image of her youth.

He can peel that image off like a snake sheds its skin. When he was fighting the 3rd Hokage, he revealed himself as this girlish, childlike Oro complete with a new voice and then went back to his original form at will.

This is a special jutsu of Oro's. He used it to steal the image of a genin during the Chunnin exam so he could sneak in unnoticed to test Sasuke. If he is hit too hard by an opponent such as when Sasuke did his Dragonfire move in the forest, Tsunade punching him at the end of the Sannin battle or 4 tails Kyuubi-Naruto striking him, the skin peels revealing the true Oro underneath.

So when Oro inhabits another body it takes on his physical characteristics, such as eyes and skin color but remains similar to the form of the host (e.g. their hair style and height), but he uses a snake skin jutsu to appear like his normal self.

Originally Posted by Hunter

I mean defeating singlehandedly a whole ninja army without a scratch and without killing any of them and making Orochimaru admiting that compared to Sasuke's genius he's pathetic (the most wtf!? moment of the whole chapter)?

In the translation I read he tells Sasuke that he is too soft for not killing the ninja army and that he cannot kill Itachi without killing his sympathic emotions.

But then he thinks to himself that Sasuke is far stronger than he was at the same age and remarks that people said that HE was a genius.

That's not to say that he is pathetic, just that Sasuke is progressing beyond what he himself accomplished at a similar age and that Sasuke's genius potential is above his own.

Not that surprising really, just Kishi letting us know that Sasuke is the shit and honestly he has to be if he is ever going to compete with Itachi.

[Sazelyt]

Originally Posted by ShurikenJay

But then he thinks to himself that Sasuke is far stronger than he was at the same age and remarks that people said that HE was a genius.

Actually, Oro does not directly say anything about strength comparison or age comparison, such as Sasuke was far stronger than him at the same age.

Oro makes a comparison regarding the genius levels. And, he doesn't like the idea of being considered as a genius, when there is someone like Sasuke, who is beyond him in that aspect.

[Ero-Senn1n]

Originally Posted by The Small One

Somehow I don't understand this. Didn't the Sound four explain, that the Curse seal makes you completely aboulic and a loyal follower to Oro?
If they didn't lie (why should they?) Sasuke shouldn't be able to revolt against Orochimaru.

There's also the Kyuubi saying that Uchiha blood is even more cursed than his demon blood. It might be that Sasuke overpowered the effect of the seel because his blood and also his mission. Someone who has nothing else in his head but revenge is much less controllable than the sound 4 and Kimimaro were.
However i think that this chapter was not special, because we all knew that some day it will be shown that Sasuke has sold his soul to the devil and the price is his life. The seal is what helps the devil to control Sasuke, and in this chapter we saw that Sasuke activated it. Next chapter will show that even if Sasuke in the end became stronger than Oro himself it's no use, he already sold his soul and now has to pay the price, which means probably the teaching is over and now slavery begins. It's also clear that all this is in order to give Naruto the big mission to save Sasuke. If Sasuke killed Oro then all this save-sasuke stuff becomes useless, and i don't think that Kishimoto would ever take away such a mission from the main character.

[MysticNinjaJay]

Originally Posted by Sazelyt

Actually, Oro does not directly say anything about strength comparison or age comparison, such as Sasuke was far stronger than him at the same age.

Oro makes a comparison regarding the genius levels. And, he doesn't like the idea of being considered as a genius, when there is someone like Sasuke, who is beyond him in that aspect.

Well it sounds like another example of conflicting translations because the one I read says something very different.