Chapter 521- The Demon Of the Mist Returns

Another spectacular chapter this week from Kishimoto. The man is wasting no time in pushing this war forward as expected. Last chapter gave us a bit of a reprieve with the transition/exposition chapter between Madara and Kabuto, and this chapter drops right back into the action. And who to welcome the reader back into the fray than the infamous dynamic duo, Haku and Zabuza.

Haku

Zabuza

These two had the honor of being the first “boss” villains Naruto and team had to fight — back in the days when Naruto first began to utilize Kyuubi chakra and when Sasuke’s Sharingan was still in its infancy. To have Haku and Zabuza back sure is a treat; their fights with team seven was one of the things that helped make Naruto really popular when it first started. It really makes me want to go back and re-read those chapters. These two set the standard for high level kekkei genkai/ninjutsu battles to come and, even though both died in the end, were the first ones to be “converted” by Naruto to the good side. To this day, I consider Zabuza to be one of the best Naruto villains, and still feel his death, however cool it was, was somewhat premature.

That’s why it’s so great to see Zabuza back in action again with his trusty sidekick Haku. But when they were first revealed to be part of Kabuto’s Edo Tensei summons, I had some doubts about their fighting strength in the current times. After all, team seven had managed to defeat them back when they were still genin scrubs – and now they have to fight an army of allied shinobi. What’s worse, Zabuza’s even missing his cleaver sword cuz some water-sipping Sasuke fanboy had stolen it for his collection. So essentially, as this chapter proved, the great Zabuza is relegated to the rear while Haku gets the entire spotlight with his ice-based bloodline skills. And as much as I’d like to see Zabuza go berserk on an entire army with nothing but his water jutsu and sharpened teeth, you have to admit it’d be pretty one-sided; especially since he is facing off against Kakashi who has upgraded his Sharingan significantly since last they fought. Fortunately, Kishi must have realized this as well and made Kabuto give him a little boost near the end of the chapter, we’ll just have to see what kind of power-ups he’ll get next week.

Kabuto revealed to Madara the method to stop his Edo Tensei technique this chapter, but Madara is still mistrustful of every word coming out of that snake’s mouth. And for good reason, everything Kabuto has revealed about his undead summoning technique seems just too good to be true. Not only is he capable of controlling so many individuals at once, but the technique poses no risk to the user at all?? This contradicts many of the high level, even forbidden jutsus, introduced in this manga; the logic has always been that everything has a cost, and generally the powerful the ability/power, the higher the cost. If Edo Tensei is indeed this powerful and easy to use, then you’d think Orochimaru would have exploited it much more often. No, there has to be a reason why Orochimaru reserved it for crucial occasions like his fight versus the Third… Kabuto is still holding his cards close to his chest. Plus, he revealed in this chapter that he has “that other technique”, which he is confident will make him invincible along with Edo Tensei. And for the first time, we get a little glimpse into Kabuto’s real objective: he’s also seeking knowledge of the secrets of the Sage of the Six Paths — which means he might be after the Rinnegan sooner or later.

Something else aside from the main picture remember that Zabuza's partner Haku has also been brought back to life. Well we all know that Kakashi will be the one to take on Zabuza, but who will take on Haku the ice user.. There are three possibilities, Rock Lee the Taijutsu specialist, Sai who specializes in mid range attacks (i think it will be him) or Sakura who has super natural strength and has already fought against them before.. Who do you think would be best suited and let's find out who it really is next week!!! Finally the good stuff that i can write to you guys about!!

Peace in the Ninja world how can it be attained??

We all know about Jiraiya’s path to peace, it’s the same one passed down to Naruto, and similar to the philosophy of the Third Hokage (hence passed down to Minato, Tsunade, etc.). Basically it’s a type of pacifism where you seek to empathize, understand and ultimately forgive your enemies, thereby breaking the cycle of hatred and death. I think Naruto demonstrated this best when he chose not to kill Pein and instead talk to him despite his urge to avenge Jiraiya and everyone Pein ‘killed’ in Konoha. The Third Hokage, being Jiraiya’s mentor, preached the ideal of pacifism, and actively sought out diplomatic solutions as well as championed demilitarization amongst the rival hidden villages. Even after Konoha was the target of a secret attack by forces of Suna (who were decieved by Orochimaru), they did not seek revenge or reparations but instead formed an alliance with Suna which has only strengthened over time.

 

Now, let’s look at the opposing philosophy towards peace of Pain and those who share similar ideals. This path to peace is achieved through force and conquering– it’s the idea that peace can only be maintained if you destroy all those who are a threat to your people or dominate your opponents to the point where they are too weak and fearful to even retaliate. Pain followed this type of ideal to justify his destruction of a large part of Konoha because he deemed them a threat to peace; they were too powerful and would only cause more pain to those around them in the future. From his childhood experiences, Pain learned that those who dominate through power can only be brought down with power — action, not words, is what really brings about change. Danzo, although not at all connected to Pain, shares a similar ideal. 

Danzo was a selfish, no-good, snake of a man but his goal was still to maintain the peace Konoha enjoys… and that means eliminating any threats within the village or out of the village by any means necessary. There is a dark side to their peaceful existence most villagers will never realize, but it is a necessary sin.

So the question is: which philosophy towards peace do you support? Before you answer, think about it realistically, even use real-world events if it will help. Try to avoid voting for one or the other simply because your favorite character shares that ideal. Here’s some questions to ask for both sides of the argument:

Has long term peace been achieved by letting the enemies have their way?

Has long term peace been achieved by preemptive strikes or subjugating an entire nation through military force? Is pacifism effective in a world that is entrenched in warfare or does it just make you a vulnerable target?

Is one people’s peace ever justified by taking away the peace of another people (through occupation, collective punishment, economic blockades, etc.)?

Anime Boston!!!

Who's going to the next anime convention??? I have been told that the next convention being held is in Boston!! If you are an anime fanatic (which i hope you are since you are reading this, reading the manga, and most likely watching the show) this is your HAVEN!!! ANIME BOSTON CLICK HERE!!! I am sooooo excited this will be my first convention as a loyal lover and appreciator of Japanese Animation. I have soo many ideas of who i want to be!! I was thinking Danzo, then i thought Captain Yamato, then i was thinking maybe just a standard Jonin would be enough!! I don't know about you but I'm putting a lot of thought and effort into my outfit because i looked at some costumes that people made or bought and it is no where near a joke!!

AND IF THATS NOT CONVINCING ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU GO LOOK AT THE CROWDS THEY GET!!!

I am currently going with four other people this is going to be insane, they have parties, exclusive deals on manga scripts, books, movies.. it's out of this world AND ITS NOT JUST NARUTO, they have other anime series present as well I'm telling you this is an event you wont want to miss out on. So take a moment after reading this to click on the link and do some research on the event!! And if you want (and i strongly encourage) post up what you would like to go as and so we can hear what you have to say!! Thanks guys hope to hear from you soon!!