This week’s chapter of Naruto is very simple. Starting where it left off last week, Madara (Still blind), has engaged all seven of the remaining Bijuu. Gaara has partnered up with the Shikaku but has not yet taken it back into his body as some fans believe he will do, he books still open on that one.
Beginning with the actual fight, (without the usual multi-chapter pre-fight exposition), Gaara with the aid of the Shikaku uses the technique “Fuuton-Sasandan” which appears to grains of sand into the targets body impairing movement. With Madara temporally immobilised, the Neebi, (Two-Tails) strikes him into the Sanbi (Three-Tails), who knocks him to the Yonbi (Four-Tails), then to the Rokubi (Six-Tails) and finally to what appears to be the Gedo Mazo, the empty body of the Juubi.
Using the opening this barrage of attacks has created, the Shikaku and Gaara attempt to seal Madara in their “Sabakusou Taisou Fuuin”, a giant pyramid that uses the sand from the Shikaku’s body and a cursed seal patterns. But, Madara makes quick work of this sealing technique and breaks out using his Susanoo. Gaara, the Neebi through Nanabi and even the Gedo Mazo looks surprised, though his panel being blacked out might mean it has small to no thing ability. Madara then makes the statement that he won’t let any of them escape and with put them “on a leash right away”, implying that he has some plain for them.
Maybe reforming the Juubi? Or perhaps controlling them with his Sharingan/ Rinnegan like he did with the Kyuubi in the fight with Hashirama? We can’t say right now, but he at least needs them alive.
However, right after Madara says this, Naruto in his Perfect Bijuu mod smashes him with his tails, he is protected however by his Susanoo. And then Killer Bee and the Hachibi finally show up, their where apparently transporting the wounded to a safe place.
Back to the fight, Kurama, (The Kyuubi/Nine-Tails), screams “Overlap your tails” and all of the Bijuu smash their tails against Madara at the same time. Madara managed to escape at the last second but lost his right arm. It looks bad for Madara as the Bijuu all prepare for another attack, that is until out off know where White Zetsu shows up with something is his hand.
Madara uses his remaining arm to cut of Zetsu’s arm holding the object and attaches it to his right stump. And with his new arm he puts the eye that Zetsu was holding into his right eye socket. And the chapter ends with Madara having his right arm and Rinnegan restored.
The only event of significance was Madara getting his Rinnegan restored; the rest was just him getting beat up by all the Bijuu, Gaara and Naruto. (Bee didn’t really do much). But the very last scene is extremely significant.
Backtrack to last chapter and we see that it was Black Zetsu restraining and manipulating Obito, he was about to take back Madara’s Rinnegan from Obito but Minato and Kakashi stopped him. Now, it is very unlikely that a mere White and Black Setsu where able to overpower Kakashi and Minato in order to retrieve Madara’s Rinnegan. But, the major reason that I think this last scene very significant is that not only does the likely hood of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu overpower Minato and Kakashi seam unlikely but the fact is White Zetsu gave Madara his right eye back. The eye of Madara that Obito had was the left one; let’s go over the history of Madara’s eyes and the evolution of his Rinnegan.
Madara was a very skilled member of the Uchiha and a master at using his Sharingan, due to the suffering he went through during the wars leading to the founding of Konaha his Sharingan evolved into a Mangekyou Sharingan.
This gave him access to Jutsu like Susanoo and made him even more powerful. However he wasn’t strong enough to take on Hashirama so and repeated use of his Mangekyou Sharingan was making him go blind. To stop this, his brother, Izuna gave him his Sharingan and with combining ones Mangekyou with another of blood relation come the awakening of the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. This is a Sharingan that can be used repeatedly and will never make the user go blind. With this new Sharingan and his ability to control the Kyuubi Madara took on Hashirama, he still lost. But in his own words the process of “uniting the Uchiha and Senju bloodlines”,( I take this to mean he took some of Hashirama’s cells and added them to his body before the created the White and Black Zetsu), he evolved his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan into the Rinnegan.
Years later, before his death he gave both his eyes to Nagato Uzumaki. Nagato grow up to form the organization Akatsuki, which Obito used to capture all of the Bijuu that he would later use to resurrect the Juubi.
After Nagato’s death in the Pain arc, Obito went back to Amegakure, (Hidden Rain Village) and took both of Madara’s eyes from Nagato’s course. He then implanted the left one into his own empty eye socket. This is the last we see of the right eye… until now.
Whilst Obito had the left Rinnegan he didn’t use any of the Jutsu that Nagato used except for the Rinne-Tennsi, so I believe that this means that Madara will now use classic Rinne-Justsu that we haven’t seen since the Pain arc like Shinra-Tennsi and Shibaku-Tenni. Which is a welcome sight from all the Susanoo and Bijuu-Dama usage we have had for the past years.
Verdict:
In general this chapter was nice set up for the next stage of the “Everyone Vs. Madara” arc. But the lack dialogue and repetitive attacks makes me land this chapter between “Good Fight Chapter” and “Good Story Chapter” as a “Transition Chapter”.
Hopefully next week we will see the star of the next stage of Madara’s fight against everyone, but knowing Naruto it will probably be a flash back…