OK, time for NinjaCritic's first ever review! Naruto fans as we are, of course we will cover each new chapter as it is released in Japan every week. Not only will we review it, but also provide an analysis of the story and where it might be headed. So, get ready. I am discussing today the newest chapter, Naruto 398.
WARNING: To avoid spoilers, do not read below!
Ok, well, here's what's been going down. Sasuke has just killed Itachi, his older brother, for revenge. This was quite a fight, even calling down lightning from the heavens. As you can imagine, this has taken a real toll on him, and he has lost consciousness.
Mysterious Tobi has taken him to what looks like a little reservoir or hideout in the mountains nearby. It is soon revealed that Tobi is in fact Uchiha Madara, confirming a lot of rumors and speculation that have been going on for over two years now. Note that we only see a Sharingan eye, Madara's actual face. Some friends still have theories and will stick by them, so you might wanna take that information with a grain of salt.
Anyway, the chapter begins with Sasuke talking with Tobi. The masked man reveals that Itachi was in fact ordered to kill the entire Uchiha Clan by Konoha's authorities. This is really a punch in the gut for many readers, and throws the motives of certain characters into question. How good were the villagers, anyway? I think that Kishimoto-sama has just deepened his universe even further, by showing that good and evil is not all black and white. Everyone, it seems, has a dark side.
However, there are only three living people who know this strange truth: the two advisors, Homura and Koharu, and Danzou, the leader of the ANBU Root Division. The advisors are very dedicated to Konoha, and would never reveal this top secret information. Danzou, however, seems to have an air of mystery about him (remember he sent Sai on a top-secret mission to assassinate Sasuke).
Now, in my opinion, I see that Danzou has a personal vendetta against the Uchihas, or was the one to order Itachi to do what he did in the first place. Perhaps he wanted Sai to finish the job Itachi hadn't? Maybe he was jealous of the Sharingan? Sadly we don't have details at this time.
To help explain all this, Tobi goes into a story that had happened 80 years prior.
"The world was in a constant state of war. Countries fought to gain power and expand their territory. In those times, ninjas were nothing but individual clans acting as armed militia; each clan was hired to fight for a country. And among the numerous clans, two were feared as the strongest. They were our own 'Uchiha Clan', and a clan called the 'Senju Clan of the Forest'. The Uchiha Clan had exceptional chakras and the Sharingan; we were known as a warrior clan, well-versed in battle, and even among the Uchihas, my chakras were exceptionally strong. The fact that I've managed to survive this long can be taken as proof of that! Back then my life was nothing but one long battle: a time when strength was everything, and I killed my friend and my ow brother in my quest to become stronger.
"But thanks to that, I gained a perfect Mangekyou (Sharingan) and became the leader of the clan. I used my powers to fight the Senju Clan time and time again. It was inevitable that I would fight Hashirama, leader of the Senju, who would later become the First Hokage. He stood at the top of the ninja world, and was the man I admired most."
Unfortunately, the chapter ends right there. But taken from this text, we garner a little bit of insight to exactly how old Madara (Tobi) is. There is still no explanation for this, that I can think of. The man must be at least 100 years of age at this point. Maybe that will be cleared up soon.
Long-term predictions from reading this chapter from my opinion:
After reading chapter 398, I foresee a Konoha civil war in the future between the ANBU and the regulars. Possibly another timeskip to a war-torn version of the world. Danzou will be the lead coordinator of this rebellion.
NOTE: This is only my opinion, and does not reflect any factual truth whatsoever
Thanks for reading, and I hope to be back next week with Chapter 399, and then...the Big 400! Woot!
