[Manga] Naruto (warning: spoilers up to current chapter)

[Zarcath]

Yeah, i meant what's he been doing since then? They set him up to be a major player and dropped him after that.

[Grave]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

Yeah, i meant what's he been doing since then? They set him up to be a major player and dropped him after that.

It's hard to give so many characters a lot of focus. Maybe Gaara will make a comeback sometime, but really if you look back on it he's already been a key player in multiple arcs, both as a villain and ally. I wouldn't be surprised if Kishimoto decides to retire him now and he's just doing whatever duties he does as Kage of the Sand Village.

Whenever Naruto becomes Hokage they will form an alliance like they promised, which wraps up Gaara's tale well enough.

[Chinaman889]

Gaara is basically the hokage of the sand country. He's got other shit to do then run around wtfpwning people.

[Goofy]

I wonder if they are gonna finish this sasuka vs itachi arc, finsih off all other akatsuki members and call it a day for naruto.










And publish NarutoZ as story of Adult naruto's adventure as hokage LOL.

[Rezz]

I'm getting the feeling there's gonna be another "time skip" type scenario like between Naruto and Shippuden. Too much of a power gap between Tobi/Madara and Pein and the entire village of leaf+sasuke. They're getting more powerful, but Naruto/Sasuke aren't even close to the same league.

[Soundwave]

Originally Posted by Rezz

I'm getting the feeling there's gonna be another "time skip" type scenario like between Naruto and Shippuden. Too much of a power gap between Tobi/Madara and Pein and the entire village of leaf+sasuke. They're getting more powerful, but Naruto/Sasuke aren't even close to the same league.

Well Pain/Pein even said that if it wasn't for one minor detail (see: "secret") that Jiraiya would've defeated him. And Naruto with 4 tails came close to killing Jiraiya. Which means, hypothetically, Naruto would be a good matchup for Pain if he ever is able to control himself past 4 tails. I mean, if Naruto can control himself with 4 tails at some point AND pull off a mass shadow clone technique, I think he would be the strongest ninja ever. That is, of course, if he isn't caught in a Mangekyou which both Itachi and Kakashi now seem to have, and Tobi and Sasuke can achieve.

I have a feeling we are going to see a large jump in Naruto's strength once he hears of Jiraiya's death.

[Zarcath]

What about Kisame and Suigetsu? Isn't Kisame supposed to be more powerful then Itachi?

[Goofy]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

What about Kisame and Suigetsu? Isn't Kisame supposed to be more powerful then Itachi?

He has the most chakra of any akatsuki and i think has moer chakra than most characters in entire comic as well (i think naruto being counted as the person with most chakra in entire story)

[Grave]

Kisame is not necessarily stronger than Itachi, but he is definitely underrated by many fans. He's an absolute powerhouse in physical strength, chakra, and jutsu technique. If you remember the way he practically dismantled Team Gai with clever use of his abilities, forcing Gai to open 6 gates to end it, and that was only 30% of his strength. Had it been any other team, 30% would've likely been enough to kill them all.

That's not even mentioning his chakra-absorbing sword, which we haven't seen utilized in a real fight yet. I'd say he'll only toy around with Suigetsu and we wont see his real strength for awhile, but it'll be monstrous.

[Chinaman889]

It was mentioned somewhere that Itachi stated that had either he or Kisame fought Jiraiya 1v1, Kisame would lose hands down, and Itachi would either have to sacrifice himself or come away severely injured to beat him. That could be a gauge on strength levels?

[Grave]

You also have to take into account the Sharingan, which is obviously the most OP thing we've seen in the series so far. Any character with it is going to be stronger than absolutely anyone else that doesn't have it, or something similar like the Rinnegan.

I'd say Kisame is probably on par with the other non-Sharingan users, if not stronger. I'd like to see him fight Gai and Lee at 100% strength. Gai would probably be killed, and Lee could open up all 8 gates and be the first to survive it. Would be a cool way to finish out Lee's character development.

[Zarcath]

I could see something like Gai and Lee fighting someone powerful and they both release gates, and then Gai tells Lee to kill him so Lee can reach the 8th gate. Were all of the gates named?

[Grave]

Yes.

• 1. Gate of Opening (開門, Kaimon?) releases the brain's limit on the total strain on the muscles, giving the user five times their normal strength and speed. The user can perform the Front Lotus (表蓮華, Omote Renge?, Viz "Forward Lotus", English TV "Primary Lotus") at this level. The Front Lotus entails restraining an airborne opponent, either with bandages or breaking their bones to prevent movement. The user then grabs them, spins them as they near the ground, and delivers a piledriver on impact, inducing severe head trauma. After using the Front Lotus the user is left extremely fatigued, making this jutsu a "double-edged sword".
• 2. Gate of Rest (休門, Kyūmon?) releases the brain's limit on the body's stamina, making a battle-worn person become miraculously ready to fight as if the fight had just started.
• 3. Gate of Life (生門, Seimon?) is located on the spinal cord, and releases the limit on the nervous system, which makes information travel at a faster rate and creates even more stamina. As a side effect, the user's skin turns red, indicating an increased blood-oxygen level. The user can perform the Reverse Lotus (裏蓮華, Ura Renge?, English TV "Hidden Lotus") at this level, though in all of its uses the first five gates are opened as well. To use the Reverse Lotus the user must first launch his opponent into the air. Once doing so they rapidly pummel the opponent with punches and kicks before sending the target crashing into the ground. This is usually fatal due to the speed and power behind the attack. Because so many chakra gates are opened at once, it can only be used once, since the user will likely be unable to stand afterward.
• 4. Gate of Pain (傷門, Shōmon?) releases the limit on oxygen intake in the lungs, creating much more oxygen for the body to use.
• 5. Gate of Closing (杜門, Tomon?) releases the limit on the amount of chakra released at one time. Allows the user's movements to exceed the speed of sound.
• 6. Gate of Joy (景門 , Keimon?) removes the limit on how much fat and proteins the intestines can digest, and releases otherwise useless energy resources, giving the user even more power and stamina. The user can perform the Morning Peacock (朝孔雀, Asa Kujaku?) at this level. Due to the advantages of the sixth gate, users of the Morning Peacock are able to repeatedly punch an opponent with such speed and strength that their punches form a peacock-like fan of flaming chakra. Once an opponent is struck with the attack they collapse, covered in the attack's aura.
• 7. Gate of Shock (驚門, Kyōmon?) removes the limit on how fast the body can move, removes wastes from dead skin cells to feces, and gives the body a much cleaner system to work with, producing even more power and stamina.
• 8. Gate of Death (死門, Shimon?) opens the final gate located at the heart and uses up all of the body's energy. It makes the heart pump at maximum power and exceeds the power of every other gate. All the energy in every individual cell is used up, giving the user power well above that of any Kage. This "big bang" effect is only temporary, and destroys every muscle in the user's body, including the heart. Death is completely assured when opening this gate.

[Himeo]

Originally Posted by Rezz

I'm getting the feeling there's gonna be another "time skip" type scenario like between Naruto and Shippuden. Too much of a power gap between Tobi/Madara and Pein and the entire village of leaf+sasuke. They're getting more powerful, but Naruto/Sasuke aren't even close to the same league.

Yes, that is the only scenario that will allow Kishi to tie up all the lose ends he's made:

• Sasuke/Orochimaru (Oro is still alive, just "suppressed" temporarily)
• Naruto sealing the "yang" chakra. This will most likely be his final "power up" and he is nowhere near able to access it.
• Kabuto/Orochimaru might be resolved before the next jump but may carry over longer.
• Root hasn't begun to make their move; or so we know.
• Most of the "12" have relationships developing that will likely play an important part in the story, but as of *now* they aren't "dramatic" enough yet.

[Kaio]

Or he'll actually show the development of the characters relationships/strength/skill over hundreds of chapters with no long time skips.