Note: I use the names Pain and Nagato interchangeably throughout this post.
The thirteenth arc of Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto continues with Taka’s attempt to defeat the Eight Tails’ host. At the same time, Pain and his lookalikes move to attack Konohagakure to capture Naruto.
Recap of the Previous Arc
The Fated Battle Between Brothers Arc features Sasuke and Itachi’s long awaited battle to the death. Itachi seems to have the upper hand throughout the fight due to the power of his ocular jutsu. Many things are revealed during this confrontation.
The first is the confirmation that one of the founders of Konohagakure is still alive. The second is that Sharingan users are prone to blindness as they use the most advanced form of their ocular power, the Mengekyō. Third, Madara Uchiha caused the destruction of Konohagakure 13 years prior by controlling the Nine Tails. Note that the destruction somehow led to the beast being sealed within Naruto.
The battle between the brothers ends with Itachi’s death, though Sasuke does not express much relief nor excitement. Later, Tobi, or Madara, confronts Sasuke and informs him that Itachi’s killing of the Uchiha clan was actually ordered by Konohagakure officials. The Uchiha were planning to overthrow the village government, but were ultimately stopped by Itachi. Konohagakure’s involvement in the massacre prompts Sasuke to side with the Akatsuki. In Konohagakure, Naruto learns of Jiraiya’s death and mourns him. He spirals into a deep depression, though Iruka and Shikamaru help ease his pain by reminding him of his goals. Naruto helps Shikamaru decipher a coded message that Jiraiya left before he died.
Towards the end of the arc, the code is deciphered as “the real one’s not among them.” Naruto, who is now looked upon as the Child of Prophecy is invited to train at Mt. Myōboku by an elder toad named Fukasaku.
The arc ends with Taka’s struggle against the host of the Eight Tailed beast in Kumogakure.
Pain’s Assault Arc
The arc spans through volumes 45 to 48, or chapters 413 to 453.
Synopsis
The beginning of the arc shows Sasuke and Taka fighting against the Eight Tails’ host. The fight is nearly lost, but Taka manages to defeat Killer Bee. However, before the beast’s extraction could be done, Bee escapes.
Meanwhile, Pain and his lookalikes begin their assault on Konohagakure. The destruction leads to many deaths, including Kakashi’s. Naruto eventually returns from Mt. Myōboku to fight Pain. At this point, Naruto has officially become a sage. However, for a moment, he is not strong enough to defeat Pain. Hinata, who has been watching Naruto struggle, enters the fight to confess her feelings to Naruto and protect him. But she is brutally defeated.
After partially transforming into the Nine Tails, Naruto meets remnants of his father’s chakra (or consciousness) within himself. It is finally revealed that his father was the Fourth Hokage. After a heartfelt talk, Naruto controls the Nine Tails’ chakra and defeats Pain, or Yahiko. He eventually meets with Nagato, the person behind Pain and the lookalikes. Naruto convinces him that he will change the world and bring peace. Satisfied, Nagato reverses the deaths he caused in Konohagakure and dies soon after. Among the revived is Kakashi.
Towards the end of the arc, Tsunade is shown unresponsive. Because of the amount of people with drastic injuries, Tsunade used nearly all of her chakra to heal everyone en masse. An emergency meeting is conducted to select the new Hokage, at least until Tsunade recovers, and Danzō is chosen. He somehow convinced the council that Konohagakure cannot afford more catastrophes under the influence of the Third Hokage.
The arc ends with Team 7 learning that Sasuke is being hunted by Kumogakure ninjas due to his attack against Killer Bee, who is revealed to be the Raikage’s younger brother. The news devastates Naruto and Sakura. Readers also learn that there will be a Kage summit soon and that Sasuke plans to attack the attendees to enact his revenge.
Review
I give this arc 3 out of 5 stars: ⭐⭐⭐
The Writing
Kishimoto’s manga series does not disappoint. Every arc so far has been impactful and the character development for several characters have been growing consistently. I will say, though, that the story includes some illogical details. For instance, Konohagakure has ninjas monitoring the perimeter of the village for intruders. This is evident in Volume 45, Chapter 419; however, previous arcs have included intrusions before (the Search for Tsunade Arc, for instance). So how is it that these ninjas were able to detect Pain and his lookalikes entering Konohagakure borders, but were unable to detect Itachi and Kisame?
Aside from that, the deaths and revivals that occurred in Pain’s invasion seemed like pointless plot points. Although these affected characters—Kakashi, for instance—are loveable, I think that Kishimoto reeled their deaths back out of , dare I say, fear of backlash from his fans. I think that killing a character off and then reviving them is a complete ass-pull. It makes the antagonist seem more powerful, yes, but if the power scaling becomes more important than the story’s logic, then it makes things inconsistent. The fact that Naruto is the only person in the village who could stand up to him is kind of laughable. Note that Tsunade is supposed to be the strongest representative of Konohagakure now that Jiraiya is dead, and yet she could only heal people from a distance. She exhausts herself without engaging in battle. I could go on another tirade about misusing female characters, but I will not because the issue has more to do with character inconsistencies than anything else.
Kakashi, on the other hand, is regarded as another strong character and even he could not cause enough damage to Pain. He dies in battle, only to be resurrected later. And then we have Konohamaru who is able to stand up and defeat one of Pain’s lookalikes. And although their power has hardly compared to even Sakura’s, both characters are able to land hits on Pain and his lookalike. Sure, his fight plays into the story’s prevalent themes, but how can one character who is weaker than the masters land a hit when the masters nearly die attempting to?
On another note, I do appreciate the smaller details of the arc. For instance, Sai’s inability to divulge information about Danzō because of a curse mark is brilliant.
The Characters
Sasuke‘s true character is often shown in the most perilous moments. It is obvious that he cares deeply for the people he works with, specifically Taka and Team 7. The Sharingan’s activation is a reflection of Sasuke’s deepest sentiments; it seems to go into effect whenever he or someone else is in danger. As noted in the first couple of arcs, Sasuke had used the Sharingan whenever he and his comrades were cornered. He often used it to protect either Naruto or Sakura, and Kishimoto has made it obvious that he worried for their safety through the art and Sasuke’s intentions in those moments. Likewise, the Sharingan continues to reflect Sasuke’s care, but this time for Taka. They are outmatched by Bee and the Eight-Tailed Beast. He reflects on Karin, Jūgo, and Suigetsu’s words before activating the Mangekyo to release a jutsu attack, Amaterasu.
The interesting thing about the Amaterasu attack scene is that he also imagines Team 7 looking and smiling at him. If the Sharingan is truly moved by the user’s emotions, then Kishimoto is making it clear that he still cares about Team 7. What he said towards the end of the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc are things that he did not necessarily mean. The kid wanted revenge and the cost of such was rejecting his friends.
Tsunade shows her leadership in this arc more than ever. Readers get to see Tsunade as both a political figure and a military head. The elders wish for Naruto to stay hidden from the Akatsuki; however, Tsunade insists that Naruto is capable of protecting himself and the village. While the elders think logically about Naruto’s safety, it is hard to dismiss Tsunade’s trust in Naruto. She sees him as a person and not as a weapon.
While I like that Kishimoto focuses on Tsunade for a bit, I do not like that he contradicts her leadership abilities in the middle of the arc. Simply letting Naruto take care of Pain makes characters like Danzō seem more reliable as a leader despite the danger he poses to the main cast.
The Elders of Konohagakure are my least favorite characters of the story. However, I appreciate their presence because of they challenge other characters’ views on political matters. Danzō is, by far, the worst of the three due to his greed and lack of empathy. He would rather let the village get destroyed if it means that it helps him rise in the rankings. The man wants power, and his ascent is not a welcomed sight. He represents Shinobi principles in the most extreme ways.
Hinata is a cute character and will always remain as one of my favorites. Her confession scene to Naruto is emotional. Although her confession was a bit cliché, I like that her declaration included tidbits about how much Naruto inspired her. It is clear that her love for the titular character is not shallow; she likes him because he motivates her to be a better version of herself.
The Themes
Grief
Grief is a difficult thing to express in a story as authors may often make their main characters pitiful and ceaselessly angry at a torturous world that they have perceived. However, I like that Kishimoto takes some time to show that Naruto has not gotten over Jiraiya’s death. I have read other manga where a character’s death is treated like a stepping stone for a character’s growth or the story’s progression.
I appreciate that Kishimoto does not make Naruto forget about Jiraiya. Naruto is shown crying over one of his novels and happily reminiscing about their time together. It is clear that their relationship was a deep one despite its awkward beginnings.
Pain, hatred, and revenge
An interesting thing about Naruto’s reaction to Jiraiya’s death in contrast to Sasuke’s reaction to Itachi’s is how the surviving characters choose to redirect their feelings. Naruto chooses to work on improving himself to reach his goals. However, Sasuke directs the anger he once had for Itachi against his home village.
Aside from the boys’ reactions to death, Nagato’s (or Pain) assault on Konohagakure shows a similar notion that Tobi and Danzō have about hatred. Note that in The Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission Arc, Danzō expressed his notion about hatred:
“Understand this, Sai… emotions generate hatred… and hatred breeds conflict”
Danzō to Sai; Vol. 35, Ch. 310
The three antagonists seem to have some understanding of how emotions interfere with human lives. It is a funny thing for human characters to try to suppress the things that makes them human. But I am not complaining; I think that Kishimoto’s interpretation of this cycle of war and hatred is interesting and worth exploring. War and peace are treated like two sides of the same coin; conflict is inevitable despite people’s endless search for peace.
I should also point out that the Shinobi World is not so black and white when it deals with this concept. Naruto’s father understands the notion that the antagonists of Part 2 believe.
So far, every character has resolved their conflicts with deaths. However, this arc introduces the characters with another solution: talking.
The greater good, or the death of one to save many
This is a theme that could be placed with the previous ones. So far, notable characters like Kakashi and Jiraiya have made the choice to dispose of their enemies. This solution is not one that Naruto can accept anymore. This fits into the toads’ prophecy of there being a person capable of influencing a change in their world. Although I am not a fan of the Child of Prophecy detail, I do like that Kishimoto is giving these characters a weighty challenge. War and death are all that the elder shinobi have known as witnesses or participants. Executions do not solve anything, and a young boy like Naruto has grown to understand that just after speaking with Nagato through Yahiko (Pain).
Naruto’s famous talk no jutsu has become a meme, but it fits his character well. Naruto’s character arc deals with his mental and emotional growth. In a world where idealism is ridiculed, Naruto attempts to achieve a compromise between two warring parties and succeeds when he meets Nagato. The arc ends with Nagato’s death, but not by Naruto’s hands, which is the most important detail.
The Hokage as the diplomat and not a military leader
As I continue to read the series, I have noticed moments where Naruto seems emotionally mature and rational. Naruto now understands that endless warring will not solve anything for anyone. Simply killing the Akatsuki will not dissolve the issue. There is a cycle of hatred that is bound to affect everyone. Naruto’s wish is to break that cycle. It may be wishful thinking; Naruto at this point wants what Nagato wants—peace. But both characters are approaching this in different ways. While Nagato and the Akatsuki try to create a utopia through death and chaos, Naruto wishes to achieve this in a more diplomatic way. This makes Naruto a more suitable candidate for Hokage. The Hokage title should be gained through diplomacy and not through physical power. At this point of the story, Naruto is a hero; he is finally recognized and admired for his achievements. Naruto is the most ideal leader.
The importance of parental bonds and the misery of childhood neglect
These two are two very prominent things that the story explores. Naruto is one of the most neglected kids in the series. The moments leading up to the deaths of his parents are still a mystery, even after Naruto meets the spirit of his deceased father, The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Naruto’s anger towards his father about being the chosen host of the Nine Tails is heart wrenching. What should be a lovely meeting between father and son is overshadowed by the resentment of Naruto’s burden. Despite Minato’s absence, Naruto suffered greatly because of the Fourth’s decisions. Naruto was ostracized by people who did not know him because of the beast sealed within him.
I wish that this theme was explored more in Naruto’s character arc because it seemingly concludes with Naruto saying “It’s all right… I’m the Fourth Hokage’s kid… I’ll deal.”
Naruto does not completely explore the human condition, but it is hard to overlook the most revisited themes. And now that I got a better look at Naruto’s deepest feelings about his situation, I really wish that Kishimoto explored his sentiments much earlier. So far, readers have caught sight of Naruto prompting others in similar situations to change, but he has not looked inwardly. I think that Kishimoto could have gone more in depth with Naruto’s character.
On a similar note, while Kakashi was “dead,” he and his father’s spirit have a conversation about Kakashi’s life. We have previously seen Kakashi show resentment of his father during the Kakashi Chronicles Arc. Kakashi had held onto the trauma of his father’s suicide and Obito’s death. However, Kakashi eventually adopted Obito’s beliefs, and it appears that Obito is the reason why Kakashi can forgive his father for breaking shinobi principles when he was still alive. Although their interaction is short, Kakashi’s closure cuts deep.
There is a lot more to discuss about this arc, but I am afraid that my ramblings will make my post a whole lot longer. I do not want to come off as repetitive…
This arc also explores political themes, though I did not talk about them as much here. I will, however, talk about them in the next arc, the Five Kage Summit Arc, which spans through volumes 49 to 51, or chapters 454 to 483.
If you have reached this point of my blog post, thank you for reading!
Until the next one,
Cassandra D.
Moonlit Media Room 