Revisiting the Shinobi World: The Five Kage Summit Arc

The fourteenth arc of Naruto continues with more politics, revelations, and accusations. In this arc, I finally get what I wanted to see more of: the political aspect of the Shinobi World. While that part of the arc was entertaining, I couldn’t help but think about the strange way that the story built up to Sasuke’s clash against Danzō.

Recap of the Previous Arc

Pain’s Assault arc continued with Taka’s fight against the Eight Tails’ host. The group had a hard time fighting the Jinchūriki, but were able to succeed. However, before the Eight Tails’ extraction, Bee escaped.

At Mt. Myōboku, Naruto continued his training to become a sage. His training went well and is eventually taken back to Konohagakure. Pain and his lookalikes had begun the destruction of the village in search for Naruto. Many ninjas put their lives on the line to protect the citizens and Naruto. Kakashi is killed in battle and reunites with his late father.

Naruto’s return to Konohagakure is abrupt and he immediately begins to fight against Pain. When trapped by Pain’s techniques, Hinata Hyūga joins the battle and confesses her feelings to Naruto. However, her interference is all for naught; Pain effortlessly defeats her. Her seemingly lifeless body triggers Naruto into a rage and it causes him to partially transform into the Nine Tailed beast. During his fight against Pain, Naruto nearly gives in to the Nine Tails’ demands to unleash him; however, an apparition of his father—The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—appears and stops him by encouraging Naruto to fight with his own power. Naruto calms himself down and promptly defeats Pain.

It’s been revealed that Pain is no more than a puppet by a Rinnegan user, Nagato, whom Naruto eventually meets. In this meeting, Naruto convinces Nagato that he will change the world. Upon agreement, Nagato reverses the deaths that he caused with a jutsu that ends his life. Ninjas who were killed, including Kakashi, are resurrected.

Naruto’s victory is celebrated by the whole village. It seems as though Naruto’s efforts have finally made him loved by all. Meanwhile, Sasuke is confronted by Madara, or Tobi, about Bee’s disappearance. Tsunade is left in critical condition and so Danzō is appointed as a temporary Hokage until Tsunade recovers. By the end of the arc, Kumogakure ninja confront Sai, Naruto, and Sakura about Sasuke, who is now being hunted for his crimes against Kumogakure and his affiliation with the Akatsuki.

The Five Kage Summit Arc

This arc spans through volumes 49 to 51, or more specifically, chapters 454 and 483.

Synopsis

Naruto pleads with the Kumogakure ninja to cease their search for Sasuke. He hopes to meet with the Raikage to persuade him to change his mind. So, Naruto decides to track Omoi, Karui, and Samui—the Kumogakure ninja—with Kakashi and Yamato. 

At the summit, Danzō and the rest of the five Kage discuss the Akatsuki. It is revealed that the Akatsuki are mercenaries that each village, save for Kumogakure, have hired at some point in the past. The Kage have discussions about forming an alliance and nearly appoint Danzō to lead the alliance. However, they’re interrupted by the appearance of White Zetsu, an Akatsuki member, who announces Sasuke’s arrival. Of course, they are attacked by Sasuke, who’s hellbent on exacting revenge against Danzō for his involvement in his clan’s massacre.

Meanwhile as they’re resting at an inn, Naruto, Yamato, and Kakashi are confronted by Madara, who tells them of Sasuke’s intentions. He tells them that Naruto and Sasuke are fated to fight, just like the Senju were fated to fight the Uchiha. He informs them that Sasuke is headed towards a dark path on his own will.

At the summit, Sasuke is nearly defeated, but Madara teleports him and the exhausted Taka members to another dimension. Madara then demands the Naruto and Killer B or face war. Of course, the Kage are reluctant to turn over the two. This prompts Madara to declare war.

After the summit, Danzō sneaks away. Apparently the other Kage mistrusted him, which prompted the leaders to elect Kakashi as the new Hokage to represent Konohagakure while Tsunade recovers.

Later, Killer B is nearly captured by Kisame, though is eventually defeated by he and A, the Raikage.

Meanwhile, Sakura and the rest of her class learn that Sasuke will be sought and condemned for his criminal actions. Desperate, Sakura seeks out Naruto and makes a false confession of her feelings to him as an attempt to keep him from searching for Sasuke. However, Naruto is frustrated by her actions because his search for Sasuke is not being done just for the promise he once made to her. Sakura becomes even more distraught by Naruto’s decision, so she chooses to kill Sasuke himself to stop his revenge spree.

Their confrontation comes after Sasuke succeeds in killing Danzō. Sakura could see that Sasuke’s not like he used to be, but she struggles in fulfilling her self-appointed mission. Teary-eyed, Sakura hesitates to kill him. However, Sasuke seems to have no trouble in killing her, just like he had no trouble in fatally injuring Karin to fulfill his ambitions. Just when Sasuke is about to deliver a fatal blow to Sakura, she’s saved by Kakashi.

Review

I give this arc 1 out of 5 stars: ⭐

The Writing

This might be one of the few arcs, if not the only arc, in the series that has several things I’m not happy about. I found that Sai’s character was somewhat inconsistent. He’s curious about friendships and other kinds of bonds, and yet he is unwilling to understand the dynamic that Naruto and Sakura share when it comes to Sasuke. Team 7’s friendship is easy to misunderstand as the story continues to focus on Naruto’s journeys to finding Sasuke. In previous arcs, the goal was a two-person effort; Naruto promised Sakura to bring Sasuke back to the village while also making that promise to himself. Readers of the manga are not only shown but also told time and time again that Naruto was willing to make that sacrifice because he considered Sasuke a brother more than just a comrade. However, this arc makes the emotionally-developing character inconsiderate of his comrades’ mutuality. I talk about this later in this post…

Aside from Sai’s unnecessary commentary, I almost applauded Kishimoto’s ability to create foreshadowing until it was ruined. I think that the worst thing a writer could do is coddle their readers. In the 49th volume, Kishimoto foreshadows another fight between Sasuke and Naruto because Tobi—or Madara—suggests that the two are fated to contribute to the cycle of hatred. However, what should be left as a foreshadowing is muddled by Kishimoto’s additional scene where Tobi confirms that the two will have a fight. Given the manga’s previous addition of the Child of Prophecy, this new thing doesn’t do anything more to the story. There’s no reason to give readers this foreshadowing of another battle between the two estranged friends if the confirmation was going to be given anyway.

On another note, I like the little bits of information Kishimoto drops about the rest of the Shinobi World. Politics aside, the other villages’ leaders, their guards, and their histories with each other and the Akatsuki are great. Adding samurai into the mix of protectors is also exciting, though it’s a shame that the story includes them only now that a war looms ahead.

The themes, plot points, and characters

Danzō’s ambitions

It’s obvious that Danzō is manipulative. Given the nations’ urgency to destroy the Akatsuki, Danzō understands the position he’s in as a leader. So, he admits that Madara Uchiha—a defector of his village—is the leader of the terrorist organization. Admitting fault to Konohagakure’s inability to restrain Madara the first time is seen as admirable in a place where rivaling political figures have been arguing about their fault or lack thereof. Konohagakure is probably the most vulnerable place now and it’s not just because of Pain’s recent attack. Naruto is the only Jinchūriki left (that the Gokage know of at the time of the Summit before its interruption), and Konohagakure still has him under their protection. An interesting notion is that in the Kazekage Rescue Mission Arc, it was clear that Jinchūriki were meant to be their respective villages’ weapons. Danzō and the rest of the political figures don’t see Naruto as a person.

Vol. 49, Ch. 459

This is a crucial thing because making Danzō the head of their cause is dangerous. Luckily, the other village leaders understand the dangers that loom with Danzō’s involvement. Even Gaara, the Kazekage, nominates Kakashi Hatake to take over for Tsunade, who is still recovering. Their decision dictates that of Konohagakure’s council.

Aside from Danzō’s petty revenge plots, it’s still unclear as to what he wants. I know that he wanted to destroy Konohagakure because he failed to become its 4th and 5th Hokage, but ascending to the position now as an acting 6th Hokage during the most critical time is interesting. I think that Danzō really was interested in making Konohagakure better, though his approach was disgustingly cruel. I also think that he didn’t really care about the villagers as long as he could obtain what he wanted. Danzō reminds me of Tobirama Senju, who persecuted the Uchiha clan and drove them to rebel against the government. Because of Danzō’s sleazy methods, I think that he would have prompted others in the village to do the same thing that the Uchiha wanted to do. It would have been interesting to see Danzō for much longer than he was included in the story. Killing him off so early in his career as Hokage is disappointing. I was curious about what he was capable of doing for the village. Did he really want to destroy it? Did he want to reform it? What was his true purpose in the story? I guess now that he’s dead, I’ll never know…

Shifting the blame, or something like it…

Team 7 is confronted with a difficult ordeal: now that Sasuke has attacked the Raikage’s brother, he is seen as an official member of the Akatsuki. The organization’s attack on Konohagakure is likely another reason why the Summit was held. Because of Sasuke’s ties with the terrorist group, it was decided that Sasuke would be pursued as a criminal. In other words, Konohagakure would be obliged to give other villages permission to detain or kill Sasuke. The news comes as a shock to Naruto and Sakura. And while Naruto is out doing what he can to prevent Sasuke’s death, Sai confronts Sakura about Naruto’s decision to appease her by obsessing over Sasuke’s whereabouts.

Vol. 49, Ch. 458

I find this plot point strange given the fact that Naruto’s promise was a promise to himself, too. I know that other characters of the series may not understand Team 7’s dynamic and their love for Sasuke, but the notion itself is enough to create a rift between the characters involved. Sai is blaming Sakura for Naruto’s actions despite knowing that Naruto cares a lot about Sasuke’s safety. It’s also mind boggling that Sai would also bring up Naruto’s romantic feelings toward Sakura. This is enough to implicate her even more. I don’t know if this should be identified as an inconsistent characterization of Sai, or if readers are meant to look at Sakura’s wishes the way Sai sees them. Kishimoto goes as far as calling her wish a curse to Naruto. It’s nerve-wracking because of Sai’s own issues and desires to understand the deep bond the pair have towards Sasuke.

So I have to ask: is Kishimoto suggesting that love itself is like a curse, that loving Sakura is like a curse, or that Naruto’s promise to Sakura—because of what Sakura once told him—is like a curse? All three things apply, but all fingers point towards blaming the girl. And it doesn’t make any sense.

Love and Pain: understanding Sakura’s intentions and my disgust with the roles she was given

The short blame-game is uncalled for, but it’s also a gateway towards this next discussion about love, grief, and suffering: the three things that nearly all characters of the series know of. I think that Sakura’s love for Sasuke is one that’s been taken out of context many times by the Naruto fans that dislike Sakura’s character. It’s obvious that she’s in love with Sasuke despite his bad attitude and the distance he wedges between himself and the rest of Team 7. However, like Naruto, Sakura wants what they believe is best for him.

However, Sai had blamed her for Naruto’s fixation on Sasuke. To remedy that, Sakura attempts to manipulate Naruto into giving up on their friend.

Vol. 50, Ch. 469

When Sakura is unsuccessful in changing Naruto’s mind, she chooses to kill Sasuke. However, killing him is not necessarily what she wants to do. In her mind, Sasuke has dug a deep hole that he can’t get himself out of. Sasuke isn’t like he used to be; he’s so possessed by his desire for revenge that he’s willing to hurt others and himself to achieve this. This is apparent when he nearly kills Karin, and even more so when he turns his killer intent on Sakura, who struggled to even point a dagger against him.

As Kishimoto pointed out in previous arcs, pain is an inevitable feeling that comes with being human. Sasuke is still trying to rid of himself of his past. He’d rather isolate himself like his brother once had… In Sakura’s mind, killing Sasuke would end his pain and suffering. Killing Sasuke would also, in a way, end Naruto’s suffering. She sees Sasuke’s actions as more wounds to his already ailing heart. In her eyes, Sasuke is too far gone that someone as charismatic as Naruto would be unable to help him. It’s a naïve and disturbing way of thinking, but it’s what she thinks would be best. In a story about a world that thrives on violence and questionable morals, Sakura’s solution is telling of her desperation to save both Naruto and Sasuke from their pain. (To be honest, this is a perfect opportunity to make Sakura side with the Akatsuki, given Tobi’s goal to making a world without pain).

Now, I’m not in favor of making the main heroine of the series continue to manipulate; I think that it regresses her character. I hate that Kishimoto didn’t do much with Sakura’s mental and emotional development. In the beginning of the series, Sakura was deemed to be mature, though readers were also given snippets of her immaturity when it came to her romantic proclamations and inability to defend herself. Kishimoto had the opportunity to display Sakura’s growth that was claimed time and time again by being more assertive with her feelings towards Sasuke.

There’s a constant notion that’s been shared in the story. We know that shinobi principles are detrimental for their society. It would have been incredible to see Sakura accept her feelings for Sasuke, but still be willing to sacrifice that part of herself for the good of the village and everyone else involved. I’m not saying that she should have gone through with her warped plan, but I think that fighting Sasuke would have made the story more interesting, given Kakashi’s interference. Sakura shouldn’t have faked her feelings for Naruto because she doesn’t lack any self-awareness. I know that she tries to protect his feelings, but what is the point of their teachers’ lessons about their duties if even she won’t abide by them?

The main trio are hinted to be mirrors of their teachers and representatives of Kakashi’s teachings. Sasuke and Naruto don’t actually abide by Kakashi’s teachings, but what about Sakura? It would have been interesting to see someone like Sakura apply Kakashi and Tsunade’s more cruel sentiments in her work. Kishimoto could have explored the shinobi principles through Sakura, a people-pleaser. She could have been a character with more substance, someone who would feel conflicted of the reality she lives and the idealism that her friend, Naruto, strives to create. Having two characters—Sasuke and Naruto—choose their own paths by neglecting the expectations that are imposed on them could have been countered by Sakura’s principles if Kishimoto cared enough to give her any.

Anyway, this arc shows Naruto’s emotional growth, but implies that Sakura’s is stunted. I don’t like that she plays a stereotype. Kishimoto suggests that Sakura would grow out of her childish ways, but he contradicts her development with scenes like these. I found the confession scene to be a cheap attempt at romantic drama. To make matters worse, she does go out of her way to try to kill Sasuke. And just when you think she’s going to do something, she doesn’t, and is saved by Kakashi and Naruto. Funnily enough, Sakura’s role as a healer is also contradicted by her actions. In the previous arcs, readers are shown her more empathetic side. She doesn’t hesitate to protect even when she doesn’t have the strength to do so. However, in this arc, she chooses to attempt to assassinate Sasuke. I think I’ve finally gotten to a point in the series where thematic contradictions are becoming hard to ignore.

So, what was the point in making her confront someone as mentally unwell as Sasuke? In my opinion, everything that transpired was a poor excuse for Team 7’s confrontation with a mentally unstable friend. It added nothing to Sakura’s character.

But at least Naruto’s righteousness is untouched.

The Akatsuki’s—or Madara’s—plans

One of the most intriguing things about this arc is Madara’s plans for world domination, though his idea of ruling the world is unlike anything I’ve seen in other fictional stories. He wants to cast a genjutsu, or an illusion, to everyone to create a world with no violence.

An interesting thing about his plan is that he wants everything to “become one” with him and to “be united together” (Vol. 50, Ch. 467). In other words, Madara wants others who are put under his illusions to be extensions of himself and his desires. It’s narcissistic of him to want such a thing. Madara, or Tobi, wants to be like a god and he’s willing to achieve it by drastic forces.

The Great Fourth Shinobi World War

What a mouth-full…

I’m looking forward to seeing the great revelations of the manga’s most mysterious characters. I’m also looking forward to see how certain themes play out in dire moments. I’m not necessarily looking for realism when I’m reading Naruto, but the titular character’s famous talk-no-jutsu is something that I want to see play out again. Naruto is the guy who’s going to change the world, so how will he accomplish this change during and after the war?

Final Comments

I know that in this post I don’t talk about Sasuke’s fight against Danzō. That’s because I’ve said a lot about Sasuke’s search for revenge and I don’t want to repeat myself. What I noticed about Sasuke is the same thing I’ve seen in previous arcs: he’s selfish, he’s too absorbed in his revenge, and so on… What I got out of their fight were more questions about Danzō; I wanted to see what he would do with the power he once wanted as Hokage. I thought that Kishimoto wasted a good opportunity to make Danzō more interesting. His villainy is unlike the kind I’ve seen from other antagonists because Danzō is more calculated. It seemed as though he did things for reasons beyond other characters’ comprehension. I wanted to learn more about the ANBU organization and ROOT. I wanted to know more about his intention to destroy Konohagakure, and more… I just think that there were a lot of missed opportunities with his character.

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The Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown arc, is the fifteenth arc in the Naruto series and it consists of volumes 52 to 55, or chapters 484 to 515. If I remember correctly, the story continues with a bit more politics and another training sequence for Naruto. To be honest, I’m not looking forward to another training arc for Naruto, but my complaints about that can wait until my next post.

Until next time,
Cassandra D. 🌙