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dinosaurtsukki · 4 years

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housemates with shiratorizawa

helloo!! new headcanon series here hehe. i hope you like this very long set of headcanons!

how you ended up in a house with these guys:

they're such a tight-knit bunch considering the fact that they've been living in a dormitory throughout high school

it was probs semi or kawanishi who suggested getting an extra roommate to help with the rent (tendou and goshiki are accident prone they need someone to help pay for repairs)

so ushijima made and put up an ad for an extra housemate. although he didn't disclose the fact that you'd be rooming with 7 other dudes

you were kind of desperate for some housing at this point so you just went with it

the person who greets you at the door is shirabu. but its more like he saw you, your bag, and went back inside the house leaving the door open

you stood there for a whole ten minutes before kawanishi came up to invite you inside

you're instantly greeted by goshiki and semi cleaning the house like crazy. semi was punching a couch cushion so that it looked an extra soft pillow

tbh the only normal you see are ushijima and reon. they're probs the ones who interviewed you to see if you were a good fit as their housemate

despite how weird your first impressions of some of your housemates were, you were still keen to move in

and then that's when tendou decided to come home from the pet shop with an iguana

living there:

you're roommate ends up being shirabu because no one else wanted to room with him (jk they all drew straws and he was lucky)

he's a pretty good roommate: clean, keeps to himself, doesn't play music too loudly

except the fact that he ALWAYS HOGS THE UPSTAIRS BATHROOM

the bathroom might as well just be his because it's FULL of beauty products. also shirabu takes a million years to get ready that at this point, everyone uses the downstairs bathroom

lmao y'all get your revenge tho by using some of shirabu's products when he's gone

its particularly you, semi, tendo, and kawanishi who like to do that

kawanishi: *walks past shirabu*

shirabu: bitch, did you use my fucking Splash of Pomegranate with Exfoliating Sesame Seeds: Rainforest of the Sun Bath and Body Works shower gel?

kawanishi:...no?

semi and reon are both roommates and are probably the most normal people in the house which is saying something

also idk why i feel like they both have a thing for scented candles but they're too shy to tell anyone

like,,, they have a closet full of scented candles and everything

reon: hey, want me to light up Spring Lake or Summer's Kiss?

semi: Summer's Kiss all the way

that's why they always keep their door locked and whenever someone knocks, they quickly snuff out the candle and fan the smoke out of the windows

you: whoa, why does it smell so nice here?

semi: ...air freshener

is kawanishi the only sane, normal person in the house? yeah, probably

he's the one who remembers to get groceries and buy toilet paper and shit and he's so happy he has you to help him out

the thing is though, he's a NOTORIOUS prankster. like, nobody suspects him because they assume its tendou who put packets of ketchup under the toilet seat but no, it was kawanishi

but his favorite person to mess with is his roommate: goshiki

okay goshiki is a Heavy Sleeper and one night you and kawanishi decided to draw criss-cross stocking marks on his legs with permanent marker

goshiki is an alright housemate. he's polite, does his assigned chores, rarely gets into your privacy

but oh my god every morning at 5 am he wakes up the entire house BY BLENDING PROTEIN SHAKES

you and shirabu considered soundproofing your room or chaining goshiki to his bed

ONE OF THE HOUSE'S GREATEST MYSTERIES: how does goshiki cut his hair?

tendou knows you've been dying to know why so one day he's all 'do you really wanna know?' and you're like 'HECC YEAH' and he takes your arm and brings you to goshiki's room

in there you find him with a bowl on his head and cutting along the rim with his scissors

shirabu is also with him but he has a ruler for his bangs

its the only time they ever get along

tendou and ushijima has hands-down the most chaotic room set-up

for one, half of it, ushijima's half, looks like a traditional japanese house

you know that scene in BNHA where todoroki was showing off his room? yes that one

y'all are like 'how was he able to bring tatami mats in his room?'

and then tendou's half looks like a weird-ass storage room complete with an iguana tank (yes he kept it)

tendou probs has those color-changing lights too

and the funny part about it is that both ushijima and tendou are completely okay with the set-up

also tendou has the most irregular schedule ever. like,,, circadian rhythms just wasn't installed in the being that is Tendou Satori

like,, he'll be making mac and cheese at 3 am and just enter your room asking if you want anything

you: WHY WOULD I WANT MAC AND CHEESE AT 3 AM???

shirabu, who's still awake because he's a med student: i'll have some

ushijima on the other hand has such a set schedule and daily routine. he's the definition of 'working like clockwork'

you guys even use him as your clock because why not?

you: guys what time is it?

reon: ushijima just left for his morning run so probably 7am

the only thing is that ushijima,,, generally doesn't cook??

and by that he likes to eat raw vegetables. no seasoning, no nothing

and he always offers to make people snacks and he does it so sincerely that you can't help but accept his snacks

*insert scene of you eating raw carrots at 11 pm while studying*

house incident: everyone being a closeted fan of Naruto

everyone in shiratorizawa is a closeted naruto fan (except for a few but we’ll be discussing) and no i don’t accept criticism on this

goshiki MAY have rock lee’s signature bowl cut and sometimes walks around the house in leg weights but he doesn’t say who he copies them from outright

but EVERYONE ELSE

you started having your suspicions when you walked into semi and reon’s room looking for a pencil and found semi sitting in bed with a pile of tissues around him and his laptop on his lap

you guys stare at each other for a while and semi just quickly yells “I WAS WATCHING PORN”

you: I DON’T NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU’RE WATCHING

my boy semi was actually crying to that part in naruto when zabuza and haku died

his roommate reon on the other hand has a secret tattoo

it’s a sharingan tattoo and its on his back, just between his shoulder blades, which is why he doesn’t go around shirtless (his favorite character is itachi don’t @ me)

reon probably owns an akatsuki cloak too

kawanishi has an ENTIRE playlist of the naruto opening and ending tracks that he got from youtube and converted into mp3 format on youtube mp3 converter which he then downloaded and organized into a playlist with the album art when he was thirteen

sometimes you’ll hear him whistling Ikimono Gakari and everyone in the house is all 👂👂👂

tendou is the only one not lowkey about it but he’s not lowkey about anything he likes

and then one day you and tendou are in the kitchen and ushijima decides to watch tv while eating breakfast

while flipping through the channels he comes across the rock lee vs. gaara fight and he just decides to watch while eating

tendou’s like ‘wakatoshi? do you,,, like naruto?’

ushijima: is this naruto? it looks pretty cool

AND THEN YOU AND TENDOU JUST AMBUSH HIM AND GO INTO A TED TALK ABOUT HOW AWESOME NARUTO IS

while you’re busy ranting about it, semi, goshiki, and reon, who recognize the unmistakable Sounds of Naruto, creep downstairs

semi: oh, cool. it’s naruto

reon: yeah, used to watch it when i was a kid

goshiki: hmm, seems like an alright show

and then USHIJIMA LOOKS AT GOSHIKI AND THEN AT ROCK LEE AND JUST GOES

‘hey, you remind me of that guy’

AND GOSHIKI ALMOST CRIES

reon and semi end up sitting on the couch, trying to hold in their middle-school selves while watching

and then kawanishi comes in and he’s just like OH MY GOD NARUTO!!

now almost everyone in the house is watching. at that part when rock lee drops his weights reon and semi jump off the couch and cheer

they can’t hold themselves back anymore

last but not the least, shirabu, who came back from class, walks into the living room to find all of his housemates cheering and crying in front of the TV that’s playing naruto

shirabu: omg u guys are lame

goshiki, sobbing: WE’RE NOT LAME IF WE FOLLOW OUR NINJA WAY

shirabu: welL, OBVIOUSLY THE BEST FIGHT SCENE IS WHEN NARUTO AND ROCK LEE GO AGAINST KIMIMARO YOU UNCULTURED FUCKS

and then he runs up to his room before coming down with THE FULL BLU-RAY DISC SET OF NARUTO ALL THE WAY UNTIL SHIPPUDEN

basically you guys end up watching naruto all day and semi finally admitted that he wasn’t watching porn the day you came into his room

taglist (still open to anyone who wants in!): @montys-chaos @miyumtwins @strawberriimilkshake @pocubo @sugawara-sweetheart@akaashisbabydoll @laure-chan@therainroguefanfiction@atetiffdoesart@stephdaninja@oikaw-ugh@charliefredb@dramaqueenweeb1469@tremblinghearts@applepienation@doodleniella

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sagemoderocklee · 6 years

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How do you see Sasuke and Gaara's relationship as friends/evolved towards friendship?

i love this question anon! thank you! i hope i can do it justice, because i definitely feel that Sasuke and Gaara have a lot of potential in relating to one another. They are both incredibly similar, i’d say more so than Naruto, and while they do have a lot of differences, I think ultimately they share more common trauma and mental health issues than not.

Which is why i wish the potential friendship wasn’t glossed over or just reduced to bad jokes from the fandom about gaara being jealous of sasuke

now it’s been a while since i’ve done a full rewatch, but i think the first thing that should be pointed out is that gaara picked sasuke. during the chuunin exams, he saw sasuke as an equal before he ever so much as fought sasuke. he overlooked naruto, he underestimated lee... but he picked sasuke. he saw sasuke, he saw the look in his eyes and he knew. he knew they were the same--they were both deeply scarred from their childhoods of abuse, neglect, violence, betrayal... Yashamaru, the only person Gaara had in his life who he thought loved him, tried to kill him; Itachi, the person Sasuke idolized, his older brother who was perfect and wonderful, killed their entire clan and then tortured sasuke.

they both had a deeply violent trauma inflicted upon them from a very young age, and they both went to a very dark place. both were also shown to be somewhat similar as children--both kind, both warm, both caring, both loving. I would argue that prior to the trauma, they were both on a path towards becoming incredibly soft, gentle men--a fact which does play out with Gaara and to an extent Sasuke (look at his relationship with animals). Naruto, though he has gone to a dark place too, reacted differently to his trauma. He became loud, he became a trouble maker. He wanted to be acknowledged, so he acted out. Gaara and Sasuke were not on a path towards acknowledgement.

Sasuke wanted vengeance for his clan--something that he was told to seek out by itachi himself. Gaara, though it’s less explicit, wanted vengeance for himself.

I think in his choice to love only himself and to kill as a way to prove his existence, really speaks to a similar perspective that Sasuke had. He needed to be the strongest, he needed to be the best--but for Gaara, Yashamaru was already dead. He couldn’t do anything to his father, the Kazekage, which is where the blame should be placed--his father and the council. But he can’t do anything to them, and he can’t just destroy his entire village though he obviously did try. Gaara’s actions, his reactions, everything about his breakdown and subsequent change after Yashamaru’s betrayal and death speaks to feeling trapped, feeling like he had no other options, feeling helpless.

I think Sasuke also felt helpless.

Sasuke was forced to live in the Uchiha compound even after the massacre. He had to relive the trauma he’d faced over and over again. He was forced to walk the same streets where he’d found the bodies of every one of his family members, he was forced to live in the house he’d found his parents... over and over again. every single day for years.

That sort of repetitive trauma creates a sense of helplessness, and pushes him harder to follow the path Itachi laid out for him. He’s desperate to kill itachi, which makes him an easy target for later manipulation.

Gaara’s repeated trauma wasn’t just the abuse from the village, which is obviously something he does share with Naruto, but specifically the five other assassination attempts on his life (something that Naruto does not share). Obviously, those other attempts would have similarly resulted in the deaths of those five other ANBU who’d been given that task. But those attempts on his life are not only singularly traumatic for Gaara in that the attempts are being made at all, but they also rehash the horrible betrayal from Yashamaru and his subsequent death. They remind him time and again that his father hates him. His village hates him, his uncle hated him, his mother hated him. I think, in many ways, the violent deaths around Gaara, caused by him, are a rehashing of that trauma caused by Yashamaru. While Gaara was trying to embody what Yashamaru said, what his mother supposedly named him for (ware o aisuru shura, “self-loving carnage”), I think too he was trying to relive that trauma out of confusion.

we don’t have a lot of onscreen time with Gaara from this time. the number of onscreen deaths at his hand (4) don’t really paint a full picture, but i would argue that almost every person he killed was worth killing in some way or another. look at how he brushed off Naruto early on or Lee at the start of their match, I don’t think Gaara killed people who he felt didn’t matter. In the Forest of Death, he killed those three Ame shinobi because they had the scroll and because ultimately they were in the way of obtaining it, but also because the leader of that trio made it clear he thought he was stronger than Gaara. In the grand scheme of things they didn’t matter, but he had an objective--the scroll--and they were an obstacle, and ultimately it was a writing convention used to show that Gaara was dangerous. Obviously it’s hard to say for sure, but while I think that while Gaara was killing sort of haphazardly, seemingly without reason or care, that he ultimately always did care and there was always some logic in his own mind for the deaths.

anyway, all this babbling is me leading back to my first point: Sasuke and Gaara share more trauma and mental health issues in common than is ever explored in the series.

i think the moment that really for me is vital in this discussion is during the Five Kage Summit/Sasuke vs the Five Kage when Gaara and Sasuke come face to face for the first time since they were twelve.

Gaara’s response is not to try to kill him or capture him, it’s to try and talk to him. It’s to try and relate to him. Because he does relate. He does empathize--obviously Gaara is missing a lot of pieces because he doesn’t know what’s happened or why Sasuke is attacking them. He doesn’t understand that Konoha and every other nation is at fault for so many wrongs in the world.

But he cares. He empathizes. He understands where Sasuke’s at, and I think in some ways he does see himself in Sasuke even though it’s been years since he, himself, reacted violently to the external world. I think he knows he could still be in that dark place, that it was but a moment from the universe that allowed him the chance to change.

Sadly, I think Gaara, as a character, had the potential to be more than just another person to buy into a system of militaristic power, but it was wasted. He listened to Naruto, and he decided that he’d follow that same path; he’d forgive an entire village and the shinobi in it who went along with his abuse, he’d continue the system--like my own personal headcanons are that Gaara is far more radical and revolutionary than he’s presented in canon. I think that he made a choice when he was very young and inexperienced and still coming to grips with the life he’d led, the trauma he’d endured, and didn’t fully know what he was getting in to.

But once he does, he works tirelessly to do right. Obviously for the first few years, especially before his death, he’s fighting against stigma and fear and is still really young--I don’t think he knows yet how to be the Kazekage fully or what radical thought really is. He has to work with the council and do his best to present as non-threatening as possible. Then after his death, I think he’s got a little more room to work with but not that much, and then the war happens a few years later. After the war, I think that’s when he really starts to get the chance to see Sasuke’s revolutionary and radical perspective on the shinobi world.

So anyway, back on track...

Gaara sheds a tear for Sasuke during that scene because they share so much in common. Gaara is a painfully empathetic character, but this is also because he does see himself in Sasuke.

I think Sasuke would remember that.

I don’t imagine that they can be friends until after the war, but I think that Sasuke does remember that moment; he doesn’t remember much of that day, running too high on more trauma and mental/emotional stress, having a breakdown, etc, but he does remember that moment. Gaara was the only one who didn’t want to kill Sasuke. He tried to reach Sasuke.

So, Sasuke doesn’t go back to Konoha--which like good--he travels.

He visits Suna.

Gaara welcomes him. He doesn’t act scared, he doesn’t act weird or skittish. He’s not extra careful around Sasuke. He greets Sasuke as though they are friends which Sasuke is sure they never were, and he invites Sasuke to stay at the Kazekage estate instead of one of the hotels in the village or even the shinobi housing compound which does have a wing for visiting foreign shinobi. Nope. Garara invites him into his home, allows him to join him and his family for dinner--it is incredibly awkward because Temari and Kankurou do not have the same perspective on Sasuke, and maybe Shikamaru is visiting and feels even MORE awkward than the other Sand sibs.

But Sasuke was welcomed. He was treated like a friend.

Sasuke is not a character I’ve spent as much time thinking about and hcing, but I do tend to think of him as closed off, guarded. a man of few words because he just doesn’t feel safe divulging information about himself--whether it’s his feelings or his past or whatever. I also imagine that, after everything he’s been through, Sasuke hates being confused and he hates second guessing peoples’ intentions.

He’s been used by so many people in his life, and I think Gaara’s kindness would read as a red flag to Sasuke instead of something genuine.

But Sasuke isn’t afraid of Gaara. So he finds Gaara in his study, late that night after dinner, when everyone else is asleep, and he asks outright, “What do you want?”

Gaara is confused as fuck. “What do you mean?”

“What do you want from me?”

Gaara probably gets that little crease between where his eyebrows should be. “I don’t understand.”

“Why are you being so nice? I used to be a criminal.”

Finally he understands. But Gaara isn’t exactly good with explaining his own emotions either, so it’s probably a difficult discussion. “You were a victim of your village, as much as I was once a victim of mine. I have no reason to be cruel or unkind, because I understand you, Uchiha Sasuke.”

Sasuke doesn’t really know Gaara, so he doesn’t know if he can trust Gaara, but the words definitely strike a chord in him. Someone else understands him. Someone else empathizes with him. It’s enough.

Sasuke leaves the next day for other lands.

But whenever he’s near Suna, he stops by for a visit.

Gaara always welcomes him. He’s always happy to see him in his own way. They talk sometimes about shinobi life in a hidden village, about Naruto’s progress on becoming Hokage (both of them feel like he’s got a lot of work to do), on political matters that Gaara should definitely not be talking to Sasuke about but that’s fine Sasuke won’t tell anyone. Sasuke shares some of his ideas, Gaara likes some of them. Sasuke’s perspective helps Gaara to acknowledge his own past and the horrors he endured thanks to his father and his village. He accepts that he doesn’t need to forgive the wrongs done to him. In turn, Sasuke finds that kindness can be as revolutionary as anger. He’s not as afraid to be vulnerable.

Gaara’s the first person to know how Sasuke feels about Naruto.

Gaara doesn’t really know much about romance, but he’s seen his villagers, his sister and Shikamaru, he’s even seen Kankurou once or twice smitten with a local girl but he was too afraid of commitment to pursue. He encourages Sasuke.

“Naruto has fought for you for a long time,” he says. “From what I know of him, of his determination to bring you home... I would say he loves you.”

Sasuke doesn’t tell Naruto that he and Gaara are friends. He still doesn’t really get it sometimes, he doesn’t always trust it especially when he hasn’t seen Gaara for a long time. But he always finds a reason to stop by Suna, he always finds time to stay at the Kazekage estate at least for a day to catch up with Gaara.

I imagine they have a very quiet, soft sort of friendship. One built on mutual understanding and empathy, compassion and kindness, and unrelenting honesty. I imagine they grow close over the years of infrequent visits and political discussions and sometimes heavier discussions like their past traumas.

#naruto #shippuden #gaara #uchiha sasuke #sorry i went and babbled so much and went off on a lot of tangents #Anonymous

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recentanimenews · 6 years

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Opens the Gates in Episodes 43-49!

Welcome back to THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Nate Ming, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered episodes 36-42, and we continue this week with episodes 43-49.

This week is all about the FIGHTS, as we witness some of the best action in the series yet--and the start of what many consider the best showdown in all of Naruto! The "elimination tournament" portion of the Chunin Exam heats up, and we get to see a whole bunch of characters show what they're really made of--Kiba, Neji and Hinata, Shikamaru, and of course, Rock Lee and Gaara all get a chance to shine.

But first, a reader question from last week--this one's from twintailedmadness:

Hey, what happened with the two people impersonating the grass ninja along with Orochimaru? At the beginning of the forest exam part when they run in he says "you know what to do, we only have one target" and they go separate ways. Its not the two with Kabuto, you also see them at their own gate. Is it a plot hole or something that will come up later?

That's a really good question! They actually do vanish and we only see Shiore/Orochimaru-in-disguise--I think that Orochimaru was either controlling their corpses, or he had two underlings impersonating them. Sound off in the comments with your thoughts on the two random Grass Ninja who entered the Forest of Death and never returned!

And now, this week's Q&A!

This week we've got three, four… FIVE fights all in a row, and yet we're also getting a whole bunch of great character moments and development. How are you feeling right now with the show's pace?

Kevin: Knowing what’s coming with the third exam, I wish that they had saved some of the more poignant moments for after the prelims. Maybe of the people that completed the second exam, the slowest half need to fight, and then everyone else moves on to the actual third exam, so that the likes of the Hyuga fight and Lee versus Gaara would happen while the plot was actually moving forward?

Paul: No objections here. The show is moving along at a brisk pace, especially considering that it's a shonen action series, and by comparison sometimes a single fight in One Piece or Dragon Ball will last like five or six episodes. Two to three episodes per fight, maximum, is about my attention span these days.

Jared: This set of episodes in particular really felt like it moved quickly. Which isn’t bad, considering all the fights and moments that were packed into these episodes, it’s amazing how well it kept the flow up. Which really is how I’d characterize the pace, in that it does a good job of keeping things moving and the only time it really feels hindered is when it can go into recap mode.

Danni: I watched all of this batch’s episodes in one day without even realizing it until I was done. It was extremely tempting to just go ahead and keep watching. It feels like we’re really moving along right now.

David: The pace hasn’t been consistent--the recaps and long-winded explanations of stuff that should be easy to grok come to mind - but these episodes were all incredibly solid and left me wanting more. It’s very easy to see why this arc is remembered so fondly.

Noelle: I don’t have any complaints. It’s mostly fighting, but it’s compressed enough, especially when compared to a lot of other shonen series of the time. What we get really isn’t that bad, and is engaging enough that I didn’t feel like it was dragging.

Kara: I think I may be in the minority that actually enjoys when fights cut away to back story. We had a lot of characters introduced all at once, and they seemed genuinely interesting. Especially considering the techniques a lot of them use. I dig the sheer amount of action, but I’m also enjoying finding out more about these people as we go.

Joseph: I’m loving the pacing of these episodes because, with a couple exceptions (especially Gaara vs. Rock Lee), I don’t really think they needed to spend too much more time on anything here. The stakes aren’t that high, but they still make it seem as if each fight is a deathly serious affair.

Carolyn: I’m also in the minority but for a different reason. I actually really like when the fights are sprinkled with backstory, I feel like it makes their fights more relevant and emotional. But I’m really over how many fights are dragged across multiple episodes. It feels like they are stretching them out to fill time.

Peter: What’s. With. The. Constant. Split. Screen. Facial. Reactions. That aside I was pretty pleased with the animation treatment Kiba and Hinata got. The show really set its pace to the moment whether it was comedy, dramatic reveals, character moments, or even just taking an extra second so you can appreciate how f**ked-up Temari’s finisher was.

How does it feel getting to truly see Shikamaru in action, even if it was for only a half an episode?

Kevin: Shikamaru is one of the characters that grew on me over time. Early on, he’s just lazy and doesn’t do much, but as we get to see him fight and plan more, he just gets more awesome. So finally getting to watch him execute a plan in the moment was a great taste of what’s to come.

Paul: While I enjoyed it in the moment, I almost instantly forgot that Shikamaru defeats his opponent by using his understanding of the layout of the battlefield to trick them into banging their own head against a wall. For some reason, the details weren't sticking with me.

Jared: For me, seeing him in action was pretty similar to everyone else we hadn’t really seen fight yet. I was glad to see them all get screen time and actually see what they can do. With Shikamaru we kind of saw what he could do in the forest with his shadow possession, but this fight really showed the extent of that power and how dangerous it can be.

Danni: Shikamaru seems cool, but I don’t understand why people call him a galaxy brain level strategist. He seems no smarter than the other top genin.

David: The best of Shikamaru has yet to come. As of now, he’s interesting, but not much more interesting than the rest of the cast.

Noelle: This fight is more of a Shikamaru 101 than anything. Where he really shines has yet to come, but it’s nice seeing that his intellect and creativity has been highlighted even this early on.

Kara: One thing I’m learning about Naruto is there are very few one-trick ponies, despite what early episodes may lead you to believe. It was cool seeing Shikamaru step up from being the “mendokusai” guy to having some good in-the-moment tactics.

Joseph: I think I mentioned his power as being the type I’d like to have myself. I loved the strategy of using his environment to his advantage, even it if seemed like a totally wild gambit.

Carolyn: Shikamaru! I love him so much. I love that everyone tends to think he’s just a lazy jerk when really he could be the most grounded of them all. Reality/knowledge leads to depression and all that. In my opinion, he’s incredibly observant and clever.

Peter: I have never understood why he doesn’t just hit someone with a damn shuriken when he’s got them trapped. Even with all holsters being coincidentally placed in the same location, he could have another one just for this purpose or pull a needle out of himself. Then even him taking damage was part of his plan.

We're seeing more and more ninja animals show up--Kakashi's ninja dogs, Shino's ninja bugs, Guy's turtle that only showed up once, and now Kiba's dog, Akamaru. What animal companion do you think would be the most useful for a ninja to have?

Kevin: The insects would probably be the single most useful creature a ninja could be in charge of. Reconnaissance that no enemy would think to check for, setting up traps that are practically invisible and a weapon that drains the enemy’s chakra, making them much easier to defeat, all in one. The only problem is that the bugs live in their host, which would make me run away so fast that Lee wouldn’t be able to keep up.

Paul: Definitely a turtle, because while your enemies are busy wondering why on Earth you brought a turtle to a ninja fight, you could sneak up behind them and shank them in the kidneys. Ninja are all about sowing confusion, and the only ninja animal that would be more confusing than a turtle would be an inexplicably out-of-water shark.

Jared: Having a bunch of bugs would probably be very beneficial since you could have just thousands upon thousands of them swarm an opponent. Just having that numbers advantage is going to be beneficial in most circumstances.

Danni: Without contest bugs are the most useful for a ninja to have. Control a few and you have the most stealthy intel team imaginable. Control a swarm and you will never, ever lose.

David: For the sake of variety, I’d argue that rodents like mice and squirrels would be similarly useful to insects. They are everywhere, which is useful for surveillance and such, and they easily carry disease for assassination purposes. Also, you probably wouldn’t have to let them live in your body, so it’s just a win overall.

Noelle: Bugs, all the way. There are so many kinds that each specialize in different things- poisons, paralytic agents, webbing, heightened senses- even reconnaissance from away is very easy for something so small nobody would notice. It’s a lot easier to catch sight of a mammal than a fly. I also am pretty fond of bugs, so it’s not like dealing with them would be a problem.

Kara: Guinea pigs, and not just because me owning four of them kind of obligates me to say that. Those little suckers are faster and stealthier than potatoes on legs have any right to be.

Joseph: I’m down with the dogs, because when you’re not fighting to the death with them by your side you got yourself a ride or die buddy.

Carolyn: Based on what’s in the show and not just any animal we choose? Because, sharks maybe? I dunno. But I guess bugs would make the most sense. Dogs could be useful in a fight but they would need to be exceptionally trained, I would think. Bugs at least give you a shock factor.

Peter: Really can’t argue with chakra eating demon bugs. Such a variety of insects too. Always thought Shino was an underutilized character given how freaky his power is. Little sad they turned him on his head to be an awkward joke character in Boruto. I’ll always have my Ninja Storm ougis I guess.

Neji and Hinata's fight had a lot of raw emotion to go with the really brutal combat. For those of you who are new to the series, how do you think this story's gonna play out?

Paul: I don't honestly know where they're going with the conflict between Hinata and Neji, although I doubt they'll let Neji remain victorious in the long-run. Neji demonstrates the sort of rigid thinking that's a prime candidate for karmic retribution, and pride goeth before the fall. It was also nice to see that Hinata practices Hokuto Shinken.

Jared: Neji’s gonna have to get his comeuppance eventually, although you could probably go about this in a few ways. One could be that eventually Neji finally realizes that Hinata is deserving of his respect and they go that route. Or they have Hinata save him from something and that’s what makes him change his mind. Either way or with whatever they do, I’d be surprised if this beef extended throughout the entirety of the series and they aren’t at least tolerable of each other.

Danni: The conflict within the Hyuga clan is one I can easily see becoming tied in with a civil war were that to ever happen. The lesser clan families will likely attempt to usurp the main family through assassination and align themselves with a greater evil threatening the Hidden Leaf Village, is my guess.

Kara: For me, Neji reads so much like the personification of Hinata’s self-doubt—at least in this fight. That feeling of self-doubt never goes away; we kind of resolve ourselves to it, admit it’ll be there, but learn not to let it overtake us. With all the focus Naruto has on personal growth, I feel like their relationship will mirror this to at least some degree, with Hinata coming to a point where Neji’s thoughts about her don’t even matter. Whether he’ll ever respect her? No idea. I hope so.

Joseph: I think it’s gonna end up with Hinata shocking him with her prowess later on, and bringing out his own lurking self-doubt in a way that mirrors how he messed with her at the start of the fight. I’d like to see more psychological ninja warfare either way.

Carolyn: I’m not new to the series, but I’ll answer with my thoughts on the episode, anyway. I was very happy with Naruto throughout Hinata’s fight. He pays close attention to his friends, which often comes across as being callous or inappropriate, but he knew Hinata wasn’t out of it yet even when everyone else thought she was down for the count. I appreciate that.

Peter: I don’t think this question's for me because I already know, but just wanted to say I forgot how brutal the whole affair was and the anime delivered. Right when the board had their names next to each other you knew Hinata was afraid and their opening combo was basically psychological torture. Bless Kurenai for being a good wingman.

We're here, at my single favorite fight in the series: Rock Lee vs. Gaara. For newcomers, how was the experience? For those of us revisiting Naruto, what was it like coming back?

Kevin: Rock Lee versus Gaara will always be one of the hypest things in all of Naruto, and the hypest part of it comes next week, once Lee starts tapping in to the Eight Inner Gates. It is taking all of my discipline to wait to watch the next episode.

Paul: One of these days, Rock Lee is going to hit a Lotus on somebody that doesn't use Ninjutsu trickery to cushion the blow or replace themselves with a decoy, and that day will be glorious. Until then, I'm just going to have to wait to see how the final episode of the fight plays out next week. I can see why people like this fight, but I still have difficulty taking Sandy Murder Cinnamon Roll (aka Gaara) seriously as an antagonist.

Jared: Maaaaaaaaaaaan, this fight rules. I’d seen the gif of Rock Lee’s weight moment before watching this so knew at some point it was coming, but I’m so glad to finally see the context and know it’s even cooler. The animation in the first episode of this fight was just astonishing with how much it let that fight feel so dynamic and fluid. Rock Lee continues to solidify himself as the coolest character in this show and the best boy.

Danni: This is the only fight I’ve ever heard anything about in Naruto, and I’ve seen the weights dropping already. It was still extremely kickass to see my favorite boy landing shots through Gaara’s impenetrable defense. Rock Lee is the ultimate underdog and I want nothing more than to see him dominate.

David: Ridiculously good. I haven’t watched this fight in years, and it’s really amazing how supremely it holds up. Taijutsu is straight-up the coolest form of fighting in the series, and it’s already being set up to be outclassed overall, and while that’s kind of sad, it ends up making Rock Lee’s underdog status so easy to see and root for that this fight benefits from it.

Noelle: Rock Lee!! Appreciation!!! This fight, and I think a lot of old fans would feel the same, was one of the most spectacularly awesome moments in the series. I haven’t rewatched it since I finished the series, but it’s just as hype as I remembered. Gaara, the boy who has never taken a hit, finally is forced to eat a blow from someone who only uses pure martial arts, and it’s great.

Kara: Everyone’s been talking about how this fight is The Best. I get it, I see it, I believe you now. It’s amazing and hype, but also a little weird because we’ve got two characters who wandered in from other genres going at it—Rock Lee being every sports anime personified, and Gaara genuinely belonging in a horror movie. (Seriously, the sand shell was hitting my creepy doll vibes more than Kankuro’s literal creepy doll.)

Joseph: It’s Frieza eyes vs. Usopp eyes and it rules. I’ve read the source material but I like the anime version of the event even more. When Rock Lee dropped the weights I got chills.

Carolyn: I actually liked the flashbacks more than the fight itself. Seeing baby Rock Lee so dedicated and driven, holding himself to impossible standards, it’s why I love him so much.

Peter: I thought there was still one episode to go until I saw literally ANY animation. Azuma was talking to Choji or something and I was thinking to myself “why does this look so good?” They gave every second of that episode special treatment. Lee dropping the weights is still iconic.

This is less of a Naruto question, and more a general question about action anime. Can you think of 1-2 other instances that were your "Rock Lee dropping the weights" moments from other shows?

Kevin: After giving it some thought, nothing I can remember did the same thing. In Lee versus Gaara, we had no idea that Lee was holding back, but then suddenly he’s on a whole new level and managing to injure a character who was previously untouchable. The closest comparisons I can think of are various moments from Dragon Ball Z. In the Raditz fight, Goku and Piccolo wore weighted gear, and Gohan had his first berserk moment that showed he had further untapped powers, and later on Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time also showed off the hero managing to one-up the villain with powers the audience had never seen, but each of those moments have a part of what made Lee dropping his weights such a memorable scene, not the whole picture.

Paul: There are plenty of direct parallels, such as Sky Star removing her weighted shoulder pads in Air Master, but I think my favorite recent example of someone taking the limiters off (at least in a metaphorical sense) is when Satsuki Kiryuin stabs her mother, Ragyo, in the heart before openly declaring her rebellion in Kill la Kill. That moment has the same transcendent impact, dramatically speaking, because you can kind of see it coming just an instant before it happens, but the reveal is still glorious.

Jared: These maybe aren’t direct comparisons, but for me it’d be something like Joseph vs. Esidisi from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency where we see the fruits of Joseph’s training and cunning pay off. Although, I might also put what Jotaro is able to pull off in the final episode of Stardust Crusaders as one that got me hyped in the same way.

Danni: Dragon Ball has quite a few moments where characters literally take off weighted clothing, but the most "Rock Lee dropping the weights" moment in the show I can think of is when Goku unleashes the Kaioken on Vegeta for the first time. I think a good recent example would be Uraraka vs. Bakugo in My Hero Academia. Everyone completely underestimated her and it looked like she was being ripped to shreds, but then she reveals it was all part of her plan to launch a meteor attack.

Noelle: This is hard, because I don’t think there are any direct comparisons. The fight shows a capable fighter showing their true strength, but also in a way that nobody expected, even the audience. There are many good fights, and many surprises, but none that we can’t see coming, at least on some level. I think the thing that elicited the closest feeling to that was Black Lagoon when Roberta was first introduced, and despite her demure appearance, she started blasting through absolutely everything.

Kara: It’s really kind of the “I am not left-handed” of anime, isn’t it? Except turned up to a ludicrous extreme. Funnily enough, the first one I think of is sort of an inverse—the mid-point of GaoGaiGar, where after a battle to the near-death that leaves our heroes and multiple robots on the point of falling apart, we get a post-credit scene that shows us the villains have been holding back. Definitely not a “punch the air” moment so much as a “drain the glass” moment.

Joseph: I have a really bad memory so no, this is the only one ever.

Carolyn: Not to be repetitive, but I think Uraraka and Bakugo are a pretty good example, as well. I tend to watch darker anime over action anime, so I don’t have a lot to draw from.

Peter: I have to thank Carolyn since I was trying to find a way to shoehorn in that in retrospect you can see a lot of the Hinata/Neji fight in Uraraka/Bakugo. As far as a moment where the series reveals its been underselling a character? Maybe Killua ripping that dudes heart out in the Hunter exam? Or Kenpachi pulling off his eyepatch is probably closest. I love when Ichigo claims there’s a trick and Kenpachi admits the trick was he had a demon eating his power the whole time.

COUNTERS:

"I'm gonna be Hokage!" count: 19

Bowls of ramen consumed: 2 bowls, 3 cups

Shadow Clones: 123

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto!

Here's our upcoming schedule!

-Next week, on MARCH 8th, the Chunin Exam finals begin in EPISODES 50-56, with CAROLYN BURKE hosting!

-Then, on MARCH 15th, DANNI WILMOTH covers EPISODES 57-63--Naruto settles a grudge as the finals heat up!

-On MARCH 22nd, the Chunin Exam ends as NICOLE MEJIAS covers EPISODES 64-70!

Have any comments or questions about episodes 43-49? What about our upcoming installment, featuring episodes 50-56?

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. Check out his comic, Shaw City Strikers!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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crimsonadri-fanfiction · 6 years

Text

My Demons (Chapter 19)

Fandom: Naruto (Anime)

Genre: Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, FLUFF

Pairing: Gaara x OC

Rated: T

(First) (Previous)

Knowing that's never going to change That's what keeps me going Knowing I can just call your name And your arms will open It's all the strength I need, Just knowing you love me

-Just Knowing You Love Me - Jimmy Wayne

Everyone who had won their matches, minus Sasuke, stood in front of Hayate, Anko, and Ibiki who were standing in front of the Hokage. The genin were all in a line: Dosu, Naruto, Temari , Kankurō, Gaara, Shikamaru, Neji and then Shino. Everyone one else was still up in the balconies.

“I commend all those who’ve advanced to the finals for the third level of the chunin exams.” Hayate said. “Well there’s one person missing but still, congratulations.”

“And now I will begin the explanation of the final round.” The Hokage said. “In the final rounds each of you will put your battle skills on display. You demonstrate the power and control you’ve received in your respected disciplines. Accordingly the final battles will commence one month from now.”

“Wait, we’re not gunna do it right here and now?” Naruto asked.

“This is to supply a suitable period of preparation.” The Hokage explained

“What do you mean by that?” Neji asked.

“Simply this in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each county’s leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute the summons for the final selection. Not to mention that you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something that is this important.

“Look I don’t really get what you’re tryin’a say.” Kankurō said. “What’s the point of this?”

“I mean that to know your advisories and prepare yourself you need time. Even though up to this point all the battles have been real battles as I’m sure you can all attest. They were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an unknown enemy but that’s no longer the case now that you’ve battled each other. So in order to make the finals fair and just, we’re giving you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard and learn some new tricks. Because by now everyone here knows your techniques, so using your own tired tricks is a sure way to lose in the finals. And remember to get some rest as well. Now, with all of that behind us, I’d like to begin winding things up. But before we can bring this to an end first there is one more important matter to take care of for the final round.”

“Let’s get on with it!” Naruto said. “I mean come one, how long do we have to wait until we start training?!”

“In a calm orderly fashion all of you are going to take one slip of paper from the box that Anko is holding.” The Hokage said.

“Everyone just stay where you are, I’ll just come to you.” Anko said. She walked up to Dosu. “Just take one.” Everyone took out a paper. Naruto opened his to see a one.

“Huh?”

“Good now everyone has one. Going from left to right tell me the number that’s written on your slip of paper.”

“I’ve got eight.” Dosu said.

“Number one of course.” Naruto said.

“Seven.” Temari said.

“Five.” Kankurō said.

“Three.” Gaara said.

“Nine.” Shikamaru said.

“Two.” Neji said.

“Six” Shino said.

“And that means Sasuke will be number four.” Ibiki said.

“Right.” The Hokage said. “Very good, Now I’m going to tell you about how the final selection tournament is going to work.”

“Ehhhh?” Naruto looked confused.

“Is that what the numbers are for? Drawing lots?”

“Ibiki, you may reveal which ninja have been paired up.” Hokage said.

“Yes sir.” Ibiki turned the clipboard her was holding around to show a chart. Naruto gulped. The order went as follows: Naruto vs Neji, Gaara vs Sasuke, Kankurō vs Shino, Temari vs Dosu and who ever won that match would go against Shikamaru.

“May I ask you a question?” Shikamaru asked raising his hand.

“You may.” The Hokage said. Shikamaru pointed one finger up.

“Alright if this is a tournament, does that mean that there’s only going to be one winner? I mean only one of is going to be able to become a chunin then?”

“Actually it’s quite the contrary. There are going to be several judges for the final rounds including myself, the shinobi leaders and the Kazekage, the lords from the various countries that ultimately will be assigning your missions to you. Through this tournament these judges will be able to make a thorough evaluation of your abilities. They will then decide whether any or all of you possess the qualities required of a chunin. Even if someone loses the first round they could still become a chunin.”

“So there’s actually a chance that every one of us who competes in the selection could become chunin.” Temari said.

“Correct, but conversely there’s also a chance that none of you will be chosen.” The Hokage said. Naruto gulped. “The advantage in fighting more rounds in the tournament is in getting more chances to display your talents in front of the judges who will decide your fate. Does that answer your question, Shikamaru? I thank you all for your patients. Now let us adjourn until next month.”

“I’m so tired.” Rin said as she sat on the hotel bed.

“You’re tired?” Kankurō asked. “You didn’t do a thing!”

“Cheering is hard work.” Rin said crossing her arms.

“Didn’t hear ya cheerin for me.” Kankurō muttered.

“I wished you luck and you said you didn’t need it so I figured you didn’t need my cheering either.” Rin said putting her hands on her hips. Kankurō rolled his eyes.

“But you thought Temari would need it?” Kankurō teased looking at his sister who was shaking her head.

“I won by a long shot.” Temari said. “Why did you only cheer for me?” Temari asked turning to look at Rin. Gaara, who was putting his gourd down at the end of the bed, started to pay attention. “I can understand not cheering for him,” she jerked her thumb at Kankurō who frowned.

“Well,” Rin looked down. “I was gunna cheer for Gaara,” Gaara turned his head to look at her. “But I didn’t want to embarrass him.” she shuffled her feet slightly. Temari started to smile and Kankurō rolled his eyes. Gaara let out a silent sigh.

She was cheering for me, he thought. He remembered hearing her scream his name whenever Lee got a hit in. She cares about me more than that green suited loser.

“Dibs on second shower after Gaara.” Rin said.

“The other room has a shower you know.” Kankurō said. “Use that one.”

“Temari’s using that one though.” Rin said. Temari smiled. One good thing about Rin pretty much sharing a room with the boys is that Temari got the shower all to herself.

“Thanks Rin.” Temari said before going to her room through the connecting door.

“You go ahead, Rin.” Gaara said. Rin blinked.

“You sure?” Rin asked. Gaara nodded. “Okay. I won’t take long.” she said with a smile before she skipped into the bathroom. Kankurō sighed.

“You forgot your clothes.” he said. Rin skipped out, humming, and went into Temari’s room to get her PJs. Gaara faced away from Kankurō and let a small smile slip through. A moment later Rin came back in and went into the bathroom. The door closed and Kankurō started taking off his jumpsuit. He tossed it on his suitcase and sat on the bed in his boxers and the white shirt he had on underneath. Gaara sat on his bed and watched Kankurō look around for something before he got up. Kankurō walked to the bathroom door and knocked. “Hey, ya think you could give me my-“ The door opened and Gaara saw Rin’s arm pop out holding Kankurō’s make up remover. “Thanks.” Kankurō mumbled as Rin shut the door.

…

A few minutes later Rin came out of the bathroom in her PJ’s with her towel around her neck. She looked at Kankurō, who was sitting on the bed, and shook her head. Rin let out a sigh making Kankurō look up.

“What?” he asked.

“You missed a spot.” she said. Kankurō frowned.

“Where?” he asked as he started wiping his hand around his face. Rin took a corner of her towel and held his chin so he’d stay still while she wiped the remaining purple from his forehead.

“You’re welcome.” she said.

“Yeah thanks.” Kankurō muttered. “Would’ve come off in the shower anyways.” He pointed out.

“Yeah but it could’ve run down into your eye and that would’ve hurt.” Rin said. Kankurō chuckled.

“Didn’t know you cared so much, twerp.” Kankurō said patting her on the head.

“Kankurō.” Gaara said making Kankurō tense. “Go ahead and shower.” Kankurō nodded silently before he grabbed his clothes and headed into the bathroom. Rin walked over and sat next to Gaara.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to shower?” Rin asked. Gaara shook his head.

“Rin?”

“Mhm?”

“Did I… Did I scare you today?” he asked. He wanted to look at her but he didn’t want to see her expression.

“Why would you have scared me?” Rin asked as she tilted her head. Gaara glanced at her.

“My match… that boy…”

“Lee?” Rin asked. Gaara nodded. “You… you didn’t mean to hurt him that badly, right?” Gaara turned his head to fully look at her. “No one’s ever landed a hit on you in battle. It was a heat of the moment thing.” Rin said with a shrug. Gaara nodded.

“Yeah… that’s what happened.” he said. “I just didn’t know if you-“

“Nothing you do will ever change my opinion of you, Gaara.” Rin said with a smile. She slipped her hand into his that was on the bed between them. Gaara gave her hand a squeeze and nodded. “I’m glad you passed though.” Rin said before leaning over and pecking his cheek. Gaara allowed himself to smile at her as Rin let out a small yawn.

“You should get some sleep.” he said.

“I can’t sleep without my Gaara-bear.” Rin said with a small giggle. Gaara’s cheeks went pink and he looked to the bathroom door. The shower could still be heard running. “He can’t hear.” Rin said rolling her eyes. Gaara shook his head with a small smile.

“I told you not to call me that unless we were alone.” Gaara said quietly.

“We are alone.” Rin said with a giggle. “Don’t worry; I wouldn’t ruin your bad boy reputation.” Gaara raised his brow and stared at her.

“My what?” he asked. Rin started giggling.

“I’m just teasing you.” she said as she moved to get under the covers. Gaara shook his head and moved under the covers as well. “Whacha wanna do tomorrow?” Rin asked as she moved close to Gaara and put her head on his chest.

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything.” Gaara said. Rin smiled as his voice vibrated throughout his chest.

“I’m gunna see what kinda shops they have here.” Rin said. Gaara frowned slightly. “Don’t worry; I won’t make you come with me. I’ll bring you something back though. Maybe Temari will want to come with me. I overheard a woman talking about a hotsprings here. That sounds like fun, doesn’t it Gaara?” Gaara chuckled and put a hand on her head.

“Go to sleep, Rin.” he said. Rin giggled and snuggled closer before closing her eyes.

Rin walked through the village holding her hands behind her back as she looked around with a smile.

“Hey!”

“Huh?” Rin stopped and turned her head to see Naruto running towards her with a big smile.

“Hey!” He stopped behind her as she turned completely to face him.

“Good morning, Naruto-kun.” she said with a smile.

“G-good moring, Rin-chan.”

“Just Rin is okay.”

“Oh okay!” Naruto said with another big smile.

“What’s up?” Rin asked.

“Um.. I was just wondering if you might wanna maybe… if you’re not busy,” Naruto pushed two fingers together as he looked down at his feet. Rin tilted her head. “Do you wanna maybe get some ramen with me?”

“Sure! I haven’t had breakfast yet anyways.” Rin said.

“Great! Let’s go! I know the best ramen place it’s gunna be the best ramen you’ve ever had!” Naruto said as he started to lead the way to the ramen shop.

“I’ve actually never had ramen before.” Naruto suddenly froze midstep and Rin blinked as she turned to him. “Naruto-kun? Are you okay?” Naruto turned to her slowly with wide eyes.

“You’ve… never had ramen?!” he shouted making Rin jump and shake her head.

“It’s not that popular in Suna. Hot things in the desert and all.” Rin explained. Naruto suddenly grabbed Rin’s hand and started running towards the ramen shop.

…

Naruto watched Rin pick up her chopsticks as they sat in Ichiraku Ramen. Rin glanced at him as she picked up some noodles. Naruto looked excited and was bouncing in his seat.

“Go on.” he said. “Try it.” Rin nodded and turned to her bowl before taking a big bite. She blinked and Naruto leaned forward. “Well?” Rin swallowed the bite and turned to Naruto with a big smile.

“This is awesome!” she said before she started eating more. Naruto laughed.

“Ichiraku Ramen is the best!” Naruto cheered as the shop owner placed his bowl in front of him. Rin glance over and saw that Naruto was almost done with his bowl.

“Wow.” She said. Naruto stopped mid-slurp and glanced at her. He blinked and swallowed what he had in his mouth before sitting up with a nervous chuckle. Rin giggled. “You really like ramen, huh?”

“Yep!”

“Thanks for showing me this place.” Rin said.

“No problem.” Naruto said with a grin before he started to eat the rest of his ramen, a bit more slowly.

…

By the time Rin finished her bowl Naruto had finished his second and the owner had placed a third in front of him. Rin reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet.

“This is on me.” Naruto said.

“Huh?” Rin blinked. “You don’t have to do that.” Naruto blushed.

“Think of it as a welcome to Konoha gift.” he said. Rin giggled.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yeah!” Naruto said. “But only if you have ramen again with me later.” Rin smiled.

“Of course.”

“Awesome!”

“So what do you do for fun around here?” Rin asked.

“Uh I mostly train or eat ramen.” Naruto said scratching the back of his head. Rin chuckled.

“What do other people do then?” she asked.

“Well…” Naruto frowned as he thought. “There’s the hot springs.”

“I heard someone talking about those.” Rin said with a nod. “I think I’m gunna see if Temari wants to come with me later.”

“Uh… is that the blond girl?” Naruto asked. Rin nodded.

“Mhm she’s Gaara and Kankurō’s sister.” she said. Naruto simply nodded with a frown. “He didn’t mean to hurt Lee.” Naruto looked at her as she looked down at her feet. “He’s never been hit in battle, I think he got scared and his sand lashed out.” Naruto’s expression softened when he saw how tears were coming to Rin’s eyes.

“Hey, you should get some souvenirs!” Naruto said.

“You’re supposed to save souvenir shopping to the last few days of a trip.”

“Says who?” Naruto asked. Rin shrugged. “That’s stupid.” Naruto said shaking his head. “Come on, how about I just give you a tour that way you’ll know where every shop is when you want to get souvenirs.”

“That sounds great!”

Rin spent the whole day with Naruto and they ended up back at Ichiraku Ramen. Gaara thought Rin would’ve returned to the room by then so he went out looking for her. He heard her laugh and followed the sound to the ramen shop. Gaara saw Naruto with her and he frowned.

“Rin.” Gaara said as he walked up to them. The two turned around and Naruto frowned while Rin smiled.

“Hey Gaara, wanna join us? You should try this, it’s really good. I think ramen is now one of my top five favorite foods.” Rin said with a grin.

“It’s late.” Gaara said. Rin tilted her head and looked at her watch.

“It��s not that late.”

“You’ve been gone all day.” Gaara said.

“She’s been with me all day.” Naruto said. Gaara glared at him.

“I told you I was going to be exploring the village today.” Rin said. Gaara gently grabbed Rin’s wrist and started to pull her away from the loud blond. Naruto quickly grabbed her other wrist.

“Hey wait!” he shouted. Gaara turned to glare at him. “She doesn’t have to go with you!” Gaara’s face softened as he turned his head to look at Rin.

“Rin.” he said. Rin looked back and forth between the two boys. She frowned and settled on looking at Gaara.

“I want to hang out with Naru-kun.” she said. Gaara’s eyes widened a fraction and he let go of her wrist before he walked away without another word.

“Come on, Rin.” Naruto said as he started to pull her back to the ramen shop. Rin pulled her hand free. “Huh?” Naruto watched Rin run after Gaara and stop in front of him. He didn’t meet her eyes.

“You’re still my best friend and I asked if you wanted to join us. I want to hang out with Naruto cause we leave in a month. You see me every day; I don’t know when I’m going to see him again after the end of the exams. I don’t know why you’re upset but I don’t think it’s fair so I’m going to hang out with Naruto and… and you can just deal with it.” Gaara’s eyes were visibly wide. Rin was glaring at him.

Rin? Why?

She walked past him and back over to Naruto who looked between the two.

“Everything okay?” Naruto asked.

“Fine.” Rin snapped. She stopped and cringed. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay; ramen will make you feel better.” Naruto said. Rin let out a light chuckle and nodded.

Rin returned to the inn she and the sand sibs were staying at but before she could touch the door handle the door opened and she was pulled inside.

“Whoa!”

“What did you do?” Temari asked.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Rin asked.

“To Gaara.” Kankurō said. “He’s been on some roof for hours; he looked ready to kill someone.” He muttered. Rin frowned and lowered her head.

“It’s my fault.” Rin said. “I wanted to hang out with Naruto and Gaara got upset.” Rin said.

“Of course he got upset. You’re his only friend.” Temari said. “He doesn’t want to lose you.”

“But he knows he’s my best friend.” Rin said.

“Rin, he’s never had anyone but you besides…” Kankurō trailed off.

“Where is he?” Rin asked.

“Last we knew he left through the window and was jumping roofs.” Temari said. “Fix this.”

“I plan to.”

Gaara sat high above a roof, wind chimes below him sounded.

“Well well… look at this.” Dosu said as he approached. “Don’t you even sleep at all?”

“Why are you here? What do you want?” Gaara asked.

“I was planning on attacking you while you slept.” Dosu said. “If I fight and defeat you now then in the next round I can battle the one I really want to face. Sasuke. I already know all about your sand attack. I wonder which is faster, your sand or my sound.” Dosu said.

“When the moon is full... Its blood boils.” Gaara said as his sand came out of the gourd and attacked Dosu.

“Huh, wha- what in the world are you?” The sand attacked Dosu and killed him in a manner of seconds. Gaara was bent over on the roof, panting so heavily that he almost didn’t hear the gasp come from behind him. His head snapped to the sound and his eyes widened.

No, his mind screamed. Why? Why now? Why did you have come here now?! Rin stared at Gaara with wide eyes; her hands had flown to cover her mouth. Gaara felt his heart pounding in his ears. She’d seen him. She’d seen what he’d done, what he was capable of doing. He couldn’t breathe. All this time he’d managed to control himself around her when it came to killing. He never felt the need to around her. He didn’t want her to ever see that side of him and now she had.

“Rin.” He took a step towards her, expecting her to run but she stood there frozen. “Rin I-” She wasn’t moving, not even her chest. His eyes widened and he ran over to her. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “Rin!” He couldn’t hide the panic in his voice. She sucked in a gasp and her legs gave out. Her hands moved to grip his shoulders as he lowered her slowly. “Rin?” She didn’t say a thing, couldn’t say a thing. Her throat felt dryer than Suna itself and when she tried to swallow it felt like there was a clump of sand in her throat. Gaara pulled her to him. She was tense against him but her arms had gone limp and hung at her sides. Gaara rested his forehead on her shoulder. “Don’t hate me.” He whispered, his voice cracking, as he gripped the back of her shirt tightly. Rin’s arms felt numb but she wrapped them around him.

“I could never hate you.” she whispered. Gaara’s grip around her tightened and Rin, in turn, pulled him closer. She kissed his temple before she put her hand on the back of his head and stroked his hair gently. “You’re my best friend. Forever and always, right?” she whispered. Gaara nodded against her shoulder.

“Forever and always.” he said, his voice coming out as a broken whisper.

Next Chapter

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#naruto fanfiction #gaara x oc #fanfiction #fanfic

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fangren · 6 years

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even more Naruto thoughts!

(continued from this post.)

Kimimaro

-Kiba’s fight was the first to show the power difference, but the fight against bone guy was even more of that. this is probably the first time when seeing Naruto summoning a bunch of clones (foxed up clones at that!) only gives the impression that he’s about to get his ass kicked. which he does.

-Kimimaro’s bone stuff is way way grosser in the manga. but then again, what isn’t?

-and then the best guy arrives! Quickest Recovery Ever no Jutsu! at least the anime messes around with the order of events a bit to make Lee’s participation a bit more plausible.

-Lee just fucking... asking Kimimaro to stop in the middle of an attack so he can take his medicine and Kimimaro just fucking letting him... it’s very good.

-drunk Lee is also pretty good? even if he doesn’t stick around long. you can tell that Kimimaro is just like constantly ‘wtf?’ in his head.

The Sand Siblings

-their entrance is pretty fuckin badass! even if the still shot of it in the anime seems kinda... off?

-god damn is Temari a weapon of mass destruction. I weep for that stretch of forest, so many plants and animals must’ve died because of it.

her smile at the end is very much a shippy moment, even if she’s 16 and he’s only 13 this arc. but they don’t actually hook up until like right before Naruto’s wedding when they’re both in their early 20s, so...

-Kankuro is still the most ‘meh’ of the siblings, and he gets paired with the most ‘meh’ of the boys, so... At least his puppet combo was pretty cool. completely fuckin destroyed Sakon and Ukon, good riddance.

-I like Gaara and Lee’s interactions. it shows how far Gaara has already come, and that Lee doesn’t really hold grudges... it’s very good.

-Kimimaro’s backstory is just fuckin bullshit. I don’t care how powerful his fuckin kekkei genkai was or whatever, locking a kid in a jail cell with little interaction and like near minimal food is not a recipe for a superhuman killing machine. it’s the recipe for human veal.

-lil’ Kimimaro is pretty adorable, though. meeting Zabuza and Haku on the road and immediately falling for their ‘nah we’re not from Mist’ line; yelling at flowers; not really knowing what was ever going on... I’m surprised by how much I liked the kid.

-also his stage two dinosaur form is rad as hell. easily the best stage two form.

Sasuke vs Naruto, round two

-as I said, this arc is ultimately about Naruto’s heart breaking. and this fight is where it really happens...

-"That was not the kind of fight I wanted." the line is only really in the anime I think? but it perfectly sums up Naruto’s feelings on the first fight on the hospital roof.

-the Itachi flashbacks take on a whole different feel when you know that throughout them the Uchiha are planning a coup and Itachi is against it. and early on at least, you really get the feeling that Itachi very much loves his little brother.

-that doesn’t make the trauma and pushing him to get the Mangekyo by killing his best friend excusable though. even if I kinda remember something fucky going on with that that Madara or Tobi did? can’t really remember right now.

-the fact that Sasuke is very much ready to go along with it during the fight is fucked up, though. acknowledging someone as your best friend, and using that as a reason to kill them... that is hella fucked up.

-Naruto, meanwhile, is just... reminiscing about how he saw Sasuke as a kindred spirit but was unable to get close to him like he wanted, so he decided to call him his rival while secretly looking up to him... how he thought he’d finally become friends with Sasuke, only to now wonder if that had been just his delusion this whole time... and even then still wanting Sasuke in his life... it’s heartbreaking.

-in another world, with another Sasuke that didn’t suck... this really would be the start of a profound and mutual love between them. but it isn’t, cause Sasuke sucks.

-Naruto summoning the fox’s chakra was really badass, though, but in a somber way if that makes sense.

-the fight has some amazing progression, particularly in the anime (episode 133 is really well animated!) Sasuke having the upperhand until Naruto summons the same level of fox power as he’s been using up until this point and turning the tides, only for Sasuke to upgrade his sharingan and turn them back, and then Naruto finally gets his first tail, only for Sasuke to counter with his second state with the horrible hand-wings... it’s very well crafted, i think.

-ultimately, on Naruto’s end... whether it is as friends, or brothers, or something more, he absolutely does love Sasuke. which is why this arc is so heartbreaking.

-because Sasuke just keeps going off in a direction that Naruto can never meet. ‘the pain of loneliness makes people stronger, so I’m going to kill you and become even stronger.’

-and god damn if he doesn’t try. there’s a particularly brutal piledriver in the anime, and some good shots of Sasuke just looking completely terrified of what he’s doing even as he decides to do it anyway.

-though, ultimately, he decides to spare Naruto’s life - justifying it as a way of spiting Itachi, though of course there’s always the unspoken question of his own lingering feelings.

Epilogue

-I kinda wished we’d seen more of the team regrouping and finding out what happened. we never did hear what happened to Lee, even if it probably wasn’t much.

-I had thought this would be the first time Madara gets name-dropped considering where they were fighting, but I was wrong.

-Shikamaru’s shitty aspects rear their ugly head again... also, I don’t like all the focus on Temari’s legs during their scene.

-and, of course, Akatsuki! OG Zetsu’s first appearance, and a bunch of not-at-all accurate voices for the still-silhouetted other members. fun.

-I haven’t watched the start of Sakura’s apprenticeship with Tsunade in the anime yet (I think a good chunk of it is in filler episodes), but I still wanna talk about it cause it really is Sakura getting kinda shafted again. don’t get me wrong, going the medical route is very good for her, but ultimately ending up as little more than a copy of Tsunade’s moveset is not. especially considering how vastly different Sasuke and even Naruto ended up from their Sannin mentors. once again, Sakura deserves better.

that, finally, is all for now. I... might actually give the Part One filler hell a shot, or at least some of it anyway. but I doubt I’ll post any thoughts about it, so... consider this a bit of a hiatus from these long posts. I hope they haven’t been too annoying.

oh! one last thing I nearly forgot cause I’ve only seen it in the manga so far. but, well, there’s a very nice bit of NaruHina at the end of Part One, as Naruto is leaving with Jiraiya... just wanted to mention it :)

#fangren reads #fangren watches #naruto

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fugginnugget · 7 years

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Lets Talk; Naruto Shippuden

So, I’ve been out of the fandom for a while; just sort of recovering from the terrible, hetero-normative ending that was shoved violently down my throat. I was upset; not just as a shipper, because that’s not reason enough to rile my feathers as much as this did, but because of the unlikeliness of how the series ended; because of how the message of the series got skewered and warped.

Allow me to explain myself;

(Spoilers and personal opinions ahead, read at your own risk. All opinions are mine, and I’m not trying to force them down your throat. If you don’t agree, power to you.)

Lets start with Sasuke.

Yes, as all of us fans starting out with the SasuNaru kisses and queerbaiting, at the beginning of the main series; Naruto, I was intrigued by the secrets this character held. However, following the series, his actions and the way he treated people led me to loose interest. The powerful pretty-boy with all the girls falling at his feet? Not my type.

Further, as we got into Shippuden, the story shifted from childhood into teenage drama, and Sasuke’s character went down the toilet. Why do I think that? Because hatred can drive you to do stupid things; but it isn’t a force strong enough to cause the reactions and subsequent actions that Sasuke developed. No, that’s mental breakage, loss of control, obsession that’s gone too far. His ending? Getting the girl who he abused, mentally and physically? Never should have happened. Being accepted back into Konoha? Never should have happened. Having the happy ever after with the kids and smiles? Never. Shoul’ve. Happened.

Lets look at why;

Sasuke is a self-centered maniac who cast aside his village and comrades in order to exact revenge for a crime that’s origins he didn’t know. Furthermore, he regrets his entire life choices after the death of his brother because he was so focused on his obsessive, selfish need for revenge, that he never saw the truth. He allowed the reanimation disaster that started the third shinobi war, then had the fucking balls to go stop it like a hero. He doesn’t deserve what he got.

Moving on;

Sakura.

Sakura worked hard to get where she was at the end of the series. She mastered the 100 healings and succeeded in carrying on the will of fire and the spirit of Tsunade. She is the embodiment of female strength in the series, she is the heroine of the story, no matter how much of a selfish, shallow bitch she can be. Do I like her? No. Appreciate her presence in the series? No. I never saw her as the model woman. She was strong, but she was also selfish and greedy; the sort of feminist people hate. The one that wants the attention, the one that wants the respect without earning it. The one that lives off of the social obligations of others. She could never stand on her own. Her ending? It was what I would have expected from any romantic drama; she gets her man and lives happily ever after. It was a disappointment. She remained shallow and never learned from her mistakes, her sacrifices all led to her personal gain. I predicted her every reaction based off of all media written today; there was nothing special about her; nothing but the two men’s backs that she couldn’t reach.

How about Hinata.

This is a very sore subject for me, and as I’m writing this, the bitterness in my stomach is sloshing around and making me nauseous. Why? Because she was painted as the one person who acknowledged Naruto when he was a child, but she really wasn’t. Sure, she was a shy little girl who was weak and needed protecting, and her family was of high prestige, so when they dragged her away, it still counted. Right? Those times when she saw his true nature, when she disagreed with all the others, it counted right? No. Why would it? Naruto never heard that, never saw that. She never defended him outright, she never did anything that would make her a true candidate for his affection until she stood against pein to try and save him. And would that cause him to feel real affection towards her? The pain of seeing his comrade die in front of him, the one thing he had been trying to avoid? The girl who was weak, the one he had stood up for, fought for, defended. The one he tried so desperately to protect, because she didn’t deserve to be treated like him. Called a failure. But was that fight only for her? Was that reason only for her? No. Naruto defended everyone who was in position like his. Rock Lee, with his genius of hard work vs “true” genius. Gaara, when they worked together on missions, when they fought against the artisans, after he died at the hand of the akatsuki. No. His passion for defending “failures” is greater than Hinata. He didn’t pay her any special attention, never professed his love for her like he did Sakura. There was no real chemistry or even time to progress a relationship, and yet they marry. They have children, and Naruto neglects his son for work. It’s not logical, it doesn’t fit.

Speaking on defense;

Gaara was a character whose entire world, his life, his outlook, his emotions, his understanding was changed by Naruto. Naruto was the one person who was strong enough to defeat the Shukaku, the only person who truly defeated Gaara. He was the only person to understand how Gaara truly felt, understand what he had been through. Naruto was Gaara’s first love, to be blunt. Let’s be honest; I ship this. Naruto and Gaara get each other, they understand, they protect each other cannonly throught the series. Gaara starts a war for Naruto, to protect Naruto; Naruto nearly beats Deidara to death with his own hands trying to save Gaara, expends his chakra to save Gaara, stands with Gaara as he recovers. IT DOESN'T”T HAVE TO BE ROMANTIC, BUT IT IS LOVE. This relationship wasn’t obsessive. This was the only “healthy” relationship in the series. They depended on eachother to the extent of life or death, they trusted eachother to the extent of life or death. In the infinite tsukoyomi, Gaara DREAMS OF NARUTO. It’s platonic, Naruto was his closest friend, even in his prefect dream of family and love. Naruto is still there.

Now this isn’t to convince you to sail with me on my ship of existential crisis; no. This is only to show you another aspect of how Naruto’s ending was so full of holes. Where did this relationship go? Are they penpal’s who only see eachother at gokage summits? Is the love and trust and dependency that they shared somehow broken by the sudden relationship with Hinata? By the seat of Hokage? It’s full of holes.

Now; Naruto.

What the fuck happened to Naruto. Where is the man that spent his who life fighting for his dreams, following his nindou, leading the people, protecting his village, his friends, his nakama. Where is the man who saved the world, the descendant of the Sage of Six paths? That man is not the one who would neglect his son. That man is not the one who is so bland at the end of the series. So aged, so... seasoned. Sure, there is experience; a lot of experience, but that level of seasoning is too salty for me. The wholesomeness of the series; that feeling of family and the necessity of protecting who you love. The message that Naruto represented is lost. The boldness of charging in on pure emotion, the need to protect, to defend, the need to end the cycle of hatred and sadness and war, to unite all ninja, to lead a people to happiness; where did that message go? Did it get lost in the building of romantic relationships? Lost in the merge between prestige and popularity? Did the duality of his existence suddenly dissipate? Did the righteous power he sought, he mastered, did it suddenly make him flat. Normal. Equal.

The power Naruto wields is the power of the outcast. The power of understanding, empathy. The power of forgiveness, acceptance; Naruto is love. Naruto is light. It’s been established both verbally and artistically in both the anime and manga. It’s cannon.

So then why?

Why the dissatisfying ending? Why the baseless romance? Why?

I’m not asking for you to join my crew, I’m only asking you to look at the holes in the story. If I had it my way; I wouldn’t have included romance. There would be no Boruto. The series would have ended a legend that narutards like me could worship; a sandbox of inspiration and freedom. The ending ruined this series for me, and it’s taken me a very long time to be able to watch it again. It can never have the respect I gave it again; because the message died with Shippuden. The inspiration dies with the bonds that were ended with no purpose.

I can speculate, I can scorn, but I still don’t truly know. They say “It’s a shounen anime, there can’t be homosexuals”, “It’s not that kind of manga”.

Fuck that, why does Homosexuality have to fall into specific genres?

Why do those genres treat it as a kink, a obsession? It’s sexualized for sales to heterosexual women.

Don’t tell me it wouldn’t sell, everyone knows it would.

#narugaa #naruto shippuden #naruto #lets talk #my opinion #agnst #Naruto #naruto uzumaki #sasuke Uchiha #sakura haruno #rock lee #hinata hyuuga #sabaku no gaara #gaara #boruto #anime #Manga

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narutocharacterpolls · 1 year

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ROUND THREE

ROCK LEE vs HYUUGA NEJI

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

practical and fashion-forward with his bright green onesie. Function over form, and is prepared at all times by carrying around a spare onesie he will give without question to anyone - even complete strangers

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

embodies the ideals of original series Naruto. True underdog, had nothing going for him, came from nothing with no legacy or powers, was so disadvantaged that he physically could not meet the bare minimum abilities of his peers. But he worked harder than everyone else and proved that he can be a great shinobi despite all the adversity he faced

Sasuke had to copy Lee’s moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

Gaara vs Rock Lee was one of the most iconic fights in the series, and everyone remembers where they were when they first saw Lee drop his weights. He owned that fight so hard that people forget he lost.

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn’t special and neither was [submitter], but we didn’t need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee’s got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn’t want them to think like that

objectively would’ve made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn’t like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they’re very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Neji

very tragic character

has so many layers

has a great arc (if you ignore the. yknow)

the eye imagery is very good

the inherent queerness of rebellion

carried the Hyuuga clan

awesome hair

disrecpected by the narrative

could've easily been a revolutionanist if the mangaka wasn't a coward

#bestnrtcharapoll #naruto #polls #rock lee #hyuuga neji #neji hyuuga #id in alt text

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narutocharacterpolls · 1 year

Text

ROUND ONE

ROCK LEE vs HYUUGA HINATA

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

Sasuke had to copy Lee's moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

got [submitter] personally through the worst times; his ability to persevere face of adversity convinced me I could do it too. He wasn't special and neither was [submitter], but we didn't need to be. We can make ourselves great. If no one else got me, Rock Lee's got me

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn't want them to think like that

objectively would've made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn't like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they're very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Hinata

contrasts with Naruto in personality, but still goes through similar struggles with self esteem and bullying, and comes out with a similar outlook on life

relatable in the sense of being socially awkward, self conscious and having a strict father

can hold her own

#HYDROGEN BOMB VS COUGHING BABY OF ALL TIME #EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ THEM JUST LOOK AT THE SIZE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REASONS AHJSHKALKDHD #bestnrtcharapoll #naruto #polls #rock lee #hyuuga hinata #hinata hyuuga #id in alt text

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narutocharacterpolls · 1 year

Text

ROUND TWO

ROCK LEE vs AKAMARU

Reasons for submission under the cut

Lee

ROCK LEE VS GAARA

kind as can be; willing to jump to action to help his fellow comrades even after going through a life-threatening, major surgery

has a surprising edge to him at the beginning of the series; he was ready to severely maim anybody that he saw as a genius

more dedicated than anyone. Was forced to face his own mortality and make a life-or-death decision in the name of his dream, after a literal crushing defeat, and he chose to fight for it. Inspiring

Sasuke had to copy Lee’s moves with his Sharingan to succeed during Chuunin exams

cute as a button. Come on.

his fans are dedicated and make amazing work, fanart and fanfic

Kishimoto said he was his favorite character to draw. Boom. Favoritism. Love to see it.

pairs well with everyone. Platonic or romantic, Lee has a great dynamic with other characters

his summer outfit from Guardian of the Crescent Moon Kingdom was the best outfit in the movie

gave us Metal Lee! Blessed us with Metal Lee, really

was the character to beat in the early series if you wanted to show how strong you actually are

was wronged by the series. He deserves to win as justice.

he’s one of the first non-jutsu using ninja so make such a big impact

was the first person to actually harm Gaara

played a huge part in Gaara becoming a better person

he’s one of the only people that can catch up to Sasuke and easily rivals Naruto in Taijutsu

his kind, determined and cheerful attitude is a joy to watch

Rock Lee removing his weights is easily one of the most iconic moments in the entire anime

has helped several submitters feel better by simply thinking about how he wouldn’t want them to think like that

objectively would’ve made a better protagonist based on the themes alone

KICKS MAJOR ASS

wrecked Sasukes shit, I like Sasuke but that was really funny

he looks like a frog. Who doesn’t like frogs

inspired Sasuke

fights are always entertaining, they’re very well choreographed

he forgave Gaara for nearly killing him and nearly ending his dreams; he was never even mad at him

Rock Lee vs Sasuke was iconic

his heart is so full of love

never did anything wrong

had a squirrel befriend him

hard worker

good friend

rises to any challenge

when he does diss people they are the most brutal yet entertaining disses you ever hear

positive, weirdo, energetic, enthusiastic, joyful, chivalrous, motivated, dedicated, sweet

Lee and Neji had something homosexual going on

YOUTH !!!!

Akamaru

he's cute

he's a puppy

was hurt and almost killed multiple times in human disputes

to reinforce that Kiba sucks

#bestnrtcharapoll #naruto #polls #rock lee #akamaru #id in alt text #scheduled #i'm scheduling these and my schedules always post wonky so if these aren't in order or on time that's why

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recentanimenews · 5 years

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THE GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH Arrives at the Big Moment: Naruto vs. Sasuke in Episodes 126-132!

Welcome back to the GREAT CRUNCHYROLL NARUTO REWATCH! I'm Nicole Mejias, and I'll be your host this week as we make our way through all 220 episodes of the original Naruto. Last week, we covered Episodes 120-126, where Gaara and the sand ninjas redeemed themselves and started kicking some major butt! Also, drunk Rock Lee!

This week, we’re passing the 100 episodes left mark by hitting episodes 127-133, and that means it is time for the showdown we’ve all been waiting for: Naruto vs. Sasuke! But first, Gaara has a few minor things to finish dealing with, but it seems like everyone’s favorite sandy boy will be fine. Sadly, this week’s batch ends right before the grand finale of Naruto vs. Sasuke, but we get through a lot of the emotional labor first before the big pay-off by seeing more of Sasuke and Itachi’s mysterious pasts.

Let’s not delay the big showdown any longer and find out what the Features Team thought!

Boy, that sure was an anti-climactic finish to the Gaara vs. Kimimaro fight. How did you feel about the way that resolved?

Paul: I didn't feel that Gaara vs. Kimimaro was anti-climatic, partly because the whole bone thing really creeped me out and I was ready for that to be over, but also because they spent time climbing inside Kimimaro's head-space, and he was ultimately such a tragic character. I'm a sucker for how Orochimaru keeps hoovering up all of the sad, queer ninja kids who don't belong in their original clans and Villages and creating a weird, evil Brady Bunch ninja family.

Kevin: The end of that fight is one of the few things in the entire franchise that disappointed me so much that it came back around to being memorable.

Danni: Honestly, having a character just up and die from an illness feels both so convenient and so subversive that I have to respect it.

Jared: It always kind of felt like that was going to be the inevitable end anyways, so I’m not too bothered by it. Although, I feel like with his ability, ripping out your spinal column and using it should be an ability that would ultimately end you, yet it’s just his illness.

David: The ending was so abrupt that I was surprised it was over well after the fact. Kimimaro has an interesting story but he got shortchanged by being the midboss before the most important fight in the whole first “part” of the show, I guess.

Joseph: I totally loved how it ended! I’m a sucker for subverting expectations like that. Considering all Kimimaro has gone through, it was more than appropriate to die like that on the spot during such a huge fight.

Noelle: I’m still surprised by it, to be completely honest. I could’ve gone for more of course, but there’s something about it that’s so abrupt that made it stick with me. Perfect timing for our heroes, but at the same time, fitting. I felt it worked.

Carolyn: I actually loved that ending. We don’t always need to have a big flashy violent showdown. He fought hard, his body couldn't take it. It’s different and refreshing. I’m a fan.

Kara: After Kimimaro literally pulled out his own spine I was kind of too dazed to register anything else.

Personally, I always found it interesting how other characters were far more interesting than Naruto and Sasuke at times, and I think the growth of Gaara is a great example of that. How do you feel about Gaara now vs. when he first showed up?

Paul: Before, Gaara was a psychopathic but adorable baby murder cinnamon roll, and I loved him. Now he's a sympathetic but adorable baby murder cinnamon roll, and I still love him, only in a slightly different way. I'm really looking forward to seeing how he continues to develop as a character.

Kevin: Well, they were supposed to be designed after Goku and Vegeta, so Naruto being the most boring one might just be an extra faithful homage. As for Gaara, I don’t dislike that he’s mellowed out and is willing to cooperate with people, but I wish that we saw more of a gradual change instead of him just suddenly not being murderous because Naruto’s greatest jutsu is friendship.

Danni: I really liked seeing Gaara act more sympathetic to those around him. I don’t think he’s more interesting than Naruto yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing more of him.

Jared: As someone who was definitely a detractor of him before his turn, I’m enjoying seeing how he’s taken to heart some of the stuff Naruto told him and even throwing it back in the face of Kimimaro. I’m curious to see if he continues to be ever brooding throughout or if that part of him changes or not.

David: He’s definitely more interesting now than he was previously. I particularly enjoyed the scene between him and Lee as they just sort of chilled together under a tree’s shade after the fight with Kimimaro was over.

Joseph: I like Gaara but I don’t necessarily think he’s any more interesting than Naruto is. It’s too early to tell how his character will evolve from here, but I like what they’re doing with him.

Noelle: Gaara is one of my top faves, so I’m not going to pretend I don’t have a bias here. I think Naruto’s still pretty great and I wouldn’t say Gaara is more engaging than he is, but Gaara’s really made some strides. He’s taken the lessons he’s been given and learned from them, and he is becoming more of a complete person as a result. Also, that doesn’t stop his potential in a fight at all. You go, Gaara.

Carolyn: I still feel like there was no character growth here. He just showed up. He wanted to kill Rock Lee not that long ago and there was zero resolution to that. They just join forces out of nowhere.

Kara: I’m not sure how I feel re: character growth. I mean obviously there was some, because he’s not rocking back and forth in a ball of sand whispering to his mother. So, you know, good for him, clearly got some stuff sorted out for himself. I’d be interested to see what happened while we were looking the other way, though. Naruto doesn’t exactly fear flashbacks, so I have a feeling we’ll find out at some point.

Speaking of character growth, Rock Lee has certainly had an interesting arc in these past few episodes. It feels good to see him back, if a bit fast, but since we probably won’t see him for a while, how do you feel about Lee’s send off here?

Paul: Way back in the write-up for episodes 50–56, I proposed that Rock Lee is the Mick Foley of the Naruto universe, in that he's kind of a dork, everybody loves him, and he gets the ever-living tar beat out of him every time he shows up. I have to add an additional way that Rock's trajectory resembles Mick's pro-wrestling career: he loses–dramatically–in all of his most important matches. I'd honestly like to see him win something for a change.

Kevin: To be perfectly honestly, my first thought after seeing the question was “wait, did Lee get a send off?”, so that’s probably not a good sign.

Danni: That was a send off???

Jared: If there’s not a filler arc that’s just Rock Lee getting up to shenanigans, I’m going to be very disappointed.

David: Such is the fate of tertiary Naruto characters.

Joseph: Poor Rock Lee. I love him but this was his least memorable set of episodes in my opinion. I second the “that was a send off?” question.

Noelle: In terms of canonical material (filler not included) I know this is going to be the last we see of Lee for a while. And that’s such a shame–Lee’s a good kid, and I could always take more Rock Lee.

Carolyn: Yeah, I wasn’t aware that was a send off either. I would have just seen that as any other side character episode. They are there sometimes and sometimes they are not.

Kara: Wait, where’s he going? No one told me he was going anywhere. Shoot. Now I’m going to go back and watch his drunken fighting and appreciate it harder.

So, here we are. Naruto vs. Sasuke. The big culmination of the recovery arc is about to occur… and… flashbacks. So, how do we feel about the secrets of the Uchiha clan, the Mangekyo Sharingan, and Itachi after these revelations?

Paul: If I'm reading this correctly, in order to master the ultimate Sharingan technique of the Uchiha clan, you have to murder someone (or multiple someones) that you love dearly. I get that, very ninja-esque. I still don't understand what motivates Itachi to pursue that level of power. That bit about him “testing his vessel” was just gibberish to me. I did like how they changed up some details in Sasuke's flashbacks, implying that Itachi's techniques have the ability to alter people's memories.

Kevin: I am continuing to try to not spoil too much about future events, so for now I’ll stick with this: I like that that a lot of things are getting explored. The Uchiha’s role in the village, what the Mangekyo Sharingan is, some kind of motivation for Itachi killing the clan. It’s all neat and whether you like the answers or not, at least there’s an answer instead of everything completely unexplained for the entire show. That being said… don’t get too attached to most of it.

Danni: I continue to eagerly anticipate how they try to flip it so that Itachi was actually the good guy all along.

Jared: No wonder Sasuke has become the way he is, Itachi and his dad surely didn’t help things. Itachi’s drive to being out of his mind with the vessel talk seemed odd, but having that kind of constant pressure on you to be the best, especially at a young age can cause you to break in bad ways.

David: I actually thought the flashbacks did a lot to make Itachi look like one of the most intelligent and reasonable characters in the whole show, a real role model for Sasuke. Of course, Itachi doesn’t end up finding the results he wants fast enough by working within the system, so he ends up choosing to burn the system itself to the ground instead. His stated reasoning isn’t just odd, it’s also at odds with everything he said leading up to it. How can he justify all this carnage for the sake of power, when one of the core tenets of his ideology beforehand was how badly power and the pursuit of it messes people up? As of now anyway, he doesn’t, and that leads Sasuke to taking all the wrong lessons from his big brother. But maybe there’s more to the story than we’ve gotten so far.

Joseph: I found the past of the Uchiha clan interesting, but wasn’t a huge fan of the way they structured it. I’d rather have a couple solid episodes exploring the backstory than peppering it so much throughout the buildup to the fight that it impacts the pacing. There’s still a ton of mystery to Itachi to dig into, though.

Noelle: My other fave is Itachi, and I very clearly remember how these episodes went down and just how revelatory they were to me. The Itachi we see in the flashbacks, where you can tell Sasuke genuinely loves and admires, compared to the fallout we see now, what a difference. Growing up in the Uchiha clan is really not the best place to be, huh.

Carolyn: This week is very, very flashback heavy. Generally, we get some flashbacks intermingled with fighting. This feels like it leans on the flashbacks a lot. I do feel like they are trying to set it up to appear that Itachi was secretly a good guy and we got him all wrong like this show likes to do.

Kara: I was thinking to myself all through this how there are basically no ninja clans that don’t have drama. Then I remembered, well, this is a society devoted to training (and occasionally modifying your body in horrifying ways) toward a single purpose, of course it’s gonna be a mess every day. I actually didn’t mind the flashbacks being peppered throughout. That’s a thing I know the show does, and it’s an interesting way to slow-release info at just the right time for things to land meaning-wise. It explains a lot, I’ll say that.

So, something that always bothered me: I kind of feel like Sasuke is being a brat. How do you all feel about this development in Sasuke’s character? I never really found myself sympathetic to his personality change.

Paul: I agree that Sasuke is being a brat, but to me that seems less like a drastic change in character and more like a natural evolution given his motivations and back-story. The desire for revenge has been eating him alive from the very beginning, and no matter how many people reach out to him, Sasuke can't see past his own pain and his own rage. I pity him and I want him to find a better path, and that's good character writing.

Kevin: He didn’t really have any kind of personality change. It’s more that he’s always been power hungry in order to kill Itachi, and now he’s seen that he’s nowhere near strong enough and so is desperate to grow even more quickly no matter the risks. It honestly makes a lot of sense, especially now that we know his backstory better. It’s just a shame that he perpetually sounds like he’s ignoring everyone and throwing a tantrum instead of telling people why he’s leaving and/or asking other people for help, since strength in numbers is still strength.

Danni: I don’t quite see him as a brat. If anything I fail to understand why he’s chosen Orochimaru’s path towards strength. Surpassing his brother means nothing if he does so with borrowed power. Itachi got where he is all on his own. Shouldn’t Sasuke do the same?

Jared: I don’t think he ever really changed out of his revenge obsession, but just got to a point where he figured Orochimaru’s plan would be his easiest path to getting the power to take on Itachi. Although it was interesting during the fight with Naruto where he basically had to keep pumping himself up and telling himself that there’s no turning back from this, as if he has to constantly say that or everything just breaks for him.

David: I take contention with both the idea that Sasuke’s personality has changed as well as the idea that this isn’t Sasuke’s last resort. In regards to the former, Sasuke was literally introduced with the idea of revenge as not just his main but his only motivator; every instance we see of him even confiding in his teammates like with the tree-climbing exercise was ultimately another step toward that goal and not much else. Evolving from that, it is only natural that Sasuke would be enticed by something like Orochimaru’s proposed “easy button” of sorts for power. He has been trying to do what Itachi could for essentially his whole life, even before he hated Itachi, as this week’s flashbacks show. However, he has never had the innate talent Itachi did; Itachi tried to teach him that this might not even be a thing he should care so much about, but that lesson got thrown out the window when Itachi made Sasuke hate him and forget all about it. I think what I’m getting at here is that Sasuke hasn’t changed almost at all so far, but if we step back and look at everything we’ve learned about him, he is simply more complicated than we used to think.

Joseph: It’s all really tragic, especially when we get hints of the potential for change within Sasuke. He’s clearly wrestling with the fact that he’s found friends yet he’s a freight train with a single destination. Anything in the way gets plowed through completely, and it’s just kind of sad. I will say I never saw Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship with the sometimes rose-tinted glasses the flashbacks give it, but such is life.

Noelle: Sasuke is 100% a brat, but at the same time, his mental gymnastic routine isn’t one that’s unfathomable for his character. He’s always stated that his driving force is vengeance, something that comes from a truly negative place as opposed to a positive one, so is it really that strange that he’d end up going to extremes? I don’t think so. The seed was always there, and now it’s exploded into the worst venue possible. It makes sense.

Carolyn: The more I rewatch the more I wonder why I liked Sasuke in the first place. He’s such a punk.

Kara: When Sasuke said that line about “I’m special, too,” I was like… that’s it, that’s the character arc. Naruto spent all this time grumbling about how much people like Sasuke, but then he turned that into a reason to get better. I can understand Sasuke’s background and damage based on his family, but this whole being mad because people are more interested in Naruto’s tummy-fox than in Sasuke is childish.

So, we don’t see what happens in the battle yet this week, but how do you all think it's going to go? Who do you have as the winner? And does it even matter who wins, since it may be the end of this friendship?

Paul: Judging by the episode for next week entitled “The Promise That Could Not Be Kept” which features a thumbnail of Naruto covered in bandages, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Naruto gets his butt kicked. I wouldn't worry about the friendship ending. If Shonen Jump series have taught me anything, it's that yesterday's mortal enemies are tomorrow's super best friends.

Kevin: This is Naruto, the world will end before a friendship does. That being said, this is a battle where no matter the outcome, there is no winner. If Naruto takes Sasuke back to the village, it’ll only be by literally dragging him back. If Sasuke wins, Naruto fails everyone waiting for him to bring Sasuke back. If Kakashi intervenes, then the fight had basically no meaning since there is no actual conclusion. But if there is any conclusion, then one of them may well die (of course, we have a bit of clairvoyance on our side knowing that there are 90 more episodes and two sequel series with the name Naruto in the title, so the stakes are lowered a little).

Danni: My gut is telling me that Sasuke will get away in the end, but my brain is telling me that we have months of filler ahead of us and there’s no way Sasuke can just be gone for all of it. Do you really expect any of us to believe this friendship is over, though? Really???

Jared: I’m not really expecting a de facto winner to emerge here, but something to happen and Sasuke is able to continue on his path and Naruto goes the other way. Whether that’s by Kakashi interrupting the fight or they somehow double KO each other. It’s just weird to think as well because this is it before we go into fillerville and I don’t know how exactly you continue on from this type of encounter and leave out someone like Sasuke who’s going to have this brand new story and character arc.

Joseph: Whoever wins… WE win, because episode 133 was an all-timer and one of the most impressively animated fights of the series thus far. It’s a testament to Kishimoto’s character crafting just how emotional it all is, too. It really feels desperate and crucial.

Noelle: Siding with Joseph here- we, the audience are the true victors. I’m so excited to have this fight on my plate again.

Carolyn: Naruto has to win, right? I don’t think this is the end of their friendship, but maybe a super, duper, major strain on it.

Kara: Kakashi’s gonna drag both those dumb buttheads back to the village.

As always, what were the high and low points of this week’s batch?

Paul: My high point is the entirety of episode 133, where Naruto and Sasuke really lay into one another and the production values get cranked up to eleven. I especially liked that key beats in the fight, such as when Sasuke nearly burns Naruto to a crisp with his fire-breathing Jutsu, were played like horror movie beats rather than action movie ones. My low point was all of the recycled footage leading up to that point, as the extensive use of flashbacks often took me out of the moment.

Kevin: High - Naruto and Sasuke actually fighting in earnest. Not a specific moment, but the back and forth of each revealing new powers and giving the fight everything, even a better animation budget. Low - So, does the Leaf just not have law enforcement anymore? The Uchiha were the police force, and I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning the force in present day, nor mentioning the force being rebuilt after the Uchiha were wiped out. Maybe the Anbu took over, but that seems excessive and we would probably see a lot more cloaked figures in masks if that were the case.

Danni: The high point this week is easily the entire real fight between Naruto and Sasuke, no contest. The animation was stellar and my god the creative choreography in that fight was to die for. I could watch it over and over again. I want to say the low point was the multiple episodes of recap, but if that’s what it takes to get the amazing-looking fight we did, just lay the flashbacks on me, Pierrot.

Jared: High point is easily Naruto vs. Sasuke when it actually got going. It was phenomenal. Low point would probably be the constant tease to the fight with a bunch of flashbacks and what not, but in the end, it was well worth the wait.

David: My high point actually is the flashbacks, because of how much more interesting they made both Sasuke and Itachi, which is vital to making the entire conflict actually interesting. Low point is the suddenly deflated balloon that is the end of the Kimimaro fight. Poor dude.

Joseph: High point: Naruto vs. Sasuke for real in episode 133.

Low point: I think they could have condensed the flashbacks or structured them differently. It took me out of the buildup even though it was part of the buildup.

Noelle: High point, Sasuke’s backstory and how that resulted in a massive character breakdown. Also, Naruto vs Sasuke, give me that high-tier animation any day of the week. Low point, the pacing of the flashbacks, but that’s more of an arbitrary point. I really liked the content we got this week.

Carolyn: High point: Honestly that super surprising ending to Gaara’s fight. So original! Low point: Probably Sasuke’s jerk attitude. Chill out, man.

Kara: High point is the Naruto vs. Sasuke fight, as expected. Low point is Sasuke’s level-up lipstick. It’s not working for him. I’d have gone warmer tone.

COUNTERS:

Ramen: 2 bowls Hokage: 0 Clones: 15 + 1 uncountable scene

Total so far:

Bowls of Ramen: 44 bowls, 3 cups

“I'm Gonna be Hokage!”: 52

Shadow Clones Created: 367

And that's everything for this week! Remember that you're always welcome to join us for this rewatch, especially if you haven't watched the original Naruto! Watch Naruto today!

CATCH UP ON THE REWATCH!

Episodes 120-126: The Sand Siblings Return

Episodes 113-119: Operation Rescue Sasuke

Episodes 106-112: Sasuke Goes Rogue

Episodes 99-105: Trouble in the Land of Tea

Episodes 92-98: Clash of the Sannin

Episodes 85-91: A Life-Changing Decision

Episodes 78-84: The Fall of a Legend

Episodes 71-77: Sands of Sorrow

Episodes 64-70: Crashing the Chunin Exam

Episodes 57-63: Family Feud

Episodes 50-56: Rock Lee Rally

Episodes 43-49: The Gate

Episodes 36-42: Through the Woods

Episodes 29-35: Sakura Unleashed

Episodes 22-28: Chunin Exams Kickoff

Episodes 15-21: Leaving the Land of Waves

Episodes 8-14: Beginners' Battle

Episodes 1-7: I'm Gonna Be the Hokage!

Here's our upcoming schedule:

- May 31st, NOELLE OGAWA will start us off on a journey back into the land of filler.

- June 7th, DAVID LYNN keeps us going as we get even deeper into filler.

- June 14th, PAUL CHAPMAN will detail in the depth of this sea of fillers.

Thank you for joining us for the Great Crunchyroll Naruto Rewatch! Have a great weekend, and we'll see you all next time!

Have anything to say about our thoughts on Episodes 127-133? Let us know in the comments! Don't forget, we're also accepting questions and comments for next week, so don't be shy and feel free to ask away!

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Nicole is a features and a social video script writer for Crunchyroll. Known for punching dudes in Yakuza games on her Twitch channel while professing her love for Majima. She also has a blog, Figuratively Speaking. Follow her on Twitter: @ellyberries

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