YMMV / The Last Prayer

• Arc Fatigue: Hinata's exposure therapy started in chapter three. As of chapter thirty-six, it's still ongoing and she still struggles to talk with the real Naruto (at least when she doesn't think he's an illusion cast by Kurenai.) It takes until chapter 39, after Hinata learns that multiple other women are in both romantic and sexual relationships with Naruto for her to actually admit her feelings for him.
• Ass Pull:
  • Sasuke manages to use his Sharingan to shutdown Naruto's Perfect Kyuubi Mode, something he couldn't do in canon. Eventually, the author explained that he included it, despite admitting it didn't fit with the story, simply because he thought it was a really cool moment in canon.
  • Sasuke also activates the second level of his Curse Mark, something that in canon requires being put in a death-like coma for a full day, by being really angry at Naruto.
  • A Hyuuga member of Root closes Naruto's tenketsu, leaving him unable to use chakra at all, even though in canon Naruto had the exact same thing happen and forced open his tenketsu by using Kurama's chakra.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Ino using Naruto to rape Sakura. While Ino fully admits she was in a bad place mentally and snapped due to Sakura's mockery, it's still shocking that she went so far.
  • Sasuke impaling Naruto with a Chidori during the Chunin Exams. Almost everyone present is horrified that he used blatantly lethal force against a teammate.
• Strangled by the Red String: Naruto's relationships with most of his future wives are built up fairly organically over time. Most. Despite being a future wife, Tenten disappears from the story for roughly twenty chapters, leading many readers to forget she's even present, and is only in the harem because she's ordered to be. Meanwhile, Hinata makes almost functionally zero progress with Naruto even after she learns he's getting married. It's not until she learns he's marrying several women and is already in a relationship with at least two that she admits her feelings, at which point Naruto not only immediately reciprocates but insists that he'd abandon all the other women he loves if she wants him to^note For comparison, Naruto explained to others such as Temari that he's polyamorous and that his interest in multiple women wasn't negotiable if they're going to pursue a relationship with him. Notably, latecomers like Samui and Mei saw more development in only a few chapters than Hinata or Tenten saw in over thirty.
• Strawman Has a Point:
  • Hiashi insists Hinata is a disappointment in every regard and that Kurenai shouldn't waste her time on her. While harsh, the fact that Hinata can barely keep from fainting just by being around (what she thinks is) an illusion of Naruto that doesn't even speak shows Hiashi isn't entirely wrong.
  • During a discussion about Naruto marrying multiple women, Kurenai states she "can accept having sister-wives". When Ino calls her out on acting like she's the one making all the decisions, the older woman explains that "Anyone who causes problems in a polyamorous relationship would have to go". Except Ino's right that Kurenai is trying to make all the decisions. The woman had previously planned on only telling Ino she was in a relationship with Naruto if Hinata declined to marry the boy. Worse is that Ino was actually the first to not only accept, but embrace, the idea of Naruto marrying multiple women.
• Take That, Scrappy!: Kurenai spends a couple chapters seemingly trying to take control of Naruto's group of lovers. In chapter 40 every time Kurenai tries to be the group's spokesperson, Ino shuts her down by either contradicting her or outright telling Kurenai not to talk for her.
• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Tenten's father was planning on stealing the Kubikiribōchō from Naruto so he could sell it for a fortune. But it's hard to say he deserved Zabuza casually flaying him while they waited for Naruto and Tenten to arrive.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Hinata's shyness is turned up to eleven, to the point she can barely keep from fainting around an illusion of Naruto that doesn't speak. Months of exposure therapy sees very little progress on her end, causing many fans to lose interest and wish the author would just get on with it already. It takes Hinata learning she's probably already lost her chance due to multiple women already being in romantic and sexual relationships with Naruto for her to actually talk to him about her feelings.
  • Chapter 38 had some fans feeling Kurenai lost a lot of sympathy regarding her relationship with Naruto due to her being manipulative and openly controlling about who Naruto marries. Despite knowing for a fact that Naruto had been in a sexual (and later romantic) relationship with Ino even longer than she had, Kurenai only intended to tell Ino if Hinata decided not to marry him. Furthermore, Kurenai acts like it's a given that she'll be marrying Naruto and that she "can accept" him marrying other women. By contrast, Ino has long since come to the conclusion that she actually wants Naruto to marry her and Sakura.