Sorry i meant the start of Part 2. i lost a bit of my post while revising it. Rather than Naruto triumphantly returning and showing he can do bigger rasengan, i think Naruto should've returned and showed he can do some basic Wind Style.
I mean that Naruto doesn't arrive alone. The moment the reinforcements arrive, Kakuzu is done for. Naruto then insists he does it alone, leading to him beating Kakuzu.
Although this may have caused fans to compare Naruto even less favorably to Sasuke, who has advanced quite a bit during those last three years.
Anyway, Naruto already possessed the most powerful and invincible technique to ever exist, and he knew it since the Academy.
Sexy no Jutsu brought even the mighty Kagoya to her knees.
Every Hero has his own way of eating yogurtI think this is fine. Sasuke was always stronger and more skilled, roughly until Naruto started using Kurama's power more explicitly. However, this was also a double-edged sword.
Sasuke's thing is that he is (generally) more skilled than Naruto.
IMHO the main thing Naruto needed to demonstrate was mostly that he had learned to fill the gaps in his fighting more, which he doesn't actually do until he gets Sage Mode.
Sakura is completely retooled into a Tsunade Jr 'this has the problem of making her feel the least original later on' but now the timeskip has to really solidify that this is the version/direction of Sakura going forward no more lip servivce to she's brainy one or a genjutsu type no no no she's the brawler now!
Sasuke is just absurd with his new lightning focus where he has forcefields and energy swords along with his fire jutsu and sharigan! Lightning Snake Sasuke is no joke
and thats kinda the issue Naruto kinda feels like he is a background character for this strecth... like yeah his big first New move is just a big Rasengan with two clones. and really the itachi clone fight is more to establish that kakashi didn't take his asskicking lying down. and then the deidara fight is to show off Kakashi new Sharigan move
He doesn't seem to show any real growth like he still relies on another clone to help him with the rasengan instead of being able to one hand it which would have been a small visiual que to show he had master his chakra control
But I can understand it
Naruto is the main character and Kishi probably doesn't want to overload him with new stuff offscreen he wants to reader to experience Naruto's growth first hand
like some writers don't like making thier heroes suddenly really capable
You can do it look at Luffy in one piece after the timeskip up till Wano or Goku in the 23rd budokai
so yeah Naruto really should have come back from his training with some Elemental jutsu to counter Sasuke but I can understand why Kishi did it that way
This is an outrage against Luminara!I feel Tsunade is badass and her will carrying on via Sakura is amazing. Sakura absolutely makes the best out of it, she's absolutely badass. She's a Precure in an absolutely more violent series than Precure which is awesome to me.
As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.That's true. He's really clever, that's a much better word. A genius would have actually mastered it properly. I cant believe even near end of the series Naruto needed clones to make a Rasengan.
EDIT: I have to thank everyone for giving me the word clever. I already knew Genius was way too much but didnt know a more fitting word. Naruto definitely is definitely clever.
Edited by AegisP on Apr 6th 2025 at 7:57:50 AM
As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.Having said that, Naruto is most consistently portrayed as practically quite smart but tactically and analytically quite dumb. At one point i think Neji calls him a "genius of hard work".
Just one truly new thing would've been enough.
it's also a good direction for her as a sort of "self-taught ninja"
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I think it was two and a half years.
At first, I thought that this was a change made by the anime to justify those 80+ fillers, but I remember that the time that passed between the beginning of Shippuden and Orochimaru being ready to possess Sasuke seemed like it could be six months.
So two and a half years (even less in the anime).
Edited by jawal on Apr 7th 2025 at 10:38:19 AM
Every Hero has his own way of eating yogurtI get it, it can seem kinda like Sasuke got the better teacher since he went from Chidori to fucking lightning swords, energy novas and being able to tactically call down the wraith of Zeus
Naruto atleast should have had discovered his primary element
but again it an issue of Kishi wants you to follow Naruto's journey where he knows ALOT of things the audience.
I think the real issue is Naruto went off to train to learn to control the Kyuubi... Naruto then basically barely seems to use that to buff his moves. like if he was basically like he was at the end of part 1 but not feral but lucid and in control so suddenly he is swiping with chakra arms... OH WAIT THATS WHY
When the first major opponent is all about keep away giving naruto a ranged option would defeat the purpose of the fight.
This is an outrage against Luminara!I know this might be off topic, but one of the things Oda got praised when One Piece did its time skip, was that he made SURE to show Luffy's improvement and what he learned with his 2 year training. Fishman Island, other than the nuanced tale of prejudice and racism, was notable because the arc was basically the Straw Hats showing off how much they improved since the time skip.
As long as this flower is in my heart. My Strength will flow without end.As I understand it, Japanese culture has a thing about "eyes being a window to the soul" and have some spiritual importance.
Which leads to eyes being a motif in a lot of Japanese anime - Hunter X Hunter has Kurapika's Scarlet Eyes, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception from Fate, Adam and Jack the Ripper's special eye powers in Record of Ragnarok, the Mikuru Beam in Haruhi, Granolah's eyes in Dragonball Super, the Saiyans losing their irises when they power up, Kenpachi's eyepatch in Bleach, the Jagan Eye in YYH. Then of course you have Naruto's Sharingan, Byakugan, Rinnegan, Sharinnegan, Tenseigan, whatever the heck Boruto has, and te various eye powers from filler.
Where American writers love Flying Brick characters it seems common that Japanese writers love having special eye abilities.
Edited by FOFD on Apr 8th 2025 at 9:25:30 AM

Orochimaru and later Kabuto.
Something about them being walking snakes that can vomit themselves.
Edited by jawal on Apr 6th 2025 at 12:22:34 PM
Every Hero has his own way of eating yogurt