Naruto 44something.

Naruto...when did I last talk about the manga? Huh. Well more than a month ago. I won't bother to go in depth about what happened with Pain's Chibaku Tensei and the 4th Hokage showing up in Naruto's mind. Suffice to say that I have thoughroughly enjoyed and appreciated each chapter as it's come out. Oh, and Hinata's good to go, thanks to Sakura. I smell love triangle, and I know who I'll be rooting for! Naruto's gotten right back into the stride it lost with Sasuke's massive arc, and things look to be shaping up for a fantastic conclusion. Naruto is done with the killy, and is moving on to the talky (apparently paper-chick...Konan, that's it! is just standing there helpless...Like a good woman should!*) with Pain, who's still espousing his ridiculous idea for world peace. Here's a hint, genius. Nuclear weapons didn't stop fighting. This won't either, and it's just going to kill a lot of people. Still, we're getting this guy's backstory, and while I'm reasonably sympathetic to the kid, it's really hard to empathize when right now he's going on the "MY PARENTS ARE DEEEEAAAADDDD!" schtick. It's been done before, dude. Nobody gives a shit. And killing you wouldn't be for revenge. It would be eliminating a threat that just destroyed Naruto's entire village. Revenge is a powerful motivator, but it sure as hell isn't the only reason anyone has ever killed. So shut up and deal.

Oh, and Mr. and Mrs. Nagato's parents? I'm unaware of how war generally works in the shinobiverse, but over here most folk will tend to know if their enemy is of the "brutally slaughter civilians" type. And Konoha? Isn't that type. Which is why charging fruitlessly at an enemy you have no chance of winning against in a dark room when they're not attacking you is generally a bad idea. If you had just sat down, whimpered, and begged for mercy, they probably would have apologized for eating your food. Dumbasses.


*Kidding, kidding. I hate the "Stay in the Kitchen" stereotype.