Reading Naruto 693 gave me cancer.
I was so baffled when I got to this point that my kokoro ached like, really, really bad and I could hear something at the back go SNAP!
And my mind completely froze as I stared at this page, trying to digest it all in. (I failed miserably to do so.)
This chapter is a real turning point though. When I saw Sakura scream out her feelings, I thought “Yeah, like finally,” but to see her feelings get brushed away (not so surprisingly) by the heartless beast she’d fallen in love with was so…heartbreaking.
Okay, so you probably can tell by now that I’m a Sakura fan, and I was a serious SasuSaku shipper.
Guess what?
My ship is sinking.
Like Titanic.
Only, a lot worse because at least Jack didn’t throw Rose off the ship like a certain cruel heartbreaker we know.
This chapter presents many scenes which were previously predicted and already hinted by Kishimoto-sensei, like (the inevitable) relationship clarification between Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi once again rendered helpless in dealing with his ex-Team Seven kids, Naruto still holding on to that promise with Sakura really, really tightly (which is really admirable, actually) and the eventual battle between Naruto and Sasuke, which all fans have been anticipating and expecting since the start of Part II.
Behold, the same place of battle which concluded Part I of the series.
Kishimoto’s gonna bring us on another serious feel-trip with the setting, and with their new power-ups, we can expect the NaruSasu battle to be heightened to a new level of intensity.
With Chapter 693, there are a few things we start to wonder/consider:
1. Obviously, the matter of who will win between the fated battle of Uchiha and Senju (Uzumaki).
2. What Kakashi is going to do about all this. (Based on how he’s been portrayed lately, I can say there’s a high chance our answer will be: nothing much. But I’ll still keep my hopes up.)
3. The pairing arguments, which remain as a heated debate topic between fans (Hinata—->Naruto—->Sakura—->Sasuke—->no one because his Uchiha love was turned into hate)
4. If any one of the Team Seven members are going to die.
And of course there are a lot more things to think about like what will happen to the others who are still trapped in cocoons, will the Shinobi Alliance still stay strong, how the relationship between the nations will turn out after the war, but ultimately there is only one thing we are all equally curious to know:
5. Will Naruto, or who for that matter, become the next Hokage?
My heart was carelessly flung around the place as I read this chapter, but was again sent into a frenzy when I went on to read…
Magi 240
I really enjoyed the story of King Solomon and the rise and eventual downfall of Alma Torran.
There were many feels for that, too.
Up till this point, it’s been confirmed that Aladdin is Solomon and Sheba’s son, and in this chapter, our suspicions are confirmed: Arba is indeed Ren Gyokuen. (When I was reading the Alma Torran arc I actually suspected Sheba. Oops.)
And with a new revelation:
Hakuryuu killed his mother.
I liked Hakuryuu. I really did.
It’s saddening to see him fall and eventually become a main antagonist of Magi.
His descent to evil is definitely related to another enigmatic figure…
I’ve always wondered where Judar came from.
Oh well, I suppose I’ll get my answer soon with the possible shift of setting from the human world to Aladdin’s home dimension.
There are quite a lot of hints in this chapter which pushes along the rivalry/friendship between Alibaba and Hakuryuu, even more so than with Alibaba and Aladdin (I mean the friendship part, not the rivalry).
I suppose we can expect another ‘fated battle’ between these two at the climax as well while Aladdin deals with Judar and everything else.
Both chapters contain turning points for their respective stories (which explains why I’m suffering from my cancer here – it’s an overdose of dramatic sequences), and I’m eager to see how everything is executed and wrapped up by Kishimoto Masashi-sensei and Ohtaka Shinobu-sensei in these two amazing works.
~Living in my Fantasy Bubble~ 