Naruto (3-in-1 Edition), Vol. 9

Naruto: Omnibus #9

by Masashi Kishimoto

Naruto is a young shinobi with an incorrigible knack for mischief. He's got a wild sense of humor, but Naruto is completely serious about his mission to be the world's greatest ninja!

Sasuke delves deep into his own past to reveal how his ideal big brother, Itachi, became the feared ninja he is today. Then Naruto is drawn into a bloody battle with his best friend. And as their battle rages on, Sasuke and Naruto find themselves to be the fiercest foes either has ever faced.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Young Adult, Sequential Art

576 pages, Paperback

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto (岸本斉史 Kishimoto Masashi) is a Japanese manga artist, well known for creating the manga series Naruto. His younger twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto, is also a manga artist and creator of the manga series O-Parts Hunter (666 Satan) and Blazer Drive. Two of his former assistants, Osamu Kajisa (Tattoo Hearts) and Yuuichi Itakura (Hand's), have also gone on to moderate success following their work on Naruto.

Kishimoto's first work as a manga artist was Karakuri (カラクリ?), which he submitted to Shueisha in 1995. This earned him the Weekly Shōnen Jump's monthly "Hop Step Award" in 1996, granted to promising new manga artists. This was followed in 1997 by a pilot version of Naruto (NARUTO－ナルト－), published in Akamaru Jump Summer. In 1998, Kishimoto premiered as a Weekly Shōnen Jump artist with a serialized version of Karakuri in Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it proved unpopular and was canceled soon after. In 1999, a serialized version of Naruto began publication in Weekly Shōnen Jump and quickly became a hit.

Reviews

[Diptarup Ghosh Dastidar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final Battle... The story supporting it is really cool! and the way both the friends part ways! Both are heroes in their own respective ways. Reminds me of Tyson and Kai from the Beyblade franchise!

[Trevor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very suspenseful installment to this great series! You get to see just how far Naruto will go to save sasuke! Would recommend.

[Sabrina Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I love this book! And I love Naruto Uzumaki!

[Valerie Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I have my own path. I have no obligation to you or anyone"

the art is so good (most of the time), the pacing is so good, the characters are all so cool and unique. We are now entering Shippuden where I don't remember basically anything so this will be even more fun

[Nathan Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an incredible story. Kakashi’s backstory and how he got the sharingan was such a shock.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5✨

[Christopher Funk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, a backstory for the best character, and a duel of the two main characters? This book is exceptional. I'd say I'm speechless, but I just want to gush about how good this book is!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

"You remember... It's like I always say... I never go back on my word. 'Cause that's my shinobi way..."

Huh, kinda weird to spend most of a volume on Kakashi's backstory. Not like Obito is gonna turn out to be alive this whole time and act as the major antagonist for a large chunk of the rest of the manga or anything... 😏

Anyway, I must task myself with writing both about the Sasuke Retrieval Arc and the story of Part 1 as a whole, so first I'll list minor notes of things that stuck out when reading:

1) The two-page spread of the Nine-Tailed Fox (I keep forgetting we don't officially know his name at the point...) appearing over/around Super Saiyajin One-Tailed Naruto is really dope.

2) It's misleading playing certain video games (namely, Ultimate Ninja 3 on PS2) because of how little page-time One-Tailed Naruto and Cursed Mark Second State Sasuke have during their fight. Hell, a chunk of the page-count for the fight is dedicated to a lengthy flashback about Sasuke's childhood when Itachi became a bad guy to unlock the Mangekyo, so overall the fight is pretty short.

3) It's kind of too on-the-nose that Sakura becomes an apprentice for Tsunade while Naruto and Sasuke go with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, respectively. Like, it's too "clean." Nevermind that Kakashi's boyhood cell also had its own Sakura analogue (Rin), and every other major cell of teens in the series so far has been two boys and one girl. Would it kill Kakashi to have a squad with two girls? Or one of three girls, or three guys? It's all quite samey, as is.

Uh, I guess that's it, as the other big things I wanted to write about were how we're 3/8 into the story overall, and how the continuous story arcs building on each other is different from the previous generation of battle manga with Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho. (I'm going to forget to write about these later...)

Alright, so, Sasuke Retrieval. Good arc, but partly just because we know this isn't the end. In earlier manga, it's common to have the hero face a few enemies who soon become valuable allies. A lot of Kinnikuman's foes, a lot of dudes in JoJo, guys like Yamcha, Tenshinhan, Piccolo, Vegeta, and arguably Nos. 17 and 18 and Buu, dudes like Kurama, Hiei, and many of the Dark Tournament lads, and contemporaneous characters like Uryu, Renji, and Byakuya. Naruto is a bit unique for having a major ally elect to become a villain for a good while. I know Sasuke will become "good" again, but I'm not sure when exactly, and I feel like it's a while yet. Also, while Naruto will build on his Tailed Beast powers over time, I'm pretty sure Sasuke's later powers are more about his Sharingan than his Curse Mark.

This arc does a good thing by ripping off Saint Seiya - always a good idea, to be honest - by throwing a handful of other guys into the fray to give them all something to do. Choji, Neji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, and the Sand trio all get time to shine here, beyond just Naruto and Sasuke. Unfortunately, their foes aren't the most interesting enemies overall. That is, as I've said before, the Sound Four (or Five) are basically analogous to the Ginyu Tokusentai, but it's some weird thing where the Freeza analogue would be Orochimaru, who doesn't fight here. Instead, the "final boss" is... well, Vegeta, I guess.

Maybe now is as good a time as any to go back and explain my thing about this being 3/8 of the way through the story. Simple math, we've covered 27 volumes out of 72. The progress is roughly analogous to Namek from Dragon Ball as well. Kishimoto even references this in a volume Author Comment some time earlier. Similar turning points, too, I guess. Namek ends with Son Goku becoming a Super Saiyajin, which will lead to the rest of the manga building on Super Saiyajin power, even if the future plots of Artificial Humans and Majin have tenuous connection to the Freeza fight (Cell is partly born of Freeza DNA, at least). In Naruto, we have a handful things that will be built upon: Naruto's Tailed Beast power, Sasuke's quest for Mangekyo, the mystery of the Akatsuki and why they want Naruto. But these will actually build more explicitly than how stuff happens in Dragon Ball.

So we come to the idea of difference in plot structure. Dragon Ball and Yu Yu Hakusho both revolutionized shōnen battle manga in their own ways, and both are some of my favorites. But there is a... dubious quality to their story structures. Basically, arcs kind of just happen in sequence without necessarily being deeply impacted by previous arcs. The Saiyajin invasion has nothing to do with Piccolo. This does segue into Namek, but then the Artificial Humans are kind of random, as is Buu afterward. Yusuke's first major battles are a series of Spirit Detective missions broken up by a training arc that is itself tied to a mission, but Rando had nothing to do with Hiei, and has nothing to do with Suzaku or the Toguro siblings. The Younger Toguro is relevant to the Genkai training arc, and leads into the Dark Tournament well enough, but isn't terribly relevant for Sensui. The Three Kings Arc... Eh, I mean, it doesn't make sense without that thing that happens during the Sensui fight, but....

This newer generation of battle manga is marked by authors who aim for more continuous stories, for whatever reason. Naruto, but also One Piece and Bleach. The Chūnin Exam ends up tying into a plot between Sound and Sand to crush Konoha, which in turn ends up being a scheme for Orochimaru to be a pederast. The Third Hokage dies, so we need to recruit Tsunade to become the Fifth. Itachi comes around to try and abduct Naruto, which makes Sasuke give his bussy up to Snake Zaddy, which prompts Sasuke Retrieval, then a string of things in Part 2.

Overall, I have to say I definitely enjoyed Part 1 of this manga, and am excited for the future, with which I'm not too familiar. Maybe I'm a little apprehensive, but whatever. What sucks is there are nearly fifty volumes ahead of me. Plus twenty and counting for Boruto, if I decide to read that as well. The numbers are just daunting. Then again, I've powered through One Piece, and I'm all caught up with that now, which is longer than Naruto + Boruto. I was really into Naruto when I was about twelve, but I fell off after a while, so I'm really only capital-N Nostalgic up through the Chūnin Exam, as far as manga and anime are concerned. I played some of the PS2 and PSP games that went further into the story, so I have a degree of nostalgia for the Curse Mark Second State enemies, as well as One-Tailed Naruto, but this leaves the Shukaku fight through the three-way Sannin battle in a "grey area" where I'm still a bit "distant" from that sequence of events. I wouldn't call them "bad" arcs, but it's simple fact that I like them a little less than Land of Waves, Chūnin Exams, and Sasuke Retrieval. The Contrarian in me wants to not-love the post-timeskip story so I could continue to say the manga peaks in Part 1, but I'm definitely actually hoping at least some of the future arcs are at least as good as Sasuke Retrieval (if not Chūnin Exams, which I'd consider the "peak" thus far), and that we maintain a decent degree of quality throughout. But... again, I have nearly fifty volumes to read. Plenty of time for Kishimoto to drop the ball.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Once upon a time, the spirit of an evil Nine Tailed Fox wreaked havoc on Konohagakure; the Village Hidden in the Leaves, killing hundreds of honorable ninja in the skirmish and leaving many children without homes or parents. The Fourth Hokage (leader of the village) unleashes a forbidden jutsu (magic spell/ninja ability) to seal the spirit of the evil fox into the body of a newborn baby named Naruto at the cost of his own life. He did this in the hopes that the boy could one day learn to master the power of the demonic spirit and use it to protect the village and become a great hero of the people.

Unknown to the citizens of the Leaf, the Nine Tailed Fox was being controlled by an even more powerful adversary, a legendary rogue ninja that plans to wage war against the entire world from the shadows. The identity of the mysterious ninja that attacked the Leaf Village using the Nine Tails died with the Fourth Hokage, and he used what remained of his life to gift Naruto with the power of one day being able to stop this evil ninja and a clan of outlawed S-rank criminals called the Akatsuki from committing mass genocide against the many hidden villages and clans of the world.

Because of the evil spirit sealed inside him, Naruto grew up hated by the other children of the village because they believe him and the Nine Tails to be one and the same. They believe he’s a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, waiting for the perfect moment to kill them all just like the Nine Tails killed their parents and families. Shunned, dehumanized and treated like dirt, Naruto vows to become the greatest hokage the world has ever seen so that he can receive the love and acknowledgement he never got as a child.

On top of the Nine Tails power and the will to never quit, Naruto also possesses the uncanny ability to turn everyone he meets into a potential comrade. He brings out the best in his peers and tries his hardest to make his enemies see the errors of their ways. He disobeys the rules and ignores cultural traditions to try and make changes to the world and break the eternal cycle of war and hatred through his own methods. His determination is infectious to friend and foe alike. He earns himself the respect he deserves by overcoming one impossible obstacle at a time.

Naruto encounters many fascinating and terrifying ninja over the course of his journey to become hokage. Among them are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto’s best friend and rival who is driven by the vengeful lust to murder his elder brother after he wiped out their own clan in cold blood. Sasuke warms up to Naruto, but his hatred and trauma are dangerous forces that threaten to break his moral code as a ninja and destroy his reputation among his peers.

Kakashi Hatake is a notorious copycat ninja that survived one of the most brutal and devastating wars in history as well as the Nine Tails attack on the Leaf Village. He becomes Naruto and Sasuke’s mentor and teaches them a great number of valuable lessons about surviving in the dangerous world of rogue ninja, bloodthirsty assassins and clans ruled by corruption.

Jiraiya is a perverted yet wise sage who taught the Fourth Hokage everything he knew and he’s regarded as a god among shinobi that’s famous for his heroic actions in the second great ninja war. He takes an interest in Naruto and raises him as a father figure to carry on the legacy of the Fourth Hokage to prepare him for the many dangerous people that want to use his power for their own nefarious purposes.

The Akatsuki is one such group of wicked ninja. Among them are Sasuke’s brother Itachi who murdered his clan and possesses many dangerous techniques involving illusions, psychological torture and elemental manipulation. Sasori who controls poisonous puppets with magical threads, Orochimaru who mastered the forbidden arts of reanimation and quasi-immortality, Deidara who fights from afar using detonating clay and many other deadly foes.

The entire series chronicles Naruto and his fellow ninja comrades growing through countless trials and tragedies. There are hundreds of unique jutsus, clans, and techniques which lead to some very intense, creative and strategic battles between skilled ninja with diverse abilities that don’t always match up evenly. There are clan based abilities such as the Aburame clan’s ability to control insects, the Yamanaka clan’s ability to jump into other people’s minds and control their bodies and the Inuzuka clan’s ability to bond with wolves that learn to mimic their master’s battle skills. Then there’s ocular genetic abilities such as the sharingan which allows the user to create psychological illusions, copy their enemy’s abilities and manipulate elemental energy. The byakugan allows the user to read their enemies vital points and detect their spiritual energy from faraway. The rinnegan grants control over space and gravity and so on.

On top of having countless unique abilities, nearly every character has a tragic backstory that makes them sympathetic and relatable, even the nastiest of the villains have well-explored reasons for following the paths they do and becoming the way they are. One of my favorite aspects of the series is how well it explores the physical, emotional and psychological effects war can have on society and culture as well as the survivors and future generations that are forced to live in them. How it breeds racism and cultural disputes, how it inspires hatred in orphaned children and war veterans robbed of their homes toward foreign nations, as well as how this eventually leads to further death, war, poverty and destruction. Learning to forgive the ones you hate to prevent further conflict and damaging the world for future generations even further is a major theme throughout the story.

Being a massive 700 chapter series, it’s not too surprising that there’s some plot holes and consistency issues. A rule might be stated regarding the requirements and usage of a certain jutsu or ability only for that rule to be repeatedly broken 400 chapters later. Sometimes the characters and rules contradict themselves, sometimes the chronology of certain events and historical facts don’t match up perfectly, the lore and general backstory go through several retcons that change the philosophy and power scaling of the characters and the scope of world-building; the final arc especially drags on and breaks a lot of the logic and rules that the story spent the whole series setting up, etc...

Naruto’s far from perfect, but I remember it very fondly for being one of the first series that introduced me to things like manga and Japanese entertainment in general. It was one of those childhood classics like Dragon Ball, Inuyasha, Yu Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin. The series grew up with me and I can’t help but feel grateful to it for introducing me to hundreds of other franchises that I’m still a huge fan of to this day and I continue to find many new ones on the regular. Naruto's journey from a clownish, disrespected outcast into a talented, well-loved and admired hero is a memorable one.

[Social_Sloth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art is mind blowing and the story is going strong. Not only do we get to follow the young ninjas of Konohagakure, but also Kakashi's background story. A story filled with heartbreak.

[Captn Panda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for Part 1 of Naruto which covers Volumes 1-27

At its core, Naruto is the typical strong MC, with different powers and technics. A trope from most shonen manga these days. So what exactly makes Naruto special in its own way.

The most notable thing that stands out to me is character development. Naruto is our Main Character, who we learn very early on has strong incredible power. He doesn't know how to use it and that is what makes this character interesting over anything else. We see Naruto struggle, we see characters beat and be stronger than Naruto. Sure, we see our fair share of Naruto winning or turning the tides of a battle. It's balanced out by the fact that we also see Naruto fail quite a bit. One of the most notable moments in this part of the Manga for me are two events. The first one being the first fight with Gaara. What we see here is Naruto legitimately afraid because he knows Gaara is more powerful than he is. The confident cocky Naruto that we've known up until this part of the story, instantly fades away as he realizes that he is facing someone that is much stronger than he is and he cannot see himself winning. This humanizes Naruto for me, and in my opinion is a great development point in the Manga. The second moment is of course the very first Naruto and Sasuke fight. This is one of the many times we see Naruto fail, not only himself but people he has made promises to. This is another great moment that I think humanizes and makes Naruto relatable as a character.

Now let's talk about arguably the "other" main character Sasuke. Which is the opposite of Naruto. Sasuke is a natural at most things and is the first one to come into his own when it comes to the battles that they face as newbie ninjas. Fitting the "tragic backstory" trope Sasuke goes through most of the first part of the story being an edgy teenager. It is hard to find many redeeming moments for Sasuke in the first part of the manga outside of the few times he shows motivation to protect his companions Sakura and Naruto. I will give credit to a similar scene in the Manga to what Naruto experiences. Sasuke has sworn revenge on his older brother Itachi. When he is presented with the opportunity to fight him, Itachi is leagues ahead of him and quickly disposes of Sasuke. As Naruto and Jiraiya have to save Sasuke in the moment he questions if everything that he has done, if all the training he went through had all been for nothing as he was not even strong enough to stand toe to toe with his Brother. This is a critical moment for Sasuke's character development for the rest of this part of the manga as this event affects all the decisions that he makes. This was a pretty well-done plot point that helped make Sasuke relatable. As I feel like up until this point Sasuke was just too much edge and a predictable trope.

The ending of this Part of the manga is a fight between Sasuke and Naruto. Before reading the Manga I had only seen the Anime. If you're in the same boat and worried it won't have the same impact, I encourage you to still read it. The fight plays out quite differently than it did in the Anime and in-fact I like the manga version a lot better.

This part of the manga had a ton of good moments. We still see some great fights from some of the other characters. My favorites being the Sand Ninja Temari and Kankuro and Shikamaru. It is pretty lore heavy in the beginning so there can be parts with quite a bit of reading but it's a fun ride nonetheless. I expected to be put off by the typical shonen tropes but I ended up liking the characters, their progress, and the action more than I thought I would.

[Ada · Rating 2 out of 5]

***read via MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA (app on tablet)***
I kinda missed most of the chapters in this whole volume... But I'm just not that kinda fan of Itachi. so I didn't kept up with the story.

Volume 25: Itachi and Sasuke, Brothers, Chapters list:
218. "Konoha Comrades!!" (木ノ葉の仲間!!, Konoha no Nakama!!)
219. "Future and Past" (未来と過去, Mirai to Kako)
220. "Itachi and Sasuke, Brothers" (兄と弟, Itachi to Sasuke)
221. "The Too Distant Elder Brother" (遠すぎる兄, Tōsugiru Ani)
222. "Itachi's Doubt" (イタチの疑惑, Itachi no Giwaku)
223. "Sasuke and his Father" (サスケと父, Sasuke to Chichi)
224. "That Day…!!" (その日…!!, Sono Hi…!!)
225. "Within Darkness…!!" (闇の中…!!, Yami no Naka…!!)
226. "Close Friend…!!" (親しき友に…!!, Shitashiki Tomo ni…!!)

Volume 26: The Day of Parting…!!, Chapters list:
227. "Chidori vs. Rasengan!!" (千鳥VS螺旋丸!!, Chidori Bāsasu Rasengan!!)
228. "Kakashi's Premonition" (カカシの予感, Kakashi no Yokan)
229. "The Bond…!!" (繋がり…!!, Tsunagari…!!)
230. "The Time of Awakening!!" (目醒めの時!!, Mezame no Toki!!)
231. "Special Powers!!" (特別な力!!, Tokubetsuna Chikara!!)
232. "The Valley of the End" (終末の谷, Shūmatsu no Tani)
233. "The Worst Ending…!!" (最悪の結末…!!, Saiaku no Ketsumatsu…!!)
234. "The Day of Parting…!!" (別れの日…!!, Wakare no Hi…!!)
235. "Mission Failed…!!" (任務失敗…!!, Ninmu Shippai…!!)

Volume 27: The Day of Departure!!, Chapters list:
236. "The Promise that Couldn't be Kept" (守れなかった約束, Mamorenakatta Yakusoku)
237. "Idiot…!!" (馬鹿…!!, Baka…!!)
238. "The Day of Departure!!" (旅立ちの日!!, Tabidachi no Hi!!)
239. "Side Story 1: Mission Start…!!" (外伝其ノ一:任務開始…!!, Gaiden Sono Ichi: Misshon Sutāto…!!)
240. "Side Story 2: Teamwork!!" (外伝其ノ二:チームワーク!!, Gaiden Sono Ni: Chīmuwāku!!)
241. "Side Story 3: A True Hero" (外伝其ノ三:本当の英雄, Gaiden Sono San: Hontō no Eiyū)
242. "Side Story 4: The Crybaby Ninja" (外伝其ノ四:泣き虫忍者, Gaiden Sono Yon: Nakimushi Ninja)
243. "Side Story 5: Gift" (外伝其ノ五:プレゼント, Gaiden Sono Go: Purezento)
244. "Side Story Final Story: The Hero of the Sharingan" (外伝最終話:写輪眼の英雄, Gaiden Saishūwa: Sharingan no Eiyū)

[Andrew Sammut · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a solid read! The fight between Naruto and Sasuke almost brought me to tears however I feel as though the Kakashi chronicles were more intriguing. I was really curious to learn about the copy ninja and his backstory actually did make me cry... Obito and Rin are definitely characters I need to learn more about. We are also introduced to Minato Namikaze and are told of Kakashi's father who unfortunately committed suicide. This came as a surprise to me and also a shock. Can't wait to dig into shippuden which take place two years after the events here.

[Laguna · Rating 5 out of 5]

the backstory to the uchiha clan, the fight between naruto and sasuke, and the kakashi chronicles. honestly my favorite set of volumes so far. it was literally perfect and there was so much development with the plot and the characters.

“the battle of kannabi bridge. that day, two heroes were born in Konohagakure, each with his own sharingan. one found his name engraved on the memorial stone… The other came to be known as kakashi of the sharingan. in time, the tales of his bravery spanned all borders, and beyond.”

[Zack Reese · Rating 5 out of 5]

part one was actually peak and everything after had some highs and some lows but was not as consistent

everything here was cinematic and an excellent conclusion to 25+ volumes of build-up. the pacing, paneling, narrative structuring, power systems on display, and sense of mystery all propelled this section of the story to be my absolute favorite. this is when sasuke and naruto were both still complex characters, and sakura had potential.

plus, imo the naruto vs sasuke fight is so emotional and well done, you cannot put the book down. it’s kinetic

[Elias Alexander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my favorite volume so far. So much happened in this one. I'm so ready for the next story.

Spoiler alert.
Sasuke his story broke my heart. He is my favorite character. And know he has officially joined the dark side. I'm still hoping that he will one day see the world without hate.
The kakashi stories was so good. I really like his character even more now. I hope we get to see more from his background.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The climax of the building tensions between our protagonists. Seeing the friendship we have slowly seen build across the pages just take such a sad and drastic turn really makes you feel for the story and characters.

I loved the backstories given to Sasuke and Kakashi, it really gave us insight into the characters and the reasons why they are who they are. I loved this volume and can't wait to see where the story goes from here.

Let the era of emo Sasuke begin!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my faves for sure!!!! Everything from the look back at Itachi and Sasuke's childhood, to Naruto and Sasuke's emotional fight, to the return of the heroes to the village.....it's such a rollercoaster and I love every second!! The Kakashi Chronicles at the end top it off soooo wonderfully <333 The end of some things and the beginning of so much more for the characters, especially Naruto, of course! Wonderfully paced, heart wrenching, and heart warming at the same time!

[Tristan Rosato · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good ending to part 1. I don't even know where to begin. The fight between Naruto and Sasuke was epic, and I felt like their relationship is powerful and moving. There are two big backstories in this volume, and they both helped me get a clearer understanding of both characters and their goals and motivations ( I'm also fairly certain we just meet Naruto's dad).Can't wait to see what happens in part 2!

[Sedna Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was utter fire! From finishing up all the fights of the side characters to the first round of the Valley Of The End. The fight was drawn very well and used the pages, panels and artwork well. Yet when it came to the fight itself was a story in itself using flashbacks well and brings out an emotional end. Yet another thing that I did like was how Mr Kishimoto handled how each member of Team Seven ended up being taught by their respective Legendary Sainin.

[elena brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

damn. finally getting to That naruto/sasuke fight is a milestone for sure. although the i rach i exposition flashbacks broke up the tone a bit, they definitely serve an sow important seeds for later in the series. the choreo and direction for the fight was fantastic. love gaara, kankuro, and temari. shikumaru is still a misogynist. i’m pummmmped for sakura’s evolution. let’s go, on to part 2!!

[omar ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read up to volume;
#27 with an average rating of: ★★★★★ 5/5


queue the emo song amv fight!
I loved this part when it was animated
I didn't know the the final part of volume 27 was that, I remember it being much later on (anime)
ONWARD TO SHIPPUDENT

[Chloé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this volume. I love how this first part of Naruto ends, I love Sasuke and his tragic yet super relatable backstory, and I even enjoyed the Kakashi Chronicles. This is easily my favorite volume of the whole series so far.

[Hailey .F]

this was an amazing book. highly recommend it for people who like action and heartbreaking backstories. Warning: there is blood and gore. over all amazing cant say much without giving the book away. but it is quite sad at moments. just don't get attached to characters.

[Tayshawn Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a anime fan I chose this book purposely because it has two of my favorite anime characters going head to head ( Sasuke and Naruto ) in this battle naruto and sasuke will both battle in their secret forms, the battle was great but the outcome of the battle wouldn't be what u expected.

[Bee (BacchusVines) · Rating 5 out of 5]

These 3 volumes are my FAVORITE volumes out of the entire series. (Not counting ones I have yet to read.)

That NaruSasu drama. Oo, that drama.

[Coral Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first one to bring me close to tears.

[Jeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the battle between Naruto and Sasuke was epic, it also felt a bit drawn out. Though it was nice to see Naruto and Sakura get apprenticeships and some background on Kakashi.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good, everyone survived, Kakashi bavkstory. It was sad but great
Also to see the fourth hokage

[Dryztan Vollmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

good art and very good plot