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Naruto [ナルト] #38

NARUTO -ナルト- 巻ノ三十八

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新術発動ッ!! 四代目火影でさえ、成し得なかったナルトの風遁・螺旋手裏剣が角都を打ち砕く…! 一方、大蛇丸を襲うサスケ。生死をかけた師弟の戦いは非情さを増し…。果たしてサスケの中に残るのは――!?

192 pages, コミック

First published June 1, 2007

147 people are currently reading
1397 people want to read

About the author

Masashi Kishimoto

1,202 books3,975 followers
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.

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5 stars
3,222 (52%)
4 stars
1,774 (29%)
3 stars
933 (15%)
2 stars
136 (2%)
1 star
27 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
Profile Image for Ola G.
521 reviews52 followers
June 3, 2022
5/10 stars

So, it would've been much better if we just focused on Naruto. Alas, for the half of this volume we get to see Special Snoflake Sasuke making his move. While dispatching Orochimaru is quite laudable, the later efforts at making a new team were mostly an exercise for my eyes - they're sore from rolling.
I get that Kishimoto can't have great ideas all the time, maybe not even good ideas all the time, but the new team of Sasuke looks suspiciously similar to the old team. A terribly irritating female in desperate love with Sasuke? Check. An apparently lazy guy with white hair and a strange sense of humour? Check. And a sweet guy with a monster lurking inside - check, check, check!

Naruto's battle was cool, though. Otherwise that would've gotten one star :P.
Profile Image for Leigh Ann Higgins.
139 reviews
July 22, 2014
At this point in the series, I'm not sure if this is a reread for me. I'm guessing it's not because I only remember watching the anime at this part.

Sigh. So we meet Karin in this volume. She's such an annoying female character. Hopefully she dies soon.

It's also kind of heartbreaking to see Sasuke forming a new team and not just because it's replacing Naruto and Sakura. It's because he remembers the first lesson Kakashi taught him; TEAMWORK.

*sobs violently*
Profile Image for Roya.
756 reviews162 followers
June 24, 2024
عجب گیری کردیما.
ده دقیقه‌ استراحتِ بین درساتو میای سمت ناروتو، این بچه اینقدرررر تلاش میکنه و تسلیم نمیشه که آدم شرم میکنه و مانگا رو رها میکنه برمی‌گرده سرِ درس و مشقش.🤡💔
Profile Image for Mary.
472 reviews92 followers
December 24, 2015
I can understand that Sasuke would be annoying if this is going to CONSTANTLY happen, but really, I feel like this is about what it's like to have hatred consume you. It's a powerful force and in a manga, it's even more so. I don't understand right now why so many dislike Naruto and Sasuke. Because right now, I see two young adults who've undergone terrible traumas that have warped them.

Naruto is moving past it, Sasuke is driving himself into the past.
Profile Image for Kulwinder Singh.
580 reviews101 followers
June 14, 2021
"𝘼 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙎𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡, 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙠𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙮𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙣𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩... 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮... 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙣𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙬𝙠... 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙠𝙮!"

Well, this volume was super boring. I breezed through it within an hour or so. Naruto finished Kakuzu with only a single Jutsu and here I thought the fight might drag on for some time. The fight scene between Orochimaru and Sasuke was a total let-down! I'm really disappointed!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Viridian5.
944 reviews11 followers
October 12, 2014
If not for the Sasuke parts, I would've given this a higher rating. I really don't care about Sasuke, which can be a problem for me in this series....
Profile Image for Alexana.
140 reviews112 followers
May 6, 2024
Sasuke that outfit is not all that you think it is please.
Give this man his old clothes or at least something similar like Naruto’s new version of his old clothes 😭
Profile Image for T.R. Preston.
Author 6 books187 followers
July 12, 2023
God, I love team Hebi (Who later becomes Taka). I think they work so well with Sasuke's character. They stand as an interesting narrative contrast to Team 7.

Sasuke is so damn cool all the time. He even sleeps cool. You can tell Kishimoto loves him, because he makes Sasuke the baddest man alive no matter what he is doing. His fight with Orochimaru is gold. Sasuke used Orochimaru to make him stronger, then disposed of him when the time came for his body to become Orochimaru's newest vessel. I wish people wouldn't overlook how much everything that happened after Sasuke left the village has gone according to HIS plan. Sasuke is far from dumb. He played Orochirmau for a fool and gained a massive power-up in the process.

I remember when I was a kid everyone would talk about how stupid Sasuke was for just giving himself over to Orochimaru. Who's laughing now? He knew what he was doing. Team Sasuke til I die. Damn you all.
Profile Image for Lashaan Balasingam.
1,478 reviews4,622 followers
March 9, 2020
This volume is split in two. The first part brings to a conclusion the battle with Kakuzu as Naruto showcases his latest move, despite giving an overall less-than-stellar tactical strategy...

The second part brings Sasuke into the spotlight as he finally confronts Orochimaru and then goes on a recruitment mission, introducing us to Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo.

Things seemed to be a bit too accelerated in this arc but the swiftness of execution seems to speak to the incredible evolution of our two legendary rivals. It remains to be seen if things to come will be as exciting as everyone hopes it to be.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
Profile Image for Angela Auten.
Author 6 books135 followers
July 31, 2021
Naruto defeats Kakuzu with the Rasenshuriken. His new move. It completely destroys the nerves in Kakuzu's body. He dies as a result of Naruto's jutsu. Sasuke also kills Orochimaru in this volume. He absorbs him into his own body. Then he sets free Suigetsu. He also recruits Karin. Now he wants to pick up Jugo. Jugo is the one that started the curse mark. He wanted to control his urge to kill people. So Jugo had gone to Orochimaru willingly. This was a fun volume. I can't wait to read the next one during the Japanese Readathon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bellatrix.
96 reviews12 followers
October 29, 2018
This was really good, too. I liked the intrigue with Naruto's jutsu and the consequences it has on his body, because it showed one more time Naruto's will and the way Kakashi worries, but at the same time trusts him.

I have to admit that I really don't like Sasuke, but I think he was awesome in this manga. The things he said to Orochimaru, the way he showed him he had no more power over him and how he killed him in the end, using Orochimaru's own made-up world to do it. It was also the first time I saw Sasuke transformed with the curse, and it was sooo cool.

I'm very intrigued about Jugo - what is he going to do when they free him?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for DonutKnow.
3,332 reviews48 followers
March 26, 2022
How is Sasuke so effortlessly powerful?!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Bradley.
Author 9 books4,872 followers
August 5, 2015
You know that scene we've all be hoping and dreading? The one where Orochimaru consumes Sasuske? It happens here.

The brevity of the fight scene, the totatlity of the success, (or lack thereof,) left me speechless and in awe. Could it be that Sasuke has become an ultimate bad ass? Very likely. Or maybe Orochimaru was just too weakened at that point in time.

It was probably that.
Profile Image for Mit.
40 reviews50 followers
March 4, 2017
What a bunch of rubbish and annoying characters.
Profile Image for Alexis.
663 reviews329 followers
March 26, 2021
I'm a simple human. Across the board, I love all shark teeth weirdos from the water lands.
Profile Image for Michael Sorbello.
Author 1 book316 followers
September 15, 2020
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.
Profile Image for Travis.
852 reviews6 followers
April 21, 2017
The battle with Kakuzu comes to a close when Naruto performs his Ultimate Jutsu. After the grueling battle with the Immortal Duo it is time for the Konoha ninja to take a break and rest before the Akatsuki make there next move. However Kakashi, Yamato, and Tsunade figure out that Naruto's new Jutsu is not only powerful but extremely dangerous and to be never used again. Sasuke on the other hand finally makes his move against Orochimaru. He also sets out to form a team that will make his plans move along faster.
Profile Image for Fabiola.
136 reviews14 followers
June 10, 2023
"Come può un serpente che striscia a terra sognare di volare? Impossibile. Hai voluto dare la caccia ad un pulcino nel nido, finendo però preda di un falco adulto che adesso spiccherà il volo."
Sasuke a Orochimaru

Un tuffo nel passato con questo numero di Naruto preso in fumetteria in preda ad un momento di nostalgia. Disegni spettacolari.
Profile Image for Libbie.
1,310 reviews13 followers
October 24, 2025
Genuinely can't be bothered to write individual reviews for this series. I never watched this as a kid I don't have the childhood nostalgia or pull to it. It's another very popular/iconic manga series that whilst I can see why some people like it my feelings are very neutral and nothing I say is truly adding to it so....

Read
Profile Image for Kaoyi .
266 reviews
March 29, 2019
Orochimaru fuera de fuego, es increíble lo fuerte que se ha hecho Sasuke. ¿Que pasara ahora?
Profile Image for Lindsay.
3,041 reviews95 followers
April 25, 2021
A fun battle in the beginning, the a "getting the band together" montage.
Profile Image for K.
1,378 reviews1 follower
June 30, 2024
Okay this wasn’t bad. We weren’t pining for Sasuke. But Sasuke was building a team which was cool.
Profile Image for Téyo.
220 reviews1 follower
April 10, 2025
J’oublie toujours la facilité avec laquelle Sasouke a détruit Orochimaru purée
Profile Image for Lauralee.
243 reviews3 followers
May 11, 2025
A lot has been brought to the surface from this and the previous Volume, from jutsus to the origin of the curse mark that was placed on Sasuke.
Profile Image for Soul.
253 reviews33 followers
July 5, 2011
I must say it is and it will forever be(fingers crossed) my favorite Manga novel read.

the way Masashi Kishimoto described the characters is just awesome, you get to see them growing up, becoming responsible... powerful...

and it is not just characters,

The plot itself is so much bigger... u simply can't get enough of it. and add to that,

u get more than just entertainment, you learn...
what is
responsibility,
respect,
kindness,
friendship...

so it is not just a manga it is a way of living... The sprite of never giving up!!!

NARUTO!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews

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