My Heroes

Hello, whoever you are! Welcome to another update.

*~*Chapter 329 Spoilers*~*

Quite frankly, it was fantastic. Seriously, if I loved last week's chapter, then this week's is something I'm willing to marry and have lots of babies with.

We Found Out The Objective Of The Akatsuki Organization.
And it's only fucking world domination! How awesome is that? I mean, gosh ... the world being ruled by nine psychotic bishies? Akatsuki FTW! We finally have confirmation that the Leader's earlier words "our objective ... to aquire the Kyuubi and everything else" were actually literal.

Their plan is so huge, so awesome, so genius. It's actually freakin' complicated! Which is a hell of a lot better than the "grab the beasts and let's break some heads" plan I had expected.

Akatsuki have got to be my favourite villains ever. Forget Orochimaru's shitty little objective to learn all jutsu and see things move; Akatsuki have got it all figured out and take the threat of world domination to a whole new level.

They joined the organization with the promise of their heart's desires:

• Kakuzu --- Lots o' money
• Hidan ---- A captive audience for his sermons
• Kisame -- A ban on shark-hunting
• Itachi ---- Little brothers to traumatize
• Sasori ---- To become a real boy
• Deidara -- To open an exploding art school
• Zetsu ----- Save the rainforests
• BlueHair - A new range of hair products
• Leader --- Sit on an imperious throne in the shadows

I guess Orochimaru quit when he found out that the other members weren't going to let him set up a whore house of little boys.

Hidan is officially the most badass member. He showed the Akatsuki Leader extreme disrespect. The best part is that the cocky little bastard can't be killed, so he has nothing to fear from bad-mouthing the Leader. It should be clear to all of us by now that Hidan is loyal only to his religion of Jashin and despises the worship people shower over money.

Hidan is acting as the same kind of n00b Naruto is for Team Kakashi. He needs things spelled out for him, for the benefit of us readers at home.

Oh yeah, Naruto's got a plan for how to develop his new jutsu. Seriously though, until Naruto's facing off against an Akatsuki member, I'm not going to be interested in him. Gomen, my dear Naruto. My love for Naruto is as strong as ever but because I love Akatsuki as well I can't wait to see them meet again.

It seems like it will happen soon too. Six days until the Nibi is sealed... It's possible that Naruto could have completed his jutsu by then. Maybe there is a possibility that he could save Yugito, or at least arrive in time to see her die and then get very pissed off. Still, we have no idea how and where Naruto's next encounter with Akatsuki will be. I wonder if they'll come to him, or he to them.

We got to see the silhouette of the unknown blue-haired member. I'm now certain that it's a girl.

It's all so brilliant. The story is getting so damn good, all of a sudden. Next chapter will probably be where Konoha finds out about Asuma's death. It should be a good one.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I've been reminiscing with Team 7 for the past week. Ah, for those good old days when Team 7 was orange, pink and navy blue. Yes, I miss those days when Naruto and Sasuke were actually friends.

Of course, I love how everything is going and I realise that having Sasuke leave Konoha behind certainly added a huge new dimension to the story ... still, it would be nice if one day Team 7 could be together again. The below manga page portrays what I really love about Team 7 - the love, the pain and the rivalry.

I set aside a few minutes to write a fanfic based around Team 7. Actually, it's more of an insight into the characters, from Sakura's POV.
Title: My Heroes
Warnings: Part Two Spoilers
Summary: A One-Shot from Sakura's POV describing her feelings for Naruto and Sasuke.
Alt. Archive: FanFiction.Net
Hope you enjoy! It's my best One-Shot so far, methinks.

Anyways, I'll be seeing you again next Thursday, with another update here at the Nest.
Peace out!

Team Ten

Late update due to the lateness of the release of chapter 328. But now it's here, I can fill this post with sweet spoilers!

*~*Naruto Manga Chapter 328 Spoilers*~*

Yup, it was sad. I can only imagine how sad the episode of that chapter will be, with 'Sadness and Sorrow' or 'Grief and Sorrow' playing in the background. Didn't make me cry, it takes certain things to make me cry, but god it was sad. In fact, I can't believe he's gone! o_O

The Fallen Cigarette

Team Ten have lost their Jounin instructor! There's no more smoking Asuma! Damn... Only thing left to do now is save his body from being taken into the bounty station by Kakuzu.

I know I said I didn't want a chapter of hospital angst as Asuma recovered. But this angst was more than acceptable. Kishimoto did a fine job with the unseen flashbacks to fill in the gaps we hadn't seen of Team Ten. We've finally seen some actual development on the supporting characters, who up to now have been neglected in Part Two.

I have to say, I was 50/50 on the whole Asuma-will-die thing. Even after last week's chapter where it was found that Asuma was still alive, I was still unsure as to how long he'd live for. On the one hand, he could've been killed immediately, end of story. But in retrospect, it seems only right that he had time to say some last words to his team.

Still no idea who "King" is, though maybe that's because I'm being a little dense. It could be that Asuma and Kurenai are having a baby ... or it could be any number of other things. I guess we shall wait and see.

I wonder how everyone else will take the news. Kakashi and Kurenai will understandably be really upset. What about Naruto? He will know he is (maybe) the reason Hidan and Kakuzu are coming to Konoha, and know that Asuma died in an attempt to keep the Akatsuki away from him.

Everyone in Konoha is going to want some major revenge on Akatsuki. Next chapter looks interesting too:

I wonder if there'll be a funeral. I don't expect they hold those big, whole village funerals for just any Shinobi, but maybe there'll be an exception for Asuma.

And when the hell are all of Naruto's friends going to find out that he is the reason Akatsuki are coming to Konoha? It has to happen sooner or later. Of course, Hidan and Kakuzu may be after a different Jinchuuriki, who's to say Naruto isn't still Itachi and Kisame's assignment?

Next chapter will probably be another sad one, or perhaps an Akatsuki chapter. As usual, we have to wait another week for the next piece of the story. What a sad and reflective week it will be, I will never look at Asuma in the same way. Rest In Peace, Asuma-sensei.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

As usual, I have some stuff to share this week. And I am determined not to rant about fillers never ending, because it's troublesome and you can get more than enough of filler rants over on Naruto Forums.

If you're dying for some yaoi-flavoured Naruto crack, check out Chapter 97 Mistranslation (aka Gaara's Porn Star Past) by 7dragon_zodiac. It is definitely the funniest mistranslated chapter I've seen, though I haven't seen many. There should be more!

My friend Sasha is obsessed with DeiTobi. She linked me to this adorable little flash movie last week - Tobi got slapped by rubydawg.

Well, it's my half-term holiday week now, so I'll have all week to explore the fandom. Heh heh! I'm thinking of starting work on a Naruto Links List, which will be an extra post. Anyway, I'll be back with another post next week, right now I'm off to NF to read theories. Later!

Sasuke's Confession

Welcome to my blog, and another Thursday update!

*~*Ch327 Spoilers*~*

Chapter 327 was brilliant, thus it certainly seemed too short. I loved every page of this chapter, and I just wished to God it wouldn't end. I am certainly dying for next week's chapter; obviously I'm becoming impatient.

Eww...

The back-up team's rescue of the supporting Chuunins and Shikamaru was pretty cool. Actually, when I first saw those crows flying out of nowhere, I thought they were all in an Itachi genjutsu!

I'm equal parts pleased and irked that Asuma is still alive. There's still more we need to know about him and Kurenai, so it's good that he has a greater chance of survival now. But it is also a bit disappointing that there wasn't a dramatic character death. A death is just the thing we need to start taking Akatsuki and the other villains more seriously. It would add the right tone to the story.

It was brilliant that we got to see the Akatsuki Leader again.
EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to talk about AL's face! Seeing the bottom half of his face sure has caused a lot of shock. After all, from the picture it appears that he has some kind of beard and nose piercings ... or maybe they're holes. Whatever. Either way, he looks pretty darn funky. So now we know he has ginger hair, black dots on either side of his nose, and maybe a beard. He's truly a freak worthy of Akatsuki!

I'm hoping for another chapter with a full Biju extraction. I so do love to see all my favourites villains together. Heh heh!

Next week we'll probably just get another boring 'in-the-hospital' chapter, with loads of worried faces taking up every damn page. I could be wrong though, something really cool or amazing could happen. Who knows?

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Want to hear something funny and totally cute? Sasuke's Revamped Confession by naturalgrace uses the music from Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, and the love confession by Sugiyama Noriaki, Sasuke's voice actor.
You can download the original confession here - :::OH! NARUTO NIPPON::: - scroll down to #13. It also has the translation there. By the way, before any newbs get the wrong idea, Sasuke never says this in the anime, his VA was asked to do it on a Japanese radio show.

To be honest, I've been neglecting SasuNaru recently. I'm in full ItaNaru-fangirl mode. However, I have found a very awesome SasuNaru fanfic - Sticks and Stones by lunabasketcase. Yes, it's an AU, highschool fic, but give it a chance! Trust me, you won't regret it. This story really draws you into the world the writer has created for the characters, and it has some truly touching moments. It's also totally badass! After all, you don't see cage-fighting in many fanfics.

My current desktop by Crystal-EXE

I'll be back again next week. Here's hoping for some serious Akatsuki awesomeness in the next chapter. See ya!

By the way, there are major spoilers in the comments on this post.

Index of Manga

I am aware that chapter 326 was released yesterday, instead of the usual Thursday. However, I couldn't be bothered composing an update last night, I was really tired for some reason.

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 326*~*

This chapter shocked me. Things actually happened! Like, some real action for the first time since the Naruto - Sasuke reunion.

To be honest, I was expecting the entire chapter to be comprised of Kakuzu carrying Hidan's head, Hidan reattaching his head, and Team Asuma staring on in horror, perhaps planning a hasty escape. Instead, those things happened in the first six pages, and then the whole chapter erupted into violent action!

And just look at this:-

That is the face of a doomed man.

Personally, I believe that Asuma's death is more likely than his survival, this time. Not only have all the clues been pointing to this, but it would be rather lame if Kishimoto were to save him twice in the space of a few chapters.

Then again, I do have a feeling that we're about to have something wholly unexpected sprung on us pretty soon. Surely Kishimoto can't go back to the boring training chapters, if events like this have taken place.

Yea gods, a week is too long to wait for the next chapter...

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I have plenty to share this week.

First, here's something for those of us who've been keeping up-to-date on the Naruto manga - Friend in Tobi - an adorable and hilarious flash movie by Puffsagain. It's about Deidara and his clingy new partner (Tobi) to the Toy Story song "You've Got a Friend in Me". It also features the other Akatsuki members briefly.

A page from the manga

I found another uselful website, like last week's Worg Den! This time it's an Index of Naruto Manga. You can read all of the chapters so far on this site, and it's easy to find a page for reference. It's kept updated, and is definitely useful for reading the older chapters. After all, who would want to download all of them? I've a whole new appreciation of the manga after reading several of the earliest chapters here.

I found a great Japanese fansite, with loads of Naruto and Akatsuki fanart:-

Click on on the image to view the site

This site has actually helped me to discover the joys of SasoNaru, KisaNaru and DeiNaru.

Thus, I found myself a DeiNaru fanfic - The Thing About Art by Letta. It's well-written, funny, and definitely worth a read. It's a one-shot so you can read it in one sitting.

By the way, I've updated the AMV Archive, and it now has a banner, which will appear in the side-bar. -->

I'm hoping fillers will be over before Christmas, it would be an even greater season for me if the Part Two anime finally began... Though I'm not optimistic. But here's a bit of optimism for you - it's a good thing that the fillers are lasting so long. It means that we'll have less need of stupid filler arcs during Part Two.

Come back again next week. In the mean time, be sure to check out the AMV Archive and my Fic Rec List; they've both been recently updated.

Better Late than Never

Hello!

Yes, I know this post is a day late, but it wasn't intended that way. I had almost finished this post when I left the room for the toilet. My younger brother, being the annoying little turd he is, wandered into my room, shut down my Firefox window, and left without saying a word. I'm sure he did it unintentionally; he hates to see me furious, but even so... Why is he such an idiot?

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 325*~*

I'm a little disappointed. Rather than the interesting step-by-step strategy we have come to expect from Shikamaru, he merely forced Hidan out of his circle, thus breaking the curse, and leaving Hidan open to have his head lobbed off by Asuma.

I mean, whoop-dee-fuckin'-doo! Sure, the gore was cool, but the plan was so ... mundane. A bit of a let down, considering I was awaiting some amazing display of pure genius.

Nevertheless, Kakuzu, Asuma and the supporting Chuunins were deeply impressed by Shikamaru's insight.

High praise, indeed, from this stingy bastard.

Even Hidan was surprised by Shikamaru's quick thinking, and appeared anxious.

I must admit, I whispered "No!" when I saw the dramatic beheading of Hidan. I was worried that it was the end of him. Needless to say, when I saw his head was still talking I was relieved, if a little grossed-out ... and also laughing my ass off.

This is priceless.

I don't want any of the Akatsuki to die yet, and I have a feeling they won't, seeing as how nine members are needed for the Organization's plan to work. We still haven't seen what they're up to, and Naruto hasn't genuinely fought against them yet. Remember, Sasori only died to make way for Tobi, who I believe is to be pivotal to the story. None of the others are likely to die before more is revealed, or Naruto has been captured.

In any case, I no longer have any fear of Hidan or Kakuzu dying any time soon. Team Asuma, on the other hand... Well, I guess we'll just to have and see if any of them die. Shikamaru won't, that's for damn sure.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Though I've been giving the Naruto fandom a rest for the last two weeks, I've been watching the odd episode at The Worg Den. It's a site with every fansubbed episode of Naruto available by YouTube embed, in a drop-down menu. Meaning that searching for a fansubbed episode on YouTube is something you don't have to worry about, it's easier to watch the episodes from this site. So check it out, un.

I hate to bring up the subject of fillers again (I really do) but I was thinking earlier that when the fillers end it will be my first time watching an animation based on a manga I've already read. I'll be able to compare each episode, the script, to the manga chapters, which I think will be very interesting. The closest I've ever come to that is the Harry Potter movies, but those are so compressed and cut-down due to the fact that they can only fit about 20% of the story into each movie, without it ending up 20 hours long.

Now for some fansites. Today I present to you three Japanese sites, one with doujinshi, one with some colourful Naruto fanart, and the other with really awesome Naruto gifs.

The first is omotemanga, a site with some brilliant Sakura-based doujinshi. The art is so similar to Kishimoto's style, and the stories, though all in Japanese, are very cute.

Example of omotemanga.

Next is yonabeya. Some very vibrant Naruto fanart can be found here, some of them shounen-ai.

Example of yonabeya.

Finally, VIENTO is the site with the Naruto gifs. You may have seen some of these gifs around the Internet before, but here's where they came from.

Example of VIENTO gifs.

Must be finishing this off now; I'll update again next Thursday.

Have a good weekend!

Uzumaki-Fangirl

Hello, random blog readers! I bring another spoiler-packed, Naruto-based update.

*~*Spoilers for Manga Chapter 324*~*

Wow, what a long manga series...

Not much action this time.

The supporting Chuunins stared in astonishment/horror. Shikamaru stared in shock/horror. Hidan, whose good looks have mysteriously diminished, laughed maniacally. Asuma looked suitably worried. Kakuzu got a hard-on thinking about all the money he'd soon have.

Asuma charged Hidan with his chakra blade. Hidan stabbed his own leg, which caused Asuma to fall to the ground in pain.

The team finally figured out that Asuma and Hidan were connected somehow. Well done, boys! Now count to 10.

Hidan moved to stab himself once again, a wound that would be fatal to Asuma, but Shikamaru used his Kage Shibari no Jutsu to freeze Hidan's movements.

The supporting Chuunins mentioned that reinforcements would be arriving in about 10 minutes.

Shikamaru, knowing that his jutsu could not last long against Hidan, started analysing the situation, thinking a plan through step by step.

Kakuzu offered to kill the team, unable to put up with the idea of all that sexy money getting away. Hidan, however, told him to stay out of it again, confident in his ability to destroy the Konoha team.

Shikamaru, having mapped out a strategy or 200, opened his eyes dramatically. Asuma and the supporting Chuunins knew immediately that the genius had a plan.

What that plan is, we'll have to wait another week to find out.

It seems a little sudden for any of the characters to die yet. Asuma has more to reveal yet, I'm sure.

And Hidan and Kakuzu are important to Akatsuki's plans, so surely neither of them will be killed off yet? I always thought that Akatsuki would only start falling apart after Naruto was captured and the Kyuubi almost-but-not-quite extracted.

Then again, the manga could be going in many directions, which makes most predictions pretty unreliable. I guess we'll just have to wait and see... Though I really hope no-one dies yet!

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

I've been going through another Uzumaki-fangirl stage recently. Obviously, he's always been my favourite character, but sometimes I obsess over him exclusively for a couple of days. It's probably because I've been missing him in the manga, so to make up for it, I've been looking for him elsewhere.

So, desperate for some Naruto fanart, I visited the Naruto FC's PhotoBlog, which contains over 1,000 images of my favourite blond boy. You should definitely have a look through it, but if you have a slow connection (specifically dial-up) then don't bother, because the page does take a while to load, having so many image thumbnails.

The website of Soraya Recio is most awesome. Her gallery by itself is impressive, but she also has AMVs, a ton of links, the Naruto font download, and many other cute things. The site isn't all in English, but it's very easy to navigate.

Example of Soraya Recio's Art

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back again next Thursday.
Have a nice week! ^_^

Neutrality

Yosh! Another update is here. Today I will be discussing various, convoluted issues concerning the story and themes of Naruto... Just kidding!

*~*Spoilers for Chapter 323*~*

What was it I said last week? "...the next chapter, when we get to see the team's horrified reaction to Hidan's invincibility!" And sure enough:-

*snerk*

Kakuzu snuck up on Shikamaru, and almost smashed him to a pulp, but the lucky bastard dodged. Whew!

Hidan and Kakuzu both recognised Asuma as another of the 12 Guard Ninjas of Fire. Kakuzu probably can't believe his luck, he's outside a bounty station, facing a man with five million more on his head than the guy he's just handed in. Hidan agrees that Kakuzu can have all of the money, if he gets to kill them in his 'ceremony'.

Asuma swiftly devised another attack plan, focusing first on Hidan. The plan involved Asuma lobbing Hidan's head off, while Shikamaru held him still with his technique, and the supporting chuunins acted as backup (naturally).

Hidan then began talking about how Team Asuma would soon be tasting the wrath of God.

Justice Shall Be Done!

Before the team had the chance to get their plan into action, Hidan managed to start his ceremony. So when Asuma Katoned his ass with a fire jutsu, the pain and damage inflicted upon Hidan was felt equally by Asuma.

Hidan then revealed what some in the fandom are calling his 'reaper' form to the horrified team. Announcing that Asuma's fate was now sealed.

I've got to say, things look bleak for the team. Can Shikamaru hold Hidan back from stabbing himself? Perhaps. Can Kotetsu and Izumo behead Hidan? No. Sorry, but it's just not happening. Will Kakuzu just stand there and watch all this unfold? Maybe. Either way the Konoha team are screwed.

*~*End of Spoilers*~*

Remember I said that fillers may end in October, with the 90-minute episode coming up? Apparently I was right to be thoroughly sceptical. Turns out that there's good evidence to suggest that it's merely a 90-minute filler. Three episodes in one or something. I'm still not watching fillers, so I won't be seeing it. I'd really love to see Part 2 animated, but alas, it seems that we're in for a long wait.

I no longer ship Naruto in the canon storyline. In other words; I don't care who Naruto ends up with, if he ever does. Seeing as how I ship him with practically everyone in the series, I figured what's the point of worrying over which pairing gets the most canon support? And since I don't care who Naruto gets with, I couldn't care less who the rest of them pair off with either.

Seriously, Sasuke and Sakura can get married and have twelve children, if that's what they want. Naruto can stay a hot virgin forever, which is fine with me. I am neutral. Just give me my daily smutfiction and I'll be content with anything. Heh heh!

Psst! Wanna see an amusing ItaNaru flash movie?
ItaNaru Flash by ShadowBee.

See you again next week!