Naruto ch501

B.A.M.F.

「 501 – The Nine-Tails Strikes 」Kushina’s flashback into the family’s tragic past continues as Madara now holds Naruto hostage, leaving Minato stuck between the safety of his beloved wife or his newborn child. How does the Yondaime handle such a horrific situation?

Naruto「 ナルト 」

D'awwwww

Chapter 501 – The Nine-Tails Strikes
Read Online @ MANGASTREAM

Unforgivable. A five week break? Who the hell do you think you are? Did you know that so much has happened since you last reviewed something? Remember how you said that this training arc was a failure? Well how is it now? Good enough for you yet? Before my mind wanders off further, I’d just like to say that I’m back in the mix, and I can finally start cranking up the weekly manga chapters once more. Thank god for teammates huh? I wonder how barren this place would be without my hardworking colleagues. Makes me feel embarrassed to sit back and enjoy the World Cup (viva Espana!) from a vacation (not to mention those pesky pokemans). All that hard work and I wasn’t even able to help…. o well, tough cookies.

So onto this chapter, as well as the past few. Wow. It’s like the whole Motoi nightmare was just a distant memory. From Naruto kicking Kyuubi ass in the alternate world, to the revelation of his mum Kushina seemingly out of nowhere, there was no way anyone could have predicted how these things would play out. And to top it off a flashback to show how this whole manga even began. Epic. Before I get into my thoughts for this chapter though, I’d just like to get this out of the way: Kushina is a proper milf.

Imagine giving birth to that S.O.B.

First thing I noticed about the chapter was how fast it went. Just as I was really getting into it, amped up watching Minato put on his Yondaime pimp robe and ready for some Kyuubi ass kicking, the chapter abruptly ends. I guess that was just how invested I was into the chapters story, since I reckoned it was very engaging. We are finally getting to the events that started the whole manga first hand, play by play, rather than having some old fellow casually reminisce about that fateful night. Since this night alone sent so many innocent people to their deaths, as well as countless others hurt in one way or another, the story would need to be epic to live up to 500 chapters and 10 years worth of hype. Judging by this chapter, it’s getting along swimmingly.

Not only did we see Minato acting all badass with his heroics, we also see how cold and conniving Madara really is, as well as the scope of how fearsome the Kyuubi really is in full flight. He looks much bigger than when Naruto put it in its place a few chapters ago, and much more menacing too under the influence of Madara. Minato is evidently the star of this flashback since we are getting the story through his eyes mostly. That’s where it gets quite sad, since we all know how the story ends for both him and Kushina. After everything that goes through in this chapter, the fact that he kept his cool after having so many obstacles thrown at him is just crazy. While it was hinted at before that childbirth would be the event where everything could go wrong, who would’ve thought that all this would happen, on the day which was supposed to be the young couples happiest moment.

The fact that Kushina did not die after having the pain of both childbirth and having Kyuubi ripped from her body shows how strong her will and bloodline really is. She probably won’t live long after this but I think she may live long enough to put the finishing touches on Minato’s Shiki Fuujin seal, allowing for a part of her to be released whenever Kyuubi gets too far. The possibility of having a scene where both her and Minato lying dead beside baby Naruto leads to a very powerful moment, which has me applauding Kishi for some of the things he did here.

Powerful stuff

Kishi did a great job with some of the panels in the chapter, especially on most of the silent ones. The one that stood out to me the most was where Kushina hugs Naruto for the first and possibly last time, with a saddened Minato realizing that his dreams of starting a new family dashed. Losing his beautiful wife, baby and possibly his own life, it’s insane that he managed to keep sane long enough to create a plan and put things in motion where his son would be the one to avenge his and Kushina’s death in the future, as well as throwing a wrench into Madara’s plans (all the while saving his village from greater damage). This scene was comparable to Jiraiya’s death, as well as Itachi’s secret revelation to Sasuke. It may not hold true for others, but I for one thought that it was a powerful image, especially with the knowledge that this is where things turn for the worse for the Uzumaki family.

Hearing this story makes me wonder about how Naruto will receive all this. We know that he won’t be taking the vengeance path like Sasuke, but the magnitude of this flashback must have some adverse effect on his mentality, at least for the one moment. And having to say goodbye to his mother not long after having all this dropped on him, it must be very tough. Knowing Naruto, he will probably find his own way of spinning things to his advantage but still, this may be a catalyst for his progress.

The last panel of Itachi and Sasuke was a surprise, since at the time, Itachi would only be five years old. What significance his appearance in this chapter might be, I don’t know but I think it might have played a part in him developing his undying loyalty to Konoha. Events like this can stay with a person for a very long time, changing their outlooks on life, much like how the Uchiha massacre changed Sasuke. Maybe seeing the deaths in Konoha due to the Kyuubi changed enough in him to be the man he was. This may also be the first time he sees Madara, leading him to believe that he is not trustworthy, possibly thinking that a fellow Uchiha had a hand in the whole mess. Maybe this is why he wasn’t too concerned with his mission of massacring his whole family. I wonder how Sasuke would take to the news that Madara was the one who instigated the whole Kyuubi attack. He has had his doubts in the past about Madara but I’m pretty sure knowing of these events would change his perception somewhat, maybe even leading him to change sides again in the future?

Stabbing a newborn is just cold, dude

Either way, you can clearly see that I thought this was a great chapter, albeit one that played out pretty quickly. The flashback is pretty good so far and the whole Kyuubi taming thing was done much better than I thought. And with Minato now gearing up for his Madara/Kyuubi ass-kicking, I can’t wait for next week, even though we all know how the song ends. Oh, and there’s also that little thing about Naruto’s new powers that I’m just itching to see. (Btw, who else though that the chapter cover this week was super cute and adorable?)

/ 3 Commentsleave a comment /

• Kyokai says:

  July 11, 2010

  Lol, welcome back!

  This was awesomely epic. I always wanted to find out more about Minato and Kushina and my wish was granted at the least expected time.

  Reply
  • Bass says:

    July 11, 2010

    I know!

    Minato is such a badass, even under such horrible circumstances. I feel sorry for him and Kushina to have to go through this on such an occasion.

    Reply
    • Kyokai says:

      July 13, 2010

      I can only hope for Naruto to inherit flash step from his father. That would be one awesome whammy for whiny-Sasuke! xD

      Reply