timepiececlock

I'm up to 330 so it's definitely not in the opening story arc.

It could be that the person I got it from was misinformed, or it could be from very recent chapters that haven't been translated yet, or from something like an interview with the mangaka.

If it's false, that's sad, but I enjoyed the thought for a moment, anyway.

(deleted comment)

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I'll hold onto the joy, but I'm gonna delete the comment before someone gets excited and wants to elaborate on it. :)

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gojira007.livejournal.com

AAGH! I totally suck. I posted that last response by accident; I meant to pare it down to avoid mentioning ANY of the info other than that the "Kakashi as Next Hokage" rumor was, in fact, true, but ended up posting the full thing in the rush to get down to dinner. I am so, SO sorry. :(

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I'll live.

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gojira007.livejournal.com

I still feel kinda sorry (you were wise to delete the offending comment), so here, a little something I found on deviantART:
http://sorceressmyr.deviantart.com/art/Rokudaime-88626234?loggedin=1#

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:laugh: That picture actually started me on the path of doom this morning. I have a watch on the artist, and I immediately had to fav it.

Thank you, though, for that thoughtfulness.

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gojira007.livejournal.com

You're welcome. ^_^

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donna-c-punk.livejournal.com

I know another spoiler for sure, but it isn't that. I need to catch up on the manga. I think the last chapter I read was 350 something.

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I'm at about 330, but I was thinking of catching up soon.

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...huh? I must have missed this in the recent chapters. Kakashi would make an interesting choice. I have been enjoying the manga a lot recently, I wonder how I missed that tidbit.

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To me it confirms the long-held opinion of most fans that "Kakashi is the coolest character and no one is more badass" because what's better than a super strong, super smart good guy character? A super strong, super smart good guy character who's even MORE super strong and smart than we've seen so far, because he hasn't reached his full potential yet. Of the "good" adult characters in the series, the one who's plausible for an endless number of power-ups is Kakashi.

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I never paid that much attention to Kakashi (my favorite characters are Sasuke and Naruto, and the manga usually has one of them around, so I am pretty much always satisfied) but I have heard the theory that Kakashi would become Hokage thrown around a lot before, and it does make sense to me. I would like to see how that would play out!

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jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com

HOSHIT.

*doesn't really follow the storyline, just wants to see what the Kakasaku kids do with this*

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It's a bit odd that my entire participation in the fandom has gradually been reduced to this one tiny corner, so that I forget the rest of the fandom exists, and I think that everyone else who likes Naruto also views things from a Sakura or Kakashi character filter on ff.net.

I mean, I used to read Sakura/Naruto and Shikamaru/Ino and Sasuke/Ino and gen fics and now... almost completely Kakasaku, which ought to be a scandalous fringe pairing but somehow has a thriving colony. I don't even know what other fans think about this pairing, because I hardly ever talk to them. And none of the kakasaku fans give it any thought. It's very different from ATLA fandom.

Then again, kakashi/sakura is a lot less scandalous and bizarre than some of the OTHER pairings out there. Considering. ::is also a member of the tiny but dedicated Kakashi/Kabuto fandom:

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jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com

Well, considering my entire participation in the fandom began with Kakasaku fanfiction (*points accusing finger at you*), it's not so strange for me. Occasionally I watch the dubbed anime, and whenever I come across something in a fic I don't recognize I head over to Wikipedia, but for the most part I'm content to read the fanfic because it's dayumn good. I mean, I like the series on principle--I love how it has such a large cast and they're all well-developed (I LOVE the exams--pairing all the characters together, and you know everyone's stories and what it means to each and every one of them to advance), but I really really can't STAND Naruto himself and I don't have the time/patience to read all the manga or watch all the anime, so I'm content to browse information when I need it.

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I LOVE the exams--pairing all the characters together, and you know everyone's stories and what it means to each and every one of them to advance

To be honest, the wave country arc and the exams arc were my favorite parts of the series, even to date (I've read to chapter 330.)

I really really can't STAND Naruto himself and I don't have the time/patience to read all the manga or watch all the anime, so I'm content to browse information when I need it.

I've heard of other fans who come into the middle or late in the story, or come in by fanfic, and don't like Naruto. From the people I've talked to, there's a very strong correlation there. Most of the fans who watched or read from the beginning, in japanese with subs or in scans of the manga, love Naruto... or at the very least, appreciate and sympathize with him. It's hard not to, considering where he is in the begging of the story, and how much he grows, and how wretched his childhood was, and how much you can tell, especially in the first few story arcs, that Naruto's optimism is real but it's not easy, and while the optimism is real the happiness is often a mask, because this kid has an orphaned childhood that makes Harry Potter's closet under the stairs upbringing seem like the Brady Bunch. He's had to fight so hard for everything that a child should get automatically, for free.

Anyway, I don't want to preach on and on to you. But I do think that if one reads the manga (I'd say that's faster and easier, and better art, if you're starting late) most people are much more positively inclined to Naruto's character. By all rights he *ought* to annoy me because loud and cheerful and determined shonen heroes usually annoy me... but it's impossible for me not to love Naruto. Even when he's annoying (especially because his loudness/annoyance factor is directly linked to a lifetime of neglect and abandonment) I just want to hug him and tell him that everything will be all right. That no matter how people dismiss him or how many friends betray him or how many people he isn't strong enough yet to save, it will be all right, I promise. It will get better. This too will pass.

I am such a big Naruto fan (I LOVE MY BABYNINJAS!...now they're notsobabyninjas...), more than Sakura any day and more than Kakashi too. I mean, Kakashi/Sakura is my fanon kink the way Hermione/Draco is my fanon kink (except better), but in the anime or story itself I root for Naruto first and foremost. It's weird how I separate my view for fan activities to my experience reading or watching canon.

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jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com

I completely understand what you're saying, and intellectually I think I knew all that about Naruto, but I tend to forget it when watching him being really loud and obnoxious (I probably should stop watching the dub). The whole age thing screws with my head too--I forget how dang young he is, and all of them are, because they're so busy beating the crap out of each other and being told they face ALMOST-CERTAIN DOOM and, y'know, they're pre- and young-teenagers. So of COURSE he's naturally going to act like a twelve-year-old, on top of all the crap that happened to him. (Kinda like when Aang pitches a temper-tantrum and I remember that besides being this prodigy bender and such, he's alos a kid.) Who thought that ninja thing was a good idea? Seriously.

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intellectually I think I knew all that about Naruto, but I tend to forget it when watching him being really loud and obnoxious

I think that's where continuity helps a lot.

(I probably should stop watching the dub).

YES. Please, stop. Watch the subs (I like Naruto's VA...the same as Dieter in Monster, also a neglected and abused child), which also has a better voice for Iruka and Kakashi. Or read the manga, where the annoyance is only on paper, and the expressions have more variety and depth.

I've watched the first four or five episodes in the dub, then I quit. I couldn't take it (and usually I *love* dubs-- I am not a subs snob by any means.) Whereas the first 24 episodes (wave arc) of the original cemented my love for Naruto forever. And then came the stuff in the forest, where Orochimaru attacked and everything went to hell in a handbasket... ugh.

*Although, Sasuke in the subs sounds like a full-grown man. ::snicker::

I forget how dang young he is, and all of them are, because they're so busy beating the crap out of each other and being told they face ALMOST-CERTAIN DOOM and, y'know, they're pre- and young-teenagers. So of COURSE he's naturally going to act like a twelve-year-old, on top of all the crap that happened to him. (Kinda like when Aang pitches a temper-tantrum and I remember that besides being this prodigy bender and such, he's alos a kid.)

Yes, you do feel tempted to forget. And in your case you were introduced through fanworks that had the kids in their teenage form or adult forms.

Every time Sasuke pissed me off, I had to keep telling myself "He's only a twelve year old boy." Then he REALLY pissed me off and I gave up caring.

Who thought that ninja thing was a good idea? Seriously.

No kidding. I look at Konoha and the ninja villages as one perpetual recycling tragedy.

This and its important follow-up capture the horror of ninja children pretty completely, in my mind. Because even though it's only a fanfic idea, you KNOW that with a system like this one, this shit had to happen.

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I am such a big Naruto fan (I LOVE MY BABYNINJAS!...now they're notsobabyninjas...)

Oh my gosh, hahaha, I am not the only one who says "babyninjas"! I agree with you totally on that, and all that you said about Naruto.

I feel the same way about Sasuke, much as I know so much of fandom is furious with him, I just cannot help but feel terrible for him and want so much for things to get better for him, for him and for Naruto. I just... they are such young and flawed characters but they TRY and the Sasuke just keeps messing up and choosing the wrong thing and thinking it will finally make it stop for him and it doesn´t and then slowly falling to pieces because of it and aaaugh! I just want the babyninjas to be happy! I want Naruto to save the day and save Sasuke from himself and make everything okay again. If he does (and I believe he will) I will probably cry when I read it.

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With Sasuke I vacillate. I felt for him in the first two major story arcs, but with a discerning eye toward the obvious foreshadowing of Teh Evil Choices. I even felt for chibi!Sasuke in the flashbacks. But mostly I felt sorry that the kid was going to grow up to be such a waste. With the events after the exams and the Akatsuki, I lost my sympathy completely. I don't get sad for the Sasuke that is, I get sad for the Sasuke that was.

I'm at about 350s in the manga as of last night, and Sasuke's not annoying me at the moment. As long as the story isn't trying to make me sympathize with him (I don't) then i don't mind watching him go about his vengeance thing. It's a purely academic interest.

If he does (and I believe he will)

That says everything I feel about Naruto, right there.

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Aaah, man. In the most recent chapters, Sasuke´s been thrown through the shredder. I feel so badly for him right now. I won´t spoil, but... hard times are ahead for Sasuke.

See, I still feel like the Sasuke that was is in there somewhere, and I feel so even more after what´s happened recently. That´s why I feel so bad for him. Sasuke makes things extremely hard for everyone else, but the person he screws over the most is himself. I think Naruto knows that, and that´s part of why it hurts him so much.

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mildmay.livejournal.com

I'm actually going to second Vit here. I used to feel the same way you do about Sasuke. We even talked about it a few times, I think (my journal name used to be ladyjessamyn, I changed it recently. We used to have some interesting conversations when I first got into Naruto). But the recent developments have made me interested in his role in the plot again AND made me sympathize with him again. And I didn't think that was possible.

I'm not saying you'll have the same reaction I did, when you catch up, and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't (a lot of people haven't). Sasuke's a difficult character to like a lot of the time. But. Just stating my personal experience. XD

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sureasdawn.livejournal.com

I had always assumed Kakashi would be the next Hokage, because that would complete the pattern that has been going on since the third was made Hokage. Then Naruto would be the seventh Hokage, which as we know is a lucky number.

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Noooooooooo!

Then he would be doing stuff! He's going to be hanging around the Hokage tower avoiding paperwork. Which, okay, isn't that different, but...

I'm sad Tsunade isn't going to be doing it.

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Don't be sad. I recently passed the chapter where this spoiler is mentioned, and it's more of a future predictive thing than telling us anyone's going to die or retire.

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Okay, good.

..and I just wanted to add, that I don't think he would be a good choice for Hokage for a reason that got stated in a fic and struck me as absolutely right: a Hokage's important people can't all be dead.

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That's true. Though I like to think that Kakashi's circle of important people has been extended the last couple of years. There's a scene (I've don't know if you're there yet) where he carries Naruto's broken body through the rain and you can pretty much feel the angst rolling off him. There's also... well, I think he seems to care about some of his adult peers as well, such as the other genin teachers. It's implied in a general sort of way, and I don't want to go into more detail than that, but I think it's fair to read the implication for what it is-- being that he cares about and wants to protect the people he's working with in the now as well as the past.

I think it could work for him-- because of the conversation you and I had about his similarities to Sakura. About being tied to the village. Kakashi clearly loves and wants to protect the village, and even if he's lost his teacher, or his best friend, the fact that he's one of the most active and respected members of the village shinobi force, and the fact that he's committed to the village in a way that Jeraiya and even probably Tsunade aren't-- I think that's plenty to protect.

Tsunade, when she arrived, had been wandering for years as well and wasn't close to anyone but Shizune, after all.

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You have very good points. ^_^

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um, I know you're spoiled, but I'm trying to straddle the fence here-- give you a little spoilerage to explain, but not so much in detail. I want you to enjoy what surprises you have left.

I just finished it this morning. I like some of where the story is now, other parts I don't like.

Naruto continues to be made of win, and Sasuke went about 60 chapters of NOT annoying me only to start annoying me again for the most recent 403 and 404. It was nice to like him again for a little while.

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