Alright, finally returning to forums for the first time in who knows how long, a plan I've been slow to put into action, mostly due to the sheer fact that Kishimoto's last page took me completely off guard. Certainly, we were all expecting the Akatsuki to be reanimated for this war, the Jinchuuriki were a bit of a surprise but believable, and the Kage's, while a little more surprising, were still just surprise and something I could nod my head at and go, "Okay."
However, that last page?... Haku, Zabuza, Chiyo, Kimimaro, Hanzo, Asuma, Hizashi, DAN?... Some of the last people I ever expected. On one hand, I find it... thrilling in a way to see these characters again, and to see the Jinchuuriki playing actual roles in a way that we can see them as well, come to think of it. On the other, I still have difficulty comprehending these people that Kishimoto has pulled out for this war. It's... I don't even know what it is. The only thing I can manage is a wry grin when recalling that Haku has scored very high on many of the popularity polls, including Shippuden ones, even though he only hung around for one arc.
On another note, I really did like this chapter. We finally saw Sasuke again, even if it was only for a page, which is unsurprising considering that this marks the beginning of the "War Arc," I suppose you could call it. I really am curious to see what pattern his eyes are and what reaction, if any, he will have towards the knowledge that not only has Kabutomaru joined their forces, but that of seeing his "brother" again, for as shown by Deidara, they do in fact retain their personality. It will certainly be interesting, I think.
I will definitely admit that I am disappointed by the lack of Kisame amongst the corpses. However, that may be due to the fact that, as far as I can recall, none of them are aware of Kisame's death yet.
All in all, I look forward to next chapter and don't think it can come any sooner. Lol.
