Re: The Final Villian we all missed. How he's been hiding right under our "noses"
Indeed, introducing the Shinju backstory of how humanity stole its powers and allowing Madara again to usurp that power goes against the morally didactic theme Kishi had introduced.
Madara not being the "final villain" is definitely something you and me seem to agree on. I understand he has many fans and many are expecting him to be the final pillar, but the story simply hasn't been written that way. Obviously, we could be wrong, but as you say, Madara has no relationship with Naruto and his main opposition has always been Hashirama, some one who himself isn't even tied that closely with Naruto. Another character we can eliminate is Orochimaru. Orochimaru does not embody the "cycle of hatred" that Kishi has been eluding to through every villain. It is obviously the point he is trying to get across that, "one must end the cycle" in order to change the world instead of perpetuating it. Defeating Orochimaru, in any scenario, would have almost absolutely nothing to do with "hate" or "revenge", it wouldn't make sense for him to be the final villain. Sasuke is the only character that fits; embodies the cycle of hatred, close paralleled relationship with Naruto, etc, etc. However, defeating Sasuke will solve nothing (from a writers stand point). Sasuke must help overcome the hatred that has consumed him and by extension the rest of the world. Obito was unable to do this and only sought to overcome that hatred through power. In order for Sasuke to make the right choice we need a villain that completely exemplifies the "cycle of hatred"...namely, Sojobo.
To your point about Kishi's influences. That certainly is interesting and is something I will keep an eye. I can honestly say I have never heard of that game, yet its plot is nearly identical to how I see Naruto playing out...perhaps more than just a coincidence.
One point I wanted to talk about more in the thread was chasing the lineage of the Senju and Uchiha powers.
It certainly starts to seem strange if you think about where their powers directly came from.
Lets start with the Senju.
I think Kishi has purposefully made it blatantly clear where Hashirama Senju's power comes from. Hashirama's wood dragon and golem look identical the one the tree used to suck everyone's chakra (not to mention they do the same thing). We have seem repeatedly the Juubi linked with wood, I think it is more than apparent this is where Senju's woodstyle comes from. So if we follow the lineage it should be Juubi---Sage---Younger Son---Hashirama. But then you look at the Uchiha and the lineage of their power isn't so clear. The author just may not have shown it yet, but the Juubi has no signs of having anything to do with the Uchiha powers, other than its eye. In fact, it even had to shed it skin to avoid being burned by Amaterasu, why not enton release? Why not any Uchiha techniques or some evidence that their powers originate from it? Like I said, it has been explicitly written for us to make the connection between wood and the Juubi yet the Uchiha's power still have no origin. So now try to trace the lineage of the Uchiha's powers. ????---Sage---Elder Son---Madara. The question is where do they start? Kishi has been saving their origins for the introduction of the final villain because the final villain is where they start.
I may end up trying to mesh this all into a thread, but for now I think Uchiha clan ancestory is something to watch for.
