Creators: Masashi Kishimoto; Mari Morimoto (Translator), John Hunt (Lettering)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media (@VIZMedia); 192 pages, $9.99 (US), $12.99 (CAN), £6.99 U.K.
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-7384-7 (ISBN), paperback (October 2014)
Rated: “T” for “Teen”
The star of the manga, Naruto, is Uzumaki Naruto. He was a young shinobi (ninja) with a knack for mischief, and he was the biggest troublemaker at the Ninja Academy in the shinobi Village of Konohagakure. However, Naruto was also two things: special and an outcast. When he was a baby, his parents (father Minato and mother Kushina) imprisoned a nine-tailed fox spirit (Kurama) inside his infant body. Now, 16-years-old and incorrigible as ever, Naruto is still serious about his quest to become the world’s greatest ninja.
Guided by their secret ally, Uchiha Obito, Akatsuki villains Uchiha Madara and Kabuto declare war on the Five Great Nations of the ninja. This begins the Fourth Great Ninja War, and the five great shinobi leaders, known as the Gokage, form the Allied Shinobi Forces to fight this war. Obito and Madara's goal is to revive the monstrous tailed-beast, Ten Tails, but Obito has even more diabolical plans.
As Naruto, Vol. 67 (entitled An Opening – Chapters 638 to 647) begins, Obito reveals himself. He absorbed Ten Tails into himself and is now the ultimate jinchuriki. Not waiting, the Lords Hokage attack, and are met by Obito's awesome new powers. A power that can stop Obito-Ten Tails and save them is discovered. They will need it, as Ten Tails reaches his final form, the Divine Tree. Learn how that development reveals the origins of the shinobi (ninja).
After an almost 11-month hiatus from reading the Naruto manga, I read two in three weeks. And I want more. Naruto is my favorite comic, and I think that it is currently among the world's best comics. Creator Masashi Kishimoto has a way of usually offering surprises in Naruto – from new characters to sudden reveals. Naruto Volume 67 presents a history of the ninja that is practically a throwaway item, but it would make a good story arc by itself. Kishimoto is stretching out this battle with Obito, but that does not read as a stunt. This Ten Tails battle is simply too good to end.
A+
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux
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