NARUTO chapter 646 REVIEW
“SHINJU”
JUUBI’S FINAL FORM IS REVEALED…!! And it’s a TREE!! Flower... dick thing.
So this chapter opens with Juubi as it finishes burrowing itself into the ground, its body morphing and peeling away to reveal organic plant-like structures. As Obito observes the progress, he notes that taking down his barrier should pose little harm, and boy does he remove it just in time!!
The sudden explosion of writhing braches and roots tears through the landscape immediately seeking out the awestruck people below it like the reaching arms of an arboreal octopus, and it isn’t long before the dire consequences of coming into contact with these branches is revealed.
Come oooon, how could one not think of DBZ? xD
As the terrified members of the Shinobi Alliance flee before the chakra-absorbing branches, an obvious shift in odds against our good guys begins to settle in despite Naruto’s upgraded mass Kyuubi Cloak protection. As still and haggard bodies start to litter the ground, the scene shifts to Hashirama and Madara who still face each other while taking care to dodge the malicious branches. Prompted by Hashirama’s questioning, Madara explains that the Shinju, or God Tree, is simply collecting chakra the was originally its own, and as if to demonstrate, the Susanoo flames protecting him are hungrily sucked away by surrounding branches.
Madara takes this moment to fully reveal the history of the Shinju and its relationship to the shinobi world starting with the fact that all chakra originates from this godly tree.
Entering story mode, we see a series of pictographic images illustrating events beginning with the time before shinobi which was marred by war and strife. During this era the Shinju existed as a massive tree that was worshiped as a vessel for god and once every 1000 years it sprouted one massive fruit. This succulent of the God Tree was forbidden to man, though the origin of this ban is not known; however, a princess named Ootsutsuki Kaguya, who tired of seeing her fellow man die in battle, took it upon herself to eat the forbidden fruit and end all war. The fruit gave her a fraction of the immense chakra power of the Shinju and most importantly opened her understanding to controlling it, and in the wake of her insurmountable strength all battles ceased. Solidifying her position as the Mother of Shinobi, she later gave birth to a son named Bagoromo who inherited the Shinju’s strength and his mother’s ability to manipulate it. Sharing this knowledge with his fellow man he established the art of ninjustsu and brought about the Age of Shinobi, becoming its hero later by taming the Shinju who grew angry and sought the return of its chakra by taking the animal-noid form we know of as the Juubi. Of course, we know this man as the legendary Sage of Six Paths whose acts over time turned from history to legend to myth.
Concluding his lecture, Professor Madara states that this information is all recorded on the Uchiha Clan Tablet, and as the action returns to him and Hashirama playing dodge branch, he remarks that this history speaks to the fact that mankind’s violent nature never changes. Indeed, by introducing more powerful into the game Princess Kaguya only aggravated the situation.
Seeing chakra and the knowledge to wield it as a curse, Madara’s hollow expression communicates his despair for mankind’s fate of endless violence and confirms his character’s resolve for completing the Moon’s Eye Plan. It’s clear that even if chakra were not a factor, Madara believes man is doomed to kill his brethren, but by sedating the world perhaps the “true” dream of peace can be achieved. As Hashirama thinks back to the words Madara spoke before his departure from Konoha he realizes his former ally has been planning for this moment since that day so long ago.
As we observe this large stem and bloom which has emerged from the Shinju, Madara finally explains how the Infinite Tsukuyomi will be cast, for apparently concealed with in the bloom is an eye which will gaze upon the moon allowing a genjutsu to be reflected. In Shinto mythology, “Tsukuyomi” is the god of the moon, so there is a symbolic connection that this genjutsu’s ultimate form requires the moon to activate, but I can only assume the Shinju would choose to cast it because Obito will force it to (otherwise why would it care for such an idea). The panel of the stem and bloom is actually quite symbolic as well, for the goal of the Moon’s Eye Plan is to create a “new world,” and while the flower structure is blatantly phallic, the moon is generally considered to be a feminine form in many mythologies. By drawing these two forms touching visually, Kishimoto suggests the act of coupling to bring about creation. We knew you were a dirty old man Kishi!!
Finally returning to our hero, we see Naruto is in trouble as the deadly branches close in around him despite Tobirama and Minato’s efforts to help, but thankfully they aren’t the only Hokage around!
As Sandaime Hokage springs Naruto and himself towards his fellow undead colleagues, Tobirama quickly uses the Flying Thundergod jutsu to teleport them a save distance away from the Shinju near Sasuke. As Sasuke solemnly observes Naruto’s weakened condition, the latter grits his teeth with shock and anger at the fallen shinobi he worked so hard to protect. It’s like a slap in the face to Naruto’s optimism and speaks to how quickly the tide can turn on the battlefield.
As the chapter closes out the camera angle pans away for an all-encompassing view of the God Tree, its bloom thrusting into the sky, and from this we can truly appreciate the Shinji’s massive scale.
The fact that the Juubi’s final form is a tree doesn’t come as a major surprise as Kishi has hinted at it up to this point with the Juubi’s odd flowers that fire BIJUU BOMBS and growths from its body that resemble the roots of a carrot or daikon radish. In the context of the Japanese religion of Shintoism, in which trees are regarded as sources of power, a final form resembling a tree makes sense as well. Though how Madara knows a bloom can be coxed from the Shinji to cast a genjutsu that will be successful remains a mystery – was that written somewhere on the Uchiha tablet as well??
For folks who are familiar with Judeo-Christian beliefs, the story of the Shinju and Princess Kaguya probably remind you first of Eve and the Tree of Knowledge. Though there is no doubt that Kishimoto is drawing on this motif in his story, it should be noted that “forbidden fruit” are popular in mythology and folktales across the world; even the Monkey King, Son Goku, partook of some in Heaven, and by bringing this well established and loved idea into his manga, Kishimoto successfully strengthens the mythos of his own story.
As he enjoys doing, Kishimoto draws upon another popular story in this chapter with the introduction of Princess Kaguya, who is the starring character in one of the very oldest folktales of Japan. The original story casts her as a princess from the moon (Sailor Moon anyone?) sent to earth for her own protection (or banishment depending on the telling) who is later found in the stalk of a bamboo tree. It’s this princess-tree-moon parallel that Kishi is clearly interested in for his story, and like the numerous others present in NARUTO, those fans familiar with the tale will smile knowingly at the reference. And in case the moon connections were too subtle, Princess Kaguya’s sir name “OostuTSUKI” also references the moon (Tsuki, 月 = moon).
The parallels between the reasoning of NARUTO’s Princess Kaguya and Nagato Pain are worth pointing out for they shared the belief that an all-powerful weapon would scare the population into peace. Princess Kaguya proves that this idea indeed works as she took on the powers of a god and single handedly stopped all war, the fear of her preventing any further conflicts, but her story shows how this is only a temporary solution for peace and perhaps speaks for what would have been an ultimate failure for Nagato had he been successful for some reason.
It’s hard to miss the similarities between the Shinju’s branches and Hashirama’s powerful MOKUTON abilities, and perhaps speaks to why this chakra nature is considered among the most powerful in the Shinobi World. If the strongest thing on the earth was once a huge ass tree then it makes sense that a jutsu that creates them would be powerful in this world.
Overall, this chapter was mostly exposition provided by Professor Uchiha, but it was in no way uninteresting; Not only do we learn the origins of shinobi and the discovery of chakra, but the Sage of Six Path’s name is revealed and the story of his mother whose actions sealed the fate of the Shinobi World. The action we did get in this chapter had a dramatic impact as a majority of the Alliance was felled, and we also got to see Tobirama taking the offensive and Hiruzen finally, FINALLY showing up again. But most importantly, this chapter acts as a set up for 647, which based on its longer than usual page count suggests shit is really about to go down!!
I give this chapter a RATING of:
As always, let me know what you guys thought of this chapter! Do you like the story of Princess Kaguya and the forbidden fruit? Will the Moon’s Eye Plan actually go into effect?? Are you on the Alliance or Team Moon’s Eye side?
Till next time!!
PREDICTIONS
The situation is dire, the end of the world is upon us – time for the Gokage Rangers to arrive finally!!
It’s been about 1000 years since Kaguya so time for the Shinju to sprout another Millennial Fruit!! Naruto figures out what’s actually supposed to do be done with it and saves the world!! The end.
Along with making her powerful, the Shinju’s fruit actually got Kaguya pregnant as well, so the Sage of Six Path’s father is the Juubi – that’s why they have similar eyes.