TCoH—Chapter 4.1 [66]
Added 2025-06-20 18:21:14 +0000 UTCHere is the link to Chapter 66 of the Cycle of Hatred:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rgCdtTdBtzlytY2RprIC3p4ZpVhS19EnoupAhvKGwEY/edit?usp=sharing
Comments
It was, actually. I wanted a more immediate start so that I could drip feed some stuff in layer chapters.
Eternal Yujin
2025-06-26 17:26:32 +0000 UTCWhy do I feel like you are throwing me to the wolves. :) You cut off the part before the combat in the mission though. I think that was not intentional.
Xardas2995
2025-06-26 17:23:58 +0000 UTCOk. Let me try to order my thoughts. I am not in the ideal position to write this now but I want to give you feedback earlier rather than later. First, let me explain the context of my thought process. I assume concerning the numbers of shinobi accross the ranks you follow the example of TOR? So for every major village we have around 150-200 jonin, 600 tokubetsu jonin, 6000 chunin and 100000+ genin? And the difference between jonin and chunin is very high. If it is the same here Iwa sending 30 chunin ready to lose them is a significant investment. I cannot imagine they would suicide tokubetsu jonin and if those 30 opponents were higher than chunin the SI and his teammates would have died I think. So Konoha losing a jonin is a heavier blow still than Iwa losing 30 chunin. What worries me is that the performance by the SI does not align with what I expected after Arc 2 and Arc 3. Yes, the timeskip is "only" 1 year instead of 2.5 like in the show but the SI's performance on the mission is still too bad in my opinion. Where I come from: The main reason as for why the SI's progress was "slow" was lack of resources before Asuma and then Asuma herded the SI into a "healthy" progression. These limitations are gone with the end of Arc 3. During and at the end of Arc 3 the SI was constantly regarded as the strongest of the whole batch and this was kinda proven multiple times. He displayed extraordinary skill in Wind Release (for example his Great Breakthrough), without his chakra enhancement he was as fast as Haku in the early parts of Arc 3. With his chakra enhancement he was able to punch through her Ice Mirrors. He learned the rasengan with one hand in a month. Towards the end of the Arc he got cutting with wind down and got his trench knifes. He made Temari and Gaara look like noobs in the tournament. He fought against Kabuto and Kisame. Yes, in the end he needed Kurama's chakra but before that he was already doing decent against those. Kabuto was wary of the SI and saw him as a credible threat. Those two were S-Rank. With what the SI had done at the end of Arc 3 and one year of "unleashed" training the mission going like it did does not fit in my eyes. Naruto was around "top tier" chunin level in many fields already. By this time I would expect him to deal with "average" (I guess) chunin like Asuma did when he saved Shikamaru in the show. Yes, they were vastly outnumbered but the issue in the Naruto setting is that numbers don't do that much when the enemy rushes through your formation and cuts your men down before they can react and Naruto with his trench knifes (especially with the chakra sabres he revealed in his match with Tsunade) should be able to accomplish that against chunin. Also the engagement for me was the perfect opportunity for the SI to utilize his high chakra reserves and spam ninjutsu. Why not make a combined attack using the SI's wind release and Choji's fire release as well? They are regular teammates so they know each other's skills and the jonin as team leader should also be aware. Or why didn't the SI summon either a big toad or some medium-sized ones? I get that you want to keep tension in the story and till now Naruto was either not able (due to lack of knowing jutsu mostly) or didn't have to resort to ninjutsu spam. But here it would have been ideal and some B-Ranks (Great Vacuum Sphere, Vacuum Sphere (I assume he knows that as well already), Great Breakthrough) from him I imagine should have killed a lot of enemies at once. He got the tools now to abuse his chakra reserves (I know they are not formally "reserves" here) to it's fullest. Him not capitalizing on this here makes no sense. I know you want to keep the fights interesting but Naruto outgrowing a bigger and bigger percentage of opponents is bound to happen if you want to stay consistent. Due to these thoughts above, the way the mission went felt very plot-driven instead of seamingly aligning with the plot. The jonin dying so Choji's struggle of their cruel world with his big heart continues. Naruto being "forced" to show off his progress with senjutsu and his wind chakra enhancement. Anyway, I just wanted to share this and not wait till later anymore. Sorry if it feels a little rushed.
Xardas2995
2025-06-25 18:07:01 +0000 UTC
