Naruto Vol. 16
- ISBN
- 9781421510903
- Publisher
- Viz Media
- English release
- Pages
- 200
- Chapters
- 136–144
- Anime
- Season 2 (2nd Stage) ep. 36–83
The anime's second season ends exactly where this book ends, which is rarer than it sounds. Chapters 136 to 144 finish the invasion, account for what it cost, and then start two things at once: the search for a new Hokage, and the arrival of the organization that wants Naruto. Season 2 covers chapters 62 to 144, and 144 is the last chapter in here, so a viewer who has finished it begins at Vol. 17 with nothing missed and nothing repeated. Season 3 opens on chapter 145, which is the first chapter of Vol. 17. Stopping here costs a reader nothing, and there are not many places in Part I where that is true. Viz states that 3-in-1 book 6 collects Vols. 16 to 18 at $16.99, against $35.97 for the three standard volumes.
Spoilers — why this volume matters. Tap to reveal.
The Third Hokage cannot finish the seal, so he settles for Orochimaru's arms and dies doing it. That ends the invasion and removes the village's leadership. Naruto ends the Gaara fight with a headbutt, and Gaara leaves it changed rather than dead. Then the book turns over. Chapter 139 buries the dead, and from chapter 140 this is a different story: Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki walk into Konoha, go through the village's best, and leave Kakashi beaten. Kakashi learns what they are and what they want, which is Naruto, and Sasuke learns that his brother is within reach. The volume is half an ending and half an opening, and that is exactly why the anime seam lands here: the adaptation could stop at chapter 144 because 145 restarts anyway. For a reader the join is less tidy than it is for a viewer.
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