Ch. 661The Mysterious Enemy (Seeking Monthly Votes and Tips)
Chapter Summary: “The Mysterious Enemy”
Key Plot Points and Events
- Samui informs Hane that Rainbow Dress and Feather Robe have secretly left the village. Hane is concerned but believes their Rinnegan and Tenseigan make them powerful enough to protect themselves.
- The chapter briefly establishes the postwar status of several characters:
- Samui serves as Hane’s secretary.
- Kabuto has returned to the orphanage and found purpose caring for the children.
- The former Akatsuki members have disbanded and are pursuing their own paths.
- Before pursuing the runaway children, Hane visits Princess Kaguya, who remains sealed inside his moon palace.
- Hane offers Kaguya the possibility of release if she abandons her desire to dominate the world and reclaim all chakra. Kaguya refuses, insisting that humanity stole what belonged to her.
- Hane leaves her sealed, declaring that she may remain imprisoned for centuries until she changes her mind. Alone afterward, Kaguya briefly questions whether her actions were truly wrong and laments her endless solitude.
- Meanwhile, Rainbow Dress travels through the Land of Fire with Sarada and Chocho. She enthusiastically enjoys leaving Konoha and seeing the outside world.
- Rainbow Dress describes Hane as a powerful ruler to the world but a playful, imperfect, and overly flirtatious father at home.
- Sarada feels envious because Rainbow Dress has a close relationship with her father, while Sarada knows her own father, Sasuke, mostly through photographs and others’ accounts.
- Rainbow Dress detects someone secretly following them. Revealing her dangerous “witch” persona, she uses Banshō Ten’in to pull the hidden enemy from the forest.
- The enemy counters by summoning and throwing a huge chained shuriken at Rainbow Dress, Sarada, and Chocho, setting up the chapter’s confrontation.
Character Developments
- Hane is portrayed as an immensely powerful but weary ruler and father. Despite his authority, he remains personally involved with his children and continues trying to reform Kaguya rather than simply destroy her.
- Kaguya remains proud, vengeful, and convinced that she is reclaiming stolen chakra. However, Hane’s words introduce a small moment of doubt and emotional vulnerability.
- Rainbow Dress displays both sides of her personality: she is cheerful, curious, and affectionate toward her family, but instantly becomes cold and intimidating when she senses danger. Her inherited Rinnegan makes her a formidable fighter despite her limited experience.
- Sarada reveals her emotional distance from Sasuke and her longing for a normal father-daughter relationship.
- Kabuto has undergone a major change, abandoning his former identity and finding fulfillment through caring for orphans.
- Samui has become Hane’s trusted administrative aide, while the former Akatsuki members have moved into independent lives.
Significant Themes
- Power and maturity: Natural-born power can prevent people from developing respect for strength or learning through hardship, as illustrated by Rainbow Dress and Feather Robe.
- Family and parental relationships: The chapter contrasts Rainbow Dress’s intimate, complicated family life with Sarada’s distant relationship with Sasuke.
- Redemption and purpose: Kabuto’s new life suggests that even deeply troubled people can find meaning through responsibility and care for others.
- Isolation and stubbornness: Kaguya’s imprisonment emphasizes the destructive consequences of refusing to change, while also showing the loneliness beneath her hatred.
- Public image versus private identity: Hane is viewed as an almost godlike ruler by the world but is seen by his children as a mischievous and flawed father.
Character Interactions
- Hane and Samui: Samui reports the children’s disappearance, while Hane responds with exasperated concern.
- Hane and Kaguya: Their exchange is a psychological struggle between Hane’s patience and Kaguya’s resentment, pride, and desire for control.
- Rainbow Dress and Sarada: Rainbow Dress unknowingly highlights Sarada’s pain by describing her close relationship with Hane. Sarada’s envy reveals her unresolved feelings about Sasuke.
- Rainbow Dress, Sarada, and Chocho versus the pursuer: Rainbow Dress takes command when she notices the enemy, using her gravitational ability to expose them. The enemy immediately retaliates, beginning the chapter’s action sequence.