Board Thread:Theories and Speculation/@comment-12509038-20141102224448/@comment-12509038-20141102224622

For starters, I want to address the format of these two chapters. There is a lot to cover, and so I think these final two chapters will be formatted differently than most. Unfortunately, I think there may not be a lot of progress in 699, as I think it will be mostly dedicated to healing Naruto and Sasuke, and having everyone be released from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, while 700 will wrap everything else up. In order to do that, I think 700 may be formatted similarly to how 599 (Obito's identity chapter) was formatted. Therefore, there may not be a lot of dialogue (except when necessary) in order to cover a large amount of events in only 24 pages (as chapter 699 will be 20 pages long).

Next, I want to address The Last: Naruto the Movie. I think the events of the manga will go beyond the events of whatever happens in the movie. Basically, I think The Last will basically fill in whatever the manga fails to cover in these final two chapters. After all, many taglines of the film say that it will cover "the blank period." I interpret that as it will cover anything that isn't touched upon in the ending. Since I still don't feel like I've explained this well enough, let me provide an example: as we see from the trailers of the movie, Kakashi will be the Sixth Hokage. However, I think the manga will end with Naruto as the Seventh Hokage, even though Naruto is not Hokage in the new movie. That is what I mean- there will be a significant jump in time that goes even beyond the time skip of The Last so we can ultimately see where the characters end up when they are older. Also, I feel like this will work better so we can see where the characters end up in the end, while The Last can maybe explain how they got there. After all, I think it would be a travesty if Naruto didn't become Hokage in the actual manga...

Now I'd like to cover the fates of all the characters that we've come to know and love. Please note that I am only addressing the relevant characters, like members of the Konoha 11- I don't really care what happens to Jugo or Konohamaru. I'm going to try to ignore most of what we've seen in The Last, as I am trying to predict how the manga itself will end. I will only address certain movie elements if I think they will play a part in the ending of the manga. Allow me to bullet these to make it easier to follow: I didn't know where to put these two other predictions above, so I'll just mention them here: Finally, I arrive to my last topic- what the final panel will contain. From here, I can only think of three possibilities:
 * Naruto Uzumaki: After ending the Infinite Tsukuyomi and dealing with the aftermath of all that business, Naruto will reveal his plan to the entire shinobi alliance- he wants to spread ninshu around the world in an attempt to convert a world of war into one of peace. In order to do this, Naruto will learn more about ninshu and how to spread it. As a result, he declines the offer to become Hokage and instead the position goes to Kakashi. Finally, once he knows all about ninshu, he works with Sasuke and the Tailed Beasts to spread it all around the world by traveling and preaching his ideals. At this point, I'd like to mention that the events of The Last will happen around here, but I'm not dealing with those now. So in that case, of course Naruto will eventually end up with Hinata- either way, I'd imagine that will be shown at some point in the manga. Finally, once everything regarding ninshu has been dealt with, Naruto returns to Konoha and becomes the Seventh Hokage, surrounded by his wife Hinata, and all of his friends.
 * Sasuke Uchiha: After ending the Infinite Tsukuyomi and dealing with the aftermath of all that business, Sasuke will contribute to spreading Naruto's idea of ninshu. Working along with Naruto and the Tailed Beasts, Sasuke becomes a prime figure in spreading ninshu, as he finds that he can use his Rinnegan to better help spread it. This also may explain why Sasuke is dressed as a nomadic vagabond in The Last. After traveling the world for years, there are several possibilities as to what may happen to Sasuke- one is that he can return to Konoha and become a valued shinobi, member of the government, or head of the police force. Another is that he could continue to keep watching over Konoha from afar, almost like a secret vigilante. The final possibility is that Sasuke creates his own village, and they work very closely with Naruto and Konoha. Either way, I hope he ends up with some female (I don't really care who, but if I had to pick one, I guess I'd say Sakura) and restores the Uchiha Clan.
 * Sakura Haruno: Sakura will arrive to Naruto and Sasuke's side and proceed to heal both of them to the point where they can deactivate the Infinite Tsukuyomi. From here on, she, like every other shinobi, will embrace the idea of ninshu and collaborate with spreading it throughout the world. As time goes on, she surpasses Tsunade as the strongest female kunoichi and also becomes the greatest medical ninja in history. At the end, she ends up in a relationship with either Sasuke (despite everything, it's probably what she still wants, so just give it to her) or Rock Lee (I don't really think this would happen, but I would love it if it did!).
 * Kakashi Hatake: Following the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kakashi is appointed the Sixth Hokage of Konoha after Naruto turns down the position in order to focus on ninshu for the time being. Honestly, I don't have a prediction why this would happen, as I don't know why Tsunade would resign. Maybe she ends up dying in the process after the Infinite Tsukuyomi is released? Maybe she became a White Zetsu (could you imagine a White Zetsu running around with huge knockers? xD). Anyways, Kakashi becomes the Hokage and holds down the fort while Naruto and Sasuke are traveling the world. Finally, upon his return, Kakashi resigns and watches over Naruto as he becomes the Seventh Hokage, proud of just how far his former student has progressed from the moment they first met when Naruto dropped an eraser on his head... good times!
 * Team 10- Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji: Shikamaru is of course the one who would be focused on the most. In the end, he keeps his promise and becomes the teacher to Asuma and Kurenai's child, teaching the child the ways of ninshu. Also, due to the joint alliance of all the villages, Shikamaru would also end up with Temari in the end (though it may not resolve to marriage, as that's way too much trouble). Finally, Shikamaru would become Naruto's most trusted adviser during his reign of Hokage. There's not too much to talk about Ino and Choji other than the fact they live onto live successful lives in the village- Ino could possibly play a major role in ninshu, as she could use her abilities to connect everyone from the shinobi villages together. As far as relationships go, she could end up with either Sai or Choji maybe. For Choji, he could become the leader of his clan and make the Akimichi clan one of the greatest shinobi clans in Konoha. He could ultimately end up with either Ino or... Tonton?
 * Team 8- Hinata, Kiba, and Shino: Hinata is obviously the major player here. After all that's happened, she finally confronts Naruto and makes him consider his feelings about her, as she has been waiting for a response ever since the Invasion of Pain Arc. Naruto finally recognizes his feelings for Hinata, and they enter a relationship/possibly get married. However, I don't know how much of this will happen in the actual manga, as this seems like a big point of The Last. As far as Kiba and Shino goes... is there really anything to say here? I guess Kiba could become the leader of the Inuzuka Clan and become a successful shinobi. Ditto for Shino- though I would love a scene where Shino actually finds a large bug like he did in his Infinite Tsukuyomi dreamworld! xD
 * Team Guy- Rock Lee, Tenten, and Guy: Moving on after the events of the War and Neji's death, each member of Team Guy evolves differently. Let's get Tenten out of the way first- all she's really got going for her is that she becomes the greatest weapons expert in history- maybe she learns how to use the Treasured Tools of the Six Paths she acquired. Rock Lee continues to thrive as a shinobi who only uses taijutsu, and even surpasses Guy, becoming the greatest taijutsu master in the history of shinobi. Meanwhile, Guy loses the ability to remain a shinobi following his battle with Madara, as he his physical state has deteriorated significantly. He watches as his students surpass him, living the rest of his dreams through the eyes of his students and his best friend, who managed to become the Sixth Hokage.
 * Gaara and the Sand Siblings: Gaara remains the Kazekage of Sunagakure, working together with Naruto and the Tailed Beasts in spreading ninshu to his village and around the world. Also, I'd love to see a scene with Gaara and Naruto drinking from a sake cup when Naruto becomes the Seventh Hokage. Temari will end up with Shikamaru, and so since he becomes a vital role to Naruto, maybe she relocates to Konoha to be with him. Kankuro hasn't appeared in the manga for over 100 chapters, and so I doubt he will even make an appearance. However, assuming he will, all he's really got going for him is that he surpasses Sasori and becomes the greatest puppet master in the world.
 * Tailed Beasts/Kurama/Killer Bee: Starting with Killer Bee- he regains Gyuki and continue to live in Kumogakure. Since he is a Perfect Jinchuriki, he also plays a vital role in spreading ninshu. The Tailed Beasts are finally free to roam the world and are no longer hunted by man kind in order to use their power as weapons. Like everyone else, they may also play a role in spreading ninshu. Per Hagoromo's request, Kurama remains inside Naruto and looks after him. Naruto would use Kurama's chakra as a key component to spreading ninshu, as he would give a little bit of Kurama's chakra to every human in order for them to all be connected by Kurama's chakra.
 * Orochimaru and Kabuto: I personally hope Orochimaru goes out as a villain, but I don't know if that will happen. Therefore, hopefully he may go after Sasuke's body, in which case he will quickly be defeated once and for all. However, it is more likely that he will either be locked up in prison or remain a "good guy" and be given a pass for all he's done or voluntarily go to jail. Kabuto will voluntarily go to prison and pay his time for his crimes. If he is released, he returns to the orphanage and is surrounded by his former family.
 * Following the War, all of the villages will unite to form one allied shinobi force. Nothing about the customs will really change besides the fact that they form a treaty that results in no more fighting among villages and the fact that ninshu becomes the primary focus over ninjutsu. However, ninjutsu and other methods of battle are still focused on, as they never know when a threat from another world (like Kaguya and Tonrei) or someone who just wants to throw the world into chaos will emerge. Basically, world peace is finally established.
 * The constant cycle of hatred between Asura and Indra is finally resolved after Naruto and Sasuke's final battle. Though it was briefly mentioned in 698, it's possible they might go into it further. While the hatred may have been stopped, it's possible the reincarnation cycle may still continue. However, it has changed from one of hatred to one of cooperation, as it's possible that the next hosts will work together to continue preserving the peace that Naruto and Sasuke will establish by the end of the series.

1. A closing shot of all the main characters together showing them older and happy.

2. One final panel of Konoha, with both Naruto and Kakashi's faces on the Hokage Stone Monument.

3. A final shot of the Valley of the End, with statues of Naruto and Sasuke replacing those of Hashirama and Madara. However, instead of them making the signs of combat, they make the Sign of Reconciliation, signifying the end of the cycle of hatred and their revived friendship.

All three of these will work for me. However, if I had to pick one I prefer out of the three of them, it would either be options #2 or #3. #1 isn't necessarily bad, but I think it's a bit cheesy and wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. #2 could work because the first image we saw of the manga was the Hokage Stone Monument, and so it would make a lot of sense to end it with the same image, using the addition of Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto's faces to show how much the series has progressed since the beginning. Also, Naruto's prime motivation throughout the course of the series has been his dream to become Hokage- showing his face on the Monument would be the perfect way to hearken back to the beginning. Option #3 may be my most preferred choice. There is just something I really like about ending it with Naruto and Sasuke's statues performing the Sign of Reconciliation. Believe it or not, there was a time when their relationship dynamic became more important than Naruto's initial dream of becoming Hokage. Naruto's prime goal that was associated with his idea of becoming Hokage is so that he could be acknowledged by the people of Konoha- he has long since received that recognition. I don't know how to explain it any further, but that's just how I feel. I would love it if the final panel of the manga ending on Naruto and Sasuke's new statues at the Valley of the End.