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Abandoned Naruto: Iron Soul by PlaceholderName - T - Naruto

Discussion in 'Naruto' started by Republic, Jul 4, 2012.

  1. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    I didn't mind it when it was just Ebisu and Naruto, because I took it to be some sort of weird quirky thing between the two of them in their semi-unique situation. But when it intruded to other characters it began to get on my nerves as much as yours.
     
  2. merchantofam

    merchantofam Fifth Year DLP Supporter

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    I really like the author's attempt at kekkai genkai Naruto, nor do I have any major complaints about grammar. But what irks me the most is the fact in the matter of two chapters the author has essentially written off Gaara and Orichimaru. Granted, I didn't like the latter but the former was a very important secondary character in cannon. Not to mention how they died seems really sloppy.

    Gaara's absolute defense, especially at this stage is preternatural so dying in the way depicted by author seems unbelievable. Not to mention, Orichimaru was shown through out the anime as a cautious, albeit very egotistical, man. Therefore, him not knowing about the seal is very slim considering Kabuto is still part of Ne at this point and a highly successful information gatherer.

    Overall I would give it a 3.5/5.
     
  3. Republic

    Republic The Snow Queen –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Gaara‘s “absolute defense“ has been shown to be overcome by both speed (Lee) and high piercing power (Sasuke). Naruto‘s method here used both, to the point where Gaara‘s sand didn‘t have time to deploy and his Sand Armor was next to useless.

    It all made sense to me :/
     
  4. Nazgoose

    Nazgoose The Honky-tonk ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter DLP Gold Supporter

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    I think the absolute defense part could have been handled better if the sand had leapt up to defend him, only for the iron wire to slice through it. It would have shown the sand defense working, while still accomplishing Gaara's assassination.
     
  5. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    I always thought it was stupid that the Kazekage and all of Suna couldn't manage to assassinate Gaara if someone of Lee's skill at the time of the Exams could manage to land a hit.
     
  6. Striker

    Striker What's up demons?

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    I never really got the impression the Kazekage was actually trying to kill him. More, it was his own fucked up way of keeping Gaara in the correct state of mind and honing his skills. If he really wanted to kill him, why not just do it himself?
     
  7. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    That's my point -- I always saw it as the Kazekage being unable to actually kill his son. So if the Kazekage wasn't strong enough it was weird that some Genin could manage to land a hit.

    But maybe I read a crappy translation of the Manga and the subtleties were lost.
     
  8. Tinder

    Tinder Seventh Year

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    Nope, it's just one of many plotholes that fans are forced to come up with rational explanations for in order not to compromise their enjoyment.
     
  9. Darth Disaster

    Darth Disaster The Waking Sith ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Eh, I read it less as not being able to and more as not being willing to do the deed himself.

    Also, to be fair to Lee, his Taijutsu is supposed to be about high chuunin/low jounin level around that period of time. Especially when he's got the gates going. His fighting style was basically tailor made for beating the Gaara of that time around.
     
    Last edited: Jul 12, 2012
  10. Howdy

    Howdy Dark Lord

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    I'd be careful about making assumptions about strength based only on the genin vs. genin fights.

    Neji, who Lee specifically trained the gates to defeat, was easily speed blitzed by every jounin in the room during his fight against Hinata. While the Lee vs. Gaara fight certainly made Lee out to be impressive I very much doubt he was on par with jounin.

    It's left very ambiguous how well the rookies would stack up against chuunin/jounin level opponents, though I think it's fair to say that many of the rookies would compare favorably to some chuunin.
     
  11. Striker

    Striker What's up demons?

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    I'm pretty sure Lee never used any of the gates on Neji. Or at least none past the first. Gai was pretty firm on not ever using them against people he cared about, etc. etc. etc. Plus, I don't even think Neji could close his tenketsu long enough to make any sort of difference when Lee's in fifth gate mode. It'd be akin to Naruto's Kyuubi form during the exam final.
     
  12. Howdy

    Howdy Dark Lord

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    Really?

    Because Lee was going to open the first gate just to beat Sasuke before the exam even started.

    Just keep in mind that Lee with 4 gates open isn't the same thing as Gai with 4 gates open. It's not a power level. It's simply how much of their own chakra system they've thrown open. Sasuke was almost as fast as Lee was when he eventually fought Gaara in the finals, and gained that speed without opening gates.

    Even so, Genma called him merely "chuunin level."
     
  13. Striker

    Striker What's up demons?

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    And Gai was immediately there to smack him down. I doubt he'd give any more slack during training, rivals or not. You're right though, the first gate is small potatoes, and Sasuke probably was as fast as that by the finals. But what I'm talking about is right before Gaara broke Lee's arm/leg, when he was going all out with as many gates as he could stand.

    Sasuke was getting through Gaara's defenses consistently during their match, but he was still blocked more than a few times. When Lee unlocked his max gate, Gaara literally could not get out of the air because Lee was kicking his ass, rebounding off a wall, kicking his ass again, rebounding off another wall, etc. Before his sand could do a thing.
     
  14. Kari Black

    Kari Black DA Member

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    Usually when I see something even vaguely bloodline related for Naruto in a fic, I run like hell. So this fic surprised me. They are overpowered and characterization is lacking, but I'm enjoying the ride too much to care. 4/5
     
  15. Republic

    Republic The Snow Queen –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Doing good with the update rate.
     
  16. Churchey

    Churchey Supreme Mugwump

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    Just came across this last night in the almost recommendable thread while I was searching for something to read. I skipped over it here because I checked for only completed stories first.
    I was excited to find 32 chapters to read, but damn if they aren't short. 32 Chapters of Iron Soul is only ~100k words whereas 7 chapters of A Teacher's Glory is ~86k.
    So even with an update rate where you get author's notes like this:
    You don't get much content. In this case, I'd say the update rate works against it. Not much of a point to reading 3k word updates, imo. On top of that, it's been weeks, so the update rate is no longer as insanely good as it was.

    The team is grossly overpowered. Neji can do juken strikes 24cm beyond his fingers because of his chakra bracelets and Tenten has a super chakra sword thanks to Naruto's generosity. Naruto is immune to the juken, has full unbreakable body armor, unbreakable super transforming weapon, endless sealing within his own body, not to mention the more or less sniper rifle capability of his chakra iron whip thing that he beheads gaara with instantly.

    That scene in particular was just fail. The author could have easily made the sand respond just enough to slightly lessen the blow or throw it off course. I thought, since the chapters leading up to it actually didn't mention gaara's ultimate subconcious defense, only a speculation of his sand armor, that the blow would be thrown off, perhaps even removing an arm instead of beheading him instantly. My hope was that the attack would prematurely trigger the shukaku, forcing a showdown in the woods.

    But no, in addition to the flawless assassination of Gaara, Orochimaru is also burned to a crisp in the same 3k words, despite being one of the top 10 strongest in the series.

    "The concept is novel and the writing is great, but the story lacks characterizion" has been mentioned a few times, but honestly the combat in the story is subpar as well. Naruto never takes a hit. In the first meeting with Gaara, nothing happens short of some words and Naruto instantly covering himself with full body armor. In their first mission turned A rank, Naruto kills a couple of people like bad movie extras, then fails to hit his opponent a few times then creates a bunch of clones. The scene then skips ahead and Naruto is said to have blown up his opponent with a large amount of exploding clones. Then, as Kisame's younger jonin brother tries to summon a super shark, Naruto removes his arms instantly. The story talks big, but there is literally no combat. The few combat scenes that are present are complete SHIT. The chunin exam arc itself has yet to have a combat scene in it. They assassinate gaara without being seen, get their scroll with a quick description of a genjutsu+neji-knockout combo, and the preliminaries are scrapped. It wouldn't surprise me if the update rate has slowed considerably because the author actually has to write some combat scenes now for the finals.

    The author has made a few attempts to provide Naruto with "weaknesses" but mostly these end up being superficial. Lightning chakra is supposedly super effective, but he develops a seal (that he can instantly create on any part of his body) to absorb this chakra a chapter (read:3k words) later. He is now too heavy to swim...but he can walk on water just fine.

    The concept is great. It started out great. But the lack of any characterization, combat, or suitable opponents really makes this story hurt. There's just not any substance below the cool concepts and jutsus that let you geek out a bit, but that gets old quickly.

    2.5/5 because despite all its faults, it's still an entertaining read. But I wouldn't consider it library material.
     
  17. Dnar Semaj

    Dnar Semaj Seventh Year

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    I keep thinking Ebisu is Kakashi and getting confused when the author mentions Ebisu again. HERP DERP.

    But 4/5 for sure.
     
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