Asuma Sensei is dead. damn it. damn it. deep down i knew he was gonna be sacrificed. if only hidan never got his head back. dAmn.

i had hoped it would not be the case... sigh... poor shikamaru. i've been dreading reading this chapter ever since they started to hunt down hidan and kakuzu for killing the monks. those akatsuki guys are just too tough. makes me wonder how it will all end. it's going to be one helluva showdown. so who's the king that shikamaru must protect? the kyuubi, naruto...?

the enemies are getting closer. konoha's going to need all its chuunins to defend itself against, what? 9 guys? bloody days ahead for konoha...