✴️ NARUTO ナルト ✴️ Arc 3: "Konoha Crush" 🐍

:snake::ninja: Welcome to the NARUTO ナルト Arc 3 Discussion :ninja::fox_face:

Return to the Home ThreadGo to Arc 2Go to Arc 4

The “Konoha Crush” Arc covers Volume 13 through Volume 16.

Natively Rating: Level 25 (JLPT N3) Furigana: Yes

Check out BookWalker’s free reading sample of Volume 1 here!

Physical Purchase: AmazonJP | CD Japan | KinokuniyaJP
Digital Purchase: BookWalker | AmazonJP | eBook Japan

:fish_cake: Konoha Crush Arc

No. Volume Name
13 The Chūnin Exams, Concluded…!! (中忍試験、終了…!!) Ch. 116 start
14 Hokage vs. Hokage!! (火影vs火影!!)
15 The Naruto Shinobi Handbook!! (ナルト忍法帖!!)
16 Konoha Crush, Ended!! (木ノ葉崩し、終結!!)

This arc ends after Chapter 138, early into Volume 16. For comments or questions regarding Chapter 139 onward, please move on to the discussion for Arc 4.

:fish_cake: General Discussion Rules

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Despite NARUTO’s widely recognizable orange main character, there are many of us who have neither read nor watched any part of this series. Avoid giving accidental spoilers by using Blur [spoiler] [/spoiler] or Hide Details [details="Summary"] [/details] for predictions, comments containing specific plot points, or any story-revealing panel images.

If you ARE familiar with this series, it is also a good practice to hide decades-old memes or jokes that come to mind, as they too can contain accidental spoilers. :sweat_smile:

When asking language-related questions, please include the chapter number, page number if available, and/or general context surrounding the sentence. This will make it much easier to answer questions without confusion.

:fish_cake: What Should I Post in a Manga Discussion?

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Great book club discussions include more than just grammar questions! If you want to join the discussion but aren’t sure how, try adding these:

  • Interesting panels you saw
  • Moments that made you laugh
  • Moments that made you cringe :grimacing:
  • Predictions about where the story could go
  • Clues or foreshadowing that stood out to you
  • Questions about characters or settings
  • Comparisons to the anime (though this can tiptoe a spoiler-y line, please be careful!)

I hope that you will join in on the discussion, or poke it when it needs some new energy. Fostering an enjoyable reading atmosphere is my ninja way, believe it!

:fish_cake: Casual Speech

Some of the characters speak with casual contracted grammar. I suspect this is to emphasize 1) that there is a distinct hierarchy in the world of ninja, and 2) that Naruto doesn’t abide by it!

Check out this guide on contracted forms, just in case any stump you during reading: What are the chau, cha verb endings?

:fish_cake: Vocabulary Sheet

Vocab sheets are a community project, meaning that we can all work together to add new/unknown vocabulary for fellow readers to reference. Please read the guidelines on the first tab to ensure the sheet remains clean and easy to read.

:fish_cake: Polls

Polls are anonymous and your answers can be changed at any time

:open_book: Readers: How far are you in the story?
  • I’m not yet at Arc 3, but I hope to be soon!
  • I’m fighting the snake! :snake:
  • I’m trying to summon a beast! :boom:
0 voters

Want to rejoin the discussion when future readers have questions or comments? Set the thread status to Watching below!

omg i’m finally starting this arc two years after posting the thread :laughing: the term “unscheduled book club” at its best

vol 13

there aren’t too many chapters after the close of the chuunin exams arc left on vol 13 but i wanted to commemorate anyway

they’re queer-coding my villain! i’m supposed to hate orochimaru i guess!! but the snake keeps serving face!!

We are halfway done with original Naruto!!!

Vol 14 finished!

Chapter 122


Baby Kakashi, Orochimaru and Jiraya :sob:

Chapter 123


Ok but Orochimaru’s style is honestly 10/10
yass slay :snake: slay your enemies :snake: :nail_polish: :woman_dancing:

Chapter 125


Gaara, you ok there buddy?

Chapter 127


ooo a tiny crumb of sasuke lore? who is that person!! :eyes:

Chapter 129


Young Gaara :sob: he just don’t want to be alone bbyboi

Chapter 130


He is so cute as a child, and he always slayed with the eyeliner

Chapter 133


Jail.

Chapter 134


Can I pet that dawg?

Aand finished with this arc! This is quite a short, but interesting arc. Enjoyed it more than chunin exams :writing_hand:

vol 14 replies

kishimoto chooses at random who gets to be insanely cool looking and who gets to look kinda bland and i love that

no eyebrows and thick eyeliner is fashionable right now, kishimoto was ahead of his time here!!

I FORGOT TO POST MY VOL 14 THOUGHTS-

vol 14 big spoilers

-WHICH IS INCONVENIENT given that this volume is very very intense and emotional :sob::sob:

the entire sequence of seeing the lineage of genin teams made me so choked up :pleading_face:

sandaime → jiraiya → yondaime ( → kakashi → naruto waaahhhh)

yondaime’s hair in Part I is taking me outttt lmao

I HAD CHILLS, I’M SUCH A SAP

vol 14 low spoilers

this flashback had me laughing so hard, something about him remembering a scene in panel format like he’s imagining manga panels in his head idk i’m was cracking up at this

vol 14 no spoilers

snakes with bibs :pleading_face::pleading_face::pleading_face:

Vol 14 reactions

Finally getting to know Shikamaru, he’s cool!

Congrats to ms. orochimaru on her transition

Me reading all this stuff about orochimaru’s evilness: yeah yeah ok he’s evil where is this going

[gets to this panel] OH NO SASUKE WATCH OUT

Ok this is metal!!

This is making me itchy

Gaara… u good bro? :fearful:

AHHHHHH WHAT IS GOING ON

Vol 14 replies

The baby versions of all the characters were so cute :sob:

Loved this cover!! Literally slay

Wahahaha this was so funny he was like god damn did you not just read this

Volume 15 reactions

GAY RESCUE

Ahhh it’s good to have the gang back

YES SAKURA SO BRAVE

ASUDGJHKHGHGH NOOO HE’S THE SADDEST BOY IN THE WORLD :sob:

This lady is so fucking funny “Forget all that shit I just said I never loved you I wasn’t just following orders and you need to die!!”

Protect the froggy

I liked the Gaara/Naru comparisons, cmon Gaara it’s not so bad Naruto knows what it’s like to be lonely too maybe you could be friends!! :pleading_face:

WOW this is g- [sniper rifle trained on my location]

YES GO NARUTO

wahahahah rest up bby I got this

YEAHHHH GO NARUTO [zooms in]

That was a fun volume, very action packed!!

Vol 15

i love whenever naruto has a “wait… i’m not alone…” introspective moment because then i get great flashback panels like these

my rude son smh

and then kakashi trying to nourish him :sob: is kakashi a dad figure or more like a corrupted uncle figure


AND THEN THE HUGE GUY FIGHT RAHHHHHH

i love that they’re established as being a big as skyscrapers basically, and yet everyone on the ground who is now comparatively ant-sized is still able to follow along with what’s happening and also they don’t get absolutely obliterated by the fight :skull:


SO COOL SO COOL!!!

sometimes the other lonely kid also happens to house a giant tailed beast within him :pensive: it could happen to you

Vol 16 through Ch 138

I appreciate that Kishimoto is showing us how much damage has occurred from the fights and how wide-ranging the various battles are. It’s not just a chunnin exam arena fight, or just that one rooftop, or out in the forest. There are battles raging all over the city and regular people’s houses are being broken and destroyed- WAIT NO YOU’RE CAUSING MORE COLLATERAL DAMAGE, CHOUJI’S-DAD!!!

the introduction of everyone’s parents and how cool and powerful they all are was so exciting omg



like what do you mean that dog has an eyepatch??? cool as hell!!!

and then the conclusion of this fight being, like, hey i’m naruto, just letting you know that you’re not alone btw. and gaara’s like. wow man, thanks. i am no longer mentally ill

WAHHH I’M DONE WITH THIS ARC

I saw the first page of the next chapter though so… :eye: :eye: see you in the next arc thread asap ahahaha

Arc finished!! That was fun, nice to read a short arc and feel a sense of accomplishment :relieved_face: