“Sasuke Retsuden” Manga Issue 3 Review

Sasuke Retsuden issue 3 changed Sasuke’s current mission and provided him with a much-needed ally. Sasuke and Sakura supremacy!

The third issue of Sasuke Retsuden opened with the final scene from the previous chapter, where Sasuke realized that his Genjutsu didn’t work on Zanzul because the prison warden had glass eyes. Again, the fact that Zanzul’s okay with Sasuke walking around the prison makes me think Zanzul’s up to something. The Sharingan’s a dead giveaway when it comes to revealing Sasuke’s identity as the iconic Uchiha from Konoha.

With Sasuke being suspicious about what’s actually happening behind-the-scenes in the Tatar observatory, of course, he decided to leave his cell again at night. The fact that he left without telling his cellmates seemed weird to me. If Jiji hadn’t woken up and distracted the guard, all of Sasuke’s cellmates would have been in trouble.

At least this time Sasuke had the sense to wear a cloth pass (that he stole from a guard earlier) around his hand so as not to attract Meno. However, Sasuke didn’t remain in possession of the cloth pass for long because he gave it to a random guy he found tied up in one of the lockers.

I have no idea who that guy’s supposed to be. I hope he plays some kind of role down the line because if not, then it would mean he was simply put in the locker by the creative team as an excuse to rid Sasuke of the cloth pass.

Sasuke’s rematch with Meno didn’t go well. While Sasuke was trying to figure out if Meno had incredible healing abilities or if he was facing a brand new velociraptor, Meno was able to scratch Sasuke’s cheek. I really liked how the mangaka visualized the panels where the toxin from Meno’s claws impacted Sasuke’s body. Not being able to fight properly, Sasuke was forced to retreat.

With Sasuke being unable to even stand straight (Sasuke and “straight”? Ha!) due to the toxin, that’s where Sakura came in to save him. I really liked the panel where Sakura’s voice and touch allowed Sasuke to let his guard down. As always, his wife was going to make sure he would be okay.

The conversation between Sasuke and Sakura went as you would expect after she patched him up. He wasn’t a fan of Sakura putting herself in danger in such a manner. Even though Sasuke knew she was strong and could handle herself, you can’t blame him for worrying about her.

Turns out, Sakura had to infiltrate the prison as a doctor because the mission had changed. She had tried to send a hawk to Sasuke to let him know but the message couldn’t be delivered due to Meno. So, Sakura had to take matters into her own hands and do it in person.

Sasuke Retsuden issue 3 offered some interesting information about Naruto’s chakra-related illness and what Sasuke and Sakura needed to do to find a cure. Kakashi was able to find out why the Sage of Six Paths traveled to the Land of Redaku and how he found a cure for his disease after meeting an astronomer named Tatar (I take it the observatory’s named after him?). The cure was basically the ultra particles that came out of a meteorite that fell to Earth a very long time ago. I really hope the highly-enjoyable Kakashi Retsuden novel also gets a proper manga adaptation to flesh out the current story.

The ultra particles were separated into two groups by the Sage of Six Paths. One group was hid in ‘The Sky that Fell to Earth’, and the other group was hid in ‘The Star that Never Strays’. For Sasuke and Sakura to find both groups, they needed something called the ‘Map of the Heavens’.

Due to the current mission having a mystery element to it, Sakura serving as a teammate to Sasuke will come in very handy. While both are basically genius-level shinobi in their own right, Sakura’s got the type of academic-related intellect that Sasuke’s missing to properly handle such a mission.

According to Jiji, Sasuke’s cellmate Penzila would know where the ‘Map of the Heavens’ could be because he worked as an assistant in the prison library. With Penzila being obsessed with gambling, I’m looking forward to seeing Sasuke and Sakura figure out a way to get him to talk. 

As for the relationship stuff, Jiji arriving in the infirmary and being all flirty with Sakura led to Sasuke revealing that he’s married to her. The way Jiji decided to reach out to touch Sakura’s unique pink hair was just… like chill, Jiji. Chill!

I liked how Jiji kind of dragged Sasuke over how he treated Sakura. Jiji couldn’t understand how a husband could leave his wife for years at a time. In Jiji’s opinion, a wife and husband were supposed to stay together. Also, there’s always the risk of some other flirty guy putting the moves on Sakura while Sasuke’s away, especially when the people of Konoha didn’t wear wedding rings. As I have mentioned in my previous reviews, talk about wedding rings is going to keep popping up for a very important reason that will occur sometime down the line.

Even though one can criticize Sasuke and Sakura’s relationship, I think one also needs to realize their situation. Sakura’s one of the pillars holding up Konoha. And Sasuke’s tasked with keeping the village (and the world, in a sense) safe by staying outside the village’s borders. The two can’t really stay together 24/7 like the other couples they know.

They both understand that about each other and their respective jobs. But still, I’m looking forward to seeing their relationship continue to be developed as the story progresses. If the manga follows the novel, Sasuke’s going to get very emotional very soon! Prepare yourselves!

Also, Sakura did send a sample of Sasuke’s blood back to Konoha (by using a hawk that wore a cloth pass) to be analyzed. The fact Meno’s toxin worked on someone like Sasuke meant that a very foreign poison was being used. Let’s see if he’s able to get an antidote to boost his resistance in time.

What did you think of Sasuke Retsuden issue 3? Are you excited about the Sasuke and Sakura team-up?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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