263 out

[Marks]

It seems I was wrong, they didn't say it was the strongest in the first episode of the anime. Maybe it was during Narutos training with Jiraia before the chunnin finals. AH who cares! The Kyubi is wicked awesome anyway. Maybe more of the jinchuuriki eyes would have opened if they used the Kyubi.

Edit: I bet they had that jinchuuriki ready way back when they made their atempt to get Naruto. Then when Naruto went with Jiraia they decided to go after Gaara instead. I bet Itachi objected saying he could handle it anyway, but they still went for Gaara. And I think that's why they're messing with Itachi now.

[ChaosK]

hmm....why would they decide to go after garra instead of all the others? or is it just because kishimoto doesnt wanna introduce more characters.

[Masamune]

hmm cool trap on the tags being pulled. fighting against yourself will be hard.

[Sidnne]

Originally posted by: Marks
It seems I was wrong, they didn't say it was the strongest in the first episode of the anime. Maybe it was during Narutos training with Jiraia before the chunnin finals. AH who cares! The Kyubi is wicked awesome anyway. Maybe more of the jinchuuriki eyes would have opened if they used the Kyubi.

Edit: I bet they had that jinchuuriki ready way back when they made their atempt to get Naruto. Then when Naruto went with Jiraia they decided to go after Gaara instead. I bet Itachi objected saying he could handle it anyway, but they still went for Gaara. And I think that's why they're messing with Itachi now.

They said that Kyuubi was the strongest of the yoma during this arc. It was in one of the dialouges between Kakashi and Chiyo. I don't remember which chapter though. But it has also been implied throughout the series.

Originally posted by: Kagemane_no_Jutsu
If they show that mad fag clone fight before Naruto FINALLY fights a real Akatsuki, I'ma be pissed.

I have no doubt that we will be kept in suspense, waiting to see the actual Team 7 vs Akatsuki battle. I expect to see the next 2 chapters focus on Team Gai vs Evil Team Gai, with maybe 3 pages per chapter dedicated to Team 7 in the cave.
I would be very surprised if we got to see Naruto taking on Akatsuki before Team Gai defeats the clones. The best we can hope for is a 50/50 jumping back and forth between the battles, ala Oro vs 3rd/Gaara vs Naruto.