I actually enjoy this kind of pace. There were so many new characters introduced recently, that I really can't give a damn about any of them really. I'd rather see focus on old main characters while simultaneously quickly wrapping up loose ends around. As said before, more details can and should be churned in in the anime, which is a plus compared to crappy pointless fillers.

Regarding the Rasengan variations, I've come to accept them already and not give a damn about them. It's become Naruto's main attack so it would be boring to just see the exact same rasengan over and over. Plus, I guess the game makers need some sort of official new moves to put into their games, lol. Of course, I'd like to see Naruto develop some sort of unique different technique(s) by himself, but I figure there's still room for that. I am ready to be disappointed though.

Also, with so much "darkness" being mentioned around Sasuke, It would be such a shame if Kish doesn't grow a pair and shows Sasuke slaughtering ninjas left and right. He already did Danzo, but Danzo was portrayed as an "evil man" himself, so that doesn't count. Sasuke is sooo evil, "wooooo", yet he hasn't really killed anyone by his evilness. This of course, makes me believe that he'll turn all goody goody sometime down the road, which sucks.