Kakashi isn't gonna fight the Akatsuki guy right now... Naruto is the priority, and if the Akatsuki want the Kyuubi they'll need Naruto alive - at least for a while. Remember what Kisame said? Even if you cut his legs, its fine as long as he survives.

Besides, the name of the upcoming chapter is something like "The Shinobi scattered in battle", so I'm guessing we'll get to finally see what happened with Neji (who can't die, can't die, can't die) and Chouji (who er, may die, but then again not) and the Sand ninja (whom I hope will go back to Konoha for at least a while, I want to see some interaction between Naruto and Gaara).

What I'm interested in, too, is how are they gonna manage Sasuke's "I search power on my own" quest. I guess he'll become a secondary character from now on... we'll see him every now and then, but the plot remains centered about Naruto.


BTW, how far do you think Naruto's (Kyubi's) healing powers go? You think he could actually re-grow limbs? I mean, he did regrow an entire lung while fighting Sasuke!