Farewell, Hinata?

Each week we get spoilers for the latest manga chapters of Naruto. One of the spoilers for this week was that Hinata was killed by Pain. Of course many thought this was fake, myself included. Surly the author wouldn't kill of my favorite female character in Naruto. Well, the truth hurts and it seems that's exactly what he did.

Naruto has had a crush on Sakura since his days in the ninja academy. She was the only girl he had eyes for and she couldn't see him for dust and at the start of the series, she treated him like crap. Why anyone would still be interested in a girl like that is beyond me. Hinata has had a crush on Naruto for the longest time and I'd always wondered if and when she'd admit her feelings to his face. Well she finally did. And she didn't just tell Naruto that she likes him. Hinata told Naruto that she loves him. Naruto is clearly stunned by her words. After this revalation, she is killed off panel right in front of Naruto.

I wanted to scream out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!" when I found out this once thought fake spoiler was true. Though I am (perhaps foolishly) hopeful that Hinata is still alive. I mean, characters in this series have survived fatal injuries when they should have kicked the bucket.

Hinata looked glorious in this chapter. Her speech she gave and her confession to Naruto were very heart-felt. He finds out that Hinata has loved him all this time and she's taken away from him in the blink of an eye. I think the last time I was this bummed when an anime manga character died was Maes Hues in Full Metal Alchemist. Again, that is assuming if she's dead. I really hope Kishimoto is screwing with us here.