@Cyan:
Upside to this: SIDE CHARACTERS DOING SOMETHING.
Downside: ZOMBIE CASTLE MAGIC.
The side characters have assembled in a large group to attempt to do something before.
Last time it happened Rock Lee and Kiba were knocked unconscious the SECOND time Sakura threw a smoke bomb at them.
I recall that Shino was prepared to do…something... against... somebody. It was his turn or something?
And Ino and Choji were incredibly helpful is avenging Asuma's death, as I recall (But hey, he's back now, so maybe he'll actually confront one of them. Or maybe someone he's never met.)
Maybe Sakura can fight Granny! And Neji can fight his father!
And speaking of Choji, he had a fantastic showing against Pain, didn't he?
Of course, we all know how much development Hinata's been getting since confessing her love for Naruto and sacrificing her life to save him.
And what about Karin, the latest convert/fangirl of Naruto's?
The only reason to have even a sliver of hope is the obvious assumption that this is clearly the final arc, and hope Kishi has the decency to give everyone a final page before the end.