Source: Wikipedia
“Deep Cover!? A Super S-Ranked Mission!”
“Jiraiya begins to worry about Naruto and Sakura’s well-being. He then requests that Tsunade send the two on a mission with him. He finds Naruto, telling Sakura he is not going to stop her from going after Sasuke, but he is going with her and telling them about the mission. They head off to the Land of Rice Fields to find the Hidden Sound Village and hopefully Sasuke as well.”
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Analysis
It is important to note that this mission is supposed to be top secret.
The following analysis will look at:
The element of change in Sakura’s character
Characterisation of Jiraiya
The mysterious ninja who ambushed Naruto and Sakura
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The element of change in Sakura’s character
This is shown through her thoughts and the use of dialogue between her and Naruto. When it comes to her thoughts, Sakura feels sorry for herself while she stares down at a dam under a bridge in the Hidden Leaf Village. In her mind, she said, “You’re pathetic, Sakura; this is all because of you. Was that the best I could do—cry and beg? I just gave up and put it all on Naruto, and Naruto didn’t flinch. He risked everything to try and bring Sasuke back; he put his life on the line.” She feels sorry for herself. She feels useless because she couldn’t help bring Sasuke back home. She was heavily dependent on Naruto to bring him home.
However, we see a shift in her mindset. When she went home to pack her bag, in her mind, she said, “Now it’s time I finally did something for Sasuke. Time, I put my life on the line.” Sakura went from being dependent on others to being independent and doing stuff on her own. She is willing to put her life on the line to bring Sasuke back. This is because of her love for Sasuke; she cares for him enough to risk her life just to get him back, even though most of the time he is rude to her.
When it comes to a dialogue between her and Naruto, Naruto is tied up on his bed with a rope. It was a way of preventing him from escaping from the hospital like he did the first time, so that he could eat ramen at Ramen Ichiraku. Despite being tied up to the bed, Naruto still tries to break free, determined to get back to training so that he can just be strong. He is determined to keep his promise to Sakura to bring Sasuke back to the village. When Sakura visited Naruto, he said,
Naruto: Oh well, okay, so I will have to wait a little longer, but I’m still going to keep my promise no matter what.
Sakura: No, Naruto, it’s okay.
Naruto: I don’t get it, Sakura; are you mad at me or something?
Sakura: No, far from it. Just seeing you has made me more than I was before.
Naruto: Huh?
As Sakura walked away, she said, “It’s time I started carrying my weight.” She has learned that she cannot keep on depending on others. She is slowly realising that she needs to start carrying weight to avoid feeling useless and a burden. This is evident when she is about to leave the village, and before she can leave, Naruto arrives. He eventually realised that Sakura was going to look for Sasuke. Sakura, making assumptions that Naruto would criticise her, said, “How did you know? I know what you are thinking—that I’m being foolish, that I haven’t a chance at rescuing Sasuke on my own, but I... I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try. All this time, I have let others do everything, and I have been nothing but a burden. I haven’t done one thing well, not a single thing. Don’t try and stop me.” Sakura is tired of being dependent on others and feeling like a burden; hence, she is willing to try to find Sasuke to remove that feeling of being useless. In other words, she is determined to be strong; thus, the element of change in Sakura went from being dependent on others to seeking independence.
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Characterisation of Jiraiya
Jiraiya begins to worry about Naruto and Sakura’s well-being. He then requests that Tsunade send the two on a mission with him. He finds Naruto, telling Sakura he is not going to stop her from going after Sasuke, but he is going with her and telling them about the mission. They head off to the Land of Rice Fields to find the Hidden Sound Village and, hopefully, Sasuke as well.
The characterisation of Jiraiya is shown in the dialogue between him and Lady Tsunade. At her Hokage office, Tsunade is recalling the conversation with Jiraiya. It begins like this:
Jiraiya: They are fools, but they are determined fools; they will go anyway. There’s nothing we can say that will stop them; the result will be that we will lose the services of two of our most valuable genin. You can’t let it happen! You can save them by giving them an official mission to investigate the village hidden in the sound.
Lady Tsunade: Do I have any choice? But only on one condition: make sure that both get back alive, understood?
Jiraiya: Don’t worry, they will, even if it means I don’t.
From the dialogue, we are shown that Jiraiya has compassion for Sakura and Naruto. Instead of letting them risk their lives to find Sasuke, he takes on the role of going on a mission with them. This mission is risky, as is evident when Tsunade says, “Maybe I’m a fool. It’s a risky mission even with Jiraiya tagging along.” His kindness is shown throughout when they head off to the Land of Rice Fields to find the Hidden Sound Village and hopefully Sasuke as well.
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The mysterious ninja who ambushed Naruto and Sakura
When Jiraiya, Naruto, and Sakura find a town, Jiraiya leaves them behind, supposedly to find information about the whereabouts of Hidden Sound Village. However, he looks for women and eventually finds them in a tavern.
Meanwhile, when Naruto and Sakura are waiting for Jiraiya to come back, a mysterious ninja is hiding behind the bushes and decides to ambush them. Her face is covered as she throws various kunai at Naruto and Sakura. However, she misses. Naruto says to her, “Start talking, buddy. Who are you? Another one of Orochimaru’s hitmen?” Afterwards, she says in her mind, “Did I get it wrong?” and then she retreats. This interaction was strange in the sense that if Naruto and Sakura were not the targets, then who was her real target? What is her story? Moreover, at the end of the episode, she runs into a forest that is covered with mist. Where is she going? This mysterious ninja leaves a sense of suspense, which makes one watch the next episode to find out.
The lesson from this episode is that sometimes we must depend on ourselves instead of others, just like Sakura has the desire to pursue independence to avoid feeling useless.
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and then Add to home screen.