Source: Wikipedia
“Sakura’s Determination”
“Naruto takes on Arashi but gets trapped and beaten easily. Sakura thinks he is dead, and Naruto ends up blowing his sneak attack cover to protect her, getting pierced in the spine. Naruto tries his attack again, but his injury causes a problem. Naruto gets trapped in an attack that will crush him if he does not get out. Sasame attacks Arashi and manages to set him free for a second. However, it does not last long, and he soon tries to kill Sasame. Sakura jumps in the way and says she will give her life to protect her friends. Naruto tells her she cannot die, and Arashi tries to finish Naruto off. Sasame causes enough of a distraction for Naruto to break free. The attack caused by Naruto frees Arashi, and Arashi protects Sasame from the monster that is part of his body. The place begins to collapse, and Jiraiya arrives. Arashi throws them out and tells them he cannot leave since he is a puppet. He tells Naruto that Sasuke is alive, and they all leave, leaving Arashi behind. The Fuma Clan promises to rebuild their town, and everyone heads back to Konoha. Considering herself to have been of little use, Sakura asks to become Tsunade’s pupil and learn to become a medical ninja. She also meets Naruto in the hospital and thanks him, insisting that next time she will help him save Sasuke.”
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Analysis
As this marks the end of Season 3, the following analysis will look at the
Use of dialogue
The role of Sasame in bringing Arashi back to his senses
Arashi’s sacrifice
Sakura’s determination
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In the previous episode, we were left in suspense as Arashi changed into a monster. As the episode begins, ominous music—a blend of drums and electronic guitar—starts playing in the background. The use of dialogue starts to take place among them:
Naruto: Okay, where is Sasuke? What have you done with him?
Arashi (with a creepy smile): I take it you are Naruto. If I were to tell you the truth, you would not believe me anyway.
Naruto: That’s right! At least not if you told me he was dead.
Sakura: Naruto... that’s right, Sasuke is alive.
Naruto: I promised that I would bring Sasuke back, and I am the kind of guy who always keeps his promises.
Sakura: Naruto
Arashi: You’ll have to get past me first. If I were still the weakling I once was, I would tell you everything you want to know.
Sasame (with tears in her eyes): Arashi, please!
Arashi: Forget it, the Arashi you used to know is dead and gone. What you see now is the fusion of ninja art cadaver puppets, just a lot of unfeeling flesh.
From the dialogue, we learn that this is a threatening situation in which Arashi has transformed into a monster. He even went on to assert that the old Arashi is dead and gone and that his new body is the fusion of ninja art cadaver puppets, just a lot of unfeeling flesh. In other words, he is saying that he has dead bodies attached to him that are giving him power. Therefore, the pursuit of power has changed Arashi into someone unrecognisable.
Moreover, despite the situation, Naruto is hopeful that Sasuke is alive and that he is determined to keep his promises. This shows that no matter what situation Naruto faces, he will always be optimistic, which is a good character trait to have.
Menacing music starts to play in the background as Arashi’s body starts to change, and Jigumo starts to have long arms. It is a scary situation to the extent that Sasame screams, and Arashi starts to laugh wickedly.
Naruto takes on Arashi but gets trapped and beaten easily. Arashi summons Jigumo to attack Naruto. While the battle begins, Gamakichi shows Sakura a safe place to hide with Sasame while Naruto takes on Arashi. Meanwhile, Jigumo traps Naruto in a spider cocoon, and then Arashi summons Kamakiri to cut Naruto in half. This leaves the audience perplexed and wondering whether Naruto has survived the attack or not.
Sakura thinks he is dead, and Naruto ends up blowing his sneak attack cover to protect her, getting pierced in the spine. A dialogue takes place among them. When Naruto was pierced by the spine caused by Kamakiri’s attack, Arashi began by saying:
Arashi: Mmmm, that was close. I got careless and let down my guard. Too bad, Naruto, your one chance for a sneak attack and you muffed it...
Sakura (with a concerned look): Naruto
Arashi: ...all to try and rescue that worthless dead weight.
Sakura (with a stunned look starts to cry): A worthless dead weight. Naruto, I am sorry.
Naruto: Don’t let him get to you, Sakura. It will take more than this to stop me. This is nothing!
Sakura starts to feel worthless again, like the time she felt when she could not convince Sasuke to stay in the village. This triggers her and makes her vulnerable to the situation. However, Naruto still tries to stay hopeful and tries to cheer up Sakura, even though he gets pierced by the spine. He is empathetic towards Sakura, which is why he is willing to keep his promise to bring Sasuke back; hence, he is an empathetic character. In other words, he is a round character who cares about Sakura.
Naruto tries his attack again, but his injury causes a problem. Naruto tries to use Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu; however, it does not work. Afterwards, Arashi starts to fuse his chakra with Kamakiri and Jigumo’s chakra. A huge amount of immense power from his body, and he starts reciting jutsu, and Sasame starts to say something significant:
Sasame: No, how could Arashi know that?
Gamakichi: Huh?
Sasame: It is a forbidden jutsu known only to the ancient chiefs of the Fuma clan.
Gamakichi (a shocked look): Forbidden?! Why?!
Before Sasame could say anything, Arashi said, “Fuma Ninja Art: Curse Mandala.” Therefore, Sasame played a role in revealing that Arashi is using the forbidden jutsu.
Naruto gets trapped in an attack that will crush him if he does not get out. Naruto is trapped in a pyramid-like chakra cage. Arashi explains his jutsu, saying, “As the chakra cage shrinks, the person within it is crushed smaller and smaller until it is the size of a pebble. What is more, there is no way to break free, not while I maintain the jutsu and keep up the pressure, see?” This means that the more Arashi crushes Naruto, the less the chance Naruto is going to survive.
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The role of Sasame in bringing Arashi back to his senses
Sasame attacks Arashi and manages to set him free for a second. However, it does not last long, and he soon tries to kill Sasame. Sasame stabbed Jigumo with her kunai, and then he started to slowly melt away. Eventually, he comes to his senses, as is evident in the dialogue:
Arashi: Sasame, what have you done?
Sakura: Sasame!
Sasame (with tears): Come back, Arashi, come back to me. I know you have not gone; you are still in there somewhere, I know it.
Arashi grabs her and says, “As I told you before, the Arashi you used to know is dead.” When Jigumo’s form is completely desolate, Arashi starts to come back to his senses.
Sasame: You’re there, Arashi, aren’t you?
Arashi: Forgive me, Sasame. All I wanted was the power to help the Fuma clan find its place in the sun once again.
Sasame: Yes! I know. I do understand, but it is over now; you can come home. Come back to the village.
Arashi (shakes his head): Never again, look at me, I have become a monster.
Sasame: No that is not true.
Arashi: If you do the agony Sasame, end this, I am begging you, put me out of my misery.
Kamakiri then starts to wake up, and Arashi switches back to being a monster. He then said, “What am I saying? You tried to kill me, and for that, you must pay! Sasame starts crying, saying, “Please, Arashi, stop!” Arashi tries to kill her.
Sakura jumps in the way and says she will give her life to protect her friends. Naruto tells her she cannot die, and Arashi tries to finish Naruto off. Sasame causes enough of a distraction for Naruto to break free. The attack caused by Naruto frees Arashi, and Arashi protects Sasame from the monster that is part of his body. While Sasame was distracting Arashi, Naruto broke free from the pyramid-like chakra cage. As asserted by the Narutopedia Website, the user of this technique must always maintain a triangle-shaped hand seal to maintain the cage. Should the user’s falter or the entrapped opponent happen to be strong enough, the cage can be broken. When the cage breaks, a massive explosion of energy follows, destroying a wide area and harming the user. The prisoner, however, remains safe at the centre of the blast. Due to this explosion, the monster is no longer part of Arashi’s body. Afterwards, Arashi protects Sasame, and a dialogue takes place:
Sasame: Arashi, you are hurt.
Arashi: I am sorry, Sasame, I never meant to cause you so much suffering.
Sasame: No, Arashi, you are the one who suffered, not me. What can I do? Tell me, is there anything I can do?
Arashi: You have already done it, Sasame. Sasame, it is only thanks to you that I am finally myself again.
Arashi is back to being his normal self, and he thanks Sasame that he is finally himself again. Therefore, Sasame played a role in bringing Arashi back. Moreover, their relationship is no longer strained, they now have a close relationship.
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Arashi’s sacrifice
The place begins to collapse, and Jiraiya arrives. Arashi throws them out and tells them he cannot leave since he is a puppet. He tells Naruto that Sasuke is alive, and they all leave, leaving Arashi behind. Jiraiya arrived with a summoned toad, and he managed to get away from the woman. The woman is also part of the Fuma clan, which means she is a victim as well of Orochimaru’s manipulation. This is why we see her lying unconscious on the huge toad.
Before Arashi sacrifices his life, he tells Naruto that Sasuke is alive. He also provided other details as shown in the dialogue:
Arashi: Naruto, now I can finally tell you the truth about the mission that Orochimaru gave us. He wanted to make sure that no one took Sasuke back to the Hidden Leaf Village, no matter what.
Sakura (with a smile): Then Sasuke must be...
Arashi: That’s right, he is alive. Sasuke is the vessel Orochimaru plans to inhabit, but that cannot happen for three years, so he must keep him safe until then.
Through the dialogue, we are aware of Orochimaru’s plans with Sasuke. He plans to wait three years before Sasuke can be his vessel. In the meantime, Sasuke is safe, which leaves Team Jiraiya a chance to train and prepare to save Sasuke in the future. Therefore, Arashi played a role in this episode to better understand Orochimaru’s plans.
Moreover, Arashi decides to stay behind because he is a puppet. Since Jigumo and Kamakiri are a part of Arashi, they still cling to Arashi. Arashi said, “I’m only a puppet like these two; this is where I belong now.” Then Jiraiya leaves with Sasame screaming the word, no. As they leave, Arashi’s final words are, “Goodbye, Sasame and thank you.” It is a tragedy that the Fuma clan lost another member of their clan. Although Arashi said he stayed behind because he is a puppet, he did not want to leave his comrades behind, Jigumo and Kamakiri. They meant a lot to him, which is why he decided to stay behind.
The Fuma Clan promises to rebuild their town, and everyone heads back to Konoha. Jiraiya said that the loss of Arashi was only part of the terrible price that had to be paid, but the Fuma clan is finally free of Orochimaru and free to rebuild their clan. The Fuma clan will remember the ones who died, including Arashi.
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Sakura’s determination
Considering herself to have been of little use, Sakura asks to become Tsunade’s pupil and learn to become a medical ninja. She also meets Naruto in the hospital and thanks him, insisting that next time, she will help him save Sasuke. Experience has taught Sakura that to avoid feeling useless, she must find a way to improve herself as a ninja. Therefore, she seeks to become Tsunade’s pupil to become a medical ninja. Before looking at her determination, it is important to know the dialogue between Shikamaru and Lady Tsunade. At the Hidden Village, Shikamaru said,
Shikamaru: You know, I have been thinking.
Lady Tsunade: About what?
Shikamaru: Of course, I realised there are a lot of variables involved, the size of the squad and the nature of the mission, but I think it would be a good idea if every squad had at least one member of the medical corps assigned to it.
Lady Tsunade: You certainly do not have to convince me. I wrote a report long ago that explains how such a move would greatly increase our rate of success and survival. The problem is that it takes a long time to train the medical core shinobi.
Shikamaru: mmmm
Lady Tsunade: They need a whole different set of skills than fighting shinobi, like perfect mastery and precision of chakra control, comprehension of the vast amount of specialised knowledge, the brains to know how to apply it, and patience. But of course, the most important attribute for anyone who wants to call themselves a medical core shinobi.... later, I am just a little busy now.
Shikamaru: The most important attribute... huh
The conversation is crucial in the sense that they are looking for the medical corps to be assigned to each squad, which will increase success and survival. Therefore, if Sakura becomes a medical ninja, she will play a crucial role in her squad to achieve success and a high survival rate. In other words, she will never have to feel worthless ever again.
Moreover, Sakura went to Lady Tsunade’s office to ask her if she could be her mentor. As a result, a dialogue takes place between them when Tsunade says:
Lady Tsunade: Sakura Haruno, I am told that you have a fine mind and that your will is strong. Very well, but be warned, I will not go easy on you.
Sakura: Understood!
This episode proves to be inspiring. Sakura has Lady Tsunade to train her, and Naruto has Jiraiya to train him for three years until they can bring back Sasuke. Sasuke, on the other hand, has Orochimaru to train him. It makes one think the three legendary sannin training their pupils means that Team 7 could be the next generation to be Legendary Three Ninjas!
The lesson from this episode is that if one is not happy about something, one should do something about it, just like Sakura asked Tsunade to train her so that she can stop feeling useless.
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and then Add to home screen.