Source: Wikipedia
“A New Squad! Two People and a Dog?!”
“Naruto is having trouble with the two brothers, and Iruka is having his share of difficulties with Mizuki. Iruka struggles to get the old Mizuki back, but Mizuki explains that the only reason he was ever nice to Iruka was because he wanted to be the Hokage’s favourite too. He wanted Iruka to be miserable and not to have everyone else be so kind to Iruka and not to him. Iruka and Mizuki then prepare to fight again. Meanwhile, after many shadow clone attacks, Naruto finally has a chance to use Rasengan. The brothers accidentally destroy their lunch and make Naruto’s attack hit their shadow clones. As they prepare to kill him, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino come to the rescue.”
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Analysis
This episode mainly focused on the nature of Iruka and Mizuki's relationship. This is evident in their memories, and we shall see the theme of appearance versus reality.
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Appearance versus reality
Iruka struggles to get the old Mizuki back, but Mizuki explains that the only reason he was ever nice to Iruka was that he wanted to be the Hokage’s favourite too. He wanted Iruka to be miserable and not to have everyone else be so kind to Iruka and not to him. Iruka and Mizuki then prepare to fight again. Iruka struggles to get the old Mizuki back because Mizuki is obsessed with obtaining power; he believes that power is everything and is willing to get the power from Orochimaru.
Moreover, in appearance, Iruka believes that Mizuki is a good friend. This is evident in his memories of when they were kids.
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Iruka’s memories
In the flashback, Iruka was crying at his parents’ grave. They were both killed by the nine-tailed fox. While he is sobbing, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, appears; hence, a dialogue takes place:
Hiruzen: It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already. Your instructors tell me you’re among the most playful of their students, always full of fun. You’re very brave; it’s hard to hide sadness behind laughter.
Iruka (with tears): What makes you think I’m sad about anything? It’s a noble thing to die in the line of duty, right? My parents gave their lives to protect this place from the fox demon. I’m the son of heroes; how can I be sad when they died that way? I’m not even sad because they left me alone. If I cry, it’s because I’m proud.
Hiruzen hugs him: It’s all right, Iruka. I know that somewhere inside of you, there’s a boy curled up in a ball of pain. But remember this: You’re not alone. Inside every ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village burns the will of fire.
Iruka: The will of fire?
Hiruzen: It’s what gives us the strength to defend our village. It’s the unbreakable bond that ties us all together. It’s what makes us a family. I wonder, do you have it yet, as young as you are?
Iruka: Mmm, I think so.
While having their conversation, Mizuki was hiding behind the trees, eavesdropping. Eventually, they noticed, and Hiruzens started by saying:
Hiruzen: Who is that over there?
Mizuki reveals himself.
Iruka: Mizuki!
Hiruzen: What’s this all about? Why were you hiding?
Mizuki: Well, I heard that Iruka has been feeling down lately. I was worried, so I thought I could check on him. Not just me; everyone’s worried about you, Iruka. Come on, we’re all just over there goofing off. Come and join us.
Iruka looks at Hiruzen, and Hiruzen responds by saying, Go on, my son.
Afterwards, Iruka leaves with Mizuki, and they run together, which is seemingly the start of a friendship. Iruka believed Mizuki was always better at everything and that he was a weak one who needed special attention. Moreover, he was an orphan who needed comfort, and when the third Hokage and Mizuki gave him that, he started to see Mizuki as a close friend. This is evident when he says to Mizuki, “That’s the Mizuki I remember. The one I idolised, the one who cared for his friends more than anything, was that one.” In appearance, Mizuki was a good friend, but he had so much contempt for Iruka, which is evident in Mizuki’s memories.
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Mizuki’s memories
Mizuki said he loved watching Iruka miserable, as is evident in his words: “Let me explain this to you, your pathetic sap. You thought I was being nice to you all that time, when in fact I loved watching you be miserable. I only wish I had made you suffer even more.” Afterwards, we are shown Mizuki’s memories as a kid with dialogue:
When Iruka was walking around, some kids were calling him, saying:
The kids: Hey, Iruka!
Iruka: Huh?
The kids: Come on, you wanna play some soccer with us? What do you say, we need you.
Iruka (with a smile on his face): Sure, okay, thanks
As Iruka was on his way, one of the kids said:
First kid: Poor guy
Second kid: Man, what he’s been through would get anybody depressed.
Third kid: Yeah, we gotta try and do our best to cheer him up.
Mizuki says in his mind: All this fuss, why?!
Afterwards, Mizuki’s memories switch to where he was spying on Iruka while he was sobbing at his parents’ grave.
Mizuki says in his mind: All this attention just because your parents were killed by the nine-tailed fox, hmph, it’s served him right. What? Even the Hokage? Why him? It’s not fair.
Hiruzen: Who is that over there?
Mizuki (said in his mind): Huh? All right, I know just what to do to get in good with your old man, too.
Hiruzen: What’s this all about? Why were you hiding?
Mizuki: Well, Iruka has been feeling down lately...
Mizuki was not a good friend. He was jealous of Iruka getting attention from everyone because his parents were killed by the nine-tailed fox. In other words, he was a fake friend, and it’s scary how, all these years, he managed to put on a façade. In response, Iruka is in disbelief, as is evident in his words, “No! You weren’t like that! I don’t believe it!” It is hard for Iruka to believe that his close friend would do this; hence, the element of appearance versus reality was evident in the sense that Mizuki was a good friend in appearance, but in reality, he hated Iruka. Therefore, their relationship is strained as they continue to battle against each other.
Meanwhile, after many shadow clone attacks, Naruto finally has a chance to use Rasengan. Naruto used his shadow clones to form a circle around the brothers. Afterwards, they ran fast in circles, and as the brothers were trying to look at the Shadow Clones, they felt dizzy. Therefore, it allowed Naruto to use the Rasengan.
The brothers accidentally destroy their lunch and make Naruto’s attack hit their shadow clones. As they prepare to kill him, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino come to the rescue. Naruto’s tactic doesn’t work, as it is shown that a huge amount of chakra starts to emanate from the brothers. Therefore, there is a threatening atmosphere when Naruto is about to be killed by the brothers. However, victory music starts to play in the background with a mixture of electric guitar and drums, as Shikamaru uses his Shadow Possession Jutsu on the brothers to stop hurting Naruto. Ino and Choji also come to the rescue, which means that the next episode will show the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.
The lesson from this episode is that one must be careful who they call their friends, just like Iruka is still in disbelief that Mizuki was a fake friend all this time.
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and then Add to home screen.