Source: Wikipedia
“The Enemy of the Byakugan”
“With Neji unable to see through the mist, the group loses the advantage of his eyesight. He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. Rock Lee manages to hold Raiga off by fighting while still unconscious. When a mysterious case is knocked off Raiga’s back, Raiga becomes weaker and is eventually defeated by Naruto. When the gang opens the case, they discover a young boy named Ranmaru, who has been riding on Raiga’s back the entire time. Ranmaru reveals that Raiga cares for him and that he helps Raiga fight by serving as his “eyes.”
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Analysis
As the title of the episode suggests, the enemy of the Byakugan is none other than Ranmaru’s eyes. According to the Narutopedia website, Ranmaru possessed a special ability known as a dojutsu kekkei genkai, which, when activated, caused his eyes to blaze red. It grants him powers similar to the Byakugan, to which his dojutsu has been likened. This kekkei genkai is unique, as we will see in the following analysis.
This analysis will also look at the techniques used by the genin. It will also look at some details concerning the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Hidden Mist.
After the Genin survived the explosion caused by Raiga’s Lightning Fang technique, Raiga almost believed that he had killed them. However, Ranmaru said that the four of them were still alive. This is due to Ranmaru’s ability to track others by sensing chakra from a distance.
With Neji unable to see through the mist, the group loses the advantage of his eyesight. He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. When they survived Raiga’s attack, Neji said in his mind, “The enemy was close, but I couldn’t see anything. It’s strange; I know this is the Hidden Mist Jutsu, but my Byakugan should be able to penetrate it.” Neji is not able to sense Ranmaru’s chakra because he can mask his chakra; therefore, that’s why Neji can’t sense Ranmaru’s chakra. Moreover, Ranmaru can counter Neji’s Byakugan, as it completely hinders him from seeing Raiga’s chakra and Ranmaru’s chakra. The kekkei genkai proves to be beneficial on the enemy’s part.
He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. Neji activates his Byakugan, and he believes he can see various people by sensing their chakra network. However, he is not aware that they are just random objects. As a result, the genin attack their enemies without being aware that they are random objects. For instance, Tenten tossed her various kunai at them, Naruto used Shadow Clone Jutsu to activate Uzumaki Barrage, and Rock Lee used his specialised Jutsu Leaf Hurricane. However, their attacks prove to be ineffective as they realise that they were fighting random objects all this time. Neji can’t believe that chakra networks are running through illusions. This is due to Ranmaru’s ability to deceive sensory abilities and perfectly fabricate multiple ones.
Moreover, Ranmaru’s technique involves viewing and hearing events from vast distances. This was evident when Ranmaru said to Raiga, “One is halfway up the cliff, another is at the base; there’s one to the right and one to the left.” Ranmaru’s eyes are amazing, as they are one of the unique kekkei genkai.
After Ranmaru assesses the situation on the ground, Raiga activates a jutsu known as Fist of Lightning. Afterwards, all the genin are struck by lightning, and they are all unconscious. When Raiga believes he killed them, Ranmaru says, “Wait, they aren’t dead yet; they are just unconscious.” Ranmaru was able to track everyone’s chakra using his eyes.
Rock Lee manages to hold Raiga off by fighting while still unconscious. Triumph music with a mix of drums plays in the background as Rock Lee fights Raiga while unconscious, using taijutsu. This is evident when Ranmaru says, “Raiga, this one is still unconscious.” Moreover, Ranmaru said, “He’s fighting solely by muscle memory.” As Rock Lee has the upper hand, Ranmaru told Raiga, “It’s hard to read his movements, but for your sake, I’ll do my best.” Ranmaru serves as a guide for Raiga to avoid Lee’s movements. Despite all this, Lee still has the upper hand. Ranmaru is wondering how Lee can possess such skills. Meanwhile, the music gets intense with a mix of electric guitars as Naruto wakes up and realises Rock Lee needs help. Tenten and Neji also woke up.
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Some details concerning the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist
When a mysterious case is knocked off Raiga’s back, Raiga becomes weaker and is eventually defeated by Naruto. The music further intensified as Rock Lee knocked off Rannaru. This causes Raiga to get furious and kill Lee, but Naruto stops him before he can do anything. Naruto asks some questions for Raiga to answer. First, he asked him if he was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist. Second, he also asks him if he knows Zabuza and Kisame. In response, Raiga said that he has nothing but loathing for those two, so he doesn’t feel like reminiscing. As a result, they end up having a battle, and Naruto vows to get the answer he needs after he defeats Raiga.
Since Raiga is one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist, it makes one wonder why he has such hostility toward his former group members; hence, this may probably be revealed later or in the next anime, Naruto Shippuden.
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The battle between Naruto and Raiga
When Naruto thinks he has the upper hand, Raiga shoots his lightning bomb at Naruto four times, yet Naruto refuses to give up. Afterwards, Raiga is worried about Ranmaru, wondering where he is.
Meanwhile, after noticing the bag that came off Raiga’s back, Neji activates his Byakugan to find out what’s in the bag. He realises that there is someone in there. Moreover, Neji also discovered that the red dust was hiding the chakra networks and creating chakra networks as well. After realising that the person was the one guiding Raiga to avoid attacks, Neji then told Naruto to use the Shadow Clone Jutsu to defeat Raiga. As a result, Naruto activates his Shadow Clone Jutsu; however, Raiga uses his lightning bomb to defeat all the Shadow Clones.
Despite having the upper hand, Raiga’s chakra is deteriorating, and the Hidden Mist Jutsu is fading away. Therefore, he decides to run up the cliff, and Naruto’s Shadow Clones follow suit. Afterwards, Raiga activates his jutsu, Boulder Avalanche, and the boulders crush all of Naruto’s clones. Raiga reaches the top of the cliff believing that he won, but he then realises that Naruto is using his Rasengan on him. As a result, Naruto defeated Raiga. If it weren’t for Neji’s assessment of the situation, Naruto would not have thought of using his Shadow Clones once again. Raiga would have won the battle; therefore, Neji played a significant role in this scene.
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The reason why Raiga and Ranmaru have a close relationship is.
When the gang opens the case, they discover a young boy named Ranmaru, who has been riding on Raiga’s back the entire time. Ranmaru reveals that Raiga cares for him and that he helps Raiga fight by serving as his “eyes.” After the Genin realised that it was Ranmaru guiding Raiga, he narrated a story about how he and Raiga met. In the past, Raiga and his gang invaded Ranmaru’s village and killed everyone. While killing everyone, they were all wearing masks. Moreover, as Raiga reaches a cabin, he finds Ranmaru and explains why he invaded the village. The Hidden Mist was infiltrated by spies from this village, so they came to smoke them out and kill them. However, the problem was that they were not having luck finding their targets, so Raiga was killing people at random. As a result, Ranmaru said it’s all right if Raiga is the one taking his life. Afterwards, he reveals his red eyes, and Raiga wonders what he means when Ranmaru doesn’t mind dying. Therefore, in a dialogue between them, Ranmaru said:
Ranmaru: I saw you always crying.
Raiga: What? I cry?
Ranmaru: Deep within your heart, as you search for meaning in your life. You see, I’ve been watching you.
Raiga removes his mask and asks, What are you? How could you?
Ranmaru: I’m the same as you; living is painful; I’ve done all to understand the meaning of my life; my illness forces me indoors, shunned by everyone. All I can do is hide out in the world under this blanket, but even if you’re able to gain some meaning by binding this thing called living well, then who am I to stop you? Go ahead.
Raiga was pointing his blade at Ranmaru’s forehead. After hearing his story, Raiga removes his blade from Ranmaru’s forehead, and then he says,
Raiga: You’re alone, then?
Ranmaru nods.
Afterwards, Raiga carried him and said, “Come, from here on out, you and I shall be as one.” Subsequently, Raiga carries Ranmaru on his back. They go outside, and it’s raining.
In the present, Ranmaru concludes by saying, “That was the day I became Raiga’s eyes and ears, and Raiga became my hands and feet. The outside world that we dashed into was filled with things that I had never heard of. For the first time in my life, it was so much fun. Wherever and whenever I was with Raiga, nothing else mattered; we were never apart. We were trying to find meaning in our lives by living for each other. We were convinced we’d found the answer. That’s why, if Raiga is gone, I have no reason to live. Without him, I have no purpose in this world. No cause exists. There’s no need for me to be here any longer.” This relationship is like when Haku was always with Zabuza. Haku would do whatever it took to protect Zabuza, as was evident when he died protecting him from Kakashi’s Chidori.
However, compared to Raiga and Ranmaru’s close relationship, Zabuza and Haku had a complicated relationship. At first, Zabuza was only using Haku as a tool because he possessed the kekkei genkai of Ice Release. It was only when Haku died that Zabuza realised he cared about Haku. When it comes to Raiga and Ranmaru’s relationship, it’s not complicated at all. From the onset, when Raiga heard about Ranmaru’s story, he showed empathy and compassion as he treated him as his equal. They were similar in the sense that they were trying to find purpose in life. Raiga didn’t care about Ranmaru being crippled, hence why they had a close relationship. Furthermore, it seems that people who possess the kekkei genkai most of the time have a huge burden they carry in their lives.
After hearing Ranmaru’s statement, Naruto is almost teary-eyed as he says, “Look, don’t be ridiculous; you can’t talk like that.” Ranmaru proceeds to say, “Go on, why do you hesitate? My arms and legs are crippled. I’m powerless to resist you. You have a mission to carry out, don’t you? Well, hurry up and finish it.” Although Ranmaru was prepared for death, Neji responded by saying, “The mission entrusted to us was to drive the Kurosuki family out of here, and with Raiga out of the way now, he no longer poses a threat to the village.” Moreover, he also said, “The question at hand is what to do about the Kurosuki family now that they have no leadership. Take the head off a beast, and it’s hard to predict what it will do. Once that’s done, the mission will be completed.” Naruto wonders what they should do about Ranmaru. Sad music with a mix of low-pitched piano plays in the background as they tie him up in a cabin because he is a danger to himself. Once the Genin finish their mission, Naruto promises to get him back. Afterwards, Naruto puts on a chakra-sealing tab as well. They must assume that he still possesses other jutsu just to be safe. Thereafter, the genin left the cliff.
Meanwhile, we are shown a glimpse of Raiga buried in boulders. Is he alive? This will be revealed in the next episode.
The lesson from this episode is that everyone has a story that influences them to make questionable decisions, just like in the case of Raiga and Ranmaru, who are trying to find purpose in life even though their actions are questionable.
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and then Add to home screen.