Source: Wikipedia
“The Star’s Radiance”
“After Akahoshi tries to execute Sumaru, Hokuto and the rest of the children stand up to protect their village, revealing the poisoning caused by the star. After learning the truth, the adults turn on Akahoshi as well. After Akahoshi nearly kills Mizura, he is given no second chance. Not being one to lose, Akahoshi fuses his body with the star, causing his chakra to go out of control. Naruto, guided by Natsuhi’s spirit, destroys the star and defeats Akahoshi. Although Tsunade initially seems upset over Naruto failing the mission, she concedes that the mission was “trash” due to being ordered by Akahoshi himself. She heals the children of their poisoning.”
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Analysis
To conclude the season finale with a bang, the episode was a mix of intense emotions among everyone at the Star Temple. We also got to see Natsuhi’s spirit even protecting her son beyond the grave. Lastly, Naruto’s connections with the Star Village genin, such as Mizura, Sumaru, and Hokuto, show how much he cares for others. Other details will be shown in the analysis:
At the start of the episode, during the night, Hokuto and Naruto’s teammates run on a rope in the Valley of Death. They were on their way to the Star Temple to stop Sumaru from his pursuit of revenge against Akahoshi. Meanwhile, when Sumaru was flying with his purple chakra wings, he landed at the Star Temple, and when he got inside, he found his dead mother’s body lying on the ground. The lullaby instrumental started to play in the background as he held her. As he cries, his tears drop on the painted symbol Natsuhi had drawn with her blood. While Sumaru contemplates the death of his mom, Akahoshi, his henchmen, and the rest of the men from the village stand outside the training chamber, waiting to attack him. Hokuto and Naruto’s team were already at the scene, hiding behind a rock, and when Naruto saw what was happening, he wanted to attack. However, he is stopped by the group and suggested that they observe before they do anything.
Neji activated his Byakugan and saw Sumaru inside the training chamber, holding his dead mom’s body in his hands. Meanwhile, Akahoshi, his henchmen, and the rest of the men of the Star Village made plans to execute Sumaru. When Hokuto and Naruto’s team witnessed this, Rock Lee and Naruto wanted to attack, but Neji stopped them, saying that unless the Leaf Village ordered them to attack Akahoshi, their hands would be tied. They can’t interfere in the affairs of Star Village.
After Akahoshi tries to execute Sumaru, Hokuto and the rest of the children stand up to protect their village, revealing the poisoning caused by the star. Akahoshi and the rest of the men used an archer ninja tool with paper bombs to shoot at the training chamber where Sumaru and his dead mother were. While they did that, Sumaru, who was inside the chamber, was crying. He said to Natsuhi, “For my entire life, I resented you, Mother, for leaving me all alone as a child.” Afterwards, his tear landed on the blood symbol on the floor, where it glowed purple. While this happened, Sumaru went on to say to his mother, “But now, I understand why. I know now what made you stay away from me all those years. Akahoshi, I will not forgive him.” As he put her down on the floor, he heard his mother’s voice calling out to him, which caused him to face the door, where he saw paper bombs beginning to set off. As a result, the training chamber explodes, accompanied by depressing music that plays in the background with a high-pitched sound. Afterwards, Akahoshi laughs a little as he celebrates killing Sumaru and Natsuhi. Naruto wanted to interfere, but Neji kept saying they should interfere, and while they were conversing, Hokuto stood up and stood in front of Akahoshi and his men to check if Sumaru was dead. When she couldn’t see any sign of him, she started crying.
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Hokuto and Mizura played a role in opening the eyes of the villagers to Akahoshi’s evil nature.
Sad music plays in the background with a mix of electric guitars. Hokuto began to say to the men, “Listen to me! If you continue with the star training, you’re all going to die. The person who stole the village star was Sumaru’s mother, but the only reason she did it was because she knew it was the only way to protect you from it.” The men asked Akahoshi if this was true, to which he responded by saying, “Don’t tell me you all honestly believe this nonsense. The only people who cannot withstand this training are the ones who don’t love this village enough. Those with enough loyalty to the village will become true Shinobi, and one day our humble land will surpass those of the five great hidden villages.” With two opposing views from both sides, this left the men confused about who was telling the truth. Therefore, Mizura is the one who managed to convince them of the dangers of star training.
Mizura showed the villagers the purple chakra that was encircling his chest. As a result, sad music with a moderate piano sound plays in the background as the men of the star village are shocked and horrified about the effects of star training. While they were shocked, Mizura said to Akahoshi, “Lord Akahoshi, you know that my heart is filled with pride for the star village. The incredible pain I endured for the star training? How can you say I failed because I don’t love this village enough?” Afterwards, he slowly passed out, and Hokuto arrived just in time to catch him before he fell to the ground. At that moment, the men started to believe the star genin about the dangers of the star training. They also put two and two together, which must be the reason why the third hoshikage stopped the star training. They also realised that they were blinded by their ambitions to make this village great, not realising that they were being led down the wrong path. Thanks to the bravery of Hokuto and Mizura in revealing the truth, the men finally saw the dangers of star training; hence, they are dynamic characters who grow as a result of the complicated situation. They were important characters who changed the minds of the men of the Star Village.
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Akahoshi’s cruel nature starts to unravel in front of everyone.
After learning the truth, the adults turn on Akahoshi as well. What made them turn on Akahoshi for real was when he tried to use the archer to harm Hokuto and Mizura for messing up his plans. This caused the star genin to protect their friends from Akahoshi by standing in front of them. Moreover, Akahoshi didn’t help the situation when he ordered the men to kill all the Genin. They turn on him so fast for being so cruel as not to consider that the kids are the future of the village.
To make matters worse, when the henchmen tried to convince him to listen to the people, Akahoshi decided to escalate the issue even further when he revealed the truth about himself and his henchmen, who assassinated the third Hoshikage. This is evident when Akahoshi says to his henchmen, “Keep your mouth shut! You have a lot of nerve playing the innocent. You have just as much blood on your hands as I do!” Akahoshi even admitted to everyone present by saying, “We should take pride in our star; it sets us apart from all others. I couldn’t stand by and allow some foolish leader to prevent our village from ever using our strongest weapon!” To add fuel to the fire, he said while wide-eyed and laughing evilly, “Yes! It was the three of us who assassinated the third hoshikage. We had to do it; it was the only way we could save the village!” At that moment, the men turn on Akahoshi and his henchmen and say they can no longer recognise him as a village leader for the heinous crime he committed. The men apologise to the star genin and promise to fight for them, which leaves the star genin thrilled. Akahoshi took pride in the heinous crime he committed, and not showing remorse led him to his downfall.
After Akahoshi nearly kills Mizura, he is given no second chance. Instead of seeing the dangers of the situation, he was stupid enough to use the archer to shoot an arrow at Mizura, which landed on his back. As a result, this escalated the issue even worse. It angered the men of the star village, and they told Akahoshi to accept defeat like a man since he was surrounded.
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Akahoshi’s need for power is so intense that he is willing to risk his life.
Not being one to lose, Akahoshi fuses his body with the star, causing his chakra to go out of control. Being surrounded by the men of the star village didn’t faze him either. Instead, it made him even more cocky as he said to them, “Oh, is that so? How can I lose when I possess the star? With the star’s power, I shall become the fourth hoshikage.” Afterwards, that’s when he fused his body with the star on his chest, which left even the henchmen speechless.
After setting the star in his chest, Akahoshi shows that he is intoxicated by the pursuit of power no matter what, as is evident in his words, “Such power! No amount of training could ever produce this kind of immense power! I should have done this from the start. Make my body one with the star.” As he laughed wickedly, that’s when his chakra got out of control. To support this, while Neji’s team was still hiding, Neji activated his Byakugan to see what was happening with Akahoshi. He said to his team, “All of the chakra from the star is being poured into his chakra network and causing an overload.”
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Akahoshi’s newfound power
Intense music plays in the background with a mix of electric guitar, drums, and Japanese flute to symbolise the threatening atmosphere. Akahoshi’s appearance has changed since he looks like a monster with long hair, and his purple chakra has changed dramatically. Compared to the one he had before, his ninja technique, Kujaku Beast, is enormous. The Kujaku Beast targeted the men and the genin of the star village using the chakra from its mouth. This caused an explosion, and everyone got injured. Moreover, the Kujaku Beast also targeted Neji’s team, which left them injured except for Naruto. Naruto decides to go after Akahoshi against Neji’s wishes and says to Neji that he will take the blame for disobeying orders when they go back to the village.
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Naruto and Natsuhi’s spirit save the Star Village from Akahoshi’s evil plans.
Naruto, guided by Natsuhi’s spirit, destroys the star and defeats Akahoshi. Before he was guided by Natsuhi’s spirit, Akahoshi was about to attack Hokuto and Mizura. Naruto arrived to save them as he activated his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu while in the air. When the shadow clones charge at him, his Kujaku Beast defeats the shadow clones. Moreover, Naruto activated his Rasengan, but the Kujaku Beast Chakra beat him and tossed him on the ground, where the remains of the training chamber were. As Naruto lay on the ground, he heard the voice of Natsuhi singing the lullaby, where she appeared as a ghost holding Sumaru, who was unconscious and alive. When Akahoshi sees the ghost, he is stunned and starts to put two and two together by saying in his mind, “She must have used the Ninja Art: Kujaku to let her chakra be controlled even after her death. It can’t be! She’s protecting Sumaru from beyond the grave!” This wouldn’t have been possible if she hadn’t left the blood symbol on the floor of the training chamber. As the lullaby plays throughout the episode, Akahoshi’s Kujaku Beast Chakra attack gets blocked by an invisible barrier set by Natsuhi’s spirit. This caused them to be knocked out.
Moreover, when Natsuhi’s spirit puts Sumaru on the ground, she walks to where Naruto lies on the ground. While she helped Naruto get up, she activated her purple chakra wings so that she could help Naruto defeat Akahoshi. So, as Naruto and Natsuhi flew in the air, Naruto activated another shadow clone to create the Rasengan with a mix of Natsuhi’s chakra. When they came close to Akahoshi, the Rasengan hit the star on his chest, which caused a huge explosion. While this happens, the lullaby stops playing in the background. Natsuhi is presented as still having the loving and caring nature she had for her son, Sumaru, in the sense that she protected him from dying even beyond the grave. She is a round character who seems like a real person in the sense that mothers have a high regard for protecting their kids, no matter what. Moreover, the love she has for the village runs deep since she even saved the village beyond the grave. If it wasn’t for the star that made her a rogue ninja or Akahoshi, she could have made a great hoshikage because she cared for the lives of the village.
Although Tsunade initially seems upset over Naruto failing the mission, she concedes that the mission was “trash” due to being ordered by Akahoshi himself, who heals the children of their poisoning. To conclude the season 4 finale, the episode ended on a positive note for Star Village. The dialogue below will reveal what happened to Akahoshi and his henchmen and the competitive nature between Naruto and Sumaru about who will become a kage first:
Tsunade: The assignment was to protect the village’s star, yet you destroyed the very thing we were hired to protect. Not only did you completely fail the mission, but the damages we must pay would be huge.
Naruto: Agh, come on, grandma, there was no other way but to smash that star thing.
Neji: I was the mission leader, so it’s my fault for not being able to stop him.
Rock Lee: I am responsible as well.
Tenten: And you should punish me for this, too.
Tsunade (smiles a bit): Nah, I think we can let this one slide.
Neji’s team: Huh?
Tsunade: So far, we’ve received no formal complaints from the star village over the loss.
Neji’s team was relieved as Tsunade went on to say:
Tsunade: Since the culprit who was behind the whole inferiors’ plot turned out to be the deputy hoshikage and our client, the mission was cancelled altogether.
Naruto: Speaking of which, what happened to that jerk anyway?
Tsunade: Akahoshi and his two accomplices, Yotaka and Shiso, are being held in the Star Village, where they face severe punishment.
Naruto (happy): That’s good news! I guess that means the Star Village will become peaceful again.
While they were conversing, someone knocked on the door.
Tsunade: What is it?
Shizune enters.
Shizune: Excuse me, Lady Tsunade, we’ve completed the examination of the genin from the Star Village.
Tsunade: and?
Shizune: With the proper course of treatment, they should all make a full recovery.
Naruto: And Mizura?
Shizune: Yes, he should be healthy again in no time.
Naruto (jumps): All right! So, where is everyone?!
Shizune: They have all been checked out and are on their way back home.
Naruto: Woohoo!
Naruto leaves the office.
Tsunade: Naruto! Get back here! This lecture isn’t over.
She laughed a bit, and as he left, she said,
Tsunade: He never changes, does he?
Meanwhile, outside the leaf village, Sumaru, Mizura, and Hokuto are walking and laughing. After some time, Naruto appeared.
Naruto (hyper): Hey guys! It’s great to see you, Mizura. It looks like you’re doing better, huh?
Mizura: Yep
Sumaru: I’m still not going to lose to you, you know.
Naruto (confused): What does that mean?
Sumaru: It means I will become hoshikage before you; even with the power of our star taken from us, I will turn my village into the strongest of the mighty hidden ninja villages.
Naruto (competitive): Oh yeah! There’s no way I will lose; I will become Hokage way before you!
Sumaru (competitive): Shut up! I’m going to be first!
Naruto: I’ll be the first, and that’s a promise!
The episode ended with Naruto’s last statement: What will happen next in Season 5? This will be revealed in the next episode.
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and then Add to home screen.