Source: Wikipedia
“The Mysterious Curse of the Haunted Castle”
“Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata enter a castle in search of the Daimyo’s wife. They then discover that inside there is a monster that the castle’s original occupants summoned, and they learn that the creature is seeking release from the world. Naruto destroys the contract that summoned the monster, and it returns home, releasing all its captives (including the Daimyo’s wife).”
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Analysis
The episode primarily focused on the mysterious curse of the haunted castle, specifically that a summoned animal inhabited the castle. Moreover, we get to see Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata have completed their first mission successfully, especially after the whole copying ninja Saga, which was just a test to see if they can work as a team. Therefore, this episode proved that they are a team. Other details will be mentioned in the analysis below, which will show the use of foreshadowing that was going to happen later in the plot.
The episode starts by showing the Daimyo’s wife, Lady Kayo, travelling during the night with attendants and guards while being carried on a carriage. Along the way, one of the guards noticed that the sky above looked a bit threatening, so he informed Lady Kayo that they should seek lodging before it rained. At that moment, when he said the sky above was threatening, that was the first sign that something bad was about to happen. The second sign that something bad was about to happen was when they were surrounded by an impenetrable fog, so they couldn’t see anything. Last, the third sign was when they heard a creepy voice, and suddenly there was a huge flash of light. To make matters worse, the roaring voice caused a vibration of trees, which left everyone stunned, and when the roaring voice intensified, a huge light spread everywhere, which took Lady Kayo and her attendants by surprise. It also broke their carriage into pieces. At that moment, this is a dramatic irony in the sense that we, as the audience, know that she was taken away by the haunted castle of which other characters are not yet aware.
To support the fact that this is indeed a dramatic irony, at the Hokage’s headquarters, Lady Tsunade informs Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata at her office about their mission. She said to them, “It seems that Lady Kayo of the Land of Honey was on her way to visit her family back in the Land of Candy. When she didn’t show up, her relatives grew nervous and sent out a party to look for her. Unfortunately, her carriage was found in pieces on the road. From what they could gather, Lady Kayo and her attendants just upped and disappeared.” So, their mission was to track her down since Hinata’s eyes and Kiba’s nose made them perfect for the mission, while Naruto was just picked because he was the only one available.
After some time, Naruto had a funny feeling that the mission was going to be weird. For instance, he asks Tsunade if this mission involves ghosts, which shows that Naruto is still afraid of ghosts even after tackling the whole cursed warrior saga. In response, Tsunade didn’t take heed of his words; instead, she instructed the genin to go to Kubisaki Pass for their mission. As soon as they left, Shizune said to Lady Tsunade, “If I’m not mistaken, Lady Tsunade, that pass is where the capital of the Land of Necks used to be. I’m sure the ruined castle of the Kubisaki clan, which met its demise some 50 years ago, must still be standing there.” Her words show a sense of exposition in terms of background information on events necessary to understand the storyline. Therefore, Shizune played a role in supporting Naruto’s claims that this mission is indeed going to be weird.
Naruto, Kiba, and Hinata enter a castle in search of the Daimyo’s wife. During the night, the team travelled along Kubisaki Pass, and when it started to rain, they decided to enter the haunted castle, which looked magnificent.
When they entered the castle, they found that the lights were on and found food that was still warm on the dinner table. What makes it weird is when they saw a painting above the wall, which was probably of a feudal lord. Moreover, the painting seemed like it was looking dead straight into their eyes, and when Naruto was staring at it, the eyes on the painting moved. As a result, Naruto panicked and told his team what happened, but Kiba said that he was going crazy.
Meanwhile, Hinata noted something about the dinner table. She said, “Hey, this table is set for 7 people.” Furthermore, she said, “The party that went missing from the land of honey had seven people in it, which means the lady and her attendants could be somewhere in this castle. Why don’t we split up and look for them?” So, each of them split up, not realising that they would face some traps.
First, when Naruto goes in a different direction, ominous music plays in the background to signify that something weird is about to happen. Along the way, Naruto came across various armour with helmets and masks that looked weird, which left him perplexed. To make matters worse, one of them opened its eyes and stared at him, which made him run in panic.
Second, when Kiba and Akamaru went in a different direction, something weird was going to happen to them as well. Along the way, they came across an empty room, and when they were inside the room, the door closed to trap them inside. Afterwards, a creepy voice spoke to him, which caused the ceiling and everything to start wobbling. To make matters worse, the roaring voice intensified when suddenly the wall formed into a monster to swallow Kiba and Akamaru, which caused them to scream.
Third, when Hinata went in a different direction, something weird was going to happen to her as well. Along the way, she entered a library with so many bookshelves filled with books. When she was walking around, she came across a table that had scrolls. Afterwards, ominous music plays in the background to signify that Hinata is in danger. While the music plays in the background, Hinata reads the scroll, which she reads aloud. As she read the scroll, she said, “Kubisaki castle. It happened 50 years ago. With the castle surrounded by the enemy, our people were brutally slaughtered, and the few samurai held up in these walls held little hope of seeing another nightfall. My thirst for vengeance lives on in every stone of this castle, and I promise to devour any man who dares set foot inside, Goso Kubisaki.” After she finished reading, she immediately heard a creepy voice saying, “Devour them.” At that moment, there was a threatening atmosphere, and when she read the scroll, it said it would devour everyone who entered the castle.
To support the notion that the castle is devouring everyone who enters the castle, tense music plays in the background when the books fall to the ground. When Hinata realised what was happening, she tried to run, but she was blocked and trapped by the bookshelves. Afterwards, the painting appeared before her, and the painting showed the picture of the soldier they had seen earlier. To make matters worse, the painting has a flash of red eyes, and its hands come out of the painting and push Hinata onto the wall, which looks like a stomach lining that devoured her.
Meanwhile, back at Naruto’s location, the painting was also in front of him, and this time, the person came out. In response, Naruto tossed a kunai wrapped in a paper bomb, and afterwards, there was an explosion. So, Naruto retreats, but then he is blocked by monstrous teeth that cover both sides to trap him. As a result, the floor devoured Naruto as well, just like what happened to Kiba and Hinata.
Afterwards, Naruto wakes up in a building with walls surrounding him. When he looks around, he finds Hinata unconscious, so he wakes her up. When she woke up and found out that it was Naruto, she got a bit shy and blushed. After some time, Kiba and Akamaru arrived, and then they started conversing among themselves.
They then discover that inside there is a monster that was summoned by the castle’s original occupants, and they learn that the creature is seeking release from the world. As they walked around, Hinata told them about what she read in the scroll. She told them that the castle fell 50 years ago, since that’s how far the scroll dates back. Moreover, Hinata said that anyone who enters this place will be eaten alive. After some time, spooky music played in the background when Naruto tripped over armour that had a decomposed body, which caused Naruto to panic. Hinata said he was not one of the Kubisaki because the armour was different; hence, he was the enemy who attacked the Kubisaki clan. Kiba also pointed out other bodies there with different armour from the Kubisaki clan.
To make matters worse, as they go further, they come across the decomposed body of Goso Kubisaki wearing his armour, and after some time, he melts, which causes a stench. Afterwards, Hinata activates her Byakugan and notices that all the walls are flowing with chakra. As a result, everything is moving; it seems like the walls are alive, which have the walls covered in a stomach lining. In response, Hinata tried a gentle fist to break through, but it was ineffective as the wall pushed Hinata to the ground. As a result, Naruto noted something crucial when he said, “I’ve seen something like this once before, inside the stomach of a giant toad that pervy sage summoned.” To support Naruto’s claims, Kiba pointed out that the smell is stomach acid. In response to Naruto’s claims, Hinata said, “Goso Kubisaki invoked the art of summoning before his stronghold fell, and whatever he called for was big enough to swallow the place whole, and the moment we set foot inside the castle, we were gobbled up too.” Naruto still wonders why he would tell his pet castle to eat them like some sort of snack, and in response, Hinata said she didn’t know. At that moment, we see a resolution where all the mysteries of the plot are unravelled; hence, it is an unfolding of events.
Meanwhile, they hear a scream, so they rush off and find the lady and her attendants embedded in the wall. So, the team tries to get them out, but the walls are drawing all those people and absorbing them. Moreover, the walls are reverting to normal, which means that at this rate, they will be trapped as well. Therefore, this compelled Kiba to activate his Man Beast Clone: Fang Over Fang to escape, and it worked as he and his teammates were now at the entrance of the castle. Afterwards, they hear the castle saying, “I am the castle and my order of Goso Kubisaki; all who enter shall be devoured.“. So, the castle tries to devour them. In response to its attacks, the team deflected its attacks by using taijutsu skills and cut its attacks using kunai while Naruto tossed a paper bomb at it.
Naruto destroys the contract that summoned the monster, and it returns home, releasing all its captives (including the Daimyo’s wife). So Hinata activated her Byakugan to look for the contract, and when she pointed out that the contract was above the castle’s tower, suddenly the walls stopped moving, and everything was normal for a bit. Afterwards, the real Goso Kubisaki ghost appeared, with a blue remnant surrounding the outline of his body. So, he led the team upstairs to where the contract was located. When they reached the tower, the ghost disappeared, and as soon as he disappeared, the walls started moving again. So, Naruto grabbed the huge scroll, opened it, and saw the summoned animal’s true form, which was a drawing of a chameleon-type creature.
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Naruto defeats the haunted castle.
After seeing the drawing of the summoned animal, the acid from its stomach lining was starting to build up, which meant that it wanted to devour the team once again. In response, Naruto rips the contract, but it only angers the castle as it moves a bit. As a result, the castle’s movements caused Naruto to stab the stomach wall, which caused a flow of stomach acid to come out profusely. The castle reacts in pain, and that’s when Hinata points out the hole, which Naruto would find easier for him to tear up. Therefore, Naruto activates his shadow clone to form the Rasengan so that he can rip the stomach wall. Afterwards, the Rasengan left a hole, which was like a vortex pulling the team outside, and after some time, the team landed outside. Moreover, due to the vortex, the summoning animal and the castle disappeared as well. The good news is that Lady Kayo and her attendants are safe as they lie on the ground unconscious, surrounded by a fog in the sky.
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Use of dialogue among the team that solves the mystery and finalises the episode.
When they were conversing, they realised that Goso Kubasaki died resenting those who had seized his castle, which means he spent 50 years holding a grudge that took away his peace, hence why he helped the team destroy the contract with the summoning animal. This is shown in the dialogue below:
Kiba: He must have died resenting those who had seized his castle.
Hinata: But he also led us to where the scroll was hidden.
Naruto: Do you figure he finally decided to let go of his grudge?
Kiba: It seems that way, or heck, it could be that he thought 50 years was long enough to keep that summoned animal in his service. Maybe he just wanted to let the poor old beast return home.
Naruto: Do you think so? Then maybe he needed help releasing that creature from its imprisonment and freeing it.
Hinata: And now it’s finally home.
The episode ends by showing a piece of the drawing of the summoned animal that was on the scroll, which looked like a chameleon. The mission was successful, which means that when they learned from their mistakes from the Copycat Ninja Saga, it paid off.
The lesson from this episode is that one should not hold grudges; otherwise, they won’t find peace, just like the ghost of Goso Kubisaki, who was never at peace until he helped the team destroy the contract with the summoning animal.
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and then Add to home screen.