Source: Wikipedia
“Sand Alliance With The Leaf Shinobi”
“The rogue ninjas continue running as Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro chase. At the same time, Shino, Hinata, and Neji are using their abilities to find the location of the Shitenshounnin. Temari encounters the first of the members (a woman who uses swords to produce wind) and leaves Gaara and Kankuro to chase after the other three members. Shortly after, Kankuro encounters another ninja who uses a 3-bladed sword that can be separated yet still be connected by a wire. Gaara leaves to chase the other two members. Gaara then finds himself in a battle with a huge, robust man who has a spiked flail. The Shitenshonin prepare to kill Temari and Kankuro; however, Shikamaru saves Temari with his Shadow Imitation Technique, and Kiba saves Kankuro.”
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Analysis
The following episode is about Shikamaru’s squad returning the favour to Sand Shinobi for saving them during the Sasuke incident. In other words, Shikamaru calls the mission “Operation Return the Favour.” Therefore, this episode will mainly focus on battle techniques used by the Sand Shinobi and the Four Celestials. Other details will be mentioned in the analysis.
The rogue ninjas continue running as Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro chase. At the same time, Shino, Hinata, and Neji are using their abilities to find the location of the Shitenshounnin. Tense music plays in the background with a mix of drums when the Sand Shinobi is running in the forest looking for the enemy, the Four Celestials. At the same time, Shikamaru’s squad (Naruto, Kiba, Choji, Rock Lee, and Ino) are also running in the forest looking for the Sand Shinobi so that they can save them. At that moment, this scene is reminiscent of the Sasuke incident in various ways:
Rock Lee remembered how Gaara saved him from Kimimaru
Shikamaru remembered how Temari saved him from Tayuya
Kiba remembered how Kankuro saved him from Sakon and Ukon
All of this happened when they faced challenges with the Sound Four Ninja. You can revisit the Sasuke incident where the Sand Shinobi saved them in Season 3: Episode 124 to Season 3: Episode 127. Therefore, they are indeed returning the favour to the Sand Shinobi for saving their lives. As a result, the music stops playing in the background. Shikamaru’s squad decided to wait and stand on three branches, waiting for information from Shino about the Sand Shinobi’s location. In another area in the forest, Shino is using his insects to find the location of not only the Sand Shinobi but also the enemy, the Four Celestials.
Meanwhile, the Four Celestials include members such as Hōki, Kujaku, Ryūgan, and Suiko. In the forest that is close to a waterfall, the enemy knew that the Sand Shinobi were coming because they deliberately set tracks they couldn’t miss. In other words, they knew they were hot on their trail. After some time, they converse among themselves:
Kujaku: It’s perfect; they will be within range shortly. There are three of them, including Gaara.
Hōki: As for the other two, dig them up however you like and take them on in one-to-one combat. Meanwhile, I’ll lure Gaara into the reverse scale position.
Kujaku: Okay, but I get the first crack at them.
Hōki: Alright, you’re on.
The dialogue shows a foreshadowing of what is going to happen later in the plot. Hōki (the Four Celestial Leader) told his team to take on the sand shinobi in one-to-one combat so that he could trap Gaara. Therefore, one shall see a battle taking place where the Four Celestials will reveal their ninja techniques.
Please note that I will mention information from the Narutopedia website to explain the ninja techniques.
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Temari versus Kujaku.
Temari encounters the first of the members (a woman who uses swords to produce wind) and leaves Gaara and Kankuro to chase after the other three members. When Kujaku saw the Sand Shinobi from a distance, she activated her ninja technique, Double-Edged Sword: Tempest Wind, in their direction. This is a technique used with the double-edged swords, which creates a large gust of wind. They are designed to respond to attacks and allow Kujaku to transform wind freely (Narutopedia Website). Therefore, the wind blew in the forest with enormous force, which compelled Temari to blow away her tempest wind using her fan, which caused a hurricane and then disappeared. After some time, Kujaku arrived with her wind, saying to Temari, “Not bad at all. Not everyone can blow away my tempest wind and look at you; you’re just a kid.” This proves how Temari is as strong as a shinobi. Unfortunately, her strength won’t be enough to defeat her, as I will reveal later. After Temari realised that Kujaku was a wind user, she told Gaara and Kankuro to leave, saving Matsuri. As soon as they left, a battle between Temari and Kujaku began.
To begin the battle, Temari went on the offensive with her cyclone site jutsu. This jutsu caused a cyclone to form and target Kujaku. However, Kujaku blocked her attack using her ninja technique. Wind Slash. This technique requires double-edged swords and allows Kujaku to divide and neutralise a Wind Release technique, making it harmless. Kujaku can even redirect Temari’s attacks to them (Narutopedia Website). To support this, Kujaku explained her jutsu to Temari. First, she said, “My twin swords can twist the wind in countercurrents, increasing its power.” Second, she said, “With these, I need only a fraction of my chakra. You must use all of yours; how long can it last? I guess we will find out.” Therefore, there is a threatening atmosphere where Kujaku has the upper hand to defeat Temari.
After some struggle between the two opponents, Temari was feeling tired while Kujaku had the upper hand with her swords. Therefore, it compelled Temari to activate her jutsu, Wind Style: Sea Dragon. Temari swings her fan to the sky, causing a giant tornado to descend upon Kujaku. This technique can be set up as a feint, as it has a delayed activation. The technique alters weather conditions temporarily and attacks from the sky rather than from the person. The storm clouds that create the attack dissipate immediately after the tornado begins, while the tornado continues in a highly concentrated state (Narutopedia Website). Despite Temari’s massive attack, Kujaku blocked her attack using her ninja technique, Wind Reversal. Using double-edged swords, Kujaku can easily cancel another Wind Release technique and redirect it to its user in the form of a hurricane (Narutopedia Website). This was an intense situation where Temari’s chakra had worn out. Later, Shikamaru arrives to save her, just like Temari saved him from Tayuya during the Sasuke incident.
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Kankuro versus Ryūgan.
Shortly after, Kankuro encounters another ninja who uses a 3-bladed sword that can be separated yet still be connected by a wire. Gaara leaves to chase the other two members. While Temari was fighting Kujaku, Gaara and Kankuro ran further into the forest, looking for Matsuri. Along the way, they saw Matsuri trapped in Hōki’s bag, who was running with Suiko. They were using her as bait to trap Gaara.
Meanwhile, Ryūgan, hiding in the bushes, activated his ninja technique, Dragon Eye Fang Release: Dark Sword. The Dark Sword is a three-pronged sword with a metal wire passing through the blade. Its wire controls its movements as the blade can expand and be shot after Kankuro and Gaara (Narutopedia Website). Therefore, Ryūgan used this technique to stop Gaara and Kankuro from running as they landed on the ground and faced him. After Kankuro realised he was a kid and had a sword, he said, “I get it; that sword is made up of sections connected by a wire running through the centre of it. It’s like one of those bamboo snake puppets I used to scare people with when I was a kid.” So Kankuro thought that he had the upper hand as a puppet master and told Gaara to leave. As soon as Gaara leaves, a battle between Kankuro and Ryūgan begins.
To begin the battle, Kankuro went on the offensive when he summoned his puppet to trap Ryūgan inside it. However, Ryūgan broke free from the puppet using his chakra, which was in the form of a dragon. This is because each of the sword’s blades can react to Ryūgan’s chakra, amplifying it, changing its form to that of a dragon, and manipulating it freely, in a similar way to the use of the Puppet Technique (Narutopedia Website). To support this, Ryūgan explained his jutsu to Kankuro. He said, “This sword is hardly a child’s toy. I only must exert a tiny bit of chakra, and it amplifies it tenfold and channels it into the form of a dragon.” Therefore, there is a threatening atmosphere where Ryūgan has the upper hand to defeat Kankuro.
After some struggle between the two opponents, Ryūgan shot his dragon-infused chakra in Kankuro’s direction, where the dragon was biting his face. However, it was just a puppet clone. Afterwards, the puppet opened its mouth to shoot its needles at Ryūgan, but he blocked the attack with his dragon-infused chakra sword, which also broke the puppet into pieces. Thereafter, the dragon formed three heads, and one of them bit Kankuro’s shoulder. He then knelt on the ground and tried to control one of the pieces of his puppet (the hand) to attack Ryūgan. For instance, he formed a sharp knife from the puppet hand to stab Ryūgan, but the dragon-infused chakra caught the knife with its mouth. As a result, the dragon knocked out the puppet, and the 3-dragon-infused chakra was targeting Kankuro, preparing to kill him. Eventually, Kankuro dodged the attack. Later, Kiba arrives to save him, just like Kankuro saved him from Sakon and Ukon during the Sasuke incident.
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Gaara versus Suiko
Gaara then finds himself in a battle with a huge, robust man who has a spiked flail. After Gaara left Kankuro to deal with Ryūgan, he ran into the forest, following Hōki and Suiko, who had Matsuri. After some time, Hōki left with Matsuri while Suiko stayed behind to deal with Gaara. He used his spiked flail to stop Gaara from pursuing to save Matsuri.
As Gaara landed on the ground, Suiko tossed his spiked flail at Gaara. However, Gaara blocked his attack using his sand as a shield. Thereafter, Gaara activated his sand coffin on Suiko to crush him inside, but Suiko got out of the sand coffin due to his armour. To support this, Suiko said, “It’s my armour; it absorbs chakra, and it feeds on it.” His armour is known as the Infinite Kujaku Armour. It is a unique armoured chest plate, fashioned into the shape of a tiger’s face. This armour can take almost all the damage in a fall, draw it out, and, at an alarming rate, absorb the chakra of anyone or anything that encounters it (Narutopedia Website). Gaara still had the rope javelin hidden in his chest that belonged to his student, Matsuri. He is determined to bring her back, no matter what. Therefore, there is a threatening atmosphere where two opponents are evenly matched. Later, Rock Lee arrives to save him, just like Gaara saved him from Kimimaru during the Sasuke incident.
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Konoha 11 saves the Sand Shinobi.
Eventually, Shikamaru’s team received information from Shino’s insects about the whereabouts of the Sand Shinobi and the enemy, the Four Celestials. The insects could find Shikamaru through a sack he got from Shino that contained the scent of a female. If he had it, the insects could find him no matter how far away he was. This just proves that Shikamaru had a well-planned strategy to save the Sand Shinobi.
Meanwhile, Neji received information from one of Shino’s insects about Temari and Kankuro’s whereabouts. So, Neji activated his Byakugan and saw Temari fighting against Kujaku while Kankuro was fighting against Ryūgan. At the same time, Hinata, who was in another area, received information from Shino’s insects about Gaara’s whereabouts. So, Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw Gaara fighting against Suiko. Eventually, the insects inform Shino, who is in another area, that there are three separate battle zones. After that, the insects had already informed Shikamaru about the separate battle zones. Therefore, this compelled Shikamaru to set up a two-man squad to save the Sand Shinobi in the forest:
Kiba and Choji were to take the west forest to save Kankuro
Ino and Shikamaru were to take the hills to the northeast to save Temari.
Naruto and Rock Lee will take the northwest to save Gaara.
Afterwards, they all left to save the Sand Shinobi.
Shikamaru and Ino were running in the forest. He stopped to paint the scent of a female insect on a tree. He wanted to make sure that it wasn’t a trap, so he wanted Shino to assess the area. After he finished painting the mark, he left with Ino to save Temari. Shikamaru wanted to ensure his comrade’s safety, which makes him a great squad leader. In other words, he is a dynamic character who continues to grow as a strategist since he was promoted to become a chunin.
The Shitenshonin prepare to kill Temari and Kankuro; however, Shikamaru saves Temari with his Shadow Imitation Technique, and Kiba saves Kankuro.
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Shikamaru saves Temari.
After some struggle between Temari and Kujaku, Temari lay unconscious on a tree while Kujaku used her two double-edged swords to land a blow of wind in Temari’s direction. Luckily, Shikamaru saved Temari using his Shadow Possession Jutsu. He moved Temari’s body to dodge Kujaku’s attack. Moreover, as he is accompanied by Ino, victorious music plays in the background with a mix of drums, electric guitar, high-pitched Japanese flute, and high-pitched Japanese guitar to signify that Konoha 11 has saved the Sand Shinobi.
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Kiba saves Kankuro.
After Kankuro struggled to fight off the dragon-infused chakra sword, Kiba saved him using the Wolf Fang Over Fang: Man Beast Transformation Combo. The giant double-headed wolf bites the dragon-infused chakra, which weakens Ryūgan’s attack. Victory music continues to play in the background when Kiba and Akamaru change back to normal and are accompanied by Choji.
After Shikamaru left a mark on the tree, Shino informed him about the nature of the situation. He said, “Don’t worry, guys, it’s a straight-up battle; no sign of chakra surges anyway in the valley, and there is no trap.” After hearing this, everyone plays a part in making sure the rescue mission is complete. For instance, Hinata, who was in the forest, said to everyone in her mind, “Good luck to everyone.” Moreover, Sakura, who was in another area of the forest, said something while running. She said in her mind, “I’ve got your back, guys.” Sakura is determined to help everyone, and she is glad she is no longer feeling like a burden. As a result, victorious music intensifies as it shows a glimpse of each two-man squad facing the enemy while Hoki still had Matseru as he ran in the forest.
Towards the end of the episode, Naruto and Rock Lee are on their way to save Gaara. Therefore, it serves as a foreshadowing of what will happen in the next episode. Will they save Matseru in the next episode? What will happen to Gaara? Will the rest of the leaf shinobi arrive to assist them? Will Sakura play a role in the next episode? All these questions leave a sense of suspense until the next episode.
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and then Add to home screen.