Source: Wikipedia
“The Counterattack!”
“The members of Shitenshonin create a triangular formation, using the waterways to stop Gaara from using his sand powers. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Kiba are having trouble backing up Temari and Kankurou. Before the third member of the rogue ninjas can kill Gaara, Lee and Naruto arrive to save him. At this point, Sakura’s task is to head around, aiding those with injuries. Shikamaru and Temari use a combination to wipe out their enemy, and Akamaru pulls the pieces of Kankurou’s broken puppet together to surprise the second enemy, killing him as well. Lastly, Gaara uses a spear to take out the third member and pursues the leader in hopes of saving the student.”
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Analysis
The following focused on the teamwork between the Sand Siblings and the Leaf Village to defeat the three members of the Four Celestials. What made it interesting is that Sakura played a role in healing the people who were injured, such as Gaara and Ino. Other details will be mentioned in the analysis.
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Temari, Shikamaru and Ino versus Kujaku
To begin the episode, they were in an area where all the trees were cut down due to the wind attacks. They were also close to a waterfall. When Shikamaru arrived with Ino, he informed Temari about their mission and that he was returning the favour since Temari had saved him during the Sasuke incident. Shikamaru tried to trap Kujaku with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, but his shadow wouldn’t reach her. Therefore, he had no choice but to give up and find other ways to defeat the enemy. Seeing that she had the advantage, Kujaku blew them away with her wind jutsu technique. In response, Temari blew away her ninja technique using her fan.
After some time, Temari told Shikamaru that the double-edged swords were amplifying her chakra. When he found out that Kujaku’s whole strategy depended on the sword, he said to Ino, “Well, never mind; we just have to bring the fight to her and get her in range of our jutsu.” So, Ino and Shikamaru came running in Kujaku’s direction, but Kujaku blew them away with her wind technique, and in response, Temari blew away her wind with her fan. When Shikamaru and Ino got up to try their offensive attack again, he said in his mind, “She’s only worried about her distance from Temari. I get it; all she’s focusing on is our long-range fighter. Ino and I both handle mid-range jutsu, so she can just use her wind to box us out. What’s the play here?” At that point, Shikamaru was still figuring out a way to defeat the enemy.
Shikamaru, Temari, and Ino were still struggling to defeat her, so he looked for a way to extend his shadow using the waterfall. At that point, Kujaku received a signal from Hōki to activate the triangle formation to trap Gaara. Later, I will reveal how Shikamaru and Temari will defeat her.
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Kankuro, Kiba (with Akamaru) and Choji versus Ryūgan
When Kiba and Choji arrived on the scene to save Kankuro, he informed Kankuro about their mission. Kiba also said he is returning the favour since Kankuro saved him during the Sasuke incident. After some time, Ryūgan used his three-dragon-infused chakra sword to target them. In response, they dodged his attacks in various ways as they jumped into the trees and launched their offensive attack. First, Kiba activated his Man Beast Clone: Fang Over Fang. Second, Choji activated Partial expansion jutsu: Arms. Last, Kankuro activated his Puppet Crawl technique. All their attacks came in Ryūgan’s direction, but they were ineffective. Therefore, Ryūgan used his three-dragon-infused chakra sword to target them. At that point, Ryūgan received a signal from Hōki to activate the triangle formation to trap Gaara. Later, I will reveal how Kankuro, Kiba, and Choji will defeat him.
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Gaara versus Suiko
Naruto and Rock Lee hadn’t yet arrived to save Gaara, so Gaara was dealing with Suiko by himself. Suiko went on the offensive to attack Gaara by throwing his spiked flail in Gaara’s direction. In response, Gaara caught it with his Desert Hand. Gaara uses his sand to create a gigantic hand, which can be used for multiple purposes, including crushing, capturing, or restraining Suiko. The brilliance of this technique is in the strength and sheer size of the constructs, which rival those of a tailed beast. Once the arms lock onto their target, it is nearly impossible to break free, and Suiko must resort to other methods (Narutopedia Website).
However, Suiko absorbed Gaara’s chakra using the Infinite Kujaku Armour. So, Gaara resorted to activating a sand pillar. Gaara can form a sand pillar using the sand from the ground or by warping the lower half of his body into sand. Gaara manipulates the sand to suspend himself and manoeuvres himself in mid-air at high speeds. The sand maintains contact with the ground, thus creating a pillar-like formation (Narutopedia Website). So, after he finished activating the sand pillar, he used his sand hand to hold the spiked flail that Suiko was holding to carry him upwards as the sand pillar continued to rise. After the sand pillar finished reaching upward toward the sky, Gaara used his sand to spin Suiko in a circular motion with intense speed, hence why Gaara is known as the ultimate weapon for the Sand Village. Meanwhile, Naruto and Rock Lee were on their way to save Gaara, and they saw Gaara’s sand pillar from a distance while he was spinning Suiko in a circular motion at intense speed. Eventually, Gaara let go of Suiko, which caused Suiko to crash to the ground. At that point, Suiko received a signal from Hōki that he was activating the triangle formation with Kujaku and Ryūgan to trap Gaara. Later, I will reveal how Gaara will defeat him.
The members of Shitenshonin create a triangular formation, using the waterways to stop Gaara from using his sand powers. At that moment, Hōki activated the Ninja Tool Barrier: Reverse Scale Formation. As mentioned by the Narutopedia Website, the formation draws upon their weapons (Kujaku’s double-edged swords, Ryūgan’s Garian Sword, and Hōki’s unnamed fire-shooting sword), arranged in a triangle with Gaara at the centre. The three members used three underground waterways to connect their formation, which will converge under their target, Gaara. With their weapons charged with their chakra, they then activate the technique, sending a surge of power through the waterways to the central target, Gaara. This will cause a water dragon to rise from the ground and envelop Gaara, soaking his sand and making it much heavier. This causes it to clump and makes it nearly impossible to use (Narutopedia Website).
Neji even pointed out how their jutsu was powerful. When he was in the forest, he activated his Byakugan and could sense the enormous chakra emanating from their bodies. He went on to say, “We’re above water here; I see now that the lines of this triangle are the barrier; they run along a vein of water.” So when Hoki activated the Ninja Tool Barrier: Reverse Scale Formation, Gaara was knocked out by the water dragon. As he was falling, Hōki was observing from a distance and told Matsuri the ninja technique. He said, “We tapped into an underground stream in the earth below and called forth a water dragon, soaked through like that; his sand has become the heaviest lead; it’s useless to him now.” Gaara was in danger of being killed by Suiko since he couldn’t use his sand. Luckily, Naruto, Rock Lee, and eventually Sakura arrived to save him.
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Ino gets injured by Kujaku’s wind attack.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Kiba are having trouble backing up Temari and Kankurou. Kankuro, Kiba, and Choji were still struggling to defeat Ryūgan. At the same time, Shikamaru, Temari, and Ino were struggling to defeat Kujaku. Kujaku was using her wind attack against them, and in response, Temari blew away her attack with her fan. While Shikamaru and Temari were keeping her distracted, Ino, who was hiding behind a rock, decided to go in front to activate her Mind Destruction Jutsu on Kujaku. However, Kujaku used her wind attack against her, which resulted in her getting injured. As Temari continues to use her fan against Kujaku, eventually, Shino’s insects will inform Sakura about Ino’s injuries.
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Naruto, Rock Lee, and Sakura save Gaara.
Before the third member of the rogue ninjas can kill Gaara, Lee and Naruto arrive to save him. When Suiko was about to kill Gaara with his spiked flail, Rock Lee arrived to block his attack using the leaf hurricane kick. Thereafter, Naruto surprised Suiko with his kick to knock him out. Naruto then told Gaara that they were returning the favour for helping them during the Sasuke incident. Eventually, Sakura arrived to heal Gaara, while Naruto and Rock Lee focused on attacking Suiko.
Rock launched his offensive attack on Suiko by kicking his armour. When Rock Lee realised that his armour was absorbing his chakra, he stepped back. Despite knowing this about the armour, Naruto and Rock Lee fought him with their taijutsu skills. Meanwhile, Sakura managed to heal Gaara, but then she said in her mind, “I finished treating the contusion, but his chakra loss is staggering.” After some time, she got informed by Shino’s insects about Ino’s injuries, so Gaara told her to go and heal Ino. Before she left, she told Gaara not to overdo it. As Sakura leaves, Gaara decides to help Naruto and Rock Lee defeat Suiko before he leaves to save Matsuri. Later, Gaara will defeat Suiko, even though his chakra loss is staggering.
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Shikamaru and Temari defeat Kujaku.
Shikamaru and Temari use a combination to wipe out their enemy. When Temari uses her cyclone site jutsu against Kujaku, Shikamaru uses the current of the waterfall to increase the reach of his shadow. As a result, he got Kujaku with his Shadow Possession Jutsu. He then explained to Kujaku, “It doesn’t matter how clear the water is; the currents are thick enough to produce a shadow. By lifting the waterfall, I have extended the reach of my technique.” To finalise Kujaku’s defeat, Temari activated her Summoning Blade Dance: Blade Dance Jutsu. Temari uses her Giant Folding Fan to create a whirlwind that is powerful enough to travel several hundred metres. As she swings her fan, which has previously been smeared with her blood, she summons Kamatari, which travels upon the winds and rapidly cuts through everything in its path (Narutopedia Website). At that moment, Kamatari carried Kujaku into the air and killed her, which resulted in her falling into the waterfall. The teamwork between Shikamaru and Temari helped them defeat the enemy.
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Sakura heals Ino’s injuries.
At this point, Sakura’s task is to head around, aiding those with injuries. When Sakura was healing Ino’s injuries, Ino started feeling sorry for herself for not playing a part in the mission. It is like when Sakura started to feel sorry for herself and felt like a burden who couldn’t save Sasuke. For instance, Ino said in her mind, “I couldn’t do a thing; I feel so useless. Everyone here pitched in except for me.” This moment will compel her to make an important decision as a ninja in the final episode.
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Kiba, Choji and Kankuro defeat Ryūgan.
Akamaru pulls the pieces of Kankurou’s broken puppet together to surprise the second enemy, killing him as well. While they were sitting in the tree branches, Akamaru, who was behind Ryūgan, gave them the signal concerning Kankuro’s broken puppet. So when Kiba, Choji, and Akamaru tried their attack again, it kept Ryūgan distracted. While he was distracted, Akamaru had already put the broken puppet pieces together. Therefore, it compelled Kankuro to trap Ryūgan and then activate his Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden. This is a “dance of death” that Kankuro performs with puppets. He first uses Karasu, an attacking puppet, to strike at Ryūgan, causing him to focus his attention on it. As he avoids its attacks, he is unwittingly navigated towards Kuroari, a capturing puppet, which seals him within the body. While he is trapped inside Kuroari, Karasu’s head and six limbs are separated from his body, each of which has its own concealed blade. The seven blades are simultaneously inserted into slots on Kuroari’s body, killing Ryūgan inside (Narutopedia Website). Therefore, due to Kankuro’s jutsu, Ryūgan died.
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Gaara defeats Suiko.
Lastly, Gaara uses a spear to take out the third member and pursues the leader in hopes of saving the student. Triumphant music plays in the background with a mix of drums, Japanese guitar, Japanese flute, and a hint of an uproar to signify Gaara’s victory. After extracting an amount of sand from his Armour of Sand, Gaara shapes it into a short spear. This technique is used as a last resort when his chakra is drained or when he is unable to properly utilise other techniques (Narutopedia Website). After Gaara finishes forming the spear, he throws the spear in Suiko’s direction, which pierces his chest, resulting in his death. As Gaara knelt on the ground, he heard Matsuri’s voice, so Naruto and Rock Lee told him to leave. Afterwards, Gaara leaves to save Matsuri.
Towards the end of the episode, Gaara is heading to the forest to save Matsuri. Meanwhile, Neji, Hinata, and Shino could see Hōki carrying Matsuri and heading to a valley. Eventually, Shino’s insects inform Shikamaru that Gaara is chasing after Hōki, so he goes there with Temari. After everyone finished defeating their enemies, they headed off to help Gaara. Meanwhile, Rock Lee was injured, so he had to stay behind and wait for Sakura to heal him. Furthermore, the music intensifies as Gaara reaches the valley and sees Hōki running with Matsuri, who is carried on his back. At that moment, Gaara held on to the rope javelin that belonged to Matsuri. What will Gaara do next? This will be revealed in the next episode.
The lesson from this episode is that when it comes to teamwork, there are bound to be results, just like how everyone managed to defeat the enemy and keep themselves safe through teamwork.
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and then Add to home screen.