Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 1: Episode 12

Source: Wikipedia,
"Battle on the Bridge! Zabuza Returns!"

"Taking a nap after training in the woods, Naruto is awoken by someone whom he thought was a girl. Eventually, learning that the person is a boy but unaware that he is the masked youth Haku, Naruto gets into an exchange of ideals and morals before the two part ways. Once found by Sasuke, Naruto resumes his Tree Climbing Practice into the evening until he and Sasuke finally make it to the top of their respective trees. Naruto and Sasuke return triumphantly to Tazuna's home, with Naruto cheerful yet completely drained from the effort. Inari is disturbed by the sight of Naruto, thinking about Kaiza, and gets into a heated dispute with Naruto, who leaves while calling him a coward. Later that night, Kakashi tells a despondent Inari that Naruto understands the boy's pain because of his hardships. The next morning, deciding to let Naruto sleep in, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura escorted Tazuna to work. Upon arriving at the bridge, they find Tazuna's workers unconscious, with Zabuza and a masked Haku revealing themselves as the culprits."

Analysis

After witnessing Naruto's exhaustion from training, Haku asked Naruto if he had someone precious to him that he was willing to protect.  At this moment, Haku seems to advise that if you have someone you're willing to protect, you become strong. This compelled the audience to assume why he protects Zabuza. Zabuza is very precious to Haku, and he is willing to protect him no matter what. Therefore, Haku, in a way, doesn't seem so bad after all, even though he is the enemy in this case.

Sasuke and Naruto seem to be getting along for the first time since they finally managed to control their chakra. After completing their training, they returned to Tazuna's home to celebrate their success. Sasuke and Naruto are getting stronger each day and are closer to achieving their goals. 

Inari is disturbed by Naruto's actions because his father figure, Kaiza, died due to his need to be a hero. This leads to an intense atmosphere where there is a dispute between Inari and Naruto. For instance, Naruto calls him a coward because he has faced so much pain and suffering that he had to deal with it instead of feeling sorry for himself. His pain made him sad, and he didn't want to feel the pain again, so that explains why Naruto works hard as a ninja. Therefore, Kakashi, who is aware of the pain he experienced, assures Inari that Naruto understands his pain. Kakashi again makes use of his sense of social awareness to ensure there are no hard feelings between Naruto and Inari.

When Team 7 leaves Naruto behind so that he can sleep, Team 7 and Tazuna meet Zabuza again! He is accompanied by the masked ninja, Haku, where a real battle is about to go down. What will happen next? This will be revealed in the next episode.

The lesson from this episode is similar to the previous chapter, where I said, "So much of our happiness depends on how we look at a situation and how we deal with it."