Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 3: Episode 137

Source: Wikipedia

"A Town of Outlaws, the Shadow of the Fuma Clan"

"Naruto, Sakura, and Jiraiya end up in a town that is worse than the one out of which they were chased. Jiraiya heads off and leaves Naruto and Sakura to get food. Along the way, they find the female ninja that attacked them before. Because the ninja is injured, Naruto and Sakura fight some sound ninja to save her. They then learn that her name is Sasame and that she is looking for her cousin Arashi, who went with several members of their clan to join Orochimaru to revive the clan."

Analysis

The following analysis will look at:

· Jiraiya's abilities

• The identity and role of the mysterious ninja that attacked Naruto and Sakura in the previous episode.

· Orochimaru's significance in the storyline about the Fuma Clan

· The similarity between Sakura and Sasame

• The mysterious Sound Ninja

Jiraiya's abilities

Naruto, Sakura, and Jiraiya end up in a town that is worse than the one out of which they were chased. Jiraiya heads off and leaves Naruto and Sakura to get food. While Jiraiya was at a tavern, he managed to find Intel on the sound village from a woman claiming that one of her regulars knows all about it. However, as she leads Jiraiya to the end of a valley, it is only a trap to rob him of his money. As a result, several ninjas surround Jiraiya and attack him using a bow and arrows. Yet, Jiraiya managed to block their attacks using Ninja Art: Needle Jizo. Needle Jizo is a unique jutsu used by Jiraiya to defend and attack all in one move. It involves growing his hair out longer, covering his body, and sharpening its edges into needles that would injure an opponent trying to attack him. Moreover, Jiraiya used the Rasengan, an A-rank technique invented by the Fourth Hokage to defeat the enemy. This scene shows Jiraiya's capabilities as one of the legendary sannins. Not only can he use the summoning jutsu, but he can also use other techniques like the Rasengan and the needle jizo. With these types of techniques, it makes one wonder what other plans he has under his sleeve.

The identity and role of the mysterious ninja that attacked Naruto and Sakura in the previous episode.

Along the way, they find the female ninja that attacked them before. Because the ninja is injured, Naruto and Sakura fight some Sound ninja to save her. They then learn that her name is Sasame... It is important to note that one of the sound Ninja said something worth mentioning. When they escaped, he said, "Anyone stalking around in this land could only be looking for Lord Orochimaru anyway." This means that they are working for Orochimaru. When her identity was revealed, she introduced herself as Sasume Fuma. First, she mentioned that the three men who attacked her earlier are responsible for guarding Orochimaru and that they are Sound Ninja. Second, she also revealed why she attacked Naruto and Sakura, she thought that they were one of the Sound Ninjas and for that reason, she apologised to them. The role she plays in this scene is that she has mentioned the Sound Ninja and as she decides to tell her story, we learn a lot about her clan and Orochimaru as well.

Orochimaru's significance in the storyline about the Fuma Clan

...and that she is looking for her cousin Arashi, who went with several members of their clan to join Orochimaru to revive the clan."

Sasame begins telling her story to Naruto and Sakura about what happened to her clan. She begins by saying,

"Well, all of this began when the feudal lord of the land of rice patties tried to expand his way over the neighbouring countries. The Land of Rice Patties is a small territory, we haven't all that many shinobi. It was a full hardy attack; our defeat was clear from the onset and the shinobi clans of this country who participated all fell into ruin. We of the Fuma were no exception, I'm told that of the survivors, some decided to abandon this land while others have stooped to common thievery. Even so, many of us have struggled in the shadows praying for the day our clan could be restored. Then, an emissary from the Hidden Sound Village appeared, promising the first full-scale shinobi village in this land. The man (Kimimaru) from the Sound Village told us, 'My master Lord Orochimaru is collecting jutsu and is interested in those of your clan. If you're willing to serve and display enough merit, you may be given the chance to serve under the feudal lord.' My cousin Arashi was seen as our clan's best hope for revival. He was chosen as our representative and set out to the Hidden Sound with their emissary but😢....we just kept on waiting for some sort of message to come from Arashi but there..."

Orochimaru is the one responsible for the collapse of the Fuma clan. He is more concerned with pursuing his interests at the expense of others. This is evident in a conversation between Jiraiya and the ninjas he fought earlier. They are from the Fuma clan who as Sasame said had stooped to common thievery. During the conversation between the ninjas of the Fuma clan and Jiraiya, the ninja also said that many ninja clans resided in the land, but they always insisted on harmony until Orochimaru showed up. Orochimaru is the source of chaos that happened with the Fuma clan where others decided to abandon the land while others stooped to common thievery. Therefore, this is why he is one of the most prominent antagonists in this anime.

The similarity between Sakura and Sasame.

Their common similarity is that they both want to save someone precious to them from Orochimaru. When it comes to Sasame, she wants to save her cousin Arashi while Sakura wants to save Sasuke. This is evident when Sasame says, "I'm going to save Arashi, I must. I don't have any real strength and I'm small no matter how hard I tried I was nothing but a burden during training. No matter how many times I fell, Arashi was always there to save me. Everyone from my village has already given up so I'm gonna find him on Hidden Sound on my own." Sasame felt like she was a burden like Sakura felt like a burden that she couldn't bring Sasuke back. Both are determined to bring back the people precious to them into their lives hence why they have a similar character trait.

The mysterious Sound Ninjas

As we found out earlier, they are working for Orochimaru. While Sakura and the rest were at the forest treehouse, they noticed spider webs covering the ceiling and even outside. One of the Sound Ninjas used a technique known as Ninja Art: Wind Spiders. This was used to track them by spinning a silver trail. Moreover, as Sakura has stated, the enemy used a ventriloquism jutsu to scatter his voice in different directions to mask their number and location. As asserted by Narutopedia Website, his name is Jigumo.

Although Naruto uses his Shadow Clone Jutsu to tackle the situation, Kagero uses Ninja Art: Antlion Jutsu to sink the tree house and Naruto's shadow clones downwards. As mentioned by the Narutopedia Website, like how an antlion catches prey, this technique forces the earth and everything on and around it to be drawn into the centre of a huge pit. The victim will be taken to the centre and then sucked underground. The victim will either become trapped or suffocate there, depending on how far the user causes them to sink. How much chakra is used in the method determines the pit's range. Therefore, this information makes one concerned about the well-being of Sasame and Team Jiraiya. What will happen to them? This is revealed in the next episode.