Naruto Anime Analysis

Season 4: Episode 154

Source: Wikipedia

"The Enemy of the Byakugan"

"With Neji unable to see through the mist, the group loses the advantage of his eyesight. He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. Rock Lee manages to hold Raiga off by fighting while still unconscious. When a mysterious case is knocked off of Raiga's back, Raiga becomes weaker and is eventually defeated by Naruto. When the gang opens the case, they discover a young boy named Ranmaru, who has been riding on Raiga's back the entire time. Ranmaru reveals that Raiga cares for him and that he helps Raiga fight by serving as his "eyes"."

Analysis

As the title of the episode suggests, the enemy of the Byakugan is none other than Ranmaru's eyes. According to the Narutopedia website, Ranmaru had a special ability known as a dojutsu kekkei genkai that, when used, caused his eyes to blaze red. It gives him powers like the Byakugan, to which his dojutsu has been compared. This kekkei genkai is unique, as we will see in the following analysis.

This analysis will also look at the techniques used by the genin. It will also look at some details concerning the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Hidden Mist.

After the Genin survived the explosion caused by Raiga's Lightning Fang technique, Raiga almost believed that he had killed them. However, Ranmaru said that the four of them were still alive. This is due to Ranmaru's ability to track others by sensing chakra from a distance.

With Neji unable to see through the mist, the group loses the advantage of his eyesight. He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. When they survived Raiga's attack, Neji said in his mind, "The enemy was close, but I couldn't see anything. It's strange; I know this is the Hidden Mist Jutsu, but my Byakugan should be able to penetrate it." Neji is not able to sense Ranmaru's chakra because he can mask his chakra; therefore, that's why Neji can't sense Ranmaru's chakra. Moreover, Ranmaru can counter Neji's Byakugan, as it completely hinders him from seeing Raiga's chakra and Ranmaru's chakra. The kekkei genkai proves to be beneficial on the enemy's part.

He is tricked into thinking that random objects are real people by a mysterious jutsu. Neji activates his Byakugan, and he believes he can see various people by sensing their chakra network. However, he is not aware that they are just random objects. As a result, the genin attack their enemies without being aware that they are random objects. For instance, Tenten tossed her various kunai at them, Naruto used Shadow Clone Jutsu to activate Uzumaki Barrage, and Rock Lee used his specialized Jutsu Leaf Hurricane. However, their attacks prove to be ineffective as they realize that they were fighting random objects all this time. Neji can't believe that chakra networks are running through illusions. This is due to Ranmaru's ability to deceive sensory abilities and perfectly fabricate multiple ones.

Moreover, Ranmaru's technique involves viewing and hearing events from vast distances. This was evident when Ranmaru said to Raiga, "One is halfway up the cliff, another is at the base; there's one to the right and one to the left." Ranmaru's eyes are amazing, as they are one of the unique kekkei genkai.

After Ranmaru assesses the situation on the ground, Raiga activates a jutsu known as Fist of Lightning. Afterward, all the genin are struck by lightning, and they are all unconscious. When Raiga believes he killed them, Ranmaru says, "Wait, they aren't dead yet; they are just unconscious." Ranmaru was able to track everyone's chakra using his eyes.

Rock Lee manages to hold Raiga off by fighting while still unconscious. Triumph music with a mix of drums plays in the background as Rock Lee fights Raiga while unconscious using taijutsu. This is evident when Ranmaru says, "Raiga, this one is still unconscious." Moreover, Ranmaru said, "He's fighting solely by muscle memory." As Rock Lee has the upper hand, Ranmaru told Raiga, "It's hard to read his movements, but for your sake, I'll do my best." Ranmaru serves as a guide for Raiga to avoid Lee's movements. Despite all this, Lee still has the upper hand. Ranmaru is wondering how Lee can possess such skills. Meanwhile, the music gets intense with a mix of electric guitars as Naruto wakes up and realizes Rock Lee needs help. Tenten and Neji also woke up.