Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Season 5: Episode 188

Source: Wikipedia

"Mystery of the Targeted Merchants"

"After an attack by Ruiga of the Three Criminal Brothers results in the death of Kikujou and Naruto notices that their attackers are looking for a specific person, Naruto's group realises that they have not been told the truth about the peddlers. They learn that the peddlers are being used as cover for the Land of Green's princess Haruna to escape from the Three Criminal Brothers. It is then revealed that she does not trust others and is willing to sacrifice other people to protect herself, believing that it doesn't matter who dies if she, the only one who can rebuild her country, survives."

Analysis

The following episode looked at more details about Lady Haruna, the evilness of the Three Chrimal Brothers, and more details about the friendship between the deceased Kikunojo and Yurinojo. Therefore, there was a resolution in the sense that all the mysteries of the plot were unravelled, hence the unfolding of events.

After an attack by Ruiga of the Three Criminal Brothers results in the death of Kikujou, and Naruto notices that their attackers are looking for a specific person, Naruto's group realises that they have not been told the truth about the peddlers. When Shun (who is Lady Haruna) suggested that the team should split into two groups, Hinata went with the first group, Shun and the rest of the young people, while Naruto and Choji went with the second group, which consisted of children and elders. As they split up, Naruto decided to check on the traps Hinata had set in the mountains. So, when he got there, that's when he found Kikunojo's dead body, whom he knew by his disguised name, Kikunoske. He died due to Ruiga's jutsu, Water Style: Liquid Memory, where he manipulated the water and moisture around Kikunojo and trapped him in a water sphere. Afterwards, Ruiga summoned piranhas inside the sphere, where they left bite marks on his body, which caused his death. It's a tragedy that he died, and when Naruto saw his dead body with those bite marks, he immediately went back to tell everyone what happened.

Along the way, Naruto arrived at the area where Choji and the merchants were trapped in a water prison. As a result, Naruto activates his Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu, where each of the four shadow clones throws a kunai wrapped in a paper bomb at the water prison. Afterwards, there was an explosion; hence, they managed to break free from the water prison. Ruiga didn't even show his face and retreated since he didn't find the princess. Moreover, when Naruto and Choji wonder why the enemy retreated, the grandma implies that the enemy was looking for someone else. When Naruto and Choji heard these words, they realized that Hinata was in danger. So, they all rushed to see Hinata and the other merchants, which was around sunset.

Yurinojo unravels the full mystery.

They learn that the peddlers are being used as cover for the Land of Green's princess Haruna to escape from the Three Criminal Brothers. After hearing about the death of Kikunojo, Yurinojo decides to reveal his real name and Shun's identity since he doesn't want to risk the lives of the other merchants. First, he said, "The person standing here is the only daughter of the land of greens, the feudal lord. Her name is Lady Haruna." Second, he said, "There was a threat; we learned of a coup being planned in the Land of Greens. Our small land may have been a peaceful and fertile place; however, it was by no means a prosperous one. Before we even realized it, half of our public officials had been bought off." Third, he mentioned the criminal brothers when he said, "They are called the Janin, three evil ninjas who came to us from across the sea." Moreover, "they are called that because they are the only ones who can use a particular dangerous ninjutsu. They have taken many lives and think nothing of attacking innocence if it furthers their wicked schemes. The three have complete disregard for human life." Last, he said he is not sure why they invaded the Land of Greens, as is evident in his words: "That's something we just don't know, but to protect his only heir, his lordship had Lady Haruna hide amongst this group of merchants and flee the land. Kikunojo and I were charged with the princess's safety, but we weren't confident with just the two of us. We needed more force, which is why we commissioned you, Leaf Ninja, under the pretext of a protection job."

From the information above, Yurinojo played a role in explaining everything that happened at the Land of Greens, including the real identity of Shun, Lady Haruna, and the evilness of the criminal brothers, who will do whatever it takes to further their schemes, even if it means killing people. Therefore, there was a resolution since every mystery was unravelled.

It is then revealed that she does not trust others and is willing to sacrifice other people to protect herself, believing that it doesn't matter who dies if she, the only one who can rebuild her country, survives. Despite Yurinojo and Lady Haruna keeping their huge secret, the genin still decided to carry on with the mission. When they got close to a lake during the night, Yurinojo told Naruto about Lady Haruna's past. He said, "The Land of Greens is a fragile nation; to make sure her lineage was safe, Lady Haruna was taken to a far-off land when she was very young and held hostage there while she grew up. For smaller lands in troubled times, it was a common practice. Later, when Lady Haruna finally returned from the other land, she completely lost trust in the people. Lady Haruna was a victim of this turbulent world." This is why she does not trust others.

Meanwhile, Choji took the kids and the elders to a nearby village for their safety, while Hinata and Naruto stayed behind as the decoys to protect Lady Haruna. At night, Hinata takes a rest in a tent while Yurinojo and Naruto stay awake.

The element of friendship between Kikunojo and Yurinojo

When Naruto gave Yurinojo the spear that used to belong to Kikunojo, Yurinojo started telling Naruto about their friendship. He said to Naruto, "Kikunojo was a master of the land of greens special flowers, ninjutsu. We trained together when we were little kids, but I never managed to beat him, not even once. Now it seems that I will never again have the opportunity to bust my friend." They had a close friendship, and from his tone, he is expressing feelings of regret. In response, Naruto gave him words of encouragement, saying that if he defeats the guy who killed his friend, then, in a way, he will be winning against Kikunojo too. Therefore, the brief interaction shows Naruto's character as a real person giving advice; hence, he is a round character.

Naruto and Yurinojo encountered trouble with Ruiga, one of the criminal brothers.

Intense music with a mix of intense guitars plays in the background. Since Naruto and Yurinojo sensed Ruiga's presence, Yurinoji decided to launch his attack first. He activated his Flower Ninjutsu: Flying Power Foliage, where various petals were flying towards the opponent, but the petals were ineffective. In response to Yurinojo's attack, Ruiga activated his water technique and then tossed various kunai and shuriken projections at the tent. Luckily, Hinata took the princess to safety. Meanwhile, Naruto and Yurinojo jumped off a cliff, and Ruiga followed them. As they landed on the ground, the three of them battled it out. Ruiga eventually knocked them out, and afterwards, he activated his Water Style: Liquid Memory, the one he used on the deceased Kikunojo. Naruto is trapped inside a sphere of water, and Ruiga summons various piranhas inside the water to kill Naruto. This is an intense atmosphere, and we are left in suspense until we watch the next episode.