Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Season 5: Episode 209

Source: Wikipedia

"The Enemy: Ninja Dropouts"

"Naruto, Sakura, and Lee are hired to escort a "Ninja Dropout, a criminal ninja named Gantetsu, to prison and guard him against his comrades, who may be trying to free him. They learn that Todoroki, the captain of the guard, has a personal vendetta against Gantetsu for what happened to his parents and younger brother. During an attack by one of the Ninja Dropouts, Naruto, Todoroki, and Gantetsu are separated from Sakura, Lee, and the guards."

Analysis

The episode introduced a new set of characters from a group known as the Ninja Dropouts. These include Shura (the leader of the group), Monju, Toki, and Gantetsu.

The Ninja Dropouts infiltrated a certain mansion to steal the treasure.

At the beginning of the episode, it is nighttime when there is a full moon, which symbolizes something bad is about to happen. The Ninja Dropouts infiltrated a certain mansion when they came out of a pool. Afterwards, ominous music plays in the background when they enter the mansion to kill a man and a woman in their room. After they finished killing the man and woman, they walked around the hallway and came across a huge safe that was locked. So, Shura instructed Monju to open the safe with his Ninja Art: Pattern Link to cut the door. According to the Narutopedia website, this technique uses a metal string strengthened with chakra to make a thread capable of constricting a target and cutting through steel with little difficulty. Monju can also use the wire to form complex string figure designs with his hands and launch the figure from the string as a powerful cutting attack (Narutopedia Website).

So, after Monju finished cutting the safe with his ninja technique, it opened to reveal treasure consisting of gold. While they were stealing it, they heard a kid crying in one of the rooms, so Gatentsu was sent to deal with the kid while the rest of the gang took the treasure. When Gatentsu left the room, Shura, Monju, and Toki set the mansion on fire so that there was no sign of evidence that they had infiltrated the mansion. While they set the mansion on fire, Gantetsu stood outside the room of the kid who was crying and had a blank expression on his face, even though the mansion was on fire. Before the scene can progress to show Gantestu's next move, the scene switches to the leaf village, which leaves a sense of mystery. The scene acts as an exposition of background events necessary for understanding the plot. Moreover, it is a foreshadowing of certain clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot. Therefore, it keeps the viewer intrigued enough to watch the rest of the episode.

Naruto, Sakura, and Lee are hired to escort a "Ninja Dropout, a criminal ninja named Gantetsu, to prison and guard him against his comrades, who may be trying to free him. At the leaf village around the day, Shizune informed Tsunade about a request she received from the police. At the Hokage's office, Shizune said, "Well, the police have requested our assistance; they need to transfer a prisoner." The police could have done it themselves, but it was a little more complicated since it involved the ninja dropouts, who were skilled shinobi. Moreover, the Jonin have all been assigned to S-level missions, and most Genin and Chunin are away from the village on different assignments. Therefore, Naruto, Sakura, and Rock Lee were the only ones available to take part in this mission.

When Naruto, Sakura, and Rock Lee arrived at her office, Tsunade informed them about the details of their mission. First, she said, "It's a group of ninjas who have chosen to leave their villages and give up the life of a shinobi to go live in the wild with others like them. They are a band of savage thieves who use their skills to steal what they want." Second, she said, "One of their members was captured yesterday at Oggi Mountain Pass in the Land of Forest; this guy is wanted in just about every village you can think of. He was wandering through the woods when he was captured. His name is Gantetsu." Last, she said, "We are hoping Gantetsu has information that will help us wipe out the ninja dropouts, so he is being transferred to the capital city on the land of forests to be interrogated. We're assuming the ninja dropouts will try to rescue him somewhere along the way. The police are taking every precaution and have assigned a full escort to ensure he makes it to the capital. Still, since the opponents are ninjas, they have asked me to assign several of our ninjas to ensure the success of this mission, so then that's why you're all here." Thereafter, they are sent on a mission to guard the Gantestu convoy, which was supposed to travel by ship.