Naruto Anime Analysis (Season 5)

Season 5: Episode 218

Source: Wikipedia

"The Counterattack!"

"The members of Shitenshonin create a triangular formation, using the waterways to stop Gaara from using his sand powers. Meanwhile, Shikamaru and Kiba are having trouble backing up Temari and Kankurou. Before the third member of the rogue ninjas can kill Gaara, Lee and Naruto arrive to save him. At this point, Sakura's task is to head around, aiding those with injuries. Shikamaru and Temari use a combination to wipe out their enemy, and Akamaru pulls the pieces of Kankurou's broken puppet together to surprise the second enemy, killing him as well. Lastly, Gaara uses a spear to take out the third member and pursues the leader in hopes of saving the student."

Analysis

The following focused on the teamwork between the Sand Siblings and the Leaf Village to defeat the three members of the Four Celestials. What made it interesting is that Sakura played a role in healing the people who were injured, such as Gaara and Ino. Other details will be mentioned in the analysis.

Temari, Shikamaru and Ino versus Kujaku

To begin the episode, they were in an area where all the trees were cut down due to the wind attacks. They were also close to a waterfall. When Shikamaru arrived with Ino, he informed Temari about their mission and that he was returning the favour since Temari had saved him during the Sasuke incident. Shikamaru tried to trap Kujaku with his Shadow Possession Jutsu, but his shadow wouldn't reach her. Therefore, he had no choice but to give up and find other ways to defeat the enemy. Seeing that she had the advantage, Kujaku blew them away with her wind jutsu technique. In response, Temari blew away her ninja technique using her fan.

After some time, Temari told Shikamaru that the double-edged swords were amplifying her chakra. When he found out that Kujaku's whole strategy depended on the sword, he said to Ino, "Well, never mind; we just have to bring the fight to her and get her in range of our jutsu." So, Ino and Shikamaru came running in Kujaku's direction, but Kujaku blew them away with her wind technique, and in response, Temari blew away her wind with her fan. When Shikamaru and Ino got up to try their offensive attack again, he said in his mind, "She's only worried about her distance from Temari. I get it; all she's focusing on is our long-range fighter. Ino and I both handle mid-range jutsu, so she can just use her wind to box us out. What's the play here?" At that point, Shikamaru was still figuring out a way to defeat the enemy.

Shikamaru, Temari, and Ino were still struggling to defeat her, so he looked for a way to extend his shadow using the waterfall. At that point, Kujaku received a signal from Hōki to activate the triangle formation to trap Gaara. Later, I will reveal how Shikamaru and Temari will defeat her.

Kankuro, Kiba (with Akamaru) and Choji versus Ryūgan

When Kiba and Choji arrived on the scene to save Kankuro, he informed Kankuro about their mission. Kiba also said he is returning the favour since Kankuro saved him during the Sasuke incident. After some time, Ryūgan used his three-dragon-infused chakra sword to target them. In response, they dodged his attacks in various ways as they jumped into the trees and launched their offensive attack. First, Kiba activated his Man Beast Clone: Fang Over Fang. Second, Choji activated Partial expansion jutsu: Arms. Last, Kankuro activated his Puppet Crawl technique. All their attacks came in Ryūgan's direction, but they were ineffective. Therefore, Ryūgan used his three-dragon-infused chakra sword to target them. At that point, Ryūgan received a signal from Hōki to activate the triangle formation to trap Gaara. Later, I will reveal how Kankuro, Kiba, and Choji will defeat him.