Naruto: Part 3 and Naruto Shippuden
Naruto: Part 3 - The Beginning of the Way of Naruto vs. the Way of Shinobi
https://1anime.to/episode/175665-naruto-episode-19_68037-english-dub - beginning to 21:30
There are many things that I could talk about with the Naruto series, starting with the beginning of it, and continuing it with Naruto Shippuden (finishing it with that too - I consider Boruto to be a separate series). That is also why I talk about it before analyzing the entire series, and again with the character analysis this Friday, besides the fact that I like these examples (Benedictine monks also wear a black outfit that makes us look like ANBU - I guess liking Naruto feels right for me). There are definitely other examples that I like, but for the sake of analyzing this series as a whole, I think the best thing to discuss is the differences in ways of living that are seen in this series. The main way of living seen in this series is referred to as the Way of Shinobi, which is basically a way of life where people called shinobi (also known as ninja) live in a way where they can be used by or for others like tools. A great example of this is seen in episode 19.
The episode starts with an example of the Way of Shinobi. Gato, the man who hired the ninja Zabuza to help him, has now hired others to help him due to what is better for Gato. Before this, Haku, another ninja who helped Zabuza, took the hit that Kakashi planned to use to finish Zabuza. In an earlier incident, Gato remembers that Haku almost hurt him, so as he approaches the dead body of Haku, he kicks it, and laughs about doing that. Zabuza and Kakashi are not affected by this until Naruto does and says something about this.
What Naruto does and says about this is another great example of how his talk no jutsu influences change in others. This time, he uses it on Zabuza to challenge the Way of Shinobi. While Zabuza uses the Way of Shinobi as a shield for his feelings toward Haku, Naruto challenges that by attempting to drop, and get rid of this shield, by reminding Zabuza of what Haku did for Zabuza, despite Haku’s feelings of the Way of Shinobi, because of what Zabuza did for Haku. Naruto succeeds in dropping this shield, but he doesn’t expect what happens next, which is Zabuza killing Gato at the cost of his own life at the hands of Gato’s new mercenaries. After Zabuza does this, and before he dies, another example of Naruto’s talk no jutsu is seen.
This other example is when the village that Naruto and his team are there to protect show up to help them out (Sasuke and Sakura are already with the one villager from this village that their team is assigned to protect). Naruto influenced one of the villagers with his talk no jutsu about the importance of helping out, and in turn, this one villager influenced his entire village. Naruto’s talk no jutsu has also helped an entire village, but before the village talks about this as Naruto’s team leaves after helping them, another important incident occurs where Naruto formalizes the Way of Naruto into words.
This incident is the conversation Naruto and his team have before the graves of Zabuza and Haku (I guess they bury them). Before Zabuza dies, he asks Kakashi to place him next to where Haku died. Naruto has caused Zabuza’s repentance, but Zabuza thinks it’s too late for him to go where Haku has gone (as Kakashi says, we don’t know if that’s really true or not, and we can’t know that). At their graves, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto question the Way of Shinobi after what they have just seen with Zabuza and Haku, and Kakashi responds with this is the way their shinobi world works. Naruto doesn’t buy that. He decides after hearing that to follow his own way of living called the Way of Naruto. The rest of the series is essentially him attempting to do this, but I think he already attempted to do this before actually saying it.
Before Naruto comes up with his own way of life by actually saying it in this episode, and attempting to do that in the rest of this series, I think it can be seen in his talk no jutsu, which is still important for this way of life, as well as what he does. The Way of Shinobi involves using others as means to help you, not as people that can also be your friends. Naruto does this in the beginning of the series before talking about the Way of Naruto by fighting for his friends, which he still does, and doing things his way, which is what I think all people do in their own way.
The Way of Shinobi is a broad term that refers to a group of people, both in anime, like this series, and in real life, like in the history of martial arts (this is actually a class I help teach here - more about that later). The Way of Naruto isn’t like this. Individual people, even if they choose to follow a way that others follow, like the Way of Shinobi, also have their own ideas, like Naruto and his decision to live his own way. Living with two ways of life, one collective and one individual, is something we all have to/should do, and Naruto attempts to do that starting here, and continuing, and concluding, with Naruto Shippuden.
Questions for Discussion and Reflection
- What is the way of life you follow with others, and how does that influence you, and others you interact with?
- What is the way of life you follow on your own, and how does that influence you, and others you interact with?
Naruto Shippuden: The Continuation of the Way of Naruto vs. the Way of Shinobi
https://1anime.to/episode/109620-naruto-shippuden-episode-283_95628-english-dub - beginning - 20:05
Naruto Shippuden is the continuation of the story of Naruto and his way of life. This also includes the challenge of living his way of life that is different from the world’s way, which is what the Rule of St. Benedict says that monks should do. This challenge continues to be seen in what Naruto does as he gets older after years of experience with his way of life, and living with it, as well as what else he has, which is seen in the episodes I show of Naruto Shippuden.
In the first episode of Naruto Shippuden seen here, Naruto “fights” his dark half. This is Naruto’s first step in his training to control the power inside of him in order to win the 4th Great Ninja War (this war is pretty much the main event of Shippuden). Naruto’s dark half challenges what Naruto thinks of situations that have happened in his life, particularly how the treatment of him by the village has changed over the years due to who Naruto is and what Naruto has done. This is also a challenge of Naruto’s individual way of life (not the first or last one either). Naruto not only defeats his dark half, but gets his dark half to realize that he can now become part of who Naruto is now, which was always the case, but now the darkness is light. This video is one of the challenges that Naruto faces before fighting in the war that has already started, and a challenge to his individual way of life.
The other challenge that Naruto faces before fighting in the war that has already started, which is also a challenge to his individual way of life, is seen in the second and third episode seen here. In these episodes, we see that a village leader, called the Raikage, is trying to prevent Naruto, and his brother Bee, someone else who has a power similar to Naruto, from fighting in the war because that’s what their enemy would want. The enemy wants the power that Naruto and Bee have inside of them to win the war. However, both Naruto and Bee, as well as the other village leader in this video (the Hokage), think that their power can be used to defeat their enemy. Naruto realizes that his way of thinking, or the Way of Naruto, is what will save the world not only from this war, but also a different way of thinking, or the Way of Shinobi. Bee’s way of thinking is also like Naruto’s.
Faith is also important in what Naruto and Bee not only think, but believe. Both Naruto and Bee believe their power also comes from what they can’t really see. For Bee, this is not only the bond he has with the beast inside him, but also the bond he has with his brother. For Naruto, it is the bond with his parents who helped Naruto control the beast inside him. Naruto’s parents believed that only Naruto could save the world with the power of the beast sealed inside him. Naruto’s parents actually died to do this, but they sealed themselves inside Naruto to help him with this (Naruto met his parents when they were already dead, and inside of him). The Raikage eventually does believe in Naruto, after testing him in a way that lets him know that he can believe in Naruto, and he lets him go to end the war, which he eventually does.
The Way of Naruto is what changes the Way of Shinobi, or at least influences it. Naruto’s experiences are important in shaping his way of life. I believe that the Naruto series is a great example of the importance of the journey over the destination. This journey shaped Naruto’s way of life, and influenced the way of life in the world he lived in. The destination of Naruto’s journey was to be the leader of his village, or the Hokage, which happens after Shippuden ends.
Questions for Discussion and Reflection
- What influences the way of life you follow, both as an individual, and with others?
- Do you believe that the journey is more important than the destination? Explain.
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