Source: Wikipedia
“An Invitation from the Sound.”
"Sasuke continues his battle with the Sound Four but eventually becomes too injured, including being weakened by using the Curse Mark. The Sound Four tell stories of how Sasuke can become stronger if he lends his power to Orochimaru. Sasuke, tired of playing ninja games, finally gives in and goes to them. Sakura tries to stop him but fails as Sasuke vanishes before she can persuade him more, and he knocks Sakura unconscious after saying, ‘Thank You’.”
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Analysis
This episode marks Sasuke's transition as he savours his ties with the Hidden Leaf Village.
Sasuke continues his battle with the Sound Four but eventually becomes too injured, including being weakened by using the Curse Mark. The scene is significant because it shows the battle between Sasuke and the Sound Four Ninja. Furthermore, the scene is in a quiet area of Hidden Leaf Village, and each opponent showcases their fighting skills. At that moment, dramatic music plays in the background, which is low yet intense at the same time. Throughout the battle, Sasuke uses taijutsu to fight against them, while the twin brothers, Sakon and Ukon, use sound to defeat Sasuke when one of them says, “Your bones ring with a nice low tone.” As a result, the music in the background gets a little higher to signify that the enemy has the upper hand against Sasuke. Eventually, Sasuke gets attacked by the other sound ninjas, so he resorts to using the lion barrage against the twin brothers (Sakon and Ukon). As the battle intensifies, the title of the episode appears. Moreover, the fact that the audience sees the encounter between Sasuke and the Sound 4 Ninjas is significant because it compels the audience to watch the rest of the episode.
Keep in mind that Sakon and Ukon are twin brothers merged into one body.
Meanwhile, the scene switches to the Ichiraku Ramen shop, where Naruto is eating ramen, and Sakura is also present. At that moment, Naruto was very happy, to the extent that he offered to pay for Sakura’s dinner at the ramen place. Moreover, the owner of the restaurant, Teuchi, speculated that Naruto was on a date. He said, “So you’re treating your girl, huh? It looks like you’re starting to grow up a little, Naruto.” As a result of his words, Naruto’s face turns completely red, and he gets a little embarrassed because he likes Sakura. Therefore, the use of visual imagery where we see Naruto’s face turning red shows a sense of unrequited love on the part of Naruto. He likes Sakura even though he is aware that she likes Sasuke, and Sasuke doesn’t care much about Sakura, which is sad. In other words, it’s a complicated situation happening among Team 7.
While at the ramen shop, Sakura is sad because she is worried about Sasuke, since Sasuke has the curse mark. Therefore, there is a moment of silence to signify that Sakura is thinking about Sasuke. As a result, sad music plays in the background when Sakura tells Naruto about the curse mark Sasuke has, as it is evident in some of Sakura’s memories. First, there is visual imagery where Sasuke was bitten by Orochimaru during the Chunin exams. Second, Japanese music plays in the background as there is visual imagery where Sasuke breaks one of the Sound Ninja’s arms, known as Zaku Abumi. Last, there is visual imagery when Sasuke fought with Gaara, where he could not fight due to the curse mark. As a result, a Japanese flute and a guitar play in the background. All of these mixtures of sound and instruments indicate that Sasuke is in trouble, hence why Sakura is worried.
When Sakura finished narrating her story, Naruto told Sakura that he had met Orochimaru when he was looking for Tsunade. The Japanese guitar starts playing as well, and one sees vivid memories of Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade fighting amongst themselves using the three summoning animals. Afterwards, Naruto said that Orochimaru was incredibly powerful, and the music stopped when Naruto finished telling Sakura about the incident.
This scene at the ramen shop was the longest because it highlighted all these memories to remind the audience about how Sasuke got the curse mark and how powerful Orochimaru is. Therefore, it helps one to have a better understanding that Orochimaru will eventually have Sasuke as his protege, so the scene is significant as it foreshadows what will happen later in the plot.
Meanwhile, Naruto is confident that Sasuke will not fall for Orochimaru’s tricks because he believes Sasuke is strong. As a result, Naruto’s optimistic nature also makes Sakura smile as she starts to believe Naruto’s words. However, they will be disappointed by his actions.
The Sound Four tell stories of how Sasuke can become stronger if he lends his power to Orochimaru. Sasuke, tired of playing ninja games, finally gives in and goes to them. The scene concerning Sasuke intensifies as one continues to watch the episode. Creepy music plays in the background as Sasuke seems to have lost the battle. When he notices that the Sound Four has the upper hand, Sasuke is shocked that his barrage didn’t affect Sakon and Ukon. He went on to say in his mind, “It’s like I never even hit him.” Afterwards, they suggest that Sasuke can become stronger if he lends his power to Orochimaru, as is evident by one of them saying, “What’s it going to be? Are you in or out?” After saying this, one of them tossed Sasuke against a wall.
To make matters worse, Sasuke’s curse mark spreads all over his body, and what makes it intriguing is that the Sound Four Ninjas also have the curse mark. Sakon and Ukon start explaining the curse mark. They said, “One shouldn’t use the curse mark so recklessly, kid. Although it doesn’t look like you’ve got much of a handle on it, do you? If you unleash it for too long, the curse will start to eat away at your body. You’re in the early stages of it, so it shouldn’t sink its teeth into you too quickly. But once it spreads into your body, your former self will be gone. Neither again to return.” Judging from his words, the curse mark has proven to be a huge disadvantage, as it explains why Sasuke has changed ever since he got it. For instance, he tried to harm Naruto using his Chidori outside the hospital. Therefore, Sasuke’s change is part of Orochimaru’s plans to recruit Sasuke to be his protege so that he could use Sasuke’s body as his vessel.
Meanwhile, creepy music still plays in the background when Sasuke’s curse mark shrinks to its original size. Tayuya, one of the Sound 4, said, “In exchange for the curse’s power, you will be tethered to Lord Orochimaru.” They used Sasuke’s revenge against Itachi as leverage to convince him to join Orochimaru’s team and said that Sasuke had to sever his ties with the Leaf village. Before they leave, their last words are “Remember your purpose,” and afterwards, they leave the Hidden Leaf Village.
At that moment, there is a use of symbolism as one sees the full moon. According to Wood and the Wood and Hammy Website, “it represents completion, the height of power, the realisation of your desires, and the peak of clarity.” Therefore, in this case, Sasuke realises his true desire for revenge. He wants to make Itachi suffer, and he is willing to ask Orochimaru for power. This is bad, as we see visual imagery of Sasuke having a creepy look in his eye. It clearly shows his desire for revenge, which makes everything get more and more intense.
Sakura tries to stop him but fails as Sasuke vanishes before she can persuade him more, and he knocks Sakura unconscious after saying “Thank You”. Sasuke leaves the Leaf Village, and on his way, he bumps into Sakura, who realises that Sasuke wants to leave the village. As a result, she starts crying, saying, “Why won’t you ever tell me anything?“. In response, Sasuke said, “Why should I have to tell you anything? Just keep your nose out of my business; it’s none of your concern.” There was a moment of silence and Sakura responded, “I know you hate me. Even in the beginning, you could never stand me.” Due to Sasuke’s cold demeanour, sad piano music plays in the background as she reminds him of an incident. For instance, Sakura remembers how she made fun of Naruto and implied that Naruto behaves in a certain way because he doesn’t have parents and is alone. Sasuke was bothered because he also lost his parents and knew how it felt to be an orphan. This is shown in this episode, where Sasuke says, “It’s not about your parents scolding you; you have no idea what it means to be alone.” He also says, “You’re annoying.” Sad piano music continues to play throughout the episode to signify the seriousness of Sasuke leaving the village. At that moment, Sakura’s memory about judging Naruto serves as a lesson that one shouldn’t judge things based on appearance because there is more to a story than outward appearance. Moreover, the fact that Sasuke seemed bothered by what Sakura said about Naruto shows something important. Sasuke and Naruto share one common similarity: they are orphans. Sasuke can relate because he is an orphan and knows what it’s like to be alone.
Moreover, Sakura reminds Sasuke about the time they spent as Team 7. As a result, a violin plays in the background with a mix of a guitar and a Japanese flute. To try to convince Sasuke to stay, Sakura said that it was so much fun being part of Team 7. Furthermore, she said she knows about his clan and gives important advice that revenge is not going to bring him happiness. However, it was too late because of the use of symbolism. For instance, the dark clouds covering the full moon signified that there was no hope for Sasuke to stay in the village. To support this, a Japanese guitar plays in the background as Sasuke still insists on revenge. Afterwards, piano music starts playing in the background as Sasuke thinks about the picture frame with Team 7.
The scene gets even more emotional when Sakura confesses her feelings to Sasuke, saying that she loves him and begs him to stay. As a result, the full moon appears again to signify Sasuke’s desire for revenge. Moreover, Sakura said she would follow him if he didn’t stay in the village. In response, Sasuke said the most hurtful words. He said, “You haven’t changed. You’re still annoying.” Due to his words, sad music stops playing in the background as he goes on to say, “Sakura. Thank you for everything”. Before Sakura could react, he knocked her unconscious, leaving her lying on the ground.
The theme of sadness and love is shown in this particular scene. The theme of love is shown when Sakura is willing to leave the Hidden Leaf Village to be with Sasuke. She was willing to leave her family and friends for Sasuke. From my perspective, this was the true meaning of love in Sakura’s eyes as she was willing to risk everything to be with Sasuke, even though the situation was toxic. Moreover, sadness is shown when Sasuke leaves the Hidden Leaf Village, where one sees visual imagery of Sakura crying. Therefore, the scene has proven to be a tragedy and extremely emotional.
Meanwhile, dramatic music plays in the background when the Sound Four Ninjas are waiting for Sasuke. What makes it even more shocking is that as soon as he arrived, they worshipped Sasuke as they bowed down before him. Therefore, it means that Sasuke is their new leader. To end the episode, the music intensifies with Sasuke saying, “This is the beginning.” Indeed, it is the beginning of Sasuke’s transition from a ninja to a rogue ninja, hence the element of change in Sasuke’s character.
The lesson from this episode is that revenge will not bring anyone happiness. It will only negatively change you, just like what is happening to Sasuke.
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