"Yakumo's Sealed Ability"
Naruto was drugged and dumped after having his MIND CRUSHED. He is apparently in a darkened hallway of the academy. Yakumo is arguing with Kurenai. She wants to be a ninja, like no one ever was. Kurenai told her to give up. She's going to seal away her jutsu. Good guy Naruto rushes in to stop this.
Oh my. While this is happening the sound of a pan being beaten over and over plays in the background. Naruto awakens and an angry Sakura is standing over him. He's in a hospital bed. Hey....Sakura....Question. Where am I? How the heck did he end up here? He remembers Kurenai getting stabbed and having his heart pulled out of his chest. Where's Yakumo. Sakura can only sigh before getting angry at him, he got caught sneaking into a safe house in the mountains. ANBU Black Ops got him and he should be lucky to still be alive. Oooh that makes sense, but that dream was so vivid.
Sakura threatens to give him a shot if he doesn't stop all this blabbing. Naruto can't be standing around so he opens the hospital window and jumps out, with Sakura warning him that the medicine hasn't worn off yet. Naruto goes to Mumrah the ever living's apartment and starting banging on the door. A voice tells him to quit it, he's too late. It's Might Guy! But since you're up so early why don't you join him in an early marathon. Naruto claims this isn't a good time but Guy says early morning marathons are the best as they sweat away all those nasty impurities from a night of sleep. He just wants to know where Kurenai went and he says she went to visit a former student who is in rough shape. Must be Yakumo. Guy wishes he would join him for some stretching at least but the boy is already gone. He catches up to Kurenai-Sensei who tells him to leave well enough alone. He tells her about his dream though and how it might be related. Kurenai is legit shook by this but no sells Naruto and tells him to go away. Naruto jumps in front of her and asks her to fess up about Yakumo...and she does! The dream was true, she sealed her student's power. Why? It happened a year ago, with her own hands she crushed her dream to be a shinobi. She was attempting to unlock her hidden Genjutsu but she failed her and therefore can't be trusted with Team Eight. That still doesn't explain why and he has so many more questions.
He won't leave so she starts the mind taking. Vines entangle Naruto and a tree grows up from behind him. He can't break free! ANBU Orochimaru claims they are surrounded and tells one of them to alert the village. The remaining medical ninja and himself strike first, wounding or killing many leaf shinobi, who bend and warp. Illusions! Both are wrapped in vines. The third gets a messenger pidgeon away before getting vined himself. Yakumo is back to her portraits. She's adding a lot of red to her latest work when two ninjas appear at the door with orders to take her in.
Sakura is back to the paper drying, this time on the roof of the mansion. She can't believe that jerk Naruto didn't even thank her for sitting at his bedside all night when the pigeon arrives and poops on her face. She screams. Tsunade is in her office stamping papers. She wants a break but Shizune is riding herd. She hasn't been doing her job lately so her office is filled with forms to sign when Sakura busts in with the pidgeon. Something has happened to Yakumo.
Team Eight, Sakura, and Might Guy were dispatched to the mountain villa. She might have been kidnapped and their orders are to seize the girl. Might Guy remembers the name Yakumo (he's a big fan of School Rumble) and what it means but Hinata is clueless about the Kurama clan. Guy isn't surprised as they've been out of prominence for decades now and after last years loss of Yakumo's parents the clan is in total disarray. Kiba wonders if someone is trying to steal the family jutsu, and that may be. Tsunade says the 3rd's records show that Yakumo's hidden potential could one day be a force to be reckoned with and Shino believes that's the true reason for the disturbance. Shizune says this is why she's been under lock and key this whole time. Guy loves a damsel in distress and the beautiful green beast is just the man for the job. Sakura is assigned because of her medical training. She's reluctant at first but is glad at the chance to put her skills to the test. Thinking about all this made her careless though and she trips, face planting herself.
It wasn't mere clumsiness though, she tripped over Naruto's feet! Hinata is legit shook. Akamaru pisses on his face to try and wake him up. Doesn't work. Then he barks in his face. No good. Sakura realizes he's under a Genjutsu and releases him. He wakes up and says Sakura's name before tasting what is in his mouth. That's salty! He's LEGIT SHOOK, what's going on? Sakura wants him to stop babbling. Good Guy Shino informs him of the Genjutsu and Naruto tells them about Kurenai and going to the villa. Guy asks if Kurenai was alone and Naruto thinks she was. Guy thinks she is in danger (if you've ever used Kurenai in Clash of Ninja you'll know this is a valid concern, she's awful) and the kids rush off to save her.
Kurenai meanwhile is doing the ninja thing through the trees but she does sense a trap. She uses some hand signs and does a sensing jutsu, someone is here. She reckons she shouldn't not have come alone but then realizes that Yakumo is the likely target and blindly rushes in, right into a vine genjutsu of her own. It sprouts a venus fly trap with a man inside of it!
Can't have nosey people interfering after all. Pfft, she's been playing you like a fool this entire time as Kurenai in the vines turns into vines herself.
She uses her own venus fly trap attack, choking him out in his mind. Kurenai uses more of her genjutsu to infiltrate the villa but feels something wrong... The two ninja who came to liberate Yakumo are completely MIND CRUSHED, caught in a genjutsu. Yakumo's voice is crying...but from where. The paintings fall over and there she is. Thank goodness you're alive. She runs over and hugs her former teacher who strokes her back and tells her no matter what she'll be safe as Yakumo cries into her shoulder...with crocodile tears as an evil grin breaks through.
A man comes jumping into the scene and releases the ninja that Kurenai just dealt with. He gives him the business for being hit with a reverse Genjutsu but figures it was probably Kurenai Yuhi. Him and his bully boys get ready for an assault from the Leaf village as the two they sent in never came back. He orders them to forget clan ties and kill the girl no matter what. Hinata notices them with her Byakugan. Attackers, four out front and four inside. Guy thinks two of them inside are Yakumo and Kurenai and Naruto agrees. He just wants to know what is going on as the episode ends.
NEXT EPISODE: "Kurenai's Top-Secret Mission: The Promise With
the Third Hokage"
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