Naruto Shippuden Episode 249: Their Sacrifice

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Summary

Sarutobi uses his Enma summon to push the Kyuubi out of the village, where Minato flashes with it to an isolated location, setting up a barrier which prevents anything from entering or exiting. He then voices his plan to seal half of the Kyuubi’s chakra with him, and the other half in Naruto by making him a Jinchuuriki, as well as placing some of both his and Kushina’s chakra with Naruto in order to speak with him in the future. After speaking their last words to Naruto, Minato completes the ritual, and seals the Kyuubi with the Eight Trigrams Seal.

Impression

“I will gladly die for my son.”

There aren’t many moments where I feel that a long-running anime adaptation has surpassed the manga, much less Naruto, but I actually cried in this, when Minato and Kushina spoke their last words to Naruto. I don’t recognize the background soundtrack at all, nor the last one after the jump back to the present, so I guess they must be newer ones set to fit the new mood that this show is setting. That ending to the flashback was so bittersweet…MY EMOTIONS ;_: You have to wonder what kind of life Naruto would have led had everyone known about his heritage.

I’m trying to think of a way that at least one parent could survive, but I don’t see any quick one other than the Shiki Fuujin Seal that Minato used that would get rid of the Kyuubi as well. Many fanfictions out there spring the idea of the Sandaime, Sarutobi summoning the shinigami and sacrificing himself instead (or just anyone other than Minato), and from hindsight we know that he ends up using it to kill Orochimaru’s arms, which turned out to be completely pointless anyway due to his tendency to switch bodies to young boys and girls like the pedo he is. I guess they just had to be noble and die for their son – I bet they would think twice if they saw all the abuse young Naruto got by the villagers.

Kyuubi, that random stab to try and kill Naruto was uncalled for. What did he ever do to you? Apart from…existing. I’d also think there are other ways to stop the Kyuubi’s nail other than to have both Minato and Kushina impaled on it, since I’m sure a Rasengan to the paw would have done fine too. Again, shounen demographics (as well as a plot point established over a decade ago) restrict Minato and Kushina’s fates to pretty much certain death.

I’m so glad that Naruto didn’t take it out on his parents, and you could even say that he’s a better person right now than not having the Kyuubi would ever make him. We’re back into the main plot next week on the island, going straight on to yet another epic conflict, this time between Gai and a certain someone…