Ebisu Returns: Naruto's Toughest Training Yet!


 * Name:
 * Episode Number: Naruto Episode 52
 * Original Airdate: October 1, 2003
 * English Airdate: September 16, 2006
 * Anime arc: Chunin Exam arc Pt.2
 * Characters Starred: Naruto Uzumaki, Ebisu, and Kakashi Hatake

Sypnosis of Last Episode
This episode is the end of Season 2. The last episode, "A Shadow in Darkness: Danger Approaches Sasuke" in which the preliminaries of Chunin Exams conclude with Dosu Kinuta versing Choji Akimichi, with Choji losing very easily. The nine passing genins (Naruto, Neji, Sasuke, Gaara, Kankuro, Shino, Temari, Shikamaru, and Dosu) were assigned in the finals and was given a month to prepare. In the hospital, Kabuto Yakushi attempts to assassinate Sasuke, but was stopped by Kakashi and was forced to escape. Naruto then goes to Kakashi for training, but was instead given Ebisu his sensei before the Chunin Exams.

Plot
The episode starts off as Naruto was in the hospital, asking if he could go to Sasuke’s room. Realizing that he can’t go, he starts shouting and complaining. Kakashi comes out of the hallway and says to Naruto that this is a hospital and told him to quiet down. Naruto then got excited and asks to train him before the final Chunin Exams starts. After Kakashi said that he had other manners to settle, Naruto reacts by saying that he was going to train Sasuke. Kakashi tells him to calm down and he found another, excellent teacher that is even more powerful. When Naruto questions who, he hears a voice saying “it is I.” Turning around, Naruto is shocked to found out that it was Ebisu, calling him a “closet pervert”

Kakashi starts to question of how Ebisu is a “closet pervert.” Naruto starts to explain that Ebisu is weaker than him because he used the Harem Jutsu at him. Ebisu immediately covers up Naruto’s mouth as Kakashi starts to question again about the Harem Jutsu. In order to calm down Naruto, he offers him a favor that he’ll give him anything to eat if he stops pushing the topic. After Naruto calms down, Ebisu answers to Kakashi that it was nothing. After Kakashi’s confusion, Kakashi then says of how much a great relationship they already have and of how they already knew each other. Kakashi then departs, leaving a mad Naruto and a giddy Ebisu. Naruto then says that he doesn’t want to train with him, saying that Kakashi is better. Ebisu then makes a deal that if Naruto can outrun him, then he’ll have Kakashi under his custody. After hearing the deal, Naruto breaks off to running. Ebisu then thinks that there’s no way that Naruto will outrun him.

The scene changes as Naruto starts to run as fast as he can, thinking that there is no way that Ebisu will get to him now. He stands on top of the Hokage Tower, thinking that he lost Ebisu. He suddenly hears Ebisu’s voice on top him, and he looks up, Ebisu was standing on a pole on top of the Hokage Tower. Knowing that he can’t lose, Naruto uses a smoke bomb to escape. As Naruto escapes, he runs out of breath then stops at front of a billboard. The billboard had a picture of a cute girl, running with his boyfriend. Naruto then smirks of what he was going to do next. Ebisu comes up the billboard, knowing that Naruto was around here. When he looks at the billboard, he gets shocked and starts to adore it. Realizing that he can’t get carried off, he started to tell Naruto that he should stop his trick. Naruto, transformed as the picture of the girl, got surprised and transformed back to his own self.

Still doesn’t want to give up, he uses the Shadow Clone Jutsu to split and run away from Ebisu. After the Narutos were gone, Ebisu says that he isn’t the only one who can do Shadow Clones. The scene changes to three Narutos running away on a roof. Looking to their back, they see three Ebisus chasing them. The three Narutos get defeated easily as they tried to fight, and they were all clones. Then, the scene keeps on changing for each defeated Naruto Clones, and they all yell in despair. The scene changes when it shows the real Naruto, taking a break on the bridge in which Kakashi gave them the Chunin Exams pamphlet. Satisfied that he got away, he takes a rest on the rails. Before he takes the rest, Ebisu was on top of the bridge and surprises Naruto, making him fall off the bridge. Upset, Naruto goes for a punch at Ebisu. The punch was a critical hit, but to only find out it was a clone and he falls down onto the water again. The real Ebisu then goes up the bridge and tells him he doesn’t have enough power. Naruto then gives in.

The scene changes into Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, seeing that Ebisu still hasn’t gave out his favor to Naruto about his deal to shut up about the Harem Jutsu. As they eat, Ebisu starts to talk about chakra control, saying that Naruto is up shortest on it. Naruto then starts to complain and questions why. Ebisu then explains: It first starts off as your stamina, flowing within your body to use Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu. When using Taijutsu, you don’t need to use any hand seals or any chakra, but has to use at least some of his stamina. When using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, you need to build up chakra from your stamina. Your stamina is then decreased by the amount of chakra used through your spiritual and body energy. Without any stamina, you practically die. Naruto then fully understands of how to use chakra use.

Now Ebisu then moves on of an example of using Clone Jutsu. He takes Sakura as an example. Using only at least minimal amount of her chakra, she can make four clones, leaving a lot of her stamina. Now, Ebisu moves onto Sasuke’s case. When Sasuke uses chakra, he makes a minimal amount of his chakra but adds a little more for his necessary task, and then makes four clones, still having some of his stamina. Naruto starts to laugh at Sasuke, but Ebisu says you should watch of what you’re laughing. He then uses Naruto as a last example. When Naruto uses his chakra, he uses a minimal amount, but needs a more for the task. Since he’s unskilled at controlling chakra, he still needs to use even more chakra, and eventually only makes two clones. From the expansion use of his chakra, he gets tired out.

Naruto then says that he was even more terrific than Sasuke or Sakura. Ebisu then shouts at him saying that he even has more stamina and energy unlike any other human. Naruto then gets stunned, and thinks for a bit, then eats his ramen again. Ebisu then explains that he was here to train Naruto, so that he can teach Naruto to control chakra even better. They were prepared to leave when Teuchi and Ayame asked for their fee. Ebisu turns around to pay, but then gets shocked when Naruto ate about 10 bowls of large ramen. Scene changes outside of Ichiraku’s Ramen and you hear a shout “NARUTOOOOOOO!!!”

The scene then changes into the hot springs. Naruto and Ebisu then start to walk into the private hot springs, when Naruto accidentally starts to go to the woman’s area. Ebisu then shouts for him to stop and he doesn’t allow him any idiotic acts there. Naruto turns around stupidly, saying that he was the “closet pervert.” They go to their own hot springs and Ebisu introduces him to walk on water. He recounts that they walked on trees before, it was the same thing. Naruto then forgets the lesson, and Ebisu then explains. Walking on the tree creates the same amount of necessary chakra continuously. Since the tree was solid, all you could do is easily stick to it. Water is the same thing but different, you have to expel the right amount of chakra into the water that’s from your feet and match the amount so that you could float. This is more difficult since the water is just liquid; making you to control chakra even more. This is training so that you can master more ninjutsu, even better.

Ebisu then shows an example since Naruto still doesn’t understand. Ebisu then starts putting chakra into his feet, and then walks on water as he says to match it with the weight body. Thinking it was cool, Naruto tries it, he puts chakra into his feet, and then steps on the water, and he falls immediately. After countless tries, he fails, knowing that he can’t give up. Ebisu then thinks back a flashback of Konohamaru when he sees Konohamaru doing hard push-ups. Ebisu then questions him if he was going to sneak attack the Hokage again. Konohamaru then says no. Ebisu finally thinks his methods are going through him. When he asks of shortcuts to being Hokage, Konohamaru then says that there were no shortcuts, in order to become Hokage, you can’t do shortcuts.

Conclusion
The scene changes back and Naruto was finally walking on water, but his feet are still on the water, making him hard to move. Ebisu then says how incredibly fast he did it, realizing that he isn’t really a demon fox anymore, he’s Naruto Uzumaki. After thinking about that, Naruto falls on the water, realizing that he hasn’t controlled it properly yet. Ebisu then hears a smirk to his left, and he hears him laughing. Turning to his direction, he sees a white-haired man giggling at looking the woman’s bathroom. When Ebisu sees this, he turns to Naruto’s direction, and says, “I don’t respect shameless idiots, like you!!!” After saying that, he rushes toward the white-haired guy. The person stops and turns around, and gets annoyed. He suddenly summons a big frog. The frog then puts out his tongue and catches Ebisu, the frog then throws him off, landing hard on the bridge. Ebisu then turns out to be unconsciousness. Naruto then gets shocked of how easily Ebisu lost against this open pervert. He wonders of who this guy is.

Trivia

 * In the manga, the part had no runaway deal, and Ebisu explained the chakra control while still in the hospital. This part was added so it could be longer, more interesting, and more humorous.
 * If you want to know the white haired guy, you already know it's Jiraiya.

Next Episode
Long Time No See: Jiraiya Returns!