"The Labyrinth of Distorted Reflection" (乱反射の迷宮, Ranhansha no Meikyū) is episode 97 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.
Synopsis[]
In Konoha, the crystallised bug is analysed and Tsunade confirms her suspicion to Shizune about Orochimaru's follower using Crystal Release, an ability thought to be non-existent. Team Yamato finds themselves lost as Kakashi had not left any trails or signs for them to follow; Sai creates an ink bird to fly above the perimeter to scout for any signs while Naruto excuses himself from the group on the pretence of relieving himself. However, once he finds himself secluded, he attempts to continue his training in secret until he notices a light mist settling in and spots Yūkimaru, the young boy he had met at the hot springs. Yūkimaru is cryptic, but after Naruto reaffirms that the people who are thinking about you is where your home is, Yūkimaru disappears, along with the mist. Sakura arrives, and believing that Naruto is lying about having encountered someone, ushers him off as Yamato had found one of Shino's bugs.
In the meantime, Guren berates her team for failing to dispose of their pursuers and launches her own plan. She proceeds to create a jade crystal dome that traps Team 8. Guren then produces a crystal mirror in order to create six jade crystal clones. Team 8, meanwhile, finds themselves lost in the woods as Shino's bugs are unable to locate the enemy, having lost their movement; to make matter worse, Hinata finds herself unable to effectively use her Byakugan to find their foes, as she can only see the images of her team refracted over and over again. Guren and her clones arrive to deal with Team 8, generating jade crystal blades from her forearms. Kakashi uncovers his Sharingan to give him an edge, but Guren reveals that her Crystal Release cannot be copied. Elsewhere, Hinata manages to defeat one of the clones with her Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, though she is encased within a jade crystal prison by another crystal clone. The other crystal clones stop their fight with their respective opponents in order to lure them into a clearing, where Guren warns them that should they interfere any further, the confined Hinata would disintegrate into shards.
On the outside, Team Yamato finds themselves unable to break through the crystal labyrinth. Using his ink bird, Sai notifies them that the dome is a kilometre in length with the top covered, and does not have any weak spots. Using his Wood Release: Great Forest Technique, Yamato attempts to penetrate through the labyrinth, only for the crystal to not respond; he attempts to create a tunnel, but finds out that the crystal is embedded underground as well. Confident that his new technique would do the trick, Naruto summons Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, surprising Sakura and Sai, with the latter asking when he had learned such an impressive technique. Infusing his wind chakra with Gamatatsu's Water Release: Water Gun, the duo manage to create Wind Release: Toad Gun, which manages to puncture the crystal.
Credits[]
| Role | Seiyū | English Voice Actor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | Rōmaji | ||
| Naruto Uzumaki | Junko Takeuchi | 竹内 順子 | Takeuchi Junko | Maile Flanagan |
| Sakura Haruno | Chie Nakamura | 中村 千絵 | Nakamura Chie | Kate Higgins |
| Kakashi Hatake | Kazuhiko Inoue | 井上 和彦 | Inoue Kazuhiko | Dave Wittenberg |
| Yamato | Rikiya Koyama | 小山 力也 | Koyama Rikiya | Troy Baker |
| Sai | Satoshi Hino | 日野 聡 | Hino Satoshi | Benjamin Diskin |
| Kiba Inuzuka | Kosuke Toriumi | 鳥海 浩輔 | Toriumi Kōsuke | Kyle Hebert |
| Hinata Hyūga | Nana Mizuki | 水樹 奈々 | Mizuki Nana | Stephanie Sheh |
| Shino Aburame | Shinji Kawada | 川田 紳司 | Kawada Shinji | Derek Stephen Prince |
| Fifth Hokage: Tsunade | Masako Katsuki | 勝生 真沙子 | Katsuki Masako | Debi Mae West |
| Shizune | Keiko Nemoto | 根本 圭子 | Nemoto Keiko | Megan Hollingshead |
| Guren | Eri Miyajima | 宮島 依里 | Miyajima Eri | Erin Fitzgerald |
| Yūkimaru | Mika Kanai | かない みか | Kanai Mika | Laura Bailey |
| Rinji | Yuya Uchida | 内田 夕夜 | Uchida Yūya | Sam Riegel |
| Konoha researcher | Kenichiro Matsuda | 松田 健一郎 | Matsuda Ken'ichirō | JB Blanc |
| Gamakichi | Yoji Ueda | 上田 燿司 | Ueda Yōji | Dave Wittenberg |
| Gamatatsu | Tomo Shigematsu | 重松 朋 | Shigematsu Tomo | Dave Wittenberg |
