#tenninto

Yo, it's been a minute! Damn. being old and busy sucks. Ah well, let's get on with reviewing the third (and hopefully final) version of the 'Ninja' arc.

SUMMARY

?!???

Yeah, yeah, I said I liked skipping those but with so many versions, a quick recap is worthwhile.

As you know, the Obstreperous Flash[1] barged into Saitama's gaming session, wouldn't take go away for an answer, challenged him to a fight that saw his life flash before his eyes, got saved by the bell (um, I mean reports of a monster attack), tagged along, met Sonic, Saitama saved Manako on his own, and they all went to Sicchi to try to arrange a meeting with Blast only to find him conveniently there.

So, what happened this time? Well, Blast came, not to see if monsterization can be undone (more thoughts on that later), but because of his evil ex-partner, Void. It was handy that Flash was here as that meant he could warn him that That Man was back and out for his blood. Also, to leave it to Blast to deal with the dude -- for reasons he couldn't disclose. Saitama, finding out that Flash too was a ninja understands why Flash is so like Sonic, being a clingy, violent-addicted pervert. This upsets Flash and he's determined to set the record straight.

Said record-straightening comes in the form of a lengthy glob of backstory on the Village culminating in Flash's triumphant slaughter of nearly everyone in said place, for which Flash commandeers Saitama's flat. As appreciation, Genos comes through the wall to thunk a mug of hot tea onto Flashy's head, along with a preroration on letting Sonic live. Anyway... Flash leaves after that, and Blast and Sicchi take their leave too, after a very pleased Genos (at last! he must have thought, they're taking what I said seriously! [2]) tells Blast to consult Saitama if he runs into any issues. Flashy gets a letter of challenge from Sonic and goes off to meet him. In the meantime, Blast and Sicchi discuss where and how to lay hands on Void, as the latter is of vital strategic importance in the fight against God (no ID). Turns out Blast has Sonic's hideout bugged, so he knows about the trap set for Flash.

Unfortunately for Blast's plans, Sonic did challenge Flash and so the two of them are in a random forest somewhere having a scrap for old times' sake and other ninja nonsense. Contemporaneously, Saitama declares that he's off to Sonic's hideout to help the dude and give him and the other ne'er-do-well ninjas a drubbing and theorises that they're acting this way because they have nothing better to do with their lives. He then says that perhaps it's not good to be alone [3] and scurries off quickly before Genos can ask any awkward questions about what he meant.

Anyway, back to the scuffle. Sonic tries some fancy moves only to see Flashy Flash bat away all his techinques before sending him flying with some fancy kicking of his own. The Tenninto show up in their variously-weaponed glory (oh, did I forget to introduce them earlier? Never mind! We know who they are) and try to execute Flashy Flash. Sonic reappears, tells them to get lost, and then it's the two ninja frenemies against the Tenninto. Just as Flash and Sonic are about to turn the other ninjas into very poor quality sashimi, Blast shows up out of nowhere to stop the fight. He's fed up with the fratricidal tendencies of ninjas and there's no longer any point to this fight. The Tenninto try to jump him and all get punched down. Voilent Force then declares that their master, That Man, being a serial killer without equal, will totally take care of Blast, even if they couldn't. To which Blast says he's got something to show them.

That something is the exterior of Sonic's hideout, where there's Saitama sitting on the pavement watching a man-shaped hole in the ground. Saitama might not have fancypants portal technology but he can still beat Blast to the punch. Even loaned him his dog as compensation, so he could go find the other ninjas. The Tenninto naturally don't believe that Saitama really beat their master, but they start to change their minds as the baldie lays them all out.

Proceedings are interrupted by the sky opening up and some chimeric beasts coming through. Overgrown Pochi spits fire at them and they return the favour, after which it's a very good thing that a) no one lives there any longer because it's all been turned to ash and b) that Blast has a handy-dandy shield or the ninjas would be toast. Saitama goes to teach the beasties manners but before he can do so, the hole in the ground starts to smoke and Void explodes out of it to slice and dice said critters, and Blast punches them mightly to send them back whence they came and shuts the dimensional rift after them. Saitama decides it's nothing to do with him after all and makes to head home...

...only he lingers a bit. Looks like Empty Void is indeed back to his senses, Saitama's punch having driven God's influence out of him (Blast wonders what the hell Saitama is). Sonic and Flash try attacking Void, who dodges them easily and Blast stops them. With some very fast talking, Blast insists that Void's actions weren't truly his fault, being rather undermined by Void himself as the latter says he remembers what he did perfectly well -- it was just that being under the influence made the worst of him easier to access. Anyway, he had things to do now, so would his ex-victim ninjas please get along and not make trouble? Bye! And the pair are gone, though not before Blast tells Saitama that he'll be back for him when he really needs his help.

The Tenninto have a bit of a think before deciding that the best thing to do would be to follow Saitama around as their new leader, much to Saitama's dismay. Flashy Flash confesses to Sonic about poisoning him, which Sonic brushes off, saying he was more disappointed than angry. Besides, they have more training to do. The arc closes out a few days later with Saitama beseiged by ninjas. The Tenninto want him to lead them, Flash wants to train him, Sonic wants to challenge him, and Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame want to fight Flash. It's all very chaotic. Genos remarks that well, looks like Saitama's not alone any longer, to which Saitama protests that that wasn't what he meant!

Poor Saitama, he can't win for winning.

Baldie keeps attracting the wrong kind of attention.

Meta below the cut.

(Is it just me or Onerata just want to make Sonic as happy-go-lucky as possible? Is he their comfort character or smth??? He vibes so much like Luffy now, especially with that criminal freedom stuff ngl)

Also doee this mean that Sonic is their comrade against God in this ver now? Wow, i mean in web he's still too far from working with them.

I feel being ripped apart between feeling angry about canceling his inner conflict and being amused at how authors wish happiness for this character 🤯

RIght, they do say that third time's the charm! I'm hoping that ONE and Murata are happy with how this falls on the page this time.

I am SKIPPING any summary: we've seen this enough times. Let's go straight to Meta, shall we?

Meta

Hard stop

So, in a Youtube video I can no longer find, some wag called Saitama a guy suffering from Premature Eradication Syndrome. It's pretty accurate -- he doesn't so much have fights as he has encounters that end when he decides to stick his fist out. The suddenness with which fights can end in OPM is something that really got me into the story. While Saitama is the guy who most often does this, it happens elsewhere, like with the unfortunate Sky King.

Rest in pieces. I'm sure you were a tough monster but, unfortunately, you were just in the way.

And alternatively, fights that you think will end quickly don't and turn into horrifying prolonged struggles that sap combatants' very will to live. So it goes!

This is why you see readers who have been raised on the choreography of shonen and action movies flipping out, alternatively ranting about how a certain 'monster' was 'wasted' and decrying fights that go on for longer than expected. Sorry! Life-and-death struggles aren't portrayed here as action pieces. [1]

I'm always down for some Premature Eradication Syndrome. I was personally delighted to see that right as Flashy Flash was about to shiskabob himself some Tenninto, Blast comes in and stops the whole fight, beating down the Tenninto himself when they try attacking him.

Now this is another definition of 'sudden death'.

The beliefs that enslave

With this, I see that the initial idea ONE had of the Tenninto surviving has come back, albeit in a different way. I'll start with another idea that has returned: the question of what freedom is. Initially, we had Flashy sparing them, first to gloat, second to show off his superior understanding of what the true purpose of the Ninja Village had been, and thirdly, out of a sense of pity for them having had their lives stolen. Which amused them greatly, as they saw freedom as lying in serving a master faithfully.

Gosh, that was so CREEPY.

This time around, as we see Flash turning over Sonic's words in his mind and wondering whether the idea of freedom was an illusion, the narration lets us know that despite being free of the Ninja Village, none of the fighting parties had the slightest idea of what freedom actually meant due to how restricted their upbringings had been: it's a much sadder affair, one of ninjas unable to escape the cruel fates they've been shaped to accept. In a way, it shouldn't surprise us that they fight: we've seen that each and every ninja is convinced that he alone is the best and is prepared to die proving that to be the case, no matter how hopeless it is. It's just lucky for Sonic that Saitama is as tolerant as he is strong.

Freedom is a lot more than merely not being in captivity.

A few chapters ago, we'd seen Blast musing on how ninjas seem fated to kill each other in a struggle for power, only to replicate the same cruel conditions that make more ninjas, and have the cycle repeat anew. Looks like he has decided to step in and try to break this particular cycle. Whether he will succeed is something we'll just have to see.

Fame, power, influence. Kill your way to the top and make more minions fit only for death. That appears to be the real ninja way.

I have many more thoughts on cages, but I'll have to leave it here.

Ohhh, it all starts to add up

ONE's simple observations are really freaking obvious, and yet surprisingly frequently overlooked. One of them is that for someone to share information with you, they need two things: first, to know what it is that you want to know, and second, a reason to share it with you. We were initially treated to the hilarious scenario of Genos popping out of Saitama's wall to smack Flash on the head with a cup of hot tea, having eavesdropped on the proceedings next door, and then the slightly cringe scene of him delightedly inviting Blast to come back to consult Saitama whenever he liked. Ah Genos, you are so crazy, like a cybernetic Oscar The Grouch.

Genos is so much like a proud mother sometimes. He thinks it's because he told the HA to call Saitama if they heard from Blast. Let us not disabuse him just yet.

But not so fast...

Blast knows where Sonic's hideout is: he has it bugged. However, some time after Saitama left, Blast came back to Saitama's, apparently in the hopes of finding a lead on where Sonic's current whereabouts might be. He did not see Flashy Flash get a challenge letter, and was in conference with Sicchi when the former left, so has no idea of where the ninja could have gone to even think of following him. Sonic has definitely not sent Blast a challenge letter as he didn't even know that the guy was around.

ONE has been diligent in not creating a plot hole of leaving Sonic possibly aware of Blast's presence.

Genos sure as hell doesn't know where Sonic might be. However, he knows a few things. One: that Saitama has a stash of challenge letters from Sonic. Two: where Saitama would have put those letters. Three: they have a freakish dog that just might be able to pick up Sonic's scent. And, most important of all, four: he really likes that Blast *has* come back to consult Saitama and so wants to help.

All of this is how Blast ends up presenting one of those letters to Overgrown Rover, sweat beading on his face as he thinks what an incredibly stupid idea this is, and how desperate he has to be even to be considering it.

if it's stupid but it works...

And how, despite its stupidity, it works: the monstrous scenting ability of the dog does lead him to the correct place.

...it's not stupid.

So, who's minding the shop?

This time around, Blast has not told Flashy Flash or Saitama anything about That Man; not his real name (Empty Void), not his relationship to him (former partner), and certainly not his strategic importance. It's clear that Void is still extremely important to some plan that Blast and Sicchi have, and that it is primary importance that Void is wrest from 'God's' clutches, no matter what he's done in the past and no matter the cost.

Ah yes, Void, former partner, ex-brother-in-law, serial child abuser, slave trader, assassin, and now avatar of an evil eldrich being. Totally the guy you want to stick your neck out for.

All Saitama knows about this guy is that he was an exceptionally cruel ninja, buying boys and brutalising them into being either killers to be sold onto criminals or turning them into minions to serve an evil entity called 'God'. He knows that Sonic is being menaced by this cruel ninja and a bunch of ne'er-do-wells, and he's gone specifically to save Sonic. [2]

Saitama...actually taking the initiative to reach out to someone out of empathy... well, I did NOT have this in my bingo list.

Currently, he's alone in Sonic's former hideout, where Void is going to be showing up sooner rather than later. And Blast isn't there to intercede.

Hmmm, I don't know about you, but I have a feeling this isn't going to end well for Void or Blast. I have some popcorn I'm dying to pop and munch on as I read the way this goes down.

Asides

[1] That said, when ONE is writing shonen, he knows the formula well and executes it beautifully: the fights Mob gets into and the sprawling battles of Versus are testimony to that.