Naruto’s 20th-anniversary celebration has been bringing us a lot more Naruto Universe content. Along with the currently running Boruto: Naruto The Next Generation anime and manga we’ve gotten several other new mangas in the universe. One of them has been the Sasuke Story which has Sasuke and Sakura out on an adventure together. We are also getting Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls, which is also a manga adaption of the light novel of the same name, that spotlights Mirai Sarutobi after she has become a new Chunin on a mission to guard Kakashi and Guy while they are on a vacation. The story has mostly dealt with Kakashi and Guy’s vacation. Still, slowly we have been teased with a greater plot going on in the background centered around the Jashin Cult, which former Akatsuki member Hidan belonged. Are Mirai, Kakashi, and Guy going to discover what is going on with the cult? Let’s find out with Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls Chapter 8.
CREATIVE TEAM
Original Story: Masashi Kishimoto and Sho Hinata
Writer & Artist: Natsuo Sai
SYNOPSIS
While watching Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy have an intense ping-pong match Mirai remembers when Shikamaru Nara talked to her about if she believes in ghosts while they stand in front of her father’s (Asuma Sarutobi) grave. Mirai admits she doesn’t as if ghosts existed then her dad would’ve visited her at some point.
Realizing what she said Mirai apologizes to her sensei. Shikamaru gives Mirai her father’s chakra knives that he knew he would give to Mirai someday. Shikamaru then congratulates Mirai on passing the Chunin Exam. With tears in her eyes, Mirai thanked her sensei and promises to become a great shinobi.
In the present Mirai, lost in her memories, forgets to keep track of the score for Kakashi and Guy’s ping-pong match.
Later, while going back to their room Tenten scares Guy with her prank. Tenten wonders why Kakashi didn’t get scared but Mirai reveals she took off the protective charms in their room as part of the prank.
The next day Guy is still shaken but not by Tenten’s prank, rather he tells Kakashi and Mirai he saw a samurai ghost drenched in blood walking out of the room they were staying in late at night. This makes Mirai wonder if the ghost appeared because she removed the protective charms she found.
Not worried Kakashi leads Mirai and Guy to the hidden hot spring deep in the mountains. When they get to the spot Kakashi, Mirai, and Guy are surprised to see a massive boulder rather than a mountain. End of chapter
REVIEW
Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls Chapter 8 is a great spotlight to further develop Mirai Sarutobi. Masashi Kishimoto, Sho Hinata, and Natsuo Sai have gotten on a good flow of how they are presenting Mirai as a multi-layer character. That said, there is still a lot of room to improve on the bigger villain plot.
This eighth chapter in particular did well in getting more into what is driving Mirai’s character arc. We know from her past talks with Kakashi and others that Mirai is trying to live up to the legacy of her family. Along with all the other great ninjas in her life Mirai has set expectations for herself extremely high. It’s a wall she has created for herself that clearly, those around her want to help her overcome. And as we saw with the talk Kakashi had with her earlier in this series that those around Mirai understand the impact of their words on Mirai, who is still growing not just as a shinobi but as a person.
Here we get more into how those around Mirai are helping her with the flashback to the conversation she has with Shikamaru. Kishimoto, Hinata, and Sai got over how supportive of a sensei and uncle figure Shikamaru has become in Mirai’s life. In asking a simple question about whether she believed in ghosts Shikamaru was able to understand where his protégé is after Mirai passed her Chunin Exam.
This all made the moment when Shikamaru passes Asuma Sarutobi’s chakra knives down to Mirai as he promised his sensei he would do was one of the more touching moments in Naruto’s history. Sai nailed the artwork for this scene as Shikamaru did so because he knew Mirai was ready for this moment. Having her father’s chakra knives would further help Mirai as she makes the next step in her life after passing the Chunin Exam. It is all a great moment to further show that those around Mirai don’t just expect great things from her but are there to support her both as a ninja and a person.
Mirai’s character moment nicely balances out the comedic moment we get in this chapter of Tenten pulling her prank in an attempt to scare Kakashi and Guy. Guy’s reaction to Tenten appearing as a horror film villain was right on point. Kakashi having no reaction to the prank further played into the difference between him and Guy. It also speaks to how Tenten really is Guy’s protégé with how she overreacts to Mirai revealing she unintentionally removed the charms Tenten had in place for her prank.
The ending for Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls Chapter 8 is where it seems that we are moving fully into the Jashin Cult plotline. We’ve only seen the Jashin Cult briefly so we don’t know a lot of what they are looking to accomplish and what their full plot is. This is one area in the story of the manga that is hopefully improved upon.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls Chapter 8 does a great job of further developing Mirai Sarutobi. Every single chapter of this story has worked well to make Mirai one of the standout characters from the Naruto franchise. Now hopefully we see all this character development payoff with the bigger story around the Jashin Cult appearing to finally come to the forefront.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
