History Recap / NarutoMizukiStrikesBackArc

* DeathGlare: It's hard to notice with everything else surrounding it but after Mizuki makes himself known in the flashback, Hiruzen's smile fades and he continues the long face even when Iruka and his "friend" happily head off. Given [[FalseFriend what]] Mizuki reveals to Iruka later, it's likely the old man knew that the boy was a bad seed from the start which may have also played a part in his decision not to hire him a teacher.

Soon after his defeat, Mizuki's tiger form withers away into an old husk of his former self with him coughing up blood. Mizuki accuses Naruto of ruining his body but Tsunade comes along with the Medical Corp and informs everyone that the animal potion's effects were just temporary before the burden on the cells becomes too great, thus causing them to be destroyed. The tiger curse mark was only a byproduct of Orochimaru's jutsu development and he never had any intention of using it in the field, let alone bringing Mizuki into his fold. Thus Mizuki's bond with Orochimaru is severed, Tsunade saying that even with the best treatment, the former-mentioned will never be a shinobi again. Iruka expresses to Naruto how unfortunate this is for finding Sasuke, but Naruto isn't too upset and is still determined to bring his friend back to Konoha someday. Shizune was found earlier and will pull through while Tsubaki resolves to start her life anew after she atones for putting the village in danger. As the medial ninja attempt to stabilize him, Mizuki curses that one day he'll be back stronger than ever to kill Iruka and Naruto, but Iruka tells him off by saying that Naruto has been gaining true strength every day and that Mizuki will never catch up to him now. As they head back to the village, Sakura comes to tell her mentor that she's mastered the first phase of training, impressing Tsunade. Meanwhile, a proud Iruka muses that Naruto saved him this time and that the boy will continue to get stronger in the days to come.

* ClippedWingAngel: Mizuki's second state curse mark turns out to be this, decreasing his speed and making him easier to entrap. It proceeds to destroy his cells and leaves him a broken old man, costing him his other abilities as a ninja.

Soon after his defeat, Mizuki's tiger form withers away into an old husk of his former self with him coughing up blood. Mizuki accuses Naruto of ruining his body but Tsunade comes along with the Medical Corp and informs everyone that the animal potion that Orochimaru made was temporary before the burden on the cells becomes too great, thus causing them to be destroyed. The tiger curse mark was only a byproduct of Orochimaru's jutsu development and he never had any intention of using it in the field, let alone bringing Mizuki into his fold. Thus Mizuki's bond with Orochimaru is severed, Tsunade saying that even with the best treatment, the former-mentioned will never be a shinobi again. Iruka expresses to Naruto how unfortunate this is for finding Sasuke, but Naruto isn't too upset and is still determined to bring his friend back to Konoha someday. Shizune was found earlier and will pull through while Tsubaki resolves to start her life anew after she atones for putting the village in danger. As the medial ninja attempt to stabilize him, Mizuki curses that one day he'll be back stronger than ever to kill Iruka and Naruto, but Iruka tells him off by saying that Naruto has been gaining true strength every day and that Mizuki will never catch up to him now. As they head back to the village, Sakura comes to tell her mentor that she's mastered the first phase of training, impressing Tsunade. Meanwhile, a proud Iruka muses that Naruto saved him this time and that the boy will continue to get stronger in the days to come.

* AdaptationExpansion: The arc's opening scenes come from Part I of the manga and are utilized here as setups for the arc's opening:

* AdaptationalBadass: Mizuki went from being a chūnin with shuriken proficiency in the manga to a deadly cunning psychopath who is proficient in everything from Earth Style to basic ninja puppetry.

* GreaterScopeVillain: As with the last arc, Orochimaru can't seem to keep his coils out of Naruto's way.

* {{Retcon}}: Back at the beginning of the series, Mizuki desired the Sacred Scroll for his own benefit and used Naruto to get it for him since he believed that everyone in Konoha would be grateful to have him gone. Not to mention, there wasn't much if any indication that Iruka and Mizuki shared much of anything beyond their jobs as academy instructors let alone a brotherly friendship. Now here, it's stated that Mizuki was stealing the scroll to get into good graces with Orochimaru and offer it as a gift. Plus Mizuki's betrayal of Konoha is shown to have left Iruka distraught and pleading for his friend to atone and face up to what he's done.

* IRejectYourReality: Inferred with his calling Konoha stupid for amending their opinions of Naruto, clearly still sore after the beating he received from the boy.

* WeCanRuleTogether: At first, Mizuki suggests that they can have the life they always wanted once he gets Orochimaru's power, but quickly changes tunes when she doesn't go for it.
* TheWorfEffect: Asuma, Kurenai, and Shizune get taken out of the action to show just how much Mizuki has changed since his imprisonment. Fūjin and Raijin are subjected to this at Tsunade's...finger flicks after brawling their way through Shizune's squadron, Naruto, and Team 10.