The reason not to lose

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The reason not to lose
Premiere date:	5 January 2005
Episode Length:	24.5 minutes
Episode Code:	117
Episode Airdate:	5 January 2005
Manga Arc:	Sasuke Retrieval

The reason not to lose (Japanese: 負けられない理由, - Makerarenai riyū) is episode 117 of the anime series Naruto. The episode's storyline is from the Sasuke Retrieval manga arc.

[edit] Plot

Neji uses a Gentle Fist palm strike, causing the giant spider to literally explode. While Neji is still covered by its’ gooey remains, Kidomaru fires another barrage of web-knives at him. Neji winds up with 3 more knives stuck in his back, making a total of 6. There are 3 on each side, all of them well away from the spine. They closely follow the line of the shoulder blade (scapula). Just as Kidomaru is about to claim victory and take off, Neji manages to rise to his feet.

Seeing Neji's willingness to continue fighting, Kidomaru releases his curse-seal to Level Two, and prepares a new attack. Kidomaru looks different now and his skin has turned brown, his hair gray and flying out of his head, along with his ears turning becoming more elf like, along with a third eye out of his forehead. Meanwhile Tayuya, now currently holding the barrel, is wondering what is taking them so long and calls them worthless. Sakon says that Kidomaru has a tendency to play and may have found someone fun to play with. Tayuya appears to be worried when she says that when Kidomaru plays to much he activates his cursed seal to level 2. Sakon then comments that if Kidomaru goes to stage two, the opponent will die.

Kidomaru fashions a giant longbow out of his hardened webbing, and fires a large arrow at Neji. The kinetic energy from the arrow’s impact with the ground creates a crater about 10 ft. across. When the smoke clears, it reveals Neji, who has apparently dodged the arrow. Upon closer examination, we see that the arrow went through his left shoulder, but “high and outside”, well away from his heart or lungs. Kidomaru deduces that Neji has been releasing a flow of chakra from his body that whole time, which diverted the arrow and the knives enough to stop them from hitting critical points.

Despite his pain and weakness, Neji keeps thinking, analyzing the situation. He knows that Kidomaru is zeroing in on his Byakugan’s “blind spot”, a small point on the back of his neck, just below the first vertebrae. From there, the blind spot radiates out in a narrow cone, and anything within that cone is “invisible” to the Byakugan. Kidomaru knows that Neji will die if he keeps on releasing chakra in such large amounts. Neji beats a tactical retreat, pulling the web-knives out of his back and putting several large trees between himself and Kidomaru.

The Sound ninja fires again, remote-controlling the arrow’s trajectory with an attached thread, trying to hit the blind spot. Neji dodges again, and the arrow only grazes the side of his head, cutting off his headband. Kidomaru decides to make an arrow with a drill-like tip, allowing it to penetrate multiple obstacles with little or no loss of momentum. Neji is getting desperate; he is in great pain, low on chakra and losing blood. He flashes back to the Chunin exams and his confrontations with Naruto. Smiling, he thinks, “What would Naruto do?” The answer comes to him. Kidomaru shoots his arrow and its force and power is amazing as it leaves a path of destruction and smoke behind.

He allows Kidomaru to hit him with the arrow, "low and outside", through his lower right abdomen, but in such a way that is not immediately fatal. The arrow goes through a tree which also pins Neji there as well. Neji then sends some of his chakra back along the thread connecting the arrow to Kidomaru, damaging some of the Sound ninja's internal organs and injuring him enough that his movement and ability to defend himself are greatly hindered.

Neji remembers when he called Naruto a loser and Naruto said "If you think it's impossible, then you don't have to do anything! When I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuuga Clan!" Then he thinks about when he had told Naruto that he himself was foolish for forgetting that the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu was his signature jutsu. Naruto denies this, saying that it was his worst jutsu a long time ago and that Neji isn't a loser. Meanwhile when Team Shikamaru are running through the forest, Kiba says that there are only 3 of them now not counting Akamaru, but Naruto assures him that Neji will win because he is a true genius.

Neji runs toward Kidomaru thinking about that he has a reason not to lose and does what he does best; close with the enemy and deliver the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms attack to his chakra points, completely disabling Kidomaru and leaving him wide open for the finishing blow. Ironically, just as Naruto only landed one hit on Neji during their fight, this is the only strike ever to actually damage Kidomaru.

Neji explains that he had a reason not to lose; since he is considered a genius, and since there are people relying strongly on him and his capability, failure is not an option. He quotes Naruto's quote "You are different from me. You are not a loser." he also says that a trash character's fate is to lose immediately and tells him to look at the situation. Neji reaches for his headband and remembers when his father told that he must live on. Kidomaru says that no one can save Sasuke but Neji says that only Naruto can save him because he had saved Neji. Kidomaru dies and Neji lapses into a coma while going through a bunch of memories and thinks "Everyone... I'll...leave the rest to you guys". Just then a feather falls and lands right in Neji's open hand, possibly a reference to his "caged bird" comparison.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, Naruto, Kiba & Akamaru continue their pursuit of Sasuke and the remaining two members of the Sound Four.

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360° field of vision, The Byakugan's blind spot		Rescue~To be in time for the container

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