Expanded Background
On January 21, 2010, a small eight-episode anime-only arc aired on TV Tokyo that featured Utakata and expounded on the meager information provided in the second data book for his character. Epsiodes 144 through 151 of Naruto Shippuuden reveal bits and pieces of Utakata's past life as a shiniobi of Kiri, his defection, and his last days before his subsequent capture and death by the Akatsuki.Shinobi of Kirigakure
A former shinobi of Kirigakure no Sato, Utakata trained relentlessly and always strove to make
his Shishou (Master) proud of him. As seen in a memory, this sometimes led Utakata to taking
uneccessary risks, something which his Master, Harusame, frowned upon. Harusame often tried
to mpart bits of wisdom to Utakata while also training him in the shinobi arts and the usage
of Soap Bubble Ninjutsu. Utakata shared a close bond with Harusame and knew that his Master
cared greatly for him.
Utakata's perception of his Master changed however when Harusame attempted to perform an extraction of sorts on the Rokubi sealed within Utakata. Utakata himself was seemingly unaware of the purpose behind the ritual, leaving Utakata to feel betrayed, frightened, angry, and in pain. Whatever Harusame's goal, it did not go as planned. Instead the Rokubi was partially-released and Harusame was killed. Fully believing that Harusame had been no different from everyone else and was ultimately only interested in the power contained within him, Utakata fled Kiri never to return.
The Wanderer
Utakata would continue to travel the Elemental Countries while fighting the squads of Kiri
Hinter-nin sent to capture him and evading capture at their hands. One day, injured and
attempting to flee yet another squad of Hunter-nin that had been sent after him, Utakata
stumbled into a clearing near the Tsuchigumo Clan's mountain fortress. As he lay there trying
to recover, Hotaru of the Tscuchigumo Clan stumbled upon him. While staring in shock at the
injured man before her, the remain Hunter-nin in pursuit of Utakata took advantage of her
presence to launch an attack at Utakata without regard that the young girl would be caught in
the crossfire of their attack. Acting quickly, Utakata launched an attack of his own that
intercepted the Hunter-nin's attack and effectively captured and killed the Hunter-nin in one
fell swoop before passing out from exhaustion and his injuries.
Believing Utakata acted to save her, Hotaru has Utakata taken to their fortress where he is nursed back to health. While Tonbei, Hotaru's guardian realizes the Hunter-nin were attacking Utakata and not Hotaru, he still believes Utakata to be a good person and does nothing to dissuade Hotaru's belief that the nin had targeted her. Thouroughly impressed with Utakata's skills, Hotaru beseeches him to become her Master and to train her in the shinobi arts so that she might become a strong kunoichi worthy of leading and restoring her clan. Utakata point blank refuses to become her teacher as he has come to associate "Masters" with people who use and betray their "students", just as his own did.
After some mild manipulation, Hotaru convinces Utakata to train her, but he does so in a manner that would leave him a chance to deem her unworthy and refuse her. First, Utakata instructs to her to perform the Water-Walking exercise in a day, informing her that if she can not even do that then she would not be worth his time. After seeing her splash into the pond he is certain she will fail. However, the following morning he is awoken by Hotaru who demonstrates her mastery of the exercise. Shocked, Utakata quickly refutes her worthiness as a pupil and sets her to another "impossible" task, this time to perform Suiton: Mizurappa, a technique that cannot be performed unless the user has a water affinity, which Hotaru does not appear to have. To Utakata's growing horror, Hotaru seeks him out later and performs the jutsu flawlessly.
Last Moments
In the end, in order to save Hotaru, Utakata had to come to terms with his own fear and hatred of the bonds between and Master and their apprentice. This resulted in Utakata finding the peace in himself he had long sought and the realization that what happened in the past between his master and him may not necessarily have been what he believed it to be. In fact, Utakata is now fairly certain that what Tsurugi told him was in fact the truth. Utakata agrees to take Hotaru on as his apprentice, but first he wants to contact the Kiri Hunter-nin so that he can get back in good graces with his village and get official permission to take Hotaru on a training trip. Utakata seeks to do this the right way because he is "tired of running" and willing to face the ghosts of his past at long last.
Instructing Hotaru to wait for him in the field where they first met,
Utakata goes off to meet with the Hunter-nin. However, just like the last time he tried to draw Tsurugi and his squad
out, Utakata receives no answer from the Hunter-nin. Utakata does some exploring and eventually
stumbles onto the site where Tsurugi and his squad were attacked, there he finds Tsurugi's
bloodied mask and realizes that the reason the Hunter-nin have not responded to his attempts at
contacting him is because they're dead. Just as Utakata realizes this, he senses a presence
behind him. Out of the foliage appears six figures dressed in black cloaks with red clouds,
adorned with numerous piercings, and sporting strange ringed-eyes. Utakata appears completely
ignorant to their identity as members of the Akatsuki and may not have even known of the
Akatsuki either. Instead, Utakata asks if they are the ones who killed Tsurugi, to which the
lead figure (Pein's Deva Path) calmly replies in the affirmative before stating that they
will be taking the Rokubi. Pein's Asura Path (Shurado) then launches missles at Utakata while
he attempts to flee. Utakata manages to evade Pein briefly before being caught by a blast
from the Asura Path and half-buried in a landslide.
Utakata's last words are for Hotaru, he repeats to her the words his own Master said to him before his death: "[Hotaru]...live on". With the last of his energy, Utakata sends a swarm of bubbles to Hotaru's location. The bubbles rain down on Hotaru as she lays in the field of flowers awaiting his return. And while Hotaru knows that these bubbles are from Utakata, she remains unaware that they are a message of farewell and that she will never lay eyes on him alive again.
page last updated May 15, 2010
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