Naruto Shuriken

In an anime series called Naruto there are various weapons used. Some characters in the anime like Tenten and Kisame use swords. Others use sand and wind as weapons, which is what Gaara and Temari use. Almost all ninjas in the Naruto series, especially beginning ninjas, use shuriken. Naruto shuriken are used to distract enemies, or harm them. These shuriken are lightweight and they are usually black. Shuriken have holes in the center to allow them to be thrown easily and make them easier to handle. Shuriken resemble stars with four, sharp blades. Shuriken are only used as throwing weapons, and are not as versatile as kunai. Shuriken are not really capable of causing a lot of damage. Fuuma shuriken however, are larger versions of ordinary shuriken, which are capable of causing large amounts of damage to under skilled ninja. These shuriken are often collapsible to fit into a one pointed sheath.

 An example of a shuriken used as a distraction occurred in an earlier episode of Naruto. In this episode, episode 8, Naruto gives Sasuke a Fuuma Shuriken a very large shuriken. Sasuke then throws the shuriken at Zabuza, who has their sensei Kakashi locked in a water prison. Another shuriken, which is hidden in the shadow of the first shuriken, heads towards Zabuza, as well. The second shuriken is actually a shadow clone or Kage Bunshin of Naruto.  Zabuza catches the first shuriken and laughs at the genins. When he notices the second shuriken he is unable to catch it and instead he jumps over it.  He does not notice the shuriken returning to the form of the Naruto Kage Bunshin. The Kage Bunshin attacks from behind throwing a kunai, which breaks Zabuza’s water prison and releases Kakashi. Another example not found in any Naruto episode that I know of is when shuriken are used to herd a person into a better area to cause the victim’s death. Such as a ninja throwing them at a person until he is trapped against a wall or in a corner. After trapping the person they can then use either justu or larger weapons to cause their victim’s death. I have not seen Naruto shuriken used in this manner so it might not work, but in theory it might.

            In another episode, Naruto shurikens are used as weapons to harm enemies. In the very first episode Mizuki, a traitor to Konoha convinces Naruto to steal the forbidden jutsu scroll. He plans to kill Naruto, whom he considers the Kyuubi, and take the scroll from him. Iruka, however, gets to Naruto first and realizes that Mizuki set Naruto up. Mizuki arrives after Naruto explains what he is doing and throws a barrage of kunai at Iruka and Naruto. Mizuki tells Naruto to give him the scroll, but Naruto refuses to hand it over. Mizuki, in an attempt to get Naruto to drop the scroll, tells Naruto about the demon Kyuubi, which is sealed in Naruto’s stomach. He tells Naruto that he is a demon. Naruto is shocked and Mizuki takes this moment to attempt to kill Naruto by throwing a fuuma shuriken at Naruto. Naruto tries to get out of the way, but he is not skilled enough. Iruka realizes this and tells Naruto to get down. Iruka uses his own body to shield Naruto from the fuuma shuriken. The fuuma shuriken entered Iruka’s back and causes him to cough up blood. Naruto runs off in confusion and Iruka pulls the fuuma shuriken out of his back and throws it at Mizuki. As you can understand now, the fuuma shuriken is capable of causing a lot more damage do to its superior size, but not enough that it rendered Iruka of being unable to move. If thrown by a skilled person at an unskilled person it could potentially kill them. If a person had studied anatomy they could potentially puncture arteries with regular shuriken causing the person to bleed to death. If one has studied acupuncture they can potentially puncture nerve clusters that are capable of creating terrible pain. I have not seen Naruto shuriken used in this manner so it is quite possible that they are unable of creating any real damage