Scroll 21: Masks and Riddles

Punch and Rival is the twentieth episode of Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger.

Plot
In the Centipede, Magerappa holds up a mirror for Wendinu to apply makeup to look good for their 6th member, who is finally arriving. Tao Zanto stresses on the importance of waiting for this 6th. Sargain asks why the 6th hasn't come before. Wendinu wonders where Manmaruba is, and Furabijou replies he's gone for a walk. In the city, Manmaruba in his cloak walks through people who seemingly don't notice him. Yousuke tries to hit baseballs from a machine but keeps missing. They leave off happily, never seeing the cloaked person watching them from the batter's cages. Yousuke wants to call the Goraijer. The Goraijer are busy at their job in construction. Isshu hands a heavy bar down to Ikkou, who sets it in a pile. No one sees the cloaked person, who is Manmaruba. Ikkou looks straight at where Manmaruba stands. Ishuu asks him what is the matter. Ikkou is slightly worried. Before he can, something strikes him hard in the stomach. He falls in pain. Isshu is about to godown when he is struck with the same feeling. Isshu falls on his back. Ikkou moves protectively over him. The duo and their fellow workers look around but there is nothing, until Manmaruba takes off his cloak. The two transform as shocks them with electricty and Manmaruba manages to force Ikkou to drop his weapon. Manmaruba strikes Ikkou viciously. Ikkou falls hard, and a Scorpion symbol appears on his stomach and then disappears. Isshu checks if he's all right. Manmaruba tells him the god of death is lingering over his head. Meanwhile, the ninja girls are waiting excitedly for the sixth. They see someone coming, but it is only Manmaruba, arriving in the base. But then presents fall out of the air into their hands. When the three open theirs, they are hit in the face by pies. And then the 6th arrives, enjoying his own prank and asks them if they enjoyed it. He's disap- pointed that Manmaruba didn't opened his. The Goraijer have called in the Hurricanger out in the city, who are helping bind their wounds and they tease them mercilessly. He is warning them to be careful, then suffers a spasm of agony. Ikkou insists he's alright. Ikkou doesn't notice the four scorpions that crawl out of his pants leg. They crawl into the other four and they suffer sharp pain. They are all then distracted by the new monster--Jingiron, already giant. They call for the Shinobi Machines but Oboro is sleeping. When they form Senpujin to strike, Ikkoushouts to them to stop. They slash with their sword, only to find the foe was never there. They've sliced an office building instead. Mugensai is upset at them. And then Satorakura appears in front of the duo. The three go down to face him but are more than slightly confused by his tricks. He drops down and does another riddle. He then releases a string of national flags out of his mouth. The US flag is last. He links two rings together and takes them apart. Yousuke finally leaps in to attack. He gets flicked in the face for his troubles. Meanwhile, Jingiron is all over the city turning people into giant exclamation points and taken away. Oboro tries to track this and 1,500 people have been taken. Statorakura explains these marks are being turned into power. 100,000 lives, animal and human, will be destroyed. The ball slowly is charged. Yousuke fires at Satorakura, who simply dodges it. Then he traps them in a box of cards. Ikkou holds Yousuke protectively, Isshu helps Nanami. They get back onto their feet to find they are expected to engage in a quiz game with a laugh track. The bros get ready to transform again, but are informed that if they do that, all five of them will die. Yousuke defiantly starts to do so anyway, but is cut off by a ray of light. The group is forced to stand helpless unless they can answer their way out of this. Mugensai is worrying because there are so many people in Tokyo that can die. Even the Jakanja are trying to figure out the answers to Satorakura's first riddle. A drawing of Ikkou appears on the monitor in front of them, he is made to answer. The first riddle is about water and fire below. The first thing the Hurricanger think is a guy in a hot tub. But the Goraijer have totally different ideas. A panicked Ikkou comes up with Fire and Flood. But that's not it. The real answer is a boiling pot. And the floor drops under the five. They hold on to the floor as they see lava is below. The next riddle is for Isshu, something people eat. Yousuke thinks it must be bread. Ikkou even prays and finally Isshu in fear cries, "Bread!" It was right, but he didn't answered fast enough, and the floor drops farther. The panic-stricken group holds on. Meanwhile, a family watches the news and the newcaster is turned into a exclamation point and the children are transformed as well by Jingiron. Oboro is panicking, calling her father who has disappeared. Mugensai is dialing his cellphone but the person he's calling is not there. Elsewhere, a strange person in green is seen playing in a baseball place, the ball spins around his bat and he flipsstylishly. And Yousuke is next for a riddle. Nanami slides down towards the lava. Ikkou catches her wrist and holds on, while Yousuke tries desperately. The question involves a food old men hate. Manmaruba laughs as he watches. Suddenly Oboro finds her father and picks him up. "Father, what is the food you hate?" They are all praying, and time is running out. Yousuke votes Papaya. Nope. The floor drops more and Isshu slides down, clinging frantically. And the strange person playing baseball has reached an amazing score. He's ready to head into battle.

Trivia

 * This episode establishes many story plots including Ikkou's ailment, Manmuraba's thirst after the Goraijer, the mysterious man who we all know as Shurikenger, and Satorakura.
 * Much like Manmuraba, Satorakura's counterpart Shimazu is not introduced in "Ninja Storm" until much later in time.