Original subtitles

[theme music]

[singing in japanese]

-That must be it.

I finally found you.

(VOICEOVER) Hang tight, Hotaru.

I'll be back with Shiranami as soon as I can.

[gasp]

-Shiranami?

Hey, is your name Shiranami?

I've been looking for you.

-You fell for it.

[gasp]

[shout]

-Mu.

-Ken.

-Ho.

-Yo.

[screaming]

-(VOICEOVER) How could you leave without a single word?

Sir Utakata, I--

-I take it that you are Lady Hotaru,

the granddaughter of En no Gyoja?

[gasp]

-Who are you?

-Oh, you know my name.

It's Shiranami.

-Shiranami?

-Release.

-So we finally meet face-to-face, Lady Hotaru.

-That's--

The crest you're wearing.

It's only given to those trained to use the forbidden jutsu.

Are you really Sir Shiranami?

-You're wise to be suspicious.

But yes.

I'm he.

I came when I heard Naruto's story.

-Naruto's story?

Then you really are Sir Shiranami.

Where is Naruto?

Oh, I must thank him for finding you.

-He's not here.

He said he had to go.

-Huh?

-He asked me to take care of everything, and then he left.

-Oh, yes, I see.

Him too.

-Naruto told me you wanted to restore

the clan to its former glory.

-Huh?

Oh-- yes.

-Well, if you're serious about it,

then I really hope that you'll listen

to what I have to say on the subject.

-Sir Shiranami.

-I'm told Tonbei is alive and well,

and that he plans to destroy the forbidden jutsu

with the diremption jutsu.

-You know Tonbei too?

-We trained together for a time, but I must say,

I'm very opposed to what Tonbei intends to do.

-Why?

Long ago, my father Uneri was ordered by Lord En no Gyoja

to guard the forbidden jutsu.

My father was a hero who protected

the honor of the Tsuchigumo clan,

and also the forbidden jutsu.

That is, until someone who wanted the jutsu killed him.

My father's death prompted Lord En

no Gyoja to move the forbidden jutsu to the fort on Mount

Katsuragi and to send me away.

I promised myself that one day, I

would return to the village for the sake of the Tsuchigumo

clan.

-I didn't realize.

-Lady.

My father died, and I was forced to flee from my homeland.

And all because we were the only two survivors who

knew how to wield the forbidden jutsu.

-(VOICEOVER) He went through the same anguish.

-Now I'm back, and I've become even stronger.

Together, we can revive the forbidden jutsu

and restore our clan.

There's no need to destroy it.

The restoration of the Tsuchigumo clan

is my fervent wish, too.

Let us fulfill the dreams of my father and Lord En no Gyoja.

-But--

-On the far side of the mountain is my secret hideaway.

Will you come?

-Yes.

I'll come.

-Lady Hotaru is gone?

-Yes, I'm certain she is.

I searched all around the entire fort.

-She was here.

I gave her Naruto's message that he'd found Shiranami.

-(VOICEOVER) Could it be that she decided to go after

Utakata?

-Right.

We'll stop preparing for the ritual.

Finding Hotaru is now our top priority.

Psi, go send out as many mice as you can to search for her.

Let's go.

-Yes, sir.

-Ninja Art.

Super Beast Scroll.

-Is that note for Tonbei?

-Huh?

Oh, yes.

I want to let him know that I'm OK.

(VOICEOVER) Sir Utakata deserves at least a short note, too.

[whistle]

-Off you go.

I'm ready now, Sir Shiranami.

-You're making this difficult.

-Huh?

-Now go.

-What-- what's wrong?

-Do you think you can do whatever you want?

-(VOICEOVER) I thought I'd come to terms with it.

So why am I thinking about my master so much now?

-Huh?

What is that?

A word controlled by chakra.

A carrier pigeon.

From Hotaru.

-(VOICEOVER) To Utakata.

I'm going to work together with Shiranami

to restore the Tsuchigumo clan to greatness.

Thank you for everything you've done.

Goodbye.

Your student, Hotaru.

-Hotaru.

-(VOICEOVER) So, she found Shiranami.

I suppose that means I'm finally free of her.

[grunts]

-Just who are you guys?

Do you have Shiranami?

Augh!

-What a simpleton.

He doesn't even know that Shiranami is our boss.

-You see, if we let you go back to the girl who

has the forbidden jutsu, then all of our plans

will be ruined.

-Hey, just keep your trap shut, would you?

-Heh.

No need to worry.

This is the boss's special barrier

that siphons away the chakra of whoever's trapped inside it.

It just isn't possible for anyone to counter it.

[grunt]

-You want to bet?

-Quick.

-Man, he's strong.

Really strong.

-Stay calm.

Stick to the boss's plan.

Next jutsu.

-Multi Mugen Hoyo.

[screaming]

[laughter]

-Let's see you free yourself from that.

-What?

-Nice try.

But to me, this is nothing.

-Again.

[grunts]

[screaming]

-How could he still move after losing so much chakra?

-Look, you can be impressed later.

Let's just get this over with.

Augh!

-What the hell?

Ahhh!

-You're back.

-I couldn't help but overhear what you were saying.

So, Shiranami is actually the one who leads the bandits?

Tell me where you took her.

Where's Hotaru?

-Oh!

What's with this guy?

-This is bad, Akaboshi.

-Yeah, you're right.

The boss should be in the village by now.

It's time for us to get there, too.

-Where are we?

This is my clan's hideout.

-So I see you're awake, Lady Hotaru.

-Huh?

Shiranami?

-Everyone, come out.

Lady Hotaru has come back home.

[gasp]

-Those people.

What's wrong with them?

What happened to all the villagers?

-Oh, it's nothing.

I simply used a jutsu to make them all obedient, that's all.

-What?

-Well, I didn't have a choice, did I?

Not if I wanted to possess the forbidden jutsu

I've wanted for so long.

-Sir Shiranami.

Did you lie to me?

-I did no such thing.

What I said before was true.

Although I didn't tell you one thing--

that the reason my father died protecting the jutsu

is that I killed him.

[gasp]

-Yes, I tried to wrest it from him,

but when he refused to give it up, I struck him down.

Lady Hotaru--

[shout]

-It's useless.

You're already under control of my jutsu.

[laughter] At last, it's mine.

Now the forbidden jutsu is finally within my grasp.

-Nothing.

It's just an old branch.

Instead of tracking them in the dirt,

wouldn't it be a whole lot easier

if I just used my Shadow Clones?

-And destroy any trace that might

remain of Hotaru and the path that she took?

-Heh.

-(VOICEOVER) These footprints.

Whoever left these was carrying someone else.

I'm sure of it.

-This way.

-Really?

Are you positive?

-Every search starts with clues left behind.

That's one of the basic ninja rules.

For people who boast about their masters,

neither you nor Hotaru got very good training from them,

did you?

-What?

No!

That isn't true at all!

-It's ridiculous.

This is what happens when you obsess over something stupid,

like masters.

-Hey.

Hold on.

Wait for me.

There's nothing stupid about it.

I learned all kinds of cool things from Pervy Sage.

Taijutsu, ninjutsu, that goes without saying.

And some other awesome jutsu.

But he wasn't just a strict taskmaster.

He taught the most important thing

for a ninja-- having the guts to never give up.

See?

What my master taught me was priceless.

It wasn't stupid at all.

You had a master too, didn't you?

-(VOICEOVER) YES.

And I have too many memories of him.

-Mission accomplished.

A good ninja must complete his mission swiftly.

Correct, master?

-You're a fool.

-Wha--?

-The mission that you were given was

to track and locate the stolen scroll.

But you were never instructed to retrieve it.

Your life is precious.

You must never waste it.

Do you understand?

A ninja never runs away from a battle that must be fought.

However, at the same time, he never

fights an unnecessary battle.

-But still.

Having said that, I'm very glad that you are all right.

-Thanks, Master.

-(VOICEOVER) He did care about me.

Or so I thought.

-My power.

It's too great for you to be its vessel.

-Please.

Stop!

[cries]

-(VOICEOVER) It wasn't me he cared about.

Only the power inside me.

He saw me merely as its vessel.

But what if what Tsurugi says is true?

-Hey.

This it?

-It is.

-Wait a minute.

This is the Tsuchigumo clan's village.

-Wait, really?

But all the tracks that we followed

led right to this place.

What happened here?

-Lady Hotaru was attacked.

The bandits were waiting for her.

Also-- all the villagers here didn't think too highly of her,

either.

-I'd say the fact that nobody in this village

wanted the forbidden jutsu nearby them is pretty obvious.

-Yeah.

-And if Hotaru was attacked right in this village,

then the bandits and the village are connected.

Or the village turned a blind eye to them.

But, either way, the bandits are using this place

as their hideout.

-Mmm.

-Also, the footprints that we found-- they just

don't seem natural.

It could be, he's overconfident now that he has the jutsu.

But it could also be that he's just planning to ambush us.

-So it's a trap?

-I'm not sure.

But still, tracking them went too smoothly.

Beware when the chase seems too easy,

my master-- just be careful.

-Right.

Seems that you did learn stuff from your master after all.

When we save Hotaru, you should teach her some of that.

Let's go.

[bird calls]

-So, uh, are you sure this is the place?

-I think so.

-Thanks, Mister.

-Sure thing.

-In thanks, you get this.

[gasp]

-What the heck is going on?

-We've got company.

[gasp]

-Oh, the villagers.

They've joined up with the robbers to come after us?

But why?

-No.

That's not what happened.

They're all being manipulated.

-What?

How dare they use these people like this?

-Here they come.

-Ah!

[groans]

-Damn!

-We can't go any further, or we'll

end up hurting the villagers.

-Yeah, you're right.

What do you think we should do?

[laughter]

-What happened to all the enthusiasm you had?

-Feeling pretty helpless, huh?

-It's those bandits.

They're doing this to the villagers.

-Go get them, guys.

Don't give them even a moment to rest.

-Agh!

-Here goes.

[scream]

[cries]

-Time!

[groans]

-Captain Yamato.

-Naruto!

-Hey, Sakura.

-Naruto, you little--

-Agh!

-You idiot.

Would you stop running off on your own like that?

-Sorry, but how come you guys are here?

-We were looking for Hotaru.

She left Mount Katsuragi.

-Psi ended up overdoing it a little.

-I did.

Guess I'm not really cut out for this.

I used up so much chakra.

-Here.

Have a food pill.

-Maybe later.

-What are you talking about?

We need you, Psi.

Now, come on.

Eat it all up.

It's the special food pill I made.

It'll give you energy.

-Ew.

Those things taste just awful.

-Stop fooling around.

-Good.

-Goal.

-Set.

-Ka.

-Look.

[gasp]

-We're not going to let you guys go any farther.

-Can't have you interfere with the boss's ritual.

[laughter]

-Word Bind Jutsu.

All my years of painstaking preparation

are about to pay off.

You must be overjoyed at the thought

of being rid of the forbidden jutsu.

-Ah.

What is this?

Hey, Psi.

Sakura.

Captain Yamato.

-Wood Style Jutsu.

-Captain Yamato!

-You two, go on.

Ah!

-Yeah, but--

-Now.

Leave this to us, Naruto.

Go.

-Yeah, just get out of here.

You've got to save Hotaru.

-All right.

Good luck.

We're coming to save you, Hotaru.

I promise.

[theme music]

[singing in japanese]

-What?

What do you mean, chakra is being gathered here?

-The chakra in the atmosphere and the soil

are being drawn towards a single location.

Hotaru must be there.

-Damn it.

I don't get this at all.

Just what is Shiranami planning to do?

Time's running out.

If you have time to talk, then you're not moving fast enough.

-Next time, on Naruto Shippuden--

The Forbidden Jutsu Released.

We're coming, Hotaru.