Original subtitles

[heavy rainfall]

[heavy rainfall]

"Neji and Naruto looked up..."

"...and found themselves in a space far different from before..."

Are you the one who's responsible for all of this?

Listen up! Return Kakashi Sensei and everyone else from the Leaf!

Or else you're gonna get it, seriously big time!

Naruto, you need to get away from him right now.

Look, stay out of this, all right?! I'm about to settle this whole thing right here and right now!

Just listen! Look at his eye!

(Naruto) The Byakugan?

You're no match for someone who possesses that.

[grunt]

Who exactly are you? And how do you possess the Byakugan?

[gasp] Hold on... Don't tell me you have ties to the Hyuga!

Look at the cloud of dust... Your comrades are the ones... who are responsible for that.

What happened?

They put the rules of their village ahead of the lives of children.

So many years have passed... and yet the Hidden Leaf hasn't changed one single bit.

And what would you know about the Hidden Leaf?

Oh, I know plenty.

In fact, I know more than anyone who's here at the moment.

[gasp]

(Masked Man) Now... follow me, Neji Hyuga.

[gasp]

Come with me... if you want to know the ugly truth that the Hidden Leaf has covered up.

What...? What is this guy talking about?!

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"Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls: The Tale of Naruto the Hero - The Masked Man"

Oh, no! Komichi, look out!

Huh?

Shadow Strangle Jutsu! Now complete!

So you guys...

You actually came.

Hurry! Get the kid!

[roar]

[frightened gasp]

Damnit!

[struggling grunts]

Komichi! No!

[gasp] Ino!

Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!

Komichi...!

Nagato, quickly! Hurry up and locate that monstrous creature! Now!

(Shikamaru) Leave it to us!

Her psyche has taken over that child's body.

She can actually do that...!?

[roar]

She's probably having that kid jump around inside it.

[angry roars]

Konan!

I'm ready!

[attack roar]

[dying roar]

[sigh]

Ino...!

Komichi!

Big brother! [cries]

Choji!

[grunts]

[grunts]

Ahhh!

Ahhh!

[panting] Hey...! You almost blew me up just now, ya know!

[small chuckle]

(Thinking) What is that...? What's up with his eyes?

Mommy!

Ashitaba! Komichi!

Thank goodness you're okay!

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry!

Oh, I just knew that Lord Mashima would protect you! The both of you!

No, mom! It wasn't him... it was those guys right over there...!

Uh, where... did they...?

Listen, Even right from the beginning, I never had the impression that you wanted to kill us.

Instead, you were trying to get us to do something.

I was wrong about you...

I thought you'd never disobey the Leaf's orders...

I thought you wouldn't live outside the rules of the Leaf.

(Yahiko) I assumed that was the kind of shinobi you are...

...but I was wrong. Very wrong.

Through your actions, you demonstrated what Jiraiya Sensei taught us...

You used your powers to help people in need... even if those people weren't from the Hidden Leaf...

I was really glad... that you came back to help out.

(Konan) And thanks to you, we were saved as well.

Uh?

Are you serious right now?

(Nagato) Would the three of you like to work with us?

[gasps]

What are they talking about?

Hold on, weren't they the ones who abducted Asuma Sensei earlier?!

Yeah...

I'm not asking you to join us... I don't want you to split with the Leaf...

But we can travel from nation to nation, like Jiraiya Sensei does...

...and we can cross over their meaningless borders.We can show the world what freedom is about!

What does that mean?

Yeah, I know... it really is pretty vague, isn't it...?

In other words, you want us to be like Team Jiraiya, right?

I want our goals to be united with yours.

You haven't even told us where Asuma Sensei and the others are!

We're not as naïve as you seem to think we are, you know!

Yeah! First things first! You have to help us get Asuma Sensei back.

That's right! What'll it be?

I'm sorry to say this, but... we can't help with that.

There's somebody else behind the scenes pulling the strings, isn't there?

This whole "test" thing doesn't seem to be your idea, either.

Sorry. We don't know much. They haven't given us the details.

Tsk, you may not have all the details, but you have some idea of what's going on.

Man, what a drag. Well, I guess that means... We're just gonna have to fight it out, then.

I guess so. If we're at odds with each other... then there's no other way.

(Akamaru) [barking]

One of yours?

Yeah. Well, three of them. Plus a dog.

And all of them are strong.

Are you trying to imply that we're weak?

[big yawn]

(Akamaru) [bark]

Shikamaru! Choji! Ino!

Hey, guys!

We've been waiting for you!

Oh, yeah?

You're later than we thought.

Oh, we ran into some trouble.

[sniffing]

Was someone else just here?

What? No. Nuh-uh.

Just been us this whole time...

Huh... that's weird. I could've sworn that I caught the scent of a few others...

Oh, really?

Anyway, what should we do now, Shikamaru?

Oh, yeah! That's why we rushed over here! To find out the plan!

We'd like you to take the lead, Shikamaru.

Ahem... Our first priority is to get a report on the situation back to the Leaf Village.

We need to get instructions from Lord Fourth. Of course...

We'll do what we can to get Asuma and the others back, too!

Now, in order to allocate the tasks, we'll join up with Teams Kakashi and Guy.

It's a drag, so... let's wrap this up quickly!

We can't waste any more time with all of this.

We'll return to the village and give them our report.

We can't afford any more losses or casualties.

What are you talking about, Sasuke?! We have already lost Guy Sensei. And now even Neji

has gone missing! And Naruto from your own team, too!

Look, all of this happened just because he acted on his own.

After I warned him not to...

We are from the class ahead of yours, so we do not know Naruto that well...

But he is an important friend, and besides that, a member of Team 7, right?

He's a friend...?

(Rock Lee) And not only all of that he is also the precious son of the Fourth Hokage!

I don't care about that at all.

It has nothing to do with the mission.

Argh! How can you be so cold, Sasuke?!

I see Guy Sensei as a dear mentor! And Neji is an incredibly precious friend.

I cannot just turn my back on them!

Lee, calm down!

Anyway, I am going to look for Guy Sensei, Neji, and the others!

They are bound to be somewhere nearby. I am completely certain of it!

So I will not stop looking and return to the village!

I can't let you do that. We have no clue what the enemy might do, so we can't split up

our fighting power. We have to stay together.

Oh! Neji! Guy Sensei! I am coming to rescue you!

Okay, Lee! I get it! You've made up your mind! I'll help you! So please, stop!

They're all idiots...

Yeah, but...

What are you going to do?

[sniffing] It seems that the other two teams did meet up...

But now, they're moving in different directions...

Can you tell anything more specific?

Let's see... One group is moving away from the village, and the other is frantically scrambling around the village.

That's Lee...

So, then, Team Kakashi is trying to leave the village?

Wait, could they be heading back to the Hidden Leaf?

That's plausible.

The reason is because Sasuke, who is cool-headed and rational, is on Team Kakashi.

Anyway, we'll join with the closest ones.

That'd be group in the village, right?

That's right. If we're going to rescue Asuma and the others,

the last thing we need is someone making a fuss and standing out!

We need to go and calm Lee down...

[gasp]

[gasp]

Now, follow me if you want to discover the true nature of the Hidden Leaf.

What?!

What is this...!? What's going on!?

Wait! That's Old Man Third! But, uh... who are all of those other guys down there?!

Hey, Neji, do you know?

Just be quiet!

You can make all the noise you want.

What you're seeing are just images of past events that occurred in the Hidden Leaf Village.

It cannot be helped. With just my one life, the entire village can be saved.

Just hold on, Hiashi! Please don't be so hasty!

The Hyuga family's Kekkei Genkai is one of the most important strengths of our village.

...It's the sworn duty of the head family to protect it forever no matter what.

I know. But still, I must put aside that duty if keeping it means involving our village in a desperate war!

(Elder) I understand that, but... Isn't that why we have branch families, after all?

...We'll take Hizashi's corpse... and hand it over in place of yours.

[gasp]

That's father...

And what about that other guy? Do you know who he is, Neji?

Hizashi Hyuga...

He is my father... [gasp]

It happened just as Lord Hiashi told me...

What's wrong, Lord Hiashi? You're usually so confident and determined.

This is far too important for me to act recklessly! I'm afraid it simply isn't that easy.

[grunt]

Hizashi!... No, you mustn't!

(Hizashi) Please, Hiashi...

But why?! Why do this?! You have Neji!

[gasp]

(Hiashi) Why do you choose death?

You must understand. I've resented the head family for a long time. And even

right now, I'm bitter. I'm not doing this because you're a part of the head family.

I want to die protecting you because you're my brother, Hiashi.

It's the first time that I've felt free enough to choose my own path...

...the first time I have truly had freedom.

I've always only shown Neji my ugly side, but this time will be different.

I ask you... please give Neji a message for me.

[gasp]

That I wasn't killed to protect the head family, but to protect my siblings, family, and village

and by my own free will... I chose death! And I chose my freedom!

You think that choosing death is the same... as choosing freedom?

Brother, I have become free. I have defied the fate of the Hyuga family

And now, this is goodbye.

Do you see? How he must have felt? Having no other choice but to say those words?!

He had to die for the Hidden Leaf Village! It was a fate that he could not change!

The one and only tiny sliver of freedom that he was able to find was choosing to die

in order to protect the ones that he loved.

You're wrong! The Hidden Leaf Village isn't like that!

That was my hope, too.

Huh?

This is now the era of the younger generation, and I'd hoped things were different.

[gasps]

However... You are already bound hand and foot to the code of the Hidden Leaf.

You have no real choice over your future...

...or over the future of your village.

I recognize that now.

That's not true, you-!

And now that you know that What will you do?

If the village can't be changed from the inside, all that's left is to force a change from the outside.

What do you say? Would you like to come with me?

Neji... you're not thinking of...

(Thinking) Just imagine, me finding you in this place, hiding...

Heh. It's been a long time... Orochimaru.

(Neji) Are you telling me that you can really change the laws of a village as great as the Hidden Leaf?

(Masked Man) Yes. But to do so I need collaborators.

(Masked Man) Come with me...

(Neji) All right, then...

(Naruto) Neji! Don't go!

(Neji) Just wait here, okay? I only want to hear what he has to say.

(Naruto) Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "The Sealed Power."

(Naruto) No! I won't let you go with him!