Rock away your existence,
Shouting that you are here...
A new journey begins now.
As we survived through the changing seasons,
we gained knowledge and strength, (just looks like a survival game)
But the forgotten memories,
of the feelings abandoned within the flows of time,
have also been lost.
When sinking down, we learned loneliness.
But now we've met each other, we are no longer alone.
Unveil your feelings, Those high emotions
Those tears will change your fate.
Pound your heartbeat against the darkness,
We're sure to meet, Under the same flag of pain
Mystery of the Targeted Merchants
Did they really come this way?
But why come this way?
They shouldn't come this way if it's as you say, Choji.
I said that because I didn't think we were being targeted.
I don't think this is the time to argue...
We have to formulate some sort of strategy.
You say that, but...
What is it?
Have the guys you spoke of caught up?
Then we should divide up this group in two.
Here it's hard enough to protect one.
What's the point of dividing the group in two?
N -Naruto!
Please, tell us what your idea is.
This is what I mean.
For example...
Let's say there are ten persimmons here.
Is anything okay if it's a food?
Yeah.
Then I want it to be ramen!
Naruto, it's an example, so...
Then we'll make it ramen.
Someone is after these ten bowls of ramen.
And there are three people to protect the ramen.
And so one person has to protect roughly three bowls.
No, no. If it's ramen,
we should just eat it all before they come.
That would settle things.
N Naruto. This ramen is for delivery to someone,
so we can't eat it.
Really? But the ramen won't be tasty if it gets soggy.
I'm moving on.
If three people protect ten bowls of ramen,
one person protects about three bowls.
But this ramen has legs for escaping.
Ramen with legs for escaping
Five bowls of ramen quick to escape...
and five bowls of ramen slow to escape.
Right, right... Things are kind of getting crazy.
I see. If we divide them into two groups...
Of course, the pursuers would target the group that is slow to escape first.
So we have one person defend the preceding group
and two people for the group that is slow to escape.
Right, right.
By doing this, as for protecting the slow group,
now one person can just protect two and a half bowls.
Oh!
In other words, the ramen that are quick to escape are the young people
and the ramen that are slow to escape are the elderly people and children, right?
Exactly. Not only will the possibility of
the former to completely get away increase,
the burden on the latter to protect will decrease.
It's a strategy that kills two birds with one stone.
You're smart.
However... the elderly people and children will...
I just stated a rational idea.
There's the possibility
of complete annihilation if we stay in a group.
Am I wrong, Yurinoshin?
Well...
Then it's settled. Let's divide everyone up in two.
I'm sorry, gramps.
Don't worry about it.
It would be trouble if something bad were to happen to the men in their prime.
You've got a wife and kid at home, right?
Then we'll be going on ahead first, Naruto, Choji.
Right. We're counting on you, Hinata.
Naruto and I will deal with the pursuers.
Right. I'll protect them well.
Lady Haruna.
Yurinoshin, keep your mouth shut. What's your mission?
Is it not to protect me?
Things will be settled if Kikusuke defeats those guys.
Then shall we get going, too?
I'm counting on you, Brother Choji.
Right! Leave it to me!
Choji.
You go on ahead.
What?
I'm going back to check things out at the place where the traps are.
But if you do that, you may encounter the pursuers along the way...
That's fine.
Doing something like waiting to be attacked isn't my style!
Naruto!
Leave it to me!
I meant...
There's no point to our strategy
if I have to protect five people by myself.
Right, there's no point.
We came down that path,
so the trap should be up ahead somewhere.
I guess I'll take a shortcut!
What's this? What happened?
Why is it so wet?
What're these wounds?!
This guy's...!
Are you serious?
Is something wrong, Brother Choji?
No, nothing.
I see...
I feel it.
Even I can sense this much bloodlust.
It's close now.
Huh?
Rain?
This is the worst. Rain wipes out all presence of the enemy.
Oh...
This rain is weird.
Gather around, everyone!
Stay close to me.
What's... this?
This is bad!
What was that now?!
Everyone! Get under the cart!
We're already under here!
You're quick!
Choji!
Naruto!
Get down!
Shadow Clone Jutsu!
Naruto! Could you say so at the start
if you're going to use paper bombs?
All right. It seems they're gone.
Why did they disappear?
Isn't it obvious?
They have no business with a shop that doesn't have the thing they want.
Thing they want?
That's right.
If a shop's sold out of the item you want,
you'd go to another shop, right?
Could it be that the thing that he wants is in the other group?
What does that mean?!
Hinata's in danger!
Everyone, leave your stuff here and take only what you need!
Hinata is?!
Everyone, we'll put up our tents here for today and rest.
It's dangerous to move in the dark.
Hey!
We finally caught up.
Naruto, Choji. What is it?
"What is it," nothing. The situation has changed.
It seems someone among these people
is hiding something important.
Something important?
It should probably have something to do with us being chased.
But who is hiding what?
It's most likely you guys, Shun and Yurinoshin.
Don't be silly! What're you saying we're hiding?
Don't play innocent!
Kikusuke has been killed by someone!
What?!
Kikusuke was?!
Don't play innocent!
Kikusuke has been killed by someone!
What?!
Kikusuke was?!
Why should he have to suit up like a Shinobi,
fight those guys and then get killed?!
It's not necessary to tell you guys.
But if that's why we're being chased...
It means you guys are putting everyone in danger.
If you don't tell us honestly,
we won't be able to protect even what we can protect.
Kikunojou...
Kikunojou?
You mean Kikusuke?
Yes... And my name isn't Yurinoshin. It's Yurinojou.
Stop, Yurinojou!
The person here is Lady Haruna,
the only daughter of the feudal lord of the Land of Greens.
Princess?!
Princess Haruna of the Land of Greens. You've grown up so much...
P-Princess?
You were a woman?!
Lady Haruna, it is as these people say.
We must not put everyone in danger by hiding the truth any further.
But why is someone like a princess mingling among merchants?
There was information of a coup in the Land of Greens.
A coup?
The Land of Greens was a small, but calm and peaceful land.
However, it was by no means a prosperous land.
Before we realized it,
more than half of the public officials had been bought off.
Who in the world would do that...?
The ringleaders are three brothers called the Janin,
evil Ninja who came from across the sea.
Janin?
Yes. They're guys who use a particular type of Ninjutsu
and are called as such because of their frightfulness.
They've taken many lives and think nothing of it
if it's for their own gains.
They treat people like worms...
But why the Land of Greens?
I don't know why.
But his lordship had Lady Haruna hide amongst a group of merchants
and got her out of the land.
Kikunojou and I were left with the protection of the princess,
but we were insecure with just the two of us.
So then we hurriedly commissioned the Hidden Leaf
under the pretext of protection from bandits.
Why didn't you tell us something that important?
There's no way I could have. My escape is top secret.
Besides, what would happen if I were to have told you?
The end result would've been you guys running away in confusion.
No way would I do something like run away.
Kikunojou might not have had to die if
we had understood the situation from the start.
I wonder.
One of you guys might've ended up like Kikunojou.
We're actually fine.
But to think you'd go so far as to involve the old lady and the children.
It couldn't be!
Were you intending to use the old lady and the kids as decoys
and escape just yourself?!
That's right. What of it?
Choji! Hinata!
As for me, I'm really tickedoff right now!
So what of it?!
If something should happen in the land,
I would become the only blood relative
of the feudal lord of the Land of Greens.
If I can just survive, things could be restored someday,
even if the Land of Greens were to be destroyed.
Say what?! Just what is it you think of people's lives?!
Please forgive her.
Yurinojou.
Is it not your mission to protect me?
You're still talking about such things...?
Please wait, Naruto!
Lady Haruna, that's true for me.
However, these people are different.
The mission they undertook was to protect merchants.
It was not to protect us.
Indeed, what we heard about
was a D rank mission to protect all of the merchants.
Protecting a prominent figure of a land is an A rank mission.
The rank differs by far too much.
Are you guys saying you're going to forsake me?
Weren't you saying until just now
that you didn't trust people like us?
I'll protect you with my life, Lady Haruna...
Shut up, Yurinojou! Kikunojou was your senior disciple.
There's no way you alone could defeat an opponent
whom he couldn't defeat!
That will just be our destiny when that happens, Lady Haruna.
Watch, Brother Choji.
Oh! Awesome, awesome.
I'm sorry about earlier.
It happened so suddenly, I couldn't stop.
Don't be concerned about me.
However, please forgive Lady Haruna.
The Land of Greens is a small land.
For the sake of the land's survival,
Lady Haruna was kept under the custody of another land,
as a hostage all by herself since she was little.
Hostage?
It frequently happens in a small land in a war torn world.
When Lady Haruna returned from the other land,
she had completely lost her feelings of trust towards people.
Lady Haruna is also a victim of a turbulent world.
There's a village
about one league down the mountain from here.
For the time being,
we'll leave the old woman and the others there.
Be careful now.
You guys, too!
Bye!
Why are you separating them from us?
They still have value for my personal use.
Are you still going on about that?
They went so far as to discard their merchandise for your sake.
Then we should also leave this place.
We must not.
If we go into hiding,
there's a possibility of that group being attacked again.
Exactly. This time, it's our turn to be the decoy
in order to protect them.
Do as you like!
Hinata, I'll take care of things here. Please rest a while.
Yeah, do that.
Th Then, if you insist.
Oh, yeah. Here. Kikunojou was holding this.
Thanks, Naruto.
Kikunojou was a master of the Flower Ninjutsu
passed down in the Land of Greens.
We learned together when we were little
and I couldn't beat him even once...
Now I have forever lost the chance to beat him.
No... You still have a chance.
What?
If you beat the guy who defeated Kikunojou,
you will have beaten Kikunojou!
Naruto... You're exactly right...!
Here they come!
Other than the fact that the enemy uses water,
we have absolutely no idea what they'll come at us with.
I know.
Go! Flower Ninja Art:! Flying Flowers: Falling Foliage.
What?!
He changed the trajectory in mid -air?!
Oh, no!
I finally got you!
Gotcha.
To think you'd make me look like a fool.
So you finally show yourself.
I will avenge Kikunojou!
Try it if you can.
I won't let you get away!
Too bad. You're one person short.
I've set a share for one more.
I don't know about that.
First, I'll take care of you, boy.
Water Style: Liquid Memory!
Naruto!
And this!
Summoning Jutsu!
What is it?
Is that...?
The Jutsu that killed Kikunojou?!
Vanish and die!
Yesterday's Call Sign, was all from my cell phone.
In a strange park, I play the Fuzz Guitar without enthusiasm.
Yellow Moon.
Even now, counting to three, I open my eyes
Shadow Moon I am still dreaming.
Look at my eyes, look at my eyes, as we face one another's back
Look at my eyes, when can we meet?
EveryDay EveryNight With every word I can think of
Right away, my messy feelings as is,
A magical chord change, in a restless city
A daily JAZZ Guitar played in a soft minor key