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
The Powerful Helper
Old Man Genno...
Yes! This is quite good!
Isn't it?!
Why'd he do something like this?
Now this detonator won't activate.
Excellent, Tenten.
Now we can sigh with relief.
No, it's still too soon to be relieved.
Right... When Genno realizes that
the detonator here has been removed...
he might activate the Paper Bombs with
some other method and blow up the Leaf.
Oh, right.
You jerk. Don't scare me like that, Choji!
Sorry.
At the moment, it seems there's no one here
who's picked up on our movements.
All right, then put things back the way they were.
Got it.
Now then...
You guys do the Kunai Knife practice like before.
Don't hit the center.
We know.
But we were sure lucky... Nobody hit the center.
But I hit it right in the center yesterday.
I bet you were off by a little.
What? I don't know about that...
It hit, I tell you.
To think there'd be this many.
Lady Tsunade, let's evacuate the villagens as quickly as possible.
Hey, you're joking, right?
What do you mean?
If you do that, Genno might...
blow up the remaining Paper Bombs
right under the cover of the evacuation confusion.
I see.
Naruto and the others are removing the Paper Bombs now.
Could you wait for their report?
Akamaru?
Did you find one?
There it is!
All right!
Attaboy, Akamaru.
How's it coming?
Just a little more.
Yes!
I leave the rest to you.
Leave it to me.
Did you get it yet, Naruto?
Just a little more.
Just a little more, I tell you.
H-Hang in there, Naruto.
Damn it, you little...
Hey, what're you guys doing?
Oh, umm...
Some money got into the opening.
Oh, I'll get it out for you later.
No, no. That'd be dangerous...
I mean, there's no time to waste with eating ramen.
Th That's right.
Ichiraku is sure tasty, isn't it? Well, hang in there.
Yeah, thank you.
Thanks.
Phew, we got through it w ell.
Excellent, Naruto.
We'd like more manpower.
It takes too long just with us.
But there aren't any other Shinobi left in the village.
Well, there are some here, though.
People of leisure who do nothing but tell about old stories and
complain about what the young people do.
Huh?
Could they be...?
Did you get that foul mouth from the Third Hokaget?
It's the job of us advisors to give advice to the youngsters.
What's wrong with complaining?
It seems you have a good nose for village crises due to your longevity.
You're plenty older than you look yourself.
Wh What did you say? You old bag!
Watch what you say, eh, Fifth Hokage.
We've grasped most of the situation. Where should we head to?
Then there's a place I've been saving for you.
Oh ho. I can't wait.
To think the Fifth Hokage would be beaten.
That's a powerful supporter.
Wow.
But scary.
Hurry! Youth, full power!
The enemy's in the Leaf!
I appreciate it, but I can't stand those two.
But the removal operation will proceed swiftly
once Guy Senpai and the others who headed for the Hidden Waterfall get back.
It'll be nice if things were to go conveniently like that, but...
Shikamaru, have you got something?
I mean, it's not ordinary stuff.
When and how the hell did he set them?
There are too many Paper Bombs. An abnormal amount of it.
No doubt about it.
Uh huh.
And there's one more thing bugging me.
We're overlooking something huge... I really get that feeling.
Almost.
What're you doing? You're not supposed to hit the center.
That's right.
I'm next. I'll miss.
In your case, you'll probably miss even if you aim.
How's it going, Neji?
The Paper Bomb removal operation is going smoothly.
I don't see anyone resembling Genno either.
I wonder where the enemy is.
Making us walk all the way to the outskirts of town.
She must've gotten this slave driver tendency from the Third Hokage.
A place that wouldn't be unusual for old people to tell old stories.
I'll rake her over the coals when we get back.
But what is that Genno fellow thinking?
There's no point to setting Paper Bombs in a place like this.
Is that what you really think?
What?
There was a plan to build
a shopping district around here before, right?
That talk was over thirty years ago.
Hmm?!
What's this?
H-Hey, isn't that?
Yes.
Look at this.
What is it?
The Jutsu form written here is different.
You're right.
Now that you mention it, there's no doubt.
It looks the same to me, though.
Where are your eyes pointing?
It's the first time I've seen this.
It's nothing new to us.
Speaking of Paper Bombs, that's what they were in the old days.
Then this is an old version?
It seems most of the Paper Bombs
that have been set in the village are of that type.
Everyone, please look closely once more
at the locations where the Paper Bombs were set.
Although this is a residential area here,
there are hardly any Paper Bombs set.
On the other hand, a large number of Paper Bombs
have been set in places where hardly anyone lives.
What does that mean?
In the old plans,
that was supposed to become a bustling shopping district.
What? Could that be...?
If you think about it putting together various factors
such as the antique Paper Bombs,
the places where they were set and such...
This is a trap that was set thirty years ago.
Thirty years ago...
It's just ridiculous. Not one person noticed in thirty years.
It's a blind spot.
Nobody would ever think
that this many Paper Bombs would be set here in this village.
Once buried in a wall,
it couldn't be found unless Byakugan or something was used.
Then you mean the Genno guy tried to use
the Paper Bombs someone set thirty years ago?
But how did he find them?
Thirty years ago? Could it be...?!
Shikamaru, where are you going?
Hey! Wait up.
We're finished here, too
Let's go to the next spot, Hinata.
Right.
Hinata!
What's the matter?
I was using the Byakugan the whole time,
so I'm just a little tired... I'm fine.
Are you sure?
Let me see.
Oh.
You're kind of feverish. Your face is red, too.
No, it's not like that.
I'll be okay if I just rest a little...
Really? Then I'll deliver the Paper Bombs
we've gathered thus far to Grandma Tsunade,
so you wait here.
Okay.
I'll be right back!
Ichiraku Ramen
The old man was standing here the first time I met him.
I thought he was just a ramen loving old man, but...
Hm?
Could it be that what he was looking at then was... ?
Why in a place like this?
Well well...
So you found it, huh?
Old man?
I guess I cannot let you go back now, can I?
Thirty years ago, huh?
That's around the time when my dad was still the master carpenter.
It was probably a time
when many outsiders were hired just like now.
But I wonder if there are records from back then.
Anything would be fine. A blueprint or a ledger.
Hey, Shikamaru. What're you talking about? Explain.
Why did the referral vanish?
Referral? You mean the real referral
that became the catalyst for Genno being suspected?
It was bugging me the whole time.
Perhaps the disappearance of the referral was Genno's doing.
But why was it necessary to get rid of it?
It all makes sense if we consider the referral
that disappeared was a fake, too.
What do you mean?
But that referral was always here.
So it was Genno himself
who came here to work with that referral thirty years ago.
Oh!
That is to say... probably.
At that time, he used a referral
that couldn't be distinguished from the real thing.
And then he went to the trouble of making one
that would be recognized as a fake if compared with that one.
Why?
Even with old referrals,
he would be discovered if reinvestigated again.
So he got rid of it right after you blew the whistle on him.
In order to conceal the fact that he worked here thirty years ago.
It's because at that time in the village,
he set as many Paper Bombs as were available.
Why?
Why'd you do such a thing?!
Long ag o, there was a village
called Heat Devil Village in the Land of Mountains.
This is the village where I was born.
Heat Devil Villaget?
You don't know it?
No...
The only thing recorded in the Bingo Book you brought
is that Genno's homeland is the Land of Mountains.
To be precise, Heat Devil Village in the Land of Mountains.
The village itself vanished,
so it probably ended up not being recorded.
Thirty years ago,
the Village Hidden in Leaves and Heat Devil Village were at war.
Neither side didn't give an inch and the battle was in deadlock.
We launched a successful sneak attack on Heat Devil Village,
taking advantage of the absence of their main forces.
The tide of the war turned to the Leaf's advantage in one shot.
The only thing written in the history books
is that an armistice was concluded three months after that.
These three months are what's peculiar.
Heat Devil Village should've been thinking about a counterattack
before accepting a cease fire.
Here it is. It's my dad's diary from thirty years ago.
Really?
Yeah. It seems he left it faithfully.
Here.
Thanks.
"A middle-aged man from the Hidden Sand came
"with a master carpentry referral."
"His skills aren't great, but I decided to hire him as I want manpower."
The date is one week after the Heat Devil Village attack.
Then like you thought...
Checkmate. This is Genno.
It was my mission to infiltrate the Leaf
and to set Paper Bombs throughout the village.
The operation was for the main forces of Heat Devil Village
to invade the Village Hidden in the Leaves at the same time
as the Paper Bomb explosions and inflict a devastating blow.
I went out to various sites and set Paper Bombs.
The Leaf village did not have substantial Anbu Black Ops as they do now.
So I was able to move about with ease.
Right around the time when two and a half months had passed,
I finished setting almost all of the Paper Bombs...
and all that was left was to wait for my comrades to attack.
But my comrades never came.
Why?
The leader of Heat Devil Village who had insisted on "do or die" resistance;
lost his life in an accident.
And the man who assumed the position of leader in his place
agreed to a ceasefire with the Leaf.
What?
"Genno doesn't show up at the scene. I wonder what the deal is."
He disappeared having left behind the Paper Bombs.
As for me, my intention was to immediately return to the Hidden Leaf.
I thought the ceasefire would just be a temporary thing anyway.
But Heat Devil Village would never give me another mission.
Two weeks after the ceasefire,
the Village Hidden in the Vale launched a sneak attack on Heat Devil Village
and it was destroyed.
No way!
They were targeted at a moment
when they w ere weariest from the battle with the Leaf.
Their defenses were probably also down due to the ceasefire.
"Two months has passed since...
Where did Genno disappear off to...?"
Then why come back to the Leaf Village now after all this time?
You set Paper Bombs because it was your mission, right?
If Heat Devil Village is no more,
then there should be no reason to go to the trouble of smashing the Leaf!
Could it be... someone asked you to smash the Leaf?
Rest easy.
I haven't been commissioned or commanded by anyone.
Then why?
How can I put this? It felt like a waste.
A waste? What's up with that?
I'm getting old and I could be taken to heaven any time now.
If I were to die as is,
I'd be buried in darkness without anyone learning of my traps.
If so, then I thought I'd put them to good use before I die.
Are you serious?
You tried to kill people in the village just for that reason?
I can't believe that!
Then treating me to ramen was to...
It was to find out
about the present state of affairs in the Leaf.
Damn you! You jerk!
You'll understand when you get older!
I don't understand! As for me...
I won't ever understand it!
I'll show you my final big job as a Trapper!
No way will I let you do that!
My friends are now in the middle of removing all the Paper Bombs!
I won't let the bombs blow up!
Sounds like quite a struggle.
But who said I was going to blow up the Paper Bombs?
What're you talking about? You just said that before you die...
I said I would put them to good use. You're naïve, boy.
What?
I can put them to sufficiently good use even without blowing them up.
Katsu!
A Shinobi reads two or three moves ahead
and prepares several moves in advance.
Remember that!
Shikamaru!
What is it?
The Academy students are saying they're tired.
What should we do?
The Academy students?
The Kunai Knife practice, right?
What? They were still doing that?
You idiot! You were the one who had them do it.
Oh, oh yeah. Then have them go ahead wrap things up.
Rather, it'd be trouble if they were to get lucky and hit the center.
Oh!
What is it?
I get it. So that's it!
It's unnatural for a guy so prepared
to casually entrust the final explosive device to pure luck.
What do you mean?
A Shinobi of Genno's level should blow it up with the most effective timing.
In other words,
it doesn't matter whether the Paper Bombs explode or not.
It's just a diversion.
He's really after something else!
On a checkerboard night
when the stardust's are rapidly dancing
I just can't come out and say, "Ah, I don't want to go home yet."
Suggestively
Spat at that beloved face!! Mister Cricket
The Trombone gradually going off key
While on the sweaty center stage does bug me.
But more importantly, the fuzziness I feel in my undeveloped chest,
I wonder if it's from that coke I just drank?