The Imprisoned Pair
Hey!
Hey, come on.
Look… I don't think this is the time to be fighting.
Here.
Let's call a truce until we get out of here.
What do you say?
That's fine…
But I don't need charity from a Great Nation!
What? "Charity?"
Unsealing Jutsu!
If you had water, you could have just said so.
The Great Nations… don't understand pain.
Pain? What are you talking about?
Exactly.
You don't know pain, or the pain you inflict upon smaller nations.
I have no idea what you're talking about.
But do you understand that we need to
help each other in order to get out of here?
Help each other?
I wonder where we are.
An ancient ruin of the Land of Wind.
This is probably some underground structure.
You think so too?
It looks difficult to go up that way.
I agree.
Shall we try?
We don't have a choice.
How are your teammates?
What about them?
My teammates aren't suited for search and rescue…
So I'm not going to depend on them to find me…
I plan to get out of here on my own as well…
Oh!
Did you find anything?
No. I thought this was the entrance to the ruin,
but it's just a boulder.
I heard it rains all year long in Hidden Rain Village, is that true?
Yes, it is.
I can't even imagine it.
Probably not.
You've had an attitude all this time.
But you know, you guys are also to blame
for us not knowing much about the Hidden Rain.
We are?
Yes.
I've heard that secrecy is a doctrine of the Hidden Rain.
So it's no wonder that we don't know anything about you guys.
The only time we come into contact with you guys
is through something like the Chunin Exams.
But because this is a test,
instead of talking with each other, we have to fight.
That's true.
You guys can come to Hidden Leaf Village
or Hidden Sand Village…
but if we were to go to the Hidden Rain,
we wouldn't be allowed to enter.
A small nation like the Hidden Rain must be extremely careful.
There are other small nations too…
The Hidden Rain is a special case.
You're right… Hidden Rain Village is special.
Small nations become embroiled in the wars of the Great Nations,
ending up as their battlefields
and are left to suffer the consequences.
But Lord Pain wants to bring an end to a world like this…
He wants the clueless Great Nations to feel our pain…
and bring about true peace.
The Hidden Rain will be reborn anew…
The Hidden Rain will be reborn.
Does that mean you'll be more friendly?
– That's… – Wait.
Did you hear something?
Is it your teammates?
I doubt that…
I guess not.
What is it?!
It's an ant.
An ant this huge?!
It's so hard!
They don't call this place the Demon Desert for nothing…
Unreal things live here.
I wonder if there are others?
I hope not… But these are ants and…
This place is probably swarming with them.
Let's capture one.
What?
Capture one for what?
To tame it and turn it into a Summoning Animal.
A summoning…
Besides, their nest could be connected to other openings.
You know how to Summon right?
Yes.
Is there a trick to it?
I wouldn't know.
I guess it's just sheer talent…
Maybe it's beyond here.
I sense a little chakra…
It seems like she's moving, but I can't tell for sure.
Found you!
This is the 100th time we've met!
This time, you're gonna hand over your scroll to us!
One of them is missing.
Are they operating separately?
Which means it's three against two…
and we have the advantage.
What's with that beat-up umbrella?
What do you think you can do with that?
Planning to run away again?!
You won't get away this time!
Who are you guys?
Let's make this clear.
Those guys are our prey.
You won't be attacking these two right now.
We're in the midst of helping each other.
Helping? The Hidden Rain?
You mean to tell us that you're Hidden Leaf like us,
and you're getting in our way?
We're all exam participants.
If it comes down to it, we can come after your scroll too.
What?!
You want to fight us?
Don't underestimate us.
After all, there's only two of you too.
What shall we do, Neji?
I want to avoid fighting as much as possible,
but we don't have a choice.
So you're gonna come at us, three against two?
No.
You guys!
We'll assist you.
W-What's going on with you guys?
You're kidding, right?
You're gonna team up with the Hidden Rain
to fight fellow Hidden Leaf Shinobi?
According to the Second Exam's rules,
being from the same village has no bearing whatsoever.
If you possess the Earth scroll, you're fair game.
Fair game?
Th-That's not fair!
If that's the case…
Retreat!
We'll remember this!
We're gonna be Chunin, no matter what!
Why did you help us?
To save our teammates, we need to cooperate.
Didn't you come to the same conclusion?
Yeah…
Then let's all work together to save Tenten and your friend.
It's the nest…
There's no way we can capture one…
Look.
The ant hole must lead to the outside.
And…you're suggesting we go right through this?
It looks difficult, doesn't it?
We should go back to the original corridor.
You're right.
Not good!
Hurry!
Is that an entrance?
You're probably right.
Okay! Hang in there, Tenten!
Hey, Lee!
I'm coming!
There are ridiculously huge ants!
Lee!
We're prey to them.
I'll distract them.
Neji, you guys go in and find the two.
Got it!
8 Trigrams: Air Palm!
Hurry!
– Right! – Right!
Leaf Hurricane!
You're not getting past me!
I guess…
They wouldn't understand what I'm saying…
They're chasing us.
No way…
It's caved in…
So we can't pass?
Byakugan!
They're in there.
Yeah, that's Ajisai's chakra.
Everyone step aside.
Stop! An explosion might trigger a cave in.
8 Trigrams: Open Palm!
I suppressed its power to try to contain it,
but I guess it wasn't effective.
Not much different than a Paper Bomb.
What'll we do?
Hey!
What was…that tremor just now?
It's from the outside.
Someone is trying to clear this rubble.
Your friends?
Or yours.
I wonder if they can do it.
Seems it will be difficult.
They're coming!
Wait.
Summoning Jutsu!
Ward them off.
What are you going to do?
I'm going to suck the sediment into another dimension
with my Transportation Jutsu.
But you don't even know how much sand and gravel there is!
This is the only thing left to try.
I'll either remove the rubble, or I'll run out of chakra.
Enclosing Jutsu!
Please, do it too.
Huh?! But I've never done anything like this…
It's similar to stowing away weapons and tools.
You say it's similar but…
With Summoning Jutsu,
the caster's chakra is directly proportionate to
the quantity and size of what is summoned.
This is the amount of water you just summoned.
By increasing your chakra, you can summon enough water
to fill a bathtub, or a lake, or even an ocean.
An ocean…
Come here!
This is impossible!
Do you remember the last Chunin Exams?
– Yeah. – Yes.
Uh-huh.
The last time,
the Chunin Exams were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
On top of not being promoted to chunin,
I was useless during
the Hidden Leaf's most critical moment.
It couldn't be helped.
You were seriously wounded and unable to take action.
I'm ashamed that I was perfectly healthy, but helpless.
Well, that shouldn't bother you now.
After two years, the Chunin Exams are being held again.
Is that true?
And so, I must at least ask you…
Will the three of you take the Chunin Exams as a team?
That goes without saying.
Of course we will!
Uh-huh.
That's the power of youth!
We've grown much stronger since then!
What's the matter, Tenten? Are you unsure?
Sensei, have I gotten stronger since then?
You…should have.
But I have nothing to show for it.
Without a doubt,
you have persevered and trained since that time.
Admittedly, we can't see it
as we can Neji's jutsu or Lee's technique.
But do not forget, Tenten.
Hard work and effort never betrays.
Unsealing Jutsu!
Hey! Are you all right?!
– The rubble… – But…
it's impossible for me to remove the rubble like you do.
Hurry!
The ants will dig right through it.
I just have to suck it up and do it!
If hard work and effort never betrays…
Then my chakra has increased!
OCEAN
I almost drowned in the desert.
You did it.
Yeah.
Seawater in the desert!
Tenten, you demonstrated the fruits of your labor.
I sure did, didn't I?!
As expected!
Now then…
We had a truce. So what now?
If you agree, can we continue this truce?
It's fine with us.
After what we went through, I don't feel like fighting.
We're going to head straight for the finish line.
As for us…
Yes…
We'll detour right and search for a scroll.
Thank you.
Huh?
I got the knack of it, all thanks to you.
Yeah? I'm glad.
Let's both do our best…
…and meet up in the Third Exam.
Yes.
See you again!
The other villages are very curious.
Yes… There are so many different kinds of shinobi.
I wonder if Hidden Rain Village will go through many changes?
We will change it…
By having faith in Lord Pain and Lady Angel.
– Yeah. – Yes.
Let's go.
We have to look for a Jinchuriki.
We should've just headed straight for the goal
rather than going with your strategy, Sakura!
What?! But you agreed to it!
Ino, you just drank too much water!
You bloated blister!
Oh yeah, is that right?
Well you'd have to drink a hundred times more than me!
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "The Place Where I Belong"
If we're talking about getting bloated from drinking water,
then you should have no problem!
IN NARUTO'S FOOTSTEPS ~ THE PATH TRAVELED THE PLACE WHERE I BELONG
Tune in again!