Hopes Entrusted to the Future
He's not on the north route.
He isn't on the south or west routes either!
Where could Lord Gaara have gone?
The massive sandstorm seems to have passed.
Lord Gaara?!
What's the big commotion?
Stop making a fuss and resume the Second Exam.
Yes, sir!
Hurry! Prepare to resume the Second Exam!
It's unusual for Houichi not to send a message.
Did he fail?
Lord Gaara!
Fugi…
I've wanted to have an in-depth discussion with you.
Well then…
What did you want to talk about?
I've always thought of you as a valuable citizen of the Hidden Sand.
Of course, I still do.
I am humbled.
In the past, words like "citizen" and "friend" were just that…
Mere words that held no meaning to me.
For a long time after I was born, even though I recognized these words,
they were not part of my existence.
Oh. And when did these concepts become real to you?
When I infiltrated the Hidden Leaf Village
with the intent to destroy it.
There, for the first time, I met someone I could call a friend.
Ironically, he was an enemy who belonged to the Hidden Leaf.
Although he and I shared similar circumstances,
he empathized with the pain of others, and shared in their joy and tears…
Meeting him made me realize…
how precious and important the word "friend" is.
And it made me want to become like him…
a human being who is valued and needed by others.
Lord Gaara, you are and will always be,
a person who is essential to the Hidden Sand.
All this time, I've been considered a military weapon to be feared.
And that continues to instill fear even in the hearts of the Hidden Sand.
But that's—!
I know.
If this were not so,
my own father would not have tried to kill me six times.
I am aware of the deeply rooted opposition to my tenure as the Kazekage.
Should I accept position or should I turn it down?
It was a dilemma for me.
But after my friend, the Leaf Shinobi, taught me about friendship,
I thought it over and decided…
that I wanted to heal the pain I had caused everyone.
But it's been difficult to get the people of the Sand
to believe that I am sincere.
There was a time I felt the wounds that I inflicted on my people
would never heal.
I thought I should just disappear from the Sand Village,
then the fear would finally disappear too.
But I found there were people who, without any prejudice,
accepted my feelings.
You are frightened of yourself.
When you handle a weapon,
you must suppress your feelings and become emotionless.
Y-Yes, sir!
I once met someone just like you in Hidden Leaf Village.
Through sheer perseverance, he has become a fine shinobi.
Shira, I predict you will be as good a shinobi as him.
These shinobi have to come to accept and rely on my guidance,
and are maturing steadily.
We're almost there.
But we still need one more scroll.
Well, a lot of things happened.
Let's forget about passing the Chunin Exams until the next time.
In that case, I don't know if we'll get a scroll,
but there's someone I want to fight just once.
That person received guidance from Lord Gaara
and developed into a shinobi, just like me.
There's something I want to confirm
by fighting someone who received the same teachings as me...
We did it!
We made it! We made it!
But we still only have the "Heaven" scroll…
It can't be helped.
We're physically at the end of our limits!
If I hadn't stopped along the way for a personal battle…
Don't say that!
That's right. This is all we can do right now.
I'm sure we'll get another crack at it.
Thank you!
What is it?
Shira, please fight me.
If I lose, you can have this.
It's senseless for Sand to fight Sand.
We've already made a decision.
Hey!
This is useless to us!
Take it!
Really? You're a lifesaver!
We can't accept it.
What?
Truth be told, we don't want the scroll.
I just want to use this opportunity to fight you, Shira.
Fight me?
You and I both…
have been taught by Lord Gaara.
We are the ones who will carry out Lord Gaara the Kazakage's will…
and support the Hidden Sand Village.
I want to make sure we deserve that right.
Fine. I accept your challenge.
Is this okay?
If that's what you wish, Shira.
Y-Yeah…
Thank you, Shira.
Who are they?
The promising youthful power that will sustain the future of the Sand…
I believe in them and have high hopes for them.
Those who wish to hunt me are free to do so…
However, do not involve those youths.
I don't want them colored with hatred and vengeance.
Come on, Matsuri!
Right!
There were times when I doubted myself as the Kazekage.
But after coming into contact with them,
I realized that perhaps even someone like me can accomplish things.
I want to erase hatred from Hidden Sand Village,
and create bonds with people I can call friends…
Friends who understand and share each other's pain.
If you object, then take my head.
But leave them out of this.
Come on.
Thank you very much.
Please take this.
– Huh?! – Huh?!
This won't work…
Lord Gaara has matured indeed.
Perhaps we old soldiers worried needlessly.
We must let the horrible memories of the past
fade into the darkness...
And leave it to the next generation to build a new future.
I alone was responsible for all of this.
Please accept these.
Two "Heaven" scrolls are not acceptable!
Oh, but that's—!
No, no, no!
I can't reveals any details, but there were extraordinary circumstances
that prevented us from collecting scrolls!
Please ask Lord Kazekage!
It doesn't matter what circumstances there were. No means no!
You are stingy!
– Now, now… – Just give it up.
No…! I can't just give up!
Cancel the Third Exam?
I'm sorry.
I can't go into details,
but this is a domestic matter within the Sand.
Then how do we determine who passed the Chunin Exams?
We've prepared detailed reports
about each team's performance in the Second Exam.
I'd like the respective villages to use them
to decide whether their participants should be promoted to chunin.
Well, these exams were meant to test their ability
to carry out missions as chunin…
It can't be helped if things turned out like this.
But the participants put their lives on the line to cross the Demon Desert…
Will they be satisfied with this?
I understand that.
Looks like the Third Exam is cancelled.
What happens to the Chunin Exams then?
I did have a bad feeling about this…
Does that mean all that effort was for nothing?!
We continued to the very end and didn't give up, so we should be okay.
Those who dropped out midway are the ones who should be worried.
I sort of feel sorry for them.
All we gained was hunger and exhaustion.
That's no gain!
At the very least, perhaps we gained self-confidence.
Exam participants! I commend your hard efforts!
With the passage of time,
our shinobi world needs a new system with new laws.
Until today, we shinobi were required to sacrifice
even the lives of our comrades for the sake of our laws and rules.
But I have realized that we have something even more precious
than rules and regulations.
That is friendship, with our fellow villagers, our fellow shinobi,
and the bond we share with others who understand the same pain…
I believe that
each of you who stands here now knows exactly what I mean.
Therefore, I deem the Third Exam unnecessary…
Furthermore, I am rescinding part of the requirements for the Second Exam.
So what does that mean?
For each of you standing here right now,
a detailed report of your performance will be sent to your respective villages.
Your Kage will make the final decision on your promotion.
That means we have to wait longer?
But it also means we still have a chance, correct?
When you reach the northern border, be careful.
Thank you.
Yome, since you're going up there too, try to be nice!
Huh?! What? Huh?!
We got assigned to the same place by chance, that's all!
Yeah, sure!
Go for it!
Yome, let's go!
Hey, wait up!
I hope they're going to be okay!
We've gone through the report from the Hidden Sand,
and your Chunin promotion has been approved.
Thank you.
And I'm going to assign you to an S-rank mission right away.
Today's corpse is really light.
I can tell by experience… this one is a woman.
The highest tower in the village where we always deliver these bodies…
You know what that's for?
In our village, isn't it usually where the ashes are enshrined?
It was originally built as a memorial to honor the dead.
NO TRESPASSING If that's the case, why is it off-limits to even relatives of the dead?
Like I know...
Rumor has it that Lord Pain is up there.
Huh? That's ridiculous…
It can't be true.
Rumor… It's just a rumor.
Anyway, I'm going to check it out...
Just like you said, it's a woman.
It's Ajisai the chunin.
She just passed the exams recently.
Her very first mission after becoming a chunin…ended like this?
Thank you very much.
Oh…Lady Angel!
Bring the next one, quickly.
Yourou!
I know… We're being followed.
Fuu… Let's go to that rocky area for now.
What? How boring.
We don't know who you are…
But we've been on to you for a while now.
I told him to stop…
since not being able to kill you is such a pain in the butt.
Say, mister! Aren't you a former Hidden Waterfall?
What?
I know you! After your failed Hokage assassination attempt,
you stole the hearts of the village elders and escaped…
You're Kakuzu!
Kakuzu?!
Impossible! How old does that make him?!
I always thought if I got to meet you,
I'd like to be your friend!
Kakuzu… Is she stupid?
I wouldn't know.
I deserted the village a long time ago.
How about we start out as casual acquaintances over tea?
I didn't come here today to become your friend…
Well, that's too bad…
I've gone over your Second Exam reports.
And…Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Choji, Ino and Sakura…
You six passed with flying colors and are promoted to chunin!
After all, we didn't have the second scroll…
Komugi, Gennai, Inaho…
You will be given another chance next time.
Finally…although they did not collect two scrolls,
they performed admirably…
and are more than qualified for promotion.
Lee and Tenten, you are now chunin.
Lady Tsunade!
Team Guy is one for all, all for one! How can Neji not be included…?!
Just let me finish!
Neji Hyuga is given a special double promotion to jonin!
The Kazekage himself noted,
"In particular, Neji's performance was most impressive and"
"due consideration has been given in this report."
He's already proven himself to be more than capable as a chunin.
Way to go, Neji!
Congratulations!
Thank you very much!
Thank you to you both.
I made it to chunin because of Team Guy's teamwork.
Our three-man squad is forever, right?
Yes, I hope so.
I finally overtook Naruto!
He's going to be so mad that he missed the Chunin Exams.
I wonder what kind of training Naruto is doing now…
It will soon be time to wrap up training
and return to Hidden Leaf Village.
Ouch!
That chest wound still hurts, right?
Pervy Sage, you just rest up!
I'm gonna continue my training!
Hang in there, Naruto!
What's going on?! My Medical Ninjutsu isn't working on him!
It's probably because Nine Tails has been extracted out of him!
But there's a way to save him!
That's why we're hurrying!
There's someone else where Sasuke is.
Do you recognize the chakra?
No, but it has a real nasty feel to it.
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "On the Brink of Death"
Is this the end of the line for him?
ON THE BRINK OF DEATH
Tune in again!