Neji and Naruto looked up…
and found themselves in a space different from before…
Are you the one responsible for all of this?
Hey!
Let Kakashi Sensei and everyone from the Hidden Leaf go!
Or you're gonna get it!
Naruto! Get away from him!
Don't butt in!
I'm about to settle this right now!
Look at his eyes.
Huh?
The Byakugan?
You're no match for him.
Who are you?
How do you possess the Byakugan?
Don't tell me… Do you have ties to the Hyuga?
Look at the cloud of dust…
Your comrades did that.
What happened?
They put their village's rules before the lives of the children.
The Hidden Leaf hasn't changed a bit in all these years.
What do you know about the Hidden Leaf?
Oh, I know plenty.
In fact, I know more than anyone presently here.
Follow me…
Neji Hyuga.
If you want to discover the ugly truth
the Hidden Leaf has covered up…
What?
What is he talking about?
Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls: The Tale of Naruto the Hero- The Masked Man
Komichi!
Shadow Strangle Jutsu, complete.
You guys…
…came.
Hurry, get the child!
Damn it!
Komichi!
Ino!
Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!
No!
Nagato, go!
Hurry and find that monster!
Leave it to us!
Her psyche has entered the child's body.
That's…possible?
Ino's probably jumping around inside of it.
Konan!
Now!
Ino!
Komichi!
Big Brother!
Choji!
Hey! I almost got blown up!
What's up with his eye?
– Mommy! – Mommy!
Ashitaba! Komichi!
You two—!
I'm sorry, so sorry!
Lord Mashima protected you… the both of you!
No, it was the people over there…
Where did they—?
Tell us…
Right from the beginning,
I didn't get the feeling that you wanted to kill us.
You were trying to get us to do something.
I was wrong about you.
You'd never disobey an order from the Hidden Leaf…
You can't live outside the rules of the Hidden Leaf.
I assumed you were that kind of shinobi…
But I was very wrong.
Through your actions,
you demonstrated what Jiraiya Sensei taught us to do.
You used your powers to help people in need,
even if they aren't from the Hidden Leaf…
I was really happy that you came back.
Thanks to you, we were saved too.
Are you joking?
Would the three of you like to work with us?
What are they talking about?
Didn't they abduct Asuma Sensei?
Yeah…
I'm not asking you to join us…
I don't care if you stay with the Leaf.
We can travel from nation to nation,
like Jiraiya Sensei, and cross over meaningless borders…
Let's show the world that we're free!
What does that mean?
Well, it's kinda unclear…
In other words, be like Team Jiraiya, right?
I want our aspirations to be united…with you.
You haven't even told us where Asuma Sensei and the others are…
We're not that naïve…
First, you have to help us get Asuma Sensei back.
Yeah, that's right.
We can't help you with that.
There's someone else pulling the strings, isn't there?
This "test" doesn't seem to be your idea either.
Sorry. They haven't given us the details.
You don't have the details,
but you have some idea of what's going on.
What a drag…
I guess it means we'll have to fight it out…
If we're at odds with each other…
there's no other way.
One of yours?
Yeah, three plus a dog.
And they're strong.
Are you implying that we're weak?
Shikamaru! Choji! Ino!
Hey.
We were waiting for you.
You're late.
Oh, we ran into some trouble.
Wasn't someone else just here?
No…
It's just been us all this time…
Strange…
I caught scent of a few others…
Oh, really?
Anyway…
What do we do, Shikamaru?
Yeah! That's why we rushed over here!
Yes, we'd like you to take the lead.
Our first priority is to report on the situation to the village.
We need to get instructions from Lord Fourth.
Of course…
We'll do what we can to get Asuma and the others back!
In order to allocate the tasks,
we'll join up with Teams Kakashi and Guy.
It's a drag… but let's wrap this up quick!
We can't waste any more time.
We'll return to the village immediately and report on the situation.
We can't afford any more casualties.
What are you saying?!
We've already lost Guy Sensei.
And now, even Neji is missing!
And Naruto from your team!
This all started because he took off on his own.
After I warned him not to make a move…
We're from the class ahead of yours,
so we don't know him that well…
But isn't he an important friend and member of Team 7?
Friend?
Not only that…
He's the precious son of the Fourth Hokage.
Who cares?
That has nothing to do with the mission.
How can you be so cold?!
To me, Guy Sensei is a dear mentor!
And Neji is a precious friend.
I can't just turn my back on them!
Lee, calm down!
Anyway, I'm going to look for Guy Sensei,
Neji and the others!
They're bound to be somewhere nearby.
So there's no way I'll stop looking and return to the village!
I won't let you.
We have no clue what the enemy will do,
so we can't split up our fighting power.
We must move together.
Oh! Neji, Guy Sensei!
I'm coming to rescue you!
Okay, Lee! I get it!
I'll help you, so please—!
I'm surrounded by idiots.
But…
What are you going to do?
The two teams did meet up perfectly…
But now, they're moving in different directions.
I wonder if something happened…
Can you tell anything specific?
One group is moving away from the village.
The other one is frantically scrambling around the village.
That's got to be Lee…
So then Team Kakashi is trying to leave the village?
Are they heading back to the Hidden Leaf Village?
It's plausible.
That's because Sasuke, who's cool-headed and rational,
is on Team Kakashi.
Anyway, we'll regroup with the ones closest to us.
That would be the group in the village, right?
Yeah…
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 first.
Now, follow me…
If you want to discover the true nature of the Hidden Leaf.
What is this?! What's going on?
Old Man Third! And…
Who are the others?
Hey, hey, Neji?
Be quiet!
You can make all the noise you want.
These are just images of past occurrences
in the Hidden Leaf Village.
It can't be helped.
If my life alone will save the village…
Hiashi… Don't be hasty.
The Hyuga Kekkei Genkai is a crucial secret weapon
for the village.
It is your duty as the head of the main family to protect it.
But if my duty to my family
results in embroiling the village in a hopeless war…
I understand.
That is why there is a branch family.
We have no choice, but to hand over…
Hizashi's body as your stand-in.
Father…
Who's that guy?
Do you know him?
Hizashi Hyuga…
He's my father.
It went down exactly as Lord Hiashi told me…
Where is the strong-willed Hiashi I've always known?
The magnitude of this is greater than anything we've faced before.
I can't just agree to it.
Hizashi, you…!
Please let me go.
But you have…Neji!
Why would you choose death for the sake of the main family?
You are wrong.
I've always resented the main family.
Truth be told, I even hate it now.
That's why…
I want to die, not to protect the main family…
but to protect you, my older brother.
This is the first time in my life
where I have the freedom to choose.
I have shown Neji only the hateful side of me.
So…
Please relay this to him…
I am not being killed in order to protect the main family.
I have chosen death of my own free will
to protect him, my brother, my family and the village.
Are you saying that choosing death…
is freedom?
Elder Brother, just once in my life,
I wanted to change my destiny as a Hyuga.
That is all.
Do you get it?
Do you understand 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 he could not change.
The one sliver of freedom he had
was choosing to die to protect the ones he loved.
You're wrong!
The Hidden Leaf isn't like that!
That's my hope too.
It's now the era of the younger generation…
and I hope there is change.
H-Huh?
However…
You are already bound hand and foot
to the code of the Hidden Leaf.
You have no choice over your future
or the future of the village.
I know that now.
That's not true, you—!
And now that you know…
What will you do?
If the village cannot be changed from the inside,
there's nothing left but to force a change from the outside.
What do you say?
Would you like to follow me?
Neji! You're not thinking of—!
Imagine finding you here…hiding.
It's been a long time…
Orochimaru.
Are you telling me you can change the Rules of the Leaf?
Yes.
To do so, I need collaborators.
Come with me!
I understand…
Neji! Don't go!
Wait here. I just want to hear what he has to say.
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "The Sealed Power."
No! I won't let you go!
Jiraiya Ninja Scrolls: The Tale of Naruto the Hero- The Sealed Power
Tune in again!