Are you all right, Lord Shikamaru?
I thought I might have heard you groaning.
I've been having strange dreams lately.
Don't tell me… Is it some memory from the past?
You too?
The memories one wishes to forget most tend to stick like glue.
It must be old age.
I'm only 19!
Have you noticed?
Even since we came here, there's been no wind.
Recklessness
Yes, it's totally still.
I don't have a good feeling about this at all.
Hope she's faking her death smoothly.
To be killed with her own jutsu…
Talk about luck.
Anyone foolish enough to get killed during an initiation test…
wouldn't have been any good.
You don't have to worry about Soku.
What is it?
Intel on Gengo, the guy that controls this village.
Looks like it was collected by ANBU. Want to read it?
It's smart to know about one's target.
Let us see then.
This is…blank!
It means they couldn't learn a single thing.
Just this one sheet?
Ten shinobi lost their lives for that.
It just doesn't make sense.
Let me have that.
I think it will be more useful in the fire.
Oh, the dead have returned.
Looks like you pulled it off.
Pretending to be dead is like, creepy.
Otherwise, you would have become a shinobi of this land.
You should be happy…
Now you can move around freely.
So? Did you learn anything?
Regarding Gengo, we have, like, nothing.
And no one knows anything about the inside of the castle.
It seems the man known as Gengo rarely appears before others.
I learned one thing though.
That castle is known as Fushu Castle.
Fushu?
As in prisoners of war…
A derogatory term used by the mainstream for savage tribes
along the border.
Like, I can't believe anyone would name their own castle such a name.
What of Sai?
Nothing at all.
Tsk… Well, it seems this Gengo is a very cautious man.
He's worth looking into.
Okay, why don't we go have some yakiniku…
Hey Pops! You call this yakiniku?
You can leave if you got any complaints!
I didn't say I wasn't gonna eat it!
Everyone's short of supplies.
That's way better than nothing!
Like, there are guys from all over the place.
People without money are probably lured here by these requests.
How long since you opened up shop?
About the same time Gengo came, so around ten years.
This village was doing worse back then.
This Gengo fellow is an outsider too?
He and his gang showed up out of the blue,
and kicked out the domineering Feudal Lord.
Feudal Lords are all useless.
And did living conditions improve?
Well, what do you think? Take a look around!
They're all Gengo's followers.
They boss everyone around.
It was great that he kicked out the Feudal Lord…
but after that, he just took over.
I've seen that face somewhere…
I was just thinking the same thing.
There's no mistake.
That is Minoichi, a former member of the ANBU.
I totally thought he'd died somewhere.
I don't remember anyone like him.
Well, no wonder. This was during the last Great War.
He killed everyone in his unit and went into hiding.
Damn it, I can't stand the sight of him.
So, like, what's he doing here, acting so high and mighty?
Well, we'll have to ask him that directly.
Wh-Who are you guys?!
You can't run away anymore, Mr. Minoichi.
I-I don't know that name!
Don't play dumb with me!
Shadow Paralysis Jutsu!
Clearly, you remember it…
If you're from Hidden Leaf Village,
you know just what this jutsu can do, don't you?!
S-Stop!
You've moved up in the world,
considering you killed all your comrades.
Don't think you can get away from shinobi law!
I-I'm not a shinobi anymore!
I'm a revolutionary!
A revolutionary?
All of you living your idle lives in the stagnant world of shinobi
couldn't possible understand our noble intentions!
Enough of your stupid arguments!
Or do you want me to kill you right here?
S-Stop!
Now answer me!
Tell me all you know about this guy, Gengo!
Start talking!
Lord Shikamaru!
Revolutionaries…earn that title when they have had their eyes opened by
Lord Gengo's divine will.
That's pretty lofty talk.
This land does not need lowly men like Feudal Lords.
We will create the ideal society for the shinobi.
That's the true revolution envisioned by Lord Gengo.
Lord Sai of the Hidden Leaf is supposedly being held captive here.
Will you tell us where he is?
You're Ro, aren't you?
Who cares about shinobi law?!
I've had enough of dying for the sake of Feudal Lords!
I'll do anything to protect myself!
Tsk…
At last, you revealed your true self.
A coward like you would understand how I feel, right, Ro?
D-Don't!
What're you talking about?!
Don't you know what he did?
That pressure point paralyzes the whole body.
He'll be out for a while.
Ro!
Are you okay, Ro?!
Ro!
You're up.
Like, you had me worried.
I was…dreaming.
It's okay if you don't wanna talk about it.
It's funny how the memories one wishes to forget most
tend to stick like glue.
It was back when I was still a genin.
My unit was ambushed by the enemy and…annihilated.
I was the lone survivor,
so I buried myself under the corpses of my comrades…
and I suppressed my chakra for days, pretending to be dead.
Thanks to the jutsu I mastered during that time,
I was picked up by the ANBU.
But this jutsu is a cursed power…
acquired from the slaughter of my comrades.
The same thing happened to me…
The revolutionaries are like, gathering in the square.
They're planning something.
Let's go.
But we can't go looking like this.
We need like, two more.
Ro, is the chakra disguise ready?
I've already traced the clothing's owner.
Soku, we're counting on you if anything happens.
Soku, are you listening?
Hey, you!
Fix that collar!
Lord Gengo is going to address us!
Shape up!
I'm sorry.
If you're not doing anything, help with the preparations!
Understood?
Perfect timing, wasn't it?
It almost seems too perfect…
But we can't pass up this opportunity if Gengo's gonna appear.
From this spot, we can get Gengo, no matter where he tries to hide.
Soku, stay alert. You've been spacing out.
What Minoichi was saying…
Huh?
Kick out the Feudal Lords and create the ideal world for shinobi.
It's not a bad idea.
What are you saying?
I like, just can't accept this system
with useless Feudal Lords at the top.
Don't deny ever thinking that too, Ro!
I get where you're coming from.
But focus on the mission right now.
Distraction leads to mistakes.
Like I need to be reminded.
The stage is undefended…
Either this Gengo is really confident,
or really stupid.
He's finally going to appear.
Let's expose this guy for what he really is!
First, I thank everyone who has come together here.
Everyone…
The day is near for true revolution!
We'll have a better chance of catching Gengo with Shadow Stitching
if we move up closer.
Follow me.
Tonight, I've planned something special.
Allow me to introduce someone who tried to obstruct our true revolution!
Sai!
Everyone…What shall this man's fate be?
Death!
A sacrifice for our revolution!
Your wishes have been heard.
With the red blood of this man,
the true revolution for justice will take another leap forward!
Are you going to ignore Lord Sai?!
We're helpless against that crowd.
I'm gonna use this.
EXPLOSION
A diversion?
Ten years have passed quickly since I rose up in this land.
Many comrades have joined me and this land has started to flourish.
However…!
not a single one of our hopes has yet been realized.
I want ask the citizens of the Land of Silence!
This land under the rule of the Feudal Lord…
and this land now— which is the better world to live in?
Feudal Lords who have nowhere near
our strength or intelligence have ruled over the shinobi.
But that dark age is a thing of the past.
We, the revolutionaries, will protect this land!
The wish of the revolutionaries is to push forward
to make this land rich and prosperous!
Damn it!
The ones who should rule this land are not the Feudal Lords…
but we who possess the power of shinobi!
Hey, Ro!
– This is no time to daydream! – The shinobi is the key…
– Snap out of it! – to make this land safe and just.
Lord Shikamaru!
– I was… – It's been ten years since
EXPLOSION
I'm gonna rescue Sai.
When you see me go around the back, lay it on real thick.
Got it?!
Understood!
Why must shinobi be treated differently?
Why must we be discriminated against?
Damn it!
He's using some weird trick!
Shinobi locked in the old ways, content with their lot
content with discrimination, content to be controlled, destroyed us!
Now hear me!
People of the Land of Silence awaiting the dawn…
The sunlight of a new era shines on the Land of Silence!
So, you've shown yourself, rat.
Your performance is over!
Protect Lord Gengo!
Lord Gengo, please take cover!
Sai, I've come to get you.
You'd better not be dead.
Cut it out, Sai!
I'm here to save you.
I've woken up.
You will soon understand too, Shikamaru.
Sai, you!
Gengo, is this your doing?
How a shinobi of your stature would be bound by old-fashioned laws,
is beyond my comprehension.
Shut up! Shut up!
Why do you suppress your memories?
Are you afraid to face them?
You're not fooling me with your pretentious talk!
Soku, do it!
Too bad.
Don't you dare do anything to my comrades!
Do anything to them? Of course, not.
I happen to like shinobi with abilities.
And of course, you happen to be one of them,
genius of the Hidden Leaf, Shikamaru Nara.
It's no use.
Shikamaru, you must wake up too.
Stop messing around!
I just hate getting woken up when I'm fast asleep!
Farewell…
To be continued
Shikamaru, it's useless to hide.
I can't use my shadows,
my field of vision has been taken away…
Calm down.
There's still a chance an opportunity will present itself.
I could break through the enemy camp with a Climbing Silver,
but a flying knight might fall prey to a pawn.
Next time on Naruto Shippuden:
"Shikamaru's Story, A Cloud Drifting in the Silent Dark, Part 4: A Cloud of Suspicion"
I've no intention of becoming a sacrificial pawn!
Tune in again!