Original subtitles

-These tracks, it's not them.

-I see.

Then let's move.

-Hm?

-Huh?

-Huh?

Bandits!

-You shouldn't be out here, old timers.

Didn't you get the emergency bulletin from the Land of Fire

about the temporary curfew?

-Yes, but well, we thought we might

be of some use in the fighting ahead.

-Yeah, you won't see us two getting

into whippersnappers on our land.

-Hmph.

-That was scary.

-Yeah.

[theme music]

-Milady, I have an update.

We've sent 20 platoons to form a perimeter around the Fire

Temple with a 150 kilometer radius.

Even an ant couldn't get past us.

-Excuse me, ma'am.

We have received a report from third platoon.

Border areas C and E are clear.

No sign of the Akatsuki.

-Then where are they?

-New report has come in.

Areas F and G, all clear, ma'am.

We still haven't found the Akatsuki.

-I can see that.

Why can't we find them?

Have we heard from Team Asuma at the Fire Temple?

-No, Milady.

Nothing reported yet.

-Ugh.

ASUMA (VOICEOVER): Chiriku.

-What's this all about?

-You've come from the Leaf Village, correct?

-Yes.

-I see.

We were contacted by the monk who has been in your care.

-Greetings to you all.

I am the head monk in charge of the Fire Temple.

I had been away from the temple for quite some time.

But when I heard what had happened,

I rushed back as quickly as I could.

It was a terrible sight indeed.

We asked neighboring temples for help recovering the remains.

-This is awful.

-Excuse me, sir.

Where's Chiriku?

-Well, actually, we've been unable to find Lord Chiriku's remains.

IZUMO: Um, Captain Asuma.

Well, sir, as much as I hate to bring this up,

Chiriku does still have a 30 million ryo bounty on his head

on the black market.

-30 million ryo?

That's quite a large bounty.

If the Akatsuki knew, they'd try to collect.

So that means the enemy is carrying his body along

with them.

-Izumo, where are the collection offices?

-Including the one closest to us,

there are five locations in total.

Now the other teams can head to the exchange points closest

to them.

-All right, let's hurry.

-Please wait a moment, Lord Asuma Sarutobi.

-Hm?

-For those of you who are about to enter a fight,

allow me a moment to offer you a prayer.

Please.

-It would be an honor.

[prayer chant]

ASUMA (VOICEOVER): Chiriku.

-Oh.

ASUMA (VOICEOVER): Chiriku.

I'm the only member of the Guardian Shinobi

Twelve left now.

I wish we could have shared just one

more of our all-night talks.

There were still so many things I wanted to talk to you about.

Things I wanted you to hear.

-Please be safe on your journey.

-We cannot thank you enough.

And sir, we'll do our best to find Chiriku.

-Please don't push things too far in your quest.

As a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve,

you have a bounty on your head, just like Chiriku.

Please be careful.

-Well thank you, but you have no need to worry about me, sir.

You know the bounty on my head?

It's 5 million more than his for a reason.

-Hmph.

Yeah, the only thing to worry about with Asuma

is that he smokes too much.

-Hey, what happened with the training?

I went to all that trouble making more food pills.

SAI: Nobody's here, huh?

-Oh, Sai.

Let me guess, you came to check in on Naruto like I did.

-No, I was just taking a brisk walk

to make sure I didn't get out of shape because of my injury.

I take that back.

Actually, you were absolutely right.

-Mhm, see, it's good to be honest.

-Naruto's training, was it postponed?

-Well, he probably went off somewhere to refocus.

His body and mind can't keep up such intense training

without taking a break now and then.

NARUTO: Ramen.

Ichiraku Ramen.

-Yeah, yeah, I hear you.

Keep going.

We're almost there.

-Hey, I've got an idea.

While we're here, why don't you give one of these babies a try?

-What is that?

A mudball?

-Don't be rude.

No.

This is one of my homemade food pills.

It's super special.

-Special, huh?

-You know, I suppose it's more like medicine than a food pill.

It's chock full of all kinds of nutritious goodness mixed

with a bunch of fast-acting digestive agents.

All of which were hand-picked by yours truly

and rolled up into a convenient ball packed with energy.

In fact, in addition to helping you recover,

I'd venture to say the pill might even

add some healthy color to that pale, sickly skin of yours.

They say the best medicine is always bitter.

So the food pills might taste a little strange.

But when you consider the benefits of taking them,

tiny details like flavor will be of no-- hm?

Sai?

Hm?

-I feel dizzy.

That stuff tastes and smells so bad, there's no way it'll work.

In fact, it's making me sick.

NARUTO: Pork ramen.

-See, Naruto?

We're here.

Hello?

-Welcome, customers!

-Uh, hi.

-Listen, old man.

Extra large pork miso with extra pork.

On the double.

WAITRESS: We have a new menu.

Take a look.

-That's great.

But I still want an extra large pork miso with meat,

noodles al dente.

-Hey, come on.

You didn't even look at the menu.

-Give it a look see, Naruto.

As of today, we've made some pretty big changes

to the lineup.

-That's right.

We serve dipping noodles.

-Oh, wow.

I'm sticking with extra large pork miso with meat.

And go ahead and throw in some pickled red ginger.

-Would you listen?

We don't serve ramen here any longer.

-Huh?

-Wait a second.

So this is a dipping noodle shop now?

-See, my daughter Ayame went off to get

some professional training as a noodle maker.

She came home and said, (HIGH-PITCHED VOICE) dad,

the age of dipping noodles has arrived.

We need to take Ichiraku in a new culinary direction.

Yep.

Now my girl's got all kinds of fancy business knowledge.

-The customers' likes and dislikes

are constantly evolving.

If Ichiraku doesn't change too, we'll fall behind the times.

-See?

Ha ha.

-What the hell are you talking about?

All I wanted was a simple pork miso and meat.

-It'll be fine.

Dipping noodles are pretty much the same as ramen.

-No they're not.

Dipping noodles are served separate from the broth.

You dip and eat, like soba.

-Well, it all goes to the same place.

-The concept is totally different.

-He's absolutely right.

Ramen's not the same as dipping noodles.

And I really want ramen, so let's get it going, huh?

-We've only prepared dipping noodles.

So I'm sorry.

-Oh, come on.

Switching back to ramen would just

be tweaking the soup a little, right?

-You'd be satisfied with phony ramen like that?

I thought you of all people would have standards

for quality pork miso and meat ramen.

-No, it's not like that.

I'm just really--

[stomach growls]

This food talk makes me so hungry.

I-- I don't care anymore.

We'll take the dipping noodles.

-Three orders of dipping noodles.

-Right, three orders coming up.

Here you go.

Fresh out of the pot.

-All right.

Finally.

AYAME: Just a minute.

-Huh?

-The noodles are a tad undercooked.

They need to boil for one more minute.

-They do?

-And check the water temperature.

-OK.

-Wait, you're going to make them over again?

-Orders up.

Ichiraku dipping noodles.

-All right. Huh?

Where's the soup?

-It's a bit too strong.

The product in Yugao Village was slightly more

on the refreshing side.

Start it over again.

-Right away.

-Hey.

-In that first bite, we must make our mark

on the customer with perfection.

-That's the spirit, Ayame.

Show me the results of your training.

-Oh, so hungry.

-Here you go.

Ichiraku's very own dipping noodles.

And this time, it's perfect.

-Well, it's about time.

Old man, can I get some pork slices, and pickled bamboo

shoots, and some fish cake toppings?

Please?

-Uh, sure, I suppose.

-Heh.

-What are you doing?

-Ha ha!

If I eat it like this, it's ramen.

-That's quality dipping noodles.

You can't do that.

-No, Ayame.

Somehow you have forgotten the most basic guiding principle

for a restaurateur.

You're getting caught up in the small details.

But what's most important is that the customer is satisfied,

right?

-That's why I put my heart and soul

into making these dipping noodles.

It's the restaurant's responsibility

to advise the customer, to act as their culinary guide,

making sure they experience only the finest of ingredients

and modern methods of preparation.

-But I want to eat ramen, and you won't let me!

-Save your yelling for after you've sampled our noodles!

You'll see.

And you'll never selfishly ask for ramen again!

KAKASHI (VOICEOVER): That was delicious.

YAMATO (VOICEOVER): Huh, dipping noodles are lighter than ramen.

I think I actually might prefer it.

TEUCHI (VOICEOVER): Maybe I'm getting old.

My shoulders get really stiff when

I do something I'm not used to.

I know, I'll hire some energetic youngster to work part-time.

-Ah, at the end of the day, anything

tastes delicious when you're hungry enough.

Thanks for the dipping noodle ramen.

My belly is full.

KAKASHI (VOICEOVER): Even though he complained about it,

he drank every drop of that heavy dipping noodle soup.

-I may not agree with how he ate our cuisine.

But he did wolf down three bowls,

so I guess I should be proud.

-All right.

Let's get back to the training, right fellas?

-Not yet.

Before we do, Naruto, I want to show

you something very interesting.

-What did you have in mind?

-After eating all that food, you should rest.

I'll explain everything then.

-Ah great.

More complicated explanations.

-It'll be fine.

You know I can sweet talk anyone.

I promise, it'll be interesting.

-Thank you, and here is your bill.

-Yamato, you've got this, right?

-Who, me?

Shouldn't the most senior member be the one to take care of it?

-There's no rank distinction when

it comes to mutual respect.

Besides, you're probably my only junior

I acknowledge as a true equal.

But you're right.

If you want me to pay, I will.

[cash register ding]

TEUCHI: Thanks again.

YAMATO: And uh, keep the change.

-You can really sweet talk, Kakashi-sensei.

-I'm really getting sick of how lousy you are at conversation.

You know, an otherwise pleasant trip

can be completely ruined if you get

stuck traveling with some boring companion.

-We're not exactly on a vacation here, Hidan.

-I've also had enough of searching for Jinchuriki when

we don't have a clue where they might be.

Put yourself in my position.

I've been forced to go along with all this extra work.

A little sympathy would be nice.

-Just shut up and keep walking.

We're late.

-Huh?

We're only late because we have to stop at that collection

office or whatever it is.

For crying out loud, you're make this tedious trip even longer.

I'm telling you, it's getting really annoying.

Huh?

-This is annoying?

This is part of an important mission.

-Whatever.

I know you're in charge of making money

for the Organization.

But this bounty?

It's a pittance, barely enough to cover the after

party for a tailed beast hunt.

Huh?

Hey, wait up.

I'm sorry.

That body must be pretty heavy, right?

I don't mind carrying it for you.

-And what do you plan to do with my valuable bounty?

-What?

Hey, I was only trying to be nice here.

-You want to discard it.

-What are you talking about?

-Don't play dumb.

I can see through you.

You would rather get rid of this body, wouldn't you?

-All right, you got me.

Let's forget that guy and get to the Jinchuriki.

See that?

I finally made you mad.

-You damn bastard.

-Hey, come on.

What?

No fight then?

-I don't have time to spend on your pointless distractions.

And besides, after this mission, I'll

be sending you to the next world,

so I won't have to listen to you in this one anymore.

-Ah, not that again.

Man, I sure hope whoever our next opponent

is, they have enough fight in them

so I can finally let off some steam.

-Well, sensei, what was this thing you had to show me?

-This is what I wanted to show you.

It's very cool.

Watch this.

-Wait, is that-- Ra-- Rasengan?

Kakashi-sensei, you can use Rasengan too?

-Hmph.

[theme music]

NARUTO (VOICEOVER): I can't believe

the Rasengan is an incomplete jutsu.

KAKASHI (VOICEOVER): Adding a change in chakra nature

to the Rasengan is something even

the Fourth Hokage couldn't accomplish.

In other words, whatever comes next, I can't teach you.

You'll have to discover it for yourself.

NARUTO (VOICEOVER): No way.

KAKASHI (VOICEOVER): Naruto, do you

understand why I'm telling you this?

NARUTO (VOICEOVER): Why?

KAKASHI (VOICEOVER): It's because I believe

that you are the only shinobi who

can surpass the Fourth Hokage.

NARUTO (VOICEOVER): Next time-- The Next Step.