No, it's not them.
Okay... Let's go!
Scoundrels!
This is a problem, old guys.
You should have received a communication
from the Land of Fire about the temporary curfew.
We thought we could be of use somehow.
We won't be giving in to you youngsters!
That was a surprise.
Yeah...
The Old Monk's Prayer
Using the twenty platoons,
we are currently laying out a search net with a radius of 150 kilometers
around the border and the Temple of Fire.
Even an ant couldn't crawl out.
Excuse me.
We have received a report from Platoon Three.
No sign of the Akatsuki in border areas C and E.
No sign, huh?!
Reporting!
Areas F and G are normal!
The Akatsuki still have not been found!
Then...
Why haven't they been found?
Have we heard from Team Asuma who went to the Temple of Fire?
No report from them yet.
Chiriku...
What's this...?
You are from the Hidden Leaf Village, right?
Yes.
We were contacted by the monk who is in your care.
I am the head monk of the Temple of Fire.
I had been out of the temple for a while.
When I heard about what happened here...
I rushed back as quickly as I could, but...
It was a terrible sight...
We asked neighboring temples for help recovering the remains.
This is awful.
Where's Chiriku?
Actually...we have been unable to find Lord Chiriku's remains.
Umm... Captain Asuma.
I don't really want to bring this up...
But Chiriku has a 30 million ryo bounty on his head
on the black market.
A bounty...
If those guys from the Akatsuki know about the bounty...
Yeah...
A collection office, huh?
So that basically means the enemy is carrying the body, right?
Izumo, where is the collection office?
Including the closest one, there are five locations in total.
Now the nearby teams can rush right to the other four exchange point locations.
All right, let's hurry.
Please wait a moment, Lord Asuma Sarutobi.
Please allow me to say a prayer for all of you who are about to fight.
Please...
Okay.
Chiriku...
Now I'm the only member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve left, huh...?
I wanted to talk the night away with you one more time.
There were things I wanted to talk to you about.
And things I wanted you to hear...
Please be safe.
Thank you very much.
At the very least... I'll get back Chiriku's remains.
Please don't push things too far.
You have a bounty on your head for being a former member
of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve... just like Chiriku.
Please be careful.
You don't need to worry!
The bounty on my head is five million ryo more than Chiriku's.
The only thing to worry about with Asuma
is that he smokes too much.
I wonder what happened with the training.
And here I went to the trouble of making and bringing more food pills.
Nobody's here, huh?
Sai.
Did you come to check on Naruto, too?
No, I was just taking a walk to make sure
I didn't get out of shape due to my injury.
Oh, at a time like this...
Actually, that's exactly right.
Yes, it's good to be honest.
Was Naruto's training...suspended?
He probably just went off somewhere to unwind.
His body and mind won't hold up
if he continues tough special training like that.
Ramen... Ichiraku ramen...
Yeah-yeah, I know. Walk just a little while longer.
I know. You should have one of these, too!
What is this...? A mud ball?
How rude. This is one of my special homemade food pills!
It's extra special!
Special...?
I suppose it's more like medicine than a food pill.
It's filled with nutritious ingredients mixed with fast-acting digestive agents,
all of which I hand-picked and rolled up into a ball packed with energy!
It works really well!
And it might even add some healthy color to that pale skin
while it helps you recover!
They say good medicine tastes bitter,
so the food pills might taste a little strange.
But when you consider its merits after consumption,
little details like that will be of no...huh?
Sai...?
Thank you for the pill. - Sai.
Oh... I feel dizzy...
This smell and taste are going to make me sick
before the medicine can work...
T-Tonkotsu...
Look, we're here...
Hello.
Welcome!
Oh...hi.
Old man, I'll take an extra-large tonkotsu miso with pork slices...
on the double.
Here! We have a new menu now!
I want...an extra-large tonkotsu miso with pork slices...
and extra-firm noodles.
Hey! Look at the menu!
Sorry, Naruto.
We've made some big changes to the menu as of today.
We now serve tsukemen!
I see...
Then, I'll have an extra-large tonkotsu miso with pork slices...
and extra red pickled ginger...
I told you, we don't serve ramen anymore!
Huh?
SPECIAL ICHIRAKU TSUKEMEN
So that means... now you specialize in tsukemen?
My daughter Ayame went out for noodle-making training for a while.
And when she came back she said, "Dad, the age of tsukemen is here!
We should explore Ichiraku's new potential!"
She gives me this smart-aleck advice, you see...
The tastes and preferences of our customers change
along with the times!
Ichiraku will change so as not to fall behind the times!
What the heck are you doing?
And here I was looking forward to... tonkotsu miso with pork slices.
Well, it's fine, isn't it?
Tsukemen is pretty much like ramen anyway, right?
No, it's not.
As with soba noodles,
you dip tsukemen noodles in sauce before eating them.
It's the same thing in the end, right?
The concept is different.
That's right, that's right!
Ramen is different from tsukemen! I want to eat ramen!
We've only prepared tsukemen, so ramen is out of the question.
But if you tweak the soup a little
you could switch it back to ramen, right?
So you're satisfied with phony ramen like that?!
Is that all your love for tonkotsu miso with pork slices amounts to?!
No, it's not like that, but...
Getting all worked up... made me even hungrier.
I don't...care anymore... Just give me some tsukemen...
Sure! Three orders of tsukemen!
Right! Three orders of tsukemen!
There you go!
All right!
Just a minute!
Huh?
The noodles are just a tad undercooked.
Boil them for one extra minute!
Really?
And check the temperature of the hot water!
-Right! -You're going to make them again?
Here you go! Ichiraku tsukemen!
Ooh! Finally!
Huh? Where's the soup?
It might be a little strong.
The tsukemen that was popular in Yugao Village
was a little lighter.
Let's make the soup again!
Right!
What?!
The first taste is the key!
We must lavish our customers with the perfect flavor!
That's the spirit, Ayame! Show me the results of your training!
Ramen-chan...
Here you go! Ichiraku's original tsukemen!
This time it's perfect!
Finally...
O-Old man... Can I get some pork slices and pickled bamboo shoots...
and some fish cake...toppings...?
Uh, okay. Sure.
What're you doing, Naruto?!
It's ramen if I eat it like this!
That's tsukemen! You can't eat it like that--!
Ayame... You're forgetting the most important thing about a restaurant.
Instead of getting all caught up in the little details,
it's more important for the customer to be satisfied, right?
That's why I put my heart and soul into making this tsukemen.
It's a restaurant's responsibility to use the best ingredients and preparation,
and to advise the customer on how to best enjoy them.
But I want to eat ramen!
Save it for after you've tried some of the tsukemen.
You'll never selfishly ask for ramen ever again!
-Thank you. -Selfish? It's selfish for a restaurant
-Tsukemen is lighter than ramen. -to make choices for the customer!
-This might be a little more to my taste. -Only serving tsukemen means
we have absolute confidence!
Maybe I'm getting old.
-My shoulders get really stiff -If you've got so much confidence,
-when I do something I'm not used to. -then why does it take you so long?!
-Maybe I'll hire some energetic youngster -What's wrong with a little wait?!
-to work here part time. -You'll be able to eat
something more delicious!
At the end of the day, anything tastes good when you're hungry.
Thanks for the tsukemen-ramen!
I'm stuffed!
Considering he complained about it,
I can't believe he drank every last drop of that strong tsukemen soup.
Although there's a problem with how he ate the tsukemen...
I guess I can't complain since he had three bowls.
All right, let's get right back to training!
No, before that...
Huh?
Naruto... I'll show you something cool.
Something cool?
There are some things I want to explain to you
while we take a little rest after eating.
What? More complicated explanations?
It'll be okay... I'm a slick talker, so you'll get it.
Here's your bill.
Yamato, you take care of this.
What?! Isn't it usually the senior who takes care of it?
There are no seniors or juniors in regards to the men I respect.
Well, you're pretty much the only junior...
I respect.
But I suppose I really should...
-Thank you very much! -Oh, keep the change.
You really are a slick talker.
I'm really sick of how lousy you are at conversation.
A nice trip is totally ruined
if you get stuck traveling with a totally boring person.
We're not traveling for fun.
And I've had it with looking for Jinchuriki
when we don't even know where the heck they might be.
Put yourself in my position.
I'm forced to go along with all this extra work.
I'd like a little sympathy here.
Just shut up and keep walking... We're late.
Huh? We're late because we're going
to that Collection Office or whatever it is, right?
For crying out loud...
you're making this boring trip even longer.
It's really annoying...I tell you...
Annoying, you say? This is also an important mission.
Yeah, whatever. You've been left in charge
of scraping together money for the organization, right?
A pittance like that would only be enough to pay
for an after-party for Tailed-Beast hunting.
Oh!
Hey, I'm sorry!
Hey, that body is heavy, isn't it? I could carry it for you.
What're you going to do... with my valuable bounty?
I was just being nice.
You're going to discard it, right?
What're you talking about?
I can see right through you.
You want to get rid of this body, right?
Oh, you got me.
We should just forget about that and get right to the Jinchuriki.
I finally got to you.
You're such a prick.
Hey, hey, hey!
Are you done already?
I don't have the time to be joining you in your diversions.
And besides...at some point after this mission is finished,
I'll send you to the next world so that you won't get bored in this one.
Not that again.
Oh, man... I hope our next opponent has enough fight in them
so I can let off some steam.
Kakashi Sensei, what're you going to show me?
This is the cool thing... I wanted to show you.
This is...
R-Rasengan...?
You can also use... the Rasengan, Kakashi Sensei?!
I can't believe the Rasengan was an unfinished Jutsu.
Adding a Change in Chakra Nature to the Rasengan
is something even the Fourth Hokage couldn't do.
In other words, I can't teach you what comes next.
You have to discover it for yourself.
No way...
Hey, do you know why I'm telling you this, Naruto?
- Huh? - It's because I believe...
you're the only Shinobi who can go beyond the Fourth Hokage.
Next time: "The Next Step"