Shibumi Speaks

Shibumi Speaks is the thirty-second episode of Digimon Tamers. It was preceded by Kazu's Upgrade and followed by Rabbit Transit.

Plot
The Man in Black finds Shibumi, whose real name is Mr. Mizuno. He asks Shibumi to come with him, but Shibumi runs off, climbs over a fence, and disappears.

Takato, Henry, and Terriermon reach a cave above the water, and there doesn't seem to be a way out. Henry uses Digmon's Drill on Terriermon, who tries to drill through the wall of the cave.

In a tall building, Janyu and the other Monster Makers have gathered all the tamers' parents (in Rika's case her mother and grandmother) together. Janyu was explaining why it had to be children to save the world. Dolphin says that they programmed Digimon on the stories and dreams of the children, that Digimon like children, and a child's imagination and belief is needed to open a gate to the digital world.

It turns out the cave itself is underwater, as when Terriermon drills through the wall, water pours in, which he freezes with Frigimon's Subzero Ice Punch. Takato suggests using the com device, although Henry doesn't think it will work after falling into the water. However, it does work, and Takato receives Yamaki's reply that he sent earlier.

Yamaki enters the tall building, saying he will help the Monster Makers. Janyu doesn't trust him, thinking he was behind the activation of Juggernaut earlier. Yamaki shows everyone Takato's email. Shortly after, Takato sends an SOS email. When Takato reads the answer, he tells Henry that all their parents are reading the emails, and doesn't want them to think something horrible happened to them. Henry wonders how the com device could have worked, while Takato receives an email asking him to let everyone else talk. He pretends to be the other tamers and writes an email.

Afterward Henry writes an email saying that when they touched the water they thought they were supposed to get wet and did, but the the com device didn't know to think that so it didn't, and therefore if they believe they can they can breathe underwater. Takato thinks he's gone crazy, but Yamaki says all he has to do is truly believe. Henry tries it out, and is able to breathe underwater. After hearing that it worked, Janyu and Yamaki reconcile. Daisy says if only Shibumi were here, and Yamaki says his men found him but he vanished.

Takato, Henry, and Terriermon search for an exit underwater, and find some Otamamon. They swim away, and then Divermon attacks them. Henry and Terriermon fight Divermon, and Terriermon dazes him, before the Otamamon go over to him. It's revealed Divermon was protecting the Otamamon, thinking Takato, Henry, and Terriermon wanted to attack them. Divermon apologizes to them, and Takato asks him if there is a way to an area not full of water. He takes them to a pipe which leads to another area, but zaps anything that tries to enter with electricity. The Otamamon spit out bubbles filled with air, which Takato, Henry, and Terriermon ride through the pipe.

They enter an area full of pipes, and follow some DigiGnomes to a building, which they enter. It resembles a library. They enter a room with what looks like a giant digivice at the top. Shibumi, transparent, is there as well. He says he created them, and maybe they're dreaming like he is. Takato asks about the giant digivice, and he says it is an ark. Arks are used for transporting data. Henry remembers Janyu talking about them and realizes that Shibumi is one of the Monster Makers. Shibumi says that arks can get them home. He also says that DigiGnomes are not Digimon, but another form of artificial intelligence that evolved on their own. They didn't evolve from Digimon, but the digital world itself, which is a living thing.

A DigiGnome appears with a blue card, and Shibumi says that the blue card is an algorithm, a mathematical formula. When the Monster Makers' project ended, Shibumi wanted to complete their work. So he created the algorithm to prove that Digimon were more than just toys, that they were a true life form, and so they could evolve on their own beyond what humans imagined for them. He asks them how they used the blue card, and Takato says they used it to become tamers. Shibumi says that it is being used to bring Digimon and people together as partners, as the digital world is about communication.

The ark shows a projection of Takato's drawing of Guilmon. Shibumi says the DigiGnomes used packets of data to create Guilmon when Takato dreamed him up, in an attempt to communicate with him, or else Guilmon dreamed his data into existence and Takato became aware of him. Terriermon asks if he was created for Henry, and Shibumi says he was, or else Henry was created for him. Takato can only say "Then Guilmon is data..."

Henry asks about a way back to Earth, and Shibumi says they can get out through the highest plane. There is only one level above this one, and it's where the four most powerful Digimon reside: The Sovereign. At this, Takato, Henry, and Terriermon realize there are four Sovereign and not just one. Shibumi says that they tried to evolve to set themselves apart from the humans, but ironically took the forms of ancient gods of the humans, like the Devas. Digimon and humans cannot separate themselves from each other, and only when they realize this can the next evolution begin. Takato says that the Sovereign must be good if they want to protect the digital world, but Henry says that Sensei told him that good and evil can change definition based on perspective.

Shibumi says that the Sovereign want to accelerate their digivolution to resist something they feel is coming for them, which they must defeat or they will not survive. Henry and Takato wonder what could possibly defeat them, and speculate that it might be someone like Yamaki used to be. Shibumi tells them they must learn the rest on their own, and gets them inside the ark before going to sleep. As the ark moves, Takato wonders that if Guilmon is data, and he is part of him, does this make him data as well. He can handle being data, but if he loses Guilmon, he'll lose a part of himself forever.