Onoda lost his last friend whom he had lived with for 27 years in the jungle. But, he continued to do the same activities by himself. He thought about the merits and demerits of performing his mission alone or with a team. Of course, his situation worsened. He had to multi task without Kozuka. He did all the personal tasks such as getting water or preparing meals while guarding carefully. He had his gun beside him all the time. But, in conclusion he could do it well without the help of others. Without hesitation, he continued to pursue his mission no matter how difficult it was.
One day, two years after the death of Kinshichi Kozuka, Onoda was performing solitary guerilla activities. Suddenly, he found a stranger near a brook in the jungle. He monitored him for a period of time and then came closer to him slowly while thinking if he was an enemy or not. Onoda shouted something to the stranger to call his attention. The stranger noticed Onoda behind him and was very surprised seeing him. He raised his hands and shouted back. “I am Japanese. I am Japanese.”. Onoda was about to shoot him. However, his clothes, shoes and appearance looked very strange to Onoda. It was not the style of Lubang residents. And usually, residents would run away in such a situation. Onoda thought this man might be Japanese. This tall guy was standing in front of him shivering, so Onoda checked around and took him to the neighboring mountain for questioning at the place where he could see his tent to check if enemies will appear around it.
He asked several questions and checked him carefully and finally thought that the stranger was a civilian not a solder.
The man who first found Onoda in the jungle was Norio Suzuki. He was the one who became the darling of the press later because he first discovered Hiroo Onoda. At that time, he was only 24 years old. He did not have a regular job, he saved money and then moved from one place to another around the world. He was a mysterious man whose dreams included finding out if Hiroo Onoda was still alive, to see a panda and, if the Abominable Snowman was real. Suzuki asked the Lubang residents to take him to the place where Onoda was last seen and there he set up a tent. His plan was not to look for Onoda but, to wait for him.
Finally, Onoda found the tent.
Suzuki told Onoda that the war had ended, so please return to Japan together. Onoda answered that without the order of removal of his duty, he would not stop guerrilla warfare. He requested Suzuki to bring the order by Major Taniguchi. Major Taniguchi was not his direct superior, but he made an appeal of himself as being Onoda’s superior in magazines. Suzuki was an unidentified man, so Onoda did not use classified information but, known facts only.
Suzuki innocently asked lots of questions to Onoda. They talked about many things related to Japan all night long. Suzuki drank liquor. Onoda enjoyed canned sweet beans after Suzuki ate it first to make sure it was not poisoned. It was the first Japanese taste in 29 years after he left. Onoda was wondering who he was? Was he a friend or foe? What is his purpose in coming here? Onoda was confused between the sense of nostalgia and the doubt about his identity. When they parted ways, Suzuki requested to have a picture of them together by his Nikon camera and Onoda agreed to his request.
It was like a gamble for him. He was expecting that something would happen because of this photography session.
