Gaara is quick to detect Deidara’s presence, and an aerial battle ensues with Deidara on his giant bird and Gaara atop sand.

Pakkun finds the hideout of the Akatsuki. Team Kakashi and Temari prepare to set out to get Gaara back, but Temari is ordered to stay behind and help guard the village.

At last, the showdown between the old woman and her grandson begins. Sakura is confused by Sasori’s strange appearance, and Granny Chiyo explains that this is Hiruko…

Team Guy senses the result of the Sakura and Granny Chiyo’s desperate struggle while still in battle with his deadly copy. Although Guy’s team members are showing fatigue, their copies remain strong!

The new team Kakashi heads out for the Heaven and Earth bridge. Sai, Sakura, and Naruto come to blows after just 5 minutes on the same team due to Sai making fun of Sasuke. Therefore, Yamato decides they need to improve on teamwork and uses Mokuton to create a wooden cage threatening to lock the team up unless they behave. Given an ultimatum between being locked up or spending the night at a hot springs, the team chooses to visit the springs to improve team cohesion. Naruto still despises Sai despite this effort, and several insulting remarks from Sai worsen team relations.

Yamato uses the first Hokage's chakra to suppress the demon fox's chakra and Naruto returns to normal, but with severe injuries. Sakura begins to heal him, but notes that medical ninjutsu has little effect on his wounds. Orochimaru's sword is revealed to have only pierced one of Sai's clones. The real Sai emerges, talks to Orochimaru and gives him a letter from Danzo. Sai then leaves with Orochimaru and Kabuto but Yamato's wood clone stays close on their trail. Naruto comes to his senses and wonders what happened but Sakura decides not to tell him the truth. They reach the meeting spot, picking up the picture book Sai left behind. Yamato infers that Danzo seeks to destroy and remake Konoha by collaborating with Orochimaru.

Sasuke begins to attack Naruto, but Sai restrains him only for them both to be blown away by Sasuke's Chidori Nagashi. Sakura charges at Sasuke, but Yamato intervenes and winds up being stabbed by Sasuke's unique blade infused with his Chidori. The Nine-Tailed Fox tempts Naruto with its power, but he refuses it. Sasuke sees this using his Sharingan, appearing in Naruto's mind. The Nine-Tails says that Sasuke's chakra reminds him of Madara Uchiha, then Sasuke suppresses the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra. Before the Nine-Tailed Fox returns to its cage, it warns Sasuke not to kill Naruto, saying that he will live to regret it forever.

Team Kakashi begins facing off against the enemy shinobi. Yamato eludes his opponent, Fudo, by faking his death. Sora, unwilling to look for Naruto, goes off on his own. Back in Konoha, Danzo reveals that he is aware that he is being watched by Tsunade's ANBU. Naruto fights Fūka, whose kiss is fatal and shows her ability to use earth, fire, water and lightning jutsus. Sai manages to escape from his attacker, Fuen, and later saves Sakura from an enormous spider, becoming injured in the process. Sora then hits upon the enemy leader, Furido, and it is revealed that he was the group's target.

Naruto deduces that Fuuka's secret consists of switching bodies to use each corresponding element and that her hair preserves her youth and body. Naruto damages her hair and it takes a life of its own dispensing the body, but Naruto finally kills it with a Rasengan. Meanwhile, Asuma manages to break free of the electric barrier, catch up with Kitane and defeat him in a short fight. Realizing that Kitane is no more, and that his three other companions were killed, Furido causes the 3 other ninja guardians to disappear. But Furido has a back up plan, Sora.

Kakashi reveals that while he knows how to perform Rasengan, he cannot combine his own lightning-based chakra. He adds that even the Fourth Hokage, who created the move, could not combine his elemental chakra with the technique, but that Naruto might be able to. Asuma sends word to other teams about Akatsuki’s location and proceeds on despite his concern about Akatsuki’s strength. Kakuzu turns in Chiriku’s corpse despite Hidan’s complaints, and says that he is partnered with Hidan because he cannot kill him. The stress of the training causes Naruto to be enveloped in the Nine-tails's "Demon Fox's Cloak", but Yamato suppresses it.

When Kakashi strikes Kakuzu through the heart, the battle seems to be over. However, when Kakuzu not only survives the attack, but also manages to escape from Shikamaru's trap, it soon becomes clear that the fight is only just beginning..

Kabuto assigns Guren to look after Yukimaru. Guren isn't all too happy about the assignment, and things only become worse when Yukimaru falls ill on a rainy night. Elsewhere, Kiba discovers the mystery of where the dog whistle is coming from, and Tsunade sends assistance to Kakashi and Team 8.

Katsuyu arrives to help the sealing team with the sealing barrier. Naruto and Guren arrive to save Yukimaru from Rinji, but after Guren and Yukimaru have a brief discussion, Rinji reveals the truth about Guren to Yukimaru in hope that he'll make the Sanbi go wild. What will Yukimaru's reaction be when he discovers Guren killed his mother?

As Sasuke rests from his battle with Deidara, the Leaf ninja pick up on his trail. Noticing that they're being followed, Karin tries to send them in the wrong direction while the members of Team Hebi head to the nearest Akatsuki hideout in hopes of finding Itachi. What will happen when Naruto and Sasuke have separate encounters with Itachi?

Sasuke's long awaited battle with Itachi begins with the Uchiha brothers throwing genjutsu after genjutsu at each other. Sasuke seems to have Itachi cornered and asks him a few questions of the Uchiha massacre. Is Itachi not the only one involved in the Uchiha massacre? And does Sasuke still not possess enough hatred to defeat Itachi?

The Konoha teams decide to head back home as Sasuke remembers that he saw Itachi crying after the massacre. He then states that he cannot rebuild the Uchiha clan in the same way that Itachi had envisioned. Madara, happy that he can use Sasuke for himself, assigns Taka the task of capturing the Eight-Tails while Akatsuki hunts the last two. Taka tracks down the host, Killer Bee, to the Land of Lightning and engages him in battle. Bee manages to overpower Jugo and Suigetsu before Sasuke steps up to fight him one-on-one.

While the rest of Team Kakashi holds back the possessed villagers and the ninja bandits, Naruto and Utakata go to save Hotaru. When they find her, they discover that Shiranami has activated the jutsu and Hotaru is also under Shiranami's control. Can Naruto and Utakata stop Shiranami and save Hotaru before the forbidden jutsu is fully charged?

Tsunade issues an order to call Naruto back to the village, but the elders do not trust her judgment on this issue. While Tsunade tries to convince them and prepares to join the battle herself, Kakashi fights Pain in an effort to figure out his abilities.

The Fourth Hokage appears in Naruto's mind and prevents him from foolishly setting the Kyubi free. Will this confrontation between father and son give Naruto the confidence he needs to stop Pain once and for all?

The four Kage are startled by the sudden appearance of Madara Uchiha. Having sent Sasuke away to safety using the Transportation Technique, Madara unveils to the Kage his “Project Tsuki no Me.”

As Team Asuma considers the impending war, they encounter Kosuke Maruboshi who reminds them of the time that they rescued him while they were still genin. With this, Kosuke retells the tale of the time their fathers saved him during the Invasion of Konoha with their Formation Ino–Shika–Chō. Somewhat rattled by this story, Kosuke reminds them that great shinobi weren't made in a day. As the team contemplates everything, they decide to perfect their own formation, insisting that they'd be fine because they were not alone.

Guy arrives at the Waterfall of Truth to help Naruto with his training. Instead he encounters Kisame, who has infiltrated the island to locate Naruto and Killer Bee.

Part Two of the Four Week Long Special Project for the Broadcast's Tenth Anniversary - During the Chunin Exam, Sasuke witnesses Naruto’s growth as a shinobi.

Under the guidance of Killer Bee, Naruto enters the final stage of training to master the Tailed Beast Bomb, a Jinchuriki’s most powerful technique.

Choji is unable to attack Asuma and loses his will to fight. Ino and Shikamaru try to snap Choji out of his paralysis.

Konohamaru participates in a meeting organized by Ebisu in Konoha of the remaining villagers, mostly including the children and wives. Ebisu attempts to rally everyones' spirits together in the event that rogue ninja should attack the village while their shinobi families are away at war, but the mothers scoff and claim that they will protect the village as they always have while their husbands fought. Suddenly Konohamaru is approached by several children, each claiming to have seen terrifying rogue ninja roaming the east and west forests outside Konoha. He tries to recruit his classmates into hunting them down, but they refuse to beleive him. Konohamaru investigates the area alone with Moegi and Udon, only to find a traveling circus troupe in the forest instead of rogue ninja. Heading back, Konohamaru is again alerted that people are attacking the village on the west side, and this time, the rumors are true. A group of rogue Sumo Wrestlers attack the children, but they are saved by the mothers of Konoha, who fight back against the intruders. Konohamaru delivers the final blow with his Rasengan and saves the village.

Kakashi races to the scene where the Seven Ninja Swordsmen Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinpachi Munashi were last sighted. Enraged by the carnage they’ve left behind, Kakashi teams up with Might Guy.

Itachi uses the ultimate genjutsu technique Koto Amatsukami to free himself from the Reanimation Jutsu. Itachi then joins Naruto and Killer Bee to fight Nagato, who is still under Kabuto’s control.

Yugao is ordered by Sukui to track down the reanimated Hayate. Still shaken by her lover’s unexpected return as an enemy, Yugao manages to catch up to Hayate and his men.

Casting aside Itachi's lectures to him, Kabuto reveals to the siblings that he had injected himself with the DNA of various shinobi, namely the Sound Five, also including Orochimaru.

The fighting rages between Naruto, who stands at the vanguard of the Allied Shinobi Forces, and the team of Madara and Obito.

It’s been two years since the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War. Shikamaru now has an important role within the Hidden Leaf government, and as a representative of the Leaf in the Alliance. One day, a situation develops with shinobi disappearing in droves, and Shikamaru takes on a dangerous mission.

Ino, Choji, and Temari rush to Shikamaru’s aid! Choji takes on Ro, Temari goes after Soku, and Ino goes after Sai! Meanwhile, Shikamaru pursues Gengo. Can Shikamaru defeat Gengo’s evil ambitions? The final battle begins!