A young Gaara is hated by his father and isolated by his siblings, who play in the sandbox with Gaara until their father separates them. During dinner, Gaara asks his uncle about his mother and how to feel happy. His uncle replies that the moon makes him feel better when he is sad, and Gaara agrees that the moon makes him feel happy. A young Shikamaru is bored in class lectures and wants to sleep but is punished along with Naruto and Choji by Iruka for interrupting class. They bond as they stand in the hallway and later hang out after school. Shikamaru criticises Naruto for defending Hinata from bullies and the boys later laugh at Ino for getting rejected by Sasuke.

Sasuke uncovers Fuushin’s true identity at last, and begins to fight him. The moment Sasuke tries to read Fuushin’s memories with his Sharingan, a wave of genjutsu from a massive red eye causes Sasuke to lose consciousness. He awakens to find himself alone, and sees tracks in the snow that indicate Fuushin has barely escaped alive.