Naruto Shippuden Anime Series

Team Guy continues to fight with their clones, and Guy notices that there seems to be no more noise emanating from the Akatsuki hideout. Neji uses his Byakugan and verifies to the team that Sakura and Chiyo have managed to defeat Sasori. However, because the clones still exist, Neji theorizes that perhaps it must have been Deidara who cast the jutsu, although he also adds the possibility that even if the caster is defeated, the jutsu will still continue. Back in the cave, Sakura heads to the exit to the cave as Chiyo collapses, due to the poison in her system. Having no more antidote on her, she tells Chiyo that they should rush back to Sunagakure, where she will send a request to Konoha to send her the materials she needs to make more antidote. Chiyo, however, does not wish to return yet, as she believes she has not finished with her duty yet. Outside, Naruto and Kakashi continue to pursue Deidara, the latter now wielding his Mangekyō Sharingan. Naruto tells Kakashi that even his newfound Sharingan technique does not work, he himself will find a way to defeat Deidara. Meanwhile, Team Guy continues to fight their clones, although they get beaten as their clones seem stronger. Neji tells them that the clones have not gotten stronger, but that they have gotten weaker. Since they are of flesh and blood, they can get tired and exhausted, but the clones have no such drawbacks. Lee, however, theorizes that since the clones maintain the exact same level of strength as they had the moment they ripped off the seals, then they would simply need to be stronger than they were then. Tenten finds the idea of gaining extra strength in a short time ludicrous, but Lee recalls back to their training days, where their team motto was to be stronger than they were yesterday. Lee tells them that his own personal credo is to be stronger than he was a minute ago, and manages to use Youth Full Power to defeat his clone. Tenten uses Manipulated Tools: Heavenly Chain Disaster, which is a stronger version of her Twin Rising Dragons technique, to impale her clone; Guy uses Leaf Great Flash to take down his clone; and Neji uses Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher, which is a stronger version of his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, to send his clone flying through a boulder, defeating it.

The opening scene of the movie showed Naruto fighting a monster, only to be killed by it. The setting then went back to a few days previous, where a man named Yomi attacked a shrine, to retrieve the spirit of Mōryō, a demon who attempted to destroy the world and create his "Thousand Year Kingdom". Since he was lacking a body, Yomi offered his as a temporary substitute, until they could retrieve Mōryō's original one sealed in a different shrine. The only threat to Mōryō's plan was a priestess known as Shion, who could seal his spirit away once more. He raised a stone army from their slumber, to attack the rest of the world, while his four subordinates went to murder Shion. They were given special chakra creatures to enhance their strength. To deal with the threat, Konohagakure sent out many advance teams to stall the stone army. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Neji Hyūga and Rock Lee were sent to guard Shion, and deliver her to the shrine where Mōryō's body was sealed. They fended off her four would-be assassins, who exhausted themselves in a failed attempt to kill Naruto. Shion told Naruto of his upcoming death; while initially skeptical, her assistant, Taruho, explained that Shion could see the future, and all the events happening in her visions are 100% true. As they headed for the shrine, the group was ambushed once again by Yomi's four subordinates, and split into two teams. Lee killed his opponent by eating an alcoholic candy to get him into Drunken Fist, while Naruto was kept busy by his. Neji told Sakura to escape with Shion, unaware that his two opponents were actually just one man and a puppet, to distract him and let the remaining ninja catch up to Sakura and Shion, Sakura was then shot with a antiesthetic jutsu by the remaining ninja, and Shion was killed. This turned out to be a ruse: the dead "Shion" was actually Taruho, who transformed himself into a copy of Shion to trick them into thinking they had killed the real one. Shion explained that her power worked by allowing her spirit to jump back in time at the moment of her death, thereby allowing her to avoid it by having someone die in her place. Naruto insisted that he would not die, and likewise would keep Shion safe. Thanks to Lee, Neji realised that the remaining three ninja must keep replenishing their chakra to battle effectively. Naruto was sent on ahead with Shion, while Sakura and Lee tricked their opponents into wasting their chakra on futile attacks. When they ran out of chakra and they had to replenish it, Neji disabled the final ninja, who was providing the chakra, leaving the other two powerless against Lee and Sakura. At the mountain temple where Mōryō's body was kept, Naruto and Shion found the stone army waiting. On the first attempt to get pass the army, both Naruto and Shion fell off a cliff. Afterwards, Naruto came up with a plan and promised Shion that he would protect her. Naruto then held the army back using shadow clones while Shion headed inside the temple to begin the sealing ritual. Yomi was already inside. He had terracotta soldiers attack her, before her light slashed and killed them. Yomi tricked Shion into beginning the technique with him inside the barrier, allowing Mōryō's spirit to reunite with his body. Eventually Kakashi, Temari, and others came to the fight and destroyed the remaining army. After Naruto came to rescue her, she broke into tears saying that all the people who sacrificed their lives were a waste. Mōryō then burst free from Yomi's body to the air and Naruto started fighting him. Yomi died and his body fell into the lava. Swallowing down Mōryō's words about her mother's actions and Shion's powers not letting him fuse into her, and about to see her prediction of his death come true, she used her power to shield Naruto from being stabbed, changing Naruto's fate. Intending to kill herself and Mōryō in order to protect him, Naruto stopped her seconds before her death, reminding her that he promised to protect her. After he inspired her to live, they let their chakra and emotions go, and used Naruto and Shion's Super Chakra Rasengan to finally destroy Mōryō, creating a volcano where the shrine used to be in the process. With Mōryō gone, Naruto asked Shion what she intended to do now. She replied that because Mōryō was a demon caused by the evil thoughts of men, it was possible there could be another Mōryō someday. Because of this, she would pass her power to other living priestesses that would suppress demons like Mōryō. Indirectly asking Naruto to father her child, she asked if Naruto would help her, much to everyone's shock. Misunderstanding what she said, Naruto happily agreed.

Naruto asks Sasuke why he stays with Orochimaru when the Sannin simply wants his body. Sasuke tells Naruto that both he and Orochimaru were unable to defeat Itachi on their own, but if he could gain the power to kill Itachi and exact his vengeance in exchange for giving his body to Orochimaru, then that would be a price he would be willing to pay. Yamato tells Naruto and Sakura that out of consideration for them, he did not attempt to seriously attack Sasuke, but that he would now resort to those methods in order to bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Sasuke scoffs at the idea of returning to the village, telling the group that he is done with them. He drops his sword, inserting it into the ground, and performs hand signs to kill them all. As he activates chakra on his body, Orochimaru grabs his hand and tells him not to use that technique. Sasuke rudely tells him to let go of his hand, and Kabuto reprimands him for doing so. Kabuto tells Sasuke that Team Kakashi is to be spared so that they may continue to kill off Akatsuki members, and in doing so, may allow Sasuke a chance to take out Itachi. Sasuke relents, and the three disappear in flames. Naruto berates himself for being weak and unable to stop Sasuke again and begins to cry. Sakura, who is also tearing up, tells Naruto not to cry as crying would not save Sasuke, and that the two of them together will continue on. Sai offers to help, citing that three people would be better than two, much to Yamato's satisfaction. With their mission officially completed, the team heads back to Konoha, where they report to Tsunade. When Naruto tells her that his determination to save Sasuke is non-wavering, Tsunade tells the trio to return home and stay there until she assigns them a new mission. As they walk home, Naruto asks Sakura out on a date, but is rebuffed by her when she tells him that Tsunade said to go home. Sai is observing their bond from the back and attempts to create his own with them by waving goodbye, but the two disappear before he can do so. At the Konoha Hospital, Kakashi is surprised that the team fought Sasuke. Jiraiya recaps the events of the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission, including Naruto's ascension to his four-tailed form, his fight with Orochimaru and the team's encounter against Sasuke. After finding out that Sasuke has significantly increased in power, Kakashi sighs as he realizes that Naruto will now relentlessly demand training in order to keep up. In Tsunade's office, Yamato tells her that she was right about Sai, concerning him being sent by Danzō on a secret mission of his own. He tells her that Danzō sent Sai to kill Sasuke in order to rob Orochimaru of a host body. While Tsunade claims that Danzō's actions, while crafty and hardlined, were done for the benefit of the village, Yamato gives her the envelope that Danzō had instructed Sai to give to Orochimaru, which contained the personnel files of all the Anbu members assigned to the Hokage Guard Platoon. Tsunade is outraged and orders Shizune to tighten up security while seething at the idea of Danzō's coup. Meanwhile, Sai returns to the Root headquarters and reports his mission failure to Danzō, who is surprised as Sai had never failed a mission before. Sai requests to keep his name and retain his position on Team Kakashi; as Tsunade had requested the same thing, Danzō reluctantly allows it, but not before noticing Sai's smile and reminding Sai that emotions need to be repressed as they lead only to anger and hatred. Sai remembers Sasuke's bitter emotions of hatred towards him and Itachi, but also remember Naruto's happy emotions regarding his brotherly bond with Sasuke. Sai decides to go with the latter, and returns home to paint a picture. However, before he can begin, Naruto calls him from outside his window. Sai looks out and sees the rest of the team there, ready to depart on another mission.

Yamato assumes his position as interim captain of Team Kakashi; however, conflicts arrive when Naruto opposes Sai's addition to the team, telling Sakura that Sai had attacked him while he was with Team 10 earlier on in the day. Sai explains that his actions were merely to test Naruto's power, to which he has deduced that Naruto is nothing but a mere weakling. Naruto takes offence at his words, and attempts to strike Sai, only to be held back by Sakura. Sakura berates Sai's actions, but Sai states that he likes everyone, including ugly girls like Sakura. This only infuriates Sakura, but she is held back by Yamato before she can attack him. Yamato tells the team that their mission is to apprehend Sasori's spy at the Tenchi Bridge in Kusagakure, and that the successful completion of their mission will lead to the assassination of Orochimaru and possible retrieval of former Team Kakashi member Sasuke Uchiha. With that, Yamato dismisses the team, telling them to gather their belongings and to meet him at the front gates in an hour. Sai heads to his room, packing his gear, when he is attacked by a mysterious man. The man is revealed to be a member of the Anbu, who came to provide a secret report commissioned by their superior, Danzō Shimura. After noticing that Sai is taking a remnant of his childhood with him, the man tells Sai to remember that as members of Root, they are to have no feelings or emotion, as they are the invisible root, the foundation, that holds up the tree known as Konohagakure. With that, the man departs. Naruto and Sakura walk back to their homes, with Sakura remarking that Sai reminds her of Sasuke. Naruto dismisses her opinion, citing that Sasuke is a million times better than Sai could ever be. Sakura and Naruto then go to their respective homes to pack their gear. Naruto glances at the official team photo of Team 7 and renews his original vow to rescue Sasuke. Meanwhile, Jiraiya arrives at the hospital to visit Kakashi. Giving Kakashi two volumes of Icha Icha, he states that he is also there to discuss something, although they must wait for Tsunade and Yamato. Although Kakashi does not recognize the name of Yamato, he is told by Jiraiya that it is a code name and that he would recognize the man when he saw him. Tsunade and Yamato soon arrive at the hospital; Yamato is briefed by Kakashi regarding Naruto's Version 1 form, in which the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra would envelop Naruto, causing him to sprout a chakra tail and go berserk. Yamato is visibly stunned by this, and Kakashi explains that by using a Chakra-Suppressing Seal, he was able to stop Naruto at just two tails. Jiraiya, who was unaware that Naruto had activated the form in his last mission, becomes grim. Kakashi asks Jiraiya how many tails he himself had seen; taking off his shirt, Jiraiya tells them that he had only been close to death twice in his life. He explains that the first time was when he was caught peeking into a ladies' hot springs by Tsunade, at which the point Tsunade broke his arms and ribs and crushed his internal organs. Showing them a scar on his torso, he explains that the second time was when Naruto entered into a four-tailed version of the Nine-Tails' cloak. This visibly worries the group, due to the fact that Naruto is able to grow up to nine tails. Ready to meet Yamato, Sai and Naruto, Sakura spots Tsunade and Shizune returning from the hospital. She asks if they could speak before she departs, and they convene in Tsunade's office. Tsunade asks Sakura to brief her regarding their initial encounter with Sai. Just then, Danzō enters the room, asking whether Tsunade has appointed an Anbu member on Team Kakashi. Tsunade tells him that Kakashi's replacement was a member of the Anbu from the Third Hokage's time; this prompts Danzō to state that he wishes that the replacement is not as passive or gentle as Sarutobi was, claiming that Sarutobi's gutless actions were unwarranted. As he leaves, Sakura asks who he is. Tsunade tells her that Danzō was a rival of her sensei, who also vied for the position of Hokage. She explains that unlike the Third's pacifist nature, Danzō is a hardened man of military mind, and that the two are polar opposites. While she herself does not trust Danzō, she tells Sakura that Danzō himself despises her for being the granddaughter of the First Hokage, whose teachings the Third passed on (thereby making him a passive fool in Danzō's eyes) and for being the student of the Third herself. Sakura then realizes she's almost out of time and with Tsunade's blessing, she heads to the front gates to meet the rest of her team. As the four members of Team Kakashi arrive at the gate, Yamato leads them on as they depart the village.