Fated Battle Between Brothers

Known in the anime as Master's Prophecy and Vengeance, this arc centers on the clash between Sasuke and his brother Itachi. It runs through volumes forty-two to forty-four of Part II, following the Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant, and threads together the brothers' duel, the buried truth of the Uchiha, and Naruto's mourning.

Sasuke tracks Itachi to the old Uchiha hideout, and their fight moves through layers of genjutsu and elemental exchange, Great Fireball against Amaterasu, a storm-fed Kirin, and Itachi's Susanoo wielding the Sword of Totsuka. That blade seals away Orochimaru, who bursts from Sasuke's body having lurked inside him since his failed takeover. Itachi presses on despite an obvious hidden ailment, and when he finally reaches his exhausted brother he only taps his forehead, murmurs an apology, and dies on his feet.

Sasuke wakes to find Tobi waiting, claiming to be Madara and offering the real story. He recounts the old war between Uchiha and Senju, the founding of Konoha, and Madara's defection, then reveals that Itachi slaughtered their clan on the village elders' orders to head off a coup, sparing only his little brother. Far from a villain, Itachi had shouldered infamy to protect both Sasuke and Konoha. Shattered by the revelation, Sasuke rebrands his team Taka and fixes its purpose on razing the village that used his brother.

Elsewhere, a devastated Naruto learns from Fukasaku that Jiraiya has fallen to Pain in Amegakure. A visit to the expecting Kurenai steadies him, and he helps crack Jiraiya's dying code, uncovering the clue that Pain's true body is hidden away. Answering Fukasaku's call, Naruto travels to Mount Myōboku and endures the punishing training that unlocks Sage Mode, refining his Rasenshuriken and devising a way to hold that state in the middle of a fight.

Choosing to rebuild his clan on his own terms rather than claim Itachi's eyes, Sasuke leads Taka after the Eight-Tails' host, Killer B of Kumogakure, on Tobi's orders. They corner the jinchūriki at the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, where a fierce fight erupts and carries the story onward.