Assemble

Kisame overpowers Roshi, the Four-Tails host, by smothering his Lava Release beneath his own Water Release, then rejoins Itachi on a cliff. Itachi wants the pair to reach the hideout so the Three-Tails and Four-Tails can be sealed, but as they cross the woods a telepathic call pulls them to their leader's lair instead.

The Akatsuki gather around the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, where the leader and Zetsu break the news that Orochimaru is dead. Deidara resents being denied the kill, while Kisame shrugs off the sannin's fate along with the earlier losses of Hidan and Kakuzu. Zetsu clarifies that the Nine-Tails host and his squad brought down Hidan and Kakuzu, and that Sasuke slew Orochimaru before forming a team that includes Suigetsu of the Mist. Wary that Sasuke may turn on the whole organization, the leader warns Itachi and Kisame to stay alert as the sealing begins.

Once the two beasts are sealed, Deidara broods over settling scores with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke alike. Sasuke's group, Hebi, reaches an Uchiha munitions store kept by an old woman named Nekobaa, who has known both brothers since childhood and dreads their coming clash. In Konoha, Tsunade weighs Naruto's plan to capture Itachi as a way to recover Sasuke, and after a private word with the Sannin, Kakashi assembles an Eight Man Squad, pairing Team 7 under Yamato with Team 8 under his own command for the Itachi Pursuit Mission.