Collision

Naruto and Shikamaru race up the tower after Sasuke as Neji hangs back to block the last two Root operatives. Anko reveals an ink clone among their ranks as her partner circles overhead on an ink bird. Neji takes on Anko, Shikamaru squares off with Sai at the entrance, and Sasuke reaches Orochimaru inside. On his climb, Naruto is seized by Yamato but breaks loose by drawing on the Nine-Tails, sprouting four tails and beginning to form a fifth. Yamato's suppression jutsu fails to hold him.

Sasuke demands power and cries out in agony as the Cursed Seal of Heaven is branded onto him, his scream snapping Naruto out of the transformation and knocking Yamato aside with a burst of chakra. Naruto confronts Sasuke, and after a brief exchange the two begin to fight. Pulling in nature energy through a clone he had readied earlier, Naruto slips into Sage Mode, catching Orochimaru's interest even as the state fades. Sasuke ignites the sky with a fire technique to summon a storm, then sends Kirin crashing down toward Naruto's Rasenshuriken.

Sasuke connects with a heavy strike, and Naruto pours out his reasons for going so far to bring his friend home before once more channeling the fox's chakra. Itachi's crow clone abruptly materializes and hurls itself into Sasuke's attack, dying in the process. Sasuke walks off from the ruined battlefield, his Mangekyō Sharingan newly awakened. This retelling airs within the Jiraiya Shinobi Handbook: The Tale of Naruto the Hero arc.