The Fake Smile

In her office, Tsunade tells Shizune that the friction between Naruto and Sai is her doing, since it was Shizune's appeal to the Konoha Council that landed one of Danzo's Root operatives on the squad. Shizune protests that she never expected them to place such a person on the team, and Tsunade orders her to dig into Danzo's aims and Sai's true nature, while pinning her hopes on Sakura to keep the peace. Shizune doubts Sakura can manage it, believing the girl has picked up Tsunade's short fuse.

Heading toward the Tenchi Bridge in Kusagakure, Naruto keeps glaring at Sai until Sai warns he will hit him if it continues. Yamato lectures the pair on trust and teamwork, but Naruto snaps that the only real fourth member of the team will always be Sasuke, calling Sai a mere replacement. Sai says he is glad not to resemble a traitor, and Naruto nearly attacks before Sakura intervenes. She sweetly asks Sai to forgive Naruto, then, once his guard drops, slugs him across the ground and warns him to stop mentioning Sasuke. Sai quietly thanks her for teaching him that a false smile can mask a sudden strike. Fed up, Yamato traps the squabblers in a wooden cage, and Sakura marvels that he can use Wood Release, a power supposedly unique to the First Hokage.

Yamato offers a choice between staying caged or spending the day at a hot spring, and the team gladly picks the spring. He nudges Naruto and Sai to bond in the water, only for Sai to needle Naruto again. When Naruto realises Sakura is bathing on the other side of the fence and moves to peek, Yamato freezes him with the tale of how Tsunade nearly killed Jiraiya for the same offense. A lavish feast follows, which Yamato reveals he paid for out of his own pocket to lift morale, and the team turns in for the night.

The episode is part of the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission arc and adapts chapter 286 of the manga. It first aired in Japan on November 29, 2007. The final scene sows suspicion as Sakura wakes the next morning to catch Sai slipping out the window and creeping along a wall, hinting at hidden orders behind his placement on the team.