The Tenchi Bridge

Sai's inked mice sweep the Tenchi Bridge and find it clear of traps or lurking Akatsuki, so Yamato uses Wood Release to reshape himself into Sasori's puppet Hiruko, matching a likeness supplied by Sunagakure. Once he nails the voice, he heads out while Naruto, Sakura, and Sai watch from behind a rock. The contact arrives and proves to be Kabuto Yakushi, once a Konoha medical-nin, who claims he only just shook off Sasori's sleeper conditioning and risked everything to break away from Orochimaru. Naruto wants to join Yamato but Sakura points out that the same wind masking their voices also hides the team's presence, all while Orochimaru quietly watches the exchange.

When Yamato demands the promised item and draws a kunai to seize Kabuto, Orochimaru appears instantly and lunges with binding snakes, but Kabuto dodges and returns to his "Lord Sasori," outing himself as Orochimaru's man. Kabuto's chakra scalpel splits the Hiruko shell, wounding Yamato's arm, and Orochimaru's snake-hand assault forces a Wood Release substitution that makes Orochimaru recognize him. Told to summon his hidden teammates, Yamato brings out the trio, and Orochimaru, delighted to see the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, wonders whether Naruto or Sasuke is stronger as Naruto's eyes flare red.

Shippūden episode 39 opens the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission arc and adapts chapters 289 through 291. It aired in Japan on December 13, 2007, and in English on June 16, 2010. Its opening is Distance and its ending is Your Story. The English DVD mistakenly labels the episode as "Untitled."