Under the Starry Sky

Tsunade sends out the Niju Shotai, twenty squads of four shinobi apiece, tasked with rooting out and wiping the Akatsuki from the Land of Fire. Asuma is rattled when he learns exactly how Chiriku met his end, and his thoughts drift to the bond the two once shared as members of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Shikamaru falls in with Asuma alongside Izumo and Kotetsu, while Ino and Choji head off under Raido and Aoba. Every group but Asuma's radios back that their zones are empty of the enemy, leaving Tsunade puzzled over where the criminals have gone.

Far from the hunt, Naruto is made to halt for the night because Yamato, who has held his position without pause, is worn down. In the village Sakura gazes fondly at the old Team 7 photograph and remembers being the one who mastered climbing trees with chakra while Naruto and Sasuke floundered, only for both boys to eventually leave her behind. Trying to settle down beside the falls, Naruto glimpses a falling star and sinks into memories of those early days together.

Unwilling to waste the hours sleeping, Naruto rises and summons a swarm of shadow clones to keep grinding away at his exercise. When morning comes, he channels his chakra to slice the cascading water cleanly into two streams, a feat that catches Yamato off guard and marks the second phase of the training complete.