Village in Distress: A New A-Ranked Mission!

Roused by Sakura, Naruto learns that Shikamaru had also broken free of the sleep genjutsu yet chose to feign slumber rather than risk a fight. Kakashi assigns the group a clear task: run down Sasuke and hold him back, then slip into hiding somewhere secure and wait for whatever orders come next.

At the same time, Orochimaru opens his confrontation with the mentor who once trained him, the Third Hokage. The two trade formidable jutsu in an exchange the observing Anbu liken to a duel between village leaders. To turn the tide, Orochimaru drags the First and Second Hokage back from death to face their descendant's teacher. The revived leaders offer their apologies to their old student as they are readied for combat, and the Second names the taboo art responsible: Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation.

Shikamaru's quiet evasion of the enemy illusion is uncovered, and Kakashi dispatches the genin after Sasuke with instructions to lie low afterward. The Third Hokage's defence of the Leaf begins in earnest, and Orochimaru's use of reanimated predecessors introduces the forbidden reincarnation technique to the battle.

The 69th episode of the original series sits within the Konoha Crush storyline and draws on chapters 117 and 118. It debuted in Japan on February 4, 2004, and aired in English on January 13, 2007. Its opening theme is Turning Sadness Into Kindness, with Alive as the ending theme.