Akatsuki Suppression Mission

A Part II arc, renamed the Immortal Devastators, Hidan and Kakuzu for the anime, this stretch of the story pits Konoha against the Akatsuki duo Hidan and Kakuzu. It runs through volumes 35 to 38, covering manga chapters 311 to 342 and episodes 72 to 88 of Naruto: Shippūden. In print it sits between the Tenchi Bridge Reconnaissance Mission and the Itachi Pursuit Mission, while the anime places it after the Twelve Guardian Ninja and ahead of the Three-Tails' Appearance.

The two rogues hunt down Yugito Nii, jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, and overpower her despite her full transformation. Once Zetsu carries her off, the pair push into the Land of Fire and slay the temple monk Chiriku to collect his bounty. A surviving monk alerts Tsunade, who deploys the newly formed Nijū Shōtai; among them, Asuma sets out with Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo. Meanwhile Kakashi begins drilling Naruto in an accelerated method built on the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, since every clone returns its experience to the original. Naruto discovers he carries a wind affinity and, guided in part by Asuma's trench knife advice, works toward fusing nature and shape transformation into a jutsu even the Fourth Hokage never completed.

At the bounty station Asuma confronts Hidan and learns he cannot be killed by ordinary wounds. Hidan tastes his blood, steps into a ritual circle, and shifts into a skeletal reaper form that mirrors every self-inflicted injury onto his victim. Shikamaru unravels the trick and works to drag him clear of the circle, yet Hidan slips back in and deals himself a killing blow. Reinforcements scatter the enemy and the Akatsuki leader recalls the pair, but Asuma's wounds prove fatal. He shares parting words with his students before dying, leaving Shikamaru to take up his mentor's cigarettes and trench knives.

With Team 10 reformed under Kakashi's temporary command, the shinobi track the killers once more. Kakashi pierces Kakuzu's heart, only to find he guards five in total, each granting a different elemental attack. Shikamaru lures Hidan onto his clan's land, buries him beneath a rigged pit and collapsing earth, then bids his teacher a final goodbye. Naruto and Yamato arrive to blunt Kakuzu's assault, and Naruto unveils his finished Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, forcing Kakuzu to spend two hearts on defense before Kakashi ends him. Back home, a pregnant Kurenai visits Asuma's grave alongside Shikamaru, who later muses over a shōgi board that the real king piece is Konoha's next generation.