Kaima Capture Mission

Covering episodes 169 to 173 of the original Naruto series, this mission places Anko Mitarashi in charge of escorting a delivery ship and unravelling reports of a sea creature terrorising the Land of the Sea. With no seasoned ninja free, she is teamed with the young Naruto, Shino, and Ino. The arc sits between the Cursed Warrior Extermination Mission and the pair of assignments that follow it, the Daimyō Heir Escort Mission and the Buried Gold Excavation Mission.

On the islands, Naruto befriends Isaribi, a bandaged girl shunned as a monster much as he once was, though her trauma keeps her from trusting his kindness. The squad soon learns she is the very creature behind the sea legend, transformed against her will. Anko reveals the grim truth: years earlier Orochimaru used this place to conduct cruel experiments, kidnapping locals and warping their bodies, Isaribi among them. Determined to punish her old master, Anko guides the team toward his abandoned laboratory, where they are ambushed by the lead scientist Amachi and his forces, with Isaribi fighting on their side in the hope of being made human again.

Naruto slowly convinces Isaribi that clinging to Amachi's false promise is wrong, and after tapping the fox's chakra he overwhelms Amachi, who had undergone the same surgery in perfected form. Isaribi, finally believing Naruto truly understands her pain, saves him from collapse. When Amachi summons a spectral sea beast, Naruto answers by calling Gamabunta and destroys it with an improvised oil-and-fire technique.

The captured scientist proves to have no idea how to reverse Isaribi's transformation, leaving her condition unresolved. Rather than abandon her, Naruto invites Isaribi to return with him to Konoha, trusting that Tsunade's superior medical skill might succeed where Amachi cannot. The arc ends with that offer of hope and a bond formed between two outcasts.