Sasuke Recovery Mission

Set during Part I, this arc, also labeled the Sasuke Uchiha Recovery and, in the anime, the Valley of the End, follows Konoha's bid to keep Sasuke from defecting. It runs across volumes 20 through 27, covering manga chapters 172 to 238 and anime episodes 107 to 135. The manga places it after the search for Tsunade and before Kakashi Gaiden, while the anime slots it between the Land of Tea escort and the Land of Rice Fields investigation. Ranked as an A-rank assignment, it marks the moment Sasuke's obsession finally severs him from his friends.

Even Naruto's deep influence could not keep Sasuke from abandoning his home in pursuit of Orochimaru's tutelage. Rekindled hatred for Itachi and the drive to avenge the Uchiha had convinced Sasuke that raw power mattered above all else. Stung by his brother branding him weak, and unsettled by signs that Naruto was pulling ahead, he picked a fight atop the hospital. Kakashi intervened just as Rasengan and Chidori were about to meet, redirecting both blasts into nearby water tanks and sparing Sakura. The hollowed-out rear of Naruto's target rattled Sasuke, who understood he might have lost.

A visit from the Sound Four, dangling promises of strength, pushed him past the line. Sasuke slipped away that night, and Sakura caught him at the village edge, confessed her feelings, and pleaded for him to stay. He thanked her, knocked her out, and left her on a bench. Shikamaru pulled together a five-member retrieval team of himself, Kiba, Naruto, Choji, and Neji, and the group chased the escort squad ferrying Sasuke toward the enemy.

The pursuers split off one by one. Choji downed Jirobo only after swallowing the Akimichi clan's most dangerous pill, which nearly cost him his life. Neji outlasted Kidomaru by turning the spider ninja's own chakra thread against him, sealing the enemy's chakra points at fatal cost to himself. Kiba and Shikamaru were being overwhelmed by Sakon, Ukon, and Tayuya until Kankuro and Temari of the Sand arrived to finish those foes. Kimimaro, deadlier than the whole Sound Four together, then blocked the chase, but his terminal illness claimed him mid-battle as Gaara and a drunk-fighting Rock Lee held the line.

Naruto finally overtook Sasuke at the Valley of the End. Fueled by his Cursed Seal and drawing on the demon fox's chakra, the two traded escalating forms before a final clash of a fox-cloaked Rasengan against a warped Chidori. Sasuke stood over an unconscious Naruto, chose to spare him, and walked on toward Otogakure. Kakashi arrived too late and carried Naruto home, while the Akatsuki's Zetsu watched the entire exchange from hiding.

The retrieval ended in failure, and its toll was heavy. Neji and Choji pulled through thanks to Tsunade, Shizune, and the Nara medical records, while Kiba recovered under his sister Hana's care. Shikamaru, blaming himself for endangering the team, nearly quit the shinobi life until his father talked him out of it. Sakura, ashamed of her helplessness, asked Tsunade to train her as a medic. Jiraiya, unable to shake Naruto's refusal to give up on Sasuke, resolved to take him away for roughly two and a half years of training ahead of the coming Akatsuki threat. In the manga Naruto departed straight from the hospital, whereas the anime kept him in the village for several more months before he set out.