Akatsuki's Invasion

As Hidan wraps up his Jashin rite, Zetsu arrives to carry the captured Yugito Nii back to base and scolds the pair for dawdling. Kakuzu, who handles Akatsuki's money and prizes wealth above all, shrugs off the blame and heads with Hidan into the Land of Fire to hunt down another jinchuriki. He detours to the Fire Temple, tearing open its sealed wall, where he recognizes the monk Chiriku as a former Guardian carrying a thirty million bounty.

Chiriku meets their assault with the temple's ultimate technique, turning aside every strike before the fight swings against him. With Kakuzu's blessing, Hidan cuts him down, though Kakuzu insists the body stay recognizable so the reward can be claimed. Only the monk Sentoki survives to carry word of the massacre to Konoha.

Newly discharged from the hospital, Naruto resumes training under Kakashi and Yamato. He masses shadow clones to practice the leaf-cutting exercise but faints when their combined exhaustion floods back into him. Once recovered, he moves to the next stage: slicing through a waterfall's flow by converting his chakra into wind, standing on a bridge Yamato grows for him.

Yamato marvels that Naruto perfected the leaf-cutting step in hours rather than the usual months, and Kakashi notes it outpaced even Sasuke's progress. Fired by the goal of catching up to Sasuke, Naruto asks for more room, so Kakashi has Yamato raise two more waterfalls and lengthen the bridge to let him train with still more clones.

The episode adapts chapters 314 and 318 within the Akatsuki Suppression Mission arc. Kakuzu takes Chiriku's corpse to the Land of Fire Bounty Station to claim the thirty million reward. It opens on Blue Bird and closes on Broken Youth.