Izanagi and Izanami

Izanami holds Kabuto fast in its endless cycle, and Sasuke seizes the pause to press Itachi for answers about the jutsu. Itachi recounts its beginnings and how the Uchiha clan once wielded it, then reveals its true purpose: it exists to halt those who abuse its mirror technique, Izanagi, by forcing them to accept their fate, the very acceptance that opens the only way out of the loop.

Sasuke bristles that Itachi would cast something with a built-in exit and questions why. Itachi answers that he meant to grant Kabuto the chance to make peace with who he is. When Sasuke argues that Itachi is flawless and nothing like Kabuto, the elder brother rejects the comparison. Far off in a forest, a grown Urushi tells a comrade he hopes Kabuto will be waiting once he returns home. Back in the cave, Itachi turns to end the Impure World Reincarnation.

Owing to Neon Alley's May 2016 shutdown, this is the final English dub episode to premiere first on a television or streaming broadcast, with later installments debuting on North American DVD and Adult Swim. The preview aired the Uchiha rivalry flashback in colour, though the episode itself ran it in black and white. This is the three hundred thirty-eighth episode of Naruto: Shippūden, part of the Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax arc, adapting chapters 587 and 588.