Puppet Fight: 10 vs 100!

Cornered behind rocks, Sakura and Chiyo endure Sasori's flamethrowers and water jets that tear the battlefield apart. Chiyo hurls the head of the Third Kazekage puppet, only for Sasori to burn it away. When he lunges with a poisoned coil and spinning blades, Sakura, still shielded by the antidote coursing through her, seizes the rope and hauls him off course. Her enhanced strength shatters his puppet frame and ejects the core of living flesh at its center. Believing the fight is over, she rushes toward Chiyo, but the core slips back inside and rebuilds the body.

Chiyo unveils her trump card, the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, the ten creations of the very first puppet master, a technique she reserves for do-or-die moments. Sasori praises his grandmother and retaliates with a hundred puppets of his own. Sakura battles with raw power while Chiyo's ten outclass the swarm, showing that quality beats quantity. The pair appear to seal and finish Sasori using the Lion Closing Roar, yet under the cover of the chaos he shifts his living core into a fresh puppet. As Sakura hurries over to heal the poisoned Chiyo, Sasori charges with a tainted sword aimed at his grandmother, and Sakura throws herself in the way, taking the stab through her torso.

Part of the Kazekage Rescue Mission arc, the episode adapts chapters 272 and 273. Trivia notes that the English dub has Sakura shout Get over here as she reels Sasori in, a nod to Scorpion of Mortal Kombat, fitting since Sasori's name means scorpion. It first aired on 23 August 2007 in Japan and 10 March 2010 in English.