The Child of Prophecy

Tsunade's reading stalls when her candle gutters out, and Shizune replaces it while urging her not to push herself too hard. In the story, Jiraiya trades blows with a four-tailed Naruto who tears apart his chakra-suppressing seal, though Jiraiya eventually pins him in place with an underworld swamp. As the fight rages, Jiraiya's thoughts return to Gamamaru's prophecy. Elsewhere, Sasuke recalls his father's habit of measuring him against Itachi and throws himself into battle with Sasori's puppets.

The other genin rush in to shield Sasuke while Team Jiraiya looks on, and the masked man and Neji argue over what truly drives the young shinobi to fight. Sasori brings out reserve puppets to press the assault. Naruto, remembering his Rasengan training with Minato, forces the Nine-Tails' chakra back under control, and Jiraiya pulls away, sending Naruto to aid his teammates. Landing a completed Rasengan and calling on a swarm of clones, Naruto wrecks Sasori's puppets and drives him into retreat.

With the enemy gone, the genin celebrate Naruto's success and resolve to search for their captured team leaders. Neji asks the masked man whether the trial delivered the outcome he wanted, then stuns him by addressing him as his father. An animation slip in the episode shows Sasori's Akatsuki cloak fully intact in an early scene when it should be damaged.