The Darkness of the Akatsuki

Jūzō questions Itachi about Duy, recounting how the man single-handedly bested four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. The two briefly compare their strengths before carrying out an assassination. Akatsuki then convenes, and Pain updates the members on the organization's progress and rising notoriety while outlining the goal of collecting the Tailed Beasts.

Jūzō is sent on a mission in the Land of Water that he finds distasteful, and to avoid being taken by hunter-nin he orders Itachi to kill him should he be captured. The pair completes the job but are chased down by Yagura and Kiri Anbu. They cut through the Anbu, yet Yagura draws on Isobu's power and paralyzes Itachi with his Coral Palm before Jūzō breaks him loose. When Yagura hurls a Tailed Beast Ball, Jūzō blocks it at the cost of his sword, a fragment of which pierces him. Itachi awakens Amaterasu and leaves Yagura near death, while Jūzō succumbs to his wound. At the following Akatsuki assembly, it emerges that Kakuzu killed his own partner, Orochimaru tries and fails to seize Itachi's body, and Pain names Kisame as Itachi's new partner.

Pain briefs Akatsuki on its aim to gather the Tailed Beasts. Jūzō and Itachi carry out a mission in the Land of Water and are pursued by Yagura and Kiri Anbu. Yagura channels Isobu's power and paralyzes Itachi, but Jūzō shields him from a Tailed Beast Ball at the cost of his life. Itachi awakens Amaterasu and nearly kills Yagura. Back at Akatsuki, Kakuzu is revealed to have slain his own partner, Orochimaru fails to take over Itachi and is beaten, and Kisame is assigned as Itachi's new partner.

This is episode 456 of Naruto: Shippuden, part of the Itachi Shinden Book: Light and Darkness storyline. It aired in Japan on April 14, 2016, and in English on August 28, 2018. The opening theme is LINE and the ending theme is Blue Lullaby.