True Kindness

Squaring off with Kakuzu again, the trio of Ino, Shikamaru and Choji discover that Dan Kato and Asuma Sarutobi have been reanimated to serve the Akatsuki. Izumo and Kotetsu slip in behind Kakuzu and pin him so Team Asuma can attempt a seal, but he slips loose. Shikaku then assigns the younger Ino-Shika-Cho generation to Asuma while Darui joins Izumo and Kotetsu against Kakuzu; despite Izumo protesting that the arrangement is too cruel, the group falls in line. Among the three, Choji shrinks most from striking his old mentor, though Ino and Shikamaru understand that their intimate knowledge of the man makes them his likeliest match.

Asuma tries to coach his former students on how to bring him down, then accidentally engulfs them in flame, only to find all three still standing once the smoke thins. Shikamaru and Ino commit to the fight, but Choji is paralysed by warm recollections of his sensei and cannot bring himself to attack. Nearby, Tenten wields the recovered Bashosen to shatter Kakuzu's lightning mask. When encouragement fails to stir Choji, Asuma resorts to jeering, branding him a fatso to provoke him. The taunt lands, and a furious Choji winds up to throw a punch.

Episode 273 of Naruto: Shippuden belongs to the Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation arc and covers chapters 530 through 533. It premiered in Japan on 9 August 2012 and aired in English on 20 December 2014. The opening theme is Assault Rock and the ending is Shout This Voice Dry.