Wanderer

Perched at a cliff's edge, the young woman Hotaru is joined by the drifter Utakata just as her retainer Tonbee reports intruders springing the fort's traps, almost certainly after the forbidden art left by her grandfather. Tonbee stays to defend Mount Katsuragi so the pair can flee, and manages to get a plea for aid off to the Leaf. In her office, Tsunade explains to Shizune that the Tsuchigumo leader En no Gyōja once created a technique able to wipe out a whole village; the Third Hokage had it sealed as forbidden in exchange for Konoha's future support. Eager to keep Naruto clear of the Akatsuki, Tsunade slots him into the team sent to the mountain.

Returning empty-handed from the failed pursuit of Itachi, the Eight Man Squad is intercepted by Katsuyu, Tsunade's slug summon, who briefs Kakashi. He hands the crisis to Yamato's Team 7. The raiding bandits, meanwhile, smash through the barrier and storm the fort, finding only a tight-lipped Tonbee and no scroll. Reasoning that the granddaughter must be carrying it, Akaboshi calls a retreat as he senses the Leaf ninja closing in.

Sai uncovers the escape route the fugitives took, and while Sakura tends to Tonbee, the others give chase. Along the way Hotaru begs Utakata for further lessons, though he insists he has taught her nothing. When she recalls how he once rescued her with his bubble jutsu, he coldly admits the attackers had been hunting him, not her, and that he only used her fort to shake off pursuers. Undeterred, she tearfully calls him her master, and his angry outburst is cut short by Naruto's intervention. Naruto's shadow clones are swept aside by Utakata's drowning bubbles before Hotaru clarifies that the man is her guardian, not a foe.

Tsunade reveals the origin of the Tsuchigumo clan's forbidden technique and her reason for placing Naruto on the assignment. Command of the rescue passes from the Eight Man Squad to Yamato's team. Once the misunderstanding is settled, Naruto apologises, but Utakata declares he is leaving Hotaru in Team 7's hands. Ignoring her pleas to stay, he forms a bubble and drifts away.

The 144th episode of Naruto: Shippuden opens the Six-Tails Unleashed storyline, an anime-original arc. It aired in Japan on January 21, 2010, and in English on October 9, 2012. The opening theme is Sign and the ending theme is For You.