Twenty Platoons

Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, organised this force by dividing eighty shinobi into twenty cells of four apiece. Every unit shared a single objective: to sweep the Land of Fire for operatives of Akatsuki, detaining them where they could and killing them only when a capture proved impossible. The scale of the effort reflected how urgent the hunt for the organisation had become.

The best-documented cell was the platoon under Asuma Sarutobi, pairing him with Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki, a group whose tight teamwork sharpened its effectiveness in the field. They looked into an attack on the Fire Temple and, noticing that Chiriku's body was missing among the dead, guessed the intruders meant to claim the bounty on his head. Following that trail to a nearby bounty office, they cornered Hidan and Kakuzu, but Asuma was fatally hurt in the fight and died of his wounds. A second platoon led by Raidō Namiashi, joined by Aoba Yamashiro, Chōji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka, reached the scene too late to save him and instead held off the two Akatsuki so the others could carry Asuma clear.

Asuma Sarutobi headed the hunt platoon alongside Shikamaru Nara, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki. Raidō Namiashi commanded the relief squad with Aoba Yamashiro, Chōji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka. Other cells within the task force featured Riichi, an unnamed ninja once connected to Kabuto, and Shinobu Mibu, filling out the roster of twenty teams scouring the countryside.