Confession

Naruto holds firm that his late teacher Jiraiya would never have accepted the Deva Path's notion of peace bought through mass death. The enemy brushes off both student and mentor as fools, insisting that only their removal can bring lasting calm. When the toad sage Shima tries to lift Naruto's spirits, the Path knocks her aside and moves to carry the young ninja off.

At that moment Hinata flings herself into the fight. Naruto pleads with her to escape, warning that she has no chance, yet she stands her ground. Years of silently admiring him, she explains, have left her unwilling to watch from the sidelines any longer, and she tells him plainly that she loves him. She lunges once more before he can even answer, and the Path cuts her down, leaving her seemingly dead.

Hinata's confession and her doomed assault mark the chapter's turning point. Believing he has just watched her killed before his eyes, Naruto is consumed by rage, tears loose from the chakra rods holding him, and erupts into a raging six-tailed version of his tailed-beast cloak.

Released in Japan on March 16, 2009, this is the four hundred thirty-seventh installment, collected in volume 47 during the Pain's Assault arc. Viz Media published it under the title Confessions.