Dark Naruto!!

Naruto squares off against the shadow born of his isolated younger years, the one thing still blocking his path to controlling the fox. The two prove evenly matched, and neither can force a resolution. Because the clash is happening within his own mind, Naruto pulls back to the waking world and turns to Motoi, asking how Killer B managed to master the evil in his heart when Motoi never could.

Naruto suggests Motoi put the question to B himself. Still crushed by the memory of once having tried to kill his friend, Motoi again insists he cannot. Instead, he offers to walk Naruto through B's past, hoping that by understanding it Naruto might uncover the answer on his own.

Naruto's internal duel with his darker self reaches a stalemate. He seeks guidance from Motoi about how the Eight-Tails' host conquered his inner darkness. Motoi, held back by guilt over his old betrayal, declines to approach B but agrees to share the story of B's upbringing.

Falling in the Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown run and gathered in the fifty-second volume, the chapter frames Naruto's trial as a battle with his own history rather than an outside foe. Motoi's offer to recount B's life sets up the emotional groundwork for the following installments.