Desire…!!

Watching his captives tear into one another, Kabuto explains Sasuke to the fading Kimimaro. The Uchiha boy rivals Kimimaro in talent and is meant to house Orochimaru next, yet illness has ruled Kimimaro out and Sasuke can no longer arrive in time. Orochimaru turns instead to the survivor of the prisoners' brawl, Gen'yūmaru, who grasps his fate at once. He begs that his family be spared, a request the sage grants before seizing the man's body. Ashamed that he failed his master, Kimimaro resolves to prove worthwhile one final time and sets out to fetch Sasuke himself. Far away, the rest of the retrieval squad closes on Sakon and Tayuya, and the Sound pair, spotting the pursuers, sees Sakon rush forward to strike.

Kabuto reveals to Kimimaro that Sasuke was the intended replacement host. Kimimaro is deemed too sick and Sasuke too far away to serve. Orochimaru takes over Gen'yūmaru's body after promising to free his relatives. Kimimaro departs to retrieve Sasuke as a last act of service. The Sasuke Recovery Team catches up to Sakon and Tayuya, and Sakon opens the attack.

The chapter opens the events of the Sasuke Recovery Mission arc within Volume 22, and Viz titled it The Wish…!! Its original serialization carried the outcome of the fourth Naruto character popularity poll.