Kakashi continues to fight against Pain. With the arrival of Chouji and Chouza, things start looking up, but Pain's not out of tricks just yet.

Naruto confronts Nagato and tells him that he'll give him the answer to the question Pain asked him earlier after he hears about what made Nagato turn to his evil ways. What is Naruto's answer, and what conclusion will Nagato reach?

Kakashi has a flashback back when he was assigned to be the sensei of Team 7. In a bid to know his students, Naruto, Sasuke & Sakura, better, Kakashi spies on them and to see how they would all get along as a group. Angered by Sakura's talk about calling Naruto a brat and that he has no family to tell him right or wrong, Sasuke tells Sakura she is annoying. Realizing Sakura's sadness, Naruto goes to battle Sasuke, but gets defeated. It then goes back to the present and Kakashi claims that it is up to him to stop Sasuke.

In the past, Naruto and Sakura joined Sasuke on a mission to collect the paw print of Nekomata, a large and powerful two-tailed ninja cat that ruled over all of the ninja cats.

Sasuke has a flashback while traveling to Konoha with his team, Taka. He once saved a girl named Naho not knowing that she's a relative of the Feudal Lord. Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura are sent on a mission to accompany Naho and act as her bodyguards while Kakashi and Sasuke are sent to discover the reason why internationally wanted bandits have entered their border. Kakashi and Sasuke later find out that the bandits intend to abduct Naho. Naruto and Sakura are defeated by the bandits and are taken hostage. Sasuke finds them first and proceeds to defeat the leader and mercilessly punches him because of his jealousy for Naruto's growing power. A cut to the present reveals Naruto contemplating on his promise to have Sasuke return to the village.

Sakura, not wanting to cause Naruto any more pain, tells him that he can let go of his promise about bringing Sasuke back, and claims that she doesn't feel anything more for Sasuke. To top it off, Sakura confesses her feelings for Naruto, taking everyone by surprise. How will Naruto respond? Meanwhile, Kisame tracks down Killer Bee and the battle for the Eight-Tails begins.

During their voyage, Naruto, Yamato, Gai, and Aoba stop at an island to recover from severe seasickness. There, they unexpectedly meet up with Sakura, Ino, and Choji, who are on an assignment to gather medical herbs for Tsunade.

As the Leaf ninja’s ship heads toward their final stop for supplies before entering the Land of Lightning, Yamato warns the crew to stay alert for enemies who could mimic both the appearance and chakra of their closest allies.

Konan encloses Tobi in an chasm with a large amount of explosive tags that detonates in a wide area. Tobi manages to survive with his Izanagi techique, sacrificing one eye, and pierces Konan behind. Tobi explains his technique to Konan. Konan refuses to give up and continues to fight Tobi. Tobi manages to subdue her and places Konan inside a genjutsu to force her to reveal the location of the Rinnegan. Tobi travels to the location and retrieves Nagato's corpse and then takes his leave. A bloodied piece of paper is blown of Konan's body by the wind and travels to her childhood hideout. As it travels, more of the Ame Orphans past with Jiraiya is revealed, as well as some of their time as the original Akatsuki. Meanwhile, Tobi, with a new outfit, is told by Zetsu that they have received intel on the Nine-Tails wherabouts from Kisame. He declares that it's time to capture the Nine-Tails.

Part Four of the Four Week Long Special Project for the Broadcast's Tenth Anniversary - Naruto is determined to save Sasuke, who has deserted the Hidden Leaf.