Naruto thinks back to the time when Team 7 was on a mission to capture a group of thieves who stole a golden statue. When making a move on the thieves, Naruto and Sasuke had managed to take back the statue but were separated from Sakura, who was captured. On top of that, the thieves' leader had used a special thread-like technique to bind one of Naruto's hands to one of Sasuke's. Literally stuck to each other, would Naruto and Sasuke be able to work together to save Sakura and keep the golden statue safe at the same time?

Inside his mind, Naruto continues his battle against Nine Tails to take control of its immense power.

Tobi heads to Hidden Rain Village to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan. Konan, now a former member of Akatsuki, recollects her past until Tobi arrives. Tobi asks Konan where is Nagato's Rinnegan and Konan replies that it is not located in the village. Their battle started and Tobi tells Konan that he encouraged Yahiko to form Akatsuki and he gave the Rinnegan to Nagato. Konan transforms into thousands of pieces of paper to self-destruct against Tobi, yet it fails and both survives. Konan unleashes a powerful paper technique that looks like a sea of paper beneath their feet.

Taking place in the aftermath of the Kage Summit, Team Kakashi is sent out on a mission by Tsunade to a location known as "The Hole" to investigate an incident where its people were killed.

The Nine-Tailed Naruto clone tries to attack Dokku and the orphans, when Might Guy and Rock Lee arrive to repel it.

Having absorbed the chakras of all nine Tailed Beasts, the Gedo Statue begins its transformation into Ten Tails. Naruto, Killer Bee, Kakashi, and Guy try to destroy the Gedo Statue but are stopped by the masked man.