The Anbu who attack Naruto and Shikamaru are agents sent by Danzo, who had promised Orochimaru that he would deliver Sasuke safely to him. Luckily, Neji, Lee and Tenten rush to their aid in the nick of time! Meanwhile, Hiruko reveals the truth behind the incident involving Hizashi

Seeing Hinata almost die triggers Naruto’s anger and he goes into Nine Tails State. Naruto's power is enormous, but Pain releases his jutsu to seal him away. Hatred consumes Naruto as he tries to break the seal. With Naruto unable to calmly control the Nine Tails’ power, the village steadily heads toward destruction.

A young Gaara is hated by his father and isolated by his siblings, who play in the sandbox with Gaara until their father separates them. During dinner, Gaara asks his uncle about his mother and how to feel happy. His uncle replies that the moon makes him feel better when he is sad, and Gaara agrees that the moon makes him feel happy. A young Shikamaru is bored in class lectures and wants to sleep but is punished along with Naruto and Choji by Iruka for interrupting class. They bond as they stand in the hallway and later hang out after school. Shikamaru criticises Naruto for defending Hinata from bullies and the boys later laugh at Ino for getting rejected by Sasuke.

After the Great War, many missing and Rogue Ninja made their way into the Land of Silence. Sai, who has infiltrated the region to investigate, sends a cryptic message back to the Leaf. Shikamaru, determined to find out what's happening, heads for the Land of Silence with two members of the ANBU, Soku and Ro. However, they must first get past a heavily guarded checkpoint.