Episode list

Naruto returns to Konoha after a two-and-a-half-year training journey with Jiraiya and is reunited with Sakura.

Kakashi gives Naruto and Sakura a test to see how far they had improved. Meanwhile, two Akatsuki members, Deidara and Sasori, arrive at the entrance of the Sunagakure to capture the One-Tailed Shukaku's host, Gaara.

Sakura and Naruto both demonstrate their newly acquired skills. Meanwhile, Deidara commences his attack on Sunagakure and is confronted by Gaara.

Gaara is quick to detect Deidara's presence, and an aerial battle ensues with Deidara on his giant bird and Gaara atop sand.

Naruto and Sakura defeat Kakashi in the survival challenge. Tsunade assigns them to a three-man squad led by Kakashi, who tells them they are now his equals.

In order to protect his village from Deidara's explosive clay, Gaara uses his chakra to create a giant sand shield.

Gaara, his strength completely exhausted, is whisked away by Deidara. Kankuro ignores Baki's efforts to stop him and immediately sets out in pursuit with a platoon to rescue Gaara.

On her way to the Sand Village, Temari encounters Kakashi and his team. Kakashi admonishes Naruto when he tries to rush ahead...

An urgent message from the Sand Village detailing the Akatsuki's kidnapping of the Kazekage reaches the Hidden Leaf Village. Tsunade wastes no time in ordering Team Kakashi to the Sand Village.

The Sand ninja fight against time to treat Kankuro. Even the Sand's poison expert, Granny Chiyo, is baffled. The only hope lies with the reinforcements sent by Tsunade.

Sakura treats a critically ill Kankuro. After extensive training she's now a full-fledged Medic Ninja, and Sakura amazes everyone with her sure, steady hands.

Pakkun finds the hideout of the Akatsuki. Team Kakashi and Temari prepare to set out to get Gaara back, but Temari is ordered to stay behind and help guard the village.

Team Kakashi encounter Itachi Uchiha, who had dealt them a bitter defeat in the past. Kakashi warns everyone not to look into Itachi's Sharingan Eyes.

Guy prepares to use a forbidden secret jutsu. Meanwhile, Naruto falls under Itachi's genjutsu, and all the anti-genjutsu training he underwent with Jiraiya races through Naruto's mind.

Granny Chiyo and Sakura rescue Naruto from Itachi's genjutsu. Without a moment's delay, Kakashi begins a counterattack.

Chiyo and Kakashi realize that the attack was just a diversion, and that the Akatsuki have already begun the process of extracting the Tailed Beast from Gaara. Granny Chiyo explains to Naruto and Sakura the connection between the Tailed Beast and the Jinchûriki...

Teams Kakashi and Guy take a short rest. Granny Chiyo watches Naruto dozing off and is reminded of Sasori as a child. The pursuit resumes, and when Chiyo wonders why Naruto puts such effort into rescuing Gaara...

Teams Kakashi and Guy reach the Akatsuki hideout. They hurry to infiltrate but are thwarted by a five-seal barrier. The only way to break the barrier is to remove all five seals at once.

Breaking the five-seal barrier set off a trap, which now has Team Guy battling amazingly accurate copies of themselves. Back at the Akatsuki hideout, Deidara and Sasori struggle to take the Nine-Tail Jinchuuriki.

At last, the showdown between the old woman and her grandson begins. Sakura is confused by Sasori's strange appearance, and Granny Chiyo explains that this is Hiruko...

Granny Chiyo and Sakura manage to expose Sasori, who amazingly looks no older than he did twenty years earlier. Chiyo is even more shocked at the second puppet that Sasori produces.

Sakura is caught by Sasori's tactic and surrounded by a poison cloud. But she uses a Paper Bomb to blow herself free from the poisonous fumes.

The greatest advantage of the puppets created from humans is that one can take over the jutsu that the human used while alive. Hence, the puppet of the Third Kazekage has the special ability to convert chakra into magnetic power. Chiyo and Sakura take cover, and Sasori wastes no time unleashing a ruthless attack. Chiyo fights back to protect Sakura, but in an instant the Father and Mother puppets are sealed by the Iron Sand. As Sasori rushes in for the final blow, Sakura makes a decision.

Sakura and Chiyo continue their battle with Sasori, while Naruto and Kakashi follow Deidara, and Team Guy fights their clones. Sakura remembers her training with Tsunade when she was taught to observe enemies' weaknesses and dodge their attacks. Sasori attacks with an Iron Sand pyramid and prism, but Sakura is able to fend them off, causing a cave in. Sasori then uses a new technique to attack with randomly-growing iron spikes, landing a hit imbued with a poison that quickly paralyzes its victims. With a final attack of the Third Kazekage's puppet, Sasori attempts to kill the seemingly helpless Sakura, only to discover at the last second that it was a ruse. Somehow immune to the effects of the poison, Sakura destroys his puppet with a single punch at the last second.

Sakura reveals that she took an antidote against Sasori's poison which will make her immune to it for three minutes, forcing herself and Chiyo to end the battle quickly. Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi continue their pursuit of Deidara. Deidara attempts to split up Naruto and Kakashi by creating a swarm of explosive jumping crickets out of his clay and has them pursue Kakashi. Kakashi makes a shadow clone as a decoy and the crickets, mistaking the shadow clone for the real Kakashi, detonate harmlessly. Kakashi then catches back up with Naruto and reveals a plan. Sakura and Chiyo ready themselves for the battle with Sasori, who reveals that he made himself into a human puppet.

Naruto and Kakashi continue to pursue Deidara while Sakura and Chiyo continue the battle with Sasori. Sakura manages to shatter Sasori's puppet body, but he reforms. Chiyo summons the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu. Sasori, remarking on Chiyo's ability to control so many puppets, summons one hundred human puppets and the final battle begins. Sakura and Chiyo seem to trap and defeat Sasori but, under cover of the battle, Sasori, who had transferred himself to another puppet, attacks Chiyo from behind. Sakura intercedes, taking the sword thrust meant for Chiyo.

Chiyo injects the last remaining antidote into Sakura and manages to stab Sasori in his only living part, his heart, using the Father and Mother puppets. With Sasori immobilized, Chiyo revives the nearly dead Sakura using her Resurrection Technique. As he dies, Sasori rewards Sakura for defeating him, telling her where he planned to meet with one of his spies who had been working undercover as one of Orochimaru's subordinates. Meanwhile as Kakashi and Naruto are pursuing Deidara, Kakashi reveals his plan to activate his version of Mangekyo Sharingan.

Team Guy senses the result of the Sakura and Granny Chiyo's desperate struggle while still in battle with his deadly copy. Although Guy's team members are showing fatigue, their copies remain strong!

Sakura hurries to get to Naruto with Granny Chiyo, who is suffering from the poison. The members of Team Guy rush to assist Team Kakashi.

Naruto loses all reason to anger and is gradually taken over by the Nine-Tailed Fox Spirit. Having been forewarned by Jiraiya, Kakashi narrowly manages to suppress the Nine-Tailed Fox.

Relying on Naruto's power, Granny Chiyo performs the Transmigration Jutsu on Gaara. Sakura is saddened when she realizes the cost of this jutsu.

Deidara survives his battle and begins to search for his missing arm. Meanwhile, Zetsu and his subordinate, Tobi, who wishes to join Akatsuki, search Sasori's remains for his ring. Deidara later finds the two searching for his own ring. The leaf ninja leave Sunagakure after their victory, and Danzo gives Sai instructions for his new team, Team Kakashi. The leaf and sand ninja pay their respects at Chiyo's grave, and Gaara and Naruto shake hands before departing.

Everyone has returned to the Hidden Leaf Village. Kakashi is hospitalized for a week due to the strain caused by his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Naruto, Choji and Shikamaru attempt to capture and interrogate Sai, but Sai withdraws after insulting Naruto. Shortly afterward, Ino appears. Concerned that the demon fox could fall into Akatsuki hands, the village elders challenge Tsunade's plan to send Naruto out of the village without the still bedridden Kakashi. Tsunade promises to protect Konoha with her own life if Naruto is captured, but is still forced to compromise with Danzo by adding Sai to Team Kakashi. She also temporarily replaces Kakashi with ANBU member Yamato and warns him to keep an eye on Sai. Naruto and Sakura finally meet their new team members, and Naruto is immediately angered upon Sai's appearance.

Yamato takes temporary leadership of Team Kakashi while Sai insults both Naruto and Sakura. While preparing to set off, Sai receives an envelope from a Root shinobi containing secret orders from Danzo, and Sakura consults with Tsunade. Jiraiya then meets with Tsunade and Yamato in Kakashi's hospital room to brief Yamato on the demon fox within Naruto, detailing the "demon fox's cloak", and revealing a scar he got from Naruto when the fourth tail formed. Finally the new Team Kakashi set off on their new mission, to intercept an Akatsuki spy and gather information about Sasuke.

The new Team Kakashi heads for Tenchikyo. To Naruto, Sai is just temporarily filling in for Sasuke. When Sai shows his contempt for Sasuke, the antagonism comes to a head.

Sakura comes across Sai working on an abstract painting. He tells her that he's unable to give it a title. Bothered by his manner, Sakura finds an unusual picture book among Sai's things.

In preparation for Tenchikyo, Yamato conducts a half-day simulation in order to get a grasp on the fighting skills and jutsu of Team Kakashi. Sai abandons Naruto to conclude the simulated mission successfully.

The day for capturing the spy is finally here. Just as planned, Yamato takes on Sasori's likeness and waits until the Akatsuki spy appears. The spy turns out to be none other than Kabuto.

Faced with Orochimaru, his sworn enemy, Naruto suddenly releases the power of his Nine-Tailed Fox. When Yamato sees Naruto's fourth tail appear, he recalls Jiraiya's tale of how he nearly lost his life to the transformed Naruto. Yamato has been ordered to suppress the Nine-Tail chakra that would adversely affect Naruto's body. Then, the secret of Yamato's Wood-Style ninjutsu becomes apparent.

When his third tail appears, all that Naruto can see is Orochimaru. He is blind even to his teammates.

With the release of his fourth tail, Naruto completely loses his awareness and is overtaken by destructive impulses.

Although he has changed almost completely into his animal form and has lost all awareness, Naruto refuses to give up the idea of bringing Sasuke home.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Sai makes contact with Orochimaru. After reviewing the contents of the documents given to him, Orochimaru decides to take Sai back to the hideout.

Naruto and Sakura are shocked when they hear that Danzo's goal is to work with Orochimaru to once again attempt to defeat the Leaf Village.

Naruto is shocked to learn that he was the one responsible for the destruction around them and for Sakura's injuries.

Sai shudders when he finally meets Sasuke face to face in Orochimaru's hideout. The list that Sai gave to Orochimaru lists the members of the Anbu Black Ops, the corps under the direct control of the Hokage.

Team Kakashi is able to find Sai with Yamato guiding them. They immediately begin questioning Sai about Danzo's plans for destroying the Leaf Village, and surprisingly, Sai divulges everything.

Kabuto carries out a surprise attack on Team Kakashi to take back Sai, but a change has come over Sai since Sakura pointed out his contradictions.

Naruto, while nursing his injuries caused by the release of the Nine-Tailed Fox, searches frantically for Sasuke. Seeing this, Sai recalls the feelings he once had for his older brother and finally manages to complete his unfinished picture.