"High-Level Shinobi" (一流の忍, Ichiryū no Shinobi) is episode 216 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.
Synopsis[]
In his mind, Naruto reminisces on his memories with Sasuke, recalling when he and Sasuke fought together to trick Zabuza, how Sasuke mocked Naruto after he cowered from seeing the Demon Brothers, and how repeated those words back to Sasuke when they were attacked by Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. He reflects upon the good memories he had, such as when they tried to peek at Kakashi's face, as well as the not so good memory of their fight at the Valley of the End. Sasuke tells Naruto that he would not stop in his quest for vengeance and that Naruto would simply have to kill him or get killed, but Naruto states that he would not let either option happen.
In the real world, the Rasengan and Chidori clash against one another and explodes, causing Naruto and Sasuke to fall backwards towards the rock walls. Naruto's shadow clone flings Kakashi in Naruto's direction to catch him while one of White Zetsu's parasite clones catches Sasuke. Knowing that Sasuke would not retreat, White Zetsu visits Madara at his base, where the latter has Danzō's corpse as well as various Sharingan eyes stored. White Zetsu notifies Madara that Sasuke is in a bit of a bind, and Madara and Zetsu head to the Samurai Bridge.
White Zetsu and his clones prepare to engage in combat against Naruto, but Madara tells him to stand down, alerting him that he would lose and thus he would set up a fight between Naruto and Sasuke in the future in order to obtain the Nine-Tails. Before they leave, Naruto tells Sasuke that if he ever does decide to attack Konoha, he would be waiting there for him, and would shoulder the burden of Sasuke's hatred. In anger, Sasuke lashes out and demands to know why Naruto is fixated on him, to which Naruto replies that it is because they are friends. Naruto asks whether Sasuke remembers what he had said during their fight at the Valley; how two high-level shinobi can reach others' minds when they exchange fists. Naruto tells Sasuke that he has finally understood what Sasuke is going through, and if it means exchanging blows, then he would continue to do so to further understand him. He asks Sasuke whether he read his mind too, but Sasuke shrugs him off and merely states that he does not wish to and that he would kill him. Smiling, Naruto tells him that if they fought, both of them would die; however, he is optimistic that at least in the afterlife they would be relieved of their respective burdens.
Kakashi tries to use Kamui to take out Madara, who quickly informs Kakashi that such a technique would not work on him. As they warp away, Sasuke informs Madara that he has something to ask of him. Naruto and his shadow clones quickly fall down, having been poisoned by the cut inflicted by Sasuke earlier; as Sakura administers the antidote, Kakashi locates Karin, who had witnessed the entire thing, and decides to bring her back with him to Konoha. At his base, Madara is asked by Sasuke to have Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan transplanted within his own, as he is beginning to lose his vision after having activated the Susanoo three times in less than a day. When Madara asks why Sasuke thinks he is ready for it now, Sasuke states that he needs the power of the Eternal Mangekyō if he has any chance of killing Naruto.
Credits[]
| Role | Seiyū | English Voice Actor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | Rōmaji | ||
| Naruto Uzumaki | Junko Takeuchi | 竹内 順子 | Takeuchi Junko | Maile Flanagan |
| Sakura Haruno | Chie Nakamura | 中村 千絵 | Nakamura Chie | Kate Higgins |
| Kakashi Hatake | Kazuhiko Inoue | 井上 和彦 | Inoue Kazuhiko | Dave Wittenberg |
| Sasuke Uchiha | Noriaki Sugiyama | 杉山 紀彰 | Sugiyama Noriaki | Yuri Lowenthal |
| Karin | Kanako Tojo | 東條 加那子 | Tōjō Kanako | Ali Hillis |
| Zetsu | Nobuo Tobita | 飛田 展男 | Tobita Nobuo | Travis Willingham |
| Madara Uchiha | Naoya Uchida | 内田 直哉 | Uchida Naoya | Neil Kaplan |
| Gaara | Akira Ishida | 石田 彰 | Ishida Akira | Liam O'Brien |
| Zabuza Momochi | Unsho Ishizuka | 石塚 運昇 | Ishizuka Unshō | Steve Blum |
| Haku | Mayumi Asano | 浅野 まゆみ | Asano Mayumi | Susan Dalian |
| Teuchi | Eisuke Asakura | 朝倉 栄介 | Asakura Eisuke | Lex Lang |
| Ayame | Masayo Hosono | 細野 雅世 | Hosono Masayo | Danielle Judovits |
