Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

is the ninth overall Naruto film and sixth Naruto: Shippūden film which will be released on July 28, 2012 in Japanese theatres.

Plot
Sixteen years ago, a gigantic demon beast known as the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox was released from its jinchūriki by an unknown shinobi wearing a mask. The village of Konohagakure was close to destruction by the attack of the Nine-Tails, but the village was saved by its leader. Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina Uzumaki — who was the jinchūriki at the time of the attack — sealed away the demon inside their new born son: Naruto Uzumaki. However, this act of saving the village cost them their lives and they left the future of the ninja world to Naruto.

With the demon fox sealed away, things continued as normal. However, the peace of the village did not last long, for Pain, Konan, Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, Sasori, Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu — members of a dreaded organisation called the Akatsuki — attacked Konohagakure. Naruto narrowly managed to launch a counter-attack but why have these shinobi appeared when all of them were meant to have died? The mystery remains, but the shinobi are praised by their families for completing such a dangerous mission. However, one of them who has never known the faces of his parents, Naruto, cannot help but feel lonely. At that exact time, suddenly, the masked man makes his appearance in Konoha. Naruto and Sakura are both attacked by the man's mysterious new dōjutsu.

Trivia

 * This year's 17th issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine announced that Naruto manga creator Masashi Kishimoto is personally conceiving the all-new story and designing the characters for this movie.
 * Set in an alternate dimension, several of the characters have different personalities/traits:
 * Kiba Inuzuka's cheek markings have slashes running through it.
 * The marking on Chōji Akimichi's cheek and armour also change. His personality has also seemingly changed.
 * Ino Yamanaka wears a full-length outfit and has a more reserved persona.
 * Shikamaru Nara's hairstyle and personality have also changed.
 * Tsunade has a much smaller bust and wears glasses while Shizune's bust is much bigger.
 * Tonton's personality has also changed.
 * Sai is wearing clothes reminiscent of an stereotypical artist.
 * Sasuke Uchiha's clothing and personality have changed.
 * Hinata Hyūga is more scantily dressed and has also had a complete change in personality.

Gallery
 Image:Chouji road to ninja.JPG|Chōji's concept art for the movie. Image:Ino road to ninja.JPG|Ino's concept art. Image:Shikamaru road to ninja.JPG|Shikamaru's concept art. Image:Tsunade shizune tonton sai.JPG|Tsunade, Shizune, Tonton, and Sai's new designs. Image:Rtn sasuke and hinata.JPG|Sasuke and Hinata's new designs.