Sasuke Retsuden: The Sky that Fell to the Earth

Synopsis
A messenger hawk delivers an update from Kakashi to Sakura by sunset, informing her that the Prime Minister has taken military action in Princess Manari's name. She recalls Zansūru's words of sending assets to the capital, wonders where he could be keeping them, and goes to search for Sasuke. She doesn't find him in the lunch hall, and reviews what they don't know yet. Ganno sits to eat next to her, and notices her wedding ring. He asks about her husband, and surprises her when he mentions Sasuke by name, explaining he overheard Sasuke and Jiji talking about it. He adds that before Sakura arrived, Sasuke would spend time watching the flowers outside, and leaves. She checks outside, and sees a blooming almond tree, whose flowers resemble cherry blossoms. Thinking about the paintings, constellations, and zodiacs, she realises those are connected to hand seals. Sasuke and Jiji work sorting out inedible apricots, Jiji telling him a prisoner died of unknown causes after eating one. Sasuke spots a lake on the distance, and Jiji explains it's supposedly a meteor crater that filled with rainwater. There are no fish, and during the day, its shade of blue makes it look like the sky fell to the earth. Sasuke realises something and leaves, telling Jiji he'll take his next kitchen duty. Sasuke and Sakura meet at her office. She explains how the hands in Hoshinarabe are the hand seals required to reveal the polar particles, and he explains he discovered where the sky that fell to earth is, asking her to accompany him at night. Sasuke leaves his cell at night, which Jiji notices. Sakura is concerned about Menō, but he assures it's fine. He holds her when she trips jumping down her office window. He takes her to the lake, reflecting the starry night sky. They hold hands, and he asks her if she wants a proper wedding ring, as a reminder of their marriage when they're apart. Sakura says she thought about it, but she'd have to take it off for work. He doesn't usually worry, but it gets to him when he sees Sarada has grown taller, or Sakura has changed her hair style. Sakura feels the same when she notices faint wrinkles on him when he laughs. She performs the hand seals, and a pillar of light emerges from the lake. Sakura walks up to it and collects the sealed polar particles, causing the pillar to dissipate. She stores them, and an explosion goes off at the institute. They notice several flying dragon beasts take off, and wonder if those are the assets Zansūru mentioned. Sasuke wants to capture one, and instructs Sakura to capture Zansūru at the institute. She leaves for the institute, and Zansūru lands on a dragon beast. He thanks Sasuke for recovering the polar particles. Sasuke realises he had used the inmate to excavate the fossils, the chickens as vessels, and the apricots which had absorbed the particles' energy to resurrect the dragon beasts. Their uncovering of the particles allowed him to revive a large number of beasts at once. Zansūru claims to be acting on behalf of the nation, and Sasuke warns that using kinjutsu as such will carry consequences. Zansūru doesn't know about Impure World Reincarnation when Sasuke mentions it. When Sasuke asks if he intends to support the Prime Minister, Zansūru realises he has an ally near Prince Nanara. Noticing his true loyalty to the minister, Sasuke finds it unlikely that Zansūru would release the jutsu. He is surprised to see with his Sharingan that Zansūru has too little chakra to be a shinobi, so someone else brought back and is controlling the beasts. At the institute, several beasts continue to appear and attack the inmates. Penjira is almost killed by one, and is saved by Sakura, who punches open a whole through the institutes walls, allowing the inmates to flee, as well as punching one of the beasts nearby. She goes looking for Zansūru, but he's not there. Instead, she finds inmates hiding inside, and tells them of the exit she created. Jiji asks her what happened, and she tells him Zansūru is responsible. He claims he saw Zansūru in the courtyard earlier, but she came from there and didn't see him. He hugs her close and stabs her with a poisoned kunai, which she recognises as the one Sasuke was poisoned with by Menō. Jiji is working with Zansūru, and allowed her to move freely so they could find the polar particles. He gets the particles from her. She tries to stop him, and he confesses he really did appreciate her, who reminds him of his girlfriend Margo, so she's sad she has to die, and leaves. He wants to use the particles to resurrect Margo, and uses the reincarnation ninjutsu. The entire institute begins to crumble as the ground shifts, and an excited Zansūru leaves Sasuke fighting the flying beasts. A gigantic beasts emerges from where the institute used to be. Sakura is paralysed as debris falls around her.

Trivia

 * During Sasuke's recollection of his family, Sarada in shown with her forehead protector and current age, despite the story of Sasuke Retsuden taking place years before the start of the series in the anime's timeline of events.