Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie

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

Plot Overview
Sixteen years ago, a gigantic demon beast known as the Nine-Tails 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 Nine-Tails 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.

Coming to, Naruto and Sakura find themselves in another world where everyone they know acts very differently. But things get more confusing when the two learn that a more good-natured Sasuke lives in Konoha, and that Naruto's parents Minato and Kushina are alive yet Sakura's parents Kizashi and Mebuki have long died.

Alternate Counterparts
The majority of the movie takes place in an alternate world where almost every character has different personalities and behaviours compared to their actual selves. Some, however, still possess personalities and habits that mimic their actual selves.
 * Sasuke Uchiha is more of a carefree flirt that goes after several girls his age, a fact that Sakura likes and reciprocates when he flirts with her, but earns himself a beating when attempting to flirt with Hinata herself. In this timeline he never became a missing-nin due to Itachi being a hero of Konoha instead of a villain thus he's still a resident of Konoha.
 * Sakura Haruno has been shown, though limited due to only being seen in the anime, to be almost the same as her canon counterpart. In the alternate world however, Sakura's parents were ninja and her father, Kizashi, was the Fourth Hokage. Similar to the tragedy that befell Naruto, though she was able to spent a good deal of her childhood with her parents, Kizashi and Mebuki were killed in battle thus leaving her an orphan.
 * Sai is more emotive and is more outgoing. His love for art is the same, but is horrible at it. Also, due to the alternate Sasuke still being a resident of Konoha, alternate Sai never became a member of Team 7 nor does he know the others.
 * Hinata Hyūga is more aggressive, very confident with herself and her figure and she is possessive of Naruto. Like her counterpart, this Hinata is in love with Naruto's alternate counterpart Menma though shows it in a more aggressive manner and jealousy when he hangs out with other women, even those like Sakura who aren't attracted to him.
 * Kiba Inuzuka is more reserved and a cat lover who hates dogs, like Akamaru. He has different markings, being divided into four distinctive parts.
 * Shino Aburame is a huge plant lover and hates bugs and tries to kill as many as possible. However, his personality and creepy nature still remains.
 * Shikamaru Nara is laid back, very silly and not bright. He often clashes with the alternate Chōji Akimichi.
 * Chōji Akimichi is slimmer, calm, smart and always serious. He has different marks, being more squared. He often clashes with the alternate Shikamaru Nara.
 * Ino Yamanaka is more timid, calm and modest, and shy with boys. She also isn't bossy with her team, trying to end things peacefully with them rather than lashing out at them like she usually does. Her character is similar to Hinata in the canon-timeline.
 * Neji Hyūga is very immature and a huge pervert who uses his Byakugan to peep on girls constantly, making his personality very similar to Jiraiya, which typically earns him a beating from the alternate Hinata.
 * Rock Lee doesn't really change except for the fact that he wears women undergarments underneath his green jumpsuit.
 * Tenten is serious, but not as proficient in handling weapons. Rather she is very clumsy and tends to injure herself as a result.
 * Kakashi Hatake is always full of energy and promotes the "Power of Youth", making his personality very similar to Might Guy.
 * Might Guy is depressed and not energetic, thinking himself as an old man who lost his youth.
 * Tsunade wears glasses and is flat-chested, having a more studious appearance, similar to the real Shizune.
 * Shizune has a more feminine appearance and a rather large bust, similar to the real Tsunade.
 * Tonton is black in colour and more aggressive.
 * Menma is the alternate Naruto of this world and the antagonist of the film, mainly due to Tobi merging with him and controlling his thoughts. This alternate Naruto was born and raised by his parents, a fact that the original Naruto envied but was able to experience.

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.
 * The theme song for the film will be "Well Then, See You Tomorrow", performed by Asian Kung-Fu Generation.