Sai and Shin

is episode 263 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.

Summary
Deidara explodes the clay in Shin's stomach and Shin explains to Sai that he must escape, but Sai decides to fight back. Meanwhile, Kankurō traps both Sasori and Deidara, send flying by Sai's attack, within his puppets. Sai has a flashback of the time when both he and Shin were friends together and when he received a book to draw what he wants. Shin is discovered to have an incurable disease, of which he dies, when both Shin and Sai were to fight to the death due to Danzo's policy of training the Root members. Shin sees the drawing of both him and Sai holding hands and therefore his soul is freed. Kankurō reminds Sasori how he used to be a ninja puppet master, who used Kabuto, and now its the other way around. Moved by his words despite Deidara's warning not to listen to them, Sasori also obtains salvation. Entrusting Kankurō with puppets of his parents, Sasori asked Kankurō to pass them down to the generations to come, to which Kankurō agrees. Seeing Shin's and Sasori's bodies crumbling into ash and the bodies beneath them, they realise that sacrifices are needed for the technique. Elsewhere Kabuto explains to Tobi why he must keep Anko alive as he needs to collect the residual chakra of Orochimaru from her to help him get better control of his technique.