Five Kage Summit (Arc)

The is an arc from Part II of the series. The anime calls it "The Gathering of the Five Kage". This arc sees the convening of a Kage Summit to discuss how to deal with Akatsuki. It spans through volumes 49 to 51, or more specifically, covers chapters 454 to 483 of the manga and episodes 197 to 221 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime. In the manga, this arc is preceded by Pain's Assault and followed by the Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown. In the anime, it is preceded by the Konoha History Arc and is followed by the Adventures at Sea Arc.

New Orders
When Karui revealed her intention of killing Sasuke to avenge her fallen master, Killer B, Naruto offered to be beaten in order to relieve Karui of her pain. Karui brutally beat Naruto until Sai stepped in to protect his team-mate. Omoi remarked that Naruto would never betray Sasuke. Though unsatisfied with what they gathered, Team Samui had to leave Konoha to report to the Fourth Raikage. When they left, they unknowingly stepped on Yamato's tracking seeds, which allowed Yamato, Kakashi, and Naruto to follow them into the Land of Iron.

After receiving medical care, Naruto recounted his conversation with his late father, the Fourth Hokage, when he was on the verge of fully transforming into the Nine-Tails. He convinced Kakashi and Yamato to accompany him to the Land of Iron to ask A's pardon for Sasuke's actions.

On their way to Konoha, Taka, having abandoned Akatsuki after capturing the Eight-Tails, was stopped by Tobi. Tobi, angered that Taka had failed to actually capture the Eight-Tails, assigned Taka a new mission: to kill Danzō, the new Hokage, at the summit. Zetsu's white half left to lead the way. Tobi told Black Zetsu that Pain's defeat was a major hindrance to his plans and that Sasuke would be of no use to him if he couldn't be controlled properly. Tobi decided to finally step out of the shadows and commence with his Eye of the Moon Plan.

The Summit
Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Ōnoki the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, and Mei Terumī, the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure departed from their villages with two guards each, as requested by the Fourth Raikage, to the location of the summit, the Land of Iron.

Before leaving for the Land of Iron, Danzō ordered Root members Dajimu and Terai to find Kabuto before Anko did, believing Kabuto's information might be useful for restoring his right arm and eye. On their way to the summit, Danzō and his bodyguards, Fū Yamanaka and Torune were attacked by assassins. Danzō uncovered the bandages over his right eye, revealing a bloodshot Sharingan, and quickly dispatched the attackers.

Kakashi put two Root members watching Naruto under genjutsu and told Sai to report to Danzō that Naruto had not left Konoha. Yamato planted tracking devices on Team Samui and followed them to the Raikage in the Land of Iron. Despite Naruto's desperate pleas even with Kakashi and Yamato's assistance, A refused to call off the hunt for Sasuke Uchiha and scolded Naruto for being weak and defending a criminal.

Mifune, the leader of the Land of Iron, started the Five Kage Summit with each Kage's bodyguards looking on. The Kage quickly began to argue due to ideological differences. Danzō mentioned Killer B, sending A into a rage and prompting all of the Kage's bodyguards to assume a ready stance. A claimed that each of the other Kage was in some way responsible for Akatsuki's rise to power: the Fourth Kazekage may have used Akatsuki to facilitate the Invasion of Konoha, the Tsuchikage hired Akatsuki to avoid sending inexperienced ninjas of his village into battle, and the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura was probably manipulated by Akatsuki.

When Danzō stated that Akatsuki's leader is almost certainly Madara Uchiha, Mifune proposed that the five countries unite to eliminate Akatsuki, and that Danzō lead the alliance. Ao, Terumī's bodyguard, with his Byakugan discovered Danzō's secret use of Shisui Uchiha's Sharingan to manipulate Mifune's decision. Suddenly, White Zetsu appeared before the Kage, announcing that Sasuke Uchiha was near.

In Konoha, the Konoha 11 discussed the turns of events and came to the conclusion that they had to hunt down Sasuke before his actions or death from other ninja sparked off an all-out war between the countries. Shikamaru asked Team 7 for consent. Sakura decided to find Naruto in the Land of Iron and talked to him herself. She left Konoha with Kiba, Lee and Sai.

While resting at an inn after speaking to A, Naruto was greeted by Tobi, who proceeded to tell the Konoha-nin about how Itachi Uchiha had sacrificed for Konoha and for his little brother, Sasuke. Tobi stated that while Naruto inherited the Senju clan's Will of Fire, Sasuke had embraced the Uchiha clan's hatred, and the battle between the two would be inevitable.

The Kage vs. Taka
Enraged, A choked Zetsu, snapping his neck when he failed to answer his inquires about Sasuke, before storming out of the meeting room with his guards. Outside, Sasuke had already defeated all of the Land of Iron's guards. However, the Kage prove to be stronger than Sasuke had imagined.

A's immense physical strength allowed him to snap Suigetsu's sword in half and fend off a fully transformed Jūgo. Against A's superior lightning-based technique, which is capable of nullifying even the Chidori, Sasuke activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used an incomplete Susanoo wrapped in the inextinguishable black flames of Amaterasu to defend himself. A smashed through Sasuke's defence at the cost of an arm. Before A could injure himself further, Gaara, the Kazekage, intervened, wishing to talk to Sasuke.

Gaara tried to persuade Sasuke to abandon the path in darkness, but failed. Using Susanoo, Sasuke stood immune to simultaneous attacks from Gaara, Kankurō, Temari and Darui, A's bodyguard. After collapsing the structures outside the meeting room, forcing his opponents to recede, Sasuke ordered Karin to lead him to Danzō, abandoning Suigetsu and Jūgo to their fate. Upon seeing Sasuke, Danzō escaped with his bodyguards, with Ao, Terumī's bodyguard, in pursuit. Sasuke was about to give chase when Terumī sealed off the exit with her Lava Release. Even though Zetsu's Spore Technique transferred the chakra of everyone in the building to Sasuke, he suffered from Terumī's acidic mist and would have been pulverised by Ōnoki the Tsuchikage, had it not been for the timely arrival of Tobi.

Declaration of War
After teleporting Sasuke and Karin to safety, Tobi said he sent Sasuke to the summit to train the Mangekyō Sharingan, and to weaken the Kage for easy capture, but admitted he was pushing his luck. According to Tobi, the Sage of the Six Paths was worshipped as a god throughout the old ninja world because he managed to subdue the Ten-Tails, sealing it within his own body and becoming the very first jinchūriki. The Sage knew once he died, the Ten-Tails would be unleashed and once again lay waste to the world, so in his final moments, he split its chakra into nine parts, which would become the nine tailed beasts, and sealed its empty body in a massive Chibaku Tensei, which would become the moon. Tobi's plan was to use the combined power of the nine tailed beasts to reawaken the Ten-Tails and seal it within himself, attaining god-like power. With that power, he would project an infinite Tsukuyomi onto the moon, effectively conquering the planet.

Tobi forces the Kage to make a choice between handing over Killer B and Naruto, the hosts of the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox respectively, or facing war with Akatsuki and their seven tailed beasts. When they refused, Tobi declared the Fourth Shinobi World War and departed. As the threat of Akatsuki had become too great for any one nation to handle, the Kage and the leader of the Land of Iron, for the first time in ninja history, agreed to form a five-country alliance. Because Danzō fled the summit earlier, Gaara offered to relay the information to Konoha through Kakashi Hatake instead. The Kage decided it would be best to hide the two remaining hosts from the front line as both are unpredictable on the battlefield and Tobi would expect them to turn up. With his composure regained, A was voted the leader of the Alliance.

After the Summit
Killer B having faked his capture at the hands of Taka, takes the opportunity to escape his duty as a guardian of his village. At an unknown location, while he was practising singing with the leader of the enka ninja Sabu, Kisame Hoshigaki arrived. After quickly dispatching Sabu's companion Ponta, a tanuki, Kisame went on to battle both Killer B and Sabu, feeding his sword, Samehada, with enough of the B's chakra to reveal its true form.

Killer B was at a great disadvantage because even though he was low on chakra, he was unwilling to fully release the Eight-Tails out of fear for Sabu and Ponta's safety. The longer the battle went on, the more exhausted B became, the more likely Kisame won, as with the help of his chakra-stealing sword Samehada, Kisame could heal himself and stay at his peak condition. Having trapped his opponents in a giant dome of water that moved along with him, Kisame absorbed Samehada into his own body, taking on an even more shark-like form.

B stalled Kisame at the cost of his Eight-Tails chakra cloak, allowing Sabu and Ponta the chance to escape the water dome before drowning. Deprived of chakra and suffocated, B was rendered unconscious. Kisame released the technique and was about to cut off B's legs when Samehada turned on him and attempted to heal B, having grown attached to B's chakra. Kisame got rid of the rebellious blade, picked one of B's swords and prepared to deal the finishing blow. Fortunately, B was saved by the timely arrival of the Raikage and his guards. B and A performed the Lightning Release: Double Lariat, decapitating Kisame in the blink of an eye.

After the Summit, the Kage left the Land of Iron to return to their respective villages. As A and his guards went to aid Killer B, Ao, of Kirigakure followed Danzō and his guards, only to be trapped by Fū. Fū, sensing Mei and Chōjūrō coming, and unable to steal the Byakugan due its protective seal, attempted to trick Mei into dispelling the seal for him. However, because his mannerisms were so different from the real Ao, Mei saw through the trick and forced Fū dispelled the technique himself.

Truth and Realisation
Meanwhile, Kakashi advised that Naruto and Yamato not mention what Tobi had said about the Uchiha clan and Sasuke, as they did not know if what he was saying was true. While Naruto contemplated Tobi's words, he attempted to find Sasuke via Sage Mode but was interrupted by the arrival of Sakura Haruno's group. Sakura gave a false confession of love to Naruto and asked him to give up his search for Sasuke, telling him he was a criminal and that with her love, he would not have to burden himself with his promise. Naruto questioned the confession and got into an argument with Sakura over how he hated people who lie to themselves and that he knows all too well that she's still in love with Sasuke.

Failing to convince Naruto to give up, Sakura, Sai, Kiba Inuzuka, and Rock Lee left to find Sasuke on their own. As they left, Sai, feeling responsible for inadvertently sending Sakura towards a deathtrap, left a clone behind to tell Naruto what Sakura could not. Sai revealed that the rest of Konoha 11 have decided that they themselves must kill Sasuke to avoid an even greater conflict. They concluded that Sasuke, being allied with Akatsuki and almost causing an international incident in Taka's attempted abduction of Killer B, is not worth saving if it causes the world to go to war. Because of this and what Sai had talked to her about how Sasuke and Naruto's promise to her is causing him nothing but pain, Sakura has decided to kill Sasuke herself, because she still loves him so much that she would rather end him then allow him to follow his path to darkness. Naruto realising that his dream of bringing Sasuke back to Konoha was ruined, began to silently grieve as the Kazekage, Kankurō, and Temari arrived.

They updated the Konoha-nin on the results of the summit, about the foundation of the Allied Shinobi Forces, the declaration of war, and their decision to promote Kakashi as Hokage after Danzō's deceitful actions at the summit and his subsequent flight after Sasuke's attack. Seeing no other choice, Kakashi stated it would be best to return to Konoha and relay the news of the war. Gaara, knowing Naruto's reluctance in having to fight Sasuke, reminded him that his dream was to be Hokage and as Hokage he must do what needs to be done.

Naruto stays silent, shoving Gaara's hand off his shoulder as Gaara tells him that he considers Naruto a friend, and asks him to contemplate the meaning of that word and to do what was the best thing for Sasuke for himself before leaving with Temari and Kankurō. Reflecting upon all that had happened, and unable to process his thoughts, Naruto started hyperventilating before passing out.

Sasuke vs. Danzō
Tobi appeared before Danzō and prepared to engage him in battle, but Danzō ordered his men to back him up as he prepared to release the seal on Shisui's arm. Despite their strength, Tobi eventually captures Fū Yamanaka and Torune just before teleporting into his pocket dimension to retrieve Karin and Sasuke. When they returned, Danzō finishes releasing his arm, which is revealed to have ten Sharingan eyes implanted into it.

Sasuke then attacked Danzō using Susanoo and demanded to know if he had forced Itachi into killing his clan. Danzō confirmed this and insulted Itachi's honour, resulting in Sasuke forcing his incomplete Susanoo into completion. With the upper hand, Sasuke attacked and almost killed Danzō, but the attack was redirected by a tree Danzō sprouted using his Wood Release, the result of an experiment to allow him to use the forbidden Uchiha technique Izanagi. However, using the sixty second time limit to his advantage, Sasuke managed to trick Danzō into believing he hadn't used all of his Sharingan eyes to severely injure him. Desperate, Danzō attempted to use Karin as a hostage, but Sasuke merely stabbed through her to pierce Danzō's heart. Just before death, Danzō tried to seal Sasuke and Tobi into his own body, and sequentially crushed Shisui's eye preventing Tobi from using it to his advantage.

Confrontation
With Danzō dead, Tobi claimed his body and told Sasuke to kill Karin if he had no use for her before leaving. Sasuke moved to finish her off as Sakura Haruno arrived and declared she would defect from Konoha to follow him. Back at the inn, Naruto awakened and was told by Yamato that they are to return to Konoha while Kakashi handles Sakura. Naruto however tricked the fatigued Yamato into letting him rest, while he sneaked through the floor to follow Kakashi using Sage Mode. Kakashi found Kiba and the others and after finding out where Sakura went he rushed toward her. As Sakura tried to join Sasuke, he asked her if she would really betray Konoha. Sasuke then ordered her to kill Karin to take her place in his group as evidence of her loyalty to him, but a moment of hesitation in her told him she was lying and so he attempted to kill her. Kakashi arrived suddenly, stopping Sasuke's attack and prepared to fight his former student after seeing how far he had fallen.

Episodes