When You Curse Someone, You Dig Your Own Grave

Synopsis
As Team 7 arrives to Team Asuma's rescue, Kakashi asks that a long-range fighter and a medic help Shikamaru defeat Hidan, the other Akatsuki member. Before Sai and Sakura leave, the latter tells Naruto that the outcome of the battle is all up to him. On the way to the woods, Sai asks whether Shikamaru was smart in pursuing Hidan alone, with his motives being personal. Recalling a conversation with Tsunade in which she found out that Shikamaru was invited to be one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Sakura claims Shikamaru would be alright, calling him the smartest shinobi in the Land of Fire.

In the woods, Hidan approaches Shikamaru, preparing to kill him with his Retractable Spear. However, Shikamaru manages to use his Shadow Gathering Technique to pull all the explosive tags he had set around the woods and bind them to Hidan. On top of that, Shikamaru destroys the ground beneath Hidan, destroying his Jashin circle and revealing a huge hole six feet deep. Hidan wonders when Shikamaru had set such a trap and is shocked to find out that it has been created long before Team 10 ambushed them. Hidan reminds Shikamaru that he cannot die, but Shikamaru notifies him that the woods they are in belong to the Nara clan, and that only clan members can enter the area; on top of that, various deer around the area would always be watching him. Lighting Asuma's lighter, he tells Hidan that the moment he cursed Asuma, he had dug his own grave, and that the hole beneath him would serve as his grave. Shikamaru has a vision of Asuma standing next to him, congratulating him and passing down his Will of Fire to him. Smiling, Shikamaru throws the lighter at the explosive tags, causing Hidan to explode.

Meanwhile in the clearing, Naruto prepares to fight Kakuzu. Kakashi asks in disbelief whether Naruto had already mastered his new Wind Release technique, but Yamato tells him that Naruto can only pull it off half of the time. Kakashi alerts them that Kakuzu had five hearts and that they only managed to destroy two, and that Kakuzu would not be defeated unless the other three are also destroyed. He also adds that Kakuzu is able to use the five elements. Naruto takes his information in stride, and using his Shadow Clone Technique, has his shadow clones fight Kakuzu in close combat. When Kakuzu defeats and dispels the clones, Naruto uses the acquired knowledge from his clones to analyse the Akatsuki in front of him, surprising and impressing Kakashi. Naruto creates more shadow clones, but instead of rushing towards Kakuzu, begins to prepare his Wind Release: Rasengan. Kakashi recalls his training with Naruto, in which he pitted his Rasengan against Naruto's Wind Release: Rasengan, only for Naruto's enhanced version to cancel out Kakashi's and injure the latter's arm. After turning to look back at the improved Naruto, Kakashi sees his former sensei, the Fourth Hokage, within Naruto. Chōji notices the sound Naruto's Rasengan is making and realises that the noise is emitted due to the sheer amount of chakra in the technique; Naruto then proceeds to use his shadow clones to add more wind chakra to the Wind Release: Rasengan, creating a new unique technique - Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.