Teammate

Synopsis
Team Asuma returns to Konoha from their mission, with Asuma reporting to Tsunade that various villages in border towns located in the Land of Fire have been destroyed, with only an insignia of Amegakure left. Tsunade theorises that the massacres might be a false flag attack meant to incite a war or a response from the Fire Daimyō himself; she then tells Team Asuma to remain on standby for further instructions. Shizune recalls that Asuma was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja tasked to protect the daimyō of the Land of Fire. As Asuma leaves, Yamato enters, ready to give his mission report. Yamato notifies Tsunade that the defiled tombs contained the corpses of four of the Guardian Ninja, and Shizune believes that the techniques those ninja possessed may be confined within their corpses. Yamato also reports that due to Sai's injuries, he has taken Sora from the Fire Temple as his replacement. He also adds that Chiriku, a head monk, was not the target of their attacks, leaving Naruto or Sora as their intended target.

Outside, Asuma sees Team Yamato, and seems to recognises Sora. Sakura and Naruto berate Sora for his rudeness towards Asuma and warn him not to do the same to Tsunade. However, mere seconds after they enter her office, Tsunade kicks Sora out of her office, destroying the door and the wall, attempting to pummel him for insulting her; Asuma mentally remarks that it has been a long while since he had seen Sora. As they exit her office, Sakura takes Sai to the hospital, telling Naruto to stick with Sora. Sora, however, rebuffs his companionship, stating that he would take over the village in no time. Naruto heeds his words moments too late, and attempts to find and stop him. By the time he does, he finds Sora locked into a staredown with Akamaru, the latter having barked at Sora suspiciously. Naruto sighs in relief that Kiba himself is not there, only for Kiba to appear. Sora asks Kiba to keep Akamaru on a leash and to teach him to not bark at strangers. The insinuation that Akamaru is a pet angers Kiba, and the pair get into a scuffle. Chōji and Shikamaru arrive, with Chōji telling the two to get along. However, after Sora calls him fat, Chōji enters the battle himself.

Due to the fact that Sora is a member of their team, Naruto does not feel right leaving Sora to fight two opponents at once and attempts to back Sora up. Sora does not want Naruto involved, but is slightly touched when Naruto says that he is doing so only because he sees Sora as his comrade. Rock Lee, who witnesses the fisticuffs between the four, views it as a bout of friendship and inserts himself in the fight as well. Shikamaru sighs in disbelief as he witnesses the scene, and tells Asuma, who had just arrived, that he was not into such childish things. Sora unleashes his Beast Tearing Palm while Kiba transforms Akamaru into his Beast Human Clone while he himself uses his Four Legs Technique; Lee prepares his Leaf Great Whirlwind while Naruto uses Shadow Clone Technique, followed by Chōji, who jumps into the air and uses his Multi-Size Technique. Wanting to end the fight, Asuma stops their attacks with his mere hands while Shikamaru freezes them in place with his Shadow Imitation Technique; however, Chōji, who was mid-air, is unaffected by it and ends up hitting Shikamaru in the face. Asuma then tells the team to go have some barbecue after their bout. Sora attempts to refuse the invitation by claiming that he is not hungry, but his grumbling stomach betrays him.

At Yakiniku Q, Sora attempts to ask Asuma if he knew Kazuma, his father. Asuma attempts to steer the conversation in another way, and Naruto takes the opportunity to ask Asuma to teach Sora his technique, since all three of them possess Wind Release. In the woods, Asuma unveils his chakra blades and, infusing his chakra with his wind nature, has his blades go through a tree and strike the boulder behind it. Using their kunai, Naruto and Sora decide to attempt the same thing. Outside the village, Furido and his team decide to attack another village, one housing the Kohaku Clan, with Furido stating that their deaths would be a great sacrifice as it would benefit the Land of Fire as a whole.