The Jinchūriki's Tears

is episode 9 of the Naruto: Shippuden anime.

Synopsis
On the outskirts of the Sand Village, the shinobi prepare to detonate the surrounding area, while elsewhere, the elders are already making plans for a new Kazekage. When the meeting is over, someone enters and tells them that Kankuro has been found.

Elsewhere, Sasori catches up with Deidara and the two are ready to make off with their target, the One-Tailed Shukaku's Host. After they're done with Deidara's target, Sasori plans to go after his, even though he still has no idea where he is.

Kankuro is brought into the treatment center. While his wounds aren't serious, the main problem is the new poison in his body and that no one in the Sand knows how to negate it.

En route to the Sand Village, Team Kakashi spots Temari, who joins them upon hearing what has happened to Gaara. During their journey to the Sand Village, Naruto thinks back to when Itachi and Kisame approached him to bring him for Akatsuki's purposes: extracting the power of the Nine-Tailed Fox within Naruto and using it for their own personal gain. Naruto picks up the pace, despite the others saying that they should stick together. He realizes that the reason Akatsuki is after him and Gaara is because they only see them as monsters due to the beasts within them. Naruto realizes just how similar he and Gaara really are and why they're only looked at as beasts. With tears of anger in his eyes, Naruto presses on.

Kankuro's condition has worsened and his body is in such a weak condition that he can barely speak. Despite this, he's able to tell Baki about Sasori. Baki goes to an information center and tells the two shinobi inside to inform the pursuit squad to retreat, while he goes off to speak to "them."

Sakura asks Naruto if he's ever met with Itachi Uchiha before and it turns out that she's been doing more than simply training in the past three years. With access to Tsunade's library, she was able to finally figure out something she's always wanted to know: Sasuke's ambition. Then there's Orochimaru, who Sasuke is now with in order to become stronger to kill Itachi. However, there's only little time until Orochimaru is able to take over Sasuke's body. Because Orochimaru was originally a member of Akatsuki, the closer they get to them, the closer they get to finding information about Orochimaru… and the closer they'll get to Sasuke.

Somewhere in the Sand, two elders sit at opposite ends of a tiny pool. The sister of the two is not moving and seems to be dead.

"You dead?" the other asks as the fishing rod falls out of the woman's hands.

Baki approaches and informs the two of Gaara's capture by Akatsuki, but they are not entirely interested because there is not much the two of them can do in their state? As far as they're concerned, what happens is not their business, even though it would do Chiyo (the female elder) good to see her grandson, Sasori, again.