Handing Down Senjutsu…!! (volume)

is volume 44 of the Naruto manga.

Chapters

 * 403.
 * 404.
 * 405.
 * 406.
 * 407.
 * 408.
 * 409.
 * 410.
 * 411.
 * 412.

Synopsis
Upon his return to Konoha, Naruto learns of Jiraiya's death. Knowing that Akatsuki will be coming for him, Naruto decides to learn how to use senjutsu to prepare himself for the inevitable encounter with Pain. He goes to the home of the toads to train, just as Jiraiya had years earlier, and leaves deciphering Pain's identity to his friends in Konoha. Elsewhere, Sasuke agrees to have Hebi, now renamed "Taka", work with Akatsuki in return for their help in destroying Konoha. Taka is sent to capture the Eight-Tailed Beast, and upon finding its host (Kirābī) they engage him in battle. Even though Kirābī proves more than a match for the four of them, he nevertheless decides to release the beast within him.