"Creeping Shadow" (忍び寄る影, Shinobiyoru Kage) is episode 347 of the Naruto: Shippūden anime.
Summary[]
Kakashi comes looking for Jiraiya and tells him that the Ame Orphans are attempting to bring about change in Amegakure, through dialogue instead of military might. Jiraiya is satisfied to learn that the orphans are now growing up and reminisces of his time with them. Elsewhere at Amegakure, Kyūsuke brings letters of requests to Yahiko, which the Akatsuki will fulfil. Yahiko is determined that the Akatsuki can surpass Hanzō one day. At Hanzō's residence, he is informed of the Akatsuki by one of his men and expresses his approval for an organisation which shares the same ideal as him. Meanwhile, Yahiko, Konan and Nagato head to a small village that was earlier attacked. There, they meet with a group of people, who want to attack Iwagakure but the Akatsuki insists solving the issue through peace talks instead with the villagers refusing. This effort is in vain as the Konoha Anbu disguised as Iwa-shinobi refuse to negotiate and assault the three. Nagato is enraged, having witnessed Yahiko and Konan being beaten which has him remembering his parents confronting and dying at the hands of Konoha shinobi along with the three being attacked by an unnamed Iwagakure chūnin who Nagato later killed. Nagato's despair causes him to unwillingly summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path which attacks the rival shinobi but Yahiko and Konan stop him, Yahiko bringing Nagato back to his senses before Nagato says Yahiko's name and then passes out. Once they've retreated, fleeing the area, Danzō arrives to the location, having witnessed the event of the "Iwa shinobi" dying and as the shinobi get up, revealing some are in fact members of Root, one expresses concern that if Akatsuki move, their undercover teams disguised as shinobi will be in danger. Danzō then announces that for Konoha's sake, peace must not exist in Iwagakure and that the strategy was designed to obstruct peace, noting perhaps they can use that power. He then orders the bodies to be gathered while any traces of their involvement must be erased, the Root member agreeing to do so. Yahiko has expressed guilt over the fact that his right hand is shaking after he stabbed a Iwa shinobi. Upon receiving assurances from Nagato and Konan, he leaves, the remainder of the Akatsuki following, expressing their trust in him. Meanwhile, Danzō arrives at Hanzō's residence, with the corpses of the fallen shinobi, whom he recognised as members of Hanzō's own clan, stating he and his men were on his way to a conference when they discovered the bodies. Hanzō is shocked to hear that the Akatsuki, a group that shares the same ideal as him, is responsible for this with Danzō eventually convincing him Akatsuki are wolves disguised as sheep and a threat to his rule, stating that if nothing is done, they will take over this village. Meanwhile, Zetsu and Obito have arrived at an area, the two discussing Danzo's involvement as Obito remarks there's no peace in this world and the only way to escape is through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Trivia[]
- In one scene, Obito Uchiha's Sharingan is mistakenly depicted with two tomoe instead of three.
Credits[]
| Role | Seiyū | English Voice Actor | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Japanese | Rōmaji | ||
| Kakashi Hatake | Mutsumi Tamura | 田村 睦心 | Tamura Mutsumi | Dave Wittenberg |
| Jiraiya | Hochu Otsuka | 大塚 芳忠 | Ōtsuka Hōchū | David Lodge |
| Madara Uchiha | Naoya Uchida | 内田 直哉 | Uchida Naoya | Neil Kaplan |
| Zetsu | Nobuo Tobita | 飛田 展男 | Tobita Nobuo | Travis Willingham |
| Yahiko | Kenyu Horiuchi | 堀内 賢雄 | Horiuchi Ken'yū | Matthew Mercer |
| Nagato | Junpei Morita | 森田 順平 | Morita Junpei | Vic Mignogna |
| Konan | Atsuko Tanaka | 田中 敦子 | Tanaka Atsuko | Dorothy Elias-Fahn |
| Kyūsuke | Hidenobu Kiuchi | 木内 秀信 | Kiuchi Hidenobu | Keith Silverstein |
| Daibutsu | Kosuke Goto | 後藤 光祐 | Gotō Kōsuke | Travis Willingham |
| Danzō | Hiroshi Ito | 糸 博 | Ito Hiroshi | William Knight |
| Hanzō of the Salamander | Ikuya Sawaki | 沢木 郁也 | Sawaki Ikuya | Richard Epcar |
| Hanzō's subordinate | Taira Kikumoto | 菊本 平 | Kikumoto Taira | Skip Stellrecht |
| Monjin | Shinobu Matsumoto | 松本 忍 | Matsumoto Shinobu | Richard Epcar |
| Nagato (child) | Tomoaki Maeno | 前野 智昭 | Maeno Tomoaki | Vic Mignogna |
