Plot Introduction:
Current Akatsuki members: Konan, Zetsu, Pain, Hidan. The rest have all died in battle (Deidara sacrificed himself in an explosion during his fight with Sasuke, Sasori of the Red Sand was defeated by Chiyo and Sakura and replaced by Obito, Itachi was killed by Sasuke, Hidan was buried underground by Shikamaru using explosive tags, and Kakuzu was defeated by Naruto and Kakashi). Jiraiya died in battle (against Pain). Before dying, Itachi helped Sasuke awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan, which now has a "six-pointed star" pattern. He declared that he would attack the Konoha high command but did not want to kill innocents indiscriminately.
The Sage of Toads appears in Konoha, bringing news of Jiraiya's death and confirming Naruto as the "Child of Prophecy." The medical team and cipher squad are analyzing the information left behind by Jiraiya. After learning about Jiraiya's death, Naruto becomes dispirited. Shikamaru takes Naruto to visit Kurenai-sensei, who is carrying Asuma's child, and uses this opportunity to counsel Naruto, hoping that Naruto can provide information for deciphering the code.
Naruto believes that the number "9" in the code "9, 31, 8, 106, 7, 207, 15" is not the number "9" but the katakana character "タ", leading him to associate the numbers in the code with the page numbers from Jiraiya's book "Makeout Tactics," deducing that the code might mean "no original body." On the other hand, the Akatsuki prepares to attack Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails inside Naruto, while Sasuke and his "Taka" team are tasked with capturing the Eight-Tails.
Because it will take a long time to fully decipher the code, the Sage of Toads asks Naruto to follow him to Mount Myoboku to train in senjutsu (sage techniques). Meanwhile, the "Taka" team, now wearing the Akatsuki's red cloud uniforms, has reached the Land of Lightning and located the Eight-Tails. After a fierce battle, Sasuke uses the Mangekyo Sharingan to cast Amaterasu, barely defeating the Eight-Tails. Naruto, having completed his sage mode training, is ready to confront the Akatsuki...