Naruto Shippuden Episode 83 – Target: Focused

Tsunade tells Sakura that Team 7 will be Team 10’s backup if Naruto finishes his training within 24 hours. Shikamaru quickly adjusts the team’s strategy to include Kakashi. After finding Hidan and Kakuzu, Shikamaru fixes the shadows of the Akatsuki pair with Asuma’s blades imbued with his chakra. He uses Hidan to attack Kakuzu, but Kakuzu had secretly let go of his arm during Shikamaru’s attack. The arm removes the blade holding the shadow from him and dodges Hidan. Choji then attacks Kakuzu from above.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 84 – Kakuzu’s Abilities

Choji’s spiked cannonball is ineffective against Kakuzu’s special ability, which allows him to toughen his skin with an Earth element technique. Naruto learns more about the five elements and their strengths and weaknesses in relation to each other. Kakuzu is struck by Kakashi’s Lightning Blade right through the heart, but survives and produces four masked entities from Kakashi’s body, one of which dies, having been struck by Lightning Blade. Kakuzu then uses the masks to attack Team 10 with Kakuzu using a powerful wind, lightning and fire jutsu.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 85 – The Terrifying Secret

Shikamaru realizes that Kakuzu has five hearts, each of which must be killed before he dies. He reasons that separating the two Akatsuki is the only way to defeat them, so he uses Shadow Possession Jutsu to lead Hidan into a forest. Kakuzu combines two of his hearts into a single entity and prepares to take on Kakashi, Ino, and Choji to get a replacement heart. At the same time, Hidan punches Shikamaru, drawing blood from him. He then prepares to use his ritual to kill Shikamaru.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 86-87 — Shikamaru’s Genius – When you curse someone, you dig your own grave

Hidan stabs himself, but instead of mortally wounding Shikamaru with his curse, he destroys another of Kakuzu’s hearts. Shikamaru attempts to decapitate Hidan but fails, then immobilizes him with his shadow possession. It turns out that the vial contained blood that Kakashi took from Kakuzu when he hit him with the Lightning Blade. This temporarily incapacitates Kakuzu, though his other hearts continue to attack. Choji tries to finish off the remaining hearts, but fails, and they return to Kakuzu’s body, with one sacrificing itself to become his heart. Just as Kakuzu is about to finish them off with another fire/wind jutsu, Team 7 arrives just in time to stop the attack with a combo wind/water jutsu.

Sakura and Sai leave to help Shikamaru. Hidan attempts to escape Shikamaru’s weakening hold on him, but Shikamaru uses a new technique to pull the explosive tags he placed on Hidan’s body. Shikamaru then opens a trap that he had set up and reveals that his plan was to bury Hidan under the Nara family forest to ensure that no one would search for his body. He has a vision of Asuma entrusting her “will of fire” to him, then uses his lighter to ignite the tags on Hidan. Naruto uses Shadow Clones to test Kakuzu’s fighting ability, and then prepares the jutsu he has been developing, Wind Style: Spiraling Shuriken.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 88 – Fuuton, Rasen-Suriken

Naruto uses his new Rasen-Shuriken technique to fight Kakuzu. On the first try, it fails. He lost the Rasen-Shuriken form only it will hit Kakuzu. Kakuzu catches Naruto and wants to steal his heart, but Kakashi and Yamato move quickly to save Naruto.

Elsewhere, Shikamaru defeats Hidan alone. He blows up hidan with explosive tags and buries him there. Moments later, Sakura and Sai arrive. Seeing that Shikamaru has defeated Hidan, they head back to meet up with their friends.

Naruto tries the second try. Kakuzu knows that he must use long range combat to counter Naruto’s technique. Naruto uses his shadow clone again and this time, his Rasen-Shuriken hit Kakuzu.

Naruto Shippuden Episode 89 – The price of power

Naruto’s jutsu severely injures Kakuzu, and Kakashi finishes him off. Shikamaru visits Asuma’s grave and meets Kurenai there, and tells him that he has realized that he has to take responsibility and will protect his child once he is born. He plays Shogi with his father and reveals the lesson that Asuma had recently learned and taught him: the king that the Konoha ninja must protect is not the Hokage, but the next generation. Tsunade sees that Kakuzu’s nerves have been severed by Naruto’s Coiled Shuriken, and realizing that he also hurts Naruto in the same way, he tells Kakashi not to let Naruto use it again. Naruto is unaware of how dangerous the technique is and feels certain that he and Sakura are closing in on Sasuke. Elsewhere, Orochimaru learns of recent events and sends Kabuto to meet a woman named Goren, whose help he needs.