Season 2012 - Episode Guide

After a long voyage at sea, Naruto's ship finally arrives at the island of its destination. Before everyone can rejoice, a giant squid attacks the ship. Fortunately, the crew is saved by Killer Bee, the Eight Tails' jinchuriki host.

Motoi warns Naruto that he is not yet ready to enter training to control the Tailed Beast. Undaunted, Naruto asks Motoi to tell him more about Killer Bee.

With Killer Bee as his new master, Naruto begins his training to control the power of a Tailed Beast. In order to do so, one must fight the Tailed Beast head on and absorb its chakra, converting it into one's own power.

Inside his mind, Naruto continues his battle against Nine Tails to take control of its immense power.

Sixteen years ago, Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze and his wife Kushina are expecting their first child, much to the delight of the young couple.

Minato is forced to use his Flying Raijin jutsu and leave his wife Kushina behind to save their newborn son, Naruto, from a masked assailant.

Minato uses his Transportation Technique to move Nine Tails away from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Guy arrives at the Waterfall of Truth to help Naruto with his training. Instead he encounters Kisame, who has infiltrated the island to locate Naruto and Killer Bee.

Kisame's escape is prevented thanks to Guy's efforts. Aoba enters Kisame's mind to gather intel on the Akatsuki.

Madara appears in the Hidden Rain Village seeking the corpse of Nagato and his Rinnegan.

Madara uses the forbidden jutsu Izanagi to escape Konan's Paper Bomb trap.

The Leaf and Cloud ninja prepare to relocate Naruto and Bee, as the Akatsuki may already have knowledge of their location. Aoba assigns Naruto an S-rank mission to distract him from learning about their true mission: keeping the two Jinchuriki hidden from the enemy.

Kabuto and a reanimated Deidara attempt to grab hold of the jinchuriki, but are stopped by the Tsuchikage, who has come to protect Naruto.

The Tsuchikage and his team manage to safeguard the Jinchuriki, but at the cost of losing Yamato to the enemy.

A look back into the early years when Naruto and Sasuke first met and got to know each other.

During the Chunin Exam, Sasuke witnesses Naruto's growth as a shinobi

Sasuke's defeat to Gaara, and later Itachi, forces him to realize that he is not strong enough to get revenge against his older brother.

Naruto is determined to save Sasuke, who has deserted the Hidden Leaf.

The Allied Shinobi Forces are on standby, ready to confront Madara's army of reanimated shinobi and 100,000 White Zetsu. But distrust still exists among the Allied Shinobi Forces, who were once sworn enemies until recently.

Kankuro's commando unit enters enemy territory to set up a stronghold for the Allied Shinobi Forces. They are immediately ambushed by the Akatsuki's own commando unit comprised of the reanimated Deidara and Sasori.

The Allied Shinobi Forces' commando unit engages with the Akatsuki in the first wave of battle.

Under the guidance of Killer Bee, Naruto enters the final stage of training to master the Tailed Beast Bomb, a Jinchuriki's most powerful technique.

The commando unit is in hot water as they engage the reanimated Kekkei Genkai shinobi, which include Zabuza Momochi and Haku. Luckily, Kakashi and his unit arrive in time to assist them.

Kakashi and his unit devise a strategy to take on the Kekkei Genkai shinobi, but it's foiled by Kabuto, who uses the Reanimation Jutsu to summon the most powerful members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The Akatsuki dispatch an army of powerful reanimated shinobi and White Zetsu across the war zone, causing chaos within the Allied Shinobi Forces' chain of command.

As Darui and his First Company engage an army of White Zetsu, the remaining forces must deal with reanimated shinobi.

Atsui, Samui, and Darui face off against Kinkaku and Ginkaku, the legendary brothers from the Hidden Cloud, feared even by the Raikage.

Darui manages to seal away Ginkaku. Fueled by the rage of losing his brother, Kinkaku transforms into a monster that resembles a jinchuriki's Tailed Beast State.

Ino sees Sakura falling from the sky. Although she manages to save her, the shock of the fall has left Sakura with amnesia.

Kankuro's Commando Unit is cornered by Hanzo's poison attack. Fortunately, Mifune and his Fifth Company arrive in time to provide assistance.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio is ordered by Shikaku to take down the reanimated Asuma. Remembering Asuma's final words, Shikamaru and Ino are determined to stop their former teacher.

Choji is unable to attack Asuma and loses his will to fight. Ino and Shikamaru try to snap Choji out of his paralysis.

While training in Chakra Mode, Naruto senses the presence of the Nine Tails' chakra seeping from Kinkaku outside.

The Allied Shinobi Forces are on the verge of winning the war when Madara Uchiha appears. Madara summons the giant Gedo Statue and unleashes its devastating power.

Naruto and Killer Bee rush to the battlefield when Nine Tails suddenly speaks to Naruto inside his mind.

Over at the Medical Unit camp, Sakura and the other medic ninja work nonstop to treat the wounded. Neji is there to recover from overusing his Byakugan.

Kiba, Shino, and Hinata are sent to investigate an area where the Akatsuki are supposedly getting through. There, the three are ambushed by a White Zetsu and get separated.

Back at the Fifth Company's camp, Kurotsuchi attempts to negotiate with the captive Deidara to find out Kabuto's location, but is quickly rebuffed.

With many of the shinobi away serving in the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Leaf Village is left with just the mothers and children to protect it. Konohamaru is eager to guard the village but is quickly discouraged by the adults who tell him to just go about his day as usual.

Tsunade and the Raikage arrive to prevent Naruto and Killer Bee from joining the battle. But the two Kage fail to convince the Jinchuriki to turn back, forcing the Raikage to use extreme force.

Fourth Raikage Ay attacks Naruto in an attempt to prevent the Jinchuriki from falling into Madara's hands. Ay is unwilling to listen to either Tsunade or Killer Bee's pleas to change his mind.

Kakashi assigns Sai to take over for the Sealing Corps, who are recovering from sealing the reanimated shinobi. But Sai is not sure if he can handle the responsibility. Soon afterwards, the Third Company is attacked by Jinin Akebino.

A group of Allied Shinobi, including Omoi and Maki of the Sand, battle against several reanimated enemies. Maki recognizes one of them as Pakura, her former master who was a Sand Village hero.

Still coping with the loss of her loved ones, Tsunade indulges in gambling and drinking. Around the same time, the Raikage Ay and his men are on a mission to steal a scroll from a certain village.

The Raikage Ay and his team suffer critical injuries during an enemy attack. Unwilling to sacrifice any more of his men, Ay seeks medical help from Tsunade, who just happens to be in the area.

Kakashi races to the scene where the Seven Ninja Swordsmen Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinpachi Munashi were last sighted. Enraged by the carnage they've left behind, Kakashi teams up with Might Guy.

Omoi's unit is attacked by Ameyuri Ringo of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and loses one of Omoi's men. Omoi attempts to avenge his comrade, but Nurui orders everyone to retreat.

Naruto and his team are assigned a mission to identify and hunt down the perpetrator of the Tonika Village massacre. It's been a while since Naruto has had a mission, and he's pumped to take it on.

While investigating the village near Tonika, Kabuto confronts Naruto. An epic battle erupts as Kabuto uses the forbidden Reanimation Jutsu against Naruto. In the meantime, Dokku and the five survivors lie low at the village.

Naruto and Sakura decide to stay at Shiseru's house overnight to help watch over the survivors. Although the children cry and miss their deceased parents, Dokku and Shiseru try hard to bring everyone together as a new family.

A clone possessing the Nine Tails' chakra emerges from Naruto's body. Seeking more power, the clone goes on a rampage, destroying everything in its path.

After their defeat by the Nine Tails' clone, Naruto and Dokku are taken captive by Kabuto.