The last episode ended with the little Kyuubi pushed by the snake sword to the broken bridge area. Yamato and Sakura finally see the transformed Naruto, both of them are concerned. Orochimaru intends to slash him but he realizes he can't, so the Fox picks the sword and throws it away without noticing Sakura, Yamato and Kabuto. The captain reacts fast enough and saves her, Kabuto dodges it as well. Orochimaru chooses to retreat back to the forest, while the Fox roars. Then, Sakura stares shocked at the Fox, and in her green eyes her memories of Naruto are seen: as a boy calling her name, smiling, and a picture as the grown up Naruto. She feels a heartache, She can't believe the little Kyuubi is actually her partner, while Kabuto thinks out loud saying how he reached this state for chasing Sasuke, and how pathetic is the boy who's gone now. Sakura's tears start to fall while she remembers Naruto, so she runs to him, and begs him to stop, that she will save Sasuke for him, but when he sees her, he knocks her out with a tail. Yamato is not fast enough to protect her, and Sakura also ignored his warning to stay away from him. As Yamato traps the Fox with wood pillars, Kabuto heals Sakura and tells that he'll help them this time in exchange for bringing more Akatsuki members down. Sakura's wound on her left arm doesn't heal easily, but Kabuto does his best. As he thinks that his master won't hold on much longer, he leaves, while Yamato tries to supress the Kyuubi's chakra. Sakura opens her eyes and sees how the captain manages to reverse the transformation, the Kyuubi's chakra slowly disappears thanks to the connection between Yamato's hand and Hashirama's necklace. Naruto finally appears, but his skin is heavily burned, and Sakura looks worried. These scenes were outstanding. Finally there were emotions like in the first arc. The way Sakura cried, what she felt is what the viewer can feel, and is even more deep. How can that "monster", as Kabuto calls him, be the happy hyperactive smiling kind boy we met? For Sakura, how can the Fox be his partner, the one who would always try to cheer her up, the kind naïve teammate who always supported her, and is her biggest company, her best friend? Her tears imply how much he means to her, and the decision to confront him, to try to reach him, thinking that the real Naruto is somewhere inside that Fox, tells that she'd give anything in the world to recover him. That action was pure love. Totally selfless, she risked her life to save Naruto from the Kyuubi, to make him return to himself. The first time I saw it, I thought it would work, I've seen that in other stories. Sadly it didn't. But was worth it, says how much Sakura cares about Naruto. And like I said before, now her tears mean much more, because she grew up. She knows better how and what she feels. Yamato proved what he can do, and on these last episodes, has improved as a character and as captain. He rescued Sakura each time, is watching Sai, and now fulfilled his role in supressing the Kyuubi's chakra. He is not Kakashi, but he became a satisfying substitute.
Then, the less interesting part shows Sai's intentions. At the woods, he reaches Orochimaru and tells Danzo sent him. He has a message from him for the Sannin, who is surprised but listens. He demands respect, and even though Sai watches his words, out of sudden, the Sannin throws the snake sword to him. Next episode shows that Sai prevented this and used a clone, still, was unnecesary. The fact that Danzo and Orochimaru know each other is disturbing. Danzo was introduced as a dark character in Konoha, and now he seems to be working with the enemy. He's not a traitor, Sai knows this, but if he made deals with Orochimaru in the past, Danzo is a complex character.
Then, the less interesting part shows Sai's intentions. At the woods, he reaches Orochimaru and tells Danzo sent him. He has a message from him for the Sannin, who is surprised but listens. He demands respect, and even though Sai watches his words, out of sudden, the Sannin throws the snake sword to him. Next episode shows that Sai prevented this and used a clone, still, was unnecesary. The fact that Danzo and Orochimaru know each other is disturbing. Danzo was introduced as a dark character in Konoha, and now he seems to be working with the enemy. He's not a traitor, Sai knows this, but if he made deals with Orochimaru in the past, Danzo is a complex character.
