"Hoshikage, The Buried Truth"
Give it up Neji, Naruto is clearly dead. Can't see any signs of life with his magic eyes. Akahoshi is behind him with his beast still ready. Neji asks why he hit Naruto too. The beast is about to strike Neji who is ready for it...but then he puts it away. It was an accident, he had to strike when he had the chance. Sorry about your friend, a tragic loss. He had never seen anyone defeat Ninja Art: Kujaku before. He tells him that his mission is over and he's no longer needed here. Neji notes that they haven't recovered the star but the Deputy says they will handle it themselves.
Oh, Naruto is alive. She probably used the same trick that kept Sumaru alive through the poison. She uses some star chakra to revive him. Naruto is shook when he sees her but she identifies herself as a friend. He wants to know who saved him after they got knocked off the cliff, was it you? Yes, cue FLASHBACK. She made wings, caught him with a hulk hand, brought him to her and flew off. Whatever, it's all a big blur to Naruto but he's glad he's alive and thanks her. His name is Naruto, he's from the leaf and well, he's here to look at that there star you kinda stole. No offense. She laughs and then he does. She introduces herself as Natsuhi. That sounds awfully familiar...Natsuhiboshi flashback. That's what Sumaru called the star that watches over and protects him. She's touched! Sumaru said that? Naruto asks if she knows him and she whips out her pendant. He is...my son! Get out of here!
Meanwhile the villains have made a not so shocking discovery; Sumaru is gone! One of the medical ninja begs forgiveness, he thought the sedatives would last for hours. The deputy's eyes glow purple. The Leaf ninja did it. The two flunkies are worried that the whole scheme will be laid out to the village and that they have to kill the Leaf ninja before it's too late. Stop panicking, once we get the star back everything will fall into place. The lackeys are pleased with this and suggest that they'll send word to the Leaf that their ninjas died fulfilling the mission and maybe they can convince Sumaru it was all a dream or something. Akahoshi has Natsuhi's chakra implanted in his memory and can follow it back to the star.
Back at the training hut Neji is telling the trainees the story. Naruto was knocked off the cliff with the kunoichi who stole the star, but he didn't see any sign of them when he looked. Hokuto is glad and thinks they might have made it to the forest just beyond and attempts to rally the trainees to search. They mumble and grumble and eventually offer that they should wait for orders from Akahoshi. Hokuto says that Naruto is in trouble and he helped them all. Mizura starts to get up and says he's got to be of some use. Just then a voice from the door volunteers to go. It's Sumaru. Lee and Twenty found him at the Hoshikage's house heavily sedated. Also the ninja who took the star and knocked them all out (well, the second time) wasn't from some other village. No indeed, it was not, it was Akahoshi! The ninja who attacked them and the ninja who stole the star are two different people! "Brilliant Lee" says Tenten sarcastically, "except that Neji already said that." The kids are shook, they want to know why he would do that. Sumaru says he is beginning to suspect Akahoshi of hiding something. Neji tells them the truth; Akahoshi is using all of you. Mizura won't be the only one to get sick or worse. The kids say no, they don't believe them but Hokuto has her eyes opening. Neji says the ninja who stole the star probably has answers for them. Mizura is ready to volunteer to show them the way through the woods but Sumaru stops him, he'll do it. Mizura needs to rest but don't worry, his time will come.
Akahoshi and his goons walk a tight rope across the Valley of Death and he uses his magic eyes to track a flight path of Natsuhi. The gives the signal to his goons when they ask him if he found it and they start running off. Meanwhile Naruto is feeling better and loves any home cooking from a mom, even when its in a cave. She offers seconds and Naruto say sure. Then they get down to the brass tacks, why did she steal the star? In fact this wasn't the first time she stole it, she stole it ten years ago! FLASHBACK.
Even then it was clear that star training was dangerous. Trainees fell ill or worse all the time. She and her husband were the only two to ever complete the training so they decided to steal it and hide it away. Star village tracking ninja, replete with knock off ANBU masks, were assigned to follow them and it wasn't long before they caught up. Suddenly a voice ordered them to stop, it's the third Hoshikage. He calls their actions rash but says he has thought about doing the same thing. He's going to terminate the star training but knows that some people will disagree and will try to continue the star training. He orders them to disappear and keep a watch over the village from a distance, returning if the training ever starts up again. Hotarubi takes his necklace off and gives it to the third saying its for his son Sumaru. His mother tells the third to tell her son that they died when she hands over the star and walks away. The FLASHBACK ends and she reiterates the main point, the third thought that star training's cost outweighed the benefits and stopped training shortly after they left. Neji said the same thing about the damage, is it really that bad? Yes, she says, as it caused the death of her husband shortly after they departed and that the same could happen to her at any time, there's no way of knowing. Naruto, moved by anger, says that they need to return to denounce Akahoshi. She says that his dream of a strong village is more important than their safety and informs Naruto of his hostage plan. Huh, the ninja who kidnapped Sumaru was Akahoshi? Her chakra sense is tingling though. Akahoshi and his henchmen are here. They find the plateau which doubles as Hotarubi's grave. The goons ask him if this is the place and he gets a vision of the moving boulder and her placing the stone with her husband's remains. So that's what she was doing the first time. The star is right here but the enterance is sealed by a boulder. The goon who sounds like Roy Mustang suggests paper bombs. Before they even get to that a horde of Naruto's comes flying in and tells them to forget about it. Eight on three brother. What the. They thought he was lost in the Valley of Death. Ha, takes more than that to get rid of me, or should I say us. Akahoshi steps forward though; the time for henchmen is over. He's going to finish what he began with Ninja Art: Kujaku Beast. The beast keeps eating shadow clones but where is the real one?
Didn't he pull this rock trick last episode? Ohohohohohoho. He was ready for that trick as he sends another beast at him. Natsuhi though prevents that. Yes, she's still alive. She gives him an ultimatum to stop the training and she'll leave forever. He calls her just as stubborn as the third Hoshikage...who he murdered after he wouldn't listen to reason. Him and his goons stabbed him with kunai when he told them the training wouldn't resume while he was alive. Akahoshi cuts a heel promo here saying that they need this training to rival the five great villages and condems the old man to sleep with his ancestors, it's time for a new generation. The lackeys aren't sure what they did was right but Akahoshi laughs that star training will resume. Naruto in real time says he doesn't care about the village and Mizura will die. Akahoshi says this is for the village and that some sacrifices had to be made to keep the village strong. A true shinobi understands that. It's not for the village, it's for you! Natsuhi steps in front of Naruto and says it's not his fight and begins charging up. Akahoshi orders his goons to use their chakra and his beast eats theirs up! He's fully charged after that meal. Naruto tells her to be careful as Team Guy, Sumaru and some of the other trainees approach the fight and the episode ends!
NEXT EPISODE: "Reunion, The Remaining time"