Ep. 254: Naruto undertakes a secret S-rank mission as an animal surveyor while the Akatsuki prepare their White Zetsu army.

254

Naruto starts an S-rank mission as an animal surveyor, unaware it distracts him from the looming war while the island is revealed to be a giant turtle. His task to shelter animals leads to encounters with a stowaway Condor and conflicts among giant animals over a giant armadillo. Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki hideout, Kabuto reveals details about Project Tsuki no Mi and his desire to experiment on Zetsu, convincing Tobi to let him pursue the jinchuriki and Yamato. Tobi agrees and shows Kabuto the Gedo Statue, where a clone of Hashirama Senju is fused into a flower. Tobi explains that the flower's roots contain 100,000 White Zetsu, created from tailed beast chakra and ready for deployment. Upon learning the Akatsuki know the jinchuriki locations, Onoki offers to travel to the island with his bodyguards and intercepts Kabuto and the reanimated Deidara.