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

254

Naruto begins his top secret S-rank mission as an animal surveyor, still unaware that it is actually a distraction to keep him in the dark about the upcoming war while the island itself is revealed to be a giant turtle. Naruto's task to get the animals into a shelter results in him encountering a stowaway Condor and getting caught in a spat among the giant animals smitten over a giant armadillo. At the Akatsuki hideout, Kabuto reveals what he knows of Project Tsuki no Mi and his desire to experiment on Zetsu while convincing Tobi to let him go after the jinchuriki and Yamato. Tobi accepts the proposition, taking Kabuto to a chamber where the Gedo Statue rests on a flower with an unconscious clone of Hashirama Senju's body fused into it. Tobi reveals the flower's roots hold a preserved army of 100,000 White Zetsu, created from the captive tailed beasts' chakra and ready for deployment. When the five Kage learn that the Akatsuki now know the jinchurikis' whereabouts, Onoki offers to travel to the island alongside his bodyguards. Onoki intercepts Kabuto and the reanimated Deidara on the way. (Source: Wikipedia) Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown arc: (20/22)