The Will of Fire (2009), the third Naruto Shippuden film (and the sixth overall) is the most satisfying feature to date. Hiruko, a mysterious and evil ninja, has trapped four Shinobi who command Kekkei Gengai powers. To achieve the virtually limitless strength he seeks, Hiruko only needs to capture the fifth Shinobi: Kakashi Sensei! Having once placed the Cursed Puppet Master Jutsu on his one-time friend Kakashi, Hiruko draws Naruto's beloved teacher to him. Lady Tsunade and Kakashi have a plan to defeat Hiruko before he can start a fourth Great Ninja War, but Naruto won't accept the risks it entails. Remembering his first lesson, that anyone who disobeys an order is scum, but anyone who deserts his friends is worse than scum, he goes in pursuit. His fellow young ninja join him, won over by Naruto's unbreakable devotion to his friends. Shikimaru has been assigned to stop him, and much of the film focuses on Shikimaru's struggle to determine whether orders or friendship carry a greater weight. But no order can stand against Naruto's Will of Fire. Director Masahiko Murata pulls out all the stops, pitting Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Rock Lee, and the rest of the Hidden Leaf team against dinosaur-like chimeras, serpents, exotic jutsu, reptilian ninja henchmen, and an escalating succession of explosions and special effects. It's everything Naruto's many fans want and expect in a theatrical feature--an adventure that a television arc couldn't contain.
Ages Teen+.