Naruto, as any young child will tell you, tells the tale of a hyperactive ninja-in-training. He is loud, stubborn, and wears a bright orange jumpsuit. Within him is sealed a powerful demon, and because of this he has been ostracized by the people of Konoha.

Naruto Shippuden Volume 5 continues the fight between the Akatsuki and Team Guy and Kakashi. As the two teams split to enter the Akatsuki base, the members of Team Guy confront an enemy trap that will give even them trouble. Team Kakashi take it upon themselves to fight two of the Akatsuki members, Deidara and Sasori.

Highlights
While short, only four episodes, this was a good group of episodes. When the two groups meet outside the entrance of the place that Gaara is captured in, they discover that the only way to gain entrance to the base is to overcome a difficult Five-Seal Barrier. This is a very imaginative device. With it disarmed, Team Kakashi breaks in and confronts Deidara and the creepy Sasori. Here we have a scene that is odd and also a bit funny – Deidara and Sasori arguing amongst themselves over their definition of art. Deidara says that true art is fleeting,  here one moment gone the second, while Sasori says that true art is permanent. Even with an attack from Naruto, they don’t stop their bickering.

After they stop and Deidara leaves with Gaara, Naruto and Kakashi attempt to confront him, leaving Sasori with Sakura and Chiyo. During their fight, we see just how strong Sakura has gotten under her training with Tsunade. It is during this fight that we see Sasori’s true form, that of a mysteriously young man, who had vanished from the Hidden Sand Village twenty years prior.

Overall

Again, I wish this volume was longer. It is a tad upsetting that the disk would end with such a teaser;  they could have easily added a second disk and that  would have  made it well worth while for any fan of martial arts or ninja shows. But as is, this can only be recommended for a Naruto fan. It is impressive to see how a character like Sakura has grown up since the original run of Naruto. To see the growth of  a character that was as unsure of herself as she was in the first series is impressive and shows her real maturity. Naruto, on the other hand, is just as stubborn as ever. The fight between Sakura and Chiyo against Sasori was beautifully animated. It could have been set to music and not lost any of its impact.

ComicsOnline gives Naruto Shippuden Volume 5 2.5 out of 5 Shuriken