Close friend!

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Close friend!
Premiere date:	27 April 2005
Episode Length:	24.5 minutes
Episode Code:	132
Episode Airdate:	27 April 2005
Manga Arc:	Sasuke Retrieval

Close friend! (Japanese: 親友よ！, - Shin'yū yo!) is episode 132 of the anime series Naruto. The episode's storyline is from the Sasuke Retrieval manga arc.

[edit] Plot

The episode opens in Tsunade’s office, where Kakashi has just been informed of Sasuke’s defection. He is appalled that only a team of four genin (Naruto, Choji, Kiba and Neji) and one newly-minted chunin (Shikamaru) has been assigned to bring back his renegade student. He is only somewhat encouraged by the news that the Sand Village siblings (Gaara, Kankuro and Temari) have been sent as reinforcements.

Kakashi ignores Tsunade’s order to take on another "S-rank" mission and goes after Sasuke. Sakura comes over and tells him that she trusts Naruto, but there is no telling what could happen between him and Sasuke. After telling Sakura not to worry and to leave the rest to him, Kakashi summons his entire pack of nin-dogs (last seen in Episode 17, when used against Zabuza), and they quickly pick up the scent. Pakkun asks why them but Kakashi tells Pakkun that he'll tell him later.

He thinks back to Naruto & Sasuke’s fight on the roof of the hospital when Sasuke used Chidori and Naruto used Rasengen. Kakashi interfered and threw them toward adjacent twin towers and he had lectured Sasuke for forgetting about revenge and telling him that they had found friends in this world. Cursing himself for being too naïve, he hears one of his dogs howling. He takes up the pursuit, praying that he'll make it in time.

Back at the Valley of the End, Naruto & Sasuke collide and go into a clinch. Sasuke says that since Sakura & Kakashi aren’t around this time, there’s no one to stop them from finishing their fight. Breaking away from Naruto and vowing to defeat him, Sasuke prepares to use his One Thousand Birds (Chidori) and prepares to attack. Naruto wonders about Sasuke’s sanity, and vows to take him back, even if he has to beat Sasuke senseless and drag him back to Konoha.

He summons a shadow-clone to help him form his Spiraling Sphere (Rasengan), then has the same clone slingshot him toward the incoming Sasuke. The One Thousand Birds collides with the Spiraling Sphere, and the two ninjutsu explode, sending the combatants flying away from each other.

Sasuke is the first to recover, angry that his full-power One Thousand Birds didn’t do as much damage as he’d hoped. He was curious about the Spiraling Sphere, and wonders how far Naruto has progressed from the part when he and Naruto charged at each other on the hospital roof and when he saw the hole in the back of the hospital. He remembers when Kakashi had told him that if he tries to use it the third time he will lose all of his chakra and in the worst case he will die.

Naruto floats to the surface of the lake, while Sasuke decides to save his second and last One Thousand Birds for later. Naruto looks over at Sasuke and it appears to sink in that Sasuke is completely serious about this fight. Sasuke decides to use his speed and taijutsu to create an opening, then use the One Thousand Birds to finish the job. Releasing his Cursed Seal of Heaven to Level One, he talks to Naruto, saying “Did you know, Naruto...first-class ninjas are able to read each other's minds with just one exchange of their fists? Even if they don’t say it out loud...You're naïve, Naruto. How is it? Were you able to truly read inside... my mind?!”

Sasuke then uses his Fire Release: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique on Naruto. When Naruto dodges it by jumping upward, Sasuke moves in and hits him with a kick to the face. As Sasuke continues his quick taijutsu attacks, Naruto experiences some flashbacks to his childhood and his days at the ninja academy.

He remembers when he thought that Sasuke was alone and felt reassured and happy when there was someone like him. He said that he also wanted to speak to him but he couldn't, thinking that everyone praised and admired Sasuke and that he was jealous. Instead of making friends, he decided to make Sasuke his rival. He also says that he doesn't want to lose, and even when he was in Team Seven and not even saying how he felt, deep down he wanted to be like Sasuke. All these memories fly by as Sasuke punches him. He recalls how, during the Chunin Exams, Sasuke said that he wanted to fight Naruto, and how happy it made him. It seemed that Sasuke had finally accepted him.

When these flashbacks finish, Sasuke is seen holding Naruto up with his right hand and forming One Thousand Birds with his left. Naruto thinks about how he and Sasuke had become friends. Sasuke said admits Naruto was his closest friend. Naruto however, was not quite sure what Sasuke said was true, since he was killing him. Naruto begins summoning the Nine-Tails' chakra. Naruto's eyes turn red and slitted, his teeth become longer and sharper and his fingernails become claws, and his whiskers become thicker. But Sasuke says that he's too late, and strikes with his One Thousand Birds.

We see a small rain of blood fall on the water and turn it into a purplish color and Naruto thought he was so stupid to think that only he thought Sasuke as a best friend to him. Naruto flashes back to his childhood once more, to the loneliness he felt even when he was playing with his friends but when their parents came to pick them up, he was all alone. He recognized the same thing in Sasuke, who was also alone, sitting on a dock watching the sunset. Sasuke glares at him and Naruto turns away and so does Sasuke. When we return to the battle, we see that the move has hit, but Naruto was able to deflect it slightly, so that instead of cutting through his heart and killing him, it struck the right side of his chest, collapsing his right lung and rendering his right arm useless.

Just when Sasuke thinks he has Naruto at his mercy and grabs his throat thinking this is the end, the Nine-Tails’ chakra takes over, giving Naruto the strength to break free from Sasuke’s grasp. Naruto generates more and more of the Nine-Tails' red chakra, and Sasuke sees an image of the Nine-Tailed Fox around him, astonished wondering how this is possible. Naruto’s wounds heal before Sasuke’s eyes, and Naruto tells Sasuke that he will not let Orochimaru have him, even if he has to break Sasuke's arms and legs. The episode ends.

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Open your eyes to the truth The secret of the Mangekyō Sharingan		Howl of tears! You are my friend

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