A few days earlier, a man named Yomi attacks a shrine to retrieve the spirit of Mōryō, a demon attempting to conquer the world and create his "Thousand Year Kingdom".

Naruto, Sakura Haruno, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga are sent to guard Shion, and deliver her to the shrine where Mōryō's body is kept.

It turns out to be a ruse: the dead "Shion" is actually her servant, Taruho, acting as a decoy by the use of the Shadow Mirror Body Transfer Jutsu.

Together, Sakura, Lee, and Neji defeat the assassins, and at the mountain temple where Mōryō's body is kept, Naruto and Shion find the stone army waiting.

[citation needed] It was announced that the American version could be pre-ordered with the limited edition of Naruto Shippuden: Clash of Ninja Revolution 3 before its release.

[7] The setup provided by the early trailer alluding to Naruto's death was noted to surprise the fans based on the recent airing of the second animated adaptation of the long-time popularity of the title character.

UK Anime felt the film was too gruesome in general despite the ratings presented to the point he believed the younger demographic would be shocked by the violent acts such as fighters being impaled or losing a considerable amount of blood.

[8] Active Anime praised the shocking story of Naruto's death and the large amount of well-animated fight scenes created across the narrative.

The website also praised the animation, claiming the CGI performed on the villains was well executed and soundtrack manages to improve the atmosphere.

[12] UK Anime, in particular, enjoyed the fight between Rock Lee and one of Yomi's followers as the most outstanding parts of the movie, comparing it to The Ghost Army.