Naruto Shippuden: The Movie: Bonds

Naruto Shippuden: The Movie: Bonds is the second Shippuden film and the most significant for Sasuke fans, featuring a cameo appearance by the rogue ninja that provides one of the few theatrical glimpses of Sasuke post-defection before the later seasons of Shippuden properly address his journey. The main plot involves a hidden group called the Sons of the Sky who launch an aerial attack on Konoha with a new military weapon and an alchemical power source. Naruto teams up with a boy named Amaru to locate the source of the attack and stop its leader, Zero.

The Sasuke element in Bonds is brief but memorable — it represents a rare opportunity for fans to see Sasuke operating independently during the years the main series largely skips over his time with Orochimaru. Tonally, the film is one of the darker Shippuden theatrical entries, with its aerial assault on Konoha providing destruction on a scale that felt genuinely threatening in 2008. Non-canonical and lacking the story depth of later Shippuden films, Bonds is primarily of interest to fans wanting Sasuke content and those who enjoy the aerial action sequences. Best watched somewhere in the middle of the Shippuden run.