Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Will of Fire

Tsunade ordered Kakashi to sacrifice himself because Hiruko had activated a Puppet Curse that was placed on Kakashi over a decade earlier. The curse gave Hiruko complete control over Kakashi's actions. By ordering Kakashi to confront Hiruko, Tsunade hoped he could either break the curse or at least draw Hiruko out into the open before the solar eclipse allowed his Chimera Technique to reach full power. It was a desperate measure to prevent the village's destruction and stop Hiruko's plan to trigger a world war.

Earlier in the film, Tsunade expresses her reluctance, showing the weight of this decision on her as Hokage.

Hiruko had placed a Puppet Curse on Kakashi more than a decade earlier when they were allies. When Hiruko activated the curse during the movie, it gave him telepathic control over Kakashi's body and mind. Under the curse's influence, Kakashi was compelled to desert Konoha and travel toward Mount Shumi where Hiruko was located. The curse essentially turned Kakashi into a living puppet that Hiruko could command at will.

The curse was mentioned as something Hiruko had laid on Kakashi in the past, hinting at its eventual activation.

The Chimera Technique is a forbidden jutsu that allows the user to merge multiple entities into a single powerful being. Hiruko planned to use it to seize the Kekkei Genkai (bloodline abilities) of the Land of Fire's ninjas. The technique requires a solar eclipse to reach its full power, which is why Hiruko projected himself above Konoha and waited for the eclipse. During the eclipse, the technique would make him immortal and allow him to absorb any jutsu, making him virtually invincible.

Hiruko's projection above Konoha explicitly mentions the eclipse as the key timing for his plan.

When Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan activated inside the slime created by Hiruko's Chimera Technique, it caused distortions in the space within the chimera. This disruption gave Naruto the opening he needed to dive into the slime and rescue Kakashi. The Mangekyō's ability to manipulate space proved crucial because the Chimera Technique had trapped Kakashi within its biological mass, and only this spatial distortion allowed for the rescue.

Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan was established earlier as a powerful ability tied to his tragic past with Obito.

Hiruko's Chimera Technique allowed him to absorb and neutralize most ninjutsu attacks, including Kakashi's Raikiri and Naruto's regular Rasengan. However, the Futon: Rasenshuriken was a wind-release technique that Hiruko could not absorb because it operated differently, instead of being absorbed as chakra, it would have shredded his body from the inside. This made it the only technique capable of bypassing Hiruko's absorption ability and delivering the fatal blow.

Throughout the battle, Hiruko easily swallows the team's standard attacks, establishing that a new approach was needed.

The ninjas with Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit abilities) across the Lightning, Earth, Water, and Wind nations were being captured by Hiruko and his followers Ichi, Ni, and San. They were absorbed into Hiruko's Chimera Technique as part of his plan to collect all the bloodline abilities. This is why only the Land of Fire remained untouched initially, Hiruko was saving the Fire Country's Kekkei Genkai users for his climactic ritual during the eclipse.

The vanishings were the first sign of Hiruko's scheme, creating international tensions that nearly sparked a fourth great war.

Hiruko's goal was world conquest. By using the Chimera Technique during the solar eclipse, he planned to absorb all Kekkei Genkai from the Fire Country's ninjas and achieve immortality. This would make him invincible and unable to be killed, allowing him to conquer the entire ninja world without opposition. His ambition was to rule as a god-like figure with unlimited power.

Hiruko's projection above Konoha explicitly states his intention to conquer the world.

If Tsunade failed to identify the real culprit behind the Kekkei Genkai vanishings, the Feudal Lord threatened to destroy Konoha in the name of world peace. The other nations were already mobilizing troops on Fire Country's borders due to the suspicion that Fire was behind the attacks. Failure would have triggered a full-scale fourth Great Ninja World War, with Konoha as the target.

The film opens with the rising threat of world war, establishing the stakes for Tsunade's mission.

When Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan activated, it created spatial distortions inside the slime that was part of Hiruko's Chimera Technique. Naruto used this opening to dive into the slime with a Rasengan, breaking through the biological mass and physically pulling Kakashi free. The rescue happened just as the surrounding area began to cave in from the technique's instability.

The buildup to this moment shows Naruto's determination to save his teacher at any cost.

The Will of Fire represents the spirit of protecting one's comrades and village at any cost. In the movie, it manifests in multiple ways: Tsunade's willingness to sacrifice Kakashi for the greater good, Kakashi's own readiness to die to protect Konoha, and Naruto's determination to save his teacher and stop the tragedy. The title reflects the film's theme that those who embrace violence and conquest have strayed from the true Will of Fire, which calls for peace through protecting others.

The conflict between Hiruko's violent conquest and Naruto's protective ninja spirit embodies this theme throughout.

Hiruko was defeated when Naruto launched a Futon: Rasenshuriken, a wind-release technique that Hiruko could not absorb like other jutsu. The attack struck Hiruko directly, causing fatal injuries. Unlike the absorption mechanics of his Chimera Technique, the Rasenshuriken's wind-based nature bypassed his defenses entirely. Hiruko died from the injuries sustained in this final confrontation atop Mount Shumi as the eclipse ended.

Throughout the battle, other techniques fail to harm Hiruko, setting up the need for a new approach.