Naruto Shippuden episode 491 release date, spoilers: Shikamaru, Soku and Ro try to infiltrate Gengo's castle

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A promotional image for "Naruto: Shippuden."

"Naruto Shippuden" continues to focus on Shikamaru's life after the Fourth Shinobi World War with the upcoming episode 491 titled "Recklessness," which is the latest installment in the "Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness," arc of the long-running anime series.

It can be recalled that in episode 490 titled "Dark Clouds," Shikamaru, Soku and Ro made their way to the Land of Silence to investigate the region after receiving a cryptic message from Sai. However, they needed to get past a checkpoint to continue their search for Sai in the village of Tobari.

After initially encountering misunderstandings with both Shikamaru and Ro, Soku managed to prove that she really wanted to desert Konoha and join the Land of Silence by killing Shikamaru and Ro using her chakra needles. Later on, it was revealed that Soku just placed the two in a temporary death-like state to trick Komori. By the end of the episode, all three were able to infiltrate Tobari.

In the upcoming episode, shinobi and his companions will commence their search for Sai. They will come to realize that his disappearance seems to be tied to Gengo, the leader of the Land of Silence.

Based on the preview for "Recklessness," the trio quickly comes to understand the elusive nature of Gengo and are unable to find more information about him and Sai. Their reconnaissance also proves to be difficult as no one really knows what is happening inside the castle where Gengo dwells.

The official synopsis for the forthcoming installment has yet to be revealed but from what has been shared so far, it seems that episode 491 will deal with Shikamaru, Soku and Ro trying to gain entry to the castle. It is also likely that the group will slowly get to know about Gengo's very influential and persuasive abilities.

While those who have read "Shikamaru Hiden: A Cloud Drifting in Silent Darkness," the novel which the current arc of "Naruto Shippuden" is based on, already know what is going to happen, viewers are still eagerly anticipating the upcoming episode to see how these events play out on the small screen.

"Naruto Shippuden" episode 491 is slated to air on Thursday, Jan. 26, on TV Tokyo and Crunchyroll.