As expected, the animation department continues to maintain great visuals with quality arguably as high as 138's. The plot finishes Madara's explanation of Itachi's truth and story, adding in some superb dramatic touches to emotionally convey the sacrifices made in order to preserve Konoha's peace and stability. The first half is really nothing much we didn't already know from previous episodes, but it's nonetheless nice to see Sasuke's reactions at being deceived for so long. Remembering some of the subtle clues Itachi had left him (like his final words just before dying) does bring a few revelations to the table. Most of the episode consisted of buildup, but it was buildup that was very appropriate for the storyline and it was generally pulled off dramatically well... except for the Hawkle moment. I'd be lying if I said I didn't laugh at that part, it's exactly like the manga's version.

Overall, I'd say the episode was pretty solid. In fact the arc as a whole was solid, Pierrot added a crapload of anime-only depth to characters like Orochimaru, Jiraiya and even Hebi's Taka's members before they were gathered under Sasuke's leadership. The chapter coverage pacing was given a complete overhaul and all of the big fights were animated very nicely, the direction of scenes were also made more enjoyable than their original counterparts, almost everything from the studio's side of the fence was damn near superb. It certainly isn't without its mistakes (such as some dull episodes occurring before the Sasuke vs. Deidara battle and a lot of inevitable story flaws from Kishimoto) but most importantly, Pierrot took a somewhat average arc in the manga and managed to transform it into something decent and enjoyable. That's what I call a winner production studio.

The episode gets an 8/10, the "Hebi/Hunt for Itachi" arc also gets an 8/10.

His real plan is to elimnate Danzou, and the other two aides not the village