The episodes from the thirteenth season of the anime series Naruto: Shippuden are based on Part II of the setting of Naruto manga series by Masashi Kishimoto. The episodes are directed by Hayato Date and produced by Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo. The season focuses on the Fourth Great Ninja War between Naruto and the Hidden Villages’ ninja against the forces under the masked ninja Tobi and Kabuto Yakushi. There is also a side story arc.
The thirteenth season began airing on August 23, 2012 on TV Tokyo and ended on January 10, 2013. On January 2, 2009 Viz Media and Crunchyroll began providing subtitled Naruto: Shippuden. The English dubbed version of this season began on January 10, 2015, on Neon Alley. The season’s collection in DVD started on April 3, 2013 under the title of The Seven Shinobi Swordsmen (忍刀七人衆 Shinobigatana Shichinin-shū). Director’s cuts of episodes 290 to 295 were released in two special edition DVDs titled Power: Black (力-Chikara- 黒 Chikara Kuro) and Power: White (力-Chikara- 白 Chikara Shiro) on July 3, 2013 and August 7, 2013.