The Konoha Cryptanalysis Team, led by Shikamaru, struggles to decipher the numbers Jiraiya wrote on Fukasaku's back. Naruto realizes that the first "9" is actually the Katakana character "ta" (タ) , a handwriting quirk he recognized from Jiraiya's "Icha Icha" (Makeout) novels.
Starting with this episode, the series production officially switched to High-Definition (HD) for the remainder of its run. Naruto Shippuden Episode 154
This revelation confirms Jiraiya's suspicion that none of the Six Paths of Pain is the actual Nagato; they are puppets being controlled from elsewhere. The Konoha Cryptanalysis Team, led by Shikamaru, struggles