Recaps

Newly appointed Hokage Tsunade led a closed-door meeting about Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke, and the threat posed by the Akatsuki. Konoha agreed to seek intelligence discreetly, while the coming Chunin Ninja Exams in Sunagakure became the next test of relations between the villages.

• Tsunade questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi about why Itachi had provided no useful intelligence on the Akatsuki, while Danzo renewed his distrust of the Uchiha Clan.
• Tsunade warned Danzo that she would disband Root and investigate him if it targeted ordinary Konoha Ninja, then declared she would take responsibility for Sasuke.
• Hiruzen argued that Itachi had returned to Konoha during the Chunin Ninja Exams to signal that he remained inside the Akatsuki, and Tsunade chose to accept his judgment for now.
• The high command agreed to seek Akatsuki intelligence and contact Itachi through discreet measures under Tsunade's direction.
• Konoha turned its attention to the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams in Sunagakure, where the villages' true relationship was expected to come under scrutiny.

Sakura and Shino learned that Team Fourteen would help guard Tsunade and scout the route to Sunagakure, ending their recent stretch of easy missions. After visiting Yugao, Sakura teased Shino about marriage and overheard him admit he planned to gain weight first; Shikamaru then appeared and asked what they had been discussing.

• Shino told Sakura that Team Fourteen would guard Tsunade and inspect the route to Sunagakure alongside an Anbu genjutsu specialist.
• Sakura and Shino visited Yugao, whose recovery was going well, and saw that Hayate was exhausted from caring for her.
• Sakura asked Shino when he would marry his girlfriend, and Shino said he wanted to gain ten jin before the wedding.
• Sakura privately understood Shino's concern but pretended not to, then decided to train.
• Shikamaru appeared behind Sakura and asked who was getting married.

Sakura ran into Temari and Shikamaru in Konoha, then joined an Anbu mission briefing to secure the route to Sunagakure. The chapter ended with Hotaru Hyuga leading the squads out on the mission.

• Sakura greeted Shikamaru and Temari, teasing them about being on a date as they explained Temari was in Konoha for the Chunin Ninja Exam.
• Sakura and Temari recognized each other from the exams and exchanged polite greetings before parting ways with Shikamaru.
• Sakura suspected the Chunin Ninja Exam and a dangerous mission were approaching after seeing Temari in Konoha.
• Two days later, Tsunade introduced Hotaru Hyuga as captain of the mission to check the route to Sunagakure for security threats.
• Hotaru assigned Genjutsu specialists to the Anbu squads, and Sakura and Shino joined Yuzuki Terumi in the Fourteenth Squad.
• Hotaru ordered the assembled squads to move out.

Sakura, Shino, and Yuzuki traveled into the Land of Wind on an Anbu mission, and Yuzuki questioned why Konoha had been allowed to cross the border. In Sunagakure, Baki challenged the decision, but Chiyo and the other leaders defended it as a necessary concession and urged the village to rebuild trust cautiously.

• Shino led Sakura and Yuzuki across the border into the barren Land of Wind and stopped to let the exhausted Yuzuki rest.
• Yuzuki questioned why Konoha's Anbu were permitted to carry out a mission inside the Land of Wind.
• Baki confronted Sunagakure's leaders over allowing Konoha shinobi into the country and objected that the village was surrendering its dignity.
• Ebizo blamed Baki for failing to recognize Orochimaru disguised as the Fourth Kazekage, while Chiyo stopped their argument and acknowledged the elders' shared responsibility.
• A middle-aged adviser explained that Konoha's Anbu would inspect only cities on the country's outskirts, and Chiyo said Sunagakure had to demonstrate peaceful intent while remaining wary of its alliance with Konoha.

Sunagakure's leaders decided Baki was unsuited to be Kazekage, and Chiyo proposed Gaara as a future candidate. Meanwhile, Sakura Haruno discreetly inspected a city in the Land of Wind and found no suspicious Chakra signatures.

• An adviser argued that Konoha should inspect the route to Sunagakure because the village lacked the manpower and resources to do it itself.
• Ebizo told Baki to step down as Kazekage and become Jonin Commander, and Baki accepted that he was unsuited to the role.
• The leaders struggled to find a successor until Chiyo suggested choosing from the younger generation and named Gaara as a future candidate.
• Sakura Haruno surveyed a city along the route in disguise, sensing passersby for cultivated Chakra while the Fourteenth Squad investigated separately.
• Sakura found no suspicious Chakra sources and reflected on missing her peaceful life on Earth.

Sakura, Terumi, and Shino searched the Land of Wind for signs of a trap but found no evidence that Sunagakure had set one. Their search uncovered spies, an agent of Orochimaru, and a missing-nin linked to an Akatsuki member, leaving Konoha's shinobi on high alert.

• Sakura searched the city streets and found no suspicious people, then met up with Terumi and Shino, who also reported no signs of a trap.
• Terumi said she had interrogated a human trafficker with Genjutsu, and Shino told Yuzuki to kill traffickers she encountered in the future.
• The teams searched across the Land of Wind, found spies from other countries and villages, and handed them over to the Sand shinobi.
• An Anbu team discovered one of Orochimaru's agents, but he killed himself with concealed snake venom before they could question him.
• Kakashi's team found a missing-nin under Genjutsu control, and Kakashi used his Three-Tomoe Sharingan to learn that the man served an Akatsuki member.

Team Fourteen discovered that Sasori’s intelligence network had an outpost disguised as an izakaya and moved to capture its agents before they could flee. After overpowering the spies, the squad prepared to interrogate them, beginning with the server who had ambushed Shino.

• Shino told Sakura and Terumi that Akatsuki’s sealing technique had killed their captured spy and warned that the operation had alerted Sasori.
• Shino led Team Fourteen to the izakaya, where Sakura and Terumi recognized the staff and customers as Sasori’s spies.
• A disguised server attacked Shino with a kunai, but Shino dodged and knocked him away with an overturned table.
• Sakura restrained the surrounding spies with water snakes, while Terumi and Shino helped defeat the remaining attackers.
• Team Fourteen tied up the spies to interrogate them, and the server who attacked Shino woke and asked why they had not been poisoned.

Sunagakure’s leadership postponed choosing a Kazekage for a year and approved Gaara’s application to join the regular forces. Gaara told the elders he wanted to earn his comrades’ trust and become Kazekage, just as urgent news arrived from Konoha.

• Ebizo argued that Gaara was Sunagakure’s best candidate, while the elders remained divided over his past violence and status as a Jinchūriki.
• Chiyo proposed delaying the Kazekage selection for a year so the village could observe Gaara in the regular forces, and the leadership approved the compromise.
• Baki gave Gaara his appointment papers and welcomed him into the Sand shinobi’s regular forces.
• Chiyo asked why Gaara wanted to join despite the prejudice against him, and Gaara said he wanted comrades’ acknowledgment, bonds, and an end to his loneliness.
• Gaara confirmed that becoming Kazekage was his goal, then left the conference room as the elders reconsidered their view of him.
• A shinobi burst into the conference room with urgent news from Konoha.

Chiyo and the Sand leaders confirmed that Sasori had joined the Akatsuki and decided to send Gaara’s team as support for Konoha’s investigation. Meanwhile, Shino’s squad uncovered Sasori’s plans at a hidden base and headed for Tenchi Bridge, where Sakura might have to face Sasori or Orochimaru.

• Ebizo read Konoha’s intelligence confirming that Sasori had joined the Akatsuki and planted spies in the Land of Wind.
• Chiyo rejected Baki’s proposal to make Konoha withdraw and decided to send an elite support team to monitor the investigation; Yura suggested Gaara’s team.
• Shino, Sakura, and Yuzuki Terumi captured Sasori’s spies at a disguised tavern and used Genjutsu to question the base’s leader.
• The leader revealed that Sasori would meet a spy at Tenchi Bridge at noon the next day to receive information about Orochimaru’s whereabouts.
• Shino’s squad signaled the other teams and set off for Tenchi Bridge, with Shino warning that Sakura might be their only help if Sasori or Orochimaru appeared.

Shino briefed Sakura and Yuzuki on the Land of Rivers and warned them to avoid confronting Akatsuki during their mission near Tenchi Bridge. After reaching the bridge’s vicinity, the Fourteenth Squad was ambushed by a volley of kunai.

• Shino explained how the great nations and underground organizations exploited the weak Land of Rivers, and Sakura reflected on how such oppression fueled hatred and groups like Akatsuki.
• Shino warned Sakura and Yuzuki that they might encounter Sasori or Orochimaru and instructed them to prioritize stealth and intelligence gathering over combat.
• The Fourteenth Squad traveled through the night and set out at dawn, reaching the area near Tenchi Bridge around noon.
• As Shino began leading the squad toward the bridge to observe in secret, dozens of kunai flew at them.

Sakura Haruno confronted Sasori of the Red Sand after he ambushed the Fourteenth Squad. She activated her strength-enhancing techniques and charged him, ending the chapter as her Star Cannon Hammer struck.

• Sasori ambushed Shino, Sakura Haruno, and Terumi, but Sakura blocked his attack with an ice wall.
• Sakura recognized Sasori of the Red Sand and ordered Shino to protect Yuzuki while she faced him.
• Sasori declared that he would turn the squad into puppets, and Sakura challenged his confidence in victory.
• Sakura activated her Yin Seal, Cherry Blossom Impact, and Ice Release armor, while Sasori prepared to fight.
• Sakura rushed Sasori, blocked his iron blades with an ice shield, and struck him with her Monstrous Strength Technique: Star Cannon Hammer.

Sakura destroyed Sasori’s Hiruko puppet and discovered that Sasori had been hiding inside it. Sasori revealed his Human Puppet made from the Third Kazekage, and Sakura secretly formed hand seals before launching a Water Release attack.

• Sakura smashed Sasori’s puppet shell with one punch but realized the real Sasori had escaped unharmed.
• Sasori revealed his youthful true appearance and recognized Sakura as Tsunade’s disciple.
• Sasori summoned a Human Puppet made from the Third Kazekage and explained how he turned living people into puppets.
• Sakura condemned Sasori’s methods and secretly formed hand seals while he spoke.
• Sakura attacked Sasori with Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent.

Sakura Haruno's decapitating Water Release attack failed to kill Sasori, so she chose to counterattack and gather information before using a decisive move. Sasori unleashed the Third Kazekage puppet's Iron Sand and a hidden poison-needle attack, but Sakura blocked both with precise control of her Water Release.

• Sakura decapitated Sasori with Wind Blade Torrent, but his head reattached and he showed no sign of injury.
• Sakura suspected Sasori's body might be a puppet and decided to counterattack while learning his abilities.
• Sasori assessed Sakura's speed, strength, and unusual Ice and Water Release techniques, then prepared the Third Kazekage puppet.
• Sasori fired Iron Sand Drizzle, and Sakura raised a Water Formation Wall that stopped the iron spikes.
• Sasori triggered Hiruko's remaining arm cannon to shower Sakura with poison needles, but she reshaped the water wall to block the attack.

Sakura and Sasori exchanged powerful attacks in a fast-paced battle, with Sakura surviving Sasori’s poison and enormous fireball before countering with a massive Water Release technique. The clash left the nearby river drained, and Sasori concluded that Sakura could not repeat the attack until more water arrived.

• Sasori attacked Sakura with the Kazekage puppet’s poison mist, and Sakura sealed herself inside full-body Frost Battle Armor to avoid it.
• Sasori used Flame Prison Formation to fire a huge fireball at Sakura, but she escaped to a block of ice in the river using Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
• Sakura summoned a gigantic water Leviathan from the river and sent it crashing toward Sasori.
• Sasori met the Leviathan with a massive fireball, and the collision burst the water beast into a torrential downpour.
• Sasori observed that Sakura had drained the nearby river and told her the remaining fresh water was more than a kilometer away.

Zetsu reported that Sakura Haruno was fighting Sasori, and Deidara reluctantly set off to join him after Zetsu provoked him. A Konoha and Sand squad sensed the battle, and Gaara agreed to protect them, taking his first step toward earning their trust.

• Zetsu observed Sakura Haruno fighting Sasori and went to tell Deidara that Orochimaru was not their opponent.
• Deidara learned that Sakura had smashed one of Sasori's puppets, argued with Zetsu, and finally flew off to join Sasori.
• Hoshino Uo sensed the powerful clash ahead, and the Sand sensory ninja identified Sasori of the Red Sand as Sakura's opponent.
• The squad realized Sasori's strength might require Gaara and Shukaku to oppose him.
• Gaara calmly agreed to protect the squad despite the Sand shinobi's past prejudice against him.

Gaara and the Konoha team hurried toward the battle, trusting that Sakura could hold out against Sasori. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Kabuto sensed the fighting and headed there to watch, with Orochimaru revealing his interest in Sakura’s growth and wondering whether she would eventually betray her village.

• Gaara recalled Sakura’s trust in him and asked how long she could withstand Sasori; Hoshino Uo said her chakra remained steady, and the Konoha captain insisted she was strong enough to survive.
• The Konoha and Sand shinobi accelerated toward the battlefield, with Gaara taking the lead among his companions.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto sensed a battle nearby and deduced that Sasori was one of the fighters.
• Orochimaru told Kabuto that Sakura was fighting Sasori, and Kabuto was shocked by how much she had grown.
• Orochimaru recalled leaving his research records for Sakura and wondered whether she would follow his path and betray her village.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto vanished from the road to reach the battlefield and watch the fight.

Sakura used her Water Release technique Mirror Flower, Water Moon to misdirect Sasori and evade the Third Kazekage puppet’s Iron Sand attacks. She froze the battlefield and battered the puppet, then appeared behind it to launch a hidden kick.

• Sasori unleashed the Third Kazekage puppet’s Iron Sand Gathering Assault, but Sakura dodged the first spear and used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to make the remaining attacks miss.
• Sasori tried to release the apparent Genjutsu, but Sakura’s technique distorted light through moisture in the air rather than affecting his mind.
• Sakura judged that the puppet’s Magnet Release posed little threat to her and launched Ice Release: Frost Ice Burial across the battlefield.
• Sasori escaped the ice spikes and used Secret Technique: Thousand Hands Manipulation to smash through Sakura’s attack and protect the Kazekage puppet.
• Sakura followed with Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, appeared behind the puppet, and began a Nintaijutsu: Wing Chun Hidden Kick.

Sakura overwhelmed Sasori’s Kazekage puppet with her speed and strength, but his concealed weapons and human-puppet body forced her to change targets. She smashed through his Iron Sand defense and struck through the dust, unsure what she had hit.

• Sakura used the Ice Body Flicker Technique and a powerful kick to shatter the Kazekage puppet’s Iron Sand defense and badly damage the puppet.
• Sakura chased the fleeing puppet, but Sasori’s concealed iron spike narrowly grazed her and revealed his human-puppet body.
• Sakura grabbed the spike’s rope and dragged Sasori toward her, blocking his attacks with an ice wall as she aimed for his heart.
• The damaged Kazekage puppet gathered Iron Sand to shield Sasori, but Sakura’s Star Cannon Fist punched through the barrier.
• Sakura struck into the dust cloud and heard something crack, but she could not see whether she had hit Sasori or something else.

Sakura Haruno fought Sasori and his newly summoned giant scorpion puppet, weighing her options against his Magnet Release defenses. She began forming a plan that would use the third stage of Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

• Sakura Haruno dodged the giant puppet’s attack and used Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent to sever its pincer before it burrowed underground.
• The black sand gathered into a massive iron wall, revealing Sasori protected by the Kazekage puppet and standing atop a giant scorpion puppet.
• Sasori challenged Sakura to test her Wind Blade Torrent against his Magnet Release defense, but she declined to waste Chakra on a direct assault.
• Sakura assessed the weakened Kazekage puppet’s defenses and began considering a tactic involving the third stage of Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.

Sakura Haruno used a feint and the Ice Body Flicker Technique to attack Sasori with a pre-prepared Wind Blade Torrent, but Sasori’s hidden puppets and traps kept the fight going. After escaping his final strike with her lingering Water Release: Mirror Flower, Water Moon, Sakura seized the giant scorpion puppet’s pincer.

• Sakura Haruno prepared Wind Blade Torrent before flickering behind Sasori, but he anticipated her move and set off a poison-and-blade trap.
• Sakura used the Ice Body Flicker Technique again to evade the trap, then struck Sasori and the Kazekage puppet with Wind Blade Torrent, cutting them apart.
• Sasori revealed more than a hundred Human Puppets and unleashed their attacks, forcing Sakura to flicker away as the barrage devastated the battlefield.
• The giant scorpion puppet attacked Sakura as she reappeared, but its pincer missed because Sakura’s completed Water Release: Mirror Flower, Water Moon still distorted the air.
• Sakura stepped beside the giant scorpion puppet and grabbed its pincer.

Sakura Haruno destroyed Sasori’s giant scorpion and uncovered how he had deduced the limits of her ice-based Body Flicker Technique. As their battle paused for conversation, Sakura stayed calm and recovered from the strain while Sasori prepared to unleash more Human Puppets.

• Sakura Haruno hurled the giant scorpion away and cut it and more than a dozen Human Puppets into pieces with Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent.
• Sasori emerged from the giant pincer, and Sakura asked how he had seen through Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
• Sasori explained that Sakura’s limited use of the technique and her ice-covered battlefield revealed that her Body Flicker Technique needed ice as a medium.
• Sakura deduced that Sasori had destroyed most of the ice and hidden inside the giant pincer to lure her into a trap.
• Sasori revealed that his third scroll contained more than two hundred Human Puppets and said he wanted to turn Sakura into one.
• Sakura remained calm and used their conversation to ease the pain in her meridians while the battle remained unfinished.

Sakura fought Sasori’s army of Human Puppets after realizing he had used their conversation to hide an attack. As she fought to reach the river and use her Water Release, Naruto and Jiraiya raced toward the battlefield, with Naruto drawing on more Nine-Tails Chakra.

• Sasori deduced how Sakura’s Mirror Flower, Water Moon worked and concluded that he had figured out her abilities.
• Sakura realized Sasori was stalling while Earth Release puppets tunneled toward her, then shattered the ground with Cherry Blossom Impact and exposed them.
• Sasori sent puppets at Sakura from underground, through the giant scorpion’s passage, and from nearby positions to destroy her ice mirrors.
• Sakura defended herself with a Water Formation Wall and cut down a puppet with Super Water Gun Technique.
• Sakura froze hundreds of meters of the nearby stream to create a medium for Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
• Naruto and Jiraiya hurried toward the battle, and Naruto formed a second tail as he accelerated ahead.

Sakura Haruno summoned Katsuyu to battle Sasori’s puppet army, then used Water Release to create an Alien swarm that overwhelmed the puppets. As Deidara arrived and dropped a huge chakra-filled bomb, Sakura began forming a counterattack.

• Sakura Haruno summoned Katsuyu after Sasori’s puppets destroyed the ice she had made to escape.
• Katsuyu sprayed acid across the battlefield, melting dozens of puppets and forcing the rest back.
• Sakura used Water Release: Alien Frenzy to create Aliens from the acid, and they attacked Sasori’s puppets.
• Sasori spotted Deidara approaching on a white bird and revealed that he had been waiting for him.
• Deidara dropped a huge white bomb toward Sakura, who began forming hand seals for Water Release: Wind Blade.

Sakura fought Sasori’s puppets while Deidara bombarded her with explosive clay dolls, and she struggled to survive as her Ice Clones and stamina dwindled. Just as a puppet nearly struck her from behind, an extremely fast figure arrived and smashed it, leaving Sakura stunned.

• Katsuyu warned Sakura to defend herself, swallowed her inside an ice sphere, and shielded her from Deidara’s first explosive doll before returning to her summoning realm.
• Sakura used Ice Clones, Water techniques, Rasengan, and close combat to fend off Sasori’s puppets, but the attackers steadily overwhelmed her defenses.
• Sakura detonated the remains of her Ice Clones to clear space, then survived Deidara’s second explosive doll with a costly loss of stamina.
• Sakura used Body Flicker to evade the puppets and destroy Sasori’s ambushes, but another puppet attacked her from behind.
• An extremely fast figure charged in and smashed the puppet before it could strike Sakura.

Naruto arrived to help Sakura fight Sasori and Deidara, but Deidara’s bombs left Naruto badly wounded after he shielded her. Sakura then struck back, appearing to kill Deidara before revealing she had defeated him with a silver thread.

• Naruto rescued Sakura from Sasori’s puppets, and the two fought together to destroy wave after wave of them.
• Sasori kept Sakura and Naruto occupied while Deidara launched a bomb from above, and Sakura protected them with Ice Release: Absolute Defense.
• A second bomb destroyed the ice defense, and Naruto was left unconscious and bleeding after shielding Sakura.
• Sakura sent ice darts at Deidara, then appeared behind him and punched through what she thought was his body, which proved to be a Clay Clone.
• Deidara’s real body emerged from the bird, but Sakura stood atop it and revealed a silver thread extending from her fingertip to him.