Recaps

Sakura killed Deidara with a fast Wind Blade Torrent after he emerged from hiding, then escaped the falling clay bird despite her damaged meridians. As Sasori withdrew and Naruto recovered, Sakura realized Jiraiya was missing; elsewhere, Jiraiya confronted Orochimaru and Kabuto.

• Deidara realized Sakura had severed his neck with a silver thread and died as she watched his Chakra fade.
• Sakura landed safely using Ice Release, then found Naruto healed and waking beside her.
• A hidden figure retrieved Deidara's corpse and escaped into the earth while Sasori's puppets pulled back.
• Sakura told Naruto she had killed the bomber and asked where Jiraiya was; Naruto said Jiraiya had been behind him.
• Beyond Sakura's sensory range, Jiraiya confronted Orochimaru and Kabuto and demanded to know why Orochimaru had come.

Jiraiya delayed confronting Orochimaru until Deidara's second bomb knocked Naruto unconscious, then rushed to the battlefield and saw Sakura kill Deidara. Sasori withdrew as Jiraiya and Orochimaru emerged, leaving three hostile forces facing one another.

• Orochimaru taunted Jiraiya about Naruto's fight and admitted he was weighing whether to help either side or kill everyone.
• Deidara's second bomb exploded, and Jiraiya sensed that Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra had disappeared and Naruto had been knocked unconscious.
• Jiraiya reached the battlefield and watched Sakura swiftly kill Deidara before checking that Naruto was safe.
• Sasori noticed Sakura's hidden injuries and Jiraiya's arrival, then prepared to withdraw rather than fight with an audience.
• Jiraiya attacked Sasori's puppets with a fireball and called Orochimaru out, and Orochimaru emerged with Kabuto.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sasori's forces faced one another as three wary, hostile groups.

Sakura, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Sasori faced a tense standoff as each side weighed whether to attack or cooperate. Sasori used the threat of a deadly poison to escape, then warned Jiraiya that Orochimaru wanted the Ice Release girl, leaving Jiraiya to turn his attention to Orochimaru.

• Orochimaru proposed that he and Jiraiya join forces against the weakened Sasori, but Jiraiya refused to trust him.
• Sasori suggested allying with Orochimaru against Konoha, while Jiraiya silently considered how to protect Naruto and Sakura until reinforcements arrived.
• Sasori argued that neither he nor Orochimaru could afford to delay as Konoha reinforcements approached, and Orochimaru shifted his focus toward Konoha's side.
• Sasori threatened to release an invisible, odorless poison from his secret technique scroll if Jiraiya pursued him.
• Sasori warned Jiraiya that Orochimaru had designs on the Ice Release girl, then escaped with his puppets while Jiraiya held back.
• Jiraiya turned toward Orochimaru and realized Sasori's warning had made the situation more dangerous.

After the battle, Sakura, Jiraiya, and the arriving shinobi confirmed Orochimaru and Sasori had escaped, then began clearing the devastated battlefield. Gaara shared a warmer reunion with Naruto and Sakura and gained the trust of his Sand comrades before the Konoha and Sand shinobi returned to their villages.

• Sakura explained that Orochimaru and Kabuto had been Earth Clones that lost contact with their originals, and Jiraiya said Orochimaru and Sasori had both escaped.
• Shino arrived with Gaara's team, and Sakura reassured Shino that his efforts against Sasori's puppets had helped her survive.
• Gaara spoke with Naruto, introduced himself to Sakura, and said he wanted to become Kazekage and earn everyone's recognition.
• The shinobi began cleaning the battlefield, and Gaara allowed Sand shinobi to take Sasori's discarded puppet parts for their own use.
• A Sand shinobi gave Gaara puppet parts for Kankuro, and Gaara smiled before the Konoha and Sand shinobi finished their work and returned to their villages.

Jiraiya and Tsunade shared drinks on the night of Konoha’s founding festival, discussing Naruto’s injuries, the Akatsuki, and Sasuke’s future. Their conversation ended with a long drinking party as Team 7 reunited in Konoha for the first time in a year.

• Jiraiya declined to attend the festival, and Tsunade joined him for sake on a secluded terrace.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Naruto’s Wind Release: Rasenshuriken could permanently damage his hand if he trained with it before improving his control and strength.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed the Akatsuki’s quiet response to Deidara’s death and suspected it was pursuing another scheme.
• Tsunade admitted she did not know how to tell Sasuke that the Uchiha Clan Massacre involved more than Itachi, and she and Jiraiya agreed they needed to find the right time.
• Tsunade produced a stash of sake from a miniature scroll, and she and Jiraiya continued drinking late into the night.
• Team 7 reunited on Konoha’s streets for the first time in a year.

Team 7 reunited for a festival, where a goldfish stall owner refused to serve ninja and Sakura stood up to her. They ended the evening at Ichiraku, then talked about their training and planned to search the ninja cats’ archive after the Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke dressed in festival clothes and reminisced about playing goldfish scooping during their Land of Waves mission.
• A stall owner refused to serve ninja and insulted Tsunade, so Sakura confronted her before Sasuke persuaded Sakura to leave.
• Naruto spotted an Ichiraku Ramen eating contest, where Hinata ate thirty-two bowls and Naruto managed only six.
• Naruto told the group about mastering Wind Release: Rasenshuriken and struggling to control the Demon Fox Cloak, while Sakura asked him about uranium ore.
• Sasuke suggested searching the ninja cats’ archive after the exams, and the group compared their ranks and Anbu service before parting late at night.

Sakura recovered from her injuries and accompanied Tsunade to Sunagakure as the Hokage’s guard for the Chunin Ninja Exams. After the Sand shinobi explained the second exam’s canyon-based challenge, purple smoke suddenly rose from below.

• Kakashi and Sasuke returned to missions after Naruto left Konoha, and Sasuke said he was determined to keep improving.
• Sakura’s injuries healed, and she grew uncomfortable with the respect and formal greetings she received after her strength became widely known.
• On July 1, Sakura confirmed she had fully recovered and joined Tsunade’s party, which reached Sunagakure on the evening of July 3.
• Baki welcomed Tsunade’s party and led them to their quarters, where Sakura and Shino took turns keeping watch through a peaceful night.
• Tsunade and Sakura attended the second Chunin exam at a canyon, where Baki described a challenge involving gathering and stealing resources amid traps and poisons.
• As Baki explained the exam, purple smoke suddenly rose from the canyon.

The Chunin Ninja Exams in Sunagakure ended without incident, with Sand shinobi taking the top two individual places and Konoha finishing third and fourth. As Sakura prepared to leave last, Temari and Gaara said goodbye and gave her a map of places to visit, and Sakura departed using the Body Flicker Technique.

• Baki explained that Sunagakure gave teams distress scrolls, and the first team to use one was a Konoha team whose member had been poisoned.
• A second Konoha team was eliminated after losing to Sand shinobi, while Konoha’s final team and all three Sand teams passed the second exam.
• Tsunade held private talks with Sunagakure’s leaders, and Sakura remained unaware that her earlier actions had strengthened Konoha’s position.
• Two Sand shinobi took the top places in the third exam, while Konoha’s examinees placed third and fourth; Tsunade was satisfied with their spirit and the exams ended safely.
• Sakura met Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara at a dessert shop, where Gaara gave her the sand she had requested and Temari shared a tourist map.
• After the others left, Sakura set out from Sunagakure alone, considering whether she might visit some of the places on Temari’s map during a future mission.

After her escort mission ended, Sakura Haruno explored the ruins of Roran and was engulfed by a strange white light that left an unfamiliar energy inside her Yin Seal. Uneasy but otherwise unharmed, she camped in the ruins and decided to return to Konoha early so her master could examine her.

• Sakura received word that the escort mission had ended and continued through the desert at her own pace.
• Sakura found the ruins of the ancient kingdom of Roran on Temari's map and traveled there to look for supplies.
• Sakura sensed a strange energy beneath a hall and was engulfed by white light, after which an uncontrollable energy appeared inside her Yin Seal.
• Sakura checked herself, made camp with Ice Clones, and went to sleep still feeling that something was wrong.
• Sakura woke at dawn after deciding to return to Konoha early for her master's examination.

Sakura Haruno returned to Konoha and realized she had arrived several years in the past, before the Uchiha Clan Massacre. She visited her family and confronted her younger self, noticing that something about the girl did not fit her assumptions.

• Sakura Haruno returned from the ruins of Rōran and noticed that Kakashi looked younger and did not recognize her.
• Sakura Haruno saw only four faces on Hokage Rock and suspected she was in Konoha several years earlier.
• Sakura Haruno noticed the deserted streets and concluded that her own world was pulling her back, leaving her little time to investigate the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
• Sakura Haruno used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the Haruno household and asked to see Sakura Haruno.
• Sakura Haruno met her younger self and realized that her earlier guess about the girl had been incomplete.

Sakura Haruno discovered that she had arrived in the original Naruto world six years before her own timeline and realized that the Uchiha massacre was about to begin. After infiltrating the Uchiha compound, she watched Itachi and Obito prepare to kill the clan, until a pond suddenly froze and drew their attention.

• Sakura Haruno confronted the young Sakura, confirmed they had different souls, and urged Kizashi and Mebuki Haruno to train their daughter before leaving as the pull of her return grew stronger.
• Sakura Haruno recognized the date as the night before the Uchiha coup and used her techniques to slip past the compound’s cordon.
• Itachi returned to the Uchiha compound with his long blade and waited at the shrine for Obito, who was operating under the name Madara Uchiha.
• Obito ordered Itachi to kill every Uchiha, including the elderly, women, children, and babies, while Itachi watched him with Mangekyō Sharingan.
• As Obito began describing how they would divide the compound, he and Itachi noticed that the pond had suddenly frozen.

Sakura Haruno intervened in the Uchiha Clan Massacre and fought Uchiha Itachi and Obito Uchiha, revealing her Ice Release, speed, and medical skills. After surviving their attacks, she questioned their motives and remained uncertain whether she should stop the massacre.

• Sakura Haruno emerged at the shrine, blocked Itachi's sword, and resisted his Mangekyō Genjutsu.
• Sakura fought Obito Uchiha, dodged his Kamui, and healed the wound he inflicted on her wrist.
• Sakura used ice to shield herself from Itachi's Amaterasu, which burned away the ice instead of harming her.
• Obito asked whether Sakura was one of Danzo's people, and she said she belonged to the Anbu directly under the Hokage.
• Itachi and Obito explained that the Uchiha planned a coup and argued that the clan had to be wiped out, while Sakura questioned their claims and weighed whether to intervene.

Sakura Haruno confronted Obito Uchiha as he and Itachi slaughtered Uchiha clansmen who had planned a coup. After the massacre began, Obito invited Sakura to witness the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

• Sakura Haruno challenged Obito Uchiha to reveal his identity, and he claimed to be Madara Uchiha.
• An Uchiha clansman arrived and mistook Sakura for an enemy; she knocked him down, and Obito killed him with a kunai.
• Itachi killed another arriving clansman, while Sakura fought off more Uchiha who rushed into the courtyard.
• Obito executed the wounded clansmen, and Itachi killed Kagen after Kagen begged for his life.
• Obito asked Sakura to come with him and witness the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

Sakura Haruno questioned Itachi about the Uchiha massacre and learned that Danzo had ordered it, while Obito explained that Itachi spared Sasuke to protect him. Sakura returned through space-time to the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran after cutting off one of Obito’s arms, and resolved to return to Konoha for a medical examination.

• Sakura Haruno challenged Obito’s assumption that they were allies and asked Itachi whether he had acted on orders when he massacred the Uchiha Clan.
• Itachi said Danzo had ordered the massacre, and Obito attacked Sakura as the light around her grew brighter.
• Sakura asked why Itachi had spared Sasuke, and Obito answered that Itachi had sacrificed the clan to save his brother’s life and future.
• Sakura used a combination of ice techniques and Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent to cut off one of Obito’s arms before the space-time light carried her away.
• Sakura reappeared in the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran and reflected on what she had learned about Itachi and the man calling himself Madara Uchiha.
• Sakura found the space-time energy in her Yin Seal depleted and decided to return to Konoha for a thorough examination from her master.

After Sakura Haruno vanished from the world she had visited, Obito and Itachi carried out the Uchiha Clan Massacre, ending with Itachi killing his parents. The story then followed another Sakura Haruno as she began her ninja career on Team 7, while Kakashi recognized her resemblance to the mysterious powerful ninja from the massacre.

• Obito reattached his severed arm and told Itachi they had to begin the massacre; Itachi agreed to kill the clan himself.
• Itachi killed the Uchiha household members, becoming numb to the slaughter before reaching his parents.
• Fugaku and Mikoto comforted Itachi and asked him to care for Sasuke before he killed them.
• Twelve-year-old Sakura Haruno discussed her Yin Seal and Ice Release with her parents, who recalled that a mysterious woman had given her the power.
• Iruka assigned Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki to Team 7, and the three argued about surpassing one another.
• Kakashi recognized Sakura's resemblance to the mysterious ninja from the Uchiha Clan Massacre, heard the team's introductions, and announced their survival exercise.

After Tsunade examined Sakura, she warned her about the risks of her technique and kept the Masked Man and Uchiha secrets from her, while considering a promotion to Jonin. Sakura and Sasuke traveled to the Ninja Cat Clan’s base in the abandoned Uchiha city and were led to Cat Granny.

• Tsunade found Sakura healthy, warned her to limit her use of Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, and told her to keep quiet about her encounter with the Masked Man.
• Tsunade said Sakura lacked clearance to view confidential Uchiha files, then agreed to discuss promoting her to Jonin.
• After Sasuke finished his Anbu mission, he and Sakura traveled to the Ninja Cat Clan’s base in the abandoned city that had once belonged to the Uchiha.
• Sasuke explained the city’s history and led Sakura through the confusing passages of Sora-ku.
• Denka and Hina met Sasuke and Sakura, accepted silver vine, and guided them to Cat Granny’s door.

Sasuke signed a summoning contract with the Ninja Cat Clan for Oni, Aburi, and Yoru Uo, then visited the Uchiha warehouse with Sakura. They found immense stores of weapons and other supplies and wondered why the Uchiha had gathered so much.

• Sasuke showed Cat Granny the clan’s summoning scroll and signed Oni and Aburi as his partners.
• Cat Granny found Yoru Uo drunk in a wine jar, and Sasuke agreed to add the food-loving cat to the contract.
• Cat Granny combined Sasuke’s clan token with her own piece to make the warehouse key, then sent Rin to guide Sasuke and Sakura there.
• Sakura opened the warehouse’s iron doors and discovered vast racks of preserved ninja weapons, medical supplies, and other stored goods.
• Sasuke and Sakura exchanged a look and wondered why the Uchiha had collected so many supplies.

Sakura Haruno and Sasuke explored a hidden Uchiha supply warehouse, where they found strategic reserves and rare books, while Rin Mikura shared why she hated shinobi. After Sakura used Ninjutsu to clean the ruined city and discussed how Chakra could be used for good or harm, Sasuke asked her to say what she had really come to tell him.

• Sakura Haruno recognized the warehouse’s supplies as reserves the Uchiha had stockpiled for their rebellion, and she and Sasuke found rare books, including Madara Uchiha’s cultivation notes.
• Sakura found a book describing the Land of Wind and the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, then put it away with the other books while Sasuke filled his storage scrolls with supplies.
• Rin Mikura told Sasuke and Sakura Haruno that shinobi had killed her parents and friends, and said she hated shinobi despite Sasuke urging her to become one.
• Sakura argued that human nature, rather than Chakra or shinobi, caused war, while Rin maintained that she still hated shinobi.
• Sakura used Water Release to clean the ruined city’s streets and square, then warned Sasuke that densely populated cities would be vulnerable to attacks.
• Sasuke reflected that Ninjutsu could transform the world or destroy it, then asked Sakura Haruno to stop beating around the bush and tell him what she wanted to say.

Sakura challenged Sasuke to confront the Uchiha Clan’s plans for rebellion and revealed that another Mangekyō Sharingan wielder, an orange-masked survivor, had been present during the massacre. Back in Konoha, Sakura resumed missions and learned she needed more mission experience before her Jonin promotion could proceed.

• Sakura argued that a powerful shinobi could impose peace and confronted Sasuke with evidence that the Uchiha had prepared to rebel against Konoha.
• Sasuke reasoned that the weakened Uchiha lacked the strength to challenge the village, then admitted that the clan’s stockpiling and records showed rebellion had been planned.
• Sakura told Sasuke that an orange-masked Uchiha survivor with the Mangekyō Sharingan had been present during the massacre and was secretly plotting.
• Sakura and Shino visited the pregnant Yugao, and Shino mentioned that he was engaged and planned to marry when the time was right.
• Tsunade told Sakura that she was on the list for an exceptional Jonin promotion but had not completed enough missions to qualify.
• Sakura accepted a stack of mission briefs from Tsunade and reported that she was progressing slowly with Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals while preparing for the second stage of the Yin Seal.

Sakura Haruno established a hidden laboratory in an abandoned Orochimaru base to cultivate a cloned heart as a Chakra source for the second stage of the Yin Seal. After leaving an Ice Clone to oversee the experiment, she set out to complete Tsunade's missions and wondered whether Akatsuki had abandoned its peripheral organizations.

• Sakura Haruno found an abandoned underground base near the border of the Land of Fire and restored it as a temporary laboratory.
• Sakura Haruno sealed the base in ice, repaired it, and added ventilation to protect and prepare the space.
• Sakura Haruno used Medical Ninjutsu and Yang Release Chakra to turn cells from her hair into embryonic stem cells for a cloned heart.
• Sakura Haruno placed the stem cells in culture dishes and assigned an Ice Clone to maintain the experiment and destroy evidence if the base was discovered.
• Sakura Haruno left to begin Tsunade's missions and wondered if Akatsuki had abandoned its peripheral organizations while lying low.

Sakura Haruno traveled to Kuiden City in the Land of Grass to investigate an Akatsuki-linked casino and learn what its owner knew about Kakuzu. After killing the criminal Scarface and finding no useful Akatsuki secrets, she returned to her temporary base and resumed her mission work.

• Sakura Haruno reviewed her assignments and traveled across Kannabi Bridge to Kuiden City in disguise.
• Sakura Haruno caused a disturbance at the casino, beat its thugs, and confronted its owner, Kuiden Scarface.
• Sakura Haruno interrogated Scarface with the help of a Water Release Alien and Genjutsu, learning Kakuzu had ordered the group to lie low but that Scarface knew no Akatsuki secrets.
• Sakura Haruno learned Scarface's crimes and killed him, then left the casino and searched the old Kannabi Bridge battlefield without finding traces of the past.
• Sakura Haruno returned to her temporary base, took over from her fading Ice Clone, rested through the day, and left another clone behind before continuing her mission that evening.

Pain convened an Akatsuki meeting to discuss Deidara’s death at Sakura Haruno’s hands, appoint Tobi as his replacement, and set stricter precautions before the organization captured the Tailed Beasts. The members were dismissed with orders to watch for Orochimaru, and Pain hoped they would all survive until their next gathering.

• Pain told the Akatsuki members that Sakura Haruno had killed Deidara, and Kakuzu complained that he had lost several hearts to her.
• Sasori revealed that he had turned Deidara’s body into a Human Puppet, provoking an argument about comradeship and art.
• Zetsu and Sasori described Sakura’s abilities, while Pain warned the members to be careful if they encountered her.
• Pain introduced Tobi as a provisional member who would take Deidara’s Azure ring and partner with Sasori.
• Pain ordered Akatsuki to lie low, suspend some intelligence gathering, and avoid exposing its peripheral organizations before the Tailed Beast capture plan began.
• Pain ordered members near the Land of Rivers to watch for Orochimaru and kill him on sight, then dismissed the gathering.

Sakura Haruno completed twenty cultivated hearts and used them to build up Chakra reserves for her Yin Seal. While she planned to repeat the process over the next two weeks, an Ice Clone went to a nearby border region to eliminate a bandit gang.

• Sakura Haruno finished cultivating twenty hearts after several days of monitoring them in her underground laboratory.
• She copied her Yin Seal onto each heart and used a Yin Release rod to feed spiritual energy into them, making the seals collect Chakra.
• Sakura estimated that repeatedly draining and restoring the hearts could save her about half a year's worth of Chakra reserves.
• Sakura's Ice Clone reached a mountain stronghold to carry out a mission to eliminate rogue ninja and bandits.

Sakura Haruno used Ice Clones to clear a long list of missions while she gathered chakra from newly grown hearts. The hearts rapidly deteriorated, and she prepared to transfer the chakra stored in their Yin Seals into her own body.

• Sakura Haruno's Ice Clone wiped out a bandit gang, killed its leader after he tried to attack her during his surrender, and vanished after completing the mission.
• Sakura Haruno's clones exterminated a crime family, assassinated Ao Fujiwara, escorted an employer, and handled other missions across several countries.
• Sakura Haruno used Yin Release to extend her Ice Clones' duration, but concluded that further research would require access to secret technique scrolls such as those held by the Nara family.
• After extracting chakra from the hearts daily for thirteen days, Sakura Haruno found they were rapidly aging and could not be restored with Medical Ninjutsu.
• Sakura Haruno connected the spiritual-energy rods in the hearts to her own and prepared to extract the chakra stored in their Yin Seals.

After completing her missions, Sakura returned to Konoha with a huge supply of Chakra and asked Tsunade about Yin Release. With little guidance available, she prepared for the Jonin combat assessment, which began at the Anbu training ground.

• Sakura transferred all the Chakra stored in the hearts into her Yin Seal, then destroyed the laboratory and returned to Konoha.
• Tsunade accepted Sakura’s completed missions and told her that the Jonin combat assessment would take place the following Monday.
• Sakura showed Tsunade her blue rod and asked how to train in Yin-Yang Release, but Tsunade could offer little help and promised to search Hashirama Senju’s records.
• Sakura spent five days reviewing the vague records and training before deciding to focus on Medical Ninjutsu instead.
• Yuichi brought five candidates, including Sakura, to the Anbu’s first training ground, where Tsunade started the Jonin combat assessment.