Chapter Summaries

Sasuke encountered Kimimaro, a Sound Ninja sent by Orochimaru to capture him, and prepared to fight. Sasuke remained committed to training in Konoha and had no intention of joining Orochimaru.

• Sasuke reasoned that Orochimaru's Cursed Seal had not changed his plans because Kakashi and Tsunade had dealt with it, and he had a clear path to power through Lightning Release training in Konoha.
• Sasuke recalled that Sakura had urged him to revive the Uchiha by starting a family, though he rejected her suggestions about taking multiple wives.
• Sasuke searched for Orochimaru but could not sense his Chakra and felt relieved that the Sannin did not appear to be present.
• Kimimaro told Sasuke that Orochimaru was away and that he would capture him, even if he had to break his arms and legs.
• Sasuke activated his Sharingan and challenged Kimimaro, who introduced himself and drew a bone spike from his palm.

Shino and Yugao left Sakura to support Sasuke, while Sakura faced the Sound Four alone and tested her Ice Release against their coordinated attacks. She easily blocked Kidomaru’s barrage and sensed the hidden ninja preparing to reveal themselves.

• Shino worried about leaving Sakura to face the enemy’s secret techniques, but continued with Yugao toward Sasuke because he trusted Sakura’s ability to fight alone.
• The narration explained that Sakura had strong resistance to Genjutsu but had not studied it deeply, since she lacked a skilled teacher and prioritized developing her core Ninjutsu.
• Kidomaru launched a barrage of hardened spider-silk Kunai at Sakura, and she blocked them all with a simple layer of ice.
• Tayuya sent five corpse-like humanoid summons charging Sakura with spiked clubs, while Kidomaru followed with surprise arrow shots.
• Sakura dodged the attacks, activated Cherry Blossom Impact, and sensed another Sound Ninja preparing to emerge from hiding.

Sakura defeated the Sound Ninja’s summons and caught Sakon with a powerful kick after resisting Tayuya’s Genjutsu. Jirobo trapped her in an Earth Prison Dome, but he could not absorb her Chakra.

• Sakura used Ice Release techniques to destroy or disable Tayuya’s summons while the Sound Ninja attacked.
• Tayuya’s Genjutsu briefly affected Sakura, but Sakura broke free and lured Sakon into range.
• Sakura struck Sakon with a Monstrous Strength Technique kick, sending him through two trees and leaving him barely alive.
• Jirobo used Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome to enclose Sakura in a thick earthen prison.
• Tayuya confirmed that Sakon had survived by transferring some of the damage to Ukon, while Jirobo reported that he could not absorb Sakura’s Chakra.

Sakura Haruno broke free from Jirobo’s Chakra-absorbing earthen prison and trapped the Sound Ninja in an ice-mirror barrier after luring them out of hiding. As Kidomaru organized a counterattack, Sakura remained confident, but his smile made her wonder what he was planning.

• Sakura examined how Jirobo’s earthen prison absorbed Chakra while waiting for Tayuya and Kidomaru to reveal themselves.
• Kidomaru realized Sakura might have allowed herself to be trapped, just before she smashed through the prison with Monstrous Strength Technique: Guarding Foot.
• Sakura used Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to enclose the woods and clearing, forcing Kidomaru to regroup with Tayuya and Jirobo.
• Kidomaru identified Sakura’s trap, while she mocked the Sound Ninja and explained that she could defeat them even if they had stayed hidden.
• Tayuya tried to use her flute Genjutsu, but Kidomaru stopped her and assigned roles for a coordinated attack.
• Sakura dismissed the Sound Ninja’s chances, then wondered why Kidomaru smiled so confidently.

Sakura tested her half-finished Cherry Blossom Impact Stage Two while fighting the Sound Ninja, combining it with Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to sharpen her abilities before facing Orochimaru. After launching an ice-dart attack, she left Kidomaru braced for an explosion, though the darts’ attached Chakra had another purpose.

• Kidomaru claimed Sakura’s large-scale Ninjutsu had exhausted her, but Sakura revealed that Ice Release did not burden her while her Yin Seal was released.
• Sakura explained that she had delayed the fight to adapt to Cherry Blossom Impact Stage Two, then used its improved reaction speed to evade the Sound Ninja’s attacks.
• Jirobo raised earthen walls to obstruct Sakura’s view, but she appeared on an ice mirror above them and attacked from overhead.
• Sakura launched Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm, and Jirobo’s walls blocked most of the ice darts.
• Kidomaru warned that the darts would explode and coated himself in Sticky Gold Armor, while Sakura’s Chakra-laced darts served a different purpose.

Sakura Haruno used Stage Two Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals to catch Kidomaru off guard, then refined her combination with the Monstrous Strength Technique to defeat Jirobo. Tayuya and Kidomaru launched new attacks, leaving Sakura facing chakra-draining worms while suspecting Kidomaru was preparing something.

• Sakura used an ice dart as a medium to flicker behind Kidomaru and struck him with Star Cannon Fist, but her imperfect technique failed to kill him.
• Kidomaru counterattacked with Tayuya and Jirobo, but Sakura flickered away to an ice mirror and evaded their combined attack.
• Kidomaru recognized that Sakura could use ice darts as Body Flicker mediums and ordered Jirobo to destroy them.
• Sakura dodged Jirobo’s slow punch and defeated him with a full-power Star Cannon Fist that shattered his bones and knocked him unconscious.
• Tayuya and Kidomaru sent intangible Yin Release worms after Sakura; she evaded them, realized they could drain chakra, and suspected Kidomaru was planning another move.

Sakura used Frost Ice Burial to turn the battlefield into an ice-covered domain, then killed Kidomaru with Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals. Elsewhere, Danzo intercepted Orochimaru and Kabuto, revealing that he had lured Orochimaru out to keep him away from Sasuke.

• Kidomaru destroyed Sakura's ice mirrors with a barrage of hardened sticky gold Kunai, but Sakura responded with Ice Release: Frost Ice Burial.
• Sakura's ice spread across the battlefield, killing Tayuya's Doki and white worms and leaving Tayuya badly wounded and collapsed.
• Sakura used the frozen ground to unleash Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and beheaded Kidomaru.
• Danzo confronted Orochimaru and Kabuto near the border of the Land of Fire and admitted he had set a trap to draw Orochimaru out.
• Danzo told Orochimaru that Sasuke really was at the location, but Orochimaru would never reach him.

Orochimaru attacked Danzo’s Root forces while Yugao and Shino fought through Sound Ninja on another battlefield. After learning Sasuke was facing a powerful opponent alone, they rested briefly to recover before trying to reach him.

• Orochimaru taunted Danzo and unleashed Myriad Snake Net Formation against Danzo and the Root forces.
• Yugao cut down Sound Ninja while Shino used Earth Spear to impale the remaining attackers.
• Yugao and Shino confirmed they had defeated the wave but saw that more Sound Ninja were closing in around them.
• Shino sensed that Sasuke was fighting someone using Kakashi’s Lightning Blade and warned that Sasuke might be in danger.
• Yugao urged them to go to Sasuke, but Shino persuaded her to rest and recover with Military Ration Pills first.

Orochimaru and Kabuto wondered what Danzo was plotting after his Shadow Clones vanished. On the battlefield, Sasuke struggled against Kimimaro’s Shikotsumyaku and was wounded, leaving him to consider how to overcome his Taijutsu disadvantage.

• Orochimaru and Kabuto watched Danzo’s Shadow Clones disappear and suspected he was pursuing a hidden plot.
• Sasuke and Kimimaro exchanged rapid Taijutsu attacks, with Kimimaro’s Shikotsumyaku giving him an unpredictable defensive and offensive edge.
• Kimimaro repeatedly struck the crack in Sasuke’s Kunai until it broke, then slashed Sasuke’s right arm as Sasuke dodged a fatal blow.
• Sasuke retreated and used basic Medical Ninjutsu to stop the bleeding from his shallow wound.
• Sasuke realized Kimimaro’s Shikotsumyaku had suppressed his Sharingan in close combat and considered how to defeat him despite his disadvantage.

Orochimaru and Kabuto faced the Akatsuki members Kakuzu and Hidan while Sasuke fought Kimimaro and struggled to find a way past his bone defenses. Elsewhere, Shino and Yugao prepared to meet another group of Sound Ninja as Sakura and Kite remained elsewhere in their battles.

• Orochimaru realized Danzo had brought the Akatsuki to him, and he and Kabuto decided to leave Sasuke’s capture to Kimimaro and the others.
• Kakuzu and Hidan confronted Orochimaru, and Kakuzu began their fight with Fire Style: Searing Migraine.
• Sasuke struck Kimimaro with Lightning Blade, but Kimimaro shifted his vital organs and survived with a severe wound.
• Sasuke used Great Fireball, but Kimimaro blocked it with a bone wall, leaving Sasuke to consider another move and hope Sakura could help.
• Shino and Yugao ended their break as a group of Sound Ninja approached.

Sasuke and Kimimaro reached a stalemate after a fierce battle, each recognizing the danger posed by the other's abilities. Kimimaro revealed his devotion to Orochimaru and activated his Cursed Seal Stage Two, shifting the fight in his favor.

• The masked girl finished testing her new technique, noted that most of her Yin Seal Chakra remained, and set off to meet Shino and Yugao.
• Sasuke and Kimimaro paused after their clash of Great Fireball and Lightning Blade, both wary of the other's strength.
• Sasuke recalled the Uchiha records on Kimimaro's Shikotsumyaku and admitted he was struggling against the bone-wielding fighter.
• Kimimaro praised Sasuke's Sharingan, Taijutsu, Lightning Release, and Fire Style, then revealed that his illness left him unlikely to live past the next day.
• Sasuke questioned Kimimaro's devotion to Orochimaru, but Kimimaro said Orochimaru had saved him and was the meaning of his life.
• Kimimaro activated his Cursed Seal Stage Two and announced he would use Dance of the Clematis: Flower, while Sasuke braced for the change in power.

Sasuke faced Kimimaro after Kimimaro transformed with the Cursed Seal, then revealed a powerful new Lightning Release technique. In Konoha, Tsunade and Hiruzen discussed the threat Orochimaru and Danzo posed to Sasuke and Sakura’s support team.

• Kimimaro entered Curse Mark State Two and prepared his Dance of the Clematis: Flower, while Sasuke rejected the Cursed Seal’s power.
• Sasuke unveiled Lightning Release: Lightning Blade Torrent and challenged Kimimaro’s bones to withstand it.
• Hiruzen asked Tsunade whether Orochimaru was behind the threat to Sasuke, and Tsunade said she had sent Anbu, Kakashi, Guy, and others to support him.
• Tsunade told Hiruzen that Root appeared to be involved, and Hiruzen warned her that Danzo might target Sasuke; he urged her to read the secret files on Uchiha Itachi.
• Tsunade mentioned that Anbu Squad Fourteen had been sent to support Sasuke, and Hiruzen recognized it as Sakura’s team and reflected on Sakura’s talent and his hopes for her.

Sakura Haruno arrived to support Shino and Yugao, supplying them with ice weapons and energy pills after they fought through waves of Sound Ninja. As Sasuke and Kimimaro prepared to clash, Sakura told Shino and Yugao to hold off another group so she could reach the battlefield.

• Sakura Haruno surprised the Sound Ninja surrounding Shino and Yugao with a Water Release attack, then Shino and Yugao finished off the wounded survivors.
• Shino reported that they had fought off three groups and sensed Sasuke's Chakra nearby, while exhausted Yugao rested after fighting at the front.
• Sakura created ice Kunai and darts for Shino and Yugao, then made Yugao an ice sword and gave her energy pills.
• Sakura sensed Kimimaro's Curse Mark Stage Two Chakra and Sasuke's rising Chakra, and the group realized the two were about to clash.
• Thirty or forty Sound Ninja blocked their path, so Sakura asked Shino and Yugao to hold them off while she hurried to Sasuke's battlefield.

Sasuke defeated Kimimaro’s bone spear with Lightning Blade Torrent, but Kimimaro burned through his remaining life to unleash the Dance of the Early Bracken. As bone pillars closed in on the paralyzed Sasuke, a familiar chakra appeared and someone used Ice Release: Absolute Defense.

• Sasuke’s Lightning Blade Torrent shattered Kimimaro’s bone spear and left both fighters gravely wounded.
• Kimimaro explained that his bones had reduced the lightning’s damage and that he had sacrificed his limbs to avoid a fatal hit.
• Sasuke prepared to kill the paralyzed Kimimaro, but Kimimaro recalled Kabuto’s warning about a life-burning pill and a technique that opened his body’s death point.
• Kimimaro opened the Killing Intent Pressure Point and unleashed the Dance of the Early Bracken, covering the battlefield with towering bone pillars aimed at Sasuke.
• As Sasuke, paralyzed and unable to evade the approaching bones, faced defeat, a familiar chakra appeared and someone invoked Ice Release: Absolute Defense.

Sakura arrived in an Ice Clone to rescue Sasuke and appeared to kill Kimimaro with a surprise attack, but Sasuke realized the body was only a bone decoy. Kimimaro ambushed Sakura, who dodged and counterattacked, while he remained alive and judged her a formidable opponent.

• Sakura's Ice Clone shielded Sasuke from Kimimaro's bone spikes, and Sakura attacked from hiding with Water Release: Wind Blade Torrent, cutting Kimimaro in half.
• Sakura treated Sasuke's wounds and urged him to leave, but Sasuke noticed Kimimaro's body was made of bone and warned her that he might still be alive.
• Kimimaro appeared behind Sakura through the bone forest and attacked with a bone spear, but she dodged, losing her mask and suffering cuts on her cheek.
• Sakura countered with Nintaijutsu: Wing Chun Hidden Kick, shattering a bone pillar, but Kimimaro escaped the blow and reappeared nearby.
• Kimimaro recognized Sakura's extraordinary speed and strength, yet remained confident that she was no match for him.

Sakura struggled to fight Kimimaro inside the bone forest, where he could teleport between bones and attack without pause. Sasuke intervened to create an opening before collapsing, and Sakura unleashed a strike powered by the emotions rising within her.

• Kimimaro confirmed that he could teleport through the bones in the forest and surprised Sakura with a spear thrust that badly injured her.
• Sakura caught Kimimaro’s bone spear and smashed his arm with a Wing Chun Elbow Strike, but he replaced it with a bone arm and kept fighting.
• Sakura tried to escape the bone forest, but Kimimaro pursued her with attacks from both himself and the surrounding bones, leaving her no chance to use Ninjutsu.
• Sasuke used Sharingan Secret Technique: Windmill Manipulation - Triple Blade with help from an Ice Clone, binding Kimimaro and giving Sakura an opening before collapsing unconscious.
• Sakura thanked Sasuke and, as her Chakra surged uncontrollably, prepared a strike she called one from all of Team 7.

Sakura Haruno and Kimimaro fought at full speed as Frost Ice Burial and Dance of the Early Bracken battled for control of the battlefield. Both were badly strained and running out of time, and they agreed to decide the fight with one final attack.

• Sakura Haruno unleashed Frost Ice Burial, and its ice clashed with Kimimaro’s Dance of the Early Bracken in a stalemate.
• Sakura and Kimimaro traded rapid attacks through the bone-and-ice terrain, with each narrowly evading the other’s lethal strikes.
• After several minutes, Sakura retreated to catch her breath and realized she was badly wounded despite using her major techniques.
• Kimimaro’s life-burning technique left his body numb and dying, with enough strength for at most one more attack.
• Sakura and Kimimaro acknowledged that time was running out for both of them and agreed to settle the fight with their next move.

Sakura Haruno unleashed a massive ice explosion that destroyed Kimimaro’s bone forest, then defeated him in a final head-on clash. As Kimimaro died, he revealed that he had trapped her in place and summoned the Dance of the Early Bracken for one last attack.

• Sakura Haruno rejected the option of stalling Kimimaro and prepared to end the fight with one decisive move.
• Sakura detonated the ice across the battlefield, destroying the Dance of the Early Bracken and leaving a vast crater.
• Kimimaro survived inside a bone shield, and he and Sakura charged each other after both lost their means of evasion.
• Sakura pierced Kimimaro’s chest and crushed his heart, but Kimimaro said he had pinned her in place.
• Kimimaro summoned the Dance of the Early Bracken as he died, leaving Sakura unable to escape.

Sakura escaped Kimimaro’s Dance of the Early Bracken by using an Ice Clone as the medium for Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, and Kimimaro died after his final attack missed. Severely drained and injured, Sakura began treating Sasuke, who woke and asked whether she had won.

• Kimimaro unleashed Dance of the Early Bracken, sacrificing his life in an attempt to kill Sakura.
• Sakura used the Ice Clone she had left beside Sasuke as a medium for Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and escaped the bone attack.
• Sakura reflected on Kimimaro’s strength and realized that her Chakra and stamina were nearly exhausted and her nervous system had been damaged.
• Sakura removed Sasuke’s bandages and used her remaining Chakra to treat his reopened wounds.
• Sasuke woke and asked if Sakura had won, then said he had used his move because he feared she would die.

Sakura treated Sasuke’s severe wounds after their battle with Kimimaro, and the two spoke about how Team 7 had changed and whether they could reunite. Sasuke insisted he would protect her next time, but Sakura suddenly turned to look behind her.

• Sakura used Medical Ninjutsu and the last of her bandages to treat Sasuke’s wounded arm and leg.
• Sasuke pointed out Sakura’s injuries, and she dismissed his concern while explaining that she had run out of Ultra-Pure Water.
• Sasuke asked why Sakura had changed from her safer fighting style, and she said she could no longer rely on teammates to protect her because Team 7 had disbanded.
• Sasuke insisted Team 7 would reunite, while Sakura said the three of them would meet again but would follow separate paths.
• Sasuke vowed to protect Sakura next time, and Sakura laughed at him before turning to look behind her.