Chapter Summaries

Sakura Haruno countered Pain's Banshō Ten'in with a high-speed punch, but the Preta Path absorbed her Chakra and Pain wounded her arm. With her Monstrous Strength disabled and her right hand damaged, she faced Pain and the Preta Path's coordinated close-range attack.

• Sakura Haruno used the waves as a foothold and accelerated toward Pain with a Wing Chun Straight Punch.
• The Preta Path blocked Sakura Haruno's punch with its Absorption Seal, absorbing her Chakra after she shattered its left hand.
• Pain struck Sakura Haruno's arm with a black rod, damaging her nerves and weakening her right hand.
• Pain and the Preta Path pressed their close-range assault, keeping Sakura Haruno within the Chakra-absorbing technique's range.

Sakura Haruno used Sage Mode to counter Pain and fought him in a close-quarters blade battle after their other attacks were exhausted. Pain appeared to win when he pierced both her hands, but Sakura revealed that the Preta Path had absorbed too much Senjutsu Chakra and sunk into the sea, then launched a High Roundhouse Kick.

• Sakura Haruno activated Sage Mode and met Pain's attack with a staff, matching his strength despite the Preta Path absorbing her Chakra.
• Pain and Sakura fought at close range with blades after their powerful techniques failed to settle the battle.
• The Preta Path suddenly increased its Chakra absorption, weakening Sakura and giving Pain an opening to pierce her palm and knock away her butterfly knife.
• Pain declared victory and raised his Black Key to strike Sakura's neck, but she stayed calm and said he had lost.
• Sakura revealed that the Preta Path had absorbed too much Senjutsu Chakra and sunk into the sea, then attacked Pain with her High Roundhouse Kick.

Sakura Haruno and Pain fought to a standstill after she restored her Chakra and landed a devastating kick, forcing a ceasefire while both recovered. Pain revived the fallen Paths and prepared to attack again, but Sakura revealed that she had recovered completely and challenged him to a second round.

• Sakura Haruno restored her Chakra and broke Pain's black rod with a whipping kick that tore through Deva Path's arm.
• Pain used Shinra Tensei to clash with Sakura's kick, and both were badly injured before they stopped fighting by mutual agreement.
• Naraka Path emerged from the King of Hell and revived the fallen Paths while Sakura slowly healed her injured hand.
• Pain Deva Path recovered and believed Sakura was still crippled, but she appeared unharmed and revealed eerie four-pointed pupils.
• Sakura Haruno faced Pain and asked if he was ready for round two.

Sakura Haruno revealed that her Mangekyō Sharingan-wielding clone, Sakura Uchiha, could summon Perfect Susanoo, which overwhelmed Pain’s Six Paths. Nagato decided to use a life-shortening technique against her and sent its power through the black rods to the Deva Path.

• Sakura Haruno’s lively Clone Duplicate revealed her Mangekyō Sharingan and introduced herself to Pain as Sakura Uchiha.
• Sakura Uchiha activated Susanoo, forming a towering pale-green armored giant with Sakura Haruno inside it.
• The Deva Path used Banshō Ten'in, but Susanoo resisted the pull and stirred up the sea.
• Sakura Uchiha slashed the sea and clouds with Susanoo’s spiral sword, leaving the Deva Path badly wounded and four other Pains gone.
• Nagato and Konan sensed Susanoo’s power from their distant island, and Nagato decided to use a move that would shorten his life.
• Nagato transmitted an immense amount of Chakra to the Deva Path and began using Shinra Tensei.

Pain unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei against Sakura Haruno and her clone, who combined their powers to build a giant armored warrior and an enormous ice wall. They survived the blast, but were nearly exhausted while Pain still appeared capable of attacking again, leaving Sakura to consider a dangerous final trump card.

• Pain gathered Chakra in the air as Sakura Haruno warned her clone that he was preparing a powerful move.
• Sakura Haruno summoned a Giant God Warrior, and Sakura Uchiha clad it in Susanoo armor to form the Majestic Attire God Warrior.
• Sakura Haruno raised a vast wall of seawater, and Sakura Uchiha froze it into an enormous ice barrier.
• Pain unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, shattering the ice wall and heavily damaging the armored giant while leaving both Sakuras alive and drained.
• Pain indicated he still had strength to spare, and Sakura Haruno considered using a dangerous trump card that could kill them all.

Nagato resolved to use another Super Shinra Tensei to kill Sakura Haruno and pursue peace through overwhelming force. As Pain prepared to attack, Sakura spotted a distant flash from Sasuke's Railgun and brought out her last scroll, ready to fight.

• Nagato rejected Konan's pleas and began preparing another Super Shinra Tensei, insisting he had to kill Sakura Haruno to advance his plan.
• Pain explained that he intended to collect the Tailed Beasts and use them as weapons to impose peace through terror.
• Sakura Haruno challenged Pain's right to sacrifice people for his ideal and rejected his claim that fear could create lasting peace.
• Sakura Haruno saw a flash she recognized as Sasuke's Railgun, while Pain noticed that a Chakra signature had disappeared.
• Pain began gathering Chakra for another Super Shinra Tensei, and Sakura Haruno took out her last scroll to settle their fight.

Sakura Haruno and her duplicate risk using an unfinished nuclear technique to kill Pain, planning to escape with Reverse Summoning. Sakura caught Pain off guard with an Ice Release teleport and detonated the weapon at close range.

• Sakura Haruno revealed a scroll containing highly enriched uranium as her unfinished final weapon, and her duplicate warned that the blast could kill them both.
• Sakura Haruno planned to detonate the weapon near Pain, then use Body Flicker and Katsuyu's Reverse Summoning Technique to escape; her duplicate formed a water wall for protection.
• The two Sakuras resolved to fight together, and Sakura Haruno accused Pain of using peace as an excuse for hatred and revenge.
• Sakura Haruno distracted Pain with a misshapen Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Blast, then used Ice Release: Ice Body Flicker Technique to appear behind him.
• As Pain activated Shinra Tensei, Sakura Haruno compressed the uranium into a spinning water sphere and unleashed Secret Technique: Brilliant Radiation; light appeared.

Mei Terumi and Uchiha Itachi witnessed the aftermath of Sakura Haruno’s atomic explosion, which defeated Pain and devastated Nagato’s forces. Sakura escaped with help, while Itachi learned Pain was likely dead and prepared to act on a suggestion of his own.

• Mei Terumi tried to reach Sakura Haruno, but Uchiha Itachi blocked her and explained that his mission was to keep her from joining the battle.
• Pain unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, then a blinding explosion lit the horizon and left Itachi and Mei Terumi stunned.
• Rondo and Chōjūrō surfaced after sheltering underwater and found they could no longer sense either combatant’s Chakra.
• Nagato recalled Sakura’s strange sphere and the light that destroyed Pain and the other Six Paths, then asked Konan to take him to their secret base.
• Sakura and her double spoke with Uchiha Itachi, confirmed Pain was likely dead and Nagato weakened, and urged him to act within reason before they vanished.

Sasuke struggled to survive as the Nine-Tails took control of Naruto, until Sakura arrived and stopped the killing blow. Sasuke collapsed in relief, while Sakura faced the Nine-Tails and promised to take over.

• Sasuke exhausted himself dodging the Nine-Tails' attacks and could barely gather enough Chakra to fight back.
• The Nine-Tails struck Sasuke with a massive tail, but a half-formed Susanoo blocked most of the force.
• Sasuke accepted that he might die and regretted that he could not save Naruto before closing his eyes as the Nine-Tails raised its claw.
• Sakura arrived atop a blue-green giant and caught the Nine-Tails' claw before it could hit Sasuke.
• Sakura told Sasuke and Naruto that she would take it from there, and Sasuke collapsed, relieved to be alive.

Sakura Haruno confronted the Nine-Tails and demanded that he leave Naruto’s body, while Sakura Uchiha restrained him with Susanoo. Sakura Haruno warned that she could use Kotoamatsukami to change the Nine-Tails’ will, leaving him to decide whether to surrender Naruto’s body.

• Sasuke recognized Sakura Uchiha as a duplicate and learned that Sakura Haruno was injured and recovering from radiation exposure.
• Sakura Haruno explained that she could not control the radiation with the Mysterious Peacock Method and intended to develop a Sage Mode technique, but her condition worsened.
• Sakura Haruno asked Sakura Uchiha to release the Genjutsu on the Nine-Tails so she could speak with him, and Sakura Uchiha repeatedly subdued him when he attacked.
• The Nine-Tails refused to leave Naruto’s body, insisting that the girls would not risk harming Naruto by killing him.
• Sakura Haruno threatened to use Sakura Uchiha’s Kotoamatsukami to change the Nine-Tails’ thoughts and again demanded that he return Naruto’s body and consciousness.

Sakura Uchiha used Kotoamatsukami to calm and frighten the Nine-Tails, then persuaded him to return to Naruto’s seal by warning him about the Akatsuki. The Sakuras restored the prison inside Naruto but could not complete the Eight Trigrams Seal, until a man’s voice offered to handle it.

• The Nine-Tails threatened to kill Naruto if Sakura used the Sharingan, and Sakura Uchiha pinned him with Susanoo after he provoked her.
• When the Nine-Tails formed a Tailed Beast Bomb, Sakura Uchiha used Kotoamatsukami to calm him and instill fear, while Susanoo kicked him away from the blast.
• Sakura Uchiha warned the Nine-Tails that Naruto would die if he escaped and that the Akatsuki might capture him; after hearing Sakura Haruno describe Pain’s Rinnegan, the Nine-Tails agreed to return to Naruto.
• The Sakuras entered Naruto’s seal space, where the Nine-Tails was locked inside the restored cage, but they could not repair the Eight Trigrams Seal.
• A man’s voice told the Sakuras to leave the sealing problem to him.

Sakura Haruno spoke with Minato inside Naruto’s seal as he restored the Eight Trigrams Seal and thanked her for standing by Naruto. After leaving Sakura Uchiha to care for the unconscious Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura returned to Shikkotsu Forest and collapsed from her injuries.

• Minato appeared in the sealed space, and Sakura Haruno acknowledged her resentment over Naruto’s hardships and his parents’ absence.
• Naruto’s battered body appeared as his Chakra recovered, and Minato explained that Naruto had knowingly chosen to use the Nine-Tails’ power to protect Sasuke and defeat their enemy.
• Minato rewrote the Eight Trigrams Seal, thanked Sakura Haruno for being there for Naruto, and vanished after saying goodbye.
• Sakura Haruno coughed blood from the strain of using radiation energy and asked Sakura Uchiha to watch over Naruto and Sasuke.
• Sakura Haruno used the Reverse Summoning Technique to return to Shikkotsu Forest, where Sage Katsuyu warned her about drawing powerful energy into her body.
• Sakura Haruno lost consciousness in Shikkotsu Forest.

After recovering from the battle in Kirigakure, Sasuke met Sakura Uchiha, Sakura Haruno’s independent clone, and they began a taijutsu spar. The chapter ended as Sakura Uchiha charged at a distracted Sasuke.

• Sasuke woke in temporary lodgings in Kirigakure and found Naruto sleeping soundly beside him.
• Sasuke followed the sounds of practice into the courtyard and found Sakura Uchiha striking a wooden post.
• Sakura Uchiha insisted that she was an independent individual rather than Sakura Haruno’s duplicate, then teased Sasuke for taking her seriously.
• Sasuke told Sakura Uchiha that her taijutsu had a problem and challenged her to spar without Monstrous Strength or Lightning Release.
• Sakura Uchiha accepted the challenge, and the spar began when she charged at a distracted Sasuke.

While Sakura Uchiha sparred with Sasuke, Konan fought Obito elsewhere after he demanded Nagato’s Rinnegan. The chapter left Obito pursuing Konan, unaware that Nagato was still alive, while Black Zetsu realized the Akatsuki pair had turned against each other.

• Sakura Uchiha performed only moderately in her Taijutsu match with Sasuke because she struggled to put her inherited skills into practice.
• Konan fought Obito, whom she called Madara, and escaped after her explosive-tag decoy detonated around him.
• Obito demanded Nagato’s corpse and Rinnegan, revealing that he had treated Akatsuki as a tool for his own plan.
• Konan attacked Obito with a barrage of Explosive Tags and disappeared while he used his intangibility to avoid the blasts.
• White Zetsu gave Obito a bottle before he pursued Konan, and Black Zetsu realized that Nagato might still be alive and that Konan had been testing Obito.

Konan unleashed a trap of six hundred billion Explosive Tags at Obito at Mirror Lake, believing the barrage had killed him. As she rested after the explosions, Obito appeared behind her and questioned whether the fight was truly over.

• Konan confronted Obito at Mirror Lake and explained that the place commemorated the courage to keep fighting despite defeat.
• Obito attacked, but Konan’s explosive-paper tactics briefly put him on the defensive and left him badly burned.
• Konan transformed Mirror Lake into six hundred billion Explosive Tags and detonated them continuously for ten minutes to prevent Obito from escaping.
• As the explosions continued, Konan recalled Sakura Haruno’s overwhelming Ninjutsu and doubted that even her own attack could compare.
• After the final explosion, Konan collapsed on the lake and believed she had killed Obito, but his figure rose behind her reflection.

Konan and Nagato appeared to kill Obito with a trap, then took control of Akatsuki and ordered Zetsu to recover his Sharingan. Obito survived by using Izanagi, replaced his ruined eye with a spare, and fled with White Zetsu while plotting to reclaim everything.

• Konan lured Obito into a final attack, and Nagato struck him with Almighty Push, apparently killing him.
• Nagato and Konan accepted Zetsu's submission, ordered him to gather the remaining Akatsuki members, and decided to retrieve Obito's space-time Sharingan.
• After the others left, Obito revived and removed his ruined Sharingan, revealing that he had survived by using Izanagi.
• Obito took a replacement Sharingan from White Zetsu and planned to let Nagato and Konan believe they had won while he disappeared from view.

While recovering in Katsuyu, Sakura Haruno reached a deeper understanding of Water Release as a way of controlling Chakra’s flow. Meanwhile, Sasuke defeated Sakura Uchiha in a spar and explained that her clone body could not fully match the strength and timing of the original.

• Katsuyu continued healing Sakura Haruno as she reflected on her training and concluded that the different forms of Nature Transformation arose from underlying patterns of Chakra flow.
• Sakura Uchiha used a punch that gathered force from her whole body, but Sasuke dodged it and struck her with his kunai, winning the spar.
• Sakura Uchiha asked why she had lost despite her strength, and Sasuke explained that her body differed from Sakura Haruno’s trained body.
• Sakura Uchiha asked whether Sasuke could beat Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke said the outcome depended on the restrictions.

Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke went out for breakfast in Kirigakure, where their conversation about limited information led Sasuke to consider asking her about Sakura Haruno. The chapter ended with Sakura Uchiha recognizing what he wanted to ask and inviting him to speak freely.

• Sakura Uchiha took her time getting dressed and styled her hair, then Sasuke told her she looked beautiful.
• Sakura Uchiha showed Sasuke around Kirigakure's commercial district and explained that the best ninja blades were restricted to Mist Ninja.
• Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke ate breakfast, but the shop owner said seafood supplies were low because the coastline had been sealed off.
• Sakura Uchiha explained that ordinary people made judgments from limited information, and Sasuke reflected on how that applied to his own past and to Sakura Haruno.
• Sasuke hesitated to ask Sakura Uchiha about Sakura Haruno, but she guessed his question and promised to answer seriously.

Sasuke told Sakura Uchiha about their trip to another world and the events that led to his Mangekyō Sharingan awakening. He asked whether Sakura Haruno or her counterpart liked Naruto, and Sakura Uchiha said neither did, leaving Sasuke embarrassed and the question unresolved.

• Sasuke explained that he and Sakura Haruno had visited another world and fought their counterparts, Shimura Danzō, and a strange man.
• Sasuke recalled that Sakura Haruno's duplicate died after he witnessed that world's Sakura confess to Naruto, prompting his Mangekyō Sharingan awakening.
• Sasuke told Sakura Uchiha about the confession and asked whether Sakura Haruno liked Naruto.
• Sakura Uchiha said she had never spoken to Naruto and that Sakura Haruno had no romantic feelings for him either.

Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke discussed what the other Sakura felt for Naruto and concluded that she liked Sasuke. Naruto woke after two days and two nights, learned Sakura was recovering at Shikkotsu Forest, and joined Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke to exchange information about what had happened.

• Sakura Uchiha and Sasuke recalled their private conversation with the other Sakura and agreed she did not like Naruto romantically.
• Sakura Uchiha suggested that the other Sakura liked Sasuke, and he met her gaze without answering.
• Naruto woke hungry, mistook Sakura Uchiha for an impostor, and recognized her after she showed him her Sharingan and explained who she was.
• Sakura Uchiha told Naruto that Sakura was recovering from injuries at Shikkotsu Forest and that he had slept for two days and two nights.
• Sakura Uchiha, Sasuke, and Naruto sat down to eat and began exchanging information about what had happened after they split up.