Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Sasuke asked the senior netizens for advice before his planned fight with Sasori of the Red Sands, and they shared detailed intelligence about Sasori’s puppet body and Regeneration Core. Their curiosity about the mysterious Fourth Scroll earned Sasuke an S-Rank suggestion to force Sasori to use it, leaving him shaken by the challenge ahead.

• Uchiha Sasuke posted that Orochimaru had discovered his undercover identity and that he planned to kill Sasori of the Red Sands before ending his obligations to Orochimaru.
• Sasuke Uchiha's Mom Fan suggested that Sasuke return to Konoha and ask Jiraiya to deal with Sasori, earning a system suggestion that offered a Rank F Scroll.
• I am Old Driver questioned Sasuke about his defenses and Susanoo, and Sasuke reported that he had only manifested a massive purple arm and ribcage armor.
• Ping Chuan told Sasuke that Sasori used the Human Puppet Hiruko, had transformed himself into a puppet, and could be defeated by destroying the Regeneration Core on his left chest.
• Only Love Scorpion Lord explained that Sasori had four scrolls and that no one knew what the Fourth Scroll contained, prompting the system to offer Sasuke an S-Rank Scroll if he forced Sasori to use it.

Uchiha Sasuke left Orochimaru’s base with Neji Hyuga after receiving a photograph identifying Sasori of the Red Sands, while Orochimaru sent Karin after him to keep him alive. Meanwhile, Akatsuki held a gathering where Pain announced a major upcoming mission for the Land of Earth.

• Uchiha Sasuke found a photograph of Sasori of the Red Sands in Hiruko’s disguise and understood that Orochimaru’s group did not want to see him again.
• Uchiha Sasuke and Neji Hyuga left the base, and Orochimaru watched them depart before realizing he feared Sasuke might die.
• Orochimaru ordered Karin to catch up with Uchiha Sasuke and make sure he survived, and Karin hurried after him.
• Sasori of the Red Sands complained about being paired with Deidara and was mocked by Tobi during Akatsuki’s meeting.
• Deva Path Pain calmed Gaara and told the members to stay alert for a major upcoming mission from the Land of Earth.

Sasuke, Neji, and Karin discovered Kumogakure’s army moving toward the Land of Fire and watched as the ninja world slid into war. While Sasuke’s team continued searching for Sasori of the Red Sands, the Sound Ninja Village invaded Kirigakure, and the Land of Earth hired Akatsuki to attack Wind Country.

• Karin joined Sasuke and Neji, then used her Mind’s Eye of the Kagura to detect tens of thousands of ninja approaching from the northeast.
• The group identified the advancing force as Kumogakure’s army, informed Konoha through Gamako Kosuke, and followed the army as it moved toward the Land of Fire.
• Kumogakure and Konoha assembled forces at the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Sound Ninja Village, where they faced off without crossing the border.
• Orochimaru gathered Sound Ninja forces and sailed with seven warships toward Kirigakure, beginning the Fourth Great Ninja War and driving Kirigakure into repeated defeats.
• Sasuke’s team searched the Land of Grass and detected great danger in the Land of Rain, so they detoured toward the Land of Birds while refugees and war rumors spread.
• On May 3, the Land of Earth hired Akatsuki for one billion ryo to launch a war of annihilation against Wind Country.

Fujimoto Itsuki witnessed red-robed puppets massacre students and teachers at Sunagakure’s Ninja Academy before Sasuke saved him. Sasuke and his companions tracked Sasori of the Red Sands to a nearby hill, where Sasori ordered his puppets to attack.

• A red-robed intruder broke into Yanxiong Shunji’s classroom, killed Rocco, and fatally wounded Shunji.
• Mei returned to help Fujimoto Itsuki escape but was killed, so Itsuki threw a smoke bomb and fled through a window with a broken foot.
• Fujimoto Itsuki encountered a sky full of red-robed attackers outside, but Sasuke arrived and cut down the puppet pursuing him.
• Sasuke, Karin, and their companion left Itsuki with directions to a guard room and headed toward Sasori’s location.
• Karin located Sasori roughly seven hundred meters southwest, and Sasuke charged toward him despite the puppets overhead.
• Sasori spoke with Yura and then ordered the red puppets to raise their weapons against Sasuke.

Second Pillar fought Sasori of the Red Sands in Sunagakure, breaking through his puppet attack with Susanoo and destroying Hiruko. After Sasori revealed his true body, Second Pillar identified the Regeneration Core and began a Hidden Mist Technique, leaving their fight poised to continue.

• Yura opened Sunagakure’s gates for Sasori of the Red Sands after secretly eliminating the guards.
• Second Pillar fought through Sasori’s puppets and climbed the mountainside, awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan and summoning Susanoo.
• Second Pillar seized Sasori’s scorpion tail, hurled him down the mountain, and smashed Hiruko with a flaming sword strike.
• Sasori’s true body emerged from his cloak, and he recognized Second Pillar as an Uchiha and mentioned Uchiha Itachi.
• Second Pillar identified Sasori’s Regeneration Core and began the Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.

Second Pillar and Neji Hyuga fought Sasori of the Red Sands, but Kisame Hoshigaki arrived as backup and turned his attention to Neji. As Kisame flooded the battlefield, Second Pillar faced an iron-sand attack whose source and significance remained unclear.

• Second Pillar used thick mist and repeated thrown weapons to conceal Neji Hyuga's lightning arrows, but Sasori dodged them until Kisame blocked a shot with Samehada.
• In a flashback, Deva Path Pain learned Second Pillar was obstructing Sasori and sent Deidara and Gaara toward Sunagakure while creating a sixty-percent-strength Kisame duplicate.
• Kisame joined Sasori in the mist, and Hozuki Suigetsu recognized him as a former Kirigakure ninja and realized Samehada was nearby.
• Neji attacked Kisame with arrows and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, but Samehada absorbed the Chakra-infused arrow and Kisame blocked the physical strike.
• Kisame unleashed Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave against Neji, while iron sand suddenly hurtled toward Second Pillar.

Second Pillar used Suigetsu’s Shield Hat to withstand Sasori of the Red Sands’ Iron Sand Shower, then turned the defensive technique into an attack and ended their second exchange without either side gaining an advantage. As Second Pillar faced Sasori’s unknown Human Puppet, Neji Hyuga continued fighting Kisame Hoshigaki in the flooded village and hurled a shuriken at him.

• Second Pillar expanded Suigetsu’s Shield Hat to resist Sasori of the Red Sands’ Iron Sand Shower as iron sand infiltrated the water monster and formed a blade inside it.
• Second Pillar reshaped the water monster into a swordfish-like charge, forcing Sasori to retreat and stopping the iron sand attack.
• Second Pillar dispelled Shield Hat and avoided the fallen iron sand, ending the round without either fighter being injured.
• Second Pillar saw a Human Puppet behind Sasori and wondered why the veteran netizens had not told him about it, then admitted he did not know what ninjutsu Sasori had used.
• Neji Hyuga dodged Kisame Hoshigaki’s Samehada attack by dropping into the water and struck from below with Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
• Neji Hyuga circled underwater, burst out in front of Kisame, and threw a shuriken at his face.

Neji’s ambush on Kisame failed when Kisame absorbed his Chakra and overwhelmed him with shark-shaped water attacks. Meanwhile, Sasuke fought Sasori while holding back his quickest way to win, and Sasori trapped him in a mass of wooden arms before activating a poison-mist mechanism.

• Neji used his Cursed Seal’s State Two and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms to strike Kisame, but Kisame absorbed the Chakra from his attacks and recovered.
• Kisame forced Neji back into the water and used Water Release: Five Eating Sharks to wound him and set the sharks on him.
• Sasuke grew increasingly frustrated with Sasori’s successive Iron Sand weapons, cut the spinning Iron Sand Triangular Pyramid in two, and continued demanding that Sasori use the Fourth Scroll.
• Sasori summoned thousands of wooden arms with Human Puppet Sōbu, enclosing Sasuke in a huge cage of arms.
• As Sasuke prepared to break out, Sasori activated Thousand Hands Mechanism: Poison Mist.

Sasuke escaped Sasori of the Red Sands' poison trap with Temari's help and nearly killed him using Fleeting Splendor. Granny Chiyo stopped Sasuke at the last moment to protect her grandson, while Temari revealed that Leaf Ninja reinforcements had reached the lake where Neji was fighting.

• Sasori of the Red Sands trapped Sasuke in a wooden barrier and filled it with toxic mist, but Sasuke cut free after Temari swept the poison away with her Three Stars Fan.
• Sasuke unleashed Chidori and Fleeting Splendor, but Granny Chiyo's Chakra Threads accidentally stopped him before he could strike Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Granny Chiyo revealed that she had come to protect her grandson, and Temari recognized Sasori's Human Puppet as the vanished Third Kazekage.
• Temari explained that Granny Chiyo was a respected Sunagakure elder, while Sasuke prepared to leave to help Neji Hyuga at the lake.
• Temari told Sasuke that Leaf Ninja reinforcements had arrived, and a Konoha Whirlwind shout rang out from the lake.

Might Guy and Rock Lee rescued Neji from Kisame, while Sasuke confronted Sasori and Granny Chiyo. After admitting that Orochimaru had hired him to kill Sasori, Sasuke let Granny Chiyo speak with her grandson, and she asked to die in Sasori’s place as atonement for her past failures.

• Might Guy interrupted Kisame’s Five Eating Sharks, and Rock Lee rescued the unconscious Neji from the water.
• Neji learned that Tenten had not joined Guy and Lee, while Guy and Lee charged together to fight Kisame.
• Granny Chiyo tried to send Sasuke away, but Sasuke said he had been entrusted by Orochimaru to kill Sasori.
• Granny Chiyo spoke privately with Sasori, recalling her letters and admitting that her neglect after his parents’ deaths had helped lead him down his path.
• Granny Chiyo asked Sasuke for a chance to atone and offered to die in Sasori’s place.

Granny Chiyo tried to sacrifice herself to save Sasori of the Red Sands, but Sasuke rejected her plea and prepared to fight him. Sasuke used Shunka to reach Sasori and press his lightning-charged blade to the Regeneration Core, just as Sasori activated the Fourth Scroll.

• Granny Chiyo begged Sasuke to spare Sasori and offered her own life, but Sasuke told her that her family’s troubles had nothing to do with his mission.
• Granny Chiyo reconsidered her plan and hinted at using the Reanimation Jutsu, alarming Sasori, before Sasuke interrupted them and challenged him.
• Sasori revealed his puppet body and attacked Sasuke with flames from the First Scroll, while Sasuke dodged through the arena and plunged into Kisame Hoshigaki’s pool.
• Sasuke emerged in Cursed Seal State Two, but Sasori used the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and his red-robed puppets to trap him in an iron-sand assault.
• Might Guy opened the Sixth Gate to fight Kisame Hoshigaki, while Sasuke used Shunka to freeze the puppets and close in on Sasori.
• Sasuke thrust his Chidori Blade toward Sasori’s Regeneration Core, and Sasori activated the Fourth Scroll.

Might Guy defeated Kisame’s shadow clone, while Sasuke killed Sasori and gained the Puppet Manipulation skill through Thousand Arts, Return to One. As Sasuke collected Sasori’s belongings and Sunagakure’s puppets, Granny Chiyo confronted him over the Third Kazekage puppet and the wooden pendant.

• Might Guy’s Morning Peacock defeated Kisame’s shadow clone, revealing that its apparent corpse was actually Yura, while Kisame awakened far away beside Deva Path Pain.
• Sasori’s body dissolved into an illusion of his family, and Granny Chiyo caught the wooden pendant that fell from it.
• Sasuke received the Puppet Manipulation skill after the system confirmed Sasori’s death, then used Chakra Threads to briefly control a puppet.
• Sasuke collected Sasori’s scrolls and puppets, including the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and Hiruko’s head, while Granny Chiyo demanded the Third Kazekage be returned.
• Might Guy and Rock Lee began cleaning the battlefield with handstands, while Sasuke asked Granny Chiyo to show him the wooden pendant.

Sasuke demanded the piece of wood Granny Chiyo had kept from Sasori, and she revealed its connection to her plan to use Reanimation Jutsu on him. Their standoff was interrupted by a gigantic sand hand attacking Sasuke, and Temari recognized the technique and shouted for Gaara.

• Hozuki Suigetsu joked with Sasuke and then eagerly flattered him, while Granny Chiyo tried to change the subject from the piece of wood.
• Sasuke insisted the wood belonged to him, and Granny Chiyo explained that it was Sasori’s keepsake and was connected to the Fourth Scroll and her Reanimation Jutsu plan.
• Granny Chiyo refused to hand over the wood, and Sasuke pressed her for its purpose until she took a fighting stance; Temari warned them that a clash would harm relations between Konoha and Sunagakure.
• As Sasuke and Granny Chiyo prepared to fight, a massive sand hand surged toward Sasuke, forcing him to retreat.
• Granny Chiyo fled with the wooden pendant, while Temari recognized the sand technique and shouted for Gaara.

Naruto spotted Gaara and another Akatsuki-cloaked figure riding a giant bird toward Sunagakure. As Gaara’s Sand Giant Hand pursued Second Pillar, Neji revealed Gaara’s position, leaving the confrontation poised to escalate.

• Naruto grumbled about being assigned guard duty while Kankuro screamed through his treatment at the border camp.
• Naruto and Yukata used a monocular telescope to spot a giant white bird carrying two people toward Sunagakure.
• Naruto recognized Gaara on the bird before it dived behind Sunagakure’s walls.
• Second Pillar evaded the Sand Giant Hand while his Sharingan and chakra were strained from earlier battles.
• Neji called out the enemy’s position, and Second Pillar saw Gaara controlling the sand from the bird with an Akatsuki-cloaked blond young man beside him.

After learning that Sasori had died, Deidara followed Gaara to Sunagakure, where Gaara attacked Sasuke with a devastating sand technique. Sasuke escaped and fought back, but Deidara trapped him with Gaara inside Desert Wave and sent white ants crawling over Sasuke's pinned arm as he demanded to know how Sasori had been killed.

• Deva Path Pain told Deidara that Sasori was dead, canceled the mission, and ordered him to persuade Gaara to return.
• Gaara saw Sasuke and unleashed Sand Waterfall Burial, devastating Sunagakure and swallowing Sasuke beneath the sand.
• Sasuke broke free with Flame Armor and Chidori, then lunged at Gaara, but Gaara's sand blocked the attack and trapped his right hand.
• Gaara formed Desert Wave around himself and Deidara, while Sasuke used Moon Shadow: Chidori Blade to pierce the sand sphere.
• Deidara revealed that white ants were crawling over Sasuke's trapped arm and challenged him to prove how he had killed Sasori.

Second Pillar endured Gaara and Deidara’s countdown and survived the explosion by using Orochimaru Style, Substitution Technique. Rock Lee and Temari intervened, and Might Guy arrived as Sasuke and his allies prepared for the fight to continue.

• Gaara revealed that Deidara’s Explosive Clay had spread over Second Pillar’s arm and demanded that he cut it off before the countdown ended.
• Second Pillar threw Hozuki Suigetsu’s Mind Puppet and Kusanagi Sword Shadow toward Neji, then endured the explosion that destroyed his right hand and sent him crashing to the ground.
• Gaara tried to bind Second Pillar in sand, but Rock Lee kicked Gaara from the bird and Temari dispersed Deidara’s explosive birds with Wind Release Weasel.
• Second Pillar rose from the sand after using Orochimaru Style, Substitution Technique, and thanked Lee for buying him time.
• Might Guy appeared, told Lee to take Sasuke to Neji, and announced that Konoha’s Blue Beast would handle the enemies.

Rock Lee carried the exhausted Second Pillar to safety as Might Guy drove off Gaara and Deidara, but Baki ordered Sunagakure to attack them with explosive bolts. After Karin restored Sasuke’s strength, he weighed Neji Hyuga’s tactical proposal and announced a different plan, telling Lee to bring Might Guy back so they could leave.

• Might Guy blocked Gaara’s sand and faced him, while Deva Path Pain ordered Gaara and Deidara to return; Deidara eventually flew away with Gaara.
• Baki ordered Sunagakure’s forces to fire explosive bolts at the departing giant bird, despite Might Guy and Second Pillar having chosen not to pursue the enemy.
• Karin healed Second Pillar by letting him bite her arm, and Neji Hyuga analyzed the risks of fighting Deidara and Gaara from the ground.
• Neji Hyuga proposed using his Dragon Scale Bow and its lightning nature to counter Deidara’s explosive clay, while Sunagakure’s arrows and Exploding Tags harried the giant bird.
• Second Pillar said he had a better plan, called Rock Lee back, and told him to bring Might Guy so they could leave.

Sasuke argued that his team had completed its mission and should leave Sand Hidden Village, but Neji persuaded him to consider the Hokage’s strategy and build political capital. Above the village, Gaara and Deidara attacked the sand ninja forces that had abused Gaara, while Baki’s troops called on Might Guy as he opened the Seventh Gate.

• Sasuke proposed leaving Sand Hidden Village because the mission to defeat Sasori was already complete, and Suigetsu and Karin agreed.
• Rock Lee objected in the name of the Will of Fire, but Sasuke persuaded him that the mission had ended and then angrily sent him away when he persisted.
• Neji warned Sasuke that abandoning Sand Hidden Village could undermine the Hokage’s plans, and urged him to seize the chance to build political capital.
• As Gaara and Deidara flew out of the village, Sand ninja cursed Gaara and insulted his mother, Karura, prompting him to order Deidara to turn back.
• Gaara and Deidara crushed Sand Hidden Village’s ballistae and killed a squad of ninjas with a sand arm enhanced by Explosive Clay.
• Baki’s forces raised wind defenses against Gaara and Deidara, but a growing Sand Clone threatened them, and Might Guy opened the Seventh Gate.

Might Guy and Neji Hyuga destroyed the Akatsuki’s defenses, but Naruto intervened to save Gaara and pleaded for peace. Gaara acknowledged Naruto’s bonds before leaving with Deidara, declaring that Sunagakure was a terrible place that did not deserve to exist.

• Might Guy unleashed Daytime Tiger against Gaara’s Shukaku’s Shield while Deidara detonated an explosive Sand Clone among Sunagakure’s forces.
• Neji Hyuga pierced the shield’s weakest point with a heavy arrow, allowing Daytime Tiger to destroy the shield and tear apart Deidara’s giant bird.
• Naruto tackled Gaara from the bird and shielded him from the attack, then begged Might Guy to spare Gaara and spoke of breaking the cycle of hatred.
• Might Guy deactivated the Eight Gates and left after Naruto declared that he would bear hatred to bring peace.
• Naruto told Gaara that his comrades’ bonds had helped him endure, and Gaara admitted that he had found bonds worth cherishing but said Sunagakure did not deserve to exist.
• Deidara thanked Naruto as Gaara vanished aboard a second giant bird.

After Gaara was taken from Sunagakure, Sasuke and Neji prepared to leave while Naruto searched for them. A vast floating island of sand appeared over the village, threatening the survivors and leaving Sasuke’s group facing a new danger.

• Deidara and his partner carried Gaara out of Sunagakure, while Naruto watched helplessly and Might Guy gathered Rock Lee to return to Konoha.
• Might Guy recognized Sasuke’s actions in the battle and asked when he would return; Sasuke claimed his mission was nearly complete and urged Guy and Lee to hurry back with their report.
• Sasuke teased Might Guy and Rock Lee into setting off for Konoha at greater speed, and Guy called out that he was proud of Neji’s growth.
• Neji joined Sasuke and Karin, but Sasuke refused to speak with Naruto when Neji asked whether he would say goodbye.
• A gigantic floating island of sand moved over Sunagakure, darkening the sky and filling the village with dread as the survivors and Sasuke’s group looked up.