Chapter Summaries

Hidan faced Chiyo, Ringo Ameyuri, and Zabuza while the other Akatsuki members pursued their own fights. After Hidan attacked and was struck by their combined Lightning and Water Release, he rose again, seemingly unhampered by his injuries, leaving the Kirigakure Anbu wary of his unusual durability.

• Hidan taunted the three Kirigakure Anbu and swung his Three-Edged Reaper Scythe at them, prompting them to counterattack.
• Hidan's scythe grazed Chiyo's arm and drew blood as Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza attacked him with Lightning Release and Water Release.
• The combined attacks left Hidan smoking and half-kneeling, leading Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza to wonder whether he was dead.
• Hidan stood back up, furious and apparently still able to move, and vowed to sacrifice the Anbu.
• Chiyo urged Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza to uncover Hidan's secret before attacking him again.

Hidan swallowed Chiyo's blood and completed his Blood Death Ritual, while Chiyo recognized the danger and resisted his attempt to control her blood. The chapter ended with Hidan stabbing his own legs, unaware that Chiyo's Ketsuryūgan could prevent his ritual from working as intended.

• Hidan licked Chiyo's blood from his scythe, prompting Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza to assume he had doomed himself and withdraw from the fight.
• Chiyo agreed to handle Hidan alone as he finished drawing his ritual circle and taunted her.
• Hidan's body turned black and developed white patterns as his ritual took effect, startling Chiyo, Ringo Ameyuri, and Zabuza.
• Chiyo sensed Hidan trying to break down and absorb her blood, but she kept it under her control and prevented it from merging with his own.
• Hidan pulled out two metal spears and drove them into his legs to inflict pain on Chiyo through his ritual.

Hidan’s Blood Death Ritual failed against Chiyo, who recognized how his technique worked and countered it with her Ketsuryūgan. The chapter ended with Chiyo piercing Hidan’s chest while he realized he had chosen a blood-controlling ninja as his target.

• Hidan stabbed himself repeatedly after his Blood Death Ritual failed to injure Chiyo, while Chiyo, Ringo Ameyuri, and Zabuza watched in confusion.
• Chiyo inferred that Hidan’s technique reflected damage and suspected that his survival meant he had an immortal body or powerful regeneration.
• Chiyo removed her mask and used the Ketsuryūgan to control the blood inside Hidan, leaving him unable to move.
• Chiyo struck Hidan through the chest with her Blood Kill technique, but he survived and realized she could control blood.
• Chiyo explained that Hidan had chosen a natural counter, and Hidan regretted licking her blood.

Chiyo countered Hidan’s blood-based ritual and sealed him in a sphere, while Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza realized how dangerous his ability could have been. The battle then focused on Kakuzu, who struggled against Team Kakashi while unaware that none of his teammates could come to his aid.

• Chiyo cut her palm and used Ghost Shadow Blood Prison to trap Hidan in a blood sphere.
• Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza joined Chiyo, and she explained her theory that Hidan could reflect injuries after meeting several conditions.
• Chiyo reassured Ringo Ameyuri and Zabuza that knowing Hidan’s technique would make him easier to handle.
• Kakuzu continued fighting Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura after realizing he could not defeat them all, and he waited for his teammates to support him.
• Kakuzu’s teammates were unavailable: one had switched sides, another was training his younger brother, and Hidan had been captured.
• Kakuzu kept Team Kakashi at bay with his five nature transformations as he waited for Akatsuki reinforcements summoned by the White Zetsu Clone.

Sakura’s Second Personality dodged Kakuzu’s attack, giving Sasuke an opening to destroy Kakuzu’s Water Release clone. Sasuke then unlocked Curse Seal Level 2 but was nearly consumed by Kakuzu’s combined fire-and-wind attack before Naruto rescued him, leaving Naruto injured.

• Sakura handed control to her Second Personality, who evaded Kakuzu’s Water Release and used a Naraka Clone to harass him.
• Sasuke exploited an opening and killed Kakuzu’s Water Release clone with Chidori, costing Kakuzu one of his lives.
• Kakuzu redirected his attacks at Sasuke and unleashed a combined Fire and Wind Release technique while Sasuke was trapped in midair.
• Sasuke awakened Curse Seal Level 2 and flew backward, but the flames continued closing in on him.
• Naruto used a golden Chakra claw to pull Sasuke underground and save him, taking a heavy blow from Kakuzu in the process.
• Sasuke noticed the blood at Naruto’s mouth and realized Naruto had been injured while rescuing him.

After Naruto rescued Sasuke, Kakashi decided to end the fight with Kakuzu rather than keep waiting for the Hero Water to wear off. He revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and prepared a powerful attack as Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura lured Kakuzu’s clones toward him, leaving Kakuzu uneasy.

• Naruto brushed off his injury after saving Sasuke, while Sasuke felt guilty and briefly experienced a change in his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Kakashi told Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to hold Kakuzu off while he prepared a ninjutsu to end the battle in one strike.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura drew Kakuzu’s three clones closer to his main body as Kakashi revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and readied his White Fang Short Sword.
• Kakuzu sensed that something was wrong as the clones converged and felt an unknown danger surrounding him.

Kakashi completed a Mangekyō-powered sword technique and faced Kakuzu’s strongest attack, unleashed after Kakuzu drank Hero Water. Kakashi’s Kamui Slash cut through the attack and swallowed Kakuzu into torn space, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Kakuzu sensed Kakashi preparing a dangerous ninjutsu and recalled his fire, wind, and lightning clones to focus on stopping him.
• Kakashi ordered Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to retreat, and they noticed his Mangekyō Sharingan as he finished preparing his technique.
• Kakuzu charged his right arm with Earth, Fire, Wind, and Lightning Release chakra and fired his strongest attack, Earth Grudge Fear: Final Shooting, at Kakashi.
• Kakashi drew his blade and used Kamui Slash to slice apart Final Shooting and tear open space.
• The slash swallowed Kakuzu as he stared in terror at Kakashi.

Kakashi used Kamui Slash to destroy three of Kakuzu’s hearts, but collapsed from the strain. Naruto stopped Kakuzu from escaping and destroyed his final heart with a Rasengan, killing him.

• Kakashi’s Kamui Slash shattered three of Kakuzu’s masks and badly cracked his last Earth Style heart before Kakashi collapsed.
• Kakuzu’s Hero Water wore off, and he decided to retreat while Sasuke and Sakura guarded the weakened Kakashi.
• Naruto blocked Kakuzu’s escape and used Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind and drag him back.
• Naruto struck Kakuzu’s chest with a Rasengan, destroying his final heart and killing him.

After defeating Kakuzu, Team Kakashi reunited with Shibuki and the Kirigakure shinobi, who prepared to escort the exhausted group to rest. Their plans were interrupted when Akatsuki members Sasori and Deidara arrived, and Deidara attacked from the sky, leaving everyone braced for another fight.

• Naruto confirmed Kakuzu was dead, and Kakashi returned to the group exhausted after delivering the decisive slash.
• Shibuki thanked Team Kakashi for protecting Takigakure, while Chiyo explained that Kirigakure had come after rogue ninja and had captured Hidan.
• Fū urged Shibuki to take the injured and exhausted Konoha shinobi somewhere to rest.
• Deidara arrived on a giant white bird and dropped explosive-clay spiders on the gathered people, scattering them in a cloud of smoke.
• Sasori and Deidara descended, and the survivors recognized their Akatsuki robes and prepared for another confrontation.

Deidara and Sasori arrived in Takigakure and discovered that Kakuzu had been killed and Hidan sealed, while Hozuki Mangetsu and Biwa Juzo returned from their staged fights. Shisui and Kisame then arrived as reinforcements, leaving the opposing groups facing off as the Akatsuki members reckoned with how badly the battle had turned against them.

• Hozuki Mangetsu left Hozuki Suigetsu incapacitated and returned after spotting Deidara’s bird, while Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki staged injuries before heading back.
• Deidara and Sasori arrived, questioned Hozuki Mangetsu and Biwa Juzo about Kakuzu and Hidan, and found Hidan trapped inside a blood sphere.
• Sasori spotted Kakuzu’s corpse, shocking Deidara and prompting the Akatsuki members to threaten the Konoha and Kirigakure groups.
• Shibuki and Fū watched anxiously as Shisui and Kisame arrived in black cloaks, adding more fighters to the confrontation.
• Deidara told Shisui and Kisame that Kakuzu was dead and Hidan was trapped, and the newcomers were stunned by the state of the battle.

Shisui and the Akatsuki reinforcements confronted Kakashi’s group and Kirigakure’s Anbu in Takigakure, then divided the battlefield between them. Shisui joined Sasori and Deidara against Konoha, intending to keep their poison and Explosive Clay from endangering Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi.

• Kakashi recognized the Akatsuki members as S-rank rogue ninja, and Shisui claimed their organization sought peace while refusing to explain why it was capturing tailed beasts.
• Kisame taunted Chiyo and the Kirigakure Anbu, while Sasori urged the group to capture the Seven-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchuriki before the mission dragged on.
• Kisame assigned himself, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Biwa Juzo to fight Kirigakure’s Anbu, leaving Shisui, Sasori, and Deidara to face Konoha’s team.
• Kisame overwhelmed Zabuza’s Water Dragon with a Water Shark Bullet, forcing the Kirigakure Anbu to evade and drawing them away from Konoha’s group.
• Shisui attacked Team Kakashi with his Phantom Body Flicker Technique to keep Sasori and Deidara from freely using their poison and Explosive Clay against the weakened Konoha team.

Naruto and his allies fought Shisui, and Sasuke broke his Phantom Body Flicker Technique with a wide-area Chidori Stream. Sasori and Deidara then attacked Sasuke, who evaded both assaults and returned to Naruto’s side.

• Naruto used Nine-Tails Chakra Claws to shield his companions from Shisui’s phantoms while Sasuke explained how the technique worked.
• Sasuke used Curse Seal Level 2 and Lightning Release: Chidori Stream to strike every Shisui at once, hitting the real Shisui and dispelling the phantoms.
• Shisui praised Sasuke, but Sasuke angrily accused him of betraying the Uchiha Clan and the village.
• Sasori attacked Sasuke with Hiruko’s poisoned metal tail spike, but Sasuke sensed it and dodged.
• Deidara sent an Explosive Clay bird at Sasuke, who threw a Kunai to detonate it and then retreated to Naruto’s side.

Sasori and Deidara teamed up to restrain Sasuke, but Sasuke’s Lightning Release stopped Deidara’s explosive clay from detonating. Kakashi identified Lightning Release as the weakness of Deidara’s technique, leaving the team with a way to counter his attacks.

• Sasori fired poisoned senbon at Sasuke, but Naruto blew them away with Gale Palm.
• Deidara trapped Sasuke in an Explosive Clay Centipede and prepared to detonate it, eager to prove himself against an Uchiha and provoke Shisui.
• Sasuke surrounded himself with Lightning Release chakra, causing the centipede to misfire and fall away without exploding.
• Kakashi recognized that Lightning Release countered Deidara’s technique and warned Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

Deidara, Sasori, and Shisui resumed their attack after Kakashi revealed Deidara’s weakness, and Sasori targeted Kakashi because of their inherited grudge. Sakura stepped in to protect Kakashi, but a Giant Flower Python suddenly swallowed the Third Kazekage Puppet before it could strike her.

• Kakashi revealed that Lightning Release countered Deidara’s Explosive Clay, and Deidara detonated a Twin-Winged Bird before it reached Sasuke, blasting him back.
• Deidara called on Sasori and Shisui to join the fight; Shisui attacked Naruto with a Great Fireball while Sasori sent the Third Kazekage Puppet after Kakashi.
• Sasori targeted Kakashi because Hatake Sakumo had killed Sasori’s parents, while Naruto and Sasuke struggled to reach Kakashi and Sakura through their opponents.
• Sakura stood in front of Kakashi and tried to stop the Third Kazekage Puppet with Shuriken, then prepared to block it with a Kunai.
• A Giant Flower Python burst through the ground and swallowed the Third Kazekage Puppet.

Orochimaru arrived at the battle in Takigakure and intervened against the Akatsuki, bringing Guren and Ohm with him. The confrontation intensified when Sasori recovered his puppet and declared that he would kill both Orochimaru and Kakashi.

• Orochimaru appeared atop a giant python and provoked Sasori, while Kakashi and Sakura realized he had saved them from the Akatsuki.
• Naruto and Sasuke regrouped with Kakashi and Sakura, and Kakashi told them to wait and see rather than fight Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru recognized that Sasuke had mastered the Curse Seal and gained some of his power, but Sasuke rejected Orochimaru’s interest in him.
• The Third Kazekage human puppet tore out of the python’s stomach under Sasori’s control, leaving it badly wounded.
• Sasori threatened to kill Orochimaru and Kakashi, while Shisui worried that the battle was becoming increasingly difficult to control.

Shisui held back from killing Orochimaru while Orochimaru and Sasori resumed their long-running feud. Guren and Ohm joined the fight on Orochimaru’s side, and Sasori began to suspect that Kabuto had betrayed him.

• Shisui decided not to attack Orochimaru because Kakashi’s group needed him to keep Sasori occupied.
• Sasori claimed Orochimaru as his opponent, and he and Orochimaru began fighting with Iron Sand and Shadow Many Snake Hands.
• Guren used Crystal Release to shield herself, Ohm, and Orochimaru from Sasori’s Iron Sand, surprising Sasori with her rare Kekkei Genkai.
• Sasori wondered why Kabuto had not reported Guren and began suspecting that Kabuto might have betrayed him.
• Orochimaru charged Sasori with a Kusanagi Sword while Guren and Ohm supported him with Crystal Release and Wood Release attacks.

Sasori lost the Hiruko puppet after Orochimaru forced him out of it, leaving him exposed while fighting Orochimaru, Guren, and Ohm. Sasori then revealed his trump card, the enormous Centipede Demon puppet, which he claimed surpassed the Third Kazekage puppet.

• Sasori raised an Iron Sand Wall to block Guren and Ohm's attacks while Orochimaru stretched around it to attack him.
• Orochimaru turned his upper body into Little White Snakes, which infiltrated the Hiruko puppet and forced Sasori to abandon it before the snakes destroyed it.
• Sasori recovered the Third Kazekage puppet as Orochimaru taunted him and demanded to see his other trump cards.
• Sasori opened a scroll marked "Centipede" and summoned a giant puppet that emerged from the dust with a body thirty or forty meters long.
• Orochimaru, Guren, and Ohm saw that Sasori's trump card was the Centipede Demon puppet, previously destroyed in the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.

Sasori revealed and controlled the Centipede Demon puppet against Orochimaru, Guren, and Ohm, overwhelming them with its strength and new long-range attacks. Orochimaru’s group struggled to evade its poisoned blades and prepared to stop holding back.

• Sasori brought out the Centipede Demon puppet and charged Orochimaru’s group, smashing through Ohm’s Wooden Ingot Wall and Guren’s Crystal Release barrier.
• The Centipede Demon puppet chased Orochimaru, Guren, and Ohm, forcing them to retreat while Sasori taunted Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru ordered Ohm to prepare to enter Curse Seal state and told Guren to ready her ultimate move as they searched for the puppet’s other abilities.
• Sasori made the Centipede Demon puppet detach its more than a hundred sickle-like legs and send them flying at the trio like poisoned boomerangs.
• After five minutes of dodging the relentless blades, Ohm and Guren warned Orochimaru they could not hold out much longer, and Orochimaru decided they had to stop holding back.

Orochimaru, Ohm, and Guren defended against Sasori’s Centipede Demon puppet, but Sasori broke Guren’s Crystal Release and unleashed a poisonous green fireball. Ohm’s Wood Human blocked the attack, though it caught fire, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Orochimaru summoned Three-Layered Rashomon while Ohm entered Curse Seal Level 2 and formed a Wood Human, neutralizing Sasori’s Blade Dance Barrage.
• Guren trapped Sasori and the Centipede Demon puppet inside eight advancing crimson crystals with Crystal Release—Crystal Wall Eight Formation.
• Sasori fired the Centipede Demon puppet’s Fire Toxin Great Fireball, shattering Guren’s crystals and sending poisonous flames toward Orochimaru’s group.
• Ohm placed his Wood Human in the fireball’s path, and it blocked the attack while being engulfed in ghostly green flames.

Orochimaru and Sasori fought to a stalemate while Naruto’s battle with Shisui remained evenly matched. Naruto’s Nine-Tails Chakra Mode suddenly disappeared from exhaustion, leaving him to face Shisui without the Nine-Tails’ power for now.

• Orochimaru realized Sasori’s Fire-Poison Great Fireball Technique had consumed much of his chakra, and the two sides resumed their fight with Manda and Sasori’s puppets.
• Naruto and Shisui fought evenly as Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to avoid Naruto’s attacks and prolong the battle.
• Worried about his companions and the limited duration of his and Sasuke’s enhanced forms, Naruto attacked more recklessly while Shisui tried to slow the fight.
• Naruto’s strength rapidly drained, his hand was injured, and his golden chakra cloak faded as he exited Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
• The Nine-Tails told Naruto that he had exhausted his ability to maintain the mode and could not use its power again for a while.