Chapter Summaries

Sakura and Enma fought Yugito, forcing her to reveal that she was a Perfect Jinchuriki and summon Matatabi. With Kiba, Shino, and Darui withdrawn, Sakura released the Strength of a Hundred Seal and launched herself at the giant Two-Tails.

• Sakura and Enma teamed up to batter Yugito, who used a clone to survive Sakura's powerful punch.
• Yugito unleashed her Tailed Beast Chakra and ordered the Cloud Village Ninja to retreat.
• Sakura told Shino where to find the badly injured Sasuke and asked him to take Kiba away.
• Yugito called on Matatabi, manifesting the giant Two-Tails before Sakura.
• Sakura released the Strength of a Hundred Seal and had Enma hurl her toward Matatabi.

Sakura fought Matatabi head-on, overpowering the Two-Tails even after Matatabi unleashed a Tailed Beast Bomb inside her own mouth. Their struggle triggered an avalanche that swept both of them away, while Enma went to protect Sasuke and the others.

• Sakura punched Matatabi through a roof, then sent Enma to protect Sasuke, Kiba, and Shino as an avalanche rushed toward them.
• Sakura caught Matatabi's paw, was slashed across the face, and then flipped the Two-Tails onto the shattered ground.
• Sakura kicked Matatabi in the chin and forced her jaws shut around a Tailed Beast Bomb, which exploded inside her mouth.
• Sakura clung to Matatabi and kept punching her as the pair's struggle made the avalanche arrive faster.
• The avalanche buried Sakura and Matatabi and swept them away, but Sakura held tightly to Matatabi's fur.

Sakura captured Yugito after using Katsuyu and Enma to defeat Matatabi, then reunited with her group and treated Sasuke’s severe wounds. Sasuke began responding after Sakura invoked Itachi’s name and Kiba managed to get him to swallow medicated water.

• Sakura summoned Katsuyu, who struck Matatabi and pinned her in the snow.
• Sakura used Enma’s growing Golden Staff and Heavenly Foot to knock Matatabi unconscious, returning Yugito to human form.
• Sakura bound Yugito and left with Enma to find Sasuke, while noting that Cloud forces could soon pursue them.
• Sakura reached Sasuke and began treating his serious chest wound as Kiba and Shino waited nearby.
• Sakura said Uchiha Itachi’s name, and Sasuke’s finger twitched.
• Kiba tried to give Sasuke hot water with a dissolved Special Military Rations Pill, and Sasuke slowly swallowed it.

Sakura's group fled across the snow with Sasuke badly wounded and Yugito captured, while the Fourth Raikage set out to intercept them. As Sasuke wrestled with feeling like a burden, Sakura stopped after spotting someone ahead and prepared to deal with them.

• Darui reported Yugito's capture to the Fourth Raikage, who ordered the main force to pursue Sakura's group.
• Dodai warned that moving the army would expose Kumogakure's forces and urged caution, so the Raikage decided to go himself with Shi and Darui.
• Sakura carried Sasuke across the snowy plains after treating his wounds, while Kiba carried Yugito and Shino sensed their surroundings.
• Sasuke asked Sakura to leave him behind, but she refused and reminded him that he had to survive to revive the Uchiha.
• Sakura stopped when she noticed someone ahead and asked whether Shino could carry Sasuke while she handled something.

Sakura stayed behind to protect Sasuke’s group when the Fourth Raikage and Darui appeared on the battlefield. She fought the Raikage to hold him off while Kiba and Shino escaped, and revealed that Konoha’s resource strategy had been her plan.

• Sakura handed the injured Sasuke to Shino and told Kiba and Shino to escape with Sasuke and the unconscious Yugito.
• Darui attacked Kiba, but Sakura struck him with Monstrous Strength and sent him flying.
• Sakura summoned Enma and ordered him to stop Darui while the Fourth Raikage charged her.
• Sakura evaded the Raikage’s attacks and countered with kicks, then blocked his punch with one hand.
• Sakura told the furious Raikage that Konoha’s resource strategy was her plan and fought him fist-to-fist to buy time for Kiba and Shino to escape.

Jiraiya sent Kakashi and a team to investigate Sakura’s silence while holding the front with his own strength. Meanwhile, Sakura fought the Raikage and provoked him over Kumogakure’s past actions, but his guard Shi joined the battle.

• Jiraiya worried that Sakura’s team had been missing for four days and ordered Kakashi to investigate with Shirakumo Hayama, Yūhi Kurenai, and a Hyuga clansman.
• Kakashi questioned whether Sakura and her team were in danger, and Jiraiya said he would remain to protect the front lines.
• Sakura and the Raikage traded powerful blows, with neither gaining the advantage.
• Sakura accused Kumogakure of abducting the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and plotting to steal the Byakugan, enraging the Raikage.
• Sakura taunted the Raikage as he struggled against her strength, and Shi emerged from his ambush to attack with Lightning Illusion: Lightning Pillar.

Sakura used her healing techniques and sensor abilities to outmaneuver the Raikage and capture Shi. She forced the Raikage to agree to keep his distance while she escorted Shi toward Konoha-controlled territory.

• Shi blinded Sakura with his Lightning Illusion and attacked while the Raikage struck her with Heavy Stone Bullet.
• Sakura healed the damage in advance, revealed she had sensed Shi, and dislocated his arm before taking him hostage.
• Sakura dislocated Shi's jaw and demanded that the Raikage leave while she took Shi toward Konoha-controlled territory.
• The Raikage refused at first, but Sakura dislocated Shi's other arm and made him agree to stay at least a hundred meters away.

Kakashi’s reinforcements reached Kiba and Shino, learned that Sakura had held off the Raikage, and moved to support her. As Darui attacked Sakura while she was escorting Shi, the Raikage struck too, but Kakashi and another Konoha ninja launched jutsu at the attackers.

• Enma grew impatient while defending Sasuke’s group from Darui, then spotted Kakashi and Konoha reinforcements approaching.
• Kiba urged Kurenai to save Sakura, and Shino explained that Sakura had stayed behind to hold off the Raikage while protecting their retreat.
• Kakashi ordered Kurenai and Kamado to stay with Shino and Kiba, then joined Shirakumo Hayama in confronting Darui.
• Darui judged that he could not defeat Enma, Kakashi, and Hayama, so he fled toward Sakura and the Raikage.
• Darui attacked Sakura from behind as she led Shi toward Enma, but Sakura dodged and threw Shi at him.
• The Raikage launched a Liger Bomb at Sakura, while Kakashi and another Konoha ninja countered with Chidori and Vacuum Sword.

Sakura used Shi as a hostage to force the Raikage and Darui to let her group cross Kumogakure territory. After Sasuke and the others escaped, Sakura raced toward the Konoha border with Kakashi while the Raikage pursued and Darui began to fear Shi had to die.

• The Raikage threw Kakashi and Shirakumo Hayama aside, while Enma reached Sakura and joined her against Darui.
• Sakura rejected the Raikage's demand to release Shi and Yugito, then ordered Shirakumo Hayama to escort Sasuke and the others away.
• Sakura bargained with Darui for a retreat distance of one hundred and twenty meters and kept Shi in her grasp as she and Kakashi withdrew.
• After Kakashi confirmed Sasuke and the others had escaped, Sakura accelerated toward the border with Shi, followed closely by the Raikage and Darui.
• The Raikage ordered Kumogakure patrols not to attack Sakura's group, while Darui concluded that Shi had to die to avoid making the Raikage look weak.

As Kakashi and Sakura fled with Shi, Kumogakure’s pursuing forces grew until Shi saw suicide as the only way to spare his comrades from the consequences of rescuing him. His death drove the Raikage into a furious attack on Sakura, but a voice in her heart called for a switch just before the punch landed.

• Darui explained to the Raikage that rescuing Shi would cost lives and bring disgrace, leaving Shi’s death as the least damaging outcome for Kumogakure.
• Shi, remembering his oath as a Raikage guard, chose to die rather than remain a hostage, and the Raikage charged forward to save him.
• Shi died after the Earth Spider technique covered his heart, while Sakura realized she might have been able to save him if the Raikage had given her time.
• Overcome with grief and rage, the Raikage attacked Sakura with a Liger Bomb, and a voice in her heart called, “Switch!”

Inner Sakura fought the enraged Raikage with reckless force while Enma worried about her increasingly dangerous second personality. The battle was interrupted by news that Konoha had launched a large-scale offensive, leaving Darui uncertain whether the attack had been timed to aid Sakura.

• Inner Sakura and the Raikage exchanged a brutal barrage of attacks, while Darui ordered the Cloud Ninja to attack Kakashi and the others.
• Inner Sakura knocked aside the Raikage’s Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop and stunned him with a headbutt, then resumed their fight as Enma watched her reckless use of the Hundred Healings Jutsu.
• The Raikage recalled Shi’s death and regretted that he had never learned his father’s Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite.
• Inner Sakura taunted the Raikage about Shi’s death and threw him to the ground, then called Enma over to help her.
• Enma recognized that Sakura had a dangerous second personality and planned to seek help from Tsunade after the battle.
• A returning Cloud Ninja reported to Darui that Konoha had launched a large-scale offensive, and Darui wondered whether it was meant to support Sakura.

Sakura’s Inner Sakura used the Golden Staff to overpower the Raikage while Sakura realized Inner Sakura was her powerful Yin Release. As Jiraiya joined the battle with three Mount Myōboku summons, the battered Raikage arrived on the battlefield, and the Cloud forces’ retreat was interrupted.

• Inner Sakura extended and swung the Golden Staff, smashing the ground and sending the Raikage flying.
• Sakura understood Inner Sakura as a fusion of her wills and a manifestation of her excessive Yin Release.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, Gamaken, and Gamahiro onto the battlefield.
• Dodai began ordering the Cloud forces to retreat when the Raikage charged toward Jiraiya.
• The Cloud Ninja cheered at the Raikage’s arrival, then fell quiet as they saw his battered condition.

After treating Sasuke, Sakura reflected with Kakashi on the mission and recognized that her overconfidence had put her companions and others in danger. She left the chapter determined to correct her mindset and take responsibility for her mistakes.

• Sakura treated Sasuke's injuries and left the rest of his care to the Medical Ninja before leaving the tent to rest.
• Kakashi invited the exhausted Sakura to share food and talk beside a bonfire.
• Kakashi asked Sakura what she had realized from the mission, and Sakura admitted she had been wrong.
• Sakura recalled how her confidence in her strength had led her to take risks, including pushing through Kumogakure's defensive line and failing to prevent Shi's suicide.
• Sakura recognized that her arrogance had contributed to deaths and resolved to reflect on herself and correct her attitude.

Sakura confronted Kakashi after learning he had kept a Flying Thunder God Formation scroll that could have taken them back to Konoha, and Kakashi explained that he had withheld it to teach her the weight of leadership. They acknowledged their mistakes, made a pinky promise, and shared roasted sweet potatoes as they reconciled.

• Sakura demanded to know why Kakashi had not revealed the scroll containing the Flying Thunder God Formation, which could transport them to Konoha.
• Kakashi said the Hokage had entrusted him with the scroll for a critical moment and told Sakura she was effectively Konoha’s appointed next Hokage.
• Sakura blamed herself for acting recklessly, resolved to become strong enough to ensure others could not oppose her, and left the campfire without eating.
• Kakashi reflected on choosing the mission over his companions and felt he had failed his father, Hatake Sakumo.
• Sakura returned, apologized, and agreed with Kakashi that they had both been wrong.
• Kakashi and Sakura sealed a promise with their little fingers, and Sakura ate roasted sweet potatoes beside the fire.

Sakura warned Jiraiya that Konoha’s central command meeting had been compromised and was assigned to escort the captured Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito back to the village. Sakura visited the drugged and shackled Yugito, who recognized her, and pressed a handkerchief over her mouth and nose.

• Sakura told Jiraiya that intelligence about Konoha’s planned attack had leaked and urged him to use barriers during meetings.
• Jiraiya considered the possibility of a traitor and assigned Sakura to escort Yugito to Konoha under the pretense of transporting wounded soldiers.
• Sakura suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi had chosen her because of Inner Sakura’s behavior toward the Raikage and asked where Yugito was being held.
• Sakura found Yugito bound, drugged, and weakened in a dark tent.
• Yugito recognized Sakura, and Sakura pressed a white handkerchief over Yugito’s mouth and nose.

Sakura brought the captured Two-Tails Jinchuriki Yugito safely into Konoha and delivered her to Tsunade. Tsunade sealed Yugito inside a heavily guarded former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki residence and added another binding seal.

• Sakura kept Yugito sedated and concealed in a wounded convoy while Jiraiya distracted the Cloud Village troops.
• After four days, Sakura reached Konoha with the convoy and personally took Yugito into the hospital's underground level.
• Sakura brought Yugito to Tsunade, who explained that the pavilion was protected by nearly ten barriers created by Grandma Mito.
• Tsunade placed a Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal on Yugito, which would bind her if she used Chakra.

Hiruzen ordered Sakura to go with Tsunade and stay off the battlefield until she suppressed Inner Sakura. Tsunade explained that Sakura would need powerful Yin Release to confront Inner Sakura in her inner world, then pointed to Sasuke as a possible helper.

• Hiruzen told Sakura that she could not return to the battlefield until she had suppressed her Second personality.
• Sakura worried that Jiraiya might not be able to handle the fighting, but Hiruzen insisted that he would deal with the Eight-Tails himself.
• At Konoha Hospital, Tsunade explained that Inner Sakura came from Sakura's powerful Yin Release and would need to be suppressed in her inner world.
• Tsunade suggested that Sasuke's Three Tomoe Sharingan gave him enough Yin Release to help Sakura, and defended the strength of the Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Sakura returned to Konoha, reunited with her friends and family, and began recovering from her injuries. Meanwhile, the Nine-Tails lured Naruto to Yugito, leaving him face-to-face with another jinchuriki and the Two-Tails, Matatabi.

• Asuma brought Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji back to Konoha, where Naruto asked when Kakashi and Jiraiya would return.
• Tsunade told Sasuke that his treatment was going well, and Sakura asked him to use his Sharingan to help her suppress her Second personality.
• Ino excitedly reunited with Sakura and protested that Sakura had cut her hair; Asuma then invited Sakura to join the group for barbecue.
• Sakura returned home, embraced Haruno Meiko, and shared dinner with her parents, Haruno Yashiro and Haruno Meiko.
• Naruto suspected Sakura and Asuma were hiding something, and the Nine-Tails persuaded him to seek answers.
• The Nine-Tails guided Naruto to Yugito, and Matatabi recognized the Nine-Tails from within her.

Naruto discovered that Konoha had hidden the war from him and struggled with being kept away from the battlefield, while Sakura and Sasuke tried to explain that the decision was meant to protect him. After Naruto reconciled with Sasuke at the hospital, Tsunade arrived to begin Sasuke’s treatment and clashed with Naruto.

• Tenzo stopped Naruto from approaching Yugito, and Sakura came to take Naruto away after Hiruzen ordered her to retrieve him.
• Sakura questioned Naruto about Gaara and whether he could kill him, then told him Sasuke was hospitalized and sent him to visit.
• Naruto visited Sasuke, learned that a war against Sunagakure and Kumogakure had been underway, and realized Konoha had kept him off the battlefield.
• Sasuke comforted Naruto by explaining that his friends’ decision showed how much they valued him, and Naruto recognized that he had been acting selfishly.
• Tsunade entered to treat Sasuke, and Naruto insulted her, prompting her to threaten him.

Sakura and Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed the war reports and prepared to suppress Inner Sakura, while Sakura entered her inner world with Sasuke. Inner Sakura took over Sakura’s body, broke Tsunade’s sealing formation, and fought her as Hiruzen Sarutobi launched an Earth Style attack.

• Sakura read reports about Kakuzu and Kisame Hoshigaki fighting as mercenaries for Sunagakure and urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to reinforce Jiraiya’s forces in the Land of Frost.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi refused to let Sakura go to the front because of Inner Sakura, and he arranged to oversee Tsunade’s attempt to suppress her the next day.
• Tsunade activated a sealing array at the Third Training Ground, and Sasuke used his Three Tomoe Sharingan to enter Sakura’s inner world.
• Sasuke found a bizarre world populated by Sakuras of different ages and occupations, then met Ninja Sakura and Mascot Sakura without locating Inner Sakura.
• Inner Sakura took control of Sakura’s body, broke Tsunade’s Adamantine Sealing Chains by smashing the ground, and fought Tsunade with overwhelming strength.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi formed hand seals and used Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet as Tsunade and Inner Sakura exchanged attacks.