Chapter Summaries

Sun Dried Bamboo Shoots tried to atone for his past as a bandit, but the villagers beat him instead of forgiving him. Meanwhile, Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi began investigating Artisan Village, while Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro waited to see whether any students would choose them.

• The doctor agreed to treat Sun Dried Bamboo Shoots, who recovered enough to remember his past as a bandit and confessed his guilt to Uchiha Cheng and the others.
• Sun Dried Bamboo Shoots built a wooden wall for the village as an act of atonement, but the villagers surrounded and beat him while Uchiha Cheng and the others slept.
• The Hokage sent Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi to investigate whether Artisan Village planned to threaten the Five Great Nations.
• Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng split up to scout Artisan Village, and Kakashi sent his ninja hound ahead to gather information.
• Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro invited students to choose them as teachers, but Gaara feared that no one would select him.

Gaara found new purpose in mentoring Mori, but the Four Celestial Symbols abducted her, forcing him to seek help from Konoha. Gaara’s group caught up with the kidnappers, and as Temari prepared to fight their wind-wielding ally, Shikamaru and Ino arrived at the standoff.

• Gaara was relieved when Mori chose him as her instructor, and he resolved to guide her and pass on what he had learned.
• The Four Celestial Symbols abducted Mori, and Kazekage urged Gaara to wait for a council meeting before pursuing them.
• Kazekage requested Konoha’s aid, and the Hokage sent Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and available genin to rescue Mori.
• Gaara’s group caught up with the Four Celestial Symbols, but Temari stopped Gaara from rushing into a likely ambush.
• The Four Celestial Symbols sent a wind-skilled woman to delay Gaara, and Temari volunteered to face her.
• Shikamaru and Ino arrived as the two sides stood poised to fight.

Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Kiba, and Choji fought the Four Celestial Symbols while Uchiha Cheng and the Hokage uncovered their plan to revive Qingming using Gaara’s power. The Four Celestial Symbols captured Gaara, drained his power to revive Qingming, and left Gaara incapacitated as Qingming awakened.

• Temari and Shikamaru joined the battle against the Four Celestial Symbols, while Kiba and Choji arrived to support Kankuro; their allies initially gained the advantage across the battlefields.
• Uchiha Cheng and the Hokage learned that the Four Celestial Symbols came from Artisan Village and intended to revive its founder, Qingming, using Gaara’s power; they realized Mori had been taken as bait to lure Gaara out.
• The Four Celestial Symbols reinforced their forces, surrounded Gaara, and captured him after he fought desperately against their attackers.
• The Four Celestial Symbols took Gaara to Artisan Village and transferred his power into Qingming, who fully awakened as Gaara was left powerless and in agony.

Uchiha Cheng and his allies rescued Gaara from Four Celestial Symbols, who was using Qingming's revived Chakra as an ultimate weapon. After Gaara risked fighting while suppressing Shukaku, the story shifted to Konohamaru, whose team was approved to take missions independently.

• Four Celestial Symbols abducted Gaara and used Artisan Village weapons against Uchiha Cheng and the others, leaving Cheng badly injured.
• Sakura treated Cheng, and he gathered the scattered fighters to pursue Four Celestial Symbols and rescue Gaara.
• The group found Gaara half-transformed and in pain, while Four Celestial Symbols confronted them with Qingming's Chakra.
• Gaara regained enough consciousness to explain that Shukaku controlled part of his mind, then chose to fight using his remaining strength to suppress Shukaku.
• After a peaceful period, the Hokage told Konohamaru that his team could begin carrying out missions independently.

Konohamaru’s team became an official mission unit, and the Hokage promised them a challenging assignment. After years of training, Uchiha Cheng and Jiraiya returned to Konoha, where the Hokage arranged a test of Uchiha Cheng’s progress that turned into a surprise reunion.

• The Hokage approved Konohamaru’s team for independent missions, advised them to act more carefully, and promised to find them a challenging task.
• The Hokage compared Konohamaru’s eagerness to Uchiha Cheng’s youthful confidence and wondered when Uchiha Cheng and Jiraiya would return from training.
• Uchiha Cheng and Jiraiya finished training and returned to Konoha, where villagers welcomed them and Uchiha Cheng heard that Tsunade was known as Shadow.
• The Hokage summoned two newcomers to test Uchiha Cheng’s training results, then waited for Uchiha Cheng and Jiraiya to arrive.
• Uchiha Cheng accepted the challenge and met Shikamaru and Temari when they arrived, then was stunned as Kakashi entered too.

Uchiha Cheng reunited with Kakashi, gave him an unpublished Make-Out edition, and began a more demanding bell trial against him and Sakura. As their duel continued, Akatsuki attacked a poorly guarded village and revealed that it had been surrounded.

• Uchiha Cheng gave Kakashi an unpublished Make-Out edition, and Kakashi agreed to proceed with the Hokage-ordered trial despite the gift.
• Kakashi changed the trial by fighting at full attention and using his special techniques, while Uchiha Cheng asked for a greater challenge.
• Uchiha Cheng handled Kakashi’s attacks, gained the advantage, and began countering moves he already knew.
• Akatsuki’s members killed the guards around the village while many others were away watching Uchiha Cheng’s trial.
• Sunagakure detected the attack and called for help, but Akatsuki told him the village had already been surrounded.

Uchiha Cheng and Sakura impressed the onlookers during their trial battle against Kakashi, while Sunagakure faced an Akatsuki infiltration that left Gaara fighting Deidara alone. Gaara recognized Deidara’s capture ploy and kept battling him to protect the village, though Akatsuki’s wider scheme remained underway.

• Uchiha Cheng and Sakura coordinated against Kakashi, impressing Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Hokage with their growth.
• Sunagakure discovered that trusted subordinates had defected to Akatsuki, leaving him unable to call for help as he fought two intruders.
• Gaara found Sunagakure under attack and was intercepted by Deidara before he could reach him.
• Gaara realized Deidara was trying to get captured as part of a scheme, but Deidara escaped Gaara’s first sand cage and resumed fighting.
• Gaara trapped Deidara again and continued battling him while other Akatsuki members threatened the village.

Uchiha Cheng passed Kakashi’s bell test with Sakura and joined them as an official team, then celebrated at Ichiraku Ramen. Meanwhile, Gaara defended Sunagakure from Deidara’s explosive clay attacks, but the village worried that Gaara’s chakra would not last.

• Uchiha Cheng coordinated with Sakura to distract Kakashi and snatched one of the bells, passing the test.
• The Hokage formed a team with Kakashi as captain and Uchiha Cheng and Sakura as members.
• Uchiha Cheng celebrated the new team at Ichiraku Ramen, where Iruka arrived looking dejected and said he had been searching for him.
• Deidara sent explosive clay birds toward Sunagakure while Gaara used a vast sand barrier to shield the village.
• The villagers survived the explosions but worried that Gaara would run out of chakra.

Deidara defeated Gaara by planting Explosive Clay in his defensive sand and captured him. The Kazekage also fell into Deidara’s hands, while Sunagakure’s ninja struggled to reach them and Kankuro could only watch as Gaara was dragged away.

• Deidara mixed Explosive Clay into Gaara’s sand defenses, detonated it from within, and captured the badly injured Gaara.
• Kankuro and Gaara’s subordinates worried about rescuing Gaara, but Kankuro stayed at his post to guard the village.
• The Kazekage confronted Deidara but, already seriously injured and outnumbered, was unable to defeat him.
• Sunagakure’s ninja fought Deidara’s subordinates but could not reach the Kazekage, and they hesitated to attack for fear of harming him.
• Deidara dragged Gaara out of the village as Kankuro watched helplessly.

Kankuro pursued Deidara and Gaara, then stayed behind to fight Scorpion while Deidara continued toward the Akatsuki’s destination with Gaara. Konoha dispatched Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng to support Sunagakure, and Kankuro’s battle with Scorpion continued as he tested the more skilled puppet master’s abilities.

• Kankuro ordered his subordinates to guard Sunagakure and pursued Deidara alone to rescue Gaara.
• Scorpion met Deidara at the village entrance, spotted Kankuro following them, and stayed behind to fight him while Deidara left with Gaara.
• The Hokage received Sunagakure’s urgent message and sent Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng to support the village.
• Scorpion easily wounded Kankuro and severed one of his puppet’s arms with his mechanical tail.
• Kankuro questioned Scorpion about his technique, then summoned more puppets to probe Scorpion’s abilities and attacked his head with a third puppet.

Kankuro was defeated by Scorpion while trying to save Gaara, and Sunagakure learned that Scorpion was Granny Chiyo’s grandson. Uchiha Cheng, Kakashi, and Sakura pursued the Akatsuki, while Granny Chiyo returned to the village and began examining Kankuro.

• Scorpion destroyed Kankuro’s puppets, left him unable to pursue Gaara, and revealed that puppets had vital points and could be disabled with special Chakra.
• Uchiha Cheng met Temari on the road to Sunagakure and told her that Akatsuki members had taken Gaara.
• Kakashi redirected Uchiha Cheng and Sakura to try to intercept the Akatsuki, and Sakura wondered whether their other attacks were part of a wider plan.
• Baki found Kankuro unconscious and brought him back for treatment, where Kankuro identified Scorpion as Granny Chiyo’s grandson.
• Uchiha Cheng, Kakashi, and Sakura located the Akatsuki, and Kakashi explained that Deidara used explosive clay.
• Baki persuaded Granny Chiyo and Ebizo to return to Sunagakure, and Granny Chiyo examined Kankuro and prepared to use her medical skills.

Kakashi, Uchiha Cheng, and Sakura returned to Sunagakure, where Sakura joined the effort to treat the poisoned Kankuro. Granny Chiyo mistook Kakashi for his dead father, the Konoha White Fang, and attacked him before learning who he was; the chapter ended with Kankuro suffering from neurotoxins that the medics feared would soon reach his brain and nervous system.

• Granny Chiyo diagnosed Kankuro as poisoned, and Baki explained the village's recent troubles to her and Ebizo.
• Kakashi decided to return to Sunagakure and gather more people before pursuing Deidara and Scorpion to their secret base.
• Sakura volunteered to help treat Kankuro, while Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng went to speak with Granny Chiyo.
• Granny Chiyo attacked Kakashi after mistaking him for the Konoha White Fang, but Uchiha Cheng restrained her until Kakashi explained that his father was dead.
• Baki told Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng that Kankuro was their only source of information, and they went to the medical room to check on him.
• Kankuro suffered a painful episode, and the Sunagakure medics said his fast-acting neurotoxins could reach his brain and nervous system before an antidote could help.

Sakura treated Kankuro’s neurotoxin successfully, and the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja organized separate missions to rescue Gaara and attack the Akatsuki hideout. Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi found the hideout abandoned, then encountered Hidan as the Akatsuki teams met their pursuers and battle began.

• Sakura used Medical Ninjutsu to stabilize Kankuro, who woke and revealed that Deidara and Scorpion had taken Gaara to extract the One-Tailed Shukaku.
• Pakkun led Uchiha Cheng to gather the Konoha ninja and follow Kakashi toward the Akatsuki’s hiding place, while Gaara struggled against the extraction of the One-Tail.
• Temari suggested splitting the rescue and assault forces, so Granny Chiyo took a small group to rescue Gaara while the others set out for the Akatsuki hideout.
• Guy’s team encountered Kisame, while Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi found the hideout empty and then confronted Hidan after the Akatsuki split into teams.
• Uchiha Cheng insisted on defeating Hidan for Gaara, and Kakashi agreed to help; Kisame then attacked Guy’s team, and Guy reacted in time.

Kakashi's group learned from Granny Chiyo how to counter the Sharingan, but Uchiha Cheng was caught in Itachi's genjutsu, while Kisame trapped Guy's companions and resumed fighting him one-on-one. Uchiha Cheng struggled inside the illusion and remembered advice Jiraiya had given him during training.

• Granny Chiyo revealed that the Sharingan could be countered by fleeing or attacking the caster from behind, giving Kakashi's group confidence to fight.
• Guy seized Kisame's Samehada, but Kisame trapped Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten in a Water Prison while Guy was behind him.
• Uchiha Cheng attacked Itachi recklessly and was caught in genjutsu, leaving Granny Chiyo and the others worried about him.
• Kisame challenged Guy to a one-on-one duel, and the two resumed fighting as Guy prepared to use his Nunchaku and Kisame raised a small shield.
• Uchiha Cheng recognized that he was inside a genjutsu but could not escape its torment, and he recalled training with Jiraiya.

Uchiha Cheng escaped Itachi’s layered genjutsu but collapsed from exhaustion, and Kakashi and Sakura carried him back to Sunagakure. As Sakura asked Granny Chiyo about Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, Granny Chiyo began recounting the ancient history of Hagoromo Otsutsuki.

• Uchiha Cheng used pain to break free of Itachi’s double genjutsu, then collapsed after confirming he had returned to reality.
• Kakashi and Sakura carried Uchiha Cheng toward Sunagakure and discussed planning a rescue for Gaara.
• Itachi and Kisame continued traveling while Kisame’s clone struggled against Guy’s team inside a moving Water Prison.
• Uchiha Cheng rested in Sunagakure as Sakura and Granny Chiyo watched over him.
• Sakura asked Granny Chiyo about Tailed Beasts, Jinchuriki, and the organization capturing them.
• Granny Chiyo began explaining Hagoromo Otsutsuki’s ancient power and history.

Granny Chiyo explained the tailed beasts and warned Sakura that extracting one would kill its Jinchuriki, while Uchiha Cheng worried that the Akatsuki might target him next. As the rescue teams gathered at the Akatsuki’s main base, the organization began extracting Shukaku from Gaara.

• Granny Chiyo explained that Hagoromo divided the Ten-Tails into the tailed beasts and that separating a tailed beast from its Jinchuriki would likely kill the host.
• Sakura feared for Gaara and worried that Uchiha Cheng, the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki, could become an Akatsuki target.
• Guy recalled how his team escaped Kisame’s Water Prison, then set out with his companions to complete their mission.
• Kakashi woke Uchiha Cheng and Sakura, and the three left before dawn to rescue Gaara at the Akatsuki’s main base.
• Guy’s team and Kakashi’s group gathered at the base as Akatsuki members began extracting Shukaku from Gaara, while Sunagakure’s leaders met in the village.

Mori challenged Sunagakure's elders for prioritizing village defenses over rescuing Gaara, then secretly left the village. Meanwhile, Uchiha Cheng's team tracked Gaara's shifting Chakra signatures through the Akatsuki base and reached a powerful barrier blocking their path.

• The elders assigned guards to defend Sunagakure, but Mori demanded they send people to save the captured Gaara.
• After Mori was arrested for protesting, her father persuaded the guard captain to release her and urged her to protect the village instead.
• Neji used his Byakugan to locate Gaara among the Akatsuki, but the Chakra signatures vanished before the group could reach him.
• Mori's father refused to help persuade the elders, so Mori gathered supplies and secretly left Sunagakure.
• Neji later detected changing Chakra signatures near the hall, and Uchiha Cheng's group reached a sealed barrier that Kakashi identified as powerful.

Uchiha Cheng, Kakashi, and Sakura broke through the Five-Seal Barrier and reached Gaara, but Sakura found that he had died after Shukaku was extracted. As Uchiha Cheng prepared to take Gaara away, Deidara and the Akatsuki appeared again, while Guy's team faced illusions created by the barrier.

• Guy failed to break the barrier with taijutsu, while Deidara stayed behind after the Akatsuki extracted Shukaku from Gaara.
• Kakashi calmed Uchiha Cheng by sealing the turbulent power in his body, then explained how five people could remove the barrier's Curse Seals.
• Kakashi, Guy, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee removed the seals, allowing Kakashi, Uchiha Cheng, and Sakura to reach the hall.
• Uchiha Cheng attacked Deidara, but Kakashi urged him to focus on Gaara, and Deidara fled.
• Sakura found that Gaara had no breath after the tailed beast extraction, while Guy, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee were trapped in illusions.
• As Uchiha Cheng prepared to take Gaara away, the Akatsuki appeared again, with Deidara leading toward Gaara.

Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi pursued Deidara after he captured Gaara, while Sakura joined Granny Chiyo to face Scorpion in Sunagakure. Rock Lee and Guy fought exact copies of themselves, and the chapter left Deidara trying to retrieve Gaara again as Uchiha Cheng sent a clone to stop him.

• Guy and Rock Lee faced identical versions of themselves, and Rock Lee treated his fight as training and struck his opponent's shinbone.
• Deidara's clay insects dragged Gaara away, so Uchiha Cheng pursued him with Kakashi while Sakura was sent to Sunagakure to help against Scorpion.
• Sakura reunited with Granny Chiyo, who stepped forward to confront Scorpion as he attacked with his puppet duplicate.
• Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi followed scattered clay into Deidara's explosive trap, then forced him away from the explosives before he could detonate them.
• Deidara tried to use a flying explosive device to take Gaara away again, and Uchiha Cheng sent a clone to block him.

Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi pressed Deidara while Sakura and Granny Chiyo fought through Scorpion’s layers of puppets and learned that his threads carried neurotoxins. Guy remained locked in an evenly matched fight against his double, while Scorpion unveiled a faster puppet and renewed his assault.

• Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi coordinated their attacks to trap Deidara, while Sakura and Granny Chiyo worked together to strip away Scorpion’s outer shell.
• Granny Chiyo and Sakura discovered a youthful puppet inside Scorpion’s shell, but Scorpion continued attacking and Chiyo hesitated because she recognized her grandson’s appearance.
• Granny Chiyo summoned ten puppets to fight Scorpion, and Sakura warned her that his threads carried neurotoxins after one grazed her.
• Kakashi identified the time limit on Deidara’s Explosive Clay, and Uchiha Cheng moved behind Deidara to try to rescue Gaara.
• Guy struggled to find a way to defeat the identical opponent he faced, even after opening the Third Gate.
• Scorpion announced that their game was over and attacked Granny Chiyo with a tiny, exceptionally fast puppet, forcing her ten puppets to help her resist.