Chapter Summaries

After training, Uchiha Cheng joined Shikamaru’s mission to stop Hidan and Kakuzu from reaching Konoha. The teams split to fight the pair, but Kakuzu revealed unexpected techniques and a strange Chakra creature, leaving Kakashi and his allies at a disadvantage.

• Uchiha Cheng completed twelve hours of training with Kakashi’s support, then joined Shikamaru’s briefing for the mission.
• Anbu reported that Hidan was still alive, so Shikamaru revised the plan and divided the teams to confront Hidan and Kakuzu while protecting Konoha.
• Uchiha Cheng trained while waiting for Shikamaru’s signal, and Naruto and Sakura joined him.
• When Shikamaru began fighting Hidan, Kakashi split the arriving forces, sending Sakura and Sai to assist Shikamaru while he, Uchiha Cheng, and Yamato pursued Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu used unexpected Lightning Style and a powerful Fire Style attack against Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng.
• Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng discovered that a Chakra creature emerged from Kakuzu’s wounds and could attack them.

Kakashi, Uchiha Cheng, and Yamato discovered how Kakuzu’s wounds and healing worked while Shikamaru lured Hidan into a trap that left him unable to reassemble himself. Uchiha Cheng’s powerful Rasenshuriken vanished before hitting Kakuzu, and Kakuzu prepared a fire-dragon attack as the battle continued.

• Kakashi, Uchiha Cheng, and Yamato tested Kakuzu’s reactions and learned that multiple wounds did not all heal through new Chakra condensations.
• Shikamaru, Sakura, and Sai fought Hidan, and Sakura nearly entered the range of his Cursed Technique before Shikamaru guided him into a trap.
• Shikamaru surrounded Hidan with explosive tags, blasted him apart, and concluded that Hidan could not revive because he could not recover his scattered body parts in time.
• Uchiha Cheng and his allies overwhelmed Kakuzu with attacks, while Cheng used Wind Release to redirect Kakuzu’s flames and obscure the battlefield.
• Uchiha Cheng launched a Chakra Rasenshuriken at Kakuzu, but it vanished before exploding, forcing Cheng to retreat as Kakuzu attacked.
• Kakashi and Yamato shielded Uchiha Cheng, while Kakuzu began forming a powerful fire-dragon attack.

Shikamaru defeated Hidan and buried his scattered body parts so he could not revive, while Uchiha Cheng finally destroyed Kakuzu with the Rasenshuriken. After the team returned to the village, Tsunade warned Uchiha Cheng never to use the technique again and prepared to explain her decision.

• Shikamaru defeated Hidan, buried his remains throughout the forest, and set out with Sakura and Sai to rejoin Uchiha Cheng's group.
• Kakashi and Yamato protected the exhausted Uchiha Cheng from Kakuzu while he rested and gathered Chakra.
• Uchiha Cheng used Multiple Shadow Clone and formed another Rasenshuriken, which struck Kakuzu and left him nowhere to be seen.
• Sakura treated Uchiha Cheng, and Sai used a Chakra-powered mount to help carry him back to the village with the others.
• Shikamaru visited Asuma's grave and found Kurenai there, while Sai and Sakura visited the recovering Uchiha Cheng with gifts.
• Tsunade visited Uchiha Cheng and told him not to use Wind Release: Rasenshuriken again, leaving him questioning her judgment.

Tsunade banned Uchiha Cheng from using Rasenshuriken because of concerns about the Nine-Tails, while the village faced mounting danger from Orochimaru's forces. After training, Uchiha Cheng celebrated with Ichiraku Ramen, unaware that Tsunade was struggling to protect the village with few ninja left to send.

• Tsunade told Uchiha Cheng that Rasenshuriken was forbidden, and later explained to Shizune that she feared its strain could release the Nine-Tails.
• Kakashi ordered the team to stay alert and train, and Sakura called Uchiha Cheng and Sai over for new group exercises.
• An Anbu ninja who had fled Orochimaru's forces died before Tsunade after his team was wiped out while investigating a base.
• Guren reported to Orochimaru that the chosen candidates were ready to carry out his plans, then left as he continued his experiments.
• Uchiha Cheng went to Ichiraku Ramen after training and happily ate an extra-large bowl.
• Tsunade told Shizune that she needed more people to investigate Orochimaru's base, but the village had few ninja available after its recent losses.

Tsunade assigned Jiraiya to help Uchiha Cheng control the Nine-Tails’ power while Kakashi led a separate team to locate Orochimaru’s hideout. Meanwhile, Guren gathered candidates for Orochimaru, and a rival at the base set out to make Yūkimaru control the Three-Tails first.

• Tsunade asked Jiraiya to train Uchiha Cheng and sent Kakashi on a mission without Cheng, Sakura, or Sai.
• Kakashi recruited Kiba, Hinata, and Shino to find Orochimaru’s hideout, while Yamato supervised Cheng’s training.
• Jiraiya arrived at the training ground and promised to help Cheng overcome his difficulties controlling the Nine-Tails’ power.
• Guren demanded that people at a base join her, then used her Crystal Release to encase the crowd and departed with Gozu, who pledged to follow her.
• After an experiment failed, a man at the base decided to make Yūkimaru release his power to control the Three-Tails before Guren could.

Uchiha Cheng followed Jiraiya to a hot spring resort, then began training with Gamariki in a new summoning technique. Meanwhile, Guren searched for Yūkimaru, who had been taken to a lake and made to wear a mysterious hat, while Kakashi sent a pink crystal from an Orochimaru base to the Hokage for investigation.

• Jiraiya took Uchiha Cheng to a hot spring resort, where Cheng caught him spying on the women's bath and demanded that they focus on training.
• Guren arrived at a village to find Yūkimaru missing and suspected that someone who knew his situation had taken him.
• The person who took Yūkimaru brought him to a lake and gave him a hat that caused his body to lose control as the water began to churn.
• Jiraiya took Uchiha Cheng to a quiet training ground and taught him to summon another companion, Gamariki, instead of relying only on Rasenshuriken.
• Kakashi found pink crystals at an Orochimaru base and sent one with Pakkun to the Hokage for investigation.
• Uchiha Cheng and Gamariki struggled to coordinate their attacks, but Gamariki's criticism strengthened Cheng's resolve to improve.

Uchiha Cheng improved his coordination with Gamari through relentless training, and Jiraiya brought him to Mount Myōboku for another stage of development. The chapter left Uchiha Cheng there under the Toad Sage’s care, unsure how long he would have to stay or when he could return to Konoha.

• Yūkimaru exhausted himself while releasing his power, causing an animal to emerge from the lake before it returned to the water.
• Jiraiya told Uchiha Cheng that he had to improve his coordination with his summoned toad through his own effort, and Uchiha Cheng changed his attitude and began cooperating with Gamari.
• Uchiha Cheng trained until he and Gamari could coordinate attacks that shattered a massive boulder, and Jiraiya later reported his astonishing progress in a secret reply to the village.
• Jiraiya told Uchiha Cheng that further progress required conditions he did not yet have and that they would return to the village.
• After receiving a message about Akatsuki, Jiraiya took Uchiha Cheng to Mount Myōboku instead, where he left him with the Toad Sage and instructed him to remain there.

Uchiha Cheng continued training with his summoned frogs while Kakashi's team investigated Orochimaru's base and clashed with Guren. Kakashi and Shino found a possible counter to Guren's ice crystals, while Uchiha Cheng remained stuck trying to master water.

• Twenty-Three, Four reassured Uchiha Cheng that others would handle the larger situation, and Forty-Five, Six encouraged him to keep training.
• Kakashi's team used Hinata's Byakugan to scout Orochimaru's base, while Guren received a mission to take Yūkimaru and attack Konoha ninja.
• Uchiha Cheng summoned Gamaryu and struggled to train himself and his frogs to control water.
• Guren attacked Kakashi's team with ice crystals, but Kakashi led them away; Shino later found insects developing immunity to the crystals.
• Kakashi agreed to use Shino's immune insects against Guren and continue searching for Orochimaru's bases, while Uchiha Cheng proposed more training methods to his frogs.

Uchiha Cheng, Gamaryu, and Gamariki improved their teamwork through relentless training while Kakashi’s team pursued Guren to a base. Guren attacked the failed experimental subjects who refused to join her, and Sai prepared to leave on a mission as Uchiha Cheng pressed him for answers.

• Kakashi’s team learned from the village that Guren’s ice crystals could not freeze Chakra and continued tracking her toward a base.
• Gamaryu learned to control water, and Uchiha Cheng, Gamaryu, and Gamariki eventually coordinated seamlessly after practicing day and night.
• Guren arrived at the base and asked its subordinates to join her, but they refused because they preferred the safety of staying there.
• Guren fought the failed experimental subjects and used her ice crystals to turn some of them to dust, telling herself she had companions and was not lonely.
• Uchiha Cheng noticed Sai packing combat equipment, realized Sai was preparing to leave on a mission, and refused to go until Sai told him where he was headed.

Uchiha Cheng rushed to master his new ninjutsu before Yamato's team departed and joined them just in time. Meanwhile, Kakashi's group pursued Guren, whose crystal Bloodline Limit left Kiba and Hinata facing her without Kakashi's support.

• Sai told Uchiha Cheng that a secret mission was planned, and Yamato explained that Cheng could not join until he mastered his new ninjutsu; Yamato's team would leave the next day.
• Uchiha Cheng trained through the night with Gamaryu and Gamagichi until he and Gamaryu improved their coordination, then hurried to pack for the mission.
• Gamaryu caught up with Yamato, Sakura, and Sai at the village gate, and they waited for Uchiha Cheng before leaving together.
• Guren sent three subordinates to attack Kiba and Hinata while Kakashi rushed to regroup with them after learning that Guren's crystals could crystallize blood.
• Kiba and Hinata fought the seemingly pain-proof subordinates, but Guren arrived and began using her crystal Bloodline Limit against them while Kakashi was still away.

Uchiha Cheng and Yamato’s team encountered Yūkimaru in a strange camellia-filled fog and agreed to help him reach Guren. After they broke through Guren’s barrier, they found Kakashi’s team and Hinata trapped inside a massive pink crystal.

• Sakura punched Uchiha Cheng after he tried to liven up the group, and Yamato said their mission might overlap with Kakashi’s.
• Sai spotted a strange fog and river ahead, where Uchiha Cheng found Yūkimaru waiting for Guren.
• Yūkimaru said he wanted to find Guren but was afraid to go alone, so Yamato agreed to escort him.
• The group followed the camellias to Guren’s barrier, and Uchiha Cheng and Gamaryu used a combined technique to weaken it.
• Inside the barrier, Guren encased Hinata in red crystal while Kiba tried to stop her, and Kakashi’s team could not find a safe way to free Hinata.
• Uchiha Cheng and the others entered the broken barrier and found Kakashi, Shino, Kiba, and Hinata trapped in a massive pink crystal.

Uchiha Cheng's group struggled against Guren while carrying Hinata, trapped in crystal, to safety, and Kakashi pursued Guren with Shino. The groups failed to reunite, and Uchiha Cheng's team waited at the rendezvous point for Kakashi.

• Guren refused to free Hinata or take Yūkimaru back, then continued fighting Uchiha Cheng's group while trying to reach Yūkimaru.
• Uchiha Cheng and Gamaryu failed to harm Guren, who crystallized their attacks and countered with Crystal Dragon Descent.
• Kakashi told the others to distract Guren while Uchiha Cheng rescued Hinata; Gamaryu carried her fragile crystal safely in his mouth.
• Guren sent Gozu and Yūkimaru to the lake while Kakashi and Shino pursued her, and Shino sensed a powerful Chakra nearby.
• Uchiha Cheng's group lost Guren's trail, changed course, and waited at the rendezvous point for Kakashi and the others.

Kakashi and Shino fought Guren’s allies in a thick fog while Uchiha Cheng and his companions followed a surge of Chakra to the lake. There, the Three-Tails emerged and attacked, and Guren rescued Yūkimaru, but said the beast would stop only if he regained consciousness.

• Lin'er ordered Guifeng to spread fog so Guren could return safely, and Kakashi and Shino were forced to fight blind.
• Shino secretly attached insects to Guifeng, allowing him to track the enemy and guide Kakashi through the fog.
• Uchiha Cheng and his companions followed the growing Chakra pressure to the lake and found Yūkimaru standing in its center.
• Yūkimaru cried out, causing the Three-Tails to erupt from the water and attack everyone; Gozu could not move Yūkimaru out of danger.
• Guren carried Yūkimaru away from the Three-Tails’ strike and treated him while Uchiha Cheng’s group tried to fend off the beast.
• Guren told Uchiha Cheng that the Three-Tails would stop only if Yūkimaru regained consciousness.

After Yūkimaru stopped the Three-Tails from attacking Guren, she abandoned her mission and left with him and Gozu. Kakashi and Shino rejoined the group, who then faced Yakushi Kabuto while trying to find a way to free Hinata from the crystal.

• The Three-Tails attacked the group, but Yūkimaru awakened and stopped it when it threatened Guren.
• Yūkimaru told Guren he wanted her to stay safe, and she ended the fight and left with him and Gozu.
• Kakashi and Shino rejoined the others, and Kakashi explained that Orochimaru had likely wanted to control the Three-Tails through Yūkimaru.
• The group headed to a forest clearing to work on freeing Hinata from Gamaryu's crystal, but Yakushi Kabuto appeared.
• Sai attacked Yakushi Kabuto with ink creatures, but Kabuto burned them and tried to lure Uchiha Cheng away before Kakashi warned him not to chase.
• Yakushi Kabuto left after admitting he had come to observe the group and report back to Orochimaru.

Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi divided their forces between sealing the Three-Tails and rescuing Yūkimaru, while Uchiha Cheng’s group caught up with Guren. Yūkimaru refused to leave her, and the confrontation ended with Guren using her Crystal Shield to repel their attacks.

• Shizune, Ino, Rock Lee, and Tenten traveled from Konoha to support Kakashi’s team as Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi discussed sealing the Three-Tails and rescuing Yūkimaru.
• Uchiha Cheng argued that Yūkimaru should be brought back because Guren might be using him to control the Three-Tails, while Guren resolved to protect him.
• Shizune and the reinforcements joined Kakashi’s team, which split up to guard the Three-Tails and pursue Guren and Yūkimaru.
• Uchiha Cheng and Shino tracked Guren’s group and urged Yūkimaru to come with them, but Yūkimaru insisted that Guren was where he belonged.
• Guren prepared to leave with Yūkimaru, so Uchiha Cheng and Shino attacked; Guren raised her Crystal Shield and reflected their attacks.

Kakashi’s group learned that Yūkimaru’s bond with the Three-Tails made him its controller, while Guren was the person he trusted and followed. As Uchiha Cheng and Kakashi’s teams fought Guren and her subordinates, Hinata survived the crystal that held her by coating herself in Chakra, giving the allies a way to resist Guren’s attacks.

• Yamato and Shizune explained that Yūkimaru had a master-servant bond with the Three-Tails, and Kakashi concluded that Guren was the home Yūkimaru followed.
• Uchiha Cheng and Shino fought Guren while Yūkimaru begged them to stop, then Guren’s subordinates arrived and forced Uchiha Cheng to call Kakashi’s group for help.
• Gamaryu accidentally swallowed a flying insect while carrying Hinata’s crystal, which cracked and shattered; Sakura treated Hinata after she survived inside it.
• Hinata explained that she had covered herself in Chakra to resist the crystal, and Shizune brought her and Sakura to help with sealing the Three-Tails.
• Kakashi led Uchiha Cheng, Shino, and Sai against Guren while Yamato’s team confronted her subordinates, who began to waver but ultimately fought back.

Guren fought Kakashi, Uchiha Cheng, and the others until Shino’s resistant insects turned the battle against her, while Kabuto secretly took Yūkimaru away. The chapter ended with Kabuto bringing Yūkimaru to the Three-Tails as Guren realized she was trapped holding off the others.

• Guren overwhelmed Uchiha Cheng and the others with her Crystal Release, but Shino’s resistant insects shielded them and began draining her Chakra.
• Yūkimaru told Uchiha Cheng that he wanted to stay with Guren, whom he considered his home.
• Kabuto separated Guren and Yūkimaru from the others, then threatened Guren with the secret of her role in Yūkimaru’s parents’ deaths and ordered her to keep Yamato’s group occupied.
• Kabuto took Yūkimaru to the lake and urged him to control the Three-Tails, while Kakashi and Uchiha Cheng returned to guard Shizune and Sakura’s sealing work.
• Guren realized Kabuto had used her to distract the others while he brought Yūkimaru to the Three-Tails, but she could not leave the battle.

Uchiha Cheng and Guren were swallowed by the Three-Tails and had to cooperate to escape its stomach. They found a weak spot in the stomach, but Guren remained determined to take Yūkimaru away.

• Lin'er stabbed Guren and used her injury to provoke Yūkimaru, whose uncontrolled power unleashed the Three-Tails.
• Guren calmed Yūkimaru, who collapsed, while Kakashi rescued him from Lin'er; Uchiha Cheng and Guren disappeared during the Three-Tails' rampage.
• Uchiha Cheng woke inside the Three-Tails' stomach, and Guren soon fell in with him; they agreed to work together to escape.
• Guren's crystal kunai shattered against the stomach wall, so she and Uchiha Cheng repeatedly attacked one spot while shielding themselves from gastric fluid.
• Guren argued that she would take Yūkimaru away after they escaped, then discovered a weak spot inside the stomach.

Uchiha Cheng and Guren fought their way through miniature Three-Tails inside the beast’s stomach while Kakashi’s group searched for a way to rescue them. After Yūkimaru calmed the Three-Tails outside, Sasuke appeared before the exhausted pair but ignored Uchiha Cheng’s questions and walked away, leaving them to keep seeking an escape.

• Uchiha Cheng and Guren fought the multiplying miniature Three-Tails, then combined their attacks and used Guren’s blood-formed corrosive crystals to weaken them.
• Yūkimaru recovered, sensed that Uchiha Cheng and Guren were inside the Three-Tails, and joined Kakashi’s group in searching for them.
• Kakashi and Taiga helped Yūkimaru control his emotions, and Yūkimaru’s influence calmed the Three-Tails in the lake.
• Uchiha Cheng and Guren survived the miniature Three-Tails’ final attack and continued striking the weak point in the beast’s stomach.
• Sasuke appeared before Uchiha Cheng and Guren, ignored Uchiha Cheng’s questions, and left despite Uchiha Cheng trying to follow him.
• Guren urged Uchiha Cheng to stop chasing Sasuke and resume attacking the weak point so they could escape.

Uchiha Cheng and Guren were expelled from the Three-Tails but became lost in the fog, while Kakashi and the others began sealing the beast. Sai tried to keep Yūkimaru safe, but Lin'er captured him and pressured him to control the Three-Tails against the sealing team.

• Uchiha Cheng and Guren were spat out of the Three-Tails, and Yūkimaru used camellias to guide them while Kakashi prepared to seal the beast.
• Kakashi joined Shizune and the others to suppress and seal the irritable Three-Tails, while Sai took Yūkimaru to hide in the forest.
• Sai and Yūkimaru encountered a group of experimental corps members sent to capture Yūkimaru, and Sai fought to protect him.
• Uchiha Cheng and Guren found themselves lost in the fog before an enormous apparent chasm, which Guren tested with her crystal.
• The experimental corps overwhelmed Sai, and Lin'er took Yūkimaru and threatened Guren to force him to control the Three-Tails.
• Lin'er offered Yūkimaru a pill to strengthen his power, and Yūkimaru began considering using it despite Sai's warning.