Chapter Summaries

Ming Jing and Hinata’s private stroll was interrupted when a gravely wounded Yugito fell into the garden, and Matatabi revealed that she had shifted Yugito’s heart to save her from a fatal blow. Mirai operated on Yugito and stabilized her, while the others waited; the chapter ended with Yuexi inviting Hinata and the other women to a group bath.

• Ming Jing and Hinata strolled through the Kurama Clan compound, but Yugito suddenly fell from the sky and crashed into their path.
• Mirai examined Yugito and found severe injuries, while Hinata used her Byakugan to spot a wound to Yugito’s chest.
• Matatabi explained that she had shifted Yugito’s heart to keep it from being pierced, and Ming Jing ordered Mirai to save her.
• Mirai operated on Yugito with Xiangling’s help as Ming Jing, Hinata, Qing Yan, and Yuexi waited outside.
• Mirai emerged after hours of surgery and said Yugito was no longer in immediate danger, though she remained critical.
• Xiangling suggested a bath, and Yuexi invited Hinata and the other women to join a group activity at the family bathhouse.

Xiangling, Hinata, and the others relaxed in the Kurama Clan hot spring, where Xiangling learned that Hinata’s figure had benefited from food Ming Jing prepared for her. Meanwhile, Akatsuki members discussed failed efforts to capture the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and were ordered to continue pursuing her.

• Xiangling entered the hot spring and compared herself with Yuexi, Kanon, and the others.
• Mirai encouraged Hinata to relax, and Hinata’s figure shocked Yakumo, Shikouin, Yuexi, and Mirai.
• Hinata listed foods Ming Jing had prepared for her, and Xiangling complained that Hinata had an unfair advantage.
• Kanon admitted she secretly traveled to Leimen City to buy the same foods, prompting the women to turn on her.
• Ming Jing and the men soaked in the neighboring spring, where Qing Yan dunked Taichi for teasing Ming Jing.
• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei and Hidan reported a mishap in their Two-Tails mission, and Deva Path Pain ordered them to continue the pursuit.

Mai Kurama gave Hinata responsibility for Princess Hinata's Wardrobe and said she would eventually take over the Kurama Clan's businesses. Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Kakashi discussed Akatsuki's impending move and Kakashi's disastrous attempt to use Jiraiya's romantic advice.

• Mai Kurama showed Hinata the Kurama Clan's major businesses and entrusted Princess Hinata's Wardrobe to her.
• After learning that Ming Jing wanted her to try, Hinata accepted the necklace and vowed to manage the brand well.
• Mai Kurama took Hinata to inspect China Cuisine Restaurant.
• Jiraiya told Kakashi that Akatsuki, including Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Sasori of the Red Sands, and former member Orochimaru, was about to act.
• Jiraiya advised Kakashi to use sweet talk with Nadeshiko Kaoru, and Kakashi revealed that his previous attempt had left him swollen for three months.

Ming Jing assigned Chiyo and Yami to secretly protect Hinata after hearing that Akatsuki members had appeared in the Land of Wind. Meanwhile, Sasori and Deidara infiltrated Sunagakure, where Deidara’s failed covert attack turned into a battle with Gaara.

• Ming Jing ordered Chiyo and Yami to guard Hinata in secret, and they accepted the mission.
• Sasori and Deidara reached One Line Gorge, where Yura helped them pass through Sunagakure’s final barrier.
• Deidara flew into Sunagakure on a clay bird and later knocked out Gaara’s three hidden guards before reaching the Kazekage’s office balcony.
• Gaara confronted Deidara and pursued him through the sky with waves of sand after spotting the unfamiliar bird.
• Gaara raised sand across much of the village and formed a giant Shukaku claw, while Deidara dodged it and charged toward him.

Deidara attacked Gaara with explosive clay, while Gaara’s sand defenses repeatedly trapped and repelled him. After Deidara used a giant C3 bomb against Sunagakure, he revealed that he had contaminated some of Gaara’s special sand with explosive clay and detonated a small bird beside him.

• Deidara sent explosive clay birds at Gaara, whose sand walls and sand sphere blocked the blasts.
• Gaara trapped Deidara in sand, crushed his left arm, and pursued him until Deidara tore the arm off to escape.
• Deidara identified Gaara’s chakra-infused special sand as the key to his defenses and threatened to destroy Sunagakure with a C3 bomb.
• Baki ordered Sunagakure into wartime preparations as Gaara shielded the village from Deidara’s C3 explosion.
• Deidara detonated a clay bird beside Gaara after revealing that he had mixed explosive clay with sand from Gaara’s special defense.

Deidara captured Gaara after Gaara moved the sand away from Sunagakure to protect the village, while the Sand Ninjas failed to stop him. The next day, Ming Jing learned of the capture and told Hinata to consider problems from the perspective of her future responsibilities.

• Deidara's Clay Centipedes exploded inside Gaara's Sand Shield, weakening his defense.
• Gaara moved the sand covering Sunagakure beyond the village, then fell unconscious, and Deidara carried him away.
• Baki stopped the Sand Ninjas from firing arrows near Gaara, while Kankuro rushed after the captors.
• Qing Yan told Ming Jing and Hinata that Akatsuki had captured the Fifth Kazekage, and Ming Jing ordered the intelligence shared with the Naruto.
• Ming Jing explained to Hinata how a ninja and a Chancellor viewed their duties differently, and advised her to stay calm on future missions.

Tsunade sent Might Guy's Team and Team 8 to support Kakashi's Team in Sunagakure, while the Akatsuki began extracting Gaara's One-Tails. When Konan attacked Team 8 near the base, Kurenai and Hinata worked together to trap her.

• Tsunade ordered Might Guy's Team and Team 8 to rendezvous with Kakashi's Team and complete the mission together.
• Deva Path Pain summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and the Akatsuki began extracting Shukaku from Gaara.
• After Black Zetsu detected enemies near the base, Deva Path Pain sent Kisame and Hidan to confront them and assigned Konan to face Kurenai Yuhi.
• Konan appeared before Team 8 and attacked Kurenai, Shino, Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata with paper weapons.
• Kurenai used Genjutsu: Mirage to protect Hinata, who struck Konan's chakra points, while Shino's Kikaichū covered the crystal trapping her.

Konan attacked Hinata’s group, badly injuring Kiba and Akamaru before Chiyo and Yami intervened. Hinata and the others escaped, and Konan returned to the base to continue sealing while reporting that unexpected Konoha fighters had been present.

• Konan revealed that the crystal held only a paper clone, then sent six figures to attack the group, blasting Shino, Kurenai, and Hinata down and leaving Kiba and Akamaru charred and unconscious.
• Hinata broke Konan’s paper spears but struggled against a returning paper wheel until Yami kicked it apart and Chiyo struck Konan with lightning.
• Chiyo and Yami warned Hinata that Konan was too dangerous to fight, so Hinata ordered Kurenai and Shino to retreat with the injured Kiba and Akamaru.
• Chiyo and Shino covered the retreat with a lightning attack and an insect swarm, but Konan destroyed the Kikaichū and noticed that Hinata’s group had escaped.
• Konan returned to the base, told Black Zetsu and Deva Path Pain that the group had included powerful Konoha fighters, and resumed sealing.

Naruto and his allies fought Itachi, who trapped Naruto in a Genjutsu before Kakashi helped him recover. They defeated the person disguised as Itachi, and Grandma Chiyo identified him as Yura, a jonin from their village.

• Itachi trapped Naruto in a Genjutsu that made him relive guilt about Sasuke, but Sakura and Chiyo injected Chakra into Naruto to dispel it.
• Kakashi confronted Itachi with Fire Style attacks, while Naruto struck him with a Rasengan that Itachi evaded using the Clone Technique.
• Kakashi used mist and a Shadow Clone to hold Itachi in place, allowing Naruto to hit him with a Great Ball Rasengan.
• Naruto and Kakashi discovered the person lying on the ground was not Itachi, and Grandma Chiyo identified him as Yura, a jonin from their village.

Kurenai's team discovered nested Five Seal Barriers around the cave where Gaara was being held, and Grandma Chiyo organized a coordinated effort to remove them. The team successfully unsealed both barriers, but Tsukikyuu Shang Mei revealed that she had left them a trap.

• Hinata identified the cave's barrier as a Five Seal Barrier nested inside four other Five Seal Barriers, and Grandma Chiyo explained that many shinobi would be needed to unseal them.
• Grandma Chiyo summoned twenty-five Sand Ninja and assigned the teams to remove the outer barrier's talismans while monitoring the inner barrier.
• Neji warned that the inner talismans began cracking as soon as the outer barrier was removed, leaving the team only three seconds to reach them.
• Chiyo, Yami, Lee, Might Guy, and Ebizo raced to the inner talismans and tore them off simultaneously.
• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei noticed that the team had broken her double-layered barrier and said she had left them a gift.

Neji and the others discovered how the golden barriers worked and began breaking them to free the trapped ninjas. After freeing Chiyo and Lee, they chose to rescue Ebizo next as the remaining barriers became linked and their counterattacks grew stronger.

• The golden barriers sealed the five groups inside, and attacks on them triggered dangerous counterattacks.
• Neji deduced that the barriers reacted to attacks and had a weak point marked by the character "Ring," which Hinata spotted with her Byakugan.
• Temari attacked Chiyo's barrier while the others struck its weak point, freeing Chiyo; they then freed Lee from the second barrier.
• Neji and Temari realized each successive barrier took more chakra to break, and Hinata discovered the three remaining barriers were linked together.
• Temari urged them to save Ebizo first, and Might Guy agreed over the communicator, telling Neji to rescue him last.

Neji and the others rescued Yami from her water-filled barrier, but Might Guy destroyed his own barrier with the Daytime Tiger before they could attack it. At the Royal Capital, Mabui asked Ming Jing to return Yugito to Kumogakure, revealing that the village could locate her.

• Neji and the others broke Yami's barrier after recovering with Military Ration Pills, and Hinata helped the exhausted Yami out of the water.
• Neji saw through the flames that Might Guy was alive, but Might Guy opened the Gate of Wonder and shattered his barrier with the Daytime Tiger.
• Might Guy praised Lee's determination, while Temari asked Neji whether the two of them were always so emotional.
• Mabui met Ming Jing at the Royal Capital with Darui and Samui and requested that he return Yugito to Kumogakure.
• Mabui told Ming Jing that Kumogakure had a secret technique that let them locate Yugito.

Darui, Samui, Mabui, and Yugito were ambushed at the border by Tsukikyuu Shang Mei and Hidan, who separated the group with a barrier. Yugito and Mabui fought Hidan while Darui and Samui broke through the barrier, leaving them facing Tsukikyuu Shang Mei.

• Darui led the disguised group toward the Land of Lightning, while Samui and Mabui warned that Dawn was targeting Tailed Beasts and Yugito described her attackers’ abilities.
• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei trapped the group in the Three-Headed Snake Barrier, separating Yugito and Mabui from Darui and Samui.
• Hidan attacked Yugito, who fought back with Tailed Beast Chakra and a Fire Rat Ball while Mabui used Shuriken and her Heavenly Transfer technique.
• Yugito warned Mabui that Hidan could transfer damage through his Curse Technique, then kept him occupied so Mabui could act.
• Samui identified the barrier’s weakness, and Darui’s Wind Release propelled her blade into its node and shattered it.

Samui and Darui fought Tsukikyuu Shang Mei, Tamamura, and Kōsuke after demanding that they hand over Lady Yugito. Darui overwhelmed Tamamura in a sword fight and invited him to join Kumogakure.

• Samui's attack passed through Tsukikyuu Shang Mei's genjutsu, while Darui protected them from a flame attack with a Water Wall.
• Samui and Darui fought unseen opponents in the mist, then revealed Tsukikyuu Shang Mei, Tamamura, and Kōsuke in a triangular formation.
• Samui and Darui combined Wind and Fire Style into Explosive Fire Dance, but Tamamura cut through the earthen defense and flames with Storm Style: Light Fang.
• Darui challenged Tamamura and quickly defeated him in sword combat, then invited him to return to Kumogakure.

Tsukikyuu Shang Mei and her companions fought Darui and Samui after Darui tried to recruit one of them. Darui freed himself and launched a powerful counterattack, but Tsukikyuu Shang Mei used a Genjutsu to turn Tamamura’s strike against him, leaving Darui defeated.

• Darui tried to recruit one of Tsukikyuu Shang Mei’s companions, and Samui attacked while Darui distracted her, but Kōsuke blocked the attack with an Earth Wall.
• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei trapped Darui with Hundred Step Railing and put Samui to sleep with Beauty Guards the Boudoir when Samui tried to flee.
• Darui broke free with Lightning Release Bodyguard, confirmed Samui was only asleep, and attacked Tsukikyuu Shang Mei, Tamamura, and Kōsuke.
• Darui knocked Kōsuke away, countered Tamamura’s and Tsukikyuu Shang Mei’s defenses, and nearly struck Tsukikyuu Shang Mei with a lightning-charged punch.
• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei used White Colt on Tamamura, accelerating him so he impaled Darui, who fell to the ground.

The Fourth Raikage arrived as Tsukikyuu Shang Mei and Hidan escaped with Yugito, then learned from Ming Jing that they belonged to Akatsuki. Ming Jing traced their escape toward the Land of Earth before meeting Hinata, who returned grieving over Chiyo’s sacrifice, and warned her team about Akatsuki.

• Tsukikyuu Shang Mei trapped Mabui and Yugito, then defended Hidan and the captives from Ming Jing’s Wind Style: Storm Hammer with a barrier.
• Hidan knocked Yugito unconscious, and Tsukikyuu Shang Mei teleported away with him as the Fourth Raikage arrived and severed an arm during their escape.
• The Fourth Raikage freed Mabui and learned from Ming Jing that the attackers belonged to Akatsuki, then left to pursue the organization.
• Ming Jing examined the teleportation traces and concluded that Tsukikyuu Shang Mei and Hidan had gone to the Land of Earth, ordering intelligence gathered on Iwagakure.
• Ming Jing met Hinata at the Land of Fire border, comforted her over Chiyo’s death, and warned her, Kiba, and Shino that Akatsuki’s S-rank rogue ninja were dangerous.

Deva Path Pain and Konan defeated and captured Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, after a fierce battle. Zetsu reported that Shang Mei and Hidan's team had also captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and Pain ordered the Akatsuki to seal the Two-Tails first.

• Han sent Taiga and Aomine away when Deva Path Pain and Konan approached to capture him.
• Han fought Deva Path Pain with Boil Release and the Five-Tails' power, but Pain repeatedly overpowered him with his abilities.
• Deva Path Pain crushed Han into the earth with Shinra Tensei until Han lost consciousness, then handed him to Konan to seal.
• Zetsu reported that Shang Mei and Hidan's team had captured the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Deva Path Pain ordered Zetsu to notify everyone to seal the Two-Tails Jinchuriki first, while Konan wrapped Han in layers of paper.

Kisame fought Roshi and captured the Four-Tails Jinchuriki alive after overpowering his magma and tailed-beast forms. Itachi and Kisame set off with the unconscious Roshi, planning to begin the Four-Tails and Five-Tails sealing rituals simultaneously.

• Roshi attacked Kisame with Lava Release, but Kisame absorbed some of the magma with Samehada and answered with a massive water technique.
• Roshi transformed his body into magma and struck Samehada with a superheated palm, while Samehada bit away part of his Tailed Beast Chakra Cloak.
• Kisame attacked Roshi with water sharks, and Roshi drew on Son Goku's Chakra to transform into the Four-Tails ape and tear apart Kisame's Great Shark Bullet.
• Kisame trapped Roshi and himself in a water prison, then used Samehada and Five-Eating Sharks to drain Roshi's Chakra until he passed out.
• Itachi confirmed Roshi was captured, and Kisame carried him away as they discussed the upcoming Four-Tails and Five-Tails sealing rituals.

Hinata learned that Ming Jing was investigating the capture of several Jinchuriki and the threat to Isobu, while Hizashi Hyuga joined Kakashi’s team near the lake. The group fought Orochimaru’s surviving subordinates as Naruto and Chiyo headed toward the lakeside to investigate Isobu.

• Yuexi told Hinata that the Two-Tails, Five-Tails, and Four-Tails Jinchuriki had been captured and that Akatsuki members had been spotted near Isobu’s rumored hiding place.
• Hizashi Hyuga’s scouts found Konoha Ninja, Kirigakure Anbu, and suspected subordinates of Orochimaru near the lake, so Hizashi went to meet Kakashi Hatake.
• Hizashi sensed a powerful Chakra that could attract Isobu, and Naruto rushed toward the lake as Kakashi and the others followed.
• An ambush separated the group, and Kakashi sent Naruto and Chiyo toward the lakeside while he and Hizashi held off the attackers.
• Hizashi fought Nurarihyon, whose unusual, boneless body made the Gentle Fist ineffective.

Hizashi Hyuga defeated Nurarihyon while Naruto and Chiyo confronted Tobi, and Deidara fought Isobu at the lake. The chapter ended with Deidara falling toward Isobu’s open mouth after the giant turtle struck his Clay Owl from the sky.

• Hizashi Hyuga overwhelmed Nurarihyon with a punch and realized the Chakra at the lakeshore had disappeared.
• Deidara sent Tobi to stop Naruto and Chiyo while he tried to capture Isobu.
• Tobi’s body let Naruto’s attacks and Chiyo’s lightning blade pass through, then he knocked Chiyo into the lake.
• Naruto sent clones underwater to rescue Chiyo as Tobi watched.
• Deidara drove Isobu to the surface with exploding Clay Minnows and dodged its attacks before Isobu struck his Clay Owl with its tail.
• Deidara fell from the sky toward Isobu’s open mouth.