Recaps

Sasuke defeated Orochimaru, freed Suigetsu, and recruited him to join his plans. As they left to visit another place before searching for Jugo, Neji sensed that they had arrived in the Land of Waves.

• Kabuto discovered Sasuke standing over Orochimaru’s bloodied remains, and Sasuke used the Sharingan to show him how he had overcome Orochimaru’s Reincarnation Ritual and taken everything from him.
• Sasuke freed Suigetsu from a cultivation tank and said he would recruit Jugo from the northern hideout after visiting another place.
• Suigetsu joked about confronting Sasuke, but Sasuke severed part of his body and warned him that he disliked that kind of joke.
• Suigetsu put on clothes and followed Sasuke out of the hideout toward the place Sasuke wanted to visit.
• In the Land of Waves, Neji smiled and said they had arrived.

Sasuke and Suigetsu met Zabuza and Haku at Naruto Bridge and followed them to a hidden underground base beneath the sea. After seeing Sasori test a puppet in a simulation area, Sasuke learned that BOSS was waiting for them above.

• Sasuke and Suigetsu arrived at Naruto Bridge, where Zabuza and Haku appeared alive and invited Sasuke to follow them.
• Zabuza and Haku led Sasuke and Suigetsu through a barrier to a concealed reef entrance that descended into an underground facility.
• Sasuke and Suigetsu emerged into a vast underground landscape filled with grass, birds, clouds, and towering stone pillars.
• Suigetsu spotted two figures fighting, and Zabuza explained that Sasori was testing a puppet in the simulation area.
• Haku told Sasuke that Sasori had been recruited by BOSS, and Zabuza led the group toward the real base, where BOSS was waiting.

Sasuke met Neji at his base while preparing to confront Uchiha Itachi, and she recognized Uchiha Izumi, who declined to join her. Neji questioned whether Sasuke was ready to learn the truth and summoned Karin and Kimimaro.

• Sasuke and Suigetsu traveled through the base’s simulation field and saw Sasori working on puppets and facilities.
• Neji welcomed Sasuke and asked whether she was preparing to find the man she had set her sights on; Sasuke said she planned to confront Uchiha Itachi.
• Sasuke recognized the woman beside Neji as Uchiha Izumi, who confirmed her identity with her Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• Sasuke invited Izumi to come with her, but Izumi refused, and Sasuke asked Neji why he had supported her departure to seek Orochimaru.
• Neji said he had known the truth for a long time, asked whether Sasuke was ready, and ordered Ai-chan to notify Karin and Kimimaro.

Neji arranged for Karin and Kimimaro to support Sasuke on her revenge mission, then learned the locations of Orochimaru’s bases and sent puppets to seize them. As Sasuke departed with her new squad, Neji prepared to use the time before Akatsuki’s tailed-beast sacrifices to take control of Orochimaru’s resources.

• Neji assigned Karin and Kimimaro to follow Sasuke and help her pursue revenge.
• Sasuke accepted Neji’s support, and she gave him the locations of the Orochimaru bases she knew.
• Neji used a detailed map to mark the base entrances, then sent assembled puppets across the ninja world to occupy them.
• Neji asked Izumi about his decision, and she told him she would support him.
• Neji considered Orochimaru’s technique, Kabuto’s future, and Sasuke’s possible attempt to find the Eight-Tails.

Kabuto struggled to control Orochimaru’s transplanted body while infiltrating puppets searched the base, so he prepared medicine to suppress the erosion and planned to escape. Neji, who had been overseeing the puppets’ search, headed to meet Kabuto and told Black Zetsu he would unseal Kaguya.

• Kabuto endured the pain from Orochimaru’s transplanted body and resolved to carry on Orochimaru’s work.
• Puppets entered the base to search, and Kabuto hid before sending a snake to scout; its connection was soon cut off.
• Kabuto decided to escape through a secret passage, but first went to the medicine dispensing room to prepare a suppressant.
• When the puppets approached, Kabuto summoned small snakes to draw them away, then began preparing the medicine.
• Neji revealed that he had witnessed Kabuto’s actions and that the puppets had pretended to be lured away.
• Neji headed to meet Kabuto and told Black Zetsu he would unseal Kaguya.

Neji recruited Kabuto to help take over Orochimaru’s bases and study his research, while Black Zetsu was assigned to guide Kabuto. After receiving word that the Two-Tails had been sealed, Neji prepared to retrieve Yugito and revive her.

• Kabuto drank a suppressant in the medicine room, where Neji appeared and demanded that he become his subordinate.
• Neji ordered Kabuto to fuse the substance in his left arm and introduced Black Zetsu as his guide.
• Neji showed Kabuto a phone displaying Yakushi Nonō before vanishing, and Kabuto began issuing orders to help seize Orochimaru’s bases.
• Neji returned to the Land of Waves base and studied Orochimaru’s research, gaining insights into biotechnology and Bloodline Limits.
• Obito informed Neji that the Two-Tails had been sealed, so Neji decided to retrieve and revive Yugito.

Neji revived Yugito after Akatsuki extracted the Two-Tails and took her from the Land of Earth to his base in the Land of Waves. He planned to continue researching vehicles, while Black Zetsu said the Six-Tails was nearly secured and the remaining Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails still had to be dealt with.

• Pain announced a day of rest after Akatsuki sealed the Two-Tails and said they would next seal the Four-Tails; Deidara and Tobi fought while Kisame worried about Itachi’s health.
• Kisame asked Zetsu to remove Yugito’s corpse, and Pain ended the sealing session by dismissing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Neji arrived after Zetsu carried Yugito away and used his healing ability to revive her.
• Neji told Black Zetsu that Kabuto was part of his plan to resolve the Nine-Tails issue, and Yugito woke and called Neji “BOSS.”
• Neji restored Yugito’s seal, then brought her to his base in the Land of Waves to continue researching vehicles and the Spray Wind Shell.

Neji traveled to the Land of Earth on his aerial motorcycle and watched Sasuke confront Itachi. Their Genjutsu duel led Sasuke to ask about the Uchiha accomplice in the clan massacre, and Itachi named Madara Uchiha, whom Sasuke refused to believe was still alive.

• Neji tested his aerial motorcycle, flew from the Land of Waves to the Land of Earth, and watched Itachi and Kisame leave their base.
• Sasuke and her companions confronted Itachi and Kisame, and the siblings agreed to settle their own fight while the others followed Kisame away.
• Sasuke and Itachi fought through Genjutsu, with Sasuke eventually pinning Itachi with the Kusanagi Sword in the illusion.
• Sasuke asked who had helped Itachi massacre the Uchiha Clan, and Itachi identified the accomplice as Madara Uchiha.
• Itachi said Madara had been one of Konoha's founders and the first man to master the Mangekyō Sharingan, but Sasuke accused him of lying because Madara should have died long ago.

Itachi told Sasuke that Madara was alive and explained that Mangekyō Sharingan users could lose their sight, revealing his plan to take Sasuke’s eyes. Sasuke broke free of Itachi’s illusion and prepared to face him, rejecting his brother’s pursuit of eternal light.

• Itachi claimed Madara was still alive and challenged Sasuke’s assumptions about reality.
• Sasuke recalled the massacre of their clan and used the Chidori Sharp Spear to expose Itachi’s illusion.
• Itachi explained that the Mangekyō Sharingan would eventually lose its light and that Madara had gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by taking his younger brother’s eyes.
• Itachi revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, restrained Sasuke, and declared that he would take Sasuke’s eyes to obtain eternal light.
• Sasuke broke free of the illusion, removed his bandages and robe, and confronted Itachi about pursuing the same fate he claimed to reject.
• Sasuke dismissed Itachi’s explanation of the Mangekyō Sharingan and said it was time to achieve their purpose.

Sasuke fought Itachi but was overwhelmed by his Mangekyō Sharingan and lost one eye. As Itachi moved to take the other, Sasuke unleashed the power of his remaining Sharingan and shattered the world around them.

• Sasuke and Itachi clashed with ninja tools, and Sasuke used a White Phosphorus Snake to block Itachi's shadow clone and shuriken.
• Sasuke empowered a Wind Demon Shuriken with Chidori, but the Itachi he struck dispersed into crows before Itachi attacked him at close range.
• Itachi pinned Sasuke, struck his abdomen, and gouged out one of his eyes while explaining the difference in their strength.
• Sasuke transformed under the Curse Mark as Itachi sealed Sasuke's eye in a container and sent a shadow clone to restrain him.
• Itachi reached for Sasuke's remaining eye, and Sasuke activated his Sharingan power, turning the world black and white before it shattered.

Sasuke broke Itachi’s Tsukuyomi and injured him with a hidden shuriken trap, then fought him with fire techniques. Itachi unleashed Amaterasu, and its black flames caught Sasuke as he charged in for revenge.

• Sasuke broke Itachi’s Tsukuyomi, leaving both of them in pain and on unsteady feet.
• Sasuke threw a Wind Demon Shuriken that split into two, then used threads to send a blade from its mechanism into Itachi’s thigh.
• Sasuke attacked with a Great Fireball and Lightning Style, but Itachi countered with fire and burned Sasuke’s hand.
• Sasuke gained the advantage in a clash of Great Fireball Techniques until Itachi used Amaterasu to consume his flames.
• Itachi tracked Sasuke with his right eye, and Amaterasu ignited Sasuke’s monstrous hand, sending him crashing to the ground.

Sasuke used Kirin against Itachi, but Itachi survived by awakening Susanoo, the combined power of his Mangekyō Sharingan. The battle continued as Itachi’s skeletal Chakra avatar began to grow muscle and armor.

• Itachi discovered Sasuke had escaped Amaterasu with the Orochimaru-Style Substitution Jutsu, and Sasuke attacked with the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
• Sasuke summoned Kirin from the storm clouds and struck Itachi with a devastating pillar of lightning.
• Itachi rose after the attack and formed a massive Chakra skeleton around himself.
• Itachi revealed Susanoo as the power of both Mangekyō Sharingan eyes, while Sasuke watched its skeleton gain muscle and armor.

Sasuke’s Curse Mark unleashed Orochimaru’s Eight-Headed Serpent, but Itachi sealed Orochimaru with the Totsuka Blade and continued fighting Sasuke despite his failing health. Itachi collapsed after touching Sasuke’s forehead, leaving her frozen in shock.

• Sasuke’s Curse Mark erupted, releasing Orochimaru in the form of the Eight-Headed Serpent as Neji watched from afar.
• Kimimaro, Haku, and their allies kept Kisame frozen while the group watched Itachi’s Susanoo cut down the serpent’s heads.
• Orochimaru emerged and tried to seize Sasuke’s body, but Itachi pierced and sealed him with the Totsuka Blade.
• Itachi’s illness weakened him, but Sasuke’s explosions and Kusanagi Sword failed to break through his Susanoo.
• Itachi reached Sasuke and touched her forehead, then collapsed against the rock as Sasuke stared in shock.

Sasuke killed Itachi, but Neji rescued her from the battlefield and brought her to the Land of Waves base. After waking from three days of unconsciousness, Sasuke asked Neji where Itachi was.

• A White Phosphorus Snake emerged near Sasuke, and Itachi's Amaterasu destroyed it before he died.
• Neji caught the collapsing Sasuke, healed her, wrapped Itachi's body, and carried Sasuke away from the battlefield.
• Kimimaro and the others used a scroll to leave as the rain washed over the battlefield.
• Three days later, Sasuke woke in the Land of Waves base and learned from Ai-chan that she had been unconscious.
• Neji brought Sasuke warm meat porridge, and she asked him where Itachi was.

Sasuke learned that Itachi had sacrificed himself to protect her and that Danzo had orchestrated the Uchiha massacre. After awakening her Mangekyō Sharingan, she agreed to follow Neji’s lead before pursuing Danzo, while Izumi noticed the blood and damage left in the room.

• Sasuke removed Itachi’s eyes from his ice coffin and demanded that Neji tell her the truth.
• Neji explained that Danzo had forced Itachi to massacre the Uchiha Clan, with Sasuke’s life as the price of the deal.
• Sasuke awakened her Mangekyō Sharingan and swore to kill Danzo after learning he was imprisoned in Konoha.
• Sasuke tested a Genjutsu on Neji, but he reflected it back, and she agreed to listen to him before pursuing Danzo.
• Neji led Sasuke out of the room, and Izumi saw the torn sheets, blood, and stained tissues, sharpening her gaze.

Sasuke tested the powers of her newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan, but overuse caused pain and eye fatigue. Neji began experimenting with containing Amaterasu as a heat source, while Sasuke learned that using the Mangekyō could diminish her eyesight.

• Neji noticed Izumi watching him strangely, then let Sasuke test her abilities at the testing ground.
• Sasuke used Amaterasu and shaped its black flames with Katon: Kagutsuchi before her right eye began to hurt.
• Izumi took Sasuke for an examination, while Neji collected the remaining Amaterasu flames and started designing a Sealing Jutsu to contain them for energy use.
• Izumi found that Sasuke's eyes were severely fatigued from overuse and told her that her eyesight had declined slightly.
• Sasuke remembered the man's words that she was his light and began to understand the Sharingan through her own experience.

Neji explained that the masked man who helped Itachi was Obito Uchiha, not Madara, and revealed Obito’s role in the Nine-Tails attack on Konoha. Sasuke learned more about the history behind her clan’s massacre and was left considering how past choices had shaped the present.

• Izumi told Neji that Sasuke’s body was unharmed, her vision had declined slightly from Mangekyō Sharingan use, and Orochimaru’s Chakra and Curse Mark were gone.
• Sasuke studied her examination results and resolved to kill Danzo and the man with the other Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Sasuke asked Neji whether the man who helped Itachi was Madara Uchiha.
• Neji revealed that the masked man was Obito Uchiha, Kakashi’s former teammate, and said he had controlled the Nine-Tails and attacked Konoha.
• Neji suppressed Sasuke’s reopened Mangekyō Sharingan and explained how Madara, Obito, and Black Zetsu had contributed to the tragedy.

Neji explained his plans to Sasuke, including his cooperation with the Masked Man and the scheme to hand over a substitute for the Nine-Tails. Sasuke agreed to help him kill Danzo and the Masked Man, then left to process what she had learned; afterward, Izumi apologized for misunderstanding Neji and Sasuke.

• Sasuke asked Neji what he intended to do, and he said he wanted a more comfortable life and asked whether she would help him.
• Sasuke agreed to help Neji kill Danzo and the Masked Man, and Neji told her he was cooperating with the Masked Man to gather the remaining tailed beasts.
• Neji clarified that he would not hand Naruto over or extract the Nine-Tails from him, and explained that Naruto held only the Yang half while the Yin half would not be handed over either.
• Neji showed Sasuke Gaara and explained that Chiyo had revived him after the One-Tail was extracted, then ended the conversation and sent Sasuke to rest.
• After Sasuke left, Izumi embraced Neji and apologized for misunderstanding him and Sasuke.

Neji reassured Izumi about his relationships and discussed Karin’s attachment to him. Elsewhere, Deidara fought the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, and won, only to find Tobi missing when he needed help carrying his captive.

• Neji told Izumi that Karin’s future depended on Karin herself, and Izumi decided to speak with her.
• Deidara fought Utakata while Tobi mocked him from the sidelines, and Utakata’s corrosive acid damaged Deidara’s clay bird.
• Deidara kicked Tobi off the bird and continued fighting alone as Obito appeared and watched, intending to prevent Deidara from taking the Six-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Deidara defeated Utakata after a prolonged battle and called for Tobi to help carry him, but Tobi was nowhere to be found.

Neji and Obito advanced their plan after Deidara captured the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, while Tsunade pushed for a joint campaign against the weakened Akatsuki. Pain learned that Zabuza had appeared as the Three-Tails Jinchuriki and vowed to capture him once the sealing ritual ended.

• Deidara collapsed after defeating the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, and Obito took both of them away through Kamui.
• Neji met Obito in the Land of Water, obtained a fragment from the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, and left to await Pain.
• Obito sent Tobi to care for Deidara and the Six-Tails Jinchuriki while he prepared to inform Pain about the Three-Tails.
• Tsunade learned that Akatsuki had captured the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and called for the four other great ninja villages to join an operation against the organization.
• Pain summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and began the sealing ritual with Zetsu, who reported seeing Zabuza using a Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Pain confirmed he would personally capture Zabuza after the sealing ritual was complete.

Kisame and Zabuza fought to a draw at the Land of Waves base, and Neji questioned Kisame about the Moon Eye Plan and the Masked Man. After Neji revealed his identity, Kisame expected to be killed, while Neji confirmed some of his intelligence and began finalizing his plan.

• Kisame and Zabuza discussed why they had defected from Kirigakure and what they wanted to protect.
• Zabuza challenged Kisame, and the two fought fiercely until their battle ended in a draw.
• Neji arrived, then took Kisame to the hall and asked what he knew about the Moon Eye Plan and the Masked Man.
• Neji removed his mask and revealed his face to Kisame, who recognized him and assumed he would not be allowed to leave.
• Neji outlined information about the plan to gauge Kisame's reactions, then sent him back and began finalizing his own plan.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha with a confirmed lead on Akatsuki’s base and prepared to infiltrate it despite Tsunade’s fears. After he left on his mission, Tsunade dragged Neji off to keep her company.

• Tsunade vented her frustration over the other villages rejecting her requests by sparring with Neji, and Jiraiya arrived in time to see their fight.
• At a hot pot meal, Jiraiya told Tsunade, Neji, Kakashi, and Shizune that he had confirmed Akatsuki’s whereabouts and planned to investigate their base.
• Tsunade urged Jiraiya not to go, but he insisted that the dangerous mission was his duty and that he was the only one suited to carry it out.
• Tsunade reluctantly let Jiraiya leave, and he joked that she should bet on his death before setting out at sunset.
• Kakashi nudged Neji toward the grieving Tsunade, who grabbed him and dragged him away to drink with her.

Jiraiya entered Amegakure to investigate the Akatsuki, while Neji secretly arrived and watched the village through the Tenseigan. After Konan identified Jiraiya, Nagato ordered Pain to kill his former teacher, and Konan went to confront him first.

• Jiraiya reached Amegakure, and an unseen figure summoned Zabuza to stand by as Obito reacted to a change in the plan.
• Pain detected an intruder, stopped the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, and sent Konan’s paper butterflies to search the village.
• Neji disguised himself, bought buns from an elderly shopkeeper, and heard that another outsider had arrived.
• Konan identified Jiraiya, and Nagato ordered Animal Path Pain to kill him.
• Konan left to meet Jiraiya first while Neji watched and reflected that Nagato had abandoned hope and chosen to shape the world through his own strength.

Jiraiya confronted his former student Konan in Amegakure, then faced Animal Path Pain, whom he recognized as Nagato. As Konan broke free of Jiraiya’s restraint, Neji waited in a shop for the fight to reveal the information he needed.

• Jiraiya rescued a controlled Amegakure ninja from Konan and fought her with fire, oil, and his hair.
• Jiraiya questioned Konan about Pain and the fate of her former teammates, while she said Akatsuki acted according to its own ideals.
• Animal Path Pain appeared and confirmed that Jiraiya was an outsider, and Jiraiya recognized him as Nagato.
• Animal Path Pain summoned a crab that covered the reservoir floor with foam, washing away the oil and freeing Konan.
• Neji rested in a shop and waited for the fight to reveal information so he could make his entrance.

Jiraiya confronted Nagato’s Animal Path Pain over his plan to use the Tailed Beasts to create a weapon that would impose peace through fear. Neji intervened and attacked Pain with five armored puppets, but Pain revealed the Six Paths, leaving Jiraiya stunned to see Yahiko among them.

• Animal Path Pain told Jiraiya that Nagato planned to use the Tailed Beasts to create a weapon powerful enough to destroy a nation and make the world fear conflict.
• Neji arrived, rejected Pain’s claim to godhood, and sent five armored puppets to attack him.
• The puppets drove Pain from his summoned lizard and unleashed a coordinated assault, but Pain survived and summoned the other Paths.
• Jiraiya recognized Yahiko among the figures beside Pain and saw that Yahiko had Nagato’s Rinnegan.