Recaps

Kakuzu and Kisame reported that their weakened clones had delayed the pursuing teams, while Akatsuki finished extracting the One-Tail from Gaara. Neji’s team and Might Guy reached the sealed cave just as the extraction ended, and Pain detected their arrival.

• Kakuzu told Pain that he and Hidan had been defeated but had held their opponents back, then described the enemy’s abilities to the Akatsuki members.
• Kisame and Itachi awakened after their clones were defeated and confirmed that their teams had delayed the pursuers.
• Pain ordered Zetsu to deal with the four people performing the Clone Jutsu, and Itachi identified Kakashi’s team, including Naruto and Chiyo.
• The next morning, Pain completed the extraction of Gaara’s One-Tail while Neji, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Might Guy found the cave.
• Neji sensed the chakra inside the cave, and Might Guy’s punch revealed a barrier over the entrance.
• Pain noticed the disturbance outside, and Sasori suggested that another Jinchuriki had arrived.

Team Kakashi and Team Guy removed the Five Seal Barrier’s talismans and broke the boulder sealing the cave, but identical copies appeared to block their way. Neji watched the copy confronting his Shadow Clone and wondered how much of his abilities it could reproduce.

• Pain ordered Sasori and Deidara to capture the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki alive, and Itachi identified him as the one who had roared loudly in the crowd before the projections vanished.
• Team Kakashi joined Team Guy and Chiyo at the Five Seal Barrier, where Neji explained that they needed to remove all five talismans to undo it.
• Neji gave the talismans’ locations, and Team Guy split up with radios to remove them while Kakashi took the nearby talisman.
• Neji directed the group as all five talismans were removed, and Sakura shattered the boulder with Monster Strength.
• Identical copies appeared at the four distant talisman sites and before Neji’s Shadow Clone, leaving the teams to face their doubles.

Kakashi and his team found Deidara and Sasori with Gaara, and Naruto learned that Gaara was dead and lost control of his anger. Deidara took Gaara away on his clay bird while Sasori stayed behind, intent on facing Granny Chiyo.

• Kakashi led Naruto, Sakura, and the others into the cave, where they found Deidara sitting on Gaara and Sasori waiting nearby.
• Naruto recognized Gaara as the Jinchuriki, but Deidara told him that Gaara was already dead.
• Naruto attacked in a rage, and Kakashi stopped him and warned him not to charge in recklessly.
• Deidara and Sasori argued over art and who would face Naruto, while Sasori knocked Naruto's Wind Demon Shuriken aside with his mechanical tail.
• Deidara loaded Gaara onto his clay bird and flew away, leaving Sasori behind to face Granny Chiyo.

Naruto pursued Deidara after he kidnapped Gaara, while Sakura and Chiyo fought Sasori inside the hideout. As Sasori unleashed the Third Kazekage’s puppet, Neji watched the battle and studied the Human Puppet techniques.

• Naruto chased Deidara, and Kakashi followed after assigning Sakura and Chiyo to confront Sasori and warning them to wait for Might Guy’s team.
• Might Guy told Kakashi that his team had been caught in an enemy technique, so Kakashi revealed his Sharingan and prepared to fight seriously.
• Sasori transformed Hiruko and threatened to turn Sakura and Chiyo into puppets, but Sakura destroyed Hiruko with a punch.
• Sasori released the Third Kazekage puppet and used its Magnet Release and Iron Sand against Sakura, while Chiyo supported her and Neji studied the puppet techniques.

Neji watched Sakura and Chiyo battle Sasori, and Sakura survived his poison by using an antidote before destroying the Third Kazekage Puppet. Sasori revealed his Human Puppet body and unleashed nearly a hundred puppets, but a masked figure appeared as the fight was about to begin.

• Neji watched Kakashi and Naruto pursue Deidara, then left the cavern as it collapsed around Sakura and Chiyo’s battle with Sasori.
• Sasori’s Sand Iron World Law poisoned Sakura, but she used an antidote and destroyed the Third Kazekage Puppet with one punch.
• Sasori revealed that he had turned himself into a Human Puppet and resumed fighting Sakura and Chiyo.
• Chiyo summoned her ten puppets, while Sasori unleashed nearly a hundred puppets with his Red Secret Technique: Hundred Machines Performance.
• A masked figure in black Western-style clothes appeared above the battlefield and challenged the others to show what they could do.

Neji confronted Sasori and demonstrated that he could take control of puppets, making them act independently and obey him. He gave Sasori consciousness and new power, leaving Chiyo and Sakura shocked as Sasori tested his enhanced puppet body.

• Sasori recognized Neji as a member of the D Organization, but Neji said he had come for Sasori rather than the Tailed Beasts.
• Neji gathered Sasori’s concealed weapons with gravitational force and embedded points of light into the puppets.
• The points of light snapped Sasori’s and Chiyo’s control over their puppets, which began moving independently and declared Neji their master.
• Sasori eagerly asked how Neji had given the puppets consciousness, and Neji sent a point of light into him.
• Sasori knelt and called Neji his master, then discovered that Neji had filled his puppet body with Chakra.
• Sasori fired a Chakra Bullet that shattered a boulder.

Neji forced Chiyo to surrender the Life Transfer Technique and took Sasori with him. As Chiyo and Sakura went to help Gaara, Neji showed Sasori Kakashi and Naruto’s pursuit of Deidara, where their attack sent Gaara plummeting from the sky.

• Neji offered Chiyo a deal for her and Sakura’s lives in exchange for the Life Transfer Technique.
• Chiyo explained that the technique could give life to puppets but cost the caster’s life, and Sasori reacted with disbelief.
• Chiyo handed Neji the technique’s scroll, and Neji departed with Sasori and the captured puppets.
• Neji showed Sasori Kakashi and Naruto pursuing Deidara, and Kakashi’s Mangekyō Sharingan attacks cost Deidara an arm but failed to capture him.
• Naruto and another figure smashed Deidara’s clay bird, sending the section carrying Gaara falling from the sky.

Neji secured Sasori’s cooperation in learning his puppet-making techniques and then stopped Naruto’s Nine-Tails outbreak during the battle. He exposed Deidara’s ambush, but Deidara detonated himself; Kakashi warped the explosion away while Neji’s barrier protected the group.

• Neji told Sasori he wanted to learn his puppet-making techniques, and Sasori accepted by throwing his ring toward the battlefield.
• Neji appeared before Naruto and suppressed the Nine-Tails’ chakra with a sealing jutsu, calming Naruto and convincing Kakashi he had been prepared for the outbreak.
• Neji sensed Deidara hiding in the grass and struck him with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, revealing that Deidara had remained behind deliberately.
• Might Guy and his companion attacked Deidara with Konoha Gale, but Deidara began swelling as he prepared to detonate himself.
• Deidara unleashed his ultimate art, and Kakashi sent the explosion to another space with his Mangekyō Sharingan while Neji’s Nen Barrier shielded the group.

Chiyo used a life-giving technique to revive Gaara, with Naruto lending her his Chakra. Gaara awoke as Sunagakure's reinforcements arrived, while Sasori watched the scene and agreed to join the D Organization.

• Neji and Kakashi led the group to a grassy field, where Naruto grieved over Gaara and blamed the Sand Ninja for making him a Jinchuriki.
• Chiyo began sacrificing her life to revive Gaara, and Sakura explained the technique to Naruto.
• When Chiyo ran short of Chakra, Naruto placed his hand over hers and helped her continue the technique.
• Chiyo asked Naruto to help Gaara and encouraged Naruto and Sakura to change the future before Gaara began to recover.
• Temari, Kankuro, Baki, and the other Sand Ninja arrived as Gaara opened his eyes, and Naruto told him they had come to save him.
• Sasori watched the scene from a cliff and agreed to join the D Organization.

Neji brought Sasori to the Land of Waves base’s testing ground to demonstrate the strength of his five armored puppets. Sasori watched them overwhelm his own creations and recognized how far they surpassed them, leaving him impressed by the D Organization’s power.

• Neji and Sasori arrived at the Land of Waves base’s vast testing ground, where Neji explained its layout and purpose.
• Neji summoned his puppets and asked Sasori to assess how much combat strength his own puppets could display.
• Neji introduced five armored puppets and said their battle would serve as a welcome for Sasori, then began the test.
• Sasori’s puppets attacked in squads, but the five armored puppets used powerful abilities to dominate the fight.
• Sasori marveled at the five puppets’ strength and asked whether they were Human Puppets, while Neji admitted he could not define them clearly.

Neji defeated Sasori and recruited him into the D Organization, offering him hope of restoring his parents and changing his body. After revealing the organization’s base and his identity as its leader, Neji learned that Sasori had arranged to meet a spy under Orochimaru at Heaven and Earth Bridge in Kusagakure and decided to go there.

• Neji gave Sasori his puppet scrolls and promised to revive his parents and offer him a normal body if he served the D Organization.
• Sasori accepted Neji’s invitation, received a pendant and suit, and followed him to the organization’s base.
• Neji introduced Sasori to the other members and revealed that he was the D Organization’s boss and a Konoha jonin of the Hyuga Clan.
• Neji authorized Sasori to use the puppet research laboratory and its resources through Ai-chan.
• Sasori told Neji that he had arranged to meet his spy under Orochimaru at Heaven and Earth Bridge in Kusagakure in ten days.
• Neji decided to go to the meeting, thinking of the spy Kabuto.

Neji and Izumi coaxed Isobu with dried fish while secretly watching it give in to temptation. Isobu ate through nearly the entire bag, unaware that Neji and Izumi knew, while Izumi arranged to meet Neji’s real body at her place that night.

• Izumi teased Isobu with pickled dried fish, and Neji recognized that its twitching tails showed how badly it wanted to eat.
• Neji distracted Izumi and helped place Isobu inside a bag of dried fish before they moved away to discuss research.
• Isobu secretly ate one piece of soy-sauce-flavored dried fish, then kept eating as it convinced itself each piece would be the last.
• Neji and Izumi exchanged notes, and Izumi asked Neji to visit her place that night in his real body; he agreed.
• Neji asked aloud whether Isobu was behaving, and Izumi claimed it was too stubborn to eat as Isobu noticed the bag was nearly empty.

Neji and Izumi coaxed Isobu into cooperating with them by offering him food, then Neji handed Izumi responsibility for the base and Sasori’s situation. Meanwhile, Deidara survived the battle, and Zetsu suspected Sasori had encountered the mysterious organization and decided to report it to Nagato.

• Isobu denied eating the dried fish until Neji and Izumi exposed crumbs on his mouth, then Neji persuaded him to cooperate with humans using an assortment of food.
• Neji left Izumi in charge of the base, Sasori’s situation, and the puppets, while noting that their preparations were mostly complete and the rest depended on Akatsuki.
• Deidara emerged from underground alive and began searching for his severed hand and ring after confirming that his apparent self-destruction had been a clay clone.
• Tobi found the Jade ring at the battle site, and Zetsu concluded that Sasori was likely dead but could not confirm it without finding his body.
• Deidara reunited with Tobi and Zetsu, said he did not know Sasori’s fate, and Zetsu suspected Sasori had encountered the organization and resolved to inform Nagato.

After saying farewell to Gaara and the others in Sunagakure, Naruto’s group traveled back toward Konoha, while Neji left a clone with the group and teleported to the Land of Waves. There, Izumi welcomed him with calming tea and comfort, then took the initiative to kiss him.

• Naruto and Gaara exchanged farewells as Kakashi’s and Might Guy’s teams left Sunagakure.
• Might Guy carried Kakashi on his back and raced ahead, while Neji made Rock Lee carry Naruto in pursuit.
• The travelers camped after failing to complete the two-day journey, and Neji left a clone behind before teleporting to the Land of Waves.
• Izumi welcomed Neji to her base, served him Calming Heart Tea, and helped him relax.
• Izumi admitted she was afraid, drew close to Neji, and kissed him.

Neji visited Kumogakure to settle old debts connected to the Cloud Ninja who had gone to Konoha. After draining and interrogating several Cloud Ninja, he found his targets, while the Fourth Raikage learned that Neji had infiltrated the village and killed several jonin.

• Neji cared for Izumi after their first night together, then told her he would visit Kumogakure to settle old debts.
• Neji infiltrated Kumogakure in disguise and let two jonin and three genin surround him.
• Neji drained the Cloud Ninja's Chakra, searched their memories, and learned the names and whereabouts of the envoys who had gone to Konoha.
• Neji searched Kumogakure for the envoys and found them.
• The Fourth Raikage learned of the infiltration and the deaths of several jonin, then leaped out to hunt the enemy himself.

Neji killed the last surviving Cloud shinobi from the Hyuga Clan’s past and then confronted Yugito to take her away before Akatsuki could reach her. After Yugito transformed and fought back, Neji summoned Nen Beast: Roaring Tiger.

• Neji killed the final survivor in Kumogakure, and the Fourth Raikage arrived too late to catch him.
• The Fourth Raikage ordered an investigation as Neji went to find Yugito at her training grounds.
• Neji told Yugito that Akatsuki would kill her and urged her to come with him, but she refused.
• Yugito used Fire Rat Jade, then transformed into the Two-Tails and attacked Neji with fire.
• Neji countered Yugito’s attacks with Nen orbs and a Charged Nen Cannon, then summoned Nen Beast: Roaring Tiger.

Neji defeated Yugito after forcing her into her Two-Tails form, captured her, and took her to his Land of Waves base. With the fragments of the One-Tail, Two-Tails, and Three-Tails combined, he planned to pursue the Four-Tails and Six-Tails next while preparing to meet Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Sasuke.

• Neji used the Fierce Tiger and Thunder Dragon to overwhelm Yugito in her Two-Tails form.
• Neji struck Yugito with the Thunder Dragon and combined Nen Beast attacks, then took her away as the Fourth Raikage arrived too late to stop him.
• Neji controlled Yugito with his Tenseigan and saw that the One-Tail, Two-Tails, and Three-Tails fragments had merged into a tree-like form.
• Neji considered collecting the Four-Tails and Six-Tails, postponed pursuing the Eight-Tails, and planned to use Yugito in an experiment.
• Neji prepared to seek the other tailed-beast fragments and looked forward to meeting Kabuto, Orochimaru, and Sasuke.

Neji brought Sasori to Heaven and Earth Bridge near Kusagakure, where Sasori confronted Orochimaru and Kabuto. As the fight began, Nian of D Organization arrived, leaving Orochimaru wary of their apparent alliance.

• Neji met Sasori at the Land of Waves base after Sasori finished rebuilding Hiruko and told him to act at Heaven and Earth Bridge.
• Sasori confronted Kabuto and Orochimaru at the bridge, and the old enemies exchanged threats before attacking.
• Orochimaru sent Hidden Shadow Many Snake Hands at Sasori, while Kabuto attacked with a Chakra Scalpel.
• Sasori used Hiruko's Wind Release slash and an impact cannonball against Orochimaru, but Kabuto struck Hiruko and left a mark across its face.
• Orochimaru revealed that Kabuto served him as a spy and had been useful in his human experiments.
• Nian of D Organization emerged from the forest, and Orochimaru recognized him and suspected Sasori and Nian were allied.

Neji confronted Orochimaru and demanded the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu in exchange for Orochimaru’s life. After overpowering Orochimaru’s attacks with Haki and brute force, Neji revealed Wood Release as the battle continued.

• Kabuto retreated behind Orochimaru when Neji arrived, and Neji stopped Sasori from attacking.
• Neji offered Orochimaru a deal for the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, wagering Orochimaru’s life in exchange.
• Orochimaru unleashed a sea of blade-spitting snakes, but Neji tore through them with Haki and crushed them with a stomp.
• Neji sent Orochimaru crashing through the forest, and Orochimaru escaped the damaged body with Snake Shedding.
• Orochimaru praised Neji’s physique and claimed Neji could not defeat him easily, while Neji pointed out Orochimaru’s inability to use ninjutsu.
• Neji unleashed Wood Release, surrounding Orochimaru with spreading wood and forcing him to evade.

Neji defeated Orochimaru’s attack and forced him to offer the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu scroll in exchange for a chance at future cooperation. Orochimaru and Kabuto escaped, while Neji sensed an approaching squad.

• Orochimaru summoned a giant snake and attacked Neji with the Kusanagi Sword, but Neji caught the blade with his Armament Haki-covered hands.
• Neji’s Nen orbs overwhelmed Orochimaru’s defenses, and Orochimaru decided to withdraw after recognizing that his side was outmatched.
• Orochimaru called Kabuto away from his fight with Sasori, but Neji arrived and blocked their escape.
• Orochimaru offered the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and proposed exchanging research with Neji.
• Neji said Orochimaru should return after completing his current goal, and Orochimaru gave him the scroll before vanishing with Kabuto.
• Neji told Sasori that Orochimaru still had a role to play, then sensed an approaching squad.

Yamato led Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to investigate the battle site near Heaven and Earth Bridge, where Naruto recognized signs of Orochimaru’s presence. Sai secretly met Kabuto and headed toward Orochimaru’s base, while Neji suspected Danzo had made another deal with Orochimaru.

• Neji and Sasori spotted Yamato’s team approaching the battle site and watched them from a concealed height.
• Yamato’s team examined the damage, and Sai identified Orochimaru and Second Pillar as recent visitors; Naruto angrily defended Sasuke from being called a rogue ninja.
• Naruto recognized the forest trail as evidence of Orochimaru’s fighting and urged the team to search for his nearby base.
• Sai used an ink bird to locate the base, and Yamato secretly followed him before testing the team’s whereabouts by radio.
• Sai met Kabuto, showed him a token, and followed him toward Orochimaru’s base.
• Neji observed Sai and Kabuto and suspected Danzo had struck another deal with Orochimaru.

Neji infiltrated Orochimaru’s base and found Sasuke, who had rejected Sai’s attempt to remind her of Naruto. He offered to help her train, and when he opened his changed eyes, Sasuke saw his azure Tenseigan.

• Neji sent Sasori back to the Land of Waves base and sensed Orochimaru’s base in the rocky wasteland.
• Sasuke dismissed Sai’s attempts to discuss Naruto and asked Orochimaru to train her, but Orochimaru declined.
• Neji appeared from the shadows and offered to train with Sasuke.
• Sasuke put her blade to Neji’s neck and insisted she was no longer who she used to be.
• Neji said Sasuke was still the same beneath her adult mask, then opened his eyes and revealed his azure Tenseigan.

Neji confronted Sasuke about her plans after taking revenge, but she reaffirmed her determination and challenged him to a fight. As their battle began, Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato reached Orochimaru’s base, where Yamato prepared to track them with chakra-responsive seeds.

• Neji asked Sasuke what she would do after killing Uchiha Itachi, but Sasuke insisted she could think about the future only after taking revenge.
• Neji prepared to leave, but Sasuke stopped him and challenged him to test her strength.
• Neji and Sasuke clashed, and Sasuke attacked with her Sharingan, Chidori, and flexible fighting style against Neji’s Armament Haki.
• Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato arrived at the entrance to the base beneath a pile of rocks.
• Yamato gave Naruto and Sakura tracking seeds that would resonate with his Chakra if they became separated.

Neji finished sparring with Sasuke, then watched from above as Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, and Sai confronted Sasuke at the base. Naruto reunited with Sasuke, while Sai revealed that he had chosen not to follow his assassination orders.

• Neji ended his sparring match with Sasuke, gave him a new pendant, and left the underground area.
• Neji watched from a floating Island Cloud as Naruto and the others approached the base, expecting the reunion with Sasuke.
• Sakura emerged from the passage and recognized Sasuke, and Naruto rushed out to see him after three years apart.
• Yamato told Sasuke that Team Kakashi had come to take him back to Konoha, and Sasuke asked whether Kakashi was with them.
• Sai drew his blade toward Sasuke, then explained that although his secret mission was to assassinate him, he had chosen to follow his own will.

Sasuke rejected Naruto and Sakura’s attempts to bring him back, declaring that his hatred for his brother mattered more than their bonds. He overwhelmed Naruto, Sai, and Yamato with his lightning-enhanced sword, while Sakura prepared to fight him.

• Sai told Sasuke that Naruto and Sakura were trying to preserve their bond with him, but Sasuke said he had to sever it because he had another bond: hatred for his brother.
• Naruto asked Sasuke why he had spared him before, and Sasuke said he had not wanted to gain power by following his brother’s method.
• Sasuke warned Naruto to train if he wanted to become Hokage, then drew the Kusanagi Sword and threatened to kill him.
• Sai grabbed Sasuke’s arm as Naruto tried to subdue him, but Sasuke released Chidori Stream and knocked Naruto and Sai down while destroying Yamato’s Wood Release.
• Sakura stepped forward to stop Sasuke, but Yamato intercepted his thrust and was pierced through the shoulder by the lightning-infused Kusanagi Sword.
• Neji watched the fight from above and interpreted Sasuke’s rejection as a declaration that Naruto mattered less to him than his brother.