Chapter Summaries

Killer B and the captured Cloud Ninja learned that Konoha had agreed to release them in exchange for Cloud concessions. After the prisoners left, Sōken secured Dodai’s promise to send C to guide Konoha to Turtle Island and warned him not to force Konoha back onto the battlefield.

• Darui reunited with Killer B and learned that the captured Cloud Ninja were Konoha’s bargaining chips, while his Chakra remained suppressed.
• A and C arrived with Dodai to inspect the assembled Cloud prisoners, and C sensed that none had serious injuries.
• A took the Cloud Ninja away, and Sōken told Dodai that the Cloud would have no right to renege on the deal while it remained weak.
• Sōken pressed Dodai to arrange for someone to guide Konoha to Turtle Island, and Dodai agreed to send C with the Raikage’s approval.
• Sōken warned Dodai that he would not show the same mercy if the Cloud forced him to return to the battlefield.

After the Cloud Ninja withdrew, Sōken kept Konoha’s forces in the Land of Hot Water while Jiraiya’s team went to claim Turtle Island. A report then revealed that nearly a hundred corpses, mostly Jonin, had been stolen from the Corpse Disposal Unit, and Sōken began organizing an investigation.

• The Cloud Ninja returned their prisoners and withdrew from the Land of Hot Water, while Konoha stayed to recuperate and pursue the transfer of Turtle Island.
• Jiraiya led a team, with Uchiha Shisui as his deputy, to accompany C’s squad to Turtle Island in search of the secret to perfect Jinchuriki.
• Uchiha Futaba told Sōken that a corpse had gone missing from the Corpse Disposal Unit, and the theft became a serious matter by the afternoon.
• The Corpse Disposal Unit captain reported that investigators had ruled out an internal theft but found no other clues; Sōken learned that nearly a hundred mostly Jonin corpses had been taken in Scrolls.
• Sōken ordered Futaba to summon Kakashi Hatake, Itachi, and Kimimaro to investigate, then questioned the captain about the unit’s lack of security measures.

Kakashi investigated the theft of valuable scrolls from the Corpse Disposal Unit and assigned Itachi and Kimimaro to help him. A suspicious man named Sasori emerged as a lead, and Kakashi began examining the document Sasori had signed.

• Sōken assigned Kakashi to identify the thief and authorized him to arrest the culprit if found.
• Kakashi questioned Squad Leader Takano, who explained how the Corpse Disposal Unit had searched its members and recalled a young man named Sasori who had delivered a corpse two days earlier.
• Kakashi sent Itachi and Kimimaro to the Logistics Office to find Sasori’s unit in the army records.
• Kakashi summoned Pakkun to search for scents near the temple, but Pakkun found nothing unusual beyond the smell of people and corpses.
• Takano retrieved Sasori’s signed Consignment Form, and Kakashi asked Pakkun to sniff it.

Kakashi investigated the theft of 117 Konoha ninja corpses and tracked the intruder’s scent, while Itachi and Kimimaro found that no Sasori was listed in the military. The culprit appeared to be Sasori of the Red Sand, and Kakashi learned that Sasori might have made the missing Third Kazekage into a Human Puppet, leaving him stunned by the possibility that Sunagakure had started the war by blaming Konoha.

• Kakashi and Pakkun found the same strange scent in the temple library where twelve Scrolls of corpses had been stolen.
• Pakkun tracked the intruder’s scent west, and Kakashi followed him while Squad Leader Takano stayed behind.
• Itachi reported that no one named Sasori appeared on the military roster or the list of the dead, then used Shisui’s crows to locate Kakashi.
• Kakashi recognized the suspect as Sasori of the Red Sand, and Pakkun realized the metal and wood scents came from puppets.
• Itachi relayed Sōken’s warning that Sasori used Human Puppets and might have turned the Third Kazekage into one.
• Kakashi realized that if the Third Kazekage had become Sasori’s puppet, Sunagakure might have blamed Konoha for the Kazekage’s disappearance and started the war.

Kakashi continued pursuing Sasori of the Red Sand with Itachi Uchiha and Kaguya Kimimaro, despite Pakkun's concerns about going without reinforcements. Sōken decided to seek out Sasori for his research expertise and secretly left camp to follow Kakashi's team.

• Kakashi learned that Sasori of the Red Sand had killed the Third Kazekage and decided to continue the pursuit with Itachi Uchiha and Kaguya Kimimaro.
• Kakashi refused Pakkun's request to return for reinforcements because the mission's intelligence had to remain secret.
• Sōken considered using Sasori's biological research skills to study the White Zetsu corpse he had kept sealed away.
• Sōken chose to find Sasori himself, hoping to control the researcher and make use of his expertise.
• Sōken slipped out of camp underground and used Samehada's sense of smell to track Kakashi and the others.

Sasori of the Red Sand stole corpses from Konoha’s Corpse Disposal Unit while seeking Uchiha bodies to turn into Human Puppets. Kakashi, Itachi Uchiha, and Kaguya Kimimaro found him in a cave, where Sasori launched a poisoned puppet attack.

• Sasori searched stolen scrolls but found no corpses from the Uchiha, Hyuga, or Aburame clans.
• Kakashi tracked Sasori to a cave with Pakkun, Itachi Uchiha, and Kaguya Kimimaro, but Itachi spotted a lizard Summoned Beast that had already exposed them.
• Kakashi and the others entered the cave and found Sasori standing among the stolen Konoha corpses.
• Sasori recognized Kakashi Hatake, Itachi Uchiha, and Kaguya Kimimaro, and revealed he had lingered to lure an elite Konoha squad to him.
• Sasori attacked Kakashi with a puppet armed with poisoned blades, but Kakashi evaded the strike with the Substitution Technique.

Kakashi, Itachi Uchiha, and Kaguya Kimimaro fought Sasori of the Red Sand and his puppets, but Kakashi’s injuries forced him to order a retreat. Sasori blocked their escape by unleashing ten puppets and a barrage of combined attacks, leaving the team braced behind their defenses.

• Itachi Uchiha dodged a puppet’s lunge, cut down its poison-coated Senbon, and avoided its embrace with the Substitution Technique.
• Kakashi ambushed Sasori with Shuriken, but Sasori deflected them before a Human Puppet struck Kakashi with a powerful Rock Bullet.
• Kakashi returned injured and struggled to evade repeated Rock Bullets while Itachi Uchiha and Kaguya Kimimaro remained tied up by other puppets.
• Kakashi signaled the others to retreat, but Sasori summoned seven more puppets, bringing his attacking force to ten.
• Sasori launched attacks using poison mechanisms and all five nature transformations, while Kakashi, Itachi Uchiha, and Kaguya Kimimaro formed a defensive line.

Kakashi, Itachi, and Kimimaro fought Sasori’s puppets after their escape was blocked, managing to disable several before the battle turned against them again. As Sasori tried to wear them down and capture them alive, Kakashi used Earth Style: Split Earth Turning Palms to change the battlefield.

• Sasori’s puppets blocked the team’s retreat, and Kakashi told Itachi and Kimimaro to act independently as they fought.
• Kakashi destroyed one puppet with three Explosive Tags after learning its mechanisms.
• Itachi disabled another puppet by jamming Shuriken into its joints with a Fire Style attack, while Kimimaro restrained a third with his bones.
• Sasori sent three puppets against Kakashi and Itachi and another against Kimimaro, while the exhausted team struggled to hold out.
• Kakashi warned Itachi and Kimimaro to watch their feet, then used Earth Style: Split Earth Turning Palms on the ground.

Kakashi, Itachi, and Kimimaro were overwhelmed by Sasori until Uchiha Sōken arrived and drove off his puppets. Sōken faced Sasori and the Third Kazekage’s Human Puppet, and their battle began with the Sand Iron Technique.

• Kakashi used Earth Release to hinder Sasori and help Itachi and Kimimaro escape, while Pakkun alerted him that help was coming.
• Sasori sent all seven puppets to attack, but Sōken arrived and shattered four of them with a flaming skeletal hand.
• Sōken praised Kakashi, Itachi, and Kimimaro, then ordered them to stand back as he confronted Sasori.
• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage’s Human Puppet and attacked Sōken with Iron Sand Drizzle.
• Sōken blocked the Iron Sand with an Earth Flow Wall, then raised successive stone walls against Sasori’s Sand Iron Spinning Top.

Sōken overwhelmed Sasori with his unconventional Earth Style, and Sasori tried to escape after realizing he could not defeat him. Sōken pursued him on a black eagle and used a powerful gale to disrupt the Third Kazekage human puppet’s flight.

• Sōken’s surging Earth Style blocked Sasori’s Sand Iron attack, convincing Sasori that fighting him was too dangerous.
• Sōken rejected Sasori’s offer to return the captured bodies and attacked again.
• Sasori summoned four human puppets made from Stone Ninja and Cloud Ninja, whose Lightning and Earth Style techniques stopped Sōken’s advancing earth and stone.
• The Third Kazekage human puppet carried Sasori westward as he attempted to escape behind the earth walls.
• Sōken pursued Sasori on a black eagle and unleashed a gale that destabilized the puppet’s iron-sand wings.

Uchiha Sōken defeats Sasori with his improved Sword of Fire, then captures him alive. Sōken tells Sasori he wants him to work for him and help research cells with the power of Wood Style.

• Sasori descends to the ground and summons five more Human Puppets to defend against Sōken’s attacks.
• Sōken vaporizes Sasori’s Water Style and Earth Style defenses with Uchiha Style: Sword of Fire, destroying nine puppets and badly injuring Sasori.
• Sasori attacks Sōken with poisoned needles and tries to control the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, but Sōken blows away the needles and severs Sasori’s left wrist.
• Sōken traps Sasori in the Binding Chain Technique and reveals that he intends to capture him alive.
• Sōken tells Sasori he values his talent and wants him to research cells with the power of Wood Style.

Uzumaki Naruto learned that the Hokage might send him away for special training early next year, and Uchiha Toka reassured him that she would find a way to visit. Meanwhile, Torifu Akimichi received news that the Cloud Ninja and Stone Ninja had ended their fighting, while Uchiha Sōken had still not returned to Konoha.

• Uchiha Toka returned to class after her cold, and Naruto told her the Hokage might send him away for training early next year.
• Uchiha Toka comforted Naruto and promised she would ask her brother, Uchiha Sōken, to help her visit him.
• Nara Shikaku reported that the Cloud Ninja and Stone Ninja had fought a day-long battle with heavy losses, after which the Stone Ninja withdrew and the Cloud Ninja could not pursue.
• Torifu Akimichi concluded that the war was finally over and hoped Uchiha Sōken would soon bring the troops back to Konoha.
• Torifu Akimichi worried about the Uchiha Clan's growing power and hoped Uchiha Sōken would remain patient.

Darui and Yugito Nii continued clearing the devastated port while Kumogakure struggled with its losses, the Amber Purifying Pot, and Yugito’s future as a Jinchuriki. Meanwhile, Konoha took possession of Turtle Island and arrived at True Waterfall, where Jiraiya reflected on a new prophecy that reduced the Child of Prophecy’s importance.

• Darui told Yugito Nii that the search for missing Cloud Ninja bodies continued, while she reported that the new port site had finally been chosen.
• A lamented losing the Amber Purifying Pot, and Dodai consoled him by noting that the Stone Ninja had not captured it and that fighting Konoha would be disastrous.
• Uchiha Shisui, Jiraiya, and C reached True Waterfall on Turtle Island, which the Cloud Ninja had surrendered to Konoha after losing the war.
• C explained that True Waterfall revealed a person's true self and served as preliminary training for Jinchuriki learning to control Tailed Beast power.
• Jiraiya recalled the Great Toad Sage’s new prophecy, which still foretold coming turmoil but gave the Child of Prophecy less influence over the Shinobi World’s fate.

Sōken received valuable Lightning Style research from the Cloud Ninja and examined the Amber Purifying Pot with Sasori, discovering that it could capture and release people without consuming chakra. Sasori became fascinated with the tool, but Sōken refused to lend it until Sasori made progress on his assigned research into a corpse cultivated from the First's Wood Style cells.

• Sōken received the Cloud Ninja's compensation, including research scrolls on Lightning Release techniques.
• Sōken claimed the Amber Purifying Pot by purging the foreign chakra within it and binding it to the Uchiha name.
• Sōken lured Sasori into the pot and released him a few minutes later, while Sasori deduced that sound activated its sealing mechanism.
• Sasori examined the pot and tried scraping it with a blade, but Sōken warned him not to damage it.
• Sasori asked to study the Amber Purifying Pot, but Sōken refused until Sasori produced results on his assigned corpse research.
• Sōken promised Sasori access to the pot and other prized ninja tools if he met the research requirements.

After Konoha celebrated its victory and prospered from new trade and missions, Sōken and Shisui discussed reforming the Police Force. Sōken approved Shisui’s proposal with adjustments and arranged for him to consult the Scroll of Seals and try learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Konoha welcomed the returning expeditionary army and celebrated its victory over the Cloud Ninja, while the village’s trade and mission work grew.
• Itachi Uchiha and Kaguya Kimimaro brought another criminal to the crowded Police Force lobby.
• Sōken reviewed Shisui’s Police Force reform proposal and approved recruiting people from outside the Uchiha Clan, while proposing broader structural changes.
• Sōken urged Shisui to develop his judgment and help carry the clan’s administrative work, and Shisui agreed to keep thinking about reforms.
• Sōken told Shisui that the Hokage had granted him one chance to consult the Scroll of Seals and choose a forbidden technique to study, including the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Sōken and Shisui discussed moving the Police Force closer to Konoha’s center and the easing of villagers’ hostility toward the Uchiha. Sōken invited Yakushi Nonō’s sons Urushi and Kabuto to join the Police Force, leaving Nonō to consider the offer while Shisui prepared to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.

• Sōken told Shisui that he wanted to relocate the Police Force closer to central Konoha, and he observed that villagers were treating the Uchiha with less hostility after the war.
• Sōken and Shisui discussed how Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi had contributed to the Uchiha Clan’s poor reputation.
• Sōken met Yakushi Nonō, Urushi, and Kabuto while they were shopping, and Nonō introduced the two young men as her sons.
• Sōken invited Urushi and Kabuto to work for the Police Force and said the department would no longer be restricted to the Uchiha Clan.
• After Sōken and Shisui left, Shisui noted that Nonō might be difficult to recruit, and Sōken suspected she was struggling to support the orphanage.
• Sōken told Shisui to focus on learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Shisui looked forward to the opportunity.

Sōken advised Jiraiya and Torifu Akimichi to ask Naruto whether he wanted to leave the village for training, then proposed opening the Police Force to recruits from outside the Uchiha Clan. Torifu struggled to understand Sōken’s purpose as the proposed reform threatened the force’s longstanding ties to the Uchiha.

• Torifu Akimichi let Shisui read the Flying Thunder God Technique in the Scroll of Seals after warning him to protect its secrets.
• Jiraiya and Torifu argued over whether Naruto should leave the village for training, and Sōken suggested asking Naruto what he wanted.
• Jiraiya accepted Sōken’s advice and left to speak with Naruto.
• Sōken told Torifu he planned to reform the Police Force by recruiting ninjas from other clans and civilian backgrounds.
• Torifu wondered whether Sōken meant to build alliances with other clans or separate the Police Force from the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Sōken pressured Torifu Akimichi into allowing Police Force reforms by presenting a sweeping overhaul of Konoha’s departments as his demand. After Sōken and Uchiha Shisui left, Torifu accepted that he lacked the strength to oppose Sōken and resigned himself to remaining Hokage for a while as the Uchiha Clan’s influence grew.

• Torifu Akimichi hesitated over Sōken’s proposal to admit non-Uchiha into the Police Force, then suggested refining the plan and having the Anbu take on some of its duties.
• Sōken argued that Konoha’s departments needed reform, criticizing the Police Force and the Anbu before Torifu allowed him to begin changes in the Police Force alone.
• Sōken accepted Torifu’s limited approval, revealing through his thoughts that reforming the other departments had been a bargaining tactic.
• Shisui returned the Scroll of Seals after studying it and said he was unsure whether he could master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• After Sōken and Shisui left, Nara Shiosui confirmed that Sōken had used the broader reform proposal to force Torifu to yield on the Police Force.
• Torifu concluded that he could not effectively oppose Sōken and decided to serve quietly as Hokage, expecting he might retain the position for another two years.

Sōken gathered the Police Force leaders and announced that he would recruit ninja from outside the Uchiha Clan to address the force’s severe manpower shortages. Most leaders accepted his decision after hearing his reasoning, while Uchiha Yashiro and two others remained opposed; Sōken ordered Uchiha Arashiyama to distribute the reform documents.

• Sōken questioned the Police Force leaders about rising workloads, overcrowded prison cells, and the force’s growing manpower crisis.
• Sōken announced his plan to recruit non-Uchiha ninja into the Police Force, prompting Uchiha Yashiro and two others to object.
• Shisui argued that the Police Force belonged to both the Uchiha Clan and the village, and Sōken silenced the ensuing dispute.
• Yoru Uchiha and Narukami Uchiha voiced support for the plan, followed by the other leaders except Uchiha Yashiro and his two allies.
• Sōken explained that the clan could not provide more personnel and warned that refusing reform might leave the Police Force’s authority to the Anbu.
• Sōken declared the reform decided and told Uchiha Arashiyama to distribute the documents to everyone, including the dissenters.

After seeing Konoha's Police Force recruit civilians, Yakushi Nonō urged Kabuto to pursue a future beyond the orphanage. Kabuto chose to visit the Police Force, leaving the story with Nonō supporting his decision to go immediately.

• Konoha villagers debated the Police Force's unprecedented recruitment notice, while Yakushi Nonō recognized it as a chance for Kabuto.
• Yakushi Nonō confronted Kabuto about his secret morning training and asked whether he truly wanted to remain at the orphanage.
• Kabuto admitted he had not chosen a future and recalled his dangerous, exhilarating life as a spy, though he did not want to return to it.
• Yakushi Nonō encouraged Kabuto to consider the Police Force, where he could stay in the village and pursue new prospects.
• Kabuto decided to visit the Police Force immediately, and Yakushi Nonō urged him to go without worrying about the orphanage.