Recaps

Sasuke refused Naruto’s invitation to celebrate his recovery, but protected him when an Akatsuki member attacked and abducted him. The Hokage’s office identified the kidnapper as A, and the Third Hokage sent Tsunade to retrieve Naruto.

• Sasuke rejected Naruto’s invitation to join their friends, saying he did not need anyone, while hiding his fear of hurting them in pursuit of power.
• Sasuke shielded Naruto when they heard fighting in the woods and recognized the masked figure who emerged as an Akatsuki member.
• The masked figure immobilized Sasuke with a glance, knocked Naruto down, and disappeared with him.
• Sasuke reported Naruto’s abduction to the Third Hokage, and Danzo accused Sasuke of helping the Akatsuki before the Third Hokage redirected attention to rescuing Naruto.
• Tsunade arrived and learned that A, the Mangekyō Uchiha who had defeated the demon in the Land of Demons, had taken Naruto.
• The Third Hokage told Tsunade that she would have to go after Naruto herself.

After Naruto was abducted, Tsunade led a temporary Konoha squad to pursue Shinji, who was coordinating six teams to investigate five anchors. Shinji directed Yugito Nii toward the Land of Fire anchor, and the Joint Force followed her.

• Tsunade agreed to lead a squad to rescue Naruto, and Sasuke joined at her request.
• The Third Hokage assembled a team of eight led by Tsunade, including Shizune, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Shibi Aburame, a Hyuga Jonin, and Sasuke.
• Amegakure shinobi noticed unusual activity among the villages and sent a report by messenger hawk.
• Shinji reviewed the six teams he had assembled and chose the Joint Force to investigate the anchors first.
• Shinji used Naobi to order Yugito Nii toward an anchor in the Land of Fire.
• The Joint Force detected Yugito Nii's change of route, and the Fourth Raikage ordered the group to pursue her.

The Joint Force followed Yugito's chakra signature into a silent, dangerous forest, suspecting an Akatsuki trap but refusing to split up. After Yugito's signature vanished, they surrounded a cave and faced a lone samurai-like figure whom Kakashi identified as the other group of Akatsuki members.

• The Fourth Raikage led the Joint Force into the forest despite warnings that the area might be an Akatsuki trap.
• Jiraiya urged the squads to stay together, while Kiba and the Sensory Unit found no enemies nearby.
• The Joint Force advanced through the silent forest, took precautions against danger, and noticed Yugito's chakra signature suddenly disappear.
• The Sensory Unit traced Yugito's last known location to a cave, where the Joint Force surrounded the entrance.
• A samurai-like figure with strange characters in his eyes emerged, and Kakashi warned Jiraiya that he belonged to the other group of Akatsuki members.

The Joint Force confronted Kokushibo, but a biwa note scattered them into an unfamiliar town, where Jiraiya realized an unseen enemy had used Space-Time Ninjutsu. Zabuza and two Kirigakure ninja found Kokushibo eating a corpse and attacked him, ending with one of them piercing his heart.

• The Fourth Raikage charged Kokushibo, but a biwa note transported him and the Joint Force away from the cave.
• Kakashi, Asuma, and Jiraiya found themselves separated in a strange town, and Jiraiya identified the effect as Space-Time Ninjutsu triggered by another Akatsuki member.
• Jiraiya summoned Shima and Fukasaku and asked for their help.
• Zabuza and two Kirigakure assassination-unit ninja followed a smell of blood and found Kokushibo eating an Iwagakure ninja's corpse.
• Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Technique, and one Kirigakure ninja stabbed Kokushibo through the heart.

Kokushibo cut down Kirigakure ninja and wounded Zabuza, who fled to regroup, while the Fourth Raikage was diverted before reaching him. Elsewhere, Kakashi discovered that the Joint Force had been scattered through the city and rushed to help Chiyo after finding wounded Sunagakure puppeteers.

• Kokushibo killed a Kirigakure Water Clone and its user after the ninja confirmed that a blade through Kokushibo's heart had not stopped him.
• Kokushibo outmaneuvered Zabuza in the fog, wounded him badly, and killed the Kirigakure ninja who had come to his aid.
• Zabuza used the Great Waterfall Technique to escape and decided he needed to join his comrades to face Kokushibo.
• The Fourth Raikage charged toward Kokushibo, but a biwa note made Kokushibo vanish, and the Raikage realized the enemy was scattering the Joint Force through the city.
• Kakashi found two wounded Sunagakure puppeteers among broken puppet parts, and one urged him to help Lady Chiyo.

Kakashi joined Chiyo, Kiba, and Kurenai as they fought the immortal Kokushibo and learned about his abilities. Kokushibo overwhelmed them with a powerful sword attack, but Chiyo’s puppets saved them long enough for the group to retreat.

• Kakashi reached the street and joined Chiyo, Kiba, and Kurenai, who warned him that Kokushibo healed from injuries, resisted poison and genjutsu, and gained Chakra by eating people.
• Chiyo asked Kakashi whether he knew Sealing Techniques, but Kokushibo attacked before they could plan further.
• Kokushibo unleashed a storm of slashing blades that shattered Kakashi’s Earth Style Wall and forced the group into the air.
• Kokushibo followed with a barrage of crescent blades, and Chiyo used her puppets to shield Kakashi, Kiba, and Kurenai from the attack.
• Chiyo’s puppets were destroyed, so she fled, and Kakashi and the others retreated to gather more fighters.

Kokushibo and Narume trapped the Joint Force in the Infinite Castle, where Kokushibo hunted scattered shinobi. Might Guy rescued Asuma and Kitsuchi, and the gathered force sought a way out before Killer B blasted through the city; outside, Shinji learned who was behind the attack and fled as pursuers approached.

• Kokushibo ate the fallen shinobi to replenish his Chakra while Narume used the Infinite Castle to keep him away from the Fourth Raikage and isolate Joint Force members.
• Asuma, Might Guy, and Kitsuchi encountered Kokushibo, but Guy opened six Eight Gates and carried the others toward the signal flare’s distant explosion.
• Chiyo, Kakashi, Kurenai, Kiba, Killer B, and the others regrouped, shared what they knew about Kokushibo, and concluded the Infinite Castle had a boundary they could exploit.
• Killer B transformed into the Eight-Tails and fired a Tailed Beast Ball that tore through the streets and buildings.
• Shinji learned through Yugito Nii that Kokushibo and Narume had trapped the Joint Force, then broke his connection and escaped with the unconscious Naruto when pursuers approached.

Shinji remotely controlled Yugito to destroy the anchor point in the Land of Fire's primeval forest before she went berserk. After the anchor was severed, the countdown to the Shinobi World's destruction increased to five days.

• Shinji decided to make Yugito transform into the Two-Tails and fire a Tailed Beast Ball at the anchor point from a distance.
• Shinji used Naobi to strengthen his control over Yugito as her transformation grew violent and her Tailed Beast Chakra began to overwhelm her.
• With Tsunade and the others closing in, Shinji ordered Yugito to fire the fully charged Tailed Beast Ball at the cave.
• Yugito's attack obliterated the cave and severed the anchor point.
• An alert confirmed the anchor's destruction and increased the countdown to the destruction of the Shinobi World from four days to five.

Shinji fled with Naruto while Tsunade's team pursued him, and he reasoned about the Demon Slayer World's anchor points and Lantern Bearer. After Tsunade struck a crack into his Susanoo, Shinji escaped under cover of dust and headed for the anchor point in the Wind Country desert.

• Shinji realized Yugito Nii was beyond Naobi's range and had ordered her to move to another anchor point, leaving Black Death Mou and Narume guarding the severed one.
• Shinji deduced that the Demon Slayer World's Lantern Bearer might also be its new Demon King and considered which remaining anchor point the veteran opponent would guard.
• Tsunade caught Shinji off guard with a punch that sent him crashing through trees and cracked his Susanoo.
• Tsunade's team surrounded Shinji and demanded that he hand over Naruto, but he refused.
• Shinji swept the area with Susanoo's arms, then dispelled it and fled with Naruto toward the Wind Country desert anchor point.

Shinji led Tsunade's squad to the Wind Country anchor point, where a sandstorm concealed the demons guarding it. As Shinji approached the anchor, Rengoku Kyojuro struck him and Sasuke out of the storm, revealing himself as the point's defender.

• Shinji crossed into the Wind Country with Naruto while Tsunade's squad pursued him and arranged for reinforcements and Sunagakure support.
• After reaching the anchor point, Shinji circled around it and used Naruto's Nine-Tails Chakra to draw Tsunade's squad into an ambush.
• Demons emerged from the sand and raised a sandstorm that blocked the sunlight, while Shinji subdued Naruto and entered the storm to find the anchor.
• Shinji rescued Sasuke from a demon and continued toward the anchor with Sasuke following him.
• Rengoku Kyojuro emerged in a blaze and blasted Shinji and Sasuke out of the sandstorm, leaving Sasuke shocked by the swordsman's speed.

Shinji fought the sun-tolerant demon Rengoku Kyojuro, who had allied with the Lantern Bearer and attacked the Shinobi World. Rengoku broke through Shinji’s Susanoo and struck at him, but Shinji claimed the blade could not kill him.

• Shinji realized Rengoku Kyojuro had become a demon and understood that the Lantern Bearer had united the demons and brought the Demon Slayer Corps under his banner.
• Shinji ordered Sasuke to withdraw, and Sasuke retreated before Rengoku attacked with Flame Breathing and a fiery Blood Demon Art.
• Rengoku’s speed and repeated strikes battered Shinji’s Susanoo while Sasuke watched in disbelief.
• Rengoku targeted the same spot until he cracked and shattered part of Susanoo, then charged through the opening and swung at Shinji.
• Shinji smiled as Rengoku struck and told him that a blade like his could not kill him.

Shinji trapped Rengoku Kyojuro inside Susanoo and killed him with Amaterasu. After Sasuke arrived and reacted to Rengoku’s death, Shinji said he preferred Sasuke when he looked defiant.

• Shinji used a shadow clone and a repaired Susanoo to trap Rengoku Kyojuro inside it.
• Shinji’s true body appeared and used Amaterasu, forcing Rengoku to dodge the spreading black flames in the confined space.
• Shinji filled Susanoo with Amaterasu, burning Rengoku Kyojuro to ash.
• Sasuke arrived and questioned how such a powerful person could have been reduced to ashes.
• Shinji teased Sasuke that he still liked how defiant Sasuke looked.

After defeating Rengoku Kyojuro, Shinji found and destroyed the Demon Slayer World’s anchor point beneath the sand, stopping the countdown to the Shinobi World’s destruction. As demons swarmed him, he unleashed Amaterasu, forcing Tsunade’s squad to flee the spreading Black Flame.

• Shinji reflected that Rengoku Kyojuro had fought without killing intent and might have knowingly entered Shinji’s trap before fading into ash.
• Shinji returned to the anchor point and used Susanoo to dig up five stone slabs buried in the sand.
• Shinji shattered the slabs, and the Lantern Bearer’s notification confirmed that one anchor point had been severed and reset the destruction countdown to four.
• Shinji suspected the Lantern Bearer of the Demon Slayer World still intended to save himself, but he could not work out why the anchor points brought the worlds closer together.
• Demons sensed the anchor point’s destruction and charged Shinji, who surrounded himself with Amaterasu’s Black Flame.
• Shikaku told Tsunade that the demons had been drawn away, and Tsunade led her squad out of the sandstorm as Amaterasu consumed the demons and spread through the wind.

Tsunade’s squad recovered Naruto after Sasuke rescued him from the sandstorm, while Shinji escaped and reassessed the danger at the remaining anchor points. As Karin and Neji headed toward an anchor point in the Earth Country, Hyuga Hiashi’s squad followed them from behind.

• Tsunade’s squad found the battlefield covered in Black Flame and ash after the sandstorm ended, and Tsunade examined the remains of the seemingly immortal attackers.
• Sasuke returned with unconscious Naruto and told Tsunade and Shikaku that a swordsman with orange hair had broken through 'A's Susanoo, though they doubted his account.
• Tsunade decided to return to the village rather than pursue 'A,' while Shinji escaped across the desert and crossed out the Land of Fire and Wind Country anchor points on his map.
• Shinji realized that Demon Slayer Corps swordsmen might guard the three remaining anchor points and wondered which team he should support.
• Karin raced through a canyon in the Earth Country as the Kusagakure ninja accompanying her complained about the mission.
• Neji and Karin traveled in the same direction while Hyuga Hiashi’s family squad followed them at a distance.

Karin approached the Earth Country anchor while Kusagakure shinobi secretly followed her, but an Upper Rank Six demon attacked their camp. As the Kusagakure fought the demon, Karin raced toward the anchor, while Hyuga Hiashi wore down another group of demons in a separate valley.

• Karin stopped to rest near the Earth Country anchor, deciding to approach it in daylight because demons feared sunlight.
• A Kusagakure Jonin dismissed concerns about their exposed camp, but Upper Rank Six suddenly appeared and attacked the group.
• Karin sensed the Kusagakure casualties and the demon's unusual Chakra, then chose to follow Shinji's orders and head for the anchor while the fight distracted the enemy.
• Hyuga Hiashi used his Byakugan to recognize that the demons weakened as they regenerated, and his group wore them down by repeatedly damaging them.
• A Hyuga Clan member asked Hiashi whether the demons were part of the Akatsuki Organization's test for Neji.

Hiashi and Neji faced a horde of nearly immortal monsters on their way to infiltrate the Akatsuki Organization, while Karin approached the cave containing the anchor point. The monsters surged toward an unknown destination, and a powerful figure rushed toward Karin as she prepared to move.

• Hiashi ordered his Hyuga clan members to keep advancing after they found no one nearby, despite uncertainty about whether the Akatsuki Organization had discovered them.
• Neji detected a large group of strange, powerful beings approaching, and Hiashi joined him and identified them as nearly immortal monsters.
• Hiashi sent Neji toward the agreed meeting place while he and the Hyuga clan members set Explosive Tags to fight the monsters.
• Neji heard explosions behind him but continued toward the anchor point, while Karin dodged demons and located a cave that could block sunlight.
• Karin disguised herself in a Red Cloud outfit as demons left the cave and rushed in one direction, then sensed a powerful figure racing toward her.

Karin encountered Kaigaku, the newly appointed Upper Rank Six, while alone and terrified. Her fear drove her Mangekyō Sharingan to unleash a nearly complete Susanoo, which killed Kaigaku and began crushing the demons guarding the anchor point.

• Kaigaku arrived holding a badly wounded Kusagakure Jonin and recognized Karin as an Akatsuki member.
• Kaigaku threatened Karin, while the Jonin mistakenly believed she was an Akatsuki operative who could save him.
• Karin, overwhelmed by fear, activated Susanoo and expanded it into a colossal armored form with a spear.
• Karin's Susanoo impaled Kaigaku and the cliff, triggering the mountain's collapse.
• Karin drove Susanoo through the demons guarding the anchor point as the Jonin watched in terror.

Neji reached the valley and saw Karin’s enormous red Susanoo fighting the demons guarding the anchor point. Believing Karin was drawing the demons away so he could destroy the anchor, Neji moved toward the cave.

• Neji fled the pursuing demons toward the anchor point, enduring several clashes and injuries along the way.
• Neji saw Karin’s red Susanoo overwhelm hundreds of demons, including the newly promoted Upper Rank Six Kaigaku and Upper Moon Five.
• Neji mistook Karin for a righteous Akatsuki member and believed the Susanoo’s retreat was a plan to lure demons away from the anchor point.
• Neji left his hiding place and crept toward the cave containing the anchor point.

Neji destroyed the Earth Country anchor, resetting the Shinobi World's destruction countdown to four days. Haku reached the remote island where the Land of Water anchor lay, while Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki realized he was far stronger than his file suggested.

• Neji used his Byakugan to find five stone slabs in the cave and smashed them into fragments.
• The Lamp notified Shinji that the Earth Country anchor had been severed, leaving only the Land of Water and Land of Lightning anchors.
• Haku traveled by fishing boat with covert Kirigakure support toward the island in the sea mist.
• Mei Terumi questioned whether the Akatsuki Organization had set Haku an impossible test, while Kisame Hoshigaki told her its members were all extraordinary.
• After the crew spotted the island, Haku leaped from the boat and sprinted across the turbulent sea toward it.
• Mei and Kisame recognized Haku's unusual abilities as a swordsman quietly watched from the island.

Haku raced to a remote island and fought Giyu Tomioka, while the Kirigakure observers watched in confusion and awe. Their battle escalated into a clash between Haku’s Ice Release and Giyu’s water-based sword techniques, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Haku remembered Shinji’s warning that the Shinobi World had only four days left and charged toward the island at full speed using Rapid.
• Giyu Tomioka rushed from the shore, and the two fighters collided over the sea before immediately beginning a fierce battle.
• Mei Terumi and Kisame questioned why the supposed test had begun without explanation, and Kisame sent Kirigakure Jonin to scout the island.
• Haku froze the shallows and summoned an ice dragon, while Giyu countered with a dragon of surging water.
• The dragons clashed over the sea as the sailors and Kirigakure observers marveled at the fighters’ abilities.

Haku struggled to keep up with Giyu Tomioka until Mei Terumi and Kisame intervened, believing Haku was about to lose. Their combined attacks sent Giyu into a towering wave, but Haku remained wary, knowing the assault might not have killed him.

• Haku found that his strengthened Ice Release and speed could not overcome Giyu Tomioka, whose strength rivaled the Upper Moon demons.
• Mei Terumi and Kisame learned from the returning Kirigakure Jonin that no one else appeared to be on the island, and Kisame warned that Haku would die if they did not intervene.
• Mei Terumi froze Giyu Tomioka's lower body and struck him with a Water Dragon Bullet, then Kisame hit him with Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique.
• Giyu Tomioka's sword absorbed Kisame's Chakra and returned it with twice the force, creating a huge wave as Mei Terumi and Kisame assumed the battle was over.
• Haku stayed alert and watched the churning water because he knew the attacks might not kill a demon.

Haku, Mei Terumi, and Kisame fought Tomioka Giyu, whose swordsmanship and apparent resistance to ninjutsu baffled them. Haku tried to reach a hidden cave at the island’s anchor point, but Giyu intercepted him, and the chapter ended with the three shinobi battered and searching for a way to defeat him.

• Mei Terumi recognized that Tomioka Giyu could use a sword technique to unleash ninjutsu without Hand Seals, while Kisame grew wary after Giyu survived his attack.
• Tomioka Giyu attacked Haku, and Kisame intervened with Thousand Feeding Sharks as Haku decided to head for the island and destroy the anchor point.
• Haku reached the island and found a man-made cave beneath a huge boulder, but Tomioka Giyu pursued him before he could investigate.
• Mei Terumi and Kisame joined Haku against Tomioka Giyu, who accepted their challenge without revealing anything about the anchor point.
• After the fight, Mei Terumi, Kisame, and Haku retreated battered as they realized their ninjutsu seemed ineffective against Tomioka Giyu and he could see through Mei’s Water Style clones.

Kimimaro and Kabuto encountered a mysterious samurai on a snowy mountaintop, where the samurai overwhelmed Kimimaro in a fight. After Kabuto rescued Kimimaro, they learned the swordsman was Upper Moon One, a threat Kabuto believed could rival a Kage.

• Kabuto followed Kimimaro through the snowy mountains while wondering who the Akatsuki Organization's proctor would be.
• A samurai in a black haori drove Kimimaro from the mountaintop and overpowered him with his sword.
• Kimimaro used Shikotsumyaku to fire bone bullets, but the samurai deflected them and slashed him.
• Kabuto threw Explosive Tag-wrapped kunai, then pulled the wounded Kimimaro away and treated him.
• As the smoke cleared, Kabuto saw the characters "Upper Rank" and "One" in the samurai's eyes and recognized him as Upper Moon One.

Shinji arrived near the Land of Lightning anchor point after Yugito followed his command, while Kimimaro and Kabuto Yakushi fought Upper Moon One. Kimimaro was gravely wounded, but the battle paused when Shinji appeared on a distant cliff.

• Shinji confirmed that Yugito remained under his genjutsu control and considered how she could help him cross the snowy terrain to the Land of Lightning anchor point.
• Kabuto Yakushi and Kimimaro faced Upper Moon One, who attacked them without letting them retreat.
• Kabuto summoned a giant brown serpent, but Upper Moon One cut it in two with a sword strike wreathed in fire.
• Kimimaro fought on and learned from Upper Moon One, while Kabuto noticed that Upper Moon One's strength and speed weakened as his chakra dwindled.
• Upper Moon One dealt Kimimaro a potentially fatal wound, then stopped and looked toward Shinji standing on a distant cliff.

Shinji arrived on the battlefield as Tanjiro Kamado, transformed into Upper Moon One, attacked him, while Kabuto and Kimimaro faced defeat. Shinji used the controlled Two-Tails to hold Tanjiro off, but he was nearly exhausted and realized Orochimaru had not followed them.

• Kabuto told Kimimaro that he had warned Orochimaru about the trap, and the two prepared to die as Upper Moon One turned toward Shinji.
• Shinji recognized Upper Moon One as Tanjiro Kamado, whose pupils bore the words marking his rank as a demon.
• Tanjiro charged Shinji with a powerful sword strike, but the Two-Tails Matatabi emerged and collided with him.
• Kabuto realized that Yugito Nii had been turned into a Sharingan-controlled puppet, and the Two-Tails fought Upper Moon One across the snowy mountain.
• Shinji assessed that Tanjiro had reached the Demon Slayer world's upper limit of strength, recovered his dwindling Dojutsu, and noted that Orochimaru had not appeared.