Recaps

Pakura vaporized Liao Wu’s legs with Scorch Release, but he regenerated them and let Scorpion fight using the Third Kazekage’s Human Puppet. The battle continued as Pakura blocked the puppet’s Iron Sand Rain with a Wind Style barrier.

• Pakura exploited Susanoo’s weakness beneath its feet and vaporized both of Liao Wu’s legs with Scorch Release.
• Liao Wu regenerated his legs with Yang Release, and Scorpion asked to fight Pakura with a waterless puppet.
• Liao Wu had Candy throw Scorpion the Third Kazekage’s Human Puppet, shocking Pakura and intensifying her killing intent toward Scorpion.
• Pakura attacked Liao Wu and Scorpion with Scorch Release, while Scorpion used the Third Kazekage’s Magnet Release to block her fireball with an Iron Sand Wall.
• Liao Wu protected himself and Scorpion with Susanoo as Scorpion launched Iron Sand Rain at Pakura.
• Pakura formed a Wind Style: Flowing Wind Wall that blocked and deflected the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand needles.

Pakura unleashed her Scorch Release domain against Sasori and Liao Wu, but Liao Wu used Wood Style to protect them and outlasted her. After Pakura collapsed, Liao Wu dispelled his Wood Golem and began interrogating her.

• Pakura dodged the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand attacks, though several needles struck her, and realized she was badly outmatched.
• Pakura spent all her Chakra creating Scorch Release: Absolute Wind Ashen Realm, whose scorching winds melted the Iron Sand and threatened Sasori and Liao Wu inside Susanoo.
• Liao Wu formed Wood Style: Susanoo, creating a Wood Golem Warrior whose Susanoo armor shielded them from Pakura's heat while its wooden body regenerated.
• Pakura ran out of Chakra and collapsed, and the Wood Golem Warrior pointed its sword at her before Liao Wu dispelled it.
• Liao Wu grabbed Pakura by the hair and threatened to interrogate her, but Pakura refused to reveal anything about Sunagakure.

Liao Wu interrogated Pakura in the Demon Desert while Sasori proposed turning her into a Human Puppet. Meanwhile, Kakuzu entered Leaf Village amid preparations for the Ninja Alliance, where Sarutobi Shinnosuke confronted him and revealed that the Anbu knew his history.

• Liao Wu stopped Sasori from killing Pakura and threatened to have her made into a Human Puppet when she resisted.
• Liao Wu restrained Pakura with Chakra Thread and forced her to kneel before him.
• Kakuzu arrived in Leaf Village and celebrated his long survival as a victory over the deceased Hashirama Senju.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke appeared before Kakuzu and identified him as a former Takigakure elite Jonin who had tried to assassinate the First Hokage.
• Shinnosuke explained that Leaf Village had been monitoring Kakuzu and was assessing rogue ninjas for recruitment.

Kakuzu revealed his bounty and challenged the Leaf Anbu before Jiraiya escorted him to meet the Hokage about hiring him. In Sunagakure, Kurenai found Ryobu carrying a furious, controlled Pakura back from the Demon Desert.

• Kakuzu told Shinnosuke that his Black Market bounty was thirty million ryo and offered to split the payment if Shinnosuke handed over his own head.
• Kakuzu refused to join the Ninja Alliance unless offered a satisfactory fee, then released his enormous Chakra when an Anbu mocked him.
• Jiraiya arrived, ordered the Anbu to stand down, and escorted Kakuzu to the Hokage Building to discuss a suitable price.
• Kurenai learned that Pakura and Ryobu had gone to the Demon Desert and waited at the city wall until they returned.
• Ryobu carried Pakura out of the desert while his Spores and Sharingan Illusion Technique kept her body under his control, and she cursed him in rage.

Ryobu carried Pakura back to Sunagakure and used Kurenai to keep her from resisting him, while warning that the village’s High Command might have betrayed her. At Pakura’s home, he learned Kurenai had been orphaned during the war and left the chapter in silence.

• Ryobu stopped Pakura from harming herself by threatening to torment Kurenai, and Pakura promised to cooperate to protect her student.
• Ryobu told Pakura that Sunagakure’s High Command had betrayed her, and she began to suspect Rasa and the elders before doubting Ryobu’s claims.
• Ryobu sent Candy to seek documents about Rasa’s alleged betrayal, then carried Pakura through the village and told Kurenai that a giant scorpion had poisoned her.
• Ryobu sent Snow Leopard to inform Chiyo and Ebizo that he would stay at Pakura’s home, then followed Kurenai there.
• Ryobu questioned Pakura and learned that Kurenai had moved in two years earlier after her father was killed by Mist Village Ninja and her mother died of grief.

Liao Wu teased Pakura and Sasori about their grief and revenge, then used his disguise and illusions to hide his identity from Kurenai. After dinner, he announced he would sleep with Pakura, leaving Kurenai shocked and wondering about their past.

• Pakura argued that Kurenai should grow strong enough to avenge herself, while Sasori described abandoning his human body as protection from the world's dangers.
• Liao Wu revealed that he did not know who had killed his parents and jokingly accused Sand Village, then apologized to Sasori for Leaf Ninja killing his parents.
• Kurenai served dinner, and Liao Wu called her cooking like his mother's, embarrassing her while Sasori rediscovered his enjoyment of food.
• Kurenai questioned Sasori's changed appearance and Sharingan-like eyes, and Liao Wu gave her false explanations that Pakura's illusion forced her to confirm.
• Liao Wu told Kurenai he would sleep with Pakura, and Kurenai wondered whether they had shared a past before Sasori defected.

Liao Wu used his control over Pakura to make her confess to Kurenai that she had supposedly harassed Sasori, then teased her about marriage and children. After Kurenai left, Pakura fought to regain control, but Liao Wu remained in command of her Chakra and Spores.

• Liao Wu falsely told Kurenai that Pakura had violated Sasori, and Pakura was forced by his Illusion Technique to confirm the claim.
• Liao Wu comforted Kurenai by listing Pakura’s flaws and proposing that he and Pakura build a family, prompting Kurenai to promise to teach their child.
• After Kurenai left, Liao Wu carried Pakura to her room, where Sasori reluctantly went outside to set up a barrier and stand guard.
• Pakura regained some movement and attacked Liao Wu, but he still controlled her core Chakra and explained that he had teased her about marriage because she was lonely.
• Pakura considered her lack of suitable partners and the danger of her Scorch Release, then discovered that Liao Wu had shrunk while she was distracted.
• Liao Wu’s control of the Spores in Pakura’s body left her unable to choose whether to submit to him.

Pakura read evidence that Rasa and the Sand Village High Command had arranged for Kirigakure to kill her, and struggled to contain her fury. In Konoha, Kakuzu met the Third Hokage and demanded a lucrative offer, threatening to join Madara Uchiha otherwise.

• Candy arrived with the file about the High Command's plot against Pakura and left it for her after scolding Liao Wu.
• Pakura read that Rasa and the Sand Village High Command had agreed to send her to Kirigakure to be killed in exchange for negotiations.
• Pakura's rage made the air in her room scorchingly hot, and Liao Wu urged her to wait until the next day before killing Rasa and the elders.
• Pakura held back from attacking the village to preserve its unity against Madara Uchiha, then vented her anger on Liao Wu.
• The Third Hokage and Utatane Koharu received Kakuzu, who demanded money and threatened to join Madara Uchiha if Konoha's offer displeased him.
• Utatane Koharu challenged Kakuzu's confidence by warning that he might not return from Amegakure, and Kakuzu fell silent.

Kakuzu demanded one hundred million ryo from the Leaf Village while Minato tested the abilities of the White Zetsu sealed in his arm. The chapter ended with Gamatatsu summoning Minato to Mount Myōboku to improve his Senjutsu for the coming fight against Madara and Liao Wu.

• The Third Hokage apologized for Utatane Koharu's harshness and offered Kakuzu a generous deal, but Kakuzu demanded one hundred million ryo.
• Minato, Rin, Kakashi, and Obito trained at the Third Training Ground while testing Minato's White Zetsu-enhanced arm and its abilities.
• Minato explained that the White Zetsu gave him sensing, healing, absorption, and camouflage abilities but had not granted him true Wood Style.
• Gamatatsu appeared and told Minato it was time to train at Mount Myōboku.
• Minato prepared to learn to fuse his Senjutsu with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima so he could increase his power against Madara and Liao Wu.

Jiraiya yielded his place as the Two Great Toad Sages’ partner to Minato, who agreed to train at Mount Myōboku to prepare for Madara Uchiha. As Minato watched Obito and Kakashi train, he detected a silver figure spying on them and fleeing through the forest.

• The Two Great Toad Sages asked for a replacement for Jiraiya, and Jiraiya chose Minato because of his talent and Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Minato agreed to be reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku for further training, while Rin worried about facing Liao Wu in the future.
• Obito successfully learned Chidori and electrocuted himself while trying to silence Tobi, prompting Minato to remind them they were partners.
• Tobi revealed that Obito muttered Kakashi’s name in his sleep, and Obito’s embarrassment drew Rin into their teasing.
• Minato sensed someone watching the group, searched the forest, and detected a silver figure fleeing that looked like Kakashi.

Minato left for Mount Myōboku to train in Senjutsu while Kakashi and Obito were punished for reading Jiraiya’s smut books. In the shadows, Sakumo and the resurrected Might Duy discussed fighting together, though Duy struggled to believe he could fight Liao Wu, who had once helped him and his family.

• Minato questioned Kakashi about feeling watched, and Kakashi and Obito argued over who had read Jiraiya’s smut books.
• Minato made Kakashi and Obito stand as punishment, then told them he would travel to Mount Myōboku to train with Fukasaku and Shima.
• Minato reassured Kakashi about the presence he sensed, noticed Sakumo in the shadows, and left after Shima Reverse Summoned him.
• Sakumo revealed himself beside Might Duy, whom Orochimaru had revived through Impure World Reincarnation after cultivating his tissues and organs.
• Sakumo asked Duy to fight alongside him, but Duy said he could not bring himself to fight Liao Wu, who had treated his injuries and supported his family.

Might Duy struggled with being an endlessly powerful Impure World Reincarnation, then watched Might Guy challenge Kakashi. Meanwhile, the Third Hokage hired Kakuzu and dispatched Jiraiya to protect Takigakure’s Seven-Tails while warning the other villages about Madara Uchiha.

• Might Duy reflected on how Impure World Reincarnation let him use the Eight Gates without consequences, and Sakumo encouraged him to see youth as the will to keep challenging himself.
• Might Guy confronted Kakashi over damaged training dummies and challenged him, while Obito blamed Kakashi and Duy cheered Guy on.
• The Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura negotiated Kakuzu’s fee down to seventy million ryo and signed a contract hiring him for one hundred years.
• Kakuzu warned the Third Hokage that Takigakure could not defend its Seven-Tails, so the Third Hokage ordered Jiraiya to protect it and sent Anbu with them.
• The Third Hokage wrote to the other Four Great Shinobi Villages, urging them to move their Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts and request Leaf Village’s help if Madara Uchiha’s forces attacked.

Liao Wu learned that Granny Chiyo was sealing Shukaku that day and prepared to capture the One-Tails, despite Pakura trying to stop him. Pakura failed to change his mind, and Liao Wu left her with a threat to have Sasori turn her into a Human Puppet.

• Candy woke Liao Wu and told him that Granny Chiyo had begun sealing Shukaku.
• Liao Wu told Pakura he intended to capture the One-Tails and argued that killing Rasa and Granny Chiyo could leave her positioned to become Kazekage.
• Pakura rejected the idea of becoming Kazekage by betraying her village and tried to keep Liao Wu from leaving.
• Liao Wu told Pakura he followed Madara Uchiha because he believed Madara could not be defeated by the united Ninja World.
• Pakura urged Liao Wu to abandon Madara and join the other Ninja, but he threatened to have Sasori turn her into a Human Puppet.

Liao Wu left Pakura under his control and headed for the Shukaku Sealing Altar as Sasori slaughtered Sunagakure’s elders. At the altar, Karura prepared to become the vessel for sealing Shukaku, while her brother Yashamaru struggled to stop her.

• Liao Wu left Pakura’s Home, and Nekomata told him Sasori had gone to retrieve the Third Kazekage and attack the Sand Village Elder Group.
• Kurenai tried to block Liao Wu, but Nekomata used an Illusion Technique to knock her unconscious.
• Temari contacted Liao Wu about her missing parents, and he promised to help in exchange for her soul before she realized he was not Sasori.
• Liao Wu learned that Sasori was killing the elders while Chiyo, Rasa, Karura, and the Anbu gathered at the Shukaku Sealing Altar.
• As Shukaku’s Chakra shook Bunbuku Chagama, Karura stepped forward to become the vessel, and Yashamaru tried to stop her.

Chiyo attempted to seal Shukaku inside Karura’s unborn child, but Shukaku’s rampage made the sealing agonizing and triggered premature labor. Chiyo told Rasa that Karura would die if the seal continued and asked him to choose between saving her and the baby.

• Chiyo stopped Rasa from scolding Yashamaru, then began the sealing ceremony at the Shukaku Altar while Candy and Snow Leopard watched from hiding.
• Chiyo released Shukaku and tried to seal him into Karura’s fetus; Karura used her protective Chakra, but Shukaku recognized Bunpuku’s influence and resisted.
• Shukaku rampaged inside Karura, leaving her in unbearable pain, and Yashamaru rushed toward the altar before Rasa struck him aside with Gold Dust.
• Chiyo strengthened the sealing technique and forced Shukaku into the fetus, but the strain brought on premature labor and threatened Karura’s life.
• Chiyo told Rasa the seal had to continue even though Karura would die, then asked him whether to save the mother or the baby.

Rasa chose to save Karura’s unborn child by completing the sealing of Shukaku, despite the danger to Karura. Liao Wu revealed his Uchiha identity and attacked the Sand Village group, forcing Chiyo to stop the sealing and retreat with Shukaku still inside Bunbuku Chagama.

• Rasa chose to continue sealing Shukaku into Karura’s unborn child, while Karura accepted his decision and asked Chiyo to save the baby.
• Liao Wu, disguised as Scorpion, entered the altar and incapacitated the Sand Village Anbu with his Sharingan.
• Liao Wu revealed his identity, told Chiyo and Ebizo that Scorpion was attacking the village, and claimed he had killed Pakura.
• Liao Wu attacked the group to seize Shukaku, and Chiyo withdrew the sealing technique and pulled Shukaku back into Bunbuku Chagama.
• Chiyo retreated with the teapot containing Shukaku and vowed not to let Liao Wu take it.

Liao Wu used Wood Style Chakra to save Karura and Gaara after the sealing failed, while Sasori joined his side and confronted the Sand Village shinobi. Karura survived and gave birth to a tiny premature Gaara as Rasa and Sasori began fighting.

• Liao Wu blocked Rasa's Gold Dust and used Wood Style Chakra to heal Karura and replenish Gaara, while Yashamaru and the others defended him.
• The Third Kazekage arrived as a Human Puppet controlled by Sasori, who revealed he had killed the Sand Village Elder Council.
• Sasori admitted to killing the Third Kazekage and turning him into a puppet, enraging Rasa and the Sand Village Anbu.
• Rasa attacked Sasori with a Gold Dust wave, and Sasori countered with the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand.
• Liao Wu helped Karura deliver Gaara, who was born prematurely and began crying after Liao Wu gently pinched him.

After Karura safely gave birth to Gaara, Liao Wu took the newborn hostage to pressure Rasa, who continued fighting for the Sand Village. Liao Wu then restrained Karura, Gaara, and Yashamaru and turned his Sharingan-powered Chakra Threads against the Sand Village Anbu.

• Liao Wu handed the newborn Gaara to Karura, who named him, while Yashamaru thanked Liao Wu for saving them.
• Liao Wu seized Gaara and threatened to kill him unless Rasa surrendered, but Rasa kept fighting Sasori and the Third Kazekage for the village.
• Karura and Yashamaru pleaded with Liao Wu to spare Gaara, but he restrained all three with vines and sank them underground.
• Liao Wu revealed to Granny Chiyo that Sasori had become a Human Puppet and could not pass on his family line, leaving her devastated.
• Liao Wu hypnotized Sand Village Anbu with red Chakra Threads infused with Sharingan Illusion Energy, while Baki escaped their control and warned the others.

Granny Chiyo released Shukaku after warning him that the revived Madara Uchiha was hunting the Tailed Beasts, and Shukaku emerged ready to attack Ryobu. Meanwhile, Heimaru sensed the beast’s release at the Leaf’s envoy residence and tried to hide it from Claw.

• Granny Chiyo warned Shukaku that Madara Uchiha had been revived to gather the Tailed Beasts, and Shukaku believed her after sensing Ryobu’s Sharingan and enormous Chakra.
• Ryobu controlled Ebizo with his Chakra Threads and demanded that Granny Chiyo hand over Shukaku, but Ebizo urged her to prioritize the village.
• Granny Chiyo broke Bunbuku Chagama’s seal and released Shukaku, who summoned a storm of yellow sand and threatened everyone nearby.
• At the Leaf’s Envoy Residence, Heimaru sensed Shukaku’s release and tried to conceal it from Claw.
• Claw grew suspicious of Heimaru and used the Inuzuka Clan Secret Technique to sharpen her sense of smell.

Claw detected bloodshed at the Kazekage Building and Shukaku’s release, then reported that Uchiha Ryobu had attacked Sand Village and captured the One-Tails. As Shukaku rampaged and Sasori drove Rasa into a desperate fight, Chiyo confronted the tailed beast over the village’s losses.

• Claw used her Super Smell to detect blood at the Kazekage Building and Shukaku’s scent, then ordered the Leaf Village embassy to alert the Hokage that Uchiha Ryobu had attacked Sand Village.
• Rasa fought Sasori’s Third Kazekage puppet, but its Iron Sand and poison overwhelmed Rasa’s Gold Dust.
• Shukaku broke free and crushed the altar, swallowing Liao Wu and others in the yellow sand as Rasa saw his wife and son caught in the chaos.
• Rasa questioned Sasori’s allegiance to Madara Uchiha, and Sasori defended the World of Illusion before attacking with the Iron Sand World Method.
• Shukaku rampaged indiscriminately after centuries of imprisonment, while Chiyo blamed him for killing Sand Village shinobi and feared Ebizo had been buried.

Liao Wu arrived as Shukaku broke free and turned against Sunagakure, then used his Sharingan to stop the One-Tails and trap him in an illusion. Shukaku became absorbed in a fantasy where he seized all the Ten-Tails’ Chakra.

• Shukaku broke free, rejected Granny Chiyo, and began marching toward Sunagakure to take revenge for his imprisonment.
• Liao Wu used the Mayfly Technique to protect himself and the Sand Village Anbu from Shukaku’s sand attack, then claimed he had saved them.
• Granny Chiyo sent Karasu Ten to block Shukaku, but Shukaku focused on Liao Wu and attacked him as an Uchiha.
• Liao Wu controlled Shukaku with his Sharingan and wove an illusion of the Sage of Six Paths creating the Tailed Beasts.
• Shukaku raged at Kurama’s unequal Chakra distribution and imagined taking all the Ten-Tails’ Chakra for himself.

Uchiha Ryobu confronted Shukaku and Granny Chiyo at the Shukaku Altar, using his Sharingan to control Shukaku before Granny Chiyo freed him. As the Sand Village Ninja Force approached, Ryobu summoned a colossal Wood Golem, leaving the defenders and reinforcements stunned and retreating.

• Granny Chiyo dispelled Ryobu's Sharingan illusion on Shukaku, but Ryobu controlled him again until Granny Chiyo freed him once more.
• Granny Chiyo told Shukaku that Ryobu had come to capture him for the Ten-Tails, and Shukaku agreed to fight alongside her.
• Candy warned Ryobu that Sunagakure's sensing Ninjas had detected the battle and that the Sand Village Ninja Force was approaching.
• Ryobu restored his chakra with a Spore and used Wood Style: Wood Golem Technique to create a hundred-meter-tall Wood Golem Arhat.
• Rasa, Sasori, Shukaku, Granny Chiyo, and the approaching Sand Village Ninja Force stared in shock at the Wood Golem.
• The Sand Village Ninja Force's commander ordered the troops to run back the way they had come.

Liao Wu overwhelmed Shukaku and the Sand forces with the Wood Golem, then captured and controlled the One-Tails. As he attacked Chiyo, Sasori intervened by using the Third Kazekage to shield her.

• Shukaku and the Sand forces froze in fear before the towering Wood Golem, while Ebizo questioned why Uchiha Ryobu had not used it sooner.
• Ryobu boasted about his strength, grabbed Shukaku with the Wood Golem, and dismissed its threats to summon the Sage of Six Paths.
• Ryobu subdued Shukaku, cast an Illusion Technique to control it, and captured the One-Tails.
• Ebizo pleaded for Ryobu to spare Chiyo, but Ryobu sent the Wood Dragon to attack her.
• Sasori, controlling the Third Kazekage with Chakra Threads, blocked the Wood Dragon with Iron Sand.

Scorpion killed Rasa, leaving the Sand Village devastated, while Ryobu captured its survivors and demanded Granny Chiyo’s Life Reincarnation technique. Temari found Pakura and asked her to save her mother, and Granny Chiyo surrendered the Forbidden Technique after Ryobu threatened Scorpion.

• Scorpion stood over Rasa’s body as Baki and the Sand Village mourned the Kazekage’s death.
• Temari searched the desert for her mother until Pakura found her and promised to help rescue her.
• Ryobu restrained the Sand Village captives at the Shukaku Altar and questioned Granny Chiyo and Ebizo about Life Reincarnation.
• Granny Chiyo refused to give Ryobu the Forbidden Technique, so he electrocuted Scorpion to force her to comply.
• Granny Chiyo agreed to hand over the technique, and Ryobu released Scorpion.

Liao Wu forced Chiyo to explain Life Reincarnation’s theory and origins, then challenged her and Sasori over whether living puppets could still be tools. Chiyo admitted she had created Sasori’s puppet parents to ease his loneliness, and Sasori recognized the love behind her actions as Liao Wu ended the emotional exchange.

• Liao Wu threatened Sasori with electric shocks until Chiyo explained that Life Reincarnation transferred life force through chakra to give puppets life.
• Chiyo said the Sand Village’s Puppet Force had developed the technique to create intelligent puppets, but the village halted its research over ethical concerns.
• Sasori asked whether a living puppet was still a puppet, and Liao Wu shocked him for interrupting before Chiyo took him back.
• Liao Wu questioned Chiyo about treating living beings as tools, and she said she had given Sasori’s puppet parents life to ease his loneliness.
• Chiyo explained that she had lost many relatives in war and that Sasori was all she had left to care about, and Sasori understood that her love kept him from becoming a true puppet.
• Liao Wu broke up the moment by saying it had made him miss his little sister and eldest nephew.