Recaps

At a gathering to celebrate Naruto’s identity becoming public, Liao Wu openly challenged his friends and Kakashi over how they had treated him. The dinner ended with Kakashi leaving and Sakura furious after Liao Wu mocked her feelings for Sasuke.

• Ino organized a reunion for the rookies to celebrate Naruto’s identity being revealed, and the group gathered at a barbecue restaurant with Sai in Sasuke’s place.
• Liao Wu traded blunt remarks with Sai and Kakashi, then suggested that the parentless attendees form a Leaf F4.
• Liao Wu confronted Kakashi for failing to protect him as a child and questioned why he should care about Sasuke’s defection; Kakashi apologized and left the restaurant.
• Liao Wu rejected Sakura’s criticism, told her they were merely colleagues, and insulted her feelings for Sasuke.
• Sakura became furious and tried to smash the table, but Liao Wu caught her wrist and told her to become stronger than Sasuke and force herself on him.

Liao Wu ended his devotion to Sakura, surprising the others when he stopped her punch and rejected Rock Lee’s challenge until after dinner. The meal turned into an eating contest, and Liao Wu’s attempt to flirt with Ino ended with her slapping him across the room.

• Ino intervened when Liao Wu grabbed Sakura, and he released her after neutralizing her Monstrous Strength.
• Rock Lee challenged Liao Wu to a duel, but Sakura rejected Rock Lee and said she loved only Sasuke.
• Liao Wu accepted Rock Lee’s challenge after they finished eating, and Rock Lee immediately competed with Choji to see who could eat more.
• Liao Wu touched Ino’s butt while trying to flirt with her, and Ino slapped him flying.

At Leaf Village Training Ground No. 3, Liao Wu faced Rock Lee in a spar while their former teammates watched and measured his abilities. Liao Wu overwhelmed the field with more than a hundred Shadow Clones, each wielding a Rasengan, as Rock Lee prepared to meet the barrage.

• Sakura recalled Team Seven's bell test at the training ground and challenged Liao Wu, who instead asked Rock Lee which of them would fight first.
• Rock Lee removed his weights and rushed Liao Wu, who met his punch with a one-handed Rasengan; Rock Lee was driven back with bloodied knuckles.
• Liao Wu said his Chakra was practically infinite to ordinary Ninja and created more than a hundred Shadow Clones.
• Neji used his Byakugan to find Liao Wu's true body and marveled at the Chakra remaining after each clone received roughly a Chunin's Chakra Quantity.
• Liao Wu's Shadow Clones formed Rasengan and charged at Rock Lee.

Rock Lee opened the sixth gate of the Eight Gates Technique to fight Liao Wu, who revealed he could control a four-tailed Nine-Tails Cloak. The battle continued with Rock Lee unleashing Morning Peacock, while Kakashi wondered how Naruto had mastered the Tailed Beast’s Power without losing his will.

• Rock Lee opened the fifth gate and destroyed Liao Wu’s Shadow Clones until he found Liao Wu’s main body.
• Liao Wu blocked Rock Lee’s vision with Wind Style: Dust Technique and attacked him with a Rasengan, but Rock Lee detected the attack by listening and blocked it.
• Liao Wu transformed into a four-tailed Nine-Tails Cloak, alarming the spectators, then signaled that he remained in control.
• Might Guy arrived with Kakashi, but a Tiger Mark Anbu told him that Naruto had not gone berserk and was sparring with Rock Lee.
• Rock Lee opened the sixth gate and attacked Liao Wu with Morning Peacock.
• Kakashi recognized Rock Lee’s progress but was more astonished that Naruto could control Nine-Tails’ Power.

Liao Wu defeated Rock Lee after matching his Sixth Gate with five tails, then discussed his control of the Nine-Tails and Sasuke’s return with Kakashi. Kakashi agreed to support a mission to retrieve Sasuke, subject to the Hokage’s approval, while warning that Akatsuki still targeted Liao Wu.

• Liao Wu used five tails to rush past Rock Lee’s Morning Peacock and knock him unconscious with a punch.
• Might Guy took Rock Lee to the hospital after Liao Wu shed the Nine-Tails Chakra and urged him to train harder.
• Liao Wu told Kakashi that the Nine-Tails had become easy to control after his return from Rōran, and claimed he could maintain four tails for three minutes and five tails for half a minute.
• Liao Wu said he still wanted to bring Sasuke back, and Kakashi agreed to support him if the Hokage approved.
• Kakashi warned Liao Wu that Akatsuki still considered him prey, and Liao Wu dismissed the idea of avoiding them.

Liao Wu repaired the training ground with Wood Style, then revealed he had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique and used it to defeat Sakura in a duel. The Anbu realized Naruto’s growing strength made him an even greater asset against the Akatsuki.

• Kakashi left after Naruto said he would master the Nine-Tails’ power, while the Anbu increased his surveillance and assigned Uzuki Yugao to watch him.
• Liao Wu used Wood Style to repair the training ground and told Sakura that his Uzumaki bloodline let him wield it.
• Sakura challenged Liao Wu, and he claimed he could defeat her with one move.
• Liao Wu marked a Kunai with the Flying Thunder God Formula, shocking the Anbu, while Ino explained that Tsunade had given Naruto the technique.
• Liao Wu threw the marked Kunai, used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear beside Sakura, and held the Kunai to her throat.

Naruto demonstrated mastery of Nine-Tails Chakra, Wood Style, and the Flying Thunder God Technique, transforming how Leaf Village viewed his potential. As Tsunade considered sending him to retrieve Sasuke, Koharu and Homura warned that Naruto’s value was too great to risk against Akatsuki.

• Yugao and the Anbu celebrated Naruto’s growth, while Liao Wu demonstrated the Flying Thunder God Technique to Sakura.
• Ino reconciled Sakura and Liao Wu, and the group dispersed after Naruto’s display changed their view of him.
• Neji concluded that Naruto’s lineage and talents proved fate could not be changed, while Tenten tried to reassure him.
• Reports of Naruto controlling Nine-Tails Chakra and learning the Flying Thunder God Technique reached the Hokage’s Office and Root, and Kakashi applied to have him join the Sasuke retrieval mission.
• Tsunade approved Kakashi’s application, but Koharu and Homura objected that Naruto was too valuable to risk against Akatsuki.

Tsunade persuaded Koharu and Homura to approve Naruto’s mission to retrieve Sasuke, while Danzo learned of Naruto’s abilities and ordered Sai to drive a wedge between him and Tsunade. At the Hokage’s office, Liao Wu read the Scroll of Seals and claimed he had memorized its advanced Wood Style techniques.

• Tsunade argued that Naruto’s loyalty to his comrades made him a reliable jinchuriki, and Koharu and Homura agreed to let him leave if he retreated whenever danger arose.
• Danzo read Sai’s report about Naruto’s Nine-Tails chakra, Wood Style, and Flying Thunder God Technique, then ordered Sai to stay close to Naruto and undermine his relationship with Tsunade.
• Kakashi, Yamato, Team Seven, and Kiba’s squad arrived at the Hokage’s office for the mission to retrieve Sasuke, and Kakashi and Yamato said Naruto had surpassed them in strength and Wood Style.
• Tsunade sent for the Scroll of Seals so Liao Wu could study advanced Wood Style ninjutsu.
• Liao Wu read the scroll, then told Tsunade he had memorized its techniques.

Liao Wu promised to save Jiraiya if he faced danger, while Sasuke formed Snake Team and sought information about Itachi. As Akatsuki’s Tailed Beast hunt neared its end, tensions between Obito and Nagato grew, and Itachi refused to help capture Naruto because he wanted Sasuke’s eyes.

• Jiraiya praised Liao Wu for learning Flying Thunder God, and Liao Wu marked Jiraiya with a technique coordinate so he could rescue him if needed.
• Liao Wu grabbed Shizune’s butt and ran, prompting her to chase him.
• Sasuke formed Snake Team with Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, then visited Cat Granny to learn Itachi’s whereabouts.
• Obito planned to recruit Sasuke as Nagato’s replacement, while Obito and Nagato’s differing plans for the Ten-Tails fueled conflict within Akatsuki.
• Itachi refused Nagato’s order to capture the Nine-Tails, saying he needed Sasuke’s eyes to prevent his blindness, and left with Kisame.

Liao Wu persuaded Kakashi to pair him with Hinata during the search for Sasuke, then led her and Bull around town instead of tracking him. The group’s search continued as Liao Wu ran out of money and fled after offering Bull to a shopkeeper as payment.

• Deidara and Tobi left to find Sasuke before Itachi, while Nagato wondered what Obito was planning.
• Kakashi divided the search party into teams and assigned Liao Wu, Hinata, and Bull together after Liao Wu insisted on the change.
• Liao Wu tried to take Hinata to an inn, but Bull stopped him and Hinata urged him to search for Sasuke.
• Bull and Hinata could not locate Sasuke, so Liao Wu claimed Sasuke was in town and took Hinata sightseeing and eating instead.
• After running out of money, Liao Wu offered Bull to the shopkeeper as payment and fled with Hinata.

Liao Wu and his companions discovered Suigetsu and Karin near one of Kakuzu’s underground bases, where Suigetsu questioned Kakuzu’s former subordinates about Akatsuki. After Suigetsu fled, Liao Wu found the men and focused on learning how much money Kakuzu had left behind.

• Hinata spotted a Jonin-level Chakra signature carrying the Kubikiribōchō, and Liao Wu and Bulu recognized the sword.
• Suigetsu restrained Kakuzu’s former subordinates and demanded Akatsuki’s headquarters, but they said they only managed Kakuzu’s finances and did not know its location.
• Karin sensed Liao Wu and Hinata approaching, so Suigetsu knocked the two men unconscious and escaped with her.
• Liao Wu sensed Suigetsu and Karin fleeing but chose to investigate Kakuzu’s former subordinates instead.
• The two men recognized Liao Wu as Naruto Uzumaki and explained that they were grateful Kakuzu was dead; Liao Wu asked how much money Kakuzu had left.

Liao Wu tortured Kakuzu’s two subordinates to learn where Kakuzu had hidden his fortune, then left them under a shadow clone’s watch while regrouping with Kakashi’s team. As the search for Sasuke resumed, Liao Wu rode Bulu and used Wood Style chakra to strengthen him.

• Liao Wu tied up Kakuzu’s two subordinates with Wood Style and ordered his shadow clones to beat and torture them for information about Kakuzu’s money.
• Bulu alerted Liao Wu that Kakashi had called the team to regroup, so Liao Wu marked the prisoners with Flying Thunder God Formulae and left a clone to continue interrogating them.
• Liao Wu carried Bulu toward the central point while Hinata walked beside them, thinking about how to launder Kakuzu’s fortune.
• Kakashi’s team gathered and learned that their ninja hounds had picked up Sasuke’s scent, but an enemy scout had a wider search range.
• Kakashi chose a new central point and resumed the search, while Liao Wu rode Bulu with Hinata seated in front of him.
• Liao Wu gave Bulu a surge of life-filled Wood Style chakra, and Bulu said he felt better than ever.

Liao Wu encountered Kabuto after Deidara spotted Naruto and Sasuke and set off to pursue Sasuke. Kabuto warned Liao Wu that the Akatsuki was targeting the Nine-Tails and Eight-Tails and handed him a book of intelligence.

• Liao Wu rode Bulu with the fainted Hinata, then ordered Bulu to stop when Kabuto appeared ahead.
• Deidara spotted Naruto and Sasuke from the sky, but Tobi persuaded him to leave Naruto for later, so Deidara flew off to deal with Sasuke.
• Kabuto recognized Naruto as the Fourth Hokage's orphaned son and remarked that he had become dangerous.
• Kabuto warned Liao Wu that the Akatsuki's final targets were the Nine-Tails inside him and Kumogakure's Eight-Tails, then gave him a black book containing Akatsuki intelligence.

Kabuto gave Naruto intelligence about Akatsuki and revealed his struggle to find an identity after Orochimaru’s death. He declared that he would surpass Orochimaru and challenge Naruto, but Naruto’s vines caught him as he tried to leave.

• Kabuto told Naruto that Akatsuki had set its sights on him and explained that he wanted chaos to keep the Ninja World’s powers evenly matched.
• Kabuto described his lost sense of identity after Orochimaru’s death and envied Naruto’s place in the village.
• Hinata woke and recognized Kabuto, who explained that he had not come to fight them and spoke of his former ties to Orochimaru and Sasuke.
• Kabuto revealed that Orochimaru’s cells had transformed part of his body and said he would surpass Orochimaru to find a new self.
• Kabuto vowed to return and fight Naruto after mastering Orochimaru’s power, but emerald-green vines seized his legs as he tried to leave.

Liao Wu caught Kabuto with the Flying Thunder God Technique and secretly implanted a coordinate in him before letting him escape. After sensing Sasuke’s distant battle with Deidara, Liao Wu left Hinata and Bulu to head there, where Deidara survived an explosion and prepared to use C2.

• Liao Wu used the Flying Thunder God Technique to catch Kabuto and implanted a hidden coordinate in his body.
• Kabuto escaped underground with a Snake Substitute, and Liao Wu decided not to pursue him.
• Tobi encountered Sasuke in the forest, then Deidara attacked Sasuke with Explosive Clay.
• Liao Wu sensed the explosion and sent Hinata and Bulu toward the central gathering point while he went to scout ahead.
• Sasuke redirected Deidara’s Clay Spiders, causing them to explode near Deidara, who survived and prepared to use C2.

Sasuke fought Deidara’s aerial explosives and buried clay mines, then countered Deidara’s microscopic bombs with an illusion. The chapter ended with Sasuke appearing behind Deidara and piercing his chest with Chidori.

• Deidara summoned his C2 Giant Dragon and had Tobi bury clay landmines while he attacked Sasuke from the air.
• Sasuke entered Curse Mark Two and fought back, but Deidara’s explosives damaged one of his wings.
• Sasuke struck Deidara with a massive shuriken, sending him onto the buried mines, but Deidara escaped the blast on a clay eagle.
• Deidara used C4: Golden-Winged Bird, filling the air with microscopic clay bombs, and believed they had destroyed Sasuke.
• Sasuke used an illusion to make Deidara mistake the fate of the battle, then appeared behind him in Curse Mark Two and pierced his chest with Chidori.

Sasuke and Deidara fought through a series of deceptive attacks, with Sasuke using his Sharingan and Lightning Style to counter Deidara’s clay bombs. Deidara, enraged by Sasuke’s indifference to his art, prepared another attack, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Deidara revealed that he had used a Clay Clone and his trained left eye to deceive Sasuke, then trapped him inside an explosive clay creation.
• Sasuke survived Deidara’s C4 attack by using Raikiri to destroy the microscopic bombs within his body, then explained that Lightning Style countered the clay explosives.
• Deidara tried to restrain Sasuke with Clay Snakes, but Sasuke destroyed them with electricity as both fighters ran out of strength.
• Deidara threatened to detonate his remaining clay and grew furious at Sasuke’s calm expression and lack of interest in his art.
• Sasuke pressed Deidara for Itachi’s location and deactivated his Sharingan, but Deidara misread the gesture and stripped off his clothes, revealing stitched arms and a sewn-looking pattern on his chest.

Liao Wu stopped Deidara from self-destructing and confronted Sasuke, who rejected his attempt to bring him back. After Sasuke escaped, Tobi revealed Akatsuki’s role in Naruto’s parents’ deaths and asked Liao Wu for forgiveness.

• Deidara began his ten-kilometer self-destruction, but Liao Wu appeared and sealed his Ultimate Art before knocking him unconscious.
• Sasuke recognized that Liao Wu did not feel like Naruto, then heard that Naruto was the orphaned son of the Fourth Hokage.
• Liao Wu urged Sasuke to stop seeking revenge on Itachi, but Sasuke became furious and escaped inside Orochi.
• Tobi told Liao Wu that Akatsuki had attacked Kushina and released the Nine-Tails during Naruto’s birth, then asked whether he could forgive them.
• Liao Wu replied by asking whether Tobi would forgive him if he raped Tobi’s wife, and Tobi said he had no wife.

Liao Wu captured Deidara, sealed his chakra, and began interrogating him while copying the mouth-creation technique in Deidara’s hands. He tried to turn Deidara against the Akatsuki by claiming Tobi was Madara Uchiha, leaving Deidara stunned and questioning Tobi’s disguise.

• Obito realized Naruto had learned the Flying Thunder God Technique and warned Nagato to prepare Amegakure’s defenses after Deidara was captured.
• Liao Wu brought Deidara to his prisoners, controlled Kakuzu’s subordinates with spores, and ordered his Shadow Clones to beat Deidara.
• Liao Wu studied Deidara’s hand mouths and copied the modification technique, shocking Deidara.
• Liao Wu told Deidara that the Akatsuki had abandoned him and falsely claimed Tobi was Madara Uchiha.
• Deidara was stunned by the claim and wondered why Madara would disguise himself as a newcomer.

Liao Wu persuaded Deidara that Akatsuki had used him to test Sasuke and recruited him into a new underground organization. They discussed reshaping the Ninja World to achieve peace, and Deidara named their group the Explosive Organization.

• Liao Wu explained that Madara Uchiha had used Deidara as a test for Sasuke and that Nagato had known about the plan.
• Deidara agreed to follow Liao Wu after Liao Wu offered him chances to use his explosive art, though Liao Wu kept the seal on his chest in place.
• Liao Wu told Deidara he wanted to challenge the Daimyo's power and discussed using the Ten-Tails to unite the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
• Deidara suggested that lasting peace would not stop him from having people to blow up, and Liao Wu pointed out that future threats would remain.
• Deidara named Liao Wu's new organization the Explosive Organization.

After Liao Wu took Deidara’s Akatsuki ring, Akatsuki learned that Naruto had captured Deidara using the Flying Thunder God Technique and Uzumaki seals. Sasuke survived his battle with Deidara and learned that Karin might be descended from the Uzumaki Clan.

• Deidara gave Liao Wu Kakuzu’s hidden funds and his Azure Dragon ring, then warned that Akatsuki wanted the Nine-Tails within him.
• Black and White Zetsu reported Deidara’s capture to Akatsuki, and the Deva Path assigned Kisame and Itachi to pursue the Eight-Tails while he and Konan targeted the Nine-Tails.
• Itachi insisted on confronting Sasuke before pursuing the organization’s plans, despite Kisame’s warning that his illness left him too weak for another battle.
• Sasuke emerged from Orochi badly injured, recovered chakra through Karin, and told Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo about his fight with Deidara.
• Suigetsu and Sasuke suggested Karin was descended from the Uzumaki Clan, but Karin said her mother had never told her about it.

Sasuke and his team evaded the Leaf Village group pursuing them by scattering the scent from Sasuke's undershirt. Kakashi's team realized the trail had split in multiple directions.

• Sasuke stopped Suigetsu from dwelling on Karin's past and continued searching for information about Itachi.
• Kakashi's team found the battlefield where Sasuke had fought Deidara, and Liao Wu confirmed that Sasuke had escaped while Deidara appeared to have been blown to pieces.
• Kiba picked up Sasuke's scent and led Kakashi's team toward him as Liao Wu reflected on Itachi, the Uchiha Clan, and Leaf Village.
• Karin sensed the pursuers, took one of Sasuke's undershirts, and had Jugo's birds carry its scraps in different directions.
• Kiba lost Sasuke's trail when the scent split into many paths, and Kakashi concluded that Sasuke's team had noticed their pursuit.

Liao Wu, Kakashi, and Sakura searched for Sasuke while debating whether they should stop his revenge. In the Hokage’s Office, Tsunade advanced plans for a joint Chunin Exam and Five Kage Summit, while Jiraiya revealed that Akatsuki’s leader was in Amegakure amid a hidden civil conflict.

• Liao Wu proposed dinner, but Sakura insisted that finding Sasuke came first, and he argued that Sasuke saw them as obstacles to his revenge.
• Kakashi shared how hatred had hurt him, but Liao Wu challenged him over whether Sasuke should be denied revenge for Itachi’s killing of his clan.
• Kakashi asked Liao Wu to use the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and more than a hundred clones set out to search for Sasuke.
• Shizune told Tsunade that the Fourth Raikage had agreed to a joint Chunin Exam, and Tsunade pressed Stone Village to join so the villages could discuss forming an alliance against Akatsuki.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Akatsuki’s leader was in Amegakure, where strict isolation concealed a civil war between two factions, one led by the Akatsuki leader.

Jiraiya left for Rain Village to investigate Akatsuki, while Tsunade warned him about the danger and Root. After learning the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy, Liao Wu sent a Wood Clone to Rōran to summon his past main body and then encountered Uchiha Itachi.

• Jiraiya persuaded Tsunade to let him infiltrate Rain Village and investigate Akatsuki’s leader.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade drank together, and he warned her to watch out for Root Members before departing.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade the Great Toad Sage had prophesied that an evil power with a Sharingan and a Rinnegan had entered the Ninja World.
• Liao Wu’s Shadow Clone reported Jiraiya’s departure and the prophecy, prompting Liao Wu to send a Wood Clone toward Rōran to use the Dragon Vein to summon his past main body.
• Liao Wu sensed someone watching him and saw Uchiha Itachi in the darkness.

Itachi gave Naruto Uzumaki Shisui's Mangekyo hidden in a crow, but Liao Wu took control of the crow and sent it toward Deidara. Meanwhile, Sasuke confronted Itachi in an Akatsuki hideout and learned where their real fight would take place, while Obito watched Sasuke's path from the Valley of the End.

• Itachi met Naruto Uzumaki and implanted Shisui's Mangekyo in him through a crow, intending to leave for his death with his preparations complete.
• Liao Wu used Yin Yang Release to remove the crow, replace Itachi's control with his own, and send it toward Kakuzu's hideout to control Deidara.
• Sasuke entered an Akatsuki hideout and attacked Itachi, but Itachi's crow illusion vanished after directing him to the Uchiha hideout.
• Karin, Jugo, and Suigetsu joined Sasuke, and Sasuke told them to leave with him to find Itachi.
• Obito watched a hawk from Madara's statue in the Valley of the End and wondered whether Sasuke would become a snake or a hawk.