Recaps

Sand Village’s elders argued over Madara Uchiha’s threat and the village’s worsening finances before Pakura returned from her mission to negotiate with Mist Village. After learning that Madara had been resurrected, Pakura questioned the news and prepared to investigate, while Chiyo confirmed it was true.

• The Sand Village elders debated whether to hand Shukaku to Madara Uchiha as the Land of Wind cut Sunagakure’s funding after its defeat at Kikyo Mountain.
• Chiyo accepted Leaf Village’s invitation to the Five Kage Summit, and the elders discussed demanding financial aid from Leaf Village.
• Pakura burst into the Elder Council Chamber after a summons interrupted her journey to Mist Village, unaware that Rasa and some elders had sent her there as a political sacrifice.
• Rasa gave Pakura documents about Madara Uchiha and the Moon Eye Plan, and Pakura dismissed the report as possible Leaf Village disinformation.
• Chiyo confirmed that Madara Uchiha had been resurrected and that Sand Village was preparing for war, leaving Pakura stunned.

The Sand Village, Mist Village, and several rogue ninja reacted to Madara Uchiha’s revival and Moon Eye Plan as the threat spread across the Ninja Continent. Yagura was assigned to lead Mist Village at the Five Kage Summit, while Fugaku and Shisui learned they had been expelled from the Uchiha Clan.

• Rasa sent intelligence about Madara Uchiha and the Moon Eye Plan to the Daimyo, and Chiyo proposed dealing with Shukaku before leaving for the Five Kage Summit.
• Fugaku and Shisui met Yagura at the Mist Village front, where Yagura said Mist Village’s response depended on the Third Mizukage.
• Mei Terumi told Yagura that the Daimyo and most village leaders supported joining the Leaf Village against Madara Uchiha, and that Yagura would take charge of the Five Kage Summit.
• Ninja Cat Hina told Fugaku and Shisui that Liao Wu, the holder of the Flame Uchiha Gunbai, had expelled every Uchiha in the Leaf Village from the clan.
• Kakuzu learned of the Moon Eye Plan at the Black Market and set out for the Leaf Village, while Sasori headed toward the Land of Rain to pursue what he called Eternal Art.

Minato returned to Leaf Village with one arm missing after his clash with Madara Uchiha, while Jiraiya defended his choices and warned that Liao Wu might oppose Madara's Moon Eye Plan. The chapter ended with Kushina rushing into Minato's hospital room after hearing he had been disabled.

• The Third Hokage and the elders criticized Jiraiya for disobeying orders and blamed his recklessness for Minato's lost arm, but Minato defended his teacher.
• Jiraiya returned from Mount Myōboku, endured the elders' reprimands, and reunited with Minato and the Third Hokage.
• Minato described Madara Uchiha's undetectable shadow, while Jiraiya revealed that Liao Wu had inherited the First Hokage's power and mastered Wood Style.
• Jiraiya told the Third Hokage that Liao Wu would certainly betray Madara Uchiha because he opposed the Moon Eye Plan.
• Kushina rushed into Minato's hospital room with Kakashi, Obito, Mikoto, the White Cat, and Itachi after learning Minato had lost an arm.

Kushina proposed using White Zetsu to restore Minato’s lost arm, but the Third Hokage warned that the treatment had not been tested safely on humans. With a decisive battle against Madara Uchiha approaching, Minato trusted Kushina to proceed.

• Kushina told the Third Hokage not to send Minato to fight Madara Uchiha again, and he agreed to calm her.
• Kushina asked Mikoto to bring out the White Zetsu Clone and explained her plan to seal it inside Minato so he could use its Yang Release to regenerate his arm.
• The Third Hokage questioned Kushina’s lack of human trials and urged her to wait for the Senju Clan’s research to establish that the procedure was safe.
• Minato insisted there was no time to wait for research, and he told Kushina that he trusted her to treat him.

Kushina used a White Zetsu Clone and her Chakra to regenerate Minato’s arm, then celebrated her work by declaring her intention to become Fourth Hokage. Minato gave her a captured White Zetsu, and Kushina pressed Obito about the Spore Technique after he mentioned it.

• Kushina sealed a White Zetsu Clone inside Minato, and Mikoto used her Sharingan to control it while Kushina supplied Chakra to regrow his arm.
• The Third Hokage praised Kushina’s accomplishment, and Kushina announced that she should become Fourth Hokage; Minato and Mikoto joked that they would support her.
• Minato gave Kushina a White Zetsu he had captured in the Land of Rain, and Kushina said the village needed a way to cultivate more White Zetsu.
• Obito told Kushina that White Zetsu could use the Spore Technique to clone themselves, then admitted he did not know how it worked.
• Kushina grabbed Obito by the head and scolded him for going to Madara Uchiha’s battlefield after only recently receiving his Sharingan from Mikoto.

Kushina tried to contact Ryobu through his White Cat Clone but accidentally saw him training with Tsunade, while Jiraiya found a new way to deal with Ryobu and summoned Itachi for a haircut. The chapter ended with Itachi confused because the haircut would break a New Year taboo.

• Minato suggested cultivating White Zetsu Cells with Kushina's Chakra so she could learn the Spore Technique.
• The Third Hokage declared Tsunade a rogue ninja but said she could return if Ryobu left Madara Uchiha's side.
• Kushina used the White Cat Clone to contact Ryobu and briefly saw him and Tsunade fighting in private before quickly breaking the connection.
• Jiraiya guessed what Kushina had seen, then became absorbed in writing about a wronged husband as Obito read his manuscript.
• Jiraiya visited Itachi and told him to come the next day so Jiraiya could shave his head, bewildering Itachi because of the New Year haircut taboo.

On their wedding night, Liao Wu and Tsunade resumed their fierce contest after he released the seal on her Chakra. Their interrupted battle drew Ōnoki’s Clone to Amegakure, where Liao Wu destroyed it, leaving Ōnoki convinced that another Ninja World War was looming.

• Konan and Kuhon rescued Tsunade from Liao Wu, but Tsunade soon sent them away and reunited with her husband.
• Liao Wu released the Spore Seal, restoring Tsunade’s Chakra; Tsunade refused to leave him despite his fear of Madara Uchiha.
• Tsunade activated her Hundred Seal and challenged Liao Wu, reigniting their battle as Konan and Kuhon watched anxiously.
• Ōnoki’s Clone called for Madara Uchiha above Amegakure, and Liao Wu attacked it with Wood Clones firing Crimson Jade Rasengans.
• Ōnoki received his Clone’s memories, recognized Liao Wu’s destructive power, and concluded that a new Ninja World War might begin.

On Leaf Year 51’s first day, Liao Wu left Amegakure to capture Shukaku, after accepting Tsunade’s necklace and demanding that Madara keep her out of the coming war. He departed for Sand Village with Candy and Snow Leopard while his Three Ninja Cats stayed behind to guard Tsunade and Kuhon.

• Jiraiya tried to cut Itachi’s hair, while Ryobu’s White Cat Clone objected and Mikoto watched.
• Tsunade gave Liao Wu a white lily and the First Hokage’s Necklace before he left to carry out Madara’s mission.
• Madara ordered Liao Wu to capture Shukaku and Nagato and Konan to capture Chongming; Liao Wu threatened to destroy the world if Tsunade were harmed, then Madara agreed to keep her out of the war.
• Madara gave Liao Wu a Yin Yang Release scroll and sent him toward Sand Village after beating him for proposing to turn the Moon Eye Plan into a scheme to claim young women.
• Liao Wu met Nagato and Konan on the road, gave Nagato a controllable Spore, and told him to protect Konan.
• Liao Wu left Fish Ball, Cai Lai, and Fried Rice to guard Tsunade and Kuhon, then set off for Sand Village with Candy and Snow Leopard.

Madara planned to make Liao Wu lose Tsunade so that he would awaken the Uchiha’s ultimate power, while Liao Wu traveled toward Sunagakure and studied Yin Yang Release. Liao Wu tested the technique by creating a cup, and he considered how the Sage of Six Paths might have used it to create life and the Tailed Beasts.

• Madara watched Liao Wu leave and decided he would need to carefully arrange Tsunade’s death to awaken Liao Wu’s ultimate power.
• Nekomata joined Liao Wu on the road to Sunagakure after insisting on a summoning contract, and Liao Wu accepted her as his Summoning Beast.
• Liao Wu read Madara’s scroll and learned about Yin Yang Release, its connection to creation, and its role in techniques such as Susanoo.
• Liao Wu used Yin Release to imagine a cup and Yang Release with his Wood Style power to give it form, then handed it to Candy.
• Liao Wu reflected that the Sage of Six Paths might have created humans and the Tailed Beasts through Yin Yang Release.

Liao Wu arrived in a mountain town where Sasori had attacked its ninja and was preparing to kill the remaining townspeople. After finding the Uchiha-eyed Liao Wu in his way, Sasori faced a challenger who declared his death.

• Snow Leopard told Liao Wu that rogue ninja were attacking a town, and Liao Wu learned that a rogue Puppet Master from Sand Village was behind the attack.
• Sasori used Hiruko to defeat a Wind Style Jonin with poisoned needles and identified himself as Sasori of the Red Sands.
• After killing the Jonin, Sasori drew out the Hundred scroll and prepared to wipe out the town so no one could reveal his location.
• Liao Wu silently approached Sasori and stopped him by placing a hand on Hiruko's head.
• Sasori recognized Liao Wu's Sharingan and expressed interest in making an Uchiha Human Puppet.
• Liao Wu saw the dead townspeople and told Sasori he had chosen death.

Liao Wu defeated Sasori and exposed his human-puppet body, then learned Sasori wanted to join Madara Uchiha’s organization and support the Moon Eye Plan. The chapter left Liao Wu questioning Sasori’s pursuit of eternal art.

• Sasori attacked Liao Wu with poisoned needles, but Liao Wu’s Susanoo deflected them and blasted Sasori away with a powerful wind technique.
• Liao Wu found Sasori’s true body among the shattered Hiruko puppet pieces and recognized Sasori as a human puppet.
• Candy introduced Liao Wu as Uchiha Ryobu, and Sasori admitted he knew of him through the Black Market.
• Sasori asked Liao Wu to take him to Madara Uchiha, offering to make human puppets that preserved their former abilities.
• Liao Wu asked Sasori whether he pursued the Eternal Art, and Sasori affirmed that his transformation into a puppet was his art.

Liao Wu confronted Sasori, exposing his loneliness and his desire for a world where his parents were alive. Sasori revealed the Third Kazekage puppet and attacked Liao Wu, who sent Candy and Snow Leopard to secure the area before capturing him.

• Liao Wu told Sasori that he pursued the Moon Eye Plan to reunite with his parents, provoking Sasori's fury.
• Sasori opened a scroll to reveal the Third Kazekage puppet, and Liao Wu correctly said Sasori had poisoned the Kazekage to death.
• Sasori admitted killing the Third Kazekage and explained that his Human Puppet Technique preserved the victim's abilities.
• Sasori sent the Third Kazekage puppet at Liao Wu, who asked Candy and Snow Leopard to clear and watch the surroundings while he captured Sasori.

Liao Wu fought Sasori and the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand puppet, surviving its attacks and poison while overpowering them with Susanoo and monstrous strength. Sasori escaped into the sky on Iron Sand Wings, and Liao Wu claimed Tsunade had married him the previous day.

• The Third Kazekage attacked Liao Wu with Iron Sand, but Liao Wu blocked the spear with Susanoo and struck Sasori with its fan.
• Sasori protected himself with an Iron Sand Wall, then pierced Liao Wu’s Susanoo with poisoned Iron Sand Needles and shattered it with an Iron Sand Pyramid.
• Liao Wu stopped the pyramid with one hand, healed the wound from the needles, and hurled the pyramid back at Sasori.
• Liao Wu kicked the pyramid toward Sasori with tremendous force, but Sasori escaped by taking flight on the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand Wings.
• Sasori asked how Liao Wu knew Tsunade’s Monstrous Strength technique, and Liao Wu said Tsunade had married him the day before.

Liao Wu rejected Scorpion’s offer to join Madara and attacked him with powerful Fire Style techniques. When Scorpion countered with Magnet Release, Liao Wu revealed his Wood Style and began summoning a Wood Dragon.

• Scorpion asked Liao Wu to let him join Madara, but Liao Wu revealed he wanted to defeat Madara and never intended to carry out the Moon Eye Plan.
• Snow Leopard and Candy persuaded Nekomata to follow Liao Wu, explaining that he was the Uchiha Clan’s rightful heir and that they would wait for a chance to escape Madara’s control.
• Liao Wu attacked Scorpion with a Crimson Jade Rasengan and a series of Fire Style techniques, heating the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand Barrier until Scorpion’s clothes burned away.
• Scorpion used the Third Kazekage’s Magnet Release: Sand Iron World Law to strike Liao Wu with Iron Sand spikes.
• Liao Wu declared that Magnet Release was not the strongest Kekkei Genkai and used Wood Style: Wood Dragon Technique.

Ryobu overwhelmed Sasori with Wood Style during their battle and captured Sasori after destroying his puppets and body. With nearby ninjas approaching, Ryobu and his companions fled with Sasori's sealed Regeneration Core and the Third Kazekage Puppet.

• Ryobu summoned a Wood Dragon that shattered the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand Barrier and knocked the puppet beyond Sasori's control.
• Sasori summoned his Hundred Puppets and attacked Ryobu, who blocked their weapons with a Wood Golem Wall.
• Ryobu formed a gigantic Wood Golem that crushed Sasori's puppets and body, leaving only his Regeneration Core.
• Ryobu sealed Sasori's Regeneration Core, while Candy retrieved the Third Kazekage Puppet and warned that ninjas were approaching.
• Ryobu jumped onto Nekomata's back and left with his companions to keep his mission to capture Shukaku secret.

Liao Wu subdued Sasori and used his Chakra to uncover Sasori’s past, including the loss of his parents and his path to becoming a Human Puppet. The chapter ended with Liao Wu learning how Sasori killed the Third Kazekage and became a rogue ninja.

• Liao Wu carried Nekomata, Candy, and Snow Leopard across the desert on a Wood Dragon because the heat was too much for the cats.
• Liao Wu confronted Sasori and demanded that he teach him the Human Puppet Technique.
• Sasori tried to self-destruct, but Liao Wu disrupted his Chakra and used his Spores to take control of him.
• Liao Wu entered Sasori’s memories and learned that White Fang killed Sasori’s parents when Sasori was eight.
• Sasori lost his chance for revenge when White Fang died, then turned himself into a Human Puppet and killed the Third Kazekage.
• Sasori defected from Sand Village with the Third Kazekage’s puppet and traveled the Ninja World to improve his techniques.

Liao Wu absorbed Sasori’s memories and techniques, then learned to control the Third Kazekage puppet and made it dance. He moved on to testing the puppet’s Ninjutsu, which could be activated without hand seals.

• Liao Wu absorbed Sasori’s memories and Ninjutsu, including the secrets of Human Puppet-making and the Chakra Core.
• Candy revived Liao Wu with a temple massage and a small jolt of Lightning Style, while Sasori realized Liao Wu had taken everything from him.
• Liao Wu used ten Chakra Threads to control the Third Kazekage and made the puppet perform a dance that horrified Sasori and the others.
• Liao Wu explained that Sasori’s Third Kazekage puppet could activate Ninjutsu without hand seals by matching Chakra Threads to techniques encoded in its Chakra Core.
• Liao Wu began testing the Third Kazekage’s Ninjutsu, including its poison-coated Iron Sand techniques.

Liao Wu headed for Sand Village to capture One-Tails Shukaku and obtain Chiyo’s Life Reincarnation, while Candy learned to control the Third Kazekage puppet. At Sand Village’s entrance, the guards recognized Liao Wu as Sasori, and Rasa and Chiyo argued over whether Rasa’s child should become the village’s next Jinchuriki.

• Liao Wu used the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand Shower, then taught Candy the Puppet Technique so she could control the puppet.
• Liao Wu admitted to Sasori that he intended to capture Shukaku and explained that he also wanted Chiyo’s Life Reincarnation to revive Tsunade if necessary.
• Liao Wu reached Sand Village’s Yixiantian, where Yura and the other guards recognized him as the returned Sasori.
• Rasa asked Chiyo to spare his child from becoming a Jinchuriki, but Chiyo insisted that the village needed to choose someone close to its leader.

Rasa and Chiyo debated making Rasa’s unborn child the Shukaku Jinchuriki before learning that Sasori had returned to Sand Village. Chiyo persuaded Rasa to accept Sasori’s return, but Sasori faced the village guards at Yixiantian with ten Elite Jonin under his control.

• Chiyo insisted that Rasa’s unborn child become the Shukaku Jinchuriki, and Rasa reluctantly agreed to persuade Karura.
• Ma announced that Sasori had returned, and Chiyo rushed with Rasa toward the village entrance to find her grandson.
• Chiyo urged Rasa to forgive Sasori and welcome his strength despite suspicions that he had killed the Third Kazekage.
• Rasa agreed to forgive Sasori after Chiyo offered to teach Kankuro the Puppet Technique and help him manage the elders.
• At Yixiantian, the guards prepared to capture Sasori, but he held ten Elite Jonin with his Chakra Threads and stopped them from approaching.

Liao Wu impersonated Sasori and returned to Sunagakure, where Chiyo welcomed him with joy. After meeting the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, Liao Wu considered Rasa’s complicated record and Sasori’s contempt for him.

• Chiyo recognized Liao Wu’s Sasori disguise and embraced him, overjoyed that her grandson had returned.
• Liao Wu pushed Chiyo away and acted coldly as Sasori, convincing her that he was truly her solitary, aloof grandson.
• Chiyo led Liao Wu into Yixiantian, where Sand Village shinobi welcomed the return of their renowned Puppet Master.
• Chiyo introduced Liao Wu to Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage.
• Liao Wu reflected on Rasa’s ruthless decisions, his efforts to sustain the village, and Sasori’s belief that Rasa was beneath him.

Liao Wu, disguised as Sasori, returned to Sand Village and rejected Madara Uchiha’s Moon Eye Plan, while Chiyo welcomed him and offered to help him confront Kakashi. His disguise survived Heimaru’s scrutiny, and Sand Village’s elders and Puppet Masters gathered to celebrate Sasori’s return.

• Liao Wu told Rasa and Chiyo that he opposed Madara Uchiha’s plan to create a World of Illusion, and Chiyo offered to capture Kakashi after the Five Kage Summit.
• Chiyo introduced Liao Wu to Inuzuka Tsume and Heimaru, Leaf’s envoy to the Sand Village alliance against Madara Uchiha.
• Heimaru sniffed Liao Wu and accused him of smelling like cats, but Chiyo accepted his explanation that he had raised one.
• Liao Wu asked for dog meat, angering Tsume, and Chiyo pulled him aside to prevent a quarrel with Leaf’s envoy.
• Ebizo, Baki, Yashamaru, Pakura, Kurenai, Sasori’s former subordinates, and Sand Village’s Puppet Masters arrived and welcomed Liao Wu as Sasori.

Liao Wu used his Sharingan to make Sasori’s former subordinates welcome Sasori’s return, while the Sand Village elders and old comrades gathered around him. As Pakura approached, she warned Kurenai to stay away from the dangerous man.

• Liao Wu planted suggestions in Sasori’s subordinates, making them criticize Rasa and praise Sasori.
• Ebizo and the elders accepted Liao Wu as Sasori after Chiyo confirmed his identity, while Sasori reflected on his lingering bonds with the village.
• Yashamaru and Maki welcomed Sasori back, and Yashamaru chose to ignore the rumors that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage.
• The elders kept their distance from Sasori but recognized that the village needed his strength against Madara Uchiha.
• Kurenai watched Sasori from afar, and Pakura warned her not to approach him before walking toward Sasori herself.

Pakura confronted Sasori over the Third Kazekage’s death, but Sasori denied the accusation and turned the crowd against her with a scandalous claim. The chapter left Pakura furious and humiliated as the village debated whether Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage or defected because of her.

• Pakura accused Sasori of killing the Third Kazekage, while Rasa let her confront him so the village could gauge Sasori’s strength.
• Sasori asked Pakura why she was still alive, revealing that he knew the village had arranged for her to die in the Mist Village.
• Pakura demanded proof from Sasori, and Chiyo and Sasori’s supporters challenged her to provide evidence for her accusation.
• Sasori claimed Pakura had forced him to help relieve her Scorch Release-induced heat and said he had spent three years hiding from her under an assumed name.
• The crowd mocked Pakura, while Chiyo and Ebizo wondered whether Sasori had defected because of her alleged abuse.

Pakura accused Sasori of killing the Third Kazekage and demanded he answer for it, while Rasa and the elders tried to preserve village unity and keep Sasori from leaving. They settled on Pakura testing Sasori in a fight, and Sasori agreed to teach her a lesson.

• Pakura angrily accused Sasori of slandering her and killing the Third Kazekage, while Liao Wu watched from the sidelines in Sasori's guise.
• Rasa ordered Anbu to take Sasori for questioning, but Chiyo threatened Rasa and the elders, stopping the Anbu from approaching.
• Pakura demanded to interrogate Sasori, and Sasori threatened to leave Sand Village for another great shinobi village.
• Rasa and the elders pulled Pakura aside and argued that Sand Village needed Sasori's strength against Madara Uchiha, even if he was guilty.
• An elder told Pakura to fight Sasori and drop the Third Kazekage accusation afterward, and Pakura agreed to test him.
• Chiyo tried to calm Sasori, but he said he would teach Pakura a lesson.

Liao Wu fought Pakura in a staged duel between their supporters but lacked Sasori’s puppets and had to rely on his other abilities. He ended the chapter controlling ten of Pakura’s allies with Chakra Threads and using them as human shields.

• Chiyo and the Elder Council arranged a fight to settle the dispute, and Liao Wu and Pakura faced each other with their supporters behind them.
• Liao Wu realized he could not use Sasori’s destroyed puppets or reveal the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, while Sasori gloated inside him.
• Pakura dodged Liao Wu’s Chakra Threads, swept them aside with Wind Release, and struck his Sand Clone with Fire Style: Flame Tornado.
• Liao Wu attacked Pakura from underground with a poisoned kunai, but Pakura’s Scorch Release forced him back to the surface.
• Liao Wu redirected his Chakra Threads toward Pakura’s allies, using Sharingan illusion energy to control Kurenai and nine other ninjas, including three Jonin.