Chapter Summaries

Sakura and Naruto combined their techniques to break Haku’s ice defenses and knock him unconscious. Meanwhile, Sasuke revealed he had provoked Raiga Kurosuki into fighting at full strength, and the two prepared to settle the battle with one final move.

• Sakura gathered the fog into a water sphere, exposing Haku’s Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals.
• Sakura launched a Water Dragon Bullet, and Naruto joined it with a spinning attack that overwhelmed Haku’s Ice Rock Dome and left him unconscious.
• Sasuke and Raiga Kurosuki clashed above the sea, and both were thrown back by the collision.
• Sasuke told Raiga Kurosuki that he had deliberately provoked him to fight at his peak.
• Sasuke pointed the Sword of the Thunder God Light at Raiga Kurosuki and declared that their next move would decide life and death.

Sasuke defeated Raiga Kurosuki in a clash of powerful lightning techniques and agreed to bury him alongside Ranmaru. When Ao and Kirigakure shinobi arrived and demanded that Sasuke show mercy, Sasuke killed Raiga and challenged Ao to tell him what to do.

• Sasuke and Raiga concentrated their chakra into their weapons and unleashed Chidori: Tengen Toppa and Lightning Blade Technique: Lightning Burial against each other.
• The clash created a vast vacuum over the water, and Naruto and Sakura rushed toward Sasuke after seeing the lightning from afar.
• Sasuke approached the defeated Raiga, who asked him to bury Ranmaru properly and leave his own body in the ocean.
• Sasuke agreed to bury Raiga with Ranmaru, then drew Kagutsuchi and pierced Raiga's neck as Kirigakure shinobi arrived.
• Ao confronted Sasuke, but fell silent when Sasuke turned his Sharingan on him and asked, “Are you teaching me what to do?”

Sasuke confronted Ao’s Kirigakure squad over Raiga Kurosuki’s corpse and weapons, and Ao withdrew rather than risk a fight with Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. When they reached Kakashi, he had already killed Zabuza, leaving the Kirigakure ninja shocked.

• Sasuke recognized Ao and connected Kirigakure to Gato’s operations in the Land of Waves.
• Ao demanded Raiga Kurosuki’s corpse and the twin Lightning Blades, but Sasuke refused and threatened to take Ao’s Byakugan.
• Naruto and Sakura joined Sasuke, and Ao ordered his squad to leave after sensing Naruto’s Nine-Tails chakra.
• Ao’s squad hurried toward Zabuza’s battlefield, but Kakashi had already pierced Zabuza’s chest and killed him.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura arrived beside Kakashi as the Kirigakure squad reacted in shock to Zabuza’s death.

After Team 7 settled at Tazuna’s home, Sasuke reflected on how the battle with Raiga had increased his strength and discovered Tazuna’s unusual flying ship, Tobishachimaru. Inari also lent Sasuke a book about the supposedly fictional Land of Redaku, leaving Sasuke curious about its connection to the Sage of Six Paths.

• Team 7 returned to Tazuna’s home, where Tsunami welcomed them and Tazuna praised their strength to his family.
• Kakashi woke up and told Team 7 to rest while he discussed the mission with Tazuna.
• Sasuke reviewed his battle with Raiga and realized he had grown strong enough to contend with Elite Jonin even without using his Sharingan.
• Sasuke found Inari following him in the backyard and learned that Tazuna had designed a flying ship called Tobishachimaru.
• Inari gave Sasuke a book about the Land of Redaku, which was said to be a peaceful country where the Sage of Six Paths had once lived.

Kakashi began training Team 7 to learn the Rasengan before Gato could attack Tazuna and the bridge. Naruto saw how the technique could improve his Konoha Dragon God, while Sakura became determined to master the Fourth Hokage’s techniques.

• Kakashi told Team 7 that Gato might attack when the bridge was completed in about seven days and began special training to teach them a new ninjutsu.
• Kakashi demonstrated the Rasengan, and Sakura recognized it as the technique created by the Fourth Hokage.
• Sakura explained that the Fourth Hokage’s combat style relied on speed, and she resolved to learn the Rasengan and his fastest Body Flicker Technique.
• Kakashi identified the Eye of the Dragon as a weakness in Naruto’s Konoha Dragon God and explained that Rasengan’s compression could turn it into a lethal point.
• Naruto eagerly agreed to learn the Rasengan, and Kakashi began explaining its training stages.

Team 7 mastered the Rasengan and exchanged ideas about how to develop it further before returning from the Land of Waves. Sasuke secretly visited an ancient castle in the Kubisaki Territory, signed a summoning scroll, and the team later headed home after the bridge was completed.

• Sasuke and Sakura mastered the Rasengan within days, while Naruto used Shadow Clones to learn it and planned to combine it with the Konoha Dragon God.
• Sasuke and Naruto traded techniques with Sakura to learn her Body Flicker Technique, then the three discussed their plans for improving the Rasengan.
• Sakura demonstrated a two-way rotating Rasengan that created a pulling force, and Sasuke suggested she practice while Naruto planned to boost his technique with more chakra.
• Sasuke asked Sakura about the Kubisaki Territory, then secretly traveled there two nights later and signed his name on a summoning scroll in an ancient castle.
• The bridge was completed without an attack from Gato, and Tazuna named it the Konoha Bridge before Team 7 began its journey home.

After returning from the Land of Waves, Team 7 received half a month off, though each member chose to train rather than relax. Sasuke then summoned the Kubisaki Giant Lizard and traveled to its hidden realm, Grass Lizard Swamp, seeking a safe place for his plans.

• Team 7 returned to Konoha, and the Third Hokage raised their mission rating to A-rank and granted them half a month off.
• The Third Hokage reviewed reports of Sasuke awakening the Sharingan and considered Konoha's growing advantage over Kirigakure in the Land of Waves.
• Kakashi vanished before treating Team 7 to a meal, while Sasuke and Naruto each left to train and Sakura was left alone.
• Sasuke returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound, created a Shadow Clone to cover his absence, and summoned the Kubisaki Giant Lizard.
• Sasuke asked Kubisaki to take him to Grass Lizard Swamp, then followed the summoning pull and disappeared.

Sasuke prepared to merge with his dark personality by summoning Shadow Clones to meditate and steady his mind. He entered the spiritual world and reached out to the silent Ido Sasuke, beginning the fusion.

• Sasuke arrived at Grass Lizard Swamp, where Kubisaki welcomed him and promised to protect him.
• Sasuke cleared a space, unpacked supplies and nutrient solutions, and prepared for an uncertain period of unconsciousness.
• Sasuke created twelve hundred Shadow Clones and had them meditate to help him withstand his dark personality’s influence.
• After recovering his chakra, Sasuke lay on the operating table while two Shadow Clones guarded him.
• Sasuke entered his spiritual world, found Ido Sasuke in absolute silence, and placed his hand on Ido Sasuke’s head.

Sasuke endured the overwhelming isolation inside his inner world as Ido Sasuke awakened the time-controlling ocular technique Amenotokotachi and then vanished, leaving behind his negative emotions and the devouring technique Takamimusubi. Three days later, Sasuke awoke with his own Mangekyō Sharingan, though its ability remained unknown.

• Sasuke’s Shadow Clones monitored his body and repeatedly returned to him to keep his brain activity and cellular bioelectricity from disappearing as he merged with Ido Sasuke.
• Inside the inner world, Sasuke endured centuries’ worth of perceived isolation before Ido Sasuke awakened Amenotokotachi, an ocular technique that controlled the user’s perception and flow of time.
• Ido Sasuke vanished, releasing a mass of negative emotions that merged with Sasuke and revealed Takamimusubi, an ocular technique that devoured and absorbed chakra and other resources.
• Sasuke rejected both Amenotokotachi and Takamimusubi because each would drastically alter his personality and chose to wait for his own Mangekyō ability.
• After three days asleep, Sasuke opened his eyes and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Sasuke awakened Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto and Takemikazuchi, gaining powerful Yin Fire and Yin Lightning abilities. After fusing the Blade of Kagutsuchi with his Susanoo, he began fusing Kiba and a Lightning Release Chakra Crystal, ending with the creation of the Sword of Futsu-no-Mitama.

• Sasuke recovered from his dangerous Mangekyō awakening and used Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto to fly on Black Flame wings.
• Sasuke fused the Blade of Kagutsuchi with his Susanoo and discovered it had become his Spirit Tool, increasing his Fire Release chakra.
• Sasuke turned the Blade of Kagutsuchi into a flame-shaped mark on his wrist and brought out Kiba and a Lightning Release Chakra Crystal.
• Sasuke awakened Takemikazuchi and produced Yin Lightning called Purple Electricity, which disrupted enemies' chakra and thoughts.
• Sasuke struggled to fuse Kiba with the Lightning Release Chakra Crystal until a burst of light and thunder formed the Sword of Futsu-no-Mitama in his Susanoo's hand.

Sasuke trained in medical ninjutsu with Yakushi Kabuto, who praised his talent and discussed the Uzumaki Clan’s Physical Healing technique. After hearing how Team 7’s missions had made them famous, Sasuke asked Kabuto whether people could have a Third Eye.

• Sasuke used Chakra Scalpel to cut his arm, then healed the wound with Yin Healing Wound Destruction.
• Yakushi Kabuto praised Sasuke’s medical ninjutsu talent and explained how Yin Healing Wound Destruction worked.
• Sasuke praised Kabuto’s expertise and suggested he could create a medical ninjutsu beyond the Uzumaki Clan’s Physical Healing.
• Yakushi Kabuto told Sasuke that Team 7 had become famous after completing hundreds of missions and receiving a letter of thanks from Kazahana Koyuki.
• Sasuke asked Yakushi Kabuto whether people could have a Third Eye.

Sasuke asked Yakushi Kabuto about the possibility of a human third eye and learned that the idea had been discussed in both religious lore and medical research. After investigating intelligence about Hozuki Castle, Sasuke focused on the Box of Ultimate Bliss as a way to evolve Uchiha Mikoto’s Sharingan into a Mangekyō Sharingan he could use as his own third eye.

• Sasuke told Yakushi Kabuto that he had found a small hole above the eye sockets in dissected animals and asked whether humans had a third eye.
• Yakushi Kabuto said he believed humans might possess a third eye that had degenerated or become hidden, and offered Sasuke books about the brain and eyes.
• Yakushi Kabuto asked whether Sasuke would participate in the Chunin Exams, and Sasuke said he would wait to see what his teacher arranged.
• Sasuke returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound, retrieved intelligence from a ninja cat, and read about Hozuki Castle and its lord, Mui.
• Sasuke decided to use the Box of Ultimate Bliss to evolve Uchiha Mikoto’s Sharingan into a Mangekyō Sharingan, transplant it onto his forehead, and create an Eye of Ultimate Bliss.

Sasuke explained his research into the pineal gland and realized he could transplant Uchiha Mikoto’s Sharingan into his brow as a third eye that might eventually evolve into the Eye of the Moon. He decided to pursue the Box of Ultimate Bliss in Kusagakure to make Mikoto’s Three Tomoe Sharingan evolve into a Mangekyo.

• Sasuke recalled that his research into the pineal gland began two years earlier and that awakening a Third Eye was far more difficult for him than for ordinary people.
• Sasuke discovered that the pineal gland had the nerves needed to use an eye and contained a trace of unusually pure Yin Release power.
• Sasuke concluded he could transplant Uchiha Mikoto’s Sharingan into his brow, where it could function without Danzo’s drawbacks and potentially evolve with his strength.
• Sasuke rejected using emotional trauma to awaken the transplanted Sharingan, wary of recreating Ido and worsening the problems left by Ido Sasuke.
• Sasuke set his sights on the Box of Ultimate Bliss in Kusagakure and considered wishing for Uchiha Mikoto’s Sharingan to evolve into a Mangekyo.

Sasuke planned to use the Box of Ultimate Bliss to evolve his Sharingan and control the dangerous emotions caused by merging with Ido Sasuke. He then turned to his more urgent plans: evolving his Eternal Mangekyo and killing the snake.

• Sasuke suppressed the bloodlust and indifference affecting him after merging with Ido Sasuke.
• Sasuke reasoned that the Box of Ultimate Bliss was a Yin Release artifact whose power might grant him an immortal Mangekyō and absorb his negative emotions.
• Sasuke concluded that opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss would require chakra on the scale of a Tailed Beast.
• Sasuke remembered a possible way to find the required sacrifice and used small movements to pull himself out of loneliness and emptiness.
• Sasuke set aside the Box of Ultimate Bliss for later and focused on evolving his Eternal Mangekyo and killing the snake.

Deva Path Pain accepted Konoha’s invitation to the Joint Chunin Exams and arranged for Amegakure to gather intelligence while planning support for Suien’s coup in Takigakure. Elsewhere, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki discussed Sasuke’s growing strength until Pain summoned the organization members.

• Konan told Deva Path Pain that Konoha had invited Amegakure to the Joint Chunin Exams on July 1st, and he ordered several teams to attend and gather intelligence.
• Konan informed Deva Path Pain that Suien had agreed to their conditions, and Pain ordered her to arrange support for his coup against Takigakure.
• Uchiha Itachi walked through the Land of Fire with Kisame Hoshigaki, who brought him dango and admitted he had used genjutsu on the shopkeeper to obtain it.
• Kisame Hoshigaki told Uchiha Itachi that Sasuke had killed Raiga Kurosuki, while Itachi reflected on Sasuke’s recent growth and worried that he might uncover the truth about that night.
• A pulse from Uchiha Itachi’s ring interrupted him as the leader summoned the organization members.

Team 7 accepted a mission to escort Takigakure's young leader, Shibuki, despite their suspicions that another C-rank assignment would become dangerous. Meanwhile, Suien and a group of Rain Ninja began an operation against Takigakure, while two cloaked figures watched from afar.

• Naruto complained to the Third Hokage about Team 7's past C-rank missions turning into far more dangerous assignments, and the Third Hokage promised this escort mission would be simple and require no extra paperwork.
• The Third Hokage tasked Team 7 with escorting Shibuki safely back to Takigakure.
• Sakura and Sasuke worried that the mission would escalate, while Kakashi assured them nothing would happen and promised a meal and good news when they returned.
• Suien led Kirisame and other Rain Ninja toward Takigakure, ordering them to avoid indiscriminate killing because the villagers and ninjas would be useful.
• Dozens of ninjas vanished to begin the operation as two figures in black robes with red clouds watched from a distant cliff.

Kakuzu and Hidan discussed their mission in Takigakure, Hero’s Water, and Kakuzu’s bitter past with the village before Kakuzu headed toward the Bounty Office. Meanwhile, Sakura grew uneasy as Team 7 escorted Takigakure’s young leader Shibu toward his village and noticed he had no guards.

• Hidan proposed sacrificing people in Takigakure, but Kakuzu told him to follow the organization’s orders.
• Kakuzu explained that Hero’s Water increased chakra at the cost of lifespan and physical health, and Hidan realized Kakuzu had once drunk it.
• Kakuzu remembered that Takigakure punished him after his failed attempt to assassinate Senju Hashirama, prompting him to escape with the Earth Grudge Fear technique.
• Kakuzu left for the Bounty Office, and Hidan followed while pointing out that the trip conflicted with their mission.
• Sakura traveled with Kakashi-sensei and Team 7 as they escorted Shibu toward Takigakure, growing suspicious of his nervous behavior and lack of guards.

Kaede welcomed Shibu and Team 7 to Takigakure, but Kakashi left after receiving an emergency alert that the Anbu following them had been attacked. Sasuke suspected danger awaited both Kakashi and the village, while the chapter ended with Kakuzu interrupting Hidan’s ritual to claim Yamato as his own target.

• Sasuke warned Team 7 of Kaede’s approach, and Kaede cheerfully reunited with Shibu before befriending the Konoha ninjas.
• Shibu and Kaede led Team 7 toward Takigakure, where Kakashi received a message and left to attend to an emergency.
• Sasuke noticed the Anbu’s absence and warned Naruto and Sakura to be careful before leading them toward Shibu and Kaede.
• Kakashi reached the attacked Anbu squad and found Yamato wounded while Hidan prepared a ritual against him.
• Kakuzu struck Hidan and stopped the ritual, insisting that he had to kill Yamato because Yamato possessed Wood Release.

Kakashi and Yamato prepared to fight Hidan and Kakuzu after the Akatsuki pair targeted them, while Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura discovered that Suien had allied with Rain Ninja to attack Takigakure. The chapter left both groups on the verge of battle, with Sakura and Naruto struggling to answer the Rain leader’s accusations against the great nations.

• Kakashi joined Yamato’s battered Anbu squad, learned what Hidan and Kakuzu could do, and ordered the survivors to prepare for battle.
• Kakuzu redirected Hidan’s anger toward Hatake Kakashi and revealed that he had once fought the First Hokage.
• Kaede led Team 7 through a hidden passage into Takigakure, where the wounded Kegon warned them that the village was under attack and named Suien as the traitor.
• Rain Ninja ambushed the group with kunai and shuriken, but Naruto deflected the barrage with Konoha Great Whirlwind while Sasuke treated Kegon.
• The Rain leader said Suien had hired them to seize Takigakure, and Sakura challenged their interference before he accused the great nations of exploiting small countries.

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura confronted the Rain Ninja force, and Sasuke chose to end the fight quickly rather than debate their accusations. Sasuke and Naruto combined fire and wind into a devastating attack that overwhelmed the Rain Ninja’s defenses, leaving their gray-haired leader struggling to hold back the flames.

• Sasuke counted thirty-five Rain Ninja and told Naruto and Sakura to cooperate with him in a combined ninjutsu.
• The gray-haired Rain Ninja ordered his forces to attack, and the Rain Ninja launched a barrage of weapons at Team 7.
• Sasuke unleashed Sword Leap Flame as Naruto struck with his Wind Release technique, merging their attacks into a powerful flame storm.
• The Rain Ninja raised multiple Water Formation Walls, but Sasuke and Naruto’s attack smashed through them and pressed toward the gray-haired leader.
• As the gray-haired man desperately reinforced his defenses, Sasuke asked what lay above the vortex clouds and declared it the homeland of the Thunder Dragon.