Chapter Summaries

Araki hosted a swordsmanship exchange delegation from the Land of Iron and selected members of the Blood Blade Unit to spar with its samurai. He planned to arrange his own match with the delegation leader, Tōshirō, as the final contest.

• Sasori took up the post of Kirigakure's Minister of Technology, and his expanding Puppet Workshop became the foundation for a new Technical Research Institute.
• Araki met Tōshirō, leader of the Land of Iron exchange delegation, and agreed to arrange swordsmanship matches between samurai and sword-wielding ninja.
• Tōshirō asked Araki for a chance to challenge him, and Araki agreed to make their match the final part of the exchange.
• Araki went to Training Ground 7 to choose fighters and called out Zabuza Momochi, Ringo Ameyuri, Hua Bing, Guren, Kisame Hoshigaki, Rei Chiba, and Kaguya Mukotsu.

Araki oversaw a swordsmanship exchange between Kirigakure and the Land of Iron at Training Ground Fifteen, where Zabuza Momochi quickly defeated Yagyu Isshin. Zabuza then faced Nakajo Eita, and the match continued as his Ghost Sword Style Storm Form sent blades of energy toward the samurai.

• Araki escorted Tōshirō and the Land of Iron samurai to Training Ground Fifteen, where Kirigakure's ten exchange participants were waiting.
• Araki restated that the matches allowed only swordsmanship and the Body Flicker Technique, and Tōshirō chose Yagyu Isshin for the first bout.
• Zabuza Momochi blocked Yagyu Isshin's Draw Flash, overpowered him, and forced him to concede.
• Tōshirō sent Nakajo Eita to face Zabuza, who met Nakajo's Checkerboard Slash with Iron-Cutting Form.
• Zabuza followed with Storm Form, sending blades of Ghostly Aura toward Nakajo Eita.

Araki’s Kirigakure fighters overwhelmed the Land of Iron samurai during their exchange matches. Kisame Hoshigaki defeated the remaining high-level samurai, and Tōshirō’s attempt to salvage his group’s honor ended in defeat.

• Zabuza Momochi’s energy-blade attack overwhelmed Nakajo Eita, and Tōshirō stepped in to declare Eita defeated.
• Ringo Ameyuri replaced Zabuza and quickly killed a Land of Iron samurai with her Lightning Style Sword Technique before Araki switched her out.
• Hua Bing defeated opponents with her enchanted ice blade and Blizzard Barrage, leaving them suffering severe cold-related injuries.
• Tōshirō proposed that the high-level samurai face the jōnin, and Araki sent Kisame Hoshigaki into the matches.
• Kisame easily defeated two high-ranking samurai, after which Tōshirō entered the field and was defeated, leaving the Land of Iron exchange group wiped out.

Araki explained why he had humiliated the Land of Iron delegation and predicted that Tōshirō would support closer ties with Kirigakure. Elsewhere, Okisuke investigated an attack on his delegation in the Land of Lightning, but a strange man infused him with the Sha of Anger and awakened his bloodlust.

• Karatachi Yagura questioned Araki about driving the Land of Iron delegation away, and Araki said the display of strength would clarify their priorities and help establish relations.
• Araki reasoned that Tōshirō’s unconventional swordsmanship and history of exile made him likely to support closer ties with Kirigakure.
• In the Land of Lightning, enraged villagers attacked the Land of Iron delegation, and Okisuke fought through them to find a black-robed man at the village well.
• Okisuke struck down the man, who claimed that Okisuke’s anger had drawn them there and urged him to unleash it.
• The black-robed man exploded and sent crimson currents into Okisuke, who opened his eyes with intensified bloodlust and shouted, “Kill!”

Evil Spirit’s followers plunged the Land of Lightning into chaos, while Rasa secured Sunagakure’s reluctant agreement to take in Shrine Maiden Miroku and deal with Moryo. Meanwhile, Araki attempted to devour the Shinigami, which finally fought back by striking at him with its blade.

• Evil Spirit released the transformed people of Kusagakure, whose Emotion Guidance Technique threw the Land of Lightning into chaos as Evil Spirit gathered three spirits.
• Pakura and other Sunagakure leaders opposed Rasa’s agreement to take in Shrine Maiden Miroku because the Jashin Cult and Moryo threatened the Land of Wind.
• Rasa argued that the deal would bring Konoha’s help against the Jashin Cult, and the leaders agreed to prepare for Miroku’s arrival.
• Araki summoned the Shinigami with the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and began devouring its spirit body.
• The Shinigami questioned Araki’s intent, then drew its blade and slashed at him.

Araki continued devouring a Shinigami until the Shinigami chief offered him access to the Pure Land in exchange for teaching soul techniques. The chief revealed that Otsutsuki Hagoromo had defeated the Shinigami Clan, taken control of the Pure Land, and abolished reincarnation.

• Araki overwhelmed the Shinigami and began devouring his spirit body, but the Shinigami chief contacted him and asked him to stop.
• Araki said he needed to strengthen his soul, and the chief offered to summon him to the Pure Land, where he could devour wandering souls.
• The chief admitted he wanted Araki to teach the Shinigami Clan his soul-manipulation techniques, and Araki offered to share stronger techniques if the chief explained the Pure Land.
• The chief revealed that the Shinigami Clan once maintained the Pure Land and reincarnation, until Otsutsuki Hagoromo arrived and demanded that reincarnation stop.
• The Shinigami Clan fought Otsutsuki Hagoromo and was utterly defeated, leaving him in control of the Pure Land and ending the clan's original duties.

Araki learned that Otsutsuki Hagoromo had detained powerful souls in the Pure Land, and he suspected Hagoromo was gathering an army against a future Otsutsuki threat. Araki refused to enter the Pure Land but negotiated the Shinigami Clan Leader’s help against Otsutsuki Hamura’s descendants on the moon.

• Araki asked the Shinigami Clan Leader how Hagoromo had changed reincarnation in the Pure Land and learned that powerful souls had been detained there for more than a thousand years.
• Araki inferred that Hagoromo was collecting powerful souls to prepare for an Otsutsuki invasion and reconsidered the Sage’s past influence on the ninja world.
• Araki decided not to enter the Pure Land, where Hagoromo could trap him, but offered to stop devouring shinigami in exchange for the Shinigami Clan Leader’s help.
• Araki asked the Shinigami Clan Leader to assist him against Otsutsuki Hamura and his descendants on the moon, and the leader agreed.

Araki sent Kaguya Black Bone’s squad to search for the moon’s hidden passage while Kaguya Steel Bone arranged four Kaguya Clan guards for him. In the Land of Wind, Sunagakure and Konoha discovered an oasis with a tailed-beast-level chakra source, and Araki invited Sasori to help cause trouble for both villages.

• Araki sent Kaguya Black Bone and four others to search snowy regions for the glowing lake that led to the moon.
• Kaguya Steel Bone persuaded Araki to let four Kaguya Clan women accompany Black Bone as bodyguards, and Araki agreed on the condition that the mission came first.
• Rasa’s forces buried most of Moryo’s Ghost Army, but Moryo escaped into the desert and evaded capture.
• Sunagakure and Konoha discovered an oasis containing a massive chakra source and began confronting each other over access to it.
• The Jashin Cult intercepted news of the oasis, and Araki asked Sasori in Kirigakure to help stir up trouble for Sunagakure and Konoha.

Araki, Sasori, and Kana headed for Rōran to seize the Dragon Vein, hoping to exploit its chakra and industrial potential. At the city’s perimeter, Sasori revealed himself to Konoha and Sunagakure’s guards and launched an attack with Human Puppets.

• Sasori agreed to join Araki’s plan after learning Konoha and Sunagakure had discovered Rōran and its vast chakra source.
• Araki recognized the source as the Dragon Vein and considered its time-travel and industrial applications.
• Araki, Sasori, and Kana reached Rōran, where Konoha and Sunagakure’s elite teams guarded the site.
• Yamashiro Aoba sent a flock of crows against the intruders, and Sasori’s Human Puppet destroyed them with a wind technique.
• Shiranui Genma recognized the puppet as Shimura Tori, while a Sunagakure shinobi identified Sasori.
• Sasori revealed himself and attacked the guards with two more Human Puppets, combining fire and wind into a blazing assault.

Sasori and Araki fought the Konoha and Sunagakure forces guarding Rōran. Araki revealed his identity and slaughtered the gathered ninja, leaving the way clear to confront their commanders.

• Three Sunagakure ninja used Sandstorm to counter Sasori's Combined Fire-Wind Technique, and both attacks dissipated.
• Yamashiro Aoba, Shiranui Genma, and Namiashi Raidō attacked Sasori, but his puppet body burst with poisoned weapons, killing Raidō and Genma.
• More Konoha and Sunagakure ninja arrived, and Sasori questioned whether Araki could join the fight without exposing Kirigakure.
• Araki drew his chakra light sword, revealed himself to the gathered forces, and said he would kill everyone who witnessed them act.
• Araki flashed through the crowd, killing the gathered ninja and saying he would personally inform Lord Shaliu and Lord Shibi.

Araki and Sasori entered Rōran, where they discovered a lush city powered by a Dragon Vein and filled with chakra-controlled puppets. As Anrokuzan attacked Sunagakure ninja and declared his ambition to rule the world, Sasori appeared at the palace window to challenge him.

• Sasori marveled at Rōran’s greenery and learned from Kana that the earlier arrivals were in the central plaza.
• Hyuga Setsuna detected the Dragon Vein beneath the tower and discovered that chakra threads controlled many of the cheering crowd.
• Shaliu and two other Sunagakure ninja questioned Queen Sara about the Dragon Vein, but Minister Anrokuzan interrupted them.
• Anrokuzan sent five mechanical puppets to attack the Sunagakure ninja and claimed he would rule the world.
• Sasori appeared at the palace window and mocked Anrokuzan’s Puppetry Technique.

Sasori defeated Anrokuzan’s puppets and tracked him to the Dragon Vein, where Anrokuzan activated the Puppet Corps and challenged Araki with a giant puppet. The chapter ended with Sasori recognizing that the giant puppet resembled his own Crow.

• Sasori took control of two of Anrokuzan’s puppets and used them to defeat the others, forcing Anrokuzan to flee with Queen Sara.
• Shaliu and the other two Sunagakure ninja escaped through a window, while Sasori, Araki, and Kana pursued Anrokuzan toward the chakra source.
• Anrokuzan brought Sara to the Dragon Vein and persuaded her to release its power, increasing the Puppet Corps’ production.
• Anrokuzan deployed a thousand puppet soldiers, but Araki quickly destroyed dozens of them.
• Anrokuzan reassembled the scattered puppets into a giant puppet called Giant Crow, and Sasori said it resembled his own Crow.

Sasori easily dismantled Mukade’s Giant Crow puppet and used his secret technique to uncover Mukade’s memories, learning that he had come from a parallel world more than ten years in the future. Sasori took control of Rōran’s Dragon Vein, while Araki anticipated that a visitor from Mukade’s world might soon arrive.

• Sasori dismantled Mukade’s Giant Crow puppet by exploiting his knowledge of its design.
• Araki told Mukade that the puppet blueprints he had stolen were Sasori’s childhood work, and Sasori demanded that Mukade reveal how to control the Dragon Vein.
• When Mukade refused to cooperate, Sasori used the Memory-Concealing Sand Manipulation Technique to read his memories.
• Sasori discovered that Mukade had come from more than ten years in the future, and Araki concluded that his memories described a parallel world.
• Araki told Sasori to take control of the city, and Sasori used Queen Sara to obtain the Dragon Vein.
• Sasori realized that the Dragon Vein let him control puppets throughout the city and prepared to use them to investigate.

Shaliu and Shaqing reasoned that Konoha had helped drive Sasori of the Red Sands from Sunagakure, so Shaliu joined forces with Aburame Shibi against him. Sasori used Rōran’s puppet army to attack them, then Araki set out with Sasori and Kana to meet a powerful chakra source that had suddenly appeared outside the city.

• Shaqing persuaded Shaliu that Konoha had a reason to help defeat Sasori of the Red Sands, and Shaliu led his team to Aburame Shibi to propose an alliance.
• Shaliu accused Aburame Shibi of failing to deal with Sasori, and Shibi agreed to cooperate against their common enemy.
• Sasori announced himself and unleashed Rōran’s puppet soldiers, whose Dragon Vein attacks drove the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja into a desperate flight.
• Sasori watched the citywide pursuit from the underground Dragon Vein Control Room as the puppet army overwhelmed the fleeing ninja.
• Kana detected an enormous chakra source appearing at the edge of Rōran, and Araki went with Sasori and Kana to greet the newcomer.

Uzumaki Naruto appeared in Rōran and faced Sasori of the Red Sands and the Puppet Corps, who mistook his arrival for an attack and overwhelmed him. After Naruto summoned Gamabunta for help, the toad recognized Araki and fled, leaving Naruto alone as the puppets closed in.

• Uzumaki Naruto awoke in Rōran and found Sakura and Captain Yamato missing.
• Sasori of the Red Sands and Kana identified the Nine-Tails' chakra inside Naruto, and Sasori attacked him with puppets.
• Naruto explained that Konoha and Sunagakure were allies, prompting Sasori to laugh and send the Puppet Corps after him.
• Naruto used the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique to create an opening and summoned Gamabunta.
• Gamabunta spotted Araki, recognized him as the one who had severed his leg, and fled to Mount Myōboku.
• Sasori taunted the stranded Naruto as the Puppet Corps closed in again.

As Naruto Uzumaki faced the puppet army, he tried and failed to summon aid from Mount Myōboku and entered an uncontrolled Four-Tails mode. Gamabunta warned the toad sages that an unknown contractor had summoned him, and the Great Toad Sage ordered them to bring Naruto back before uttering the name Ashura.

• Naruto Uzumaki failed to summon Mount Myōboku for help and activated his uncontrolled Four-Tails mode against the puppet army.
• Gamabunta escaped the battlefield and warned Fukasaku and Shima that an unknown contractor had summoned him.
• Fukasaku summoned Toad Tora, who opened the contract scroll and confirmed that every listed contractor was dead.
• Gamabunta identified the unknown contractor as Naruto Uzumaki, a blond shinobi wearing a Konoha forehead protector.
• The Great Toad Sage ordered the toads to bring Naruto Uzumaki back, then spoke the name Ashura.

In Rōran, Araki and his companions extracted the Nine-Tails from Uzumaki Naruto after discovering that chakra from Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina was maintaining his seal. Naruto collapsed, then vanished in a burst of smoke, leaving Araki uncertain whether the Dragon Vein had returned him to his own time or someone had reverse-summoned him.

• Araki ordered Kana to bind Uzumaki Naruto and remove the seal that was keeping the Nine-Tails inside him.
• Kana discovered that a third party’s chakra was rebuilding Naruto’s seal, so Araki pulled their consciousnesses into Naruto’s Mindscape.
• Araki, Kana, and Sasori of the Red Sands encountered Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina repairing the seal while restraining the Nine-Tails.
• Sasori attacked Minato and Kushina, but Araki corrected him and Kana bound the pair with her chains.
• Araki cut open the prison gate, allowing the Nine-Tails to escape Naruto’s body and take physical form.
• Naruto collapsed after losing the Nine-Tails, then vanished in a burst of white smoke.

Fukasaku and Shima discovered that Naruto had traveled from the future and was dying, so the Great Toad Sage saved him with Asura’s chakra. They told Naruto he had become the Child of Prophecy, leaving him unsure how he could return to his own time.

• Fukasaku used the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring an unconscious, dying Naruto to Mount Myōboku, where Fukasaku and Shima recognized him as Asura’s reincarnation.
• The Great Toad Sage sent Asura’s chakra into Naruto, restoring his life force, and declared that the Child of Prophecy had appeared.
• Naruto woke and asked Fukasaku why Gamabunta had denied knowing him and what had happened to the toad’s leg.
• Naruto and the toads realized together that he had traveled from the future to a world more than ten years in the past.
• Fukasaku and Shima explained that demons threatened the world and that Asura’s chakra had entered Naruto to save him, making Naruto the Child of Prophecy.

Rasa traced Shukaku’s violent reaction and Shaliu’s disappearance to the turmoil in Rōran, where Araki and his companions prepared to leave with the Nine-Tails and the Dragon Vein. Rasa confronted them and ordered an attack, but Araki repelled the Sunagakure Anbu and asked Rasa to let them go.

• Rasa helped Sunagakure’s sealing squad stabilize Shukaku, then learned that Shaliu had lost contact and led Anbu toward Rōran.
• Araki persuaded the Nine-Tails to accompany him to Kirigakure, agreeing not to seal it in a jinchūriki and promising to help it take revenge on Konoha.
• Araki, Sasori of the Red Sands, and Kana gathered after collecting the Dragon Vein and puppet parts, then set out to leave Rōran.
• Rasa confronted the group, accused Sasori of the Red Sands of attacking Shaliu with Konoha ninja, and ordered the Anbu to kill them.
• Araki drew his sword and blew back the charging Anbu and their ninjutsu, then asked Rasa to pretend he had not seen them.

Araki tried to persuade Rasa to let him leave with Sasori of the Red Sands, but Rasa refused and insisted Sasori stay in Sunagakure. Araki immobilized Rasa with a genjutsu-like display and walked away with Sasori, daring the Sand shinobi to stop him.

• Rasa recognized Araki and threatened him with the consequences of interfering in Sunagakure's affairs.
• Araki explained that he wanted to leave with Sasori of the Red Sands and hoped to avoid weakening Sunagakure further.
• Rasa refused to let Sasori go, believing that keeping him was in both villages' interests.
• Araki appeared behind Rasa, pinned him in place, and shattered his perception of the world.
• Araki announced that he was taking Sasori and strode away with him and a companion while Rasa remained frozen in wary silence.