Chapter Summaries

Asuma’s squad confronted Deidara and Sasori at the exchange house, where the Akatsuki pair’s traps and attacks overwhelmed the Konoha ninja. After Izumo and Kotetsu were gravely wounded, Asuma summoned Enma and struck Sasori’s Hiruko puppet, forcing Sasori to reveal his true appearance and leaving Deidara stunned.

• Deidara escaped Shikamaru’s Shadow Possession Technique with a clay decoy, then attacked Asuma’s squad with explosive clay beetles and a centipede.
• Asuma flooded the exchange house with smoke and ignited it, causing Sasori to emerge from the flames in his damaged Hiruko puppet.
• Shikamaru tried to restrain Sasori, but Sasori fired poisoned Senbon at him while Asuma attacked Hiruko and was knocked away by its iron tail.
• Deidara detonated clay beetles beneath the squad, leaving Izumo and Kotetsu unconscious with their legs blown off while Shikamaru escaped the blast.
• Asuma summoned Enma and extended a black staff through Hiruko, forcing Sasori to abandon the puppet and reveal his youthful appearance.

Asuma and Shikamaru fought Sasori while Deidara watched from hiding, and Izumo and Kotetsu were killed by the Third Kazekage puppet's iron sand. Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived after Asuma used a surprise attack to create an opening, and the chapter ended as Hiruzen prepared to fight Sasori.

• Asuma summoned Enma as a Black Receiver and struck Sasori's Hiruko puppet, while Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage puppet and launched its iron sand attack.
• Asuma shielded Shikamaru and urged him to escape, but Shikamaru was wounded while trying to protect Izumo and Kotetsu, who were killed by Sasori's iron sand.
• Asuma rescued Shikamaru and fled into the forest as Deidara sent Clay Beetles after them, then Asuma and Shikamaru hit Sasori with a combined Fire Style and Wind Style attack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared behind Sasori and smashed Hiruko's iron tail and head, but Asuma warned him that Sasori's heart was his only weak point.
• Sasori attacked Hiruzen and Asuma with iron sand, and Hiruzen pushed Asuma aside and began forming hand seals to fight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma fought Sasori’s Puppet army, but Deidara wounded Hiruzen as the pair tried to escape. Just as Sasori and Deidara moved in to finish them, a red-haired young man in a black God Robe appeared and stopped their attacks with lightning.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi outmaneuvered Sasori with layered Earth Style techniques, but Sasori escaped underground and emerged to unleash his hundred-Puppet army.
• Deidara secretly mined the battlefield while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma defended themselves against Sasori’s Puppets with Rashomon and coordinated Fire and Water Style techniques.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma attacked Sasori through the mist, but Sasori survived by transferring his heart into another Puppet and trapped them with iron sand.
• As Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma tried to retreat, Deidara’s Clay Birds exploded near them and gravely wounded Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Sasori and Deidara cornered the injured pair, but lightning destroyed their incoming attacks, and a red-haired young man in a black God Robe appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma.

Uzumaki Kuming rescued Hiruzen Sarutobi and Asuma's squad, defeated Sasori and Deidara, and took the Akatsuki members prisoner. Konoha's interrogation yielded little useful intelligence, and Sunagakure's delegation arrived to seek Sasori's extradition.

• Uzumaki Kuming arrived at the Bounty Exchange, stopped Deidara from escaping, destroyed Sasori's Puppet army, and captured both Akatsuki members.
• Uzumaki Kuming took Hiruzen Sarutobi back to Konoha and ordered Asuma to bring Sasori and Deidara after him.
• Asuma gathered Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki's remains, and Shikamaru Nara later beat the prisoners when Konoha's reinforcements arrived.
• Minato ordered the interrogation unit to question Sasori and Deidara, but their answers offered little Akatsuki intelligence, and Fuinjutsu in their minds hindered further questioning.
• Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and Chiyo arrived from Sunagakure to negotiate for Sasori's extradition.

Chiyo brought a Sunagakure delegation to Konoha to reclaim Sasori and learned that he had joined Akatsuki and killed the Third Kazekage. She secured his release by secretly negotiating with Minato Namikaze, while Uzumaki Kuming and Minato planned to demand valuable techniques from the Stone Ninja in exchange for Deidara.

• Chiyo's delegation entered Konoha and was escorted by Anbu to the prison, where she confirmed Sasori's identity.
• Chiyo asked Sasori about the Third Kazekage's disappearance and his Akatsuki membership, and he admitted both his connection to Akatsuki and his killing of the Kazekage.
• Chiyo and Minato Namikaze negotiated in secret, and the Sunagakure party left Konoha with Sasori after Chiyo offered her puppet-technique knowledge and poison-making research.
• Uzumaki Kuming explained Sasori's value to Minato and proposed demanding Dust Release from the Stone Ninja in exchange for Deidara, with lesser techniques as fallback terms.
• Minato told Uzumaki Kuming that Ōnoki would soon visit Konoha, and they discussed coordinating against Akatsuki and sending teams after its members.

Uzumaki Kuming sensed an unexplained danger but found nothing wrong with his body, while Akatsuki attacked the Sunagakure group to capture Gaara and Shukaku. After the Masked Man’s ambush failed, Pain overwhelmed Chiyo’s forces and demanded that Shukaku surrender.

• Uzumaki Kuming felt ominous palpitations, and Orochimaru examined him but found no problem with his body.
• The Masked Man confronted Gaara and the Sunagakure group, identified himself as Madara Uchiha, and announced that he had come for Shukaku.
• Sasori warned Chiyo that the Masked Man was an Akatsuki leader who used space-time ninjutsu, then refused to join the fight.
• Gaara trapped the Masked Man with Sand Binding Coffin, but the enemy escaped and used Banshō Ten'in to drag Gaara into the forest before blasting him away.
• Pain appeared, repelled Chiyo’s ten puppets and sent Chiyo and Kankuro flying, while Gaara protected them with sand.
• Pain demanded that Shukaku stop struggling and come to him, then used Banshō Ten'in.

Deva Path Pain captured Gaara with Black Receivers, but Sasori intervened and exposed Pain’s fear of Uzumaki Kuming’s sensory range. Pain unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei that devastated the battlefield, leaving Sasori, Chiyo, and Kankuro to emerge from underground as Obito Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha arrived.

• Deva Path Pain pulled Gaara close with Banshō Ten'in and pierced him with Black Receivers, while Chiyo rescued him and began removing them.
• Chiyo summoned her parent-model Puppets, and Sasori took control of them to block Pain and declare that he was acting according to their will.
• Sasori deduced that Pain was a controlled Puppet and warned that Uzumaki Kuming might detect him, prompting Chiyo to urge Gaara to go all out.
• Gaara transformed into Shukaku, but Deva Path Pain rose into the sky and blasted the battlefield with Shinra Tensei, scattering Shukaku and burying the others.
• Sasori dug himself, Chiyo, and Kankuro out of the devastated ground, where Obito Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, and Itachi Uchiha appeared and questioned whether Sasori was their enemy.

Obito Uchiha, Itachi Uchiha, and Shisui Uchiha confronted Pain as he carried off the unconscious Gaara, but the Six Paths of Pain overwhelmed them with their abilities and summoned beasts. The Uchihas withdrew, and Obito revealed that he had marked Pain with the Flying Thunder God Technique so they could follow him to his hideout.

• Sasori told Obito Uchiha that he was from Sunagakure, just as Deva Path Pain arrived with the unconscious Gaara.
• Obito Uchiha charged at Pain over Akatsuki's threat to Rin, and Shisui Uchiha joined him while Itachi Uchiha supported them.
• Sasori warned the Uchihas that Pain was a puppet controlled through Black Receivers, and Deva Path Pain summoned the other five Paths.
• Shisui Uchiha identified the Preta Path's chakra absorption, while the Asura Path struck Obito and attacked him and Itachi with missiles.
• Deva Path Pain escaped with Gaara as the Animal Path summoned beasts to cover the other Paths, and the Uchihas used the Flying Thunder God Technique to withdraw with Sasori, Chiyo, and Kankuro.
• Obito Uchiha told Itachi Uchiha that he had secretly marked Pain and planned to follow him to the Akatsuki hideout.

Akatsuki began extracting Shukaku from Gaara as Uzumaki Kuming led Konoha's elites to attack their hidden base. Madara Uchiha was revived through Nagato's Rinne Rebirth Technique and confronted Kuming, whom he struck with Susanoo.

• Masked Man refused to join the sealing and vanished underground while Deva Path, Konan, Yahiko, and Human Path began extracting Shukaku from Gaara.
• Uzumaki Kuming led a nine-person Konoha squad into the Land of Rain and ordered them to use Flying Thunder God kunai to trap Akatsuki inside a barrier.
• Obito Uchiha teleported the squad to the cave, where the team killed Asura Path and Kuming sealed the mountain with a purple barrier that stopped Masked Man's space-time ninjutsu.
• Nagato's surviving Paths gathered before Kuming, and Animal Path warned him that the real enemy was about to arrive before the Paths vanished in white smoke.
• Madara Uchiha broke through the barrier and stabbed Kuming, but Kuming survived, recognized that Nagato had revived Madara, and confronted him.
• Madara Uchiha attacked Kuming with Susanoo, sending him crashing into a distant mountainside.

Uzumaki Kuming fought Madara Uchiha in a devastating battle, revealing his Golden-Armored Nine-Tails form and destroying Madara’s meteor. After gaining the upper hand, Kuming opened some distance and activated the Cursed Seal he had planted in Madara’s Rinnegan.

• Madara Uchiha sent Kuming flying, attacked the group with Susanoo, and discovered that the mountain barrier withstood his strike.
• Kuming emerged from the crater in his Golden-Armored Nine-Tails form, drove Madara back, and bombarded Susanoo with Lightning Style Tailed Beast Bombs.
• Madara Uchiha summoned a meteor with Tengai Shinsei, but Kuming shattered it with a spirit-particle longsword.
• Itachi, Shisui, Obito, Fugaku, and the others watched from a distance, treated Gaara’s wounds, and waited for a chance to help.
• Kuming gained the upper hand in close combat as Madara struggled to damage the Golden-Armored Nine-Tails and repeatedly repaired Susanoo.
• Kuming leaped back and activated the dormant Cursed Seal he had planted in Madara’s Rinnegan.

Uzumaki Kuming defeated Madara Uchiha, who was rescued by the Masked Man and revived in an underground cavern. After discovering Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato’s bodies, Kuming buried them at their old home in the Land of Rain, where he encountered Mei Terumi and Chojuro.

• Uzumaki Kuming sealed Madara Uchiha’s Rinnegan, pierced his chest, and killed him before escaping the Masked Man’s dimensional pull with Flying Thunder God.
• The Masked Man retrieved Madara Uchiha, revived him in an underground cavern, and left to gather the other Tailed Beasts while Madara recovered.
• Uzumaki Kuming and his allies found Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato’s corpses beside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Kuming stored their bodies in a scroll.
• Uzumaki Kuming returned to the old house in the Land of Rain and buried Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato beneath its floor with their photograph.
• Mei Terumi and Chojuro arrived at the abandoned house, and Kuming recognized Mei.

Mei Terumi explained that Kirigakure was pursuing Sasuke Uchiha, a Konoha rogue ninja who had killed many of its shinobi. Uzumaki Kuming insisted on joining the hunt and kept Mei Terumi’s team with him at a cabin, leaving them to resume the search the next day.

• Mei Terumi arrived at a cabin in the Land of Rain with Kirigakure shinobi, and Uzumaki Kuming knocked them down with lightning whips when they rushed him.
• Mei Terumi told Uzumaki Kuming that Kirigakure was hunting Sasuke Uchiha, who had killed many Kirigakure shinobi before escaping into the Land of Rain.
• Uzumaki Kuming offered to help capture Sasuke, and Mei Terumi tried to decline because she distrusted his intentions.
• Uzumaki Kuming insisted that the Kirigakure team stay at the cabin and hunt Sasuke with him the next day.
• Mei Terumi, Chojuro, and Uzumaki Kuming spent the night in the cabin while the rest of the Kirigakure shinobi kept watch outside.

After Mei Terumi and Chojuro accompanied Uzumaki Kuming to Rain Blessing Town to find Sasuke Uchiha, Kuming warned that Madara Uchiha's Eye of the Moon Plan threatened the shinobi world. An attacker drew Sasuke out, and Sasuke demanded to speak with Kuming.

• Mei Terumi stayed awake all night watching Uzumaki Kuming, who told her there had been no need to fear him and asked her to lead him to Sasuke Uchiha.
• Mei Terumi, Chojuro, and Uzumaki Kuming traveled to Rain Blessing Town, where Chojuro and Mei praised the Land of Rain's prosperity while Kuming cautioned that Akatsuki's peace came at others' expense.
• Uzumaki Kuming told Mei Terumi that Madara Uchiha had been resurrected and intended to use the Eye of the Moon Plan to cast the shinobi world into an illusion.
• An attacker threw kunai at Mei Terumi and Uzumaki Kuming; Kuming stopped one and was unharmed by the other, while Mei Terumi angrily attacked the hidden assailant.
• Sasuke Uchiha emerged from the shadows and demanded to speak with Uzumaki Kuming, who rebuked him for his arrogance.

Sasuke confronted Uzumaki Kuming over Konoha’s treatment of the Uchiha and demanded the clan’s collected Sharingan, then attacked when Kuming refused. Kuming overwhelmed Sasuke’s attacks and stripped away his Amaterasu, leaving Sasuke unable to harm him.

• Sasuke accused Kuming of helping massacre the Uchiha and demanded that Konoha hand over the clan’s collected Sharingan.
• Kuming challenged Sasuke’s belief that the Uchiha had been excluded from Konoha’s power, while Sasuke insisted the clan had been imprisoned and exploited.
• Sasuke attacked Kuming with his Kusanagi Sword and Chidori, but Kuming’s Lightning Armor stopped both strikes.
• Kuming dodged Sasuke’s Amaterasu, shattered his Susanoo with a punch, and cast off the black flames using golden Chakra.
• Sasuke used Amaterasu again and sent Susanoo’s fist at Kuming, but Kuming detached the burning Chakra and crushed the Susanoo fist with one hand.

Uzumaki Kuming defeated Sasuke Uchiha in Rain Blessing Town, captured him, and took him to a wooden house instead of returning him directly to Konoha. After Sasuke woke and attacked him, Kuming wounded him again and demanded that he calm down.

• Sasuke's Susanoo changed and grew stronger as his emotions surged, but Kuming dodged his attacks and shattered the Susanoo again.
• Kuming knocked Sasuke unconscious, then left with him after refusing to hand him over to Mei Terumi.
• Kuming brought Sasuke to a wooden house and decided Sasuke would need to redeem his crimes through service rather than face execution or imprisonment in Konoha.
• Sasuke woke and attacked Kuming with his Kusanagi Sword and Chidori, so Kuming took the sword and pierced Sasuke's leg with it.

Uzumaki Kuming left Sasuke Uchiha in the Land of Rain to recover and seek the truth about the Uchiha clan, then returned to Konoha amid demands from allied villages for its Jinchuriki. He rejected the demands and challenged anyone who opposed him to come speak to him.

• Uzumaki Kuming told Sasuke Uchiha he would not take him back to Konoha yet, gave him a Flying Thunder God kunai, and urged him to uncover the truth before returning.
• Sasuke Uchiha asked Uzumaki Kuming to tell his mother that he was safe, then wondered whether the masked Uchiha could reveal the truth about his clan.
• Uzumaki Kuming returned to Konoha, where Uehara Akina and Kisame told him that Iwagakure, Takigakure, and the Cloud Ninja were demanding Deidara and several Jinchuriki.
• Uzumaki Kuming rejected the idea of surrendering Rin, Karin, or Naruto and condemned the First's balance-of-power policy for contributing to later wars.
• Uzumaki Kuming appeared in Minato's office and ordered him to tell the envoys that no Jinchuriki would leave Konoha, daring them to confront him personally.

Uzumaki Kuming joined Minato’s negotiations with the Stone, Cloud, and Takigakure envoys, making clear that Konoha would not surrender its Jinchuriki. The meeting began with Kuming rejecting Takigakure’s claim to a Tailed Beast, leaving the envoys facing his authority.

• Minato revealed that he had been waiting for Uzumaki Kuming’s opinion before deciding whether to yield to the other villages’ demands, and Kuming agreed to lead Konoha’s response.
• Uchiha Obito burst into the Hokage’s office after hearing that Rin might be handed over, and Kuming brought him along as a guard for the talks.
• Ōnoki warned Kitsuchi that Konoha’s sudden invitation likely signaled hostile intent, while the Stone, Cloud, and Takigakure delegations headed to the Hokage Building.
• Minato introduced Uzumaki Kuming as Konoha’s representative and said the village would follow his judgment in the negotiations.
• Uzumaki Kuming reminded Takigakure that he had sealed its Seven-Tails after it attacked Konoha and declared that Takigakure had forfeited its right to possess a Tailed Beast.

Uzumaki Kuming clashed with the Cloud and Stone envoys after rejecting Takigakure’s protest over Konoha’s claim to the Tailed Beasts. He overwhelmed the Raikage, Killer B, and Ōnoki, then faced a coordinated attack before the Hokage Building as the gathered crowd watched.

• Uzumaki Kuming threatened to take Takigakure’s Tailed Beast and unleashed his Chakra, cracking the meeting room and forcing the Takigakure delegation to the floor.
• Raikage A challenged Kuming, and Kuming kicked Killer B through the meeting room wall before defeating A, Yugito Nii, and Ōnoki in a brief exchange that brought down the building.
• Minato Namikaze ordered the reinforcements not to interfere as Kuming prepared to spar with the Cloud and Stone envoys in the open space.
• Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara joined the growing crowd outside the Hokage Building, while the Takigakure envoys withdrew to Minato’s side.
• Raikage A and Killer B attacked Kuming with Double Lariat, but Kuming caught both of their wrists as Yugito Nii descended in Matatabi’s Chakra and Samui revealed a scroll containing several weapons.

Uzumaki Kuming overwhelmed the allied Kumogakure attack, capturing Killer B and severing his connection to Gyūki before challenging the Raikage and Ōnoki. Ōnoki and the Raikage combined their techniques against him, but Kuming evaded Dust Release and ended up behind the Tsuchikage, leaving Ōnoki to admit his limits.

• Uzumaki Kuming repelled Yugito Nii and Samui’s attacks, then threw the Raikage and Killer B away.
• The Raikage and Killer B attacked Kuming together, but Kuming struck Killer B, seized him by the neck, and used Cursed Seals to cut off his connection to Gyūki.
• Kitsuchi redirected Kuming’s thrown sword with a stone pillar, saving Samui from being pierced.
• Kuming declared that Kumogakure could not challenge Konoha, then released Killer B while sealing the Chakra in his body.
• Ōnoki enhanced the Raikage’s speed and weight for a combined attack, but Kuming stopped the Raikage and caused Ōnoki’s Dust Release to miss.
• Kuming appeared behind Ōnoki with his hand at the Tsuchikage’s back, and Ōnoki sighed that he was getting old.

Uzumaki Kuming persuaded Killer B and Yugito Nii to remain in Konoha for protection after warning that Madara Uchiha had been resurrected and was targeting the Tailed Beasts. Several days later, Omoi and Karui arrived in the Land of Fire to check on them and encountered a bloodied Konoha shinobi.

• Ōnoki agreed that Iwagakure would stop interfering in Takigakure and seek Deidara’s extradition, while A accused him of betraying their alliance.
• Uzumaki Kuming stopped A from attacking Ōnoki and revealed that Madara Uchiha had returned and was hunting the Tailed Beasts.
• A refused Konoha’s offer to protect Killer B and Yugito Nii, but both Jinchuriki chose to stay, and A eventually accepted their decision.
• Minato arranged for Anbu to escort A home, the Takigakure shinobi left, and Iwagakure later took custody of Deidara.
• Omoi and Karui arrived in the Land of Fire to find Killer B and Yugito Nii, then encountered a blood-soaked Konoha shinobi who asked them for help.