Chapter Summaries

Sosuke secured the jonin captains’ agreement to infiltrate Sunagakure and volunteered to lead, with Fukadera Shizuka, Uchiha, Orochimaru, and Tsunade joining him. Meanwhile, Sakumo’s squad approached the village, where a sensor detected the incoming infiltrators and another figure went to meet them.

• Sosuke accepted responsibility for the Sunagakure infiltration, and Fukadera Shizuka, Uchiha, Orochimaru, and Tsunade agreed to join the mission.
• Sakumo asked Jueliang, Samutou, Majiu, and Kojika what they wanted to say before entering enemy territory, and they each said they hoped to share Ichiraku Ramen with him again.
• Sakumo promised to treat his squad to ramen after the mission, and the group advanced toward Sunagakure.
• Sand Ninja Black Wing and another patrolman discussed Captain Chidong’s return and wondered whether Konoha’s forces were truly so powerful.
• A burly figure sensing from a concealed building detected the approaching group, and the tall figure beside him vanished.
• A group of figures raced through the sandstorm toward Sunagakure, speeding up so they could make their move before dark.

Konoha Ninja led by Sakumo infiltrated Sunagakure to carry out a final mission and spread panic. Jueliang was killed by a hulking attacker, who took his corpse to use as a puppet.

• Kojika used a scroll technique to break a hole in Sunagakure's barrier, and Sakumo led the Konoha Ninja through it.
• Sanhe sensed a strange disturbance in the village but dismissed it as a false alarm.
• Sakumo's team killed Sand Ninja guards, while Jueliang trapped others in a genjutsu and helped the group advance.
• Sakumo ordered the Konoha Ninja to split up and cause destruction to spread panic among the Sand Ninja.
• A hulking figure ambushed Jueliang, resisted his genjutsu, and killed him after he escaped the first sword strike.
• The hulking figure said Jueliang's corpse might make a puppet and decided to take it.

The Third Kazekage responded to Konoha’s sudden attack on Sunagakure as Konoha ninja set off explosions and fought the Sand Ninja. Sakumo nearly killed the young Sasori before two puppet wielders intervened, and Sasori reunited with his mother.

• The Third Kazekage and Ebizo discussed the invasion, then set out together to confront the attackers.
• A Konoha ninja destroyed buildings with explosive tags and attacked Sand Ninja before the Third Kazekage stopped him with Iron Sand and killed him.
• Sakumo cut down Sand Ninja and spotted young Sasori controlling two battered puppets.
• Sakumo attacked Sasori, but a tall shadow blocked his strike and another puppet wielder joined the fight against him.
• Sakumo repelled both attackers with Hatake Sword Style: Binding Light, and Sasori’s mother reached him and embraced him.

Sosuke and his group arrived at Sunagakure as Sakumo fought Chiyo, Chidong, and the Third Kazekage. After Kojika sacrificed herself to help Sakumo escape, a mysterious figure intervened and blocked the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand attack.

• Chiyo joined the battle against Sakumo to avenge her son, while the wounded Chidong helped attack him and Sasori watched.
• Sosuke arrived outside Sunagakure with a group and led them toward the village after hearing the sounds of battle.
• Chiyo used her puppets to press Sakumo, but he destroyed them with Hatake Sword Style: Machine Qi as the Third Kazekage arrived.
• Kojika raised a barrier to shield Sakumo from the Third Kazekage’s Black Sand, then was engulfed when the barrier broke; Sakumo cut off his right arm to escape the sand.
• The Third Kazekage attacked Sakumo with Iron Sand: Shower, but an unseen figure cast Bakudo #81: Danku and blocked the needles.

Sosuke shielded the injured Sakumo from the Third Kazekage and warned him that Konoha would conceal the mission and make him bear the blame for its deaths. Tsunade and the others arrived as the Kazekage’s attacks failed to break Sosuke’s barrier.

• Sosuke appeared on the battlefield and protected Sakumo from the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand attack with a powerful barrier.
• Chiyo identified Sosuke as the Child of Konoha, and the Third Kazekage vowed to kill him and Sakumo.
• Sosuke told Sakumo that Konoha would hide the mission and blame him for the squad’s deaths, and Sakumo agreed to bear the stigma if the fallen received honors.
• The Third Kazekage struck Sosuke’s barrier again, but it remained intact.
• Tsunade and the others arrived, and Tsunade began treating Sakumo’s wounds while he explained that his arm was lost to the Iron Sand.

The Third Kazekage attacked the Konoha Ninja with Iron Sand, forcing Fukadera Shizuka to fight back with powerful Fire Release techniques. Though Shizuka melted much of the Iron Sand, the Third Kazekage summoned more as Shizuka grew exhausted.

• The Third Kazekage sent Iron Sand toward Sosuke and the others, and Sakumo warned them that contact could let it control them.
• Fukadera Shizuka stepped forward and used Blazing Smoke Absolute Extinction, but the Iron Sand continued advancing.
• Shizuka unleashed Void Purifying Flame, melting a large portion of the Iron Sand and astonishing the Konoha and Sand Ninja.
• The Third Kazekage praised Shizuka’s technique, then used Iron Sand Binding Magnetism to summon more Iron Sand from the surroundings.
• Shizuka, drenched in sweat and exhausted, realized that the Third Kazekage could keep producing Iron Sand.

Sosuke used powerful blue-fire and energy techniques to repel the Third Kazekage’s attacks and nearly pierce his Iron Sand defenses. Surrounded by Sand Ninja, Sosuke prepared to begin Shikai as his allies urged him not to blame himself.

• Sosuke stepped in front of Fukadera Shizuka and used Hado #73, Soren Sokatsui, to scatter the Third Kazekage’s Black Sand.
• Tsunade, Orochimaru, Fukadera Shizuka, and the Sand Ninja watched in shock as Sosuke’s technique demonstrated his strength and chakra reserves.
• Sosuke fired Hado #88, Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō, at the Third Kazekage, who blocked it with the Shield of Rakshasa.
• The blast cratered the Iron Sand Shield and shook Sunagakure, while Sand Ninja arrived and surrounded Sosuke and his companions.
• Sosuke privately decided it was time to begin Shikai, while Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Fukadera Shizuka reassured him.

Sosuke faced the assembled Sunagakure ninjas and used Kyoka Suigetsu as the Third Kazekage attacked him with Iron Sand. He reappeared among the enemy ranks and killed a Sand Ninja, prompting both sides to prepare for battle.

• The Third Kazekage confronted Sosuke as the Konoha group tried to persuade him.
• Sosuke walked alone toward the Sand Ninja, drew Kyoka Suigetsu, and faced their wary ranks.
• The Third Kazekage unleashed Iron Sand: Shower, and the attack seemed to bury Sosuke in dust.
• Sosuke appeared among the Sand Ninja and killed one of them, leaving the others shocked.
• The Third Kazekage suspected Sosuke had mastered Space-Time Ninjutsu and ordered Chiyo and Ebizo to summon the Sealing Squad.
• Tsunade rallied the Konoha ninjas to fight alongside Sosuke, and they prepared to attack.

Sosuke slaughtered Sand Ninja with ease while Konoha forces and giant snakes ravaged Sunagakure. The battle continued as Chidong revealed his strength and faced a Konoha Ninja beneath a fallen snake.

• Sosuke killed a charging Sand Ninja and caused four others to die in their own powerful jutsu attack.
• Giant snakes and Konoha Ninja destroyed buildings in Sunagakure as Sand Ninja struggled to defend the village.
• Ebizo confronted Fukadera Shizuka, whose fireballs were absorbed by Sand Ninja puppets using the Fire Restraint Seal.
• Chidong and a black half-bodied figure attacked a giant snake, and Chidong brought it down with his blade.
• The Sand Ninja recognized Chidong’s strength, then a Konoha Ninja emerged from beneath the fallen snake and faced him.

Chidong defeated a Konoha Ninja while Sosuke watched the battle and considered leaving the Third Kazekage alive for Chidong. Sosuke rescued Tsunade from a deadly attack but was wounded, and the Third Kazekage spotted him and launched Black Sand at them.

• Chidong and a disguised ally caught a Konoha Ninja between their attacks and killed him with Puppet Secret Technique: Oni Wind Gale.
• The Sand Ninja celebrated Chidong's victory as he secretly thought the plan was going smoothly for Captain Aizen.
• The Third Kazekage searched the battlefield for Sosuke, who stood nearby unseen and decided to leave his life to Chidong.
• Tsunade smashed the ground and defended herself against the Sand Ninja's Wind Release attacks.
• Sosuke pulled Tsunade out of the path of a razor-sharp gust but took a wound to his shoulder.
• The Third Kazekage spotted Sosuke and sent countless grains of Black Sand toward him and Tsunade.

Sosuke stayed behind to hold off the Third Kazekage and the Sand Ninja while Tsunade, Orochimaru, Fukadera Shizuka, and Sakumo escaped Sunagakure. Tsunade watched Black Sand engulf the sky and feared for Sosuke as distant explosions shook the ground.

• Tsunade tried to protect the exhausted Sosuke from the Third Kazekage's Black Sand, but Orochimaru arrived and led them away.
• Orochimaru urged the group to retreat, while Sosuke insisted they still had to find the others and then decided to stay behind so the rest could escape with Sakumo.
• Sosuke told Tsunade he had learned some Space-Time Ninjutsu and claimed he could escape, then led the group back to Sakumo as the Third Kazekage pursued them.
• Sosuke charged toward the Sand Ninja to draw them away, and the Third Kazekage ordered Chiyo to send the Sealing Squad after him.
• Tsunade, Orochimaru, Fukadera Shizuka, and Sakumo fled Sunagakure, while Tsunade looked back at the Black Sand-filled sky and cried out for Sosuke.

After Sosuke was reported dead, Tsunade grieved alone in the Rain country outpost while the Konoha camp mourned and began blaming Sakumo. The camp suspended the war and awaited orders from the village, as rumors against Sakumo spread.

• Orochimaru told the assembled Konoha leaders that their heavy losses had been reported to the village and that the war would be suspended pending orders.
• Orochimaru urged the devastated Tsunade to recover and said he would notify Jiraiya about Sosuke’s death.
• Tsunade found Sosuke’s note, remembered his promise to return, and broke down sobbing before falling asleep in the tent.
• Saki blamed Captain Sakumo for Sosuke’s death, but Captain Kuroi called Sosuke a great ninja and urged everyone to wait for the village’s orders.
• Saki declared that he would never accept a ninja who got his comrades killed, and rumors criticizing Sakumo spread through the Konoha camp.

Danzo demanded that Hiruzen punish Sakumo for the losses in Sunagakure, while the Uchiha clan blamed Sakumo for Tokino’s death. Outside Konoha, Sakuya mourned Tokino and Sosuke with Little Bear, who still sensed that Sosuke was alive.

• Danzo urged Hiruzen to have Sakumo captured and interrogated, but Hiruzen forbade Root from acting without his permission.
• Hiruzen, Koharu, and Homura mourned Sosuke and regretted that Hiruzen had misjudged his ability to lead.
• Danzo returned to Root Base, furious that his ten years of planning had come to nothing.
• Uchiha Maya confirmed Tokino’s death to the clan and blamed Hatake Sakumo, while Zhenlian questioned whether the village was responsible.
• Sakuya ran into Little Bear in the forest and sobbed that Tokino and Sosuke were gone; Little Bear wondered how that could be when it could still sense Sosuke.

Jiraiya refused to believe that Sosuke had died beneath the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand and left to search for him, while Orochimaru began to doubt the report. In Sunagakure, Sand Ninja continued searching for the supposedly dead Konoha shinobi.

• At the abandoned village, Yahiko and the other children woke to find Jiraiya gone and learned that he had hunted a Spirit Lynx for their soup.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya that he had seen Sosuke buried beneath the Third Kazekage’s Iron Sand and insisted that Sosuke was dead.
• Jiraiya declared that he believed Sosuke was alive and left to find him.
• After Jiraiya disappeared, Orochimaru wondered whether Jiraiya was right and vanished as well.
• In Sunagakure, Sand Ninja searched the village after the battle, while the Third Kazekage’s strict search order fueled doubts about Sosuke’s reported death.

Chiyo treated the badly burned Third Kazekage, who learned that Sosuke’s fate remained unknown, while Chidong left his family promising to become a hero. At the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, a wounded Uchiha collapsed, and an old man in a hidden cavern sent White Zetsu to find him.

• Chiyo told the Third Kazekage that his recovery would take another day and warned that Sosuke might still be alive and could wield Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Sand Ninja praised Chidong for killing three Konoha ninja and protecting Chiyo’s grandson from the White Fang of the Leaf, despite losing an arm.
• Yuno tearfully urged Chidong to take care of himself, while he comforted her and made a pinky promise with Karura to become a hero.
• A bloodied Uchiha wearing tattered clothing marked with a gunbai collapsed near the Land of Fire–Land of Earth border.
• An old man in a cavern ordered Zetsu to bring the wounded young Uchiha to him, and White Zetsu went to investigate.

Madara Uchiha had White Zetsu heal the badly wounded Uchiha Tokino, whose Mangekyō Sharingan was not fully developed. Meanwhile, Sosuke returned to Konoha severely injured, leaving the guards stunned by his survival.

• A White Zetsu Clone brought the unconscious Tokino to Madara Uchiha, and White Zetsu identified him as the Uchiha Clan’s Mangekyō Sharingan wielder.
• Madara ordered White Zetsu to heal Tokino, believing the young ninja might help with his plan.
• Sosuke deduced that Tokino’s hiding place was near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, then disappeared into the forest.
• Konoha guards found Sosuke collapsed outside the village and recognized him as the supposedly fallen 'Child of Konoha.'
• Qimuliang summoned a giant paper crane, and the guards carried Sosuke onto it so he could be taken back to Konoha for treatment.

Sosuke returned to Konoha gravely injured and received treatment as the Third and Danzo came to see him. After they left, Sosuke woke that night and looked toward the future of Konoha.

• Qimuliang brought the gravely injured Sosuke back to Konoha, where medical ninja began treating him and word reached the Third and Danzo.
• The Third, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, and Danzo went to the Medical Room to see Sosuke.
• Danzo agreed to put the matter of Sakumo behind him and have Root follow the Third’s wishes now that Sosuke had returned alive.
• The Third reassured Sosuke’s waiting comrades that his injuries were not life-threatening, and they left the Medical Room.
• Sosuke woke after nightfall, stood by the window, and said that a dazzling era was about to begin.

In the Land of Rain, Sakumo emerged from his despair and wondered where everything had gone wrong, while Tsunade drowned her grief over Sosuke and her brother in alcohol. Jiraiya left her resting and headed to the tent where Sakumo was being held.

• A thunderclap jolted Sakumo from his vacant state, and he wondered where he had gone wrong before deciding to seek an answer.
• Orochimaru continued directing the outpost while Tsunade drank and mourned Sosuke and her younger brother.
• Jiraiya entered Tsunade's tent and tried to stop her from drinking, but she blamed herself for Sosuke's death.
• Jiraiya helped the drunken Tsunade lie down and left after she fell asleep.
• Jiraiya thought of Sakumo being held under guard and headed toward his tent.

Jiraiya learned from Sakumo that Konoha had ordered the failed Sunagakure mission through people claiming to be Sosuke, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, and suspected they were impostors. Meanwhile, Sosuke earned the Third Hokage’s trust and received Konoha’s forbidden Scroll of Sealing, leaving him poised to advance his plans.

• Jiraiya questioned Sakumo about the Sunagakure mission and learned Sakumo believed Konoha had ordered it through Sosuke, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
• Sakumo explained that the operation was meant to support Sosuke’s plan to deal Sunagakure a devastating blow, but it failed when the Third Kazekage proved stronger than expected.
• Jiraiya said he would verify Sakumo’s story with Tsunade and Orochimaru, and suggested that the people Sakumo met might have been impostors.
• Sosuke told the Third Hokage, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura that he had begun mastering Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape Sunagakure.
• The Third Hokage rewarded Sosuke with the Scroll of Sealing and ordered him to keep it secret and let no one else read it.
• After the officials left, Sosuke studied the scroll and thought that his groundwork was nearly complete.

Jiraiya told Tsunade that Sakumo claimed she, Orochimaru, and Sosuke had delivered the order that led him to infiltrate Sunagakure, raising suspicions of a Konoha-linked impostor. After hearing that Sosuke was alive in Konoha, Jiraiya and Tsunade planned to return and verify his identity, while Sosuke studied the Second Hokage’s techniques and became intrigued by Impure World Reincarnation.

• Jiraiya woke Tsunade and told her that Sakumo said she, Orochimaru, and Sosuke had delivered Konoha’s order to infiltrate Sunagakure.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade suspected that someone close to Konoha had deceived Sakumo, and Tsunade vowed to avenge Sosuke.
• A Konoha Ninja reported that Sosuke was alive and receiving treatment in the village, but Jiraiya warned that the Sosuke there could be an impostor.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade decided to return to Konoha the next day and check with Orochimaru about Sakumo’s account.
• Sosuke read a scroll of techniques in Konoha and took a particular interest in Impure World Reincarnation.