Chapter Summaries

Sasori defeated a cloaked rogue ninja and took the wreckage to his laboratory to test new ideas involving the Core of Rebirth. Meanwhile, Kawaki Aoba and his allies fought Sunagakure forces in several engagements, and the chapter ended with Asuma attacking a Sand ninja after using a shadow clone as a distraction.

• Sasori tore apart the cloaked rogue ninja before his Explosion Release could erupt, then carried the wreckage back to his laboratory to test the Core of Rebirth.
• Kawaki Aoba used a Shadow Clone to hold a wounded Sunagakure ninja at bay while Izumi's team killed their target and withdrew.
• Kawaki Keiba's shadow clones attacked a Sunagakure squad, and he approached the squad himself after they destroyed one clone.
• Kawaki Aoba faced a Sand squad while exhausted, and Asuma's shadow clone drew their attention before his real body charged the middle-aged ninja with Chakra Blades.

Asuma and Kawaki Aoba fought Sunagakure forces, while Kawaki explained how Konoha had detected and trapped the enemy ambush. The chapter ended with an exhausted Sunagakure ninja kneeling in the desert, still resolute.

• Asuma fought off a Sunagakure Elite Jonin and was injured before Kawaki Aoba arrived and prepared a Dragon Flame Bullet.
• Asuma defeated a Sunagakure ninja who had refused to surrender, and Konoha captured the remaining prisoners.
• Kawaki Aoba told Yuhi Shinku that he had located the ambush by sensing Chakra fluctuations and reading the wind and airflow.
• Kawaki explained that he, Kanon, and Shinku had lured the Sunagakure squad into a trap, disrupted its formation, and cut off its command.
• A weary Sunagakure ninja knelt in the desert, gripping a kunai and holding on to his resolve.

Kawaki Aoba stopped a captured Sand ninja from killing himself, while Sasori of the Red Sands slaughtered a Sunagakure squad with a puppet made from the Third Kazekage. Yuhi Shinku learned that Sasori had defected and found his message in his abandoned laboratory, leaving her determined to confront him.

• Kawaki Aoba persuaded a Sand ninja to lower his kunai and keep living rather than die to protect village intelligence.
• Sasori of the Red Sands attacked a Sunagakure squad with the Third Kazekage puppet and killed the captain and his remaining men.
• Yuhi Shinku learned from her teammates that Sasori had defected after evidence linked him to the attacks.
• Yuhi Shinku resolved to find Sasori and ask him why he had turned against Sunagakure.
• Yuhi Shinku discovered the words “Puppets do not betray. Human hearts do” in Sasori's abandoned laboratory.

Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba confronted Sasori of the Red Sands, who rejected Sunagakure and pursued turning people into eternal puppet art. After escaping his restraints and fighting him, they faced him again in the desert, where Aoba prepared to use the Body Flicker Technique despite the danger to his body.

• Yuhi Shinku learned from a dying spy that Sunagakure's leaders were planning border provocations against Konoha and that Sasori was among the most radical figures involved.
• Shinku and Kawaki Aoba were captured and taken to Sasori's hideout, where he declared that he would transform them into works of art.
• Shinku and Aoba broke free of Sasori's restraints and prepared to fight him inside the cave.
• In the desert, Aoba warned Shinku that using the Body Flicker Technique again could damage his meridians, but agreed to try while insisting they retreat if it failed.
• Shinku promised not to abandon Aoba, and he focused his remaining Chakra as he prepared to attack Sasori.

Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku fought Sasori of the Red Sands, targeting the chakra threads that controlled his puppets. Later, Aoba gave Shinku recovery potions that restored her strength, and they prepared to strike back as enemies approached.

• Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba coordinated attacks against Sasori of the Red Sands, but his puppets blocked their techniques and he remained largely unharmed.
• Kawaki Aoba identified Sasori's chakra threads as a weakness and severed one while Yuhi Shinku drew the puppets' attention.
• Kawaki Aoba gave Yuhi Shinku a small blue potion, and she drank it, restoring much of her chakra and easing her fatigue.
• Kawaki Aoba explained the Large Blue Potion's sustained recovery effects, and Yuhi Shinku accepted it for the coming fight.
• Yuhi Shinku regained her fighting resolve and set off with Kawaki Aoba to strike back before the enemy caught up.

Asuma caught Kawaki Aoba gathering sacrificial items, persuaded him to abandon the practice, and supervised their destruction before reporting the matter to the Hokage. Later, Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku led Konoha ninja into battle against Sunagakure, where the outnumbered enemy began searching for a way to change tactics.

• Asuma confronted Kawaki Aoba over a bundle of items, and Kawaki Aoba admitted he used them for sacrifices.
• Asuma convinced Kawaki Aoba to abandon the sacrificial path and supervised him as he destroyed all his gathered items.
• Asuma and Kawaki Aoba trained and worked together for two days, then reported the mission and Kawaki Aoba's change to the Hokage.
• Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku led Konoha ninja in an attack on Sunagakure ninja in the desert.
• Yuhi Shinku's fire techniques and the Konoha ninja's coordinated assault pushed the larger Sunagakure force onto the defensive.
• A Sunagakure Jonin noticed Yuhi Shinku struggling against several attackers and considered changing tactics.

Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba’s team fought Sunagakure’s puppets and ninjas, with Baki turning a wounded jonin into a puppet and Kankuro losing control of his puppets after Kawaki Aoba smashed his hands. Yuhi Shinku repeatedly trapped the remaining puppets with Deep Forest Emergence, but his chakra was running low as the team tried to hold out until Sunagakure’s main force arrived.

• Yuhi Shinku counterattacked a Sunagakure jonin, but Baki appeared and used black mist to transform the wounded jonin into a puppet.
• Kawaki Aoba, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji fought Sunagakure ninjas, and Kawaki Aoba disabled Kankuro by crushing his hands and stopping his puppet control.
• Yuhi Shinku destroyed puppets attacking from behind, then joined Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, and Might Guy in attacking the remaining puppets.
• Yuhi Shinku ordered Kawaki Aoba and the others to retreat, then used Deep Forest Emergence to trap the puppets in a rapidly grown forest.
• The puppets broke through the trees, and Yuhi Shinku and the others fought to trap them again as his chakra drained and he waited for Sunagakure’s main force to arrive.

Kawaki Aoba escaped Sarutobi Asuma and his Sunagakure pursuers, then defeated a group of masked black-robed figures with the Four Symbols Seal and found a mysterious token. The chapter left him buried beneath Baki’s sand wall after Baki overwhelmed him in battle.

• Yuhi Shinku held off the Sunagakure puppets while Kawaki Aoba fled, but Sarutobi Asuma and several Elite Jonin surrounded Kawaki Aoba and attacked him.
• Kawaki Aoba used Chidori Stream to break through the encirclement and escape, then hid in a cave and bandaged his injured arm.
• Kawaki Aoba followed masked black-robed figures to an abandoned village, where he used the Four Symbols Seal from a scroll to immobilize them and found a mysterious token.
• Sunagakure shinobi arrived to investigate the black-robed figures, and Kawaki Aoba followed them toward Sunagakure.
• Baki confronted Kawaki Aoba, dodged his White Lightning, and buried him beneath a powerful sand wall.

After Baki trained Kawaki Aoba, the pair set out to rescue villagers and eliminate rogue ninja, but the account abruptly shifted to Sasori in his underground workshop. When Baki confronted Sasori and ordered him to leave, Sasori blocked Baki’s Wind Release attack with a chakra barrier.

• Baki defeated Kawaki Aoba, then encouraged him to keep training and improve.
• Kawaki Aoba trained under Baki, learned to prepare for lethal combat, and grew stronger.
• Kawaki Aoba and Baki reached a village occupied by rogue ninja and watched them search the ruins.
• Kawaki Aoba rescued a villager from the rogue ninja leader, fought him, and knocked him down.
• Sasori removed a Chakra Core from a puppet and prepared to install his newly developed Core of Rebirth.
• Baki confronted Sasori in his underground chamber, but Sasori blocked Baki’s Wind Release: Great Breakthrough with a chakra barrier.

Sasori overwhelmed Baki and killed him when Baki refused to let him pass. Elsewhere, Kawaki Aoba stayed behind as bait, defeated the pursuing Sunagakure ninja, and dispersed after protecting his teammates.

• Sasori blocked Baki's attacks with a Chakra barrier, then sent his Crow puppet to bite Baki's throat when Baki refused to move aside.
• Kawaki Aoba agreed to remain behind while the Konoha team retreated, and he faced the approaching Sunagakure ninja alone.
• Kawaki Aoba injured the lead Sand ninja with White Lightning and pressed the attack, but Sand Binding Coffin wounded his left arm and left him surrounded.
• Kawaki Aoba unleashed Chidori Stream, shattered the lead Sand ninja's Shield of Sand, and forced the Sunagakure ninja to retreat.
• After confirming his teammates had escaped, Kawaki Aoba began to disperse as a Shadow Clone and said goodbye to Konoha.

Kawaki Keiba's Shadow Clone was destroyed as the Sand ninja overwhelmed Konoha, while Baki captured the weakened Kawaki and fought off Asuma, Shikamaru, and Choji. Baki trapped the three Konoha ninja, caught up with Kawaki, and demanded that he come back with him.

• Kawaki Keiba watched a Sand ninja shatter his Shadow Clone with one strike, then turned toward the battlefield as the Sand ninja drove Konoha back.
• Baki recognized that Kawaki had become weak and struck him with Kubikiribōchō; Shikamaru and Choji helped Kawaki flee.
• Asuma blocked Baki and fought him with Fire and Wind Release techniques, but Baki restrained Asuma and trapped him, Shikamaru, and Choji inside a sand wall.
• Baki chased down Kawaki and knocked him to the ground with Kubikiribōchō.
• Baki told the injured Kawaki to come back with him.

Kawaki Aoba defeated Ebizo after the elder attacked the Konoha squad, and Yuhi Shinku led the team to capture a wounded Sunagakure ninja. The captive was taken to Konoha, where an Anbu named Black Crow appeared in his cell.

• Yuhi Shinku stopped the Konoha ninjas from underestimating Sunagakure and warned the squad to stay alert for an ambush.
• Ebizo confronted Kawaki Aoba to seek justice for Sunagakure, but Kawaki used his Sharingan and strength to defeat him.
• The Konoha squad rested after its victory, while Kawaki regretted the casualties and hoped the war would end soon.
• Yuhi Shinku defeated a stubborn Sunagakure ninja, who refused to surrender and threatened Konoha as he was taken prisoner.
• The wounded captive was imprisoned in Konoha, where the Anbu ninja Black Crow introduced himself.

Black Crow tried to extract a captured Sunagakure ninja’s chakra and memories, but Baki arrived as the extraction began. Elsewhere, Kawaki Aoba rescued Kazama from Iwagakure ninja and took the wounded Sunagakure ninja toward Konoha for treatment.

• Black Crow used a scroll to move a captured sand ninja into an underground chamber and began extracting his chakra and memories with an altar.
• Baki rushed into the chamber and ordered Black Crow to stop.
• Iwagakure ninja surrounded Kazama and demanded Sunagakure intelligence, but he refused to betray his village.
• Kawaki Aoba blocked an Iwagakure ninja’s attack and defeated the group with his strength and ninjutsu.
• Kawaki Aoba persuaded the badly wounded Kazama to return to Konoha with him for treatment.
• As they traveled, Kazama described his mission and asked about Kawaki Aoba’s Observation Haki.

Kawaki Aoba brought the injured Kazama to Konoha Hospital, then went to report to the Hokage. Meanwhile, Sasori and Kankuro attacked Sunagakure to seize the Third Kazekage puppet; after defeating Chiyo, Sasori’s raid continued as Yuhi Shinku arrived in the village and went to visit Gaara.

• Kawaki Aoba brought Kazama to Konoha Hospital, where a doctor said Kazama had stabilized but needed time to recover.
• Sasori and Kankuro infiltrated Sunagakure and fought their way to the Third Kazekage puppet.
• The Third Kazekage puppet used Iron Sand against Sasori, but Sasori absorbed the iron sand and smashed the puppet.
• Chiyo confronted Sasori, but he destroyed her puppet and left her severely injured.
• Yuhi Shinku entered Sunagakure and went to Gaara’s residence, where the two greeted each other as friends.

Yuhi Shinku investigated Sunagakure’s turmoil and learned from a dying spy that the village was secretly preparing to provoke Konoha at the border. He returned with the intelligence, and Sarutobi Hiruzen convened Konoha’s senior leaders to plan a response.

• Gaara told Yuhi Shinku that Sunagakure had fallen into chaos since the Third Kazekage disappeared, and agreed to support Shinku’s investigation.
• Yuhi Shinku went to the elders’ palace and heard them debate choosing a new Kazekage while Kankuro challenged their self-serving leadership.
• A poisoned Sunagakure spy told Yuhi Shinku that the village was gathering troops and considering border clashes to test Konoha, then died after asking Shinku to protect his family in Konoha.
• Yuhi Shinku returned to Konoha and gave the intelligence to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who called a meeting of the village’s senior leaders.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen presented the spy’s intelligence to the assembled leaders and confirmed it was reliable.

Yuhi Shinku honored the spy who had died protecting Konoha, but war soon broke out between Konoha and Sunagakure, where Sasori attacked Shinku and Kawaki Aoba with his Puppet Technique. As Might Guy opened the sixth of the Eight Inner Gates and Kakashi came to Aoba’s aid, the story shifted to Shinku and Aoba facing Sasori in the desert.

• Yuhi Shinku visited the dead spy’s family, praised the spy’s sacrifice, and promised to protect them.
• Sasori learned that war could supply him with people to turn into art and named Yuhi Shinku, Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi, and Kawaki Aoba as targets.
• Konoha attacked Sunagakure, where Sasori used the Iron Scorpion puppet to overpower Shinku until Might Guy joined the fight.
• Sasori ambushed Kawaki Aoba, knocked him down, and reached for him before Hatake Kakashi arrived and engaged Sasori.
• Might Guy opened the sixth of the Eight Inner Gates while Shinku fought Sasori; the scene then shifted to Shinku and Aoba preparing to face Sasori in the desert.

Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku battled Sasori of the Red Sands until Kawaki escaped to bring Konoha reinforcements, then Kawaki teamed up with Nara Shikamaru for a mission to rescue a village chief from bandits. After freeing the chief, Kawaki’s shadow clones fought the bandits while Shikamaru restrained one of them.

• Sasori of the Red Sands attacked Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba with puppets, and the two destroyed several before Sasori unleashed the Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
• Yuhi Shinku held off the puppet army while Kawaki Aoba used Shave to flee and summon reinforcements, then returned in time to shield Yuhi Shinku from Sasori’s poison.
• Kawaki Aoba reflected on using a Shadow Clone Technique to throw hand grenades, and Nara Shikamaru agreed to team up with him to test unusual tactics on missions.
• Kawaki Aoba and Nara Shikamaru accepted a C-rank mission to investigate disappearances in a border village and found bandits holding the village chief hostage.
• Nara Shikamaru trapped a bandit with the Shadow Imitation Technique as Kawaki Aoba sent shadow clones to fight the others and freed the village chief.

Kawaki Aoba and Nara Shikamaru captured a bandit gang and returned them to Konoha, where Lord Hokage ordered their execution. Later, Sasori of the Red Sands cornered Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku in the desert, and Yuhi Shinku sacrificed himself to give Kawaki Aoba a chance to escape.

• Kawaki Aoba used Shadow Clones and Hand Grenades to defeat the bandit leader, then captured the fleeing bandits with his clones.
• Kawaki Aoba and Nara Shikamaru handed the bandits over to Lord Hokage, who ordered them executed after learning of their crimes.
• Kawaki Aoba and Yuhi Shinku tried to return to Konoha with intelligence but were intercepted by Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Yuhi Shinku fought Sasori's puppets and shielded Kawaki Aoba from an attack, suffering serious injuries.
• Yuhi Shinku and Kawaki Aoba destroyed several puppets with Fire Release, but Yuhi Shinku was left weakened as Sasori sent his final puppet to attack.
• Yuhi Shinku shoved Kawaki Aoba away and told him to flee, then was engulfed by a tremendous explosion and turned to ash.

Kawaki Aoba supplied Yuhi Shinku’s team with blue potions before they advanced on an ancient ruin, where a mysterious ninja overwhelmed them and wounded Aoba. The story then shifted to Asuma fighting a cornered Sunagakure ninja, who refused to surrender and continued attacking.

• Kawaki Aoba gave Yuhi Shinku large and small blue potions, then distributed supplies after urgent intelligence warned that an unknown force had interfered with their mission.
• Yuhi Shinku led the team through enemy attacks to an ancient ruin, where they fought their way toward the sealing scroll.
• A mysterious black-robed ninja confronted the team, overpowered Yuhi Shinku, and struck Kawaki Aoba with a blade aura after Aoba tried to protect him.
• Asuma saw through a Sunagakure ninja’s Shadow Clone Technique, and the ninja declared that Sunagakure never surrendered.
• Asuma and the Sunagakure ninja clashed fiercely, with Asuma gradually gaining the upper hand despite his opponent’s relentless attacks.

Asuma and Shikamaru Nara helped Konoha defeat Sunagakure's reinforcements by killing their commander. Later, Asuma and Kawaki Aoba continued their contrasting training routines, while Yuhi Shinku prepared to drink a mysterious potion to help win the next battle.

• Asuma defeated a Sunagakure ninja with Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning, then fought across the battlefield until Might Guy rescued him from a surprise attack.
• When Sunagakure's reinforcements arrived, Asuma rallied the Konoha ninja and called on Shikamaru Nara, whose squad killed the enemy commander and helped rout the reinforcements.
• Asuma practiced Chakra control while Kawaki Aoba pursued power through sacrificial rituals involving scavenged objects, and the two continued their separate routines under the same roof.
• Yuhi Shinku decided to drink a mysterious blue potion despite Kawaki Aoba warning her that its effects and side effects were unknown.