Chapter Summaries

The Uchiha allies helped the Cloud Village stabilize its outpost after defeating Sasori, and Yugito and Killer B prepared to continue their offensive. Meanwhile, Natsuki, disguised as Hibaku, learned that the two Jinchuriki were advancing and planned to confront Killer B himself.

• Itachi explained that he had killed Sasori with Fire Release and that the Uchiha had taken the Third Kazekage's corpse and puppet as trophies.
• Yugito and Killer B decided to leave the outpost and attack the Mist Village's bases, while Shisui agreed that the Uchiha would defend the Cloud Village outpost.
• Yugito set out toward the Mist Village outpost, and Killer B went alone to Tsuzawa Island.
• Natsuki, disguised as Hibaku, received intelligence about the Jinchuriki's movements and ordered Naoya to withdraw the scouts near Yugito.
• Natsuki told Naoya that he and his disciple would delay and try to capture Killer B alive.

Natsuki captured Deidara and persuaded him to return with him by arguing about the nature of art, while bringing Sasori’s sealed body along. On Tsuzawa Island, Natsuki met Kisame and prepared him to fight Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Natsuki’s Curse Mark faded after a day of speeding across the sea, and he used a Shadow Clone to steer while he spoke with the awakened Deidara.
• Natsuki argued that art was a fleeting flash of brilliance, convincing Deidara to stop resisting and agree to return with him to see a greater art.
• Natsuki showed Deidara Sasori’s sealed true body and claimed he was taking Sasori home to visit his grandmother, despite Deidara’s doubts.
• Natsuki’s clone waited on Tsuzawa Island and met Kisame, who said he had adjusted to life in the Sound Village and that Kyoko was doing well.
• Natsuki told Kisame that their target was Killer B, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and that Kisame would be the main force in the fight.

Natsuki gathered Kisame, Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu for a mission to help Mist Village deal with Cloud Village. As Zabuza returned to the Land of Water, he reconsidered his decision to leave Mist Village and wondered what it had become.

• Natsuki transformed into Hibaku, explained his identity and the mission to Kisame, then used a technique on him before they left to pick someone up.
• Juzo Biwa brought Zabuza and Suigetsu back to the shore near Tsuren Island and told them to wait while he contacted someone.
• Suigetsu wondered what the mission was and thought of his late older brother, while Zabuza warned him not to throw his life away.
• Zabuza reflected on Mist Village's violent history, his failed attempt to assassinate Karatachi Yagura, and Mei Terumi's efforts to stabilize the village.
• Zabuza realized leaving Mist Village had been a mistake and returned with Suigetsu hoping to see how the village had changed; then he heard footsteps approaching.

Kakuzu and Hidan ambushed Yugito’s Cloud Village team, killing every shinobi accompanying her as she entered a full Tailed Beast Transformation. At the Cloud Village base, Shisui detected the chakra flare and left with two Uchiha Clan members to reinforce her.

• Kakuzu told Hidan that Yugito must be captured alive, disappointing Hidan because the order conflicted with his faith.
• Yugito led about twenty Cloud Village shinobi toward the Mist Village base, but Kakuzu ambushed them with Wind Release and scattered the team.
• Hidan and Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear creatures killed most of the Cloud Village shinobi while Yugito fought Kakuzu in her Tailed Beast Transformation.
• Hidan killed the final two Cloud Village shinobi, leaving Yugito alone against Kakuzu, Hidan, and the four Earth Grudge Fear creatures.
• Shisui’s crow detected Yugito’s violent chakra surge, and Shisui departed with two Uchiha Clan members to provide support while Samui guarded the base.

Disguised as Hibaku, Natsuki led Kisame, Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu to find Killer B, with Kisame set to lead the attack. Killer B transformed fully into the Eight-Tails, and Kisame hurled Samehada at him.

• Natsuki received Water Style technique rewards after changing the fates of Zabuza, Suigetsu, and Juzo Biwa, then exchanged them for three Shield Hat techniques.
• Kisame reunited with Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu, while Suigetsu tried and failed to grab Samehada.
• Hibaku announced that Kisame would be the main attacker against Killer B, and the group followed a map to find him.
• The group surrounded Killer B as he rapped and danced, while Hibaku wondered when Itachi and Shisui would arrive.
• Killer B transformed directly into the Eight-Tails, and Kisame threw Samehada at him; a tentacle caught it.

Kisame trapped Killer B and the others in a massive sphere of water, fused with Samehada, and unleashed a series of Water Style attacks against the Eight-Tails. Killer B destroyed Kisame’s assault with a spinning Tailed Beast technique, but Kisame recovered and prepared to continue fighting.

• Killer B transformed into the Eight-Tails and attacked Kisame, while Samehada absorbed Killer B’s Chakra and healed Kisame’s injuries.
• Suigetsu’s Water Bullets failed to pierce Gyuki’s hide, and Kisame trapped the battlefield inside a huge sphere of water.
• Kisame fused with Samehada and attacked Killer B with Thousand Feeding Sharks and the Great Shark Bullet Technique.
• Killer B spun inside his tentacles, wiping out Kisame’s water attacks and blasting him out of the water sphere.
• Samehada healed Kisame’s broken body, and Kisame picked up the sword as Killer B approached, ready to fight again.

Hibaku used his Curse Mark and Suigetsu's Shield Hat technique to protect his allies from Killer B's Tailed Beast Bomb, then fought the Eight-Tails with a huge water monster. The battle continued as the water monster developed poisonous tentacles.

• Killer B fired a Tailed Beast Bomb as Kisame and the others tried to retreat, and Hibaku spent his remaining resources to shield them with three layers of Shield Hat.
• The blast created a massive mushroom cloud, while Itachi went toward the Eight-Tails and Shisui and Yōya set off to rescue Yugito.
• Kakuzu replaced his lost Lightning Release heart by stealing one from a wounded Cloud Village shinobi, then heard the distant explosion and sent his Water Style heart into the nearby waters.
• Hibaku's water monster withstood Killer B's attacks and rapidly recovered, astonishing the Mist Village shinobi who recognized Shield Hat as a Hozuki Clan technique.
• The water monster grew tentacles and turned poisonous, prompting Kisame and the others to retreat farther from the fighting.

Hibaku defeated Killer B with his jellyfish technique, but Itachi’s arrival forced the Mist Village shinobi to retreat. At the coast, Hibaku revealed Obito’s influence within the Akatsuki Organization and persuaded Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu to return to the Mist Village while keeping their plans secret.

• Hibaku’s poisoned Water Whips pierced Gyuki, and Killer B lost consciousness as Shield Hat dispersed.
• Itachi arrived with Susanoo and used Yasakani no Magatama to drive Hibaku and the Mist Village shinobi into retreat.
• Zetsu watched the retreat and wondered where Hibaku had learned the Hozuki Clan’s secret techniques.
• Hibaku told Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu that Obito was behind the Mist Village’s past suffering and was hiding within the Akatsuki Organization.
• Juzo Biwa and Zabuza agreed to return to the Mist Village, and Suigetsu chose to follow Zabuza.
• Hibaku led the group toward their base and instructed Juzo Biwa to act loyal to the Akatsuki Organization during the next Phantasmal Body meeting.

Hibaku negotiated the return of Juzo Biwa, Zabuza, and Suigetsu to the Mist Village while arranging for Kisame to continue working with Ao. After Hibaku shared intelligence about the Cloud Village and prepared to leave, Ao offered Suigetsu access to Hozuki Clan secret techniques, and Suigetsu agreed to return.

• Hibaku told Ao that Kisame had come to aid the Mist Village and that the others could return if their past crimes were pardoned, and Ao accepted on Mei Terumi’s behalf.
• Hibaku said he would leave and told Ao that Uchiha Itachi had rescued the Eight-Tails, claiming the Uchiha Clan was an Akatsuki informant in the Cloud Village.
• Ao promised to keep the intelligence secret and then told Juzo Biwa and Zabuza that Mei Terumi would forgive their pasts if they returned to the Mist Village.
• Ao told Suigetsu that Obito had killed Mangetsu and offered him access to the Hozuki Clan’s secret techniques if he returned.
• Suigetsu agreed to return to the Mist Village, and Ao welcomed the chance to keep another talented Hozuki in the village.

Hibaku arranged for Kisame to contact the Akatsuki Organization while Natsuki escorted Deidara home. Shisui and Yōya attacked Kakuzu and Hidan, but Kakuzu escaped to the sea after Shisui destroyed his hearts.

• Hibaku gave Kisame the Sky Ring and instructions to contact the Akatsuki Organization, then returned to his original body.
• Natsuki recovered Hibaku's memories and continued escorting Deidara across the Land of Fire.
• Shisui and Yōya ambushed Kakuzu and Hidan, with Shisui defeating Kakuzu and Yōya suppressing Hidan.
• Shisui found Yugito grievously wounded and gave her medicine while Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Fear dragged his body toward the coast.
• Kakuzu escaped into the sea, leaving his North Ring and scattered body parts behind.

Yōya and Shisui subdued and sealed Hidan after stopping him from completing his curse ritual, then returned the badly wounded Yugito to Cloud Village. With Killer B also gravely injured and Akatsuki members still at large, the Uchiha Clan agreed to protect the outpost while the two Jinchuriki recovered.

• Yōya wounded Hidan repeatedly and prevented him from completing his curse ritual, while Shisui incapacitated him with his Sharingan.
• Yōya severed Hidan’s head, and Shisui eventually sealed both Hidan’s head and body into a Storage Scroll.
• Yōya and Shisui found the other Cloud Village shinobi dead and carried the grievously wounded Yugito back to the outpost.
• Shisui and Itachi told Samui that Akatsuki members had attacked Yugito and Killer B, and that Kakuzu had escaped.
• Shisui advised Cloud Village to hold its ground, and Yōya promised that the Uchiha Clan would protect them until Yugito and Killer B recovered.

Natsuki returned to the Uchiha compound, handed Deidara over for house arrest, and arranged to meet Ōnoki after Sand Village retrieved Sasori and the Third Kazekage’s corpse. He learned the details of Living Corpse Reincarnation from Chiyo and ended by warning her against rushing Sand Village into the coming battle between Cloud Village and Mist Village.

• Natsuki placed Deidara under house arrest, dispelled his Shadow Clone, and arranged to meet Ōnoki at the Land of Earth border in seven days.
• Chiyo arrived from Sand Village and confirmed that the puppet Natsuki returned was made from the Third Kazekage’s corpse.
• Natsuki revealed Sasori’s main body and let Chiyo hear Sasori speak through his Father and Mother puppets before sealing him again.
• Natsuki received the secret scroll of Living Corpse Reincarnation and learned from Chiyo that the technique could not grant life to puppets and required the original corpse to resurrect the dead.
• Chiyo took the Third Kazekage’s corpse and Sasori back to Sand Village, while Natsuki warned her to keep Sand Village out of the Cloud Village–Mist Village conflict for now.

The Raikage learned that the Akatsuki had badly wounded Yugito and Killer B, while the Uchiha Clan rescued them on Tsuzawa Island. As Cloud Village's fleet advanced and the shinobi world prepared for war, Zetsu overheard that Hibaku had recruited Akatsuki members and planted Itachi and Shisui as spies, then was detected by Ao.

• A received a report that Yugito and Killer B had been ambushed and grievously wounded, but rescued by the Uchiha Clan.
• A ordered Killer B to hold the Tsuzawa Island stronghold without attacking and told Mabui to thank the Uchiha Clan.
• News of Cloud Village's invasion plans spread, prompting Ōnoki, Rasa, and Konoha to prepare for possible war.
• Zetsu observed Mei Terumi's underwater formation and overheard Ao name Juzo Biwa, Zabuza Momochi, and Hozuki Suigetsu as recalled Mist Village shinobi who belonged to the Akatsuki Organization.
• Ao revealed that Itachi and Shisui were Hibaku's spies, and Zetsu accidentally exposed his presence before fleeing as Ao detected him.

Mei Terumi ordered Mist Village to activate the Tidal Wave formation early, and its tsunami devastated Hidden Cloud's fleet. With the landing delayed and the Tsuzawa Island stronghold in danger, the Raikage decided to rush ahead alone to reinforce it.

• Mei Terumi ordered the Mist Village ninjas to activate Tidal Wave before Hidden Cloud's fleet reached the planned location.
• The formation generated successive massive waves that smashed Hidden Cloud's ships and swept many Cloud Village ninjas into the sea.
• After the sea calmed, the Raikage assessed the fleet's losses and told Mabui to warn Killer B that the landing would be delayed by three days.
• Worried that Mist Village would attack the Tsuzawa Island stronghold while Killer B and Yugito were injured, the Raikage chose to go ahead alone while Mabui led the fleet after him.

Zetsu watched Mist Village’s tsunami devastate Cloud Village’s fleet, then chose to hide Hibaku’s actions from Nagato while planning to inform Obito about Itachi and Shisui. In Konoha, Orochimaru persuaded the Third Hokage to let Stone Village forces cross the border to provoke a clash with the Uchiha, and the Third Hokage agreed.

• Zetsu observed the tsunami destroy a third of Cloud Village’s ships and suspected Hibaku was either a Mist Village agent or acting on his own.
• Zetsu decided not to report Hibaku to Nagato and instead planned to tell Obito that Itachi and Shisui were on the Land of Water battlefield.
• Cloud Village reorganized its surviving fleet into separate groups, slowing its advance and leaving it vulnerable to a possible Stone Village attack on its homeland.
• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that Natsuki had misled him about the Uchiha Clan’s location and proposed allowing about two hundred Stone Village troops through Konoha’s border.
• The Third Hokage agreed to notify the Tsuchikage, while Orochimaru returned to his laboratory.

Anko asked Orochimaru why he had left her behind and what memories he had sealed, so he restored her memories and explained his view of the cruel, morally gray ninja world. Anko was left shaken by his words when Kakashi arrived for treatment, misread the scene, and nervously followed Orochimaru inside.

• Anko confronted Orochimaru and asked why he had not taken her with him and what he had erased from her memories.
• Orochimaru released Anko's sealed memories, revealing that she had refused his offer to leave with him after seeing his experiments.
• Orochimaru told Anko that she had been naïve about the world's cruelty and suggested that the Third Hokage had known about the human experimentation.
• Anko was overwhelmed by Orochimaru's words and collapsed against the operating table as he asked whether she would accept the cruel world.
• Kakashi arrived for his Clone Eye treatment, saw Anko sprawled on the bed, and anxiously followed Orochimaru into the inner room.

Natsuki planned to join Mist Village’s four islands through land reclamation and prepared the Uchiha Clan’s response to Mist Village’s impending tsunami against Cloud Village. As the villages moved toward war, he set a plan in motion to steer Stone Village’s movements while ensuring Mei Terumi did not capture Yugito or Killer B.

• Natsuki considered building a coastal city across Mist Village’s four islands, using Stone Village’s expertise and Deidara’s abilities for land reclamation.
• Natsuki learned that Mist Village would launch its tsunami a day before the other powers received the news, and he sent Shisui and two others to check on Cloud Village’s injured Jinchuriki.
• Natsuki and Orochimaru coordinated a plan to make the Uchiha Clan appear to block Stone Village, strengthening the Third Hokage’s trust in Orochimaru and drawing Stone Village toward the border.
• Natsuki ordered Iori to tell Third Elder Takuya to lead a team openly toward the junction of the Land of Four Nations.
• Natsuki recognized that Mist Village’s tsunami could slow Cloud Village’s reinforcements and create a chance for Mist Village, but he knew Mei Terumi must not capture Yugito or Killer B.

Natsuki took Deidara toward a meeting with Ōnoki and tried to persuade him to become Ōnoki’s successor by provoking him into demonstrating his art. Deidara’s clone exploded while his real body escaped underground, leaving Natsuki to track him down.

• Natsuki knocked Deidara unconscious, confiscated his clay, and carried him toward the border to meet Ōnoki.
• Natsuki woke Deidara, returned his clay, and challenged him to demonstrate his art, hoping to make him a willing successor for Ōnoki.
• Deidara attacked Natsuki with clay bombs, but Natsuki used Susanoo and Water Release to evade the blasts and bring down the giant bird.
• Deidara used a Self-Detonating Clone while his real body emerged from the fallen Clay Giant Bird and burrowed underground to flee.
• Deidara’s clone exploded, blasting apart the surrounding forest as his real body continued tunneling away.

Natsuki defeated Deidara’s clay attacks and captured him with the help of the arriving Uchiha clan members. He challenged Deidara to fight an Uchiha without the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Deidara agreed, unsealing more clay to prepare.

• Third Elder Takuya led the Uchiha clan members toward the Land of Four Nations after receiving Natsuki’s message, and they spotted Natsuki’s Susanoo during Deidara’s attack.
• Natsuki cut apart Deidara’s Clay Puppets, then let the clay cover him before withstanding another explosion with his Susanoo.
• Deidara tried to escape on a Clay Giant Bird, but a heavy net dropped over him as Takuya and the Uchiha clan members arrived and surrounded him.
• Natsuki told Deidara that he would lose even without the Susanoo and proposed a fight against an Uchiha without the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Deidara accepted the challenge, and Natsuki’s clan members freed him so he could unseal more clay from his Storage Scroll.

Natsuki arranged to learn about the Land of Water front while preparing to brainwash Deidara and intercept the Stone Village. After Yōya reported the situation, Itachi and Shisui decided to harass the Mist Village and set traps while the Cloud Village waited for Raikage A.

• Natsuki sent intelligence to Itachi and Shisui, then had Takuya summon Yōya back from the Land of Water.
• Yōya reported that Killer B and Yugito had been rescued by Itachi and Shisui, though Yugito remained badly injured.
• Shisui learned that the Stone Village planned to cross the Land of Fire and attack the Cloud Village's homeland, while Natsuki led Uchiha forces to intercept them.
• Killer B received word that Raikage A would arrive before the fleet, lifting the Cloud Village shinobi's spirits.
• Itachi and Shisui proposed scouting the Mist Village, setting traps, and harassing its forces while the Cloud Village recovered.