Chapter Summaries

Chiya and Shion shared a drink after the stone statue army’s attack, and Shion revealed how her prophetic power had left her isolated. After Shion leaned in to kiss him, Chiya abruptly left, while a severed head in the ruined sealing shrine opened its eyes.

• Chiya sat with Kaguya on a hillside as the city was rebuilt, and Shion arrived with bottles of liquor.
• Shion asked why Chiya had returned, and he explained that he could not leave the city’s people and children to die.
• Shion told Chiya that her visions showed people’s deaths and that she believed anyone who grew close to her would die.
• Shion said Chiya was different because he was the first person from her dreams who had not died, then leaned toward him.
• Chiya suddenly stood and left without promising to return, and Shion watched him disappear.
• The severed head beneath the rubble in the sealing shrine opened its eyes after its black hair turned gray.

Jiraiya defied Danzo’s order to put Naruto under Root’s control and secretly took him out of Konoha. The chapter ended when patrol ninja discovered Naruto was missing and reported it to Danzo.

• Danzo ordered Jiraiya to hand Naruto’s training and residence over to Root, but Jiraiya refused to accept the order.
• Jiraiya told Naruto that the ban on leaving Konoha had been lifted and convinced him they were going on a top-secret mission.
• Jiraiya used a small toad to hide Naruto, knocked out the ninja watching him, and escaped with him from the village.
• A patrol squad found the unconscious guards and discovered that Naruto’s room was empty.
• A ninja rushed to the Hokage Office and informed Danzo that Naruto Uzumaki had gone missing.

Danzo learned that Jiraiya had taken Naruto out of the village and ordered the incident concealed while tracking them. He then received news that Chiya Uchiha had defeated the Three-Tails and absorbed much of its Chakra, prompting him to make Chiya a top-priority target.

• Danzo learned that Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya had vanished, and decided not to send a pursuit unit because Jiraiya had likely prepared his escape.
• Danzo ordered the village to claim Naruto had left on a classified mission, track him and Jiraiya discreetly, and revoke Jiraiya's intelligence access.
• The next morning, Danzo's investigators reported they had found no trace of Jiraiya or Naruto at the village exits, and he ordered them to keep searching.
• A Root ninja reported that Yagura had died, Mei Terumi had become Fifth Mizukage, and Chiya Uchiha had defeated the Three-Tails and absorbed much of its Chakra.
• Danzo learned that Mei Terumi had helped Chiya leave the Land of Water, then ordered his bounty raised and sought information about how he absorbed the Three-Tails' Chakra.

Pain learned that someone had taken most of the Three-Tails' power, so he accelerated Akatsuki's plans and warned its members not to confront Chiya Uchiha alone. The Akatsuki meeting ended with Zetsu tasked to track Chiya while the members hurried their preparations.

• Konan joined Pain on the tower platform, where he said Akatsuki's plan needed to be accelerated because most of the Three-Tails' power had been taken.
• Pain summoned Akatsuki's members to a meeting at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and shortened their preparation time from two years to one.
• Pain ordered the members to finish their existing missions quickly and await further instructions from him and Zetsu.
• Pain warned Akatsuki that Chiya Uchiha was dangerous, forbade anyone from engaging him alone, and ordered them to notify Zetsu if they found him.
• Pain told the members to retreat if Chiya attacked, and Zetsu agreed to continue tracking his whereabouts.

Deidara attacked Sunagakure, but Gaara protected the village and fought back while Yura disabled its defenses for the Akatsuki. Deidara escaped Gaara’s sand prison at the cost of his left arm and continued diving toward the ground.

• Deidara bombed a tower and sent clay birds into the streets, but Gaara blocked the explosions with sand and ordered the residents evacuated.
• Gaara confronted Deidara in the air, survived his explosions, and counterattacked with giant sand hands as Kankuro arrived below.
• Sunagakure shinobi discovered the barrier-room guards dead, while Yura’s betrayal was revealed: he had disabled the warning barrier and eliminated the sky-watchers.
• Gaara flooded the canyon with sand and trapped Deidara’s bird in a sand sphere, but Deidara broke through the last opening.
• Gaara caught Deidara’s left arm with the special sand from his gourd and crushed it, while Deidara sent clay spiders into the sand.
• Deidara dived toward the ground to escape, tearing his left arm from his body.

Deidara defeated Gaara with clay spiders hidden inside Gaara’s sand shield, then escaped with the unconscious Kazekage. Kankuro pursued Deidara but encountered a cloaked figure with a poisoned metal tail in the sandstorm.

• Deidara used his last clay to create a massive bomb aimed at the city, forcing Gaara to shield the residents with sand.
• Deidara detonated clay spiders hidden inside Gaara’s defenses, blasting Gaara from the sky and leaving him unconscious.
• Gaara redirected the falling sand shield away from the city before Deidara’s bird caught him and flew toward the canyon exit.
• Kankuro sent Crow after Deidara, but stayed long enough to order the Sand shinobi to help the wounded before pursuing alone.
• Kankuro encountered a cloaked figure with a metal tail, which shot its poisoned tip toward his chest.

Kankuro was poisoned and defeated by Sasori, prompting the Sand Village to request Konoha’s help in finding Gaara. Meanwhile, Chiya continued learning the Flying Thunder God and saw Kaguya inscribe its formula by combining Chakra with spatial information.

• Sasori defeated Kankuro’s puppets, revealed himself as their maker, and poisoned Kankuro before leaving to pursue Gaara.
• Sand Village medical ninjas could only slow the poison, so Baki ordered a plea for Konoha’s help and sent a piece of Sasori’s robe as a tracking clue.
• Chiya struggled to leave the Flying Thunder God formula on a boulder, and Kaguya explained that he needed to sense the location and encode its spatial information.
• Kaguya took control of Chiya’s hand and inscribed the formula on the stone, demonstrating how to fuse spatial information with Chakra.

Chiya mastered the Flying Thunder God technique after practicing in the rocky valley, then learned that Akatsuki had attacked the Land of Wind and rushed to protect Gaara. He left for the Land of Wind before the One-Tail could be captured.

• Kaguya demonstrated how to place a Flying Thunder God formula, and Chiya successfully created one himself.
• Chiya learned to teleport to a formula by sensing its coordinate instead of crossing the distance between locations.
• Over the next two days, Chiya practiced until he could quickly place formulas and teleport repeatedly around the valley.
• A Sunagakure ninja ran toward the Land of Fire carrying a fragment of an Akatsuki robe, leading Chiya to suspect that Gaara was in danger.
• Chiya worried that Danzo would not send Konoha reinforcements, then raced toward the Land of Wind to stop Akatsuki from taking the One-Tail.

Chiya reached Sunagakure and learned that Akatsuki had captured Gaara and poisoned Kankuro. Unable to track them by scent, he searched the mountains near the Land of Rivers and found a concealed area that he suspected was Akatsuki's hideout.

• Chiya approached Sunagakure cautiously and overheard Sand Village ninja confirm that Gaara had been captured and Kankuro poisoned.
• Chiya decided to search the mountains near the Land of Rivers because he had no way to track Akatsuki.
• Chiya entered Sage Mode and scanned the desert and mountains for chakra traces and signs of a hidden cave.
• Chiya found a suspicious gap in his Sage Mode senses near a cliff and placed a Flying Thunder God marker before approaching.
• Chiya sensed a barrier concealing the area and concluded that he had likely found Akatsuki's hideout.

Danzo refused to send immediate aid to Sand Village and ordered Root to monitor its crisis and spread news of Gaara’s death. As Akatsuki extracted the One-Tail from Gaara, Zetsu reported that Chiya Uchiha had found their cave, and Pain sent Deidara and Sasori to confront him.

• A Sand ninja asked Danzo to help find the captured Kazekage, but Danzo said Konoha would first confirm the situation and had him escorted away.
• Danzo ordered Root to watch Sand Village’s border, restrict the envoy’s contacts, and spread news of Gaara’s death.
• Pain used the Nine Phantom Dragons Seal to extract the One-Tail’s Chakra from Gaara into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Zetsu reported that Chiya Uchiha had arrived near the cave, and Pain learned he was alone and had not yet encountered the barrier.
• Pain sent Deidara and Sasori to hold off Chiya while the extraction continued, then ordered Zetsu to notify Madara.

Chiya fought past White Zetsu and attacked the Five-Seal Barrier, but Deidara and Sasori tried to stop him. Chiya shattered Sasori’s Hiruko puppet with one slash, leaving Deidara and Sasori stunned as the fight continued.

• Chiya cut down several White Zetsu clones and reached the cliff bearing the Five-Seal Barrier talisman.
• Deidara attacked Chiya with an explosive Clay Bird, but Chiya wounded his shoulder and destroyed part of the bird.
• Chiya blocked Deidara’s clay explosives with an Earth-Style Wall and countered with the Great Dragon Fire Technique.
• Chiya rushed toward the barrier talisman, but Sasori intercepted him with Hiruko’s tail spike.
• Chiya dodged Sasori’s next strike and shattered Hiruko with a single sword slash, shocking Deidara and Sasori.

Chiya fought Deidara and Sasori, then broke through the Five-Seal Barrier with a powerful sword slash and reached the cave entrance. Before he could enter, a masked man used Kamui to seize him, but Chiya vanished, leaving the attacker to wonder if he had used Flying Thunder God.

• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage puppet and attacked Chiya with Iron Sand while Deidara joined the assault from above.
• Deidara dropped a C3 bomb on Chiya, who survived the explosion and answered with Sage Art, Wild-Draw Flash.
• Deidara's C2 Dragon and Sasori's Iron Sand briefly stopped Chiya's sword aura, but it cut through their defenses and shattered the Five-Seal Barrier hiding the cave.
• Chiya charged toward the exposed cave entrance, but a masked man grabbed his ankle from underground and activated Kamui.
• Chiya vanished before Kamui could pull him in, and the masked man wondered whether he had used Flying Thunder God.

Chiya returned to the valley and used Sage Mode to summon a massive stone giant against Deidara, Sasori, and the masked man. Sasori unleashed the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, and the chapter ended as the puppets restrained the giant and prepared a barrage of Fire Release attacks.

• Chiya escaped the masked man's grasp with Flying Thunder God and reappeared near the cave, where he sensed that Gaara and the One-Tail were in danger.
• Chiya entered Sage Mode and raised Wild God's Great Rock Seat, a giant stone construct that attacked the three Akatsuki members.
• Deidara dodged the stone giant's strikes and bombed it with Clay Birds, while the masked man turned intangible and Sasori blocked a punch with Iron Sand walls.
• Sasori revealed his puppet body and summoned over a hundred puppets with the Performance of a Hundred Puppets.
• The puppets' combined ninjutsu failed to seriously damage the stone giant, but steel cables restrained it as dozens of puppets prepared Fire Release attacks.

Chiya used Sage Art to fight Sasori and Deidara, but their attacks crippled Wild God's Great Rock Seat and brought it down. Chiya poured in his remaining Sage Chakra to restore the Stone Man, which stood again before the cave as the One-Tail's aura continued to weaken.

• Chiya empowered his Calamity Fire Cascade with Kaguya's chakra and began forcing back the Human Puppets' combined Fire Release.
• Deidara sent Clay Spiders into Wild God's Great Rock Seat's joints and detonated them, severing its arm and damaging its legs.
• Sasori's puppets pulled on the Stone Man as it lost its balance and crashed into the valley, burying Chiya in smoke and dust.
• Chiya emerged atop the damaged Stone Man and poured in all his remaining Sage Chakra to repair it.
• Wild God's Great Rock Seat pulled scattered stones into its body, crushed or snapped the puppets and cables around it, and stood up again in front of the cave.

Chiya used High Plain of Heaven to freeze Obito in place while sustaining Wild God's Great Rock Seat, and Kaguya took control of Chiya's hand to fire a chakra cannon at Deidara. The blast hurled Deidara into the cliff, while Chiya's space-freezing technique began to fail.

• Sasori resumed attacking Wild God's Great Rock Seat with his puppets after it reassembled from Deidara's bombs.
• Obito charged up the giant's arm, but Chiya used High Plain of Heaven to freeze him and the surrounding space.
• Sasori's puppets attacked the giant while Deidara loaded his Clay Bird with bombs and dove toward Chiya.
• Kaguya took control of Chiya's left hand and fired a condensed chakra cannon, piercing Deidara's Clay Bird and triggering its bombs.
• The explosion sent Deidara into the cliff, and Chiya's High Plain of Heaven began to falter as blood streamed from his eyes.

Chiya fought past Obito and Sasori’s puppets to reach Gaara as the Akatsuki extracted the One-Tail. He rescued Gaara and escaped to the Land of Wind, where he found Gaara dead and looked toward Sunagakure.

• Chiya evaded Obito’s Kamui, then used the Wild God's Great Rock Seat to smash through Sasori’s puppets and clear the cave entrance.
• Chiya entered the cave and saw Gaara suspended before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as the last of the One-Tail’s Chakra was drained.
• Chiya used Kaguya’s mark to seize a portion of the One-Tail’s Chakra just as Pain announced its capture.
• Obito attacked Chiya, but Kaguya completed the transfer and Chiya disappeared with Gaara.
• Chiya arrived in the Land of Wind, found that Gaara had no breath or heartbeat, and looked toward Sunagakure.

Chiya brought Gaara back to Sunagakure, where doctors found his heart had stopped after the One-Tail was extracted, while Kankuro was dying from Sasori's poison. Chiyo revealed she could use One's Own Life Reincarnation to save only one of them, leaving Temari unable to choose as both brothers' conditions worsened.

• Chiya carried Gaara into Sunagakure, and Baki rushed him to the Medical Division after learning the One-Tail had been extracted.
• The medical ninja found that Gaara had no pulse and could not revive him, while Chiyo hurried to Kankuro's ward as his poison reached his heart.
• Temari arrived, learned that Gaara showed no signs of life, and collapsed before making her way to Kankuro's bedside.
• Chiyo revealed that One's Own Life Reincarnation could save either Gaara or Kankuro, but she had enough life force for only one.
• Temari struggled to choose between her brothers as Kankuro's heartbeat began to fail.

Chiya promised to save Kankuro while Chiyo used One's Own Life Reincarnation to save Gaara, and Danzo plotted to exploit the Kazekage’s death to expand Konoha’s influence in the Land of Wind. Akatsuki changed its tactics to counter Chiya, while the masked man and Pain discussed using his willingness to steal Tailed Beast Chakra against him.

• Temari agreed to let Chiya save Kankuro while Chiyo saved Gaara, then fainted from exhaustion.
• Chiyo trusted Chiya to treat Kankuro and told him to ensure Temari had no more bad news when she woke.
• Danzo ordered Root to persuade the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to accept Konoha’s help, giving Konoha a chance to occupy border outposts and take missions from Sand Village.
• Pain learned that Chiya had taken part of the One-Tail’s Chakra and ordered Akatsuki members to avoid fighting him alone and to conduct future Tailed Beast captures with two teams.
• Itachi suggested using people or Tailed Beasts Chiya cared about as bait, while Pain said Akatsuki would consider the idea later.
• The masked man discussed luring Chiya into stealing Tailed Beast Chakra, and White Zetsu revealed that Black Zetsu had split off days earlier and had not returned.

Temari woke from a nightmare and learned that Chiya had saved both Gaara and Kankuro, then collapsed from exhaustion. She brought him home to recover, and, overwhelmed by her feelings, gently kissed his cheek as he slept.

• Temari dreamed that she had to choose between saving Gaara and Kankuro, then woke and rushed to the hospital.
• Tsunade neutralized the poison in Kankuro while Chiya used his Mangekyō and Void Crossing to help save him.
• Temari realized Gaara and Kankuro were safe, but Chiya collapsed from exhaustion after using his powers.
• Tsunade told Temari that Chiya had pleaded with her to come save the brothers.
• Temari carried Chiya to her room and watched over him as she reflected on how he had saved her family.
• Temari wiped blood from Chiya's face, leaned close, and gently pressed her lips against his cheek.

After Kaguya learned that Temari had kissed Chiya, she impulsively kissed him herself. Black Zetsu then appeared and mistook the Kaguya within Chiya for the mother he had spent centuries trying to revive.

• Chiya woke in Temari's room, and Kaguya made his left hand rub the cheek Temari had kissed.
• Kaguya pulled Chiya into their mental space, bound him with her hair, and kissed him before sending him back to his body.
• Black Zetsu emerged from the sand wall and said he wanted to meet the being inside Chiya.
• Black Zetsu identified Kaguya's chakra and knelt before her, declaring himself the will she had left behind and pledging to bring her back.