Recaps

Naruto and Sasuke debated Obito Uchiha’s motives before Sasuke left to train, while Sakura struggled with being excluded from their world. Naruto walked Hinata home after the festival and ordered her to meet him for training the next morning.

• Naruto considered whether Obito had survived with a third party’s help and whether someone had manipulated him or implanted a Thought Seal.
• Sasuke dismissed Naruto’s questions about Obito, said he only wanted to kill those in his way, and challenged Naruto before leaving to train.
• Sakura chased after Sasuke, but he admired the fireworks with her only briefly before saying he had no time and disappearing into the crowd.
• Naruto put Hinata’s fox mask over her face to hide her blush and escorted her to the Hyuga Main Residence.
• Naruto told Hinata to meet him at Schola Progenium at six the next morning for double physical training, then left.

Naruto Uzumaki learned that Root had accumulated 134.2 billion ryo and could not spend it quickly enough through its usual projects. He ordered the money used to launch the Purification operation, leaving the Shinobi World stirred by huge bounties targeting Akatsuki members.

• Nara Shikage reported Root’s 134.2 billion ryo in liquid funds and explained that its projects could not absorb money as quickly as it grew.
• Naruto told Nara Shikage to use the surplus for the Purification operation and issue procurement orders through the Underground Bounty Exchange.
• Naruto set a 3 billion ryo bounty for capturing Hidan alive, with his core torso intact.
• Naruto set a 3 billion ryo bounty for capturing Kakuzu alive and offered rewards for intelligence about him.
• Naruto ordered bounty notices for other Akatsuki members and announced that the Purifiers would regularly issue sky-high bounties.
• Bounty hunters, rogue ninja, and small-country forces began tracking Akatsuki members as the Purifiers’ bounties spread across the Shinobi World.

Kakuzu and Hidan were ambushed after the Purifiers placed a three-billion-ryō bounty on each of them. Kakuzu discovered the bounty was real and, when bounty hunters trapped Hidan the next morning, chose not to save him so he could claim the money.

• Kakuzu noticed numerous disguised ninja watching him and Hidan in a remote tavern.
• Hidan killed one of the watchers, triggering a massive attack that he and Kakuzu fought off.
• Kakuzu found a bounty notice offering three billion ryō for each of them and confirmed through a Crow that the Purifiers had issued it.
• Kakuzu began viewing Hidan as a three-billion-ryō prize and calculated that separating from him would be profitable.
• The next morning, bounty hunters trapped Hidan in chakra nets, and Kakuzu delayed helping him while the hunters sealed him.

Hidan used Kakuzu’s fear of losing his fortune to force him to fight the bounty hunters, but Kakuzu remained trapped between Akatsuki’s leverage and the Purifiers’ offers. After the battle, Kakuzu struggled to sleep and woke from a nightmare about Konan emptying one of his vaults.

• Hidan fought the bounty hunters trapped in a Chakra Metal net, using his own wounds to attack them and warning Kakuzu that Konan had marked all his hidden vaults.
• Kakuzu’s fear that Konan would seize his entire fortune outweighed his desire for the three billion ryo, and he unleashed his four heart monsters on the bounty hunters.
• Kakuzu tore open the net and pulled Hidan free, warning him that it was the last time he would help him.
• That night, Kakuzu lay awake considering how Akatsuki and the Purifiers had taken control of his choices, while Hidan slept and muttered prayers.
• Kakuzu dreamed that one of his vaults was empty except for a paper flower folded by Konan, then woke drenched in cold sweat and unable to sleep again.

Kakuzu received a Purifiers proposal offering five billion ryo for Hidan and a chance to escape Akatsuki with his fortune and a new identity. After the proposal revealed the location of his secret treasury, Kakuzu concealed it from Hidan and prepared to leave, while Naruto and Nara Shikage discussed turning him into a customer.

• Kakuzu endured Hidan’s morning prayers, then secretly intercepted a scroll delivered by a carrier pigeon.
• The Purifiers offered Kakuzu five billion ryo to capture Hidan alive and promised to erase his identity, transfer his assets, and protect his new life.
• The proposal revealed the location of Kakuzu’s hidden treasury in the Land of Frost, convincing him that the Purifiers had formidable intelligence and could offer an escape from Akatsuki.
• Kakuzu hid the scroll when Hidan emerged from the cave and told him to get ready to leave, while privately considering Hidan a five-billion-ryo opportunity.
• At Root’s underground base, Nara Shikage praised the Purifiers’ psychological tactics, and Naruto said he planned to turn Kakuzu from Pain’s employee into his customer.

Kakuzu secretly tested the Purifiers by demanding they transfer his Takigakure treasury without Akatsuki noticing, and Naruto ordered a show of force to secure Kakuzu’s loyalty and unsettle Akatsuki. Jiraiya then arrived with the news that Amegakure was Akatsuki’s headquarters.

• Kakuzu endured another sleepless night, restrained himself from attacking Hidan, and worked with him to defeat seven rogue ninja.
• Kakuzu visited the Layered Nest bounty exchange and sent the Purifiers a challenge to move the assets from his A-rank treasury to a safehouse in the Land of Iron within one month.
• Nara Shikage explained that Kakuzu had shifted the risks onto the Purifiers, while Naruto interpreted the challenge as a cautious job application.
• Naruto ordered Zero to monitor the treasury and Deer Shadow to plan a spectacular transfer that would demonstrate the Purifiers’ power to Kakuzu and threaten Akatsuki.
• Jiraiya arrived and told Naruto that he had discovered Amegakure was Akatsuki’s headquarters.

Naruto stopped Jiraiya from infiltrating Amegakure and chose to draw the Akatsuki out with a live-fire exercise near the Land of Rain. As Konoha prepared the operation and moved to seize Kakuzu’s assets, Kakuzu waited in the mountains, unaware that a Konoha squad was dismantling his defenses.

• Jiraiya told Naruto that Amegakure's leader was Pain, and Naruto showed him Root's dossier identifying the Akatsuki and Konan as the angel.
• Jiraiya insisted on infiltrating Amegakure, but Naruto refused and threatened to break his legs and imprison him if he tried to leave.
• Naruto revealed his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and convinced Jiraiya that he would handle the Akatsuki himself.
• Naruto ordered the First Mechanized Infantry Battalion of Schola Progenium to conduct the armed field exercise 'Thunder' at the Land of Rain's border.
• Naruto ordered the Sealing Corps to empty Kakuzu's entire nest in Takigakure, while Kakuzu waited for the Purifiers' reply, unaware that a Konoha squad was dismantling his barrier.

Naruto’s mechanized force invaded the Land of Rain, overwhelming Amegakure’s shinobi and summons with industrial firepower. After the Thunder God railgun erased Animal Path Pain, Naruto dismissed the idea that any being stood above physical laws.

• The First Mechanized Infantry Battalion destroyed a border watchtower and defeated Rain shinobi with Bolters and mortars.
• Jiraiya watched the advance with Naruto and heard him explain how industrialized warfare let trained soldiers kill shinobi efficiently.
• Nagato sensed the invaders through the Rain Tiger at Will Jutsu and sent Animal Path Pain to attack them with summoned beasts.
• The Iron Flow Brigade killed the Archaeopteryx, rhinoceros, and Split Hounds with specialized ammunition.
• Naruto authorized the Thunder God system, and its railgun obliterated Animal Path Pain and the hill where she stood.
• Naruto said that all beings were equal before the laws of physics.

Nagato sent Deva Path Pain against the Konoha mechanized forces, but Naruto identified the five-second cooldown on Shinra Tensei and ordered an orderly retreat. As Naruto questioned Jiraiya about the Rinnegan, Kakuzu anxiously waited in a cave for the Purifiers to respond.

• Nagato stopped Konan from confronting the attacker and said they had to rely on Yahiko's body to protect the Land of Rain.
• Deva Path Pain appeared over the battlefield, and Jiraiya recognized his former student Yahiko while Naruto assessed him as the enemy's core.
• Deva Path Pain used Shinra Tensei to devastate the Konoha forces, while Asura Path Pain attacked surviving soldiers.
• Naruto timed Deva Path Pain's second Shinra Tensei and identified a five-second cooldown, then ordered the Iron Flow Brigade to withdraw under cover of smoke and flash rounds.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya about the Rinnegan after recording Shinra Tensei's range, intensity, and cooldown, while Kakuzu waited anxiously for a reply from the Purifiers.

Kakuzu received proof that the Purifiers had recovered his forgotten assets and attacked Pain’s stronghold, convincing him to betray Akatsuki and capture Hidan for a five-billion-ryō bounty. At Thunderclap Pass, Hidan charged toward the town to slaughter its people and lure out Yugito while Kakuzu stayed behind, preparing his plan.

• Kakuzu received the Purifiers’ inventory of his recovered wealth and a photograph showing their attack on Pain’s forces in the Land of Rain.
• Kakuzu decided to pursue the Purifiers’ offer and secretly planned to capture Hidan alive for five billion ryō.
• Kakuzu told Hidan that Yugito had been spotted at Thunderclap Pass, and the pair set out for the Land of Lightning.
• Kakuzu’s scouting crows confirmed that Thunderclap Pass was a small, lightly defended mining town.
• Hidan rejected Kakuzu’s warning about drawing Kumogakure’s attention and charged down toward the town to sacrifice everyone there.

Hidan slaughtered civilians in Thunderclap Pass to complete a curse ritual against Yugito, while Kakuzu secretly prepared to capture him for the Purifiers. After the curse took hold, Kakuzu sealed Hidan in a metal case, but Yugito blocked Kakuzu as he tried to leave.

• Hidan killed a night-watch miner and used the miner's blood to begin a ritual in the town plaza.
• Kakuzu disguised himself, helped prolong Hidan's attack, and secretly treated wounded civilians while Kumogakure ANBU sent for help.
• Yugito arrived and transformed into Matatabi, repeatedly blasting Hidan apart before he used her blood to complete the curse ritual.
• Hidan stabbed himself with a black nail, causing Yugito to suffer matching agony and revert to human form.
• Kakuzu restrained Hidan with tentacles and sealing tags, then locked him inside a metal case for the Purifiers.
• Yugito confronted Kakuzu as he tried to leave with Hidan, demanding that he answer for the slaughter.

Kakuzu abandoned his escape to rescue Thunderclap Pass’s surviving civilians, fearing the Purifiers would reclaim his assets if he let the disaster stand. As Kumogakure forces surrounded him, Captain Shiryu ordered them to let Kakuzu go and prioritize Yugito’s treatment.

• Kakuzu remembered the Purifiers’ contract clause against allowing large-scale civilian casualties and decided to stop the losses by rescuing survivors.
• Kakuzu and Yugito fought the fires and stabilized damaged buildings while Kakuzu’s tentacles pulled civilians from rubble and treated their wounds.
• Kumogakure reinforcements arrived, and their ANBU captain demanded that Kakuzu be captured or killed for the massacre at Thunderclap Pass.
• Captain Shiryu arrived with an armed unit and ordered the ANBU to let Kakuzu go, warning that a fight would destroy the town and directing them to treat Yugito’s wound.

Kakuzu completed his five-billion-ryō deal with Naruto, who offered him wealth management in exchange for intelligence on Akatsuki and demanded he follow the Purifiers' rules. Back in Amegakure, Pain noticed Hidan was missing and asked Kakuzu about the mission.

• Kakuzu left Kumogakure after treating civilians and carrying the metal case, despite Captain Shiryu's threat to hunt him down.
• Three days later, Kakuzu exchanged the case for a five-billion-ryō check and asset transfer details at an abandoned mine near the Land of Fire.
• Naruto revealed himself as the Purifiers' leader and offered to relocate and manage Kakuzu's vaults for a ten-percent annual return in exchange for serving as a business partner and eventually joining the organization.
• Naruto confronted Kakuzu about exploiting Hidan's attack at Thunderclap Pass, warned him not to let such chaos happen again, and gave him an encrypted communicator for sending Akatsuki intelligence.
• At an Akatsuki gathering in Amegakure, Pain noticed Hidan's vacant position and asked Kakuzu whether the mission had been completed.

Kakuzu reported Akatsuki’s plans to Naruto and traded the information for money while arranging to move his fortune under Konoha’s protection. He learned that Sasori and Deidara were heading for Sunagakure and that Hidan had been captured and taken to a Konoha laboratory.

• Kakuzu explained that the Two-Tails capture had failed because the Purifiers had exposed Hidan’s abilities, then claimed he could capture the wounded Yugito within a month.
• Pain sent Sasori and Deidara to capture Gaara, and Kakuzu warned them that Sunagakure had rearmed with Konoha Bolters.
• After the meeting, Kakuzu sent Naruto intelligence about Akatsuki’s plans, including that Sasori and Deidara would reach Sunagakure within a week, and received one hundred million ryō.
• Kakuzu went to his Takigakure vault, where Konoha Root operatives reorganized his assets into secure accounts across several nations.
• A Shadow Clone told Kakuzu that Hidan had been sent to Konoha’s Seventh Underground Laboratory for researchers to study his immortality, and Kakuzu welcomed the news.

Kakuzu spent some of his newly acquired fortune in the Land of Waterfalls, gave a beggar child a kunai, and checked a report predicting his assets would reach 8.2 billion ryo. Meanwhile, researchers at Konoha’s First Arsenal tested Hidan’s regeneration while he cursed them.

• Kakuzu considered buying a prosperous street in the Land of Waterfalls but decided to keep looking for better investments.
• Kakuzu recalled begging there as a child, then gave a young beggar a kunai and told him to learn how to survive for himself.
• Kakuzu ordered the restaurant’s most expensive dishes and read a Purifiers report predicting his assets would grow to 8.2 billion ryo in three months.
• Researchers restrained Hidan in Konoha’s Seventh Underground Laboratory and confirmed that his wounds healed rapidly.
• The researchers prepared a deeper incision as Hidan continued cursing them.

Naruto discovered that Hidan’s ritual mark was a spatial anchor linked to the Warp and decided to use the Reaper Mask in an experiment to observe the entity behind it. Meanwhile, Gaara received a warning that Akatsuki was targeting the One-Tail and chose to trust Naruto despite Sunagakure’s doubts about Konoha.

• Naruto learned from Hidan’s body and ritual symbols that the Chaos God’s mark was a spatial anchor connected to another dimension, and he planned to use Hidan as bait.
• Naruto asked Tsunade for the Reaper Mask, retrieved it from the sealing arts archive, and found a report detailing Minato’s death during the Nine-Tails Rebellion.
• Gaara received Root intelligence from Hayatori that Sasori and Deidara were approaching to capture the One-Tail, then called an emergency meeting.
• Temari and Kankuro questioned the intelligence and warned that Konoha might be manufacturing panic to sell weapons, but Gaara said he trusted Naruto.
• Gaara explained that he trusted Naruto because they had both been feared jinchūriki who chose to protect their villages.

Gaara prepared Sunagakure for an attack by Akatsuki, putting the village on high alert and evacuating civilians. In Amegakure, Konan investigated Hidan’s disappearance and concluded that Kakuzu had sold him to the Purifiers for his five-billion-ryō bounty.

• Gaara ordered Sunagakure to raise its alert level and deploy its new weapons in defensive positions.
• At Temari’s suggestion, Gaara evacuated non-combatants to an underground shelter under the cover of a disaster drill.
• Gaara rejected Shukaku’s taunts and resolved to protect the villagers despite their past fear and hostility toward him.
• Konan noticed that reports placing Kakuzu alongside Hidan conflicted with her surveillance of Kakuzu’s outposts, where Hidan had not appeared for a month.
• Konan traced Hidan to the massacre at Thunderclap Pass and learned that Kakuzu had left carrying a large metal box shortly afterward.
• Konan connected Kakuzu’s actions to the Purifiers’ bounty and told Nagato she believed Kakuzu had betrayed Akatsuki by selling Hidan.

Nagato confirmed that Kakuzu had betrayed Akatsuki for money and ordered the organization to gather and eliminate him. While Sasori examined a Konoha Arsenal Bolter in the desert, he and Deidara received the order to proceed with the plan.

• Konan presented evidence that Kakuzu had taken Hidan as cargo for a five-billion-ryō bounty, and Nagato ordered her to contact Sasori and Deidara while he investigated.
• Sasori ambushed a Sunagakure patrol, took an intact Thunderclap Bolter, and began dismantling it in the cave as he and Deidara argued about their art.
• Nagato used Human Path to interrogate people at an Underground Bounty Exchange and discovered that Kakuzu had met someone suspected to be from Konoha before his metal case disappeared.
• Nagato confirmed Kakuzu's betrayal and ordered Konan to gather Akatsuki's members to clean up Kakuzu.
• Sasori and Deidara received Pain's order; Deidara prepared his clay while Sasori reassembled and concealed the Bolter inside Hiruko.

Sunagakure’s prepared defenses repelled Deidara and Sasori’s assault until Sasori unleashed a hundred puppets and opened a breach. In Konoha, Naruto used Hidan’s Chaos God Mark to summon a god’s tentacle, then began sealing it while considering a more radical plan.

• Deidara’s clay spider attack was intercepted by Sunagakure’s firing squads and Wind Release users, while Gaara blocked the C2 Dragon’s explosions with a Sand Shield.
• Sasori attacked the village gate in Hiruko, but Kankuro, Temari, and Sunagakure’s Bolter squad forced him to retreat beneath the sand.
• Sasori unleashed the Performance of a Hundred Puppets, overwhelming the village’s scattered firing positions and creating a breach in Sunagakure’s defenses.
• Naruto ordered researchers to prepare the Four Symbols Sealing Formation and used Nine-Tails Chakra and his will to trigger Hidan’s Chaos God Mark.
• A tentacle emerged through a rift in the laboratory, and Naruto and the Sealing Corps restrained it with Chakra claws and golden chains as Naruto resolved to use one god against another.

Naruto summoned the Death God and bargained with it to devour the Chaos God's projection in exchange for access to the concept of death. The projection was destroyed, and the Death God marked Naruto's hand before returning to its dimension.

• Naruto shielded the laboratory staff from the Warp pollutant and ordered them to maintain the seal.
• Naruto summoned the Death God with the Reaper Mask and offered it the Chaos God's projection in exchange for partial access to death.
• When the Death God refused, Naruto threatened to release the souls inside its stomach unless it accepted.
• The Chaos God's tentacle tried to flee, but Naruto held the Warp rift open and trapped it for the Death God.
• The Death God devoured the projection, leaving Hidan in despair as the rift vanished.
• Before departing, the Death God branded a rotating black rune onto the back of Naruto's left hand.

Naruto studied the Death God’s mark and ordered researchers to observe Hidan after his immortality vanished. As Sunagakure’s defenses buckled under Sasori and Deidara, Kaguya Kei and Kaguya Ken arrived in advanced armor and joined the battle.

• Naruto examined the dormant rune left by the Death God and treated it as a useful means of future contact.
• Naruto ordered researchers to monitor Hidan’s fading biological activity and document how foreign energy had changed his body.
• Sasori’s armed Human Puppets overwhelmed Sunagakure’s defenders until Chiyo deployed the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu to shield them.
• Deidara sent a massive clay clone toward the civilian shelter, and Gaara protected it with a sand pyramid that left him nearly drained.
• Kaguya Kei and Kaguya Ken arrived in Light Power Exoskeletons, received Gaara’s authorization, and charged at Deidara.
• Deidara unleashed a swarm of Clay Birds and Clay Spiders to attack Kaguya Kei and Kaguya Ken.

Sasori overwhelmed Sunagakure’s defenders and deployed the Third Kazekage as a puppet, whose Magnetic Release rendered their Bolters ineffective and threatened the Kazekage Building. Qianfeng arrived with Konoha’s special operations team and stopped his Iron Sand attack with a sandstorm.

• Kei and Ken fought Deidara’s clay explosives in the sky while Sasori’s Bolter-armed puppets wore down Sunagakure’s defenses.
• Chiyo rallied the remaining Sunagakure shinobi to focus their fire on Sasori, but he withdrew his puppets and summoned the Third Kazekage Puppet.
• Sasori used the Third Kazekage Puppet’s Magnetic Release to deflect Bolter bullets and form an Iron Sand pyramid aimed at the Kazekage Building.
• Gaara struggled to protect the building and civilians, but Qianfeng’s typhoon blocked the Iron Sand pyramid.
• Qianfeng landed beside Chiyo and announced that Konoha’s Schola Progenium Special Operations Team had arrived on the political commissar’s orders.

Konoha reinforcements arrived at Sunagakure’s battlefield, where Rock Lee and the Root Taijutsu Specialization Squad used powered armor and the Eight Gates to tear through Sasori’s puppets. Sasori became obsessed with capturing and studying their armor, abandoning his focus on the battle.

• Qianfeng’s wind wall stopped Sasori’s Iron Sand pyramid, but his needles pierced the defense and poisoned several Sunagakure ninjas.
• Rock Lee and nine members of the Root Taijutsu Specialization Squad landed before Sunagakure’s defensive line and announced their arrival.
• Lee ordered the squad to activate their armor and open the Gate of Life, and they charged into Sasori’s puppet formation.
• The armored squad shielded itself from the Iron Sand and smashed through the Hundred Puppet Formation with powerful attacks.
• Sasori redirected puppets to capture the squad so he could take apart their armor, but the squad destroyed a puppet that grabbed one member.
• Sasori became enthralled by the armor and declared it the true Eternal Art, forgetting Gaara and the war’s purpose.

The battle against Sasori and Deidara ended with Konoha’s forces forcing the Akatsuki members to retreat and inspiring Sunagakure’s young ninjas. In Amegakure, Konan discovered that Kakuzu had stolen the secret funds and left her an insulting note.

• Rock Lee and the other Powered Exoskeleton users overwhelmed Sasori’s puppets, and Lee destroyed eight of them by triggering the armor’s final program.
• Kaguya Kei and Kaguya Ken pierced Deidara’s Giant Clay Bird, forcing Sasori and Deidara to retreat.
• Sunagakure’s young ninjas asked Rock Lee how to become strong, and Gaara thanked Konoha’s reinforcements as Chiyo recognized Konoha’s influence over the younger generation.
• Konan opened the secret vault in Amegakure and found it empty except for Kakuzu’s note calling her a foolish woman who did not know how to manage money.
• Konan erupted in fury and sent paper blades carving marks into the vault walls.

Kakuzu was pursued by Pain after betraying the organization and fleeing with his gold. After losing one of his hearts and escaping into a ruined village, he found a bloodied boy clutching the kunai and copper coins he had given him, and the sight brought back memories of his own betrayal in Takigakure.

• Kakuzu carried his gold through the mountains, believing his investment would secure an eternal fortune.
• Animal Path Pain confronted Kakuzu over betraying the organization, and Kakuzu claimed he had only moved its assets.
• Kakuzu attacked Pain with combined Wind and Fire Release, but Preta Path Pain absorbed the ninjutsu.
• Animal Path Pain summoned a Hellhound and an armored crab, while Preta Path Pain drained Kakuzu's Fire Release masked monster and destroyed one of his hearts.
• Kakuzu fled through the forest and reached a village devastated by bandits.
• Kakuzu found the wounded boy he had given a kunai, saw him guarding bloodstained copper coins, and remembered how Takigakure had betrayed him.