Recaps

Naruto used the Purifiers’ bounties and military power to draw Kakuzu away from Akatsuki while confronting the Chaos God through Hidan’s mark. The story left Kakuzu fleeing Pain after losing a heart and finding the village where the boy he once helped guarded stolen coins.

• Naruto turned the Purifiers’ growing funds into bounties on Akatsuki members, then used a targeted offer to make Kakuzu consider betraying Hidan and seeking a new life.
• Naruto and Jiraiya confronted Pain’s forces at the Land of Rain, where the mechanized battalion fought the Paths of Pain and Naruto identified Deva Path’s five-second cooldown.
• Kakuzu captured Hidan during the attack on Thunderclap Pass, exchanged him for five billion ryō, and began sending Akatsuki intelligence to Naruto in return for payment and help managing his assets.
• Konan uncovered Kakuzu’s betrayal, and Nagato ordered Akatsuki members to turn against him as Sasori and Deidara attacked Sunagakure to capture Gaara.
• Naruto used Hidan’s Chaos God Mark to summon the Death God and trap the Chaos God’s projection, earning a black rune on his hand as the rift closed.
• Sunagakure’s defenders and Konoha reinforcements fought Sasori and Deidara, with Rock Lee’s armored squad breaking through the puppet formation and forcing the Akatsuki pair to retreat.
• Konan found her secret vault emptied by Kakuzu, while Kakuzu faced Pain, lost one of his hearts, and fled to the devastated village where the boy he had once given a kunai guarded bloodstained coins.

Naruto manipulated Akatsuki and political rivals while securing Sasori and Sunagakure as allies, and Sasuke tested armor that strengthened his Curse Mark. The arc ended with Pain and Ōnoki plotting an ambush against Naruto as Akatsuki prepared another conspicuous capture operation.

• Kakuzu called for help while protecting a boy from Pain, and Might Guy rescued them by defeating the attackers before Naruto’s forces forced Nagato to retreat.
• Naruto used surveillance and threats to make Fujiwara Hidemasa accept an investigation of the arsenals under Naruto’s terms.
• Naruto fed Sasori false and then genuine Energy Core information, drawing him toward Granny Chiyo and securing a short-term partnership with him.
• Sasori attacked Chiyo in Sunagakure, but Gaara and Rock Lee stopped him before Naruto recruited him to help defeat the elders’ rebellion.
• Naruto offered Sunagakure puppet technology and shared profits, while Gaara removed Ebizo from power and confined him.
• Deidara captured Yugito, and the Raikage and Ōnoki agreed to use an anti-Akatsuki campaign as cover for an ambush on Naruto.
• Pain negotiated with Ōnoki to lure Naruto out of Konoha and trap him with Akatsuki’s help.
• Sasuke tested the Vengeance Armor and vowed to master it, while Pain sent Deidara and Kisame to capture Isobu and Zabuza was summoned to the Mizukage.

Naruto uncovered a spreading Spiritual Pollution scheme linked to Kabuto and helped communities resist it by relying on their own strength. As Kabuto broke with Orochimaru, Sasuke confronted Itachi, whose death left Naruto to take Sasuke into care and promise him a darker truth.

• Mei Terumi warned Zabuza that Kisame and Deidara were targeting the Three-Tails, while Sasori agreed to teach Sunagakure's orphans puppet techniques.
• Kisame returned to Kirigakure and clashed with Yagura, Zabuza, Naruto, and their allies as Pain revealed the encounter was a trap and joined Ōnoki and A in attacking Naruto.
• Naruto summoned Ultramarine Eureka and led his forces against Pain, Ōnoki, and A before Pain's retreat left Naruto to investigate the Black Rod's nonhuman energy and signs of Chaos.
• Naruto discovered that Kabuto and Orochimaru were spreading Spiritual Pollution through Sealing Ink, then helped affected communities resist and purge it rather than trying to save everyone himself.
• Kabuto offered Nagato and Konan a Purification Serum in exchange for Akatsuki's help against Naruto, while he later broke with Orochimaru and set out to pursue his own answer.
• Sasuke confronted Itachi at the Naka Shrine, broke free of Tsukuyomi with his armor, and nearly killed his brother before Itachi removed the Pollution and died after tapping Sasuke's forehead.
• Naruto claimed Itachi and Sasuke as Konoha First Arsenal assets, took Sasuke to the special care ward, and told him that the truth about Itachi was uglier than the familiar account.

Naruto’s economic pressure and weapons aid helped Sato and Liao turn the oppressed people of the Land of Grass into a disciplined resistance, while Iwagakure and Kumogakure joined forces against Konoha. The fighting exposed Obito and Kabuto’s Impure World Reincarnation army, and the arc ended with Sato recognizing that the rebellion depended on Naruto’s power.

• Naruto persuaded Sasuke to join him in purging Konoha’s corrupt leaders, and Obito began preparing for war by urging Kabuto to revive Madara Uchiha.
• Obito and Pain lured Yagura out with false rumors, then Kisame captured him and the Three-Tails for Akatsuki.
• Naruto armed the people of the Land of Grass, and Sato and Liao organized refugees into a resistance that burned Iwagakure’s granary and fought off its forces.
• Naruto’s artillery and Peacekeeping Forces helped the Resistance Army survive Iwagakure and Kumogakure’s assault, and Sato established a fortress and declaration for the movement.
• Tsunade rejected demands to appease Ōnoki and prepared Konoha for war as Iwagakure and Kumogakure formed an alliance against it.
• Guy drove Kisame from the maritime battlefield, while Kakashi captured the regenerating Shū and Naruto discovered he could return Impure World Reincarnation souls to the Pure Land.
• Konoha supplied the Resistance Army, Liao rejected Kusachiyo’s offer to become daimyo, and Kakashi defeated Darui without killing him.
• Sato executed seventeen rebels who had attacked civilians, Neji and Hinata foiled attempts on Liao and Sato, and Sato realized he needed Naruto’s power.