Chapter Summaries

Kakuzu and Hidan killed Chiriku at the Fire Temple, drawing Orochimaru and Kabuto toward their route to a bounty exchange. As Sasuke completed Stage One of the White Cursed Seal, he prepared for the Second Match by deciding to fight without the Sharingan and revealing a Rasengan.

• Kakuzu reattached Deidara's arms, and Deidara vowed to develop a technique to overcome Lightning Release and defeat Sasuke.
• Kakuzu and Hidan traveled to the Fire Temple, killed Chiriku, and carried his body toward a bounty exchange in the southern Land of Fire.
• Kabuto reported the killing to Orochimaru and said White Zetsu had discovered his investigation; Orochimaru suspected Obito might withhold the information from Nagato.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto checked Sasuke's preparations beneath the waterfall and confirmed that he had reached Stage One of the White Cursed Seal.
• Sasuke decided to fight the Second Match without using the Sharingan, then formed a Rasengan and set off with Orochimaru and Kabuto for the bounty exchange.

Sasuke Uchiha challenged Kakuzu to test his abilities and revealed his Lightning Release and Wood Release techniques during their fight. Kakuzu survived Sasuke’s attacks by unleashing Earth Grudge Fear Mode and began a Fire Release attack, while revealing that he had once fought the First.

• Obito and Zetsu watched as Sasuke’s group approached, and Sasuke said he might try to recruit Obito later but wanted him to stay out of the fight.
• Sasuke confronted Kakuzu and Hidan outside the forest and challenged Kakuzu to measure his own strength.
• Kakuzu caught Sasuke’s Lightning Release: Shadow Clone in a trap, but Sasuke paralyzed him through the black threads and struck him with a Rasengan.
• Sasuke dodged Kakuzu’s attack, threw him with an Uchiha Shoulder Throw, and impaled him with a wooden spike before using Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs.
• Kakuzu recovered and accused Sasuke of using Hashirama’s power; Obito identified the white markings as a Cursed Seal merging with Hashirama’s power.
• Kakuzu unleashed Earth Grudge Fear Mode, revealed that he had fought the First, and launched Fire Release: Searing Migraine.

Sasuke used his refined Fire Release and shuriken techniques to force Kakuzu to expend multiple masks and expose his abilities. After Kakuzu blocked Sasuke’s Tree-Binding Stake Technique with Earth Release hardening, Sasuke unleashed Deep Forest Emergence, and Kakuzu called for Hidan’s help.

• Sasuke’s Archer Drake absorbed Kakuzu’s Searing Migraine, forcing Kakuzu to use his Wind, Water, and Lightning masks to stop it.
• Sasuke deduced that Kakuzu’s masks held separate hearts and gave him multiple lives, while Obito predicted Sasuke could one day surpass Nagato.
• Sasuke used a Fūma Shuriken replication technique and lightning-wreathed shuriken to trap Kakuzu, then charged in with the Tree-Binding Stake Technique.
• Kakuzu hardened his skin with Earth Release to block the stake, and Sasuke retreated from the advancing black threads.
• Sasuke unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, and Kakuzu shouted for Hidan to help him.

Kakuzu and Hidan worked together to defeat Sasuke, and Hidan used his blood-linked ritual to inflict fatal wounds on him. As Kakuzu reached for Sasuke’s eyes, Sasuke’s White Cursed Seal suddenly surged inward, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Kakuzu and Hidan combined their attacks against Sasuke, and Kakuzu used a smoke bomb to help Hidan cut Sasuke’s cheek.
• Hidan withdrew and completed his ritual while Kakuzu kept Sasuke occupied; Sasuke pierced one of Kakuzu’s hearts and severed his arm before rushing Hidan.
• Hidan stabbed himself in the heart, causing Sasuke to collapse and bleed as his own heart was fatally wounded.
• Karin tried to reach Sasuke, but Kabuto and Orochimaru restrained her, insisting Sasuke had to face the ordeal himself.
• Kakuzu repaired his arm and approached the motionless Sasuke to take his eyes, but Sasuke spoke and his White Cursed Seal surged inward.

Sasuke defeated Kakuzu and stopped Hidan’s shared-damage technique by severing their contract, then repaired his wounds. Orochimaru approached the defeated Kakuzu, who spotted two Akatsuki-cloaked figures on the mountain and erupted over what he saw as another betrayal.

• Sasuke hardened his neck against Kakuzu’s Greatsword and struck him with a White Cursed Seal-powered Rasengan, destroying two of his hearts.
• Kakuzu urged Hidan to cut off his own head, and Hidan stabbed his neck while Sasuke raced to stop him.
• Sasuke used the Contract Seal to sever his connection with Hidan, causing Hidan’s head to fall off and his body to collapse.
• Sasuke repaired his neck while Hidan remained alive and cursed him, then mocked Hidan and Kakuzu as lunatics.
• Karin and Kabuto relaxed after Sasuke’s victory, and Orochimaru approached the gravely wounded Kakuzu.
• Orochimaru directed Kakuzu’s attention to two figures in red-cloud cloaks on the mountain, and Kakuzu cried out about betrayal.

Kakuzu recalled the betrayals that shaped his life before trading his hidden fortune to Orochimaru for the chance to reunite with his wife and child through reincarnation. As Kakuzu died, Obito and Zetsu withdrew, leaving Sasuke, Karin, Kabuto, Orochimaru, and the still-raging Hidan behind.

• Kakuzu remembered how Takigakure had sacrificed him, leading him to trust only money and later join the Akatsuki after Nagato promised it would never betray him.
• Orochimaru revealed that Nagato was being manipulated and offered Kakuzu a chance to reunite with his family if Sasuke awakened the Rinnegan.
• Kakuzu gave Orochimaru a scroll containing the location of his fortune in exchange for that possibility, then died regretting that he would not see a world free of self-interest.
• Obito accepted Kakuzu's death and the loss of Kakuzu and Hidan, saying he had prepared replacements, then vanished after telling Sasuke to grow stronger.
• After Zetsu also departed, Kabuto relaxed, Karin checked on Sasuke, and Sasuke thanked her for trying to protect him.
• Hidan continued demanding that Kakuzu reattach his head, and Orochimaru told Sasuke to wait and see what would happen to it.

Orochimaru sacrificed Hidan to summon the Evil God and sealed the deity into the Ketsuryūgan, creating an ocular shrine for wielding its power. He chose Karin, whose Uzumaki constitution could withstand the eyes, to inherit them.

• Orochimaru explained that Hidan was an immortal devotee of the Evil God and revealed that sacrificing him could summon the deity.
• Orochimaru showed Sasuke the Chinoike Clan's Ketsuryūgan and proposed that it could serve as the Evil God's shrine.
• Orochimaru performed the summoning ritual, and Hidan's sacrifice stripped away his immortality and brought forth the Evil God.
• Orochimaru used the Shinigami's power and his own sealing technique to trap the Evil God inside the Ketsuryūgan.
• Orochimaru declared Karin the best candidate to wield the eyes because her Uzumaki constitution could endure their power.

Karin overheard Sasuke and Orochimaru discuss Sasuke’s past life and his wish to keep her from suffering for his sake again. After learning the history behind her feelings for Sasuke, she heard him agree that her choice about inheriting the eyes must be her own, and she wept.

• Karin wandered through the forest at night, recalling her painful past and how Sasuke had saved her during the chunin ninja exams.
• Karin followed Sasuke and Orochimaru and overheard Sasuke say he did not want her to inherit the eyes because he had hurt her in his past life.
• Sasuke explained that he wanted to make amends for his past regrets, including Karin’s, by keeping her from becoming attached to him again.
• Orochimaru told Sasuke that Karin’s love began when Sasuke saved her during the chunin ninja exams and that their bond could not be avoided.
• Sasuke accepted that he would have saved Karin even if their paths had crossed earlier, then asked Orochimaru not to force her if she refused the eyes.
• Orochimaru told Sasuke that Karin must decide for herself, and Karin listened from nearby in tears.

Obito brought Suigetsu and Jugo to the underground lair and recruited them as Akatsuki reserves, promising to suppress Jugo’s murderous urges with transplanted Sharingan. The chapter ended as Obito prepared to give Jugo one eye and Suigetsu the other.

• Obito released Suigetsu and Jugo from his Space-Time dimension and offered them a choice between becoming his subordinates or facing another fate.
• Suigetsu quickly agreed to join Akatsuki, while Jugo initially refused because he did not want to betray Kimimaro or become Great Serpent Orochimaru’s enemy.
• Obito offered to suppress Jugo’s urge to kill, and Jugo agreed to consider joining if Obito could do so, provided he would not have to fight Great Serpent Orochimaru.
• Obito took Suigetsu and Jugo to a room containing Sharingan he had collected after the Uchiha Clan Massacre and explained that Yin Release chakra could help control Jugo’s urges.
• Obito decided to transplant one Sharingan into each of them, and Suigetsu claimed the right eye before Obito began the operation.

Obito gave Suigetsu and Jugo Sharingan and recruited them into the Akatsuki, winning Suigetsu’s loyalty with Hozuki Mangetsu’s sword scroll. He brought them to meet the Akatsuki’s Leader just as Nagato seethed over the deaths of Kakuzu and Hidan and the loss of the organization’s fortune.

• Suigetsu and Jugo tested their new Sharingan, and Obito promised further rewards if they served him loyally.
• Suigetsu asked for a ninja blade, and Obito returned with Hozuki Mangetsu’s Summoning Scroll containing several Seven Ninja Swordsmen blades.
• Suigetsu pledged allegiance to Obito, who told him to call him Tobi before Akatsuki members and Madara in private.
• Obito took Suigetsu and Jugo to Amegakure to meet the Akatsuki’s Leader for assessment.
• Pain’s Deva Path and Konan learned that Kakuzu and Hidan had died and that Great Serpent Orochimaru had taken the Akatsuki’s accumulated wealth.
• As Nagato’s anger thundered over Amegakure, a mysterious vortex appeared inside the Tower.

Obito defended the Akatsuki’s recent losses to Pain and Konan, urged them to begin hunting the Tailed Beasts, and proposed Suigetsu and Jugo as replacements for Kakuzu and Hidan. Pain agreed to assess the newcomers himself, leaving Suigetsu and Jugo facing his challenge at the foot of Amegakure’s tower.

• Obito blamed Kakuzu’s recklessness for exposing the Akatsuki and explained that Orochimaru’s intelligence network and Kabuto Yakushi’s Space-Time Dōjutsu had hindered Zetsu.
• Pain proposed continuing the Akatsuki’s fundraising efforts while replacing Kakuzu and Hidan, and Obito recommended Suigetsu and Jugo.
• Obito insisted the Akatsuki begin the Tailed Beast hunt at its next meeting, then vanished through a space-time vortex.
• Pain told Konan he suspected Obito was using the crisis and the new recruits to infiltrate the Akatsuki, but said they would cooperate for now.
• Pain went to meet Suigetsu and Jugo and challenged them to touch the hem of his robe to qualify for membership, warning that failure would leave them in Amegakure forever.

Suigetsu and Jugo challenged Pain to qualify for the Akatsuki, but he easily repelled and immobilized them. Suigetsu resolved to keep fighting, suspecting Tobi had killed his brother, and the two charged Pain together.

• Suigetsu summoned Exploding Blade Shibuki and attacked Pain, but Shinra Tensei blasted him backward.
• Jugo activated his Cursed Seal and charged Pain, who pulled him in with Banshō Ten'in and immobilized him with a Black Rod.
• Jugo tried to touch the hem of Pain's robe, but Pain kicked him away and sent more Black Rods at him.
• Suigetsu knocked the rods aside, then used Shibuki to pry the rod from Jugo's shoulder.
• Pain ordered them to leave, but Suigetsu guessed that Pain's attraction and repulsion abilities had intervals between uses and asked Jugo to cooperate.
• Suigetsu and Jugo charged Pain together, and Pain invited them to show what they could do.

Suigetsu and Jugo fought Pain for a place in Akatsuki, and Pain accepted them after Suigetsu managed to wound him with a final attack. At Akatsuki’s gathering, Pain announced the Tailed Beast Hunting Plan and assigned the new members to capture Shukaku.

• Suigetsu and Jugo coordinated attacks against Pain, exploiting the interval between his uses of Shinra Tensei, but Pain defeated them.
• Suigetsu’s last Water Gun grazed Pain’s cheek, convincing Pain that the pair’s resolve and teamwork made them valuable recruits.
• Pain accepted Suigetsu and Jugo into Akatsuki, despite Suigetsu being pinned by a Black Rod.
• Pain told Akatsuki that Sasuke Uchiha had killed Kakuzu and Hidan alone and had used the Senju’s Wood Release.
• Pain announced that Akatsuki would begin the Tailed Beast Hunting Plan, starting with Shukaku and ending with the Nine-Tails.
• Pain assigned Suigetsu and Jugo to hunt Shukaku of the Sand.

Karin chose to receive the Ketsuryūgan transplant, and Orochimaru explained how the Uzumaki Clan’s lineage could help her master the eyes. After resting on Blue Moon Island, Sasuke, Karin, Orochimaru, and Kabuto set out to retrieve Kakuzu’s fortune in the Land of Wind Release and deliver Sasori’s final wishes to Granny Chiyo, unaware their journey would reshape the region and the Shinobi World.

• Karin chose to have the Ketsuryūgan transplanted, and Kabuto Yakushi performed the procedure while Sasuke and Orochimaru waited outside.
• Orochimaru told Karin and Sasuke that the Uzumaki Clan descended from Asura and inherited genes from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, giving Karin the potential to withstand the Ketsuryūgan’s power.
• Karin playfully asked Sasuke whether her new eyes looked pretty, and privately resolved that she wanted to do more for him in this life.
• After several days on Blue Moon Island, Orochimaru revealed that Kakuzu had hidden Akatsuki’s fortune in the desert of the Land of Wind Release.
• Orochimaru persuaded Sasuke and Karin to join him and Kabuto on the journey, which would also let them deliver Sasori’s final wishes to Granny Chiyo.

Orochimaru, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Karin uncovered Kakuzu’s hidden gold vault in the Land of Wind and found the Earth Grudge Fear Technique. After collecting the treasure, they set out toward the ruins of Roran, where Orochimaru revealed the Dragon Vein might help extend the time limit on Sasuke’s Mangekyo eyes.

• Orochimaru used the Hundredfold Unbinding Talisman to break Kakuzu’s concealment technique and raise the vault from beneath the desert.
• Orochimaru gathered the vast stores of gold into a Scroll, while Karin discovered a hidden box containing a Scroll beneath a floor tile.
• Orochimaru identified the Scroll as Takigakure’s Earth Grudge Fear Technique, and Sasuke decided to study it.
• Orochimaru explained that Naruto’s memories of sealing the Dragon Vein had been sealed away and led the group toward Roran.
• Orochimaru told Sasuke that the Dragon Vein might provide a way to extend the time limit on his Mangekyo eyes.

At the Rōran Ruins, Orochimaru explained that he could use the Dragon Vein to form a Yang Seal that would preserve Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan sight. Sasuke resolved to retrieve his father Fugaku’s eyes from Obito, and the group prepared to begin the process at the Dragon Vein altar.

• Sasuke told Orochimaru he would not take Itachi’s eyes and planned to find Fugaku’s missing Mangekyō Sharingan instead.
• Orochimaru explained that Danzo did not possess Fugaku’s eyes, leaving Obito as the likely holder.
• Orochimaru revealed his improved Yang Seal, which used external chakra to create Yin Release chakra and extend the Mangekyō Sharingan’s use.
• Sasuke realized the Dragon Vein would provide the chakra needed to form the Yang Seal at the Rōran temple.
• Orochimaru speculated that Itachi’s connection to Shikkotsu Forest might have helped preserve his eyesight.
• Sasuke declared he would recover Fugaku’s eyes from Obito in a year, and the four stopped at the Dragon Vein altar to begin.

Orochimaru, Sasuke, Kabuto, and Karin began a three-day ritual to channel the Dragon Vein into Sasuke’s Yang Seal. Meanwhile, Obito brought Suigetsu and Jugo to Sunagakure to capture Gaara, and revealed that Gaara had killed Jugo’s friend Kimimaro.

• Orochimaru released the Dragon Vein’s seal, and Kabuto used Wood Release to suppress its surging chakra while Sasuke began refining it into the Yang Seal.
• Karin used her sensory abilities to watch for intruders as Orochimaru guided the Dragon Vein chakra into Sasuke.
• Obito arrived in Sunagakure with Suigetsu and Jugo, who had been assigned to capture Shukaku’s jinchūriki, Gaara.
• Obito told Suigetsu that Sunagakure’s leaders would not interfere because they opposed Gaara becoming Kazekage and had sent his protectors away.
• Obito told Jugo that Gaara had killed his old friend Kimimaro, then sent them to capture Gaara at the training grounds.

Suigetsu and Jugo attacked Gaara to capture him for Akatsuki, while Sunagakure’s leadership and shinobi stood aside and let the fight unfold. After Jugo’s chakra cannon brought Gaara down, Gaara rose again and released Shukaku, leaving the village facing the threat of its rampage.

• Gaara detected Suigetsu and Jugo approaching his training grounds, identified them as Akatsuki, and attacked when they said they had come to capture him.
• Suigetsu and Jugo used their Sharingan and explosive weapons to fight Gaara, while Sunagakure’s ANBU and villagers watched after the leadership ordered them not to intervene.
• Gaara used a Sand Clone to evade Suigetsu’s trap, then bound him with sand, but Suigetsu liquefied himself and escaped.
• Jugo attacked Gaara over Kimimaro’s death, and Suigetsu weakened Gaara’s Sand Shield so Jugo could break through it with a Cursed Seal chakra cannon.
• Suigetsu stopped Jugo from killing Gaara and reminded him that Tobi wanted Gaara alive; then Gaara rose in agony as sand formed Shukaku’s enormous body.

Shukaku went berserk after Gaara was overwhelmed by the Sunagakure forces’ reaction to his fall, and Suigetsu and Jugo struggled to escape as the beast prepared a Tailed Beast Bomb. Gaara suppressed Shukaku to protect the village, but lost consciousness, allowing Suigetsu and Jugo to carry him away while Chiyo and Ebizo chose not to intervene.

• Shukaku broke free and attacked Suigetsu and Jugo, then began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb that threatened the Sunagakure forces.
• Gaara resisted Shukaku and declared that he would protect his family, stopping the beast and making its body crumble.
• Gaara collapsed, and Suigetsu caught him while Jugo retrieved Nuibari; the two fled with him as the Sunagakure forces hesitated.
• Chiyo lowered her hand instead of stopping Suigetsu and Jugo, while Ebizo questioned whether they should let Gaara go.
• Suigetsu and Jugo escaped through Sunagakure’s gates with Gaara.

Suigetsu and Jugo delivered Gaara to Akatsuki’s Stronghold, where the members began sealing Shukaku into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Three days later, Baki, Temari, and Kankuro arrived at Rōran, where Karin tried to stop them from reaching Orochimaru’s group as they completed the Yang Seal.

• Suigetsu and Jugo entered the Stronghold and met Pain and the other Akatsuki members, who praised their successful mission.
• Pain explained that Orochimaru had once held Akatsuki’s vacant position, then summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to begin sealing Gaara.
• The sealing continued for three days, while Baki, Temari, and Kankuro returned from a mission and chose to visit the Rōran Ruins.
• Karin sensed the three approaching and went to stall them while Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, and Sasuke continued creating the Yang Seal.
• Baki sensed danger near the Dragon Vein and led Temari and Kankuro up the Temple steps, where Karin confronted them.
• Baki rejected Karin’s request to leave and charged at her with his blade.