Recaps

Yui and Nai Hyuga discovered that the red ants could resist fire by using chakra, fed the roasted ants to Orochimaru, and learned that Kazama Ya had forged Nai’s letter. They decided to stay wary of Kazama Ya, then turned toward Big Bear as he hurried down the stairs with a White Jade Box, apparently fleeing pursuers.

• Yui roasted the red ants with Fire Release, and she and Nai Hyuga realized the ants used chakra to withstand the flames.
• Yui fed the charred ants to Orochimaru, keeping the remaining ants for possible study.
• Nai Hyuga read the Scroll and denied writing the letter or knowing Kazama Ya before meeting Yui.
• Nai Hyuga urged Yui to find another way out, but Yui decided they should stay alert and rely on Kazama Ya’s knowledge of the exit.
• Big Bear rushed down the stairs carrying a White Jade Box and pleaded with someone not to chase him.

Big Bear recovered the jade box containing its bear brother’s remains and told Yui and Nai Hyuga that a Stone Giant had chased it on the fourth floor. Yui and Nai Hyuga climbed back into the tower to investigate, puzzled because Nai Hyuga had previously found that floor empty and safe.

• Big Bear tumbled down the stairs and lost its jade box, which Yui caught and recognized as being made from the Stone Tower’s material.
• Yui returned the box to Big Bear, who explained that a Stone Giant had chased it on the fourth floor.
• Nai Hyuga doubted the report at first but decided to explore upstairs again with Yui to check for danger.
• Yui asked Big Bear to guard Orochimaru while she followed Nai Hyuga up the stairs.
• Big Bear said it found both the jade box and the Stone Giant on the fourth floor, though Nai Hyuga recalled that floor being empty and safe during her earlier visit.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga reached the stairway to the second floor and cautiously searched ahead.

Yui and Nai Hyuga searched the Stone Tower’s second floor and found a head-shaped stone that might belong to the Stone Giant Big Bear had described. They decided to investigate the theory on the upper floors and continued toward the third floor.

• Yui and Nai Hyuga searched the dark second floor, where Yui found a rounded stone resembling a head inside a wooden crate.
• Yui examined the stone and prepared to seal it in a scroll, but Nai stopped her and smashed the other crates to search for more body parts.
• Nai told Yui that she had seen an identical stone on the sixth floor and suspected the object was part of the Stone Giant.
• Yui and Nai agreed to test their theory, and Yui sealed the stone away to carry with her.
• Yui and Nai headed for the third floor, where Nai asked why Yui was interested in the Stone Tower’s material.

Yui and Nai Hyuga found the Rock Giant on the Stone Tower’s fourth floor and fought together after it demanded its missing head. Nai Hyuga froze the giant’s legs, leaving it trapped as she reunited with Yui in battle.

• Nai Hyuga gave Yui a White Jade Box made from the Stone Tower’s material, and Yui sealed it away before continuing the search.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga searched the empty third floor, then approached the damaged stairs to the fourth floor cautiously.
• Yui spotted a suspicious pile of rocks on the fourth floor, and it transformed into a Rock Giant that attacked them.
• The Rock Giant demanded that Yui return its missing head, and Yui realized it was the head she had found on the second floor.
• Nai Hyuga froze the Rock Giant’s legs with a jutsu and told Yui it had been a long time since they fought together.

Yui and Nai Hyuga fought the rock giant, whose defenses resisted their attacks and whose blue glow heralded a sudden increase in power. The rock giant broke free of Yui and Nai Hyuga’s ice attack and charged them at tremendous speed, its fist looming before them.

• Yui attacked the rock giant with her sword and Eight Trigrams, Air Palm, but neither attack harmed it.
• The rock giant demanded that Yui and Nai Hyuga return its head, a claw, and a brown cloak, then began glowing blue.
• Nai Hyuga froze the rock giant with Ice Release, Freezing Mist, while Yui struck it with Water Release sword attacks.
• Yui approached the frozen rock giant to seal it, but it shattered the ice with a blue-lit shock wave that threw both women against the wall.
• The rock giant charged at Yui and Nai Hyuga, bringing an enormous fist before them before they could react.

Yui and Nai Hyuga fought the Rock Giant, combining their abilities to survive its powerful attacks. Yui unleashed a sweeping Sword Aura that cut through the giant, while Nai Hyuga watched in shock as the attack faded.

• The Rock Giant’s fast punch pressed through Yui’s Rotation, and Nai Hyuga’s first Ice Release attack failed to harm it.
• Nai Hyuga powered up and struck the Rock Giant with a stronger Ice Release spike, giving Yui time to deflect its fist and escape.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga regrouped, and Yui warned Nai Hyuga to lie down before preparing a powerful sword attack.
• As the Rock Giant swung at Yui, she unleashed a circle of Sword Aura that passed through its shoulder.
• Nai Hyuga stood after the Sword Aura faded, stunned by the attack’s force and killing intent.

Yui and Nai Hyuga defeated the Rock Giant on the Stone Tower’s fourth floor, and Yui collected its remains to study the tower’s material. The blast shook the tower and awakened Orochimaru, who saw Big Bear nearby.

• Yui used Secret Technique: Full Moon Moment to cut off the Rock Giant’s arm, then retreated while she recovered.
• Nai Hyuga formed a Tailed Beast Bomb and struck the dazed Rock Giant, while Yui used Rotation and Nai Hyuga’s Tailed Beast Cloak shielded them from the blast.
• The explosion shook the Stone Tower; the Red Ants outside withdrew, Big Bear clutched his jade box in alarm, and Orochimaru woke up and noticed him.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga found the Rock Giant blasted into rubble, and Nai Hyuga confirmed its fragments were made of the same material as the Stone Tower.
• Yui sealed several large rock fragments for research and examined a smaller piece, noticing countless black specks in it.

After Yui sensed danger and persuaded Nai Hyuga to leave the upper floors unexplored, they descended while a mysterious figure restored the Rock Giant and stopped him from pursuing them. On the second floor, Yui discovered a Jade Box hidden beneath broken crates.

• Yui felt a sudden dread at the thought of exploring higher, and Nai Hyuga agreed to leave the upper floors alone for her sake.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga went downstairs, unaware that the Rock Giant had re-formed and that a dark figure had prevented him from following them.
• The dark figure immobilized the Rock Giant and told him not to pursue Yui and Nai Hyuga, while the Rock Giant complained that Yui had taken his head.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga searched the second floor again as Yui thought about waking Orochimaru and getting him out of the Red Ant Desert.
• Yui spotted a square object beneath broken wooden crates and uncovered what appeared to be a Jade Box.

Yui discovered a second Jade Box among the wreckage and opened it with Nai Hyuga, revealing a seemingly ordinary mirror. After the women went downstairs, a shadowy figure appeared and addressed someone hiding among the crates.

• Yui found an intact Jade Box in the shattered wooden crates, and Nai Hyuga realized it must have appeared after they went upstairs.
• Yui opened the Jade Box, and a dazzling white light briefly hurt her and Nai Hyuga's eyes.
• Yui removed a small gold-framed mirror, but neither she nor Nai Hyuga could discover any special properties.
• Yui sealed the Jade Box in a scroll and went downstairs with the mirror, and Nai Hyuga followed.
• A shadowy figure appeared after the women left, called the mirror a gift, and taunted someone hiding in the crate wreckage.

Yui and Nai discovered Orochimaru roasting Big Bear, then Yui tested the Mirror after it reacted to light. The Mirror violently vibrated and changed, leaving its surface covered in black mist as Nai found Yui.

• Wooden Box re-formed after becoming shavings, and the shadowy figure warned it that Rock might learn it had swallowed their head.
• Yui and Nai saw Orochimaru roasting Big Bear over a fire, and Yui sent Nai to stop him.
• The Mirror glowed when light from the ceiling struck its surface, prompting Yui to test it in sunlight.
• The Mirror crackled and vibrated violently in the sunlight, then its gold trim turned black and its surface became covered in mist.
• Nai found Yui and confirmed that she was safe.

Yui, Nai Hyuga, and Orochimaru discovered that the mirror showed the three of them being pulled into the Ruin. Orochimaru then admitted he had visited the Ruin before and had brought Yui along hoping to defeat a Mechanism Puppet and find another Kusanagi Sword.

• Yui reunited with Nai Hyuga and Orochimaru, confirmed Big Bear was safe, and examined the mirror with them.
• Yui fed chakra into the mirror, causing its black mist to form a vortex and reveal an image of the three of them floating unconscious inside it.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga recognized that the image showed the moment they had been drawn into the Ruin, while Orochimaru appeared to be reaching for Nai Hyuga.
• Orochimaru revealed two swords from a Sealing Scroll and admitted he had entered the Ruin before, found the swords, and left after encountering a powerful Mechanism Puppet.
• Orochimaru explained that he had returned hoping to use Yui's strength to defeat the puppet and find another Kusanagi Sword, and denied that he had deceived her.

Yui and Nai Hyuga confronted Orochimaru after realizing he had not known how to leave the ruin, then learned he suspected Yui’s gourd was the Totsuka Blade. Yui rejected the identification because her gourd was not transparent, leaving its true nature unresolved.

• Nai Hyuga attacked Orochimaru for using them, but Yui confirmed he had warned her about possible danger and promised compensation.
• Yui realized Orochimaru had entered a different ruin before and did not know how to escape their current one.
• Orochimaru revealed he was searching for the Totsuka Blade and suspected it was the gourd hanging from Yui’s waist.
• Orochimaru said the Totsuka Blade was gourd-shaped and carried powerful sealing energy, matching Yui’s gourd except for its transparency.
• Yui insisted the gourd could not be the Totsuka Blade because it was not transparent and demanded that Orochimaru’s information be questioned.

Yui Hyuga concluded that she and the others were trapped in a genjutsu after learning that Nai Hyuga could not find the Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space. As they headed back to Orochimaru, Big Bear blocked their way and asked to leave the tower, sensing danger.

• Orochimaru questioned whether the gourd was the Totsuka Blade, then asked Yui what she knew about the scene in the mirror.
• Yui told Orochimaru that she had seen the same scene and their identical positions inside the black mist, leading her to suspect their real bodies were trapped there in a genjutsu.
• Yui led Nai Hyuga away from Orochimaru and asked her to contact the Nine-Tails in the Sealing Space.
• Nai Hyuga found the Nine-Tails missing but could still use his chakra, confirming Yui's genjutsu theory.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga headed back toward Orochimaru, but Big Bear stopped them and asked to leave the tower because he sensed danger.

Big Bear explained that his danger-sensing ability warned him they needed to leave the Red Ant Desert, and he helped solve the problem by having Nai Hyuga sign a Summoning Contract with him. As Yui, Nai Hyuga, and Big Bear went to speak with Orochimaru, Nai questioned whether their experience was truly a genjutsu or whether their consciousnesses had entered another dimension.

• Big Bear told Yui that his species could sense danger in advance and offered to make two people invisible while another used a cloak.
• Yui realized Nai Hyuga could sign a Summoning Contract with Big Bear, allowing them to take everyone safely from the Red Ant Desert.
• Big Bear refused to contract with Orochimaru because he feared Orochimaru had tried to eat him, and Nai Hyuga signed the contract instead.
• Yui and Nai Hyuga headed toward Orochimaru while Big Bear turned invisible and nervously followed them.
• Nai Hyuga wondered whether the blood connection she felt while signing the contract could be reproduced by a genjutsu.
• Yui said a sufficiently sophisticated genjutsu might create the sensation, and Nai asked if their consciousnesses had instead entered another dimension.

Yui and Nai Hyuga questioned Big Bear about the space within the Ruin and learned that Big Bear’s parents had been sealed there. Big Bear identified the power in Yui’s Gourd as the same power that sealed them, but could not speak its name.

• Big Bear appeared after interrupting Yui’s thoughts, and Yui and Nai Hyuga set off to investigate the space.
• Big Bear offered to answer their questions, so Yui asked why Big Bear and Kazama Ya wanted to leave the Ruin.
• Big Bear revealed that Big Bear’s parents had been sealed in the space and that Big Bear was born there, inheriting their memories and longing for freedom.
• Yui asked whether the Gourd at her waist had sealed Big Bear’s parents, and Big Bear confirmed that it held the same power as the transparent gourd in the memories.
• Big Bear said that the name of the Gourd’s power could not be spoken.

Yui and Big Bear realized they might have to rely on Kazama Ya to escape the Ruin, while Yui kept the Totsuka Blade secret from Orochimaru. As the group prepared to leave the desert, Orochimaru noticed something alarming by the Stone Tower's stairway.

• Yui asked Big Bear how to use the Gourd to leave the Ruin, and he admitted he had only assumed she would know.
• Yui and Big Bear concluded that Kazama Ya might be their only way out, but Orochimaru entered and interrupted their discussion.
• Orochimaru questioned whether Yui's visions in the Mirror and black mist were real, and Nai Hyuga refused to reveal their secrets.
• Nai Hyuga gave Orochimaru an invisibility cloak and announced that they were leaving the dangerous desert.
• Orochimaru regretted missing the chance to search the Stone Tower for treasures, then glanced at the stairway and turned pale with fear.

Yui, Nai Hyuga, Orochimaru, and Big Bear escaped the Stone Tower after Big Bear sensed a danger, while Orochimaru realized the strange silhouette he had seen might be real. As they flew through the ruin, Red Ants pursued them, and Big Bear revealed that Kazama Ya had stolen the bodies of its parents.

• Orochimaru saw a dark silhouette with scarlet eyes at the stairwell, but it vanished before he could identify it.
• Big Bear sensed a huge danger approaching, so Yui and Nai Hyuga decided to leave the tower immediately.
• Yui flew out with Big Bear, while Nai Hyuga hauled Orochimaru into the air by a rope and carried him away.
• A swarm of Red Ants rose from the ground and chased the group as they flew through the ruins.
• Big Bear told Yui that Kazama Ya had befriended it when it was young, then tried to steal its parents' bodies.

Yui learned that Kazama Ya could create clones that escaped spatial restrictions and could disguise themselves as other creatures. After Yui and her companions returned, Kazama Ya greeted them, unaware that strands of black hair were exposed in the sand nearby.

• Big Bear told Yui that Kazama Ya's clones could travel between spaces, change appearance, and imitate other creatures.
• As the Red Ants weakened in the falling temperature, Yui spotted Kazama Ya near a sandy slope and continued toward it with Big Bear.
• Kazama Ya believed it had defeated Nai Hyuga and tried to hide the Withered Tree's black oil, which the windblown sand covered while exposing a few strands of black hair.
• Yui, Nai Hyuga, and Orochimaru landed on the dune, and Kazama Ya complained that they had kept it waiting.
• Orochimaru reproached Nai Hyuga for nearly getting him killed, while Nai Hyuga showed no guilt and put away the rope.
• Kazama Ya nervously asked what Yui was looking at, and Yui said she was checking whether the Red Ants had followed them.

Kazama Ya convinced Yui to enter the Red Ant Desert with the Gourd so they could retrieve an object needed to leave the ruin space. While the others waited, Nai Hyuga discovered human hair emerging from the sand and realized someone was buried beneath it.

• Kazama Ya said it needed an object from deep in the Red Ant Desert and asked Yui to help retrieve it because only she could carry it back.
• Nai Hyuga lent Kazama Ya the Invisibility Cloak, but Kazama Ya hid inside Yui's Gourd and told her to use the cloak while it guided her.
• Yui flew toward the desert with Kazama Ya, leaving Nai Hyuga, Big Bear, and Orochimaru behind.
• Nai Hyuga spotted black strands in the sand and pulled them up, and Orochimaru recognized them as human hair and urged the others to dig.

Nai Hyuga and Orochimaru uncovered a corpse that looked exactly like Nai Hyuga, with Big Bear recognizing the dangerous Withered Tree black oil on it. The corpse crumbled into white powder, and Big Bear realized Kazama Ya had created it.

• Nai Hyuga dug up a woman’s corpse while Big Bear recognized Nai Hyuga’s scent coming from beneath the sand.
• Nai Hyuga and Orochimaru discovered that the corpse had the same build and face as Nai Hyuga.
• Big Bear recognized the black substance on the corpse as Withered Tree black oil and warned Nai Hyuga not to touch it.
• Orochimaru found pits filled with black matter, and Big Bear concluded that the other Nai Hyuga had fought Kazama Ya and lost.
• The corpse cracked, turned gray, and crumbled into white powder, prompting Big Bear to realize Kazama Ya had created it.

Yui Hyuga flew deeper into the Red Ant Desert to retrieve an item, following Kazama Ya’s uncertain directions through increasingly dangerous heat and swarms of active Red Ants. After she passed a marked Yellow Rock Pillar, the ants formed an enormous eye that spotted her, leaving her racing toward a diamond-shaped stone stele.

• Big Bear identified the destroyed figure as an illusion clone created by Kazama Ya, while Orochimaru examined the remaining white powder and Nai Hyuga worried about Yui.
• Yui Hyuga flew deeper into the desert as the heat rose and active Red Ants pursued her after detecting unusual sounds.
• Kazama Ya directed Yui toward a Yellow Rock Pillar and told her to follow the arrow marked on it.
• Yui passed the pillar and saw an enormous eye formed from Red Ants staring at her, but she could not stop to answer Kazama Ya.
• Yui fled at full speed and spotted a smooth, diamond-shaped stone stele ahead.

Yui learned that the Red Ant Queen was watching her as she flew toward the white, diamond-shaped monument with black patterns. Kazama Ya urged her to retrieve a purple crystal that it claimed would let them escape, leaving Yui uncertain whether she could trust it.

• Yui recognized the monument as their destination while a Red Ant eyeball watched her from behind.
• Kazama Ya explained that the eyeball belonged to the Red Ant Queen, which controlled the Red Ants and hunted anything it noticed.
• Yui told Kazama Ya that the Red Ant Queen had already fixed its gaze on her, and Kazama Ya told her to reach the monument and promised to handle their escape.
• Yui flew to the monument, descended amid intense heat, and protected herself with chakra.
• Kazama Ya told Yui to find an irregular purple crystal on the ground, claiming it was their goal and the key to escaping the space.

Yui approached the purple crystal while Kazama Ya urged her to take it, but she suspected it was dangerous and used protective layers of rock and senjutsu chakra to retrieve it. With the Red Ants closing in, Kazama Ya promised to get her out, smiling eerily as she held the crystal.

• Kazama Ya urged Yui to grab the purple crystal before the Red Ants caught up, claiming it would help them escape the space.
• Red Ants surrounded the monument, and Kazama Ya appeared from Yui's gourd to persuade her to trust it.
• Yui hesitated and asked how they would leave after taking the crystal, while the Red Ants pressed closer.
• Yui encased the crystal in rock, covered it with chakra, and picked it up without touching it directly.
• Yui demanded that Kazama Ya get her out, and Kazama Ya agreed with an eerie smile.

Kazama Ya trapped Yui Hyuga with a cursed purple crystal and revealed that it had been manipulating her to escape its prison and obtain a physical body. It also claimed the Nai Hyuga traveling with Yui was a Clone illusion, leaving Yui in agony and pretending to be shocked.

• Kazama Ya enveloped Yui in white light, and the purple crystal cracked as a purple mist invaded her arm.
• Yui realized Kazama Ya had trapped her, while the curse spread toward her heart and Kazama Ya admitted it had used her to escape and gain a physical body.
• Kazama Ya explained that it had learned Yui wanted to find Nai Hyuga by reading her mental fluctuations and had forged the letter.
• Kazama Ya claimed it had already dealt with the real Nai Hyuga and that the Nai Hyuga beside Yui was its Clone illusion.
• Yui rejected the revelation inwardly but pretended to be shocked as she asked Kazama Ya to repeat what it had said.

Kazama Ya transferred the curse from the Crystal into Yui Hyuga, used it to regain a body, and escaped the sealed space with the Gourd. He left Yui near death and challenged the Red Ant Queen to tell her master that Kazama Ya Otsutsuki had returned.

• Kazama Ya watched the curse weaken Yui Hyuga as the Crystal glowed and confirmed that the curse transfer had succeeded.
• Kazama Ya pried the Crystal from Yui's hand, entered it, and fused it with black oil to form a new body.
• Kazama Ya awakened in an Otsutsuki body and saw that the curse was spreading across Yui's chest toward her heart.
• Kazama Ya took the Gourd from Yui and faced the Red Ant Queen as Red Ants swarmed toward him.
• Kazama Ya opened a spatial gateway, escaped with the Gourd, and told the Red Ant Queen to inform her master that he had returned.