Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Yao pursued the fleeing Fourth Kazekage Rasa and killed the ANBU who tried to protect him. After defeating Rasa’s attacks, Uchiha Yao crushed his heart, leaving Hidden Sand Village without its leader.

• Uchiha Yao decided to eliminate Rasa and pursued him into the desert.
• Five Hidden Sand Village ANBU stopped to hold off Uchiha Yao, but he killed all five.
• Rasa turned to face Uchiha Yao and unleashed a golden sand tsunami, which Uchiha Yao repelled with Shinra Tensei.
• Rasa formed a massive gold sand spear, but Uchiha Yao shattered it with Chidori and pierced Rasa’s chest.
• Uchiha Yao crushed Rasa’s heart, killing the Fourth Kazekage.

Fourth Raikage A led five hundred Hidden Cloud Village raiders into the Land of Fire, expecting Konoha’s weakened defenses to leave the border open. Uchiha Fugaku stopped him with Susanoo while Uchiha elites devastated the raiders, leaving the Hidden Cloud formation in chaos.

• A led five hundred Hidden Cloud Village ninja across the Land of Fire border to exploit the absence of Konoha’s main force.
• Uchiha Fugaku intercepted A’s force and ordered the Fourth Raikage to withdraw.
• A attacked Fugaku’s Third Stage Susanoo with Lightning Release, but Fugaku repaired the cracks caused by the blow.
• A’s Four-Finger Nukite pierced Susanoo’s palm and began cracking its arm as Fugaku held him off.
• Uchiha elites used their Three-tomoe Sharingan and genjutsu to slaughter more than a hundred Hidden Cloud ninja in under five minutes while suffering fewer than twenty casualties.
• A saw his troops collapse into panic, and Hidden Cloud ninja began calling for retreat.

Uchiha Yao’s forces captured Sunagakure’s surviving ninja and villagers after defeating the village, while Uchiha Fugaku forced A’s elite Cloud force to retreat. Gaara woke in a Konoha medical tent and learned Sunagakure had fallen, unsettled by Shukaku’s sudden silence and the emptiness he felt about his future.

• A ordered his surviving troops to retreat after Fugaku defeated his force, and Fugaku let them go without pursuit.
• Uchiha Yao ordered his forces to clear Sunagakure and capture its surviving ninja and villagers.
• A Konoha jonin reported that 823 Sand ninja and more than 1,300 villagers had been taken prisoner, and Uchiha Yao ordered them to rest and guard Gaara.
• Gaara woke in a medical tent and found that Shukaku’s voice had gone quiet, though he could still sense the beast inside him.
• Temari told Gaara that Sunagakure had fallen, his father and many others were dead, and the survivors would be taken to Konoha.
• Gaara felt no grief or anger about the village’s defeat and wondered whether Konoha would be another prison.

Uchiha Yao arrived in the capital of the Land of Wind with Uchiha Kenji and Konoha ANBU to meet the daimyo, but the daimyo refused to receive them. Yao ordered the ANBU to force their way into the Daimyo's Residence, and they began cutting down its guards.

• Uchiha Kenji used the Heavenly Might kunai to bring Uchiha Yao to the capital, where he reported that he had requested an audience with the daimyo.
• The Daimyo's Mansion guards claimed the daimyo was unwell and refused to receive Uchiha Yao until the next day.
• Uchiha Yao ordered Uchiha Kenji and the ANBU to enter the Daimyo's Residence by force and kill anyone who resisted.
• Uchiha Kenji led the ANBU in a rapid assault, killing the samurai guarding the mansion's entrance.
• Uchiha Kenji and the ANBU advanced into the residence, killing the guards who charged them along the way.

Uchiha Yao led Uchiha Kenji and their group into the Daimyo of the Land of Wind’s mansion after the daimyo refused to meet them. Yao revealed that Sunagakure had been destroyed, rejected the daimyo’s offer to submit, and had Uchiha Kenji kill him.

• The Daimyo of the Land of Wind enjoyed a feast with his ministers when a samurai warned that intruders had broken into the mansion.
• Uchiha Kenji and Uchiha Yao entered the council hall, where Kenji explained they had come on the Fifth Hokage-sama’s orders.
• Uchiha Yao told the daimyo that he had killed the former Daimyo of the Land of Fire and had destroyed Sunagakure.
• The Daimyo of the Land of Wind begged for his life and offered to give all missions in the Land of Wind to Konoha.
• Uchiha Yao dismissed the offer and proposed annexing the Land of Wind, then Uchiha Kenji beheaded the daimyo.

Sasori and Deidara reached Sunagakure after it had been destroyed and identified Uchiha Yao as the likely attacker. They learned that Konoha had taken the One-Tails Jinchuriki and many prisoners, then pursued the slow-moving group toward the Land of Fire.

• Deidara and Sasori arrived at Sunagakure and found the village reduced to scorched ruins.
• Deidara admired the destruction, while Sasori felt displeasure at the ruin of his former home and vowed that only he had the right to destroy it.
• Sasori found evidence of Rasa’s Gold Dust technique and a slain ANBU, then concluded that Uchiha Yao was likely responsible for the massacre.
• Sasori determined that Konoha had taken the One-Tails Jinchuriki and many prisoners, whose numbers would slow their march.
• Deidara and Sasori took off on the Clay Giant Bird to catch up with Konoha’s group, intending to capture the Jinchuriki and confront Uchiha Yao.

Uchiha Yao killed the Land of Wind Daimyo and forced his ministers to cooperate with annexing the Land of Wind into the Land of Fire. He ordered Chiba to take control of the newly acquired territory and made clear that resisting nobles would be eliminated.

• Uchiha Kenji killed the Land of Wind Daimyo, and the ministers begged Uchiha Yao to spare them.
• Uchiha Yao ordered the ministers to conceal the Daimyo’s death, stabilize the capital, and prepare for the transfer of power.
• Uchiha Yao returned to the Land of Fire and told Chiba that Sunagakure had been destroyed and the Land of Wind annexed.
• Uchiha Yao instructed Chiba to send officials and samurai to take control of the Land of Wind’s administration, military, and finances.
• Uchiha Yao told Chiba to remove any nobles who resisted, along with their families and close associates.

Chiba agreed to carry out the integration of the Land of Wind with Konoha’s support. Meanwhile, Sasori and Deidara attacked Shikaku Nara’s convoy of Hidden Sand prisoners, killing the patrol sent to meet them as they closed in on their target.

• Uchiha Yao assured Chiba that Konoha jonin would handle any resistance, and Chiba ordered the ministers to assemble.
• Shikaku Nara learned that two powerful Chakra signatures were approaching the convoy and sent patrol squads to investigate.
• Deidara and Sasori spotted the convoy from the sky and continued toward it, with Sasori attacking the approaching Konoha patrol.
• Sasori’s poisoned scorpion tail killed Ryō Inuzuka and his ninja dog, while Deidara’s clay spiders blasted through Shota Aburame’s insect swarm.
• Sasori killed Shota Aburame and poisoned the remaining six chunin, and Deidara prepared more Explosive Clay.

Two Akatsuki members, Deidara and Sasori, attacked Tsunade’s convoy and killed dozens of Sand Village prisoners with Deidara’s clay explosives. Tsunade confronted them, learned they belonged to Akatsuki, and prepared for battle as their assault continued.

• A Yamanaka sensory ninja reported that both patrol squads’ chakra signatures had vanished, so Shikaku ordered the convoy into a defensive formation and sent word to Tsunade.
• Tsunade dispatched Iwa, Shunichi, and Tokuma to stop the two approaching enemies from reaching the Jinchuriki.
• Deidara attacked the prisoners with clay spiders, and their explosions shattered Iwa’s Earth Flow Wall and killed dozens of Sand Village prisoners.
• Deidara bragged about his art while Sasori, concealed inside Hiruko, urged him to capture the Jinchuriki and complete their mission.
• Tsunade confronted the attackers, and Sasori identified them as Akatsuki.

Tsunade confronted Sasori and Deidara after they demanded Konoha hand over the One-Tails Jinchuriki. As Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Iwa pinned down Deidara, Tsunade destroyed Sasori’s Hiruko puppet with her strength.

• Sasori identified himself as Sasori of the Red Sands, and Deidara announced that he was an Akatsuki member.
• Sasori and Deidara demanded the One-Tails Jinchuriki, but Tsunade refused and charged at Sasori.
• Tsunade dodged Hiruko’s poison needles and broke its steel scorpion tail with her fist.
• Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Iwa coordinated their attacks to drive Deidara away from the main battlefield.
• Tsunade struck Hiruko again, shattering the puppet under her Monster Strength Fist.

Tsunade destroyed Sasori’s Hiruko with one punch, forcing Sasori to reveal his puppet-like body. Meanwhile, Deidara used his aerial advantage to bomb Hyuga Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Yan, leaving them injured and unable to reach him.

• Tsunade’s punch reduced Hiruko to wreckage, shocking Hyuga Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Yan as they pursued Deidara.
• Deidara evaded the team’s attacks by flying higher, then rained explosive Clay Flying Birds down on them.
• Yan raised three Earth Flow Walls, but Deidara’s explosions destroyed them and blasted all three shinobi across the sand.
• Tsunade saw Sasori rise from Hiruko’s wreckage in a boyish, modified puppet body.
• Sasori told Tsunade that she had angered him by destroying Hiruko.

Sasori revealed the Third Kazekage Puppet and attacked Tsunade with poisoned iron sand while threatening to turn Uchiha Yao into his next collectible. Tsunade unleashed Creation Rebirth and shattered the iron-sand battlefield, then launched herself toward Sasori and the puppet.

• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage Puppet and told Tsunade he had made the Kazekage immortal as his prized collectible.
• Sasori threatened to kill Uchiha Yao and turn him into his greatest puppet, enraging Tsunade.
• Tsunade charged Sasori and fought through the puppet’s poisoned iron-sand attacks, but an iron-sand spear wounded her.
• Deidara bombarded Hyuga Tokuma, Uchiha Shunichi, and Iwa from the sky while they struggled to maintain their earth-wall defenses.
• Tsunade activated Creation Rebirth and the Hundred Healings Technique, then smashed the ground and broke Sasori’s iron-sand trap.
• Tsunade shot into the sky and appeared before Sasori and the Third Kazekage Puppet.

Tsunade destroyed Sasori’s Third Kazekage Puppet, while Shikaku Nara summoned Uchiha Yao to aid the Konoha ninja struggling against Deidara. Yao flew toward the battlefield as Deidara unleashed a massive clay-dragon attack, leaving Tokuma, Shunichi, and Iwa behind layers of earth walls amid a barrage of explosions.

• Tsunade shattered the Third Kazekage Puppet with a single punch, sending Sasori flying.
• Shikaku Nara used Uchiha Yao’s Heavenly Might Kunai to summon the Fifth Hokage and reported the battle against Sasori and Deidara.
• Uchiha Yao ordered the main force to keep retreating and flew toward Deidara’s battlefield.
• Deidara created a C2 Dragon and launched five clay wyverns at Tokuma, Shunichi, and Iwa.
• Iwa raised five earth walls, but Deidara detonated the wyverns in a massive barrage.

Uchiha Yao arrived to rescue his battered squad and used Kamui: Time Reversal to undo Deidara’s clay wyverns. Meanwhile, Sasori unleashed his Hundred Puppet Technique against Tsunade, surrounding her with over a hundred puppets.

• Deidara prepared to finish off the unconscious Yan, Uchiha Shunichi, and Hyuga Tokuma, but Uchiha Yao arrived and ordered Shunichi and Tokuma to withdraw with Yan.
• Deidara attacked Uchiha Yao with five clay wyverns, but Yao used Kamui: Time Reversal to revert them into ordinary clay.
• Tsunade smashed the Third Kazekage Puppet, sending Sasori tumbling across the sand.
• Sasori summoned more than a hundred red-cloaked puppets and encircled Tsunade, declaring that they would make her part of his collection.

Tsunade fought through Sasori’s Hundred Puppet Technique while Uchiha Yao defeated Deidara and joined the battlefield. Sasori replenished his puppet army and began looking for a way to retreat.

• Tsunade charged into Sasori’s puppet army and smashed more than thirty puppets while Sasori used his Chakra threads to try to wear her down.
• Uchiha Yao used Banshō Ten'in to pull Deidara and his C2 Dragon to the ground, then trapped Deidara in an absolute illusion.
• Uchiha Yao crossed several kilometers and appeared beside the battle between Tsunade and Sasori.
• Sasori realized Deidara might have been defeated and concluded he could not face Uchiha Yao and Tsunade alone.
• Sasori summoned a fresh hundred puppets with Secret Technique: Crimson Killing Formation and ordered them to stop Uchiha Yao and Tsunade.

Uchiha Yao protected Tsunade with Susanoo and drove Sasori to flee, but Sasori’s escape was not yet secure as Yao transformed into Perfect Susanoo and pursued him.

• Tsunade broke through Sasori’s puppet army and reached Uchiha Yao, warning him that the puppets and weapons were poisoned.
• Uchiha Yao summoned Third Stage Susanoo, shielding himself and Tsunade from Sasori’s attacks.
• Sasori used self-destruct puppets and poisonous smoke as cover to flee, but Uchiha Yao destroyed the puppets and blasted Sasori into a sand pit.
• Sasori activated his human-puppet escape system and flew away using Wind Release: Jet Stream.
• Uchiha Yao transformed his Susanoo into Perfect Susanoo and took off after Sasori, who heard a sonic boom behind him and turned around.

Uchiha Yao destroyed Sasori with Susanoo, then helped Tsunade recover from Sasori’s poison. After sharing a kiss and comforting her, Yao flew off with Tsunade toward the remaining artist he still needed to deal with.

• Sasori tried to flee, but Uchiha Yao struck him with a Susanoo Collapsing Sphere and vaporized him.
• Tsunade revealed that Sasori’s poison had entered her body, though she had contained its spread with the Hundred Healings Technique.
• Tsunade prepared an antidote from the supplies in her scroll and injected it, clearing the poison.
• Uchiha Yao held and kissed Tsunade, then comforted her as she rested against him.
• Uchiha Yao carried Tsunade into the air and used Heavenly Might to head toward the artist still awaiting him.

Uchiha Yao used Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami to make Deidara regard him as a beloved older brother and obey him. Tsunade watched in shock as Deidara abandoned his hostility and eagerly asked what they would do next.

• Uchiha Yao teleported Tsunade to where Deidara lay defeated and explained that he wanted to recruit Deidara instead of killing him.
• Uchiha Yao told Tsunade about Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan and its ability to alter a person’s will.
• Uchiha Yao released Deidara from his genjutsu and immobilized him when he awoke and attacked.
• Uchiha Yao used Kotoamatsukami on Deidara, making him believe Uchiha Yao was his admired older brother.
• Deidara accepted Sasori’s death without concern, praised explosive art, and asked Uchiha Yao what they would do next.
• Tsunade watched Deidara’s sudden change and marveled at the Uchiha Clan’s ocular techniques.

Uchiha Yao returned to Konoha’s main force with Tsunade and Deidara, whom he declared a new companion of Konoha. Deidara apologized to the three jonin he had defeated, then turned smug when Iwa praised his explosive ninjutsu.

• Deidara created a Clay Flying Bird and carried Uchiha Yao and Tsunade through the air toward Konoha’s main force.
• Konoha’s ninjas prepared to fight the approaching bird, but a Hyuga ninja recognized Uchiha Yao and Tsunade.
• Uchiha Yao returned to the formation and declared that Deidara would be Konoha’s companion from then on.
• Deidara apologized to Uchiha Shunichi, Hyuga Tokuma, and Iwa for injuring them in battle.
• Shunichi, Tokuma, and Iwa accepted Deidara’s apology, and Iwa acknowledged the power of his explosive ninjutsu.
• Deidara became smug and declared that explosions were art.

After Sunagakure fell to Konoha, Raikage A reconsidered Kumogakure’s planned invasion of the Land of Fire. He ordered an envoy to approach Ōnoki and seek an alliance against Konoha.

• Uchiha Yao left Tsunade in charge of the advancing army and returned to Konoha to handle postwar matters.
• At the Land of Lightning–Land of Fire border, Raikage A prepared more than ten thousand Kumogakure shinobi, including Killer B and Yugito, to invade Konoha and avenge their fallen comrades.
• A received news that Konoha had crushed Sunagakure, killing Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo and capturing nearly a thousand sand ninja and civilians.
• A learned that Ōnoki had kept Iwagakure’s forces still and realized Kumogakure could suffer a costly defeat if it attacked Konoha alone.
• Mabui advised A to seek an alliance with Iwagakure, and A ordered an envoy to tell Ōnoki to join forces against Konoha or risk being conquered next.