Chapter Summaries

Kakashi and Temari led a joint Konoha and Sunagakure squad to rescue Gaara, following evidence that the Akatsuki had left behind a spreading, corrosive contamination. As the squad pursued Sasori and Deidara, they discovered the contamination was alive and spreading along the enemy’s route.

• Tsunade sent Kakashi, Temari, Naruto, Sakura, Yamato, Kankuro, Baki, and their teams on an S-rank mission to rescue Gaara.
• Ling learned that the joint squad had departed and continued forcing chakra through the stubborn nodes in his pathways.
• The squad found dead Sunagakure scouts and a coded message pointing northwest into the Land of Rivers.
• The squad encountered a spreading fungal mat that attacked them, and Kakashi and Temari suppressed and destroyed it with fire and wind techniques.
• Temari urged the squad to hurry as they realized the contamination was being spread along the route.
• Sasori and Deidara carried the unconscious Gaara toward their base while Sasori allowed the contaminating core to leak.

Team Guy joined the mission to rescue Gaara, and Neji located him trapped in a vast Mycelial Carpet Forest with Sasori and Deidara. The combined Konoha and Sunagakure forces confronted the Akatsuki members and prepared to attack the forest and free Gaara.

• Tsunade sent Team Guy to support Team Kakashi, rescue Gaara, and investigate the threat.
• Ling felt relieved by the reinforcements, while Tobirama warned that the team needed to intercept the enemy before entering a prepared battlefield.
• At the attack site, Neji used his Byakugan to locate Gaara and detected two powerful Akatsuki chakra signatures nearby.
• Kakashi led the combined team toward Gaara, where they found him imprisoned in a cage inside a living forest of dark purple vines and fungal mats.
• Sasori and Deidara prepared to fight as the forest attacked with lashes and corrosive, mind-disrupting mist.
• Kakashi assigned the teams to rescue Gaara, disrupt the forest, find weaknesses, and defend against its vines and mist.

Konoha and Sunagakure ninja fought the Mycelial Carpet Forest and Sasori’s forces while Neji discovered that the cage and forest depended on an underground energy core. Kakashi and Naruto entered a trench to reach it, leaving their allies to hold back the counterattack.

• Yamato’s Wood Release, fire attacks, and explosives briefly damaged the Mycelial Carpet Forest, but it quickly regenerated and spread poisonous mist.
• Might Guy opened the Gate of Opening and pursued Deidara through the sky, keeping him from supporting the battle below.
• Kankuro attacked Sasori with Crow and Black Ant, forcing Sasori to defend with the Third Kazekage Puppet’s Iron Sand Wall.
• Neji used his Byakugan to locate the energy core beneath the cage, and Yamato carved a trench toward it.
• Sasori unleashed an Iron Sand Shower as Kakashi and Naruto entered the trench, while Guy and the others fought to hold back the attackers and forest.

Kakashi and Naruto destroyed the underground mycelial core, allowing Temari and Kankuro to break Gaara’s cage and rescue him. Sasori and Deidara retreated, leaving the allied ninja to regroup and treat their wounded as the Akatsuki’s larger threat remained.

• Kakashi used Kamui to restrain the mycelial core while Naruto protected them with shadow clones and prepared a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
• Naruto threw the Rasenshuriken at the core, destroying it in an explosion that collapsed the underground passage and weakened the Mycelial Carpet Forest.
• Kakashi escaped the collapsing passage with the exhausted, injured Naruto, while Temari and Kankuro shattered Gaara’s weakened cage and caught him.
• Gaara thanked his rescuers as the Konoha and Sunagakure ninja regrouped around him.
• Sasori and Deidara withdrew, and Kakashi stopped Might Guy from pursuing them so the team could secure Gaara and treat Naruto.

After Gaara was freed, the rescue team discovered that Akatsuki had nearly extracted Shukaku using a corrupting fungal energy. The sealing was interrupted when that energy contaminated the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Gaara’s condition stabilized, though he remained gravely weakened.

• Temari and Kankuro supported Gaara as Sunagakure’s medical ninja found his chakra and life force severely depleted.
• Neji discovered that Shukaku’s chakra had been mostly stripped away and contaminated by a strange energy, leading Kakashi to identify the cage and fungal forest as part of an extraction apparatus.
• Pain halted the sealing when the foreign energy began corrupting the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Akatsuki absorbed only the relatively pure portion of Shukaku’s chakra.
• Gaara coughed up blood flecked with dark purple light, after which the corruption stopped and his vital signs stabilized.
• Kakashi suspected that the corrupting power had forced Akatsuki to stop, while the team recognized that Gaara and Sunagakure would face lasting consequences.

The Tailed Beasts sensed a corrupting force called the Sacred Lord attacking Shukaku through a dark purple mark. Shukaku fell into a deep slumber, and the others resolved to warn their Jinchūriki as Naruto’s chakra stirred in his sleep.

• Shukaku’s statue dimmed as dark purple energy wrapped around him and began devouring his essence.
• Kurama and the other Tailed Beasts gathered, identified the energy as a foreign, destructive force, and Kurama drove back the strands spreading into their shared space.
• Shukaku warned that the Sacred Lord had marked and noticed all the Tailed Beasts and wanted more than their chakra before falling into a deep slumber.
• Gyuki and Kurama recognized the threat as more dangerous than the Akatsuki and resolved to warn the Jinchūriki.
• Naruto stirred in his sleep at Konoha Hospital as the Nine-Tails chakra within him reacted to Shukaku’s distant pain and warning.

The tailed beasts sensed the Sacred Lord’s corrupting power after Shukaku was nearly destroyed, and their warnings reached their jinchūriki and village leaders. The Five Great Nations raised their guard and considered cooperation as Gaara remained weakened and the threat loomed.

• Kurama warned Naruto that the Sacred Lord’s power had badly injured Shukaku and could corrupt or devour the tailed beasts, so Naruto resolved to alert others.
• Gyuki warned Killer B about Shukaku’s danger, and Killer B rushed to inform the Raikage.
• Utakata sensed Saiken’s fear, Han decided to report Kokuō’s warning to Ōnoki, and Roshi resolved to rely on his and Son Gokū’s strength; the unbound Isobu sensed the danger without a way to report it.
• Gaara ordered Temari and Kankuro to document the encounter, while Tsunade raised Konoha’s threat assessment and began preparing a joint warning to the other nations.
• The Raikage and Ōnoki ordered heightened security and investigations, while Mei considered stronger alliances and Sunagakure’s elders agreed to share information with Konoha.

After Gaara’s rescue, Konoha reviewed the fungal mat’s dangers and began planning safer counters, including precise Wind Release control and senjutsu. The Akatsuki prepared to target Roshi, while Ling’s chakra recovered and the alliance braced for the next confrontation.

• Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, and the others reviewed the failed attempt to capture Sasori and Deidara and assessed the limited samples and combat data.
• Tsunade forbade Naruto from using the Rasenshuriken in combat again until its risks could be addressed, and Kakashi proposed more precise Wind Release training.
• Shizune reported that the corrupting energy assimilated and eroded natural energy but seemed vulnerable to yang chakra and senjutsu, so Tsunade assigned further research and training.
• Sunagakure welcomed Gaara home, and Granny Chiyo and Ebizo signed agreements with Konoha for deeper intelligence sharing and joint defense.
• Zetsu told Pain that Konoha and Sunagakure had gained little, and Pain confirmed the Akatsuki would target Roshi using the standard sealing technique.
• Ling learned that senjutsu might counter the Sacred Lord’s power, while his chakra continued to recover and his sensitivity to natural energy grew.

Konoha and Sunagakure strengthened their preparations against the corrupting energy while Naruto began training for steadier chakra control and learned that senjutsu might counter the threat. In Iwagakure, Zetsu marked Roshi as a target, while Ling purified the corruption in his body and recovered his senjutsu power in Shikkotsu Forest.

• Naruto trained with Kakashi to maintain stable wind chakra and learned that senjutsu might counter the corrupting energy, prompting Konoha to contact Jiraiya.
• Granny Chiyo and Ebizo took over Sunagakure's daily affairs and sent Konoha encrypted records of the recent battle and their analysis of the corrosive energy.
• Son Gokū warned Roshi that a concealed threat was watching him, and Roshi stayed alert while training in the Volcanic Region.
• Zetsu located Roshi and discussed sending Hidan and Kakuzu to capture him for an endurance test.
• Ling used senjutsu chakra to purify the remaining corruption, restoring his perception and control of natural energy as he prepared to return to battle.

Ling developed a healing water technique and began refining a more penetrating purification attack while Naruto awaited senjutsu training at Mount Myōboku. Meanwhile, Akatsuki attacked Roshi, and Ling sensed the distant battle and resolved to master his power and leave Shikkotsu Forest.

• Ling used Sage Art: Pure Water Release: Dew of Life to revive a wilted plant, then created the prototype Sage Art: Pure Water Release: Purifying Erosion: Thousand Needles.
• Kakashi told Naruto that Fukasaku had agreed to guide his senjutsu training, though Naruto had to wait several days for preparations.
• Kakuzu and Hidan confronted Roshi near Iwagakure, and Roshi fought them with Lava Release as a sinister presence seemed to observe the battle.
• Tobirama asked Ling whether he had sensed the distant fight, and Ling detected scorching tailed-beast chakra mixed with a deathly, corrupting energy.
• Ling resolved to master his new power quickly and leave Shikkotsu Forest to help fight the darkness.

Ling refined his Purifying Senbon and received permission to leave Shikkotsu Forest as Naruto began dangerous senjutsu training at Mount Myōboku. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki captured Roshi and the Four-Tails, prompting Ling to set out for Konoha.

• Ling tested his Purifying Senbon on contaminated rocks, and Tobirama advised him to improve their range and sustained use.
• Naruto left Konoha with Messenger Toad Kōsuke and arrived at Mount Myōboku to train with Sage Fukasaku.
• Naruto’s thoughts disrupted his stillness, causing natural energy to surge and his body to begin turning to stone before Sage Fukasaku stopped him.
• Hidan’s curse ritual wounded Roshi, and Kakuzu’s masked monsters defeated him and helped the Akatsuki capture the Four-Tails.
• Ling sensed the disappearance of Roshi’s chakra, asked the Katsuyu Sage to leave, and set out to return to Konoha.

Ling returned to Konoha stronger after recovering in Shikkotsu Forest and proposed an elite unit to counter the Akatsuki’s contaminating energy. As the Akatsuki prepared to target the Five-Tails, Naruto continued training in Senjutsu at Mount Myōboku.

• Ling returned to the Hatake Residence Estate and went to the Hokage's Office, where Tsunade and Shizune welcomed him back.
• Ling learned that the Akatsuki had captured Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, and proposed forming an elite purification unit; Tsunade approved and assigned Ling and Yamato to organize it with Kakashi coordinating.
• Naruto steadied himself during Senjutsu training at Mount Myōboku and formed a faint trace of Senjutsu chakra.
• Pain confirmed the Four-Tails' capture and ordered preparations to target Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki.
• Zetsu reported Ling's return and stronger purification ability, while Sasori studied how the abyssal fungal strain affected the Four-Tails' chakra.

Ling organized the Purifying Karma unit to counter contaminated energy while Naruto continued training in senjutsu and the Akatsuki prepared to capture the Five-Tails jinchūriki. The chapter ended with Ling sensing a new, distorted energy near Orochimaru’s former base and deciding to warn Konoha.

• Ling demonstrated how his senjutsu-infused chakra purified simulated contaminated energy and assigned roles to the Purifying Karma unit, which began preparations for training.
• Naruto continued struggling to balance natural energy at Mount Myōboku, while Sage Fukasaku encouraged him to keep practicing.
• Ōnoki acknowledged Roshi’s capture, declared an emergency in Iwagakure, and sought intelligence sharing; Fourth Raikage A increased Killer B’s protection and contacted Konoha about a joint response.
• Pain ordered Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki to capture Han, the Five-Tails jinchūriki, and declined to investigate energy disturbances at Orochimaru’s old base.
• A damaged container in Orochimaru’s former laboratory leaked fungal energy that reacted with an unfinished Cursed Seal, creating a growing patch of twisted tissue.
• Ling sensed a chaotic, contaminated energy fluctuation near the border of the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Earth and decided to report it and recommend monitoring similar anomalies.

Han fought Itachi and Kisame as they tried to capture the Five-Tails, but Konoha reinforcements led by Tsunade arrived. Ling’s purifying senjutsu weakened the Sharingan’s influence on Han, leaving the Akatsuki pair facing a Hokage-led squad.

• Han detected Itachi and Kisame approaching, but they attacked him from both sides.
• Han used Boil Release to evade Itachi’s Black Flames and counter Kisame’s water technique, then fought both Akatsuki members in the mist.
• Itachi’s genjutsu and Kisame’s chakra-absorbing Samehada pushed Han onto the defensive as Kokuō warned against a partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
• Tsunade, Ling, Kakashi, Yamato, and Neji arrived and interrupted the Akatsuki’s attacks.
• Ling used azure senjutsu chakra to purify Han’s disturbed chakra and lessen the Sharingan’s pressure.

Konoha's reinforcements helped Han repel Itachi and Kisame, while Ling and Tsunade recognized that Itachi had secretly cooperated with them. The chapter ended with Konoha preparing to investigate a warning about the Six-Tails Jinchuriki Utakata and a new form of contamination near Kirigakure.

• Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, Neji, and Ling arrived to support Han and force Itachi and Kisame to reconsider their attempt to capture the Five-Tails.
• Itachi ordered Kisame to withdraw, while Tsunade fought Kisame and Kakashi engaged Itachi as Ling used senjutsu attacks to hinder Kisame.
• Ling and Tsunade held back, and Kakashi noticed that Itachi appeared to avoid using his full strength as the Akatsuki pair sought a chance to escape.
• Itachi retreated after a clash with Kakashi, and Kisame escaped using a water-based technique; Tsunade stopped Han from pursuing them.
• Ling told Tsunade that Itachi had sent him a hazy image of a mist-covered island and living-tissue-like contamination, which Tsunade connected to Utakata and Kirigakure.
• Tsunade ordered Konoha to send the intelligence, monitor the Kirigakure area, and contact Mei Terumi, then invited Han to recover in Konoha.

Konoha warned Kirigakure that the Akatsuki might target Utakata and that a new, mutating contamination threatened the region, while an aberrant mass in Orochimaru's abandoned laboratory grew out of control. As Naruto advanced in senjutsu training, Ling tested the contamination's resistance and prepared for the danger spreading toward the Land of Water.

• Tsunade ordered Kakashi to warn Kirigakure, placed the Purifying Karma unit on combat readiness, and told Ling to prepare to deploy.
• Mei Terumi ordered Kirigakure to search for Utakata, strengthen coastal defenses, and increase patrols, assigning Chōjūrō to oversee the preparations.
• A White Zetsu Clone tried to absorb the mutated mass in Orochimaru's abandoned laboratory, but it assimilated his spores, forcing him to retreat and report the danger.
• Naruto maintained a stable balance of senjutsu chakra on Mount Myōboku and vowed to master Sage Mode quickly.
• Ling tested his Sage Art purification torrent on simulated contamination and found that the mutated living tissue resisted purification more than the microbial mat.

Utakata was trapped by Akatsuki and a spreading sea of chakra-absorbing tentacles, while Konoha sent the Purifying Karma unit to assist Kirigakure. Naruto independently entered Sage Mode and used senjutsu, and Ling’s squad arrived just in time to shield Utakata and begin purifying the contamination.

• Saiken warned Utakata about terrifying creatures in the water, and strange tentacles emerged and absorbed his Water Release attack.
• Kisame Hoshigaki and Uchiha Itachi appeared, trapping Utakata as he struggled against them and the multiplying tentacles.
• After Kirigakure requested aid, Tsunade sent Ling, Kakashi, Yamato, Neji, and a Water Release and medical ninjutsu specialist to the Land of Water.
• Naruto entered Sage Mode on his own for the first time and successfully used Sage Art: Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere, though he could sustain the mode for less than three seconds.
• As Kisame attacked Utakata, Ling’s Purifying Karma unit arrived and blocked Samehada with a purifying torrent.
• Ling asked Utakata to cooperate in clearing the contamination, and Utakata agreed as battle erupted between Konoha, the Akatsuki, and the tentacles.

Ling, Kakashi, Yamato, Neji, and Utakata fought Kisame and the spreading contamination in the Dense Fog Sea, while Itachi secretly used genjutsu to create an opening. Ling gravely wounded the contamination core, the Akatsuki retreated, and Utakata agreed to go to Konoha.

• Ling used Purifying Senbon, guided by Neji's Byakugan, to weaken the spreading tentacles while Yamato and Kakashi kept Kisame occupied.
• Neji detected that the contamination core was moving and warned that Itachi seemed to be preparing a genjutsu aimed at someone other than the Konoha ninja.
• Utakata used Boil Release to slow the tentacles, and Itachi cast a genjutsu that briefly disoriented Kisame and disrupted the core.
• Neji located the core beneath the sea, and Ling struck it with two purifying water dragons, causing the surface tentacles to wither and the contamination to weaken.
• Itachi declared the mission failed and retreated, and Kisame slipped away into the sea.
• Ling invited Utakata to come to Konoha or join Kirigakure, and Utakata chose to go with Ling to Konoha.

After Konoha reported the living contamination, the Five Great Shinobi Villages moved toward cooperation while Naruto mastered an improved Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. The Akatsuki targeted Ling, and news of the runaway contamination approaching Kirigakure sent him rushing to the Hokage Building.

• Tsunade ordered the Research Division to study the contamination and share intelligence, while Utakata agreed to remain under Konoha's protection.
• Fourth Raikage A proposed a joint intelligence and rapid-response framework, and Ōnoki offered Iwagakure's limited cooperation against the contamination.
• Naruto successfully used Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken without injuring his arm, and Sage Fukasaku told him to keep training to improve Sage Mode.
• Pain ordered the Akatsuki to suspend capturing the tailed beasts, target Ling, and leave the runaway Aberrant Tumor Core alone as it moved toward the Land of Water.
• Ling resolved to grow stronger, then received an urgent summons after Kirigakure detected the Aberrant Tumor Core approaching its eastern waters.

Tsunade sent the Purifying Karma unit and a joint Konoha–Kirigakure fleet to intercept the Aberrant Tumor Core, and Naruto joined after returning from Mount Myōboku with Senjutsu. Their attacks damaged the monster but failed to stop its rapid regeneration, so Ling and Naruto charged toward its core to break through its defenses.

• Tsunade ordered Ling, Kakashi, Yamato, and Neji to assist Kirigakure in destroying the Aberrant Tumor Core, and Naruto returned from Mount Myōboku and volunteered to join them.
• The joint fleet encountered the enormous Aberrant Tumor Core at sea, where Kirigakure’s conventional attacks proved ineffective.
• Ling’s purifying torrent dissolved the monster’s outer tentacles, and Naruto’s Rasenshuriken blasted open a large breach that quickly regenerated.
• Neji located the energy core deep inside the monster, while the Aberrant Tumor Core counterattacked with corrosive fluid and a psychic assault.
• Ling and Naruto agreed to combine Ling’s purifying power with Naruto’s Rasenshuriken and charged toward the aberration to reach its core.