Chapter Summaries

Naruto endured Gamabunta’s test of staying on through an afternoon of enormous leaps, while Sakura advanced her chakra-control training. A landing brought Gamabunta crashing toward Tsunade’s lake, where Tsunade struck him back to Mount Myoboku, leaving the group to face her anger and the embarrassing aftermath.

• Gamabunta recognized Naruto as Kurama’s Jinchuriki and tested his qualifications by launching himself high into the air; Naruto held on and accepted the challenge to last an afternoon.
• Tahm and Jiraiya followed Gamabunta, while Kurama gave Naruto a Demon Fox Chakra Cloak and tail to help him stay aboard.
• Sakura spent the day training Yang Release chakra control in the lake and learned to form a sizable sphere of chakra in her palm.
• Tsunade mistook Gamabunta’s arrival for a falling mountain and punched him with Monstrous Strength, sending him back to Mount Myoboku.
• Jiraiya, Tahm, and Naruto landed near Tsunade and Sakura; Tsunade and Sakura knocked out Jiraiya and Naruto after noticing them staring at their soaked clothes.

Tahm challenged Naruto to a spar to test their Senjutsu training and beat up Kurama, but Kurama helped Naruto unleash three-tailed chakra. Naruto trapped Tahm and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at him, leaving Tahm unable to dodge.

• Tsunade began a joint class with Jiraiya, Naruto, Sakura, and Tahm, and a month later Tahm arranged a combat assessment against Naruto.
• Sakura cheered Naruto on, while Kurama encouraged him to use three tails to defeat Tahm.
• Naruto unleashed three-tailed Nine-Tails chakra while Kurama helped him control it, alarming Jiraiya and surprising Tahm.
• Naruto created Shadow Clones; Tahm destroyed one with a Rasengan delivered through his tongue, while another clone pinned him in place.
• Naruto compressed a Tailed Beast Bomb and fired it at the trapped Tahm, who realized he could not dodge.

Tahm tested his Sage Art: Great Tongue Shield against Naruto’s Tailed Beast Bomb and emerged unharmed, then defeated Naruto with a homing tongue strike combined with Big Ball Rasengan. Naruto fell unconscious, Kurama’s control was weakened, and Tahm declared his new title.

• Tahm blocked Kurama’s powered-up Tailed Beast Bomb with Sage Art: Great Tongue Shield, leaving himself unharmed.
• Tahm confirmed that the shield absorbed the attack with chakra and reduced damage by 99%.
• Tahm attacked Naruto with Sage Art: Great Tongue Battle Axe and a Big Ball Rasengan, redirecting his tongue to hit Naruto despite his attempted escape.
• Tahm knocked Naruto unconscious and weakened Kurama’s chakra supply and control.
• Tahm let his tongue return to normal and declared, “Please call me Big Tongue Ball!”

After months of setbacks, Orochimaru tried to seize Itachi’s body but was driven off by Itachi’s repeated Amaterasu attacks. Near death at his base, Orochimaru accepted that his next reincarnation vessel would be a woman.

• Orochimaru reflected on losing Danzo, several potential targets, and his chance to partner with Itachi in Akatsuki.
• Orochimaru attacked Itachi with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, but Jūzō Biwa cut the snakes apart and fought Kabuto.
• Itachi repeatedly struck Orochimaru with Amaterasu, forcing Orochimaru to use his substitution technique and flee with Kabuto.
• Itachi told Jūzō Biwa that his fighting had become reckless because Tahm could repair his Sharingan, then called the repair hotline.
• Orochimaru returned to his base gravely injured and ordered Kabuto to find a reincarnation vessel.
• After Kabuto said the suitable candidates were all women, Orochimaru agreed to reincarnate into a woman.

Kakashi and his students accepted a promotional job at the Konoha Summer Book Fair, where the team was forced into Meow Ninja costumes. After Naruto, Tahm, and Jiraiya arrived at the event, they spotted Tsunade and Sakura outside the storefront and realized their secret reading habits were in danger.

• Hinata, Karin, and Sasuke chose a Meow Ninja Corps manga promotion mission, and Kakashi joined after learning Icha Icha Paradise would also launch at the fair.
• Karin pressured Kakashi and Sasuke into wearing mascot and Meow Ninja girl costumes, while Hinata reluctantly dressed as a cat-eared character.
• Sakura admired Hinata's outfit, and Tsunade discovered Kakashi in his fluffy mascot costume and laughed at him.
• Naruto asked Tahm to hide his Icha Icha Paradise books because Sakura often visited his home, while Jiraiya and Tahm admitted they also wanted to keep their reading habits secret.
• Naruto pointed out Sakura and Tsunade near the Meow Ninja Corps storefront, leaving Tahm and Jiraiya stunned.

Hozuki Suigetsu joined Mei Terumi’s genin team and learned the hard way not to insult his new classmates. The chapter ended with Haku freezing Suigetsu’s arm and revealing that he was a boy.

• Hozuki Mangetsu brought Suigetsu to meet his teacher Mei Terumi and teammate Kimimaro, warning him that Mei was stronger than he was.
• Suigetsu insulted Kimimaro and Mei, and Kimimaro nearly struck him with a bone spike before Mangetsu blocked the attack with Hiramekarei.
• Mei welcomed Zabuza, Xue, and Haku, while Zabuza introduced Haku as her new student.
• Suigetsu flirted with Haku, who froze his arm with Ice Release and warned him before revealing that he was a boy.

Mei Terumi learned that Akatsuki-linked people-smuggling had shifted from the Land of Water to neighboring island nations, with Gato’s shipping company implicated. She took her genin team’s fleet escort mission as cover to investigate in the Land of Waves.

• Mei Terumi met Yagura in his office with Haku, Kimimaro, and Hozuki Suigetsu, and Yagura dismissed the three genin to speak with her privately.
• Yagura showed Mei Terumi reports of disappearances in the Land of Sea and other island nations, including a missing bloodline-wielding shinobi.
• Yagura explained that Akatsuki had used Kirigakure’s channels to smuggle people while he was under genjutsu, but the disappearances in the Land of Water stopped after he broke free.
• Mei Terumi learned that many missing people had been seen aboard ships owned by Gato’s shipping company, which had recently begun recruiting sailors with unusually generous pay.
• Yagura revealed that Mei Terumi’s fleet escort mission would pass through the Land of Waves, and Mei Terumi agreed to investigate under cover.
• Mei Terumi rejoined her students and told them it was time to see the real Shinobi World.

Hinata told Tahm that Team Kakashi had accepted an S-rank mission to find missing people in the Land of Waves, where Gato was trafficking residents under a masked man's Genjutsu. The chapter revealed that Sasori was coordinating the operation with Gato and planned to capture a Steel Release user, while Konoha's arrival prompted him to promise the organization would handle the threat.

• Hinata told Tahm that Tazuna had hired Team Kakashi to find his missing adopted son, Kaiza, and other residents of the Land of Waves.
• Tahm learned that Gato had lured men with high wages before abducting them, and realized the mission differed sharply from the bridge escort story he remembered.
• Tahm recalled that Yagura had asked about the disappearances and that Gato was being controlled by a masked man's Genjutsu.
• Gato reported to Sasori that a hired ninja had captured a weak genin with the Steel Release kekkei genkai, whom Sasori intended to turn into a human puppet.
• Gato told Sasori that Tazuna had escaped to Konoha, and Sasori said the organization would deal with it.

Tazuna recalled how Gato’s recruitment campaign took the young men of the Land of Waves, including his adopted son Kaiza, and described the attack that forced him to flee to Konoha. After he identified the ninja who saved him as Hidden Mist shinobi, Tahm suspected they had been sent by Yagura to investigate.

• Tazuna remembered that Gato had lured islanders into long-term sailor jobs, and that Kaiza and many young men had vanished after boarding Gato Shipping vessels.
• Kakashi arrived with Sasuke and Karin, and Tazuna questioned whether the young-looking team could handle his S-rank mission.
• Tahm arrived with Hinata on his summoned toad, and Tazuna recounted how Gato’s hired ninja attacked families demanding answers about the missing people.
• Tazuna described a ninja unleashing three enormous fire dragons, but said other ninja intervened and helped him escape.
• Tazuna identified his rescuers as Hidden Mist ninja, leading Tahm to suspect they were investigating the Land of Waves on Yagura’s orders.

Mei Terumi and her students arrived in the Land of Waves and confronted Gato Shipping as villagers protested the disappearance of their family members. After Mei’s team intervened, they were defeated, and Tazuna fled to Konoha to seek help.

• Mei Terumi, Kimimaro, Hozuki Suigetsu, and Haku reached the Land of Waves after tracing Gato Shipping’s recruitment network there.
• Mei Terumi forced a Gato Shipping leader to take her team to the company after learning that something had happened at its headquarters.
• Tazuna led hundreds of villagers in a protest outside Gato Shipping, but a mercenary ninja trapped them inside a ring of fire.
• Mei Terumi attacked the mercenary with Lava Release, while Haku struck Gato’s thugs with Ice Release and the villagers fled.
• After the Hidden Mist shinobi were defeated, Gato ordered raids on villagers, so Tazuna escaped by boat and headed to Konoha for help.

Mei Terumi and her students confronted Sasori of the Red Sands at Gato Shipping Company. After they countered his Hundred Puppet Performance and advanced on him, Mei unleashed a massive Water Release attack that swept toward Sasori.

• Mei Terumi pressured Gato’s mercenary ninja to withdraw, and he abandoned Gato when a contract loophole let him avoid fighting her.
• Sasori ambushed Mei Terumi with a puppet’s senbon launcher, then revealed himself and summoned one hundred puppets.
• Mei Terumi corroded several puppets with her Boil Release, and she led Haku, Kimimaro, and Hozuki Suigetsu in a coordinated defensive formation.
• The four students and Mei Terumi repelled Sasori’s weapons and puppets, broke through his assault, and closed in on his main body.
• Mei Terumi unleashed Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique, crushing the puppets in its path as the flood surged toward Sasori.

Sasori and Zetsu defeated Mei Terumi’s group and captured Suigetsu and Kimimaro, though Mei Terumi escaped with Haku. Sasori and Zetsu discussed the Hidden Mist’s discovery of their operation before Sasori took Suigetsu to a temporary puppet workshop in the Land of Waves.

• Sasori summoned Zetsu after Mei Terumi’s attacks left him struggling against her group.
• Mei Terumi ordered her students to retreat, but White Zetsu clones captured Suigetsu and surrounded Kimimaro.
• Zetsu asked Kimimaro to come with him, and his clones overwhelmed the boy despite his bone attacks.
• Haku urged Mei Terumi to escape, and she fled with him while leaving Suigetsu and Kimimaro behind.
• Zetsu gave Sasori the sphere containing Suigetsu but claimed Kimimaro for his own purposes.
• Sasori and Zetsu discussed the Hidden Mist’s investigation and the possibility of seeking reinforcements before Sasori took Suigetsu to his puppet workshop.

Tahm brought Kakashi’s team to the Land of Waves after failing to contact Itachi, while Itachi arrived with Jūzō Biwa and White Zetsu to reinforce Sasori. When Tahm and Itachi unexpectedly met at the docks, Itachi hinted at White Zetsu’s presence, and Tahm prepared Sasuke to act.

• Tahm failed to reach Itachi through the crow phone, then transformed into Kog'Maw and carried Tazuna and the others to the Land of Waves.
• White Zetsu recruited Itachi and Jūzō Biwa to reinforce Sasori after trouble with a Hidden Mist expert and a possible Konoha investigation.
• Itachi recognized that Yagura’s earlier inquiry concerned the Land of Waves but avoided contacting him while White Zetsu watched; Yagura also failed to reach Itachi and dismissed the danger to two captured genin.
• Tahm’s group arrived at the Land of Waves docks, where Karin and Hinata detected a fast-approaching ship carrying Itachi, Jūzō Biwa, and White Zetsu.
• Tahm and Itachi met at the docks, and Itachi discreetly indicated White Zetsu’s presence, prompting Tahm to gesture for Sasuke to act first.

Itachi, Sasuke, Tahm, and Jūzō Biwa secretly treated their confrontation with Kakashi and the others as an improvised performance, carefully acting out a clash with the Akatsuki. The chapter left them facing off while White Zetsu remained unaware that he was watching a film crew.

• Itachi played a cold-blooded murderer while hiding his concern for Sasuke, and Sasuke used his Sharingan and Chidori to portray a vengeful younger brother.
• Tahm restrained Sasuke with his tongue, while Jūzō Biwa and Tahm added lines that kept the performance going.
• White Zetsu announced that reinforcements had arrived, and Tahm sent Karin, Sasuke, and Tazuna away before preparing to fight alongside Kakashi and Hinata.
• Jūzō Biwa fought Kakashi with Kubikiribōchō, while Itachi faced Tahm and Hinata and watched Hinata carefully.
• Tahm told Hinata to hold back while he tested Itachi, and both men silently admired each other's acting as White Zetsu failed to recognize the performance.

Tahm and Itachi staged an escalating battle to create a believable chance for Tahm’s team to withdraw, with Itachi using Susanoo to absorb Tahm’s powerful sage-art attacks. After Tazuna fainted and Tahm realized White Zetsu was the only audience, Tahm turned a dangerous gaze toward him.

• Tahm announced his Alpha Strike, and Itachi dodged it with the Substitution Technique before warning that his eyes made everything meaningless.
• Itachi cast the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, but Tahm resisted it with the Sage Chakra he had stored.
• Tahm unleashed Sage Art: Great Tongue Battle Axe at full strength, and Itachi responded by summoning Susanoo to catch the attack.
• Tahm battered Susanoo with several giant-tongue sage arts while Itachi let the fight continue as a way to appear exhausted and unable to pursue.
• Tazuna fainted from fright, and Tahm noticed White Zetsu was the only remaining audience and glared at him dangerously.

Tahm killed the White Zetsu clone while he and Itachi kept up their act, then Itachi knocked Kakashi unconscious to keep him out of their secret. Mei Terumi arrived intending to help the Konoha ninja, but Tahm restrained her and greeted Itachi as a comrade, leaving Mei to realize she had walked into a den of thieves.

• Hinata attacked Itachi's Susanoo with a Sage Art palm, but it had no effect, while Tahm used her as cover to approach White Zetsu.
• Tahm accused White Zetsu of killing innocents and pierced him with his tongue, killing the clone as Itachi pretended to struggle against Hinata.
• Itachi canceled Susanoo and used Genjutsu to knock Kakashi unconscious, while Tahm stopped Hinata from rescuing him so the group could keep their secret.
• Mei Terumi arrived to support the Konoha ninja and attacked Itachi and Jūzō Biwa with Lava Release Clay.
• Tahm wrapped Mei Terumi in his tongue, then clasped Itachi's hand and called him a comrade, revealing to Mei that she had joined their act by mistake.

Tahm and Itachi revealed to Mei Terumi that Itachi and Jūzō Biwa were undercover in Akatsuki, then contacted Yagura to decide whether Mei could be trusted with their secret. Meanwhile, Sasuke, Hinata, and Karin reunited warmly with Itachi, while Kakashi remained unconscious on the ground.

• Jūzō Biwa greeted Itachi and Tahm as Mei Terumi struggled in Tahm’s tongue and feared they had joined forces with Akatsuki.
• Hinata landed on Tahm’s head and called out his act, so Tahm released Mei and explained that he and Itachi were not in league with Akatsuki.
• Tahm revealed that Itachi and Jūzō were undercover agents within Akatsuki, and Sasuke ran over to embrace Itachi.
• Tahm blamed Danzo for Itachi’s crimes, while Itachi summoned a crow to reassure Hinata and Karin that he had remained their Crow Teacher.
• Itachi decided to ask Yagura whether Mei could be trusted, and Tahm contacted the Mizukage as Sasuke, Hinata, and Karin caught up with Itachi.
• Jūzō noticed Kakashi lying face-first on the ground but decided not to help him.

Sasori worked on a living Steel Release shinobi while holding Suigetsu captive, then learned that a battle had begun at the docks. At the docks, Tahm’s group gathered intelligence and discovered that the mercenaries they feared were actually the Calabash Brothers, leaving Tahm to plan for Sasori’s defeat.

• Sasori threatened to turn Suigetsu into a human puppet once he finished working on the Steel Release shinobi.
• Gato told Sasori that Konoha shinobi were fighting the two newly arrived Akatsuki members at the docks, and Sasori dismissed his concerns.
• Mei Terumi joined Tahm’s chat group and revealed that Sasori and Zetsu had captured Kimimaro and Hozuki Suigetsu, while she and Haku escaped.
• Mei warned Tahm, Itachi, and Jūzō Biwa that an elite-jonin-level mercenary and likely teammates were still on the island.
• Itachi called the Calabash Brothers to identify the mercenaries, and Big Brother revealed that his group was the organization hired by Gato.
• Tahm told the Calabash Brothers that he was considering what grass to plant on Sasori’s grave.

Tahm’s group kept up their act while confirming Zetsu had left Gato Company, then launched a staged attack that drew Sasori into a battle. The chapter ended with Sasori facing three eager children as Tahm and Mei Terumi fought Itachi and Jūzō Biwa.

• Tahm told Mei Terumi and Jūzō Biwa to keep acting until they confirmed Zetsu was gone.
• Sasori injected a secret medicine into his unfinished material before meeting Itachi and Jūzō Biwa, who questioned him about Zetsu and the Konoha ninja.
• Tahm’s group used Hinata’s Tenseigan, Karin’s Mind’s Eye of the Kagura, and Tahm’s Oracle Alteration to confirm there were no nearby Zetsu observation points.
• Tahm demolished Gato Company’s gate and office building with his giant tongue, then confronted Sasori with Mei Terumi, Hinata, Karin, and Sasuke.
• Sasori summoned his Hundred Puppets as Tahm and Mei Terumi attacked Itachi and Jūzō Biwa, leaving Sasori facing three eager children.

Hinata, Karin, and Sasuke used coordinated attacks to shatter Sasori’s puppet shell, but Sasori drove them into a desperate aerial defense with his fire and puppet barrage. Just as Sasori threatened to turn them into works of art, Tahm, Itachi, Mei Terumi, and Jūzō Biwa revealed they had stopped fighting and turned their attention to him.

• Sasori sent his hundred puppets after Hinata, Karin, and Sasuke, while Itachi prepared to intervene and Tahm trusted Hinata to handle the attack.
• Hinata used Sage Art: Spiral Mind Energy Field to clear a path, then launched Sasuke through the chakra storm with Karin’s Adamantine Sealing Chains so he could strike Sasori’s puppet body with Chidori.
• Karin pulled Sasuke back after his strike shattered Sasori’s shell, and she healed his injured hand by letting him bite her arm.
• Sasori attacked the three children with pillars of fire and volleys of weapons, forcing Hinata to exhaust herself defending them from the air.
• Sasori boasted that he would make the children into works of art, but Tahm, Itachi, Mei Terumi, and Jūzō Biwa stopped their staged battles and confronted him.