Chapter Summaries

Sasori, Orochimaru, and Hiruko infiltrated Sunagakure to draw out Rasa and the One-Tail jinchūriki, sparking a battle with the village’s defenders. As Pakura fought Hiruko and Sasori and Orochimaru battled the Sand ninja, Obito appeared, and Sasori asked whether he had found the Kazekage and jinchūriki.

• Bunpuku gave Gaara candy and urged him to understand Shukaku and become his friend, while the Fourth Kazekage watched and prepared for Shukaku’s escape.
• Sasori, Orochimaru, and Hiruko entered Sunagakure unnoticed, and Sasori and Orochimaru discussed their mission and Pakura’s Scorch Release.
• A Sand patrol spotted the intruders and raised the alarm, but Hiruko killed the patrol and summoned a fusion monster as the village’s defense force arrived.
• Pakura fought Hiruko, Sasori faced Baki, and Orochimaru attacked the other Sand ninja as the battle spread through the village.
• Obito emerged through a vortex, and Sasori asked him whether he had located Rasa and the jinchūriki.

Akatsuki withdrew from Sunagakure and pursued the Kazekage and the Jinchūriki while Pakura set out to support them. In the desert, Bunpuku died during the transfer of Shukaku to Gaara, and the One-Tail rampaged as his seal failed.

• Obito, Sasori, Orochimaru, and Hiruko left Sunagakure to pursue the Kazekage and the Jinchūriki after Obito distracted Pakura with a Fire Release attack.
• A medical ninja told Pakura that the fallen Sand Ninja were poisoned but could be saved with the village's antidotes.
• Pakura ordered the village defenses maintained and went to support the Kazekage, while Ebizo stayed to handle matters in Sunagakure.
• Zou Hyuga's squad prepared to respond if Shukaku broke free, and Zou asked Guy how many gates he could open.
• Bunpuku released Gaara's hand and died as the sealing team prepared to transfer Shukaku into Gaara.
• Shukaku's seal ceased functioning after Bunpuku died, and the One-Tail went on a rampage.

After Bunpuku’s death, the Fourth Kazekage trapped Shukaku and prepared to seal him into Gaara while Sunagakure’s forces confronted Sasori, Orochimaru, and Hiruko. As the Fourth Kazekage brought Gaara forward, a mysterious vortex appeared behind him and a hand reached out.

• Shukaku emerged in the sealing formation and attacked wildly, but the Fourth Kazekage controlled the gold-dusted sand and restrained him with a Gold Dust Giant.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto noticed Sasori, Orochimaru, and Hiruko approaching, alerted the others with a signal flare, and vanished.
• Chiyo led Sand Ninja forces to surround the intruders, and Sasori charged at his grandmother with the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.
• Guy struck Orochimaru, then fought him as elite Sand Ninja joined the attack; Pakura ambushed Hiruko with fireballs before he could summon his beast.
• The Fourth Kazekage weakened Shukaku further and used Magnet Release to bring the frightened Gaara forward for the sealing, but a vortex opened behind him and a hand reached out.

Obito disrupted the Fourth Kazekage’s attempt to seal Shukaku, who broke free and unleashed a devastating Tailed Beast Bomb. After surviving the blast, the ninja watched Shukaku flee when Shisui advanced in his Susanoo.

• Obito attacked the Fourth Kazekage during the sealing, but Oto interrupted him and warned the Kazekage about the Masked Man.
• Shukaku broke out of the weakened pyramid, and Zou Hyuga rescued Gaara from the surging sand.
• Zou Hyuga brought Shisui toward Shukaku while the beast stirred up a sandstorm and the Fourth Kazekage fought Obito.
• Shukaku unleashed a Tailed Beast Bomb that devastated the sealing site, while Shisui’s Susanoo protected Zou Hyuga and several Sunagakure ANBU.
• Zou Hyuga checked on Oto and the injured Fourth Kazekage, and Shukaku fled when Shisui drove his Susanoo toward him.

After Shukaku escaped and Obito withdrew, the Fourth Kazekage and Zou Hyuga pursued the One-Tail while Sasori abandoned his fight with Chiyo to follow them. Chiyo survived the duel, and Orochimaru escaped Guy after their battlefield received a signal to regroup.

• Obito used Kamui to leave the battlefield, and the Fourth Kazekage led his remaining fighters after Shukaku while Zou Hyuga and Oto followed.
• Sasori gained the advantage over Chiyo, poisoning her and destroying several of her puppets.
• Obito told Sasori that the sealing ceremony had failed and the Fourth Kazekage was pursuing Shukaku, so Sasori sent a signal flare and left to follow them.
• Chiyo conceded defeat, took medicine for the poison, and headed toward the main force to support the other battles.
• Orochimaru tried to place a Cursed Seal on Guy, but Guy's attack forced him to escape by shedding a snakeskin.

Pakura fought Hiruko as he fused with his Summoning Beast, while the Fourth Kazekage’s group confronted Obito and Sasori over Shukaku. The chapter ended with Zou Hyuga and Oto leaping onto Shukaku as the Fourth Kazekage faced Sasori and Shisui sought a way to break Obito’s control.

• Hiruko injected himself with an experimental solution and fused with his Summoning Beast, gaining enough strength to narrow Pakura’s advantage.
• The Fourth Kazekage told Zou Hyuga, Oto, and Shisui that Shukaku was being controlled, and they soon found Obito and Sasori riding on the tailed beast.
• Shisui failed to wrest control of Shukaku from Obito and looked to Zou Hyuga and Oto for help.
• The Fourth Kazekage trapped Shukaku with gold dust, but Obito’s intangibility let him escape the attack and challenge Sasori to fight the Kazekage.
• Obito confronted Zou Hyuga and Oto while Shukaku began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Oto’s Fire Release forced Shukaku to stop.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto closed in and leaped onto Shukaku.

Zou Hyuga used Sage Art Gentle Fist to disrupt Obito’s chakra, revealing that he had mastered Sage Mode. As Orochimaru and Manda joined the battle and Orochimaru targeted Shisui, Manda asked whether Orochimaru had carried out the White Snake Sage’s instructions.

• Zou Hyuga struck Obito with a Shadow Clone feint and Sage Art Gentle Fist, leaving foreign chakra inside him that caused his chakra to clash.
• Orochimaru arrived and told Obito that Zou Hyuga had mastered Sage Mode, then said he would leave Shisui Uchiha to him.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda, who sensed Zou Hyuga’s senjutsu and asked whether Orochimaru had followed the White Snake Sage’s instructions.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha fought Orochimaru, Manda, and Obito while Shisui and Oto struggled against Obito’s control of Shukaku. Zou pursued Orochimaru into the desert, where Orochimaru revealed an Impure World Reincarnation coffin and hinted that it contained someone Zou knew.

• Orochimaru summoned Manda, who demanded more sacrifices after learning that Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha had senjutsu and Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Oto Uchiha formed Susanoo with Shisui, and their attacks wounded Manda badly enough that he abandoned his tail and dispelled the summoning.
• Orochimaru retreated while Zou Hyuga pursued him, leaving Shisui and Oto to battle Obito over Shukaku.
• Zou Hyuga caught up with Orochimaru beside an Impure World Reincarnation coffin and refused to attack rashly.
• Orochimaru questioned Zou about his senjutsu and motives, then said the coffin held a good friend whom Zou had met.

Orochimaru summoned the reanimated Third Kazekage to persuade Zou Hyuga to join him, but Zou refused and fought the Kazekage. After Zou revealed that Sasori was using the Third Kazekage’s corpse to attack Sunagakure and that the One-Tail Jinchuriki had died, the furious Kazekage’s reanimated body began to destabilize.

• Orochimaru reanimated the Third Kazekage and offered to resurrect Zou Hyuga’s uncle if Zou became his subordinate.
• Zou refused, denounced Orochimaru’s desecration of the dead, and attacked him to protect Oto.
• Orochimaru used the Third Kazekage’s iron sand to trap Zou, but Zou repelled it with Sage Art: Rotation and repeatedly shattered the reanimated body with Vacuum Palm.
• The Third Kazekage regained awareness, recognized Orochimaru, and asked Zou how Sunagakure was faring.
• Zou told the Third Kazekage that Sasori was using his corpse to attack Sunagakure and that the One-Tail Jinchuriki had died; the enraged Kazekage’s body shook until Orochimaru stabilized it.

Zou Hyuga defeated Orochimaru’s reanimated Third Kazekage, drove Orochimaru away, and found that Shukaku had escaped Obito’s control. At the other battlefield, Oto and Shisui recovered from their fight with Obito as Rasa arrived, too exhausted to pursue the One-Tail.

• The Third Kazekage regained his will, broke free of Impure World Reincarnation, and returned to the Pure Land.
• Zou Hyuga struck Orochimaru, but Orochimaru escaped with the Reverse Summoning Technique, leaving his body for Zou to seal in a scroll.
• Zou Hyuga noticed black markings on his arm and then found Shukaku free of Obito’s control as he traveled back toward Oto.
• Oto used Samehada to replenish Shisui’s chakra after they had fought Obito, and Shisui learned that Oto had driven the Masked Man away.
• Rasa arrived with wounded Sunagakure ANBU and told Oto and Shisui that Sasori had escaped; he was too exhausted to pursue Shukaku.

Obito reported his defeat and the hidden strength of Konoha’s fighters to Zetsu, then revealed the One-Tail’s location for Pain to pursue. In the desert, Pakura rescued Gaara from Hiruko and stayed behind to fight, sending Gaara away with a farewell for Maki.

• Obito told Zetsu that Oto Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Zou Hyuga had mastered Senjutsu, and the One-Tail had escaped his control.
• Obito gave Zetsu the One-Tail’s location, hoping Nagato would face Zou Hyuga and his companions.
• Pakura fled Hiruko across the desert until she found Gaara and carried him away from danger.
• Hiruko caught up and attacked Gaara, but Gaara’s sand shield blocked him.
• Pakura burned Hiruko with Scorch Release, then sent Gaara away in a sand clone and asked him to tell Maki that her teacher could not continue with her.

Zou Hyuga tracked the exhausted Shukaku and watched him bury his deceased jinchūriki, Bunpuku, before the One-Tail fled at the sight of Pakura. Pakura entrusted Gaara to Zou and warned him about Hiruko, then her Sand Clone vanished as Gaara’s protective sand appeared.

• Zou Hyuga followed Shukaku through the desert and waited for Oto while absorbing some of the One-Tail’s chakra.
• Shukaku mourned Bunpuku, buried his body in the sand, and celebrated his freedom.
• Pakura and Gaara arrived, startling Shukaku into fleeing before Zou could capture him.
• Pakura revealed she was a Sand Clone, asked Zou to protect Gaara, and identified Hiruko as a Konoha missing-nin who fused with summoning beasts.
• Pakura’s clone crumbled, and Gaara’s sand began protecting him as Zou absorbed chakra from it.

After leaving Gaara in Bell Cat’s care, Zou Hyuga tracked the escaped Shukaku to the Rōran oasis and warned Queen Sara to evacuate her people. He found Shukaku recovering in an oil well and approached him, preparing to fight.

• Zou Hyuga left Bell Cat to guard Gaara, then pursued Shukaku while Oto Uchiha later arrived to take Gaara and Bell Cat away.
• Zou Hyuga followed Shukaku’s chakra trail to the Rōran oasis and told Queen Sara that a battle with the One-Tail might take place there.
• Queen Sara ordered Rōran’s people to evacuate under the pretense of a drill while Zou searched the oasis for Shukaku.
• Zou Hyuga found Shukaku in an oil well, where the recovering tailed beast was devouring crude oil, and walked toward him.

Pain arrived at the oasis town seeking Shukaku and learned that the survivors of Rōran prospered through an oil-based industry. Outside the town, Zou Hyuga fought Shukaku, and both prepared Tailed Beast Bombs as their battle reached a climax.

• Pain entered the oasis town, questioned guards, and learned that its residents were survivors of Rōran conducting an evacuation drill.
• Pain discovered that underground resources and an oil-based industry had improved the survivors’ lives, and learned where Queen Sara was.
• An explosion outside the oasis revealed Shukaku fighting Zou Hyuga, and Pain rushed toward the One-Tail’s chakra.
• Zou Hyuga used Sage Mode, Water Release, Earth Release, and Gentle Fist against Shukaku while trying to avoid damaging the nearby oil fields.
• Shukaku ignited crude oil to burn Zou Hyuga, then trapped him with sand and fought him at close range.
• Shukaku prepared a Tailed Beast Bomb and was stunned when Zou Hyuga formed one too.

Zou Hyuga fought Shukaku, drained much of his chakra, and killed him when Deva Path Pain appeared. Pain confronted Zou over the One-Tail’s death and used Banshō Ten'in as Zou silently gathered chakra.

• Zou Hyuga blasted Shukaku with Tailed Beast Bombs, seized him, and drained much of his chakra.
• Shukaku offered to show Zou where to find more black oil, and Zou considered keeping him as a source of chakra.
• Zou spotted Deva Path Pain approaching, then killed the weakened Shukaku with a Wind Blade.
• Pain confronted Zou about killing the One-Tail, and Zou claimed Shukaku had attacked him first.
• Zou gathered chakra without answering Pain, who extended his palm and used Banshō Ten'in.

Zou Hyuga and Deva Path Pain ended their fight and discussed Zou's identity and the Akatsuki's goals. Zou agreed to join the organization on the condition that his merchant association would not help capture the tailed beasts, then offered to show Pain around town.

• Zou Hyuga formed a Tailed Beast Bomb while being pulled toward Deva Path Pain, forcing Pain to use Shinra Tensei and sending the bomb crashing into a distant dune.
• Zou Hyuga and Deva Path Pain stopped fighting after neither could gain the advantage, and Zou revealed that he was the chairman of the Land of Fire's Tailed Beast Merchant Association.
• Deva Path Pain invited Zou Hyuga to join the Akatsuki, and Zou asked about the organization's goals after seeing more of its Six Paths.
• Deva Path Pain explained his plan to collect the tailed beasts and create a weapon to deter the Five Great Nations, which Zou Hyuga criticized as unrealistic.
• Zou Hyuga agreed to join the Akatsuki but insisted that his merchant association would not help capture the tailed beasts, and Deva Path Pain accepted.
• Zou Hyuga offered to show Deva Path Pain around town in hopes of changing his extreme ideas.

Zou Hyuga joined Akatsuki after his clash with Deva Path Pain, while Nagato told Konan that Zou had killed Shukaku and described him as an exceptionally powerful potential ally. The chapter left Nagato confident in his plan, unaware that Zou had made him confront the possibility that Amegakure could become another of the Five Great Nations.

• Zou Hyuga questioned Deva Path Pain’s plan for lasting peace while touring Rōran, then asked how to contact Akatsuki and received a ring marked with the character for “vermilion.”
• Deva Path Pain disappeared, and Zou Hyuga told Queen Sara to end the alert before leaving Rōran by a roundabout route.
• Nagato summoned the Six Paths of Pain and told Konan that capturing Shukaku had failed because Zou Hyuga had killed the One-Tail before he arrived.
• Nagato explained that Zou had fought him to a draw and agreed to join Akatsuki, while Konan wondered whether Zou was plotting against them.
• Nagato dismissed Konan’s concerns and trusted his Rinnegan, not knowing Zou’s story had made him consider what would happen to Amegakure after the Five Great Nations fell.

Zou Hyuga returned to Sunagakure after Shukaku’s defeat and met with the Fourth Kazekage, who faced heavy losses and sought advice about the village’s future. Zou concealed what he knew about Shukaku and received a letter to deliver to the Hokage.

• Zou Hyuga told Oto Uchiha that he had killed Shukaku, encountered Pain, and accepted an invitation to join the Akatsuki.
• A Sunagakure ANBU escorted Zou Hyuga and Oto to the Kazekage’s building, where Zou questioned Guy and Shisui and learned that Pakura had died.
• Ebizo advised the Fourth Kazekage to seek help from another village, while Rasa said Gaara would remain a jinchūriki and be developed as a weapon.
• Zou Hyuga told the Fourth Kazekage that he had lost track of Shukaku and did not know where the One-Tail was.
• The Fourth Kazekage thanked Zou Hyuga for rescuing Gaara and gave him a letter to deliver to the Hokage.

The Fourth Kazekage saw Zou Hyuga and his squad off, then returned to Sunagakure to face the village’s shortages and losses. Chiyo urged him to spend time with his children, but the family’s reunion turned tense when Gaara asked why Shukaku had to be treated as a monster, and Rasa left to deal with a venomous snake.

• Rasa saw Zou Hyuga and the Konoha Squad off and worried that Sunagakure could not withstand another Akatsuki attack.
• Chiyo and Ebizo urged Rasa to leave the paperwork and go home to his children.
• Rasa returned to his courtyard and found Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara playing with sand sculptures.
• Rasa worked with Gaara to examine his sand-manipulation ability, and Kankuro and Temari joined them.
• Gaara asked Rasa why they could not live peacefully with Shukaku, and Rasa angrily told him he could become Shukaku’s jinchūriki again.
• Rasa stopped Temari from driving away a venomous snake and vanished to handle it himself.

Orochimaru met with the Fourth Kazekage to discuss Sunagakure’s losses, Akatsuki, and Rasa’s children, while Zou Hyuga practiced using Shukaku’s chakra in the desert. The chapter ended with Oto Uchiha noticing that Zou smelled almost exactly like Shukaku, along with another scent that nearly triggered her Mangekyo Sharingan.

• Orochimaru met the Fourth Kazekage outside Sunagakure and claimed he had warned the village to limit its losses, while denying responsibility for capturing the tailed beast.
• The Fourth Kazekage questioned Orochimaru’s motives, and Orochimaru said he wanted revenge against Konoha and offered to train Rasa’s children.
• Zou Hyuga left camp during the night, checked for White Zetsu, and sensed Shukaku’s chakra and vitality within the markings on his body.
• Zou practiced Wind Release and sand-controlling ninjutsu before returning to camp and sleeping beside Oto Uchiha.
• Oto told Zou that his scent had changed and that he smelled almost exactly like Shukaku, mixed with another scent that nearly triggered her Mangekyo Sharingan.