Recaps

Sasuke struggled to create a stable Space-Time Portal and told Kakashi he might need at least three months to master it. He asked Kakashi to bring Naruto to help overcome the technique’s enormous chakra cost.

• Kakashi told Sasuke that Tsunade wanted to know when his Space-Time Portal would be ready, and Sasuke estimated he needed at least three months of training.
• Sasuke vowed to train as intensely as possible, warning that Isshiki’s actions could soon lead to another Shinobi World War.
• Sasuke demonstrated that his rifts lasted less than a second and consumed a third of his chakra, leaving him able to make only six or seven attempts before needing a long recovery.
• Sasuke asked Kakashi to bring Naruto so Naruto could continuously supply him with Nine-Tails Chakra, as he had shared chakra with the Allied Shinobi Forces during the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Sasuke asked Naruto to replenish his chakra so he could accelerate his Space-Time Ninjutsu training, and Tsunade approved the plan. Naruto joined Sasuke at the training ground, where their practice improved Sasuke’s spatial rifts before they began fighting to train Amenotejikara.

• Sasuke explained to Kakashi that Naruto's chakra would let him make more attempts at opening a Space-Time Portal, and Kakashi agreed to ask Naruto for help.
• Kakashi reported Sasuke's request to Tsunade, who ordered Naruto to cooperate fully and let other duties make way for Sasuke's training.
• Kakashi found Naruto eating at Ichiraku Ramen and told him Sasuke needed help, so Naruto rushed to the eastern training ground.
• Naruto replenished Sasuke's chakra, and they began training together every day, allowing Sasuke to make dozens of attempts and open increasingly stable spatial rifts.
• Sasuke decided they should fight so he could practice Amenotejikara in combat, and Naruto attacked with his golden chakra cloak as Sasuke swapped places with a rock.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha trained for more than a month to improve Sasuke’s Amenotejikara and sustain a spatial rift long enough to reach the Alternate Space. As Sasuke continued training, Tsunade and Jiraiya decided Konoha needed a backup plan in case he could not open a portal before the enemy acted.

• Naruto and Sasuke fought day after day, and Sasuke grew faster at using Amenotejikara and learned to maintain a spatial rift while activating it.
• Sakura brought food and medicine to the exhausted pair, while Hinata visited Naruto with homemade treats.
• Over more than a month, Sasuke extended the rift’s duration to nearly ten seconds, though it still could not let a ninja pass through.
• On the fortieth day, Tsunade and Jiraiya watched Naruto channel nine-tails chakra into Sasuke as he practiced sustaining the rift.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya they would hold a meeting the next day to prepare a backup plan if Sasuke could not open the portal in time.

Tsunade ordered Shikaku to secretly prepare Konoha for a possible attack by Isshiki while Sasuke worked to rescue Naraku. After more than ten days of training, Sasuke successfully opened a small, unstable Space-Time Portal, giving him a first breakthrough toward reaching Naraku.

• Tsunade showed Shikaku the vulnerable points on Konoha's defenses and tasked him with planning an evacuation that could begin within an hour.
• Shikaku agreed to prepare the plan using covert ANBU rotations and drills because the senior officials were already suspicious.
• Tsunade told Shikaku that Sasuke expected to need at least another month and a half to open the portal.
• Jiraiya promised Tsunade that he would hold Isshiki off if Sasuke failed to finish in time.
• After more than ten days, Naruto and Sasuke finished sparring, and Sasuke continued practicing his Space-Time Portal.
• Sasuke stabilized a small portal, and he froze in surprise when it successfully took shape.

Sasuke made a breakthrough in opening a Space-Time Portal with Naruto supplying Nine-Tails chakra, but they continued training to make its stability reliable enough for travel to the Alternate Space. Sakura arrived at the Training Ground with lunch and found Sasuke exhausted after repeated attempts.

• Sasuke opened a Space-Time Portal that lasted nearly two seconds before collapsing, and Naruto celebrated the breakthrough.
• Sasuke and Naruto practiced repeatedly, gradually improving the portal's duration and Sasuke's control, though its collapse timing remained unpredictable.
• Sakura arrived at the Training Ground with lunch boxes and watched Sasuke and Naruto continue their portal training.
• Sasuke stopped to rest and eat, while Naruto excitedly told Sakura about the portal Sasuke had opened.

Sasuke successfully opened and controlled a Space-Time Portal, though it could not yet safely carry anyone through. He estimated it would be ready in ten days, and Tsunade set plans in motion to rescue Naraku in the Alternate Space.

• After several attempts, Sasuke held a stable portal for nearly three seconds and closed it himself.
• Sasuke told Naruto and Sakura that ten more days of training should make the portal usable, and Naruto rushed to tell Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shikaku.
• Sasuke confirmed his progress to Tsunade and estimated that the portal could carry more than ten people after ten days of training.
• Shikaku offered to prepare the rescue plan while Tsunade assigned him the operation preparations and told Jiraiya to maintain his disguise as Naraku.
• Tsunade ordered Naruto and Sasuke to continue training without exhausting themselves and declared that they would set out to rescue Naraku in ten days.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha improved their Space-Time Portal technique as they prepared to rescue Shihōin Naraku from the Alternate Space. In the Hokage's Office, Tsunade insisted on joining the mission despite concerns that Konoha would be left without its true leader.

• Naruto and Sasuke trained for days, and by the eighth day Sasuke could hold a portal open for seven seconds and let a ninja pass through safely.
• Naruto suggested synchronizing their powers so his nine-tails chakra could stabilize the portal while Sasuke used his Rinnegan to open it.
• Their combined technique held the portal stable for nine seconds, and Sasuke and Naruto agreed to keep practicing their coordination.
• Sakura brought Sasuke and Naruto water and rice balls, while privately recognizing the strain the training placed on Sasuke's eye power.
• Tsunade insisted she would join the rescue operation, while Shikaku and Jiraiya warned that her absence could leave Konoha vulnerable.

Tsunade and Konoha's leaders decided on a small rescue team to find Naraku in the alternate space, while Naruto stayed behind to defend Konoha. The team prepared to leave, and Tsunade saw Naruto and Sasuke practicing a way to conserve Sasuke's chakra while opening the portal.

• Tsunade argued that her medical skills and strength made her the best choice to lead the rescue, and Kakashi agreed that he could not face Isshiki directly.
• Jiraiya warned that Naruto and Sasuke could not both leave Konoha, so Tsunade decided Naruto would stay behind while Sasuke joined the rescue.
• Tsunade limited the team to Sasuke Uchiha, Tsunade, Kakashi Hatake, and five sealing specialists selected by Kakashi.
• Kakashi chose five experienced Sealing Squad ninja and told them to prepare for a confidential S-rank mission to undo Naraku's seal.
• The next morning, Tsunade watched Naruto and Sasuke practice opening a portal together, using Naruto's chakra to help Sasuke conserve his own.

Tsunade told Naruto to stay behind and protect Konoha while she, Sasuke, Kakashi, and the Sealing Squad prepared to rescue Shihōin Naraku. With the operation set to begin at dawn, Tsunade and Jiraiya wondered how Naraku was faring in the Alternate Space.

• Tsunade told Naruto he could not join the rescue operation because Konoha needed him as its last defense, and Naruto reluctantly agreed to stay.
• Jiraiya comforted Naruto and explained that protecting the village was part of his duty, then asked him to guard the village and Jiraiya’s disguise as Naraku.
• Over the next two days, Shikaku, Tsunade, Kakashi, and Sasuke finalized the rescue plan while Jiraiya kept Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura from uncovering the operation.
• Tsunade ordered the team to gather on the Hokage Building’s rooftop at seven the next morning, and everyone left to rest.
• After the others departed, Tsunade worried about Naraku, and Jiraiya said he was sure Naraku would not go down easily.

Tsunade led a rescue team through Sasuke's portal into the alternate space while Jiraiya stayed in Konoha disguised as Shihōin Naraku. Naruto remained behind with Jiraiya to defend the village until Tsunade and the others returned.

• Jiraiya reassured Tsunade that Naraku was likely safe and agreed to impersonate him while managing Konoha with Shikaku.
• Naruto spent the night regretting that he could not join the rescue mission, and Tsunade's team assembled on the Hokage Building's rooftop at dawn.
• Tsunade ordered the team to depart, and Naruto lent Sasuke golden chakra to open a portal to the alternate space.
• Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke, and the five members of the Sealing Squad entered the portal, which closed behind Sasuke.
• Jiraiya told Naruto to stay alert and help protect Konoha from possible Ōtsutsuki attacks until the team returned.

Tsunade, Kakashi, Sasuke, and the Sealing Squad entered a silent, lifeless alternate space and formed a defensive group. After Sasuke suggested the God Tree might have drained the space of life, Tsunade ordered the squad to locate Naraku.

• Tsunade arrived in the alternate space and cautiously surveyed its barren gray-white terrain and stone pillars.
• Kakashi and the Sealing Squad joined Tsunade and took up defensive positions.
• Sasuke emerged last as the portal closed, then reported that reopening it would require little recovery but repeated trips would require ten minutes.
• Sasuke sensed no nearby enemies, and the group stayed alert while assessing the lifeless surroundings.
• Sasuke suggested the God Tree had drained the space of life and energy, so Tsunade ordered the Sealing Squad to sense for Naraku.

Tsunade’s team searched the alternate space for Shihōin Naraku but could not sense his chakra, so they followed their plan and moved together. After Sasuke chose a direction away from an undamaged cluster of stone pillars, the group continued across the barren landscape without finding any trace of Naraku.

• Sasuke and two members of the Sealing Squad failed to locate Naraku’s chakra in the vast alternate space.
• Tsunade recalled the rescue plan and ordered everyone to stay together rather than split up.
• Kakashi arranged the group in a formation, with Sasuke leading and the five sealing ninja protected in the center.
• Sasuke rejected the route toward the undamaged stone pillars, reasoning that a fight involving Naraku, Isshiki, and Momoshiki would have damaged them.
• Tsunade’s group followed Sasuke’s chosen direction, while Kakashi marked their path; after more than an hour, they had found no trace of Naraku.

Tsunade’s group continued searching the vast alternate space for Shihōin Naraku, finding no chakra or signs of life as they crossed a featureless plain and reached low rocky hills. They found faintly fractured rocks that suggested something had happened there, but the search remained fruitless as the group stopped to rest again.

• Kakashi marked their route at regular intervals while Sasuke led Tsunade’s group across the silent plain.
• The Sealing Squad’s sensors and Sasuke detected no chakra or signs of life, and Tsunade ordered the group to rest before continuing.
• After hours of walking, the group reached low rocky hills, where Sasuke noticed faint fractures in the rocks and suspected something had happened there.
• Kakashi continued marking their route as the group searched the hills, but they found no residual chakra.
• Tsunade called another five-minute rest, and the group reported finding nothing in the hills.

Tsunade decided to reduce the rescue team’s vigilance and prioritize searching for Naraku, letting Sasuke focus his full attention on sensing chakra. Naraku detected the team from afar but realized they were searching in the wrong direction.

• Tsunade told Kakashi and Sasuke that their search was too slow and proposed reducing their vigilance.
• Kakashi and Sasuke agreed to prioritize finding Naraku, and Tsunade reassigned the Sealing Squad to support the search.
• Sasuke led the team at a faster pace while Kakashi watched the flanks and Tsunade stayed ready to provide support.
• Naraku sensed Tsunade and the others entering the alternate space and felt reassured that Konoha had come to rescue him.
• Naraku realized the team was searching in the wrong direction and worried that their efforts would be wasted.

Naraku struggled to alert Sasuke Uchiha’s rescue squad after sensing them heading away from him through the vast Alternate Space. He began forcing his chakra against Time Freeze’s restraints, hoping to trigger the Drums of Liberation before the squad left his range.

• Naraku sensed Sasuke Uchiha’s rescue squad traveling in the wrong direction and estimated they would leave his perception range in a little over an hour.
• Naraku considered ways to send a signal but rejected a chakra burst, his Haki, the Drums of Liberation, the Flying Thunder God Technique, and other abilities because Time Freeze prevented him from using them effectively.
• Naraku realized Time Freeze could not directly seal his One Piece powers, but his immobilized body and blocked chakra pathways kept him from activating them.
• Naraku decided to risk his hard-earned chakra by repeatedly trying to force it through the restraints and use the Drums of Liberation to restart his heartbeat.
• After several attempts, Naraku felt the Time Freeze restraints tremble faintly.

Shihōin Naraku forced his heart to beat again by weakening Time Freeze's seal, and the Drums of Liberation shook the entire Alternate Space. Far away, Tsunade's squad sensed the rhythmic tremors and suspected they came from a heartbeat.

• Shihōin Naraku repeatedly struck a weak point in Time Freeze's seal with his chakra until a crack appeared, draining his remaining reserves.
• Shihōin Naraku made his sealed heart beat once, then poured his will into it and awakened the Drums of Liberation.
• The drumbeats fractured the ground, distorted the sky, and sent rhythmic tremors across the Alternate Space.
• Tsunade's squad felt the distant shaking, formed a defensive formation, and prepared for a possible Ōtsutsuki attack.
• Sasuke sensed that the tremors came from far away and pointed toward their source, while Kakashi recognized their rhythm as resembling a heartbeat.

After the tremors stopped, Tsunade, Sasuke, and Kakashi debated whether they were an enemy trap or a signal from Naraku. They suspected Naraku was trapped in the direction the tremors came from, but Tsunade remained uncertain about what to do.

• Naraku exhausted his chakra, causing the Drums of Liberation to stop and his heart to become still again, while he sensed that the rescue team had stopped moving away.
• Tsunade’s team confirmed that no enemies or abnormal chakra signatures were nearby, then broke formation while staying ready to fight.
• Sasuke and Kakashi said the tremors did not seem hostile and proposed that Naraku had caused them to alert the team to his location.
• Kakashi pointed out that the team had been traveling away from the tremors’ source, and Tsunade considered whether Naraku might be trapped there or the Ōtsutsuki Clan might have set a trap.
• Sasuke agreed with Kakashi’s speculation, but Tsunade questioned whether the tremors truly had not been hostile.

Tsunade, Sasuke, and Kakashi led the rescue team toward the tremor’s source, following increasingly severe damage across the wasteland. They found signs of a massive battle ahead, suggesting Naraku might be nearby, but the team stopped in shock at what they saw.

• Tsunade decided to change course toward the tremor, with Sasuke and herself scouting ahead while Kakashi guarded the Sealing Squad behind them.
• The rescue team traveled for roughly six hours and found spreading cracks in the ground, which grew worse as they approached the tremor’s source.
• Kakashi and Sasuke recognized that the irregular fissures and destruction looked like damage from a battle rather than a tremor.
• Tsunade ordered the team to move faster, believing Naraku was likely ahead, but everyone halted in shock at the sight before them.

Tsunade’s rescue team found the devastated battlefield where Shihōin Naraku had fought Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Momoshiki Otsutsuki, but their search turned up no sign of him. After determining that the tremors came from farther north-northwest, Tsunade sent the four groups onward to search for Naraku and any hidden seal.

• Sasuke surveyed the ruins and identified them as the battlefield where Naraku had fought Isshiki and Momoshiki, locating the fiercest destruction about ten kilometers northwest.
• Tsunade divided the eight rescuers into four groups and ordered them to search around the battlefield, use signal flares, and avoid fighting alone.
• Sasuke, Kakashi, Tsunade, and the two jonin searched separate routes, then reunited without finding Naraku or detecting any chakra signatures.
• Sasuke argued that Naraku was unlikely to be sealed at the battlefield because the tremors showed he could still cause a major disturbance.
• Tsunade concluded that the tremor’s direction did not match the battlefield and ordered the same four groups to continue north-northwest, searching carefully for Naraku or a hidden seal.

Shihōin Naraku remained immobilized by Time Freeze but sensed the Rescue Team closing in and hoped they could weaken the seal. Sasuke located Naraku and reached a cliff overlooking a vast basin, but the chapter ended before he saw him.

• Shihōin Naraku sensed eight people from the Rescue Team approaching and considered how their help might weaken Time Freeze.
• Sasuke and a Sealing Squad ninja searched the ruins, following faint chakra fluctuations that Sasuke recognized as Naraku’s.
• Sasuke told the Sealing Squad ninja that the Hokage’s seal was suppressing Naraku’s chakra and ordered him to hurry.
• Sasuke and the Sealing Squad ninja crossed the ruins and climbed a cliff, where Sasuke looked down into a vast basin.

Sasuke and the other search teams found Shihōin Naraku standing motionless in a valley, apparently trapped by a seal that suppressed his chakra. After gathering everyone and cautiously approaching him, Tsunade called to Naraku, but he did not respond.

• Sasuke and a Sealing Squad ninja discovered Naraku in the valley and confirmed he was alive, though his chakra was extremely faint.
• Sasuke sent up a red signal flare, alerting Tsunade, Kakashi, and the two Jonin to converge on his position.
• Tsunade arrived first, and Sasuke warned her that approaching Naraku recklessly might trigger the sealing jutsu.
• After the other teams arrived, Tsunade sent the five Sealing Squad ninja to inspect the area, then led the group closer to Naraku.
• Tsunade called to Naraku twice, but he did not respond.

Tsunade and the Sealing Squad examined the sealed Naraku, but could not find the seal’s formula or explain why his heart had stopped while his life force remained strong. The Sealing Squad continued investigating as Sasuke and Kakashi took up watch on the cliffs.

• Tsunade ordered the Sealing Squad to investigate Naraku’s condition and identify the seal before attempting to break it.
• A Yamanaka Jonin found that Naraku’s chakra had nearly stopped flowing and seemed frozen, while Naraku’s heart had stopped despite his vigorous life force.
• A second Sealing Squad Ninja confirmed Naraku’s chakra was motionless but could not locate the seal’s core or formula nodes.
• Tsunade ordered the Sealing Squad to broaden its search for the seal beyond Naraku’s body.
• Tsunade sent Sasuke and Kakashi to guard the surrounding area from opposing cliff positions.

The Sealing Squad confirmed that Naraku was immobilized by an unfamiliar seal but could not detect its formula. Tsunade authorized their strongest detection technique, Formula: Bright Eye, but it also failed to reveal anything, leaving them without a way to identify the seal.

• The Yamanaka Jonin told Tsunade that the Sealing Squad had confirmed Naraku was bound by a seal, though their detection formula found no traces of it.
• The Yamanaka Jonin proposed using Formula: Bright Eye, an S-rank technique that could expose deeply hidden seals on its target.
• Tsunade approved any measures needed to identify and break Naraku's seal.
• The Yamanaka Jonin and four Sealing Squad ninja performed Formula: Bright Eye on Naraku three times, but no seal appeared.
• The Yamanaka Jonin told Tsunade that Formula: Bright Eye had no effect.

The Sealing Squad failed to detect or undo the seal on Naraku, leaving Tsunade to weigh the risks of moving him back to Konoha against staying in the alternate space. Kakashi warned that returning him could expose his condition and destabilize the village, and Tsunade turned to Sasuke for his opinion.

• The Yamanaka Jonin told Tsunade that the Sealing Squad’s probing methods had found no trace of Naraku’s seal.
• Tsunade proposed taking Naraku back to Konoha, but the Yamanaka Jonin warned that moving him might trigger the unknown seal.
• Tsunade summoned Kakashi and Sasuke and asked them to weigh in on whether to move Naraku.
• Kakashi warned that bringing Naraku back would make it difficult to conceal his condition and could invite political instability in Konoha.
• Tsunade asked Sasuke what he thought.

Tsunade decided to leave Naraku in the Alternate Space while the Sealing Squad searched for clues, and sent Sasuke back to Konoha to request reinforcements and Uzumaki Clan archives. Kakashi stayed with Tsunade, but the squad’s new detection formulas continued to find nothing.

• Sasuke agreed with the Sealing Squad and Kakashi that moving Naraku was too risky, and Tsunade decided to leave him where he was.
• The Yamanaka Jonin requested more detection methods and access to the Uzumaki Clan’s old archives, which Tsunade authorized.
• Tsunade ordered Sasuke and Kakashi to report Naraku’s condition to Jiraiya, Naruto, and Shikaku Nara and bring back Sealing Squad members and supplies.
• Kakashi argued that Tsunade needed another fighter to protect Naraku and the Sealing Squad, so Tsunade kept him behind and sent Sasuke through a Space-Time Portal.
• The Sealing Squad tested new detection formulas while Tsunade and Kakashi watched, but none of them detected anything.