Recaps

Sasuke returned to Konoha and reported that the Rescue Team had found Shihōin Naraku sealed and unable to move in the Alternate Space. He left Jiraiya and Shikaku mobilizing the Sealing Squad and retrieving Uzumaki Clan records while the team remained behind to investigate the seal.

• Naruto met Sasuke on the Hokage Building rooftop and hurried with him to the Hokage's Office.
• Sasuke told Jiraiya and Shikaku that they had found the Hokage in a valley in the Alternate Space, sealed and unable to move.
• Sasuke explained that the Sealing Squad's detection formulas, including Formula: Bright Eye, had failed to identify the seal.
• Sasuke said Tsunade had chosen to leave Naraku in place and requested Sealing Squad personnel and the Uzumaki Clan's old records without spreading the news.
• Shikaku agreed to mobilize the Sealing Squad and retrieve the records, while Sasuke gave Jiraiya and Shikaku a full account of events in the Alternate Space.

Sasuke reported that the Rescue Team had found the Hokage in the Alternate Space, but the Sealing Squad could not detect the seal. Naruto asked to join the next trip so he could share his chakra with the Hokage, and Shikaku arrived with the preparations complete.

• Sasuke told Jiraiya and Naruto that a mysterious heartbeat had guided the Rescue Team to the Hokage in the vast Alternate Space.
• Sasuke reported that the Sealing Squad could not detect the seal and that Tsunade had chosen to leave the Hokage in place while waiting for reinforcements.
• Naruto asked Jiraiya to let him go to the Alternate Space, arguing that his chakra might help the Hokage.
• Sasuke said Naruto could transfer chakra to the Hokage, though the effect on the seal was uncertain, and promised to bring Naruto back if it failed.
• Shikaku entered the office and told Jiraiya that the supplies and ten ninja from the Sealing Squad were ready for departure.

Shikaku approved Naruto’s trip to the Alternate Space to help replenish the Hokage’s chakra and possibly break the seal, provided Naruto returned if he could not help. Naruto, Sasuke, and the Sealing Squad passed through Sasuke’s portal, leaving Jiraiya and Shikaku behind in Konoha.

• Sasuke described the vast battle damage in the Alternate Space, and Shikaku judged that the Ōtsutsuki were likely too injured to threaten Konoha soon.
• Shikaku permitted Naruto to go on the condition that he obey Tsunade and Kakashi and return if he was not needed; Jiraiya reluctantly agreed.
• The ten members of the Sealing Squad assembled on the Hokage Building’s rooftop with their equipment.
• Naruto shared chakra with Sasuke, who opened a Space-Time Portal to the Alternate Space.
• Naruto entered first, followed by the Sealing Squad and Sasuke, and the portal closed behind them.
• Shikaku reassured Jiraiya that Tsunade and Kakashi were with Naruto and that the Hokage could return to normal if they broke the seal.

Naruto and the Sealing Squad reached the Alternate Space and joined Tsunade, Sasuke, and the others as they investigated Naraku’s frozen condition. The Sealing Squad identified a time-based formula and proposed two approaches, but Tsunade rejected the slower, safer one, leaving the other approach to be considered.

• Sasuke brought Naruto and ten Sealing Squad ninja through a Space-Time Portal, and they found Kakashi keeping watch near the valley.
• Naruto offered to share the Nine-Tails' chakra with Naraku, but Tsunade delayed the attempt until the Sealing Squad completed its detection.
• The Sealing Squad concluded that a time-based formula had frozen Naraku’s body, stopping his heart and chakra while preserving his vitality.
• The Yamanaka jonin proposed searching for the formula as a safe way to undo it, though the process could take weeks or months.
• Tsunade rejected the slow approach because the peace in the Alternate Space might not last.

Tsunade weighed a risky plan to counteract the time seal trapping Shihōin Naraku against the slower option of studying it. Kakashi and Sasuke favored acting quickly, but Naruto warned that failure could endanger Naraku.

• The Yamanaka jonin proposed using similar sealing jutsu to clash with Naraku’s time stagnation seal, warning that the results were unpredictable and might harm him.
• Sasuke and the Yamanaka jonin explained that the seal’s flaw and the sound they had heard might give the counteracting jutsu a chance to break through.
• Tsunade asked Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto to judge the plan, and Kakashi and Sasuke favored the faster approach because the enemy might recover while they waited.
• Naruto said he did not understand sealing jutsu but feared that a failed attempt would put Big Brother Naraku in danger.

Tsunade chose the faster, riskier counteraction to undo Naraku’s sealing, despite Naruto’s objection. Just as the Sealing Squad prepared to begin, Sasuke proposed asking Kabuto Yakushi for help.

• Naruto argued that they should use the slower method to protect Naraku’s body, while Kakashi warned that their enemies might recover within weeks or months.
• Tsunade decided to use the faster counteraction and assured Naruto that she would intervene if Naraku was harmed, with Naruto ready to replenish his chakra.
• The Sealing Squad arranged the formation, and Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto took positions around Naraku.
• Sasuke stopped the preparations and told Tsunade he knew someone who might help undo the sealing.
• Sasuke named Kabuto Yakushi, prompting Naruto’s stunned recognition and Tsunade’s visible anger.

Sasuke persuaded Tsunade to let Kabuto examine the time seal trapping Shihōin Naraku, with Naruto backing his request. Sasuke reached Konoha's orphanage and found Kabuto treating an injured child.

• Sasuke argued that Kabuto had changed and was the best person to analyze the time seal, citing his skills and Sage Mode.
• Naruto supported Sasuke, and Tsunade agreed to let Kabuto examine the seal before the Sealing Squad tried its counteracting method.
• Tsunade sent Sasuke to fetch Kabuto and warned Sasuke and Naruto to keep a close eye on him.
• Naruto shared the Nine-Tails' chakra with Sasuke, who opened a portal and stepped through it.
• Sasuke arrived at the Konoha Orphanage and saw Kabuto healing a little girl's scraped arm.

Sasuke brought Kabuto to help rescue Shihōin Naraku, who had been sealed in a time-based alternate space. Kabuto revealed that he had noticed Naraku was missing before the Chunin Ninja Exams but had stayed silent, and he arrived in the alternate space ready to find the Hokage.

• Kabuto noticed Sasuke at the orphanage and deduced that something had happened to Naraku.
• Kabuto explained that he had sensed the real Hokage’s chakra disappear before the Chunin Ninja Exams and realized Jiraiya was impersonating him.
• Sasuke told Kabuto that Naraku had been sealed in an alternate space and that the Sealing Squad could not undo the seal.
• Sasuke said Tsunade had agreed to let Kabuto help, with Naruto and Sasuke instructed to keep watch over him.
• Kabuto changed into shinobi gear, said goodbye to the children, and left the orphanage with Sasuke.
• Sasuke opened a Space-Time Portal and brought Kabuto to the alternate space, where Kabuto asked where Lord Hokage was.

Kabuto examined the time-freeze seal binding Shihōin Naraku and found that the Sealing Squad’s counter-formula plan could not overcome its stability. He discovered that Naraku had already damaged the seal from within, giving the others proof that Naraku was actively trying to escape.

• Kabuto reviewed the Sealing Squad’s plan and judged its approach reasonable but said he needed to examine the seal before confirming it would work.
• Kabuto used a detection formula and Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode to study the seal on Shihōin Naraku.
• Kabuto concluded that ordinary formulas could not disrupt the powerful time-freeze seal and warned that it might take three to ten years or longer to weaken enough on its own.
• Kabuto revealed that he had found a tiny flaw in the seal and traced the damage to Naraku striking it from within.
• Kabuto explained that Naraku’s attempts to break free had consumed much of his chakra, and Naruto realized that Naraku had been searching for a way out all along.