Recaps

Jiraiya took Naruto away to train while Kabuto led Yukimaru from Orochimaru's base, and Sasuke watched them leave. Uzumaki Hane and Gozu reached the hidden base where Gozu had been experimented on, as Tsunade sent Kakashi, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata to search for a missing Anbu ninja who had found Orochimaru's base.

• Jiraiya told Naruto he would take him away to train, and they set off the next day.
• Kabuto took Yukimaru out of Orochimaru's base while Sasuke watched and prepared to make his move.
• Uzumaki Hane met Gozu, who confirmed that Shion was well and offered to lead him to the experimental base.
• Tsunade learned that an Anbu ninja who had found Orochimaru's base had gone missing and assigned Kakashi, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata to search for him.
• Three days later, Uzumaki Hane and Gozu reached the concealed base where Gozu had been held as a test subject.

Uzumaki Hane and Gozu tracked Guren and the test subjects from the abandoned base, where rebellious subjects turned on Guren. Hane confronted her and the group, and the chapter ended as he pierced a bone-spiked monster with his lava-covered hand.

• Uzumaki Hane and Gozu found the base littered with fresh corpses and set off to catch those who had left.
• Guren led the test subjects through the forest while a dozen of them fell behind and plotted to escape by killing her.
• Seven test subjects transformed and challenged Guren, but Uzumaki Hane appeared before she could attack.
• Hane asked Guren where Orochimaru was, and she refused and prepared to fight.
• A bone-spiked monster and a man with a cannon attacked Hane, who dodged the shell and pierced the monster's chest with his lava-covered hand.

Uzumaki Hane killed the attacking test subjects with ease after they tried to overwhelm him. The long-haired monster pretended to surrender, then launched a surprise attack with hair bursting from beneath Uzumaki Hane.

• Uzumaki Hane killed the bone-spiked monster, prompting the other test subjects to attack him together.
• Uzumaki Hane dodged the cannon monster's shells and killed several test subjects while Guren watched with her allies.
• Uzumaki Hane pursued the fleeing monsters, killing the snake-scaled monster and smashing the clawed monster into a pit.
• The long-haired monster begged Uzumaki Hane to spare him, then revealed his deception and attacked with hair erupting from underground.

Uzumaki Hane defeated Guren and her subordinates, then secretly followed them with Gozu to locate Orochimaru. Meanwhile, Jiraiya received a message and left Naruto, who returned to the village after finding his letter.

• Uzumaki Hane killed the long-haired monster and asked Guren where Orochimaru was, but she refused to betray him.
• Guren and her seven subordinates attacked Uzumaki Hane, who quickly defeated them and shattered her Crystal Dragon Jutsu.
• Uzumaki Hane told Gozu they were leaving, then returned after Guren’s group departed and followed them to find Orochimaru.
• Jiraiya received a message, decided not to tell Naruto about it, and left him a letter instructing him to return to the village.
• Naruto found Jiraiya gone, stayed at an inn, and returned to the village the next morning.

Naruto returned to the village and was assigned to reinforce Kakashi after Kakashi's team encountered Orochimaru's subordinates. Guren's group trapped Kakashi's team in thick smoke, and a massive attacker struck Kakashi while his teammates struggled to see.

• Naruto returned to the village, met Sakura and Sai, and went with them to Ichiraku Ramen.
• Tsunade summoned Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato and ordered them to support Kakashi, whose team had encountered Orochimaru's subordinates.
• Kakashi led Kiba, Shino and Hinata through the forest while Guren's group lured them away from Orochimaru's base.
• Guren used a crystal ball to watch Kakashi's team and prepared a barrier to trap them.
• An enemy filled the forest with thick smoke, ambushed Kakashi and sent him flying, while Kiba, Shino and Hinata called out to him.

Guren trapped the fighters inside a vast crystal barrier and sent her clones after Kakashi, who used Shadow Clones to study her abilities. As the battle continued and Hinata was injured, Kakashi identified the barrier and prepared to face Guren seriously.

• Guren activated Jade Crystal Maze Technique, surrounding the forest with a one-kilometer crystal barrier, then created six clones with Jade Crystal Clone.
• Kiba and Akamaru dispersed the fog, allowing Kakashi to turn the fight against Guren’s subordinates with Phoenix Flower Jutsu.
• Guren attacked Kakashi with her crystal blades, but he and Guren each revealed that the opponent they had struck was a Shadow Clone.
• Nurari knocked Hinata into a tree and charged to finish her, but Kiba and Akamaru drove him back with Fang Over Fang.
• Kakashi emerged from behind a tree, explained that he had noticed Guren was using a clone and that the fighters were trapped inside a barrier, then put away his book.
• Guren formed a crystal blade in each hand and launched another attack on Kakashi.

Kiba and Hinata fought Nurari, but Hinata was badly injured after her attacks failed. Elsewhere, Kakashi battled Guren’s clones inside her barrier and faced a new attack from the remaining three.

• Kiba and Akamaru charged Nurari, but he easily knocked them away before Hinata attacked him with Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Chapters.
• Nurari struck Hinata and sent her crashing into a tree, where she spat out blood.
• Kakashi pierced one of Guren’s clones with Chidori, but it shattered into crystal particles, and Guren attacked him with more clones and crystal techniques.
• Kakashi trapped and defeated another Guren clone, then taunted Guren by saying it was the third one.
• The three remaining Guren clones launched crystal shuriken, but Kakashi’s Great Waterfall Technique swept them away before they summoned crystal pillars above him.

Kakashi and his team fought Guren’s clones and subordinates inside her crystal barrier while Uzumaki Hane arrived to confront Guren outside. The barrier shattered, and Hane began fighting Guren as Kakashi’s team was freed.

• Guren summoned crystal pillars against Kakashi’s team, but Kakashi and the others dodged them.
• Kakashi destroyed several Guren clones, and Hinata helped defeat one that attacked him from behind.
• Kakashi led Hinata, Kiba, and Shino against Guren’s remaining subordinates while Guren prepared another technique inside the barrier.
• Uzumaki Hane interrupted Guren’s seals with a lava fist, and the crystal barrier cracked and shattered.
• Hane confronted Guren, who attacked him with a Giant Hexagonal Shuriken.

Naruto and his allies broke through Guren’s crystal barrier and reunited with Kakashi, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba. They headed toward a distant battle, where they saw Uzumaki Hane and Guren facing off atop enormous lava and crystal dragons.

• Naruto summoned Gamakichi and Gamatatsu, and Gamatatsu combined his water with Naruto’s wind-nature Chakra to shatter the crystal barrier.
• Naruto and Yamato reunited with Hinata, Kakashi, Shino, and Kiba, while Sai and Sakura joined them.
• After a distant explosion, Kakashi led the group toward the battle so they could capture the fleeing enemies and learn where Orochimaru was.
• Guren attacked Uzumaki Hane with crystal techniques, but he crushed her shuriken and broke through her defenses with lava.
• Guren summoned a crystal dragon, while Uzumaki Hane formed a lava dragon, and the two faced each other atop their dragons.

Guren and Uzumaki Hane fought with giant crystal and lava dragons while Kakashi's group battled Guren's subordinates. After Kakashi helped shatter Guren's crystal dragon, Hane attacked her directly, but she survived his lava strike and he continued pounding her crystal defenses with repeated lava fists.

• Guren and Uzumaki Hane resumed their dragon battle as Kakashi's group and Guren's subordinates arrived and split into separate fights.
• Guren used Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Labyrinth Technique to pin the lava dragon and destroy it, while Naruto's shadow clones pushed Rinji's group back.
• Kakashi pierced Guren's crystal dragon, and Uzumaki Hane shattered it with Great Eruption, forcing Guren to leap clear.
• Guren survived Hane's next Great Eruption with Crystal Release: Piercing Crystal Falling Dragon and fired a beam through his chest, but his lava body healed instantly.
• Uzumaki Hane unleashed a barrage of lava fists against the crystal encasing Guren.

Naruto and Kakashi’s team defeated Nurari, Rinji, and the other enemies, while Uzumaki Hane fought Guren and discovered she had escaped using a clone. Kakashi and Uzumaki Hane left to search for Guren, who woke beneath a tree beside Tobi and accused him of ambushing her.

• Naruto struck Nurari with a Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, leaving him unable to move.
• Kakashi defeated Rinji with Chidori, and Yamato bound the fallen enemies with wooden strips.
• Uzumaki Hane shattered Guren’s crystal blades and pierced her, only for her body to break apart as a crystal clone.
• Kakashi and Uzumaki Hane left to find Guren while Naruto, Yamato, and the others stayed behind to guard the prisoners and seek clues about Orochimaru.
• Guren woke beside Tobi, sprang away on guard, and accused him of ambushing her after he claimed he had saved her from Uzumaki Hane.

Guren encountered Tobi and discovered that her attacks passed harmlessly through him before he vanished. She then joined Kabuto Yakushi and Yukimaru in Orochimaru’s plan, which drew the Three-Tails to them at sea.

• Guren attacked Tobi with her Crystal Release, but he repeatedly phased through her strikes, kicked her into a tree, and disappeared as someone approached.
• Kabuto Yakushi found Guren with Yukimaru, and Guren demanded to know what Orochimaru had planned.
• Kabuto Yakushi told Guren that the plan required her and Yukimaru to work together, and Yukimaru asked Guren whether she liked red or white camellias.
• Kabuto Yakushi led Guren and Yukimaru through the fog to a boat, then made Yukimaru put on a helmet and swallow a large quantity of pills.
• Yukimaru writhed in pain as the water churned, and the Three-Tails rose from the sea and fixed its gaze on him.

Uzumaki Hane and Kakashi sensed a vast, dangerous Chakra and hurried toward its source, where Guren and Kabuto Yakushi were trying to control the Three-Tails with Yukimaru’s power. As the Three-Tails rampaged, Yamato’s group left a Wood Clone behind and headed toward the beast.

• Uzumaki Hane told Kakashi he had sensed another presence that might have taken Guren, and Kakashi warned him that Tobi was dangerous and might belong to the Uchiha Clan.
• Uzumaki Hane and Kakashi heard a beast’s roar and sensed Chakra as powerful as the Nine-Tails’ before rushing toward it.
• Guren and Kabuto Yakushi found the Three-Tails, but Yukimaru collapsed when he could not suppress the beast.
• Guren fought the Three-Tails with Crystal Release while Kabuto Yakushi summoned a giant python to distract it, allowing Guren to trap it in a crystal labyrinth.
• Shino sensed the Three-Tails’ unusual Chakra, and Yamato created a Wood Clone to guard the others’ position before leading the group toward it.

Guren and Kabuto sealed the Three-Tails, but it broke free and attacked them and Yukimaru. Uzumaki Hane and Kakashi arrived in time to save Yukimaru, and Hane began fighting the beast.

• Uzumaki Hane and Kakashi reached the shore while Tobi avoided them and continued toward the Three-Tails.
• Guren sealed the Three-Tails in crystal, and Yukimaru woke aboard the boat.
• The Three-Tails shattered the crystal seal, struck Guren into the water, and pursued Kabuto and Yukimaru.
• Guren tried to stop the Three-Tails, but it defeated her and swept Kabuto and Yukimaru into the water.
• As the Three-Tails moved to attack Yukimaru, Uzumaki Hane struck it with a lava fist and Kakashi took Yukimaru to safety.
• Uzumaki Hane charged the Three-Tails and struck it with an enlarged right hand, making it stagger.

Uzumaki Hane fought the Three-Tails and rescued Naruto after a huge wave swept Naruto and his companions into the sea. As Naruto and Hane searched the coast for the others, Tobi found the Three-Tails and prepared to capture it.

• Yamato led Naruto and the others toward a bank of fog, where a huge wave swallowed them.
• Uzumaki Hane struck the Three-Tails with Canine Red Lotus and Great Eruption, driving it beneath the sea.
• The Three-Tails attacked Hane from underwater, but Hane dodged and blasted it back to the seabed again.
• Uzumaki Hane found Naruto drifting in the water, pulled him out, and learned that the wave had swept away the others.
• Naruto and Hane split up to search the coast for their companions.
• Tobi watched the Three-Tails surface from a hidden tree and began spinning his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

After the Three-Tails vanished, Kabuto Yakushi and Guren searched for Yukimaru while Uzumaki Hane and Kakashi’s team regrouped and decided to protect him and seal the beast before Orochimaru or the Akatsuki could capture it. The chapter ended with Kabuto and Guren locating Yukimaru with Konoha’s ninja and planning a cautious rescue.

• Kabuto Yakushi and Guren washed ashore after the Three-Tails disappeared, argued over the failed plan, and split up to search for Yukimaru.
• Uzumaki Hane and Naruto reunited with Kakashi’s team, who had found the unconscious Yukimaru.
• Uzumaki Hane explained that Yukimaru could control the Three-Tails, and Yamato warned that Orochimaru might intend to make him a Jinchūriki.
• Naruto vowed not to let Yukimaru become a Jinchūriki, while Kakashi’s team agreed to protect Yukimaru and seal the Three-Tails before Orochimaru or the Akatsuki captured it.
• Yamato built a wooden house so the team could rest and discuss their next move.
• Kabuto Yakushi told Guren that Konoha’s ninja had captured Yukimaru, and they planned to approach quietly and rescue him.

Uzumaki Hane left to investigate the Three-Tails’ roar, giving Kabuto Yakushi and Guren a chance to attack the house where Yukimaru was being guarded. Kakashi and the others fought off Guren’s crystal barrage and engaged the six Gurens in a battle that remained unresolved.

• After hearing the Three-Tails roar, Uzumaki Hane went to investigate while Naruto and the others stayed behind to guard Yukimaru.
• Kabuto Yakushi and Guren waited until Uzumaki Hane was gone, then planned to use Guren’s crystal barrier to seize Yukimaru.
• Yamato, Kakashi, Shino, and Akamaru sensed the attackers, and Kakashi and Yamato led the others outside while Hinata and Sakura protected Yukimaru.
• Guren and five other Gurens launched crystal Shuriken at Kakashi and the others, but Yamato shielded them with Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall.
• Kakashi and the others emerged unharmed and charged the six Gurens, beginning a fierce fight.

Uzumaki Hane fought Tobi and the Three-Tails, while Kakashi’s team battled Guren’s Jade Crystal Clones and tried to stop Kabuto Yakushi from escaping with Yukimaru. The chapter left Kabuto fleeing with Yukimaru as Kakashi destroyed two of Guren’s clones.

• Uzumaki Hane attacked Tobi, fought the Three-Tails, and struck Tobi into the sea, but Tobi later hit him into the water.
• Tobi phased through the Three-Tails’ charge and knocked the beast back into the sea before Uzumaki Hane resurfaced and punched him into the water.
• Kabuto Yakushi burst out of the house carrying the unconscious Yukimaru, and Sakura and Hinata pursued him after Kakashi ordered them to stop him.
• Sakura smashed trees while attacking Kabuto Yakushi, but he escaped with Yukimaru, and Hinata chased after them.
• Kakashi used Lightning Release: Chidori to destroy two of Guren’s Jade Crystal Clones.

Uzumaki Hane and Tobi fought across the sea while the Three-Tails attacked them, and Hane searched for both after they vanished beneath the water. Elsewhere, Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru defeated the Guren clones, but Kabuto Yakushi escaped with Yukimaru, prompting Sakura and Hinata to pursue them.

• Uzumaki Hane punched Tobi into the sea, then struck the charging Three-Tails and slammed him beneath the water.
• Uzumaki Hane and Tobi fought on the Three-Tails' back, and Hane hurled the beast and Tobi into the sea.
• Tobi phased through Uzumaki Hane's attacks, struck him, and used the Three-Tails to attack before Hane punched Tobi into the water.
• Uzumaki Hane searched the sea for Tobi and the Three-Tails but found no trace of them.
• Kakashi, Yamato, Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru destroyed the remaining Guren clones while Kabuto Yakushi escaped with Yukimaru.
• Hinata used her Byakugan to follow Kabuto Yakushi, then joined Sakura in pursuing him.

Naruto’s team found Sakura and Hinata after Kabuto escaped with Rinji, while Yamato revealed he could track Yukimaru using a seed. Elsewhere, Uzumaki Hane fought the Three-Tails as Tobi was summoned to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

• Kakashi’s group discovered the barrier was gone, and Yamato lost contact with his Wood Clone as they hurried toward Sakura and Hinata.
• Uzumaki Hane pursued the Three-Tails and struck it with Great Eruption, but the beast recovered and attacked again.
• Naruto’s team found Sakura and Hinata with the prisoners, but Rinji and Kabuto Yakushi had escaped.
• Sakura and Hinata explained that Kabuto had ambushed Yamato’s Wood Clone and left with Rinji; Yamato said he could track Yukimaru using a seed.
• Tobi complained after being summoned to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Pain ordered the gathered members to begin.

Kakashi found Uzumaki Hane fighting the Three-Tails and learned that Tobi had vanished after battling Hane. They suspected Tobi had gone to help seal another Tailed Beast and hurried to stop him, while Yamato’s team resumed its pursuit of Kabuto Yakushi after sheltering from the rain.

• Kakashi split the group into two teams, sending one to find Uzumaki Hane and the other to pursue Kabuto Yakushi and rescue Yukimaru.
• Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino reached the shore as waves from Hane’s battle with the Three-Tails swept them into the sea.
• Uzumaki Hane struck the Three-Tails down with Great Eruption, then told Kakashi that Tobi had fought the beast before suddenly disappearing.
• Kakashi and Uzumaki Hane suspected Tobi had gone to help seal another Tailed Beast and set off to find him.
• Yamato’s team sheltered from the rain in a cave, where they noticed a bat spying on them; after it flew away, they continued pursuing Kabuto Yakushi.

Uzumaki Hane split off to search for Tobi while Kakashi's team went to join Yamato and rescue Yukimaru. Yamato's group ambushed Kabuto's forces, and the chapter left Yamato and Guren locked in battle as the other fights began.

• Uzumaki Hane decided to search for Tobi alone, while Kakashi, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba headed to meet Yamato's group.
• Sai detected Kabuto Yakushi, Guren, Rinji, and two unknown ninja waiting in ambush near the unconscious Yukimaru.
• Yamato assigned each teammate an opponent and ordered them to attack on his signal.
• Yamato, Sakura, Sai, and Naruto launched their attack, with Naruto using Shadow Clones to engage the two unknown ninja and reach Yukimaru.
• Guren countered Yamato's wooden attacks with crystal techniques and fired a barrage of crystal Shuriken at him.

Guren and Yamato fought fiercely, trading Crystal Release and Wood and Earth Release techniques without either gaining the advantage. Sakura battled Kabuto Yakushi elsewhere, while Naruto defeated the two unknown ninja with a surprise Rasengan attack.

• Guren and Yamato exchanged attacks, and Yamato escaped Guren’s crystal traps using Wood Release and substitutions.
• Guren turned Yamato’s water torrent into a crystal dragon, but Yamato restrained it with wooden slats and dodged her falling crystal pillars.
• Guren protected herself from Yamato’s earthen spears with Crystal Release: Crimson Fruit and questioned how he possessed Wood Release.
• Sakura and Kabuto Yakushi fought to a stalemate as their battle carried them farther into the forest.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clones surrounded the two unknown ninja, who dispersed the clones with coordinated Earth and Water Release techniques.
• Naruto surprised the two ninja with two Rasengan attacks, sending them crashing into a tree.

Naruto and the others failed to stop Rinji from taking Yukimaru, so they pursued him through the forest. They met Kakashi’s team and continued after Yukimaru, who Yamato sensed was still nearby.

• Naruto knocked out two ninjas with Rasengan, then tried to help Sai against Rinji but was caught and thrown into Sai’s ink animals.
• Rinji took Yukimaru and fled as Guren used crystal Shuriken to hold off Yamato; Naruto and Sai broke free too late to stop them.
• Yamato persuaded Naruto to regroup with Sakura, and the four of them set off after Rinji and Guren.
• After half a day of pursuit, Yamato’s team met Kakashi, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba; Kakashi said Uzumaki Hane had gone after Tobi.
• Kakashi said he had injured Guren, and Yamato sensed Yukimaru was nearby, so the group continued the pursuit.

Guren took the sick Yukimaru to a cabin while Yamato and the others were caught in an explosive-tag trap during their pursuit. After Kabuto Yakushi ordered Guren to wait a day, Kakashi’s team regrouped and decided to split up to search for Orochimaru’s subordinates and the Three-Tails.

• Yukimaru collapsed with a fever, so Guren carried him to a cabin and stayed by his side.
• Yamato found the seed he had left on Yukimaru, but an explosive-tag trap detonated around the group; Kakashi used his Sharingan to protect everyone and exhausted himself.
• Kabuto Yakushi and Rinji found Guren, and Kabuto ordered her to care for Yukimaru while he and Rinji searched for the Three-Tails.
• Kakashi’s team searched the blast site but found no sign of the enemy, then stopped to rest and discuss their next move.
• After considering suggestions from Sakura, Kiba, Yamato, and Sai, Kakashi decided that the team would split into two groups.