Recaps

Uzumaki Hane and Kakuzu fought with their lava and masked-monster techniques, each trying to break through the other's defenses. Hane destroyed the heart inside Kakuzu's Fire Style masked monster, but Kakuzu's main body remained unharmed and the fight continued.

• Kakuzu unleashed his four masked monsters while Uzumaki Hane transformed his body into lava, and their opening attacks collided.
• Kakuzu's combined elemental attacks failed to break Hane's lava sphere, and his attempt to pierce it with Earth Spear was stopped by a magma arm.
• The masked monsters pressured Hane with coordinated attacks, and a blast of wind sent him crashing through trees before his lava body healed.
• Hane used Great Eruption against Kakuzu, then exploited the distraction to reach Kakuzu's Fire Style masked monster and destroy its heart.
• Kakuzu retreated and threatened to take Hane's heart, while Hane said he intended to claim Kakuzu's bounty.

Uzumaki Hane fought Kakuzu and his elemental mask monsters, enduring their combined attacks while unleashing his completed Meteor Volcano. The attack devastated the forest and left Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear trapped in magma, where Kakuzu’s voice fell silent.

• Kakuzu and his mask monsters attacked Uzumaki Hane with elemental techniques, but his magma body healed the damage and let him escape their traps.
• Kakuzu merged the Water Release and Lightning Release masks and struck Uzumaki Hane with a combined technique, but Hane emerged uninjured.
• Kakuzu bound Uzumaki Hane with tendrils and pierced him, but Hane turned into magma and survived the attack.
• Kakuzu combined Earth, Water, Wind, and Lightning techniques to send a massive wave of mud and rock and a barrage of lightning at Uzumaki Hane.
• Uzumaki Hane unleashed the completed Meteor Volcano, whose magma fists destroyed Kakuzu’s attack and devastated the forest.
• Uzumaki Hane found Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear in the magma, blocked its lunge with a Magma Wall, and trapped it as Kakuzu’s voice went silent.

Uzumaki Hane returned to the shrine maiden’s palace after defeating Kakuzu and helped Shion and Taruho deal with the attack’s casualties. A month later, construction at the volcanic crater was complete, and Hane prepared to leave while Shion resisted his departure.

• Uzumaki Hane found Kakuzu’s Akatsuki ring at the battlefield and returned to the shrine maiden’s palace, where Shion and Taruho welcomed him.
• Uzumaki Hane reassured Shion and Taruho that the intruder was dealt with, then learned that thirteen soldiers had died and many more were seriously injured.
• Danzo ordered Suzuki to take a secret letter to Orochimaru, arrange an attack on Uzumaki Hane, and investigate Orochimaru’s injuries.
• Uzumaki Hane stayed at the palace for a month, training while Shion handled the Land of Demons’ affairs with Taruho’s help.
• After hearing that the volcanic crater’s construction was complete, Uzumaki Hane went to say goodbye to Shion, but Taruho objected to her plans.

Uzumaki Hane left the Land of Demons and settled at the volcano, where he trained and struggled with missing Konoha. At Orochimaru’s base, Suzuki delivered Danzo’s request to target Uzumaki Hane, while Sasuke’s Sharingan demonstrated his growing power.

• Shion asked to accompany Uzumaki Hane, but he reminded her of her duty as priestess and promised she could visit him.
• Uzumaki Hane settled into the house beside the Sealing Shrine and absorbed flames in the crater’s magma.
• Uzumaki Hane gazed at the stars, thought of his friends in Konoha, then resumed his grueling training.
• Kabuto brought Suzuki to Orochimaru’s secret base, where Sasuke trapped Suzuki in a Genjutsu with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Suzuki gave Orochimaru Danzo’s request to deal with Uzumaki Hane, identifying him as Tsunade’s disciple.

Orochimaru ordered Guren to capture Uzumaki Hane alive so he could study Hane’s Kekkei Genkai. Guren accepted the mission and began selecting subordinates by forcing the test subjects in her base to fight each other.

• Sasuke remembered Uzumaki Hane and wondered whether his improved strength would let him defeat him.
• Orochimaru agreed to Danzo’s request and asked Kabuto to investigate Uzumaki Hane, saying he wanted to study his Kekkei Genkai.
• Kabuto went to Guren’s hidden base, where Guren attacked him with Crystal Release before recognizing him.
• Kabuto delivered Orochimaru’s order for Guren to capture Uzumaki Hane alive in the Land of Demons and told her to choose subordinates.
• Guren opened the test subjects’ cells and made them fight until corpses covered the cavern floor.

Guren recruited three subordinates for Orochimaru after killing seven who tried to escape, while Pain assigned Deidara and Sasori to recover Kakuzu’s ring and tasked them with approaching Uzumaki Hane about joining Akatsuki. Hane continued his intensive training at the volcano as Deidara and Sasori set out to find him.

• Guren led eleven surviving monsters from the base, but seven stopped and attacked her to escape Orochimaru.
• Guren trapped and killed the seven with Crystal Release, then persuaded the remaining three to become her subordinates.
• Pain told Akatsuki that Kakuzu had been killed by Uzumaki Hane and ordered Deidara and Sasori to recover his ring.
• Itachi suggested inviting Hane to join Akatsuki, and Pain assigned Deidara and Sasori to approach him as well.
• Deidara and Sasori vanished to find Hane while Hane continued his daily Taijutsu and magma training at the volcano.

Suzuki joined Guren and her three subordinates to attack Uzumaki Hane, but they found him missing from the volcanic passage where he usually trained. Guren led the group out to wait for him, while Suzuki wondered whether Hane had entered the magma.

• After leaving Orochimaru's base, Suzuki reported what he had seen to Danzo and traveled to the Land of Demons to watch Uzumaki Hane.
• Suzuki spent three days secretly investigating Hane's whereabouts and watched him from a distance, while Hane sensed a hidden observer but could not find him.
• When Guren and three subordinates arrived, Suzuki proposed capturing the priestess to threaten Hane, but Guren insisted on going straight to Hane's location.
• Suzuki led Guren's group to the Sealing Shrine, where they entered the passage leading toward the volcano's crater.
• At the magma platform, Guren found Hane missing and threatened Suzuki, who explained that Hane usually trained there and suggested waiting for him outside.
• As the group left the passage, Suzuki wondered whether Hane had gone into the magma, then dismissed the possibility and followed the others.

Uzumaki Hane returned from training in the magma and confronted Guren’s group, learning that Orochimaru had sent her to capture him. Their battle began with Guren’s Crystal Release attacks and Hane’s magma techniques, while Suzuki was wounded and Guren’s two subordinates transformed into monsters.

• Suzuki suggested capturing the shrine maiden of the Land of Demons to force Uzumaki Hane to appear, and Guren sent Gozu to seize her.
• Uzumaki Hane hid in the magma, overheard Guren’s group waiting for him, and emerged to confront them.
• Guren revealed that Orochimaru wanted Hane captured, and she attacked him with Crystal Shuriken.
• Uzumaki Hane blocked and dodged Guren’s attacks before countering with magma fists and Lava Shuriken.
• Suzuki was struck repeatedly and fell, while Guren’s two subordinates transformed and one fired a cannon shell at Hane.

Uzumaki Hane defeated Guren’s two monster subordinates and killed Suzuki, then found himself trapped in Guren’s crystal barrier. Guren sent six clones to attack him, and the chapter ended as Hane struck one attacker from behind.

• Uzumaki Hane grabbed and killed the bone-blade monster with lava, then evaded the cannon-bearing monster’s shots and defeated it with two punches.
• Guren watched the fight through her crystal technique, activated a one-kilometer crystal maze, and created six clones.
• Uzumaki Hane questioned Suzuki, learned that Shion had been kidnapped, and burned Suzuki alive after deciding he could find their leader without him.
• Uzumaki Hane sensed Guren’s barrier and exchanged attacks with her, blocking her crystal blade with Lava Shuriken.
• A second Guren attacked Hane from behind, but he ducked and kicked her before turning to face her.

Uzumaki Hane fought Guren’s crystal clones inside the barrier, using his magma abilities to destroy several while surviving their attacks. Guren’s true body watched from outside and vowed to capture him alive as two remaining clones attacked him in midair.

• Uzumaki Hane let a Guren clone stab his chest, then pierced her with his magma arm and melted the crystal blade.
• A second clone severed Uzumaki Hane’s arm, but he regenerated it behind a magma wall and smashed the clone with Lava Super Heavy Fist.
• Guren sent more clones after Uzumaki Hane, who destroyed one with a magma fist and another by appearing behind her as his body turned to magma.
• Guren’s true body watched from outside the barrier and said she would leave Uzumaki Hane breathing for Orochimaru.
• Three clones attacked with crystal shuriken and pillars, but Uzumaki Hane sheltered in a magma sphere, pierced one clone with a magma spike, and dodged the pillars.
• Two remaining Guren clones leaped at Uzumaki Hane in midair from opposite sides with crystal blades.

Uzumaki Hane broke free of Guren’s crystal barrier and fought her in a fierce battle of lava and crystal techniques. Their giant dragons devastated the surrounding area, and Guren’s crystal pillars knocked Uzumaki Hane’s lava dragon off balance.

• Uzumaki Hane killed Guren’s remaining clones and shattered her crystal barrier with Great Eruption.
• Uzumaki Hane charged Guren, smashed her crystal shuriken, and broke through her crystal pillars and blades.
• Guren summoned a crystal dragon and attacked Uzumaki Hane, who countered by creating a giant lava dragon.
• Uzumaki Hane and Guren’s dragons collided repeatedly, destroying the surrounding trees and Uzumaki Hane’s house as the lava dragon began melting the crystal dragon.
• Guren used Jade Crystal Labyrinth Technique to send crystal pillars beneath Uzumaki Hane’s lava dragon and knock it off balance.

Uzumaki Hane defeated and captured Guren after surviving her crystal attacks, then hurried toward the Land of Demons. Meanwhile, Gozu stormed the shrine maiden’s palace to capture her but fought his way through the guards without finding her.

• Guren pinned Uzumaki Hane’s lava dragon and repeatedly attacked him with crystal techniques, but he shattered her crystal dragon with Great Eruption.
• Guren pierced Uzumaki Hane’s chest and sealed him in crystal, but he healed and melted his way out.
• With her Chakra depleted, Guren failed to stop Uzumaki Hane’s lava fist, and he knocked her unconscious and carried her toward the Land of Demons.
• Gozu arrived at the shrine maiden’s palace, knocked out the guards at the gate, and smashed his way inside.
• Gozu questioned a soldier about the shrine maiden, then pushed deeper into the palace while dodging and fighting the guards.

Shion faced Gozu, an intruder sent by Lady Guren to capture her, and defeated him with her shrine maiden powers. After ordering Taruho to interrogate Gozu, she agreed to send word to Uzumaki Hane and ask him to return.

• Gozu fought his way through the soldiers outside Shion's palace and announced that he had come on Lady Guren's orders to capture Shion.
• Shion came outside, stopped the soldiers from continuing to attack Gozu, and told them to let her handle him.
• Gozu charged at Shion, but she used a glowing pattern and an incantation to bind him and make him fall helplessly to the ground.
• Shion ordered Taruho to take Gozu inside for interrogation and asked what Uzumaki Hane would think when he heard she had defeated the intruder.
• Taruho offered to inform Uzumaki Hane and ask him to return; Shion agreed, saying she did not want him to get hurt.

Uzumaki Hane returned to the shrine maiden's palace and found that Shion had captured Gozu, while he brought back the unconscious Guren. Shion sealed Guren, who woke unable to move and asked Uzumaki Hane what he wanted.

• Uzumaki Hane arrived at the palace, learned Shion had captured an intruder, and hurried to the main hall.
• Uzumaki Hane recognized Gozu and dropped the unconscious Guren beside him, while Gozu anxiously called to his mistress.
• Uzumaki Hane praised Shion for capturing Gozu, then asked her to seal Guren as well.
• Shion used a Sealing Jutsu on Guren and briefly suffered from the effort of controlling her power.
• Guren woke, realized that she and Gozu had been sealed, and asked Uzumaki Hane what he wanted.

Uzumaki Hane questioned the captured Guren and Gozu about Orochimaru, then recruited Gozu after learning why he was loyal to Guren. He offered to release Guren in exchange for Orochimaru’s base location, but she refused to betray him.

• Shion restrained Guren when she insulted Orochimaru, and Uzumaki Hane explained Orochimaru’s history and strength to her.
• Uzumaki Hane offered to release Guren and Gozu if they answered his questions, but Guren refused to reveal anything about Orochimaru.
• Gozu offered to become Uzumaki Hane’s subordinate if he released Guren, and he explained the history behind his loyalty to her.
• Uzumaki Hane trusted Gozu, and Shion released his restraints; Gozu knelt and accepted Uzumaki Hane as his lord.
• Uzumaki Hane promised to release Guren if she told him Orochimaru’s base location, but Guren refused.

Uzumaki Hane released Guren in exchange for Gozu’s loyalty and assigned him to protect Shion. While Uzumaki Hane spent a happy afternoon shopping with Shion, Guren stayed nearby to plan another attack, and Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara arrived in search of Uzumaki Hane.

• Uzumaki Hane ordered Shion to release Guren, and Guren escaped after deciding to seek another chance to capture him.
• Uzumaki Hane warned Gozu to remain loyal, then made him Shion’s bodyguard.
• Guren stayed in a nearby town and began gathering information on Uzumaki Hane’s weaknesses.
• Uzumaki Hane accompanied Shion on an afternoon shopping trip before they returned to the palace.
• Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara entered the Land of Demons to find Uzumaki Hane, with Deidara claiming he would defeat him.

Guren discovered Deidara and Sasori were seeking Uzumaki Hane and tried to approach them about cooperating. After they attacked her clones, Deidara pursued Guren, and she fought back as their battle continued in the air.

• Guren spotted Deidara and Sasori in town and secretly followed them as they asked about Uzumaki Hane.
• White explosive spiders exposed Guren, and she used a Jade Crystal Clone to confront Deidara and Sasori.
• Deidara destroyed Guren's clone with explosive clay birds, while the real Guren watched from a distance and decided to seek cooperation.
• Guren sent another clone to propose working together, but Deidara blew it apart and took to the sky on a giant clay bird.
• Deidara caught up with the real Guren, who countered his explosive birds with crystal shuriken and attacked his giant bird with crystal pillars.

Guren fled Deidara’s explosions toward the shrine maiden’s palace, hoping to use Uzumaki Hane against him and seize her chance to complete Orochimaru’s mission. As Deidara attacked the palace, Uzumaki Hane recognized the danger and struck at his bird with a fist of lava.

• Guren survived Deidara’s explosions inside a multifaceted crystal, then escaped toward the palace while Deidara pursued her from the sky.
• Guren reached the palace and rushed inside, drawing the guards’ alarm as she tried to attract Uzumaki Hane’s attention.
• Shion set out to investigate the intruder, while Uzumaki Hane told Gozu to protect her and sensed Guren nearby.
• Deidara blasted palace guards from his bird, and Uzumaki Hane punched a fist of lava through the bird, causing it to explode.

Uzumaki Hane fought Deidara, who had come to take Kakuzu's ring, using magma attacks against Deidara's explosive clay. The fight continued as Deidara detonated Clay Spiders against Uzumaki Hane's enlarged arm.

• Deidara landed on a rooftop after Uzumaki Hane's surprise attack and recognized him as his target.
• Uzumaki Hane showed Deidara Kakuzu's ring, identified him as an Akatsuki member, and sent Gozu and the soldiers away from the fight.
• Deidara attacked with Clay Spiders, birds, ants, and multiplying clay dolls, while Uzumaki Hane countered with magma and lava weapons.
• Deidara detonated two clay dolls in a blast that engulfed Uzumaki Hane, but Uzumaki Hane burst from the dust and charged him.
• Uzumaki Hane hurled a lava javelin at Deidara and swung his enlarged right arm, as Deidara sent Clay Spiders toward him and detonated them.

Uzumaki Hane survived Deidara’s explosive attacks and drew him away from the shrine maiden’s palace. Guren failed to capture Shion after Gozu stood in her way, then pursued Uzumaki Hane to capture him while he fought Deidara.

• Deidara’s clay dolls and spiders exploded around Uzumaki Hane, but Hane protected himself with a sphere of lava and escaped the blasts.
• Uzumaki Hane struck at Deidara with a lava javelin, then fled the palace to draw Deidara away from Shion.
• Guren rushed toward Shion to capture her, but Gozu blocked her and let her stab him rather than fight her.
• Shion attacked Guren with Chakra tentacles, and Guren retreated after crystallizing Gozu’s wound to stop the bleeding.
• Shion healed Gozu, while Guren followed Uzumaki Hane and Deidara, hoping to capture Hane during their fight.

Uzumaki Hane and Deidara fought through repeated explosions and close-range attacks, with Hane’s magma abilities and regeneration keeping him in the battle. Deidara took to the air on his C2 Dragon and climbed higher after Hane’s long-range lava javelin nearly struck him.

• Deidara’s explosive bird blasted Uzumaki Hane into a crater, but Hane regenerated his destroyed right arm and charged at him.
• Uzumaki Hane pressed Deidara with enormous magma fists, forcing him to retreat until Deidara’s Clay Spiders gave him a chance to escape.
• Deidara summoned his C2 Dragon, and its small clay dragons exploded against Hane as the two continued fighting.
• A small clay dragon blasted Uzumaki Hane into a tree, allowing Deidara to fly upward on the C2 Dragon.
• Uzumaki Hane survived another explosion and hurled a gigantic lava javelin at the C2 Dragon, but Deidara narrowly dodged it and flew higher.

Uzumaki Hane and Deidara continued their fierce battle, trading lava attacks and explosive clay techniques. After surviving Deidara’s Clay Clone explosion and striking the real Deidara, Hane faced him as he prepared another attack, while Guren watched from a distance, shaken by the blasts.

• Deidara sent explosive clay dragons at Uzumaki Hane, who used lava fists and a lava sphere to withstand their attacks.
• Deidara drove Hane into a field of land mines and bombarded him from the air, but Hane answered with Great Eruption and destroyed the white dragon.
• Deidara attacked Hane with an explosive giant bird, then used a Clay Clone that wrapped around Hane’s arm and exploded, destroying his right arm.
• Uzumaki Hane regenerated, burst from the smoke, and punched Deidara, burning his arm with the heat of the magma.
• Deidara declared that his art would win and began eating clay again, while Guren watched from afar after fleeing the explosions.

Deidara and Uzumaki Hane fought through a series of explosive techniques, clones, and deceptions, with both fighters exhausting their Chakra. As Uzumaki Hane closed in, Deidara ate another lump of clay and prepared to unleash one more ultimate technique.

• Deidara escaped Uzumaki Hane's magma attacks, ate clay, and used a giant clay construct and C4 to cover the forest in microscopic bombs.
• Uzumaki Hane survived by hiding near Deidara and revealing that the figure destroyed by C4 had been a clone, then struck Deidara from behind.
• Deidara revealed that his apparent body was a Clay Clone and trapped Uzumaki Hane, but the bird's explosion damaged Deidara while Hane returned to his original form.
• Uzumaki Hane punched Deidara into a tree, and Deidara realized he was too depleted to retrieve the ring and needed to escape.
• Deidara announced another ultimate art and ate a lump of clay.

Uzumaki Hane survived Deidara’s explosion but was badly hurt and found Guren unconscious, so he carried her away from the battlefield. When he failed to return to the palace, Shion defied Taruho and Gozu to search for him, then joined Taruho’s search party after soldiers reported finding the battlefield but no trace of him.

• Deidara’s explosion knocked Uzumaki Hane unconscious, and he later realized Deidara might still be alive and Sasori of the Red Sand had not appeared.
• Uzumaki Hane found the injured Guren and carried her away from the battlefield before Sasori of the Red Sand arrived and searched for Deidara.
• Soldiers sent by Taruho found the devastated battlefield but could not locate Uzumaki Hane.
• Shion restrained Taruho and Gozu with her Sealing Jutsu and set out to find Uzumaki Hane, but a soldier’s report led her to release them.
• Taruho organized a search party and led Shion and the soldiers to the battlefield, where they searched for Uzumaki Hane while Shion remained worried.

After escaping Sasori of the Red Sand with the injured Guren, Uzumaki Hane recovered and returned to the palace, where Shion and the soldiers had been searching for him. He realized Akatsuki would attack again and resolved to separate Deidara and Sasori so he could defeat them one at a time.

• Uzumaki Hane used a sudden downpour to hide his tracks, sheltered with the feverish Guren in a tree hollow, and replenished his Chakra.
• Guren woke the next morning, and Uzumaki Hane let her leave after she promised to repay him.
• Uzumaki Hane found the palace soldiers searching the battlefield, then reunited with a tearful Shion and returned to the palace with her and Taruho.
• Uzumaki Hane rested while the palace was repaired, then reflected that Akatsuki would return and planned to separate Deidara and Sasori in their next encounter.