Having been unable to retrieve Sasuke, the ninja of the Leaf Village began their return journey. Tsunade, however, dispatched Katsuyu to deliver urgent news: the barrier surrounding Mount Katsunagi, erected by the Tsuchigumo Clan to contain…

Naruto, Sai, and Yamato led Hotaru to the secluded village of the Tsuchigumo Clan. Yet, their arrival was met with a palpable disquiet from the villagers. Meanwhile, Utakata, lost in recollection of their shared moments, found himself confr…

Returning to the Tsuchigumo Clan village, Naruto was unaware that Akaboshi and his companions had located Hotaru with the assistance of her uncle. Though she managed to flee, the ninja bandits quickly encircled her within the forest. Just a…

Naruto, Sai, and Yamato arrived to rescue Hotaru and Utakata from the assailants, discovering them to be Anbu operatives from the Hidden Mist Village. Yamato sought to negotiate with the head of the Mist Anbu, Tsurugi, alone. Following thei…

Naruto and his companions – Hotaru and Utakata – returned to Mount Katsuragi to strategize their next course of action. Tonbei disclosed a method to sever the forbidden jutsu from Hotaru’s body, rendering the technique powerless. Hotaru dec…

Naruto located Shiranami, only to find the individual before him was a deceptive imitation – one of the bandit ninjas in disguise. Meanwhile, Hotaru discovered the true Shiranami, who persuaded her to forgo the removal of the forbidden juts…

As the rest of Team Kakashi engaged the possessed villagers and ninja bandits, Naruto and Utakata pressed on toward Hotaru. They located her to find that Shiranami had initiated the technique, and Hotaru was now also under her influence. Co…

The aftermath of the forbidden technique left Hotaru aghast at the devastation it wrought. Shiranami, observing the uncontrolled surge of chakra emanating from the jutsu, realized its self-destructive nature – a force poised to obliterate b…