Volume 2 (Sasuke Retsuden)

This is volume 2 of the Sasuke Retsuden manga.

## Chapter 6
" Chapter 6 " Part 1

Sasuke tries to make sense of the rocks and chickens being kept in Zansūru 's secret basement, but he's interrupted by the sound of Zansūru approaching. Sasuke, who is actually working at the digsite with the other prisoners, releases the shadow clone he's been using so that Zansūru won't find him. Later, Sakura receives a message from Kakashi reporting that the Prime Minister has begun an invasion of Nagare Village and that Prince Nanara has decided to overthrow him. Sakura assumes this is what the assets Zansūru has been developing are supposed to be for, though she still doesn't know what the assets actually are. She nevertheless sends Kakashi a report about what they've discovered so far.

Sakura looks for Sasuke at dinnertime so that she can tell him about Kakashi's message, but she cannot find him. As she sits at a table to think, she is approached by Ganno , one of Sasuke's cellmates. They chat until Ganno notices Sakura's new wedding ring, prompting him to ask about her husband. Sakura speaks candidly about Sasuke, listing his many good qualities. Even though she never refers to Sasuke by name so as to conceal their relationship, Ganno remarks that Sasuke is lucky to be married to her. Sakura tries denying it, so Ganno explains that Sasuke used to gaze at the tree outside, but stopped around the time that Sakura began working at the prison. Ganno departs and Sakura looks outside, seeing that the tree's flowers resemble cherry blossoms .

Meanwhile, Sasuke sorts fruit imported from the Land of Redaku 's capital with Jiji . Since fruit are never included with their meals, Jiji assumes that these fruit are exclusively for Zansūru and the prison's guards; Sasuke responds by helping himself to one. Sasuke notices a lake just outside the Astronomy Research Institute , which is not visible from the lower sections of the prison. Jiji explains that the lake was formed long ago by a meteor and that, because it's entirely comprised of rain water, it can perfectly reflect the sky above it. This gives Sasuke an idea and he promptly leaves, claiming to have a stomachache.

Sasuke finds Sakura, who has had an idea of her own: the Hoshinarabe cards do not solely correspond to constellations, but hand seals as well. She believes that, in order to reveal the polar particles that they're looking for, they'll need to perform a particular sequence of hand seals; she guesses that two of the Hoshinarabe hands, Star and Earth, indicate the necessary hand seals, as both terms are used in the description of the polar particles' hiding place. Sasuke reports that he knows where this hiding place is, and they make plans to meet up after nightfall.
Part 2

Once it's dark, Sasuke leads Sakura beyond the walls of the Institute to the lake he saw earlier, which now resembles the starry sky. He informs Sakura that this is probably the "sky that fell to earth" where the polar particles are supposed to reside. As they admire the scene's beauty, Sasuke confides that he's never worried about the strength of their relationship. He does, however, regret not being home more often: when he returns after a long absence, seeing the small changes that Sakura and Sarada have undergone remind him of everything he's missed. Sakura feels the same way, but assures him that there's nothing to worry about.

Sakura consults the Hoshinarabe cards she's brought with her to see what hand seals they'll need to perform. While she does so, Sasuke notices the backs of the cards, which appear to have a picture of a lizard and a rock. Sakura corrects him, explaining that it's actually a dragon and a meteorite: dragons are said to have once lived in Redaku until being wiped out by a meteor. Sasuke remembers the book Penjira read, which mentioned that dragons' fossils can be found near the Institute. He remembers the strange rocks in Zansūru's secret basement, guessing that they are fossils dug up by the prisoners. And then there's the chickens.

When Sakura completes the hand seals, a powerful light emerges from the lake. She walks towards it and retrieves a container, which she assumes to have polar particles inside. She reports that the container is giving off a great deal of chakra , but Sasuke is not willing to spend time investigating, instead urging that they return to the Institute. Sakura doesn't understand why and Sasuke's explanation is interrupted by an explosion back at the Institute: dragons emerging into the sky, revived by the Impure World Reincarnation .

## Chapter 7
" Chapter 7 " Part 1

Sasuke and Sakura hurry back to the Astronomy Research Institute . When Sasuke notices several flying dragons leaving the area, he turns around to pursue them, instructing Sakura to find Zansūru . Zansūru, riding one of the flying dragons, instead intercepts Sasuke. Sasuke warns Zansūru that the Impure World Reincarnation that he's revived the dragons with is forbidden and thus there will be repercussions for its use. Zansūru is unfamiliar with the name, leading Sasuke to suspect it's a different technique .

Sasuke surmises that the dragons are to serve as weapons for the Land of Redaku 's Prime Minister . Zansūru doesn't deny this, and guesses that Sasuke has allies in Nagare Village who have been giving him information. Sasuke asks why the Prime Minister's plans must involve slaughtering the people here at the Institute as well as those in Nagare. Zansūru responds that he and the Prime Minister, as leaders of the government, should naturally have the authority to determine who lives and who dies; Sasuke concludes from his words that Zansūru can't be persuaded to change his mind. When he activates his Sharingan to try using force against Zansūru, he notices that Zansūru has too little chakra to be a shinobi , and therefore can't be responsible for reviving the dragons.

Menō attacks Sasuke from behind, though he dodges in time. Zansūru nevertheless leaves, instructing Menō to kill Sasuke. Since there are no obvious ways in which Menō is being controlled, Sasuke decides to try taking control of Menō for himself. He speaks kindly to Menō and encourages him to calm down. When Menō attacks, Sasuke blocks him and, noticing that the burn Menō received a few days earlier hasn't healed, applies water and wind in order to ice it. When Menō attacks again, Sasuke allows his arm to be bitten, using the opportunity to sympathise with Menō for being taken from his peaceful afterlife and to offer returning him to it. As Menō considers his words, Sasuke uses a genjutsu on him and flows his chakra into Menō's body to assert control. Sasuke is unsure if he succeeded until Menō pounces at him once more, this time to lick his injured arm.
Part 2

Revived dragons emerge throughout the Institute and begin killing the prisoners, who have no way of fighting back or escaping. When Sakura returns to the Institute, she punches through one of the outer walls to give the prisoners an exit. She hurries to Zansūru's office, but he is not there, forcing her to search room by room for him. As she comes across prisoners hiding from the dragons, she informs them of the exit she created and encourages them to use it. One of the prisoners, Jiji , asks her for about the dragons, so Sakura briefly explains how Zansūru has brought them back to life but that she can stop him once she finds where he is. Jiji tells her that he saw Zansūru in the courtyard.

Although Sakura is confused about how Zansūru could have gotten outside, she thanks Jiji and starts to leave. Jiji then grabs her and stabs her in the back; Sakura immediately notices that the blade is coated with the same poison that affected Sasuke a few days earlier. As Sakura falls to the ground, Jiji takes the polar particles from her, thanking her for going to the trouble of finding them for him. With it now clear that Jiji has been aiding Zansūru the entire time, Sakura uses what little strength she has left to try and take back the polar particles. Jiji apologises for how's he treated her, noting that she reminds him of his lover, Margo , yet doesn't hesitate to kick her in order to free himself.

Jiji revives an additional, massive dragon dubbed the Titan. It approaches Jiji and Sakura's location, creating quakes with each footstep that destabilize the building they're inside of. Jiji says goodbye to Sakura as he steps onto the Titan's head, then watches as the building collapses upon her.

## Chapter 8
" Chapter 8 " Part 1

Because Zansūru seems to have been aware of Sakura 's involvement, something only Jiji would know, Sasuke guesses that the two are working together. When Sasuke returns to the Astronomy Research Institute , he quickly saves a group of prisoners from a revived dragon and instructs Menō to protect them while they escape. As Menō departs with the prisoners, Sasuke sees the last of the Institute's buildings collapsing. Fearful that Sakura may have been inside, Sasuke tries to sense her location, but can detect nothing.

Sakura wakes up to find herself pinned beneath rubble. Unable to free herself, she tries to gather some chakra , but cannot because of Jiji's poison and soon loses consciousness. When she wakes up again, she discovers that she has already been rescued by Sasuke, who is in the process of healing her. She tries to thank him, but he insists that she focus on recovering.

Zansūru joins Jiji atop the Titan and basks in the fruition of his plans at long last. He thanks Jiji for his help and instructs him to deliver the dragon army to the Land of Redaku 's Prime Minister once he's finished killing all of the prisoners. Jiji reminds him to keep his promise, which Zansūru assures him he will: as soon as he's dealt with Sasuke, he'll locate the body of Jiji's dead lover . As they talk, they notice Ganno trying to escape from a dragon. Before the dragon is able to kill him, it is attacked by Menō. Zansūru is surprised by this and Jiji realises that Menō is no loner under his control; they guess this to be Sasuke's doing. Although Menō is able to defeat a number of dragons one-on-one, he is soon surrounded and the other dragons begin to attack. They are repelled by Sasuke's Susanoo .
Part 2

Since they're outnumbered, Sasuke suggests to Menō that they try to escape. Menō is unwilling to do that, so Sasuke advises that they instead keep their distance from the other dragons and wait for an opening. This works, and Sasuke and Menō behead the initial group of attacking dragons; Sasuke immediately restrains their bodies and heads so that they can't regenerate. When a larger dragon appears, one that Zansūru identifies as an adult version of Menō, Zansūru assumes Menō will stand no chance against it. Jiji doubts this, explaining that reincarnated dragons grow stronger from the chakra of those who control them, which for Menō is now Sasuke. Menō is indeed able to overpower the larger dragon, frustrating Zansūru.

Zansūru and Jiji notice Sakura destroying the Institute's perimeter wall. Zansūru instructs Jiji to deal with her while he handles Sasuke. Jiji goes after her on a flying dragon, but Sakura begins running from the Institute, forcing Jiji to pursue. Meanwhile, Zansūru has all the other revived dragons converge on Sasuke and Menō.

## Chapter 9
" Chapter 9 "

With all of the dragons starting to surround them, Sasuke tells Menō to focus on the Titan; he uses Chidori Senbon to create an opening among the approaching dragons and then uses Susanoo to throw Menō onto the Titan's back. Upon landing, Menō begins charging at Zansūru , but Zansūru flees using a flying dragon before Menō is able to attack him. Annoyed that Menō has now turned against him, Zansūru urges the many dragons to kill Sasuke quickly. As Sasuke continues repelling the dragons attacking him, Menō lures the Titan to a lake near the Astronomy Research Institute . Once the Titan has gotten close enough, Menō attacks its legs, causing it to topple over into the water.

Because of its huge size, the Titan is not able to free itself. Zansūru instructs the flying dragon that is carrying him to help the Titan get out. Because he is not its original controller, this replaces the flying dragon's previous instruction to carry him, causing Zansūru to be dropped and subsequently die on impacting the ground. With him dead, the dragons revert back to their previous instructions of attacking the prisoners. As Sasuke is about to pursue them, he notices a hawk with a letter .

Elsewhere, Sakura continues to protect the prisoners from the dragons. She is joined by Penjira and Ganno , who repeatedly attack the dragons she defeats in order to cancel out the healing of their reincarnated bodies. When she sees Jiji coming after her, Sakura starts running away. Jiji uses an Earth-Style Wall to block her, and then approaches her on foot, expressing regret for what he must do to her. Once he gets near, a seal activates, preventing him from moving. Jiji is confused about where the seal came from, so Sakura explains that she noticed he had the chakra of a ninja when they first met, and placed the seal on him as a precaution.

Even though he cannot release himself, Jiji believes he will be freed once Zansūru comes for him. When he senses the approach of Sasuke with Menō instead, he realises this won't be happening and accepts defeat. Sasuke asks why Jiji got involved in Zansūru's plot in the first place, not believing him to be the type to slaughter innocents out of patriotism. Jiji explains that he was originally hired to be part of the Land of Redaku 's army, but he fell in love with a maid from the royal palace named Margo . Redaku's Prime Minister offered to let him leave the army to be with Margo if he would first assist Zansūru with creating a dragon army.

Jiji fell out of contact with Margo during his time helping Zansūru. Just as his service period was about to finish, he was notified that Margo had died of an epidemic. Distraught, Jiji agreed to continue assisting Zansūru in exchange for Margo's body, his hope being that he could reincarnate her just as he'd done with the dragons. Although Sakura confesses she might have considered doing the same thing in his position, she doesn't believe it's something Margo herself would want. Sasuke recognises Margo's name and shows Jiji the letter he received earlier: it mentions that King Nanara has overthrown the Prime Minister with the help of a woman named Margo.

Jiji cries at the realisation that he's been manipulated for so long. When he sees a dragon approaching Sakura from behind and about to attack her, he releases all of the dragons from their reincarnated bodies. Dragons throughout the Institute begin dissolving as their souls depart to the afterlife. As Menō's body also starts falling apart, Sasuke wishes him a peaceful rest; Menō growls and embraces Sasuke before he vanishes.

## Chapter 10
" Chapter 10 "

Before its soul returns to the afterlife, one of the revived dragons takes advantage of the fact that it is no longer under Jiji 's control by attacking Jiji. Sakura immediately starts healing his injuries, but Jiji pleads with her to let him die as punishment for his actions. She refuses, reminding him that he must reunite with Margo . His consciousness begins to fade, and he reflects on how differently things might have turned out if he'd been as strong as Sakura or Sasuke . He soon awakens, observing that Sakura is "stubborn".

Nanara , King of the Land of Redaku , later visits the remains of the Astronomy Research Institute and prays at a memorial for those who died in the dragons' attack. He laments that he hasn't been able to rebuild the Institute yet, as he's been too focused on Redaku's capital and Nagare Village . His attendant, Margo, assures him that he shouldn't feel bad given that he's only recently ascended the throne. Nanara decides to visit the nearby lake and calls on Margo and Jiji to follow him.

In Konoha, Sakura is having lunch with Ino Yamanaka when they are interrupted by Shikamaru Nara , who gives Sakura a preliminary report on the polar particles . When she asks how Naruto is doing, Shikamaru explains that Naruto refuses to stop working despite his illness; Ino guesses it helps keep his mind off what he's going through. After Shikamaru leaves, Ino notices the ring that Sakura is wearing. Since Sasuke made the ring with Earth Release , Ino notes that it contains some of Sasuke's chakra ; this was how Sasuke was able to locate Sakura while she was poisoned and buried beneath rubble. They spot Sasuke walking by while they chat, and Sakura gushes over how attractive she still finds him to be.

That night, Sarada prepares dinner, making a point to cook several of Sasuke's favourite dishes. Sasuke doesn't acknowledge this, prompting Sakura to kick him under the table to remind him to compliment Sarada. After Sarada goes to bed, Sakura tells Sasuke about a letter from Kakashi that mentioned Redaku's tradition of couples exchanging wedding rings. Sakura asks if this means the ring he gave her was meant to ward off other men. Sasuke chokes on his drink, but Sakura thanks him anyway.