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7. The transition from land to sea comes after the turtle has broken the back of Kuukuu, i.e. in the season of Mercury (the liquid planet closest to Sun):

The turtle got up, went back into the (sea) water, and swam away.	he ea te honu he uru ki roto ki te vai he oho.
All the kinsmen spoke to you (i.e., Kuukuu): 'Even you did not prevail against the turtle!'	he ki mai anake ngaio taina kia koe ana koe tae ki te honu.
They put the injured Kuukuu on a stretcher and carried him inland. They prepared a soft bed for him in a cave and let him rest there.	he tupu he oho i te ika ko kuukuu ki uta he heriki i te ana he hakamoe.he noho he hakaora.
They stayed there, rested, and lamented the severely injured Kuukuu.	he tangi i te papaku ko kuukuu.

The injured Kuukuu (te ika ko kuukuu, the wounded Kuukuu victim) was carried on a stretcher (says Barthel, though a stretcher should be tupatupa) - and presumably he was lying stretched out horizontally to indicate the solstice - away from the sea (ki uta). He was placed in a cave (te ana) to rest (he hakamoe) and to stay there (he noho) in order to recover (he hakaora). To recover (come back to life, light, ora) is to take away the cover.

Like the Rain God he had disappeared into a cave inside earth:

The spine of the Rain God maybe is 'broken' too, because his buttocks are planted on a horizontal piece 90° dislocated from the vertical part at his back. This 'head' on which he is sitting probably refers to the promise of a recovery (in next generation). We should notice the essential main point he tupu which Barthel has ignored in his translation:

Tupu 1. Shoot, sprout, bud; to sprout, to bud. 2. Pregnant: vî'e tupu (o te poki); to be conceived (of fetus in its mother's womb): he-tupu te poki i roto i te kopú o toona matu'a. To grow, to sprout, to germinate, to come forth, to conceive, pregnant, germ; mea tupu, plant; tupu ke avai, of rapid growth; tupu horahorau, precocious; hakatupu, to produce, to stimulate growth, to excite. P Pau.: fakatupu, to raise up, to create. Mgv.: tupu, to grow, to conceive, to be pregnant. Mq.: tupu, to grow, to sprout, to conceive. Ta.: tupu, to grow, to sprout. Mgv.: Tupu, the best or worst, used of men or of bad qualities. Sa.: tupu, king. Ma.: tupu, social position, dignity.

By 'planting' the Kuukuu 'fish' (ika) in a cave inside mother earth he will sprout (tupu) - he tupu te poki i roto i te kopu o toona matua, 'like a fetus inside his mother's womb'. Barthel's translation is here rather poor. By the way we should notic that kopu means the morning star: