Chapter Summaries

Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, and Shiranoka learned from Yuryu that tensions between the Rain Army and the Money Army could lead to a military exercise. Jin confirmed that the exercise was happening, leaving Shiranoka to face a busy Medical Corps.

• Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan discussed the Land of Rain’s recovery while Shiranoka treated an injured rabbit during a picnic.
• Yuryu warned them that conflict between the Rain Army and the Money Army had sparked rumors of an exercise.
• Little Meow and Little White appeared, and Jin arrived while Little Meow called him by his real name.
• Jin confirmed that the exercise would happen to give Hanzō and Kakuzu a chance to vent their growing tensions.
• Jin told Shiranoka that the Medical Corps would have plenty to do, ending her peaceful days.

Rumors of a military exercise spread as Rain Army and Money Army soldiers clashed in a tavern, while Kinoki reflected on the Land of Rain’s military ranks. After the exercise was announced, Shiranoka revealed that the Medical Corps would face both armies in a three-way battle for a prize weapon called an Asauchi.

• Rain Army and Money Army soldiers nearly fought in a tavern but backed down when the owner warned them to take it outside.
• Kinoki considered his prospects for promotion and guessed that the military’s tension with the Money Army would lead to an exercise.
• Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Yuryu returned from the stream, and Yahiko noticed how warmly the townspeople treated Yuryu.
• The Daimyo's Estate and the three Legion Commanders decided the exercise’s time and location and announced it to the military.
• Shiranoka told the Medical Department leaders that the winning army would receive Asauchi, then revealed that the Medical Corps had to fight both armies.

Jin set the rules for a three-sided flag-protection drill between the Rain Army, the Money Army, and the Medical Corps, while Hanzō and Kakuzu prepared to confront each other. The armies dispersed across the battlefield as the drill began.

• Shiranoka, Yahiko, Nagato, and the others reacted with despair to the three-way confrontation, and Shiranoka announced that exceptional performers could become Deputy Legion Commanders.
• Gato warned Kakuzu that the Money Army faced stronger elite fighters in the Rain Army, but Kakuzu handed him command and said he would try to kill Hanzō.
• Hanzō assigned Kuma, Rakuten, and Huashi to lead the Rain Army while he held Kakuzu back.
• Jin arrived at the drill grounds with Hanzō and Kakuzu, then explained that each side had to protect its flag using specially made weapons and could not use lethal ninjutsu.
• Jin gave the signal, and all three forces dispersed across the battlefield as the drill began.

The Medical Corps agreed to Yuryu’s plan to avoid a crushing defeat, while Gato’s forces considered allying with them against the powerful Rain Army. Huashi led the Rain Army up Medical Corps Mountain, where he found the Corps gone and a disturbing message on their flagpole.

• Shiranoka despaired over the Medical Corps’s chances, but Yuryu proposed a plan that Nagato supported and Konan questioned.
• Gato considered Vander’s proposal to ally with the Medical Corps, and Kakuzu left the decision to them.
• Shiranoka agreed to carry out Yuryu’s plan after the others pressed her to try.
• Huashi led the Rain Army up the mountain in formation, expecting to eliminate the Medical Corps.
• The Rain Army reached the summit, found the Medical Corps missing, and read a message on the flagpole that shocked them.

The Medical Corps used traps and humiliating date-themed lures to wipe out the Rain Army during a training exercise, leaving Huashi as the last one standing. Yahiko, Nagato, and Kinoki challenged him to test how far they were from Elite Jonin.

• Huashi sent Murayama and Nakata to seize the Medical Corps flag, but explosive tags knocked them unconscious and forced the Rain Army to flee.
• The Rain Army encountered date-themed banners and a barrage of Shuriken and Kunai, while Huashi's comrades deliberately took hits and fell unconscious.
• Huashi used Myriad Flower Confusion to conceal the surviving Rain Army members, and Yuryu counted those left unconscious.
• Jin tried to join the exercise for a chance at a date, but the Reserve Forces ninja and administrators held him back and promised to find him someone.
• Huashi endured a series of date-themed lures until he alone remained, then Yahiko, Nagato, and Kinoki appeared and challenged him to a fight.

Nagato and his teammates fought Huashi, but his pollen-based genjutsu knocked them unconscious. Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Jin subdued it before taking Nagato away as Hanzō and Kakuzu began fighting.

• Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan attacked Huashi, who used pollen to trap them in an illusion and leave them unconscious.
• Kinoki and Shiranoka arrived, and Shiranoka found that a hypnotic poison had spread through the three teammates.
• Nagato awakened and summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which burst from the ground and threatened the group.
• Jin used an enormous wooden palm to pin the statue, causing it to vanish in a cloud of smoke before it could injure Nagato.
• Jin took Nagato away and ordered the drill to continue, while Hanzō and Kakuzu attacked each other.

Hanzō and Kakuzu fought inside a barrier, unleashing powerful Poison Release and masked-monster techniques that spread toxic mist and damaged the surrounding battlefield. As the duel continued and Kakuzu lost lives to Hanzō’s poison, Yuryu noticed an opportunity involving the flags on the other mountains.

• Hanzō flooded the area with poisonous water, forcing Shiranoka, Kinoki, and the Medical Corps to flee beyond its reach.
• Hanzō discovered that Ibuse’s injuries and complaints about a snake and a cat had come from Uchiha Jin’s Summoning Animals, then dismissed the summon.
• Kakuzu and Hanzō each summoned enormous monsters and clashed with fire, poison, and other attacks while Rain ninjas sealed the battlefield inside a barrier.
• Kakuzu was struck by Hanzō’s poison and began losing lives, but he continued fighting as Hanzō struggled to determine how many lives remained.
• Yuryu watched the battle, noticed the flags atop the other two mountains, and moved toward Kinoki and Shiranoka, judging the moment a possible opportunity.

Yuryu led Kinoki and Shiranoka toward the Rain Army’s mountain stronghold, where they waited for the Money Army to trigger a battle before making their move against Kuma. Kinoki and Shiranoka attacked Kuma, but he countered Shiranoka’s Body Disorder Technique with a water-control jutsu.

• Yuryu explained that the Money Army would attack the Rain Army and advised Kinoki and Shiranoka to wait for an opening.
• Vander and Rakuten clashed as the Money Army and Rain Army fighters fought across the mountainside.
• Yuryu revealed that his family had once served as advisers to the daimyo of the Land of Rain, then ordered the group to attack Kuma.
• Kinoki engaged Kuma while Shiranoka used her Body Disorder Technique to disrupt his control over his body.
• Kuma invoked Chakra Inner Cultivation, Water Control Technique despite being unable to move normally.

Kuma and Shiranoka tried to destroy the Medical Corps’ flag, but Yuryu’s Kunai turned their attempt into a failure, and the Money Army won the exercise by burning the Medical Corps’ flag. After the armies gathered, Kakuzu and Hanzō continued fighting while Jin let them settle their resentment.

• Kuma broke free of Kinoki’s stone prison with a Water Dragon Technique and struck Shiranoka just as she reached the flag, but Yuryu’s Kunai made their attempt fail.
• Gato’s Money Army emerged from tunnels beneath the mountain and burned the Medical Corps’ flag, securing victory in the exercise.
• Yugito Nii declared the Money Army victorious and ordered its members to carry away the unconscious ninja.
• Kuma blamed Shiranoka for the Rain Army’s loss, while Vander acknowledged the result and departed with the Money Army.
• Jin let Kakuzu and Hanzō continue fighting, and Nagato suspected they might unite against Jin if he intervened.

Kakuzu and Hanzō fought for three days before their final attacks ended the battle without a victor. The next day, Jin introduced the Money Army to Asauchi, explaining how they worked and showing how one bonded to Kakuzu as a Zanpakutō.

• Kakuzu and Hanzō unleashed their final attacks, shattering the barrier and devastating the surrounding forest, but neither defeated the other.
• Jin watched the battle’s aftermath and judged that the Land of Rain had grown strong enough to rival the major ninja villages.
• Jin demonstrated Asauchi to the Money Army and explained their seals, transformations, and ability to store Chakra.
• Jin asked Kakuzu about Summoning Island and wondered whether Honoka Uzumaki and the Ultimate Summoning Beast might be there.
• When Kakuzu picked up an Asauchi, it bonded with the seal in his body and transformed into a sword that Jin called a Zanpakutō.

Jin brought Kakuzu’s dealings with the Exchange Office into the open and ordered him to arrange the purchase of ninjas and civilians for the Land of Rain. After receiving a map to the Land of Seas, Jin prepared to travel there with Yugito Nii, who followed him into a frightening darkness.

• Jin told Kakuzu he knew about the Exchange Office dealings and ordered him to request large-scale purchases of ninjas and civilians.
• Jin asked Kakuzu to prepare a route map to the Land of Seas, then took Yugito Nii to a restaurant where she accidentally soaked six women with tea.
• The next day, Kakuzu gave Jin a map, and Jin noted that the Land of Seas was near the Land of Waves.
• Jin opened a patch of darkness with scarlet eyes, and Yugito Nii overcame her fear and charged into it ahead of him.

Jin and Yugito Nii visited Summoning Island, where researcher Zhong Tang showed them the Land of Seas’ experimental Summoning Animals. After Honoka Uzumaki failed to keep the unstable Ultimate Summoning Beast contained, Jin offered to save her in exchange for her becoming his subordinate.

• Jin and Yugito Nii arrived in the Land of Seas and were escorted by Kirigakure ninja to researcher Zhong Tang.
• Jin discussed Summoning Animal research with Zhong Tang and persuaded him to take them to Summoning Island.
• Jin sensed strong Natural Energy on the island, where Honoka Uzumaki warned Zhong Tang that the Ultimate Summoning Beast was in trouble.
• Honoka used her chains to restrain the sedated beast, but Zhong Tang insisted on continuing the experiment to save the Land of Seas from financial ruin.
• Jin spoke into Honoka’s mind, causing the Ultimate Summoning Beast to awaken and break out of its glass vessel.
• The beast devoured researchers and threw Honoka aside, and she accepted Jin’s offer to save her in exchange for becoming his subordinate.

Jin devoured the Ultimate Summoning Beast to advance the Heavenly Demon Art to its Third Layer, unleashing a tornado across the island. In his inner world, his subconscious warned him that the advancement could kill him, and Jin realized the Third Layer had a problem involving will.

• Jin captured the Ultimate Summoning Beast with the Heavenly Demon Claw and used Heavenly Demon Four Devours to consume its flesh, bones, soul, and Chakra.
• Jin began advancing the Heavenly Demon Art to the Third Layer, releasing a surge of dark Chakra that knocked Hinoka into a wall.
• Yugito Nii held Hinoka at kunai-point and ordered her to carry her out of the cave as a tornado formed above the island.
• Hinoka and Yugito fled into the forest while the tornado swept across the island and the Summoning Animals sensed a terrifying creature was about to be born.
• Jin met a version of himself in his inner world, who identified himself as Jin's subconscious and warned that Jin would die if the advancement continued.
• Jin recognized that his subconscious had been formed by the Soul Insight Technique and concluded that the Third Layer required will beyond knowledge.

Jin broke through the Third Layer, becoming a colossal Dark Giant whose power and lifespan surpassed those of the ninja world. After testing his new abilities, he left with Yugito Nii and Hinoka to pursue senjutsu and advance his cultivation.

• Jin used his conviction to withstand nature’s will and break through the Third Layer, transforming into a scaled Dark Giant filled with Natural Energy.
• Jin discovered that his Chakra had become seals and that he could mainly use innate ninjutsu and senjutsu, though his Mangekyo Sharingan still let him form an armored Susanoo.
• Jin’s black sword slash split the sea, demonstrating the strength of his new form.
• Hinoka said she no longer needed to report to the Land of Seas, while Yugito Nii stopped her from touching her hair.
• Jin assessed his new strength and longevity, planned to complete the Heavenly Demon Art, and decided to acquire senjutsu.
• Yugito Nii entered the darkness first, and Jin pushed Hinoka in after her.

Jin brought Hinoka Uzumaki and Yugito Nii to the Land of Rain, where Hinoka discovered that Jin was its daimyo and marveled at the prosperous city. He introduced Hinoka to Nagato and Shiranoka and arranged for her to join the reserve force and study Fūinjutsu.

• Jin led Hinoka and Yugito through a rift to the Land of Rain, where his subordinates welcomed him as Lord Daimyo.
• Hinoka questioned how Jin could be both a ninja and a daimyo, and Jin dismissed the idea that old rules had to be followed.
• Jin took Hinoka through the developed city to the Daimyo's Estate, where she met Hanzō and Kakuzu and mistook them for villains holding her captive.
• Nagato and Shiranoka arrived late after the Medical Corps went on a picnic, and Jin introduced Hinoka as a fellow Uzumaki who specialized in Fūinjutsu.
• Jin assigned Hinoka to the reserve force, granted her access to Fūinjutsu formulas through loans, and told Nagato and Shiranoka to show her around.

Jin traveled to Ryūchi Cave seeking Sage Mode and confronted its guardians rather than submitting to their trials. The White Snake Sage offered him every Sage Mode and Ryūchi Cave’s support in exchange for the Dragon Transformation Scripture he had taught Little White.

• Jin ordered Hanzō and Kakuzu to prepare ten death warriors, promising a tenfold increase in death benefits for those who died and rich rewards for survivors.
• Jin arrived at Ryūchi Cave with Little White, who crashed into Tagorihime’s castle; Tagorihime attacked Jin after he ate the food she offered, and he cut her in half.
• Jin confronted Tagorihime, Ichikishimahime, and Tagitsuhime with Susanoo, forcing them to take him to the White Snake Sage.
• The White Snake Sage told Jin that the Three Great Sage Regions had watched him because Basic Inner Cultivation could change the world.
• The White Snake Sage offered Ryūchi Cave’s support and all its Sage Modes in exchange for the Dragon Transformation Scripture, and Jin accepted.

Jin sent ten Rain and Money Army shinobi to assassinate the Five Great Daimyo, hoping their attacks would provoke the Five Great Shinobi Villages. He then explained his vision of peace through unifying all nations to Nagato, who was left questioning the cost of that plan.

• Jin demonstrated a Sage Art and reflected on how he could use Natural Energy without relying on Sage Mode.
• Jin recruited ten shinobi, promising survivors Chakra Inner Cultivation and three ninjutsu, and ordered them to assassinate the Five Great Daimyo.
• Nagato overheard Jin’s plan and asked whether he intended to start a war; he had come to discuss the Rinnegan’s growing burden on his body.
• Jin challenged Nagato’s belief that people could achieve peace by connecting their hearts and argued that nations fought over survival and profit.
• Jin told Nagato that merging all nations under one powerful authority could limit war, and Nagato asked how many people would die to achieve it.

Coordinated attacks on the Daimyos of the Five Great Nations were blamed on the ninja villages, pushing the ninja world toward war. Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared Konoha for the conflict while Jin remained in the village, aware that his clone could not defeat Bunpuku.

• Two Cloud Ninjas attacked the Land of Fire Daimyo, but Konoha Ninjas protected him and drove the attackers into battle.
• Two Konoha Ninjas attacked the Land of Lightning Daimyo before fleeing, prompting Cloud Ninjas to pursue them.
• Konoha Ninjas also attacked the Daimyos of the Land of Earth and the Land of Water, and all Five Great Nations condemned their ninja villages.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Konoha's leaders that the Land of Fire Daimyo had ordered retaliation against the Cloud Ninjas, while Danzo revealed that all four other great nations had been attacked by Konoha Ninjas.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi considered sending Jin to the Sunagakure battlefield, then kept him in Konoha because Bunpuku might attack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Konoha to prepare for war, while Jin wondered how much progress the conflict would bring to the ninja villages.

As the four major ninja villages mobilized for war, Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Konoha’s forces to the fronts while keeping Uchiha Jin in the village. In the Land of Rain, Jin considered how to protect his territory and noticed Shinno’s name on a roster.

• Jin told Minato Namikaze that war was unavoidable and urged him to survive, while Shibi Aburame wondered why Jin had not noticed him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that the Cloud, Sand, Stone, and Mist villages had established defensive lines and declared that war had begun.
• Orochimaru and Might Duy were assigned to face Sunagakure, while Minato Namikaze and Kushina were sent against the Cloud Ninja despite objections from Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Jiraiya to fight Iwagakure and Fugaku Uchiha to fight Kirigakure, then dispatched Konoha’s forces across the fronts.
• In New City, Jin dismissed three injured men, considered the Land of Rain’s position in the war, and spotted Shinno’s name on a roster.

Jin exposed Shinno as a remnant of Sora Ninja Village and forced him to reveal the location of its underground fortress. After Shinno tried to turn on him, Jin unleashed a giant Demon God that destroyed the fortress, leaving Shinno and the Sky Ninja surrendering.

• Jin punished Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato with a year of camp-cleaning after Konan’s Explosive Tag hit him, then asked Shiranoka and Yuryu about Shinno.
• Jin confronted Shinno about his ties to Sora Ninja Village, and Shinno tried to escape before Jin trapped him with Wood Release.
• Jin freed Shinno and demanded a tour of the Sky Ninja’s underground fortress, then opened a dark rift and took him to its location.
• Shinno called on the Sky Ninja to attack Jin, but Jin summoned a giant Demon God that burst through the ground and destroyed the fortress.
• Shinno and the Sky Ninja surrendered after Jin’s Demon God demanded their submission.