Chapter Summaries

Hashirama Senju stayed behind to hold Madara Uchiha and Aizen back while Obito Uchiha and Garp prepared to evacuate the others. After Hashirama’s Buddha technique weakened, Tobirama Senju appeared and struck the two attackers, leaving them to question the Land of Shadow’s involvement.

• Hashirama Senju and Obito Uchiha escaped Izuna Uchiha and returned to the Navy’s hidden location, where Obito offered to transfer everyone to safety.
• Hashirama Senju insisted on staying behind to cover the retreat, while Obito began forming a Flying Thunder God Space Barrier and Garp prepared to escort the others.
• Madara Uchiha and Aizen noticed the spatial fluctuations and argued over whether to pursue the escaping Navy forces.
• Hashirama Senju trapped Madara Uchiha and Aizen inside Nirvana Becoming Buddha and kept attacking them for five days.
• Madara Uchiha and Aizen broke free as Hashirama weakened, but Madara blocked Aizen from striking Hashirama.
• Tobirama Senju appeared, blasted Madara Uchiha and Aizen away, and was challenged over the Land of Shadow’s involvement.

Kinoki reached the Six Paths realm, but Aizen forcibly drew the Soul King out of him, awakening the Soul King within Kinoki’s body. The Soul King turned against Aizen and Madara Uchiha, and the chapter ended with both men confronting his seemingly formidable powers.

• Tobirama Senju confronted Aizen and Madara Uchiha, secretly sent tiny insects into Kinoki, and then used Flying Thunder God to take Hashirama Senju away.
• Kinoki awakened in the Six Paths realm after winning a battle of souls, while Aizen and Madara Uchiha prepared to deal with him.
• Aizen immobilized Kinoki and pulled the Soul King’s phantom from his body, causing the Soul King to take control of Kinoki.
• The Soul King thanked Aizen and Madara Uchiha for awakening him, then attacked them with blue arrows.
• Madara Uchiha shattered the Soul King’s shadow attack and dispelled his arrows as illusions, while Aizen’s Black Coffin failed to harm him.

Aizen and Madara Uchiha fought the Soul King, but he let them tear apart his body so he could destroy his own origin and escape with Tobirama Senju and Kinoki. Aizen and Madara seized the Soul King’s memories before withdrawing, while Orochimaru and Tobirama observed from the shadows and Jin regretted missing their battle.

• Madara Uchiha trapped the Soul King with Chibaku Tensei, but the Soul King broke free and attacked him and Aizen with arrows of spirit energy.
• Aizen called on the Hōgyoku to transform, then joined Madara in fighting the Soul King across the stars.
• Aizen and Madara pulled the Soul King’s spirit from Kinoki’s body, but he tore apart his own soul to prevent them from obtaining his origin.
• Tobirama Senju appeared beside Kinoki and took him away, while the Soul King’s body became a gray sphere that Aizen and Madara fought over before sealing away its memories.
• Orochimaru and Tobirama watched Aizen and Madara leave, and Tobirama said the Land of Shadow could not capture either of them in their weakened state.
• Jin appeared after Tobirama and Orochimaru left and lamented that he could not watch Aizen and Madara fight.

Mei Terumi encountered Yamato, who wanted to watch Madara Uchiha and Sōsuke Aizen fight in space. Madara defeated Aizen, who accepted the loss and handed him a black sphere.

• Kaido lamented being unable to join the war, and Mei Terumi shriveled him with mist before doing the same to Queen.
• Yamato found Mei Terumi and asked where Madara Uchiha and Aizen were fighting; Mei told her they were on a planet outside Sea Star.
• Madara Uchiha and Sōsuke Aizen acknowledged each other and began fighting on a barren planet in space.
• Madara Uchiha and Aizen traded powerful attacks, transforming into their Six Paths-level forms as their clash destroyed nearby meteors.
• Madara Uchiha pierced Aizen with the Sword of Nunoboko and declared him defeated.
• Aizen admitted he had fallen short, gave Madara Uchiha a black sphere, and pulled himself off the blade.

After Aizen’s defeat and Madara Uchiha’s victory, the surviving factions regrouped and considered their next moves. Garp’s group planned to leave Konoha for the Akatsuki Star Domain, while Sasori confronted Rasa over Sand Ninja Star’s management.

• Blackbeard and Crocodile discussed Aizen’s defeat and Golden Lion’s death before Aizen decided to head to the Akatsuki Star Domain, where Yahiko offered to guide him.
• At Marineford, Madara Uchiha promised the representatives of Stone Ninja Star, Cloud Ninja Star, and Sand Ninja Star that he would honor his word, then warned Sasori against causing trouble again.
• On Konoha Star, Hashirama Senju apologized to Garp, who explained that his Six Paths power had been temporary and said his group would leave Konoha for the Akatsuki Star Domain.
• Pakura returned to Sand Ninja Star, where Sasori confronted Rasa over his poor management and revealed that the search devices had found something related to the Life Planet.

Gaara met secretly with Sasori, who encouraged him and transferred control of Sunagakure’s central facility to him. Gaara resolved to become the Sixth Kazekage and lead the village.

• Rasa criticized Gaara for failing to connect with Shukaku, while Temari and Kankuro worried about him.
• Gaara left for a concealed cave and told Sasori that he and Shukaku got along, despite Rasa believing otherwise.
• Sasori told Gaara he was old enough to walk his own path and revealed that Gaara would inherit control of the central facility.
• Sasori transferred authority over the facility to Gaara, who vowed to become the Sixth Kazekage.

Sasori and Rasa prepared to send an expedition through a Teleportation Gate to a war-torn planet suspected of harboring an Origin-level powerhouse. Uchiha Jin discovered their plan and ordered Ichigo Kurosaki to investigate, leaving Ichigo and his friends to prepare for the mission.

• Sasori told Rasa that he had found a suitable planet, but his investigations suggested it might contain an Origin-level powerhouse.
• Rasa chose to take the risk for Sunagakure, and Sasori said he needed three months to prepare an indirect entry.
• Uchiha Jin used his ability to observe Sasori and Rasa discussing the planet and decided to send someone to investigate it.
• Jin ordered Ichigo Kurosaki to prepare for an internship with the Ten Great Armies, and Ichigo protested that he did not want to join the military.
• Orihime Inoue mentioned that Tayuya had joined the military while Rukia remained in the Pure Land, and Yasutora Sado, Uryu Ishida, and Tatsuki Arisawa agreed to support Ichigo.

Sasori arrived in a foreign country to scout it and encountered the State Alchemists Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric while they investigated a series of disappearances. He joined their investigation, unaware that the culprit was already nearby and furious that the brothers had come.

• Sasori emerged from a blue gate, surveyed the planet, and detected a nearby village and an unusual energy signal.
• Edward created a well for the village with alchemy, and Sasori watched from a distance before heading toward the village.
• Edward and Alphonse pursued Sasori, questioned him about being an alchemist, and accepted his offer to accompany their investigation.
• Alphonse told Sasori that nearly a hundred people had disappeared in one month, including military personnel, and that the latest disappearance had occurred three days earlier.
• In a dark house, the culprit cursed the State Alchemists for tracking them down and vowed that none of them would leave alive.

Edward and Alphonse investigated the village’s hostility toward State Alchemists while Sasori learned about alchemy. A fog-wielding attacker ambushed Edward, and the brothers chased the assailant back to the hunter’s house, where Edward suspected Sasori.

• The Village Chief told Edward and Alphonse that the villagers resented State Alchemists because a local alchemist had taken their money, failed the examination, and disappeared.
• Alphonse explained alchemy and Equivalent Exchange to Sasori, who considered using alchemy to strengthen himself and his main body.
• A gunman attacked Edward in dense fog, and Alphonse rushed to help him while Sasori used an Alchemy Array to form an iron blade after sensing an Origin-level presence.
• Edward and Alphonse chased the attacker, who used another Alchemy Array to create fog before disappearing near the hunter’s house.
• The brothers returned to the house and found Sasori inside, and Edward stared at him suspiciously.

Edward and Sasori investigated a mist-based alchemy attack while the Village Chief and a desperate former alchemist plotted to frame Sasori. The next morning, villagers accused Sasori of murder after finding his red coat at a villager’s killing.

• Edward suspected Sasori but agreed to investigate the attacker’s chalk transmutation circle with him.
• Edward learned that the mist required a large amount of water, while Sasori considered how alchemy could bypass the need to understand materials.
• Edward asked the Village Chief to take him to the former alchemist’s laboratory the next day, and Sasori suspected the evidence might be cleared before then.
• The Village Chief confronted the former alchemist, who proposed killing Sasori and making Edward and Alphonse believe he had committed suicide.
• The next morning, the villagers surrounded Edward and Alphonse, accusing them of sheltering a murderer after the Village Chief presented Sasori’s red coat as evidence.

Sasori killed the villagers who accused him after proving their evidence was false, then demonstrated his overwhelming power to Edward and Alphonse. He spared the brothers but threatened Edward when he continued to defend the villagers.

• Sasori showed that his custom-made clothing differed from the coat the villagers had found, clearing him of their accusation.
• When the Village Chief apologized, Sasori demanded that the villagers die for offending him and killed them with blue threads.
• Edward and Alphonse attacked Sasori, but he bound them and dismissed Edward’s accusation that he had orchestrated the events.
• Sasori spared the brothers after sensing a powerful presence watching them, then destroyed the distant forest with a Rasenshuriken.
• Edward insisted Sasori could not kill everyone in the village, and Sasori threatened him with a forming sphere.

Edward and Alphonse captured a man who had made a Philosopher’s Stone from human lives, and Sasori tortured the information out of him before killing him. After Edward challenged Sasori’s disregard for human life, the brothers left the village with him and learned he was an alien from Sand Ninja Star who had gained his abilities through learning.

• Sasori captured the white-haired man, dispersed his mist, and restrained him after he tried to escape.
• Edward discovered crimson crystals in the man’s pouch and learned they were Philosopher’s Stones made from human lives.
• Sasori used Mind Puppet Manipulation to make the man reveal that a woman had given him the Alchemy Array, then tore him apart.
• Edward condemned Sasori’s disregard for human life, and Sasori pointed out that Edward and Alphonse had performed Human Transmutation and paid its price.
• Edward and Alphonse left the village with Sasori, who revealed he came from Sand Ninja Star and said he had gained his abilities through learning.

Edward and Alphonse accepted Sasori’s Chakra seeds and joined Sand Ninja Star, while Uchiha Jin met the planet’s consciousness and refused to take over its power. The brothers began mastering Chakra as Sasori studied Alphonse’s unusual ability to use it through his soul-bound armor.

• Sasori told Edward that their planet belonged to Sand Ninja Star and offered Chakra in exchange for joining; Edward and Alphonse both agreed.
• Uchiha Jin met the Planet Consciousness, refused its offer of power, and said Sasori could act without worrying about him.
• Edward and Alphonse received Chakra seeds from Sasori, who declared himself their master, the Fourth Kazekage.
• Edward quickly learned to hang from trees and run across water, while Sasori marveled that Alphonse could use Chakra through his armor.
• Sasori looked toward Central City of Amestris as the brothers practiced.

Sasori finished studying alchemy in the National Library, then brought Rasa and Sand Ninja Star’s elites into the new world to investigate its resources and gather information. In Central City, Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro encountered the wanted alchemist Zach as Edward ran toward a scream.

• Roy questioned Edward and Alphonse about the destroyed village and Sasori, then let the brothers leave while Riza Hawkeye noted they were hiding things.
• Sasori spent three months reading the National Library’s books and concluded that mastering alchemy required entering the Gate of Truth.
• Sasori returned to Rasa and Sand Ninja Star’s elites, described the world’s technology and Philosopher’s Stones, and warned that the stones were made from humans.
• Rasa led thirty members of Sand Ninja Star through the doorway into the new world, where Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro began gathering intelligence in Central City.
• Edward ran toward a scream while Gaara and the others headed back to their lodging, where they met the wanted alchemist Zach.

Gaara's team captured Zach while Rasa's forces seized King Bradley and subdued Envy, revealing Sand Ninja Star's plan to take control of the country. Meanwhile, Sasori began Human Transmutation to investigate the truth of the world's Origin, knowing he might lose his current body.

• Gaara trapped Zach in a sand space, crushed him, and Temari sealed his head in a scroll.
• Edward, Alphonse, and Roy found bloodstained sand while searching for Zach.
• Rasa and Yashamaru attacked King Bradley's office, killed the soldiers, and forced Bradley to hear Rasa's plan to control the country.
• Envy attacked Rasa, but Rasa crushed and bound him with gold dust chains before identifying himself as Kazekage Rasa of Sand Ninja Star.
• Sasori watched the events through laboratory screens, considered the Homunculi and Human Transmutation, then began the transmutation in his laboratory.

Sasori entered the Gate of Truth and traded his Natural Energy for knowledge of the planet, then created an artificial human named Poison. The next day, Rasa announced that Sand Ninja Star would rule the country, prompting the State Alchemists to prepare for a fight.

• Sasori entered the Gate of Truth and used his Natural Energy to gain knowledge of the planet, but the Truth took all of it as payment.
• Sasori discovered that his Human Transmutation had created a new being, named him Poison, and gave him woven memories and a means to kill him.
• Sasori warned Edward and Alphonse that Sand Ninja Star's people had arrived and told them to claim him as their teacher if they faced trouble.
• The next day, Edward and Alphonse attended a meeting where Rasa entered ahead of King Bradley and declared himself the country's future ruler.
• Mustang and the State Alchemists confronted Rasa, demanding to know whether he had taken the President hostage.

Rasa restrained Edward and Alphonse, but Gaara and his siblings intervened to protect them, prompting Sasori and Pakura to stop Rasa from escalating the confrontation. After Rasa accepted Edward and Alphonse as members of the Sunagakure Star, a black monster attacked him from a boy hiding in the shadows.

• Rasa used his power to immobilize the people in the hall and restrained Edward and Alphonse after Edward's alchemy failed to counter his Magnet Release.
• Alphonse claimed that he and Edward were Sasori's disciples, and Rasa's gold dust hurt them as Gaara arrived and demanded that they be kept alive until their claim was confirmed.
• Gaara knelt before Rasa to defend his actions as serving the Sunagakure Star, and Kankuro and Temari joined him after Rasa kicked Gaara aside.
• Sasori and Pakura intervened, and Sasori confirmed that Edward and Alphonse were his disciples and had gained remarkable strength in three months.
• Rasa temporarily recognized Edward and Alphonse as members of the Sunagakure Star, but a black monster burst from a boy in the shadows and charged at him.

Rasa killed Pride and forced the alchemists to choose between submission and death as Sunagakure conquered Amestris. Roy sought a way to save the country, Van Hohenheim headed to Central City to investigate, and Edward confronted Shou Tucker over the Chimera made from his daughter.

• Pride tried to possess Rasa, but Rasa crushed his true body and demanded that the gathered people submit or die.
• Sasori carried Edward, Alphonse, Gaara, and Gaara's siblings away, while Gaara told Edward that the planet belonged to Sunagakure and Edward could only submit or be destroyed.
• Sunagakure's forces devastated cities across Amestris; Roy and Riza watched a purple-haired old woman overwhelm a battlefield with her puppets, and Roy resolved to keep seeking a way to save the country.
• Scar read news of Amestris's invasion and rejected Van Hohenheim's attempt to speak with him, while Van Hohenheim decided to investigate Central City.
• Edward recognized the Chimera as the result of Shou Tucker's experiment, struck Tucker, and accused him of turning his daughter into a Chimera as Sasori entered the room.

Sasori restored Nina from her Chimera form, then left Shou Tucker with a demand to prove his techniques before joining Sand Ninja Star. Rasa decided to launch a war to subdue the planet, while Ling Yao learned that a foreign force had occupied Amestris and begun conquering its neighbors.

• Sasori questioned Shou Tucker about Nina’s abilities and dismissed the Chimera’s limited accomplishments, prompting Shou Tucker to regret what he had done.
• Sasori used alchemy to separate Nina and the dog, reuniting Nina with Shou Tucker, then told Shou Tucker he would need better techniques to join Sand Ninja Star.
• Sasori met Rasa at the Presidential Palace, and Rasa decided to leave the planet in place and begin a war against its nations.
• Ling Yao tried to get Ichigo Kurosaki to drink alcohol, while Mei Chang revealed that Ling Yao had wanted to win against someone with poor alcohol tolerance.
• Elder Fu warned Ling Yao that Amestris had been occupied by a foreign force whose powerful fighters were conquering other nations, and the group looked toward Ichigo Kurosaki.

Ichigo Kurosaki agreed to help New Country resist Sand Ninja Star after Ling Yao offered Pill Refining books as payment. Meanwhile, Rasa reported that Amestris and Sunagakure had conquered every other country and prepared to attack New Country next.

• Ling Yao asked Ichigo Kurosaki to help New Country hold off Sand Ninja Star, and Ichigo agreed.
• Ichigo contacted Uryu Ishida and the others, then introduced them to Ling Yao and Mei Chang.
• Ling Yao offered Pill Refining books and other valuables to hire Ichigo Kurosaki's group, and Uryu Ishida accepted.
• Ichigo Kurosaki and his companions agreed to help New Country and joined Ling Yao and Mei Chang for a meal.
• Baki reported to Rasa that every other country had surrendered to Amestris and Sunagakure.
• Rasa identified New Country as the last remaining nation and ordered that it be taken next.