Chapter Summaries

Tsunade ordered a team to investigate Orochimaru’s base near the Land of Water, while Orochimaru planned to send Guren and another child after the Three-Tails. Shinki and Naruto reached the Land of Water, where Shinki broke into Akatsuki’s communication space and stunned the members gathered there.

• Tsunade learned that Orochimaru’s base was near the Three-Tails’ lake and sent Team Kakashi and Kurenai Yuhi’s team to investigate.
• Tsunade heard that Shinki and Naruto had rescued Yugito Nii and earned the Kumogakure Peace Medal, then learned they were last seen near the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
• Orochimaru decided to send Guren and a child to capture the nearby Three-Tails, hoping to use Guren’s Crystal Release and the child’s chakra.
• Shinki and Naruto traveled to the Land of Water after abandoning plans to train Naruto on Turtle Island because Akatsuki might target them there.
• Akatsuki’s leader assigned Deidara and Sasori to capture the Three-Tails, and allowed Tobi to join them.
• Shinki broke the final restriction on an Akatsuki ring and appeared in the organization’s meeting space, shocking its members.

Shinki discovered that the Akatsuki rings connected their members’ consciousnesses and learned they planned to capture the Three-Tails, so he and Naruto prepared to interfere. Meanwhile, Kakashi’s team searched for them at the Land of Water’s border, and Kabuto delivered Orochimaru’s new mission to Guren.

• Shinki entered the Akatsuki’s ring-linked meeting space, recognized the leader’s Rinnegan, and was forced back into his body.
• Shinki told Naruto that Deidara and Sasori were going to capture the Three-Tails in the Land of Water, and Naruto agreed they should stop them.
• Kiba’s Akamaru picked up Shinki and Naruto’s scent, prompting Kakashi’s team to search for them at the border.
• Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi traveled toward their mission and argued about Shinki, Wood Release, and Deidara’s art.
• Kabuto arrived at Orochimaru’s fortress with a child and told Guren that Orochimaru had chosen her as the body for his next reincarnation.

Shinki and Naruto discovered Orochimaru’s prison fortress, where nearly three hundred people had been altered by Cursed Seal experiments. Shinki decided to investigate whether he could remove their seals, and asked the prisoners if they wanted to become ordinary people again.

• Shinki told Kakashi that the Akatsuki planned to target the Three-Tails and described the strange eyes of the Akatsuki leader.
• Shinki sensed the Three-Tails and a familiar Chakra, then found a fortress whose prisoners carried Chakra resembling Sasuke’s Cursed Seal.
• Shinki and Naruto entered the fortress and found nearly three hundred imprisoned experimental subjects.
• Shinki killed a prisoner who threatened him, then asked how many subjects would surrender their powers for a chance to become ordinary again.

Shinki experimented on prisoners at Orochimaru’s fortress and found a way to remove the Cursed Seal, then continued traveling with Naruto. In a foggy forest, Shinki spoke with a mysterious boy whose questions echoed Yukimaru’s doubts about where he belonged, and Yukimaru rushed into a tree after deciding that death was his home.

• Shinki identified himself as Orochimaru’s enemy and invited prisoners to help him test a way to remove the Cursed Seal; a middle-aged man recognized Shinki and volunteered, followed by many others.
• Shinki’s first experiment left a subject near death, but he used medical ninjutsu to save them and continued researching until he found a removal method.
• Shinki used hundreds of shadow clones to remove the Cursed Seals from prisoners who wanted to be freed, then left the fortress with Naruto.
• In a foggy forest, Shinki and Naruto encountered a mysterious boy who asked about camellias and where people truly belonged; Shinki answered that everyone ultimately belonged in death.
• Several dozen kilometers away, Yukimaru asked Kabuto where he belonged, heard that he belonged wherever people cared about him, and then charged into a tree while declaring that death was his home.

Kabuto and Guren continued toward the lake with Yukimaru, but Gozu told them that Shinki had freed the prison fortress’s Cursed Seal test subjects. Alarmed by Shinki’s presence, Kabuto fled, leaving Guren to continue the mission alone; Team Kakashi discovered the prison fortress elsewhere in the forest.

• After Yukimaru tried to kill himself, Guren stopped him, and she and Kabuto tied him up for the rest of their journey.
• Guren and Kabuto reached a vast lake, where Gozu emerged from the woods and revealed that two boys, including Shinki, had broken into the prison fortress.
• Gozu said Shinki had removed the Cursed Seals from test subjects and freed them, then claimed he had escaped in the confusion.
• Gozu warned that Shinki had headed toward the lake, so Kabuto grabbed Yukimaru and ran before handing the boy over to Guren.
• Guren ordered Gozu to find a boat so she could take Yukimaru to the lake’s center, while Team Kakashi discovered the prison fortress.

Kakashi’s team discovered that Shinki had used Orochimaru’s fortress to remove Sasuke’s Cursed Seal, while Guren tried to control the Three-Tails with Yukimaru. Deidara’s explosive attack devastated the lake, killing Gozu and destroying the control apparatus, so Guren left with Yukimaru.

• Kakashi, Sai, and Kiba investigated Orochimaru’s fortress and learned that Shinki had conducted experiments there to remove Cursed Seals for Sasuke.
• Deidara, Sasori, and Tobi headed to capture the Three-Tails, and Tobi reacted solemnly when Deidara noted that the beast had no Jinchūriki.
• Guren used Yukimaru and a Crystal Release formation to summon the Three-Tails, then attacked it with crystal dragons.
• The Three-Tails shattered Guren’s attacks and began gathering Chakra for a powerful blast.
• Deidara dropped explosive clay from his white bird, and the explosion engulfed much of the lake.
• Gozu died protecting Yukimaru, and Guren left with the boy after the explosion destroyed the control apparatus.

Deidara, Tobi, and Sasori captured the Three-Tails, while Shinki killed Guren after she attacked him and learned from Yukimaru where the beast had gone. Deidara’s group continued onward, but a giant Wood Dragon suddenly appeared in front of him.

• Deidara knocked the Three-Tails unconscious with an explosive clay attack, and his clay birds carried it out of the lake.
• Shinki sensed the Three-Tails moving unusually fast, then encountered Guren and Yukimaru with Naruto.
• Guren attacked Shinki, who shattered her crystal blade, killed her, and buried her beneath a crystal tombstone.
• Shinki asked Yukimaru where he belonged, and Yukimaru told him that Deidara’s group had captured the Three-Tails and flown in a particular direction.
• Tobi complained that Deidara would not give him a ride, and Sasori persuaded Deidara to send down a clay bird for him.
• As Deidara continued flying, he saw a giant Wood Dragon appear in front of him.

Shinki captured the Three-Tails and sealed it inside himself, then escaped with Naruto as Deidara sacrificed himself in a massive explosion. Shinki recognized that Deidara’s eye chakra resembled Kakashi-sensei’s before the blast illuminated the forest in the shape of Patrick Star.

• Deidara warned Sasori and Tobi that Shinki had arrived, but Shinki used the Wood Human Technique and vines to capture the Three-Tails.
• Shinki used Sage Art: Tailed Beast Torii and a sealing technique to seal the Three-Tails inside himself, while Naruto watched in shock.
• Deidara told Sasori and Tobi to flee and began preparing his Ultimate Art, consuming Explosive Clay with the mouth over his heart.
• Shinki remarked that Deidara’s eye chakra resembled Kakashi-sensei’s, then used Flying Thunder God to take Naruto more than a hundred kilometers away.
• Deidara leaped from the Clay Bird and detonated himself, creating a huge Patrick Star-shaped explosion that Shinki called magnificent art.

Jiraiya learned that Pain possessed the Rinnegan and suspected he was his former student Nagato, while Orochimaru prepared to take Sasuke’s body. Sasuke readied himself to confront Orochimaru and declared he would no longer be manipulated.

• Tobi used Space-Time Ninjutsu to escape Deidara’s explosion with Sasori, and both wondered whether Shinki had survived.
• Jiraiya received a message saying Pain possessed the Rinnegan and suspected Pain was his former student Nagato.
• Kabuto reported that Guren and Yukimaru were dead, the Three-Tails had been sealed by Shinki, and Deidara had blown himself up fighting him.
• Orochimaru ordered Kabuto to prepare the Reincarnation Ritual so he could take Sasuke’s body before he became unable to wait.
• Sasuke armed himself with his Sharingan, lightning-charged hand, and Kusanagi Sword, then prepared to confront Orochimaru.

Sasuke attacked the gravely injured Orochimaru and faced his giant-snake true form, while Shinki and Naruto encountered Kakashi and other Konoha ninja at a bathhouse. The chapter left Sasuke fighting Orochimaru and Kakashi fleeing after Shinki accidentally injured him with Wood Release.

• Sasuke pierced Orochimaru's body with Chidori Sharp Spear and declared that he would not become Orochimaru's reincarnation vessel.
• Orochimaru shed his shell and revealed his giant-snake true form, then charged at Sasuke as their battle began.
• Shinki and Naruto visited a bathhouse in the Land of Water and found Sai, Kakashi, Kiba, and Shino there.
• Shinki and the others teased Kakashi about hiding his face, and Kakashi revealed that he wore another mask beneath his first one.
• Shinki used Wood Release: Binding Vines to catch Kakashi, accidentally injuring him as he tried to flee, then attempted to treat him with Medical Ninjutsu.

Shinki told Kakashi that a masked Akatsuki member had a Sharingan like his, then found Sasuke while searching for Orochimaru and went to meet him with Naruto. Sasuke, traveling with Hozuki Suigetsu after defeating Orochimaru, spotted Shinki and Naruto ahead.

• Kakashi asked Shinki and Naruto about their plans, and Shinki said they intended to investigate Amegakure and destroy the Akatsuki.
• Shinki told Kakashi that a masked Akatsuki member’s eye had Chakra fluctuations like Kakashi’s Sharingan, prompting Kakashi to suspect the Akatsuki had taken Obito’s eye.
• Shinki and Naruto searched for Orochimaru near the Land of Water, but Shinki sensed Sasuke and found that Sasuke had removed his Flying Thunder God Mark.
• Sasuke traveled with Hozuki Suigetsu after defeating Orochimaru and planned to recruit Karin and Jūgo while searching for the Kubikiribōchō.
• Sasuke spotted Shinki and Naruto in the forest and told Hozuki Suigetsu that the person he wanted to meet had arrived.

Shinki defeated Suigetsu, learned how his Water Release technique worked, and met Sasuke, who had killed Orochimaru and planned to hunt Itachi. Naruto chose to travel with Sasuke while Shinki headed toward Amegakure, and Konoha learned that Shinki and the Three-Tails were missing after Deidara blew himself up.

• Suigetsu attacked Shinki with Sasuke’s sword, but Shinki broke the blade and kicked Suigetsu, whose body liquefied to evade the blow.
• Shinki studied Suigetsu’s liquefied body with his Sharingan, learned the technique, and trapped Suigetsu in a Genjutsu for three days and nights.
• Shinki asked Sasuke about Orochimaru, and Sasuke said he had killed him and intended to form a team to hunt Itachi.
• Shinki offered to help Sasuke, but Sasuke refused, and Naruto chose to go with Sasuke rather than travel with Shinki to Amegakure.
• Tsunade learned that Sasuke had killed Orochimaru and that Deidara had blown himself up fighting Shinki, leaving Shinki and the Three-Tails’ whereabouts unknown.

Jiraiya entered Amegakure’s High Tower and confronted Konan and Pain, learning that Akatsuki planned to use the Tailed Beasts to create a weapon that would impose peace through fear. As Jiraiya summoned Gamaken to fight Pain, five more Rinnegan-wielding figures appeared beside him.

• Jiraiya met Konan, who confirmed that Nagato led Akatsuki and said their goal was peace before attacking him with paper weapons.
• Jiraiya used Toad Oil to restrict Konan, but Pain summoned a giant crab that washed the oil away and ordered her to withdraw.
• Jiraiya restrained Pain with Wild Lion's Mane Technique and asked about Yahiko and Akatsuki's purpose; Pain explained his plan to use a Tailed Beast weapon to make the world fear war.
• Pain escaped Jiraiya's attack with a Summoning Technique and threatened that Shinki would feel pain and learn of Jiraiya's death.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamaken to face Pain, then saw five additional figures with Rinnegan appear beside him.

Shinki learned that Jiraiya had been killed by Pain and began investigating the enemy while helping decode Jiraiya’s final message. The message and examination of Pain’s corpse led Shinki to conclude that the bodies were not the real Pain.

• Shinki, Naruto, and Tsunade each sensed Jiraiya’s presence and mourned him as Shinki’s Mangekyō Sharingan awakened.
• Yamato summoned Shinki back to Konoha, where Tsunade told him that Jiraiya had died fighting Pain.
• Shinki vowed to kill Pain, then agreed to decipher Jiraiya’s coded message and examine Pain’s corpse.
• Shinki and Konoha’s code-breaking department decoded Jiraiya’s message: “The real one isn't among them (the real one doesn't exist).”
• While dissecting Pain’s corpse, Shinki found chakra-receiving black rods and discovered that the body’s cells had long been dead.

Shinki learned that Nagato controlled the six Pains and gathered information about their abilities before revealing his Perfect Susanoo in the Hokage's Office. After learning that Pain had killed Jiraiya, Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin set out for Amegakure, while Shinki prepared to confront Pain.

• Shinki explained his theory that Nagato controlled the six Pains through chakra and asked Sage Fukasaku to describe their abilities.
• Sasuke recruited Karin from Orochimaru's southern base by telling her that Shinki would come, and she eagerly joined the squad.
• Sasuke received a message reporting that Pain had killed Jiraiya in Amegakure, and Naruto decided to go there with Sasuke.
• Karin joined Naruto and Sasuke because Jiraiya had been Shinki's master, while Sasuke told her and Suigetsu to gather information on Itachi after he returned.
• Shinki transformed his Mangekyo into a two-hundred-meter Perfect Susanoo in the Hokage's Office and prepared to face Pain.

Shinki arrived at Amegakure and unleashed a devastating Sage Art that destroyed the village’s main gate and overwhelmed its defenders. Pain recognized the power of Shinki’s attack as rivaling a sage’s.

• Tsunade sent the first and second Anbu squads to assist Shinki, while Fukasaku returned to Mount Myōboku to alert the toads.
• Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin watched Amegakure from outside and discussed how its chakra-created rain would expose them if they tried to sneak in.
• Shinki flew toward Amegakure in a Perfect Susanoo, surprising Sasuke, Naruto, and Karin.
• Shinki gathered Amegakure’s rain clouds and struck the village with Sage Art: Eight Thunder Gods, collapsing the main gate and killing or injuring many defenders.
• Pain opened his Rinnegan in shock and realized that Shinki’s power could rival a sage’s.

Shinki attacked Amegakure, defeated Pain’s six bodies, and used Wood Release to find the hidden Nagato. He reached Nagato’s room and asked who he was, while Nagato confirmed his identity.

• Shinki confronted Deva Path Pain, endured his repulsive shield, and destroyed him with the Susanoo’s Spiral Sword.
• Shinki sensed five more Pains and defeated them as Amegakure’s residents fled.
• Naruto, Sasuke, and Karin watched Shinki sustain his Susanoo for more than twenty minutes.
• Shinki transformed Amegakure into a forest with Wood Release and sensed Nagato inside a high tower.
• Shinki blocked an attacker’s Paper Shuriken with Ice Release and cut the attacker in two before asking the emaciated man if he was Nagato.
• Nagato confirmed his identity and slowly raised his head.

Shinki killed Nagato, recovered Jiraiya’s preserved body, and revived him with the Hell Snatching Technique. Jiraiya reunited with Tsunade in Konoha, where she wept with relief and welcomed him back.

• Shinki noticed Nagato’s eyes had been removed, dismissed his claims of ideological superiority, and killed him.
• The masked man examined the Rinnegan and worried that Shinki’s strength would obstruct the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Shinki found Jiraiya’s frozen corpse in a laboratory, prepared a Reincarnation Ritual, and summoned the Death God to revive him.
• Jiraiya awoke, learned that Shinki had killed Nagato, and agreed to return to Konoha for his date with Tsunade.
• At the Ninja Academy, Konohamaru comforted Tsunade over Jiraiya’s supposed death until Jiraiya arrived alive with Shinki and Naruto.
• Jiraiya embraced the tearful Tsunade, while Konohamaru pointed out that she had cried despite claiming to be stronger than him.

After returning to Konoha, Shinki agreed to join Naruto in finding Sasuke, then met Konohamaru, Moegi, and Ino while shopping. He returned home to learn that the Hokage had summoned him and Naruto.

• Naruto said he wanted to join Sasuke's team, and Shinki agreed to go with him in a few days.
• Shinki used Flying Thunder God to appear at the market, where he greeted Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi and arranged to teach Konohamaru after dinner.
• Shinki ran into Ino, who became excited when she heard him say she had gotten prettier, but he disappeared before she could confess her feelings.
• Shinki returned home with groceries, and Naruto told him that the Hokage had sent for them.

Tsunade sent Shinki and Naruto to investigate the Akatsuki’s unknown leader, and the pair left Konoha after Shinki taught Konohamaru the basics of Rasenshuriken. While searching for Sasuke, they learned he was still in the Land of Fire, as Sasuke’s team encountered Itachi, who challenged his brother to meet him at the Uchiha Clan’s base.

• Tsunade told Shinki and Naruto that Pain was dead but the Akatsuki continued collecting Tailed Beasts under an unknown leader, and she assigned them to investigate.
• Shinki taught Konohamaru the basics of Rasenshuriken over three days, then told him he was leaving on a mission.
• Shinki and Naruto said goodbye to their friends and departed Konoha to meet Sasuke.
• At a Bounty Station, Shinki and Naruto bought information and learned Sasuke was still in the Land of Fire; they also heard Shinki’s bounty had risen to 320 million ryo.
• Itachi appeared before Sasuke and his team as a flock of crows and told Sasuke to meet him at the Uchiha Clan’s base.