Chapter Summaries

After a masked Wood Release user attacked Kumogakure’s team in the capital and claimed to be Yotsuki Hui, Dada and the Third Raikage recognized that an outside force was meddling in the Land of Lightning’s upheaval. The new Daimyo’s offers to let other villages operate in his country alarmed the great villages, and Konohagakure considered how Kumogakure might respond.

• The Raikage Secretary reported that a masked taijutsu ninja using Wood Release had seriously injured two members of Kumogakure’s team and identified herself as Yotsuki Hui.
• Dada speculated that Madara Uchiha might be behind the attacker, while the Third Raikage concluded that outside forces were interfering in the Daimyo’s Mansion and sent Dada and the Special Operations Unit to investigate.
• The Third Kazekage received the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning’s offer to let Sunagakure station ninja there long-term for substantial compensation.
• Ōnoki confirmed that the Daimyo had officially invited Iwagakure to operate in every city of the Land of Lightning and decided to accept whatever benefited Iwagakure.
• Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Hatake Sakumo discussed how the Daimyo’s actions could damage Kumogakure and the Land of Lightning, while potentially creating an opportunity for other villages.

The major ninja villages rejected Raihara Yukihiro’s attempt to enlist them against Kumogakure, and the Third Raikage learned how far the Land of Lightning’s crisis had spread. As Dada headed to Asuka City, he wondered what further backup plan Madara and Zetsu had; meanwhile, a Cloud Ninja threatened Raihara Yukihiro and ordered him to cooperate with Kumogakure.

• Yagura Karatachi rejected Raihara Yukihiro’s invitation and decided Kirigakure should send an envoy to clarify its position to Kumogakure.
• Raihara Yukihiro received rejections from the major villages, while the Third Raikage learned from envoys that the Daimyo’s Mansion had sent them letters.
• Dada led Kumogakure’s Special Operations Unit toward the Land of Lightning’s capital and wondered whether Madara and Zetsu had another plan.
• A Cloud Ninja confronted Raihara Yukihiro in his bedroom, warned him that Kumogakure would take over Asuka City, and demanded that he cooperate.
• The Cloud Ninja told Raihara Yukihiro that Lord Dana’s wedding was in three months and that the princess should be ready; Raihara Yukihiro was left furious and humiliated.

Yotsuki Dana led Kumogakure ninja into the Capital of the Land of Lightning, seized its gates, and advanced on Asuka City. Black Zetsu and Yotsuki Hui hid among the city's residents as mercenaries while the Daimyo tried to flee, but Dana reached him first.

• Black Zetsu and Yotsuki Hui disguised themselves as ordinary people and planned to move through the capital as Mercenary Ninja.
• Yotsuki Dana arrived at the southern gate, stopped a samurai from extorting a farmer, and ordered Kumogakure ninja to take control of every city gate.
• The Yamazaki Family head welcomed Kumogakure's takeover and hurried to seek ninja protection for his residence.
• Raihara Yukihiro learned that Kumogakure had seized the gates and tried to retreat to the top floor of Asuka City.
• Yotsuki Dana entered the council hall with his men and told Raihara Yukihiro not to hurry away.

Dada investigated the Daimyo and the deaths in Asuka City, but the citywide search found no signs of genjutsu. He then questioned Natsu, who described Furuya Jun'en’s death and reported that several attendants and retainers had unexpectedly begun supporting the Daimyo.

• Dada stopped Raihara Yukihiro from leaving the council hall and ordered sensory ninjas to inspect him and his attendants for genjutsu.
• Dada questioned Raihara Yukihiro about Furuya Jun'en’s and Oosawa Takeo’s deaths, then ordered guards to stay with the Daimyo while he investigated.
• The Special Operations Unit searched all 401 people in Asuka City for more than half a day but found no signs of genjutsu.
• Yotsuki Hui and Black Zetsu discussed Dada’s forceful takeover of Asuka City, and Black Zetsu said it might help Lord Madara’s plans.
• Dada visited Natsu and learned that she and Momoko had witnessed the bodies fall near their window after Furuya Jun'en died.
• Natsu told Dada that several stewards and retainers had suddenly started supporting the Daimyo, allowing him to hold banquets and command people in Asuka City.

Dada accepted Yamazaki Isao’s offer of lodging while ordering Kumogakure to detain and screen mercenary and unaffiliated ninja throughout the capital. With their disguises as mercenary ninja no longer viable, Black Zetsu and Yotsuki Hui changed into samurai to continue their plans.

• Dada met Yamazaki Isao outside Asuka City, learned about the Yamazaki Family, and accepted his offer to stay at their estate.
• Dada ordered Kumogakure’s forces to gather mercenary ninja and unaffiliated ninja in the capital, allowing lethal force against anyone who resisted.
• Kumogakure ninja sealed the city gates, detained mercenary ninja for registration and questioning, and raided both underground mission offices.
• Black Zetsu and Yotsuki Hui abandoned their plan to pose as mercenary ninja because Kumogakure was screening everyone with Chakra.
• Black Zetsu and Yotsuki Hui transformed themselves into bedraggled samurai and left their hiding place.

Dada coordinated Kumogakure’s effort to stabilize the Land of Lightning, then gathered the capital’s Mercenary Ninjas and samurai at a Training Ground. As unrest spread through the crowd, Cloud Ninja handed everyone Chakra test paper, and one samurai reacted grimly.

• At the Yamazaki Estate, Dada questioned Yamazaki Isao about the nobility while secretly coordinating the Special Operations Unit through Communication Snails.
• Dada rejected Yamazaki Isao’s attempt to send his youngest daughter to serve him and told him not to waste his effort.
• The next morning, Kumogakure gathered the capital’s samurai and other people with Chakra at a Training Ground.
• As Dada arrived, people in the crowd accused Kumogakure of detaining them for sinister purposes and urged others to resist.
• Cloud Ninja distributed Chakra test paper to the gathered people, and a samurai stared grimly at his slip as another samurai looked at him questioningly.

Dada used Chakra nature testing to identify Black Zetsu among the assembled mercenaries and samurai. The chapter ended with Dada impaling Black Zetsu after the test paper split for a second time.

• Cloud Ninja checked identities and tested the Chakra natures of the mercenaries and samurai.
• Dada watched the tests closely because he knew Black Zetsu possessed seven Chakra natures and could not be detected by the paper’s ordinary five-nature test alone.
• A samurai named Kurihara Sae caused his Chakra test paper to split, and the registrar ordered him to repeat the test.
• When the paper split again, Dada attacked and pierced Kurihara Sae from behind, revealing Black Zetsu beneath the disguise.

Yotsuki Dana and Kumogakure sprang a trap on Black Zetsu, using Kagari’s Chakra perception and a barrier to identify and pursue him. Black Zetsu escaped underground, but Dada and Kagari followed, planning to wait until he led them to Father.

• Dada attacked Black Zetsu with Lightning Release, but Black Zetsu liquefied his body and resisted the damage.
• Kumogakure raised the Four Azure Lightning Formation, trapping Black Zetsu and the Mercenary Ninja and samurai at the Training Ground.
• Dada’s plan relied on Kagari recording Black Zetsu’s Chakra signature so she could recognize him in the future.
• Black Zetsu squeezed through the barrier underground, and Kagari sensed that he was injured and fleeing southwest.
• Dada carried Kagari after Black Zetsu while the others controlled the crowd, and a figure among them watched them leave.
• As they pursued Black Zetsu underground, Dada told Kagari they would keep following until Black Zetsu went to find Father.

Black Zetsu fled across several countries while Yotsuki Dana pursued him, alarming the major ninja villages as they misread the chase as a military threat or an elopement. Black Zetsu finally escaped after nearly a day of pursuit and decided to return to Madara to find out how his information had leaked.

• Black Zetsu repeatedly changed direction through crowded towns, but Kagari’s tracking let Dada keep finding him and chasing him.
• Iwagakure and Konoha received reports that Yotsuki Dana had crossed their borders, and Konoha prepared for battle before learning he had left carrying a woman.
• Hanzo of the Salamander mistakenly concluded that Yotsuki Dana had rushed into the Land of Rain to seek an antidote for his companion.
• Kagari directed Dada during the prolonged pursuit, while Black Zetsu hoped to outlast his human pursuer.
• After nearly a day and night, Dada slowed and Black Zetsu escaped; after wandering for another day, he decided to return to Madara and investigate the leak.

Madara learned that Kumogakure had uncovered signs of his plans and welcomed the prospect of a new opponent. After Dada and Kagari tracked Black Zetsu to Madara’s underground lair, Dada decided to confront him alone.

• Black Zetsu told Madara that Kumogakure had discovered their arrangements in the Land of Lightning and might know of Madara’s existence.
• Madara laughed at the prospect of Kumogakure becoming an opponent and a stepping stone for his plan.
• Kagari sensed Black Zetsu, an elderly human, and a huge, frenzied Chakra signature beneath a forest in the Land of the Waterfall.
• Dada concluded that the lair held Madara Uchiha and chose to fight him without calling reinforcements.
• Dada announced that they would knock on the door first.

Yotsuki Dana summoned Kumogakure’s Saturation Annihilation: Type Three bombardment against Madara Uchiha, then confronted the aged warrior as Black Zetsu restored his body. The chapter ended with Dana transforming into Sage Lightning Armor and challenging Madara to fight.

• Kumogakure received Yotsuki Dana’s highest-level request for attack support and dispatched the Saturation Annihilation: Type Three bombardment.
• Dada sent Kagari away with his Small Katsuyu and unleashed successive waves of Transport Pods, Sealing Scrolls, Explosive Tags, and barrier nets against the underground target.
• Madara Uchiha emerged from the crater and identified himself as the Shura of the Ninja World while Black Zetsu used Spore: Possession Technique to restore his strength.
• Madara armed himself with the Uchiha Flame Fan and a long-handled scythe as Yotsuki Dana donned Sage Lightning Armor and formed his Stormlight Staff.
• Yotsuki Dana challenged Madara, and Madara eagerly accepted the fight.

Yotsuki Dana fought Madara Uchiha in a fierce battle, trading powerful taijutsu and ninjutsu while Kagari watched anxiously from afar. Dana refused Madara’s offer to join him and prepared to face Madara’s full power as their battle continued.

• Kagari watched the distant fight and urged Brother Dada to win.
• Madara Uchiha blocked Dana’s Wishful Lightning Staff, then blasted him with Uchiha Parry, explosive tags, and Great Fire Annihilation.
• Dana parted Madara’s flames with raw strength and fought him at close range, eventually slamming him into the earth.
• Madara used Wood Release to launch Dana away and create a forest, then offered him a place in his planned new world.
• Dana refused Madara’s offer, summoned five Thunder Drums, and challenged him to fight at full power.
• Madara stopped Zetsu from interfering and prepared to show Dana the full power of his body.

Yotsuki Dana battled Madara Uchiha in the Tree Realm, countering his Wood Release with Sage Lightning and landing a powerful blow. Madara unveiled his Susanoo and challenged Dana to match the Uchiha clan’s power.

• Yotsuki Dana attacked Madara Uchiha with Five Thunders, but Madara rebounded the stormlight with his Gunbai and met Dana’s staff in close combat.
• Madara used Wood Release to send Dana skyward and swallowed him with a Wood Dragon, but Dana burst free with nine Lightning Dragons.
• Dana scattered Madara’s flames and struck him through the chest with lightning, while his Lightning Dragons restrained Madara’s Wood Human.
• Black Zetsu urged Madara to retreat, but Madara refused and activated a Transcription Seal to manifest his Susanoo.
• Madara challenged Dana to show whether he had power capable of matching the Susanoo.

Yotsuki Dana defeated Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo in a fierce battle, but Madara used a hidden Transcription Seal to trap him inside Planetary Devastation. Black Zetsu retrieved Madara’s corpse and escaped, leaving Dana imprisoned in a massive stone sphere.

• Dada expanded his Thunder God form into a three-headed, six-armed giant and fought Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo, using giant Stormlight Staffs to shatter it and crush Madara.
• Madara admitted that his aged body had reached its limits, separated from Black Zetsu, and ordered Zetsu to carry out his will and leave.
• Dada attacked Madara before he could explain his plan, but Madara revealed a Transcription Seal in his right eye and activated Planetary Devastation.
• The black sphere disrupted Dada’s Chakra and drew rocks and debris around him, sealing him inside a stone sphere over a hundred meters wide.
• A white figure emerged, took Madara Uchiha’s corpse, and escaped underground.

Yotsuki Hui escaped from prison and learned that Yotsuki Dana and Madara had apparently fought, while Cloud Ninja investigated the massive stone sphere left behind in the Land of the Waterfall. Chishin Yusuke discovered a huge hollow beneath the sphere, but its contents remained unknown.

• Yotsuki Hui escaped her cell by having White Zetsu take her place and learned that rumors about Yotsuki Dana's disappearance had spread throughout the Shinobi World.
• Yotsuki Hui heard that Madara had died and Yotsuki Dana had survived, then left with White Zetsu to find Black Zetsu in the Land of Fields.
• Chishin Yusuke arrived in the Land of the Waterfall by Transport Pod and saw the enormous crater and stone sphere left by the battle.
• An Anbu ninja asked Chishin Yusuke to use his Red Eye to inspect the sphere, and Yusuke detected strange blackish-purple energy inside it.
• Chishin Yusuke searched through the sphere and found an enormous hollow underground.

The Third Raikage struggled to determine how to rescue Dada from a giant sealed stone sphere, and Uzumaki Kagari recognized the technique as similar to one Nagato had used. As Kumogakure’s reinforcements converged on Nagato’s home, they landed in his courtyard and asked for help, prompting him to demand payment for the damage.

• The Third Raikage learned that Dada was trapped inside a giant stone sphere and ordered Kumogakure’s teams to investigate without breaking it.
• Uzumaki Kagari sensed the sphere and told the Third Raikage that its technique resembled one Nagato had used in the East Sea Islands.
• The Third Raikage asked Kagari where Nagato was, and she said she knew his address.
• Nagato and Kushina watched waves of Heavenly Transfer Technique lights pass overhead while the Nine-Tails discussed human conflict with them.
• Three Transport Pods crashed into Nagato’s courtyard, and the Cloud Ninja who emerged asked him for help.
• Nagato demanded one hundred thousand ryo for repairs before he would discuss anything else.

Nagato reached the Land of the Waterfall and used his Eye Power to undo the enormous Planetary Devastation sealing Yotsuki Dana. After rescuing Dana, the Third Raikage invited Nagato to Kumogakure, where Nagato hoped to ask questions about the technique and his eyes.

• Nagato traveled with Kagari, Hirohiko, and the others to the Land of the Waterfall and recognized the enormous stone sphere as Planetary Devastation.
• Nagato explained that he had learned the same sealing technique himself and began using his Eye Power to dismantle the sphere.
• The Third Raikage protected Nagato from falling debris as Nagato struggled to break through the powerful seal.
• Nagato shattered the final remnants of the sphere and revealed Yotsuki Dana, who was alive but unresponsive.
• The Third Raikage thanked Nagato, recognized his eyes as resembling those of the Sage of Six Paths, and invited him to Kumogakure.

Kumogakure returned with Yotsuki Dana after finding no answers at the underground site, while other villages investigated the devastation and speculated about his fate. In Konohagakure, Orochimaru accepted leadership of a reformed Root after the advisors offered him research resources and Yotsuki Dana’s blood.

• The Third Raikage led Kumogakure back to the village with Yotsuki Dana, and the search of the underground area uncovered no valuable clues.
• Scouts from the other villages entered the devastated site and wondered whether Yotsuki Dana had been killed or crippled.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu visited Orochimaru and asked him to lead a reformed Root focused on research under the Hokage and Anbu.
• Homura and Koharu offered Orochimaru access to his former Root projects, the Scroll of Seals, and preserved blood from Yotsuki Dana.
• Orochimaru accepted the appointment and became the new leader of Root.

Yotsuki Dana remained unconscious in Kumogakure’s experimental base while the Third Raikage waited for Jishi to return and met with Nagato. Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze escorted Young Master Shohei toward the Land of Lightning, where checkpoint guards revealed that foreign young nobles had also been gathering near the border.

• The Third Raikage ordered Yotsuki Dana’s condition kept secret and had him treated in a restoration tank after researchers found his spinal Chakra was consuming energy and absorbing what they suspected was Natural Energy.
• Nagato demonstrated Planetary Devastation for the researchers, then asked to meet the Third Raikage.
• The Daimyo of the Land of Fire ordered Young Master Shohei to visit Asuka City, and Minato Namikaze, Tsume Inuzuka, and Hizashi Hyuga were assigned to escort him.
• Minato’s team departed with Shohei and his attendants, who traveled courteously without incident for several days.
• At a checkpoint in the Land of Soup, Kumogakure ninja questioned the party and mentioned that young masters from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind had recently appeared near the border, alarming Nagato and Shohei.

Minato’s convoy entered the Land of Lightning and learned that Kumogakure had taken control of the capital amid unrest and mass migration. At the capital’s gates, Young Master Shohei challenged Kumogakure’s guards, while Yotsuki Dana’s recovery accelerated at an experimental base.

• Minato spoke with a traveling merchant, who explained that Kumogakure had built a new concrete road and that the Land of Lightning was suffering under its new Daimyo.
• The merchant said Kumogakure had taken control of the capital and brought stability to the area around its village, so Minato’s group continued toward the capital on the neglected road.
• Minato, Tsume Inuzuka, and Hizashi Hyuga noticed displaced villagers’ resentment and Kumogakure ninja watching their convoy as Young Master Shohei grew more reclusive.
• At the capital’s southern gate, Kumogakure ninja demanded an inspection, and Young Master Shohei refused to leave the carriage or submit to their rules.
• At Kumogakure’s experimental base, researchers found that Yotsuki Dana’s nutrient supply had run low as his recovery progressed and discovered he had grown from 198 to 213 centimeters in seven days.
• Yotsuki Dana twitched a finger as faint electricity flickered across his back.