Chapter Summaries

Akihara Kagura proposed sending Second Pillar undercover to find Orochimaru, with the Flying Thunder God Technique as his escape plan. At Root, Second Pillar discovered the Uchiha survivors Kagura had secretly protected, awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and decided to kill Uchiha Itachi and lead Root to revive the clan.

• Obito Uchiha rejected White Zetsu Awei's offer to provide intelligence on the four Hokage, insisting he could handle them himself.
• Tsunade and the four Hokage discussed Konoha's enemies, and Akihara Kagura proposed using Second Pillar as a spy beside Orochimaru while teaching him the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Tsunade agreed to consider the plan if Second Pillar could learn the technique, and Karin brought him to the Root base.
• Karin revealed that Akihara Kagura had saved many Uchiha during the clan's downfall and kept them hidden in Root.
• Second Pillar awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and resolved to kill Uchiha Itachi, become Root's leader, and revive the Uchiha Clan.
• Karin led Second Pillar farther into Root to meet the teacher Akihara Kagura had found for him.

Second Pillar trained in the Flying Thunder God Technique under Tobirama Senju and learned that Naruto Uzumaki was the son of the Fourth Hokage. At thirteen, he received a Root mission to pose as a missing-nin, join Orochimaru, and monitor him while training to gain the power to kill Uchiha Itachi.

• Second Pillar met the revived Hokage and learned that Minato Namikaze was Naruto Uzumaki's father.
• Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze taught Second Pillar the Flying Thunder God Technique, and he quickly grasped its initial steps.
• Second Pillar kept Root's secrets while continuing missions with Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.
• After a year of training, Second Pillar became more proficient in the Flying Thunder God Technique than Kakashi Hatake.
• Akihara Kagura ordered Second Pillar to leave Konoha, pose as a missing-nin, and seek refuge with Orochimaru to monitor him and train.
• Second Pillar agreed to carry out the mission and planned to tell Team 7 he was defecting for power.

Orochimaru returned to Konoha intending to lure Second Pillar away and claim his body, but Second Pillar defeated the Sound Four with the Flying Thunder God Technique. After Orochimaru appeared and invited him to leave, Second Pillar went with him, and Sakura Haruno rushed to tell Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya that Sasuke had been taken out of the village.

• Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi planned to use the Sound Four to bring Second Pillar to Orochimaru, while Akihara Kagura led Root away to attack the Sound Village.
• Second Pillar struggled with his decision to leave Team 7 and pursue strength, even as Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno tried to change his mind.
• Orochimaru sent the Sound Four to test Second Pillar, but Second Pillar used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Chidori to defeat them.
• Orochimaru appeared and invited Second Pillar to leave Konoha with him; Second Pillar agreed to go and challenged Orochimaru to show what he could teach.
• Sakura Haruno arrived at Ichiraku Ramen wounded and told Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya that Orochimaru had taken Sasuke out of the village.

At the Valley of the End, Orochimaru and Second Pillar confronted their pursuers, Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki, and the four began fighting across the river. As the battle escalated, Second Pillar reflected on his reasons for leaving and his plan to return to Naruto’s side after pursuing revenge and competing for Root’s leadership.

• Orochimaru and Second Pillar rested at the Valley of the End and agreed to face Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki there.
• Jiraiya accused Orochimaru of corrupting Sasuke, while Naruto pleaded with Second Pillar to return; Second Pillar insisted he would sacrifice anything for power and revenge.
• Naruto charged across the river, and Jiraiya followed, starting a four-way battle as Orochimaru attacked Jiraiya and Second Pillar attacked Naruto.
• Second Pillar used Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique and Great Fireball Jutsu to drive Jiraiya and Naruto out of the water, while Naruto summoned numerous shadow clones and awakened a red tailed beast cloak.
• Second Pillar remembered Minato Namikaze’s explanation of Naruto’s isolation and privately considered how he could return as Naruto’s companion after taking revenge and competing with Karin for Root’s leadership.

Second Pillar defeated Naruto Uzumaki at the Valley of the End and left with Orochimaru, while Jiraiya and Kakashi Hatake were left behind. The story then shifted to the Land of Rain, where Obito Uchiha confronted the four resurrected Hokage.

• Second Pillar activated Orochimaru's curse mark and fought Naruto Uzumaki, whose tailed beast chakra empowered his Rasengan.
• Their Rasengan and Chidori collided, triggering an explosion that damaged the Valley of the End and sent water cascading down the cliffs.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya rescued the exhausted fighters, and Orochimaru declared Second Pillar the winner before leaving with him.
• Naruto Uzumaki woke and vowed to bring Second Pillar back, while Kakashi Hatake arrived and learned that Orochimaru had taken him away.
• In the Land of Rain, Obito Uchiha confronted Minato Namikaze, Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, and the other resurrected Hokage, then attacked them with Madara Uchiha's Flame-Shaped Fan.

Obito Uchiha was beaten by the four Hokage and escaped only by sacrificing a Sharingan, so he ordered Akihara Kagura to draw them away. Kagura repeatedly recalled the Hokage while secretly letting them hunt Obito again, and years of pursuit left Obito nearly out of Sharingan as the Akatsuki’s plans continued.

• Tobirama Senju, Minato Namikaze, Hashirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi overwhelmed Obito Uchiha, who escaped using Izanagi and Kamui after losing a Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Obito Uchiha ordered Akihara Kagura to lure the Hokage away, while Black Zetsu suggested finding a way to revive Madara Uchiha at full strength.
• Akihara Kagura accepted the assignment and summoned the Hokage back to Konoha, planning to send them after Obito again and strip away his inherited assets.
• Team 7 disbanded after Second Pillar defected with Orochimaru; Jiraiya took Naruto Uzumaki to train, and Tsunade made Sakura Haruno her disciple.
• Over the next two or three years, the Hokage repeatedly pursued Obito, who lost more than a hundred Sharingan and eventually had only eleven left.
• In the Land of Snow, Obito complained that Kagura could not send him more Sharingan, while White Zetsu explained that Tobirama had forbidden the Dual Bloodline Ninja from leaving Konoha.

At twenty-one, Akihara Kagura continued directing Root while Second Pillar prepared to challenge Orochimaru after years of training. Orochimaru learned of the planned challenge and revealed that he intended to take Second Pillar’s body through Living Corpse Reincarnation.

• Obito Uchiha escaped another pursuit by the four Hokage using Izanagi and Kamui.
• Karin told Akihara Kagura that Orochimaru had developed autonomous puppets, and Kagura ordered the research sealed away; he also approved Second Pillar’s challenge and warned Orochimaru through Kabuto Yakushi.
• Second Pillar defeated Hozuki Suigetsu in another sparring match at Orochimaru’s base.
• Second Pillar received Kagura’s message approving his challenge and learned Naruto Uzumaki was returning to Konoha.
• Kabuto Yakushi warned Orochimaru that Second Pillar might try to assassinate him, and Orochimaru decided to take Second Pillar’s body now that the three-year term for Living Corpse Reincarnation had arrived.

Second Pillar fought Orochimaru in his laboratory and defeated him, absorbing his body and chakra into the Cursed Seal. Kabuto Yakushi ordered Second Pillar to report to Kagura, and Second Pillar chose to obey rather than leave Root.

• Kabuto Yakushi secretly gave Second Pillar an antidote before he entered Orochimaru's laboratory.
• Orochimaru released poison that blurred Second Pillar's vision, but Second Pillar used Kabuto's antidote and recovered.
• Second Pillar battled Orochimaru with swordsmanship and the Flying Thunder God Technique, then survived the White Phosphorus Snake's anesthetic by using genjutsu inside Orochimaru's reincarnation space.
• Second Pillar collapsed Orochimaru's reincarnation space and absorbed Orochimaru's body and chakra into his Cursed Seal.
• Kabuto Yakushi told Second Pillar his trial was over and asked whether he wanted to leave Root; Second Pillar decided to see Kagura.

Naruto Uzumaki and Jiraiya returned to Konoha, where Naruto reunited with Sakura Haruno and encountered Root’s growing power. At Root, Akihara Kagura exposed Orochimaru hiding inside Second Pillar, gave Sasuke a new curse mark and a chance to compete with Karin for Root’s leadership, then prepared to meet the Akatsuki as their plans began moving forward.

• Naruto Uzumaki reunited with Sakura Haruno and Konohamaru, then Sakura punched him after he tried to demonstrate a new Sexy Jutsu.
• Naruto Uzumaki recognized two Root ninjas passing by, and Sakura explained that Root had taken over the former police force’s authority.
• Kabuto Yakushi brought Second Pillar back to Root, where Akihara Kagura used the Evil Sealing Method to draw Orochimaru out of Sasuke’s curse mark.
• Akihara Kagura revealed that Sasuke had defected as a planned intelligence agent, replaced Orochimaru’s curse mark with his own, and let Sasuke compete with Karin to become Root’s future leader.
• Akihara Kagura told Orochimaru to remain in Root and revealed that he would meet with Nagato and the Akatsuki that night to discuss their plan.

Tsunade rejected Akihara Kagura’s plan to place a Root ninja in Team 7, but Kagura arranged for Kakashi to meet and assess the returning Sasuke, whose defection had been a secret mission to kill Orochimaru. Sasuke chose to remain in Root rather than rejoin Team 7, and Kakashi prepared to test his strength.

• Tsunade told Naruto, Jiraiya, and Sakura that Orochimaru had been killed by Second Pillar and rejected Kagura’s request to add a Root ninja to Team 7.
• Kagura brought Kakashi to Root’s training ground to evaluate a candidate for monitoring Naruto, then revealed that the candidate was Sasuke.
• Kagura explained that Sasuke had joined Root, pretended to defect, and killed Orochimaru during a secret mission.
• Kakashi invited Sasuke to return to Team 7, but Sasuke refused because he still wanted to kill Itachi and remain in Root.
• Sasuke asked Kakashi to keep his return secret from Naruto and Sakura, and Kakashi agreed to test his training results.

Second Pillar defeated Kakashi Hatake in their test, and Kakashi then tested Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, finding that neither had caught up to Sasuke’s strength. Akihara Kagura traveled to the Akatsuki base, where Pain revealed the organization had begun its plan to capture the One-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Second Pillar used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Lightning Style attacks against Kakashi Hatake, who countered with his own Flying Thunder God mark before praising Sasuke’s growth.
• Akihara Kagura took Kakashi Hatake to the Hokage Building, where Lady Tsunade rejected adding a new member to Team 7 and arranged for Kakashi to test Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno.
• Kakashi Hatake tested Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno until evening, then told Naruto that he needed to master the Rasengan’s nature transformation to catch up to Sasuke.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed the Akatsuki Organization’s activity, and Tsunade said Akihara Kagura had left Konoha to investigate its movements.
• Pain and Konan welcomed Akihara Kagura at the Akatsuki base, where Pain said he had sent Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara to capture Sunagakure’s One-Tails Jinchuriki.

Deidara and Sasori captured Gaara, prompting Konoha to send teams to rescue the Fifth Kazekage. As Team 7 and Chiyo encountered an Akatsuki puppet of Uchiha Itachi, Akihara Kagura sent Sasuke to follow and protect them, and a Root ninja stepped forward to face Itachi.

• Deidara defeated Gaara with explosive clay and captured him, while Sasori defeated Kankuro as the Akatsuki pair escaped.
• Akihara Kagura told Tsunade that two Akatsuki members were active in the Land of Wind, and Konoha sent Team 3 and Team 7 to help Sunagakure after Gaara was captured.
• Akihara Kagura ordered Second Pillar to follow and protect Team 7, then had White Zetsu Awei report that Konoha's reinforcements were on their way.
• Chiyo joined Team 7 and Team 3 in tracking Deidara and Sasori, while Pain prepared puppet copies of Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki to guard the extraction of Shukaku.
• Team 7 and Chiyo encountered Uchiha Itachi in an oasis, and a masked Root ninja appeared and told them to continue the rescue mission while he handled Itachi.

Second Pillar confronted Uchiha Itachi in a desert oasis and revealed that he had joined Root under a hidden identity. After a fierce battle, Second Pillar defeated what he thought was Itachi, only to learn it was a puppet; Itachi recognized his growth and warned that their next meeting would be real.

• Grandma Chiyo questioned Akihara Kagura’s motives for sending Root after Team 7, while Kakashi Hatake struggled to keep the Root ninja’s identity secret.
• Second Pillar removed his mask, and Uchiha Itachi recognized him as Sasuke and realized he had joined Root and infiltrated Orochimaru’s ranks to assassinate him.
• Second Pillar and Uchiha Itachi fought with shuriken, swords, fire techniques, and the Flying Thunder God Technique, while Itachi tested his younger brother’s strength.
• Second Pillar marked Uchiha Itachi with the Flying Thunder God Technique and struck him through the heart, declaring that there would be no next time.
• Uchiha Itachi revealed that he had been using a puppet, warned that he might have to kill Sasuke when they met again, and vanished after the puppet fell.

Sasori of the Red Sands battled Grandma Chiyo and Sakura Haruno with Hiruko, a heavily modified puppet equipped with powerful weapons and armor. After Hiruko evaded Sakura’s punch by using chakra jets and unfolded wings to fly, Sasori showed that his puppet had speed and mobility as well as attack and defense.

• At the Akatsuki base, Pain said Deidara and Sasori could escape pursuit after the One-Tailed Shukaku had been extracted from Gaara.
• Team 7 and Grandma Chiyo found Sasori and Deidara in the cave, where Deidara left with Gaara’s corpse while Kakashi and Naruto pursued him.
• Grandma Chiyo and Sakura stayed behind to fight Sasori, and Chiyo learned that Hiruko’s weapons and armor were far more advanced than she expected.
• Chiyo used her puppets, Father and Mother, to draw Hiruko’s fire while she controlled Sakura’s movements and Sakura charged in to attack.
• Hiruko dodged Sakura’s punch with chakra jets, then unfolded propeller wings and rose into the air.

Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki reached the cave after Deidara was defeated, but they arrived too late to save Gaara. Grandma Chiyo revived Gaara by sacrificing her life, and Obito Uchiha was blasted by the shell Kakashi Hatake had sent into the Kamui dimension.

• A masked Root ninja joined Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki, and Kakashi Hatake sent Deidara into the Kamui dimension as he attempted to self-destruct.
• Kakashi Hatake and Naruto Uzumaki found Gaara dead after the One-Tailed Shukaku had been extracted from him, then teleported to Sakura Haruno and Grandma Chiyo’s cave battle.
• Sasori of the Red Sands used the Third Kazekage puppet’s magnetized bullets to disable Grandma Chiyo’s puppets, then escaped with the Third Kazekage and Grandma Chiyo’s Father and Mother puppets.
• Kakashi Hatake and the masked Root ninja stopped Sasori of the Red Sands’s attacks, but he escaped after scattering exploding bombs.
• Grandma Chiyo used the Life Transfer Technique to revive Gaara and died after warning Sakura Haruno that Sasori of the Red Sands’s true body might be an even stronger human puppet.
• Obito Uchiha released Deidara from the Kamui dimension, then entered it and was blasted by the shell Kakashi Hatake had sent there.

Naruto Uzumaki learned that Minato Namikaze was his father and reacted with anger over being sealed with the Nine-Tails and ostracized for sixteen years. Sasuke revealed his identity to comfort Naruto, leaving them face to face in the park.

• Obito Uchiha considered seeking Nagato's Rinnegan rather than taking back the Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan he had given Kakashi Hatake.
• After returning to Konoha, Kakashi Hatake asked Tsunade and Akihara Kagura to arrange for Minato Namikaze to train Naruto Uzumaki.
• Kakashi Hatake brought Naruto to meet Minato, who introduced himself as Naruto's father and explained that he had sealed the Nine-Tails inside him.
• Naruto rejected Minato and ran away, blaming him for the suffering he had endured as the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki.
• Akihara Kagura sent Sasuke after Naruto, and Sasuke found him crying in a park and tried to explain Minato's actions.
• Naruto turned Sasuke's old words against him, prompting Sasuke to remove his cat-face mask and reveal himself.

Second Pillar revealed that he had secretly worked for Root and told Naruto Uzumaki that Minato Namikaze was his father, bringing the two together at Training Ground Three. As Naruto began learning to strengthen the Rasengan, Akihara Kagura prepared to investigate Akatsuki activity in the Land of Lightning.

• Second Pillar revealed that he had left Team 7 on a classified mission to infiltrate Orochimaru, and Naruto Uzumaki learned that Second Pillar had secretly protected their team.
• Second Pillar told Naruto Uzumaki that Minato Namikaze had been revived and had watched over him, urging Naruto to speak with his father before they lost the chance.
• Minato Namikaze apologized to Naruto Uzumaki for failing him as a father, and Akihara Kagura explained that Minato had saved Naruto from Obito Uchiha when he was born.
• Akihara Kagura demonstrated how Wind Style chakra transformed the Rasengan, and Naruto Uzumaki began training with Minato Namikaze and Second Pillar beside him.
• Akihara Kagura told Kakashi Hatake that Root intelligence had placed Akatsuki members in the Land of Lightning and that he planned to investigate Kumogakure.

Akihara Kagura confronted Kakuzu and Hidan in the Land of Lightning, captured Hidan, and turned him into the Hell Path puppet. He tested his new puppet by ordering Hidan to attack Kakuzu.

• Kakuzu and Hidan collected a bounty at a hidden Bounty Brokerage and discussed Akihara Kagura’s rising bounty.
• Akihara Kagura appeared before the pair, and Hidan charged him while Kakuzu tried to flee.
• Akihara Kagura used Wood Release to bury Hidan, then bound Kakuzu and drained his chakra.
• Akihara Kagura pinned Hidan with black rods and explained that he had come to capture him for the Hell Path puppet.
• Akihara Kagura sealed Hidan’s soul, implanted black rods and a curse seal, and named him Hell Path - Hidan.
• Akihara Kagura tested Hidan’s abilities by making him approach the bound Kakuzu with his scythe.

Akihara Kagura recruited Kakuzu and Hidan into his plans to take over the Akatsuki Organization while secretly arranging for them to be captured. As the Akatsuki launched a rapid campaign to seize the remaining tailed beasts, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared through Impure World Reincarnation to save Asuma Sarutobi from Kakuzu.

• Hidan lost control, used Kakuzu's blood in his curse ritual, and seemingly killed him, but Kakuzu revived when his Earth Grudge Fear returned to his body.
• Akihara Kagura offered Kakuzu paid work and protection, revealed his ambition to lead the Akatsuki Organization, and secured Kakuzu's agreement.
• Akihara Kagura sent Kakuzu and Hidan toward the Land of Fire, then secretly alerted Tsunade that two Akatsuki members would be active there so Root could capture them.
• Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara captured the newly revived Three-Tails, while other Akatsuki members set out after the remaining Jinchuriki.
• Kakuzu and Hidan killed nobles and exchanged their bodies for money, then fought Asuma Sarutobi's team when the Konoha ninjas intercepted them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared through Impure World Reincarnation, countered Kakuzu's five elemental attacks, saved Asuma's team, and ordered Root to arrest Kakuzu and Hidan.

Asuma Sarutobi and his team survived an encounter with Kakuzu and Hidan after Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hashirama Senju intervened, while Root sheltered the captured Akatsuki members. Meanwhile, the Fourth Raikage learned that Akihara Kagura was approaching Kumogakure, only to find an unknown visitor already in his office.

• Hashirama Senju captured Kakuzu, Hidan, and Kakuzu's creatures, then escorted them to Root while Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with Asuma Sarutobi about his role as a father.
• Shikamaru Nara realized that other former Hokage might also have been revived and that they could be staying in Root.
• Karin recognized the curse mark on Kakuzu, promised Root would protect him and Hidan, and warned that someone might question them about Uchiha Itachi.
• Second Pillar asked Karin for permission to interrogate Kakuzu and Hidan about Uchiha Itachi, and she allowed it on the condition that he use no violence.
• The Fourth Raikage learned that Yugito was missing and that Akihara Kagura was heading to Kumogakure, then considered capturing Kagura for his Wood Style.
• The Fourth Raikage entered his office with his advisers and found an unfamiliar man eating an apple on his sofa, asking for pears.