Chapter Summaries

Akihara Kagura invaded Kumogakure, defeated the Fourth Raikage, and used Wood Style to overrun the village. He left the Raikage bound and demanded evidence of a supposed alliance with the Akatsuki Organization, while Mabui insisted no such contact existed.

• Akihara Kagura revealed himself in the Raikage's Office and provoked the Fourth Raikage over Kumogakure's history of trying to seize other villages' bloodlines and secrets.
• Akihara Kagura fought the Fourth Raikage, matched his speed and strength, and slammed him into the ground.
• Akihara Kagura unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, covering Kumogakure in trees and binding its ninja.
• Samui brought Killer B to the transformed village, and Killer B entered Tailed Beast form before a wooden dragon drained his chakra.
• Akihara Kagura bound the Fourth Raikage and questioned him about Kumogakure's alleged collusion with the Akatsuki Organization and its stolen secret techniques.
• Mabui denied that Kumogakure had ever contacted the Akatsuki Organization, while the Fourth Raikage refused to submit.

Akihara Kagura forced Kumogakure to surrender its forbidden techniques and took the Fourth Raikage prisoner, while Kisame Hoshigaki captured Roshi and Uchiha Itachi worried about Second Pillar. In Konoha, Jiraiya planned to confront Nagato, but Tsunade told him that Akihara Kagura had already conquered Kumogakure and was bringing the Fourth Raikage back.

• Mabui and Darui revealed that Akatsuki had attacked the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, but Akihara Kagura refused their offer to cooperate and confronted them over Kumogakure's plans to take his Wood Style.
• Akihara Kagura demanded Kumogakure's forbidden techniques and secret scrolls, and the Fourth Raikage agreed to hand them over to save his village.
• Akihara Kagura threatened to take the Fourth Raikage or kill Kumogakure's ninjas, then chose to bring the Raikage back to Konoha as a souvenir.
• Kisame Hoshigaki defeated Roshi and captured him while Uchiha Itachi worried that Second Pillar might learn the truth about the Uchiha clan massacre.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade he planned to find Nagato and Konan, but Tsunade showed him a report that Akihara Kagura had conquered Kumogakure and was returning with the Fourth Raikage.

Tsunade received the captured Fourth Raikage while Akihara Kagura continued managing the Akatsuki Organization’s plans from Konoha. As Obito and Black Zetsu prepared to capture the last two Tailed Beasts and revive Madara, Kagura turned White Zetsu Awei’s intended sacrifice into an opportunity to seize control of the plan.

• Tsunade followed Kakashi Hatake and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s advice and met the captured Fourth Raikage outside Konoha.
• White Zetsu Awei relayed Obito Uchiha’s orders, and Akihara Kagura agreed to arrange Second Pillar’s duel with Uchiha Itachi while claiming he could revive Madara Uchiha in his prime.
• Akihara Kagura gave Second Pillar Kumogakure’s Lightning Chakra Mode scroll and told him to master the technique before pursuing revenge.
• Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu planned to capture Killer B and Naruto Uzumaki, then revive Madara and complete the Moon Eye Plan.
• White Zetsu Awei brought Madara Uchiha’s corpse to Konoha and reported that Black Zetsu had ordered it to serve as the sacrifice, but Akihara Kagura refused to sacrifice it.

Akihara Kagura delayed Madara Uchiha’s resurrection while preparing a plan that would draw attention to the duel between Uchiha Itachi and Second Pillar. As Root and Konoha forces mobilized and Orochimaru headed for the Akatsuki base, Kagura gave Kabuto Yakushi a hidden record and warned him that the ninja world was about to change.

• Black Zetsu and White Zetsu visited Akihara Kagura, who said he was researching Madara Uchiha’s corpse instead of reviving him and asked about the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Akihara Kagura proposed killing Obito Uchiha and Nagato to take control of the Moon Eye Plan, then decided to use Second Pillar and Uchiha Itachi’s duel to draw everyone’s attention.
• After Karin reported that Jiraiya had left for the Land of Rain, Akihara Kagura ordered Karin and Second Pillar to lead Root ninja against Uchiha Itachi and Obito Uchiha.
• Second Pillar accepted the mission to hunt Uchiha Itachi and Obito Uchiha, while Kakashi Hatake and teams from Konoha prepared to join the pursuit.
• Akihara Kagura persuaded Orochimaru to go to the Akatsuki base and gave Kabuto Yakushi a piece of tree bark, saying it recorded ninja-world history readable only with Wood Release Chakra.

Konoha’s teams and Root set out to find Uchiha Itachi, while Itachi accepted Second Pillar’s challenge and Obito planned to use the duel to recruit its victor. At the Akatsuki base, Kakuzu asked whether Akihara Kagura belonged to the organization, and Pain revealed that Kagura had been its spy in Konoha for about ten years.

• Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, and their teams left Konoha alongside Root to search for Uchiha Itachi and Obito Uchiha.
• Obito and Zetsu learned of Second Pillar’s challenge and planned to use the duel’s outcome to help capture the Eight-Tails.
• Uchiha Itachi accepted Second Pillar’s challenge, while Pain and Konan discussed the tailed-beast plan and Nagato’s condition.
• Kakuzu and Hidan returned to the Akatsuki base, followed unknowingly by Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Akihara Kagura.
• Kakuzu asked Pain and Konan whether Akihara Kagura was an Akatsuki member, and Pain confirmed that Kagura had been the organization’s spy in Konoha for about ten years.

Jiraiya infiltrated the Akatsuki Organization’s base and discovered that Akihara Kagura had secretly joined it years ago, while Pain and Konan revealed their plan to use the tailed beasts to force peace on the ninja world. Pain rejected Jiraiya’s attempt to change his mind and challenged him to resist the power he and Kagura represented.

• Jiraiya overheard Akatsuki members discover that Akihara Kagura belonged to their organization, and Deidara protested that he had joined to kill Kagura.
• Konan detected Jiraiya hiding inside a frog and drove the other Akatsuki members away before confronting him with Pain.
• Pain told Jiraiya that Kagura had joined the Akatsuki Organization at least ten years earlier, after Obito Uchiha introduced him, and had agreed to support the Akatsuki’s tailed-beast plan in exchange for help becoming Hokage.
• Pain explained that the Akatsuki intended to create a weapon of war from all the tailed beasts to deter future wars, while comparing the plan favorably to Kagura’s more extreme proposals.
• Jiraiya condemned Pain’s plan as false peace, but Pain declared that he and Kagura possessed the Sage’s powers and asked how Jiraiya could resist the Sage of Six Paths.

Jiraiya fought Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain inside the Akatsuki Organization’s base, using the Great Toad of Iwayado’s stomach to escape their encirclement. Nagato revealed that he had lured Jiraiya into a trap, and the Six Paths closed in as a little white snake watched from a lamp.

• Pain told Jiraiya that he would kill him to prove their path was right, then summoned the Six Paths of Pain.
• Jiraiya identified several Paths’ abilities and fought off their coordinated attacks, but he could not reach Nagato directly.
• Jiraiya summoned the Great Toad of Iwayado’s intestinal passage to separate the Six Paths and slipped deeper into the base.
• Nagato told Konan that he had chosen the battlefield to lure Jiraiya into the base’s depths, then summoned the Six Paths before him.
• The Six Paths attacked Jiraiya, cutting his arm and surrounding him while a little white snake watched from an oil lamp.

Jiraiya was rescued from the Six Paths of Pain by Orochimaru, who revealed that Akihara Kagura had once been his spy and had manipulated both of them. With Kagura nowhere to be found, Orochimaru suspected he had arranged for them to weaken Nagato before taking his Rinnegan, and prepared to flee if the battle turned against them.

• Jiraiya was nearly killed by the Six Paths of Pain but was swallowed and carried away by a giant white snake.
• Orochimaru emerged from the snake and revealed that he had faked his death to escape the past Hokage.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya that Akihara Kagura had been his spy in Konoha, while the Deva Path Pain confirmed Kagura had also helped the Akatsuki mislead Jiraiya.
• Orochimaru realized Kagura was absent despite their plan and suspected he meant for them to exhaust Nagato before stealing his Rinnegan.
• Jiraiya offered to cover Orochimaru if he fled, and Orochimaru agreed to escape if the fight went badly.

Orochimaru and Gama Ken held off the Six Paths of Pain while Jiraiya gathered natural energy and entered Sage Mode. With Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima arriving beside him, Jiraiya prepared to face Nagato alongside Orochimaru.

• Jiraiya summoned Gama Ken and asked him to help Orochimaru hold off the Six Paths of Pain for five minutes while he entered Sage Mode.
• Orochimaru used his snakes and Triple Rashomon to withstand Pain's attacks, then summoned Second Manda, which swallowed Animal Path's summoned beasts.
• Konan attacked Second Manda with explosive tags while Nagato held back from using a powerful Shinra Tensei that would strain his body.
• Jiraiya completed Sage Mode, and Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima arrived to assist him.
• Jiraiya told Orochimaru that they were Konoha's Three Sannin and prepared to fight the Six Paths of Pain together.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru fought the Six Paths of Pain while Jiraiya used Sage Mode to uncover Nagato’s location. Nagato reunited with Konan and Deva Path Pain, and Jiraiya faced his former students as Orochimaru prepared to leave.

• Jiraiya and Orochimaru attacked the Six Paths of Pain, and Jiraiya destroyed the Preta Path while learning that Deva Path’s repulsive force had a cooldown.
• Jiraiya and the toads unleashed Goemon, but the Animal Path summoned a Hell Crab whose Bubble Wave blocked the flames.
• Nagato gathered the other Paths’ chakra into Deva Path, while Orochimaru used Jiraiya’s distraction to find and cut down the invisible chameleon carrying Nagato.
• Nagato revealed himself, repelled Orochimaru, and summoned Deva Path to his side as Konan reunited with them.
• Jiraiya reflected on his former students and challenged them, while Orochimaru announced he would leave and Jiraiya asked him for one more favor.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru fought Nagato, Deva Path Pain, and Konan, while Orochimaru tried to escape with vital intelligence. Just as Deva Path Pain was about to kill Jiraiya, Akihara Kagura arrived, defeated the puppet, and confronted Nagato.

• Jiraiya and Orochimaru faced Nagato, Deva Path Pain, and Konan, and Orochimaru asked Jiraiya to pass intelligence about Pain and Kagura to Tsunade.
• Nagato used the Human Path to nearly extract Orochimaru’s soul, but Sage Fukasaku freed him, and Orochimaru fled as Konan pursued him.
• Jiraiya and the two sages tried to trap Nagato and Konan with Frog Song, but Nagato’s Shinra Tensei shattered their defenses and exhausted Jiraiya.
• Deva Path Pain prepared to kill Jiraiya, while Orochimaru’s White Snakes watched from afar and Konan spotted a golden streak approaching.
• Akihara Kagura struck down Deva Path Pain, reflected Nagato’s Shinra Tensei, and told Nagato that the Sage of Six Paths’ powers could be gathered in one person.

Akihara Kagura revealed that he had manipulated events to seize Nagato’s Rinnegan and intended to use the tailed beasts’ power to destroy the ninja world. He attacked Nagato while Konan tried to protect him, and Jiraiya recovered nearby as an unfamiliar voice spoke beside him.

• Akihara Kagura confessed that he had used Jiraiya to learn Nagato’s abilities and arranged Uchiha Itachi and Second Pillar’s duel to draw attention away from his plan to take the Rinnegan.
• Akihara Kagura told Nagato and Jiraiya that he wanted to gather the tailed beasts and destroy the ninja world, revealing that he had controlled the previous Hokage and provoked wars in pursuit of killing people.
• Akihara Kagura demanded Nagato surrender the Rinnegan and attacked him with Wood Release, but Nagato repelled the first Vine with Shinra Tensei.
• Konan attacked Akihara Kagura with paper shuriken and Explosive Tags while urging Nagato to flee, and Nagato summoned the King of Hell to revive the Six Paths of Pain.
• Akihara Kagura burned through Konan’s attacks and destroyed her Explosive Tags with Chidori Stream as Jiraiya and the toad sages recovered.
• Jiraiya wondered where Orochimaru had gone, and an unknown voice warned him not to get carried away.

Akihara Kagura destroyed the revived Six Paths of Pain in under ten seconds and demanded Nagato surrender his Rinnegan. Nagato sent Konan and the others away, then summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as the next battle began.

• Orochimaru emerged beside Jiraiya as Konan unleashed hidden Explosive Tags against Akihara Kagura.
• Akihara Kagura used lightning to destroy the Explosive Tags, and Nagato summoned Konan away from the thunder dragon before reviving the Six Paths of Pain.
• Akihara Kagura destroyed all six Pain puppets in less than ten seconds, using taijutsu and a few ninjutsu.
• Akihara Kagura demanded that Nagato hand over the Rinnegan and promised to spare him and Konan.
• Nagato told Konan to take Jiraiya and the others away, then summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Akihara Kagura defeated Nagato’s Demonic Statue of the Outer Path with Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, leaving Nagato and Konan injured and the statue crippled. As Kagura stood poised to take the Rinnegan, Jiraiya clung to the prophecy that Naruto was the Child of Destiny, while Orochimaru suggested Nagato could still stop Kagura if he obtained the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails.

• Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and it battled Akihara Kagura’s Wood Golem while draining its chakra and binding it with chakra chains.
• Akihara Kagura entered Sage Mode and summoned True Several Thousand Hands, overwhelming the statue and knocking Nagato and Konan from the air.
• Nagato decided Akihara Kagura must not obtain the Rinnegan, and Konan agreed that Kagura could use it to seize the Tailed Beasts and cause disaster.
• Jiraiya declared that Naruto was the Child of Destiny, but Orochimaru pointed out that the Nine-Tails was no match for Kagura’s Wood Release.
• Orochimaru proposed that Nagato might still stop Kagura if he received Kumogakure’s Eight-Tails and Konoha’s Nine-Tails and revived the weapon of war.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru tried to save Nagato and stop Akihara Kagura from taking the Rinnegan, while Kagura explained his plan to destroy the ninja world and create a new one without war. The chapter left Jiraiya confronting his former disciple as Kagura asked why he opposed him.

• Jiraiya accepted that he had to help Orochimaru save Nagato, and Orochimaru agreed to help one last time.
• Akihara Kagura stopped Nagato from destroying his Rinnegan and pursued him, while Sage Shima briefly pulled Kagura away before Orochimaru and Jiraiya realized he had marked her with Flying Thunder God.
• Jiraiya attacked Kagura to give Nagato and Konan time to escape, and Orochimaru urged them to preserve Nagato's Rinnegan as the ninja world's hope.
• Kagura defeated Jiraiya's attempt to restrain him, then argued that the shinobi system caused war and that destroying the current world would let him create new, peaceful ninjas.
• Kagura asked Jiraiya why he opposed him when he believed he was following Jiraiya's teachings.

Akihara Kagura attacked Jiraiya while arguing that the ninja world needed to be destroyed and remade. At the lake, Orochimaru, Konan, Nagato, and Sage Fukasaku planned to use the Rinnegan and a vast stockpile of Explosive Tags to stop Kagura, while Orochimaru secretly intended to take Kagura’s body.

• Akihara Kagura rejected Jiraiya’s hopes for peace and attacked him with Sage Art: Wood Dragon Technique.
• Jiraiya fled the Wood Dragon and countered with Fire Style: Great Flame Bullet, but his attack had no effect.
• Orochimaru warned Nagato, Konan, and Sage Fukasaku that they could not escape Kagura while he pursued Nagato’s Rinnegan.
• Orochimaru proposed using the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag Technique to amplify the Explosive Tags beneath the lake and trap Kagura.
• Konan and Sage Fukasaku backed a plan to use the Rinnegan as bait, leaving Orochimaru to cover the others’ retreat.
• Orochimaru agreed to the plan while plotting to wound Kagura and seize his body with Living Corpse Reincarnation.

Hanzo of the Salamander rescued Jiraiya and learned that Akihara Kagura planned to destroy the ninja world, prompting them to search for Nagato. At the Akatsuki base, Kagura confronted Orochimaru, who challenged Kagura over their broken agreement, and Kagura promised not to kill him like Danzo.

• Hanzo of the Salamander pulled Jiraiya from the river, treated his wounds, and offered to send him back to Konoha.
• Jiraiya asked Hanzo to help find Nagato before Kagura could reach him, and Hanzo ordered Amegakure ninja to search.
• Jiraiya told Hanzo that Nagato sought peace through tailed-beast weapons while Kagura intended to destroy the ninja world.
• Hanzo and Jiraiya set out to find Nagato, while Jiraiya wondered why Orochimaru had stayed behind to face Kagura.
• Kagura confronted Orochimaru at the Akatsuki base, and Orochimaru accused him of repeatedly betraying their agreement.
• Kagura said he respected Orochimaru and promised he would not let him meet Danzo's fate.

Akihara Kagura detonated the Explosive Tags surrounding the Akatsuki base and escaped, while Orochimaru survived the blast in his Eight-Tails form. At the former Uchiha hideout, Second Pillar prepared to face Uchiha Itachi, who entered alone as their confrontation began.

• Akihara Kagura revealed that he had expanded the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag summoning array, then detonated the Explosive Tags across the lake and fled on his Wood Dragon.
• Orochimaru transformed with the Eight Branches Technique to survive the blast, while Nagato and Konan sought Sasori and Jiraiya and Hanzo watched the mushroom cloud from Amegakure.
• Nagato told Sasori, Kakuzu, and the others to meet him in Amegakure instead of returning to the destroyed Akatsuki base.
• At the abandoned Uchiha hideout, Second Pillar and the Root ninjas waited for Uchiha Itachi, intending to kill him and avenge the Uchiha Clan.
• Karin stopped Kisame Hoshigaki outside the hideout, and Uchiha Itachi went inside alone after telling Kisame to return.

Uchiha Itachi confronted Second Pillar in a warehouse surrounded by surviving Uchiha, then revealed that Madara Uchiha had discovered a way to break the Mangekyō Sharingan’s curse. As the duel loomed, Akihara Kagura prepared to revive Madara with Impure World Reincarnation so he could join the Uchiha gathering.

• Second Pillar revealed that many Uchiha had survived the clan’s downfall and gathered to witness Itachi’s death and demand the truth about the massacre.
• Itachi deduced that Akihara Kagura had saved the surviving Uchiha, then chose to keep pursuing his plan to awaken Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Itachi explained that Mangekyō use damaged eyesight and that Madara Uchiha had discovered a true way to break the curse.
• White Zetsu and Black Zetsu learned that Kagura intended to revive Madara with Impure World Reincarnation and that White Zetsu’s original body was needed as the sacrifice.
• Kagura stood beside Madara’s corpse outside the ruins and said the Uchiha gathering was a fitting occasion to let Madara take part.

Akihara Kagura revived Madara Uchiha at his prime and gained the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, then revealed that he had disrupted the Moon Eye Plan by trying to take Nagato’s Rinnegan. Black Zetsu struggled to process the damage as Kagura led Madara to watch Uchiha Itachi and Second Pillar’s battle.

• Akihara Kagura revived Madara Uchiha at his prime, and the system upgraded Kagura’s Sharingan and Rinnegan into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
• Madara Uchiha awakened and asked about the plan, so Akihara Kagura claimed that Nagato had betrayed it and defected to Konoha.
• Akihara Kagura explained that he had attacked the Akatsuki Organization’s base to seize Nagato’s Rinnegan, but Jiraiya and Orochimaru helped Nagato escape.
• Akihara Kagura told Black Zetsu that Konoha might expose him as a spy and make him a wanted missing-nin, leaving Black Zetsu shocked by the damage to the Moon Eye Plan.
• Madara Uchiha questioned why Konoha’s Hokage Assistant worked as a spy, while Akihara Kagura said he needed Nagato’s Rinnegan to protect himself.
• Akihara Kagura revealed that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had lost its limbs, and Black Zetsu dismissed that as a minor problem before they went to watch Uchiha Itachi and Second Pillar fight.