Chapter Summaries

Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sands planned to use Gaara to lure Fourth Kazekage Rasa out of Sunagakure, while Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura arrived at the village. Gaara left with Orochimaru, disguised as a sand ninja, to see a mass grave, then spotted Akihara Kagura and said he would kill him.

• Jiraiya warned Akihara Kagura against learning forbidden techniques as they traveled through the Land of Wind toward Sunagakure.
• Fourth Kazekage Rasa ordered an assassin to kill Gaara, but Gaara's sand protected him and he killed the attacker with Sand Binding Burial.
• Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sands learned that Gaara was Rasa's son and the One-Tails Jinchuriki, then planned to lure Rasa out by taking him from the village.
• Orochimaru disguised himself as a sand ninja, told Gaara about a mass grave containing over ten thousand people, and persuaded him to leave Sunagakure.
• Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura arrived at Sunagakure as Gaara walked out with Orochimaru, and Gaara noticed Akihara Kagura and said he would kill him.

Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya clashed with Gaara in Sunagakure, where Gaara’s attack awakened One-Tailed Shukaku and Kagura subdued it with Wood Style. Fourth Kazekage Rasa arrived, and Kagura accused him of provoking a war while Jiraiya tried to deliver their intelligence about an assassination plot.

• Gaara attacked Akihara Kagura with sand, and Jiraiya tried to stop him while Kagura argued that Sunagakure had violated the alliance treaty.
• Gaara attacked Jiraiya, who knocked him unconscious; Gaara’s chakra then released One-Tailed Shukaku.
• Jiraiya summoned Gama Bunta to stop Shukaku, but Akihara Kagura restrained the beast with a Wood Dragon and drained its chakra.
• Fourth Kazekage Rasa arrived and accused the Konoha visitors of trying to capture Sunagakure’s Tailed Beast.
• Jiraiya revealed that they had come to deliver intelligence about an assassination plot, while Kagura blamed Rasa and threatened to kill him.

Akihara Kagura confronted Fourth Kazekage Rasa over Gaara’s attack and secured permission to experiment on Gaara and Shukaku under Rasa’s supervision. After Shukaku returned to Gaara, Kagura and Jiraiya waited outside Sunagakure to begin, while Orochimaru and Sasori of the Red Sands discussed their failed plan and Orochimaru’s role as bait.

• Akihara Kagura challenged Jiraiya and Fourth Kazekage Rasa over Gaara’s attack, then nearly attacked Rasa before Jiraiya stopped him.
• Akihara Kagura secretly absorbed Shukaku’s chakra through his wood dragon until Shukaku ran out of strength and returned to Gaara.
• Rasa agreed that Gaara would cooperate with Akihara Kagura’s experiments, provided Rasa attended and the matter remained confidential.
• Orochimaru met Sasori of the Red Sands in a safe house and said his mission to draw Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura to Sunagakure was complete.
• Gaara woke after his first good sleep in years, and Rasa warned him to cooperate with Akihara Kagura and avoid causing Sunagakure more trouble.
• Akihara Kagura and Jiraiya waited outside Sunagakure for Gaara, and Jiraiya cautioned that lessons from Shukaku might not help Naruto Uzumaki control the far stronger Nine-Tails.

Akihara Kagura repeatedly defeated and drained One-Tailed Shukaku, while Gaara gradually learned to use Shukaku’s chakra and fight alongside him. After their best plan to seal Kagura failed, Shukaku sought advice from the other tailed beasts on fighting Wood Style.

• Akihara Kagura released One-Tailed Shukaku and pinned him down with a wooden golem, absorbing his chakra as Fourth Kazekage Rasa watched.
• Over the following weeks, Shukaku kept challenging Kagura and getting drained, then persuaded Gaara to let him use Gaara’s body in battle.
• Gaara began using Shukaku’s chakra to fight Kagura, but their first joint battle ended with Shukaku captured and drained again.
• Gaara and Shukaku devised traps and improved their teamwork, but Kagura broke free of Shukaku’s sealing pyramid and subdued him.
• Rasa praised Kagura and Gaara’s progress, then asked Jiraiya who was behind the assassination attempts; Jiraiya hesitated to answer.
• Shukaku entered the tailed beasts’ shared communication space and asked the Nine-Tails how to fight Wood Style users.

After Shukaku refused to emerge, Akihara Kagura’s training in Sunagakure ended, and he learned Orochimaru was ready to perform Living Corpse Reincarnation and claim his body. As Kagura returned to Konoha, the village’s leaders discussed the Uchiha Clan’s preparations to rebel, while Uchiha Itachi feared Kagura’s return might worsen the conflict.

• Shukaku refused to emerge from Gaara, so Akihara Kagura proposed tricking and ambushing it, but Jiraiya rejected the plan and Rasa limited Kagura’s contact with Gaara.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Akihara Kagura to return to Konoha, ending his nearly two-year training journey with Jiraiya.
• Orochimaru told Akihara Kagura that the three-year limit for Living Corpse Reincarnation had arrived, and Kagura agreed to return to Konoha before the procedure.
• Sasori of the Red Sands warned Akihara Kagura that Orochimaru was researching a dangerous forbidden technique, and Kagura told him to keep Orochimaru occupied.
• Uchiha Itachi reported to Konoha’s leaders that the Uchiha Clan was gathering weapons and ninja, while Hiruzen Sarutobi hoped Kagura’s return would deter the clan from rebelling.

Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura returned to Konoha, where Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that he had recalled them amid the threat of an Uchiha Clan rebellion. The chapter left Kagura slated for a special Jonin promotion as Hiruzen hoped his strength and newly learned Sage Mode would help preserve peace.

• Jiraiya and Akihara Kagura returned to Konoha and met Uchiha Itachi and Izumi Uchiha on the commercial street.
• Akihara Kagura reunited with Mitaraishi Anko, Naruto Uzumaki, and Karin at Ichiraku Ramen, then learned that Hiruzen Sarutobi had summoned him and Jiraiya.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Kakashi Hatake to brief Akihara Kagura on his special Jonin promotion, citing his contributions to relations with Kirigakure and Iwagakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Jiraiya that the Uchiha Clan might rebel and that Kagura's promotion was meant to demonstrate Konoha's military strength.
• Jiraiya said Kagura had learned Sage Mode, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to hope he could master the First Hokage's Sage Techniques and help counter the Uchiha threat.

Akihara Kagura was promoted to jonin, gained the Light and Shadow trait, and was appointed Hokage assistant and guard. He met his new colleagues before Hiruzen Sarutobi asked for his advice on sending Karatachi Yagura back to Kirigakure, and Kagura proposed killing him and returning his corpse.

• Shikaku Nara ended Akihara Kagura’s jonin assessment almost immediately and congratulated him on his promotion.
• Akihara Kagura gained the Light and Shadow trait, which let him travel through shadows and control an enemy’s shadow.
• Shikaku Nara told an old friend that Kagura’s strength mattered more than his sense of duty, while Kakashi Hatake explained the privileges and responsibilities of being a jonin.
• Jiraiya argued with Hiruzen Sarutobi about Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō before Hiruzen appointed Kagura as his assistant and guard.
• Akihara Kagura met Genma Shiranui, Namiashi Raidō, Aoba Yamashiro, and Tatami Iwashi, then advised Hiruzen Sarutobi to kill Karatachi Yagura and return his corpse to Kirigakure.

Hiruzen Sarutobi taught Akihara Kagura how to handle Konoha’s affairs while preparing him as a possible future Hokage, despite Shimura Danzō’s objections. Later, Akihara Kagura told Kabuto Yakushi he planned to break with Orochimaru and asked him to help make Orochimaru believe they had no ties, while hinting that major events in Konoha might soon distract Orochimaru.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Akihara Kagura’s violent proposals and arranged diplomacy over the Fourth Mizukage, Takumi Ninja Village, and the conflict between the Land of Falls and the Land of Frost.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi introduced Akihara Kagura as his new guard and assistant, then argued with Shimura Danzō over Kagura’s suitability as a Hokage candidate and how to handle the Uchiha Clan.
• Akihara Kagura used his shadow ability to appear in Kabuto Yakushi’s office and told him he planned to fall out with Orochimaru.
• Kabuto Yakushi explained that Orochimaru wanted to use him and Yakushi Nonō to pressure Akihara Kagura into surrendering his body, and proposed making Orochimaru believe Kagura did not care about them.
• Akihara Kagura said he could kill Orochimaru but had kept him alive for his forbidden techniques, then hinted that major events in Konoha might soon give Orochimaru another target.

Fugaku Uchiha revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan to Uchiha Itachi and confirmed that the clan would proceed with its coup, despite Itachi offering to kill Akihara Kagura to prevent it. As Konoha prepared for conflict, Akihara Kagura learned powerful Wood Style techniques and plotted with White Zetsu Awei to turn a Three-Tails rampage into a chance to become the village’s hero.

• Fugaku Uchiha showed Uchiha Itachi his Mangekyō Sharingan and explained why he believed the Uchiha Clan had no choice but to launch a coup.
• Uchiha Itachi offered to assassinate Akihara Kagura in exchange for stopping the coup, but Fugaku said the clan would still rebel and urged his son to support it.
• Uchiha Itachi reported the coup plan to the Konoha Higher-ups, while Shimura Danzō urged a preemptive attack and Hiruzen Sarutobi sought a peaceful solution.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Akihara Kagura a scroll, and Kagura learned Sage Art: Myojinmon and Sage Art: Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands.
• White Zetsu Awei told Akihara Kagura that Shimura Danzō had recruited Uchiha Itachi to slaughter his clan, and Kagura planned to have Obito Uchiha stage a Three-Tails rampage that he could stop as a hero.

Obito Uchiha arranged for Kisame Hoshigaki to help him capture Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi, then met with Uchiha Itachi, who agreed to wipe out the Uchiha Clan in exchange for Sasuke's survival. Hidden in the shadows, Shisui learned that Itachi would control the Three-Tails and fight Akihara Kagura, leaving him shaken by the plan.

• Obito Uchiha told White Zetsu Awei to remind Akihara Kagura to spare Second Pillar, while Akihara sent Heavenly Path: Shisui to watch Uchiha Itachi.
• Uchiha Itachi agonized over Shimura Danzō's ultimatum and worried about protecting his younger brother, Sasuke.
• Obito Uchiha confronted Yagura Karatachi after he left Konoha, and Kisame Hoshigaki betrayed the Mizukage by attacking him with Samehada.
• Obito Uchiha captured Yagura Karatachi and ordered Kisame Hoshigaki to await further instructions.
• Uchiha Itachi asked Obito Uchiha to help him cleanse the Uchiha Clan so Sasuke would survive, and agreed to control the Three-Tails against Akihara Kagura.
• Hidden in a shadow, Shisui heard their plan and realized why Akihara Kagura had expected him to beg for the chance to kill Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi slaughtered the Uchiha Clan while Shisui secretly rescued some survivors, then used the Three-Tails to destroy the clan grounds. Akihara Kagura arrived and confronted Itachi, leaving the massacre’s aftermath and their clash unresolved.

• Akihara Kagura allowed Shisui to rescue Uchiha survivors, intending to make them the foundation of a future Root under his leadership.
• Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha accepted their deaths, and Uchiha Itachi killed them before using Tsukuyomi to traumatize Second Pillar.
• Uchiha Itachi met Obito Uchiha, who brought the Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi, and Itachi used the Three-Tails to raze the Uchiha Clan compound.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Akihara Kagura to confront the rampaging Three-Tails, and Kagura restrained it with Wood Release.
• Uchiha Itachi burned through Kagura’s wooden restraint with Amaterasu, but Kagura summoned a Wood Golem and demanded to know what had happened.

Akihara Kagura used Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands to overwhelm Uchiha Itachi and the Three-Tails, forcing Obito Uchiha to rescue Itachi and flee. After the battle, Kagura persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to place Root under his command, leaving Shimura Danzō furious at losing his position.

• Uchiha Itachi used Susanoo to armor the Three-Tails and counterattack Akihara Kagura's Wood Golem.
• Akihara Kagura summoned True Several Thousand Hands, seized the Armored Three-Tails, and drained its chakra.
• Obito Uchiha rescued Uchiha Itachi and escaped as Hiruzen Sarutobi's forces arrived.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Uchiha grounds sealed and the bodies and Sharingan recovered.
• Akihara Kagura asked to lead Root and prevent abuses like those involving Kabuto Yakushi and Yakushi Nonō.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi put Root under Akihara Kagura's command while keeping him as his assistant, angering Shimura Danzō.

Akihara Kagura became Root's leader after Hiruzen Sarutobi removed Shimura Danzō from power, while Uchiha Itachi negotiated his future with the Hokage. The chapter ended with Kagura confronting Itachi at the Hokage Building and admitting he had hoped Itachi would give him an excuse to kill him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Kakashi Hatake to take the surviving Sasuke to the hospital, and Kagura received the Transcription Seal for sparing him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi removed Shimura Danzō from all his positions and made Kagura Root's leader.
• Uchiha Itachi warned Shimura Danzō never to harm Sasuke, then left after learning Kagura had replaced him as Root's leader.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to brand Uchiha Itachi a rogue ninja, and Itachi said he would join the Akatsuki Organization to investigate Obito Uchiha.
• Kagura watched Itachi and Hiruzen with Obito Uchiha and Zetsu, then waited for Itachi at the Hokage Building and said he had hoped to catch him attempting to assassinate the Hokage.

Akihara Kagura persuaded Uchiha Itachi to leave Sasuke alone and cause trouble for Orochimaru, then took control of Root and concealed the surviving Uchiha in his shadow world. He began reshaping Root under the claim that only he could speak for Lord Danzō.

• Akihara Kagura refused to promise that Sasuke would be safe from all danger, but told Uchiha Itachi he would not deliberately make things difficult for him and ordered Itachi to cause trouble for Orochimaru.
• Uchiha Itachi left Konoha, and Akihara Kagura entered his shadow world, where Shisui showed him surviving Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan.
• Akihara Kagura decided to keep the Uchiha survivors in his Genjutsu world and planned to transplant Hashirama Cells into the strongest among them.
• Akihara Kagura stopped Root ninja from taking Sharingan eyes kept by Shimura Danzō and ordered them to destroy the eyes and gather Root personnel.
• Akihara Kagura declared himself Root's leader, banned everyone but himself from saying Lord Danzō's name, and announced that Root's Cursed Tongue Eradication Seals would be removed.

Akihara Kagura reorganized Root, sent its remaining children to Konoha Orphanage, and confronted Shimura Danzō over the missing Sharingan. He pressured Danzō into accepting responsibility for the shortfall and writing an authorization for the transfer of one hundred and forty Sharingan.

• Akihara Kagura appointed Yamanaka Fu to re-brainwash Root's members and made Yamanaka Fu and Oil Ninja Torune his personal guards.
• Akihara Kagura ordered Kaede to send Root's remaining children to Konoha Orphanage and promised to fund the orphanage.
• Yamanaka Fu delivered the children to Yakushi Nonō and Kabuto Yakushi, who learned that Akihara Kagura had become Root's new leader.
• Kabuto Yakushi decided to visit Akihara Kagura at Root Base, while Shimura Danzō arrived there looking for the Sharingan he expected Root to deliver.
• Akihara Kagura told Shimura Danzō that Root had only eleven Sharingan, and Shimura Danzō blamed Obito Uchiha for taking the rest from the Konoha Police Force's dead.
• Shimura Danzō agreed to claim Root had destroyed one hundred and fifty-four Sharingan and wrote an authorization for Akihara Kagura to transfer one hundred and forty Sharingan from ANBU.

After taking control of Root, Akihara Kagura forced Shimura Danzō to leave and plotted with Kabuto Yakushi to use Orochimaru against Uchiha Itachi. As Konoha absorbed the news of the Uchiha Clan’s destruction, Sasuke vowed revenge, Sai joined Naruto’s class, and Kagura attended his first leadership meeting, where the village debated what to do with Yagura Karatachi.

• Shimura Danzō left Root owing one hundred and forty-three Sharingan, while Akihara Kagura taunted him by joking that the orphanage’s dogs could take Ninken positions there.
• Akihara Kagura told Kabuto Yakushi that Uchiha Itachi had destroyed the Uchiha Clan and tried to trigger a Three-Tails incident, then asked him to use Orochimaru to help make Itachi and Orochimaru fight.
• Kabuto Yakushi agreed to leave Konoha on a mission with Akado Yoroi and Tsurugi Misumi, infiltrate Orochimaru’s side, and seek his forbidden techniques while asking him to spare Yakushi Nonō.
• Konoha’s students learned that Sasuke had lost his family, and Umino Iruka introduced Sai as a transfer student; Naruto Uzumaki called out Sai’s fake smile.
• Sasuke woke in the hospital and swore to kill Uchiha Itachi, while Kabuto Yakushi arranged for him to leave the hospital after recovering.
• At his first senior leadership meeting, Akihara Kagura supported issuing Itachi an S-rank missing-nin warrant and suggested killing Yagura Karatachi and blaming Itachi and Obito Uchiha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Akihara Kagura to escort Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi back to Kirigakure, while keeping Sasuke out of Root and refusing Shimura Danzō’s return to power. Meanwhile, Uchiha Itachi joined the Akatsuki Organization and was paired with Jūzō Biwa as Kagura’s influence continued to shape events.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Akihara Kagura to escort Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi to Kirigakure and ordered that Sasuke remain at the Ninja Academy.
• Akihara Kagura asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to let Shimura Danzō return to Root, but Hiruzen refused and ordered Kakashi Hatake to gather the clan heads to divide the Uchiha lands.
• Akihara Kagura, Kakashi Hatake, and Root escorted Yagura toward Kirigakure while the shinobi world reacted to Uchiha Itachi’s massacre and Kagura’s victory over him.
• Obito Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi arrived at the Akatsuki Organization’s base, where they encountered Orochimaru before Itachi met Deva Path Pain.
• Deva Path Pain welcomed Uchiha Itachi into the Akatsuki Organization, gave him a ring, and assigned Jūzō Biwa as his teammate.

Kabuto Yakushi sought Orochimaru’s help against Akihara Kagura, but Orochimaru planned to use Uchiha Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan to trap Kagura and claim his body. Sasori revealed that Kagura had sent him to protect Kabuto, while Orochimaru’s scheme against Itachi ended with Orochimaru caught in Tsukuyomi.

• Kabuto Yakushi told Orochimaru that Akihara Kagura had taken control of Root and was pressuring Kabuto and Yakushi Nonō to provide spies and orphanage children.
• Kabuto urged Orochimaru to kill Kagura, warning that Kagura wanted Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan, but Orochimaru refused and decided to obtain the eyes for himself as a trap.
• Orochimaru left Kabuto in the cave and returned to the Akatsuki base with Sasori of the Red Sands, while Sasori revealed that Kagura had sent him to protect Kabuto.
• Sasori planned to report Orochimaru for attacking a fellow Akatsuki member and have Pain expel him, creating an opening to hunt him.
• Orochimaru tried to bind Uchiha Itachi with a snake, but Itachi revealed that Orochimaru was caught in his Sharingan Genjutsu and trapped him in Tsukuyomi.

Uchiha Itachi defeated Orochimaru with Tsukuyomi, and Sasori of the Red Sands declared him a traitor and began hunting him. While recovering with Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru revealed his Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, unaware that Kabuto was conspiring with Sasori to force him to teach it.

• Uchiha Itachi tortured Orochimaru in Tsukuyomi, leaving him too weak to stand when the Genjutsu ended.
• Sasori of the Red Sands took Orochimaru's Akatsuki ring, threw him down the mountain steps, and told him he would hunt him the next day.
• Deva Path Pain accepted Sasori's report that Orochimaru had betrayed the Akatsuki Organization and authorized Sasori to eliminate him.
• Kabuto Yakushi found Orochimaru injured, carried him to safety, and learned that Orochimaru had completed a supplementary formula for the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
• Orochimaru told Kabuto Yakushi to use the Third Kazekage against Sasori if necessary and promised the perfected technique could help defeat Akihara Kagura.
• Kabuto Yakushi met Sasori of the Red Sands and urged him to destroy Orochimaru's undead puppet and leave Orochimaru desperate enough to teach Kabuto the forbidden jutsu.

Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi evaded Sasori of the Red Sands while Kabuto secretly learned the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu for Akihara Kagura. After Orochimaru recovered and lost another fight to Sasori, he sent Kabuto back to Konoha and headed for the Land of Rice, while asking him to contact Danzo.

• Orochimaru used the resurrected Third Kazekage's hostility toward Sasori to escape, but Sasori immobilized the Kazekage with Yin-Yang Release black rods and forced him to return to the Pure Land.
• Kabuto treated Orochimaru's injuries for three months and secretly mastered the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu so he could teach it to Akihara Kagura.
• Kabuto told Sasori that the objective was achieved, and Sasori agreed to stage another pursuit so Orochimaru could leave without suspicion.
• After recovering, Orochimaru fought Sasori but fled when Sasori used rockets from Hiruko to destroy his snakes.
• Orochimaru sent Kabuto to Konoha to gather intelligence and check on Dean Nonō, while he went to the Land of Rice and asked Kabuto to contact Danzo.