Chapter Summaries

Akihara Kagura and Kabuto Yakushi discussed how to deal with Shimura Danzō, while Kagura proposed making him a Konoha missing-nin rather than killing him. At a Hokage meeting about Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi’s suicide and a joint pursuit unit for dangerous missing-nin, Kagura steered Root personnel toward the ANBU and brought up the children Danzō had trained.

• Kabuto Yakushi returned to Konoha with the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and Akihara Kagura told him to refine it before teaching him the technique.
• Kabuto Yakushi reported that Orochimaru had gone to the Land of Rice to establish a ninja village, and Kagura said Orochimaru could try to take his body if he wanted to experience despair.
• Kabuto Yakushi suggested killing Shimura Danzō, but Akihara Kagura proposed making Danzō a Konoha missing-nin so Danzō’s fate would not implicate them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Akihara Kagura that Fourth Mizukage Yagura Karatachi had committed suicide after Uchiha Itachi and Jūzō Biwa infiltrated the Land of Water, and Kirigakure wanted a joint pursuit unit to hunt Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi, and Kisame Hoshigaki.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi chose Kakashi Hatake for the pursuit unit and rejected Kagura’s offer to join, then agreed to transfer some Root ninjas into the ANBU.
• Akihara Kagura told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he could train new Root members and revealed that he had sent some of the children Danzō trained to the orphanage.

Akihara Kagura arranged for Shimura Danzō to lead a joint Konoha–Kirigakure pursuit force, intending to use his absence to weaken him and tighten Kagura’s control over Root. Danzō accepted the chance to return to the field, while Kagura sent trusted guards to monitor him and planned to inform Obito Uchiha about the force.

• Akihara Kagura explained how Danzō’s participation in the pursuit force could draw the Akatsuki’s attention, expose Danzō’s crimes, and help Kagura reshape Root.
• Akihara Kagura told Kabuto Yakushi that Konoha and Kirigakure planned to pursue Uchiha Itachi and Obito Uchiha, and Kabuto worried Danzō might regain power.
• Mitokado Homura told Shimura Danzō about the pursuit force and recommended him as its captain, giving Danzō hope of returning to influence.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi chose Danzō as Konoha’s representative and ordered Akihara Kagura to select Root members for the force.
• Akihara Kagura instructed Oil Ninja Torune and Yamanaka Fu to accompany Danzō, pretend to follow him, and secretly monitor his actions.
• Akihara Kagura assigned White Zetsu Awei to watch over Torune and Fu, then agreed that Obito Uchiha should be told about the pursuit force.

Akihara Kagura let Shimura Danzō take most of Root’s ninja and sent him away with a joint pursuit force to hunt Obito Uchiha, Uchiha Itachi, and Kisame Hoshigaki. He secretly installed Uchiha survivors in Danzō’s home and, after nearly two months, arranged for someone to uncover Danzō’s secret while he attended Karin’s early graduation assessment and celebration.

• Akihara Kagura let Root’s ninja choose whether to follow him or Shimura Danzō, and most chose Danzō, who also took Torune and Kaede.
• Hozuki Mangetsu objected to Danzō leading the joint pursuit force, but Hiruzen Sarutobi defended Konoha’s choice, and Danzō led more than forty elite ninja out to hunt the missing-nin.
• Akihara Kagura sent twelve Uchiha survivors to infiltrate Danzō’s home while Shisui supported them, and sheltered the other surviving Uchiha in the abandoned Root base.
• Karin earned approval to apply for early graduation, while Akihara Kagura continued taijutsu training with Shisui during the village’s uneasy peace.
• After Danzō had been away for nearly two months, Akihara Kagura told Shisui to let a watched figure discover Danzō’s secret and scheduled the operation for the time he attended Karin’s graduation celebration.

Karin graduated early and was assigned to Root, while Hiruzen Sarutobi refused Akihara Kagura’s request to graduate Second Pillar early. At dinner, Mitaraishi Anko promised to keep tutoring Naruto Uzumaki, and Kakashi Hatake pointed Akihara Kagura toward a taijutsu specialist; that night, four masked figures with Sharingan attacked the exhausted man in a green jumpsuit.

• Umino Iruka reported that Karin, Sai, and Second Pillar had applied for early graduation, and Akihara Kagura offered to take Karin into Root and send Sai to the Anbu.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved Karin’s early graduation but rejected Akihara Kagura’s request to recruit Second Pillar.
• Mitaraishi Anko told Naruto Uzumaki that her tutoring would end after Karin graduated, then offered to keep teaching him in exchange for fees from his future mission earnings.
• Akihara Kagura asked Kakashi Hatake for help practicing taijutsu, and Kakashi offered to introduce him to a dedicated taijutsu specialist.
• After finishing his training, the man in the green jumpsuit followed four intruders into Konoha and realized they had Sharingan despite the Uchiha Clan having died months earlier.
• The four masked figures attacked the green-clad man with wooden spikes.

Might Guy fought masked attackers who possessed Sharingan and Wood Style until Akihara Kagura captured them. Kakashi Hatake learned that Shimura Danzō had taken 143 Sharingan from Root for secret experiments, and the chapter ended with Kakashi and Akihara preparing to search Konoha for more test subjects.

• Might Guy used taijutsu to fight four masked ninja who wielded Sharingan and Wood Style.
• Akihara Kagura arrived with Kakashi Hatake, captured the attackers with Vines, and tried to keep the incident secret.
• Kakashi Hatake ordered the gathered Konoha Ninja to report to ANBU for confidentiality registration while Akihara took the captives to Root.
• Akihara told Kakashi that Shimura Danzō had taken over a hundred Sharingan from Root and used them in illegal experiments.
• Akihara said Danzō had transferred 143 Sharingan and suspected other successful experiments were hidden in the village, so he and Kakashi set out to search.

Akihara Kagura and Kakashi Hatake uncovered Shimura Danzō’s hidden force of Wood Style and Sharingan ninja, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to consider how to contain him without provoking a conflict. Hiruzen ordered Danzō summoned and chose Mitokado Homura to deliver the message, while weighing the force’s value against Kagura’s future as Hokage.

• Akihara Kagura and Kakashi Hatake captured twelve Wood Style Ninja with Sharingan and learned that Shimura Danzō had taken another fifty-nine with him.
• Kakashi Hatake warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that Danzō’s force could match or surpass the Anbu, and Hiruzen ordered the discovery kept secret.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to summon Shimura Danzō back to Konoha and considered negotiating to take control of his force.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed restoring Danzō to power against preserving Akihara Kagura as a Hokage candidate, then chose Mitokado Homura to summon Danzō.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Mitokado Homura to persuade Shimura Danzō to return to Konoha, while Akihara Kagura arranged a scheme to frame Danzō for illegal experiments and worsening relations with Kirigakure. Danzō was confronted by Sharingan-bearing Wood Release subjects claiming the Third Hokage had ordered his return, leaving him convinced Hiruzen was trying to make him take the blame.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected Mitokado Homura's suggestion to strip Akihara Kagura of his Root authority and sent Homura to approach Shimura Danzō.
• Akihara Kagura learned that Danzō was investigating the Akatsuki Organization and planning to target Hozuki Mangetsu, then ordered White Zetsu Awei and twelve Uchiha to exploit both matters.
• Shimura Danzō failed to meet Hanzo of the Salamander in Amegakure and returned to the joint pursuit force, where Hozuki Mangetsu demanded progress on finding the Akatsuki Organization.
• Shimura Danzō told Yamanaka Fu and Oil Ninja Torune to arrange contact with the village, and they encountered a masked unit whose members all had Sharingan.
• The masked ninja told Shimura Danzō that the Third Hokage had exposed his illegal creation of dual-bloodline subjects and ordered him to return to Konoha for punishment.

Shimura Danzō escaped the Dual Bloodline Ninjas’ escort and tried to turn the crisis to his advantage by asking Akihara Kagura to help him overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi. Meanwhile, Kagura’s forces continued their plan to provoke a clash between Konoha and Kirigakure, leaving Danzō’s fate dependent on Kagura’s response.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Dual Bloodline Ninjas escorted Shimura Danzō toward Konoha while Oil Ninja Torune and Yamanaka Fu stayed with the pursuit force under orders to stage Danzō’s rescue.
• Torune and Fu ambushed the escort in the Land of Rain and freed Danzō, but the Dual Bloodline Ninjas overwhelmed their group and forced Danzō, Torune, and Fu to flee.
• Danzō agreed to Torune’s suggestion to attack the Mist Ninja camp and use the fighting to provoke a conflict between Kirigakure and Konoha.
• Danzō sent Torune to find Akihara Kagura and offered his support for Kagura to become Hokage, warning that Hiruzen’s secret experiments could leave Kagura powerless.
• Yamanaka Fu informed Kagura’s Dual Bloodline Ninjas of the plan, and White Zetsu Awei appeared disguised as Danzō to tell the twelve Uchiha to pose as Danzō’s subordinates.

Shimura Danzō attacked the Mist Ninja and tried to kill Mitokado Homura, hoping to provoke a war between Konoha and Kirigakure and shield himself from Hiruzen Sarutobi. As the Mist Ninja and Homura fled together, Akihara Kagura prepared to meet the real Danzō and help him evade becoming a rogue ninja.

• Shimura Danzō led Sharingan- and Wood Style-wielding Dual Bloodline Ninja in an attack on Hozuki Mangetsu’s Mist Ninja camp and declared that war would unite Konoha against a greater threat.
• Hozuki Mangetsu retreated with his Mist Ninja, but Danzō’s forces pursued them toward Mitokado Homura, who had been sent to negotiate with Danzō.
• Shimura Danzō rejected Homura’s plea to stop the attack, revealed his plan to murder him and blame Kirigakure, then ordered the Dual Bloodline Ninja to kill everyone.
• Mitokado Homura joined Hozuki Mangetsu in flight, while the Hokage Guard Platoon prepared a Flying Thunder God Formation to send a messenger for help.
• Hozuki Mangetsu held off the pursuers with a water humanoid as the guards sent a ninja toward the border, and Akihara Kagura agreed to meet the real Danzō at the Land of Fire–Land of Rice border.

Akihara Kagura rescued Mitokado Homura and the Mist Ninja from Shimura Danzō, who escaped and was rumored to have defected. Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Danzō placed on the highest S-rank missing-nin wanted list and told Kagura to kill him if they met again.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Akihara Kagura to rescue Mitokado Homura and the Mist Ninja, then led Anbu toward the border.
• Akihara Kagura arrived in the Land of Rain and stopped Shimura Danzō from pursuing Mitokado Homura and the Mist Ninja.
• Shimura Danzō accused Mitokado Homura of betrayal, then withdrew with his Dual Bloodline Ninja and disappeared instead of returning to Konoha.
• Rumors spread that Shimura Danzō had defected, and Hiruzen Sarutobi prepared to pursue him before Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu persuaded him to stay.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Shimura Danzō placed on the highest S-rank missing-nin wanted list and instructed Akihara Kagura to kill him on sight.

Hiruzen Sarutobi publicly declared Shimura Danzō a rogue ninja and announced charges against him, while Akihara Kagura reflected on the rewards he had gained and gathered his allies. After engineering Danzō’s downfall, Kagura planned to meet him at the border and use him to strengthen his standing with Orochimaru and Obito Uchiha.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi issued a wanted notice for Shimura Danzō and publicized his crimes, including conspiring against the Uchiha Clan and provoking conflict with Kirigakure.
• Konoha ninja reacted with outrage or regret as news of Danzō’s defection spread through the village.
• Akihara Kagura received the Five Elements Unseal, increased his chakra to SSSS-rank, and learned Great Fire Annihilation from his mission rewards.
• Akihara Kagura gathered Karin, Kabuto Yakushi, White Zetsu Awei, and twelve Uchiha, then reviewed how they had framed Danzō and forced him to defect.
• Akihara Kagura sent White Zetsu Awei to ask Obito Uchiha if he needed help and decided to travel with Kabuto Yakushi to meet Danzō at the border.
• Akihara Kagura planned to use Danzō to make himself indispensable to Orochimaru and Obito Uchiha as they sought influence over Konoha.

Akihara Kagura convinced Shimura Danzō that Konoha would keep blaming him, then arranged for him to shelter in the Land of Rice and mediate with Orochimaru. In the Land of Rain, the Akatsuki Organization decided to pursue Danzō for revenge and profit.

• Shimura Danzō learned that Konoha had named him an S-rank missing-nin and told Akihara Kagura that Hiruzen Sarutobi had framed him.
• Akihara Kagura pointed out that Konoha believed the evidence against Danzō and advised him to confront Hiruzen publicly if he wanted to clear his name.
• Danzō suspected that Hiruzen had secretly conducted experiments or had been controlled by Obito Uchiha, but Kagura warned that people would still blame him.
• Kagura persuaded Danzō to stay in the Land of Rice, shelter with Orochimaru, and mediate between Orochimaru and Kagura as an ally.
• Nagato, Konan, and Uchiha Itachi saw Danzō’s defection as a chance for revenge, while Kakuzu noted the high bounty for Danzō’s corpse.
• Deva Path Pain agreed to help Kakuzu hunt Danzō, and Sasori of the Red Sands joined while Deidara complained that he wanted to kill Akihara Kagura.

Akihara Kagura brought Shimura Danzō to the Sound Village to meet Orochimaru and arrange a place for Danzō to hide. As the Akatsuki Organization closed in on the village, Kagura stayed nearby and planned to make Danzō and Orochimaru endure the threat rather than let the attackers kill Danzō outright.

• Deidara boasted that his new clay art could kill Akihara Kagura, while Konan and Pain redirected the Akatsuki Organization toward hunting Shimura Danzō.
• Akihara Kagura and Shimura Danzō reached the Sound Village, where Kimimaro Kaguya led them to Orochimaru.
• Jūgo went berserk in Orochimaru’s laboratory, but Akihara Kagura subdued him, and Kimimaro took him away.
• Orochimaru confirmed that Akihara Kagura would not become his vessel and agreed to accept Shimura Danzō into the Sound Village alliance.
• Akihara Kagura warned Orochimaru and Danzō that the Akatsuki Organization might come after them, then stayed nearby with Kabuto Yakushi and White Zetsu Awei.
• Akihara Kagura sent Kabuto to warn Orochimaru and Awei to ask Nagato whether the Akatsuki needed help, intending to let Danzō and Orochimaru remain under pressure rather than be killed.

Orochimaru summoned Hashirama Senju with Impure World Reincarnation to face the Akatsuki Organization, but Hashirama’s odd behavior and fragile body left the outcome uncertain. As the Akatsuki attacked, Akihara Kagura gained the new God of Shinobi trait from Hashirama’s revival.

• Orochimaru injected Hashirama Cells into a wandering ninja and used the sacrifice to revive Hashirama Senju with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Hashirama Senju proved impossible for Orochimaru to control, then chatted with him and recognized Kakuzu among the approaching Akatsuki Organization members.
• Kakuzu identified Hashirama Senju, alarming the Akatsuki Organization, while Deva Path Pain warned that Hashirama was as powerful as Akihara Kagura.
• Orochimaru fled as Deidara’s clay birds blasted Hashirama Senju off the high platform and severed his arm.
• Akihara Kagura watched with Kabuto Yakushi and received the God of Shinobi trait when Hashirama Senju was revived.

On his seventeenth birthday, Akihara Kagura helped Orochimaru evade the Akatsuki while strengthening his subordinates with Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal Technique. The chapter left him opening Orochimaru’s plan for a Konoha invasion, timed to the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.

• Akihara Kagura sent Kabuto Yakushi to check on Orochimaru as Hashirama Senju battled the Akatsuki Organization in Sound Village.
• Hashirama Senju’s Edo Tensei body dissipated, and the Akatsuki Organization began intensifying its hunt for Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru.
• Akihara Kagura arranged for Nagato to reduce the Akatsuki’s pursuit and used Sasori of the Red Sands to help Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō escape Deidara.
• Orochimaru gave Akihara Kagura his Cursed Seal Technique, which Kagura used to strengthen his subordinates, including Karin.
• On April 4th, Akihara Kagura received Orochimaru’s Konoha Collapse Plan as a birthday gift, targeting the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.

Akihara Kagura reviewed Orochimaru’s plan to destroy Konoha and discussed the upcoming graduates and Mizuki with Hiruzen Sarutobi. He agreed to use Root to stage Mizuki’s theft of the Scroll of Seals so Naruto could learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, leaving Hiruzen unsure about Kagura’s scheme.

• Akihara Kagura rejected Orochimaru’s coordinated attack plan and ordered him to proceed step by step instead.
• Akihara Kagura and Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed whether Karin, Naruto Uzumaki, and Second Pillar should join Root after graduating.
• Umino Iruka and Mizuki presented the graduation exam questions, and Hiruzen approved the Clone Technique as this year’s test.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that he wanted Mizuki to use Naruto to teach him about betrayal and the people who cared about him.
• Akihara Kagura proposed having Root arrange for Mizuki to steal the Scroll of Seals, teach Naruto the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and then be arrested.

Akihara Kagura revised his plan for Naruto’s graduation, arranged for Root to capture and interrogate Mizuki, and then scripted Mizuki as the villain behind a supposed attempt to unleash the Nine-Tails. He left Mizuki under Shisui’s control, intending for Iruka and Naruto to stop the staged crisis and for Naruto to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi approved a plan for Iruka to guide Naruto, while Akihara Kagura agreed to handle Mizuki and follow Hiruzen’s guidance.
• Karin and Root ninja captured Mizuki at the Ninja Academy when he tried to flee, then interrogated him and uncovered his crimes and plan to steal the Scroll of Seals.
• Akihara Kagura brought Mizuki to his office and invented a more elaborate accusation that Mizuki planned to undo Naruto’s Nine-Tails seal and cause another rampage.
• Akihara Kagura used the Shadow Control Technique on Mizuki and ordered Shisui to help stage the crisis.
• Akihara Kagura described how Iruka and Naruto would stop Mizuki, with Naruto learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and asked the others to applaud his script.

Akihara Kagura manipulated Mizuki into confessing to colluding with Orochimaru, then told Umino Iruka that Naruto’s graduation would involve learning the dangerous Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Naruto failed the Clone Technique graduation test, and Mizuki secretly urged him to steal the Scroll of Seals for another chance to become a ninja.

• Akihara Kagura forced Mizuki to approve the plan and add colluding with Orochimaru to his confession.
• Akihara Kagura warned Umino Iruka that Naruto’s graduation test was meant to lead him toward the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, even at risk to his life.
• Akihara Kagura and Kakashi Hatake discussed Root and the troublesome students Kakashi might be assigned to teach.
• Naruto failed the Clone Technique exam, and Umino Iruka refused to pass him despite Mizuki arguing for an exception.
• Mizuki comforted Naruto and told him to steal the Scroll of Seals, then suggested they bring Iruka along.

Mizuki used a forged order to get Umino Iruka to retrieve the Scroll of Seals, then revealed his plan to unleash the Nine-Tails and destroy Konoha. Naruto Uzumaki learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and defeated Mizuki, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akihara Kagura watched from nearby and discussed Mizuki’s crimes.

• Mizuki convinced Umino Iruka that the village had ordered them to take Naruto Uzumaki to learn the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and a Root guard handed Iruka the Scroll of Seals.
• Mizuki revealed that he had used information from Orochimaru’s spy to obtain the scroll and planned to undo Naruto Uzumaki’s seal and cause another Nine-Tails’ Rampage.
• Mizuki attacked Umino Iruka and told Naruto Uzumaki the truth about the Nine-Tails, but Iruka defended Naruto and urged him to protect Konoha.
• Naruto Uzumaki learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and overwhelmed Mizuki with his shadow clones.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Akihara Kagura watched the confrontation, and Kagura showed Hiruzen Mizuki’s written confession, including his crimes and collusion with Orochimaru.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi planned to retrieve the Scroll of Seals, unaware that Akihara Kagura’s subordinates had already seen its contents.

Naruto Uzumaki defeated Mizuki and gained some villagers’ respect, while Akihara Kagura received new techniques and reviewed the Scroll of Seals. At the Hokage Building, Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Kagura to help arrange student teams and accompany Kakashi Hatake on home visits, but Kagura’s suggestions alarmed him.

• Karin took Mizuki into custody, healed Umino Iruka, and Naruto Uzumaki celebrated his graduation with Iruka as villagers learned Naruto had stopped Mizuki’s plan.
• Akihara Kagura received Composite Ninjutsu and reviewed forbidden techniques copied from the Scroll of Seals, warning Karin not to learn dangerous ones such as the Reaper Death Seal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi finalized the graduate teams and asked Akihara Kagura to find out whether Hyuga Hiashi would allow Hinata Hyuga to join Team 8.
• Akihara Kagura proposed using Neji Hyuga to destroy the Hyuga Clan and leave Hinata an orphan, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to handle the Hyuga matter himself.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Akihara Kagura to accompany Kakashi Hatake on Team 7 home visits, but rejected Kagura’s suggestions to track down Uchiha Itachi and revive Naruto Uzumaki’s parents.