Recaps

Yamanaka Kei took control of Root, pursued Black Zetsu’s plans in Amegakure, and developed Wood Release while rescuing a weakened girl. The arc left Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan stranded on an island, with Kei back home as the New Year approached.

• Yamanaka Kei returned to Konoha, rejected joining Root on Danzo’s terms, and accepted a deputy director position that let him undermine Danzo’s control.
• Yamanaka Kei treated Kakashi and Tsunade with Genjutsu, then entered Root and defeated Danzo before taking his memories, altering his appearance, and leaving him in a garbage pile.
• Yamanaka Kei treated Uchiha Mikoto after a masked Sharingan user attacked her, then traveled to Amegakure and captured Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan.
• Yamanaka Kei uncovered Black Zetsu’s plan to provoke a massacre in Amegakure, killed Hanzō, and recovered the Salamander Clan’s Summoning Contract Scroll.
• Yamanaka Kei learned that Black Zetsu was searching for Uchiha Hikari, then gained Earth Release mastery and awakened Wood Release.
• Yamanaka Kei found Yamato and a weakened girl in an abandoned laboratory, placed the girl under Root’s medical care, and treated her with Medical Water Release · Water Jellyfish.
• Yamanaka Kei assigned Yakushi Nonou to teach Yamato and Xiao He, returned home to Kushina, and realized the New Year was approaching.

Yamanaka Kei strengthened his ties to Orochimaru, gained Sage Mode, and reshaped Tsunade’s dangerous condition while Konoha prepared for war. He joined the battle against Sand and Stone, crippled Rasa, and gained the power to use Yin Yang Sage Techniques without chakra.

• Yamanaka Kei gave Orochimaru a Blood Dragon Eye for Oshiro En’s experiment, then defeated Orochimaru and urged him to continue researching Reanimation Jutsu.
• Yamanaka Kei traveled to Ryūchi Cave, signed the summoning contract, and copied the White Phosphorus Serpent’s Golden Muscle Immortal Garment to enter Sage Mode.
• Yamanaka Kei met with Konoha’s leaders as war spread, summoned Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, and secured their Soul Contracts.
• Yamanaka Kei reset Tsunade’s harmful Good and Evil Dilemma Entry into Flowing Light and Shadow, then told her about the surviving human-experiment subjects and Konoha’s war plans.
• Yamanaka Kei secretly prepared for the allied Sand and Stone attack, sent Danzo to direct Konoha’s forces, and teleported to the battlefield.
• Yamanaka Kei fought Rasa and Pakura, deceived them with Genjutsu, and severed Rasa’s legs and left arm before they escaped.
• Yamanaka Kei received Spirit of Immortality and fused it with his other abilities, gaining the Golden Entry Yin Yang Sage Master and the ability to use Yin Yang Sage Techniques without chakra.

Yamanaka Kei defeated the forces behind Mist Village’s attack, then began merging the great ninja villages and reshaping Konoha’s leadership. The arc ended with Tsunade taking the Hokage position as Kei’s coalition confronted Sand Village.

• Yamanaka Kei attacked Ōnoki, Tobi, and Black Zetsu, killed Black Zetsu and Yagura Karatachi, and spared Tobi as his attendant.
• Yamanaka Kei secured Ōnoki’s agreement to peace, and Kitsuchi took charge of Hidden Stone’s negotiations with Konoha.
• Yamanaka Kei developed new Entries and an Infinite Armory, then proposed uniting Konoha, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Sand before turning against Mist Village.
• Yamanaka Kei revealed the Rinnegan’s origins to Nagato, Yahiko, Konan, Jiraiya, and Namikaze Minato, then began organizing Konoha’s factions with Nara Shikaku.
• Yamanaka Kei arranged for Tsunade to become Hokage, strengthened her with Sage Art Energy and Entries, and watched her challenge Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Tsunade defeated Sarutobi Hiruzen before Konoha’s leaders and clans, then took up the Hokage’s duties as Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha returned to the Pure Land.
• Chiyo learned that Ōnoki and Kitsuchi would not join Sand Village’s resistance, while Pakura considered abandoning the village.
• Yamanaka Kei’s coalition arrived around Sand Village with Wood Release statues, Susanoo, tailed beasts, and summons, and Sand Village’s leaders did not resist.

Yamanaka Kei secured alliances with Sand and Stone, strengthened his abilities, and prepared the allied villages to confront Mist Village and the White Zetsu. As the invasion began, the forces prepared to activate the God Tree, while Jigen approached Uchiha Hikari with a proposed transaction.

• Chiyo ordered Sand Village to prepare for battle while remaining open to peace, then sent Pakura to protect the village’s children and legacies as Yamanaka Kei urged her to accept the Kazekage position.
• After Sand Village signed its treaty with Konoha, Kei removed Nagato’s fake Rinnegan, gave him unfinished replacement eyes, and traveled to Loulan, where Tenten, Hinata, and Saya returned to their own time through the Dragon Vein.
• Kei rescued Uchiha Hikari from captivity, spent a month traveling with her, and promised to find her again after the coming war.
• Kei gained new powers and extended Sāya and Sara’s lifespans, then forced the Hyuga Clan to accept the removal of its control over the branch family’s Caged Bird Curse Mark.
• The allied Kage agreed to revive the Ten Tails to sever the God Tree and destroy the White Zetsu, despite the risk of attracting the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
• Kei and Tsunade captured the Sky Ninja Fortress, then gathered more than seventy thousand allied shinobi and launched an invasion of Mist Village by sea and air.
• Hashirama, Madara, Izuna, and Tobirama arrived as Tsunade reunited with Nawaki, while Kushina and Tobirama prepared the Amber Purifying Pot to channel Tailed Beast Chakra for the God Tree.
• Jigen appeared before Uchiha Hikari in the Mizukage Building and offered to discuss a transaction.