Chapter Summaries

Naruto reassured Hinata that they would stay together, gave her an anklet, and prepared to leave Konoha soon. He then learned Tenten was struggling to reach Neji, whose likely future as Hyuga Clan head made an outside marriage with her seem impossible.

• Hinata woke at Naruto's apartment, and Naruto explained he had slept on the sofa so she could rest comfortably before walking her home.
• Naruto promised Hinata they would be together despite her father's opinion, and Hinata confessed she would always love him.
• Naruto gave Hinata a chakra-metal anklet and planned to leave Konoha the next day to deal with threats beyond the village.
• Yugao Uzuki asked Naruto to confirm Danzo was dead because she feared retaliation from Root, and Naruto reassured her.
• Naruto met Black Sakura at the hospital laboratory, learned about the research progress, and confirmed he was leaving the next day.
• Naruto found Tenten waiting outside the Hyuga Compound, where she said Neji had avoided her; Naruto realized Neji's path toward clan leadership likely required marrying within the Hyuga Clan.

Naruto visited Neji with Tenten before leaving Konoha, then set out for Cloud Village with Yugito Nii, intending to seize control through her. At their first camp, he pressured Yugito for money while she considered how thoroughly she had been cut off from returning to her village.

• Naruto helped Tenten enter the Hyuga Compound, where they found Neji working at the Clan Affairs Hall and learned his appointment as clan head was nearly certain.
• Naruto told Neji he would leave Konoha the next day, met Shikamaru and Choji for a meal, and later spent the evening with Hinata.
• Naruto left Konoha for Cloud Village, planning to use Yugito Nii to take power from the Fourth Raikage.
• Naruto released Yugito Nii on the journey and demanded money from her as they ate grilled meat by a campfire.
• Yugito Nii considered that she could no longer safely return to Cloud Village and sensed a faint connection binding her to Naruto.

Naruto used his conversation with Yugito Nii to hint that the age of the Jinchuriki was changing, then revealed his larger ambitions to seize control of Cloud Village and prepare for the Otsutsuki. Several days later, he and Yugito entered a busy border market town in disguise, where Naruto spotted Kisame Hoshigaki.

• Naruto used supplies from his Sealed Space to dry Yugito Nii’s hair, then questioned her about Cloud Village’s ambitions and his plans to disrupt its ability to wage war.
• Naruto hinted that he had survived losing his Tailed Beast and left Yugito wondering whether Tailed Beasts could now be extracted from Jinchuriki.
• Naruto privately resolved to take control of Cloud Village and pursue the Otsutsuki rather than leave the threat to others.
• Yugito spent the night unsettled by Naruto’s hints, while Naruto acted as though their conversation had never happened the next morning.
• After traveling north for five or six days, Naruto and Yugito entered a crowded market town in disguise.
• Naruto spotted Kisame Hoshigaki, a burly man carrying a bandage-wrapped weapon.

Naruto explained to Yugito Nii that he planned to seize control of Cloud Village and hinted that tailed beasts could now be separated from their jinchuriki, leaving her unable to sleep. After traveling to a busy border market town with Yugito, Naruto spotted Kisame Hoshigaki.

• Naruto used a generator and hair dryer for Yugito Nii, then asked whether she thought he was taking revenge on Cloud Village.
• Naruto argued that Cloud Village was preparing for war, admitted he wanted to control it, and hinted that he knew how to survive after losing a tailed beast.
• Naruto left Yugito unsettled by asking why he was still alive despite no longer being a jinchuriki, then returned to his tent without explaining further.
• Yugito spent the night worrying about her future as a jinchuriki, while Naruto slept soundly.
• Naruto and Yugito traveled north for five or six days and entered a busy market town near the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass.
• Naruto spotted Kisame Hoshigaki moving through the market town.

Naruto infiltrated Samui’s home and used his Sealed Space, threats, and compromising photographs to pressure her into becoming an Evil God Follower. Samui cautiously weighed the offer while Naruto swore he would return the photos, leaving her decision unresolved.

• Naruto entered Samui’s home and, after she challenged him, pulled her into his Sealed Space with Four Symbols Sealing.
• Naruto used redwood branches to bind Samui, beat her, and threaten to kill her as she resisted and warned that Cloud Village Anbu would investigate her disappearance.
• Naruto poured milk over Samui, took compromising photographs, and used them to unsettle her.
• Naruto offered to return the photographs if Samui agreed to become an Evil God Follower, and Samui asked whether he would really return them.
• Naruto solemnly claimed that he, Sasuke, never lied.

Naruto infiltrated the Raikage Building and captured Mabui, making her an Evil God Follower and completing Cloud Village’s trio of Traitors with Yugito and Samui. With the village’s influential advisers under his control, Naruto prepared to bring Yugito back to Cloud Village as a hero.

• Naruto slipped into the Raikage Building and pulled Mabui from her office into the Sealed Space.
• Yugito agonized over whether Naruto had succeeded, while Samui realized he had tricked her by swearing on Sasuke’s name.
• Naruto frightened Mabui into choosing to become an Evil God Follower, and the system confirmed her status as a Cloud Village Jonin Traitor.
• Naruto discovered that Task Three had reached halfway progress with five Traitors under his command.
• Naruto left Mabui unable to expose him and decided the preparations were nearly complete for Yugito’s return to Cloud Village as a hero.

Naruto spotted Sasuke’s team entering Cloud Village and told Yugito Nii that the chance to return was coming soon. While the Fourth Raikage discussed the intruders with Mabui, Naruto hid beneath her desk and teased her as she tried to conceal him.

• Naruto left Yugito Nii’s residence in the rain and spotted Sasuke’s team sneaking into Cloud Village, while he and White Zetsu independently watched them.
• Naruto told Yugito Nii that Sasuke had come for Killer Bee and that she could return to Cloud Village within the next few days.
• Yugito Nii reflected on her confinement and worried that Naruto’s plans would make the people around the Raikage undercover agents.
• Naruto visited Mabui in the Raikage secretary’s office, but she heard the Fourth Raikage approaching before he could explain why he had come.
• Mabui hid Naruto beneath her desk as the Fourth Raikage entered and told her to follow up on reports that intruders had entered the village.

Naruto pressured Mabui into helping his plan involving Yugito and then went to brief Samui. At Samui’s home, Darui arrived to check on her and found her awkwardly hiding Naruto behind the door, though he ruled out that an infiltrator was inside.

• Naruto vanished beneath Mabui’s desk before Raikage A could discover him, then reappeared after the Raikage left.
• Naruto told Mabui that he wanted her to oppose and then support Yugito at a crucial moment so the Raikage would trust her.
• Mabui agreed to Naruto’s plan, and the two pretended to be friendly before privately calling each other hypocrites.
• Naruto went to Samui’s home to brief her and traded insults with her until Darui knocked at the door.
• Samui opened the door only slightly while Naruto grabbed her from behind, and Darui grew concerned about her strange behavior.
• Darui concluded that Samui was not hiding one of the village’s infiltrators, though he was shocked by the scene at her door.

Naruto used Sasuke’s arrival in Kumogakure as an opportunity to stage Yugito Nii’s return, planning to make it look as though Sasuke had kidnapped her and been defeated by the Raikage. Disguised as Sasuke, Naruto confronted Fourth Raikage A and summoned Third Raikage A to fight him.

• Darui left Samui’s home after Naruto and Samui fooled him into thinking they were together, and Naruto told Samui to consider his proposal before leaving.
• Naruto decided to use Sasuke’s arrival to help bring Yugito back, while Sasuke and the Hawk Team evaded Kumogakure’s Anbu with Karin’s sensory help and White Zetsu secretly followed them.
• Naruto showed Yugito White Zetsu, discussed his claims about aliens and the future of ninjutsu, then told her to attack Sasuke without holding back when he released her.
• Naruto sealed Yugito away, disguised himself as Sasuke, and kicked down the door to Fourth Raikage A’s office to provoke him.
• Naruto summoned Third Raikage A with Impure World Reincarnation, bringing Fourth Raikage A face-to-face with his father.

Naruto lured the Fourth Raikage into a fight with Sasuke while trying to make him use the Cloud Village’s tailed beasts. After the Raikage’s attack weakened Sasuke, Naruto released Yugito Nii, and the complete Two-Tails Matatabi appeared on the battlefield.

• Naruto fled the Fourth Raikage as the Raikage’s forces sealed the reincarnated Third Raikage.
• The Fourth Raikage crashed into Sasuke and began fighting him, while Naruto watched and taunted them from nearby.
• Sasuke fought with Susanoo as the Raikage broke through its defenses, and a Tailed Beast Ball forced Sasuke to evade.
• The Raikage pierced Susanoo with Lightning Release: Lariat, but Sasuke’s armored Susanoo repelled his finishing strike.
• Naruto used the chaos after Sasuke’s Susanoo vanished to release Yugito Nii, bringing the complete Two-Tails Matatabi onto the battlefield.

After Yugito Nii returned to Kumogakure, the Raikage’s meeting ended with her being declared a hero but quietly sidelined. She sought refuge with Naruto, who revealed he planned to leave soon, and she entered his room in the middle of the night.

• Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo escaped the Two-Tails’ attack while the Raikage chose not to pursue them.
• The Raikage’s subordinates debated whether Yugito Nii was a traitor, and Samui and Mabui argued that the village still needed her as its Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
• The Raikage declared Yugito Nii a Cloud Village hero, but Samui told her that the village planned to keep her sidelined.
• Yugito Nii went to Naruto’s apartment because her house was dirty, and she learned he intended to leave on a journey soon.
• Naruto told Yugito Nii to stay in his apartment and pay rent, then woke in the middle of the night when she entered his room.

Yugito Nii treated her intimacy with Naruto as a token of allegiance and resolved to protect Cloud Village by joining his side. Naruto headed back toward Konoha while planning his next moves, and in the Land of Fire capital, Ino faced noble opposition that had halted the communication project.

• Yugito Nii reflected on her life as the Two-Tails' jinchuriki after spending the night with Naruto, then ate the breakfast he left before he departed.
• Samui told Yugito Nii that Cloud Village's leaders had assigned someone to watch her, and Yugito revealed she had joined Naruto's side to protect the village.
• Naruto decided to return to Konoha, investigate Obito Uchiha indirectly, and continue recruiting selectively for the Evil God Cult.
• Ino learned that nobles in the Land of Fire capital had stopped the communication installation and that the Feudal Lord would not meet with Konoha's representatives.
• Ino dismissed her subordinate and considered how to overcome the nobles' opposition without causing trouble for her father or the Yamanaka Clan.

Ino tried to negotiate with the Land of Fire Nobles over the Chakra Communication Project, but they demanded a 70 percent share without investing anything. As she struggled to find a way forward, Naruto arrived in the capital and found her upset.

• Ino went with Intelligence Department members to meet the nobles, leaving her subordinates waiting outside the estate.
• Son Kazu and the other nobles rejected Ino’s explanations and demanded 70 percent of communication projects throughout the Land of Fire without contributing investment.
• Ino refused to give up on establishing the network in the capital, and she invited her staff to a meal to lift their spirits.
• Naruto returned to the capital, embraced Ino, and joined her as she went to catch up with her subordinates.

Naruto and Kakashi learned that Jiraiya had vanished after being swept into an underground river, so Naruto set out with Team 3 to investigate. Along the way, Neji revealed his marriage had helped ease tensions in the Hyuga Clan, and the team reached the river’s entrance.

• The Fukama and Egawa families showed goodwill toward Naruto, and he and Kakashi agreed to accept their support for the Intelligence Department’s projects.
• Scroll Frog reported that Jiraiya had been swept into an underground whirlpool and his chakra had disappeared, prompting Kakashi to send Naruto and Team 3 to investigate.
• Neji revealed that he had held a wedding rehearsal with a girl from the Hyuga Main Family and said their marriage had eased the clan’s conflict.
• Naruto, Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee traveled for two days with Scroll Frog and found the entrance to the underground river.

Naruto and Team 3 followed Scroll Frog through an underground river while searching for Jiraiya, but a whirlpool and a mysterious door separated Naruto from the others and transported him to the Land of Whirlpools. After searching the island alone, Naruto heard a voice that sounded like Tenten as night fell.

• Naruto led Team 3 down a deep valley and through narrow underground waterways toward the place where Jiraiya had disappeared.
• Neji spotted human and animal remains and what appeared to be a door beneath the river, then warned the others that the place seemed sinister.
• A whirlpool swallowed Naruto's giant Nine-Tails form after Neji shouted that the door below them had opened.
• Naruto woke alone on an island in the Land of Whirlpools and learned from Scroll Frog that the others' whereabouts were unknown.
• Naruto searched much of the island but found no sign of his teammates before hearing a faint voice that sounded like Tenten.

Naruto rescued the injured Tenten after they were transported through an underwater door to an island in the Land of Whirlpools, and the two searched for Neji and Rock Lee. A message from the Scroll Frog revealed that Jiraiya had been trapped in a glacier before two people fell from the sky.

• Naruto found the injured Tenten, carried her to shelter, and treated her while they waited through the night.
• Tenten woke with little memory of what happened after the group entered the underwater door, and Naruto explained that they were on an island thousands of miles away.
• Naruto and Tenten searched the island for Neji and Rock Lee, but found no sign of them and suspected they had been transported elsewhere.
• Naruto planned to search for another door on the island before contacting Konoha for rescue.
• The Scroll Frog reported that Jiraiya had been trapped in a glacier and nearly failed to escape, before two people fell from the sky.

Naruto rescued the injured Tenten on an island in the Land of Whirlpools and searched for Neji and Rock Lee, suspecting they had been transported elsewhere through the underwater doors. Just as Naruto and Tenten set out to investigate another possible door, the Scroll Frog reported that Jiraiya had been found trapped in a glacier and that two people had fallen from the sky.

• Naruto found Tenten injured in a forest, brought her to a tent, and cared for her until she woke.
• Tenten remembered passing out after the boat, and Naruto explained that an underwater door had likely transported them to an island a thousand miles away.
• Naruto and Tenten searched the island for Neji and Rock Lee, but found no sign of them and agreed to keep looking before seeking help from Konoha.
• Naruto told Tenten that Neji and Rock Lee might have been sent to another destination through one of the two underwater doors.
• Naruto led Tenten toward a beach where he had previously found a hole and a possible crack beneath it, but the Scroll Frog arrived with news that Jiraiya had been found in a glacier and that two people had fallen from the sky.

Naruto brought Tenten to the Land of Whirlpools to investigate the underground site he had discovered two years earlier, while Tenten confided her sadness about Neji’s marriage and her fear of losing friends as they grew up. They reached the pit and entered the cave containing twenty-seven statues, where Naruto began searching for the secrets beneath the island.

• Naruto asked Tenten to keep their destination secret, and she promised not to tell anyone.
• Tenten asked Naruto about Neji’s marriage, then cried as she explained how much she admired Neji and feared that marriage would change their friendship.
• Naruto comforted Tenten, and she felt better by the next morning.
• Naruto led Tenten from the beach to the pit and guided her down into the stone cave.
• Tenten saw the twenty-seven statues, and Naruto said he had come to inherit his clan’s property.

Naruto and Tenten descended into a deep fissure on the Land of Whirlpools island and found a strange door embedded in the rock. While Kakashi and Shikamaru discussed the separated teams and Jiraiya, Neji, and Rock Lee waited in the far north, Naruto decided to take the door away.

• Naruto and Tenten jumped into a narrow fissure and fell through the darkness, with Naruto holding on to slow their descent and guide them safely down.
• Kakashi told Choji that Jiraiya had been found and that rescue efforts were underway for Naruto and Tenten on an island in the Land of Whirlpools and for Jiraiya, Neji, and Rock Lee in the far north.
• Shikamaru reasoned that changes in the external magnetic field might have caused the spatial teleportation that separated the groups.
• Jiraiya, Neji, and Rock Lee endured a blizzard in the far north, and Neji explained that there were two doors beneath the river.
• Naruto and Tenten searched the bottom of the valley and found a patterned, handleless door embedded in a stone wall.
• Naruto decided to pack up the ominous door and take it away.

Naruto and Tenten explored a dark valley in the Land of Whirlpools, where a horde of corpses attacked them and Naruto used Impure World Reincarnation to summon allies against it. They reached a door bearing the Uzumaki Clan’s account of the nation’s fall, and Tenten began reading its history.

• Naruto told Tenten that the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning had likely joined forces to destroy the Land of Whirlpools for its sealing techniques.
• Naruto and Tenten heard a mass of corpses approaching, and Naruto summoned reanimated Kaguya Clan members and ninja from Mist Village and Cloud Village to fight them.
• Naruto and Tenten climbed to the door in the rock wall while the two groups battled below.
• Tenten read that Mist Village and Cloud Village had attacked after Hashirama Senju’s death, and that surviving Uzumaki Clan members retreated to Divine Valley so their clan would endure.