Chapter Summaries

Kakashi dug up Minato and Kushina’s graves and found both coffins empty, convincing him that his teacher and mistress were alive and that Night Duke was Minato. He went straight to the Third Hokage to report the revelation, but the chapter ended just as he began to speak.

• Kakashi secretly went to the cemetery at night and dug open Minato’s grave, finding it empty and previously disturbed.
• Kakashi concluded that Minato was alive and that Night Duke was his teacher, then wondered whether Kushina had survived too.
• Kakashi opened Kushina’s coffin and found it empty as well, leaving him overwhelmed with joy.
• Kakashi cleaned up the gravesite at dawn and went to the Hokage Office Building to tell the Third Hokage what he had discovered.
• Kakashi asked the Third Hokage to send the Anbu away, then began revealing the top-secret news.

Kakashi told the Third Hokage that he had dug up Minato and Kushina’s graves and found their coffins empty, confirming that they were likely alive. He revealed that Minato had been living in Konoha as the Night Duke, leaving the Third Hokage stunned but relieved.

• Kakashi admitted to the Third Hokage that he had dug up Minato and Kushina’s graves to learn whether they were alive.
• Kakashi said the coffins were empty and the graves had already been disturbed before he opened them.
• Kakashi told the Third Hokage that he had met Minato and identified him as the Night Duke.
• Kakashi explained that the Night Duke’s Flying Thunder God, Rasengan, abilities, appearance, and use of Kakashi’s mark showed he was Minato.
• The Third Hokage accepted Kakashi’s account, relit his pipe, and said he could finally rest easy.

Kakashi told the Third Hokage that Naruto had likely been secretly trained by Minato and Kushina, explaining his strength and awakened Uzumaki abilities. The two then speculated that Minato had faked his death to investigate Madara Uchiha and protect Konoha from the shadows.

• Kakashi told the Third Hokage that Naruto might know where Kushina was and explained his evidence, including Naruto’s bloodline abilities and help for the Night Duke.
• The Third Hokage accepted Kakashi’s deductions and concluded that Minato and Kushina had secretly trained Naruto while evading Anbu with Minato’s techniques.
• The Third Hokage asked why Minato and Kushina had stayed hidden instead of returning to Konoha.
• Kakashi suggested that Minato had faked his death to investigate Madara Uchiha and guard Konoha from the shadows.
• The Third Hokage accepted Kakashi’s explanation, and Kakashi praised Minato as Konoha’s true root.

The Third Hokage and Kakashi speculated that Minato and Kushina had faked their deaths to protect Konoha and raise Naruto independently, then decided to question Naruto about what he knew. Kakashi brought Naruto from the Ninja Academy to meet the Third Hokage, who began with casual conversation to lower his guard.

• Kakashi convinced the Third Hokage that Minato had secretly protected Konoha and arranged Naruto's difficult upbringing to help him grow.
• The Third Hokage wondered whether Naruto knew his identity, and he and Kakashi agreed to summon him and test what he knew about the Night Duke and Kushina.
• Kakashi found Naruto sparring with Sasuke at the Ninja Academy, where Naruto defeated him with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Kakashi took Naruto to the Hokage's Office after informing Itachi, who suspected the summons was connected to the Night Duke.
• The Third Hokage asked Naruto about life in the village, and Naruto said he was happy, though he regretted not knowing about his father.

The Third Hokage and Kakashi questioned Naruto about his parents, but Naruto used their probing to seek information about his father. They discovered that Naruto already knew his mother was Kushina Uzumaki and had contact with her through Night Duke, while Naruto prepared to bluff about knowing his father.

• The Third Hokage asked Naruto whether he had ever thought about his parents, and Naruto challenged his claim that they had not been very strong.
• Kakashi explained that Naruto's parents were strong compared with ordinary ninjas, and the Third Hokage recounted a censored version of Minato and Kushina's history.
• The Third Hokage caught Naruto reacting as though he already knew his mother's name, and Kakashi inferred that Kushina had helped awaken Naruto's Uzumaki bloodline power.
• The Third Hokage tried to persuade Naruto to reveal Kushina's whereabouts, but Naruto said Night Duke used Flying Thunder God Technique to take him to her.
• The Third Hokage asked whether Naruto knew his father, and Naruto decided to pretend that he did so he could learn more from the Hokage and Kakashi.

Naruto bluffed the Third Hokage and Kakashi into revealing that Minato was alive and had faked his death, but they mistakenly thought Naruto already knew Night Duke was his father. After realizing Naruto had tricked them, they refused to share more, leaving him eager for answers.

• Naruto pretended to respect his father's decision, prompting the Third Hokage and Kakashi to confess that Minato had faked his death and that they had hidden Naruto's parentage.
• Naruto learned that his father was alive and tried to draw out more information while claiming he was satisfied with his upbringing.
• The Third Hokage and Kakashi assumed Naruto already knew Night Duke was Minato, and Naruto misunderstood them as confirming that Night Duke was the Fourth Hokage.
• Naruto asked whether Sensei was his father, making Kakashi and the Third Hokage realize he had been bluffing and did not know Night Duke's identity.
• The Third Hokage told Naruto to keep pretending he knew nothing about Minato and Kushina, then refused to answer further questions; Kakashi ignored Naruto and read Icha Icha Paradise.

After learning that the Fourth Hokage was supposedly his father, Naruto privately rejected the claim and wondered what the adults were hiding. Kurama revealed that Naruto’s instincts were right and began speaking with him inside his consciousness space, leaving his own purpose for approaching Naruto unresolved.

• Naruto refused the Third Hokage’s offer of better treatment and left the Hokage Office Building pleased on the surface but convinced that Sensei was not his father.
• Naruto reasoned that the Third Hokage and Kakashi were concealing a secret, since he felt familial affection from Kushina but not from Sensei.
• Kurama spoke to Naruto from within his mind and told him that Sensei truly was not his father.
• Naruto entered his consciousness space, found Kurama sealed behind an iron cage, and learned that the Nine-Tails was inside him.
• Naruto apologized for staring at Kurama, surprising him, while Kurama maintained that he would eventually escape and kill Naruto.

Naruto met the Nine-Tails inside his seal and learned that someone had taken over his father Minato's body, while the Nine-Tails offered to reveal Minato's whereabouts in exchange for removing a talisman. Naruto agreed after demanding information about Soji, but rejected the Nine-Tails' attempt to turn him against his trusted Sensei and was left to remove the talisman before learning where his father was.

• Naruto feigned leaving the mindscape, forcing the Nine-Tails to offer a deal: remove the seal talisman and it would reveal where Minato was.
• The Nine-Tails' words led Naruto to realize that Soji, his Sensei, had taken over his father's body, and Naruto agreed to the deal in return for information about Soji.
• The Nine-Tails warned Naruto that Soji was more dangerous than itself and possessed a world-destroying Dōjutsu, but Naruto defended Soji and threatened to cancel the deal if the Nine-Tails kept badmouthing him.
• The Nine-Tails refused to explain the Sage of Six Paths or reveal more about Soji, then urged Naruto to tear off the talisman so it could tell him where Minato was.

Naruto removed the Nine-Tails’ sealing talisman, but used Adamantine Sealing Chains to suppress its leaked Chakra and keep their confrontation from escalating. When he demanded to know where his father was, the Nine-Tails revealed that Minato had sealed its Yin half inside himself and that both Minato’s soul and the Yin half were trapped in the Death God’s stomach, leaving Naruto devastated by the news that his father was dead.

• Naruto removed the talisman from the cage, and the Nine-Tails began releasing its Chakra and trying to influence him.
• Naruto used Adamantine Sealing Chains to seize control of the leaked Chakra, forcing the Nine-Tails to back down.
• Naruto asked the Nine-Tails to fulfill their deal and tell him where his father was, and it answered that Minato was dead.
• The Nine-Tails explained that Minato had sealed its Yin half inside himself and that both of them were trapped in the Death God’s stomach.
• Naruto rejected the revelation and threatened to reseal the Nine-Tails, but its explanation left him overwhelmed with despair.

The Nine-Tails gave Naruto hope that Soji might rescue Minato and its Yin half from the Death God's stomach, while Soji allowed their contact and revealed he had already tasked Orochimaru with studying the Reaper Death Seal. A month later, Soji and Orochimaru separately traveled to the former site of Uzushio Village to undo the seal, unaware that a powerful enemy awaited them.

• The Nine-Tails told Naruto that Soji might be able to free Minato and its Yin half from the Death God's stomach, and Naruto resolved to ask his teacher for help.
• Naruto collided with Soji on his way to school, and Soji learned that Naruto had contacted the Nine-Tails but decided to allow it.
• Soji reflected that Naruto could learn to use the Nine-Tails' power earlier and resolved to keep his identity secret from him.
• After another month passed, Soji requested leave from the Third Hokage and set out for the former site of Uzushio Village.
• Orochimaru also traveled toward Uzushio Village, where an unknown powerful enemy awaited them both.

Nagato and Konan spent a year at the former site of Uzushio Village, where Nagato uncovered the Uzumaki Clan’s hidden sealing techniques and prepared to capture the Three-Tails and Six-Tails despite Konan’s concerns about Mizuki Ember. The chapter left Nagato confident that his new techniques could help him face Mizuki Ember, while Konan insisted she would fight beside him.

• Nagato used Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind his summoned Split Dog as Konan worried that the technique required him to fight with his crippled body.
• Konan urged Nagato to leave capturing the Three-Tails and Six-Tails to Madara Uchiha, but Nagato said he needed to protect his standing as Akatsuki’s leader and prevent Madara from gaining influence.
• Konan promised she would not stay out of the next fight against Mizuki Ember, and Nagato reluctantly agreed to let her join him.
• Nagato told Konan he had learned many other Uzumaki sealing techniques that he could use through the Pain Six Paths.
• Nagato found a hidden stone wall carved with the Uzumaki Clan’s sealing techniques, which Ashina Uzumaki had concealed before the clan’s destruction.
• Nagato mastered the techniques over the past year and planned to use intangible seals against Mizuki Ember, whose attacks could shatter physical techniques.

Nagato and Konan encountered Orochimaru in the ruins of Uzushio Village, where Orochimaru had come seeking the key to undo the Reaper Death Seal. After Orochimaru recognized Nagato as the hidden leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Nagato and Konan decided to kill him.

• Konan reported that someone had arrived at the ruins, but Nagato said they did not need to hide.
• Nagato reflected on his complicated feelings toward Konoha and prepared to leave the ruins in a few months to order the Akatsuki Organization to capture the tailed beasts.
• Orochimaru entered the ruins ahead of Soji to search the ancestral shrine for the key needed to undo the Reaper Death Seal.
• Orochimaru encountered Konan and Nagato, recognized Nagato's Rinnegan, and deduced that he controlled Pain and led the Akatsuki Organization.
• Nagato and Konan declared that Orochimaru would die at the ruins, while Orochimaru panicked despite trying to appear calm.

Soji traveled to the ruins of Uzushio Village to meet Orochimaru, unaware that Nagato and Konan were attacking him. Soji arrived in time to knock out a Taurus Summoning Beast that was about to charge Orochimaru, leaving him in the middle of the battle.

• Orochimaru was surrounded by Nagato, Konan, and their Summoning Beasts and was brutally beaten as he tried to survive and escape.
• Soji walked toward Uzushio Village, reflecting on the Uzumaki Clan's destruction and the ruins' desolation.
• Soji followed a little green snake into the ruins after it appeared to guide him to Orochimaru.
• Soji heard the battle and reached the central area, where he saw Nagato blast Orochimaru with Shinra Tensei.
• Soji struck the charging Taurus Summoning Beast with Eight Trigrams Palm: Return to One and knocked it unconscious before it hit Orochimaru.

Soji joined Orochimaru against Nagato and Konan at the ruins of Uzushio Village, hoping to keep them from interfering with Orochimaru’s plan to revive Minato. Orochimaru secretly planned to seize Nagato’s Rinnegan, while Nagato and Konan agreed to fight for up to an hour before retreating.

• Orochimaru told Soji that he had run into Nagato and Konan, and Soji learned their encounter had been a coincidence.
• Soji agreed to fight alongside Orochimaru, who began plotting to steal Nagato’s Rinnegan after noticing his crippled legs.
• Nagato urged Konan to attack Soji and Orochimaru, arguing that eliminating a Konoha expert would benefit the Akatsuki Organization.
• Konan warned that Nagato’s condition made a prolonged fight too dangerous, but Nagato set a one-hour limit before they would retreat.
• Soji and Orochimaru finished discussing their strategy as Nagato and Konan prepared to fight.

Soji and Orochimaru faced Nagato and Konan, and Orochimaru insisted on taking Nagato while Soji fought Konan. Soji’s opening attacks revealed that Konan’s paper body made her a difficult match for his Gentle Fist, leaving their fight unresolved.

• Konan tried to persuade Soji to leave, but he refused to let Rain ninjas attack Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru assigned himself Nagato and told Soji to fight Konan and the Summoning Beasts, despite Soji wanting to face Nagato and seize his Rinnegan.
• Soji and Konan moved away from Nagato and Orochimaru to begin their own battle.
• Soji struck Konan with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, but her paper body restored the hole in her chest without injury.
• Konan turned her paper into a barrage of Shuriken, which Soji deflected with Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven.
• Soji closed in and used Four Sky Palms, but realized he had struck paper rather than Konan’s body.

Soji struggled to overcome Konan’s paper-based techniques, which nullified his physical attacks and hid Explosive Tags among her paper assaults. After realizing he had underestimated her, he and Konan launched into close combat, with Konan thrusting a paper spear at him as he accelerated through the air.

• Konan turned the limbs Soji struck into paper, attached an Explosive Tag to his hand, and attacked from the air, but Soji shielded himself with a water dragon.
• Konan fired waves of paper needles, and Soji used Flowing Rock Shattering Fist to deflect or destroy them until a concealed Explosive Tag burned his hand.
• Soji recognized that Konan’s versatility made her a difficult opponent and regretted assuming he could quickly defeat her without revealing more of his abilities.
• Konan noticed Soji’s burn had healed within seconds, while Soji leaped into the air and accelerated by stepping on the air.
• Konan dived toward Soji with a paper spear, aiming to defeat him in close combat while relying on her immunity to physical attacks.

Soji injured Konan with White Moon Heavenly Dance, but she recovered and continued fighting for Akatsuki and Nagato’s dream. She trapped Soji inside a massive sphere of paper and believed he would suffocate, leaving his fate uncertain.

• Soji's White Moon Heavenly Dance tore through Konan's Paper Spear and wounded her left shoulder before she reassembled herself from paper.
• Konan acknowledged Soji's strength, resolved to protect Nagato's dream, and declared that she would kill him.
• Konan avoided close combat and used Paper Prison Technique to cover Soji in sheets of paper.
• Soji stopped resisting as the paper wrapped around him, and Konan formed a five-meter paper sphere around him.
• After five minutes, Konan watched the sealed sphere and believed Soji would suffocate inside.

Hyuga Soji used the Yata Crow’s explosive eggs against the giant rhinoceros, then defeated the Hell Crab and Giant Centipede while Konan tried to stall him. Konan concluded that the Akatsuki Organization’s intelligence on Soji was wrong as Soji turned toward the remaining summons.

• Soji kicked the Yata Crow’s explosive eggs into the giant rhinoceros, knocking it unconscious.
• Konan abandoned her attempt to defeat Soji quickly and focused on keeping him occupied while hoping Nagato would defeat Orochimaru.
• Soji dodged the Hell Crab’s attacks, struck its back, and incapacitated it with Gentle Fist—Mountain Breaker Strike.
• Soji used Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to repel the Giant Centipede, then destroyed it while dodging Konan’s Great Paper Shuriken.
• Konan recognized that the Akatsuki Organization’s assessment of Hyuga Soji was wrong and decided his intelligence needed to be gathered again.

Orochimaru fought Nagato while using the Reanimated Third Kazekage to absorb attacks, hoping to seize the Rinnegan. As Orochimaru made a desperate charge toward Nagato, he summoned Manda to take a laser blast and create an opening, leaving Manda badly wounded and furious as it was sent back to Ryūchi Cave.

• Orochimaru used the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to summon the Third Kazekage and used him as a shield against Nagato’s attacks.
• Nagato mocked Orochimaru’s attempt to seize the Rinnegan, while Orochimaru insisted he would take Nagato’s eyes.
• Orochimaru charged toward Nagato and summoned Manda, telling it that it only needed to stay still.
• Nagato’s Asura Path laser struck Manda, grievously wounding it as it shielded Orochimaru.
• Manda cursed Orochimaru and returned to Ryūchi Cave, while Orochimaru used the opening to get closer to Nagato.

Orochimaru used Manda and the Reanimated Third Kazekage to probe Nagato’s abilities and create openings to steal his Rinnegan. After Nagato stopped two Shadow Clone attacks, Orochimaru’s true body emerged from a Little Grey Snake and reached for the Rinnegan, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Nagato fired an Asura Attack laser from his shoulder and struck Manda, but Manda absorbed the attack for Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru sent the Reanimated Third Kazekage to attack Nagato with Iron Sand World Method, and Nagato destroyed the Kazekage with Shinra Tensei.
• Orochimaru exploited the interval between Nagato’s Shinra Tensei attacks and sent a Shadow Clone to seize the Rinnegan, but Nagato stopped it with Human Path.
• A second Orochimaru Shadow Clone attacked from behind, but Nagato immobilized it with a Yin-Yang Release Black Rod.
• Orochimaru revealed that both attackers were Shadow Clones and emerged from a Little Grey Snake, reaching toward Nagato’s Rinnegan while Nagato’s hands were occupied.