Chapter Summaries

Zabuza exposed the truth about Yagura and freed his imprisoned comrades, turning public opinion in Hidden Mist Village while preparing a staged takeover with Lu Li. Meanwhile, Lu Li fought Yagura and Mei Terumi near the village, and the chapter ended with Yagura blocking the attackers in his strongest form as the villagers watched.

• Zabuza spread flyers revealing that Yagura had been controlled, turning the villagers against the Mizukage Group.
• Zabuza freed his former comrades from the dungeons, and they began taking control of Hidden Mist Village while presenting themselves as protectors of the truth.
• Yagura transformed into the Three-Tails and fired a Tailed Beast Ball near Hidden Mist Village, prompting Mei Terumi to fear for the village's safety.
• Lu Li summoned Shinya, who clashed with Yagura's Three-Tails as Lu Li attacked and absorbed Chakra.
• Yun Lian enhanced Yagura and teleported him in front of Hidden Mist Village to stop the fight from reaching the village.
• Yagura vowed to protect Hidden Mist Village, and Lu Li praised his eyes and asked if this was his strongest state.

Lu Li survived the Hidden Mist elites’ coordinated assault by activating Sage Mode: Dragon Transformation, then challenged them to attack him with everything they had. Yagura ordered Mei Terumi to evacuate the villagers and prepared to face Lu Li himself.

• Yagura, Kisame, Mei Terumi, and Yun Lian surrounded Lu Li as Biwa Juzo watched from a distance.
• Yagura and Shinya clashed, and Lu Li wounded Yagura’s Three-Tails form with a powerful slash.
• Kisame trapped Lu Li in a giant water sphere while Mei Terumi added Lava Release and Yun Lian restrained him with Sky-Binding Chains.
• Yagura fired a Tailed Beast Ball into the water sphere, triggering explosions and a storm of acid and fire that appeared to kill Lu Li.
• Lu Li emerged unharmed in Sage Mode: Dragon Transformation, and Yagura ordered Mei to evacuate the villagers before confronting him again.

Lu Li defeated Yun Lian and Kisame while Yagura fought to defend the Hidden Mist Village. With Kisame dead and the village’s shinobi rallying behind him, Yagura stood in Lu Li’s way and declared that the village’s spirit would endure even if he died.

• Yagura and Kisame attacked Lu Li together, but Lu Li overpowered them and sent Kisame crashing into a crater.
• Yun Lian fled the battle, but Lu Li pursued him and killed him with a single slash.
• Kisame and Yagura coordinated attacks against Lu Li, but Shinya smashed Kisame’s Great Shark Bullet Technique before it could hit.
• Lu Li shocked Yagura’s tail and attacked, while Kisame sacrificed himself to protect the Mizukage and was killed by Lu Li.
• Yagura faced Lu Li before the Hidden Mist Village’s main gate as its shinobi urged him on, and he declared that the village would survive through the strength and softness of water.

Lu Li killed Yagura during the battle for the Hidden Mist Village, then fought the village’s remaining ninja while waiting for Zabuza to arrive. Zabuza’s dramatic entrance rallied the villagers, and he and Lu Li staged a clash in the Hidden Mist Technique’s fog.

• Lu Li abandoned his plan to capture Yagura and defeated him, cutting his throat as the Hidden Mist ninja watched.
• Lu Li pretended to be weakened and fought off the village’s attackers until Zabuza’s Executioner’s Blade flew onto the battlefield.
• Zabuza appeared in the mist, and the villagers rallied behind him, believing he had returned to defend the village.
• Zabuza used the Hidden Mist Technique and claimed to wound Lu Li, while the villagers imagined the two men fighting.
• Lu Li and Zabuza secretly faced each other in the fog, clanging their blades together to make their staged battle sound real.

Lu Li and Zabuza staged a battle that made Zabuza appear to drive Calamity from Hidden Mist Village, clearing the way for Zabuza to become Mizukage. As Lu Li left with Biwa Juzo, he offered him a chance to return to the village, while the plan risked drawing Nagato’s suspicion.

• Lu Li pretended to retreat after fighting Zabuza, and the Hidden Mist villagers celebrated Zabuza as their savior.
• Zabuza mourned Yagura and Kisame, while Mei Terumi learned of Zabuza’s victory, suspected a connection between him and Calamity, and returned toward the village.
• Lu Li revealed to Biwa Juzo that he and Zabuza had staged the battle, then gave him Samehada.
• Lu Li offered Biwa Juzo a way to return to Hidden Mist Village under another identity, and Biwa Juzo warned that Nagato might punish Lu Li for disrupting his plans.

Lu Li returned from the Hidden Mist Village after killing Yagura, while Obito decided to retrieve his other Sharingan as events began to slip beyond his control. At an Akatsuki meeting, Lu Li defended his actions and the organization suspended its tailed-beast hunt after losing Sasori and failing to capture the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Biwa Juzo chose to return to the Hidden Mist Village, and Lu Li arranged for Zabuza to take him in.
• Obito learned that Yagura had died and decided to go to the Leaf Village to retrieve his other Sharingan.
• Kakuzu reported that Sasori had died during the failed attempt to capture the One-Tail in the Sand Village.
• Lu Li told the Akatsuki meeting that Biwa Juzo had died and argued that the Hidden Mist Village battle had forced him to kill Yagura.
• The Deva Path accepted Lu Li's explanation, and Akatsuki paused its tailed-beast hunt and returned to mercenary work.

Lu Li continued toward the Land of Rice Fields as the attack on Hidden Mist Village reshaped the great nations’ plans and intensified Leaf Village’s fears of the Uchiha Clan. After Itachi received Lu Li’s warning to prepare for the Konoha Crush, a masked man appeared and offered to reveal the Uchiha Clan’s truth.

• The Deva Path suspended Akatsuki’s operations and assigned Kakuzu, Calamity, and Orochimaru to watch for powerful rogue ninja to recruit.
• The Fourth Raikage raised Lu Li’s bounty to one hundred million but declined the Kazekage’s proposal to convene a Five Kage Summit.
• The Third Hokage decided against the summit after Danzo warned that Leaf Village would be blamed for Orochimaru and Calamity, then Danzo urged him to act against the Uchiha Clan.
• An Anbu reported that Kakashi had survived an attack but had lost his Sharingan, and the attacker had reportedly possessed a Sharingan.
• Itachi received Lu Li’s secret letter instructing him to stay in Leaf Village and prepare the Uchiha Clan to resist the Konoha Crush.
• A man wearing a spiral mask appeared before Itachi and asked whether he wanted to know the truth about the Uchiha Clan.

Lu Li and Orochimaru planned an early attack on Leaf Village, with Orochimaru intending to assassinate the Kazekage and enlist the Sand Village. In the Forest of Death, Itachi confronted Obito, who claimed to be Uchiha Madara, and trapped him in Tsukuyomi before Obito escaped and vowed revenge.

• Lu Li discussed the Konoha Crush with Orochimaru, who assigned himself the Third Hokage and Lu Li the other defenders of Leaf Village.
• Orochimaru revealed that Kabuto would use false intelligence to draw out and assassinate the Kazekage, making the Sand Village an ally against Leaf Village.
• Obito approached Itachi in the Forest of Death, claimed to be Uchiha Madara, and urged him to read the Uchiha stone tablet.
• Itachi rejected Obito's appeal and used Tsukuyomi, but Obito escaped into his Sharingan's alternate dimension before losing consciousness completely.
• Tsukuyomi forced Obito to relive Rin's death and other tormenting scenes until Madara's ocular power broke the genjutsu.
• Obito woke drenched in sweat and swore hatred toward Uchiha Itachi.

Itachi met Obito in the Forest of Death and pretended to accept his offer while planning to report him to Lu Li. Meanwhile, Lu Li questioned Orochimaru’s weak forces for the planned attack on Leaf Village, and Orochimaru remained confident that he could secure support from the Sand Village.

• Itachi watched for Obito after their first encounter, then noticed Obito had returned wearing different pants.
• Obito warned Itachi that Leaf Village would move against the Uchiha Clan, admitted he had taken Kakashi’s Sharingan, and offered to help him overthrow the village or destroy the clan.
• Itachi agreed to contact Obito with a seed, though he intended to report him to Lu Li and prevent a conflict over Kakashi.
• After Obito left, Itachi hurried back to the Uchiha Clan to head off trouble between the clan and Leaf Village.
• In Hidden Sound Village, Lu Li questioned whether Orochimaru’s weak subordinates could support the attack on Leaf Village, and Orochimaru said Kabuto would help him secure a powerful ninja army from the Sand Village.
• Lu Li advised Orochimaru to prepare elite forces through his ability to summon the dead, but Orochimaru explained that he lacked the needed blood and suitable bodies on short notice.

Lu Li gave Orochimaru corpses for the Konoha Crush, then traveled to Konoha after learning Zabuza had become Mizukage and completed his mission. In Konoha, he met Itachi and watched Naruto defend Hinata before speaking with the lonely boy and questioning the Third Hokage’s knowledge of Naruto’s mistreatment.

• Lu Li handed Orochimaru the corpses of Yagura, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Yun Lian, and hinted that Uchiha and Senju bloodlines might lead to the Rinnegan.
• Orochimaru agreed to join the planned attack on Konoha, and Lu Li headed there after receiving a Hidden Mist ninjutsu scroll and updated faction reputations.
• Lu Li infiltrated Konoha in disguise, ate eighteen bowls of ramen at Ichiraku, and exchanged a silent signal with Itachi to meet that evening.
• Lu Li watched Naruto defend Hinata from several boys, then saw Hinata run off and Naruto remain alone in the park.
• Naruto sat beside Lu Li, and Lu Li began questioning whether the Third Hokage knew how badly the villagers ostracized him.

Lu Li told young Naruto the truth about his parents, the Nine-Tailed Fox, and why the villagers treated him cruelly. Naruto learned that he was the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki’s son and had become the village’s hero, then began questioning why the Third Hokage had kept it from him.

• Naruto told Lu Li he wanted to become Hokage so the villagers would acknowledge him and he would no longer be alone.
• Lu Li told Naruto that he had done nothing wrong and that Leaf Village was responsible for the mistreatment he endured.
• Lu Li revealed that Naruto’s father was the Fourth Hokage and his mother was Kushina Uzumaki, and that they had died protecting the village.
• Lu Li explained that Naruto had become the Nine-Tailed Fox Jinchuriki as a baby to seal the beast and save Leaf Village.
• Naruto realized that the Third Hokage knew his background and shouted in anguish, asking why the village had treated him that way.

Lu Li told Naruto the truth about his parents and Konoha’s treatment of him, then promised to take him to another village where he could make friends. As Lu Li escaped Konoha’s Anbu, the Third Hokage faced Danzo’s proposal to treat Naruto as a threat to the village’s security.

• Lu Li told Naruto about Minato and Kushina, and Naruto grew bitter over how Konoha had treated the son of its heroes.
• Naruto asked to leave with Lu Li, who promised to take him to a village with young ninja his age after Konoha’s surveillance eased.
• Lu Li escaped the Anbu using Shunpo and the Transformation Technique, while Naruto remained behind for questioning.
• An Anbu reported to the Third Hokage that Lu Li had told Naruto about his origins as the village’s dispute with the Uchiha Clan continued to worsen.
• Danzo urged the Third Hokage to act against Naruto, warning that the Nine-Tailed Fox Jinchuriki might lose loyalty to Konoha.

Lu Li and Itachi coordinated their plans for the Konoha Crush and discussed the masked man's possible identity. Lu Li convinced Itachi that the man might be Obito and proposed a way to test it, leaving Itachi reluctant to disguise himself as Rin to seduce him.

• Danzo demanded the Hokage position from the Third Hokage, claiming he could make Naruto loyal to Leaf Village.
• Lu Li met Itachi at the Uchiha shrine and told him the Konoha Crush would begin in three days, with Orochimaru and Hidden Sound Village joining the attack.
• Lu Li and Itachi planned their forces and examined the stone tablet, debating the truth of its claims about the Sharingan and Infinite Tsukuyomi.
• Lu Li and Itachi reasoned that the masked man might be Uchiha Obito, who had survived despite being presumed dead.
• Lu Li proposed using Itachi disguised as Rin to test the masked man's identity, but Itachi doubted the plan and objected to dressing as a woman.

Lu Li and Itachi discussed the limits of Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami and agreed that Itachi would watch for the masked man while Lu Li handled Danzo. Obito and Danzo plotted against the Uchiha Clan and Calamity, while Lu Li received a summons from Nagato and prepared to contact Akatsuki.

• Itachi told Lu Li that Shisui’s transplanted eye needed time to recover before it could use Kotoamatsukami, though Danzo might already be able to activate his eye.
• Lu Li told Itachi to deal with the masked man and said he would handle Danzo himself.
• Obito offered Danzo a plan to use Itachi to assassinate the Third Hokage, then help destroy the Uchiha Clan and divide its Sharingan.
• Danzo rejected Obito’s suggestion to kill Calamity and asked him to send Lu Li to Konoha so Danzo could arrange an ambush.
• Obito told Danzo to save Kotoamatsukami for Itachi, while Danzo privately resolved to use it if necessary.
• Lu Li sensed a summons from Nagato and began using the Illusionary Body Flicker Technique from the Uchiha Clan shrine.

Lu Li received a mission from Nagato to meet Danzo in three days, while the Third Hokage struggled to reach Naruto and Danzo tried to contact Itachi. Fugaku revealed that his Mangekyo Sharingan could glimpse possible futures and showed Itachi the disastrous outcome he had once foreseen, leaving Itachi to explain his plan to his father.

• Nagato ordered Lu Li to meet Danzo near Konoha and collect intelligence about the Nine-Tailed Fox, and Lu Li warned that he might kill Danzo afterward.
• Lu Li told Itachi about the mission and said he intended to act against Danzo after getting the intelligence.
• The Third Hokage found Naruto refusing to answer his door and considered asking Danzo to take the Hokage position if Naruto could not be persuaded.
• A Root messenger asked Itachi to meet Danzo, but Itachi delayed his response and warned Sasuke to stay away from Root.
• Fugaku confronted Itachi about Lu Li and revealed that his Mangekyo Sharingan could glimpse parts of the future.
• Fugaku showed Itachi a vision in which the Uchiha captured Naruto, the Nine-Tailed Fox destroyed Konoha, and many Uchiha died; Itachi then explained that his current plan was meant to show Konoha the clan's importance.

Itachi told Fugaku about the planned Konoha Crush, while Orochimaru escaped the Sand Village and recruited mercenary ninja. Jiraiya and Tsunade returned to Konoha as Lu Li and Itachi headed to Danzo’s forest meeting, where Lu Li sensed Root’s ambush and faced Danzo.

• Itachi explained the Konoha Crush plan to Fugaku, who warned that Danzo might target him and began preparing the Uchiha Clan’s response.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto reached the Land of Wind border, where Demon Subduing Devil offered his mercenary ninja’s services to Orochimaru.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade returned to Konoha and saw Naruto sitting alone, while Lu Li worried that the village would be heavily damaged in the coming attack.
• Lu Li met Itachi in the Forest of Death, and they set out separately for Danzo’s midnight meeting.
• Lu Li detected Root’s hidden forces and assessed Danzo’s abilities before Danzo greeted him at the meeting place.

Lu Li fought Danzo in the forest while Orochimaru launched an assault on Leaf Village. After Danzo’s attack failed and Lu Li cut him in half, Lu Li revealed that he knew Danzo was not truly dead.

• Itachi arrived, prompting Danzo to accuse Lu Li of betraying Leaf Village and activate a Chakra-draining formation, but Lu Li was unaffected and killed the attacking Root ninjas with lightning.
• Orochimaru began his assault on Leaf Village, where Manda broke through the walls and Sarutobi Hiruzen led the village’s defenders.
• Demon Subduing Devil’s group attacked the defenders with magic, but a shield-bearing man intervened and struck at Demon Subduing Devil with lightning.
• Lu Li drew Prison Demon and confronted Danzo, who summoned Baku as Lu Li summoned Shinya to fight it.
• Lu Li cut through Danzo’s Wood Release and split him in two, then used Conqueror’s Haki and lightning to defeat the remaining Root ninjas.
• Lu Li told Danzo to get up, implying that Danzo had survived the attack.

Lu Li killed Danzo after resisting Kotoamatsukami, while Orochimaru’s attack on Konoha escalated with powerful Impure World Reincarnation summons. The chapter ended as Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju recognized that Orochimaru was attacking the village.

• Danzo used Izanagi to survive Lu Li’s attacks, then activated Kotoamatsukami, but Lu Li’s Clear Heart Bloodline nullified its control.
• Lu Li beheaded Danzo, defeated the Root members who attacked him, and noticed the explosions coming from Konoha.
• Orochimaru summoned Yagura and Kisame Hoshigaki with Impure World Reincarnation, and Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted him.
• Yagura and Kisame blocked Hiruzen while Orochimaru summoned more reincarnated ninjas.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju emerged from the coffins, and Hashirama realized Orochimaru was attacking Konoha.

Orochimaru unleashed the Impure World Reincarnation and fought the Third Hokage with Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Sasori of the Red Sand while Konoha struggled to hold the battlefield. The fight escalated when Lu Li attacked Konoha, and Jiraiya abandoned his attempt to help the Third Hokage to confront him.

• Orochimaru restrained Tobirama Senju with a control talisman and enlisted Sasori of the Red Sand to attack Konoha and capture the Nine-Tailed Fox.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju isolated Sarutobi Hiruzen inside a forest, while Sasori deployed more than a hundred puppets to attack him and block reinforcements.
• Konoha's ninja contained Yagura and Kisame Hoshigaki, while Tsunade joined the battle and Jiraiya waited outside the forest for a chance to support Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Explorers received the Konoha Defense Battle mission and realized its upper difficulty meant certain death.
• Lu Li burst through Konoha's eastern wall on a crimson giant snake and devastated the village with attacks from above.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta, then leaped toward Lu Li with a Rasengan as Gamabunta recognized the crimson snake as Shinya.

Lu Li battled Jiraiya and Tsunade during the attack on Konoha, overwhelming Jiraiya and severely wounding Gamabunta. Tsunade joined the fight to hold Lu Li back while Jiraiya tried to enter Sage Mode.

• Lu Li clashed with Jiraiya and split his Rasengan, while Shinya fought Gamabunta and AreYouBarking countered Lu Li’s lightning attack.
• Jiraiya and Gamabunta unleashed a Toad Oil Flame Bullet at the invading forces, but Lu Li’s Falling Star slash cut through the flames and Yagura blocked the remnants with a Water Wall.
• Lu Li paralyzed Gamabunta and wounded Jiraiya and Gamabunta with successive attacks, forcing Jiraiya to dismiss his summon.
• Jiraiya summoned Fukasaku and Shima and urged them to help him enter Sage Mode, then called on Tsunade to fight.
• Tsunade attacked Lu Li and activated Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Sealings Technique, while Lu Li questioned whether she had truly overcome her fear.