Chapter Summaries

Temari led a coup against acting Kazekage Seki Issai, exploiting the Anbu’s reluctance to attack civilians and rallying Sunagakure’s villagers. After Baki secured the Puppet Unit, Temari entered the Kazekage Building through an open window to confront Seki Issai.

• Temari and Kankuro forced past the Anbu guarding their home, while Uchiha Toko judged that Seki Issai could not afford to pay the martial law troops.
• Temari met Baki and Yashamaru, sent Baki with Kankuro to seize the Puppet Unit, and rallied their supporters to force Seki Issai to abdicate.
• Temari gathered a large crowd outside the Kazekage Building, but Seki Issai’s Anbu refused his order to suppress the civilians.
• After Kankuro reported that Baki had secured the Puppet Unit, Temari approached the building and took Uchiha Toko’s advice to climb through an open window.

Temari and her allies arrested Acting Kazekage Seki Issai after discovering his forbidden human puppet research, and the crowd rallied behind her as a candidate for Fifth Kazekage. Uchiha Toko warned Temari that Chiyo and Ebizo remained the real obstacle and advised her to establish a task force to investigate how Seki Issai obtained the technique.

• Temari and her allies broke into the Kazekage's Office, where they overheard Seki Issai planning to use the Human Puppet Technique on his deceased wife, Jianxi.
• Temari's group found human puppet modifications on Jianxi's body, seized the coffin and puppet as evidence, and arrested Seki Issai.
• Temari addressed the protesters, condemned Seki Issai's crimes, and promised to investigate them before taking up her father's responsibility if the people continued to support her.
• Temari wondered whether her coup had succeeded, and Uchiha Toko explained that her father's influence and Seki Issai's mistakes had made his arrest easy.
• Uchiha Toko warned Temari that Chiyo and Ebizo were harder to challenge and advised her to create a special task force to keep investigating how Seki Issai obtained the forbidden technique.

Temari forced Chiyo and Ebizo to accept her authority and agree to keep Gaara as the One-Tail’s Jinchuriki, ending Sunagakure’s lockdown. Meanwhile, Sasuke, Neji, and the others set out with Shion to find Mōryō despite her warnings.

• Temari confronted Chiyo and Ebizo in the Kazekage’s Office, defended the Jonin Squad’s arrest of Seki Issai, and proposed a task force to investigate his use of the forbidden Human Puppet Technique.
• Chiyo and Ebizo backed down and promised to confirm Temari as the Fifth Kazekage at a future Jonin meeting, while Temari pressed them to investigate the village’s hidden wrongdoing.
• Temari questioned whether Gaara should remain the One-Tail’s Jinchuriki, and Chiyo argued that replacing him would risk the One-Tail escaping during resealing; Temari accepted their recommendation to maintain the status quo.
• Sunagakure’s lockdown ended, and Sasuke, Neji, and the others departed with Shion for Mōryō’s sealed location despite her repeated warnings.
• Neji threatened to report the Land of Demons’ delays to the Hokage, while Sasuke dismissed Shion’s prophetic visions as vague and intangible.

Sasuke’s team forced Shion to continue the mission after she foresaw Ashisuke’s death, and Sasuke bet that he could defy her prophecy. The team encountered four attackers on the way to the Land of Swamps, and the battle began with Rock Lee and Sasuke engaging them.

• Sasuke threatened Shion, then explained that he would complete the mission regardless of her cooperation; Neji ordered Sakura and Karin to escort her.
• After Shion dreamed that Ashisuke would die, Sasuke questioned her for details, and Neji gave Ashisuke a device containing five instant-cast A-rank Rasengan.
• Sasuke bet that Ashisuke would survive and said Shion would have to study theology in the Land of Fire if the prophecy failed.
• At noon, Karin detected four enemies, and Sasuke and Neji shared the visual information from their Sharingan and Byakugan with the team.
• Sasuke noticed abnormal Chakra fluctuations at the attackers’ necks, while Karin prepared Sealing Technique scrolls.
• Rock Lee opened the Eight Gates Formation and attacked a stone-bodied opponent with Front Lotus, while Sasuke engaged two other attackers with Purple Lightning.

Sasuke and his allies fought attackers empowered by Mōryō, but the enemies repeatedly regenerated and Karin’s Chakra-only seal failed against their strange energy. Sasuke destroyed most of the monsters with his Mangekyō power, but as the last one lunged for Shion, Neji stepped in to block it.

• Neji shot one attacker with his Chakra sniper rifle, but the man turned into water and reformed as Sasuke fought the pair with lightning and fire techniques.
• Sakura overwhelmed the underground attacker, Rock Lee destroyed the stone-bodied enemy with the Reverse Lotus, and Neji’s upgraded rifle blasted the remaining opponents.
• The four attackers regenerated through glowing formations and restored their Chakra, so Karin trapped them with a sealing net while Sasuke and Neji used ninja tools to prevent their escape.
• Karin’s seal suppressed the attackers’ Chakra, but Shion revealed that their power came from Mōryō, and the attackers transformed into grotesque monsters.
• Sasuke used his Mangekyō and black lightning blades to annihilate three monsters, but his Chakra ran low and his blades vanished after he struck the fourth.
• The last monster transformed into green light and charged toward Shion, and Neji intercepted it with Eight Trigrams Palm: Revolving Heaven.

Sakura operated on Ashisuke after he took a poisoned attack meant for Shion, while Naruto entered Gaara’s sealing space and began helping him understand his past. The chapter left Gaara sharing his life story with Naruto as the Nine-Tails beat Shukaku nearby.

• Sasuke destroyed one of the green lights with his Mangekyō Sharingan, but his eye pain delayed him, and Ashisuke took the other light meant for Shion.
• Sakura diagnosed an unusual toxin in Ashisuke and began an emergency operation with Karin, while Neji knocked out Shion to stop her disruptive muttering.
• Naruto camped with the unconscious Gaara, who woke and grew hostile under Shukaku’s influence.
• Naruto entered Gaara’s sealing space, revealed that he was also a Jinchuriki, and the Nine-Tails dragged Shukaku away to beat him.
• Gaara told Naruto about his childhood, the villagers’ hatred, and his father’s attempts to kill him, and Naruto said people nearby cared about him.

Naruto helped Gaara realize that his siblings cared about him and that he could learn to control Shukaku, then met Jiraiya near the ruins of Rōran. Shion learned Ashisuke had survived the prophecy at the cost of his right arm, while Naruto and Gaara decided to explore the ancient kingdom.

• Naruto told Gaara that Temari was risking herself to help him return to Sunagakure, and Gaara began to understand that he was not alone.
• Kurama subdued Shukaku, and Naruto encouraged Gaara to control his power and build a relationship with the tailed beast.
• Shion woke to find Ashisuke alive but missing his right arm, and she rejoiced that her prophecy had been broken before Neji asked her to share everything she knew about the enemy.
• Jiraiya joined Naruto and Gaara at their campfire, warned Naruto that befriending Sunagakure's Jinchuriki could cause trouble, and learned that Temari was leading a coup.
• Jiraiya explained that the nearby ruins belonged to Rōran, where Minato had once carried out a mission, and Naruto invited Gaara to explore them.
• Naruto and Gaara agreed to visit the ruins, hoping to learn more about Minato and compare him with Gaara's father.

Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya were transported from the ruins of Rōran into the kingdom’s past, where they met a young Minato Namikaze. Minato learned that Naruto was his future son, and the group prepared to rendezvous with Choza and Shibi.

• Naruto and Gaara explored Rōran’s ruins with Jiraiya, who explained that the kingdom had fallen after losing the energy that powered its puppets.
• Naruto entered a tower and touched Minato’s Ninja Love Sword, triggering a flash that transported the three of them into a thriving version of Rōran.
• Three enormous puppets attacked, and Naruto and Gaara defeated them by cutting their Chakra threads after Jiraiya pointed them out.
• A masked Minato Namikaze rescued the group and took them to a secluded alley, where Jiraiya realized they had traveled into the past.
• Naruto told Minato that he was his son, Uzumaki Naruto, and Jiraiya explained that they had come from about twenty years in the future.
• Minato asked the group to accompany him to rendezvous with Choza and Shibi, and Gaara recognized that they were in the past.

Jiraiya, Naruto, and Gaara joined Minato’s team in investigating the puppet-controlled ancient city of Rōran and its Dragon Vein. When Naruto rescued Rōran’s queen from a fall, combat puppets closed in, and Minato recognized the Nine-Tails’ chakra blazing around him.

• Gaara told Jiraiya and Naruto that he wanted to see his mother, and Naruto promised to take him later.
• Minato led Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya to Choza and Shibi, who reported that puppets had replaced Rōran’s people and were powered by the Dragon Vein.
• Minato decided to find Rōran’s queen, and he gave the group Flying Thunder God kunai before they infiltrated the city.
• Minato asked Naruto about his name and ninja rank, and Naruto admitted he was still a genin.
• Naruto sensed that the falling woman on the palace platform was real and caught her as combat puppets converged on the tower.
• Minato saw the Nine-Tails’ chakra surrounding Naruto and realized that Naruto resembled a perfect Jinchuriki.

Naruto and Minato rescued Sara from Anrokuzan’s attack and learned that the prime minister had turned citizens into puppets using the Dragon Vein. Minato planned a strike against Anrokuzan, but Naruto’s inability to use basic sealing techniques forced Jiraiya to take charge of sealing the Dragon Vein.

• Naruto destroyed one combat puppet with a Super Big Ball Rasengan, and Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evacuate him and the others.
• Sara woke at the group’s base, then returned to the city with Minato and discovered that citizens had been replaced by puppets and that combat puppets were trying to kill her.
• Sara told Minato that Anrokuzan had used the Dragon Vein to make puppets, and Minato persuaded her to help stop him.
• Minato assigned Jiraiya, Choza, and Shibi to infiltrate the Imperial Palace while Naruto and Gaara protected Sara and went to seal the Dragon Vein.
• Naruto admitted that he could not use the Three Talents Seal and was unskilled with the Two-Aspect Sealing, so Minato entrusted the Dragon Vein to Jiraiya instead.

Naruto and Gaara rescued the enslaved Roran civilians while Minato and the others fought Anrokuzan’s puppets near the Dragon Vein. As the battle escalated, Mukade assembled a gigantic puppet, and Naruto asked Minato to release his seal so he could fight it.

• Minato took Naruto and Gaara to the Dragon Vein site, where they discovered Roran civilians forced to work in a puppet factory.
• Naruto persuaded Minato to let him and Gaara rescue the civilians after a fifteen-minute delay, and Gaara agreed to help free them.
• Naruto drew the combat puppets away while Gaara shattered the civilians’ shackles and led them to safety.
• Minato’s group confronted Anrokuzan, who recognized Minato as the Fourth Hokage and attacked using a puppet powered by the Dragon Vein.
• Naruto joined the fight after destroying the factory’s puppets, but Mukade gathered metal fragments into a gigantic combat puppet.
• Naruto asked Minato to open his seal so he could deal with the giant puppet.

Naruto freed the Nine-Tails and used its full power to defeat Anrokuzan before planning to visit Sunagakure with Gaara. Meanwhile, the injured A learned of Kumogakure’s losses and Konoha’s demands, then faced protesters calling for his resignation.

• Minato entered Naruto’s Sealing Space, released the Nine-Tails, and was driven out as Kurama prepared to lend Naruto its true power.
• Naruto transformed into a giant golden Nine-Tailed Fox, defeated Anrokuzan with a Tailed Beast Bomb, and asked Minato to seal the captive’s Chakra.
• Naruto planned to visit Sunagakure with Gaara so Gaara could meet his mother, while Jiraiya sealed the memories of Minato, Choza, and Shibi before they parted.
• A awoke in Kumogakure, learned that C had been captured, Yugito Nii had died, Killer B was badly injured, and the village’s border forces had nearly all been captured.
• Mabui told A that protesters led by Donald, Ailong, and Frayge demanded his resignation over the defeat and Konoha’s terms.
• A arrived at the Raikage Building and saw Donald’s followers chanting for him to step down, but he lacked the confidence to suppress them.

After A learned that the Land of Lightning's Feudal Lord had approved a Fifth Raikage election, he backed Mabui as his candidate to keep Donald and his allies from taking power. Donald rallied supporters in Kumogakure with a campaign speech, and Uchiha Toko secretly helped turn an assassination attempt into a moment of apparent defiance.

• Mabui warned A that his injuries made it dangerous to confront the crowd, so he returned to Cloud-Lightning Valley to recover.
• A learned that officials had pushed the Feudal Lord to approve a new Raikage election and urged Mabui to run against Donald; she agreed.
• Donald led his red-strap supporters through Kumogakure and delivered a speech blaming A for the defeat while promising to restore the village's power.
• Uchiha Toko watched Donald's rally and launched a steel ball that grazed Donald's ear, while White Zetsu's disguised agent was caught and killed by the crowd.
• Donald raised his arm despite his bleeding ear, and his supporters cheered for him as a White Zetsu in the crowd called him the Fifth Raikage.

A backed Mabui as a candidate for Fifth Raikage, while Uchiha Toko had A Fei try to undermine her campaign. Mabui won over the crowd with an unexpected laugh and later clashed with Donald in a public debate, leaving Kumogakure’s leadership contest unresolved.

• A ordered Mabui to gather the Black ninja and seek the Fifth Raikage position to keep Donald from taking power.
• Mabui gave a speech accusing the white ninja of dividing the village, and Uchiha Toko and A Fei watched from the crowd.
• At Uchiha Toko’s urging, A Fei challenged Mabui to explain how she would solve the village’s troubles, but Mabui laughed and her supporters joined in.
• Over the next two days, Mabui’s supporters and Donald’s white ninja supporters campaigned against each other as the Raikage contest intensified.
• Donald and Mabui traded accusations at a campaign event, disputing their records, leadership, and plans for Kumogakure.

Donald rallied support to become the Fifth Raikage while Sasuke destroyed Mōryō, Gaara discovered his mother’s love, and the Land of Lightning faced political and financial upheaval. As A struggled with the fallout, the scientist Amado arrived at his hidden base and offered help.

• Donald promised to make Kumogakure powerful, while Ailong offered supporters a daily million-ryo prize and Frayge pledged to become its new B.
• Sasuke annihilated Mōryō despite Shion’s offer to surrender her powers, then collapsed after telling her he had won again.
• After the Dragon Vein returned them to the present, Gaara realized his mother’s chakra had protected him and asked Naruto to travel with him.
• The Land of Lightning signed the reparations treaty, and newly promoted Grand Minister Childe proposed cutting Kumogakure’s military budget to help pay it.
• A learned that Kumogakure’s military funding would be cut while Donald gained ground against Mabui, then Amado entered his base and offered assistance.

Uchiha Toko took Hashirama and Tobirama Senju on a tour of the Military Police Force, where they saw its broad membership, strong morale, generous food, and Uchiha instructors training other clans' ninja. Back at the Hokage Office, the group agreed the resurrected Hokage would remain in the village while they investigated the enemy who stole Impure World Reincarnation, and Hashirama asked Toko for dice.

• Uchiha Toko and Sarutobi Hiruzen inspected the Military Police Force as Hashirama and Tobirama observed that few of its members were Uchiha and that the clan had relinquished control of it.
• Kakashi led the visitors toward the cafeteria, where Tobirama requested to eat with ordinary ninja and Kakashi revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan, given to him by an Uchiha hero.
• Uchiha Toko joined Hashirama and Tobirama in the cafeteria, where Tobirama was astonished by the food, the members' respect for Toko, and the Force's support.
• At the training grounds, Hashirama saw Uchiha instructor Uchiha Tieyou teach Inagaki Seigo and concluded that the Uchiha Clan had integrated into the village.
• Back at the Hokage Office, Uchiha Toko said the enemy who stole Impure World Reincarnation remained unidentified, and Hashirama agreed to stay in the village while asking Toko for a set of dice.

Tobirama Senju read the village history and discovered that Uchiha Toko had given him a misleading account, so he secretly questioned Tsunade about Toko’s rule. After hearing about the coup and Toko’s plans, Tobirama confronted him the next morning, asking if he was preparing for war.

• Tobirama Senju read records of Danzo’s crimes and left the secret chamber to investigate the village himself.
• Tobirama Senju visited Tsunade, scolded her for drinking and gambling, and asked what had happened in the village.
• Tsunade praised Uchiha Toko’s record as Hokage and explained that his Genjutsu was too poor to control the Nine-Tails.
• Tsunade told Tobirama Senju what she knew about Toko’s coup and his rule, and they talked until nearly dawn.
• Tobirama Senju confronted Uchiha Toko the next morning and asked whether he was preparing for war.

Uchiha Toko explained his plan to wage a decisive war against the Ninja World, and Tobirama Senju agreed to join his advisory department after judging the strategy likely to succeed. Later, Tobirama warned that Kumogakure was rapidly militarizing, but Toko remained confident that A’s harsh rule would leave Konoha with the moral advantage when war began.

• Tobirama Senju recognized that Uchiha Toko was preparing Konoha for a war against the entire Ninja World, and Toko confirmed he meant to end the conflicts in one decisive campaign.
• Hashirama Senju objected that war could not bring peace, but Toko challenged the results of Hashirama’s own methods and described the devastation he had seen as a child soldier.
• Tobirama Senju accepted a position in Toko’s advisory department, estimating that Toko’s plan had an eighty percent chance of making Konoha the victor.
• After reviewing Toko’s actions, Tobirama Senju concluded that the Mangekyō Sharingan was among the least significant of Toko’s methods.
• Tobirama Senju reported that A had seized political power in the Land of Lightning, crushed opposition, raised taxes, and redirected Kumogakure’s internal conflicts toward Konoha.
• Uchiha Toko argued that A’s oppressive policies would give Konoha the moral high ground and make its future invasion appear to civilians as liberation.

Uchiha Toko discussed Konoha’s strategy and Naruto’s safety with Tobirama Senju, while Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya traveled through the Land of Rain to help its civilians. Akatsuki decided to leave Naruto’s group alone, but as the trio headed to another village, the Nine-Tails sensed hostile intent nearby.

• Uchiha Toko told Tobirama Senju that Konoha’s greater cause and strength against Kumogakure would support its future war, while reform remained the priority.
• Uchiha Toko said he had asked Jiraiya to watch Naruto and had left safeguards to protect him.
• Naruto, Gaara, and Jiraiya traveled through the Land of Rain, where Naruto and Gaara planned to help civilians repair houses and build roads and bridges.
• Pain and Konan learned that Naruto and Gaara were active in the southern villages and ordered Akatsuki’s members not to attack them.
• Nagato and Konan decided to travel south to visit Jiraiya and meet Naruto, the Uzumaki Clan Head.
• After Naruto helped build a bridge and left a mark of Ninshu in a village, the Nine-Tails warned him that hostile intent was nearby.

Naruto, Jiraiya, and Gaara fought a mechanical squad whose strange energy could break down Chakra and seemed connected to the Ten-Tails. As Jiraiya was rescued from defeat and Nagato arrived, Pain prepared to unleash Shinra Tensei on the attackers.

• Naruto saved Jiraiya and Gaara from a massive explosion, then defended them against the mechanical squad's energy beams with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Jiraiya summoned Iron-Armed Toad and the Toad Sages, while Shukaku recognized the attackers' energy and persuaded Gaara to lend him power.
• Iron-Armed Toad discovered that the squad's force field could strip the Chakra from Sage Chakra, and Jiraiya used Frog Kata to break through it and fight the leader.
• The squad leader pressured Jiraiya with a light sword, until a blood-filled maw swallowed Jiraiya and carried him away from the fight.
• Nagato arrived with the Six Paths of Pain, rescued Jiraiya through the King of Hell, and prepared to strike the mechanical troops with Shinra Tensei.