Recaps

Kakashi from another world challenged Momochi Zabuza to a sword duel, mistaking Zabuza’s crude attacks for masterful swordsmanship before effortlessly stopping his blade. Zabuza began forming hand seals to reveal his full strength, and Obito’s eyes turned into Mangekyo Sharingan.

• Kakashi warned the others that Zabuza’s Executioner’s Blade could absorb iron from blood and repair itself, while explaining that the Empire’s weapons had even greater self-repair technology.
• Kakashi challenged Zabuza to a duel, and Zabuza mistook him for Kakashi’s brother and charged with the Executioner’s Blade.
• Kakashi studied Zabuza’s crude swings while dodging, then drew his White Fang Blade and clashed with him, numbing Zabuza’s hand.
• Kakashi clamped the Executioner’s Blade between two fingers and told Zabuza that his swordsmanship was poor, though his silent movements could work well with the Hidden Mist Technique.
• Zabuza abandoned the blade struggle, stepped back, and began forming hand seals as Obito’s eyes transformed into Mangekyo Sharingan.

Kakashi and Obito mistook Zabuza’s forty-four hand seals for a world-shaking technique, but he used them to cast the ordinary Water Dragon Bullet Technique. After Kakashi defeated Zabuza, Haku intervened and tried to take him away, but Kakashi realized Zabuza was faking death and decided to keep them both.

• Zabuza formed forty-four hand seals, leading Kakashi and Obito to expect a forbidden technique, but he cast Water Dragon Bullet Technique and sent Kakashi into the current.
• Kakashi escaped the water with the White Fang Blade and attacked Zabuza with Wind Release—Blade Wind Tornado.
• Haku blocked Kakashi’s attack with Ice Release and struck Zabuza’s neck with two needles, making him appear dead.
• Haku claimed to belong to the Hidden Mist Village’s Anbu pursuit squad and tried to carry Zabuza away, but Obito sensed that Zabuza was still alive.
• Kakashi refused to let Haku take Zabuza and revealed that he knew Zabuza was faking death, then said Haku had an even greater reason to stay.

Haku and Zabuza were captured after Obito defeated Haku’s Ice Release and trapped him in genjutsu. Haku began explaining why his Kekkei Genkai had brought disaster upon his family, hoping Kakashi would grant him a favor.

• Haku used Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and Thousand Flying Water Needles to cover Zabuza’s escape, but Obito’s Great Fireball destroyed the ice mirrors.
• Obito caught Haku’s gaze with his Mangekyo Sharingan, sealed his Chakra, and removed his mask, revealing that Haku was a man.
• Obito also sealed Zabuza’s Chakra and removed the needles from his neck, and the two prisoners quickly regained consciousness.
• Haku admitted that Zabuza was a rogue ninja from the Hidden Mist Village and that they had both been hired by Gato.
• Haku confirmed that Ice Release was his inherited Kekkei Genkai and said it had brought disaster and death to his family.
• Haku asked Kakashi for a promise before explaining that villagers in his snowy Land of Water village had feared and hated Kekkei Genkai users because of the war.

Haku recounted how his Ice Release supposedly led villagers to kill his mother and father, but Obito and Kakashi doubted his story. Zabuza backed Haku’s account by describing the Land of Water’s persecution of Kekkei Genkai users and the Hidden Mist Village’s brutal academy system, then explained why he had turned against the village.

• Haku said his father and the villagers killed his mother after discovering her Ice Release, and his awakened power killed them in a rage.
• Obito challenged Haku’s story with questions about why villagers hated Kekkei Genkai users, why Haku’s mother did not defend herself, and whether his father would really try to kill his own family.
• Obito told Kakashi to kill Haku and Zabuza, but Zabuza offered to prove Haku’s account was true.
• Zabuza said the Fourth Mizukage’s rule had made people in the Land of Water hate Kekkei Genkai users, leaving Haku and his mother among many victims.
• Zabuza described how Hidden Mist Academy students had been forced to kill one another, and how he slaughtered his classmates on graduation day to protest the system.
• Zabuza said the village rewarded him for the killings, and that he fled after failing to assassinate the Mizukage so he could gather money and allies to overthrow him.

Kakashi and Obito questioned Zabuza about the Mizukage’s persecution of Kekkei Genkai users and recognized parallels with Konoha’s treatment of its own clans. After confirming Zabuza’s account, they were left wondering why Haku’s mother had died.

• Kakashi asked Zabuza whether the Mizukage was the strongest person in Hidden Mist Village, and Zabuza explained that the Kage was its highest ruler but not necessarily its strongest fighter.
• Obito suggested the Mizukage might be controlled or replaced, but Zabuza said the Mizukage had once been responsible and that the village’s leaders had allowed him to persecute Kekkei Genkai users.
• Obito’s criticism of Hidden Mist’s destruction of its own talent made Kakashi think of his father’s death and the Uchiha Clan’s destruction in Konoha.
• Obito decided to hold a clan meeting and bring Uchiha members to pioneer the land, hoping they would understand how the Emperor supported Kekkei Genkai clans.
• Kakashi confirmed that the Bloody Mist and the Land of Water’s isolation were known realities, then asked why Haku’s mother, who also had a Kekkei Genkai, had died.

Kakashi and Obito learned why Haku's mother died and tried to recruit Zabuza and Haku into the Empire, but Zabuza refused to betray the Hidden Mist Village. As Zabuza and Haku prepared to die together, Obito reminded Kakashi that they needed test subjects for their Cross-Dimensional Channel, and Kakashi spared them.

• Zabuza said Haku's mother had died because she would not hurt the villagers, and Kakashi and Obito condemned the world's indoctrination of its people.
• Kakashi invited Zabuza and Haku to join the Empire, but Zabuza refused to betray the Hidden Mist Village and chose death rather than serve another power.
• Haku pleaded to die before Zabuza, and Zabuza accepted his request, revealing his affection for him.
• Kakashi drew the White Fang Blade to kill them, but Obito urged him to keep them alive as test subjects for the Cross-Dimensional Channel.
• Kakashi sheathed his blade and decided to let Zabuza and Haku live a little longer.

Nagato traveled with Jiraiya to the capital of the Land of Fire and saw the Daimyo and nobles enjoying themselves while civilians suffered. He compared their lives with those in the Empire, leaving Jiraiya confused by Nagato’s description of Emperor Senju as excessively indulgent.

• Nagato questioned why the Land of Fire had abandoned trains, and Jiraiya explained that attacks and maintenance costs had made them unprofitable.
• Nagato and Jiraiya reached the Land of Fire’s capital after traveling for just over half a day, and Jiraiya resolved not to let the Hidden Leaf Village be the first to challenge the Empire.
• Nagato watched nobles mistreat civilians and a Daimyo seize a dancer, while Jiraiya treated the scenes as ordinary.
• Jiraiya explained that the Daimyo appointed the Kage, then guessed that the Emperor was the person who enjoyed life most in the Empire.
• Nagato described Emperor Senju’s elaborate meals, personal chefs, and three wives, and said elderly people still condemned him as debauched.

Nagato condemned the Fire Daimyo’s abuse and challenged Jiraiya’s faith in the Child of Prophecy, arguing that only unifying the Shinobi World could end large-scale wars. Jiraiya rejected war and pleaded with Nagato not to bring it to their prosperous world.

• Nagato described the Emperor’s demanding tastes and three wives, then explained that the Emperor had inherited both the Sharingan and Wood Release.
• Nagato condemned the Fire Daimyo’s treatment of a young dancer and questioned the balance of power between daimyo and ninja villages.
• Jiraiya explained his hope of finding the Child of Prophecy, but Nagato dismissed the idea and compared it unfavorably with Infinite Tsukuyomi.
• Nagato urged Jiraiya to unify the Shinobi World, arguing that it would end wars between nations and leave only peaceful contests for power.
• Jiraiya rejected unification because it would require bloodshed and pleaded with Nagato not to bring war to their world.

Nagato explained how Uchiha Senju founded the Empire through conquest and a brutal civil war, then defended the sacrifices by describing the prosperity and peace that followed. Jiraiya learned the scale of the bloodshed and heard that the Empire now had millions of students and a growing population.

• Nagato argued that Jiraiya’s faith in preserving the existing order was futile, while Jiraiya questioned whether true change required war.
• Nagato began recounting the Empire’s history, explaining that its timeline matched the Hidden Leaf’s until the Empire’s Holy War began in Year 40 of Konoha.
• Nagato said Uchiha Senju killed Hanzo, defeated the allied forces, and conquered the shinobi world before rejecting the Daimyos’ rule and declaring a unified Empire in Year 44.
• Nagato revealed that the wars and civil conflict killed 1.8 million shinobi and 1.84 million civilians, leaving Jiraiya shocked by the death toll.
• Nagato claimed that Senju’s policies restored prosperity within five years and said the Empire now had over 110,000 registered Jonin, 710,000 Chunin, and 2.15 million Ninja Academy students.

Nagato rejected Jiraiya’s plea to resist the Empire and continued toward the Valley of the End, while Jiraiya returned to the Hidden Leaf Village. Attempts by Orochimaru’s Empire to reach the correct point in the other world failed again, leaving the Shadow Clones stranded in the past.

• Nagato told Jiraiya that the Empire had two million Genin and urged him to persuade the Hidden Leaf Village to surrender, but Jiraiya refused and left to warn the Third Hokage.
• Nagato healed an abused young woman, used a modified Dead Demon Consuming Seal to strip several Daimyo of their ability to sire children, and headed for the Valley of the End.
• Jiraiya encountered Root ninjas carrying a letter from Danzo, but chose not to pursue Nagato and hurried back to discuss the parallel universe with the Third Hokage.
• At the Valley of the End in Year 7 of the Hidden Leaf Village, Orochimaru’s Shadow Clones arrived during Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju’s fight, realized they had reached the wrong time, and vanished.
• In the Empire, Orochimaru reported the failed transmission to Senju, who reassured him; Orochimaru promised to fix the coordinates within three months.

Nagato entered the Land of Finality, captured six Summoning Animals, and headed toward the Valley of the End while Kakashi and Obito escorted Tazuna through the Land of Waves. After learning how Gato exploited the Land of Waves and how the ninja system served powerful interests, Obito condemned the world’s political order.

• Nagato told Kakashi he would visit the Land of Finality before meeting the others, and Kakashi said they planned to take control of the Hidden Sand Village.
• Nagato entered the Land of Finality in soul form, subdued a giant centipede, and captured five more Summoning Animals before returning to his body.
• Nagato summoned the Giant Bird and flew toward the Valley of the End.
• Tazuna explained that Gato controlled the Land of Waves through wealth, monopolies, and hired outlaws, while the country lacked a ninja village and could not match his resources.
• Obito questioned how ninjas could accept opposing missions and why Daimyos were protected, and Kakashi recognized how missions had fueled conflicts between villages.
• Tazuna explained that removing a Daimyo would provoke the world’s Daimyos and endanger the country’s people, and Obito condemned the system as a way to keep ninjas and civilians fighting for nobles.

Nagato defeated the Root guards at the Valley of the End, released the Isolation Seal, and disguised the area before contacting the Empire, Kakashi, and Obito. In the Land of Waves, the group reached the bridge construction site, where Gato was attacking the workers and Naruto rushed to confront him.

• Nagato summoned a Giant centipede and a chameleon to attack the four Root ninjas guarding the Isolation Seal.
• The Root ninjas injured the Giant centipede, but the chameleon appeared and the two Summoning Animals devoured all four guards.
• Nagato deciphered and released the Isolation Seal, then used Genjutsu to disguise the area and contacted the Empire, Kakashi, and Obito.
• Obito dispelled the Genjutsu on Sasuke, who praised the training and was excited that his Two-Tomoe might awaken into Three-Tomoe.
• Tazuna led the group to the bridge site, where Gato and his hired men were assaulting the workers.
• Naruto charged at Gato after seeing him burn a worker's face with a cigar.

Gato insulted and struck the captured Zabuza, but Kakashi released Zabuza’s Chakra restraint under Imperial Law, allowing him to cut off Gato’s hands. Gato’s thugs then attacked the Hidden Leaf group, and Obito tried to send Sasuke into battle before Kakashi stopped him.

• Gato struck a subordinate who interrupted him, then mocked Zabuza and threatened to have his eyes and tongue removed.
• Gato slapped Zabuza and threatened the Hidden Leaf ninjas, while Zabuza felt his Chakra return after Kakashi released the restraint.
• Zabuza cut off both of Gato’s hands, but Gato’s confidant restrained him with Genjutsu and another ninja carried Gato to safety.
• Gato offered half his assets to whoever killed Zabuza and ordered his thugs to attack Zabuza and the Hidden Leaf ninjas.
• Obito pointed Sasuke toward the fight as a training opportunity, but Kakashi stepped between them and said Sasuke could not go.

Sasuke joined Zabuza’s fight despite Kakashi’s warning about political consequences, while Kakashi and Obito received the Empire’s first contact in a long time. Nagato briefed the Emperor and the others on the alternate world, describing its weak ninjutsu, political oppression, and urgent need for a two-way Cross-Dimensional Channel.

• Kakashi explained that Konoha would face political and financial consequences if its ninjas killed the merchants, but Sasuke joined Zabuza’s fight to improve his strength.
• Naruto worried about Sasuke and asked Obito to release his sealed Chakra, but Obito reassured him that Sasuke was safe.
• Zabuza knocked away two blades aimed at Sasuke, while Obito watched closely and Kakashi teased him about his concern.
• Kakashi and Obito’s Nano-Bracelets vibrated with a message from the Empire, and they answered the call alongside Nagato and the Emperor.
• Nagato reported that the Valley of the End’s spatial seal could be undone and that constructing a two-way Cross-Dimensional Channel was urgent.
• Nagato described the alternate world as one ruled by Daimyo and shinobi villages, where war was widespread and ordinary people and shinobi lacked human rights.

Nagato, Obito, and Kakashi brief Lord Senju on their mission to gather Tailed Beasts and establish a Cross-Dimensional Channel. They reveal that they already have Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and plan to pursue the One-Tail while protecting their team and maintaining contact with the Empire.

• Nagato reported that this world's Tailed Beasts were sealed in Jinchuriki and said he could control them to power the Cross-Dimensional Channel.
• Lord Senju ordered Nagato to stay with Obito and Kakashi, and Obito revealed that they had Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, in their custody.
• Kakashi sent Naruto and Sakura into town for medicine and ramen, then explained that Naruto did not know about the mission.
• Lord Senju ordered the team to protect Naruto and never kill him, while Kakashi proposed going to the Hidden Sand Village to capture the One-Tail and establish a channel.
• Obito reported that he had taken Indra as his disciple, captured an Ice Release ninja, and gained an Eternal Mangekyo by exchanging eyes with his counterpart, but the Uchiha Clan's destruction prevented further such exchanges.
• Lord Senju praised Obito and told the team to prioritize the Cross-Dimensional Channel and contact the Empire whenever needed.

After Zabuza killed Gato, the heroes of the Land of Waves celebrated their victory, and Nagato arrived from the sky. Obito proposed that the Land of Waves join the Empire, and Nagato began constructing a bridge for them with Earth Release.

• Zabuza severed Gato's legs and kicked him into the sea, where a fish dragged him underwater.
• Naruto found Sasuke unharmed, and Obito rewarded Sasuke with a scroll of fire techniques.
• The people of the Land of Waves praised Sasuke and Zabuza, while Zabuza wondered if the Land of Water could share their welcoming spirit.
• Nagato descended from the sky and joined Kakashi, Obito, and the others after learning that Gato had been defeated.
• Obito told Tazuna the Empire would welcome the Land of Waves, and Tazuna agreed that its people would join.
• Nagato announced the Sea World Bridge Weaving Technique as a gift to the Land of Waves.

Nagato used Earth Release to build a massive bridge for the people of the Land of Waves, and Naruto learned from Obito how Jinchuriki were created and exploited. The chapter ended with Nagato recalling a mysterious sequence of numbers he had read on a stone tablet.

• Nagato drove sea creatures away and used Earth Release to construct a sturdy bridge between the Land of Waves and the opposite shore.
• Tazuna and the people of the Land of Waves thanked Nagato, Kakashi, and Obito, then celebrated the completed bridge with a bonfire party.
• Zabuza offered to retrieve Gato's wealth and treasure, and Obito agreed to let him go find it.
• Kakashi asked Nagato if he belonged to the Uzumaki Clan, and Naruto introduced himself and asked Nagato to teach him the bridge-building technique.
• Obito asked Nagato to explain the Jinchuriki information, and he told Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke how the villages captured Tailed Beasts and bound them to human vessels.
• Naruto condemned the treatment of Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts, while Nagato remembered the numbers 694520991 engraved on a stone tablet.

Nagato examined Naruto’s seal and questioned why the Hidden Leaf had treated him so poorly, prompting Naruto to learn that his father was the Fourth Hokage. Kakashi prepared to explain the truth about Naruto’s family and the Nine-Tails.

• Nagato confirmed Naruto was the alternate-world version and explained that he could control the Tailed Beast sealed inside him.
• Nagato inspected Naruto’s seal, criticized its design, and told him that his other-world counterpart had Six Paths-level power.
• Nagato asked why the Nine-Tails had been sealed in Naruto, and Naruto realized he was the beast’s container rather than its reincarnation.
• Nagato revealed that Naruto’s father was the Fourth Hokage, leaving Naruto shocked to learn that his father had died.
• Kakashi decided to tell Naruto the truth about his family, while Obito reacted angrily to the way Naruto had been treated.

Kakashi explained how Minato and Kushina died sealing the Nine-Tails and why Naruto became its Jinchuriki, while Naruto revealed the neglect and isolation he had suffered in Konoha. Naruto refused Obito’s offer to join the Empire and said he did not hate his unknown father, and Nagato was asked whether the Nine-Tails could be released.

• Kakashi told Obito and Nagato that Minato and Kushina died protecting Naruto and sealing the Nine-Tails, and that Minato had intended Naruto’s status to protect him and make him a hero.
• Naruto revealed that villagers refused to sell him food, leaving him to live mostly on instant noodles and milk despite receiving orphan support.
• Obito angrily offered to take Naruto to the Empire, but Naruto refused and renewed his determination to become Hokage.
• Kakashi asked Naruto whether he hated his father, and Naruto said he could not hate someone he had never met, though he wished he could confront him about his loneliness.
• Sasuke and Sakura reflected on Naruto’s suffering, while Haku sat silently with his own painful memories.
• Kakashi asked Nagato whether the Nine-Tails inside Naruto could be released.

Nagato examined Naruto’s seal while the others discussed the Empire and the abilities of their counterparts there. Kakashi learned that his Imperial counterpart was an exceptional swordsman and shinobi, then modestly described his own rise as ordinary.

• Nagato touched Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and began entering the sealing space, causing Naruto intense spiritual pain.
• Kakashi worried that extracting the Nine-Tails could leave the Hidden Leaf Village vulnerable to attacks from other villages.
• Obito told Sasuke that the Empire’s Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan at eight and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan at twelve.
• Obito described Kakashi as a renowned swordsman and Five Elements Ninjutsu user who had become a Jonin at six and reached Kage-level swordsmanship by twelve.
• Kakashi asked about his Imperial counterpart, then dismissed that counterpart’s achievements as an ordinary life of hard work and good fortune.

Kakashi described his tragic childhood to Kakashi and the others, revealing that his father, Hatake Sakumo, had taken his own life after being blamed for abandoning a mission to save his comrades. The others were stunned that the mission caused no deaths or major losses, and the chapter ended with Kakashi still struggling to understand why his father had died.

• Kakashi envied his counterpart for having both parents alive and living in a peaceful world, but he warned that peace could come at a terrible cost.
• Kakashi explained that he had never known his mother and that his father had raised him alone.
• Kakashi recounted that Hatake Sakumo abandoned a mission during the Second Shinobi World War to save his comrades, then faced blame from the village and even those he had rescued.
• Kakashi revealed that Hatake Sakumo committed suicide because he could not bear the accusations and rejection.
• Kakashi and Obito questioned the severity of the mission's failure, and Kakashi confirmed that it caused no casualties or major losses, leaving them unable to understand his father's choice.

Zabuza delivered Gato’s valuables, and Kakashi and Obito discussed Kakashi’s father, the White Fang of Konoha. Obito challenged Kakashi’s faith in the village and argued that the story of his father’s disgrace had been deliberately spread, leaving Kakashi questioning what really happened.

• Zabuza brought the most valuable items from Gato’s estate, and Obito stored them with Kamui.
• Kakashi said his father had ranked among the Hidden Leaf Village’s strongest shinobi and reflected on how his survival might have changed past tragedies.
• Obito criticized the village’s use of the Will of Fire, bonds, and missions, making Kakashi question the ideals he had trusted.
• Kakashi argued that the public should not have learned about his father’s classified mission and questioned why the village let the scandal spread.
• Kakashi concluded that someone powerful had deliberately fueled the controversy surrounding his father.

Kakashi questioned Konoha’s treatment of his father and the village’s hidden abuses, but pushed his doubts aside and resolved to cherish those still with him. Meanwhile, Nagato brought Naruto into his sealing space and led him to meet the Nine-Tails, whom he called Kurama.

• Kakashi argued that Konoha’s public pressure had driven Sakumo to suicide, leaving Kakashi shaken and suspicious of the Third Hokage’s role in the village’s injustices.
• Kakashi rejected his doubts about the Will of Fire, while Obito and Zabuza mocked Konoha and Sasuke expressed relief that he had joined the Empire.
• Nagato explained to Naruto that they were inside the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style and that the tailed beasts had been mistreated and controlled by humans.
• Nagato led Naruto through the sealing space to the iron bars holding the enormous Nine-Tails.
• Naruto nervously asked the Nine-Tails whether he was Kurama.

Nagato persuaded the Nine-Tails to join the Empire and began releasing it from Naruto, but Minato appeared in Naruto’s seal and stopped the extraction. Minato then spoke with Naruto, who realized the Fourth Hokage was his father and was overwhelmed by his love.

• Nagato offered the Nine-Tails freedom and Sage Art in exchange for helping the Empire, and the Nine-Tails agreed after seeing Nagato’s Rinnegan.
• Nagato began undoing Naruto’s Eight Trigrams Sealing Style while preparing to transfer the Nine-Tails’ Chakra into himself.
• The Nine-Tails tried to escape, but Minato appeared and resealed it before Nagato could extract it.
• Minato moved Naruto to another space and revealed that he was Naruto’s father.
• Naruto wept with happiness at seeing Minato’s loving gaze, though he clenched his fists tightly.

Danzo confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi with evidence that Naruto and Team 7 had been captured in the Land of Waves, then used the crisis to demand the Hokage position. Hiruzen agreed to step down when Danzo returned, while Danzo set out with Root’s elite to retrieve Naruto.

• Danzo showed Hiruzen Sarutobi, Koharu Utatane, and Homura Mitokado reports and images of the parallel-world intruders and Naruto’s exposed seal.
• Danzo blamed Hiruzen for letting Team 7 leave Konoha and revealed that Root’s elite had already been sent after Naruto.
• Hiruzen said he would arrange for Jiraiya to protect Naruto, but Danzo dismissed the plan and criticized Hiruzen’s handling of the Jinchuriki.
• Danzo hinted that Hiruzen should yield the Hokage position, and Hiruzen promised to hand it to someone more capable after Danzo returned.
• Danzo vanished in a puff of smoke, revealing that the figure in the room had been his Shadow Clone.