Chapter Summaries

As Konoha’s counteroffensive forced the other villages to retreat, the Third Raikage explained how war and internal unrest had weakened Kumogakure. On the Kirigakure front, Uchiha Yoru anticipated the enemy’s plans and the threat posed by Madara Uchiha, who discovered a Flying Thunder God marker on Obito and decided to test Yoru.

• The Third Raikage showed A how Kumogakure’s military, economy, and new generation had been devastated by five years of war and Konoha Root’s exploitation of the Black and White conflict.
• The Third Raikage ordered Kumogakure to concentrate its forces in the Land of Hot Water and eliminate the factions there while fighting Konoha.
• Uchiha Yoru explained to Uchiha Mikoto why Sarutobi Shinnosuke had been placed in the rear and anticipated that Kirigakure might send the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to infiltrate the Land of Fire.
• Uchiha Yoru suspected Madara Uchiha’s hidden lair was in the Land of Whirlpools and resolved to confront him as Madara’s strength waned.
• Madara Uchiha noticed a Flying Thunder God marker on Obito, isolated the cave with a barrier, and decided to test Uchiha Yoru while giving White Zetsu another identity.

The Third Mizukage planned to use Isobu and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to provoke Konoha, while Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Shinnosuke to support Minato Namikaze as Konoha prepared to end the war. Minato chose to attack a Kirigakure stronghold with Nako Uzumaki, and Madara Uchiha moved ahead with his plan to draw Uchiha Yoru to him.

• The Third Mizukage proposed sending the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist into the Land of Fire and unleashing Isobu in Konoha to frame Konoha for stealing the Tailed Beast.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi gave Sarutobi Shinnosuke intelligence on Kirigakure and ordered him to support Minato Namikaze and help crush the mist shinobi.
• Minato Namikaze and Shikaku Nara analyzed intelligence about a Kirigakure unit, then decided to attack a stronghold with Nako Uzumaki joining the force.
• Madara Uchiha learned that Minato had been lured away and ordered White Zetsu to bring Uchiha Yoru to the cave so Madara could confront him.

Uchiha Yoru reassured Uchiha Fugaku about his Mangekyo and agreed to train Itachi after the war, then followed Uchiha Mikoto to investigate White Zetsu. Meanwhile, Kakashi pursued Mist shinobi who had captured Rin, as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist began a deep infiltration meant to disguise another secret plan.

• Uchiha Fugaku praised Uchiha Yoru for giving the clan the Rasengan, and Uchiha Yoru showed him his clear Mangekyo and dismissed concerns about his eyes.
• Uchiha Yoru agreed to take Itachi as his disciple and suggested pairing him with a Senju girl and Aburame Shikuroo's child.
• Uchiha Mikoto reported that White Zetsu were following them, and Uchiha Yoru went with her to track them using her Hell Butterfly.
• A wounded Konoha Shinobi told Kakashi that Mist shinobi had captured Rin, so Kakashi pursued them while Shisui and Guy escorted the wounded back.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist assembled in the Kirigakure war zone and prepared to infiltrate the Land of Fire as a feint for a secret plan.

Uchiha Obito escaped the cavern with White Zetsu’s help to rescue Rin and Kakashi, while Madara Uchiha revealed that he had engineered the situation to accelerate events around Uchiha Yoru. Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto entered the cavern, mistook Madara for a mutated creature, and Yoru challenged him as flames lit the chamber.

• White Zetsu enveloped Uchiha Obito with its body, giving him enough strength to smash through the cavern’s stone door and hurry out to save Rin and Kakashi.
• Madara Uchiha told White Zetsu that Rin had Isobu’s Chakra sealed inside her and explained that he had arranged for the Kirigakure squad to stir up conflict near Uchiha Yoru.
• Uchiha Mikoto tracked the enemy’s aura underground with Uchiha Yoru, and they discovered a chamber filled with ancient Uchiha markings and weapons, including the Uchiha Gunbai.
• Madara Uchiha appeared before Yoru and Mikoto, but Yoru concluded that he was a mutated creature created from Uchiha and Wood Style cells.
• Uchiha Yoru pulled the Gunbai into his hand and mocked Madara as an impostor, then challenged him by boasting that he had seen Madara’s prime strength in Elder Setsuna’s records.
• Madara Uchiha reacted with surprise as flames illuminated the cavern.

Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto battled Madara Uchiha in his underground cavern, revealing their Mangekyo Sharingan and coordinated techniques. They exploited Madara’s weakening body and struck at his Susanoo, with Yoru launching a punch at Madara’s chin from beneath the ground.

• Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto used fire and genjutsu to attack Madara Uchiha while Mikoto seized the ninja tools and scrolls from his collection.
• Madara Uchiha saw through Yoru’s Mangekyo Genjutsu and countered the pair’s attacks with his Sharingan and Uchiha Shurikenjutsu.
• Uchiha Mikoto revealed her Mangekyo Sharingan and Susanoo, and Madara Uchiha recognized that both she and Yoru had awakened their Mangekyo during the incident in the Land of Rain.
• Uchiha Yoru noticed that Madara Uchiha’s breathing was worsening and led an attack with Mikoto supporting him as Madara manifested Susanoo.
• Uchiha Yoru emerged from underground and struck at Madara Uchiha’s chin, targeting the weakness in his Susanoo.

Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto fought Madara Uchiha in a hidden underground battlefield, forcing him to reveal Susanoo and Wood Release. Madara's failing body ended the battle before it could reach its conclusion, while Black Zetsu watched unseen and remained committed to his own plan.

• Uchiha Yoru knocked Madara Uchiha out of his Susanoo with Strength of a Hundred, and he and Uchiha Mikoto followed with coordinated attacks.
• Uchiha Yoru struck Madara Uchiha with a Sage Art: Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, prompting Madara to reveal Susanoo Stage Four and the First Hokage's face on his chest.
• Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto manifested their own Stage Four Susanoo, with Mikoto supporting Yoru using her Arrow of Indra.
• Madara Uchiha used Wood Release: Flower Tree World Descent and Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique to suppress the pair, while Yoru fortified his Susanoo with Lightning God Armor.
• Madara Uchiha coughed up dark blood as his body began to fail, and White Zetsu watched the battle from behind a barrier.
• Black Zetsu emerged from the ruins unseen, observed the two Mangekyo users, and decided not to interfere with Madara Uchiha's plan.

Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto battled Madara Uchiha, revealing their Mangekyo techniques but failing to defeat him. As Madara pressed his advantage, Yoru and Mikoto began a mutual-destruction attack using Exploding Tags.

• Madara Uchiha broke Yoru's Bringer-of-Darkness Genjutsu and stabbed him, but Yoru used Kyouka Suigetsu to deceive Madara's senses and severed one of his arms.
• Madara attacked Mikoto, but she survived with Izanagi, while Yoru's Lightning Blade pierced Madara and wounded him through Susanoo.
• Madara fought with his eyes closed, tested Mikoto's Izanagi, and deduced that she could use it once every five minutes.
• Yoru used Izanami to trap Madara in another Genjutsu, but Madara recognized it and broke free, losing his other arm as Yoru's attack landed.
• Madara regenerated his arms with White Zetsu cells and unleashed Great Fire Annihilation, while Yoru countered with Water Style and teleported beside him using a Flying Thunder God mark.
• Yoru and Mikoto appeared beside Madara in a prepared stance as White Exploding Tags filled the air, prompting Madara to recognize a forbidden mutual-destruction technique.

Uchiha Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto battled Madara Uchiha, who survived Yoru’s explosive attack and staged his apparent death before escaping with White Zetsu. Yoru claimed Madara’s Mangekyo and gave Mikoto the Gunbai, while news of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist appearing in the Land of Fire set the next crisis in motion.

• Uchiha Yoru used the Mutual Multiplication Exploding Tag to blast Madara Uchiha, while Yoru and Uchiha Mikoto survived inside his spatial barrier.
• Madara Uchiha used Izanagi to survive, lost an eye, and declared that Yoru could become Hokage before appearing to die inside the Wood Release vines.
• Uchiha Yoru recognized Madara Uchiha’s staged death, but Madara escaped into hiding with White Zetsu and vowed to meet Yoru again.
• Uchiha Yoru took Madara Uchiha’s severed arm and Mangekyo, then gave the Gunbai to Uchiha Mikoto as they prepared to conceal the battle.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist appeared in the Land of Fire.

Kakashi told Uchiha Yoru that Kirigakure had sent the Three-Tails Jinchuriki into the Land of Fire, prompting Yoru to lead reinforcements toward Konoha. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Shinnosuke and his squad faced the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, who trapped them in fog and attacked with overwhelming force.

• Kakashi arrived at Uchiha Yoru’s battlefield and reported that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were a decoy while another squad carried the Three-Tails Jinchuriki into the Land of Fire.
• Uchiha Yoru ordered the intelligence sent to the front lines and led more than a hundred Konoha elites toward Konoha as reinforcements.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke kept his squad fighting through the mist and used Wind Release: Great Breakthrough at daybreak to clear the forest fog.
• Sarutobi Shinnosuke cut Kushimaru Kuriarare’s wire-trapped comrades free, but their Exploding Tags detonated and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist launched a fresh attack.
• Suikazan Fuguki unleashed a massive Water Style Ninjutsu, and Sarutobi Shinnosuke warned his outnumbered squad to work together against all seven swordsmen.

Asuma Sarutobi chose to fight alongside Ebisu despite their fear, but Kushimaru Kuriarare ambushed them and turned the battle into a brutal slaughter. Minato Namikaze raced back to help Shinnosuke, while Uchiha Yoru's sudden arrival interrupted Asuma's despair and alarmed Kushimaru.

• Asuma Sarutobi rejected Ebisu's suggestion to stay hidden, and Ebisu joined him in fighting for Konoha.
• Kushimaru Kuriarare attacked the pair, killed Daimaru, and tortured captured Konoha Shinobi with Steel Wire.
• Shinnosuke sent repeated distress signals as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist overwhelmed his forces.
• Minato Namikaze left Shikaku Nara in command and raced toward Shinnosuke, while Shikaku, Choza Akimichi, and Inoichi Yamanaka discussed their clans' lack of options.
• Asuma Sarutobi nearly gave up under Kushimaru's torture, but Uchiha Yoru arrived in a flash of lightning, prompting Kushimaru to call for reinforcements.

Uchiha Yoru and Kakashi turned the battle against the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, while Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and unleashed the Daytime Tiger. Uchiha Yoru warned Minato Namikaze that the Mist shinobi's Three-Tails Plan had gone berserk in Konoha, prompting him to rush back to the village.

• Uchiha Yoru arrived with lightning-laced shuriken, freed the Konoha Shinobi from the puppets' wires, and forced the Mist swordsmen to defend themselves.
• Suikazan Fuguki wounded Minato Namikaze while he rescued Sarutobi Shinnosuke from a water sphere, then revealed that the intelligence had been a trap to draw Minato's unit away.
• Uchiha Yoru used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape Munashi Jinpachi's self-destruction, then killed Kushimaru Kuriarare and took the Nuibari.
• Kakashi ambushed and killed Jinin Akebino with lightning, leaving only three of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and used the Daytime Tiger, breaking Jūzō Biwa's sword as Suikazan Fuguki fled and left Raiga Kurosuki to face the attack.
• Uchiha Yoru told Minato Namikaze that the Mist shinobi's Three-Tails Plan had gone berserk in the village, and Minato reacted with alarm.

The Three-Tails rampaged outside Konoha as part of Madara Uchiha's scheme, while the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist attacked Konoha's forces. Uchiha Yoru stopped the beast and exposed how Minato Namikaze's departure from the defensive line had left Konoha vulnerable, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi facing public blame.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Konoha to evacuate civilians and fight the Three-Tails after it destroyed the main gate.
• The Sealing Squad failed to restrain the beast, and Hiruzen learned that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist had burned supplies and trapped Shinnosuke's force.
• The Three-Tails fired a Tailed Beast Ball toward Konoha, but Uchiha Yoru appeared and reflected it with the Uchiha Gunbai.
• Uchiha Mikoto used Samehada to replenish Yoru's Chakra, and Yoru controlled the Three-Tails with his Mangekyo until the Sealing Squad could seal it.
• Hiruzen questioned why Yoru had returned from the Mist front, and Yoru explained that Minato Namikaze had left his defensive post, allowing the Mist's attack to threaten Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze arrived and admitted fault, while Hiruzen's face turned livid as the accusation was made before Konoha's shinobi.

Konoha reeled from Isobu’s appearance, and Hiruzen Sarutobi announced he would resign after the war while arranging for Sarutobi Shinnosuke to take the blame for the disastrous encounter. He favored Minato Namikaze as his successor and warned him that Uchiha Yoru, the Uchiha Clan, and their ties to Tsunade and the Senju Clan threatened Konoha’s stability.

• Konoha Villagers emerged from shelters to find their village battered and blamed the Hokage for letting war reach their home.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that he would resign after the war, then learned from Minato Namikaze that Sarutobi Shinnosuke had lost his ability to serve as a shinobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered ANBU to present Sarutobi Shinnosuke as responsible for the failed mission and accept personal responsibility for the war, while Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu backed his plan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Minato Namikaze that Uchiha Yoru and the Uchiha Clan could provoke conflict, citing their ties to other clans and their apparent alliance with the Senju Clan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi showed Minato Namikaze intelligence about Tsunade’s relationship with Uchiha Yoru and the Uchiha’s possession of a Six Paths Ninja Tool once owned by Madara Uchiha.
• Minato Namikaze accepted the weight of the succession as Hiruzen Sarutobi made clear that he intended to hand power to him through a peaceful transition.

After the Uchiha recovered the Gunbai and seized Kirigakure’s seven ninja swords, Uchiha Yoru rallied the Uchiha and other shinobi to prepare for the Hokage succession. He arranged rewards and public security measures before the Hokage summoned him, and Yoru appeared confident about what would follow.

• Uchiha Yashiro reported that the reserve units had killed all the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist except Jūzō Biwa and seized their swords, while news arrived that the Third Hokage would resign after the war.
• Uchiha Yoru brought non-Uchiha Jonin into the Konoha Military Police Force meeting, ordered expanded patrols and public outreach, and openly positioned the Uchiha to contend for Hokage.
• The old Uchiha clan head handed Uchiha Yoru authority over the clan and the Konoha Military Police Force, and Yoru nominated deserving shinobi for promotions.
• The Uchiha agreed not to reclaim Kakashi’s Sharingan, and Uchiha Shisui gave him Kirigakure’s Long Sword: Nuibari as a reward.
• Uchiha Yoru told Uchiha Mikoto that publicizing the distribution of the seven swords would help target the Third Hokage, then received ANBU’s summons to the Hokage Building.

At a Konoha meeting, Uchiha Yoru challenged the authority of the Hokage Advisors and proposed using Isobu to divide the opposing villages and create an opening for peace. His plan won support from the assembled shinobi, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and his advisors grew wary of Yoru’s influence.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi described Konoha’s wartime losses and praised the shinobi who had foiled Kirigakure’s plot.
• Uchiha Yoru revealed that Konoha had captured six of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, while Jūzō Biwa had defected, and rebuked Utatane Koharu for demanding that he report to her.
• Uchiha Yoru argued that the Hokage Advisors had no authority over him and criticized Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu for their wartime conduct.
• Uchiha Yoru proposed peace talks with Kirigakure and using the return of Isobu as bait to draw Sand Shinobi into conflict with Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Mikoto supported the strategy, and the gathered shinobi backed the proposal as Hiruzen Sarutobi and his advisors became wary of Yoru.

Uchiha Yoru pressed Konoha to pursue peace while positioning himself as a leader of change, then argued with Minato Namikaze over whether stability or reform should guide the village. Minato left unconvinced, and Uchiha Yoru called out another person who had been watching from the shadows.

• At the Jonin meeting, Uchiha Yoru offered to persuade the shinobi holding Kirigakure’s swords to surrender them for peace, while Hiruzen Sarutobi insisted that their return would be decided after the war.
• After the meeting, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned Hiruzen Sarutobi about Uchiha Yoru’s growing influence, and Hiruzen ordered them to call Danzo back because he feared the Uchiha Gunbai.
• On Hokage Rock, Minato Namikaze told Uchiha Yoru that he felt the weight of Konoha’s future and warned that rapid change could cause turmoil.
• Uchiha Yoru argued that Konoha needed a Hokage willing to lead from the front and reform the village, while Minato Namikaze favored gradual change to preserve stability.
• Uchiha Yoru declared that Konoha’s shinobi had chosen him and that he would not fall; Minato Namikaze said he would not give up on his own vision before his Shadow Clone vanished.
• Uchiha Yoru reflected on Minato Namikaze’s ties to Hiruzen Sarutobi, then called out the person who had been watching him.

Uchiha Yoru’s words inspired Asuma Sarutobi to condemn Konoha’s distorted Will of Fire and resolve to seek reform. Meanwhile, Konoha’s maneuver involving the Three-Tails threatened to fracture its enemies’ alliance as the other villages weighed whether to seize it.

• Asuma Sarutobi criticized Konoha’s leaders for weakening the clans, abandoning children to war, and betraying the First and Second Hokage’s Will of Fire.
• Uchiha Yoru praised Asuma Sarutobi’s broad perspective but told him to focus on growing stronger and surviving the war, strengthening Asuma’s resolve to reform Konoha.
• News spread that Konoha had defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, sealed the Three-Tails, and planned a ceasefire with Kirigakure.
• Third Tsuchikage Onoki suspected Danzo had leaked the Three-Tails’ trade location to provoke Konoha’s enemies, then ordered the Rock Shinobi to investigate it.
• Elder Chiyo and Ebizo ordered Pakura and Rasa to seize the Three-Tails, despite suspecting Shimura Danzō’s scheme and preparing for conflict with Kirigakure.
• Third Raikage rejected a bid for the Three-Tails because the Cloud Shinobi were weakened and the Land of Bears was too distant, but planned to exploit the war’s apparent end to gain leverage against Konoha.

Uchiha Yoru examined Madara Uchiha’s recovered techniques and weapons while building support for his bid to become Hokage, and Hiruzen Sarutobi promoted Might Duy to Jonin. In the Land of Bears, Pakura and Rasa prepared to seize Isobu while clashing over Sunagakure’s leadership and Rasa’s plan to make his unborn child a jinchuriki.

• Uchiha Mikoto and Uchiha Yoru studied Madara Uchiha’s scrolls and weapons, and Yoru ordered the scrolls distributed as rewards to the clan and the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Might Duy told Might Guy that he would support Uchiha Yoru for Hokage, and Hiruzen Sarutobi promoted Duy to Jonin after learning he could open the Seventh Gate.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Uchiha Yoru had been taking medical supplies and suspected his Mangekyo was failing, then ordered the reserve unit to prepare for the front lines.
• Pakura and Rasa arrived in the Land of Bears ahead of the Konoha Shinobi and waited for them while their Sand Shinobi supporters remained divided.
• Pakura confronted Rasa over his plan to seal a Tailed Beast inside his unborn child, then reminded him that they still had to seize Isobu.

Uchiha Yoru found his book circulating among wounded Konoha ninjas while he and Tsunade discussed organ transplants, village politics, and the war’s progress. Tsunade shared intelligence that could help Yoru advance his ambitions and said the war might soon end.

• Wounded Konoha ninjas read and borrowed Uchiha Yoru’s book in the casualty ward, while Sakurako lent Special Jonin Tajima her well-worn copy.
• Tsunade and Uchiha Yoru discussed using prisoners with compatible Chakra affinities for organ transplants and learned Danzo had spread rumors to make Land of Lightning prisoners more available.
• Tsunade told Uchiha Yoru that village elders were smearing her over Wood Release research and the Senju Clan’s ties to the Uchiha, while he explained they hoped to draw her into controversy.
• Tsunade said Kirigakure’s conflict with the Sand Shinobi had eased Konoha’s fronts and suggested the war might end soon.
• In her private tent, Tsunade offered Uchiha Yoru costly intelligence to help his ambitions, and they sought relief from the strain of the war.

Uchiha Yoru and Tsunade planned to exploit the conflict between the Sand, Mist, and Cloud Shinobi to end the war and secure power in Konoha. In Konoha, Obito learned that Minato’s pregnant wife was in the village, and his hatred toward his former teacher deepened.

• Tsunade told Uchiha Yoru that the Sand Shinobi and Kirigakure had dispatched peace envoys, while Minato Namikaze appeared to be in Sunagakure.
• Tsunade explained that an ostracized mixed-blood ninja from Kumogakure wanted help escaping with a clean identity, and she and Uchiha Yoru planned to strike the Cloud Shinobi and then the Rock Shinobi.
• Tsunade warned that Danzo had contacted Jiraiya and Orochimaru, but Uchiha Yoru trusted Orochimaru to side with whoever held greater value.
• Uchiha Yoru decided to target the Third Raikage’s planned alliance with Onoki and return to Konoha after a major victory to claim the Fourth Hokage position.
• Black and White Zetsu told Uchiha Obito that Minato had become Konoha’s hero and that Danzo was plotting against the Uchiha.
• Obito learned that Minato’s wife was pregnant and vowed to destroy the world of those he blamed for Rin’s death.