Recaps

Naruto Uzumaki and Gold attacked Kumogakure, forcing A and Darui to fight them while Utsu overwhelmed Darui with her speed. As Gold and A continued clashing, Naruto lost control to the Nine-Tails, but two mysterious shinobi suppressed his power and left him unconscious.

• A confronted Naruto Uzumaki, Gold, and Utsu as they attacked Kumogakure, and Naruto entered Tailed Beast Transformation to fight alongside Gold.
• Utsu evaded Darui's Storm Release attacks, saw through his traps, and kicked him out of the fight.
• Gold helped Naruto gain the upper hand against A, then continued battling A with his long staff after Naruto was knocked into a wall.
• Naruto Uzumaki woke in Tailed Beast form and roared as A feared the Nine-Tails would be released.
• A mysterious man and woman suppressed Naruto's power, causing him to return to normal and collapse unconscious.

Kabuto and Obito Uchiha explored the eerie, abandoned Kirigakure, where a mysterious religion had stripped the villagers of their thoughts and emotions. They uncovered a hidden passage beneath a shrine and entered a vast chamber filled with a powerful darkness.

• Kabuto and Obito Uchiha explored Kirigakure’s ruined streets and entered an abandoned shrine.
• They examined strange artifacts and symbols inside the shrine, then discovered a hidden switch on an ancient stone pillar.
• The switch revealed a passage, and Kabuto and Obito Uchiha followed it to a massive, symbol-covered door.
• Kabuto studied the door’s symbols while Obito Uchiha considered how to open it, and together they deciphered the markings.
• The door opened, and Kabuto and Obito Uchiha cautiously searched the enormous, darkness-filled chamber for the source of its power.

Obito and Kabuto escaped Kirigakure after destroying something that released a powerful tentacled creature, then faced an even larger monster in the forest. Kabuto summoned and controlled the reanimated Han to fight it, while the battle in Kumogakure was also nearing its end.

• Obito used Kamui to warp everything in the room into Kamui Space, and he and Kabuto fled Kirigakure as a massive tentacled creature pursued them.
• Kabuto and Obito attacked the creature with Sage Mode and Kamui, then escaped into the forest to recover and discuss the disturbance in Kumogakure.
• A larger, more terrifying creature burst from the trees, so Kabuto summoned Han through Impure World Reincarnation and took control of his mind.
• Han expanded into a gigantic, steam-filled form and fought the tentacled creature, relying on his reanimation’s immortality to recover from its attacks.
• Gold, Utsu, and Naruto in Tailed Beast Transformation threatened A as the battle in Kumogakure approached its end.

Moriyue intervened when A was being overwhelmed by Gold, Utsu, and Naruto, defeated Naruto, and drove the attackers away. The villagers accepted Moriyue as the new Raikage, but he suspected that the smooth turn of events was not real and felt uneasy when he met Orochimaru’s gaze.

• A struggled against Gold, Utsu, and Naruto until Moriyue arrived on the battlefield.
• Moriyue’s tentacles restrained Gold and Naruto, while Utsu escaped.
• Moriyue subdued Naruto by evading his attacks and draining his Chakra, while Gold and Utsu fled.
• Moriyue declared that he would become Raikage and protect Kumogakure, and the villagers cheered and accepted him as their leader.
• Moriyue sensed that events had gone too smoothly and felt a foreboding when he looked at Orochimaru.

Moriyue returned to help Kumogakure repel its attackers and demanded the Raikage position from A. A agreed and announced Moriyue as the new Raikage, leaving the villagers in uproar and Moriyue facing widespread opposition.

• Moriyue drove back the enemies, and the villagers cheered while A regarded him with suspicion.
• Moriyue asked A to make him Raikage, and A agreed while warning him not to harm Kumogakure.
• Yugito Nii and Ajisai approached Moriyue, but held back what they wanted to say when he signaled them to wait.
• A announced to the gathered villagers that Moriyue would replace him as Raikage.
• The villagers loudly protested Moriyue's appointment, but A declared the decision final and left, while Moriyue called the situation troublesome.

A White Star Robe man without Chakra swam through the sea while a starving pirate crew spotted him from their damaged ship. The pirates moved to capture him as food, and the ship bore down on him.

• A man in a White Star Robe swam through the endless sea, unable to use Chakra.
• A battered pirate ship crawled across the water with its starving, injured crew aboard.
• A crewman asked the one-eyed captain how long it would take to reach the Land of Fire, and the captain angrily silenced him.
• The pirates spotted the swimming man and reported that he was not walking on the water, so he was not a ninja.
• The one-eyed captain ordered the pirates to catch the man and use him as food, and the man noticed the ship charging toward him.

Moriyue became the Raikage, drawing congratulations from his allies and a kiss from Yugito Nii. As Kazeki doubted whether she deserved to stay by his side, Moriyue reassured her before hearing urgent news from the Land of Fire.

• A left Moriyue to handle the villagers' dissatisfaction with his becoming Raikage, while Yugito Nii, Ajisai, and Kaede celebrated his position.
• Kaede congratulated Moriyue and considered how his leadership could help her people settle near Kumogakure.
• Yugito Nii kissed Moriyue and showed him a new openness about her feelings after surviving death.
• Darui teased Moriyue about his relationship with Yugito Nii, while Kazeki watched with envy and affection.
• Moriyue reassured Kazeki when she questioned whether she deserved to stay by his side, then heard that important news had arrived from the Land of Fire.

The mysterious man boarded a pirate ship and discovered that its crew preyed on survivors at sea. After the one-eyed captain tried to deceive him, the mysterious man prepared to kill the pirates, leaving them charging at him.

• The mysterious man dove beneath the damaged pirate ship and used a tentacle to launch himself onto its deck.
• He seized a hooked chain, then used his tentacles to kill several pirates and control others into stabbing their companions.
• The one-eyed captain offered him water and claimed the crew was returning to the Land of Fire, while the mysterious man learned the pirates’ true nature from the enslaved crewmen’s souls.
• The mysterious man declared that the pirates would go to hell, and the one-eyed captain ordered the crew to attack.

Moriyue learned that a Hoshikage member using tentacles like his had attacked a shipment important to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire. He suspected the attack involved Talismans and realized the Hoshikage people were bringing a larger plan into the open.

• Moriyue considered possible threats to the Land of Fire, including Obito Uchiha, Orochimaru, and Kabuto.
• Ajisai reported that bandits had plundered a shipment the Land of Fire was escorting for its Daimyo.
• Ajisai said survivors had seen a Hoshikage member aboard a wrecked ship, fighting with strange tentacles resembling Moriyue's.
• Ajisai reported that a survivor died after describing the attacker’s traits, bleeding from all seven orifices.
• Moriyue suspected the shipment and attack involved Talismans and warned that the Hoshikage people were planning something significant.

After becoming Raikage, Moriyue announced he would leave Kumogakure and ordered the village to suspend external missions while producing firearms for weaker ninja. He used Orochimaru’s appearance as a pretext to chase him out of the village, with Yugito Nii, Kazeki, and Ajisai following.

• Moriyue told Darui he would leave Kumogakure, then ordered external missions suspended and military technology used to manufacture firearms.
• Darui objected to Moriyue’s decisions but considered how the weapons might protect weaker ninja.
• Yugito Nii, Kazeki, and Ajisai showed they would stand by Moriyue as he prepared to leave.
• Orochimaru appeared in Kumogakure, and Moriyue attacked him while claiming he would not let the rogue ninja escape.
• Orochimaru avoided fighting directly and fled, while Yugito Nii and the others chased after him.

Moriyue agreed to help Orochimaru obtain Itachi Uchiha's eyes while pursuing clues about Hoshikage. After the group chose to face the dangerous organization, Orochimaru led them toward Kirigakure, where Moriyue and Yugito Nii suspected something was wrong.

• Orochimaru stopped after the group left Kumogakure's range and asked Moriyue about the eyes he had come to obtain.
• Moriyue agreed to help Orochimaru, hoping the operation would also reveal information about Hoshikage.
• Orochimaru questioned whether Yugito Nii, Ajisai, and Kazeki would join the mission, and Moriyue warned them that Hoshikage was an exceptionally dangerous enemy.
• Everyone chose to continue, and Moriyue promised to bring them back safely.
• Moriyue asked Orochimaru to lead them to any Hoshikage clues, and Orochimaru named Kirigakure as their first destination.
• Moriyue and Yugito Nii recalled signs that Kirigakure was an unusually unsettling village.

Obito and Kabuto searched the ruined Kirigakure for what had drawn them back, finding a painting that pulled Kabuto into a vision of a ninja team facing monsters in a mysterious valley. The vision ended as a gigantic monster emerged, leaving Kabuto shaken and the painting’s secrets unresolved.

• Obito killed the remaining Kirigakure ninja after they begged for mercy and blamed the god that had controlled them.
• Kabuto sensed a direction and led Obito to a warehouse filled with blood, maggots, and half-dead humanoid creatures, but said their target was not there.
• Obito found a disturbing painting in a tiny room and studied its image of a mist-covered mountain, a faceless figure, and a cloaked person.
• Kabuto was drawn into a vision of Kirigakure special operations ninja fighting mysterious monsters in a valley.
• The ninja’s weapons gained the power to cut the monsters, but a dark force arrived and a gigantic monster emerged before the vision abruptly ended.
• Kabuto returned to himself drenched in sweat after experiencing the vision as a helpless spectator.

Moriyue, Orochimaru, and the others investigated Kirigakure after Orochimaru revealed it might hold Hoshikage’s abandoned supplies and Itachi Uchiha’s corpse. They found signs of a battle involving Kabuto and Obito Uchiha, then prepared to enter the village, unaware of the danger awaiting them.

• Orochimaru explained that Kirigakure was connected to Hoshikage and might contain Itachi Uchiha’s corpse, though it was not the organization’s headquarters.
• Moriyue and the others traveled toward Kirigakure, where Kazeki and Ajisai noticed oppressive dampness and a strange seawater odor.
• Kazeki and Ajisai examined battle damage, slime, Fire Release traces, and unnaturally clean cuts near the village.
• Moriyue and Orochimaru identified Kabuto and Obito Uchiha as the fighters, and Moriyue suspected Obito had regained Kakashi’s Sharingan and Kamui.
• Orochimaru urged the group to enter Kirigakure and search for Hoshikage’s stored items and information.

Moriyue and his companions investigated Kirigakure and found eerie steles, signs of destruction, and traces of a massacre. They encountered Kabuto and Obito, who rushed toward Moriyue to settle their grudge.

• Moriyue pointed out a strange inscribed stele and asked Kazeki whether it had been there before.
• Kazeki said Kirigakure had seemed normal during their previous visit, while Yugito Nii detected the scent of blood and signs of a fight.
• Orochimaru sensed Kabuto nearby, and Moriyue sensed Obito Uchiha.
• Kabuto sensed the group watching him and put away the bizarre painting as Obito came out onto the street.
• Obito recognized Moriyue and charged at him, but Moriyue judged him too slow.

Moriyue fought Obito after Obito lost Intangibility but retained Kamui, and survived a spatial attack that shredded his heart by repairing it with tentacles. As Kabuto tried to escape, Moriyue pursued him with the Body Flicker Technique.

• Moriyue used Obito’s slower movements to attack, while Obito aimed Kamui at Moriyue’s heart.
• Moriyue punched Obito into the ground, breaking several ribs, but Obito’s Kamui shredded Moriyue’s heart.
• Obito mocked Moriyue, while Yugito Nii and Kabuto questioned how he could still use the Sharingan and whether he had survived.
• Orochimaru pointed out that Moriyue was pretending to be incapacitated, and Moriyue revealed that his heart had already been repaired by tentacles.
• Kabuto transformed into a half-snake man and tried to escape, but Moriyue used the Body Flicker Technique to catch up and block him.

Moriyue trapped Kabuto and Obito in a soul-space and used his Notebook and the Black-faced Sheep to create a terrifying experience meant to weaken their wills. He left them overwhelmed by the illusion, intending to investigate what they knew about Kirigakure.

• Kabuto and Obito realized Moriyue had trapped them, but their attempts to dispel the effect failed.
• Moriyue used the Black-faced Sheep to draw their souls into his space and decided to weaken their wills to obtain information.
• Moriyue wrote a frightening first-person account in his Notebook, making Kabuto and Obito experience a strange world filled with monstrous creatures and oppressive forces.
• The experience made Kabuto and Obito lose hope and become unable to struggle or seek an escape.

Moriyue used the Sheep Talisman to probe Kabuto and Obito’s minds, learning they sought a strange painting and that Kabuto had recovered Uchiha Madara’s body. After Kabuto broke the illusion, he summoned the Four-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki with Impure World Reincarnation, leaving Moriyue eager to study the technique.

• Moriyue trapped Kabuto and Obito in a convincing illusion and learned they had come for a strange painting that Kabuto planned to use as a summoning medium.
• Moriyue discovered that Kabuto had collected several corpses, including Uchiha Madara’s body, while Obito had been forced to cooperate with him.
• Kabuto recognized the illusion as an attack on the soul, broke free, and woke Obito, realizing Moriyue had extracted information from them.
• Kabuto summoned the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han with Impure World Reincarnation, then left them to fight Moriyue’s group.
• Orochimaru recognized Kabuto’s improvements to Impure World Reincarnation, while Moriyue looked forward to studying the forbidden jutsu.

Ajisai and Kazeki fought Han and Roshi while Moriyue and Orochimaru went to search for Itachi's corpse. The battle grew more difficult as the two opponents coordinated their steam and lava attacks, leaving Yugito Nii suspicious that they were holding back.

• Ajisai and Kazeki convinced Moriyue to let them fight Han and Roshi, while he and Orochimaru went to look for Itachi's corpse and Yugito Nii stayed to help if needed.
• Ajisai restrained Han and Roshi with her black blade, but Han's steam absorbed Kazeki's Wind Blade and Roshi attacked with lava.
• Han used steam and mist while Roshi spread lava through the ground, forcing Ajisai and Kazeki to counter with wind and blade attacks.
• Han and Roshi coordinated increasingly well, using steam, lava, and the terrain to evade attacks and pressure the two women.
• As Kazeki began to fall behind, Yugito Nii frowned and wondered why their opponents' attacks seemed weak.

Moriyue and Orochimaru investigated the aftermath of the battle in Kirigakure while Kabuto tried to protect a mysterious painting. Gold and Utsu watched from the Mist Forest, revealing that Hoshikage had obtained the Rinnegan and controlled eight Talismans as they prepared Naruto to master the Nine-Tails.

• Kabuto realized Moriyue’s technique may have exposed part of his past and resolved to protect the painting.
• Moriyue told Orochimaru about the painting, and they suspected it was connected to Hoshikage while noting that Itachi Uchiha’s corpse was likely missing.
• Moriyue saw that Obito had survived and transplanted Kakashi’s Sharingan, and vowed to defeat him again.
• Gold and Utsu watched Kirigakure and confirmed that Hoshikage had obtained Nagato’s Rinnegan, though Nagato and Konan had escaped.
• Utsu reported that Naruto’s seal had been destroyed and that he had failed to defeat the Nine-Tails, so Gold ordered her to make him master it and find the last Talisman.
• Gold revealed that Hoshikage controlled eight Talismans and warned Utsu not to underestimate Moriyue or his immortality.

Kabuto and Orochimaru summoned Sasori and Deidara with Impure World Reincarnation, and the former partners began an endless battle. As their fight stalled both sides, Moriyue observed the technique while Kabuto continued his unknown preparations.

• Kabuto and Orochimaru each summoned a former Akatsuki member with Impure World Reincarnation: Kabuto summoned Deidara, and Orochimaru summoned Sasori.
• Sasori and Deidara recognized each other, then clashed with Chakra threads and bombs as Deidara boasted about his new explosives.
• Deidara and Sasori traded attacks that shattered their bodies and devastated the battlefield, but both kept regenerating.
• Obito urged Kabuto to finish his preparations and asked whether he had shaken off Moriyue's group, while Kabuto told him to wait.
• Orochimaru noted that battles between reincarnated fighters rarely had an outcome, and Moriyue closely watched the technique he had long wanted to understand.

Moriyue observed Sasori and Deidara fighting as Impure World Reincarnation bodies and used the Sheep Talisman to discover that their souls were being tainted and fading. He concluded that the Evil God might eventually harvest their souls, but the battle paused when Deidara began swelling for an ultimate explosion and Gold and Utsu arrived.

• Moriyue considered the limits of Impure World Reincarnation and used the Sheep Talisman to examine Sasori and Deidara's souls.
• Moriyue noticed black energy tainting their souls and concluded that the Evil God might harvest them once the corruption consumed them.
• Deidara declared that he would show Sasori his ultimate art and began swelling for an explosion.
• Gold and Utsu rushed in as Sasori tried to stop Deidara from expanding.

Gold and Utsu defeated Deidara and Sasori, then took the painting from Kabuto and escaped Hidden Mist. Orochimaru and Moriyue confronted Kabuto, while Obito’s connection to Hoshikage came to light.

• Gold struck Deidara with his staff and shattered his body into ashes.
• Utsu used her speed to take the painting from Kabuto before he could react.
• Orochimaru realized Hoshikage was interested in the painting and grew hostile toward Gold and Utsu.
• Gold defeated Sasori, while Utsu made Yugito Nii uncomfortable by openly admiring her.
• Gold and Utsu retreated from Hidden Mist, and Orochimaru and Moriyue approached Kabuto to talk.
• Obito was revealed to have discussed matters with Hoshikage.

Moriyue revealed that Obito had allied with Hoshikage, making Kabuto suspect he had been betrayed. Gold explained how the Monkey Talisman caused Kirigakure’s destruction, then claimed victory after recovering it, but grew suspicious when Moriyue remained strangely still.

• Moriyue told Kabuto that Obito had joined forces with Hoshikage, and Kabuto reconsidered his alliance with Obito.
• Gold and Utsu stayed focused on their mission while Kirigakure’s history was revealed: its ninja found monsters that killed or injured their investigators.
• The monsters were creations of Hoshikage transformed by the Monkey Talisman, which had contacted a powerful entity and driven its victims mad.
• Hoshikage sealed the Monkey Talisman in a painting after a disastrous battle, and Gold took possession of the painting.
• Gold declared that Hoshikage had won, then noticed Moriyue was not acting as someone who had been caught off guard.

Gold and Utsu believed they had outmaneuvered Moriyue, but Moriyue had been pretending to be slow and waiting to ambush them. He stole Utsu’s Rabbit Talisman power, struck Gold, and reclaimed the scroll.

• Gold realized Moriyue’s slow reactions were an act, while Utsu believed their plan with Orochimaru and Obito had gone exactly as intended.
• Utsu mocked Moriyue as Gold considered why he was pretending to be weak.
• An attacker struck Utsu from behind, and she tried to use the Rabbit Talisman’s power to escape.
• Moriyue intercepted and stole Utsu’s Rabbit Talisman power, then used it to attack Gold.
• Moriyue seized the scroll from Gold and absorbed the stolen power.

Moriyue stole the Rabbit Talisman’s power from Utsu, seized the painting, and led his allies in a retreat while Kabuto’s side realized they had been outmaneuvered. The chapter left Gold and Utsu facing a cloud of spores that reacted dangerously when Utsu attacked it with fire.

• Kabuto recalled the controlled Roshi, Han, and Sasori after realizing the battle had been manipulated, while Yugito Nii revealed Ajisai and Kazeki had been hiding nearby.
• Gold realized Moriyue had used a clone to mislead them, while Moriyue took the Rabbit Talisman’s power from Utsu and snatched the painting.
• Moriyue ordered a retreat, and Ajisai and Kazeki released a cloud of golden spores to cover the group’s escape.
• Moriyue used the Rabbit Talisman’s speed to escape Gold, while Yugito Nii and Orochimaru fled with the others.
• Utsu ignored Gold’s warning and launched a Great Fireball at the spores, which absorbed the flames and turned scarlet.