Chapter Summaries

Yugito Nii fought Obito and tried to exploit the brief moment when he became tangible, but the battle ended before its outcome was shown. Moriyue, Konan, and Nagato found signs of the fight near Kumogakure and feared Obito had captured Yugito, while Nagato could no longer sense the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

• Yugito Nii reasoned that Obito could be struck if an attack occupied the space where he became tangible, and surrounded herself with Rat Orbs to restrict his movements.
• Obito and Yugito Nii resumed their close-range battle, with Obito evading her attacks through intangibility while she intensified her blue flames.
• Moriyue returned to Kumogakure with Konan and Nagato and found scorched terrain marked by Yugito Nii's Chakra.
• Nagato recognized the Two-Tails' Chakra, and Moriyue feared Obito had captured Yugito Nii.
• Moriyue asked Nagato to locate the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but Nagato said he could no longer sense it.

Moriyue and Orochimaru made a deal to pursue Obito’s whereabouts and save Yugito Nii, while Nagato and Konan stayed behind. Elsewhere, Dark Naruto embraced the Nine-Tails’ influence and resolved to make Konoha pay for its past.

• Orochimaru arrived and offered to help Moriyue and Nagato, proposing that they work together to mass-produce the Rinnegan using Nagato and his Sharingan.
• Orochimaru revealed that he knew Obito’s whereabouts and that Obito had found a reliable partner, while Moriyue agreed to his terms so they could hurry to Yugito Nii.
• Konan convinced Nagato to stay behind and recover, and she gave Moriyue a paper crane so they could contact one another.
• Orochimaru whispered additional information to Moriyue, who considered the connections between Obito and the Hoshikage.
• Dark Naruto drank from a mountain spring and renewed his resolve to take revenge on Konoha.
• The Nine-Tails urged Dark Naruto to make Konoha suffer, and he accepted its influence and vowed to bring a new flame to the decaying village.

After Naruto was taken by the Akatsuki, Jiraiya woke in the battered Konoha hospital and learned what had happened, while Tsunade and Naruto’s friends struggled with grief and guilt. Danzo moved to impeach Tsunade, as Naruto’s anger at Konoha’s decay remained unresolved.

• Naruto reflected on Konoha’s corruption and concluded that the village needed to be reborn through pain.
• Jiraiya woke in the hospital with a premonition and asked Tsunade where Naruto was.
• Tsunade avoided answering directly, and Jiraiya realized that Naruto had been taken away.
• Hinata trained until her hands bled, while Sakura blamed herself for failing to save Naruto.
• Danzo proposed impeaching Tsunade and accused her of causing Konoha’s severe losses.

After Tsunade stepped down as Hokage, Jiraiya and Kakashi refused the succession before Shimura Danzō was nominated. Jiraiya then changed his mind and was chosen as Hokage, leaving Danzo to accept a supporting role.

• Konoha held a memorial ceremony for those killed in the defense war, while village leaders discussed the losses and the danger posed by the Akatsuki Organization.
• Shimura Danzō pushed the discussion toward Tsunade's removal, and the elders announced that she had agreed to step down as Fifth Hokage.
• Jiraiya declined the nomination, and Kakashi Hatake also refused while offering to serve if the village needed him.
• The elders nominated Shimura Danzō, who prepared to accept the Hokage position and fulfill his long-held ambition.
• Jiraiya reconsidered when he saw Danzo about to take the position, and the Daimyo approved Jiraiya as Hokage.
• Shimura Danzō congratulated Jiraiya and offered to assist him, hiding his anger at losing the position.

Naruto began pursuing revenge against Konoha but realized he would need allies, then encountered a mysterious woman whose speed overwhelmed him. Meanwhile, Moriyue sensed a Talisman, discussed the Sharingan and Impure World Reincarnation with Orochimaru, and continued toward Obito with a plan to counter his powers.

• Naruto recognized that he could not hurt Konoha alone and considered gathering people who resented it.
• Naruto sensed a pursuer with the Nine-Tails' Chakra, but a mysterious woman appeared before him and he fled as she said he could not escape.
• Moriyue sensed that his Talisman Collection Technique had reacted, but chose to prioritize finding Yugito Nii.
• Moriyue told Orochimaru he had stopped developing his transplanted Sharingan beyond the Three-Tomoe level, and guessed Orochimaru had revived powerful figures with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru said the technique was not so simple and suggested Kabuto might be the one to use it, while Moriyue revealed a plan to counter Obito's Sharingan with the eyes on his tentacle.

An elderly man prepared for war in an underground laboratory while Kabuto searched for a hidden target. Moriyue and his companion found Obito extracting the Two-Tails from Yugito Nii, and Moriyue confronted him.

• The elderly man reviewed unstable experiments, decided war could change the Ninja World, and learned that Naruto had arrived.
• Kabuto secretly used his grave-robbing expeditions to develop forbidden jutsu and Sage Mode, then found an elderly man hidden in a stone chamber.
• Moriyue and his companion located Obito as he extracted the Two-Tails from Yugito Nii inside a protected cave.
• Yugito Nii mistook Moriyue’s arrival for a dying hallucination until he called out to her and she heard his voice.
• Obito attacked Moriyue with an iron rod, and Moriyue entered the Blood Death Art state and called him by name.

Moriyue drew Obito into using Intangibility, then revealed a hidden ocular power that caused Obito's Sharingan to ache even after he escaped into the Kamui Space. Orochimaru carried the unconscious Yugito Nii away while Moriyue prepared an unseen attack, leaving Obito unable to escape the growing pain.

• Moriyue charged Obito at extreme speed, but Obito used Intangibility to avoid his devastating punch.
• Moriyue revealed that his powerful attack had been a feint intended to make Obito activate Intangibility.
• Orochimaru released Yugito Nii from the seal and carried her away as she lost consciousness.
• Moriyue opened the copied Three-Tomoe Sharingan behind him, and Obito felt an unexplained connection and stabbing pain in his eye.
• Obito hid inside the Kamui Space, but the pain in his eye continued.

Moriyue summoned the Shinigami by sacrificing the Sharingan in his tree and using their Uchiha bloodline connection to target Obito. The Shinigami severed the link to Obito’s Sharingan, leaving him blind and stripped of its power.

• Orochimaru realized Moriyue had summoned the Shinigami through a method involving the Sharingan and fled with Yugito Nii.
• Obito emerged from Kamui Space and stabbed one of Moriyue’s tentacles, but the pain in his eyes continued.
• The Sharingan on Moriyue’s tentacle tree began bursting, and the Shinigami appeared to harvest the sacrificed eyes and souls.
• The Shinigami attacked Obito, and Moriyue’s bloodline link through the copied Sharingan revealed how Obito had been targeted.
• The Shinigami severed the connection between Obito and his Sharingan, and Obito’s vision and power faded.

Moriyue defeated Obito by summoning the Shinigami, but the ritual stripped away his Sharingan abilities and left Yugito Nii near death. As Moriyue returned to her, Orochimaru judged that her injuries were beyond saving and suggested Impure World Reincarnation.

• Moriyue sacrificed Sharingan power to summon the Shinigami, who stripped Obito of his Sharingan abilities and left him trapped as the cave collapsed.
• Moriyue escaped the collapsing cave and hurried back toward Yugito Nii, while Orochimaru checked her fading life signs.
• Moriyue sensed Yugito Nii's nearly frozen body and saw that her wounds and the loss of the Two-Tails had left her close to death.
• Orochimaru said Yugito Nii could not be saved and suggested using Impure World Reincarnation to control her.

Moriyue transplanted a divided portion of the Two-Tails into the critically injured Yugito Nii, restoring her breathing and improving her condition. He then replaced his own failing lungs with tentacle-grown ones and continued treating her while Orochimaru watched in disbelief.

• Moriyue used sinister chains to transfer Two-Tails Chakra into Yugito Nii.
• Inside Moriyue's sealing space, a little blue cat followed a familiar aura across a chain bridge.
• Yugito Nii coughed up a clot of blood, began breathing normally, and appeared healthier as the Two-Tails returned to her.
• Moriyue suffered severe organ damage from the transfer and replaced his lungs with ones cultivated by his tentacles.
• Moriyue resumed treating Yugito Nii, while Orochimaru questioned him about his strange methods.

Moriyue stabilized Yugito Nii after transplanting a Tailed Beast fragment into the Two-Tails and decided to return to Kumogakure. Meanwhile, Naruto was captured by a swift woman and brought before an elderly Hyuga who offered to help him strike at Konoha in exchange for a price.

• Moriyue used medicine and organ-repair procedures to stabilize Yugito Nii after restoring the Tailed Beast fragment to the Two-Tails.
• Moriyue watched Yugito Nii recover and decided it was time to return to Kumogakure.
• A fast-moving woman defeated Naruto's attacks, trapped him, and knocked him unconscious.
• Naruto woke restrained in a room where shackles drained his Chakra, and an elderly man asked whether he wanted revenge against Konoha.
• The old man revealed his Byakugan and said he was a Hyuga Clan member who could help Naruto attack Konoha if Naruto paid a price.

Moriyue learned that Nagato had not summoned the Demonic Statue, then parted ways with Nagato and Konan as they left to pursue their own path. He returned to Kumogakure carrying the sleeping Yugito Nii, where villagers mistook her for dead and watched him under the pressure of demands from the Five Great Nations.

• Moriyue questioned Nagato about the Demonic Statue, but Nagato denied summoning it and Konan confirmed he had done nothing.
• Konan thanked Moriyue, and Nagato said he and Konan would leave now that he could walk and no longer needed the Six Paths of Pain.
• Moriyue let them go, and Nagato and Konan departed after saying they might meet again.
• Orochimaru spoke with Moriyue about their agreement concerning Itachi's eyes and said he would find him when the time came.
• Moriyue carried the sleeping Yugito Nii into Kumogakure while villagers assumed she was dead and feared the consequences of his return.

Moriyue returned to Kumogakure carrying the sleeping Yugito Nii and took her to the hospital, while the villagers mistook their relationship for a tragic romance. He met with A to discuss the threat from the village's higher-ups, then went home, unaware that someone watched him from the darkness.

• Villagers pitied Moriyue and imagined that he had risked everything to bring Yugito Nii's body home, though she was only asleep and recovering.
• Moriyue took Yugito Nii to the hospital and instructed the nurse to care for her.
• Moriyue went to the Raikage's office, where A warned him that the higher-ups had called for his life.
• Moriyue and A discussed a plan, then Moriyue left and said he would return in a few days.
• Moriyue unlocked his home and went inside, while a pair of reddened eyes watched him from the darkness.

Moriyue returned to his room and found Ajisai in an uncontrollable state, driven by her modified Curse Marks. After a rough night together, Moriyue went to the Raikage’s office the next morning and asked when they would begin.

• Moriyue heard a creature moving behind him and used Sage Mode to identify Ajisai.
• Ajisai charged at Moriyue, and he dodged her attacks before realizing her Curse Marks had made her irrational.
• Ajisai overpowered Moriyue and spent the night with him while their neighbors listened to the noise.
• Moriyue met A in the Raikage’s office the next morning, and A warned him not to wear himself out.
• Moriyue said the previous night was nothing important and asked when they would start.

Moriyue tested his strength against the Raikage, who had already chosen him as his successor, and proved he could evade A’s attacks. A then unleashed a powerful technique that drew natural lightning down around him and charged at Moriyue, who declared it still was not enough.

• Moriyue met the Raikage’s opening punch head-on with a lightning-enhanced uppercut and asked to continue the test outside.
• Moriyue and A moved to a secluded clearing, where Moriyue evaded the Raikage’s attacks and used a lightning-filled clone to counter him.
• Moriyue used Sage Mode perception and infrared detection to track A as he accelerated and attacked again.
• A drew natural lightning from above and charged at Moriyue with a massive bolt surrounding him.
• Moriyue faced the Raikage’s lightning attack and declared that it was still not enough.

Moriyue and A fought an escalating battle over the title of Raikage, with A unleashing powerful lightning attacks and Moriyue answering with strange forbidden techniques. Moriyue began draining A’s Chakra with a new attack, but the battle continued as the village watched from afar.

• A drew down natural lightning and struck around Moriyue with his Myriad Transformation Technique: Lightning.
• Moriyue endured A’s attacks until his Chakra was depleted, then used forbidden techniques that replenished it while making his body more fragile.
• A recognized that Moriyue’s strange methods were not orthodox ninjutsu and suspected his connection to Orochimaru.
• Moriyue used the Snake Talisman to conceal himself, but A tracked him and outpaced him.
• Moriyue formed a transparent green sphere and struck at A with fused lightning and water, causing A’s Chakra to drain rapidly.
• More ninja arrived to watch the fight, but the Raikage’s Shadow Guards drove them away.

Moriyue and A fought fiercely as each treated the battle as a contest for the Raikage’s position. A discovered that Moriyue’s green orbs drained his stamina and dulled his mind, but he escaped their range and used his lightning armor to regain the advantage as Moriyue also began to tire.

• Moriyue and A exchanged powerful attacks, with A relying on relentless offense and Moriyue countering with varied ninjutsu.
• A noticed that green motes drifting from Moriyue’s orbs were draining his stamina and weakening his concentration.
• A threw his bracelet to create an explosion, then used the smoke to retreat from the green light while Moriyue disappeared from sight and reappeared behind him.
• A used lightning to keep himself awake and clear the green particles around him, then dodged Moriyue’s vine and fire attacks.
• A escaped the green light’s range and regained much of his stamina and speed, while Moriyue’s stamina was also drained by their exchange.

Moriyue and A fought fiercely over the title of Raikage, with both sustaining serious injuries. A acknowledged Moriyue’s strength but made his succession conditional on earning the recognition of more than half of the shinobi within three days.

• A used powerful lightning attacks to wear Moriyue down, while Moriyue realized A had been holding back some of his range and strength.
• A broke Moriyue’s ribs with a direct blow, but Moriyue retaliated with Blood Death Art and injured A’s chest.
• The two continued fighting as A’s lightning sliced Moriyue’s neck and Moriyue threw A into a tree before being kicked away.
• Moriyue prepared to draw on a Tailed Beast’s power, but A stopped the fight and said Moriyue had the strength to inherit the Raikage title.
• A offered to give Moriyue three days to win the recognition of more than half the shinobi, and Moriyue suggested they go to the hospital first.

Moriyue recovered in Kumogakure after his battle with A, while the Land of Lightning Daimyo issued an ultimatum and other nations sought information from him. Kazeki and Ajisai visited him, and he reassured Kazeki before Ajisai complained that Moriyue had hidden his injuries.

• A accepted the Land of Lightning Daimyo's ultimatum and considered his fight with Moriyue a test for the young challenger.
• Kazeki visited the injured Moriyue, asked why he kept forcing himself, and worried that she could no longer help him.
• Moriyue reassured Kazeki that she was strong and that his team needed her, so she left to train.
• Ajisai arrived, greeted Kazeki, and questioned Moriyue about his injury.
• Ajisai protested that Moriyue had not told him he was hurt and fretted over the gap between their strength.

Moriyue learned that A required him to win more than half of Kumogakure’s villagers’ support over the next three days if he wanted to become Raikage. After discussing the challenge with Ando, Moriyue heard that Yugito Nii had woken up.

• Moriyue told Ajisai he would introduce her to some acquaintances when he had time, then reflected on A’s challenge to earn the villagers’ recognition within three days.
• Ando visited Moriyue and reported that he had been training under Darui with Omoi and Karui.
• Moriyue asked Ando to find out whether Darui would help him become Raikage, startling Ando with the revelation that he was challenging A.
• Moriyue explained that A had acknowledged his strength but that he still needed more than half the villagers to choose him over A.
• A nurse told Moriyue that Yugito Nii had woken up and asked whether he wanted to see her.