Chapter Summaries

Anju watched Obito adapt to Kushina’s Phantom Array and realized Nagato was secretly experiencing it through a Chakra Black Receiver. He kept Nagato’s involvement to himself, then enlisted Keychain Kurama to research Chakra-targeting ninjutsu and distracted him with a Chinese-language lesson and the story of Painted Skin.

• Anju noticed that Obito had grown calmer inside the Phantom Array and discovered a Chakra Black Receiver hidden in Obito’s sleeve.
• Anju realized Nagato was also being affected through the receiver, but decided not to tell Kushina and could not find a way to retaliate against Nagato.
• Anju asked Keychain Kurama to research ninjutsu that targeted Chakra, but Kurama complained that Anju kept making him work.
• Anju offered Kurama a Television to persuade him, but Kurama rejected it because he was tired of watching Ultraman.
• Anju taught Kurama Chinese, then drew him in with a new series called Painted Skin.

Anju tried to convince Keychain Kurama that he was a Nine-Tails from another world by showing him stories from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. After Kurama agreed to research Painted Skin techniques, Anju turned to experimenting with Natural Energy directly.

• After hearing the Painted-Skin Ghost story, Keychain Kurama said he could not create a ghost but might develop Painted Skin techniques.
• Keychain Kurama questioned how Anju knew so much about ancient times, forcing Anju to admit he had been hiding something.
• Anju claimed he was a Nine-Tails from another world and showed Keychain Kurama the story of Ying Ning to support his explanation.
• Keychain Kurama agreed to research ninjutsu in exchange for more stories, then returned to the Yin Nine-Tails after Anju apologized for pushing him to work.
• Anju began testing how to use Natural Energy without converting it into Sage Chakra, relying on the Yin Nine-Tails' body to withstand its effects.

Jiraiya served as Acting Hokage while Konoha faced pressure from rival villages, and Tsunade urged him to stay in the village to maintain stability. After Izumi left to pursue Sage Jutsu training, Jiraiya realized Tsunade had helped trick him into peeping at the bathhouse.

• Jiraiya became Acting Hokage from his hospital bed after Tsunade refused the position and punched him.
• Izumi asked Jiraiya for more special training, and he suggested she seek the Great Toad Sage's approval to learn Sage Jutsu.
• Izumi accepted despite Jiraiya warning her about the dangers, then left to continue her training.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that he needed to remain in Konoha and shoulder the village's burden while the advisers handled administrative affairs.
• Jiraiya asked Tsunade why she had been wearing clothes in the hot spring, and she revealed she had never gone there, prompting him to realize he had been tricked.

Anju refused Kushina’s request for help with her stalled ninjutsu research, still angry over her and Minato’s past treatment of him. Kushina left the Sealing Space without help, increasingly worried that Akatsuki might discard her.

• Anju and Keychain Kurama used the Painted Skin Technique to take human forms and discussed Kurama’s wish to travel freely.
• Anju offered Kurama Investiture of the Gods as an incentive to resume researching ninjutsu.
• Kushina entered the Sealing Space and was startled to find Anju and Kurama disguised as Hagoromo Otsutsuki.
• Kushina asked Anju for help developing ninjutsu, but Anju refused and reminded her that she had sealed his senses after Minato sealed his consciousness.
• Kushina appealed to Kurama in his Hagoromo form, but he ignored her, so she left without help and feared Akatsuki would consider her useless.

Kushina sought a way to save herself and decided she needed Minato Namikaze’s jutsu research skills. After sending a Shadow Clone to Konoha’s Archives, she studied Impure World Reincarnation and began preparing to retrieve Minato’s soul from the Death God.

• Anju questioned Kurama about whether Person in the Painting could work on ninjas, and Kurama agreed to continue researching in exchange for a new story.
• Kushina sent a Shadow Clone through her Flying Thunder God Formation to Konoha’s Archives, where it arrived with most of its Chakra intact.
• Kushina’s Shadow Clone found the Impure World Reincarnation materials, sent them to the Kamui Dimension, and quietly dispelled itself.
• Kushina studied the jutsu and determined she would need to retrieve Minato Namikaze’s soul from the Death God, using the Uzumaki Clan Mask Hall and a sacrifice.
• Kushina asked Anju for more Chakra, and Anju gave it to her without refusing.

Kushina asked Obito to obtain a corpse-preservation method so she could pursue her research into Impure World Reincarnation, while Obito and Nagato continued to experience her Phantom Array. Nagato demanded the Phantom Array in exchange for the technique and threatened to visit Konoha if Kushina refused, so she agreed.

• Kushina asked Obito to obtain Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation research or a method for preserving corpses, and Obito agreed to ask the Akatsuki leader.
• Obito entered the Phantom Array, where he experienced an illusion of many Rins, while Nagato managed to resist the illusion of Konan more effectively.
• Nagato decided Kushina had become less useful to him, but had not moved against her because Konan had not asked him to.
• Obito returned with Nagato's demand to exchange a corpse-preservation technique for Kushina's Phantom Array, threatening another visit to Konoha if she refused.
• Kushina agreed to give up the Phantom Array in exchange for the Corpse Preservation Technique because she had no way to deal with Pain and wanted to protect Konoha.

Kushina used a Grass ninja’s sacrifice to summon Minato Namikaze through Impure World Reincarnation, and the two discussed her situation and the Nine-Tails before visiting Konoha. Minato and Kushina arrived at Naruto’s training ground, where Naruto and his guard ninja Genma Shiranui recognized them.

• Kushina’s Shadow Clone captured two Grass ninja and used one to summon the Death God, then used the other as the vessel for Minato Namikaze’s Impure World Reincarnation.
• Minato Namikaze reunited with Kushina, learned about her recent struggles and Akatsuki’s threat, and promised to protect her, Naruto, and Konoha.
• Minato advised Kushina to treat the unusual Yin Nine-Tails, Anju, with goodwill and said he would try to ease their conflict after finding a way to oppose Pain.
• Minato told Kushina that he had found a peaceful way to cultivate inside the Death God’s stomach using what he called Shinigami Chakra.
• Minato and Kushina visited Hokage Rock, then went to Naruto’s training ground, where Naruto and Genma Shiranui were shocked to see them.

Naruto met his parents as Minato and Kushina explained that they could not leave the Akatsuki without endangering Konoha. After they departed, Konoha’s leaders adopted Terumi Mei’s proposals to prepare for the Akatsuki and send envoys to the other villages.

• Minato told Naruto that Kushina was being held by the Akatsuki and could not escape without putting Konoha at risk.
• Naruto calmly acknowledged Minato and promised to protect himself and the people important to him; Minato and Kushina then left.
• Genma reported the meeting, and Konoha’s leaders gathered to discuss the latest intelligence.
• Terumi Mei proposed preparing for an Akatsuki attack, persuading the other villages, organizing rescues, and reducing Konoha’s missions.
• Jiraiya approved Terumi Mei’s proposals, and the leaders decided to send four-person teams as envoys to the other villages.

In the Kamui Dimension, Anju worried about Kushina’s plans to resurrect Minato, while Nagato reconsidered Akatsuki’s campaign against Konoha and demanded sealing techniques from Kushina. Nagato recalled Kakuzu and Hidan, who began their return from the Land of Hot Water.

• Anju realized Kushina had obtained the Impure World Reincarnation scrolls and worried that a resurrected Minato would keep watching over her.
• Konan urged Nagato to stop attacking Konoha, citing Jiraiya’s appointment as Acting Hokage, Tsunade’s return, and Akatsuki’s financial strain.
• Nagato proposed launching the Tailed Beast Weapon plan early, but Konan warned him to prepare carefully and wait for the Ninja World to stabilize.
• Nagato ordered Kakuzu and Hidan to return and told Obito to make Kushina hand over the Four Symbols Seal and Five Elements Seal or face another invasion of Konoha.
• In the Land of Hot Water, Kakuzu and Hidan received Nagato’s recall order, and Hidan complained about his strange body made from Orochimaru’s experimental specimens.

Biwa Juzo entered Stone Village to relax, unaware that Itachi's Konoha diplomatic team mistook his Akatsuki robes for a threat and planned to intercept him. Their fight in an inn ended with Juzo still concealed in mist and the Konoha team evading his water attack.

• Biwa Juzo escorted a Chikamatsu Family merchant caravan and left it near Stone Village for three days of free time.
• Itachi led three Konoha Military Police Force members toward Iwagakure to deliver a scroll containing Konoha's offer and intelligence on Akatsuki.
• Itachi's team spotted Biwa Juzo in Akatsuki robes and assumed he had come to pursue them.
• Biwa Juzo entered an inn, found Itachi and the three Konoha Ninja waiting in his room, and used the Hidden Mist Technique after Itachi revealed his Sharingan.
• Biwa Juzo killed a Konoha Ninja's substitution log, then took a direct hit from Itachi's Great Fireball Technique without dispelling the mist.
• Biwa Juzo launched a Water Gun Bullet from concealment, but Itachi guided his teammates as they dodged it.

Itachi and his teammates defeated Biwa Juzo and learned that the Fifth Hokage had been captured and hidden by Akatsuki. Itachi recruited the injured Juzo as a Konoha mole, giving him a secret way to report Akatsuki’s plans.

• Biwa Juzo escaped the inn briefly, but Kitsuchi and the Iwagakure ninjas disrupted his Hidden Mist Technique and left him to fight the Konoha ninjas inside.
• Itachi used Steel Wire, fire, and his teammates’ attacks to wound Biwa Juzo and bind the Kubikiribōchō.
• Itachi trapped Biwa Juzo in a painful Sharingan genjutsu until Juzo agreed to talk.
• Biwa Juzo revealed that Akatsuki had captured the Fifth Hokage and held her in a secret location, but said he had encountered the Konoha group by coincidence.
• Itachi arranged for Biwa Juzo to return to Akatsuki as a Konoha mole and gave him a contact phrase for Leaf Tavern on Tanzaku Street.

Itachi delivered Konoha’s intelligence on Akatsuki and an agreement to Iwagakure, while Kitsuchi failed to trap the Konoha team. In Amegakure, Pain learned that Konoha had contacted the Four Great Shinobi Villages and ordered Zetsu to watch its movements as Hidan and Kakuzu took on work.

• Kitsuchi challenged Itachi’s age, but fell silent when Itachi revealed his Three Tomoe Sharingan.
• Itachi delivered Konoha’s scrolls to Iwagakure and exposed Kitsuchi’s attempt to switch them, after which both teams departed without fighting.
• Kitsuchi explained that he had avoided an open attack because the ambush had failed and the Konoha team might escape.
• Biwa Juzo received treatment for his injuries at a clinic and tried to avoid Pain so his wounds would not be discovered.
• Hidan and Kakuzu discussed their debts and missions before Zetsu reported that Konoha had sent delegations to the Four Great Shinobi Villages.
• Pain assigned Hidan to escort a merchant caravan, gave Kakuzu financial work, and ordered Zetsu to monitor Konoha’s activity.

Impure World Reincarnation Body Minato Namikaze researched ways to counter Pain’s attraction and repulsion, but returned with only a hypothesis. Kushina tried to keep Obito close and buy time for Minato’s research, while Obito continued pretending to be on her side.

• Impure World Reincarnation Body Minato Namikaze tested Yin Attribute Chakra with Rasengan, then studied Flame Sun Courage to understand how Pain’s attraction and repulsion might be countered.
• Impure World Reincarnation Body Minato Namikaze used Yin-Yang Sealing Bind on Flame Sun Courage and concluded that confining attraction and repulsion to a limited area might reduce their harm.
• Impure World Reincarnation Body Minato Namikaze returned to the base and shared his untested ideas with Kushina, asking her to buy him time and offer inspiration.
• Kushina decided to use her amicable relationship with Obito to delay Pain’s attack on Konoha and support Minato’s research.
• Kushina asked Obito about his research and Pain’s plans, then offered to teach him through the Phantom Array, but Obito declined and entered the array.

Jiraiya served as Acting Hokage while delegating much of Konoha’s work to advisors, including Terumi Mei, and the Research Department reported a breakthrough in the Gravity Interference Array. Sarutobi Hiruzen and his former advisors then discussed how to counter Akatsuki, with Hiruzen warning that Sunagakure had repeatedly undermined Konoha’s missions in River Country.

• Jiraiya welcomed Terumi Mei as a new Advisory Council member after Utatane Koharu retired rather than wear professional attire.
• Terumi Mei told Jiraiya that the Research Department had made a breakthrough in the Gravity Interference Array, and he went to see it.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura criticized Jiraiya’s decisions and discussed the difficulty of researching gravity-based countermeasures.
• The three elders considered cooperating with other shinobi villages against Akatsuki, but Hiruzen warned that Sunagakure had repeatedly targeted Konoha’s missions in River Country.

Jiraiya witnessed Konoha’s Gravity Research Team successfully create a limited Gravity Array, then decided to share the technology with the Four Great Shinobi Villages. He hoped the technology would help the Ninja World resist Nagato, whom he suspected was his former disciple.

• A staff member alerted Sarutobi Hiruzen that Jiraiya and Terumi Mei had hurriedly left the Hokage Building, so Sarutobi Hiruzen, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura went to investigate.
• Hayakawa Megumi led the Gravity Research Team in activating its newly developed array, and Jiraiya tested it, feeling his body become heavier and then lighter.
• Hayakawa Megumi credited Utatane Koharu’s earlier guidance, and Sarutobi Hiruzen and the elders also tested the array and discussed how to improve its control and effectiveness.
• Jiraiya rejected asking the Four Great Shinobi Villages for help and announced that Konoha would give them the Gravity Array technology for free.
• Jiraiya recalled that Nagato, whom he suspected had attacked Konoha, was one of the orphans he had taken in, and resolved to spread the technology to give the Ninja World a chance to resist him.

Kushina’s Shadow Clone demanded scroll materials from Kato Tsukitani, but he refused because his clan had lost its Konoha business and buying ninja supplies could expose him to Akatsuki. Minato stopped Kushina from threatening him and sent her to ask Anju for help, where Anju ignored her.

• Kushina’s Shadow Clone asked Kato Tsukitani to buy raw materials for scrolls, but he refused, saying he could no longer risk involvement in the ninja conflict.
• Kato Tsukitani explained that Konoha had abandoned his clan after its failed campaign against the Chikamatsu Family, while Akatsuki now controlled his finances.
• Kushina threatened Kato Tsukitani and his son, but he said he would rather die than buy the materials and risk Akatsuki’s retaliation.
• Minato offered to protect Kato Tsukitani’s son with Flying Thunder God, but Kato Tsukitani rejected the promise because Kushina had also been captured.
• Minato urged Kushina to ask Yin Nine-Tails for help, so her Shadow Clone returned to the Kamui Dimension and relayed the situation to her original body.
• Kushina went to Anju’s Sealing Space to ask for help, but Anju ignored her.

Kushina sought Anju’s help persuading Kato Tsukitani, but Anju challenged her choices and revealed that Nagato was an Uzumaki descendant. He negotiated to leave the Kamui Dimension and learn the Phantom Array, then accompanied Kushina to Hakoami Castle to approach Kato Tsukitani.

• Kushina asked Anju to help her make plans for Kato Tsukitani, but Anju refused to support Konoha or Kushina without a reason to trust them.
• Anju criticized Kushina’s judgment and argued that Naruto, as a Jinchuriki, could not be raised as an ordinary child.
• Anju told Kushina that Akatsuki’s leader, Nagato, was an Uzumaki descendant whose Rinnegan had been transplanted by Madara Uchiha.
• Kushina refused to leave the Kamui Dimension because she feared Akatsuki would attack Konoha, so Anju proposed leaving a Shadow Clone behind while he went with her.
• Anju demanded that Kushina teach him the Phantom Array formation in exchange for persuading Kato Tsukitani, and Kushina used the Flying Thunder God Formation to take him to Hakoami Castle.
• Kushina brought Anju to Kato Tsukitani’s door and told him she had brought someone he could rely on.

Anju persuaded Kato Tsukitani to shift his allegiance from Kushina to Naruto by arguing that Naruto could protect his business and help him avoid the Daimyo's attention. After Anju arranged to contact Naruto, Kushina demanded that he reveal where her clanspeople were and insisted they leave to rescue a woman in Kusagakure.

• Kushina met Kato Tsukitani again, and Anju used her to tell him that he should pledge himself to Naruto instead of Kushina.
• Anju explained that Naruto's age and family connections could shield Kato Tsukitani from the Daimyo while helping him revive his business.
• Kato Tsukitani agreed to contact his old channels, prepare Kushina's materials, and rely on Naruto to arrange his safety.
• Anju contacted Naruto about Kato Tsukitani, then returned to Kushina's Sealing Space and found Keychain Kurama had been agreeing to Kushina's demands.
• Anju told Kushina that he knew Kusagakure had a female member of her clan, and Kushina insisted they go rescue her immediately.

Anju broke off his cooperation with Kushina after she tried to demand help without offering anything in return, leaving her to continue toward Kusagakure alone. In Konoha, Naruto ordered Hozuki Leng Che to accept Kato Tsukitani’s cooperation and protect him.

• Anju learned that Kushina wanted help finding her clansmen, contacting Konoha, researching ninjutsu, and restoring their relationship.
• Anju unleashed Yin Nine-Tails Chakra and told Kushina he no longer wanted to learn her Phantom Array.
• Anju argued that Kushina owed him a favor, then cut off contact and refused to help her.
• Kushina realized Anju had seen through her plan to withhold the Phantom Array and continued toward Kusagakure without his help.
• Naruto visited Hozuki Leng Che at Root’s base and ordered him to accept Kato Tsukitani’s cooperation at the Land of Whirlpools Ruins and send Root elites to protect him.

Naruto learned how much influence Kushina’s network held beyond Konoha and took charge of protecting its key resources. He ordered Hozuki Leng Che to secure Kato Tsukitani and gather intelligence as Naruto tried to prevent Konoha from collapsing.

• At Mist Capital Port, Steward Jin Tian resumed Kato Clan maritime trade after explaining that Kato Tsukitani had pledged allegiance to Naruto, and the port manager granted the clan an additional tax discount on Naruto’s instructions.
• Naruto learned that Kushina’s influence extended through Mist Capital Port, Kirigakure, and Kato Tsukitani’s far-reaching business network.
• Naruto asked Hozuki Leng Che to let him direct Kushina’s forces while acknowledging that Kushina’s orders would take precedence if she returned.
• Naruto ordered Hozuki Leng Che to protect Kato Tsukitani and collect intelligence across the Ninja World, warning that Konoha depended on Tsukitani’s funding.