Chapter Summaries

Kushina and Minato confronted Anju over Naruto's views and his Sage Jutsu training, and Anju’s anger caused Kushina’s Sealing Space to collapse. Kushina sealed Anju more tightly and used the same seal on Naruto, separating the part of his consciousness that had been speaking with Kurama.

• Minato Namikaze and Kushina accused Anju of influencing Naruto, and Anju said Naruto had formed his views himself after watching television dramas.
• Anju revealed that he and Kurama were teaching Naruto Sage Jutsu, prompting Minato Namikaze to bind Anju with the Yin-Yang Sealing Bind.
• Kushina ordered Minato Namikaze to release Anju, but Anju argued that they had no right to interrogate him and vanished as the Small Wooden House and the surrounding Sealing Space turned to ash.
• Kushina strengthened the seal on Anju with the Sixteen Character Yin-Yang Seal, cutting him off from the outside world.
• Kushina used the Sixteen Character Yin-Yang Seal on Naruto, separating the part of his consciousness that had been communicating with Kurama and causing Naruto to cry out and faint.

Kushina's sealing attempt trapped Kurama, Anju, and part of Naruto's consciousness together in a cramped Little Black Room. Kurama began trying to use Sage Chakra and space-folding ninjutsu to escape, while Naruto agreed to help.

• Kushina picked Naruto up and began sealing the Nine-Tails, unintentionally trapping part of Naruto's consciousness with Kurama.
• Naruto and Kurama discovered they were confined in the sealing space, and Anju explained Kushina had acted because she thought they had influenced Naruto's doubts about Minato Namikaze's sacrifice.
• Kurama grew angry at Kushina, while Anju recalled earlier ways Kushina had undermined Naruto's plans involving Hinata and the Hokage election.
• Anju urged Kurama to use his stored Natural Energy to make Sage Chakra and try folding space to enlarge the sealed room.
• Kurama decided to study his Person in the Painting ninjutsu as a possible escape method, and Naruto agreed to cooperate.

With Anju sealed away, Kushina neglected the Hokage’s paperwork, prompting Koharu and Homura to demand her approval. Kushina delegated greater authority to Fugaku and Shikaku, while Naruto remained withdrawn because part of his consciousness had been sealed away.

• After Anju’s disappearance left the Hokage Office without its usual organizer, government work piled up and stalled without Kushina’s approval.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura confronted Terumi Mei, Fugaku, and Shikaku about Kushina’s absence and the delayed documents.
• Terumi Mei found Kushina studying sealing formulas and told her the advisors needed her to approve the documents.
• Kushina ordered Terumi Mei to expand Fugaku and Shikaku’s authority so they could handle the matters without bothering her.
• Kushina worried about Naruto’s withdrawal, unaware that part of his consciousness had been torn away and sealed.

Hinata worried that Naruto had changed after waking from unconsciousness and asked Kushina to have him examined, but Kushina dismissed his behavior as sulking. Hinata then sought out Utatane Koharu, hoping her knowledge of sealing could help Naruto.

• Hinata accompanied Naruto to register at the Ninja Academy, while Sasuke grew frustrated that Naruto ignored him and blocked their way; Hinata led Naruto home without an explanation.
• Hinata went to the Hokage Building because Naruto had withdrawn from everyone, including Kushina, since waking from his unconsciousness.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Nara Shikaku wielded broad authority while Kushina left much of the Hokage's work to them, and Terumi Mei escorted Hinata to meet Kushina.
• Hinata asked Kushina to find a doctor for Naruto, but Kushina insisted he was merely angry about her sealing the Nine-Tails.
• After Kushina dismissed her concern, Hinata asked her Root guard who in Konoha understood sealing, learned that Utatane Koharu did, and set out to seek her help.

Utatane Koharu found that Kushina’s seal had weakened Naruto’s spiritual power and trapped part of his consciousness, while Kurama exhausted his Sage Chakra trying to break through. Naruto confronted Kushina about the danger and ended by asking whether she wanted him to sever all ties with her.

• Hinata brought Naruto to Utatane Koharu, who found no physical problems but discovered an unfamiliar seal on Naruto’s back and suspected Kushina had sealed part of his consciousness.
• Inside the Little Black Room, Anju urged Kurama to send Naruto’s consciousness out, and Kurama did so before his Sage Chakra ran out and the seal severed his drill-shaped tail.
• Naruto regained consciousness, learned that Kurama was unreachable, and asked Utatane Koharu to cast Delayed Genjutsu on him in exchange for a favor.
• Naruto asked Hinata to take him to Kushina and demanded that she undo his seal so he could train.
• Kushina refused, insisting Naruto first attend the ninja academy and understand his father’s sacrifice, and Naruto asked whether she wanted him to sever all ties with her.

Kushina tried to regain control of Naruto after he challenged her decisions, then used a genjutsu on him and planned to seal away his memories of his Tailed Beast friends. The next day, Naruto appeared at Ninja Academy registration and announced his dream of becoming Hokage.

• Naruto confronted Kushina for treating him like a doll and forcing her beliefs on him.
• Kushina recalled how Anju and the Uchiha had helped her protect Naruto from the Hokage Faction and how little she had contributed to becoming Hokage.
• Kushina cast Bewitching: Abode of Thought on Naruto and carried him home to place a Memory Seal on him.
• Hinata worried that Naruto would forget her, but Kushina told her their feelings could be cultivated later.
• At Ninja Academy registration the next day, Naruto introduced himself to Umino Iruka and declared that he wanted to become Hokage.

Anju persuaded Kurama to use a severed piece of his tail to help Naruto learn Sage Chakra, while they hid their existence from Kushina. At the Ninja Academy, Naruto outsmarted Sasuke in an assessment fight and defeated him with a surprise attack.

• Anju urged Kurama to use the Chakra in his severed tail to teach Naruto Sage Chakra, and Kurama agreed.
• Kurama noticed Naruto was clumsy and did not recognize people, so Anju warned him not to contact Naruto while Kushina's memory seal remained in place.
• Kurama began absorbing Natural Energy to strengthen the small piece of his tail.
• At the Ninja Academy assessment, Sasuke attacked Naruto with wired shuriken and a Great Fireball Technique.
• Naruto used a Substitution Technique, then disguised himself as a stone and sent a clone to lure Sasuke into position.
• Naruto struck Sasuke with a Rising Dragon Fist, and Iruka stopped the match and told them to form the Seal of Reconciliation.

At the Uchiha Clan’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Naruto struggled with Kushina’s memory seal while fragments of his familiarity with the clan surfaced. Itachi detected and triggered a hidden delayed genjutsu on Naruto, and Naruto later asked Hinata to conceal that he recognized a Uchiha resident.

• Naruto attended the Uchiha Clan’s celebration with Sasuke and Hinata, unable to recognize Fugaku, Mikoto, and Itachi despite feeling they were familiar.
• Itachi used his Sharingan to discover a concealed delayed genjutsu inside Naruto and triggered it despite Fugaku’s warning.
• Itachi told Fugaku that Naruto was like a younger brother to him, and Fugaku instructed him to watch Naruto closely.
• Naruto recalled that the Uchiha Clan Residence had been his second home and wandered the festival with Hinata.
• Naruto recognized the stall owner Motoyama, then pulled Hinata aside and asked her not to tell Kushina that he knew anyone in the Uchiha Clan.

Naruto returned home with Hinata and used the Sealing Space to seek comfort from Kurama, who urged him to master Sage Jutsu so he could free Kurama and stand up to Kushina. Meanwhile, Itachi reported to Uchiha Fugaku that Naruto showed no sign of harm from the delayed genjutsu, and Fugaku dismissed concerns about spies and war.

• Naruto brought Hinata home and hid that his unusual behavior at the Uchiha Clan Residence had resulted from the delayed genjutsu Thinking Behind Walls, which had activated his stored memories.
• Naruto and Hinata greeted Kushina, who remained focused on her research, then Naruto went to his room and entered the Sealing Space.
• Naruto saw Kurama's miniature form, hugged him, and cried about Kushina treating him unfairly.
• Kurama comforted Naruto and told him to keep studying Natural Energy, master Sage Jutsu, and free Kurama without taking dangerous risks.
• Itachi told Uchiha Fugaku that he had found no sign Naruto had been harmed, and Fugaku said Konoha faced no real threat from spies or war.

Jiraiya sent Uchiha Izumi, Shirakumo Seigetsu, and Ashishita Fū to investigate a rogue ninja linked to a Kaguya Clan kekkei genkai. Meanwhile, Orochimaru successfully cultivated a Three Tomoe Sharingan in Jugō of the Scales and planned to use it to treat Kaguya Kimimaro’s Bloodline Disease; he then left to answer an Akatsuki summons.

• Jiraiya assigned Uchiha Izumi, Shirakumo Seigetsu, and Ashishita Fū to search Tanzaku Street for the rogue ninja who had killed a Konoha Jonin with bone attacks.
• Ashishita Fū proposed that the three use the Transformation Technique to investigate, and they entered a tavern disguised as men.
• Orochimaru revealed that Jugō of the Scales had evolved his Double Tomoe Sharingan into Three Tomoe Sharingan after absorbing Natural Energy.
• Orochimaru told Kaguya Kimimaro that transplanting Jugō’s Three Tomoe Sharingan could greatly ease Kimimaro’s Bloodline Disease, and Jugō agreed to the surgery.
• Kimimaro helped the exhausted Jugō rest, while Orochimaru departed to answer an Akatsuki summons.

Pain assigned Akatsuki teams to target Konoha ninja operating outside the village while avoiding other nations, and Orochimaru prepared for eye-transplant surgery. Jiraiya tracked Orochimaru to a secret base but let him escape, while Kimimaro watched Jiraiya’s disciples from the forest.

• Pain said Akatsuki would target Konoha ninja outside the village and assigned strike teams, with Zetsu providing intelligence and barrier formations.
• Orochimaru called Kimimaro to prepare for eye-transplant surgery on Kimimaro and Jugo, then learned from Yakushi Kabuto that an intruder had reached the base.
• Jiraiya followed intelligence from Tanzaku Street to Orochimaru’s secret base, leaving Uchiha Izumi and her teammates outside.
• Jiraiya confronted Orochimaru underground and urged him to return to Konoha, but Orochimaru escaped by transforming into mud after warning that Konoha would not be peaceful.
• Jiraiya found a rogue ninja’s corpse with dozens of bloody holes, while Kimimaro observed Jiraiya’s disciples from the forest before leaving.

Kushina convened Konoha’s leaders to address a sudden rise in deaths on high-level missions and agreed to investigate the danger herself. The meeting also exposed clan demands over territory, while Kushina reflected on how much she had relied on Anju’s guidance.

• Nara Shikaku reported that Konoha’s high-level mission completion rate had fallen below 60 percent and its fatality rate had risen above 30 percent, with twelve Jonin dead.
• Hozuki Leng Che and Kakashi Hatake said intelligence checks had found no hostile moves by other villages and confirmed the missions’ clients were legitimate.
• Uchiha Fugaku prevented Shikaku from taking sole responsibility, wary that Shikaku’s duties might fall to him if the consultant resigned.
• Shikaku proposed that Kushina disguise herself as a lone ninja to draw out the attackers, and Kushina agreed to undertake the confidential mission herself.
• A clan leader asked Kushina to redistribute clan territories, but she refused, saying Konoha would grow prosperous enough to make other areas desirable too.

Kushina traveled to the Land of Hot Water on a mission that secretly served as bait for those targeting Konoha. Kakuzu and Hidan ambushed her, but she survived their opening attack and revealed her identity before the battle escalated.

• Kushina disguised herself as Nanako and accepted a mission to eliminate bandits who had killed a merchant caravan.
• Kakuzu and Hidan learned that Kushina was approaching and used White Zetsu Clones to reach an ambush site ahead of her.
• Kakuzu attacked Kushina with a combined fire-and-wind technique, but she protected herself inside an Iron Ingot Wall and emerged unharmed.
• Kushina recognized the attackers as members of Akatsuki, and Kakuzu realized she was the Nine-Tailed Demoness.
• Hidan charged Kushina with his scythe, but her Adamantine Sealing Chains bound him before Kakuzu launched attacks from his three masks.

Kushina fought Kakuzu and Hidan, but her lack of close-range options let Kakuzu escape and Hidan’s body disappear. She released Anju’s seal to borrow his Chakra, and Anju warned her of danger as her Malice Perception detected intense malice around the ambush site.

• Kushina dodged Kakuzu’s attack, ruined the Iron Ingot Wall, and used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind Hidan.
• Kakuzu attacked Kushina from a distance, and she used Hidan as a shield against his lightning before changing the terrain to close in.
• Kakuzu’s masks kept Kushina at bay, and she discovered Hidan’s body had vanished when she returned to the ambush site.
• Kushina released the Sixteen Character Yin-Yang Seal and asked Anju for Chakra, but he rebuked her for treating him as a tool.
• Anju sensed danger and warned Kushina, who entered Nine-Tails Mode and detected intense malice around them.

Kushina drove off Hidan and a White Zetsu Clone, then continued her mission in the Land of Hot Water while conserving Chakra because Anju had stopped supporting her. Nagato set out to confront Kushina, and Konan hurried after him after discovering his departure.

• Anju refused to cooperate and began consuming Kushina's Chakra, so Kushina could no longer freely use Nine-Tails Mode.
• A White Zetsu Clone attacked Kushina with Hidan, but she caught Hidan's scythe and the pair escaped underground.
• Kushina reported the encounter to Konoha and continued searching for bandits in the Land of Hot Water.
• Black Zetsu told Nagato that Kushina had appeared, and Nagato left to confront her while ordering a clone to deceive Konan.
• Konan recognized the White Zetsu Clone impersonating Nagato, learned where Nagato had gone, and flew after him.
• Obito and Black Zetsu discussed using Nagato and Konan's pursuit to fish in troubled waters as Kushina continued her search while conserving Chakra.

Shikaku investigated Akatsuki’s mysterious finances while Terumi Mei learned that the Chikamatsu Family had used Akatsuki against Kato Tsukitani’s business rivals. Shikaku suspected the family was helping fund Akatsuki and called Kakashi and Reitetsu to investigate.

• Shikaku told Fugaku that Konoha needed to trace Akatsuki’s funding to uncover the organization’s weaknesses and locate it.
• Kato Tsukitani asked to see Kushina about a mission she had abandoned, and Terumi Mei agreed to hear his concerns.
• Kato told Terumi Mei that Akatsuki had killed the ninjas he hired to compete with the Chikamatsu Family, whose rapid rise had cost him businesses.
• Terumi Mei reported Kato’s account to Shikaku and Fugaku, and Shikaku concluded that the Chikamatsu Family might be Akatsuki’s source of funding.
• Shikaku summoned Minister Kakashi and Minister Reitetsu to investigate the Chikamatsu Family.

Kushina confronted Taniguchi Tomine’s rogue ninja bandits as they robbed a merchant caravan and quickly defeated them with her chains and genjutsu. She captured the bandits and ordered them to deliver the stolen goods, while Taniguchi escaped underground.

• Taniguchi Tomine warned his twelve rogue ninja subordinates when he sensed Kushina approaching the caravan they had robbed.
• Kushina identified herself as a Konoha ninja and challenged the bandits over the robbery.
• Taniguchi ordered his bandits to attack, but Kushina deflected their weapons and ninjutsu, then incapacitated them with her Phantom Array.
• Kushina sensed Taniguchi fleeing north underground and used a sealing technique to restrict the Chakra of the seventeen bandits left behind.
• Kushina ordered the captured bandits to clean themselves up and deliver the caravan’s goods to a nearby town.

Kushina stored seized goods in Tangyu Town and took seventeen rogue ninja toward Konoha Prison, but Nagato ambushed her with summoned beasts and powerful attacks. Kushina tried to escape using the Flying Thunder God Formation, only to discover that the area had been sealed against space-time travel.

• Kushina arranged for Tangyu Town's mayor to store the seized goods for a ten-percent fee and took the seventeen rogue ninja away.
• Kushina decided to bring the rogue ninja to Konoha Prison, while Nagato confirmed her identity and attacked with the Hellhound and Yatagarasu.
• Kushina called on Anju for Chakra, released Minato's Chakra seal, and created a Shadow Clone to fight the Hellhound.
• Nagato appeared beside the Hellhound, crushed Kushina's Shadow Clone with Shinra Tensei, and pierced it with black Chakra receivers.
• Kushina fired a Tailed Beast Ball at the Yatagarasu and attempted to escape with the Flying Thunder God Formation, but Nagato's spatial seal prevented her from fleeing.

Kushina fought Nagato with improvised attacks and genjutsu, but exhaustion and Nagato’s counterattacks left her unconscious and captured. Konan stopped Nagato from killing her and carried Kushina away, leaving Nagato confused about why she had to live.

• Kushina used petroleum and the Intoxication: Phantom Array against Nagato, but Konan’s explosive paper attack struck her while she was exhausted.
• Nagato launched Planetary Devastation, and Anju took control of Kushina’s body to attack its core, but the blasts knocked her unconscious.
• Anju warned Konan that killing him would restart the Ninja World’s war, but Nagato pulled Kushina toward him and began extracting her soul.
• Konan stopped Nagato and said Kushina could not die, then sealed Kushina and carried her away.
• Nagato remained behind, bewildered by Konan’s decision.

Konan explained to Nagato why Kushina was more valuable alive than dead, while news of her capture spread and alarmed Konoha. At a meeting to decide how to respond, Sarutobi Hiruzen became Acting Hokage and ordered Konoha to negotiate for Kushina’s safe return.

• Konan fed the captured Kushina and told her that her capture was not about her personally.
• Konan persuaded Nagato that keeping Kushina alive would help preserve the peace between the ninja villages.
• Black Zetsu and Obito leaked news of Kushina’s capture despite Nagato killing the rogue shinobi who had witnessed it.
• Shimura Danzō demanded that Konoha appoint him Hokage and accused the Shadow Guard of failing to protect Kushina.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen took charge as Acting Hokage and ordered Konoha’s people to negotiate for Kushina’s safe return.