Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya caught up with Orochimaru in the forest, and the former friends shared a meal while discussing why Orochimaru had left Konoha. Jiraiya urged him to return and warned that Konoha would stop overlooking his absence after five years.

• Jiraiya recognized Orochimaru despite his mask, and Orochimaru revealed himself and invited him to eat.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya that he would create what he wanted himself because Konoha could not provide it, and rejected the idea of becoming Hokage.
• The two ate together as Jiraiya recounted his years of searching and asked about Orochimaru's plans.
• Orochimaru asked whether Jiraiya feared Danzo would target Jiraisui, and Jiraiya said the Third Hokage's protection kept the boy safe in Anbu.
• Orochimaru noted that Konoha would not list him as a Rogue Ninja for five years, but warned that the situation would change afterward.

After Konoha gave Orochimaru five years before declaring him a Rogue Ninja, Jiraiya confronted him and tried to persuade him to return. Orochimaru refused and promised not to fight Konoha for ten years, leaving their battle unresolved as Jiraiya continued urging him to come back.

• Danzo pushed to brand Orochimaru a Rogue Ninja, but Konoha's higher-ups gave him five years before making that decision.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya he would never return to Konoha and would not become its enemy for the next ten years.
• Jiraiya insisted on trying to bring Orochimaru back, and the two began fighting with their sage arts.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya summoned Manda and Gamabunta, who immediately fought each other.
• Orochimaru gained the advantage, while Jiraiya fought on and tried to persuade him to return.

Orochimaru intervened when Kisame’s Mist squad was ambushed by Konoha, saving Kisame and a female teammate before Kisame could kill her. He brought Kisame to a remote place and revealed Suikazan Fuguki, leaving Kisame shocked.

• Kisame sensed danger and urged the Mist Ninja squad to move, but Ibiki Morino and Konoha forces ambushed them with traps and explosives.
• Cornered at a cliff, Kisame killed his wounded teammates to keep them from being captured and was about to kill the last female ninja when Orochimaru appeared and stopped him.
• Two Konoha ninja insulted Orochimaru, who struck them down with beams of light before escaping with Kisame and the female ninja.
• Orochimaru brought Kisame and the woman to a desolate place, where he said Kisame deserved to know why he had been saved.
• Orochimaru threw Suikazan Fuguki before Kisame, and Kisame recognized him in shock.

Orochimaru recruited Kisame and Wuli Suyuan after Kisame killed Suikazan Fuguki for betraying Kirigakure. Meanwhile, Orochimaru defeated Jiraiya and left him unconscious as a system notification appeared about Jiraiya’s Bond.

• Orochimaru revealed that Suikazan Fuguki had secretly sided with Konoha, and Kisame interrogated and killed him.
• Orochimaru offered Kisame a place in the Northern Lands alongside Hozuki Mangetsu, Ringo Ameyuri, and Zabuza, and Kisame agreed to join.
• Wuli Suyuan learned that the other Kirigakure defectors were with Orochimaru and reluctantly went with him and Kisame.
• Orochimaru flew Kisame and Wuli Suyuan toward the Northern Lands, having secured Kisame as a new member of his core team.
• At the Land of Fire border, Orochimaru treated the unconscious Jiraiya after defeating him, then saw a system notification for the plot Jiraiya’s Bond.

Orochimaru refused to return to Konoha with Jiraiya and gained Unyielding Will before heading back to the Northern Lands. He welcomed Kisame and Wuli Suyuan, heard that the relocation from the Land of Hot Water was proceeding smoothly, and grew more intimate with Pakura.

• Orochimaru chose to remain away from Konoha and received Unyielding Will, which could resist negative mental and physical effects.
• Orochimaru headed toward Amegakure to investigate Akatsuki while Kisame and Wuli Suyuan returned with his main body to the Northern Lands.
• Orochimaru told Kisame and Wuli Suyuan to rest and get acquainted with the village, and Kisame agreed to share a meal with Wuli Suyuan.
• Orochimaru returned to his office, where Pakura reported that the Land of Hot Water's daimyo were cooperating and that civilians and ninja would soon migrate to the Northern Lands.
• Orochimaru pulled Pakura into his arms and kissed her, and she responded willingly to his advances.

Orochimaru took control of Kusagakure while drawing Akatsuki’s attention, killing Mui and subduing the village’s ninja. He found the Box of Paradise hidden in Hozuki Castle and left Kusagakure under his control.

• Obito told Pain that Orochimaru had been making moves in the Land of Rain, and Pain decided to investigate him personally.
• Orochimaru killed Mui after learning that Mui had tried to use the Box of Paradise to revive his son and unify the Ninja World.
• Orochimaru ordered Mui’s subordinates to submit or die, then branded the ones who surrendered and killed those who resisted.
• Over the next few days, Orochimaru subdued more than a hundred Kusagakure ninja and silenced opposition within the village.
• Orochimaru found the Box of Paradise hidden in Hozuki Castle and took possession of it.

Orochimaru offered to take Karin as his disciple and encouraged both her and Ryuzetsu to consider a future in the Northern Lands. After changing the fates of the two girls, he left a clone behind and headed toward the border of Amegakure and the Land of Grass to draw Akatsuki’s attention.

• A grass ninja brought Ryuzetsu and Karin with her mother to Orochimaru at Blood Prison.
• Orochimaru recognized Ryuzetsu’s potential and offered to take Karin as his disciple, promising her and her mother a better life.
• Orochimaru let Karin’s mother and Ryuzetsu leave to consider his offers before the Northern Lands’ ninjas arrived.
• Orochimaru reflected that Ryuzetsu no longer needed to infiltrate Blood Prison and that Mui would face judgment for his crimes.
• Orochimaru left an Energy Clone behind and vanished toward the border between Amegakure and the Land of Grass to provoke Akatsuki.

Orochimaru confronted Pain and Sasori after seeking out Akatsuki, provoking Sasori and demonstrating his strength. Pain considered Orochimaru as a possible recruit, but Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage and challenged him, leaving their fight about to begin.

• Pain and Sasori approached Orochimaru while he ate in the forest and asked why he had been looking for Akatsuki.
• Orochimaru insulted Sasori, then kicked apart his poisonous scorpion tail when Sasori attacked.
• Orochimaru told Pain he wanted to join Akatsuki as a scientist, and Pain said he would need to prove his strength.
• Sasori revealed himself as a red-haired youth and summoned the Third Kazekage as a Human Puppet.
• Orochimaru challenged Sasori to make him take even half a step back, and Sasori vowed to defeat him.

Orochimaru overwhelmed Sasori and Pain with his immense energy, proving his strength and earning Pain’s recognition as a candidate for Akatsuki. Pain welcomed him but objected to his actions, and Orochimaru warned that he would fight back if provoked.

• Sasori attacked Orochimaru with the Third Kazekage and his puppets, but Orochimaru endured the assaults and stopped the iron sand constructs with a touch.
• Orochimaru unleashed a huge energy sphere that destroyed Sasori’s puppets and forced Sasori to flee.
• Pain used Shinra Tensei to divert the sphere, but its explosion engulfed both Pain and Sasori and left a crater two kilometers wide.
• Sasori crawled from the crater badly damaged, while Pain returned to Orochimaru and acknowledged that he was qualified to join Akatsuki.
• Pain said he was unhappy with Orochimaru’s actions, and Orochimaru warned that he would take Pain down if provoked.

Orochimaru confronted Pain over joining Akatsuki, and Obito and Zetsu intervened before the standoff became a fight. Orochimaru joined on the condition that Akatsuki provide a place for his research and help protect him from pursuers.

• Orochimaru and Pain faced off as each refused to back down.
• Obito and Zetsu appeared, and Obito asked Orochimaru why he wanted to join Akatsuki.
• Orochimaru said he wanted a stable place to conduct research and Akatsuki's protection from those pursuing him.
• Zetsu warned Orochimaru to obey the organization, so Orochimaru blasted him into the ground with gravity.
• Obito withdrew his hostility, Pain accepted Orochimaru, and Obito welcomed him into Akatsuki.

Kakuzu failed to find any leads on the Jashin Religion but was assigned to escort Yugakure’s money and supplies as its villagers and some ninja relocated to the Northern Lands. The procession reached Northern Land City, where Anko and the others met Kisame in the white robe reserved for trusted elite fighters.

• Kakuzu returned from the Land of Hot Water without finding the Jashin Religion and agreed to escort the relocation funds for extra pay.
• Anko, Guren, Kakuzu, and the others led around a thousand villagers and local ninja from Yugakure toward the Northern Lands, leaving those who refused to move behind.
• After a half-month journey, the procession reached Northern Land City, whose organized districts and new houses impressed the arrivals and visiting Daimyo.
• Anko and the others arrived at the village entrance, where Wuli Suyuan registered newcomers and Kisame watched the crowd in a white leadership robe.
• Kakuzu arrived and asked who Kisame was, noting that he wore the same distinctive clothes.

Kakuzu returned to the village with Kisame and a large haul of supplies, while Orochimaru planned how to develop the Northern Lands through industry, commerce, and transportation. He left those plans on hold until the Northern Lands could withstand pressure from the Five Great Nations.

• Kakuzu arrived with carts of money, research equipment, machinery, and other supplies, and Kisame introduced himself to Anko and Guren.
• Pakura told Orochimaru that the ninjas sent to the Land of Hot Water had returned, and he ordered them to rest before traveling to the Land of Grass to retrieve its people and the Box of Paradise.
• Orochimaru considered developing weapons and businesses in the Northern Lands, including clothing, food delivery, housing, railways, automobiles, and airships.
• Orochimaru wrote down his development plans but recognized that the Northern Lands first needed to withstand pressure from the Five Great Nations.

Orochimaru oversaw the arrival of thousands of migrants from the Land of Snow and a nearby small country, expanding the Northern Lands’ population and workload. As the newcomers registered, Zabuza brought in a group of prisoners for Orochimaru to deal with personally.

• Orochimaru helped settle the first wave of migrants and increased his use of Shadow Clones as the Northern Lands’ population grew to nearly five thousand.
• Hozuki Mangetsu and Ringo Ameyuri returned from the Land of Snow with about five thousand people, including villagers from an unnamed small country.
• Kazahana Koyuki greeted Orochimaru and apologized that she had not persuaded everyone to migrate, but he reassured her and welcomed the arrivals.
• Kakuzu supervised the registration and inventory of supplies while the villagers registered to enter the village, and Orochimaru sent the exhausted Hozuki Mangetsu to rest.
• Zabuza drove more than a hundred prisoners into the village with a whip, and Orochimaru prepared to assess the ninjas, civilians, and researchers among them.
• Several voices called out to Orochimaru, announcing that they had returned.

Orochimaru sent Kisame and a squad to warn Kumogakure after it investigated the migration from the Land of Snow, while Zabuza joined the mission. He then prepared to personally annex the Land of Iron, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Grass before Konoha and the Land of Earth could respond.

• Haku and Ajisai defended Zabuza when Orochimaru asked whether he had bullied them, and Zabuza joked about his stories with the Mizukage.
• Pakura reported that Kumogakure had noticed the migration from the Land of Snow and sent ninja to investigate.
• Orochimaru ordered Kisame to warn the Kumogakure squad and to kill them if they refused to listen.
• Orochimaru asked Kisame to invite Zabuza, who joined the mission after two and a half years of training.
• Orochimaru accelerated the annexation of three neighboring nations and decided to lead the expedition himself.

Orochimaru led an assault on the Land of Iron while his forces handled a second operation in the Land of Grass. The attack overwhelmed the village, and Hozuki Mangetsu challenged Mifune to a sword fight.

• Orochimaru led several hundred ninjas through the icy wilderness toward the Land of Iron, while Kisame, Zabuza, Ringo Ameyuri, Guren, and three Chakra clones went to the Land of Grass.
• Orochimaru's group reached the village in the Land of Iron and scattered to attack under his plan.
• Anko volunteered to lead the detailed assault and rushed into the village as explosions and panic spread.
• Mifune ordered his guards to protect the villagers and stop the attackers.
• Hozuki Mangetsu confronted Mifune with Hiramekarei, and the two swordsmen clashed.

Orochimaru’s forces defeated the Land of Iron and began persuading its samurai and villagers to accept annexation by the Northern Lands. After Hozuki Mangetsu escorted the residents north, Orochimaru led the remaining ninjas toward Takigakure.

• Kakuzu imprisoned the defeated samurai, and Northern Lands ninjas persuaded them to surrender, removing those who refused.
• Hozuki Mangetsu and a Northern Lands orator addressed the gathered villagers and explained the situation.
• Orochimaru told the bound Mifune that he intended to make the people of the Land of Iron citizens of the Northern Lands and provide them with better lives.
• Orochimaru had Mifune taken away alive, intending to use his prestige to reassure the villagers and his experience to help govern.
• Hozuki Mangetsu and other ninjas escorted the residents to the Northern Lands the next day, while Orochimaru led the remaining two hundred or so ninjas toward Takigakure.

Orochimaru’s forces advanced toward Takigakure, where Kakuzu planned to confront the village he had once served. After discussing the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and Takigakure’s treasures, they reached the village and began scouting its defenses.

• Kakuzu volunteered to lead Orochimaru’s force of more than two hundred ninja back to Takigakure and shared his resentment over being made a scapegoat decades earlier.
• Orochimaru asked Kakuzu about Takigakure’s Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, and Kakuzu dismissed the newly chosen girl as an insignificant threat.
• Orochimaru asked about Hero Water, and Kakuzu revealed that he had drunk all of it when he left Takigakure, though it could regenerate.
• Kakuzu entertained the younger ninja with stories about his dealings and claimed even the First Hokage had recognized his talent.
• Orochimaru sensed hidden sentries near Takigakure and sent teams of three to scout in several directions.
• Kakuzu unnerved a ninja by joking that he would not target the man’s heart, and Orochimaru ordered everyone to get to work.

Orochimaru exposed Takigakure by lifting its mountain and waterfall, then led the Northern Lands’ forces in capturing the village and its Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fū. He frightened Fū despite trying to reassure her, while the battle for Takigakure continued.

• Orochimaru sent his forces to surround Takigakure, then used Great Earth Rotation Dance to split the mountain and raise the village into the open.
• Takigakure’s villagers and ninjas were stunned as sunlight reached them, and Kakuzu urged the Northern Lands’ forces to attack and accept surrenders.
• Kakuzu searched the battlefield for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki while Northern Lands’ ninjas overwhelmed Takigakure’s disorganized defenders.
• Orochimaru spotted Fū, moved a gigantic sphere of rock away from the village, and released it before going to her.
• Orochimaru removed his mask and tried to comfort Fū, but the falling sphere’s explosion terrified her, and she collapsed sobbing.

After three years of training, Zabuza was initiated as a core member of the Northern Lands and swore loyalty to Orochimaru. The ceremony ended with Orochimaru considering how to retrieve Zabuza’s Kubikiribōchō, just as someone tugged at his robe.

• Orochimaru warned Zabuza that wearing the white robe meant severing his ties to Kirigakure and remaining loyal to the Northern Lands.
• Zabuza declared his willingness to die for the Northern Lands and swore an oath against betrayal.
• Anko gave Zabuza the white robe marked with the number six, and he put it on before paying respects to the White Snake Sage.
• The White Snake Sage’s statue displayed its power, briefly filling the temple with overwhelming pressure before the voice told everyone to return to work.
• Orochimaru thought about taking Kubikiribōchō from Jūzō Biwa, then someone tugged at his robe.

Anko and Orochimaru's other disciples persuaded him to resume training them, and he arranged a session that would include Fū. Back in his office, Orochimaru considered how to develop the Northern Lands through technology and outside investment before Pakura entered.

• Anko, Guren, Kimimaro, and Ajisai asked Orochimaru to teach them more, and he scheduled training for three that afternoon.
• Orochimaru told the disciples to bring Fū so she could train and build her relationship with the Seven-Tails.
• Orochimaru reviewed the growing population and ninja force in Northern Land City and considered using technology to strengthen the region.
• Orochimaru decided to revitalize the Northern Lands through outside capital rather than exploiting its residents.
• Pakura entered Orochimaru's office.