Chapter Summaries

Senju Tobirama told Hiruzen Sarutobi that the dead should not interfere in the living world, warned him of crises threatening the entire world, and entrusted Konoha with the Unseen Court. Tobirama then returned to Sosuke Aizen as Aizen’s teleportation formation activated, leaving Minato Namikaze demanding an explanation.

• Senju Tobirama questioned Hiruzen Sarutobi about the dead interfering with the living, and Hiruzen agreed that their interference would hinder the world’s natural progress.
• Senju Tobirama condemned the dead for manipulating later generations, warned Hiruzen that no one could escape the coming crises, and gave him a scroll containing the Unseen Court’s records and techniques.
• Senju Tobirama told Hiruzen that Konoha’s future belonged to the living before black matter carried him away.
• Senju Tobirama reappeared in the rain beside Sosuke Aizen and saw Minato Namikaze trying to break through Aizen’s teleportation formation.
• Minato Namikaze shouted at Sosuke Aizen and demanded to know what was happening as the formation began to glow.

Sosuke Aizen used an Anti-Matter Field to take hundreds of Konoha’s researchers away, leaving Minato Namikaze powerless to stop him. In the aftermath, Hiruzen Sarutobi resigned, and Minato was announced as the Fourth Hokage.

• Aizen’s Anti-Matter Field prevented Minato from interfering with the teleportation formation, while Konoha’s researchers rose within its golden barrier.
• After three days without rest, Minato exhausted his strength and demanded that Aizen explain whether he had betrayed Konoha.
• Aizen declared that he would stand in the heavens, then departed with several hundred researchers as the formation vanished.
• Konoha’s Ninja mourned the loss of their former friends and colleagues beneath the black rain.
• On May 10th, Year 45 of the Konoha Calendar, Aizen defected with one-third of Konoha’s Ninjutsu researchers.
• The following day, Hiruzen resigned to take responsibility and announced Minato as the Fourth Hokage.

After Sosuke Aizen defected, Minato Namikaze stabilized Konoha and began absorbing the knowledge and systems Aizen had left behind. Shimura Danzō brought Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan to Konoha, then revealed that he was founding a stateless peacekeeping organization and that Aizen’s base was in the ruins of Uzushiogakure.

• Minato Namikaze suppressed Konoha’s opposition, concealed the scale of Aizen’s defection, and maintained stability by controlling information.
• Minato ordered Konoha to test and verify the materials Aizen had left behind, accepting personal responsibility for any risks.
• Shimura Danzō returned to the Hokage’s Office and told Minato that Aizen had left without killing or taking anyone, then introduced Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan as Minato’s junior disciples.
• Yahiko declared that he and the others belonged to Root and had come to help preserve peace, while Danzō explained he was leaving his post as a Konoha Elder to establish Root branches across the Ninja villages.
• Danzō told Minato that Aizen’s group had rebuilt Uzushiogakure and named it Las Noches.

At the ruins of Uzushiogakure, Aizen and Senju Tobirama discussed Orochimaru’s work and their strategy for investigating the force interfering with Chakra. They left the ruins planning to wait for Uchiha Madara to act and follow the preparations Aizen had left in Konoha.

• White-clad figures worked to restore Uzushiogakure’s ruins and study its records as Orochimaru departed.
• Aizen and Senju Tobirama watched Orochimaru leave, then discussed whether hatred and other negative emotions drove people forward.
• Aizen explained that he had created an object of hatred to direct research toward space and to protect Konoha’s role in their work.
• Aizen and Senju Tobirama agreed to keep investigating the hidden force behind Chakra and avoid alerting Uchiha Madara.
• Aizen said the preparations he had left in Konoha would lead Madara along a predetermined track, then entered the forest with Tobirama.

The Five Kage discussed ways to suppress the Moon Dream plague and judged Chakra Signal Towers the most practical solution, despite their enormous cost. Minato Namikaze offered Sunagakure one trillion for a trial-period buyout of its tower technology, leaving Rasa and the other Kage stunned.

• The major Shinobi Villages shared their research on Moon Dream and concluded that the moon's signal could not yet be shut down.
• Chiyo explained that Chakra Signal Towers could block Moon Dream within their coverage, though building and maintaining them would be expensive.
• The Kage compared proposed treatments and settled on Signal Towers as the strongest available option for most villages.
• Minato Namikaze asked Chiyo and Rasa whether Sunagakure would sell its tower technology or provide construction plans for review.
• Minato Namikaze offered one trillion for the trial-period buyout, and the other Kage stared at him in disbelief.

After a month as Hokage, Minato Namikaze discovered that Aizen’s departure had left Konoha with immense wealth, thriving industries, and a stable economy. He negotiated with Rasa over a trillion-ryo price for Sunagakure’s vital technologies and began to realize that the other villages saw Konoha as a prosperous promised land.

• Minato Namikaze reviewed Konoha’s finances and learned how Aizen’s policies, industries, and workers had made the village extraordinarily wealthy.
• Minato Namikaze realized Konoha’s leaders had tolerated and supported Aizen’s Unseen Court because it generated money and kept the village prosperous.
• Minato Namikaze saw Rasa offer Sunagakure’s Wisdom Core Technology and Life Revival Technology in exchange for a trillion ryo.
• Minato Namikaze considered the offer and recognized that Konoha’s wealth and stability had made it the world’s most desirable refuge.

Aizen moved his research group from Konoha to Uzushiogakure to prepare for threats he believed could come from the Moon or beyond, including a possible galactic-scale cleansing of the Ninja World. He planned to present his new technology as the start of a new era and make his defection appear to serve an ambitious, dangerous goal.

• Aizen concluded that his independent research team no longer needed Konoha and had established Las Noches in Uzushiogakure.
• Aizen and Senju Tobirama discussed the Moon's surveillance signals, possible Otsutsuki watchers, and the risk that the Ninja World could be destroyed.
• Aizen reasoned that he needed enough power to face whoever controlled the signals before making contact or revealing his true plans.
• Aizen proposed using his defection and new technology to announce the end of the age of ninja and the arrival of new professions.
• Senju Tobirama insisted that Aizen credit him for developing frame manufacturing technology, even if there might be no time to publicize it before fighting began.

As Konoha struggled to recover from Sosuke Aizen’s defection, Minato Namikaze worried that rival factions and Root would tear the village apart. At a Signal Tower construction site, he unexpectedly encountered the rogue Ninja Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo studying the tower.

• The other major villages learned that Sosuke Aizen had defected, but their weakened states and dependence on Konoha kept them from attacking.
• Minato Namikaze surveyed Konoha’s rival factions, including the 13th Division, the Mutual Aid Society, Tsunade’s clan alliance, and the rising Root.
• After reading a report of another clash between the 13th Division and the Mutual Aid Society, Minato Namikaze teleported to a Signal Tower construction site.
• Minato Namikaze found Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo, both listed as S-rank rogue Ninja, examining the tower and its network code.
• Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo noticed Minato Namikaze watching them.

Minato Namikaze was stunned when Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo calmly arrived at Konoha’s Chakra Signal Tower, inspected its technology, and walked into the village as if nothing had happened. Their casual return left Minato and the villagers unsure how to respond, while the three ended up eating ramen together.

• Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo greeted Minato Namikaze at the Chakra Signal Tower, leaving him awkward and angry.
• Kakashi inspected the tower, warned that its blueprints contained flaws, and activated its signal functions for Minato to experience.
• Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo discussed connecting the tower to Las Noches’s network and compared their fighting ranks.
• The two white-haired men entered Konoha openly with Minato, confusing the Uchiha guards and other villagers.
• Kakashi, Hatake Sakumo, and Minato ordered ramen at Ichiraku, where Kakashi chatted casually with Old Man Ichiraku about his work with Aizen.

At Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi Hatake explained to Minato Namikaze that Aizen’s group intended to replace the ninja system with a different power, and that they had to leave Konoha to do it. As Kagami arrived and a violent Chakra flared, Kakashi hinted that the next step was about to begin.

• Minato Namikaze watched as Tsunade, Dan Katō, and Orochimaru discussed leaving Konoha, while Orochimaru returned to retrieve research materials.
• Orochimaru apologized to Minato and said he would compensate Konoha for the materials he planned to use.
• Kakashi Hatake said he had come back partly to use the Chakra Signal Tower and partly to eat ramen instead of carrying out the destructive acts expected of rogue ninja.
• Kakashi explained that Aizen’s group planned to replace ninja with a different power system, and that defecting was necessary to avoid being absorbed into Chakra theory.
• Kakashi sensed Kagami’s arrival and looked toward Minato as violent Chakra began to flare.

Minato Namikaze teleported the assembled Konoha figures to a white space, where Kagami Uchiha confronted Hatake Sakumo over his grudge against Aizen. Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo revealed their elite Las Noches rankings, then Kakashi used Daiqu to move himself and his father away to face Kagami without endangering the others.

• Minato Namikaze teleported the group to a white space and revealed Kagami Uchiha, whose black Chakra surged as he glared at Hatake Sakumo.
• Hatake Sakumo learned the attacker was Kagami Uchiha, who said he needed revenge on Aizen for the pain he had inflicted.
• Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake explained that they ranked among Las Noches’ top twenty combatants and revealed their numbers: 06 and 17.
• Kagami Uchiha charged at Hatake Sakumo while Kakashi Hatake challenged Minato Namikaze and drew his blade.
• Kakashi Hatake called out “Bestow, Daiqu” and separated himself and Hatake Sakumo from the others to fight Kagami Uchiha away from the group.

Kakashi explained Kagami Uchiha’s soul-powered Hollowfication to Minato Namikaze while Hatake Sakumo fought Kagami inside Dan Katō’s barrier. After drawing out Minato with a conversation, Kakashi activated his Zanpakuto’s accumulated power and left their confrontation at a sudden, radiant turning point.

• Kakashi and Minato Namikaze arrived as Dan Katō’s Kido barrier contained Kagami Uchiha’s black flames.
• Kakashi explained that Kagami’s Hollowfication used emotional soul power to strengthen Chakra while undermining reason, as Hatake Sakumo faced Kagami within the barrier.
• Kagami Uchiha released his Bankai, turning the black flames into red-black waves that shattered the barrier, while Kakashi protected himself and Minato with Kido #81, Splitting Void.
• Kakashi told Minato that his Zanpakuto, Advance Borrowing, accumulated power while he remained still, then revealed he had used their conversation to build its strength.
• Minato Namikaze moved behind Kakashi and formed a chaotic sphere, but Kakashi pierced his own chest with his blade and murmured, “Bestow it, Daiqu,” as its light erupted.

Kakashi Hatake used Zanpakuto: Daiqu to become his future self and explained the Soul Reapers’ advantage over Ninja, but Minato Namikaze recognized him and attacked when he let his guard down. Their fight ended on a comic note as Minato used Thousand Years of Death.

• Kakashi Hatake released Zanpakuto: Daiqu, transformed into his future self, and challenged Minato Namikaze.
• Minato Namikaze attacked Kakashi Hatake with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, but Kakashi explained that ordinary Chakra Ninjutsu could not harm them.
• Kakashi Hatake described how Soul Reapers could suppress and absorb Chakra, then admitted Aizen had influenced his speech.
• Minato Namikaze noticed the fierce battle between Kagami Uchiha and Hatake Sakumo nearby while he and Kakashi awkwardly continued their exchange.
• When Kakashi Hatake shifted his gaze, Minato Namikaze rushed in and used Konoha Taijutsu Secret Technique: Thousand Years of Death.

Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake fought across shifting spaces, until Minato pierced Kakashi’s chest and believed he had killed him. Kakashi emerged from his corpse as a Soul Reaper and revealed that his true battle had only just begun.

• Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake exchanged blows as Kakashi explained that Daiqu strengthened him until he could achieve certain victory.
• The two fought with taijutsu across fractured spaces while Dan Katō, Tsunade, and Orochimaru watched from the Six Rods Prison.
• Minato Namikaze pierced Kakashi’s chest with his spatial Chakra Scalpel and panicked when Kakashi fell, apparently dead.
• Kakashi emerged from his corpse in a smaller form and told Minato Namikaze that Soul Reapers were ruled by their souls and truly began after their bodies died.
• Kakashi invoked Daiqu as figures of light appeared around Minato Namikaze and aimed their weapons at his vital points.

Sosuke Aizen and Senju Tobirama planned experiments to investigate the signals probing the Ninja World and the origins of its Chakra. Their research suggested that humanity might have been created through Wood Style Chakra, but they could trace no history earlier than the end of the mythological era.

• Aizen explained that the sealed-space fight would test whether the moon's observers reacted to powerful Chakra signals, and Tobirama reminded him to credit Kakashi Hatake and Hatake Sakumo for developing the technique.
• Aizen and Tobirama agreed that investigating the signals was urgent and discussed assigning forbidden technique research to the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans.
• Aizen described how the Sharingan and Byakugan behaved like transplantable, signal-emitting organs, and how he used Black Zetsu to study Yin-Yang Release and develop prosthetic bodies for the Soul Reapers of Las Noches.
• Aizen explained that Impure World Reincarnation let them trace history back only to the end of the mythological era, when the Ninjutsu Sect and Sage of Six Paths had sought to connect the world's people.
• Aizen revealed that people from that era carried high concentrations of Wood Style Chakra, suggesting that humans in the Ninja World had not arisen naturally and might have fallen from trees.

Aizen and Senju Tobirama compared evidence suggesting the Ninja World might be part of an alien harvesting cycle and argued over how to prepare for that threat. Tobirama left while Aizen continued studying Minato Namikaze’s struggle and the signals spreading through the battle.

• Aizen pieced together records about the Rabbit Goddess, the Divine Tree, and a lunar seal, and suspected that an ancient harvest had caused a historical rupture.
• Senju Tobirama reviewed Aizen’s evidence, agreed that a powerful external enemy might threaten the world, and joined Aizen’s research effort while remaining wary of him.
• Aizen and Senju Tobirama debated whether humanity should be pushed toward ever-greater power, with Tobirama warning that Aizen’s methods could create loveless beasts.
• Senju Tobirama left the room as Minato Namikaze remained suppressed on the monitor, and Aizen continued observing the Chakra and Soul Reaper signals.

Kakashi and Hatake Sakumo defeated Minato and Kagami while inspecting Konoha’s powers, and Kakashi revealed his doubts about the nature of Chakra and life. They left Minato with a warning about the stars, while Aizen watched the recording and reviewed documents as Uchiha Madara’s lifeline continued to pulse.

• Kakashi disrupted space and overpowered Minato, then explained that Soul Reapers could survive the death of their physical bodies.
• Kakashi exposed hidden monitoring devices and told Minato that he and Hatake Sakumo had been examining Konoha’s powers.
• Kakashi questioned whether Chakra users were truly independent lives or constructs, and challenged Minato to face that possibility and forge his own path.
• Hatake Sakumo joined Kakashi as the dark world vanished, and they departed after recording Konoha’s upper echelon’s Chakra characteristics and scattering opportunities in Konoha.
• Kakashi warned Minato that the stars in the sky were all enemies, then threatened to kill him if he remained naïve.
• Aizen switched off the recording and reviewed documents while Uchiha Madara’s lifeline continued to pulse on a monitor.

Three years after the Moon Dream crisis, the Chakra Signal Network connected the Ninja World while Root and Las Noches gained influence. In Konoha, Obito Uchiha escorted Rin Nohara to the Chunin Exams, where they encountered an intimidating Sunagakure ninja carrying his puppet wife.

• The Chakra Signal Network spread across the Ninja World, while Root became a powerful neutral organization and Las Noches recruited qualified researchers.
• Obito Uchiha walked with Rin Nohara to the Chunin Exams, and Rin limped after injuring herself in a realistic Simulation Network battle.
• Rin told Obito she hoped to join Las Noches as a researcher, and Obito encouraged her to keep trying.
• A Sunagakure ninja carrying a huge puppet snapped at Obito for insulting his wife, and the pair backed down when he swaggered away unchallenged.
• Obito and Rin continued toward the exam venue, wary of the Sand Ninja and his puppet.

The five major ninja villages and two major organizations prepared to hold a historic joint Chunin Exams and conference, reflecting the Ninja World's gradual shift toward cooperation after the Moon Dream. The Third Raikage, A, Shimura Danzō, and Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, arrived in Konoha, where old rivalries remained tense beneath diplomatic appearances.

• The villages and organizations agreed to jointly hold the Chunin Exams and rotate the event among their territories.
• The chapter described how Root and Las Noches had grown into influential powers and how their methods and conflicts reshaped the Ninja World.
• The Third Raikage, A, arrived at the conference and found Shimura Danzō already seated in the shadows.
• A and Shimura Danzō traded barbed remarks about Kumogakure's expansion, succession, and Root's recruitment of cloud ninja.
• The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, arrived and took his seat, immersing himself in the Chakra Network.

Minato Namikaze warned the gathered leaders that Konoha had discovered self-replicating mechanical beings underground, which could become an Infinite Army. The smaller factions left the meeting, while the five major village leaders stayed to discuss the threat.

• Minato Namikaze showed the leaders a damaged mechanical being Konoha had found underground, and Rasa and A ruled out Sunagakure and Las Noches as its makers.
• Minato Namikaze explained that the beings resisted attacks, repaired themselves, and created another body every seven days using Chakra and Nature Energy.
• Shimura Danzō dismissed the threat as insignificant compared with the crisis of peace and left the meeting, prompting the smaller villages and organizations to follow.
• Yagura Karatachi asked about the beings' replication, and Minato Namikaze revealed that 1,024 had appeared in a monitored mountain after seventy days and kept multiplying even when separated.
• Rasa remarked that Konoha should have revealed the discovery sooner.