Recaps

Kazuna manipulated Akatsuki and the other villages while gathering the power of multiple Tailed Beasts and strengthening Konohagakure. The arc ended with Kazuna openly defying envoys from the great villages and the Land of Fire, who realized Konoha held four Tailed Beasts.

• Kazuna attended the Chunin Exams in Kumogakure, where an Akatsuki attack captured the Two-Tails and the villages’ representatives argued over his claim to the Hokage title.
• Kazuna confronted Orochimaru, defeated the reanimated Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and obtained knowledge of Impure World Reincarnation before Orochimaru escaped.
• Kazuna formed the Hawk Squad to hunt Akatsuki, then secretly worked with Akatsuki to acquire the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Four-Tails while warning Konan about the forces manipulating Nagato.
• Obito stole Kakashi’s Sharingan and recruited Orochimaru and Danzo to oppose Kazuna, while Kazuna returned to Konohagakure and ordered its security strengthened.
• Danzo and Orochimaru agreed to cooperate against Kazuna, as envoys from the great villages and the Land of Fire gathered to confront Konoha’s growing independence.
• Kazuna rejected the envoys’ demands, defended the Uchiha’s standing, and admitted he had bought the Two-Tails and Four-Tails from Akatsuki, while refusing to return the Three-Tails.
• The village representatives learned that Kazuna possessed the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Four-Tails, while Konohagakure already held the Nine-Tails.

Kazuna led Konohagakure through a war against the other major villages, using force and negotiation to secure their retreat and compensation. The war ended with a ten-year truce, while the Kage turned their attention to Akatsuki and Konohagakure’s internal factions continued to shift.

• Kazuna refused to sell the Two-Tails and Four-Tails on humiliating terms, and the other villages formed an alliance against Konohagakure.
• Kazuna led Konohagakure’s forces against Iwagakure, destroying its Beehives and defeating thousands of shinobi.
• Kazuna fought Kumogakure with Fugaku and the Three-Tails, then drove the Raikage’s forces to withdraw.
• Kazuna offered to end the war in exchange for compensation, but fighting continued as Konohagakure attacked Iwagakure and Kirigakure.
• Kazuna and Konohagakure’s forces routed Kirigakure, while Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Fugaku held off attacks from the other villages.
• At peace talks, the Kage agreed to compensate Konohagakure and avoid war for ten years.
• Kazuna shared limited information about Akatsuki, and the Kage agreed to negotiate over the Six-Tails in Amegakure before considering an attack.
• Kazuna appointed Pakura an elder, while Naoto Nara rejected Shikaku Nara’s attempt to recruit him and split the Ino-Shika-Cho faction.

Kazuna strengthened Konohagakure by exploiting the war, expanding its territory, and securing control of several Tailed Beasts while confronting threats from Hiruko and Orochimaru. As rival villages gathered for the Chunin Exams, Naruto and Sasuke trained toward greater strength, and the Genin entered the first round.

• Kazuna arranged for the Uchiha to collect White Zetsu and Kirigakure corpses, then absorbed their life energy to strengthen himself and grow the Divine Tree’s fourth fruit.
• The allied forces fought Pain at Amegakure, while Konohagakure took two cities from the Land of Fire and Kazuna ordered the nobles beheaded and the cities placed under his rule.
• Obito captured the Seven-Tails and Five-Tails, but Kazuna took the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki and Six-Tails Jinchuriki for himself and planned to obtain the Five-Tails’ chakra.
• Konohagakure’s shinobi defeated Hiruko’s monsters, and Itachi awakened Mangekyo Sharingan before Orochimaru and Hiruko escaped.
• Kazuna confronted Orochimaru and Hiruko, defeated the reincarnated Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and ordered ID Cards for residents of Konohagakure and its two auxiliary cities.
• Kazuna arranged a Chunin Exam and Kage Summit, while the villages ordered their Genin to fight and kill enemies, after some considered withdrawing, all of the Konoha 12 enrolled.
• Jiraiya pushed Naruto to draw on the Nine-Tails’ chakra, while Sasuke contracted with the Ninja Cat Clan and Kazuna urged him to become Naruto’s friend.
• Kazuna told Sasuke about Naruto’s parentage and Jinchuriki power, but Itachi refused Sasuke’s wish to become a Jinchuriki, and Kakashi then announced the written first round, and the Genin entered the examination hall.

Kazuna exposed and defeated the alliance that invaded Konohagakure, then turned the village’s victories into a wider campaign against Kumogakure and Iwagakure. As the Fifth Shinobi World War began, Naruto and Gaara led their tailed beasts into battle while Obito continued pursuing the Eight-Tails.

• Kazuna confronted Orochimaru and the allied Kage during the Chunin Exams, revealed he had anticipated the invasion, and fought them as their forces attacked Konohagakure.
• Mei Terumi revealed Kirigakure’s secret support for Konohagakure, and Kazuna survived a powerful attack that shattered his Susanoo while the enemy leaders escaped.
• Kazuna reorganized the village’s forces, while Pakura and Gaara exposed Sunagakure’s leaders for conspiring with Orochimaru and Gaara became the Fifth Kazekage.
• Kirigakure and Sunagakure joined Konohagakure’s war against Kumogakure and Iwagakure, while Kazuna confronted Hiruzen and Danzo and accused them of betraying Minato and harming the Uchiha.
• Kazuna revived Hashirama and Tobirama through Impure World Reincarnation, then sent Hashirama to protect a child as Obito defeated the Eight-Tails with the Zetsu.
• Killer B attacked Kazuna, offered an alliance in exchange for the Raikage, and threatened Konohagakure with Tailed Beast Bombs, but Kazuna answered with a colossal Susanoo.
• Obito’s group failed to capture the real Eight-Tails, and the Fifth Shinobi World War began with Jiraiya’s force attacking Iwagakure as Gaara and Naruto brought their tailed beasts into the battle.