Chapter Summaries

Itachi killed his parents during the Uchiha Clan massacre, but Fugaku’s request to protect Sasuke broke his composure. After finding Ming Jing fighting the Masked Man, Itachi set off an explosion to lure the Masked Man away and waited as Sasuke approached the ruined compound.

• Itachi entered the room where Fugaku and Kotomi waited, and they accepted his choice rather than fight him.
• Fugaku asked Itachi to protect Sasuke, and Itachi killed his parents despite his grief.
• Itachi discovered Ming Jing battling the Masked Man and decided to help him escape.
• Itachi set off an explosion at his home, drawing the Masked Man away from Ming Jing.
• The Masked Man confirmed the massacre was complete and left for the Valley of the End, while Itachi waited for Sasuke to arrive.

Itachi completed the Uchiha Clan massacre, traumatized Sasuke, and warned Danzo to keep their agreement. After reporting to the Third Hokage, Itachi accepted that Konoha would brand him a rogue ninja and said he would follow a member of Akatsuki to ensure he kept his oath.

• Sasuke returned home, saw his parents' bodies, and was trapped in Itachi's Tsukuyomi, where he witnessed the massacre and fainted in hatred and confusion.
• Konoha's Anbu reported that the Uchiha Clan and Military Police Force had no survivors, while Kakashi and Might Guy went to investigate North Street.
• Danzo arrived with Root and ordered his forces to collect the Sharingan, but Itachi immobilized them and warned Danzo not to harm Sasuke or he would reveal their agreement.
• Itachi reported the massacre to the Third Hokage, who said Konoha would list him as a rogue ninja and pursue him.
• Itachi told the Third Hokage that he would follow a member of Akatsuki to make sure the man kept his oath.

After Izumi survived the attack, Ming Jing learned she might never speak again, while Konoha’s clans reckoned with the Uchiha Clan’s destruction. Koji Kurama and Hyuga Hiashi agreed to cooperate before joining the Third Hokage’s meeting about the events of the night.

• Mirai told Ming Jing that Izumi was out of danger but might never speak again, and Ming Jing went to see her.
• Hong Lian summoned Ming Jing to the council hall, where Koji Kurama asked whether he had been involved in the attack on the Uchiha Clan.
• Koji Kurama told Ming Jing that the Uchiha Clan had been destroyed, with only Second Pillar and the unconscious survivor at the Kurama compound remaining; Ming Jing said the attacker he encountered was not Itachi.
• Koji Kurama declined to attend the Hokage’s meeting with his uncle because he was exhausted, then traveled with Hong Lian and Hisashi Kurama.
• Koji Kurama met Hyuga Hiashi, and the two clan leaders agreed that their clans would cooperate at the meeting.
• Koji Kurama and Hyuga Hiashi joined the other clan representatives in the Hokage Office, where the Third Hokage began a discussion of the previous night’s events.

The Hokage meeting formally blamed Uchiha Itachi for the Uchiha Clan massacre and branded him an S-Rank Rogue Ninja. At the medical laboratory, Izumi Uchiha awakened with one Mangekyō Sharingan, learned the situation was dire, and fainted after breaking down.

• Danzo proposed naming Uchiha Itachi an S-Rank Rogue Ninja, and the Third Hokage confirmed Itachi was responsible for the massacre.
• Koji Kurama and Hyuga Hiashi agreed to the proposal, and the meeting designated Uchiha Itachi Konoha’s second S-Rank Rogue Ninja.
• Izumi Uchiha awakened and fought Takuo Kurama while trying to leave the medical laboratory.
• Ming Jing noticed that Izumi’s left eye had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and stopped the fight.
• Izumi wrote questions about her mother, Itachi, and the Uchiha Clan, and Ming Jing told her the situation was very bad.
• Izumi cried and fainted, so Ming Jing asked Mirai to explain matters to her after she recovered and slipped away with Takuo Kurama.

Ming Jing learned that Izumi’s Mangekyō Sharingan could enhance her speed and control the speed of others, then reunited with Hinata after two years away. He watched her demonstrate her Wing Chun training and encouraged her to keep developing it with Chakra.

• Ming Jing asked Takuo Kurama about Izumi’s Mangekyō ability, and Takuo explained that it increased her speed and could control an opponent’s speed.
• Ming Jing met Hinata at the Kurama Clan compound, apologized for worrying her, and promised he would not leave for so long again.
• Ming Jing learned that Hinata had practiced Wing Chun regularly and sparred with her in the training room.
• Hinata told Ming Jing that Neji had helped her practice, and Ming Jing praised her skill and suggested they keep working on combining Wing Chun with Chakra.

Ming Jing reunited with Yakumo and the others, then learned that Danzo wanted to expand Root after the Uchiha Clan massacre. He recognized Danzo’s plan to take over the Military Police Force’s duties and said he would intervene if necessary.

• Yakumo scolded Ming Jing for not visiting her after returning, but forgave him after learning Hinata’s father had told her about his return.
• Ming Jing escorted Hinata to the Hyuga Clan compound, where Neji discussed his likely teammates, Rock Lee and Tenten, and praised their abilities.
• Ming Jing thanked Neji for guiding Hinata, then returned home with Yakumo and her companions.
• Koji Kurama told Ming Jing that the village had identified Uchiha Itachi as the Uchiha Clan massacre’s culprit and that Danzo wanted to expand Root.
• Ming Jing concluded that Danzo aimed to take over the Military Police Force’s responsibilities and warned that the Third Hokage might yield; he said he would step in if necessary.

Izumi learned that Sasuke had survived the Uchiha massacre and decided to care for him, while Ming Jing urged her to help save Itachi. In a meeting at the Hokage Building, Danzo proposed rebuilding the Konoha Military Police Force under his control, but several clan leaders opposed him.

• Izumi told Ming Jing that she did not believe Itachi had attacked her and revealed that her new eyes could control speed.
• Izumi tested Ming Jing’s trustworthiness and learned from him that Sasuke was alive and at Konoha Hospital.
• Izumi chose to go to the hospital to care for Sasuke, and Ming Jing agreed to take her, saying she might be able to save Itachi.
• Danzo proposed rebuilding the Konoha Military Police Force and placing it under his training, but Koji Kurama and Hizashi Hyuga challenged his plan.
• Shibi Aburame opposed rebuilding the force and revealed his resentment that Torune had not returned home since joining Root.

Ming Jing entered Sasuke’s mental world to investigate the lingering effects of Itachi’s Genjutsu and found Itachi’s remnant repeating the Uchiha massacre. As Itachi attacked them inside Tsukuyomi, Ming Jing brought Sasuke back to his senses and prepared to show him how to break the illusion.

• Izumi visited Sasuke in the hospital, and Kabuto Yakushi told Ming Jing that Sasuke’s body was unharmed but his mind had suffered a severe blow.
• Ming Jing suspected Itachi had left something behind in the Genjutsu and used Tōshō Daigongen to enter Sasuke’s blood-red mental world.
• Ming Jing found Sasuke reliving the night of the Uchiha Clan’s massacre and confronted Itachi’s cold, lingering remnant.
• Itachi declared Ming Jing his enemy and attacked Sasuke, while Ming Jing realized Itachi controlled the illusion and prevented him from using ninjutsu.
• Ming Jing pulled Sasuke away from Itachi’s attacks, then helped Sasuke regain his senses and said he would show him how to break Tsukuyomi.

Ming Jing broke through Itachi’s layered Genjutsu and learned that Itachi had joined Akatsuki to monitor Madara Uchiha, then stopped himself from pursuing him to protect his cover. He went to the Hokage Building and forced Konoha’s leaders to prioritize investigating the Uchiha massacre, leaving the proposed Military Police Force rebuild suspended.

• Ming Jing used Tōshō Daigongen to take control of Itachi’s Genjutsu, but a crack in the blood-red moon forced him to hurry into the Valley of the End.
• Itachi thanked Ming Jing for saving Izumi, explained that he had joined Akatsuki to monitor Madara Uchiha, and warned him about the organization and its leader’s Rinnegan.
• Konan welcomed Itachi to Akatsuki, gave him the Suzaku ring and uniform, and led him away from the Valley of the End.
• Ming Jing awoke at Konoha Hospital, learned Sasuke was safe, and chose not to pursue Itachi so he would not expose him.
• Ming Jing entered the Hokage meeting as the Land of Fire’s Prime Minister, condemned the Uchiha massacre, and ordered Konoha to capture the murderer.
• Ming Jing rebuked the leaders for debating the Military Police Force instead of investigating, then ordered them to pursue the killer and halted plans to rebuild the force.

Ming Jing questioned Konoha’s leaders about Uchiha Itachi and ordered the village’s chunin to register their information at the Royal Capital. The meeting ended with the Third Hokage and the others facing a one-month deadline, while Danzo planned to substitute fake files.

• Ming Jing asked the Third Hokage to explain Uchiha Itachi’s history and why he had massacred the Uchiha Clan and defected.
• Danzo, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura blamed the Uchiha’s blood, while the Third Hokage recalled that Itachi had once seemed capable of thinking like a Hokage.
• Ming Jing proposed having Konoha’s chunin and jonin register information at the Royal Capital, but Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Shibi Aburame, and Koji Kurama objected over security concerns.
• The Third Hokage suggested surveying the ninjas, and Ming Jing compromised by requiring only chunin to register.
• Ming Jing ordered the Third Hokage to deliver files on all Konoha chunin to the Royal Capital within one month, then left for the capital.
• Danzo left the meeting intending to replace the real files with fake ones.

Itachi arrived in the Land of Rain and joined Akatsuki after defeating Juzo Biwa in a genjutsu trial. Juzo accepted Itachi as his partner and took him to a restaurant, where he explained that many residents of Amegakure were former followers of its slain leader whom Pain did not trust.

• Konan brought Itachi to meet Pain, and explained Akatsuki's two-person teams and mission rules.
• Juzo Biwa attacked Itachi to test him, but Itachi used the Mangekyō Sharingan to make Juzo believe he had killed him.
• Itachi appeared behind Juzo with a kunai and asked Pain whether he could kill him; Pain allowed it if Itachi could find a better partner.
• Itachi spared Juzo, who accepted him as his companion and described Akatsuki's other teams, including Orochimaru and Sasori.
• Juzo took Itachi to a restaurant and told him that Pain distrusted many Amegakure residents who had surrendered after Pain killed the village's former leader.

Akira Kurama traveled to Amegakure to confront Pain over the attack on his residence and the abduction of his subordinates. Nagato sent three Paths of Pain to meet him, and the chapter ended with Deva Path Pain questioning whether their conflict was driven by bonds and revenge.

• White Zetsu and Black Zetsu told Deva Path Pain and Konan that Akira Kurama was heading to the Land of Rain to challenge him.
• Akira Kurama reached Amegakure, called Pain out, and activated Sage Mode as three Paths of Pain approached.
• Nagato told Konan not to interfere and sent three Paths of Pain to face Akira Kurama.
• Uchiha Itachi went with Juzo Biwa to watch the confrontation, while Sasori sent a puppet bird after Orochimaru warned him not to interfere.
• Akira Kurama accused Pain of invading his residence, threatening his subordinates, and abducting hundreds of millions, and Deva Path Pain replied that revenge born from bonds would lead to further revenge.

Ming Jing rejected Deva Path Pain’s plan to end wars by making every nation experience catastrophic pain, arguing that peace required cooperation among the Five Great Nations. Pain then ordered his forces to attack, and Ming Jing quickly disabled Asura Path and sent the Rampaging Rhino crashing into a swamp, but Asura Path prepared to fire a laser cannon.

• Deva Path Pain asked Ming Jing how wars between nations could be ended, and Ming Jing said third-party mediation could help small nations while wars between great nations were too difficult to predict.
• Pain proposed giving forbidden weapons to every nation so mass casualties would make the world fear war, but Ming Jing rejected his extreme plan and called for a peace agreement among the Five Great Nations.
• Pain told Ming Jing to feel pain, and Ming Jing drew the Azure Luan Blade as Asura Path and a summoned Rampaging Rhino attacked him.
• Ming Jing used Wind Release to pin Asura Path down and used Earth Release to send the Rampaging Rhino tumbling into a swamp.
• Asura Path revealed a laser cannon from the top of its head while Juzo Biwa and Itachi watched the fight.

Ming Jing survived Pain’s devastating attacks by using the Wind King Barrier and Reverse Summoning, then tricked Deva Path Pain with a Genjutsu clone. The battle continued with Deva Path Pain realizing his attempt to strike Ming Jing had failed.

• Ming Jing blocked Deva Path Pain’s laser attack with the Wind King Barrier and sent him flying with Storm Hammer.
• Animal Path rescued Asura Path, and the two Paths bombarded Ming Jing’s position with shells and missiles for three minutes.
• Ming Jing emerged unharmed after using Reverse Summoning, while the observers realized he had left a Shadow Clone on Mount Myōboku.
• Deva Path Pain used Banshō Ten'in to pull Ming Jing toward him, but his black rod passed through a Genjutsu clone.
• Deva Path Pain recognized that he had pulled in a clone as Ming Jing’s real body remained elusive.

Ming Jing fought Deva Path Pain, who used his abilities and a summoned chameleon to trap and attack him. When Ming Jing launched a barrage of wind blades, Pain revealed the Mirror Attacker Technique, creating a shadow copy that defended against the attack and unleashed a fire dragon.

• Ming Jing attacked Deva Path Pain with a wind blade, but Pain repelled him and Asura Path trapped him with a summoned chameleon.
• Ming Jing destroyed Asura Path’s rockets with lightning, cut the chameleon’s tongue, and dodged Pain’s black iron rods.
• Pain pulled Ming Jing close, but Asura Path blocked Ming Jing’s wind attacks as Pain launched another rod at him.
• Pain used Shinra Tensei from a distance, and Ming Jing endured the force before counterattacking with nearly a thousand wind blades.
• Pain cast the Mirror Attacker Technique, and Shadow Ming Jing blocked most of the wind blades with earth walls and attacked with a fire dragon.
• Ming Jing summoned a water dragon to collide with Shadow Ming Jing’s fire dragon, filling the battlefield with mist.

Ming Jing fought Deva Path Pain in the mist-covered battlefield while insisting that he wanted to see Konan. Deva Path Pain claimed Konan had died and blamed Ming Jing for her death, but Ming Jing refused to believe him as their battle continued.

• Juzo Biwa and Itachi watched the misty battlefield as Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu discussed why Ming Jing had come to fight Pain.
• Ming Jing used Sage Mode to locate Deva Path Pain and the Asura Path, then destroyed Shadow Ming Jing and pinned the Asura Path with Barrier: Hundred Step Railing.
• Ming Jing told Deva Path Pain that he wanted to see Sister Konan, but Pain replied that Konan had died four years earlier.
• Deva Path Pain blasted Ming Jing away with Shinra Tensei and blamed him for Konan's death, while Ming Jing insisted that Konan could not be dead.
• Deva Path Pain attacked again with Shinra Tensei as Ming Jing blocked his black rod with the Azure Luan Blade.

Ming Jing survived Deva Path Pain’s devastating attack by using a rock decoy and escaped into Amegakure, where Pain’s forces began searching for him. Nagato and Konan discussed how much more elusive Ming Jing had become.

• Ming Jing avoided Shinra Tensei by sinking underground, then Deva Path Pain pulled him into an Asura Path rocket attack that left a human-shaped figure burning in the crater.
• Juzo Biwa left the battlefield, Itachi stayed behind, and Sasori and Orochimaru considered what they could learn from the fight.
• Deva Path Pain discovered the burning figure was a rock and ordered the Animal Path to find Ming Jing.
• The Animal Path summoned the Yata Crow and Split Dog, which tracked Ming Jing into Amegakure as Deva Path Pain charged after them.
• Nagato told Konan that Ming Jing had become much more slippery, and Konan accepted that as a good thing.

Ming Jing infiltrated Akatsuki’s headquarters and bargained with Orochimaru for directions to Konan, giving him three tubes of blood. After escaping the Six Paths of Pain, he reached Konan and greeted her, while Nagato watched grimly.

• Ming Jing evaded the Split Dog and slipped into the village sewers to avoid Nagato’s Rain Tiger At Will Technique.
• Ming Jing encountered Orochimaru, traded three tubes of blood for directions to Konan, and followed him through the sewers.
• Orochimaru led Ming Jing to an exit near the building where the Six Paths of Pain first appeared.
• Human Path and Deva Path attacked Ming Jing, but he escaped by making his body vanish with Genjutsu.
• Ming Jing entered the hall and greeted Konan as Nagato watched with a grim expression.

Ming Jing reunited with Konan in Amegakure and asked her to return to the Land of Fire, but she refused and reaffirmed her commitment to Nagato and their cause. Obito escorted Ming Jing out of the village, then ordered his allies to keep watching him after failing to recruit him.

• Nagato surrounded Ming Jing with the Six Paths of Pain, while Konan refused his request to speak with her alone.
• Ming Jing invited Konan to help with the alliance among the Land of Fire, the Land of Grass, the Land of Waterfalls, and the Land of Rice, but she declined.
• Ming Jing told Konan that seeing her alive was already a reward, and she admitted she was fine before he left.
• Konan and Nagato discussed Ming Jing’s path, with Konan hoping he could succeed and Nagato insisting that peace required people to experience pain.
• Obito met Ming Jing beneath the eaves and escorted him to Amegakure’s entrance after deciding to let him leave.
• Black Zetsu criticized Obito for failing to kill or recruit Ming Jing, but Obito ordered his allies to keep watching him.

Shin Abe delivered a huge iron object that Ming Jing had ordered, and it destroyed the reception hall when he released it from its sealing scroll. Ming Jing, Yuexi, and Qing Yan traveled to the railway’s mountain terminus, where Yuexi prepared to reveal the object as a solution to the construction obstacle.

• Shin Abe delivered a sealed scroll to Ming Jing, who opened it and released a massive iron object that crushed the reception hall.
• Yuexi recognized the object as something Ming Jing had ordered, and Shin Abe arranged for her to settle the remaining payment before leaving.
• Ming Jing told Yuexi and Qing Yan to prepare to bore through the mountain so the railway could be completed.
• Ming Jing, Yuexi, and Qing Yan traveled to the railway terminus, where Sakai described the construction plans and the mountain blocking the route.
• Yuexi warned the workers to step back and began the Hand Seals to release the object from its scroll.