Chapter Summaries

Aozora and Kisame competed to defeat Kirigakure rogue shinobi attacking a passenger ship, and Aozora claimed victory after striking the pirates with lightning. They reached the Land of Water’s waters, where Aozora summoned a Golden Winged Great Peng to help them travel toward the border.

• Aozora and Kisame discussed the strength they would need to establish a new world, then agreed to compete against pirates in the mist.
• Kisame summoned sharks that smashed the pirates’ ship and attacked the men in the water.
• Aozora summoned lightning from the clouds and destroyed the remaining pirates, then declared himself the winner.
• Aozora and Kisame continued toward the Land of Water, and Kisame explained that ships would be inspected by Kirigakure.
• Aozora caught up with Kisame at sea and summoned a Golden Winged Great Peng after asking whether he wanted to fly.

Aozora and Kisame assassinated the Daimyo’s third son in the Land of Water, but Kirigakure forces led by the Fourth Mizukage, Kagura, intercepted them as they escaped. Aozora began cutting through the ANBU while Kisame engaged Kagura, leaving the battle underway.

• Aozora used his crow genjutsu to put the castle’s outer guards to sleep, and he and Kisame killed the Daimyo’s third son before taking money and scrolls.
• Kisame covered their escape with a thick mist, but a powerful wind technique dispersed it and revealed Kagura with Kirigakure’s Shadow Guard and ANBU.
• Kisame recognized Kagura as the Fourth Mizukage and Three-Tails Jinchūriki, then fought him while the other Kirigakure ninja attacked Aozora.
• Aozora impaled one attacker with Earth Rising Spear and incinerated several more with a golden fireball, frightening the surrounding ANBU.

Aozora’s overwhelming Blaze Release and Kisame’s fight with Kagura exposed Obito’s plan to kill Aozora in the Land of Water. Kisame turned against Obito, but Obito appeared in person with his right eye filled with hatred and intent to destroy.

• Zetsu and Obito recognized that Aozora’s Blaze Release far surpassed ordinary ninjutsu, and Obito vowed not to let him leave the Land of Water alive.
• Kagura secretly reminded Kisame that he was Obito’s spy and urged him to attack Aozora as they fought.
• Kisame asked whether Obito still intended to create a world without betrayal, then used Thousand Feeding Sharks against the Kirigakure forces behind Aozora instead of harming Aozora.
• Kisame joined Aozora and declared that he had betrayed Obito because Obito had made him kill his own comrades.
• Obito appeared beside Kagura, confronted Kisame, and revealed a scarlet, hatred-filled gaze after laughing.

Aozora confronted Obito over his betrayals, then attacked him and Kagura with a powerful Great Fireball Technique. Obito phased through the attack and forced Kagura to transform into the Three-Tails, while Samehada broke free from Kisame, leaving the two allies facing a new threat.

• Aozora accused Obito of betraying his clan, village, comrades, and Kisame, and Kisame agreed that Obito had orchestrated Kirigakure’s suffering.
• Obito defended his plan to create an illusory world, but Aozora challenged his reasoning and Kisame sided with Aozora.
• Aozora launched a near-instant Great Fireball Technique at Obito and Kagura, and Kagura was blasted away and engulfed in flames.
• Obito phased through the fire and explained that Aozora’s attacks were futile, while Kisame warned Aozora about Obito’s Kamui and Wood Release.
• Obito drew out Kagura’s Tailed Beast Chakra, causing the Three-Tails to emerge and force Aozora and Kisame to retreat.
• Samehada burst free of its bandages and abandoned Kisame as the Three-Tails appeared.

Aozora and Kisame faced Obito and the Three-Tails after Samehada betrayed Kisame. Kisame blocked the Tailed Beast Ball with his Great Shark Bullet Technique, and Aozora trapped the flooded battlefield in a chakra-draining Barrier as he prepared to confront the Three-Tails and Obito.

• Samehada tried to crawl toward the unsealed Three-Tails, but Aozora burned it and Kisame sealed it away.
• Obito ordered the Three-Tails to fire a Tailed Beast Ball, and Kisame used his Great Shark Bullet Technique to meet it head-on.
• The collision caused a vast flood that submerged Aozora's scroll and scattered its contents, but Aozora assured Kisame that he had completed his preparations.
• Aozora raised chakra-infused hills around the forest, forming a Barrier that drained the chakra of everyone inside.
• Obito dismissed the Barrier as ineffective against his Kamui, while Aozora advanced toward the Three-Tails and declared that the place would still be Obito's burial ground.

Aozora overwhelmed Obito’s Three-Tails with a fire technique and a sword strike, leaving the beast unconscious in the water. Obito was left facing the consequences of his failed plan, while Kisame watched in shock.

• Obito sent a towering wave at Aozora, who countered with Great Fire Annihilation and filled the area with fire and steam.
• Obito used the Three-Tails’ wind to scatter the flames, then let Aozora’s cyan projectiles pass through his intangible body as they struck the beast’s shell.
• Aozora extended his sword through the mist and drove it into the Three-Tails’ exposed left eye, piercing into its head.
• The injured Three-Tails lost consciousness and collapsed into the water, while Kisame submerged himself to avoid Aozora’s flames.
• Kisame marveled at how quickly Aozora had defeated the Three-Tails, and Obito gritted his teeth as his plan unraveled.

Aozora and his allies attacked Obito with a coordinated deception, leaving him gravely wounded by Chidori and a poisoned Flying Thunder God strike. Realizing he had been fooled by false versions of Minato and Kakashi, Obito accepted his injuries as repayment to Minato, then unleashed his Wood Release to destroy the decoys.

• Aozora dispersed the mist and attacked Obito with a storm of Flying Swords, while Obito countered with Wood Release vines.
• A silver-haired figure disguised as Kakashi struck Obito with Chidori, exploiting his shock to pierce his chest before retreating.
• A blond figure disguised as Minato appeared behind Obito and severed half his neck with a poisoned Kunai using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• The fake Minato and Kakashi taunted Obito, who angrily recalled his conflict with them and said he was returning this life to Minato-sensei.
• Obito transformed half his body into a giant tree, whose branches pierced the fake Kakashi and Minato and revealed them as lightning and flames.

Aozora waited for Obito to revive after using Izanagi, then trapped him inside a living Golden Flame Dragon. Obito remained hidden in the Kamui Dimension to avoid the flames, while Kisame wondered whether Aozora’s ninjutsu was alive.

• Kisame found Aozora standing on the Three-Tails and learned that the masked opponent was not Uchiha Madara and had not been defeated.
• Aozora waited for Obito to revive, then forced him to emerge from the ground with Earth Release—Earth Rising Spear.
• Aozora confronted Obito about using Izanagi and attacked him with a Golden Flame Dragon.
• Obito tried to stop the flames with Wood Release, but the trees burned away before they could protect him.
• Obito entered Hollowfication to escape into the Kamui Dimension, but the Flame Dragon coiled around him and left him trapped in a vast sea of fire.
• Kisame joined Aozora and asked whether his Flame Dragon ninjutsu was alive.

Aozora trapped Obito in a sea of flames, exposed the weaknesses of his Mangekyo abilities, and revealed that he had never believed Obito was Uchiha Madara. As Obito waited for rescue, Black Zetsu ordered White Zetsu to intervene and began empowering him to use the Wood Golem Technique.

• Aozora explained how Obito's Kamui worked and taunted him, revealing that their first encounter had involved a Shadow Clone.
• Aozora said he knew Obito still had Izanagi available but let him stall, while Obito realized he could not escape the flames without help.
• White Zetsu moved underground to rescue Obito, but Aozora sensed him and attacked with Earth Spikes and Lightning Release.
• Black Zetsu ordered White Zetsu to use the Wood Golem Technique, and White Zetsu felt a strange Chakra grant him powerful Wood Release.

Aozora used Susanoo to overwhelm Zetsu’s Wood Human and destroy it with an explosive golden strike, then searched for the escaped Black Zetsu. He left Zetsu burned to ashes and approached Obito, who remained trapped by the sea of fire.

• Zetsu’s Wood Human charged through Aozora’s flames, but Aozora summoned a golden Susanoo and confronted it.
• Aozora’s Susanoo cut through the Wood Human’s fist and arm before its weapon became trapped in the growing vines.
• Aozora infused the trapped weapon with Chakra and detonated it, destroying the Wood Human and badly damaging Susanoo’s armor.
• Aozora found the dying Zetsu in the crater, burned him to ashes, and discovered that Black Zetsu had escaped.
• Aozora walked toward Obito, who was still trapped inside the sea of fire.

Aozora used a Fire Clone to force Obito to surrender his Mangekyō Sharingan, threatening to summon Rin Nohara’s soul with Impure World Reincarnation. Obito dug out his right eye and walked into the flames, where he saw Rin, while Aozora collected the eye and reflected on Obito’s life.

• Aozora’s Fire Clone confronted Obito in the flames and warned him against attempting to escape or fight back.
• The Fire Clone demanded Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan and threatened to control Rin’s soul with Impure World Reincarnation if he refused.
• Obito agreed to surrender his eye after securing a promise that Aozora would never control Rin’s soul.
• Obito dug out his right eye, then walked into the flames and saw Rin standing before him.
• Aozora collected Obito’s bloodstained eye after the golden flames vanished and lamented how others had manipulated Obito.

Aozora sealed the Three-Tails, but the Heavenly Book began absorbing its chakra and injured his meridians before Rebirth from Flames healed them. As Aozora rushed to Kisame’s battle with Kirigakure’s ninja, Mei Terumī and Ao reached the devastated battlefield and recognized an opportunity to change the village.

• Aozora sealed Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan in a scroll, then used Draw Ground as Prison and Adamantine Sealing Chains to seal the weakened Three-Tails.
• The Heavenly Book absorbed the Three-Tails’ chakra, cracking Aozora’s meridians until Rebirth from Flames repaired them and strengthened his body.
• Aozora sensed Kisame fighting Kirigakure’s main force and rushed to help him.
• Mei Terumī and Ao found the ruined battlefield, scorched earth fused into black glass, ANBU corpses, and the Three-Tails’ scent.
• Ao told Mei Terumī that the situation gave Kirigakure a chance, and she agreed that ending the Blood Mist was the village’s priority.

After learning that Aozora and Kisame had defected and killed Uchiha Madara, Pain planned to rebuild the Akatsuki Organization and weaken the nations before capturing the tailed beasts. Aozora invited Kisame to join a new organization called the Heavenly Court, and Kisame agreed.

• Zetsu reported Aozora and Kisame's defection, Madara's death, and the Three-Tails' capture to Pain and Konan, then described Aozora's powerful Blaze Release and Susanoo.
• Pain decided the Akatsuki Organization would keep a low profile, recruit Hidan and Deidara, and provoke a war to weaken the nations.
• Pain sent Konan and Kakuzu to recruit Hidan and went with Zetsu to recruit Deidara, while Sasori and Orochimaru continued their missions.
• Aozora asked Kisame to come to Konoha, but Kisame chose to remain a Kirigakure shinobi and offered to help him when needed.
• Aozora invited Kisame to join his new organization, and Kisame accepted; Aozora named it the Heavenly Court.

Aozora recruited Kisame into his planned Heavenly Court and tasked him with finding a flying fortress for its headquarters. After reporting Kisame’s defection from the Akatsuki Organization to Fugaku, Aozora heard Kyūdai argue that the Akatsuki Organization should be destroyed before it grew into another great ninja village.

• Aozora explained the Heavenly Court’s divine purpose to Kisame, promised to help him become a god, and named himself the Heavenly Emperor.
• Aozora tasked Kisame with locating the flying fortress once used by Sky Ninja Village and identified Shennong as a surviving member who might provide a lead.
• Aozora summoned Taiyi and had Kisame sign a Summoning Contract with the Ninja Crow Clan before they traveled to the Land of Fire and parted ways.
• Aozora reported to Fugaku that Kisame had refused to join Konoha but would avoid attacking its ninja and act on Aozora’s behalf.
• Fugaku approved of Aozora leaving the Akatsuki Organization and urged him to maintain his relationship with Kisame.
• Kyūdai argued that the Akatsuki Organization must be eliminated before it could become the sixth Great Ninja Village.

Fugaku and Aozora discussed how to counter the growing Akatsuki Organization, then Aozora returned home and reviewed his gains from the Land of Water. He transplanted Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan into his right eye, where its Yin Release Chakra began interacting with the chakra in his left eye.

• Fugaku decided to have the ANBU leak information about the Akatsuki Organization to the other shinobi villages so they would become wary of it.
• Aozora returned home exhausted and considered how Kisame’s defection and Obito’s death might slow the Akatsuki Organization.
• Aozora examined the Golden Droplets he had collected and the droplet-shaped mark forming as the Heavenly Book nurtured a divine seat from the Three-Tails.
• Aozora chose to transplant Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan rather than risk damaging it with a Transcription Seal.
• At the Sleeping Dragon Team’s ANBU base, Aozora removed his right eye and transplanted Obito’s Sharingan.
• Obito’s eye released Yin Release Chakra into Aozora, where it met and began fusing with the chakra in his left eye.

After transplanting Obito's Sharingan, Aozora awakened its Mangekyo and entered the Kamui Dimension, where he assessed its potential and searched for Obito's belongings. He found a stash of ninja tools and scrolls, including a gourd-shaped war fan.

• Aozora confirmed that Obito's transplanted Sharingan had adapted with little rejection, then used Flying Thunder God to travel to a secluded training ground.
• Aozora awakened the Mangekyo in his right eye and sensed that his perception of space-time and Chakra had changed.
• Aozora used Kamui to enter its alternate dimension, despite the strain and pain it caused his right eye.
• Aozora explored the barren dimension and concluded that its abundant Nature Energy and Kamui's gateway could make it useful for more than imprisoning people.
• Aozora searched the dimension for Obito's possessions and found ninja tools, scrolls, and a gourd-shaped war fan.

Aozora recovered the Uchiha Gunbai and two powerful barrier techniques from an alternate space, but Kamui left his right eye bleeding and failed to trigger the Heavenly Book. Back in Konoha, he met Itachi and decided to suspend his missions for a month so he could train him in a powerful ninjutsu.

• Aozora claimed the Flame Fan, removed its later-added chain, and used his Chakra and Weapon Control method to nurture it before storing it away.
• Aozora found the Uchiha Flame Formation and Six Crimson Sun Formation scrolls, but could not find a technique for controlling Tailed Beasts with the Sharingan.
• Aozora discovered Flying Thunder God could not reach the marks he had left in the Shinobi World, then returned to Konoha with Kamui and found his right eye bleeding.
• Aozora met Itachi at the ANBU base and learned that he and Shingo had taken over the Daimyo's black market and hidden shinobi villages for the Uchiha.
• Aozora urged Itachi to focus on improving his strength, confirmed that he could visualize the Karasu Tengu Dharma Form most of the time, and told him to rest from missions for a month before learning a powerful ninjutsu.

After Sunagakure invited Fugaku to attend its Joint Chunin Exams, Konoha agreed to participate and discussed using the gathering to build an alliance against the Akatsuki Organization. Fugaku approved sending Itachi and bringing Aozora, who planned to use the visit to scout Sunagakure.

• A Sunagakure Jonin delivered Rasa's invitation for Fugaku to attend the Joint Chunin Exams and discuss opposing the Akatsuki Organization.
• Aozora and Kyūdai explained that Sunagakure faced a serious threat from the Akatsuki Organization, and Fugaku agreed that cooperation would benefit both villages.
• Kyūdai proposed using the exams to showcase Konoha's strength, and Aozora suggested entering Izumi and Itachi.
• Fugaku accepted Aozora's plan to let Itachi compete as a Genin, despite Itachi being strong enough for promotion to Jonin.
• Aozora asked Fugaku for a place on the trip so he could visit Sunagakure and scout its resources, and Fugaku agreed.

Aozora led Itachi, Kabuto, and Hana to Sunagakure for the joint Chunin Exams, while Orochimaru learned that Itachi would attend and planned to target him. The chapter left Orochimaru preparing to infiltrate Sunagakure as his chosen Genin team entered the exams to kill Itachi.

• Izumi greeted Itachi at Konoha Gate and teased him about still being a Genin before their teams gathered to leave for the Chunin Exams.
• Itachi met his teammates Kabuto and Hana, and Aozora joined the group alongside two other Jonin leaders.
• Aozora asked the scar-faced Jonin for his name, and the man identified himself as Shirakumo Hayama.
• Guren told Orochimaru that Konoha would send Itachi and Aozora to Sunagakure, prompting Orochimaru to decide to go there himself.
• Orochimaru ordered Kimimaro, Tayuya, and Jirobo to enter the exams with the mission of killing Itachi, while Guren asked to accompany him and was refused.

Aozora arrived in Sunagakure with Itachi, Izumi, and the Konoha team, then watched the Chunin Exams begin. After the first test, the candidates entered a canyon for the second round, where a Sunagakure examiner warned he would eliminate the weak.

• Shirakumo Hayama led the Konoha team safely to Sunagakure, where Baki welcomed them and guided them to their lounge.
• Aozora took Itachi and Izumi sightseeing, spotted Kimimaro with Tayuya and Jirobo, and saw Kimimaro steer them away.
• Fugaku arrived under Shadow Guard protection, and Sunagakure began the Chunin Exams with Jonin watching the candidates cheat through surveillance feeds.
• Aozora gave Itachi a Kunai before joining the other Jonin in the spectator hall, where he joked about the examiners.
• The candidates entered the second exam site, where a burly Sunagakure examiner rebuked them, explained the rules, and sent them into the canyon to begin the hunt.