Chapter Summaries

Aozora persuaded Roshi to join the Heavenly Court as a Divine General and studied two newly formed divine positions. After Itachi reported that someone had secretly watched him and Tsunade near Takigakure, Aozora suspected Zetsu and ordered the Black Market intelligence monitored.

• Aozora explained his beliefs about the tailed beasts, and Roshi agreed to join the Heavenly Court as a Divine General.
• Aozora examined two new divine positions and chose to divide them so he could grant godhood to two people.
• Itachi and Tsunade returned to Lingxiao Palace with Roshi and reported that the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki capture was complete.
• Tsunade asked Aozora to spare Fū, and he promised he would.
• Itachi told Aozora that someone had secretly watched him and Tsunade near Takigakure, so Aozora suspected Zetsu and ordered the Black Market intelligence monitored.

Rumors that Konoha had seized several Tailed Beasts spread through the Black Markets, prompting Orochimaru and Zetsu to fuel suspicion against Konoha. Nagato headed for Hozuki Castle to investigate a monster said to withstand Aozora’s Blaze Release, while Aozora discovered that the rumors were almost entirely true.

• Orochimaru ordered Guren to spread intelligence in Amegakure claiming Konoha had attacked Takigakure and that Konoha had secretly created the Akatsuki Organization.
• Black Market informants in Amegakure recorded and relayed rumors accusing Konoha of gathering Tailed Beasts and weakening rival villages.
• Zetsu told Nagato and Konan that ninja impersonating the Akatsuki had taken Takigakure’s Seven-Tails, and that the attackers may have included Konoha and Sunagakure ninja.
• Zetsu urged Nagato to spread claims that Konoha also held the Three-Tails, reasoning that rival villages would unite against Konoha.
• Nagato and Konan set out for Hozuki Castle after Zetsu described a monster there that could withstand Aozora’s Blaze Release.
• Aozora reviewed the report in the Hokage’s Office and realized the rumors were mostly accurate, except for the claim that Konoha had founded the Akatsuki Organization.

Aozora, Fugaku, and Kyūdai discussed rumors linking Konoha to the Akatsuki Organization and the missing Three-Tails and Seven-Tails. Aozora proposed using a Kage Summit to clarify the accusations, and Fugaku agreed to wait until another village called for it.

• Aozora and Kyūdai dismissed the rumors as slander, while Fugaku explained that Konoha had ties to the Akatsuki Organization through Jiraiya’s former students.
• Fugaku said the other shinobi villages were spreading the rumors to contain Konoha, and Aozora explained that Konoha’s strength—not public opinion—was driving their suspicion.
• Fugaku worried the Akatsuki Organization could manipulate tensions into a war, and Aozora assured him it would not have time to sow discord.
• Aozora proposed convening a Kage Summit to clarify the accusations, and Kyūdai and Fugaku approved his plan.
• Aozora advised Fugaku to wait and let another Kage call for the summit, and Fugaku agreed.

Aozora agreed to become Naruto and Sasuke’s Jonin instructor and prepared to help selected Uchiha advance their Blaze Release. At Training Ground 35, Inabi began the risky breakthrough process using lava flames.

• Fugaku asked Aozora to instruct Naruto and Sasuke after they graduated early, and Aozora agreed.
• Kyūdai asked about the Blaze Release advancement method, so Aozora arranged the first session for ten selected ninjas at Training Ground 35.
• Two days later, Mugen guarded the training ground while Aozora entered to oversee the advancement session with Kabuto.
• Aozora summoned a stone burning with golden lava flames and gave Inabi the secret technique for breaking through.
• Inabi studied the instructions, sat before the flames, and endured the burning pain as he began tempering himself.

Aozora and Kabuto helped Uchiha ninjas temper their Fire Release Chakra with Lava Flame to awaken Blaze Release, treating Inabi when the process damaged his meridians. Six Uchiha succeeded in one day, and Fugaku celebrated the rise of a powerful new force within the clan.

• Inabi endured repeated Chakra tempering until Aozora noticed his meridians were badly damaged and ordered him to stop.
• Kabuto used an improved Life Reaper Death Seal to restore Inabi's meridians, allowing him to complete one more round and awaken Blaze Release.
• Aozora stopped Inabi's training once his Chakra had transformed, then had a medical ninja carry him away to recover.
• Shingo entered next and succeeded in cultivating Blaze Release after enduring the tempering process.
• Aozora reported that six out of ten in the first group had succeeded, while Fugaku imagined the Uchiha gaining dual Bloodline Limits and forming Blaze Release squads.

Aozora tested his newly strengthened Iron Body, continued training, and met Cloud shinobi Darui at the Hokage Building. He learned that the Raikage had called a Kage Summit in the Land of Waterfalls to demand answers about the missing Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts, and Fugaku asked whether he was prepared.

• Aozora tested his Iron Body by cutting himself with the Immortal Slaying Sword and striking himself with Chidori, confirming his powerful defense and strength.
• Aozora trained Earth Release and used gravity and repulsion to fly to the Hokage Building.
• Aozora encountered Darui outside the Hokage's Office, and Darui recognized him as a dangerous shinobi and resolved to report back to the Raikage.
• Kyūdai showed Aozora the Raikage's letter inviting Fugaku to a Kage Summit in the Land of Waterfalls to address rumors about missing Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts.
• Aozora inferred that the Raikage intended to claim he was upholding justice, and Fugaku asked whether Aozora was prepared; Aozora confidently nodded.

Nagato destroyed Hozuki Castle to claim the Box of Paradise and released the monster Satori, transforming it into a powerful Summoning Beast. He left with Konan and Zetsu, planning to use Satori against Uchiha Aozora while carrying the box to restrain it.

• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to reduce Hozuki Castle to ruins, then found the Box of Paradise with Konan and Zetsu.
• Nagato pulled four Kusagakure elders close and took their memories while Konan defeated Mui and the Grass Ninja.
• Nagato opened the Box of Paradise by feeding it Chakra, releasing the monster Satori.
• Satori tried to flee, but Nagato captured and transformed it with his Rinnegan, giving it enormous strength and a pair of Rinnegan.
• Zetsu warned that Satori would eventually break free as it absorbed malice, so Konan sealed the Box of Paradise for Nagato to carry.
• Nagato, Konan, and Zetsu left Hozuki Castle and flew south with Satori contracted.

Fugaku finalized his plans to attend the Kage Summit with a small guard team, while the other villages prepared their own delegations. The leaders set out or chose their escorts, leaving the summit’s competing agendas unresolved.

• Fugaku agreed to bring a few more elite ninja after Torifu and the others raised concerns, but kept Aozora, Iroha, and the Shadow Guard as his core escorts.
• The Fourth Raikage dismissed Mabui’s warnings about Konoha and ordered Killer B and Yugito to accompany him to protect them from the Akatsuki Organization.
• Mei Terumī departed Kirigakure with Ao, Utakata, and ANBU, then threatened Ao after he mentioned her marriage prospects.
• Ōnoki chose Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi to accompany him, while Rasa selected Chiyo and Baki for the summit and left Ebizo to protect Gaara.

Fugaku, Aozora, and Iroha attended the Five Kage Summit in Akita City, where the other villages agreed to confront Konoha over the Akatsuki Organization. The meeting ended with Konoha facing accusations from every other village and standing alone against them.

• Fugaku left Tekka and the Shadow Guard at a castle outside Akita City before entering the city with Aozora and Iroha.
• Mei Terumī, Ao, and Utakata met the Konoha group, and the Five Kage and Takigakure's leader gathered in the Meeting Room.
• A and Ōnoki argued before Mei Terumī redirected the meeting toward the Akatsuki Organization and its capture of several Jinchūriki.
• A accused Konoha of harboring Akatsuki members, while Mei Terumī and Suigetsu questioned Fugaku about the flames used in attacks on their villages.
• Rasa and Ōnoki added accusations involving Zetsu's Wood Release and Konoha's lack of losses, leaving the other villages united against Konoha.

At the Kage Summit, Fugaku rejected accusations that Konoha was connected to the Akatsuki Organization and demanded that the other villages account for their own ties to it. He turned suspicion toward Cloud, prompting the enraged Raikage to attack him.

• As the Kage Summit grew tense, Fugaku laughed at the accusations and declared that the Five Kage were foolish to slander Konoha without evidence.
• Fugaku and Aozora released their intimidating auras, while A activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and threatened to destroy Konoha and the Akatsuki Organization.
• Mei Terumī calmed the confrontation, and Fugaku argued that Konoha had been attacked by the Akatsuki Organization just like Iwagakure and Kirigakure.
• When A challenged Konoha over the scorched Three-Tails battlefield, Aozora compared the evidence to blaming Cloud whenever lightning killed a shinobi.
• Fugaku pointed out that Cloud alone among the Five Great Shinobi Villages had avoided conflict with the Akatsuki Organization and demanded that A explain the connection.
• Furious at Fugaku's accusation that Cloud had secretly founded the Akatsuki Organization to dominate the Shinobi World, A charged at him.

The Fourth Raikage A attacked Fugaku at the Kage Summit, but Aozora stopped him and overpowered him in a clash of fists. As A charged again, Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan briefly trapped the room in a genjutsu, and Aozora ended the chapter holding the Raikage by the throat.

• A activated Lightning Release Chakra Mode and charged Fugaku, while the other Kage rushed to defend themselves.
• Aozora stepped between A and Fugaku and met the Raikage’s punch with his own, sending A crashing through the stone wall.
• A returned to the Meeting Room and attacked Aozora again as Fugaku awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and cast a genjutsu over the gathered ninjas.
• Aozora seized A by the throat and lifted him into the air.

Nagato and his allies decided to target the Six-Tails Jinchūriki while the Kage Summit was underway. At the summit, Aozora subdued the Fourth Raikage after he attacked, and Fugaku rejected Cloud's threats as the confrontation escalated.

• Nagato learned that the Kage Summit had begun and decided the Akatsuki would capture the Six-Tails Jinchūriki first.
• Fugaku's Mangekyō Dōjutsu briefly froze the Fourth Raikage, allowing Aozora to seize him by the neck.
• Killer B and Yugito attacked Aozora, but stopped when he threatened to burn through the Fourth Raikage's neck.
• Ōnoki and Rasa urged the Hokage to show mercy, while Mei warned that the Raikage's death could spark a war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning.
• Yugito threatened that Cloud would fight Konoha if the Raikage were harmed, and Fugaku declared that Konoha accepted no threats.

At the Kage Summit, Fugaku insisted Konoha would not yield to threats, and Aozora severed the Fourth Raikage’s right arm after he refused to apologize. After the Kumogakure shinobi left, Fugaku refused to adjourn and pressed the remaining Kage to continue discussing the destruction of the Akatsuki Organization.

• Mei Terumī, Ōnoki, and Rasa urged Fugaku to spare the Fourth Raikage and focus on the Akatsuki Organization, while A refused to apologize.
• Fugaku upheld Konoha’s dignity, and Aozora used Immortal Slaying to sever A’s right arm.
• A threatened revenge, prompting Aozora and Fugaku to prepare for battle until Killer B carried A out and Yugito followed.
• Mei Terumī proposed suspending the summit, and Ōnoki and Rasa agreed, but Fugaku stopped them from leaving.
• Fugaku declared that Konoha would not share the summit with the Raikage and invited the remaining Kage to stay or leave as Konoha continued discussing the Akatsuki Organization.

Fugaku forced Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure to choose between Konoha and Cloud, and all three Kage stayed to side with Konoha. At the summit, Aozora outlined the villages’ preparations against the Akatsuki Organization and revealed that Konoha had found a way to track its remnants.

• Fugaku demanded that Ōnoki, Rasa, and Mei choose a side, and each returned to their seat rather than leave the summit.
• Fugaku called for the Akatsuki Organization to be eliminated, and Rasa, Ōnoki, and Mei agreed to contribute their villages.
• Aozora explained that Iwagakure had prepared to trap Zetsu, Rasa would handle Konan, and Kirigakure would fight the leader’s Artificial Tailed Beasts.
• Ōnoki and Rasa questioned the extermination squad’s lack of results, and Aozora explained that the Akatsuki Organization had been difficult to locate.
• Aozora opened a Sealing Scroll and revealed two rings, saying Konoha had found a way to track the Akatsuki Organization’s remnants.

Nagato and Zetsu headed toward Cloud’s camp after seeing the Fourth Raikage and Killer B leave Akita City, while Aozora used Akatsuki rings to locate the organization’s members. The Kage learned that Akatsuki was hiding east of the city, near Cloud’s camp, leaving Cloud under suspicion.

• Nagato decided to investigate Cloud’s camp for information and a chance to capture the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, while Zetsu followed separately.
• Aozora explained that Akatsuki’s rings could sense and communicate with one another, and proposed using them to locate the remaining members.
• Aozora used the Phantasmal Body Technique and Tōyū through the Blue ring to detect several nearby points of light.
• Aozora announced that Akatsuki members were hiding east of Akita City, near Cloud’s camp, prompting the other Kage to question Cloud’s possible connection to the organization.

After losing his right arm to Uchiha Aozora and Uchiha Fugaku, A weighed whether to retaliate against Konoha as Iwagakure exposed the Akatsuki Organization’s hiding place near Kumogakure’s main camp. The other villages moved in, and Nagato sensed a sudden danger as he tried to withdraw.

• Shi stopped A’s bleeding, while A realized his right arm had likely been burned to ash by Aozora’s golden flame.
• A told Killer B, Yugito, Darui, and Mabui that Fugaku and Aozora had defeated him, but Shi and Mabui urged him not to start a war before learning the other villages’ intentions.
• At Aozora’s urging, Ōnoki launched a signal flare, and Iwagakure shinobi used Earth Release to raise volcanoes around Kumogakure’s main camp and expose Zetsu and other humanoid figures.
• After Rasa spotted Zetsu, Sunagakure advanced; Ao detected a concealed giant beast and two enormous Chakra sources, prompting Mei Terumī to move Kirigakure’s forces in.
• Iroha scouted ahead for Konoha, while Nagato concluded the Kage Summit had been a trap and prepared to withdraw with Konan.
• As Nagato was about to leave, an intense chill suddenly rose in his heart.

Aozora and Ōnoki attacked Nagato and Konan near Kumogakure’s main camp, forcing Nagato to summon Satori. As the Four Great Shinobi Villages moved against the Akatsuki remnants, Mei Terumī told A that Kumogakure’s forces must stay out of the fight, leaving the Raikage furious and his village under suspicion.

• Aozora warned Ōnoki that Nagato’s powerful techniques had intervals between uses, then guided him to attack an apparently empty clearing with Dust Release.
• Nagato blocked Ōnoki’s attack with a spherical shield, while Aozora sent Sword Light Diversion at Nagato and Konan before rushing toward them.
• Nagato summoned Satori, whose enormous form appeared over Kumogakure’s camp and startled its shinobi, including A and Shi.
• Mabui urged A to avoid provoking the other villages, but A rejected her warning as Shi reported that Kirigakure’s forces had arrived.
• Mei Terumī told A that the Four Great Shinobi Villages would eliminate the Akatsuki remnants and demanded that Kumogakure’s forces remain where they were.

Mei Terumī forced A and the Cloud forces to withdraw rather than fight Kirigakure, while Aozora and the Allied Shinobi forces battled Nagato, Konan, and the newly transformed Satori. Nagato escaped Fugaku’s Mangekyo genjutsu and sent a flaming Limbo Clone charging at Fugaku.

• Mei Terumī stood firm against A’s threat, and Shi and Mabui persuaded A to withdraw Cloud to its main camp.
• Nagato sent Satori to attack Aozora, but the beast dodged Aozora’s Flame Dragon and evaded his planned sealing ambush before he recognized it.
• Aozora blocked Satori’s blade-like feathers with a Water Dragon Twister as Ōnoki kept Nagato occupied with Dust Release.
• Sunagakure squads used a combined tornado technique to scatter Nagato and Konan, while a river of golden sand rushed toward Konan.
• Fugaku used his Mangekyo Dōjutsu on Nagato, but Nagato recovered and used a Limbo Clone to escape the Uchiha squad’s Blaze Release attack.
• Nagato sent the burning Limbo Clone rushing toward Fugaku and taunted Aozora.

Zetsu struggled to escape Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi’s coordinated assault, while Nagato’s Limbo Clone overwhelmed Fugaku and his guards. Aozora arrived in time to shield Fugaku and seize the Limbo Clone, binding it with Golden Chains.

• Kitsuchi and Akatsuchi battered Zetsu with Rock Fists, the Rock Golem, and Rock Spikes, while his Mayfly Technique failed against the hardened earth.
• Zetsu fled toward the Cloud camp, with Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi pursuing him.
• Nagato’s Limbo Clone knocked aside Fugaku’s Shadow Guard and Iroha, then cracked Fugaku’s Susanoo and sent him flying.
• Pain fired missiles at Fugaku as the Limbo Clone charged him again.
• Aozora used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear before Fugaku and blocked the missiles with his Golden Armored Divine General.
• Aozora saw through the Limbo Clone’s punch, grabbed its fist, and bound it with Golden Chains.

Aozora trapped Nagato’s Limbo Clone and endured a missile barrage, then counterattacked Nagato. Nagato revealed that his mechanical body had survived Aozora’s decapitation and seized Aozora from behind.

• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to scatter the Shadow Guard sealing team, while Aozora remained protected inside the Golden Armored Divine General.
• Nagato attacked Aozora with Asura Path missiles, but Aozora used Draw Ground as Prison to immobilize the Limbo Clone and drain its Chakra.
• The missile barrage shattered the Golden Armored Divine General and blasted Aozora into a stone mountain, but he quickly healed and launched himself at Nagato.
• Nagato repelled Aozora with Shinra Tensei, but Aozora’s Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger attacked from underground as Aozora teleported behind him and cut off his head.
• Aozora realized Nagato’s severed head was mechanical, then Nagato appeared behind him, grabbed his head, and declared that the same ninjutsu would not work on him twice.