Chapter Summaries

Menma returned to Takigakure with Utakata, Kirigakure’s rogue Six-Tails Jinchuriki, and met with Shibuki and Ajun. After Menma explained the dangerous encounters on the journey, the chapter left Ajun stunned by Utakata’s identity and Menma’s confrontation with Jiraiya.

• Shibuki went with Ajun to meet Menma after learning he had returned with someone whose identity needed to stay hidden.
• Karin opened the door, and Shibuki and Ajun met Utakata at Menma’s home.
• Ajun eyed Utakata warily, while Utakata was surprised by how warmly Shibuki welcomed him.
• Menma described the journey, including encounters with Kirigakure’s pursuit force, Cloud Ninja, and Konoha shinobi led by Jiraiya.
• Ajun realized Utakata was Kirigakure’s runaway Six-Tails Jinchuriki and was shocked that Menma had driven back Jiraiya.

Menma warned Shibuki and Ajun that his identity and Takigakure’s Jinchuriki could soon attract the Great Ninja Villages, so they needed to accelerate their preparations. He revealed that he was Uzumaki Menma, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and son of the Fourth Hokage, leaving Ajun shocked but ready to understand the danger.

• Menma told Shibuki that fighting Jiraiya had forced him to use powers that exposed his identity, and that the major villages could trace their attention back to Takigakure.
• Menma and Shibuki agreed that Takigakure needed to advance its plans quickly, while Ajun questioned whether the villages would attack without proof.
• Menma proposed telling Ajun the truth before the outside world exposed it, and Shibuki agreed that he was trustworthy enough to know.
• Menma dispelled his Transformation Jutsu and revealed that his real name was Uzumaki Menma.
• Menma explained his identity and the need to accelerate their plans, and Ajun gradually accepted the revelation that Takigakure had the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Menma outlined Takigakure’s plan to strengthen its defenses and seek the Three-Tails, explaining why Konoha and Kumogakure posed the main threats. He left Shibuki and Ajun preparing for that plan while hinting that Takigakure had an even more important task ahead.

• Menma told Ajun that Takigakure would seek the Three-Tails and use its Tailed Beasts to deter other villages.
• Menma explained that Orochimaru and Iwagakure’s Third Tsuchikage were aligned with them for now, leaving Konoha and Kumogakure as their main threats.
• Menma directed Takigakure to build reconnaissance bases and defensive Barriers while keeping its ordinary shinobi out of major battles.
• Ajun questioned whether Takigakure should defend against Sunagakure, but Menma said distance and Sunagakure’s weakness made it a lesser concern.
• Shibuki asked whether more Takigakure shinobi should help find the Three-Tails, and Menma said Orochimaru would handle the search before announcing they had something more important to do.

Menma urged Takigakure to annex Kusagakure, revealing preparations he had made over the past half year and arguing that the village needed a stronger foundation to survive. Shibuki approved the plan despite Ajun’s concerns, and Takigakure began preparing for war while Menma planned to infiltrate Kusagakure and foment internal chaos.

• Menma proposed that Takigakure forcefully annex Kusagakure, shocking Shibuki, Ajun, and Utakata.
• Menma explained his preparations and laid out a plan to exploit Kusagakure’s divisions, arguing that Takigakure needed to seize the opportunity.
• Ajun warned that the operation risked drawing the attention of Konoha, Kumogakure, or Iwagakure, but Menma insisted Takigakure had no path to retreat.
• Shibuki committed Takigakure to Menma’s plan and ordered Ajun to raise the village’s war readiness.
• Ajun left to prepare the mobilization, while Menma planned to infiltrate Kusagakure and trigger internal chaos before the invasion.

Menma set his plan in motion, leaving Takigakure with a small force to head toward the Land of Grass while Shibuki prepared to deploy reinforcements. Meanwhile, Obito learned that the Six-Tails had been missing for a week and suspected Orochimaru had captured it.

• Menma secured Shibuki's support, promised Utakata he would stay true to his goal, and sent Orochimaru intelligence asking for cover.
• Menma and the Barrier Squad installed defensive and sensing barriers along Takigakure's eastern frontier as Konoha and Kumogakure's clashes intensified.
• In July of Konoha Year 61, Menma left Takigakure for the Land of Grass with Karin, Suigetsu, and several trusted Waterfall Ninja, while Utakata and Fū stayed behind to defend the village.
• Menma instructed Shibuki to dispatch five hundred troops within five days if the plan went smoothly, and Shibuki wished him victory.
• At Madara Uchiha's island base, Obito questioned Black Zetsu about the missing Six-Tails and learned that Orochimaru was the likely captor.

Obito feared that Orochimaru might uncover the connection between the Tailed Beasts and ordered the Akatsuki to hunt him down. Meanwhile, Menma reached an agreement with Mui to open the Box of Paradise and try to reunite him with his son, then followed Mui north.

• Obito warned Black Zetsu that Orochimaru’s research could threaten the Moon Eye Plan and ordered him to locate Orochimaru so Nagato could eliminate him.
• Black Zetsu agreed to search for Orochimaru, while Obito left to take personal control of the situation.
• Menma led Suigetsu, Karin, and the Waterfall Ninja to a marked meeting place in the northern Land of Grass.
• Menma met Mui and promised to open the Box of Paradise, while cautioning that he had only a fifty-percent chance of helping Mui see his son, Muku.
• Mui accepted the odds and pledged to assist Menma, then led Menma and his group farther north.

Menma accompanied Mui to the Box of Paradise beneath Hozuki Castle and poured Nine-Tails Chakra into it to fulfill their agreement. As the box began to tremble and glow, four Kusagakure Elders arrived and recognized Menma as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Menma sent Suigetsu and Karin with Waterfall Ninjas to opposite sides of Hozuki Castle while he and Mui entered the prison.
• Menma followed Mui through the guarded castle and down to the Box of Paradise, whose aura disturbed his emotions.
• Menma released Nine-Tails Chakra into the Box of Paradise, and it began to tremble and emit a violet glow.
• Four Kusagakure Elders hurried to the chamber after sensing the disturbance and saw Menma feeding chakra to the box.
• Mui identified Menma to the Elders, who recognized him as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and celebrated that the box might finally open.

Menma and Mui opened the Box of Paradise, and Mui wished for his son Muku to return. Muku emerged as a monstrous creature called Satori, and Menma summoned a creature of his own as the fight began.

• The Box of Paradise opened after Menma supplied it with enough Chakra, and Mui wished for Muku to be returned.
• Muku emerged from the Box, while Menma held the four Kusagakure Elders back and warned them that it was no wish-granting machine.
• Muku attacked Mui, but Menma intercepted him and threw him into a wall.
• Muku transformed into the monstrous Satori, terrifying Mui and the four Elders.
• Menma told Mui to stand aside and began a Summoning Technique.

Menma subdued Satori and entered its mental space, where he restored Muku’s human consciousness. He told Muku that he might help him control Satori, though Muku would remain bound to the Box of Paradise and risk being consumed again.

• Menma used Wind Style, Lizard Shitsu, Golden Chains, and Nine-Tails Chakra to capture and restrain Satori.
• Menma linked his consciousness with Kurama and Satori, then used Kurama’s malice to expel the emotions Satori had absorbed.
• Menma entered Satori’s mental space and helped it return to Muku’s human form.
• Muku explained that he had been assimilated by the Box of Paradise and could not be separated from it or fully restored as an independent human.
• Menma told Muku he could try to make Muku the primary consciousness, but warned that Muku would remain within the Box’s range and could be consumed again if his will faltered.

Menma separated Muku’s consciousness from Satori’s and helped Muku take control, allowing him to return to human form and reunite with Mui. Muku remained dependent on the Box of Paradise, and the Kusagakure Elders immediately demanded that Menma open it again.

• Menma explained that Muku had to hold fast to his own will while Menma worked to separate his consciousness from Satori’s.
• Menma and the Nine-Tails suppressed Satori as Muku overcame it and seized control of the body.
• Muku returned to human form, and Mui embraced his son and thanked Menma for fulfilling his promise.
• Menma warned Mui and Muku that Muku still depended on the Box of Paradise and could be assimilated again, while promising to keep helping him.
• The four Kusagakure Elders urged Menma to open the Box of Paradise again, offering to grant any request.

Menma restrained the four Kusagakure Elders after they accused Mui of trying to monopolize the Box of Paradise. Mui chose to follow Menma’s plan and sealed the Elders’ Chakra, leaving Menma to proceed with his takeover of Kusagakure.

• Muku explained that the Box of Paradise absorbed Chakra to cultivate a War Weapon, but the four Kusagakure Elders accused him and Mui of hiding its supposed wish-granting power.
• Menma mocked the Elders for demanding his help, then bound all four with Golden Chains before they could react.
• Menma told Mui to handle the Elders and asked whether he would keep his promise; Mui addressed him as Lord Menma and agreed to follow his orders.
• Mui used Fire Release—Heavenly Prison Technique to seal the Elders’ Chakra and said he would make the necessary arrangements.
• Mui agreed to help Menma bring change to Kusagakure because he had lost faith in the village’s factions and stagnant rules.

After capturing the four Elders, Menma helped Mui secure Hozuki Castle and prepared to advance his plan to take control of Kusagakure. Menma left for the next phase while Mui and Muku stayed behind to maintain the castle and protect their forces.

• Mui imprisoned the four Elders, purged their loyalists from Hozuki Castle, and coordinated with Menma’s forces to secure the castle.
• Mui reported that the remaining headquarters personnel had been detained and that the village had been notified; Menma told him to keep control of Hozuki Castle and later accompany him to Kusagakure.
• Mui warned that Kusagakure’s leader, Shigeta Tadasashi, would likely send trusted elite forces, but Menma refused an escort and told Mui to watch for outside threats.
• Muku offered to join Menma, but Menma told him not to use Satori’s power until he had better control over it.
• Menma left Hozuki Castle to begin the second phase of his plan to bring Kusagakure under his rule.

Muku persuaded Mui to honor his agreement with Menma, while Menma sent word to start the next phase of the operation despite Karin and Suigetsu’s concerns. The story then shifted to Kusagakure, where Shigeta Tadasashi learned that Menma might help the Castle Faction open the Box of Paradise.

• Muku urged Mui to follow Menma, and Mui promised not to betray him because Muku still needed Menma’s help.
• Menma sent a message through a summoned lizard, telling Utakata to inform Shibuki-san that the operation could begin.
• Karin and Suigetsu warned Menma that trusting Mui and Muku without precautions could put their plan at risk, but Menma judged the risks manageable and led the group south.
• Shigeta Tadasashi received intelligence that Mui had allied with Orochimaru and that Menma would help open the Box of Paradise.
• Shigeta Tadasashi feared the Nine-Tails’ chakra could let the Castle Faction open the Box, which he believed must remain sealed.

Shigeta Tadasashi decided to lead Kusagakure forces against Mui’s rebels before Orochimaru and Menma could intervene, while sending a request for Konoha’s help. As Shigeta’s force headed north, Mui’s loyalists began recruiting influential Grass Ninja in the village by claiming Menma had helped open the Box of Paradise.

• Shigeta ordered Sanshi to request Konoha reinforcements, then chose to lead the operation against Mui himself.
• Shigeta and Sanshi agreed that preventing the Box of Paradise from drawing the great nations’ attention mattered more than keeping outsiders out of Kusagakure’s affairs.
• Shigeta secretly gathered nearly three hundred Grass Ninja and led them north to subdue Mui and his supporters.
• Soon after Shigeta departed, a blue-haired loyalist told Mui’s allies that Menma had helped Mui open the Box of Paradise.
• The blue-haired man urged the Grass Ninja to join Mui, remain neutral, or face the consequences, prompting shock at Menma’s involvement.

Mui’s followers committed to supporting him while Shigeta Tadasashi unknowingly led more than three hundred Grass Ninja into Menma’s ambush. Menma and Shitsu split the force with an Earth Style attack, and Menma engaged Shigeta as Suigetsu attacked Sanshi.

• Mui’s supporters declared their loyalty and received orders to prepare for his takeover of Kusagakure.
• Shigeta Tadasashi led his force toward the northern border, unaware that the bases along the route had been removed or had joined Mui’s secret command.
• Menma appeared with his summoning beast, Lizard Shitsu, and revealed that Shigeta had walked into a trap.
• Shigeta ordered an immediate retreat, but Menma and Shitsu used Earth Style - Dome Burst Jutsu to divide the Grass Ninja and attack.
• Menma charged Shigeta, while Suigetsu emerged from a puddle and wounded Sanshi as he rushed to protect his leader.

Menma defeated and killed Kusagakure leader Shigeta Tadasashi, while Suigetsu and the Waterfall Ninja cut off the Grass Ninja’s support. After the loyalists were killed and the rest surrendered, Menma had the captives bound.

• Suigetsu used Water Clones to keep Sanshi and Raichi from supporting Shigeta.
• Menma overwhelmed Shigeta with his physical strength, then wounded him with a shuriken attack.
• Menma broke Shigeta’s ribs and stabbed him through the heart, killing the Kusagakure leader.
• The Waterfall Ninja surrounded Shigeta’s more than three hundred Grass Ninja as Menma announced they could surrender and continue serving under Mui.
• Sanshi, Raichi, and other loyalists attacked, but Suigetsu and the Waterfall Ninja killed them; the remaining Grass Ninja surrendered and were bound.

After Menma defeated Shigeta Tadasashi with few casualties, he left Ajun to guard the captured Grass Ninja and hurried to Kusagakure. Menma planned to coordinate with Mui and unite the villages through an alliance rather than forcibly annexing Kusagakure.

• Karin returned from scouting and told Menma that Ajun had arrived with reinforcements from Takigakure.
• Menma entrusted Ajun with guarding the captured Grass Ninja and set out for Kusagakure with Karin, Suigetsu, and several Waterfall Ninja.
• Ajun reflected on Menma's growing power and wondered what Elder Satoru and Elder Wu would have wanted him to do.
• Mui returned to Kusagakure with Muku and loyal subordinates, intending to take control while Shigeta Tadasashi was away.

Mui returned to Kusagakure while Shigeta was absent and took control of the village with Menma’s support. He secured the guards’ submission, gathered powerful allies, and began suppressing remaining resistance as he moved toward the Leader’s Building.

• Mui entered Kusagakure openly and told Arakawa that Shigeta, Sanshi, Raichi, and the others were unable to return.
• More than a dozen high-ranking Grass Ninja arrived and welcomed Mui, showing Arakawa that Shigeta was not in the village and that support had shifted to Mui.
• Arakawa and Aki knelt before Mui, and the younger guards followed their example.
• Mui advanced toward the Leader’s Building while civilians watched, intent on completing the transfer of power quickly.
• Mui used his control over Kusagakure to kill stubborn opponents and imprison others who resisted.

Mui consolidated his control of Kusagakure and welcomed Menma, publicly showing that he had placed himself and Muku under Menma’s authority. Menma entered the village as its new power balance unsettled the Grass Ninja.

• Mui secured the village’s security forces while some Kusagakure leaders submitted temporarily and waited to learn whether Shigeta Tadasashi would return.
• Menma arrived at Kusagakure’s main gate with Karin, Suigetsu, and the others, where Mui’s trusted guards recognized and welcomed him.
• Menma noticed the village streets were deserted as he was escorted toward the Leader’s Building.
• Mui and Muku met Menma and bowed to him before the Grass Ninja, surprising Menma and worrying the gathered subordinates.
• Mui invited Menma onward, while the Grass Ninja silently resolved to ask Mui what was happening and refused to accept an outsider as Kusagakure’s leader.

Menma arranged for Mui to lead Kusagakure while postponing its merger with Takigakure, and he set plans to stabilize the alliance and secure its routes. He left Suigetsu in charge of building barriers in the Land of Grass and presented him with the Kubikiribōchō.

• Mui reported Kusagakure's personnel and current state to Menma, who learned the village had more than 3,800 active ninja.
• Menma told Mui that Shigeta Tadasashi and his direct subordinates had been executed, then gave him Shigeta's corpse and proposed that Mui lead Kusagakure while the merger was postponed.
• Muku supported his father becoming leader, and Mui agreed to stabilize Kusagakure and manage the surviving Grass Ninja returning from Shigeta's forces.
• Menma ordered Suigetsu to stay in Kusagakure and oversee barrier construction along key routes, with help from Xuelan and others.
• Menma unsealed the Kubikiribōchō and presented the sword to Suigetsu.