Chapter Summaries

Menma tried to persuade the injured Head-Sized Lizard to form a Summoning Contract with him, first apologizing for his excessive force and then appealing to the creature’s loneliness and loyalty to Gozō Sakaki. When those arguments failed, Menma offered to avenge the former Land of Head and care for Gozō Sakaki’s descendants, leaving the Head-Sized Lizard’s decision unresolved.

• Menma apologized to the Head-Sized Lizard and asked it to become his ally, but it refused to engage with him.
• The Head-Sized Lizard resisted Menma’s attempt to treat its injuries and remained loyal to its former master, Gozō Sakaki.
• Menma urged the Head-Sized Lizard to leave its lonely post and seek a broader future, but it ignored his appeal.
• Menma offered to avenge the destruction of the former Land of Head and find and care for Gozō Sakaki’s descendants if the Head-Sized Lizard agreed to a contract.

Menma earned the Head-Sized Lizard’s trust by promising to avenge the Land of Head and find Gozō Sakaki’s descendants, then signed a summoning contract with the lizard clan’s leader, Shitsu. After sending the injured Shitsu back to recover, Menma told Karin they would handle another matter before returning to Orochimaru’s base.

• Menma promised the Head-Sized Lizard that he would avenge the Land of Head and seek out Gozō Sakaki’s descendants.
• The Head-Sized Lizard accepted Menma’s promise and produced a summoning contract.
• Menma signed the contract and learned that the lizard belonged to the Obsidian Rock Desert Lizard Clan and was named Shitsu.
• Menma asked Shitsu to call him Lord Menma, treated his injuries, and dismissed him to recover in the clan’s summoning realm.
• Karin asked whether they were going back, and Menma said they would take care of another matter before returning to Orochimaru’s base.

Menma gathered intelligence about the tense Shinobi World and traveled with Karin toward Takigakure to prepare his plans for taking control of the village. The chapter ended with them arriving at the waterfall that concealed Takigakure.

• Menma chose to spend the night in a nearby town with Karin and warned that the Shinobi World was growing dangerous.
• Menma used his disguise to gather intelligence and learned that large Cloud Ninja and Stone Ninja forces remained at their borders without escalating the conflict.
• Menma decided to avoid provoking the major villages and continued north with Karin toward Takigakure.
• Menma planned to target Takigakure because it had the Seven-Tails, the Hero's Water, and a young leader he considered easy to manipulate.
• Karin questioned whether Takigakure was inside the waterfall, and Menma confirmed that it was.

Menma and Karin disguised themselves and approached Takigakure through its official trail entrance. Menma presented a forged identity as an envoy of the Land of Fire, and a Waterfall Ninja escorted them into the village while warning them to stay away from restricted areas.

• Menma and Karin used Transformation Jutsu to disguise themselves before taking the trail to Takigakure.
• Menma admired Takigakure's natural defenses as they approached the village entrance.
• Two Waterfall Ninja intercepted Menma and Karin and asked their business.
• Menma claimed they were envoys of Lord Tsuchimikado and showed a genuine token he had obtained from Orochimaru.
• A Waterfall Ninja accepted their claim, agreed to report to the village leader, and escorted them inside with a warning not to wander into restricted areas.

Menma and Karin visited Takigakure under assumed identities, while Menma searched the village for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, Fū. They met Takigakure’s leader, Shibuki, who introduced his strongest Jonin, Suiken, and asked how to address them.

• Menma sensed hundreds of shinobi in Takigakure but detected no especially powerful chakra, leading him to suspect Fū was away.
• Menma and Karin waited in the reception hall, with Karin keeping silent and aloof while Menma handled their meeting.
• Shibuki arrived with Suiken, whose chilling aura suggested considerable strength.
• Menma and Karin greeted Shibuki, who offered to assign their mission to Suiken and asked for their names.

Menma offered Takigakure a lucrative search mission from the Land of Fire, enticing the inexperienced leader Shibuki with promises of future work. Suiken grew suspicious of the offer and interrupted Shibuki to question Menma.

• Menma recognized the wary Turban Man as a future traitor to Takigakure and introduced himself and Mikoto to Shibuki as agents of Lord Tsuchimikado.
• Menma presented Shibuki with a search mission, explaining that Takigakure would be paid according to its progress and should produce results within three months.
• Shibuki saw the mission as a chance to secure lasting work and strengthen his unstable leadership, and he eagerly began to accept.
• Suiken examined the scroll, questioned the mission, and interrupted Shibuki to ask Menma for answers.

Menma persuaded Takigakure to accept a secret mission supposedly ordered by the Land of Fire's daimyo, using the risk of Konoha learning about it to explain why the mission had not gone to Konoha. Shibuki agreed to the mission and its confidentiality, and Menma paid the deposit before arranging future contact.

• Suiken questioned why the daimyo had sent the mission to Takigakure rather than Konoha, and Menma threatened to take it elsewhere.
• Shibuki apologized for Suiken's discourtesy, then asked Menma to explain why the mission bypassed Konoha.
• Menma claimed the daimyo wanted to keep the matter from Konoha, prompting Shibuki and Suiken to confer privately.
• Shibuki returned and agreed that Takigakure would complete the mission quickly and keep it confidential.
• Menma handed over the agreed deposit and said his people would contact Takigakure regularly, warning the village not to contact them proactively.

Menma and Karin left Takigakure after arranging a long-term mission that could help Menma build a stable foundation for the future. Shibuki stood by his decision despite Suiken’s hostility, while Menma and Karin returned toward the Land of Rice.

• Menma handed Shibuki the mission deposit and left Takigakure with Karin under Shibuki and Suiken’s escort.
• Suiken warned Shibuki that accepting a mission involving Konoha could endanger Takigakure, then left while secretly plotting against him.
• Shibuki reaffirmed that Takigakure would carry out the mission and resolved to live up to the late chief’s and Elder Aotake’s expectations.
• After leaving Takigakure’s territory, Menma and Karin dropped their disguises, and Menma explained that he was scouting Takigakure as a possible future base.
• Menma said the mission would give him a reason to stay in contact with Takigakure and included finding Gozō Sakaki’s descendant, Uzumaki descendants, and other specific targets.
• Menma and Karin headed east toward the Land of Rice.

Kumogakure debated how to approach Uzumaki Menma, the missing Nine-Tails Jinchuriki who had defected from Konoha with Orochimaru. Fourth Raikage A remained focused on finding Menma and capturing him, despite advice to win the twelve-year-old over peacefully.

• Fourth Raikage A smashed his desk and demanded an update on the search for Menma after ten days without useful intelligence.
• Dodai advised A that Menma's defection and hatred of Konoha could make a peaceful approach effective.
• Mabui agreed with Dodai and warned that capturing Menma by force carried serious risks.
• A rejected changing course for now and ordered his advisers to prioritize locating Menma and check for new information from Konoha.

The Great Ninja Villages responded differently to the upheaval in Konoha, while news that Uzumaki Menma was the Fourth Hokage’s son caused public opinion in the village to erupt. Konoha’s leaders stayed silent, unable to deny the truth or publicly acknowledge it without risking their rule.

• Fourth Raikage A ordered further intelligence gathering on Konoha and sent Darui south with authority to seize any opportunity.
• Ōnoki chose to wait and watch rather than commit many Iwagakure forces, while Sunagakure struggled to recover from its losses and Kirigakure remained inactive.
• News spread that Uzumaki Menma was Namikaze Naruto’s biological younger brother and the Fourth Hokage’s son.
• Konoha’s civilians and low-ranking ninja reacted with disbelief, guilt, confusion, or stubborn denial over Menma’s identity.
• Konoha’s higher-ups remained silent because they could neither refute the truth nor safely acknowledge it.

Danzo and Konoha’s clans stayed silent about Menma as they waited for a new Hokage, while Jiraiya and Tsunade prepared to return to the village. Encouraged by Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto resolved to bring his brother back to Konoha despite Menma’s crimes.

• Danzo privately raged at Orochimaru for defying him but accepted that he still needed Orochimaru’s help with his research.
• Shikaku Nara hoped Jiraiya would bring Tsunade back so she could become the Fifth Hokage and guide Konoha away from the Konoha F4’s influence.
• Jiraiya’s group prepared to leave Tanzaku Town with Tsunade after she had been moved by Naruto during her battle with Orochimaru.
• Naruto asked Tsunade whether Menma could return to Konoha despite killing Shiranui Genma and defecting from the village.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya urged Naruto to follow his wishes and promised to support him, and Naruto vowed to bring Menma back.

Tsunade returned to Konohagakure and became the Fifth Hokage, then issued orders easing the pursuit of Menma and opening negotiations with Sunagakure. Danzo and the Hokage Advisors confronted her over the orders, exposing how constrained her authority was.

• Tsunade returned to Konohagakure and inherited the position of Fifth Hokage.
• Tsunade ordered changes to border defenses, negotiations with Sunagakure, and a revised wanted order that sought to persuade Menma to return.
• Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu confronted Tsunade and demanded that she withdraw her orders concerning Menma and Gaara.
• Tsunade defended her authority and challenged Danzo, while Shizune tensed and Shikaku anticipated the dispute.
• Danzo insisted that Tsunade's orders had serious problems.

Tsunade defended her plan to make peace with Sunagakure and suspend the hunt for Uzumaki Menma by explaining Konoha’s worsening military position. The Elders recognized the threat from multiple villages, but Danzo continued to oppose Tsunade’s approach.

• Danzo and Mitokado Homura challenged Tsunade’s decisions about Sunagakure, the captured Sand Ninja, and Uzumaki Menma.
• Tsunade asked Shikaku to brief the Elders on Konoha’s situation, and he reported that Kumogakure and Iwagakure had each massed nearly three thousand ninja near Konoha’s borders.
• Shikaku reported that Sunagakure had deployed five thousand ninja near the Land of Rivers, while Kirigakure had shown no movement.
• Tsunade argued that Konoha needed to stabilize its relations with Sunagakure because it could not afford another conflict.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu acknowledged the danger and urged caution, while Danzo noticed their shift in position and grew disgusted.

Tsunade rejected Danzo’s demand for a hardline response to pressure from three ninja villages and proposed negotiating with Sunagakure while exploiting the conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure. She also placed the question of Uzumaki Menma in Jiraiya’s hands, leaving Danzo furious and more determined to become Hokage.

• Danzo urged Konoha to resist the three ninja villages, but Tsunade warned that doing so could destroy the village.
• Mitokado Homura asked Tsunade for a proposal, and she outlined negotiations with Sunagakure and a strategy to use the tensions between Iwagakure and Kumogakure.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu approved Tsunade’s plan, while Danzo objected to returning the One-Tail.
• Tsunade proposed leaving Uzumaki Menma’s case to Jiraiya, and the two Advisors agreed.
• Danzo realized he could not change the decisions and became more determined to seize the Hokage position.

Tsunade rejected Danzo’s pressure and ordered Konoha to reinforce the front lines and contact Sunagakure. Konoha’s response unsettled Kumogakure, while Ōnoki focused on trying to win Uzumaki Menma over to Iwagakure.

• Danzo stormed out after warning Tsunade that she would bear responsibility for her decisions and that Root would follow its original plan.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu asked Tsunade to tolerate Danzo, and Tsunade agreed to draw the line without pursuing the dispute.
• After the Advisors left, Tsunade angrily threw down her documents, then told Shikaku to issue the agreed orders and summon Sunagakure representatives.
• Konoha’s deployment and apparent balance with Sunagakure affected the neighboring villages’ calculations, while Ōnoki showed little interest in confronting Konoha and remained interested in recruiting Uzumaki Menma.
• Fourth Raikage A smashed his replacement desk after learning of Konoha’s moves, but he could not attack without a suitable opportunity.

Menma returned to the Sound Village and resumed his experiments as the village prepared to relocate. Orochimaru returned from meeting Tsunade, reported that she would become the Fifth Hokage, and asked Menma to help with a shortage of manpower.

• Menma returned to the Sound Village with Karin and continued his physical body experiments.
• The Sound Village made its final preparations to relocate because Konoha might attack its exposed base in the Land of Rice.
• Orochimaru returned with Kabuto Yakushi and told Menma that Tsunade had agreed to become the Fifth Hokage and that he had met Naruto.
• Menma said he no longer had expectations for Naruto, and Orochimaru warned him that Naruto remained fixated on him.
• Orochimaru asked Menma to help with several tasks because the Sound Village was short on manpower.

Menma agreed to receive Orochimaru’s subordinates near the Valley of the End in exchange for research on his clan and Hashirama Senju’s body. As Orochimaru’s forces evacuated the Sound Village and the Sound Four headed for Konoha, Sasuke entered the Uchiha shrine’s hidden passage.

• Orochimaru asked Menma to meet his subordinates near the Valley of the End, and Menma agreed in exchange for research results on his clan and Hashirama Senju’s body.
• Menma sensed that Orochimaru’s deteriorating arms and body were nearing their limit and considered how Orochimaru might help solve the problem.
• Orochimaru began evacuating the Sound Village, moving his people, research materials, and specimens before Konoha could attack.
• The Sound Four set out for Konohagakure to retrieve someone who had left Orochimaru obsessed.
• Sasuke Uchiha entered the sealed Uchiha shrine, uncovered the hidden passage beneath its stone slab, and descended into it.

Sasuke sought greater power after witnessing Menma, Gaara, and Itachi Uchiha’s strength, and decided to leave Konohagakure for Orochimaru. When the Sound Four arrived, Sasuke willingly entered their sealed barrel and departed with them.

• Sasuke activated the Cursed Seal’s first stage beneath the Uchiha Clan compound, enduring intense pain before feeling its power.
• Sasuke remained dissatisfied with the Cursed Seal’s strength and relived his encounters with Menma, Gaara, and Itachi Uchiha.
• Sasuke decided Orochimaru was his best chance to gain power quickly and resolved to leave Konohagakure.
• Several days later, the Sound Four arrived in Konohagakure, and Sasuke agreed to go with them.
• Jirobo sealed Sasuke inside a barrel prepared by Orochimaru, and the Sound Four carried him out of Konohagakure.

After Sasuke left Konoha with the Sound Four, Tsunade received confirmation that he had defected and began organizing a response. With much of Konoha’s jōnin deployed, she summoned Naruto and Shikaku’s son and ordered Kakashi to return from his mission.

• Sasuke left with the Sound Four, choosing his own path despite Itachi’s plans for him.
• A reconnaissance report confirmed to Tsunade that Sasuke had left Konoha with Sound Ninja and that there had been no signs of a struggle.
• Tsunade suspected Orochimaru’s influence and ordered Shizune to summon Kakashi and Naruto.
• Shizune reminded Tsunade that Kakashi was away on a mission, and Tsunade ordered him to hand it off and return while also summoning Shikaku’s son.
• Naruto hurried to see Tsunade after receiving Shizune’s message.

Tsunade sent Naruto and Shikamaru to pursue Sasuke, whom she presented as abducted by Orochimaru’s subordinates. The squad set out to bring Sasuke back, while Naruto secretly vowed to retrieve Menma as well.

• Naruto rushed to Tsunade, insisting Sasuke’s defection might be a misunderstanding, and Tsunade told him Sasuke might have been abducted.
• Tsunade assigned Naruto and Shikamaru to pursue Sasuke and gave them intelligence linking the Sound Ninja to Orochimaru.
• Naruto and Shikamaru recruited Choji, Kiba, Shino, Lee, and Neji to join the pursuit squad.
• Sakura asked to join the squad, but Naruto told her to stay behind and promised to bring Sasuke back.
• The squad prepared to leave, while Naruto privately vowed to bring both Sasuke and Menma back.