Chapter Summaries

Hyuga Kagami withdrew after his battle with Obito left him too drained to assassinate the Fourth Mizukage, and Kirigakure struggled through a night of chaos. Once the village stabilized, Karatachi Yagura revealed he had been controlled and promised to step down, while Kirigakure's leaders discovered evidence of an unseen fight in their underground vault.

• Hyuga Kagami stored the captured swords, abandoned his assassination attempt, and sent Itachi to summon Shisui as Kirigakure descended into chaos.
• Karatachi Yagura returned to Kirigakure, and he, Mei Terumi, and others suppressed the rebellion led by Zabuza.
• Karatachi Yagura told Kirigakure's senior officials that Akatsuki had controlled him and offered to step down as Mizukage.
• Karatachi Yagura led Mei Terumi, Ao, and other ninja to the underground vault, where they found metal melted by intense heat.
• Karatachi Yagura sensed that his controller had fought an unknown outsider in the vault, leaving Kirigakure's ninja humiliated that they had noticed nothing.

Kisame, Ryu, and Lotus escaped Kirigakure’s Anbu and met Tobi, who offered to take them to Akatsuki’s base. Meanwhile, Obito survived his clash with the God Organization’s Flame Demon, but Zetsu urged him to reclaim what he had given up so he could wield a stronger Susanoo.

• Kisame, Ryu, and Lotus rested after escaping the Kirigakure Anbu, and Lotus blamed Akatsuki for the Fourth Mizukage’s return to consciousness.
• Tobi appeared and introduced himself as their Akatsuki partner, then told them to come with him to the organization’s base.
• Obito returned to his hidden cave after surviving the fight with Hyuga Kagami’s Flame Demon, having lost his left arm and the sight in his left Sharingan.
• Obito told Zetsu that the Flame Demon was a woman whose Mangekyō technique seemed to reduce Susanoo’s ocular-power consumption, and he ordered Zetsu to raise her threat rating.
• Zetsu urged Obito to take back what belonged to him, promising that it would grant him twice the ocular power and a Susanoo capable of activating Kamui.

Obito resisted Black Zetsu’s pressure to take back the eye he had given Kakashi, which represented his last connection to his former self. He and Zetsu traced Akatsuki’s exposed headquarters to Shennon and the God Organization, but the identity of the informant remained unknown as Obito ordered further investigations and called for Orochimaru’s elimination.

• Black Zetsu mocked Obito’s hesitation to pursue his dream and offered to take Kakashi’s eye for him, but Obito refused to let Zetsu handle his affairs.
• Obito asked about the investigation into the attack on Amegakure, and Zetsu reported that a subordinate of Shennon had revealed the God Organization targeted Shennon after his defection.
• Obito concluded that Shennon had likely leaked Akatsuki’s intelligence to the God Organization, which had used the three villages to attack Akatsuki.
• Zetsu told Obito that the Third Hokage had initiated the secret operation, but he could not identify who had supplied the intelligence; Obito ordered him to keep investigating.
• Obito ordered Orochimaru eliminated, and Zetsu began to report that he knew Orochimaru’s whereabouts, though Akatsuki’s recent injuries had left the organization weakened.

Obito and Zetsu discussed using Kirigakure recruits against Orochimaru, who had recently appeared in the Land of Rice Fields, where Otogakure was being founded. In Kirigakure, Hyuga Kagami, Itachi, and Shisui planned to keep the Fourth Mizukage in power despite growing public hostility, and Hyuga Kagami hinted they would use Akatsuki’s methods to strengthen his resolve.

• Obito learned that Orochimaru had appeared in the Land of Rice Fields and agreed to send Kirigakure recruits after him.
• The Fourth Mizukage restored order in Kirigakure and drove out exposed foreign spies.
• Hyuga Kagami suspected someone was spreading rumors to undermine the Fourth Mizukage and force him from office.
• Itachi received word that Shisui would arrive that night, and Shisui later met with Hyuga Kagami and Itachi.
• Hyuga Kagami told Shisui and Itachi they needed to ensure the Fourth Mizukage kept his position, then suggested they follow Akatsuki’s example.

Hyuga Kagami, Shisui, and Itachi infiltrated the Mizukage Building and made their way through its underground palace to find the Fourth Hokage. After learning his location, they approached the lounge where he was resting, and he sensed their footsteps outside.

• Itachi used genjutsu to put the Anbu guarding the Mizukage Building entrance to sleep, and Shisui questioned why its defenses were so weak.
• Hyuga Kagami explained that Kirigakure's leaders were pressuring the Fourth Hokage to step down, and Shisui acknowledged that the Fourth Hokage might lose his position.
• Shisui and Itachi subdued guards throughout the building with genjutsu as the three headed into the underground palace.
• Hyuga Kagami warned Shisui and Itachi to stay alert and told them to attack the Fourth Hokage immediately with Itachi's Amaterasu if they encountered him.
• After interrogating guards near the vault, Itachi learned that the Fourth Hokage was in a lounge on the underground palace's southeastern side.
• The Fourth Hokage heard faint footsteps outside the lounge and sensed that someone was approaching.

The Fourth Mizukage confronted Hyuga Kagami, Itachi, and Shisui, but Itachi’s Amaterasu and Hyuga Kagami’s Susanoo overwhelmed him. After confirming the Mizukage was alive, Hyuga Kagami told Shisui to proceed, leaving Shisui conflicted.

• The Fourth Mizukage heard footsteps and rushed into the corridor, where he recognized three masked members of the God Organization.
• The Fourth Mizukage entered Tailed Beast Transformation, but Itachi’s Amaterasu engulfed him and burned through his chakra mantle.
• Hyuga Kagami formed a golden Susanoo and pinned the Fourth Mizukage down, interrupting his attempt to create a Tailed Beast Ball.
• Hyuga Kagami ordered Itachi to extinguish Amaterasu, and Itachi stopped the flames after the Fourth Mizukage lost consciousness.
• Hyuga Kagami checked the injured Fourth Mizukage and found him alive, then told Shisui to act, leaving Shisui conflicted.

Hyuga Kagami persuaded Shisui to use Kotoamatsukami on the unconscious Fourth Mizukage, arguing that the Mizukage would otherwise die and that Lord Kagami had authorized the operation. Shisui altered the Mizukage’s will to make him loyal to the God Organization, but the technique further damaged Shisui’s eyesight.

• Shisui worried that intervening with the Fourth Mizukage could expose them and cause a war, but Hyuga Kagami warned that the Mizukage would not survive without their help.
• Hyuga Kagami sent Itachi to stand guard and told Shisui that Lord Kagami had authorized the operation, then asked whether Shisui would waste his chance to use Kotoamatsukami.
• Shisui activated Kotoamatsukami on the unconscious Fourth Mizukage and connected their wills.
• Hyuga Kagami instructed Shisui to make the Mizukage loyal to the God Organization, and Shisui implanted that command.
• After using the technique, Shisui’s left-eye vision and balance worsened, and he said the eye would need at least ten years before it could use Kotoamatsukami again.

Hyuga Kagami studied the Hozuki Clan’s Hydrification Technique to strengthen his Water Clone, then learned that the Yuki Clan might also have been able to use it. Karatachi Yagura gave him Samehada and Kirigakure’s accounts, leaving Hyuga Kagami stunned by a seven-billion deficit caused largely by unpaid compensation for shinobi casualties.

• Hyuga Kagami studied the Hozuki Clan’s Hydrification Technique because he needed to keep his Water Clone’s development balanced with his Fire Clone.
• Karatachi Yagura told Hyuga Kagami that the Yuki Clan might also have been capable of using the Hozuki Clan’s secret techniques, prompting Hyuga Kagami to consider his Water Clone’s Yuki Clan cells.
• Karatachi Yagura gave Hyuga Kagami Samehada, but Hyuga Kagami found the sword too heavy to wield comfortably.
• Karatachi Yagura handed Hyuga Kagami Kirigakure’s ledger, and Hyuga Kagami discovered a seven-billion deficit.
• Hyuga Kagami found that most of the deficit came from compensation owed to dead and wounded shinobi, funds that Obito had embezzled.

Hyuga Kagami found Kirigakure in financial and political crisis and advised Karatachi Yagura to make the village depend on him by using Mei Terumi’s pursuit of Utakata as a test. Mei accepted the mission, unaware that it was part of their plan, and prepared to depart.

• Hyuga Kagami examined Kirigakure’s dire finances and told Karatachi Yagura that ordinary measures could not save his position.
• Hyuga Kagami took the Steaming Danger Tyranny scroll from the Forbidden Technique Archive and proposed using Mei Terumi to demonstrate that Kirigakure could not manage without Yagura.
• Hyuga Kagami advised Yagura to have Mei lead a team to capture Utakata and restore control of the Six-Tails.
• Yagura ordered Mei to capture Utakata and promised to step down if she succeeded.
• Mei and Ao discussed the risks and preparations, then Mei ordered the team to get ready to depart that afternoon.

Mei Terumi led a Kirigakure force into the Land of Hot Water to find Utakata, but Hyuga Kagami intercepted them and claimed the Six-Tails for the God Organization. When Mei attacked and Ao shrouded the valley in mist, Hyuga Kagami summoned and empowered his golden Susanoo.

• Mei Terumi led three Kirigakure squads into the Land of Hot Water to pursue Utakata and hoped to persuade him to return peacefully.
• Ao detected Hyuga Kagami, who appeared in his Flame Demon guise and ordered the Kirigakure force to abandon its pursuit of the Six-Tails.
• Mei Terumi refused to back down and attacked Hyuga Kagami with Lava Release: Lava Flame Bullet, which he dodged.
• Ao used the Hidden Mist Technique while Kirigakure shinobi dispersed through the fog to prepare for an ambush.
• Hyuga Kagami summoned Susanoo and used Susanoo-no-Mikoto to clad it in golden armor, give it four arms, and spread wings from its back.

Hyuga Kagami used Susanoo to overwhelm the Kirigakure pursuit force with a display of power, though the effort quickly drained him. As Mei Terumi prepared to fight, a cold voice interrupted, leaving the battle’s next move uncertain.

• Hyuga Kagami summoned a complete-body Susanoo and flew above the Kirigakure pursuit force in the Land of Hot Water.
• Hyuga Kagami slashed the valley with Susanoo’s flaming sword, scattering golden flames and frightening the Kirigakure shinobi without causing many casualties.
• Hyuga Kagami descended in Susanoo’s half-body form and taunted the Kirigakure force while concealing his growing exhaustion.
• Mei Terumi ordered her subordinates to retreat, but Ao argued that fleeing would leave them vulnerable, so Mei prepared to fight.
• Hyuga Kagami worried that his chakra and ocular power were running low as Mei Terumi gathered chakra, until an unseen speaker told her to stand down and offered to deal with her.

Karatachi Yagura arrived in the valley and took over the fight against Hyuga Kagami’s Flame Demon, allowing Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure ninja to withdraw. Outside the valley, the observers could only see the battle’s devastating effects and could not tell who had the upper hand.

• Karatachi Yagura appeared on a cliff and declared that he would be Hyuga Kagami’s opponent.
• Karatachi Yagura told Mei Terumi to withdraw, and she led the Kirigakure ninja out of the valley.
• Hyuga Kagami and Karatachi Yagura prepared to begin their battle after the Kirigakure force left.
• Ao used his Byakugan outside the valley but could see only the two fighters’ immense chakra signatures.
• Explosions and tremors shook the valley, while Ao and the Sealing Team captain could not determine who was winning.

Hyuga Kagami and Karatachi Yagura staged a destructive battle in the valley to strengthen Yagura’s standing in Kirigakure. They left the ruined valley with Yagura planning to capture the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and keep him alive.

• A Tailed Beast Ball collapsed part of the valley entrance, killing one Sealing Team member, and Ao urged Mei Terumi to retreat.
• Mei Terumi chose to stay and ordered the wounded and Sealing Team to withdraw while the others prepared to support the Fourth Mizukage.
• Inside the valley, Hyuga Kagami and Karatachi Yagura fired Tailed Beast Balls and Ryumyaku chakra projectiles while concealing their identities from Ao’s Byakugan.
• Hyuga Kagami ended the staged destruction and told Karatachi Yagura that the rest was up to him; Yagura expected the village elders to quiet down afterward.
• Hyuga Kagami advised Karatachi Yagura to capture the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and keep him alive, and Yagura agreed to pursue him.

Hyuga Kagami sealed the Ryumyaku and escaped after confronting Karatachi Yagura, who chose to pursue Utakata rather than chase him. Back at the Aerial Fortress, Hyuga Kagami investigated why his Blaze Release control had improved and suspected that overtaxing his ocular power during his battle with Obito had helped.

• Hyuga Kagami sealed the Ryumyaku in his gourd artifact and gave Karatachi Yagura a list of supplies to gather for the organization.
• Mei Terumi and her group entered the smoke-filled valley, where Ao spotted Hyuga Kagami and Karatachi Yagura confronting each other.
• Hyuga Kagami and Karatachi Yagura exchanged threats before Hyuga Kagami withdrew; Karatachi Yagura stopped Mei Terumi from pursuing him and ordered the group to capture Utakata.
• Hyuga Kagami met the Third Kazekage Human Puppet and returned to the Aerial Fortress near the Land of Water's coast.
• Hyuga Kagami realized his Blaze Release control had improved and suspected that exhausting his ocular power while fighting Obito had caused the improvement.

Hyuga Kagami confirmed that extreme Blaze Release training could build his body's control through “body memory,” then reported Kirigakure's situation to the Third Hokage. He arranged Shisui's transplant surgery for two days later, with Shisui ready to undergo it during a month of leave.

• Hyuga Kagami found that forcing Blaze Release after exhausting his ocular power improved his control, though the training damaged the Fire Clone's chakra pathways.
• Hyuga Kagami stored the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, placed the Fire Clone in a nutrient tank, and reunited with Anbu Team 7 on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
• Hyuga Kagami told Kurenai, Hayate, and Yugao that the Fourth Mizukage had been controlled by Akatsuki but had broken free, so Team 7's assassination mission was called off.
• Hyuga Kagami reported to the Third Hokage, who agreed that abandoning the mission was the correct decision and asked whether the Fourth Mizukage could remain in office.
• Hyuga Kagami told Shisui that the transplant operation could begin in two days, and Shisui said he had secured a month of leave for it.

Hyuga Kagami reassured Shisui about the risks and rewards of the transplant surgery, and Shisui entrusted his eyes to Itachi if he died. Kagami sold Kirigakure blades to raise money, but Kisame stole Hiramekarei from its buyer and began pursuing the sword’s source.

• Hyuga Kagami told Shisui that the surgery had a high chance of success and could restore or strengthen his ocular power.
• Shisui asked Hyuga Kagami to give his eyes to Itachi if the surgery failed, entrusting Itachi with his ideals of protecting the clan and Konoha.
• Hyuga Kagami sold Kirigakure blades, including Hiramekarei, and gathered seventy-five million for surgery equipment and Rin’s gift.
• A bald merchant displayed Hiramekarei at his family’s estate in Pingliang City and ordered his samurai to stop an intruder.
• Kisame defeated the samurai, took Hiramekarei, and questioned the merchant about where he had bought it.
• The merchant offered ten million for the sword’s return and sent someone to Konoha.

Kisame, Ryu, and Lotus traveled into the Land of Rice Fields to join an Akatsuki squad tasked with killing Orochimaru. Biwa Jūzō arrived to lead the squad, while the chapter also revealed that Yugito had broken free of Obito’s genjutsu and nearly killed Kakuzu.

• Kisame returned from Pingliang City with Hiramekarei, and Ryu and Lotus recognized it as one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.
• Kisame, Ryu, and Lotus left the Land of Fire and waited in a forest in the Land of Rice Fields for an Akatsuki member to join their mission against Orochimaru.
• Biwa Jūzō arrived and announced that he would lead the temporary four-man squad, codenamed Mist.
• Obito’s genjutsu over Yugito Nii suddenly ended as she and Kakuzu were returning to the Akatsuki base, and she attacked him in fury.
• Kakuzu survived after hiding one heart underground, and Shinichi and Konan later helped subdue Yugito.

Akatsuki sent Biwa Jūzō to lead Kisame, Ryu, and their new recruits in a search for Orochimaru, where they encountered an Otogakure team. The clash left Biwa Jūzō, Kisame, and Ryu trapped by Ice Release while Kimimaro faced Lotus, and a transformed blond Oto shinobi prepared to attack the others.

• Akatsuki assigned Shinichi to watch Yugito Nii and sent Biwa Jūzō to the Land of Rice Fields to supervise Kisame's three recruits while they hunted Orochimaru.
• The mist team searched a ruined village where Orochimaru had appeared, then encountered a four-person Otogakure squad.
• Lotus attacked the young Oto shinobi, but Kimimaro intercepted him and revealed that they belonged to the same clan.
• An Oto shinobi trapped Biwa Jūzō, Kisame, and Ryu in Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals and bound them with wooden stakes.
• Kimimaro dodged Lotus's attack with Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets as a blond Oto shinobi transformed and offered to kill the trapped mist team.

Kimimaro fought Lotus, who revealed that developing the Shikotsumyaku too deeply without the Kaguya Clan’s secret medicine and blood-changing ritual would shorten his life. The chapter ended with Kimimaro rejecting Lotus’s warning and trusting Orochimaru to solve his condition.

• Lotus and Kimimaro clashed with the Willow Dance, and Lotus’s greater strength shattered Kimimaro’s bone blade and kicked him down.
• Kimimaro activated his Curse Mark and used the Clematis Dance, shocking Lotus with his skill and control over his bloodline power.
• Lotus lamented that Kimimaro’s talent might have saved the Kaguya Clan if he had been born earlier, then warned that Kimimaro would not live long.
• Lotus explained that the secret medicine and blood-changing ritual could counter the corruption caused by deeply developed Shikotsumyaku.
• Kimimaro dismissed the warning because he trusted Orochimaru to resolve his physical problems.

The Sound Four fought Biwa Jūzō, Kisame, and Ryu, but the Mist team broke out of Haku’s Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals with a powerful Water Release attack. Yamato and Haku activated their Heaven Curse Marks as the battle escalated, while Orochimaru watched from a cliff and judged his trainees against Hyuga Kagami.

• Biwa Jūzō, Kisame, and Ryu broke free of the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals after Kisame shattered the ice with Hiramekarei and a massive Water Release wave swept Haku and Yamato aside.
• Yamato blocked Kisame’s attack with a Wood Locking Wall, and a yellow-haired monster intercepted Hiramekarei before the three Sound Four members faced the Mist team again.
• Yamato activated his Heaven Curse Mark, revealing enormous flesh wings and a surge of chakra, then urged Haku to do the same.
• Haku activated his Heaven Curse Mark and grew flesh wings as the two teams prepared to fight at full strength.
• Orochimaru watched the standoff with Kabuto and said the Sound Four were still immature and fell short of Hyuga Kagami.