Chapter Summaries

Ye Zi killed the Third Raikage, but Killer B kept his corpse from being taken for Impure World Reincarnation and fought on with the Eight-Tails. After the Eight-Tails’ Tailed Beast Eight Rolls failed to defeat Ye Zi, Ye Zi revealed Wood Release: Susanoo and charged to finish the battle quickly.

• Ye Zi killed the Third Raikage, but Killer B used a tentacle to send the corpse to the Cloud ninja before Ye Zi could take a DNA sample.
• Killer B fully transformed into the Eight-Tails and began Tailed Beast Eight Rolls against Ye Zi.
• The Eight-Tails’ spinning attack swept away the water, roots, and mountains of Cloud-Thunder Gorge, while A ordered the Cloud ninja to kill Ye Zi if Killer B failed.
• Ye Zi survived inside Wood Release: Susanoo, a gigantic armored wooden figure, and formed a blade from black lightning.
• Ye Zi charged the Eight-Tails, intending to defeat it within three exchanges, while the Cloud ninja watched uneasily.

Ye Zi defeated Killer B and the Eight-Tails with the Wood Release Susanoo’s exploding black lightning blade. He swallowed the unconscious Killer B into Kuchiyose’s alternate dimension, then escaped underground as the Cloud ninja closed in.

• Ye Zi’s Wood Release Susanoo overwhelmed Killer B, who restrained it with the Eight-Tails’ tentacles but could not stop its black lightning blade.
• Ye Zi released the blade’s unstable energy, engulfing the Eight-Tails and the Susanoo in a mass of black lightning.
• The Eight-Tails’ full transformation ended, and Killer B fell unconscious while the charred Wood Release Susanoo remained standing.
• Ye Zi emerged from the Susanoo and used Kuchiyose’s ability to swallow Killer B into an alternate dimension.
• As the Cloud ninja rushed toward him, Ye Zi escaped by merging into the ground with the Inorganic Reincarnation and Earth Mayfly techniques.

Ye Zi escaped Cloud-Thunder Gorge with the unconscious Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, leaving Kumogakure defeated and the Third Raikage dead. A arranged care for the wounded, then agreed to an alliance with Konoha as the counterattack began.

• Ye Zi outran the Cloud ninja and fled toward the Land of Rain with Killer B, while A found his forces unable to pursue him.
• A and Dodai returned to Kumogakure with more than four thousand unconscious comrades and the Third Raikage's corpse, then organized treatment and rest for the survivors.
• Dodai brought Ino-Shika-Cho out of symbolic imprisonment and confirmed to Lujiu that Kumogakure had lost.
• Ino-Shika-Cho followed Dodai to the Raikage's office, where A agreed to an alliance with Konoha.

Lujiu secured Kumogakure's support for an alliance against Ye Zi and set out with Ino-Shika-Cho to persuade the Mizukage in Kirigakure. Meanwhile, Akatsuki's team infiltrated Kirigakure to capture the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, who was also the Mizukage.

• A told Ino-Shika-Cho that Ye Zi had killed the Third Raikage, captured the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, and caused around five thousand Cloud ninja casualties.
• Lujiu, Choza, and Haiyi left Kumogakure for the Land of Water to negotiate with the Mizukage and complete the alliance.
• Kisame, Juzo, Uchiha Jin, Scorpion, Kakuzu, and Konan crossed Kirigakure's warning line and hid in a nearby forest.
• Konan split the team, assigning Kisame, Uchiha Jin, and Kakuzu to confront the Mizukage while she, Juzo, and Scorpion held off reinforcements.
• The six Akatsuki members used White Zetsu's intelligence to avoid patrols and approach the Mizukage's residence.

Kisame, Kakuzu, and Uchiha Jin attacked Utakata’s residence while Konan, Juzo, and Scorpion intercepted the Mist ninja reinforcements. Utakata survived the initial assault and faced the attackers as the battle spread across Kirigakure.

• Konan detected a hundred Anbu guarding Utakata’s residence, and the six attackers split up to begin their mission.
• Kakuzu combined Fire Release and Wind Release to blast Utakata’s room, but Utakata escaped unharmed inside a bubble.
• Utakata confronted Kisame, Kakuzu, and Uchiha Jin, and Kisame rejected the idea of returning to his village.
• Konan used Paper Rain to attack approaching Mist ninja through the fog, while Juzo killed others with Kubikiribōchō.
• Scorpion sent his Kaguya Clan human puppets spinning through the fog to block reinforcements and used the Third Kazekage human puppet against attackers who got through.
• The battle at Utakata’s residence erupted as Mist ninja reinforcements continued to arrive.

Utakata and the Mist Anbu attacked Kakuzu, Kisame, and Uchiha Jin with coordinated Bubble Technique, but the trio survived and divided their targets. Kisame unleashed a massive Water Release against Utakata’s forces, leaving the battle raging as Konan and her companions held off reinforcements.

• Utakata and the Mist Anbu accelerated explosive and acid bubbles toward Kakuzu, Kisame, and Uchiha Jin, who blocked the attacks with an Earth Wall and Water Release.
• Kakuzu took responsibility for the Mist Anbu while Kisame and Uchiha Jin moved to confront Utakata; Kisame planned to lead the attack as Uchiha Jin sought an opening to use genjutsu.
• Kisame cast Great Waterfall Technique, flattening Utakata’s residence and sweeping Mist ninja into a giant wave.
• Kisame sent water sharks through the torrent as trapped Mist ninja were attacked, while Konan and her companions recognized Kisame’s Water Release from their positions blocking reinforcements.

Kisame and Uchiha Jin captured Utakata during the attack on Kirigakure, while Kakuzu and Konan’s team fought off the Mist ninja. The six-person group escaped after a three-day pursuit and returned to Amegakure with Utakata, where Ye Zi and Nagato were waiting.

• Kisame scattered the Mist ninja with a massive Water Release, and Kakuzu sent his five Earth Grudge Fear masks to attack them as Konan’s blockade came under pressure.
• Utakata entered his second-form Tailed Beast Transformation and charged Kisame, dissolving Kisame’s greatsword with his corrosive Dissolving Cloak.
• Kisame trapped Utakata in a water sphere, and Uchiha Jin used his Sharingan and wood release to seal him inside an airtight wooden ball.
• Kisame and Uchiha Jin rendered Utakata unconscious, and Kisame absorbed his Chakra before carrying him as the group retreated from Kirigakure.
• Konan’s six-person group fought its way out and evaded the Mist ninja after a three-day-and-four-night pursuit, reaching the Land of Rain and returning to Amegakure.
• Ye Zi and Nagato were waiting in Amegakure when Konan’s team arrived with Utakata, and the team members were startled to see Ye Zi.

Ye Zi returned to Amegakure after completing his mission and bringing back the Two-Tails Jinchuriki and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, while the others returned with the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. As the plan neared its final stage, Ye Zi outlined a cover plan with White Zetsu and Black Zetsu but kept his true intentions secret.

• Ye Zi returned to Amegakure, and the exhausted group arrived carrying the Six-Tails Jinchuriki Kisame had captured.
• Nagato took the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and ordered the group to rest for a day before sealing three Jinchuriki at once.
• White Zetsu and Black Zetsu discussed capturing the Nine-Tails and forcing Nagato to use the Reanimation Technique to revive Madara.
• Ye Zi concealed his plan to return to Earth and told them he would follow Nagato to Konoha, then help control Nagato if he captured the Nine-Tails.
• When Black Zetsu asked what they would do if Nagato failed, Ye Zi said their next move would depend on whether Nagato lived or died.

Nagato began sealing the three captured tailed beasts in Amegakure while the exhausted Akatsuki members endured the days-long process. In Kirigakure, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio secured an alliance against Amegakure after learning that the Mizukage and Kumogakure's Jinchuriki had been captured, then hurried back to Konoha to organize talks.

• Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path beneath Amegakure's tower and began extracting the tailed-beast Chakra from Yugito, Utakata, and Killer B.
• The Ino-Shika-Cho trio arrived in Kirigakure, where the village's officials agreed to join an alliance against Amegakure.
• Kirigakure's officials told the trio that Akatsuki had kidnapped the Mizukage, and Lujiu revealed that Kumogakure's Jinchuriki had also been captured.
• The Mist ninja urged Konoha to arrange talks among the five Kage, and Lujiu promised to send the meeting location by communication hawk.
• The Ino-Shika-Cho trio left Kirigakure for Konoha to organize the talks as the sealing continued in Amegakure.

After the Phantom Nine Dragon Seal was completed, Nagato and Konan set out for Konoha to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Ye Zi learned of their departure and prepared to follow them from a distance after resting.

• Nagato completed the Phantom Nine Dragon Seal, and the three Jinchuriki died as their Tailed Beast Chakra was extracted.
• White Zetsu collected the corpses for Ye Zi, who sealed them in a scroll and went to sleep.
• After resting, Nagato left Amegakure with Konan and headed for Konoha, determined to complete their plan.
• White Zetsu told Ye Zi that Nagato and Konan had set out, and Ye Zi ate before preparing to trail them without being detected.

Nagato and Konan prepared to invade Konoha with Pain Six Paths, while Ye Zi positioned himself on the village’s eastern side. The attack began as Animal Path was hurled toward Konoha’s barrier, leaving the village unaware of the incoming threat.

• Nagato and Konan arrived near Konoha without intelligence on Kushina’s movements, and Konan built a disguised paper signal tower.
• Nagato summoned Pain Six Paths and planned how they would locate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, fight Konoha’s forces, and return if defeated.
• Nagato resolved to spend his life if necessary and sent Pain Six Paths toward Konoha.
• After White Zetsu confirmed Nagato’s location, Ye Zi circled to Konoha’s eastern side while Nagato and Konan remained west of the village.
• Asura Path threw Animal Path toward Konoha’s barrier as Ye Zi watched the invasion begin.

Nagato launched his assault on Konoha, using the Animal Path and Asura Path to draw the village’s defenders into a battle with missiles and summoned beasts. As Konoha ninja fought to contain the attack, the Human Path and Hell Path gathered intelligence elsewhere in the village.

• The Animal Path entered Konoha undetected, and the sensory-barrier team reported one intruder at Center Double Eleven.
• The Animal Path joined the other Paths while Nagato and Konan watched through the shared Rinnegan vision, and Nagato ordered the assault to begin.
• The Asura Path fired fifteen missiles into Konoha’s buildings, killing residents and drawing the village’s ninja toward the explosions.
• The Animal Path summoned the Mukade centipede and Three-Headed Hellhound, then four more giant beasts, misleading Konoha into concentrating its forces around the apparent attackers.
• Konoha ninja split into teams and attacked the Paths and summoned beasts, but the Asura Path’s missiles killed the first taijutsu specialists who charged in.

The Pain Six Paths attacked Konoha, drawing its ninja into battles while Human Path and Hell Path searched for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Minato and Konoha’s other fighters arrived to confront them, but the target remained missing.

• Asura Path and the summoned beasts battered Konoha’s vanguard, while the Three-Headed Hellhound multiplied after blocking an attack and the Yata Crow struck the medical corps.
• Human Path and Hell Path captured Konoha ninja and searched their memories, but found no information about the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Deva Path used Shinra Tensei to blast away Konoha’s encircling force, leaving Hiashi and Hizashi among the survivors who regrouped.
• Minato arrived to face Deva Path and Preta Path, and a subordinate briefed him on their abilities.
• Kakashi, Rin, Obito, and other Konoha ninja surrounded Human Path and Hell Path, suspecting they had been gathering intelligence.

Konoha’s forces engaged the six Pain Paths across several battlefields, while Minato confronted the Deva Path and Preta Path near Hokage Rock. Nagato concluded that he would need to capture the Hokage to find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Kakashi refused to take the surrounded Human Path and Hell Path alive, and Obito and Rin prepared to fight alongside him as the Paths attacked Konoha’s ninja.
• Minato ordered most of his forces away from the Deva Path’s area attacks but kept thirty elite ninja, including Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Might Guy, to assist him.
• Nagato sent the giant summoned beasts to break through their encirclement and scatter, inflicting heavy losses as Konoha’s ninja tried to protect the village.
• Tsunade summoned Katsuyu to treat wounded ninja while the Third Hokage organized attacks and Konoha gradually gained ground.
• Nagato saw that the Jinchuriki was not at any of the three locations and decided to capture Minato to obtain information through the Human Path.

Minato used Sage Mode and Flying Thunder God to attack the Deva Path, but Nagato used the shared vision of the Rinnegan and Shinra Tensei to repel him. Minato regrouped with the Konoha ninja and told them to study the enemy’s defense before attacking again.

• Minato activated Sage Mode and threw a formula Kunai at the Deva Path to begin the fight.
• Minato used rapid Flying Thunder God movements and Kunai exchanges to attack the Deva Path from multiple angles.
• Nagato used Preta Path’s shared vision to track Minato and activated Shinra Tensei to scatter his Rasengan and blast him away.
• Preta Path moved to protect the Deva Path during Shinra Tensei’s cooldown, while Minato returned to his original position.
• Minato told the Konoha ninja that the repulsion could defend against attacks and disperse Chakra, and warned them not to attack together before they found its weakness.

Nagato assessed how Minato countered the Deva Path and decided to personally intervene after the Pain Six Paths had exhausted their usefulness. As Minato’s team pressed the battlefield, Itachi’s redirected kunai created an opening against the Deva Path and Preta Path.

• Nagato concluded that the Deva Path and Preta Path could not withstand Konoha’s elite forces and told Konan he would eventually go to Konoha himself.
• Nagato decided to keep using the Pain Six Paths for attritional warfare before bringing out his original body.
• Konoha’s forces gained ground as Kakashi’s team fought the Human Path and Hell Path, while the Asura Path’s summons continued to kill ninja.
• Minato ordered the team to cover him and charged the Deva Path and Preta Path without teleporting, while Itachi and Shisui advanced beside him.
• Itachi threw eight kunai that the Deva Path and Preta Path dodged, then redirected two of them toward their backs by making the kunai collide in midair.

Minato and the Konoha ninja struggled against Nagato’s Deva Path and Preta Path, whose combined abilities let them absorb Chakra and kill several fighters. As the Deva Path controlled the Preta Path in an attack, Itachi used Amaterasu to set the Deva Path ablaze.

• Minato attacked the Preta Path with a giant Rasengan, but it absorbed the technique and nearly grabbed him before he escaped.
• Nagato used the Deva Path’s Banshō Ten'in to control the Preta Path and send it flying into the Konoha ninja.
• The Preta Path latched onto a Konoha Jonin and drained his Chakra, then killed five more ninja along its flight path.
• Minato recognized the danger of approaching the Chakra-absorbing Preta Path and prepared marked Kunai while focusing on the Deva Path.
• Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Amaterasu to ignite the Deva Path.

Itachi, Shisui, Minato, and Might Guy fought the Deva Path and Preta Path as Konoha’s defenders uncovered their abilities. Might Guy defeated the Preta Path, and Minato struck the Deva Path with a Wind Release: Rasengan before Nagato prepared to recall the Pain Six Paths.

• Itachi hit the Deva Path with Amaterasu, but it blasted away the black flames with Shinra Tensei and revealed that the flames had burned its body.
• Might Guy opened the Third Gate and defeated the Preta Path with a series of powerful taijutsu attacks.
• Shisui used Kotoamatsukami on the Deva Path, but the genjutsu failed because it was a puppet controlled by Nagato.
• The Deva Path pulled Shisui toward it with Banshō Ten'in, but Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to rescue him and secretly mark the Deva Path.
• Minato reappeared beside the Deva Path and struck it with a Wind Release: Rasengan before teleporting away as the attack engulfed it.
• Nagato decided to recall the Pain Six Paths.

Minato realized the defeated Pain Six Paths were puppets that could be recalled and repaired, then used his Flying Thunder God mark to locate their controller and prepare Konoha for another attack. Nagato sent the restored Six Paths back toward Konoha, while the chapter revealed that Kushina had been training in Shikkotsu Forest for more than two months and was absent from the village.

• Minato warned the Konoha ninja that the enemies were likely puppets, then found that the defeated Human Path and Hell Path vanished in white smoke.
• Minato visited Tsunade and the Third Hokage's battlefield and discovered that the defeated Animal Path and Asura Path had also disappeared.
• Nagato repaired Pain Six Paths with King Yama and sent them together toward Konoha for another attack.
• Minato sensed that the Flying Thunder God mark on Animal Path was moving, deduced that the enemy had revived and recalled it, and went to find Obito.
• Nagato planned to use Human Path to extract Minato's soul and learn where the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was.
• The chapter revealed that Kushina had left Konoha two months earlier and was staying in the harsh, acidic Shikkotsu Forest.

Kushina completed two months of harsh training in Shikkotsu Forest and entered its Sage Mode, while preparing to earn the Nine-Tails’ acknowledgment. The chapter left her facing the Nine-Tails inside the sealing space as she defended herself from his Tailed Beast Bomb.

• Kushina endured Shikkotsu Forest’s corrosive acid mist for two months and grew stronger through her training.
• The slug told Great Slug Sage that Kushina should be warned about Konoha’s danger, but Great Slug Sage insisted she finish what she had begun.
• Kushina opened the Nine-Tails’ cage seal and confronted him in the sealing space, seeking his acknowledgment.
• The Nine-Tails attacked Kushina with a Tailed Beast Bomb, but she blocked it with golden chains.
• Kushina’s eyes showed that she had activated Shikkotsu Forest’s Sage Mode.