Chapter Summaries

Menma and his team fought through the lunar Otsutsuki defenses and breached the artificial sun with his Great Spiraling Ring. As they approached the clan’s castle, Uchiha Hikari’s Susanoo carved a path through the asteroid belt, while Hizashi discovered that the enemy puppets had once been people.

• Sakuto detected the destruction of the Giant Crab Puppet and sent battle puppets riding Puppet Hawks to attack Menma’s team.
• Menma and his allies counterattacked the Puppet Hawk swarm, and Menma blasted a huge hole in the artificial sun’s barrier with the Great Spiraling Ring.
• Menma’s team entered the artificial sun and found a vast void containing a crescent moon and the lunar Otsutsuki Clan’s castle.
• Automated turrets hidden among the asteroid belt opened fire, and Uchiha Hikari summoned Susanoo to destroy the defenses and lead the team toward the castle.
• Hizashi used his Byakugan to see that the humanoid combat puppets appeared to have once been living people.

Menma and his allies fought Otsutsuki Sakuto’s puppet army and the massive stone statue at the castle plaza, while Uchiha Hikari’s Susanoo countered the Giant Tenseigan’s devastating attack. The chapter ended with Sakuto realizing that the invaders included an enemy powerful enough to withstand the Giant Tenseigan’s chakra beam.

• Otsutsuki Sakuto summoned the stone statue and ordered his puppets to kill the intruders.
• Kimimaro, Fuka, Shisui, and Hizashi fought through the puppet swarm while Menma defeated a butler puppet and attacked Sakuto.
• Uchiha Hikari used her complete Susanoo to split the statue’s fist and hurl its body into nearby buildings.
• Menma used Flying Thunder God to strike at Sakuto, but Sakuto repelled him with the Giant Tenseigan’s power.
• Sakuto unleashed a massive purple beam from Hamura Temple, and Hikari’s Susanoo split it apart with a single slash.
• Sakuto watched Hikari stop the beam and felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

Menma defeated Otsutsuki Sakuto and seized control of the battlefield before confronting the Giant Tenseigan. He unleashed the Nine-Tails cloak and reached toward the eye’s core, challenging Hamura to stop him.

• Menma destroyed the Hamura Statue with Spinning Ring, then bound Sakuto with Adamantine Sealing Chains and disrupted his chakra with a Black Receiver.
• Kimimaro sealed Toneri’s chakra, and Fuka restrained Toneri and the two maids.
• Menma entered Hamura Temple and revealed that he knew the danger of touching the Giant Tenseigan without Hamura’s bloodline guidance.
• Menma transformed into Tailed Beast Mode: Nine-Tails, shocking Sakuto, Shisui, Hizashi, Kimimaro, Fuka, and Hikari.
• Menma reached toward the Giant Tenseigan’s core as its energy clashed with his Nine-Tails chakra, and he challenged Hamura to stop him.

Menma's clash with the Giant Tenseigan pulled his spirit into a soul realm, where he met Otsutsuki Hamura and revealed secrets about Kaguya, a hidden third child, and future Otsutsuki threats. Menma demonstrated the Book of Vermilion Moon before disappearing, leaving Hamura shaken and wary.

• Menma's Nine-Tails chakra collided with the Giant Tenseigan, and the eye's core cracked as Menma's spirit was drawn inside.
• Hizashi Hyuga warned Uchiha Hikari not to intervene because Menma's spirit had entered the eye.
• Menma encountered Otsutsuki Hamura among the souls of the deceased Otsutsuki Main House and told him about Kaguya's hidden third child and an injured Otsutsuki who had survived for a thousand years.
• Menma said he would unite the Shinobi World and prepare to resist the Otsutsuki Clan, while Hamura questioned whether he could succeed.
• Menma revealed the Book of Vermilion Moon, whose power froze the surrounding souls, then vanished from the soul realm.

Menma subdued Otsutsuki Sakuto and claimed authority over the cracked Giant Tenseigan, revealing plans to repair it with mass-produced Byakugan and take control of the moon’s systems. As Menma prepared to leave Hamura Temple, his Sharingan unexpectedly began evolving, alarming Uchiha Shisui and Hizashi Hyuga.

• Menma returned from the Pure Land, used repulsive force to restrain Sakuto, and condemned him for abandoning Hamura’s duties and failing to protect the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Sakuto collapsed into despair, while Otsutsuki Toneri watched his father and began doubting the Branch House ideology.
• Menma resonated with the Giant Tenseigan and explained that his chakra could connect to it through his shared ancestry with Hamura.
• Menma told Hizashi that the Giant Tenseigan could eventually be repaired using mass-produced Byakugan, then ordered Fuka and Hikari to take over the castle and gather the moon’s records and techniques.
• As Menma prepared to leave Hamura Temple, his left Sharingan briefly changed, and Shisui recognized the power as a possible Mangekyo.

Menma awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan ability Rinyu and used it to erase the Giant Tenseigan’s authority links, making it recognize only him. Meanwhile, Toneri regained his sight through surgery and shared an emotional reunion with Sakuto, as the Otsutsuki father and son began settling into Star City.

• Menma evolved his left Sharingan into a Mangekyo and awakened the ocular jutsu Rinyu, while his right Red Eye also grew more powerful.
• Menma discovered that Rinyu could erase conceptual connections and used it to remove the Giant Tenseigan’s authority strands, leaving it to recognize only him.
• Uzumaki Fuka completed surgery to give Toneri the Byakugan, and Toneri opened his eyes and saw his father for the first time.
• Sakuto told Toneri to follow Lord Asura and see the world, then explained that his obsession was fulfilled and urged his son to repay their benefactor.
• Toneri wept as he held Sakuto’s hand and began to feel that he belonged in Star City.

After returning from the moon, Hizashi Hyuga grappled with the Hyuga clan’s Main House and Branch House system. Menma erased Hizashi’s Caged Bird mark and ordered him to prepare a list as the Branch House’s departure drew near.

• Ichiya Kaguya saw Hizashi, his wife, and Neji off as they left for Konoha.
• Hiashi welcomed Hizashi’s family back to the Hyuga estate and confirmed Hizashi was uninjured.
• Hizashi studied a roster of Branch House members and reflected on the clan system that bound them.
• Menma appeared outside Hizashi’s study and used Rinyu to erase Hizashi’s Caged Bird Cursed Seal.
• Menma told Hizashi to handle concealing the mark’s removal and to sort out the Branch House list soon.
• Hizashi wept with relief, activated his Byakugan, and laughed that he had won.

Gato and Kakuzu traveled to the Land of Water to recruit Kisame Hoshigaki, but found him accompanied by Oyashiro En, a member of the Chinoike Clan with the Ketsuryūgan. Oyashiro En offered to join their organization if it helped rescue his wife and daughter, leaving the recruitment mission complicated by his request.

• Gato warned Kakuzu not to kill Kisame Hoshigaki during the recruitment mission, while Kakuzu said he intended to test Kisame.
• Kakuzu asked Gato about a secret island casino and arena run by the Bounty Station, and Gato warned him against causing trouble there.
• Gato and Kakuzu met Kisame Hoshigaki and Oyashiro En at a cliff in the Land of Water.
• Kisame explained that he had attacked the Fourth Mizukage and asked for two days to help Oyashiro En deal with the people threatening his wife and daughter.
• Oyashiro En revealed his Ketsuryūgan and offered to join the organization if it helped rescue his family.

Menma and Iruka made Naruto clean the graffiti he had painted on the Fourth Hokage’s statue, and Iruka rewarded them with ramen. A message from Gato reached Menma, who left to shower before meeting Naruto and Iruka at Ichiraku.

• Naruto painted graffiti on the Fourth Hokage’s stone face, and Iruka caught him after Anbu reported the prank.
• Iruka reprimanded Naruto and ordered him and Menma to clean the statue; Menma explained that the cleanup would give Naruto a way to channel his energy.
• As Naruto and Menma restored the statue, Iruka recalled Hiruzen’s plea to understand and guide Naruto, and recognized that Naruto had begun making friends.
• After the work was finished, Iruka offered to treat Naruto and Menma to Ichiraku Ramen, and Naruto eagerly accepted.
• A message from Gato reached Menma through the chakra network, so he said he would go home to shower and meet them in half an hour.

Menma arrived at Hell Valley with Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Oyashiro En, promising to rescue Oyashiro En’s wife and daughter in exchange for access to the Chinoike Clan’s Kekkei Genkai. After detecting two Kumogakure sentries and frightening them into fleeing, Menma led his companions toward the valley.

• Menma appeared on the cliff and asked Oyashiro En and Kisame Hoshigaki how they had become friends; they explained their practical cooperation and trust.
• Menma offered to rescue Oyashiro En’s wife and daughter without payment, revealing his interest in the Chinoike Clan’s Kekkei Genkai.
• Menma ordered Gato to take the fleet toward the southern coast of the Land of Lightning, then traveled across the sea with Kakuzu, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Oyashiro En.
• One day later, Menma and the others reached Hell Valley, where Oyashiro En identified the place as the Chinoike Clan’s prison.
• Menma sensed two hidden Kumogakure ninja near the valley entrance and frightened them into fleeing before telling his companions to proceed.

The enraged Raikage assembled a powerful squad to confront Asura at Hell Valley. There, Menma challenged the Chinoike Clan’s leader over the clan’s cowardice and used his dōjutsu’s Coercion to overwhelm the villagers, leaving their old order shattered.

• After learning Asura had appeared in Hell Valley, A smashed his desk and ordered Kumogakure’s forces to prepare for revenge.
• Killer B urged A to send an elite squad, and A set out for Hell Valley with Killer B and selected ninja.
• Oyashiro En returned to the Chinoike village with Menma and his companions and asked Oyashiro Jin to let him take his wife and daughter, Chino, away.
• Oyashiro Jin blamed his clan’s exile on an ancestor and refused to let Oyashiro En’s family leave.
• Menma rebuked Oyashiro Jin and the Chinoike Clan for submitting to their imprisonment and turning against their own people.
• Menma unleashed Dōjutsu: Coercion, knocking Oyashiro Jin and several clansmen to the ground and terrifying the village.

Menma recruited Oyashiro En and secured Oyashiro Jin’s submission as the Raikage and Kumogakure forces attacked Hell Valley. As the battle escalated, Menma summoned nine masked beasts to face the Raikage, Matatabi, Gyuki, and their forces.

• Menma had Oyashiro En bring his wife and daughter, Chino, out of the stone house and prepared to leave Hell Valley with them.
• Raikage A arrived with Matatabi, Gyuki, and Kumogakure elites, then ordered the Chinoike Clan and Menma’s group killed.
• Menma evaded the Raikage and the two tailed beasts, then stopped an Anbu ninja from killing Oyashiro Jin.
• Menma offered to free the Chinoike Clan from Hell Valley, and Oyashiro Jin knelt and pledged the clan’s loyalty to him.
• Menma formed a summoning seal and called forth nine masked beasts to fight the Raikage’s forces.

Menma’s Dark Kurama cloak let him overpower Raikage A, Killer B, and Yugito as the nine masked beasts, Kakuzu, and Kisame drove the Cloud forces back. After their Tailed Beast Bombs devastated Hell Valley, Dark Kurama emerged from the blast and seized Gyuki, leaving Killer B facing an imminent attack.

• The nine masked beasts, Kakuzu, and Kisame turned the battle against the Cloud elites while Oyashiro En and Oyashiro Jin led the Chinoike survivors toward the valley exit.
• Menma activated Dark Kurama’s chakra cloak and fought Raikage A, Matatabi, and Gyuki at once, overpowering the three attackers.
• Raikage A ordered Killer B and Yugito to fire Tailed Beast Bombs, and Menma answered with one of his own; the three blasts collided and reshaped Hell Valley.
• As the survivors were thrown clear by the explosion, Dark Kurama burst from the dust and grabbed Gyuki, while Killer B saw Asura standing on its head.
• Dark Kurama began forming another Tailed Beast Bomb in its mouth as Killer B demanded to know who Asura was.

Menma and Dark Kurama crushed Raikage A, Killer B, and Yugito in Hell Valley, leaving all three badly wounded as Menma prepared a final attack. He vanished before the Great Spiraling Ring struck, and its blast swallowed the three Kumogakure fighters in a vast explosion.

• Dark Kurama devastated Gyuki with a Tailed Beast Bomb, then knocked Matatabi aside and crippled A's left arm with a Black Receiver.
• A severed his pierced arm and charged Dark Kurama again, while Kakuzu reported that the Chinoike Clan had been evacuated and Kumogakure's forces had suffered heavy casualties.
• Menma decided to end the battle with a Great Spiraling Ring, and Dark Kurama battered A back toward the injured Killer B and Yugito.
• Menma vanished with Dark Kurama as the Great Spiraling Ring struck, engulfing A, Killer B, and Yugito in a colossal explosion.

Darui and the surviving Cloud ninja watched Asura’s dark-red Nine-Tails overwhelm the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails, then endured the devastation of the Great Spiraling Ring. Darui found Raikage A, Killer B, and Yugito gravely wounded, while A blamed Konoha for the attack.

• Darui and the wounded Cloud ninja watched Dark Kurama suppress the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails with its overwhelming power.
• Darui recognized the expanding Great Spiraling Ring as the destructive ninjutsu that had damaged the Raikage Building three years earlier and shielded his companions from its aftermath.
• Darui rushed into the devastated battlefield and found A with a severed arm, Yugito unconscious, and Killer B critically injured after protecting them with Tailed Beast Eight Twists.
• A ordered Darui to call for medical support, and Darui fired a signal flare.
• A accused Konoha and the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, linking Asura’s power to the terrifying legends of Senju Hashirama.

Menma brought the surviving Chinoike Clan to the Land of Stars, where he assigned them a place to settle and gave Kakuzu and Kisame new roles. In Konoha, Kumogakure accused the village of hiding Asura’s identity and named Shimura Danzō as the mastermind behind the events.

• Menma led the Chinoike survivors to an island, supplied them, and arranged for Gato's fleet to take them to the Land of Stars.
• Oyashiro Jin and the Chinoike Clan arrived in Star City, where Menma placed them under Uzumaki Fuka's care and set terms for their settlement.
• Menma assigned Kakuzu to oversee Gato's commercial network and made Kisame Hoshigaki commander of the Land of Stars' Anbu.
• Terumi Mei invited Kisame Hoshigaki to dinner, and he accepted her offer.
• Dodai confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi in Konoha and accused the Hidden Leaf of concealing that Asura was its Nine-Tails jinchūriki, claiming Shimura Danzō was the mastermind.

Dodai accused Shimura Danzō of controlling Asura, but Konoha’s leaders denied the claim and rejected Kumogakure’s demands. Afterward, Dodai told Shi that his confrontation had revealed Konoha likely knew nothing of the Hell Valley battle and that its Nine-Tails jinchūriki had probably gone missing or out of control.

• Dodai accused Shimura Danzō of controlling Asura, citing Asura’s nine-tailed chakra cloak, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha leaders rejected the charge.
• Dodai ended the negotiations and left with the Kumogakure delegation after Konoha refused to accept his accusation.
• Danzō angrily blamed Asura for provoking conflict, while Hiruzen urged him not to let Kumogakure’s claims disrupt Konoha.
• At the inn, Shi told Dodai that Danzō’s chakra and mental presence differed entirely from Asura’s.
• Dodai explained that he had confronted Konoha to make other villages fear Kumogakure’s resolve and to test Konoha’s knowledge of the battle.
• Dodai concluded that Konoha’s Nine-Tails jinchūriki had likely gone missing or out of control and might be connected to Asura.

Danzō ordered Yakushi Kabuto to prioritize uncovering the source of Asura’s power, while Menma prepared to face Sasuke in the Academy’s practical combat class. The chapter left the two students facing each other in the training ring as their sparring match was about to begin.

• Danzō reviewed Kabuto’s limited intelligence from the Land of Stars and ordered Aburame Tatsuma to send an encrypted command demanding information about Asura’s chakra and strength.
• Naruto boasted that he would defeat Sasuke, while Choji and Kiba teased him about being the class dead last.
• Iruka announced that Sasuke Uchiha and Menma would be the first pair in practical combat class.
• Menma entered the ring with renewed interest in provoking the proud Sasuke, and the two faced each other as the students watched.

Menma defeated Sasuke in a Ninja Academy spar by outclassing him with basic taijutsu and ninja techniques. After Sasuke broke the rules and fired a Great Fireball, Menma escaped with the Substitution Technique and ended the match with a kunai at Sasuke’s neck.

• Sasuke opened the spar by throwing three kunai at Menma, who deflected them all with one shuriken.
• Menma used precise Konoha-Style Taijutsu to overwhelm Sasuke and knock him to the ground.
• Humiliated, Sasuke ignored Iruka’s rules and attacked Menma with the Great Fireball Technique.
• Menma substituted a wooden stake for himself, appeared behind Sasuke, and declared victory with a kunai at his neck.
• Iruka awarded Menma the win and punished Sasuke with a week of cleaning; Sasuke left the training ground while the classmates gathered around Menma.

After Menma defeated Sasuke in sparring, Hinata frightened off two girls who asked Menma to a movie. Sasuke sought comfort and training from Itachi, whose thoughts turned to Shisui’s disappearance and the growing rift between the Uchiha and Konoha.

• Ino warned Sakura not to pursue Menma, while Naruto and Kiba sparred and Kiba narrowly won.
• Two girls invited Menma to see Snow Princess Adventure, and Hinata erupted with a threatening aura until Menma calmed her.
• Iruka praised Menma’s judgment, criticized Sasuke’s unsafe use of the Great Fireball, and ended class.
• Sasuke ran to a training ground and told Itachi how Menma had defeated him; Itachi encouraged him and began training him.
• Itachi thought about Shisui’s disappearance, the Uchiha’s suspicions of Konoha, and his need to protect Sasuke and uncover the truth.