Chapter Summaries

Menma organized the Uchiha and Hyuga clans into the Land of Stars’ new Police Department, then traveled toward Amegakure after Akatsuki members clashed with Kakuzu. As Orochimaru joined the Akatsuki, Menma remained undercover in a caravan and recognized the young Amegakure ninja Ajisai amid a bandit attack.

• Menma appointed Uchiha Shisui and Hizashi Hyuga as the Police Department’s minister and deputy minister, separating its law-enforcement duties from the judiciary.
• Menma received Gato’s report that Itachi Uchiha and Momochi Zabuza had fought Kakuzu, whose strange healing ability forced them to retreat.
• Menma told Kakuzu not to start a war with the Akatsuki, then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel to the Land of Rain and hide in a merchant caravan bound for Amegakure.
• Orochimaru attacked Deva Path Pain to seize his Rinnegan, was repelled by Shinra Tensei, and was accepted into the Akatsuki under Pain’s watch.
• Zetsu reported that Itachi Uchiha and Momochi Zabuza had failed to defeat Kakuzu, drawing Orochimaru’s interest in Kakuzu’s suspected immortal body.
• Bandits disguised as refugees attacked the caravan’s Amegakure guards, and Menma recognized the young ninja Ajisai among the defenders but did not intervene.

Menma infiltrated Amegakure, discovered that Orochimaru and Akatsuki were there, and met the kind-hearted genin Ajisai while searching for Amado. He befriended Ajisai over ramen as Amado’s latest clone experiment failed in a hidden laboratory.

• Menma hid in a refugee caravan, watched Ajisai share food with starving children, and entered Amegakure unnoticed.
• Menma sensed Hanzo, Pain, Konan, and Orochimaru in the village, but found no trace of Jigen or Amado.
• Menma disguised himself as an orphan, caught Ajisai when she came to the warehouse, and brought her to the underground market.
• Menma questioned Ajisai about Amado and Amegakure, urged her to leave for the Land of Stars, and learned that she wanted to raise a panda.
• Amado watched another human clone die in a laboratory beneath a company called Regenerative Medicine, then prepared to continue his experiments.

Tsunade lost another fortune gambling in the Land of Grass before Jiraiya arrived with news of Konoha’s upheavals and his mission to investigate Asura and the Land of Stars. Jiraiya suspected Asura was the prophesied Child of Darkness, and he planned to travel first to the Land of Rain, then west.

• Tsunade lost her chips at Golden House and signed another IOU while Shizune reminded her about her growing debt.
• Shizune told Tsunade that Jiraiya had arrived with news from Konoha, and Tsunade found him joking with geisha outside the inn and punched him.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade about the Uchiha clan’s extermination, Asura’s attack on Konoha, and Hizashi Hyuga and his son leading Branch House members to defect to the Land of Stars.
• Jiraiya explained that the Land of Stars had grown into a major power under Asura, who had gathered rare kekkei genkai users and apparently broken the Hyuga Caged Bird seal.
• Jiraiya said Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered him to infiltrate the Land of Stars and investigate Asura, whom he suspected might be the Great Toad Sage’s prophesied Child of Darkness.
• Jiraiya planned to visit the Land of Rain before heading west, while Tsunade wondered what Hiruzen had done to bring Konoha to this point.

Tsunade decided to travel to the Land of Stars after learning that Uzumaki survivors might live there, while Menma investigated Amado’s company in Amegakure and met Ajisai. The chapter ended with Menma sensing a powerful, unidentified intruder heading toward Hanzo’s tower.

• Tsunade read Jiraiya’s letter and ordered Shizune to prepare for their journey to the Land of Stars, privately hoping to find surviving Uzumaki clansmen.
• Menma used his Mind’s Eye of the Kagura to investigate the Regenerative Medical Technology Company and detected Amado’s chakra but not Jigen’s.
• Ajisai visited Menma with ramen as a return gift, and the two ate together while she questioned his interest in Amado.
• Jiraiya infiltrated Amegakure, recalling his former students Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato as he made his way toward the village center.
• Menma sensed an unidentified Kage-level ninja infiltrating Amegakure and heading toward Hanzo’s tower, then told Ajisai to stay quiet.

Orochimaru joined Akatsuki as Santai and learned that Jiraiya had infiltrated Amegakure, while Menma discovered that Jigen had visited Amado and could evade his chakra perception. Menma followed Ajisai to an explosion site, where he spotted Jiraiya and watched Konan arrive to confront him.

• Pain gave Orochimaru the ring and codename Santai and paired him with Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Nagato sensed Jiraiya in Amegakure and sent Zetsu to monitor him, while Pain ordered Konan to persuade Jiraiya to leave if he threatened Akatsuki.
• Menma sensed Jigen speaking with Amado, then concluded that Jigen could shield himself from chakra perception and planned to use a space-time mark to track him.
• After an explosion drew Ajisai toward the eastern district, Menma left a Shadow Clone watching Amado's company and followed her to the scene.
• Menma saw Jiraiya drinking at an izakaya while Hanzo's Anbu executed captured Rain ninja, then sensed Zetsu and Konan approaching Jiraiya.
• Konan landed on the izakaya roof as Menma hid nearby and waited to see how she would approach Jiraiya.

Jiraiya investigated Akatsuki’s disappearance in Amegakure while Menma comforted Ajisai after Hanzo’s forces killed her friend. Menma brought Ajisai to Jiraiya’s disguised ramen shop, where their conversation about food and travel left Jiraiya suspicious of Menma’s knowledge.

• Jiraiya learned from two bar girls that Akatsuki had been silenced and vanished, then set a disguised ramen shop to lure a Rain ninja into questioning.
• Aoi Rokushō reported to Pain that Hanzo’s Anbu had executed five rebels, and Pain ordered him to keep monitoring Hanzo.
• Menma found Ajisai grieving for Kenta and told her that lasting peace would require destroying the existing countries and ninja villages.
• Menma invited Ajisai to eat and offered to take her away from Amegakure if she wanted a different future.
• At Jiraiya’s ramen shop, Menma recognized the Konoha instant ramen seasoning and described food from many countries, making Jiraiya increasingly wary of him.

Menma left Ajisai after revealing his real name, while Jiraiya investigated the Akatsuki and reunited with Konan. Pain sent a new Animal Path to provoke Hanzo, whose forces rushed toward a massive explosion in northern Amegakure.

• Menma gave Jiraiya the false name Ichiraku, then left Ajisai with his umbrella and revealed that his name was Uzumaki Menma.
• Jiraiya captured two Amegakure shinobi and learned that Hanzo had ambushed the Akatsuki, leading to Yahiko’s apparent death and Nagato’s terrible retaliation.
• Konan attacked Jiraiya, who saved himself and confronted her about Yahiko, the Akatsuki, and their former bond as teacher and student.
• Pain ordered Zetsu to send the new Animal Path, hoping the growing commotion would force Hanzo to act.
• An explosion struck northern Amegakure, and Hanzo sent twelve Anbu to investigate as Pain watched from the tower.

Jiraiya confronted Konan and discovered that Nagato had become Pain, declared Yahiko dead, and embraced a plan to impose peace through shared suffering. As Jiraiya prepared to enter Sage Mode and Pain moved to confront Hanzo, Menma warned Amado that Jigen had misled him about cloning and the possibility of restoring his daughter Akebi.

• Jiraiya defeated and bound Konan, but she challenged him over whether he regretted sparing her, Yahiko, and Nagato during the war.
• Nagato appeared as Animal Path Pain, revealed that Yahiko had died, and explained his belief that the world needed to experience equal pain to understand peace.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamaken and began gathering natural energy to enter Sage Mode while Nagato watched through Pain; Zetsu reported that Hanzo had sent Anbu after Jiraiya, and Pain set out to settle their old scores.
• Menma secretly entered Amado's office and told him that Jigen had misled him about cloning, explaining that clones would have new souls and could not restore Akebi's original self.
• Amado reeled at Menma's warning, while Menma left the office intending to speak with Jigen.

Jiraiya and Gamaken fought Pain’s multiplying Summoned Beasts while Amegakure Anbu joined the battle, prompting Hanzo the Salamander to lead an attack. Nagato’s Shinra Tensei scattered Hanzo’s force, and Jiraiya realized that Pain, Yahiko, and the Summoned Beasts were likely corpses controlled by Nagato’s Rinnegan.

• Animal Path Pain concealed himself inside an invisible chameleon and summoned a Hellhound that split into more beasts whenever it was badly damaged.
• Jiraiya and Gamaken lured the Hellhounds into an alley and burned them with a Great Flame Bullet, but a Giant Bird struck Gamaken and a Rhino drove them into a wall.
• Amegakure Anbu arrived and fought Konan and the Giant Bird, while Jiraiya hid in the ruins and continued gathering natural energy.
• Hanzo the Salamander led elite Anbu toward the battle, but Nagato used Shinra Tensei and missiles to destroy most of his force.
• Hanzo fought the poison-resistant Summoned Beasts and was shocked to see Yahiko bearing the Rinnegan on a nearby tower.
• Jiraiya noticed the black rods and Rinnegan eyes on Pain, Yahiko, and the Summoned Beasts, and concluded they were dead bodies controlled by Nagato.

Obito watched Pain defeat and kill Hanzo, while Jiraiya’s searchers continued closing in. Jiraiya emerged from hiding in Sage Mode with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, ready to face Pain and Konan.

• Obito returned to Amegakure and decided that Jiraiya had to die to protect the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Deva Path Pain repelled Hanzo’s attack, and Hanzo’s poisonous mist failed to harm Pain, Asura Path Pain, or their Summoned Beasts.
• Deva Path Pain condemned Hanzo for betraying the Akatsuki and endangering his people, then pulled him toward Asura Path Pain, who killed him.
• Salamander Ibuse vanished after Hanzo died, while Pain, Konan, and Animal Path continued searching for Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya emerged from a dark alley in Sage Mode with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, and the two toads recognized the Rinnegan as the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.

Jiraiya entered Sage Mode and confronted Nagato’s Pain, while Jigen watched the battle from his office. Menma then confronted Jigen and revealed that he knew Jigen was Otsutsuki Isshiki, shattering Jigen’s composure.

• Jiraiya’s toad sages found the hidden Chameleon, and Fukasaku cut it apart with a Sage Art: Water Cutting Wave.
• Animal Path Pain emerged, and Jiraiya resolved to stop Nagato if he had become the prophesied Child of Darkness.
• Deva Path Pain and Asura Path Pain joined Animal Path Pain as Jiraiya declared that defeating Nagato was his duty as his teacher.
• Jigen received word that Hanzo was suspected to have died, then continued monitoring the fighting from his office.
• Menma stormed into Jigen’s office, sat down with him, and identified himself as Otsutsuki Isshiki.
• Jigen crushed his wineglass in shock after Menma revealed his identity.

Jiraiya fought Deva Path Pain and the other Pains in Amegakure, destroying Animal Path before Deva Path nearly killed him. An explosion elsewhere interrupted the confrontation, as Menma battled Jigen and wounded him with an attack Jigen could not absorb.

• Jiraiya used Sage Mode and the toad sages’ techniques to fight Deva Path, Asura Path, and Animal Path Pain, but the Pains countered his attacks with summons, missiles, and their abilities.
• Fukasaku and Shima used Toad Song to immobilize the Pains, giving Jiraiya an opening to destroy Animal Path with an Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan.
• Deva Path Pain struck Jiraiya with Shinra Tensei and prepared to finish him, but a powerful explosion in southeast Amegakure distracted the battlefield.
• Menma deflected Jigen’s Black Receiver and blasted him through his office, prompting Jigen to activate Karma’s Stage One and attack Menma.
• Jigen’s shrinking Black Receivers failed to pierce Menma, and Menma forced him out of hiding with a sweeping Fire Style attack.
• Menma hit Jigen with a Mini Spiraling Ring that Jigen could not absorb, shattering his arms and leaving a Flying Thunder God mark on his failing body.

Jigen and Menma interrupted the battle between Pain and Jiraiya, then fought while Akatsuki watched in shock. Jigen subdued Deva Path Pain and absorbed Konan and Obito’s attacks, before turning his attention back to Menma.

• Orochimaru, Obito, and Zetsu noticed the battle between Menma and Jigen, while Konan left Pain to investigate the disturbance.
• Jigen crashed into the ruins, blocked Asura Path Pain’s attack, and knocked him aside; Menma then appeared and challenged Jigen.
• Menma and Jigen resumed their fight, dodging Asura Path Pain’s missiles until Jigen enlarged hidden Black Receivers to destroy the missiles and kick Menma away.
• Asura Path Pain fired a laser at Menma, but Menma pierced it with a Black Receiver and pinned Asura Path Pain to a wall, disabling him.
• Jigen used hidden Black Receivers to pin Deva Path Pain, then absorbed Konan’s paper attack and Obito’s fireball before declaring Menma his next target.

Menma forced Jigen to retreat from Amegakure, but Jigen drained the Ten-Tails to recover and returned in Karma: State Two. Jigen recognized Menma as a contingency Kaguya had left behind and confronted him by name.

• Menma used Flying Thunder God and the Giant Tenseigan to find shrunken Jigen and strike him with a Mini Spiraling Ring.
• Jigen escaped through a portal to his other dimension while Menma sensed the Flying Thunder God mark he had placed on him.
• In his dimension, Jigen absorbed chakra from the sealed Ten-Tails to heal his injuries and stabilize his Karma.
• Jigen returned to Amegakure with his power restored and activated Karma: State Two.
• Menma called Jigen “Isshiki,” and Jigen accused him of being Kaguya’s contingency.

Menma revealed Dark Kurama Chakra Mode and overwhelmed Jigen, who then transported him to an alternate dimension to trap him. Menma summoned the colossal Dark Kurama there, leaving Jigen shocked and demanding to know what it was.

• Black Zetsu panicked when Menma claimed he had searched for Jigen for a thousand years, fearing Menma might know about Kaguya and his plans.
• Jigen entered Karma: State Two and beat Menma into a tower, but Menma emerged in Dark Kurama Chakra Mode, powered by the Giant Tenseigan.
• Menma used his enhanced speed and strength to overwhelm Jigen, then repelled Jigen's barrage of Black Receivers with Shinra Tensei.
• Jigen summoned black cubes with Daikokuten, and a dark-red portal pulled Menma into an alternate dimension before the attack landed.
• Jigen followed Menma into the dimension and tried to trap him there, but Menma summoned the colossal Dark Kurama, leaving Jigen stunned and asking what it was.

Menma and Dark Kurama fought Jigen in his alternate dimension, forcing him to flee and revealing the location of the Ten-Tails. Back in Amegakure, Pain prepared to take control of the village while Jiraiya escaped and received help from Ajisai at the harbor.

• Menma and Dark Kurama battled Jigen, countering his shrinking and Black Receiver attacks before Menma struck him with a Mini Spiraling Ring.
• Jigen pinned Dark Kurama's tails with Black Receivers, but Menma used his spatial ability to free her, and she drove Jigen to flee with an Ultra-Big Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Menma sensed the Flying Thunder God mark he had placed on Jigen, located the Ten-Tails' dimension, and transported himself and Dark Kurama there.
• Pain had Naraka Path repair Asura Path and Animal Path, learned that White Zetsu spies had been disappearing, and ordered Akatsuki to take control of Amegakure.
• Konan reported that Jiraiya was missing, and Pain concluded that he had escaped before declaring Amegakure Akatsuki's new beginning.
• Jiraiya, badly wounded at a harbor north of Amegakure, encountered Ajisai helping villagers flee and accepted her aid and invitation to board their ship.

Menma ambushed Jigen in Isshiki’s alternate dimension, broke the Ten-Tails’ seal, and escaped with the beast and Dark Kurama after she began draining its chakra. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Shizune traveled toward the Land of Stars, where a gigantic Ten-Tails appeared in the desert and shocked them.

• Jigen returned to his alternate dimension and drained the Ten-Tails’ chakra to heal and strengthen himself, but Menma appeared and interrupted him with a surprise attack.
• Menma shattered the altar sealing the Ten-Tails, then sent Dark Kurama to grapple with and absorb its chakra while Jigen fought him.
• Jigen realized Menma intended to steal the Ten-Tails and prepared to reincarnate, but Menma used the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to teleport himself, Dark Kurama, and the Ten-Tails away.
• Jigen remained alone in his ruined dimension, raging over the collapse of his plan.
• Tsunade and Shizune crossed the Land of Wind with Sharo’s caravan, learned that merchants secretly traded with the Land of Stars, and watched Sharo bribe a Sunagakure patrol.
• A tremor shook the desert, and a gigantic ten-tailed beast appeared on the horizon, leaving Tsunade and Shizune stunned.

The Ten-Tails rampaged in the desert until Menma and Dark Kurama restrained it and began draining its chakra. Tsunade and Shizune arrived to investigate, but Tsunade collapsed after seeing blood on Menma’s clothes, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Sunagakure’s patrol squad and Sharo’s caravan fled in terror as the Ten-Tails appeared, while Tsunade and Shizune headed toward the battle.
• Dark Kurama attacked the Ten-Tails as Menma dodged its blows, struck its tails with Black Receivers, and bound it with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Dark Kurama began absorbing the restrained Ten-Tails’ chakra, and Menma moved to intercept Tsunade and Shizune before they could approach.
• Tsunade recognized the Adamantine Sealing Chains and questioned Menma, who identified himself as an Uzumaki clansman and Dark Kurama as his partner.
• Tsunade saw blood on Menma’s cloak, suffered a hemophobia attack, and collapsed before the two sides could fight.

Jiraiya offered Ajisai a paid escort mission to the Land of Stars, giving her a reason to consider leaving the unsettled Land of Rain. In Sunagakure, Rasa learned that a gigantic Ten-Tails had appeared near the Land of Stars and ordered an operation to capture it before Asura could reach it.

• Ajisai helped refugees arriving at a port in the Land of Rain while Jiraiya recovered from his injuries.
• Jiraiya warned Ajisai against returning to Amegakure and offered her a B-rank escort mission to the Land of Stars.
• Ajisai learned that Jiraiya had encountered Menma before and said she would discuss the mission with her companions.
• Ebizo reported to Rasa and Chiyo that a creature resembling a tailed beast with ten tails had appeared in the northern Land of Wind.
• Rasa ordered Chiyo and Ebizo to assemble a special force and declared that he would personally lead the mission to capture the Ten-Tails.

Sunagakure’s forces set out to confront the Ten-Tails, while Tsunade woke in the ruins and learned that the young man beside the captured beast called himself Asura. His identity left her stunned.

• Rasa briefed Sunagakure’s elite on the Ten-Tails and ordered them to capture it or keep it away from the village.
• Yura mentioned Yashamaru, Baki reprimanded him, and Pakura’s Imprinted Tsukuyomi sent intelligence about the mission through the chakra network.
• Pakura discovered Gaara among the assembled troops and learned from Baki that Rasa planned to use the boy’s power as a last resort.
• Rasa led the thirty-six-person unit north toward the Death Sand Sea.
• Tsunade woke, saw Menma’s Nine-Tails draining the bound Ten-Tails, and joined him atop a ruined tower.
• Menma told Tsunade that six or seven pure-blooded Uzumaki survived and introduced himself as Asura, shocking her.