Chapter Summaries

Satsuki, Kakashi, and Guy fought through the Sound Ninja while the Third Hokage faced Orochimaru, who revealed his plan to seize Naruto and Kurama and destroy Konoha. The chapter ended as Orochimaru began the Impure World Reincarnation.

• Satsuki, Kakashi, and Guy coordinated their attacks and quickly broke through the Sound Ninja line while Satsuki worried about Naruto.
• Kakashi urged Satsuki to trust Naruto and focus on the fight, and she resolved to defeat her opponents quickly.
• Orochimaru revealed his true appearance, declared his intent to obtain Naruto and Kurama's power, and threatened to destroy Konoha.
• The Third Hokage countered Orochimaru's snake and shuriken attacks, and an Earth Substitution spared him from Orochimaru's Kusanagi Sword.
• Orochimaru suspected the Third Hokage had exposed his plan and begun preparing for the confrontation, but the Third Hokage denied knowing Kabuto.
• Orochimaru began the Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation.

Orochimaru summoned Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju with Impure World Reincarnation to fight Hiruzen Sarutobi, while a third summoning failed. Tobirama concluded the intended soul might still be alive, leaving Hiruzen shaken by the possibility that Minato survived before he prepared to face Orochimaru.

• Orochimaru summoned Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized the two former Hokage.
• Orochimaru attempted to summon a third person, but the coffin marked Four sank back underground.
• Tobirama explained that the failed summoning likely meant its intended soul was not in the Pure Land and might still be alive.
• Orochimaru reacted with delight at the possibility that someone had rejected Hiruzen, then used talismans to control Hashirama and Tobirama.
• Hashirama warned Hiruzen before losing control, and Hiruzen steeled himself to fight Orochimaru.

Naruto tried to calm Gaara and reach him, but Gaara's distress let One-Tails Shukaku seize control and fully emerge. Shukaku attacked Naruto and the Sand siblings, but Naruto's golden Chakra claw blocked its Wind Style: Air Bullet.

• Naruto healed Gaara's pain and offered to help him escape his loneliness, but Gaara rejected his kindness and declared he would kill Naruto.
• Gaara's hatred and weakened seal allowed One-Tails Shukaku to take control and transform completely, terrifying Temari and Kankuro.
• Naruto asked Shukaku to treat Gaara better and challenged it to a bet, prompting Shukaku to recognize Naruto as the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki.
• Shukaku fired Wind Style: Air Bullet at Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro, but Naruto's golden Chakra claw caught and stopped the attack.

Naruto used Tailed Beast Chakra Mode to overwhelm Shukaku, then countered its sea of sand with five Great Ball Rasengan infused with different chakra natures. The five attacks hurtled toward Shukaku, but the chapter ended before their impact was shown.

• Naruto moved at blinding speed and battered Shukaku with a relentless series of punches and kicks, while Temari and Kankuro watched in shock.
• Shukaku unleashed Desert Funeral, turning the clearing into a vast sea of sand that pursued Naruto.
• Kurama warned Naruto that the sand was a sealing technique and urged him to break it apart with ninjutsu.
• Naruto summoned four Shadow Clones, and he and the clones each formed a Great Ball Rasengan infused with a different chakra nature.
• Naruto ordered the five Rasengan to strike Shukaku from different angles.

Naruto battered Shukaku and redirected his Tailed Beast Ball with Flying Thunder God, leaving the tailed beast close to defeat. Watching from the forest, Orochimaru abandoned his plan to exploit the fight and began using Impure World Reincarnation.

• Naruto's five elemental Rasengan tore through Shukaku's sand defense and severely damaged his body.
• Shukaku fired a Tailed Beast Ball at Naruto, who transported it to a distant valley and made it explode harmlessly there.
• Kurama recalled Naruto's father and felt guilty and afraid that Naruto would learn the truth about his parents' deaths.
• Orochimaru watched the battle from a clone and decided Shukaku would soon be suppressed.
• Orochimaru formed the forbidden hand seal and used Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation.

Naruto was ambushed by the reincarnated Fourth Kazekage Rasa while pursuing Shukaku, then discovered that Mito Uzumaki and his mother Kushina Uzumaki had also been resurrected. As Rasa attacked again, both women were transformed into monstrous Tailed Beast forms, leaving Naruto facing his parents’ desecrated bodies.

• Naruto suffered a sudden ominous palpitation, then escaped a Gold Dust strike and recognized the attacker as the reincarnated Rasa.
• Naruto blasted through Rasa’s Gold Dust and tried to seize and seal him, but Kurama warned him of an attack from behind.
• Naruto evaded golden sealing chains and saw that Rasa was accompanied by the reincarnated Mito Uzumaki and Kushina Uzumaki.
• Naruto realized Kushina was his mother, and Kurama sensed his grief and rage as Rasa gathered Gold Dust for another attack.
• Mito and Kushina were engulfed by blood-red Chakra and transformed into monstrous Tailed Beast forms.

Naruto fought Orochimaru’s resurrected attackers, sealed Rasa, and tried to contain Kushina Uzumaki and Mito Uzumaki. The battle spiraled out of control when Shukaku appeared inside Konoha.

• Naruto used Kurama’s Chakra to form a golden fox head that blocked the attacks from Kushina Uzumaki and Mito Uzumaki’s rampaging forms, as well as Rasa’s Gold Dust.
• Naruto’s complete Tailed Beast Ball overwhelmed the two unstable Tailed Beast Balls, while his real body teleported Temari and Kankuro to safety and left a Shadow Clone to take the blast.
• Naruto used Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain Rasa and seal his reincarnated body, briefly restoring Rasa’s memories before his soul departed.
• Naruto turned back to the regenerated Kushina Uzumaki and Mito Uzumaki, estimating that subduing them would take at least ten minutes.
• A Shadow Clone sent Naruto a memory of being ambushed, and he sensed a powerful Chakra surge as the fully transformed One-Tails Shukaku appeared inside Konoha.

A masked figure used a Sharingan to capture Shukaku as the invasion of Konoha began. Naruto’s Shadow Clones rushed between battlefields, protected Konoha ninja and civilians, and left a rescued shopkeeper wondering why he had helped them.

• As Shukaku fled, a masked figure appeared, phased through his attack, and used the Sharingan to take control of him.
• Sound and sand ninja attacked Konoha while a summoned three-headed serpent charged the village’s defensive wall.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clone struck the serpent with a Rasengan, saving a Konoha ninja, then raced to other battles.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clone defeated Sound Ninja who were attacking fleeing villagers and rescued the Konoha ninja they had cornered.
• When a shopkeeper asked Naruto why he had saved them, Naruto said he needed no reason and vanished toward another call for help.

Deidara destroyed a Sound Ninja squad with his clay explosives and headed toward a giant summoned snake to test his new creations. At the Chunin Exams venue, Naruto returned in a golden Chakra form, protected his allies, and cleared a swath of Sound Ninja, breaking the invaders’ morale.

• Deidara detonated Clay Spiders among a charging Sound Ninja force, wiping it out, then flew toward a giant summoned snake with clay centipedes prepared in ambush.
• Naruto returned to the Chunin Exams venue as a Shadow Clone surrounded by golden Chakra, shocking Kakashi with his power.
• Naruto caught a Sound Ninja attacking Satsuki from behind and smashed the attacker into the ground with a golden Chakra claw.
• Naruto used the Spiral Vacuum Sphere to seize and crush numerous Sound Ninja, opening a cleared area on the battlefield.
• Might Guy opened the Sixth Gate, and the Sound Ninja began losing their will to fight and considering retreat.

Kakuzu arrived at the Chunin Ninja Exams venue and attacked the Sound Four, weakening the barrier around the Hokage. Just as he and the Sound Four prepared to fight, a Sharingan-controlled One-Tails Shukaku appeared in Konoha.

• Kakuzu approached the Konoha Anbu and condemned Orochimaru for controlling the resurrected Hokage.
• Kakuzu broke through Kidomaru's smaller barrier and struck him, weakening the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• Sakon and Ukon used Shadow Clones to keep the barrier standing while the Sound Four turned to face Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu recalled his fear of Hashirama Senju, judged the resurrected First to be far weaker than he had been in life, and summoned his four masked creatures.
• The Sound Four activated their Curse Marks as Kakuzu prepared to fight them.
• One-Tails Shukaku emerged in Konoha, its Sharingan eyes revealing that someone had taken control of it.

Naruto identified the attack on Konoha as a coordinated conspiracy and summoned Menma to help stop Shukaku while he remained trapped fighting the crimson monsters. Menma destroyed an Orochimaru clone and prepared to free Naruto’s mother from her controlled form.

• Kurama told Naruto that someone had used the Sharingan to control Shukaku, and Naruto connected the attack to Obito and the conspiracy against Konoha.
• Naruto shattered the Fox Mask card and sent its power to a golden Shadow Clone, bringing Menma to the battlefield beside him.
• Menma blocked a Tailed Beast Chakra blast while Naruto used Flying Thunder God to head toward Konoha.
• An Orochimaru clone watched Menma appear, but Menma sensed its hiding place and destroyed it with a Wind Style attack.
• Menma turned toward the crimson monsters and gathered Chakra, determined to free Naruto’s mother.

Menma fought the two Tailed Beast Transformation monsters and struggled to bring himself to attack Kushina Uzumaki. After breaking through her corruption and sealing her, he revealed his face, and she recognized him as Naruto.

• Menma summoned the Nine Masked Beasts, but they could not hold back the two monsters or break through their golden Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Menma charged one monster with a Spiraling Ring, then froze when its crimson Chakra receded and revealed Kushina Uzumaki.
• Kushina struck Menma and shattered his Fox Mask, exposing his blond hair and azure eyes.
• Menma renewed his attack, and the Nine Masked Beasts distracted Kushina long enough for him to use the Flying Thunder God Technique and hit her with the Spiraling Ring.
• Menma bound Kushina with Adamantine Sealing Chains and removed the corruption and spell controlling her will.
• Kushina regained a moment of clarity, looked at Menma through her tears, and called him Naruto.

Shukaku nearly fired a Tailed Beast Ball at Konoha, but Naruto prepared a space-time barrier while Shisui disrupted the genjutsu controlling the beast and redirected its attack skyward. Shisui confronted the masked Obito and attacked him with Amaterasu.

• Shukaku gathered a Tailed Beast Ball in the center of Konoha, terrifying the defenders and cheering the invading Sunagakure and Sound forces.
• Naruto arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique and prepared Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder as Shukaku aimed its attack at Konoha.
• Shisui appeared behind Obito and disrupted his genjutsu, forcing Shukaku to fire the Tailed Beast Ball into the sky, where it exploded above the village.
• Obito tried to control Shukaku again while taunting Shisui, but Shisui attacked him with a short sword and discovered that the blow passed through his body.
• Shisui activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Amaterasu against Obito.

Naruto and Kurama used Complete Tailed Beast Transformation to stop Shukaku from destroying Konoha and drove him beyond the village walls. Kurama shielded the villagers from Shukaku’s counterattack, leaving Konoha’s people stunned as they saw him protecting them.

• Naruto changed his plan and agreed to Kurama’s proposal to use Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
• As Shukaku prepared to fire a Tailed Beast Ball at Konoha’s shelters, the village’s ninja charged him with Explosive Tags.
• Naruto and Kurama transformed into a golden Kurama, blocked Shukaku’s claw, and hurled him through Konoha’s outer wall into the forest.
• Shukaku’s interrupted Tailed Beast Ball collapsed, and he attacked Kurama with Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet.
• Kurama raised a golden chakra barrier that protected Konoha from the attack, and the villagers realized he was defending them.
• An injured Jonin urged the ninja to support Kurama and clear the remaining enemies from the village.

Naruto and Kurama defeated the genjutsu-controlled Shukaku with a swift assault and began reaching for the genjutsu in Gaara’s mind. Gaara regained consciousness in an unfamiliar village, where a shopkeeper’s fearful rejection shattered his brief sense of peace.

• Kurama and Naruto agreed they had only minutes in Complete Tailed Beast Transformation, and Naruto promised to end the fight quickly.
• Shukaku attacked with Sandstorm Flow, but the Golden Nine-Tails broke through the sand and struck him down with a punch and a blow from all nine tails.
• Naruto and Kurama found Shukaku unable to resist and sent their Chakra into Gaara to locate and break the genjutsu.
• Gaara awoke in a strange, busy village where people passed through him, and he wandered without Shukaku’s usual murderous whispers.
• A shopkeeper shouted at Gaara to leave and called him a monster.

Gaara witnessed memories of Naruto’s lonely childhood and recognized how much Naruto’s rejection by the villagers resembled his own. As Gaara wondered how Naruto had kept his warmth, the memories showed a black-haired girl meeting Naruto at a training ground.

• A shopkeeper shoved three-year-old Naruto out of a shop while villagers insulted him and refused to intervene.
• Gaara recognized Naruto and saw memories of villagers shunning him, leaving him isolated and hurt.
• An old man quietly arranged food for Naruto, and a ramen-shop owner welcomed him, giving him rare moments of warmth.
• Naruto endured the villagers’ continued indifference by training alone, while Gaara wondered how he had avoided becoming resentful.
• Gaara’s memories showed Naruto meeting a little black-haired girl at a training ground outside the village.

Gaara saw how Satsuki’s friendship helped Naruto find hope and kept him from falling into darkness. In Naruto’s seal space, the Nine-Tails subdued Shukaku so Naruto could reinforce the seal.

• Gaara watched memories of Naruto meeting Satsuki and training with her as children.
• Satsuki defended Naruto from village rumors and became his constant companion, restoring his hope for the future.
• Shukaku awakened and angrily accused the Nine-Tails of siding with humans.
• The Nine-Tails pinned Shukaku down and told Naruto to reinforce the seal.
• Naruto formed hand seals and began using the Eight Trigrams Seal.

Shukaku awoke in a realistic desert Naruto had created inside the seal, only to discover he remained imprisoned and Kurama had been left to supervise him. After Kurama beat him into submission, Shukaku lamented his fate before falling asleep in the comfortable simulated desert.

• Shukaku awoke in a vast simulated desert and celebrated what he believed was his freedom.
• Shukaku ran into an invisible barrier and discovered he could not draw on his Chakra.
• Kurama appeared and explained that Naruto had created the desert within the Eight Trigrams Seal and that Kurama would supervise Shukaku.
• Shukaku attacked Kurama, but Kurama defeated him one-sidedly and warned him to behave.
• Shukaku buried his face in the sand, lamented his continued imprisonment, and fell asleep.

Naruto healed Gaara after sealing Shukaku and explained why he had chosen to protect him, despite Gaara’s attempt to kill him. Gaara began to question his belief that he had to fight only for himself as Naruto offered to form a bond with him.

• Naruto healed Gaara’s wounds and told him that his reinforced seal would keep Shukaku from hurting him or disturbing his sleep.
• Gaara asked why Naruto had saved him when he had tried to kill Naruto and destroy Konoha, and Naruto said he saw his lonely former self in Gaara.
• Naruto explained that he had once hated those who rejected him but had found understanding and bonds with people who cared for him.
• Gaara asked what he should fight for and what value his existence had, and Naruto told him that killing others could not prove his worth.
• Naruto offered to protect Gaara as the beginning of a bond, and Gaara wondered through a choked sob whether he really could accept that protection.

Naruto defeated Shukaku and spared Gaara, whose siblings took him to safety as he apologized to them. Meanwhile, Menma sealed Mito Uzumaki, Rasa, and Kushina, then raced toward Konoha to confront Orochimaru and free the souls bound by Impure World Reincarnation.

• Gaara recalled his belief that nobody could love him as Naruto promised to protect him and become his bond.
• Temari and Kankuro found Gaara beside Naruto, who said the war was nearly over and he would not kill Gaara.
• Kankuro and Temari carried Gaara away, and Gaara apologized to them for how he had treated them.
• Mito Uzumaki asked Menma to stop Orochimaru from tormenting Hashirama's soul before she, Rasa, and Kushina were sealed away.
• Menma put on a Fox Mask, disguised himself with Wind Release, and raced toward Konoha to attack Orochimaru.