Chapter Summaries

After their failed mission in the Land of Waves, Itachi and Kisame reported to Akatsuki, and Itachi agreed to meet Orochimaru. Meanwhile, Uzushio Village took over the Land of Waves and sought Tazuna’s help building a bridge, leaving him wary of its intentions.

• Obito told Itachi and Kisame that Uzumaki Menma’s expansion into the Land of Waves threatened Akatsuki’s plans, then vanished without explaining more.
• Itachi and Kisame reported their failed mission to Nagato and went to look for commissions to meet Akatsuki’s monthly payment requirement.
• Itachi received Orochimaru’s request for a private meeting in the Land of Fire and decided to go despite recognizing it was likely a trap.
• The people of the Land of Waves learned that Uzushio Village had taken over the Gato Shipping Company, while Kaisa remained determined to resist any new tyranny.
• A neighbor told Tazuna that Uzushio’s shinobi wanted him to help build a bridge, and Tazuna decided to meet their leader and judge his intentions.

Naruto told Tazuna that Uzushio Village would build a bridge for the Land of Waves and explained his plan to create peacetime jobs for ninja. Meanwhile, Orochimaru claimed to Itachi that Uzushio Village's leader came from Konoha, but Itachi rejected the claim.

• Tazuna visited Naruto's office, where Naruto promised to build a bridge for the Land of Waves within half a year using ninja labor.
• Naruto told Shisui and Haku that infrastructure work could provide jobs for ninja and help address the future decline of lower-ranking ninja.
• Orochimaru's subordinate led Itachi and Kisame to a wilderness base, where Orochimaru met with them.
• Itachi sent Kisame away so Orochimaru could speak privately about Konoha and Uchiha secrets.
• Orochimaru claimed Uzushio Village's leader came from Konoha and that Konoha intended to use the Land of Whirlpools as an outpost, but Itachi called the claim impossible.

Itachi confronted Orochimaru, who used their meeting to test whether he could take Itachi’s Mangekyo before escaping Akatsuki. After surviving the encounter, Orochimaru weighed his next move and considered establishing a village while seeking shelter from another faction.

• Orochimaru claimed his intelligence came from Konoha and suggested Uzushio Village was allied with Konoha, while Itachi warned him not to interfere in Uchiha affairs.
• Orochimaru attacked Itachi with the Giant Snake Formation, but Itachi revealed Orochimaru had been caught in his genjutsu since their meeting began.
• Orochimaru broke free at the cost of severe injuries, summoned Giant Snake, then fled as Itachi’s Amaterasu engulfed him.
• Itachi and Kisame found a charred body, but Itachi suspected Orochimaru had escaped and questioned whether Danzo had supplied the intelligence.
• Orochimaru regenerated in a distant hiding place and considered replacing his body, founding a shinobi village, and joining another faction for protection.

Nagato left Amegakure to hunt Orochimaru and learned that the Land of Rain’s villagers were troubled by rising taxes and isolation, leaving him unsure how to help. Meanwhile, Orochimaru searched for a country to establish a village and became interested in the Land of Waves after learning Uzushio Village had occupied it.

• At an Akatsuki meeting, Pain announced Orochimaru’s defection, and Sasori volunteered to hunt him down.
• Obito, Pain, and Konan discussed Akatsuki’s shortage of members and agreed to seek rogue ninja; Pain decided to hunt Orochimaru while Konan went with the Masked Man to recruit.
• Nagato left the Land of Rain with the Six Paths of Pain and accepted shelter from villagers, who told him they were safer and better fed but resented rising taxes and the Isolation Edict.
• Nagato left the village without knowing how to address the villagers’ concerns and planned to rely on Konan’s judgment.
• Orochimaru considered establishing a shinobi village in the Land of Rice or the Land of Waves, then learned from the black market that Uzushio Village had occupied the Land of Waves.

Orochimaru investigated Uzushio Village’s occupation of the Land of Waves and grew interested in its leader, Uzumaki Menma. Meanwhile, Naruto faced foreign envoys and learned that ninja from several major villages, along with Orochimaru’s agents, were gathering in the country.

• Orochimaru entered the Land of Waves in disguise and learned that Uzushio Village had killed Gato, taken control of the Shipping Company, and introduced new policies and plans for a bridge.
• Orochimaru visited the company port, heard that it would become a trading hub, and noticed a merchant ship carrying many ninja and an unexpected visitor.
• Naruto worked through documents at the company building while Zabuza complained about clerical duties and Haku praised Menma’s leadership.
• Cloud and Iwagakure ninja demanded that Uzushio Village leave the Land of Waves, but Naruto had them thrown out after they accused Kirigakure of backing the occupation.
• Shisui reported that ninja from Cloud, Iwagakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure were hiding in the Land of Waves, and that the growing number of snakes suggested Orochimaru had sent people as well.

Naruto prepared to meet Nagato, the Akatsuki leader, who had arrived in the Land of Waves, while Shisui and the others stayed behind. As Naruto and Kurama discussed Nagato’s identity with Minato, Minato began to suspect that Obito had become the Masked Man after Rin’s death.

• Naruto told Shisui that Nagato had arrived and ordered him to watch the other threats in the Land of Waves.
• Naruto warned Shisui, Zabuza, and Haku to retreat if his meeting with Nagato turned into a fight, then left to find Nagato.
• Naruto and Kurama failed to locate Nagato’s true body as Naruto searched the streets of the Land of Waves.
• Naruto told Minato that the Akatsuki leader was Pain, who possessed the Rinnegan, and suggested he might be one of Jiraiya’s former students.
• Minato considered Naruto’s claims and began to suspect that Obito had become the Masked Man after Rin’s death and had attacked Konoha for revenge.

Naruto spoke with the Nine-Tails about the Masked Man’s identity before meeting Nagato in the Land of Waves and discussing Uzushio Village’s plans for developing the country. The conversation ended with Naruto revealing himself as Uzumaki Menma and demanding to know why Nagato, the Akatsuki leader, had come.

• Naruto told the Nine-Tails he suspected the Masked Man was Minato’s former student, and the Nine-Tails warned that Nagato was nearby.
• Nagato investigated the Land of Waves while searching for Orochimaru and reflected on how its residents’ living standards compared with those in the Land of Rain.
• Naruto approached Nagato at a roadside restaurant and explained that Uzushio Village planned to develop the Land of Waves after liberating it from Gato’s exploitation.
• Nagato questioned Naruto about Uzushio Village’s development plans, and Naruto said that economic growth would make the people prosperous enough to support the village.
• Nagato identified Naruto as Uzumaki Menma, the leader of Uzushio Village, and Naruto demanded to know why the Akatsuki leader was in the Land of Waves.

Naruto confronted Nagato in the Land of Waves, rejected Akatsuki’s plan to collect the Tailed Beasts, and revealed that he was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. The chapter ended with Naruto inviting Nagato to walk by the sea, leaving Nagato stunned that Naruto knew his identity.

• Naruto argued that Akatsuki’s past actions justified his distrust and challenged Nagato’s account of the attack on Uzushio Village.
• Nagato defended Akatsuki’s plan to revive the Ten-Tails as a weapon to deter war, while Naruto questioned its reliability and the trustworthiness of its leaders.
• Naruto refused Nagato’s invitation to join Akatsuki and vowed to expose its plans and prevent it from collecting the Tailed Beasts.
• Nagato sensed the Nine-Tails Chakra and learned that Naruto was a perfect Jinchuriki he could not confidently defeat.
• Naruto addressed Nagato as his Uzumaki clansman and leader of Akatsuki, then walked toward the coastline to avoid putting civilians at risk.

Naruto fought Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain at an uninhabited bay, overwhelming the summoned beasts and forcing Nagato to consider using all six Pains. Meanwhile, a battle’s massive disturbances alarmed foreign ninja investigating Uzushio Village, and Shisui and Zabuza brought the Cloud and Iwagakure Jonin into custody.

• Nagato followed Naruto to an uninhabited bay, where Deva Path Pain attacked him with Shinra Tensei.
• Naruto used Tailed Beast Mode to withstand Pain’s repulsion and battled the Deva and Preta Paths at close range.
• Nagato sent the Animal Path and its summoned beasts against Naruto, who destroyed most of them with Wind Release and Spiraling Ring.
• Nagato concluded that Uzumaki Menma was far stronger than Hanzo and that he might need all six Pains to defeat him.
• The Cloud Jonin learned that Uzushio Village was connected to Kirigakure and became alarmed by the distant battle’s enormous Chakra disturbance.
• Shisui detained the Cloud Jonin, while Zabuza and the Uchiha Forces detained the Iwagakure Jonin.

Shisui and Zabuza managed the captured spies while Menma and Nagato fought, and Shisui warned Zabuza to keep Haku hidden from Orochimaru. Naruto and Nagato fought to a stalemate, but Naruto argued that Akatsuki’s plan to collect the Tailed Beasts had been exposed, leaving Nagato silent over what the organization would do next.

• Shisui told Zabuza that Menma would not lose and warned him to protect Haku from Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru approached the battle hoping to obtain the Rinnegan, but Naruto and Nagato attacked him together, forcing him to hide among the rocks.
• Nagato used Chibaku Tensei against Naruto, who destroyed its gravitational sphere with a Tailed Beast Bomb and entered Dark Kurama Mode.
• Naruto and Nagato recognized that neither could defeat the other, with Pain’s defenses and Naruto’s lack of a counter to the Preta Path preventing a decisive victory.
• Naruto told Nagato that Akatsuki’s Tailed Beast plan had been exposed and questioned whether Nagato would continue it or restore the First Akatsuki Organization; Nagato fell silent.

Naruto debated ideals of peace and leadership with Nagato, then forced him to retreat from the Land of Waves. After gaining Nagato’s acknowledgment and collecting the Black Receivers, Naruto found Orochimaru hiding nearby.

• Nagato defended peace through absolute military deterrence, while Naruto argued that improving people’s lives mattered more than pursuing absolute peace.
• Nagato questioned Naruto’s annexation of the Land of Waves, and Naruto explained that his example would push the Five Great Nations to change.
• Naruto revealed that he had sought out Nagato to demonstrate his strength and stop Akatsuki’s plan, then offered Nagato a place in Uzushio Village.
• Nagato declined Naruto’s offer, recalled the Six Paths of Pain, and escaped into the sea with them after Naruto’s Spiraling Ring struck the water.
• Naruto collected the Black Receivers and received Nagato’s Ninjutsu Training Experience after Nagato acknowledged him.
• Naruto followed his senses to Orochimaru’s hiding place and called him out from a crack in the rocks.

Naruto captured Orochimaru after the battle with Nagato and brought him to the village to question him about Konoha and Akatsuki. Meanwhile, shinobi from other nations assessed the battlefield’s destruction and reported that Uzushio’s power could change the balance of the shinobi world.

• Naruto found Orochimaru hiding in a python and invited him to the village after hearing about his failed attack on Itachi Uchiha and his break with Akatsuki.
• Yin-Yang Zetsu emerged from underground, analyzed the battle, and wondered whether Uzumaki Menma was the reincarnation of Asura or Indra.
• Shisui Uchiha released the foreign shinobi from the company building and warned them to follow Uzushio Village’s rules.
• The visiting shinobi inspected the devastated bay and debated whether the combatants’ power exceeded that of the Five Kage.
• The foreign shinobi sent reports to their villages and anticipated major changes to the shinobi world after the Third Shinobi World War.

Naruto negotiated with Orochimaru for the Ryūchi Cave location and research materials, offering White Zetsu bodies in exchange. Orochimaru departed after agreeing, while Naruto planned to pursue Sage Mode and invited him to join the Land of Whirlpools under its rules.

• Naruto threatened to hand Orochimaru over to Konoha or the Akatsuki unless he shared his techniques, and Orochimaru demanded something in exchange.
• Naruto showed Orochimaru dead White Zetsu and offered them for research, requiring a copy of the findings and the Ryūchi Cave location scroll.
• Orochimaru gave Naruto the Ryūchi Cave scroll and swallowed the White Zetsu bodies.
• Naruto asked Orochimaru for civilian-use and low-level ninjutsu scrolls for a Ninja Academy in the Land of Waves, and Orochimaru gave him several storage scrolls.
• Naruto invited Orochimaru to join the Land of Whirlpools if he followed its rules, and Orochimaru left using the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• Naruto studied a map and focused on Ryūchi Cave as the next step toward mastering Sage Mode.

Iwagakure and Kumogakure received reports about the powerful leaders of Uzushio and Akatsuki and considered what the new forces might mean for their interests. Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure to monitor Amegakure, while the Fourth Raikage chose not to act unless Kumogakure’s interests were threatened.

• Kurotsuchi brought Ōnoki intelligence that Uzushio Village had occupied the Land of Waves, and they discussed whether it was connected to Konoha.
• Ōnoki decided Iwagakure should neither acknowledge nor oppose Uzushio and told Kurotsuchi to have Kitsuchi watch the Land of Rain.
• Ōnoki asked about Deidara’s confinement, decided it was time to release him, and invited Kurotsuchi to visit him.
• The Fourth Raikage read the Land of Waves intelligence and said Kumogakure should not strike at the new powers while they posed no threat to its interests.
• Mabui warned the Fourth Raikage to be more composed as he complained about Konoha and suggested settling territorial disputes through a fight.

Naruto returned to Uzushio Village and searched for a form of senjutsu he could trust, rejecting the idea of becoming Mount Myōboku’s Child of Prophecy. He persuaded Kurama that senjutsu could strengthen them both, and Kurama agreed while urging Naruto to contact the other tailed beasts and obtain their Chakra.

• Naruto returned to Uzushio Village and reviewed the Uchiha records on senjutsu that Izumi Uchiha had collected, but found little useful information.
• Minato Namikaze suggested that Naruto learn senjutsu at Mount Myōboku, but Naruto argued that Jiraiya could not betray Konoha and that neither Jiraiya nor Orochimaru was trustworthy to him.
• Naruto rejected the title of Child of Prophecy and said he would only make a deal with Mount Myōboku if he ever went there.
• Kurama claimed Naruto had no need to learn senjutsu because Kurama’s power was enough, but Naruto explained that he wanted strength independent of Kurama.
• Naruto convinced Kurama that tailed beasts could cultivate senjutsu too, and Kurama agreed while making contact with the other tailed beasts Naruto’s top priority.
• Minato Namikaze watched helplessly, knowing Pain led the Akatsuki and the masked man was his student Obito.

After returning to Amegakure, Nagato postponed Akatsuki’s Tailed Beast collection plan and resolved to strengthen his own village by influencing nearby small nations. Obito learned that Menma was Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but revealed that he had already known.

• Nagato returned to Amegakure and told Konan that Menma’s status as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki made capturing him alive too difficult, so Akatsuki’s Tailed Beast plan would be delayed.
• Konan reported that Kakuzu and she had recruited Hidan, while Itachi Uchiha and Kisame had recruited Deidara.
• Nagato said Akatsuki should focus on earning money as mercenaries while he gradually influenced nearby small nations and prioritized Amegakure’s people.
• Nagato decided to warn the Masked Man not to act under Akatsuki’s name against Menma, leaving the Masked Man to deal with him himself.
• Black Zetsu told Obito that Menma was Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Obito said he had already known.

Obito suspected that the Leader of Uzushio was the Fourth Hokage and planned to capture Naruto to force him to submit. In Konoha, the leaders debated their failure to stop Uzushio and learned that Akatsuki sought to gather the tailed beasts and rule the ninja world.

• Obito concluded that the Fourth Hokage led Uzushio and decided to find and capture Naruto, whom he believed the Third Hokage had sent to Anbu training.
• The Third Hokage, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura met to discuss Naruto’s defection and Uzushio’s expansion, and the Third Hokage admitted Konoha lacked the strength to act.
• Danzo revealed that he had once joined Hanzo in an attempt to destroy Akatsuki, and he said the organization had since recovered.
• The Third Hokage explained that Akatsuki was targeting the tailed beasts to create a weapon that could let them rule the ninja world.

Jiraiya confronted the Third Hokage over Konoha’s human experiments and Danzo’s actions, but the Third Hokage defended them as necessary for the village. Disappointed, Jiraiya declined the offer to become Fifth Hokage and asked for a mission so he could leave.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura proposed assembling the Five Kage to destroy Akatsuki, but Danzo argued that the other villages would not cooperate, and the Third Hokage chose to maintain the current policy.
• Danzo encountered Jiraiya outside the Hokage Building, and Jiraiya entered to discuss Konoha’s internal problems with the Third Hokage.
• Jiraiya presented evidence of ongoing human experiments and Danzo’s actions, but the Third Hokage defended the experiments and said Danzo served Konoha’s interests.
• Jiraiya accused the Third Hokage of letting Danzo act under his authority and shielding Konoha’s dark side from view.
• The Third Hokage offered to make Jiraiya the Fifth Hokage after the crisis passed, but Jiraiya declined and asked for a mission away from the village.

Jiraiya left Konoha after the Third Hokage refused to act against Danzo, and Kakashi told him that Akatsuki’s leader might be his former disciple Nagato. The chapter ended with Kakashi at home, where a Flying Thunder God scroll revealed the source of his intelligence.

• The Third Hokage gave Jiraiya a long-term S-rank mission after Jiraiya rejected his appeal to stay in the village.
• Jiraiya met Kakashi in a remote forest, and Kakashi confirmed that the Third Hokage would not move against Danzo or pass the Hokage position to Jiraiya.
• Kakashi told Jiraiya that Akatsuki included the Masked Man, Sasori, and Orochimaru, and that its leader reportedly possessed the Rinnegan.
• Jiraiya suspected Akatsuki’s leader might be Nagato and decided to leave the village to investigate.
• Kakashi returned home and found the intelligence scroll delivered with the Flying Thunder God Technique beside the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Kakashi received intelligence from Naruto, who had founded an independent ninja village, and considered why Naruto had left Konoha. He learned the Flying Thunder God Technique and sent Naruto a letter, hoping to make contact.

• Kakashi read Naruto's intelligence scroll, copied its contents, and burned it after finding the provided coordinates.
• Kakashi told the Third Hokage he wanted to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, and the Third Hokage offered to make him a supervising Jonin.
• Kakashi asked about Naruto, and the Third Hokage said Naruto could not show himself but was being cared for.
• Kakashi obtained the Flying Thunder God scroll, learned its formula over several days, and began training to teleport messages.
• Kakashi wrote Naruto a brief letter about how his friends missed him and what he and Jiraiya hoped to do, then sent it using a Flying Thunder God Kunai.