Chapter Summaries

Naruto persuaded Mei Terumi to return to Kirigakure and lead reforms, with Genji’s support, and offered to seal the Three-Tails inside her. Elsewhere, Utakata wandered alone, still haunted by the Bloody Mist and his status as a Jinchuriki.

• Mei Terumi questioned whether she should return to Kirigakure, and Naruto urged her to go back, explaining that Genji would support her policies.
• Naruto told Mei Terumi that Wave Country would not interfere in Kirigakure’s internal affairs unless she asked for help, while warning that the Ninja World would eventually have one dominant nation.
• Mei Terumi agreed to return and asked Ao and Chojuro to accompany her; both accepted.
• Naruto offered to seal the Three-Tails inside Mei Terumi to strengthen her standing in Kirigakure.
• Utakata blew bubbles beside a stream, reflected on the Bloody Mist and his isolation as a Jinchuriki, then walked upstream without a destination.

Naruto assigned Mei Terumi the Three-Tails transfer while keeping her under Flying Thunder God surveillance, then visited Nagato to discuss Akatsuki’s response to Ōnoki’s request. Nagato agreed to search for the Six-Tails and prepare for a possible hunt for the Five-Tails.

• Naruto told Mei Terumi he had marked her with Flying Thunder God Technique Marks and sent her to the hospital for the Three-Tails transfer, while Kakashi took over her students.
• Uzumaki Suika gave Naruto Kirigakure’s crude Six-Tails tracking scroll, and Naruto decided Nagato would search for the beast.
• Naruto appeared in the Land of Rain, where Nagato showed him Ōnoki’s request to hire the Akatsuki to investigate the Land of Rain.
• Naruto told Nagato to accept Ōnoki’s request in exchange for information about the Four-Tails, then learned Konan had already heard that its Jinchuriki was in the Southern Land of Lightning.
• Naruto redirected Nagato’s preparations toward the Five-Tails and gave him the scroll to locate the Six-Tails; Nagato agreed to set out after arranging things.

The Six Paths of Pain attacked Utakata to capture the Six-Tails and overwhelmed him with their combined abilities. Utakata lost consciousness, and Nagato turned his attention to the Four-Tails.

• Utakata learned from Saiken that someone was coming for him, then encountered the Six Paths of Pain, who demanded the Six-Tails.
• Utakata used the Six-Tails' chakra and acidic abilities to fight the Paths, destroying the summoned chameleon and piercing the Human Path.
• Deva Path Pain repelled Utakata repeatedly and pinned his six tails with black rods, disrupting his chakra.
• Asura Path's missiles struck Utakata, leaving him unconscious in the rubble.
• Nagato looked down at Utakata and said he hoped the Four-Tails would provide a better fight.

Ōnoki rejected Akatsuki's demand for intelligence on Iwagakure's Tailed Beasts and began preparations to recall Han and Rōshi while pursuing open contact with Wave Country. Meanwhile, Utakata woke aboard Akatsuki's flying bird, restrained and being held as a temporary vessel for the Six-Tails.

• Kitsuchi told Ōnoki that Akatsuki wanted information about Iwagakure's Tailed Beasts, and Ōnoki refused to betray Han and Rōshi.
• Ōnoki learned that Han was living outside the village and Rōshi was last seen near the Land of Lightning, then ordered Kitsuchi to find them and bring them back.
• Ōnoki refused to provide Akatsuki with intelligence and ordered Kitsuchi to organize a merchant caravan to establish friendly relations with Wave Country.
• Utakata awakened after being captured, but Nagato used Black Receivers to prevent him from using Chakra.
• An Akatsuki member told Utakata that he would remain a temporary vessel for the Six-Tails until their leader decided whether he was useful alive.

Nagato tracked down Rōshi in the Land of Lightning and attacked before he could return to Iwagakure. Rōshi fired a Tailed Beast Ball, but Nagato shattered it with a punch and redirected the explosion onto him.

• Nagato told Utakata that Kirigakure had provided the information used to find him and had also handed over the Three-Tails.
• Rōshi learned that Ōnoki wanted him to return to Iwagakure because the Tsuchikage foresaw an attack, and he decided to go back and mock him.
• Nagato struck Rōshi and the Iwagakure ninja with a devastating force, killing the ninja and forcing Rōshi to protect himself with a Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Nagato knocked Utakata unconscious, then faced Rōshi as Rōshi transformed and launched a Tailed Beast Ball.
• Nagato shattered the Tailed Beast Ball with a punch, and his repulsive force redirected the resulting explosion onto Rōshi.

Nagato fought Rōshi and badly wounded him, prompting the Four-Tails to take control of his body. Son Gokū emerged to face Nagato, furious at being called the Four-Tails and prepared either to fight or flee.

• Nagato endured the blast from Rōshi’s attack and taunted him while his injuries healed.
• The Four-Tails warned Rōshi that Nagato had used the Eight-Tails’ Chakra, and Rōshi recognized him as the man connected to the Fourth Raikage’s and Eight Tails Jinchuriki’s deaths.
• Rōshi tried to attack Nagato with Undersea Needle, but Nagato struck him and tore away part of his body.
• Rōshi refused to yield control until the Four-Tails took over and transformed into its full form.
• Son Gokū challenged Nagato, angrily insisting on its name and secretly preparing to fight or escape.

Nagato fought the Four-Tails in close combat, using his tailed-beast Chakra and Gelel Stone-enhanced recovery to unleash devastating punches. The Four-Tails buried him beneath erupting magma, and Nagato began to counter with Shinra Tensei.

• Nagato entered a half-tailed-beast transformation and blasted through the Four-Tails' lava attack to punch him in the forehead.
• The Four-Tails recovered from the blow, while Nagato explained that his repulsive-force punches damaged his arm but his Chakra and Gelel Stone restored it.
• The Four-Tails charged and smashed down at Nagato, but Nagato met his fists head-on and sent him flying, though the impact drove Nagato underground.
• The Four-Tails used Scorching River Great Eruption to raise volcanoes and flood Nagato's pit with magma.
• Nagato called out Shinra Tensei as magma sealed the pit.

Nagato used Shinra Tensei to overwhelm the Four-Tails, but the beast survived and struck back. The Four-Tails then fled, vowing to kill Nagato when it had recovered.

• Nagato unleashed Shinra Tensei, driving the Four-Tails’ magma attack back and blasting the beast into a massive crater.
• The eruption and shockwaves shook the Southern Land of Lightning, alarming residents and prompting Yugito Nii to send an Anbu to investigate.
• Nagato approached the battered Four-Tails and stepped onto its head, but the beast suddenly covered itself in lava and punched at him.
• Nagato countered with a pearly-white fist, sending the Four-Tails flying as he was driven back dozens of meters.
• The Four-Tails laughed and escaped, promising to kill Nagato when it had fully recovered.

Nagato defeated the Four-Tails and captured Rōshi, after which Naruto transferred the Tailed Beasts to Karin and Uchiha Izumi. The Ninja World returned to relative peace, until Kitsuchi arrived in Wave Country leading a merchant convoy from Iwagakure.

• Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to pull back the fleeing Four-Tails, then pummeled it until it could no longer fight.
• Nagato bound the Four-Tails with black chains and used the Gelel Stone to keep the badly injured Rōshi alive.
• Naruto extracted the Tailed Beasts from Rōshi and Utakata and sealed them inside Karin and Uchiha Izumi.
• Uchiha Izumi gained Lava Release ninjutsu when she used the Four-Tails' Chakra, while Naruto left Rōshi and Utakata in Wave Country under a ban on leaving.
• The Ninja World settled into relative peace, and Kitsuchi arrived in Wave Country at the head of an Iwagakure merchant convoy.

Hinata trained with overwhelming force in the Hyuga Clan Estate, alarming Hyuga Hiashi with her changed personality and unusual Byakugan. After Hinata destroyed every wooden dummy, she asked her father to spar with her, and he urged her to stop training so intensely.

• Hinata practiced a fierce blend of Gentle Fist and the Strength of a Hundred Healings Fist, obliterating wooden dummies with her strikes.
• Hyuga Hiashi noticed Hinata's Byakugan had changed and worried that she had become a different person since the blond brat left the village.
• Hinata used Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven to shred the surrounding dummies with a powerful Chakra hurricane.
• Hinata smashed the final two dummies with direct palm strikes, leaving no targets for further practice.
• Hinata asked Hyuga Hiashi to spar with her, but he told her that her strength was already sufficient and urged her to ease up.

Hinata sparred with Hyuga Hiashi and argued that the Hyuga Clan’s traditions were holding it back. She declared that she would prevent Hanabi from receiving the Caged Bird mark and purge the clan from within.

• Hinata challenged Hiashi to spar using her Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, driven by anger at being left behind by Naruto.
• Hinata ate a huge meal, then playfully comforted Hanabi before the younger girl ate properly.
• Hinata told Hiashi that his fighting method could be stronger if he used her proposed approach.
• Hinata argued that the Gentle Fist and the Caged Bird tradition had shackled the Hyuga Clan and demanded change.
• Hinata told Hiashi she would keep Hanabi from receiving the mark and purge the Hyuga Clan from within.

Hinata confronted Hyuga Hiashi over the elders’ attempt to brand Hanabi with the Caged Bird and condemned his inability to stop them. She left the Hyuga grounds for the Senju Clan Grounds, where Tsunade was avoiding the Hokage Building and the interference of Konoha’s former leaders.

• The Hyuga elders pressured Hiashi to brand four-year-old Hanabi with the Caged Bird so they could use her to control Hinata.
• Hiashi told Hinata he was holding the elders back and hoped she could become Hokage, allowing Hanabi to inherit the clan and the sisters to change it.
• Hinata demanded to know what had happened to the elder who had tried to brand Hanabi, and Hiashi explained that he could not execute a clan ninja without the village’s judgment.
• Hinata criticized Hiashi as weak for refusing to act against the elders, then left the Hyuga Clan Estate for her training with Tsunade.
• Tsunade remained at the Senju Clan Grounds, frustrated that the former leaders were undermining her decisions and using the village sealing against her.

Hinata visited Tsunade after another argument with her father about the Hyuga Clan’s rules and restrictions. Tsunade offered her a chance to meet Naruto again by assigning her a future mission to deliver the Shikkotsu Forest summoning contract to him.

• Hinata arrived early at Tsunade’s residence, and Tsunade asked what was troubling her.
• Hinata said her father was too weak to change the Hyuga Clan, while Tsunade blamed Konoha’s old leadership for keeping power and admitted her own actions had made things harder for him.
• Tsunade asked Hinata about Naruto, and Hinata revealed that he had taken many people with him but had left her behind.
• When Tsunade asked whether she wanted to question Naruto face-to-face, Hinata immediately said she did.
• Tsunade gave Hinata the Shikkotsu Forest summoning scroll and asked her to learn the Summoning Technique so she could deliver it to Naruto or someone with him.
• Hinata worried the mission might harm Naruto, and Tsunade assured her it would only benefit him.

Obito Uchiha and Shinnō discovered that Demon Country weapons used Gelel Stone, then encountered self-restoring stone statues in a cave and identified them as the target connected to the Underworld Sect. Several days later, Orochimaru showed Naruto a jade vessel that converted stored Natural Energy using Gelel Stone, and Naruto prepared to try it.

• Shinnō examined a Demon Country handgun and found that its firing pin contained an energy-producing ore.
• Obito Uchiha recognized the ore as Gelel Stone and recalled that the Nine Tails Jinchuriki had previously obtained it in Wave Country.
• Obito Uchiha attacked a stone figure in the cave, but its scattered pieces reassembled into a statue.
• Obito Uchiha and Shinnō saw more stone statues awaken and realized they had found the Underworld Sect’s target.
• Orochimaru explained that his jade vessel stored and converted Natural Energy, then handed it to Naruto to try.

Naruto tested a jade that let him enter a modified Sage Mode, then learned from Miroku that the Underworld Sect planned to use Moryo to create a Ghost Legion. He traveled with his group to Demon Country after helping Natsuhoshi settle matters in the Land of Bears, and they reached the Priestess's shrine.

• Naruto used the jade to enter a golden Sage Mode, and Orochimaru explained that Naruto's special Chakra had caused its unusual transformation.
• Miroku told Naruto that the Underworld Sect was trying to free Moryo and use its power to create a Ghost Legion; Naruto promised to come to Demon Country.
• Naruto gathered Natsuhoshi, Karin, and Uchiha Izumi for the journey, but refused Sasuke's request to join them.
• Naruto took Natsuhoshi to Hoshigakure, where she killed Akahoshi and her other enemies.
• Naruto and the group reached the Priestess's shrine in Demon Country after nightfall.

Naruto met Miroku at the shrine in Demon Country and learned that she still planned to sacrifice herself if Moryo escaped. Miroku entrusted him with Shion’s sealing bell, and Naruto prepared to leave for Swamp Country the next day.

• Naruto, Uchiha Izumi, and Karin reached Miroku’s shrine and found her waiting with the sleeping Shion.
• Miroku told Naruto that Yomi’s Undead Legion controlled Moryo’s soul’s prison and that Moryo would head to Swamp Country to undo his second seal.
• Miroku explained that she planned to sacrifice herself to seal Moryo if necessary.
• Miroku gave Naruto the sealing bell she had made to contain most of Shion’s power until Shion was ready to control it.
• Naruto agreed to hold the bell and said Miroku should raise Shion herself after Moryo was defeated.
• Miroku invited Naruto and his companions to rest at the shrine before setting out for Swamp Country the next day.

Shinnō and Obito Uchiha defeated Yomi’s Undead Legion and forced him to lead them to Moryo. At Moryo’s sealed stone door, Yomi suddenly rushed forward and begged for help.

• Shinnō destroyed the Stone Statues and absorbed their negative energy, while Obito Uchiha saved Yomi from being killed.
• Shinnō demanded to know whether Yomi had more Stone Statues, then Obito Uchiha told him to stop and hurry because Madara Uchiha might grow angry.
• Shinnō changed back into an old man and ordered Yomi to lead them to Moryo.
• Obito Uchiha, Shinnō, and Yomi traveled through the mountains and found Moryo’s sealed stone door.
• Yomi suddenly rushed toward the door and cried out for Lord Moryo to save him.

Yomi opened the sealed door and let Moryo merge with him, allowing the ancient spirit to break free and take control of his body. Moryo awakened an army of stone figures as Shinnō and Obito Uchiha watched the mountain tremble.

• Shinnō and Obito Uchiha watched as Yomi begged Moryo for help and offered his body as a host.
• Yomi opened the stone door and cut open his chest so Moryo could enter him.
• Moryo’s black mist overwhelmed the Priestess’s remaining seal and poured into Yomi, merging their souls.
• Moryo took control of Yomi’s body, stitched his chest closed, and announced that the ritual was complete.
• Moryo awakened his army, causing the mountain to shake as stone statues emerged from within it.

Shinnō defeated Moryo and persuaded him to join their organization in exchange for help recovering his power, undoing the seal in Swamp Country, and capturing the priestess. Meanwhile, Naruto and Miroku reached the cave where Moryo’s sealed body was located.

• Shinnō and Moryo clashed at the Sealing Altar after Moryo attacked Obito Uchiha, and Shinnō defeated him.
• Shinnō tore off part of Moryo’s tendrils and fed it to Zero Tails while Moryo blamed his weak body for his defeat.
• Obito Uchiha offered to help Moryo recover his power if he joined their organization, and Moryo agreed on the condition that they undo his seal and capture the priestess for him to devour.
• Naruto and the others arrived with Miroku and her daughter at a strange cave in Swamp Country, which Miroku identified as Moryo’s target.

Naruto and Miroku reached Moryo’s sealed body and discussed trying to seal him with a special technique. A day later, Moryo and Shinnō entered the cavern while Obito Uchiha stayed outside, wary of a possible ambush.

• Miroku explained that she had evacuated the Shrine and brought Naruto to Swamp Country after sensing Moryo’s seal open.
• Naruto and Miroku found Moryo’s body beneath the magma and Naruto proposed sealing Moryo inside Miroku with a special technique.
• Moryo approached the mountain cave with Obito Uchiha and Shinnō, but Obito pointed out how unusually smooth their journey had been.
• Moryo decided to enter despite suspecting an ambush, while Obito chose to wait outside and Shinnō went in with Moryo.
• Moryo and Shinnō reached the volcanic cavern and saw the enormous purple-black shadow in the magma.