Chapter Summaries

After the missing Konoha ninja case was solved, Tsunade publicly confirmed Jiraiya's responsibility while Uchiha Tokimitsu appointed Orochimaru Acting Director of the Konoha Research Institute. Orochimaru discovered that Tokimitsu had searched his secrets, then refused Ryūchi Cave's summons because he could not leave the village.

• The twelve recovered Konoha ninja described being attacked, while covert agents recorded old Hokage Faction rumors questioning the case's resolution.
• At the Senate meeting, Tsunade identified the creature as Mount Myōboku's Rock Dwelling Toad and declared that Jiraiya was responsible.
• Orochimaru showed Uchiha Tokimitsu his toad anatomy research, which revealed how Mount Myōboku toads stored and used Sage Chakra.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu appointed Orochimaru Acting Director of the Konoha Research Institute, and Orochimaru accepted.
• Orochimaru returned home and realized Tokimitsu had searched his secrets and moved his laboratory equipment to the institute.
• A little Flower Snake summoned Orochimaru to Ryūchi Cave, but he refused because he could not leave the village; the snake warned him to reflect on himself.

Orochimaru obtained funding from Uchiha Tokimitsu for research into Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Chakra, while Konoha expanded its Anti-Terrorism Unit into a multinational force that prompted Cloud and Stone to form a northern alliance. As tensions spread and Black Zetsu chose to join that alliance, Jiraiya was summoned to Ryūchi Cave after Orochimaru’s theft of its Sage Mode scrolls was exposed.

• Orochimaru told Uchiha Tokimitsu that he could seek Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Art texts, and Uchiha Tokimitsu signed his funding application; Orochimaru privately resolved to steal the secrets only once.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu organized a Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit with forces from several nations, leading the Third Raikage and Ōnoki to form a Northern Alliance Combat Unit.
• Black Zetsu received an ultimatum concerning the Land of Snow and chose to join the Cloud and Stone alliance, despite Nagato’s surprise.
• Jiraiya reestablished bases and contacts in the buffer countries, then arranged a secret meeting with Kitsuchi to discuss overthrowing the Shogunate.
• The Great Toad Sage told Jiraiya that the White Snake Sage wanted to meet him at Ryūchi Cave because Orochimaru’s theft of its Sage Mode scrolls had been exposed, and gave him a Void Talisman for a quick return.

Orochimaru brought Uchiha Tokimitsu Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode Scrolls and reported the White Snake Sage’s offer of cooperation, but Tokimitsu suspected a trap and sought answers from Sage Katsuyu instead. Katsuyu revealed the history behind the Sage Locations’ rivalry and warned Tokimitsu about the God Tree scent on him, leaving him with a cryptic piece of advice about finding power within himself.

• Orochimaru reported that the White Snake Sage had given him Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Mode Scrolls, offered to help against Mount Myōboku, and requested a meeting with Tokimitsu.
• Tokimitsu studied the scrolls, concluded that he could not use Ryūchi Cave’s Sage Arts, and decided not to meet the White Snake Sage.
• Tokimitsu visited the Senju Clan Compound and asked Tsunade to arrange a conversation with Sage Katsuyu.
• Katsuyu explained that Gamamaru and the White Snake’s powers complemented each other, and that the White Snake had once intended to support Hagoromo and his brother.
• Katsuyu warned Tokimitsu that the God Tree scent on him could bring trouble and said that beings beyond the moon might eventually reach the Ninja World.
• Katsuyu advised Tokimitsu to establish his true heart rather than seek every method outside himself, then departed.

Uchiha Tokimitsu trained with Orochimaru to develop a stable method of using Natural Energy and Sage Chakra, then tested its power with his Mangekyō Sharingan. His experiments produced devastating attacks, and he ordered the results recorded for the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit.

• Uchiha Tokimitsu used a Karasu Tengu technique against Orochimaru, named it the Garuda Technique, and proposed adding it to the village's secret archive for Jonin who could sense Natural Energy.
• After learning that Ryūchi Cave had annulled Orochimaru's Summoning Contract, Uchiha Tokimitsu classified Ryūchi Cave as a terrorist force and appointed Orochimaru to the House of Representatives.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu and Orochimaru practiced a stable method of mixing Natural Energy with Chakra, and Orochimaru successfully sensed Natural Energy despite the White Snake Sage's earlier judgment.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu tested Sage Chakra-enhanced Fire Style against Orochimaru and his Attendant Ninja, then called in another squad to test a Mangekyō-amplified attack.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu's Sage Art: Fire Style: Headhunter, amplified by Kōkōryūjin, nearly overwhelmed the Attendant Ninja's barriers, but he blocked the attack before anyone was injured.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu ordered the Document Strategist to record the technique as an S-rank combination Ninjutsu and sent the Attendant Ninja to the Military Police Hospital for checks.

The chapter followed the Anti-Terrorism Unit’s operations and the strained power struggle between Stone and Cloud in the Northern Alliance, while Rasa settled into command of the southern border detachment. It left the northern alliance divided over command appointments and integration, as Rasa grew more confident in his political ambitions.

• Anti-terrorism ninja killed the Land of Swamps’ large venomous snakes, and the United Company helped the country profit by promoting its snake wine.
• Stone and Cloud troops returned to routine patrols, while Rasa led a multinational detachment on the southern border and the Third Kazekage sent 200 more Sand Ninja to the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit.
• Iwagakure Jonin mocked Kumogakure’s limited contribution and demanded Stone control detachment posts, prompting Fourth Raikage A to challenge Kitsuchi over the alliance’s command arrangements.
• Kitsuchi proposed reorganizing Stone and Cloud ninja into mixed formations and issuing shared forehead protectors, while A feared losing influence over the army.
• Rasa ran joint exercises and discussed the Kazekage position with Sasori, who dismissed him and remained resentful of Konoha over his family’s deaths.
• Sasori received puppet materials procured through the United Company, then Yura went with an Uchiha ninja to the training ground as Rasa watched the detachment’s apparent harmony.

Rasa arrived in Konoha for the Governor-General’s investiture ceremony, uneasy about the rumors that his service in the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit had sparked in the Land of Wind. Uchiha Tokimitsu viewed Rasa as a promising ally in the Shogunate’s efforts to gain influence in Sunagakure and arranged for Hatake Sakumo to confer his honor.

• Rasa and his party checked into Konoha’s guesthouse, where Yura criticized the village for sharing its layout with outsiders and Rasa defended Konoha’s confidence.
• Uchiha Sekka told Yura that Rasa had been assigned a special honorary title, but Rasa declined to reveal what it was.
• Rasa recalled the accusations of disloyalty he had faced since joining the Joint Anti-Terrorism Unit and his decision to refuse Uchiha Shiina’s offer to intervene.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu reviewed the investiture report and Rasa’s file, noting the rivalry between Rasa and Sunagakure’s Stubborn Faction over the future Kazekage.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu signed the report, gave Rasa’s file to an Attendant Ninja, and ordered that Hatake Sakumo confer Rasa’s investiture.

Jiraiya struggled to keep the Akatsuki Organization running as Ryūchi Cave’s giant snakes and Mount Myōboku’s toads fought and exposed secret bases. Meanwhile, Konoha’s leaders prepared a large-scale assault on the organization, planned as a tribute for the village’s fortieth anniversary.

• Jiraiya received Konan’s report that Ryūchi Cave snakes had exposed and destroyed the North Waterfall Base by eating people, then sent her away when giant snakes threatened her.
• Jiraiya confronted Ichikishimahime about the snakes’ attacks and the disappearance of toads and people, but she dismissed the report and vanished.
• Uchiha Shiina surveyed the hidden base and ordered a Western Border Defense Force exercise to distract its inhabitants, while instructing his forces to protect the defector Hato.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu and Hatake Sakumo planned an assault using the Western Border Defense Force, Anti-Terrorism Unit, Mobile Unit, Red Force, Special Operations Bureau, and Rasa.
• Tokimitsu said the creatures of Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave would be offerings for Konoha’s fortieth anniversary celebration.

Uchiha Tokimitsu sent Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Fugaku to the battlefield while preparing for a dangerous assault on the Akatsuki Organization’s base. At the base, Hato concealed his hatred of Jiraiya and the Ryūchi Cave snakes as Konoha’s border clashes began.

• Uchiha Tokimitsu assigned Uchiha Shisui to accompany Uchiha Fugaku as his adjutant and keep him from acting alone.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu gave Uchiha Fugaku Nekomata’s Summoning Technique scroll and outlined the plan to attack the Akatsuki Organization’s base.
• Uchiha Kamon ordered Nara Shinpei to move ten squadrons to the eastern Land of Rain and create border clashes with Iwagakure.
• Jiraiya learned that Konoha and Iwagakure had begun a limited border standoff, while Hato hid his resentment and accepted time off.
• Hato returned to his cave and coldly laughed after Jiraiya said he had finally moved on.

Jiraiya misread the rising border clashes as a power struggle between the Shogunate and Iwagakure, then grew alarmed when Konoha sent more than two thousand troops toward the Land of Birds. After Iwagakure retreated and sought to ease tensions, Jiraiya concluded the army’s advance had been a coincidence and kept his base concealed.

• Jiraiya analyzed the border clashes and concluded the Shogunate was using them to stir unrest, while wishing it would provoke a war with Iwagakure.
• Uchiha Fugaku ordered more than two thousand Konoha ninja to advance north into the Land of Birds, and he urged Uchiha Shisui to recognize the Uchiha Clan’s role in Konoha’s victories.
• Konan brought Jiraiya intelligence about the advancing Konoha army, and he told her to stay inside and asked her to keep Hato away.
• Jiraiya kept the base hidden as the army crossed the mountain range, then learned that Ōnoki had withdrawn Iwagakure forces and sent an envoy to Konoha.
• Jiraiya investigated the situation in the occupied town and concluded that Konoha’s advance had only coincidentally brought it near the base.

Iwagakure’s envoys tried to secure a meeting with Konoha’s leaders while Hatake Sakumo and Uchiha Tokimitsu prepared a concealed assault on the Akatsuki Organization’s base. As Jiraiya refused Ichikishimahime’s attempt to recruit Konan, Tokimitsu’s force began its attack with a vast sealing barrier and Two-Tails Matatabi.

• Akatsuchi and Higashi Shinin failed to meet Uchiha Tokimitsu or Hatake Sakumo and sought an audience with the Speaker of the Senate instead.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hanzō of the Salamander that Tokimitsu would attack the Akatsuki Organization Base ahead of schedule, while Uchiha Fugaku ordered the Western Border Defense Force to withdraw southward as a feint.
• Jiraiya rejected Ichikishimahime’s offer to make Konan a Ryūchi Cave contractor and warned her not to harm his disciples.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu assembled Uchiha Fugaku, Karatachi Yagura, Uzumaki Ashina, Orochimaru, and Hato near the Akatsuki Organization Base, and Hato asked him to spare Konan.
• Uzumaki Ashina activated the large barrier sealing array, Karatachi Yagura began a partial Tailed Beast Transformation, and Uchiha Tokimitsu summoned Two-Tails Matatabi to begin the assault.

Uchiha Tokimitsu’s forces attacked the Akatsuki base with Tailed Beast Balls, then advanced as Matatabi’s Susanoo overwhelmed Ichikishimahime. Jiraiya summoned the Mount Myōboku sages and entered Sage Mode, but Hatake Sakumo struck at him from behind just as he prepared to fight.

• Uchiha Tokimitsu had Matatabi fire a Tailed Beast Ball at the Akatsuki base, where a white-clad Ryūchi Cave figure tried to absorb it with Sage Art.
• Karatachi Yagura fired a second Tailed Beast Ball at the base, and Uchiha Tokimitsu armored Matatabi with Perfect Susanoo before leading the charge.
• Orochimaru fired a signal flare, bringing nearly five thousand allied ninja and the Anti-Terrorism Unit, Kamon Shogunate Ninja Army, and Rain Ninja Village elites into the battle.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu and armored Matatabi attacked Ichikishimahime’s great serpent form while the Western Border Army bombarded the Ninja Frogs and Ninja Snakes.
• Jiraiya sent Konan away, crushed the Great Toad Sage’s talisman, summoned Fukasaku and Shima, and entered Mount Myōboku Sage Mode.
• Hatake Sakumo burst from the ground and aimed a Lightning Style blade at Jiraiya’s back.

Jiraiya and the Two Sages of Mount Myōboku fought Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Karatachi Yagura while Uchiha Tokimitsu battled Ichikishimahime. The Mount Myōboku sages escaped, and Uchiha Tokimitsu killed Ichikishimahime and absorbed her Sage Art Origin through Hikari-no-Mikoto.

• Sage Fukasaku disrupted Hatake Sakumo's surprise attack, and Jiraiya used Sage Art: Toad Incantation to trap a Shadow Clone before confronting Orochimaru.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu and the Armored Two-Tails overwhelmed Ichikishimahime until she used Sage Art: White Rage Technique, briefly injuring Tokimitsu and letting her escape the Two-Tails' jaws.
• Jiraiya, the Two Sages, Hatake Sakumo, Orochimaru, and Karatachi Yagura clashed as the Konoha forces gained the advantage across the battlefield.
• Jiraiya learned that Konan had been captured and realized Konoha had infiltrated the Akatsuki Organization, so he agreed to retreat with the Two Sages.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu stopped Ichikishimahime's final attack, and Hikari-no-Mikoto refined her Sage Art Origin before Tokimitsu killed her and gained the refined power.

After Ichikishimahime’s death, the White Snake Sage confronted Mount Myōboku’s Toad Sage clone, who persuaded her to pursue revenge against Uchiha Tokimitsu rather than start a war with Mount Myōboku. The White Snake Sage remained wary but listened as the clone offered Mount Myōboku’s talisman treasury and promised Ryūchi Cave the larger share of any future victory.

• The White Snake Sage learned that Ichikishimahime had truly died and grieved while recognizing Uchiha Tokimitsu’s role in her death.
• The Toad Sage clone arrived at Ryūchi Cave, where Tsuruhime openly withheld the customary courtesy toward him.
• The White Snake Sage accused the clone of letting Mount Myōboku’s forces escape while Ryūchi Cave suffered heavy losses.
• The Toad Sage clone urged the White Snake Sage to unite with Kumogakure and Iwagakure against Uchiha Tokimitsu, warning that his plans to unify the Ninja World threatened the sacred lands.
• The White Snake Sage demanded compensation, and the clone offered Mount Myōboku’s talisman treasury and promised Ryūchi Cave seven parts of a future victory.

Uchiha Tokimitsu returned victorious from the Land of Birds campaign and began preparing Konoha’s medical reforms and fortieth-anniversary rites. After gaining a purified Sage Art Origin, he arranged research on captured creatures and planned a shrine and sacrificial celebration, leaving the Land of Demons’ High Priestess to be invited.

• Uchiha Tokimitsu returned to Konoha after a decisive victory, while casualty reports exposed shortcomings in the Shogunate’s medical support.
• Nawaki summarized Tsunade’s notice establishing a Konoha Field Hospital and standardized training and rotations for Medical Ninja.
• Ōnoki realized Iwagakure’s intelligence network had failed to detect Konoha and the Shogunate’s large-scale deployment.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu told Orochimaru that the Research Institute could study some Sage Chakra-bearing Ninja Snakes and Ninja Frogs, and gave him part of Ichikishimahime’s tail.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu ordered Uchiha Shisui to build a shrine for the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths, and arranged for other captured creatures to be used as offerings.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu invited the High Priestess of the Land of Demons to oversee the celebration and rites, intending to learn more about Moryo.

Uchiha Tokimitsu arranged for a shrine to be built in Konoha New Area and invited the Land of Demons priestess Risa to organize its rites. He planned a blood sacrifice to test whether the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths existed and could receive faith power, and the chapter ended with Risa asking about the shrine’s unusual raised platform, which Tokimitsu called the Altar of Heaven.

• At the shrine construction site, Uchiha Shisui questioned Senju Nawaki about the design and the Senju Clan’s building traditions while the new district’s construction advanced.
• Risa arrived in Konoha from the Land of Demons and marveled at the village’s high-rise buildings before meeting Uchiha Tokimitsu.
• Risa explained that Great Priestess Miroku could not leave her duty sealing Moryo, and she agreed to lead Tokimitsu’s shrine ceremony.
• Tokimitsu named the Rabbit Goddess as the chief deity, with the Sage of Six Paths and the Uchiha ancestors also to be worshipped, and specified a blood sacrifice using beings captured from Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave.
• Risa said that ritual faith power could reach a deity only if the deity truly existed, while Tokimitsu explained that he intended to use the sacrifice to test the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths.
• After studying Tokimitsu’s shrine design, Risa asked about its circular raised platform, and Tokimitsu called it the Altar of Heaven.

Uchiha Tokimitsu led a blood-sacrifice ritual at Tokimitsu Shrine, which stirred a supernatural response from the moon and drew the attention of Black Zetsu. Tokimitsu awakened a powerful Susanoo and blasted apart the clouds, leaving Black Zetsu staring toward the Land of Fire in disbelief.

• Uchiha Tokimitsu led the Uchiha clan through shrine rites before sacrificing Ninja Snakes and Ninja Frogs to the ancestral gods.
• The moon swelled overhead, and Black Zetsu sensed Otsutsuki Kaguya’s presence in the moonlight.
• Black clouds covered the moon, and Uchiha Tokimitsu used his Mangekyo Pupil Technique: Oonamuchi to link the Uchiha’s Pupil Power.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu manifested a winged Susanoo and fired Susanoo: Yasakani no Magatama, dispersing the black clouds.
• Black Zetsu emerged from underground and looked toward the Land of Fire, astonished by the restored moon.

Uchiha Tokimitsu displayed his overwhelming Susanoo during a ritual, stunning Konoha and its Iwagakure envoys. Afterward, he organized the clan’s worship and sensed faint murmurs from the sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya, while his ambitions grew.

• Orochimaru and Konoha’s residents watched Uchiha Tokimitsu’s Karasu Tengu Susanoo shatter the clouds, and Orochimaru abandoned his remaining dissent.
• Hatake Sakumo watched the Susanoo descend with Kakashi and encouraged his son to train so he could fly someday.
• Akatsuchi and Mahiru burned their report claiming Iwagakure could contend with Konoha after witnessing the Susanoo’s power.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu invited the clan into the Worship Hall and told miko Risa that the main hall would serve the public while the Worship Hall remained for the Uchiha.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu sensed faint murmurs from the sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya and declared that he wanted both the sea of stars and the human world.

Orochimaru surrendered to Uchiha Tokimitsu in hopes of studying Uchiha power, but accepted a Sage Art Seed instead. Meanwhile, the Great Toad Sage and White Snake Sage recognized that Natural Energy’s restrictions were loosening and agreed that Uchiha Tokimitsu’s rise threatened their plans.

• Orochimaru visited Police Force Headquarters and offered to accept any sealing restrictions in exchange for studying the Uchiha’s power.
• The Great Toad Sage sensed Natural Energy’s restrictions loosening and met with the White Snake Sage, who had also noticed the change.
• The Great Toad Sage and White Snake Sage blamed an unplanned existence for the danger and agreed that Indra’s descendants must be destroyed.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu offered Orochimaru a Sage Art Seed instead of Mangekyo Pupil Power, and Orochimaru eagerly swallowed it.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu explained that Orochimaru would need to nurture the seed and refine Sage Chakra himself, while Orochimaru assumed it had not been tampered with and planned to study it.

The Great Toad Sage feared that rising Natural Energy would ultimately favor the Ninja World and its ninja, while Uchiha Tokimitsu developed a five-element Chakra storage technique and tested a devastating Sage Art. The blast revealed that Natural Energy had grown denser and more compatible with ninja, leaving Tokimitsu to suggest that a New Era had begun.

• The Great Toad Sage confirmed with the White Snake Sage that Natural Energy was increasing everywhere and becoming more compatible with ninja, but it could not reach the Great Slug Sage or rally Jiraiya to plan an attack on the Shogunate.
• Orochimaru stayed secluded for a month to research the Sage Art Seed, while Uchiha Tokimitsu concluded that he could not learn Ryūchi Cave's true Sage Art without its distinctive Sage Chakra.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu created the Five Release Seal to store and cycle five-element Chakra, then developed the Five Release: Five Dragon Combo.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu tested Sage Art: Five Dragon Attack, causing a massive explosion that formed a crater and accidentally exposed a hot spring; he protected himself with Susanoo.
• Hatake Sakumo sensed that Natural Energy had become denser and easier for ninja to use after Tokimitsu demonstrated its manifestation, and Tokimitsu speculated that a New Era had arrived.

The White Snake Sage and Great Toad Sage discovered that the moon was moving closer to the Ninja World and feared the consequences, while Uchiha Tokimitsu received a report predicting a possible collision far in the future. After emerging from seclusion, Orochimaru was humbled by Uchiha Tokimitsu’s immense power and began heading toward the Governor-General’s Office as Uzumaki Ashina noticed a remarkable change in his aura.

• The White Snake Sage told the Great Toad Sage that the distance between the moon and the Ninja World had shortened, and they feared the change was linked to Otsutsuki Kaguya and the rise of Natural Energy.
• Orochimaru emerged from a month of seclusion, learned that Uchiha Tokimitsu had created a huge hot lake with one ninjutsu, and lost his confidence.
• Uzumaki Ashina presented Uchiha Tokimitsu with a report predicting that the moon might fall into the Ninja World in at least a hundred thousand years, and Tokimitsu approved only one million ryo for further research.
• Uchiha Tokimitsu gave Uzumaki Ashina Sage Art research insights and invited Uzumaki Clan members who could sense Natural Energy to train with the clan ninja.
• Uzumaki Ashina considered arranging a relationship between Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Tokimitsu, then encountered Orochimaru and sensed that his aura had become tranquil and natural.