Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Sōgetsu returned to Konoha after his mission in Kirigakure and found that his exploits had transformed his reputation among the Uchiha and other villagers. As he went to report to the Hokage, Lin Jiao revealed that Danzo had turned into a woman and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been staying with her.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu arrived at Konoha's gate, where Yuantai welcomed him as the Uchiha's hope and pledged to follow him.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu noticed that the villagers, including Obito and Kakashi, now treated him with intense admiration.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu met Lin Jiao at the Hokage Building and described his Kirigakure mission as a harrowing ordeal.
• Lin Jiao told Uchiha Sōgetsu that Danzo had turned into a woman and Hiruzen Sarutobi had been staying with her.

Uchiha Sōgetsu reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi that Kirigakure and Iwagakure were preparing for war, while discovering that Hiruzen had been affected by Danzo’s Witch powers. After leaving, Sōgetsu decided he needed to accelerate his plan before Hiruzen succumbed further to the Witch.

• Lin Jiao warned Uchiha Sōgetsu not to reveal that Danzo’s transformation into a woman had made her alluring.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu met Hiruzen Sarutobi and used Spiritual Vision to detect Witch Spirituality affecting him.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu reported that Kirigakure had joined forces with Iwagakure and might start a war, and Hiruzen said he had prepared ninja for the front lines.
• Hiruzen praised Uchiha Sōgetsu’s service and planned to appoint him Head of Anbu.
• After Uchiha Sōgetsu left, Danzo emerged from the adjacent room and demanded that Hiruzen keep his promise.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu concluded that Witch powers could overwhelm ordinary people and decided to accelerate his plan.

Uchiha Sōgetsu returned to the Uchiha Residence, where Fugaku praised his actions in Kirigakure and promised the clan would answer for the village’s pursuit of him. Fugaku introduced Sōgetsu to Mikoto and her newborn son, Itachi, and Sōgetsu entered the room where Itachi was resting, sensing something familiar.

• Fugaku welcomed Uchiha Sōgetsu and said the Uchiha Clan would settle the score with Kirigakure for hunting him.
• Fugaku told Sōgetsu that Mikoto had given birth to a son named Itachi and pulled him into the backyard to meet them.
• Mikoto greeted Sōgetsu and expressed relief that he had returned safely from Kirigakure.
• After Fugaku left, Mikoto led Sōgetsu toward Itachi, stumbled, and was caught by Sōgetsu.
• Sōgetsu entered the room where Itachi was resting and felt a familiar sensation.

Uchiha Sōgetsu discovered that newborn Itachi carried an incomplete Sequence Nine characteristic of the Hanged Man Pathway and received a quest to cultivate him. Meanwhile, Sōgetsu continued hypnotizing Konoha’s Elite Jonin as the village prepared for war, completing his goal of treating ten of them.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu visited Mikoto and used Spiritual Vision to discover an incomplete Hanged Man Pathway characteristic within Itachi.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu agreed to teach Itachi when he turned three and received a quest to cultivate and accommodate a Sequence 1 Hanged Man characteristic.
• Konoha recalled Jonin and prepared for war with Kirigakure and Iwagakure while Uchiha Sōgetsu continued his routine at the hospital.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu gave Shikaku Nara psychological therapy, and Shikaku said his troubling dreams about Danzo had improved.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu completed his goal of hypnotizing ten Elite Jonin and received the reward Ariana's Night Emblem.

Uchiha Sōgetsu received three key jutsu from the dying Uchiha Madara while secretly preserving Madara’s Kotoamatsukami in Lemann's Travel Notes. He then confirmed that White Zetsu had arranged for Minato Namikaze's team to encounter Kumogakure's A and B Brothers, intending to use the clash to ignite a war.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu met Uchiha Madara in the Forest of Death, where Madara said he would leave Black Zetsu with him and entrust him with the Moon Eye Plan.
• Uchiha Madara implanted a suggestion with Kotoamatsukami, warning Uchiha Sōgetsu not to take the Moon Eye Plan to extremes, then taught him the Summoning Jutsu: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Impure World Reincarnation, and Reanimation Jutsu.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu returned home and used Lemann's Travel Notes to record Kotoamatsukami along with several Water Release techniques and the Three-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb.
• White Zetsu told Uchiha Sōgetsu that he had arranged for Minato Namikaze's team to encounter Kumogakure's A and B Brothers.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu explained that he intended the encounter to make Minato Namikaze a fuse that could spark a wider war.

Minato Namikaze accepted a secret A-rank mission to investigate a cult in the Land of Hot Water and set out with his students. At Konoha’s border, they encountered Killer B, who turned Minato’s attempt to capture him into a fight.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Minato Namikaze that the daimyo had commissioned him to investigate an X Cult Organization operating in the Land of Hot Water.
• Minato Namikaze assembled Uchiha Obito, Kakashi Hatake, and Rin Nohara and led them out of Konoha, while Uchiha Sōgetsu sent White Zetsu to complicate the mission with pages from Leimanno's Notebook.
• After several days of travel, Minato Namikaze stopped at Konoha’s border to let his exhausted team rest before taking a ship.
• Uchiha Obito spotted a dark-skinned Kumogakure ninja approaching, and Minato Namikaze ordered his team to capture him.
• The ninja knocked away Minato Namikaze’s kunai, identified himself as Killer B, and said they had forced him to fight.

Minato Namikaze and his students confronted Killer B of Kumogakure at Konoha’s border, where Minato’s first attack was interrupted by the arrival of the next Raikage. The two members of the AB Combo faced the Konoha ninja together.

• Kakashi explained how Minato identified Killer B as a Kumogakure ninja, and Rin described the AB Combo tradition to Obito.
• Minato Namikaze warned Kakashi, Obito, and Rin not to underestimate Killer B, whose enormous Chakra made Kakashi tense.
• Killer B refused to explain why he had come to Konoha’s border and dodged Minato’s sudden Kunai attack.
• Killer B launched a powerful Liger Bomb, but Minato escaped with the Flying Thunder God Technique and prepared a counterattack.
• A lightning-armored man landed on the battlefield and announced, “B, I'm here!”

Minato Namikaze fought A and B at Konoha’s border and realized their presence signaled a major threat from Kumogakure. As an enormous Tailed Beast Bomb and a Water Release attack threatened his allies at once, he faced a choice between saving Kakashi, Obito, and Rin or diverting the bomb.

• A challenged Minato Namikaze, and their clash showed that A’s Lightning Release Armor made him extraordinarily fast and powerful.
• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade A and hold off A and B while Kakashi led Obito and Rin away.
• B rescued A from Minato Namikaze’s attack with an octopus tentacle, and Minato Namikaze recognized B as the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
• A and B deduced that Minato Namikaze could teleport only to places marked by Kunai and prepared to corner him.
• A massive Tailed Beast Bomb appeared as a powerful Water Release attack threatened Kakashi, Obito, and Rin, forcing Minato Namikaze to choose whom to save.

Minato Namikaze rescued Kakashi, Obito, and Rin from a Tailed Beast Bomb, then fought and defeated A after A blamed him for the attack. As Minato wondered who had redirected the bomb, the Third Generation Raikage appeared through a tear in space.

• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to save Kakashi, Obito, and Rin and redirect the Water Dragon Bullet toward A and B.
• B partially transformed to shield A from the Tailed Beast Bomb, leaving B gravely injured and Minato with a charred, unusable right hand.
• A attacked Minato, who countered with the Rasengan and Flying Thunder God Technique, broke through A's Lightning Release Armor, and knocked him unconscious.
• A space distortion opened beside A, and the Third Generation Raikage emerged amid violent lightning.

The Third Raikage confronted Minato Namikaze after finding A and B severely injured, then challenged him to a fight. Minato sent Kakashi, Obito, and Rin away with a warning about Kumogakure joining Iwagakure, but the Third Raikage defeated him and left him unconscious.

• The Third Raikage arrived, found A and B unconscious, and told Minato Namikaze that he understood why Minato had acted but would still avenge them.
• The Third Raikage attacked, and Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique to evade him while warning that Kumogakure had joined forces with Iwagakure to wage war on Konoha.
• Minato Namikaze entrusted Kakashi, Obito, and Rin with getting the intelligence to Lord Hokage, then teleported himself and the Third Raikage away from them.
• Minato Namikaze used Flying Thunder God: Second Step and struck the Third Raikage with a Rasengan, but the attack could not overcome his Lightning Release Armor and body.
• The Third Raikage struck Minato Namikaze with Lightning Cruelty Wave, and Minato lost consciousness.

After Minato Namikaze lured the Third Raikage away, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin returned to Konoha with urgent intelligence so the village could send reinforcements. Hiruzen Sarutobi dispatched Uchiha Sōgetsu to find Minato and ordered him not to hold back against Kumogakure.

• Kakashi stopped Obito from rushing after Minato, and the three agreed to return to Konoha with the intelligence and seek reinforcements.
• White Zetsu emerged after the team left and reported that the Raikage had captured the Yellow Flash, believing the outcome fulfilled Lord Sōgetsu's mission.
• Obito and Rin helped Kakashi reach Konoha in a day and a half, where Kakashi delivered the S-Rank scroll before collapsing.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi read the intelligence and summoned Uchiha Sōgetsu, learning that Kumogakure and Iwagakure had joined forces and that Minato faced the Third Raikage.
• Hiruzen ordered Uchiha Sōgetsu to lead an Anbu unit to find Minato and save him if possible, telling him he did not need to hold back.

Uchiha Sōgetsu led an Anbu squad into the Land of Lightning to rescue Minato Namikaze, learning that the Third Raikage had captured him and was taking him toward Kumogakure. The squad discovered Kushina Uzumaki fighting Cloud Ninja in a partial Tailed Beast Transformation, and Sōgetsu ordered them to protect her.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu reached the battlefield site with four Anbu and learned from White Zetsu that the Third Raikage had defeated Minato Namikaze and taken him toward Kumogakure.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu sent Tatsuma back to report to the Hokage while he and the other Anbu continued pursuing the Raikage into the Land of Lightning.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu's squad found claw marks along the trail and halted near a village when they heard fighting ahead.
• Tencho used Byakugan to identify Kushina Uzumaki as the person surrounded by Cloud Ninja and saw that she had entered a Partial Tailed Beast Transformation with four tails.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu ordered his Anbu to protect Kushina Uzumaki and kill the Cloud Ninja.

Uchiha Sōgetsu arrived as Kushina neared a full berserk state and entered her sealing space. He put Kushina to sleep and faced the Nine-Tails, announcing that he had come to negotiate.

• Killer B ordered the Cloud Ninja to keep attacking Kushina and hold her until reinforcements arrived.
• Kushina's chakra surged and a fifth tail emerged as the Cloud Ninja's attacks pushed her toward losing control.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu and three Konoha Anbu appeared on the battlefield, and Sōgetsu walked toward Kushina despite warnings.
• Sōgetsu restrained Kushina's berserk form and entered her sealing space, where he used hypnosis to put her to sleep.
• Sōgetsu approached the sealing gate and told the Nine-Tails he had come to negotiate terms.

Uchiha Sōgetsu subdued the Nine-Tails with Susanoo and offered it a choice: serve him for twenty years or be controlled and beaten for the same period. The Nine-Tails agreed to serve, then grew alarmed when Sōgetsu revealed his knowledge of ancient secrets before calling himself a spectator in history.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu entered the Nine-Tails' sealing space and fought it with his Mangekyo and Susanoo.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu repeatedly beat the Nine-Tails until it begged him to stop and hear his terms.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu offered the Nine-Tails twenty years of service or twenty years under his control followed by death, and the Nine-Tails chose to serve.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu said he had no interest in becoming the Sage of Six Paths' Jinchuriki, startling the Nine-Tails.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu named the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the Sage of Six Paths, Otsutsuki Kaguya, and the God Tree before describing himself as a spectator in history.

Uchiha Sōgetsu stopped Kushina's Tailed Beast Transformation and led the Anbu against Killer B and the Cloud Ninja. After killing nearly the entire force, he spared Killer B with a warning for the Raikage and continued the mission with Kushina.

• Uchiha Sōgetsu used his voice to calm Kushina and told Tencho to take care of her.
• Killer B surrounded Uchiha Sōgetsu and the Anbu with dozens of Cloud Ninja, but Uchiha Sōgetsu refused to flee.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu placed Kushina in Tencho's arms and attacked the Cloud Ninja alone.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu killed the charging Cloud Ninja, breaking the survivors' morale and leaving Killer B stunned.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu spared Killer B and told him to warn the Raikage that Konoha would take revenge.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu ordered Tencho and the remaining Anbu to resume the mission with Kushina.

Kushina woke in a hidden cave in the Land of Lightning, where Uchiha Sōgetsu explained that her escape from Konoha had complicated his mission to rescue Minato. He decided to enlist her help, then revealed a plan to have her infiltrate Kumogakure and release the Eight-Tails.

• Kushina woke in a cave near Kumogakure and recognized Uchiha Sōgetsu, who had rescued her.
• Kushina admitted she had escaped Konoha's Anbu by using some of the Nine-Tails' power to reach the Land of Lightning.
• Sōgetsu warned Kushina that her presence in another country's territory risked causing a major crisis and told her Minato was being interrogated.
• Kushina tried to rush off to save Minato, but Sōgetsu stopped her and warned that she did not know where he was held and the Third Raikage guarded Kumogakure.
• Sōgetsu chose to rescue Minato with Kushina's help, then told her to infiltrate Kumogakure, release the Eight-Tails, and make a scene.

Uchiha Sōgetsu and Kushina infiltrated Kumogakure under the guise of a wedding procession to rescue Minato, while Sōgetsu secretly stole the Lightning Release Armor scroll and provoked the Third Raikage. The Third Raikage broke out of prison in a rage, leaving the village aware that he was on the move.

• Kushina agreed to wear wedding clothes and help Sōgetsu infiltrate Kumogakure to save Minato.
• Tencho and another Anbu carried Kushina in a sedan chair, and the group passed through Kumogakure's gate after a cursory inspection.
• Sōgetsu told Kushina to hold off the Third Raikage when she saw his signal, then used mental invisibility to slip away toward the Raikage's building.
• Sōgetsu entered the Raikage's office, found the hidden Lightning Release Armor scroll, and sat in the Raikage's seat to study it.
• The Third Raikage sensed the intrusion, activated Lightning Chakra Mode, smashed through the prison walls, and raced across the sky as the villagers realized he was furious.

Uchiha Sōgetsu confronted the Third Raikage in Kumogakure and used the threat of unleashing a Tailed Beast in the village to prevent the Raikage from attacking. The Raikage then offered him two choices concerning Minato Namikaze and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, leaving Sōgetsu facing a deadly ultimatum.

• The Third Raikage stormed into his office and confronted Uchiha Sōgetsu, recognizing him as the Konoha Anbu who had killed forty-seven Cloud Ninja.
• Sōgetsu praised Kumogakure's Nintaijutsu and warned that harming him might cause a Tailed Beast to appear somewhere in the village.
• The Third Raikage restrained his anger and ordered the Cloud Ninja waiting outside not to attack Sōgetsu.
• The Third Raikage identified Minato Namikaze as Sōgetsu's target and offered him two choices: stay behind while Minato and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were released, or release the Jinchuriki and be killed alongside Minato and the Jinchuriki.

Uchiha Sōgetsu secured Minato Namikaze’s release by agreeing to remain in Kumogakure, then urged him to escape and protect Kushina. After Minato left under guard, Sōgetsu unmasked himself and asked the Third Raikage whether he had ever been defeated.

• The Third Raikage brought the injured, shackled Minato Namikaze to Uchiha Sōgetsu and demanded that Sōgetsu honor their deal.
• Sōgetsu agreed to stay in Kumogakure while Minato left, and the Third Raikage stopped Minato from touching him to plant a Flying Thunder God formula.
• Sōgetsu told Minato that Kushina was in Kumogakure and urged him to escape with her, presenting himself as a sacrifice to protect them and their cause.
• The Third Raikage let Minato leave under B and A’s guard, warning Sōgetsu that he would kill Minato if the deal was broken.
• Sōgetsu sat in the Raikage’s seat, removed his mask, and asked the Third Raikage if he had ever been defeated.

Uchiha Sōgetsu fought the Third Raikage in Kumogakure, matching his strength with dragon scales before the Raikage’s Lightning Release Armor overwhelmed him. Sōgetsu then wounded the Raikage with Wind Release, and their battle continued as his Wind Style: Guillotine clashed with the Raikage’s armor.

• The Third Raikage acknowledged that his battle against the Eight-Tails had been a defeat, then challenged Uchiha Sōgetsu after a firework signaled the start of their fight.
• Uchiha Sōgetsu charged the Raikage and kicked against his punch, but the Raikage struck him through several walls and into a crater.
• The Raikage urged Sōgetsu to keep fighting, and Sōgetsu pointed out that his wind-enhanced attack had cut the Raikage’s knuckles.
• The Raikage intensified his Lightning Release Armor and challenged Sōgetsu’s Wind Release, while Sōgetsu formed Wind Style: Guillotine.
• Sōgetsu’s Guillotine shattered against the Raikage’s armor but carved a gash in it, and the two began a high-speed close-quarters clash.