Chapter Summaries

Yayoi assessed Gō’s new abilities while persuading Miroku to help protect Demon Country. Inside the cavern, Gō’s attacks kept overwhelming Madara’s Susanoo, and Madara suspected the creature could perceive malice and emotions.

• Yayoi used Mind's Eye of the Kagura to observe Madara’s battle with Gō and concluded that the Box of Bliss’s dimensional power had transferred to Thousand Transformations.
• Miroku asked Yayoi to hold off the fighters threatening Demon Country, and he agreed while implying that she would need to help him.
• Yayoi promised to use Konoha’s influence to help Demon Country recover if it suffered damage.
• Gō attacked Madara’s Susanoo from within Black Tide, dodging each counterattack and beginning to crack the armor.
• Madara used Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song to scorch the darkness, but the flames missed Gō and led him to suspect that it could sense malice and emotions.

Madara battled Wu inside Yayoi’s Alchemical Domain, using his restored vitality and Susanoo to keep pace with her defenses and healing. As his chakra dwindled, Madara turned Susanoo against the domain itself, trying to escape and leave Wu’s rampage to the nations outside.

• Madara used Great Fire Annihilation against Wu, but her Black Mist defenses stopped the flames from hurting her.
• Madara drew Yang Release chakra from the Uzumaki White Zetsu and fought Wu with Fire Release, taijutsu, and Susanoo as his body grew younger.
• Wu dodged Madara’s attacks, but he avoided her attempt to devour his soul and nearly pierced her abdomen with Lightning Release.
• Wu spread her Bone Wings and healed her wounds with Yin Release, prompting Madara to consider retreating rather than risk his remaining life.
• Madara unleashed Susanoo’s Chakra Sword against Wu, then repeatedly struck the Alchemical Domain to break free and leave her to threaten the outside world.

Madara broke free of the Alchemical Matrix and faced Wu’s Black Tide, which drew a wasteland of hundreds of thousands of hateful souls toward reality. He unleashed Complete Susanoo, escaped the formation, and flew toward the Country of Grass, though a trace of Black Tide remained on him.

• Wu bound Susanoo with Black Tide and pierced Madara’s arm, while Madara shattered the Alchemical Matrix’s Light Curtain.
• Wu’s attack pulled Madara into a wasteland illusion where hundreds of thousands of souls reached for him, and he realized their malice was drawing another space into the real world.
• Madara absorbed White Zetsu’s Yang Release and summoned Complete Susanoo, breaking the Four Red Yang Formation as Wu retreated.
• Madara found Black Mist clinging to his wounded arm, severed it, and replaced it with White Zetsu’s growing tissue.
• Complete Susanoo cleaved through the formation and the surrounding mountain, then flew toward the Country of Grass.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Madara is dragged into the "Abyss" by countless pale arms under the influence of the black energy.
• Enlightenment controls the Black Mist and cancels the descent of the alternate dimension.
• Enlightenment transforms his Susanoo Giant into black gloves and prepares to leave, but the golden light curtain rises again.
• Madara's departure leaves Yayoi and Mile injured, with Yayoi yearning for the power of the complete Susanoo Giant.
• Enlightenment attacks the reactivating Alchemical Matrix but stops when he senses a living being inside.
• Enlightenment charges towards the sensed living being, and Yayoi activates his Golden Eye.

Character Developments

• Madara's power is shown to be immense, but he suffers a significant loss in his battle with Enlightenment.
• Yayoi's Alchemical Matrix is breached but remains intact, allowing him to repair it and turn misfortune into fortune.
• Enlightenment's Black Mist shows signs of rebellion when it senses the living being inside the Alchemical Matrix.

Significant Themes

• The power of alternate dimensions and their connection to the Box of Bliss and Thousand Transformations.
• The destructive force of the complete Susanoo Giant and its residual effects.
• The struggle between Enlightenment's intellect and his instinctual cravings.

Character Interactions

• Madara's departure leaves Yayoi and Mile injured, with Mile witnessing the power of a god for the first time.
• Yayoi and Mile work together to reactivate the Alchemical Matrix and prepare to face Enlightenment.
• Enlightenment's Black Mist rebels against him when it senses the living being inside the Alchemical Matrix.

Yayoi and his allies overwhelmed Wu after he severed her control over Thousand Transformations, then bound her with a network of seals. Mirror’s killing Domain pierced Wu but could not drain her life, and Yayoi reached for the struggling Thousand Transformations as he realized something about her apparent immortality.

• Yayoi activated the Alchemical Matrix and used the five Releases to attack Wu after she lost Thousand Transformations.
• Miko Miroku entered Immortal Mode, while Yan and Rin joined Yayoi in a coordinated assault that wounded and pinned Wu.
• Yayoi used his Golden Eye Sharingan and the Alchemical Matrix’s inscriptions to bind Wu with chains and sealing techniques.
• Yayoi took Mirror from Rin and drove it into Wu, but the killing Domain failed to end her life.
• Miroku suggested sealing Wu, and Yayoi reached for the struggling Thousand Transformations in its Black Mist form.

Yayoi used Thousand Transformations to assimilate Gō and obtain a powerful living spirit, then a separate scene showed a Hyuga squad ambushed by Kumogakure spies. Raikou stayed behind with Xia as the spies pursued a Main Family boy.

• Yayoi realized Gō was the Living Spirit required by the Box of Bliss and pierced her with Thousand Transformations.
• The Black Tide assimilated Gō and flowed into Thousand Transformations, which became a black gauntlet in Yayoi's hand.
• Yayoi celebrated gaining a weapon he believed had reached the Super Kage Level.
• Kumogakure spies ambushed a Hyuga squad and pursued its Main Family boy, leaving the Branch Family members behind to hold them off.
• Raikou shielded Xia as the Hyuga defenders faced the approaching spies.

Raikou discovered that Natsu had died in the Kumogakure ambush and resolved to stake his life on revenge against both Kumogakure and the Hyuga Main Family. At Konoha Hospital, Yayoi learned more about the attack and that Raikou was the sole survivor.

• Raikou woke in the hospital and overheard patients dismissing the Branch Family’s losses, leaving him chilled by the clan’s oppression.
• Raikou hurried home, where the dark, silent house brought back the memory of Natsu’s death and the Main Family’s failure to apologize.
• Raikou resolved to avenge Natsu against the Kumogakure ninjas, the Main Family, and the oppressive Hyuga clan.
• Yayoi returned to Konoha with Yan and Rin after dealing with Moryo, and he had retrieved a young Uzumaki girl from the Country of Grass.
• Rin told Yayoi that Kumogakure had ambushed a Hyuga mission, most of the Branch Family had died, and Raikou was the only survivor rescued by Shuomo.

Rin told Yayoi and Yan about the deaths of the Branch Family members and Natsu, then Raikou asked Yayoi to suppress his Caged Bird so he could take revenge on the Hyuga Main Family. Yayoi offered to help him become clan head and change the Hyuga, dangling the possibility of reviving Natsu, and told him to meet in the forest behind the mountain the next day.

• Rin recounted that a Main Family member had escaped with help from Teacher Shuomo, while Natsu and the other Branch Family members on her team had died.
• Yan helped Yayoi with hospital matters as Yayoi explored the uses of Thousand Transformations.
• Raikou knelt before Yayoi and asked him to undo his Caged Bird so he could destroy the Hyuga Main Family and kill the member who had ordered the Branch Family to hold off Kumogakure.
• Yayoi said he could suppress Raikou's Caged Bird and proposed that Raikou become clan head and abolish the Hyuga clan system instead of slaughtering the Main Family.
• Yayoi promised Raikou power and suggested that Forbidden Techniques might let him contact or revive Natsu, then told him to meet in the forest behind the mountain the next day.

Yayoi completed Raikou’s Hyuga and Senju modifications, then gave him a weapon carrying a technique that could temporarily suppress the Caged Bird seal. As Raikou left to lead the Branch Family against the Main Family, Yayoi told Tsunade he had decided to become Hokage soon.

• Yayoi finished Raikou’s gene and Hashirama Cell modifications, restoring his Byakugan and raising his strength to Jonin level.
• Raikou awoke, tested his new power, and resolved to avenge Natsu.
• Yayoi gave Raikou Thousand Transformations, which could suppress the Caged Bird seal for one hour, and watched him leave.
• Tsunade arrived at Yayoi’s laboratory, and Yayoi told her he intended to become Hokage soon.
• Yayoi prepared for Raikou to lead the Branch Family in destroying the Main Family and for the conflict to challenge Konoha’s leadership.

Yayoi sought Tsunade’s support to meet the Senju elders and rebuild the clan as part of his preparations to seize power. Meanwhile, Raikou visited Hizashi and revealed that the Caged Bird seal had been removed.

• Yayoi told Tsunade he wanted to meet the Senju elders, and she agreed to speak with them while reassuring him that he could wait if he failed.
• Yayoi planned to reunite the Senju Clan, build alliances with the Uchiha and Hyuga, and prepare for coming wars and a purge after victory.
• Raikou used Thousand Transformations to conceal himself as he went to Hizashi’s home and asked him to gather the Branch Family’s leaders.
• Hizashi refused, citing the clan’s ban on Branch Family gatherings, but Raikou said he had found a way to undo the Caged Bird.
• Raikou removed his Konoha forehead protector, and Hizashi saw that the seal on Raikou’s forehead was gone.

Raikou convinced Hizashi that he could undo the Caged Bird, and Hizashi summoned the Hyuga Branch Family to offer them a chance to break free of the Main Family’s system. The gathered members waited as Raikou emerged to prove the seal could be removed.

• Raikou warned Hizashi that he could undo the Caged Bird, and Hizashi agreed to meet with him again.
• Hizashi gathered the Hyuga Branch Family in the middle of the night to discuss their future.
• Hizashi offered the Branch Family a choice between accepting the Main Family’s system and removing the Caged Bird.
• The gathered Hyuga members reacted with excitement and asked whether Raikou had the power to remove their seals.
• Raikou emerged from the darkness carrying a black long sword and revealed his unmarked forehead.

Raikou persuaded Hyuga Branch Family members to join his effort to break free from the Caged Bird, then led them toward the Main Family compound. When Hyuga Jōkō taunted him about his dead fiancée and the Branch Family's duty to serve, Raikou attacked.

• Raikou presented the Branch Family with a choice between accepting the Caged Bird and joining his rebellion, and several members agreed to follow him.
• Raikou used the Black Mist from his blade to suppress the Caged Bird seals of the gathered Branch Family members, including Hizashi.
• Raikou led the Branch Family group toward the Main Family compound and confronted its guard, Hyuga Jōkō.
• Hyuga Jōkō mocked Raikou's dead fiancée and declared the Branch Family existed to serve the Main Family, so Raikou shouted, “Die!”

Raikou led the Hyuga Branch Family toward the Main Family compound, killing Jōkō and declaring that he intended to wipe out the Main Family to end the Caged Bird. After torturing a Main Family boy, he rejected the Branch Family’s attempts to stop him and stabbed the boy through the heart.

• Raikou killed Jōkō with his black sword, then urged the Hyuga Branch Family to continue toward the Main Family compound.
• A Main Family boy lay awake, haunted by the deaths he had witnessed, until Raikou entered his room, seized him, and broke his arm.
• Raikou dragged the wounded boy into the courtyard, where Hizashi confronted him and demanded to know his true intentions.
• Raikou announced that he would kill every member of the Main Family, explaining that he believed this was the only way to end the Caged Bird.
• A Branch Family member tried to rescue the boy and capture Raikou, but Raikou kicked him away and drove his sword through the boy’s heart.

Key Plot Points and Events

• Raikou, driven by revenge, kills the Main Family's young master.
• The Branch Family members witness the murder and are shocked by Raikou's true intentions.
• The Main Family elder arrives and attempts to use the Caged Bird Curse Seal on Raikou, but it fails due to Uesugi Yayoi's interference.
• Raikou dismembers the Main Family elder, demonstrating his overwhelming power and cruelty.
• Raikou forces Hizashi, the Branch Family's Clan Leader, to choose sides, offering him a chance to become "free" by joining Raikou's cause.

Character Developments

• Raikou's thirst for revenge consumes him, turning him into a crazed and ruthless killer.
• Hizashi, initially portrayed as a calm and collected leader, is now faced with a difficult moral dilemma.
• The Main Family elder's overconfidence and underestimation of Raikou lead to his gruesome demise.

Significant Themes

• Revenge and its destructive consequences.
• The power dynamics and class struggle within the Hyuga Clan.
• The struggle for freedom and agency against oppressive forces.

Character Interactions

• Raikou's interactions with the Main Family members are filled with hatred and contempt, culminating in their brutal murders.
• Hizashi's interaction with Raikou highlights the latter's manipulation and the former's internal conflict.
• The Branch Family members' interactions with each other reveal their growing unease and complicity in Raikou's actions.

Raikou pushed the Branch Family toward rebellion by offering freedom from the Caged Bird in exchange for killing a Main Family member. Hizashi killed the dying elder, and the newly appointed Elder Hyuga arrived to punish the Branch Family.

• Raikou urged Hizashi to kill the Main Family elder and offered Branch Family members removal of their Caged Bird marks for killing one Main Family member.
• A Branch Family member stepped forward to claim the opportunity, and the others debated killing only the dying elder before stopping.
• Hizashi gave in to his desire for freedom and drove a Kunai into the elder's neck, killing him.
• Raikou congratulated Hizashi, while Branch Family members argued over whether his kill counted and urged one another to stay rational.
• The newly appointed Elder Hyuga activated the Caged Bird across the group, causing the limping Branch Family member to collapse in agony.
• Hizashi stepped forward to face the Elder Hyuga, as the events unfolded in an illusory image.

Yayoi watched the Hyuga Main Family collapse while strengthening his power and preparing to erase the Main Family. In the compound, the Branch Family killed an Elder and, driven by greed and fear of retaliation, turned toward further slaughter.

• Yayoi used Hashirama Cells to increase his strength, then watched the conflict through an illusory scene as Rin declined his offer to become head of the Hyuga Clan.
• Yayoi activated alchemical tools and formed a Wind Barrier around the Hyuga Main Family compound, telling Rin that the Main Family would cease to exist.
• After an Elder used the Caged Bird to kill a Branch Family member, the Branch Family surrounded him and attacked.
• A Branch Family ninja stabbed the Elder through the heart, but the others immediately began seeking more Main Family members to kill.
• A Branch Family member asked Raikou whether anyone from the Main Family would do, and Raikou agreed.

Raikou unleashed the Branch Family against the Hyuga Main Family, turning the clan grounds into a sealed slaughterhouse. He then attacked the Clan Leader's residence, while Branch Family hunters killed Main Family members throughout the compound.

• Raikou declared that anyone from the Main Family was fair game for the night, and the Branch Family split into squads to attack them.
• Raikou told Hizashi that absolute power made human nature easy to manipulate, then headed toward the Clan Leader's residence to kill the leadership.
• Branch Family members killed Main Family members of all ages, while a Wind Element barrier trapped them inside the clan grounds and muffled their cries.
• Raikou stormed a meeting of elders, killed everyone there, and rejected an elder's offer to seek an apology from Elder Jin.
• Hyuga who tried to escape the barrier were caught by their pursuers, and the slaughter continued.

Raikou slaughtered the Hyuga Main Family, including Hiashi and Hizashi, and was made head of the clan despite Konoha’s investigation. Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Raikou, who justified the purge as a way to uphold the Will of Fire, leaving Hiruzen to reject his interpretation.

• Raikou killed Hiashi and Hizashi when Hizashi tried to protect his brother.
• In Year 39 of Konoha, the Hyuga Main Family was reported wiped out by the Branch Family, and Raikou became the new clan head under house arrest.
• Konoha’s investigation found evidence of a barrier and the Branch Family’s escape from the Caged Bird, but failed to identify the mastermind or pursue a key suspect.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Raikou about the massacre and asked why he had done it.
• Raikou blamed the Main Family’s use of the Caged Bird and claimed the purge had given the Hyuga Clan a fresh start under the Will of Fire.
• Hiruzen told Raikou that he had gone too far and that the Will of Fire did not mean what Raikou claimed.

Raikou deceived Hiruzen while secretly pursuing his own plans for the Hyuga clan. Meanwhile, Yayoi asked the Senju elders to support his ambition to become Hokage and revealed that he wanted to rebuild the Senju Clan.

• Raikou apologized to Hiruzen and answered questions about the clan’s destruction, then privately dismissed Hiruzen’s influence.
• Raikou told Hyuga Gen to stage the investigation, include Kong, and collect the Main Family’s Byakugan for Yayoi.
• Yayoi and Tsunade met with Senju elders, who welcomed Yayoi and praised his wartime record.
• Yayoi told the elders he intended to claim the Hokage Position and had another proposal for them.
• Yayoi announced that he wanted to rebuild the Senju Clan, astonishing Tsunade and stirring the elders’ hopes.

Yayoi persuaded the Senju elders to support gathering the scattered Senju clansmen by warning that another great war would come and promising to equip them with mass-produced Senjutsu. Tsunade demonstrated her newly developed, imperfect Sage Mode, leaving the elders impressed by its power.

• Tsunade warned Yayoi that recalling the Senju clansmen could disrupt their peaceful lives, while the elders eagerly anticipated the clan’s return.
• Yayoi described how resource conflicts would lead to another Shinobi World War within ten years and argued that the Senju should reunite to strengthen Konoha.
• Yayoi promised to equip the Senju with Senjutsu and revealed that Tsunade had become a sage through their research.
• Tsunade activated her imperfect Sage Mode, releasing a fierce gale and impressing the Senju elders with its power.