Chapter Summaries

Kusana and Mujie tried to draw Sunagakure into Kusagakure’s lucrative-looking business schemes, using banners and success stories to persuade Chiyo’s delegation. Chiyo left wary of Kusagakure’s persuasive tactics and still uncertain whether the person she had come to investigate was alive.

• Kusana welcomed Chiyo and her Sand Ninja delegation while Mujie secretly arranged for Grass Ninja to surround them.
• Mujie told Chiyo that Iwagakure had ordered ten harvesters for one hundred million, then showed the Sand Ninja banners celebrating supposed business successes.
• Mujie handed out money-making guides and delivered a persuasive pitch, leaving Chiyo and her delegation unusually stirred by the prospect of joining Kusagakure’s schemes.
• Kusana explained to Hanzo of the Salamander that the business pitch targeted outsiders, and Hanzo admitted he feared being poor.
• Mujie saw the Sand Ninja off after hours of persuasion, and Chiyo hurried her delegation away, resolved to be more cautious and wondering whether her target was still alive.

Chiyo investigated reports that Pakura had survived and was hiding in Kusagakure, fearing that the truth would destabilize Sunagakure. After catching her Sand Ninja secretly reading Kusagakure’s wealth manual, she opened the door to an unexpected visitor and hurriedly hid her identity from her team.

• Chiyo reflected on Sunagakure’s secret bargain with Kirigakure to sacrifice Pakura and resolved to investigate whether Pakura had survived in Kusagakure.
• Chiyo worried about her missing grandson, Scorpion, and acknowledged the Grass Ninja Leader’s influence over her despite her mission.
• Chiyo found her Sand Ninja secretly studying Kusagakure’s Treasure of Wealth Manual, and they claimed it was for gathering intelligence.
• A woman with orange locks came to the door, and Chiyo recognized her, then shut the door and told the Sand Ninja she was a hotel attendant.

Chiyo led the Sand ninja to meet with Kusagakure and the Rain Ninja Village Leader, still wary that they were trying to manipulate Sunagakure. She discovered that Hanzō had joined a drinking-water delivery company and no longer wanted to be called Leader Hanzō.

• The Sand ninja praised Kusagakure’s business offers, while Chiyo suspected the Grass ninja planned to sow discord in Sunagakure.
• Chiyo warned the Sand ninja to follow the Kazekage’s lead and opened the door, where Mujie urged them to get up and go to the meeting.
• Mujie escorted Chiyo and the Sand ninja toward the hall, but Kusagakure allowed only Chiyo into the meeting room.
• Chiyo told the Sand ninja not to believe anyone and entered the room alone.
• Hanzō greeted Chiyo in a polished uniform and told her not to call him Leader Hanzō because he was now in charge of the Land of Rain Wellness Hall Drinking Water Delivery Company.

Kusana tried to recruit Chiyo into Kusagakure’s business ventures, offering her a loan after she said Sunagakure had no money. When Chiyo recognized Pakura working in Kusagakure and accused Kusana of hiding Sunagakure’s hero, he used Yakura’s presence to silence her and deflected blame toward Kirigakure.

• Kusana pitched Kusagakure’s products to Chiyo with exaggerated success stories, but she said Sunagakure had no money to invest.
• Kakuzu offered Chiyo a loan with even tailed beasts listed as possible collateral, but she said Sunagakure could not repay it.
• Kusana sent Pakura to serve tea, and Chiyo recognized her as Sunagakure’s missing hero.
• Pakura ignored Chiyo and continued toward the door, while Kusana called her “Little Yakura” to make Chiyo stop speaking.
• Chiyo threatened that Sunagakure might join Kirigakure against Kusagakure, but Kusana dismissed her concerns and asked whether Kirigakure could really be blameless.

Kusana pressured Chiyo into signing deals for Kusagakure and Amegakure, then accepted her private mission to find her missing grandson, Scorpion. Chiyo left believing her Sand ninjas had avoided Kusana’s persuasion, only to learn they had already signed agent contracts.

• Chiyo agreed to Kusagakure and Amegakure’s demands after Kusana argued that Sunagakure needed their cooperation and water shipments.
• Chiyo proposed hiring Kusagakure to find her grandson Scorpion and identify his assassin, and Kusana accepted the mission.
• Hanzo described Factory Three’s Little Scorpion, and he and Chiyo argued over whether he could compare to her genius grandson.
• Chiyo prepared to leave, relieved that the Sand ninjas outside had not been persuaded into anything.
• The Grass Ninja Advisor told Chiyo that the Sand ninjas had all signed contracts to become agents, and Chiyo angrily ordered him away.

Kusana attended the completion ceremony for the Land of Rain's sewer system and learned that Root had arrested the Fourth Hokage and his students after finding Talent Introduction Plans in Minato's room. The chapter left Kusana wondering why Minato, Kakashi, and the others were under investigation.

• Sunagakure and the Rock Ninja departed after forming partnerships with Kusagakure, while Kirigakure remained sealed off and Kumogakure refused to cooperate.
• Kusana went with Hanzo of the Salamander to the Land of Rain for the sewer system's completion ceremony and saw a White Zetsu statue honoring the workers.
• Hanzo praised Little Scorpion and thanked the workers for helping the Land of Rain recover and prosper.
• A White Zetsu clone told Kusana that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was in labor and that Root had arrested the Fourth Hokage and his students.
• The White Zetsu clone explained that Root found a large number of Talent Introduction Plans in the Fourth Hokage's room.

Black Zetsu tried to exploit rumors that Minato Namikaze planned to defect, but Obito stayed focused on studying and the false evidence helped trigger the Nine-Tails’ rampage during Kushina’s childbirth. As Minato prepared to use the Reaper Death Seal, a familiar voice interrupted him.

• Kusana wondered how Danzo had obtained so many Kusagakure Talent Introduction Plans and whether the Nine-Tails Rebellion would still happen with Obito studying and Black Zetsu subdued.
• Black Zetsu learned that plans had been found in Minato’s home and tried to tell Obito, who scolded him for neglecting his studies before listening.
• Black Zetsu told Obito that Minato was under investigation, and Obito learned that Anbu had found many Kusagakure Talent Introduction Plans in Minato’s house.
• A rumor spread through Konoha that Minato intended to defect, and the village’s doubts grew after Minato and Kakashi were taken away by Anbu.
• During Kushina’s childbirth, the Nine-Tails went berserk; Minato arrived too late to prevent the rampage and prepared to use the Reaper Death Seal.
• A space-time distortion appeared before Minato, and a familiar voice called him pathetic.

Obito Uchiha arrived in Konoha as Minato faced the Nine-Tails’ attack, and Minato explained that a plot to frame and detain him had spiraled out of control. Hiruzen and Obito tried to respond, but Minato revealed that his technique could no longer be stopped as the Grim Reaper appeared behind him.

• Obito appeared atop the Nine-Tails, and he and Minato exchanged remarks about his return and the chaos in Konoha.
• Minato told Obito that he had been lured away after false evidence was planted in his and Kakashi’s homes, and warned Obito not to act before telling him to leave.
• Hiruzen arrived and accused Obito of causing the Nine-Tails’ attack, while Danzo privately realized his plan to seize Kakashi’s Mangekyo had gone disastrously wrong.
• Obito criticized Konoha for shifting blame, and Hiruzen ordered Minato to undo the seal and leave the rest to them.
• Minato said the technique could no longer be stopped and revealed that the Grim Reaper was already behind him.

Kusana returned to Kusagakure and learned that Black Zetsu had left with Obito, then tried to motivate the White Zetsu original by assigning him work. Obito suddenly arrived with the Fourth Hokage’s wife, leaving Kusana shocked.

• Kusana returned to Kusagakure and prepared supplies to send to Konoha after chaos broke out there.
• Kusana learned from the White Zetsu original that Black Zetsu had left with Obito.
• Kusana praised the White Zetsu original’s ideological awareness and assigned him work to help him recover from his grief over Madara.
• Obito emerged through warped space, complained about medical fees, and asked for a bottle of White Zetsu IV.
• Kusana saw the woman with Obito and asked why he had brought the Fourth Hokage’s wife back.

After the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Kusagakure planned its response while Konoha struggled with destruction, rumors that Minato had betrayed the village, and the fate of Naruto and Kakashi. The chapter ended as an Uzumaki elder arrived from Kusagakure to visit Kushina.

• Mujie reported that rumors about Minato and Obito had spread through Konoha and fueled fear of the Uchiha Clan.
• Kusana ordered Kusagakure to continue the Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun Plan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi argued with Danzo over the rumors, Kakashi's eye, and whether Naruto should be protected as Minato's son.
• Danzo left after Hiruzen refused to hand over Kakashi or Naruto to Root.
• An Anbu shinobi told Hiruzen that an Uzumaki Clan elder from Kusagakure had arrived to see Kushina.

Kusana stayed close to pregnant Kana while discussing the renewed conflict and Kushina’s condition. In Konoha, Uzumaki Yangzheng visited Naruto with Kusagakure’s delegation and warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Uzumaki Clan would not tolerate the child being mistreated.

• Kusana reassured Kana that the clashes were minor and told her Mujie was handling the situation in Konoha.
• Kana asked after Kushina, and Kusana said she had not escaped danger yet but was expected to recover soon.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng arrived in Konoha with Kusagakure’s delegation, and Hiruzen Sarutobi received him amid heightened tensions after the Nine-Tails Rebellion.
• Yangzheng gave Naruto a trinket bearing the Uzumaki Clan crest and stressed that the clan wanted him to grow up healthy.
• Hiruzen promised to care for Naruto, while Yangzheng repeatedly reminded him that Konoha must not make the child suffer.

Uzumaki Yangzheng led the Kusagakure delegation around Konoha with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mitokado Homura, then insisted on visiting Minato’s grave despite Konoha’s suspicions. At the memorial, the delegation found Kakashi defending Minato and Mujie immediately offered him Kusagakure’s talent recruitment program.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged a tour of Konoha after Uzumaki Yangzheng returned Naruto to him, and Yangzheng praised Mitokado Homura while the group exchanged polite remarks.
• The delegation saw Konoha’s damaged streets and Ninja Academy, while Yōsei reflected that Kusagakure’s construction and development had surpassed Konoha’s in some respects.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng insisted that the group pay respects to Minato’s grave, and the Kusagakure ninjas mocked Konoha for suspecting its own Hokage and its allies.
• At the memorial, Yangzheng noticed graffiti on Minato’s statue and saw Kakashi angrily defend his teacher against the villagers.
• Mujie approached Kakashi, handed him a recruitment sheet, and offered him Kusagakure’s talent introduction program, provoking the Konoha ninjas.

Hiruzen Sarutobi dealt with Kusagakure’s brazen talent poaching while Konoha struggled with tensions after the Nine-Tails Rebellion and threats from other villages. When Hiruzen asked Kusagakure for help preserving peace, Mujie offered to sell Konoha weapons.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Kusagakure had openly recruited Konoha ninja and that Uzumaki Yangzheng had visited the Uchiha compound, while Danzo demanded action against Kusagakure.
• Mujie and Uzumaki Yangzheng arrived, and Mujie handed out recruitment papers to Konoha’s ninja while teasing Danzo with an invitation to return to Kusagakure.
• Hiruzen ignored the recruitment campaign and asked Mujie and Uzumaki Yangzheng to help Konoha respond to Kumogakure and Iwagakure’s movements along the Land of Fire’s borders.
• Mujie agreed to cooperate for peace, then presented Hiruzen with a document and asked whether Konoha wanted to buy weapons.

Yōsei planned to sell Kusagakure’s Scientific Ninja Tools to Konoha to clear the warehouse and fund further research, while Pakura asked Kusana about academy exams and Black Zetsu’s poor performance. Obito, struggling to pay for Kushina’s wife’s care, went out with Black Zetsu to find a way to make big money.

• Yōsei prepared to sell Kusagakure’s Scientific Ninja Tools to Konoha, and Kusana explained to Pakura that the tools’ limited durability and Konoha’s competing priorities made the sale worthwhile.
• Pakura told Kusana that the academy wanted Black Zetsu to repeat first grade because of his poor fundamentals and warned that Obito’s exhaustion had worried his teachers.
• Kusana guessed that Obito was busy earning money because a family member was seriously ill.
• Obito worried about the ongoing cost of caring for Kushina’s wife and resented having to borrow money from Kusagakure’s finance chief.
• Obito asked Black Zetsu whether he knew a way to make big money, and Black Zetsu silently resented being dragged out into the cold.

Obito and Black Zetsu argued about how to earn money before returning to study, while Kusana welcomed the delegation back from Konoha and heard Mujie boast about their reception. The chapter ended when a Grass Ninja reported that the captive had awakened.

• Obito rejected Black Zetsu's suggestions to find work or study and decided to pursue a scholarship.
• Obito and Black Zetsu saw the returning delegation at Kusagakure's village gate and hurried to avoid being assigned more test papers.
• Kusana dismissed Pakura's concern about his reputation and welcomed the delegation led by Mujie and Uzumaki Yangzheng.
• Mujie handed Kakuzu a contract, called him Uncle Mujie, and told Kusana that Konoha's farewell crowd had nearly kept them from leaving.
• A Grass Ninja reported to Kusana that the captive had woken up.

Kushina woke in Kusagakure after Obito rescued her, but learned her body still depended on the village’s life-restoring treatment. Kusana persuaded her to remain and recover by revealing Obito had borrowed money to cover her medical bill.

• Kushina woke in Kusagakure’s medical department and mistakenly thought she had died and reached the Pure Land.
• Rin explained that Obito had brought Kushina to Kusagakure, where the Uzumaki clan and her friends had gathered.
• Kushina panicked about Naruto, but Uzumaki Yangzheng assured her that he was safe in Konoha.
• Kusana warned Kushina that her damaged body would fail without Kusagakure’s treatment, so she could not safely return to Konoha yet.
• Kushina was shocked by the medical bill, then learned Obito had taken out a village loan to pay it.
• Kusana urged Kushina to stay and recover, joking that otherwise Obito would be left with a huge debt and forced to survive by picking up trash.

Kusana led Kusagakure through a peaceful stretch of war and development, while Danzo prepared a plot against him based on a secret contact. Danzo received the contact’s long-awaited reply and fell silent, recognizing something familiar in it.

• After the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Iwagakure and Kumogakure attacked Konoha, and Kusana sent Grass Ninja to deliver Scientific Ninja Tools, but Konoha turned them away.
• Kusana kept Kusagakure neutral as the war settled into small clashes, while Iwagakure and Kumogakure rejected his offer to sell them weapons.
• Over three peaceful years, Kusana and Kana welcomed a daughter named Kusaka, and Kusagakure and the Land of Rain developed under Nonō’s hard work.
• Kusana asked Nonō whether she wanted to become a full-time employee.
• Danzo received a reply from his hidden contact and planned to lure Hanzo into an assassination plot against Kusana, but the four-word message left him speechless with a familiar feeling.

Kusana reflected on his failed plan to capture Danzo and tried to persuade Nonō to keep working for him, but she resigned to become the orphanage’s vice director. After thanking him and demanding her back wages, Nonō left when Kusana offered her a risky, profitable connection in Konoha.

• Kusana recalled how Kabuto had discovered Nonō’s secret letter from Konoha and how his plan involving Danzo, Kakuzu, and Hanzō had fallen apart.
• Kusana complained that Nonō had neglected her work and had not signed the contract to become a full employee.
• Nonō told Kusana that she had decided to resign and revealed that the orphanage had hired her as its vice director.
• Nonō asked whether Kusana had known her identity, thanked him, and demanded her back wages before leaving.
• Kusana offered Nonō a risky business opportunity through his connection in Konoha, but she ran away.

Kusana reflected on Kusagakure’s growth and checked on his daughter, Little Xiang, while Kushina worried about Naruto in Konoha. A messenger reported that Yangzheng’s group had returned with Konoha’s Jinchuriki, leaving Kusana stunned.

• Kusana set aside his risky plan and reflected on the coming peace, Kusagakure’s growth, and Obito, Black Zetsu, and Madara’s divergent fates.
• Kusana visited Fusang’s home, greeted Rin, and picked up Little Xiang while Kushina looked after the girl.
• Kushina worried about Naruto’s treatment in Konoha, and Kusana told her Yangzheng would soon return with news and photographs.
• A Kusagakure ninja arrived with urgent intelligence and confirmed that Yangzheng’s group had returned with Konoha’s Jinchuriki.
• Kusana was shocked when the messenger asked how he had already known about the Jinchuriki’s return.

Uzumaki Yangzheng explained how Naruto secretly hid in a box and was taken from Konoha to Kusagakure, while Obito revealed that he had helped them escape and captured Danzo. Kusana and Kakuzu eagerly welcomed Danzo as a distinguished guest.

• Mujie proudly announced that he and Uzumaki Yangzheng had brought Naruto back to Kusagakure.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng explained that Naruto had hidden in a box after using a Scientific Ninja Tool to distract the Anbu watching him.
• Yōsei, Mujie, and Uzumaki Yangzheng escaped with Naruto after Konoha's ninja caught up, aided by someone who stopped their pursuers.
• Obito revealed that he had secretly intervened and brought back the bound Danzo.
• Kusana and Kakuzu rushed to welcome Danzo and offered to scold the people who had tied him up.