Chapter Summaries

Black Zetsu worried that Madara’s new school routine and Obito’s presence were disrupting his plans, and ordered the White Zetsus to test whether Spiral White Zetsu knew about them. Spiral White Zetsu was still out collecting trash to support Madara when the White Zetsu body found him and demanded he return.

• Black Zetsu learned that Madara had taken Obito to class and assigned him homework, and decided Obito should experience the ninja world’s darkness.
• Black Zetsu heard that Spiral White Zetsu had been buying Madara snacks, collecting trash for money, and secretly interviewing him, and suspected he might have discovered their existence.
• Black Zetsu considered testing Spiral White Zetsu but sent the White Zetsu body to bring him back instead.
• Spiral White Zetsu continued picking up trash before dawn and told the White Zetsu body that Obito was asleep while Madara watched over him.

Obito remained trapped underground with Madara, who forced him to attend lessons and complete homework while Spiral White Zetsu supported the group by collecting trash. Aboveground, Kusana dismissed a report about Kannabi Bridge and returned to preparing for year-end matters.

• Madara woke Obito with his illusion technique and made him attend class despite his protests that he was still recovering.
• Obito argued that the New Spirit of Grass resembled the Will of Fire, but Madara mocked him and demanded his eight-thousand-word essay.
• After class, Spiral White Zetsu told Obito he had failed to earn money collecting trash and revealed he had modified the cave so they could hear lessons from above.
• Obito promised to repay the others once he recovered and wondered whether people knew he was still alive.
• Kusana read a report that Konoha had blown up Kannabi Bridge despite Iwagakure's heavy deployment, then set it aside and turned to year-end preparations.

Kawaisuke oversaw payday at the Kusagakure outpost, where workers received their first wages and expressed their gratitude. He received a letter from his wife and daughter, while an elderly man in a gas mask watched him from nearby.

• Kawaisuke reflected on how far his life had come as he prepared to distribute wages at the outpost.
• Kawaisuke and his assistant handed out wages, and the workers thanked him and heard the plans for their days off.
• A Kusagakure ninja delivered Kawaisuke a letter from Shizuko and Ryukako.
• Kawaisuke read the opening line, saw that Ryukako missed him, and tucked the letter against his chest to read in private.
• An elderly man wearing a gas mask watched Kawaisuke from nearby.

Hanzo of the Salamander and Ame visited the Grass Ninja outpost, where they saw Rain Ninja and other workers enjoying payday and reflected on Kusagakure’s prosperity. On the way back to Amegakure, Hanzo asked whether Kusagakure’s leader would let him visit.

• Ame explained that civilian Kawaisuke had been promoted to deputy factory manager and that his family lived and studied in Kusagakure.
• Hanzo of the Salamander asked about the Rain Ninja, and Ame said they had earned wages through Kusagakure’s commissions and were looking forward to more work.
• Ame worried that Konoha’s secret proposal to join forces against Kusagakure might be a trap, and questioned whether the Great Villages could bring Amegakure peace.
• Hanzo of the Salamander asked what Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato had been doing, and Ame described their recent activities and plans to return to Kusagakure.
• After they reached Amegakure, Hanzo of the Salamander asked Ame whether Kusagakure’s leader would agree to a visit.

Ame persuaded Kusana to let Hanzo of the Salamander visit Kusagakure by offering Amegakure’s cooperation and access to the Land of Rain’s markets. Kusana agreed, leaving Kakuzu in charge while Hanzo prepared for the trip.

• Ame pleaded with Kusana to allow Hanzo to visit Kusagakure and promised Amegakure and the Land of Rain would cooperate with him.
• Kusana said he was concerned about Hanzo leaving the war effort, not about Hanzo causing trouble in Kusagakure.
• Ame offered to open the Land of Rain’s entire domestic market to the Land of Grass, and Kakuzu agreed to oversee Kusagakure in exchange.
• Kusana approved Hanzo’s visit and told Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan to write an eight-thousand-word meeting summary.
• Ame reported the approval to Hanzo, who remarked that Kusana was magnanimous.

Kusana negotiated with Ame over recruiting workers from the Land of Rain and learned that Amegakure had rejected Konoha’s offer to help it negotiate with the Three Great Nations. The chapter ended with Kusana insisting that Konoha’s representatives should be welcomed as guests, despite their plan to join an attack on Kusagakure.

• Ame gave Kusana a detailed map of the Land of Rain, including its settlements, factions, and weakened poison barrier.
• Ame suggested that Kusagakure take in refugees from the Land of Rain, but Kusana refused to accommodate them all and offered limited jobs instead.
• Kusana agreed to recruit one worker from each household in a limited area, while Amegakure would clear space for worker housing.
• Ame revealed that Amegakure had refused Konoha’s offer to help negotiate with the Three Great Nations because it trusted Kusagakure more.
• Kusana stopped Ame from rejecting Konoha outright, saying that its representatives should be treated as guests even though they intended to join an attack on Kusagakure.

Danzo received Hanzo’s request for Konoha’s help against Kusagakure, along with a demand for ten million ryō to buy equipment. Kusana’s scheme left Konoha to either pay up or stay out of the conflict, while Ame wondered how things were going on the leader’s side.

• Danzo waited for Amegakure’s reply and prepared to send another Root Ninja when a messenger arrived with Hanzo’s letter.
• Danzo read Hanzo’s praise of Konoha and his request for a Konoha army to join Amegakure against Kusagakure.
• Danzo rejected the idea of sending an army because Konoha was allied with Kusagakure and faced threats from the Four Great Ninja Villages.
• Danzo read Hanzo’s request for ten million ryō to buy Kusagakure’s equipment and shouted in anger.
• Ame asked whether Konoha would agree to the plan, and Kusana said they would take the money if Konoha agreed and lose nothing if it refused.

Hanzo of the Salamander visited Kusagakure and saw how its peaceful streets, rebuilt economy, and academy reflected the village’s recovery. His admiration gave way to awkward silence when he learned the heavy security was only for the academy’s final exams.

• Yahiko complained that Hanzo had dawdled on the way to Kusagakure, and Hanzo replied that he might have been gathering intelligence.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng welcomed Hanzo at the village gates and escorted him through the snowy streets after Kakuzu left to make money.
• Hanzo saw Kusagakure’s smiling civilians and praised how the Land of Grass had recovered in less than ten years.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng described the chief’s five-year plan, and Hanzo wondered where he had fallen short before Yangzheng asked whether he would have accepted a feared wandering Ninja Clan.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng showed Hanzo Kusagakure’s academy and explained the village’s commitment to protecting children from early deployment.
• Hanzo praised the many ninja guarding the academy, but Uzumaki Yangzheng clarified that the extra security was for the final exams.

Hanzo of the Salamander toured Kusagakure and admired its peaceful winter scenery, while Obito took a closely supervised Kusagakure exam underground. Hanzo returned to the academy with Uzumaki Yangzheng, and Obito learned that Madara considered him the worst student he had ever seen.

• Hanzo of the Salamander hesitated to watch the academy exams, then toured Kusagakure with Uzumaki Yangzheng and envied its tranquility.
• Madara ordered Obito to take a written exam while ten White Zetsu supervised him.
• Spiral White Zetsu gave Obito an exam paper he had copied by hand, and Obito struggled with its questions before answering one about the destruction of Kannabi Bridge.
• Madara graded Obito's paper immediately and called him the worst student he had ever seen.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng brought Hanzo of the Salamander back to the academy, where Hanzo admired the children and their smiles in the snow.

Hanzo of the Salamander read Ame’s letter about Konoha paying Amegakure ten million ryo to attack Kusagakure and learned that life in the Land of Rain was improving under Leader Mang. Meanwhile, Kusana waited for Hanzo to return before Danzo’s forces arrived, insisting they had to fight because they had already spent the money.

• Hanzo of the Salamander reviewed the worsening war and reflected on the changes he had witnessed in Kusagakure during his stay.
• Hanzo of the Salamander read Ame’s letter, which said Konoha had paid Amegakure ten million ryo to serve as the vanguard against Kusagakure.
• Ame wrote that Leader Mang had invested the money in Amegakure and created jobs in the Land of Rain, while the village awaited Hanzo’s return.
• Hanzo of the Salamander decided he could not return yet and laughed at Leader Mang’s complaint that the show was about to begin.
• Kusana asked Ame whether Hanzo would return before Danzo’s people arrived, and insisted Kusagakure had to fight because it had already spent the money.

Ame saw the fragile peace in Amegakure and reassured a child that the Land of Rain would have peace and schools, despite knowing the future was uncertain. Meanwhile, Kusana planned for a postwar alliance and urged the Rain Ninja to bring Hanzo back, while Hanzo defiantly refused to hurry home.

• Ame walked through Amegakure, greeted workers, and told a child that the Land of Rain would find peace and that the child could attend an academy.
• Ame noticed a bald, burly man overseeing sewer construction before continuing toward Amegakure.
• Kusana considered the risks of the Grass Ninja's actions and planned to ally with Amegakure and secure mines for the Lightning Chariot project.
• Kusana told someone to urge the Rain Ninja to return because their staged act was becoming difficult to maintain.
• Hanzo of the Salamander taunted three children in Kusagakure, threatening to lie down rather than hurry back.

Hanzo of the Salamander accidentally poisoned civilians while trying to help with spring plowing in Kusagakure and was arrested. Meanwhile, Kirigakure’s attack on Konohagakure was nearing its end, and Obito learned that Kakashi and Rin were in danger just as Madara stopped him from leaving.

• Hanzo of the Salamander summoned Ibuse to help plow the fields, and its poisonous burp knocked civilians unconscious.
• Yahiko told Hanzo of the Salamander that another summoner had been jailed for a similar mishap, and Kakuzu arrived to keep him from escaping.
• Kusana ordered Ame to pay Hanzo’s fine and bring him back, then realized from an intelligence report that the war was about to end.
• Kirigakure’s offensive against Konohagakure faltered, and its failed ambush captured a girl from the Konoha Hero’s team to lure him into a trap.
• A White Zetsu warned Obito that Kakashi and Rin were in danger, and Obito prepared to leave before Madara asked whether he was going.

Obito left Madara’s cave to rescue his companions, while Madara ordered White Zetsu to bring him the Grass Ninja Leader. White Zetsu invited Kusana, who agreed immediately, leaving him worried that he had brought back a huge problem.

• Obito declared that his peace meant living happily with his friends and asked Madara to let him go rescue them.
• Madara allowed Obito to leave with Spiral White Zetsu, and Obito thanked his teacher before heading out.
• Madara told White Zetsu to bring him the Grass Ninja Leader, saying his eyes needed the man and that he could still restrain him.
• Black Zetsu ordered White Zetsu to invite the Grass Ninja Leader without exposing his identity or their plan.
• White Zetsu found Kusana at the Kusagakure encampment, and Kusana eagerly agreed to go with him.

Kusana agreed to meet Madara after White Zetsu promised that his organization would help him, but he postponed leaving when Konoha's delegation arrived in Amegakure. He impersonated Amegakure's absent leader to welcome Danzo, who promised Konoha's assistance in bringing peace to the Land of Rain.

• White Zetsu approached Kusana and tried to recruit him, and Kusana agreed after securing a promise of help from the organization.
• Ame told Kusana that Konoha's ninjas, including ten Anbu, had arrived while the Amegakure leader was away.
• Kusana volunteered to stand in for the absent leader and hurried to welcome the Konoha delegation.
• White Zetsu realized Kusana was impersonating Amegakure's leader and sank underground to wait.
• Kusana greeted Danzo, who promised Konoha would help Amegakure bring peace to the Land of Rain.

Danzo persuaded Hanzo to have Amegakure wage war against Kusagakure, unaware that Kusana was impersonating Hanzo and staging the battles. After Amegakure’s planned defeat, Kusana asked Danzo for another ten million to buy weapons.

• Danzo urged Hanzo to commit Amegakure fully to crushing Kusagakure, and Kusana agreed while blaming Kusagakure spies for the war’s stalemate.
• Kusana told Ame that Kusagakure would lose the next day and Amegakure would win, then the two villages fought as planned.
• Danzo celebrated Amegakure’s victory and agreed to continue the campaign, while Kusana ordered that the next day Amegakure suffer a crushing defeat.
• After Amegakure lost and Danzo lost three elite Root ninja, Kusana blamed the defeat on Kusagakure’s superior weapons and Amegakure’s lack of supplies.
• Kusana told Danzo that another ten million would equip Amegakure and asked whether he wanted the village to lose like this.

Kusana, disguised as Hanzo, repeatedly extracts money from Danzo by promising Amegakure victories, then proposes assassinating the Grass Ninja Leader. After the real Hanzo is released from prison and welcomed by Yahiko and Nagato, he unexpectedly asks whether they want to become Amegakure’s leaders.

• Amegakure loses its fourth and fifth battles, but Kusana persuades Danzo to invest another ten million each time.
• After Amegakure loses its sixth battle, Kusana gets Danzo to invest ten million more by proposing an assassination of the Grass Ninja Leader.
• Danzo agrees to the final investment and leaves, while Kusana tells Ame to summon their leader back because he is busy dealing with a White Zetsu.
• Hanzo is released from Kusagakure’s prison and reflects on the indignity of being jailed there, resolving not to pay the fine.
• Yahiko, Nagato, and a companion meet Hanzo and take him to a meal prepared by Fusang.
• Hanzo asks Yahiko and the others whether they want to become the leaders of Amegakure.

Kusana manipulated Danzo into considering another costly plan to lure out the Grass Ninja Leader, while Danzo secretly ordered Root to investigate his suspicions. Kusana then learned that Obito had rescued his companions, whose reunion was interrupted by someone announcing they were leaving.

• Kusana proposed that Danzo use a fifty-million order to lure the Grass Ninja Leader into a meeting, and Danzo left to consider the plan.
• Danzo signaled a Root Ninja to investigate what seemed wrong with the situation.
• Kusana returned to the Grass Ninja encampment and read intelligence that Obito had appeared and rescued his captured companion from Kirigakure.
• Obito reunited with his companions, and the three escaped Kirigakure’s siege to reach the Land of Fire.
• As Minato’s team began celebrating, a giggling voice told Obito, “I'm leaving!”

Obito reunited with Rin and Kakashi after Spiral White Zetsu left, and Minato brought them back toward Konoha. Meanwhile, Hiruzen considered Kirigakure’s demand for the Three-Tails and learned Danzo had left the village, while Danzo discovered Root had found Kusagakure gear in a Rain ninja’s room.

• Spiral White Zetsu left Obito to return to Madara, and Obito told Rin and Kakashi that Madara and his friend had saved him.
• Rin and Kakashi welcomed Obito back, and Minato found the three of them and led them toward the village.
• Kakashi worried about Rin and the Three-Tails but decided he would not abandon his comrades again.
• Hiruzen read Kirigakure’s demand for the Three-Tails and learned from an Anbu ninja that Danzo had left the village without registering his departure.
• Danzo stared at Kusagakure clothing and a forehead protector that Root Ninja had secretly found in a Rain ninja’s room.

Danzo realized he might have been drawn into a scheme involving Kusagakure and Amegakure, so he fled before Kusana could demand more money. Kusana ordered his men to catch him, while Hanzo and the children headed toward Amegakure and went to investigate hurriedly moving ninjas.

• Danzo suspected that Kusagakure’s new leader had conspired with Amegakure to fleece him, and he ordered a Root Ninja to pack up and leave immediately.
• Kusana prepared a plan to stage a battle between Kusagakure and Amegakure so he could gain Danzo’s trust and extract more money from him.
• Ame told Kusana that Shimura Danzō had fled overnight, and Kusana ordered his men to chase their distinguished guest.
• Hanzo of the Salamander traveled toward Amegakure with Nagato and the other children, and Nagato sensed several hurried ninjas nearby.
• Hanzo decided to investigate the ninjas and told the children they could watch him demonstrate his strength if they were enemies.

Kusana and Hanzo captured Danzo after he fled with fifty million, and Danzo realized Kusana had deceived him into funding Amegakure. Kusana praised Danzo as a selfless hero, ending by declaring that only Brother Danzo and Mang deserved to stand among the heroes of the world.

• Hanzo brought the captured Danzo to Kusana after mistaking him for a suspicious fugitive.
• Kusana freed Danzo from the Paper Release bindings, and Danzo realized he had been tricked into giving money to strengthen Amegakure.
• Danzo accused Kusana of deceiving him and the Five Great Ninja Villages, while Kusana brushed off the nearly hundred million he had made as little money.
• Danzo warned Kusana not to use him to threaten Konoha, but Kusana interrupted him with lavish praise for his service as Konoha's root.
• Kusana declared that only Brother Danzo and Mang stood worthy among the heroes of the world.