Recaps

Uchiha Mai awakened a superior form of Shikotsumyaku and used it to devastate Kirigakure’s forces without relying on Susanoo or his sword. After more than a thousand enemies fell and his fighting style reached a new level, Mizukage Yagura and Elder Genji recognized their disastrous misjudgment.

• Uchiha Mai manifested blood-red Shikotsumyaku armor and demonstrated that it surpassed the Kaguya Clan members’ bone techniques.
• Uchiha Mai killed the Kaguya Clan fighters and slaughtered waves of Kirigakure ninjas with taijutsu and Deathfire.
• Uchiha Mai’s battle against the Mist forces claimed more than a thousand lives, including several Jonin and all three Shikotsumyaku fighters.
• Uchiha Mai integrated and mastered his techniques, creating the World-Shattering Selfless Killing Fist.
• Mizukage Yagura admitted the battle plan was an unforgivable strategic blunder, and Elder Genji accepted responsibility.

Uchiha Mai unleashed a large-scale Deathfire technique that slaughtered hundreds of Kirigakure ninja, forcing Mizukage Yagura to enter the battle. Yagura resolved to stop Mai at the cost of his life, and their fight began with Yagura breaking Mai’s bone armor before Mai countered with Shikotsumyaku and hurled a Deathfire-coated bone spike at him.

• Kisame Hoshigaki struck Uchiha Mai with the Great Shark Bullet Technique, and Mai drew Izumi no Kami Kanesada before unleashing the Three Thousand Worlds secret technique.
• Uchiha Mai’s Deathfire weapons filled the formation and killed several hundred Kirigakure ninja before Yagura and the others weakened the technique with Water Style Ninjutsu.
• Mizukage Yagura confronted Mai, admitted his responsibility for the war’s casualties, and declared he would stop Mai even if it cost his life.
• Yagura attacked Mai with his hooked iron rod, shattered the bone armor on Mai’s arm, and drove his feet into the ground.
• Uchiha Mai used Dance of the Larch to force Yagura back, then threw a Deathfire-coated bone spike at him and called it Gae Bolg.

Uchiha Mai overwhelmed Mizukage Yagura and the Kirigakure forces with Susanoo and his other abilities, but the coordinated attacks gave Yagura a chance to approach. The chapter ended as Mai sensed danger and spotted Yagura concealed inside a water shark beside him.

• Yagura broke Mai's crimson javelin and blocked his rapid sword strikes with an iron club.
• Mai activated Susanoo, endured Yagura's blows, then attacked alongside its skeletal arms and kicked Yagura away.
• Kirigakure ninja intervened with ninjutsu, allowing Yagura to recover while Mai fought off their attacks.
• Kisame flooded the battlefield with water, but Mai crossed it at double speed, struck Kisame, and defeated an Ice Release ninja despite their attempts to hinder him.
• Mai took to the air and attacked Kirigakure with Deathfire: Thousand Wings, while Kisame countered with Thousand Feeding Sharks.
• Mai sensed a faint threat and discovered Yagura hidden inside a water shark at his side.

Uchiha Mai survived Yagura’s strongest Water Style attack and broke Kirigakure’s resolve, forcing most of its troops to retreat while Yagura stayed behind. Mai defeated the Kirigakure ninja who remained and resumed fighting Yagura, testing his newly acquired Thunder Spirit Deck.

• Yagura’s Spiral Water Blade pierced Mai’s armor but caused only a light wound, while Mai’s Distortion Power shattered Yagura’s left arm.
• Realizing they could not defeat Mai, many Kirigakure ninja fled, and Yagura ordered Kisame to lead the retreat and awaken the Third Mizukage.
• Yagura stayed behind to cover the retreat, and Mai let him wait until the departing troops were far away before attacking.
• Mai’s Phantom Sword Dance broke through Kirigakure’s defenses, but Yagura charged with a kunai and struck Susanoo just as Mai activated it.
• Kirigakure ninja briefly helped Yagura evade Susanoo, so Mai killed the intervening fighters and returned to battle Yagura with Susanoo and the Thunder Spirit Deck.

Uchiha Mai killed Yagura and wiped out the Kirigakure force before resting near the battlefield. Kakashi and the others found him alive and unharmed, confirming a sweeping victory that left Mei Terumi anticipating a new era.

• Uchiha Mai defeated Yagura with Susanoo, then killed him by stabbing his heart with Izumi no Kami Kanesada.
• While Uchiha Mai rested, Kakashi, Mei Terumi, Might Guy, and the others waited anxiously before agreeing to head for the battlefield.
• Mei Terumi imagined securing a political marriage with Uchiha Mai and eventually using her influence to strengthen Kirigakure.
• Kakashi's group reached the battlefield and found it strewn with Kirigakure corpses, confirming the scale of Uchiha Mai's victory.
• Hyuuga Kagetora spotted Uchiha Mai resting by a rock, and Kakashi mistakenly thought he was dying from exhaustion.
• Uchiha Mai stood up unharmed, dismissed the idea that four thousand opponents could exhaust him, and celebrated a decisive victory with his allies.

Uchiha Mai stayed on the Kirigakure battlefield after sending Kakashi and Hyuuga Kagetora back to Konoha, using his position as leverage to pressure Sarutobi Hiruzen for power. Hiruzen learned Mai was still alive and revealed to himself that he had sent him to Kirigakure hoping the strain would wear down his Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Uchiha Mai ordered Kakashi and Hyuuga Kagetora to return to Konoha with Yagura's body while he stayed behind with the Uchiha forces.
• Mei Terumi guessed Uchiha Mai intended to exploit the weakened Kirigakure, and he admitted becoming Mizukage was a possible alternative to succeeding as Hokage.
• Sarutobi Biwako brought Hiruzen medicinal soup, but he avoided drinking it and returned to his paperwork.
• An Anbu ninja reported that Kakashi and Hyuuga Kagetora were approaching Konoha with about sixty people, without Uchiha Mai.
• Kakashi told Sarutobi Hiruzen that Uchiha Mai remained on the battlefield to settle Kirigakure's affairs, and Hiruzen privately acknowledged he had hoped the mission would damage Mai's Mangekyō Sharingan.

Kakashi and Hyuuga Kagetora reported that Uchiha Mai had destroyed Kirigakure’s forces, killed Mizukage Yagura, and captured Mei Terumi, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen to consider the political consequences. Hiruzen realized Mai would demand a reward matching his achievements, but promoting him could upset Minato and Orochimaru, and Mai would no longer accept being stalled.

• Kakashi told Sarutobi Hiruzen that Uchiha Mai had killed more than two thousand Kirigakure ninja, including several Jonin, and defeated the Seven Ninja Swordsmen in minutes.
• Kakashi reported that Mai had captured Mei Terumi, while Hyuuga Kagetora revealed that Mai had also killed Mizukage Yagura.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen inspected Yagura’s body in a scroll and ordered that it be repaired and buried behind the Uchiha Clan grounds.
• Alone in his office, Hiruzen considered whether Mai intended to remain on the Kirigakure front to fight the Third Mizukage or might seek power in Kirigakure.
• Hiruzen concluded that Mai’s achievements required a major reward, possibly promotion to Anbu director, but feared that removing Minato would alienate both Minato and Orochimaru.
• Hiruzen understood that Mai had seen through his preference for Minato and was forcing him to declare his position rather than continue delaying.

Sarutobi Hiruzen made the Void Division independent of the Anbu after Uchiha Mai defeated Kirigakure, and news of Mai’s Mangekyō Sharingan alarmed Ōnoki. Fearing a new Uchiha Madara, Ōnoki sought peace with Kumogakure so the two villages could focus their forces on Konoha.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen secured unanimous approval to make the Void Division an independent force led by Uchiha Mai after presenting his victory over Kirigakure.
• Konoha publicized that Uchiha Mai had slain Mizukage Yagura and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, and Ōnoki investigated the reports instead of dismissing them.
• Ōnoki confirmed that Uchiha Mai had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and realized his fear of Susanoo remained an inner demon.
• Ōnoki sent his son Kitsuchi to deliver a peace proposal to the Third Raikage, who asked Dodai to assess the news about Uchiha Mai.
• Dodai argued that Mai’s Susanoo could explain his victory, and the Third Raikage agreed to peace if Iwagakure withdrew its troops first.

As Konoha’s fronts came under mounting pressure, Tsunade appointed Uchiha Mai to lead the Void Division and ordered him to resolve the Kirigakure situation before reinforcing the other battlefields. Mai instead prepared to invade Kirigakure, declaring that he would install Mei Terumi as Mizukage and “liberate” the village, then set sail with the Uchiha forces.

• Ōnoki and the Third Raikage advanced against Konoha, while Sarutobi Hiruzen left to reinforce Orochimaru and Tsunade took over his administrative duties.
• Tsunade appointed Uchiha Mai Director of the Void Division and ordered him to settle matters in Kirigakure quickly before supporting the other fronts.
• Uchiha Mai told Mei Terumi that he intended to kill the Third Mizukage and make her the Fifth or Acting Mizukage, and Mei agreed to his terms.
• Uchiha Mai declared to the Uchiha clan that they would punish Kirigakure’s leaders and liberate the village, then led his forces toward the ships prepared for the crossing.
• Mei Terumi accused Uchiha Mai of disguising retaliation as justice, and he calmly replied that he was justice.

After Kirigakure’s devastating defeat, its leaders decided to awaken the former Third Mizukage, Mizunashi Yukikaze, hoping he could restore the village’s morale and defeat Uchiha Mai. Yukikaze woke from his long slumber, but he had only a little over a month left to live once active.

• Kisame returned to Kirigakure with the battered survivors, and the village’s leaders faced the loss of Yagura and the need for a new leader.
• Elder Genji reminded Kisame that Yagura had ordered him to awaken the Third Mizukage, and he described Mizunashi Yukikaze’s strength and history.
• The Mizunashi Clan leader explained that Yukikaze was the Three-Tails’ Jinchuriki and could remain active for only a little over a month after his seal was undone.
• Elder Genji, the Mizunashi Clan leader, Kisame, and several dozen Jonin went to the shrine on the Mizunashi Clan’s grounds.
• The Mizunashi Clan leader removed the ice coffin’s seal, and Mizunashi Yukikaze eventually opened his eyes and sat up.

Mizunashi Yukikaze awoke to learn that Uchiha Mai had killed Yagura and devastated Kirigakure. After hearing a detailed account of Mai’s abilities and deeds, Yukikaze faced the threat posed by the young ninja.

• Mizunashi Yukikaze emerged from his ice coffin and heard Elder Genji ask him to stabilize Kirigakure and raise the village’s morale.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze asked where Yagura was, and Elder Genji told him that Uchiha Mai had killed Yagura a few days earlier.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze demanded to know who Uchiha Mai was, and Elder Genji explained that Mai had been born after Yukikaze sealed himself away.
• The gathered ninjas recounted Uchiha Mai’s rise, abilities, battles, and role in destroying Kirigakure’s forces and killing Yagura.
• Elder Genji concluded that Uchiha Mai’s strength was likely no weaker than Uchiha Madara’s in his youth.

Mizunashi Yukikaze learned that Uchiha Mai could rival the young Uchiha Madara, restored Kirigakure’s morale, and prepared to face him. When Mai arrived at the docks with a small force, Yukikaze’s Ice Release clashed with Mai’s flames, and the chapter ended with Yukikaze briefly resisting Mai’s Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu thanks to the Three-Tails.

• Mizunashi Yukikaze questioned Elder Genji’s claim that Uchiha Mai matched the young Uchiha Madara, but Genji insisted he had personally seen both fighters.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze took charge of Kirigakure, restored the village’s morale, and recovered his strength after being unfrozen.
• A Jonin reported that Uchiha Mai had arrived with about two hundred people, so Mizunashi Yukikaze hurried to the docks.
• Uchiha Mai arrived by boat with Mei Terumi and waved at Mizunashi Yukikaze, who responded by freezing a path across the sea with Ice Release: Frozen Path.
• Uchiha Mai countered with Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki, and Mizunashi Yukikaze used Ice Release: Snow Wind to stop the flames.
• Uchiha Mai activated his Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu, but the Three-Tails’ chakra helped Mizunashi Yukikaze break free almost immediately.

Uchiha Mai and Mizunashi Yukikaze fought a fierce battle as their forces clashed at Kirigakure’s docks. After Uchiha Mai gained a slight edge in close combat, Mizunashi Yukikaze unleashed Hundred-Foot Ice Cliffs and drove him into the air under a rain of ice lances.

• Uchiha Mai assessed Mizunashi Yukikaze as a formidable opponent and faced him while their forces prepared to fight.
• Uchiha Mai led the Uchiha charge and blocked Kirigakure’s opening attacks with Majestic Destroyer Flame.
• Uchiha Mai and Mizunashi Yukikaze exchanged attacks, then fought at close range, with Uchiha Mai holding a slight advantage.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze used Ice Release: Hundred-Foot Ice Cliffs to fill the battlefield with pursuing ice lances.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze sent a barrage of ice lances after Uchiha Mai as he flew, leaving the Kirigakure forces hopeful of victory.

Uchiha Mai turned the Third Mizukage’s battlefield trap against him by revealing Susanoo’s second stage and surviving a barrage of ice spears. He then attacked the Kirigakure forces, leaving Mizunashi Yukikaze alive among dozens of fallen shinobi.

• Uchiha Mai overpowered Mizunashi Yukikaze in close combat, while the Third Mizukage used ice to heal his wounds and concealed a trap across the battlefield.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze froze the battlefield’s water and launched countless ice spears at Uchiha Mai from every direction.
• Uchiha Mai awakened Susanoo: Second Stage, whose armored form shattered or endured the incoming spears without suffering effective damage.
• Uchiha Mai used Dragon Star Style: Gluttony to slash through the nearby Kirigakure shinobi, killing at least dozens while Mizunashi Yukikaze barely defended himself.
• Deathfire absorbed the fallen shinobi’s residual life force and turned it into fuel for Uchiha Mai’s Susanoo.

Mizunashi Yukikaze unleashed powerful Ice Release techniques against Uchiha Mai, who expanded Susanoo into a three-headed, eight-armed form and began cutting through the ice army. As the remaining knights charged, Uchiha Mai gathered immense energy for his ultimate sword technique, Six Paths Five Wheels: Kurikara Astral Phenomenon.

• Mizunashi Yukikaze summoned ice mammoths that battered Susanoo and drove it into the ground.
• Uchiha Mai emerged from the crater, destroyed the mammoths, and transformed Susanoo into a three-headed, eight-armed form wielding six weapons.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze created hundreds of mounted ice knights with the Three-Tails' chakra and sent them charging at Uchiha Mai.
• Uchiha Mai enlarged Susanoo and used its weapons to destroy more than half of the ice knights before they could reach him.
• Uchiha Mai gathered Deathfire and surrounding energy into a black-flame sword over a hundred meters long as he began Six Paths Five Wheels: Kurikara Astral Phenomenon.

Uchiha Mai’s enormous Susanoo sword strike devastated Kirigakure, killing more than a thousand ninja and destroying nearly half the village despite Mizunashi Yukikaze’s desperate defenses. As Yukikaze resolved to retaliate, he revealed the ultimate Ice Release technique he had developed and unleashed Maha Padma.

• Uchiha Mai brought down a colossal black-flame sword, and Mizunashi Yukikaze spent his life force creating ice defenses to protect Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Mai shattered Yukikaze’s ice fortress, carved a vast canyon, and then triggered an explosion that annihilated more than a thousand ninja and nearly half of Kirigakure.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze rose from the ruins, condemned Uchiha Mai, and declared that he would drag him to hell with Edo Tensei.
• Yukikaze recalled how his battle with the Third Raikage led him to reconsider Ice Release and pursue its ultimate cold.
• Mizunashi Yukikaze used a one-handed seal and unleashed Ice Release: Maha Padma, a technique he said came infinitely close to absolute cold.

Mizunashi Yukikaze activated Maha Padma, freezing Uchiha Mai and the battlefield while sacrificing himself. Kirigakure’s survivors believed they had defeated Uchiha Mai, but Mei Terumi suspected he might still be alive when his Susanoo remained—and saw his lips twitch.

• Mizunashi Yukikaze activated Maha Padma, and the battlefield’s temperature plunged until Uchiha Mai, Susanoo, and Mizunashi Yukikaze were frozen.
• Mei Terumi told a surviving Jonin that Uchiha Mai had coerced her, helping her avoid suspicion of treason.
• Several Kirigakure ninja charged at Uchiha Mai but froze and died when they entered Maha Padma’s range.
• Mei Terumi and Kisame Hoshigaki questioned why Uchiha Mai’s Susanoo remained after the freezing, and Mei wondered whether he was still alive.
• Mei Terumi saw Uchiha Mai’s lips twitch and realized he might not be dead.

Uchiha Mai survived the Third Mizukage’s Maha Padma and forced Kirigakure to surrender. He demanded authority over the village through a Konoha garrison headquarters, and Elder Genji swore allegiance to him to save Kirigakure.

• Uchiha Mai recovered from Maha Padma with the Sun Wheel Armor and shattered the seal with a Deathfire Sword Aura.
• Elder Genji stepped forward and offered Kirigakure’s surrender after the village lost hope of resisting Uchiha Mai.
• Uchiha Mai rejected a simple surrender and said he could accept it if Kirigakure met his conditions.
• Uchiha Mai demanded that a Konoha garrison headquarters control Kirigakure’s leadership, military ranks, units, missions, and other affairs.
• Uchiha Mai threatened to destroy Kirigakure if it refused his terms, and Elder Genji broke his cane and declared that Kirigakure would swear allegiance to him.

Uchiha Mai stabilized his rule over Kirigakure and won Sarutobi Hiruzen’s approval to serve as acting director of Mist Garrison Headquarters while attacking Sunagakure’s rear. In Konoha, Mitokado Homura demanded Mai be recalled and punished, and Tsunade volunteered him to deliver the order in Kirigakure.

• Uchiha Mai appointed Shangfeng, Uchiha Tekka, and Mei Terumi as deputy directors, then used the Shinsengumi to suppress resistance in Kirigakure.
• After several days of executions and crackdowns, Uchiha Mai sent Sarutobi Hiruzen a letter requesting recognition of Mist Garrison Headquarters and his provisional authority over Kirigakure.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted the arrangement and ordered Uchiha Mai to attack Sunagakure’s rear.
• Tsunade received Hiruzen’s order and considered approving Mai’s authority, but Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura objected.
• Mitokado Homura called Mai a traitor and proposed recalling him, judging him, and replacing him as director of Mist Garrison Headquarters.
• Tsunade agreed to issue the summons and asked Mitokado Homura to carry it to Kirigakure himself.

Tsunade challenged Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu over their plan to strip Uchiha Mai of his position in Kirigakure and summon him back to Konoha. Fugaku denounced the advisers and left after warning that their power struggles could ruin Konoha’s war effort.

• Tsunade asked Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu to deliver Konoha’s order to Kirigakure, but both refused.
• Tsunade defended Uchiha Mai’s contributions and argued that his service as director of the Mist Garrison Headquarters was justified.
• Utatane Koharu proposed summoning Uchiha Mai back before removing him from his post and potentially holding a trial.
• Fugaku confronted the advisers, accusing them of protecting their own power and plotting against Uchiha Mai.
• Fugaku left after warning Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that their scheming could deprive the front lines of support and destroy Konoha.

Tsunade defended Uchiha Mai against the Hokage advisors and appointed him five-star Mizukage, asking him to support the Sand Front once Kirigakure was stable. Mai delayed leaving Kirigakure, saying he needed time to prevent unrest, but promised to find a way to aid Hatake Sakumo.

• Tsunade rebuked Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura for plotting to strip Mai of his position, warning that Kirigakure might rebel and Konoha could not safely control him by force.
• Tsunade signed Mai’s appointment letter and sent Kakashi to Kirigakure with orders for Mai to support the Sand Front after stabilizing the village.
• Mai told Kakashi he needed at least half a year to govern Kirigakure, but said he would find a way to relieve Hatake Sakumo’s pressure at the front.
• Mai arranged for Kakashi to stay in Kirigakure for several days before returning to Konoha, then explained to Mei Terumi that he wanted to prevent unrest before leaving.
• Mei Terumi, Genji, the Yuki Clan, and the Hozuki Clan accepted Mai’s rule, while small groups of Kirigakure troublemakers still resisted; Mai said he would wait until the village was secure before acting elsewhere.

Uchiha Mai planned to hire the legendary assassin Kakuzu to help Konoha survive its crisis without sending Kirigakure shinobi into the war. He secured Mei Terumi’s agreement to spend up to two hundred million from the village treasury, promising to get Konoha to reimburse Kirigakure later.

• Mei Terumi questioned how Uchiha Mai could help Konoha without going to the Sand Front or sending Kirigakure forces, and he explained that Konoha needed one top-tier fighter.
• Uchiha Mai dismissed Mifune and Nagato as options and revealed that Kakuzu, a survivor from the Warring States Era who had once fought Senju Hashirama, was his intended recruit.
• Mei Terumi examined Kakuzu’s assassination record and learned that he had killed numerous famous shinobi, including senior Kirigakure shinobi who had disappeared.
• Uchiha Mai told Mei Terumi that Kakuzu’s main ambition was earning and saving money, and that sufficiently high pay could persuade him to take dangerous missions.
• Mei Terumi said Kirigakure had less than two hundred million available after essential expenses, but Uchiha Mai ordered her to set that amount aside to hire Kakuzu and said Konoha would reimburse them.

Mei Terumi placed a ten-million-yen bounty on Kakuzu to find him, and the bounty drew the immortal ninja into a fight with four would-be hunters. After killing them and learning Mei had posted the bounty in the Land of Water, Kakuzu headed there to investigate.

• Uchiha Mai sent Mei Terumi to collect ten million and contact Kakuzu, then gave her a week off after the mission.
• Mei Terumi posted a real-name bounty on Kakuzu at the Underground Exchange and waited in a Land of Water town.
• Kakuzu ambushed four ninja who recognized his name and learned they had taken the ten-million-yen bounty at the Underground Exchange in Tianchuan County.
• Kakuzu killed the four ninja after interrogating their leader, who described the bounty poster as a beautiful, orange-haired girl staying at an inn.
• Kakuzu destroyed the worthless corpses, accepted several missions, and set off for the Land of Water.

Mei Terumi recruited Kakuzu with a lucrative commission and brought him to Kirigakure to meet her boss, whom Kakuzu assumed was hiring him to assassinate Uchiha Mai. Kakuzu grew puzzled when he saw Uchiha guards defer to Mei and realized they were approaching the Mizukage's Office.

• Kakuzu confronted Mei Terumi over her bounty, then became receptive when she offered him a commission worth at least four hundred million.
• Mei explained that her boss would choose the targets and gave Kakuzu a ten-million deposit; Kakuzu agreed to meet him, suspecting the job involved assassinating Uchiha Mai.
• Mei and Kakuzu traveled to Kirigakure, with Mei carefully keeping ahead of him and giving him directions.
• Mei showed her pass to the Uchiha Clan guards, who let her and Kakuzu enter Kirigakure respectfully.
• Kakuzu noticed that the guards treated Mei like an elder and wondered why Uchiha Mai had not taken over the Mizukage's Office.

Uchiha Mai invited Kakuzu to work as a mercenary for Konoha, offering payment for every Sunagakure shinobi he killed and protection from powerful enemies. Kakuzu rejected the idea of working beneath Mai and boasted about his past fight with Senju Hashirama.

• Mei Terumi brought Kakuzu to the Mizukage's Office, where she found Uchiha Mai asleep and flirted with him before bringing Kakuzu inside.
• Mei Terumi nestled into Uchiha Mai's arms and fed him a lychee while Kakuzu studied the pair and criticized Mai for being frivolous.
• Kakuzu asked who Mai wanted him to kill, and Mai explained Konoha's plight and offered to hire him to fight Sunagakure on its front.
• Uchiha Mai promised to pay Kakuzu for each Sunagakure shinobi he killed, let him keep the bodies, and protect him if powerful enemies pursued him.
• Kakuzu refused Mai's offer to work for him and declared that a true man could not serve another forever, claiming he had fought thirty exchanges with Senju Hashirama.