Recaps

At Sarutobi Hiruzen and Biwako’s anniversary banquet, Hiruzen praised the guests’ wartime service and announced he planned to choose a successor soon. Orochimaru and Uchiha Mai both put themselves forward for Fourth Hokage, leaving the gathering poised for a contest over the nomination.

• Uchiha Mai and the other guests presented gifts at Sarutobi Hiruzen and Biwako’s anniversary banquet, and Minato announced that he and Kushina would marry the following month.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen toasted Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Uchiha Mai for their contributions to Konoha before saying he intended to select candidates for the next Hokage.
• Hatake Sakumo, Tsunade, and Jiraiya each declined to seek the Hokage position, while Orochimaru said he wanted to compete for it.
• Uchiha Mai declared that he would run for Fourth Hokage, citing support from Jonin, and Sarutobi Hiruzen worried that he could not be excluded from the election.
• Tsunade endorsed Uchiha Mai’s candidacy, and Orochimaru challenged the value of Mai’s popularity as a concert performer.

At a dinner hosted by Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Mai and Orochimaru clashed over the Fourth Hokage election, while Hiruzen and Jiraiya persuaded Minato to join the race. The candidates agreed to compete, and Hiruzen announced that a village vote would be held in two months before the leading candidate was presented to the daimyo.

• Orochimaru challenged Uchiha Mai’s candidacy, and Mai argued that the election should focus on candidates’ strength, ability, potential, and achievements.
• Uchiha Mai asked Sarutobi Hiruzen whether he supported him, and Hiruzen said he would accept the result if Mai won through the rules.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen encouraged Minato to run, and Jiraiya and Uchiha Mai also urged him not to give up his chance.
• Minato agreed to run alongside Orochimaru and Uchiha Mai, despite his concern that competing might harm their relationships.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that voting would take place in two months, with the leading candidate then petitioning the daimyo for approval.

Uchiha Mai, Orochimaru, and Namikaze Minato launched campaigns for Fourth Hokage, while Mai’s team worked to win over Konoha’s major clans. Mai proposed merging Konoha and Kirigakure and challenging the daimyos’ authority, then revealed that the Senju and Uchiha descended from the Sage of Six Paths.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced the Fourth Hokage election, and Orochimaru, Namikaze Minato, and Uchiha Mai declared their candidacies.
• Uchiha Mai and Orochimaru spent heavily on campaign banners and events, while Jiraiya offered to fund Namikaze Minato’s campaign.
• Uchiha Mai told Fugaku and Tsunade to approach Konoha’s clans and win their votes by promising them a stronger future.
• Uchiha Mai presented the slogans “One Ninja World, One Dream” and “Make Konoha Great Again,” proposing to integrate Konoha and Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Mai said ninja should reclaim authority from the daimyos, then revealed that the Senju and Uchiha were descendants of the Sage of Six Paths.

Fugaku and Tsunade helped Uchiha Mai build support for his Hokage campaign, while Orochimaru joined forces with Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen rallied behind Minato. A week before the election, Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to persuade Uchiha Mai to withdraw, but Mai demanded a formal role as Hokage candidate and advisor while serving as Mizukage, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen weighing the costly proposal.

• Fugaku and Tsunade canvassed Konoha's clans for Uchiha Mai, while Orochimaru failed to win Sarutobi Hiruzen's endorsement and then teamed up with Shimura Danzō.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen mobilized the Hokage Faction for Minato, whose early polling failed to pull ahead of Uchiha Mai.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen invited Uchiha Mai to fish and proposed compensating him if he withdrew from the election, but Mai refused to abandon his campaign.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen offered to support Uchiha Mai for Hokage in ten years if Minato took office first, but Mai countered by demanding to become Hokage candidate and advisor while also serving as Kirigakure's Mizukage.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Mai's proposed titles and authority, while Mai insisted on the terms and left him considering whether to accept.

Sarutobi Hiruzen held the final vote for Fourth Hokage, with Uchiha Mai and Namikaze Minato leading a close race against Orochimaru. As Hiruzen secretly shifted votes toward Minato, Mai stayed calm and cast his own high-value ballot for Minato, leaving Minato overwhelmed with guilt and admiration.

• Uchiha Mai left Sarutobi Hiruzen after asking him to choose between fairness and making Mai a Hokage candidate, and Hiruzen decided he needed to give him an answer.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen opened the anonymous Hokage election, and Uchiha Mai wrote Namikaze Minato's name on his ballot despite Fugaku's warning.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen counted the ballots while Jiraiya recorded the totals, and Uchiha Mai used Spirit Vision to see that Hiruzen was diverting votes from Mai to Minato.
• Uchiha Mai's true total stood at 147 votes, Namikaze Minato's at 106, and Orochimaru's at 22, though Hiruzen's announced tally brought Minato ahead.
• Namikaze Minato realized Mai had cast his seven-vote ballot for him and told Kushina he felt selfish and ashamed by comparison.

Namikaze Minato won the Fourth Hokage election, while Sarutobi Hiruzen appointed Uchiha Mai Hokage Successor and Advisor. After Minato took office, Mai kept him occupied with meetings and speeches while retaining control over Konoha’s actual policies and their implementation.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen announced that Namikaze Minato had won the Hokage election by two votes over Uchiha Mai, and Minato accepted the position.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen appointed Uchiha Mai Hokage Successor and Hokage Advisor, making him the sole candidate for the future Fifth Hokage.
• Minato and Sarutobi Hiruzen gained the Daimyo’s approval, and Minato was inaugurated as the Fourth Hokage two days later.
• Minato found that Konoha’s established departments and senior advisors left him little room to govern or reform the village.
• Uchiha Mai filled Minato’s schedule with diplomatic meetings, events, and speeches while keeping policy implementation under his own control.

Uchiha Mai prepared to leave Konoha, entrusting Fugaku with the Void Division and explaining how it concealed its operations from the Hokage. After an extended course of rehabilitation with Tsunade, Mai departed for Kirigakure and was crowned its Fifth Mizukage, bringing the village under his command.

• Uchiha Mai asked Fugaku to oversee the Void Division and act as his Naruto advisor in Konoha after he returned to Kirigakure.
• Uchiha Mai taught Fugaku the Void Division’s methods, including how it withheld details from Minato and relied on the Third’s understanding of covert operations.
• Fugaku recorded Mai’s guidance, memorized it with his Sharingan, and destroyed his notes.
• Uchiha Mai gave Tsunade several days of rehabilitation treatment before leaving Konoha.
• Uchiha Mai was formally crowned the Fifth Mizukage, and Kirigakure broke free of Konoha’s control.

The Third Raikage sent Prince A and Daisuke to Konoha under cover of peace talks, intending to kidnap Hizashi Hyuga’s young son Neji and bring him to Kumogakure. After signing a thirty-year nonaggression pact with Namikaze Minato, Prince A accepted an invitation to stay in Konoha, leaving the kidnapping plan poised to unfold.

• The Third Raikage told Prince A to take Daisuke to Konoha and help him kidnap Neji Hyuga, whose Byakugan bloodline they hoped to establish in Kumogakure.
• Prince A agreed to create an opening for Daisuke, cover his escape, and conceal Kumogakure’s involvement.
• Prince A led the Hidden Cloud delegation to Konoha and held friendly talks with Namikaze Minato.
• Prince A proposed a thirty-year nonaggression pact, which he and Namikaze Minato signed.
• Prince A accepted Namikaze Minato’s invitation to stay in Konoha for a few days.

Daisuke kidnapped baby Neji Hyuga from the Hyuga Branch House while Prince A drew Konoha’s guards away, then used a decoy baby and his own death to delay Hizashi Hyuga. Hizashi and Hiashi realized the real Neji had been taken with Prince A and continued pursuing the Kumogakure delegation.

• Prince A led the Kumogakure envoys out of Konoha, drawing away most of the Anbu and Void Division so Daisuke could act.
• Daisuke infiltrated the Hyuga Branch House, kidnapped Neji Hyuga, and escaped Konoha through a flaw in its defenses.
• Hizashi Hyuga pursued Daisuke, mistook a decoy baby for Neji, and realized the real child had likely been handed to Prince A.
• Daisuke held Hizashi back with his life, buying Prince A time before Hizashi set off after the delegation.
• Hiashi Hyuga joined Hizashi, sent the decoy baby back to Konoha, and continued the pursuit with the Hyuga clansmen.

The Hyuga brothers caught up with the Hidden Cloud delegation and demanded to inspect its carriage, believing Neji had been kidnapped. When Prince A attacked them and overwhelmed their Gentle Fist techniques, Namikaze Minato arrived just in time to rescue them with the Flying Thunder God Technique, leaving Neji with the delegation.

• Hizashi Hyuga confirmed that the baby in the Hidden Cloud carriage was Neji, and Hyuga Hiashi led the clan members in pursuit.
• Hyuga Hiashi asked Prince A to let them inspect the carriage, but Prince A refused and threatened war.
• Hyuga Hiashi ordered the Hyuuga to attack, and Hizashi Hyuga charged toward the carriage while Prince A fought the brothers.
• Prince A endured the brothers' Gentle Fist techniques and prepared to strike them down with Lightning Style Nintaijutsu.
• Namikaze Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to whisk Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga away from Prince A's attack.

Namikaze Minato intervened after the Hyuga Clan attacked the Hidden Cloud delegation to rescue Neji, and agreed to inspect their carriage to prove whether it held the boy. The carriage instead contained the Land of Lightning’s princess consort and Second Prince, while Prince A revealed that the real Neji had already been spirited away in another carriage.

• Namikaze Minato confirmed with Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga that the Hyuga Clan believed Neji was inside the guarded carriage, then reassured Hizashi that saving his son justified the attack.
• Prince A denied abducting Neji and threatened another war, so Namikaze Minato offered to inspect the carriage and promised a full-prostration apology if Neji was not inside.
• Hizashi opened the carriage and found a woman nursing an infant; the woman revealed herself as the Land of Lightning’s princess consort, traveling with the Second Prince.
• Hizashi and the other Hyuga checked the infant with their Byakugan and realized it was not Neji, leaving Hizashi bewildered.
• Prince A explained that his advisers had used decoys and Hallucinatory Techniques to mislead the Hyuga, while the real Neji had escaped in another carriage.

After Prince A ended the confrontation without demanding an apology, Minato and the Hyuga brothers secretly planned to retrieve Neji by attacking Kumogakure. Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected the plan, and Minato left discouraged until he realized Uchiha Mai might offer another way to bring Neji back.

• Hizashi Hyuga and Hiashi Hyuga each tried to take responsibility for Minato’s promise, but Prince A called off the demand for anyone to kneel or die.
• Minato, Hizashi Hyuga, and Hiashi Hyuga agreed that they needed to fight immediately to recover Neji, then asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to approve a blitzkrieg against Kumogakure.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen argued that an attack would risk a costly new war and advised Minato to wait for an opportunity, while Minato insisted Neji had to be rescued.
• Minato chose not to challenge Sarutobi Hiruzen’s advice and left the Sarutobi residence with the Hyuga brothers, doubting his ability to be Hokage.
• Minato then suggested that Uchiha Mai might know a way to retrieve Neji, leaving the Hyuga brothers unsure whether to ask him for help.

Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga asked Uchiha Mai to help recover Neji, whom Kumogakure had abducted, after Konoha’s leaders chose not to risk war. Mai agreed after Hiashi pledged the Hyuuga Clan’s friendship and allegiance, leaving Mai to decide how to deliver justice against Kumogakure.

• Hyuga Hiashi recounted how Kumogakure abducted Neji and how Sarutobi Hiruzen persuaded Namikaze Minato not to retaliate, prompting Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga to seek Uchiha Mai’s help.
• Uchiha Mai initially refused to attack Kumogakure and challenged Hiashi over the Hyuuga Clan’s cold treatment of him and its refusal to recognize him as Mizukage or Hokage candidate.
• Uchiha Mai offered to help recover Neji if the Hyuuga Clan became his friend and stopped backing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s faction.
• Hyuga Hiashi bowed to Uchiha Mai as Lord Mizukage and Lord Hokage candidate, committing the Hyuuga Clan to Mai’s side.
• Uchiha Mai promised to give the brothers justice, then sent Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga to a hot spring inn and returned to Mei Terumi.

Uchiha Mai flew to Kumogakure to take Neji back, while the Third Raikage prepared the village for his arrival. Yugito Nii fought Mai but was badly outmatched and began losing control of the Two-Tails.

• Uchiha Mai flew north from Kirigakure toward Kumogakure, intending to retrieve Neji.
• The Third Raikage learned that Neji had been renamed Nightmoon Neji and was being raised as Prince A’s adopted son.
• After Uchiha Mai arrived near Kumogakure, the Third Raikage ordered the villagers evacuated and set out to confront him.
• Uchiha Mai fought Yugito Nii and overwhelmed her despite her speed, strength, and Tailed Beast chakra.
• Yugito Nii lost control of the Two-Tails’ chakra and began entering a full Tailed Beast Transformation.

Uchiha Mai defeated Yugito Nii and fought Killer B after coming to Kumogakure to demand Neji Hyuga’s release. As Prince A joined the confrontation, Mai dismissed Susanoo and attacked Killer B with a newly devised fist technique.

• Uchiha Mai blocked the Two-Tails’ attack with Susanoo, then critically injured Yugito Nii with Distortion Power and kicked her away.
• Killer B caught Yugito Nii, sent a clone to carry her back for treatment, and attacked Uchiha Mai with his seven-blade style.
• Uchiha Mai blocked Killer B’s strikes, then used Susanoo to punch him into Prince A.
• Uchiha Mai told Prince A to hand over Neji Hyuga, but Prince A denied that Kumogakure had anyone by that name and refused.
• Killer B attacked with Lightning Style: Lariat and cracked Susanoo, but fell short of reaching Uchiha Mai.
• Uchiha Mai dismissed Susanoo and struck Killer B’s acupoints with his newly devised Hokuto Hundred Crack Fist.

Uchiha Mai overwhelmed Killer B and Prince A with his Taijutsu and strange abilities, while the brothers struggled to coordinate an effective attack. The fight continued with both brothers attacking him, and Mai considered whether to push Innate Time Control beyond its safe Full Power state.

• Uchiha Mai struck Killer B with Hokuto Shinken, stopping his heart briefly before the Eight-Tails restarted it.
• Prince A warned Killer B against a full Tailed Beast Transformation and the brothers tried to attack Uchiha Mai from different directions, but Mai anticipated and blocked them.
• Uchiha Mai knocked the brothers back with a knee, a leg sweep, and black flames from Ura 108 Shiki: Ya Sakazuki.
• Killer B entered Partial Tailed Beast Transformation and fired a Tailed Beast Ball, which Uchiha Mai slapped back into him before turning on Prince A.
• Uchiha Mai suppressed Prince A with his killing fist until Killer B returned from the rubble and joined the fight again.
• As the brothers attacked together, Uchiha Mai considered raising Innate Time Control above its current Full Power level.

Uchiha Mai defeated the A-B Brothers in battle and faced the Third Raikage, who refused to surrender Neji Hyuga. As the two prepared to fight over Neji, Uchiha Mai revealed that he considered the whole Ninja World—and its talented ninja—to be his own.

• Uchiha Mai evaded the A-B Brothers’ Double Lariat, injured them, and escaped the Third Raikage’s attack with Susanoo.
• Uchiha Mai kicked the Third Raikage into a rocky hill, but the Raikage emerged unharmed and ordered Prince A to take Killer B back to Kumogakure.
• Uchiha Mai declined to fight and demanded that the Third Raikage hand over Neji Hyuga, but the Raikage admitted Neji was in Kumogakure and refused.
• The Third Raikage insisted that Uchiha Mai defeat him before Neji could be taken, explaining that he wanted to preserve the infant’s potential for Kumogakure.
• Uchiha Mai explained that he preferred nurturing valuable talent to killing it, then declared that the Ninja World belonged to him and that the A-B Brothers were already his talents.

Uchiha Mai fought the Third Raikage and copied his Thunder God Armor, then shattered the Raikage’s defense with a powerful counterattack. The Third Raikage, unwilling to let Kumogakure be conquered, prepared his final One-Finger Nukite as Uchiha Mai answered with a finger of his own.

• The Third Raikage charged Uchiha Mai, and the two fought across the battlefield in a prolonged, evenly matched clash.
• Uchiha Mai copied the Third Raikage’s Thunder God Armor and used it to withstand Two-Finger Nukite without injury.
• Uchiha Mai struck the Third Raikage with a lightning- and Deathfire-infused punch, caving in his chest and breaking the Thunder God Armor’s reputation as the Ninja World’s strongest shield.
• The injured Third Raikage gathered chakra for his final Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite, resolved to die rather than witness Kumogakure’s future conquest.
• Uchiha Mai accepted the challenge and raised one finger of his own.

Uchiha Mai killed the Third Raikage and overwhelmed the Kumogakure forces guarding their village. He secured Neji Hyuga, whom the Third Raikage had adopted and renamed Nightmoon Neji, and prepared to leave after sparing Kumogakure.

• Uchiha Mai used Sword Twenty-Three to kill the Third Raikage, suffering only a small wound that healed immediately.
• Prince A, Killer B, Yugito Nii, and the Elite Jonin gathered at Kumogakure's gate, where they saw Uchiha Mai approach alone.
• Uchiha Mai demonstrated his Innate Body-Piercing Formless Sword Aura by destroying Kumogakure's city wall, then warned Prince A not to attack.
• Uchiha Mai carved the Raikage monument into a throne and demanded that Kumogakure hand over Neji Hyuga in exchange for sparing the village.
• Prince A accepted the Raikage's death and gave Uchiha Mai the infant, explaining that the Third Raikage had adopted him and renamed him Nightmoon Neji.
• Uchiha Mai discovered the Nightmoon name on Neji's pendant and laughed at the Third Raikage's plan to raise the abducted child as Kumogakure's future pillar.

Uchiha Mai left Neji in Kumogakure, persuading A to raise him as Nightmoon Neji and revealing the Hyuuga’s connection to Hamura Otsutsuki and the Byakugan’s potential. Back in Kirigakure, he told the Hyuuga brothers that Neji was alive and being groomed as a future Raikage, and Hizashi accepted his son’s new future.

• Uchiha Mai changed his mind about taking Neji and asked A to raise him as his own son and train him to become a future Raikage.
• Uchiha Mai told A and the others that Neji could surpass him and Uchiha Madara, explaining the Sage of Six Paths’ descendants and the Byakugan’s potential to evolve.
• A decided to trust Uchiha Mai and raise Nightmoon Neji as his hope of avenging the Third Raikage; news then spread that A had succeeded his father as the Fourth Raikage.
• Uchiha Mai summoned Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi in Kirigakure, where Hizashi mistook a Shiba Inu in a basket for Neji.
• Uchiha Mai explained that Neji was alive, had been adopted by A, and might become the Fifth Raikage; Hizashi chose to support his son’s promising future in Kumogakure.

Namikaze Minato visited Kirigakure to attend a commerce summit and invited Uchiha Mai to Konoha for Kushina's childbirth. In his underground hideout, Uchiha Madara learned that his plans were faltering and decided to attack Mai openly, using his death to announce his return.

• Namikaze Minato arrived in Kirigakure and explained that the commerce summit had expanded while inviting Uchiha Mai to Konoha for Kushina's delivery.
• Uchiha Madara learned that Uchiha Mai had killed the Third Raikage and that the proxy plan involving Obito was unlikely to succeed.
• White Zetsu reported that Nagato had mastered five Rinnegan paths but had not developed the Outer Path.
• Uchiha Madara concluded that Uchiha Mai had repeatedly disrupted his plans and decided to kill him.
• Uchiha Madara rejected an ambush and declared that he would return openly, seize the nine Tailed Beasts, and become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

Uchiha Madara attacked while Kushina was giving birth, using a Summoning Jutsu and Sharingan Genjutsu to free and control the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails rampaged through Konoha as Minato stayed with Kushina, Tsunade joined the village’s defense, and Uchiha Mai confronted Madara.

• Uchiha Mai sensed a powerful chakra approaching Kushina’s delivery cave, and Uchiha Madara arrived and identified himself.
• Uchiha Madara summoned the Nine-Tails from Kushina and controlled him with his Sharingan, while Minato returned to protect Kushina, Biwako, and the baby.
• Uchiha Madara directed the Nine-Tails toward Konoha, and Tsunade left Uchiha Mai to face Madara while she went to help defend the village.
• The Nine-Tails charged into Konoha, knocked Sarutobi Hiruzen aside, and overwhelmed the efforts of the village’s defense forces.
• Tsunade attacked the Nine-Tails and helped Sarutobi Hiruzen recover, then told him that Minato was guarding Kushina and Uchiha Mai was confronting Uchiha Madara.

The Nine-Tails broke free of Konoha’s barrier and rampaged through the village, while Sarutobi Hiruzen and Tsunade struggled to limit the destruction. As the beast charged toward the Uchiha Compound, Fugaku’s newly awakened Mangekyō failed to overcome Uchiha Madara’s control, but Shisui awakened his own Mangekyō and drew the Nine-Tails west to fight him.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen’s Four Violet Flames Formation trapped the Nine-Tails briefly, but the beast shattered it and killed the four barrier users.
• The Nine-Tails fired a Tailed Beast Ball toward Konoha, and Tsunade deflected it while Sarutobi Hiruzen’s Triple Rashomon redirected it beyond the village, though the blast devastated the southwestern district.
• Fugaku awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and tried to control the Nine-Tails, but Uchiha Madara’s three-tomoe Sharingan overpowered him.
• The Nine-Tails charged toward the Uchiha Compound, threatening Fugaku’s wife and infant son Sasuke.
• Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, summoned a second-stage Susanoo, and struck the Nine-Tails with Yasaka Beads to draw him away from the compound.
• At Sarutobi Hiruzen’s direction, Shisui lured the Nine-Tails west toward the forest, where the beast charged at his Susanoo.

Shisui lured the Nine-Tails away from Konoha while Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and Danzo prepared a sealing technique. A Tailed Beast Ball exposed Orochimaru’s hidden laboratory and his experiments on missing villagers, but Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered him to help restrain the beast before facing the scandal; the Three-Way Sealing Technique trapped the Nine-Tails as Shisui collapsed from exhaustion.

• Shisui fought the Nine-Tails as he drew it toward the forest west of Konoha, while Sarutobi Hiruzen led Konoha’s forces after them.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and Danzo began preparing the Three-Way Sealing Technique as Konoha’s ninja protected them from the Nine-Tails.
• Orochimaru abandoned the technique and raised Triple Rashomon to divert a Tailed Beast Ball from his underground laboratory, exposing his human experiments on missing villagers.
• Danzo blamed Orochimaru for the experiments, and Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Orochimaru to resume the sealing preparations before dealing with him later.
• Shisui withdrew after Sarutobi Hiruzen’s signal and collapsed unconscious, while Sarutobi Hiruzen, Orochimaru, and Danzo completed the Three-Way Sealing Technique and trapped the Nine-Tails.

Sarutobi Hiruzen’s forces sealed the Nine-Tails while Orochimaru and Danzo’s alliance was exposed. Meanwhile, Uchiha Mai rejected Madara’s plan and fought him to a standstill; the chapter ended as they summoned their Susanoo for a second round.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen’s forces restrained the rampaging Nine-Tails with the Three-Way Sealing Technique, while he considered punishing Orochimaru and Danzo for their collusion.
• Madara criticized Konoha’s weakness and offered Uchiha Mai a plan to create peace, but Uchiha Mai rejected him and declared the Ninja World his to rule.
• Uchiha Mai and Madara exchanged attacks and taunts, with neither gaining a clear advantage as they tested each other’s strength.
• Madara acknowledged Uchiha Mai’s ability, and both fighters summoned their third-stage Susanoo to begin their second round.