Chapter Summaries

Changye accepted Jiraiya’s Sage Mode scroll and set out to test the training method herself. At Orochimaru’s laboratory, Orochimaru explained his evolving theory of senjutsu and announced that he could add Sage Mode traits, leaving Amado eager to explore the possibility.

• Changye decided to test Jiraiya’s Sage Mode method herself before bringing it back to Nadeshiko Village.
• Orochimaru told Shirozumi that Konohamaru’s extended Frog Kumite came from controlling Natural Energy, not from the Enma Clan’s transformation ability.
• Orochimaru argued that the highest form of Sage Mode would use a small amount of personal energy to draw directly on Natural Energy, citing Sasuke’s Kirin and Shirozumi’s keystones.
• Orochimaru announced that his senjutsu research could now add Sage Mode traits, prompting Amado to ask whether they could be added to someone living.
• Orochimaru outlined four forms of Sage Mode: the orthodox methods, Naruto’s modified method, his own genetic-engineering method, and Shirozumi’s cheat-powered method.

Orochimaru explained that Impure World Reincarnation drew much of its energy from Natural Energy, making its use a potential strain as Sage Mode spread. Shirozumi then met Fū and Rin to discuss Jinchuriki training, and Fū revealed she had already mastered her Keystone.

• Orochimaru explained that Natural Energy supplied much of Impure World Reincarnation’s endless Chakra and warned that the shinobi world’s supply could be depleted.
• Tobirama Senju criticized Naruto Uzumaki’s Sage Mode shortcut, and Orochimaru defended Naruto by explaining that reproduction was a natural drive among living creatures.
• Tobirama Senju teased Orochimaru about whether Naruto and Sasuke’s bonds would continue their genes, and the laboratory returned to research.
• Fū and Rin brought Shirozumi to the Jinchuriki training ground to ask about Sage Mode training after hearing about it from Naruto’s Tailed Beast clone.
• Shirozumi asked Fū how well she had mastered her Keystone, and Fū quietly said she had completely mastered it two days earlier.

Fū revealed how she had mastered Sage Mode, and Shirozumi explained the different training methods before the group discussed a chakra-absorbing VR game. In Kumogakure, Motoi returned after mastering Sage Mode, and the Raikage announced the training program and called for better relations with Iwagakure.

• Fū admitted that she had used an embarrassing shortcut to master Sage Mode, but insisted she still wanted to train with everyone.
• Shirozumi explained that his keystones and Orochimaru's genetic modifications were more efficient than Naruto's shortcut, though harder to produce widely.
• Uchiha Hikari's group continued developing a VR game that could absorb Chakra from the Entire Shinobi World, but first needed suitable hardware.
• Motoi returned to Kumogakure after mastering Sage Mode, and the Raikage announced that more villagers would train under his guidance.
• The Raikage invited Kakashi to speak and urged Kumogakure to ease tensions with Iwagakure, while Naruto watched and envied the crowd's response.

Obito learned that Naruto’s Sage Mode shortcut might let him escape his chakra-sealing prison, but its requirements crushed his hopes. Meanwhile, Naruto and Kakashi arrived in Iwagakure to recruit Ōnoki for senjutsu training against the Otsutsuki Clan, while Deidara secretly eavesdropped.

• Obito realized Heavenly Prison restricted Chakra but not Natural Energy and planned to master Sage Mode to escape, while Madara recognized his intentions and grew wary.
• Obito and Madara learned the details of Naruto’s Sage Mode shortcut, prompting Madara to laugh and Obito to despair and curse Naruto Uzumaki.
• Naruto arrived in Iwagakure with Kakashi and the others, and Ōnoki explained that Kurotsuchi had left him handling affairs beyond the Land of Earth.
• Deidara searched Ōnoki’s home for old manuals and records, then stopped to eavesdrop when he noticed Ōnoki receiving the visitors.
• Kakashi presented copied scrolls and explained their mission to train in Sage Mode to fight the Otsutsuki Clan, and Ōnoki immediately considered learning it.
• Deidara heard about the shortcut and began wondering whether he could master senjutsu himself.

Ōnoki told Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, and Kitsuchi that Konoha would stay in Iwagakure until one of them mastered senjutsu, and he volunteered himself to train as well. Kurotsuchi revealed that she had already been cultivating Natural Energy, leaving Ōnoki stunned.

• Ōnoki accepted Kakashi’s terms and went to find Kurotsuchi, then arranged for Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi to join them.
• Kurotsuchi continued training barefoot, and her improved senses detected Deidara hiding nearby without exposing him.
• Ōnoki explained that Iwagakure needed someone to master senjutsu, so he ordered Akatsuchi and Kitsuchi to train and decided to train himself.
• Kurotsuchi showed the group her Natural Energy power by summoning a lava-bearing stone sword, and said she avoided using an even more obvious ability to protect the village’s farmland.

Ōnoki kept Iwagakure’s senjutsu training secret, but Rōshi confronted him after Naruto told him about it. The Four-Tails agreed to give Naruto some of its power after hearing a fabricated prophecy, while the other Tailed Beasts celebrated that their plan had worked.

• Ōnoki took charge of Iwagakure’s senjutsu campaign, and he, Akatsuchi, and Kitsuchi began training.
• Rōshi barged into Ōnoki’s room and demanded to know why Ōnoki had hidden senjutsu training from him.
• Ōnoki explained that he had wanted to spare Rōshi’s reputation, and Rōshi asked for the training manual so he could practice in secret.
• Naruto visited Rōshi and received a portion of the Four-Tails’ body after the Four-Tails agreed to help him.
• The other Tailed Beasts’ embellished prophecy persuaded the Four-Tails, and they sensed its agreement and celebrated their plan.

Yugito sought a way to avoid the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy, and Shirozumi introduced her to powerful forms she could learn to surpass Naruto. Meanwhile, Rōshi and the Four-Tails mastered Sage Mode together, leaving Naruto shocked when they demonstrated it.

• Yugito asked Shirozumi whether he could help the Two-Tails avoid the prophecy, and he told her that greater power could let her defy fate.
• Shirozumi introduced Yugito to Rin and Fū and explained how Baryon Mode and Tailed Beast Sage Mode could help her temporarily surpass Naruto.
• Yugito asked to learn Baryon Mode first, and Fū offered to explain it without making her mine.
• Rōshi and the Four-Tails succeeded in training together, combining Rōshi’s steady state of mind with the Four-Tails’ experience in Natural Energy.
• Ōnoki summoned Konoha representatives to watch Rōshi demonstrate Sage Mode, and Naruto asked Kurama how the Four-Tails could use it.

Kurama fabricated a story that the Four-Tails was the Sage of Six Paths’ favorite, using Journey to the West and its connection to Senjutsu to convince Naruto. He persuaded Naruto to keep the story secret from the Four-Tails, leaving his bluff intact.

• Kurama pretended to sense the situation with Rōshi and the Four-Tails while secretly preparing a bluff for Naruto.
• Kurama told Naruto that the Four-Tails was the Sage of Six Paths’ beloved and made him promise not to reveal it.
• Naruto asked Kakashi about Journey to the West, and Kakashi confirmed its origins and the names of the Sage’s ninja tools.
• Kurama claimed the Four-Tails was the book’s protagonist and said its connection to Natural Energy explained why Rōshi and the Four-Tails could cultivate Senjutsu.
• Naruto asked why the Four-Tails must not know, and Kurama argued the truth could make it arrogant or insecure, calling the concealment a well-intentioned lie.

After Rōshi completed his Sage Mode training, Naruto agreed to find Han and ask him to return to Iwagakure while seeking the Five-Tails' power. As the Konoha group left, Deidara confronted Naruto and asked him to test a new technique.

• Rōshi offered to train Naruto with the Four-Tails, but Kurama told him Naruto did not need his guidance, and Naruto explained that Kurama was not bad by nature.
• Kakashi explained that the Tailed Beasts' powers could be transmitted through Naruto, easing Ōnoki's concerns about Naruto gathering their powers.
• Ōnoki revealed that Iwagakure had located Han and asked Naruto to bring him a message to return to the village.
• Naruto promised to find Han, and Ōnoki personally saw the Konoha group out of Iwagakure.
• Deidara dropped from the sky, and after Ōnoki defended Naruto, Deidara asked Naruto to test his new technique.

Naruto and Deidara sparred outside Iwagakure, where Deidara used Sage Mode to turn gathered Natural Energy into explosions and catch Naruto off guard. Kakashi intervened to stop Deidara’s next attack, but Deidara welcomed his Purple Lightning, hinting that he had a plan for it.

• Naruto accepted Deidara’s challenge, and the two went to the cliffs outside Iwagakure while Ōnoki expected Deidara to lose.
• Deidara revealed that he had mastered Sage Mode and detonated the Natural Energy Naruto had gathered, destroying Naruto’s shadow clones and forcing him to defend himself with Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
• Naruto realized Deidara could make gathered Natural Energy explode but remained unsure of how the technique worked.
• Deidara launched a mass of Explosive Clay at Naruto, and Kakashi used Kamui and Purple Lightning to intervene.
• Deidara became excited when Kakashi used Purple Lightning, which had previously neutralized his Explosive Clay.

Deidara’s Sage Art: Explosive Clay forced Kakashi to spend a large amount of Chakra and Kamui power to contain it. Obito briefly regained hope of escaping after Sage Mode Chakra reached him through Kamui, but the explosive clay detonated and left him lying in his cell.

• Deidara used Natural Energy to link his explosive clay to the ground, letting it withstand Kakashi’s Purple Lightning.
• Kakashi severed the Natural Energy connection with Kamui, triggering the clay to explode, then transferred the blasts away.
• Obito sensed Sage Mode Chakra arrive through his eye and believed he had enough to use Kamui and escape.
• Obito mocked Madara and activated Kamui, but the explosive clay in his cell detonated and blew him apart.
• Madara heard Obito scream and concluded that he had gone insane, while Obito lay face down in his cell.

Obito survived his failed escape attempt and was treated, but Orochimaru discovered that Kakashi's Sage Mode Chakra could still reach him through Kamui. Shirozumi decided to use Obito as a trapped beta tester for Uchiha Hikari's Engraved Tsukuyomi VR game, which would continuously drain his power.

• Obito returned to the prison after the Explosive Clay injured him, and the Medical Ninjas operated on him while Madara Uchiha watched.
• Obito pretended to remain unconscious as Orochimaru examined how Kakashi's Sage Mode Chakra had reached him through Kamui.
• Orochimaru concluded that the connection between Obito and Kakashi's Sharingan let chakra seep through even when Obito could not use chakra, and suggested gouging out Obito's eye.
• Shirozumi rejected that immediate solution and proposed using Obito to test Engraved Tsukuyomi, with a modified Yachihoko mark that would keep him trapped and drain his Chakra, senjutsu, and Natural Energy.
• Shirozumi arranged for Uchiha Hikari and the others to bring the VR game for Obito to test.

Uchiha Hikari trapped Obito in Engraved Tsukuyomi, and Obito mistook her plan to spread the technique for a scheme to drain the shinobi world of Chakra. The illusion placed him in a game-like scenario, where he kept pretending to be unconscious before opening his eyes to find adult Sasuke holding a Chidori.

• Uchiha Hikari gave Obito a modified VR headset that trapped him in Engraved Tsukuyomi.
• Obito concluded that Uchiha Hikari planned to absorb power from the entire shinobi world and imagined himself stopping her.
• Obito felt himself land in a game-like world and decided that clearing the game might let him escape the genjutsu.
• Obito kept pretending to be unconscious while a strange voice repeatedly told him to open his eyes.
• Obito opened his eyes and saw adult Sasuke holding a Chidori and repeating a broken introduction.

Obito entered the game as young Kakashi and began Hatake Sakumo’s brutal trial to dodge Thousand Years of Death. After repeated failures, he sought a way to predict his father’s attacks by asking Hiruzen Sarutobi to spy on him.

• Obito chose Kakashi as his game character and appeared in Kakashi’s childhood home with a quest to evade Hatake Sakumo’s Thousand Years of Death.
• Hatake Sakumo ambushed Obito and explained the trial, while Obito realized his young body and limited abilities made dodging difficult.
• Sakumo repeatedly attacked Obito, including ambushing him in the latrine, and comforted him afterward.
• Obito concluded that Sakumo genuinely loved Kakashi and that learning when and where he would strike could help him pass the trial.
• Obito asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to use the Telescope Technique on Sakumo and lend him the Crystal Ball, claiming he had found a swimsuit photo of Grandma Chiyo in his father’s room.

Obito used the Third Hokage’s Crystal Ball to spy on Hatake Sakumo, but Sakumo misunderstood what he saw and beat him. After learning Obito had spread a bizarre rumor about him, Sakumo beat him again, while Obito’s next mission required winning an Uchiha’s trust; the following day, a masked, white-haired “Uchiha Obito” arrived with Nohara Rin.

• Obito borrowed the Third Hokage’s Crystal Ball and used it to track Hatake Sakumo, hoping to stop his Thousand Years of Death attack.
• Hatake Sakumo noticed Obito spying through the Crystal Ball and mistook his hand signs for a disturbing attempt to imitate him, so he restrained and beat him.
• Hatake Sakumo returned the Crystal Ball and learned that “Kakashi” had told the Third Hokage he was secretly in love with Grandma Chiyo.
• Obito saw that the Father’s Guidance mission was complete and learned that Uchiha’s Best Friend required an Uchiha to willingly entrust the clan’s power to him.
• Hatake Sakumo returned home and beat Obito again, while Obito worried that his injuries would keep him from completing the next mission.
• The next day, a masked, white-haired “Uchiha Obito” arrived at Kakashi’s doorstep with Nohara Rin and a fruit basket.

Obito realized the Genjutsu World’s missions could take years to complete, so he devised a way to obtain Kakashi’s power early by secretly taking his cells. The chapter ended with Obito beginning the procedure while the Third Hokage watched through the Telescope Technique.

• Obito pretended to be Kakashi and asked Rin and "Obito" to care for him while he recovered, then tried to grow closer to both of them.
• Obito realized that obtaining the Uchiha Clan’s power and defeating "Uchiha Obito" could require waiting years, possibly more than ten.
• Obito reasoned that acquiring someone’s cells could count as gaining their power, and decided to take Kakashi’s cells while he slept.
• Obito drugged Rin and "Obito" with black tea, entered Kakashi’s room, and began taking his power while Kakashi slept.
• The Third Hokage watched Obito’s actions through the Telescope Technique.

The Third Hokage misread Kakashi’s behavior and planned to send him to Jiraiya while temporarily placing him with Danzo for protection. Meanwhile, Obito devised a scheme to frame Kakashi-version Obito and received a mission to assist Danzo, giving him access to Root as he sought a special drug.

• The Third Hokage concluded that Kakashi was attracted to men and summoned an Anbu operative to bring Jiraiya back to help him.
• The Third Hokage suspected Kakashi might target him and decided to send Kakashi to Danzo temporarily while waiting for Jiraiya.
• Obito completed the Uchiha’s Best Friend mission and unlocked the final mission to defeat a formidable enemy before Konoha recognized the act.
• Obito planned to drug and frame Kakashi-version Obito, ruin his reputation, and create a justification to kill him.
• The Third Hokage summoned the recovering Obito and ordered him to assist Danzo of Root, giving Obito an opportunity to obtain a special drug.

Obito drugged Danzo while posing as Kakashi, then tried to use Danzo’s Hashirama Cells without success. After the Third Hokage stopped monitoring him, Obito began scheming to pair Kakashi-version Obito with the old granny, but Jiraiya caught him watching from a rooftop.

• Obito persuaded Danzo to provide Medicine No. 83 and pretended his request was part of a plan to undermine the Uchiha Clan.
• Obito drugged Danzo with sleep-inducing tea and searched for Hashirama Cells, but the next day found that his power had not increased.
• The Third Hokage rebuked Danzo, then used an Inuzuka ninja and a dog to confirm Kakashi’s scent on Danzo.
• The Third Hokage stopped monitoring Kakashi, giving Obito room to arrange a meeting between Kakashi-version Obito and the old granny.
• Obito watched as Kakashi-version Obito helped the old granny into her bedroom, but Jiraiya appeared behind him on the rooftop.

Obito accepted an erotic book from Jiraiya, then twisted Jiraiya’s remarks and events from the Real Shinobi World into a theory that Kakashi was a pervert who had violated him. He concluded that Rin was the “powerful foe” he needed to kill to escape the Genjutsu World and rushed to the old granny’s home after realizing his earlier actions might interfere.

• Jiraiya gave Obito an erotic book as a coming-of-age gift and promised to write a novel for Kakashi.
• Obito noticed Jiraiya’s plan matched events from the Real Shinobi World and grew alarmed that the Genjutsu was following the same story.
• Obito decided that Kakashi had secretly drugged and violated him in the past, and that Jiraiya had written Icha Icha Paradise to correct Kakashi’s perversion.
• Obito interpreted the mission to defeat a “powerful foe” as a mission to kill Rin, whom he believed was competing with Kakashi for him.
• Obito realized that helping the Kakashi-version of himself and the old granny get along might hinder his plan against Rin, so he dropped the book and hurried to the granny’s residence.

Obito redirected Danzo’s plan toward making Rin the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, while the Third Hokage misread a compromising scene and protected Kakashi-version Obito from Danzo’s accusations. Obito left Danzo cooperating with the plan to make Konoha fear and hate Rin.

• Obito rushed in and found Kakashi-version Obito crying with a pillow, then comforted him and promised not to tell Rin.
• Danzo brought the Third Hokage to witness the scene, but the Third Hokage suspected Kakashi and dismissed Danzo’s attempt to blame the Uchiha Clan.
• The Third Hokage ended the matter and reassigned Kakashi after his current mission, while Kakashi-version Obito became wary of old ladies.
• Obito told Danzo where to find the Three-Tails Isobu and recommended Rin as its Jinchuriki.
• Danzo accepted Obito’s proposal and began changing the plan to make Rin the Three-Tails Jinchuriki.