Chapter Summaries

Obito persuaded Danzo to make Rin the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and the group returned to Konoha with the plan to make her feel rejected. The villagers immediately began treating Rin as a target for even greater bullying.

• Danzo sent Root forces to locate the Three-Tails, then persuaded the Third Hokage to send Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin to investigate.
• Danzo concealed the Three-Tails’ presence, and his Root forces provoked it into fighting Hatake Sakumo, who defeated it at great cost.
• Danzo pressured Rin to become the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, and Obito used the Four Symbols Seal to seal the beast inside her.
• Danzo and Obito returned to Konoha with Rin and planned to use the villagers’ hostility to push her toward Root.
• The villagers saw the seal on Rin’s exposed stomach and felt an even stronger desire to bully her.

Obito arranged for Rin to be bullied so he could make Konoha hate her and eventually kill her, but the villagers acted without anyone's prompting. He planned to provoke Rin into going berserk, then played the part of a caring Kakashi as Rin came to visit him and heard screams from inside his room.

• Obito saw the villagers' disgust toward Rin and decided to make her go berserk to justify killing her and taking her away from Konoha.
• Kushina brought egg-covered Rin to the Third Hokage's office and demanded action, but the Third Hokage dropped the matter after Kushina and Danzo denied orchestrating the bullying.
• Danzo and Obito each realized that the villagers had started bullying Rin on their own, then agreed to cooperate with Obito's plan to provoke her into causing destruction.
• Rin told Kushina that Kakashi and Obito had both been acting strangely, and Kushina decided to keep an eye on them.
• Obito arrived pretending to be Kakashi, then followed his own feelings and began acting as though he loved Rin.
• Rin went to visit Kakashi, heard wails and screams from inside his room, and stopped before knocking.

In the Engraved Tsukuyomi, Obito tried to make Rin despair by pretending Kakashi coveted the Tailed Beasts and Obito’s Sharingan, triggering the Three-Tails’ chakra. In the real world, Kakashi monitored the test and was horrified by Obito’s actions.

• Rin heard strange wails and saw Obito, disguised as Kakashi, tormenting Pakkun while demanding that he claim to be the Three-Tails.
• Obito dressed Bull in pet clothes and ordered him to say he was the Nine-Tails, convincing Rin that Kakashi coveted the Tailed Beasts.
• Obito told Pakkun and Bull to contact Danzo about forcing Obito’s Sharingan to evolve, and Rin overheard that he planned to use the Tailed Beasts for power and pleasure.
• Rin collapsed in despair, and the Three-Tails’ chakra erupted outside, shattering Obito’s window.
• In the real world, Kakashi watched Obito’s actions on a ninja tool while Naruto tried to persuade Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, and Kakashi was appalled by what he saw.

Kakashi frightened Han and Kokuō into returning to Iwagakure and giving Naruto some of Kokuō’s power, while the Tailed Beasts grew more alarmed by Naruto’s apparent approval of Obito. Naruto’s group set out for Sunagakure, as the Three-Tails’ rampage in Konoha turned out to be driven by its desire to kill Obito.

• Kakashi revealed that Obito had used Shadow Clones to impersonate Pakkun and Bull before Rin transformed and rampaged as the Three-Tails.
• Kakashi showed Han a replay of Obito’s actions, frightening Han and Kokuō into agreeing to return to Iwagakure and give Naruto some of Kokuō’s power.
• The Tailed Beasts watched the replay and feared Naruto might share Obito’s attitude, so they urged Shukaku to have Gaara approach him; Shukaku said Naruto would reach Sunagakure soon enough.
• Naruto and Kakashi chose to travel to Sunagakure, where they could also spread their method through minor ninja villages along the way.
• Obito watched the Three-Tails rampage through Konoha, unaware that Isobu had delayed transforming because Obito’s behavior had stunned him and was now attacking in an effort to kill Obito.

Obito used the Three-Tails’ pursuit of him to draw it into a fight, while the Third Hokage and Minato Namikaze prepared a combined strike. Their attack hit as Isobu was about to attack Obito, leaving the Three-Tails frozen in place.

• Obito realized Isobu was pursuing him and kept fleeing while saving nearby villagers, children, cats, and dogs.
• The Third Hokage ordered the Akimichi Clan to use Expansion Jutsu to stop Isobu’s Shadow Rolling, and their resistance brought the Three-Tails to a halt.
• Obito urged the Third Hokage to attack Isobu’s rear chamber, and Minato Namikaze arrived to assist.
• The Third Hokage launched Enma’s transformed staff at Isobu while Minato repeatedly used Flying Thunder God to attach Explosive Tags to its tip.
• Obito confronted Isobu and drew its attention just as the combined attack from Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze arrived.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze stopped the Three-Tails Isobu’s rampage, and Konoha began rebuilding. On their journey to Sunagakure, Naruto, Kakashi, and Konohamaru visited Nadeshiko Village, where Changye joined their Sage Mode outreach and challenged Naruto to a bet about his orientation.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze exploited the Three-Tails Isobu’s weakness and defeated it, leaving Rin unconscious.
• Konoha began rebuilding while Obito waited for the village to be ready to denounce the Tailed Beasts.
• Naruto, Kakashi, and Konohamaru arrived in Nadeshiko Village, where Changye had returned with the Sage Mode cultivation method.
• Naruto asked Changye whether the village’s female ninja liked girls, and Changye retorted that Konoha’s ninja had abnormal orientations.
• Changye proposed joining the Konoha trio to study their Sage Mode instruction and bet Naruto was not normally oriented.
• Changye asked Naruto whether he considered Kazekage Gaara a normal person.

Changye manipulated Naruto into agreeing to test Gaara, while Kurama secretly enlisted her help with the tailed beasts’ plan. The group arrived in Sunagakure, where Naruto greeted Gaara with an unexpectedly intimate hug and butt pinch, leaving Temari stunned.

• Naruto agreed with Changye that Gaara was normal and accepted her claim that testing Gaara would also test Naruto.
• Kurama secretly sent Changye a message and Chakra, asking her to cooperate in wearing down the joystick’s durability.
• The tailed beasts’ plan assigned Shukaku to help deplete Naruto’s durability through Gaara, though Shukaku had been avoiding the task.
• Naruto’s group and Changye arrived at Sunagakure, where Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari welcomed them.
• Naruto hugged Gaara and pinched his butt as part of Changye’s bet, prompting Temari to wonder whether Gaara was announcing an affair with Naruto.

Naruto led Gaara to a private training ground to discuss business, but instead began pranking him and explaining his crude approach to dealing with childhood isolation. The Nine-Tails and the other Tailed Beasts concluded that Naruto, not the Nine-Tails, was the promiscuous one, while Gaara remained bewildered by Naruto’s advice.

• Naruto pulled Gaara away from the village to handle business first, and Gaara led the Konoha group to his private training ground.
• Naruto used Thousand Years of Death on Gaara, and Temari moved to attack Naruto before Gaara stopped her with a wall of sand.
• Gaara explained that his protective sand was his mother Karura’s power and reasoned that her failure to stop Naruto meant Naruto meant him no harm.
• Naruto thanked Gaara, then pulled down his pants with help from a Shadow Clone, leaving Gaara blushing and Temari exasperated.
• Matatabi told the Nine-Tails that the Limited Tsukuyomi World suggested Naruto was the promiscuous one, and the Tailed Beasts agreed.
• Naruto told Gaara that pranks and urine had helped him cope with being hated, then urged Gaara to face his troubles optimistically.

Naruto proposed that Gaara gather Sunagakure’s outstanding ninja to learn Sage Mode, while warning him not to let Shukaku interfere. After Temari and Changye left, Naruto persuaded Kakashi and Konohamaru to accept his wager about teaching Sage Mode and assigned them to train Gaara’s group.

• Kakashi explained Naruto’s offer to Gaara, who accepted it and asked Naruto to recommend a Sage instructor for Sunagakure.
• Naruto suggested that Gaara select outstanding ninja to train together, and Gaara asked to participate.
• Naruto warned Gaara that a Tailed Beast could not support Sage Arts and told him to keep Shukaku out of his training.
• Temari left, and Changye followed her after mentioning her wager with Naruto and asking her to witness it.
• Naruto told Kankuro that the wager concerned teaching Sage Mode, then quietly persuaded Kakashi and Konohamaru to join him on a Kirigakure vacation if he paid their expenses.
• Naruto assigned himself to teach Gaara, Konohamaru to teach Kankuro, and Kakashi to teach the remaining ninja.

Gaara selected Sunagakure ninja to train in Sage Mode, then corrected his roster after Temari objected to excluding women. Temari took charge of Yemu, Saya, and Yuno, while Kakashi was assigned Fa Yi.

• Kakashi agreed to teach more ninja after considering how difficult it had been to train Naruto and Konohamaru.
• Gaara selected only Fa Yi from Sunagakure's roster, prompting Temari to confront him for filtering out female ninja.
• Gaara admitted his mistake and added Yemu, Saya, and Yuno, while leaving Maki, Yukata, and Matsuri with Pakura for a later opportunity.
• Gaara's roster included Fa Yi, whose anti-Jinchuriki technique and ties to the opposition made him a potential threat, so Gaara hoped Sage Mode training would reform him.
• Temari took Yemu, Saya, and Yuno as her students and gave Fa Yi's file to Kakashi, who accepted the assignment with relief.

Naruto took Gaara to train while Kankuro brought Konohamaru home to teach him about puppets. After realizing Kankuro’s handmade puppets lacked combat power, Konohamaru proposed making special puppet dolls to help Kankuro enter Sage Mode, and offered ideas from Naruto’s Sexy Technique.

• Temari left the Kazekage's office wary of Naruto, and the others went their separate ways.
• Gaara brought Naruto to his residence’s backyard to begin training, while Kankuro took Konohamaru to his home.
• Kankuro showed Konohamaru his puppets and explained that his handmade ones were less practical than the puppets he used in battle.
• Konohamaru reasoned that Kankuro’s limited puppet capacity made stronger handmade puppets impractical.
• Konohamaru suggested Kankuro make special puppet dolls to help him enter Sage Mode, and offered to provide ideas from Naruto’s Sexy Technique.

Kankuro crafted the Roast Chicken puppet to help himself enter Sage Mode, while Gaara struggled to do the same. After Gaara used sand to push Naruto’s hand into a handshake, he managed to begin sensing Natural Energy, as Changye watched in dismay.

• Kankuro and Konohamaru finished the Roast Chicken puppet, which Kankuro used to enter the right state for gathering Natural Energy.
• Kankuro began attempting to gather Natural Energy while Konohamaru examined the completed puppet.
• Gaara struggled to enter Sage Mode during a day of training, while Naruto fell asleep instead of offering useful advice.
• Gaara remembered his farewell handshake with Naruto and used sand to push Naruto’s hand into one.
• Gaara completed the preliminary steps for Sage Mode and began sensing Natural Energy, while Changye watched from outside the window.

Temari and Changye reacted to Gaara’s growing closeness with Naruto while Temari began teaching Sage Mode to the selected kunoichi. Meanwhile, Kakashi followed Fa Yi to Shira and found himself drawn into Fa Yi’s attempt to turn him against Gaara.

• Changye told Temari what she had witnessed between Gaara and Naruto, and Temari speculated that Naruto had drawn Gaara in during the Chunin Exams.
• Temari set aside the question of stopping Gaara and told Changye to teach Sage Mode to the Female Ninjas gathered at her house.
• Temari realized that Gaara’s method of using a helper could improve Sage Mode training for anyone, but she feared the consequences of explaining it to the group.
• Kakashi followed Fa Yi outside the village after telling him that Gaara had selected him for Sage Mode training.
• Fa Yi confronted Shira at a cliff and claimed Gaara had excluded him from training, then asked Kakashi to confirm the claim.
• Kakashi confirmed that Shira was not on the list, but withheld his full intentions as he considered how to win Fa Yi’s loyalty.

Kakashi persuaded Shira that Fa Yi’s Sage Mode training could be dangerous, and Shira knocked Fa Yi unconscious before deciding to explain his concerns to Gaara. Back at the training grounds, Gaara read a message Kakashi had secretly passed him.

• Fa Yi tried to recruit Shira into overthrowing Gaara, but Shira insisted Kakashi finish explaining first.
• Kakashi told Shira that Sage Mode could harm a Taijutsu specialist and suggested Gaara had chosen Fa Yi for his ability to counter Jinchuriki and Tailed Beasts.
• Shira knocked Fa Yi unconscious, worried that Fa Yi could become a threat if he absorbed a Tailed Beast, and resolved to ask Gaara to stop his training.
• Shira returned to Sunagakure with Kakashi and found Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, and the others at the training grounds after two Sage Mode instructors had emerged.
• Kakashi discreetly passed Gaara a written message, and Gaara used sand to retrieve and read it.

Kakashi persuaded Gaara to use overwhelming force to make Fa Yi abandon his rebellion, and Gaara staged an opening for Fa Yi to attack him. As Fa Yi drew out much of Shukaku, Naruto panicked and tried to intervene, but Temari repeatedly knocked him away to keep him safe.

• Kakashi proposed that Gaara let Fa Yi experience the gap in their strength, reasoning that a crushing defeat was the best way to make him abandon his ambitions.
• Kakashi arranged for a Shadow Clone to request Amegakure support, while Shira kept quiet after noticing that Fa Yi had awakened and was pretending to be unconscious.
• Gaara approached Fa Yi and feigned checking his pulse, giving Fa Yi the opening to seize his arm and use chains to draw out much of Shukaku's power.
• Naruto rushed to help Gaara, but Temari struck him with her Triple Star Fan and warned him that Fa Yi's technique could pull out the Nine-Tails too.
• Temari knocked Naruto away again and told him to stay farther from the fight for his own safety.

Hashirama Senju, disguised as Madara Uchiha, stopped Fa Yi after he took control of Shukaku and threatened Naruto. He left Fa Yi restrained and declared that he would protect the Shinobi World's progress toward peace.

• Fa Yi used Shukaku's power to transform and advanced on Naruto while Gaara pretended to be unconscious.
• Hashirama Senju, disguised as Madara Uchiha, bound Shukaku with Wood Release and struck Fa Yi with a Wood Golem.
• Hashirama revealed himself as Madara Uchiha and claimed he had transplanted Hashirama's cells to gain Wood Release.
• Fa Yi wept over the unfair treatment of Jinchuriki, and Naruto protested Fa Yi's claim that he wanted to marry the Hokage.
• Hashirama told Fa Yi that his goal was lasting peace and threatened him for endangering it.

Hashirama Senju, posing as Madara Uchiha, stopped Fa Yi from using Shukaku against Gaara and gave him a chance to repent. When Fa Yi accused Gaara of being a murderous impostor and implicated him in the Daimyo’s death, Hashirama challenged him to examine the facts.

• Hashirama Senju used Madara Uchiha’s reputation and a speech about a god’s duty to protect others to make Fa Yi give up resisting.
• Hashirama released Fa Yi from his Wood Release restraints, and Shukaku’s Chakra left Fa Yi and moved toward Gaara.
• Sunagakure residents arrived and spread a rumor that Madara Uchiha had acted because he was secretly in love with Grandma Chiyo.
• Hashirama told Fa Yi to face his mistakes, then stopped the Wood Clone’s speaker when he realized it had only one recorded song.
• Fa Yi accused Gaara of being unfit to lead Sunagakure and suggested he had caused the Daimyo’s death; Hashirama challenged him to consider who had truly benefited and whether he had investigated the Land of Wind himself.

Gaara tried to stop Fa Yi from opposing him by speaking about Bunpuku, and Shukaku explained the real purpose behind the technique Bunpuku had taught Fa Yi. Fa Yi understood his Master's intentions, but was left without a purpose in life.

• Gaara appealed to Fa Yi by invoking Bunpuku, causing Fa Yi to break down and question what his Master had wanted from him.
• Gaara told Fa Yi that Shukaku understood Bunpuku better, and Shukaku shared the story of their relationship.
• Shukaku explained that Bunpuku had respected him but never used his power for Sunagakure, and that Bunpuku's kindness had moved him deeply.
• Shukaku revealed that Bunpuku created the technique to protect Jinchuriki by removing enemy Jinchuriki from battle without killing them.
• Fa Yi understood Bunpuku's intentions but realized his mission to prevent a Jinchuriki war had already been fulfilled, leaving him without a purpose.

Gaara persuaded Fa Yi to join the Sage Mode training effort, while the opposition abandoned its plans after Madara Uchiha defeated Fa Yi. Kakashi kept the impostor’s identity secret, and Shira asked him to help redevelop the Seven Days Breathing Method for widespread use.

• Gaara convinced Fa Yi to set aside his former role and join the second batch of Sage Mode trainees.
• The opposition gave up after seeing Madara Uchiha defeat Fa Yi and judging that resisting him was hopeless.
• Kakashi thanked the person posing as Madara Uchiha and chose not to reveal that he was actually Hashirama Senju.
• Hashirama Senju praised himself in Madara Uchiha’s style, prompting the gossiping trio to suspect that Madara and Hashirama had a romantic relationship.
• Shira asked Kakashi to help redevelop the Seven Days Breathing Method so it could be taught throughout the Shinobi World.

Shira asked Kakashi to help complete the Seven Days Breathing Method, and Gaara persuaded Kakashi to join a larger research team after the Sage Mode promotion in the Land of Water. Changye then explained why she had felt safe among the Konoha group, before beginning to hint at a guess about Temari.

• Shira excitedly asked Kakashi to help him perfect the Seven Days Breathing Method and called Kakashi the hope of the Shinobi World.
• Gaara supported Shira's request and told Kakashi that helping him could unlock his future potential.
• Temari led the gossip trio and the Sage Mode training team away, while Kakashi agreed to form a development team with Orochimaru's research department in Amegakure and let Shira join.
• Temari asked Changye why she had left the Konoha group, and Changye said Kakashi's and Naruto's interests made her feel safe while Konohamaru seemed more dangerous.
• Pakura began to share a guess about Temari, and Temari asked what the guess was.