Chapter Summaries

Pakura suspected Shirozumi had turned the Shinobi World into a world of Bonds Ninjas to eliminate romantic competition, but Temari and Maki argued that he could instead become their target. Maki recounted the circumstances surrounding Asuma Sarutobi’s death, leaving Pakura engrossed in the gossip.

• Pakura speculated that Shirozumi had deliberately encouraged the rise of Bonds Ninjas so he could have beautiful female ninjas to himself.
• Temari rejected Pakura’s theory and warned that Shirozumi might become a target for Bonds Ninjas, while Maki partly supported the idea.
• Maki told Pakura that two Bonds Ninjas had posed as bathhouse attendants and planned to approach Asuma Sarutobi before a mysterious figure entered his room.
• Maki explained that the Land of Hot Water secretly spread the story that Asuma had died after playing too roughly with a Bonds Ninja.
• A delegation from the Land of Hot Water found strange smells and traces on Asuma’s body while preparing his remains, and Konoha dropped its planned protest.
• Pakura accepted Temari’s argument and found herself enjoying the gossip.

Pakura accepted that Shirozumi opposed Bonds Ninja and theorized that he was exposing people who had hidden their Bonds. Temari and the others shared scandalous explanations for several Konoha figures, then revealed that their gossip came from a newspaper published by the underground black market.

• Maki reminded Pakura that Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had originated Bonds Ninja, while Shirozumi and Uchiha Hikari sought to overturn its influence.
• Pakura reconsidered Shirozumi’s actions and concluded that he was exposing Bonds Ninja who had concealed themselves, rather than creating them.
• Maki and the others speculated that Kakashi’s father, the Konoha White Fang, and the Third Hokage and Shimura Danzō had secret Bonds relationships.
• Temari concluded that the White Fang had taken his own life after his beloved criticized him for abandoning a mission.
• Yukata showed Pakura their copy of Shinobi World Secrets: Gossip Weekly, and Pakura recognized the underground black market’s emblem on its Scroll.

Pakura joined Naruto, Kakashi, Gaara, and the gossip trio on a trip to Kirigakure to assess whether she still wanted revenge and to see the village after the Blood Mist era. A rumor about Pakura’s supposed romantic interest in the Fifth Mizukage spread among the spectators, and Maki used it to argue that Bonds Ninja had nothing to do with Shirozumi.

• The underground black market defended publishing gossip, saying it needed money while changing careers and had survived worse risks before.
• Pakura agreed to travel from Sunagakure to Kirigakure, where she had once been ambushed and killed after Rasa sold her out.
• Gaara asked Pakura whether she was going to Kirigakure for revenge, and she said she wanted to find out whether revenge was still necessary and learn about the reformed village and its Mizukage.
• Spectators gossiped that Pakura liked women and wanted to pursue the Fifth Mizukage, leaving Pakura confused about their claims.
• Maki told Pakura the rumor proved that female Bonds Ninja could become rivals to Shirozumi, supporting her claim that Bonds Ninja were unrelated to him.

Gaara warned the group that Kirigakure faced resistance to reform similar to Sunagakure's, and they traveled there through the Flying Thunder Array. Kakashi invited Might Guy to Kirigakure to keep Shira occupied and help with taijutsu, and Guy treated the invitation as a challenge.

• Gaara warned Pakura and the others that Kirigakure had conservatives and schemers obstructing development, much like Sunagakure.
• The group used the Flying Thunder Array to travel to Kirigakure.
• Kakashi sent an invitation to Might Guy, hoping he would train with Shira while Kakashi promoted Sage Mode.
• Guy received Kakashi's letter and told Tenten, Neji, and Lee that Kakashi had challenged them.

Might Guy interpreted Kakashi’s letter as a challenge and brought Tenten, Neji, and Rock Lee to Kirigakure to help develop new Taijutsu. After Kakashi briefed Mei Terumi on Sunagakure’s problems and learned she had hired Kisame Hoshigaki, Guy’s arrival caused someone near Mei to hurriedly move away.

• Tenten questioned why Guy had called the team together, and Guy explained that he believed Kakashi had challenged him to another showdown.
• Tenten agreed to travel to Kirigakure, and Neji and Rock Lee joined Guy’s group.
• Team Guy used the Flying Thunder Array to reach Kirigakure shortly after Kakashi’s group arrived.
• Kakashi passed Gaara’s greetings to Mei Terumi and shared what had happened in Sunagakure.
• Mei told Kakashi that Kirigakure faced similar difficulties and that she had hired Kisame Hoshigaki to help.
• Guy arrived and called out to Kakashi, prompting someone beside Mei to move away from him.

Kakashi arranged a place in Kirigakure for Sage Mode and Taijutsu training while Mei selected candidates and introduced Hoshigaki Nanami. Kakashi worried that Nanami and Kisame might be drawn into a plot against the Hoshigaki Clan, while Kisame and Itachi investigated an island village tied to Kisame's family.

• Kakashi introduced Shira to Might Guy and asked Mei to arrange a training area, which she provided beside a beach resort.
• Mei chose Chojuro, Ao, and Raiga Kurosuki as Kirigakure's Sage Mode candidates.
• Mei introduced Hoshigaki Nanami as the group's communications and emergency contact, and Kakashi wondered whether she was connected to Kisame's clan.
• Kisame and Itachi arrived at an isolated island, where Itachi asked Kisame about his clan.
• Kisame said he did not remember having a clan, though Mei's intelligence indicated that some Hoshigaki lived there.

Kisame explained that Mei Terumi had sent him to identify and remove a rebel leader among the Hoshigaki Clan, prompting Itachi to recognize how disastrously he had handled the Uchiha massacre. After Kisame and Itachi entered the village, Kakashi asked a Hoshigaki kunoichi for the details of her intelligence.

• Kisame explained that Mei Terumi wanted him to find a rebel ringleader and restore the rest of the Hoshigaki villagers, using force against them only if necessary.
• Itachi reconsidered his past decisions and realized he had killed uninvolved Uchiha, including children and infants, when he could have spared them.
• Itachi told Kisame he would provide muscle but no advice, and Kisame accepted without asking why.
• Kisame and Itachi entered the village, where their Hoshigaki faces drew the villagers' attention.
• Kakashi explained the shortcut to Sage Mode training, and Ao, Chojuro, and Raiga Kurosuki left to train.
• Kakashi asked the Hoshigaki kunoichi Mei Terumi had summoned to share the details of her intelligence.

Hoshigaki Nanami told Kakashi about her clan’s persecution and her father’s plan to restore the Blood Mist, while Kakashi repeatedly suspected her of hiding a clan-massacre plot. Nanami rebuked him and Konoha before Zabuza arrived and asked why Kakashi was arguing with a woman.

• Nanami explained that her clan had fled Kirigakure during the Blood Mist persecution and that her father now wanted to seize power and restore the old regime.
• Nanami said she had dreamed of killing the clan members who supported her father, making Kakashi suspect she wanted to exterminate her clan.
• Kakashi asked whether Nanami would spare her younger brother, and she angrily denied wanting to kill her family or being a Bonds Ninja.
• Nanami criticized Kakashi and Konoha for bullying and called Konoha a village built on bullying and Bonds, leaving Kakashi unable to argue back.
• Zabuza appeared and asked Kakashi why he was arguing with a woman.

Zabuza accused Kakashi of writing Biography of Sukuna, a novel that resembled both Zabuza's and Naruto's stories. Kakashi denied authorship, then suddenly remembered a connection to the name Sukuna and claimed he had proof.

• Zabuza confronted Kakashi with Biography of Sukuna and accused him of writing it.
• Kakashi checked the book and denied having heard of it, while Zabuza described its violent protagonist and masked, white-haired rival.
• Zabuza cited Kakashi's earlier novels as evidence, and Kakashi reluctantly accepted the accusation for the moment.
• Zabuza pointed out that the novel's opening resembled Naruto's childhood rather than his own, leaving Kakashi unable to explain the mismatch.
• Kakashi recognized the name Sukuna from a past visit to Amegakure, stood up, and insisted he could prove he had not written the book.

Kakashi and Grandma Chiyo argued that the novel’s Sukuna was based on Madara Uchiha, linking Sukuna’s origins to Madara taking power from his brother. Grandma Chiyo left Zabuza with the claim that Uraume represented Kirigakure and its history under Madara’s control of Yagura.

• Kakashi told Zabuza that Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo was called Ryomen Sukuna and compared their abilities and appearances.
• Grandma Chiyo arrived and supported Kakashi, saying Sukuna’s origin resembled Madara gaining power after devouring his brother, Uchiha Izuna.
• Kakashi explained that Madara’s story had influenced Itachi’s excuse for leaving Sasuke behind when he defected.
• Zabuza asked whether Uraume was based on someone who had been close to Madara, and Grandma Chiyo took over the explanation.
• Grandma Chiyo said Uraume represented Kirigakure, whose people had recorded the suffering caused when Madara controlled the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.

Kakashi reasoned that Kirigakure had spread the novel to clear Yagura’s name, while Zabuza abruptly withdrew from the political matter. As Kakashi privately questioned Ao about a failed Sage Mode attempt, Matsuri used a Wind Release technique to eavesdrop, and Ao realized he had put himself alone with a Konoha Bonds-type ninja.

• Kakashi concluded that Kirigakure had circulated the novel to explain that Yagura had been controlled and to reach those who had fled the Blood Mist.
• Zabuza cut Kakashi off and left, and Kakashi and Pakura understood that he was avoiding involvement in Kirigakure’s political mission.
• The three kids decided that Zabuza had left because he was secretly in love with Kakashi, and Pakura accepted their explanation.
• Ao shouted after a Hyuga Clan man used the Byakugan to watch him entering Sage Mode, causing Ao to crash and fail his training.
• Matsuri used Temari’s Wind Release technique to eavesdrop as Ao told Kakashi what had happened, then Ao worried that he had privately cornered himself with a Konoha Bonds-type ninja.

Ao tried to keep his Byakugan hidden behind a mask, but Neji mistook him for his supposedly dead father, Hizashi Hyuga, and pursued him. Ao escaped the confrontation by declaring that he admired Kakashi.

• Ao wore a mask that blocked the Byakugan and tried to avoid conflict with Neji and Kakashi.
• Kakashi wondered whether the Limited Tsukuyomi World was influencing Neji, then Neji stopped Ao and called him "Dad."
• Neji suspected the masked Ao was Hizashi Hyuga because Ao had a hidden Byakugan and resembled the masked Obito in Kakashi's story.
• Kakashi tried to stop Neji from approaching Ao, while Ao feared that no one in Kirigakure would help him.
• Ao claimed that he admired Kakashi and would watch him from afar, hoping the confession would make Neji stop.

Ao pretended to confess his love for Kakashi to drive Neji away, but the group outside overheard everything and started gossiping about Ao. Chojuro defended Ao by explaining his history and Byakugan, but Matsuri invented another romantic explanation, leaving Ao’s reputation under suspicion.

• Ao claimed he loved Kakashi and would rather grow old alone than live without him, shocking Kakashi and pushing Neji away.
• Matsuri used the Wind Listening Chant so the group could hear Ao, Kakashi, and Neji, and everyone turned to Chojuro for an explanation.
• Yukata guessed that Ao had coveted Kakashi since the Kirigakure pursuit in which Nohara Rin died.
• Chojuro denied Ao had been part of the squad that hunted Kakashi and revealed that Ao possessed a Byakugan taken during the Third Ninja War.
• Matsuri speculated that Ao’s beloved had died fighting Kakashi and that Ao’s hatred had turned into love.

Chojuro was pressured into endorsing the group’s fanciful theory about Ao’s feelings for Kakashi, until Naruto and Konohamaru brought out Kakashi’s monitor for the Engraved Tsukuyomi. The group watched a real person’s test inside it and saw Kakashi, under Obito’s identity, face Ao in Kirigakure.

• Yukata proposed that Ao had mistaken masked Kakashi for both a tomboy and a girly boy, and Chojuro challenged her theory.
• Pakura pressed Chojuro to accept the gossip, and he declared that Ao had loved Kakashi and confessed after seeing Zabuza confess to him.
• Naruto brought over Kakashi’s display screen, and Konohamaru explained that it monitored a real person inside the Engraved Tsukuyomi.
• Konohamaru revealed that the person called Obito was actually Kakashi, while the person called Kakashi was Uchiha Obito.
• The group watched Kakashi, posing as Uchiha Obito, fight Kirigakure forces as the real Obito secretly followed them.
• Chojuro recognized Ao holding Nuibari in the footage, while Ao’s subordinate asked how to respond to the Uchiha force.

Obito found White Zetsu and sought Madara Uchiha, unaware that the Engraved Tsukuyomi World had exchanged his and Kakashi’s identities and altered Madara’s plans. Ao returned from the battlefield to meet Madara, prompting Pakura to explain that the world’s history had changed drastically.

• Ao chose to fight Shisui head-on with his Byakugan, while Obito searched near the battlefield for Madara Uchiha.
• Obito summoned White Zetsu and offered to help Madara collect the Tailed Beasts, watch Nagato, and revive him.
• White Zetsu led Obito to Madara, who told him to wait for someone before they spoke.
• Ao returned to Madara, and Chojuro was shocked to see him there.
• Pakura explained that Obito’s actions had changed Madara’s plans and that Madara had empowered Ao to make Kakashi despair.

Madara Uchiha explained how Ao became his pawn after losing his lower body while searching for the Six-Tails, then sent him to confront Obito. Obito recognized Ao as Kirigakure’s rumored “Miss Four Suns” and tried to escape after attacking him.

• Madara Uchiha told Ao that he would be free after completing one task, while White Zetsu installed Ao’s plugin.
• Madara explained that Ao had found the Six-Tails’ Jinchuriki, been blasted apart by a Tailed Beast Bomb, and been restored with Hashirama Cells.
• Madara ordered Ao to make Obito witness a scene, and Ao put on a mask and approached him with Nuibari.
• Obito realized Ao was the feared “Miss Four Suns” and understood Madara wanted an Uchiha tool.
• Obito used Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu to force Ao back, then tried to flee.

Ao used his Byakugan and Nuibari to capture Obito, who was disguised as Kakashi, while the real Kakashi learned of the capture and tried to recruit Rin to rescue him. Rin refused to leave her post, and Kakashi set out alone.

• Ao countered Obito's Fire Style with Water Style, then wounded him with Nuibari as Obito tried to escape through the mist.
• Ao revealed that he used the Byakugan and Kirigakure's Mist Technique to spot openings and repeatedly stab Obito, then carried him into the fog.
• Kakashi learned that Kirigakure ninja had captured Obito and secretly found Rin, who was serving as the Three-Tails Jinchuriki on the battlefield.
• Kakashi asked Rin to help rescue Obito, but she refused to leave, so Kakashi headed out alone.

Rin refused to join Kakashi’s unauthorized rescue mission, so Kakashi went alone and awakened Mangekyo Sharingan after seeing Obito and Ao together. Kakashi defeated Ao and apologized to Obito, whom he carried in his arms.

• Rin explained that rescuing Kakashi could endanger Konoha and urged Kakashi to ask Shisui for help, but Kakashi rejected her reasoning and left alone.
• Kakashi traveled to the designated location and found Obito struggling with Ao in the mist.
• After seeing Obito and Ao together, Kakashi realized his feelings and awakened Mangekyo Sharingan in both eyes.
• Kakashi used Kamui Shuriken to destroy Ao’s joystick, then avoided Ao’s attack with Kamui Hollowfication and knocked him unconscious.
• Kakashi gathered Obito into his arms and apologized for arriving too late.

Obito used a calculated tearful act to make Kakashi blame Rin for refusing to help rescue him and to plant the idea that he had been abandoned because he lacked a Sharingan. Watching Obito’s manipulation made Pakura wonder whether the two men had been involved in the real Shinobi World.

• Obito decided he might be able to take Kakashi’s Mangekyō Sharingan later by earning Kakashi’s trust rather than defeating him in battle.
• Obito pretended to cry and told Kakashi that he had gone to find Rin, who refused to help rescue him because she believed her life belonged to the village.
• Kakashi wept and blamed himself for arriving late, while Obito inwardly recognized that Kakashi had named Rin as the culprit.
• Obito urged Kakashi to distrust Rin and suggested that she valued other lives above his because he lacked a Kekkei Genkai and was considered trash.
• Pakura reacted with disgust to Obito and Kakashi’s apparent intimacy and asked whether they had been involved in the real Shinobi World.

While the Konoha group gossiped in Kirigakure, Aoi Rokushō stole the Sword of the Thunder God and fled. He chose Kirigakure over Amegakure and Sunagakure, where he joined the Blood Mist Restoration Organization.

• Naruto pressed Neji to explain Kakashi and Obito’s relationship, but Neji evaded him with a cryptic remark about their supposed fondness for shit.
• Aoi Rokushō stole the Sword of the Thunder God from Konoha and began fleeing, believing Anbu would pursue him.
• Tsunade chose not to send anyone after Aoi because Tobirama Senju might have placed a Flying Thunder God Formula on the sword, and she wanted to see who was behind the theft.
• Aoi avoided Amegakure and Sunagakure, deciding that Kirigakure offered better cover and a greater chance of survival.
• Aoi reached Kirigakure’s Blood Mist Restoration Organization and met Hoshigaki Nanami’s younger brother and father.