Recaps

As battles spread across the Grass Country, Nagato and Obito investigated the Upper Moon demons and the mystery surrounding Kusagakure. Shinji learned that Moryo and Shinnō had been restrained by a powerful demon hidden in the village.

• Konan reported that Itachi and Juzo Biwa had found Upper Moon One and Scorpion and Deidara had cornered Upper Moon Two, so Nagato sent the Six Paths of Pain to support them.
• Obito learned from Zetsu that his clones had not returned from Kusagakure and sent Moryo and Shinnō to investigate the village.
• Shinji marked the locations of Upper Moon One and Upper Moon Two and learned from Neji that Moryo and Shinnō had entered Kusagakure.
• Neji reported that Moryo and Shinnō had transformed and begun fighting a powerful foe inside Kusagakure.
• Kimimaro and Neji told Shinji that an unknown power had restrained Moryo and Shinnō, revealing that an incredibly powerful demon was hidden in Kusagakure.

Shinji deduced that the mysterious Lantern Bearer from the Demon Slayer World was hiding in Kusagakure, but held back while Moryo and Shinnō’s capture revealed the enemy’s methods. The Lantern Bearer drained the pair’s Chakra and headed toward the suspected Akatsuki leader after sensing an attack on Upper Moon One.

• Shinji concluded that the Lantern Bearer who had taken Muzan Kibutsuji’s power was the demon hiding in Kusagakure and decided not to rush into a fight.
• Neji reported that Moryo and Shinnō were trapped in pillars of light that were draining their Chakra.
• Shinnō noticed that the pillars were powered by unfamiliar instruments and suspected the turmoil in Grass Country was a trap for the Akatsuki Organization.
• The mysterious Lantern Bearer absorbed Moryo and Shinnō’s Chakra and realized their Lantern’s dwindling Embers limited how long they could suppress Shinji’s Lantern.
• The Lantern Bearer sensed that Demonized Tanjiro and Upper Moon One had been attacked by a powerful ninja, then drained Moryo and Shinnō completely and left with Narume to pursue their prey.

Shinji identified Upper Moon One’s battlefield as the likely site of a decisive clash and rushed there as the Fourth Kazekage’s forces fought the demon. As dawn seemed about to destroy Upper Moon One, he stabbed the Fourth Kazekage, but Tendo arrived and repelled them both.

• Neji reported that the mysterious Lantern Bearer had flown from Kusagakure, and Shinji deduced that it was heading toward Upper Moon One’s battlefield.
• The Fourth Kazekage trapped Upper Moon One in golden sand and repeatedly crushed and restrained him, while Itachi and Juzo Biwa fought Chiyo and Pakura nearby.
• Chiyo urged the Fourth Kazekage to hold Upper Moon One until sunrise, and he used golden sand to keep the demon contained.
• Sunlight began burning Upper Moon One, but he lunged at the Fourth Kazekage and pierced his chest with his sword.
• Tendo descended and used a repulsive force to send Upper Moon One and the Fourth Kazekage flying back.

Deva Path Pain arrived and effortlessly repelled Demonized Tanjiro, while Sunagakure’s forces recognized his Rinnegan as the Sage’s Eyes. Chiyo ordered distress signals sent to nearby shinobi units, turning the battle into a call for reinforcements against the Akatsuki Organization.

• Deva Path Pain used Banshō Ten'in to pull Demonized Tanjiro toward him and then knocked him back when Tanjiro attacked.
• Juzo Biwa welcomed Deva Path Pain’s arrival, while Itachi watched him with concern about the danger he posed to Konoha.
• Chiyo recalled that Deva Path Pain’s swirling eyes were the legendary Sage’s Eyes of the Sage of Six Paths.
• Chiyo ordered Sunagakure shinobi to request reinforcements from nearby units of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
• Pakura arranged the response as messenger shinobi and hawks carried distress signals across the area.

Tsunade concluded that the Upper Ranks might be a long-lived species, then learned that the Akatsuki Organization was fighting Upper Moon One and that its leader possessed the Sage’s Eyes. Konoha and Tsunade’s forces headed to support Sunagakure, while the Deva Path pinned Upper Moon One and waited to interrogate him.

• Tsunade warned her squad not to lower their guard and theorized that the Upper Ranks lived far longer than humans because of their regenerative abilities.
• Tsunade’s group received a distress signal and learned that the Akatsuki Organization was fighting Upper Moon One, with a suspected leader bearing the Sage’s Eyes present.
• Tsunade arranged for the Kusagakure refugees and led Shizune and Yakumo toward the battlefield to support Sunagakure.
• Jiraiya told the Third that Gō had escaped because it could sense killing intent, and the Third ordered him to gather ANBU and support Sunagakure after receiving news of the battle.
• The Deva Path pinned Upper Moon One to the ground with Black Rods and prepared to learn his secrets through the Human Path.

A mysterious Lantern Bearer arrived on the battlefield and pinned the Deva Path with an Ω-class restraint device, but the Animal Path soon summoned the other four Paths of Pain. Shinji recognized the growing threat and sent Shadow Clones to summon nearby shinobi forces, leaving the battle poised to expand.

• A streak of light struck the battlefield, and a silver spear shot from the dust and pinned the Deva Path inside a cage of lightning.
• The Lantern Bearer emerged and declared that his Ω-class restraint device would keep the Deva Path from breaking free.
• Shinji reached the battlefield and realized that the Lantern Bearer’s devices could have trapped him if he had not disguised himself and misled the man.
• The Animal Path arrived, then summoned the Asura Path, Hell Path, Human Path, and Preta Path to join the Deva Path.
• Shinji assessed the threat posed by the Six Paths and the Lantern Bearer, then created ten Shadow Clones to call nearby shinobi forces for help.

The mysterious man sent the battlefield into Narume’s vast Infinite Castle, scattering the forces gathered in Grass Country. As the Five Great Shinobi Villages raced to join the fight, the Paths of Pain searched the castle for their enemy and tried to free the Deva Path.

• The mysterious man refused to talk with the Six Paths of Pain, and Narume’s biwa music transported the battlefield into the Infinite Castle.
• Itachi and Juzo Biwa realized they had been trapped by Space-Time Ninjutsu, while Shinji concluded that Chakra had expanded Narume’s Blood Demon Art.
• Shinji’s Shadow Clones reported the latest intelligence to Tsunade, the Third Hokage, the Fourth Mizukage, the Fourth Raikage, and the Third Tsuchikage, who led elite squads toward the battlefield.
• The Preta Path failed to absorb the unusual lightning holding the Deva Path, and the other Paths could not free him.
• The Animal Path summoned giant beasts to search the Infinite Castle for the mysterious man.

As the Infinite Castle shook from the battle, the mysterious man summoned the surviving Upper Moon demons and demonized swordsmen to prepare for a decisive assault. He restored their chakra and sent them to fight while he concealed himself, racing to finish the battle before his Embers and Narume’s chakra ran out.

• Narume reported that the enemy was destroying the Infinite Castle’s districts, and the mysterious man sent her away.
• The mysterious man used Summoning Jutsu to gather the surviving demons and demonized swordsmen, including Demonized Tanjiro, Kokushibo, and Gyomei Himejima.
• Gyomei warned that the shinobi had studied their abilities, while Kokushibo urged the mysterious man to kill every possible Lantern Bearer body.
• The mysterious man replenished the summoned fighters’ chakra with energy taken from Moryo and Shinnō, then told them to feed on shinobi inside the castle.
• The Upper Moon demons, demonized swordsmen, and other demons rushed into the Infinite Castle to fight as the mysterious man hid and waited.

The shinobi trapped in the Infinite Castle used their knowledge of demons to fight back, while Kokushibo and Demonized Tanjiro killed and fed on Sunagakure shinobi. The demonized Hashira clashed with Pain’s Five Paths, and the battle intensified when more Paths and summoned beasts arrived.

• Chiyo’s Sunagakure shinobi trapped demons in mud, while Pakura weakened a demon with Steam Kill.
• Itachi used genjutsu to immobilize demons and told Juzo Biwa that every jutsu had a weakness.
• Kokushibo and Demonized Tanjiro killed and devoured Sunagakure shinobi to restore their strength.
• Asura Path and Human Path fought the demonized Hashira, capturing Sound Pillar and pinning Stone Pillar down.
• Animal Path, Preta Path, and Hell Path joined the fight with summoned beasts, and the Hashira attacked again.

The Pillars struck the five Paths of Pain with a coordinated assault, but the Hell Path restored the damaged bodies and the enemy overwhelmed them. Elsewhere, a mysterious figure realized the Akatsuki leader was hidden in the Infinite Castle and collided with Shinji while searching for him.

• Tokito Muichiro cloaked the district in mist as Kanroji Mitsuri, the Wind Pillar, and the Serpent Pillar attacked the Paths of Pain and their summon.
• Kanroji Mitsuri wounded Yatagarasu, while the Mist Pillar, Serpent Pillar, and Wind Pillar severed or wounded the Preta Path, Human Path, Asura Path, and Animal Path.
• The Hell Path summoned King of Hell, which restored the damaged Paths of Pain to their original condition.
• A giant chameleon captured Kanroji Mitsuri, and the Paths of Pain and their summons overwhelmed the remaining Pillars.
• A mysterious figure concluded that the Akatsuki leader was hidden somewhere in the Infinite Castle and left to search for him.
• The mysterious figure collided head-on with Shinji as they raced toward each other.

Shinji narrowly avoided a confrontation with the mysterious man, who was hunting the Lantern Bearer. The man found Nagato’s true body and pursued him through several spaces, leaving Nagato and Obito face-to-face with their attacker in Kamui Space.

• Shinji recognized the mysterious man as the Lantern Bearer’s hunter, but the man passed him without recognizing him or detecting the lantern’s presence.
• Nagato and the Five Paths of Pain overwhelmed the six transformed pillars while Konan warned Nagato that nearby ghosts suggested a trap.
• The mysterious man broke into Nagato’s residence, identified him as the Lantern Bearer, and attacked Konan before Nagato repelled him with Shinra Tensei.
• Juzo Biwa’s biwa note shifted Nagato, Konan, and the mysterious man into another room, where the attacker nearly struck Nagato.
• Obito pulled Nagato into Kamui Space, but the mysterious man followed a Lantern Shadow through a passage into the space and appeared before them.

The mysterious man trapped Nagato and Obito inside Kamui Space and interfered with Obito’s ability to use Kamui. As forces converged on the Infinite Castle, Tsunade’s team, Karin and Ido, and Haku and Sasuke entered it, while the Fourth Mizukage’s Kirigakure forces arrived outside.

• The mysterious man used his lantern’s fading light to interfere with Obito’s Kamui, leaving Obito trapped in Kamui Space with Nagato.
• Tsunade, Shizune, and Yakumo reached the Infinite Castle and learned the Sunagakure Ninja Army and Akatsuki were likely trapped inside.
• Karin and Ido arrived on Shinji’s orders and entered the castle ahead of Tsunade’s team.
• The Fourth Mizukage halted Kirigakure’s elite after they spotted Sasuke and Haku heading toward the castle in Akatsuki cloaks.
• Haku warned Sasuke to stay alert, and the two entered the Infinite Castle.

Neji and Kimimaro entered the Infinite Castle, followed by the Third and Konoha's elite, while Shinji searched for the mysterious figure. After finding Pain's five Paths collapsed and being confronted by six demonized Pillars, Shinji left Karin and Ido to fight them, and Karin crushed all six with Susanoo.

• Neji and Kimimaro encountered the Third's elite force, and Orochimaru watched them while disguised as an ANBU.
• Neji and Kimimaro entered the Infinite Castle, and the Third led the Konoha shinobi in after them.
• Shinji searched for the mysterious figure, then found the six demonized Pillars, several Sunagakure shinobi, and Pain's five collapsed Paths.
• The six Pillars blocked Shinji from leaving, so Karin and Ido arrived and answered Shinji's order to take them out.
• Ido used the Red Dragon Eye to immobilize the six Pillars, and Karin's Susanoo stomped them into a pulp.

Karin used her complete Susanoo to overwhelm the Six Pillars, whose attacks shattered against its armor. She trapped them in Black Flame, and they gave up resisting as the flames engulfed them.

• Karin's enormous Susanoo drew the attention of forces throughout the Infinite Castle, including Konoha, Kirigakure, Sunagakure, and the Upper Rank demons.
• The Six Pillars recovered from being crushed and launched coordinated attacks against Karin's Susanoo.
• The Pillars' weapons broke on Susanoo, leaving them shocked and despairing as their attacks failed to damage it.
• Ido urged Karin to finish the Six Pillars, but Karin ignited Black Flame across the street and sealed off their escape.
• The Six Pillars stopped resisting and allowed the Black Flame to spread over them.

Karin’s Perfect Susanoo destroyed the Six Pillars, while Sasuke and Haku encountered Itachi and Juzo Biwa in the streets. Sasuke pursued Itachi alone and struck him with Chidori, but Itachi revealed he had used a Crow Clone and prepared to test Sasuke’s Sharingan.

• Karin’s Amaterasu burned the demonized Six Pillars to ash, and Tanjiro and Kokushibo sensed their deaths.
• Itachi and Juzo Biwa watched Karin’s Susanoo as Sasuke and Haku rushed toward them.
• Sasuke attacked Itachi, who fled, while Haku blocked Juzo Biwa from interfering and began fighting him.
• Sasuke caught up with Itachi at a secluded mansion and pierced his chest with Chidori.
• Itachi’s body scattered into crows and re-formed, and he challenged Sasuke to show how much his Sharingan had grown.

Sasuke challenged Itachi with his newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan, but Itachi easily outmatched him and warned him about using Susanoo carelessly. While Haku fought Juzo Biwa, he grew worried about Sasuke and left to pursue him.

• Sasuke revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and attacked Itachi, who subdued him in a few moves.
• Sasuke summoned Susanoo and fired an arrow at Itachi, but the target was a Shadow Clone.
• Itachi criticized Sasuke for revealing his abilities and explained that Susanoo consumed too much ocular power.
• Juzo Biwa caught Haku off guard with a slash that nicked his Dog Mask.
• Haku formed Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals, then used them to escape and pursue Sasuke.

Haku found Sasuke trapped in Itachi’s genjutsu and led him away, while Sasuke became unsettled by Karin’s colossal Susanoo. Itachi reunited with Juzo Biwa and worried about the Akatsuki’s divisions, as Neji and Kimimaro encountered Upper Moon One.

• Juzo Biwa began breaking free of Haku’s Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals while Haku searched the Infinite Castle for Sasuke.
• Haku found Sasuke dazed in a mansion, released him from the genjutsu, and told him Itachi was gone.
• Sasuke realized his apparent battle with Itachi had been an illusion and questioned whether Karin possessed the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan after seeing her full-body Susanoo.
• Itachi reunited with Juzo Biwa and reflected on the warning and Mangekyō techniques he had tried to pass to Sasuke through genjutsu.
• Neji and Kimimaro approached Karin’s Susanoo but were stopped by Upper Moon One.

Kimimaro released his biological exoskeleton and opened the first six gates to fight Demonized Tanjiro as Upper Moon One. His Bloodline Disease flared before he could continue, and Neji returned to offer his Chakra.

• Kumogakure elites arrived, saw Kimimaro and Neji facing Upper Moon One, and fired a distress flare.
• Neji left to seek B's help while Kimimaro released his biological exoskeleton and opened the first six gates.
• Kimimaro and Upper Moon One clashed, demolishing streets and buildings before they separated with Kimimaro holding his own.
• Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease flared, and Upper Moon One turned away after sensing his weakness.
• Neji returned, told Kimimaro he feared he would die, and released his own biological exoskeleton to add his Chakra.

Neji returned to help Kimimaro when his Bloodline Disease weakened him, and their linked biological exoskeletons transmitted Chakra that fused their powers and awakened a new ability in Kimimaro. Kimimaro charged Upper Moon One with his temporary power as an Otsutsuki Branch Elder on the moon sensed the change.

• Neji turned back and found Kimimaro fighting Upper Moon One with the sixth gate open.
• When Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease flared up, Neji sent him Byakugan Chakra and Tenseigan Chakra through their resonating biological exoskeletons.
• The fused Chakra suppressed Kimimaro's Bloodline Disease and transformed him into an ideal vessel for awakening the Tenseigan.
• Kimimaro awakened a powerful vision and realized the borrowed Chakra sustaining it would not last.
• Kimimaro attacked Upper Moon One, while an Otsutsuki Branch Elder on the moon opened his eyes in shock.

The Otsutsuki Branch Elder sensed a Tenseigan in the Shinobi World and descended from the moon to investigate, while Shinji realized Kimimaro had awakened the Tenseigan and discovered that Nagato and the mysterious man were fighting in Kamui Space. Nagato trapped the mysterious man in Planetary Devastation, but the sphere suddenly began to crack.

• The Otsutsuki Branch Elder sensed a Tenseigan in the Shinobi World and blamed the Hyuga Clan, then left Otsutsuki Toneri to descend from the moon.
• The Otsutsuki Branch Elder detected the Tenseigan's location near the Grass Country and sped toward it.
• Shinji noticed that Kimimaro had broken the seal on his biological exoskeleton and awakened the Tenseigan.
• Shinji spotted a beam of light and realized the mysterious man and Nagato were fighting in Kamui Space.
• Nagato used Planetary Devastation to trap the mysterious man as an injured Obito watched, but the sphere began to crack.

The mysterious man broke free of Nagato’s Planetary Devastation and unleashed a costly blood-based attack against Nagato and Obito. Obito saved Nagato by sending him through a Kamui rift, then survived the blood waterfall with Izanagi and confronted the furious mysterious man.

• The mysterious man used a dim yellow light from his lantern to break apart Nagato’s Planetary Devastation.
• The mysterious man unleashed Blood Demon Art: Endless Blood Feud, turning his body into a blood waterfall that rushed toward Nagato and Obito.
• Obito opened a narrow Kamui rift and shoved Nagato through it to safety in the Infinite Castle.
• The blood waterfall swallowed Obito, and the mysterious man believed his attack had killed him.
• Obito reappeared nearby, revealed that the lantern’s ability to restrain his Kamui was weakening, and survived through Izanagi.

Shinji ambushed the mysterious Lantern Bearer after he escaped Kamui Space, but the man regenerated from the attack and shrugged off Amaterasu. Shinji’s allies gathered around him, and the chapter ended with the Lantern Bearer facing their assembled strength.

• The mysterious man escaped Kamui Space, leaving Obito too shaken to pursue him.
• Shinji attacked the mysterious man inside the Infinite Castle with Amaterasu and Susanoo, crushing him beneath a golden blade.
• The mysterious man regenerated and shed the flesh burning with Amaterasu, while Shinji remained on guard.
• Nagato and Konan joined the scene, and Nagato confirmed that Shinji was A.
• The mysterious man told Shinji to move aside, but Shinji said he wanted to kill him.
• Karin, Ido, Sasuke, Haku, Neji, and Kimimaro arrived, and the mysterious man sensed that they were dangerous opponents.

Shinji and his allies trapped the mysterious Demon King in a cycle of attacks, but Narume transported the Five Great Shinobi Villages’ shinobi into the Infinite Castle and sent Nagato and Konan elsewhere. The Demon King escaped as scattered flesh and re-formed in Nagato and Konan’s courtyard, confronting Nagato.

• Shinji ordered Ido and the others to attack the mysterious man, and Ido’s Red Dragon Eye immobilized him while Shinji’s Susanoo and the Amaterasu flames tore apart and burned his body.
• Ido repeatedly interrupted the Demon King’s attempts to re-form, allowing Shinji’s attacks and Amaterasu to keep him trapped in a cycle of attrition.
• Narume used her biwa to bring shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages into the Infinite Castle and transport Nagato and Konan away.
• The Demon King scattered his flesh and fled while Shinji, Haku, and the others tried to stop him, but some pieces escaped.
• Nagato and Konan arrived in a courtyard, where the Demon King re-formed and told Nagato not to think he could escape.

Nagato used Super Almighty Push to repel the mysterious man's Blood Demon Art and destroy Infinite Castle, scattering the fighters across the Grass Country. As the survivors assessed the devastation, the mysterious man reformed as a blood waterfall, and a meteor began falling toward the battlefield.

• Konan attacked the pursuing mysterious man with Explosive Tags, but he transformed into a blood waterfall and surged toward Nagato.
• Nagato unleashed Super Almighty Push, sending the blood waterfall flying and destroying Infinite Castle along with the surrounding area.
• Shinji, Karin, Kimimaro, Ido, Sasuke, Haku, Neji, and the shinobi from the Five Great Villages were scattered by the shock wave, which killed many Chunin and Genin.
• Nagato told Konan he was fine, while the mysterious man gathered his blood and reformed into a vast waterfall in the sky.
• A meteor fell toward the battlefield where the survivors had gathered.

The Otsutsuki Branch Elder mistook Nagato’s power for the Tenseigan and brought down a meteorite to destroy the battlefield. Karin, Haku, Yakumo, and the shinobi of the Five Great Shinobi Villages helped her Susanoo withstand it, while the mysterious blood-waterfall man attacked the Elder and sent him plunging from the sky.

• The Otsutsuki Branch Elder used the Giant Tenseigan to summon a meteorite, believing Nagato’s Super Almighty Push threatened the Otsutsuki Clan.
• The mysterious man in his blood-waterfall state dodged the meteorite and charged at the Otsutsuki Branch Elder.
• Karin raised her Complete Body Susanoo to shield the battlefield, while Haku added ice armor, Yakumo added wooden armor, and the shinobi reinforced it with Earth Release walls.
• Karin’s Susanoo caught the meteorite, losing its armor but surviving the impact and protecting everyone inside.
• The Otsutsuki Branch Elder scattered the blood waterfall with repulsive force, but blood drops struck him and caused him to fall from the sky.