Chapter Summaries

Menma, Naruto’s dark side, pretended to overcome his inner darkness while hiding his identity from Jiraiya and Yakumo. In the shared mindscape, he forcibly subdued the Nine-Tails and took its Chakra, then learned a technique called Nine Mask Svāhā.

• Naruto emerged from the True Waterfall and told Jiraiya and Motoi that he had defeated the darkness in his heart.
• Yakumo asked Naruto if anything had happened, unaware that Ido had fallen asleep inside her mindscape.
• Back in his room, Menma entered the shared mindscape and demanded that the Nine-Tails lend him its power.
• Menma provoked the Nine-Tails into breaking through the seal, then struck it with the Great Spiraling Ring and subdued it.
• Menma absorbed the Nine-Tails' Chakra and learned Nine Mask Svāhā instead of the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Menma mastered the Nine Masked Beasts and agreed to leave Turtle Island with Jiraiya and the others after Orochimaru escaped and freed the Fourth Hokage and the other half of the Nine-Tails. During the voyage to the Land of Hot Water, Yakumo learned that Naruto’s Inner Demon had defeated Ido and taken control of Naruto’s body.

• Menma summoned the Nine Masked Beasts, recognized their power came from the Nine-Tails, and vowed to make those who called him a monster see what a real monster was.
• The Nine-Tails warned Menma not to fall into the Akatsuki Organization’s hands, and Menma said they were also targets of his revenge.
• Jiraiya received word that Orochimaru had escaped, broken the Reaper Death Seal, and freed the Fourth Hokage and the other half of the Nine-Tails.
• Menma agreed to return to Konoha, saying he had learned what he needed on Turtle Island, and Jiraiya arranged a boat journey with the Kumogakure shinobi.
• Killer B sensed something was off about Naruto, but dismissed the feeling because Naruto disliked rap.
• Ido told Yakumo that Naruto’s Inner Demon had overpowered him, drained his power, and devoured Naruto, leaving Naruto’s body under the Inner Demon’s control.

Yakumo realized Naruto's Inner Demon had taken control, but Menma escaped the ship before she and Jiraiya could find him. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi destroyed a known base and weighed their options as the Akatsuki Organization pursued them.

• Yakumo and Ido decided to hide Naruto's Inner Demon until they returned to the village, but Jiraiya soon discovered Naruto was missing from the ship.
• Yakumo suggested Naruto had lost to his dark side at the True Waterfall, and Jiraiya feared the boy had escaped on his own.
• Menma revealed he had hidden underwater before summoning the Vermilion Bird and flying toward land, hoping to find Orochimaru and claim the Yin Nine-Tails.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi burned a base in the Land of Rice Fields that Jugo knew about and discussed contacting Konoha for help.
• Orochimaru recognized that Konoha was his best option against the Akatsuki Organization, but refused to ask the Third and Tsunade for forgiveness or admit defeat.

Akatsuki gathered to pursue Orochimaru and take the Yin Nine-Tails, while Konoha learned that Naruto’s Inner Demon had taken control of him and fled. Tsunade ordered the search to begin after the group suspected Menma was heading for the other half of the Nine-Tails.

• Juzo Biwa told Deidara that Grass shinobi had tracked Muku to the Land of Demons, where Kakuzu and Hidan had gone after him.
• Scorpion and Deidara waited for Hiruko and Ranmaru before Akatsuki set out to confront Orochimaru and take the Yin Nine-Tails.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Naruto had been controlled by his Inner Demon and slipped away during the return journey.
• Yakumo explained the Inner Demon’s traits, and the Konoha leaders concluded that Menma was stronger than Naruto and might be hostile to the village.
• Jiraiya suggested Menma had gone looking for the Nine-Tails, so Tsunade ordered the group to move and Jiraiya volunteered to lead the search.

After Naruto’s Inner Demon incident heightened Konoha’s urgency to find Orochimaru, Shinji learned that Naruto had fled and ordered Yakumo to prioritize his safety over recovering the other half of the Nine-Tails. He restored Yakumo’s Red Dragon Eye and warned Ido to follow her orders during the mission.

• Tsunade assembled an elite team led by Jiraiya to search for Orochimaru and requested help from the other great ninja villages.
• Shinji received an order requiring his Military Police Force to contribute someone to Jiraiya’s team and wondered why the village had chosen his newly formed unit.
• Shinji contacted Yakumo and learned that Naruto had been controlled by his Inner Demon and had secretly fled on the way back to Konoha.
• Shinji gave Yakumo the Red Dragon Eye and ordered her to protect Naruto, telling her not to concern herself with Orochimaru’s half of the Nine-Tails.
• After Shinji transplanted the Red Dragon Eye into Yakumo, Ido recovered her strength and promised to get revenge on Naruto’s Inner Demon.
• Shinji warned Ido not to act independently and ordered her to obey Yakumo during the operation.

Shinji prepared for the search for Orochimaru while secretly sending Karin and Haku to capture Naruto, who was controlled by the Inner Demon. As Konoha’s elite squad departed, Orochimaru began using his backup plan: sacrificing people to summon more Impure World Bodies.

• Shinji decided that Sasuke should join Jiraiya’s squad to confront Orochimaru and that Karin was the only one who could safely bring back Naruto.
• Jiraiya led an elite squad that included Yakumo, Sasuke, Kakashi, and talented shinobi from several villages, while Ringo Ameyuri challenged Sasuke about his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• After the squad left, Karin and Haku followed Shinji’s orders to leave the village and capture Naruto, leaving Shadow Clones behind.
• In the Land of Rice Fields, Orochimaru and Kabuto opened a chamber containing 178 stolen sets of remains, and Orochimaru ordered Kabuto to gather enough sacrifices for more Impure World summonings.

Scorpion and Deidara followed Kabuto Yakushi to an underground palace, believing Orochimaru was recovering there. Orochimaru revealed the palace was a trap and unleashed an army of Impure World Bodies against them.

• Scorpion and Deidara arrived in the Land of Rice Fields and followed Scorpion’s intel to find Orochimaru.
• Kabuto Yakushi guided Scorpion and Deidara toward the underground palace, claiming Orochimaru was injured and recovering inside.
• Scorpion realized that 'A' and his crew were also targeting Orochimaru, so he and Deidara hurried to the palace.
• Scorpion and Deidara entered the underground palace and found Orochimaru waiting for them.
• Orochimaru raised coffins from the floor and ordered the Impure World Bodies to attack Scorpion and Deidara.

Scorpion and Deidara escaped Orochimaru’s underground trap, sealed the regenerating Impure World Bodies, and faced Orochimaru as he summoned three coffins. Elsewhere, Juzo Biwa and Itachi headed toward the battle, while Menma sensed a powerful surge of Nine-Tails Chakra west of the Land of Hot Water.

• Scorpion and Deidara fought off the Impure World Bodies and destroyed Orochimaru’s underground palace with Explosive Clay while sheltering beneath Iron Sand.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi escaped the blast, and Scorpion’s Fourth Kazekage Human Puppet sealed dozens of the recovering Impure World Bodies in gold sand.
• Scorpion accused Orochimaru of being behind the trap, and Orochimaru summoned coffins marked First, Second, and Fourth.
• Juzo Biwa and Itachi heard the explosion and set off toward the rendezvous point to find their target.
• Menma sensed a powerful surge of Nine-Tails Chakra to the west and suspected it came from the Land of Rice Fields.

Scorpion and Deidara launched a series of powerful attacks against Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, but Kabuto detected Deidara’s C4: Garuda and helped them survive. With their strongest opening attacks unsuccessful, Orochimaru judged that he could win by dragging the battle out.

• The First Hokage’s Wood Release initially overpowered Scorpion’s sand, but Scorpion used the Fourth Kazekage Human Puppet’s Gold Dust Burial to break through the forest sea while the Third Kazekage Human Puppet attacked Orochimaru with Iron Sand.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi retreated from the advancing Gold Dust and Iron Sand, giving Deidara an opening to launch C4: Garuda.
• Kabuto Yakushi sensed the microscopic bombs and warned Orochimaru, who summoned a giant snake before Kabuto used Senjutsu: Inorganic Reincarnation to shield them inside a stone sphere.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto survived C4: Garuda, while Scorpion and Deidara grew frustrated that their opening attacks had failed.
• Orochimaru concluded that Scorpion and Deidara needed a quick victory and that he could defeat them by prolonging the fight.

Kabuto and Orochimaru survived Deidara’s C4 by sealing themselves inside a stone sphere, then Orochimaru sent the First, Second, and Fourth Hokage’s Impure World Bodies after Scorpion and Deidara. Scorpion trapped the Fourth Hokage’s marked kunai in a magnetic field, but the Fourth Hokage suddenly appeared directly in front of him.

• Kabuto opened the stone sphere, and he and Orochimaru escaped Deidara’s C4 microbombs after nearly suffocating inside.
• Orochimaru ordered the First, Second, and Fourth Hokage’s Impure World Bodies to attack Scorpion, who used the Fourth Kazekage puppet’s Magnet Release to hold back the First Hokage’s Wood Release.
• The Fourth Hokage used Flying Thunder God and a Rasengan to destroy Scorpion’s Hiruko Puppet, though the puppet’s tail pierced his regenerating body.
• The Second Hokage used Water Severing Wave to cut Deidara’s Clay Bird and nearly strike him, forcing Deidara to create another bird and retreat into the sky.
• Scorpion formed four Iron Sand pillars and used their magnetic field to capture the Fourth Hokage’s marked kunai, but the Fourth Hokage appeared in front of him.

The Fourth Hokage struck Scorpion with a Rasengan, forcing him to transfer his flesh core into a spare body, while Itachi ambushed Orochimaru with Amaterasu. Orochimaru survived and reappeared behind Itachi as the fighting continued.

• The Fourth Hokage used a Flying Thunder God formula on a fragment of Hiruko to bypass Scorpion’s magnetic field and hit him with a Rasengan.
• Scorpion pieced together his shattered puppet body long enough to transfer his flesh core into a spare body, then praised the Fourth Hokage.
• Itachi Uchiha attacked Orochimaru with Amaterasu while Kabuto Yakushi escaped the flames and fought Juzo Biwa.
• Itachi watched Juzo Biwa and Kabuto battle, then dodged Orochimaru’s snake attack by scattering into crows.
• Orochimaru emerged from the shadows behind Itachi and asked how he had known the Amaterasu attack had not killed him.

Itachi and the Akatsuki joined the battle against Orochimaru, but Orochimaru’s forces withdrew before the stalemate could be broken. Konoha’s elite squad learned Orochimaru’s location and headed toward him, while Sasuke prepared to settle his grudges.

• Itachi confronted Orochimaru and demanded the Nine-Tails, then recognized Orochimaru’s appearance as a Shadow Clone.
• Orochimaru ordered a retreat; Kabuto Yakushi, the First, the Second, and the Fourth escaped the battlefield using summons, Wood Release, and the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Scorpion and Deidara regrouped with Itachi and Juzo Biwa, learned Orochimaru had used a costly snake-like Substitution Technique to survive Itachi’s Amaterasu, and planned to attack again after Hiruko and Ranmaru arrived.
• Jiraiya received intelligence locating Orochimaru in the Land of Rice Fields and shared it with Kakashi and Konoha’s elite squad.
• Sasuke vowed to settle his grudges against Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi.

Jiraiya’s squad intercepted Orochimaru and Kabuto as they fled toward the Land of Fire, leaving Jiraiya to chase Orochimaru while the others confronted Kabuto. Kabuto summoned powerful Impure World Bodies against the elite squad, whose members recognized several figures as the coffins opened.

• Orochimaru and Kabuto fled south while the Akatsuki Organization pursued them from the sky.
• Kabuto sensed a large force ahead, and Jiraiya’s squad appeared to block their path.
• Kabuto offered to hold off the squad while Orochimaru escaped, and Jiraiya pursued Orochimaru alone.
• Sasuke challenged Kabuto, but Kakashi warned him not to act recklessly as Ringo Ameyuri, Darui, and Kurotsuchi also prepared to fight.
• Kabuto summoned Impure World Bodies, and the elite squad reacted with shock and anger as the coffin lids opened and revealed familiar faces.

Yakushi Kabuto sent more than a dozen Impure World Bodies to fight the elite unit, then fled while the shinobi battled their former comrades. Jiraiya pursued the wounded Orochimaru, who rejected his plea to return to Konoha and regarded their former bond as long gone.

• Kabuto summoned Impure World Bodies including Hozuki Mangetsu, Gari, Toroi, and Dan Katō, and the elite unit recognized shinobi from their villages among them.
• Kabuto fled toward Orochimaru, while the Impure World Bodies attacked and blocked Ringo, Kurotsuchi, and the others from pursuing him.
• The elite unit split up to fight the Impure World Bodies in the forest, with Ringo facing Mangetsu, Darui facing Toroi, Kurotsuchi facing Gari, and Kakashi facing Dan.
• Deidara and Scorpion observed the battle from the sky, confirmed Orochimaru was not there, and continued searching for him.
• Jiraiya chased the injured Orochimaru and urged him to turn back, but Orochimaru refused to abandon his ambitions and considered Jiraiya and their former comrades strangers.

Kabuto Yakushi took control of Dan Katō's Impure World Body and used the Spirit Transformation Technique to attack Konoha's shinobi. After knocking Muta Aburame and Might Guy unconscious, the Spirit Body left Tokuma Hyuga facing the threat alone.

• Might Guy split Dan Katō's Impure World Body in two, giving Kakashi a chance to attempt a sealing jutsu.
• Kabuto Yakushi took control of Dan Katō's body, evaded Kakashi's seal, and sent out a Spirit Body.
• The Spirit Body struck Muta Aburame, leaving his restrained opponent free.
• Might Guy defeated two Impure World Bodies while Tokuma Hyuga prepared to seal them.
• Tokuma Hyuga dodged the Spirit Body's attack, but it slipped past Might Guy's guard and knocked him unconscious.

Ringo Ameyuri, Tokuma Hyuga, and Darui fled from a dangerous Spirit Body and regrouped with their allies to find a way to fight it. The Spirit Body then possessed Kurotsuchi and Tokuma Hyuga, leaving both unconscious.

• Ringo Ameyuri defeated Hozuki Mangetsu and prepared to seal him, but fled when she saw a white shadow pursuing Tokuma Hyuga.
• Ringo Ameyuri and Tokuma Hyuga met Darui, who had defeated and sealed Toroi, and warned him that a Spirit Body was chasing them.
• The group joined Kurotsuchi, Yakumo, Ryūsetsuna, and Chiyo, then decided to face the Spirit Body together.
• An Impure World Body attacked from underground, and after Ringo Ameyuri cut it down, its white shadow possessed Kurotsuchi.
• Possessed Kurotsuchi attacked the group with Earth Release and collapsed, then the Spirit Body possessed the injured Tokuma Hyuga, who also lost consciousness.

Dan Katō’s spirit overwhelmed the allied squad, knocking out Kurotsuchi, Tokuma Hyuga, and Tsume Inuzuka before fleeing Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan. Yakumo realized Ido could stop the spirit but feared that letting her act would expose her Akatsuki identity.

• Dan Katō’s spirit attacked Kurotsuchi and Tokuma Hyuga, leaving them unconscious, while Yakumo warned the squad that their enemy was a spirit.
• Ryūsetsuna shielded Chiyo as the group searched for the spirit, and Kakashi arrived with Sasuke and Tsume Inuzuka after sealing Dan Katō’s body.
• Yakumo explained that the spirit had entered Kurotsuchi and Tokuma’s mindscapes, but Dan Katō’s spirit then possessed Tsume and attacked Sasuke.
• Dan Katō’s spirit sensed a threat from Sasuke’s Mangekyō Sharingan and fled, while Kakashi explained that Impure World Reincarnation let it rapidly recover its Chakra.
• Yakumo considered asking Ido, who was confident she could defeat the spirit with the Red Dragon Eye, to intervene despite the risk of exposing her identity as Akatsuki’s D.

Yakumo drew Dan Katō’s Spirit Body into her body and, with Ido’s help, instantly eliminated it, saving the squad from the attack. Kabuto Yakushi lost contact with Dan Katō and realized that Kurama Yakumo could subdue powerful Spirit Bodies.

• Kakashi assessed the squad’s losses and warned that five members had already been incapacitated by Dan Katō’s Spirit Body.
• Yakumo asked Ido for help, then called everyone close and claimed her dōjutsu could locate the enemy Spirit Body.
• Dan Katō targeted Yakumo and invaded her body, but Ido defeated the Spirit Body before it could take control.
• Yakumo reassured the squad, passed Kakashi’s password check, and let everyone believe her dōjutsu had protected her.
• Kabuto Yakushi lost contact with Dan Katō and concluded that Yakumo could instantly subdue a powerful Spirit Body.

After Dan Katō's spirit attack left several squad members unconscious, Yakumo reflected on Ido's power as the injured began to recover. The squad gained reinforcements from Kumogakure and awaited Iwagakure, while Kakashi recognized that both villages were likely pursuing Kabuto Yakushi to learn the secrets of Senjutsu.

• Yakumo recalled how Ido had suppressed Dan Katō's spirit, freeing him from Kabuto Yakushi's control before he returned to the underworld.
• Kurotsuchi and the other injured squad members woke up, learned they had been attacked by a spirit, and vowed to pursue Kabuto Yakushi.
• Kurotsuchi and Ringo Ameyuri dismissed Kabuto Yakushi as a coward, while Kakashi warned the squad not to underestimate him.
• Kakashi spotted an approaching force, and Darui explained that the Raikage had sent a Kumogakure army as reinforcements.
• Kurotsuchi said Iwagakure reinforcements were also coming, and Kakashi suspected both villages wanted to capture Kabuto Yakushi to study Senjutsu.

Kakashi’s allied forces and the Akatsuki searched the Land of Rice Fields for Orochimaru, only to discover that Kabuto had been impersonating him. After Kabuto escaped and Sasuke pursued Itachi, the factions split up to chase their targets.

• Kakashi’s divisions searched the forest for Orochimaru while Yakumo questioned Kabuto’s absence and Kakashi worried about Jiraiya’s disappearance.
• Itachi and Juzo Biwa confronted the apparent Orochimaru and demanded the Nine-Tails, while Sasuke arrived and challenged Itachi.
• The apparent Orochimaru vanished, revealing Kabuto, who admitted through his escape that he had lured both factions and engineered the encounter between Sasuke and Itachi.
• Itachi and Juzo left on their Clay Bird, and Sasuke chased after them despite Kakashi’s warning.
• Kakashi, Yakumo, and the Konoha ninja pursued Sasuke, while Kurotsuchi and Darui led the Iwagakure and Kumogakure ninja after Kabuto.