Chapter Summaries

Chiyo nearly defeated Kakuzu while Ryūsetsuna fought Satori, leaving the arriving allies stunned by how badly the Akatsuki had been beaten. As Kakuzu began to recover, forces from several villages converged on the battlefield to confront the Box of Paradise turmoil.

• Chiyo used blood bombs and her Blood Blade to destroy Kakuzu's hearts, leaving only his Wind-aligned heart intact.
• Ranmaru arrived, followed by Yakumo, Ringo Ameyuri, Chojuro, Darui, and the others, and they found Chiyo and Ryūsetsuna dominating the battle.
• Chiyo detonated blood she had left inside Kakuzu, blasting him apart before he could warn the newcomers, but his tendrils began piecing him back together.
• Deidara and Kurotsuchi appeared overhead, Kakashi's shinobi reinforcements arrived, and a Kusagakure squad led by Ryūran and including Mui reached the battlefield to address the Box of Paradise turmoil.

Ryūran, Ryūsetsuna, and Mui sealed Satori and reunited Muku with his father, but Upper Moon One suddenly stabbed Muku and severed Mui’s arm. The allied forces’ apparent victory turned into a fresh crisis as Upper Moon One began feeding on Muku’s fear.

• Ryūsetsuna struck Satori down, and Mui bound it with the Great Fire Prison sealing technique.
• Satori collapsed, leaving Muku behind, and Mui and Ryūsetsuna urged him to return to the village.
• As the allied forces celebrated and Ranmaru considered retreating, Upper Moon One suddenly stabbed Muku.
• Ryūran pulled Ryūsetsuna away while Mui attacked Upper Moon One, who cut off Mui’s arm with a single sword swing.
• Upper Moon One placed a hand on Muku’s head and declared that he would gladly accept Muku’s fear.

Tanjiro, now Upper Moon One, ambushed the forces surrounding Muku and began absorbing him before summoning the Infinite Castle. The Allied Forces and Akatsuki halted their battle and rushed to the castle to rescue their people and seize Muku.

• Tanjiro appeared behind Muku, severed Mui’s arm, and began absorbing Muku while revealing a face marked Upper Moon Three on the back of his head.
• Ryūsetsuna attacked Tanjiro with Ghost Lantern, while Yakumo and Ranmaru tried to pull Muku away using Wood Release and Shadow Release.
• Tanjiro played his Blood Demon Art, Infinite Castle, and transported the nearby shinobi and Akatsuki members into the castle.
• News of Upper Moon One’s return and the castle’s reappearance reached the main battlefield, prompting both sides to stop fighting and head there.
• The Allied Forces and Akatsuki went to rescue their own people and take Muku, hoping to use his power against the other side.

The allied forces and Akatsuki reached an impossibly vast Infinite Castle and hesitated to enter, while inside Tanjiro fought through the ninja trying to stop him from absorbing the unconscious Muku. The chapter left Tanjiro pierced and engulfed in lightning after Darui, Chojuro, and Ringo Ameyuri ambushed him.

• Kakashi learned that the allied forces had suffered heavy losses and ordered the Intelligence Squad to report that the Infinite Castle was far larger than expected.
• The Ninja Village Allied Forces and the Akatsuki Organization stopped outside the castle, puzzled by its scale and unsure whether to enter.
• Inside the castle, Tanjiro killed numerous ninja and moved toward the unconscious Muku, intent on absorbing him.
• Darui struck Tanjiro with Black Lightning while Chojuro attacked with Hiramekarei, but Tanjiro blocked Chojuro's blow despite being paralyzed.
• Ringo Ameyuri stabbed Tanjiro from behind with Lightning Fang and unleashed powerful Lightning Release Ninjutsu through the blades.

Tanjiro emerged in Grass Country and overwhelmed the allied shinobi forces, killing Ringo Ameyuri and Chojuro and critically wounding Darui before Ryūsetsuna intervened. As the Five Kage received news of the attack, Shinji suspected the Overlord’s influence had drawn Tanjiro back into the conflict.

• Darui, Chojuro, and Ringo Ameyuri’s sneak attack failed when Tanjiro recovered from his injuries and revealed his Curse Mark and Breathing Technique.
• Tanjiro killed Ringo Ameyuri and Chojuro, then fought Darui and pierced his stomach with his sword.
• Ryūsetsuna sent Tanjiro crashing through several walls, and Yakumo and Chiyo arrived to help Darui as Tanjiro approached.
• A communications shinobi reported the upheaval in Grass Country to the Five Kage, who heard that Tanjiro’s strength and the Infinite Castle had grown.
• Shinji lost contact with Yakumo through Naobi and suspected that the Overlord’s influence had prompted Tanjiro’s return.

Shinji prepared to investigate whether Tanjiro had been corrupted by the Overlord and left Konoha to track down Orochimaru, leaving Sasuke in charge of the village. After Neji and Kimimaro destroyed the Sky Ninja fleet, Shinji ordered them to the front line between Grass Country and Rain Country.

• Shinji concluded that he needed to confirm whether Tanjiro had been corrupted by the Overlord before taking action against him.
• Shinji took Nameless and Karin to search for Orochimaru and assigned Sasuke to guard Konoha and the Military Police Force building.
• Neji and Kimimaro destroyed the Sky Ninja fleet off the eastern coast of Land of Fire.
• Shinji contacted Neji and Kimimaro through Naobi and ordered them to head to the front line between Grass Country and Rain Country.
• Neji, Kimimaro, and the "H" inside them prepared for the coming battle as they traveled to the front line.

Yakumo, Ryūsetsuna, Chiyo, and Ranmaru struggled against Tanjiro, the overwhelming Upper Moon One, while trying to prevent him from reaching Muku. Deidara’s explosive attack then devastated the battlefield, leaving the surviving fighters scattered among the ruins.

• Tanjiro sent Chiyo flying and broke Ryūsetsuna’s Kunai with his crimson Nichirin Blade, forcing her to retreat with a shallow wound.
• Yakumo warned the others that Tanjiro’s speed and perception were abnormal, while she stayed to protect the trapped ninja and keep him from merging with Muku.
• Ranmaru tried to carry Muku away using Shadow Release, but Tanjiro saw through the technique and wounded him, prompting Ranmaru to join the fight.
• Yakumo, Ryūsetsuna, Chiyo, Ranmaru, and the injured Darui continued battling Tanjiro as their forces dwindled and the former enemies joined forces.
• Deidara’s clay bird exploded over Tanjiro, leveling the surrounding streets as Yakumo, Ryūsetsuna, Chiyo, and Ranmaru rescued Ringo Ameyuri, Chojuro, Darui, and Muku.

Tanjiro overwhelmed the fighters inside the Infinite Castle, forcing its trapped occupants and the arriving Akatsuki members to join forces against him. As the battle turned desperate, Deidara planted Clay Bombs inside Muku, preparing to use him against Tanjiro.

• Upper Moon One survived Deidara's explosion and rapidly regenerated, while Tanjiro searched for Muku and charged Ranmaru.
• Ranmaru, Yakumo, Ryūsetsuna, and Chiyo attacked Tanjiro, while the explosion alerted Kurenai, Might Guy, Kakashi, and the Akatsuki members outside the Infinite Castle.
• Itachi led the Akatsuki members into the Infinite Castle, and Kakashi followed with an elite force from the Ninja Village Allied Forces.
• Tanjiro gravely wounded Ranmaru and pushed the defenders back, prompting medical ninjas to restore Hidan and Kakuzu to the fight.
• Deidara approached Muku, pried open his belly, and stuffed it with Clay Bombs while Ryūran and Mui watched.

Tanjiro continued fighting despite the combined attacks of the shinobi, while his strange power made many of them feel fear and lose strength. Yakumo restrained him with Wood Release and a Four Symbols Seal, but the Allied Forces and Akatsuki reinforcements arrived, leaving Kakashi wary of a renewed fight between the two sides.

• Chiyo, Ryūsetsuna, Kakuzu, Darui, Yakumo, and Hidan attacked Tanjiro, but he recovered from their injuries and resisted Hidan’s Blood-Death Possession.
• Ranmaru and Yakumo sensed an unusual power around Tanjiro, while several fighters admitted they felt guilty and weakened in his presence.
• Kakuzu and Yakumo realized fear was sapping their strength, and Deidara’s lack of fear helped them identify the cause.
• Yakumo used Wood Release and the Four Symbols Seal to bind Tanjiro.
• The Ninja Village Allied Forces and Akatsuki reinforcements arrived, and Scorpion claimed he would take Tanjiro as Kakashi anticipated the factions might resume fighting.

Tanjiro ignited the Overlord’s power, breaking free of the ninjas’ restraints and using the Infinite Castle to bring Muku to him so he could absorb him. Deidara’s bomb inside Muku detonated before Tanjiro could complete the absorption, and the blast gave the scattered fighters a chance to regroup for a larger battle.

• Tanjiro unleashed his Chakra and demonic power, breaking Yakumo’s Wood Release and Four Symbols Seal restraints as the ninjas tried to stop him.
• Ranmaru realized that Muku was Tanjiro’s target and urged the others to take Muku away.
• Tanjiro used the Infinite Castle to transport Muku to him and reached out to absorb him.
• Deidara’s Clay Bomb inside Muku exploded, engulfing Muku and Tanjiro and blasting away the surrounding chaos.
• The ninjas regrouped around the explosion, and the Akatsuki members and Ninja Village Allied Forces began another fierce battle.

The Five Kage sent more reinforcements to the Grass Country camp, giving Obito and Zetsu a chance to consider exploiting the weakened headquarters. In the Infinite Castle, Tanjiro’s power began to wane as the surviving ninja and Akatsuki members suffered devastating losses.

• Tsunade urged the Five Kage to send reinforcements to the Grass Country after the Infinite Castle appeared, and they voted to dispatch another large force.
• Zetsu watched allied ninja leave headquarters, then told Obito that only around ten to fifteen thousand fighters might remain there.
• Obito worried that Nagato was slipping out of his control and resisted Zetsu’s suggestion to use a powerful person’s abilities.
• Zetsu told Obito that Upper Moon One had attacked Muku, the Infinite Castle had appeared, and Itachi had entered it with the other organization members.
• Inside the Infinite Castle, Tanjiro’s Chakra and strength weakened after his Overlord power left him severely injured.
• Hidan, Kakuzu, Juzo Biwa, Scorpion, Deidara, and Hiruko were left badly injured or exhausted after the battle with Tanjiro.

Tanjiro’s power fed on the fear of the fighters surrounding him, weakening both the Akatsuki Organization and the Ninja Village Allied Forces. After the Akatsuki members briefly wounded him, Tanjiro rushed toward the badly injured allied forces, leaving them in immediate danger.

• Yakumo assessed the allied forces’ devastating casualties and realized almost no one had enough strength left to keep fighting.
• Scorpion timed Tanjiro’s regeneration, while Hiruko and Itachi concluded that Tanjiro absorbed fear and that the force’s numbers were weakening them.
• Yakumo explained to Kakashi that fear spread through larger groups, and Kakashi concluded that only a few powerful or fearless fighters should face Tanjiro.
• Tanjiro attacked the Akatsuki Organization, but Hiruko bound his legs with Iron Sand and pierced his chest with Storm Release.
• Tanjiro broke free, shattered Hiruko’s Susanoo, and then lunged toward the wounded Ninja Village Allied Forces.

Tanjiro nearly reached the unconscious Muku, but Kakashi rescued him with Kamui, forcing Tanjiro to flee the Infinite Castle. After the battered forces withdrew and Shinji ordered Ido to follow Tanjiro, the exhausted demon stopped in Earth Country to recover and was confronted by an unknown voice.

• Tanjiro broke through the barrier and attacked the wounded, then wounded Mui and moved to absorb Muku.
• Kakashi used Kamui to send Muku out of Tanjiro’s reach, and Tanjiro dispelled the Infinite Castle before fleeing.
• The Ninja Village Allied Forces treated their wounded while the Akatsuki Organization retreated on Hiruko’s Chimera.
• Yakumo reported the battle to Shinji, who ordered Ido to follow Tanjiro and said he must die.
• After fleeing for a day into Earth Country, Tanjiro stopped to seek food and Chakra, but a mocking voice told him he would not get the chance.

Orochimaru confronted the weakened Tanjiro and revealed that his body carried a trace of demon-derived modification fluid. When Tanjiro regained his strength, Orochimaru summoned the four Hokage to fight him and sealed them together inside a barrier.

• Orochimaru emerged before Tanjiro, who recognized a demon's scent on him and accused him of being the Lantern Bearer.
• Tanjiro released a surge of black smoke and recovered his strength, becoming even stronger than he had been at his peak.
• Orochimaru summoned the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage with Impure World Reincarnation and released their mental restraints.
• Orochimaru warned the Hokage that Tanjiro fed on fear, but Tanjiro sensed no fear from the four revived Hokage.
• Kabuto Yakushi, Jugo, Guren, and Tayuya formed the Four Violet Flames Formation, trapping Tanjiro and the four Hokage inside a purple barrier.

The four Hokage fought Tanjiro inside the Four Violet Flames Formation, adapting their tactics to counter his regeneration and the Overlord’s power. They ended the chapter unleashing a massive chain of explosions around him while Orochimaru’s allies struggled to keep the barrier intact.

• The Third used Explosive Tags against Tanjiro, while the Second severed his sword arm and the Fourth used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take away his Scarlet Blade.
• The First bound Tanjiro with Wood Release, but Tanjiro broke free with a burst of Chakra.
• The Third explained the demons’ regenerative abilities, and the Second proposed exhausting Tanjiro with repeated attacks.
• The Third restricted Tanjiro with Earth Release as the Fourth struck him with a Rasengan, then the Second used Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags.
• The Third and Fourth added Wind Release to intensify the explosions, forcing Orochimaru to order Kabuto Yakushi, Jugo, Guren, and Tayuya to reinforce the Four Violet Flames Formation.

As Tanjiro’s body began dissolving under the awakening Overlord’s power, his black smoke overwhelmed the explosions and Wind Release, forcing the Hokage to retreat. Hashirama used Senjutsu: Gate of the Great God to pin Tanjiro beneath a succession of torii gates, while Tanjiro continued to dissolve.

• Tanjiro’s black smoke suppressed the Second’s explosive tags and the Third and Fourth’s Wind Release, corroding the Second’s Impure World Body.
• Hashirama ordered the other Hokage to retreat and revealed that Tanjiro’s body was dissolving as the Overlord’s power awakened.
• Hashirama entered Sage Mode and summoned the Gate of the Great God, forcing Tanjiro to one knee beneath the first torii gate.
• Hashirama dropped more gates in succession, pinning Tanjiro to the ground as the black smoke corroded the gates and he replaced them.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto noted that the White Zetsu sacrifices had strengthened the reanimated Hokage, while Tanjiro’s form continued to blur.

Tanjiro burned away his memories, experience, and soul to resist the First's gates, but the Hokage restrained him with a Four Symbols Seal until his body exploded into black smoke. The smoke escaped the barrier and passed through Orochimaru, awakening his deepest fear before disappearing.

• Tanjiro sacrificed his memories, experience, and soul, corroding four Gates of the Great God as the First piled more gates on top of him.
• The First's Impure World Body began to crumble under the strain, and the Second, Third, and Fourth bound Tanjiro with a Four Symbols Seal.
• Tanjiro's remaining body exploded into black smoke, leading Orochimaru and the others to think the threat had ended.
• The black smoke passed through the Four Violet Flames Formation and Orochimaru before vanishing.
• Orochimaru recalled his defeat by Itachi Uchiha, as the Overlord used its remaining power to manifest his deepest fear.

After Orochimaru escaped the battlefield, Ido confirmed that Tanjiro had left no remains. A black-smoke figure of Uchiha Itachi then slaughtered a Ninja Village Allied Forces reconnaissance squad and set off after Orochimaru.

• Orochimaru found no sign that Upper Moon One had harmed him and fled with Kabuto Yakushi, Jugo, Guren, and Tayuya as the Ninja Village Allied Forces approached.
• Ido revealed that she had tracked Tanjiro for Shinji and searched the battlefield, finding no trace of his Spirit Body.
• A reconnaissance squad found the carbonized battlefield but no bodies or remains.
• Black smoke formed into Uchiha Itachi, who killed the squad with Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
• The fear-born Uchiha Itachi sensed Orochimaru's direction and pursued him with the goal of killing him.

The Five Kage approved Kakashi’s plan to hunt the weakened Upper Moon One, and Team Kakashi gathered in the Earth Country to search for him. There, Itachi intercepted Orochimaru, who prepared to fight for Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan.

• After hearing how Upper Moon One devastated the Allied Forces and the Akatsuki, the Five Kage approved Kakashi’s plan to monitor settlements and send an elite squad after him.
• Sasuke learned that Shinji had left Konoha to pursue Orochimaru, then joined Team Kakashi.
• Kakashi’s squad searched the Grass Country and suspected Upper Moon One had gone to the Earth Country.
• Team Kakashi met up with Sasuke in the Earth Country, where he eagerly anticipated fighting Upper Moon One.
• Itachi intercepted Orochimaru and Kabuto, ignored Kabuto’s warning, and faced Orochimaru’s threat to take his Mangekyō Sharingan.

Orochimaru fled from the fear-projection of Itachi Uchiha while Shinji watched through Naobi and considered using Orochimaru to test whether the manifestation could be killed. Shinji continued gathering strength to face the Overlord and prepare for a future battle over the Ten-Tails, as Neji and Maro joined him.

• Orochimaru retreated with Kabuto Yakushi, Guren, and Tayuya after the Itachi Uchiha pursuing him proved too strong to confront.
• Orochimaru recalled how the real Itachi had once trapped him in genjutsu and fueled his pursuit of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shinji watched Orochimaru's battle through Naobi and suspected the Overlord had mistaken Orochimaru for the Shinobi World's Lantern Bearer.
• Shinji decided that testing whether the manifested Itachi could be killed might help him eliminate the Overlord's infiltrated power.
• Shinji considered Nagato's unexplained delay and prepared to grow strong enough to fight for the Ten-Tails.
• Neji and Maro arrived in Rain Country and reported to Shinji.