Chapter Summaries

After a deadly attack on the caravan, Asuma suspected Konoha’s Root was responsible, while Shinji kept his knowledge of the attackers’ identities to himself. The group resumed its journey after reinforcements arrived, but news that the Sealed Land had been attacked revived the threat of Shion’s prophecy.

• Asuma returned to find heavy casualties and learned that Shion was unharmed, while he suspected Shinji or Sasuke had been the attackers’ real target.
• Sasuke, Neji, and Shinji found no useful clues at the battlefield, and Shinji treated the wounded with Medical Ninjutsu.
• Sasuke argued that the group had changed its fate by surviving the attack, though Shinji privately believed the prophesied calamity was still ahead.
• Asuma found only blood where Shinji had killed an attacker and decided to handle the matter himself, then ordered the group to camp and await reinforcements.
• Kurenai, Aoba Yamashiro, and two Konoha Chunin joined the caravan, which traveled safely out of the Land of Fire over the following days.
• A messenger reported that the Sealed Land had been attacked, and the leader of the Land of Demons urged the group to return Shion quickly.

Asuma’s convoy reached the Land of Bears and was trapped in a canyon ambush by the Yellow Springs Cult, whose leader had released Moryo and gained its enormous Chakra. Shinji and Sasuke faced the cult as the convoy prepared to fight.

• Asuma and the others discussed Moryo, the Yellow Springs Cult, and the strength of Shinji, Sasuke, and their companions while traveling toward the Land of Demons.
• Asuma stopped at a canyon, but the Land of Demons’ leader urged the convoy onward; Shinji asked Neji to scan the cliffs for an ambush.
• Neji spotted Explosive Tags, and Asuma shielded the convoy with an Earth-Style Rampart as explosions sent rocks crashing down and blocked both exits.
• The Yellow Springs Cult’s leader appeared with dozens of followers, and Neji sensed that the leader carried more Chakra than Naruto.
• The cult leader used purple-black tentacles to feed Moryo’s Chakra to his followers, then called for Shion; Shinji challenged the cult, and Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

The Yellow Springs Cult ambushed the convoy, and its leader unleashed Moryo, whose power overwhelmed the canyon with giant tentacles and regenerating stone warriors. Shinji escaped with Shion using her miko-powered artifact, while a pursuing Root ninja was trapped and overwhelmed.

• Asuma led the convoy’s counterattack while Kurenai guarded Shion, Aoba Yamashiro protected Sasuke, and Shinji fought cultists in the canyon.
• The Yellow Springs Cult leader attacked Asuma with regenerating tentacles and inflicted despair on him, but Kakashi arrived and pierced the leader’s chest with Chidori.
• The wounded cult leader transformed as Moryo emerged in enormous tentacles, and stone warriors burst from the canyon walls.
• Shinji carried the terrified Shion out of the canyon with Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Neji, while Kurenai and Aoba Yamashiro covered their escape.
• A black-robed Root ninja confronted Shinji in the woods, but Shinji left him behind when stone warriors surrounded them and used Shion’s bell-shaped artifact to cut a path toward her.
• The artifact’s power prevented the stone warriors from regenerating, but the Root ninja’s attacks failed to stop them, and they swallowed him.

Shinji’s real body returned after completing the fusion of his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and saved Sasuke from the Yellow Springs Cult leader. Shion’s sealed memories resurfaced, and she recognized that the Shinji with the group was a Shadow Clone.

• Shinji reached the clearing and treated Sasuke’s severe abdominal wound while Neji and Kimimaro defended the group.
• A dark-purple tentacle struck Shinji, but Shion’s bell artifact shielded him; the attack awakened Sasuke’s Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• The Yellow Springs Cult leader appeared, shrugged off Konoha’s explosive attack, and declared that everyone would die.
• Sasuke charged the cult leader, but Shinji’s real body arrived and used Susanoo to tear off the tentacle threatening him.
• Sasuke recognized Shinji’s Mangekyo Sharingan, while Shion’s sealed memories returned and revealed that she knew the group’s Shinji was a Shadow Clone.

Shinji fought the Yellow Springs Cult leader with his Susanoo and used Izanagi to glimpse possible outcomes, learning that the enemy was fused with Moryo and could not be killed by ordinary attacks. He engulfed the leader and Moryo’s tentacles in Amaterasu, but the chapter ended before the flames’ effect was known.

• Shion recognized Shinji’s Shadow Clone and silently promised to keep his identity secret.
• The Yellow Springs Cult leader unleashed countless dark-purple tentacles, forcing Kakashi and the others to retreat while Shinji’s Susanoo battled them.
• Shinji’s Susanoo grew armor and a golden sword, and he used Izanagi to learn that the leader had merged with Moryo and would survive being smashed apart.
• Shinji discovered that ordinary genjutsu could not stop the leader and that Amaterasu could burn Moryo’s tentacles without killing it.
• Shinji activated Amaterasu, engulfing the Yellow Springs Cult leader and his tentacles in Black Flame.

Shinji overwhelmed the Yellow Springs Cult leader and Mōryō with Amaterasu, but Obito arrived and rescued them before Shinji could finish the fight. In Kamui’s space, Obito recruited Mōryō to his faction amid the Akatsuki Organization’s internal conflict, while Konoha’s ninja wondered who the masked Uchiha was.

• Shinji burned the Yellow Springs Cult leader and Mōryō with Amaterasu, leaving them badly injured as the Konoha group watched.
• Neji sensed that the Yellow Springs Cult leader was still alive, and Shinji approached him after extinguishing the flames.
• Obito appeared, took the Yellow Springs Cult leader into Kamui’s space, and avoided fighting Shinji before disappearing.
• Shinji left the battlefield, and Kakashi and the other Konoha ninja discussed the masked Uchiha’s identity and the Akatsuki Organization’s other Mangekyō users.
• In Kamui’s space, Obito revealed that an internal disagreement in the Akatsuki Organization had disrupted Mōryō’s plans and asked for his strength.
• Mōryō agreed to join Obito’s side after Obito promised to help him obtain the Miko’s power.

After the convoy reached the Land of Demons, Shinji explained that Shion’s death prophecy had been unreliable because her shrine maiden power was suppressed, then sealed her memories again. Back in his room, he assessed his newly acquired Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and considered how to gain more Dojutsu slots and eventually evolve his eyes further.

• The convoy reached the Land of Demons safely, and Sasuke showed off his newly awakened Three-Tomoe Sharingan while claiming Shinji should focus on awakening his own eyes.
• Shinji returned Shion’s bell artifact and explained that her suppressed power had made her prophecy inaccurate; he then sealed her memories with genjutsu.
• Shinji returned to his room and found that his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan no longer caused pain, bleeding, or vision loss when he used its Dojutsu.
• Shinji determined that Susanoo Lamp could hold five Dojutsu slots, with Susanoo itself using none, and that Amaterasu and Izanagi filled his two temporary slots.
• Shinji considered pursuing more powerful eyes and combining Dojutsu bloodlines, while recognizing that awakening the Rinnegan was premature.

After recovering from Moryo’s attack, the Konoha ninja investigated the Yellow Springs Cult and prepared to escort Shion to Konoha, while Shinji considered using Neji to learn how the Hyuga contacted the moon. Elsewhere, Obito recruited Shinnō and paired him with Moryo to help complete the Zero-Tails.

• Kakashi and the Konoha ninja found the Sealed Land’s coffin damaged, but their search for the vanished Yellow Springs Cult produced no clues, so they planned to report to the Hokage.
• The Land of Demons decided to send Shion to Konoha for safety, bringing scrolls and manuals of the Miko’s sealing techniques; Shinji noticed Neji’s interest and considered exploiting it to investigate the Hyuga’s link to the moon.
• Shion insisted that Shinji accompany her because his presence made her feel safe, leaving him uneasy about the reason.
• In the Land of Hot Water, Kakuzu and Hidan failed to find Shinnō and decided to search for bounties while continuing to seek him.
• Obito and Moryo found Shinnō’s hideout and the infant Zero-Tails, then offered to help complete it in exchange for Shinnō joining the Akatsuki.
• Shinnō accepted, and Obito assigned him and Moryo to work together under Zetsu’s contact while warning them not to trust other Akatsuki members.

Obito and Zetsu investigated the Uchiha survivors and Akatsuki’s growing influence, while Kakashi reported the demon incident and Root’s attack to the Third Hokage. Konoha invited every shinobi village to discuss Akatsuki, and the chapter ended with the great villages reacting to the news as Deidara and Scorpion searched for Hiruko’s hideout.

• Obito ordered Zetsu to watch Shinnō and investigate the two Mangekyō Sharingan users Nagato had recruited, then learned Sasuke had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and told Zetsu to monitor him.
• Kakashi reported Moryo’s escape and Akatsuki’s involvement to the Third Hokage, who reviewed a list of known members and learned that five more had appeared during the battle.
• Kakashi urged the Third Hokage to unite the villages against Akatsuki, and the Hokage sent invitations to every village.
• Kakashi reported that Sasuke had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and that Shinji and Sasuke had defeated Root attackers targeting them; the Third Hokage told Kakashi to watch Sasuke and said he would handle Root.
• The Fourth Mizukage, Fourth Raikage, Fourth Kazekage, and Third Tsuchikage reacted to Konoha’s invitation and reports about Akatsuki, while Deidara and Scorpion searched for Hiruko’s hideout.

Deidara and Scorpion pursued Hiruko across several countries and forced him to join the Akatsuki Organization, while their battle accidentally killed the Kusagakure Elder. The Kusagakure survivors blamed the Akatsuki, and Konoha’s leaders prepared for a meeting with the villages to discuss how to deal with the organization.

• Deidara and Scorpion chased Hiruko’s flying Giant Fusion Beast from Bird Country into Grass Country, where Deidara attacked it with explosive Clay Birds.
• Falling explosive feathers killed members of the Kusagakure delegation, and the damaged Giant Fusion Beast crashed near them.
• Scorpion told Hiruko the Akatsuki Organization wanted to recruit him, and Hiruko agreed to join while reserving a condition for the leader.
• After Scorpion and Deidara departed, Hiruko repaired his Giant Fusion Beast and followed them, while the Kusagakure survivors decided to claim the Akatsuki had deliberately ambushed them.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura reported that several villages would attend Konoha’s discussions, and Danzo urged the leaders to destroy the Akatsuki Organization.

After returning from the Land of Demons, Shinji tested how Magatsu interacted with Karin’s chakra and discovered that absorbing her Yang Release Chakra strengthened his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. He left the experiment considering how he could use this discovery to safely improve his body.

• At a barbecue gathering, Shion and Sasuke recounted their encounter with the monster and the mysterious Uchiha, while the students discussed the Akatsuki Organization.
• Shion’s friends urged her to stay in Konoha, and Sasuke promised to defeat the monster once he awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, leaving Neji discouraged by the gap in their power.
• After the gathering, Shinji used Naobi to summon Karin and asked her to cooperate in an experiment without resisting whatever happened.
• In a secluded grove, Shinji used Magatsu to draw Karin’s Yang Release Chakra and discovered that the chakra strengthened his Yin Release Chakra and Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan despite substantial transmission loss.
• Shinji concluded that absorbing Karin’s chakra could help him gain the benefits of White Zetsu Cells while reducing the risks of transplanting them or First Hokage cells.

Shinji discovered that Magatsu could transmit chakra to Karin, allowing their Yin and Yang Release Chakra to briefly enter a state of unification and further stimulate her fusion with White Zetsu Cells. He then considered restoring another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan to create a second Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and pursuing stronger chakra for both himself and Karin.

• Karin sensed Shinji extracting her chakra, while Shinji realized her high-quality Yang Release Chakra could help improve his Dojutsu.
• Shinji sent his Yin Release Chakra to Karin, stimulating her Uzumaki bloodline and White Zetsu Cells and smoothing the wrinkled skin around the transplant.
• Shinji explained yin-yang unification and the Power of All Things to Karin, then concluded that they lacked the chakra quality and fusion skill needed to obtain that power.
• Shinji decided to restore a ruined pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and use Susanoo Lamp to fuse two pairs into a second Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shinji considered using the second Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to strengthen his own Yin Release Chakra or help Karin prepare for a First Hokage cells transplant.

Shinji reflected on his plans to restore the ruined Mangekyō Sharingan and investigate the Akatsuki Organization before rescuing Neji from a deadly training accident. He told Neji that the Tenseigan was an evolved form of the Byakugan and hinted that the Hyuga Clan held a way to reach the moon.

• Shinji resolved to exchange Chakra with Karin regularly and restore the ruined Mangekyō Sharingan, while keeping Fugaku Uchiha's pair as a backup for Sasuke.
• Shinji wondered about the Akatsuki Organization's activities, unaware that his impersonation had fueled suspicion between Nagato and Obito and sparked secret recruitment.
• Neji trained against volleys of Kunai with Tenten and Rock Lee, pushed himself past exhaustion, and awakened Rotation when he was nearly struck.
• Shinji appeared in a golden Susanoo, shielded Neji from the Kunai, and used an illusion and precise Kunai strikes to stop Tenten and Rock Lee's equipment.
• Shinji praised Neji's potential and revealed that the Tenseigan was an evolved Byakugan whose secret lay on the moon; Neji concluded that the Hyuga Clan might hold a way to reach it.

Neji accepted the mysterious man's offer to pursue the Tenseigan, while Shinji considered how to obtain one. The Five Kage gathered in Konoha to discuss the Akatsuki Organization, and the summit began with the Fourth Raikage demanding action.

• Neji overcame his doubts about being from the Branch Family and agreed to seek a way to contact the moon and learn about the Tenseigan.
• Shinji revealed that he had saved Neji and considered testing whether an Otsutsuki's Byakugan could give Neji the Tenseigan.
• The Four other Kage arrived in Konoha, turning the planned meeting into a Five Kage Summit focused on the Akatsuki Organization.
• The Fourth Mizukage ordered his subordinates to approach Sasuke Uchiha, while Orochimaru told Kimimaro to keep watching Sasuke and reconsidered the Akatsuki's strength.
• The summit began, and the Fourth Raikage interrupted the Third to demand a plan against the Akatsuki Organization.

The Five Kage Summit descended into mutual accusations and ended without a plan to confront the Akatsuki Organization. Shinji learned of the failure from Shion, while Pain recruited Hiruko and discussed the growing threats with Konan.

• The Kage reviewed evidence of the Akatsuki Organization’s crimes, then questioned Konoha about its Uchiha members and Shisui’s death.
• Ōnoki accused Konoha of creating the Akatsuki Organization, while the Raikage blamed the villages whose defectors had joined it; the summit ended in bickering without agreement.
• Shinji treated his companions to barbecue and asked Shion about the summit, and she told them the Kage had argued without accomplishing anything.
• Scorpion brought Hiruko to meet Pain, who agreed to help Hiruko find Bloodline Ninja and accepted him into the Akatsuki Organization.
• Konan told Pain that Kakuzu and the others had failed and suspected Obito had interfered, while Pain dismissed the chances that the Five Great Shinobi Villages would unite.

Shinji used Naobi to speak with Neji about his search for clues to the Tenseigan and the moon, then devised a way to lure the moon-dwelling Otsutsuki to the Shinobi World with exceptionally pure Byakugan. He began an experiment combining Kimimaro's and Neji's cells, using Neji's Byakugan Chakra to control Kimimaro's tissue.

• Konan told Pain that the Tailed Beast collection plan might need to begin early, and Pain agreed to prepare the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and test Obito's strength.
• Shinji exchanged Chakra with Karin and found that her reserves had risen to about twenty-five times his own as her White Zetsu Cells integration progressed.
• Shinji brought Neji's Spirit Body into the Naobi space, identified himself as the Akatsuki Organization's leader, and learned Neji had found no clues about the Tenseigan or the moon.
• Shinji reasoned that pure Byakugan might lure the moon's Otsutsuki down and considered combining Hyuga and Kaguya Clan cells to create exceptionally pure eyes.
• Shinji placed Kimimaro's and Neji's cellular tissue in a petri dish and poured Neji's Byakugan Chakra into the experiment to control Kimimaro's tissue.

Shinji found that Byakugan Chakra could help fuse Kimimaro and Neji’s cells, while Obito ordered Shinnō to use Sasuke as leverage over Itachi. Shinnō then manipulated Sasuke into believing Itachi was badly injured near the Land of Hot Water, and Sasuke demanded to be taken there.

• Shinji’s experiment showed that Byakugan Chakra reduced Kimimaro’s cellular rejection and produced faint signs of fusion before the cells calcified and turned to ash.
• Obito learned that the Five Kage had gathered in Konoha and decided to target Sasuke so he could control Itachi.
• Sasuke told Shinji he intended to kill Itachi, but Kakashi refused to let him join the village’s efforts against the Akatsuki Organization.
• Sasuke trained through the night, twisted his ankle, and accepted treatment from Shinnō, who had entered Konoha under the guise of a physician.
• Shinnō claimed he had recently seen an injured Itachi near the Land of Hot Water, and Sasuke grabbed him and demanded that he lead the way.

Sasuke forced Shinnō to help him leave Konoha and search for the injured Itachi, unaware that Shinnō was a powerful spy manipulating him. After Sasuke left a farewell letter for Shinji with Naruto, Naruto found it the next morning at Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

• Sasuke pressured Shinnō into agreeing to guide him to Itachi in the Land of Hot Water, then followed him when he tried to report Sasuke to the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Sasuke packed for the trip, wrote Shinji a farewell letter, and asked Naruto to deliver it the next day without opening it.
• Sasuke met Shinnō, used his Sharingan to incapacitate a guard, and slipped out of Konoha through the side gate with him.
• Shinnō revealed in his thoughts that he was a spy who had mastered the Eight Gates and was deliberately exploiting Sasuke's arrogance under Obito's orders.
• The next morning, Naruto searched for a ramen coupon at Ichiraku Ramen Shop, and Sasuke's letter fell from his clothes.

After discovering Sasuke had left Konoha to seek revenge, Shinji organized a team to track him down and rushed out of the village. The Third Hokage learned that Shinji and several other children had gone after Sasuke.

• Sakura and Ino brought Sasuke’s letter to Shinji, who learned Sasuke had left to pursue revenge against his older brother.
• Shinji ordered the others to search for Sasuke, and their investigation confirmed he had left Konoha with help from a stranger.
• Shinji selected Shino, Kiba, Neji, Kimimaro, Haku, and Karin to join him in pursuing Sasuke, while he ordered Shion to remain in the village.
• Shinji’s seven-person team ran out through Konoha’s main gate, and the gate guards sent word to the Third Hokage.
• Kakashi told the Third Hokage that Shinji’s group had left to search for Sasuke, who had slipped out the previous night.

The Third Hokage sent Kakashi after Sasuke, while the gathered villages each ordered their own forces to exploit Sasuke’s disappearance. Shinji’s team tracked Sasuke to the Land of Hot Water, where Kirigakure Ninja attacked; Shinji and the others pursued Sasuke and Shinnō into the woods, only for Iwagakure Ninja to intercept them.

• The Third Hokage assigned Kakashi to bring Sasuke back after learning that Shinnō had lured him out of Konoha.
• The Fourth Mizukage ordered Zabuza to capture Sasuke, while the Fourth Raikage, Third Tsuchikage, and Fourth Kazekage also sent forces to seize or kill him.
• Haku and Karin agreed to protect Sasuke and Shinji, and secretly used Shadow Clones to conceal their real bodies from the team.
• Shinji’s team found Sasuke’s campsite, identified the trail toward the Land of Hot Water, and caught up with Sasuke and Shinnō.
• Sasuke refused to return to Konoha, and masked Kirigakure Ninja surrounded the group and ordered everyone except Sasuke killed.
• Shinnō fled into the woods with Sasuke, Shinji and his team followed, and an Akatsuki-cloaked figure blocked the Kirigakure Ninja as Iwagakure Ninja intercepted Sasuke and Shinnō.