Chapter Summaries

Sasuke and Shinnō fled through the woods as Kirigakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure forces tried to seize Sasuke, while Akatsuki members repeatedly intervened. The chase continued after Moryo slaughtered the Kumogakure squad, and an Akatsuki swordsman led Sasuke onward while leaving Shinnō to face Shinji's team.

• The Iwagakure Execution Squad confronted Sasuke, but an Akatsuki member blocked their pursuit as Shinji led his squad after Sasuke and Shinnō.
• Sasuke and Shinnō encountered Kumogakure Ninja, and Moryo arrived and killed most of them with his tentacles.
• Shinji's squad bypassed Moryo's battle and continued pursuing Sasuke, while Shinji realized Sasuke's escape had drawn several Great Shinobi Villages into the conflict.
• An Akatsuki swordsman carrying Kubikiribōchō offered to take Sasuke to the person he sought, and Sasuke accepted.
• The swordsman stopped Shinnō and ordered him to deal with Shinji's approaching squad.

Shinji's team and Kakashi's Konoha squad pursued Sasuke as the Mist and Iwa forces clashed with Akatsuki members. Haku was left exhausted and surrounded by the Iwagakure Execution Squad, but the leader sent him a powerful surge of Chakra.

• Shinnō stopped Shinji's team while Juzo Biwa led Sasuke away, and Shinji recognized Juzo as Itachi Uchiha's partner.
• Kakashi's team arrived at the battlefield and realized the Kirigakure assassination unit was targeting the Akatsuki member with the red Susanoo; Kakashi led his team toward the grove after the Mist tried to delay them.
• Kakashi's team found Haku battling the Iwagakure Execution Squad, whose attacks had left several members dead or wounded while Haku's Chakra was nearly exhausted.
• As the Iwagakure Execution Squad closed in on Haku, the leader contacted him through Naobi and sent a powerful surge of Chakra into his body.

Haku used a sudden surge of Chakra to defeat the Iwagakure Execution Squad with a powerful combination of Water and Ice Release, while Kakashi’s team discovered that a monster had slaughtered the Kumogakure Ninja. Shinnō opened the Seventh Gate and overwhelmed Shinji’s team, until another masked Akatsuki Organization member appeared and ordered him to leave.

• Haku unleashed Water Dragon Bullet Technique, Great Waterfall Technique, and Ice Rain, freezing and killing the Iwagakure Execution Squad.
• Kakashi’s team retreated from the battlefield and found the corpses of many Kumogakure Ninja, which Kakashi identified as the work of the monster from the Land of Demons.
• Kakashi ordered a message sent to Konoha requesting reinforcements as his team recognized the Akatsuki Organization as a major threat.
• Shinnō revealed his strength and opened the Eight Gates through the Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder.
• Shinnō struck Kiba, Shino, Neji, and Kimimaro down with overwhelming speed and power.
• A masked Akatsuki Organization member arrived on the battlefield and told Shinnō to get lost.

Shinji used his Susanoo to overpower Shinnō as the battlefield filled with rival Akatsuki Organization members and arriving Konoha, Iwagakure, and Kirigakure forces. Juzo Biwa led Sasuke through a blood-soaked canyon, where Sasuke found Itachi standing among the corpses of Sunagakure ninjas.

• Shinji blocked Shinnō’s attack with his Susanoo, then wounded him with the golden giant’s sword as Shinnō’s Seventh Gate power faded.
• Moryo arrived and ignored Shinnō’s plea for help, while Kakashi’s group entered the battlefield and carried the injured Neji, Kimimaro, Kiba, and Shino away.
• Shinji’s Shadow Clone told Kakashi that Juzo Biwa had taken Sasuke; Kakashi recognized Juzo as Itachi’s partner and believed Sasuke was likely safe.
• An Ice Release specialist and another Susanoo-wielding Akatsuki Organization member joined Shinji, bringing the number of Akatsuki Organization members on the battlefield to five as Iwagakure and Kirigakure forces halted nearby.
• Juzo Biwa led Sasuke into a canyon, where Sasuke found Itachi standing among the dead Sunagakure ninjas.

Sasuke challenged Itachi and was overwhelmed by his genjutsu, leaving him mentally broken, while Itachi kept him alive to serve an undisclosed purpose. Obito then halted the battle between Moryo and Karin, and sized up Shinji as the leader of a powerful group of unfamiliar Akatsuki members.

• Sasuke attacked Itachi with kunai and a Great Fireball Technique, but Itachi injured him and overpowered his attacks.
• Itachi trapped Sasuke in a genjutsu that replayed the Uchiha clan massacre until Sasuke collapsed.
• Juzo warned Itachi that Sasuke might not survive the night, and Obito arrived and offered to kill him.
• Itachi told Obito that he still had a use for Sasuke, then Juzo warned that Obito had likely arranged Sasuke's departure from Konoha.
• Juzo told Itachi that unfamiliar fighters had appeared elsewhere, including Mangekyō Uchiha, as Itachi questioned who they were.
• Obito stopped Moryo's battle with Karin's Susanoo, and Karin retreated to Shinji as Obito assessed Shinji and his followers.

Shinji and his allies faced Obito’s group, but both sides withdrew before a battle could erupt. Kakashi’s team found Sasuke unconscious among the dead Sunagakure shinobi, and the Five Great Shinobi Villages began preparing to respond to the Akatsuki Organization.

• Obito and Itachi joined Juzo Biwa, Moryo, and Shinnō, but Itachi and Obito agreed to end the confrontation and both groups departed.
• Shinji led Haku and Karin away, while Kakashi’s team continued searching for Sasuke and found Sunagakure shinobi dead after apparently killing one another under genjutsu.
• Kakashi’s team found Sasuke unconscious; Shinji’s Shadow Clone said Sasuke was not in immediate danger but had suffered a severe mental shock.
• Kakashi persuaded the Kirigakure and Iwagakure forces to work together against the Akatsuki Organization and return to report to their villages.
• News of the battle reached the Five Great Shinobi Villages, whose leaders condemned the Akatsuki Organization and began considering retaliation.

The Five Kage agreed that whichever village first obtained key intelligence on Akatsuki would lead the operation against it. After the summit, Shinji learned Sasuke remained comatose, while Neji and Kimimaro reflected on the power they wanted to attain.

• The Third Hokage and the other Kage discussed Akatsuki's threat, agreed to share information about its members, and made intelligence on its leader, hideout, or members the basis for choosing an operation commander.
• Orochimaru, disguised as an Otogakure representative, kept Akatsuki's secrets to himself as he hoped the organization and the Five Great Shinobi Villages would weaken each other.
• Kaoru Kusa told Shinji that Sasuke's mental shock had left him in a coma and that only Tsunade could wake him.
• Shinji reassured his classmates that Sasuke was out of danger, then checked on Neji, Kimimaro, Kiba, and Shino after their injuries.
• Neji resolved to stop living like a caged bird and seek the Tenseigan, while Kimimaro wondered about Shinnō's Eight Gates technique.

Konoha’s leaders investigated Shinnō’s mastery of the Eight Gates while competing villages made plans to seize command of the campaign against the Akatsuki Organization. Haku and Karin received orders to investigate Sasuke, while Orochimaru offered Kimimaro a chance to experiment with Natural Energy and Kimimaro asked to learn the Eight Gates.

• Kakashi reported that Shinnō had opened the Seventh Gate, prompting Konoha’s leaders to investigate how he obtained the Eight Gates and to summon Jiraiya to bring Tsunade back.
• The Third Hokage ordered Kakashi to contact Itachi for Akatsuki intelligence so Konoha could secure command of the operation.
• The Fourth Raikage, Fourth Mizukage, Third Tsuchikage, and Fourth Kazekage each began preparing to capture Akatsuki members and gain the operation’s command.
• Haku met a hidden Kirigakure contact, learned the Mizukage wanted her to investigate Sasuke, and agreed to report if he woke from his coma.
• Orochimaru praised Kimimaro for surviving Shinnō’s attack, offered him Natural Energy, and heard him ask to learn the Eight Gates.
• A Kusagakure agent threatened Karin through her mother, ordered her to investigate Sasuke and Naruto, and told her the village had restarted its Tailed Beast Plan.

Karin rejected Kusagakure’s order to target Naruto and told Shinji about its plans. Shinji transplanted a pair of completely ruined Mangekyō Sharingan into Karin so she could attempt to restore them, leaving her blind but determined to succeed.

• Karin decided she would not hurt Naruto, then told Shinji that Kusagakure had ordered her to investigate the Akatsuki Organization and gather information on Naruto.
• Shinji explained that Karin’s growing control made her notice the stiffness in her transplanted Mangekyō Sharingan and said her unusual Sage Body might restore another ruined pair.
• Karin agreed to help restore the completely ruined Mangekyō Sharingan, and Shinji transplanted them into her eye sockets.
• Karin could not sense a connection to the new eyes, so Shinji told her to stimulate them gently with Yang Release Chakra and promised to reveal a secret if she restored them.
• Shinji left Karin at home to recover and arranged for Haku to bring her food.

Shinji planned to lie low and strengthen his allies as tensions between the Akatsuki Organization and the Five Great Shinobi Villages rose. Meanwhile, Neji considered cooperating with the Akatsuki Organization, and Obito approved Shinnō’s plan to create the Zero-Tails before preparing to speak with Nagato.

• Shinji assessed his own limits, considered ways to develop Karin and Haku, and decided to recruit Neji while avoiding high-profile appearances.
• Neji secretly searched the Hyuga Main Family Estate for a clue to reaching the moon and weighed working with the Akatsuki Organization against his hatred of its methods.
• Shinnō revealed his artificial Tailed Beast, the Zero-Tails, and promised to create it within two months with the organization’s support.
• Obito agreed to provide Shinnō with supplies and considered using Shinnō and Moryo to test the Mangekyo Dojutsu of the mysterious Akatsuki members.
• Zetsu told Obito the Five Great Shinobi Villages would give command to whichever village first obtained crucial intelligence about the Akatsuki Organization, and Obito decided to discuss a trap with Nagato.

Obito and Nagato set aside their suspicions long enough to agree on capturing Jinchuriki before the Five Great Shinobi Villages can strike. They planned to target Kumogakure first, while each secretly prepared powerful allies for the struggle ahead.

• Obito confronted Nagato and Konan over secret recruits, and both sides mistook the other's identities and numbers.
• Obito and Nagato agreed to end their private operations and continue cooperating against the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
• Nagato and Konan decided to capture Jinchuriki while the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path recovered, and Obito agreed to the plan.
• Obito proposed luring Kumogakure's elite squad with Kakuzu and Hidan, then ambushing it to capture the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Konan arranged for the Akatsuki members to help Hiruko complete his ritual, while Obito ordered Zetsu to help Shinnō finish his artificial Tailed Beast project.
• Obito and Zetsu decided to prioritize reviving the Ten-Tails and rely on casualties among the Five Great Shinobi Villages to provide future recruits.

Shinji convinced Neji that the Akatsuki Organization’s true members opposed its traitors, then joined him in following a scroll’s clues to a Hyuga meeting place in the Land of Moon. After Neji used the contact technique, Shinji sensed the Giant Tenseigan watching them, and they fled before it could focus on them.

• Shinji explained that the Akatsuki Organization had split, persuading Neji that its true purpose was to protect the shinobi world and gaining his agreement to cooperate.
• Neji revealed that a scroll from the Main Family estate contained a map, a technique, and a coded message pointing to the Land of Moon, and he chose to travel there with Shinji.
• Neji obtained permission to leave Konoha, met Shinji outside the village, and they traveled by back roads to the Land of Moon.
• Shinji and Neji found the lake and cliff marked on the map, then identified the cliff as a meeting place for the Hyuga Clan and the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon.
• Neji carved the contact technique into the cliff and activated it with his Byakugan chakra while reciting the coded message.
• Shinji sensed the Giant Tenseigan watching them and urged Neji to flee; they escaped its gaze, though Neji felt nothing.

Shinji and Neji followed a Tenseigan puppet to a hidden passage and traveled through its illusion-filled waters to the moon. They reached a vast space beneath the Giant Tenseigan, where Shinji defeated a giant crab guarding the route.

• Konan, Scorpion, and Deidara prepared for a mission after a messenger hawk carried a message toward the Land of Lightning, while Obito ordered Zetsu to ready Moryo and Shinnō for an operation against the two Kumogakure Jinchuriki.
• Shinji and Neji followed a Tenseigan puppet from the cliff to a hidden cavern beneath a waterfall, where Shinji identified a glowing pool as a passage to the moon.
• Shinji and Neji crossed the pool’s illusion traps, and Shinji freed Neji from a memory-based illusion before they continued through another curtain of water.
• A giant crab attacked Shinji and Neji after they emerged from the passage, but Shinji used Susanoo to kill it.
• Shinji and Neji reached the moon’s interior, where Shinji explained that the apparent sun was a projection from the Giant Tenseigan.

Shinji and Neji explored the moon’s ruins, uncovering the Otsutsuki Clan’s bloody civil war and the Giant Tenseigan’s threat to Earth. After Hagoromo Otsutsuki asked Neji to destroy the Giant Tenseigan, Shinji considered taking control of it, but the pair found the branch family’s castle guarded by an overwhelming force.

• Killer B learned that the Raikage had summoned him and Yugito to join a mission against the Akatsuki Organization, and he set out with Yugito’s elite squad.
• Shinji explained to Neji that the moon’s Otsutsuki had split into main and branch families, and that the branch family had used the Giant Tenseigan to wipe out the main family.
• Shinji and Neji discovered an underground tomb, where a strange figure showed Neji a vision of the civil war and the Giant Tenseigan.
• Neji said that Hagoromo Otsutsuki had asked him to destroy the Giant Tenseigan and confirmed that the branch family planned to destroy Earth.
• Shinji decided he might seize control of the Giant Tenseigan, but he and Neji found the branch family’s castle protected by a barrier and hundreds of Tenseigan puppets.

Shinji and Neji infiltrated the Otsutsuki Branch Family castle and found the Giant Tenseigan, but an elder discovered them and connected to its power. The chapter ended with Neji killing the elder before he could take control of the situation.

• Shinji and Neji followed Tenseigan puppets through a secret passage into the castle, then used Neji's Byakugan to locate a temple hiding the Giant Tenseigan.
• They evaded the castle's high-level puppets and reached the temple's grand hall, where Shinji argued that they should free the Giant Tenseigan from the Branch Family instead of destroying it.
• An Otsutsuki Branch Elder confronted them, and Shinji attacked with Susanoo and Amaterasu while Neji interrupted the elder's hand seals.
• The elder connected to the Giant Tenseigan, which began absorbing Shinji's Susanoo and Amaterasu.
• Neji struck from behind and cut off the elder's head with a Kunai.

The Fourth Raikage led an elite Kumogakure force into the Land of Moon to capture Akatsuki members Kakuzu and Hidan, but the Akatsuki sprung a trap that split the Raikage’s group into separate battles. Meanwhile, Shinji retrieved a Byakugan from the head of an Otsutsuki Branch Elder on the moon.

• The Fourth Raikage refused to wait for his ANBU and led Killer B, Yugito Nii, and the Kumogakure team after Kakuzu and Hidan before they could reach the Land of Hot Water.
• Obito, Moryo, and Shinnō prepared an Akatsuki ambush, while Konan told Kakuzu and Hidan to capture Yugito alive.
• Moryo and Shinnō attacked the Raikage’s party near the lake, and the Fourth Raikage struck Moryo and pursued him into the forest with Killer B and Shinnō.
• Yugito ordered the communications squad to summon support and led her team after the Raikage, but Kakuzu and Hidan blocked their way.
• Shinji removed the Byakugan from the head of the Otsutsuki Branch Elder and stored it in a nutrient canister.

Shinji and Neji fought their way through the Tenseigan puppets guarding the moon’s castle, only to be confronted by a powerful Otsutsuki Branch Elder. After the Elder’s chakra-draining abilities overwhelmed Shinji’s usual tactics, Shinji used Susanoo Lamp to absorb Byakugan and prepared to counter the Giant Tenseigan’s drain.

• Shinji and Neji fled the temple through swarms of Tenseigan puppets, and Shinji used Susanoo to smash a path through them and reach the passage out of the castle.
• Neji guided Shinji through the passage with his Byakugan, but warned him that an Otsutsuki Branch Family member was approaching with more puppets.
• Shinji encountered the Otsutsuki Branch Elder and used Izanagi to glimpse futures in which the Elder defeated him, first with the Giant Tenseigan and then with Taijutsu.
• The Elder pulled Shinji toward him and absorbed his Susanoo with a sapphire-blue sphere before firing Shinji’s chakra back at him.
• The Elder accused Shinji of stealing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and demanded to know where he got the Byakugan he carried.
• Shinji activated Susanoo Lamp, had Susanoo absorb the Byakugan, and charged the Elder, now immune to the Giant Tenseigan’s chakra drain.

The Akatsuki Organization’s ambush left three battlefields around the Land of Moon locked in combat, while Obito questioned Nagato’s limited support and waited for Itachi. Yugito Nii was ultimately defeated by Hidan’s unfamiliar curse technique, and Kakuzu ordered her captured as they prepared to leave.

• Killer B’s Eight-Tails Gyuki battled Moryo while the Fourth Raikage fought Shinnō, and Yugito Nii fully transformed to face Kakuzu and Hidan.
• Scorpion separated Kiba, Karur, and Gesha from Yugito Nii, then summoned the Third Kazekage after their combined attacks destroyed his Hiruko Puppet.
• Konan watched the stalled battles as Obito and Zetsu discussed the missing support; Obito learned Itachi and Juzo Biwa were in position and left to inspect the battlefield.
• Hidan used Blood-Death Possession to tear open Yugito Nii’s internal organs, leaving her bloodied beside the lake despite her Jinchuriki vitality.
• Kakuzu, having lost two hearts, told Hidan to take Yugito Nii and leave.

Shinji escaped the Otsutsuki Branch Family’s castle with unconscious Neji and fled across the moon while the Otsutsuki Branch Elder pursued them. Shinji reached the passage to Earth with a plan to help Neji awaken the Tenseigan, but the elder followed him out and mistook Kakuzu and Hidan for ambushers.

• Shinji fought the Otsutsuki Branch Elder through the castle corridor, used Amaterasu to get past him, and escaped through the barrier carrying Neji.
• Shinji activated his Complete Body Susanoo and flew toward the passage to Earth as the elder and Tenseigan puppets chased him.
• Shinji decided that fighting the elder to the death was too risky and considered combining Neji’s Byakugan with an Otsutsuki Byakugan and Kimimaro’s cells to help Neji awaken the Tenseigan.
• Shinji dispelled his Susanoo and entered the passage with Neji, and the Otsutsuki Branch Elder pursued them.
• Shinji and the elder emerged in the Land of Moon on Earth near Kakuzu and Hidan, whom the elder accused of plotting an ambush.

Shinji escaped the Otsutsuki Branch Elder with Neji and the captured Yugito Nii while Kakuzu and Hidan stayed behind to fight. As Kumogakure and the Akatsuki clashed across the Land of Moon, the Fourth Raikage and Killer B withdrew to find Yugito, only to meet the elder pursuing Shinji.

• The Otsutsuki Branch Elder blasted Shinji, Kakuzu, and Hidan with repulsive force, and Shinji fled into the forest with Neji and Yugito.
• The elder drained Hidan’s Chakra and pierced Kakuzu’s chest, but both survived and followed him after he chased Shinji.
• Shinji saw Killer B fighting Moryo and realized Kumogakure was battling the Akatsuki, then passed the wounded Kiba without stopping.
• Killer B warned the Fourth Raikage that Yugito was missing and that they should retreat; Obito ordered Moryo and Shinnō to pursue them.
• Killer B and the Fourth Raikage found Kiba, learned that the Akatsuki had captured Yugito, and encountered the Otsutsuki Branch Elder as they prepared to pursue her.