Recaps

Tamura Hiroshi lost his duel with Uchiha Hikari, then forged weapons for her and Uchiha Mikoto before Black Zetsu led him to a vast Gelel Ore Vein. After absorbing its energy and sharing some with the Island Turtle, Tamura Hiroshi discussed the next stage of strengthening it.

• Uchiha Hikari used teleportation to overwhelm Tamura Hiroshi, stole the Masamune Sword, and defeated him with her space-cutting Heavenly Cloud-Cutting Sword.
• Tamura Hiroshi admitted defeat, and Uchiha Kousou and Uzumaki Kushina tended to his wounds as the others praised Uchiha Hikari's Kage-level strength.
• Tamura Hiroshi forged a Wind Release Ninja Sword and began making signature swords for Uchiha Hikari and Uchiha Mikoto, using their Mangekyo energy as blade spirits.
• Black Zetsu reported finding the Gelel Ore Vein, and Tamura Hiroshi traveled to the ruin, absorbed the vein's energy into the Little Ten-Tails, and received the Book of Gelel.
• Tamura Hiroshi returned to Turtle Island and gave the Island Turtle some of the Gelel energy, then discussed advancing its enhancement plan.

Tamura Hiroshi strengthened the island turtle and inspected Kumogakure’s advanced weapons before submitting a plan to capture the Reaper by drawing out the Sky Ninja Village. He then recruited Scorpion for the operation and began modifying Enma, hoping to create a powerful fighter.

• Tamura Hiroshi used Manda’s flesh, the Sage Jutsu Curse Mark, and Greer energy to give the island turtle a purple snake-headed tail and greatly increase its size and strength.
• Tamura Hiroshi visited Kumogakure’s firearm laboratories, where researchers tested firearms and developed ninja-gun techniques and gun-taijutsu; he encountered Mikoto Uchiha and warned her to keep the village’s weapons secret.
• Tamura Hiroshi returned to Kumogakure and submitted his Reaper Capture Plan to the Third Raikage and Dodai, who selected the Sky Ninja Village as the target for a military operation.
• Tamura Hiroshi invited Scorpion to join the operation and learned that Scorpion was building the Black Hawk IV, a faster aircraft designed to break through an air wall.
• Tamura Hiroshi modified Enma with the little Ten-Tails, hoping to enhance the monkey’s physical strength and realize his idea for a powerful battlefield fighter.

Tamura Hiroshi arranged research to fuse the three kinds of Senjutsu for Enma and learned that Mikoto Uchiha and Uchiha Hikari had received their new swords. After deciding to take Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou to the battlefield, he developed a new idea for expanding the Yang Seal, and Uzumaki Tamayou left to test it.

• Tamura Hiroshi asked Karura to study whether White Zetsu cells could help fuse the Senjutsu powers of the Three Great Sage Lands, while Enma remained at the laboratory.
• Tamura Hiroshi saw that Mikoto Uchiha and Uchiha Hikari had successfully sealed their Susanoo spirit artifacts into their swords, and considered giving Uchiha Hikari's Lightning Blade to Hatake Sakumo.
• Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou asked to join Tamura Hiroshi on the battlefield, and he agreed on the condition that they not act independently.
• Uzumaki Tamayou brought Tamura Hiroshi a method for combining three Yang Seals, and he drew a nested, expandable seal structure inspired by the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.
• Uzumaki Tamayou judged that the new structure was promising and said she would need four days to refine and test it.

Tamura Hiroshi used Enma’s transformation and splitting techniques to create a flexible, durable Adamantine Battle Armor, then planned to fuse Enma with his Sage Jutsu Curse Mark. The women asked for armor of their own, and the group left the laboratory with further research and battlefield preparations ahead.

• Karura showed Tamura Hiroshi White Zetsu cells absorbing and fusing with cells from Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and Manda, creating a less corrosive medium for the Sage Jutsu Curse Mark that could be used by people around Kage Level.
• Karura reported that Enma’s body had developed snake scales, greater strength, weak healing, and an internal circulation that might eliminate his need for food or Nutrient Solution.
• Tamura Hiroshi used Enma’s Multiple Splitting Technique to divide him into 365 physical bodies, then transformed them into a flexible suit of gold-and-purple armor.
• Uchiha Hikari tested the armor with the Heavenly Cloud-Cutting Sword, but Tamura Hiroshi stopped her and explained that the blade could cut through it.
• Uzumaki Kushina, Uzumaki Kousou, Uchiha Hikari, Mikoto Uchiha, and Karura showed interest in getting their own armor, and Tamura Hiroshi offered to teach them the techniques using monkeys from the Monkey Clan.
• Tamura Hiroshi told Karura he planned to use the Chimera Technique and Sage Jutsu Curse Mark to fuse Enma into his Twin Dragons, strengthening them and potentially transferring the Curse Mark’s mutations onto the armor.

Tamura Hiroshi presented Kumogakure with his self-repairing Adamantine Staff armor and a proposal to develop it using monkey summons and resources from the Land of Snow. He then outlined a scheme to help Shimura Danzō found a ninja country, leaving the Third Raikage and Dodai to plan how Kumogakure could exploit the opportunity while building its strength.

• Tamura Hiroshi showed his new armor at the Raikage Office, and the Third Raikage tested it with the Spear of Hell, leaving only a shallow mark that slowly healed.
• Tamura Hiroshi gave the Third Raikage a scroll proposing armor research with Enma and other monkey summons, and Dodai agreed to pursue the Land of Snow's Chakra Armor project and toolmaking resources.
• Tamura Hiroshi explained plans to strengthen Enma and create symbiotic armor partners, prompting Yozuki A and Fukai to leave and choose monkeys of their own.
• Tamura Hiroshi said he could learn the Heavenly Transfer Technique with the aid of the Sage Jutsu Curse Mark and Little Ten-Tails.
• Dodai described Kumogakure's plan involving the Chinoike Clan, but Tamura Hiroshi proposed helping Shimura Danzō establish a ninja country and provoking a wider conflict that would let Kumogakure found the Thundercloud Ninja Country.
• The Third Raikage asked Tamura Hiroshi to design armor for him, then ordered Dodai to improve his strength and develop the Shimura Danzō connection while acknowledging the need to prepare for hidden powers in the Ninja World.

Shimura Danzō sought a vessel for the Box of Paradise’s corrosive power, while Ōtsutsuki Sari plotted to master his transformed eyes and claim the Ten-Tails. In the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura prepared for their mother’s return, as Madara Uchiha searched for a successor before falling back into slumber.

• Shimura Danzō learned the Box of Paradise held ownerless dark energy that required a vessel stronger than a Tailed Beast, and wondered whether the Ōtsutsuki clan’s forbidden treasure could contain it.
• Ōtsutsuki Sari resolved to seek a Main Family woman, the Giant Tenseigan, and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to perfect his eyes and become a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Ōtsutsuki Hamura and the Sage of Six Paths agreed to wait for their mother’s clansmen and planned to use this era’s Indra reincarnation and the Nine Tailed Beasts to restrain their mother after her resurrection.
• Madara Uchiha reviewed White Zetsu’s intelligence, dismissed the Uchiha who had awakened their Sharingan, and ordered them to find a young Uchiha with a kind heart as a potential successor.
• Madara Uchiha heard reports about Takigakure’s destruction, Kumogakure’s transplanted tree, and Orochimaru’s Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, then ordered White Zetsu to find a suitable target and returned to sleep.

Tamura Hiroshi and the women created Three Tomoe Yang Seals and Sage Jutsu Curse Marks using Karura’s cultivated pericardiums. After the new abilities proved stable, the group discussed the threat posed by research into the First Hokage’s cells, while Karura reassured Mikoto Uchiha that Tamura Hiroshi would protect the Uchiha clan.

• Uzumaki Tamayou presented Tamura Hiroshi with the revised Three Tomoe architecture and explained that the Six Tomoe design had been deduced but still needed testing against future expansions.
• Tamura Hiroshi and the women went to the hive base, where Uzumaki Tamayou carved the array and Tamura Hiroshi shaped the first Three Tomoe Yang Seal; Uchiha Hikari and the others then made their own.
• Karura showed the group pericardiums cultivated from White Zetsu cells, and Uzumaki Kushina became the first to seal one into a Sage Jutsu Curse Mark and confirm that it safely enabled sensing and absorbing natural energy.
• Uzumaki Kousou, Uchiha Hikari, Mikoto Uchiha, Karura, and Uzumaki Tamayou each formed a Sage Jutsu Curse Mark before Uzumaki Tamayou left to rest.
• Mikoto Uchiha worried that the First Hokage’s cells could produce powerful Wood Release users, and Karura assured her that Tamura Hiroshi would find the Uchiha a way to survive.

Tamura Hiroshi used Gelel Energy and the World Tree to begin building an Eternal Well that could produce life energy continuously, while easing the strain on Little Ten-Tails. As he traveled with his team to the Frontline, a discussion of railway security led Yozuki A to reflect on the village’s internal power struggles and the ruthless choices needed to maintain order.

• Tamura Hiroshi decided to use the Amber Purifying Pot and the World Tree to create an Eternal Well and relieve Little Ten-Tails’ excess Gelel Energy.
• Tamura Hiroshi expanded the Amber Purifying Pot inside the World Tree, fed it Gelel Energy, and used a sealing array to strengthen the tree and create a potent life-energy mixture.
• Tamura Hiroshi added the Sword of Totsuka to the array so the World Tree could infuse it with spiritual energy for his future plans.
• Yozuki A led Tamura Hiroshi and the others toward the Frontline by train, where Uzumaki Kushina raised concerns about railway sabotage.
• Tamura Hiroshi proposed stronger railway defenses and harsh punishment for saboteurs, prompting Yozuki A to discuss the execution of clan members who had abused their power.
• Yozuki A acknowledged that his father, the Third Raikage, would punish even family members for serious wrongdoing, and accepted that they had to keep moving forward.

Tamura Hiroshi investigated hostility within the Cloud camp, then met Uchiha Fugaku in secret to discuss their alliance, the Uchiha’s internal opposition, and the threat of Impure World Reincarnation. Fugaku resolved to eliminate Hiroshi and destroy the Cloud forces on the front, while Hiroshi sensed Fugaku’s murderous intent.

• Tamura Hiroshi searched the Cloud camp with emotion sensing and identified more than a thousand people harboring varying degrees of hostility toward Yozuki A.
• Tamura Hiroshi and Uchiha Hikari teleported to a town, where Hiroshi met Uchiha Fugaku at a hot spring bathhouse.
• Tamura Hiroshi asked Fugaku for a list of opponents within the Uchiha and the ninja troops, and Fugaku handed him a list naming four Mangekyo users, including Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori.
• Tamura Hiroshi warned Fugaku that Hiruzen Sarutobi might use Impure World Reincarnation, and Fugaku feared the technique could summon the First and Second Hokage.
• After Hiroshi left, Fugaku recognized that Hiroshi had reached Kage Level and resolved to kill him and wipe out the Cloud Ninja Army on the front.
• Fugaku dispelled his Shadow Clone, unaware that Hiroshi had sensed his killing intent and guessed his thoughts.

Tamura Hiroshi discussed Fugaku Uchiha’s intentions and the coming battles with his allies, then revealed his theory for creating Swift Release and advancing bloodline fusion. The group planned to investigate the Jashin Cult while Hiroshi continued training toward his broader goal of fusing chakra natures.

• Tamura Hiroshi told Yozuki A and Fukai that Fugaku Uchiha’s hostility had increased and handed them intelligence on thirty-seven Uchiha, including four Mangekyō users.
• Tamura Hiroshi warned the group to leave Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori to him and Uchiha Hikari, then distributed Manda-cornea contact lenses infused with Senjutsu Chakra to help resist visual genjutsu.
• Tamura Hiroshi proposed using combined Tailed Beast power to force Konoha’s army into open combat, while Yozuki A and Fukai left to deal with other threats.
• Tamura Hiroshi invited Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kousou to investigate the Jashin Cult in the Land of Hot Water.
• Tamura Hiroshi explained that he was practicing Wind Release to create Swift Release and described his plan to fuse more chakra natures toward a higher form of bloodline evolution.

Tamura Hiroshi and Uchiha Hikari led Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou to the Jashin Cult’s hidden lair and uncovered a sealed Evil God Skeleton beneath its altar. After defeating it and destroying the cult’s base, they returned to camp with materials and records to study.

• Tamura Hiroshi and the others followed Kumogakure’s intelligence and Uchiha Hikari’s genjutsu to locate the Jashin Cult’s underground lair.
• Tamura Hiroshi, Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kousou defeated the cult’s followers and reached the altar, where Tamura Hiroshi destroyed the traps and mechanisms.
• The High Priest of Jashin sacrificed himself to break the altar’s seal, releasing the twenty-meter-tall Evil God Skeleton from the blood pool.
• Uchiha Hikari split the Evil God Skeleton with her Heavenly Cloud-Cutting Sword, and Tamura Hiroshi sealed it away while the Little Ten-Tails consumed its soul.
• Tamura Hiroshi absorbed the blood pool’s energy, recovered the cult’s books and scrolls, and collapsed the lair; the group returned to camp to study the skeleton’s materials.

Konoha’s opposing-front command discussed the growing threat from Kumogakure and the other villages, while Fugaku Uchiha revealed his increased power and the contest to become the next clan head. The meeting ended with Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori facing the grim prospect of a war in which Konoha had fewer troops and no usable Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Uchiha Naori presented intelligence about the reinforcements and described Uchiha Hikari, prompting Fugaku Uchiha to explain her history and implanted Mangekyō techniques.
• Fugaku Uchiha clashed with Uchiha Naka, demonstrated his immense chakra, and told the gathering that Tamura Hiroshi was exceptionally powerful and dangerous.
• Fugaku Uchiha revealed that Tamura Hiroshi had traded Senjutsu power for the clan head’s eyes, then announced that the Uchiha with the most war merit could become clan head.
• Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori warned that enemy Jinchuriki could devastate the front, while Konoha’s Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were too young to control their power.
• Uchiha Kagami confirmed that no reinforcements were coming and that his force faced twice as many Cloud ninja, then dismissed the meeting without a workable plan.

Tamura Hiroshi delivered Kumogakure’s challenge to a duel of generals and used a Tailed Beast Bomb to destroy part of Konoha’s defenses, forcing Uchiha Kagami’s side to accept the coming fight. As Kumogakure prepared its exhausted Eight-Tails fragment Jinchuriki, Kagami decided to risk transplanting his father’s Mangekyo eyes to gain power for the war.

• Tamura Hiroshi and Uchiha Hikari arrived at the Konoha camp, where Tamura challenged its leaders to battle on Kumogakure’s behalf.
• Uchiha Kagami rejected the challenge, but a Tailed Beast Bomb struck the camp and destroyed a key point in its second line of defense.
• Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori concluded they had to accept the challenge, suspected their intelligence had leaked, and planned to choose their opponents if possible.
• Uchiha Kagami decided to transplant his father’s Mangekyo Sharingan, and Uchiha Naori agreed to help after he promised not to overuse their powers.
• Tamura Hiroshi returned to Kumogakure’s camp, where Yozuki A and Fukai discussed the eight exhausted Eight-Tails fragment Jinchuriki and prepared to refine their Combat Plan.

Tamura Hiroshi analyzed the Uchiha threat and prepared to use the Jashin Cult’s immortality ritual as a new weapon. After testing the ritual on prisoners and refining its method, he began the first improved procedure on Fukai, leaving its outcome unknown.

• Tamura Hiroshi discussed the likely tactics and Mangekyō abilities of Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Naori, Uchiha Baru, Uchiha Naka, and Fugaku Uchiha, while assigning potential matchups to his allies.
• Tamura Hiroshi studied the Jashin Cult’s immortality and blood-based curse techniques and asked Yozuki A to provide volunteers for experiments.
• Tamura Hiroshi used an altar infused with the Evil God’s power and Greer Energy to test the immortality ritual, but the first volunteer died during the transformation.
• Tamura Hiroshi concluded that the ritual’s soul damage could be reduced at the cost of greater and prolonged pain, and he began an improved ritual on Fukai.
• Fukai endured intense pain as Tamura Hiroshi guided the Evil God’s power to fuse his soul and body.

Tamura Hiroshi completed the Evil God Ritual on Fukai, Yozuki A, and Uchiha Hikari, then welcomed Mifune as the impartial referee for the coming champion duels. As both sides prepared for the battles, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his allies discussed exploiting the war to target the Uchiha and Senju, while seeking a way to contain the Third Raikage.

• Tamura Hiroshi performed the Evil God Ritual on Fukai, Yozuki A, and Uchiha Hikari, while he and Uchiha Hikari told Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou to wait until the ritual was refined.
• Tamura Hiroshi explained that the ritual could eventually support many candidates but should be limited to carefully vetted Jonin, and Fukai and Yozuki A planned to adapt before the champion duels.
• Mifune arrived to serve as the impartial witness and referee, confirmed Tamura Hiroshi had attained the Unity of Man and Sword, and then visited Uchiha Kagami's camp.
• Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Naori discussed the difficulty of adapting his transplanted Dojutsu Power and Kumogakure's apparent reluctance to fight decisively.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura agreed to delay their plans against the Senju, weaken the Uchiha, and consider using the Four Red Yang Formation against the Third Raikage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked how close Minato Namikaze and the other Nine-Tails Jinchuriki were to mastering the Tailed Beast Bomb.

Hiruzen Sarutobi worried about Minato Namikaze's growing power, Madara Uchiha's survival, and his own need to become stronger. After learning that Hiruzen had helped destroy Uzushio Hidden Village, Minato resolved to change Konoha and began seeking Senjutsu training, while Tamura Hiroshi and his allies cultivated Sage's Talent.

• Utatane Koharu warned Hiruzen Sarutobi not to make Minato Namikaze too powerful, and Hiruzen considered ways to restrain him and strengthen himself.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed becoming a Jinchuriki, learning Senjutsu, and acquiring a bloodline, then focused on seeking Orochimaru's help with Dust Release.
• Mito Uzumaki confirmed to Minato Namikaze that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō had conspired against Uzushio Hidden Village.
• Minato Namikaze resolved to change Konoha through strength and summoned a toad to learn about Mount Myōboku's Senjutsu training.
• Tamura Hiroshi cultivated the monk lineage's Sage's Talent as Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kousou developed their own forms of the practice.

Tamura Hiroshi’s forces and the Konoha Ninja Army began their champion duel, with the early matches testing the fighters on both sides. Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou faced Uchiha Baru, whose Mangekyo-enhanced fire and wind attack met their next finishing move as the chapter ended.

• Tamura Hiroshi had Hikari hypnotize Yozuki A and Fukai to help them endure their heightened sensitivity during combat.
• Kumogakure and Konoha assembled at the battlefield, where Mifune announced the rules for the champion duels.
• Uchiha Ryosuke won the first match for Konoha, and the two sides continued exchanging fighters through the day.
• Tamura Hiroshi sent Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou to fight a Three-Tomoe Uchiha, who retreated from their long-range attacks.
• Uchiha Baru took over and used his Mangekyo-enhanced Wind and Fire Style to advance and launch a spiraling pillar of fire at the two women.
• Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou unleashed their second-stage finishing move as Uchiha Baru’s attack began.

Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou defeated Uchiha Baru with a Taiji Rasengan, and Uchiha Hikari captured him before confronting Uchiha Naori in her genjutsu. As Tamura Hiroshi and Uchiha Naka prepared to fight, Hikari began gathering power for a sword strike to break Naori’s illusion.

• Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou fused their Rasengan into a Taiji Rasengan that damaged Uchiha Baru’s Susanoo and forced him to flee.
• Uchiha Hikari used her Mangekyō Sharingan to control and capture Uchiha Baru, then returned him to Tamura Hiroshi, who sealed him away for the Little Ten-Tails.
• Uchiha Naori challenged Uchiha Hikari with Izanami-no-Mikoto, trapping her in a genjutsu where injuries became real, and the two began fighting with swords and taijutsu.
• Tamura Hiroshi entered the battlefield to support Uchiha Hikari, while Uchiha Naka challenged him and Uchiha Kagami considered how to rescue Baru.
• Uchiha Hikari studied Naori’s illusion, gathered her sword energy and killing intent into the Heavenly Cloud-Cutting Sword, and prepared to strike at its weakness.

Uchiha Hikari broke Uchiha Naori’s visual genjutsu, and Tamura Hiroshi defeated Uchiha Naka with his new Flash of Lightning technique. Uchiha Fugaku intervened with a third-stage Susanoo, survived Tamura’s Eight Sword Flashes by using Izanagi, and both men withdrew while concealing their true condition.

• Uchiha Hikari cut through Uchiha Naori’s visual genjutsu, forcing Naori to retreat with an injured eye, while Tamura Hiroshi and Uzumaki Kushina pulled Hikari to safety.
• Tamura Hiroshi used Flash of Lightning to destroy Uchiha Naka’s Shadow Clone, then battered Naka’s Susanoo with Infinite Strikes until Uchiha Fugaku joined the fight.
• Uchiha Fugaku formed a third-stage Susanoo, and Tamura Hiroshi fused with Enma and raised the Seven Day Breathing Method to its seventh level.
• Tamura Hiroshi unleashed Eight Sword Flashes and cut through Fugaku and his Susanoo, but Fugaku survived by using Izanagi.
• Tamura Hiroshi conceded the round and withdrew, while Uchiha Fugaku dispelled Susanoo and retreated, hiding that he had used Izanagi.

Tamura Hiroshi and his allies fought a series of champion battles, where Fukai was trapped by Kurenai Yuhi’s Red Sunset genjutsu and Yozuki A defeated Kurenai Yuhi before losing an arm while fighting Uchiha Kagami. The group returned to camp to recover, learned that Tamura Hiroshi had gained two dōjutsu from Uchiha Baru, and received a sealed bottle from the village whose contents remained unexplained.

• Tamura Hiroshi recovered from his injuries while Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Kousou treated him and scolded him for overexerting himself.
• Fukai fought Kurenai Yuhi, identified the sunset as Red Sunset’s genjutsu medium, and escaped by breaking free of Uchiha Hikari’s hypnosis through intense pain.
• Yozuki A used Cloudslicer to force Kurenai Yuhi back, then fought Uchiha Kagami, who struck his chest with a Mangekyō genjutsu; Yozuki A severed Kagami’s arm before retreating and ending the day’s champion battles.
• Tamura Hiroshi’s group returned to camp, where he and Uzumaki Kousou explained that Samehada had gained Kagutsuchi and Shinatsuhiko from Uchiha Baru.
• Fukayi gave Tamura Hiroshi a sealed bottle sent from the village, and Tamura Hiroshi found a small piece of gravel inside.

Tamura Hiroshi tested the Star meteorite fragment and used its chakra-altering power to advance his training with the Sage's Talent. Meanwhile, Konoha's battered officers assessed Cloud Village's strength, requested reinforcements, and prepared for the next battles of champions.

• Fukai explained that the Star meteorite stimulated chakra but eroded the body, and Tamura Hiroshi agreed to test the fragment first.
• Tamura Hiroshi found that the fragment strengthened and altered chakra, and he allowed Uchiha Hikari, Uzumaki Kushina, and Uzumaki Kousou to train with it cautiously.
• The four transformed their chakra and incorporated it into their techniques, while Tamura Hiroshi used it to refine his Sage's Talent and absorb Susanoo fragments.
• Kurenai Yuhi said she could no longer reliably counter Cloud Village's fighters, and the Konoha officers agreed to request White Fang and other reinforcements or retreat if none arrived.
• Uchiha Kagami's officers discussed the enemy's unusual chakra, Uchiha Hikari's abilities, and Tamura Hiroshi's explosive strength as they prepared for the next battles.

Uchiha Kagami and Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed the threat from Kumogakure, while Hiruzen made wartime decisions to preserve Konoha’s strength and keep the Uchiha front under control. Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō arranged experiments involving Kagami’s Mangekyō Sharingan and bloodline transplants, and Danzō ordered Yakushi Nonō to pursue a promising new transplant method.

• Uchiha Kagami warned Uchiha Naori that the Third Raikage was the central threat, and Naori resolved to save her Izanami for the decisive moment.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to send Jiraiya to the Land of Hot Water front and announced that achievements in the Great Ninja War would determine the Fourth Hokage candidates, including Uchiha Kagami.
• Hiruzen ordered Orochimaru to send a Shadow Clone with a sealed arm to Kagami, while Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō negotiated an exchange involving Kagami’s eyes and a Wood Release arm.
• Orochimaru sent the Shadow Clone toward the front, and Shimura Danzō asked him to compile the results of his Impure World Reincarnation research for testing.
• Yakushi Nonō explained her plan to infuse Root shinobi limbs with kekkei genkai chakra by first transplanting them onto kekkei genkai users, and Shimura Danzō ordered her to focus on the research and promised to find a genjutsu user.

Uchiha Kagami traded his father's Sharingan for a Senju arm that eased the strain of his Mangekyō, while Tamura Hiroshi traded Hashirama's living Chakra to Orochimaru for the White Snake Sage's Senjutsu energy. Orochimaru began pursuing a perfect clone and experimenting on Kagami's eyes, while Shimura Danzō received a transplanted arm and prepared to test it against the Box of Paradise's dark power.

• Orochimaru offered Uchiha Kagami a life-force-rich Senju arm in exchange for his father's Three Tomoe Sharingan, and Kagami accepted before Orochimaru transplanted the arm.
• Orochimaru met Tamura Hiroshi, who gave him Hashirama's living Chakra in exchange for Orochimaru's promise to obtain the White Snake Sage's Senjutsu energy.
• Orochimaru took the Chakra to his laboratory and resolved to use it to create a perfect clone, then restored Kagami Uchiha's Mangekyō power to his eyes through Impure World Reincarnation experiments.
• Orochimaru implanted Kagami Uchiha's Mangekyō into a Senju test subject's arm and stabilized its power alongside the First Hokage's cells with Uzumaki sealing chains.
• Shimura Danzō had Yakushi Nonō transplant the prepared arm and planned to use the Box of Paradise's dark power to force its different powers into harmony.

Shimura Danzō fused the Box of Paradise’s dark power with Susanoo and accepted Yakushi Nonō’s plan to develop a summoning-beast vessel that could contain it. On the Land of Hot Water front, Jiraiya investigated Kumogakure’s influence, met Tamura Hiroshi, and left for the camp after their argument.

• Shimura Danzō used Susanoo to absorb the Box of Paradise’s dark energy, transforming it into a larger black Susanoo with wings and a corrupted arm.
• Yakushi Nonō warned Shimura Danzō that the power could erode his mind and proposed using a senjutsu-capable summoning beast, First Hokage cells, and Uchiha power as a vessel; Shimura Danzō authorized the research.
• A split body of Black Zetsu watched Shimura Danzō and considered having Tamura Hiroshi interfere with the plan.
• Tsunade warned Jiraiya about Kumogakure and the Uchiha before he traveled to the Land of Hot Water to gather intelligence.
• Jiraiya learned from a woman in a city near the front that Kumogakure had suppressed local criminal groups, and he suspected the village was preparing to occupy the Land of Hot Water.
• Tamura Hiroshi confronted Jiraiya about his indecision, Minato’s future, and the deaths of Gamabunta and the other toads; Jiraiya then left for the camp, warning that Mount Myōboku would take revenge.

Tamura Hiroshi planned to turn the Zero-Tails into a Greer Energy-enhanced phoenix for Danzo and to cultivate a World-Destroying Black Lotus using a God Tree remnant. As the third duel approached, Jiraiya summoned Mount Myōboku’s Great Sage Toads, and both armies prepared for a battle that could draw in the Great Toad Sage and the Third Raikage.

• Tamura Hiroshi directed Black Zetsu to grow a bird of prey with Greer Energy so the Zero-Tails could possess it, and proposed planting a Temple of Fire lotus seed in the God Tree remnant to cultivate an alternative God Tree.
• Tamura Hiroshi received records confirming the Six Yang Seal’s completion and the Nine Yang Seal’s framework, then anticipated fighting Jiraiya to study Mount Myōboku’s Senjutsu.
• Hatake Sakumo, Uchiha Kagami, and the Konoha fighters assigned opponents for the third duel, while Jiraiya was kept in reserve to face the perfect Jinchuriki if needed.
• Jiraiya summoned Fukasaku and Shima, who agreed to fight Kumogakure to avenge Mount Myōboku’s fallen toads.
• Tamura Hiroshi and the Third Raikage prepared for the Great Toad Sage’s possible arrival, and Tamura assured the Third Raikage that his group could handle Fukasaku and Shima.