Chapter Summaries

Shikaku persuaded Shikatoshi to let the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans learn the truth and choose whether to support Nether Ninja Village, despite the risks. Meanwhile, Hizashi continued organizing the Hyuga Branch Family to break away and find a future in Nether Ninja Village.

• Shikaku urged Shikatoshi to involve their relatives and clan members in the decision to support Nether Ninja Village, warning that the Sage of Six Paths could control them.
• Shikatoshi admitted his hesitation and agreed to speak with his two brothers that night, while telling Shikaku to train and build his strength.
• Shikaku went to notify his uncles as Shikatoshi accepted that the clansmen deserved to choose for themselves.
• Hizashi strengthened his influence among the Branch Family while training to undo the Caged Bird and preparing to lead its members away from the Hyuga Clan.

Orochimaru ordered the destruction and secure review of forbidden books seized from daimyo factions as Hidan and Kaguya Changming purged seven small countries. While the Nether Ninja Village expanded and worked to free the people from the ruling class’s influence, Orochimaru trained with its core fighters and Hiruko joined him.

• Hidan and Kaguya Changming led teams that wiped out daimyo factions in seven small countries and seized forbidden books and other materials.
• Orochimaru ordered the forbidden books burned and the remaining confiscated documents escorted to the Nether Ninja Village for review before they were destroyed.
• Orochimaru resolved to educate the common people under the Nether Ninja Village’s rule so they could think independently and recognize who served their interests.
• Wandering shinobi and elite Black Market Ninjas increasingly joined the Nether Ninja Village as its influence spread and its infiltration of the Five Great Nations advanced.
• Orochimaru sparred with Sasori, Pakura, and Hozuki Mangetsu to strengthen himself, and Hiruko joined the training to challenge him.

Hyuga Shin fought the Sage of Six Paths in the Pure Land and defeated him, then accepted the Evil God Hirazaki Harukawa’s invitation to visit his territory. After nearly a month spent becoming friends with Hirazaki Harukawa, Hyuga Shin’s stay in the Pure Land was nearly over.

• Hyuga Shin confronted the Sage of Six Paths over the trouble caused by his Chakra system, and the two began fighting above the Pure Land.
• The Evil God Hirazaki Harukawa stopped Toyama Kazumi, Eats Black Feather, and Seimei Ichiro from joining the battle, and they watched instead.
• Hyuga Shin used his mastery of the Time law to suppress the Sage of Six Paths, smashing his Truth-Seeking Orbs and severing one of his arms before ending the fight.
• Hyuga Shin left the defeated Sage of Six Paths and accepted Hirazaki Harukawa’s invitation to visit his territory and learn more about the Pure Land.
• Hyuga Shin spent almost a month with Hirazaki Harukawa, became his friend, and prepared to leave the Pure Land.

Hiruko watched Orochimaru spar with the Nether Ninja Village’s young fighters, then challenged him to test how far his abilities had advanced. Their evenly matched bout ended without a winner, and Orochimaru’s praise left Hiruko feeling that the village recognized his talent.

• Hiruko saw Orochimaru spar with Mangetsu and watched Mangetsu realize that his combat experience and training still needed improvement.
• Hiruko challenged Orochimaru, who accepted while Sasori, Pakura, and Mangetsu watched.
• Hiruko used Kagami Uchiha’s Sharingan and Uchiha Genjutsu to pressure Orochimaru, who fought with limited Chakra after three earlier matches.
• Orochimaru and Hiruko fought for twenty-five minutes without either gaining a clear advantage, then stopped.
• Orochimaru praised Hiruko’s growth and talent, lifting Hiruko’s spirits and affirming that the Nether Ninja Village valued him.

The Three Great Insect Sages discussed the Nether Ninja Village’s growing share of the Great Trend and agreed to prioritize killing the human sage Taiyi. After the Sage of Six Paths revealed that Taiyi was in the Pure Land, they prepared to ambush him when he returned, while the Sage of Six Paths learned that the Nether Ninja Village had a forty-percent chance of prevailing.

• The Three Great Insect Sages debated whether to intervene in the conflict between the Nether Ninja Village and the Sage of Six Paths, then agreed to focus on finding and killing the human sage.
• The Three Great Insect Sages searched for the human sage with wide-range sensing Senjutsu but failed because Hyuga Shin’s sage avatar remained in the Pure Land.
• After recovering from his injuries, the Sage of Six Paths told the Three Great Insect Sages that Taiyi was in the Pure Land.
• The Three Great Insect Sages decided to wait outside the Pure Land and ambush Taiyi when he returned, while Hyuga Shin enjoyed his time with Hirazaki Harukawa, unaware of the danger.
• The Sage of Six Paths monitored Minato Namikaze’s progress in mastering Impure World Reincarnation and learned from the Three Great Insect Sages that the Nether Ninja Village held forty percent of the Great Trend.

After returning from the Pure Land, Hyuga Shin found the Three Great Insect Sages waiting to kill him. Trapped by their coordinated attacks, he used Time Rewind to undo the fight back to the moment before they struck.

• Hyuga Shin learned from Hirazaki Harukawa that powerful souls in the Pure Land were cultivated as crops and chose to remain in her garden because it treated them better than the other Four Kings did.
• Hyuga Shin returned to the Shinobi World and sensed that the Three Great Insect Sages were waiting to ambush him.
• Hyuga Shin tried to escape through a spatial passage, but the Great Slug Sage struck him with Corrosive Acid Rain and interrupted his Space Ninjutsu.
• The Great Slug Sage trapped Hyuga Shin with Nature Cage, the White Snake Sage used Space Lockdown, and the Great Toad Sage prepared to attack with spears of Natural Energy.
• Hyuga Shin activated Time Rewind and reversed events to the instant before the Great Slug Sage attacked.

After escaping the Three Great Insect Sages, Hyuga Shin returned to the Small World and left his clone in charge while he entered seclusion. In Nether Ninja Village, Miyashi Hizokurou organized an intensive training program for Uzumaki Ayano and others, with Orochimaru and Tsunade Hime supporting the plan.

• The sage Hyuga Shin used the Reverse Summoning Technique to escape the Three Great Insect Sages and returned to the Small World, where his main body told him to oversee it during his seclusion.
• Hyuga Shin's fourth clone noted Nether Ninja Village's rapid growth and estimated it could unite the Shinobi World in three to five years, depending on defeating Sage of Six Paths.
• Miyashi Hizokurou sparred with Sasori, Mangetsu, and Pakura, then proposed intensive training to raise Uzumaki Ayano's strength; she agreed, and the three others asked to join.
• Miyashi Hizokurou asked Orochimaru to arrange Tsunade Hime's medical support for the training, and Tsunade agreed to help.
• Orochimaru asked Miyashi Hizokurou to train Sajimaru and Inoue Hirohiko as well, and Miyashi accepted.

The Sage of Six Paths questioned the Three Great Sages about Jiraiya and Tsunade Hime joining the Nether Ninja Village, then prepared to lead an assault against it. Meanwhile, Miyashi Hizokurou began an intense training program for six recruits.

• The Sage of Six Paths confronted the Three Great Sages, who denied supporting the Nether Ninja Village and said their contract holders had chosen to join it themselves.
• The Great Toad Sage affirmed that the alliance with the Sage of Six Paths still stood, while the White Snake Sage and Slug remained preoccupied with finding Hyuga Shin.
• The Sage of Six Paths asked the Three Great Sages to sever their contracts with the Sannin, but they refused and instead promised they could withhold support from the Sannin's Summoning Beasts at a chosen time.
• The Sage of Six Paths returned to the Pure Land and planned to have Minato Namikaze master Impure World Reincarnation so he could lead the Five Great Shinobi Villages and Five Great Nations against the Nether Ninja Village.
• Miyashi Hizokurou started an intensive training program for six recruits, using Tsunade Hime's Ration Pills and lessons designed to exhaust their Chakra and improve their ninjutsu.

Miyashi Hizokurou’s brutal training attracted more Nether Ninja Village recruits, while Orochimaru planned to approach Might Duy and Might Guy. In his hideout, Uchiha Madara reassessed his disrupted plans and ordered closer surveillance of Amegakure.

• Sasori, Uzumaki Ayano, Pakura, Hozuki Mangetsu, and others grew stronger through Miyashi Hizokurou’s training and its recovery support.
• Orochimaru accepted more trainees, but Miyashi Hizokurou limited the group to twelve after dozens applied.
• Orochimaru added Might Duy and Might Guy to his plans after recalling Hyuga Shin’s recommendation.
• Uchiha Madara considered how the rise of the Nether Ninja Village and changes in Konohagakure had disrupted his plans for Nagato and the Akatsuki Organization.
• Uchiha Madara concluded that Hanzo needed outside help to destroy the Akatsuki Organization and ordered White Zetsu to monitor Amegakure closely.

Influenced by the Sage of Six Paths, Minato Namikaze used Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi. He brought them to Konoha, where Shikatoshi Nara realized that a new crisis involving the Nether Ninja Village was approaching.

• The Sage of Six Paths intensified his control over Minato Namikaze until Minato captured rogue ninja and used Impure World Reincarnation to summon Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi's soul attached itself to a sacrifice, and he returned as an Impure World Reincarnation summon.
• Hashirama Senju urged the group to seek the Sage of Six Paths' help, but Tobirama Senju directed Minato Namikaze to take them to Konoha first.
• Minato Namikaze told the three former Hokage how the Nether Ninja Village had forced the Five Great Shinobi Villages to retreat while the Five Kage resisted their daimyo's demands for war.
• Minato Namikaze brought the three summons to Konoha and introduced them to acting Fourth Hokage Torifu Akimichi.
• Shikatoshi Nara recognized the returning Hokage as a sign that the Sage of Six Paths had acted again and feared a war with the Nether Ninja Village was near.

Torifu Akimichi agreed to join the former Kage in preparing a new war against the Nether Ninja Village, while Shikatoshi Nara secretly warned Miyashi Hizokurou and avoided the Five Kage Summit. Orochimaru mobilized the village for the coming battle, which he feared the Nether Ninja Village might not be strong enough to win.

• Hashirama Senju persuaded Torifu Akimichi to support war by promising the Sage of Six Paths would help restore their strength, and Torifu called a Five Kage Summit.
• Shikatoshi Nara met secretly with the Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads, then warned Miyashi Hizokurou that the Sage of Six Paths planned to unite the nations against the Nether Ninja Village.
• Shikatoshi declined to attend the summit, while Torifu Akimichi and the former Kage departed for the Cloud Village with a delegation.
• Miyashi Hizokurou informed Orochimaru of the threat, and Orochimaru recalled the Nether Ninja Village's shinobi and assembled its core members.
• Orochimaru assessed the village's fighters and weapons but doubted they could overcome the Five Shinobi Alliance and the Sage of Six Paths.

Orochimaru and the Nether Ninja Village discussed how to respond after the Five Great Shinobi Villages broke their word, while the Sage of Six Paths secretly watched them. The village left the plan to attack Kumogakure as a dangerous backup option.

• Orochimaru proposed destroying Kumogakure during the Five Kage Summit, but Miyashi Hizokurou warned that the Sage of Six Paths might be waiting there.
• The Sage of Six Paths prepared a powerful incarnation by gathering blood and bodily tissue to synthesize an Otsutsuki bloodline, then hid it near the Nether Ninja Village.
• Oda Kazuya warned the others through their minds that the Sage of Six Paths was already watching the village, so they switched to communicating through their rings.
• Orochimaru explained that killing the Impure World Reincarnation caster would not necessarily return the reincarnated souls to the Pure Land if the Sage kept the passage open.
• Miyashi Hizokurou found spatial markers around the village and reported that they could still use them to ambush the Five Kage Summit, though the danger was greater.
• En no Gyōja urged them to attack Kumogakure, but Orochimaru kept the assault as a backup plan while they searched for a better option.

Orochimaru led the Nether Ninja Village’s war council as the Five Kage gathered, assigning preparations and covert operations to weaken their enemies. The village began mobilizing for war while Jiraiya set out to contact Minato, and Miyashi Hizokurou was tasked with helping intimidate the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

• Miyashi Hizokurou sent a message to Hizashi Hyuga about bringing the Hyuga Branch Family under the Nether Ninja Village’s banner.
• Sasori proposed using poison, and Orochimaru assigned him to develop it while Tsunade organized antidotes, Ration Pills, and other medical supplies.
• Shirafuji Shizuka was ordered to incite ambition and division within the Five Great Shinobi Villages, while Kakuzu suggested informing their shinobi and civilians that war was coming.
• Hiruko proposed killing a shinobi as a warning, and Hidan offered to use his curse, but Orochimaru rejected Hidan’s plan as too risky for him and Miyashi Hizokurou.
• Jiraiya decided to contact Minato Namikaze and try to persuade him to release Impure World Reincarnation; Orochimaru warned him not to trust his Summoning Beasts completely.
• Orochimaru assigned the core members their wartime roles, including preparations at home and operations against the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The Five Kage formed a third Allied Shinobi Force after the Sage of Six Paths promised to help them defeat the Nether Ninja Village and gave them a way to redirect curses. Before they could begin the war, Miyashi Hizokurou and En no Gyōja attacked Kumogakure, leaving the village devastated despite the Sage of Six Paths and Hashirama Senju stopping the worst of the destruction.

• Raikage A presided over the Five Kage meeting, where the leaders agreed to join forces against the Nether Ninja Village.
• The Sage of Six Paths appeared, promised to lead the allied villages against the Nether Ninja Village, and taught the Kage how to redirect cursed attacks using a substitute.
• The Five Kage formed the Third Allied Shinobi Forces and gained confidence that the Sage of Six Paths and Tobirama Senju could keep Miyashi Hizokurou and En no Gyōja from striking their villages.
• Miyashi Hizokurou brought En no Gyōja to Kumogakure, where En no Gyōja unleashed Furious Heaven against the Raikage's office building.
• The Sage of Six Paths and Hashirama Senju stopped the technique before it could cause even greater destruction, while Miyashi Hizokurou escaped with En no Gyōja and warned Kumogakure against following the Sage of Six Paths.

After the Nether Ninja Village attacked Cloud Village, the Five Great Shinobi Villages prepared for war while the Nether Ninja Village worked to undermine their support for it. The chapter ended with the Sage of Six Paths sending a clone to investigate after three days passed without the villages attacking.

• Fourth Raikage A organized rescue efforts and learned that nearly three thousand people in Cloud Village had been killed or injured.
• The Sage of Six Paths kept the Kage together, revised their plans, and sent them home with Space Ninjutsu to prepare for war.
• Minato Namikaze used Impure World Reincarnation with White Zetsu sacrifices to summon powerful shinobi for the villages.
• Miyashi Hizokurou and En no Gyōja returned to the Nether Ninja Village, where they discussed improvements that let Furious Heaven recharge within three days.
• Shirafuji Shizuka sent agents to spread news of the attack and divide opinion in the Great Shinobi Villages, while the Five Kage struggled to rally their people for war.
• After the Five Great Shinobi Villages failed to attack within three days, the Sage of Six Paths sent a clone to investigate.

The Sage of Six Paths used his will and a coordinated propaganda campaign to turn the Five Great Shinobi Villages against the Nether Ninja Village. As the villages prepared for war, Shikatoshi Nara, Hizashi Hyuga, and others who knew the truth hid among the crowds.

• The Sage of Six Paths sent four clones to the other villages and went to Konohagakure to influence the shinobi and civilians.
• The Five Great Shinobi Villages presented him as a revered sage and founder of the Chakra system, while he portrayed the Nether Ninja Village as a threat to the world.
• Over two days, the Sage of Six Paths spread fabricated stories about his past and used his will to make the shinobi believe his account.
• Shikatoshi Nara and his son, other Ino-Shika-Cho members, and Hizashi Hyuga hid among unaffected clan members so the Sage would not notice their changed wills.
• The villages’ shinobi embraced the Sage’s propaganda and called for war against the Nether Ninja Village, undoing its efforts to turn them against him.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages and the armies of the Five Great Nations mobilized to attack the Nether Ninja Village, while Orochimaru and Miyashi Hizokurou revived Otsutsuki Hyuga Shin as a contingency. Hyuga Shin returned in a young, nearly lifelike body and prepared to face the coming battle while hiding his true capabilities from the Sage of Six Paths.

• The Five Great Shinobi Villages and the armies of the Five Great Nations marched toward the Nether Ninja Village as the Shinobi World watched.
• Jiraiya failed to reach Minato Namikaze through the messenger toads and concluded that Mount Myōboku had sided with the Sage of Six Paths.
• Orochimaru and Miyashi Hizokurou retrieved the White Zetsu body and the gem holding Otsutsuki Hyuga Shin's soul from the Small World.
• Orochimaru used modified Impure World Reincarnation to place Otsutsuki Hyuga Shin's soul into the White Zetsu body.
• Otsutsuki Hyuga Shin emerged in a youthful, nearly lifelike form and prepared to learn the situation while concealing his true power.

As the Five Great Shinobi Villages prepared to attack, Orochimaru assembled the Nether Ninja Village’s forces and revealed its trump card: Hyuga Shin, revived through Impure World Reincarnation. Orochimaru rallied the shinobi for the coming war, while Hyuga Shin chose to support the village without reclaiming leadership.

• Hyuga Shin planned to intervene in the conflict after the Three Great Insect Sages acted, giving him a reason to protect the Nether Ninja Village without exposing his connection to it.
• Orochimaru summoned Hidan, Ebizo, Kagami Uchiha, Explosion Release Gari, Heifeng, and a Kaguya Clan elder, then returned with them and Hyuga Shin to the Nether Ninja Village.
• Orochimaru held a prewar rally and displayed the village’s twenty-one Kage-Level fighters and other forces before summoning a coffin with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Hyuga Shin emerged from the coffin looking younger, greeted Orochimaru, and reunited with Kakuzu, Sasori, and Hidan.
• Hyuga Shin declined to address the gathered shinobi or take control, leaving the village’s leadership to Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru urged the shinobi to stand against the Sage of Six Paths and declared that the Nether Ninja Village would win.

Orochimaru led the Nether Ninja Village’s army toward the Land of Grass border to face the Five Great Shinobi Villages and Five Great Nations. As the enemy advance forces appeared, Hyuga Shin assured Orochimaru that the Three Great Sage Regions would not prevent their victory.

• Orochimaru announced that victory would unify the lands under the Nether Ninja Village as the Country of the Cauldron, then sent the shinobi to their assignments.
• Hyuga Shin warned Oda Kazuya that he would need to fight Hashirama Senju at full strength and reassured Orochimaru that someone would handle the Three Great Sage Regions.
• Orochimaru led more than ten thousand shinobi to the border, where they set up camp and sent out scouts.
• Uzumaki Ayano joined the medical support effort under Tsunade Hime, but Miyashi Hizokurou insisted she remain in the rear at the start of the battle.
• The Nether Ninja Village completed its preparations by two in the afternoon, and its scouts spotted the enemy advance forces.

The Nether Ninja Village prepared to face the Allied Shinobi Forces, with Hyuga Shin and Orochimaru choosing to conserve their strength before battle. As the armies met, Orochimaru rejected the Five Kage’s demand for surrender and urged their shinobi to defect instead.

• Orochimaru ordered the Nether Ninja Village’s scouting team to observe the approaching forces without engaging, preserving its valuable sensor shinobi.
• Hyuga Shin and Orochimaru assessed the Allied Shinobi Forces’ camp near the Land of Grass and ordered their troops to rest rather than launch a night raid.
• The Allied Shinobi Forces and the Nether Ninja Village stayed on alert overnight, then advanced toward each other the next day.
• Torifu Akimichi, Ōnoki, Karatachi Yagura, Rasa, and Fourth Raikage A tried to pressure Orochimaru into surrendering.
• Orochimaru rejected their threats, defended the Nether Ninja Village’s record, and invited Allied shinobi to defect and learn the truth.