Chapter Summaries

The Five Kage ordered a standoff rather than risk Nether Ninja Village’s threatened Forbidden Jutsu, while Miyashi Hizokurou left a clone to deter the Allied Shinobi Forces and rushed to reinforce his wounded comrades. Orochimaru then reversed the Impure World Reincarnation and closed the passage to the Pure Land, ending the reanimated fighters’ participation in the battle.

• The Five Kage debated whether to continue fighting, and Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Allied Shinobi Forces to hold position while keeping En no Gyōja and Miyashi Hizokurou occupied.
• Miyashi Hizokurou left a clone to threaten the Allied Shinobi Forces with En no Gyōja’s Forbidden Jutsu, then vanished to support Nether Ninja Village’s core fighters.
• Miyashi Hizokurou joined the injured fighters, who had been struggling against Tobirama Senju and the other reanimated warriors.
• Orochimaru arrived, used Blue B as a medium, reversed the Impure World Reincarnation, and sealed the passage between the living world and the Pure Land.
• The reanimated fighters’ souls were pulled back to the Pure Land, and the Sage of Six Paths regretted losing Orochimaru as a pawn but failed to break through Orochimaru’s mental firewall.

The Five Kage argued over the collapse of their attack after Hiruzen Sarutobi’s Impure World Reincarnation was undone, while the Nether Ninja Village’s forces advanced. Ōnoki chose to retreat, and Orochimaru began persuading the Allied Shinobi Forces on the battlefield.

• The Five Kage blamed Hiruzen Sarutobi after the reanimated fighters were released and the Allied Shinobi Forces lost their advantage.
• Rasa and Karatachi Yagura demanded an explanation, while Hiruzen argued that the other Kage had chosen to join the attack.
• Ōnoki urged the Five Kage to decide quickly whether to fight or retreat as Orochimaru and Miyashi Hizokurou reached the main battlefield.
• A proposed attempt to summon the reanimated Kage again stalled when Hiruzen asked the other villages to provide living sacrifices.
• Ōnoki decided that the Five Great Shinobi Villages should retreat and rebuild their strength.
• Orochimaru arrived with Miyashi Hizokurou and the reanimated fighters, then began persuading the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Orochimaru addressed the Five Shinobi Allied Forces, declaring that the Nether Ninja Village would unite the Shinobi World, while Miyashi Hizokurou enforced his authority by severing Shimura Danzō’s arm. The allied forces retreated, and Miyashi Hizokurou left with the wounded En no Gyōja, planning to deliver another shock.

• Orochimaru and his companions raised themselves above the battlefield, where Orochimaru proclaimed himself the Nether King and urged the allied forces to accept his claims about the Shinobi World.
• Shimura Danzō denounced Orochimaru, and Miyashi Hizokurou cut off Danzō’s right arm as a warning to the other commanders.
• Orochimaru called on the allied ninja to oppose the Sage of Six Paths and join the Nether Ninja Village, threatening those who learned the truth but still resisted.
• The Five Kage ordered a retreat, and the allied forces collected their fallen while Orochimaru let them withdraw.
• Miyashi Hizokurou spoke with Orochimaru, then took the wounded En no Gyōja away to prepare a further shock for the retreating forces.

Miyashi Hizokurou and En no Gyōja used the Forbidden Jutsu Furious Heaven to warn the Allied Shinobi Forces against provoking the Nether Ninja Village again, forcing the Five Kage to retreat. After they returned, Orochimaru began organizing the village’s postwar recovery and honoring its casualties.

• Miyashi Hizokurou took En no Gyōja to the Allied Shinobi Forces’ retreat route and had him unleash Furious Heaven, injuring and killing shinobi caught in the shock wave.
• The Allied Shinobi Forces found Miyashi Hizokurou’s threat among the devastation, and the Five Kage were left unable to retaliate.
• Miyashi Hizokurou and En no Gyōja returned to the Nether Ninja Village, where En no Gyōja went to the hospital for treatment.
• Orochimaru summoned Miyashi Hizokurou and organized casualty burials, compensation for families, treatment for the wounded, and a Memorial Stone.

Miyashi Hizokurou told Orochimaru how he had warned the Five Great Shinobi Villages without provoking them into war, then refused to help with village administration. He visited the injured Kakuzu at the Nether Ninja Village Hospital, where they traded insults.

• Miyashi Hizokurou reported that he and En no Gyōja had set off a huge firecracker to warn the Five Great Shinobi Villages, and Orochimaru approved of his restraint.
• Orochimaru asked Miyashi Hizokurou to help handle village affairs, but Miyashi Hizokurou ran off rather than take on more work.
• Orochimaru reflected on which core members could help with administration and decided to train mid-level members and establish departments.
• Miyashi Hizokurou went to the hospital and found Kakuzu recovering from injuries inflicted by the Third Raikage.
• Miyashi Hizokurou teased Kakuzu for looking miserable, and Kakuzu complained that he had brought no fruit.

Miyashi Hizokurou visited injured Nether Ninja Village elders and reassured Uzumaki Ayano that he would not avoid her, while steering her toward cultivating strength and rebuilding the Uzumaki Clan. He left to check on the remaining wounded elders after promising to continue guiding her.

• Miyashi Hizokurou joked with Kakuzu in his ward, then left to visit the other injured elders.
• Miyashi Hizokurou found Sasori recovering with Uzumaki Ayano and praised Sasori's commitment to the Nether Ninja Village's ideals.
• Uzumaki Ayano asked Miyashi Hizokurou why he had avoided her and stopped teaching her cultivation, while Sasori looked downcast.
• Miyashi Hizokurou told Uzumaki Ayano he cared for her like a sister, encouraged her to focus on cultivation and reviving the Uzumaki Clan, and promised not to avoid her.
• Miyashi Hizokurou continued visiting the injured core elders, including En no Gyōja, Hiruko, Scorch Release Pakura, Kaguya Changming, and Shirafuji Shizuka.

The Five Great Shinobi Villages regrouped after their failed attack, while the Sage of Six Paths struggled to deal with setbacks and other threats. The Nether Ninja Village gained recognition as the Sixth Great Shinobi Village and began expanding into nearby small countries under Orochimaru’s leadership.

• The Sage of Six Paths was pulled back into the Pure Land, while Uchiha Madara’s actions further disrupted his plans to destroy the Nether Ninja Village.
• The Five Kage reviewed their defeat, recorded information about the Nether Ninja Village’s core members, and returned to their villages to suppress rumors and unrest.
• News of the Five Great Shinobi Villages’ defeat spread, and the Shinobi World accepted the Nether Ninja Village as the Sixth Great Shinobi Village.
• Orochimaru gave communication rings to newly joined core members, and Miyashi Hizokurou distributed space-transmission scrolls before the elders led forces into nearby small countries.

The Nether Ninja Village sent teams to recruit or conquer ninja forces in several minor countries as it moved to expand its power. Meanwhile, Uchiha Madara questioned whether the Sage of Six Paths had manipulated him and sensed something hidden within his body alongside the mysterious Soul Body.

• Kakuzu, Sasori, Kaguya Changming, Shirafuji Shizuka, Hiruko, and Pakura led teams to recruit ninja forces across the surrounding minor countries.
• Orochimaru kept Hidan and En no Gyōja in the Nether Ninja Village as deterrents against the Five Great Shinobi Villages and arranged support through Miyashi Hizokurou's Space Ninjutsu.
• Uchiha Madara reflected on how Hyuga Shin's actions had changed the Shinobi World and revived his own ambition to unify it.
• Uchiha Madara suspected that the Sage of Six Paths had controlled him and Hashirama, and he sensed something fused deeply with his Chakra beyond the mysterious Soul Body.

Uchiha Madara resisted the Sage of Six Paths’ control for months before finally losing, while the Nether Ninja Village gained time to strengthen its position under Orochimaru. Kakuzu then returned to Takigakure as an emissary, hoping to secure its cooperation without fighting.

• Madara studied the Sage of Six Paths’ influence and fought to conceal his resistance, but the Sage ultimately overcame him after months.
• The Sage’s struggle delayed his efforts to counter Hyuga Shin’s measures, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi without a solution to Hidan’s Wicked Art.
• Orochimaru threatened the Five Great Shinobi Villages with destruction if they attacked the Nether Ninja Village again, buying his village time to grow stronger.
• Kakuzu led a group into the Land of Waterfalls, sent teams to recruit wandering and Black Market ninja, and traveled toward Takigakure with four companions.
• Kakuzu’s group reached Takigakure, where a patrol stopped them and a subordinate identified them as emissaries carrying a letter for the Takikage.

Kakuzu delivered Orochimaru’s letter to Third Takikage Tian Qingcheng, inviting Takigakure to join the Nether Ninja Village’s campaign to unite the Shinobi World. The letter’s threat to destroy any force that opposed them left Tian Qingcheng unwilling to give an immediate answer, so he said he would consult the village elders.

• A Takigakure patrol leader reported the Nether Ninja Village envoy’s arrival and personal letter to Tian Qingcheng.
• Tian Qingcheng agreed to receive Kakuzu and his four companions, hoping their visit would not disrupt Takigakure’s isolation.
• Kakuzu told Tian Qingcheng that the Nether Ninja Village sought cooperation and had Yoda hand over Orochimaru’s letter.
• Tian Qingcheng read Orochimaru’s invitation and warning that the Nether Ninja Village would wipe out anyone who blocked its effort to unite the Shinobi World.
• Kakuzu asked for Takigakure’s position, and Tian Qingcheng said he would consult the village elders before deciding.

Kakuzu forced Takigakure to decide within three days whether to join the Nether Ninja Village, and Tian Qingcheng eventually chose to negotiate rather than risk the village’s destruction. Tian asked to preserve Takigakure’s independence as an affiliated force, and Kakuzu contacted Orochimaru to seek approval.

• Kakuzu gave Tian Qingcheng three days to decide, and Tian reluctantly accepted the deadline after Kakuzu threatened to leave Takigakure to its fate.
• Tian gathered the elders and elite shinobi, whose debate split between protecting the village’s independence and joining the Nether Ninja Village.
• Tian held a vote, and the results showed broad division, including 1,500 shinobi willing to join the Nether Ninja Village.
• On the fourth day, Tian told Kakuzu that Takigakure would join only as an affiliated force that retained its independence and would not be used as cannon fodder.
• Kakuzu assured Tian that the Nether Ninja Village did not use its members as cannon fodder, but said he needed Orochimaru’s approval for Takigakure’s affiliated status.

Kakuzu secured Takikagure's agreement to join the Nether Ninja Village after Orochimaru accepted Takikagure's conditions. Meanwhile, Kaguya Changming met Takumi Village's leader to begin negotiations on bringing it under Nether Ninja Village control.

• Orochimaru accepted Takikagure's conditions, requiring the village to answer summons and support the Nether Ninja Village's unification efforts.
• Tian Qingcheng agreed that Takikagure would cooperate, and Kakuzu gave him a communication ring and scroll before leaving.
• Kakuzu and his team headed to the Underground Black Market to check on the other teams' progress.
• Kaguya Changming, Black Rock, and several elite ninjas entered Takumi Village as envoys and met Grand Artisan Shimizu.
• Kaguya Changming stated that the Nether Ninja Village intended to bring Takumi Village under its control and presented Orochimaru's handwritten letter.

Kaguya Changming forced Takumi Village to join the Nether Ninja Village after demonstrating the overwhelming power of its First Nether King. Shimizu accepted the submission and received a communication ring and instructions for following the village's orders.

• Shimizu rejected Kaguya Changming's demand to absorb Takumi Village and told the emissaries to leave.
• Hyuga Shin transmitted images of his battle against Hashirama Senju and the Sage of Six Paths, shocking the shinobi present with the Nether Ninja Village's power.
• Changming renewed his demand, threatened to destroy Takumi Village, and intimidated its shinobi with his killing intent and the strength of his subordinates.
• Shimizu agreed to join the Nether Ninja Village, and Changming gave him a communication ring and scroll for receiving tasks and orders.
• Shimizu promised Takumi Village would obey the Nether Ninja Village, and Changming left after reminding him to establish contact.

The Nether Ninja Village continued absorbing smaller ninja villages as Orochimaru weighed cutting ties with Ryūchi Cave, whose White Snake Sage had repeatedly summoned him. Pakura secured Earth Ninja Village’s allegiance, while the White Snake Sage chose not to force Orochimaru to answer its summons.

• Kaguya Changming reported that Takumi Village had joined the Nether Ninja Village, and Orochimaru saw its skilled technicians as valuable assets.
• A message from the White Snake Sage again summoned Orochimaru to Ryūchi Cave, but he burned the scroll and continued considering how to end his contract.
• The Snake Princesses urged the White Snake Sage to punish Orochimaru or remove him from the summoning contract, but it refused because he was a rare talent and a powerful ally.
• The White Snake Sage explained that it had summoned Orochimaru at the Sage of Six Paths’ request and accepted his refusal as an excuse to stop intervening.
• Pakura defeated Earth Ninja Village’s leader in a match, after which he declared that the village would join the Nether Ninja Village and help overthrow Great Black Heaven.

The Nether Ninja Village expanded its forces across several small countries as its elders recruited or subjugated ninja groups. After completing their missions, the core elders returned to the village with growing numbers, bringing Orochimaru closer to his goal of unifying the Shinobi World.

• Sasori secured the Ninja Village of Water and recruited wandering and Black Market Ninjas in the Land of Rivers.
• Shirafuji Shizuka and Kachou brought the Bear Ninja Village under the Nether Ninja Village's control and continued recruiting elsewhere.
• Hiruko destroyed a group that resisted absorption, then persuaded the remaining groups in the Land of Snow to submit.
• Hiruko appointed Akashiro to manage the Land of Snow's ninja groups and left to expand the village's influence in a neighboring country.
• Over the following weeks, more than a dozen small-country villages and numerous ninja groups joined, and recruited ninjas were escorted back for indoctrination.
• The core elders completed their overseas expansion missions and returned to the Nether Ninja Village.

Orochimaru welcomed the newly affiliated village leaders and showed them proof that the Sage of Six Paths had embedded his will within them. After they escaped their cages, Miyashi Hizokurou demonstrated the Nether Ninja Village’s overwhelming strength in a spar, leaving the leaders more accepting of their new allegiance.

• The elders returned from recruiting villages and ninja, bringing the Nether Ninja Village’s forces to more than twenty-five thousand.
• Orochimaru summoned the leaders and elite ninja of affiliated villages, welcomed them, and arranged for Miyashi Hizokurou to guide them into the Small World.
• Takikage Tian Qingcheng and his twelve elite ninja discovered and purged the Sage of Six Paths’ will, confirming the Nether Ninja Village’s warnings.
• The other village leaders and their elites also escaped their cages, experienced major improvements, and felt less resentment toward the Nether Ninja Village.
• Miyashi Hizokurou invited the leaders to attack him together and defeated them in moments, while Tian Qingcheng lasted less than five minutes.
• Tian Qingcheng and the other leaders recognized the Nether Ninja Village’s strength, and Tian Qingcheng concluded that submitting had been the right choice.

Orochimaru secured the small ninja villages’ leaders’ support for the Nether Ninja Village’s plans to spread unification ideology, take control of their daimyo, and prepare their forces for war. The Five Kage learned of the village’s rapid expansion, while Hiruzen Sarutobi held back from attacking because of Orochimaru’s warning.

• Orochimaru persuaded the small-village leaders to promote unification and the Nether Ninja Village’s ideals in their villages and countries.
• Orochimaru urged the leaders to bring their daimyo under the Nether Ninja Village’s control, promised protection and capable administrators, and cited the Land of Grass as proof that people cared more about their lives than who ruled them.
• Orochimaru told the leaders to intensify training and prepare to contribute ninjas to future battles, and they agreed to follow his plans.
• Orochimaru reminded the leaders to send their villages’ elite ninjas for the procedure to break free from their cages, then saw them off.
• The Five Kage learned from their spies that the Nether Ninja Village was rapidly expanding, while Hiruzen Sarutobi refrained from attacking despite summoning the Senju brothers with Impure World Reincarnation.

The Sage of Six Paths struggled to control Madara as the Nether Ninja Village’s growing influence threatened his plans. After rejecting two risky strategies against the village, the Five Kage agreed to bring the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations into the conflict.

• The Sage of Six Paths failed to break Madara’s resistance and worried about the Nether Ninja Village, Hyuga Shin, and Jashin’s Successor disrupting his plans.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju to advise him on countering the Nether Ninja Village.
• Tobirama Senju proposed seizing small-country shinobi villages, ordering assassinations, and involving the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed Tobirama Senju’s proposals with the other four Kage, who rejected the first two as too dangerous.
• The Five Kage unanimously approved involving the Daimyo of the Five Great Nations in the fight against the Nether Ninja Village.

Tobirama Senju and the other Hokage discussed ways to counter Hidan's curse, while Jiraiya learned that the Great Toad Sage had a talisman that might help him resist it. The Great Toad Sage had yet to devise a group defense, leaving the wider threat unresolved.

• Tobirama Senju proposed blocking the curse's information transmission, but estimated that developing a practical method would take a year or two.
• Hashirama Senju tried to summon the Great Slug Sage, but his name had been removed from the contract because he was dead.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent a Toad messenger to ask Jiraiya whether Mount Myōboku had found a way to counter the curse.
• Jiraiya recalled the Great Toad Sage's advice: mastered Senjutsu could block an attack, while understanding rules could offer lasting immunity, but neither solution was within his reach.
• After Jiraiya pleaded for help, the Great Toad Sage gave him a talisman and agreed to consider a way for ordinary shinobi to resist the Evil God's attacks.

Hidan enjoyed an easy life in the Nether Ninja Village, where Orochimaru kept him safe and used his Wicked Art as a deterrent against the Five Great Shinobi Villages. The chapter also described the village’s plans for the Five Kage and the mystery surrounding Oda Kazuya’s strength.

• The Nether Ninja Village captured criminals and enemy ninja to provide Hidan with sacrifices, while its strict rules kept the growing village orderly.
• Orochimaru arranged Hidan’s public execution ceremony to demonstrate the Nether Ninja Village’s power to spies and discourage the Five Great Shinobi Villages from attacking.
• Orochimaru kept the Five Kage alive because he wanted to avoid retaliation and intended to use them in a future plan.
• Hidan spent his days relaxing, growing stronger through his connection to the Evil God, and provoking Sasori and Kakuzu with boasts and quotations from Teacher Dalong’s novels.
• Orochimaru and En no Gyōja envied Hidan’s carefree life while managing the village and preparing for threats from the Five Great Shinobi Villages and the Sage of Six Paths.
• Oda Kazuya remained quiet and assisted Orochimaru, though the other members remained curious about his strength after his performance against Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.