Chapter Summaries

Mui, warden of Hozuki Castle, read a report about a deadly gate in an Underground Palace and suspected it resembled the Box of Ultimate Bliss beneath his prison. A massive explosion then shook the island, leaving its cause unknown.

• Mui walked through Hozuki Castle’s prison corridors and entered his office.
• Mui read intelligence that a mysterious gate in an Underground Palace drained the Chakra and life of anyone who approached it.
• Mui connected the gate to the Box of Ultimate Bliss beneath Hozuki Castle, which Kusagakure used in its effort to revive the village.
• A tremendous explosion shook Hozuki Castle, scattering files and raining dust and stone from the ceiling.

Mui faced an attack on Hozuki Castle by Nagato, Kakuzu, and Shadow, who sought to recruit him and claim the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Shadow subdued the box, compressed it into a small cube, and left for the Land of Fire to modify it, while Mui fought Nagato and Kakuzu.

• Mui ordered Hozuki Castle's guards to maximum alert after an attack devastated the prison, then learned that only three enemies were responsible.
• Nagato invited Mui to join Akatsuki, while Shadow headed for the underground prison to retrieve the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
• Shadow summoned Claw Shadows, which slaughtered the guards blocking his way as he advanced through the prison.
• Shadow reached the Box of Ultimate Bliss, fed it Chakra, then sealed it with his shadows and forced it to submit.
• The Box of Ultimate Bliss compressed into a small cube, which Shadow hid in his robe before traveling toward the Land of Fire.

Sarutobi Hiruzen reviewed Konoha’s worsening war situation and worried over Hyuga Yunchuan’s Branch Family status as a possible successor. Danzo and Koharu then confronted him about the Uchiha Clan’s growing dissatisfaction with Konoha, leaving the unresolved rift back in focus.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled how Sunagakure’s attack had trapped Jiraiya’s forces and forced Konoha to fight on two fronts while Iwagakure watched.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen praised Hyuga Yunchuan’s battlefield achievements but ruled out making him Hokage because he belonged to the Hyuga Clan’s Branch Family.
• Utatane Koharu and Shimura Danzō entered the Hokage Office, and Danzo warned Hiruzen that Uchiha Clan meetings at Naka Shrine had grown more frequent.
• Shimura Danzō reported that dissatisfaction with Konoha among the Uchiha Clan was intensifying.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen recalled how the Kurama incident, the Police Force’s relocation, and its unresolved conflict with the Anbu had widened the Uchiha Clan’s rift with the village.

Shimura Danzō used Kusagakure’s destruction to argue that the Uchiha Clan posed a threat to Konoha, while Sarutobi Hiruzen refused to let him take Hyuga Yunchuan into Root. Meanwhile, Hyuga Yunchuan connected to Orochimaru’s scroll and heard him announce that his immortality technique was complete.

• Shimura Danzō told Sarutobi Hiruzen and Utatane Koharu that an invisible Vengeful Spirit had killed Kusagakure’s forces by draining their mental energy, and he blamed the spirit on a resentful Uzumaki Clan member.
• Shimura Danzō compared the Uchiha Clan to Kusagakure and warned that its resentment and power could destroy Konoha, but Sarutobi Hiruzen allowed only precautions and surveillance.
• Shimura Danzō asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to send Hyuga Yunchuan to Root, but Sarutobi Hiruzen angrily refused and threatened him if he harmed the boy.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to let Shimura Danzō have Uchiha Itachi instead, as Uchiha Fugaku planned to send him to the Anbu.
• Hyuga Yunchuan examined the Box of Ultimate Bliss in his underground chamber and connected to the Otsutsuki Scroll in Orochimaru’s possession, hearing Orochimaru proclaim that his immortality technique had succeeded.

Orochimaru used his knowledge of Living Corpse Reincarnation and Impure World Reincarnation to create a technique for separating and absorbing souls. He tested Soul Devour on a genjutsu-skilled Missing-nin and pulled the victim’s soul from his body.

• Orochimaru studied the scroll’s account of Hollows and pursued soul-devouring as a way to strengthen his soul.
• Orochimaru restrained a genjutsu-skilled Missing-nin and established a mental connection with him.
• Orochimaru formed a Pseudo Hollow Hole from Yin Release Chakra, using techniques based on Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru activated Secret Technique: Soul Devour, and the Missing-nin convulsed as his soul was torn from his body.

Orochimaru successfully devoured a ninja's soul and gained strength, while Hyuga Yunchuan used the breakthrough to plan a cheaper way to create Hollows and develop Shinigami and Zanpakuto. The scroll then revealed instructions for forging a Soul-Cutting Blade, drawing Orochimaru into further research.

• Orochimaru used Sage Mode Chakra to purify a ninja's spirit and absorb its mental energy, strengthening his soul and perception.
• Hyuga Yunchuan recorded Orochimaru's Soul Devour technique and manifested a modified version for a Hollow at a cost of 200 Reality Points.
• Hyuga Yunchuan considered creating Shinigami and Zanpakuto to establish a stable balance alongside the Hollows and give people an incentive to participate.
• Orochimaru noticed that remnants of the souls he devoured could accumulate and eventually threaten his identity, then returned to studying the scroll.
• Hyuga Yunchuan revealed more of the scroll, which described how to forge a Soul-Cutting Blade using an Asauchi and a Hollow's soul.

Orochimaru studied the scroll’s method for forging Zanpakuto and planned to find the Space-Time Hole, while Hyuga Yunchuan considered raising Nohara Rin and Hatake Sakumo into Upper-level Menos. In the Land of Rain, Shadow began modifying the Box of Ultimate Bliss as Konoha and Sunagakure forces gathered above.

• Orochimaru interpreted the scroll’s instructions for using an Asauchi to absorb souls and forge a Zanpakuto, and decided his Kusanagi Sword could serve as the blade.
• Orochimaru resolved to seek a soul-storing Sealing Technique and locate the Space-Time Hole, while dismissing Hiruko’s mockery.
• Hyuga Yunchuan earned Reality Points from Orochimaru’s reaction and considered using souls to raise Nohara Rin and Hatake Sakumo into Upper-level Menos.
• Hyuga Yunchuan considered whether Hiruko’s Chimera Technique could help turn Kekkei Genkai and other abilities into consumable forms.
• Shadow appeared beneath the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, took out the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and began modifying it.

Hyuga Yunchuan entered the gap between the Pure Land and the Ninja World to find Hatake Sakumo, intending to turn him into a Hollow. He captured Sakumo and left the gap as an unseen observer noticed the change.

• Hyuga Yunchuan manifested his soul into the gap and used a Chakra signature resembling Hatake Kakashi's to locate Hatake Sakumo.
• Hyuga Yunchuan found Sakumo sitting beside a bonfire and learned that Sakumo had waited there for more than twenty years, longing to see Kakashi.
• Hyuga Yunchuan declared that he would take Sakumo back to the Ninja World, erase his identity, and make him kill Kakashi.
• Sakumo tried to attack Hyuga Yunchuan, but a shadow immobilized him and swallowed him as the bonfire went out.
• An aged, unseen observer noticed the extinguished bonfire and wondered whether a new change had occurred.

Hyuga Yunchuan received the villagers’ admiration while Uchiha Yashiro and his patrol watched, then an unseen influence turned the crowd’s praise into insults aimed at the Uchiha. Uchiha Inabi confronted a villager as Yamato watched, while Kakashi suddenly felt as though he had lost something and found blood on his face.

• Uchiha Yashiro and three Uchiha patrolmen saw Hyuga Yunchuan surrounded by grateful villagers, and Yashiro acknowledged that Yunchuan’s battlefield achievements were genuine.
• Yunchuan left the crowd, and an unseen ability caused villagers to mock the Uchiha as cowards who bullied their own people.
• Uchiha Inabi snapped and confronted the villager who insulted the Uchiha, his Sharingan flaring as the crowd recoiled.
• Yamato watched the confrontation from a tree and asked Kakashi whether they should intervene.
• Kakashi clutched his chest, found something wet on his face, and felt as though something had been severed or lost.

Hyuga Yunchuan manipulated the villagers’ emotions until their resentment toward the Uchiha erupted into open hostility. As Uchiha Inabi tried to seize a woman, the crowd surged against the Uchiha, leaving the confrontation on the verge of violence.

• Uchiha Inabi, Uchiha Tekka, and another Uchiha awakened their Sharingan after villagers called the clan cowards.
• Hyuga Yunchuan used Cognitive Domination to intensify the villagers’ anger and disgust toward the Uchiha.
• A woman denounced the Uchiha for enforcing rules in the village instead of fighting Kumogakure, and nearby residents joined in with their complaints.
• Uchiha Inabi accused the woman of being a spy and grabbed her, while Uchiha Yashiro tried to stop him.
• Hyuga Yunchuan stirred the crowd again, and the villagers’ anger erupted as they demanded that Inabi release the woman.

A confrontation between Uchiha officers and villagers spiraled into a mass brawl before Anbu intervened. Uchiha Fugaku apologized and promised punishment and compensation, but a villager’s egg and angry demands left the conflict unresolved.

• The villagers attacked the four Uchiha, who fought back while trying not to seriously injure anyone.
• Hatake Kakashi and Yamato drenched the crowd with Water Release and stopped the fighting.
• The villagers accused the Uchiha of seizing a woman and using violence, while Uchiha Inabi nearly argued back.
• Uchiha Fugaku arrived with Uchiha Itachi, apologized to the villagers, and promised strict discipline and compensation.
• A villager threw a rotten egg at Fugaku and rejected his apology, leaving Hatake Kakashi with a headache.

After Uchiha Fugaku apologized to the villagers and took Uchiha Itachi home, tensions between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha’s leadership remained unresolved. Black Zetsu and Uchiha Obito targeted Itachi, while Hanzo impatiently awaited the chance to strike at Konoha and Sunagakure.

• Uchiha Fugaku stopped Uchiha Inabi and the others from attacking, made them apologize to the villagers, and left with Uchiha Itachi.
• Hyuga Yunchuan watched Black Zetsu disappear into a tree and mused about a plan involving the Uchiha Clan and a coming opening act for Hueco Mundo.
• Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekka complained that Konoha excluded the Uchiha from the front lines, but Fugaku told them to remember their duties and revealed that Itachi had been permitted to join the Anbu.
• Uchiha Itachi reflected that the village’s safety should take precedence over clan interests and recalled Shimura Danzō’s question about sacrificing one infected person to save nine.
• Black Zetsu told Uchiha Obito that Itachi might be Uchiha Madara’s reincarnation and could awaken the Rinnegan, and Obito agreed to follow the plan.
• In Amegakure, Hanzo complained that the time had not yet come and said he wanted to kill the forces from Konoha and Sunagakure.

Hanzo waited under Shadow’s orders as fear and rumors spread through the Land of Rain, then received permission to attack the invading forces. He and Nagato rushed toward the border as Chiyo began planning Sunagakure’s advance into the Land of Rain.

• Hanzo seethed at rumors that he was a coward while he obeyed Shadow’s command to hold back.
• Nagato used the Rain Tiger at Will Technique to sense the fighting across the Land of Rain and waited calmly for Shadow’s order.
• Shadow appeared at Demon Throat and told Hanzo to purge the invaders.
• Hanzo unleashed his killing intent and raced toward the border, with Nagato following him.
• Chiyo began a Sunagakure strategy meeting and ordered the forces to advance beyond the border toward resource concentration points.

Chiyo dismissed fears of provoking Hanzo and planned to deepen Sunagakure’s campaign in the Land of Rain, while arranging a steady supply deal with Kusabi Real Estate. As she anticipated an assault on Konoha, a strange, painful chill spread through the tent.

• A Sunagakure Jonin warned Chiyo that plundering the Land of Rain could drive its people to ally with Konoha, but Chiyo said Hanzo had become a helpless recluse.
• Chiyo asked about military supplies, and the logistics ninja said Sunagakure had ordered medicine, Ninja Tools, and food from Kusabi Real Estate in the Land of Waves.
• Chiyo ordered the logistics ninja to secure a long-term agreement with Kusabi Real Estate for reliable supplies.
• Chiyo urged the assembled Sunagakure ninja to advance steadily and envisioned a full assault on Konoha once their supplies arrived.
• Rain outside grew louder, and the people in the tent felt a cold wind that caused stinging pain as they breathed.

Hanzo attacked a Sunagakure encampment, killing and wounding the assembled ninjas before clashing with Chiyo and her Puppets. As Hanzo summoned a massive creature beneath them, Shadow watched from Amegakure and said more food was arriving.

• A rain of Chakra arrows pierced the tent and killed several Sunagakure ninjas before Hanzo dropped onto the conference table.
• Hanzo struck with his Kusarigama, cutting through the defenders and wounding Chiyo.
• Chiyo summoned three of the White Secret Technique: Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu and ordered them to attack Hanzo.
• Hanzo overpowered the two blade-wielding Puppets and used the Summoning Technique to bring a massive creature bursting through the ground.
• In Amegakure, Shadow watched the Box of Ultimate Bliss consume souls and said the food was about to arrive.

Salamander Ibuse attacked Sunagakure’s camp, killing many ninja and leaving Chiyo injured as she faced Hanzo. Chiyo rallied the shaken survivors and ordered them to fight, accepting that one of them might die.

• Baki rushed toward Chiyo’s command tent after a scream broke the camp’s brief calm.
• Salamander Ibuse burst through the camp and devoured dozens of Sunagakure ninja.
• Chiyo emerged battered but alive, stopped Baki and the others from panicking, and treated her wound.
• Chiyo realized Hanzo and Ibuse had grown stronger, noticed the Black Rod on Ibuse’s tail, and resolved not to surrender.
• Chiyo addressed the Sunagakure ninja and ordered them to kill.

Hanzo unleashed Okami God against the combined Wind Style attack, and its poisonous mist devastated the Sunagakure camp. As Chiyo died, she saw Hatake Sakumo appear in the darkness and recognized the voice of the man who had killed her son and daughter-in-law.

• Chiyo combined the Sunagakure ninja's Wind Style techniques with her Three Treasures Suction Crush and sent a vast hurricane toward Hanzo.
• Hanzo summoned a giant serpent of condensed venom and sent it crashing into the hurricane.
• Poison from the serpent spread through the camp, corroding Sunagakure ninja and fatally poisoning Chiyo.
• After Chiyo lost consciousness, she saw a massive black shadow and a distant man who stopped it from taking her.
• Chiyo recognized the man's voice as Hatake Sakumo, the killer of her son and daughter-in-law.

Shadow observed how the modified Box of Ultimate Bliss automatically attracted souls and turned them into Hollows through endless devouring. A Middle-level Menos evolved from the souls and was revealed to have Hatake Sakumo as its core consciousness.

• Shadow watched illusory spirits devour one another inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss and considered it a fully automated Hollow incubation chamber.
• A spirit that had consumed dozens of others fused into a Lower-level Menos with a rudimentary physical form.
• Shadow noted that Hollows born in the Box had their memories and personalities scrambled into new individuals.
• A powerful Menos with a humanlike body hunted spirits and evolved into a Middle-level Menos.
• Shadow recognized Hatake Sakumo as the Middle-level Menos’s core consciousness.

Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss, Hatake Sakumo became a Middle-level Menos by devouring another Hollow, while Shadow stopped it from attacking a resentful Menos and recognized Chiyo within. Outside the box, Shadow spotted two members of the Otsutsuki Clan arriving from the moon.

• Hatake Sakumo killed and devoured one Lower-level Menos, growing stronger as the other recognized the name Sakumo and questioned him.
• Shadow halted Hatake Sakumo and introduced Uzumaki, Espada Zero, who restrained the remaining Lower-level Menos with her chains.
• Shadow recognized Chiyo of Sunagakure as the consciousness inside the restrained Menos and chose to spare it.
• Shadow withdrew his consciousness from the Box of Ultimate Bliss and saw two figures from the Otsutsuki Clan standing on a platform in the storm clouds.

Otsutsuki Toneri's Father brought five-year-old Toneri to witness the brutality of the Ninja World and convinced him that the Sage of Six Paths had created a corrupted world that must be destroyed. After deciding to take Toneri to meet his future wife, Toneri's Father sensed a powerful figure on the battlefield targeting them.

• Otsutsuki Toneri's Father showed Toneri the poison-filled slaughter and the wider battle between Konoha and Sunagakure.
• Toneri's Father blamed the Sage of Six Paths and the ninjas' Chakra for the world's wars, and urged Toneri to destroy and remake it.
• Toneri accepted his father's mission, while Toneri's Father considered finding him the Princess of the Byakugan as a future wife.
• As Toneri's Father prepared to leave, he sensed that a black-robed figure on the battlefield had locked onto them, while a slender silhouette raised her hand toward them.