Chapter Summaries

Aoba brought Orochimaru to Forgotten Island, where he offered to help restore Orochimaru’s soul and Shisui’s eyes. After returning to the front lines, Aoba saw that Konohagakure had recalled most troops but ordered him to remain at the border, leaving him convinced the village’s leaders wanted to keep him away.

• Aoba used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Orochimaru to Forgotten Island, where Orochimaru saw the settlement and its surviving Uzumaki residents.
• Aoba told Orochimaru that his incomplete soul was making him emotionally unstable and that he would need to recover soul fragments from Cursed Seal subjects in Konohagakure.
• Aoba offered to restore Shisui’s eyes, then introduced Orochimaru to Honoka and the island’s laboratory.
• Aoba returned to the front lines and began withdrawing the island’s recruits after using the war to give them combat experience.
• Konohagakure recalled many troops after Kumogakure requested peace talks, but ordered Aoba to keep guarding the border.
• Aoba suspected the village’s leaders were keeping him at the front because they feared his return would worsen the turmoil in Konohagakure.

As Konoha’s political factions maneuvered over Tsunade’s succession, Aoba rescued the poisoned Ryoichi and captured two White Zetsu hidden inside him. Learning that Sasori had attacked Ryoichi, Aoba confronted Akatsuki at the border, where Kakuzu recognized him as the 360-million-ryō bounty target Yamashiro Aoba.

• Konoha’s clans rallied around Tsunade as she investigated village supplies, while Jiraiya returned and demanded an inquiry into Orochimaru’s framing and Danzo’s dealings with Hanzo.
• Aoba received word that Ryoichi had collapsed in Pale Swamp, left the frontline command, and used Reverse Summoning to reach him.
• Aoba entered Sage Mode, expelled and captured two White Zetsu hiding inside Ryoichi, then extracted the poison and revived him.
• Ryoichi told Aoba that Sasori of the Red Sands had attacked him after Akatsuki traced the underground intelligence trade.
• Aoba went to meet Akatsuki at the border of the Land of Rivers and the Land of Rain, where Sasori, Kakuzu, and Konan encountered him.
• Kakuzu checked his bounty handbook, recognized Aoba as Konohagakure’s Twin Stars, and warned Sasori that Aoba was strong.

Aoba confronted Sasori and Kakuzu after they attacked his subordinate, revealing his overwhelming strength and magma-based immortal body. As Black Zetsu watched and identified Aoba as a threat to his plans, Aoba survived the pair’s strongest attacks and began his counterattack.

• Aoba confronted Sasori over Hiruko’s attack on his man and caught Hiruko’s tail spike before smashing the Puppet apart, forcing Sasori to reveal himself.
• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage Puppet while Aoba raised a massive wave of sand to oppose its Iron Sand.
• Kakuzu and Sasori attacked together, but Aoba regenerated from a gaping wound and melted Sasori’s Iron Sand needles inside his body.
• Black Zetsu watched from a distant dune and decided Aoba was a dangerous anomaly who threatened his plan to revive Kaguya.
• Kakuzu and Sasori unleashed their strongest techniques, but Aoba emerged unharmed from the crater’s magma and announced it was his turn.
• Aoba infused a Kunai with chakra, activated Lightning Release, and vanished in a streak of blue lightning.

Yamashiro Aoba defeated Kakuzu and Sasori, took control of the Third Kazekage Puppet, and forced them to retreat with Konan's help. He confronted Konan afterward, revealed that he had acted as Seimei, and recognized Nagato as Akatsuki's leader.

• Aoba severed Sasori's chakra threads, took control of the Third Kazekage Puppet, and cut Kakuzu in half, but Kakuzu revived himself with Earth Grudge Fear.
• Aoba used the puppet's Iron Sand to destroy Kakuzu's two Earth Grudge Fear creatures, then exposed Kakuzu's feigned death.
• Kakuzu and Sasori brought out their trump cards, but Konan attacked with paper and explosive tags and ordered them to retreat.
• Aoba's Shadow Clones trapped White Zetsu in a Three-Way Seal, while Black Zetsu escaped underground.
• Aoba sealed the Third Kazekage Puppet and greeted Konan, who questioned why he had disguised himself as Seimei.
• Aoba appeared behind Konan, startling her into lowering her guard, then remarked on her Akatsuki uniform and inferred that Nagato led the organization.

Konan learned that the masked man was behind Daibutsu and Kyūsuke’s deaths, and Aoba gave her the means to verify his claim. Back at the laboratory, Aoba focused on studying the Uchiha’s Mangekyō potential as a path toward countering the Otsutsuki, while Orochimaru quickly mastered the island’s equipment.

• Aoba told Konan that the masked man had killed Daibutsu and Kyūsuke, and warned her that he was manipulating the Akatsuki to collect the Tailed Beasts.
• Aoba gave Konan Impure World Reincarnation instructions and the two men’s blood samples so she could summon them and confirm what happened.
• Konan warned Aoba that major nations were secretly coordinating over the 360-million-ryo bounty on him, then left the Gobi Desert.
• Aoba kept the Uchiha war veterans under his direct guard during the withdrawal to protect the clan and keep their Sharingan from falling into enemy hands.
• Aoba concluded that Mangekyō techniques might be weakened Shinjutsu, scanned the Uchiha, and found that seven of the twenty-six Three-Tomoe users showed signs of Mangekyō potential.
• Aoba brought Shisui and Rong to the laboratory’s core area, where Orochimaru had already examined the island’s equipment and technology in two days.

Aoba brought Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui to Orochimaru, who agreed to take Itachi as an assistant and learned how his future attempt to seize Itachi’s body had ended in defeat. Aoba then asked Orochimaru to devise a treatment for Shisui’s failing eyesight using a White Zetsu jar containing Eight-Tails chakra, and Orochimaru identified Hashirama Cells as the key.

• Aoba introduced Itachi as his disciple and assigned him to assist Orochimaru, warning Orochimaru not to target the boy.
• Aoba revealed that a future Orochimaru had tried to take Itachi’s body and been defeated by Itachi’s genjutsu, losing a hand.
• Orochimaru reasoned that flaws in the soul left him vulnerable in mental confrontations and treated the future defeat as a useful research clue.
• Aoba brought out a White Zetsu jar containing some of the Eight-Tails’ chakra and asked Orochimaru to seal it into Shisui with a Cursed Seal to nourish his Sharingan.
• Orochimaru recognized the jar’s Wood Release properties and deduced that Hashirama Cells were central to restoring Shisui’s eyes.

Aoba began explaining chakra’s origin to Orochimaru, Shisui, and Itachi while Obito learned that Aoba had defeated Kakuzu and Sasori. Deciding Aoba was too dangerous to confront directly, Obito planned to use Danzo against him.

• Aoba told Orochimaru, Shisui, and Itachi that chakra began when the Rabbit Goddess descended from the stars.
• Black Zetsu reported that Kakuzu and Sasori had failed to defeat Aoba, and that Kakuzu had lost three hearts while Sasori had lost his Kazekage Puppet.
• Obito considered Aoba’s Mangekyō Sharingan and resolved to learn the abilities of its ocular techniques before confronting him.
• Obito ordered Black Zetsu to have White Zetsu contact Danzo and offer him something he would want, hoping to use Danzo to test Aoba.

Konan told Nagato that Yamashiro Aoba had revealed the masked man and Zetsu’s role in Akatsuki’s founding tragedy, and Nagato decided to verify the account using Impure World Reincarnation. Meanwhile, Fugaku prepared the Uchiha to defend their Sharingan, while Obito infiltrated Root and introduced himself to Danzo as Uchiha Madara.

• Konan reported Aoba’s revelations to Nagato and gave him the Impure World Reincarnation scroll and Daibutsu’s and Kyūsuke’s blood samples.
• Nagato decided to summon Daibutsu and Kyūsuke to confirm the truth about the attack on the original Akatsuki.
• Uchiha Inabi told Fugaku that unidentified attackers had assaulted Uchiha members and stolen a Sharingan, so Fugaku ordered clan members to travel in groups and planned to teach them Izanagi.
• Danzo berated Root researchers for failing to analyze the Sharingan and Byakugan, then gave them one month to produce results.
• Obito entered Root through a space-time vortex, proved that attacks passed through him, and told Danzo he was Uchiha Madara.

Aoba’s story about the Rabbit Goddess led Orochimaru to new ideas about his experiments, while Aoba pointed him toward Yakushi Kabuto and the young man’s potential as a sage. After learning that other villages were spreading intelligence against him, Aoba decided to visit Kirigakure, where Kisame Hoshigaki was carrying out a mission to kill his teammates.

• Shisui, Itachi, and Orochimaru reacted to Aoba’s story about the Rabbit Goddess, Asura, and Indra, and Orochimaru connected its clues to his research and Shisui’s eyes.
• Aoba left Shisui and Itachi with Orochimaru, then urged him to bring Yakushi Kabuto to the laboratory and revealed Kabuto’s aptitude to become a sage.
• Aoba learned that the other great nations were spreading intelligence about him and decided to visit the villages, choosing Kirigakure first because Obito had infiltrated Konohagakure.
• At the border between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire, Kisame Hoshigaki killed two Kirigakure teammates to keep mission intelligence from the enemy.
• A female Kirigakure shinobi asked Kisame whether his life had been hard, but he suppressed his reaction and stabbed her.

Aoba rescued Sakai Sachiko after Kisame Hoshigaki stabbed her, then brought her toward Kirigakure to use her in an attempt to recruit Kisame. Meanwhile, Kisame grappled with his past killings before the Fourth Mizukage ordered him to assassinate his traitorous superior, Suikazan Fuguki.

• Kisame stabbed Sakai Sachiko and fled when Aoba arrived, while Aoba healed her and captured her for interrogation.
• Aoba let Morino Ibiki question Sachiko, then revealed he planned to visit the other villages’ Kage before flying toward Kirigakure with her.
• Aoba learned Sachiko still cared for Kisame and asked her to help persuade him to join him.
• Kisame returned to Kirigakure haunted by Sachiko’s pity, while Aoba’s Byakugan Crow watched him.
• Karatachi Yagura told Kisame that Suikazan Fuguki had been selling Kirigakure’s secrets and ordered Kisame to kill him in secret.

Yamashiro Aoba recruited the abandoned Haku and confronted Genji in Kirigakure, suggesting that Karatachi Yagura might no longer be himself. Meanwhile, Kisame learned that Suikazan Fuguki had betrayed the village and prepared to act, but froze when he spotted someone unexpected.

• Yamashiro Aoba found Haku starving in the snow, asked whether he would give everything for him, and took him away with Sakai Sachiko.
• Mei Terumi reported that Aoba had vanished with Haku, then found him inside Genji's concealed room in Kirigakure.
• Aoba told Genji he had come to speak with the villages' Kage and questioned whether the person issuing orders as Mizukage was still Karatachi Yagura.
• Kisame confirmed that Suikazan Fuguki had sold Kirigakure's classified intelligence and resolved to end the deception.
• Kisame drew his Ninja Blade, then froze when he noticed a figure nearby.

Kisame killed Suikazan Fuguki and learned that the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, and a masked man calling himself Uchiha Madara had used him to silence Fuguki. Aoba ambushed Obito, who escaped as Yagura went berserk, leaving Kirigakure divided over how to stop its controlled Mizukage.

• Kisame killed Suikazan Fuguki, took Samehada, and confronted Karatachi Yagura, who praised him and called them alike.
• The masked man identified himself as Uchiha Madara and tried to recruit Kisame, but Kisame exposed Fuguki's murder and threw him a medical kit marked with Rin's emblem.
• Aoba used the Flying Thunder God formula hidden in the kit to ambush Obito with a Rasengan, then identified him as Uchiha Obito and provoked his rage over Rin.
• Obito's Genjutsu drove Karatachi Yagura into a partial Tailed Beast transformation, and Yagura attacked Aoba before Mei Terumi and Kirigakure Anbu arrived.
• Obito escaped with Kamui while Yagura rampaged through Kirigakure; Ao used his Byakugan to declare that Yagura was controlled by Genjutsu.
• Kirigakure ninja split over what to do, and a Jōnin urged them to restrain Yagura before he destroyed more of the village.

Yamashiro Aoba fought Karatachi Yagura, forced him to transform fully into Isobu, and began extracting the Three-Tails’ chakra. Obito used Kamui to pull Aoba into another dimension, but Aoba reappeared unharmed and wounded Obito with sand spears.

• Karatachi Yagura fired a Tailed Beast Ball into Kirigakure, prompting Mei Terumi and the village’s ninja to attack him.
• Mei told Yamashiro Aoba that Lord Genji had accepted his conditions, and Aoba struck Yagura with a lightning-enhanced kick before battling him.
• Aoba bound Yagura with sand, but Yagura released his full transformation as Isobu, the Three-Tails.
• Aoba trapped Isobu in a pit with Earth Release creatures and used a sealed jar to extract its chakra.
• Obito appeared behind Aoba and pulled him into the Kamui Dimension, then revealed himself to the Kirigakure ninja.
• Sand spears passed through Obito’s body, but he suddenly began bleeding as Aoba reappeared unharmed from a pile of sand.

Aoba defeated Obito’s attack and freed Karatachi Yagura from genjutsu, then left Kirigakure with the Three-Tails’ chakra. He could not track Obito across dimensions and decided to search for Utakata, the Six-Tails’ Jinchuriki.

• Aoba exposed Obito’s Kamui ability and cut his tiger-striped mask, but Obito used Izanagi to escape into Sora.
• Aoba revealed that his Puppet Clone had struck Obito in the Kamui dimension and that he had already killed Obito twice.
• With Obito gone, Karatachi Yagura regained control of himself and the Three-Tails returned to his body.
• Aoba collected the Three-Tails’ chakra, warned Mei Terumi to honor Genji’s promise, and departed Kirigakure.
• Aoba returned to the forest, found his Puppet Clone destroyed, and confirmed he could not sense coordinates across Sora dimensions.
• Aoba decided to seek information about Utakata, the Six-Tails’ Jinchuriki, at a nearby intelligence black market.

Aoba found and brought the lonely Kimimaro into his care, then returned to Forgotten Island and reviewed Orochimaru’s improved Cursed Seal. Aoba and Orochimaru prepared to restore Shisui’s eyes before addressing Orochimaru’s soul problem.

• Kimimaro wandered alone through the forest and nearly destroyed a flower before Aoba stopped him and invited him to come along.
• Kimimaro accepted Aoba’s warmth and followed him, and Aoba silently credited Orochimaru’s talent for recruiting gifted children.
• A few days later, Aoba returned to Forgotten Island with Kisame Hoshigaki, Sakai Sachiko, Haku, and Kimimaro, where Orochimaru inspected the newcomers.
• Aoba examined Orochimaru’s revised Cursed Seal, which now served as an external chakra storage device without soul fragments or will.
• Orochimaru praised Aoba’s theory of storing genes, memories, and the soul as data for resurrection, and Aoba announced they would first restore Shisui’s eyes and then address Orochimaru’s soul problem.

Aoba and Orochimaru implanted Shisui with an improved Cursed Seal that eased his Mangekyō strain and restored his eyesight. During a spar against Kisame and Pakura, the seal awakened and empowered Shisui’s Susanoo, leaving Orochimaru fascinated while Aoba warned that Orochimaru’s unstable mental state needed attention.

• Orochimaru implanted the improved Cursed Seal on Shisui, causing intense pain that awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shisui reported that the seal relieved his Mangekyō pain and was gradually restoring his eyesight, and Orochimaru said combat could help him adapt to it.
• Kisame challenged Shisui to a duel, but Shisui countered Samehada’s chakra absorption with ninjutsu and genjutsu before kicking Kisame away.
• Aoba sent Pakura into the fight, and she and Kisame coordinated attacks that forced Shisui to use his skeletal Susanoo.
• The Cursed Seal activated as Shisui expended chakra, restoring his strength and enabling him to transform Susanoo into its armored second form, which scattered Pakura’s Iron Sand and sent Kisame flying.
• Orochimaru praised Susanoo as the Mangekyō Sharingan’s third divine power, and Aoba said they should address Orochimaru’s increasingly unstable mental state.

Enrui infiltrated the Hyuga compound to abduct Neji for Kumogakure, but Hyuga Hiashi killed him and rescued the boy. Meanwhile, Obito decided to reclaim his Sharingan from Kakashi and dragged him into the Kamui Dimension, where Kakashi recognized the masked man's familiar fighting style and demanded to know who he was.

• Enrui used Konoha's divided command structure to deceive a patrol and sneak into the Hyuga compound.
• Enrui tried to abduct Neji, but Hyuga Hiashi intercepted and killed him, then discovered he was from Kumogakure.
• Obito resolved to take back the eye he had given Kakashi and abducted Kakashi from Rin's grave into the Kamui Dimension.
• Kakashi recognized Obito as the masked attacker from the Nine-Tails' Attack and fought him in the Kamui Dimension.
• Kakashi recognized Obito's familiar taijutsu and demanded to know who he was.

Kakashi was found gravely injured with his Sharingan stolen, while Konoha faced a crisis after Hyuga Hiashi killed the Kumogakure delegation leader Enrui. As Tsunade learned of the emergencies and grew furious, Yamashiro Aoba, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Uchiha Shisui confronted Utakata to obtain the Six-Tails’ chakra, and their clash began.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Kakashi had been found unconscious at the Memorial Stone with his Sharingan forcibly removed, and he ordered Anbu to guard the hospital ward.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura confronted Hyuga Hiashi over Enrui’s death, while Hiashi argued that Enrui had deliberately sought his own death to provoke Konoha.
• The Hyuga Fourth Elder proposed handing over Hizashi as a scapegoat, but Hiashi furiously rejected the plan to sacrifice his twin brother.
• Shizune brought Tsunade urgent news about Kakashi’s injuries and Enrui’s death, and Tsunade smashed a table in anger at Konoha’s troubles.
• Yamashiro Aoba, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Uchiha Shisui found Utakata and offered to help free him from his Jinchuriki identity in exchange for some of the Six-Tails’ chakra.
• Utakata attacked with Bubble Jutsu, but Kisame countered with Rain Four Sharks and burst the bubbles.

Aoba's group fought Utakata and captured the Six-Tails Jinchuriki after Kisame drained his chakra and Shisui controlled him. Meanwhile, Pakura intercepted Mei Terumi's squad as they hurried toward Utakata, and Aoba worried that the fight might attract Kirigakure's main force.

• Shisui struck Utakata with a Genjutsu, but the Six-Tails broke it and Utakata unleashed a partial Tailed Beast transformation against Aoba, Shisui, and Kisame.
• Aoba stayed out of the fight while Kisame and Shisui faced Utakata, and Mei Terumi led Kirigakure Anbu toward the area to persuade Utakata to return.
• Pakura ambushed Mei Terumi's squad with Scorch Release and Iron Sand, and Mei countered the Iron Sand with her acidic Boil Release mist.
• Aoba told Kisame and Shisui to finish the fight quickly, and Kisame used Samehada to drain Utakata's Tailed Beast chakra.
• Shisui used his right-eye Kotoamatsukami to control Utakata, and Aoba sealed the Six-Tails' chakra with the Five Elements Seal, leaving Utakata unconscious.

Aoba's team captured Utakata and Hotaru while Pakura withdrew after overpowering Mei Terumi. In Konoha, Tsunade confronted Kumogakure and stopped the Hyuga clan from sacrificing Hizashi, leaving the Third Hokage pleased and the Hyuga Fourth Elder plotting to act sooner.

• Aoba's team captured the unconscious Utakata and Hotaru, then withdrew from the battlefield.
• Pakura ended her fight with Mei Terumi and vanished; Mei found Utakata's location destroyed and realized he had been taken.
• Obito discovered that Kakashi's Sharingan was not his, blamed Yamashiro Aoba, and told Zetsu to keep watching Nagato.
• Tsunade stormed into the Kumogakure delegation's residence, threatened the delegation, and warned them to negotiate or prepare for war.
• Tsunade confronted Hyuga Hiashi and condemned his plan to sacrifice Hizashi, prompting Hiashi to apologize to his brother as Branch Family members cheered.
• The Hyuga Fourth Elder resolved to speed up his plans, while Sarutobi Hiruzen praised Tsunade and the two advisors seethed.