Chapter Summaries

Mei Terumi took office as Fifth Mizukage and weighed Kirigakure’s vulnerability after Yagura’s death and the loss of its jinchuriki. She sent Chojuro and Ao on separate border missions to test the Land of Wind and Land of Fire while buying time to consolidate power.

• Mei Terumi considered how Yagura’s death, Utakata’s disappearance, and Kirigakure’s internal power struggle left the Land of Water exposed to foreign attack.
• Mei asked Chojuro and Ao about their troops’ readiness and Chojuro’s use of Exploding Blade Shibuki before ordering them to depart.
• Ao and Chojuro left the Mizukage’s office to lead separate teams on their missions.
• Mei planned to harass the borders of the Land of Wind and Land of Fire, expecting their leaders to repel the Mist Ninja without escalating the conflict.
• Mei hoped the missions would reveal her neighbors’ limits and give her time to centralize power and guide Kirigakure out of the Bloody Mist era.

Ao's squad retreated from the Land of Fire after encountering Shisui, while Chojuro's team remained in the Land of Wind. At the Land of Snow base, Xing Ran introduced the newly revived First Kazekage Retsu and Second Kazekage Sarumon to the others.

• Chojuro's team landed in the Land of Wind and prepared to follow the coastline and harass its border forces.
• Ao's squad landed in the Land of Fire, where Konoha's scouts ambushed them with genjutsu.
• Ao spotted Shisui and ordered his squad to withdraw before the Mist Ninja suffered further casualties.
• Xing Ran introduced the revived First Kazekage Retsu and Second Kazekage Sarumon at the Land of Snow base.
• Magnet greeted the two Kazekage and was surprised by how much their personalities had changed.

Xing Ran explained how incomplete souls had radically changed Retsu and Sarumon after their resurrection, then prepared to assign work to his revived subordinates. He left the group poised to receive their next assignments as he considered expanding his organization beyond Sunagakure’s ranks.

• Xing Ran said Retsu and Sarumon had returned with 93% and 92% of their souls, and their personalities differed sharply from their remembered selves.
• Xing Ran recalled that Retsu had become lazy and indifferent, while Sarumon had abandoned militarization and sought to become a monk.
• Xing Ran said he had persuaded Sarumon to work for him by threatening to send Retsu to destroy the temple where Sarumon hoped to atone.
• Haku asked Xing Ran why the revived group was guarding the Land of Snow when it had been peaceful since Orochimaru left.
• Xing Ran gathered the subordinates to assign their next duties and considered reviving people from forces other than Sunagakure.

Yamanaka Xingran established an organization to collect rare Kekkei Genkai and sent his revived subordinates toward a first target in Kusagakure. The members then debated the organization’s name, but Xing Ran’s suggestion of “Kara” met with confusion and no final name was chosen.

• Xing Ran announced that the organization would search the ninja world for people with rare Kekkei Genkai and collect their flesh, blood, and genes.
• Haku recommended targeting the Dragon Tongue Bloodline Limit in the Land of Grass, and Xing Ran accepted it as their first objective.
• The revived Kazekage and Pakura considered the organization’s purpose, while Sarumon quietly offered no objections.
• Sarumon asked what the organization should be called, prompting the members to suggest names.
• Xing Ran proposed “Kara,” but Pakura and the others rejected or questioned the name and continued arguing over alternatives.

After completing a mission in the Land of Water, Shisui asked Hiruzen Sarutobi for authority to rebuild trust between the Uchiha Clan and the village. He met with Itachi to discuss the growing threat of a Uchiha coup and asked whether changing the village's approach could change the clan's course.

• Shisui and his team returned from their mission, and Hiruzen read Mei Terumi's assurance that Mist Ninja would stay out of the Land of Fire unless provoked.
• Shisui asked Hiruzen to assign him a classified mission to repair relations between the Uchiha Clan and the village, and Hiruzen agreed to take responsibility for his actions.
• Itachi left Sasuke after returning from an Anbu assignment and met Shisui at their usual spot near the Naka Waterfall.
• Shisui asked Itachi how serious Fugaku was about a coup, and Itachi described the clan's growing dissatisfaction without directly discussing his father.
• Shisui asked whether the Uchiha would change if the village changed its attitude toward them.

Shisui and Itachi discussed how to prevent an Uchiha coup, while Jiraiya followed a lead on the Akatsuki to a forest near Aicao Market. There, the injured Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han defeated a human puppet and confronted its Akatsuki-cloaked controller.

• Shisui told Itachi he hoped to eliminate the mutual distrust between the Uchiha and the village, and Itachi warned that stopping a coup might require unconventional methods.
• Shisui warned Itachi that some members of the police force suspected him and had ordered Shisui to monitor him.
• At Aicao Market, Jiraiya questioned a fried-chicken stall owner about someone wearing Black Robes with Red Clouds and hurried toward a nearby explosion.
• In a forest near the market, Han used Boiling Release to smash a humanoid puppet into scrap metal, though he was badly injured.
• Han kept his guard up and called out the puppet's controller, who emerged from the shadows wearing Black Robes with Red Clouds.

Jiraiya arrived at the battlefield and discovered that several members of the Akatsuki possessed the Rinnegan. After the Naraka Path absorbed his Rasengan and caught two Shadow Clones, the Paths noticed movement beneath the ground, leaving Jiraiya’s real position uncertain.

• The Naraka Path drained Han’s chakra while the Animal Path summoned the damaged Asura Path for repair.
• Jiraiya spotted the Paths and realized that three of them had the Rinnegan.
• An animal tongue attacked Jiraiya, but he escaped with the Substitution Technique.
• Jiraiya attacked the Naraka Path with a Massive Rasengan, but the Naraka Path absorbed its chakra.
• The Naraka Path caught Jiraiya’s Rasengan-wielding and kicking Shadow Clones and smashed them together.
• The Animal Path and Hell Path spotted an arm rising from beneath the ground near the Naraka Path.

Jiraiya rescued Han from the Animal Path and learned that Akatsuki had attacked him to take the tailed beast inside him. As the Animal Path pressed its attack, Jiraiya bound it with his Wild Lion Dance Technique.

• The Naraka Path evaded Jiraiya's underground attack, but Jiraiya seized the gravely wounded Han and faced three Paths of Pain.
• Jiraiya mistook the Animal Path for Nagato and tried to question his former disciple, but the Animal Path summoned a giant crab that filled the forest with foam.
• Han told Jiraiya that Akatsuki had attacked him and asked him not to return to Iwagakure before passing out.
• The giant crab attacked Jiraiya, who trapped it with his Wild Lion Dance Technique and then bound the Animal Path with his hair.

Jiraiya confronted Nagato about his transformation into a self-proclaimed god and tried to escape with the unconscious Han. Nagato stopped the escape, and Jiraiya was left badly wounded and outnumbered as the battle continued.

• Jiraiya asked Nagato about Yahiko and Konan, but Nagato said they had died and declared that pain had made him a god who would end war.
• Jiraiya accused Nagato of provoking conflict, while Nagato detected a threat and used the Substitution Technique to move behind him.
• Jiraiya summoned Gama Ken and prepared to send Han to Mount Myōboku inside a small frog.
• Nagato's Paths attacked, and the Animal Path destroyed the frog with a chameleon's tongue before using a Space-Time Barrier to prevent Jiraiya from escaping.
• Jiraiya fought the Paths but was wounded and exhausted as the Asura Path revived, leaving him facing four Pains and fearing that he would die without moving the key elsewhere.

Jiraiya struggled against Pain’s forces when Retsu and Pakura of the Revival Alliance arrived, prompting Jiraiya to suggest sharing intelligence and cooperating. The encounter ended with the opposing groups sizing each other up, while Jiraiya’s escape remained uncertain.

• As Jiraiya stood wounded on Gama Ken and searched for a way to enter Sage Mode, a woman called out from the forest and offered help.
• Retsu and Pakura emerged from the shadows, and the Four Paths of Pain recognized their distinctive cloaks and armor as they guarded against the newcomers.
• Retsu identified himself and Pakura as members of the Revival Alliance, while Pakura clarified that its full name was the Alliance to Restore Peace to the Ninja World.
• Pain recognized the alliance’s ideals as a potential threat to Akatsuki, and Jiraiya proposed sharing intelligence and cooperating with the newcomers.

Pakura and Retsu offered to help Jiraiya escape from the Akatsuki Organization in exchange for 100 million ryo. They cleared a path for Jiraiya and Han, but Deva Path Pain drove them off with Shinra Tensei, forcing them to retreat.

• Retsu quoted Jiraiya 50 million ryo for help, but Pakura corrected the price to 100 million for saving both Jiraiya and Han.
• Jiraiya agreed to pay the fee, and Pakura and Retsu attacked the Four Paths of Pain with Scorch Release and Wind Release.
• Pakura controlled the flames to open an escape route, and Jiraiya fled with Han and the injured Gama Ken.
• The Naraka Path absorbed the flames while the Scorch Release dehydrated several Pains, and the Animal Path summoned Deva Path Pain.
• Deva Path Pain used Shinra Tensei to blast away the fire and send Pakura and Retsu flying, so Pakura led their retreat.

Xing Ran completed integrating the Third Kazekage Clone and discovered that combining Magnet Release flight with his Kryptonian abilities let him break the sound barrier. He tested his greatly increased Chakra in the far north, where his Shadow Clones began transforming an uninhabited region into a construction site.

• Xing Ran used Magnet Release: Sand Wings to test iron-sand flight, then combined the technique with his Kryptonian flight ability to reach supersonic speed.
• Xing Ran completed integrating the Third Kazekage Clone, raising his strength and Spiritual Power alongside his Ice Release, Scorch Release, and Magnet Release abilities.
• Xing Ran flew to the northern coast of the Land of Snow to test his Chakra reserves.
• Xing Ran opened the Sixth Gate, released the Yin Seal, and created more than ten thousand Shadow Clones.
• Xing Ran commanded the Shadow Clones to use Wind Release to land safely and work together as an engineering force at a vast construction site.

Xing Ran completed the Ice Snow Palace overnight in the northern reaches of the shinobi world. Meanwhile, Obito and Nagato argued over Akatsuki’s missions, and Uchiha Itachi confronted an unseen follower in Konoha.

• Xing Ran admired the Ice Snow Palace he had built overnight with the help of his clones.
• Obito criticized Nagato for failing to capture the Five-Tails and warned him not to interfere with Konoha.
• Nagato proposed attacking Konoha, but Obito refused and assigned the Four-Tails mission to Orochimaru and the newcomer.
• Nagato said he and Konan would target the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails instead.
• Uchiha Itachi sensed someone following him through an empty alley and demanded that they reveal themselves.

Obito revealed himself to Itachi and tried to recruit him by offering to train him to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, but Itachi refused and challenged Obito’s claim to be Uchiha Madara. Meanwhile, Xing Ran trained Naruto near the Academy, and Kakashi woke from a vivid dream of Itachi.

• Itachi confronted a mysterious Uchiha watcher, and Obito emerged from a vortex wearing a single-hole mask.
• Obito introduced himself as Uchiha Madara and offered Itachi special training to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• At the Academy, Naruto boasted to Sasuke about his training with Xing Ran, then persuaded Xing Ran to go to Ichiraku for a discounted bowl of ramen.
• Itachi refused Obito’s offer, rejected his claim to be Madara, and asked him to leave their encounter forgotten.
• Obito revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan in his exposed eye, and Kakashi woke from a sweat-soaked dream of Itachi.

Kakashi met Xing Ran and Naruto at Ichiraku before Jiraiya and Hiruzen discussed the rescue of Han and the Revival Alliance Organization’s payment. After learning that the rescue had succeeded, Xing Ran prepared to send Pakura and Retsu to Konoha to collect a debt.

• Kakashi encountered Xing Ran and Naruto at Ichiraku, where Xing Ran introduced Naruto as his talented disciple.
• Jiraiya pressed Hiruzen to honor the Revival Alliance Organization’s promised payment, and Hiruzen said Iwagakure would cover the cost.
• Xing Ran returned to the Land of Snow after learning that Jiraiya and Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, had been rescued.
• Retsu asked for a shorter work term as a reward, but Xing Ran offered a promotion and raise while reminding him to collect 100 million ryo from Konoha.
• Xing Ran decided to take Pakura and Retsu to Konoha, expecting its leaders to pay rather than risk offending the Revival Alliance Organization.

Xing Ran treated the injured Five-Tails Jinchuriki Han while secretly deciphering his seal and keeping watch on the Uchiha Clan. He finished understanding the seal, pocketed some of Han’s blood, and denied Han’s question about whether he had deciphered it.

• Xing Ran returned to Konoha, decided to give minimal effort to the Hokage’s order, and made a clone to monitor the Uchiha Clan and Shisui.
• Xing Ran reached Konoha Hospital and examined Han, whose severe injuries and blood loss left him weak.
• Xing Ran instructed the staff to nourish Han and gradually treat him, while secretly studying Han’s sealing formula.
• Xing Ran used his Super Brainpower to unravel Han’s interlocking seal and pocketed some of his blood.
• Han asked whether Xing Ran had figured out the seal, and Xing Ran denied it.

Xing Ran reported on Han’s seal while the Third Hokage and Danzo argued over the Uchiha Clan’s gathering and Shisui’s plan to use Kotoamatsukami. When Xing Ran learned Shisui would attend, he decided to go to the meeting, but Danzo confronted him first and asked for his help.

• Xing Ran left Han’s hospital room after obtaining the Boil Release genes and told Yamaki Atsushi he would report that the seal had interlocking layers.
• The Third Hokage reviewed Xing Ran’s report, then Danzo warned him that the Uchiha Clan’s gathering could be part of a coup plot.
• The Third Hokage and Shisui said Shisui would attend the gathering and use Kotoamatsukami to change Fugaku Uchiha’s mind if necessary.
• Xing Ran learned that Shisui would attend the meeting and decided to go to Naka Shrine after lunch.
• Danzo summoned Xing Ran, who refused to meet him until the Wood Style Research Institute’s support was restored to its original level.

Danzo tried to recruit Xing Ran to help stop an alleged Uchiha coup, but Xing Ran realized Danzo was targeting Shisui and refused to get involved. Meanwhile, Obito pressed Itachi to continue Mangekyō training and asked him to introduce Shisui, as Itachi prepared to support Shisui at the clan gathering.

• Danzo told Xing Ran that an Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and claimed the clan planned a coup, then asked Xing Ran to help him.
• Xing Ran recognized that Danzo intended to ambush Shisui, dismissed Danzo’s appeal, and left to prepare for what was coming.
• Itachi ended his training with Obito, saying he had to support Shisui at the Uchiha clan gathering that night.
• Obito revealed that he knew about Itachi’s mission and asked him to introduce Shisui.

Danzo killed Shisui after using Izanagi to escape Shisui’s genjutsu, while Xingran watched from hiding and realized his presence had changed Danzo’s plan. Danzo intended to frame Fugaku Uchiha for the murder and deepen the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village.

• Danzo questioned Shisui about what he would do if the Third Hokage failed to change the villagers’ suspicions of the Uchiha Clan.
• Xingran secretly watched their meeting and prepared to steal Shisui’s eye after Danzo attacked.
• Shisui put Danzo under genjutsu, confirmed that he was incapacitated, and turned to leave.
• Danzo used Izanagi to reappear, then killed Shisui with a kunai and severed his head.
• Xingran realized Danzo had changed his plan because Danzo knew Xingran could connect him to the Uchiha incident.
• Danzo planned to make it appear that Fugaku Uchiha had killed Shisui, escalating the conflict and encouraging the Third Hokage to destroy the clan.

Xing Ran intervened as Danzo killed Shisui, then fought Danzo and Root, setting off explosions near the Uchiha district. Konoha mobilized toward the old temple, while Fugaku prepared the Uchiha for a possible confrontation.

• Xing Ran severed Danzo's arm and caught Shisui's head before Danzo could take his Sharingan.
• Danzo restored his injuries with Izanagi, but Xing Ran survived Danzo's attack and smashed his head.
• Danzo called Root ninja to attack Xing Ran, who evaded them and planted Explosive Tags on the gathered fighters.
• The explosions alerted the Third Hokage, who sent jonin and Anbu toward the old temple.
• Itachi hurried toward the explosions, while Obito used his space-warping ability to follow.
• After hearing that the Hokage's forces were approaching, Fugaku ordered the Uchiha to take up arms and sent women and children to a secret shelter.