Chapter Summaries

Tsunade reunited with her brother Nawaki, who had survived after being abducted by Uchiha Madara, and welcomed his wife and child. Months into Tsunade’s tenure as Hokage, Konoha flourished while Sarutobi Toru led Root operatives to Uchiha Madara’s former base in the Land of Water.

• Tsunade recognized Nawaki, embraced him, and learned from Sarutobi Toru how he had survived and regained his memories.
• Sarutobi Toru brought Nawaki’s wife and child to meet Tsunade, and the siblings reunited over a meal.
• At Nawaki’s request, Sarutobi Toru arranged for him to work at Konoha Hospital, and Tsunade approved his appointment.
• Over the following months, Tsunade settled into her role as Hokage while Konoha expanded its influence and developed rapidly.
• Sarutobi Toru left Konoha with Root operatives and traveled to Uchiha Madara’s former base in the Land of Water.

Sarutobi Toru returned to the Land of Water to use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as the base for a plan to create a powerful Chakra Fruit from two hundred thousand modified White Zetsu and the Tailed Beasts. After assigning Uchiha Shisui's Clone to oversee Kirigakure, Sarutobi Toru traveled to the Land of Frost to retrieve Black Zetsu's hidden White Zetsu army.

• Sarutobi Toru planned to remake two hundred thousand White Zetsu with Kage-level Chakra and combine their power with the Tailed Beasts to grow a God Tree and create a Chakra Fruit.
• Sarutobi Toru decided to lie low while Uchiha Shisui's Clone maintained control in Kirigakure, and he ordered Root subordinates to infiltrate the village.
• Sarutobi Toru planned to use Kirigakure to seize the other villages' Jinchuriki and conceal the Tailed Beasts by growing the God Tree in another Parallel World.
• Sarutobi Toru followed Black Zetsu's memories to a cave beneath a basin in the Land of Frost, where he found the ancient White Zetsu army hanging from thick tree roots.
• Sarutobi Toru refined nearly ten thousand White Zetsu into White Zetsu Seeds, then dug out the section of roots from which he had removed them.

Sarutobi Toru spent more than five years creating one hundred thousand White Zetsu with Kage-level Chakra while overseeing Root. Afterward, he planned to rest before expanding the army in a Parallel World, then returned to Root to review Yakushi Nonō’s paperwork.

• Sarutobi Toru collected God Tree roots for ninja-tool materials and left a Flying Thunder God Mark in the underground space.
• Sarutobi Toru created one hundred thousand White Zetsu with Kage-level Chakra over more than five years while managing Root and conducting research.
• Sarutobi Toru judged that the White Zetsu could overwhelm the Five Great Shinobi Villages, but planned to create more in a Parallel World.
• Shimura Danzō retired from Root two years earlier and joined the Elder Council, leaving Sarutobi Toru to handle Root’s affairs.
• Sarutobi Toru returned to Root, where Yakushi Nonō brought him documents to review and stamp.

Sarutobi Toru learned that Naruto Namikaze had been born and planned to nurture the next generation with customized potions. He then inspected Root’s secret Orchard, where hundreds of clones with collected bloodlines were being cultivated to produce Chakra Fruits.

• Sarutobi Toru recalled that Yakushi Kabuto was likely from the Land of Wind and had never been found because the Battle of Kikyo Pass had not occurred.
• After reading the report on Naruto Namikaze’s birth, Sarutobi Toru celebrated with Yakushi Nonō and considered how the next generation’s future would differ from the Original Work.
• Sarutobi Toru decided to send customized Perfect Development Potions to Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, and other future students as they were born.
• Sarutobi Toru visited Root’s hidden fifteenth underground floor, the Orchard, where five hundred Culture Pods held clones carrying various human bloodlines.
• A Root ninja reported that the latest clone batch had higher costs and improved bloodline awakening rates, while Sarutobi Toru noted that he had to use his soul power to activate their Kekkei Genkai.

Sarutobi Toru reflected on clone production and planned to use a future crisis to spur Konoha’s shinobi to grow stronger, while stockpiling Kekkei Chakra Fruits. He returned to the Senju Estate, where Kushina went to train after he teased her, and Tsunade later arrived with Konan.

• Sarutobi Toru considered clone output, the limits of clone growth, and how Kekkei Chakra Fruits could raise shinobi’s potential.
• Sarutobi Toru decided to reveal the fruits after his Elite White Zetsu Army caused panic, then stored another dozen or so fruits in his Reincarnation Warehouse.
• Sarutobi Toru noted that the women close to him had awakened numerous abilities, while Orochimaru and Hiruko had also gathered many Kekkei Genkai.
• Sarutobi Toru returned to the Senju Estate and teased Uzumaki Kushina about neglecting her training.
• Uzumaki Kushina went to train at the estate’s Training Ground, and later Uzumaki Kanao and Tsunade returned, with Tsunade bringing Konan.

Sarutobi Toru decided to return to the Parallel World to collect the remaining White Zetsu, bringing Tsunade and Pakura along while Konan and Kushina stayed behind. In Roran, the women from both worlds compared their lives, and Toru explained why their worlds differed and why this Konoha lacked him.

• Sarutobi Toru told Tsunade, Konan, and Kushina about the Parallel World’s Akatsuki and the tragic fates their counterparts faced.
• Pakura asked to visit the Parallel World, and Sarutobi Toru agreed to take her and Tsunade; Konan and Kushina chose to remain behind.
• After several days, Sarutobi Toru traveled to the Parallel World with Tsunade, Pakura, and Queen Sēramu, who wanted to meet her counterpart and learn about Queen Sara.
• In Roran, Queen Sēramu met her counterpart while the Tsunades and Pakuras from both worlds exchanged experiences.
• Sarutobi Toru explained to Little Tsunade that the worlds had different unique places and people, and Little Tsunade concluded that Konoha was weaker because Toru was absent.

Sarutobi Toru and the leaders from the parallel world prepared to clone kekkei genkai ninja, but Kumogakure’s invasion of a weakened Iwagakure plunged the Shinobi World into another war. As the other villages moved to divide the Land of Earth, Tsunade explained why Kumogakure’s funding system encouraged its wars.

• Elder Tsunade and Elder Pakura teased Sarutobi Toru about their different pasts, and the women from both worlds grew close.
• Sarutobi Toru, Elder Tsunade, and Elder Pakura spent three months building a research base and preparing to clone kekkei genkai ninja.
• Kumogakure invaded Iwagakure after its leaders and high-level fighters had been killed, quickly overwhelming the disorganized village.
• Konoha and the other great villages moved to claim territory in the Land of Earth while leaving Iwagakure to its fate.
• Tsunade explained that Kumogakure’s share of the Land of Lightning’s tax revenue gave it an incentive to expand through war.

Tsunade and Sarutobi Toru decided Konoha would avoid joining the war directly while supporting Amegakure’s rise as a great power. Yakura’s forces conquered most of the Land of Earth, and Iwagakure ultimately agreed to merge with Amegakure.

• Tsunade said Konoha would preserve the balance between the great nations and focus on development, while Amegakure and the Akatsuki Organization could challenge the other villages.
• Yakura led Amegakure into the war, defeating or capturing Iwa Ninja and occupying nearly half of the Land of Earth.
• Yakura routed the Cloud and Sand forces, killing Rasa, severely wounding the Fourth Raikage, and driving the surviving Cloud Shinobi out of the Land of Earth.
• Amegakure withdrew its troops after taking control of most of the Land of Earth, leaving Iwagakure’s fate uncertain.
• Pakura negotiated with Iwagakure’s Elder Council and the Land of Earth Daimyo, and Iwagakure agreed to merge into Amegakure.

Sarutobi Toru took Deidara and Kurotsuchi as disciples under his control as Iwagakure merged into Amegakure. Four years later, after preparing his forces and sensing the moon had gone quiet, he decided it was time to confront the last surviving Otsutsuki there.

• Pakura introduced Deidara and Kurotsuchi to Sarutobi Toru as her new disciples and asked him to unlock their potential.
• Sarutobi Toru used a Hormone Injection on Deidara and Kurotsuchi, making them stronger and shifting their loyalty to him.
• Amegakure occupied the Land of Earth, absorbed Iwagakure, and legitimized the Akatsuki Organization.
• Sarutobi Toru spent four years modifying one hundred thousand Kage-level White Zetsu and prepared to collect the Otsutsuki bloodline on the moon.
• Sarutobi Toru sensed the moon's watching Chakra fall silent and concluded that only the blind Otsutsuki Toneri remained there.

Sarutobi Toru reached the moon, broke through Otsutsuki Toneri’s Puppet forces, and challenged Toneri’s plan to destroy the Shinobi World. The chapter ended with Toru mocking Toneri for condemning the world below after his own clan had destroyed itself through internal conflict.

• Sarutobi Toru traveled to the moon and sensed the Tenseigan, the sealed Otsutsuki Kaguya, and Otsutsuki Toneri beneath its surface.
• Sarutobi Toru flew into the approaching Auto Puppets and tore through them, then smashed through two more groups on his way to Toneri.
• Sarutobi Toru found Otsutsuki Toneri outside a castle and asked about his plan to destroy the Shinobi World and create a new humanity.
• Otsutsuki Toneri declared that shinobi had strayed from their ancestors’ ideals and that he would destroy the world below.
• Sarutobi Toru pointed out that the Shinobi World’s population had grown while the Otsutsuki Clan’s internal conflict had left Toneri alone, then mocked him for judging others.

Sarutobi Toru defeated Otsutsuki Toneri and took the moon’s Tenseigan for himself. He returned to the Shinobi World planning to seek another Tenseigan and use Toneri’s memories to find the right opportunity.

• Sarutobi Toru challenged Otsutsuki Toneri’s beliefs about their ancestors, then knocked him unconscious and sealed him in the Reincarnation Warehouse.
• Sarutobi Toru inspected the Tenseigan, considered using cloning technology to create more, and stored it in the Reincarnation Warehouse.
• Sarutobi Toru decided to search for the Tenseigan in his own world and considered capturing the moon clan when they visited the Shinobi World.
• Sarutobi Toru found the passage to Earth, returned to the Land of Fire, and teleported away.

Sarutobi Toru assembled White Zetsu-enhanced forces to seize the Tailed Beasts and attack rival villages. In Kirigakure, the Fourth Mizukage revealed powerful artificial ninja as he prepared to wage war on Sunagakure and Kumogakure.

• Sarutobi Toru fused Tobi White Zetsu with Uchiha Shisui's Clone, creating a fighter with vastly increased Chakra.
• Sarutobi Toru had White Zetsu possess more than a hundred brainwashed Root ninja, boosting them to Kage-level strength.
• The Fourth Mizukage announced that Kirigakure would wage war against Sunagakure and Kumogakure, alarming the village's leaders.
• The Fourth Mizukage summoned more than twenty masked Anbu with Chakra surpassing Kisame Hoshigaki's and introduced them as Kirigakure's Artificial Human Ninja.

The Fourth Mizukage presented the Artificial Human Ninja as powerful, obedient weapons, and Kisame Hoshigaki challenged one of them to test its strength. After the Artificial Human Ninja matched Kisame in close combat and used Earth Release to overwhelm his Water Release, Genji stopped the test before Kisame could unleash his trump card.

• The Fourth Mizukage praised the Artificial Human Ninja and claimed they could help the Mist Ninja defeat their rivals and seize resources.
• Kisame Hoshigaki asked to test an Artificial Human Ninja, and the Fourth Mizukage agreed to move the test to the Training Ground.
• Kisame Hoshigaki struck the Artificial Human Ninja with Samehada, but the ninja blocked the blow and its wooden sword resisted Samehada’s Chakra absorption.
• Kisame Hoshigaki and the Artificial Human Ninja fought evenly in taijutsu, then their Water Release and Earth Release techniques clashed.
• The Artificial Human Ninja’s Earth Flow River overwhelmed Kisame Hoshigaki’s Great Waterfall Technique and buried him in mud.
• Kisame Hoshigaki prepared to use the Great Exploding Water Wave, but Genji ordered him to stop, and the Artificial Human Ninja returned to the Fourth Mizukage’s side.

Kirigakure’s leaders agreed to attack Sunagakure first after the Fourth Mizukage displayed the Artificial Human Ninjas, though they remained suspicious of their origins. Uchiha Shisui's Clone’s altered memories and personality kept the Mizukage convinced the conquest plan was his own, while Mei Terumi remained Sarutobi Toru’s planted agent.

• The Fourth Mizukage presented the Artificial Human Ninjas, and Kirigakure’s higher-ups questioned whether the village had really developed them.
• Genji advised attacking one village first, and the Fourth Mizukage agreed that Kirigakure should target Sunagakure.
• Uchiha Shisui's Clone watched the Fourth Mizukage organize supplies and explained that altered memories and personality made the Mizukage believe in his own ambitions.
• Kirigakure’s higher-ups stayed wary of the Artificial Human Ninjas but did not openly resist the Fourth Mizukage.
• Mei Terumi, aware of the situation as Sarutobi Toru’s planted agent, met with Sarutobi Toru at her villa.

Sarutobi Toru urged Mei Terumi to use the coming war to strengthen her position in Kirigakure. Kirigakure invaded and conquered Sunagakure, leaving Mei Terumi famous for her victories but the Fourth Mizukage at the height of his power.

• Sarutobi Toru told Mei Terumi that the war was her chance to gain influence, and she said she had recruited young ninja and become Kirigakure's strongest fighter.
• Kirigakure invaded the Land of Wind, and its Kage-level forces crushed Sunagakure's defenses despite the Sand Shinobi's Puppet Army.
• The Fourth Mizukage led a surprise attack on Sunagakure and abducted One-Tails Shukaku, depriving the Puppet Army of its crucial Chakra supply.
• Kirigakure overran Sunagakure and occupied its village after the Puppet Army collapsed.
• Mei Terumi killed Rasa, severely wounded Chiyo, and later held off Sasori of the Red Sands, Kinnara, and the Fourth Kazekage while her allies withdrew.

After Kirigakure occupied Sunagakure and gained official recognition from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, Konoha's leaders debated how to respond. Sarutobi Toru persuaded them to let Kirigakure draw hostility while Konoha prepared to benefit, and the meeting ended with a plan to aid and gather Sunagakure's ninja.

• The Fourth Mizukage obtained a Letter of Recognition from the Daimyo of the Land of Wind, giving Kirigakure legitimacy as it hunted Sand Shinobi.
• Tsunade stopped Sarutobi Hiruzen from smoking during Konoha's conference-room meeting, while the leaders discussed Kirigakure's growing strength.
• Nara Shikaku proposed providing humanitarian aid to Sunagakure and gathering Sand Shinobi for future use.
• Sarutobi Toru argued that Konoha should let Kirigakure draw hostility before eventually eliminating it, and several attendees recognized the hidden implications.
• Konoha approved a plan to take in and aid Sunagakure's ninja.

With Kirigakure closing in on Sunagakure’s last surviving forces, Sasori of the Red Sands weighed the survivors’ options and refused to abandon his post as Kazekage. Kinnara prepared to take Gaara, Yashamaru, and the other survivors to Konoha, while Sasori chose to remain behind.

• Kirigakure focused on hunting the remaining seven or eight hundred loyal Sand Shinobi, forcing them to seek refuge in Konoha.
• Sasori of the Red Sands worried that the survivors were being killed and that his supplies were becoming difficult to obtain.
• Kinnara asked Sasori whether he would activate Sunagakure’s poison contingency plan or join Konoha, and Sasori rejected the plan because Kirigakure controlled the coast and the route was blocked.
• Kinnara said he would take Yashamaru, Gaara, and the other children to Konoha, and Sasori agreed that he should bring all the survivors.
• Sasori of the Red Sands declared that he would remain behind as Kazekage and be buried alongside Sunagakure.

Kinnara led most of Sunagakure’s surviving Sand Shinobi to Konoha, where Pakura settled them as Konoha prepared to use their exile for a political alliance. The chapter left Sasori and the elders behind in the Land of Wind to resist Kirigakure, while Sarutobi Toru visited Pakura after her work was done.

• Sasori refused to flee, and Chiyo, Ebizo, and Rena stayed with him as the surviving Sand Shinobi split over whether to leave.
• Kinnara became the leader of the Sand Shinobi who chose to seek refuge in Konoha.
• With help from Uchiha Shisui’s Clone, Kinnara’s group evaded Kirigakure’s searches and left the Land of Wind after a month.
• Pakura welcomed the Sand Shinobi to Konoha and spent the day arranging their resettlement.
• Sarutobi Toru visited Pakura, where he found her with Big Pakura, and then returned to the Senju Estate.

Sarutobi Toru oversaw the capture of Shukaku and strengthened his plans to use Kirigakure to seize the other villages’ Tailed Beasts. Half a year later, Kirigakure’s forces confronted Iwagakure and Kumogakure while its growing force of Artificial Human Ninjas stirred excitement among its Jōnin.

• Sarutobi Toru visited the Underground Base, where Otsutsuki Toneri reported that Shukaku had been absorbed by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Sarutobi Toru praised Otsutsuki Toneri and noted that the statue’s Chakra reserves had grown far beyond their former peak.
• Over the next half year, Konoha rebuffed Iwagakure and Kumogakure’s attempts to coordinate against Sunagakure, while the two villages joined forces and shifted ninja toward the Land of Fire’s borders.
• Kirigakure sent large numbers of ninja to confront Iwagakure and Kumogakure along the Land of Earth’s border.
• At Kirigakure’s Land of Wind stronghold, Jōnin discussed the growing number of Artificial Human Ninjas and speculated that Tailed Beasts could produce them, raising hopes that Kirigakure might conquer the Shinobi World.

The Fourth Mizukage planned to divide Kirigakure’s forces, using Artificial Human Ninja to seize the Tailed Beasts of Takigakure and the Rain Ninja while his main force attacked the Rock and Cloud Shinobi. As the invasion stalled against a coalition, Uchiha Shisui’s Clone split from his squad and headed for the Rain Ninja village, leaving the easier Seven-Tails target to the other Artificial Human Ninja.

• The Fourth Mizukage told the Mist Ninja that Kirigakure would attack the Rock and Cloud Shinobi while secretly taking the Tailed Beasts from Takigakure and the Rain Ninja.
• Three days later, Kirigakure attacked the Land of Earth's defensive line as the Rock Shinobi, Cloud Shinobi, and a Konoha force formed a coalition to resist.
• The coalition struggled to hold against Kirigakure until Sasori of the Red Sands arrived with the remaining Sand Shinobi to reinforce them.
• Uchiha Shisui’s Clone split from more than a dozen Artificial Human Ninja and sent them toward Takigakure while he went to confront the Rain Ninja.