Chapter Summaries

Sunagakure’s leaders approved Baki’s plan to stage attacks on the Land of Wind’s Daimyo and nobles to secure military funding, and selected the Night Raid Squad for the job. On the way to their mission, the squad encountered the bounty hunter Kakuzu and fought him, ending with Kimimaro blocking Kakuzu’s lightning attack aimed at Haku and Gaara.

• Rasa, Baki, and Kawanishi voted to approve Baki’s plan to terrorize the Daimyo and nobles, while Ebizo and his sister opposed it.
• Rasa asked Baki which bounty hunter he would hire, and Baki named the Night Raid Squad.
• Gaara detected Kakuzu approaching the squad, and Kakuzu launched a massive Fire Release attack to flush them from hiding.
• Gaara, Sasuke, and Kimimaro fought Kakuzu as he used multiple elemental masks to counter their attacks.
• Kakuzu combined Fire and Wind Release against Gaara’s sand tsunami, then fired a lightning spear through the resulting glass wall toward Gaara and Haku.
• Haku raised ice mirrors to protect them, but Kimimaro emerged from the flames and blocked the weakened lightning spear with a bone gate.

Sasuke, Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku fought Kakuzu, but Kakuzu pierced Sasuke's neck and unleashed a devastating attack. Simu arrived, rescued Sasuke, and struck Kakuzu with Susanoo, leaving the fight underway.

• Sasuke copied Kakuzu's Lightning Release: False Darkness, while Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku engaged Kakuzu and his masked monsters.
• Sasuke destroyed the wind-nature mask, but Kakuzu emerged from inside the monster and pierced Sasuke's neck with tendrils.
• Kakuzu fired his Ultimate Shot, and Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku's defenses crumbled beneath the beam.
• Simu appeared in his Susanoo and sheltered the three survivors, while a white insect transported Sasuke's body to the nearest base using the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• A fighter with the Sharingan used the Shadow Binding Technique on Kakuzu, and Simu's Susanoo sword struck Kakuzu and sent him flying.

Kamizuki Simu defeated Kakuzu and recruited him into the Jashin Cult to help the Night Raid Squad assassinate the Land of Wind’s Daimyo. Back at his base, Simu found Indra inside Sasuke’s soul, but their clash left Simu’s clone gravely damaged as Sasuke’s life began to fail.

• Simu used Susanoo and Wood Release to stop Kakuzu’s attacks and underground escape, forcing Kakuzu to surrender.
• Simu recruited Kakuzu by promising him at least a hundred million ryo for helping Gaara, Haku, and Kimimaro behead the Daimyo of the Land of Wind.
• Simu returned to the base and investigated how Sasuke remained alive despite a nearly severed neck, discovering chakra inside Sasuke’s soul that was sustaining it.
• Simu entered Sasuke’s inner world and met Indra, who identified himself as the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan and explained that his conflict with Asura continued through reincarnation.
• Indra attacked Simu with a complete Susanoo and black flames, destroying Simu’s Susanoo and causing his clone to collapse; another clone saved its Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Simu considered whether Asura’s will resided in a Senju descendant and decided to repair Sasuke’s body before his soul failed.

Gaara, Kakuzu, Kimimaro, and Haku carried out a series of assassinations in the Land of Wind’s capital, driving the terrified nobles to gather at the Castle Tower. Kakuzu stormed the defenses and killed the Daimyo, then told Baki that killing him was a separate mission.

• Gaara and the Night Raid Squad accepted a mission to kill thirteen nobles and attack the Castle Tower, while Kakuzu secretly intended to collect the Daimyo’s bounty.
• Kimimaro killed Seiichiro, the capital’s defense minister, and escaped as the city’s guards searched for the assassins.
• Three days later, Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku killed six nobles in coordinated attacks, prompting the remaining nobles to gather near the Castle Tower and request Sunagakure’s aid.
• Kakuzu, Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku assaulted the Castle Tower, with Kakuzu smashing through its defenses while the others fought the guards.
• Kakuzu reached the Daimyo and snapped his neck despite Baki’s attempt to intervene.
• Kakuzu told Baki that the mission to kill the nobles was over and that his current mission was to kill the Daimyo.

After the Wind Daimyo was killed, Rasa’s takeover of the capital triggered fear and political upheaval across the shinobi nations. In the Land of Fire, Arima received a new quinque and discovered a lead pointing toward the Daimyo’s estate, while Kirigakure’s leaders agreed to consider similar reforms.

• Baki attacked Kakuzu, but Kakuzu’s group destroyed the palace, killed the Wind Daimyo, and escaped with Gaara, Kimimaro, and Haku.
• Rasa withdrew Sunagakure’s forces from the front, seized control of the Wind capital, installed the Daimyo’s young son, and used the crisis to expand his authority.
• The other nations reacted with alarm, and rumors and evidence implicated Sunagakure in the assassination, prompting Daimyo across the countries to strengthen their defenses.
• At the Fire Daimyo’s court, Shenmu persuaded the Daimyo to reduce Konoha’s funding and expand the Investigation Bureau’s Quinque Users.
• Arima tested a new quinque made from Nonakabe’s kakuhou, then learned from Dr. Fang Zhu that the Daimyo’s estate was a suspicious location in the ghoul investigation.
• In Kirigakure, Zabuza, Ringo Ameyuri, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Hozuki Mangetsu backed reform, and Mei Terumi and Ao agreed to consider it.

As the Daimyo incident disrupted the Shinobi World, Ōnoki reinforced the Land of Grass front while Danzo responded to cuts in Konoha’s military funding by ordering action against the Daimyo’s Quinque Users. Danzo then revealed that he was torturing Naruto to harvest Nine-Tails chakra for experimental Military Ration Pills, whose first test subjects all died.

• Ōnoki sent four hundred shinobi to protect the Land of Earth's capital and ordered Han and Deidara to reinforce the front against Konoha.
• After learning the Daimyo’s Palace had cut Konoha’s funding, Danzo ordered Aburame Ryoma to send squads to make Arima and Fang Zhu cooperate.
• Danzo entered Root’s secret laboratory and began shocking Naruto to draw out Nine-Tails chakra.
• Danzo’s machine processed Naruto’s chakra into Military Ration Pills that temporarily granted users immense power.
• Root forced four Genin and one Chunin to take the pills, and all five died from the effects.
• Danzo received the experiment report and considered further tests on stronger shinobi as the war intensified.

Akatsuki began sealing the Two-Tails while Konoha launched a successful counterattack against the Stone Shinobi in the Land of Grass. As Konoha gained ground, Deidara flew toward a reclaimed frontline town to attack, and Ōnoki hurried after him.

• Itachi reported that the mission to capture the Eight-Tails had failed and that Biwa Juzo had died, while Pain said he would find a replacement and ordered the sealing of the Two-Tails.
• Pain and the Akatsuki members began using the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals to seal the Two-Tails.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade led Konoha's assault on a Stone Shinobi fortress, using Katsuyu's acid and Jiraiya's Sage Art: Super Great Ball Rasengan to break through.
• Bluestone triggered Earth Release: Rock Mountain Collapse, but Kinoe used Wood Release: Great Forest Technique to save the Konoha forces; Bluestone then killed himself with Kibaku Fuda.
• Over the following month, Jiraiya and Tsunade captured two more towns, while Torifu Akimichi attacked from another direction and Ōnoki learned that Han and Deidara had reached the front.
• After hearing that Deidara had gone ahead without permission, Ōnoki set out to retrieve him, while Deidara flew toward a reclaimed Konoha position and prepared an explosive attack.

Deidara’s aerial attacks devastated the Konoha forces until reinforcements briefly challenged him, but Ōnoki killed the Konoha flyers and secured the Stone Shinobi’s control of the sky. Watching from the woods, Orochimaru concluded that capturing the Five-Tails would be difficult unless Konoha and the Sand Shinobi entered a large-scale conflict.

• Deidara bombed the Konoha camp with C3, causing nearly five hundred casualties, while Jiraiya fought him in the air and Tsunade treated the wounded.
• Deidara continued harassing Konoha from the sky until Jiraiya’s reinforcements, a Root Jonin and an Aburame Jonin, forced him to fight more cautiously.
• Deidara used a giant clay dragon to attack the two Konoha Jonin, while Jiraiya ordered them back after scouts detected Ōnoki approaching.
• Ōnoki killed the Root Jonin with Dust Release, and Deidara killed the Aburame Jonin, leaving Konoha without its aerial defenders.
• Orochimaru watched Jiraiya and Tsunade from the woods and judged that capturing the Five-Tails would be difficult without a major conflict between Konoha and the Sand Shinobi.

Sasori’s raids destroyed the Stone Shinobi’s supply bridges, forcing Ōnoki to commit to a decisive battle against Konoha. As the fighting turned against the Stone Shinobi, Han entered the battle and clashed with Tsunade, who released her Strength of a Hundred Seal to face him.

• Sasori used his Human Puppets and a raiding force to burn Stone Shinobi supplies and destroy Kannabi Bridge and Luochuan Rock Bridge.
• Ōnoki chose to fight rather than retreat, and Konoha assembled seven thousand ninja to attack the Stone Shinobi.
• Jiraiya and Torifu Akimichi led Konoha’s assault while Tsunade used Katsuyu to heal their forces, giving Konoha the advantage.
• Ōnoki deployed Han, who overwhelmed Torifu Akimichi and killed or injured many Konoha ninja with his steam-powered attacks.
• Tsunade confronted Han and injured him with a punch, but broke her own hand in the clash.
• Tsunade activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal, healed her hand, and attacked Han as he began transforming into the Tailed Beast.

Tsunade and Jiraiya fought the Stone Shinobi as Orochimaru and the Third Kazekage intervened to capture Han, the Five-Tails' jinchuriki. Orochimaru escaped the battlefield with Han after Ōnoki broke through the wooden cage, leaving Ōnoki in pursuit.

• Tsunade battered Han and the Five-Tails, while Jiraiya kept Ōnoki from supporting them.
• Orochimaru appeared with Wood Release, restrained the Five-Tails, and trapped the battlefield inside a wooden cage.
• Han ended his Tailed Beast Transformation and tried to flee, but the Third Kazekage drove him back with iron sand.
• Deidara attacked the cage, but Sasori's puppets disrupted his bombs and engaged him in the air.
• Ōnoki destroyed the cage's upper half with Dust Release and found Orochimaru sealing Han's tailed beast chakra.
• Orochimaru created five copies carrying Han and fled in different directions; Ōnoki destroyed one copy and pursued the remaining four with Earth Release clones.

Sasori and Deidara’s battle ended with Simu exposing Deidara’s weakness and recruiting him into the Akatsuki. Simu then confronted Orochimaru as he tried to defect, forcing him to surrender and negotiate the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and compensation for his freedom.

• Sasori survived Deidara’s explosive attack and left the battle, while Deidara chased him and Ōnoki’s Stone Shinobi lost to Konoha after Orochimaru escaped with the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Simu used Lightning Release to reveal Deidara’s weakness, then trapped him in a Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu and recruited him into the Akatsuki.
• Sasori and Simu waited for Orochimaru in the Land of Grass, but Orochimaru failed to appear and Simu deduced that he intended to defect.
• Orochimaru removed his Akatsuki ring and prepared to leave with Han, but Simu found him beside a lake and demanded the Five-Tails Jinchuriki and compensation.
• Simu’s genjutsu overwhelmed Orochimaru, who surrendered and offered a piece of the Eight-Tails in exchange for his freedom and the technology for cultivating Wood Release and Sharingan clones.
• Simu accepted Orochimaru’s terms and agreed to provide the clone technology.

After Iwagakure suffered a crushing defeat and lost the Five-Tails, Simu captured Han and set his sights on Takigakure’s Seven-Tails. He attacked the village and left its leader trapped in a genjutsu after the leader drank the Hero’s Water and failed to overcome Simu.

• Ōnoki returned to Iwagakure after losing most of his army and the Five-Tails, then faced political attacks from Roshi and sought help investigating the tailed-beast thieves.
• Simu extracted forty percent of the Five-Tails’ chakra, created a new tailed beast, and had Sasori take the original beast to Akatsuki headquarters.
• Simu chose Takigakure as his next target and traveled there with Kakuzu, who warned him about the chakra-boosting Hero’s Water.
• Simu attacked Takigakure and announced that he had come to capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.
• The village leader drank the Hero’s Water and launched a water dragon, but Simu’s Susanoo cut it apart.
• Simu used his Mangekyō Sharingan to trap Takigakure’s leader in a genjutsu.

Simu defeated and captured the Seven-Tails, then found the source of Takigakure’s Hero’s Water. He destroyed the village while preserving its central tree and left with six tailed beasts, one short of creating the Ten-Tails.

• Fu released Chōmei’s power to defend Takigakure, but Simu fought the transformed Seven-Tails with Susanoo and the Two-Tails.
• Simu used genjutsu, lightning, and Wood Release to bring down the Seven-Tails outside the village, then sealed him back inside Fu.
• Simu forced Takigakure’s chief to reveal the Hero’s Water’s location and found it collected in a shrine beneath the enormous tree.
• A boy vowed to take the Seven-Tails back, but Simu left Takigakure and ordered the Two-Tails to destroy the village while sparing the tree.
• Simu confirmed no one had survived, then reflected that he now had six tailed beasts and was one step from creating the Ten-Tails.

As the Akatsuki prepared to seal the Five-Tails and Seven-Tails, Simu used the captured beasts’ chakra and Demonic Statue shell to create a new Ten-Tails. He then turned his attention to Indra, intending to negotiate after repeatedly draining his power.

• Zhi Muren led a Cloud reconnaissance squad into the Land of Rain, where White Zetsu and Obito killed the squad and learned that Kamizuki Simu had captured the Seven-Tails.
• Obito returned to Akatsuki headquarters, where Pain assigned Deidara to replace Orochimaru and ordered Zetsu and Itachi to track Orochimaru down and recover his ring.
• Pain announced that Sasori had captured the Five-Tails and Simu had captured the Seven-Tails, then scheduled their sealing for three hours later.
• After the beasts were sealed, Simu obtained a piece of the Demonic Statue’s shell and used chakra from several tailed beasts to transform his New Demonic Statue into a smaller New Ten-Tails.
• Simu shifted to the base where Sasuke was asleep and entered his mental world to make a deal with Indra.

Simu persuaded Indra to cooperate by promising to save Sasuke and help him find Asura’s reincarnation, then learned secrets about the Divine Tree, chakra, and Infinite Tsukuyomi. After deducing Obito’s plan, Simu watched the nations and shinobi villages strengthen their forces over the following year.

• Simu confronted Indra about his dwindling energy and convinced him to cooperate by invoking his rivalry with Asura and offering to save Sasuke.
• Indra explained that the Ten-Tails was the Divine Tree’s initial form, that Kaguya Otsutsuki brought chakra to the world, and that the Sage of Six Paths spread chakra through Ninshū.
• Indra told Simu that the tailed beasts came from the Divine Tree’s chakra, its husk became the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Infinite Tsukuyomi required the Rinne Sharingan.
• Simu inferred that Obito planned to use Nagato’s Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails to awaken the Rinne Sharingan and cast Infinite Tsukuyomi.
• Over the next year, the nations built up their strength, while Zabuza seized power in the Land of Water and Rasa’s Sunagakure surged ahead with mass-produced War Zerg.

Danzo ordered Konoha to withdraw from the border to draw the Daimyo’s Palace into the war, but Sunagakure unleashed a massive insect army and routed Tsunade’s forces. Konoha’s units retreated deeper into the Land of Fire as Sunagakure advanced with little resistance.

• Danzo approved Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura’s plan to withdraw from the border and force the Daimyo’s Palace to confront Sunagakure.
• Tsunade ordered Konoha’s forces to retreat, but hundreds of thousands of insects surged toward their position, overwhelming their attacks with sheer numbers.
• Tsunade summoned Katsuyu to dissolve the insects with acid, while Kawanishi directed exploding dragonflies that blasted the city wall and centipedes that attacked Konoha’s rear.
• Tsunade’s fifteen-hundred-strong force escaped after several hours of fighting, leaving six or seven hundred dead; Sunagakure reported only twenty-seven Sand Shinobi killed.
• Tsunade and the reconnaissance ninja identified chakra-bearing insects as possible commanders, while Rasa praised Kawanishi’s role in Sunagakure’s victory.
• Konoha’s remaining units withdrew under orders, allowing the Sand Shinobi army to advance deep into the Land of Fire without meaningful resistance.

Arima’s forces crushed the Enma and Black Dog attack on the Daimyo’s Palace, and Arima became Grand General of the Land of Fire. By probing the captured leaders’ memories, a Yamanaka Ninja uncovered the ghoul experiments and Shiraishi Rin’s horrific fate before the technique injured him.

• The Daimyo’s ministers supported Shenmu’s plan to use the Quinque Users against the Sand Village while Arima prepared to stop Enma and Black Dog from attacking the capital.
• Mari and Oishi gathered their masked ghouls and launched an assault on the Investigation Bureau’s defenses near the Daimyo’s Palace.
• Oishi and Mari fought the Special-Class Quinque Users until Arima arrived, defeated both leaders, and routed the remaining ghouls.
• The Daimyo bestowed the title of Grand General on Arima, who then asked a Yamanaka Ninja to investigate the captured ghouls’ memories.
• The Yamanaka Ninja’s probe revealed that the ghouls had been created through experiments, that Shiraishi Mori had died, and that Shiraishi Rin had been imprisoned and transformed into a monstrous mass of flesh.
• The Yamanaka Ninja vomited blood and began bleeding from his eyes and ears after the memory probe.

After learning that the Daimyo’s nobles had used Shiraishi Rin to create ghouls for quinque production, Arima attacked the Daimyo’s Palace and freed Rin from the laboratory. Rin asked Arima to kill her, then died in the arms of Enma and Black Dog after asking them to end the hatred.

• Arima learned from Enma that the nobles had used Rin to create ghouls, which they cultivated so the Investigation Bureau could harvest their kakuhou for quinques.
• Arima went to the Daimyo’s Palace, defeated its guards and personal Quinque Users, and killed the Daimyo.
• Arima found Rin in an underground laboratory, severed the tubes feeding on her, and granted her request to die so her power would stop creating ghouls.
• Rin restored Arima’s missing arm before he carried her out and ordered the Investigation Bureau to release Enma and Black Dog.
• Rin told Enma that her death had been her choice, called Arima a good person, and asked everyone to let the hatred end with her before she died.

As the Sand Village’s Insect Tide threatened Konoha, Shikaku Nara set out to seek allies while Konoha and Sunagakure prepared for battle at Mount Kikyo. Meanwhile, Sasuke completed his training and went to confront Itachi, with Haku, Kimimaro, and Gaara following him as Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, and Obito watched.

• Shikaku Nara briefed Konoha on the Insect Tide’s types and weaknesses, then left to seek an alliance with Ōnoki and Ai.
• Rasa advanced on Mount Kikyo with over a million insects as Konoha stationed eight thousand shinobi at Kikyo City and Danzo remained in Konoha with ten thousand more.
• Sasuke emerged from the Blood Pool after two years of training, learned that Itachi had agreed to meet him, and set out to claim his revenge.
• Haku, Kimimaro, and Gaara followed Sasuke, insisting they would handle Itachi’s companions while Sasuke fought his brother.
• Hidan questioned Simu about when they could attack, while Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, and Obito watched Itachi wait at the abandoned meeting place.

Sasuke confronted Itachi alone, unleashing his strongest techniques but failing to overcome Itachi’s Susanoo and Mangekyō Sharingan. Trapped in Tsukuyomi, Sasuke awakened a monstrous Cursed Seal transformation and became an Apostle of Hatred.

• Sasuke left Haku and Gaara behind and entered the abandoned building to face Itachi, who taunted him about Simu’s training.
• Sasuke attacked with shuriken, senjutsu-enhanced Fire Release, and lightning, while Itachi evaded him and countered with genjutsu, Amaterasu, and Susanoo.
• Sasuke used repeated attacks to summon the lightning beast Kirin, but Itachi survived by protecting himself with the Yata Mirror.
• Itachi trapped Sasuke in Tsukuyomi and made him relive his parents’ deaths until the trauma awakened a drastic Cursed Seal transformation.
• Sasuke sprouted four wings covered in Sharingan and rose into the sky as an Apostle of Hatred.