Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya left Konoha for Amegakure to confront Pain, driven by his responsibility toward his former students and his desire to avoid another regret. As Jiraiya traveled toward a battle he might not survive, Naruto sensed that something important was missing and wondered where his teacher had gone.

• Jiraiya told Tsunade he would go to Amegakure because he felt responsible for Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, and she asked him to return alive.
• Jiraiya asked Tsunade to look after Naruto if he did not return, then left the Hokage's office after declaring that Naruto would become a great Hokage.
• Jiraiya departed Konoha at dawn and recalled his former students, Minato, Naruto, Tsunade, and Orochimaru as he traveled.
• Jiraiya wrote in his notebook, continued toward Amegakure, and said Naruto's story was not over.
• Naruto woke with a hollow feeling, sensed that something was missing, and wondered where Jiraiya had gone.

Jiraiya entered Amegakure to confront his former student Nagato, now acting through the Six Paths of Pain, and tried to bring him home. Pain killed Jiraiya, who left a secret code behind, while Nagato and Konan departed to pursue the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails.

• Jiraiya entered Amegakure despite knowing Pain’s rain sensory barrier would reveal him, and Deva Path Pain and Konan confronted him.
• Jiraiya and Gamaken fought the summoned beasts and Pain’s other Paths, and Jiraiya realized Deva Path was using Yahiko’s corpse.
• Jiraiya summoned Fukasaku and Shima, whose sound-based genjutsu froze Deva Path, but Human Path pierced Jiraiya from behind.
• As he died, Jiraiya carved a secret code into the ground and told Nagato he had never regretted finding him.
• Deva Path Pain stood silently by Jiraiya’s body, then left with Konan to pursue the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails.

After receiving Jiraiya’s final message from Amegakure, Tsunade grieved his death and organized Konoha’s defenses against Pain. At Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage and the toads chose not to tell Naruto yet.

• A wounded messenger frog delivered Jiraiya’s final warning to Tsunade: Pain had no true body and controlled the Six Paths.
• Tsunade mourned Jiraiya in private while Shizune and Konoha’s leaders waited outside the Hokage’s office.
• Tsunade convened the jonin, ordered Naruto hidden and Konoha prepared for Pain’s attack, and kept Jiraiya’s death from the public.
• Tsunade activated Konoha’s full combat readiness and resolved to use Jiraiya’s intelligence to win the coming war.
• The Great Toad Sage spoke of Jiraiya’s death as part of the prophecy’s fulfillment, and Fukasaku decided not to tell Naruto yet.

The Six Paths of Pain invaded Konoha and devastated the village while seeking Naruto. Tsunade spent her life force healing the survivors, and Naruto arrived to face Deva Path Pain.

• Tsunade confirmed the Six Paths of Pain were approaching and ordered Konoha's defenses and evacuation.
• Deva Path Pain destroyed the village gate, and the Six Paths attacked Konoha's ninja and summoned beasts.
• Asuma's squad was overwhelmed, Kurenai fought the Animal Path's beasts, and Guy led a rescue and evacuation team.
• Deva Path Pain unleashed a massive Shinra Tensei that reduced Konoha to ruins, while Tsunade and Katsuyu shielded and healed survivors at the cost of Tsunade's life force.
• Tsunade told Kakashi to find Pain's real body and protect Naruto, and Kakashi led the surviving ninja into the ruins.
• Naruto arrived through the smoke, and Deva Path Pain recognized the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Naruto confronted Deva Path Pain in Konoha's ruins, suppressed the Nine-Tails after Hinata was struck down, and declared that he would seek peace through understanding and trust. Pain challenged Naruto to prove his ninja way, and their battle began.

• Deva Path Pain told Naruto that he had killed Jiraiya, driving Naruto toward a full Nine-Tails transformation.
• Hinata stepped between Naruto and Pain, confessed her love, and was pierced by Pain's black rod.
• The Nine-Tails emerged and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Naruto regained control and stopped it from destroying the village.
• Naruto rejected Pain's belief that pain was the path to peace and said he would inherit Jiraiya's will by seeking understanding and trust.
• Tsunade watched Naruto from Kage Rock and hoped he would win as Naruto and Pain prepared to fight.

Naruto used Sage Mode and Kurama’s advice to defeat the Preta Path, then confronted Deva Path Pain with Jiraiya’s belief in peace. Nagato acknowledged defeat as Naruto reminded him that Yahiko would not blame him.

• Naruto used Sage Art and Jiraiya’s knowledge of Shinra Tensei’s five-second interval to strike Deva Path Pain, then attacked him with a Big Ball Rasengan.
• Animal Path Pain summoned the Preta Path, which absorbed Naruto’s Rasenshuriken and began draining his Chakra as Tsunade continued healing Konoha’s wounded.
• Kurama told Naruto that the Preta Path could not absorb natural energy, so Naruto let it absorb pure natural energy until it turned to stone.
• Naruto faced Deva Path Pain and defended Jiraiya’s belief that people could understand one another and achieve peace.
• Nagato asked what Yahiko would have thought of him, and Naruto said Yahiko would not blame him; Nagato then admitted defeat as rain fell.

Naruto met Nagato and persuaded him to abandon hatred and believe in Jiraiya’s path to peace. Nagato revived Konoha’s fallen at the cost of his life, and Naruto later found Jiraiya’s unpublished book before joining the village’s reconstruction.

• Naruto left the recovering Konoha alone to confront Nagato, while Kakashi and the others waited for him.
• Naruto spoke with Nagato about Jiraiya, Yahiko, and their hopes for peace, and Nagato accepted Naruto’s offered hand.
• Nagato used the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive those who had died in the attack, then died with a smile.
• Naruto found Jiraiya’s unpublished second book, The Tale of Naruto, on Mount Myoboku and mourned his teacher.
• Konan buried Nagato and Yahiko in Amegakure, while Konoha rebuilt and Tsunade imagined Naruto’s future face on Kage Rock.

Konan fought Obito to protect Nagato’s Rinnegan, but her ten-year trap only wounded him before he killed her and revealed he had already taken the eye. In Konoha, Naruto received Konan’s paper flower and vowed to find a path to peace.

• Konan refused to give Obito Nagato’s Rinnegan, which Nagato had entrusted to her for Naruto, and attacked him.
• Konan detonated six hundred billion Explosive Tags, trapping Obito in blasts that outlasted Kamui and severely injuring him.
• Obito survived the explosion, killed Konan with a black rod, and revealed he had already taken the Rinnegan from Nagato’s corpse.
• Konan died remembering Jiraiya, Nagato, and Yahiko, while Obito left with the Rinnegan and renewed his resolve to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Kakashi gave Naruto a paper flower from Amegakure, and Naruto vowed to find the path to peace.

After Nagato and Konan died and Obito took the Rinnegan, Cang prepared his hidden force at Angkor Fortress to exploit the coming Fourth Shinobi World War. He left Zhi Li and twenty-three operatives ready to seize Konoha’s forbidden records while keeping their existence secret, believing Naruto’s eventual intervention could still change the world.

• Cang told Zhi Li that Nagato had found his own answer before dying, while Obito had taken the Rinnegan and advanced the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Cang gathered twenty-three followers and ordered them to prepare for the Fourth Shinobi World War, planning to exploit the Five Great Nations’ weakened defenses and obtain forbidden jutsu scrolls and other secrets.
• Zhi Li used her Causality Insight to defeat the twenty-three operatives in a training exercise, then acknowledged that Obito’s tangled threads and the foreign will within him remained difficult to read.
• Cang ordered Zhi Li to activate the intelligence network, increase supplies, prepare the Medical Corps, and ensure that no one learned of their existence.
• Alone on the fortress platform, Cang reflected that Naruto would eventually reach out to change the world, and resolved to preserve something worth changing until then.

Konoha rebuilt after Pain’s attack as Naruto and Tsunade faced their losses and looked toward the village’s future. With Akatsuki’s Tailed Beasts missing and Sasuke’s Taka possibly targeting Killer B, Tsunade prepared to attend the Five Kage Summit while Naruto remained unaware.

• Yamato, the clans, and villagers worked together to clear rubble and rebuild Konoha while Naruto helped and remembered Jiraiya and his father, the Fourth Hokage.
• Sakura gave Naruto a rice ball and noticed he still carried Konan’s paper flower.
• Shikaku told Tsunade that the Five Kage Summit would be held in the Land of Iron in December, as Akatsuki’s seven captured Tailed Beasts and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path remained unaccounted for.
• Shikaku reported that Sasuke had formed Taka with Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, and that they might be targeting Killer B to capture the Eight-Tails.
• Tsunade agreed to keep Sasuke’s movements from Naruto for now, assigned Shikaku to prepare for the summit, and decided to attend it herself.
• Tsunade watched Konoha’s reconstruction and remembered Hashirama’s dream for the village as she vowed to keep that dream alive.

Tsunade rejected Danzō’s bid to become sole acting Hokage and arranged for Shikaku, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura to handle Konoha’s affairs while she attended the Five Kage Summit. As the summit approached, Naruto reaffirmed his resolve to pursue peace, while Konoha prepared for the threat posed by Madara and the missing Tailed Beasts.

• Danzō asked Tsunade to appoint him acting Hokage while she attended the summit, but Tsunade decided that Shikaku and the two advisers would share responsibility instead.
• Tsunade recalled the Uchiha massacre, Orochimaru’s experiments, and Itachi’s sacrifice as she considered Danzō’s influence over Konoha.
• Naruto stood on Kage Rock, spoke to his father about Nagato and Jiraiya, and vowed to inherit their wills and seek peace.
• Tsunade briefed Konoha’s jōnin and clan heads about Madara, the missing Demonic Statue, and the danger of the captured Tailed Beasts.
• Tsunade ordered Naruto to stay in Konoha and told Kakashi not to tell him about Second Pillar yet.
• Tsunade signed the Five Kage Summit documents and prepared to represent Konoha at the meeting.

Tsunade and the other Kage traveled to the Land of Iron for a summit to address Akatsuki’s threat. After all Five Kage assembled, Mifune opened the summit, and the Raikage demanded to know what they knew about Akatsuki.

• Tsunade left Konoha with Kakashi, Yamato, and Yamanaka Fū, promising Naruto she would tell him about his father when she returned.
• Mifune prepared to host the summit as the Raikage, Mizukage, Tsuchikage, and Kazekage set out from their villages.
• The Raikage left Darui in charge of Kumogakure and vowed to protect Killer B from Madara.
• Mei Terumi, Ōnoki, and Gaara departed their villages for the Land of Iron.
• Tsunade arrived at Giant Beast's Horn, where she joined the other Kage and waited for Ōnoki to arrive.
• Mifune opened the Five Kage Summit and asked the Kage to suppress their Chakra; the Raikage immediately asked what they knew about Akatsuki.

The Five Kage debated how to unite against Akatsuki and protect the remaining Jinchuriki, agreeing to form an allied force and share intelligence. Sasuke and Taka broke into the summit, where Sasuke declared he had come for the Eight-Tails and the Raikage charged him.

• Tsunade explained that Akatsuki had captured seven Tailed Beasts and would target Killer B and Naruto next, while Ōnoki argued that the Eight-Tails could become a threat if controlled.
• Gaara opposed killing Jinchuriki, and Tsunade urged the Five Kage to unite to protect them and confront Akatsuki.
• Gaara proposed rotating command of the Allied Forces, and the Five Kage agreed to share intelligence about Akatsuki.
• Mifune received word that Second Pillar and his team had infiltrated the Land of Iron, and Tsunade identified Sasuke as a potential threat to the Eight-Tails.
• Sasuke, Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo broke into the summit, and Sasuke announced that he had come to take the Eight-Tails.
• The Raikage charged at Sasuke, turning the Five Kage Summit into a battlefield.

Sasuke fought the Raikage at the Five Kage Summit, using his Mangekyō Sharingan and Amaterasu after Taka’s attacks failed to overcome the Raikage’s speed and strength. The Raikage escaped the flames by cutting off his own burning left arm, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and continued fighting the Raikage with Suigetsu’s help in the corridor.
• The Raikage entered his second-stage Lightning Release Chakra Mode, wounded Sasuke, and drove him into the Land of Iron samurai training hall.
• Sasuke used Chidori Stream to withstand some of the Raikage’s blows, but the Raikage shattered Suigetsu’s hands and crushed Jugo’s arm.
• Sasuke unleashed Amaterasu and tracked the Raikage with its black flames, which burned through his Lightning Style Chakra armor.
• The Raikage cut off his left arm at the elbow to rid himself of the Amaterasu flames.

The Fourth Raikage nearly killed Sasuke after destroying his chest, but Obito appeared, claiming to be Uchiha Madara, and took Sasuke away with Kamui. The Kage agreed that an alliance was necessary as Sasuke awoke in an unknown space to Obito calling him weak.

• The Fourth Raikage punched Sasuke through the hall and into the outer courtyard, leaving him gravely wounded and unable to fight.
• The Raikage moved to kill Sasuke, but Obito emerged from a space-time vortex and caught his wrist, identifying himself as Uchiha Madara.
• Obito phased through the Raikage's attacks and used Kamui to take Sasuke away while the Five Kage and Karin watched.
• The Raikage and Ōnoki recognized the masked man's immense power, and Mifune said the attack made an alliance even more necessary.
• Sasuke regained consciousness in an unknown space, where Obito told him he was too weak.

Sasuke recovered from his injuries while Obito told him that Konoha had ordered Itachi to massacre the Uchiha clan. Furious, Sasuke vowed to kill Konoha’s leaders and destroy the village, while Obito offered Itachi’s eyes as a path to greater power.

• Sasuke woke after three days of recovery, and Obito told him he had survived the Raikage’s attack because A wanted information from him.
• Obito said Sasuke was still useful for his Mangekyō Sharingan and revealed that Konoha’s leaders had ordered Itachi to kill the Uchiha clan.
• Sasuke recalled Itachi’s final words and learned from Obito that Itachi had spared him because he could not bring himself to kill his brother.
• Sasuke vowed to kill the Third Hokage, Danzo, and everyone responsible for Itachi’s suffering, then destroy Konoha.
• Obito warned Sasuke that Naruto and other Konoha shinobi were stronger than him and explained that transplanting Itachi’s eyes could give Sasuke the Eternal Mangekyou.

Sasuke decided to receive Itachi’s eyes so he could follow his own path, and Obito arranged the transplant. After enduring the operation without anesthesia, Sasuke was left blind and in severe pain as the two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan began to fuse.

• Obito challenged Sasuke to stop following Itachi’s plans, and Sasuke chose to undergo the eye transplant.
• Obito brought a masked medical ninja, who warned that the fusion could take weeks and leave Sasuke unable to see.
• Sasuke refused anesthesia and endured the removal of his eyes and the implantation of Itachi’s eyes.
• Sasuke’s body convulsed as the two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan fought within him, and Obito warned that he would have to endure darkness and pain during the fusion.

Sasuke endured the painful fusion of his eyes with Itachi’s and experienced memories that revealed the love and sacrifices behind his brother’s actions. On the twenty-third day, he opened his eyes and awakened the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

• Sasuke saw Itachi’s childhood memories, including a warm moment with Uchiha Mikoto.
• Sasuke witnessed Itachi’s perspective on the clan massacre and felt his grief as he killed Fugaku Uchiha and Uchiha Mikoto.
• Sasuke watched Itachi long for Konoha and quietly observe seven-year-old Sasuke from afar.
• Sasuke’s memories revealed Itachi’s sacrifices to protect him and Konoha, including his defection to Akatsuki and Danzo’s threat against Sasuke.
• Sasuke experienced Itachi’s final memories, including his forehead touch and his decision to die by Sasuke’s hand.
• On the twenty-third day, Sasuke opened his eyes and saw that his Sharingan had become the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

After recovering from the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan transplant, Sasuke learned more of Itachi’s memories and resolved to kill Danzo, now acting Hokage. Obito left him to pursue the revenge alone, and Sasuke headed toward Konoha.

• Sasuke awakened after twenty-three days and told Obito that Itachi had cried silently after the clan massacre and spent his life protecting Konoha.
• Obito told Sasuke that Danzo had become acting Hokage, and Sasuke vowed to kill him in front of everyone.
• Sasuke tested his new eyes and found his Chakra had increased by about thirty percent and his Dojutsu Power by at least fifty percent.
• Obito warned that attacking Danzo meant declaring war on Konoha, but said Sasuke could go if he wished.
• Sasuke accused Obito of fearing exposure, then declared he would hang Danzo’s head at Konoha’s gates.
• Obito vanished, and Sasuke set off through the forest toward Konoha.

Obito left Sasuke to face Danzo alone while he traveled to confront Danzo over an old bargain. At Danzo’s underground base, Obito demanded help capturing the Nine-Tails and gave Danzo a week to answer.

• Obito told White Zetsu and Black Zetsu he expected Sasuke to survive and grow through fighting Danzo, then arranged to meet Danzo while posing as Uchiha Madara.
• Sasuke raced toward Konoha, confident in his new Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan and determined to confront Danzo.
• Danzo reached his hidden base in the Land of Rice Fields with Root and heard that a space-time ninjutsu user had rescued Second Pillar from the Raikage.
• Obito appeared in Danzo’s hall and demanded the intelligence and opening in Konoha’s defenses that Danzo had promised him for the Nine-Tails.
• Obito reminded Danzo that he had supplied the Hashirama Cells that accelerated Kotoamatsukami’s cooldown, then demanded an answer within a week.