Chapter Summaries

Araki rescued Kana from the Kusagakure base after overwhelming the Konoha and Iwagakure ninjas who tried to stop him, while Sasori infiltrated the Konoha camp and caused chaos. When news reached headquarters that Araki had taken a member of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina set out to pursue him alone.

• Araki killed scores of Kusagakure ninjas with one sword strike, then left the base with Kana as Hikō and Shiroyama stood aside.
• Shiroyama sent Konoha scouts after Araki, while Hikō secretly sent Kamizuru Clan ninjas to follow the scouts.
• Sasori used a Nara Puppet and Shadow Sewing to infiltrate the Konoha camp and turn its night-watch ninjas against their comrades.
• Torifu Akimichi gathered Konoha's leaders to respond to the chaos, then learned Araki had taken a Uzumaki clansman from Kusagakure.
• Kushina demanded to lead reinforcements after Araki, but when Torifu hesitated, she decided to pursue him alone.

Uzumaki Kushina pursued Araki to the Kusagakure base, hoping to take Kana back, but Araki defeated her opening attack and challenged her claim that she could stop him. As Kushina prepared to face him again, Araki wondered what would happen to Asura if he killed her.

• Torifu Akimichi sent Akimichi Taishoku after Uzumaki Kushina while he stayed behind to deal with the unrest in the Konoha camp.
• Uzumaki Kushina raced to the Kusagakure base, and Shiroyama led her and her guards northeast after Araki; an Iwagakure Ninja spotted the small group and hurried to report it.
• Araki decided to leave the Land of Grass with Kana, and Wind Heart and Huaming chose to return to Kirigakure with him.
• Araki healed Kana's arm, then ordered Wind Heart and Huaming to help keep her safe when he sensed Uzumaki Kushina approaching.
• Uzumaki Kushina demanded that Araki hand Kana over, but Araki struck her with sword qi and knocked her backward before taunting her about her strength.

Araki tried to persuade Uzumaki Kushina that Konoha and other villages had helped bring about Uzushio Village’s destruction, while considering whether Kana could become Asura’s reincarnation. Kushina began to falter under his accusations about Uzumaki Mito, and her Tailed Beast Cloak started to ripple.

• Araki considered whether Kana’s Uzumaki bloodline could make her a candidate for Asura’s reincarnation and imagined training Asura in Kirigakure.
• Uzumaki Kushina called out to Kana and accused Araki of hiding Kirigakure’s role in Uzushio Village’s destruction.
• Araki argued that several villages had attacked Uzushio Village and suggested that Konoha had also contributed to the clan’s vulnerability.
• Araki explained how Uzumaki Mito’s Jinchuriki sealing technique and Senju Hashirama’s distribution of the Tailed Beasts had made the Uzumaki Clan a target.
• When Kushina defended Uzumaki Mito, Araki suggested that Mito had cared for her as Konoha’s future Jinchuriki rather than as an Uzumaki relative.
• Kushina shook as Araki called her a container for the Tailed Beasts, and her Tailed Beast Cloak began to ripple.

Araki provoked Kushina’s doubts about being a vessel for the Nine-Tails, then fought her after she resisted the fox’s influence. He impaled Kushina with a chakra-draining blade and urged the Nine-Tails to act.

• Araki’s words and the Nine-Tails’ whispers stirred Kushina’s doubts, but she regained control and forced the fox back inside her.
• Kushina attacked Araki with her Tailed Beast Cloak, and Araki dodged her fox tails with Water Breathing.
• Kushina used Adamantine Sealing Chains to trap Araki, but he broke through with Moon Collapse and vanished using Stellar Restoration.
• Kushina anticipated Araki’s return and struck him with Four-Limb Heavy Seal, only for the target to burst into water as a Water Replacement.
• Araki appeared behind Kushina, pierced her abdomen with a chakra-draining sword, and called on the Nine-Tails to act.

Araki helped the Nine-Tails take control of Uzumaki Kushina and brought her to the Konoha camp, hoping to provoke Konoha without restarting the war. The Nine-Tails could not escape Kushina’s reinforced seal, and Araki left Konoha with Kushina in his hands as Torifu demanded her return.

• Uzumaki Kushina transformed under the Nine-Tails’ control and killed Shiroyama with a chakra claw when he attacked Araki.
• Araki asked the Nine-Tails to leave Kushina and join him, but it could not break the seal she had reinforced.
• Araki brought Kushina to Sasori at the Konoha camp, where Sasori was being pursued by Torifu Akimichi and Hyuga Clan Byakugan users.
• Torifu confronted Araki, who claimed he had found Kushina unconscious and brought her back as a gesture of goodwill.
• Araki tossed Kushina toward Torifu and told him to sign for the Nine-Tails.

Araki used Uzumaki Kushina’s body to provoke the Nine-Tails into attacking Konoha’s forces, while Sasori disrupted the sealing squad and Iwagakure considered exploiting the chaos. Namikaze Minato sensed the danger and teleported to the battlefield, where he made the Nine-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb disappear just before it fired.

• Araki tossed Uzumaki Kushina’s body toward Torifu Akimichi, and the Nine-Tails transformed and attacked him with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Araki and Sasori watched from the air as Torifu ordered the Konoha ninja to retreat and protect the sealing squad; Sasori sent disguised corpses into the panicked crowd.
• Higashishini ordered Roshi, Han, Kitsuchi, and Hikō to seize Uzumaki Kushina, but they reconsidered their plan after seeing the Nine-Tails’ explosion in the distance.
• Namikaze Minato sensed the Nine-Tails’ chakra rising and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave the northern battlefield and reach Uzumaki Kushina.
• Namikaze Minato appeared atop the Nine-Tails and used a tri-pronged kunai to make its nearly formed Tailed Beast Bomb vanish.

Araki saw Namikaze Minato use Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder and considered studying its spatial principle to develop a dimensional slash. After Minato resealed the Nine-Tails and left with Kushina, the chapter shifted to Danzō’s battle with the AB Brothers and the destruction of Kusagakure’s Grass Seed outpost.

• Araki watched Namikaze Minato divert the Nine-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb and considered whether the technique could lead to a dimensional slash powerful enough to kill the Ghost King.
• Minato spotted Araki and Sasori, but Araki deflected his Flying Thunder God Kunai and denied responsibility for Kushina’s injury; Torifu Akimichi confirmed Araki had brought Kushina back.
• Minato resealed the Nine-Tails inside Kushina and took her away, while Torifu asked him to send her back once her injuries improved.
• Minato returned to the northern Land of Fire and saved Shimura Danzō from the AB Brothers, then traded barbs with Danzō as nearby Uchiha jonin laughed.
• A Kusagakure shinobi reported that the Grass Seed outpost had been destroyed and Maeda and most of its jonin and chunin had been killed, prompting the leader to summon the four elders and Mui.

Kusagakure’s leader decided to accelerate the opening of the Box of Ultimate Bliss by targeting Tailed Beasts and ordered the elders to gather intelligence. On their way back, Araki and Sasori spotted Iwagakure’s forces advancing and stopped to wait for Torifu Akimichi.

• Kusagakure’s leader announced that Maeda had died and the Grass Seed base had been devastated, then questioned Mui about the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
• Mui revealed that the Box was less than one-tenth full and said a Tailed Beast could provide enough chakra to open it sooner.
• Kusagakure’s leader ordered Mui to bring the Box back and use the prisoners, sent the Monkey-Headed and Ox-Headed Elders to gather intelligence on Konoha’s Nine-Tails and Iwagakure’s Four-Tails and Five-Tails, and tasked the Sheep-Headed Elder with scouting Takigakure’s Seven-Tails.
• Araki and Sasori saw Iwagakure’s forces moving through the mountains, and Sasori stopped their flight to wait for Torifu Akimichi.

As Iwagakure’s overwhelming force pursued Konoha into the Land of Fire, Torifu Akimichi ordered a retreat and Aburame Shino’s clan stayed behind to counter the Kamizuru trackers. Meanwhile, Mui brought Kusagakure’s Box of Ultimate Bliss underground toward the battle, where it began absorbing energy from the fighting shinobi.

• Hyuga Homura spotted Iwagakure’s massive advance, and Torifu Akimichi ordered Konoha’s force to retreat east while laying traps.
• When the Kamizuru Clan’s Ninja Bees kept tracking Konoha, Aburame Shino asked Torifu to let his clan stay behind and confront them.
• After three days of pursuit, Konoha and Iwagakure entered the Land of Fire, where the Aburame counterattack inflicted heavy losses on the Kamizuru Clan.
• Mui and three Kusagakure elders carried the Box of Ultimate Bliss underground toward the battlefield after discovering it gained activation energy near combat.
• Mui ignored the elders’ warnings and advanced toward the fighting as the Box glowed and drew streams of black-and-red energy from the shinobi above.

Araki and Sasori observed the fighting between Konoha and Iwagakure grow unusually violent as the Box of Ultimate Bliss absorbed the fallen ninjas’ rage. After Mui opened the box and wished for the Land of Grass to rule the world, he emerged transformed into a monster and flew toward the battlefield to feed.

• Araki noticed the fighting intensify from west to east and wondered whether a large-scale genjutsu was causing it, while Sasori said he knew of no such technique.
• As the Box of Ultimate Bliss absorbed more fallen ninjas’ rage, its Ghost Mask of Wrath glowed red and became ready to open.
• Mui opened the box and wished for the Land of Grass to regain its glory and rule the world.
• The box swallowed Mui, then released him with the power to restore Kusagakure’s glory; he transformed into a towering red-and-black monster.
• Mui burst through the earth, hovered above the battlefield, and called on the ninjas below to offer him their rage as food; Black Zetsu sensed his emergence from a distant cave.

Black Zetsu sensed the return of an Evil Spirit from Kaguya’s past and explained its history to White Zetsu. On the Konoha-Iwagakure battlefield, Mui transformed into the Sha of Anger, driving nearby ninjas into a frenzy and turning the battle into a massacre.

• Black Zetsu sensed the aura of an Evil Spirit near the Konoha-Iwagakure battlefield and ordered White Zetsu to gather a report.
• Black Zetsu told White Zetsu that Kaguya had once fought demons and sealed an Evil Spirit that fed on Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Fear.
• Black Zetsu decided that Hagoromo and his descendants should deal with the Evil Spirit, while White Zetsu worried it might seek revenge on Kaguya.
• Mui transformed into the Sha of Anger, whose presence amplified people’s anger and drove ninjas on both sides to attack one another.
• Torifu Akimichi and three other fighters launched a combined attack, but the Sha of Anger dodged it and continued spreading madness as it flew.

Araki identified Mui’s rampaging transformation as the Sha of Anger connected to the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while Black Zetsu planned to recruit ancient demons to distract Hagoromo. After the creature devastated the battlefield, it returned to Kusagakure, where the box’s whispers began drawing villagers and civilians into its masks.

• Araki suspected the Sha of Anger was a monster from the Box of Ultimate Bliss as it inflamed the battlefield and evaded Konoha and Iwagakure’s strongest fighters.
• Black Zetsu recognized the Evil Spirit and decided to help it unseal other ancient demons, forming an organization to oppose the ninja and distract Hagoromo.
• Araki and Sasori watched from above instead of intervening, and the Sha of Anger eventually flew away after the combined forces had suffered heavy losses.
• Araki and Sasori followed the creature to Kusagakure, where it placed the Box of Ultimate Bliss in the plaza and chanted over it.
• The box’s Ghost Masks whispered to the gathered Kusagakure ninja and civilians, who began walking in orderly lines toward the masks’ open mouths.

Mui transformed into the Sha of Anger and began absorbing Kusagakure’s people into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while Araki and Sasori watched from hiding. In Konoha, Jiraiya was summoned to Mount Myōboku, where the Great Toad Sage prophesied that ancient monsters would soon threaten the world.

• The Sha of Anger revealed that he was Mui, said the three elders had sacrificed themselves, and attacked Kusagakure’s leader.
• Mui dodged the leader’s Hair-Breaking Palm and kicked him into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, then urged Kusagakure’s people to join the village’s revival.
• Araki recognized that Kusagakure was finished and left with Sasori after Mui sensed their hiding place.
• Orochimaru showed Jiraiya a complaint accusing Minato of abandoning the northern front, but Jiraiya vanished through reverse summoning before he could respond.
• Fukasaku and Shima brought Jiraiya to the Great Toad Sage, who prophesied the return of the Petrification Legion, the Undying Demon, and the Hell Fiends, and urged him to unite the Child of Prophecy without relying on outsiders.

The Sage of Six Paths decided to awaken Asura early as a safeguard against the Evil Spirit released from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while Jiraiya struggled to understand the prophecy and plan an alliance. Meanwhile, Konoha and Iwagakure’s forces tracked the Sha of Anger to an eerily empty Kusagakure.

• The Sage of Six Paths judged the Evil Spirit’s release a growing threat and decided to let Asura reincarnate early in a suitable child.
• Jiraiya discussed the Great Toad Sage’s warnings with Sage Fukasaku and Shima, who agreed that the Five Great Nations should unite against the disaster.
• Jiraiya proposed persuading Mist Village to join the effort first, despite the recent bloodshed between it and Konoha.
• Jiraiya wondered whether the Child of Prophecy was already in Konoha, but Sage Fukasaku and Shima could not explain the Great Sage’s hint.
• Konoha and Iwagakure’s elite forces followed the Sha of Anger to Kusagakure and found its streets empty, with meals and household tasks left unfinished and almost no signs of battle.

Araki trained his subordinates while pursuing mastery of Rain Cutter Technique, studying Dark Release, and developing Sage Breathing. Kana showed him that she had learned Mystical Palm Technique, prompting him to consider restarting a long-delayed surgery.

• Araki trained Mist Village ninjas to use Water Breathing by slashing at waves along the coast.
• Araki enlisted Sasori and a Nara Clan puppet to practice Rain Cutter Technique against Shadow Possession Technique.
• Araki offered Xiedou Miesheng a chance to rebuild the Xiedou Clan in exchange for explaining the principles of Dark Release.
• Araki's Shadow Clones practicing Sage Breathing suffered dangerous transformations and petrification, forcing him to destroy them and exhaust much of his chakra.
• Kana demonstrated her Mystical Palm Technique to Araki, who stopped her from cutting herself and told her to practice on a fish.
• Araki recognized Kana's medical skill and considered restarting a surgery that had been delayed for lack of reliable medical ninjas.

Araki prepared to transplant the Byakugan into Kaguya Black Bone, believing it could help control his Kekkei Disease and unlock new abilities. Black Bone eagerly agreed, while his grandfather Kaguya Steel Bone suggested the transplant could usher in a new era for the Kaguya Clan.

• Kana demonstrated her healing skill by repeatedly injuring and treating a fish, and Araki praised her before assigning her to help with an operation the next day.
• Kaguya Black Bone showed Araki how quickly he had advanced in Breathing Technique training by punching apart a reef.
• Araki offered to transplant the Byakugan into Kaguya Black Bone, explaining it could free him from the burden of Kekkei Disease and might grant him Hyuga abilities.
• Kaguya Black Bone agreed to the transplant and went to tell his grandfather, Kaguya Steel Bone.
• Kaguya Steel Bone told Black Bone that the Kaguya Clan's future depended on how he performed, leaving Black Bone confused.

Kaguya Black Bone received Byakugan in an eye transplant, triggering a powerful change in his body that combined the Byakugan with his Shikotsumyaku. After Black Bone demonstrated his new abilities at the training grounds, Araki proposed testing whether he could launch the bone forest at enemies.

• A lead surgeon implanted two Byakugan in Kaguya Black Bone, and the eyes connected themselves to his optic nerves.
• Black Bone's Shikotsumyaku erupted uncontrollably, but Karatachi Yagura and Araki restrained him with the Water Mirror Technique and Water Prison while Oyashiro En used the Ketsuryūgan to calm him.
• At the Anbu training grounds, Black Bone sparred with Kaguya Steel Bone and showed that his Byakugan had improved his perception and close-combat ability.
• Black Bone used Dance of the Seedling Fern to create a vast bone forest, and Kaguya Steel Bone noted that he seemed free of the bloodline disease.
• Black Bone demonstrated Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm and described new chakra control and changes in his bones, prompting Araki to suggest launching the bone spears at enemies.

Black Zetsu and Sha of Anger reached Moryo’s seal and began negotiating his return, while Jiraiya brought the Great Toad Sage’s warning of an impending disaster to Konoha. As the villages weighed how to unite against the demons, Sunagakure’s worsening losses left Chiyo urging the Third Kazekage to recall Sasori.

• Black Zetsu and Sha of Anger infiltrated the tower in the Land of Demons and tore down the talismans guarding Moryo’s gateway.
• Moryo recognized the Box of Ultimate Bliss on Sha of Anger and suspected that Evil Spirit had sent them to deceive him, but Black Zetsu began trying to persuade him.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha and warned Orochimaru and Sarutobi Hiruzen that the Great Toad Sage had prophesied the Shinobi World’s destruction; an intelligence report confirmed Kusagakure had vanished and Konoha and Iwagakure had suffered devastating losses.
• Jiraiya identified Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, as the Child of Prophecy, and Orochimaru directed him to seek an alliance with Mist Village.
• In the Land of Rivers, Tsunade’s forces kept Sunagakure under heavy pressure, and Chiyo urged the Third Kazekage to call Sasori back.

Araki pushed Sun Breathing to the brink to awaken a Demon Slayer Mark, hoping to strengthen his body and increase his chakra capacity. After succeeding, he discovered his greatly enhanced strength and demonstrated it by sending a waterfall surging upward with a sword strike.

• Araki continued training at a waterfall in Kirigakure and decided to improve his physique to increase his chakra reserves.
• He recalled that awakening a Demon Slayer Mark required pushing his Breathing Technique beyond his body's limits, with a dangerously high heartbeat and temperature.
• Araki took nine consecutive breaths, enduring intense pain as his body grew red-hot and his heartbeat thundered.
• Flame-like marks appeared on both of Araki's cheeks, and a warm current began strengthening his bones and muscles with every breath.
• Araki tested his new power with a punch, then struck the waterfall with an ordinary longsword and sent its water bursting upward.

Araki watched Kirigakure’s ninja test their Breathing Technique training and identified how it disrupted their combat rhythm. He introduced Total Concentration: Constant Breathing with gourd-blowing exercises, then received a summons from the Mizukage.

• Yagura learned that Jiraiya and Fengzuan had arrived as envoys from Konoha and Sunagakure, and ordered that their letters be brought to him while they rested at an inn.
• Araki paired the ninja for sparring and noticed their fights relied on rigid, repeated bursts of strength rather than adaptable tactics.
• Hozuki Mangetsu described feeling restricted in combat, and Araki explained that the ninja over-relied on their breathing boosts and had gaps between breaths.
• Araki introduced Total Concentration: Constant Breathing and told the ninja to practice by blowing up tough gourds.
• Kaguya Black Bone celebrated the exercise while Luo Bing collapsed after learning that later gourds would be about half a person tall.
• An Anbu ninja arrived and told Araki that the Mizukage had summoned him.