Chapter Summaries

Otsutsuki Momoshiki planned to wait for the Clan Leader and seize the God Tree, while Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha suspected that an unknown mastermind was arranging events across the world. The chapter left them wondering who was behind the plan and what the Creator Sovereigns were waiting for.

• Otsutsuki Momoshiki told Kinshiki Otsutsuki to investigate Konoha while they waited for the Clan Leader and an opportunity to take the God Tree.
• Ao Guang, Ao Ming, and sealed Kaguya noticed Otsutsuki Momoshiki, but none of them intervened.
• Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha watched Momoshiki and Kinshiki through a mirror and discussed how Naruto Uzumaki had changed the expected course of events.
• Hashirama Senju revealed that Heaven Slayer had once persuaded him to stop Madara Uchiha from unifying the Shinobi World and to work behind the scenes.
• Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha concluded that someone had arranged their arrival on the moon and the Four Divine Crystals to help them reach the chief god realm.

Hanabi and Mie returned safely to Konoha and revealed that the Ōtsutsuki Clan might soon arrive, prompting the village to prepare for a potential threat. Otsutsuki Momoshiki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki reached Konoha, and the chapter ended with Naruto warning that the Fourth Shinobi World War seemed unavoidable.

• Hinata and Shizuka Uchiha reunited with Hanabi and Mie at a hot spring inn, and Hanabi revealed that she and Mie had become the Ōtsutsuki Clan's Holy Maidens.
• Naruto used Flying Thunder God to bring the group back to Konoha while Otsutsuki Momoshiki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki followed through a spatial passage and arrived atop Hokage Rock.
• Otsutsuki Momoshiki controlled a Hyuga guard, learned about the shinobi world, and identified Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata as people of interest.
• Hanabi and Mie told Konoha's leaders what had happened in the Otsutsuki Sacred Land, and Tsunade ordered the village to activate the Level One Guard Order.
• Naruto offered to approach the Ōtsutsuki with Sasuke, with Minato accompanying them, while Tsunade noted that the Akatsuki had captured seven tailed beasts.
• Naruto concluded that the Fourth Shinobi World War was likely unavoidable, even though Nagato Uzumaki had replaced Obito as the one who would start it.

Obito warned the Konoha leaders about a hundred thousand White Zetsu and Nagato’s plan to gather the Tailed Beasts before attacking. Jiraiya reported that Akatsuki had extracted Shukaku from Gaara, and the meeting ended with Tsunade planning to warn the Fourth Raikage and protect Killer B.

• Obito revealed that Black Zetsu could give Nagato an army of a hundred thousand White Zetsu, and Minato and Tsunade concluded that Nagato was likely collecting the Tailed Beasts to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Jiraiya arrived at the meeting, reunited warmly with Naruto, and heard the group’s concerns about Nagato.
• Jiraiya reported that Akatsuki had extracted Shukaku from Gaara, but Gaara had survived and was only severely weakened.
• Tsunade proposed protecting the remaining Jinchuriki and locating Nagato, then decided to warn the Fourth Raikage to keep Killer B on alert.

The Raikage learned that Akatsuki was targeting the tailed beasts and set out to find Killer B, while teams from Konoha departed on missions to Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. Orochimaru prepared the Nine-Tails who had split from Naruto to emerge once his chakra was restored, leaving the plan set to begin in three days.

• The Fourth Raikage received Tsunade’s warning about Akatsuki and rushed out to find Killer B, who was practicing rap in a forest.
• Team 7 left Konoha for Sunagakure, while Team 8 departed for Kumogakure to investigate and protect Killer B.
• Orochimaru persuaded Kimimaro and Suigetsu to return to Kirigakure, and they departed with Jugo.
• Orochimaru brought Kabuto Yakushi to the laboratory, where the Nine-Tails said he needed three more days to absorb chakra and vitality before beginning the plan.

Tsunade’s leaders discussed Akatsuki’s plans to capture Killer B and the possibility of Nagato reviving the Ten-Tails, while they failed to locate Otsutsuki Momoshiki in Konoha. Akatsuki entered the Land of Lightning, killed two Kumogakure scouts, and attacked Killer B, whom Nagato sent flying with Shinra Tensei.

• Tsunade apologized to Inoichi Yamanaka for losing her temper and ordered prepared information placed in the Archives for Otsutsuki Momoshiki to find.
• Tsunade and Minato discussed Nagato’s move into the Land of Lightning to capture Killer B, and Tsunade considered advancing the Five Great Nations summit.
• Sasori killed two Kumogakure ninja who had spotted Akatsuki and sent a message to the village.
• Nagato led Akatsuki into a nearby forest, where they found Killer B rapping on a stage.
• Killer B attacked Akatsuki, but Nagato used Shinra Tensei to repel him and send him crashing through trees.

Killer B escaped Nagato and the Akatsuki, while the Eight-Tails revealed that Nagato carried chakra from several captured tailed beasts and could become the Ten-Tails jinchuriki. Dark Naruto gave Black Zetsu Shisui Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan and ordered him to use Kotoamatsukami to make Nagato revive Madara when Nagato was weakened.

• The Eight-Tails warned Killer B about Nagato’s Rinnegan, and Killer B escaped by obscuring the Akatsuki with ink before firing a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Nagato absorbed the Tailed Beast Bomb but failed to find Killer B, then ordered the Akatsuki to search while avoiding Kumogakure’s approaching ninja.
• Killer B hid in an underground waterway as the Eight-Tails explained that Nagato carried the chakra of several tailed beasts and could become the Ten-Tails jinchuriki.
• Black Zetsu summoned Dark Naruto, who stressed that all nine tailed beasts were needed to free Kaguya and asked him to keep searching for Killer B.
• Dark Naruto gave Black Zetsu Shisui Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan and instructed him to use Kotoamatsukami on a weakened Nagato to make him revive Madara Uchiha.

Killer B fought Deidara and Sasori, but Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan joined the battle and severed four of Eight-Tails' tails. The Akatsuki withdrew when the Fourth Raikage arrived, leaving Killer B badly weakened but uncaptured.

• Deidara and Sasori ambushed Killer B, who transformed into Eight-Tails and fought them with Tailed Beast Bombs.
• The Fourth Raikage killed two Akatsuki recruits, then hurried toward the battle with Darui and his group.
• Killer B used ink to immobilize Sasori's puppets, but Sasori trapped him with an iron net and Deidara wounded him with C4.
• Killer B's counterattack blew off one of Deidara's arms, before Nagato pinned him down and Yahiko severed four of Eight-Tails' tails.
• Konan sealed the severed tails, and the Akatsuki retreated as the Fourth Raikage arrived, leaving Killer B weakened but free.

After the Akatsuki took half of the Eight-Tails' chakra, Yahiko helped Nagato regain confidence in his goal and teased him about Konan. Konoha learned that Naruto could be Akatsuki's next target and prepared to discuss the threat at a Five Kage Summit.

• Yahiko reminded Nagato how Konan, Jiraiya, and Nagato's dream had kept him going, and urged Nagato to stay on his chosen path.
• Nagato regained his resolve, and Yahiko pressed him about Konan's feelings before leaving him alone.
• Konan emerged from the shadows, embarrassed by Yahiko's remarks about her and Nagato.
• Tsunade called an emergency meeting after Konoha received news that Akatsuki had taken half of the Eight-Tails' chakra.
• Minato, Tsunade, and Obito discussed whether to hide Naruto, then agreed to address Akatsuki's threat at the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron.

Obito and Kakashi discovered that Nagato had awakened a hundred thousand White Zetsu and returned to prepare the shinobi world for war. Nagato’s Akatsuki planned to use Orochimaru’s Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to recruit powerful fighters, while Orochimaru continued studying the First Hokage’s cells.

• Obito explained to Kakashi that Kaguya’s sacrifices had become White Zetsu, and estimated that a hundred thousand lay dormant in the ruins.
• Obito and Kakashi found the cavern empty and concluded that Nagato had already awakened the White Zetsu, so they planned to report back to Tsunade and prepare for war.
• Nagato revealed his plan to use the White Zetsu to force the shinobi world to hand over the Nine-Tails, while Konan confirmed preparations for the Rinnegan’s six bodies were complete.
• Sasori warned Nagato that the White Zetsu army lacked enough high-level fighters and suggested using Orochimaru’s Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to revive powerful shinobi.
• Nagato decided to visit Orochimaru, who was studying the First Hokage’s cells and had discovered the solution to his long-standing physical-body problem.

Orochimaru traded the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to Nagato for three soulless White Zetsu bodies, while Kabuto agreed to help Akatsuki. In the Divine Realm, Heaven Slayer explained that the Creator God planned to create a world-spanning reincarnation system, leaving the group at the start of that story.

• Orochimaru studied Hashirama Cells and the Death God mask, then learned Kabuto had mastered Sage Mode.
• Orochimaru met Sasori and Nagato at the Land of Sound border, where Nagato requested the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
• Nagato gave Orochimaru three soulless White Zetsu bodies, and Orochimaru gave him the jutsu scroll and offered Kabuto's help.
• Heaven Slayer led Rimuru, Christina, Chacha, and their companions back to the temple with seven stone tablets.
• Heaven Slayer explained that their world lacked a complete system for reincarnating souls and that the Creator God and the Three Sovereigns planned to create one covering the entire world.

Rimuru killed Ji after she attacked Heaven Slayer, then the group learned that seven Stone Tablets held the primal power of seven realms. A strange presence speaking through Rimuru said the tablets could not be claimed until a seventh person arrived, and Heaven Slayer guessed that person was Kaguya.

• Heaven Slayer explained that Ji had toyed with him before Rimuru stopped her attack and shattered her annihilation sphere.
• Rimuru pulled Ji back from a thousand miles away and killed her with repeated punches despite her regenerative vitality.
• Heaven Slayer told the others that seven Stone Tablets corresponded to seven realms and could empower those recognized by them as World Masters.
• Rimuru said the group needed to find tablets that resonated with them but had to wait for a seventh person before absorbing their power.
• A presence speaking through Rimuru hinted that Heaven Slayer already knew who the seventh person was, and he answered that it was Kaguya.

Rimuru revealed that the Creator God had arranged events across worlds to create a way for souls to reincarnate, and explained the origins of the Supreme Gods, Overlords, and taboos. He then told the group that seven stone tablets held new rules that could allow them to reach the Overlord Realm.

• Rimuru explained that the Creator God had arranged the seven beings’ lives and events in the Shinobi World to create the Reincarnation Heavenly Eye.
• Rimuru told Heaven Slayer that the Netherworld and Underworld were experiments, and that dead deities’ powerful souls caused rule pollution and created taboos.
• Chacha revealed that her brother, the Lord of Destruction, had died and given her the Eye of Destruction; Rimuru and Chacha explained the Creator God’s six powers and the birth of the three Supreme Gods.
• Rimuru explained that humans normally could not reach the Overlord Realm because rules could not be owned, then revealed that the seven stone tablets contained rules that could let the group become Overlords.
• The group stared in astonishment at the stone tablets after learning they held their chance to attain the Overlord Realm.

Qingxi encouraged Karin to confess her feelings to Naruto, but Naruto called her his little sister and left her heartbroken. After Karin ran off, Naruto told Sasuke he was holding back because he had a bad feeling and did not want to get entangled.

• Qingxi found Karin packing to leave for New Konoha and persuaded her to come with her to find Naruto.
• Qingxi confirmed Karin loved Naruto and urged her to tell him directly, despite his devotion to Hinata.
• Qingxi and Karin arrived at the Forest of Death and watched Naruto and Sasuke finish a powerful taijutsu spar.
• Karin nervously asked Naruto whether he liked her, and Naruto said he loved her as a little sister.
• Karin ran away crying, and Qingxi chased after her while Naruto asked Sasuke whether he had said something wrong.
• Naruto told Sasuke he was avoiding emotional entanglements because he had a bad feeling, then agreed to continue training.

Minato learned that Naruto had made Karin cry by telling her he saw her as a little sister, despite having feelings for her. Naruto explained that his fear of losing someone and the dangers facing them kept him from pursuing a relationship, leaving Minato understanding but concerned for Karin and the other girls.

• Kushina told Minato that Karin had come home crying after Qingxi took her to see Naruto.
• Minato found Naruto training with Sasuke in the Forest of Death, and Sasuke left them alone to talk.
• Naruto explained that he had told Karin he liked her as a little sister, hoping she would give up on him because being close to him was dangerous.
• Minato asked Naruto about his feelings, and Naruto admitted he cared for Karin but did not want to promise her a future while their enemies remained.
• Minato headed home, sympathizing with Naruto's fears and worrying about Karin, Duanti Lian, Hanabi, and Hinata.

Naruto faced pressure from Kushina to take responsibility for Karin despite insisting that nothing had happened between them, while worrying about his existing relationship with Hinata. After Kushina kicked him out until Hinata forgave him, Naruto sought advice from Iruka and was left wondering whether he had to accept responsibility for Karin.

• Naruto reflected on his worries about romantic obligations and decided to discuss how to grow stronger with Sasuke.
• Kushina confronted Naruto about Karin, and Naruto insisted that sharing a bed with her for years had not led to anything improper.
• Kushina ordered Naruto to take responsibility for Karin and sent him away until he apologized to Hinata and received her forgiveness.
• Naruto stopped at Ichiraku Ramen, where he reunited with Iruka and asked whether a boy had to take responsibility for a girl he had shared a bed with.
• Iruka told Naruto that he had to take responsibility even if nothing had happened, leaving Naruto unsure what to do.

Naruto went to Hinata to confess his complicated situation with Karin, but Hinata mistook his apology as concern about Karin’s feelings and reassured him. Naruto left feeling understood, while Hinata believed he would soon notice Hanabi’s feelings too.

• Naruto asked Neji to help him explain his situation with Karin and his mission with Kushina to Hinata, and Neji advised him to tell her himself.
• Naruto reached Hinata’s room but hesitated until Hinata invited him inside.
• Naruto apologized and tried to bring up Karin, but Hinata assumed he had realized Karin’s feelings for him.
• Hinata hugged Naruto and told him she understood, and Naruto assured her she was the person he loved most.
• Naruto and Hinata held each other while Neji left with a faint smile.

Tsunade's leaders discussed protecting Naruto from the Akatsuki, but Sasuke overheard their plan and told Naruto, who decided to let Nagato gather the tailed beast chakra to create a powerful common enemy. At Orochimaru's Base, Orochimaru successfully gave the Nine-Tails a second body through a soul fragment, then claimed the remaining soul power as payment.

• Tsunade argued that Naruto had to be protected from the Akatsuki, while Kakashi and Minato doubted he would agree to stay out of the fight.
• Sasuke overheard the Hokage's Office discussion and told Naruto that the Akatsuki had obtained chakra from eight Tailed Beasts.
• Naruto told Sasuke to let Nagato revive the Ten-Tails, believing a shared enemy and a difficult battle could advance peace and their strength.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi watched Sora awaken in a new body, where the Nine-Tails confirmed it could control him through a divided soul.
• The Nine-Tails left Orochimaru's Base, and Orochimaru went to reclaim soul power from a blue crystal ball.

Naruto revealed to Sasuke that he had arranged for Black Nine-Tails to help Akatsuki revive Ten-Tails, intending to force the Shinobi World to unite against a common threat. As the Fourth Shinobi World War approached, Orochimaru prepared Kabuto to assist Nagato, who considered using Impure World Reincarnation to strengthen Pain but lacked the skill to do so reliably.

• Naruto explained to Sasuke that Black Nine-Tails had absorbed Sora’s tailed-beast chakra, giving Akatsuki the means to revive Ten-Tails.
• Naruto told Sasuke he intended to provoke a devastating war so the nations would unite, and Sasuke asked what would happen if they failed.
• Orochimaru sent Kabuto to help Nagato master Impure World Reincarnation and placed him in a chamber to receive White Snake’s power and attempt Sage Technique training.
• Orochimaru examined the soul fragments Naruto had given him, which could restore his damaged soul and help him advance his abilities.
• Nagato proposed reviving former Jinchuriki and turning them into Pain, but Yahiko warned that mastering the precision required by Impure World Reincarnation would be difficult.

The Nine-Tails, using Sora’s body, traveled freely while trying to draw the Akatsuki’s attention, and rescued Banjo Ichitora from bandits. Meanwhile, Kabuto Yakushi arrived at the Akatsuki base and offered to improve Nagato’s Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu with White Zetsu sacrifices.

• The Nine-Tails walked along a forest path and wondered how to make the Akatsuki notice his Nine-Tails chakra.
• The Nine-Tails defeated the bandits surrounding Banjo Ichitora’s caravan with a miniature Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Banjo Ichitora asked Sora to escort his caravan to the Land of Hot Water, and the Nine-Tails agreed.
• Nagato struggled to control the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu until Kabuto Yakushi arrived at the Akatsuki base.
• Kabuto Yakushi proposed using White Zetsu as sacrifices to strengthen resurrected shinobi, and Nagato entrusted the task to him.

Nagato learned that Sora’s Nine-Tails chakra could help revive the Ten-Tails, while Momoshiki and Kinshiki found Hinata and Neji in Konoha. Hinata mistook Momoshiki for Hanabi’s abductor and attacked him, beginning a clash between their Tenseigan powers.

• Nagato learned from Black Zetsu that Sora, Kinkaku, and Ginkaku possessed Nine-Tails chakra, and planned to capture Sora when Nine Dragons Sealing could be used again.
• Momoshiki told Kinshiki that he had sensed chakra resembling Kaguya’s and went to investigate it in Konoha.
• Hinata and Neji sparred at the Hyuga Clan compound, where Momoshiki and Kinshiki appeared and remarked on their evolved eyes.
• Hinata recognized Momoshiki and Kinshiki as Ōtsutsuki and demanded to know what they had done with Hanabi and Uchiha Mie.
• Hinata activated her Tenseigan and attacked Momoshiki with Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, which he absorbed before countering with a Truth-Seeking Orb.