Recaps

Moryo escaped Taiichi’s sealing attempt by dissolving into Negative Energy and revived farther into the Land of Demons, forcing Taiichi to withdraw his exhausted Assault Force. As the force returned to report, Black Zetsu explained that only the Shrine Maiden’s lineage could stop Moryo’s final-stage escape and worried that the Allied Forces and Taichi Matsushita threatened Akatsuki’s plans.

• Moryo transformed into purplish-black liquid, burst apart, and escaped the sealing chains by merging with the land.
• Taiichi learned that Moryo had revived less than fifty kilometers from the Allied Forces and ordered the Assault Force to retreat because its sealing chances were low and another failure could endanger the defensive line.
• Taiichi explained to Kitsuchi and the others that Moryo’s repeated revivals could carry him closer to the Allied Forces, so the mission had failed and they needed to report back.
• Zetsu, Kakuzu, Hiruko, and Blood Crow reviewed the battle through White Zetsu’s transmitted vision, and Black Zetsu said the Shrine Maiden’s lineage could suppress Moryo’s final-stage escape.
• Black Zetsu left the cave concerned that the Allied Forces’ cooperation and Taichi Matsushita’s strength could disrupt Akatsuki’s plans.

As Moryo advanced on the Allied Forces, Black Zetsu persuaded it to join his plan while Chiyo and Dodai led a squad against human traitors. When their retreat was cut off, Hiruzen Sarutobi brought the elite reserve force to rescue them, leaving the Allied Forces poised to face Moryo without Taiichi or the Shrine Maiden.

• Moryo gathered the Ghost Legion and headed toward the battlefield, while Black Zetsu convinced it to join his plan and sign a scroll.
• Chiyo and Dodai led a twenty-person squad into the canyon to eliminate human traitors ambushing Allied Forces formations.
• Moryo was reported one hour from the front lines, so Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Chiyo and Dodai to withdraw and prepared the reserve force to delay it.
• Chiyo and Dodai's squad was surrounded by the Ghost Legion and traitors, and suffered casualties as it fought its way back.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi led the five-hundred-person reserve force into the canyon, where Taiichi's black staff cleared a path for the trapped squad.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the blocking force fought Moryo and the Ghost Legion, but mounting casualties and Enma’s injury left them unable to stop Moryo from reaching the canyon. Taiichi arrived with Miroku, ordered the Allied Shinobi Forces to launch an all-out attack, and prepared to lead the charge through the canyon.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kitsuchi, Karatachi Yagura, Chiyo, Dodai, and the blocking force attacked Moryo and cleared waves of the Ghost Legion, but Moryo broke free and the ninjas suffered heavy casualties.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the force to harass Moryo and delay its advance, then led a final push that drove Moryo back toward the canyon.
• Moryo struck Enma with corrosive energy, leaving the blocking force without its most effective weapon as Moryo entered the canyon.
• Taiichi flew to the front with Miroku and the Nine-Tails after Miroku agreed to travel by air, arriving at the camp in two hours.
• Mimura Hamaki briefed Taiichi on the crisis, and Taiichi used his authority as the highest-ranking commander to order an all-out attack and assign the Nine-Tails to protect Miroku.

Taiichi defeated Moryo and Shrine Maiden Miroku began sealing him, but an unseen enemy detonated a Curse Mark inside her and badly wounded her. Miroku continued the ritual as the Allied Shinobi Forces watched, while Akatsuki members monitored the battlefield from an underground cavern.

• Taiichi lured Moryo away from the canyon entrance and fought him while Mimura Hamaki led the Allied Forces through to join Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other troops.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others met Miroku, confirmed she could begin sealing Moryo, and escorted her toward the battlefield.
• Taiichi knocked Moryo unconscious with a barrage of punches, and Miroku began absorbing him into a Talisman Formation.
• Moryo awoke and struggled against the formation, but its suppressive force held him as the Allied Forces cheered.
• A hidden Curse Mark inside Miroku detonated and injured her, yet she continued the sealing while Taiichi said the formation prevented anyone outside from helping.
• In an underground cavern, Hiruko asked the other Akatsuki members who had planted the Curse Mark on Miroku.

Black Zetsu separated Moryo’s soul from its body during the sealing, allowing the Allied Forces to stop the Ghost Legion while Moryo escaped in a White Zetsu body. After Miroku explained the danger and the army celebrated its victory, Moryo joined forces with Obito’s group to seek revenge on Taiichi Matsushita.

• Black Zetsu summoned Moryo’s soul into a White Zetsu body and escaped with Kakuzu, Blood Crow, and Hiruko as the sealing ended.
• Taiichi Matsushita caught the collapsing Miroku and treated her while Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Allied Forces to search for the attackers.
• Miroku told the assembled ninjas that Moryo’s body had been sealed but its soul had escaped, and explained that it could regain limited power by possessing another body.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi declared the battle a victory, and the Allied Forces cheered after learning that Moryo’s power source had been contained.
• At Akatsuki’s base, Obito and Black Zetsu persuaded Moryo to accept its White Zetsu body and join them in seeking revenge on Taiichi Matsushita.
• Taiichi escorted Miroku and the sealing formation to the frontline Camp, where the Allied Forces still had to discuss Moryo’s sealed body and compensation for the Land of Demons.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and the surviving expeditionary force returned to Konoha, where the village welcomed them as heroes. After Taiichi reported on Moryo and Akatsuki, Minato resolved to have the Five Great Nations publicly target Akatsuki, and Taiichi went to the Uchiha Compound to discuss Itachi’s Sharingan with Fugaku.

• Minato and the villagers welcomed the returning force, and Taiichi sent Jiangtai, Yami, and Itachi home while asking Itachi to tell his father he would visit.
• Taiichi reported the expedition’s events to Minato, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, and explained that Konoha’s portion of Moryo’s body was in his possession for research.
• Taiichi and the others concluded that Akatsuki had helped Moryo’s soul escape so it could recruit and control him, and Minato decided to coordinate a public campaign and bounty against Akatsuki with the other four Great Ninja Villages.
• Taiichi saw signs of mourning for fallen ninja on his way to the Uchiha Compound, where Uchiha Shin welcomed him and explained that the clan encouraged members to bring friends as guests.

Taiichi explained to Fugaku how positive and negative emotions could awaken the Sharingan, then continued researching Moryo by forming a soulless body from its energy. He left his disciples to train and punished Jiangtai for complaining by placing a Gravity Barrier on him.

• Taiichi told Fugaku that Sharingan awakening could be advanced through steady chakra production or external emotional stimulation, and that positive emotions appeared to produce a calmer aura.
• Fugaku struggled to choose between the slower, stable method and the faster, volatile method, while Taiichi advised building a solid foundation and accepting opportunities as they came.
• Taiichi extracted Moryo's energy from its seal and condensed it into a small, soulless body for research.
• Jiangtai, Yami, and Itachi watched Taiichi create the body, and Taiichi told them to keep training before leaving to visit Orochimaru.
• Taiichi returned after hearing Jiangtai complain, placed a Gravity Barrier on him, and left Jiangtai struggling under the increased weight.

Taiichi and Orochimaru experimented on a piece of Moryo’s body while Moryo sensed the pain from afar and persuaded Akatsuki to help sever the link between his soul and flesh. After a month of research and torment, Akatsuki decided to lie low, but Black Zetsu continued monitoring Yuto Hyuga in Konoha.

• Taiichi brought a small piece of Moryo’s body to Orochimaru, and they began researching its unusual vitality and energy conversion.
• Moryo sensed his body being handled in Konoha, and Akatsuki gathered to discuss how to break the connection between his soul and body.
• Blood Crow offered to refine a sealing technique with Moryo’s cooperation, and Moryo agreed to contribute his soul’s power.
• Taiichi and Orochimaru used more than a hundred pieces of Moryo’s flesh to study its properties, improving Taiichi’s mastery of Nature Transformation before the flesh lost its vitality.
• Pain and Obito decided Akatsuki would lie low as the Five Great Ninja Villages hunted them, while Black Zetsu secretly monitored Yuto Hyuga in Konoha.

Yuto Hyuga was forced by Black Zetsu to spy on Konoha and reveal what he knew about the Otsutsuki clan and the moon. Black Zetsu then infiltrated Konoha’s lunar camp and reached the moon, where he found the Spherical Seal around his mother but did not know how to enter it.

• Black Zetsu captured Yuto Hyuga, tortured him into agreeing to become a spy, and questioned him about the Otsutsuki clan and the moon.
• Five days later, Yuto returned to Konoha and began acting cheerful and fitting in with his clan.
• Black Zetsu slipped through the camp’s defenses, despite a Sensor Ninja detecting a brief suspicious fluctuation and prompting an investigation.
• Using Yuto’s information, Black Zetsu entered the Earth-Moon Passage and traveled to the moon.
• Black Zetsu descended deep beneath the moon’s surface and found the Spherical Seal containing his mother.

Black Zetsu failed to reach his mother after discovering Taiichi Matsushita’s Flying Thunder God Mark guarded the Giant Tenseigan, then returned to Akatsuki. In Konoha, Yami and Itachi stabilized Sage Mode, and Taiichi gained Minato’s support to recruit more villagers to train in his revised Senjutsu.

• Black Zetsu found his White Zetsu body after nine days underground and infiltrated the moon’s Sun Barrier with a group carrying supplies.
• Black Zetsu reached the Giant Tenseigan but withdrew when he recognized Taiichi Matsushita’s Flying Thunder God Mark embedded in its seal, then returned to the Ninja World and went back to Akatsuki.
• Yami and Itachi fought in Sage Mode on the Training Ground, demonstrating their breakthrough after nearly two months of training.
• Taiichi told Minato that all three of his students had learned Sage Mode and asked to recruit villagers of all ages to help refine the technique.
• Minato agreed to support Taiichi’s recruitment plan and asked whether he could train in the Senjutsu himself.

After Sage Mode 3.0 succeeded in training Konoha’s ninjas, Taiichi left the village to find Tsunade and investigate the wider Ninja World. He tracked her to Fenghua Castle in the Land of Snow, where he found her still in bed among empty wine bottles.

• Taiichi reported that Sage Mode 3.0 had safely trained eleven ninjas, and Minato approved its initial rollout.
• Utatane Koharu asked whether she could train in Sage Mode 3.0, and Taiichi told her that no one over fifty had succeeded so far.
• Taiichi arranged his duties in Konoha, reviewed his powerful training progress, and set out on vacation to find Tsunade.
• Taiichi traveled through the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth, then crossed the sea to the Land of Snow after sensing Tsunade there.
• Taiichi followed Tsunade’s Flying Thunder God Mark to Fenghua Castle and found her asleep in bed beside scattered wine bottles.
• A guard approached Taiichi and ordered him to leave the castle grounds if he had no business there.

Taichi Matsushita visited Fenghua Castle to bring Tsunade back to Konoha and reveal his improvements to Sage Mode. Tsunade resisted returning, but Taichi ended the chapter by tempting her with the promise that Senjutsu could help keep her young.

• Taichi presented his Konoha Jonin ID at Fenghua Castle, and Kazahana Sōsetsu invited him inside after recognizing him.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu guessed that Taichi had come to find Tsunade, and introduced him to his younger brother, Kazahana Dotō.
• Tsunade learned that Taichi had arrived and reluctantly came to meet him, while Taichi noticed the smell of alcohol on her.
• Taichi asked Tsunade to return to Konoha, but she resisted and pointed out that she had been enjoying her stay in the Land of Snow.
• Taichi set up an isolation barrier and told Tsunade he had improved Sage Mode and wanted her to train in Senjutsu.
• Tsunade declined to train until Taichi claimed his Senjutsu could help keep her young.

Taiichi told Tsunade that his Senjutsu could preserve youth and extend lifespan, then prepared to leave the Land of Snow with her. After they departed, Kazahana Dōtō launched his planned rebellion against Kazahana Sōsetsu and demanded the Daimyo’s position.

• Taiichi explained the different Senjutsu versions to Tsunade and warned that learning the technique after age forty-five was nearly impossible.
• Kazahana Dōtō and Nadare Rōga tested the Chakra Armor, confirmed its strength, and planned to use it to seize power.
• Taiichi and Tsunade said farewell to Kazahana Sōsetsu and left the Land of Snow.
• Kazahana Dōtō waited until the fourth day, then led Nadare Rōga, his allies, hired ninja, and soldiers in an attack on Fenghua Castle.
• Kazahana Dōtō’s forces broke through the castle defenses and cornered Kazahana Sōsetsu and Kazahana Koyuki in the council hall.
• Kazahana Dōtō demanded that Kazahana Sōsetsu surrender the Daimyo’s position in exchange for his life.

Taiichi and Tsunade returned to Fenghua Castle to stop Kazahana Dōtō’s coup, and Taiichi overwhelmed the attackers with his combat skill and Ice Release. Kazahana Dōtō escaped toward the snowy mountains, where Taiichi killed Nadare Rōga and captured Fubuki Kakuyoku, while Dōtō’s fate remained unresolved.

• Kazahana Sōsetsu refused to surrender the Daimyo’s scepter and seal, so Kazahana Dōtō ordered his forces to attack.
• Tsunade and Taiichi appeared to protect Kazahana Sōsetsu, and Taiichi cut down the attackers as Kazahana Dōtō and his allies fled.
• Fuyuma Kumaame attacked Taiichi with his Chakra Armor, but Taiichi shattered the armor and knocked him unconscious.
• Kazahana Dōtō, Nadare Rōga, and Fubuki Kakuyoku retreated to the snowy mountain and used Ice Release techniques against Taiichi.
• Taiichi countered their attacks with Ice Release, pierced Nadare Rōga through his armor, and stripped Fubuki Kakuyoku’s armor away before capturing her.

Taiichi defeated Kazahana Dōtō, helped Kazahana Sōsetsu secure the Land of Snow, and then searched the Land of Rain for the Akatsuki without success. The chapter ended with Black Zetsu reporting that he had uncovered extraordinary intelligence in Konoha, forcing the Akatsuki to reconsider staying hidden.

• Taiichi defeated Kazahana Dōtō, who chose to die by impaling himself on Taiichi's blade, and brought his body back to Fenghua Castle.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu restored order in the Land of Snow, thanked Taiichi and Tsunade, and paid Tsunade's casino debts before they departed.
• Taiichi taught Tsunade Sage Mode 2.0 and 3.0 during their journey, while she eventually learned to draw in natural energy.
• Taiichi and Tsunade returned to the Land of Rain, where Taiichi spent ten days scanning the country for the Akatsuki but found no trace of them.
• Taiichi concluded that the Akatsuki had left the Land of Rain and continued toward Konoha with Tsunade.
• Black Zetsu told the Akatsuki's four core members that he had uncovered extraordinary intelligence in Konoha and that they could no longer remain hidden.

Akatsuki learned that Konoha planned to spread Senjutsu and decided to accelerate its tailed-beast operation while stirring up the other villages. After Akatsuki leaked the news, Minato sent Taiichi to warn the four major shinobi villages and deter them from interfering with Konoha’s plans.

• Obito explained Senjutsu’s power and risks, estimated Konoha would produce Senjutsu users within two years, and Pain ordered Akatsuki to begin capturing the tailed beasts and spread the news.
• Tsunade gained an initial grasp of Sage Mode 3.0, while Mitokado Homura was hospitalized with damage to his chakra pathways.
• Konoha’s Intelligence Department reported that its Senjutsu plan had been exposed, and Minato’s meeting with the Hokage, advisors, and Taiichi focused on the leak and Akatsuki’s motives.
• Taiichi urged Konoha to warn the other villages that Akatsuki might be preparing another major crisis.
• Minato assigned Taiichi to personally deliver warning letters to the Sand, Stone, Cloud, and Mist villages and intimidate them into giving Konoha time to develop Senjutsu.

Taichi Matsushita arrived in Kumogakure on a diplomatic mission, alarming the village with his sudden descent and overwhelming presence. After meeting with Fourth Raikage A, he warned that Akatsuki had become active again and was preparing a major move.

• Taichi Matsushita descended from the sky at Kumogakure’s gate and stopped the guards from sounding the alarm with his aura.
• Kira reported Taichi’s arrival to Fourth Raikage A, who connected the visit to intelligence about Konoha’s popularized Senjutsu and ordered Dodai to welcome him.
• Taichi waited in the gate duty room until Dodai greeted him and escorted him to the Raikage Building.
• Taichi confronted Fourth Raikage A in a private meeting, then said Konoha had detected Akatsuki’s return and suspected the group was planning another major operation.

Taiichi secured Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure’s agreement to share intelligence and cooperate against the Akatsuki before traveling to Kirigakure. He discovered the Land of Water was in chaos and arrived to find a rebellion raging at the Mizukage Building.

• Taiichi and Fourth Raikage A agreed that Kumogakure and Konoha would share Akatsuki intelligence and consider jointly researching Sage Mode.
• Taiichi gained Ōnoki’s and the Fourth Kazekage’s support for cooperation against the Akatsuki.
• Taiichi traveled by ship to the Land of Water and disguised himself to investigate reports of disorder.
• Taiichi found soldiers abusing civilians and Kirigakure shinobi fighting one another across the Land of Water.
• Kirigakure guards surrounded Taiichi when he presented his credentials, then three signal flares announced fighting at the Mizukage Building.
• Taiichi sensed two groups of Mist Ninja battling in the village center and asked the guards whether they would stop the rebellion.

Taiichi infiltrated Kirigakure’s civil war and discovered that Obito’s chakra was controlling Karatachi Yagura. He exposed the genjutsu, but Yagura had already transformed into the Three-Tails.

• Taiichi escaped Nakamura’s watch and disguised himself as a Mist ninja before entering the village.
• Karatachi Yagura and Hozuki Zangetsu traded accusations, then their factions began a brutal battle.
• The guard captain tried to rescue wounded ninja but was killed, and the onlookers retreated.
• Taiichi found a chance to inspect Yagura when an ice spike shattered the ornament concealing his chakra, revealing Obito’s influence.
• Taiichi announced that Yagura was under genjutsu, prompting the Mist ninja to stop fighting and investigate.
• Yagura completed his Tailed Beast Transformation and appeared as the Three-Tails.

Karatachi Yagura rampaged through Kirigakure as the Three-Tails after the Mist Ninja exposed his condition, inflicting heavy casualties before Taiichi intercepted him at the village gate. Taiichi restrained the tailed beast, but Karatachi Yagura began gathering chakra for a Tailed Beast Bomb.

• Karatachi Yagura rejected Hozuki Zangetsu's demand to be examined and attacked the clan leaders, plunging Kirigakure into chaos.
• Elder Genji rallied the Mist Ninja, who bound the Three-Tails and struck it down, but Karatachi Yagura broke free during the sealing attempt.
• Karatachi Yagura used Isobu Great Spiral and Isobu Great Collision to tear through the Mist Ninja and charge toward the village gate.
• Taiichi dispelled his genjutsu on Nakamura, threw him out of danger, and raised a massive Earth Flow Rampart to block the Three-Tails.
• Taiichi trapped Karatachi Yagura with the Mountain Earth Technique, and Karatachi Yagura began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb as the Mist Ninja shouted for him to be stopped.

Taiichi defeated the Three-Tails and explained his presence to Genji as the Mist Village struggled with the aftermath of its internal conflict. Before dying, Karatachi Yagura revealed that the Akatsuki had controlled him and switched Moryo’s seal; learning this, the Akatsuki leaders launched their Tailed Beast Capture Plan.

• Taiichi forced the Three-Tails to swallow its unfinished tailed beast bomb, then let the Mist shinobi protect the unconscious Yagura and claimed he had come as Konoha’s envoy.
• Genji questioned Nakamura and learned that Taiichi had witnessed the fighting; Taiichi revealed Nakamura’s captain had died, and Genji sent him away before discussing the village’s future with Mei Terumi.
• As the tailed beast was extracted, Genji ordered the sealing team to wake Yagura, who confessed that an Uchiha in the Akatsuki had hypnotized him and that Moryo’s real seal had been switched out.
• Yagura died after warning the Mist shinobi to secure the tailed beast, and Genji ordered an inspection of Moryo’s seal before inviting Taiichi to discuss what he knew.
• At the Akatsuki base, Obito revealed that Yagura’s death had broken his genjutsu and exposed his control of the Mizukage; Pain ordered the Tailed Beast Capture Plan to begin immediately.
• Obito volunteered to investigate the Land of Water and seize the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, while Black Zetsu searched for the tailed beasts and Konan alerted the other teams.

Taiichi returned from Kirigakure and told Minato that the Akatsuki had controlled the Fourth Mizukage and might soon target other tailed beasts. Minato chose to warn the other villages, then sparred with Taiichi and revealed a new golden chakra mode.

• Taiichi met Genji and Mei Terumi in Kirigakure, shared Konoha’s intelligence about the Akatsuki, and warned that the Three-Tails and Six-Tails were targets.
• Taiichi returned to Konoha and told Minato how he had exposed the Fourth Mizukage’s control and helped bring about his death.
• Minato reported that Akatsuki members had been spotted in the Land of Hot Water heading toward the Land of Lightning, and Taiichi suspected they were moving to capture tailed beasts.
• Minato and Taiichi chose to send warnings to the other great villages, then went to spar in the forest behind Hokage Rock.
• Minato activated a golden chakra mode during their fight, leaving Taiichi startled as he recognized it as Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Taiichi and Minato tested their strength in a fierce spar, with Minato using the Nine-Tails’ chakra to enhance his Flying Thunder God and Taiichi countering with a tornado. They returned to Konoha after Tsunade scolded Taiichi for neglecting home and friends, where the Nine-Tails’ clone eagerly asked about the fight.

• Minato showed off his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and he and Taiichi began a high-speed spar that damaged the surrounding landscape.
• Minato used Nine-Tails chakra scattered through the air as Flying Thunder God marks to attack Taiichi from multiple directions.
• Taiichi disrupted Minato’s teleportation with a tornado created by Wind Style: Emerald Gale, and Minato called off the fight.
• Minato and Taiichi praised each other’s strength before Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and the Anbu arrived to investigate the disturbance.
• Tsunade grabbed Taiichi by the ear and scolded him for failing to come home and for taking on too much work; he promised to return home first next time.
• Taiichi went home with Tsunade, where the Nine-Tails’ clone greeted him and asked how the spar with Minato had gone.

Taiichi learned that Minato and Nine-Tails could achieve a powerful chakra mode, then spent his days guiding friends in Sage Mode 3.0 as Akatsuki pursued Jinchuriki across the Ninja World. Kakuzu and Hiruko ambushed Yugito Nii in the Land of Frost, killed her three teammates, and captured her alive for the Two-Tails.

• Taiichi questioned Nine-Tails about its cooperation with Minato, learned Naruto had helped bring them together, and suspected Nine-Tails had an even stronger form beyond Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
• Taiichi guided his former companions in practicing Sage Mode 3.0 while Akatsuki secretly moved through several lands in search of Jinchuriki.
• Zetsu told Kakuzu and Hiruko that Yugito Nii was escorting a mission in the Land of Frost, and they set out to capture her.
• Kakuzu attacked Yugito outside a cave while Hiruko killed her three sleeping teammates and struck her with Storm Release: Light Fang.
• Yugito escaped the cave badly wounded, but Kakuzu and Hiruko overwhelmed her with lightning and water techniques and took her alive.

After Akatsuki captured Yugito and Han, the Five Great Ninja Villages learned that the organization was targeting Tailed Beasts, and Takigakure debated how to protect Fu. The chapter ended with Takigakure hiring Konoha to guard its Jinchuriki as Akatsuki’s growing reputation made its activities harder to track.

• Fourth Raikage A learned from Konoha’s letter that Akatsuki had controlled the Fourth Mizukage and might be targeting Cloud Village, then ordered a search when Yugito failed to return from a mission.
• Ōnoki received Konoha’s warning but, despite ordering Han to stay in Iwagakure, Zetsu lured Han away, allowing Moryo and Blood Crow to capture him.
• Cloud Village and Iwagakure announced that Akatsuki had captured their Two-Tails and Five-Tails Jinchuriki, causing alarm throughout the ninja world.
• Kui Mu and Takigakure’s elders argued over how to protect Fu, then agreed to move her to a secret location outside the village and hire outside help.
• Takigakure chose the expensive Konoha for the protection contract, while Akatsuki’s expanding reputation led to more missions, imposters, and difficulty for the Five Great Ninja Villages in tracking the group.