Recaps

Kuro entered Sage Mode and unleashed powerful attacks against Pain and Konan at the Chunin Ninja Exams arena. After Konan’s paper clone sacrificed itself to protect Pain, Pain used Chibaku Tensei to draw Kuro and the arena’s debris into the sky.

• Konan carried Pain into the air as Kuro transformed through Sage Mode, and Nagato watched through Pain’s vision from his cave.
• Nagato rejected Konan’s plea to avoid using his final technique and resolved to eliminate Kuro, whatever the cost.
• Kuro used Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation to attack Pain and Konan with a wind dragon and giant earth snakes, but Pain destroyed them with Shinra Tensei.
• Kuro fired Sage Art: Fire Release: Grand Flame Sun Wheel at Pain, and Konan’s paper clone burned away while shielding him.
• Pain formed a black sphere and invoked Chibaku Tensei, pulling Kuro, the flames, arena debris, and the Susanoo barrier toward it.

Kuro countered Nagato’s Chibaku Tensei with the Seventh Gate and White Dragon, but Pain survived and unleashed Super Shinra Tensei. Kuro answered with the Tsuchigumo Clan’s secret art, Rage Hair Heaven, and their attacks collided over the ruined arena.

• Kuro opened the Seventh Gate and used White Dragon to destroy the core of Nagato’s Chibaku Tensei.
• Pain survived the explosion with severe burns and unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, erasing everything within the barrier.
• Kuro gathered natural energy and activated the Tsuchigumo Clan’s Rage Hair Heaven.
• Kuro’s Rage Hair Heaven collided head-on with Pain’s repulsive force, grinding what remained inside the barrier into ashes.

Itachi shielded the Akatsuki members from the clash between Kuro and Pain with his Susanoo and Yata Mirror. After the destruction subsided, Pain stood recovered alongside the surviving Naraka Path, while Kuro had left Sage Mode and appeared weakened.

• Deidara praised Kuro’s attack as art, but Scorpion seized him and led him toward Itachi as Kakuzu followed.
• Itachi used his third-stage Susanoo and Yata Mirror to shield the Akatsuki members from the approaching shockwave, straining himself and shedding blood tears.
• Scorpion watched Itachi weaken and planned to act after the battle, while Kakuzu and Raiga each focused on surviving.
• Itachi poured his remaining ocular power into the defense until the devastation faded and his Susanoo vanished.
• Scorpion declared that Pain had won as Pain and the surviving Naraka Path emerged opposite a weakened Kuro.

Kuro revealed that the Susanoo Realm had been a cocoon preparing his Susanoo to evolve into its Complete Body form, overwhelming the remaining Akatsuki members. With the battle decided, he raised his blazing Great Ori Cutter to strike them down, as the story turned toward the coming confrontation with Obito.

• Pain restored the Deva Path by hiding the Naraka Path inside the King of Hell, but Kuro remained calm and smiled at his opponents.
• Scorpion and Deidara returned to the battlefield, and Scorpion urged Pain to kill Kuro while explaining that Itachi, Kakuzu, and Raiga Kurosuki had escaped.
• Kuro revealed that he had anticipated the attack and used the Susanoo Realm as a cocoon to prepare his Susanoo’s evolution.
• Kuro transformed his Susanoo into its Complete Body form, and Pain accepted that Akatsuki had lost.
• Kuro thanked Nagato for damaging his Susanoo and helping it evolve, then raised the Great Ori Cutter to strike the four figures below.

Kuro defeated Deva Path Pain and the other Akatsuki fighters, then realized Obito had begun moving in the Mist Village. There, Kuro confronted Obito as he tried to reclaim the Three-Tails and Six-Tails, and challenged the truth and feasibility of the Eye of the Moon Plan.

• Kuro's Great Ori Cutter destroyed Scorpion and the Naraka Path, incapacitated Deva Path Pain, and left Deidara barely alive.
• Kuro sensed that his Shadow Clone in the Mist Village had dispersed and realized Obito had started moving.
• In the Mizukage's office, Kuro's Shadow Clone stopped Obito from placing Yagura under control, and the two confronted each other.
• Obito admitted he had long suspected Kuro's support for the Eye of the Moon Plan was false but said he had believed Kuro might eventually accept it.
• Kuro rejected the plan and questioned whether Uchiha Madara's claims about Infinite Tsukuyomi were true or feasible.

Kuro challenged Obito’s faith in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and confronted him over the sacrifices made for it. Obito admitted he knew Madara had planned Rin’s death, leaving Kuro’s last hope for him extinguished.

• Kuro questioned the Infinite Tsukuyomi’s origins and feasibility, arguing that Obito and Madara had trusted an unverified stone tablet.
• Obito acknowledged that the tablet’s origin and claims could not be verified, but insisted the plan had to be carried through to test it.
• Obito said that if the Infinite Tsukuyomi failed, he would create another technique to bring about a peaceful world, without addressing the lives already sacrificed.
• Kuro concluded that Obito had knowingly chosen the plan despite its risks and asked whether he knew the true cause of Rin’s death.
• Obito admitted that Uchiha Madara had planned Rin’s death from the beginning and that he had known the truth before Kuro’s investigation five years earlier.

Kuro confronted Obito after learning the truth and used his Mangekyō abilities to destroy him, but Obito survived with Izanagi. Obito recognized Kuro’s techniques and challenged him to a second round.

• Kuro declared that he would kill Obito and attacked him when Obito tried to strike with black chains.
• Kuro used Space Collapse to immobilize and erase Obito and the surrounding space.
• Obito reappeared and unleashed a fire technique, but Kuro absorbed the flames with Inari God.
• Kuro realized Obito had survived through Izanagi and vowed not to let him replace his Sharingan.
• Obito identified Kuro’s ocular abilities, summoned his Uchiha Gunbai, and began the second round.

Kuro’s Shadow Clone tried to stall Obito in the Mizukage’s office, but Obito revealed a Body Activation Technique and Swift Release that let him overpower Kuro. Obito struck through the clone’s abdomen and declared victory, while Kuro realized Obito had also used Lightning Release: Swift Thunder.

• Kuro decided the Shadow Clone’s goal was to exhaust Obito’s Izanagi and stall until the main body returned, then attacked with Lightning Release: Swift Thunder.
• Obito activated the Body Activation Technique, gained enough speed to counter Kuro, and forced Kuro to retreat with Swift Thunder: Annual Meeting.
• Kuro recognized Obito’s Hashirama Cells might mitigate the Body Activation Technique’s strain, but believed his own speed still surpassed Obito’s.
• Obito vanished from Kuro’s sight and appeared behind him, surrounded by Swift Release, then punched through Kuro’s abdomen with Activation Fist.
• As the Shadow Clone began to disperse, Kuro saw blue lightning around Obito and recognized Lightning Release: Swift Thunder.

Fifteen years earlier, Obito had resolved to become strong enough to protect Kuro after seeing Kuro’s Lightning Release: Swift Thunder technique. In the present, Obito revealed he had memorized its principles and was taking Yagura and the Three-Tails, but Kuro appeared behind him and vowed to kill him.

• Obito, Rin, and Kakashi sorted through Kuro’s messy room while worrying about his condition and admiring his new technique.
• Kakashi praised Lightning Release: Swift Thunder, and Obito imagined learning it after awakening the Sharingan so he could help protect Kuro.
• In the Mizukage’s office, Obito recalled that he had memorized the technique’s principles but never learned it properly.
• Obito used his Mangekyō Sharingan to absorb Yagura and declared that the Three-Tails was already his and that he would next take Utakata and the Six-Tails.
• Kuro appeared behind Obito and declared that Obito would die there.

Kuro appeared behind Obito and struck him with Water Release: Spiral: Heavenly Tide, leaving him mangled and near death. Kuro raised Firebirth to finish him, while Obito smiled, believing his plan had gone perfectly.

• Obito realized Kuro was behind him and questioned how he could be in the Mist Village while his real body was supposedly in Konoha.
• Kuro pressed Water Release: Spiral: Heavenly Tide into Obito's back, grinding apart his body and Hashirama Cells.
• Obito's mask shattered, his hair turned white, and he collapsed with only his head relatively intact as the Body Activation Technique's backlash set in.
• Kuro drew Firebirth, declared that everything was about to end, and swung the blade at Obito's head.
• Obito looked at Kuro and smiled, convinced that dying by Kuro's hand meant his plan had gone perfectly.

Kuro and Kisame faced off over Obito, but Obito died before either could strike. As the office collapsed, Yagura transformed into the Three-Tails, leaving Kirigakure in chaos.

• Kuro urged Kisame to abandon Obito and protect the real future of Mist Village, but Kisame refused, saying he was a shinobi bound to Madara.
• Kuro and Kisame prepared to fight, but they both sensed Obito’s final breath stop, and Uchiha Obito died.
• Kuro sheathed Firebirth and told Kisame to leave, but he noticed Yagura’s body swelling and transforming.
• Yagura burst through the Mizukage Building’s roof, causing it to collapse and triggering alarms across Kirigakure.
• The Three-Tails, Isobu, emerged atop the ruins as shinobi rushed toward the building.

The Three-Tails rampaged through Mist Village, and Mei Terumi organized the evacuation while preparing to subdue it and support Sora. Kuro absorbed the beast’s Tailed Beast Bomb and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to bring the Three-Tails under control.

• Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Kimimaro arrived and helped calm the civilians as Suigetsu, Haku, and Jūzō Biwa led the evacuation toward Utakata’s barrier.
• Mei Terumi sent Kimimaro to hold off the Three-Tails while she and Zabuza moved to support Sora and guard against interference.
• Kuro evaded the Three-Tails’ rampage as Kisame rescued Obito’s body, but a giant tail struck Kisame and sent him flying into the village.
• Kuro used Inari God to absorb the Tailed Beast Bomb forming in the Three-Tails’ mouth.
• Kuro’s Mangekyō Sharingan froze the Three-Tails and subdued it once again.

Kuro defeated the Three-Tails and caught the unconscious Yagura, then reflected on the nine years he had spent in Mist Village as Shiina Sora. When Mei Terumi and Kimimaro confronted him, Kuro revealed that the Shiina Sora they knew had never existed and that he had always been Uchiha Kuro.

• Kuro released the Three-Tails from Mangekyō Sharingan control, caught the unconscious Yagura, and confirmed that Mist Village had suffered no casualties.
• Kuro sent a Shadow Clone to search for Kisame while he reflected on the nine years he had spent building his life in Mist Village as Shiina Sora.
• Mei Terumi and Kimimaro arrived, and Mei accused Kuro of releasing the Three-Tails.
• Kimimaro prepared to attack, but Kuro praised his growth and reminded him to care for his health, leaving Kimimaro confused by how familiar Kuro felt.
• Mei reported that the evacuation had gone safely, then demanded to know what Kuro had done to Sora.
• Kuro told Mei that the Shiina Sora she knew had never existed and that he had been Uchiha Kuro all along.

After Kisame survived Kuro’s attack, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu took him and Obito’s battered corpse away before Kuro’s Shadow Clone could capture them. Kuro suspected they planned to use Nagato’s Rinne Rebirth to revive Obito and Madara, and hurried to rejoin his original body.

• Kisame recovered from his injuries and confronted White Zetsu and Black Zetsu as they approached Obito’s corpse.
• Black Zetsu blamed Obito’s failures and recognized that Kuro’s strength rivaled or surpassed Madara’s, deciding to advance Madara’s revival plan.
• White Zetsu warned Kisame that Madara could still die, and Kisame joined them as Kuro’s Shadow Clone approached.
• Black Zetsu and White Zetsu sank into the ground with Kisame and Obito’s corpse, escaping Kuro’s Shadow Clone.
• Kuro’s Shadow Clone suspected they would have Nagato revive Obito and Madara, then dispelled itself and sent its memories to Kuro’s original body.

Kuro confirmed to Mei Terumi that Shiina Sora had always been a false identity for Uchiha Kuro, and Mei demanded to hear the whole truth before deciding whether to believe him. Just as Kuro prepared to explain, new information reached him and he realized he had to leave.

• Kuro told Mei Terumi that he and Shiina Sora were the same person, and that both he and the Fourth Mizukage had been used by the one controlling Yagura.
• Mei Terumi challenged Kuro’s explanation, then recognized that he really was the Sora she had known.
• Kimimaro realized he could no longer turn to Kuro as Lord Sora for answers.
• Mei Terumi asked Kuro to tell her everything about Uchiha Kuro so she could judge the truth for herself.
• Kuro prepared to explain, but a flood of information reached him and he realized it was time to leave.

Amid the ruins of the Mizukage Building, Kuro prepared to leave Mist Village without explaining his past, while Mei Terumi and Kimimaro tried to stop him. Kuro vanished after promising to explain and apologize someday, leaving Mei Terumi staring at the empty sky.

• Mei Terumi refused to believe that her nine years with Sora and their work for Mist Village were meaningless, and demanded that Kuro tell her the truth about himself.
• Kuro apologized and said he had no time to explain, prompting Mei Terumi and Kimimaro to block his escape and insist that he stay.
• Kuro recalled the people and moments he had shared with Mist Village, then told Mei Terumi and Kimimaro he had truly been happy and would explain everything someday.
• Mei Terumi and Kimimaro rushed toward Kuro, but he vanished just before Mei Terumi could reach him.
• Mei Terumi heard Kuro's farewell to Mist Village and wondered why his eyes had looked as though he were crying.

After Yagura regained control, he promised to explain what he knew about Uchiha Kuro and called him the hero who saved Mist Village. Back in the Land of Rice, Kuro prepared to recover the Rinnegan, but Karin reported that Orochimaru had disappeared.

• Zabuza arrived and demanded to know where Sora had gone, while Mei Terumi and Kimimaro struggled to explain.
• Yagura woke, and Kimimaro stopped Zabuza from attacking him.
• Yagura confirmed he had broken free of control and promised to reveal what he knew about Shiina Sora and Uchiha Kuro.
• Yagura declared that Uchiha Kuro was the hero who saved Mist Village.
• Kuro returned to Inari City with Deva Path Pain's body and Deidara, intending to recover the Rinnegan.
• Karin rushed to Kuro and told him that Orochimaru had disappeared.

After Orochimaru vanished from the Land of Rice, Uchiha Kuro suspected Uchiha Madara had freed him and feared that their enemies had been manipulating events for years. Kuro ordered a search and called for talks with the Five Great Nations, then resolved to keep pursuing the Rinnegan and uncovering the truth.

• Karin told Kuro that Orochimaru had disappeared from his laboratory, with no injuries or missing research materials.
• Kuro suspected that Uchiha Madara had freed Orochimaru and questioned how Madara could have known where he was.
• Kuro ordered Karin to seal off the Land of Rice and search for signs of ocular techniques or genjutsu, especially in the core district.
• Kuro instructed Karin to invite representatives of the Five Great Nations to talks about a threat to the Ninja World's survival.
• Alone in the hall, Kuro wondered whether Obito and Madara had orchestrated events around Orochimaru for five years, then vowed not to give up.

Obito revived through Ryūzetsu's life-sacrificing technique after Kuro defeated him, while Ryūzetsu died and Mui was killed. With Kuro likely having taken Madara's Rinnegan, Obito directed Kisame and the others to recover his other Sharingan from Konoha.

• Kaneki Eito and Kaneki Mitero captured Mui, and Eito killed him after taunting him over Ryūzetsu's death.
• Obito awakened, ordered Eito to obey Kisame, and thanked Kisame for helping him survive.
• Black Zetsu blamed Obito for allowing Kuro to grow stronger and urged him to revive the real Madara.
• Obito told Black Zetsu that Kuro had defeated the Six Paths of Pain and likely taken Madara's Rinnegan from Nagato.
• Obito said Kuro believed him dead and the Fourth Hokage's mark had been erased, then ordered the group to go to Konoha and reclaim his other eye.

Obito revealed his plan to retrieve his other eye and use Hiruko’s improved Chimera Technique to strengthen himself with the corpses of Uchiha who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. He left the forest with his followers, determined to prepare for a confrontation with Kuro and continue the Eye of the Moon Plan.

• Obito told Black Zetsu he planned to retrieve his left eye from Konoha, since Kuro would soon have little reason to remain there.
• Black Zetsu warned that recovering the eye would expose Obito without giving him enough power to threaten Kuro.
• Obito explained that the Moon Organization’s value lay in its use of Hiruko’s improved Chimera Technique, not its combat strength.
• Obito ordered Black Zetsu to search the Ninja World for the corpses of Uchiha clansmen who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Obito said the corpses could serve as sacrifices to enhance his Sharingan and help him fight Kuro and reclaim the Rinnegan.
• Black Zetsu agreed to search, and Obito departed the forest with Kisame and the Kaneki Twins.

After learning the truth about Sora’s identity as Uchiha Kuro, the people of Mist Village united behind Mei Terumi and urged her to bring him home. With Genji’s blessing, Mei Terumi set out to find Sora and Kuro.

• Mei Terumi and Zabuza reflected on how Sora had saved Mist Village and discussed Yagura’s account of his identity as Uchiha Kuro.
• Zabuza asked when Mei Terumi planned to leave, revealing that he wanted to bring Sora back too.
• Mist Village’s villagers gathered and pledged their support for Mei Terumi and their wish to bring Kuro home.
• Genji arrived with Haku and Suigetsu and told Mei Terumi to bring their companion and family home.
• Mei Terumi promised the villagers that she would bring Sora and Kuro back.

Kuro received reports from Natsuhi and Hotaru, then ordered them to prioritize finding Nagato and Konan while continuing other security measures. Alone in the hall, he concluded that Nagato was probably dead and someone had taken the Rinnegan.

• Hotaru reported that inspections found no signs of genjutsu or ocular control in the Land of Rice or its allied lands.
• Natsuhi reported that Orochimaru remained missing, Uchiha Itachi was suspected to be in the Land of Wind, Kakuzu was near the Land of Hot Water, and Raiga Kurosuki was active in the Land of Lightning.
• Kuro ordered Natsuhi to prioritize finding Nagato and Konan, keep watching Raiga Kurosuki, and reduce searches for the other Akatsuki remnants.
• Kuro told Hotaru to continue mental inspections in Inari City and nearby core areas while the Fuma Clan patrolled the outer regions.
• After Natsuhi and Hotaru left, Kuro recalled that his black rod had failed to reveal Nagato's location and reasoned that Nagato was likely dead and someone had taken the Rinnegan.

Kuro worried that someone had taken Orochimaru and the Rinnegan, and decided he needed to unite the Five Great Nations to confront Uchiha Madara. When Karin told him that Mei Terumi and Utakata had arrived from the Mist Village to discuss an alliance, Kuro panicked about facing the people he believed he had betrayed.

• Kuro considered who had taken Orochimaru and the Rinnegan, then resolved to pursue an alliance with the Five Great Nations.
• Kuro hesitated over how to approach the Mist Village because he felt guilty about deceiving its people as Lord Sora.
• Karin rushed in with news, and Kuro tried to reassure her by boasting about his composure.
• Karin told Kuro that Mei Terumi and Utakata had arrived to discuss an alliance and open Odd Jobs Agency and logistics company branches.
• Kuro asked Karin whether it was too late to hide at Uncle Kakashi's place.

Hotaru guided Mei Terumi and Utakata through Inari City to meet Uchiha Kuro, the leader of the Land of Rice. Kuro and Mei Terumi reunited while pretending to be strangers, and he invited the Mist Village delegation to discuss an alliance.

• Hotaru led Mei Terumi and Utakata through Inari City, where a shopkeeper teased her about Utakata being her boyfriend.
• Mei Terumi told Hotaru that Mist Village had come to discuss an alliance, and Hotaru said Karin had gone to notify Kuro.
• Karin arrived with Kuro, and Utakata recognized him as Lord Sora before Mei Terumi stopped him from stepping forward.
• Mei Terumi introduced herself as the Mist Village envoy, and she and Kuro shook hands while concealing their feelings at the reunion.
• Kuro released Mei Terumi's hand and invited her and Utakata to discuss the alliance in the conference room.

Mei Terumi proposed an alliance between Mist Village and the Land of Rice to overcome small nations’ resistance to Mist Village’s Logistics Company expansion, offering favorable terms to the Land of Rice and the Land of Rivers. Kuro invited Mei Terumi to stay for further talks, then asked Karin to leave so he could speak with Mei Terumi alone.

• Karin served Mei Terumi tea and teased Kuro about choosing it, prompting him to scold her.
• Mei Terumi explained that small nations’ opposition to Mist Village’s Logistics Company expansion threatened its plans.
• Mei Terumi pointed out that the Land of Rice’s alliance with other small nations had encouraged resistance to great powers.
• Mei Terumi proposed an alliance with the Land of Rice and offered favorable terms to the Land of Rice and the Land of Rivers.
• Kuro agreed to consider the proposal and invited Mei Terumi to stay in the Land of Rice for a few more days.
• Kuro asked Karin to leave so he could discuss personal matters with Mei Terumi alone.