Recaps

Genya and Fugaku traveled to the Empty District so Genya could speak with Cat Granny. Meanwhile, Nara Shikaku warned Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza that Genya’s support for clan industries was a gradual strategy to weaken the clans’ influence.

• Fugaku agreed to store the Lightning Release Chakra Secret Technique in the Empty District and summoned Calico to take him and Genya there.
• Calico escorted Genya despite the Ninja Cats’ blacklist, while Fugaku worried that Genya might clash with them.
• Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza questioned why Nara Shikaku distrusted the Hokage’s support for clan industries.
• Nara Shikaku explained that Hokages had always sought to weaken clan influence, but Genya was doing so gradually by making clan members feel the village treated them better than their own clans did.

Nara Shikaku warned Yamanaka Inoichi and their other friend that Uchiha Genya’s investment offer could enrich their clans while scattering their members and weakening clan leaders. At the Empty District, Xuanye found Uchiha Hikari surrounded by Ninja Cats and mocked her after she explained how little authority she had as clan head.

• Nara Shikaku explained that Uchiha Genya’s offer would send clan members across the Land of Fire, making it harder to keep their clans united.
• Yamanaka Inoichi asked whether they should refuse Konoha’s investment, and Nara Shikaku warned that blocking clan members from earning money could cost him his position as clan head.
• Nara Shikaku left the choice to his friends, unable to find a way for their clans to profit without risking division.
• Fugaku brought Xuanye to the Empty District, where Calico and hundreds of Ninja Cats lived and worked as part of an important Uchiha base.
• Xuanye found Uchiha Hikari sitting among the Ninja Cats, who treated her as their clan head even though she had been sidelined and stripped of authority.
• Xuanye mocked Hikari and mussed her hair, prompting the Ninja Cats to hiss at him.

Xuanye entertained Uchiha Hikari by using a sticker to make a Ninja Cat compulsively lick its paw, then tried to arrange a contract for Matatabi in the Empty District. Cat Granny hesitated to accept the Tailed Beast, and Xuanye assured her that Tailed Beasts could become friends with the Uchiha.

• Xuanye put Uchiha Hikari on his lap and teased her until he decided to distract her with the gathered Ninja Cats.
• Xuanye stuck a sticker on a Ninja Cat, triggering its instinct to lick its paw whenever it tried to remove the sticker.
• Another Ninja Cat knocked the sticker off, and the two cats began fighting until Cat Granny arrived and separated them.
• Xuanye tried to pet the other Ninja Cats, but they avoided him, so he grabbed Matatabi and declared her more powerful than they were.
• Xuanye asked Cat Granny to sign Matatabi to a contract with the Empty District, but Cat Granny worried the Tailed Beast could endanger the cats.
• Xuanye reassured Cat Granny that Tailed Beasts were not bad and could befriend the Uchiha if treated sincerely.

Xuanye gave Cat Granny Kumogakure’s Lightning Release Chakra Mode scroll for the Uchiha and Ninja Cats to study, then told Fugaku to watch Kirigakure’s affairs. He planned to use Kirigakure’s persecution of its bloodline clans as an opportunity to bring them to Konoha.

• Xuanye explained the Uchiha’s ancestry to Cat Granny, who welcomed him and offered him tea.
• Xuanye gave Cat Granny the Lightning Release Chakra Mode scroll, suggesting that stronger Uchiha and Ninja Cats could learn it.
• Xuanye asked Cat Granny to send Ninja Cats to look for Princess Tsunade near a casino.
• Xuanye returned to the Hokage Office with Fugaku and told him to monitor intelligence from Kirigakure.
• Xuanye revealed that he wanted Konoha to take in Kirigakure’s Hozuki, Yuki, and Kaguya clans, especially because he coveted the Kaguya Clan’s Shikotsumyaku.

Xuanye ordered Fugaku to recruit Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai Shinobi, while Kakashi escorted Yugito back to Darui at the border. Yugito concealed that Konoha had extracted a third of her Tailed Beast, and Darui asked whether she was pregnant as they prepared to leave.

• Xuanye told Fugaku to bring Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai Shinobi to Konoha and ordered him to have Kakashi report back when he returned.
• Kakashi escorted Yugito to the border, where Darui waited to receive her.
• Kakashi released the seal on Yugito’s Chakra from a safe distance, and Yugito returned to Darui without attacking him.
• Yugito told Darui that Konoha had extracted some of her Chakra for experiments but concealed that it had taken a third of her Tailed Beast.
• Kakashi’s clone relayed Xuanye’s offer of future cooperation, and Darui accepted Yugito without trying to attack Kakashi.
• Darui asked Yugito whether she was pregnant.

Yugito told Darui that Uchiha Genya had never touched her, foiling Kumogakure’s plan to obtain Sharingan blood through her. Kakashi returned to find Konoha expanding, then Genya rewarded him with a scroll that shocked him.

• Yugito told Darui she was still a virgin, revealing Kumogakure’s plan to produce a child with Uchiha blood had failed.
• Kakashi returned to Konoha and mistook the dismantling gates for signs of an invasion before Might Guy explained that the village was expanding.
• Might Guy said he was voluntarily hauling logs for Konoha’s construction project, and Kakashi noticed villagers and shinobi preparing for the work.
• Uchiha Fugaku told Kakashi that Genya wanted to see him, so Kakashi went to the Hokage Office.
• Genya gave Kakashi a scroll as a reward for his last two missions, and Kakashi was stunned by its contents and asked how Genya had obtained it.

Xuanye gave Kakashi a secret Lightning Release technique and learned that Kakuzu had become Konoha’s Finance Department head. As Kirigakure’s persecution worsened and Konoha expanded rapidly, Xuanye viewed Obito’s destruction of Kirigakure as a service to Konoha.

• Xuanye warned Kakashi to keep the Lightning Release Chakra Mode secret and suggested he seek Xuanye’s help if he needed heavenly lightning for training.
• Kakashi saw Kakuzu wearing a Konoha forehead protector and learned he had become the head of Konoha’s Finance Department.
• Xuanye read reports of Kirigakure’s Bloody Mist and considered encouraging Obito to intensify his persecution of the village.
• Xuanye praised Obito in his thoughts as a hero whose actions weakened Konoha’s rivals.
• Konoha’s Shinobi and villagers worked for pay to expand the village, while Xuanye watched Might Guy haul building materials and noted that the expansion avoided the ravine he had made during the Night of the Nine-Tails.

Xuanye pushed Orochimaru to accelerate his Cursed Seal research and promised to find him assistants. Konoha’s expansion was progressing quickly, and Xuanye estimated it would be finished within a year.

• Orochimaru questioned Hong Dou about her clerical work in the Hokage Office, and she complained that he treated her like a test subject.
• Xuanye returned to the Hokage Office and received his Shadow Clone’s memories about Konoha’s construction projects.
• Xuanye demanded results from Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal research, and Orochimaru agreed to work faster.
• Xuanye told Orochimaru he would recommend assistants, including someone he thought might interest him.

Genya enlisted Orochimaru and Hizashi to investigate Kirigakure, where a recent Kaguya Clan rebellion gave him an opening to intervene. The three arrived in a village near the Land of Water's border using Orochimaru's Reverse Summoning Technique.

• Genya suggested bringing Kekkei Genkai clans from other villages into Konoha, and Orochimaru offered his Kirigakure connections in exchange for permission to study their Kekkei Genkai.
• Genya allowed Orochimaru to study them as long as he did not harm them, and promised information about a theoretically immortal person if Orochimaru contributed enough to the operation.
• Orochimaru reported that the Kaguya Clan had rebelled in Kirigakure and been swiftly suppressed, prompting Genya to decide to act.
• Genya summoned Hizashi and told him to accompany Genya and Orochimaru to Kirigakure without a ninja force; Hizashi agreed at once.
• Genya left a Shadow Clone to handle Konoha's work, then traveled with Orochimaru and Hizashi by Reverse Summoning Technique to a village near the Land of Water's border.

Xuanye, Orochimaru, and Hizashi entered Kirigakure to meet Hozuki Longchuan, a Hozuki Clan elder seeking outside help. Longchuan challenged Xuanye’s presence and authority, and Xuanye prepared to teach him a lesson.

• Hizashi scanned the village with his Byakugan, and Xuanye asked Orochimaru to contact Kirigakure’s leaders.
• Xuanye planted a specially made Kunai and revealed his mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique to Orochimaru, who agreed to keep it secret.
• Orochimaru led Xuanye and Hizashi past Kirigakure’s defenses to a safe house, where they met Hozuki Longchuan.
• Longchuan objected to Orochimaru bringing Xuanye and Hizashi, then threatened Xuanye despite learning he was Konoha’s Fifth Hokage.
• Xuanye warned Longchuan not to trust his eyes, signaling that he intended to teach the Hozuki elder a lesson.

Xuanye confronted Hozuki Longchuan and argued that Karatachi Yagura’s persecution of Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai clans threatened the Hozuki Clan’s survival. Longchuan agreed to talk, but he remained torn between loyalty to Kirigakure and protecting his clan.

• Xuanye subdued Hozuki Longchuan with Lightning Release, countering his Hydrification Technique.
• Orochimaru warned Longchuan that he would serve the Hokage, prompting Xuanye to explain that Karatachi Yagura was targeting Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai clans.
• Xuanye said he could approach the Yuki Clan and Kaguya Clan if Longchuan refused to listen, and Longchuan feared they might defect to Konoha.
• Xuanye argued that Karatachi Yagura’s actions and Kirigakure’s declining strength put the Hozuki Clan in danger, citing the Kaguya Clan as a warning.
• Longchuan called Xuanye back and agreed to talk, while Xuanye told him to consider the fate of his clan carefully.
• Longchuan struggled with whether to remain loyal to Kirigakure or protect the Hozuki Clan from Karatachi Yagura.

Xuanye revealed his Ice Release to win Hozuki Longchuan's trust and offered the Hozuki Clan a path to join Konoha. Hozuki Longchuan accepted Xuanye's terms and pledged his clan's loyalty.

• Xuanye formed ice in his palm, and Hozuki Longchuan recognized it as Ice Release.
• Hozuki Longchuan said his clan's alliance with the Yuki Clan made them family, then asked what treatment they would receive in Konoha.
• Xuanye said the Hozuki and Yuki clans would have to prove their loyalty and initially receive a smaller share of mission pay, which would rise to match other Konoha ninja over time.
• Hozuki Longchuan accepted Xuanye's terms and pledged that the Hozuki Clan would serve him loyally to the death.

Xuanye persuaded Hozuki Longchuan to join Konoha and ordered him to gather the Hozuki, Yuki, and surviving Kaguya clans for relocation. After discussing the recruitment with Orochimaru, Xuanye entered Kirigakure and saw how badly the village had declined.

• Xuanye told Hozuki Longchuan that newcomers would not be eligible to become Hokage for several decades, and Longchuan accepted the terms.
• Xuanye ordered Longchuan to contact the Yuki Clan and other smaller clans, especially the surviving children of the Kaguya Clan, and prepare to leave the Land of Water.
• Longchuan worried that Kirigakure would notice the mass departure, but Xuanye assured him that he had made arrangements and told him to gather their belongings over two days.
• Orochimaru asked how Xuanye had persuaded Longchuan, and Xuanye explained that he had used a slight psychological nudge alongside his genuine Ice Release.
• Xuanye offered Orochimaru the chance to obtain a Mangekyō in exchange for impressive results, then walked openly into Kirigakure and observed its shuttered shops and struggling villagers.

Mei Terumi and her companions encountered Xuanye, Orochimaru, and Hizashi Hyuga in Kirigakure, where Xuanye’s mission to acquire the power of the village’s bloodline clans gave him a reason to act openly. As Kirigakure Shinobi converged around them, Xuanye remained confident and prepared for a fight.

• Mei Terumi patrolled Kirigakure with Chojuro and Ao while worrying about Yagura’s rule and the village’s future.
• Mei approached Xuanye to flirt, but Ao recognized the visitors and warned her about who they were.
• Mei identified Orochimaru and Hizashi Hyuga, while Xuanye revealed that he had no intention of hiding his group’s presence.
• Xuanye received a mission to obtain Kirigakure’s bloodline-clan power and strengthen Konoha.
• Kirigakure Shinobi surrounded Xuanye’s group, and Hizashi prepared to defend them as Xuanye and Orochimaru stayed composed.

Xuanye confronted Karatachi Yagura in Kirigakure and declared that he had come to take the village’s Kekkei Genkai clans to Konoha. As Yagura ordered the mist to close around Xuanye and his companions, Hizashi and Orochimaru were prepared to counter it.

• Mei Terumi recognized that Xuanye was Uchiha Genya, and she and the other Kirigakure ninja spread mist to use the Silent Killing Technique against him.
• Xuanye revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and confronted Karatachi Yagura, while Hizashi detected hidden genjutsu energy within the Mizukage.
• Xuanye said he had come to take Kirigakure’s Kekkei Genkai clans to Konoha, prompting the Anbu to threaten him.
• Karatachi Yagura silenced the Anbu and told Xuanye he would have to stay, while Obito saw the encounter as a chance to test Xuanye’s strength.
• Yagura thickened the chakra-laced mist around Xuanye and his companions, but Hizashi’s Byakugan and Orochimaru’s ninjutsu gave them ways to counter it.

Uchiha Genya fought Kirigakure’s defenders alongside Orochimaru and the others, killing attackers with his Sharingan, Chidori, and Magnet Release. After Ao sacrificed himself to save Mei Terumi, Genya took the Byakugan from his body and unleashed Iron Sand against the surrounding Shinobi.

• Kirigakure Anbu attacked Xuanye and his companions with water dragons and close-combat assaults, but Xuanye killed the Shinobi who reached him.
• Mei Terumi attacked Xuanye with Lava Release, and Xuanye charged her with Chidori.
• Ao knocked Mei Terumi out of the way and took Xuanye’s Chidori through the chest, dying after telling her to run.
• Xuanye removed the Byakugan sealed beneath Ao’s eyepatch and put it in a sealing container, while Mei Terumi stopped her attack to avoid harming Ao’s corpse.
• Xuanye killed a jōnin with Magnet Release: Railgun, then gathered Iron Sand and began an Iron Sand Shower as Kirigakure’s defenders charged.

Xuanye unleashed Iron Sand and Ice Release against Kirigakure’s forces, then charged Suikazan Fuguki. He defeated Fuguki with a single Lightning Release-enhanced punch, leaving him dying and Samehada badly damaged.

• Xuanye used Iron Sand to tear through Kirigakure Shinobi and charged the remaining fighters.
• Suikazan Fuguki attacked Xuanye with the Great Waterfall Technique and was mocked for being one of the Auspicious Three Treasures.
• Xuanye froze Fuguki’s flood with Ice Release: Ice Age, catching nearby Shinobi in the ice.
• Xuanye used Lightning Body Flicker to close in on Fuguki as Biwa Juzo and Raiga Kurosuki watched nearby.
• Fuguki sent Samehada to bite Xuanye, but Xuanye’s Lightning Release-enhanced punch sent Fuguki crashing through houses and left Samehada bent and damaged.

Uchiha Genya defeated Raiga Kurosuki, took the Lightning Blades: Fang, and used them to annihilate the Kirigakure ninja around him. Biwa Juzo escaped, leaving Genya victorious amid the ruins with his newly claimed weapons.

• Raiga Kurosuki struck Genya with Lightning Burial: Banquet of Lightning, but Genya absorbed the attack without harm and seized him by the throat.
• Genya explained that lightning could not hurt him, snapped Raiga Kurosuki's neck, and claimed the Lightning Blades: Fang.
• Genya marked the blades with the Flying Thunder God technique to prevent Kirigakure from summoning them away.
• When Kirigakure ninja rushed to reclaim the blades, Genya unleashed Lightning Burial: Wrath of the Thunder God and killed everyone within a hundred meters.
• Genya searched for Biwa Juzo but found that he had escaped, then stood among the ruins holding the Lightning Blades: Fang.

Xuanye summoned Matatabi to help him test Blaze Release, a Kekkei Genkai he had developed by combining Lightning and Fire Release. Surrounded by Kirigakure Ninja, he prepared an enormous, densely powered blue fireball, leaving its effects yet to be seen.

• Karatachi Yagura ordered the Kirigakure Ninja to attack Xuanye, and they flooded the village with Water Release and obscuring mist.
• Xuanye ignored Orochimaru's suggestion to use Susanoo and gave him the Lightning Blades: Fang to study after they returned.
• Xuanye summoned Matatabi and asked her to help him use the jutsu they had practiced.
• Matatabi lent Xuanye her Chakra as they formed a blue Tailed Beast Cloak around him.
• Xuanye combined Lightning and Fire Release to create Blaze Release and formed an enormous dark-blue fireball.

Xuanye unleashed a massive Blaze Release attack that devastated the heart of Kirigakure, then surveyed the destruction while Orochimaru escaped with Hizashi. The blast revealed the extent of Xuanye’s power, and he remained unharmed but recognized that he had not fully controlled the attack.

• Yagura ordered the Kirigakure ninja to advance as he retreated, while Orochimaru fled underground with Hizashi.
• Xuanye slammed his Super True Blaze Big Ball Rasengan into the ground, triggering a huge explosion that shook the area for more than ten seconds.
• Orochimaru surfaced with Hizashi near the edge of Kirigakure and saw the blast’s devastation, including glassed ground, burning buildings, and a cleared sky.
• Xuanye stood unharmed at the center of the destruction, protected by his third-stage Susanoo and a barrier created with Saha World.
• Xuanye explained to himself that Blaze Release was extremely powerful and unstable, then lifted himself above the hot ground with his electromagnetic power.

Xuanye stopped Isobu from completing a Tailed Beast Bomb after Karatachi Yagura let the Three-Tails run wild under Obito’s control. He trapped Isobu in lightning and summoned blue flames around it, while Orochimaru recognized the Sharingan pattern controlling the beast.

• Karatachi Yagura transformed into the Three-Tails and let Isobu rampage through Kirigakure as Mei Terumi begged him to stop.
• Obito controlled Isobu and aimed its Tailed Beast Bomb at Xuanye, hoping to destroy both him and Kirigakure.
• Xuanye noticed the Sharingan pattern in Isobu’s eyes and suspected that a powerful Mangekyō user had controlled Karatachi Yagura.
• Orochimaru recognized the pattern from the Nine-Tails’ attack and chose to keep his suspicions about who controlled it to himself.
• Xuanye blasted Isobu with lightning, dispersed its forming Tailed Beast Bomb, and trapped it in a Lightning Prison.
• Xuanye summoned countless blue flames around the trapped Isobu with the Blaze Release: Ghost Fire Orb Technique.

Xuanye defeated Karatachi Yagura, but Obito ambushed him with Kamui after deciding Xuanye's Mangekyō was depleted. Xuanye revealed the attack was an illusion and nearly killed Obito, until Black Zetsu intervened and freed him.

• Xuanye detonated the ghostfire orbs around Isobu, forcing the Tailed Beast back into Karatachi Yagura and freeing Yagura from the Illusion Technique.
• Obito appeared behind Xuanye and pierced him with a black rod, believing Xuanye's Mangekyō power was exhausted.
• Xuanye's body vanished when Obito was freed from the Mirror Flower, Water Moon Illusion Technique, and Xuanye attacked him from behind with Musō Isshin.
• Obito activated Intangibility to evade Xuanye's blade, while Xuanye retreated and recognized that Kamui made Obito difficult to defeat or stop from escaping.
• Black Zetsu emerged from underground and broke Xuanye's illusion on Obito, saving Obito from Xuanye's near-fatal strike.
• Obito realized Xuanye had trapped him without his noticing and decided that Xuanye must not be allowed to live.

Obito tried to intimidate Xuanye by claiming to be Uchiha Madara, but Xuanye mocked his disguise and exposed his lack of achievements. Despite Black Zetsu urging him to retreat, Obito charged Xuanye with a black rod, leaving Black Zetsu to follow.

• Obito claimed to be Uchiha Madara, but Xuanye laughed and questioned the claim.
• Xuanye mocked Obito for hiding behind a mask and borrowing Madara's name, angering him.
• Black Zetsu warned Obito that Xuanye's Mangekyō ability countered Kamui and urged him to retreat.
• Obito dismissed Black Zetsu's warning and charged Xuanye with a black rod.
• Black Zetsu followed Obito to keep him from dying.

Xuanye used Mirror Flower, Water Moon to distort Obito’s sense of time and land a Chidori strike through his heart, but Obito survived and attacked again. As Obito and Black Zetsu closed in, Xuanye unleashed his newly mastered trump card, Mahapadma.

• Xuanye trapped Obito in Mirror Flower, Water Moon, then used Lightning Release Chakra Mode and Chidori to pierce Obito’s heart after Kamui’s five-minute limit expired.
• Obito realized Xuanye had distorted his sense of time, activated Kamui again, and tried to seize Xuanye with Wood Release: Cutting Sprigs.
• White Zetsu repaired Obito’s wound, and Obito declared himself immortal before charging Xuanye with chains.
• Obito had Black Zetsu possess him to counter Xuanye’s illusions, but ignored Black Zetsu’s advice to retreat.
• As Obito’s chains and wooden spikes closed around him, Xuanye formed a triangle with his hands and released Mahapadma.

Xuanye used Mahapadma to freeze time and behead Obito, but Black Zetsu saved him with Izanagi. Obito escaped through Kamui after Xuanye exposed the cost of the forbidden technique, leaving him determined to find a way to counter Xuanye’s abilities.

• Xuanye froze the world with Mahapadma, beheaded Obito, and cut Black Zetsu in two, but Black Zetsu adapted and escaped underground with Obito’s head before Xuanye could take Kamui.
• Obito returned with his wounds and clothes restored, and Xuanye identified Izanagi and taunted him about sacrificing the eye beneath his mask.
• Obito and Black Zetsu recognized Xuanye as a threat, but Obito admitted he could not overcome Xuanye’s Illusion Technique or other powers.
• Obito urged Xuanye to read the Uchiha stone tablet at Naka Shrine and join his cause, then fled through Kamui after Xuanye mocked his act as Uchiha Madara.
• Obito resolved to find a way to disrupt Xuanye’s Illusion Technique or become immune to it, while remaining wary of Xuanye’s unknown ocular technique.