Chapter Summaries

Sosuke negotiated with Ōnoki for the Dust Release scroll in exchange for letting the Rock Ninja leave Konoha, while revealing that he had become a traitor despite being chosen as the next Hokage. Ōnoki agreed to the deal, and Sosuke declared that their encounter marked the beginning of a new era.

• Ōnoki threatened to kill Sosuke, then ordered Kitsuchi and the remaining Rock Ninja to return to Iwagakure without him.
• Sosuke warned that Konoha might prevent the Rock Ninja from leaving and told Ōnoki he had mastered the Second's Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Ōnoki realized Sosuke wanted something in exchange for helping the Rock Ninja escape, and Sosuke demanded the Dust Release scroll.
• A Konoha ninja revealed that Sosuke had been selected as the next Fourth Hokage, and Sosuke confirmed that he had become a traitor.
• Sosuke told Ōnoki that he had greater ambitions than becoming a Kage and called their meeting the beginning of a new era.
• Ōnoki agreed to give Sosuke the Dust Release scroll after the Rock Ninja had safely left Konoha.

Sosuke rejected Konoha’s shinobi system and declared that he would impose peace by force, turning Sarutobi and Danzō against him. As the Konoha forces confronted Sosuke and Ōnoki, the battle began with powerful attacks and defenses, and Ōnoki summoned a stone giant.

• Sosuke told Sarutobi that he would erase the existing system and kill anyone who defied his rule in the coming era.
• Sarutobi declared that he would oppose Sosuke on behalf of the Ninja World, and Danzō arrived to join him.
• Tsunade, Hazama, Sakumo, and the injured Dai reached the scene as Danzō summoned dozens of Root Base Ninja.
• Ōnoki told Sosuke to break through the growing Konoha forces while he faced Sarutobi and Danzō.
• Danzō and Sarutobi attacked Sosuke and Ōnoki, but Sosuke blocked their techniques with Bakudo #81: Danku.
• Ōnoki used Earth Release: Rock Golem Jutsu and raised a gigantic stone giant from the ground.

Sosuke escorted Kitsuchi and the Rock Ninja through Konoha while Ōnoki fought Sarutobi and Danzo. After Sosuke fatally wounded Kazumi, Tsunade tried to save her as Jiraiya confronted Sosuke, who rejected his appeal and continued on.

• Sosuke summoned a rock giant to distract Sarutobi and Danzo, then appeared before Kitsuchi and led him and the Rock Ninja away.
• Ōnoki erased Sarutobi and Danzo's combined ninjutsu with Dust Release, while Sarutobi used Enma as the Adamantine Staff to smash the rock giant's palm.
• Kazumi blocked Sosuke's path through Konoha, and Sosuke stabbed her and left her dying on the ground.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the others arrived; Tsunade treated Kazumi while Sosuke warned the group not to stop him.
• Jiraiya asked why Sosuke had hurt Kazumi and Dai, but Sosuke dismissed trust as unnecessary and walked on.

Sosuke escorted the Rock Ninja out of Konoha while Jiraiya and Tsunade wondered whether he had deliberately spared Kazumi and resolved to bring him back. At the village gate, Shingo Gekko and Tatsu tried to detain Sosuke, who demonstrated his overwhelming speed by appearing behind Tatsu with a hand at his back.

• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Kazumi's wound had narrowly missed her heart, and Jiraiya wondered whether Sosuke had intentionally avoided killing her.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade resolved to bring Sosuke back, while Jiraiya recalled the Great Toad Sage's prophecy about the Child of Prophecy and his student Nagato.
• Sosuke led the Rock Ninja toward Konoha's gate, where Shingo Gekko, Tatsu, and a group of Anbu confronted him on the Hokage's orders.
• Shingo urged Sosuke not to become a rogue ninja, but Sosuke dismissed his appeal and told him to move aside.
• When Tatsu vowed to stop Sosuke even at the cost of their lives, Sosuke appeared behind him and demonstrated how easily he could pierce Tatsu's heart.
• Shingo warned Sosuke not to do anything rash as the gathered ninja froze in shock.

Sosuke left Konoha with the surviving Rock Ninjas after forcing Captain Shingo to clear their path. Outside the village, Kitsuchi questioned why Sosuke had thwarted Iwagakure’s attack, and Sosuke revealed his detached view of the world while warning what he would do if he ever found something worth hating.

• Tatsu tried to attack Sosuke, who paralyzed him with electricity and warned him to watch the Royal Hall’s rise.
• Captain Shingo ordered the Konoha Anbu to stand aside, allowing Sosuke and the Rock Ninjas to leave.
• Sosuke bid farewell to Shingo and led the exhausted Rock Ninjas out of Konoha.
• In a forest outside Konoha, Kitsuchi asked Sosuke why he had stopped the Earth Core Detachment’s attack despite being a Konoha traitor.
• Sosuke denied that he hated Konoha and said he would make the whole world pay if he ever found something worth hating, leaving Kitsuchi afraid.

Sosuke confronted the wounded Ōnoki after Kitsuchi rescued him, then demanded the Dust Release scroll and revealed his plan to establish a Royal Hall that would replace the hidden villages. Ōnoki gave him the scroll and left for the Land of Earth with Kitsuchi and the surviving Rock Ninja.

• Ōnoki hurtled toward the Rock Ninja, and Kitsuchi caught him before the two were cushioned by the softened ground.
• Kitsuchi worried over his injured father and called for a medical ninja to treat him.
• Sosuke appeared before Ōnoki and the Rock Ninja, who realized he could kill them while Ōnoki was unable to fight.
• Sosuke demanded the Dust Release scroll and declared that his future Royal Hall would conquer the Land of Earth.
• Ōnoki handed over the scroll and departed with Kitsuchi and the Rock Ninja, while Sosuke remarked that Ōnoki had a good son.

After the Rock Ninja’s attack devastated Konoha, Sarutobi and Danzo reflected on their injuries and the village’s losses. Danzo accepted that Sarutobi had been the right choice for Hokage and vowed to strengthen Root, receiving Sarutobi’s authority to do so.

• Sosuke gave Konoha a final glance before disappearing, as the Rock Ninja withdrew and the village mourned its dead and surveyed the destruction.
• Enma told Sarutobi that the medical ninja had arrived, then vanished after explaining that he could still fight despite losing his left arm.
• Danzo woke and asked whether the Tsuchikage had escaped; Sarutobi admitted he had failed to stop him and asked why Danzo had taken the attack meant for him.
• Danzo acknowledged that Sarutobi was more suited to being Hokage and described his own role as protecting Sarutobi’s light from the shadows.
• Danzo warned that Root was too weak to handle the Rock Ninja’s sudden attack and pledged to strengthen it.
• Sarutobi authorized Danzo to integrate Root’s capabilities and recruit promising young talent from the ninja clans.

Reports of Sosuke’s defection as Konoha’s newly chosen Fourth Hokage spread across the Ninja World, along with news of his clash with Ōnoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi. In Konoha, Teuchi struggled to accept that the brother who had encouraged him had become a rogue ninja, and continued clearing the rubble of Sosuke’s ruined house.

• Intelligence reports revealed that Sosuke had defected after being elected Fourth Hokage, taking Konoha’s Scroll of Sealing and earning an S-rank threat designation.
• Reports said Ōnoki and Hiruzen Sarutobi had fought and been seriously injured, while Konoha kept its forces near the Land of Wind border.
• The news spread throughout the Ninja World, and Konoha’s villagers struggled to believe that the beloved Sosuke had abandoned the village.
• Teuchi cleared rubble from Sosuke’s ruined house despite his bleeding hands, telling Uncle Oda that he still believed in Big Brother Sosuke.
• Teuchi recalled how Sosuke had encouraged him to pursue ramen-making, then broke down and wondered whether Sosuke had truly left Konoha.

After Sosuke became a Konoha rogue ninja, Teuchi, Kazumi, and Tsunade dealt with his departure in different ways. In the Land of Fire’s capital, Shijimi Tamako ordered protection for Sosuke’s bounty before he suddenly appeared in her palace.

• Teuchi vowed to make ramen that would bring people happiness while he cleared the rubble from Sosuke’s former home.
• Tsunade told the recovering Kazumi that Sosuke’s departure had spread across the Ninja World and that he had avoided striking her heart.
• Kazumi realized Sosuke had spared her and worried that his soft heart would put him in danger.
• Ghost confirmed Sosuke’s status as a rogue ninja to Shijimi Tamako, who ordered him watched and threatened anyone who took a bounty on him.
• Tamako rebuked Ghost for speaking against Sosuke and threatened to kill him if he did so again.
• Sosuke appeared unexpectedly in Tamako’s palace and greeted her after a long absence.

Sosuke reunited with Shijimi Tamako in the palace and told her he hoped she could overcome time’s constraints before giving him her answer. He offered her loyal subordinate Ghost a dangerous trial that could grant immense power, and Ghost accepted.

• Sosuke appeared before Shijimi Tamako, apologized for taking so long, and listened as she confessed that she still loved him.
• Sosuke touched Tamako’s forehead and spoke of crossing the chasm of time, asking her to give him her answer when she had done so.
• Sosuke asked whether Ghost was Tamako’s subordinate and offered him a trial with less than a one-percent chance of survival in exchange for the possibility of far greater strength.
• Ghost accepted the trial for Tamako’s sake and asked whether Sosuke could protect her if Ghost died.
• Sosuke demonstrated his overwhelming pressure, reassured Ghost that Tamako would benefit if he succeeded, and told him to prepare for the trial.

Sosuke reassured Shijimi Tamako that he would deal with the assassins threatening her and accompanied her from the palace. Elsewhere, Kyoka Suigetsu sensed the Hogyoku’s resistance and vowed that Sosuke belonged only to her.

• Sosuke asked Tamako why she wore armor and learned she had faced repeated assassination attempts.
• Sosuke told Tamako he would have someone handle the assassins and asked her to prepare a list of them.
• Tamako followed Sosuke, resolved to choose her own fate and remain by his side.
• The Hogyoku inside Sosuke glimmered faintly without his knowledge.
• Kyoka Suigetsu sensed the Hogyoku opposing her will, destroyed the monsters around her palace, and declared that Sosuke belonged to her alone.

Sosuke left Shijimi Tamako’s mansion to seek answers in an ancient ruin, while asking her to support Amegakure in secret. After he departed, Tamako’s mansion helped establish supply channels with Amegakure, and hostile factions were eliminated.

• Shijimi Tamako woke to find Sosuke’s room empty, but Sosuke returned and explained that he had gone to admire the water lilies.
• Sosuke told Tamako he had to leave to seek answers about the Ninja World and warned that an ancient ruin might hold dangers.
• Sosuke asked Tamako to remain in the Royal Capital and secure benefits for Amegakure, and she agreed to wait for his return.
• Sosuke left the mansion that afternoon, and Tamako resumed wearing her red armor while often smiling to herself.
• Several factions with grudges against Tamako’s mansion were wiped out by unidentified shinobi, and Amegakure shinobi later began forming supply channels with the mansion.

Sosuke and Suigetsu set out across the sea to seek the truth, despite Suigetsu’s fears about what they might find. Their destination was tied to an old record describing a giant turtle island and a waterfall that revealed the truth hidden in one’s heart.

• Sosuke told Suigetsu not to pry into his thoughts, but let her stay beside him after she apologized.
• Sosuke said they might need the Hogyoku’s power and that he had to face the truth as himself, not as Aizen from the Soul Society.
• Sosuke walked across the sea toward the horizon, and Suigetsu followed, accepting that the journey had to happen.
• Suigetsu grew furious at the Hogyoku, causing her kimono to change and a mysterious palace and its monsters to vanish.
• Sosuke recalled an old record about a giant turtle carrying an island with a Waterfall of Truth that revealed the hidden truth in a person’s heart.

Amegakure prospered under Kinnara’s rule while Minato continued following Aizen’s orders and planned to travel with some children to the Royal Capital. Elsewhere, Tokino joined White Zetsu to seek the Three-Tails, hoping to use it to defeat an enemy.

• Kinnara’s purge of exploitative shinobi clans replenished Amegakure’s resources, and his policies gave the villagers renewed hope.
• Kinnara asked Minato whether Aizen had deliberately let Konoha discover that he was a rogue ninja, but Minato refused to question Aizen’s decisions.
• Minato said he had handled the people on Aizen’s list and would teach the children, then announced he would take some of them to the Royal Capital to learn about Aizen from Tamako.
• White Zetsu told Tokino that the Three-Tails was hiding in a nearby lake and river, and Tokino set out to find it so he could defeat his enemy.

Minato watched Nawaki spar with Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan in Amegakure, then reassured Nawaki about Captain Aizen’s departure from Konoha and urged the children to prepare to leave. Elsewhere, a tall figure appeared over an island in the ocean, sensed that it was not the place he sought, and vanished.

• Nawaki used Wood Release to bind Yahiko, but Nagato and Konan helped Yahiko escape and defeat him.
• Minato arrived and praised the children for understanding one another as comrades.
• Nawaki asked whether the village had branded Captain Aizen a rogue ninja, and Minato explained why Aizen could not remain in Konoha and why he followed him.
• Nawaki accepted Minato’s explanation, and Minato told the children to pack so they could leave Amegakure for a while.
• A tall figure appeared above an island in the ocean, realized it was not the place he sought, and disappeared.

A year after Sosuke defected from Konoha with the Scroll of Sealing, the villages continued recovering while his whereabouts remained unknown. Sarutobi halted Konoha’s investigation into Kirigakure, and Tsunade’s grief over Sosuke’s disappearance left her drinking heavily as Jiraiya carried her away.

• Sarutobi learned that the Konoha ninjas sent to investigate Kirigakure had not returned and, after considering the village’s weakened state, ordered Genzo to stop the investigation.
• Sarutobi and Mitokado Homura worried that Sosuke was preparing something dangerous but believed Konoha could not afford to confront him.
• Utatane Koharu asked Sarutobi whether he would try to speak with Tsunade.
• Tsunade drank heavily in a Land of Fire tavern, mourned Sosuke’s year-long absence, and smashed a jar into a man who tried to touch her.
• Jiraiya found the drunken Tsunade, listened as she spoke of Sosuke, and carried her away.

One year after Aizen’s influence began changing the ninja world, Amegakure’s villagers had grown healthier and more hopeful. In Sunagakure, Sasori killed a villager to make a human puppet under Chidong’s instruction, while Chidong remained certain Aizen would return.

• A young man in Amegakure admired the village’s recovery and vowed to give his life for the ideal Aizen had inspired.
• Sasori killed a Sunagakure villager and prepared the body for a practice puppet while Chidong warned him to suppress his compassion and pursue revenge against the White Fang of the Leaf.
• Chidong recalled how his deeds during the conflict a year earlier had earned him the village’s trust and believed Aizen would return to change the shinobi world.
• Chidong picked up his daughter Karura and carried her along the street as she laughed that she was flying.

Sosuke arrived at Turtle Island after searching for it and discovered an unfamiliar energy there. After crushing and examining a giant beast, he continued deeper into the island, suspecting it held secrets unknown to the Ninja World.

• Sosuke found Turtle Island and used his powers to appear on its shore.
• Sosuke sensed an unusual energy as he entered the island's dense forest.
• A giant beast charged at Sosuke, but he crushed it with an unseen force and left it unable to move.
• Sosuke cut into the beast and found strange energy in its flesh, wondering if the island or a ruin had made it grow so large.
• Sosuke killed the beast and continued into the island, saying he hoped its secrets would not disappoint him.

Sosuke traced the force enlarging Turtle Island’s beasts to an ancient ruin and the Waterfall of Truth, where he prepared to confront the person connected to it. After reassuring Suigetsu that he would try to return, he entered the waterfall and opened a deep-set eye within the darkness.

• Sosuke found an ancient ruin and discovered murals depicting the Tailed Beasts, including Shukaku, Matatabi, and the Nine-Tails.
• Sosuke followed the energy spreading from the ruin through the earth’s veins to the Waterfall of Truth and noticed footprints there.
• Kyoka Suigetsu warned Sosuke that he might never return, but he reassured her that he would try to come back after speaking to someone.
• Sosuke vanished beneath the waterfall, closed his eyes, and cooperated as a deep-set eye opened in the darkness.

Sosuke entered the Waterfall of Truth and found himself in a dark inner space, where he met Aizen bound to a black chair. Aizen explained that the desolate realm was his inner world, where Kyoka Suigetsu resided, and a giant eye appeared through a tear in the sky.

• Sosuke entered the Waterfall of Truth while Kyoka Suigetsu anxiously watched from the shore.
• Sosuke awoke in a pitch-black place where he could not use his energy or make sound, then heard Aizen speak.
• Sosuke asked Aizen to show himself, and the darkness formed a black chair with Aizen bound to it.
• Sosuke recognized Aizen and asked about the barren landscape and distant palace.
• Aizen said the place was his inner world and Kyoka Suigetsu's home, then said Sosuke's cooperation had helped free him from the darkness.
• A huge eye appeared through a tear in the gray sky as Aizen smiled from the chair.