Chapter Summaries

Kimura told Minato and Kushina that Sosuke had been a hardworking, proud child rather than a natural genius. He recalled witnessing Sosuke train alone and giving him ointment, while reflecting on the hope Sosuke had once given Konoha.

• Kimura explained that Sosuke had secretly trained by punching a tree until his hands bled, and that he had seen him doing so in the forest.
• Kimura said Sosuke's pride drove him to work constantly to catch up with Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru, who had been his closest friends and peers in strength.
• Kimura told Minato and Kushina that Sosuke had inspired many villagers as the Child of Konoha, despite later becoming a rogue ninja.
• Minato vowed to become a ninja who could change people's lives as Sosuke had.
• In a flashback, Kimura gave Sosuke ointment for his training injuries, and Sosuke accepted it with gratitude.

Nearly three years after the Second Ninja World War, Konoha had recovered, but the Third Hokage feared Iwagakure might be preparing for another conflict. In Iwagakure, Ōnoki announced his plan to start the Third Ninja World War against Konoha with help from Las Noches.

• The Third Hokage sent an Anbu Ninja to deliver Orochimaru a letter ordering an investigation into Iwagakure's movements.
• The Third Hokage vowed to protect Konoha if the Rock Ninja started another war.
• Kitsuchi told Ōnoki that Iwagakure had found no trace of Roshi.
• Ōnoki admitted his past decision had cost Iwagakure dearly and said he intended to step down as Tsuchikage after settling matters with Konoha.
• Ōnoki declared that Iwagakure would ignite the Third Ninja World War and reveal Las Noches as its unexpected partner.

Ōnoki considered hiring Las Noches as an ally while urging Iwagakure to plan another push for power. In Amegakure, Minato reassured Kinnara that the children sent away were gaining power, then checked on Ulquiorra’s recovery in a hidden facility.

• Ōnoki told the Rock Ninja that Las Noches was founded by Sosuke and argued that Sosuke’s pride made him a trustworthy hire.
• Ōnoki ordered the Rock Ninja officers to devise a plan so Iwagakure would not fail again.
• Kinnara questioned Minato about the children sent away and whether Aizen’s actions were destroying Amegakure’s hopes.
• Minato said the surviving children had gained power and warned Kinnara not to doubt Aizen again, restoring Kinnara’s confidence.
• A shadowed figure asked Ulquiorra about his recovery, and Ulquiorra said his fragile human body let him use less than a tenth of his original power.

Aizen summoned Ulquiorra into a human body in another world and asked him to fight at his side, while Ulquiorra began to experience human emotions. Aizen then reflected with Kyoka Suigetsu on fate and vowed to cut down the one who had set his fate in motion.

• Aizen told Ulquiorra that his Hollow powers could not yet be restored and suggested he experience being human.
• Aizen revealed that he had failed in the Soul Society and had been sealed away before arriving in a new world.
• Aizen explained that this world had powerful chakra and asked Ulquiorra to fight for him in his human body.
• Ulquiorra pledged to finish his mission and recognized the anger stirring in his heart.
• Aizen left Ulquiorra to adapt to his body and chakra, then later sat with Kyoka Suigetsu and vowed to cut down the one who had set his fate in motion.

An orange-haired boy approached Las Noches while reflecting on Aizen’s advice to take in the palace’s grandeur. Inside, White Zetsu reported that Iwagakure and Ōnoki seemed poised to start the Third Ninja World War, and questioned whether Aizen would thereby fulfill Madara’s wishes.

• The orange-haired boy ran toward Las Noches, complained about the exhausting journey, then began walking slowly to appreciate the palace as Aizen had advised.
• Aizen welcomed White Zetsu in a palace hall and asked what news he had brought.
• White Zetsu reported that Iwagakure had held a secret meeting and that Aizen’s encounter with Ōnoki appeared to have rekindled his ambition.
• Aizen concluded that Ōnoki would start the Third Ninja World War and said the news delighted him.
• White Zetsu asked whether Aizen truly intended to start the war, since doing so would fulfill Madara’s wishes.

Aizen took White Zetsu to see the early results of experiments using his body. Meanwhile, Nagato and Konan discussed their past journeys to Las Noches, then encountered a mysterious figure in a forbidden part of the palace.

• Aizen opened a black void and led White Zetsu away to view his experiments.
• Nagato and Konan talked about Yahiko's training and realized neither had seen anything unusual when they had once walked to Las Noches as Aizen instructed.
• Nagato proposed waiting at Las Noches' entrance to see whether Yahiko would make the same exhausting journey back, and Konan agreed.
• Nagato and Konan wandered into a dim, remote hall, sensed they had entered a forbidden area, and turned back.
• A small, mysterious figure appeared before Nagato and Konan, putting them on guard.

Nagato and Konan encountered a cold boy in a forbidden palace, where he criticized Konan’s weakness and challenged Nagato. Nagato accepted the fight to make the boy apologize, and the two prepared to battle.

• Nagato and Konan entered a vast hall and met a boy in a Las Noches uniform.
• The boy sensed Aizen’s power in Konan and called her weak, leaving her dejected.
• Nagato defended Konan and challenged the boy to fight for an apology.
• Konan urged Nagato to leave because Aizen had forbidden them from entering the palace, but Nagato insisted on defending her.
• The boy accepted the challenge, and Nagato told him to make the first move.

A boy attacked Nagato and Konan in Las Noches, prompting Nagato to unleash Shinra Tensei and damage the hall. After reassuring Konan, Nagato faced the boy again, who prepared to demonstrate that the attack had not defeated him.

• The boy struck Nagato hard enough to send him crashing into a stone pillar, then knocked Konan aside when she rushed to help him.
• Nagato saw Konan injured and awakened Shinra Tensei, blasting the boy into a wall and breaking pillars throughout the hall.
• Nagato helped Konan up, and she worried that Lord Aizen would be angry about the damage to Las Noches.
• Nagato reassured Konan that she was valued by Lord Aizen and their companions, restoring her resolve.
• The boy returned unharmed, discussed the force from Nagato's Rinnegan, and challenged Nagato's belief that Shinra Tensei could defeat him.

Ulquiorra Cifer tested Nagato’s strength and ability to protect Konan, overwhelming him with his powers before threatening her. Nagato absorbed Ulquiorra’s chakra attack to shield Konan, earning Ulquiorra’s acknowledgment, and learned that Ulquiorra would watch his progress.

• Nagato used Shinra Tensei against Ulquiorra, but Ulquiorra endured its repulsive force without injury.
• Ulquiorra threatened Konan and formed a powerful emerald-green chakra attack, challenging Nagato to protect her.
• Nagato rushed in front of Konan and absorbed the incoming chakra beam, exhausting himself but saving her.
• Ulquiorra acknowledged Nagato’s strength and told him to return when he could defeat him.
• Nagato asked the boy’s name, and Ulquiorra Cifer warned him to become useful to Lord Aizen before disappearing into the darkness.

An exhausted orange-haired boy returned to Aizen’s palace but could not see anything with the special sight Aizen had mentioned. Elsewhere, Aizen and Shimura Kazumi tested White Zetsu’s cells on children, seeking to find ten suitable summoners, and White Zetsu sensed a connection with them.

• The orange-haired boy reached the palace, failed to see anything with his supposed special sight, and went inside hungry and exhausted.
• Aizen walked through an underground training ground with White Zetsu and explained that he wanted to find summoners, not build a large shinobi army.
• Aizen and White Zetsu entered a laboratory where children were being treated with Zetsu’s cells.
• Shimura Kazumi told Aizen that only one child had previously integrated the cells significantly, while the latest subjects showed only modest improvements.
• White Zetsu sensed that the children contained his presence and had formed a faint connection with him.

Aizen questioned Ulquiorra about the boy’s newly awakened abilities and concluded that the Rinnegan’s power was tied to ancient forces in the world. The chapter left Aizen considering the relationship between the Sharingan and Rinnegan and whether to deal with Madara.

• Aizen inspected the ruined hall and asked Ulquiorra how the boy had performed.
• Ulquiorra reported that the boy had awakened a powerful repulsion ability and the ability to absorb chakra, though the repulsion could only be used once before a brief recovery period.
• Aizen identified the boy’s eyes as the Rinnegan and suspected ancient beings were preventing the Hogyoku from evolving Nagato’s eyes.
• Ulquiorra pledged to fight any beings who opposed Aizen, and Aizen assured him they would not fail.
• Aizen reflected on how the Uchiha Clan’s power related to the Rinnegan and wondered whether he should deal with Madara.

Minato mastered the Body Flicker Technique under Jiraiya's guidance. Jiraiya discovered that Minato showed almost no momentary lag after using it, suggesting extraordinary talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu.

• Minato successfully used the Body Flicker Technique and excitedly proposed naming it Shining Zero Style.
• Jiraiya praised Minato's technique and explained why momentary lag made rapid movement techniques difficult to use repeatedly in battle.
• Minato told Jiraiya that he had felt no momentary lag after teleporting.
• Jiraiya watched Minato use the Body Flicker Technique again and marveled at his talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Minato practiced the Body Flicker Technique with Jiraiya, who suspected the boy might one day use the Second Hokage’s Flying Thunder God Technique. Elsewhere, Sakuya reunited with her enormous bear, Little Bear, and leaned against it tearfully.

• Minato used the Body Flicker Technique and threw a Kunai with no interruption to his movements.
• Jiraiya praised Minato’s talent and privately considered whether he could master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Sakuya sat in a forest, reflecting that many years had passed and everyone had changed.
• Little Bear emerged from the forest and charged toward Sakuya, crushing trees and shaking the ground.
• Sakuya stopped Little Bear, then stroked its fur and tearfully told it she had missed it.

Uchiha Sakuya reunited with Little Bear in the forest and released years of grief over Tokino’s death and Sosuke’s departure from Konoha. After they reconciled, Sakuya noticed a summoning mark on Little Bear and recalled Sosuke’s promise, just as his voice came from behind her.

• Sakuya found Little Bear in the forest and cried over Tokino, Sosuke, and the loneliness she had endured since they left her.
• Little Bear comforted Sakuya, and she asked where it had been; its roar startled her, so she scolded it for being a big dummy.
• Little Bear turned away in apparent offense, and Sakuya apologized and praised it until they happily slapped hands.
• Sakuya spotted a red mark on Little Bear’s chest, realized it might have become someone’s summoning beast, and remembered Sosuke’s words about choosing it.
• Sosuke spoke from behind Sakuya, saying that she had grown so much.

Sakuya reunited with Aizen, the former Fourth Hokage who had become a rogue ninja, and struggled to understand his choice to leave Konoha. Aizen revealed that her brother Tokino was alive and shared his resolve to save the war-torn world, leaving Sakuya to consider whether she would do the same.

• Sakuya was stunned to see Aizen again and asked why he had abandoned Konoha despite becoming the Fourth Hokage.
• Aizen said he had left the village because he could not end the world’s wars while remaining there, and told Sakuya to call him Aizen.
• Aizen revealed that Sakuya’s brother Tokino had survived, and Sakuya wept with joy as she learned Aizen had saved him.
• Aizen explained that Tokino shared his views and wanted to protect Sakuya, prompting her to remember her brother’s quiet acts of care.
• Sakuya asked whether Aizen truly intended to make an enemy of the Ninja World, and he asked if she would choose to save its suffering people after seeing its twisted state.

Aizen visited Sakuya, told her that Tokino was on a dangerous surveillance mission, and explained that he had come to take Kumamoto away as his summoning beast. After encouraging Sakuya to grow stronger, Aizen departed with Kumamoto, and Sakuya collapsed as her Three-Tomoe Sharingan activated; far away, a figure in Kirigakure felt an unsettling sensation.

• Sakuya asked Aizen where Tokino was, and Aizen said her brother was secretly watching a dangerous man on a mission.
• Aizen told Sakuya he had returned for Kumamoto and would take the bear away from Konoha as his summoning beast.
• Kumamoto and Sakuya shared a paw-bump farewell and promised to become stronger before they met again.
• Aizen urged Sakuya to trust her strength, and she vowed to amaze him at their next meeting.
• Aizen left with Kumamoto, while Sakuya's eyes turned into a blood-red Three-Tomoe Sharingan and she collapsed in pain.
• In Kirigakure, a black-eyed figure's eyes turned crimson as he sensed something unsettling.

In Kirigakure, Yagura discussed sealing the Three-Tails inside a Jinchuriki with the Third Mizukage, whose unsettling behavior made Yagura increasingly suspicious. After Yagura left, the Third Mizukage revealed his plan to take the village by eliminating key shinobi one by one, while Yagura noticed a blue-skinned boy training in the forest.

• Uchiha Tokino felt a sudden, unexplained sensation in the Third Mizukage's office before Yagura entered.
• Yagura suggested sealing the Three-Tails inside a Jinchuriki and named Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Juzo as shinobi he respected.
• The Third Mizukage praised Yagura, said he would consider the suggestion, and warned that Kirigakure might become less safe if it joined the war.
• After Yagura left, the Third Mizukage said he would take Kirigakure by eliminating Yagura, Biwa Juzo, and Suikazan Fuguki one by one.
• Yagura wondered whether the Third Mizukage's behavior had changed and spotted a blue-skinned boy training in a secluded forest.

Yagura encountered the young Kisame training in the woods and tested his vigilance and strength. Before leaving, Yagura gave Kisame medicine and encouraged him to keep following his shinobi path.

• Yagura watched Kisame demonstrate his strength by striking a tree and then approached him.
• Kisame stayed wary and withheld his name until Yagura swiftly appeared behind him and warned him of his vulnerability.
• Kisame introduced himself, and Yagura praised his potential before revealing his own name.
• After Kisame called him a little kid, Yagura struck him with a water palm, then gave him medicine for his internal injuries.
• Yagura encouraged Kisame to stay on his path and predicted he would become an outstanding shinobi before disappearing into the fog.

Aizen introduced Ulquiorra Cifer to the gathered members of Las Noches, where Ulquiorra declared his intention to lead the Espada and protect Aizen’s ambitions. Aizen accepted Ulquiorra’s defiance of his request to be less harsh, recognizing it as a sign that Ulquiorra was beginning to feel human emotions.

• Aizen arrived with Ulquiorra as Nagato and Konan worried he would punish them for disobeying his orders.
• Aizen asked Yahiko about his outing with Kakuzu and Nawaki, then encouraged him to keep training in Taijutsu.
• Aizen introduced Ulquiorra Cifer, who said he had been the Fourth Espada and would lead the Espada in reviving Aizen’s ambition.
• Ulquiorra warned the gathered people not to hinder their progress, prompting Kakuzu, Nawaki, and Yahiko to regard him as a potential opponent.
• Aizen told Ulquiorra to treat his comrades less harshly, but Ulquiorra stood by his view and asked Aizen to excuse his disrespect.
• Aizen accepted Ulquiorra’s stance as evidence of emerging human emotions, and Ulquiorra knelt in gratitude.

Aizen announced that he would ignite the Third Ninja World War to end the age of the shinobi and create a new era. After clearing the clouds over the Land of Rain with a powerful spell, he told his followers to prepare and promised that none could stand against them.

• Aizen announced his plan to start the Third Ninja World War and end the age of the shinobi.
• Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, Kinnara, Nawaki, and Kakuzu each resolved to support Aizen’s cause.
• Aizen said the war would begin in the Land of Wind when the Kazekage fell.
• Aizen used Hado #88. Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō to scatter the storm clouds over the Land of Rain and reveal the sun.
• Aizen ordered Nagato, Nawaki, Konan, and Yahiko to grow stronger, told the others to await orders, and declared that none would stand before them.