Recaps

Shōji defeated Shinnō and Obito, helped free Kirigakure from Obito’s control, and built an alliance between Kirigakure and Iwagakure. As he advanced his research and military plans, Ōnoki secretly named him Iwagakure’s next Tsuchikage, while the villages maneuvered around Kumogakure’s growing threat.

• Shōji destroyed Shinnō and the Zero-Tail, recovered the Land of the Sky’s research, and fought Obito, who escaped after using Izanagi.
• Shōji tracked down Orochimaru and Kimimaro, secured Kaguya Clan research and Orochimaru’s scrolls, then exposed Obito’s control over Karatachi Yagura and helped restore him.
• Shōji negotiated Kirigakure’s military support, returned to Iwagakure with Haku, and urged Ōnoki to exploit Akatsuki and rival villages as part of a plan to unite the shinobi world.
• Shōji told Fugaku, Shisui, and the Uchiha elders that Obito had caused the Nine-Tails attack, and proposed securing Kakashi’s Sharingan while preparing the clan and its younger members.
• Shōji resumed experiments with Wood Release and White Zetsu cells, helped enroll Neji, Karin, Haku, and Sasuke at the Ninja Academy, and advised Ōnoki to counter Kumogakure without starting a war.
• Ōnoki secretly recorded Shōji as Iwagakure’s Fourth Tsuchikage, while Kirigakure sent nearly three thousand ninja to support Iwagakure’s pressure on Kumogakure.
• The Fourth Raikage grew furious at Iwagakure and Kirigakure’s moves, but Dodai urged restraint, and the Raikage ordered Kumogakure’s forces in Snow Country to withdraw.

Shōji captured the Two-Tails and became the Fourth Tsuchikage, drawing Iwagakure and Kumogakure into open conflict. As the armies gathered at Kumoyoke Peak, Shōji prepared an all-out assault and assigned Shisui to lead a special unit.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen’s attempt to summon Obito failed, and Kakashi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after learning Obito was still alive.
• Obito failed to reclaim his eye from Kakashi, then worked to inflame conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure while Akatsuki advanced its plans to capture the Tailed Beasts.
• Kumogakure and Kusagakure attacked Iwagakure near the former Kusagakure, but Shōji defeated Darui, captured Yugito and the Two-Tails, and gained control of Satoru and the Box of Paradise.
• Iwagakure publicized its victory, while Sarutobi Hiruzen proposed a Five Kage Summit and prepared Konoha’s borders as Kumogakure demanded the release of its captives and Shōji’s surrender.
• Shōji became the Fourth Tsuchikage, rejected the Fourth Raikage’s demands, and mobilized Iwagakure as Kumogakure marched toward the Land of Earth.
• Kitsuchi’s forces fought Kumogakure along the border, and the Fourth Raikage and Killer B overwhelmed Rōshi before Shisui intervened and helped him retreat.
• Shōji ordered Rōshi back to Iwagakure for treatment, prepared an all-out attack for the next day, and assigned Shisui to lead a special assault unit as A arrived at Kumoyoke Peak.

Shōji defeated Kumogakure, secured its submission through negotiation and genjutsu, and began preparing Iwagakure for a wider campaign. After a successful Wood Release cell experiment, he planned a journey to the moon as Iwagakure’s young graduates gathered for their ceremony.

• Shōji defeated the Fourth Raikage and Killer B at Kumoyoke Peak, seized the region, and took control of Killer B while Obito watched.
• Shisui altered Killer B’s will, and Shōji and Ōnoki agreed to halt Iwagakure’s advance and negotiate with the other villages.
• At the Five Kage Summit, Shōji and the Fourth Raikage reached a settlement in which Kumogakure paid reparations and received its territory and captured ninja back, but not its Tailed Beasts.
• Obito persuaded A to cooperate against Shōji, but Shōji confronted A, took Obito’s scroll, and used genjutsu to place A and C under his control.
• Shōji returned to Iwagakure and told Ōnoki that A was controlled, then ordered preparations for a future campaign and the production of Chakra Armor and weapons.
• Shisui successfully received Wood Release cells, and Shōji underwent the procedure himself as his eyes began evolving toward the Rinnegan.
• Shōji decided to travel to the moon with Shisui and Killer B, while Yang, Saki, and Haku graduated from the Ninja Academy under Bunya’s guidance.

Shōji traveled to the moon, defeated Ōtsutsuki Tendō, and gained the Nine Tomoe Rinnegan before returning to lead Iwagakure into war against the other villages. As Iwagakure’s forces fought Konoha outside the village, Shōji’s Susanoo and puppets devastated the opposing army, while Hiruzen and Jiraiya prepared a last attempt to stop him.

• Shōji graduated the thirty-fifth class, assigned new genin to Bunya, and revealed to Shisui that he planned to take him to the moon.
• Shōji, Shisui, and Killer B reached the lunar town, learned from Hamura about the Giant Tenseigan and its threat to Earth, and defeated Ōtsutsuki Tendō.
• Shōji absorbed the Giant Tenseigan’s source power and awakened Nine Tomoe Rinnegan in both eyes before returning to Earth with Shisui, Killer B, and the sleeping Toneri.
• Shōji persuaded Ōnoki to begin a war to unify the shinobi world, and Iwagakure mobilized against Sunagakure as the other villages prepared to respond.
• Shōji erased Neji’s Caged Bird Seal, then led Iwagakure’s forces against the Konoha army commanded by Jiraiya and Nara Shikaku.
• Shōji repelled Jiraiya and Hiruzen with his Susanoo as Iwagakure’s puppet forces overwhelmed Konoha’s troops and Shikaku ordered the Elite Jōnin to attack their controller.
• Shōji used Takemikazuchi to kill Yamanaka Inoichi and hundreds of Konoha Ninja, then overwhelmed Hiruzen and Jiraiya and urged them to surrender.
• Hiruzen refused and planned to use the Reaper Death Seal if Jiraiya could bring him close to Shōji, while Jiraiya prepared a final attack with Fukasaku and Shima.