Chapter Summaries

Kakuzu and Sasori of the Red Sands joined Kusagakure’s battle against Iwagakure and confronted commanders Akatsuchi and Arai Kenjirō. Sasori killed Arai, while Kakuzu unleashed his four Earth Grudge Fear monsters to overwhelm Akatsuchi, then appeared behind him to take his heart.

• Kakuzu and Sasori of the Red Sands charged into the battle as Boro rallied Kusagakure’s forces against Iwagakure.
• Arai Kenjirō ordered Akatsuchi to capture Boro, but Kakuzu and Sasori intercepted the commanders and divided their opponents.
• Sasori struck Arai Kenjirō down while Kakuzu fought Akatsuchi with close combat and Lightning Release techniques.
• Akatsuchi used Earth Release defenses to hold Kakuzu off, but Kakuzu summoned four Earth Grudge Fear monsters and overwhelmed him with attacks from every direction.
• The monsters shattered Akatsuchi’s rock giant, and Kakuzu appeared behind him, declaring that he would take Akatsuchi’s heart.

Shōji rescued Akatsuchi and drove Kakuzu and Sasori from the battlefield with Susanoo and Takemikazuchi. When he returned to the main battle, Akatsuchi had captured Boro alive and the Iwagakure forces had defeated the Kusa Ninja.

• Kakuzu nearly killed Akatsuchi, but Shōji arrived in time to save him and faced Kakuzu and Sasori.
• Shōji activated Susanoo and told Akatsuchi to return to the main battlefield while he fought the two Akatsuki members.
• Shōji unleashed Takemikazuchi, destroying Kakuzu's four Earth Grudge Fear monsters and Hiruko, though Kakuzu and Sasori escaped.
• Shōji decided not to pursue the retreating pair and went to support the Iwagakure forces.
• Akatsuchi led a surprise assault on Boro's camp, killed the Kusa Ninja guards, and captured Boro alive with Earth Release: Rigid Arm Technique.

Shōji returned after forcing Kakuzu and Sasori to retreat and found Iwagakure had defeated Boro’s rebellion in Kusagakure. As Iwagakure began taking control of the village, Mammoth escaped east with Gorō to seek refuge in Kumogakure and avenge his father.

• Shōji learned that Akatsuchi had captured Boro and that the remaining Kusa Ninja had surrendered or fled; he and Akatsuchi agreed to handle the aftermath in and around the village.
• Boro tried to summon the Box of Paradise, but it failed to appear, and Akatsuchi defeated and captured him.
• Mammoth heard that Boro had fallen, then rallied with Gorō’s help and chose to flee to Kumogakure with his loyal followers.
• Shōji arrived in Kusagakure after local powerholders Yotsuya and Konren had helped suppress the rebellion, and he ordered them to restore order.
• Shōji accepted that Mammoth had escaped and told the Kusa Ninja leaders to stabilize the village so Iwagakure could annex it.

Shōji stabilized Kusagakure after Boro’s rebellion, and Ōnoki approved his plan to annex the village while sparing most captured Kusa Ninja. Shōji later learned the Box of Paradise was missing, while the Land of Grass was annexed and neighboring nations reacted with alarm.

• Shōji paired neutral Kusa Ninja with Iwagakure patrols, recommended lenient punishment for most rebels, and received Ōnoki’s approval to imprison them and assign them to mine labor.
• Shōji announced the punishments and family visits, helping calm Kusagakure’s residents as Iwagakure formally annexed the village and incorporated hundreds of former Kusa Ninja.
• Ōnoki transferred Yotsuya, Konren, and other former Kusagakure leaders to Iwagakure and assigned them mid-level positions, while Shōji stayed behind to oversee the transition.
• Shōji learned from Boro’s extracted memories that Akatsuki’s involvement had been a paid mercenary mission, but also discovered that the Box of Paradise was missing from its reported location.
• Shōji ordered Iwagakure’s intelligence personnel to search the former Land of Grass for the Box of Paradise as the Land of Grass was annexed and neighboring nations considered the threat posed by the great powers.

After returning to Iwagakure, Shōji reported the Box of Paradise and Akatsuki to Ōnoki, then prepared for his Mangekyō Sharingan transplant. The chapter ended with Obito learning that Kakuzu and Sasori had been defeated by Shōji and taking an interest in his growing power.

• The Fourth Raikage delayed his Byakugan transplant while Kumogakure focused on researching the Hyuga bloodline and absorbing Yugakure.
• After Iwagakure stabilized its control of Kusagakure, Shōji returned to the village and reported the Box of Paradise and his encounter with Akatsuki to Ōnoki.
• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure’s intelligence teams to monitor Akatsuki and search for the Box of Paradise, while Yakushi Nonō handled espionage work.
• Shōji chose Fugaku, Elder Chie, and Uzumaki Reina to assist with his planned Mangekyō Sharingan transplant.
• Obito learned from Black Zetsu that Kakuzu and Sasori had retreated after Shōji defeated them, and heard that Shōji’s Dojutsu had grown more powerful.

Obito and Black Zetsu discussed the Akatsuki’s plans and dismissed the threat Shōji might pose, while Black Zetsu worried that Shōji’s younger brother could eventually awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. After a successful eye transplant on October 28, Shōji awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and gained access to seemingly limitless Dōjutsu Power.

• Black Zetsu warned Obito that Shōji’s younger brother might awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and allow Shōji to gain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Obito told Black Zetsu to gather more rogue ninja and agreed to meet Nagato, then controlled the Fourth Mizukage and issued another order to intensify Kirigakure’s unrest.
• Shōji returned to Iwagakure and underwent eye transplant surgery with Fugaku and Chie, while Reina assisted without learning the clan secret.
• Shōji felt the transplanted eyes’ powers fuse and confirmed that he had obtained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shōji celebrated his seemingly limitless Dōjutsu Power and anticipated confronting Obito, while Fugaku and Chie rejoiced at the clan’s success.

Shōji completed his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan transplant and discovered that his new eyes let him see about one second into the future. With his confidence and power increased, he began preparing the next stage of his plans against the shinobi world’s hidden threats and identified Sunagakure as Iwagakure’s first target.

• Fugaku and Elder Chie celebrated Shōji’s new eyes, while Reina promised to keep the Uchiha Clan’s secret and Fugaku agreed to handle affairs while Shōji recovered.
• Shōji considered how the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and complete Susanoo could help him confront Nagato, Uchiha Madara, Obito, and Black Zetsu, and he resolved to advance his senjutsu training.
• After a day of recovery, Shōji completed the fusion of Fugaku’s eyes with his own and awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shōji discovered that his new eyes let him perceive events nearly one second into the future and grew more confident about confronting Uchiha Obito.
• Shōji left the laboratory determined to search for the moon’s passage, strengthen his senjutsu, accelerate Iwagakure’s plans, and discuss Sunagakure as the village’s first target with Ōnoki.

Fourth Raikage A received a transplanted Byakugan and grew convinced that its improved vision would let him surpass his father and dominate the shinobi world. He then discussed using Mammoth and the alleged Box of Paradise to undermine Iwagakure, while Mammoth outwardly thanked Kumogakure and privately resented its terms.

• After Kumogakure's attempts to reproduce the Hyūga bloodline failed, Fourth Raikage A received a Byakugan transplant and tested his new abilities against attacks from all directions.
• Fourth Raikage A celebrated his increased strength, believing he could eventually surpass the Third Raikage and suppress Uchiha Shōji, while Dodai privately judged him overconfident.
• Fourth Raikage A and Dodai confirmed Mammoth was Boro's son, doubted his claim about a Sage of Six Paths treasure, and agreed to keep him alive as a tool against Iwagakure while investigating the treasure.
• Fourth Raikage A ordered Dodai to maintain Mammoth's trust and use him to stir trouble in the Land of Grass as Kumogakure prepared for future conflict.
• Mammoth thanked Kumogakure's messenger for the Raikage's assistance, then cursed Kumogakure inwardly after the messenger left.

Mammoth agreed to cooperate with Kusagakure’s four elders after Yanli promised that the Box of Paradise could revive his father, Boro, while secretly resolving to outmaneuver both the elders and Kumogakure. As the shinobi world welcomed a peaceful New Year in Year 52, Shōji sensed Natural Energy for the first time and began planning how to develop Sage Mode.

• Yanli told Mammoth that Kusagakure’s elders had moved the Box of Paradise to protect it and claimed it could grant wishes, including reviving Boro.
• Mammoth agreed to help the elders’ plans, determined to revive his father while keeping his own intentions hidden.
• The shinobi world entered a rare period of peace, and the Uchiha Clan celebrated its growing acceptance and stability in Iwagakure.
• At the start of Year 52, Shōji sensed Natural Energy and broke through a long-standing barrier in his senjutsu training.
• Shōji considered using Shadow Clones and the Ninja Cat Clan to help him learn Sage Mode, and planned to visit Cat Granny.

After the New Year, Shōji revised his training plans to pursue Sage Mode and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan training together, while assigning Yakushi Kabuto a difficult cell-replication project and arranging village affairs for his trip. With his team’s duties settled, Shōji summoned Byakugyoku to ask Cat Granny to bring him to the Ninja Cat Clan by Reverse Summoning.

• Shōji gave Yakushi Kabuto samples of the First Hokage’s Wood Release cells and ordered him to analyze and reproduce them without revealing their origin or Orochimaru’s data.
• Shōji told Kabuto to balance the demanding experiment with his training and rest, then entrusted him with routine Jōnin Squad administration during his absence.
• Shōji reported his planned journey to the Third Tsuchikage, coordinated with Kitsuchi and Ido, and reviewed the progress of Itachi, Kurotsuchi, and Deidara, who had all been promoted to Chūnin.
• Shōji arranged guidance for his three teammates, including helping Deidara become more measured without suppressing his nature.
• Shōji summoned Byakugyoku and asked it to tell Cat Granny to use the Reverse Summoning Technique to bring him over.
• Byakugyoku accepted Shōji’s silvervine drink and vanished to deliver the message.

Shōji used the Reverse Summoning Technique to visit Cat Granny, where he requested supplies and confidential intelligence for his plans. After leaving her hidden home, he traveled north into the Land of Wind in disguise to investigate something that interested him.

• Shōji arrived at Cat Granny’s underground refuge through the Reverse Summoning Technique and greeted her.
• Shōji gave Cat Granny a supply list and payment, asking her to gather medicinal herbs, tools, and other cultivation supplies within a month.
• Shōji asked Cat Granny to investigate information for his personal plans and keep the request secret from Fugaku and the rest of the clan.
• Cat Granny agreed to help, warned Shōji to consider the Uchiha Clan’s reliance on him, and said Byakugyoku would notify him when the supplies were ready.
• Shōji left the ruined city and headed north toward the Land of Wind, changing his clothes and appearance before entering a town to avoid attracting attention.

Shōji traveled to the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran to investigate and obtain the Dragon Vein’s power. After undoing Minato Namikaze’s seal, he triggered a violent surge that swallowed him in purple light and plunged him into darkness.

• Shōji bought a detailed regional map and located the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, where the Dragon Vein had been sealed.
• Shōji traveled to the abandoned city, found the tower at its center, and descended through its underground passage to the Dragon Vein’s seal.
• Shōji studied Minato Namikaze’s Four Symbols Seal and used the Reverse: Four Symbols Technique to remove its Kunai.
• The Dragon Vein’s power erupted into purple light, and Shōji used a Five Elements Seal and a Four Symbols Sealing Technique in an attempt to restrain it.
• A new surge of purple light overwhelmed Shōji, and his consciousness sank into darkness.

Shōji awakened in the past of a parallel world after the Dragon Vein swept him from Rōran, where he met Naruto and explained that Naruto had also traveled through time. As they searched for Mukade, a blast from the central tower sent the red-haired queen falling, and Naruto caught her.

• A purple pillar of light from Rōran’s Dragon Vein drew the attention of Sunagakure ninja and a red-haired woman as Shōji lost consciousness.
• Shōji awoke beside Naruto, recognized him, and introduced himself as the eighteen-year-old ninja Shōji.
• Naruto explained that he had been pursuing Mukade when the Dragon Vein sent him from his era to Rōran, which Shōji said was still intact in the past.
• Shōji suggested that killing Mukade and using the Dragon Vein might return Naruto to his own era, then suspected Anrokuzan was Mukade.
• An explosion struck the central tower, and Naruto caught the falling red-haired queen before she slapped him for accidentally touching her.

Shōji and Naruto encountered Sara in Rōran and tried to convince her that Minister Anrokuzan was the rogue ninja Mukade, but she refused to take them to him. After joining forces with Minato Namikaze, Akimichi Chōza, and Aburame Shibi, Shōji revealed that he and Naruto had come from the future through the Dragon Vein, leaving Minato to clarify their objective.

• Sara accused Shōji and Naruto of coveting Rōran after Shōji identified Anrokuzan as his assassination target and possibly the rogue ninja Mukade.
• Shōji cut through Sara's Chakra threads and urged her to question Anrokuzan's origins, but Sara refused to take them to the minister and promised to investigate after returning to the palace.
• Shōji attacked a nearby presence with the Great Dragon Fire Technique, and Minato Namikaze, Akimichi Chōza, and Aburame Shibi appeared and said they had come to protect Sara.
• Shōji agreed to move with Minato's group, and they gathered in a secluded corridor while Sara kept her distance.
• Shōji told Minato's group that he and Naruto were from the future and had been swept through time and space by the Dragon Vein; Naruto confirmed that Tsunade was Hokage in his era.
• Minato asked whether they had come to determine if Anrokuzan was the person they were pursuing.

Minato and Shōji agreed to cooperate against Anrokuzan, but Sara fled during a puppet attack, and Minato later confronted Shōji over his identity. Shōji left to catch up with Naruto and Sara, while Minato chose not to stop him and followed.

• Minato introduced himself and his companions, and Naruto recognized him as the future Fourth Hokage and identified Chōza and Shibi as his friends' fathers.
• Minato and Shōji reached a preliminary agreement to investigate and deal with Anrokuzan, but Sara refused to accept their suspicions about her minister.
• Flying puppet soldiers attacked, Sara escaped in the confusion, and Naruto pursued her while Shōji, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi fought the puppets.
• Shōji and the others destroyed the puppet soldiers, after which Minato and his companions formed a cautious formation around Shōji and questioned his connection to Kumogakure.
• Shōji denied being a Kumo Ninja and left to follow Naruto; Minato decided not to attack him, and he, Chōza, and Shibi followed.

Mukade revealed his plan to use the Dragon Vein to dominate the ninja world, while Naruto won Sara’s trust and took her to shut the Dragon Vein down. Shōji, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi held Mukade off, leaving the overconfident minister trapped and increasingly desperate.

• Mukade celebrated his puppet army and prepared to kill Sara, unaware that Shōji and the others were searching for him.
• Naruto helped Sara learn that Anrokuzan had imprisoned her subjects, and she agreed to trust Naruto and shut down the Dragon Vein.
• Mukade unleashed hundreds of puppet soldiers and his self-repairing human puppet as Naruto carried Sara toward the Dragon Vein.
• Shōji, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi attacked Mukade and blocked his pursuit while Naruto and Sara escaped underground.
• The four coordinated their attacks to restrain Mukade, who became furious and panicked as he failed to break through.

Shōji, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi defeated Mukade after the Dragon Vein shut down, then went to seal the Dragon Vein and send Shōji and Naruto back to their own time. Minato planned to seal their memories as part of the technique, and rejected the chance to learn about the future.

• Mukade tried to escape, but Shōji, Minato, Chōza, and Shibi cornered him as the Dragon Vein's power faded.
• Chōza and Shibi damaged Mukade's puppet, while Minato and Shōji exposed and destroyed its core, annihilating Mukade.
• Shōji realized Mukade's death had not returned him to his original time and asked Minato to help open a passage; Minato agreed to seal the Dragon Vein.
• Minato explained the sealing to Sara, who accepted his decision and the promise that Konoha would compensate Rōran and seek to return the Dragon Vein when possible.
• At the Dragon Vein, Minato proposed sealing their memories to protect the flow of time and space, but refused to learn about the future.

Minato sent Naruto and Shōji back from the past, and Shōji returned with his memories intact. Shōji sealed the Dragon Vein inside himself and continued east, while Sunagakure discovered the theft and Rasa ordered his pursuing ninja to withdraw.

• Minato used the Four Symbols Array to send Naruto and Shōji back, and Sara promised Naruto they would meet again.
• Shōji returned to the ruins, located the Dragon Vein's core, and sealed it inside his body.
• A Sunagakure team led by Riyuan found the destroyed seal and empty Dragon Vein chamber, suspected Konoha, and pursued Shōji east.
• Rasa learned of the theft, ordered Riyuan and the others back to base, and resolved to reclaim Sunagakure's lost possessions someday.
• Shōji crossed the southeastern border of the Land of Wind and headed east toward his next target.

After claiming the Dragon Vein, Shōji traveled to Spring Country to find Shinnō and obtain his body activation research and the Land of the Sky’s legacy. He located Shinnō in Haze City and confronted him in his secret laboratory, where Shinnō recognized him and realized he could not win.

• The Dragon Vein’s theft sparked suspicion across the shinobi world, with other villages blaming Konoha while Shōji headed east unaware of the fallout.
• Shōji searched for Shinnō, hoping to acquire his body activation research and the Land of the Sky’s flying fortress, but initially found no trace of him.
• Byakugyoku delivered Cat Granny’s intelligence that Shinnō was staying near Haze City in Spring Country, and Shōji set out there.
• Shōji arrived in Haze City and sensed Shinnō inside a residence, where the former Land of the Sky executive was conducting experiments on body activation.
• Shinnō detected Shōji’s presence in his underground laboratory, and Shōji revealed himself; Shinnō recognized him and was shaken by the encounter.

Shōji confronted Shinnō in Storm City and tried to recruit him for Iwagakure, but Shinnō refused and swallowed the Zero-Tail embryo to gain power. Shōji drove the fight away from the city, but Shinnō’s regeneration and resistance to genjutsu made him a far tougher opponent than expected.

• Shōji offered Shinnō a place in Iwagakure in exchange for his research and work, but Shinnō rejected the offer and detonated the underground laboratory.
• Shōji emerged unharmed, and Shinnō swallowed the Zero-Tail embryo, transforming into a powerful monster.
• Shinnō attacked the arriving guards and civilians, killing several before Shōji drove him beyond Storm City’s walls.
• Shōji and Shinnō fought outside the city, where Shōji’s strikes and Susanoo sent Shinnō crashing across the ground.
• Shōji trapped Shinnō in a genjutsu, but the Zero-Tail embryo disrupted it and Shinnō quickly broke free.
• Shōji realized that Shinnō’s strength and regeneration would require him to use harsher methods to capture him.