Chapter Summaries

Shōji defeated Shinnō with his Complete Body Susanoo, captured the Zero-Tail embryo and Shinnō’s remains for research, and learned the location of Shinnō’s true secret base. He headed for the coastal base to recover the Land of the Sky’s research and fortress, intending to use its technology to strengthen Iwagakure.

• Shōji manifested his Complete Body Susanoo as Shinnō summoned a powerful but incomplete Zero-Tail and attacked him.
• Shōji resisted Shinnō’s creatures and the Zero-Tail’s assault, tore the monster apart, sealed it, and cut off Shinnō’s arm.
• Shōji used Genjutsu to interrogate Shinnō, then killed him and sealed away his body and the Zero-Tail embryo.
• Shōji preserved part of the incomplete Zero-Tail for research and burned the rest to ashes.
• Shōji learned that Shinnō’s true secret base lay farther south along the coast and set off to retrieve its research and military technology for Iwagakure.

Shōji recovered the Land of the Sky’s research and flying fortress from Shinnō’s secret base, then killed a White Zetsu that had tracked him. Obito and Black Zetsu caught up with Shōji but tried to withdraw after recognizing him; Shōji sensed them and attacked with Susanoo, leaving the encounter poised for a clash.

• White Zetsu followed Shōji’s trail from Shinnō’s battlefield toward the Land of the Sky’s hidden base.
• Shōji entered the underground fortress, gathered its research and technology into sealing scrolls, and left the damaged fortress behind.
• Shōji detected White Zetsu nearby, dragged it from the ground, and killed it before sealing away its corpse.
• Obito and Black Zetsu learned that Shōji had killed Shinnō and traveled to investigate, but chose to withdraw when they spotted him.
• Shōji sensed Obito and Black Zetsu as they prepared to leave, summoned his violet-gold Susanoo, and launched a scarlet magatama at them.

Shōji confronted Obito and Black Zetsu, identified Obito as the culprit behind the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's Attack, and fought him while trying to draw him into close range. Obito broke through Shōji's Susanoo with Wood Release and bound him, but Shōji unleashed the Bishamonten Gate Technique.

• Shōji detected Obito and Black Zetsu and blasted their hiding place with the Yasaka Beads Technique, but Obito evaded it with Kamui and Black Zetsu escaped underground.
• Obito decided to investigate Shōji's powerful Dōjutsu and tried to recruit him by claiming to be Uchiha Madara, while Shōji mocked his false identity and rejected him.
• Shōji attacked Obito with Susanoo, but Obito turned intangible and countered with Fire Release and Kamui.
• Shōji used Lightning Release as Obito closed in, then Obito concealed a Wood Release attack behind flames and shattered Shōji's Susanoo before binding him.
• Shōji feigned shock and panic as Obito approached, then activated the Bishamonten Gate Technique, plunging the surroundings into gloom.

Shōji trapped Obito in his Bishamonten Gate Technique and destroyed his head with lightning, but Obito survived by using Izanagi and escaped with Black Zetsu. Shōji left determined to strengthen his plans and find a way to kill Obito and deal with Black Zetsu.

• Shōji revealed the Bishamonten Gate Technique, immobilized Obito in his domain, and struck him with a lightning attack that destroyed his mask and head.
• Obito used Izanagi to undo his death at the cost of his Sharingan, revealing his identity to Shōji.
• Obito ordered Black Zetsu to retreat, then escaped through Kamui as Black Zetsu fled underground.
• Shōji realized that Obito had survived and regretted missing his chance to use the Totsuka Blade against Black Zetsu.
• Shōji resolved to find another way to defeat Obito, including seeking the Rinnegan or obtaining Obito's other Mangekyō Sharingan.

After surviving Shōji’s Bishamonten Gate Technique, Obito learned that Shōji might possess the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and decided to accelerate his plans. Shōji traveled to the Land of Water to investigate Kirigakure and the ruins of the Kaguya Clan, where he hoped to find Kimimaro and research material.

• Obito vomited from the psychological aftereffects of Shōji’s Bishamonten Gate Technique, then told Black Zetsu that the technique had trapped him and that Shōji’s Dōjutsu Power suggested he had the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Obito rejected Black Zetsu’s suggestion to prioritize Shōji, ordered an investigation into Shisui Uchiha, and decided to accelerate their plans before returning to their secret base with Black Zetsu.
• Two days later, Shōji arrived in the Land of Water to investigate Obito’s control of the Fourth Mizukage and the turmoil weakening Kirigakure.
• Shōji gathered intelligence across the Land of Water and concluded that Kirigakure was close to collapse, then headed for the former Kaguya Clan territory to search for Kimimaro and research materials.
• Shōji reached the Kaguya Clan’s ruined territory and began examining the remains of the clan’s settlement.

Shōji tracked Orochimaru and Kimimaro through the Land of Water and defeated Orochimaru with his Sharingan genjutsu, forcing him to concede. Shōji then offered to let Orochimaru keep Kimimaro if he agreed to two requests, leaving Orochimaru wary of his intentions.

• Shōji followed Orochimaru's chakra trail from the Kaguya Clan's settlement and caught up with him and Kimimaro.
• Shōji demanded that Orochimaru give Kimimaro to him, but Kimimaro declared his loyalty to Orochimaru.
• Shōji used the Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique to torture Orochimaru in a genjutsu, then cut off one of his arms.
• Orochimaru stopped Kimimaro from attacking and conceded after realizing Shōji had the advantage.
• Shōji offered to let Orochimaru take Kimimaro away if Orochimaru agreed to two requests, making Orochimaru suspicious.

Shōji traded with Orochimaru for Kaguya Clan bloodline research, powerful jutsu research, and a promise of future Akatsuki intelligence, then infiltrated Kirigakure. He subdued the veteran Jōnin Sōta and began interrogating him to verify his ties to Elder Genji.

• Orochimaru gave Shōji Kimimaro’s cells and Kaguya Clan research materials in exchange for being allowed to leave.
• Shōji demanded Orochimaru’s research on Impure World Reincarnation, Living Corpse Reincarnation, and First Hokage’s Wood Release cells, plus future intelligence about Akatsuki, and Orochimaru handed over scrolls.
• Orochimaru left with Kimimaro, resolved to repair his soul and pursue the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan, while Shōji headed for Kirigakure.
• Shōji bypassed Kirigakure’s sensory barrier and observed the village’s tense, oppressive condition before making his way toward Elder Genji’s faction.
• Shōji waited in Sōta’s home, caught the returning security commander off guard, and trapped him in genjutsu to investigate whether he served Elder Genji.

Shōji infiltrated Kirigakure disguised as Sōta and sought an audience with Genji, who exposed the disguise by recognizing that Shōji’s eyes did not match Sōta’s character. After Shōji revealed his identity and claimed that Obito had controlled Karatachi Yagura, Genji began to connect the Mizukage’s behavior to the destruction of Kirigakure’s clans and the Uchiha Sharingan.

• Shōji interrogated Sōta with genjutsu and learned about Kirigakure’s unrest, including Zabuza’s failed assassination attempt against the Mizukage and the deaths of more than a hundred Kiri Ninja and nearly a thousand civilians.
• Shōji used the Transformation Technique to impersonate Sōta and went to Genji’s manor, where Genji saw through the disguise by recognizing Shōji’s gaze.
• Shōji revealed that he was Uchiha Shōji and asked to speak with Genji alone about a threat to Kirigakure, prompting Genji to order Seki and the other guards to withdraw.
• Shōji told Genji that Karatachi Yagura had been controlled by genjutsu for years and linked the Mizukage’s actions to the destruction of the Kaguya and Yuki Clans.
• Genji initially rejected Shōji’s claim because Yagura was the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, but Shōji explained that the Uchiha Sharingan could control Tailed Beasts, leaving Genji to recognize the significance of the revelation.

Shōji persuaded Genji that a rogue Uchiha with the Mangekyō Sharingan controlled Kirigakure’s Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, and the two agreed to investigate together. The next morning, Genji set out with Shōji and Ao to confirm the claim, while Terumi Mei prepared Kirigakure’s forces for possible unrest.

• Shōji told Genji that a traitorous Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and was controlling Karatachi Yagura, and offered Ao’s Byakugan as a means of verification.
• Genji agreed that Kirigakure would not interfere with the Uchiha’s pursuit of the traitor and allowed Shōji to stay at his residence.
• Genji summoned Ao and Terumi Mei, ordered Ao to verify Yagura’s condition with his Byakugan, and tasked Mei with preparing the village’s forces for a possible crisis.
• Despite Ao and Terumi Mei’s objections, Genji decided to bring Shōji with him to meet Yagura and ordered them to carry out their assignments.
• The next morning, Genji and Ao joined Shōji, and the three prepared to go investigate Yagura.

Genji, Ao, and Shōji exposed Obito’s control of Karatachi Yagura, plunging Kirigakure into battle. Obito unleashed the Three-Tails, but Shōji stopped its Tailed Beast Ball and hurled it out of the village before pursuing Obito.

• Obito ordered the guards to bring Genji to the Mizukage’s office while hiding nearby, unaware that Ao and Shōji had come with him in disguise.
• Ao used his Byakugan to reveal Obito’s control over Karatachi Yagura, and Genji ordered Ao to signal the village and Shōji to attack.
• Obito claimed Genji was a traitor, and the Kiri Ninja split between the two sides as Terumi Mei, Ao, and Seki joined the fight.
• Obito made Karatachi Yagura transform completely into Isobu, whose rampage devastated Kirigakure and endangered its civilians.
• Shōji summoned his fourth-form Susanoo, stopped Isobu’s Tailed Beast Ball, and hurled the Three-Tails out of the village.
• Shōji attacked Obito, but Obito turned intangible and moved toward Isobu instead of fleeing.

Shōji subdued Isobu and confronted Obito within the Three-Tails’ mental space, where he vowed to kill him for betraying the Uchiha Clan. Obito fled, leaving Shōji face-to-face with Karatachi Yagura as the battle ended.

• Shōji chased the Three-Tails outside Kirigakure, and Genji sent Terumi Mei and Ao after him.
• Terumi Mei and Ao watched Shōji’s Susanoo overpower Isobu and feared the threat he posed to Kirigakure.
• Shōji used a Lightning Release sealing technique to immobilize Isobu and entered its consciousness space with Demonic Illusion: Sharingan.
• Shōji confronted Obito, condemned his betrayal of the Uchiha Clan, and vowed to kill him; Obito retreated from the sealed space.
• After Obito left, Shōji turned toward Isobu and Karatachi Yagura, while his Susanoo dissipated and Isobu’s manifested body vanished.

Karatachi Yagura regained control of himself and Kirigakure after Obito fled, while Shōji discussed Kirigakure’s response and toured the village with Terumi Mei. At his secret base, Obito accepted Black Zetsu’s advice to recover his eye from Kakashi and investigate obtaining another Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Ao used his Byakugan to confirm Karatachi Yagura was free of control, and Terumi Mei bowed to her restored Mizukage.
• Karatachi Yagura returned to Kirigakure with Shōji, thanked Genji, and acknowledged the village’s heavy losses during the years Obito controlled him.
• Shōji asked Kirigakure to consider his suggestions, arrange him a place to stay, and let him contact his village; Karatachi Yagura assigned Terumi Mei to guide him.
• Shōji recognized Terumi Mei’s suspicions about him and the Uchiha Clan, and she abandoned her attempts to probe him as she showed him around Kirigakure.
• Black Zetsu urged Obito to retrieve his Sharingan from Kakashi and investigate taking Fugaku’s or Shisui’s eyes; Obito ordered White Zetsu to locate Kakashi and said he would recover the eye when Kakashi left the village on a mission.

Obito vowed to eliminate Shōji and accelerate his plans after learning that Shōji knew his identity. In Kirigakure, Shōji negotiated an alliance with Karatachi Yagura and Genji, securing their agreement to provide military assistance as the talks moved on to Obito.

• Obito warned Black Zetsu to watch Orochimaru and resolved to destroy Shōji, possibly beginning the Tailed Beast Capture Plan within four or five years.
• Shōji offered Kirigakure information about Obito and Konohagakure, along with resource, technology, and personnel support from Iwagakure.
• Karatachi Yagura asked what Kirigakure would need to provide in return, and Shōji requested wholehearted military assistance against Obito, Konoha, and Kumogakure.
• Karatachi Yagura agreed to the military assistance clause while reserving exceptions for special circumstances.
• Shōji began moving the negotiations toward information about Obito and the remaining terms of the alliance.

After securing a preliminary alliance with Kirigakure, Shōji set out to return to Iwagakure and encountered Momochi Zabuza and a ragged child he suspected was Haku. Shōji offered to recruit Zabuza, but Zabuza resisted and challenged him to prove what would happen if he refused.

• Karatachi Yagura and Genji left Shōji's inn with intelligence about Obito and Konoha, and Yagura told Genji he expected to live only another two or three years.
• Genji urged Yagura to keep fighting and promised to search for Tsunade, renewing Yagura's resolve to protect Kirigakure and prepare its younger generation.
• Shōji sent intelligence to his village, asked Fugaku to arrange a discussion with Shisui and the clan elders, and departed the Land of Water.
• At a port city, Shōji encountered Momochi Zabuza standing near a frightened, ragged child he suspected was Haku.
• Zabuza drew the Kubikiribōchō when he recognized Shōji, but Shōji explained he had not come to hunt him and offered him a place in Iwagakure.
• Zabuza hesitated over the offer, then asked what Shōji would do if he refused.

Shōji spared Zabuza, took Haku under his protection, and returned with him to Iwagakure, where he reported on Obito and Akatsuki to Ōnoki. He proposed using Akatsuki against Iwagakure’s rivals and openly declared his ambition for Iwagakure to unite the shinobi world.

• Shōji let Zabuza leave and offered his robe to Haku, who accepted Shōji’s invitation to follow him.
• Shōji brought Haku back to Iwagakure, registered him as a refugee, and sent him to the Uchiha compound.
• Shōji gave Ōnoki research materials on the Kaguya Clan’s Shikotsumyaku and reported that Haku had Yuki Clan blood.
• Shōji told Ōnoki about Obito and Akatsuki, and Ōnoki decided to have the Anbu investigate them.
• Shōji urged Ōnoki to exploit Obito and Akatsuki against Iwagakure’s enemies, then declared that Iwagakure should conquer and unite the shinobi world.

Ōnoki embraced Shōji’s plan to unify the shinobi world under Iwagakure, while Shōji returned to the Uchiha compound to brief Fugaku and the clan’s elders. The council confirmed that Obito had caused the Nine-Tails attack and learned that his Wood Release cells might explain how he used his Mangekyō Sharingan without exhausting its power.

• Ōnoki became convinced that Shōji’s gradual, pragmatic plan could let Iwagakure eliminate rival shinobi villages, and he vowed to stake everything on it.
• Shōji returned to Fugaku’s home and joined Fugaku, Shisui, and Elders Sōgen, Genran, and Chie for a restricted clan meeting.
• Shōji confirmed that Obito had caused the Nine-Tails attack, explaining that he had unmasked Obito and that Obito had not denied it.
• Shōji told the council that Obito’s Mangekyō was not Eternal Mangekyō, despite its extraordinary power and lack of depletion.
• Shōji attributed Obito’s ability to replenish his Dōjutsu Power to a successful fusion with the First Hokage’s Wood Release cells.

Shōji outlined plans to use Obito and Akatsuki while preparing Iwagakure to unify the shinobi world, and the Uchiha elders agreed to his strategy. The chapter ended with Shisui expressing regret that Shōji had received the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan instead of him.

• Shōji told Fugaku and the elders that Obito had to be dealt with, but that capturing him would wait until they found a way to counter Kamui.
• Shōji proposed gradually setting the Four Great Shinobi Villages against Obito and Akatsuki, with Iwagakure ultimately uniting the shinobi world.
• Shōji urged the clan to locate Kakashi Hatake and secure Obito's other Mangekyō Sharingan, while warning Shisui that Obito might target his eyes.
• After the meeting, Shōji raised Itachi's mission and training requirements and emphasized physical training for him and Deidara.
• Shōji sensed Shisui hiding nearby, and Shisui said he believed Shōji should have inherited his eyes and their unique Dōjutsu.

Shōji discussed Shisui’s plan to use Kotoamatsukami on Obito, warning him of the risks and urging him not to trust Obito’s past kindness. He asked Shisui to guide Itachi, Kurotsuchi, Deidara, Yang, and Saki while he focused on preparing for Obito’s plans, then returned home to reunite with his siblings and Haku.

• Shisui asked Shōji to let him try Kotoamatsukami on Obito, and Shōji cautioned that the technique could fail or backfire against Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Shōji agreed to keep Kotoamatsukami as a possible option but warned Shisui that Obito had other motives and was no longer the kind boy he remembered.
• Shōji asked Shisui to watch over Itachi’s team and help guide Kurotsuchi, Deidara, Yang, and Saki while Shōji focused on training and the village’s preparations.
• Shōji returned home and promised Yang he would teach him a Fire Release technique in a few days, while inviting Saki to ask him for anything she wanted.
• Shōji told Yang and Saki to listen to Haku at the Ninja Academy, where Haku would begin attending when school resumed.

Shōji named Bai Yuki Haku and returned to his research as Iwagakure and Kirigakure’s announcement about Uchiha Obito stirred the Shinobi World. Sunagakure and Kumogakure reacted with suspicion, while the Fourth Raikage began preparing for a possible war against Iwagakure.

• Shōji asked Bai to care for Uchiha Yang and Uchiha Saki, then gave him the surname Yuki and named him Yuki Haku.
• Shōji resumed his experiments, encouraged by Yakushi Kabuto’s breakthrough in replicating Wood Release cells and by the research materials he had brought back.
• News that Uchiha Obito had masterminded Konohagakure’s Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack spread, strengthening Iwagakure’s reputation and alarming the smaller nations and villages.
• Rasa ordered Baki to investigate Kirigakure and considered accelerating the cultivation of Sunagakure’s next Tailed Beast Jinchuriki.
• The Fourth Raikage dismissed the report about Obito as a likely smokescreen but ordered Dodai to investigate Iwagakure and Kirigakure and told Mabui to shift supplies toward the western front.
• Kirigakure, weakened by Obito’s actions, chose to follow Iwagakure’s lead and conceal its strength, while the Fourth Raikage and Dodai underestimated their alignment.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Konoha's senior leadership debated reports that Iwagakure and Kirigakure had joined forces and that Uchiha Obito had controlled the Nine-Tails. Hiruzen approved Danzo's request to investigate the Land of Water and prepare defenses in the Land of Waves, while Danzo secretly planned to exploit Uchiha, Orochimaru, Akatsuki, and Obito for his own ambitions.

• Danzo dismissed the reports about Obito as an Uchiha deception and urged Konoha to strike Iwagakure and secure the Land of Waves.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu questioned the reports but agreed that Kirigakure might target the Land of Waves as a bridgehead into the Land of Fire.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected an immediate move into the Land of Waves and prioritized discovering what had happened between Iwagakure and Kirigakure.
• Danzo persuaded Hiruzen to let Root investigate the Land of Water and make preliminary preparations in the Land of Waves.
• As Danzo left the Hokage Tower, he secretly resolved to use Uchiha, Orochimaru, Akatsuki, and Obito to advance his plans.