Chapter Summaries

Pain invited Hyuga Seisen to join Akatsuki, presenting its goal as ending war and uniting the ninja world in peace. Seisen exposed the plan to use a tailed-beast weapon to terrorize the nations, provoking Pain’s anger.

• Pain introduced himself as Akatsuki’s leader and invited Hyuga Seisen to join the organization.
• Pain declared that Akatsuki intended to end war and establish peace throughout the ninja world.
• Hyuga Seisen laughed at Pain’s ideal and revealed Akatsuki’s plan to gather the tailed beasts and create an ultimate weapon.
• Hyuga Seisen accused Pain of seeking peace through fear and condemned his belief that shared suffering would make people understand one another.
• Pain’s expression cracked, and he unleashed a repulsive force as Hyuga Seisen stood firm and concluded that his accusations were correct.

Hyuga Seisen resisted Pain’s power and grievously wounded the Deva Path with a flame-enhanced punch. As the other Paths attacked, Seisen evaded their barrage and appeared overhead with a spirit bow, preparing to strike back.

• Pain used Banshō Ten'in to drag Hyuga Seisen toward him and tried to stab his eye with a black metal rod.
• Seisen blocked the rod with Blut Vene and punched through the Deva Path’s abdomen with Armor-Breaking Explosive Flame Fist.
• Pain acknowledged that he had underestimated Seisen and declared that he would collect Seisen’s unusual power for Akatsuki.
• Asura Path transformed and fired a laser and tracking missiles at Seisen, who evaded the barrage with Hirenkyaku.
• Seisen appeared high above the Paths with an azure Spirit Bow and gathered spirit particles as Asura Path aimed its weapons at him.

Hyuga Seisen overwhelmed the Six Paths of Pain with a rain of destructive light arrows, while Pain’s Shinra Tensei repeatedly held the attacks back. Preta Path’s absorption failed against the arrows, and he was killed, leaving Yuan Zhong horrified.

• Deva Path Pain deflected Seisen’s first arrow with Shinra Tensei, but it pierced and erased a distant mountain.
• Hyuga Seisen summoned countless magic circles and unleashed a Rain of Light over the Six Pains.
• Asura Path Pain sent missiles to intercept the arrows, but the barrage overwhelmed them.
• Deva Path Pain used Shinra Tensei to repel the arrows, then ordered Preta Path to defend them during the cooldown.
• Preta Path Pain’s Fūjutsu Kyūin failed to absorb the light arrows, which pierced and destroyed him.

Hyuga Seisen’s Light Rain devastated Pain’s forces, leaving Deva Path and Human Path as the only survivors. In the cave, Nagato considered using Chibaku Tensei against Seisen, but the masked man appeared and urged him to stand down.

• Deva Path Pain used Shinra Tensei to save himself and Human Path, abandoning Yuan Zhong and Asura Path to Seisen’s Light Rain.
• Seisen descended into the ruined basin and found Deva Path and Human Path badly damaged but alive.
• Nagato realized Asura Path and Preta Path had been destroyed and concluded that Seisen’s power was not chakra.
• Nagato decided to stop anyone from disturbing him as he considered using a dangerous technique against Seisen, despite Konan’s objections.
• The masked man emerged through a space-time vortex and warned Nagato that Chibaku Tensei might not catch Seisen.

Hyuga Seisen tracked Pain to a hidden mountain and obliterated its summit, forcing Nagato and Konan to retreat with Obito Uchiha. Nagato agreed not to confront Seisen until he recovered, while Obito again urged him to accept Hashirama Cells.

• Obito Uchiha offered Nagato Hashirama Cells, but Konan warned him not to tamper with Nagato.
• Hyuga Seisen collected a black metal rod and traced its chakra to a mountain hidden behind Konan's sensory-blocking barrier.
• Seisen fired his God-Slaying Spirit Light Cannon and vaporized the mountain's upper half.
• Nagato and Konan watched the blast from Kamui Space, and Obito warned Nagato not to challenge Seisen again until he had recovered and mastered the Rinnegan.
• Obito showed Nagato his Hashirama Cells and urged him to accept an implantation before leaving Kamui Space with him and Konan.

Hyuga Seisen traveled into the Land of Earth, established a hidden Divine Expressway anchor, and killed a White Zetsu clone that had been spying on him. After reaching Iwagakure, he developed a stable barrier powered by ambient spirit particles, leaving him with a new defensive technique.

• Hyuga Seisen restored the devastated terrain, traveled into the Land of Earth, and created a concealed Divine Expressway anchor in an underground cavern.
• Hyuga Seisen detected and killed a White Zetsu clone hiding in the rocks, then disguised himself and entered Iwagakure.
• Hyuga Seisen rented a room at a secluded inn and studied barrier and sealing techniques from two scrolls.
• Hyuga Seisen repeatedly tested ways to use ambient spirit particles to construct a barrier, simplifying the formation after several failures.
• Hyuga Seisen successfully created the remote Ninja Art: Cursed Seal Sky-Shock Barrier, a stable energy wall independent of his chakra.

Hyuga Seisen’s new Spirit Particle Space was torn open by a gigantic creature emerging from a chaotic void, which he identified as Kōtotsu. Three months later, with Seisen still missing, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya prepared to face Kushina’s approaching due date without him.

• Hyuga Seisen left Iwagakure, traveled through the Land of Earth and Land of Grass, and dealt with two White Zetsu clones along the way.
• At an abandoned mine near the Land of Waterfalls, Hyuga Seisen opened his eleventh spatial anchor and marked it “Grass-Waterfalls-11.”
• The Spirit Particle Space shook and split apart as chaotic void currents overwhelmed Hyuga Seisen’s attempts to repair it.
• A vast black creature with flowing purple patterns gnawed through the breach, and Hyuga Seisen recognized it as Kōtotsu.
• Three months later, Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya discussed Hyuga Seisen’s disappearance and the searches that had failed to find him.
• Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya resolved to rely on themselves as Kushina’s due date approached, just as someone gently opened the office door.

As Kushina's due date approached and Hyuga Seisen remained missing, Minato and Jiraiya realized Seisen might have left a Shadow Clone in Konoha. They found the clone hidden beneath the Hyuga clan residence, and it asked whether something had happened to the original body.

• Kushina reassured Minato that they would protect their child if Seisen could not return, and Minato promised to protect the baby.
• Jiraiya advised Minato to conserve chakra, prompting Minato to suspect Seisen had left a Shadow Clone in the village.
• Minato and Jiraiya rushed to the Hyuga clan grounds and asked Hiashi whether Seisen had left a Shadow Clone behind.
• Hiashi led Minato and Jiraiya to a hidden underground chamber, where Seisen's Shadow Clone had been meditating for three months.
• Seisen's Shadow Clone awakened, recognized Minato and Jiraiya, and asked whether something had happened to the original body.

Minato and Jiraiya learned that Hyuga Seisen had been missing for three months and that Kushina was due to give birth within days. Seisen’s last remaining Shadow Clone warned that the enemy who might attack that night could enter an alternate space and become intangible, though he had to materialize to attack.

• Minato told Seisen’s Shadow Clone that the original had vanished near the Land of Grass three months ago and that Kushina’s due date was close.
• The Shadow Clone explained that Number Two had dispersed and that he was the last clone, with little chakra left to fight.
• Minato asked Seisen for intelligence about the unknown enemy despite the Triple Defense Line being in place.
• Seisen said an attack that night would indicate an enemy skilled in spatial movement, and identified the opponent as an Uchiha who was not from the village.
• Seisen described the enemy’s ability to pull targets into an alternate space, even severing limbs, and to become intangible against attacks.
• Seisen revealed that the enemy could not attack while intangible and had to materialize first.

Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone explained how Minato Namikaze could exploit the enemy’s brief vulnerability when switching from intangibility to materialization. On October 10th, as Kushina’s labor began, Minato and Konoha’s hidden forces prepared for the attack they expected.

• Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone told Minato that the enemy had to become tangible to attack, giving Minato a chance to strike with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Minato decided to use Kushina as bait and himself as the killing blade, then thanked Seisen for the intelligence.
• Five days later, Sarutobi Biwako warned Minato that he had to maintain the Nine-Tails’ seal during the delivery, while Hiruzen Sarutobi described the ANBU precautions Minato had ordered.
• Minato refused to inform Danzo, saying that fewer people should know about the delivery.
• Kushina asked Minato to protect their child if anything happened, and Minato promised that both she and the baby would be safe.
• On October 10th, Minato’s concealed ANBU waited across the village as Kushina’s labor began.

Minato moved Kushina through two secret locations before bringing her to a hidden safe house, where Biwako and the startled Tian Lu prepared to deliver her baby. Kushina’s labor worsened as the medical team worked to stabilize her, and the delivery remained in progress.

• Minato carried Kushina and Biwako to a decoy delivery room, then summoned Tian Lu from her dormitory.
• Minato used the Flying Thunder God to take Kushina, Biwako, and Tian Lu to a secret safe house unknown to anyone else.
• Minato explained that Tian Lu had to assist Biwako with Kushina’s delivery, and Biwako ordered Tian Lu to prepare the instruments.
• Biwako and Tian Lu monitored Kushina as her pain intensified, while Minato watched helplessly.
• Biwako called for an episiotomy when the fetal position remained wrong and Kushina’s blood pressure dropped.

As Kushina gave birth, the Nine-Tails broke through her weakening seal, and a masked attacker ambushed Minato. Minato escaped with Kushina and their newborn, but the Four Symbols Seal shattered and the Nine-Tails began to emerge.

• Biwako warned Minato that Kushina's seal could not hold and the baby had to be delivered immediately.
• The newborn cried as the masked man appeared behind Minato and tried to pull him into another dimension.
• Minato escaped the masked man's grasp with the Flying Thunder God Technique and realized the attacker was targeting the Nine-Tails.
• The masked man used Kamui on Kushina's failing seal, while Minato rescued her and the infant from its range.
• The Four Symbols Seal burst apart, the Nine-Tails' chakra erupted from Kushina, and Biwako and Tian Lu were knocked unconscious.

The masked man freed the Nine-Tails and sent it toward Konoha after Minato rescued Kushina, their infant, Sarutobi Biwako, and Tian Lu. As Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone rushed toward the beast, it was summoned into the village, where Jiraiya encountered Yahiko bearing the Rinnegan.

• The masked man controlled the freed Nine-Tails and attacked Sarutobi Biwako, but Minato teleported her and Tian Lu away after sending Kushina and the infant to safety.
• The masked man vanished with the Nine-Tails, directing it toward Konoha.
• Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone rushed toward the Nine-Tails after hearing its roar.
• The Nine-Tails disappeared in a plume of smoke, then roared from the center of Konoha after someone summoned it there.
• A figure in an Akatsuki cloak appeared before Jiraiya and greeted him as his former student; Jiraiya recognized Yahiko and saw the Rinnegan in his eyes.

Jiraiya received intelligence and purified senjutsu chakra from Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone as the Six Paths of Pain confronted him. Jiraiya entered Sage Mode to hold Pain off while the Shadow Clone secretly took Hiruzen Sarutobi toward the village.

• Jiraiya and Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone recognized that Deva Path Pain possessed the Rinnegan, and the Shadow Clone gave Jiraiya cylinders of purified senjutsu chakra.
• The Shadow Clone warned Jiraiya that Pain was a puppet and explained the Six Paths' abilities, their shared vision, and Deva Path's attraction and repulsion powers.
• The Shadow Clone used Jiraiya's attack as a brief opening to take Hiruzen Sarutobi away toward the village through the shadows.
• Jiraiya drank the purified chakra, summoned Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, and entered Sage Mode to hold the Six Paths of Pain back.
• Deva Path Pain faced Jiraiya and declared that he would make the world feel pain.

The Nine-Tails rampaged through Konoha, overwhelming the ANBU as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone coordinated the village's defense. The Shadow Clone ordered Hyuga Go to rally the Sternritter and divert the beast's attention with Spirit Bow attacks.

• The Nine-Tails appeared in Konoha and destroyed a commercial street, killing four ANBU with a roar and scattering dozens more with its tail.
• The cat-masked ANBU captain rallied the survivors to defend the village and its civilians.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived at the Hokage Building and ordered the ANBU to protect evacuees while harassing the Nine-Tails.
• Hyuga Go reported that rescue efforts were disorganized, and Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone ordered him to gather the Sternritter into squads to draw the Nine-Tails away from civilian districts and key facilities.

Hyuga Himon was ordered to evacuate civilians through Spirit Particle Space as Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted the Nine-Tails and was badly overwhelmed. Minato Namikaze returned to face the beast’s Tailed Beast Bomb and began forming a space-time barrier, leaving the village’s survival uncertain.

• Aokawa's shadow clone sent Hyuga Himon to evacuate civilians and the wounded to a backup base using Spirit Particle Space passages.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned Enma and attacked the Nine-Tails with his clones, but its roar destroyed the attacks and blasted him into the ruins.
• The Nine-Tails prepared to crush fleeing civilians, but Minato Namikaze appeared atop the Hokage Rock and drew the villagers’ hope.
• The Nine-Tails began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb, and Minato placed three Flying Thunder God kunai before the Hokage Rock and activated Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder.

Minato Namikaze redirected the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb, but a masked enemy drew him away while Hiruzen Sarutobi forced the beast beyond Konoha's center. As Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone rescued villagers, he confronted Uchiha Fugaku about the Police Force's inaction and learned they were following orders from the higher-ups.

• Minato Namikaze used a golden formation to transport the Nine-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb to a distant mountain range, where it exploded.
• A masked man appeared and warped space around Minato Namikaze, who escaped with the Flying Thunder God Technique before the enemy vanished.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi used the Adamantine Staff to push the Nine-Tails out of Konoha's central area, then ordered the attacks and barrier efforts to continue.
• Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone rescued villagers and wounded ninja, sending them through the Spirit Particle Space to safety.
• Hyuga Seisen's Shadow Clone confronted Uchiha Fugaku and the Uchiha Police Force for standing by, and Fugaku said they were following orders from the higher-ups.

Hyuga Seisen’s Shadow Clone challenged the order keeping the Uchiha from fighting the Nine-Tails, exposing it as a likely private action by Shimura Danzō. Uchiha Fugaku ordered the clan to deploy, but the Root captain blocked them, and Seisen’s clone fired a Spirit Bow arrow at him.

• The Shadow Clone questioned the ANBU’s order to confine the Uchiha, and Uchiha Shisui explained that Lord Hokage suspected an Uchiha was controlling the Nine-Tails.
• The Shadow Clone argued that neither the Third nor the Fourth Hokage could have issued the order, and he accused the ANBU of serving someone hiding in the shadows.
• Uchiha Fugaku confronted the Root squad, while the Shadow Clone urged the Uchiha to protect the village and its civilians instead of standing by.
• Uchiha Fugaku ordered Shisui to deploy the Konoha Police Force and prioritize civilian rescue.
• The Root captain blocked the Uchiha, so the Shadow Clone formed a Spirit Bow and launched a blue arrow at him.

A Shadow Clone killed Root operatives who tried to manipulate the Uchiha, and Uchiha Fugaku led his clan into the rescue effort across Konoha. Outside the village, Minato Namikaze confronted the masked man who had unleashed the Nine-Tails, and they charged into a decisive fight.

• The Shadow Clone killed four Root ninjas and told Uchiha Fugaku that they had impersonated ANBU and falsified the Hokage’s orders.
• Uchiha Fugaku ordered more than a hundred Uchiha clansmen to deploy, and they joined the battle to rescue civilians and fight fires.
• Minato Namikaze used Flying Thunder God to reach an abandoned forest clearing with two hostages, where the masked man appeared.
• Minato Namikaze suspected the masked man was Uchiha Madara, but the man neither confirmed nor denied it and spoke of war and peace.
• Minato Namikaze decided to fight the masked man away from Konoha, and they charged at each other, each aiming to strike when the other became tangible.

Minato outmaneuvered the masked man, injured him, and used a Contract Seal to sever his control over the Nine-Tails before the man escaped. Freed from the Sharingan, the Nine-Tails rampaged again, and Hiruzen’s exhausted defense faltered as the village’s shinobi suffered heavy losses.

• Minato used Flying Thunder God: Second Stage to strike the masked man with a Rasengan and cripple his left arm.
• Minato placed a Contract Seal on the masked man, severing his control over the Nine-Tails.
• The masked man escaped through a space-time vortex and vowed to claim the Nine-Tails again.
• The Sharingan’s control vanished from the Nine-Tails, which roared and prepared to charge into Konoha.
• Hiruzen and Enma blocked the Nine-Tails’ charge, but its tails smashed through the defensive line and killed many ninja.
• Hiruzen spat blood and weakened as the Adamantine Staff’s glow dimmed.