Chapter Summaries

Sarutobi Hiruzen arranged for Shimura Danzō to perform Impure World Reincarnation, beginning with his deceased son Sarutobi Ashenma and using Sarutobi Clan members as sacrifices. He summoned three clansmen to give their lives, and one hesitated to speak as Hiruzen reassured him.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen criticized the damp laboratory, while Shimura Danzō dismissed the complaints and asked for the reincarnation information.
• Hiruzen chose his son Sarutobi Ashenma as the first person to be reincarnated so Ashenma could command the revived ninjas.
• Hiruzen ordered Shimura Danzō to use a Sarutobi Clan member as Ashenma’s sacrifice and sent a shuriken to Sarutobi Asuma as a signal.
• Hiruzen said only three of the twenty Sarutobi Clan powerhouses needed clan-member sacrifices, then waited for Asuma to arrive with several clansmen.
• Hiruzen told three Sarutobi Clan members that the clan needed them and promised to care for their families, while one stepped forward hesitantly to speak.

Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō prepared the Impure World Reincarnation, persuading three Sarutobi Clan members to become sacrifices with vague promises to care for their families. Hiruzen added two layers of Cursed Seals and personally controlled the ritual’s final step as the summoning began.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen promised three Sarutobi Clan members he would consider their requests before having Sarutobi Asuma knock them unconscious.
• Shimura Danzō criticized Hiruzen’s hypocrisy as Root members prepared the sacrifices and began the Impure World Reincarnation procedure.
• Shimura Danzō explained two kinds of Cursed Seals, and Sarutobi Hiruzen chose to use both for additional control.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Root Ninjas branded the sacrifices, and Hiruzen used his blood to complete the final seal.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen formed hand seals, pressed his palm to the summoning scroll, and began the Impure World Reincarnation.

Sarutobi Hiruzen completed the Impure World Reincarnation and brought about twenty people back from the Pure Land, including his son Sarutobi Ashenma and clan elders Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing. The elders learned that the Sarutobi Clan was in danger and questioned who was threatening it.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen struggled with the Chakra cost of the Impure World Reincarnation while Shimura Danzō mocked him for not knowing the jutsu's demands.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen summoned around twenty dead people into bound vessels, and their bodies re-formed with cracked faces and gray-white eyes.
• Sarutobi Ashenma mistook the Shinobi World for the Pure Land until Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that he had summoned him back; Ashenma then rejoiced at returning to his family.
• Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing recognized the Impure World Reincarnation and praised Sarutobi Hiruzen for bringing them back.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told the elders that the Sarutobi Clan was in danger, prompting them to ask who was targeting it and wonder whether Minato Namikaze had become Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen explained to Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing how the Uchiha Clan and Akatsuki Organization had become threats to the Sarutobi Clan. The elders learned that Akatsuki had powerful members and ties to several clans, and Hiruzen began describing their abilities.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing that he was still Hokage and explained how he had returned to the office after Minato Namikaze's death.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said that the Uchiha Clan and Akatsuki Organization threatened the Sarutobi Clan, prompting Sarutobi Daqing to condemn the Uchiha.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen recounted his plans to suppress the Uchiha Clan and explained that Akatsuki had stopped the Uchiha Extermination Plan, after which Uchiha Hanjō became Clan Head.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen described the Uchiha Clan's renewed prosperity and its connections with Akatsuki, the Hyuga Clan, the Aburame Clan, and the Land of Wind.
• Sarutobi Shuo asked what made Akatsuki dangerous, and Sarutobi Hiruzen listed its top-tier genjutsu expert, special Kekkei Genkai, Hyuga genius, and top-tier Wood Release expert.

Sarutobi Hiruzen told Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing about Wood Bull, a powerful Wood Release ninja, and they planned to capture him for research. Hiruzen kept the Impure World Reincarnation shinobi hidden for now, promising they would later help the Sarutobi Clan conquer the Shinobi World.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Wood Bull wielded Wood Release but was not as powerful as Hashirama Senju.
• Sarutobi Shuo proposed capturing Wood Bull and studying him to reproduce Wood Release for the Sarutobi Clan.
• Sarutobi Daqing offered to capture Wood Bull and asked to see the present-day Shinobi World.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen forbade the reincarnated Sarutobi shinobi from going outside because it could disrupt the clan's plans against the Uchiha Clan.
• Sarutobi Shuo persuaded Sarutobi Daqing to follow Hiruzen's orders, and Hiruzen promised they would eventually lead the Sarutobi Clan to conquer the Shinobi World.

Sarutobi Hiruzen discussed resurrecting more Konoha experts and rebuilding the Sarutobi Clan, then confronted Shimura Danzō over hiding Impure World Reincarnation’s heavy Chakra cost. Hiruzen left Danzō alive because he still considered him useful, while Tsunade and Shizune visited the old woman’s sushi shop.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Sarutobi Daqing and Sarutobi Shuo that he planned to resurrect more Konoha experts before attacking the Uchiha Clan, but said he could maintain only about fifty or sixty reincarnated people with his current Chakra.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen asked Sarutobi Ashenma about Konohamaru and promised to arrange a meeting when there was time.
• After leaving the Root Laboratory, Sarutobi Hiruzen attacked Shimura Danzō and accused him of concealing how much Chakra Impure World Reincarnation consumed.
• Shimura Danzō denied deliberately misleading Hiruzen, and Hiruzen warned him to stop playing tricks before leaving with Sarutobi Asuma.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen rejected Sarutobi Asuma’s offer to warn Danzō, saying Danzō was still useful, while Tsunade brought Shizune to the old woman’s sushi shop.

After learning that Sarutobi Police Force members had questioned an old woman about her and warned her not to discuss disappearances or the abandoned Root site, Tsunade began to suspect Sarutobi Hiruzen was hiding the missing people’s fate. She left to investigate, while the old woman hoped her missing son and daughter-in-law could still return.

• The old woman told Tsunade and Shizune that Sarutobi Police Force members had asked what Tsunade said and whether she had asked about people going missing.
• The old woman revealed that the men had also asked whether Tsunade had paid attention to the abandoned Root site, where Root ninja had driven away Uchiha Xuan Yu before an incident that night.
• Tsunade connected the questions to the disappearances and concluded that Sarutobi Hiruzen had changed.
• After Tsunade and Shizune left, two men threatened the old woman for speaking to them, and Tsunade and Shizune secretly watched from nearby.
• Tsunade left without comment, while the old woman hoped that following the instructions she had been given would help bring back her son and daughter-in-law.

Tsunade returned home furious over the changes in Konoha and planned to think through how to find the missing people. Meanwhile, Xuanyu drank with Gaara, kept Shukaku calm, and then took Hua Yu to a shabby Sushi Shop.

• Shizune offered to help Tsunade, but Tsunade said she needed to rest and time alone to plan how to find the missing people.
• Xuanyu spoke with Shukaku in Gaara's Sealed Mental Space, promised to let him meet Kurama, and told him to stay beside Gaara.
• Kankuro and Temari took the unconscious Gaara back to Konoha's arranged lodging, while Xuanyu asked Temari to pass along his promise to Gaara.
• Xuanyu cleared the alcohol from his mind and teleported with Hua Yu to the shabby Sushi Shop.

Xuanyu brought the old woman from the sushi shop to reunite with her son, whom he had rescued from Root alongside his family. After warning them to remain hidden from Root and the Sarutobi Police Force, Xuanyu left the reunited mother and son at the laboratory.

• Xuanyu reassured the old woman that her son and daughter-in-law were alive and offered to take her to them.
• The old woman chose to leave the sushi shop and see her family, and Xuanyu transported her and Hua Yu to a laboratory outside Konoha.
• The old woman reunited with her son, who told her that Root had taken his family for experiments and Xuanyu had saved them.
• Xuanyu declined the family's thanks, left the laboratory with Hua Yu, and Tsunade rose early the next morning after a sleepless night.

Tsunade and Shizune discovered that the old woman had disappeared from her locked sushi shop and searched for clues. As they investigated, someone outside ordered them to come out for breaking in.

• Tsunade told Shizune to go with her to the Sushi Shop for breakfast.
• Tsunade and Shizune found the shop closed, and repeated knocking brought no answer.
• Tsunade broke open the door and searched the shop, finding sushi left half-made in the kitchen.
• Tsunade and Shizune searched upstairs but found no trace of the old woman, and Tsunade wondered how she had vanished from the locked shop.
• Someone outside shouted at Tsunade and Shizune to come out for breaking into the shop.

Tsunade and Shizune searched an absent shopkeeper’s home and confronted Sarutobi Police Force members who refused to investigate her disappearance. After Sarutobi Asuma faulted Tsunade for entering without permission, she accepted responsibility for the damage and left with Shizune.

• Tsunade and Shizune found the shopkeeper missing and entered her home to check on her, prompting two Sarutobi Police Force members to challenge them.
• Tsunade asked the officers to explain the old woman’s disappearance, but they dismissed the concern and said she had probably gone out on her own.
• Sarutobi Asuma arrived and criticized Tsunade for breaking into the shop, while Shizune argued that they had been worried about the missing owner.
• Tsunade admitted that entering without permission was wrong, promised to compensate the shopkeeper if she returned, and left with Shizune.
• A Sarutobi Police Force member asked Asuma whether they should stop Tsunade and take her back to the Military Police Force.

Tsunade left after Sarutobi Asuma mocked her, then walked around Konoha while reflecting on the village’s decline and the old woman’s disappearance. She reached Root’s abandoned experiment base to investigate, but two men appeared and blocked her path.

• Sarutobi Asuma dismissed the old woman’s disappearance and ordered his squad to stop searching, while two Sarutobi Police Force members continued monitoring Tsunade.
• Tsunade refused to eat and walked through Konoha with Shizune, observing how lifeless the areas under the Sarutobi Police Force’s jurisdiction had become.
• Tsunade decided she needed an opportunity to meet Sarutobi Hiruzen and continued toward Root’s abandoned experiment base.
• Tsunade approached the base to investigate its connection to the missing residents, and two men suddenly blocked her and Shizune.

Tsunade was denied entry to Root’s guarded base, but she remained determined to investigate the disappearances and Root’s connection to Sarutobi Hiruzen. After nightfall, she distracted the watchers and secretly headed for Root.

• Root ninja blocked Tsunade from entering the base and said only Root’s leader could enter, not even the Hokage.
• Tsunade left with Shizune, ate with her, and stayed home while two watchers monitored them.
• Near midnight, Tsunade told Shizune she would investigate Root, refused to take her along, and asked her to draw the watchers’ attention.
• Shizune left to buy a late-night snack, and Tsunade created a Shadow Clone before slipping out through a window toward Root.
• One watcher thought he saw someone leave, but his companion dismissed it as a trick of the eyes.

Tsunade infiltrated Root’s abandoned Experiment Base and found evidence that Root had imprisoned and experimented on Konoha civilians. As she prepared to leave, a hooded figure confronted her, with others closing in.

• Tsunade knocked out the Root guards outside the base and hurried inside before reinforcements arrived.
• Xuanyu sensed Tsunade’s attack and watched her movements from the Uchiha Clan.
• Sarutobi Asuma dismissed the disturbance, then sent someone to notify Danzo that Root’s base was under attack.
• Tsunade found Culture Vessels, bloodstains, and cages, confirming her suspicions about Root’s experiments on civilians.
• A hooded figure confronted Tsunade inside the base as more sounds came from nearby.

Tsunade was ambushed by reanimated ninja in Root Base and realized Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō were using Impure World Reincarnation. Trapped in the underground laboratory by their endless attacks and reinforced walls, she struggled to break out as reinforcements approached.

• Tsunade fought twelve strange Root ninja who showed no signs of ordinary breathing and repeatedly recovered from her attacks.
• After tearing off one enemy’s leg and seeing it regenerate from clay fragments, Tsunade recognized Impure World Reincarnation and suspected missing people had been used as sacrifices.
• Tsunade released the Strength of a Hundred Sealings and struck the reanimated ninja with lethal force, but they continued to recover and block the only exit.
• The ninja attacked Tsunade with repeated ninjutsu while Earth Release users reinforced the underground laboratory and closed in on her.
• Tsunade punched the ceiling to escape, but the Earth Release ninja sealed off the falling earth and stone, trapping her inside.

Xuanyu rescued Tsunade from Root’s reincarnated ninja and used Black Flames to block their Chakra replenishment and prevent their bodies from regenerating. After one enemy’s soul dissipated, Tsunade joined the fight, turning the tables on the remaining Root ninja.

• Tsunade realized the twelve Root ninja could hold her until reinforcements arrived and prepared to overdraw her life force to escape.
• Xuanyu appeared beside Tsunade, stopped her from using the dangerous technique, and reflected the Root ninja’s attacks with an invisible barrier.
• Xuanyu engulfed the reincarnated ninja in Black Flames, which absorbed their Chakra and stopped them from replenishing it.
• Xuanyu shattered one ninja’s body, and the Black Flames prevented its restoration, leaving its exposed soul to dissipate.
• Xuanyu told Tsunade to scatter the remaining ninja’s bodies, and she rushed into the flames as they tried to flee.

Tsunade destroyed the Impure World Reincarnated guarding Danzo’s underground laboratory with help from Xuanyu, whose Black Flames could break down their bodies. As Danzo rushed to the ruined base, Xuanyu urged Tsunade to recruit Jiraiya to help investigate Konoha’s disappearances, while Root forces approached.

• Tsunade shattered the Root members resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation, dismissing their threats and condemning them for the innocent lives used to summon them.
• Danzo sensed the resurrected members disappearing one by one and rushed toward his abandoned Experiment Base, realizing someone was destroying them.
• Xuanyu withdrew his Black Flames after Tsunade defeated the twelve resurrected Root members, and Tsunade thanked him for saving her.
• Xuanyu warned Tsunade that Danzo’s men were outside and that she had been reckless to investigate alone; Tsunade insisted she had to uncover the disappearances.
• Xuanyu suggested that Tsunade seek help from Jiraiya, who had returned to Konoha and been imprisoned for peeping on women bathing.
• Xuanyu announced that Danzo’s men were coming down.

Xuanyu confronted Danzo at the underground base and revealed that he had destroyed twelve of Danzo’s Impure World Reincarnation subordinates. He warned Danzo that the technique was not invincible and vanished with Tsunade, leaving Danzo on guard against his threat.

• Tsunade asked whether Xuanyu knew Space-Time Ninjutsu, and he waited with her for Danzo’s arrival.
• Danzo entered the base and demanded to know where his missing subordinates were.
• Xuanyu pointed out twelve dirt mounds and explained that the Impure World Reincarnation bodies had been turned into dirt.
• Xuanyu warned Danzo that he could break the technique in several ways, including killing Danzo, and said he was keeping him alive for someone else.
• Xuanyu warned Danzo that his subordinates were not invincible and that wiping out the Uchiha Clan would require raising the stakes, then placed a hand on Tsunade’s shoulder.

Xuanyu and Tsunade watched Danzo summon Hiruzen after Xuanyu exposed a way to counter Impure World Reincarnation. Tsunade became certain Hiruzen was involved when he arrived with two reincarnated shinobi, while Sarutobi Shuo sensed someone watching them.

• Xuanyu left Danzo's laboratory after Danzo resolved to overwhelm him with more Impure World Reincarnation subjects and later make him a slave.
• Danzo ordered a Root shinobi to summon Hiruzen, while a white-coated observer prepared to report the attack to the Hokage.
• Xuanyu and Tsunade watched from a nearby rooftop, and Xuanyu predicted that Hiruzen would come despite Tsunade's doubts.
• Hiruzen arrived with Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing, whom Xuanyu identified as Impure World Reincarnation subjects.
• Sarutobi Shuo sensed someone watching the group, and Xuanyu assured Tsunade that he could not detect them.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Shuo, and Sarutobi Daqing met in Root's abandoned laboratory after the Monkey Masked Akatsuki member escaped. Danzō revealed that the encounter had cost him twelve Impure World Reincarnation soldiers.

• Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing entered Root's abandoned Experiment Base while Sarutobi Hiruzen checked for observers.
• Tsunade told Xuanyu that the reincarnated men were Sarutobi Hiruzen's elders, Sarutobi Shuo and Sarutobi Daqing, known with Sarutobi Sasuke as the Sarutobi Clan's Three Heroes.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen confronted Shimura Danzō in the laboratory, and Danzō reported that the Monkey Masked Akatsuki member had escaped again.
• Sarutobi Daqing insulted Shimura Danzō for failing to capture the enemy, and Danzō replied that the man knew Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said they could deal with the enemy after reincarnating Minato Namikaze, but Shimura Danzō revealed that he had lost twelve Impure World Reincarnation soldiers.