Chapter Summaries

Shimura Danzō told Sarutobi Hiruzen that twelve people reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation had vanished, and the group speculated that a soul attack might have destroyed them. After Root abandoned the battlefield, Xuanyu left Tsunade and watched Hiruzen depart, expecting the incident to keep him awake.

• Shimura Danzō showed Sarutobi Hiruzen the twelve piles of sand and said the reincarnated people’s marks had vanished after a battle with the Monkey Mask-wearing assassin.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen’s monitoring agent confirmed the ambush site showed signs of battle, while Hiruzen suggested the assassin might have transported the victims elsewhere.
• Sarutobi Shuo proposed that a soul attack had dispersed the reincarnated people’s souls and caused their bodies to collapse.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to reassure the group, and Shimura Danzō said he would reincarnate the victims again to learn what had happened.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Shimura Danzō to meet him at his office the next day, and Root members cleaned up and abandoned the battlefield.
• Xuanyu watched Hiruzen leave, then told Tsunade she was safe and that he was leaving.

Tsunade learned that Akatsuki wanted to restore peace to the Shinobi World, but she doubted peace was possible after her grandfather’s efforts had failed. After surviving an ambush and finding leads in the missing persons investigation, she decided to seek Jiraiya’s help and told Shizune they would visit him the next day.

• Xuanyu told Tsunade that Akatsuki wanted to restore peace to the Shinobi World before disappearing.
• Danzō sensed someone watching him near the Experiment Base, but dismissed the feeling and left with his subordinates.
• Tsunade watched Danzō leave and decided she needed a partner to investigate the missing persons case, considering Jiraiya the best choice.
• Tsunade returned home and reassured Shizune that the ambush had been dealt with and that she had found leads connected to Root and the Hokage.
• Tsunade refused Shizune’s offer to join the investigation and told her they would visit Jiraiya the next day.

Tsunade learned that Jiraiya had been arrested by the Uchiha Police Force for peeping into a bathhouse, then discovered that people were still disappearing across Konoha. She decided to find Jiraiya and expose Root’s crimes before more people vanished.

• Tsunade told Shizune that Jiraiya was being held at the Uchiha Police Force after being caught peeping at women bathing.
• Shizune resolved to confront Jiraiya about his behavior, and Tsunade and Shizune went to rest for the night.
• The next morning, Tsunade heard an old man searching for his missing son and learned that the man’s drinking companions had disappeared too.
• A shop owner told Tsunade that his neighbors had also gone missing and planned to move into Uchiha jurisdiction.
• Tsunade suspected Shimura Danzō’s Root was abducting more people to sustain the Impure World Reincarnation, and she told Shizune they would find Jiraiya and expose Root.

Xuanyu visited the imprisoned Jiraiya, teased him about his comfortable stay, and warned him not to forget Reverse Summoning if he ever faced mortal danger. Jiraiya tried to persuade Zhong Kui to reconsider his past, but Tsunade arrived and found him hiding on the floor.

• Xuanyu visited Jiraiya in prison and mocked him for working comfortably behind bars.
• Xuanyu reminded Jiraiya that Reverse Summoning could help him escape danger, but Jiraiya rejected the warning.
• Jiraiya urged Zhong Kui to turn away from darkness and promised to ask the Hokage to investigate his past, but Zhong Kui refused to trust him.
• Tsunade arrived, and Jiraiya tried to hide before sitting up and greeting her.

Tsunade secured Jiraiya’s release from the Uchiha Police Force by guaranteeing he would not peep again, while Xuanyu charged 30,000 ryo. Jiraiya left humiliated by the villagers’ recognition and asked Shizune to buy him a straw hat so he could hide.

• Tsunade asked Xuanyu to bail Jiraiya out, and Xuanyu agreed for 30,000 ryo with a guarantor responsible for Jiraiya’s future conduct.
• Jiraiya refused to leave if Tsunade would share any punishment, but Tsunade made him promise not to peep again and led him out.
• Jiraiya complained that he had paid by the rules and invited Zhong Kui to join him, while Xuanyu said Jiraiya had a mission to carry out.
• Villagers recognized Jiraiya outside the Military Police Force and discussed his arrest and release, leaving him too embarrassed to look up.
• Jiraiya pulled Shizune aside and gave her money to buy him a straw hat, and Shizune scolded him for his behavior.

Tsunade explained that Zhong Kui’s Gravity Domain had summoned the meteorite and urged Jiraiya to reconsider his loyalty to Konoha’s leaders. She took him through the Uchiha-controlled district, where he praised its prosperity and hospital, then suggested they visit the Sarutobi-controlled district.

• Shizune bought Jiraiya a straw hat after Tsunade told her to stop arguing with him.
• Jiraiya argued that Zhong Kui should serve Konoha, but Tsunade said following the Uchiha Clan was a good choice.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya she had witnessed Zhong Kui summon the meteorite with his Gravity Domain.
• Tsunade asked Jiraiya to walk through Konoha with her, and he agreed.
• Jiraiya toured the Uchiha-controlled district, praised its orderly streets and hospital, and then Tsunade proposed visiting the Sarutobi-controlled district.

Jiraiya entered the area under the Sarutobi Police Force’s jurisdiction expecting it to be more prosperous and orderly than the Uchiha territory. He continued to blame the Uchiha for the desolate streets, unaware that Tsunade was leading him toward the truth about the missing people.

• Jiraiya decided to visit the Sarutobi Police Force’s territory while Tsunade and Shizune watched his expectations with concern.
• Tsunade led Jiraiya across the border, where Sarutobi Police Force members stopped him and checked his identity because they suspected he might be an Uchiha impostor.
• After the guards let him pass, Jiraiya praised their discipline and blamed the Uchiha for making them guard the border.
• Jiraiya found the territory quiet and sparsely populated, then imagined that the Uchiha had driven the market away.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya he did not need to wear his straw hat because nobody there would know about his peeping or gossip about him.

Tsunade showed Jiraiya the stark contrast between the Sarutobi-controlled district and the Uchiha-controlled district, forcing him to confront the conditions faced by Konoha’s civilians. After seeing the suffering for himself, Jiraiya was left stunned at Tsunade’s home.

• Tsunade told Jiraiya he did not need to wear his straw hat because people in the area did not know what had happened to him.
• Tsunade led Jiraiya through the bleak Sarutobi-controlled district, where residents seemed hopeless and barely noticed him.
• Jiraiya blamed the Uchiha for the district’s condition, but Tsunade urged him to compare it with the area under Uchiha control.
• Jiraiya saw Sarutobi Police Force members extorting shopkeepers, people searching for missing children, and shuttered shops in the Uchiha-controlled district.
• Tsunade brought Jiraiya home, where she asked how he felt after seeing both territories, and Jiraiya could only ask how things had become this way.

Jiraiya learned from Tsunade that Sarutobi Hiruzen was exploiting villagers and using Impure World Reincarnation, and he began investigating whom the Hokage planned to revive. They suspected the stolen remains had come from Martyrs' Memorial Park.

• Jiraiya realized the Sarutobi Police Force was oppressing villagers, and Tsunade identified Sarutobi Hiruzen as the one behind it.
• Tsunade warned Jiraiya that confronting Sarutobi Hiruzen could get him killed and revealed that people had been disappearing across the area.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Sarutobi Hiruzen's faction had begun using Impure World Reincarnation and explained her investigation of Root's abandoned base and her encounter with Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sarutobi Shuo, and Sarutobi Daqing.
• Jiraiya reasoned that the missing remains would reveal whom Sarutobi Hiruzen meant to revive, and he and Tsunade identified Martyrs' Memorial Park as the likely source.

Jiraiya and Tsunade discovered that Konoha’s powerful dead had been taken for Impure World Reincarnation and vowed to expose Sarutobi Hiruzen and Root. Meanwhile, Orochimaru returned to Konoha as an examinee to target the Sarutobi Clan, and a mysterious Black Flames mark appeared outside his room.

• Jiraiya and Tsunade found that the graves of Nawaki, Dan Katō, Hatake Sakumo, several Hokage, and others had been tampered with, and agreed to investigate Konoha’s disappearances and bring down Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Orochimaru entered Konoha disguised as an examinee with two companions, intending to help the Uchiha Clan destroy the Sarutobi Clan.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen questioned Shimura Danzō about the vanished Impure World Reincarnation summons, and Danzō concluded they had dissipated because their marks were gone and twelve mounds of earth remained.
• Shimura Danzō proposed using Impure World Reincarnation on more dead people, including civilians, to overwhelm the Akatsuki Organization, while Sarutobi Hiruzen objected but did not stop him.
• At night, a wisp of Black Flames appeared by Orochimaru’s room and branded a Flying Thunder God Mark into the air.

Xuanyu examined Orochimaru’s gene-fused body, warned that its incompatible bloodlines would limit its power, and learned Orochimaru planned to use Xuanyu’s cells in a perfected version. Their conversation turned to Orochimaru’s disguise in the exam and Sarutobi Hiruzen’s impending downfall, leaving Orochimaru asking what plan Xuanyu had in mind.

• Xuanyu appeared before Orochimaru and pointed out that his new body contained too many mixed, unstable genes.
• Xuanyu identified Orochimaru’s fused bloodlines and warned that their incompatibility would prevent him from reaching their full potential.
• Orochimaru defended the defective body and revealed he intended to use Xuanyu’s cells around the eyes of his perfected version.
• Orochimaru recalled that Xuanyu’s cells were too powerful to control, so he had explored using them as a connector between Wood Release and Uchiha cells.
• Xuanyu told Orochimaru he did not need to disguise himself as an examinee, and Orochimaru said he wanted to witness Sarutobi Hiruzen’s fall.
• Xuanyu said Hiruzen had no way back after researching Impure World Reincarnation, and Orochimaru asked what plan Xuanyu had in mind.

Xuanyu told Orochimaru how Tsunade had uncovered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s crimes after surviving an ambush by people reanimated with Impure World Reincarnation. Xuanyu planned to drive Sarutobi Hiruzen further into a frenzy and have his disciples expose him, while Orochimaru looked forward to the scheme unfolding.

• Xuanyu told Orochimaru that Tsunade had infiltrated the abandoned Root Base, survived Danzo’s reanimated attackers, and helped Jiraiya after his release.
• Orochimaru agreed that Tsunade and Jiraiya exposing their teacher’s crimes would be a fitting way to disgrace Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Xuanyu told Orochimaru to stay quiet and follow his plan, explaining that Sarutobi Hiruzen needed to be pushed further into madness.
• Orochimaru marveled that Xuanyu had several ways to counter Impure World Reincarnation, including Black Flames that cut off the reanimated bodies’ Chakra supply.
• Xuanyu warned Orochimaru to stay inside for the next few days, but Orochimaru said he still wanted to look around Konoha.

Xuanyu warned Orochimaru not to interfere with Konoha’s coming chaos, while Kakashi told Yuhi Kurenai that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo had kidnapped people as sacrifices for Impure World Reincarnation. Xuanyu then introduced Gaara to Naruto Uzumaki, whose Tailed Beast chakra provoked Shukaku and the Nine-Tails.

• Xuanyu confronted Orochimaru and warned him not to cause trouble before Konoha fell into chaos.
• Kakashi told Yuhi Kurenai that Sarutobi Hiruzen and Danzo were behind the missing persons and were researching Impure World Reincarnation.
• Yuhi Kurenai agreed to wait for Xuanyu to decide how to handle the matter.
• Xuanyu introduced Gaara and Naruto Uzumaki beside a stream, and their Tailed Beast chakra surged when they met.
• Shukaku recognized the Nine-Tails inside Naruto as its enemy, while the Nine-Tails dismissed Shukaku as noisy and weak.

Naruto and Gaara met and recognized their shared loneliness while Xuanyu stayed with them. Later, Sarutobi Hiruzen visited Naruto, gave him money, and urged him to avoid Xuanyu, leaving Naruto confused because Xuanyu was his friend.

• Temari and Kankuro watched Gaara’s unstable Chakra and realized Naruto Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki.
• Anbu and concealed Uchiha guards monitored Naruto and Gaara as they studied each other, exchanged names, and sat with Xuanyu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Naruto and Xuanyu had met Gaara and worried Xuanyu would influence Naruto against him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen visited Naruto, gave him two red envelopes, and asked about his Chunin Exams preparations.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Naruto not to spend time with Xuanyu, and Naruto questioned the warning because Xuanyu was his good friend.

Sarutobi Hiruzen told Naruto that Minato Namikaze was his father and explained how Nine-Tails came to be sealed inside him. He blamed the Uchiha Clan for Naruto’s parents’ deaths and urged Naruto to use Nine-Tails’ power for Konoha, but Naruto questioned the connection to the Uchiha.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen began telling Naruto about his origins and asked whether he knew the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed that Minato Namikaze was Naruto’s father, and Naruto pretended to hear the news for the first time.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen blamed the Uchiha Clan for Naruto’s parents’ deaths and told him to stay away from Uchiha clansmen.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Minato had sealed Nine-Tails inside Naruto and had sacrificed himself during the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack.
• Naruto promised to stop Nine-Tails from escaping, and Sarutobi Hiruzen urged him to control and use its power for Konoha.
• Naruto asked Sarutobi Hiruzen what the Uchiha Clan had to do with the story.

Sarutobi Hiruzen told Naruto Uzumaki that the Uchiha Clan had caused the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack and urged him to stay away from Uchiha Xuan Yu. After Hiruzen left, Naruto questioned Kurama about the attack and ended by asking whether Kurama and Xuanyu had met long ago.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that Madara had summoned and controlled the Nine-Tails during Naruto’s birth, then warned Naruto to avoid the Uchiha Clan and train for the Chunin Exams.
• The Nine-Tails disputed Hiruzen’s account in Naruto’s Spiritual World, saying Madara had nothing to do with the current Uchiha Clan and that Xuan Yu did not need a Tailed Beast.
• After Sarutobi Hiruzen left, Naruto ate his instant noodles and admitted to the Nine-Tails that he did not believe Hiruzen.
• Naruto questioned Kurama about being a Summoning Beast and the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox’s Attack, and Kurama said Madara had controlled him only briefly before he was sealed.
• Naruto set down his noodles and asked Kurama whether he and Xuanyu had met long ago.

Naruto Uzumaki learned from the Nine-Tails that Xuan Yu had protected him rather than schemed against him, and resolved to train hard enough to keep up with Xuan Yu. Sarutobi Hiruzen believed his words had turned Naruto against the Uchiha Clan, while two figures approached Root's abandoned base after nightfall.

• Naruto Uzumaki accused Xuan Yu of using him, and the Nine-Tails confirmed Xuan Yu had met it through Naruto's Mental Space as a child.
• The Nine-Tails explained that Xuan Yu had absorbed its Chakra to keep Naruto from being hindered and had warned it not to target him.
• Naruto questioned how Xuan Yu could be so powerful, and the Nine-Tails revealed that Xuan Yu's Sharingan surpassed anyone else's.
• Naruto accepted that he had misunderstood Xuan Yu and decided to train harder to catch up with him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen watched Naruto's building and believed Naruto had been persuaded to oppose the Uchiha Clan.
• After night fell, two figures quietly approached Root's abandoned base.

Jiraiya and Tsunade investigated Root’s abandoned Experiment Base and reasoned that Sarutobi Hiruzen’s new laboratory was likely hidden in a temporary underground site within Konoha. Jiraiya then learned that Tsunade had seen Akatsuki Qi Tian as much taller than the figure he remembered, leaving him to wonder if his earlier encounter had been with a child or someone using the Transformation Technique.

• Jiraiya joined Tsunade at Root’s abandoned Experiment Base, where they found the remains of the twelve Impure World Reincarnation individuals killed by Akatsuki Qi Tian.
• Jiraiya concluded that Root’s replacement laboratory was probably hidden beneath the Utatane Clan or Mito Clan, perhaps in abandoned underground structures, and proposed secretly watching their entrances.
• Jiraiya called Akatsuki Qi Tian a little dwarf, but Tsunade said Qi Tian had stood taller than her shoulder.
• Jiraiya questioned Tsunade about Qi Tian’s appearance and abilities, and she confirmed that he wore a Monkey Mask, used Space-Time Ninjutsu, and wielded Chakra-absorbing Black Flames.
• Jiraiya wondered whether the Qi Tian he had seen before was a child or had used the Transformation Technique.

Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed Akatsuki Qi Tian’s apparent growth and considered whether he was actually Uchiha Xuan Yu. Jiraiya left convinced that the clues pointed to Xuan Yu, though Tsunade remained doubtful.

• Jiraiya told Tsunade that he had seen Akatsuki Qi Tian years earlier, when Qi Tian was about the size of a young child.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade reasoned that Qi Tian had grown since then, and Tsunade questioned how a child could already use Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Jiraiya suggested that Qi Tian’s height matched Uchiha Xuan Yu’s and pointed out the Akatsuki’s close ties to the Uchiha Clan.
• Tsunade noted that Qi Tian always obscured his eyes with Black Flames, and Jiraiya argued that he was hiding unusual eyes that could reveal his identity.
• Jiraiya concluded that Akatsuki Qi Tian was Uchiha Xuan Yu and that the Gravity Domain user followed Xuan Yu because of his strength.

Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed why powerful shinobi followed Uchiha Xuan Yu, and Jiraiya became more convinced that Xuanyu was Akatsuki Qi Tian. They then investigated the Utatane Clan and discovered its shinobi bringing abducted villagers inside, but Jiraiya stopped Tsunade from intervening so they could expose Sarutobi Hiruzen’s crimes.

• Tsunade told Jiraiya how Xuanyu had gained the loyalty of Senju Hanayu, Zhong Kui, and another Wood Release user, strengthening his suspicion about Xuanyu’s identity.
• Tsunade proposed confronting Xuanyu, but Jiraiya argued that Xuanyu would not reveal the truth unless he chose to.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade decided to investigate the Utatane or Mito clan grounds and hid outside the Utatane Clan.
• Before dawn, five shinobi arrived at the Utatane Clan carrying sacks containing abducted villagers.
• Tsunade tried to rescue the villagers, but Jiraiya restrained her and urged her to wait so they could expose Sarutobi Hiruzen’s crimes.
• The leader of the five shinobi sensed someone watching and turned toward Jiraiya and Tsunade’s hiding place.