Chapter Summaries

Fugaku revealed himself to Itachi and confronted him over deceiving his family, then accepted that Itachi would leave on a new mission. Xuanyue brought Itachi to the Ninja Academy's back mountain, where Ren called him up the mountain.

• Itachi recognized Fugaku beneath his disguise and confirmed that Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Fugaku accused Itachi of deceiving him and admitted he had been an unqualified father and clan head.
• Fugaku told Xuanyue he had no objections, and Xuanyue ordered Itachi to follow her on a new mission.
• Itachi left without looking back as Mikoto tearfully clung to Fugaku, who reconsidered Ren's prediction about Sasuke.
• Xuanyue led Itachi to the back mountain of the Ninja Academy, and Ren told him to come up the mountain.

Ren forced Itachi to accept a mission to infiltrate the organization connected to the mysterious ninja, then used the apparent killing of Sasuke to provoke Itachi into awakening his Mangekyō Sharingan. Itachi’s eyes transformed as he was overwhelmed by grief and rage.

• Itachi reached the mountain and found Ren beside an unconscious Sasuke.
• Ren told Itachi that Sasuke’s fate depended on him and offered to make Sasuke his disciple if Itachi accepted a mission.
• Itachi agreed to infiltrate the organization linked to the mysterious ninja and gather intelligence as a rogue ninja of Konoha.
• Ren gave Itachi intelligence about the organization and explained that the Mangekyō Sharingan awakened through experiencing and losing love.
• Ren stabbed Sasuke with a flaming sword, and Sasuke and the boulder beneath him vanished in white light.
• Itachi saw Sasuke apparently die, lost control of his emotions, and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Ren tested Itachi's Mangekyō techniques, absorbing and controlling Amaterasu before taking over most of the ocular power behind Tsukuyomi. Itachi became trapped in a Tsukuyomi world Ren had reshaped and could neither restore nor escape.

• Itachi used Amaterasu on Ren, who tested his ability to control the flames and absorb their heat.
• Ren discovered that absorbing Amaterasu's heat drained Itachi's ocular power, then extinguished the flames when Itachi's right eye began turning white.
• Itachi cast Tsukuyomi on Ren, who enveloped its ocular power with his own and replaced most of it while preserving the technique's core.
• Inside Tsukuyomi, Itachi found that Ren had changed the world into a realistic mountaintop scene in daylight.
• Ren flew away, leaving Itachi unable to restore the world or end Tsukuyomi without paying an unbearable ocular power cost.

Ren explored the limits of his Tsukuyomi and observed Itachi Uchiha’s version before the illusion ended. After testing Itachi’s resolve, Ren sent him to become Konoha’s rogue ninja and then addressed someone hidden nearby.

• Ren discovered that his Tsukuyomi covered only Konoha and a small surrounding area, and that a blood-red moon marked the boundary to a cramped inner world.
• Ren spent more than fifty hours observing Itachi Uchiha’s Tsukuyomi before the illusion shattered and they returned to the outside world.
• Ren tested Itachi by making him believe he had pierced Sasuke Uchiha, confirming that Sasuke remained his weakness despite Itachi’s composure.
• Ren asked whether Itachi would accept becoming a rogue ninja hated by his former comrades and family, and Itachi solemnly agreed.
• Ren instructed Itachi to leave Konoha later that night and avoid revealing himself to anyone except Fugaku.
• After Itachi left, Ren called for the hidden person and said he had sent Konoha’s two strongest ninjas to them.

Ren questioned Black Zetsu about the relationship between Itachi's Tsukuyomi and the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Black Zetsu explained that the Infinite Tsukuyomi extended Tsukuyomi into a limitless illusion, and Ren asked how much ocular power it consumed.

• Black Zetsu emerged from the ground and asked Ren if he had used White Zetsu to provoke a child into awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Ren asked Black Zetsu how Tsukuyomi related to the Infinite Tsukuyomi and described his experience inside Tsukuyomi.
• Black Zetsu concluded that Tsukuyomi and the Infinite Tsukuyomi shared the core idea of creating an illusory world within the heart.
• Black Zetsu explained that the Infinite Tsukuyomi could affect infinitely many targets and let them experience an unlimited, perfect life.
• Ren asked Black Zetsu about the Infinite Tsukuyomi's ocular-power consumption.

Ren sent Black Zetsu away and returned home for an ordinary family dinner. Meanwhile, Kurenai kept watch over the injured Asuma, and Sasuke received rare praise from Fugaku while Itachi stayed away on a mission.

• Black Zetsu explained that activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi required becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, and Ren sent him away after their conversation.
• Ren returned home, where Takuma and Mina had prepared dinner, and the family of four ate together.
• Kurenai watched over the unconscious Asuma at Konoha Hospital, unable to sleep.
• Sasuke showed Fugaku and Mikoto his perfect test paper, and Fugaku praised him while telling him Itachi was on a mission.
• Fugaku exchanged a silent gaze with a crow outside the window, and the crow transformed into a human before leaving.

Konoha reacted to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s defection with widespread gossip, while Ren reviewed public and shinobi reactions. The chapter ended with Ren reading a conversation that condemned the Sarutobi Clan and called Hiruzen’s time as Hokage Konoha’s darkest era.

• Konoha residents learned from newspapers and Voice of Konoha that Hiruzen Sarutobi had defected, then eagerly gossiped about the news.
• Ren reviewed public discussions that criticized Hiruzen, praised Asuma, and further damaged the Sarutobi Clan’s reputation.
• Ren read shinobi reports that focused on Hiruzen and Asuma’s battle and questioned whether Hiruzen had held back.
• Ren found a shinobi conversation arguing that he had been too lenient with the Sarutobi Clan and calling Hiruzen’s rule Konoha’s darkest era.
• Ren saw the familiar names of the conversation’s participants.

Ren reassigned Ebisu from tutoring Konohamaru to teaching history and the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy, saving him from the Sarutobi Clan’s downfall. Ebisu accepted the position with renewed enthusiasm and gratitude toward the Fifth Hokage.

• Ren reviewed Ebisu’s background and decided to give the commoner ninja a chance to serve Konoha rather than fall with the Sarutobi Clan.
• Ren wrote instructions for Ebisu’s reassignment and ordered them carried out immediately.
• After multiple screenings and interviews, Ebisu received an offer to teach at the Ninja Academy.
• Ebisu read that he would teach history and the Will of Fire and could earn promotion through strong performance.
• Ebisu eagerly accepted the new path and thanked the great Fifth Hokage.

After learning that Itachi had defected, Izumi sought out Fugaku to ask whether there was a hidden reason. Fugaku told her Itachi had been the Third Hokage’s spy all along, leaving Izumi devastated and desperate to believe that some part of their relationship had been genuine.

• Izumi took tedious errand jobs to keep herself from thinking about Itachi, but a clansman suggested she ask Fugaku what had happened.
• At home, Fugaku watched Mikoto comfort a distraught Sasuke, whose special training he decided to cancel for the day.
• Izumi visited Fugaku and asked whether there was a hidden truth behind Itachi’s defection.
• Fugaku apologized to Izumi and revealed that Itachi had been the Third Hokage’s spy, deceiving his family and everyone around him.
• Izumi remembered her moments with Itachi and searched for even a small sign that his feelings for her had been real.

Izumi relived a lifetime with Itachi in her mind, from their first meeting through their old age, and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. She agreed to accompany Fugaku to meet the clan head the next morning.

• Izumi revisited memories of Itachi, then entered a memory of their childhood and introduced herself to him.
• Izumi imagined a lifetime spent with Itachi, including their years together as Hokage and their final days as great-grandparents.
• After Fugaku's words left Izumi blank, she smiled and awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Fugaku recognized Izumi's transformation and regretted that she could no longer become his daughter-in-law.
• Izumi agreed to accompany Fugaku to meet the clan head the next morning.

Fifth Hokage Ren told Izumi that Itachi was on a secret mission and would eventually return, then assigned her a mission to pursue him. Izumi accepted and revealed that her dojutsu was called Izanami.

• Fugaku brought Izumi to Ren at the Hokage Tower, where Ren dismissed Fugaku and spoke with her alone.
• Ren claimed Itachi was not truly a rogue ninja and had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan while secretly watching Izumi before leaving.
• Motivated by Ren's story, Izumi asked when Itachi would return, and Ren offered her a mission to pursue him.
• Ren gave Izumi the scroll for pursuing rogue ninja Itachi Uchiha, and she accepted the assignment as a Special Jōnin.
• Ren asked about Izumi's dojutsu, and Izumi told him it was called Izanami.

Ren tested Izumi’s Izanami, discovered how its looping genjutsu worked and how it could be broken, then learned that her right eye also held Izanami with an effect on the material world.

• Ren sent Izumi the memories of his examination and asked her to explain how her dōjutsu differed from the clan records.
• Izumi said she had used her left-eye Izanami, which could activate through replicated physical sensations and could be set to create loops and conditions.
• Ren asked Izumi to use the technique on him, and he experienced repeated loops of writing the character for fire.
• Ren tested ways to escape the loop, but it restarted until he followed Izumi’s instruction to write the character with his left hand.
• Izumi explained that her right eye also held Izanami and affected the material world, while her left eye affected the spiritual world.

Izumi demonstrated that her right-eye Izanami could force even an almost impossible event to happen, though using it badly damaged her eye. Ren realized the technique could also alter tiny habitual actions, and decided to personally train Izumi before her pursuit mission.

• Ren asked Izumi to demonstrate her right-eye technique, and she made a kunai leave only a tiny mark in the office floor despite appearing to pierce it.
• Izumi explained that her pupil power could make any possible event happen, then suffered severe bleeding and fading vision in her right eye.
• Ren dismissed Izumi’s belief that her techniques were weak and postponed her rogue-ninja pursuit mission to arrange special training.
• Ren began writing a training document, then changed his mind and told Izumi he would personally guide her instead.
• After Izumi left, Ren discovered that the technique had made him instinctively write with his left hand, and he struggled to restore his usual right-handed habit.

After news spread that Hiruzen Sarutobi had defected from Konoha, Nagato decided to recruit him into Akatsuki while the other great ninja villages reacted with suspicion and caution. Ren remained confident that Akatsuki would accept the story and that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha would eventually join.

• Nagato decided to have Zetsu monitor Hiruzen Sarutobi and recruit him into Akatsuki, while Black Zetsu questioned how easily events were going.
• Obito suspected Hiruzen Sarutobi's escape was suspicious but, after speaking with Black Zetsu, chose not to warn Nagato.
• Rasa ordered Sunagakure's border troops to prevent Hiruzen Sarutobi from entering the Land of Wind.
• Ōnoki spread news of Hiruzen Sarutobi's defection and praised Iwagakure, while Darui returned his attention to Kumogakure's affairs.
• Mei Terumi ordered Kirigakure to publicly help Konoha pursue Hiruzen Sarutobi, but told her subordinates to avoid conflict if they found him.
• Ren believed Akatsuki would accept the defection story and that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha would join in time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha traveled through the Land of Fire and into the Land of Grass, hoping to attract the Akatsuki’s attention. When two Akatsuki members ambushed them, Itachi sensed a third nearby, who revealed himself with a greeting.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha disguised themselves as grandfather and grandson and traveled through the Land of Fire to draw out interested forces.
• Nagato let Kakuzu pursue Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Itachi drew little notice from most of the shinobi world.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi crossed into the Land of Grass and continued traveling through the rain.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi detected an ambush and called out the two hidden Akatsuki members, Hidan and his companion.
• Itachi sensed someone else nearby, and the newcomer greeted Hiruzen Sarutobi, Itachi, and the two Akatsuki members.

Orochimaru interrupted the confrontation between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha and Kakuzu and Hidan, then targeted Itachi while Kakuzu took on Hiruzen. The battle erupted into a chaotic clash of ninjutsu, with Hiruzen and Itachi coordinating against their opponents.

• Orochimaru revealed himself and asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to hand Itachi over to him.
• Kakuzu agreed to fight Hiruzen while Orochimaru targeted Itachi, but Hidan declared that Orochimaru was his target and threw his scythe at him.
• Kakuzu attacked Hiruzen and Itachi with Lightning Release: False Darkness, while Hiruzen countered with Wind Release: Air Current and Itachi added Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique.
• Orochimaru dodged Hidan's scythe and lunged at Itachi with his extending neck as Kakuzu used combined wind-and-fire ninjutsu against Hiruzen and Itachi.
• Hiruzen trusted Itachi to handle Orochimaru and countered Kakuzu's water attacks with Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Itachi, and their Akatsuki opponents held back while testing one another, until Hidan’s attack and Orochimaru’s preparations changed the battle. Hiruzen and Itachi tried to stop Orochimaru, but three coffins marked First, Second, and Fourth rose before him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakuzu traded ninjutsu while both held back, and Itachi briefly trapped Orochimaru with a Sharingan genjutsu.
• Hidan attacked Orochimaru and Itachi with his scythe, breaking Itachi’s control and cutting Orochimaru’s face.
• Orochimaru focused on Itachi, while Itachi assessed the battlefield and recognized that Orochimaru was preparing to get serious.
• Orochimaru began a summoning as Hidan prepared a sacrifice, prompting Kakuzu to retreat and Hiruzen to stop fighting.
• Hiruzen and Itachi threw ninja tools at Orochimaru, but the coffins marked First, Second, and Fourth rose and blocked their attacks.

Orochimaru recovered from Hidan’s attack and prepared to use Impure World Reincarnation, while Kakuzu fled after recognizing one of the figures being summoned. Haku activated a vast ice barrier around the battlefield, trapping Kakuzu as he left the seal behind.

• Itachi shared his conclusion about Hidan’s technique with Hiruzen, while Kakuzu tried to retreat with Hidan.
• Orochimaru reappeared from a mass of snakes and mocked Hidan before preparing another technique.
• Orochimaru began summoning three figures with Impure World Reincarnation, and Kakuzu fled after recognizing one of them.
• Haku poured chakra into a pre-inscribed formula as the coffins vanished, then raised a huge ice dome around the battlefield.
• Kakuzu’s Lightning Release failed to damage the ice barrier, and Haku left without looking back.

Pain stopped monitoring Orochimaru’s group and headed toward the battlefield, where the revived Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Raikage A awakened. Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that Orochimaru had summoned them with the forbidden Impure World Reincarnation, while Tobirama remained confused and Hashirama’s remarks embarrassed him.

• A White Zetsu reported that Orochimaru’s subordinates had activated a sealing barrier, and Pain decided they were unimportant and left for the battlefield.
• Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Raikage A awakened after being summoned, while Itachi Uchiha recognized them and Hidan showed no interest.
• Raikage A realized he was under Orochimaru’s control and watched silently, while Tobirama asked Hiruzen Sarutobi whether another war had begun.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi apologized for disturbing the First Hokage and Tobirama Senju, explained that Orochimaru had used the forbidden technique, and said the war had ended.
• Hashirama Senju praised Orochimaru and mistook Itachi for Hiruzen Sarutobi’s disciple, prompting Tobirama Senju to shout at his brother to shut up.

Orochimaru revealed that Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha were Konoha missing-nin, prompting Hashirama and Tobirama to question Hiruzen. Hiruzen asked why Tobirama had established the Konoha Military Police Force, and Tobirama’s explanation left Hiruzen reconsidering the Senju-Uchiha balance and the Wood Release experiments.

• Orochimaru identified Hiruzen Sarutobi as an S-rank missing-nin and Itachi Uchiha as an A-rank missing-nin of Konoha.
• Hashirama Senju asked Hiruzen what had happened, while Tobirama Senju questioned why his former Hokage had become a missing-nin.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Tobirama why he had established the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Tobirama Senju explained that the force was meant to test a possibility involving the risks of placing too much power in one person’s hands.
• Tobirama Senju asked whether the current Hokage belonged to the Uchiha Clan, and Hiruzen’s reaction revealed the answer.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi inferred that Tobirama had expected powerful shinobi to emerge from both the Senju and Uchiha Clans, then recalled the Wood Release experiments with regret.