Chapter Summaries

Ōnoki agreed to let Akatsuki act against Konoha only when Iwagakure gave notice, while Kakuzu chose to betray Akatsuki by warning Ren about Nagato’s plans. Ren realized Nagato was preparing to move and decided he would deal with the threat without targeting an uninvolved tailed-beast host.

• Ōnoki reached an agreement with Kakuzu that Akatsuki would act only after Iwagakure gave notice.
• Kakuzu chose Konoha over Akatsuki because of his profitable partnership with Ren and told Ren that Nagato intended to attack Konoha.
• Kakuzu warned Sasori to keep the information secret, and Sasori agreed because his needed materials depended on their business.
• Ren connected Nagato’s plans to the start of Akatsuki’s tailed-beast operation and considered targeting Rōshi before rejecting the idea.
• Ren calmed himself and decided that Nagato needed to be disciplined rather than answered by killing an unrelated tailed-beast host.

Ren used Akatsuki as a pretext to summon Konan to the Hokage Building and attempted to probe her with a genjutsu. After she resisted, he sealed and silenced her, then called for Shisui.

• Ren decided to beat Nagato into recognizing his limits without killing him, and planned to use a plausible excuse to reach him.
• Ren summoned Konan, disguised as Amegakure jonin Bai Rong, to the Hokage Building and questioned her about Akatsuki.
• Ren claimed Akatsuki was recruiting missing-nin, including Orochimaru and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and asked whether Amegakure was connected to it.
• Ren tried to catch Konan with a Sharingan genjutsu, but she dispelled it with the ocular power Nagato had placed in her.
• Ren sealed Konan so she could not move or speak, then called for Shisui.

Ren brought Konan into the Land of Rain with Shisui, intending to confront the organization he believed threatened peace. Konan summoned the Six Paths of Pain, and Ren and Shisui began their attack, leaving the battle underway.

• Ren carried Konan into the Land of Rain with Shisui after loosening her seal during their transfers.
• Konan broke free and summoned Preta Path Pain, after which the other Paths appeared and assembled into the Six Paths of Pain.
• Nagato, controlling Deva Path Pain, asked what had happened, and Ren accused the Akatsuki and Amegakure of threatening the ninja world's peace.
• Ren ordered Shisui to capture Konan alive while he handled the others, and Shisui attacked her from behind using a Flying Thunder God mark.
• Shisui severed one of Konan's paper wings, but she detonated explosive tags to deflect his second slash.

Shisui pressed Konan with sword attacks while Ren tested Pain’s abilities and destroyed the Preta Path. The distracted fighters left the battle stalled as Ren prepared a massive fireball overhead.

• Shisui avoided Pain’s Shinra Tensei and resumed attacking Konan with his sword, aiming to drain her chakra.
• Ren sent fireballs at the Six Paths of Pain, and the Preta Path absorbed one before Ren’s fire destroyed it completely.
• Nagato lost contact with the Preta Path and suspected that Ren’s Fire Release had an unusual property.
• Ren transformed into Human Torch and formed a blazing white fireball above himself while the battle continued at a standstill.

Nagato intervened in Shisui and Konan’s fight, forcing Shisui to withstand a coordinated assault from the Six Paths of Pain and badly damaging his Susanoo. Ren took over the battle, but Nagato’s Super Shinra Tensei stopped Ren’s Susanoo fist and shattered it, exposing Ren’s magma-like body.

• Shisui overwhelmed Konan until Nagato summoned the Animal Path’s beasts and the other Paths to attack him from every direction.
• Shisui used Susanoo to protect himself from the coordinated assault, but the impact cracked it and left him bleeding from his eyes.
• Ren, angered by Nagato’s interference, told Shisui to retreat and attacked Pain with Hellfire and his fourth-form Susanoo.
• Nagato had the other Paths hurl the Deva Path toward Konan, and Shisui used Flying Thunder God to escape Ren’s incoming fist.
• The Deva Path used Super Shinra Tensei to halt Ren’s Susanoo and shatter its right fist, revealing Ren’s body beneath it.

Ren captured Konan and removed her from the battle before facing Deva Path Pain alone. Nagato’s Planetary Devastation pulled Ren toward it, but Ren countered with Supernova and destroyed it, leaving Nagato furious and unable to accept defeat.

• The Animal Path recalled the Human Path as Ren’s fire rain destroyed the Asura Path, the Naraka Path, and several summoned beasts.
• Ren used a chain to capture Konan, sealed her chakra, and sent Shisui to take her away from the battlefield.
• Deva Path Pain rose to confront Ren and used Planetary Devastation to pull him toward a black point.
• Ren fired Supernova into Planetary Devastation and destroyed it in a massive explosion.
• Nagato watched through Deva Path Pain’s eyes and wondered how a god could fail.

Ren defeated Pain and found Nagato’s hidden body, then declared that Konoha would spare Nagato and Konan if Akatsuki stopped disrupting peace in the ninja world. Nagato rejected Ren’s words as hypocritical, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Ren decided to pursue Nagato’s real body after defeating Pain, rather than pretend he was exhausted.
• Ren found Nagato in a cave with the Human Path and Animal Path.
• Ren mocked Nagato and declared that Konoha would return Konan unharmed and tolerate Akatsuki only if it stopped disrupting peace.
• Nagato asked why Ren had spared him, and Ren called him weak and dismissed his promise to become stronger.
• Nagato accused Ren of not understanding peace and condemned Konoha’s role in wars that had harmed smaller nations.

Ren challenged Nagato’s belief that inflicting pain could bring peace, using the history of the shinobi world to argue that the great nations had already maintained peace through repeated wars. He left Nagato’s worldview shaken while claiming that Nagato’s own ideals proved Ren’s methods were right.

• Nagato explained that people needed to experience pain to understand peace, and that he would make the world feel pain again whenever it forgot.
• Ren applauded Nagato and claimed their ideas and methods were in agreement.
• Ren argued that the great shinobi villages had repeatedly brought peace by making the world suffer through wars, and said he could not let Akatsuki destroy that peace.
• Nagato objected that great nations inflicted pain on small nations, but Ren pressed him on whether his own plan would also harm innocents.
• Ren reminded Nagato that the Second Shinobi World War had brought suffering to the Land of Rain and called Nagato one of the sacrifices, then praised him as a peace-loving shinobi who shared their ideals.

Ren challenged Nagato’s beliefs and invited him to join Konoha’s effort to bring peace, then left him alone with his doubts. Ren freed Konan and offered her the choice of returning to Konoha for the Chunin Exams or going back to Amegakure.

• Ren told Nagato that the balance among the five great nations was preferable to relying on one person for peace, and invited him to work with Konoha.
• Ren promised that Konoha’s support could help the Land of Rain become the sixth great nation, but Nagato remained silent and troubled.
• Ren left the cave, while Nagato stared at a small stone and struggled with the darkness in his thoughts.
• Ren met Shisui and Konan, assured them that his conversation with Akatsuki had been pleasant, and removed Konan’s seals.
• Ren offered Konan the choice of returning to Konoha to lead her team in the Chunin Exams or going back to Amegakure.

Konan returned to Nagato after Ren left and found him hollowed out by doubt. She reassured him by pretending to be strong, and Nagato embraced her as the two leaned on each other without Yahiko.

• Konan chose to return to her village, then flew back to the battlefield and found Deva Path Pain lying motionless.
• Konan called Nagato, and he regained focus, guided Pain toward the cave, and summoned her there.
• Konan recognized that Ren had visited Nagato and entered the cave to find Nagato's eyes empty and lifeless.
• Nagato asked Konan whether he had been wrong all along, and she told him that she and Yahiko had always believed in him.
• Nagato embraced Konan for the first time in years while Konan silently cried.

After losing to Ren, Nagato put Akatsuki’s tailed-beast plan on hold and reclaimed five of the Rinnegan’s Six Paths abilities, leaving the Deva Path for Yahiko’s identity. Ren returned to Konoha, where Black Zetsu confronted him after realizing the battle had derailed his plan to save his mother.

• Nagato told Konan what Ren had said, then decided to postpone Akatsuki’s attack on Konoha and the capture of the tailed beasts until he became stronger.
• Nagato reclaimed five of the Rinnegan’s Six Paths abilities but kept the Deva Path so he could continue pursuing Yahiko’s dream in Yahiko’s identity.
• Ren returned to Konoha with Shisui, went to the Hokage’s Office, and later headed home while his guards watched over the village on missions.
• Black Zetsu learned from White Zetsu that Nagato had fought Ren and afterward had stopped making moves toward capturing the tailed beasts.
• Black Zetsu confronted Ren as Uchiha Yushu and angrily asked why he was obstructing Akatsuki.

Ren confronted Black Zetsu over delaying the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan and argued that capturing the tailed beasts too soon would cause war. Black Zetsu backed down from their standoff but remained unhappy as Ren promised to wait for a better moment.

• Ren rejected Black Zetsu's aggressive demands and threatened to end their cooperation, leaving Black Zetsu stunned.
• Black Zetsu backed down and asked whether Ren intended to abandon the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan.
• Ren insisted that the plan would continue, but argued that capturing the tailed beasts now would bring war and make the timing wrong.
• Black Zetsu focused on Ren's chest as if considering an attack, but sensed danger and looked away; Ren stayed alert for Black Zetsu's heart-piercing move.
• Black Zetsu argued that capturing the tailed beasts would inevitably start a war, and Ren replied that choosing the right timing could minimize the damage.

Ren told Black Zetsu that Konoha would wait until it could safely separate tailed beasts before carrying out the Infinite Tsukuyomi, protecting the jinchuriki from being sacrificed. Black Zetsu agreed outwardly but left determined to remove Ren, whom he saw as the greatest obstacle.

• Ren outlined a plan to gather the nine tailed beasts in groups and activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi before the villages could react.
• Ren told Black Zetsu that Konoha needed one to five years to develop a safe way to separate tailed beasts and that the jinchuriki should be spared.
• Black Zetsu accepted Ren's reasoning while both men concealed their disgust and then hurried away from each other.
• Ren returned home and ate dinner with Takuma and Mina while Natsuri remained at her exam.
• Black Zetsu emerged from underground in the Land of Fire and resolved to find a way to deal with Ren, whom he considered his greatest obstacle.

As the second Chunin Exam neared its end, teams from several villages reached the tower while Iwagakure and Kumogakure fought a brutal pursuit battle. Ren watched Natsuri, Naruto, and Sasuke treat the exam like an outing until news arrived that Ōnoki had been spotted outside Konoha.

• Konoha merchants and an underground gambling den drew crowds as everyone waited for the second exam’s final results.
• Deidara, Kabuto, and Jūgo became the first team to qualify, followed by teams from Kirigakure and Sunagakure.
• Iwagakure’s eleven jōnin hunted Kumogakure’s lone team, while other villages also entered the exam with unusually experienced ninja.
• Ren noticed that too many teams had passed and accepted that a preliminary round would be needed.
• Ren watched Natsuri, Naruto, and Sasuke hide from danger, forage, and cook together instead of seeking fights.
• Ren stopped monitoring the exam after learning that Ōnoki had been spotted outside Konoha.

Ren publicly welcomed Ōnoki to Konoha and turned their meeting over Deidara into a highly visible diplomatic event. Ōnoki arrived surrounded by representatives from other villages and was photographed with Ren, leaving the negotiations yet to begin.

• Ōnoki waited outside Konoha, wary of Ren and concerned about his own safety.
• Ren decided to settle Deidara’s situation publicly rather than negotiate with Ōnoki in private.
• Ren announced across Konoha that Ōnoki should come to the main gate for an official welcome.
• Ōnoki flew down before Ren and a crowd of Konoha officials and representatives from other villages, and the two Kage tested each other’s presence.
• Ren held Ōnoki’s hand while Konoha ninja took photographs, capturing Ōnoki’s instinctive discomfort with being publicly exposed.

Ren escorted Ōnoki through Konoha while making him endure a humiliating public reception, then clashed with him in the Hokage Building. The chapter ended with Ren ordering Ōnoki seized after the Tsuchikage began releasing chakra.

• Ren pointed Ōnoki toward Konoha's gates and walked him through the village as photographers and onlookers followed.
• Konoha villagers watched Ōnoki pass and appeared disappointed by him, angering the Tsuchikage.
• After they reached the Hokage Building, Ōnoki accused Ren of trying to start a war with Iwagakure.
• Ren slammed the table and threatened that Ōnoki would not leave Konoha if he wanted war.
• When Ōnoki released his chakra, Ren ordered the staff to take him down, and seals in the room activated.

Yushu confronted Ōnoki over Deidara’s defection to Konoha, admitting he had brought Deidara from the Land of Earth and rejecting Iwagakure’s claim to him. He used Susanoo to warn Ōnoki against threatening Konoha, leaving the Tsuchikage shaken and trying to calm himself.

• Yushu released Ōnoki from his crushing pressure after Ōnoki pleaded that Iwagakure had come in goodwill.
• Yushu claimed Deidara had joined Konoha after a chance meeting, but Ōnoki rejected the explanation and demanded his disciple back.
• Ōnoki threatened war over Iwagakure’s inheritance, prompting Yushu to admit he had taken Deidara from the Land of Earth.
• Yushu said Deidara belonged to Konoha, dismissed Iwagakure’s inheritance as unimportant, and warned Ōnoki not to threaten war again.
• Yushu activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo, then set Ōnoki back in his chair and asked if he understood.
• Ōnoki recalled facing Madara and tried to steady himself after Yushu withdrew his power.

Ōnoki and Uchiha Yushu negotiated over Deidara after Yushu refused to return him to Iwagakure. Deidara stayed in Konoha, while Ōnoki received copies of his explosive techniques and secretly planned to use Akatsuki against Konoha.

• Ōnoki considered Yushu’s motives and concluded that Konoha valued Deidara himself more than Iwagakure’s legacy.
• Ōnoki and Yushu apologized for their earlier words before arguing over Deidara’s fate.
• Ōnoki threatened to ruin Yushu’s reputation, and the two agreed that Deidara would remain in Konoha while Iwagakure received copies of his techniques and kept the matter confidential.
• Yushu gave Ōnoki the original scrolls for C1 through C4 and the envisioned C0.
• Ōnoki realized he could use the scrolls to develop an Earth Release technique and planned to contact Akatsuki to arrange further abductions.

After the second exam, Ren announced that eight teams had qualified and arranged preliminary matches to narrow the field for the third exam. The candidates gathered the next morning, where Ren introduced Akimichi Choza as chief examiner, leaving the rules yet to be explained.

• Ōnoki left Konoha after settling an important matter, and Ren soon announced the second exam results.
• Three Konoha teams, one Hidden Sand team, one Kirigakure team, one Hidden Cloud team, and two Hidden Stone teams qualified; Kabuto helped Natsuri's team pass by giving them a scroll.
• Ren decided that the twenty-four successful candidates would compete in preliminaries before the third exam and informed the other village leaders.
• The next morning, Ren welcomed the candidates and explained that only preliminary-round winners would advance to the third exam.
• Ren introduced Akimichi Choza as chief examiner, who was about to explain the preliminary rules.

Konoha began the third-round preliminaries of the Joint Chūnin Exams while Ōnoki failed to persuade Kakuzu to resume Akatsuki’s mission against Konoha. As Ōnoki headed back to Iwagakure, Black Zetsu intercepted him and offered to help him deal with Konoha.

• Chōza explained the match rules, and the first preliminary match began between Tenten and Kurotsuchi.
• Kurotsuchi defeated Tenten and secured the first place in the third round as the other matches were announced.
• Ōnoki asked Kakuzu to expand Akatsuki’s mission and offered Iwagakure’s secret assistance, but Kakuzu said Akatsuki would take no Konoha-related missions for the time being.
• Ōnoki left after Kakuzu refused to change his mind, then was attacked on his way back to Iwagakure.
• Black Zetsu appeared before Ōnoki and offered to help him deal with Konoha.