Chapter Summaries

Yushu led a growing Konoha force to confront the Hidden Cloud Village and unleashed his Supernova attack on its camp. The attack devastated the camp, but Killer B survived and struck at Yushu as he descended.

• Yushu gathered more Konoha ninjas on the march and reached a hill near the Hidden Cloud camp with about eighteen hundred people.
• Obito warned A about Yushu and gave him a scroll detailing Yushu’s abilities, leading A to take the threat more seriously.
• Yushu flew above the Hidden Cloud camp, demanded the ninjas surrender, and refused A’s offer to join the Hidden Cloud Village.
• Yushu unleashed Supernova, burning the camp and killing most of its occupants while A fled and Killer B shielded some ninjas as the Eight-Tails.
• Yushu exhausted his flame energy and began falling, but used a lighter to slow his descent before Killer B attacked him with a Lariat.

Ren survived the Raikage’s final attack and Obito’s assassination, then ordered the remaining Hidden Cloud Village ninjas released to spread word of Konoha’s victory. He sent Konoha forces to retrieve the prisoners at another camp while he examined the preserved recording.

• A attacked the exhausted Ren, but Ren blocked the Raikage’s final strike with a chain shield, and A collapsed.
• Obito stabbed Ren through the heart, but Ren immediately returned to life, struck Obito with a Judgment Eye, and watched him escape through Kamui.
• Ren realized his Hellfire had improved enough to let him respawn without a long lockout and noted that he had two lives remaining.
• Ren questioned the surviving Hidden Cloud Village ninjas, who were too shocked to respond, and decided to let them return home to spread Konoha’s fame.
• Ren ordered two-thirds of the Konoha forces to bring back the Hidden Cloud Village ninjas from the other camp before lunch, then studied the preserved recording.

Yushu’s forces defeated and captured the Hidden Cloud ninja, while he calculated the rewards and imagined how his victory would reshape the ninja world. As Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha with only his clan’s uninjured ninja, the villagers’ hopes faded and their feelings began to change.

• Konoha ninja captured Dodai’s camp and Yugito Nii, while Uchiha ninja retrieved the Amber Purifying Pot.
• Black Zetsu revived the unconscious Obito with a White Zetsu and briefly considered cooperating with Yushu.
• Yushu released Dodai and a dozen Hidden Cloud ninja to return to Kumogakure and warned Dodai to surrender after choosing a Fifth Raikage.
• Yushu counted the operation’s gains, assessed the weakened state of the other villages and Akatsuki, and fantasized about earning a grand title.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha with only Sarutobi Clan ninja, and villagers searching for their relatives saw their hopes fade.

Yushu’s promotional video spread through the ninja world, shaping other villages’ plans and earning him widespread fame. He was displeased when he learned that Kumogakure’s new epithet for him was “The Red-Eyed Demon of Konoha.”

• Yushu kept Konoha’s ninja helping resettle refugees so the village would hear about his deeds before he returned.
• Rasa focused on Sunagakure’s work, while Yagura and Mei Terumi discussed Kirigakure’s future and Isobu’s freedom.
• Dodai arranged for Darui to become the Fifth Raikage and planned a trip to Konoha after Kumogakure watched Yushu’s video.
• Ōnoki recalled Iwagakure’s forces, prioritized finding Rōshi, and Deidara watched Yushu’s video and began modifying his body.
• Nagato declared that Pain would be the world’s only god, while Black Zetsu reconsidered cooperating with Yushu after questioning Obito’s defeat.
• Yushu learned that the ninja world had adopted Kumogakure’s epithet for him, “The Red-Eyed Demon of Konoha,” and was disappointed by it.

Ren returned to Konoha, learned that Shisui’s eyesight was worsening, and assigned him to lead a merchant association in the Land of Water. He then recruited Kabuto for a secret mission, which began with a vast course of study in the Uchiha library.

• Ren returned to Konoha with the troops and received an enthusiastic welcome before dismissing them.
• Ren asked Shisui about his worsening eyesight, promised to solve the problem, and assigned him to oversee a merchant association in the Land of Water.
• Mitsuba reported that Kabuto had excelled at resolving civilian disputes for the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Ren offered Kabuto a secret mission and gave him a day to decide, but Kabuto immediately accepted.
• Ren handed Kabuto a huge catalog of books and told him to study them in the Uchiha Clan Grounds library.

Ren tested public and ninja reactions to a proposal for ordinary people to handle routine village security and management for the Military Police Force. After hearing their concerns, he decided to propose mixed five-person teams with three ordinary people and two ninja, leaving room to adjust the plan.

• Ren decided to gauge opinion before expanding the Military Police Force and had Qiyue arrange for a newspaper article to raise the idea of recruiting ordinary people.
• Ren and Mitsuba walked through Konoha in disguise and heard villagers express support for ordinary people managing public order, while worrying that they could not handle trouble caused by ninja.
• At an izakaya, Ren listened as ninja debated whether ordinary recruits could safely investigate cases and handle security, with some also expressing interest in joining the Military Police Force.
• After spending the day gathering opinions, Ren concluded that ordinary people alone would be ineffective in the ninja world and settled on five-person teams made up of three ordinary people and two ninja.

Ren expanded the Military Police Force by recruiting Konoha residents and planned new bases around the village. He reviewed the roster for a joint pursuit force targeting Obito, then added several shinobi of his own before preparing to leave Konoha and stir up trouble.

• Ren issued a recruitment notice for a new Military Police Force unit, and residents flooded the application office with forms.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the public enthusiasm grow and resolved to hold on to his remaining power rather than oppose Ren.
• Ren decided to request additional land on Konoha's western and southern sides for Military Police Force bases.
• Ren received and reviewed the Konoha–Kirigakure Joint Pursuit Force document, noting Kakashi, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Kisame Hoshigaki on the rosters.
• Ren added Itachi Uchiha and several Uchiha Clan shinobi to the force, satisfied that the lineup would make future trips out of the village more convenient.

Itachi joined the Konoha Military Police Force to investigate Ren, whom he blamed for provoking wars and disregarding lives. Ren assigned him to the pursuit force and praised him, while Itachi secretly reported back to Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Ren watched through his Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Itachi that Kirigakure's envoys had been killed or captured and ordered him to infiltrate the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Remembering the battlefield and the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Itachi accepted the mission and joined the force after requesting it from Ren.
• Itachi watched Ren celebrated as a hero after Konoha defeated Kirigakure and concluded that Ren pursued fame without caring about lives.
• Ren assigned Itachi to the pursuit force, named himself Itachi's captain, and promised that Itachi could become the next Uchiha Clan head.
• Itachi secretly visited Hiruzen Sarutobi to report, while Ren closed his Mangekyō Sharingan and reflected that Itachi had gone bad before maturing.

Yushu expanded and reorganized the Konoha Military Police Force while preparing to recruit talent for his larger plans. Meanwhile, Darui and the Hidden Cloud Village delegation arrived in Konoha, where Darui reflected on the village’s enduring strength before meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi.

• Yushu completed recruitment for the Konoha Military Police Force, adding five hundred people to form one hundred squads and assigning Uchiha clansmen to study and take on Anbu work.
• Yushu planned to assess the Uchiha clansmen after Nonō trained them, while waiting for the Kirigakure shinobi to arrive so he could seek out talent.
• Darui and the Hidden Cloud Village delegation entered Konoha and walked through its prosperous streets.
• A Hidden Cloud shinobi dismissed Konoha’s strength as dependent on its powerful figures, but Darui argued that Konoha’s repeated generations of geniuses were no mere luck.
• Darui and the delegation reached the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi and others waited to welcome them.

Darui brought a Hidden Cloud Village delegation to Konoha and went straight to the Konoha Military Police Force to find Ren and the captured shinobi. Yugito Nii and the other prisoners had been living in lavish cells with abundant food and entertainment, while Ren used their requests to earn more money.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi welcomed Darui and the delegation, but Darui asked where Minister Ren was and then declined Hiruzen's invitation to talk.
• Darui led the delegation to the Konoha Military Police Force to find Ren and the Hidden Cloud Village prisoners.
• Yugito Nii recalled that Ren had given the prisoners comfortable cells, meals, and entertainment instead of interrogating or recruiting them.
• Yugito Nii initially suspected Konoha was trying to buy her loyalty, but she accepted the treatment after learning every prisoner received the same comforts.
• The Hidden Cloud Village prisoners began requesting lavish meals and entertainment, and Ren profited from fulfilling their demands.

Darui’s delegation reached the Konoha Military Police Force to negotiate peace and recover Kumogakure’s prisoners. Ren secured Kumogakure’s agreement to military compensation and prepared to discuss reparations for the people of the Land of Fire.

• Sasuke Uchiha offered to guide Darui’s delegation through the Uchiha Clan Grounds, while Uchiha ninja discreetly followed them.
• Ren welcomed Darui, Dodai, and the other Kumogakure ninja at the Konoha Military Police Force and asked them to state their purpose.
• Darui requested a peace agreement with the force and a ransom price for Kumogakure’s captured ninja.
• Ren required Kumogakure to acknowledge its invasion and pay the force’s military expenses before discussing further terms.
• Darui reviewed Ren’s demand for Turtle Island and 500 million ryō in military expenses, then agreed on Kumogakure’s behalf.
• Ren moved the negotiations on to compensation for the people of the Land of Fire.

Ren negotiated Kumogakure's compensation for its plunder and secured payment for the captured ninja, loading Darui with enormous debts and labor obligations. Darui left with the prisoners only after signing an installment plan that would burden Kumogakure for years.

• Ren presented Kumogakure with a 20-billion-ryo compensation demand and settled on 2.5 billion ryo, along with trade access and the right to use Turtle Island.
• Ren and Darui signed an agreement declaring their past conflict a misunderstanding and promising future cooperation.
• Ren demanded ransom and living expenses for Kumogakure's captured ninja, then bargained with Darui until he agreed to pay two billion ryo for their release.
• Ren forced Darui to agree to a total of 50 billion ryo in payments, installments, and mission work to offset Kumogakure's debt.
• Darui signed the installment plan and labor arrangement, leaving Kumogakure burdened with repayments for years.

Yushu counted the profits and political gains from the Hidden Cloud agreement, then began recruiting Konoha clans for international trade. Feeling powerless as the village gravitated toward Yushu, Hiruzen Sarutobi wrote to Jiraiya, Tsunade, the Daimyo, and Asuma in hopes of changing Konoha’s course.

• Darui took Yugito Nii and the Hidden Cloud ninja back, resolved to put them to work, and left with a heavy debt.
• Yushu tallied his profits, supplies, ransom, trade access, and use of Turtle Island, while keeping the Amber Purifying Pot and deciding to recruit Utakata to scout.
• Yushu invited Konoha’s clans to join his international ventures for a commission, and most eagerly prepared to go.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, feeling powerless as the village turned toward the Konoha Military Police Force, wrote to Jiraiya and Tsunade and offered to resign for either of them.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent letters to the Daimyo and Asuma, beginning an exchange with the Daimyo and asking his son to return.

Ren met Kirigakure’s newly arrived team and persuaded Zabuza to take an active role in the Joint Pursuit Force. Afterward, Ren thought of Kabuto, who replaced his old glasses and returned to studying.

• Ren went to the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi introduced Zabuza and Hozuki Mangetsu as Kirigakure’s representatives.
• Ren praised Zabuza and asked him to identify weaknesses in the pursuit force, prompting Zabuza to commit to staying and helping the team.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Ren to keep the young Hozuki Mangetsu and Itachi Uchiha from receiving excessively dangerous missions, and Ren agreed.
• Ren left the Hokage Building and thought of Kabuto after seeing Hozuki Mangetsu.
• Kabuto retired the glasses Nonō had given him, put on a new pair, and resumed studying.

Ren brought the Konoha and Kirigakure ninja together for introductions before preparing them to depart on their mission. The two groups sized each other up, and Ren ended the gathering by ordering them into ranks and leading them out.

• Ren gathered the Konoha and Kirigakure ninja at the Military Police Force and gave them time to meet.
• Kakashi and Zabuza silently judged each other and both decided to test the other's strength.
• Itachi and Hozuki Mangetsu mistook each other for burdened clan prodigies and exchanged sympathetic looks.
• Kisame reflected on Obito's claim to be Madara Uchiha, his dream of a new world, and his assignment to watch Itachi.
• The Konoha and Kirigakure ninja traded boasts, while the Konoha ninja repeatedly answered that they had Ren.
• Ren ordered the ninja to form ranks for the mission, and the two villages lined up separately before moving out.

Ren split his forces to pursue Akatsuki recruits and set his sights on Sasori, the puppet-maker who had been gathering corpses from the battlefield. After discovering Sasori had infiltrated Konoha's camp, Ren brought Konoha's and Kirigakure's elites to capture him.

• Ren created a Shadow Clone to lead the ninja toward Kirigakure while his original body headed for the Land of Earth to recruit talent.
• Sasori collected Kirigakure ninja corpses from the battlefield, hoping to turn them into puppets.
• After Kirigakure lost the war, Sasori found its camp destroyed and its corpses ruined, then tried to infiltrate Konoha's camp for more materials.
• White Zetsu warned Sasori not to provoke Uchiha Yushu, so Sasori waited until Ren left before infiltrating Konoha's camp.
• Ren noticed that corpses had disappeared and recognized Sasori through Shinato, then brought Konoha's and Kirigakure's elites to confront him.

Ren’s Shadow Clone used a fabricated link between stolen corpses and the mysterious person to persuade the gathered ninjas to investigate, while secretly preparing to track Sasori. The search teams dispersed, and Kakashi summoned Pakkun to sniff out Sasori’s trail.

• Sasori heard that the Hidden Cloud Village had been defeated and stayed in his hidden cave, where he resumed making figurines.
• An Uchiha Clan ninja told Ren’s Shadow Clone that corpses had gone missing from the camp and claimed the mysterious person might be stealing Sharingan and other benefits from them.
• The ninjas debated the theory, then agreed to investigate the corpse theft, while Kakashi and Itachi privately suspected Ren had another motive.
• Ren’s Shadow Clone split the ninjas into search teams and kept Kakashi and Zabuza with him as the others set out.
• Kakashi summoned Pakkun, who agreed to track Sasori after Ren’s Shadow Clone addressed him.

Deidara perfected Explosive Clay and was secretly sent by Ōnoki to live outside Iwagakure, where he continued making art and watching Ren’s videos. Ren headed toward Kusagakure to investigate Karin, while Orochimaru wandered the village with Haku, whose talent for learning surprised him.

• Deidara completed the modifications to his hands and began testing Explosive Clay, causing daily explosions that disrupted Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki announced that Deidara had been imprisoned but secretly moved him to a house outside the village, where Deidara continued developing his art.
• Ren watched his recording, prepared to attract Deidara with a performance, and traveled toward the Land of Grass.
• Ren remembered Karin’s situation in Kusagakure and changed direction to observe her after dealing with Deidara.
• Orochimaru wandered Kusagakure with Haku and realized that Haku’s learning ability might rival Kabuto’s.

Pakkun tracked Sasori to a cave, where Kakashi and Zabuza prepared to fight while Yushu’s Shadow Clone withdrew to summon reinforcements. Sasori emerged in his Hiruko puppet, but his excitement at finding new materials turned to alarm when he saw Uchiha Yushu.

• At the Shadow Clone’s instruction, Pakkun searched for a scent of metal or wood and found a trail leading toward a cave.
• Sasori processed a stolen corpse in the cave, then sensed approaching Konoha ninja and packed his work into scrolls.
• Pakkun led Kakashi, Zabuza, and the Shadow Clone to the cave, where the Shadow Clone moved away to prepare a signal flare.
• Sasori appeared at the cave entrance inside Hiruko, and Kakashi and Zabuza took battle stances.
• Sasori welcomed the prospect of turning Kakashi and Zabuza into puppets, then reacted in shock when he spotted Uchiha Yushu.

Orochimaru overheard Kusagakure villagers discussing a woman whose body could heal them by being bitten, then discovered that the weakened Uzumaki Qina was being exploited while her daughter Karin was targeted for ninja training. After killing two Kusagakure ninja outside Qina’s home, Orochimaru confronted Ren, who emerged and greeted him.

• Orochimaru took Haku to a restaurant after hearing his stomach growl, where villagers discussed the healing benefits of biting a woman at the hospital.
• Orochimaru suspected the woman possessed an Uzumaki ability to share life force and decided to investigate after nightfall.
• Uzumaki Qina warned Karin not to refine chakra, while Karin innocently hoped her mother would play with her again.
• Two Kusagakure ninja outside Qina’s house plotted to take Karin for testing, and Orochimaru killed them.
• Orochimaru called out to a hidden observer, and Ren appeared to greet him as a senior.