Chapter Summaries

Obito recovered from the growth in his ocular power and learned that Cloud Village might attack Mist Village while Konoha was distracted by the Uchiha Clan. He and Zetsu discovered that talk of choosing a new Hokage stirred Danzo from his unconscious state, and Danzo declared himself Hokage.

• Obito arrived at the Graveyard of Mountains and saw that Danzo’s Wood Release modifications had left him a failed experiment.
• Zetsu told Obito that Jiraiya and Orochimaru were in Konoha, Tsunade had joined Natsuki, and Itachi and Shisui had returned to Sound Village.
• Zetsu reported that Cloud Village was probing Mist Village and suspected the Uchiha Clan had allied with Cloud Village.
• Obito decided Akatsuki could exploit the coming conflict to collect Tailed Beasts and provoke wider war.
• Obito and Zetsu tested Danzo by mentioning the Hokage selection, and Danzo opened his eyes halfway and declared, “This old man is the Hokage.”

Obito and Zetsu experimented on Danzo, using a Sharingan and Hashirama cell solution to trigger further changes in his body. In Konoha, Kakashi continued working with Orochimaru on cultivating an eye and grew curious about Orochimaru’s masked bodyguard, Number One.

• Zetsu discovered Danzo’s body was slowly fusing with Hashirama Cells, and Obito ordered him to investigate.
• Obito had Zetsu implant one of Danzo’s removed Sharingan, which let the cell erosion continue farther across Danzo’s body.
• Obito ordered Zetsu to infuse Danzo with diluted Hashirama raw cell solution and stayed behind to observe the experiment.
• Orochimaru told Kakashi that cultivating a replacement eye would take one to two months and advised him to remain in Konoha for monitoring.
• Kakashi noticed that Orochimaru’s masked bodyguard, Number One, watched him often and felt strangely familiar, but he could not identify him.

Cloud Village uncovered Mist Village’s weakness and prepared to attack, prompting Zetsu to persuade Pain to intervene for the Akatsuki’s profit and an early start to its plan. Nagato and Konan, who already knew the Tailed Beast plan was a lie, decided to coordinate their intervention with Natsuki.

• Cloud Village’s spies discovered that Mist Village had lost its Jinchuriki, most of its ninja swords, and nearly all its Kekkei Genkai clans, so the Fourth Raikage A and the Land of Lightning’s daimyo began preparing for war.
• Zetsu contacted Pain and urged him to exploit the coming conflict, claiming the Akatsuki could earn enough to begin its plan early; Pain agreed to send someone to negotiate with Mist Village and told the organization to prepare.
• Obito told Zetsu he would keep watch over Danzo and go to the Land of Water after dealing with him.
• Nagato told Konan that Zetsu had urged the Akatsuki to join the war, and Konan noted that they were already planning to do exactly that with Natsuki.
• Nagato asked Konan to take the war information to Natsuki along with the ring and clothes, and to find out when the Akatsuki should intervene.

Anko reported Orochimaru and Kabuto to the Third Hokage and learned that Orochimaru was secretly working for Konoha. As war between Cloud Village and Mist Village approached, Natsuki coordinated with Konan and warned her to prepare for Obito’s possible betrayal, then began discussing an escape plan for her and Nagato.

• Anko told the Third Hokage that Kabuto had admitted he was Orochimaru's man and that her Curse Mark had been removed, and the Third Hokage ordered her to keep the matter secret.
• Natsuki observed Konoha's tense calm as Itachi and Shisui left for the Cloud Village front lines and Cloud Village prepared to attack Mist Village.
• Konan met Natsuki, gave him an Akatsuki ring marked "Sora" and a set of robes, and reported that Zetsu was urging Akatsuki to intervene in the war.
• Natsuki warned Konan that Obito might betray Nagato and her, advised them to prepare for Mist Village's request for aid, and gave Konan a box that could help him locate her.
• Natsuki asked Konan whether she and Nagato had planned an escape route, then unfolded her paper crane and handed her a pen.

Cloud Village launched a surprise invasion of Mist Village with Two-Tails Yugito and Eight-Tails Killer Bee, forcing Mist Village to retreat and prepare guerrilla resistance. As Mei Terumi sought support and unified the village’s factions, Natsuki considered the war’s wider consequences while Uchiha reinforcements stayed hidden.

• Cloud Village used Yugito and Killer Bee to seize a foothold on the islands, inflicting heavy losses on Mist Village and landing an advance force of roughly two hundred shinobi.
• Mei Terumi ordered Mist Village to avoid direct confrontations, use guerrilla tactics, and concentrate most of its forces on Twin Islands while she sought outside support.
• Yugito told Itachi, Shisui, and Yōya that Mist Village seemed to lack a Jinchuriki, while Shisui warned her that guerrilla resistance and unrevealed strength could still pose a threat.
• Natsuki received a report through Itachi’s Summoning Technique and concluded that Mist Village was trying to limit casualties and hold Cloud Village at Twin Islands until reinforcements arrived.
• Mei Terumi agreed to lead Mist Village through the crisis after its factions united behind her, recognizing her as their leader if they survived Cloud Village’s attack.

Mei Terumi sought outside help after stabilizing the Land of Water, while Stone Village withheld its decision and Konoha heard Mist Village’s plea. Ao then asked Natsuki to name the price for Uchiha troops, after Natsuki exposed how dire Mist Village’s situation was.

• Mei Terumi released eligible Mist Village prisoners to fight for redemption and cracked down on crime in the Land of Water.
• Mei Terumi requested aid from Stone Village and sent Chojuro to Konoha, while Ao secretly went to meet Natsuki.
• Ōnoki chose to wait and see rather than accept or refuse Mist Village’s request.
• Chojuro told the Third Hokage that Cloud Village had landed using the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, and Orochimaru privately signaled that Konoha would not send aid.
• Natsuki told Ao that Utakata had defected, the Fourth Mizukage and Isobu were dead, and Mei Terumi could not stop the Raikage or the jinchuriki.
• Ao asked Natsuki what Mist Village would have to pay for Uchiha troops to rescue it.

Natsuki negotiated Akatsuki’s intervention in Mist Village’s war against Cloud Village in exchange for islands, while Orochimaru plotted against the Uchiha Clan. Natsuki then traveled with Ao and Chojuro under the alias Hibaku, revealing the organization’s name as Akatsuki.

• Natsuki offered Ao three levels of Akatsuki support, with payment ranging from five hundred million to four billion, and proposed islands as compensation.
• Ao asked Natsuki to send someone to relieve the pressure while Mist Village considered ceding territory, and Natsuki agreed to take charge.
• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that Shisui, Itachi, and the other Uchiha had disappeared, then revealed he planned to give the Uchiha restaurant recipes to the Daimyo.
• Chojuro returned from meeting the Third Hokage without an agreement and rejoined Ao, who was waiting with Natsuki disguised as Hibaku.
• Natsuki assured Ao that Akatsuki members would soon join the battle and told him the organization’s name.

Akatsuki prepared to attack Cloud Village forces landing in the Land of Water and agreed to follow Hibaku, who had negotiated the mission. On the way to the battlefield, Hibaku revealed his Mist Village disguise and took over powering the boat, greatly increasing its speed.

• Pain assigned Akatsuki members to kill Cloud Village personnel landing in the Land of Water, with Hibaku temporarily leading them until Pain and Konan arrived.
• Konan identified Hibaku as an official Akatsuki member who wore the Sky Ring, quieting Zetsu's objection to taking his orders.
• Hibaku, Ao, and Chojuro reached the Land of Fire shore, where Ao launched a small boat powered by Water Release techniques.
• After Ao and Chojuro struggled to maintain the boat's speed, Hibaku showed Ao a slashed Mist Village forehead protector and claimed he was no longer from the village.
• Hibaku used Water Release: Water Fang to drive the boat far faster than Ao and Chojuro had managed, while Ao activated his Byakugan to watch for obstacles.

Cloud Village continued its offensive against Mist Village as Stone Village prepared for war and monitored the battlefield. Yugito killed a Mist squad, while Hibaku, Ao, and Chojuro reached the Land of Water ahead of schedule.

• Ōnoki contacted Uchiha Natsuki after Konoha delayed Stone Village’s request to cross the Land of Fire, and Natsuki told him to prepare for changes on the Land of Water battlefield.
• Yugito attacked Junpei’s Mist Village squad, whose members tried to escape through the Hidden Mist Technique.
• Yugito killed Ooji and wounded Kasisen and Junpei, while Kasisen sacrificed himself with Explosive Tags that barely injured her.
• Yugito killed Junpei and ended her Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
• Hibaku brought Ao and Chojuro close to the Land of Water in two days, then rested while Chojuro quietly used Water Release.

Natsuki reached the Land of Water and advised Nagato on improving the Six Paths’ tactics and extending their control range. They agreed that Nagato should focus on weakening Cloud Village’s forces rather than confronting its strongest fighters directly.

• Natsuki contacted Nagato and said he had arrived in the Land of Water, while Nagato told him that he and Konan would arrive in fifteen days.
• Natsuki and Nagato agreed to delay telling Obito that the Three-Tails was dead until the Akatsuki Organization had lost some members.
• Natsuki advised Nagato to conceal and reposition several of the Six Paths, keep the Naraka Path protected, and send only the Preta and Deva Paths to the front.
• Natsuki suggested using the black rods as repeaters to extend Nagato’s control range, and Nagato said the idea needed testing.
• Natsuki persuaded Nagato to focus on weakening Cloud Village’s fresh forces instead of fighting the Raikage and the two jinchuriki directly.

Natsuki, acting as Hibaku, organized the Akatsuki members into a plan to stall Cloud Village’s advance and target its Jinchuriki. Meanwhile, Yugito returned to the stronghold on Lu Ming Island and clashed with Uchiha Yōya as she prepared to attack another island.

• Nagato told Natsuki that Konan had evacuated many Amegakure villagers after receiving his funding.
• Pain introduced Hibaku as the mission’s preliminary commander, and the Akatsuki members reported when they could reach the battlefield.
• Hibaku assigned Deidara and Sasori to harass Cloud Village’s vanguard, Zetsu to locate the Jinchuriki, Kakuzu to target Yugito, and himself and Juzo Biwa to face Killer B.
• Yugito returned to the Lu Ming Island stronghold covered in blood and began planning an attack on the next island.
• Yōya mocked Yugito for her condition, and she retorted that he was better off staying in the stronghold than getting caught in a trap.

Natsuki, disguised as Hibaku, persuaded Mei Terumi to choose Akatsuki’s plan to drive Cloud Village away by inflicting enough losses to deter future attacks. After reviewing new system missions, Natsuki learned that Mist Village remained vulnerable even if it won, while Cloud Village’s vanguard advanced toward Twin Islands.

• Ao gave Hibaku a flying-vessel scroll and led him into the Land of Water, where Natsuki met Mei Terumi two days later.
• Hibaku assured Mei Terumi that Akatsuki would work before taking payment and could keep killing Cloud Village troops until they retreated for five years.
• Mei Terumi chose Akatsuki’s most expensive third method and ordered Ao to share Mist Village’s intelligence with Hibaku.
• Natsuki discovered a mission to strengthen opponents and an updated Mist Village mission warning that the village lacked successors and a Jinchuriki to deter other powers.
• Ao briefed Hibaku on Cloud Village’s deployment as Yugito and Killer B’s forces split up to capture the two islands of Twin Islands.

The Cloud Village forces advanced cautiously across Tsuren Island as Sasori and Deidara launched attacks using intelligence supplied by Natsuki, disguised as Hibaku. Yugito rushed to aid Samui's ambushed team but was trapped in Natsuki's massive Water Release techniques, leaving her to unleash a surge of Chakra underwater.

• After three days of slow progress, Yugito led a mobile strike force while Samui's and C's teams continued scouting, and Itachi considered letting the Cloud Village's first assault make some gains.
• Sasori and Deidara divided their assignments: Deidara flew to bomb the Cloud Village stronghold, while Sasori ambushed a squad led by Samui.
• Sasori's Sand Iron Drizzle killed three Cloud Village shinobi and wounded seven, prompting Samui to fire a distress flare as Sasori declared that no reinforcements would arrive.
• Yugito saw the flare and hurried back, but Ao, two Mist Village Anbu, and Natsuki disguised as Hibaku confronted her.
• Yugito charged, but Natsuki raised a Water Wall and trapped her and the Mist Village shinobi inside an enormous water sphere with his Water Release.
• Natsuki's Water Dragon Bullet caught Yugito as she tried to escape, and she unleashed violent Chakra that churned the water around her.

Yugito escaped Hibaku after transforming into Matatabi, while Kisame raced toward the Land of Water. On Tsuren Island, Sasori overwhelmed Samui, Karui, and Omoi with the Third Kazekage’s iron sand, leaving Karui gravely wounded and the Cloud shinobi in danger.

• Yugito transformed into Matatabi and launched a fireball at Ao and the other Mist shinobi, but Hibaku blocked it with his water dragon.
• Yugito disappeared before Hibaku could capture her, and he concluded that she had been stalling for time to support her companions.
• Kisame rode a shark across the sea toward the Land of Water after detouring around the Cloud Village fleet.
• Samui, Karui, and Omoi destroyed Hiruko, but Sasori counterattacked with the Third Kazekage puppet and its poison and iron sand.
• Sasori’s Iron Sand World Order pierced Karui and knocked Omoi’s sword away, leaving the three Cloud shinobi in a perilous position.

Sasori retreated after Yugito rescued Samui, Karui, and Omoi, while Deidara attacked the Cloud Village outpost with explosive clay. Yugito returned to the outpost and confronted Deidara, who escaped the destruction of his C2 Dragon and continued evading her attacks on a Clay Giant Bird.

• Yugito drove Sasori away from Samui's team, then treated the wounded Karui and led the survivors back toward the outpost.
• Yugito and the others saw massive explosions erupt from the Cloud Village outpost but continued their withdrawal because Sasori might still be nearby.
• Deidara used Clay Spiders and a C2 Dragon to attack the outpost, killing many Cloud Village ninja despite C's efforts to defend them.
• Yugito arrived in Tailed Beast Transformation and destroyed Deidara's C2 Dragon with tracking blue-flame projectiles.
• Deidara escaped on a Clay Giant Bird and dodged Yugito's Fire Rat Balls as the Cloud Village ninja attacked from below.

Deidara devastated a Cloud Village outpost with his explosives before Yugito killed his apparent flying escape. The surviving Cloud ninja learned their attackers belonged to Akatsuki, while Deidara revealed he had escaped and reunited with Sasori to prepare for another attack.

• Deidara dropped a C3 bomb on the Cloud Village outpost, killing forty-seven people and injuring thirty before Yugito and C disrupted his attacks.
• Yugito struck Deidara’s flying bird with a Tailed Beast Bomb, and she believed he had been killed in the explosion.
• Shisui, Itachi, and Yōya returned after the battle, and Shisui told Yugito that the attackers belonged to an organization called Akatsuki.
• Deidara emerged from the ground unharmed and traveled to meet Sasori, who had also withdrawn after encountering Yugito.
• Sasori decided to wait three to four days while he repaired his puppets and they waited for more intelligence from Hibaku.

After Cloud Village’s vanguard suffered heavy losses in the Land of Water, Mei Terumi considered a counterattack while the ninja world watched the conflict. Meanwhile, the Land of Fire’s daimyo celebrated the opening of Orochimaru’s Central Factory, and Ōnoki received Natsuki’s intelligence about Deidara and agreed to let the Uchiha Clan capture him.

• Cloud Village treated its wounded and paused its advance, while Mei Terumi used the respite to consider a plan to make the invaders pay.
• News of Cloud Village’s defeat spread, and Stone Village recalled some of its ninja as the other villages watched the tense battlefield.
• The Land of Fire’s daimyo learned that Orochimaru’s Central Factory had begun producing food products and ordered the first month’s profits delivered to Orochimaru.
• Natsuki’s Shadow Clone sent Ōnoki a report describing Deidara’s role in Akatsuki and his attacks on Cloud Village.
• Ōnoki agreed that the Uchiha Clan could capture Deidara, while waiting to learn what Uchiha Natsuki was plotting.

Deidara and Sasori were ambushed during their mission on Tsuren Island, and Natsuki and Itachi captured Sasori after disabling his puppet defenses. The chapter left Natsuki and Itachi fleeing the poisoned battlefield with Sasori, his damaged puppets, and the unopened Hundred Puppet Technique scroll.

• Sasori and Deidara planned to intercept two Cloud Village squads, splitting up to attack separate locations.
• Shisui used a line about art to lure Deidara into view and knocked him unconscious with Genjutsu.
• Natsuki and Itachi ambushed Sasori at the basin entrance, combining fire attacks against his Third Kazekage puppet and poisonous water scroll.
• Sasori prepared to use the Hundred Puppet Technique, but Itachi's Susanoo attack blasted apart half of Sasori's puppet body.
• Natsuki sealed Sasori's living core, gathered Sasori and the damaged puppet and scroll, then escaped with Itachi.

Natsuki captured Sasori and Deidara and headed back to the Land of Fire, leaving Shadow Clones disguised as Akatsuki members to cover their absence. He used the Curse Mark to replenish his Chakra and drove the Sea Flying Boat at full speed, with both prisoners secured.

• Natsuki read the updated Stone Village mission, which required finding a successor for Ōnoki, and decided Deidara could be a suitable choice.
• Natsuki took Sasori's Jade Character Ring and Deidara's Blue Character Ring, then left three Shadow Clones to impersonate Akatsuki members while he returned with the prisoners.
• The Shadow Clones planned to report Sasori dead and Deidara escaped, but Shisui said Yugito already believed she had killed Deidara, so they decided not to mention him.
• Natsuki restrained Deidara, took his Explosive Clay and Storage Scrolls, and sealed away his Chakra before placing him aboard the Sea Flying Boat with Sasori.
• Natsuki activated his Curse Mark to sustain his Chakra and used Water Fang to propel the boat toward the Land of Fire.

Zetsu discovered that Mei Terumi and Mist Village’s elite shinobi were secretly preparing an underwater formation to ambush Hidden Cloud’s fleet. He also learned that Yagura was dead and Isobu would be resurrected, leaving him to decide whether to tell Obito.

• Zetsu searched Mist Village and found that Mei Terumi, Utakata, and Karatachi Yagura were missing, while the village’s defenses were undermanned.
• Zetsu followed Mei Terumi’s trail into the sea and found more than two hundred Mist shinobi setting up a formation on the seabed.
• Mei Terumi learned that Hidden Cloud’s fleet would reach the area in about six days and discussed Akatsuki’s attacks and members with an Anbu.
• Mei Terumi ordered Ao to ask Hibaku’s group to help find Utakata and instructed her shinobi to watch Chishima Lake for Isobu’s resurrection.
• Zetsu overheard that Yagura was dead and Isobu would be resurrected, then considered whether to inform Obito immediately.