Chapter Summaries

Natsuki arranged a fight between Deidara and Yōya, who defeated Deidara by exploiting his weaknesses with lightning techniques. Natsuki then used Katsura’s Sharingan to knock Deidara unconscious, leaving Deidara’s argument about art unanswered.

• Natsuki told Yōya Deidara’s intelligence and arranged for them to fight.
• Yōya dodged Deidara’s clay bombs and destroyed his spiders and grasshoppers with lightning-charged attacks.
• Deidara trapped Yōya in a pit and attacked with clay birds, but Yōya escaped and destroyed Deidara’s flying owl with a Lightning Spear.
• Deidara tried to self-destruct, but Yōya pierced him with another Lightning Spear, revealing that he had attacked a clay substitute.
• Natsuki brought out Katsura, whose Sharingan hypnotized Deidara and made him collapse.

Obito learned that Akatsuki had lost members and that the Three-Tails had died, then set out to target Itachi and Shisui. Pain learned of the losses and ordered Zetsu to monitor the Uchiha Clan while he prepared to arrive.

• Zetsu reported that Hibaku might be a Mist Village agent, the Uchiha Clan had secretly dealt with him, and Kakuzu could no longer be contacted.
• White Zetsu told Obito that Karatachi Yagura and the Three-Tails were dead, and Obito learned that Shisui and Itachi were on the battlefield.
• Obito ordered Zetsu to protect Danzo and vanished, apparently intending to add Itachi's and Shisui's Sharingan to the Storage Room.
• A White Zetsu reported that most of the Hyuga Clan in Konoha had been infected by the Spore Technique and that Hyuga Kaito was close to being assimilated.
• During an Akatsuki meeting, Zetsu reported Kakuzu and Hidan's deaths and the Uchiha Clan's attack, while Sasori and Deidara said they were recovering their resources.
• Pain learned that the Mist Village Jinchuriki and Three-Tails were dead, ordered Zetsu to monitor the Uchiha Clan, and disconnected without learning where Obito had gone.

Natsuki brought the unconscious Deidara to meet Ōnoki at the Land of Fire border and arranged a private talk high above the ground. He asked the Tsuchikage to keep the Stone Village from attacking the Cloud Village, warning that the Cloud-Mist battle would end within half a month.

• Natsuki's Uchiha group set out with the unconscious Deidara and reached the border, where Ōnoki and Stone Village forces were waiting.
• Natsuki proposed a private conversation, and Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi recognized Deidara before Ōnoki scolded them.
• Natsuki suggested that he and Ōnoki fly up to talk, and Ōnoki used the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique to lift him into the air.
• Natsuki told Ōnoki that the Cloud-Mist battle would end within half a month and asked the Stone Village to refrain from attacking the Cloud Village in return for Deidara.

Natsuki persuaded Ōnoki to postpone attacking Cloud Village by revealing that Mist Village had set a trap for the Raikage’s forces. He then offered to help Ōnoki turn Deidara into a disciplined student and successor, leaving Ōnoki intrigued by his proposed method.

• Natsuki told Ōnoki that Cloud Village’s invasion of Mist Village was a trap and urged Stone Village to wait before attacking.
• Ōnoki agreed to delay Stone Village’s attack after Natsuki assured him Cloud Village would suffer crippling losses.
• Natsuki asked Ōnoki about choosing a successor and suggested Deidara could become Earth Shadow if properly disciplined.
• Ōnoki admitted Deidara had great talent but was too willful and wasted his gifts.
• Natsuki told Ōnoki he could make Deidara behave, learn Dust Release, and become Ōnoki’s successor.

Natsuki negotiated an alliance with Ōnoki, offering the Uchiha Clan’s wealth in exchange for Iwagakure’s help reclaiming islands ceded by Mist Village. Ōnoki agreed to provide the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique after Natsuki helped resolve Deidara’s situation, and they prepared to test Natsuki’s plan to make Deidara obedient.

• Natsuki told Ōnoki that the Uchiha Clan planned to leave Konoha and seek an alliance with Iwagakure.
• Natsuki showed Ōnoki the islands Mist Village would cede and offered to pay Iwagakure to send shinobi to reclaim and develop them.
• Ōnoki agreed to help establish the Uchiha Clan’s base and promised Natsuki the Ultra-Light-Weight Rock Technique after Deidara’s matter was settled.
• Natsuki gave Ōnoki a prepared scroll explaining how to make Deidara obey, and Ōnoki agreed to try the plan.

Itachi and Shisui left Cloud Village’s stronghold after supplying Samui with Explosive Tags, then shared battlefield intelligence with Nagato and Kisame. Kisame passed a deployment map to Mist Village to slow its attack, while concealing the Raikage’s early arrival; Mist Village prepared to assault Cloud Village’s position.

• Shisui gave Samui stacks of Explosive Tags and told her to use them to delay Mist Village, while he and Itachi went to gather intelligence.
• Itachi contacted Nagato and reported Stone Village’s plans, Mist Village’s likely attack, and the Raikage’s approach; Kisame joined the meeting and agreed to work under Nagato.
• Itachi instructed Kisame to tell Mist Village about Cloud Village’s traps and buy time for the Two Jinchuriki without revealing the Raikage’s arrival.
• Kisame told Ao that Konoha might allow Stone Village to cross its territory, then warned that the Uchiha would return to prevent it and handed over Cloud Village’s deployment map.
• Ao took the map to Mei Terumi as Mist Village prepared its attack on Cloud Village’s stronghold.

Ōnoki and Natsuki staged a battle to show Deidara the power and beauty of Dust Release. After Ōnoki defeated Natsuki’s Susanoo, Deidara reconsidered his clay explosions and wondered whether Dust Release was the art Natsuki had told him about.

• Ōnoki and Natsuki descended and ordered Stone Village and the Uchiha Clan to drive spies away from the area.
• Deidara woke up tied among Uchiha Clan members and learned that Ōnoki had come to fight for him.
• Ōnoki used Dust Release to destroy Natsuki’s Susanoo, then Natsuki raised a fifty-meter armored Susanoo and attacked.
• Ōnoki summoned a rock golem to hold off the Susanoo and erased it with Dust Release: Detachment of the World Technique.
• Natsuki conceded defeat and agreed to hand Deidara over, while Uchiha Yōya and the others praised Dust Release and criticized Deidara’s clay bombs.
• Deidara remembered how Lightning Release countered his clay and began to see Dust Release as the art Natsuki had described.

After Uchiha Natsuki and Ōnoki clashed at the border, Stone Village reclaimed Deidara and withdrew while the Uchiha Clan stayed on the Land of Fire side. Ōnoki revealed that he intended to teach Deidara Dust Release, while the Third Hokage viewed the Uchiha Clan’s exposure as a success and awaited the Cloud Village–Mist Village clash.

• Scouts watched the distant battle between Uchiha Natsuki and Ōnoki, then saw Stone Village retreat and the Uchiha Clan hold the Land of Fire border.
• Takuya returned the bound Deidara to Ōnoki under their agreement, and Stone Village withdrew into the Land of Earth.
• Ōnoki demonstrated Dust Release to Deidara and revealed that he had rescued him to pass on the technique.
• Deidara followed Ōnoki to the training ground after learning that Ōnoki had planned to teach him Dust Release.
• The Third Hokage learned that the Uchiha Clan had been exposed at the border and looked ahead to the Cloud Village–Mist Village clash.

Ōnoki used Dust Release to impress Deidara and persuade him to return to Stone Village to learn it. Meanwhile, Natsuki received rewards for changing Ōnoki’s and Deidara’s paths, and Obito tracked Itachi and Shisui after they left Cloud Village’s outpost.

• Ōnoki destroyed Deidara’s C3 Number Eighteen and repeatedly blasted apart his clay flying mounts with Dust Release.
• Ōnoki slowed Deidara’s fall, then taunted him that his art could never surpass Dust Release; Deidara insisted he would learn it before Ōnoki died.
• Deidara agreed to learn Dust Release, and Ōnoki secretly celebrated that his plan to bring Deidara back to Stone Village had worked.
• Natsuki’s Shadow Clones vanished after leaving the Blue Character Ring and Jade Character Ring behind, and Natsuki received Dust Release: Limit Removal Technique and Earth Style C0: Self-Destruction as rewards.
• Itachi and Shisui delivered intelligence to Kisame, then stealthily headed toward the coast as they waited to be summoned back.
• Obito used White Zetsu’s information to learn that Itachi and Shisui had left Cloud Village’s outpost and began searching for them.

Shisui and Itachi were ambushed by Obito, but Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and they escaped the cave with Natsuki’s help. Natsuki confronted Obito and provoked him into attacking, revealing that he and Itachi were ready for Obito’s Kamui; the fight remained unresolved.

• Obito ambushed Shisui and Itachi in a cave, but Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and used Susanoo to blast open an escape route.
• Itachi trapped Obito in Tsukuyomi, but Obito broke free and evaded Itachi’s fire and shuriken while Shisui prepared a reverse summon.
• Natsuki arrived through Shisui’s reverse summon and told Shisui to contact Katsura so he could be summoned away while Natsuki and Itachi faced Obito.
• Natsuki taunted Obito about posing as Uchiha Madara and his feelings for Rin Nohara, provoking Obito to attack with Kamui.
• Obito’s attempt to twist Natsuki away was interrupted by Amaterasu, which Obito blocked with Susanoo before retreating and demanding to know how Natsuki understood his Sharingan.

Natsuki and Itachi kept Obito trapped in a close-range battle on Tsuren Island while Natsuki waited for the gathered forces to arrive. Obito then summoned a seventy-meter Susanoo, making the clash visible across the island.

• Obito rejected Natsuki's claim that the Uchiha Clan had awakened Mangekyō Sharingan before Madara, then attacked Natsuki and Itachi with Wood Release.
• Natsuki used Susanoo to shield himself and Itachi while Obito countered Amaterasu with his own Susanoo.
• Natsuki and Itachi coordinated their blade attacks, denying Obito an opening to become tangible and warning that his intangibility would not last forever.
• Natsuki revealed that scouts from several forces had arrived on Tsuren Island, including Ibiki's Konoha squad, and that the battlefield was ready.
• Obito manifested a complete, seventy-meter blue-green Susanoo armed with enormous shuriken, which could be enhanced with Kamui.

Natsuki and Itachi fought Obito with their Susanoo, drawing out his Kamui attacks before Natsuki unleashed Ame-no-Murakumo-Shiki. The clash shattered both Susanoo and sent Natsuki and Obito flying, while Itachi collapsed unconscious.

• Itachi and Natsuki manifested their Susanoo and blocked Obito’s shuriken, with Itachi revealing the Yata Mirror.
• Obito empowered his shuriken with Kamui, but Natsuki shoved Itachi aside to spare him and both men lost parts of their Susanoo while deflecting the attack.
• Itachi summoned the Totsuka Blade and struck at Obito’s Kamui shuriken, but the weapon was swallowed by its vortex.
• Itachi collapsed from exhaustion, and Natsuki used the opening to charge Obito with Ame-no-Murakumo-Shiki.
• Natsuki’s blade collided with Obito’s Kamui shuriken, and the resulting space-power explosion shattered both Susanoo and hurled the fighters away.
• Ibiki Morino observed that both Natsuki and Itachi’s eyes bled from Mangekyō use as the unconscious Itachi lay nearby.

Natsuki defeated Obito with Susanoo's Eye and brought the unconscious Itachi back to the Uchiha Clan Compound for treatment. The chapter left Sasuke rushing to the hospital after learning that Itachi had been grievously wounded.

• Natsuki used Susanoo's Eye to track Obito through the Kamui Dimension and struck the sea with Ame-no-Murakumo-Shiki, leaving Obito incapacitated.
• Natsuki pretended to suffer eye damage before carrying the unconscious Itachi away and using Healing Power to stabilize him.
• Natsuki sent a message by crow, then returned with Itachi to the Uchiha Clan Compound through the Reverse Summoning Technique.
• Natsuki ordered Iori to notify Fugaku, Mikoto, and Sasuke, and to send a copy of the message to Room Number One.
• Iori woke Sasuke and told him Itachi was seriously injured, prompting him to rush to the hospital.
• After Iori placed the message in Room Number One, a snake took the scroll and vanished.

After Obito ambushed Natsuki and Itachi, Tsunade treated Itachi at the Uchiha Hospital while Natsuki watched Sasuke’s reaction. Meanwhile, Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that the Mangekyō Sharingan’s eyesight cost made the Uchiha Clan vulnerable, and asked him to cooperate.

• Natsuki brought a bloodied, unconscious Itachi to the Uchiha Hospital after Obito ambushed them, and Tsunade began treating him.
• Mikoto, Fugaku, and Sasuke arrived; Tsunade assured them that Itachi’s life was not in danger, and Natsuki told them Obito had attacked.
• Natsuki observed Sasuke’s anger and fear, hoping they would stimulate his mental energy and awaken his Sharingan, but saw little change.
• Orochimaru told the Third Hokage that Natsuki had fought Obito in the Land of Water and that Itachi was grievously wounded.
• Orochimaru claimed the Mangekyō Sharingan caused its users to lose their eyesight and argued that the Uchiha Clan would not dare resist; he asked the Third Hokage to cooperate with him.

Natsuki waited at the hospital while Itachi recovered from overexertion and severe eye damage, then reflected on his plans to strengthen his abilities. When Itachi woke, Natsuki told him that his vision had deteriorated and began explaining his condition.

• Natsuki used Genjutsu to put Sasuke to sleep, sent Iori to take him home, and ordered Shisui to keep his forces stationed in the Land of Four Nations.
• Tsunade told Natsuki that Itachi was out of danger but that his eyes had deteriorated severely, and she left to rest.
• While waiting beside Itachi, Natsuki trained his Susanoo in a Dream Simulation and considered his plans for mastering Sage Mode and Chakra Nature Transformation.
• Itachi woke with severe pain and blurred, doubled vision, and Natsuki told him that he could no longer see people clearly.

Sasuke learned that Itachi’s eyes were nearly blind, and his grief awakened his Three Tomoe Sharingan as Natsuki promised to seek a way to restore Itachi’s sight. Meanwhile, Mist Village prepared an assault on the Cloud Village stronghold before reinforcements arrived.

• Sasuke rushed to the hospital and learned from Tsunade that Itachi could barely see and could no longer fight.
• Itachi comforted Sasuke with a forced smile, and Sasuke awakened his Three Tomoe Sharingan as Natsuki watched.
• Tsunade suggested asking Orochimaru to clone Itachi’s eyes, and Natsuki said Orochimaru would agree.
• Mist Village launched cautious probes against the Cloud Village stronghold, but traps slowed its advance.
• Mei Terumi decided to attack the stronghold that afternoon, and Kisame, Juzo Biwa, and Zabuza volunteered to lead the assault.

Killer B used a Tailed Beast Bomb to drive Mist Village’s forces away, but his wounds reopened and he lost consciousness, prompting Yugito to consider abandoning the stronghold. In Konoha, Asuma returned to the village as the Third Hokage received a report confirming flaws in the Uchiha Mangekyō Sharingan and concluded that Konoha held the advantage.

• Kisame, Zabuza, and Juzo led Mist Village’s assault and cleared Cloud Village’s traps until Juzo sensed a Tailed Beast Bomb and called for a retreat.
• Killer B’s Tailed Beast Bomb devastated Mist Village’s formation, and Kisame ordered his forces to withdraw after Samehada helped him recover.
• Killer B collapsed after reverting from his transformation, and Yugito considered abandoning the stronghold because fifty-three Cloud Village shinobi could no longer fight.
• Asuma returned to Konoha, where the Third Hokage assigned him to lead a team of academy graduates and told him to remain in the village.
• Asuma suspected that tensions between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan were nearing a breaking point.
• The Third Hokage read Ibiki Morino’s report that Natsuki and Itachi bled when using Susanoo and that Itachi had collapsed, then concluded that the Uchiha’s strongest fighters had serious weaknesses.

The Daimyo’s envoy delivered Orochimaru and the Uchiha Clan their first Central Factory dividends, astonishing the Third Hokage with the scale of the profits. As Uchiha Natsuki brought the blinded Itachi to Orochimaru’s laboratory, the Third Hokage and Jiraiya prepared for a possible confrontation.

• The envoy told the Third Hokage that Orochimaru’s Central Factory was profitable and reported that Orochimaru’s share of the first month’s dividends was one hundred million.
• Orochimaru accepted the money from the envoy, including the Uchiha Clan’s share, and urged the Daimyo to supply materials and expand production.
• Orochimaru warned that Itachi’s eyes were severely injured and argued that the Third Hokage should use the opportunity to eliminate the Uchiha Clan, but the Third Hokage favored avoiding losses during the ongoing war.
• Orochimaru asked the Third Hokage for two death-row prisoners so he could use Tobirama’s technique as a precaution, and the Third Hokage agreed.
• Anbu reported that Natsuki had brought bandaged Itachi to Orochimaru’s laboratory, while the Third Hokage geared up and summoned Jiraiya.

Natsuki fought Orochimaru and Manda in a devastating battle while the Third Hokage and Jiraiya kept the conflict sealed off from the village. After Natsuki killed Manda, the confrontation escalated as the Third Hokage tried to stop him and Natsuki unleashed an even more powerful Susanoo.

• Orochimaru summoned Manda and transformed into the Eight-Headed Serpent to attack Natsuki.
• Natsuki expanded his Golden Susanoo and fought the two serpents while the Third Hokage ordered the area evacuated and a sound-blocking barrier raised.
• Manda joined Orochimaru against Natsuki, but Natsuki sharpened the Susanoo's weapon and cut off Manda's head, killing him.
• Orochimaru continued attacking with the regenerating Eight-Headed Serpent as Natsuki's Susanoo weakened.
• The Third Hokage and Jiraiya urged Natsuki to stop, but Natsuki rejected them and poured more dojutsu power into his Susanoo, preparing to continue the fight.

Natsuki exposed the Third Hokage and Danzo’s role in White Fang’s death, shaking Kakashi’s faith in Konoha. As Natsuki prepared to summon Shisui, two coffins containing the First and Second Hokage rose from the ground, leaving him facing a new threat.

• Kakashi held the unconscious Itachi hostage to stop Natsuki, but Natsuki tricked him and reclaimed Itachi.
• Natsuki accused the Third Hokage and Danzo of driving White Fang to suicide, and Kakashi began doubting the Third Hokage.
• Natsuki condemned Kakashi for serving the Third Hokage, keeping silent about Obito, and neglecting Naruto, leaving Kakashi shaken.
• The Third Hokage and Jiraiya reassured Kakashi and claimed responsibility for the failures surrounding White Fang and Naruto.
• As Natsuki prepared to reverse-summon Shisui, a voice warned him and two coffins labeled First and Second rose from the ground.