Recaps

Muzan fought alongside Konoha and Stone forces, then pursued Senjutsu and investigated how sunlight harmed him. He joined Danzo’s Root, took Kabuto as his assistant, and left Kabuto recognizing his identity as they returned to Konoha.

• Muzan turned Hizashi into a Man-Eating Demon, then helped him free a trapped Konoha squad before facing Kitsuchi and joining the mission against the Third Raikage.
• Muzan helped ambush the Raikage’s forces with Kitsuchi and Minato, then secretly took the Raikage’s corpse after he fell.
• Muzan trained in Senjutsu under Jiraiya at Mount Myoboku and discovered that Natural Energy slowed the damage sunlight caused him.
• Muzan returned to Konoha as Danzo backed Orochimaru for Hokage, while Minato emerged as the likely choice and Orochimaru agreed to support Danzo’s experiments.
• Muzan killed a White Zetsu spy, studied Hizashi’s Blood Demon Art, and then escaped Danzo’s ambush before hearing Danzo’s offer to join Root and lead it in the future.
• Muzan entered Root, chose Kabuto as his laboratory assistant, and began training him in theory and chakra control.
• Muzan tested different colors of light, found that ultraviolet light burned him, and took Kabuto back toward Konoha, where Kabuto realized who he was.

Muzan navigated Konoha’s growing crises, from the Nine-Tails’ attack and the Uchiha civil war to escalating tensions with the Hidden Cloud Village. He trained Kabuto as his successor and ended the stretch confronting a hostile Cloud Ninja envoy at the hospital.

• Konoha named Minato Namikaze Fourth Hokage, while Muzan and Orochimaru attended his inauguration.
• Muzan fought Uchiha attackers after they endangered Anko, and Fugaku Uchiha eventually ordered his clan to stand down.
• Muzan counseled Shisui Uchiha as the Uchiha-village conflict worsened, then fought alongside the Third Hokage during the Nine-Tails’ attack while Minato defeated Obito and Kushina sealed the beast into Naruto.
• After the attack, Muzan urged Shisui to unite the Uchiha and eliminate the Hawk Faction, but a purge led by Itachi and other Uchiha left most of the clan dead by dawn.
• Muzan trained Kabuto in medical ninjutsu and selected Anbu candidates, testing Itachi Uchiha in a trial that ended after Muzan resisted his genjutsu and revealed Three Tomoe.
• Muzan returned with Sakumo Hatake and treated the poisoned Ishitaro as tensions rose over the Hidden Cloud Village’s demands and the disappearance of Sakumo’s team.
• Muzan told Danzo he would not assassinate the Cloud envoy, while Danzo admitted he had arranged for the delegation not to reach Konoha alive.
• At Konoha Hospital, Dashihe attacked Muzan, and Kabuto helped stop him before someone burst through the door and ordered Muzan to stop humiliating the Cloud Ninja.

Muzan fled Konoha with Pakura, built Blood Moon’s operations in the Land of Waves, and recruited Haku and Zabuza while expanding into manufacturing. His plan to influence the Land of Fire culminated in Mukawa Hui taking power, just as Jiraiya approached Muzan at the estate.

• Muzan helped Hizashi fake his death and recruited him as Lower Rank Five, then fled Konoha with Pakura after clashing with Minato and Sakumo.
• Muzan sabotaged Kakuzu’s bounty income and recruited him to manage Blood Moon’s finances before expanding his laboratory in the Land of Waves.
• Muzan transformed Haku into a demon with a powerful ice Blood Demon Art, then forced Zabuza to serve Blood Moon.
• Muzan negotiated for factory machinery in the Land of Crafts and fought Sasori, who escaped and reported the encounter to Konan.
• Muzan planned to reclaim land and attract settlers to the Land of Waves, while Kakashi accepted a mission escorting Muchuan Songhe back to his territory.
• Muzan and Haku killed Muchuan Songhe despite Kakashi’s intervention, then brought the corpse to Mukawa Hui as Jiraiya tracked them.
• Mukawa Hui killed his father with Haku’s help and pledged to Muzan, who advised him on mining and the possibility of becoming Fire Daimyo.
• Muzan urged Haku to grow stronger and resist the nobles’ abuses, then sensed Jiraiya entering the estate and called him an old friend.

Muzan built alliances and expanded his influence while unrest spread through the Land of Fire, then went to the Land of Grass and took Karin. After a fierce battle, Minato and Shikaku sealed Muzan and sent him to Konoha, but a severed hand survived and carried his orders onward.

• Muzan fought Jiraiya and escaped the Land of Waves after drawing Konoha’s attention, while Minato’s order and Danzo’s ambitions complicated the response.
• Muzan renewed cooperation with Konan and Akatsuki, and Konoha’s investigators traced his growing operation to the Land of Waves.
• Muzan transformed Kamizuru Poison Butterfly and used her insects to expose the Inada Family’s crimes, inciting a rebellion that Kakashi’s team failed to stop.
• Muzan offered Orochimaru the Twelve Kizuki’s support against Konoha and proposed using civilian unrest to spread chaos through the Land of Fire.
• Muzan took Karin from the Land of Grass, killing its ninjas, and escaped pursuing Anbu with her before Inoichi, Shikaku, and Choza confronted him.
• Muzan overwhelmed the Ino-Shika-Cho team, but Sakumo and Minato joined the fight and Shikaku created an opening to restrain him.
• Minato and Shikaku sealed Muzan and sent him to Konoha, while Muzan buried a severed hand that ordered Karin to take it to the Land of Waves.
• Konoha imprisoned Muzan in Volcano Prison, while he ordered Shanye Song to coordinate an attack on Konoha with Akatsuki and the Twelve Kizuki.