Chapter Summaries

Chiya visited Mei Terumi and asked to take the Three-Tails, then admitted he was collecting Tailed Beasts to prepare for the Ōtsutsuki Clan. Mei Terumi heard his warning but remained wary of giving up Hidden Mist Village’s Tailed Beast.

• Mei Terumi received Danzo’s invitation for the Five Kage to meet in Iron Country and then admitted Chiya to her office.
• Chiya asked Mei Terumi for the Three-Tails, and she questioned him because the request came just after Konoha’s warning about missing Tailed Beasts.
• Mei Terumi connected Chiya to the One-Tail and Six-Tails incidents and reminded him that he had drained much of the Three-Tails’ chakra.
• Chiya admitted he was collecting Tailed Beasts and explained that Sakushiki, an Ōtsutsuki from beyond the Shinobi World, had discovered their world.
• Chiya said he needed to gather all usable power to defend against the Ōtsutsuki, while Mei Terumi considered Hidden Mist Village’s risks if it lost the Three-Tails.

Chiya persuaded Mei Terumi to hand over the Three-Tails, then set out for the Rain Village with Black Zetsu to meet Pain. He planned to get close to Pain and steal his Rinnegan so he could control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and gather the Tailed Beasts.

• Chiya told Mei Terumi that he intended to gather all the Tailed Beasts to prepare for the Ōtsutsuki Clan, and Mei agreed to give him the Three-Tails because she trusted him.
• Mei Terumi ordered Ao to take Chiya to the Three-Tails, and Chiya left Kirigakure carrying the weakened beast.
• Chiya told Black Zetsu to take him to the Rain Village so he could meet Pain.
• Black Zetsu realized Chiya intended to take Pain's Rinnegan, and Chiya explained that he needed the eyes to control the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Chiya planned to approach Pain first, learn his habits, and later find an opportunity to leave a Flying Thunder God formula and steal the Rinnegan.

Chiya reconsidered taking Pain’s Rinnegan after Black Zetsu warned that the Akatsuki’s search was essential to finding the remaining Tailed Beasts. He headed for Rain Village to meet Pain, who detected him as he entered the rain.

• Black Zetsu warned Chiya that he could not safely wield the Rinnegan and would have to find and capture the remaining Jinchuriki alone if Pain fell.
• Black Zetsu admitted it had another reason for opposing Chiya’s plan but refused to explain until all nine Tailed Beasts entered the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Chiya agreed to delay taking the Rinnegan and decided to offer Pain help capturing the remaining Tailed Beasts.
• Black Zetsu directed Chiya northwest to Rain Village, where Pain could sense outsiders through the rain.
• Several days later, Chiya entered Rain Village with the Three-Tails, and Pain opened his Rinnegan after detecting him.

Chiya entered Rain Village carrying the Three-Tails and asked Pain what Akatsuki planned to do with the captured Tailed Beasts. Pain explained that Akatsuki intended to use overwhelming power to make the great nations experience the suffering they inflicted on smaller countries, while Chiya questioned who truly benefited from war.

• Pain sensed Chiya entering Rain Village, and Konan went to intercept him.
• Chiya refused to explain his purpose to Konan and waited until Pain arrived.
• Pain dismissed the nearby Rain shinobi and asked Chiya to speak.
• Chiya asked what Akatsuki planned to do after gathering the Tailed Beasts, and Pain inferred that Chiya needed something from him.
• Pain said Akatsuki would use the Tailed Beasts’ power to make the great nations understand the suffering of war.
• Chiya agreed that nations could benefit from war but argued that the real beneficiaries were the people who decided to start it.

Chiya challenged Pain’s justification for Akatsuki’s methods, then offered to cooperate against the Five Great Nations’ control of the Tailed Beasts because of the threat posed by Ōtsutsuki Shiki. Pain questioned Chiya’s motives, and Chiya began explaining that he had started absorbing Tailed Beast chakra after Danzo forced him to flee Konoha, revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Chiya argued that ordinary people in both great and small nations had no choice in war, and that rulers who caused wars should be held responsible instead of Rain Village’s civilians.
• Chiya said he opposed Akatsuki’s methods but agreed that the Tailed Beasts should not remain weapons in the Five Great Nations’ hands.
• Chiya warned Pain and Konan that Ōtsutsuki Shiki, whose clone had fought them, might return with his true body, and proposed gathering the Shinobi World’s power.
• Pain noticed that Chiya had absorbed Tailed Beast chakra before Shiki appeared and had stopped afterward, then demanded to know why.
• Chiya said Danzo had framed him and forced him to flee Konoha, causing his Sharingan to awaken, and revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan as Konan raised her arm.

Chiya explained why he could no longer absorb Tailed Beast chakra and negotiated a secret partnership with Pain and Konan. They agreed he could advise Akatsuki on Tailed Beast operations, giving him a legitimate opportunity to enter the Rain Village and search for Nagato.

• Chiya told Pain and Konan that his Mangekyo Sharingan had absorbed most of the Three-Tails' chakra, but a seal left by Sakushiki prevented him from absorbing more.
• Chiya asked to use the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and offered to help Akatsuki capture Tailed Beasts, while refusing to let Pain kill Naruto.
• Chiya proposed that Akatsuki unite under his direction against the Ōtsutsuki Clan, but Pain agreed only to fight alongside him, not obey him.
• Chiya asked to join Akatsuki, but Pain and Konan refused because he had sabotaged their operations and killed Sasori.
• Chiya proposed secretly advising Pain and Konan on Tailed Beast operations, and Pain agreed to consult him before plans were finalized while retaining the final decision.
• Chiya accepted the restrictions and placed the Three-Tails on the ground, securing a legitimate reason to enter the Rain Village and search for Nagato.

Chiya dreamed that Kaguya was fading away while trying to open a passage, then learned Akatsuki planned to capture Han and went to intercept the Hidden Stone reinforcements. He blocked Kitsuchi’s squad on the mountain road, revealing a black mask beneath his hat as they attacked.

• Chiya dreamed of Kaguya struggling to keep Yomotsu Hirasaka open before waking to find that she had not returned to his mental space.
• Chiya received a note from Pain stating that Akatsuki would target Han in three days, with Kakuzu, Hidan, Kisame, and Deidara assigned to the operation.
• Chiya studied the ambush route and identified the Hidden Stone Fortress as a likely source of reinforcements.
• Chiya traveled alone to the Land of Earth and waited between the fortress and the battlefield while Akatsuki fought Han.
• Kitsuchi led Hidden Stone Village ninja, including Kurotsuchi, toward the battle, and Chiya appeared on their road to stop them.
• Kitsuchi ordered his ninja to attack, and Chiya raised his head to reveal a black mask beneath his conical hat.

Chiya used Wood Release to trap Kitsuchi, Kurotsuchi, and their Iwa unit in a rapidly regrowing forest while Akatsuki escaped with Han. Kitsuchi eventually broke through the encirclement, and the Iwa ninja rushed toward the battlefield.

• Chiya unleashed Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence, blocking the mountain path and trapping the advancing Iwa ninja.
• Kitsuchi ordered Kurotsuchi and several Iwa ninja to climb around the forest, but Chiya’s roots and branches blocked their route along the cliff.
• Kitsuchi used Earth Release: Mountain Soil Technique to crush the forest, but Chiya’s roots shattered the rocky mountains and regrew the trees.
• Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi overturned the earth to open a passage, but Chiya regrew the forest and attacked the Iwa unit again as the Five-Tails’ Chakra moved away.
• Kitsuchi broke through the encirclement and led the Iwa ninja toward Han’s battlefield after Chiya had disappeared.

Chiya’s Pseudo-Karma transported his consciousness to a strange realm, where he reunited with Kaguya after half a year apart. As Kaguya fled a white-robed man with him, the man recognized a spatial fluctuation around Chiya that matched the one Kaguya had left when she disappeared.

• Chiya tried unsuccessfully to activate the Pseudo-Karma, then fell asleep as the mark glowed and warped his room.
• Chiya’s consciousness fell through a chaotic passage and emerged in a desolate place, where his Flying Thunder God formulas no longer responded.
• Chiya recognized Kaguya and embraced her, and Kaguya eventually returned the embrace.
• When the space around them began to split, Kaguya pulled Chiya through Yomotsu Hirasaka and fled with him across several realms.
• Kaguya and Chiya arrived in a wasteland, where their bodies became transparent and Kaguya realized Chiya’s physical body had not come with him.
• A white-robed man intercepted them, recognized the spatial fluctuation around Chiya as the same one Kaguya had left when she disappeared, and Kaguya stepped in front of Chiya.

Chiya and Kaguya escaped the man pursuing her by using the Pseudo-Karma to return to Chiya’s mental space, where Kaguya collapsed from exhaustion. Chiya stayed beside her as she slept and resolved to face the danger threatening her.

• The man compressed the space around Chiya, but the Pseudo-Karma flared and began pulling Chiya back to his original world.
• Chiya asked Kaguya to come with him, and she chose to pour her Chakra into the mark despite fearing she would bring danger to his world.
• Kaguya dissolved into white specks that entered the Pseudo-Karma, allowing Chiya to escape as the man reached for him too late.
• Chiya found Kaguya collapsed in his mental space and confirmed that she was alive but exhausted.
• Kaguya unconsciously gripped Chiya’s sleeve, so he sat beside her and held her hand while thinking about the pursuer and his own weakness.

Kaguya reunited with Chiya after six months away and told him that she had failed to find her original body while fleeing an Ōtsutsuki pursuer. Chiya vowed to help her search and face the Ōtsutsuki, then kissed her as she returned his embrace.

• Kaguya woke in the mental space with Chiya holding her hand and found that she still could not control her Chakra.
• Kaguya told Chiya that she had followed traces of her original body through many spaces but had always arrived too late.
• Kaguya explained that an Ōtsutsuki had pursued her after she used her unstable power to cross between spaces, leaving her increasingly weak.
• Chiya asked whether Kaguya planned to leave again and promised to accompany her in searching for her original body and facing the Ōtsutsuki.
• Chiya pulled Kaguya close and kissed her, and Kaguya eventually closed her eyes and embraced him.

After Akatsuki sealed the Five-Tails, White Zetsu told Obito that an unknown Wood Release ninja had stopped Iwagakure’s reinforcements, prompting Obito to investigate Pain’s contacts. Ōnoki learned of the masked ninja and agreed to attend Konoha’s proposed Five Kage Summit.

• Pain confirmed the Five-Tails’ sealing and ordered White Zetsu to locate the Seven-Tails’ jinchūriki before Akatsuki chose its next target.
• White Zetsu told Obito that a masked Akatsuki-cloaked ninja had used Wood Release to block Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi from reaching the Five-Tails battle.
• Obito ordered White Zetsu’s clones to watch Pain and Konan’s recent contacts, suspecting Akatsuki was slipping from his control.
• Kitsuchi and Kurotsuchi returned to Iwagakure and told Ōnoki that the unknown Wood Release ninja had stopped their reinforcements.
• After reading Konoha’s invitation and evidence concerning Chiya Uchiha, Ōnoki agreed that Iwagakure would attend the Five Kage Summit.

After learning that Danzo had turned the Five Kage against him, Chiya decided to attend their summit in Iron Country and demand that they surrender the Tailed Beasts. He left the choice to the Kage, but warned that he would proceed without their agreement if they refused.

• Black Zetsu told Chiya that Danzo had sent Hidden Stone Village and Kumogakure information linking him to the Tailed Beasts, and that the summit was six days away.
• Chiya rejected Black Zetsu’s advice to stay hidden and decided to confront the Five Kage in Iron Country.
• Chiya told Black Zetsu he would ask the Kage to hand over the Tailed Beasts so they could prepare for the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
• Chiya told Kaguya that he could no longer wait and would give the Kage, including Mei Terumi and Gaara, a choice.
• Chiya planned to leave for Iron Country on the day of the summit, and told Black Zetsu that if all five Kage refused, he would not need their agreement.

Sasuke formed Team Taka and planned an invasion of Konoha to target Danzo and Root, with help from a masked man who could bypass the village’s sensory barrier. The group arrived at the abandoned Uchiha Clan Grounds, where Sasuke stopped outside his childhood home.

• Sasuke freed Suigetsu and later recruited Karin and Jugo, naming their new team Taka.
• Sasuke explained his plan to infiltrate Konoha and go after Danzo and Root, assigning Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo to search Root strongholds for documents.
• A masked man appeared through a spatial vortex and offered to transport the team past Konoha’s sensory barrier and bring them back out.
• Sasuke chose the Uchiha Clan Grounds as their entry point and outlined a drainage-channel escape route in case the plan changed.
• The masked man transported the group into the abandoned Uchiha Clan Grounds, where Karin sensed no approaching shinobi.
• Sasuke walked to his childhood home and stood outside the empty courtyard without entering.

Sasuke and his team entered a hidden Root base beneath the Uchiha Clan Grounds to seize its records. After Konoha shinobi surrounded them, Sasuke ordered the team to proceed according to plan.

• Sasuke explored his abandoned childhood home, then used Orochimaru's map to locate a secret passage beneath the Uchiha Clan Grounds.
• Karin sensed Root shinobi underground, and Jugo broke open the entrance so Sasuke, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin could enter the base.
• Sasuke and his team fought through Root guards and broke into a room containing files and scrolls.
• Karin identified the documents as mostly mission records, and Sasuke sealed the surviving files into a storage scroll.
• A Root shinobi triggered the alarm, drawing Konoha forces to surround the Uchiha Clan Grounds as Sasuke's team escaped to the surface.
• Sasuke drew the Kusanagi Sword and told his team to proceed according to plan.

Sasuke, Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo attacked Konoha’s Root base, with Sasuke drawing the village’s forces toward the Hokage Building while the others raided the underground archives. As Karin sealed away Root’s records, Sasuke reported that the plan had changed.

• Sasuke charged toward the Hokage Building and fought through Konoha ninja using Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Sage Chakra.
• Sasuke broke through the formation and continued down the street toward the Hokage Building.
• Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo broke into a Root entrance, fought the guards, and followed Karin’s sensing toward the archive.
• Jugo smashed through a sealed stone door while Suigetsu held off Root ninja and Karin began storing scrolls and files.
• Jugo charged deeper into the base as it shook, and Sasuke radioed that the plan had changed.

Sasuke failed to find Danzo in Konoha, so he destroyed Hokage Rock and publicly accused Danzo of framing Chiya Uchiha and conspiring with Orochimaru. The chapter ended as Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo released Root records and other evidence across the village.

• Sasuke learned Danzo was at the Five Kage Summit and left the Hokage Building as Konoha ninja pursued him.
• Sasuke used Kirin to destroy much of Hokage Rock, then addressed the people of Konoha through the village alarm system.
• Sasuke accused Danzo of ordering Root to attack Chiya Uchiha, altering mission records, and working with Orochimaru.
• Sasuke told Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo to release the records and evidence they had taken from Root and prepared from Orochimaru.
• Documents bearing Danzo's name and Root's seal, along with letters bearing Orochimaru's signature and other materials, began falling across Konoha.

Sasuke declared that he would impose his rule on the Shinobi World, cleared Chiya Uchiha’s name, and left Konoha after putting Sakura to sleep. Meanwhile, Danzo reached Iron Country and prepared to use evidence about Chiya at the Five Kage Summit, leaving the summit’s reception of his plan uncertain.

• Sasuke told the crowd beneath Hokage Rock that he would destroy the existing systems and control the world, then displayed a Sage Chakra-enhanced Susanoo and warned that anyone who started wars or rebuilt Root would face him.
• Sasuke promised to clear Chiya Uchiha’s name and kill Danzo, then put Sakura to sleep when she begged to leave with him.
• Sasuke reunited with Karin, Suigetsu, and Jugo, and the masked man used a spatial vortex to take Taka away from Konoha.
• Danzo crossed into Iron Country with Fū Yamanaka and Torune Aburame, passed the samurai checkpoints, and reached the Five Kage Summit venue.
• Danzo reviewed footage of Chiya absorbing the Three-Tails’ chakra and told Fū Yamanaka to observe the other villages’ attitudes before presenting it at the summit.

At the Five Kage Summit, Danzo accused Chiya Uchiha of being a key Akatsuki member responsible for pursuing the Tailed Beasts, while Gaara defended him. Danzo claimed Chiya had absorbed the One-Tail and manipulated Sand Village, leaving Temari furious and demanding proof.

• Mifune opened the summit, and Danzo explained that Akatsuki had shifted its focus to capturing the Tailed Beasts.
• Danzo named the One-Tail, Four-Tails, Five-Tails, and Six-Tails as beasts Akatsuki had targeted, and the Raikage pressed Ōnoki and Mei Terumi to confirm their losses.
• Danzo identified Chiya Uchiha as a suspected Akatsuki member, and Ōnoki argued that Konoha should bear responsibility for the damage.
• Gaara defended Chiya, saying Chiya was not Akatsuki and had returned him to life after the One-Tail was extracted.
• Danzo alleged that Chiya had absorbed the One-Tail and staged his return to make Sand Village trust him, then implied Temari loved him.
• Temari demanded evidence for Danzo's claim that Chiya could absorb Tailed Beasts.

Danzo presented evidence that Chiya absorbed much of the Three-Tails’ chakra and accused him of using the Sharingan to manipulate the Hidden Mist Village. The Raikage exposed that Konoha was searching for the missing Nine-Tails, while Gaara confronted Danzo over Konoha’s growing presence in the Land of Wind, leaving the summit in escalating tension.

• Danzo showed photographs of Chiya absorbing the Three-Tails’ chakra, and Mei Terumi confirmed they were real while defending Chiya’s actions.
• Danzo accused Chiya of controlling the previous Mizukage with the Sharingan and staging the Three-Tails’ rampage, leaving Mei unable to refute him.
• The Raikage recounted Konoha’s troop withdrawals and searches, then accused Danzo of concealing that the Nine-Tails had left Konoha.
• Danzo admitted the Nine-Tails had left but argued that the Akatsuki and Chiya posed the greater threat.
• Gaara accused Konoha of taking Sand Village garrisons and trade routes in the Land of Wind, and Danzo defended the deployments as border security.
• Kankuro reminded Danzo that Orochimaru had impersonated the Kazekage during the attack on Konoha, while Danzo insisted the Sand Village had to bear the consequences of defeat.