Chapter Summaries

Naruto’s group settled into the Hidden Cloud Village, where Naruto paid for a hot spring inn and used a supposed Archimedes method to measure Hinata’s burden. Meanwhile, Akatsuki argued over failed missions and who posed the greatest obstacle, until Pain silenced them with his Rinnegan.

• Darui showed Naruto’s group a rundown house, but Naruto refused to stay there and took them to a hot spring inn instead.
• Darui ordered Hidden Cloud ANBU to watch the Konoha group and report any suspicious activity.
• The innkeeper refused to host Konoha ninja until Naruto paid her with two bags of money, and Karin became interested in money.
• Naruto used a water-displacement trick at the hot spring to tell Hinata that her burden weighed 1,200 grams.
• Akatsuki members blamed Itachi or Naruto for the failed One-Tail and Two-Tails missions, while Hidan insisted Naruto was his target.
• Pain opened his Rinnegan, and the other Akatsuki members fell silent.

Pain sent six Akatsuki members to Hidden Cloud Village after learning that Naruto and Itachi were there, while Naruto waited at an inn for Akatsuki to attack. Deidara began bombing Hidden Cloud Village, and the Fourth Raikage rushed to confront him.

• Zetsu reported that Naruto had defeated the Raikage and that the Nine-Tails, Two-Tails, and Eight-Tails were in Hidden Cloud Village, so Pain ordered six Akatsuki members to go there.
• Yamato watched Akatsuki's temporary base as Pain, Konan, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, and Hidan departed, but Yamato escaped Konan's pursuit.
• Naruto stayed at a hot spring inn with Hinata and told the Fourth Raikage he wanted Konoha and Hidden Cloud to develop hot spring tourism together.
• Explosions shook the village, and the Fourth Raikage ordered Darui to watch Naruto's group before hurrying back to Hidden Cloud Village.
• The Fourth Raikage found Hidden Cloud Village ablaze and saw Deidara bombing it from a clay bird, so he hurled a boulder at him.

Naruto and Hinata watched the attack on Hidden Cloud Village as the Fourth Raikage fought Pain’s summoned beasts. After the Raikage beheaded the Animal Path, Pain’s five other bodies surrounded him, and the Animal Path reappeared unharmed.

• The Fourth Raikage smashed Deidara’s clay bird with a boulder and noticed summoned beasts rampaging through Hidden Cloud Village.
• Naruto and Hinata watched the battle from Hot Spring Mountain, and Naruto urged Darui to seek help from the village’s two jinchuriki.
• The Fourth Raikage defeated several summoned beasts and used Lightning Guillotine to behead the Animal Path.
• An ANBU report identified the attackers as Akatsuki, and Naruto explained that the Six Paths of Pain shared vision.
• Pain’s five remaining bodies surrounded the Fourth Raikage, and the beheaded Animal Path stood up again with its head restored.

The Akatsuki attacked the Hidden Cloud Village to capture Naruto, Yugito Nii, and Killer B, while the Deva Path battled the Fourth Raikage. Naruto watched from Hot Spring Mountain with Hinata and offered Konoha’s help as both sides prepared for a larger fight.

• The Deva Path told the Fourth Raikage that the Akatsuki had come for Naruto, Yugito Nii, and Killer B, then repelled the Raikage with Almighty Push.
• Naruto identified the Deva Path as Yahiko and watched the fight with Hinata from Hot Spring Mountain.
• Darui received intelligence and summoned Killer B, while Naruto urged him to gather the Hidden Cloud Village’s strongest fighters.
• Killer B and Yugito Nii joined the Raikage, and Kakuzu, Hidan, Deidara, and Sasori arrived to support the Akatsuki.
• The Hidden Cloud Village’s reinforcements assembled against the Akatsuki, while Naruto offered Darui Konoha’s help and Darui refused.

Zabuza Momochi and Haku brought One-Tail Shukaku to a new location, while the Akatsuki sensed his chakra and moved to capture him. In Kumogakure, Sasori and Deidara fought Killer B and the village’s elite ninja, with Sasori protecting Deidara as he attacked freely.

• Zabuza Momochi and Haku stopped at a secluded spot with the tiny One-Tail Shukaku in Haku’s hands.
• Karin and the others sensed unusual chakra, and Darui confronted Naruto about two missing members of his group.
• Deva Path recognized One-Tail Shukaku’s chakra, ordered Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Hidan to fight, then left the battlefield as Asura Path held off the Fourth Raikage.
• Killer B began rapping before the battle, and Deidara attacked him with Four-Winged Bird Clay Bombs, which Killer B dodged.
• Sasori blocked Killer B’s punch and used more than fifty puppets to hold off Kumogakure’s elite ninja while sending the Third Kazekage’s human puppet to support Deidara.
• Sasori’s puppet kept Killer B away, allowing Deidara to attack with Clay Bombs without worrying about defense.

Deidara and Sasori fought Killer B while Hidan and Kakuzu battled Yugito Nii, and the Fourth Raikage faced five Pains. The Raikage discovered that Pain’s Preta Path could absorb chakra and revive, leaving him to identify and eliminate the path responsible for healing.

• Deidara distracted Killer B with bird-shaped Clay Bombs, then detonated smaller bombs on his shoulder, but Killer B survived with Tailed Beast chakra protecting him.
• Hidan charged the transformed Yugito Nii and was disemboweled, but Kakuzu’s flames struck both fighters as Hidan healed himself and kept attacking.
• The Fourth Raikage assessed the five Pains and attacked the Preta Path, which absorbed his Lightning Release chakra and ended his enhanced state.
• The Raikage killed the Preta Path with a punch, but the Asura Path fired rockets and the Animal Path summoned three dogs while the Pains changed positions.
• The Preta Path returned to perfect condition, and the Raikage concluded that one of the other two Pains must be healing the others.

Naruto left Darui’s watch and reached the battle between the Akatsuki and the Hidden Cloud, where he joined the Deva Path and claimed to be Nagato’s junior disciple. After absorbing the wounded One-Tail willingly, Naruto asked to join the Akatsuki and persuaded the Deva Path to destroy the Hidden Cloud so he could obtain the Two-Tails.

• Naruto vanished from Darui’s watch, while Sasuke, Itachi, Kabuto, and Karin fled toward the Hidden Cloud Village and Zabuza Momochi set up a teleportation point.
• Naruto arrived with Hinata and found the Deva Path had badly injured One-Tail Shukaku, while Zabuza Momochi and Haku had suffered minor injuries.
• Naruto called the Deva Path his senior disciple and claimed Jiraiya had sent him, then revealed that he knew the Deva Path was Nagato.
• Naruto let the wounded One-Tail enter his body willingly, shocking both the Deva Path and the hidden Zetsu.
• Naruto asked to join the Akatsuki and urged the Deva Path to destroy the Hidden Cloud so he could obtain the Two-Tails; the Deva Path agreed.

Itachi and Sasuke joined the Hidden Cloud Village’s battle against Akatsuki, but Hidan incapacitated Yugito Nii before the Fourth Raikage arrived and crushed Kakuzu. With the Raikage turning toward him, Hidan fled the village.

• Itachi and Sasuke entered the fight and said they intended to stop Akatsuki from capturing the Two-Tails.
• Hidan used his ritual to inflict severe wounds on Yugito Nii, and Kakuzu warned him that she was close to death.
• The Fourth Raikage defeated Pain’s five Paths, killed Kakuzu, and survived Kakuzu’s Wind and Fire attacks without injury.
• The Raikage pulverized Kakuzu with a hundred lightning-charged punches and then turned his attention to Hidan.
• Hidan saw that Kakuzu and the five Pains had fallen and fled toward the outskirts of the Hidden Cloud Village.

The Eight-Tails overwhelmed Sasori and Deidara until Deva Path drove it away with Almighty Push, then Pain attacked the Fourth Raikage. Naruto rescued Itachi, Sasuke, Yugito Nii, another Hidden Cloud ninja, and the Raikage before teleporting them toward Hinata as Pain prepared his ultimate technique.

• Killer B and the Eight-Tails destroyed Sasori’s puppets and Iron Sand after Killer B’s lightning had disabled Deidara’s clay.
• Deva Path used Almighty Push to send the Eight-Tails rolling beyond the Hidden Cloud Village and repel the Fourth Raikage.
• Naruto arrived to evacuate Itachi and Sasuke, while Sasuke carried Yugito Nii and dragged another injured female ninja with him.
• Naruto hurled a Three-Pronged Kunai beside the fallen Raikage, teleported everyone to him, then sensed the distant marker again and took them toward Hinata.
• Pain watched Naruto leave and said he had planned to use his technique after Naruto was gone.

Pain destroyed the Hidden Cloud Village after Naruto and Yugito Nii escaped, while Naruto’s group treated the wounded and met the Raikage’s suspicion. Naruto persuaded the Raikage to form an alliance with Konoha, intending to absorb the Hidden Cloud and eventually conquer the Five Great Nations.

• Pain waited until Naruto and Yugito Nii had left, then used Almighty Push to reduce the Hidden Cloud Village to ruins.
• Naruto asked Karin to heal the wounded Raikage, Yugito Nii, and Samui, and Karin transferred her chakra to them with a modified syringe.
• The Raikage accused Naruto of working with Pain, but Naruto explained that Pain was targeting him because he was a jinchuriki and acted like an idiot to lower the Raikage’s guard.
• Sasuke approached the waking Yugito Nii and Samui, while the Raikage hurried to return to the Hidden Cloud Village.
• Naruto offered Konoha’s help, and the Raikage agreed to ally with Konoha against Akatsuki.
• Naruto accepted the alliance on Tsunade’s behalf and privately resolved to absorb the Hidden Cloud and conquer the Five Great Nations.

Naruto negotiated with Pain to join Akatsuki in exchange for help gathering tailed beasts, but Pain only sent him on a mission because the Akatsuki lacked a way to extract the two beasts inside him. Naruto left suspicious of Pain's cooperation and furious that he had not received an Akatsuki cloak.

• Naruto celebrated Hinata as his future Hokage's wife, then accepted Shisui Uchiha's left eye from Itachi.
• Naruto met Pain and Konan, offered to join Akatsuki, and claimed he would fuse the tailed beasts to bring peace.
• Pain agreed to let Naruto join and assigned him a mission, but Naruto left without the standard cloak or ring.
• Naruto realized Pain had never intended to let him officially join Akatsuki and complained to Hinata about the missing cloak.
• Konan learned that Pain had spared Naruto because the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals could not extract two tailed beasts from him.
• Pain resolved to find another extraction method, while Naruto continued cursing Nagato and wondered why Pain had been so accommodating.

Naruto wondered why Pain had spared the Hidden Cloud Village, then comforted Hinata and spent time with her in the wilderness. Meanwhile, Obito mourned Rin while playing with the Three-Tails before meeting the Deva Path and Konan, where he proposed sealing all nine tailed beasts inside Naruto.

• Naruto questioned why Pain had changed his attitude after Naruto fused with Shukaku and deliberately waited to destroy the Hidden Cloud Village.
• Naruto told Hinata she needed to grow stronger, called her his psychologist, and became intimate with her in the wilderness.
• Obito lay on the Three-Tails and remembered Rin, then swam with Isobu before knocking it unconscious.
• Obito met the Deva Path and Konan, who explained that Naruto's two tailed beasts could not be extracted with the Phantom Dragon Nine Seals.
• Obito called Naruto's ability to absorb tailed beasts a blessing and proposed putting all nine inside him before sealing him in the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• The Deva Path warned that Naruto would become so powerful that Akatsuki could not defeat him.

Obito ordered Akatsuki to gather the tailed beasts and give them to Naruto, hoping Naruto would absorb them and survive. In Konoha, Naruto faced Tsunade, the Raikage, Jiraiya, and others, and revealed that Danzo had founded Akatsuki and that Nagato controlled the Six Paths of Pain.

• Obito rejected the Deva Path's warning and ordered Nagato to have Akatsuki capture all the tailed beasts for Naruto, even if they had to be sealed inside him by force.
• Naruto returned to Konoha with Hinata and was summoned to Tsunade's office, where the Fourth Raikage accused him of colluding with Akatsuki and abducting Killer B.
• Naruto claimed Danzo Shimura had created Akatsuki as Konoha's force, but that it had fallen out of Konoha's control after Danzo died.
• Naruto explained that Yahiko was dead and that the Yahiko the Raikage fought was a corpse controlled by Nagato through the Six Paths of Pain.

Naruto blamed Danzo Shimura for founding Akatsuki and manipulating Obito and Nagato, provoking the Raikage to demand answers from Konoha. Tsunade avoided a declaration of war by claiming Danzo was a missing-nin, using Naruto’s forged bounty notice to sever Konoha’s ties to him.

• Naruto revealed that Uchiha Obito was alive and had worked with Nagato as Akatsuki’s mastermind, shocking Kakashi.
• Naruto claimed Danzo Shimura had founded Akatsuki to gather tailed beasts, wage war, and seize the Hokage’s seat, prompting the Fourth Raikage to hold Konoha responsible.
• Tsunade questioned Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane about Danzo, but they could not explain his actions.
• As the Raikage threatened Konoha, Tsunade asked Naruto for help, and Naruto claimed Danzo had been listed as a missing-nin.
• Naruto produced a forged bounty notice, and Tsunade, Homura, and Koharu affirmed that Danzo was a Konoha traitor whose actions did not represent the village.

The Fourth Raikage left Konoha distrustful after seeking help to find Killer B, while Naruto revealed Akatsuki’s links to Konoha and claimed Obito was alive. After Itachi supplied detailed intelligence on Akatsuki, Konoha’s leaders debated how to respond and Naruto proposed putting Itachi in charge of Root.

• The Fourth Raikage rejected Konoha’s assurances and left to investigate Killer B’s disappearance himself, while Naruto asked Yugito Nii to hand over the Two-Tails and Samui learned Sasuke Uchiha’s name.
• Naruto told Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi that Obito was alive and claimed Danzo had founded Akatsuki and arranged Itachi’s membership.
• Itachi gave Tsunade a scroll detailing Akatsuki’s members and abilities, including Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain and Obito’s identity and Kamui.
• Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane called for Konoha to sever ties with Akatsuki and hunt its members, while Jiraiya and Kakashi opposed the plan because they wanted to protect Nagato, Konan, and Obito.
• Naruto recommended that Itachi take over Root, and Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane approved.

Itachi Uchiha took over Root to investigate Akatsuki, while Naruto tried to use the chakra of Shukaku and Kurama to save Kimimaro and received Shisui's second eye. Obito and Kisame Hoshigaki then secretly entered Konoha with Roshi, the Four-Tails' jinchuriki.

• Itachi Uchiha became Root's leader and refused Kakashi's request to join, promising to confirm Akatsuki's base and report to the Hokage.
• Naruto visited Gaara, revealed that Shukaku was inside him, and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to take Gaara back to Sand Village.
• Naruto fused Shukaku and Kurama's chakra and transferred it to Kimimaro, but failed to wake him because his Yin-Yang Release was not mature enough.
• Naruto asked Orochimaru to transplant Shisui's second eye, then admired his two Sharingan in a mirror.
• Obito and Kisame Hoshigaki secretly entered Konoha carrying Roshi, intending to give Naruto the Three-Tails and Four-Tails.

Obito and Kisame Hoshigaki visited Naruto in Konoha, where ANBU tried to ambush them, and Obito approved Naruto’s request to join Akatsuki. Obito then brought the Four-Tails’ jinchuriki and challenged Naruto to absorb the tailed beast, leaving Naruto’s response unresolved.

• Obito and Kisame Hoshigaki asked for Naruto’s address, alerting ANBU, who searched his home and set an ambush.
• Obito entered Naruto’s shabby house and reflected that Minato Namikaze had been wrong to protect the ninja system and seal the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
• Naruto arrived with Hinata, then used Flying Thunder God to escape the ANBU while Obito and Kisame Hoshigaki vanished using Kamui.
• In the back mountains, Naruto declared that he wanted to join Akatsuki, and Obito gave him an Akatsuki robe.
• Naruto asked about Akatsuki’s rings, and Obito explained that they were no longer necessary.
• Kisame Hoshigaki pulled the Four-Tails’ jinchuriki from Samehada, and Obito challenged Naruto to absorb the Four-Tails or be expelled from Akatsuki.

Naruto staged a prison scenario to gain Roshi’s trust and persuade him to give up the Four-Tails. The performance began with Naruto, Roshi, and Gaara imprisoned together, while Madara appeared to be their captor.

• Naruto told Obito he needed a month to absorb the Four-Tails, and Obito left with Kisame Hoshigaki.
• Naruto asked Hinata to prepare a performance, and she recruited Orochimaru, Zabuza Momochi, Haku, Itachi, and Sasuke to help.
• Naruto and Roshi woke up chained in a cave, where Naruto introduced himself as the Nine-Tails jinchuriki and Roshi revealed he was the Four-Tails jinchuriki.
• Madara Uchiha arrived, threw the unconscious Gaara into the cell, and left.
• Naruto identified Gaara as the Kazekage and One-Tail jinchuriki while Gaara and Itachi privately criticized Naruto’s acting.

Naruto and Gaara pretended to be captives while trying to mislead Roshi, but Madara Uchiha arrived and frightened Roshi into believing he was extracting tailed beasts from their jinchuriki. Naruto realized Roshi feared Madara and used the apparent death of Gaara to deepen that fear, leaving Roshi convinced they could not escape.

• Naruto and Gaara acted like prisoners and revealed their tailed beast chakra to convince Roshi they had been captured.
• Naruto exaggerated how he had fought the Akatsuki, then claimed Madara Uchiha had captured him when Roshi questioned his story.
• Madara dragged Gaara away and later returned with a small Shukaku, leading Roshi to believe Gaara had died after his tailed beast was extracted.
• Naruto shouted threats at Madara while Roshi silently begged him to stay quiet, and Madara left the cell.
• Naruto noticed Roshi's fear of Madara and pretended to mourn Gaara, leaving Roshi convinced they would all die.

Naruto and Roshi escaped their prison cell, but Roshi tried to use Naruto as bait when Akatsuki members appeared. Naruto arranged for his companions to impersonate Akatsuki members and himself transformed into Madara Uchiha to frighten Roshi; the disguised group cornered Roshi in the desert.

• Naruto used Gaara's Explosive Tag to break open the cell and free himself and Roshi, and they fled into the desert.
• After they encountered Akatsuki members, Roshi suggested they split up and sent Naruto along an exposed route while taking a concealed path himself.
• Naruto gathered his companions and assigned them disguises as Akatsuki members so they could scare Roshi.
• Zabuza, disguised as Kisame Hoshigaki, confronted Roshi with a massive Water Release, while Sasuke and Hinata attacked in disguise.
• Naruto transformed into Madara Uchiha and watched the group surround Roshi.