Chapter Summaries

Itachi and Juzo searched a small city for the rogue ninja Yamamoto Jisi, then followed a powerful chakra flare to a crowded fight. They prepared to intervene, with Juzo proposing that they split up and take on the gathered opponents.

• Itachi rested while Juzo tried to carve a wooden figure, but he could no longer remember its details clearly.
• After dinner, Itachi and Juzo searched the city together but found no sign of Yamamoto Jisi, though Itachi noticed several suspicious bounty hunters.
• A bounty hunter came to their room with a scheme, but Itachi's drunken reply confused him and sent him away.
• A powerful chakra flare drew Itachi and Juzo to rooftops overlooking Yamamoto Jisi's fight with several formidable opponents.
• Juzo urged Itachi to activate Plan A and fight separately, while Itachi questioned whether they could defeat the crowd and escape safely.

Itachi and Juzo watched Yamamoto Jisi face Kakashi as bounty hunters gathered around them. After Kakashi tried to persuade Yamamoto Jisi to stop fighting, Itachi lost patience and used Amaterasu on a group of bounty hunters, drawing Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi’s attention to his Mangekyo Sharingan.

• Yamamoto Jisi’s opponent escaped with a substitution technique, leaving him surrounded by bounty hunters who hesitated to attack.
• Kakashi arrived as Konoha ANBU and ordered Yamamoto Jisi to come back with him.
• Yamamoto Jisi attacked Kakashi and explained how war, imprisonment, and injustice had driven him to this point.
• Kakashi urged Yamamoto Jisi to honor his fallen comrade by helping prevent others from suffering, and Yamamoto Jisi hesitated.
• Itachi removed his hat and used Amaterasu on five bounty hunters, burning them away.
• Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi turned toward Itachi, with Kakashi recognizing his eyes.

Itachi and Juzo fought the ninja gathered around them, and Itachi used quick Genjutsu and a clever Shadow Clone trick to overcome a Jonin. The Jonin surrendered and escaped, while Itachi reflected on the flaws in his plan.

• Juzo used the Hidden Mist Technique and charged the ninja who was dispersing it with Wind Release.
• Itachi followed Juzo and used the Phoenix Flower Jutsu to fend off a Jonin who approached him.
• Itachi trapped the Jonin in a brief Genjutsu and used a Shadow Clone, Transformation Technique, and fast movement to launch a surprise attack.
• The Jonin knelt and begged for his life, so Itachi let him go.
• Itachi reviewed how his clone had cast the techniques while his transformed real body struck from behind, noting that the Genjutsu only created a fleeting opening.

Itachi used Susanoo to drive off the attackers, but its heavy chakra cost left him weakened and the mission to capture Yamamoto Jisi failed. Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi escaped, leaving Itachi and Juzo to deal with the aftermath and the remaining threats.

• Juzo struggled against the attackers until Itachi emerged from the thinning mist and proposed a new plan.
• Itachi summoned his skeletal Susanoo and smashed the attackers, while Juzo guarded his exposed back.
• Itachi’s chakra rapidly ran low, so he dismissed Susanoo; Juzo stepped in front of him as the crowd eyed them.
• Itachi tried to recruit Yamamoto Jisi, but Yamamoto Jisi refused and left with Kakashi using a Body Flicker Technique.
• Itachi let Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi go, and he and Juzo acknowledged that their mission had failed.

Itachi and Juzo left town after their mission failed, and Itachi asked Juzo to help him meet Orochimaru. Half a year later, Itachi finally met Orochimaru and asked whether he could make unrelated people become biological brothers, leaving Orochimaru baffled.

• Itachi and Juzo noticed people following them, left the inn, and departed from town after their failed mission.
• Itachi asked Juzo about Orochimaru, and Juzo offered to help arrange a meeting while going to deal with their pursuers.
• Half a year later, Itachi met Orochimaru in a tavern and bluntly asked whether Orochimaru was interested in his eyes.
• Itachi revealed that his eyes had evolved into the Mangekyo Sharingan and asked whether Orochimaru could make unrelated people become biological brothers.
• Orochimaru stared at Itachi in confusion as Itachi made clear that the conversation would end if Orochimaru could not fulfill his request.

Itachi negotiated with Orochimaru to alter the bloodline of someone connected to Shisui, offering Mangekyo Sharingan cells in exchange for his help. He also signed a Ryuchi Cave summoning contract, then prepared to provide the cells as Orochimaru produced a syringe and healing medicine.

• Itachi asked Orochimaru whether he could make unrelated people biological brothers, disguising the request as a friend's attempt to continue a dead friend's bloodline.
• Orochimaru recognized that Itachi meant Shisui and agreed to investigate the procedure in exchange for repeated samples of Mangekyo Sharingan cells.
• Itachi offered cells from Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan rather than surrendering the eyes, and Orochimaru accepted.
• Itachi asked to sign a summoning contract with Orochimaru's snakes, and Orochimaru agreed and brought out the contract scroll.
• Itachi signed the Ryuchi Cave contract and offered to help extract the Mangekyo cells.
• Orochimaru produced a small syringe and a vial of medicine, alarming Itachi as he explained how he would collect the sample.

Itachi gave Orochimaru a sample of his father’s eye and Shisui’s hair so Orochimaru could research medicine, then returned to his lodging. Juzo checked that their discussion had gone well, while Itachi considered how the deal might change the organization’s future.

• Itachi used a needle to take cells from his father’s treated eye and delivered the sample to Orochimaru.
• Itachi gave Orochimaru hair from Shisui’s belongings so he could analyze Shisui’s DNA and make medicine.
• Orochimaru told Itachi they could exchange messages through Ryuchi Cave’s summoning snakes, and Itachi slipped away without paying for their wine.
• Juzo visited Itachi to ask how the discussion had gone and offered to beat Orochimaru up if it had gone badly.
• Itachi told Juzo the deal had gone smoothly and hoped Orochimaru’s new research would lead him to leave the organization, sparing Juzo from his later tragedy.

After Orochimaru defected, Itachi and Juzo were sent to investigate the Three-Tails in the closed-off Land of Water, while Itachi planned to return to Konoha after the mission. Obito revealed that he distrusted Itachi and wanted him monitored, leaving Juzo caught in a scheme aimed at both Itachi and Akatsuki.

• Pain announced that Orochimaru had defected and ordered the Akatsuki members to track him down and recover his ring.
• Itachi told Juzo he would return to Konoha after their mission, and Juzo explained that they had been assigned to investigate the Three-Tails in the Land of Water.
• Itachi objected that entering the sealed-off Mist Village would expose them to deadly danger, while Juzo wondered whether they could still go back.
• Obito urged Pain to keep Itachi under observation, arguing that Itachi's strength and unpredictable nature made him untrustworthy.
• Pain agreed to Obito's request, while Obito considered Kisame his own man and a means of monitoring Itachi and Akatsuki.

Itachi tried to persuade Juzo to leave Akatsuki and avoid the Mist Village mission, but Juzo refused despite sharing Itachi’s ominous feeling. The chapter left them facing Juzo’s possible death, with Itachi grieving and Juzo preparing to give him a final gift and farewell.

• Itachi told Juzo to leave Akatsuki and hand over his ring, but Juzo refused to betray the organization.
• Itachi explained that a rogue group in Mist Village was trying to restore it and asked Juzo to consider helping them.
• Juzo said he would not leave Akatsuki, which he considered his second home, even after Itachi admitted he had dreamed that Juzo died on their Mist Village mission.
• Juzo admitted he also had a bad premonition but said he would not back down, then comforted Itachi and urged him to eat properly and take care of himself.
• Itachi pleaded with Juzo not to die, while Juzo said he had a gift for him and began sharing what might be his final words.

Itachi and Juzo shared a meal and spoke about Juzo’s cooking, then Juzo explained the meaning behind his wood carvings and gave Itachi one of himself asleep. Itachi accepted the carving as a keepsake while holding back his sorrow.

• Juzo grilled meat for Itachi, who praised it despite its burnt taste and tried to discourage Juzo from giving up on living.
• Juzo noticed Itachi was pretending to enjoy the food and gently wiped a charred stain from his mouth.
• Itachi stopped Juzo from taking off his robe to wash it and urged him to rest.
• Juzo explained that his carvings of his mother helped him remember her, though she had died when he was very young.
• Juzo gave Itachi a carving of him asleep, saying he had planned it as a birthday gift and wished he had seen him smile.
• Itachi thanked Juzo and said he liked the carving as a keepsake.

Itachi and Biwa Juzo were cornered by Mist Ninja after Yagura mobilized an elite force, and Itachi awakened Susanoo’s second form and the Yata Mirror while protecting Juzo. Yagura transformed and prepared a Tailed Beast Bomb, leaving Itachi braced to block it so Juzo could survive.

• Juzo led Itachi into the Mist Village, where Obito manipulated Yagura into mobilizing an elite force while Mei Terumi and Ao chose to watch the conflict unfold.
• Juzo urged Itachi to leave, but Itachi chose to stay beside him as Mist Ninja surrounded them and the village’s factions began openly opposing Yagura.
• Itachi and Juzo fought through the Mist Ninja, but Yagura ordered his forces to use ninjutsu even at the cost of their comrades’ lives.
• Itachi awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, burned through the attackers with black flames, and summoned Susanoo, which broke under the incoming Water Release techniques.
• Itachi’s Susanoo reformed in a stronger second form, and he discovered the Yata Mirror could neutralize the water attacks.
• Yagura cloaked himself in Tailed Beast chakra and prepared a Tailed Beast Bomb, while Itachi resolved to block it to protect Juzo.

Itachi endured Yagura’s Tailed Beast Bomb, then used his Mangekyō Sharingan to defeat him and extract Isobu. The chapter ended with Yagura accepting his fate and Juzo returning to the battlefield.

• Itachi blocked Yagura’s Tailed Beast Bomb with the Yata Mirror, but the strain left him nearly blind and severely weakened.
• Itachi entered Yagura’s spiritual world and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to break through the Tailed Beast cloak and stop him.
• Obito tried to regain control of Yagura, but Itachi disrupted the attempt and pulled Isobu from Yagura’s body with a sealing technique.
• Itachi released Isobu from the Genjutsu and asked whether it wanted to help its old friend; Isobu chose to let Yagura die gloriously in battle.
• Yagura thanked Itachi as his life faded, and Juzo returned to the scene, bloodied and looking at Yagura with complicated feelings.

Yagura entrusted Juzo with the Mist Village before dying, and Juzo accepted the role of Acting Mizukage. Itachi parted from Juzo, concealing his worsening condition as he rested after the battle.

• Yagura asked Juzo to protect the Mist Village and temporarily take the position of Mizukage, and Juzo promised to carry out his wishes.
• Yagura gave Juzo his token and died, prompting Juzo and the Mist ninja to mourn him.
• Juzo handed Itachi his ring and resolved to serve the village in secret until a worthy successor appeared.
• Itachi and Juzo parted after an emotional embrace, with Juzo warning Itachi to live carefully and repay his debt.
• Itachi coughed blood from the cost of overusing his life force, then summoned Shadow Clones and rested against a tree.

Itachi returned to Akatsuki after the Three-Tails mission, concealed Juzo’s survival, and gave Pain the ring. Pain asked Konan to keep an eye on Itachi and win him over, and Konan met him at his room.

• Itachi told Pain that Juzo had died, returned his ring, and said he had captured the Three-Tails.
• Pain let Itachi keep the Three-Tails because Akatsuki could not use it yet, and said he would find him a new partner.
• Obito asked Pain about the ring, and Pain noted that Itachi had brought it back and protected Juzo.
• Pain asked Konan to watch over Itachi and help him, calling him a child with potential worth winning over.
• Konan went to Itachi’s room, introduced herself, and shook his hand.

Konan visited Itachi to introduce herself and learn about the young Akatsuki member, while Itachi remained guarded and awkward after she left. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi grew closer to Sasuke as he secretly resolved to kill Itachi to protect his influence over Sasuke.

• Konan visited Itachi, told him she was a founding member who had been training in seclusion, and left after his curt answers showed he was not ready to talk.
• After Konan left, Itachi realized he had accidentally drunk from her teacup, poured out the remainder, and repeated words about controlling desire and fighting beneath his covers.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Sasuke for learning three of the five C-rank ninjutsu he had taught him and encouraged him to keep practicing hand seals.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi privately decided Itachi had to die so Sasuke would remain loyal to Konoha and become its foremost genius.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted Sasuke and continued spending time with him after school, strengthening the bond between them.

Kisame arrived in the Hidden Rain Village and joined Akatsuki, while Pain grew suspicious of Madara’s influence and made plans to secure the organization’s strength. Pain assigned Konan to partner with Itachi, and Kisame set out to meet his new partner.

• Obito brought Kisame before Pain, who welcomed him and arranged a room for him in the Hidden Rain Village.
• Pain activated the Rain Tiger at Will Technique over the village and realized that Madara had personally brought several Akatsuki members into the organization.
• Obito told Zetsu to investigate the remaining tailed beasts and gather intelligence while they sought capable recruits.
• Pain asked Konan what she thought of Itachi, then assigned her to form a team with him so she could help strengthen Akatsuki and draw Itachi closer to Pain.
• Konan accepted the assignment, and Kisame dressed in Akatsuki robes, took Samehada, and left his room to find Itachi.

Itachi met Kisame, his prospective Akatsuki partner, and the two clashed before Itachi offered to show him around Hidden Rain Village. As they headed out to eat, Itachi shamelessly talked Kisame into treating him and began trying to turn the easily confused newcomer into his lackey.

• Itachi opened his door and met Kisame, who introduced himself as a new Akatsuki member and said he had chosen Itachi as his partner.
• Kisame taunted Itachi about killing his comrades, and Itachi retorted that Kisame was directionless before Kisame raised Samehada against him.
• Itachi let his Mangekyo Sharingan fade and offered to show Kisame around Hidden Rain Village and find something to eat.
• Itachi and Kisame joked about whether they would become teammates, while Kisame concealed Madara's involvement and said the leader planned to pair them.
• Itachi asked whether Kisame had money, then argued that showing him around and answering his questions were separate services and persuaded him to pay for dinner.
• Itachi lectured Kisame about gifts and camaraderie, privately deciding to take him in as a lackey and steer him away from Obito.

Kisame spent a costly seafood dinner with Itachi, only to learn that Akatsuki had changed their team assignments. Obito sent Kisame to investigate Sasori alongside him, leaving Kisame worried about the awkwardness of seeing Itachi again.

• Kisame pretended to be poor, but Itachi ordered expensive seafood and left Kisame with an empty wallet after dinner.
• Itachi reviewed his interactions with Kisame and decided that Kisame was a good person.
• Pain told Obito that Konan would team up with Itachi while Kisame would be paired with Sasori, and Obito reluctantly accepted the arrangement.
• Obito visited Kisame and told him to team up with Sasori to investigate possible leaks, setting aside the matter of Itachi for now.
• Kisame agreed to Obito's plan, then lamented that he had lost his chance to team with Itachi, spent so much money, and still owed him another meal.

Konan visited Itachi and told him they would be teammates on a bounty-killing mission. As they set out, Itachi realized the organization’s altered plans had changed the future he could foresee, while Konan struggled to understand her enigmatic new partner.

• Konan woke Itachi and told him she had accepted a mission for them to complete as teammates.
• Itachi learned Pain had reassigned his expected teammate because the organization needed more combat strength, and he recognized that the world’s future had begun to diverge from what he knew.
• Konan watched Itachi as he dressed and prepared, becoming unsettled by the contrast between his relaxed manner and his stern mission presence.
• Konan explained that they needed to kill a high-bounty ninja to fund the organization’s intelligence network and maintain order.
• Itachi calmly told Konan to lead the way, leaving her to suspect that he was far more dangerous and calculating than he appeared.

Itachi and Konan traveled together, shared meals, and discussed their abilities as they camped for the night. A viper delivered a message from Orochimaru, who invited Itachi to visit and suggested the Akatsuki was not a long-term solution.

• Itachi asked Konan to find them food, and she flew off on paper wings and returned with grilled fish.
• Itachi asked whether Konan's paper wings used much chakra and hinted that they should recruit more members, but Konan refused to carry passengers.
• At dusk, Konan asked about Itachi's attack methods, then sent him to find their dinner.
• After returning to camp, Itachi followed a familiar chakra fluctuation and met a viper carrying a message from Orochimaru.
• The viper gave Itachi a scroll with Orochimaru's location and relayed his invitation to visit and work together.