Recaps

Nagato and Konan investigated how Jiraiya’s Icha Icha Paradise books appeared in Amegakure and found Minato’s kunai beneath a bookstore shelf. Pain Rin suspected Minato was using the books for cultural infiltration, then asked Konan if she knew how to gamble.

• Nagato recognized Icha Icha Paradise as Jiraiya’s work, and Pain Rin linked its arrival to Jiraiya’s recent visit to Amegakure.
• Pain Rin and Konan questioned the bookstore owner, who recalled strange whooshing sounds at night and suspected his deceased wife had brought the books.
• Pain Rin found Minato’s kunai beneath a bookshelf, while Konan uncovered more than a hundred copies of the book.
• Konan gave the bookstore owner silver to buy a burial plot for his wife, and Pain Rin explained that Minato had likely left kunai in hidden places beyond the rain’s reach.
• Pain Rin said Minato’s books were likely meant to undermine Amegakure’s isolated culture and proposed discussing how to profit from them with Kakuzu.
• Pain Rin asked Konan whether she knew how to gamble.

Pain Rin persuaded Kakuzu to fund a plan to profit from pirated copies of Jiraiya’s Icha Icha Paradise, which Kakuzu approved after reading the book. She then revealed the money was actually for Konan to gamble with, leaving Kakuzu stunned.

• Pain Rin asked Konan whether she would gamble if she were guaranteed to win money, then proposed an idea.
• Kakuzu complained that Pain Rin and Pain A were draining Amegakure’s funds and refused to hand over more money.
• Pain Rin pitched Icha Icha Paradise as a source of enormous royalties, and Kakuzu agreed to read it after Pain A appeared at the office.
• After reading through the night, Kakuzu proposed pirating the book and selling cheap copies, and Pain A agreed to fund the scheme.
• Kakuzu let Pain A take the cash box, then jolted when Pain Rin said they were giving the money to Konan to gamble.

Konan and Nagato traveled to the Land of Rivers to find Tsunade, bringing Kakuzu’s money and a bandits’ stolen fortune. Konan arrived at a gambling house just as Tsunade unexpectedly won a round, setting up their meeting.

• Nagato gave Konan a custom outfit and summoned her to the Land of Rivers after Haku Zetsu No. 32 reported Tsunade’s location.
• Pain A explained that he and Pain Rin had defeated a bandit gang and recovered its stolen money and goods; Konan decided to distribute the surplus to Amegakure’s poor.
• Nagato used his incomplete Flying Thunder God Technique to return with Pain A while Konan and Pain Rin headed for the capital.
• Tsunade wagered all fifty million ryo on big, and the dice landed on fifteen, ending her losing streak for the first time.
• Konan and Pain Rin entered the gambling house and witnessed Tsunade’s unexpected win.

Tsunade broke her losing streak and won enough money to pay off her debts, then accepted Konan’s challenge at the gambling table. The chapter ended as they placed one hundred million ryō each on opposing bets, with the outcome still undecided.

• Tsunade won a series of bets, doubling her money until she had amassed at least a billion ryō.
• Shizune celebrated that the winnings would clear Tsunade’s old debts, and Tsunade prepared to leave with the money.
• Konan approached Tsunade and asked to play, while Pain Rin reassured Konan that she would be fine.
• Tsunade recognized Konan and Pain Rin as rogue ninja and agreed to gamble against Konan for the money in her cash box.
• Tsunade bet one hundred million ryō on big, and Konan matched her with one hundred million ryō on small.

Konan won three consecutive rounds against Tsunade, turning their advantage around, but Tsunade proposed a final wager of her remaining four hundred million against Konan’s eight hundred million. Konan accepted on the condition that Tsunade also wager the green pendant on her chest.

• Konan won the first round when the dice totaled eight, doubling her one hundred million ryo to two hundred million.
• Konan won the second round with a total of seven, doubling her winnings to four hundred million ryo as Shizune warned Tsunade to quit.
• Konan won the third round with a total of nine, leaving Tsunade with four hundred million ryo and Konan with eight hundred million.
• Tsunade proposed wagering her four hundred million against all eight hundred million of Konan’s money, and Konan hesitated as the crowd reacted.
• Konan accepted Tsunade’s terms but demanded that Tsunade also wager the green pendant on her chest.

Tsunade lost her jade pendant to Konan in a dice wager after her roll of eighteen became twelve when she shattered one die. As Konan and Pain Rin left with the pendant, Shizune ambushed them and held Pain Rin hostage, but Konan revealed that invisible hands had slipped beneath Shizune’s arms.

• Tsunade recognized Konan and wagered her pendant on a dice game, confidently guessing eighteen after shaking the dice.
• Tsunade’s dice cup shattered one of the three dice, making the total twelve, and Konan won with her guess of six.
• Konan gathered the gambling money with her paper techniques and took the pendant, while Tsunade returned to the inn devastated.
• Konan told Pain Rin that the pendant would help convince Hiruzen to believe a letter and lure him from Konoha.
• Shizune seized Pain Rin on the road and demanded the pendant in exchange for the antidote to poison on her kunai.
• Konan refused, saying the demand was unfair, and Shizune realized invisible hands had slipped beneath her arms.

Pain Rin and Pain-Mu confronted Shizune and Tsunade, using Shizune’s wound to force Tsunade to face her hemophobia. Tsunade saved Shizune and overcame her fear, then suspected a connection between Pain Rin and Orochimaru, but Pain Rin and Konan disappeared.

• Pain-Mu absorbed Shizune’s chakra, and Pain Rin revealed she was immune to Shizune’s poison.
• Pain Rin stabbed Shizune as Tsunade arrived, triggering Tsunade’s hemophobia and leaving her unable to treat her disciple.
• Pain Rin challenged Tsunade to confront her trauma over Dan Katō, and Tsunade stopped her punch just short of Pain Rin’s face.
• Tsunade steadied herself, used medical ninjutsu, and healed Shizune’s wound.
• Tsunade realized her fear of blood had vanished and suspected Pain Rin was connected to Orochimaru, but Pain Rin and Konan disappeared.

Konan and Pain Rin discussed Nagato’s motives and how to deliver a letter and pendant to the Third Hokage without provoking Konoha. After teasing Konan with her impractical plans, Pain Rin proposed using the Postal Company, and Konan prepared to pay for an expensive express delivery.

• Konan asked why Pain Rin had helped Tsunade and made Rin one of the Paths, and Pain Rin said she acted on a whim and preferred doing what she wanted.
• Konan and Pain Rin discussed whether they would want sons or daughters, and Konan said she viewed Feng as a son because she had watched him grow in the culture tank.
• Konan proposed attacking Konoha, sneaking in, and recruiting an intelligence bird to deliver the letter, but Pain Rin rejected each plan and revealed that the Postal Company offered confidential express delivery.
• Konan pounced on Pain Rin for making her think through delivery plans as a joke, and the two playfully wrestled.
• Konan suggested they use the Postal Company and spend at least one million ryo on the delivery.

Minato visited Hiruzen with a watermelon and told him that Nagato had defeated Hanzo and taken control of Amegakure. He revealed that Danzō had helped Hanzo destroy Akatsuki, leaving Hiruzen stunned.

• Minato used his Flying Thunder God mark to visit Hiruzen and brought him a watermelon.
• Hiruzen learned that Jiraiya had returned to Konoha after being badly injured in Amegakure.
• Minato told Hiruzen that Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, had ended Hanzo's rule and was now Amegakure's legitimate leader.
• Minato said he had met Nagato and chose caution because Nagato's status made any conflict a clash between villages.
• Minato revealed that Hanzo's campaign against Akatsuki had killed its leader, Yahiko, and that Danzō had aided Hanzo.
• Hiruzen dropped his pipe when Minato named Danzō as Hanzo's accomplice.

Minato persuaded Hiruzen to support reducing Danzo’s Root forces, then Hiruzen received an urgent anonymous message suggesting Tsunade had been captured. Hiruzen set out alone for the Land of Rivers, leaving Biwako worried and asking her to watch over Kushina.

• Minato presented evidence of Danzo’s involvement in the Akatsuki purge and explained his plan to reduce Root from eight battalions to four.
• Hiruzen agreed not to interfere with Minato’s decision about Danzo.
• Chong Jiro delivered Hiruzen a letter containing a familiar green pendant and an order to come alone to Hayato Gorge by midnight.
• Hiruzen recognized the pendant as connected to Tsunade and concluded that she was in danger.
• Hiruzen changed into combat attire and told Biwako to look after Kushina if he did not return soon.

Konan and Nagato prepared to confront Hiruzen Sarutobi at Hayato Gorge, while Hiruzen destroyed Minato’s Flying Thunder God kunai to keep him out of the conflict. The chapter ended with Hiruzen arriving and Nagato introducing himself from the mountaintop.

• White Zetsu Number 47 reported that Hiruzen was approaching, and Nagato warned Number 0 and the other clones to be careful.
• Nagato returned to Konan with his real body, explaining that he planned to face Hiruzen himself and conceal Pain’s involvement.
• Hiruzen suspected Nagato had abducted Tsunade and feared Minato’s intervention could trigger a wider war, so he destroyed the kunai Minato had given him.
• Hiruzen summoned Enma, who transformed into the Adamantine Staff, and raced toward the mountain to secure Tsunade’s safety.
• Konan transformed into Tsunade and let Nagato bind her as a decoy.
• Hiruzen reached the mountain, where Nagato greeted him and gave his name.

Nagato and Hiruzen Sarutobi fought across the mountain after Nagato confronted Hiruzen over Danzo’s actions. Hiruzen exposed Konan’s disguise as Tsunade, and the battle escalated until Nagato began a summoning technique.

• Hiruzen tried to negotiate with Nagato, but Nagato used Banshō Ten'in and a Black Rod to attack him, only to strike an Earth Release: Shadow Clone.
• Hiruzen identified Konan posing as Tsunade and launched a Shuriken Shadow Clone attack; Nagato repelled the shuriken and freed Konan, who dropped her disguise and withdrew.
• Hiruzen and four Shadow Clones unleashed the Five Release: Great Combo Technique, but Nagato’s Shinra Tensei destroyed the elemental attack and the clones.
• Nagato pulled Hiruzen in with Banshō Ten'in and absorbed his Great Flame Technique, then bound him with Asura Path cables.
• Hiruzen used the Adamantine Staff and Wind Release to sever the cables, smashed Nagato’s Mechanical Armor, and was thrown back by Shinra Tensei.
• Nagato brought his hands together and began the Summoning Technique.

Hiruzen fought Nagato’s multiplying Hellhound summons and discovered a way to seize the Black Rods controlling them. The chapter ended as Hiruzen began using Adamantine Disassembly against the rods.

• Nagato summoned a three-headed Hellhound, and Hiruzen split it with Lightning Release: Thunderclap, only for its halves to multiply into three beasts.
• Hiruzen and his Shadow Clones trapped the Hellhounds with Three-Way Seal and destroyed them with Three-Way Wind Blade.
• Hiruzen confronted Nagato about Tsunade, but Nagato revealed the Hellhounds had multiplied again into a nine-headed monster with eighteen Rinnegan.
• Hiruzen formed an Adamantine Staff cage around the Hellhound and used Enma's Hand to grab the Black Rods embedded in its heads.
• Hiruzen began Ninja Art: Adamantine Disassembly as Nagato recognized his plan.

Nagato outmaneuvered Hiruzen Sarutobi by using Pain-Mu’s invisibility to drain Hiruzen’s chakra and kill Enma. Hiruzen collapsed, leaving Nagato victorious and his search for Tsunade unresolved.

• Hiruzen used Adamantine Disassembly to remove the Black Rods from the Amplified Hellhound and make it disappear.
• Hiruzen caught Nagato with a Shadow Technique, but Nagato escaped with a Substitution Technique and attacked with boulders.
• Hiruzen shattered the boulders with the Partial Multi-Size Technique, then concealed himself inside a Water Dragon Bullet to attack Nagato.
• Nagato anticipated Hiruzen’s Mind Body Switch Technique, and an invisible Pain-Mu seized Hiruzen and began draining his chakra.
• Nagato repelled Enma with Banshō Ten'in, and Pain-Mu ripped out Enma’s soul with the Human Path.
• Hiruzen collapsed after losing his chakra and saw Enma lying dead.

Nagato revealed that he needed Hiruzen's Yin Release chakra meridian, while Orochimaru arrived to confront his former teacher and explained the danger of refusing. Hiruzen agreed to let Nagato extract the meridian in exchange for a promise not to attack Konoha unless it attacked first, though Nagato still demanded Danzo's death.

• Nagato told Hiruzen that Tsunade was alive and her hemophobia had been cured, then explained that he had brought Hiruzen there for something he needed.
• Orochimaru decided to meet Hiruzen, appeared beside him, and explained that Nagato needed Hiruzen's Yin Release chakra meridian.
• Orochimaru warned Hiruzen that his unexplained death could lead Minato and Nagato into conflict and ignite another world war, so Hiruzen abandoned his wish to die.
• Hiruzen offered Nagato his meridian in exchange for a promise not to attack Konoha unless Konoha attacked first, and Nagato demanded that Danzo die.
• Hiruzen agreed, and Nagato began extracting his chakra meridian with Earth Grudge Fear.

Hiruzen left after Nagato spared his life, while Orochimaru let go of his resentment toward Konoha and Nagato claimed Enma’s soul for his Animal Path. In Hidden Grass Village, a pregnant woman named Karin’s mother faced abuse from Dog Beast until someone smashed open the door.

• Nagato healed Hiruzen’s wounds but sealed his ability to use Yin Release ninjutsu, and Hiruzen promised to keep the day’s events secret before leaving.
• Orochimaru thanked Nagato for helping him let go of his attachment and resentment toward Konoha.
• Nagato told Orochimaru that Enma’s ancestors had come from another planet and gave him Enma’s soul to study.
• Nagato received Enma’s soul and planned to make a contract with it, then use the Amplification Summoning Technique to summon Enma through his Animal Path.
• In Hidden Grass Village, Dog Beast exploited Karin’s mother’s healing ability and threatened her unborn child to force her compliance.
• As Dog Beast attacked Karin’s mother, someone smashed open the hut’s door.

Darui and Samui rescued a pregnant woman from Dog Beast in Kusagakure and transported her to Amegakure, where Nagato revealed that he was also a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan. The woman remained frightened about her child’s future as Nagato began to explain himself.

• Darui confirmed that the woman on the bed was their target, and she told him Dog Beast was not her husband and asked them to protect her unborn child.
• Darui knocked Dog Beast unconscious and stopped Samui from killing him, reminding her their mission only required them to take the woman away.
• After C sensed chakra gathering nearby, Darui marked the woman’s palm on a scroll and asked Nagato to activate the transportation technique.
• Nagato transported Darui, C, Samui, and the woman from Kusagakure to Amegakure, then invited Samui and the woman inside while the others waited outside.
• Nagato reassured the woman that he understood her fears about being exploited and revealed that he was a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.

Nagato revealed his Uzumaki heritage to Shexiang and offered her and her unborn daughter Karin a home and support in Amegakure. Shexiang agreed to let Nagato train Karin as a shinobi, while asking to work and support herself after the birth.

• Shexiang told Nagato her name and, reassured by their shared Uzumaki blood, drank warm water and regained some strength.
• Nagato explained that he had brought Shexiang to Amegakure partly for the village’s future, and Konan revealed that he had defeated Hanzo and become its leader.
• Nagato offered to support Shexiang and her unborn daughter Karin and to train Karin as his future disciple.
• Shexiang accepted Nagato’s offer, but asked to receive village support only until Karin was born and then earn her own living.
• Nagato agreed and told Shexiang to focus on her pregnancy, promising to visit often.

Samui and Darui left after discussing Nagato, while Konan and Pain Rin tried to bring Kakuzu down from a beam by burning paper money, provoking him into devouring the ashes. Nagato and Orochimaru confirmed that Nagato had awakened the power hidden beneath his Rinnegan, and the chapter ended with Nagato turning back on the stairs.

• Samui said Nagato's gentleness made her want more, confusing Darui and C.
• Pain Rin and Konan found Kakuzu hanging from a beam and repeatedly insisting he was dead.
• Konan burned paper in a basin, then told Kakuzu she was burning her casino winnings, making him beg her to stop.
• Kakuzu broke free, rushed into the rain with the basin, and ate the ashes, claiming he could taste the money.
• Orochimaru asked Nagato about gaining Yin Release chakra pathways from his teacher, and Nagato confirmed the pathways had awakened the power hidden beneath his Rinnegan.

Nagato tested Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in a spar with Orochimaru while Konan watched. After the eyes made Nagato move faster than his body could handle, he recovered from a muscle strain, but Orochimaru lay motionless on the sea after being struck.

• Nagato revealed Madara's genuine Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and told Orochimaru that the Six Paths of Pain had gone dormant without the Rinnegan.
• Nagato stopped the rain with the Rain Tiger at Will Technique, and he and Orochimaru decided to test the Sharingan's power on the sea.
• Konan joined them as a spectator, and Nagato warned that he did not yet know how powerful his new eyes were.
• Orochimaru attacked with Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, but Nagato moved too quickly for his muscles and countered with a heavy punch that sent Orochimaru flying.
• Nagato strained his calf while adapting to the Sharingan and called out to Orochimaru, who remained motionless on the water.

Nagato tested the power of his Sharingan eye, Ofutone, against Orochimaru and discovered that it greatly enhanced his techniques and combat abilities. After Nagato seized Orochimaru in the steam-shrouded sea, he realized the eye’s original power belonged to Izuna’s right eye.

• Orochimaru shed his skin to ambush Nagato, but Nagato’s enhanced Water Dragon Bullet battered him into the sea.
• Nagato explained that Ofutone continuously strengthened taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu while his eye remained open.
• Orochimaru unleashed the Myriad Snake Formation, but Nagato’s Majestic Destroyer Flame overwhelmed it and forced Orochimaru to summon Rashomon.
• Orochimaru used steam, giant snakes, and a shuriken technique to attack Nagato, who evaded the assaults with precise movements.
• Nagato dodged Orochimaru’s surprise Kusanagi Sword strike, seized his throat, and identified the eye’s power as originally belonging to Izuna’s right eye.

Nagato tested the ocular techniques of Madara and Izuna’s Mangekyō Sharingan against Orochimaru, revealing powers that could confine space and magnify existing pain. After enduring both abilities and healing with the Shedding Skin Technique, Orochimaru asked whether the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could produce entirely new ocular techniques.

• Nagato used Otonobe to read Orochimaru’s movements and explained how the right-eye technique had made Uchiha Izuna difficult to defeat.
• Nagato confined the space around Orochimaru with Michi-kaeshi Ōkami and pierced his shoulder with Black Rods, then explained that the technique could suppress space-time abilities.
• Nagato activated Izuna’s Amatsu Ukemikoto through eye contact, magnifying Orochimaru’s real shoulder pain ten thousandfold and forcing him to his knees.
• Orochimaru endured the pain and used the Shedding Skin Technique to restore his body.
• Orochimaru asked Nagato whether the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could produce entirely new ocular techniques.

Nagato concealed the newly awakened Ayakashi technique while challenging Orochimaru to reveal his own power. Orochimaru transformed into the Eight Branches Technique, and Nagato answered with Susanoo before preparing to show its full strength.

• Nagato discovered that Ayakashi could sacrifice ten years of the caster’s life to doom a target to die within three years, and he speculated that Madara might have used it on Hashirama Senju.
• Nagato told Orochimaru he had not sensed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan’s ocular technique, then demanded that Orochimaru reveal a trump card in exchange for seeing another power stirring in Nagato’s eyes.
• Orochimaru transformed into the massive eight-headed serpent form of the Eight Branches Technique while Konan watched from afar.
• Nagato summoned a basic Susanoo, and its twin blades severed two serpent heads before they regenerated.
• Orochimaru’s serpent heads battered Susanoo while Nagato’s blades cut into the serpent, and both fighters quickly regenerated their damage.
• Orochimaru asked to see Susanoo’s true power, and Nagato closed and reopened his eyes before agreeing to grant his wish.

Nagato tested Madara’s eye power and reached Susanoo’s Complete Body Critical Form, but learned he could not complete it because he was not the eyes’ original owner. Back at the base, Kabuto reported that Feng would be born three months early, while a red-haired figure arrived outside Amegakure.

• Nagato used his immense chakra to force Madara’s Susanoo into its Complete Body Critical Form, then stopped when the strain on his eyes became unbearable.
• Nagato concluded that he needed either to awaken his own Sharingan and Rinnegan through Feng or find a way to make Madara’s eyes function at their original owner’s level.
• Orochimaru argued that Complete Body Susanoo had limited practical use, and Nagato ended the test before returning with Orochimaru and Konan to the experimental base.
• Kabuto reported that Feng was developing rapidly and would be born three months early, while remaining healthy.
• Nagato realized Feng’s new due date fell in October of Konoha’s fifty-second year, the month of a major event in the former timeline.
• A red-haired figure arrived outside the village and said he had come as promised.

Nagato and Konan welcomed Sasori to Amegakure, where he challenged them to a contest of arts. Konan went to meet him and discovered he was hiding inside a massive Human Puppet, while Nagato recognized the puppet’s body as someone unexpected.

• Konan served abalone soup to Nagato and Pain Rin, who ate their fill.
• Nagato sensed Sasori arriving in Amegakure exactly six months after their previous meeting.
• Sasori learned that the villagers revered Lord Pain and then hid his chakra in the western district to invite a duel of arts.
• Nagato sent Konan to confront Sasori and had Pain A emerge from the tower’s morgue to assist.
• Konan found Sasori inside a huge, chakra-masking Human Puppet and criticized his lack of innovation.
• Nagato watched the encounter through a crystal ball and realized Sasori had found a dead man’s body.