Recaps

Konan fought Sasori’s Suikazan Fuguki puppet in Amegakure’s West District, overcoming its defenses with a prepared trap and her new techniques. She unleashed Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, while Kakuzu focused on his plans for the district as explosions shook the village.

• Sasori’s Suikazan Fuguki puppet withstood Konan’s paper spears and used prepared water and fire attacks to keep her at a distance.
• Konan deduced how the puppet’s attacks and defenses worked, then collapsed the platform beneath it to bring it down.
• Konan used her Water Release: Amniotic Fluid Shield to protect herself from the flames and counter her paper body’s weakness to fire.
• Konan surrounded the puppet with paper bearing explosive-tag formulas and activated Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• The explosions engulfed buildings in Amegakure’s West District as Kakuzu dismissed the disturbance and considered his plan for a major industrial park there.

Konan and Pain A fought Sasori’s Fugu Scorpion puppet in the West District, disabling its weapons and exposing Sasori’s escape mechanism. Sasori then unleashed a new technique that trapped Pain A in golden lightning tendrils as a greatsword struck at his neck.

• Konan’s explosive tags damaged Fugu Scorpion, but Sasori activated its Spiral Blades and suction vortex, dragging her paper body toward them.
• Pain A destroyed the suction mechanism with Asura Path: Lightning Snipe, and Konan severed the Spiral Blades’ shaft with her paper wheel.
• Suikazan Fuguki’s puppet attacked Pain A with Cloud-Cutting Slash, but Pain A blocked it and pierced its armor with Hell Stab: One-Finger Nukite.
• Sasori escaped through the puppet’s ejection mechanism, then activated Parasite Threads and blanketed the West District in thick fog.
• Golden lightning tendrils crawled up Pain A, and a greatsword struck across his neck with a clang.

Pain A confronted Sasori and his Human Puppets, but Sasori revealed his new Parasite Threads technique and joined Amegakure. Three months later, the story reached October of Konoha's fifty-second year.

• Pain A dispelled the mist and identified Raiga Kurosuki, Jūzō Biwa, and Suikazan Fuguki as Sasori's Human Puppets.
• Sasori made a dramatic entrance, then asked Pain A about the Third Kazekage and learned that he had retired after being irreparably damaged.
• Sasori explained that he had created Parasite Threads from fragments of his soul to control his Human Puppets without chakra threads.
• Pain A praised the technique, warned Sasori that separating his soul could eventually make it disappear, and welcomed him to Amegakure.
• Three months passed, bringing the Shinobi World to October of Konoha's fifty-second year.

Hiruzen reflected on Minato’s reforms to Root and met Iruka, who shared his wish to become a teacher and pass on the Will of Fire. Minato then told Hiruzen that Tsunade had returned to Konoha and gone to see the unconscious Kakashi.

• Minato reduced Root from eight battalions to four and arranged for its former members to return to clans, regain identities, or serve while atoning for crimes.
• Hiruzen remembered Nagato’s threat against Danzo and hoped Minato’s reforms would keep Danzo from provoking further conflict.
• Iruka visited Mizuki’s cenotaph with Hiruzen and explained that he wanted to become a teacher who inspired Konoha’s children.
• Hiruzen promised to attend Iruka’s Ninja Academy graduation ceremony, and Minato said he would attend too.
• Minato told Hiruzen that Tsunade had returned to Konoha and was at the hospital to examine the unconscious Kakashi.

Tsunade used medical ninjutsu to treat Kakashi, who had remained unconscious from psychological trauma, while Nagato and Orochimaru completed Feng’s cultivation and prepared to make him Nagato’s second body. Kakashi finally opened his eyes as Tsunade’s treatment continued.

• Inoichi explained that Kakashi’s injuries had healed but that trauma still kept him unconscious, and Tsunade revealed she could use medical ninjutsu again.
• Kabuto drained Feng’s cultivation tank, severed his umbilical cord, and delivered him while Konan wrapped him in robes.
• Nagato gave Kabuto a Black Rod crystal and entrusted him with the operation to synchronize Feng’s consciousness with Nagato’s as an Outer Path Pain.
• Tsunade treated Kakashi in Konoha Hospital, and Kakashi’s eyelids moved before he slowly opened his eyes.

Kakashi woke after more than half a year unconscious, but pain stopped him from recalling what he saw during the attack. Outside his room, Tsunade confronted Hiruzen about a serious injury he had concealed, and he began to reveal what happened.

• Kakashi woke in the hospital and learned from Hiruzen that more than half a year had passed since the attack.
• Tsunade arranged for Shizune to care for Kakashi while he recovered, and Inoichi asked him about the masked woman he had fought.
• Kakashi recalled using Chidori but suffered sharp pain when he tried to remember the woman's face, so Minato told him not to force himself.
• Kakashi learned that Kushina was due to give birth in ten days and that Jiraiya had returned to help Minato.
• Tsunade told Hiruzen she had returned to face the responsibility connected to Kushina, then confronted him about a serious injury and his mysterious trip three months earlier.
• Hiruzen sighed and slowly reached into his robes as Tsunade demanded the truth.

Nagato and his allies used the King of Hell to implant Feng with a Black Rod, but the procedure became a staged scare when Nagato pretended Uchiha Madara had taken control. After Konan joined Orochimaru and Kabuto in turning on Nagato, the story shifted to Tsunade, who was stunned by a green pendant Hiruzen showed her.

• Yakushi Kabuto implanted a Black Rod in Feng’s brain, and Konan placed the newborn inside the King of Hell’s mouth.
• Nagato pretended he could not dismiss the Naraka Path and claimed Uchiha Madara had taken control, while Feng cried from inside the King of Hell.
• Nagato revealed the crisis was an act, and Orochimaru and Kabuto moved to punish him after Konan said Nagato was no longer needed.
• Konan held Feng and teased her by asking whether she wanted milk, calling her Nagato.
• At Konoha Hospital, Hiruzen showed Tsunade a green pendant, leaving her visibly shocked.

Tsunade recovered her grandfather’s pendant and confronted Hiruzen about the plot that had brought it to him, then said she would leave Konoha after helping Kushina through childbirth. Meanwhile, Nagato weighed how to protect Minato’s family while securing the Nine-Tails and decided to travel to Sunagakure with Sasori.

• Tsunade realized Konan had used the pendant to draw Hiruzen out of Konoha, and she told him how she had lost it at the gambling den.
• Hiruzen denied being ambushed and asked Tsunade to respect what each of them chose not to reveal; Tsunade accepted his account for now and put the pendant back on.
• Tsunade told Hiruzen she would leave Konoha after helping Kushina through childbirth, and he directed her to work with Biwako at the birth.
• Nagato considered the approaching Nine-Tails Rebellion and concluded that he had to intervene personally to protect Minato’s family while pursuing his own goals.
• Nagato told Konan he was leaving immediately for Sunagakure and asked her to stay with Kaede while Sasori accompanied him.

Nagato explained to Sasori that he had come to the Land of Wind to ask Lady Chiyo for a technique, not to seize anything or fight Hidden Sand Village. Meanwhile, Obito revealed that Kakashi had awakened and that he had seen something interesting through his eye, leaving the sight unexplained.

• Nagato and Sasori sheltered from a sandstorm in a cave in the Land of Wind, where Sasori asked why Nagato had come to Hidden Sand Village.
• Nagato told Sasori he wanted to ask someone for a technique that was not recorded in Hidden Sand Village's secret scrolls.
• Nagato revealed that the person he wanted to meet was Sasori's grandmother, Lady Chiyo.
• Obito arrived at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path wearing a tiger-striped mask and said he planned to go to Konoha.
• Obito told the Zetsu that Kakashi had awakened and that his eye had shown him something interesting, but he did not reveal what it was.

Nagato and Sasori infiltrated Hidden Sand Village to seek Chiyo’s revival technique, but Rasa detected Pain-Mu and attacked him with Gold Dust. In Konoha, Kakashi visited the Memorial Stone and spoke to Rin about the past six months.

• Obito decided to investigate Tsunade’s return to Konoha, while White Zetsu privately mocked his interest in Kakashi.
• Nagato and Sasori reached Hidden Sand Village and sent Pain-Mu ahead with a Flying Thunder God Kunai to find Chiyo without alerting the guards.
• Pain-Mu noticed Gold Dust caught in his bandages and used his Sharingan to recognize that it might have been placed deliberately.
• Rasa told Baki he had detected an intruder with Gold Dust and unleashed a massive wave of it at Pain-Mu.
• Kakashi, newly discharged from the hospital, placed flowers at the Memorial Stone and began telling Rin about the events of the past six months.

Obito learned that Minato’s wife would give birth in three days, when the Nine-Tails’ seal would weaken, and decided to attack despite Konoha’s strong defenses. After considering Danzo as a possible ally, he chose to approach Nagato instead.

• Kakashi visited Rin’s grave and revealed that Minato’s child would be born in three days under heavy protection.
• Obito overheard Kakashi, abandoned his visit to Rin’s grave, and reported the delivery and Konoha’s defenses to Black and White Zetsu.
• White Zetsu warned that capturing the Nine-Tails would be pointless without the other Tailed Beasts sealed in the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Obito insisted that attacking Konoha could weaken its forces and destabilize the Shinobi World, then considered recruiting an insider to help.
• White Zetsu suggested Danzo as an ally, but Obito decided Nagato was a better choice and planned to approach him.

Pain-Mu infiltrated Sunagakure, but Rasa trapped the area and forced him to flee with Nagato and Sasori. Nagato and Sasori went to visit Granny Chiyo, while Obito arrived in Amegakure seeking Nagato and confronted the silent Pain Rin.

• Pain-Mu broke free of Rasa's Gold Dust Funeral, drained Rasa's Gold Dust clone of chakra, and entered Sunagakure using concealment.
• Rasa sealed Zone B with a Gold Dust barrier, then led the Sand shinobi in attacks intended to expose and trap the concealed enemy.
• Nagato protected Sasori with Susanoo and escaped the barrage using his Water Body Flicker Technique.
• Nagato and Sasori traveled to Granny Chiyo's home, and Sasori returned to the place he thought he would never see again.
• Obito arrived at the Amegakure tower and demanded that Pain Rin summon Nagato, then complained that she was mute.

Obito sought Nagato’s real body and proposed exploiting the weakened seal during Konoha’s Nine-Tails jinchuriki’s childbirth to destroy the village. Meanwhile, Nagato and Sasori visited Granny Chiyo in Sunagakure, where Nagato revealed that Hanzo was already dead.

• Pain Rin evaded Obito’s attempt to remove her mask and told Konan that he had come asking to speak with her real body.
• Nagato sent the Deva Path to meet Obito while Konan took Kaede to the underground base.
• Nagato and Sasori entered Granny Chiyo’s home during a diversion in Sunagakure, and Chiyo suspected they were Akatsuki and guessed they wanted an antidote for Salamander Poison.
• Chiyo refused to help the invaders and urged them to leave, but Nagato told her that Hanzo of the Salamander was already dead.
• Obito asked Nagato to attack Konoha during the Nine-Tails jinchuriki’s childbirth, and Deva Path Yahiko reacted in disbelief.

Nagato told Granny Chiyo that he had killed Hanzo and revealed that he wanted her forbidden Life Transference Reincarnation technique, though the chapter ended before he explained why. Meanwhile, Obito urged Nagato to abandon his moral objections and help attack Kushina Uzumaki and her unborn child.

• Nagato told Granny Chiyo that he had killed Hanzo, and she questioned him about his identity and the Rinnegan.
• Nagato asked Granny Chiyo to teach him Life Transference Reincarnation, and she demanded to know why he wanted the technique.
• Nagato claimed that Yakushi Kabuto had discovered the secret technique while spying in Sunagakure.
• Granny Chiyo explained that the technique sacrificed its user's life to save another and warned Nagato that threats would not make her teach it.
• Obito defended attacking the pregnant Kushina Uzumaki and her unborn child, then urged Nagato to prioritize what he called the greater good.

Nagato challenged Obito’s plan to target the Nine-Tails during Kushina’s childbirth, forcing Obito to defend his motives. Nagato then failed to persuade Grandmother Chiyo to use Life Transference Reincarnation, but introduced a mysterious woman whose identity stunned her.

• Nagato pointed out that Obito’s plan to seize the Nine-Tails first contradicted the Tailed Beast sealing order and risked provoking Konoha.
• Nagato suggested Obito was using the Eye of the Moon Plan as cover for personal resentment and framed the attack as a test of Nagato’s resolve.
• Obito refused to accept Nagato’s explanation and asked him what bearing a strong person should have.
• Nagato asked Grandmother Chiyo for Life Transference Reincarnation, but she refused because Kakashi’s father had caused the deaths of her son and daughter-in-law.
• Nagato accepted Chiyo’s refusal and asked her to meet someone; a black-robed woman revealed her face, leaving Chiyo visibly shaken.

Nagato brought Sasori and Chiyo together to confront their shared past and ask Chiyo to teach him Life Transference Reincarnation. Chiyo agreed, while below the tower Obito declared his ruthless commitment to the Eye of the Moon Plan.

• Chiyo confronted Sasori, who admitted turning the Third Kazekage into a Human Puppet and revealed that he had transformed his own body into a puppet.
• Nagato explained why he had brought Sasori to Chiyo and asked her to teach him Life Transference Reincarnation.
• Nagato prostrated himself before Chiyo, apologizing for the burden Sasori's actions had placed on her and Hidden Sand Village.
• Chiyo accepted Nagato's request and said he had three days to master Life Transference Reincarnation.
• Below the tower, Obito told Pain Yahiko that he would kill even his family and loved ones for the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Nagato defeated Rasa’s forces in Hidden Sand Village, copied Rasa’s Gold Dust Magnet Release expertise, and awakened the ability to create a Gold Dust eye. As the night of the Nine-Tails Rebellion began, Nagato and his allies prepared to carry out their plan against Obito.

• Rasa’s bombardment exposed Pain-Mu, and Rasa pierced him with a Gold Dust spear before Pain-Mu’s Human Path immobilized him and copied his knowledge of Gold Dust Magnet Release.
• Nagato revived Pain-Mu’s Preta Path, used Blood Rama to awaken Gold Dust Magnet Release, and formed a third eye while considering whether it could turn a real eye into an external Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Nagato told Sasori that an uninvited guest had arrived and reflected that his one-year agreement with Obito was nearing its end.
• Obito persuaded Nagato to help with the Nine-Tails attack by stopping Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya while Obito dealt with Kushina and released the Nine-Tails.
• Nagato arranged to meet Obito at the Valley of the End, then, three days later, gathered Konan, Orochimaru, and Kabuto to begin their plan on October 10.

Nagato met Obito at the Valley of the End to plan their attack on Konoha during Kushina’s delivery, while secretly intending to exploit the chaos for his own plans. Obito left Nagato to infiltrate Konoha and await the Nine-Tails’ arrival.

• Nagato waited at the Valley of the End and considered whether Obito could seize Naruto with Tsunade present.
• Obito arrived and urged Nagato to summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but Nagato refused to expose it.
• Obito explained that he would attack Kushina, release the Nine-Tails, and summon it into Konoha while Nagato dealt with Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya.
• Nagato warned that Danzo and the Uchiha Clan might interfere, but Obito claimed neither would risk opposing the attack.
• Obito told Nagato to infiltrate Konoha and await his signal, while Nagato secretly planned to take advantage of the aftermath for his own scheme.

Kushina gave birth to Naruto while Minato struggled to keep the Nine-Tails sealed. Obito attacked the delivery room, but Minato saved Naruto; Obito then trapped Kushina and triggered the cave’s collapse as Nagato watched.

• Kushina gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and Minato asked Tsunade to hold Naruto while he reinforced the seal.
• Obito passed through the barrier and attacked Tsunade, who fought to protect Naruto as Shizune tried to help.
• Obito took Shizune hostage and used Sharingan genjutsu to make Tsunade drop Naruto, but Minato rescued the baby.
• Obito’s white vines restrained Kushina, explosive tags filled the cave, and he vanished as the cave collapsed.
• Nagato watched through a crystal ball and said separating Kushina from the Nine-Tails remained necessary to his plan.

Obito extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina and summoned it into Konoha, while Minato returned Kushina to their home and prepared to confront him. As the village began mobilizing to evacuate and fight, the Nine-Tails started its assault and Obito called on Nagato to act.

• Tsunade activated her Yin Seal and sent Katsuyu to make clones in the village as she prepared for a possible Nine-Tails attack.
• Minato brought Naruto home, told Jiraiya that Kushina had been kidnapped, and urged him to organize an evacuation and resistance.
• Obito used his Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, extracted it from Kushina, and nearly killed her before Minato rescued her.
• Minato left Kushina and Naruto at home and went out to face Obito, while Itachi, Fugaku, Shisui, Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage prepared to defend Konoha.
• Obito summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha, where it began destroying buildings, and told Nagato to start acting.

Obito unleashed the Nine-Tails against Konoha, while Minato and the Slug Legion rescued civilians and fought to limit the damage. After Minato redirected a Tailed Beast Ball to Nagato’s vicinity, Obito attacked him with Kamui, leaving their confrontation unresolved.

• Obito watched the Nine-Tails fire a Tailed Beast Ball into an evacuated district, and the Slug Legion protected civilians from the blast and falling debris.
• Minato saved Iruka from a collapsing wall, and Katsuyu healed Iruka’s trapped parents.
• Minato used the Time-Space Barrier Technique and Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder to redirect a Tailed Beast Ball, sending its explosion near Nagato.
• Hiruzen and Jiraiya joined the battle, and Jiraiya sensed Obito hiding nearby.
• Obito evaded the ninjas’ kunai, appeared behind Minato, grabbed his wrist, and activated Kamui.

Obito attacked Hiruzen and Iruka while Jiraiya fought the Nine-Tails, and Hiruzen worked out how Obito’s intangibility operated. Jiraiya unleashed a powerful Sage Art against the Nine-Tails as Obito waited anxiously for Nagato to act.

• Obito tried to capture Minato with Kamui, then attacked Iruka, but Hiruzen protected Iruka and his parents with a Three-Way Seal.
• Jiraiya struck the Nine-Tails with Frog Kata, trapped it in the Swamp of the Underworld, and pinned it down with Gamahiro.
• Hiruzen deduced that Obito displaced the parts of his body struck by attacks and planned to lure him into becoming tangible.
• The Nine-Tails broke free of Gamahiro and toppled him, forcing Jiraiya to summon him away.
• Jiraiya and the two great sage toads launched Sage Art: Goemon at the Nine-Tails.

Hiruzen, Minato, and Jiraiya struggled to contain Obito and the recovering Nine-Tails as Obito prepared to destroy them with a Tailed Beast Ball. Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha arrived to block the blast, leaving Minato to confront Obito.

• Jiraiya and the Great Sages scorched the Nine-Tails with Sage Art: Goemon, but it healed and resumed attacking Konoha’s ninja.
• Hiruzen and Minato tried to exploit Obito’s intangibility, but Obito anticipated their plan and turned Minato’s Rasengan against Hiruzen.
• Fukasaku and Shima began preparing Frog Song while Jiraiya and the Konoha ninja fought the Nine-Tails, which killed and injured many of them.
• Obito recognized Frog Song and ordered the Nine-Tails to fire a Tailed Beast Ball into the ground to wipe out the fighters.
• Minato moved to intercept the Tailed Beast Ball, but Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha arrived and used Susanoo: Twin-Blade Slash to block it.

The Uchiha and Sarutobi clans joined forces with Konoha against the Nine-Tails, while Obito escaped Jiraiya’s Frog Song and confronted Minato. Recognizing Obito’s concealed Wood Release, Minato began to suspect the masked man was Obito and asked him directly.

• Fugaku led the Uchiha Clan to the front lines and publicly declared that the masked Nine-Tails controller had a connection to Uchiha eyes, winning Hiruzen’s reassurance of trust.
• Hiruzen and Fugaku led the Sarutobi and Uchiha clans in a combined Fire Release attack that scorched the Nine-Tails.
• Obito realized Nagato had never intended to help him and charged toward Jiraiya as the Sages prepared Frog Song.
• Obito used concealed Wood Release to ensnare Minato, then escaped Frog Song by drawing himself away with his right eye.
• Minato recognized Obito’s Wood Release from the attack on Kakashi and wondered why the masked man had spared Kakashi.
• Obito appeared before Minato in the mountain forest, and Minato asked whether he was Obito.

Minato confronted the masked man he believed was Madara and used his newly developed sealing technique to activate Sage Mode during their fight. After Minato’s Sage Art disabled Obito’s intangibility and left him near death, Obito revealed himself by calling Minato “Sensei.”

• Minato questioned the masked man’s identity and deduced that he had survived the Valley of the End by obtaining Hashirama Senju’s cells.
• Obito forced Minato to stay and fight, using chains to intercept him while Minato worried about returning to Kushina.
• Minato revealed his Immortal-Sealing Formula, which let him release stored Senjutsu Chakra and enter Sage Mode instantly.
• Minato struck Obito with Frog Kata and followed with Sage Art: True Spiral Flash Sky-Splitting Sunlight Sphere, disrupting Obito’s Chakra and destroying half his mask.
• As Minato’s attack threatened to kill him, Obito cried out, “Minato, Sensei... are you really going to kill me?”