Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya and the two toad sages battled Kakupai, whose successive elemental attacks pushed them onto the defensive. They launched Sage Art: Goemon, and Kakupai countered with Earth Grudge Fear: Final Barrage, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Jiraiya identified Kakupai as a different enemy from the chakra-absorbing attacker and discussed the uncertain intelligence about Pain’s true body and six corpses with the sages.
• Kakupai attacked Jiraiya with Rain Dragon's Chant, Lightning Release: False Darkness, and Wind Release: Pressure Damage.
• Jiraiya summoned Gamaken to shield him and the sages from Kakupai’s wind attack.
• Jiraiya, Sage Shima, and Sage Fukasaku combined oil, fire, and wind into Sage Art: Goemon.
• Kakupai raised his Rinnegan-eyed elemental masks and countered with Earth Grudge Fear: Final Barrage.

Jiraiya and the sages uncovered how Kakupai used the masks to share vision and struck him with Frog Kata, but Kakupai escaped the follow-up attack using a Water Body Flicker Technique. Jiraiya deduced that Kakupai had stolen Hanzo’s heart and abilities, while Nagato sent two Paths into the fight.

• Kakupai caught Jiraiya’s clone and burned it, then Jiraiya explained that the enemy could share vision despite sensing no other Chakra nearby.
• Sage Shima noticed Kakupai’s shoulder masks turning, and Jiraiya and the sages confirmed that the masks’ eyes shared his vision.
• Jiraiya entered Frog Kata and struck Kakupai with an invisible blow, letting Sage Shima bind him and Sage Fukasaku cut off his Wind Release arm.
• Kakupai escaped Jiraiya’s Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan with Water Body Flicker Technique, and Jiraiya deduced that Kakupai had taken Hanzo’s heart and stolen his abilities.
• Nagato sent the Human Path and Deva Path Pain from the tower to join the battle as Obito watched.

Konan, Orochimaru, and Kabuto hid their experimental base from White Zetsu using Orochimaru’s Invisibility Talismans, while Jiraiya fought Kakupai above ground. Jiraiya’s trap failed, and he came face-to-face with Yahiko’s Deva Path, who greeted him as his former student.

• Konan explained that Madara might use White Zetsu to investigate the base, so Orochimaru prepared talismans to conceal its occupants and equipment.
• Konan, Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Kakuzu put on the talismans and let seven White Zetsus inspect the base; one noticed an invisible obstruction, but another dismissed it, and they left after acknowledging No. 0’s presence.
• Jiraiya trapped Kakupai inside the toad esophagus, but Kakupai used Earth Grudge Fear and Shinra Tensei to destroy the building and escape.
• Jiraiya emerged among the ruins and saw Kakupai, Yujie, and Yahiko’s Deva Path standing above him.
• Yahiko’s Deva Path greeted Jiraiya as his former teacher.

Jiraiya recognized Deva Path Yahiko as his former student and fought the Three Paths of Pain, while Nagato hesitated to take his teacher’s life. Jiraiya escaped the immediate attack with help from the sages, who began preparing a technique as Obito and Nagato watched.

• Jiraiya identified Deva Path Yahiko and realized his former students were behind Pain.
• Deva Path Yahiko used Banshō Ten'in to pull Jiraiya in, then repelled his counterattack with Shinra Tensei, badly injuring him.
• Human Path Yujie hesitated before taking Jiraiya’s soul, allowing Jiraiya to strike him and escape with Sage Shima’s cover.
• Obito questioned Nagato’s hesitation, and Nagato admitted that his feelings for Jiraiya had stopped him from killing his former teacher.
• The Three Paths pursued Jiraiya as Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima prepared a technique, while Nagato told Obito that Pain would defeat any technique Jiraiya used.

Jiraiya lured Pain's Three Paths into a pipe and used the Great Sages' Frog Song to trap them in auditory genjutsu. The attack also affected Nagato, who admitted that three of the remaining Pains had been destroyed and had not been replaced.

• Jiraiya entered a pipe with Pain's Three Paths following, then discussed his suspicions about the absent Pains with the Great Sages.
• Jiraiya and the Great Sages decided to risk using Frog Song despite the possibility that more Pains might be waiting.
• The Great Sages sang Frog Song, and Deva Path Yahiko, Human Path Yujie, and Kakupai collapsed after their vision blurred.
• Nagato dry-heaved as the genjutsu affected him through Pain's shared vision, then told Obito that three Pains had been destroyed in the battle with Hanzo and not replaced.
• Obito asked Nagato where Animal Path, the masked woman he had seen in Konoha, was.

Jiraiya discovered that Nagato was Pain’s true body, but the revived Paths overwhelmed him as he tried to investigate further. Just as the Paths were about to kill him, Minato Namikaze arrived to save him.

• Jiraiya killed Deva Path Yahiko and realized that Yahiko had been dead for a long time, leading him to conclude that Nagato was Pain’s true body.
• Jiraiya refused to retreat with Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, determined to confront Nagato and uncover his motives.
• Kakupai revealed that he had five hearts, while the Naraka Path revived Deva Path Yahiko and Human Path Yujie.
• The Paths blasted Jiraiya out of Sage Mode and attacked him with Black Rods as he lay wounded on the water.
• Minato Namikaze appeared, rescued Jiraiya, and counterattacked the Paths before announcing himself as Konoha’s Fourth Hokage.

Minato rescued Jiraiya from Pain, learned that Nagato controlled the Six Paths, and tracked the source of the Black Rods to Amegakure. He confronted Nagato at the tower, where Nagato denied attacking Konoha and Minato insisted he had come for Pain.

• Minato killed Human Path Yujie, evaded Deva Path Yahiko’s gravity, and escaped with the wounded Jiraiya.
• At home, Jiraiya told Minato that Nagato was behind Pain, and Minato resolved to find his former fellow student.
• Minato used a delayed Jumping Thunder to attack Yahiko, then traced a Black Rod’s chakra back to Nagato with Sage Mode.
• Minato raced to Amegakure Tower as Obito slipped away, then confronted Nagato.
• Nagato denied attacking Konoha, while Minato argued that Pain’s assault made Nagato his target.

Minato met Nagato in Amegakure and used an appeal to their shared ties to Jiraiya to ask about Nagato’s past. Nagato revealed that Shimura Danzō had deceived Hanzo and helped arrange the ambush against Akatsuki.

• Minato challenged Nagato over the Pains’ attack on Konoha and Jiraiya, but Nagato countered that Minato had entered his land uninvited.
• Minato apologized and persuaded Nagato to talk, reminding him that they had both been Jiraiya’s disciples.
• Minato recounted his own history as Jiraiya’s student and said he understood Jiraiya’s grief at believing Nagato and the others had died.
• Minato asked Nagato how he had survived Hanzo’s ambush and what had happened afterward.
• Nagato said Hanzo had initially trusted Akatsuki, but Shimura Danzō had deceived Hanzo and joined him in ambushing the group.

Minato confronted Nagato about Danzo’s role in Yahiko’s death, but their talk turned to Konoha’s wartime harm and Nagato’s losses. They failed to agree on an alliance, though they reached a tentative understanding, and Nagato noticed someone hiding nearby after Minato left.

• Nagato told Minato that Danzo had conspired with Hanzo to ambush Akatsuki, leading to Yahiko’s death, and Minato reconsidered Danzo’s past actions.
• Minato and Nagato discussed Kushina and Nagato’s origins, but Nagato redirected the conversation to Danzo and Konoha’s responsibility for the deaths of his parents and Yahiko.
• Minato acknowledged Konoha’s wartime wrongs, promised to prevent future harm to smaller nations, and said he would gradually weaken Danzo’s power while protecting him as a fellow Konoha shinobi.
• Minato invited Nagato to seek peaceful communication or confront Konoha over his hatred, then proposed that Konoha and Amegakure try to become friends; Nagato again denied being responsible for Pain’s attack.
• Minato left without securing an alliance, exchanged remarks with Nagato about Kushina and the Lady Angel, and vanished before Nagato could reply.
• Nagato noticed someone hiding nearby and called for them to come out.

Nagato returned to his underground base after dealing with Madara’s message and met Kakuzu, then used two recovered corpses of the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, to create new Pains. The chapter ended with Nagato naming the Human Path and Preta Path made from Mu’s divided bodies “Pain-Mu.”

• Nagato corrected White Zetsu that cooperation with Madara would begin in seven months, then sent him away while remaining wary of Obito.
• Nagato returned to the experimental base, greeted Kakuzu, and asked him to assess battle damage and plan repairs and a Ninja Academy renovation.
• Nagato revived Kakupai and had Yakushi Kabuto test the two recovered Mu corpses, whose genetic profiles proved identical.
• Orochimaru explained that Mu had divided himself into two real bodies, and Nagato decided to use them as separate Human Path and Preta Path Pains.
• Nagato implanted Black Rods in both Mu corpses, awakened the new Pains, and named them Pain-Mu.

Nagato and Konan celebrated a brief period of stability with their first drink together while Konan also used a charitable delivery to strengthen the people of Amegakure’s support for Pain. They ended the night sharing sukiyaki and sake, toasting their past and their future.

• Konan invited Nagato to celebrate with a drink, and he agreed despite their being underage according to the Ninja Three Prohibitions.
• Konan rewarded the food and wine delivery men with one million ryo in Pain’s name and announced a monthly Charity Day with allowances for households without laborers.
• Nagato and Konan toasted Yahiko, their former Akatsuki comrades, and their own future as they drank sake together.
• Konan gradually warmed to the alcohol, and she and Nagato ate sukiyaki and continued drinking late into the night.

After drinking heavily with Konan, Nagato tried to keep her from drinking more and answered her questions about the man posing as Madara. Konan suggested they do something exciting to stay awake, leaving Nagato flustered and wondering what she meant.

• Nagato stopped the drunken Konan from going out to buy more alcohol as he felt his control over the Companion Tailed Beast weakening.
• Konan reclined across the sofa with her head on Nagato's lap, and Nagato tried to distract himself by asking what she thought of his fight with Jiraiya.
• Konan asked whether the man calling himself Madara was really Madara, so Nagato revealed that he was Uchiha Obito and explained his connection to Rin and Pain Rin's mask.
• Konan said that the truth no longer mattered to her, then asked Nagato to carry her to the bathroom before changing her mind.
• After returning from the bathroom, Konan declined to lie down again and proposed doing something exciting to fight off sleep.

Nagato and Konan watched Darui, Samui, and C endure another night in the Rain Country as their fear and desperation grew. Darui deduced that Amegakure wanted to recruit them and proposed pretending to join, but Pain Rin overheard his plan.

• Nagato used the Telescope Technique to show Konan Darui, Samui, and C sheltering in a ruined Rain Country temple.
• Samui gave up resisting and announced she would bathe, while C said he would relieve himself despite the risk of being summoned back.
• Darui argued that their captors intended to recruit and cultivate them, and claimed Hanzo was behind the repeated summons.
• Darui proposed that the three pretend to join Amegakure, earn their captors’ trust, and uncover their secrets.
• Pain Rin appeared and revealed she had heard Darui’s plan to kill her and return to the Hidden Cloud Village.

Darui, Samui, and C fought Pain Rin but were captured by her summons and powers. To save his companions, Darui agreed to serve Nagato, and all three became rogue ninja under his command.

• Darui tried to take his own life, but C stopped him and urged the group to fight Pain Rin together.
• Pain Rin summoned a giant lizard that poisoned and paralyzed Darui, then revealed that Hanzo had died long ago.
• Pain Rin's forces restrained Samui and C, and Darui agreed to serve her to save their lives.
• Darui, Samui, and C marked their forehead protectors as rogue ninja and accepted their new lives as Nagato's subordinates.
• Nagato watched the three in the rain and promised they would not regret their decision.

Minato and Jiraiya discussed Nagato’s attack on Konoha, the suspicious events involving the Uchiha, and the possibility that an unknown figure had influenced Nagato. Minato then proposed finding a way to get Jiraiya’s novels into Amegakure, hinting at a mischievous plan involving the Scroll of Seals.

• Minato told Jiraiya that Nagato had held back during their confrontation and might have been influenced by an unknown presence with powerful space-time abilities.
• Minato connected Nagato’s visit to the Uchiha with Shisui’s lost arm at Kikyo Mountain and suspected Nagato had threatened Fugaku and Shisui into keeping silent.
• Jiraiya wondered whether Nagato was the child of prophecy, while Minato suggested they might still resolve Nagato’s prejudice and make him an ally.
• Jiraiya asked Minato whether he and Kushina had read Icha Icha Paradise, and Minato blushed as he recalled Kushina’s reaction.
• Minato told Jiraiya that Nagato and Konan might become husband and wife, then proposed getting Jiraiya’s novels into Amegakure.
• Minato concealed his real plan to use Jiraiya’s work as part of a scheme involving the Scroll of Seals.

Danzo learned that Nagato had wiped out two Root divisions and killed the Root member who reported the loss. In Amegakure, Pain A welcomed Darui, Samui, and C as new ninjas and sent their squad to retrieve a pregnant civilian from the Land of Grass.

• Danzo learned that Root's Sixth and Seventh Divisions had been annihilated and decided to postpone his operation against Nagato while rebuilding Root and intensifying tensions with the Uchiha.
• Danzo strangled the Root member who reported the defeat, then killed him with wind blades to ensure his silence.
• Darui, Samui, and C reported to Pain A after spending nearly half a month in Amegakure.
• Pain A named them the Thunder God squad, appointed Darui as captain, and assigned them to find a red-haired woman in the Land of Grass.
• Pain A told the squad that the woman was a pregnant civilian whose safety they had to protect, while Samui questioned the mission.

Nagato received the medicine Orochimaru developed to suppress drowsiness during Konan’s Night Netherworld Spider Lily training. He then revealed that he had mastered Earth Grudge Fear Jutsu and was preparing to seize a compatible Yin Release chakra pathway, leaving the intended target unnamed.

• Konan served Nagato homemade sandwiches, and he enthusiastically ate them before they went their separate ways.
• Nagato visited the underground base and found Orochimaru monitoring Kaede while Kabuto caught up on sleep.
• Orochimaru gave Nagato medicine that suppressed drowsiness, explaining its effects, declining immunity, and eventual tolerance.
• Nagato told Orochimaru he had mastered Earth Grudge Fear Jutsu and planned to acquire a Yin Release chakra pathway.
• Nagato said he had a candidate in mind and began to identify him, but the chapter ended before naming him.

Nagato asked Orochimaru to speak honestly about Konoha and Hiruzen, and Orochimaru revealed his attachment to the village alongside his plan to destroy it. Nagato said he would spare Hiruzen by taking only one chakra pathway if Orochimaru chose to protect his former teacher, leaving Hiruzen’s fate to Orochimaru’s decision.

• Nagato admitted that he had coerced Orochimaru and said he wanted their relationship to give Orochimaru something he truly wanted, then asked what Orochimaru felt about Konoha and Hiruzen.
• Orochimaru described Konoha as both his beloved homeland and a cage, explaining that he sought eternal life and truth because he could not accept human frailty and loss.
• Orochimaru said he had defected because Konoha’s bonds and principles obstructed his goals, not out of hatred for his parents’ deaths, and confessed that he had planned to destroy the village.
• Orochimaru admitted that he still felt attached to Hiruzen and could not know how he would react unless Nagato truly tried to kill his former teacher.
• Nagato explained that he could take one of Hiruzen’s Yin Release chakra pathways instead of his heart, and said he was willing to accept the risk for Orochimaru.
• Nagato told Orochimaru to determine his true feelings when the time came, saying Hiruzen’s life would depend on Orochimaru’s choice.

Nagato and Orochimaru discussed how to lure Hiruzen Sarutobi away from Konoha, rejecting Asuma as leverage and settling on Tsunade as a more consequential target. Orochimaru explained Tsunade’s trauma and warned Nagato against using force, ending with her weakness for gambling.

• Nagato told Orochimaru they should wait until Hiruzen left Konoha, then suggested Asuma might draw him out; Orochimaru argued Hiruzen would not risk the village for his son.
• Nagato rejected using Orochimaru as bait and proposed that Hiruzen might act if Konoha faced the loss of someone important.
• Nagato named Tsunade as the potential target, citing her standing as a Sannin, Hiruzen’s disciple, a powerful medical shinobi, and the First Hokage’s granddaughter.
• Orochimaru told Nagato that Nawaki and Dan Katō had died during the Second Shinobi World War, leaving Tsunade with hemophobia and unable to serve as a shinobi.
• Orochimaru warned that Tsunade would kill herself rather than be captured, and Nagato agreed they would need a nonviolent way to make her submit.
• Orochimaru revealed that Tsunade loved gambling and lost every bet she made.

Nagato and Konan shared a rainy evening over Konan’s homemade meat porridge, and Nagato told her about his conversation with Orochimaru. The night ended when Konan showed Nagato a suspicious orange-covered book, whose title shocked him.

• Nagato returned to the tower, found Konan cooking porridge, and held back from touching her waist.
• Konan served Nagato her imperfect homemade porridge, which he praised and eagerly ate several bowls of.
• Nagato washed the dishes, then rested his head on Konan’s lap as they discussed Orochimaru’s medicine and Nagato’s choice of Hiruzen Sarutobi as the target for Earth Grudge Fear Jutsu.
• Konan accepted the medicine and said she would decide whether to take it based on the circumstances.
• Konan showed Nagato a suspicious orange-covered book she had found at an Amegakure bookstore, and Nagato reacted with shock when he read its title.