Chapter Summaries

Obito absorbed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and prepared to train before his agreed confrontation with Nagato. Nagato began using the Mirror Attacker Technique to train against copies of himself, determined to surpass Obito over the next two months.

• Obito agreed to keep Konan alive for Tobi and dismissed Black Zetsu's praise of his increased strength.
• Obito told Black Zetsu he could use Naruto instead of Nagato to revive Madara, then absorbed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into his right eye.
• Obito announced he would train to master his new body before settling things with Nagato on their agreed date.
• Number 67 relayed news of Obito's plans to Amegakure, where Nagato used the Mirror Attacker Technique to create a copy of himself for training.
• Nagato vowed to surpass himself repeatedly during the sixty days before his confrontation with Obito.

Nagato planned to defeat Obito alone and force him to become Akatsuki’s public leader, keeping Amegakure out of the Five Great Nations’ crosshairs. At the appointed shrine, Obito appeared before Nagato, who greeted him as Mr. Madara.

• Obito trained relentlessly in Arakawa, combining taijutsu with Wood Release as Black Zetsu and Haku Zetsu discussed his growing power and the risk he posed to Nagato.
• Nagato relaxed in Amegakure’s bath with Konan, who urged him to gather their forces and kill Obito.
• Nagato decided to face Obito alone without the Six Paths of Pain and explained that he wanted to rebuild Akatsuki with Obito as its false public leader.
• Nagato met Obito at the appointed shrine and greeted him, “Mr. Madara, how have you been...”

Nagato revealed how he discovered that Obito was impersonating Madara, and Obito disclosed that Madara had given Nagato his Rinnegan before attacking him. Nagato awakened an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, destroyed Obito’s Wood Release Clone, and countered his forest assault with a powerful Wind Release.

• Nagato told Obito that Orochimaru’s failed Impure World Reincarnation of Obito proved he was still alive, and that Obito’s careless remarks confirmed his identity.
• Nagato explained that he and Konan had rejected Obito’s plan after learning he had lied about being Madara, and Obito admitted he had acted according to Madara’s will.
• Obito claimed that Madara had bestowed the Rinnegan on Nagato and lunged to take it, but Nagato’s right eye transformed into an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Nagato pierced Obito’s Wood Release Clone with lightning, then cut it in half after his ocular technique saw through the disguise.
• Obito unleashed Deep Forest Emergence and tried to trap Nagato, but Nagato used Ofutone and the Banana Palm Fan to sweep away the trees with Wind Release: Wind Spirit’s Wicked Play.

Nagato and Obito fought as Nagato used the Banana Palm Fan and his insight to counter Obito’s Wood Release and Kamui. Obito escalated by combining the two powers into Hell’s Wild Dance and sent a twisting mass of trees toward Nagato.

• Nagato amplified a sweeping Wind Release with the Banana Palm Fan, uprooting Obito’s Deep Forest Emergence and forcing Obito to rely on Kamui intangibility.
• Obito charged through Nagato’s gale with Ferocious Cutting Sprigs, but Nagato evaded the spear at close range and nearly reached through Obito’s mask to gouge out his right eye.
• Obito avoided Nagato’s eye attack by turning intangible, then struck at Nagato with a sweeping kick and Earth-Piercing Nails while his wounds rapidly healed.
• Obito declared that his fusion of Senju and Uchiha power had surpassed Madara, then combined Kamui with Wood Release to launch Hell’s Wild Dance at Nagato.

Obito and Nagato fought with Wood Release, Kamui, and Susanoo, while Nagato concealed a counterattack. Nagato left Obito with a permanently crippled right leg, then revealed his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

• Obito unleashed Hell's Wild Dance, forcing Nagato's Crow Tengu Susanoo to the verge of collapse.
• Nagato used Susanoo: Water Body Flicker Technique to escape, then tried to attack Obito from underground.
• Obito exposed Nagato with a Wood Release trap and impaled him, believing he had killed him.
• A delayed explosive tag damaged Obito's right leg, and he discovered that the head he had protected was a wooden decoy.
• Nagato appeared with an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and used Amatsu Ukemikoto to amplify Obito's leg pain and leave him crippled.

Nagato battered Obito, but Obito used Izanagi to recover and trap them both inside an Uchiha Flame Formation. Obito unleashed Flower Tree Realm Emergence and its toxic pollen, forcing Nagato to prepare Planetary Devastation.

• Nagato severely injured Obito and mocked him, demanding that he submit.
• Obito activated Izanagi, then raised an Uchiha Flame Formation to keep Nagato from escaping and threatened Amegakure’s civilians.
• Obito used Wood Release: Flower Tree Realm Emergence, filling the sealed battlefield with toxic pollen.
• Nagato put on a gas mask and began using Planetary Devastation to counter Obito’s technique.

Nagato used Planetary Devastation to seal Obito's Flower Tree Realm, then battled Obito's Kamui and Izanagi assault. As Obito regrew the poisonous forest and lunged at him, Nagato activated Super Shinra Tensei, leaving its effects unresolved.

• Nagato cast Planetary Devastation, uprooting the Flower Tree Realm and drawing the earth and pollen into a massive sphere above the battlefield.
• Obito repeatedly used Kamui and Izanagi to evade Nagato's Shinra Tensei and close in for an attack, while Nagato watched the progress of Izanagi's limited duration.
• After ten minutes of fighting, Obito recreated the Flower Tree Realm to fill the air with poisonous pollen and planned to absorb Nagato before he could seal it again.
• Nagato's Asura Path armor restrained Obito long enough for Nagato to interrupt his Kamui absorption by stabbing his right eye with a Black Rod.
• Nagato rose beneath Planetary Devastation and activated both Rinnegan to unleash Super Shinra Tensei as Obito pursued him in midair.

Nagato unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, destroyed the Uchiha Flame Formation, and used his new Asura Sniping weapon to overpower Obito. With Izanagi nearly exhausted and unable to escape Nagato’s range, Obito admitted defeat and asked Nagato to hear his final words.

• Nagato’s Super Shinra Tensei obliterated Obito, crushed Planetary Devastation, and broke the Uchiha Flame Formation, leaving a vast basin near Amegakure.
• Nagato summoned ten creatures to share their vision and revealed his modified Asura Sniping right hand, while Obito revived using Izanagi.
• Nagato repeatedly shot Obito as he revived and tried to escape, using different chakra-attribute bullets to hit him through obstacles and interrupt Kamui.
• Obito lunged at Nagato, but Nagato transformed his right hand into an Asura Shotgun and riddled Obito with bullets before retreating onto the Yata Crow.
• Unable to fly or escape Nagato’s range, Obito admitted defeat and asked Nagato to listen to words from his heart before he died.

Obito tried to regain Nagato’s trust by revealing Madara’s plans and insisting the Eye of the Moon Plan was real. Nagato agreed to work with him but demanded that Obito rebuild the Akatsuki he had destroyed before he would consider forgiving him.

• Nagato angrily denounced Obito for deceiving him, while secretly hoping Obito would make a convincing case for the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Obito argued that Madara had proposed the plan and used Nagato’s Rinnegan as proof that Madara had secretly arranged matters before his death.
• After Izanagi expired, Obito began explaining Madara’s history and plans, while Konan learned that Nagato had been intended as a pawn in Madara’s resurrection.
• Nagato jumped down from the Yata Crow and told Obito he would not become a pawn for Madara, but Obito claimed he cared only about activating the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
• Nagato agreed to join Obito but demanded that he rebuild the Akatsuki he had destroyed before Nagato would consider forgiving him.

Nagato forced Obito to rebuild Akatsuki with ten members of Hokage-level strength before they would cooperate on the Eye of the Moon Plan. Obito accepted and invented a new identity, while Nagato kept him in place to shield himself from Black Zetsu; a month later, the author’s note reported the birth of the author’s son.

• Nagato set the standard that Akatsuki must recruit ten ninja with strength above elite Jonin, and Obito agreed to rebuild the organization as an apology for Yahiko and Akatsuki’s fallen members.
• Nagato and Obito each secretly planned to eventually outmaneuver the other, while Nagato concluded he needed Obito to hold off Black Zetsu.
• Obito rejected continuing to pose as Madara and introduced himself as Senju Kashyapa, a supposed son of Hashirama Senju who had created the Blood Mist Village.
• Obito departed through his right eye’s space-time vortex, and Nagato turned his attention to Konan’s Night Netherworld Spider Lily.
• The author reported that a boy was born on July 30 and apologized for the brief interruption to updates.

Konan began the Cocoon Break ritual after a year of cultivating Night Netherworld Spider Lily, despite severe illness and exhaustion. As the ritual’s pain left her unable to move, she kissed Nagato and begged him to stimulate her so she could stay conscious.

• Nagato watched Konan begin the Cocoon Break ritual at the Amegakure lake, where she revealed a new centipede-shaped scar on her back.
• Nagato recalled how the medicine Konan had taken to suppress sleep had left her gravely ill and weak, and how Orochimaru had warned that the ritual’s pain was necessary to keep her conscious.
• Konan’s scar pulsed and tore open, causing her unbearable pain until exhaustion left her unable to move.
• As Nagato urged Konan to hold on, she regained resolve, kissed him, and begged him to do anything that would stimulate her and keep her awake.

Nagato stopped himself from taking advantage of Konan while the Cocoon Break clouded her judgment, then encouraged her to endure the final trial. Konan awakened her Night Demon, Black Butterfly, and fell asleep in Nagato’s arms, resolved to face her feelings for him when she woke.

• Nagato broke away from Konan’s kiss and reminded her that the Cocoon Break was her trial, encouraging her to believe in her own strength.
• Konan told Nagato to turn her into Pain if she died, and Nagato promised not to let her die.
• Konan tore open the scar on her back and completed the Cocoon Break, awakening her Black Butterfly form and gaining Yin Release alongside her Yang Release.
• Konan dismissed Black Butterfly when exhaustion overwhelmed her, and Nagato caught her as she collapsed.
• Konan fell asleep in Nagato’s embrace, remembering what had happened and deciding to face her feelings for him when she woke.

After Konan woke from the Chrysalis-Breaking Ritual, Nagato wondered whether she had developed feelings for him and resolved to wait for her. Half a month later, Konan suggested they have a child together, leaving Nagato facing her unexpected proposal.

• Nagato carried the sleeping Konan to her bedroom and wondered whether she would remember their intimate moment and whether she loved him.
• Nagato recalled Konan’s closeness with him and resolved to wait patiently for her feelings to grow.
• Half a month later, Nagato prepared a meal for Konan, who asked what Feng was doing.
• Konan watched Kushina nurse Feng and Naruto through the Telescope Technique and suspected Nagato was using Feng to soothe his grief over losing his parents.
• Nagato remarked that he wondered when he would have children, and Konan replied that they should have one together.

Konan confronted Nagato about his love for her, and they cleared up his mistaken belief that she and Yahiko had been lovers. They confessed their feelings and became a couple, and the story jumped ahead twelve years to a new era in the Shinobi World.

• Konan revealed that she had heard Nagato declare his desire to marry her and have children a year earlier, and Nagato was mortified.
• Nagato admitted he had held back because he thought Konan and Yahiko had been intimate lovers.
• Konan explained that she and Yahiko had confirmed their feelings but had never gone further, intending to wait until Akatsuki brought peace.
• Konan confessed that she had gradually fallen in love with Nagato and asked whether she could be his wife.
• Nagato accepted Konan’s feelings, and twelve years passed as the Shinobi World entered a new era.

Minato learned that Team 7’s C-rank mission in the Land of Waves had become a near-disastrous fight against Zabuza Momochi and the Ice Princess, though the team completed its escort. He gave Team 7 time to recover before the Chunin Ninja Exams, which were set to become a major gathering of four great ninja villages.

• Minato welcomed Team 7 after its Land of Waves mission, and Naruto complained that the supposedly easy assignment had nearly wiped them out.
• Sasuke urged Minato to read the mission report, which revealed that Zabuza Momochi and the Ice Princess had attacked Team 7.
• Kakashi explained that Sasuke awakened the Sharingan and helped Naruto injure the Ice Princess with a Rasengan, prompting Zabuza to retreat.
• Kakashi said Zabuza and the Ice Princess never returned, and Minato concluded that Team 7 should rest before the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Minato announced that Konoha, Iwa, Suna, and Amegakure would jointly hold the unprecedented exams.

Feng and Naruto faced the village’s hostility over rumors about Feng, while Naruto defended him and Sasuke revealed his Sharingan. The chapter ended with Feng returning to his warm family home as Nagato’s other consciousness faced a tense situation.

• Kakashi visited the Konoha Memorial Stone while Feng, Naruto, and Sasuke walked home under suspicious and hostile stares.
• Children repeated rumors about Feng’s origins and the Nine-Tails, so Naruto attacked them and declared that Feng was his brother.
• Naruto and Sasuke laughed when Feng explained that he did not get angry at children, and Sasuke challenged Feng to the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Sasuke ran home and revealed that he had awakened a One-Tomoe Sharingan, while Feng reflected that his own Sharingan had not awakened.
• Feng and Naruto returned home, where Namikaze Kaerudo rushed into Feng’s arms.
• As Feng enjoyed the family reunion, Nagato’s other consciousness faced a tense encounter.

After a private evening with Konan, Nagato met Haku, the girl C had rescued, and offered to make her his godson. Haku agreed to do anything to protect Zabuza, while Nagato left her fate—and Zabuza’s survival—uncertain.

• Konan reflected on how she had grown comfortable revealing her private self to Nagato, then learned he planned to meet Haku, whom C had brought back.
• Nagato and Konan went to the Rain Arhat Hall, where C reported in and received leave before returning to Kaede’s side ahead of the Chunin Ninja Exams.
• Nagato freed the chained Haku, who asked whether Zabuza was alive and vowed to follow him if he had died.
• Nagato told Haku she had to pay for attacking his people, and Haku offered to do anything if Zabuza’s life could be spared.
• Nagato asked Haku to become his godson.

Nagato brought Haku to Guardian Pavilion to introduce him to his adopted children, while planning to train him as a future Mizukage. The reunion was interrupted when Jūgo went berserk, and Nannan rushed in to confront him.

• Nagato reflected on his growing territory and planned to train Haku to take control of Kirigakure as Mizukage.
• Nagato and Konan arrived at Guardian Pavilion, where Guren gathered the adopted children for Nagato’s announcement.
• Suigetsu introduced himself to Haku and asked him to be his girlfriend, while the siblings teased each other.
• Jūgo’s Cursed Seal erupted, and he charged toward Suigetsu and Haku as Guren prepared to stop him.
• Nagato calmly watched as Nannan ran in with Kiba on her back, forming hand seals and beginning to use Wood Release.

Nannan subdued Jūgo’s rampage with Wood Release and Kiba, then reunited with her family as Nagato welcomed Haku and announced plans for the Chunin Exams. The chapter ended with Nagato preparing to send the children to Konoha in four teams.

• Nannan restrained Jūgo with Wood Release, struck him with an Uzumaki-style throw, and used Kiba’s lightning to suppress his Cursed Seal.
• Haku asked about Feng, while Suigetsu and Nannan explained their connections to Nagato and the group.
• Nannan and Nagato pretended to scold each other, and Samui arrived with Ajisai and Karin.
• Nagato welcomed Haku into the family and announced that eleven children and another Special Genin would travel to Konoha in four teams for the Chunin Ninja Exams.

Nagato assigned the children to exam teams, then told Kimimaro and Jūgo that Konan might be able to cure Kimimaro’s illness with the Night Nether Cursed Seal. He recruited the two boys and an unseen captain as cleaners to protect the Chunin Ninja Exams, which he feared would be disrupted.

• Nagato grouped Suigetsu with Haku and Tayuya, prompting Suigetsu and Tayuya to compete over their strength and Haku’s standing.
• Nagato met privately with Kimimaro, who revealed that Jūgo’s Cursed Seal had slowed his illness but could not cure it.
• Nagato explained that Konan might eventually use a perfected Night Nether Cursed Seal to cure Kimimaro after seeking Senjutsu.
• Jūgo woke and apologized for losing control, and Nagato hinted that he would soon have a chance to unleash his killing intent.
• Nagato warned Kimimaro and Jūgo that the Chunin Ninja Exams might face a hidden threat and assigned them to act as cleaners alongside an incoming captain.