Recaps

Itachi’s Susanoo collapsed under the Akatsuki’s combined attacks, and Orochimaru tore out Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan. Facing the Deva Path, Sasori, and Konan, Itachi summoned a crow bearing Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan to survive.

• Nagato destroyed the Naraka Path and decided to use the Deva Path’s full power to kill Itachi.
• Sasori, Konan, and Orochimaru attacked Susanoo, damaging it until Nagato’s Shinra Tensei crushed it.
• Orochimaru emerged from a snake and stole Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan while Itachi knelt, weakened and bleeding.
• As the Deva Path, Sasori, and Konan closed in, Itachi recalled Shisui’s entrusted eye and his promise to protect Sasuke.
• Itachi summoned a crow whose other eye contained Shisui’s shuriken-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan.

Itachi Uchiha used Shisui Uchiha’s Kotoamatsukami to control Konan, who then revealed an explosive trap beneath the battlefield and rescued him. As the tags began to detonate, a spiral-masked figure appeared through a space-time vortex.

• Konan, Sasori, and the Deva Path attacked Itachi, but crows emerged from the explosion and Konan discovered that one carried a Mangekyō Sharingan.
• The crow cast Kotoamatsukami on Konan, while the Deva Path used Banshō Ten'in to gather and destroy most of the crows.
• Itachi re-formed from the fleeing crows and fell, badly wounded, as Sasori pleaded with the Deva Path to preserve his body.
• Konan used her Paper Person of God Technique to reveal the Explosive Tags hidden beneath the terrain and surround the Deva Path, Sasori, and Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru realized Shisui’s eye had controlled Konan, and Konan triggered the Explosive Tags as the three prepared to defend themselves or flee.
• A spiral-masked figure emerged from a black vortex.

Obito rescued Orochimaru, the Deva Path, and Sasori from Itachi’s explosive trap, then helped Nagato contain the threat posed by Konan’s Kotoamatsukami control. The Akatsuki accepted Orochimaru’s cooperation and ordered its members to hunt down and kill Itachi Uchiha.

• Obito used Kamui to pull Orochimaru, the Deva Path, and Sasori into the Kamui Dimension as Itachi’s explosive tags devastated the battlefield.
• The Deva Path asked Obito how to free Konan from Kotoamatsukami, and Obito proposed sealing her chakra until the control might fade.
• Obito brought the unconscious Konan to the Kamui Dimension, where the Deva Path restrained her with Black Receivers.
• Obito revealed that he had founded the Akatsuki with Pain and secured Orochimaru’s promise to serve the organization in exchange for help finding powerful corpses.
• Nagato ordered the Akatsuki to find and kill Itachi, and Kisame Hoshigaki reacted with concern when he received the mission.

Tobirama Senju learned that Akatsuki was pursuing the badly wounded, eyeless Itachi Uchiha near the Land of Fire and set out to rescue him. Itachi reached a stream near the border, unaware that Zetsu was watching from the opposite bank.

• Tobirama Senju considered the risks of attacking other villages and ordered Shikaku Nara to find the Star Clan a suitable clan ground.
• Shikaku Nara reported that Akatsuki members were pursuing Itachi Uchiha near the Land of Rice Paddies.
• Tobirama Senju decided to save Itachi Uchiha and vanished from the Hokage Office using the Flying Thunder God.
• Itachi Uchiha, guided by a crow, reached a stream near the Land of Fire border while fleeing Akatsuki.
• Zetsu emerged from a tree on the far bank and watched Itachi Uchiha drink.

Black Zetsu alerted Nagato to Itachi Uchiha’s location, and Akatsuki members ambushed Itachi as he traveled through the forest. Outnumbered and gravely weakened, Itachi was nearly killed by Hidan before a marked kunai flew toward him from an unseen attacker.

• Black Zetsu told Nagato where Itachi was and sank into the ground with White Zetsu.
• Itachi entered a forest, where Deva Path, Sasori, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Hidan sprang an ambush; Itachi realized they had surrounded him and noted Kisame’s absence.
• Itachi summoned Susanoo despite having lost his Mangekyō Sharingan, but his weakened body could sustain only its skeletal form.
• The Akatsuki members overwhelmed Susanoo with combined attacks, and Deidara’s clay birds struck Itachi’s Shadow Clone instead of him.
• Hidan found Itachi in a stream and swung his scythe at him, but a kunai bearing strange markings flew toward Hidan as Itachi seemed about to die.

Tobirama Senju arrived just as Hidan was about to kill Itachi Uchiha and attacked the Akatsuki without hesitation. After revealing powerful Wood Release, he forced Nagato’s Deva Path to unleash a massive Shinra Tensei as the other Akatsuki members fled.

• Tobirama Senju kicked Hidan away and saved Itachi Uchiha, identifying him as a surviving member of the Uchiha clan.
• Kakuzu recognized Tobirama Senju as the Hokage who had once nearly killed him and considered retreating.
• Tobirama Senju attacked the Akatsuki with Flying Thunder God, destroying Kakuzu’s Fire-Release heart and striking at Kakuzu.
• The Akatsuki members targeted Tobirama Senju’s marked kunai, and the Deva Path pulled him in with Banshō Ten'in before they unleashed their attacks.
• Tobirama Senju revealed that he had survived by reassembling his body and used Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence to send a vast surge of trees at the Akatsuki.
• The Deva Path ordered Sasori, Deidara, and Kakuzu to retreat, then unleashed a powerful Shinra Tensei against the forest.

Tobirama Senju defeated the Akatsuki’s Deva Path and found Hidan trapped in his Wood Release. He invited Itachi Uchiha to return to Konoha, and after hearing Itachi explain the Uchiha massacre, Itachi asked whether he could still come back.

• Tobirama Senju’s Wood Release overwhelmed the Deva Path, while Deidara, Kakuzu, and Sasori fled on a clay bird.
• Nagato rescued the Deva Path with the Animal Path’s Summoning Technique and wondered how Tobirama Senju had learned of the plan.
• Tobirama Senju stopped the spreading Wood Release, found Hidan pinned and bound, and sealed his mouth.
• Itachi Uchiha arrived, and Tobirama Senju asked whether he was willing to return to Konoha.
• Itachi Uchiha explained the Uchiha clan’s coup plans, Shisui Uchiha’s failed attempt to prevent them, and his own decision to massacre the clan to protect Sasuke Uchiha.
• Itachi Uchiha asked Tobirama Senju whether someone who had slaughtered the Uchiha and betrayed Konoha could still return.

Tobirama Senju persuaded Itachi Uchiha to return to Konoha, urging him to tell Sasuke the truth and treat him as an equal. They set off for the village with Hidan, while Black Zetsu and White Zetsu discovered the rescue and decided to report it to Obito.

• Tobirama Senju offered to clear Itachi Uchiha's name and told him to be honest with Sasuke, prompting Itachi to agree to return to Konoha.
• Itachi Uchiha explained that Orochimaru had taken his Mangekyō Sharingan and that Shisui's remaining eye had helped him escape the Akatsuki.
• Tobirama Senju gave Itachi the other eye of Shisui, which he had recovered from Danzō, and promised to arrange a transplant in Konoha.
• Tobirama Senju collected Hidan and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to leave with him and Itachi.
• Black Zetsu and White Zetsu emerged from the forest, learned that Tobirama Senju had rescued Itachi, and chose to report the news to Obito.

Tobirama Senju brought Uchiha Itachi back to Konoha and replaced his damaged eyes with Uchiha Shisui’s Sharingan. Itachi recovered his sight and awakened unusual Kotoamatsukami eyes, but Tobirama discovered that Itachi was terminally ill.

• Tobirama Senju told Shikaku Nara that Orochimaru had taken Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan and ordered him to search for Orochimaru.
• Tobirama Senju sent Hidan to Konoha’s prison and warned the guards about his immortal body and deadly curse.
• Tobirama Senju replaced Itachi’s eyes with Shisui’s Sharingan at Konoha Hospital.
• Itachi activated his new Mangekyō Sharingan and found that both eyes held Kotoamatsukami, while his former abilities were gone.
• Tobirama Senju discovered Itachi had a terminal illness he could not treat, then left the hospital.

Orochimaru transplanted Uchiha Itachi’s Sharingan and discovered that Hashirama Cells restored the Mangekyō Sharingan’s depleted ocular power. He fused its abilities with Crystal Release and left convinced he had uncovered a connection between the Senju and Uchiha clans.

• Kabuto Yakushi completed Orochimaru’s Sharingan transplant, and Orochimaru awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan but found his vision nearly blind.
• Orochimaru realized Uchiha Itachi’s Mangekyō ocular power had been exhausted and ordered Kabuto to bring Hashirama Cells.
• Orochimaru injected the Hashirama Cells, regained his vision, and used Amaterasu through his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Orochimaru fused Amaterasu with his Crystal Release blade, destroying part of the laboratory wall.
• Orochimaru concluded that Hashirama Cells could restore Mangekyō ocular power and wondered whether the Senju and Uchiha were connected to the Sage of Six Paths.

Tsunade returned to Konoha with Shizune, eager to see her resurrected grandfather, Tobirama Senju. After learning he was at the hospital observing Uchiha Itachi, she hurried there to find him.

• Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki recognized Tsunade at Konoha's gates and greeted her as she entered with Shizune.
• Tsunade burst into the Hokage Office expecting to find Tobirama, but found Shikaku Nara handling documents instead.
• Shikaku told Tsunade that Tobirama was at the hospital observing Uchiha Itachi and said the Hokage likely needed her.
• Tsunade recalled her distrust of Konoha's leadership and hurried toward the hospital to see Tobirama.

Tsunade reunited with her granduncle Tobirama Senju at Konoha Hospital and learned about Konoha’s recent crises and his plans. She agreed to stay in the village, and Tobirama remembered that he needed her help with Uchiha Itachi.

• Shizune comforted Tsunade outside Konoha Hospital, and Tsunade entered Tobirama Senju’s ward.
• Tsunade broke down in Tobirama’s arms, and he welcomed her back.
• Tobirama explained that Orochimaru had revived him and Hashirama Senju with Impure World Reincarnation and recounted Konoha’s recent events.
• Tsunade angrily damaged the ward wall when she learned how Orochimaru had revived them, then rejoiced that Tobirama would remain in Konoha.
• Tsunade agreed to stay in the village and celebrated the news that Shimura Danzō was dead and Hiruzen Sarutobi was confined at home.
• Tobirama noticed Uchiha Itachi emerge from beneath the bedsheet and remembered he needed Tsunade’s help.

Tsunade diagnosed Itachi Uchiha with severe Bloodline Disease from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan and said Hashirama Senju's cells might cure him. Itachi agreed to the dangerous treatment, and Tsunade left the hospital with Tobirama Senju to walk around Konoha.

• Tsunade examined Itachi Uchiha and identified his symptoms as Bloodline Disease caused by keeping his Mangekyō Sharingan active.
• Tsunade warned Tobirama Senju that Itachi would not live longer than five years, even if he stopped using the Sharingan.
• Tsunade said medicine could delay the illness, but Hashirama Senju's cells might cure Itachi completely.
• Tobirama asked Itachi whether he would try the risky treatment, and Itachi agreed so he could keep serving the Hokage and see Sasuke Uchiha grow up.
• Tsunade told Itachi to rest and take her medicine, then led Tobirama out of the hospital for a walk around Konoha.

Obito met with Orochimaru, confirmed that he had fused Itachi’s Sharingan with Crystal Release, and decided Akatsuki must begin capturing Tailed Beasts before Tobirama could interfere. Nagato gathered the organization’s members and prepared to target Iwagakure’s Five-Tails.

• Tobirama appointed Tsunade director of Konoha Hospital, cured her hemophobia, and planned to rest before Itachi’s Hashirama Cell treatment.
• Obito visited Orochimaru, learned that his Sharingan and Crystal Release fusion had succeeded, and reminded him to prepare Impure World Reincarnation for Akatsuki.
• Obito told Zetsu that Tobirama might know about the Ten-Tails and ordered them to notify Nagato that the plan would begin with Iwagakure’s Five-Tails.
• Nagato told Konan that Madara wanted to put the plan into action, and Konan warned him to be wary of Madara before he went to gather Akatsuki.
• Deidara, Sasori, and Kakuzu returned to Amegakure, joked about their encounter with Tobirama, and noticed that Pain was summoning the organization.

Akatsuki assigned Kisame and Kakuzu to capture Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, after Zetsu reported his location outside Iwagakure. On his way to a village, Han found Black Sickle and his men slaughtering villagers and rescued a young girl.

• Kisame mourned Itachi’s failed assassination and hoped he would survive.
• Pain announced that Akatsuki was ready to begin collecting the Tailed Beasts, and Zetsu reported that Han had left Iwagakure.
• Pain paired Kisame with Kakuzu to capture Han, and the two argued before setting out.
• Han traveled toward a village after Ōnoki granted him half a month away from Iwagakure.
• Black Sickle and his lackeys killed villagers who could not pay his demanded tribute.
• Han killed Black Sickle, rescued the young girl, and broke the limbs of the four fleeing lackeys.

After rescuing Zi Luo from a massacre, Han took her toward Iwagakure and planned to make her his apprentice. Kisame Hoshigaki and Kakuzu intercepted Han on their way to capture him, and Kisame began battling him.

• Zi Luo avenged her parents by stabbing the dying wandering ninjas, and Han stopped her before comforting her and apologizing for arriving too late.
• Han buried the villagers, took the orphaned Zi Luo with him, and invited her to return to Iwagakure and become a ninja.
• Kisame Hoshigaki urged Kakuzu to hurry, but Kakuzu finished counting his bounty money before the pair set off to capture the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• As Han and Zi Luo approached Iwagakure, Kokuō warned Han of an incoming attack, and Han dodged Kisame's Shark Bullet while sending Zi Luo away.
• Han fought Kisame with his steam-enhanced speed and taijutsu, but Samehada absorbed his chakra and Kisame attacked with four water sharks.

Kisame and Kakuzu captured Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, after Kisame flooded the forest and fought him underwater. Zi Luo escaped and ran toward Iwagakure to report the capture and seek help.

• Kisame flooded the forest, fused with Samehada, and used sharks to wear Han down underwater.
• Kisame pierced Han's armor, but Han used Kokuō's power to transform and fire a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Han's Tailed Beast Bomb overwhelmed Kisame's Great Shark Bullet, and the clash ended in a massive explosion.
• Kakuzu found Kisame with Han unconscious and asked whether to kill Zi Luo, but Kisame let her go.
• Kisame carried Han away with Kakuzu, while Zi Luo ran toward Iwagakure to report what happened.

After Iwagakure Jonin Shizhi reported Han’s capture to Ōnoki, Ōnoki blamed Akatsuki and suspected Tobirama Senju had secretly ordered the attack. Rumors spread across the shinobi world, leaving villages with Jinchuriki increasingly wary of Konoha.

• Shizhi returned to Iwagakure with Zi Luo and told Ōnoki that Han had fought an unfamiliar Kage Level opponent before being taken away.
• Zi Luo said two strange men in black robes with red cloud patterns had captured Han.
• Ōnoki concluded that Tobirama Senju had hired Akatsuki to seize Jinchuriki and ordered a search for Han and attacks on Akatsuki and the Land of Earth’s underground black markets.
• Ōnoki regretted letting Han leave the village and began considering a response to Tobirama Senju.
• Reports that Akatsuki had captured Han and rumors that Tobirama Senju had hired them spread through the shinobi world, alarming the villages that possessed Jinchuriki.

Tobirama Senju dismissed rumors that he had arranged the Five-Tails’ capture but admitted he wanted to gather all nine Tailed Beasts to deter war. He and Tsunade went to perform a Hashirama Cell transplant on Itachi Uchiha, while Jiraiya left to check on Naruto.

• Tsunade smashed the Hokage’s desk after hearing rumors that Tobirama Senju had hired the Akatsuki to abduct the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Tobirama Senju said he intended to gather the Tailed Beasts to prevent wars through overwhelming deterrence, though he denied involvement in the Five-Tails’ capture.
• Tsunade confirmed that Itachi Uchiha had recovered enough to receive a cell transplant, and Tobirama Senju ordered the surgery to begin that day.
• Shikaku Nara argued that deterrence was necessary for peace, leaving Jiraiya uncertain about his dream of achieving peace through mutual understanding.
• Jiraiya remembered Naruto and hurried off to check on his student’s grandson.
• A silent battle began inside a room at Konoha Hospital.

After Hashirama Cells cured Itachi Uchiha’s illness and increased his chakra, he discovered that transplanting Shisui’s eyes had given his Sharingan an unusual new ability. The chapter left Itachi able to summon a weakened Perfect Susanoo, while Tobirama Senju considered the nature of his altered eyes.

• Itachi Uchiha endured the Hashirama Cells’ painful effects as they transformed his body.
• Tsunade confirmed Itachi’s illness had cleared and noticed that his eyes had changed.
• Itachi showed Tobirama Senju his altered Sharingan and summoned a roughly fifty-meter Perfect Susanoo equipped with the Yata Mirror and Totsuka Blade.
• Itachi explained that the Susanoo drained his chakra heavily, though it used little ocular power.
• Tobirama Senju concluded that Itachi’s eyes were a new kind of Sharingan rather than the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

After the Akatsuki sealed the Five-Tails, Zetsu persuaded Nagato to frame Tobirama Senju and provoke a war between Konoha and the other villages. Obito and Zetsu planned to use the conflict to capture the remaining Tailed Beasts and have Orochimaru help seal Tobirama.

• Nagato used Deva Path to kill the three Jonin who had helped the Akatsuki seal Han and the Five-Tails.
• Zetsu proposed blaming Tobirama Senju for the Jinchuriki captures and provoking the other villages to attack Konoha.
• Nagato agreed to let Zetsu stir up conflict and ordered the Akatsuki to wait before pursuing more Jinchuriki.
• Zetsu told Obito that Nagato had agreed, and Obito ordered him to inflame the other villages’ anger and enlist Orochimaru to help seal Tobirama.
• Obito said he would create a new world where Rin, Minato, Kushina, and Kakashi could be reborn.

Ōnoki sent Kitsuchi and an Iwagakure delegation to Konoha to demand the return of the captured Five-Tails Jinchuriki, convinced Tobirama Senju had hired Akatsuki. Tobirama recognized that White Zetsu had fabricated the evidence, but Kitsuchi confronted him with a dead Konoha shinobi’s identity and accused him of collusion.

• White Zetsu manipulated Ōnoki into believing Tobirama Senju had hired Akatsuki and sent Konoha spies to investigate Roshi.
• Tobirama Senju summoned Uchiha Itachi, Kakashi Hatake, Might Guy, Shikaku Nara, and Jiraiya to meet the hostile Iwagakure delegation.
• Kitsuchi demanded that Tobirama return Iwagakure’s Five-Tails Jinchuriki, and an Iwagakure Jonin accused him of hiring Akatsuki.
• Kitsuchi presented the severed head of Dan Nara as evidence that Konoha spies had entered the Land of Earth under Tobirama’s orders.
• Shikaku Nara confirmed that Dan had died months earlier, leading Tobirama to suspect White Zetsu had impersonated him.
• Kitsuchi accused Tobirama of collusion with Akatsuki and pointed to Uchiha Itachi as another piece of evidence.

Tobirama Senju rejected Iwagakure’s accusation that Konoha had taken the Five-Tails’ Jinchuriki, and the dispute escalated into a fight. After capturing the Iwagakure delegation, he ordered Konoha to prepare for war and heard Itachi Uchiha’s intelligence about the Akatsuki, while Jiraiya wondered whether Nagato was alive.

• Kitsuchi accused Konoha of taking the Five-Tails’ Jinchuriki and threatened war, but Tobirama Senju denied responsibility and challenged Iwagakure to fight.
• When the Iwagakure ninja tried to leave, Might Guy attacked Kitsuchi, Itachi Uchiha trapped another ninja in a genjutsu, and Kakashi Hatake, Itachi, Jiraiya, and Might Guy captured the rest.
• Tobirama Senju ordered Kakashi to take the prisoners to Konoha Prison and seal their chakra, then told the village to prepare for war and guard against the Akatsuki.
• Itachi Uchiha described the Akatsuki and its leader’s Rinnegan, prompting Jiraiya to wonder if his former student Nagato was still alive.
• Tobirama Senju ended the discussion and ordered preparations for battle with Iwagakure as the system’s mechanical voice sounded in his mind.

Tobirama Senju considered using Itachi Uchiha’s Kotoamatsukami while the other villages’ leaders gathered to discuss his threat. Ōnoki proposed a Shinobi Alliance to defeat Tobirama Senju and erase Konoha.

• Tobirama Senju asked Itachi Uchiha about Sasuke Uchiha and learned that Itachi could nearly use Kotoamatsukami at full power.
• Ōnoki accused Tobirama Senju of taking the Five-Tails Jinchūriki and plotting to seize every Tailed Beast, while Elder Chiyo backed his claims.
• Mei Terumi told the gathered leaders that the Fourth Mizukage had been controlled by an Uchiha’s Sharingan and that she had abolished Kirigakure’s Blood Mist Policy.
• The Fourth Raikage A called for the villages to stop Tobirama Senju, and Ōnoki proposed forming a Shinobi Alliance to destroy Konoha.

Ōnoki united the shinobi villages against Konoha, while Obito and Zetsu secretly planned to use the coming war to capture the Tailed Beasts. After learning that Akatsuki had attacked Iwagakure under Konoha’s banner, Tobirama Senju decided to declare war on the Shinobi Alliance before it could assemble.

• Ōnoki persuaded Chiyo, A, Mei Terumi, and the other village representatives to form a Shinobi Alliance against Konoha.
• Obito praised Zetsu for arranging the alliance, and they planned to accelerate the war with White Zetsu disguising themselves as Konoha ninja.
• Naruto and Gaara sparred at a Konoha training ground while Sasuke Uchiha watched from the sidelines, still withdrawn after meeting the man claiming to be his brother.
• Shikaku Nara told Tobirama Senju that Ōnoki had organized the alliance and that attackers had recently damaged buildings in Iwagakure under Konoha’s banner.
• Tobirama Senju identified Akatsuki as the likely culprit and ordered Konoha to declare war on the Shinobi Alliance immediately.