Chapter Summaries

Kirito brought Tsunade to White Zetsu, where she found Hatake Sakumo barely alive and considered a dangerous operation to restore him. After Kirito revealed his own Wood Release and explained how he had uncovered Madara Uchiha’s survival and taken Nagato’s Rinnegan, Tsunade accepted his account while recognizing he still kept secrets.

• Tsunade opened White Zetsu and examined Hatake Sakumo, finding his body severely damaged and depleted after he had been forced to open the Seventh Gate.
• Tsunade said a dangerous operation might restore Hatake Sakumo, and Kirito agreed that Sakumo should decide whether to undergo it.
• Tsunade asked to keep White Zetsu for research, and Kirito gave it to her before demonstrating his own Wood Release.
• Kirito explained that Wood Release came from combining Earth Style, Water Style, and Yang Release, leading Tsunade to reconsider developing it herself.
• Kirito told Tsunade about Madara Uchiha, the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, and the Rinnegan, and she urged him to share Konoha’s burden of protecting the village.
• Tsunade questioned Kirito about taking Nagato’s Rinnegan and discovering Madara Uchiha was alive; Kirito offered an explanation, but Tsunade remained sure he was hiding other secrets.

After Kirito rescued the Third Hokage from Madara Uchiha, Konoha’s morale recovered, while Yahiko sought power to protect Amegakure and Jiraiya helped Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan become Mount Myōboku contractors. Mount Myōboku’s sages embraced a broader recruitment policy, hoping to influence the coming upheaval and ally with Amegakure’s leader.

• Tsunade announced that Kirito had rescued the Third Hokage, restoring the spirits of the Konoha ninja in the camp.
• Yahiko resented Kirito for taking Nagato’s Rinnegan and resolved to make Amegakure strong enough to command respect.
• Yahiko asked Jiraiya to teach him Sage Art, and Jiraiya explained that he would need Mount Myōboku’s permission and Summoning Contract.
• Jiraiya arranged for Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan to sign Mount Myōboku’s Summoning Scroll, and Sage Fukasaku welcomed the three new contractors.
• Sage Fukasaku argued that Mount Myōboku had to recruit more contractors and take part in the coming upheaval, while Sage Shima warned that this could draw the toads into human conflicts.

The Great Ninja Villages struggled to recover and prepare for the threat posed by Madara Uchiha as Konoha grew stronger under Tsunade. The chapter left Kumogakure planning a revival, Iwagakure preparing a controversial research project, and Sunagakure divided over reforms.

• The Fourth Raikage raged over Konoha refusing to release his father, but Karui warned him not to threaten cooperation with Madara Uchiha and urged him to restore Kumogakure's strength.
• Karui reminded the Fourth Raikage that Tsunade had become Hokage and was strengthening Konoha through forceful reforms.
• Ōnoki decided to launch Iwagakure's Android Plan and considered asking Sunagakure's Puppet Masters to help with the human-body research.
• Chiyo reviewed Akasuna's plan to standardize Sunagakure's puppets but warned that the village lacked money and could fracture under further heavy-handed measures.
• Akasuna proposed killing Sunagakure's traitors, but Chiyo cautioned that Konoha might respond with extreme measures.

Akasuna agreed to pursue the Standardized Puppet Project with Madara Uchiha’s support despite Chiyo’s objections, while Karatachi Yagura’s coup against the Third Mizukage reached its decisive moment. The Third Mizukage was poisoned after taking Samehada, leaving him in mortal danger.

• Chiyo urged Akasuna to keep Sunagakure quiet and focus on training Sasori, Rasa, and Pakura, but Akasuna secretly remained committed to the Standardized Puppet Project.
• Akasuna told Black Zetsu that he would proceed with the plan, and Black Zetsu confirmed that Madara Uchiha’s supplies were ready.
• Karatachi Yagura confronted the wounded Third Mizukage during Kirigakure’s coup, while Suikazan Fuguki rushed in to kill him.
• The Third Mizukage evaded Yagura’s Tailed Beast Ball and killed Suikazan Fuguki, then took Samehada and recovered his strength.
• The Third Mizukage suddenly coughed up black blood after gripping Samehada and realized Karatachi Yagura had poisoned him.

Kirito used his control over One-Tail to rapidly advance his Wind Style training, then learned that Karatachi Yagura had taken power in Kirigakure and considered the risks to Konoha. Meanwhile, his White Zetsu Clone searched for a route to the moon, sought ancient knowledge from Sage Slug, and introduced himself as Soul One.

• Kirito occupied One-Tail’s soul with his Spirit Transformation Technique and used the Tailed Beast’s affinity to improve his Wind Style understanding.
• Kirito learned that Karatachi Yagura had seized power in Kirigakure and worried that the village might ally with Madara Uchiha.
• Kirito decided that his sister should strengthen her spy networks in the major ninja villages.
• The White Zetsu Clone searched the Land of Snow for clues to the path to the moon, but found none and chose to seek knowledge from ancient Summoned Beasts.
• The White Zetsu Clone traveled to Shikkotsu Forest and met Sage Slug, introducing himself as Soul One and asking for help.

White Zetsu Clone visited Shikkotsu Forest to ask Sage Slug about the space-time channel Hamura Otsutsuki had left for the moon, but she could only recall that it might have been in the north. She offered to teach him her Sage Art in exchange for a summoning contract, and Kirito’s original body appeared to sign it under his true name.

• Sage Slug explained that her curiosity about humans had led her to form contracts with ninjas, and she became excited when White Zetsu Clone hinted at a dangerous plan.
• White Zetsu Clone asked about the path to the moon, and Sage Slug remembered Hamura Otsutsuki’s space-time channel but could not pinpoint its location.
• Sage Slug told White Zetsu Clone that Kaguya Otsutsuki had brought Chakra into the world and had been imprisoned on the moon by Hagoromo Otsutsuki and Hamura Otsutsuki.
• After repeated recollections, Sage Slug guessed the channel might have been somewhere in the north, and White Zetsu Clone decided to seek answers at Mount Myōboku.
• Sage Slug offered to teach White Zetsu Clone her regenerative Sage Art if he signed her Summoning Scroll, and he agreed while asking her to keep his identity secret.
• Kirito’s original body appeared in Shikkotsu Forest, introduced himself to Sage Slug, and prepared to sign the contract as Kirito Tonsaka of Konoha.

Kirito signed a Summoning Contract with Sage Slug, left his clone to study Sage Arts, and traveled to Mount Myōboku seeking information about a route to the moon. The Great Toad Sage refused to receive him, so Kirito left considering whether Ryūchi Cave and the White Snake Sage could help instead.

• Kirito explained that his clone’s Wood Release came from Hashirama Senju’s cells, signed a Summoning Contract with Sage Slug, and left the clone to train with her.
• Kirito used the Flying Thunder God Formation to return to the Land of Wind, then flew west toward Mount Myōboku.
• The Great Toad Sage told Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima that he had dreamed the Golden Sage would arrive and that he had seen the moon.
• The Great Toad Sage left Mount Myōboku’s response to Kirito to Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, but they chose not to welcome him.
• After waiting outside Mount Myōboku without receiving an invitation, Kirito concluded the Great Toad Sage would not help him and departed for Ryūchi Cave as his remaining option.

After Mount Myōboku rejected Kirito Tonsaka, he traveled to Ryūchi Cave to meet the White Snake Sage and confronted its trial guardians. He captured three Snake Sages, and the White Snake Sage appeared before him in a surge of immense Sage Chakra.

• Sage Shima and Sage Fukasaku worried that Mount Myōboku had alienated Kirito and discussed training Jiraiya’s three disciples in Sage Mode as potential support.
• Kirito entered Ryūchi Cave and resisted Tagorihime’s illusion, then captured her with Adamantine Sealing Chains.
• Kirito destroyed the stone wall blocking his way, ignored Ichikishimahime’s objection about the trial rules, and defeated her with Wood Style.
• Tagitsuhime poisoned what she believed was Kirito, but he revealed that she had fallen under a Genjutsu and captured her as well.
• The White Snake Sage confronted Kirito and unleashed an enormous wave of Sage Chakra.

Kirito challenged the White Snake Sage for the location of Hamura Otsutsuki’s space-time channel to the moon, but she demanded he defeat her or master Snake Sage Technique first. Their battle escalated outside Ryūchi Cave, where the White Snake Sage immobilized Kirito with White Surge Technique and swallowed him.

• Kirito freed the three snake Sages and asked the White Snake Sage where Hamura Otsutsuki’s space-time channel to the moon was; she demanded he defeat her or master Snake Sage Technique.
• The White Snake Sage struck Tagitsuhime for interrupting, then attacked Kirito after he chose to fight her.
• Kirito evaded her first tail strike with Lightning Release Chakra Mode and wounded her, but her Inorganic Reincarnation attacks drove him out of Ryūchi Cave.
• Kirito restrained the White Snake Sage with Wood Release, but she broke free and unleashed a sweeping barrage of fireballs that battered him in midair.
• Kirito slowed and struck the White Snake Sage with a Rock Golem, but she coiled around it and used White Surge Technique to blind and paralyze him.
• The White Snake Sage swallowed the immobilized Kirito, intending to devour his Sage Chakra.

Kirito used a decoy and a coordinated ambush to overwhelm the White Snake Sage, forcing her to expend her revival technique repeatedly. He halted the assault and proposed ending the probing battle so he could ask her about the space-time channel to the moon, but she remained wary of his intentions.

• The White Snake Sage swallowed Kirito's flesh-and-blood puppet and tried to digest it while holding its escape inside her stomach dimension.
• Kirito's Thunder God Puppet and Rock God Puppet ambushed the White Snake Sage, and the White Zetsu Clone and Shukaku joined the attack.
• The White Snake Sage used her Great Revival Technique to restore herself, then revived again after Shukaku and the puppets trapped and wounded her.
• Kirito judged that the White Snake Sage had exhausted her options and had Shukaku propose ending their probing battle.
• The White Snake Sage accused Kirito of pretending to be kind and called him ruthless as his forces surrounded her, prepared to use a sealing technique.

Kirito forced the White Snake Sage to honor their agreement and show him Hamura Otsutsuki’s recorded method for creating a space-time passage to the moon. Meanwhile, Black Zetsu showed Madara Uchiha Kirito’s battle with the White Snake Sage, making Madara suspect Kirito had learned about the Six Paths of Pain.

• The White Snake Sage split into many snakes to escape Kirito, then reassembled in Ryūchi Cave and confronted him through the Rock God Puppet.
• Kirito threatened the White Snake Sage with Konoha’s power and persuaded her to demonstrate her recorded memory rather than break their agreement.
• The White Snake Sage used Thought Wave to show Hamura Otsutsuki and his descendants building a spatial Sealing Formation that opened a passage to the moon.
• Kirito memorized Hamura’s formation and left Ryūchi Cave, while the White Snake Sage ordered her subordinates to bring Orochimaru to her.
• Black Zetsu showed Madara Uchiha a recording of Kirito’s fight with the White Snake Sage, and Madara concluded Kirito had learned about the Six Paths of Pain through the Rinnegan.

Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu discussed ways to expand Madara’s Pain forces and build a rogue ninja organization to capture Tailed Beasts. Black Zetsu proposed using Orochimaru’s Ryūchi Cave contract, leaving Madara curious after learning Orochimaru was an outcast in Konoha.

• Madara Uchiha rejected Black Zetsu’s suggestion to attack the injured White Snake Sage, then refused to capture the Seven-Tails before the time was right.
• Madara asked about Hiruko, and Black Zetsu reported that Hiruko had established a base in the Land of Birds and recruited several rogue ninja.
• Black Zetsu suggested using Hiruko’s Chimera Technique to attract power-seeking ninja and rapidly expand the organization, and Madara approved the idea.
• Madara and Black Zetsu discussed using the Third Kazekage’s contract scroll to bypass Ryūchi Cave’s trials and obtain its Summoned Beasts.
• Black Zetsu suggested turning to Orochimaru, who was alive and contracted with Ryūchi Cave, and explained that Orochimaru was an anomaly whose position in Konoha was poor.

Madara Uchiha learned that Orochimaru’s body and personality were changing after he used the White Snake Sage’s blood, and considered recruiting him to undermine Konoha. After Manda summoned Orochimaru to Ryūchi Cave on the White Snake Sage’s orders, Orochimaru learned Kirito Tonsaka had fought her and grew jealous of Kirito’s strength and standing.

• Black Zetsu told Madara Uchiha that Orochimaru was mutating, conducting secret experiments, and might be vulnerable to betrayal.
• Orochimaru examined his snake-like scales and recalled how his experiments with the White Snake Sage’s blood had led him to use human test subjects.
• Manda appeared in Orochimaru’s hidden laboratory and told him the White Snake Sage wanted to see him at Ryūchi Cave.
• Manda warned Orochimaru that Kirito Tonsaka had fought the White Snake Sage, and Orochimaru forced him to explain what had happened.
• Manda called the fight a draw, but Orochimaru inferred Kirito had likely won and grew jealous of his strength and Konoha’s respect for him.

Orochimaru forced Manda to explain what he knew about the White Snake Sage and Kirito Tonsaka, then faced the accelerating mutation of his body and decided to pursue Living Corpse Reincarnation. In Konoha, Tsunade reviewed White Zetsu transplant research and considered the links between the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans, the Sage of Six Paths, and Madara Uchiha.

• Orochimaru restrained Manda with Improved Adamantine Sealing Chains and threatened to hand him to Kirito Tonsaka unless he explained the White Snake Sage's conflict with Kirito.
• Manda revealed that he knew little about the White Snake Sage and Kirito's conversation, then fled after Orochimaru dismissed him.
• Orochimaru saw that his serpentine mutation was worsening and his killing urges were harder to control, so he decided to focus on Living Corpse Reincarnation and find suitable bodies.
• Tsunade examined White Zetsu transplant research with Senju Ciyun and learned that White Zetsu cells could boost chakra, healing, and certain elemental talents, though only some people were suitable.
• Tsunade connected the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga clans to Kaguya and the Sage of Six Paths, then wondered what Madara Uchiha intended and whether the ancient legends were true.

The Oni Organization became infamous after Hiruko fought the Fourth Raikage, while Amegakure sent Yahiko to investigate an Ice Release Ring Bearer. Kirito’s Uchiha Clone found the Sky Ninja fortress and attacked it, as Shennong sealed Zero-Tail’s Dark Chakra.

• The Oni Organization gained notoriety after Hiruko defeated a Kumogakure force and briefly held his own against the Fourth Raikage.
• The White Zetsu Clone learned that an Ice Release Ring Bearer had infiltrated the Land of Rain and sent Yahiko to deal with him because Nagato was away.
• Kirito’s Uchiha Clone located the Sky Ninja fortress in the Land of Demons and sensed Zero-Tail beneath it.
• The Uchiha Clone’s Fire Style attack set the fortress ablaze and destroyed many Sky Ninja.
• Zero-Tail tried to escape its glass enclosure, but Shennong used a Sealing Talisman to seal its Dark Chakra.

Shennong fused with the Zero-Tail to fight the Uchiha Clone who had invaded the Flying Fortress, but the clone overwhelmed him and learned to control Dark Chakra by studying Shennong's technique. The chapter ended with the clone punching through Shennong's abdomen.

• Shennong watched the sealing talisman subdue the Zero-Tail and reflected on the Sky Ninja's past defeat by Mito Uzumaki and their dimming hopes of revenge against Konoha.
• A Sky Ninja Jonin warned Shennong that a powerful intruder had broken into the Flying Fortress, so Shennong decided to fuse with the unstable Zero-Tail.
• The Uchiha Clone entered Shennong's room and trapped him in a Sharingan genjutsu, but the Zero-Tail disrupted Shennong's Chakra and fused with him.
• Shennong attacked the Uchiha Clone with the Super-Evolved God Fist, but the clone blocked it with Lightning Release Chakra Mode and stopped Shennong from fleeing with Shadow Stitch.
• The Uchiha Clone endured Shennong's attacks while studying his use of Dark Chakra, then copied the Super-Evolved God Fist and punched through Shennong's abdomen.

The Uchiha Clone defeated Shennong and captured Zero-Tail, discovering that its pure Dark Chakra might help the Sharingan evolve. After Shennong died, the Uchiha Clone offered to let his soul continue living.

• Zero-Tail took over Shennong and gave him regenerative strength, but the Uchiha Clone repeatedly cut him apart and sealed away his Dark Chakra.
• Zero-Tail abandoned Shennong and tried to escape, but the Uchiha Clone captured its soul and sealed it after burning away much of it.
• The Uchiha Clone recognized that Zero-Tail's pure Dark Chakra might help process the Rinnegan's darkness and could enable Sharingan evolution, though he suspected the method had flaws.
• Shennong's body rapidly aged after losing Dark Chakra, and the Uchiha Clone pulled his soul from his dying body instead of saving him.
• The Uchiha Clone asked Shennong whether he wanted to live on as a soul.

The Uchiha Clone sealed Shennong’s soul in a bottle, while Yahiko defeated a masked Chinoike ninja and discovered that the man’s Jade Ring reacted to his blood. Black Zetsu watched Yahiko leave with the ring, pleased that his plan had advanced.

• The Uchiha Clone forced Soul Shennong to agree to serve him and sealed his soul inside a porcelain bottle.
• Yahiko and Gama Taro pursued the White Mask across a river, where Yahiko broke free of the Ketsuryūgan’s Genjutsu using Natural Energy.
• The White Mask used Ice Release to trap Yahiko and Gama Taro, but they revealed that the ice sculptures were Water Clones and attacked from underwater.
• The White Mask’s stolen Kekkei Genkai destabilized, allowing Yahiko to strike him with a Water Dragon Bullet Technique and kill him.
• Yahiko took the Jade Ring from the White Mask’s corpse, and the ring released Chakra that cut his palm before going dormant.
• Black Zetsu watched Yahiko leave with the ring and said the item had been delivered successfully.

Kirito activated a Space-Time Array in Konoha, while the Nine-Tails exploited Kushina’s anger to attack him and disrupt the formation. Kirito’s hidden Chakra-absorbing formula turned the attack into power for the array, and the space-time black hole began to stabilize.

• Kirito and the Sealing Unit members completed the formation, and Kirito poured his Chakra into it to open a space-time black hole.
• Kushina noticed the formation was straining Kirito, but the Nine-Tails tried to manipulate her by taunting her about Kirito and Chizuru Uchiha.
• The Nine-Tails provoked Kushina into losing control, then sent a Chakra clone rushing at Kirito while the Sealing Unit members tried to stop it.
• The Nine-Tails clone struck Kirito but instead had its Chakra absorbed by the formation, helping the black hole grow and stabilize.
• The Sealing Unit members bound Kushina with Improved Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Kushina regained consciousness as the Nine-Tails’ escape attempt failed.
• Kirito watched through his Byakugan from the Konoha Orphanage laboratory and revealed that he had secretly added a Chakra-absorbing formula to the Space-Time Array.

Kirito’s Space-Time Array experiment failed again, but Kushina’s computer-simulation idea gave him a way to improve it while he considered how to deal with the Nine-Tails. A month later, Hiruzen learned that Orochimaru had fled Konoha after his human experiments were exposed, and Hatake Sakumo pursued him as Hiruzen tried to intervene.

• Kirito’s Space-Time Array failed when its support pillars broke, and Kushina suggested using computers to simulate a stronger design.
• Kirito praised Kushina’s idea, assigned her to help build a formula program, and decided he would eventually divide the Nine-Tails into nine portions.
• A month later, Hiruzen received a scroll reporting Orochimaru’s crimes and attempted to leave Konoha, but Hatake Sakumo stopped him on Tsunade’s orders.
• Hatake Sakumo showed Hiruzen photographs of Orochimaru’s human experiments, and Hiruzen collapsed in grief.
• Orochimaru fled through a forest in the Land of Fire, then stopped and turned as a familiar white-haired ninja approached.