Recaps

Naruto broke into the Hokage Building, stole the Scroll of Seals and the Sheep Talisman, then learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in the woods. Iruka confronted him and was wounded shielding him from Mizuki’s attack, as Mizuki revealed he had manipulated Naruto to steal the scroll for him.

• Hiruzen saw Naruto break into the Hokage Building but chose not to summon ANBU, and Naruto entered the protected Archives Room.
• Naruto searched unsuccessfully for the Death Paper, then stole the Sheep Talisman before taking the Scroll of Seals.
• Hyuga Xiu revealed that he had arranged for Naruto to find and take the Sheep Talisman to generate more Belief Points.
• Naruto practiced the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in the training woods and successfully created many clones.
• Iruka arrived and questioned Naruto about the stolen scroll, learning that Mizuki had sent him to steal it.
• Mizuki attacked Naruto and Iruka with Kunai; Iruka shielded Naruto and was wounded, while Mizuki mocked Naruto and admitted he had used him.

Naruto defeated Mizuki with the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, and Iruka declared that he had passed the graduation exam. As Iruka welcomed Naruto as a Konoha Ninja, Shimura Danzō arrived with Root agents and demanded that Naruto surrender for stealing the Scroll of Seals.

• Naruto reacted to Mizuki's betrayal by using the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique to overwhelm him.
• Iruka praised Naruto for using his power to protect others and declared that he had passed the graduation exam.
• Iruka tied his forehead protector around Naruto's head, and Naruto wept with joy and vowed to become Hokage.
• Shimura Danzō arrived with two Root agents and ordered Naruto to surrender so Root could take custody of him.

Naruto confronted Danzo after realizing he had orchestrated Mizuki's scheme, but Root captured him before Hiruzen arrived to stop Danzo from taking custody. Hiruzen claimed authority over Naruto's punishment and defended him as a child who had defeated a traitor and could become a loyal ninja.

• Naruto accused Danzo of sending Mizuki to trick him and attacked Danzo with Shadow Clones.
• Danzo's two Root ninja destroyed Naruto's clones, restrained him, and prepared to bind him with a Chakra-binding chain.
• Hiruzen arrived with ANBU and ordered Root to leave Naruto's case to him.
• Danzo argued that Naruto's theft of the Scroll of Seals and the danger of the Nine-Tails demanded severe action.
• Hiruzen blamed Mizuki, called Naruto's actions a prank, and said Naruto had shown the resolve to protect Konoha.
• Hiruzen said he trusted Minato's seal and Naruto, and urged Danzo to guide Naruto rather than imprison him.

Hiruzen overruled Danzo and let Naruto go home after the Scroll of Seals incident. Naruto discovered he had taken the Sheep Talisman, tested it without success, and fell asleep holding it as it began to glow and showed him something impossible.

• Hiruzen declared that Mizuki had plotted the incident, kept Root from interfering, and dismissed Danzo’s objections.
• Hiruzen reassured Naruto, lectured him, and allowed him to go home.
• Naruto found the Sheep Talisman he had taken from Hiruzen’s room and decided to test it before returning it.
• Naruto tried several ways to activate the talisman, but it did not respond, so he fell asleep on the floor holding it.
• The Sheep Talisman began to glow while Naruto slept, and he saw something impossible.

Naruto briefly left his body and encountered the Demon Fox before waking in his room with the Sheep Talisman. The Canopy Screen then showed Mahito delivering the Snake Talisman to the Lord of the Nine Nether, who praised him but did not explain why he was collecting the talismans.

• Naruto saw his soul floating above his sleeping body and tried to return to it.
• Naruto entered a dark, flooded space and faced the Demon Fox behind an iron cage.
• Naruto returned to his body, woke in his room, and found the Sheep Talisman in his hand.
• The Canopy Screen showed black-clad ninjas bringing Mahito to the Shadow Kingdom and the Lord of the Nine Nether.
• Mahito gave the Snake Talisman to the Lord of the Nine Nether, who praised him and kept the talisman beside his half Tiger Talisman.
• Mahito asked the Lord of the Nine Nether why they were collecting the talismans.

After the Canopy Screen revealed Nine Nether’s plan to gather the Twelve Talismans, the shinobi villages and Akatsuki reacted to the threat. Black Zetsu compared the Lord of Nine Nether to Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and Pain ordered Akatsuki to retreat into the shadows and investigate.

• The Soul Chatroom opened, where the leaders of the Great Shinobi Villages proposed an alliance and ordered searches for the Talismans; Sasuke Uchiha confronted Itachi Uchiha, and Kakashi Hatake confronted Obito Uchiha.
• Jiraiya wondered about the Lord of Nine Nether’s Rinnegan before being discovered and beaten out of Konoha’s Women’s Bathhouse.
• Deva Path Pain, Konan, Obito Uchiha, and Black Zetsu met in Amegakure to discuss Nine Nether and the Talismans.
• Black Zetsu said the Lord of Nine Nether’s aura and eyes reminded him of Hagoromo Otsutsuki and warned that the Talismans could make him a threat beyond the Five Great Nations.
• Deva Path Pain ordered Akatsuki to suspend large-scale Tailed Beast captures, gather information on Nine Nether, and avoid direct confrontation.

Naruto used the Sheep Talisman to enter the seal again and confront the Nine-Tails, hoping to understand why it hated him. The Nine-Tails blamed humans and the Uzumaki clan for its imprisonment, while Naruto explained that he had also suffered because of it.

• Naruto remembered his previous visit to the Nine-Tails and discovered that the Sheep Talisman could send his soul out of his body.
• Naruto decided to keep the talisman, convincing himself that it was safer with him and that he had a right to use it to understand the Nine-Tails.
• Naruto used the talisman again and stood before the Nine-Tails' sealed cage.
• Naruto introduced himself and declared that he would become Hokage, but the Nine-Tails mocked him as its vessel.
• Naruto asked why the Nine-Tails hated him, and the fox blamed humans and the Uzumaki clan for binding and exploiting it.
• Naruto said he had not caused the Nine-Tails' suffering and told it that people had hated him and he had grown up alone because of it.

Naruto used the Sheep Talisman to speak with the Nine-Tails again, then explored Konoha in his soul form and discovered the vast barrier protecting the village. He returned to his room with a new understanding of how heavily Konoha was guarded.

• Naruto ended his failed conversation with the Nine-Tails and returned to his body, convinced the fox might be more complicated than he had thought.
• Naruto struggled with Chakra control during Team 7's D-rank missions, causing trouble for Sasuke and Haruno Sakura and earning Sakura's punches.
• Naruto used the Sheep Talisman to leave his body and explore Konoha at night.
• Naruto saw a massive Chakra barrier covering Konoha, with its defenses concentrated around the Hokage Building and village walls.
• Naruto realized the village had likely treated him as one of its own when he stole the Scroll of Seals, allowing him to evade the barrier's highest alert.

Naruto triggered the Hokage Building's Barrier while spying on Hiruzen, prompting an ANBU search, then entered Haruno Sakura's dream. He found Sakura happily embraced by Sasuke Uchiha, leaving him heartbroken.

• Naruto tried to pass through the Hokage Building's Barrier, which detected his soul and forced him back.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed the Barrier's warning, summoned ANBU, and ordered a search around the Hokage Building.
• Naruto fled home while ANBU searched, then botched another mission the following day and felt ashamed when Kakashi had to apologize and pay compensation.
• Naruto used Soul Departure to visit Sakura's room and touched the glowing light above her forehead, entering her dream.
• Naruto saw Sakura embracing Sasuke Uchiha in her dream and was devastated by her affection for him.

Naruto entered Sakura's dream and accidentally woke her, then visited Sasuke's nightmare and shielded him from the dream version of Itachi. Sasuke woke without the nightmare returning and began to regard Naruto as someone dear to him.

• Naruto interrupted Sakura's dream of Sasuke, causing the dream to shatter and Sakura to wake up annoyed with him.
• Naruto left Sakura's room and entered Sasuke's nightmare, where Sasuke relived the massacre and Itachi urged him to hate.
• Naruto stood between young Sasuke and Itachi, condemning hatred and insisting that people should understand one another.
• Naruto's words broke the nightmare, and Sasuke felt a faint warmth toward him before the dream ended.
• Sasuke woke in a cold sweat, but the nightmare did not return, and he kept thinking about Naruto.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura spent a month completing missions and growing stronger before the Canopy Screen revealed a tense Uchiha meeting after the Nine-Tails Incident. Itachi watched the images in the Land of Water and recalled that he had stayed silent because he feared a coup would leave Konoha in ruins.

• Naruto joined Sasuke Uchiha and Haruno Sakura for another round of missions, and Sasuke began treating Naruto with less contempt.
• Team 7 completed more than ten D-rank missions and two C-rank missions over the next month, improving their combat skills.
• The Canopy Screen showed Uchiha clan members condemning Konoha's treatment of them and calling for a coup.
• Fugaku Uchiha urged the clan to avoid civil war, while Shisui Uchiha asked them to trust their efforts toward a peaceful solution.
• Itachi Uchiha watched the images in an inn in the Land of Water and remembered that he had feared a coup would destroy Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Uchiha’s suffering and recognized how his tacit approval of Shimura Danzō’s schemes had helped push the clan toward disaster. The next day, the Canopy Screen showed Danzō explaining to the Demon Naraka why he could not yet provoke the Uchiha into a full rebellion.

• Sasuke Uchiha recalled the tense year before the massacre and realized the Uchiha tragedy had not begun overnight.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recognized that Shimura Danzō had spread fear and framed the Uchiha while he had allowed it, and he questioned his own role.
• Shimura Danzō wondered about his connection to Nine Nether and Naraka as other villages and the Akatsuki Organization showed little interest.
• The Canopy Screen showed Naraka mocking Shimura Danzō for failing to provoke the Uchiha into rebellion.
• Shimura Danzō told Naraka that Hiruzen Sarutobi’s oversight and the risk of alerting Fugaku Uchiha constrained his schemes, and that he wanted a rebellion that would justify eliminating the clan.

Naraka urged Shimura Danzō to use the Death Paper to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi, but a memory of Hiruzen saving him during the First Shinobi World War kept Danzō from acting. Naraka decided to provoke a bloody conflict involving the Uchiha and ordered Danzō to prepare Root.

• Naraka pressured Shimura Danzō to kill Hiruzen Sarutobi and take control of Konoha.
• Danzō remembered Hiruzen shielding him and taking Kunai wounds during a battle in the First Shinobi World War.
• Danzō and Hiruzen fought side by side, combining Wind Release and Fire Release to attack their enemies.
• Danzō refused to write on the Death Paper despite Naraka mocking his attachment to Hiruzen.
• Naraka announced he would use Uchiha blood to provoke a conflict and told Danzō to ready Root.

After watching the Canopy Screen, Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo both grappled with the remnants of their former bond and the possibility that Danzo would act against Hiruzen. Outside Konoha, Tsunade joked about young Danzo before warning that she and Shizune might have to confront him when they returned.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi remembered fighting beside Danzo and wondered whether their friendship could still change Danzo’s path, but decided that approaching him would only deepen the rift.
• Danzo tried to convince himself that Hiruzen had once saved him only for Konoha, yet the memory left him doubting whether he could strike Hiruzen.
• Danzo questioned where Naraka was and whether the Canopy Screen had shown the truth.
• Tsunade laughed at young Danzo’s appearance, then recalled how he had once seemed like a Ninja who could walk in the sunshine.
• Tsunade told Shizune they might have to deal with Danzo after returning to the village.

After seeing young Shimura Danzō fight beside Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto struggled to reconcile that image with the man who had caused his family’s tragedy. Fearing that becoming Hokage might push Sasuke into the same darkness, Naruto vowed to change the village and the meaning of Hokage.

• Naruto watched Shimura Danzō and Hiruzen Sarutobi fight together and questioned how Danzō had become cruel.
• Naruto connected Danzō’s past with Sasuke’s nightmare and feared that his own choices as Hokage could drive Sasuke into darkness.
• Naruto resolved to become Hokage without following Hiruzen Sarutobi’s or Danzō’s path.
• Naruto vowed to build an honest village that did not rely on Root’s secret schemes and to protect Sasuke from darkness.

Izumi Uchiha uncovered records suggesting that Naraka, a sealed demon that fed on hatred and suspicion, might be causing the Uchiha clan’s growing unrest. Itachi dismissed her attempt to warn him and left to speak with Shisui, so Izumi headed for the sealed chamber beneath Naka Shrine to inspect the seal herself; in the present, Itachi remembered that their meeting had been their last.

• Izumi Uchiha found an ancient scroll describing Naraka and learned from Teng Uchiha’s biography that the demon’s core had been sealed within the Uchiha Compound.
• Izumi Uchiha connected Naraka’s influence to the clan’s sudden hostility and rushed to tell Itachi Uchiha what she had discovered.
• Itachi Uchiha declined to look at the scroll, saying he had to speak with Shisui, and vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
• Izumi Uchiha resolved to investigate the seal herself and went toward the underground sealed stone chamber beneath Naka Shrine.
• In the present, Itachi Uchiha watched the memory in the rain and reflected that his promise to listen next time had never been fulfilled.

Izumi Uchiha discovered that the seal beneath Naka Shrine had cracked and Naraka had escaped, then resolved to investigate in secret. Sasuke questioned the causes of the Uchiha tragedy as a meeting of four elders revealed growing pressure for Fugaku to act against Konoha.

• Izumi Uchiha found the hidden chamber beneath Naka Shrine and discovered that Naraka had escaped from the cracked seal.
• Izumi connected Naraka to the clan’s rising conflicts and rumors, but chose to investigate secretly because she lacked proof.
• Sasuke Uchiha wondered whether Naraka had influenced the clan and reconsidered who was responsible for its tragedy.
• Setsuna Uchiha and the other elders criticized Fugaku’s restraint and warned that the clan’s anger was becoming harder to control.

The Four Elders debated replacing Fugaku because they believed his indecision threatened the Uchiha clan. Morpheus of the Paradise Organization appeared and urged them to resist Konoha’s oppression, leaving them a remote control to contact him if they chose to fight.

• The Fourth Elder, First Elder, Second Elder, and Third Elder agreed to give Fugaku one last chance to present a convincing plan at the next clan meeting.
• Setsuna Uchiha noticed an intruder as Morpheus appeared in the side hall as a holographic projection.
• Morpheus introduced himself as a representative of the Paradise Organization and argued that Konoha’s leadership had systematically oppressed the Uchiha.
• Morpheus accused Shimura Danzō of engineering a plan to justify the Uchiha’s destruction and urged the elders to fight for their survival and self-rule.
• Morpheus left a remote control for the elders to contact him, then vanished and left them stunned.

The Uchiha elders accepted Morpheus’s offer to meet with the mysterious Paradise Organization, seeing it as a possible last chance to save their clan. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Fourth Raikage separately ordered investigations, each suspecting rival hidden villages of framing them.

• The First Elder persuaded the other Uchiha elders that Konoha had abandoned their clan and that they should consider the Paradise Organization’s offer.
• The Uchiha elders agreed to meet Morpheus the following day to discuss the deal.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi suspected Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, or Sunagakure and ordered the ANBU to investigate the Paradise Organization.
• The Fourth Raikage denied that Kumogakure was behind the scheme and ordered an investigation, especially into whether Ōnoki was responsible.

Hyuga Xiu watched the villages suspect one another over the Paradise Organization while the Canopy Screen showed Shisui warning Itachi about the Uchiha coup. Morpheus offered the Uchiha temporary combat enhancements, weapons, and a secret escape route, and the elders asked what he wanted in return.

• Ōnoki ordered Iwagakure's agents in Konoha to investigate the Paradise Organization, while the villages blamed and suspected one another.
• Hyuga Xiu watched his Belief Points rise as the villages turned against each other.
• Shisui asked Itachi whether the Uchiha would stage a coup, and Itachi said distrust between the clan and the village would only worsen.
• Shisui warned Itachi that the Military Police Force had ordered him to watch him, and Itachi remained alone by the river after Shisui left.
• Morpheus offered the Uchiha temporary physical enhancements, weapons, and a secret rendezvous point outside the Land of Fire.
• The Second Elder asked Morpheus what price the Paradise Organization demanded.

Morpheus told the Uchiha elders that the Paradise Organization would help them without payment, framing its aid as an experiment in whether variables could reverse fate. After the Canopy Screen revealed the organization’s powers, leaders across the shinobi world feared its effect on the balance of power, while Pain ordered Zetsu to investigate it as a possible means of changing Amegakure’s fate.

• Morpheus told the Four Elders that the Uchiha did not need to pay for the aid and urged them to use it to test whether they could reverse their fate.
• The First Elder called the Paradise Organization’s support the Uchiha’s last chance and ordered preparations.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Fourth Raikage A, Ōnoki, Mei Terumi, and Rasa reacted with alarm to the organization’s ability to create fighters and supplies.
• Konan warned Deva Path Pain that the Paradise Organization’s power and motives were dangerous.
• Deva Path Pain decided to investigate the organization, ordered Zetsu to learn its origins and weaknesses, and considered using its power to change Amegakure’s fate.

Shisui Uchiha prepared to use Kotoamatsukami to prevent the Uchiha coup, while Naraka and Shimura Danzō plotted to stop him before he reached the gathering. Danzō confronted Shisui near Naka Shrine and challenged his faith that changing Fugaku’s mind would make Konoha accept the Uchiha.

• Fugaku Uchiha told Itachi Uchiha to attend the clan gathering, and Itachi confirmed he had a mission the next day.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Shimura Danzō that Shisui Uchiha would attend the gathering and use Kotoamatsukami if Fugaku planned a coup.
• Naraka told Danzō that changing Fugaku’s will would not stop the Uchiha from rebelling and ordered him to keep Shisui from reaching the gathering.
• Naraka promised to create an opening to freeze Shisui, and Danzō vowed to take Shisui’s eyes himself.
• Danzō met Shisui near Naka Shrine and questioned whether stopping the coup would change Konoha’s prejudice against the Uchiha.

Shisui argued that the Uchiha could rebuild trust in Konoha, but Danzō exploited his hesitation to steal his right eye and ordered Root to capture him. Shisui escaped with Itachi’s help, though Root pursued them into the forest.

• Shisui told Danzō that Hiruzen had promised reforms and that the Uchiha could earn the village’s trust over time.
• Danzō questioned whether Shisui would use Kotoamatsukami on people who opposed the Uchiha, then used Naraka to disrupt Shisui’s concentration.
• Danzō seized Shisui’s right Sharingan and surrounded the wounded Uchiha with Root operatives.
• Shisui awakened Susanoo, knocked back the attackers, and fled into the forest as Danzō sent Root after him.
• Itachi met Shisui, helped him escape, and used shuriken and Fire Release to cover their retreat from Root.

Sasuke watched the Canopy Screen reveal how Danzo drove Shisui to his death and how Shisui entrusted his last eye to Itachi. Sasuke abandoned his hatred of Itachi and vowed to grow strong enough to take revenge on Konoha.

• The Canopy Screen showed Shisui giving his remaining eye to Itachi before falling into the chasm, and Itachi awakened his eyes as he mourned him.
• Sasuke realized Danzo and Konoha's leadership were responsible for Shisui's death and the Uchiha clan's destruction.
• Sasuke's Sharingan changed from one tomoe to two as his hatred shifted from Itachi to Konoha.
• Sasuke restrained his urge to attack, decided to grow stronger, and vowed to destroy what Konoha held dear.

Hiruzen Sarutobi grieved over Shisui’s death and confronted his own failures, while the Uchiha clan’s elders used a mysterious device to inflame support for a coup. Fugaku Uchiha realized he could no longer stop his clansmen, though he prepared to make one last attempt.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi mourned Shisui and blamed himself for failing to protect him from Konoha’s darkness and Danzo.
• Mei Terumi watched Shisui’s death on the Canopy Screen and blamed Shimura Danzō for killing another Uchiha.
• At a meeting in Naka Shrine, Fugaku Uchiha urged the clan to wait for Shisui’s negotiations, but Setsuna Uchiha and the Second Elder demanded immediate action.
• Setsuna Uchiha used Morpheus’s remote to empower a radical Uchiha Chunin, who hurled a kunai through a massive stone pillar.
• Fugaku Uchiha saw the elders’ display rally the clan toward a coup and realized he could no longer stop them, but tried once more as clan head.