Recaps

Jing Uchiha planned to use Hiruko's Chimera Technique and the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku to grow stronger, while Black Zetsu decided to support him against Kazan. In Konoha, Kazan defended his choice to spare Uchiha Hikari, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi furious and unable to monitor her in the Forest of Death.

• Black Zetsu learned Jing Uchiha wanted Hiruko's Chimera Technique and ordered White Zetsu to find Hiruko and search the major Shinobi Villages for Kekkei Genkai.
• Jing Uchiha decided to target the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku and planned to turn the clan's aggression toward Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Kazan and Minato Namikaze over Kazan sparing Uchiha Hikari.
• Kazan insisted he wanted Hikari to live and promised she would become one of Konoha's strongest fighters.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed out that the Nine-Tails kept ANBU from entering the Forest of Death to watch Hikari.

Uchiha Hikari learned that Kazan had risked his life to let her live in Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi urged her to help Kazan become a better Hokage. She settled in the Forest of Death, but Kazan repeatedly threw her out for nagging him about village affairs, while Kurenai's hostility toward her returned.

• Uchiha Hikari visited Hiruzen Sarutobi to thank him for allowing her to live in Konoha, and he revealed that Kazan had staked his life on trusting her.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi warned Hikari that he would kill her if she harmed Konoha, then explained the Will of Fire and asked her to help Kazan become Hokage.
• Hikari settled in Konoha and began advising Kazan about village affairs while he trained in the Forest of Death.
• Kazan called Hikari a nag and hurled her out of the Forest of Death, where she used Susanoo to descend safely.
• Kazan threw Hikari out of the forest every day for several days, and Hikari also found that Kurenai had become hostile toward her again.

Uchiha Itachi returned to Konoha and Kazan tested him by sending him to fight Golden Lion, who badly injured him before Kazan healed him. Kazan then pursued Yang Power and continued honing his Haki, determined to reach their ultimate heights.

• Uchiha Itachi returned to the village with Sasuke and greeted Uchiha Hikari and Neji in the Forest of Death.
• Kazan tested Itachi by kicking him into the forest and assigning Golden Lion as his opponent.
• Golden Lion fought Itachi and sent him back bloodied, after which Kazan healed him and told Neji to take him for treatment.
• Kazan set Shadow Clones to study Yang Release techniques and asked Minato to gather Konoha's books on Yang Release Chakra.
• Kazan continued training his Haki and vowed to witness its ultimate heights, while his punches shook Minato's desk.

Kazan decided to seek a way to transform his body and achieve a Sage Body, then asked Tsunade to teach him the Strength of a Hundred Technique. After Kazan and Tsunade destroyed her house fighting, Tsunade began training him, and he planned to keep the technique active until his body adapted and changed.

• Kazan concluded that Yang Release Chakra might push his cells to transform, but he could not figure out how to begin.
• Kazan crashed through Tsunade's front door, and their fight destroyed the Senju Clan's old house.
• Kazan explained his idea of maintaining the Strength of a Hundred Technique permanently, and Tsunade agreed to teach him.
• Kazan quickly learned the technique's principles because Life Return gave him precise control over his body and Chakra.
• Kazan planned to keep the technique active despite the strain and use it to transform his body into a Sage Body.

Kazan trained to master the Strength of a Hundred Technique while refusing to take newborn Hinata as his disciple. Four days after her birth, descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki arrived from the moon to assess Earth and search for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Kazan confronted them.

• Kazan trained in the Forest of Death with Tsunade's help, and Tsunade believed his enormous Chakra reserves would let him master the Strength of a Hundred Technique quickly.
• Hyuga Hiashi asked Kazan to make newborn Hinata his third disciple, but Kazan refused to avoid provoking Konoha's other Shinobi Clans.
• Neji brought Hinata to the Forest of Death, and Kazan tacitly allowed her to stay while Neji and Itachi exchanged childcare stories.
• Uchiha Hikari tried teaching Itachi and Neji, struggled to explain their training, and sent them to practice with Golden Lion and Gentle Fist.
• Descendants of Hamura Otsutsuki arrived near Konoha to congratulate the Hyuga Main Family, search for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and judge whether Earth should be destroyed.
• Kazan sensed the visitors, flew to meet them, and demanded to know who they were.

Kazan confronted the lunar Otsutsuki who had come to investigate a disturbance from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, then ordered them back to the moon. After Hikari reported marking them all, Kazan left them under surveillance in case the lunar clan turned against Earth.

• Kazan overwhelmed the lunar Otsutsuki with his Haki after they threatened to take the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, then demanded to know who they were and why they had come.
• A Main Family member revealed that the lunar Otsutsuki were descendants of Otsutsuki Yūson and had come to congratulate the earthly Byakugan Clan on the Phoenix Girl's birth.
• The lunar Otsutsuki explained that they had sensed a disturbance from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path a few months earlier and wanted to ensure no one planned to break Kaguya Otsutsuki's seal.
• Kazan told them he would handle the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and warned them not to target Earth, so the lunar Otsutsuki decided to return home.
• Hikari told Kazan that she had placed marks on all the lunar Otsutsuki, and Kazan ordered her to keep watching them.

Kazan traveled to Amegakure to retrieve the Rinnegan, confronting Nagato and his Six Paths of Pain. Nagato’s Deva Path attacked with Shinra Tensei, but Kazan resisted the force and punched him into the ground.

• Kazan set out for Amegakure, and Uchiha Hikari followed him in her Tengu Warrior form.
• Nagato told Konan that he intended to use the Tailed Beasts to impose peace through fear and insisted he was now stronger than Kazan.
• Nagato sensed Kazan’s arrival and took control of all six Paths of Pain, placing the Deva Path before him.
• Kazan recognized Yahiko’s body as the Deva Path and demanded that Nagato surrender the Rinnegan.
• Kazan and Nagato refused each other’s demands for the Rinnegan and Nine-Tails, and the Deva Path used Shinra Tensei against Kazan.
• Kazan blocked Shinra Tensei with Conqueror’s Haki and punched the Deva Path into an Amegakure street.

Kazan fought Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain and rejected Nagato’s plan to use the Tailed Beasts to force peace through devastating wars. As all six bodies gathered to face him, Kazan declared himself the world’s most terrifying weapon and advanced amid dark crimson lightning.

• Kazan destroyed the Preta Path and Asura Path with a single punch despite the Preta Path absorbing Chakra.
• Kazan told Nagato that the Rinnegan had been implanted in him, but Nagato insisted he had awakened the eyes himself.
• The Naraka Path restored the damaged bodies, and all Six Paths of Pain assembled before Kazan.
• Nagato explained that he planned to gather the Tailed Beasts and use their power to control wars and impose peace through pain.
• Kazan declared himself the most terrifying weapon in the world and stepped toward the Six Paths as crimson lightning surged across the ground.

Kazan overwhelmed the Six Paths of Pain with his Haki and strength while Uchiha Hikari stopped Konan from joining the fight. Hikari drained Konan’s chakra and caught her, leaving her alive on the condition that she behave herself.

• Kazan destroyed the Preta Path’s shield and body with Haki, then overpowered the Deva Path’s Shinra Tensei.
• Kazan killed the Animal Path’s rhinoceros and Three-Headed Dog, then smashed the Deva Path’s chest with a punch.
• Kazan blocked the Asura Path’s laser and destroyed the Human Path by forcing a missile into its mouth.
• Konan flew toward the battlefield, but Uchiha Hikari held back Susanoo’s sword strike and marked her with Yachihoko, draining her chakra.
• Susanoo caught the falling Konan, and Hikari spared her after Konan said she was Kazan’s friend, warning her to behave herself.

Kazan fought Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain outside Amegakure and destroyed most of the bodies despite their powerful attacks. The Deva Path and Naraka Path remained as Kazan challenged Nagato to reveal his remaining strength, while Konan watched helplessly.

• Pain sent the Six Paths out of Amegakure to prevent further damage, and Hikari removed the chakra-transmitting Black Rods from the discarded Human Path body.
• Nagato gathered his chakra and sent five bodies to attack Kazan across a lake, but Kazan punched through their massive wave and destroyed the Asura Path.
• The Deva Path used Shinra Tensei, but Kazan endured it and destroyed the Animal Path and Eight-Span Bird with help from the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• Kazan broke the Deva Path’s Black Rod and nearly stomped the body apart, but Nagato used Shinra Tensei again to escape.
• Kazan demanded that Nagato show him what else he could do as Konan watched from Hikari’s hand, and the Deva Path insisted that the Rinnegan were his eyes and proof of his pain.

Kazan endured Nagato’s Planetary Devastation, while Jing Uchiha arrived to reclaim the Rinnegan. Jing told Nagato that the eyes had been implanted in him and that he had been chosen for his Uzumaki blood.

• Nagato fled from Kazan and prepared Planetary Devastation while Kazan pursued him.
• Kazan destroyed the Naraka Path’s King of Hell with Conqueror’s Haki and crushed the Naraka Path with a Rock Hand.
• Nagato unleashed Planetary Devastation and used Shinra Tensei to send Kazan into its sealing force.
• Jing Uchiha arrived with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu after Kazan was sealed, declaring that he had come to reclaim the Rinnegan.
• Jing told Nagato that he had been trapped in Genjutsu when the Rinnegan was implanted and had been chosen because of his Uzumaki blood.

Jing Uchiha killed Nagato and took his Rinnegan, while Kazan broke free of Planetary Devastation and discovered Nagato dying. Nagato asked Kazan to take Konan to Jiraiya before his soul dissolved.

• Nagato attacked Jing Uchiha, but Jing pierced his heart and removed both Rinnegan.
• Jing Uchiha implanted one Rinnegan in his own eye and left with the other, telling White Zetsu he had a plan.
• Kazan broke free of Planetary Devastation with Conqueror's Haki and shattered the seal with Fist Bone: Impact.
• Kazan and Uchiha Hikari reached Nagato, who was already dead, and Konan wept over him.
• Nagato briefly revived, asked Kazan to take Konan to Jiraiya, and then dissolved into light after Kazan promised to help.

Kazan buried Nagato alongside Yahiko with Konan, then agreed to bring her to Konoha after she had chosen a new leader for Amegakure. After visiting Hikari’s parents’ graves and returning to Amegakure, Kazan set off with Konan and Hikari, while Konan remained intent on avenging Yahiko and Nagato.

• Kazan and Konan buried Nagato beside Yahiko, and Konan recalled their life as orphans and her wish to see them safe.
• Kazan agreed to return for Konan in three days, and Konan stayed behind to manage Amegakure and seek a new leader.
• Kazan left Amegakure with Uchiha Hikari, failed to track Jing Uchiha, and said he would wait for their enemies to come after Kurama.
• Kazan took Hikari to visit her parents’ graves, where she paid her respects while he trained in the Strength of a Hundred Technique.
• Kazan and Hikari returned to Amegakure three days later, and Konan prepared to leave with a large supply of Explosive Tags.
• Konan declared that she wanted to avenge Yahiko and Nagato, and Kazan, Hikari, and Konan set off for Konoha.

After learning that Madara Uchiha had orchestrated the Infinite Tsukuyomi plot, Konoha called a Second Five Kage Summit in the neutral Land of Iron to warn the other villages. The villages reacted with suspicion, but Sunagakure decided to attend after learning Kazan would stay in Konoha.

• Jiraiya learned from Kazan that Madara Uchiha had used Izanagi to survive the Valley of the End and was likely behind the Infinite Tsukuyomi plot.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze agreed to call a Second Five Kage Summit, and Minato sent invitations to the Four Great Shinobi Villages.
• Kazan declined to accompany the Konoha delegation because he needed to finish the Strength of a Hundred Technique.
• Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage doubted Konoha's warning, and the Fourth Raikage ordered the ANBU to investigate Konoha's activities.
• Rasa decided Sunagakure would attend after learning that Kazan would remain in Konoha during the summit.

Jing Uchiha planned to attend Konoha’s Second Five Kage Summit through a White Zetsu impostor, while Konoha prepared to send Minato Namikaze. As the summit delegation departed, Kazan entered seclusion to complete the Strength of a Hundred Technique.

• Jing Uchiha dismissed the likelihood of the Five Great Shinobi Villages forming an alliance and decided to send White Zetsu disguised as a Mist Ninja to the summit.
• Jing Uchiha chose to wait before acting against Uchiha Nanashi because she was now with Kazan and could not be approached safely.
• Kakashi told Obito, Rin Nohara, and their friends that he knew little about the summit and suggested they ask Kazan.
• Kazan explained to a jealous Kurenai that Hikari accompanied him because she was strong and needed supervision, then invited Kurenai to live in the Forest of Death.
• Minato Namikaze departed for the summit with Shikaku Nara, Kakashi, and his Flying Thunder God team while Jiraiya stayed in Konoha with Konan.
• Kazan secluded himself in the snowy Forest of Death to master the final step of the Strength of a Hundred Technique.

Kazan mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique and combined it with the Eight Gates, then continued working toward a true Sage Body. While training Itachi, he predicted that the Five Kage Summit would not go smoothly and explained how divisions within the Hyuga Clan kept people from understanding one another.

• Kazan mastered the Strength of a Hundred Technique, confirming that his wounds healed almost instantly.
• Kazan opened all Eight Gates and found that the technique worked in tandem with his enhanced regeneration, though he still needed to improve Life Return to sustain a Sage Body.
• Kurenai and Hikari joined Kazan for a meal after his training, and he later walked Kurenai home.
• The next day, Kazan focused on consolidating his combat skills and made Itachi swim across a frozen lake while dodging falling boulders.
• Itachi asked whether the Five Kage Summit would go smoothly, and Kazan predicted it would not, citing the divide between the Hyuga Clan's Main and Branch Families.

Kazan explained to Itachi and Neji why the Uchiha were known as the true Clan of Love, then the Five Kage Summit began in the Land of Iron. Ōnoki provoked the other leaders over their losses to Kazan as Minato tried to introduce Konoha’s reason for calling the summit.

• Kazan told Itachi that an Uchiha’s love could awaken immense power through the Mangekyō Sharingan, and revealed that he had killed Jing Uchiha’s sister Miya while trying to save her.
• Kazan urged Itachi and Neji to grow stronger and use their own fists to force events back onto the path they wanted, then sent them to grill fish.
• Mifune opened the Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron, where Minato began explaining why he had called the leaders together.
• Ōnoki interrupted Minato and mocked his youth, prompting the Fourth Raikage to accuse Ōnoki of cowardice for surrendering to Konoha.
• Ōnoki reminded the Fourth Raikage and Fourth Mizukage that Kazan had killed their predecessors, while Kakashi and Shikaku Nara recognized his attempt to inflame the villages against Konoha.

At the Second Five Kage Summit, Minato warned the other villages that Madara Uchiha’s Infinite Tsukuyomi plan threatened the entire Shinobi World. The summit ended without an alliance, leaving each village to protect its own Jinchūriki.

• Minato told the Kage that Madara Uchiha was behind a plan to gather the Tailed Beasts and cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
• Minato explained that Kazan had found the Rinnegan with Amegakure’s new leader and believed Madara had left a rogue Konoha Ninja to act in his name.
• Ōnoki questioned Minato’s evidence, but Minato urged the other villages to guard their Jinchūriki and said Konoha did not need to fear losing Kazan.
• The summit ended without an alliance, as the Four Great Shinobi Villages chose to handle any Jinchūriki abductions themselves.
• On the journey home, Shikaku Nara and Kakashi said the other villages were underestimating the enemy.

After Minato returned to Konoha, he proposed forming the village's own Seven Ninja Swordsmen and opening a selection for Kazan's seven captured blades. The selection drew widespread interest, and the chapter ended as Konoha's clans prepared to compete for the positions.

• Minato met with Kazan, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and others, then proposed long-term intelligence gathering and strengthening Konoha's forces.
• Minato asked Kazan about finding new owners for his Ninja Blades, and Kazan agreed to let the village use them without compensation.
• Uchiha Fugaku offered both his sons' blades and said Itachi would compete to win Nuibari back.
• Minato announced an open selection divided into seven groups, with the abilities of each Ninja Blade made public.
• Might Guy told Obito and Asuka Hyuga that Kazan had defeated the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen with one slash, while Kakashi stayed silent about the details.
• Asuka warned Obito that Konoha's clans were competing for the blades, hoping to serve directly under Kazan.

Kakashi and Obito entered Konoha’s selection for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, while Minato persuaded Kazan to lead the elite unit. A month later, the selection reached its final stage as Kazan continued training to advance his Sage Body.

• Rin asked Kakashi and Obito whether they would enter the selection, and both agreed, with Obito aiming for Exploding Blade Shibuki and Kakashi drawn to Kiba.
• Minato explained that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen would unite Konoha’s clans behind Kazan, and Kazan agreed to lead the first generation and attend the selection.
• Kazan returned to the Forest of Death and meditated in the snow to advance Life Return and cultivate his Sage Body.
• A month later, Konoha’s selection reached its final stage after assessments of candidates’ character, intellect, physical ability, judgment, and work ethic.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted Minato’s plan, though he struggled to let go of his longtime comrades and the old guard.

Kazan attended Konoha’s final selection for the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, where seven Ninja Blades would go to the winners of one-on-one matches. Kakashi defeated his opponent to claim the Thunder Sword, while the Shimura Clan’s hopes of preserving its standing faltered.

• Kurenai and Hikari reminded Kazan that the Daimyo and Fourth Hokage expected him at the final selection, and he went with them to the Training Ground.
• Kazan arrived before Minato, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the Daimyo, then learned that Kakashi, Obito, Itachi, and Asuma had entered the selection.
• Shikaku Nara summoned the seven Ninja Blades and announced that the fourteen remaining candidates would compete in seven one-on-one matches.
• Kakashi used Lightning Release Chakra Mode, Chidori, and White Fang’s short blade to defeat his opponent and win the first match.
• The Shimura Clan’s sole surviving candidate lost to Kakashi, leaving the clan’s hopes of avoiding decline all but dashed.

Yuzuki Kurama won the selection match for the Kubikiribōchō, giving her clan a chance to approach Kazan and seek a way to restore its fading Kekkei Genkai. The chapter ended with Kazan and Hiruzen mocking Minato's over-the-top name for Kazan's ultimate technique.

• Hiruzen told Kazan that no Kurama Clan member had awakened Five Senses Manipulation since the Second Hokage's death, and that the declining clan hoped to learn from Kazan.
• Yuzuki Kurama charged her opponent with the Kubikiribōchō, surprising him with her strength and forcing him to retreat into a Ninjutsu attack.
• Yuzuki dodged her opponent's attacks, then used Hell Viewing Technique to make him see his fearsome girlfriend and expose his weakness.
• Yuzuki defeated her opponent and received the Kubikiribōchō as the Kurama Clan cheered.
• Kazan claimed Yuzuki could inherit his ultimate technique, Divine Departure, and Minato suggested renaming it Peerless Crimson Lightning Flash: Fatal Strike.
• Hiruzen and Kazan questioned Minato's naming sense, leaving Minato to ask whether they thought his suggestion sounded cool.

Uchiha Itachi defeated his older opponent in the selection match, impressing the crowd with his Taijutsu, Sharingan, and inventive techniques. Shikaku Nara stopped Itachi’s final attack and declared him the winner.

• Itachi faced an opponent nearly ten years older, while the crowd discussed his reputation as Kazan’s disciple.
• Itachi held his own in Taijutsu and struck his opponent with Heavy Blow, sending him flying and injuring him.
• His opponent used Wind Release and an earthen wall, but Itachi dodged the wind blades and attacked with Fire Release and manipulated shuriken.
• Itachi used a thread to make a long blade reverse course toward his opponent, and Shikaku Nara intervened before Itachi could continue his attack.
• Shikaku Nara declared Uchiha Itachi the winner.

The Ninja Blade selections continued as Itachi, Asuma, and Akimichi Ryuhei claimed Nuibari, Hiramekarei, and Samehada. Might Guy won Kabutowari’s selection after opening six gates, and Kazan named his elite unit the Shichibukai.

• Itachi reclaimed Nuibari after winning its selection, and Jiraiya praised how well the blade suited his shuriken skills.
• Asuma defeated his rival and received Hiramekarei from Shikaku Nara.
• Akimichi Ryuhei defeated his opponent and passed Samehada’s test with his Yang Release Chakra.
• Kazan revealed that he would call his elite unit the Shichibukai instead of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
• Might Guy opened six gates and defeated a Shimura clansman with the Leaf Great Whirlwind, winning Kabutowari’s selection.
• Guy and his father, Might Duy, celebrated the victory together in tears.

Obito fought Asuka Hyuga for the Exploding Blade Shibuki and overcame the villagers’ doubts by awakening his three-Tomoe Sharingan. After they fought to a standstill, Obito used a fireball to draw out Asuka’s Rotation and then launched a surprise attack from underground, leaving the match unresolved.

• Asuka challenged Obito to surrender, but Obito charged into close combat and was knocked back by Asuka’s Gentle Fist.
• Obito recalled the man he hoped to become, crushed his goggles, and declared he would someday challenge Kazan for the title of Hokage.
• Obito activated his three-Tomoe Sharingan, and he and Asuka fought evenly as the Sharingan countered Asuka’s Byakugan and Gentle Fist.
• Obito forced Asuka to form the hand seals for the Great Fireball Technique, and Asuka defended himself with Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin.
• Asuka used Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but Obito burst from underground with a kunai, startling him.