Recaps

Kazan fought Uchiha Hikari with his Haki and shattered Susanoo’s head, forcing her to retreat. Hikari escaped his finishing blow with Tsukuyomi but remained convinced that Infinite Tsukuyomi was necessary, while Kazan challenged her faith in the Sage of Six Paths.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived after Minato Namikaze finished sealing the Nine-Tails, and he and the others watched Kazan’s summoned beasts attack it.
• Hakimi joined Kazan, then led the Forest of Death creatures in a fight against the Nine-Tails.
• Kazan attacked Uchiha Hikari at close range, cracking Susanoo with his fists and materializing his Conqueror’s Haki into a dark red tiger.
• Kazan’s Fist Bone barrage destroyed Susanoo’s head, and he followed with Galaxy Impact.
• Uchiha Hikari used Tsukuyomi to dodge Kazan’s punch, which devastated the battlefield, then insisted that Infinite Tsukuyomi was the only way to liberate the world.
• Kazan questioned whether the Sage of Six Paths was infallible, and Uchiha Hikari called him arrogant.

Uchiha Hikari drew on the Ryumyaku’s Chakra and transformed her Susanoo into a Six Paths-level Ryumyaku Form, forcing Kazan into a desperate battle. Kazan continued attacking despite being injured, but Hikari struck him into a mountain and offered to spare him if he stopped interfering with her plans.

• Uchiha Hikari used Yachihoko to absorb the Ryumyaku’s Chakra, while Sara rushed to seal the Ryumyaku in Rōran.
• Uchiha Hikari formed her Ryumyaku Form Susanoo and attacked Kazan with a Black Flame blade.
• Kazan and Uchiha Hikari clashed, and Minato Namikaze evacuated Jiraiya, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kurenai, and the others from the battlefield.
• Kazan dodged Hikari’s devastating strikes and battered her Susanoo with punches, while his Conqueror’s Haki grew tangible.
• Uchiha Hikari caught Kazan with her blade and sent him crashing into a mountain, then offered to let him live in the Tsukuyomi World if he stopped interfering.

Kazan opened the Gate of Death and unleashed the Eight Gates Released Formation against Uchiha Hikari. He pinned her Susanoo with a barrage of Evening Elephant strikes and began to accumulate power for his next attack.

• Kazan rejected Uchiha Hikari’s demand to let her pass and pressed his thumb to his chest to activate the Eight Gates.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others recognized the technique, while Minato Namikaze prepared to place Flying Thunder God Marks around the battlefield.
• Kazan opened the seventh gate, then broke through to the Gate of Death and unleashed his full potential in a pillar of crimson vapor.
• Kazan struck Uchiha Hikari’s Ryumyaku Form Susanoo with the five blows of Evening Elephant, pinning it in place.
• Kazan said “Accumulate!” as the ground exploded beneath him from the power pouring out of his body.

Kazan used Night Guy to destroy Uchiha Hikari’s Susanoo and defeat her, but Minato Namikaze intervened before Kazan could deliver the final blow. Afterward, Kazan reunited with the others and hurriedly ate to recover from the Eight Gates Released Formation.

• Kazan gathered his strength and launched Night Guy at Uchiha Hikari, distorting space with his punch.
• Kazan’s attack shattered Uchiha Hikari’s Susanoo and left both fighters gravely injured.
• As Kazan approached to finish Uchiha Hikari, Minato Namikaze used a Flying Thunder God Formula to transport Kazan away and bring Hikari back.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others rushed to Kazan, who glared at Minato Namikaze before noticing the food prepared for him.
• Kazan devoured the food and opened a Sealing Scroll to eat the provisions he had brought.

After recovering from his battle, Kazan persuaded the Nine-Tails to accept being sealed inside him and removed restrictions on the seal. The Nine-Tails accepted Kazan but still attacked Minato, leaving Konoha’s new arrangement intact and everyone else wary.

• Kazan regained much of his strength by eating and agreed to send the captured Uchiha Hikari to Konoha’s Interrogation Department.
• Kazan told the Nine-Tails he would become its new home, and the Nine-Tails accepted his sincere offer of friendship.
• Minato Namikaze and the others sealed the Nine-Tails inside Kazan with the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.
• Kazan entered the Sealing Chamber and loosened the seal, giving the Nine-Tails greater freedom.
• The Nine-Tails struck Minato with a tail, and Kazan denied responsibility while privately praising the fox.

After the battle, Kazan brought the Nine-Tails to the Forest of Death and made clear that he would have to stay there while Konoha adjusted to his presence. The Nine-Tails introduced himself as Kurama, and the chapter ended with them eating and sparring while Hiruzen Sarutobi went to an important meeting.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi organized the village response, while Kazan took Kurenai and the beasts back to the Forest of Death.
• Kazan called the Nine-Tails out, punched him into the ground for roaring, and told him to stay in the forest.
• ANBU approached after hearing the Nine-Tails roar, but Kazan assured them nothing would happen and sent them back to tell Minato.
• Kazan returned from hunting and cooked meat; the Nine-Tails revealed that his name was Kurama.
• Kurama and Hakimi fought over the food while Kazan ate, and Hiruzen Sarutobi headed to the Hokage Building for a meeting.

Kazan attended Minato Namikaze’s meeting, where Konoha’s leaders planned village repairs and discussed the Nine-Tails incident. When Uchiha Fugaku defended his clan against suspicion, Kazan said Fugaku was telling the truth.

• ANBU summoned Kazan from the Forest of Death, and he left Hakimi behind to watch the people there.
• Kazan joined Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Fugaku, and other leaders in the Conference Room.
• Kazan defended the Nine-Tails and urged Tsunade to consider its good points.
• Shikaku Nara proposed asking the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to fund and supply Konoha’s rebuilding, and Minato Namikaze approved the plan.
• Uchiha Fugaku denied that his clan had caused the Nine-Tails incident, and Kazan declared that Fugaku was not lying.

Kazan and Minato Namikaze defended the Uchiha Clan against accusations of controlling the Nine-Tails, then assigned Konoha’s clans to deter the other villages at the borders. The meeting ended with Minato planning to speak with Uchiha Nanashi after returning from the front lines.

• Kazan and Uchiha Fugaku argued that the Uchiha Clan had no connection to Jing Uchiha or the Nine-Tails’ rampage, and Minato Namikaze declared the matter settled.
• Minato Namikaze warned that the other Shinobi Villages were assembling forces to test Konoha after the attack.
• Kazan volunteered to handle the Sand Shinobi alone, while Minato Namikaze chose to lead a force against the Cloud Shinobi.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Hyuga Hiashi both volunteered their clans to face the Mist Ninja, and Kazan proposed sending them together.
• Minato Namikaze assigned the Uchiha and Hyuga Clans to deal with the Mist Ninja and said he would meet Uchiha Nanashi after returning from the front.

Minato and Konoha’s leaders decided to give Danzō a funeral with the highest honors and discussed how to handle Root’s survivors. Kazan left to deal with the Sand Shinobi and the Ryumyaku, while Konoha’s clans prepared for deployment and Itachi joined Fugaku at the frontline.

• Hiruzen decided that Danzō would receive a funeral with the highest honors once the border situation stabilized, and Minato planned to disperse Root’s surviving members among other squads.
• Kazan told Shinku Yuhi he would speak to Kurenai, then left Konoha to deal with the Sand Shinobi and remove Uchiha Hikari’s mark from the Ryumyaku.
• Kazan reassured his peers that Konoha’s border deployment was meant to deter the other villages, then flew toward the Land of Wind.
• Fugaku ordered the Uchiha to prepare for deployment and told Itachi to accompany him to the frontline.
• Itachi handed Sasuke to their mother, strapped on the Ninja Blade Kazan had given him, and resolved to make his teacher proud.

Rasa led the Sand Shinobi army to the Land of Rivers, hoping to exploit reports that Konoha had been weakened, but Kazan arrived alone and overwhelmed the force with his Haki. When Rasa refused to withdraw, Kazan charged at him, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Rasa brought the Sand Shinobi forces to the border and waited to see how Konoha would respond.
• Kazan flew into the Sand Shinobi army, knocking down thousands with his Conqueror's Haki and scattering others with his landing.
• Kazan ordered the Sand Shinobi to return to Sunagakure and warned that it was their final chance.
• Rasa claimed his forces were on Land of Wind territory and challenged Kazan's right to interfere.
• Kazan declared that they could not reach an agreement, and Rasa ordered his forces to attack.
• Kazan rushed through the Sand Shinobi ranks and swung at Rasa.

Kazan overwhelmed Rasa and the Sand Shinobi, leaving the Kazekage barely alive after hurling him into the desert. He ordered Sunagakure to withdraw and vanished, while Karura and the surviving Sand Shinobi were left with Rasa.

• Kazan wounded Rasa with one punch, then used Conqueror's Haki and another strike to send hundreds of Sand Shinobi flying.
• Kazan caught up to Rasa and attacked him, but Karura briefly bound him with sand while Rasa's Gold Dust Spears failed to stop him.
• Kazan seized Rasa, carried him high into the air, and hurled him into the ground with Undersea Drop.
• Karura and the other Sand Shinobi rushed to save Rasa, and Karura's sand kept him barely alive.
• Kazan warned the Sand Shinobi to return to Sunagakure or face him there, then vanished.

Kazan reunited with Sara in a rebuilding Rōran, destroyed the mark placed on the Ryumyaku, and learned that she intended to seal it away to protect her neutral country. They left Rōran’s future in the hands of its people, with Sara reaffirming her faith in their shared resilience.

• After Kazan disappeared, Baki and Karura rushed to the critically injured Rasa, and the medical unit began treating him.
• Kazan arrived in Rōran, where Sara welcomed him and showed him the town’s recovery and rebuilding.
• Kazan and Sara descended to the Ryumyaku’s Sealing site, where Kazan destroyed Yachihoko’s mark on the Ryumyaku.
• Sara decided to seal the Ryumyaku forever and take it to Konoha so Rōran could remain neutral and avoid becoming a target.
• Sara told Kazan that Rōran would rebuild through its people’s strength, and Kazan carried her into the sky.

Kazan left Rōran after Sara refused to establish a Ninja force, carrying her request for Konoha’s help back to Minato. At the border, Minato found the Cloud Shinobi attacking Konoha’s troops while testing whether Kazan was still alive.

• Kazan reflected with the Nine-Tails on Sara’s choice to build Rōran without the Ryumyaku’s power, then fell asleep and was carried to bed by the Nine-Tails.
• Sara asked Kazan to explain Rōran’s needs to Minato and refused his offer to help her form a Ninja force.
• Kazan departed for Konoha, noting that Minato, Jiraiya, Tsunade, the Uchiha, and the Hyuga were already confronting threats from other villages.
• Minato reached Konoha’s border and learned that the Cloud Shinobi had assembled five thousand Ninja, including the Fourth Raikage and two Jinchūriki.
• The Cloud Shinobi attacked Konoha’s troops, claiming they were on a mission while probing whether Kazan’s condition left Konoha vulnerable.

Minato Namikaze fought the Cloud Shinobi on the border while Konoha’s other fronts saw limited clashes, and Hiruzen Sarutobi discussed the war and Itachi’s battlefield record with Kazan. At the Ninja Academy, students admired Kazan and argued over whether Itachi had earned his place as Kazan’s disciple, ending with the Uchiha and Hyuga children ready to fight.

• Minato Namikaze gave Konoha’s troops Special Kunai and used Flying Thunder God and Rasengan to kill Cloud Shinobi as the battle erupted.
• The Fourth Raikage charged into battle with Killer B after hearing of Minato’s attack, while reinforcements stabilized the front.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Kazan that clashes had begun across the fronts and that Itachi had killed two Mist Ninja Chunins; Kazan said he had trained Itachi by throwing him into a wolf pack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi expected news of Kazan defeating Rasa to help quell the conflict and said Minato would decide what to do about Uchiha Hikari.
• At the Ninja Academy, students praised Kazan and discussed Itachi’s battlefield success, then a Hyuga student claimed the Uchiha had forced Kazan to take Itachi as his disciple.
• Uchiha students sprang up to fight the Hyuga students over the claim.

Uchiha and Hyuga students fought after the Hyuga insulted Itachi, and both clans escalated the clash by sending in reinforcements. As their elders traded accusations in the Hokage Building, the dispute remained unresolved and the Conference Room erupted into a shouting match.

• Uchiha and Hyuga students brawled at the Ninja Academy, where Uchiha Izumi took down two Hyuga while defending Itachi.
• Kazan and Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the fight, and Hiruzen advised Kazan to help the Uchiha without encouraging their arrogance.
• After school, students from both clans gathered on a Konoha street and fought until the Hyuga Elders Council ordered their Jonin to oversee the clash.
• The Uchiha mobilized from the Military Police Force, and the two clans' fight escalated, leaving many people bruised and battered.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent someone to find Kazan in the Forest of Death and handle the conflict.
• The Uchiha and Hyuga Old Clan Leaders and their Elders Councils argued in the Hokage Building, trading accusations until the meeting room erupted into a shouting match.

Kazan settled a dispute between the Uchiha and Hyuga clans over a fight among their youngsters, ordering the ringleaders sent to the Military Police Force. He said he would visit the Hyuga Clan the next day, though he already had someone in mind.

• Kazan entered the conference room and told an ANBU to report to the Military Police Force the next day.
• The Uchiha and Hyuga clan leaders resumed arguing over who started the fight and whether the Hyuga had provoked the Uchiha by slandering Kazan's choice of Itachi as a disciple.
• The Uchiha clan leader admitted his people struck first and said they would accept Kazan's judgment.
• Kazan said he and the Third Hokage had watched the brawl, then ordered the ringleaders sent to the Military Police Force for punishment.
• Kazan told the worried Hyuga clan leader that he would visit the Hyuga Clan the next day, leaving the Uchiha disappointed and the Hyuga pleased.

Kazan visited the Hyuga Clan to look over its gifted children as potential apprentices, while Hizashi defied clan rules by bringing Branch Family member Neji to meet him. The chapter ended with the Hyuga youngsters sparring with the Gentle Fist as Kazan watched.

• The Hyuga Elders Council prepared the Main Family children for Kazan’s visit, while Hizashi decided to bring Neji despite the rule excluding Branch Family members.
• Kazan cooked breakfast with the Nine-Tails, then flew to the Hyuga Clan’s compound.
• The Hyuga Clan’s leaders and younger generation greeted Kazan and explained their family rules and the Caged Bird Seal.
• Kazan declined a tour and asked to see the clan’s talented youngsters, then watched them spar in a training hall.

Kazan visited the Hyuga Clan to look for a disciple but found no one who interested him until Hizashi Hyuga defied the Main Family and brought his son Neji forward. After Neji impressed Kazan, Kazan chose him as his apprentice and warned the clan not to harm him or his father.

• Kazan watched the Hyuga Clan's young members practice and found none of them worth taking as a disciple.
• Hizashi Hyuga arrived with Neji and urged Kazan to choose his son, defying the Main Family's restrictions.
• A Hyuga elder activated Hizashi's Caged Bird Seal, and Kazan's chakra stopped the clan from removing father and son.
• Kazan asked Neji to demonstrate what he had learned by watching the Gentle Fist, and Neji performed the movements roughly.
• Kazan chose Neji as his disciple, told the Hyuga Clan he would be displeased if anything happened to Neji or Hizashi, and invited Neji to become his apprentice.

Neji entered the Forest of Death to train as Kazan’s disciple after his father, Hizashi Hyuga, defied the Hyuga Clan to protect him. Kazan challenged Neji to grow strong enough to overturn the clan’s oppressive traditions, leaving Neji determined to fight for change.

• Hizashi Hyuga brought Neji to the Forest of Death and urged him to train hard under Kazan.
• Golden Lion guided Neji through the dangerous forest to Kazan, who welcomed him as a disciple and told him to abandon the Hyuga Clan’s rules.
• Neji was frightened by Hakimi and the Nine-Tails, then watched Kazan, Kurama, and the others devour an enormous meal.
• Kazan asked Neji whether he wanted to change the Hyuga Clan, and Neji said its treatment of the Branch Family was wrong.
• Kazan told Neji to become stronger and take responsibility for changing the clan, then set him the goal of overturning its old rules.

Kazan took Neji as his second disciple and obtained the Hyuga Clan’s Gentle Fist secret techniques for him, setting Neji on a path to challenge the Caged Bird Seal system. He urged Neji to learn Gentle Fist and then develop a more forceful Steel Fist, though Neji knew he could not match Kazan’s strength.

• Kazan gave baby Neji the Gentle Fist techniques after finding that Neji, as a Branch Family member, could not access the full set.
• The Hyuga Elders Council decided not to seal Neji and proposed bringing him into the Main Family as an elder because he was Kazan’s disciple.
• Neji resolved to abolish the Caged Bird Seal system and let the whole Hyuga Clan learn techniques such as Rotation and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
• Kazan told Neji to master Gentle Fist, then innovate by meeting it with a more powerful Steel Fist.

Kazan displayed his Nine-Tails and Sage Mode power over Konoha, then learned that the enemy villages had withdrawn and that Minato had returned. As Minato reunited with Kushina and Naruto, Hiruzen and Kazan watched and decided to give him some time.

• Kazan entered Nine-Tails Mode, drew up Ryumyaku energy, and combined them into Sage Fox Mode.
• Kazan unleashed his Conqueror's Haki, tearing a massive scar across the sky before returning to train.
• Obito felt daunted by Kazan's strength but renewed his resolve to become Hokage.
• Hiruzen told Kazan that the Sand Shinobi and the other three great shinobi villages had withdrawn, and gave him questions about the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan and the forces behind Uchiha Nanashi and Jing Uchiha.
• Minato returned to Konoha and went home to change Naruto's diaper while Kushina watched them fondly.
• Hiruzen and Kazan watched Minato's family through a crystal ball and agreed to give him time.

Minato and Kushina discussed whether Kazan should teach Naruto, then Kazan questioned Uchiha Hikari about the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan. He explained that the plan would trap people in a dream world without a future, leaving Hikari to confront the cost of its promised happiness.

• Kushina urged Minato to consider Kazan as Naruto's future teacher, but Minato warned that Kazan's path was dangerous and taijutsu training was difficult.
• Minato, Hiruzen, and Kazan questioned Uchiha Hikari, who identified herself as Uchiha Nanashi and said she was several hundred years old.
• Uchiha Hikari explained that the Nine Tailed Beasts came from the Ten-Tails and described how the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan would revive it and cast a dream over the world.
• Uchiha Hikari asked why Kazan rejected the plan, and Kazan argued that dreams offered only present desires in a false world without a tomorrow.

Kazan challenged Uchiha Hikari’s belief in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, arguing that an uncertain future was worth facing rather than trading for an imagined world. He then questioned Hikari about Jing Uchiha’s organization and abilities, exposing how little she knew before she joined the plan to attack Konoha.

• Kazan told Uchiha Hikari that the Infinite Tsukuyomi would trap people in fantasies built from their own memories, and declared that he would shape the future with his fists.
• Uchiha Hikari asked whether she could also forge her own future, but Kazan said she would probably still die because everyone feared her.
• Kazan asked who belonged to the organization behind Hikari, and she named Jing Uchiha, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu.
• Hikari admitted she knew nothing about Jing Uchiha’s ocular techniques or the origins of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
• Kazan scolded Hikari for accepting the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan without asking questions, and she apologized.

Kazan freed Uchiha Hikari and took responsibility for showing her modern Konoha, despite Hiruzen Sarutobi’s fears. As they toured the village and shared dango, a hostile Kurenai Yuhi confronted Hikari.

• Uchiha Hikari asked Kazan to let her see the world several centuries after her time, and he agreed despite Hiruzen Sarutobi’s objections.
• Kazan cut through Hikari’s bindings and told Minato Namikaze to place Cursed Seals on her, while Hiruzen Sarutobi left in frustration.
• Kazan brought Hikari to Kage Rock, showed her the lively village, and took her to try Three-Color Dango.
• After Hikari enjoyed the dango and tea, she sensed a surge of hostility and turned to face Kurenai Yuhi.
• Kazan recognized Kurenai Yuhi and greeted her.

Kazan spent Uchiha Hikari’s remaining days showing her kindness and friendship before placing a finger on her forehead. Meanwhile, the supposedly dead Jing Uchiha revealed his Kukurihime eye technique in Kirigakure and began planning to strengthen the Mist Ninja and recruit Hiruko.

• Kurenai and Anko befriended Uchiha Hikari, showed her around Konoha, and gave her gifts.
• Kazan brought Hikari to Minato and Kushina’s home, where she held newborn Naruto and shared dinner with the family.
• Kazan took Hikari back to the Forest of Death and spent several days helping her experience a happier life.
• Hikari thanked Kazan, asked him to bury her in a place she named, and sent her regards to Kurenai and Anko before Kazan pressed a finger to her forehead.
• In Kirigakure, Black Zetsu learned that Jing Uchiha had survived by using Kukurihime, which could exchange the fact of death between marked people at the cost of his eye and its sole use.
• Jing told Black Zetsu he would build up the Mist Ninja, later contact the Sand Shinobi, and have White Zetsu find Konoha’s Rogue Ninja, Hiruko.