Recaps

Hashirama finished rebuilding Konoha’s houses and reflected on how Senju abilities could emerge in villagers without the Senju name. In Tobirama’s laboratory, Toneri revealed that Madara Uchiha’s tissue matched five mutants’ composition, identifying both as activated natural energy.

• Hashirama completed the final house renovation and told the craftsmen he would not be around to help anymore.
• Hashirama recalled Moegi’s Wood Release and suggested Senju abilities could awaken in descendants who no longer carried the Senju surname.
• Tobirama returned to his laboratory, where Toneri gave him analysis results concerning Madara Uchiha.
• Toneri reported that Madara Uchiha’s tissue had nearly the same underlying composition as the five mutants Naruto brought back from the Fire Temple.
• Tobirama learned that Madara’s tissue and the mutants were composed of pure, activated natural energy, like Urashiki Otsutsuki.

Tobirama discovered that Madara’s tissue samples resembled those of Urashiki and the monsters made from living people, then returned to Kage Rock to take the First and Third Hokage away. Minato and Kushina brought Konohamaru to see the Third Hokage, and Tobirama let grandfather and grandson say goodbye.

• Tobirama found that Madara’s tissue samples showed similarities to Urashiki’s remains and the monsters, and ordered Toneri to suspend research on Urashiki until his return.
• Tobirama returned to Kage Rock, where the First and Third Hokage reflected on their past failures while waiting for him.
• Minato arrived with Kushina and Konohamaru just as Tobirama prepared to take the two Hokage away.
• Konohamaru rushed to his grandfather, and Minato asked Tobirama to let them talk face-to-face.
• Tobirama agreed to let the Third Hokage and Konohamaru say goodbye.

The Third Hokage explained to Konohamaru why he had chosen to return to battle despite his age and past failures. He asked Konohamaru to let him die on a battlefield of his own choosing.

• Konohamaru clung to the Third Hokage, relieved to find him alive, while the Third apologized to Minato and his wife.
• The Third told Konohamaru he had avoided speaking to him because he feared seeing him would make him abandon his decision.
• The Third reflected on neglecting Konohamaru and on his duties and failures as Hokage, while telling him he had come to see hope in his growth.
• The Third explained that he could not accept waiting at home to die while the village and shinobi world faced a crisis.
• The Third walked past Konohamaru and asked him to let him die on a battlefield he had chosen.

The Third said farewell to Konohamaru, and Minato returned home troubled by Naruto’s absence and his own suspicions. In Otogakure, Menma showed Orochimaru Uzumaki masks from the Land of Whirlpools, and they prepared to summon the Shinigami while Madara watched.

• The Third assured Konohamaru they would meet again, then Hashirama hugged him so hard that Tobirama had to stop him from hurting the Third.
• Minato and Kushina took Konohamaru back to the village, where Kushina left to resume her duties and Minato wondered where Naruto had gone.
• Minato sat alone at home, troubled that he had deceived Kushina based on an unfounded suspicion.
• In Otogakure, Menma told Orochimaru that the masks came from the Uzumaki shrine in the Land of Whirlpools and that he had retrieved them before Konoha did.
• Orochimaru identified the masks as tied to pacts with otherworldly gods and asked to investigate the Shinigami; Menma agreed to summon and capture him if he was not a true god.

Orochimaru summoned the Shinigami to break the Reaper Death Seal, but the Shinigami attacked Menma and tried to take his soul. Menma resisted and Orochimaru turned the pact’s backlash against the Shinigami, capturing its soul and leaving Menma wary of Orochimaru.

• Orochimaru summoned the Shinigami, who attacked Menma with a blade that targeted souls.
• Menma caught the Shinigami’s blade by coating his arm in chakra, then hurled it into the Shinigami.
• The Shinigami used Orochimaru’s body and black runes to try to escape, but Orochimaru regained control and restrained him.
• Orochimaru explained that the Shinigami had learned his plan, taken control of him, and tried to seize Menma’s soul.
• Orochimaru used the Shinigami’s violation of their pact to capture its soul, and Menma said he had underestimated Orochimaru.

Orochimaru broke the Reaper Death Seal while trying to recover a soul, but a powerful chakra burst unleashed a hidden fighter who battled Menma. Menma identified the fighter as Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, who emerged from hiding and demanded to know who Menma was.

• Orochimaru summoned a body marked with the character for “one” and made the Shinigami release the souls sealed inside it.
• Orochimaru discovered that none of the released souls was the one Menma sought, and the Shinigami exploded in a surge of powerful chakra.
• Menma charged to protect Orochimaru and fought an unseen opponent as the battle devastated the underground laboratory and burst into the sky.
• Madara watched the fight with excitement until it abruptly ended, and Menma said the opponent was trapped within his barrier.
• Menma revealed that the hidden fighter was Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, who stepped out of the woods and asked Menma to identify himself.

Menma discovered that the powerful intruder was Minato Namikaze and persuaded him to join the Reshape Organization. Minato adopted the name Jet Black Dancing Wheel, leaving the organization’s members baffled.

• Menma realized Minato and the Nine-Tails had likely reconciled, while Minato attacked Otogakure’s barrier with a powerful Rasengan.
• Menma intercepted Minato using the Flying Thunder God Technique and revealed he had learned it from Naruto Uzumaki.
• Minato appeared in Baryon Mode and nearly struck Menma with a Rasengan, but stopped when Menma made a fist gesture that the Nine-Tails recognized.
• Orochimaru, Kabuto, Izumi, and the others arrived after the fighting had ended, and Menma introduced Minato as the organization’s new member.
• Minato denied being the Fourth Hokage, put on a mask, and took the name Jet Black Dancing Wheel.

One year later, a fleet of the Land of Lightning arrived at the Land of Whirlpools to fight the Ninja. A Samurai officer told the soldiers that the Ninja had betrayed their lords and urged them to crush the enemy.

• Ships from the Land of Lightning gathered in the foggy, turbulent sea near the Land of Whirlpools.
• A young soldier told a veteran he had been recruited only a month earlier as a laborer and had not expected to be sent to war.
• A Samurai ordered the soldiers to stand ready as the fleet prepared to land.
• The Samurai claimed the Ninja had started the war and shifted their duties onto ordinary people, stirring the soldiers to anger.
• The Samurai drew his katana and urged the soldiers to kill the Ninja.

The Land of Lightning’s soldiers celebrated the Five Great Nations’ alliance until a gigantic moving mountain emerged beside their fleet. Samui revealed it was Kumogakure’s Island Turtle and said the Raikage had sent her to welcome them, but Kitain treated her as a traitor and surrounded her with Samurai.

• A Samurai announced that the Five Great Nations had formed an alliance and promised honors to soldiers who fought against the Ninja.
• A lookout spotted rising waves, and the soldiers saw a vast mountain surfacing beside their fleet.
• Figures on a giant boulder greeted the fleet as Kumogakure, and a Samurai recognized the mountain as a turtle.
• Samui appeared behind the Samurai and identified the creature as the Island Turtle, summoned by Kumogakure Ninja.
• Samui said the Raikage had sent her to welcome the Land of Lightning fleet because a storm might delay it.
• Kitain accused Samui of betraying the Land of Lightning and ordered several Samurai to surround her, and Samui called them stupid.

Samui and the Kumogakure ninja lured most of the Land of Lightning’s troops onto the Island Turtle to get them away from the approaching battle. As the turtle fled, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju’s giants fought across the sea, and Madara destroyed a ship before declaring the battlefield belonged to them alone.

• Samui knocked down Kitain, carried him onto the Island Turtle, and helped trick many of the Land of Lightning’s troops into boarding it.
• The troops gathered on the Island Turtle and grew alarmed as it submerged and moved away from the fleet.
• Samui recognized the approaching sounds as the storm Lord Raikage had warned about and ordered the Island Turtle to flee at full speed.
• The soldiers saw Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo fighting Hashirama Senju’s giant Buddha and Wood Dragons, while the Island Turtle escaped their battlefield.
• Miyamoto Shichibei prepared to confront Madara, but Madara hurled a Wood Dragon into his ship and destroyed it.
• Madara broke free of Hashirama’s grasp and declared that the battlefield belonged to him and Hashirama alone.

Madara and Hashirama met as boys and shared a dream of peace, but their clans’ war pulled them apart and Izuna died in battle. After gaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara challenged Hashirama and lost, realizing Hashirama had always been able to counter him.

• Madara met Hashirama by the river, and the boys bonded while skipping stones and imagining a village where children would not have to fight.
• When their fathers and brothers ambushed them at the river, Madara and Hashirama protected each other’s younger brothers and revealed their clan names.
• Years later, Tobirama killed Izuna with the Flying Thunder God Slash, leaving Madara devastated and prompting Hashirama to question why the clans had to fight.
• Madara gained the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan after Izuna’s death, then challenged Hashirama to a final battle and suffered defeat.
• As he lay by the river, Madara realized Hashirama had been able to counter his power all along and had never regarded him as a true enemy.

After Hashirama defeated Madara, Madara chose to trust him and help build Konoha, but soon concluded that the village could not overcome human nature and that he himself was seen as its future threat. He pursued a different path to create a perfect New World, and in the present, a Reshape Organization opponent told the resurrected Madara that he had been manipulated his whole life.

• After Hashirama offered to kill himself to earn Madara’s trust, Madara stopped him and decided to live to protect his dream.
• As Konoha grew, Madara saw its peace as superficial and believed that old clan conflicts would eventually return.
• Madara overheard Tobirama argue that he could not become Hokage because the Uchiha were dangerous, and realized others viewed him as Konoha’s crisis.
• At the Uchiha Clan’s shrine, Madara told Hashirama that Konoha would repeat the Warring States Period and declared he would pursue another path to a perfect New World.
• In the present, a Reshape Organization opponent told the resurrected Madara that he had been manipulated, and Madara angrily threatened to kill him.

Menma told the enraged Madara that Black Zetsu had manipulated his plans and promised to take him to fight an Ōtsutsuki alongside Hashirama. During their battle, Madara and Hashirama reflected on Madara’s resurrection and their final fight, leaving Hashirama to explain why he had killed his friend.

• Menma sealed Madara inside the cultivation tank and offered to take him to Konoha to fight an Ōtsutsuki with Hashirama.
• Madara and Hashirama fought across the sea until Hashirama stopped his Wooden Buddha and discussed Madara’s greater strength and apparent resurrection.
• Hashirama asked whether a Divine Art had revived Madara, but Madara said he no longer cared about the shinobi world’s schemes after fighting Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
• Madara recalled his lifelong frustration at never defeating Hashirama and asked whether using Izanagi during their battle might have changed the outcome.
• Hashirama said he had killed Madara because he feared he would not be able to stop him if they fought again.

Hashirama revealed a new Rinnegan-powered technique and fought Madara in a clash of colossal summons. Meanwhile, Konoha began the Shinobi War in the Land of Whirlpools, where the Land of Lightning had already surrendered in the first round.

• Hashirama urged Madara to reconsider, but Madara declared he would destroy everything and challenged him to fight.
• Hashirama revealed a Rinnegan and summoned several manifestations of True Several Thousand Hands with his Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.
• Madara used Limbo: Border Jail to summon four additional Perfect Susanoo, and five Susanoo clashed with five of Hashirama's giant manifestations.
• Konoha announced the Shinobi War in the Land of Whirlpools, with Naruto Uzumaki and the other Four Sages serving as arbiters and the tailed beasts explaining the rules.
• Madara chose the surrounding sea as the battlefield, and he and Hashirama met blade to blade as their giants fought.
• The Five Great Nations Alliance learned that the Land of Lightning had entered the first round and already surrendered.

The Five Nations Alliance learned that the Land of Lightning's army had been destroyed after entering the First Shinobi War and debated how to proceed. The generals decided to recruit the Land of Iron and exploit Lightning's losses, while Kakashi watched from the camp and judged his assignment easy.

• The Five Nations Alliance generals received reports that the Land of Lightning's fleet had been wiped out and Kumogakure had rescued the survivors.
• The generals reviewed their intelligence on Naruto Uzumaki, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha and reaffirmed their plan to avoid the strongest ninja and commit troops to other wars.
• The generals ordered a soldier to contact Mifune and ask the Land of Iron to join their alliance or stay out of the war they entered.
• The generals convinced one another that the Land of Lightning's defeat had removed two troublesome ninja and restored their confidence.
• Kakashi read a dirty book atop the main camp tent and concluded that the group he was responsible for would be easy to handle.

Hashirama and Madara fought at full force, with Hashirama's Rinnegan revealing that two Madaras were both somehow real. As Madara threatened to reclaim his eye and take revenge on Konoha, Hashirama summoned the Ten-Tails to turn the battle around.

• Madara destroyed Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands and severed Hashirama's control over his last Limbo Clone, while Hashirama's chakra neared its limit.
• Madara ambushed Hashirama from beneath the statue, but Hashirama dodged and recognized both the Madara before him and the one inside the Susanoo as real.
• Hashirama revealed that his forehead Rinnegan was Madara's eye, returned to Konoha by Nagato, and explained that it showed both Madaras as genuine.
• Madara declared that he would reclaim his eye and take revenge on Konoha, citing Izuna's death, while Hashirama challenged his reasoning.
• Madara claimed he had not used half his strength, and Hashirama responded by summoning the Ten-Tails.

Hashirama absorbed the Miniature Ten-Tails and revealed his Six Paths transformation before fighting Madara. Their weapons clashed with enough force to shake space-time, while Menma and his companions watched and prepared to leave as the First Shinobi War neared its end.

• Hashirama summoned the malnourished Miniature Ten-Tails and revealed that he had completed his transformation into a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Hashirama absorbed the Miniature Ten-Tails, gaining Six Paths power and transforming his appearance and eyes.
• Hashirama reflected on the suffering of jinchūriki and regretted involving Mito, while Madara dismissed his remorse.
• Madara attacked Hashirama with Sage Art: Fire Calamity Cloud, and the two prepared to continue their fight with powerful weapons.
• Madara's Susanoo Blade clashed with Hashirama's Amenonuhoko, shaking space-time and producing a sound heard across the planet.
• Menma and his masked companions discussed the clash and prepared to leave as the First Shinobi War approached its conclusion.

Kakashi tasked Linduo with persuading the Five Great Nations to send all their troops into the Shinobi War’s second round by telling them Konoha would field only two contestants. Linduo recognized that the roster might make the other nations underestimate the challenge, but remained uneasy about the plan.

• Linduo left the arguing alliance representatives and met Kakashi, who had been listening from a rooftop.
• Kakashi told Linduo to guide the alliance toward committing all its troops to the second round.
• Linduo remembered that the Fourth Hokage had threatened his family and the Daimyo with Flying Thunder God kunai unless he worked for him.
• Kakashi claimed Konoha expected the other factions to withdraw and revealed that the complete second-round roster currently listed only Neji Hyuga and Toneri Hyuga.
• Linduo questioned whether the two-person roster would persuade the nations to commit all their forces, and Kakashi said that their belief that only part of their forces would suffice was exactly right.

Linduo followed Kakashi’s plan to break the Five Nations Alliance apart by provoking a public dispute and leaving with the Land of Fire’s forces. The Land of Water’s general stole the registration list, mistook Konoha’s two names for a chance to seize a tailed beast, and committed his forces to the second Shinobi War, unaware he was being watched.

• Kakashi explained his plan to Linduo, who returned to camp and staged an argument with the Land of Water’s general, Matsushita.
• Linduo used the alliance’s tacit support for an insult against him as an excuse to withdraw the Land of Fire from the alliance.
• The Land of Water’s general secretly stole the registration list and saw that only two Konoha ninjas were registered.
• Believing the Land of Fire had withdrawn to win the round and claim a tailed beast, the general decided to commit his elite troops against it.
• The general sent word to Konoha that the Land of Water would enter the second Shinobi War, while an unseen soldier watched him.

The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth agreed to combine forces and commit all their troops to win the second match, while Kakashi returned to Konoha’s camp after gathering intelligence. Guy and Lee asked to switch matches with him, but Kakashi said the third match was not suited to them because they could not fight at full strength.

• The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth’s representatives pieced together how Kakashi had stolen the registration list and agreed to cooperate in the second match.
• The Land of Wind offered to let the Land of Earth claim the One-Tail in exchange for resources, and both representatives ordered their forces to enter the match.
• The disguised Kakashi returned to Konoha’s camp and told Neji that the matter was handled.
• Guy and Lee pressed Kakashi to switch matches with them after describing how they had watched the fight between the First and Madara Uchiha.
• Kakashi refused to switch, explaining that the third match was not suited to Guy and Lee because they could not go all out.

As the second round of the shinobi war began, Gamabunta teleported its registered participants to the battlefield. The Five Nations Alliance’s forces arrived divided, leaving Byōdōin facing a confrontation with the armies of the Lands of Earth and Wind.

• Gamabunta and two giant toads announced the start of the second round to the gathered factions and wanderers.
• The Five Nations Alliance’s troops arrived in several divided groups, and Jirō challenged Byōdōin and Linduo over their intentions.
• Gamabunta checked the roster, noticed how many participants had registered to pursue Shukaku, and used a teleportation technique to send them to the battlefield.
• The black mist transported almost none of the forces outside the Five Nations Alliance, prompting onlookers to realize the alliance was fighting among itself.
• Byōdōin found himself facing the armies of the Lands of Earth and Wind and tried to claim he had only come to visit.

Toneri Hyuga and Neji confronted the allied armies of the Land of Wind, Earth, and Water after Linduo withdrew the Land of Fire’s troops. Toneri awakened the Tenseigan and began preparing to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi over the battlefield.

• The representatives of the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth agreed to target the Land of Water and the Land of Fire before turning on each other.
• Toneri struck a samurai who challenged him, then introduced himself as Toneri Hyuga of Konoha alongside Neji.
• Linduo led the Land of Fire’s army away, choosing to forfeit rather than join the battle.
• Hattori disguised himself among the Land of Wind’s troops and urged the armies to attack Toneri and Neji together.
• Toneri transformed his Byakugan into the Tenseigan and began preparing to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi over the area.

Toneri drew the army’s attention while Neji used a shadow clone to strike at its commanders. The battle continued as Neji challenged the vast force surrounding him.

• Toneri recalled Tobirama’s plan involving the Tenseigan and began rising into the sky, his eyes shining as he sent a beam into the clouds.
• The professional soldiers and samurai ordered their troops to shoot Toneri, and thousands of arrows gathered into a tornado around him under Neji’s Rotation: Whirl.
• Hattori recognized the danger and ordered the army to stop firing, raise shields, and charge, but Neji’s shadow clone struck him down.
• Neji’s shadow clone knocked down nearby soldiers and struck a samurai who tried to threaten him.
• Neji challenged the army of hundreds of thousands to come at him.

Minato guarded Kaguya Ōtsutsuki at the Reshape Organization’s camp while she sensed a disturbance connected to Konoha. Menma warned that the power was not Naruto’s, and the two discussed Minato’s place in Naruto’s life before deciding to wait before acting.

• Minato stopped Kaguya from leaving the camp, and she raised an All-Killing Ash Bone before his Kurama Mode forced her to retreat.
• Minato complained that Menma had released Kaguya, but Menma said she had sensed Ōtsutsuki power rather than tried to break their agreement.
• Menma sensed interference from a power likely connected to Konoha and said its wielder was not Naruto.
• Minato said he could not interfere much because another version of himself was still alive, and Menma worried that this was unfair to him.
• Minato noted that Madara and Hashirama remained evenly matched and told Menma to wait longer before taking action.

The Land of Iron, led by Mifune, entered the third match of the Shinobi War and drew Kakashi Hatake as its opponent. The participants vanished into black mist as the match began.

• The toads announced registration for the third match, leaving the gathered factions uncertain about who would participate.
• Mifune publicly declared that the Land of Iron would enter the match, and his reputation deterred many potential challengers.
• Several independent fighters joined, while the major shinobi factions stayed out of the match.
• Kakashi Hatake arrived at the last moment, and Mifune recognized his skill with a blade.
• Kakashi remarked that Mifune's announcement had scared away people he had hoped to fight, then the match began and black mist transported the participants away.