Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Shin brought Zhou Cheng more than two hundred pairs of Sharingan, but Zhou Cheng was urgently summoned to Konoha, where the village debated Ōnoki's call for a Five Kage Summit. Zhou Cheng rejected the summit, shared Akatsuki intelligence and defense plans with Konoha, and went to persuade Sunagakure and Kirigakure to stay away; Gaara heard his case, which ended with Zhou Cheng predicting that there would soon be fewer than five Kage.

• Uchiha Shin returned with a cart of more than two hundred pairs of Sharingan, and Zhou Cheng left after sensing an urgent summons from Konoha.
• Tsunade told Konoha's leaders that Akatsuki had attacked Iwagakure again, destroyed its reconstruction, and captured the Five-Tails; Ōnoki had called for a Five Kage Summit.
• Zhou Cheng arrived at the Hokage Office, opposed attending the summit, and said he would urge Gaara and Kirigakure to stay away.
• Zhou Cheng gave Tsunade upgraded Chakra Cloak plans and intelligence on Akatsuki members, then left to visit Sunagakure and Kirigakure.
• Zhou Cheng told Gaara that Ōnoki's notice was arrogant and said there would not be Five Kage for much longer.

Zhou Cheng persuaded Gaara and Mei Terumi to boycott Ōnoki’s Five Kage Summit and gave their villages Chakra Cloak blueprints. Back in Konoha, he helped Naruto begin training for Sage Mode and told Tsunade that Sunagakure and Kirigakure would not attend the summit.

• Zhou Cheng advised Gaara to refuse the Five Kage Summit unless Ōnoki held it on fair terms, and left Sunagakure Chakra Cloak blueprints.
• Zhou Cheng persuaded Mei Terumi not to attend the summit and gave Kirigakure Chakra Cloak blueprints after they cleared up a misunderstanding about their relationship.
• Naruto demonstrated his partial Nine-Tails transformation, and Zhou Cheng sent him to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode.
• Zhou Cheng met Tsunade and reported that Gaara and Mei Terumi had agreed to boycott the summit.

Zhou Cheng stopped Naruto’s rampage through Konoha, diverted a Tailed Beast Bomb, and helped seal the Nine-Tails before Naruto fully transformed. After returning home to rest, he remained unaware that events outside had already taken a dramatic turn.

• Tsunade told Zhou Cheng to keep his actions from endangering Konoha, and explosions soon alerted them that Naruto had lost control.
• Zhou Cheng confronted Naruto’s five-tailed form and knocked back his chakra tails, but Naruto advanced to six tails and began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Zhou Cheng used Kamui to divert the bomb and severed a chakra tail, drawing nine-tails chakra into the Alternate Dimension.
• Zhou Cheng restrained Naruto with Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Kakashi sealed the Nine-Tails with Five Elements Seal.
• Zhou Cheng checked Naruto, sent him to the hospital with Tsunade, and went home to sleep, unaware that the world outside had been turned upside down.

After waking in Konoha, Zhou Cheng advanced his Sharingan to five tomoe and tested the major boosts to his abilities. He decided he needed Madara Uchiha’s eyes to progress further, while holding chakra from all nine tailed beasts for a future Ten-Tails transformation.

• Zhou Cheng tested his four-tomoe Sharingan in the Alternate Dimension and found that it amplified his ninjutsu twentyfold.
• Zhou Cheng absorbed one hundred pairs of Sharingan and evolved his eyes to five tomoe.
• Zhou Cheng tested his Five-Tomoe Rinnegan and found that it amplified ninjutsu about fiftyfold, strengthened Kamui, and raised Susanoo’s height to two hundred meters.
• Zhou Cheng absorbed all of Uchiha Shin’s remaining Sharingan, but his eyes did not evolve again.
• Zhou Cheng concluded that replicating another Sharingan user, possibly Madara Uchiha, could advance his eyes further, and noted that he had chakra from all nine tailed beasts stored in cages.

Ōnoki's Five Kage Summit collapsed after Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure refused to attend, and Akatsuki members Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara were driven off by A and Killer B. At Konoha Hospital, Zhou Cheng explained how Naruto could control Kurama, but Kurama rejected Naruto's claim that they were friends.

• Ōnoki learned that Konoha, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure would not attend the summit, while A left Iwagakure with Killer B.
• Kakuzu, Sasori, and Deidara ambushed A and Killer B, but the Raikage brothers overwhelmed them and forced them to retreat.
• Kakuzu warned his teammates to flee if they encountered Zhou Cheng, and Sasori said Zhou Cheng stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
• Zhou Cheng visited Naruto in Konoha Hospital and explained that a jinchūriki could control a tailed beast by force or by becoming its friend.
• Naruto asked Kurama whether they were already friends, but Kurama said Naruto could not earn his friendship with a few words.

Zhou Cheng brought Haku to Mount Myōboku to learn Sage Mode, where Haku quickly sensed natural energy but struggled to balance it into senjutsu chakra. Meanwhile, Tsunade remained set on stepping down as Hokage, but no successor had been chosen.

• Zhou Cheng told Naruto he could seize the Nine-Tails' chakra, then warned him to recover and not attempt it alone.
• Zhou Cheng took Haku to Mount Myōboku, where Haku signed the summoning scroll and was reverse-summoned there.
• Zhou Cheng taught Haku to use toad oil and sense natural energy, which Haku managed on his first attempt.
• Haku repeatedly failed to balance the energies needed for Sage Mode and turned to stone, while Zhou Cheng rescued him each time.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya she planned to travel and gamble after stepping down, but said she had not chosen a Sixth Hokage.
• Jiraiya realized the village's leaders rejected candidates they could not control, including Itachi, while Kakashi would not accept the position.

Zhou Cheng took Naruto to Turtle Island so Killer B could help him learn to control the Nine-Tails' chakra. Naruto entered the Waterfall of Truth to face his dark self, but he had not emerged even after Zhou Cheng and Killer B waited over tea.

• Zhou Cheng left Itachi and Sasuke in charge of his house and the Three-Tails while he took Naruto away for training.
• Zhou Cheng persuaded Killer B to take him and Naruto to Turtle Island by promising to help Kumogakure in a future crisis.
• Killer B summoned the island turtle and led Zhou Cheng and Naruto to the Waterfall of Truth.
• Naruto entered the waterfall alone to face his dark self, while Zhou Cheng and Killer B waited outside.
• After two cups of tea, Naruto still had not emerged, and Zhou Cheng grew restless.

Naruto defeated the Nine-Tails and began training to control its chakra while Akatsuki planned simultaneous attacks on Kumogakure and Konoha. On the way back from Turtle Island, Zhou Cheng sensed danger and discovered Motoi had led them into an ambush by Kakuzu.

• Naruto emerged from the Waterfall of Truth after defeating his other self, then entered the ruins and opened the Nine-Tails' cage to claim its chakra.
• Pain told Akatsuki that the organization would attack Kumogakure and Konoha in three days to capture the Eight-Tails and Three-Tails, with the Nine-Tails as an additional target.
• Naruto told Zhou Cheng that he had mostly gained control of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and wanted to fight Sasuke, while Motoi relayed the Raikage's order to return to Kumogakure.
• Zhou Cheng sensed danger as Killer B, Naruto, Motoi, and he crossed the sea, then realized Motoi was an Akatsuki spy when an enormous creature attacked their boat.
• Kakuzu boarded the boat, recognized Zhou Cheng and Naruto, and realized the ambush had put Akatsuki up against Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng and Killer B faced an Akatsuki team on Turtle Island, but Zhou Cheng drove them off with a powerful water dragon. After an explosion struck the Raikage Building, Zhou Cheng realized the attack on A may have been a diversion and that Killer B was Akatsuki’s real target.

• Motoi revealed himself as a traitor, then escaped by jumping into the sea.
• Zhou Cheng warned Killer B and Naruto that Akatsuki had deployed a large team, and Naruto activated Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
• Kakuzu ordered Akatsuki to retreat after realizing they had reached Kumogakure Territory.
• Ao attacked Zhou Cheng with a Water Dragon Bullet, but Zhou Cheng’s stronger water dragon overwhelmed the attackers and forced them to flee.
• Killer B heard that the Raikage Building was under attack and rushed toward it.
• Zhou Cheng concluded that the attack on A was likely a diversion and that Akatsuki’s real target was Killer B.

Zhou Cheng, Naruto, and Killer B reached the Raikage Building and found that Kisame and Konan had attacked A, then retreated after Zhou Cheng arrived. Zhou Cheng sensed trouble in Konoha and teleported there, where Pain and Obito had already breached the village’s barrier with the Six Paths.

• Killer B learned from C that two attackers had enraged A and fled, then followed A’s trail with Zhou Cheng and Naruto.
• Zhou Cheng found Kisame and Konan fighting A and explained that the Akatsuki had used the attack to distract Kumogakure while Kakuzu’s team targeted the Eight-Tails.
• Kisame and Konan retreated after Zhou Cheng confronted them, and A struck the ground in frustration as they escaped.
• Zhou Cheng’s Flying Thunder God Marks in Konoha flashed, so he grabbed Naruto and teleported away.
• One hour earlier, the Deva Path summoned the other Paths outside Konoha and coordinated with Obito to slip through the village’s barrier before it repaired itself.

Pain’s Six Paths attacked Konoha from six directions while Tsunade organized the village’s defenses and shared Zhou Cheng’s intelligence about their abilities. As casualties fell, Konoha identified each enemy and prepared specialized countermeasures, but the Deva Path remained beyond their power to defeat without Zhou Cheng’s return.

• The Animal Path summoned giant beasts inside Konoha, triggering an alarm and Tsunade’s orders to evacuate civilians and mobilize every ANBU member.
• Shizune reported that Zhou Cheng had taken Naruto out of the village, and Jiraiya joined Tsunade to fight the Akatsuki.
• Tsunade ordered Shinobi to share Zhou Cheng’s information about the Six Paths, and casualties gradually decreased as Konoha adjusted its tactics.
• Inoichi Yamanaka identified the enemy at each of the six fronts and advised Konoha to use taijutsu against the Preta Path, seize or seal defeated Paths, and send summoners against the Animal Path.
• Inoichi Yamanaka warned that Konoha could only delay the Deva Path and would have to hope Zhou Cheng returned that day.

Itachi and Sasuke fought Pain's Deva Path, using their Susanoo and their knowledge of its five-second cooldown to attack. The other Paths arrived, leaving the brothers struggling to survive until Zhou Cheng returned.

• Tsunade sent Shizune to fetch Itachi after Inoichi Yamanaka said Zhou Cheng was the only one who could stop the Deva Path, and Tsunade revealed Itachi's eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Itachi left Zhou Cheng's house to defend Konoha, and his Susanoo attacked the Deva Path with Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi, but Shinra Tensei repelled both attacks.
• Sasuke joined Itachi, and the brothers tried to exploit Shinra Tensei's five-second cooldown, but the Deva Path used Banshō Ten'in to shield himself with a boulder.
• Itachi and Sasuke attacked again with Amaterasu, Yasaka Magatama, and Kagutsuchi, but the Deva Path summoned the other Paths and the Preta Path absorbed Sasuke's arrow.
• Itachi warned Sasuke that the real battle had begun, while the shinobi fighting the other Paths wondered why their opponents had suddenly disappeared.

As the Six Paths of Pain overwhelmed Itachi and Sasuke’s Susanoo, Konoha’s Shinobi despaired over the absence of Zhou Cheng and Naruto. Tsunade rallied the village, and Zhou Cheng’s Special Training Camp students arrived to join the fight.

• Asuma told Might Guy that the Deva Path had summoned the other five Paths, leaving Konoha in danger and making taijutsu seem ineffective against Shinra Tensei.
• The Six Paths stood unharmed after driving back Itachi and Sasuke’s Susanoo, and the Deva Path demanded that Konoha surrender Naruto.
• Konoha’s Shinobi learned Zhou Cheng had taken Naruto away to train, but Tsunade arrived and urged them to defend their home and friends.
• More than a dozen members of the Konoha 15 appeared beside Tsunade in Chakra Cloaks, and the villagers recognized them as Jonin trained by Zhou Cheng.
• Kimimaro challenged Pain in his Cursed Seal state, and Haku revealed Mount Myōboku’s Sage Mode.

Obito attacked Isobu in Zhou Cheng’s courtyard while Konoha’s Shinobi struggled against Pain’s summoned beasts. Zhou Cheng returned with Naruto, confronted Obito, and sent summons from all Three Great Sage Lands to help Konoha.

• Animal Path summoned enormous beasts, and Jiraiya and Tsunade called Gamabunta and a slug to join the fight in Konoha.
• The beasts overwhelmed Konoha’s Shinobi, while Hinata, Karin, Ino, and the other young Shinobi fought on and waited for Cheng Zhou to return.
• Obito entered Zhou Cheng’s courtyard and tried to capture Isobu with Kamui, but Isobu transformed into the Three-Tails and resisted him.
• Isobu told Obito that Zhou Cheng and the Nine-Tails had gone away to train, then formed a Tailed Beast Bomb before swallowing it.
• Zhou Cheng returned with Naruto, stepped between Obito and Isobu, and summoned a toad, a snake, and a slug to attack Pain’s forces.
• Konoha’s Shinobi cheered at the arrival of the new summons, while Jiraiya and Tsunade wondered what had happened.

Zhou Cheng returned to Konoha, helped turn the battle against Pain’s summons, and confronted Obito while protecting Isobu and the Nine-Tails. After revealing that Obito and Madara Uchiha had been used, Zhou Cheng arranged to explain the truth at the Valley of the End in three days, then went to face Pain.

• The Konoha ninja learned that Zhou Cheng had sent the giant snake and the other summons, and Tsunade directed them to target Pain.
• Zhou Cheng confronted Obito over the destruction of his home and attacked him with shadow clones and Rasengan, but Obito phased through every strike.
• Obito declared he would take the Three-Tails and the Nine-Tails, but Isobu refused to leave with him.
• Zhou Cheng revealed Obito’s identity and claimed that Obito and Madara Uchiha had been used, then offered Obito some Three-Tails chakra.
• Obito accepted the chakra and agreed to meet Zhou Cheng at the Valley of the End in three days.
• Zhou Cheng went to help against Pain, whose Six Paths still held off the Konoha ninja.

Zhou Cheng forced Konoha’s people to evacuate before Pain unleashed Super Shinra Tensei, then fought back with Susanoo and Azure Dragon Mode. He killed the Preta Path and began laying Flying Thunder God Marks to warp away the expanding attack.

• Zhou Cheng confronted Pain and warned Konoha that Pain was about to destroy the village, prompting Tsunade to order an evacuation.
• Zhou Cheng urged his friends and teachers to flee, knocked the girls unconscious when they tried to stay, and sent Itachi and Sasuke away with the others.
• Zhou Cheng activated his giant Susanoo and Azure Dragon Mode as the Deva Path unleashed Super Shinra Tensei.
• Zhou Cheng tried to warp the attack away with Kamui, but it could only remove a small portion, so he struck at the Deva Path with Futsunomitama amid a storm of lightning.
• The lightning killed the Preta Path despite its absorption shield, while Zhou Cheng raced around Super Shinra Tensei, leaving Flying Thunder God Marks to form a large teleportation array.

Zhou Cheng contained Pain’s Shinra Tensei and overpowered the Six Paths with Susanoo, while Nagato and Obito recognized their defeat and planned to retreat. Zhou Cheng confronted Deva Path about Yahiko’s identity and claimed Nagato’s Rinnegan had been obtained through manipulation.

• Zhou Cheng used lightning and a barrier to contain Deva Path’s Shinra Tensei, then trapped Pain and its expanding force inside a Four Red Yang Formation.
• Zhou Cheng struck Deva Path with Susanoo’s sword, overcame the Paths’ defenses, and taunted Deva Path as Nagato suffered from the strain.
• Obito joined Nagato, admitted Zhou Cheng had defeated him, and learned that the other five Paths had also been beaten; they decided to retreat and seek success in Kumogakure.
• Zhou Cheng revealed that Deva Path was Yahiko and told Nagato he was being used, explaining that the Rinnegan could only awaken in someone with both Indra’s and Asura’s chakra.

Zhou Cheng revealed that Obito was Madara’s pawn and Nagato’s Rinnegan were meant to resurrect Madara, then helped end the attack on Konoha. Tsunade nominated Zhou Cheng as a Sixth Hokage candidate, but he refused and returned home to consider what came next.

• Zhou Cheng told Deva Path that the masked man was Obito Uchiha, that Madara had transplanted Nagato’s Rinnegan, and that Madara planned to use Nagato to resurrect himself.
• Zhou Cheng explained that Obito had been manipulated by Madara and intended to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki if Nagato refused to resurrect Madara.
• Obito emerged from a vortex, seized Deva Path, and vanished, while Zhou Cheng dispelled his clones and the Four Red Yang Formation.
• Tsunade nominated Zhou Cheng as a candidate for Sixth Hokage, and Konoha’s residents unanimously supported the nomination.
• Zhou Cheng refused to become Hokage, left the celebration, and went home to rest and think about his plans to strengthen his eyes.

Zhou Cheng helped Konoha residents rebuild after the battle, then went to the Valley of the End to meet Obito and Pain's Deva Path. He began by checking whether Black Zetsu was nearby before revealing why he had called them.

• Zhou Cheng decided he would not become Hokage and considered Nagato a possible target for revenge after Qingming's Talent Refinement finished.
• Zhou Cheng visited a construction company to arrange repairs for his courtyard and offered to pay for homes belonging to families whose members died in the disaster.
• Three days later, Zhou Cheng left Konoha at night and waited at the Valley of the End for Obito.
• Obito arrived with Pain's Deva Path, and Zhou Cheng said they were both being used and did not need to be enemies.
• Zhou Cheng asked Obito where Black Zetsu was to make sure no one else was listening.

Zhou Cheng warned Obito and the Deva Path that Madara and Black Zetsu were manipulating them, then challenged Obito to test Black Zetsu’s intentions. Obito accepted the bet and set a date to attack Kumogakure for the Eight-Tails.

• Zhou Cheng learned that Obito had sent Black Zetsu to contact Kara and warned him that the organization was dangerous.
• Zhou Cheng told Obito and the Deva Path that Madara planned to use them to resurrect himself, and that Black Zetsu might replace them if their plans failed.
• Zhou Cheng argued that Madara had engineered Rin’s and Yahiko’s deaths, and urged Obito to question the motives behind their suffering.
• Zhou Cheng proposed a bet: Obito would collect the tailed beasts without resurrecting Madara, and would join Zhou Cheng’s organization if Black Zetsu found another way to revive him.
• Obito accepted the bet and insisted that Zhou Cheng not stop the Akatsuki from capturing the Nine-Tails; Zhou Cheng agreed to let them take some of its chakra.
• Obito announced that the Akatsuki would attack Kumogakure in half a month to capture the Eight-Tails, and Zhou Cheng agreed to stay away.