Chapter Summaries

Miki Yūya confronted Mukade about his past, then insisted that Rōran’s dragon veins and succession rights be accounted for fairly between him and Sara. After Sara left with Mukade, she revealed a plan to use Miki Yūya’s short sword against him, leaving Mukade stunned by her confidence.

• Miki Yūya angrily challenged Mukade over claiming to be a Konoha ninja, and Mukade explained that he had fled Sunagakure after publicly denouncing Gaara and fearing his revenge.
• Mukade swore he had never tried to claim the dragon veins for himself and offered to show Miki Yūya the forbidden grounds.
• Miki Yūya recognized Sara’s lawful claim to the throne and proposed reviewing the dragon vein records and dividing rights and responsibilities transparently.
• Sara took Miki Yūya’s short sword to verify its authenticity, then left the palace with Mukade, who privately considered using her as leverage.
• Sara told Mukade she had a plan to deal with Miki Yūya because his weapon was in her hands, and Mukade questioned her confidence.

Sara fled to the Underground Ancient Ruins, where she clashed with Naruto over Miki Yūya’s short sword before escaping through a puppet trap. Meanwhile, Minato’s team traveled toward Rōran, and Minato confronted Obito in the desert, leaving Obito stunned to recognize his former sensei.

• Sara went alone to the Underground Ancient Ruins and sang to soothe her distress over Miki Yūya and Anrokuzan.
• Naruto arrived in the ruins, recognized Sara’s Royal Sacred Sword as Yūya’s short sword, and demanded that she return it and reveal Yūya’s location.
• Sara fled deeper into the ruins, triggering Puppet Guards that delayed Naruto while she escaped.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Minato Namikaze, Choza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, and Kakashi Hatake to investigate Anrokuzan in Rōran.
• Minato sensed a Flying Thunder God Coordinate, left his team, and found Obito in the desert.
• Minato appeared behind Obito and held a marked kunai to his throat, and Obito realized the masked stranger was his sensei.

Minato confronted a masked man with the Sharingan who escaped using an unusual ability after criticizing the Third Hokage. Minato and his companions continued toward Rōran, where they began their operation at dawn, while Minato remained uncertain about the stranger’s identity and his connection to Kakashi’s father.

• Minato caught Obito off guard with a Flying Thunder God kunai, but Obito recognized the technique and refused to reveal his identity.
• Obito denounced the Third Hokage and cited Konoha’s treatment of White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, as evidence of his failures.
• Obito phased through Minato’s attack, used a Great Fireball to cover his escape, and vanished into the Kamui Dimension.
• Minato told Choza and Shibi that the masked man knew Flying Thunder God, possessed the Uchiha Clan’s Sharingan, and hated the Third Hokage.
• As the team traveled toward Rōran, Minato wondered who the masked man was and gave Kakashi a Flying Thunder God kunai.
• Minato, Choza, Shibi, and Kakashi reached the outskirts of Rōran at dawn and began their operation.

Sara publicly defied Miki Yūya, but Mukade had her thrown from the tower before Minato Namikaze rescued her and exposed Mukade’s identity. Sara then led Minato to confront Miki Yūya, whose insults and behavior left Minato suspecting him as the real threat as the two prepared to face off.

• Sara rejected Mukade’s advice and told Rōran’s people that Miki Yūya was trying to seize their dragon veins and land.
• Mukade had a Puppet Guard push Sara from the tower, but Minato caught her and carried her to safety.
• Minato told Sara that Anrokuzan was actually Mukade, a Sunagakure rogue ninja seeking control of the dragon veins, but Sara refused to believe him.
• Minato sent Choza Akimichi and Shibi Aburame to investigate Mukade, then asked Sara to take him to Miki Yūya.
• Minato confronted Miki Yūya in the palace hall, where Miki dismissed his attendants and ordered Sara to leave before the two could clash.

Minato confronted Miki Yūya over the future of Konoha and Naruto, but their argument escalated into a battle in Rōran. As Minato’s Rasengan closed in on Miki Yūya, Naruto intervened, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Miki Yūya blamed Minato for Konoha’s future decline and Naruto’s suffering, then attacked him with a stone that Minato dodged.
• Minato warned Miki Yūya to leave Rōran and refused to hand over the short sword Sara had entrusted to him.
• Miki Yūya unleashed Conqueror’s Haki and charged Minato, who escaped with Flying Thunder God and counterattacked with water blades.
• Minato and Miki Yūya fought across the hall until Minato summoned Gamatatsu to create an opening for a point-blank Rasengan.
• Naruto’s Shadow Clone kicked Miki Yūya, while the real Naruto charged toward Minato’s Rasengan with a Rasengan of his own.

Naruto protected Miki Yūya from Minato, and Minato recognized Naruto as his future son before suppressing the Nine-Tails chakra and hearing Naruto’s resolve to protect Yūya. Elsewhere, Rasa captured Mukade, who taunted him about the dragon-vein treasure.

• Naruto blocked Minato’s Rasengan and attacked him in his four-tailed form, knocking him through the palace wall and into the sky.
• As he fell, Minato realized Naruto was his and Kushina’s son, then used Flying Thunder God to evade Naruto’s Rasengan barrage and reinforced Naruto’s seal with Sage Mode.
• Naruto landed safely and told Minato that his nindō was to protect his comrades even without chakra, declaring that he would not let anyone hurt Yūya.
• Miki Yūya descended the damaged tower while nursing broken ribs, and Mukade faced Shibi Aburame, Choza Akimichi, and Rasa with a swarm of mechanical puppets.
• Rasa destroyed Mukade’s puppets, trapped him with Sand Release, and had Sunagakure ninja restrain him with sealing devices.
• Rasa demanded to know where the dragon-vein power was, and Mukade laughed and taunted him about finding his treasure.

Mukade revealed that Miki Yūya was the heir to Rōran’s Dragon Veins, drawing the ambitions of Rasa and the attention of Obito, Naruto, and Minato. When Rasa ordered an attack, Miki unleashed overwhelming power and charged at the Sunagakure ninja.

• Mukade remembered Sunagakure’s brutal rule and his years hiding in Rōran, then revealed that the Dragon Vein Origin was inside Miki Yūya.
• Rasa, Obito, Naruto, and Minato reacted to Mukade’s claim as the assembled ninja focused on Miki.
• Mukade condemned the ninja world and urged Miki to show the power of an ordinary man’s fury.
• Miki called Mukade an unfit ninja, and Rasa ordered the Sunagakure ninja to attack.
• Miki released black-and-red lightning that shattered the plaza and knocked out the lead attackers, then charged forward with Armament haki.

Miki Yūya defeated Rasa with Haki-powered taijutsu and humiliated him as Sunagakure’s ninja urged Rasa to kill himself. Obito then took Kakashi hostage and demanded that Yūya explain how to activate the dragon veins.

• Miki Yūya shattered Rasa’s Gold Dust defenses with Haki-infused punches while Minato explained his taijutsu and use of natural energy to the others.
• Miki Yūya countered Rasa’s Gold Dust Imperial Funeral with a wide-area attack, struck him from the sky, and pinned him beneath his foot.
• Miki Yūya mocked Rasa and Sunagakure, while the Sunagakure ninja jeered at Rasa and urged him to take his own life.
• Mukade hurled a cabbage at Rasa and cursed him as the crowd continued to taunt him.
• Obito appeared with the unconscious Kakashi and threatened him to force Miki Yūya to reveal how to activate the dragon veins.

Obito used Kakashi as a decoy while he targeted Naruto and shattered the seal holding the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails emerged in Rōran Ancient City, and Obito revealed himself to Minato.

• Obito held Kakashi hostage and demanded that Miki Yūya reveal how to activate the dragon veins.
• Miki Yūya rejected Obito’s threat, hurled the exhausted Rasa at him, and charged with Naruto as Minato rescued Kakashi.
• Miki Yūya and Naruto’s attacks passed through Obito, who seized the opening to break Naruto’s seal.
• The Nine-Tails broke free and erupted over Rōran Ancient City as the dragon vein chakra mingled with its chakra.
• Obito stood atop the Nine-Tails, removed his mask, and greeted Minato as his former student.

Obito revealed his plan to gather all chakra and destroy it, then tried to recruit Miki Yūya by appealing to his supposed suffering. Miki rejected the appeal as a misunderstanding, and as Obito launched a Tailed Beast Bomb, Minato entered Perfect Sage Mode and attacked with a new Flying Thunder God technique.

• Obito revealed to Minato that he intended to collect all chakra and erase it to end war, oppression, and hatred.
• Obito argued that chakra caused the Shinobi World's suffering and said he planned to reach the Sage of Six Paths' level to destroy it; Minato sent a clone to Mount Myōboku for answers.
• The Great Toad Sage's knowledge reached Minato, while Obito invited Miki Yūya to join him in ending the age of chakra.
• Miki told Obito he hated ninja because he enjoyed bullying them, then insulted everyone present, leaving Obito stunned.
• Obito concluded that the chakra age had corrupted even ordinary people and charged a Tailed Beast Bomb at Rōran.
• Minato received the secrets from Mount Myōboku, entered Perfect Sage Mode, created a Flying Thunder God domain across the battlefield, and charged Obito with Sage Art: Flash.

Minato battled Obito above Rōran while Miki Yūya pursued Mukade underground to find Sara. After Sara offered him Rōran to kill Mukade, Miki refused, condemned Sara and the enslaved civilians for demanding his help, and the underground factory erupted into violence.

• Minato used Perfect Sage Mode and Senjutsu Flying Thunder God Marks to control the battlefield as Obito fought on with the Nine-Tails chakra, and the others fled Rōran City.
• Miki Yūya stopped Mukade from escaping, forced him to lead the way, and reached the underground puppet factory where Rōran civilians were enslaved.
• Sara confronted Mukade about her mother's death, and Mukade admitted murdering her and controlling Rōran through Sara.
• Sara offered Miki Yūya all of Rōran if he killed Mukade, but Miki refused and berated Sara and the civilians for expecting him to save them.
• Miki Yūya beat several civilians who attacked and insulted him, after which the crowd turned on Sara and hurled abuse and stones at her.
• A rock struck Mukade, and he charged into the crowd in anger.

Trapped inside the Nine-Tails’ sealed mindscape, Naruto drew on Asura’s power to break free and end Obito’s control over the Nine-Tails. Naruto returned to the battlefield commanding a transformed, Haki-coated Nine-Tails, believing he had finally caught up to Miki Yūya.

• Miki Yūya fought through the underground puppet factory while Minato battled Obito and the Nine-Tails aboveground.
• Naruto awoke trapped in the seal and repeatedly struck its bars with Rasengans, exhausting his chakra as he tried to prevent Minato’s death.
• Minato and Kushina’s chakra apparitions encouraged Naruto, and Asura appeared and lent him power when he was close to giving up.
• Naruto’s Six Paths power and Truth-Seeking Orbs empowered a Rasengan that shattered the seal and dragged the Nine-Tails’ consciousness into the mindscape.
• Naruto offered to free the Nine-Tails from Obito’s genjutsu, and the Nine-Tails accepted his power.
• Back on the battlefield, Naruto used Haki to transform and coat the Nine-Tails, then declared Obito’s genjutsu useless.

Naruto, Minato, and Miki Yūya defeated Obito and sealed the dragon veins, sending Naruto, Yūya, Obito, and Mukade back to the Rōran Ruins twenty years later. There, Hinata explained Naruto’s new power as an ancestral inheritance, while revealing that Yūya had no special bloodline at all.

• Naruto restrained Obito with Truth-Seeking Orb cuffs after Minato exposed the limits of Kamui, though Obito had already sent Nine-Tails chakra to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Naruto and Minato found injured Rōran civilians in the underground Puppet Factory, and Minato prepared to seal the dragon veins and return everyone to the future.
• Minato gave Miki Yūya a Flying Thunder God Kunai, while Naruto described receiving a mysterious power in the Spirit World that Yūya recognized as Asura’s chakra.
• Minato sealed the dragon veins, sending Naruto, Miki Yūya, Obito, and Mukade back to the Rōran Ruins twenty years later, where they reunited with Sakura, Sai, and Hinata.
• Hinata explained that Naruto had awakened an ancient Uzumaki inheritance, then revealed that Miki Yūya had an ordinary native bloodline, astonishing everyone.

Shibi Aburame and the Ino-Shika-Cho elders revealed Minato’s secret plan to support Miki Yūya and the younger generation in changing Konoha, and Shikamaru agreed to join them. When Yūya and the others returned, they learned the Akatsuki had captured the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, while Nagato discovered that the Demonic Statue already contained Nine-Tails chakra.

• Shibi Aburame showed Tsume Inuzuka Minato’s secret order, and she pledged the Inuzuka Clan’s support for Miki Yūya and the young generation.
• Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi explained Minato’s plan to Shikamaru, who agreed to help change Konoha.
• Miki Yūya and his group returned to Konoha, where Shikamaru warned them that the Akatsuki had captured the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails jinchūriki.
• Naruto realized the Akatsuki had probably already obtained Nine-Tails chakra, and Nagato found that chakra inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Nagato postponed Akatsuki’s plan for a month and sent Hidan and Kakuzu to investigate Konoha after Obito disappeared. As Konoha’s leaders debated how to respond to Akatsuki, Miki Yūya suspected they were hiding something, while Hidan and Kakuzu reached a town near the village and were spotted.

• Nagato revealed himself to Akatsuki, delayed the plan, and ordered Hidan and Kakuzu to investigate Konoha and Naruto’s condition.
• Zetsu went to Orochimaru to establish a partnership while Konoha’s senior leaders met to discuss Akatsuki and the Five Kage Summit.
• Miki Yūya mocked Konoha’s leaders for asking an ordinary villager for advice, and Danzo argued that Akatsuki had been founded by the Uchiha Clan.
• Naruto’s question about Madara Uchiha derailed the meeting, while Miki Yūya grew suspicious that the leaders were watching him and Naruto instead of listening.
• Miki Yūya argued and fought with Urashiki at Konoha’s entrance as Hidan and Kakuzu arrived nearby and Konoha ninja called for reinforcements.

Asuma led Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to confront Hidan and Kakuzu, who had attacked Konoha’s outlying defenses to gather intelligence. The squad’s coordination pinned Hidan at first, but he escaped by tearing off his arm and obtained Choji’s blood, putting the battle in greater danger.

• Hidan and Kakuzu defeated the Konoha Chunin on patrol and waited for reinforcements while Kakuzu explained their mission was to test Konoha’s defenses.
• Asuma led Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji to the outlying town, where they discovered the two Akatsuki members waiting for them.
• Choji and Shikamaru coordinated an attack that slammed Hidan into a crater, while Asuma and Ino engaged Kakuzu.
• Shikamaru restrained Hidan with his shadow, but Hidan broke free by tearing off his right arm and striking back at Choji.
• Hidan caught Choji’s blood on his scythe and declared that he would take control of the fight.

Shikamaru uncovered the mechanics of Hidan’s ritual and stalled Kakuzu and Hidan while preparing a counterattack. He destroyed the ritual circle with an Earth Release technique, severing Hidan’s link to Choji as the battle turned against the Akatsuki pair.

• Hidan completed his ritual and transferred a self-inflicted thigh wound to Choji, while Kakuzu revealed his Earth Grudge Fear creatures and reattached Hidan’s severed arm.
• Shikamaru explained that Hidan’s blood-based ritual transferred his injuries to Choji, and Kakuzu demanded intelligence about Konoha and the missing Akatsuki member.
• Hidan wounded Choji again despite Shikamaru agreeing to cooperate, leaving Choji badly injured while Shikamaru concealed his plan behind him.
• Shikamaru ordered Asuma and Ino to attack, then used Earth Release: Mud Swamp Torrent to liquefy the ground and destroy Hidan’s ritual circle.
• Hidan’s sacrificial link was severed as Kakuzu realized Shikamaru had set a trap and ordered a retreat.

Shikamaru pursued Hidan after Kakuzu and Hidan retreated, then revealed a shadow technique that let him control his body and surpass Hidan in taijutsu. As Shikamaru overwhelmed Hidan, Kakuzu arrived to help.

• Kakuzu dragged Hidan away from the battlefield, and Shikamaru sent Ino back to Konoha with the wounded Choji.
• Choji blamed himself for nearly getting his teammates killed, but Ino reassured him that Shikamaru's strength had turned the fight around and that none of them were holding the others back.
• Shikamaru and Asuma pursued the fleeing enemies, with Asuma engaging Kakuzu while Shikamaru went after Hidan.
• Shikamaru used Handless Shadow Imitation Technique: Pseudo-Life Return to control his body, kick Hidan's Triple-Bladed Scythe away, and defeat Hidan in close combat.
• Kakuzu arrived as Shikamaru continued to overpower Hidan.

Shikamaru fought Kakuzu and Hidan, destroying two of Kakuzu’s hearts before their coordinated attacks left him gravely wounded and nearly out of chakra. He then transformed into a shadowy figure resembling Miki Yūya, and Kakuzu fled as Hidan realized Shikamaru could still fight.

• Shikamaru used taijutsu to destroy the Fire Release and Wind Release hearts in Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear constructs.
• Kakuzu and Hidan combined their attacks, leaving Shikamaru badly wounded and nearly out of chakra.
• After rising from the mud, Shikamaru rejected his limits as a ninja and gathered the surrounding shadows around himself.
• Shikamaru’s shadow form reshaped itself to resemble Miki Yūya and challenged Kakuzu and Hidan to keep fighting.
• Hidan hesitated before the transformed Shikamaru, and Kakuzu ran away.

Shikamaru’s bluff drives Kakuzu and Hidan from the battlefield, and he explains to Asuma that his life-costing secret technique is only a deadly gamble based on intimidation. Asuma sees Shikamaru’s resolve to protect others and wonders whether he may one day awaken Haki.

• Kakuzu flees from Shikamaru’s terrifying presence, and Hidan follows him; they decide the presence may have been a bluff but retreat rather than risk returning.
• After the darkness vanishes, Shikamaru collapses, and Asuma catches him and asks what happened.
• Shikamaru tells Asuma that he used a secret technique that reproduces Miki Yūya’s appearance and presence but has no combat power.
• Shikamaru explains that the technique is paid for with his life because an enemy who attacks him can kill him, and Asuma realizes it was a dangerous bluff.
• Asuma warns Shikamaru not to gamble with his life again, while Shikamaru says he will risk himself when needed to protect others.
• Asuma recognizes Shikamaru’s strong will and wonders whether he may awaken Haki like Miki Yūya.