Recaps

Gua brought home the White Zetsu Orochimaru had given him and discovered it could handle household chores, though he remained wary of it. After Gua tied White Zetsu up before bed, Orochimaru watched through its eyes, then switched to another White Zetsu keeping watch on the Sunagakure battlefield.

• Gua took White Zetsu home and ordered it to keep its distance after it mimicked his movements.
• Gua gave White Zetsu a broom, and it cleaned the entire house thoroughly.
• Uchiha Nai and Uchiha Oyama met White Zetsu, and Nai tested it by having it cook dinner.
• Gua grew uneasy watching White Zetsu idle in his room, tied it up securely, and went to sleep.
• Orochimaru observed Gua through White Zetsu's eyes, then logged into another White Zetsu stationed on the Sunagakure battlefield.

Orochimaru supplied Fugaku’s front with White Zetsu, Enhancement Potions, and Crossbow Guns while making Anko and Kabuto produce more potions. When Rasa launched a new attack with copied Crossbow Guns, Fugaku led a surprise assault on Sunagakure’s main camp, but Rasa escaped and left Fugaku surrounded.

• Orochimaru checked the battlefield through White Zetsu and asked Fugaku whether they were useful; Fugaku complained that they offered little beyond needing no food or water.
• Orochimaru promised Fugaku more White Zetsu, Enhancement Potions, and Crossbow Guns, then ordered Anko to prepare hundreds of potions for three fronts.
• Anko enlisted Kabuto to help make the potions, and the two worked frantically in the Laboratory.
• Ten days later, Rasa attacked Fugaku’s forces with Crossbow Guns copied by the Land of Wind’s Puppet Masters.
• Fugaku’s fighters overwhelmed Rasa’s main force with their Crossbow Guns and Enhancement Potions, and Rasa learned that Fugaku was approaching his camp with Susanoo.
• Rasa retreated before Fugaku arrived; Fugaku found the camp empty and became surrounded by Sunagakure’s Shinobi.

Fugaku's failed ambush left him injured and forced Konoha's forces to avoid battle while he recovered. In Konoha, Gua reassured Itachi by suggesting Orochimaru could create an army of White Zetsu to reinforce Fugaku, leaving Itachi stunned by the possibility.

• Fugaku's Susanoo ran out of steam as Sunagakure Shinobi surrounded and badly injured him, and Konoha Shinobi rescued him.
• Fugaku ordered his troops to avoid battle for three days while he recovered.
• Gua used White Zetsu to complete his homework, while Itachi told him that Fugaku had been surrounded after a failed ambush.
• Gua explained that Fugaku was outnumbered and reassured Itachi that Konoha might send reinforcements.
• Gua suggested that Orochimaru could produce thousands of White Zetsu, leaving Itachi shocked and wondering whether Lord Orochimaru could really do it.

Orochimaru sent thousands of White Zetsu to support Konoha’s three battlefronts while planning to use them to secure funding. Konoha then learned that the Land of Water had joined the war, and the Third considered sending Danzo to defend that front.

• Orochimaru mass-produced thousands of White Zetsu and received the Third’s approval to send them to the Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure fronts.
• The White Zetsu army marched out of Konoha, impressing Itachi and the gathered villagers as Orochimaru hoped to win support for his planned outreach program.
• Gua saw the army depart and noted his progress with Flying Thunder God and Chakra Extraction before Itachi told him the Land of Water had declared war on Konoha.
• Shikaku informed the Third that the Land of Water had launched a surprise attack across the Land of Fire’s border, though Konoha lacked information about its motives.
• The Third asked who should lead the Land of Water front, and after Shikaku offered to go, he suggested sending Danzo instead.

The Third Hokage chose Tsunade to go to the Land of Water, then learned that Shisui Uchiha had awakened his Mangekyo. Meanwhile, Akatsuki sent Pain and Kakuzu to capture the Two-Tails, but Pain intended to pursue the Eight-Tails as well.

• The Third Hokage agreed to send Tsunade to the Land of Water and ordered shinobi to find her.
• Shikaku told the Third Hokage that Shisui Uchiha had awakened his Mangekyo, and the Hokage realized Jiraiya had ignored his order about Shisui.
• Karatachi Yagura's advisers pushed Kirigakure to abolish the Bloody Mist policy and declare war on Konoha.
• Obito revealed that Akatsuki had captured the Six-Tails and Seven-Tails, leaving three tailed beasts uncaptured besides those they already held.
• Pain volunteered to capture the Two-Tails and suggested taking the Eight-Tails too, so Obito sent Kakuzu with him.
• On the road to the Land of Lightning, Pain insisted that he and Kakuzu could take down the Eight-Tails, while Kakuzu repeatedly questioned him.

Tsunade faced the Land of Water’s invasion with almost no troops until thousands of White Zetsu arrived to reinforce her. Back in Konoha, Gua visited Orochimaru, who showed him experiments suggesting the Uzumaki Clan and Hashirama Cells were highly similar and may have shared an ancestor.

• Tsunade returned to Konoha and was appointed commander-in-chief against the Land of Water, then found herself outnumbered thousands to fewer than a hundred Shinobi.
• A White Zetsu arrived at Tsunade’s command tent, and thousands of White Zetsu soon formed a defensive line against the Land of Water’s Shinobi.
• Gua visited Naruto and found him painting his room, then noticed six Anbu Shinobi guarding him.
• Gua returned home using Flying Thunder God and told Nai he had teleported back from his outing.
• Gua visited Orochimaru’s laboratory and saw White Zetsu carrying out experiments under the control of a master unit created through Impure World Reincarnation.
• Orochimaru showed Gua that Uzumaki Clan blood and Hashirama Cells were highly similar, and said he suspected they shared the same ancestor.

Gua visited Orochimaru, who had found blood similarities among the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju clans and suspected they shared an ancestor. Gua also learned that the Akatsuki had captured seven Tailed Beasts while Konoha held its own against four nations, leaving him relieved that he could keep lying low and newly aware of his attachment to Konoha.

• Orochimaru told Gua that Hashirama Cells and Uzumaki blood shared similarities, and that Gua's blood also resembled theirs, leading him to suspect a common ancestor.
• Gua was stunned that Orochimaru's research had effectively uncovered the Sage of Six Paths' ancestry, but praised Orochimaru's work.
• Gua asked Orochimaru about the Akatsuki, and Orochimaru said they had captured seven Tailed Beasts, with the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails still uncaptured.
• Gua asked about Konoha's battlefronts, and Orochimaru said Konoha was at a stalemate against four nations because the White Zetsu army struggled to attack effectively.
• Gua felt relieved that Konoha's stalemate would let him keep lying low, then realized how strongly he identified with Konoha and its people.

Akatsuki regrouped after Pain’s failed attack on the Eight-Tails, while the Raikage planned to bait the group into another attempt. On the Sunagakure front, Hiruko’s former subordinates One, Two, and Three abandoned mercenary work, and Two proposed taking revenge on Uchiha Gua.

• Nagato explained that Kakuzu had split from Pain before the Eight-Tails mission, and Kakuzu defended his decision by citing Obito’s warning and the risks of attacking a perfect jinchuriki.
• Kakuzu told Nagato that Obito wanted the Two-Tails sealed, and Nagato acknowledged the message.
• Raikage A learned that the Akatsuki had attacked Killer B and ordered Darui to gradually withdraw Kumogakure’s forces so they could lie in wait for the Akatsuki.
• One, Two, and Three fled the battlefield after Uchiha Fugaku’s Susanoo crushed Sunagakure’s front line, then abandoned mercenary work.
• Two blamed the Uchiha for Hiruko’s death and urged One and Three to join her in killing Uchiha Gua.

As Konoha’s fronts held against the four great nations, Danzo failed to persuade Hiruzen Sarutobi to send him to the battlefield. Orochimaru monitored Konoha through White Zetsu informants and spotted three figures moving through the woods on the outskirts.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi reviewed the fronts, where Tsunade, Jiraiya, Asuma, and Fugaku were holding off enemy forces with White Zetsu reinforcements supporting Tsunade.
• Danzo confronted Hiruzen and demanded a battlefield assignment, but Hiruzen reminded him that he had previously refused and argued that younger shinobi deserved the opportunity.
• Orochimaru watched Danzo leave the Hokage Building and mocked his failed attempt to reach the front.
• Orochimaru observed Gua spending time with Izumi at a ramen shop, then checked on White Zetsu informants planted throughout Konoha.
• Orochimaru spotted three figures moving swiftly through the woods on the Konoha Outskirts and logged back in to investigate.

Orochimaru discovered that One, Two, and Three planned to ambush Gua, then used White Zetsu to warn him. Gua learned the attackers were nearby and prepared to face them.

• One, Two, and Three agreed to follow Gua to an isolated place and attack him together.
• Orochimaru, concealed in White Zetsu, overheard their plan and decided to report it to Gua rather than capture them himself.
• Orochimaru logged into the White Zetsu sitting behind Gua and Izumi, startling Gua when it coughed and winked.
• After Izumi left, Gua learned Orochimaru had been watching through White Zetsu and demanded to know why he had logged in.
• Orochimaru told Gua that three Special Jōnin-level attackers were targeting him, identified them as One, Two, and Three, and warned that they were nearby.

Gua waited by the river for One, Two, and Three to attack, then lured them into the woods when they kept hiding. He defeated all three with his speed and Flying Thunder God, but the encounter ended with Two still defiant and Gua questioning her sanity.

• Gua waited by the river while Orochimaru secretly followed One, Two, and Three, who hesitated to attack him.
• Gua headed into a secluded part of the woods, prompting One, Two, and Three to follow and finally confront him.
• Two said they had come to avenge Hiruko, whom Gua admitted killing, while One and Three moved behind him to attack.
• Gua dodged One, caught Three's hand, kicked Two away, and used Flying Thunder God to strike One and Three with overwhelming speed.
• Three begged Gua for mercy, but Two called him a coward for pleading with Hiruko's killer, leaving Gua to wonder if something was wrong with her.

Gua defeated Er, One, and San, then brought them to the Third Generation, who ordered them imprisoned and said Gua was ready for promotion to Chunin. After leaving the Hokage Office, Gua visited Orochimaru's laboratory and surprised Kabuto and Anko in an intimate moment.

• Gua subdued Er in a fight, then made One and San help tie up all three before taking them to the Hokage Office.
• An Anbu reported that Kumogakure was pulling forces back, and the Third Generation told Jiraiya to wait two more days before launching a surprise attack.
• The Third Generation said Gua was ready for promotion to Chunin, but Gua objected and was told he would be notified later.
• The Third Generation ordered an Anbu to take One, Er, and San away and lock them up.
• Gua went home briefly, then used Flying Thunder God to reach Orochimaru's laboratory, where he startled Kabuto and Anko during an intimate moment.

Gua visited Orochimaru’s outdoor testing area and saw his electric Mobile Four-Wheeled Battle Chariot, whose limited range kept it from reaching battlefields on its own. Gua suggested adapting the Single-Cylinder Engine from Orochimaru’s refrigerator, and Orochimaru rushed back to study it after realizing it could solve the chariot’s power problem.

• Anko told Gua that Orochimaru was at the Outdoor Testing Area, and Kabuto led Gua there.
• Gua and Kabuto saw Orochimaru’s Mobile Four-Wheeled Battle Chariot approach across the wasteland.
• Orochimaru explained that the heavily armored electric chariot was stable and resistant to Explosive Tags but had limited range and difficult electricity supplies.
• Orochimaru said shinobi could tow the chariots on Three-Wheeled Vehicles, and Gua suggested using a scaled-up Single-Cylinder Engine instead of electricity.
• Orochimaru realized how the engine’s piston motion could generate rotary motion, then ran back to examine the engine while Kabuto stayed with Gua.

Gua tried Orochimaru’s Four-Wheeled Chariot, while Orochimaru developed an engine and began producing Iron-Sheet Chariots. Jiraiya remained under orders to wait on the Kumogakure front, and Orochimaru finally answered Fugaku’s call for help with a plan: the Ironclad Chariot.

• Gua climbed into Orochimaru’s Four-Wheeled Chariot with Kabuto, learned how it worked, and drove it before returning home.
• Two days later, Orochimaru celebrated building a Twin-Cylinder Engine powered by ethanol and began mass production.
• Jiraiya received the Third Generation’s order to hold off, and he refused Shisui’s urging to attack Kumogakure despite their weakening defenses.
• Fugaku struggled against Sunagakure’s tactics, as its shinobi used shadow clones to expose White Zetsu and seize their Crossbow Guns.
• Orochimaru contacted Fugaku through White Zetsu and announced that his plan to turn the battle around was the Ironclad Chariot.

Orochimaru visited the war fronts and told Fugaku and Jiraiya that Ironclad Chariots would arrive in two days. On the Kumogakure front, he found Jiraiya drinking alone and dwelling on his teacher’s rejection, then left after a frustrating conversation with him.

• Orochimaru told Fugaku that Ironclad Chariots would arrive within two days, and Fugaku eagerly accepted the news.
• At the Iwagakure front, Inoichi Yamanaka explained that Ōnoki was only pretending to fight while waiting for the other great nations to weaken Konoha, so Orochimaru left the front unchanged.
• Orochimaru learned that Jiraiya had gone to the river and found him drinking alone, upset that his teacher treated him like an outsider.
• Jiraiya mistook Orochimaru in White Zetsu’s body for an enemy and attacked with a Great Fireball Technique before recognizing him.
• Orochimaru told Jiraiya to wait two more days for Ironclad Chariots, then left after Jiraiya repeatedly misunderstood the name.