Recaps

Kakashi encountered Sasori after leaving the Red-Light District, while Obito continued watching Orochimaru’s laboratory and Gua began training in the Eight Gates Released Formation. Gua’s first gate was close to opening, but he worried his small acupoints limited his potential before a surge of energy struck him in his sleep.

• Kakashi left the Red-Light District with his companions and stopped when Sasori blocked their path, telling the others to go on ahead.
• Obito watched Orochimaru’s laboratory from a tree because he feared entering it could expose him to a trap.
• Gua unlocked the Eight Gates Released Formation on his system and equipped it for tenfold idle training.
• Gua agreed to train Neji, then took him to the river and pummeled him as practice in taking a beating.
• Gua trained Neji daily and saw the first gate begin to loosen, but suspected his small acupoints meant he had poor potential.
• Two days later, Gua felt a surge of energy rush into the back of his head while he slept.

Gua tested the First Gate and discovered it gave him only a modest boost, then visited Itachi and learned that a masked man had destroyed Orochimaru’s laboratory. Orochimaru complained to the Hokage, revealing that the attacker had blamed him for stealing Akatsuki’s money before causing the explosion.

• Gua opened the First Gate, punched a hole through his tatami, and reassured Nai and Dashan that he was not having a breakdown.
• Gua visited Itachi’s house and found Itachi and Sasuke playing in the backyard.
• Itachi told Gua that a masked man had blown up Orochimaru’s laboratory and that the investigation had found no leads.
• Orochimaru complained to his teacher in the Hokage Office, explaining that the Masked Man had accused him of stealing Akatsuki’s money before wrecking the laboratory and triggering an explosion.

Obito, injured and furious after blowing up Orochimaru’s laboratory, returned to Konoha to cause trouble and confronted Gua and Neji during their training. He announced himself as Madara Uchiha, while Gua urged Neji to escape and summon help.

• The Third Generation ordered Danzo and Fugaku to tighten security and search Konoha for the Masked Man.
• Obito recalled storming Orochimaru’s laboratory after waiting outside for half a month, where an explosion badly injured him as he escaped by turning intangible.
• Gua visited the ruined laboratory, spoke briefly with Kabuto, and learned Orochimaru had gone to see the Hokage.
• Gua stopped Neji’s usual beating after five minutes and told him to fight back, while the injured Obito watched from the shadows.
• Obito put on a Tiger-Stripe Mask, stepped out, and declared himself Madara Uchiha.
• Gua told Neji to run to the village and call for help, but Neji refused to leave him behind.

Gua fought Obito to keep him occupied while Neji went to get help, then recognized the masked man as Obito Uchiha and tried to appeal to their friendship. Obito rejected the appeal and attacked, but Gua’s relentless kunai strikes forced him to keep retreating.

• Obito charged Neji, but Gua pulled Neji out of the way and met Obito in a taijutsu clash that sent him staggering.
• Gua told Neji to get help, then blocked Obito’s knee strike and forced him to turn intangible to avoid a counterattack.
• Gua called the masked man Obito Uchiha and reminded him that they had been best friends who talked about Rin Nohara.
• Obito admitted that Gua was buying time, then attacked him with a kunai and accused him of being a coward.
• Gua knocked Obito’s kunai away, used it to disrupt his Kamui attacks, and pressed forward with repeated slashes as Obito retreated.

Gua fought Obito, who revealed that he planned to kill him for recognizing his identity and knowing about his connection to Orochimaru. After opening the First Gate, Gua turned the fight around and accused Obito of fearing that Rin Nohara did not love him.

• Obito admitted he was Obito Uchiha and said he would kill Gua because Gua could recognize him and was close to Orochimaru.
• Gua said he could bring Rin back to life, but Obito angrily rejected the idea and attacked him.
• Fugaku watched the battle and recognized the masked man as the cheerful Obito he remembered from the past.
• Obito overwhelmed Gua in close combat, sending him flying with a slash.
• Gua opened the First Gate and gained enough strength to press Obito back.
• Gua accused Obito of being afraid to revive Rin because she did not like him, and Obito furiously denied it.

Gua fought Obito until his chakra ran out, and Fugaku intervened just before Obito could kill him. Danzo and Root then revealed a prepared sealing trap, leaving Obito caught as the Reverse Four Symbols Seal activated.

• Gua provoked Obito by insisting Rin Nohara would reject him, driving Obito into a furious and reckless attack.
• Gua and Obito fought fiercely until Obito disarmed and knocked Gua down, leaving him nearly helpless.
• Fugaku arrived and kicked Obito away before he could deliver a fatal blow to Gua.
• Danzo appeared with Root shinobi and ordered them to capture the intruder alive, while Gua realized Neji had likely encountered Root instead of bringing help.
• Fugaku sensed danger and pulled Gua away as the Root shinobi activated the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, trapping Obito within converging barriers.

After Obito escaped, Fugaku confronted Danzo for taking the enemy’s severed arm and abandoning villagers in danger, then reported him to the Third Generation. Neji and Hizashi revealed that Danzo’s Root shinobi had blocked Neji from reaching Gua, prompting the Third Generation to promise Fugaku an answer by the next day.

• Obito escaped the Reverse Four Symbols Seal but left behind a severed White Zetsu arm, which Danzo picked up.
• Fugaku accused Danzo of endangering villagers and demanded he hand over the arm and come see the Third Generation, but Danzo left with the arm.
• Fugaku took Gua to the Hokage Office and reported the Masked Man’s attack and Danzo’s conduct to the Third Generation.
• Neji and Hizashi arrived and explained that Root had cordoned off the area, preventing Neji from returning to help Gua.
• Fugaku pressed the Third Generation to act against Danzo, and the Third Generation promised to give Fugaku an answer by the next day.

The Third discovered Danzo’s secret experiments beneath Root and stripped him of his advisor position, ordering Anbu to seal the facility and guard him. Meanwhile, Obito returned to the Akatsuki’s base in the Land of Rain, where the group planned to take control of the country and Pain volunteered to deal with Kakashi and Jiraiya.

• The Third entered Root’s underground headquarters, found containers of body parts and a worker dissecting the Masked Man’s arm, and confronted Danzo.
• The Third dismissed Danzo as Hokage’s advisor, declared that he would take over Root, and ordered an emergency jonin meeting and an Anbu investigation.
• The Third told Anbu to seal the facility, keep Danzo under guard, and store the Masked Man’s arm separately.
• Obito returned to the Akatsuki headquarters in the Land of Rain and learned that Kakashi had damaged Sasori’s puppet before Jiraiya intervened.
• Obito proposed using Hanzo’s corpse to turn the Land of Rain’s elders against Konoha before seizing control, and the Akatsuki members approved the plan.
• Pain volunteered to deal with Kakashi and Jiraiya, while Obito left to have Jue treat his missing arm.

Kakashi questioned the three Rain shinobi about protecting Rin Uzumaki and her daughter, then struggled with the conflict between their villainous past and their good actions. As Kakashi sat alone in the rain, someone returned to the dilapidated house.

• The three Rain shinobi praised Kakashi and shared food with him, Rin Uzumaki, and Karin while they waited for Jiraiya.
• Kakashi asked why the shinobi had not fled, and one said they had stayed to keep Rin and Karin safe.
• Karin told Kakashi that the shinobi had not harmed them, and the men pleaded for him to believe their innocence.
• Kakashi drew his sword and frightened the kneeling shinobi, then drove the blade into the floor and walked away.
• Kakashi wrestled with how to judge bad people who had chosen to protect Rin and Karin, punched through the rotten doorframe, and watched as someone returned through the rain.

Kakashi left the Land of Rain with Karin Uzumaki and Rin Uzumaki after declining Jiraiya’s invitation to investigate Akatsuki. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi stripped Shimura Danzō of his position and placed Root under Anbu control, leaving Danzō furious and disgraced.

• Jiraiya advised Kakashi to leave the Land of Rain and offered to take him to investigate Akatsuki, but Kakashi declined.
• Kakashi left the Land of Rain alone, then agreed to take Karin Uzumaki and Rin Uzumaki with him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi confronted Shimura Danzō over the stolen eyes and other crimes, abolished his Hokage assistant position, and put Root under Anbu jurisdiction.
• Hiruzen ordered Danzō removed from the assembly hall as Danzō shouted that Hiruzen would regret it.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu suggested leniency, but Hiruzen and the clan leaders upheld the decision.

After recovering from Obito’s attack, Gua returned to school, where Orochimaru unexpectedly joined his class as an observer. Orochimaru left Kabuto overseeing the laboratory’s rebuilding and settled in beside Gua, saying he had nothing to do while his laboratory was being rebuilt.

• Gua stayed home for two days after Obito’s attack, then cautiously left for school once he was sure Obito was not waiting for him.
• Anko dumped her bricks onto Kabuto, laughed when he fell, and ran off when Orochimaru returned to the ruined laboratory.
• Orochimaru told Kabuto to stop working and oversee the construction crew while he left the laboratory in Kabuto’s hands.
• Orochimaru entered Ye Chuan Dahei’s classroom, displaced Itachi to sit beside Gua, and asked to observe the lesson.
• Orochimaru told Gua he had nothing to do while his laboratory was rebuilt, leaving Gua to wonder whether Orochimaru planned to take his family’s savings.

Orochimaru followed Gua everywhere after the Masked Man attacked him, while Gua wondered how to move Obito’s White Zetsu arm from Danzo’s laboratory to Orochimaru’s. At school, Neji returned for Taijutsu training, where Gua beat him badly enough for Orochimaru to question whether the training was deliberate.

• Orochimaru spent the night in a tree outside Gua’s home and followed him to school the next day.
• Gua thought about Obito’s White Zetsu arm, which remained sealed in Danzo’s laboratory, and how he might get it to Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru followed Gua through the school day and apologized for failing to protect him from the Masked Man.
• Neji returned exactly three days after Gua had told him to come back for Taijutsu practice.
• Gua’s growing strength left Neji bruised and swollen after their training, and Orochimaru remarked that the method was not scientific.

Gua asked Orochimaru to make his Taijutsu training more scientific, then tried to cook dinner for his parents while his mother was out. His burnt meal made his parents laugh, and he ended the evening embarrassed as his birthday approached.

• Orochimaru explained how diet, training, sleep, supplements, and mood affected Taijutsu, and agreed to prepare a training list for Gua.
• Gua prompted Neji to thank Orochimaru, then escorted Orochimaru home and politely sent him away to work on the list.
• Finding his parents absent, Gua attempted to cook cucumber salad, chicken wings, tamagoyaki, rice balls, and miso soup.
• Nai returned to find Gua and the kitchen covered in grime after he burned the tamagoyaki and struggled with the meal.
• Dashan praised Gua's cooking and forced himself to eat the burned food, while Nai laughed and reminded Dashan that Gua's birthday was in two days.
• Gua retreated to his bedroom, upset that his attempt to be a good son had turned into a source of laughter.

Gua agreed to spar with Itachi, who brought swords to their riverside match while Neji watched. As the two fought, Neji wondered whether he could truly be called a genius.

• Izumi asked Gua what he wanted for his birthday, but he failed to give her a satisfying answer and she stormed off.
• Itachi asked Gua to spar after school using weapons, and Gua agreed.
• Gua and Itachi went to their usual riverside spot, where Neji was waiting for training.
• Gua told Neji to watch as he and Itachi prepared to spar with short swords.
• Gua and Itachi traded sword strikes while Neji watched and questioned his own talent.

Gua and Itachi continued their sword spar, with Gua revealing extraordinary control and strength that left Itachi and Neji stunned. Itachi’s final strike shattered Gua’s sword, leaving the outcome of the exchange unresolved.

• Gua increased his strength and charged, prompting Itachi to activate his three-tomoe Sharingan.
• Gua transformed his thrust into a powerful downward chop, shocking Itachi and Neji with his control and force.
• Itachi recovered and continued fighting, then announced that he had one final strike and leaped into a two-handed blow.
• Gua raised his sword to block, but Itachi’s ink-black afterimage gathered on the blade and his strike broke Gua’s sword in two.

Gua defeated Itachi’s powerful sword strike with a kick, leaving Neji astonished by his strength. Orochimaru brought Gua a detailed taijutsu training scroll, which Gua passed to Neji, while Orochimaru regarded Gua as a rare gem.

• Itachi’s sword broke as he attacked, but Gua kicked him dozens of meters away before the slash could hit.
• Neji watched in disbelief and asked Gua if he was all right, increasingly convinced that Gua was the right person to learn from.
• Itachi explained that his Divine Blade could combine the force of previous attacks, but refused to give it to Gua.
• Orochimaru arrived and gave Gua a detailed scroll on taijutsu training and nutrition.
• Gua handed the scroll to Neji and said he did not need it, leaving Orochimaru to marvel at Gua’s talent.

Neji accepted a reduced schedule for seeing Gua, while Orochimaru made plans for his Laboratory and sought Anko’s help with an important matter. On Gua’s birthday, Itachi arrived with a gift, but Izumi hid outside after realizing she had shouted for him in front of his parents.

• Neji bargained with Gua to visit once a week, and Gua agreed to give him Orochimaru’s training plan.
• Orochimaru returned to his damaged Laboratory, learned Anko was absent, and tracked her down at a dessert shop.
• Orochimaru asked Anko what young boys liked and asked her to help him with something important.
• On June 4, Year 53 of Konoha, Gua celebrated his birthday at home with his family while waiting for Itachi and Izumi.
• Kabuto told Gua that his mother was happy simply because she loved him, prompting Gua to reflect on the lives and bonds of people in the Shinobi World.
• Itachi arrived carrying a cloth bag, while Izumi hid outside, embarrassed that she had shouted for Gua in front of his parents.

Gua celebrated his birthday with Itachi, Izumi, and Kabuto, receiving gifts and enjoying their company. As everyone gathered to eat cake, Orochimaru arrived with a present and wished him a happy birthday.

• Itachi visited Gua and brought a long cloth bag containing the sword they had used when sparring.
• Izumi sneaked up on Gua with a giant Three-Color Dango plush, frightened him, and gave him the toy as a birthday present.
• Itachi gave Gua his valuable sword, explaining that he had saved it for Gua's birthday.
• Kabuto gave Gua a reversible watermelon-rind hat with names embroidered on its ears, and Gua accepted it.
• Uchiha Nai finished preparing the food, Uchiha Oyama returned with a cake, and Orochimaru arrived with a wrapped present and wished Gua a happy birthday.

Gua celebrated his birthday with family and friends, receiving an unsettling handmade gift from Orochimaru before making a wish for everyone’s happiness. Meanwhile, Jiraiya confronted the Six Paths of Pain in the Land of Rain and realized they were all dead.

• Orochimaru gave Gua a wobbling doll of himself that played birthday messages in Anko’s voice, then accidentally revealed Anko’s recorded complaint about him.
• Gua celebrated with a feast, made a birthday wish for his family and friends, and blew out all seven candles.
• Orochimaru suggested Uchiha Oyama’s parenting had made Gua who he was, while Oyama admitted he knew little about parenting.
• Jiraiya tried to restrain Deva Path Pain with the Toad Mouth Binding Technique, but the Animal Path and Asura Path broke in and the Six Paths pursued him.
• Jiraiya confronted Deva Path Pain, learned that Yahiko was dead, and realized the Six Paths of Pain were all dead.

Jiraiya used his knowledge of the Six Paths of Pain to destroy Naraka Path, while Deva Path Pain continued to defend Nagato’s cause. In Konoha, Gua celebrated his birthday with his friends, and Uchiha Nai comforted a shy Izumi before asking Gua to walk her and Itachi home.

• Jiraiya and the two sages coordinated Sage Art: Goemon to burn Naraka Path beyond repair, while Preta Path absorbed the attack.
• Deva Path Pain asked whether Orochimaru had given Jiraiya information about the Six Paths, and Jiraiya urged Nagato to turn back.
• Animal Path summoned a three-headed dog, and Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta to fight it.
• At Gua’s birthday meal, Gua gave Izumi most of the cake, then took half back when she said she could not finish it.
• Uchiha Nai gently reassured the bashful Izumi and told Gua to walk Izumi and Itachi home.

Gua, Itachi, and Izumi left Gua’s home while Izumi privately wrestled with her growing affection for Gua and his family. Elsewhere, Jiraiya escaped Pain’s attack through Reverse Summoning, and Pain seized control of the Land of Rain, driving Hanzō’s former followers to vow revenge.

• Gua, Itachi, and Izumi walked together, and Izumi blushed as she imagined what it would be like if Gua’s mother were her own.
• Sages Shima and Morisaku reverse-summoned a badly wounded Jiraiya to Mount Myōboku, where Gamabunta carried him away to recover.
• Konan surmised that Jiraiya had escaped using the Reverse Summoning Technique, and Pain left to take over the Land of Rain.
• Pain killed or frightened the Land of Rain’s leaders into submission and declared himself the country’s leader.
• Hanzō’s fleeing former followers gathered at the border and agreed to seek revenge against Pain.

Gua celebrated his birthday, received belated wishes from Neji on Hinata’s behalf, and prepared a gift for Itachi. At school, he heard that a Konoha shinobi’s attack on Iwagakure had sparked rumors of war, leaving him wondering whether Danzo was behind it.

• A Rain shinobi proposed making Konoha pay for Orochimaru killing Lord Hanzō, and his followers agreed to his plan despite being horrified by it.
• Gua arranged his birthday presents, then met Neji outside, accepted a skewer of Three-Color Dango, and learned Hinata had tried to sneak out to wish him happy birthday.
• Neji told Gua that Uncle Hiashi had caught Hinata sneaking out and filled in her escape hole, then returned home after delivering the birthday wishes.
• Gua spent the next two days choosing an ordinary fox mask as Itachi’s birthday present, since their birthdays were only five days apart.
• At school, Gua heard that Konoha and Iwagakure might go to war after Konoha shinobi attacked Iwagakure shinobi and shouted patriotic slogans when caught.
• Gua wondered if Danzo was directing Konoha’s actions.

Gua heard that Konoha shinobi had supposedly assassinated Iwagakure shinobi, but the commanders and Third Generation doubted the culprits were really from Konoha. As tensions rose, Gua trained with Neji and went looking for Naruto, only to find him vandalizing the village and earning everyone’s curses.

• Gua and Itachi doubted the report that Konoha shinobi had assassinated Iwagakure shinobi, while Asuma, Shibi Aburame, and Inoichi Yamanaka found that none of their shinobi were missing.
• The Third Generation received Asuma’s report and chose to let the accusation cool down rather than escalate the conflict with Iwagakure.
• Gua noticed tension in Konoha and practiced Taijutsu with Neji, who dodged his attacks four times after following Orochimaru’s training plan.
• Gua visited Naruto the next day, found his home empty, and followed Naruto’s shouts to an alley where villagers were cursing him for painting figures on their walls.
• Gua saw Naruto’s graffiti throughout the village and pretended he did not know him.

Gua followed Naruto to the edge of Konoha and discovered that Naruto had painted a gravestone for himself. After Naruto rushed to defend Hinata from bullies and was beaten while shielding her, a girl shouted for them to stop.

• Gua followed Naruto as he painted figures on villagers’ walls and ran toward the Fire Memorial Cemetery.
• Naruto painted a gravestone bearing Konoha’s symbol and his own name in the empty space at the cemetery’s rear.
• Naruto heard a scream beyond the cemetery and ran toward it, declaring that he would save whoever was in danger.
• Naruto found several boys bullying Hinata and challenged them to fight him one-on-one.
• The boys knocked Naruto down and beat him, but he kept protecting Hinata with his body.
• As Gua prepared to intervene, a girl shouted at the bullies to stop.

Gua stopped bullies from beating Sakura Haruno, Naruto, and Hinata, but the fleeing children were attacked by Shinobi from Iwagakure. Gua arrived as one of the Shinobi choked a child and ordered him to put the boy down.

• Sakura Haruno rushed in to defend Naruto and Hinata, and the bullies turned on her.
• Gua caught the lead bully, kicked him away, and made the bullies flee when they recognized him as Uchiha Gua.
• Sakura Haruno urged Gua to beat the bullies more, while Naruto stared at her and Gua checked on him.
• Gua heard screams and found the children being held by Shinobi from Iwagakure.
• One Iwagakure Shinobi choked a child and blamed Konoha for making enemies of Iwagakure.
• Gua told the Shinobi to put the child down.