Chapter Summaries

Gua heard that Clan Leader Fugaku had devastated the Land of Rain and learned that Kumogakure had attacked Jiraiya’s camp, heightening tensions on the border. The Third Generation decided to let Fugaku act freely in the Land of Rain and considered sending Shisui to the front, while Jiraiya awaited a message from Konoha as Kumogakure prepared for a major assault.

• Gua trained his developing Dust Release and overheard diners describe Clan Leader Fugaku defeating five Paths of Pain and badly injuring another in the Land of Rain.
• The Third Generation learned that Kumogakure had attacked Jiraiya’s camp and that Iwagakure remained inactive, then agreed to let Fugaku handle the Land of Rain as he saw fit.
• Shikaku told the Third Generation that Jiraiya planned to make Shisui his deputy, and the Third Generation insisted Shisui should instead be sent to the front lines.
• Jiraiya faced a Kumogakure force assembled for what appeared to be a full-scale assault, while Shisui delivered a letter from Konoha for Jiraiya to hear.

Jiraiya rejected the Third Hokage’s implied order to put Shisui on the front lines, while Shisui remained trusting of Konoha. In the Land of Rain, Pain prepared to evacuate as Obito arrived with Isobu, and they began sealing the tailed beast into the Tailed Beast Vessel.

• Shisui read the Third Hokage’s letter, and Jiraiya concluded it was pushing him to the front lines because he was an Uchiha.
• Jiraiya told Shisui he would not deliberately send him to the front, then angrily criticized the Third Hokage’s treatment of the Uchiha after Shisui left.
• Pain faced attacks from Konoha and Sunagakure, leaving the Land of Rain close to falling and forcing him to prepare an evacuation.
• White Zetsu told Pain that Obito was delayed because he had captured the Three-Tails, and Pain impaled White Zetsu with a Black Rod.
• Obito arrived and agreed with Pain that they should finish sealing Isobu before relocating to the Land of Water.
• Obito pulled Isobu from the Kamui Dimension, and Pain began sealing its power into the Tailed Beast Vessel.

Pain, Obito, and Konan sealed Isobu and escaped the Land of Rain with the Akatsuki members, leaving the Rain Shinobi to surrender as Sunagakure and Konoha conquered the country. Meanwhile, Gua practiced Flying Thunder God, got Kabuto’s old bicycle, and rode Izumi around the village, drawing Naruto’s curious attention.

• Pain, Obito, and Konan sealed Isobu into the Tailed Beast Vessel, then Obito transported the belongings and vessel while Pain and Konan left the Land of Rain.
• After Pain told Kakuzu and the others to flee, Kakuzu cursed their leaders for leaving first, but Sasori of the Red Sands gathered Kakuzu, Hidan, Juzo Biwa, and Kisame and led them away.
• The Land of Rain’s Shinobi learned that Pain and their commanders had abandoned them, surrendered, and watched Sunagakure and Konoha advance into Amegakure.
• Gua alternated idle training in Flying Thunder God and Chakra Extraction, then learned that Kabuto’s electric scooter had been passed down from his senior and asked for Kabuto’s retired bicycle.
• Gua rode the bicycle with Izumi around the village, making her blush as passersby stared at the unusual vehicle.
• Sakura Haruno dismissed Naruto when he offered to ask Gua about the bicycle, but Naruto eagerly chased after Gua’s exhaust trail.

Gua spent time with Izumi and let Naruto borrow his bicycle, while Pain decided to attack Konoha and capture the Nine-Tails. As Deva Path Pain approached the village, Kotetsu sensed an intruder, and Gua called Naruto inside to show him something.

• Gua let Naruto ride his bicycle, and Naruto crashed before quickly taking off again.
• Gua and Izumi sat together by a river as the sun set.
• Pain decided to send Deva Path Pain into Konoha to try to capture the Nine-Tails, while Konan stayed with his real body outside the Land of Fire.
• Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane sneezed at the gate, and Kotetsu insisted someone had entered Konoha despite the barrier giving no alarm.
• Gua studied Flying Thunder God inscriptions until Naruto arrived to borrow the bicycle, then called him inside to show him something.

Gua successfully carved a Flying Thunder God Mark onto Naruto, while Deva Path Pain infiltrated Konoha and spent three days searching for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Pain finally identified Naruto as his target and followed him and Sakura to the riverside, waiting for a chance to strike.

• Gua carved a Flying Thunder God Mark onto Naruto’s back, then let him borrow the Bicycle to take Sakura Haruno out.
• After Kotetsu Hagane reported a possible infiltrator, the Third Generation ordered the Anbu to tighten security.
• Deva Path Pain infiltrated Konoha and searched unsuccessfully for the Nine-Tails for three days while Nagato and Konan debated whether to call him back.
• Pain spotted Naruto riding with Sakura Haruno, matched him to the photograph, and followed them through Konoha.
• Naruto and Sakura went to the riverside, where Pain decided the moment offered him a chance to act.

Pain attacked Naruto and drove him to remove the seal, unleashing the Nine-Tails' power. Gua sensed the chakra disrupting his Flying Thunder God Mark on Naruto and vanished from class to investigate, prompting Ye Chuan Dahei to alert the Third Generation.

• Pain waited until one Anbu left to report to the Hokage, then approached Naruto and Sakura Haruno.
• Pain attacked Naruto, and Naruto fled with Sakura Haruno before Pain caught up and knocked Sakura away.
• The Nine-Tails urged Naruto to undo the seal, and Naruto ripped it off as the Anbu tried to stop him.
• Pain taunted the released Naruto and thrust a Black Rod toward him.
• During class, Gua sensed violent chakra eroding his Flying Thunder God Mark on Naruto and teleported away.
• Ye Chuan Dahei abandoned his lesson and went to find the Third Generation, reporting that Gua had disappeared.

Pain captured the unconscious Naruto and tried to escape Konoha, while the Third Hokage learned that both Naruto and Uchiha Gua were missing. Gua intercepted Pain outside the village, but he had no weapons and was forced into a barehanded fight.

• The Third Hokage ordered every Anbu to search for the missing Nine-Tails Jinchuriki after learning Naruto had disappeared.
• Ye Chuan Dahei reported that Uchiha Gua had vanished from class, and the Third ordered Konoha's teachers and guards to search for him.
• Pain carried the unconscious Naruto toward the outskirts of Konoha while the village searched for both missing boys.
• Gua confronted Pain and demanded that he put Naruto down, warning that he could hold Pain there until help arrived.
• Pain threw Naruto aside and attacked Gua, who realized he had brought no sword or kunai and fought back with his bare hands.

Uchiha Gua fought Pain, using Flying Thunder God once and revealing his newly learned Dust Release. Pain damaged Gua’s attempts to attack with his gravity and repulsion techniques, but Gua exploited Banshō Ten'in to rush toward him with a Dust Release strike.

• Gua discovered he could no longer use Flying Thunder God and formed Dust Release in his hand.
• Pain broke free of Gua’s Mangekyo genjutsu, but Gua’s Dust Release disintegrated Pain’s Black Rod and consumed two of his fingers.
• Pain used Banshō Ten'in and Shinra Tensei to keep Gua at a distance and drain his chakra.
• Gua leaped into the air as Pain used Banshō Ten'in again, then closed the distance and struck at Pain’s face with a small Dust Release.

Gua defeated Deva Path Pain by using his Mangekyo ability to rewrite the distance between them, while Nagato and Konan retrieved Pain’s body and abandoned their plan to capture the Nine-Tails. Gua then checked on Naruto, who was badly burned but alive, and went with an Anbu to report to the Third Generation.

• Pain repeatedly used Banshō Ten'in and Shinra Tensei to repel Gua, leaving Gua exhausted as he searched for a way to counter him.
• Gua activated the Eight Gates Released Formation and used his eye ability to rewrite the distance, striking Pain’s face with Dust Release and killing Deva Path Pain.
• Nagato learned that Deva Path Pain had died, had the Animal Path retrieve the body, and decided to head to the Land of Water instead of capturing the Nine-Tails.
• Gua found Naruto badly burned but alive, then told two Anbu that he had fought Deva Path Pain.
• An Anbu took Naruto for medical treatment while Gua accompanied another Anbu to report the events to the Third Generation.

Gua explained to the Third Generation why he had placed a Flying Thunder God Mark on Naruto, while the Third Generation and Shikaku worried about Fugaku’s standoff with Sunagakure and Konoha’s lack of reinforcements. Meanwhile, Orochimaru succeeded in controlling White Zetsu and asked whether the Third Generation was finally ready to use science in war.

• Gua told the Third Generation that he had marked Naruto to protect him, then left after the Third Generation questioned his motives.
• The Third Generation and Shikaku discussed their suspicion that Fugaku might be acting under Uchiha influence and learned that his forces were confronting Sunagakure in Amegakure.
• The Third Generation and Shikaku concluded that Konoha could not send Fugaku reinforcements because Iwagakure had broken with them and Kumogakure was pressuring Jiraiya’s front.
• Orochimaru discovered that he could control White Zetsu using a method based on Impure World Reincarnation and tested his control by ordering one to jump and do push-ups.
• Anko told Orochimaru that the Third Generation had come to see him, and Orochimaru greeted his teacher with unusual warmth.
• The Third Generation asked about Orochimaru’s research and whether it could be used in war, prompting Orochimaru to ask if he was finally going to harness the power of science.

The Third Generation sought Orochimaru’s help against Konoha’s three-front war and saw the weapons and forces Orochimaru’s research could provide. Orochimaru revealed the risks of using them, and the Third Generation agreed to discuss deploying them.

• The Third Generation accepted Orochimaru’s claim that his research was science and asked him for a way to help Konoha fight.
• Orochimaru showed the Third Generation a solution made from Hashirama cells, which made injected mice highly aggressive and powerful.
• Orochimaru introduced White Zetsu, explaining that he had created it from an arm the Third Generation had given him and controlled it with an upgraded Impure World Reincarnation.
• The Third Generation asked for hundreds of White Zetsu, and Orochimaru revealed dozens in another laboratory and offered to make more while warning they could lose control.
• The Third Generation agreed to discuss using Orochimaru’s creations, and Orochimaru demonstrated a needle-firing weapon that stunned him.

Gua visited the badly injured Naruto, who told him about the fox-like monster and the seal he had opened. To calm Naruto’s fears, Gua revealed that the Fourth Hokage was his father, leaving Naruto excited about becoming Hokage himself.

• The Third Hokage sent Orochimaru’s Hashirama solutions toward the front lines with a bicycle squad, which Gua saw on his way out.
• Gua visited Naruto in the Medical Room and reassured him after finding him badly injured and eager to see him.
• Naruto told Gua that he had opened a seal after a monster offered him power, but he could not remember what happened afterward.
• Naruto worried that the monster might be part of him, so Gua told him that the Fourth Hokage was his father.
• Naruto celebrated the revelation and decided he would become Hokage, even settling for Sixth Hokage if Gua became Fifth.

After Naruto was discharged, Gua escorted him home and then visited Karin and Rin Uzumaki, where he found Orochimaru drawing their blood for research with the Third Generation’s approval. Rin explained that she and Karin trusted Orochimaru and wanted to contribute to the village, and Gua left to check on Orochimaru’s laboratory and the battlefield.

• Naruto told Gua he was a good person and said his imagined father would be someone like him, and Gua escorted him home.
• Gua ran into Orochimaru at Karin and Rin Uzumaki’s house and suspected he wanted to study their bloodline.
• Orochimaru admitted he drew their blood for research with the Third Generation’s permission, then took blood samples from Rin and Karin while they cooperated.
• Rin told Gua she trusted Orochimaru and considered the blood tests a small way to help the village that had taken them in.
• Gua declined Karin’s offer to see him out and left to visit Orochimaru’s laboratory and learn about his research and the battlefield.

Gua visited Orochimaru’s laboratory and learned that Orochimaru’s research had produced technology being sent to the front lines. Orochimaru then showed Gua a secured laboratory packed with White Zetsu, leaving Gua stunned by the sight of an entire army.

• Gua visited Anko and Kabuto at work in Orochimaru’s laboratory, then used Kabuto’s password to enter Orochimaru’s sealed laboratory.
• Orochimaru reassured Gua that he had not harmed Karin Uzumaki or her mother and asked why Gua had come.
• Gua asked about a bicycle convoy, and Orochimaru explained that it was delivering Hashirama cell solution and crossbow guns to the front lines.
• Orochimaru admitted that he had held back some approved funding for further crossbow-gun research.
• Orochimaru took Gua to a heavily secured laboratory and revealed that it was packed with White Zetsu.

Gua discovered that Orochimaru had created several thousand White Zetsu by repeatedly growing them from sliced specimens and planned to deploy them on the front lines. Orochimaru asked Gua to take home a White Zetsu under simple control for testing, then offered him a chance to try an Uzumaki bloodline treatment.

• Gua was shocked to find thousands of White Zetsu packed into Orochimaru's Laboratory.
• Orochimaru explained that he had grown new White Zetsu from slices of existing ones, with about half surviving.
• Orochimaru said he had sent a few dozen White Zetsu to the front and planned to control those directly while using Control Talismans to make the others follow them.
• Orochimaru asked Gua to take home a White Zetsu reduced to a puppet-like state and observe it for flaws.
• Before Gua left, Orochimaru offered to let him try a treatment based on the Uzumaki Clan's bloodline.

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.