Chapter Summaries

Tsunade revealed that she had pretended to be drunk to insult Bai Ye, then considered Shizune’s suggestion to make him think he had a chance before dumping him. She vowed to pursue the plan, though she still hesitated and intended to prepare carefully.

• Tsunade admitted to Shizune that she had faked being drunk so she could curse out Bai Ye.
• Shizune suggested that Bai Ye might have known Tsunade was pretending and pointed out that his tolerance of her seemed like a couple’s behavior.
• Tsunade wondered why Bai Ye had not exposed her and proposed making him think he had a chance before breaking up with him.
• Shizune warned that Tsunade might fall into her own trap, but Tsunade insisted she would make Bai Ye fall for her and threatened Shizune not to reveal the plan.
• Tsunade began thinking through how to approach Bai Ye, wary of giving him too much of an opening or letting him suspect a trap.

Kusagakure prepared to activate the Box of Ultimate Bliss with tailed beast chakra and fight Konoha, while Mui focused on using it to resurrect his son. As war approached, the Grass Flower debated whether to resist or side with Konoha, but its elder halted the argument before they reached a decision.

• Mui reported that the Box of Ultimate Bliss was ready, and the Kusagakure elders prepared to declare war on Konoha.
• The elders ordered the Grass Ninja to mobilize as villages across the Shinobi World sent spies to watch Konoha's campaign.
• Members of the Grass Flower warned their elder that the Box's monster could escape and argued that Kusagakure could not defeat Konoha.
• The Grass Flower debated surrendering to Konoha or supporting Kusagakure, with some members favoring Konoha's reforms and others resisting betrayal.
• The Grass Flower elder shouted for everyone to stop arguing, leaving their decision unresolved.

The Grass Flower faction rejected joining the war against Konoha and chose to focus on dealing with the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while seeking contact with Konoha to limit the fallout. Meanwhile, A explained Kumogakure’s reasons for supporting Kusagakure and discussed sending Yugito into a small-scale conflict with Konoha.

• The elder persuaded the Grass Flower faction not to betray Kusagakure or release the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and ordered Ryūsha to contact Konoha.
• Killer B questioned whether Kumogakure should help Kusagakure, but A said they could not start a war with Konoha and wanted to test its strength.
• A dismissed Bai Ye’s reputation and argued that Konoha might be weaker than it claimed.
• Killer B suggested watching Bai Ye in action and asked whether Yugito might face trouble in Kumogakure’s planned small-scale war with Konoha.

A reconsidered Kumogakure’s role in the war and changed Yugito’s mission from joining the fighting to a conditional decapitation operation against Bai Ye. The squad would watch Bai Ye face the Box of Ultimate Bliss, attack only if he was weakened, and otherwise withdraw.

• A refused to let Killer B join the battle, warning that his involvement could escalate the conflict and put Kumogakure’s strongest fighters at risk.
• Killer B cautioned A that Yugito’s ten-person squad could be overwhelmed by Konoha and questioned what A hoped to accomplish with so few people.
• A caught up with Yugito’s squad and lowered the priority of its original mission to join the fighting.
• A ordered Yugito to observe Bai Ye’s battle against the Grass Ninja and the monster from the Box of Ultimate Bliss before deciding whether to act.
• A told Yugito to assassinate Bai Ye only if the battle left him significantly weakened; otherwise, she was to withdraw and prioritize her squad’s survival.

Rasa and Ebizo weighed Sunagakure’s worsening shortages and decided to seek cooperation with Konoha, sending Pakura because she had already met Bai Ye. Rasa still planned to kill Pakura after the negotiations and considered using tactics against the Wind Daimyo to secure resources.

• A ordered Yugito to observe the Box of Ultimate Bliss and abandon her mission if it became dangerous, then left with Killer B.
• Rasa learned that Kumogakure was helping Kusagakure and lamented that the Wind Daimyo would not provide Sunagakure with resources.
• Rasa rejected demanding compensation from Kirigakure because Sunagakure could not risk another conflict, especially with Pakura alive and posing a political threat.
• Ebizo suggested searching for the Ancient Kingdom of Roran’s treasure, but Rasa doubted they could find it and worried about Pakura.
• Ebizo proposed cooperating with Konoha, and Rasa agreed to send Pakura as Sunagakure’s envoy because she had met Bai Ye.
• Rasa secretly resolved to kill Pakura after the negotiations, while Ebizo suggested developing tactics to obtain resources from the Wind Daimyo.

Kirigakure’s leaders discussed the three Kaguya, Yuki, and Hozuki clan members Bai Ye had taken to Konoha, and accepted they could not demand their return. Genji ordered Kirigakure to stay out of the war and focus on rebuilding, while Iwagakure prepared to observe the conflict without committing forces.

• Kirigakure’s shinobi debated asking Konoha to return the three clan members, but Genji questioned why Konoha would agree.
• Mei Terumi told the gathering that Konoha had no reason to return the children and that the children themselves might not want to go back to Kirigakure.
• Genji decided Kirigakure would remain out of the war, focus on rebuilding, continue cooperating with Konoha, and search for Utakata while addressing Kisame’s defection.
• Ōnoki sent Kurotsuchi and a four-person squad to gather intelligence at the battlefield, and told her to take Deidara for his ability to escape.
• Ōnoki refused to commit Iwagakure to the war before learning more about Konoha’s Hokage, and said he might hire the Akatsuki to fight instead.

Konan and Kakuzu remained in Konoha after failing to negotiate, though Kakuzu chose to pursue private business instead. After Nagato warned that Bai Ye’s campaign against the small nations could put Amegakure at risk, Konan decided to stay in Konoha to gather intelligence.

• Kakuzu decided to stay in Konoha and use his own funds to start a business, insisting that the Akatsuki would receive none of his profits.
• Kakuzu left to research Konoha’s markets, while Konan contacted Nagato and told him she would remain in the village until Bai Ye returned.
• Nagato explained that Bai Ye’s actions against the surrounding small nations had made trade with Konoha pointless and might put Amegakure next in danger.
• Nagato feared Bai Ye would detain Konan and urged her to leave, but Konan argued she could protect herself and staying would help her learn Bai Ye’s intentions.
• Konan chose to remain in Konoha and investigate Konoha’s plans and the other villages’ responses to the growing turmoil.

Bai Ye arrived alone at Kusagakure, where the Grass Ninja prepared to face him with the Box of Ultimate Bliss. As other villages watched and weighed their options, Kusagakure’s elders confronted Bai Ye, who left them furious by suggesting they were trash.

• Black Zetsu explained to Obito and White Zetsu that the Box of Ultimate Bliss created a monster powered by its user's desires and negative emotions.
• Yugito ordered Kumogakure’s ambush team to wait and observe rather than risk exposing themselves near the battlefield.
• Deidara’s Iwagakure group sensed Bai Ye’s powerful chakra alone below, and Deidara considered flying lower to watch him.
• Grass Flower members worried over Bai Ye’s solo arrival after placing their hopes in him and Konoha.
• Kusagakure’s elders accused Bai Ye of looking down on them, and Bai Ye replied that they were trash.

Bai Ye confronted the Grass Ninja guarding the Box of Ultimate Bliss and slaughtered nearly half of them with one Susanoo slash. The elders, desperate to stop him and activate the Box, ordered their forces to gather around it, preparing to sacrifice their own ninja.

• Yugito watched Bai Ye face the Grass Ninja alone and wondered what gave him confidence against the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
• Mui moved closer to the Box of Ultimate Bliss as the Grass Ninja elders ordered their forces to attack Bai Ye.
• Bai Ye formed his Susanoo and killed nearly half of the charging Grass Ninja with one slash, shattering the survivors' resolve.
• The elders decided to sacrifice Grass Ninja to the Box of Ultimate Bliss so it would produce a stronger monster capable of defeating Bai Ye.
• An elder ordered everyone to gather around the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and the Kirigakure ninja present approached it.

Bai Ye’s Susanoo slash terrified the Grass Ninja, who crowded around the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while Yugito and Matatabi judged him too dangerous to confront. Deidara’s group observed from the sky and recorded Bai Ye’s strength for Iwagakure.

• The Grass Ninja pressed toward the Box of Ultimate Bliss after Bai Ye’s slash killed part of their forces, leaving them afraid to stand outside its protection.
• Yugito watched Bai Ye and considered retreating, while Matatabi warned her that he was beyond her ability to defeat.
• Yugito decided to stay and gather intelligence on the Box of Ultimate Bliss, despite Matatabi’s warning not to provoke Bai Ye.
• Deidara became excited by Bai Ye’s destructive slash and started to descend, but Kurotsuchi struck him and stopped him from approaching.
• An Iwagakure ninja ordered the group to record Bai Ye’s power and send their findings back to Iwagakure.

The Box of Ultimate Bliss began devouring Grass Ninja as the elders insisted on sacrificing their own people to release its monster and defeat Bai Ye. As the other villages watched and assessed the threat, members of Grass Flower emerged to confront the elders of Grass Fruit.

• The Box of Ultimate Bliss started absorbing Grass Ninja and the chakra of the dead, while the elders defended the sacrifices as necessary to conquer the Shinobi World.
• Yugito watched the Grass Ninja lose their will to fight, and Matatabi explained that the Box of Ultimate Bliss fed on endless human desire and sacrifice.
• Yugito worried about the monster emerging, but Matatabi said Bai Ye was powerful enough to face it; Black Zetsu likewise judged the monster no match for Bai Ye, and Obito lost interest in taking the box.
• Kurotsuchi condemned the Grass Ninja elders and argued that the villages might need to join forces against the monster, while the Stone Shinobi chose to wait and see if Bai Ye could handle it.
• Members of Grass Flower emerged from the shadows and confronted the elders of Grass Fruit, denouncing their plan to sacrifice the Grass Ninja for power and glory.

The Grass Fruit elders used the Box of Ultimate Bliss to devour the Grass Ninja, while the Grass Flower faction tried to stop them and the survivors sought escape. Obito considered testing the monster with his hundred thousand White Zetsu, and Mui learned the box could not resurrect his son.

• The Grass Flower faction confronted the Grass Fruit elders and warned that the Box of Ultimate Bliss would unleash a monster, while Grass Ninja realized their leaders intended to sacrifice them.
• The elders strengthened the barrier and let the box devour more Grass Ninja, prompting Yugito and the Two-Tails to discuss why Bai Ye was not intervening and what the Sage of Six Paths had done with the box.
• Obito decided he wanted to test the monster's strength, and Black Zetsu suspected it would prove weaker than Bai Ye.
• Mui asked the elders to stop the sacrifices, believing enough people had been offered to bring back his son.
• An elder told Mui that the Box of Ultimate Bliss could not resurrect people and that the monster, not his son, would emerge.

Mui learned the elders had known the Box of Ultimate Bliss could not revive his son, and the box swallowed him and the remaining Grass Ninja before releasing them as monsters. Bai Ye watched the Box form a powerful monster from its victims and judged it had reached the peak of Kage Level.

• The Grass elders told Mui they had supplied the Box of Ultimate Bliss and knew his son could never return, and the box then dragged Mui inside.
• Bai Ye decided not to interfere as the Box swallowed Mui and the Grass Ninja who remained nearby, reasoning that it removed potential enemies for him.
• The Box closed after its victims were absorbed, then released figures that a Grass Flower elder identified as monsters assimilated by the Box.
• The Grass Ninja realized the victims' bodies were merging into a single ink-like monster, while the Kusagakure elders celebrated its emergence.
• Bai Ye assessed the monster's strength and concluded that it was probably at the peak of Kage Level.

Bai Ye confronted Gozu after the monster emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss and challenged the Grass Ninja elders’ claim that their village had once nearly united the shinobi world with it. He revealed that the Box’s former users were unrelated to Kusagakure, leaving the Grass Ninja stunned as their cherished history collapsed.

• Gozu emerged from the Box of Ultimate Bliss, recognized Bai Ye’s powerful chakra, and coveted his power and soul.
• The Grass Fruit elders urged Gozu to kill Bai Ye and help Kusagakure rise again, while Bai Ye mocked their claim to past glory.
• Bai Ye explained that the Box of Ultimate Bliss had belonged to the Sage of Six Paths, then been used by others during the Warring States Period and safeguarded by the Uzumaki Clan.
• Bai Ye recounted how the Box passed to the Grass Ninja only after the Uzumaki Clan was destroyed, and argued that Kusagakure had never nearly united the shinobi world with it.
• The younger Grass Ninja questioned Elder Niu, whose silence confirmed Bai Ye’s account, and the surviving villagers realized their supposed legacy was fabricated.

Yugito and the Two-Tails worried that Bai Ye might take control of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, while Obito’s group assessed Konoha’s campaign to unite the small nations. Konoha’s expansion prompted the Land of Lightning Daimyo to urge Kumogakure to intervene, and A angrily ordered the village to prepare for war.

• Bai Ye explained that the Grass Ninja had falsely claimed credit for an ancient use of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, shocking Yugito and the Cloud Ninja.
• The Two-Tails warned Yugito that Bai Ye might take the Box of Ultimate Bliss to strengthen his plans for war, and that Gozu could destroy the world if it devoured him.
• White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, and Obito discussed Bai Ye’s knowledge of the Box and Konoha’s ongoing campaign to bring small nations under its rule.
• Konoha’s moves left Iwagakure and Kumogakure wary of acting, while Kirigakure remained quiet and Sunagakure struggled with its own problems.
• The Land of Lightning Daimyo asked Kumogakure to stop Konoha’s expansion, and A ordered every Cloud Ninja to assemble and prepare for war.

A and Ōnoki weighed whether their villages should go to war with Konoha after pressure from their Daimyo, but both feared Konoha’s strength and waited for events in the Land of Grass. The chapter left Iwagakure preparing to act only if other villages joined, while Ōnoki wrestled with his fear of Bai Ye.

• A asked Samui to assess Kumogakure’s chances in a war against Konoha, and she estimated them at under thirty percent without Iwagakure’s help.
• Samui warned A that Kumogakure could not afford to fight Konoha alone and suggested waiting for Yugito’s report from Kusagakure.
• A agreed to wait a day or two before deciding whether to act against Konoha.
• Ōnoki considered the threat posed by Konoha’s expansion but hesitated because Iwagakure had not recovered from its losses.
• Ōnoki told Kitsuchi to prepare and monitor the Land of Grass, saying Iwagakure would go to war only if other villages joined in.
• Kitsuchi asked what Iwagakure would do if nobody acted, and Ōnoki was left confronting his fear of Bai Ye.

Sunagakure’s senior officials debated whether to obey the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and fight Konoha or use their limited supplies to strengthen the village. Rasa chose to go to war, arguing that Konoha would eventually attack them anyway, and his decision stunned the elders.

• The Daimyo of the Land of Wind sent Rasa a demand to choose whether Sunagakure would go to war with Konoha.
• Sunagakure’s senior officials argued over whether to attack Konoha or use the replenished resources to address the village’s internal problems.
• The officials asked Rasa to decide, and he declared that Sunagakure would go to war with Konoha.
• Rasa told Ebizo that striking while Konoha was fighting other villages was preferable to waiting for Konoha to come after Sunagakure.

Rasa convinced Sunagakure’s leaders that they had to prepare for war against Konoha before Konoha attacked them. He proposed breaking the seal on Rōran’s dragon vein to give Sunagakure a chance, and the leaders agreed to examine it.

• Rasa argued that Konoha would target Sunagakure after absorbing the smaller villages and that the Land of Wind could no longer provide enough resources.
• Ebizo warned Rasa that Sunagakure could not match Konoha and that war might lead the village to ruin.
• Sunagakure’s elders considered mobilizing but noted that Pakura was still in Rōran and they lacked a high-level fighter.
• Rasa revealed that he had sent Pakura to find the Treasure of Rōran and harness the dragon vein as an unconventional weapon against Konoha.
• The leaders objected that Minato Namikaze had sealed the dragon vein and that its power could destroy the Land of Wind, but Rasa urged them to investigate breaking the seal.

Kirigakure’s leaders debated the Land of Water’s demand to end their alliance with Konoha and go to war, knowing they depended on both sides. Mei Terumi argued that Kirigakure should choose Konoha, but Genji’s concern about losing the village’s autonomy left her needing to explain her decision further.

• The Land of Water threatened to cut off Kirigakure’s resources unless it severed ties with Konoha and prepared for war.
• Terumi Hikaru and other Mist Ninja warned that fighting Konoha would likely get them killed, while others stressed that they could not afford to lose the Land of Water’s support.
• Mei Terumi urged the assembled leaders to hear her out and declared that Kirigakure should choose Konoha.
• Mei Terumi argued that refusing to fight would cost Kirigakure resources, while war could kill half its ninja and reduce it to a minor village.
• Genji warned that choosing Konoha could leave Kirigakure dependent and unable to regain autonomy, and Mei Terumi realized she needed to justify her choice.

Mei Terumi revealed that she had made a deal with Bai Ye to merge Kirigakure into Konoha, arguing that joining the prosperous village offered Kirigakure its best chance to recover. The Mist Ninja reacted with shock and suspicion, but Genji let Mei Terumi explain her reasoning.

• Mei Terumi asked the gathered Mist Ninja whether they had considered becoming part of Konoha.
• A Mist Ninja accused Mei Terumi of siding with Konoha, and Terumi Hikaru asked whether she had colluded with them.
• Mei Terumi admitted that she had spoken with Bai Ye long ago and agreed to a deal.
• Genji silenced the angry Mist Ninja and allowed Mei Terumi to speak.
• Mei Terumi argued that merging the villages would give Kirigakure access to Konoha's resources and a chance to grow stronger.