Chapter Summaries

Orochimaru ended the confrontation over Makoto Uchiha with a ruling that protected Uchiha Fugaku, but Hiruzen Sarutobi challenged his decision. Tobirama Senju then shifted the meeting toward stripping the Uchiha Clan of the Konoha Military Police Force.

• Orochimaru stopped the argument and ordered Chihane to list Makoto Uchiha as an S-rank Rogue Ninja, while punishing Uchiha Fugaku by forfeiting three years of income.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi objected that the investigation was unfinished and warned that protecting Fugaku could endanger the village.
• Chihane accused Hiruzen Sarutobi of suppressing rivals and alluded to Konoha's White Fang, provoking Hiruzen's anger.
• Tobirama Senju agreed with Orochimaru's ruling but argued that the Uchiha Clan should lose control of the Konoha Military Police Force because it might threaten the village.

After a tense meeting revealed Konoha’s factions openly contesting power, Orochimaru asked Chihane how to respond. Chihane proposed moves against Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Orochimaru agreed to let him carry them out while taking charge of the Hokage’s Office himself.

• Orochimaru ended the meeting by ordering Uchiha Fugaku to forfeit three years of pay, then left as the factions eyed one another warily.
• Orochimaru reflected that Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi had become difficult to control, while Uchiha Fugaku had developed ambitions of his own.
• Chihane told Orochimaru to counter Tobirama Senju and Hiruzen Sarutobi by reshaping the Ninja Academy, expanding research, placing Chiriku in the Military Police Force, and recalling Kakashi and the others.
• Orochimaru praised Chihane’s plan and authorized him to proceed.
• Chihane warned that Hiruzen Sarutobi could misuse his position in the Hokage’s Office, and Orochimaru agreed to manage the office himself.

Orochimaru established Konoha’s Internal Affairs Department and reassigned authority across the village despite Uchiha Fugaku and Hiruzen Sarutobi’s objections. As the changes took effect, Chihane and Tsunade slept off a drunken bet that had nothing to do with persuading Tsunade to support Orochimaru.

• The Uchiha, Senju, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans spent half a month retaliating against one another, bringing Konoha’s economy and streets to a standstill.
• Orochimaru announced the Internal Affairs Department under Shikaku Nara, appointed Chiriku deputy chief of the Military Police with oversight powers, and gave Hiruzen Sarutobi’s administrative authority to the new department.
• Uchiha Fugaku and Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded a High Command meeting, but Tobirama Senju endorsed Orochimaru and the two elders left without further resistance.
• Shikaku Nara’s appointment notices were posted, and the clans ended their feud as their shops, schools, and companions returned to normal.
• Chiriku purged the Military Police, Hiruko and Kabuto Yakushi started research courses, Might Duy took on students, Kakashi returned with Root’s elite, and Shikaku’s department began operating.
• Chihane and Tsunade were found asleep amid scattered bottles after Chihane won a bet that Tsunade refused to honor.

Nagato gathered Akatsuki to introduce Makoto Uchiha and Zetsu, and Obito confronted his former rival as soon as Makoto appeared. The two fought through a genjutsu, leaving both injured, and Obito warned Makoto that their next encounter would end differently.

• Nagato assembled Akatsuki’s members and announced that he would introduce two new comrades and discuss the organization’s next plans.
• Nagato summoned Makoto Uchiha and Zetsu, and Makoto greeted Obito, renewing their rivalry.
• Obito recalled how Makoto’s past had fueled his envy and hatred, while Makoto’s return astonished him after Chihane had predicted they would meet again.
• Obito and Makoto dragged each other into a Genjutsu Space and injured one another, though Makoto’s Hashirama cells gave him an advantage in recovering his ocular power.
• Obito dismissed the fight as a draw and warned Makoto that he would demonstrate the power of his eyes next time.

Nagato settled disputes within the Akatsuki, assigned new partners, and prepared to reveal the organization’s future plans. Kakuzu welcomed Zetsu as a potential source of intelligence, while Nagato’s announcement left the members waiting for what would come next.

• Nagato stopped Obito and Makoto Uchiha from continuing their fight and told them to put their differences aside for the Akatsuki’s sake.
• Nagato assigned Zetsu as Kakuzu’s partner, hoping to prevent further partner deaths and make use of Zetsu’s information network.
• Kakuzu welcomed Zetsu, hoping his intelligence could help him monitor Chihane and find a way out of Chihane’s control.
• Nagato assigned Jade Maiden as Makoto Uchiha’s partner and began announcing the Akatsuki’s plans for future development.

Nagato announced the Akatsuki’s plan to gather the tailed beasts, then secretly summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, confirming Makoto Uchiha’s fabricated story more than he knew. Elsewhere, Obito backed down from a confrontation with Makoto, an alien fleet continued toward the shinobi world, and Uchiha Itachi trained with Chiriku as Konoha’s education reforms took shape.

• Nagato assigned the Akatsuki members tasks to raise funds, gather intelligence, and advance his plan to control the shinobi world.
• After Konan questioned whether Makoto Uchiha had deceived him, Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and hid it again.
• Obito Uchiha and Makoto Uchiha nearly fought in Amegakure, but Nagato’s ominous aura interrupted them and Obito left with Pakura.
• A five-ship alien fleet carrying combat-ready creatures in Cryogenic Pods traveled toward the shinobi world at faster-than-light speed.
• Uchiha Itachi sparred unsuccessfully with Chiriku, who told him to return to school, while the chapter described Konoha’s expanded nine-year education system.

Three years after Itachi began sparring with Chiriku, Itachi tried to defeat his mentor with a genjutsu, but Chiriku broke free and chased him through Back Mountain. The chapter ended with Itachi fleeing as Chiriku unleashed his technique.

• Itachi skipped class to avoid civilian students who challenged him, and Chiriku began taking him on patrol.
• Chiriku teased Itachi about Izumi, prompting Itachi to attack him with a Great Fireball Technique.
• Three years later, Itachi trapped Chiriku in a genjutsu after Chiriku caught him with an Earth Release technique.
• Chiriku broke the genjutsu with Welcoming Approach: Senju Kill and escaped.
• Itachi tried to call off their spar, but Chiriku charged after him as he ran.

Konoha launched a plan to take control of the Land of Fire after daimyo Fujimoto Yoshio’s rule plunged the country into hardship. Chihane and Orochimaru’s scheme ended with Fujimoto Yoshio’s death and Orochimaru becoming the new daimyo.

• Orochimaru ordered Konoha’s forces to begin the operation, and thousands of ninja mobilized across the Land of Fire.
• After years of upheaval in the shinobi world, Fujimoto Yoshio’s oppressive taxes and Konoha’s manufactured protest gave the village a pretext to invade.
• Konoha’s four armies advanced with support from merchants and commoners, while guards fled and the capital’s samurai opened its gates.
• Chihane confronted Fujimoto Yoshio at the Daimyo’s Residence, revealed that his behavior and the events leading to the invasion had been orchestrated, and offered him a dagger.
• Fujimoto Yoshio rejected the dagger and left to die publicly, but six shuriken killed him; ANBU staged his death as a robbery by his household samurai.
• Orochimaru was unanimously nominated as the Land of Fire’s new daimyo, and the country returned to peace.

The Akatsuki debated Konoha’s rise and whether to begin the next phase of their plan. Kari challenged Obito over their past, recalling how he and Pakura fought Kari and Han in the Land of Earth; Obito’s battle with Han revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan’s power over a jinchūriki.

• Konoha’s transformation shifted the balance of power between Daimyo and Kage, drawing the shinobi world’s attention.
• Nagato convened the expanded Akatsuki to discuss their stance toward Konoha and the next phase of their plan.
• Kari provoked Obito, citing his role in the conflict that led Kari to defect from Iwagakure.
• Obito and Pakura had intercepted Kari and Han in the Land of Earth, where Kari fought Pakura and Obito fought Han.
• Obito used his Mangekyō Sharingan against Han, prompting Kokuō to emerge and fight Kari.

Obito captured Han and Five-Tails Kokuō, triggering Kari's defection and recruitment into the Akatsuki under Makoto Uchiha. Nagato assigned teams to capture the tailed beasts, while the chapter ended with Chihane and Chiriku sparring in Konoha as others watched.

• Obito controlled Han as Kokuō, defeated Kari, and later let the Five-Tails escape while taking Han away, prompting Ōnoki to search for them.
• Kari's humiliation in Iwagakure eventually led him to kill a jonin and others, defect, and infiltrate Amegakure to seek revenge on Obito.
• Makoto Uchiha defeated Kari and recruited him into the Akatsuki, where Nagato accepted him and assigned him to Makoto's team.
• Nagato ordered Obito and Pakura to capture One-Tail in Sunagakure, Makoto and Kari to capture Four-Tails in Iwagakure, and Kakuzu, Sasori, and Kisame to capture Two-Tails and Three-Tails in Kirigakure; Nagato would handle Kumogakure himself.
• Chihane agreed to spar with Chiriku after Chiriku's latest breakthrough, while Might Guy, his father, Uchiha Itachi, and others watched.

Chihane defeated Chiriku in their spar after overpowering his Thousand-Armed Kannon with a sword strike, then finished him with Konoha’s Thousand Years of Death. Chiriku later gained a secret technique of his own based on the humiliating move.

• Chiriku unleashed his Thousand-Armed Kannon techniques, but Chihane avoided and countered his attacks.
• Chiriku’s Great Brahma Sacred Palm pressured Chihane until Chihane dispersed the golden fists and Kannon with a massive Flying Slash.
• Chiriku accepted his defeat after realizing he had not even touched Chihane.
• Chihane vanished and struck Chiriku from behind with Thousand Years of Death, leaving him writhing in pain.
• Chiriku would soon develop Secret Art-Welcoming Approach-Thousand Years of Death, a powerful finishing move inspired by Chihane’s technique.

After Nagato killed Blue B and sealed Gyuki, Chihane and Orochimaru discussed the growing threat posed by the Akatsuki. They concluded that Konoha’s plans for expansion and development could be derailed if the Akatsuki captured the remaining tailed beasts.

• Orochimaru showed Chihane an intelligence report stating that Nagato had invaded Kumogakure, killed Blue B, and sealed Gyuki.
• Orochimaru asked whether Chihane could handle the Akatsuki’s mysterious leader, and Chihane remained confident in his strength.
• Chihane considered Konoha’s limited pool of administrators and its need to consolidate the Land of Fire before expanding further.
• Chihane and Orochimaru’s plans to develop Konoha over several years were threatened by the Akatsuki’s early campaign to capture the tailed beasts.

After Chihane and Orochimaru agreed to eliminate the Akatsuki, Nagato’s attack on Kumogakure made the organization a threat to the entire Shinobi World and prompted the other villages to call a Five Kage Summit. Konoha began assembling its forces, but four similar letters halted the deployment and sparked debate in Orochimaru’s office.

• Chihane told Orochimaru that Nagato did not worry him, but he agreed the Akatsuki threatened Konoha’s plans and should be eliminated.
• News spread that Nagato had killed Blue B, defeated Kumogakure’s forces, and taken the Eight-Tails, alarming the other major villages.
• The village Kages called for a Five Kage Summit, and Kirigakure also sent an invitation.
• Orochimaru ordered Konoha’s fighters to gather for an attack on the Akatsuki, but four nearly identical letters stopped the deployment.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi suggested waiting for the other villages to weaken the Akatsuki, while Uchiha Fugaku dismissed the idea that they could defeat it.

Hiruzen Sarutobi weighed the villages’ chances against the Akatsuki while Uchiha Fugaku urged Konoha to lead a Five Kage Council and eventually dominate the other villages. Jiraiya decided to approach Nagato, his former disciple, but Orochimaru warned that powerful forces stood behind him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi reasoned that the other villages still had formidable fighters and tailed beasts, and suspected Chihane had arranged Obito Uchiha’s defection.
• Uchiha Fugaku proposed that Konoha lead the Five Kage Council, demonstrate its strength, and prepare to annex the other villages.
• Jiraiya learned how his former disciples had shaped the conflict and blamed himself for the destruction of peace.
• Jiraiya told Orochimaru he would speak with Nagato, while Hiruzen Sarutobi felt proud to learn that Nagato was Jiraiya’s disciple.
• Orochimaru tried to dissuade Jiraiya, warning that Nagato had a terrifying figure behind him and that Jiraiya might not return.

Orochimaru arranged to postpone the Akatsuki attack and host a Five Kage Summit in Konoha, while Chihane knocked Jiraiya unconscious after catching him spying at a hot spring. Beyond the Shinobi World, Commander Bal and his alien forces awakened aboard five battleships and prepared to land in search of immortality.

• Orochimaru decided to postpone the Akatsuki attack and hold the Five Kage Summit in Konoha, insisting that the other Kage would attend.
• Orochimaru told Chihane where Jiraiya was likely to go, and Chihane found him peeking into a hot spring.
• Chihane used tiny Slashes to collapse the tiles beneath Jiraiya, then knocked him unconscious as he fled the hot spring.
• Five alien battleships stopped near the Shinobi World, and the warriors aboard them emerged from hibernation.
• Commander Bal learned that the planet could support his forces and prepared to pursue its method of immortality.

Bal’s fleet approached the Shinobi World to seize Orochimaru’s method of immortality, while Chihane spotted the five warships and warned Konoha. The village began evacuating as Orochimaru assembled its forces to face the approaching danger.

• A researcher detected life on the moon, but Bal ordered his fleet to find the planet’s ruler and locate the person who had achieved immortality.
• At sunset, Kurenai asked Chihane to transfer her father, Shinku Yuhi, to the Ninja Academy, and Chihane agreed.
• Kurenai noticed five approaching ships, and Chihane recognized them as steel warships unlike anything from Konoha.
• Chihane sent his personal warning signal and told Kurenai to return to the village and organize the evacuation.
• Konoha’s alarms sounded, villagers and students entered shelters, and ANBU and jonin assembled before the Hokage Building under Orochimaru’s direction.

Five warships arrived above Konoha and demanded that the village surrender its researcher of immortality. Orochimaru stalled their commander, Bal, until the civilians reached shelter, while Chihane launched an attack on the command ship.

• Five enormous warships reached Konoha and announced that they had come to seize whoever was researching immortality.
• Orochimaru summoned Manda, rose into the air, and demanded to speak with the invaders' leader.
• Bal projected his image above the command ship and ordered Orochimaru to identify the immortality researcher.
• Orochimaru pretended to cooperate while waiting for Konoha's civilians to enter the shelters.
• After the civilians had evacuated, Chihane sent a hundred-meter-long black slash toward Bal's command ship.

Chihane shattered the Command Ship’s shield and destroyed the vessel with a three-sword attack, while Konoha’s ninja survived the resulting blast behind the Four Red Yang Formation. The explosion revealed Bal standing unharmed in the sky, setting the stage for their confrontation.

• Chihane’s repeated Flying Slashes broke through the Command Ship’s shield and carved into its hull, astonishing Bal and the ship’s crew.
• Chihane opened the fifth and sixth Eight Gates, strengthened himself with chakra and Haki, and flew toward the warships as Orochimaru summoned a giant snake to ram him upward.
• The Command Ship’s soldiers aimed a Plasma Cannon at Chihane, while Bal watched without intervening.
• Chihane used Three-Sword Style Secret Art—One Great Thousand Worlds to cut apart the Command Ship, causing its Plasma Cannon to explode in midair.
• Jiraiya and the other ninja raised the Four Red Yang Formation, protecting Konoha from the blast and shock wave.
• Chihane sensed Bal’s powerful energy at the explosion site, and Bal appeared in the sky unharmed.

Commander Bal survived the Command Ship’s destruction and tried to recruit Chihane, but Chihane refused and challenged him. As Bal’s warriors faced Konoha’s assembled ninja, both sides prepared for battle while Bal realized the planet held far more strength than he had expected.

• Commander Bal appeared unharmed after the Command Ship exploded, shocking the Konoha ninja and angering his warriors.
• Bal offered to spare the planet if Chihane joined him, but Chihane refused and invited Bal to join Konoha instead.
• Bal ordered his warriors to deploy, and hundreds of them formed ranks opposite Konoha’s jonin.
• Orochimaru and the other Konoha leaders dismissed the Four Red Yang Formation and assembled their forces, summoning allies and readying their abilities.
• Bal sensed Konoha’s strength and considered the planet’s other nations, then prepared to subdue its people by force.

Chihane and Bal’s forces clashed across Konoha as the ninja struggled against the Four-Armed Race’s strength and abilities. Orochimaru and Tsunade faced Bal’s psychic strategist, and Jiraiya arrived to join them, bringing Konoha’s legendary Sannin together again.

• Bal vanished and reappeared before Chihane, but Chihane met his hammer strike with Three-Sword Style: Ultimate Tiger Hunt, and their attacks locked evenly.
• Konoha’s ninja and the Four-Armed Race warriors joined the battle, and the warriors rallied from their initial surprise to counterattack.
• Might Duy trapped a towering warrior and struck him with Morning Peacock, leaving the enemy badly injured.
• Orochimaru’s snakes and Kusanagi Sword were immobilized by the elegant psychic warrior, who pinned Orochimaru with a stone spear.
• Tsunade attacked the psychic warrior and forced him to retreat, while Orochimaru emerged unharmed from his own mouth and Jiraiya arrived to block the warrior’s escape.