Chapter Summaries

Danzo prepared to become the Fifth Hokage while Huayue attended the Third Hokage’s memorial and challenged Konohamaru to face the consequences of the Third’s past choices. After Huayue left the cemetery, Sasuke asked him for the power and eyes Itachi possessed.

• Danzo declared that Root would emerge from the shadows and said he would become the Fifth Hokage once the daimyo approved, while ordering his followers to watch Uchiha Huayue.
• Huayue dismissed Utatane Koharu’s questions about his deal with Danzo and urged her and the other elder to attend the Third Hokage’s memorial.
• At the memorial, Konohamaru demanded to know why Huayue had not saved the Third, and Huayue said the Third had to take back his own mistakes and revealed that he had killed his teacher, Orochimaru.
• Danzo told Konohamaru that ninja had to complete their missions despite sacrifices, and Huayue challenged Danzo’s conduct toward a child.
• Outside Heroes' Cemetery, Sasuke asked Huayue to give him Itachi’s eyes, Susanoo, and power.

Huayue warned Sasuke about the cost of awakening his Sharingan, but Sasuke remained determined to gain power and kill Uchiha Itachi. As Akatsuki continued sealing Tailed Beasts and sent Sasori of the Red Sands and Uchiha Itachi after Killer B, Kakashi confronted Sasuke, who refused to give up his revenge.

• Huayue put Sasuke to sleep after warning him that pursuing power through overwhelming grief could change him, and Naruto helped Sasuke return home.
• Kakashi questioned Huayue about recommending Danzo for Hokage, and Huayue remarked that the position was dangerous before an emergency message announced Ōnoki had called a Five Kage Summit.
• Black Zetsu and Nagato sealed the Six-Tails, discussed Akatsuki's losses and remaining targets, and ordered Sasori of the Red Sands and Uchiha Itachi to capture Killer B.
• Sasori of the Red Sands told Uchiha Itachi that Akatsuki was beginning its true mission and led him toward Kumogakure to capture the Eight-Tails.
• Sasuke woke and prepared to leave without eating, but Kakashi confronted him; Sasuke insisted on seeking revenge, and Kakashi challenged him to fight.

Sasuke fought Kakashi to prove his resolve to pursue revenge, unleashing Kirin before Kakashi stopped the attack with Kamui. Exhausted and unable to accept killing a friend to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke sought Uchiha Huayue’s help and agreed to go with him.

• Kakashi tried to dissuade Sasuke from revenge, but Sasuke attacked him with powerful Lightning Release techniques.
• Sasuke used shuriken clones and a shadow clone to outmaneuver Kakashi, then summoned Kirin with a fire technique.
• Kakashi swallowed Kirin with Kamui, and Sasuke warned him not to interfere before escaping with a Shadow Clone.
• Sasuke returned to Uchiha Huayue’s residence and said he could not bring himself to kill a friend to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Uchiha Huayue warned Sasuke about absorbing too much Negative Reishi and invited him to come along.

Huayue placed Sasuke in an apparatus designed to provoke the grief and hatred that could awaken his Mangekyō Sharingan, while Danzo departed for the Five Kage Summit and Jiraiya left Konoha to gather intelligence. At Cloud Thunder Gorge, Hiruko confronted Killer B and summoned the Third Kazekage and Fourth Kazekage to attack him.

• Huayue explained that Sasuke could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan by combining grief with hatred, then put him inside an apparatus that created realms shaped by negative emotions.
• A hooded figure told Huayue that Danzo had set out for the Land of Iron with two Anbu elites, and nodded when Huayue asked whether the planned outcome satisfied him.
• Danzo ordered Fū and Torune to guard him at the Five Kage Summit and sent Ryuma to eliminate Orochimaru's people before leaving Konoha in Hokage robes and a hat.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura discussed Danzo's limits as Hokage, while Jiraiya left the village to investigate Akatsuki and the Tailed Beasts.
• At Cloud Thunder Gorge, Killer B encountered Hiruko and another cloaked figure, and Hiruko summoned the Third Kazekage and Fourth Kazekage from scrolls.

Sasori attacked Killer B with Human Puppets of the Third and Fourth Kazekage, but his allies trapped B in Tsukuyomi after Gyuki’s counterattack. Huayue visited the young Fū in Takigakure, while Second Pillar awakened with new Chakra and declared that he would find Uchiha Itachi.

• Sasori revealed the Third Kazekage and Rasa as his Human Puppets and attacked Killer B with Iron Sand and Gold Dust.
• Killer B called on Gyuki, who unleashed a tornado that scattered the puppets’ sand and damaged Cloud Thunder Gorge.
• The puppets’ weapons pierced Gyuki’s tentacles, and the Rinnegan and Tsukuyomi trapped Killer B in an illusion.
• Huayue met the young Fū in Takigakure, gave her a lollipop, and used Chakra Sign-In to obtain the Seven-Tails Chōmei.
• Second Pillar woke in a laboratory, sensed unfamiliar Chakra, and vowed to find Uchiha Itachi.

Sasuke left Konoha to pursue revenge against Uchiha Itachi, with Naruto helping him slip past the gate and giving him food for the journey. Meanwhile, Yakushi Kabuto captured Aburame Ryoma outside Root Headquarters and prepared to expose Danzo’s crimes.

• Sakura tried to stop Sasuke from leaving Konoha and asked to go with him, but Sasuke used his Mangekyō to knock her unconscious and laid her on a bench.
• Sasuke incapacitated the guards Izumo and Kotetsu, while Naruto assured him he would cover for his departure and gave him a bundle of food.
• Sasuke left Konoha, and Naruto watched Sakura reunite with her parents before Brother Huayue arrived and reassured Naruto that Sasuke would be all right.
• Aburame Ryoma discovered that the target was missing from a room outside Root Headquarters, but Yakushi Kabuto seized him with Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu.
• Yakushi Kabuto injected Aburame Ryoma and said that, when he woke, Danzo’s crimes would be exposed and Ryoma’s faith would be shattered.

At the Five Kage Summit, Danzo pushed for an alliance against Akatsuki after the leaders discussed its attacks and the Rinnegan’s ability to absorb ninjutsu. Just as Danzo was about to use Kotoamatsukami to influence the Fourth Raikage, news arrived that Lord B had been attacked, and Sasori and Uchiha Itachi confronted someone near the Land of Lightning.

• Mifune opened the Five Kage Summit, where Baki and Mei Terumi explained that they were temporarily representing their villages.
• Danzo and the other leaders discussed Akatsuki’s attacks, and Ōnoki revealed that Akatsuki had captured Han and absorbed his Dust Release with the Rinnegan.
• Danzo proposed an alliance of the Five Great Nations to hunt Akatsuki, but the Fourth Raikage challenged his authority and confronted him over Konoha’s past actions.
• Danzo prepared to use Kotoamatsukami on the Fourth Raikage, but a Kumogakure ninja reported that Lord B had been attacked and had left the Land of Lightning.
• Sasori of the Red Sands and Uchiha Itachi confronted someone beside a Kusanagi Sword near the border of the Land of Lightning and Konoha.

Sasuke confronted Itachi, revealing the Mangekyō Sharingan and new techniques gained with Uchiha Huayue’s help. After Sasuke rejected the idea of giving Itachi his eyes, the brothers prepared to continue their battle.

• Sasuke challenged Itachi and broke free of his genjutsu with his Mangekyō Sharingan and Blut Vene.
• Sasuke attacked with shuriken, lightning, taijutsu, and Lightning Release Chakra Armor, while Itachi defended himself and recognized Uchiha Huayue’s influence.
• Sasuke unleashed Great Fire Annihilation, but Itachi countered with Amaterasu, which Sasuke redirected using Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi.
• Sasuke acknowledged that Itachi had targeted his eyes and vowed to take Itachi’s body to their parents’ graves; Itachi prepared to use a ninjutsu he had developed.

Sasuke defeated Itachi after their Susanoo battle, then learned from Zetsu that Itachi had been a Konoha spy. At the Five Kage Summit, Danzo secured the nomination to command the Allied Shinobi Forces and ordered Naruto’s movements restricted.

• Sasuke used Kirin against Itachi, who survived inside his Susanoo.
• Sasuke summoned his own Susanoo and overwhelmed Itachi until Itachi collapsed and died.
• Zetsu revealed Itachi’s role as a Konoha spy and showed Sasuke recorded scenes from the Night of the Massacre.
• At the Five Kage Summit, Mifune nominated Danzo as supreme commander of the Allied Shinobi Forces, and the other Kage accepted the decision.
• Danzo ordered his men to restrict Naruto’s movements so Akatsuki could not capture him.

Nagato began sealing Killer B as Danzo returned from the Five Kage Summit and tried to claim control over Naruto. Huayue stopped Danzo’s Root forces, then went to meet Sasuke at the Valley of the End, where Sasuke demanded to know who had assisted Itachi in the Uchiha massacre.

• Nagato told Sasori that Itachi had died after fighting his younger brother, then began sealing Killer B with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Danzo announced that he would lead the Allied Shinobi Forces and ordered Root to restrict Naruto’s movements.
• Huayue immobilized Danzo’s Root ninja with Curse Marks and warned Danzo to leave Naruto’s affairs to him.
• Naruto worried about Sasuke, and Huayue left Konoha to find him at the Valley of the End.
• Sasuke asked Huayue who had secretly assisted Itachi in the massacre, and Huayue answered, “Hokage Advisor Danzo.”

Huayue confronted Sasuke over Itachi’s massacre of the Uchiha and challenged Sasuke’s faith in his brother’s choices. After explaining the clan’s doomed position and the twisted logic of the ninja world, Huayue invited Sasuke to join him in destroying that world to achieve peace.

• Sasuke attacked Huayue with Susanoo and Amaterasu, but Huayue’s Illusionary Moon Technique made him immune to the attacks.
• Huayue revealed that Blut Vene helped Sasuke sustain Susanoo and argued that the Uchiha could not have defeated Konoha’s other clans in a coup.
• Sasuke insisted that Itachi was perfect and blamed the Third Hokage and Danzo for forcing him to commit the massacre.
• Huayue explained that Itachi had protected the Uchiha clan’s reputation rather than its individual members, and that he had been trapped between his loyalties to Konoha and the Uchiha.
• Huayue described the ninja world’s cycle of missions and conflict, then invited Sasuke to join him in destroying it for the sake of peace.

Huayue showed Sasuke Danzo’s role in the Uchiha massacre and offered him the chance to take revenge as Danzo prepared to become Fifth Hokage. As Konoha readied for the succession ceremony and learned of the coming war, its clan leaders were summoned to a mysterious council.

• Huayue showed Sasuke an illusion of Danzo’s Root slaughtering the Uchiha, then urged him to direct his hatred at the Ninja World’s system rather than Konoha alone.
• Huayue returned Sasuke home and told him Danzo would succeed the Fifth Hokage in three days; Sasuke asked Huayue to help transplant Itachi’s eyes so he could kill Danzo.
• Danzo learned that Aburame Ryoma had disappeared and ordered Root to investigate discreetly until after the succession.
• Konoha prepared for Danzo’s succession as clan leaders received news of the Allied Shinobi Forces; Hyuga Hiashi discussed the coming war with Hinata.
• Nara Shikaku awoke at a stone table among Konoha’s major clan heads and family leaders, where an unseen speaker asked them to consider Konoha’s safety.

Huayue showed Konoha's clan heads evidence that Danzo had colluded with Orochimaru and arranged for them to verify it. Days later, Danzo became the Fifth Hokage, only to find himself trapped inside a barrier facing Huayue.

• Huayue and Konan showed the clan heads footage of Hiruzen's dealings with Orochimaru, followed by evidence of Danzo's collusion with Orochimaru.
• Kabuto presented Root documents and Aburame Ryoma as a witness, and Yamanaka Inoichi confirmed the evidence was genuine.
• Huayue proposed trapping Danzo rather than punishing the Anbu he had used, and the clan heads accepted the plan.
• Danzo was appointed the Fifth Hokage at a gathering of Konoha's jonin.
• Konoha's clan members stopped Anbu from reaching Danzo as a Four Red Yang Formation rose around the Hokage Office Building.
• Danzo saw Huayue standing before him and demanded to know what he wanted.

Sasuke attacked Danzo after Uchiha Huayue exposed Danzo’s crimes to Konoha, but Danzo used Izanagi to escape and fled beyond the village. Huayue then confronted the Hokage Advisors over Danzo’s murder of Kagami Uchiha, while Danzo encountered former associates at an Anbu outpost.

• A mist broadcast displayed evidence of Danzo’s collusion with Orochimaru and other crimes, turning Konoha’s civilians against him.
• Sasuke attacked Danzo inside the Four Red Yang Formation and condemned him for using Uchiha eyes and Hashirama Cells.
• Danzo survived Sasuke’s attacks twice with Izanagi, escaped the formation, and fled as Sasuke pursued him.
• Konoha’s clan leaders detained Koharu and Homura while they investigated whether the advisors had colluded with Danzo.
• Huayue told the advisors that Danzo had murdered Kagami Uchiha to steal his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• At an Anbu outpost outside Konoha, Danzo met former associates who blamed him for their past hardship.

Kabuto, Sasuke, and Naruto pursued Danzo, whose Izanagi was disrupted by Kurama Yakumo’s painted intervention. After Danzo’s death and the disbanding of Root were confirmed, Huayue opened the question of who would become the Fifth Hokage.

• Kabuto revealed himself to Danzo and detonated Explosive Tags, then pursued him with Susanoo as Danzo fled using the Baku.
• Kurama Yakumo painted over Danzo’s remaining Sharingan, causing them to close and draining his chakra.
• Sasuke dispelled Danzo’s Kotoamatsukami and struck him, but Danzo used a clone to escape the attack and seize Sasuke for a Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
• Naruto knocked Sasuke and Danzo apart with Frog Kumite, while Danzo’s Shadow Clone was recalled and his corpse fell into the crater.
• Huayue presented evidence of Danzo’s crimes, announced Root’s disbandment, and began discussing candidates for Fifth Hokage.

Jiraiya proposed Tsunade as Konoha’s Fifth Hokage, and Huayue agreed, assigning Jiraiya and Naruto to bring her back. As they left Konoha, Naruto resolved to cooperate with Kurama, while Nagato’s Demonic Statue opened its eighth eye after Killer B’s death.

• Jiraiya suggested that Tsunade become Fifth Hokage, and Huayue agreed to have him invite her back to Konoha.
• The advisors objected to Naruto accompanying Jiraiya, but Huayue gave Naruto a Flying Thunder God kunai and ordered him to join the mission.
• Huayue warned Jiraiya to make the wisest choice at a crucial moment, then vanished from the meeting.
• Naruto and Jiraiya left Konoha to find Tsunade, and Naruto decided he needed to achieve true cooperation with Kurama.
• At Akatsuki’s base, Killer B’s corpse fell as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path opened its eighth eye.

Jiraiya asked Tsunade to return to Konoha as the Fifth Hokage, but she hesitated because her former student Nagato led Akatsuki. Naruto warned that the Fourth Great Ninja War was imminent and argued that Tsunade was too weak to lead Konoha.

• Black Zetsu persuaded Nagato to pursue Infinite Tsukuyomi, but Nagato privately resolved to seek peace through pain for Yahiko and Konan.
• Jiraiya and Naruto encountered Tsunade and Shizune at a casino town near Konoha.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Orochimaru had died during the Konoha Crush Plan, the Third Hokage had fallen, and he wanted her to become the Fifth Hokage.
• Tsunade revealed that Nagato was her former student and said she had to bring him back or deal with him herself.
• Naruto announced that Akatsuki had captured eight Tailed Beasts and warned that the Fourth Great Ninja War was near.
• Naruto rejected Tsunade as a candidate for Hokage and suggested that Jiraiya serve as acting Hokage instead.

Naruto challenged Tsunade and fought her to prove she was unfit to be Hokage, while Jiraiya revealed Naruto’s connections to powerful Uchiha survivors. Naruto discovered Tsunade’s fear of blood, but she still insisted that the Nine-Tailed Fox must stay.

• Tsunade challenged Naruto to a fight after he insulted her, and Naruto revealed his Sage Mode and boasted of his accomplishments.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Naruto was Minato’s son and that his teacher, Gengetsu, and his friend, Second Pillar, possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Naruto confronted Tsunade over criticizing Gengetsu, and the two began fighting outside the tavern.
• Tsunade shattered the ground with Chakra Enhanced Strength, but Naruto matched her blow and restrained her with his teacher’s Blut Arterie technique.
• Tsunade tore her blood vessels to break free, then froze at the sight of blood, revealing her hemophobia.
• Naruto told Tsunade to return to Konoha, but she insisted that the Nine-Tailed Fox had to stay.

Nagato attacked Jiraiya and Naruto’s group, explaining that he planned to use the Tailed Beasts to destroy the Five Great Shinobi Nations and impose peace through suffering. After Nagato mortally wounded Jiraiya, Naruto rescued him and prepared to face Nagato himself.

• Nagato revealed his plan to turn the nine Tailed Beasts into weapons and launch attacks that would collapse the Ninja World's order.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei against Jiraiya and Naruto's group, while Naruto urged Tsunade and Shizune to escape.
• Nagato summoned multiple creatures, including a Hell Hound that split apart after Gamabunta pierced its head, and Naruto called on Mount Myōboku's toads for support.
• Jiraiya attacked Nagato with Sage techniques, but Nagato absorbed his Rasengan and countered the toads' Frog Call with Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence.
• Nagato pierced Jiraiya's heart with a Chakra Rod, but Naruto broke the rod, carried Jiraiya to Tsunade, and told her to heal him while he handled Nagato.

Naruto fought Nagato while Tsunade and Shizune worked to save Jiraiya, and Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. After Kurama warned Naruto that the statue could revive the Ten-Tails, Naruto tried to release Kurama but encountered his father in the inner world.

• Tsunade summoned Katsuyu to help sustain Jiraiya and heal Naruto as he faced Nagato.
• Naruto used Sage Mode attacks against Nagato, who absorbed chakra and attempted to pull out Naruto’s soul.
• Naruto revealed that Nagato had been fighting a Shadow Clone and struck him with a Tailed Beast Ball Rasenshuriken, but Nagato repelled the blast with Shinra Tensei.
• Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Kurama warned Naruto that it contained most of the chakra of the One-Tail through Eight-Tails and could revive the Ten-Tails.
• Naruto removed the sealing talisman to fight alongside Kurama, but his father stopped him and Naruto asked him not to interfere.