Chapter Summaries

Huayue defeated Kumogakure’s resistance and forced the Fourth Raikage to accept Konoha’s ceasefire terms. The Great Ninja War ended at year’s end with the Fourth Raikage signing the agreement.

• Kumogakure’s ninja wavered after Huayue’s meteor attack, but the Fourth Raikage urged them to keep fighting.
• Mabui stopped the Fourth Raikage from attacking Huayue and reminded him that Huayue could escape with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Killer B used his Octopus Hold sealing jutsu, but Huayue revealed that he had only been caught in an illusion and struck the Eight-Tails with lightning.
• Huayue’s Genbu restrained the Eight-Tails with the Nine Phantom Dragons Sealing Jutsu, and Huayue presented the ceasefire agreement to the Fourth Raikage.
• The Fourth Raikage signed Konoha’s ceasefire agreement after Huayue guaranteed his personal safety, ending the Great Ninja War.

Uchiha Huayue abducted Mabui from Kumogakure and confronted Hizashi Hyuga with a choice that could determine the fate of the Hyuga Clan. After seeing footage of Huayue’s Susanoo devastating the mountains near Kumogakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen warned Danzo to restrain himself, and Danzo recalled Root’s agents.

• Huayue used his Mangekyō Sharingan to take Mabui, the mastermind behind the attack on his subordinate, while the Fourth Raikage ordered Cee and Darui to retrieve her.
• Huayue met Hizashi Hyuga on a mountain peak, said Mabui would serve as his secretary, and pressed Hizashi to decide whether to accept his proposal.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen watched footage of Huayue’s Susanoo destroying roughly a thousand peaks near Kumogakure and ordered that Danzo be warned not to provoke the Uchiha.
• Danzo ordered Root to recall its agents watching Yūhi Shin Kurenai’s home after seeing the footage.
• At the border of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire, Huayue asked Hizashi whether he would agree to his proposal.

Uchiha Huayue defied Konoha’s demand to surrender Mabui and took her into his custody, while Hizashi led Hyuga Branch House members to Huayue in search of freedom from the Caged Bird Seal. Huayue welcomed them as Caged Bird Breakers, leaving their liberation poised to begin.

• Hizashi asked Huayue about the Hyuga Main House, and Huayue condemned the Caged Bird Seal and offered to free the branch house in exchange for a price to be discussed later.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen and the Hyuga clan welcomed Huayue and Hizashi back to Konoha, but Huayue refused to hand Mabui over to Morino Ibiki and promised to provide Kumogakure intelligence himself.
• Huayue took Mabui to his home, released her from Genjutsu, and used his power to make her his personal secretary.
• At dusk, Hizashi led Hyuga Branch House ninjas to Huayue in a red maple forest, where Huayue welcomed them as Caged Bird Breakers.

Hizashi Hyuga led the Branch House in confronting the Main House after a genius removed their Caged Bird Seals, and the dispute nearly became a battle. Sarutobi Hiruzen intervened, but Hizashi remained unwilling to reconcile as someone warned him that his stance would cause trouble for the Third Hokage.

• Hinata awakened and listened as Hizashi Hyuga confronted the Hyuga Elder over the Main House’s harsh rules.
• Hizashi told Hiashi that the Branch House would no longer retreat and demanded an end to the Main House’s control.
• Hiashi activated the Caged Bird Seal, but the Branch House members revealed that their Curse Marks had been removed.
• Hizashi demanded that the Hyuga Clan abolish the distinction between Main House and Branch House, bringing both sides to the verge of fighting.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived with more than a hundred Anbu and questioned Hizashi about the conflict.
• Hizashi declared that only the Branch House’s destruction could stop them, and someone cautioned that he would cause trouble for Lord Third Hokage.

Uchiha Huayue proposed settling the Hyuga Branch House near the Uchiha Clan and resolving the Main House–Branch House conflict through annual contests. Fugaku learned that Hizashi Hyuga had placed himself under Huayue and was left stunned by the news.

• Huayue denied causing the Hyuga Branch House uprising and proposed that the Main House and Branch House settle their disputes through annual best-of-three contests.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen accepted the proposal and agreed to place the Hyuga Branch House beside the Uchiha Clan.
• Hizashi Hyuga left with the Branch House, while Hyuga Hiashi ordered the Main House to train its promising disciples harder.
• Uchiha Tekka told Fugaku that the Hyuga Branch House would become the Uchiha Clan's neighbor and that Hizashi Hyuga had placed himself under Uchiha Huayue.
• Fugaku froze in confusion at the news.

The Hyuga Branch House settled with the Uchiha Clan, while Huayue warned Fugaku to keep his clan in check and praised Itachi after seeing his awakened Sharingan. In Konoha, Hiruzen urged Yugao, Anko, and Kurenai to get close to Huayue, as Danzō trained Yamato in secret and plotted against the Uchiha.

• Hizashi moved the Hyuga Branch House into the Uchiha Clan, and Fugaku welcomed them as allies.
• Huayue warned Fugaku that some Uchiha looked down on the Hyuga Branch House and should be kept in check.
• Itachi returned with his two-tomoe Sharingan, and Huayue praised his talent before leaving; Itachi privately resented Fugaku's happiness.
• Hiruzen questioned Yugao about her closeness to Huayue and encouraged her, Anko, and Kurenai to pursue him and have children.
• Danzō watched Yamato train in Wood Release and vowed that Yamato would one day defeat the Uchiha.

Samui learned that Kumogakure had been forced into a ceasefire and that Mabui was held in Konoha, while negotiations with Sarutobi Hiruzen failed to secure her release. At Huayue's hideout, Mabui learned Cee and Darui had arrived, and Huayue warned that their intentions would determine whether he attacked.

• Samui returned to Kumogakure, heard Yugito explain how Gengetsu had forced the village to sign a ceasefire, and vowed to rescue Mabui.
• Yugito reminded Samui that even the Fourth Raikage and powerful jinchuriki had failed to defeat Gengetsu.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen told Cee and Darui that Konoha would not interfere in the Uchiha Clan's internal affairs and threatened Kumogakure with the consequences of war.
• Cee and Darui concluded that negotiation was unlikely to free Mabui and began considering a rescue by force.
• Huayue told Mabui that Cee and Darui had arrived, then said he would respond according to what they tried to do to him.

After the Hyuga Branch House gained freedom from the Caged Bird Seal, Hyuga Natsu left the Main House and went to Uchiha Huayue’s estate to serve as his maid. She met Yugao and then encountered Huayue, whose smile left her blushing.

• Mabui failed to use the Heavenly Transfer Technique against the man holding her and was told her treatment depended on her performance.
• Hyuga Hiashi trained three-year-old Hinata harshly, while he and the Hyuga Elder worried she might lose to Neji and considered the clan’s decline.
• A young maid treated Hinata’s injuries and told her that the Branch House members, including Hyuga Natsu, would soon leave the Main House.
• Hyuga Natsu recalled Hizashi Hyuga’s request that she help protect the Branch House’s freedom and went to Uchiha Huayue’s estate.
• Yugao welcomed Natsu and led her through the grounds, where Huayue appeared and made her blush.

Huaning brought the Two-Tails Matatabi from the Limited Tsukuyomi world into his inner world and urged her to help end the ninja age. The conversation ended when Huayue sensed approaching intruders and prepared to face them.

• Huaning signed in with Matatabi’s chakra and brought the Two-Tails into his inner world, where Black Nine-Tails complained about the growing crowd of Tailed Beasts.
• Matatabi arrived and recognized Gyuki, Isobu, and Kurama before Huayue explained that their world was an illusion based on the real one.
• Matatabi sensed the real Matatabi’s chakra and struggled to accept that her world was artificial and that the two versions would eventually have to fight.
• Huayue asked Matatabi to lend him her strength so he could create a peaceful world and end the age of ninja, and she agreed.
• Huayue sensed approaching guests and said they would continue their conversation after dealing with them.

Yugito and Samui planned to exploit Orochimaru’s appearance to draw Uchiha Huayue away from Konoha so they could rescue Mabui. In Konoha, Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Orochimaru had joined Akatsuki and ordered Shisui to pass the intelligence to Huayue.

• Yugito and Samui learned that Konoha would not release Mabui and that she was being held near Uchiha territory.
• Samui proposed using Orochimaru’s reported presence near the Land of Grass to draw Huayue out of the Land of Fire before infiltrating Konoha.
• Yugito and Samui sent their plan to Kumogakure and prepared to wait for Huayue to leave.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen worried that Naruto’s isolation would make him resent the village and asked Shisui about recent Uchiha activity.
• Shisui told Hiruzen that rumors linked Orochimaru to Akatsuki and claimed its leader possessed the Rinnegan.
• Hiruzen ordered Shisui to give the intelligence about Orochimaru and Akatsuki to Uchiha Huayue.

Danzo ordered Orochimaru to force Nagato into a confrontation with Huayue, while Konan warned Huayue not to harm Nagato. Huayue left Konoha to investigate a rumor involving Orochimaru, after assigning Anko another way to help and asking Yugao to watch the Uchiha and Hyuga Branch House.

• Danzo sent a Root member to deliver a letter ordering Orochimaru to arrange a fight between Nagato and Huayue.
• Konan secretly left Root Headquarters and warned Huayue not to make a move against Nagato.
• Huayue discussed Danzo's crimes and Sarutobi Hiruzen's indulgence with Konan, then dismissed the evidence as insufficient to eliminate Danzo's power.
• Konan asked Huayue to spare Nagato, and Huayue questioned whether Orochimaru would truly follow Danzo's order.
• At Konoha's main gate, Huayue told Yugao to watch the Uchiha and Hyuga Branch House while he investigated a rumor.
• Anko asked to accompany Huayue, but he refused and whispered another way she could help before departing.

Huayue reached the Land of Grass and rescued a red-haired Uzumaki woman and her four-year-old daughter from Kusagakure shinobi who meant to exploit the woman's healing ability. He claimed them as his own and threatened Kusagakure's leader, who prepared the village for an invasion.

• Kurenai made a safety amulet while Yugao and Anko teased her about Huayue.
• Huayue arrived at the Northern Fortress of the Land of Grass and sensed a red-haired woman and her child.
• The woman begged Kusagakure shinobi to let her and her daughter enter the Land of Grass, and they planned to exploit her healing ability as a living medical resource.
• Huayue appeared, declared that the Uzumaki woman belonged to him, and used Natural Energy to send the Kusagakure shinobi flying.
• Huayue gave Kusagakure's leader twenty-four hours to surrender his position or face the destruction of the Land of Grass.
• After hearing the report, the head of Kusagakure ordered the village to prepare for Huayue's invasion.

Kusagakure sent even its youngest ninja toward the Northern Fortress as the Land of Earth’s invasion continued, while Grass Kage Kusaka Kojiro privately prepared to flee with his stolen fortune. At the fortress, the children encountered a mysterious foreign ninja who offered them food, and the older genin recognized him as the invader they had been warned about.

• Yaoyue and the other child ninja feared the war as Kusagakure mobilized them, and Kusaka Kojiro rallied the village by urging them to drive out the invaders.
• Veteran ninja told Kusaka Kojiro that a black-clad stranger had defeated them without hand seals or movement, and he privately resolved to escape to the Land of Fire with his money.
• The children were sent to the Northern Fortress, where Yaoyue wondered about life at a Ninja Academy while the group worried about dying in battle.
• A long-haired stranger invited the hungry children to share grilled fish and sweet potatoes beside his fire.
• The oldest child recognized the stranger as a foreign ninja, and Kusagakure ninja emerged from the darkness and accused him of being the nation-thieving bandit.

Uchiha Huayue used Limited Kotoamatsukami to seize control of Kusagakure and took the title of Grass Kage. He barred young ninjas from the battlefield and assigned them to grow crops, while Konan questioned his methods.

• Kusagakure ninjas attacked Yaoyue, Zangren, and the other children, but Huayue protected them with Susanoo.
• Huayue used Limited Kotoamatsukami across the Land of Grass, causing Kusagakure’s ninjas, including Kusaka Kojiro, to submit to him.
• Huayue entered Kusagakure’s administration building, where the ninjas accused Kusaka Kojiro of corruption and urged Huayue to take command.
• Huayue donned the Grass Kage hat and announced that ninjas under fourteen could no longer go to the battlefield.
• Huayue assigned the young ninjas to grow crops, and Konan questioned why he had controlled the village for that purpose.

Kitsuchi and Deidara investigated Kusagakure’s unusual behavior and encountered Huayue, who identified himself as Akatsuki’s Pain. Pain drove them back to Iwagakure with Shinra Tensei, leaving Deidara awed by the devastation and determined to surpass him with his own art.

• Kitsuchi explained why Iwagakure could not simply destroy Kusagakure as he and Deidara flew toward the village to investigate.
• Deidara spotted people farming near Kusagakure, and Kitsuchi suspected the village’s ninja had abandoned resistance.
• Huayue intercepted Kitsuchi and Deidara in the air, declared himself Akatsuki’s Pain, and withstood Kitsuchi’s Mountain Graveyard and Deidara’s C2: Clay Dragon.
• Pain used Shinra Tensei to repel the clay bombs and devastate the outskirts of Iwagakure.
• Deidara admired the crater’s destruction but insisted that explosion was true art and vowed to defeat Pain someday.

Uchiha Huayue and Konan left Kusagakure as intruders approached Konoha, while Samui and Yugito infiltrated the Uchiha compound to find Mabui. They discovered a hidden basement and found Mabui unconscious, but Samui feared the rescue had gone too smoothly.

• Uchiha Huayue told Konan that his masked companion had willingly devoted himself to peace, then left with her as intruders advanced.
• Samui and Yugito infiltrated Konoha to locate Mabui and planned to use Yugito’s Tailed Beast Cloak to help Mabui escape with the Heavenly Transfer Technique.
• Hatake Kakashi’s Anbu detected the two intruders, but the senior Anbu chose to report them and let the Uchiha Clan handle the matter.
• Samui used an illusion to learn where Uchiha Huayue lived, and she and Yugito found his lavish estate empty.
• Yugito discovered a hidden staircase in the calligraphy room, and she and Samui found Mabui unconscious in the basement, where Samui suspected a trap.

Hyuga Natsu captured Samui and Yugito after disabling them with chakra-suppressing anesthetic, while Huayue concealed the capture from Konoha’s leaders. Huayue continued studying Limited Kotoamatsukami, wary of drawing the attention of the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya.

• Hyuga Natsu shackled Samui and Yugito, carried them to a side room, and injected them with vials before returning to her chores.
• Huayue told Sarutobi Hiruzen that his search had found no trace of Akatsuki, while privately anticipating the Fourth Raikage’s response to Yugito’s capture.
• An Anbu reported that two Kumogakure kunoichi had infiltrated Konoha and that one was the Two-Tails’ Jinchūriki; Hiruzen realized they were in Huayue’s hands.
• Danzo ordered Root to avoid clashes with the Uchiha and increase surveillance, while Yamato watched him in silence.
• Konan asked Huayue why he would not use Limited Kotoamatsukami on Konoha, and Huayue privately feared alerting the Sage of Six Paths and Kaguya.

Huayue spoke with Konan about the Ninja World's history and warned her that Nagato might fall into darkness, then tortured Samui with Tsukuyomi and used Kotoamatsukami to make her view the Uchiha favorably. He left Samui in Hyuga Natsu's care and turned his attention to the unconscious Yugito.

• Huayue asked Konan what she would do if the Ninja World's history were a joke, and Konan said she would keep living and wait for peace.
• Huayue told Konan to inform him immediately if she learned anything about Nagato, who might fall into darkness believing that she and Yahiko were dead.
• Huayue freed Samui from her restraints, tortured her with Tsukuyomi, and made her agree to persuade Mabui and Yugito to serve peace.
• Huayue used Kotoamatsukami on Samui, causing her to feel affection for him, and told Hyuga Natsu to treat her normally while she recovered.
• Huayue turned his attention to the unconscious Yugito and wondered whether she would help bring about peace.

Uchiha Huayue recovered Yugito after subjecting her to Tsukuyomi, then demanded an enormous ransom from Kumogakure for her return. He also revealed Yamato’s Wood Release to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who confronted Danzo and removed the child from Root.

• Yugito woke from Tsukuyomi after experiencing centuries of torment and collapsed from exhaustion.
• Huayue let Mabui and her companion visit Yugito, then demanded a ransom of one hundred million from Kumogakure for her release.
• Cee and Darui paid the ransom and took Yugito back, while the Third Hokage’s Anbu stopped Root from attacking the envoys.
• Huayue gave Hiruzen information about Yamato’s Wood Release and warned him that it could calm Tailed Beasts but not control them in battle.
• Hiruzen surrounded Root Headquarters and ordered Danzo to hand Yamato over, and Danzo reluctantly released the child from Root.

Huayue trained Naruto in the Inner world while he and Pakura began teaching at Konoha’s Ninja Academy. Sarutobi Hiruzen, hoping to help Naruto feel accepted by the village, invited him to attend the academy, and Naruto agreed in hopes of making friends.

• Huayue arranged for Pakura to join the Ninja Academy staff, where she would teach basic ninjutsu.
• Huayue trained Naruto in the Inner world, where Naruto defeated a wooden opponent but was told to keep improving his fundamentals and control of Kurama’s chakra.
• Naruto thanked Kurama for lending him chakra, while Kurama questioned Huayue’s motives and Naruto left without hearing the rest.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen secretly watched Naruto catch and grill fish, then decided to invite him to the Ninja Academy.
• Hiruzen asked Naruto if he wanted friends, and Naruto agreed to attend school so he could make some.