Chapter Summaries

Sasuke defeated Raiga Kurosuki with his regenerating Bio-Armor and a lightning-powered aerial attack, then declared that his strength came from the Will of Fire. Tahm mocked Orochimaru for failing to understand Konoha's fighting spirit, while Orochimaru remained stunned by Sasuke's power and devotion to the village.

• Raiga Kurosuki attacked Sasuke with his Lightning Blades, but Sasuke's Bio-Armor resisted the strike and quickly regenerated.
• Sasuke transformed his armor into blades, a dragon tail, and earth spikes, wounding Raiga and forcing him to avoid close combat.
• Raiga Kurosuki summoned thunderclouds and struck Sasuke with lightning, scorching his armor.
• Sasuke grew dragon wings, flew into the clouds to gather lightning, and slammed into Raiga with a massive sphere of lightning plasma.
• The examiner declared Sasuke the winner, and Sasuke proclaimed his Will of Fire as the spectators applauded.
• Orochimaru questioned Tahm about Sasuke's power, and Tahm said that invoking the Will of Fire when losing was basic Konoha shinobi quality.

Tahm escorted Orochimaru away after Orochi Princess threatened Jiraiya, then revealed her identity and left Jiraiya with a lasting psychological shadow. Later, Konoha’s young genin earned fame at the Kirigakure Chunin Exams, and Itachi volunteered to hunt Orochimaru after Deidara mocked Sasuke.

• Orochi Princess threatened Jiraiya with death for touching her face, and Tahm dragged her out of the arena.
• Tahm returned to Hinata and revealed that the girl Jiraiya wanted to write about was Orochimaru.
• Konoha’s young genin advanced to chūnin after their strong performances at the Kirigakure Exams, where Hinata, Sasuke, and Kimimaro defeated powerful opponents.
• At an Akatsuki meeting, Pain welcomed Deidara and asked who would take over the hunt for Orochimaru.
• Deidara mocked Itachi by claiming Orochimaru had bitten Sasuke on the ass, and Itachi volunteered to hunt Orochimaru.

Orochimaru investigated why Senjutsu harmed humans who tried to alter its energy balance, while Tahm agreed to help Sakura learn Shikkotsu Forest’s Senjutsu. After the Slug Sage began training Tahm, the natural energy transformed him into a giant slug, and she revealed that ordinary creatures corrupted by it became part of her.

• Orochimaru reviewed experiments in which subjects who altered the natural energy ratio died, and he speculated that nature resisted human ascension.
• Orochimaru’s group received word that Uchiha Itachi and Jūzō Biwa had found them again, so he ordered them to retreat with their research materials.
• Tsunade asked Tahm to help Sakura cultivate Shikkotsu Forest’s Senjutsu, and the Slug Sage granted Tahm permission to learn it as well.
• The Slug Sage perched on Tahm’s head and began guiding natural energy into him, which aggressively corroded his body.
• Tahm transformed into a giant slug while retaining his consciousness, and the Slug Sage explained that ordinary creatures completely corrupted by her Senjutsu became part of her.

Four years later, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji were nearly overwhelmed by rogue ninjas during a C-rank escort mission until Hinata, Karin, Sasuke, and Tahm arrived as Konoha’s feared Rogue Ninja Pursuit Unit. Hinata condemned the criminals, and Tahm prepared to finish them while keeping Tenten from seeing the execution.

• Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji fled dozens of rogue ninjas after their teacher Might Guy was lured away, and they reached a cliff with nowhere left to run.
• Tenten used Tahm’s custom Ninja Tool, powered by Scorpion’s flesh core, to fire a laser cannon, a flamethrower, and a Gatling gun at their pursuers.
• A rogue ninja caught Tenten from behind while the others pressed Rock Lee and Neji, but Gravity Binding suddenly froze the attackers.
• Tenten recognized Hinata, Karin, Sasuke, and Tahm as the Rogue Ninja Pursuit Unit, and the team crushed the rogues together into a floating mass.
• Hinata declared that the rogue ninjas deserved to die for their atrocities, and Tahm stepped in front of Tenten before invoking Sage Art: Great Tongue Battle Axe.

Tahm and his companions defeated a group of rogue ninjas, then searched for the missing Might Guy. They found Guy alive but trapped in an explosive-tag-covered pit, while the client he had pursued was still missing.

• Tahm crushed several dozen rogue ninjas with his giant tongue, and Neji was shaken by Hinata's calmness while Rock Lee admired the younger ninjas' strength.
• Tahm celebrated buying Guardian Angel after years of hunting rogue ninjas, then learned from Tenten that Might Guy had gone missing while pursuing their kidnappers.
• Karin failed to sense Guy, so Tahm used Heightened Senses to locate him within fifty kilometers and found that he was alone with one other person.
• Tahm and the others reached Guy and found him trapped in a pit covered in Explosive Tags beside the client's frightened old servant.
• Guy admitted that he had accidentally stepped into a trap, and Tahm questioned him after having boasted about his strength.

Tahm and Might Guy’s team learned that their client’s young master had been kidnapped after discovering a hidden base connected to Sasori of the Red Sands. Tahm recognized Sasori as the Gun Spirit inside Tenten’s weapon, while Sasori remained trapped in darkness and obedient to Tenten.

• Tahm intimidated the old servant until he revealed that the missing young master had found notes and a hidden-base location in a ruin, then destroyed the document before the information leaked.
• The old servant admitted that only the young master knew the base’s exact location and identified the ruin’s former owner as Sasori of the Red Sands.
• Tahm told Tenten to bring out her large gun, and Sasori heard Tahm’s voice through the gun’s external listening device.
• Tenten warned Sasori against rude language and offered him an extra weekly conversation if he greeted the group.
• Sasori greeted everyone and called Tenten “Master.”

Tahm learned that Sasori had left an Akatsuki safehouse in the Redstone Mountains and went there with his companions. He arrived in time to save a traveler from Kakuzu and Hidan, but Hidan unexpectedly stabbed Kakuzu after mistaking Tahm’s words for an order from Lord Jashin.

• Tenten asked Sasori about a base in the Redstone Mountains, and Sasori revealed it was an Akatsuki safehouse for core members.
• A rogue-ninja group opened the safehouse entrance, where Kakuzu and Hidan killed the intruders and cornered the young traveler who had led them there.
• Tahm emerged from a ripple in the ground, rescued the traveler from Hidan’s scythe, then knocked him unconscious and confronted Kakuzu and Hidan.
• Kakuzu recognized Tahm and looked forward to claiming the bounty on his head, while Tahm challenged Kakuzu to fight.
• Hidan stabbed Kakuzu through the chest, destroying one of his hearts, and explained that he thought Lord Jashin had ordered Kakuzu’s death.

Tahm turned Hidan’s devotion to Jashin against Kakuzu, who surrendered rather than face death. Itachi then used Kotoamatsukami to bring Kakuzu under Tahm’s control, leaving Hidan convinced that his faith alone made him a loyal ally.

• Hidan mistook Tahm for Jashin and attacked Kakuzu, destroying one of his hearts as a sacrifice.
• Tahm ordered Hidan to sacrifice Kakuzu, and Hidan used his curse technique to destroy another heart.
• Kakuzu surrendered and offered to ally with Tahm in exchange for his life, agreeing to be controlled by genjutsu.
• Tahm left Hidan to guard Kakuzu and brought Itachi to the scene.
• Itachi used Kotoamatsukami on Kakuzu, adding him to the chat group, while Tahm decided Hidan needed no such control.

Tahm prepared to destroy the Akatsuki and used propaganda to build Sasuke’s public reputation while seeking Konoha’s support for clearing Itachi’s name. The Third Hokage approved the Uchiha publicity plan, as the group prepared for the coming battle.

• Tahm ordered Kakuzu to keep working with Hidan and await a crow’s signal, then told Itachi to alert the chat group that the battle was near.
• Sakura and Naruto returned to Konoha, where Ino showed them magazines celebrating Sasuke’s deeds and Naruto realized Sasuke had surpassed him in popularity and the Will of Fire.
• Tahm’s newspapers and investments in emerging media helped promote Sasuke as part of his plan to change public opinion about the Uchiha and bring Itachi home.
• Tahm and Jiraiya presented the Third Hokage with a plan to wipe out the Akatsuki and a proposal to publicly clear Itachi’s name and welcome him back as a hero.
• After Tahm challenged his concerns about Konoha’s reputation, the Third Hokage approved the Uchiha publicity plan.

Tahm assembled allies at a secret base in the Land of Rain to launch a super-S-rank mission against Akatsuki. Kakashi arrived to find the Mizukage, powerful shinobi, and Akatsuki infiltrators gathered, while Sasuke reunited with Itachi.

• Tahm learned from Jiraiya that Naruto had become a Perfect Jinchuriki and that Sakura and Naruto could fight at the level of their mentors.
• Kakashi followed a mission scroll to a hidden base near Amegakure and discovered that the Calabash Brothers served Tahm.
• Tahm and his allies told Kakashi that they planned to eliminate Akatsuki, with Yagura explaining that Akatsuki had controlled him and caused the Bloody Mist tragedy.
• Kakashi met Yagura, Kimimaro, Mei Terumi, and Hozuki Mangetsu, then learned that Kakuzu, Hidan, Jūzō Biwa, and Uchiha Itachi had infiltrated Akatsuki.
• Sasuke embraced Itachi, and Kakashi wondered why Tahm had summoned an elite jonin to such a formidable gathering.

Tahm briefed the assembled shinobi on the Akatsuki’s identities, abilities, and a plan to defeat them. He revealed that the masked mastermind was Obito Uchiha, Kakashi’s best friend, and left the meeting with Kakashi confronting the truth behind his teacher’s death.

• Tahm urged Kakashi to activate Kamui, then told him to use a mouth cannon against a future target.
• Tahm presented a slide show revealing that Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan founded the Akatsuki and had been Jiraiya’s students, and explained that Pain was a corpse controlled by Nagato.
• Tahm analyzed the Akatsuki’s members, and Jiraiya, Yagura, Itachi, and Sasuke volunteered to face Konan, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Deidara.
• Tahm explained the masked man’s abilities and listed his role in tragedies including Yahiko’s death, Yagura’s control, the Uchiha clan’s extermination, and the Nine-Tails’ Attack.
• Tahm revealed that the masked mastermind was Obito Uchiha, Kakashi’s best friend and Minato’s student.

Tahm and his allies descended on Amegakure from above the rain clouds, while Nagato announced that Akatsuki would begin capturing tailed beasts early. Yagura and Isobu plunged toward the Akatsuki base, where Pain and the remaining members saw the Three-Tails falling from the sky.

• Hinata flew Tahm and the others above Nagato’s Rain Tiger at Will Technique, where they learned that Akatsuki’s members were in position, including Obito.
• Pain announced that Akatsuki would begin its tailed beast capture plan three years early because its spies were ready and the Jinchuriki were growing stronger.
• Itachi hinted that he would deliver a tailed beast to Akatsuki, then left the meeting as Jūzō, Kakuzu, and Hidan followed with a clumsy staged quarrel.
• Pain sensed that the rain clouds above Amegakure had been torn apart and looked toward the sky.
• Yagura released Isobu, and Hinata used the Tenseigan’s gravity to hold the Three-Tails aloft before letting him plunge toward the Akatsuki base.
• Pain blasted open the base’s ceiling with Shinra Tensei as the Akatsuki members watched Isobu fall and heard Tahm announce the tailed beast’s arrival.

Pain and the Akatsuki faced Tahm’s forces after Pain stopped the falling Three-Tails, and Tahm exposed Nagato’s identity and Obito’s deception. Obito revealed his grief over Rin and rejected Tahm’s suggestion to revive her, leaving the confrontation poised to turn into a battle.

• Pain used Super Shinra Tensei to stop the Three-Tails from crashing into the ground, saving Kisame and Deidara.
• Tahm, Jiraiya, Kakashi, the Hidden Mist Kage, and their allies arrived, while Itachi, Jūzō Biwa, Kakuzu, and Hidan revealed they had switched sides.
• Tahm exposed Nagato as Pain and identified the masked “Madara Uchiha” as Uchiha Obito, whose identity Kakashi confirmed.
• Obito removed his mask and said he wanted to create a world where Rin existed, prompting sympathy from the gathered ninja.
• Tahm challenged Obito to use Rinne Rebirth to revive Rin, but Obito insisted he had to build an ideal world, and Tahm ordered his allies to attack.

Yagura and the anti-terrorist forces launched an attack on Akatsuki, dividing its members among several battles. Sasuke transformed into a giant black dragon and, with Itachi’s help, defeated Deidara, while the other fights remained underway.

• Yagura and Isobu opened the battle with a massive water attack, allowing the anti-terrorist elites to split up the Akatsuki fighters.
• Jiraiya engaged Konan, Kakashi faced Obito, and Kakuzu, Hidan, Mei Terumi, Kimimaro, Jūzō Biwa, and Hozuki Mangetsu surrounded Black-White Zetsu.
• Yagura confronted Kisame, and Isobu’s call made Samehada leave Kisame’s control and return to its former partner.
• Itachi used Amaterasu to destroy Deidara’s clay spiders, then Sasuke activated his Cursed Seal and transformed into the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
• Itachi covered Sasuke’s dragon form with Susanoo armor, and the brothers defeated Deidara with a combined Amaterasu: Dragon Breath that burned the battlefield.

Tahm overwhelmed Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain, swallowing the Human Path and Naraka Path before handing the remaining fight to Hinata, Naruto, Sakura, and Karin. Nagato was left facing the four young ninjas as Tahm encouraged him to keep fighting.

• Nagato dismissed surrender and summoned the Six Paths of Pain, while Tahm chose two bodies to remove before letting the children spar.
• Tahm used Alpha Strike to pass through Deva Path’s Shinra Tensei and swallowed the Human Path, which vanished into an alternate space.
• Tahm struck the Naraka Path and slowed it with an icy domain before swallowing it as well, leaving Nagato with four Pain bodies and no means of resurrection.
• Tahm sat back and called Hinata forward, and Naruto, Sakura, and Karin followed her toward the remaining Pain bodies.
• Tahm encouraged Nagato to fight his best as the four young ninjas prepared to take the stage.

Naruto, Sakura, Karin, and Hinata faced the remaining Pain paths, each using powerful Sage techniques. Naruto and Sakura combined their chakra to create an enormous Spirit Bomb-like Rasengan and brought it down on two Pain clones, leaving Nagato with no hope of escape.

• Naruto, Karin, Sakura, and Hinata entered their respective Sage modes and chose opponents among the remaining Pain paths.
• Karin used Sage Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains to destroy the Animal Path’s giant bird, then tracked down the hidden Animal Path with her Mind’s Eye of the Kagura.
• Karin unleashed Sage Art: Nebula Storm, shredding the Giant Rhino and Hellhound as she charged toward the Animal Path.
• Sakura activated the Hundred Healings Technique and shared chakra with Naruto, who added Kurama’s power to their combined attack.
• Naruto and Sakura created an enormous Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan that scattered Amegakure’s clouds and descended toward the Asura and Preta paths.
• Nagato realized the two Pain clones could not escape or absorb the immense sphere and resigned himself to waiting for death.

Hinata confronted Nagato’s Deva Path Pain and used her control over gravity to turn his Rinnegan techniques against him. She sealed Pain inside Chibaku Tensei, then destroyed the rocky prison with Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, leaving Nagato’s Six Paths account shut down.

• Nagato recognized Hinata’s Tenseigan and called her eyes divine, but Hinata said her power was a gift from Tahm and challenged Nagato’s belief that he was a god.
• Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to pull Hinata toward him, but Hinata reversed the gravity and dragged Nagato’s Deva Path Pain toward her.
• Nagato unleashed Shinra Tensei, but Hinata reversed its force and crushed Deva Path Pain with his own repulsion field.
• Nagato cast Chibaku Tensei, but Hinata redirected its gravity so the technique trapped Deva Path Pain inside a hemisphere of rocks.
• Hinata used Tenseigan: Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion to split apart and destroy the rocky prison, shutting down Nagato’s Six Paths account.

Tahm confronted Nagato and revealed that Black Zetsu had manipulated his life and given him the Rinnegan. He confiscated Nagato’s eyes, drove Zetsu away, restored Nagato’s body with ordinary eyes, and brought him back to the battlefield.

• Tahm found Nagato in his life-support machine and told him that Black Zetsu had manipulated his fate and that the Rinnegan were not his own.
• Tobi emerged from the ground and possessed Nagato, but Tahm dispelled the parasite and removed both Rinnegan.
• Tahm revealed Black Zetsu’s plan to resurrect Kaguya, mocked him, and forced him and White Zetsu to retreat underground.
• Tahm healed Nagato, whose Rinnegan regrew as ordinary eyes, then bound him and carried him back to Jiraiya and the others.
• Tahm told Konan that Nagato’s eyes had been confiscated and urged her to stop resisting and submit to management.

Jiraiya brought Nagato and Konan back from the brink of conflict, while Tahm removed Obito’s Cursed Seal and revealed the truth about Rin’s death. Obito returned to Zetsu’s hideout and attacked him, determined to avenge Rin.

• Jiraiya offered Nagato and Konan a way back to Konoha, declaring that Pain was dead and that they were his lost disciples.
• Tahm removed Obito’s Cursed Seal and told him he was free to leave, then revealed that Rin had deliberately taken Kakashi’s Chidori to escape Madara Uchiha’s control.
• Obito realized he could not return to his former life and vanished into the Kamui dimension.
• At the secret base, Obito accused Zetsu of deceiving him about Rin and tried to absorb him with Kamui.
• Zetsu escaped into the earth, and Obito charged after him, vowing to avenge Rin.

Tahm helped the Third Hokage publicly restore Uchiha Itachi’s status as a Konoha shinobi and promote the official account of his undercover service. As Itachi returned to the village with Sasuke, he reunited with Ino and the others.

• Tahm told the Third Hokage that the Rinnegan had been destroyed, and Jiraiya confirmed his account.
• The Third Hokage welcomed Itachi back and personally gave him a new Konoha forehead protector while Tahm filmed the ceremony for publicity.
• Three days later, the Third Hokage’s televised speech declared Itachi a Konoha hero and restored his shinobi status.
• Newspapers and magazines presented Itachi as an undercover hero and blamed Shimura Danzō for the Uchiha massacre, prompting Shikamaru to suspect a coordinated publicity campaign.
• Itachi arrived at a dessert shop with Sasuke, where Ino excitedly greeted him and Sasuke blushed after taking her hand away from Itachi’s arm.