Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Kazama set out with Kakuzu to destroy a Black Market base, while a mysterious group prepared to pursue him. At the base, Kazama discovered that its four cleaners were made from tree roots and could quickly break his genjutsu.

• Kakuzu agreed to guide Uchiha Kazama to the Black Market after Kazama promised him its money and valuables.
• Kazama sent Konan back to the Land of Rain to help Nagato while he and Kakuzu left for the Black Market.
• A mysterious white-haired boy named Gold received orders to make arrangements and activate the God Tree, then departed with the green-haired Wood.
• In the Land of Grass, Kakuzu explained the base's administrators and cleaners, and Kazama entered the base with him.
• Kakuzu killed two mission administrators while Kazama fought the four cleaners, whose bodies proved to be tree roots after his sword strike.

Uchiha Kazama used mysterious roots to strengthen the tailed beasts inside him, then joined Kakuzu in raiding the Black Market’s bounty exchanges. After they emptied the locations Kakuzu knew, Kazama sent him to find more while continuing to investigate the roots’ connection to the tailed beasts.

• Kurama told Uchiha Kazama that the roots could restore the tailed beasts’ origins, so Kazama absorbed them and Kurama shared the energy with the others.
• The tailed beasts took on chibi forms and confirmed the roots’ energy was familiar and compatible with them.
• Uchiha Kazama used Soul Tide on four people caught in Tenshō’s illusion, discovered they had no souls, and burned them to ashes.
• Uchiha Kazama inspected cabinets holding the bodies of powerful shinobi killed in the past six months while Kakuzu looted the bounty exchange.
• Two months later, Kakuzu reported that the fourth bounty exchange had been abandoned and that every location he knew was empty.
• Uchiha Kazama asked Kakuzu to contact assassins for more locations, then focused on the tailed beasts and his growing certainty about the roots.

Uchiha Kazama fought Gold, who used metalification and strange armor-based techniques to attack him. Kazama resisted the effects, shattered Gold’s head with a punch, and then cut off his head.

• Gold attacked Uchiha Kazama and shattered his short sword with a blow that began turning Kazama’s body into metal.
• Gold intensified his attacks and claimed he was targeting Kazama because Kazama had gone after the Bounty Exchange and the Exchange Center.
• Kazama snapped Gold’s neck, but Gold stood back up, donned white armor, and continued the fight.
• Gold used Transfer and Jin: Moon of Ten Thousand Inscriptions to turn metalized parts of Kazama’s body into crescent blades.
• Kazama shook off the metal fragments and crushed half of Gold’s head with a punch.
• Kazama appeared behind Gold and severed his head with a slash.

Uchiha Kazama fought Gold and Wood, using a newly obtained short sword and Susanoo to overcome their defenses and repeatedly wound them. Wood retreated after Gold sent him away, leaving Gold to face Kazama alone as Kazama hoped to draw out the person behind their mission.

• Uchiha Kazama prepared to seal Gold’s severed head, but Wood appeared and took it away with a space-based technique.
• The system rewarded Uchiha Kazama with the Wind God Body and Divine Concealment Blade, and he summoned the short sword as Wood warned Gold that Kazama was dangerous.
• Uchiha Kazama slashed Wood with the short sword, prompting Gold to reunite with his body and raise a barrier around them.
• Uchiha Kazama’s Susanoo cut through the barrier, and Wood attacked with chakra-draining plants before Kazama wounded him again and sliced away half his body.
• A white figure carried Wood away, and Gold sent him back before turning to face Uchiha Kazama alone.
• Uchiha Kazama charged Gold with the Blade of the Dark Moon and Purification Art, hoping to make the person behind the mission appear.

Uchiha Kazama defeated Gold, seized a Chakra Fruit for Kurama, and confirmed that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was close to his limit. After the Tailed Beasts absorbed the severed roots and grew stronger, Kazama found the wounded Wood waiting in a cave.

• Gold used chakra-draining roots against Uchiha Kazama, but Kazama endured the fight as Gold's energy dwindled.
• Gold created a Chakra Fruit, but Uchiha Kazama snatched it and let Kurama swallow it.
• Ōtsutsuki Isshiki rescued Gold through a spatial rift, confirming Kazama's suspicion that Isshiki's body was nearing its limit.
• Uchiha Kazama revealed that Gold had been caught in his genjutsu while the Tailed Beasts absorbed the severed roots and grew stronger.
• Uchiha Kazama appeared beside the wounded Wood in a cliffside cave and asked whether Wood had been waiting for him.

Uchiha Kazama tortured Wood inside Tenshō’s Genjutsu Space to extract information, then killed him and learned little about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki’s group. Isshiki later sent Gold and the others on a mission to kill Kazama, confident Kazama’s strength would diminish.

• Uchiha Kazama repeatedly healed and tortured Wood, destroying his Cursed Seal and trying to make him reveal information about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
• Kazama trapped Wood in Tenshō’s Genjutsu Space, where Wood lost his soul and became a withered sapling that Kazama stored away.
• Kakuzu reported that the Bounty Exchanges and Exchange Centers had disappeared, and Kazama told him to keep the money and return to the Akatsuki.
• Ōtsutsuki Isshiki reassured Gold that he was not to blame for Wood’s defeat and gave him a scroll for a mission with the others.
• Isshiki ordered Gold to ensure they could kill Kazama, saying Kazama’s strength would not remain as it was.

Uchiha Kazama returned to Konoha, delegated the backlog of Hokage paperwork, and secured Mei Terumi’s alliance by taking a portion of Six-Tails Saiken’s chakra origin. Utakata stayed in Konoha to join its special jinchūriki squad, while Mei Terumi asked Yugito Nii to help him settle in.

• Uchiha Kazama returned to Konoha and found its leaders had left him more than three hundred documents to process.
• Uchiha Kazama conscripted Uchiha Fugaku, Hyuga Hiashi, Kakashi, and Orochimaru to handle the paperwork before fleeing the office.
• Mei Terumi told Uchiha Kazama she had fulfilled her promise and asked him to guarantee Utakata’s safety as their villages became allies.
• Uchiha Kazama brought Utakata into the tailed-beast space and took a portion of Six-Tails Saiken’s chakra origin, which Kurama helped strengthen with Chakra Fruit energy.
• Mei Terumi asked Yugito Nii to help Utakata get familiar with Konoha.

Mei Terumi asked Uchiha Kazama to use genjutsu to help her see her heart, but the illusion turned into an intimate encounter between them. Later, Kazama arranged senjutsu training for six Uchiha clan members, while Uchiha Fugaku decided to join the trial and continued preparing for the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

• Utakata, Yugito, and Kurenai Yuhi left Mei Terumi alone with Uchiha Kazama, and Mei asked him to cast a genjutsu so she could look into her heart.
• Uchiha Kazama's illusion showed Mei Terumi marrying him, and after he ended the genjutsu, they became intimate in the conference room.
• Uchiha Kazama took Mei Terumi to rest, then spent private time with Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi before leaving to make further arrangements.
• Uchiha Kazama told Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Ryunen, Rimoku Uchiha, Uchiha Roy, Uchiha Natsume, and Uchiha Nagasawa that their senjutsu trial would take place in three days.
• Uchiha Fugaku activated a barrier in his study and decided to attend the senjutsu trial, while a dark figure said it could not accompany him to the sage lands.
• Uchiha Fugaku left his preparations for the Infinite Tsukuyomi in a scroll and asked the dark figure to look after Sasuke.

Uchiha Kazama led Orochimaru and six Uchiha into the Dragon Cave to pursue Senjutsu, leaving Konoha without several powerful shinobi. Obito Uchiha used their absence to launch a plan against the village, while Shikaku Nara investigated attacks by shinobi who appeared to have returned from missions.

• Three days after bringing Mei Terumi before Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi, Uchiha Kazama handed over his duties and set out with Orochimaru and six Uchiha for the Dragon Cave.
• Black Zetsu reported that Konoha's strongest fighters had entered the Dragon Cave, and Obito Uchiha prepared to attack the village with Han and Fū.
• Obito Uchiha sent powerful White Zetsu disguised as Konoha shinobi toward the village, then entered Konoha with Han and Fū and returned to his old home in the Uchiha Clan Compound.
• After reports of shinobi attacking one another and then disappearing from prison, Shikaku Nara ordered Inoichi Yamanaka, the Military Police Force, the Inuzuka Clan, and the Aburame Clan to search for them.
• The next day, three shinobi accused of killing fellow villagers were brought to the Hokage's Office, but they insisted they had only just returned from their missions.

Tsunade investigated the false accusations against three returning Shinobi and discovered that many village registration records were duplicated, indicating that organized impostors had entered Konoha. She ordered a secret village-wide investigation while Hyuga Hiashi returned to the compound and checked on Hinata and Neji.

• Tsunade questioned Hyuga Hiashi, who reported that searches of the village and its surroundings had found no clues, while Shibi Aburame revealed duplicated registration records.
• Shikaku Nara confirmed that the missions recorded for the returning Shinobi did not match their assignments, and Tsunade ordered the listed Shinobi brought to the Conference Room.
• Tsunade gave the assembled Shinobi secret individual assignments, and Inoichi Yamanaka found that forty-nine of them resisted his Mind Body Switch Technique and appeared to have no souls.
• Tsunade ordered Inoichi, Shibi, and Hana to test Konoha's residents and secretly mark returning Shinobi, while Hyuga Hiashi continued his security duties and investigation.
• Hyuga Hiashi returned to the compound and learned from Neji that Hinata was progressing quickly and would need more food and resources for her physical training.

Hinata and Neji discovered that their Byakugan could identify shinobi using a strange transformation technique, helping Hyuga Hiashi expose infiltrators in Konoha. After Tsunade ordered their arrest, explosions erupted near the Uchiha Clan Compound, where Kakashi sensed a tailed beast.

• Hinata told Hyuga Hiashi that she and Neji had seen shinobi with strange chakra and two faces, and Neji explained that their Byakugan could distinguish them from Shadow Clones.
• Hyuga Hiashi tested the children's ability with Shadow Clones, then took them and the Hyuga Clan's elite jōnin on patrol to identify the suspicious shinobi.
• Hyuga Hiashi presented Tsunade with a list of suspects, and Tsunade ordered the village shinobi to arrest them or kill any who resisted.
• The operation captured or killed the listed shinobi and revealed White Monsters, prompting Tsunade and Jiraiya to suspect a hidden enemy was behind the attacks.
• Explosions came from the direction of the Uchiha Clan Compound, and Kakashi sensed a tailed beast and rushed toward it using Isobu's chakra.

Four-Tails Son Goku and Seven-Tails Chōmei rampaged in Konoha under someone’s control, and the village’s shinobi fought to subdue them. Obito Uchiha revealed himself as the culprit and confronted Kakashi, leaving Kakashi on the defensive.

• Kakashi identified the rampaging beasts as Son Goku and Chōmei, while Konoha’s shinobi evacuated villagers and prepared to fight.
• Kakashi, Utakata, and Yugito transformed into their Tailed Beasts and attacked the rampaging pair as Jiraiya kept Naruto and Gaara out of the battle.
• Hyuga Hiashi spotted a masked man atop the Uchiha Clan Compound, and the shinobi surrounded him.
• Obito Uchiha revealed his Sharingan and Rinnegan, mocked Tsunade, and declared that he had come to settle old grudges and take them to a new world.
• Kakashi attacked Obito with a kunai, but Obito revealed his identity and accused Kakashi of accepting Isobu.
• Obito charged Kakashi with a scythe, and his Kamui, taijutsu, and dōjutsu forced Kakashi onto the defensive.

Obito Uchiha confronted Kakashi over Rin’s death, but Kakashi explained that Rin had asked him to kill her to prevent the Tailed Beast inside her from destroying the village. Uchiha Kazama appeared with Rin, leaving Obito shaken as Black Zetsu urged him to continue their plan.

• Obito Uchiha taunted Kakashi and accused him of killing Rin for a mission.
• Kakashi explained that Rin had chosen to die rather than become a rampaging Tailed Beast that would destroy the village.
• Uchiha Kazama arrived and challenged Obito to face the consequences of the harm he had caused.
• Uchiha Kazama summoned Rin, and she recognized Obito and asked whether he had become Hokage.
• Black Zetsu urged Obito to follow their plan while Obito struggled to respond to Rin.

Obito confessed his sins to Rin Nohara and died after hearing what had happened to her. Uchiha Kazama then negotiated with Black Zetsu for information and his essence, leaving to deal with the nearby tailed beasts.

• Obito Uchiha tore Black Zetsu from his body, admitted his wrongdoing to Rin Nohara, and stabbed himself through the heart.
• Rin Nohara told Obito what had happened, and Obito died after asking Kakashi to live well.
• Uchiha Kazama released Rin Nohara from Impure World Reincarnation, and Kakashi took Obito's body away to bury him.
• Uchiha Kazama questioned Black Zetsu about his mother, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and the Black Market.
• Black Zetsu agreed to Uchiha Kazama's demands, explained how the Demonic Statue could be destroyed, and handed over his essence.
• Uchiha Kazama said his target was the Ōtsutsuki Clan and walked toward the two nearby tailed beasts.

Uchiha Kazama collected Son and Chōmei’s origins, awakening a Chakra God Tree Seed that transformed the space within his body. Meanwhile, Gold began breaking the seal on a powerful enemy who vowed to kill Kazama, while Kazama attended to village affairs with Tsunade.

• Uchiha Kazama used Tenshō to free Son and Chōmei from Obito Uchiha’s genjutsu, and the tailed beasts appeared before him.
• Son and Chōmei gave Uchiha Kazama their origins and returned to Han and Fū’s bodies, while the nine tailed beasts’ chakra formed a Chakra God Tree Seed and an inner world.
• Uchiha Kazama told Shadow Assistant to arrange rest for Son and Chōmei and contact Iwagakure and the Hidden Dragon Village about returning them.
• Gold began breaking the seal on a shadowy enemy, who agreed to be freed and vowed to kill Uchiha Kazama.
• Uchiha Kazama handled village affairs with Tsunade in the Hokage’s Office, while Mei Terumi rested with Kurenai Yuhi.

Uchiha Kazama encouraged Kakashi to grow stronger, then sent Kakashi to lead the newly formed Team 7 on a C-rank mission. Afterward, Kazama visited the Hyuga compound, where Neji and Hinata were training, and tested their reactions.

• Kazama left his paperwork with Shikaku Nara, visited Obito and Rin's graves, and told Kakashi to keep training while teaching Sasuke and Naruto.
• After several days of Kazama's instruction, Team 7 formed early with Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara, and prepared to leave on a C-rank mission.
• Kazama warned Naruto not to look forward to combat and left the three youngsters in Kakashi's care.
• Kazama went to the Hyuga compound and watched Neji and Hinata spar, recording their Gentle Fist movements with his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Neji noticed Kazama and attacked with the Body Flicker Technique, but Kazama brushed his palm aside and leaped toward Hinata.

Uchiha Kazama recognized that Hinata and Neji’s Byakugan had evolved toward the Jōgan and arranged support to help them keep up with their increased chakra and stamina demands. He then began visiting the talented members of the Konoha 12, leaving off as Tenten eagerly tried to sell him ninja tools.

• Uchiha Kazama examined Hinata and Neji’s unusual vision and suspected their eyes had evolved into the Jōgan.
• Neji explained that their training consumed more chakra and stamina, their appetites had grown, and they could see fluctuations in space.
• Uchiha Kazama gave Hyuga Hiashi authorization to arrange medicinal baths and a special Chakra Refinement Technique for the two youngsters.
• Neji and Hinata said they wanted to grow stronger, and Hyuga Hiashi took them to find Tsunade and Shikaku.
• Uchiha Kazama visited several Konoha clans and decided to seek out Tenten, Rock Lee, and Sakura Haruno as well.
• Tenten greeted Uchiha Kazama at her family’s Ninja Tool Shop and excitedly offered to sell him its wares.

Uchiha Kazama acquired a mysterious black longsword that absorbed his divine art chakra, then gave Tenten advice on training. He warned Might Guy to take care not to overtrain Rock Lee as Guy prepared to buy Root Pillars for him.

• Tenten showed Uchiha Kazama a black weapon her father, Tiankong, had kept for six years because it could not be reforged or infused with chakra.
• The sword absorbed Kazama's divine art chakra, sank into his palm, and left a strange mark there.
• Kazama agreed to pay Tenten eighty million ryo for the sword and advised her to focus on building chakra and learning spatial techniques alongside basic physical training.
• Kazama met Might Guy with Rock Lee and learned that Guy had taken Lee on as his student.
• Kazama warned Guy not to overtrain Lee, and Guy asked Tiankong to provide twenty-five Root Pillars instead of fifty.

Uchiha Kazama trained with a newly acquired sword and learned it could create invisible clones with cutting and target-locking abilities. After receiving a letter that Moryo’s seal had broken in the Land of Demons, he volunteered to investigate and take Naruto and the others with him.

• Uchiha Kazama told Ino to focus on training and assigned Sakura to study Medical Ninjutsu and superhuman strength under Tsunade.
• Uchiha Kazama tested his long sword and found that its strange aura produced two invisible clones that could cut and lock onto targets.
• An ANBU member summoned Uchiha Kazama to the Hokage's Office, where Tsunade showed him a letter from the Land of Demons reporting that Moryo's seal had broken.
• Tsunade worried that the mission would cause heavy casualties because the current priestess was only a little girl, and asked whom they should send.
• Uchiha Kazama volunteered to go, saying Naruto and the others could accompany him to broaden their horizons.

Uchiha Kazama assembled a team for the mission in the Land of Demons, then agreed to let Yugito return to Kumogakure after securing her cooperation. As Kazama headed out, Gold reported his departure to Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who was poised to act.

• Tsunade objected to Kazama taking Sasuke, Naruto, Gaara, and Kakashi on a dangerous mission, but Kazama persuaded her and handed Kakashi the S-rank mission.
• Kakashi agreed to leave that night with the three genin while Kazama planned to meet them in the Land of Demons.
• Yugito told Kazama she wanted to return to Kumogakure, and he agreed after drawing her into his embrace.
• Yugito told Tsunade the next day that Kazama had approved her return, and Tsunade gave her a travel pass.
• Kazama left Konoha for the Land of Demons, and Gold informed Ōtsutsuki Isshiki that the Hokage had departed.