Chapter Summaries

Senju Hashirama and Kitahara encountered and killed four eavesdropping ninja before Kitahara tracked a Root squad heading toward the Land of Earth. Zetsu attacked an Iwagakure outpost, and the Root squad mistook his intervention for part of their mission as Senju Tobirama quietly handled events for Konoha.

• Senju Hashirama grilled fish for Kitahara and recalled how the Senju and Uchiha clans gathered supplies during the Warring States Era.
• Four ninja eavesdropped on them, and Kitahara killed them with a Tailed Beast Bomb after Senju Hashirama sensed their presence.
• Kitahara detected a masked squad heading east and suspected they were Root ninja sent by Shimura Danzō, then tracked them toward the Land of Earth.
• Zetsu attacked an Iwagakure border outpost with the Flying Thunder God Technique and left the ninja severely injured but alive.
• The Root squad found the aftermath, assumed Zetsu had already handled the outpost, and moved on to their next target.

Senju Tobirama learned that Root ninja and Zetsu had attacked Iwagakure outposts while other forces struck Konoha's northern border, raising suspicions of an attempt to provoke war. After Uchiha Itachi revealed that Shimura Danzō had also tried to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tobirama decided to confront Danzō.

• Kitahara reported to Senju Tobirama that Zetsu and Root ninja had attacked Iwagakure outposts along the Land of Earth's border.
• Uchiha Itachi brought news that several Konoha outposts on the Land of Fire's northern border had also been attacked.
• Senju Tobirama concluded that someone was trying to provoke a war between Konoha and Iwagakure and asked whether Hatake Kakashi could be trusted.
• Uchiha Itachi told Senju Tobirama that Shimura Danzō had sent Yamato and Zetsu to assassinate Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Uchiha Itachi described Zetsu's exceptional strength and abilities, and Senju Tobirama said he would find time to talk with Shimura Danzō.

Senju Tobirama learned that Sarutobi Hiruzen had ordered Konoha’s reconnaissance squad to withdraw from Amegakure, ruining his plans to secure it as a base. He accepted the order but decided to find another way to strengthen Akatsuki, turning his attention to Deidara.

• Uchiha Itachi told Senju Tobirama that Kakashi had delivered Sarutobi Hiruzen’s order for the squad to withdraw from Amegakure and avoid provoking Iwagakure.
• Senju Tobirama angrily criticized Sarutobi Hiruzen for giving up the chance to occupy Amegakure, while Uchiha Itachi offered to ask Kakashi whether the order could be changed.
• Senju Hashirama said Kitahara was stronger than he was, leaving Senju Tobirama speechless.
• Senju Tobirama told Uchiha Itachi to obey the Hokage’s order, then said he would use his old trick of borrowing a chicken to lay eggs and recruit Deidara.

Kakashi's team found that the Akatsuki had abandoned its Amegakure base, while Nagato's group prepared to capture more jinchuriki from a new hideout in the Land of Bears. After Zetsu's attack alerted Iwagakure, Nagato planned to press on and considered recruiting another Konoha rogue ninja, Hiruko.

• Itachi told Kakashi that the Akatsuki had left Amegakure and that he had found no trace of Obito.
• Konan told Nagato that Zetsu had attacked an Iwagakure outpost, prompting the village to strengthen its defenses.
• Nagato repaired the new Naraka Path and insisted that the Akatsuki continue its plans to capture the Four-Tails and Five-Tails jinchuriki.
• Nagato asked Konan to speed up Sasori's mission to capture the Two-Tails jinchuriki.
• Konan told Nagato that Uchiha 'Madara' had recommended Hiruko for recruitment, and Nagato said to recruit or kill him.

Konan sent Sasori of the Red Sands to capture Kumogakure's Two-Tails jinchuriki, and Sasori planned to hunt down Orochimaru afterward. Meanwhile, Orochimaru consolidated control of Sunagakure and began plotting against the Land of Wind's daimyo.

• Konan ordered Sasori of the Red Sands to bring back Kumogakure's Two-Tails jinchuriki within ten days, and Sasori accepted the mission.
• Sasori asked Konan for permission to pursue Orochimaru after the mission and revealed that Orochimaru had used Impure World Reincarnation on Sasori's puppet-master parents.
• Konan warned Sasori that Orochimaru commanded a powerful reincarnation army, while Sasori guessed Orochimaru was hiding in the Land of Rivers or the Land of Wind.
• Orochimaru sat in the Kazekage's office after eliminating Sunagakure's destabilizing forces and planned to turn the Land of Wind's people against their daimyo.

Uchiha Madara left Sunagakure after questioning Black Zetsu’s actions and growing suspicious of the will he had created. Orochimaru learned that Hiruko was pursuing Uchiha Itachi’s Sharingan and feared his old friend was heading toward danger.

• Orochimaru told Uchiha Madara that Black Zetsu had attacked an Iwa outpost and was rumored to possess the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Uchiha Madara questioned whether Black Zetsu could betray him, then left Sunagakure.
• Yakushi Kabuto reported that Granny Chiyo and Ebizo had been dealt with and gave Orochimaru scrolls describing the One's Own Life Reincarnation Technique.
• Yakushi Kabuto told Orochimaru that Uchiha Itachi’s group had withdrawn from Amegakure and that Hiruko was active near the Land of Rain and the Land of Fire.
• Orochimaru realized that Hiruko was likely targeting Uchiha Itachi’s Sharingan and Kekkei Genkai.

Konan forced Hiruko to join Akatsuki after nearly defeating him with Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and warned him about the reincarnated Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama. Hiruko accepted the recruitment to gather intelligence and finish his Chimera Technique, then froze when Konan revealed that Uchiha Itachi was Jiraiya's disciple.

• Konan overwhelmed Hiruko with Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags and demanded that he join Akatsuki.
• Hiruko agreed to join on the condition that he could obtain Uchiha Itachi's Sharingan, and Konan warned him that Itachi was far more powerful than she was.
• Konan gave Hiruko an Akatsuki ring and uniform and directed him to the organization's base in the Land of Bears.
• Konan warned Hiruko that Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama had been reincarnated through Impure World Reincarnation, and Hiruko agreed to keep a low profile while gathering intelligence.
• Konan reassured Hiruko that Uchiha Itachi was not especially powerful, then revealed that Itachi was Jiraiya's disciple, leaving Hiruko stunned.

Tsunade treated Jiraiya after he returned to Konoha and argued with him about his search for the Child of Prophecy. She warned him that Orochimaru had abandoned the Akatsuki and that the apparent clues were bait, leaving Jiraiya unable to pursue him.

• Tsunade dispersed the women chasing Jiraiya, then punched him for his shameful behavior.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade that the Great Toad Sage had said the Child of Prophecy was still alive, and defended his destiny.
• Tsunade dismissed Nagato as a better candidate than Uchiha Itachi and considered the dangers facing Konoha and its next Hokage.
• Tsunade told Jiraiya that Orochimaru had manipulated Amegakure's children, Uchiha Obito, and Zetsu while building the Akatsuki and an Impure World Reincarnation army.
• Tsunade warned that Orochimaru had abandoned the Akatsuki after Itachi and Kitahara pursued him, and that the evidence left behind was bait.

Uchiha Itachi returned to Konoha and learned that turmoil over Root and the Uchiha clan had escalated while he was away. The chapter left him bewildered by the village’s rapid changes and unsure how long he had been gone.

• Tsunade confronted Uchiha Itachi on his return, then took him and his group to a tavern to discuss urgent matters.
• The tavern owner revealed that Sasuke had secretly drunk alcohol and ended up in the hospital, but Tsunade assured Itachi that his injuries were superficial and he had been discharged.
• Itachi defended his belief that Sasuke would surpass him, while Tsunade and Kitahara doubted Sasuke’s prospects.
• Tsunade told Itachi that Shimura Danzō’s Root squads had been exposed, and that Fugaku Uchiha had proposed abolishing Root but the Third Hokage had refused.
• Tsunade said Uchiha ninja had accused Shimura Danzō of blocking their help during the Nine-Tails’ attack and conspiring to get the Fourth Hokage and his wife killed, leaving Itachi stunned by how much had happened in his absence.

Uchiha Itachi spoke with Tsunade about Jiraiya’s plans to investigate Nagato, Orochimaru, and the Child of Prophecy, then agreed to try to keep his teacher from leaving Konoha. The chapter ended when Itachi caught Naruto trying to buy wine with his younger brother hiding behind him.

• Tsunade told Uchiha Itachi that Jiraiya had just learned about the conflict and wanted to confront the Fourth Hokage, but she had stopped him by beating him up.
• Tsunade and Uchiha Itachi discussed Nagato’s Rinnegan, the corpse puppets, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya’s search for the Child of Prophecy.
• Tsunade said Jiraiya planned to leave Konoha to investigate Nagato and Orochimaru, and Uchiha Itachi agreed to try to persuade him to stay.
• Tsunade left Uchiha Itachi to pay the tavern bill, then Naruto entered and announced he was there to buy wine.
• Uchiha Itachi recognized Naruto and saw his younger brother hiding behind him, leaving him shocked that the boys had come to buy alcohol.

Sasuke confronted Itachi about the pressure and ridicule he faced as his younger brother, then revealed he had awakened a one-tomoe Sharingan. Naruto’s account showed that Sasuke had awakened it after losing to Karin, and the chapter ended with his drunken outburst leading Fugaku to beat him badly enough to send him to the hospital.

• Itachi learned Naruto had started drinking because he copied Jiraiya and that taverns sold alcohol to Naruto because they feared the Demon Fox.
• Naruto told Itachi that Karin had broken a tree at the Ninja Academy while Sasuke had injured his hand trying to do the same, and Kitahara cut down a tree with his claws.
• Sasuke broke down and told Itachi that his family and clan constantly compared him to his brother and called him a disgrace.
• Itachi apologized and promised to stand by Sasuke, but Sasuke said the pressure of being Itachi’s younger brother had made his life miserable.
• Sasuke revealed his one-tomoe Sharingan and said Fugaku had dismissed him when he tried to share the news.
• Naruto explained that Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan after Karin mocked him, but Karin still beat him; Sasuke later drank secretly, caused a drunken scene, and Fugaku beat him badly enough to hospitalize him.

Uchiha Itachi comforted Sasuke by describing his lonely childhood, while Naruto Uzumaki helped Sasuke feel less alone by sharing his own experiences. Sasuke opened up about his newly awakened Sharingan and Fugaku’s promise to train him.

• Uchiha Itachi told Sasuke about his difficult childhood and how meeting Kitahara, Shisui, Izumi, and Hana helped him.
• Naruto Uzumaki described how Ayame had told him about Itachi’s lonely childhood, and Sasuke was surprised that his brother had once been unpopular.
• Naruto Uzumaki told Sasuke about his loneliness and recurring dreams of a kind blond man and the Nine-Tails Demon Fox.
• Sasuke reassured Naruto that the villagers’ insults did not matter and said Fugaku had promised to teach him to use his awakened Sharingan.
• Uchiha Itachi realized that Naruto Uzumaki had comforted Sasuke more effectively than he had.

After Naruto left to care for Jiraiya, Itachi praised Naruto to Sasuke before returning home with him. Fugaku agreed to let Might Guy train Sasuke in taijutsu, despite his doubts, and Guy promised to make him an outstanding taijutsu ninja.

• Naruto left to visit the hospitalized Jiraiya, and Itachi told Sasuke that Naruto would become an outstanding ninja and might even become Hokage.
• Itachi and Sasuke returned to the Uchiha compound, where Mikoto told them Fugaku had gone to the Hyuga residence to speak with Hiashi.
• Fugaku failed to persuade Hiashi to join his effort to pressure Hiruzen and encountered Might Guy on his way home.
• Guy asked Fugaku to let him tutor Sasuke in taijutsu and insisted that training would not be too exhausting.
• Fugaku reluctantly agreed, and Guy promised to train Sasuke into an outstanding taijutsu ninja.

Might Guy began training Sasuke, while Konoha’s leaders debated rumors about the Nine-Tails incident and fought over who was responsible. Uchiha Itachi proposed revealing the Fourth Hokage’s orphan’s identity to calm the village.

• Might Guy took Sasuke as his first disciple and planned to train him, despite Sasuke objecting to his outfit and methods.
• At a meeting in the Hokage Building, Fugaku Uchiha accused Shimura Danzō of spreading rumors that blamed the Uchiha clan for the Nine-Tails incident.
• Fugaku proposed abolishing Root and imprisoning Danzō, while Danzō countered by calling for the Uchiha clan to be stripped of their positions and investigated.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped Fugaku and Danzō from turning the meeting into a public exchange of accusations.
• Uchiha Itachi proposed revealing the identity of the Fourth Hokage’s orphan to help suppress the rumors.

Sarutobi Hiruzen approved announcing Naruto’s parentage to distract the village from rumors, while the meeting also exposed the consequences of Danzo’s covert operation in Iwagakure. After Hiruzen ordered Danzo to stay behind, Fugaku praised Kakashi’s father and wondered what Itachi had learned during his outing.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to reveal Naruto’s parentage and warned the attendees against spreading rumors or classified information.
• Fugaku Uchiha backed an investigation into rumor-spreaders, and Hiruzen assigned Kakashi to reinter Hatake Sakumo at the Memorial Stone.
• Uchiha Itachi reported that Zetsu had operated in Iwagakure, and Kakashi shared intelligence that Iwagakure had surrounded a Konoha squad led by the suspected Zetsu.
• Hiruzen recognized that Danzo’s operation could provoke Iwagakure and expose Konoha’s coercive alliance with Kusagakure, then ordered everyone but Danzo to leave.
• Kakashi thanked Fugaku, who honored Sakumo and said the Will of Fire should be passed on to the next generation.

Fifth Hokage Uchiha Itachi defeated the Akatsuki members and revealed his Rinnegan while confronting Pain. Sasuke killed the Itachi of this world, and the chapter ended with Fifth Hokage Itachi demanding Nagato’s Rinnegan and addressing Black Zetsu as the will of their ancestor.

• Fifth Hokage Uchiha Itachi trapped the Akatsuki in an illusion, and his allies killed or incapacitated nearly all of them.
• Sasuke stabbed his Itachi with the Kusanagi Sword and celebrated taking revenge before collapsing beside his brother’s corpse.
• Fifth Hokage Itachi revealed his Rinnegan, resisted Pain’s gravitational pull, and broke the black rod in Pain’s hand.
• Fifth Hokage Itachi used a space-time technique to bring the weakened Nagato before the group.
• Fifth Hokage Itachi asked Nagato to surrender his Rinnegan and identified Black Zetsu as the will of their ancestor.

Rogue ninja Uchiha Itachi revealed that the Tsukuyomi world had taught him new techniques and helped him awaken Sage Mode, setting up a battle with the Fifth Hokage. The Fifth Hokage also entered Sage Mode and claimed his experience gave him an essential advantage, leaving Itachi uneasy.

• The Fifth Hokage deduced that Itachi had used Izanagi and Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan to survive and launch his attack.
• Itachi explained that he had trained and learned new techniques inside the Tsukuyomi world, including how to enter Sage Mode.
• Itachi restored his eye with Yin Healing Wound Destruction and activated Sage Mode, shocking Kisame Hoshigaki and the others.
• The Fifth Hokage entered Sage Mode and said that his experience, gained through training with Kitahara, gave him an essential advantage over Itachi.

Fifth Hokage Itachi and Akatsuki Itachi battled with Sage Mode, revealing the overwhelming power of the Six Paths-enhanced senjutsu. As the black flame dragon threatened the battlefield, Hagoromo appeared before Black Zetsu and told Itachi he had come to negotiate.

• Fifth Hokage Itachi unleashed Sage Art: Needle Jizō Senbon, forcing Akatsuki Itachi to defend himself with his wings.
• Akatsuki Itachi countered with Sage Art: Fire Release: Great Flame Eruption, scorching the battlefield and driving Kisame Hoshigaki and his counterpart back.
• Fifth Hokage Itachi created the massive Yin Fire Heavenly Dragon and said that Akatsuki Itachi could only draw out part of the Sage Mode’s power.
• Kisame Hoshigaki explained that Kitahara had enhanced Itachi’s senjutsu with Six Paths senjutsu, while Black Zetsu feared the technique could kill him.
• Hagoromo appeared beside Black Zetsu, recognized the Chakra connected to his mother, and told Uchiha Itachi he had come to negotiate.

The Fifth Hokage Uchiha Itachi trapped Akatsuki's Uchiha Itachi and asked Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo about a hidden enemy called Zetsu. After learning that the enemy had remained concealed for a thousand years, Hagoromo began considering who could investigate it in his world.

• Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo appeared as the Infernal Flame Heavenly Dragon trapped Akatsuki's Uchiha Itachi, and the Fifth Hokage landed beside him.
• Black Zetsu protested that his mother was the strongest, so Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo sealed him with Yin-Yang Release Chakra.
• The Fifth Hokage asked Hagoromo for information about a Zetsu who used the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Uchiha Itachi described the enemy's vast Chakra, space-time ninjutsu, and taijutsu.
• Hagoromo said the enemy had hidden for over a thousand years, and Uchiha Itachi connected the case to Advisor Shimura Danzō's interrogations.
• Uchiha Itachi explained that his Great Sage Crow and Kitahara investigated Zetsu in his world, but Kitahara did not exist in Hagoromo's world.
• Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo decided to assign someone to investigate and looked toward the rogue Uchiha Itachi still trapped in the dragon.

The Fifth Hokage and Kisame prepared to leave after their worlds reached a truce, while the Sage of Six Paths assigned Orochimaru to help investigate the shinobi world’s enemies. Before departing, the Fifth Hokage gave the local Itachi and Sasuke advice and crucial intelligence, then the brothers glimpsed their parents through the closing space-time gate.

• The Sage of Six Paths requisitioned Nagato, Konan, and the remaining Akatsuki to investigate another Zetsu, granting the local Itachi Six Paths power and assigning Orochimaru to the operation.
• The Fifth Hokage gave the local Itachi Shisui’s other Sharingan and encouraged Sasuke to trust his brother and return to Naruto in Konoha.
• The Fifth Hokage explained that the masked Uchiha Madara was actually Uchiha Obito and that Kakashi’s matching Kamui eye could help counter him.
• The Fifth Hokage and Kisame entered a space-time gate, but the Fifth Hokage briefly returned to warn the local shinobi not to rely too much on Mangekyō Sharingan power.
• The brothers heard Fugaku and their mother speaking beyond the gate; Sasuke lunged toward them, but it closed before he could reach them.