Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Itachi spent the morning answering Tenten’s questions and took her to see Tsunade, who had returned to Konoha. After Tsunade headed to the Hokage Building, Itachi found Tenten with Kitahara and warned her not to imitate Tsunade’s gambling and drinking.

• Tenten peppered Itachi with questions while Kitahara perched on her head, and the three took shelter from the heat.
• When Tsunade returned to Konoha with Shizune, Tenten eagerly went with Itachi to see her.
• Tsunade asked Itachi for money to gamble, but changed her mind and went to meet the Hokage and Jiraiya after learning Kitahara had lost ten million ryo.
• Nara Shikaku offered to take Tenten home, but she refused and left on her own.
• Itachi found Tenten sitting by a flowerbed with Kitahara, explained that borrowing money and drinking were two ninja taboos, and tapped her forehead before leaving for work.

Uchiha Itachi joined Jiraiya and Tsunade on a mission to renew Konoha's alliance with the Land of Grass, where Iwagakure forces were expected to interfere. The team encountered a large enemy force soon after entering the forest, and Itachi revealed that Kitahara was traveling in his backpack.

• Jiraiya told Itachi to help keep Shizune away while they traveled, while Tsunade took charge of preparations for the mission.
• Tsunade ended a Defense Department meeting abruptly and left with Shizune to drink.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shizune, and Itachi set out for the Land of Grass, and an ANBU ninja announced that Kakashi would bring Itachi a Defense Department uniform.
• Tsunade warned Jiraiya that the alliance documents had to be protected, as Iwagakure ninja had infiltrated the Land of Grass and might be operating near Konoha.
• As the group entered the forest, ANBU fought nearby enemies, and Itachi summoned Kitahara from his backpack; Kitahara fired a Tailed Beast Ball and revealed a large Iwagakure force using Earth Release.

Kitahara’s Tailed Beast Bombs cleared the way for Jiraiya and Tsunade’s team, while Kakashi discovered that Root ninja had been caught in the blasts. Akatsuki reconsidered its mission after learning Kitahara could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Nagato’s final decision left the destruction of the Land of Grass and Kusagakure to Ōnoki.

• Kitahara repeatedly fired Tailed Beast Bombs at hostile chakra, killing thirteen Iwagakure ninja as Jiraiya and Tsunade’s team traveled toward the Land of Grass.
• Kakashi’s ANBU found Root ninja among the corpses and Kakashi kept the discovery from distracting them from protecting Jiraiya’s team.
• Black Zetsu reported the team’s strength to Sasori, Orochimaru, Hiruko, and Konan, and Orochimaru advised abandoning the mission because Kitahara could devastate the battlefield.
• Black Zetsu revealed that Kitahara could use the Flying Thunder God Technique, forcing Konan to abandon her plan to draw the crow away and attack the team.
• Black Zetsu proposed destroying the Land of Grass and Kusagakure to provoke conflict between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, while Konan warned that Amegakure would become a battlefield.
• Nagato and Akatsuki decided to blame their missed opportunity on bad timing and leave the choice of destroying the Land of Grass and Kusagakure to Ōnoki.

Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki confronted Konoha’s leadership, and Kisame exposed Shimura Danzō’s stolen Sharingan during a sudden attack. Itachi trapped Danzo in Tsukuyomi, but Danzo escaped and activated Reverse Four Symbols Sealing against him.

• Tsunade questioned Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, while Kakashi confirmed Itachi knew about his Kamui Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Tsunade and the others agreed to capture Sasuke and investigate the visitors’ claims, but Shimura Danzō arrived with Root members.
• Kisame Hoshigaki cut off Danzo’s right arm and took his right eye, revealing the many Sharingan embedded in the arm.
• Uchiha Itachi suppressed the room with his power and used Tsukuyomi to force Danzo to relive a distorted version of his past.
• Danzo escaped the illusion and accused Itachi of toying with him, then activated Reverse Four Symbols Sealing and tried to take Itachi with him.

Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune, and Uchiha Itachi traveled through repeated Iwagakure attacks while discussing Kusagakure’s alliance with Konoha and the meaning of peace. They realized another village was helping Iwagakure, as Konoha’s interrogation department confirmed Kusagakure had joined the assault.

• Itachi reported that the group was safe after another attack, and Tsunade decided they would camp for the night.
• Tsunade and Jiraiya discussed Ōnoki’s opposition to Kusagakure’s alliance with Konoha and Danzō’s proposal to dissolve Kusagakure.
• Itachi said peace depended on strength, and Tsunade noticed that the necklace she had given him suited him.
• Tsunade struck the ground and exposed an Iwagakure scout hiding underground, while Itachi confirmed there were no other enemies nearby.
• Jiraiya and Tsunade realized the attacks suggested that another village was working with Iwagakure.
• Konoha’s interrogation department reported that Kusagakure was also attacking Jiraiya’s escort, while Akatsuki members learned their planned scheme had not been accepted.

Kusagakure’s leader tried to conceal the village’s betrayal from Jiraiya’s Konoha squad, but the squad discovered Kusagakure’s hostile actions after encountering a frightened red-haired girl. The girl, Karin, revealed that Kusagakure had killed her mother, and the squad learned the village was exploiting her Uzumaki heritage.

• Kusagakure’s leader waited at the border for missing intelligence and planned to seek Iwagakure’s help against Konoha.
• Jiraiya’s squad arrived, and Tailed Beast Bombs destroyed the Iwagakure ambush team hiding near the border.
• Kusagakure’s leader escorted Jiraiya’s squad into the village and tried to keep them away from its residents.
• Uchiha Itachi noticed a burly Kusagakure ninja mistreating a red-haired girl, and Kitahara urged him to help her.
• The Kusagakure ninja fled when the Konoha squad realized he had expected Konoha’s defenses to be defeated.
• The girl introduced herself as Karin and said Kusagakure had killed her mother and was taking her to the hospital.

Uchiha Itachi and his companions discovered that Karin's mother had died after Kusagakure exploited her healing blood, and they took Karin with them. As they fled, Kitahara attacked Kusagakure with a Tailed Beast Bomb.

• Karin begged Uchiha Itachi to take her to her mother, so he knocked her unconscious and asked a Grass Ninja to lead them to her home.
• The group found Karin's mother dead from numerous bite wounds, and Jiraiya ordered Uchiha Itachi to burn the house.
• Karin woke and questioned the Konoha ninja, while Tsunade decided they would take her with them.
• Kitahara flew high above Kusagakure and formed a Tailed Beast Bomb as the others fled.
• Kitahara dropped the Tailed Beast Bomb, and its scorching light engulfed the scene.

In September of Konoha Year 54, Naruto, Karin, and Sasuke began at the Ninja Academy amid a crowd fascinated by the village’s famous shinobi. Itachi tried to encourage Sasuke to study, but Sasuke lost heart when he learned Iruka would be his homeroom teacher, leaving Itachi unsure how to reassure him.

• Konoha’s villages rebuilt their forces three years after the great incident, and the Ninja Academy opened with prominent figures attending the ceremony.
• Jiraiya teased Sasuke about Itachi’s one-day graduation, while Tsunade punched Jiraiya and Naruto used Sexy Jutsu to show off for Karin.
• Sasuke heard other people compare him to Itachi and asked his older brother if he could graduate after one day too.
• Itachi told Sasuke to study all the Academy courses, promising he could become even more outstanding than his brother.
• Sasuke saw that Iruka, Itachi’s former subordinate and a recent chunin, was his homeroom teacher, and his enthusiasm for school collapsed.
• Kitahara returned to Sasuke’s shoulder and suggested beating the boy if he refused to go to school.

Sasuke overheard Fugaku and Itachi discussing a plan involving Sasuke’s eyes, and he resolved not to become a vessel for Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan. Naruto tried to comfort him, but his own experience as a vessel only made Sasuke feel worse.

• Naruto dragged Sasuke into the classroom and promised to protect him from Neji.
• Iruka told Itachi that Fugaku wanted the school to focus more on Sasuke’s taijutsu training.
• Sasuke overheard that Fugaku hoped he would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan so Itachi could transplant his eyes and gain lasting power.
• Sasuke secretly vowed to surpass Itachi rather than become a vessel for his eyes, though he doubted his own talent.
• Naruto said he understood what being a vessel felt like because the Nine-Tailed Fox was sealed inside him, then praised Sasuke for having Itachi as a brother.

Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki exposed Shimura Danzō’s crimes and offered to help Konoha resolve its crises. After they left to find this world’s Sasuke, Kakashi reported that the Root members in the corridor had all died.

• Uchiha Itachi stopped Shimura Danzō’s suicide attempt, healed him, and used Tsukuyomi to uncover his memories.
• Kisame returned Danzō to Tsunade and suggested keeping him as a scapegoat, while Itachi explained Danzō’s role in the Uchiha clan’s downfall.
• Itachi apologized to Tsunade and promised that he and Kisame would help resolve every crisis, including the Akatsuki.
• Itachi and Kisame left to find Sasuke and then confront the Akatsuki’s Itachi, while Kisame warned him against using Tsukuyomi on Sasuke.
• Kakashi checked the corridor and reported that the Root members there had been pierced by black rods and turned to plaster.

Orochimaru’s base was confronted by Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, while Sasuke tried to challenge Itachi before learning the truth through Tsukuyomi. The chapter ended with Itachi discovering that Kitahara had planted over a hundred different scripts and Chakra signatures in his Tsukuyomi.

• Kabuto Yakushi warned Orochimaru that Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki were approaching the base, and Orochimaru said his plan had to advance.
• Sasuke appeared and demanded to test his strength before facing Itachi, but Orochimaru revealed that the approaching Itachi was the Fifth Hokage from another world.
• Kisame Hoshigaki blasted open the base with a water technique, and Uchiha Itachi entered, deducing that Naruto had leaked their location.
• Sasuke attacked Itachi, who shattered his sword and defeated him in a few moves.
• Itachi cast Tsukuyomi over Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi, Sasuke, and everyone else in the base to reveal the truth.
• After they emerged from Tsukuyomi, Itachi blamed Kisame and discovered that Kitahara had sealed more than a hundred kinds of Chakra, including Itachi’s own, into the illusion.

After escaping their Tsukuyomi worlds, Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto reflected on the ordinary lives they had experienced while Sasuke erupted in anger at Itachi. Kisame overwhelmed Sasuke’s attacks and curse-mark transformation, while Itachi stopped Sasuke’s final lightning assault and challenged him to accept the truth.

• Orochimaru and Kabuto left their Tsukuyomi worlds, where Orochimaru had spent his life evading Tsunade and Jiraiya and Kabuto had cared for Nonō’s orphanage.
• Sasuke awakened from Itachi’s Tsukuyomi and attacked him with Chidori, but Kisame intercepted him.
• Kisame explained that the Tsukuyomi had been designed to awaken another world’s Sasuke, then taunted this Sasuke when his Sharingan showed no Mangekyō awakening.
• Sasuke used shuriken techniques and his curse-mark state against Kisame, but Kisame endured the attacks and cut off the curse-marked wing with Samehada.
• Sasuke charged Kisame with lightning as a thundercloud gathered, but Itachi drained away the natural energy and told Sasuke to face the truth.

Umino Iruka’s first Ninja Academy class descended into a fight, while Uchiha Itachi attended a Defense Department meeting where Tsunade ordered preparations against Iwagakure and Akatsuki. The meeting treated Orochimaru as the force behind Akatsuki, unaware of the organization’s other recent attacks.

• Uzumaki Naruto introduced himself to the class with a boastful pose, prompting jeers and a chaotic fight among the students.
• Uchiha Sasuke defended Naruto and knocked down another student before Umino Iruka stopped him and ordered the troublemakers to bring their parents the next day.
• Uchiha Itachi went to a Defense Department meeting where Shimura Danzō and Fugaku Uchiha argued over the Kusagakure incident and the Police Force.
• Tsunade ended their argument and ordered more Defense Department ninja sent north because of friction with Iwagakure.
• Tsunade presented intelligence identifying Orochimaru as Akatsuki’s hidden leader and warned that his Impure World Reincarnation army had attacked the Land of Sea and the Land of Tea.

Kirigakure’s leadership became convinced that Kisame Hoshigaki had secretly protected the village and helped end the Bloody Mist, though Senju Tobirama had engineered the rumors to give Kisame control. As the organization prepared to face the Akatsuki Organization, Kirigakure’s young ninja proposed sharing intelligence and expanding recruitment with Konoha.

• Ringo Ameyuri argued that Kirigakure should not let Senju Tobirama monopolize the organization, while Kisame Hoshigaki left the political discussion to the others.
• Rumors portraying Kisame as a protector of Kirigakure spread, and the village forced Elder Genji into retirement while Kisame gained influence.
• Terumi Mei and Ao urged the group to focus on defending Kirigakure against the Akatsuki Organization rather than fighting over power.
• Hozuki Mangetsu asked about exchanging intelligence with Konoha, and Terumi Mei proposed sharing Akatsuki intelligence and opening recruitment to Konoha.
• Momochi Zabuza revealed that Senju Tobirama had proposed making the organization a public-service group spanning the Five Great Ninja Villages, leaving Kisame surprised.

Kisame Hoshigaki agreed to lead a Kirigakure mission to Konoha with Terumi Mei, while Senju Tobirama continued experiments and plotted to revive his brother and reclaim Ao’s Byakugan. Meanwhile, Orochimaru learned about Hidan’s attempts to attract girls before summoning a coffin and declaring that his organization’s leader seemed remarkable.

• Kisame Hoshigaki agreed to lead Kirigakure’s team to Konoha, and Terumi Mei decided to accompany him and seek a marriage partner.
• Terumi Mei assigned Ao to oversee Kirigakure and arranged for explosive tags to be sent to the Land of Waves to support Senju Tobirama against the Akatsuki.
• Senju Tobirama researched how to turn illusion into reality and considered placing a bounty for a Sharingan.
• Senju Tobirama planned to find Orochimaru and use Impure World Reincarnation to bring back Senju Hashirama, while also plotting to take Ao’s Byakugan.
• Yakushi Kabuto told Orochimaru that Hidan dressed flamboyantly to attract girls, and Orochimaru summoned a coffin and praised his organization’s leader.

Orochimaru planned to exploit the Akatsuki’s tailed-beast operation to take control of Sunagakure, while secretly arranging for Kitahara to receive Yahiko’s hair and a specimen for Impure World Reincarnation. Obito and Black Zetsu learned of his scheme and decided to let it proceed, intending to claim the One-Tail and use Orochimaru as a scapegoat.

• Orochimaru revealed to Kabuto Yakushi that Pain was a puppet and kept Yahiko’s reincarnated body as potential bait against the Akatsuki.
• Orochimaru gave Kabuto Yakushi a box for Kitahara and planned to leave for Sunagakure, kill Rasa with an Impure World Reincarnation subject, and take control of the village.
• Black Zetsu told Uchiha Obito about Orochimaru’s plan, and Obito chose to let Orochimaru pursue Sunagakure’s One-Tail.
• Obito planned to demand the One-Tail after Orochimaru took control of Sunagakure, then expose Orochimaru and shift the blame to provoke a war.
• Black Zetsu worried about Nagato’s chances against Uchiha Itachi and Kitahara, while Obito said Nagato would have no value if he could not defeat them.

Karin fought the children who mocked her red hair, leaving Sasuke and several classmates hospitalized. Itachi was summoned to handle the schoolyard brawl, while Karin ended the chapter biting herself after the fight.

• After Iruka told the students to bring their parents to school, Naruto and Sasuke discussed who would come for them.
• Karin punched the children who mocked her red hair, and Naruto and Sasuke watched her fight.
• Karin hit Naruto, then grabbed Sasuke after he insulted her appearance and future prospects.
• Neji reported the fight to the Defense Department, and Fugaku sent for Itachi to deal with it.
• Tsunade summoned Itachi to the hospital, where more than ten injured students had been admitted after the brawl.
• Karin bit herself after the fight, while Sasuke was the most seriously injured and Naruto escaped with little harm.

Sasuke recovered in the hospital after Karin injured him, and Itachi came to comfort him. Kitahara overheard that Tsunade was gambling and interrupted her game with Koharu, after which Tsunade invited the crow to visit Shikkotsu Forest with her and Karin.

• Itachi visited Sasuke in the hospital, where Karin apologized for starting the fight that left Sasuke with two broken ribs.
• Itachi decided to stay with Sasuke overnight, and Shizune revealed that Tsunade was gambling with Koharu.
• Kitahara flew into Tsunade’s office and startled her into spraying tea and destroying the playing cards with chakra.
• Tsunade said she would have Karin sign a Summoning Contract with the Slug Sage so she would stop sending people to the hospital.
• Tsunade invited Kitahara to accompany her and Karin to Shikkotsu Forest, and the crow reacted with curiosity.

Tsunade took Karin to Shikkotsu Forest to sign a Summoning Contract, while Kitahara stayed behind and stirred up rumors at the Ninja Academy. The chapter ended with Inuzuka Hana sharing her dream of becoming a veterinarian and Kitahara noticing her careful records of the animals she treated.

• The Slug Sage refused to take Kitahara to Shikkotsu Forest because transporting it would consume too much Chakra, so Tsunade left with Karin without it.
• Karin promised to keep making Sasuke uncomfortable at school, and Itachi arrived to criticize Kitahara for targeting his younger brother.
• Kitahara visited the Ninja Academy with Inuzuka Hana and flipped her three dogs, then used Hana to spread rumors that Karin might someday marry Itachi.
• Uchiha Izumi overheard the age comparisons between Itachi and Karin and became convinced that Karin was her greatest rival for Itachi.
• Hana told Kitahara she hoped to become a veterinarian, and Kitahara noticed the detailed notes she kept about the animals she treated.

Kitahara accompanied Inuzuka Hana, Kiba, and Naruto to Ichiraku, where they discussed Sasuke’s injuries and Karin’s fight with him. Uchiha Izumi secretly followed them and, after Itachi explained he was leaving on a mission, asked him to close his eyes as Kitahara rushed to intervene.

• Kitahara helped Karin leave a gift at the Ninja Academy, then joined Inuzuka Hana and Kiba on their way to Ichiraku Ramen.
• Naruto asked Kitahara about Sasuke’s condition, and the crow said Sasuke was fine and would soon leave the hospital.
• Izumi secretly followed Hana and listened as the group discussed Sasuke and Karin at Ichiraku.
• Itachi arrived and told Izumi that he was leaving on a mission the next day and that Sasuke would soon be discharged.
• Izumi asked Itachi to close his eyes, and Kitahara vanished in a sudden rush as the ramen was knocked onto the floor.