Recaps

Hiashi investigated the missing records and summoned a Main Family meeting while Zou Hyuga confronted the Byakugan old man and Toneri outside Konoha. After clashing with the old man's Tenseigan powers, Zou unleashed Sage Art: Rotation, shocking his opponent with the scale of his chakra.

• Hiashi found that more than half the books were missing from the Main Family's old residence and called a Main Family meeting.
• Zou Hyuga led the old man and Toneri to a lake outside Konoha to keep their battle away from innocent people.
• The old man sent dozens of Tenseigan-controlled puppets and golden energy orbs against Zou, who repelled them with Rotation and Air Palm.
• The old man pulled Zou toward him with Banshō Ten'in and prepared to steal his chakra with a green orb.
• Zou countered with Sage Art: Rotation, and the resulting shock wave drove both fighters back and astonished the old man.

Zou Hyuga fought the old Byakugan user and tried to stop Toneri from resonating with the Tenseigan. As Toneri absorbed the moon’s chakra and gained power, the battle shifted against Zou.

• Zou Hyuga entered Sage Mode and hurled enormous rocks at the old man, forcing him to expend Tenseigan chakra deflecting them.
• The old man reached out to the Tenseigan beneath the full moon, replenishing his chakra while Toneri struggled with the battle.
• Zou Hyuga charged the old man, endured a barrage of explosive energy spheres, and engaged him in close combat.
• Zou Hyuga attacked Toneri with Vacuum Palms, but the remaining puppets blocked them as Toneri continued absorbing Tenseigan chakra.
• Toneri rose into the sky, opened his empty eye sockets, and unleashed explosions from energy spheres wherever he looked.

A brilliant flash from a battle southwest of Konoha prompted Hiruzen to mobilize the village’s clans and send reconnaissance teams toward the fighting. As the Third prepared the village for a possible attack, Danzo admitted he had put Naruto under Root’s guard and warned of the Uchiha.

• An ANBU squad saw a huge flash near Konoha, launched a signal flare, and headed toward its source.
• Hiruzen gathered ANBU and summoned the ninja clans after learning the flash came from a battle southwest of the village.
• Oto searched for Zou and noticed Hiashi seemed anxious while the clans assembled at the Hokage Building.
• A sensory ninja reported that the battle rivaled a ninja war, and Hiruzen sent elite reconnaissance teams to investigate.
• Danzo arrived with Root, admitted he had assigned them to guard Naruto, and urged Hiruzen to distrust the Uchiha.

Zou Hyuga fought Toneri and the old man with the Byakugan, enduring Tenseigan-powered attacks until Toneri exhausted himself. The old man escaped with Toneri and the Tenseigan, suspecting that the Shinobi World Branch also possessed a Tenseigan and had sought to seize theirs.

• Zou Hyuga dodged Toneri’s Tenseigan-powered attacks while his black markings absorbed chakra and natural energy threatened to overwhelm him.
• Zou Hyuga countered Toneri’s Banshō Ten'in with Sage Art: Rotation, prompting Toneri to unleash Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion and form a Truth-Seeking Orb.
• Zou Hyuga was swept into Toneri’s tornado but avoided the Truth-Seeking Orb by moving toward emerald spheres that stole chakra and excess natural energy from him.
• Toneri lost control of the attack and fell, and the old man caught him as Zou Hyuga remained mobile despite the chakra he had lost.
• The old man carried Toneri into the sky while the remaining puppets blocked Zou Hyuga’s Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms, and he suspected the Shinobi World Branch had its own Tenseigan.

After surviving a battle with Toneri and the Lunar Ōtsutsuki, Zou Hyuga concealed the chakra he had lost and joined Konoha's large force investigating the devastated battlefield. Jiraiya and the toad sages identified traces of powerful senjutsu chakra, leaving them to wonder who had used it.

• Zou Hyuga gathered the scattered chakra traces, hid among the arriving ninja, and told Hiashi that he had handled an unexpected complication.
• The ninja force reached the battlefield and found a forest reduced to a vast wasteland of craters.
• Hiashi and Shisui examined the worst-damaged terrain and recognized the immense power behind the battle.
• Oto Uchiha sensed a familiar chakra signature among the traces.
• Jiraiya investigated the chakra and summoned Fukasaku and Shima, who confirmed that one fighter had mastered Sage Mode beyond Jiraiya's level.

Jiraiya consulted Sage Fukasaku and Shima about the unfamiliar chakra left by the battle, while the Byakugan elder took Toneri back to the moon and sealed the passage. On the return journey, Zou Hyuga considered the fight and how to strengthen the Tailed Beast Merchant Association.

• Jiraiya summoned Sage Fukasaku and Shima, who could not identify the unfamiliar chakra and suggested asking the Great Toad Sage.
• The Byakugan elder carried the unconscious Toneri to the moon and ordered the passage closed to the shinobi world.
• A pair of eyes watched the place where the Byakugan elder and Toneri disappeared.
• The ninja force found only scattered puppet parts at the devastated battlefield and began returning to the shinobi village.
• Oto Uchiha looked to Zou Hyuga for an explanation, and he promised to tell her once they returned.
• Zou Hyuga considered helping Oto awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and finding new sources of chakra to strengthen the Tailed Beast Merchant Association.

After the battle with the Lunar Ōtsutsuki, Konoha’s leaders classified two unknown fighters as S-Rank threats while rumors about Shisui and the Uchiha spread. Zou Hyuga spoke with Oto and Hiashi about the fight and the danger to Hinata, prompting Hiashi to increase his daughter’s protection.

• Jiraiya reported the battle to the Third, and Konoha’s leaders added two unidentified individuals to the top-secret files as S-Rank threats.
• Oto Uchiha asked Zou Hyuga to take her with him the next time he fought, and Zou said he would rather avoid fighting if possible.
• Zou overheard rumors that Shisui had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan and that the Uchiha had caused the Nine-Tails' Rampage.
• Hyuga Hiashi told Zou that he had ordered the clan to conceal Zou’s strength and movements, then said Oto might be a suitable teacher for Hinata after she graduated.
• Hiashi revealed that the two fighters belonged to a Hyuga lineage from the moon, and Zou warned that Hinata might be their target.
• Hiashi increased the guards around Hinata as his relationship with Zou shifted.

A month after the battle, rumors about Shisui, Wood Release, and Konoha’s mysterious attacker spread through the village as the Third confronted Danzo over provoking the Uchiha. Outside the village, Zou Hyuga developed and tested a Tailed Beast Bomb, then set off toward a distant town to meet an unusual old acquaintance.

• The Third accused Danzo of spreading rumors about Shisui and ordered him to stop meddling in village affairs and focus on outside threats.
• Zou Hyuga reflected on the Uchiha’s exclusion from Konoha’s leadership while continuing his leave outside the village.
• Zou entered Sage Mode and developed a Tailed Beast Bomb using Yin and Yang Release chakra.
• Zou tested a ping-pong-ball-sized Tailed Beast Bomb on a lake, creating a powerful explosion that exposed the lake bed.
• Zou made several more Tailed Beast Bombs, then left for a distant town to face an unusual old acquaintance.

Obito controlled Karatachi Yagura and drove Kirigakure into chaos with the blood mist policy, prompting defections and drawing attention from other villages. Kisame witnessed the persecution of the Kaguya Clan and saw two figures approach as they killed the Mist Ninja.

• Mei Terumi and Ao tried to persuade Karatachi Yagura to revoke the blood mist policy, but ANBU turned them away.
• Obito revealed that he controlled Yagura and defended the policy to Zetsu as a way to weaken Kirigakure before the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Kirigakure jonin defected as the blood mist turmoil spread, and other major villages sent spies to investigate.
• Kisame fled Kirigakure after seeing no hope under Yagura's rule and reached a town where Mist Ninja hunted kekkei genkai bearers.
• A Kaguya Clan ninja killed a Mist Ninja with bone spikes, but the others captured and tortured the attacker until the clan's location was revealed.
• As Kisame turned to leave, two approaching figures killed the Mist Ninja with ease.

Kisame escaped from Sasori and Orochimaru, who were hunting kekkei genkai in Kirigakure, while Zou Hyuga reviewed the Tailed Beast Merchant Association’s security with Taro Utada. The chapter ended with Zou asking whether anything urgent had happened in the association.

• Kisame used Water Release techniques to break Sasori’s attack and escaped into a river.
• Orochimaru and Sasori learned the location of the Kaguya Clan’s compound and headed there to pursue its kekkei genkai.
• Kisame’s clone watched the pair, then Kisame decided to go to the mainland in search of answers.
• Zou Hyuga met with Taro Utada at his mansion and worried that Utada’s limited strength left the association vulnerable.
• Zou Hyuga asked Taro Utada whether anything urgent had happened in the merchant association.

Zou Hyuga dealt with nobles conspiring against Taro Utada’s merchant association, then encountered the Daimyō’s procession and recognized his old friend Asuma among the guards. Afterward, Zou Hyuga questioned Utada about why the Daimyō ruled the Land of Fire, leaving his own intentions unclear.

• Taro Utada told Zou Hyuga that several nobles were trying to push him out of the merchant association, and Zou Hyuga agreed to intervene.
• Zou Hyuga subdued the leading noble, placed a Cursed Seal on him, and disciplined the other disobedient nobles before renegotiating their profit shares.
• A noble’s contact with the Akatsuki alarmed Zou Hyuga, who resolved to avoid provoking the organization while he built up his strength.
• Zou Hyuga and Utada stopped at a restaurant as the Daimyō’s procession passed, and Zou Hyuga recognized Asuma Sarutobi protecting the ruler.
• Zou Hyuga asked Utada why the Daimyō ruled instead of a powerful ninja, and Utada answered that tradition and inheritance upheld the position.

Zou Hyuga decided to build the Tailed Beast Merchant Association’s own ninja force, using rogue ninja temporarily while planning to train loyal recruits. He tracked down Kisame and defeated him in battle, then ordered him to come along.

• Zou Hyuga weighed recruiting missing-nin against establishing a shinobi village and favored training loyal ninja while seeking rogue ninja as a temporary force.
• Zou Hyuga instructed Taro Utada and traveled to the Land of Water’s border to track a powerful ninja who had left the country.
• Zou Hyuga found Kisame at an underground black market and followed him into a nearby forest.
• Kisame attacked his unseen pursuer, but Zou Hyuga evaded the strike and deflected Kisame’s Water Dragon Bullet with Rotation.
• Kisame and his water clone attacked together, but Zou Hyuga sent Kisame flying with a Vacuum Palm and bent his sword.
• Kisame recognized Zou Hyuga’s Gentle Fist and suspected he was a Konoha ninja, while Zou Hyuga told him to come along.

Zou Hyuga recruited Kisame into his organization after learning about the turmoil in Kirigakure and offering him hope of returning there. Kisame accepted his first assignments as the story left him preparing to work as a bodyguard and help Kirigakure’s exiled kekkei genkai orphans.

• Kisame followed Zou Hyuga through the forest, and Zou considered Kisame’s strength and loyalty as he planned to recruit him.
• Zou gave Kisame liquor and asked about Kirigakure; Kisame described the village’s persecution of its kekkei genkai clans.
• Zou suggested the Mizukage might be controlled and compared Kirigakure’s upheaval to Konoha’s Night of the Nine-Tails.
• Kisame asked what Zou wanted from him, and Zou offered employment, money, and hope of returning to Kirigakure.
• Zou paid Kisame and made him an inner-circle member of the organization, assigning him to guard Taro Utada and gather exiled Kirigakure clan orphans.
• Zou gave Kisame enhanced Soldier Pills as an organizational benefit, and Kisame accepted them despite their dangerous side effects.

Zou Hyuga returned from Kirigakure and saw the village reacting to its civil strife while he and Oto Uchiha discussed tensions between the Uchiha and Konoha. The Third assigned their squad an urgent mission to aid the Miko of the Land of Demons, and the team set out after Oto reassured Zou that Shisui would avoid being manipulated by Konoha’s leaders.

• Zou Hyuga sent Kisame to the trading company's base and asked him to search for kekkei genkai orphans to train.
• Zou Hyuga returned to Konoha, reported his mission, and heard villagers discuss Kirigakure's Bloody Mist and the extermination of its kekkei genkai clans.
• Zou Hyuga resumed ANBU duty with Kakashi, Yamato, and Oto Uchiha, and the Third assigned their squad to patrol the village borders.
• Oto Uchiha told Zou Hyuga that the Uchiha were increasingly dissatisfied with their standing, while she continued learning to absorb natural energy but made no progress with her Mangekyō Sharingan.
• The Third briefed the squad on the Miko of the Land of Demons losing control of her seal on Moryo and ordered them to help prevent the demon from escaping.
• The squad departed for the Land of Demons, and Oto reassured Zou Hyuga that Shisui would not meet Konoha's leaders without consulting Fugaku.

Zou Hyuga and Kakashi's ANBU Squad traveled overland to the Land of Demons, avoiding the Land of Rain and encountering puppets powered by evil chakra. After reaching the priestess's palace, Zou sensed powerful hostility from her and the barrier.

• Oto Uchiha asked Zou Hyuga about Moryo, and he recalled that the demon had power comparable to a tailed beast's.
• Zou persuaded Kakashi to detour around the Land of Rain, and the squad crossed Sunagakure's territory instead.
• Zou sensed immense energy in the desert that he suspected was the Leyline.
• The squad fought puppets that repaired themselves, while Zou discovered that destroying them with Gentle Fist caused their evil chakra to enter his body and vanish.
• Zou secretly absorbed the chakra of at least a hundred puppets as the squad traveled toward the priestess's palace.
• The ANBU Squad crossed the palace barrier, where Zou sensed hostility from the barrier and the priestess within.

Kakashi’s team met Miroku, the Land of Demons’ priestess, and learned she could seal Moryo at Mount Shūfū. Miroku privately revealed that Zou Hyuga could alter the fate of Oto Uchiha and the country, and she confirmed that she and Moryo were one and the same.

• Miroku explained that the Yomi Cult Master had broken Moryo’s seal and that she could reseal the demon at Mount Shūfū.
• Kakashi waited for reinforcements from Sunagakure and Iwagakure, whose teams joined the discussion at the palace.
• Miroku privately told Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha that she had foreseen Oto’s death, but Zou had changed her fate; she could not foresee Zou’s own death.
• Zou admitted he could absorb some of Moryo’s chakra but could not promise to seal the demon, and he agreed to help as best he could.
• Miroku confirmed Zou’s suspicion that she and Moryo were one and the same.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha escorted Miroku toward Mount Shūfū, where they faced attacks from the Yomi Cult and its resurrecting terracotta soldiers. The journey ended with a Sand Ninja suddenly attacking his allies, only to be restrained by Kakashi and Yamato.

• Zou Hyuga told Oto Uchiha that the miko's prophecy was true, then claimed at the Palace that they had been assigned as Miroku's personal guards.
• The ninja squads escorted Miroku toward Mount Shūfū, fighting puppets as Zou absorbed the chakra that powered them.
• Oto Uchiha met Miroku's daughter, Shion, gave her candy, and told her ninja stories while noticing her unease about her mother.
• The party fought Yomi Cult members in a mountain hollow, and Zou defeated them while absorbing Moryo's chakra.
• During a meal, a Sand Ninja attacked the Sand Ninjas with Wind Release, and Kakashi and Yamato restrained him.

The ninja team journeying to seal Moryo discovered that he could control people’s minds, and chose to restrain an enthralled Sand Ninja rather than risk disrupting the sealing. As the team camped for the night, Oto Uchiha worried that Moryo might be affecting Zou Hyuga, while a mysterious voice whispered to the Sand Ninja captain.

• A Sand Ninja attacked a teammate under Moryo’s control, and the miko explained that she could break the control only at the risk of interfering with the sealing.
• The Sunagakure Captain tied up his enthralled subordinate and declined to have the miko free him, prioritizing the mission and its payment.
• The team continued toward Mount Shūfū, increasingly wary of Moryo’s mind control, while Oto Uchiha grew concerned about Zou Hyuga’s behavior.
• The miko sensed Moryo’s location, and the exhausted team camped on a cliff as she prepared a sealing formula.
• Oto Uchiha asked Zou Hyuga if Moryo had controlled him, and Zou insisted that he was fine.
• As the Sand Ninja captain watched his enthralled former student, a low, beguiling voice sounded in his mind.

The Miko used her Bell Artifact to free controlled sand ninja and protect them from Moryo’s influence, though the effort exhausted her. As the group approached Mount Shūfū, Zou Hyuga spotted Moryo blocking their only route, while Zou’s thoughtful smile caught Oto Uchiha’s attention.

• Moryo controlled sand ninja with his voice, and the Miko used her Bell Artifact to restore their senses and shield them from further influence.
• The Miko fell asleep from exhaustion, and the ninja set out before dawn toward Mount Shūfū.
• Zou Hyuga reflected on sealing jutsu as the group neared the mountain, where the Miko intended to seal Moryo.
• Zou Hyuga spotted Moryo, a gigantic demon surrounded by puppets, blocking the route to Mount Shūfū.
• The Miko resolved to seal Moryo, while Oto Uchiha noticed Zou Hyuga’s unusual, thoughtful smile.

The ninja squads fought Moryo and escorted the Miko into Mount Shūfū so she could prepare a sealing array. As Moryo reached the lava cavern, Zou Hyuga sensed his own ability to absorb the demon’s chakra and watched the Miko prepare to face it.

• The Sunagakure and Rock Ninja held off Moryo and its terracotta soldiers while Kakashi and Yamato covered the retreat, and Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha escorted the Miko toward Mount Shūfū.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha brought the Miko into a lava cavern, where she began setting up arrays as Zou prepared to enter Sage Mode.
• Zou Hyuga sensed the exhausted squads being overcome and realized that the markings beneath his vest let him absorb Moryo’s chakra.
• The Miko completed the arrays and faced Moryo as it entered the cavern and urged her to merge with it rather than seal it again.

Moryo tried to break through the miko’s sealing array, but Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha fought him while the miko prepared to seal him. After Moryo’s chakra seemed to take control of Zou, Zou struck him with a Tailed Beast Bomb and began absorbing his chakra, leaving Moryo to question whether Zou was a sage.

• Moryo attacked the miko, but his tentacles could not break through the sealing array.
• Oto Uchiha and Zou Hyuga restrained and attacked Moryo as the miko activated the array.
• Moryo’s whispers affected Zou, whose eyes and chakra turned purplish-black as he formed a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Zou struck Moryo with the Tailed Beast Bomb, causing the Lava Cave to collapse around them.
• Zou pressed his palm to Moryo’s forehead and absorbed his chakra, prompting Moryo to recognize natural energy and ask if Zou was a sage.

Zou Hyuga weakened Moryo by absorbing its chakra, allowing Miroku to seal the demon. After the group escaped Mount Shūfū’s eruption and returned to the Land of Demons, the squads parted ways, with Miroku predicting that she would die before the ANBU members.

• Zou Hyuga absorbed much of Moryo’s chakra, shrinking the demon and leaving it too weak to resist.
• Miroku sealed Moryo in a container while Oto Uchiha checked on Zou, and Moryo called Miroku a traitor as they left the cavern.
• Zou, Miroku, and Oto joined Kakashi, Yamato, and the surviving Sand and Rock ninja, then hurried away as Mount Shūfū began to erupt.
• The group watched lava pour from Mount Shūfū before returning to the Land of Demons without further attacks.
• After the squads departed, Miroku told Zou Hyuga that she would die before the members of his squad.

After recovering from the mission in the Land of Demons, Zou Hyuga returned to Konoha with greater chakra reserves and a newly discovered ability to absorb and store chakra. Though Oto worried that his personality had changed, Zou accepted that seeking power meant hurting those he wanted to protect, and felt no regret.

• While recovering, Zou recalled that the Miko knew little about the Shinobi World and learned that Moryo had been born from humanity’s evil thoughts and had once included her.
• Zou realized Moryo’s chakra had greatly increased his reserves and discovered that his black markings could absorb and store other people’s chakra.
• During dinner at camp, Zou initially forgot to offer Oto food, then handed her a roast chicken after Yamato pointed out his usual habit.
• On the journey home, Zou sensed the Leyline more clearly, and Kakashi submitted a mission report to the Third Hokage describing Moryo and the volcanic eruption.
• After returning to Konoha, Oto worried that Zou had changed despite Moryo’s destruction, while Kakashi vanished when Might Guy approached.
• At home, Zou reflected on his desire for power and the pain it could bring those he wanted to protect, but he did not regret his choice.

Oto Uchiha worried that Zou had changed after absorbing Moryo and wondered whether the demon had taken control of him. After Bell Cat suggested checking his chakra with Cat Granny’s help, Oto was left considering how to confirm her suspicions.

• Oto Uchiha visited Fugaku and learned that Shisui had remained in the clan compound while Fugaku refused requests from the Village Leadership to meet him.
• Oto told Fugaku that Itachi seemed interested in joining her side, and Fugaku said Itachi was young and still needed an education at the Ninja Academy.
• Oto returned home and brooded over Zou’s cold, unusually polite behavior after the mission to seal Moryo.
• Bell Cat listened to Oto’s suspicions and suggested meeting Zou to check his chakra, then said Cat Granny might be able to detect it.

Zou Hyuga accompanied Oto Uchiha on a mission to retrieve a runaway ninja cat, then privately consulted Cat Granny about deceiving Oto to help her awaken her Sharingan. Cat Granny agreed to report Zou’s condition truthfully, while he promised to deepen cooperation with the Ninja Cat Clan.

• Zou Hyuga met Oto Uchiha and traveled with her to Cat Village, where Bell Cat led them to Cat Granny.
• Cat Granny assigned them to find a runaway ninja cat, and Zou and Oto wore cat ears before searching the underground Cat Demon Palace.
• Zou located the drunken ninja cat with his Byakugan, and he and Oto captured it and returned it to Cat Granny’s shop.
• Oto asked Cat Granny to read their fortunes, and Zou entered her room first.
• Zou privately told Cat Granny that he was deceiving Oto to help advance her Sharingan because he could no longer protect her.
• Zou offered to expand cooperation with the Ninja Cat Clan, and Cat Granny agreed to report his condition truthfully.