Chapter Summaries

Zou Hyuga brought Oto Uchiha to the Valley of the End to investigate a ley line node and its connection to natural energy and Moryo. Deep underground, they found a powerful rat guarding the node, and Oto summoned Bell Cat to deal with it.

• Zou Hyuga explained the ley lines and Moryo's power to Oto Uchiha, who agreed to help him investigate the node beneath the Valley of the End.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto used the Body Flicker Technique to dive into the lake and entered an underground cavern beside a river.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto fought off giant creatures affected by natural energy as they made their way toward the ley line node.
• Zou Hyuga spotted a powerful underground rat guarding the node and told Oto that a fight was inevitable.
• Oto said she could handle the rat and summoned Bell Cat, then pointed it toward the darkness.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha tried to seal an earth vein node, triggering severe tremors and flooding that threatened Konoha. As the village’s ninja rushed toward the Valley of the End, Zou and Oto remained underground, unaware of the danger outside.

• Bell Cat fought a powerful rat while Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha entered the earth vein node.
• Oto used Amenominaka to restrain the node, and Zou helped her by channeling chakra into her.
• The sealing caused violent tremors and spreading cracks underground, while Bell Cat subdued the rat and sensed the danger.
• The shaking sent lake water over the dam and rushing toward Konoha, where a patrol squad raised Earth-Style Walls to slow the flood.
• Captain Mizunuki sent a squad member to alert the Third and headed upstream, while the Third summoned the ANBU and hurried toward the Valley of the End.
• Uchiha Fugaku led the Military Police Force out, Hizashi left to investigate, and the gathered ninja headed for the Valley of the End as Zou and Oto continued sealing underground.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha escaped the cavern after experimenting on an earth vein node, and Zou gained a giant rat as a summoning beast before discovering it was a hamster. They slipped past the lake shore investigators and rejoined Kakashi and Yamato, who mistook their soaked appearance for a sign of romance.

• Oto Uchiha ended her dojutsu after Zou Hyuga's experiment weakened the earth vein node, and the pair hurried to escape the unstable cavern.
• Zou Hyuga forced the giant rat to sign a summoning contract, then realized his new summoning beast was a white hamster.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha found another route out through the rising underground river and avoided the ninja investigating the lake shore.
• Oto Uchiha teased Zou Hyuga about looking at her soaked clothes, but they stopped when someone approached.
• Kakashi and Yamato found Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha, misread their closeness, and led them back to the ANBU Squad after they dried their clothes.

Danzo investigated the underground space beneath the Valley of the End but found no trace of what had drawn his implanted Hashirama cells. After the Third dismissed Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha from ANBU, Zou revealed that he planned to make Oto the Leyline’s jinchūriki, while their feelings for each other remained unspoken.

• The Third’s ANBU investigation found no evidence of sabotage, while Danzo led Root into the cavern beneath the lake and searched for a presence that could strengthen his Hashirama cells.
• Danzo reached the earth vein node, found that the sensation had disappeared, and withdrew as water flooded the cavern.
• After questioning the ANBU Squad, the Third relieved Zou Hyuga, Oto Uchiha, Kakashi, and Yamato of their ANBU duties and made them Jonin.
• Zou and Oto returned to their courtyard, where Oto said the earth vein node had moved and Zou explained that he had been preparing to make her the Leyline’s jinchūriki.
• Oto pressed Zou to admit he liked her, but he pushed her away and said they should discuss the Leyline first.

Zou Hyuga explored how to strengthen himself against the Lunar Ōtsutsuki, investigating the Byakugan and planning to seal the Leyline. He and Oto Uchiha went out under the pretense of a date to avoid suspicion, where Zou ran into old acquaintances at a tea shop.

• Zou Hyuga asked the Tailed Beast Merchant Association to gather materials for sealing the Leyline and becoming its jinchūriki.
• Zou examined his uncle’s preserved Byakugan and concluded that he would need enormous amounts of Byakugan chakra to rival the Tenseigan.
• Zou considered seeking help from Orochimaru because he lacked a way to obtain enough Byakugan chakra.
• Oto Uchiha invited Zou to shop, eat, and watch a movie, claiming their outing would make their closeness seem less suspicious to Konoha’s watchers.
• Oto led Zou into a Tailed Beast Merchant Association tea shop, where he spotted Anko and other former comrades.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha flirted over milk tea at a tea shop before joining Kakashi and Yamato, who discussed their changing duties after leaving the ANBU. The group parted with Zou asking Oto to see a movie, while Kakashi and Yamato made excuses to leave them alone.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha shared milk tea and teased each other with an indirect kiss.
• Kakashi and Yamato arrived, and Oto linked arms with Zou before both denied they were dating.
• Kakashi reflected that Zou and Oto seemed cheerful after leaving the ANBU and recalled Obito, Rin, and their teacher.
• Zou said he and Oto would likely return to their clans and take on clan affairs as Jonin.
• Zou invited Oto to a movie, and Kakashi and Yamato left together after making excuses.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha went on a date to dispel suspicion, and Oto teased him before returning to her clan compound. After Obito watched them, Zou found a letter from the Masked Man inviting him outside the village and sent a Moryo clone to meet him.

• Oto warned Zou to avoid Kakashi and Yamato, then took him to a movie theater, where she pressed their cheeks together and stole his popcorn.
• Oto returned to her clan compound at dusk, while Zou walked home thinking about their date and the danger of Oto awakening her Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Obito watched the date and believed the demon Moryo possessed Zou, whom he thought might become a useful ally through Oto's Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Zou found a letter signed "Masked Man" asking him to meet outside the village and checked his home for signs of intrusion.
• Zou sent a convincing Moryo clone outside the village to meet Obito and try to learn about his and the Akatsuki's plans.

Zou Hyuga met Obito Uchiha outside Konoha, where Obito invited him to join the Akatsuki after his possession of Oto Uchiha. Back in Konoha, Oto took Zou to investigate an Uchiha murder, and Zou suspected Obito was behind it.

• Zou Hyuga met Obito Uchiha beyond Konoha and demanded a suitable replacement vessel for Oto Uchiha.
• Obito urged Zou to join the Akatsuki after possessing Oto, and Zou considered the invitation a chance to infiltrate the organization.
• Obito revealed that his earlier meeting with Zou had been with a clone and said he had dealt with trouble in Konoha that might aid Zou's possession plan.
• Oto Uchiha found Zou and took him to the Clan Grounds after a three-tomoe Uchiha Jonin was murdered and both his eyes were stolen.
• Zou received information from his Moryo Clone and suspected Obito of attacking his own clan.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha investigated the murder of a Three-Tomoe Jonin and concluded that the Masked Man had likely used Izanagi. Fugaku confirmed the enemy knew the Uchiha forbidden techniques, suggesting he was an older member of the clan.

• Shisui led Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha to the dead Jonin’s home, where Zou examined the signs of a swift fight and the victim’s distorted skin.
• Zou told Oto that the killer had likely used Izanagi, and Oto agreed that the Masked Man was the likely culprit.
• Shisui asked whether the Masked Man had killed the Jonin, and Oto’s answer sparked angry discussion among the Uchiha.
• Fugaku and Oto dismissed the Uchiha elites from the courtyard before Oto examined the body again and asked Fugaku about Izanagi and Izanami.
• Fugaku confirmed he knew both forbidden techniques and reasoned that the Masked Man was an Uchiha from an older generation.

After a masked attacker stole a Sharingan and killed an Uchiha jonin, Fugaku and the Third Hokage suspected Madara Uchiha and worked to keep the attack from causing panic. Zou Hyuga realized the attacker was Obito Uchiha reclaiming his own eye, and regretted not going after Kakashi sooner.

• Fugaku suspected Madara Uchiha was the masked attacker, while Shisui questioned how someone so old could still fight effectively.
• The Third arrived with ANBU, confirmed that his forces had also been attacked, and agreed with Fugaku that the Masked Man might be Madara Uchiha.
• The Third decided to conceal the attacker’s existence from the public and reassure the Uchiha after their jonin was killed and his eyes were stolen.
• After hearing that Kakashi had barely survived, Zou Hyuga left the courtyard, and Oto Uchiha followed him.
• Zou told Oto that the Masked Man was Obito Uchiha, who had come to reclaim his eye, and regretted not targeting Kakashi sooner.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha discussed Obito’s threat, while the Village kept news of his attack contained and Root’s leader grew concerned about the Uchiha. After examining Kakashi, Oto discovered that the Sharingan in his socket belonged to the Uchiha jonin Obito had killed, and she left furious at Obito.

• Zou Hyuga warned Oto Uchiha to flee if she encountered the Masked Man alone, and Oto snapped at him before he revealed Obito had invited him to join an organization linked to the Night of the Nine-Tails.
• The Third and Fugaku kept the attack’s details within the Uchiha Clan, while Root’s leader lamented missing the chance to take Sharingan eyes and worried about the Uchiha’s growing power.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto visited Kakashi at Konoha Hospital, where he recounted that the Masked Man had attacked him but spared his life.
• Oto examined Kakashi’s Sharingan and confirmed it was the eye taken from the Uchiha jonin killed by the Masked Man.
• Oto concluded that Obito’s stolen eye had ended up in Kakashi’s socket and left with an icy expression.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha prepared to pursue their plan to make Oto the Leyline’s jinchūriki, then traveled toward the Land of Wind with a merchant caravan. In a valley tied to their first mission, Zou discovered old puppet fragments and bloodstained snake scales that recalled his academy days.

• Zou Hyuga warned Oto Uchiha to prepare for their Leyline plan now that Obito had regained his Kamui eye.
• Zou and Oto accepted a C-Rank escort mission and arranged for their client to travel toward the Land of Wind.
• Zou and Oto met Merchant Company head Utada in the Land of Fire Capital, where they traded teasing remarks about their relationship.
• Zou and Oto joined a caravan bound for the Land of Wind to find Rōran immigrants and question their queen about powers outside the ninja system.
• In the valley where their first mission had nearly killed them, Zou spotted old puppet fragments and bloodstained snake scales that reminded him of the Ninja Academy.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha traveled with a caravan to the oasis where the displaced people of Rōran lived and met their former queen, Sara. After using genjutsu to question her about the Leyline and its past, Zou proposed that his Merchant Company cooperate with her people to extract the oil beneath the oasis.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha reached an oasis in the Land of Wind with a caravan and saw the impoverished displaced people of Rōran.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha secured an audience with Sara, the Queen of Roran, and spoke with her alone.
• Oto Uchiha used genjutsu on Sara, and Zou Hyuga questioned her about the Leyline's sealing and a mysterious four-person team.
• Sara said she had seen the Fourth Hokage, the Ino-Shika-Cho team, and Kakashi, but had never seen the four-person team Zou asked about.
• Zou Hyuga told Sara that his Merchant Company wanted to cooperate with her people to obtain the oil beneath the oasis.

Zou Hyuga and Queen Sara agreed to work together before traveling with Oto to the ruins of Rōran. There, Zou and Oto broke the Fourth Hokage’s seal, releasing the Leyline’s immense chakra.

• Zou Hyuga secured Queen Sara’s agreement to work with him to extract Rōran’s petroleum.
• Zou, Oto, and Queen Sara traveled through the desert toward Rōran, where Zou spoke with Sara during their overnight camp.
• At the ruins, Zou sensed the Leyline, and Oto placed additional sealing formulas around the Fourth Hokage’s seal.
• Zou struck the seal with repeated Tailed Beast Bombs until it broke, unleashing a massive surge of chakra.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha tried to contain the Leyline while Queen Sara discovered that it was weakened and pleading for help. Zou suspected the God Tree’s draining of the planet’s energy had caused the Leyline’s decline, leaving him to consider its plea even as Oto continued sealing it.

• Oto Uchiha activated her Mangekyō Sharingan while the barrier held back the Leyline, and Zou Hyuga asked Queen Sara to help calm it.
• Queen Sara tried to soothe the Leyline but sensed that it was much weaker than before and was asking for help.
• Zou Hyuga entered Sage Mode and saw the Leyline’s rudimentary consciousness, which pleaded with him as he examined its signs of separation from the earth veins.
• Zou Hyuga suspected the God Tree’s energy plundering had weakened the planet’s veins, while his powerful gaze frightened Queen Sara and changed her perception of him.
• Oto Uchiha struggled to seal the Leyline into a vessel as Zou Hyuga focused on communicating with its consciousness.

Zou Hyuga learned why the Leyline had weakened and arranged to take only half of it while leaving the rest protected in its original seal. After Oto Uchiha finished reinforcing the seal, a purple phantom secretly entered Zou’s body, and he caught the exhausted Oto as the Queen of Roran recovered.

• Zou Hyuga learned that Roran’s exploitation and repeated time-space travel had drained the Leyline, and that the Leyline knew nothing about his past or future.
• Zou Hyuga told Oto Uchiha to seal half the Leyline in a vessel and leave the other half in the Fourth Hokage’s seal.
• Oto sealed half the Leyline in the vessel, while the remaining half retreated into the original seal.
• Zou Hyuga replenished Oto’s chakra, and she reinforced the Leyline’s seal with the Flying Thunder God Kunai as anchors.
• A purple phantom slipped into Zou Hyuga’s body, and he caught the weakened Oto after the seal was completed.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha escaped as Rōran's tower collapsed, while the Leyline's consciousness remained inside Zou; Sunagakure and Jiraiya separately learned that the Leyline had been disturbed. In Amegakure, Konan cared for a young girl before sensing Nagato's summons.

• Zou Hyuga reassured the Queen of Roran that they could build a new Rōran, and the group left the collapsing city for the oasis.
• A Sand Ninja reconnaissance squad found the Leyline's seal intact and reported its findings to Fourth Kazekage Rasa, who chose not to prioritize the matter or send promising youths to Konoha's Chunin Ninja Exams.
• The Great Toad Sage told Jiraiya to investigate the Leyline because it concerned the Child of Prophecy, and Jiraiya returned to the Shinobi World to follow the order.
• Konan noticed Ajisai in the rain, sheltered and fed her, then sensed Nagato summoning her and left.

Konan and Pain investigated a strange reaction from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and sent Sasori and Orochimaru to the Land of Wind to examine the Leyline. Meanwhile, Zou Hyuga and Oto remained near the Rōran survivors, where Queen Sara strengthened her resolve to cooperate with them.

• Nagato told Konan that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had reacted strangely and pointed toward the Land of Wind.
• Pain convened an Akatsuki meeting, where Sasori recalled Rōran’s Leyline and Orochimaru said the Fourth Hokage had sealed it.
• Pain assigned Sasori and Orochimaru to investigate the Leyline, agreeing to separate them once a suitable Akatsuki member was recruited.
• Orochimaru accepted the mission because he wanted to investigate the desert disturbance and had received the White Snake Sage’s request to examine the Leyline.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto stayed near the oasis to discuss cooperation with Queen Sara, who resolved to work with them after seeing how the Sand Ninja treated her.
• Sand Ninja questioned Sara and the Rōran survivors under Mangekyo Sharingan control, while treating the nearby merchant caravan more respectfully.

Zou Hyuga found an oil deposit near Rōran and discussed ways for Oto Uchiha to become the Leyline’s jinchūriki. After Oto chose the safer method, they sensed a battle in the desert involving powerful ninja and a familiar, unfamiliar chakra.

• Zou Hyuga showed Queen Sara an oil spring and said it could help her rebuild Rōran.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha left the oasis for the Land of Fire, planning to make Oto the Leyline’s jinchūriki.
• Zou Hyuga explained the two methods of containing the Leyline, and Oto chose to keep it in a vessel rather than seal it inside her body.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto discussed how to make the Leyline’s seals safer while resting together at an oasis.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto sensed a battle in the distant desert and recognized a chakra that felt familiar yet unfamiliar.

Jiraiya encountered Orochimaru and Sasori while investigating the ruins of the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, and the three fought in the desert. Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha joined Jiraiya as Konoha ninja, leaving the battle poised to continue against Sasori.

• Jiraiya found Orochimaru and Sasori near the ruins and urged Orochimaru to return to the village.
• Orochimaru attacked Jiraiya with snakes, and Sasori followed with puppets and Hiruko, but Jiraiya repelled their attacks.
• Sasori taunted Orochimaru over being weaker than Jiraiya, then held back from attacking further.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha watched the fight and decided to aid Jiraiya as Konoha ninja.
• Zou deflected incoming ninjutsu with Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin, while Oto cut apart a puppet, and Sasori recognized them.