Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya summoned Gamabunta to face Orochimaru and Sasori, while Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha joined the battle. Oto wounded Orochimaru with a coordinated ambush, and she and Zou prepared to decide whether to press their advantage.

• Sasori summoned the Third Kazekage Human Puppet, prompting Jiraiya to summon Gamabunta and explain the enemies’ abilities.
• The Third Kazekage Human Puppet attacked Gamabunta with iron sand, but the toad oil coating deflected the needles.
• Jiraiya and Gamabunta unleashed a senjutsu-powered Toad Oil Flame Bullet that engulfed the battlefield in flames.
• After the blaze faded, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha attacked Orochimaru while Jiraiya and Gamabunta faced Sasori.
• Oto’s genjutsu-assisted ambush struck Orochimaru, but he turned into snakes and counterattacked before Oto pierced his body and detonated an explosive tag.
• Oto returned to Zou and warned him that Orochimaru seemed unusually vulnerable to genjutsu, asking whether they should finish him off.

Oto Uchiha and Zou Hyuga faced Orochimaru until Jiraiya drove off Sasori and arrived, prompting Orochimaru to retreat. Jiraiya asked them to travel with him to the Ancient Kingdom of Roran, while Zou Hyuga wondered why the enemy and the Three Great Sage Lands had taken an interest in the Leyline.

• Oto Uchiha believed her Mangekyo Sharingan could let her kill Orochimaru, but Zou Hyuga warned her that killing him would be difficult.
• Orochimaru healed his injuries and proposed studying Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha's cells, but Zou Hyuga refused.
• Jiraiya defeated Sasori, who abandoned Orochimaru and retreated, then hurried to Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha.
• Orochimaru shed his skin and escaped when Jiraiya arrived, and Jiraiya invited Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha to travel with him for their safety.
• Jiraiya told Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha that he planned to inspect the Fourth Hokage's seal in the Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
• Zou Hyuga connected the encounter to the Leyline and resolved to be more careful around the Three Great Sage Lands and Gamamaru.

Jiraiya inspected the sealed Leyline at Rōran, reinforced its seal, and reported his findings about Orochimaru and Sasori to the Third Hokage. Sasori and Orochimaru attacked a Sunagakure squad, confirming Sasori’s role in the Third Kazekage’s murder and further damaging Sunagakure’s standing.

• Jiraiya summoned Sage Fukasaku at Rōran, where Fukasaku sensed the Leyline’s decline and traces of unusual chakra, and Jiraiya added seals to the Leyline.
• After Jiraiya left, Orochimaru and Sasori investigated the ruins, collected Leyline-powered puppet remnants, and attacked a Sunagakure squad they encountered.
• Jiraiya returned to Konoha and told the Third Hokage about Orochimaru, Sasori, the Leyline, and his companions’ release from ANBU duty.
• Jiraiya learned that Naruto would attend the ninja academy as an ordinary child under ANBU protection.
• Rasa received reports that Sasori and Orochimaru had attacked Sand Ninja squads, and the survivors confirmed Sasori had a Magnet Release human puppet.
• Chiyo ordered Sasori captured dead or alive, while Sunagakure added Sasori, Orochimaru, and their organization to its investigation list, causing its prestige to fall.

Zou Hyuga discovered that the Ley Line Consciousness was drawn to the vanished earth vein node at the Valley of the End, then contracted with it and gave Oto Uchiha the right to use its power. They began planning how to conceal their connection to the Leyline, wary of the trouble and powerful observers it could attract.

• After returning to Konoha, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha took missions together while searching for a place to make Oto the Leyline's jinchūriki.
• Zou Hyuga followed the Ley Line Consciousness's renewed activity to the Valley of the End, where he found the underground chamber collapsed and the earth vein node gone.
• Zou Hyuga proposed a contract to the Ley Line Consciousness, which agreed and allowed him to control the Leyline sealed within the vessel.
• Zou Hyuga told Oto Uchiha about the contract, and she teased him by calling his offer of the Leyline a token of his love.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto considered how to use the Leyline without leaving traces, since they feared attracting attention from powerful figures and the Three Great Sage Lands.

Zou Hyuga and Oto openly began dating, drawing concern from Danzo and the village leadership, while Orochimaru and Sasori reported to Pain and Obito proposed recruiting Moryo into the Akatsuki. The chapter ended with Obito planning to strengthen his position against Nagato by cultivating a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Zou Hyuga and Oto held hands in public, prompting Danzo to report that the Hyuga and Uchiha clans might be forming an alliance.
• Orochimaru and Sasori fought another Sunagakure assassination squad, and Sasori learned that his grandmother, Elder Chiyo, had ordered his capture.
• Orochimaru and Sasori reported their findings from Rōran's ruins to Pain, who ordered the Akatsuki to recruit more members as the Demonic Statue drained his life.
• Obito approached Deva Path Pain and recommended recruiting Moryo, who was living in another person's body and could manipulate people's hearts.
• Obito resolved to cultivate a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan because he lacked confidence that he could control Nagato and ensure the Eye of the Moon plan succeeded.

Zou Hyuga settled the Ley Line Consciousness at an earth vein node near the Land of Fire Capital, then met Utada to review the Tailed Beast Merchant Association’s expansion. As Zou Hyuga prepared to return to his village, he sensed that his temporary base had been attacked by an unknown assailant.

• Zou Hyuga searched for an earth vein node, abandoned a sealed node beneath the ocean near the Land of Whirlpools, and chose a mountain forest near the Land of Fire Capital.
• Zou Hyuga released the Ley Line Consciousness underground, where it took over the node and began absorbing natural energy.
• Zou Hyuga stayed for several days to monitor the Ley Line Consciousness and practice Sage Mode.
• Zou Hyuga met Utada in the Land of Fire Capital and heard that the Tailed Beast Merchant Association was expanding abroad, with slow progress in several major nations and obstacles in the Land of Rain.
• Zou Hyuga told Utada to intensify ordinary business expansion in the Land of Rain without sending guards with ninja abilities.
• Zou Hyuga sensed that an unknown attacker had struck his temporary base and hurried back.

Zou Hyuga found Kisame Hoshigaki injured after Hiruko attacked the Kekkei Genkai Orphans, then tracked Hiruko to his lair. There, Zou discovered Orochimaru and Sasori were also pursuing Hiruko and chose to watch from hiding.

• Zou Hyuga reached the temporary base, found Kisame Hoshigaki and the children alive, and healed Kisame while listening to his account of the attack.
• Kisame described the attacker’s Konoha-style fighting and stitched-together summoning beasts, leading Zou Hyuga to identify him as Hiruko.
• Zou Hyuga learned Hiruko’s escape direction, left Kisame to protect the Kekkei Genkai Orphans, and pursued Hiruko through the forest.
• Zou Hyuga tracked Hiruko to a remote town and waited for him to return to his lair, hoping to find his research records.
• Zou Hyuga noticed Orochimaru and Sasori approaching Hiruko’s location and hid to observe them.

Orochimaru and Sasori tried to recruit Hiruko into the Akatsuki, but Hiruko refused and the meeting erupted into a battle. As Sasori and Hiruko fought, Zou Hyuga watched from hiding and exchanged a glance with Orochimaru.

• Orochimaru and Sasori found Hiruko at his cave and Orochimaru invited him to join the Akatsuki.
• Hiruko mocked Orochimaru and refused the offer, then secretly summoned his modified ninja beasts.
• Sasori attacked Hiruko with his poisoned scorpion tail, and one of Hiruko’s enhanced summoning beasts took the blow.
• Hiruko summoned more modified beasts while Sasori brought out human puppets, and Orochimaru watched without intervening.
• Zou Hyuga observed the battle with his Byakugan and considered the potential and dangers of Hiruko’s Chimera Technique.
• Zou Hyuga looked back at Orochimaru, who glanced toward his hiding place.

Zou Hyuga confronted Orochimaru, Sasori, and Hiruko while pursuing his mission, revealing overwhelming skill as Hiruko fled and begged to join their organization. The chapter left Zou fighting Orochimaru and Sasori, with Sasori launching an iron spike at him.

• Orochimaru, Sasori, and Hiruko sensed a watcher and moved to investigate, but Zou Hyuga destroyed Orochimaru's scouting snake and Sasori's puppet.
• Zou Hyuga recognized Orochimaru and Sasori as Kakuzu's associates, then cut Hiruko's exhausted modified summoning beast in two.
• Hiruko fled toward his secret base, triggering Zou's traps, and shouted that he would join the organization.
• Orochimaru and Sasori used the Body Flicker Technique to block Zou, but Zou attacked with Earth Release and lightning, damaging Sasori's puppets and Hiruko's summoning beasts.
• Orochimaru questioned why Zou was carrying out his mission for payment, while Sasori sent an iron spike at him with the Kazekage Human Puppet.

Zou Hyuga fought Sasori with Ice Release and demanded compensation from Orochimaru for Hiruko’s attack on his employer’s warehouse. Orochimaru agreed to pay ten million ryo, then admitted he needed to put the payment on credit.

• Zou Hyuga used Ice Release and Water Release to damage Sasori’s puppets, forcing Sasori to retreat beside Orochimaru.
• Zou Hyuga faced Orochimaru and explained that Hiruko had attacked his employer’s warehouse and injured its hired men.
• Orochimaru offered to pay Zou Hyuga to let Hiruko go, and Zou Hyuga demanded ten million ryo for the warehouse robbery and Sasori’s attack.
• Hiruko said he could not afford the payment, and Sasori showed no willingness to pay.
• Orochimaru realized he had no ten million ryo on hand and asked Zou Hyuga if he could put it on credit.

Zou Hyuga collected payment from Orochimaru and Sasori for Hiruko’s release, then refused Orochimaru’s offer to join his organization while leaving the door open to temporary contracts. He returned to the Training Ground, planning to relocate the base and make clear that he wanted to avoid conflict with the Akatsuki.

• Hiruko offered his forbidden summoning-beast modification technique as payment, and Orochimaru provided chakra metal worth seven million for his release.
• Sasori paid the remaining three million, and Zou Hyuga allowed Orochimaru to take Hiruko away.
• Orochimaru invited Zou Hyuga to join his organization, but Zou refused because he owned a twenty-percent stake in his employer.
• Orochimaru told Hiruko the organization would reimburse the payment, then claimed he had spent twenty-seven million to save him.
• Zou Hyuga returned to the Training Ground, deciding the Akatsuki might expose the base and that it would need to relocate.

Zou Hyuga relocated his bases to protect the kekkei genkai orphans and returned to Konoha, where Danzo’s Root had begun recruiting and monitoring the Uchiha. At the Uchiha training ground, he reunited with Oto and watched her coach Itachi, whose early graduation was near.

• Zou Hyuga established several outposts and chose a main base near the buried Leyline, hoping to train the orphans into capable ninja and cultivate users of senjutsu.
• Zou Hyuga returned to Konoha and learned from the Moryo Clone’s memories that Oto had visited and Danzo’s Root was recruiting under the ANBU’s name.
• Zou Hyuga spotted Root ninja surveilling the Uchiha Clan Compound and noted that Oto’s conduct had helped keep Shisui from becoming an ANBU directly under the Third.
• Zou Hyuga found Oto coaching Itachi, who was ready to graduate from the Ninja Academy and already showed impressive taijutsu.
• Oto teased Zou Hyuga about his interest in Itachi, while Itachi quietly resumed training and thought that Zou and Oto were acting lovey-dovey again.

Zou Hyuga warned Oto Uchiha that Itachi’s talent might attract the Masked Man’s attention, then learned that Oto had become vice captain of the Military Police Force in exchange for learning Izanagi and Izanami. At home, Zou sensed that his distant Leyline seed had grown into a towering tree and wondered if it could let him build a chakra network.

• Oto asked Zou whether Itachi should accept the village’s choice of jonin team leader, and Zou advised Itachi to decide for himself while warning that the Masked Man might notice his talent.
• Oto suggested Zou lead Itachi’s team, but Zou refused because his rank as a special jōnin did not qualify him.
• Itachi told Zou amusing stories about Sasuke and said his younger brother would soon start school.
• Oto revealed that she had accepted Fugaku’s condition to become vice captain of the Military Police Force in return for learning Izanagi and Izanami.
• After returning home, Zou sensed natural energy and discovered that the Leyline seed he had planted had grown into a towering tree.
• Zou wondered whether the fast-growing Leyline could spread across the earth and carry chakra through a network of his own.

Zou Hyuga speculated about the Leyline’s origins and pursued his plan to build a chakra network, despite the time and conflicts it would require. A month later, he assessed Kisame and the kekkei genkai orphans at the Merchant Association’s training base, considering their potential and the future risks surrounding the Leyline.

• Zou Hyuga considered whether the Leyline came from the God Tree, natural energy, or an ancient artificial creation, and resolved to gather chakra to strengthen himself and investigate his black markings.
• Zou Hyuga repeatedly visited the Valley of the End and successfully began guiding the Leyline toward an earth vein node near the Daimyō’s seat, estimating the connection would take at least three months.
• Zou Hyuga recognized that expanding the chakra network across the shinobi world could bring him into conflict with the Three Great Sage Lands, whose territories contained crucial earth vein nodes.
• A month later, Zou Hyuga visited the secret training base near the Daimyō’s seat and considered Kisame and the kekkei genkai orphans’ prospects, especially Kisame’s natural-energy affinity and Haku’s early strength.
• Zou Hyuga approached Kisame and the children, who grew tense because they knew his methods and felt they had no choice.

Zou Hyuga assessed Kisame and the others’ progress toward Sage Mode before attending Hinata’s Ninja Academy entrance ceremony. After the ceremony, he found a mysterious letter summoning him to meet outside the Forest of Death about Moryo.

• Zou Hyuga observed that Kisame and Haku adapted best to his Sage Mode experiment, though Kisame still showed no sign of entering Sage Mode.
• Zou Hyuga joined Hizashi, Neji, Hiashi, and Hinata outside the Academy as Hinata prepared to enroll.
• Neji welcomed Hinata and described the Academy to her, while Hinata watched Naruto from a distance.
• The Third delivered the entrance ceremony speech, and Zou Hyuga exchanged knowing smiles with Oto Uchiha.
• When Hiashi asked which students had the greatest potential, Zou Hyuga named Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.
• Zou Hyuga found a letter ordering him to meet outside the Forest of Death about Moryo.

Zou Hyuga met Obito in the Forest of Death, where Obito invited him to meet Pain and revealed his desire to make Oto Uchiha awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. Suspecting Obito was scheming against him, Zou returned to Konoha to prepare for their next encounter, then ran into Oto outside his home.

• Zou Hyuga crushed Obito's note and went to the Forest of Death to meet him.
• Obito questioned Zou about meeting Jiraiya and invited him to meet Pain, but Zou privately decided that meeting Nagato was too dangerous.
• After Zou left, Obito told Zetsu that he wanted Oto Uchiha to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and said not to underestimate an Uchiha who had lost everything.
• Zou returned to Konoha and suspected Obito was planning to turn against him at their next meeting.
• As Zou left home to prepare, Oto Uchiha arrived carrying a basket of groceries.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha discussed the Masked Man’s threat and agreed that Zou would seek the Third’s help. At the Hokage Building, Zou revealed the Masked Man’s connection to Moryo and disclosed that Moryo’s chakra was inside him, leaving the Third deeply concerned.

• Oto Uchiha scolded Zou Hyuga for meeting the Masked Man alone, and Zou told her he planned to break with Obito and try to kill him.
• Oto warned that the Masked Man knew Izanagi, and she and Zou considered asking the Third and Jiraiya for help.
• Oto stayed the night at Zou’s home, and they woke up in the same bed before heading to the Hokage Building.
• Zou told the Third about the Masked Man, altering some details, and revealed information about Moryo’s sealing and the chakra inside him.
• The Third listened in silence, troubled to learn that Zou had contacted the Masked Man and concealed Moryo’s chakra from him.

The Third and the village’s leaders planned an ambush against the Masked Man after hearing Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha’s intelligence. Danzo secretly pursued his own ambitions and investigated Orochimaru’s organization, while Oto returned to her clan to meet Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Fugaku.

• The Third summoned the elder advisors and Jiraiya, then shared Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha’s intelligence about the Masked Man.
• Danzo questioned whether Zou and Oto had been compromised, but Jiraiya defended them and the leaders began planning an ambush with help from Shisui and ANBU trained against Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Danzo went to Root’s underground base and reflected on his plans to become Hokage and use the Masked Man operation to obtain Sharingan for transplantation.
• A Root operative delivered a letter from Orochimaru proposing a partnership involving a special black liquid, and Danzo replied by asking about Orochimaru’s bounty hunters.
• Oto Uchiha returned to her clan and sought out Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Fugaku.

Oto Uchiha tested Fugaku's willingness to act against the Masked Man, then joined Zou Hyuga in a Konoha operation to capture him. At the meeting, Obito revealed he intended to take Zou's body and attacked him.

• Oto Uchiha told Fugaku about the Masked Man and Zou Hyuga's planned meeting, then asked whether Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan; Fugaku denied it and offered support.
• Oto Uchiha left disappointed by Fugaku's continued inaction, while Shisui questioned her suspicion that Fugaku possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• The Third Hokage summoned Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha, and Konoha's ninja prepared an ambush plan with Jiraiya among those at the training drill.
• Zou Hyuga met Obito in a valley, where Obito said Zou's presence had weakened and demanded that he enter a box.
• Obito revealed he planned to take Zou Hyuga's body, then lunged at him with a chain-wrapped scythe.

Zou Hyuga fought Obito while Oto Uchiha and Shisui waited in ambush as part of a large Konoha operation to stop the Masked Man. After Moryo's chakra ran out, Zou pretended to regain consciousness, then used a decoy and explosive tags to catch Obito off guard.

• Zou Hyuga used Moryo chakra to extend his Gentle Fist against Obito, who spotted the hidden Konoha reinforcements and attacked him with Kamui.
• Oto Uchiha and Shisui stayed hidden with a severed arm from the defeated Zetsu and followed the plan while Oto contacted the ANBU sealing squads.
• Zou Hyuga's Moryo chakra ran out, and he pretended to awaken confused and unaware of Obito's identity.
• Zou used a Storage Scroll to produce weapons and explosive tags, then replaced himself with a tagged wooden stake as Obito lunged at him.