Chapter Summaries

Sasori and Orochimaru withdrew from their battle with Kakashi's squad after Shisui used Susanoo to drive Sasori back and Orochimaru escaped. As the exhausted squad retreated and considered what they had learned, a Root operative who had watched the fight was approached by someone near the destroyed village.

• Sasori, nearly out of chakra, sent an iron-sand pyramid at Shisui's Susanoo and fled with the Kazekage Human Puppet.
• Orochimaru refused Kakashi's demand to return to Konoha, left a message for the Third, and escaped by dissolving into snakes.
• Kakashi ordered the squad to retreat, and the members later discussed the battle and the danger posed by Orochimaru's organization.
• Zou Hyuga wondered why Orochimaru had avoided fighting him and considered how he might gain the ability to fly.
• A Root operative who had witnessed the battle prepared to return with his intelligence, but a figure appeared behind him.

Orochimaru encountered a Root ninja who had witnessed Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan, but Zou Hyuga arranged for the spy to die at the battle site. Konoha and Kumogakure avoided a wider war while both sides investigated the destroyed village, and the chapter ended with the Cloud abandoning the war after discovering signs of a third party’s interference.

• Orochimaru identified the Root ninja, marked him with a message for Danzo, and let him leave, but Zou Hyuga’s poison killed him at the earlier battle site.
• Kakashi reported the squad’s encounter to Jonin Nara while concealing Shisui’s Mangekyō Sharingan, and Nara ordered reconnaissance squads back to camp.
• Oto Uchiha kept the Uchiha elites from protesting the camp confinement by demonstrating her force, while Zou Hyuga secretly left camp on errands for the Tailed Beast Merchant Association.
• Konoha and Kumogakure maintained a wary peace, and the five-person squad later encountered Yugito without starting a large battle.
• After a month of small-scale clashes, the Cloud ninja found evidence of a third party’s interference in the ruined village and abandoned plans to continue the war.

Konoha’s leaders questioned Kakashi’s squad about its survival and discussed Orochimaru, Sasori, and the Third Kazekage’s human puppet. The Third revealed that Orochimaru and Sasori might be connected to a mercenary organization that had collected a bounty on a Kumogakure unit leader.

• Kumogakure accepted a Peace Treaty, and Jiraiya took over the negotiations after volunteering to investigate traces of Orochimaru.
• The Third questioned Kakashi’s squad, and Kakashi withheld Shisui’s Mangekyo Sharingan secret when Danzo challenged their account of surviving Orochimaru and the Magnet Release puppet.
• After the squad left, Danzo accused its members of colluding with Orochimaru, but the Third redirected the discussion to the Puppeteer and the human puppet.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu identified the Puppeteer as Sasori and the Magnet Release puppet as the missing Third Kazekage.
• Danzo raised doubts about the Uchiha’s loyalty, and the Third rebuked him before revealing evidence linking Orochimaru and Sasori to a mercenary organization.

The Third decided to suppress reports of Orochimaru and Sasori’s appearance in the war, while Zou Hyuga reflected on the Akatsuki and expanded his merchant association’s operations. Hiashi asked Zou to teach Hinata, but Zou proposed Oto Uchiha, forcing Hiashi to consider what that choice would mean for the Hyuga Clan’s neutrality.

• The Third chose to suppress information about Orochimaru and Sasori, and Danzo warned that this would boost the Uchiha’s reputation.
• Zou returned home, recalled his encounter with Orochimaru and Sasori, and ordered the Tailed Beast Merchant Association to expand its trade and gather intelligence across other countries.
• Hiashi summoned Zou and explained that he wanted Hinata to attend the Ninja Academy and receive help overcoming her timid temperament.
• Zou recommended his friend Oto Uchiha as Hinata’s teacher, and Hiashi recognized that the choice would signal the Hyuga Clan’s support for the Uchiha.

Zou Hyuga warned Hiashi about shinobi seeking the Byakugan, while Hiashi postponed deciding whether the clan should take a master. Elsewhere, Sasori reported that Shisui Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at an Akatsuki meeting, and Orochimaru began considering how to use the information.

• Hiashi told Zou Hyuga he needed more time to decide whether to take a master, and Zou warned him that Orochimaru and another powerful shinobi coveted the Byakugan.
• Sasori and Orochimaru left a small ninja village they had destroyed, with Sasori replenishing his puppet stock and Orochimaru collecting specimens.
• Pain convened an Akatsuki meeting, where Sasori reported that Shisui Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Orochimaru confirmed Shisui's awakening and noted that Sasori had nearly died fighting the Konoha squad.
• After the meeting, Orochimaru considered telling his old friend about the ANBU squad, while Sasori contemplated asking Pain for a new teammate.

Danzo confronted the Third about Shisui Uchiha awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan and accused him of hiding a threat to the village. Shisui admitted awakening it but concealed its ability, while Danzo and the Third continued to worry about Oto Uchiha’s influence and the Uchiha’s political ambitions.

• A Root ninja delivered Orochimaru’s letter to Danzo, revealing that Shisui Uchiha had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Danzo took the information to the Third and accused Shisui of plotting against the village, but the Third challenged Danzo’s evidence and his unauthorized surveillance of ANBU.
• The Third summoned Shisui, who admitted possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan but claimed he did not know what its special ability was.
• The Third accepted Shisui’s admission as evidence of loyalty and stopped Danzo from pressing him further.
• Danzo warned that Oto Uchiha could seek the Hokage position, while the Third acknowledged that her influence might no longer serve as a bridge between the village and the Uchiha.

Zou Hyuga learned that Shisui had revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan to the village leadership, while keeping Kotoamatsukami secret, and warned Oto Uchiha to protect the clan from the fallout. During their three-month leave, Zou and Oto visited their teammates to discuss what to do next.

• Zou Hyuga questioned why the Third had granted his ANBU squad three months of leave and went to ask Oto Uchiha about it.
• Oto Uchiha told Zou that Shisui had confessed to possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan, but had not exposed Kotoamatsukami.
• Zou warned Oto that Danzo or others might use Shisui's revelation to undermine the Uchiha, and urged her to consider who would benefit from the clan's downfall.
• Zou told Oto that he might take Shisui's eyes if she failed to handle the danger posed by Kotoamatsukami.
• Zou and Oto visited Kakashi's home, where they met Kakashi, Yamato, and Might Guy and discussed how to spend their leave and handle missions.

Uchiha Itachi excelled at the Ninja Academy but refused repeated offers to graduate early, until the Third Hokage personally asked him to reconsider. Afterward, Zou Hyuga reported the meeting to Oto and returned to the compound, where he encountered Hiashi and two figures.

• Itachi earned full marks in kunai throwing and refused his instructor’s third suggestion that he graduate early.
• Itachi shared Three-Color Dango with Izumi, who dreamed of becoming a kunoichi like Oto, and spoke about his family.
• The Third Hokage questioned Itachi about his life and the village, then asked him to consider graduating early as a new bridge between the Uchiha and the village.
• Zou Hyuga witnessed the Third speaking with Itachi and later passed the news to Oto.
• Zou reflected on the Tailed Beast Merchant Association’s growth after returning from a mission, then stopped when he saw two figures outside the clan compound as Hiashi approached.

Zou Hyuga recognized the visitors as members of the Lunar Ōtsutsuki lineage after they arrived at the Hyuga compound and revealed their Byakugan. The elder demanded that the Hyuga hand Zou over and help the lunar lineage cleanse the Shinobi World, leaving Hiashi amused and Zou wary.

• Hiashi invited a Byakugan-wielding elder and the blind boy accompanying him into the Hyuga compound, and Zou realized they were from the Lunar Ōtsutsuki lineage.
• Hiashi questioned the visitors about their origins, while Toneri said he wanted to marry Hinata when he grew up.
• The elder provoked Hiashi by criticizing the Main Family and pointing out that Zou had the strongest bloodline.
• The elder demanded that the Hyuga hand over Zou and cooperate with the Lunar Ōtsutsuki in cleansing the Shinobi World.
• Hiashi laughed at the demand, while Zou grew more serious.

A Tenseigan-wielding old man defeated Hiashi and took Zou Hyuga toward the moon, revealing that he and Toneri came from the Ōtsutsuki clan. Hiashi kept the incident from the village and went to search the Hyuga records for information about the secluded clan.

• Hiashi dismissed the old man's threat, but the old man attacked and drained most of Hiashi's chakra with an emerald orb.
• The old man demanded Zou Hyuga, and Zou agreed to leave with him so the village would not be alerted.
• Zou Hyuga led the old man and Toneri out of Konoha and learned they came from the moon and were Otsutsuki Descendants.
• Hiashi told Hizashi that the attack was a family matter, then went to the Main Family's old residence to look for records about the secluded Hyuga clan.

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.