Chapter Summaries

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.

After Cat Granny discovered a vast amount of Moryo’s evil chakra inside Zou Hyuga, Oto Uchiha grew anxious about what might happen to him. Back in the Shinobi Village, Zou joined Kakashi and Guy’s gathering, checked Anko for a Cursed Seal, and remained distant from Oto.

• Cat Granny revealed to Oto Uchiha that a great deal of Moryo’s evil chakra was inside Zou Hyuga, and Oto left determined to find a way to deal with it.
• Cat Granny admitted that Zou’s immense chakra and natural energy had been the decisive reason she agreed to cooperate with him.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha left the Cat Village, but their distance from each other grew on the journey back to the Shinobi Village.
• Zou Hyuga accepted Guy’s invitation to join Kakashi and other ninja at an izakaya, where he saw Anko looking dispirited over Orochimaru’s departure.
• Zou Hyuga inspected Anko’s neck for a Cursed Seal, found no sign of one, and returned to his seat while the others wondered why he and Oto were acting distant.

After a tavern gathering, Oto Uchiha hid her doubts about Zou Hyuga and demonstrated her formidable throwing skills to Itachi and Sasuke. Zou returned home, considered the dangers ahead, and received a letter about recent events in the organization.

• Oto Uchiha took the Three-Color Dango from Zou Hyuga, and the gathering resumed as the Ninja shared memories of war and their fallen peers.
• Oto approached Zou while pretending to be drunk, but Zou left using the Body Flicker Technique, hoping her unstable state might eventually awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
• Oto walked home alone, revealing to herself that she had stayed lucid and had nearly asked Zou whether he was deceiving her about Moryo's influence.
• Oto met Itachi and Sasuke practicing, then pierced tree trunks with her kunai to hit every hidden bullseye, astonishing them both.
• Zou returned home, reflected on threats to come, and received a letter describing recent events in the organization before writing a reply.

Zou Hyuga sensed vast currents of natural energy beneath the earth and considered investigating the Leyline under Rōran after dealing with Oto’s situation. Meanwhile, Obito secretly entered the Uchiha compound to find clan members he could cultivate, and watched Oto and Shisui spar.

• Kisame warned Zou Hyuga that rogue ninja and unusually active bounty hunters were targeting the Tailed Beast Merchant Association, and Zou told him not to stir up trouble.
• Zou Hyuga sensed powerful underground currents of natural energy and identified one leading toward the desert and the buried Leyline beneath Rōran.
• Obito used his space-time abilities to enter Konoha and watched Itachi and Sasuke, deciding that the brothers were worth cultivating.
• Obito observed Oto and Shisui sparring and considered exploiting Oto’s connection to a Hyuga ninja, but decided he would first need to draw Shisui away.
• Shisui struggled through Oto’s sparring session after recently being released from confinement by the clan head.

Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha set out on a mission to eliminate rogue ninja, but Obito ambushed them and sent Zou into a mysterious space. Oto recognized Obito as the masked man who attacked the village and prepared to fight him to rescue Zou.

• Zou Hyuga invited Oto Uchiha on a C-Rank mission, and they gradually regained their former closeness as they traveled.
• Obito watched the pair and told Zetsu that he intended to make Oto lose faith in the village and join his side.
• Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha found the rogue ninja camp, defeated the bandits, and discovered that their supposed robbery had yielded little money.
• Obito appeared behind Zou Hyuga and pulled him into a mysterious space before Oto could warn him in time.
• Oto Uchiha recognized Obito as the man who had controlled the Nine-Tails and attacked the village, then demanded that he release Zou.
• Obito challenged Oto over the gulf between their Sharingan powers, and Oto prepared to fight him.

Oto Uchiha fought Obito at the rogue ninja camp while Zou Hyuga waited inside the Kamui Dimension. Shisui Uchiha arrived with Susanoo to save Oto, leaving Obito facing both Uchiha fighters.

• Zou Hyuga waited in the Kamui Dimension for Obito, then sensed a battle nearby and went to investigate.
• Oto Uchiha attacked Obito with powerful Fire Release, but he avoided her attacks and waited for her chakra to weaken.
• Obito tried to trap Oto with genjutsu, but Samehada helped her break free, and she countered with an explosive tag.
• Obito used Wood Release and Kamui to attack Oto, but Shisui Uchiha appeared with Susanoo and pulled her to safety.
• Oto thanked Shisui for arriving in time and told Obito she had been waiting for Shisui while he had been waiting for an opening.