Recaps

With Tajima absent, the Uchiha elders tried to install an acting clan leader, but Hachijo and many Jōnin rejected the move and went to search for Tajima. When Madara, Izuna, and Jing Xiu returned, a damaging rumor about Madara had spread, and Jing Xiu began preparing to confront the elders.

• The Second and Third Elders called a Jōnin meeting to elect an acting clan leader, but Hachijo and Hohara opposed the plan and urged the clan to search for Tajima.
• Hachijo accused the Second Elder of betraying Tajima and left to search the Land of Whirlpools, followed by nearly half the Jōnin.
• Motoi admitted to Yamashiro that he had hoped to seize leadership, and Yamashiro said Madara would still have to rely on the elders.
• A rumor spread that Madara had fled battle and that Tajima had died protecting him, prompting clansmen to greet Madara, Izuna, and Jing Xiu with contempt.
• Jing Xiu questioned Shakai, learned that Motoi and the Third Elder had tried to seize power, and placed sensory-blocking talismans around his residence.
• Madara and Izuna joined Jing Xiu at home, and Jing Xiu asked Madara how likely he was to defeat the First and Second Elders and how long it would take.

Madara became the Uchiha Clan's acting head while secretly building support among younger members as Jing Xiu prepared for the Hyuga Clan's move. Black Wolf returned with the Amber Purifying Bottle, and Jing Xiu assigned him to target Mū in the Land of Earth before sensing someone lurking nearby.

• Jing Xiu explained that the Uchiha elders acted as one faction and warned Madara and Izuna that Hyuga Tennin threatened the clan.
• Madara became acting clan head at the Jōnin meeting, while Izuna identified Hachijo and Hohara as allies and Madara assessed the elders' tactics.
• Madara outwardly cooperated with the elders for half a month while secretly cultivating support among younger Uchiha, including Hachijo and Hohara.
• Black Wolf returned with a legendary ninja tool he had taken from the Uzumaki Clan, and Jing Xiu identified it as the Amber Purifying Bottle.
• Jing Xiu told Black Wolf to target Mū in the Land of Earth, then sensed a figure skulking nearby.

Jing Xiu exposed a Gekko Clan spy and learned that the Sarutobi-led Seven-Family Alliance planned to incite war between the Uchiha, Senju, and Hyuga. He sent Izuna and Madara to contact Tobirama Senju and Hashirama Senju, setting the stage for unifying the Land of Fire.

• Jing Xiu detected Moonlight Lingfeng infiltrating the Uchiha grounds, and Black Wolf burned and interrogated him.
• Jing Xiu sent Black Wolf to recall Hatake Ryuichi and Aburame Zhihong and to have Qingming keep gathering rare materials.
• Madara appointed Jing Xiu a Jōnin and a member of the clan Elders Council, but Jing Xiu refused the posts and warned that northern forces were preparing to act.
• Jing Xiu explained that the Sarutobi-led Seven-Family Alliance had arranged Hyuga Masakage's disappearance and planted evidence implicating the Senju or Uchiha.
• Jing Xiu ordered Izuna to share the intelligence with Tobirama Senju and asked Madara to meet Hashirama Senju so they could unite the Land of Fire.

Jing Xiu prepared a confrontation with the Uchiha elders as Madara and Hashirama agreed on a shared dream of peace. The four elders arrived at the Underground Shrine, unaware of what awaited them.

• Sarutobi Yuri refused Shimura Kamenosuke's demand for Hyuga Masakage, arguing that the child's value lay in provoking a war among the Three Great Superfamilies.
• Madara and Hashirama shared the losses their clans had suffered and agreed to pursue peace by joining the Uchiha and Senju to build a village without war.
• Jing Xiu witnessed their historic meeting and then asked Black Wolf to hold off the Second Elder, offering him a Three-Tomoe Sharingan so he could use Izanagi if needed.
• Jing Xiu told Hatake Ryuichi and Aburame Zhihong to guard the Four Violet Flames Formation while Izuna kept the elders' factions from breaking it.
• Madara's messengers summoned the four Uchiha elders to the Underground Shrine, where they arrived expecting to advise him.

Madara and Black Wolf confronted the Uchiha elders inside a Four Violet Flames Formation while Jing Xiu fought the Fourth Elder and then turned on Uchiha Motoi. The chapter ended with Jing Xiu trapping Motoi in a lightning prison as the Shinobi World entered the era of the “Three Gods,” the “Two Heroes,” and the “Four Prodigies.”

• Madara lured the four elders into the shrine, where he and Black Wolf entered the Four Violet Flames Formation and confronted them.
• Uchiha Yamashiro offered Madara the clan leadership in ten years, but Madara attacked him with the Great Fireball Technique and fought him with Setting Sun.
• Jing Xiu killed the Fourth Elder with Light Thunder and took his Sharingan.
• Jing Xiu attacked Uchiha Motoi while Madara kept Yamashiro occupied, and Black Wolf retreated when Jing Xiu ordered him to fall back.
• Jing Xiu trapped Motoi in Six Directions Thunder Prison, marking the start of the era of the Three Gods, Two Heroes, and Four Prodigies.

Jing Xiu divined that a deadly danger would come within seven days and prepared for a mission in the Endless Desert. There, he found Hyuga Tennin trapped in a temple named Honnō-ji.

• The Senju and Uchiha fought the Hyuga for five years, while Hashirama Senju awakened Wood Release and Madara Uchiha grew frustrated with the seal on his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Jing Xiu adapted Feng Hou Qimen to the world and divined a dangerous configuration that warned of a life-or-death crisis within seven days.
• Jing Xiu gave Uchiha Black Wolf spare Three-Tomoe Sharingan and ordered him to watch Tobirama Senju and gather his ninjutsu research.
• Jing Xiu took Hatake Ryuichi to the Endless Desert after receiving a message, and ordered Black Wolf to eliminate Tobirama if he threatened Izuna.
• Jing Xiu arrived at the oasis where Madara planned to trap Hyuga Tennin and found him confined in a temple called Honnō-ji.

At Honnō-ji, Tobirama Senju outlined a plan to trap Hyuga Tennin’s forces by releasing Shukaku, while Jing Xiu grew suspicious of the sealing scroll assigned to him. Jing Xiu realized the White Tiger Gate on a moonlit night might be where his calamity awaited.

• Jing Xiu rebuffed Hashirama Senju’s friendly greeting, while Tobirama Senju watched him with growing hostility.
• Mito Uzumaki and Uzumaki Xiangnong joined the war council, where Tobirama Senju explained how the allies would use Shukaku to weaken and trap Hyuga Tennin’s forces.
• Tobirama Senju assigned the Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise Gates to his team and the Uzumaki, leaving the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger Gates to the Uchiha.
• The following day, Jing Xiu and Hatake Ryuichi brought Mito Uzumaki’s sealing scroll to the White Tiger Gate, and Hatake Ryuichi promised to protect Jing Xiu.
• Jing Xiu connected his unease and earlier divination to the moonlit night, Honnō-ji, Hyuga Tennin, and the White Tiger Gate, concluding that this was where his calamity awaited.

Shukaku and Hyuga Tennin joined forces to escape Honnō-ji and targeted the White Tiger Gate, where Jing Xiu sensed danger and prepared to retreat. Hundreds of allied ninja arrived under orders to support Jing Xiu, leaving him unable to withdraw alone.

• Shukaku attacked the Hyuga allied forces inside Honnō-ji, destroying the four gates and exposing the Uchiha and Senju forces outside.
• Hyuga Tennin used a dark-gold stone to strengthen his attacks, and Shukaku recognized its aura as belonging to Lord Hamura.
• Tennin persuaded Shukaku to cooperate in breaking out, and they agreed to take turns attacking the White Tiger Gate.
• Jing Xiu sensed their movements and started to retreat, but 317 allied ninja blocked his way and pledged their support.

Jing Xiu and Hatake Ryuichi tried to defend the White Tiger Gate while allied shinobi unknowingly fed chakra into its barrier, but attacks on the other three gates were redirected and destroyed it. Jing Xiu awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and escaped through its Nirvana Path, then resolved to kill Tobirama Senju.

• Jing Xiu had the allied shinobi enter the White Tiger Gate barrier and secretly told Hatake Ryuichi to watch several suspicious individuals.
• Hyuga Tennin and Shukaku attacked the barrier, and Hyuga Tennin ordered his forces to bombard all four gates.
• The barrier's backlash killed the suspicious shinobi and injured others, while Jing Xiu sensed danger and fled with Hatake Ryuichi.
• The White Tiger Gate and nearly a thousand shinobi were incinerated; Hatake Ryuichi stayed behind to protect Jing Xiu and unleashed his strongest lightning slash.
• Jing Xiu awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and used its Nirvana Path to escape the blast, then vowed to kill Tobirama Senju.

After surviving Tobirama Senju’s scheme, Jing Xiu confronted the Senju at Honnō-ji as the battle for the Land of Fire drew to a close. Madara and Hashirama left to settle their feud, while Jing Xiu ordered the allied clans to withdraw and faced four opponents alone.

• After the White Tiger Gate explosion devastated the Hyuga Clan, the Sarutobi and Shimura clans surrendered to the Senju, and the other clans also ceased fighting.
• Madara confronted Tobirama over Jing Xiu’s fate, but Jing Xiu appeared and said Tobirama would bear the consequences of his scheme.
• Jing Xiu released the seal restraining Madara’s Mangekyō Sharingan, and Tobirama proposed a duel before Hashirama offered to fight Madara to decide the alliance’s leadership.
• Madara and Hashirama agreed to fight in the Endless Wasteland, while Tobirama and Hyuga Tennin prepared to confront Jing Xiu and his allies.
• Jing Xiu ordered Izuna and the Uchiha forces to withdraw a thousand li from Honnō-ji, then challenged Hyuga Tennin, Uzumaki Xiangnong, Sarutobi Yuri, and Shimura Kamenosuke to fight him together.

Jing Xiu used Feng Hou Qimen to kill Sarutobi Yuri and Shimura Kamenosuke, then faced Hyuga Tennin’s strongest attack. The chapter ended with Jing Xiu summoning a golden, skeletal Susanoo to meet the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.

• Izuna left shadow clones at the camp and headed back toward Honnō-ji to check on Jing Xiu.
• Jing Xiu evaded the coordinated attacks of Hyuga Tennin, Sarutobi Yuri, Shimura Kamenosuke, and Uzumaki Xiangnong, then trapped Hyuga Tennin inside his own Eight Trigrams formation.
• Jing Xiu raised a rocky mountain to block the combined Wind and Fire Release, then used Chaotic Golden Watchman to immobilize Sarutobi Yuri and Shimura Kamenosuke as stone pillars crushed them.
• Jing Xiu dismissed Feng Hou Qimen and prepared to defeat Hyuga Tennin, who absorbed the dark-gold crystal and unleashed the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
• Jing Xiu realized his other techniques could not block Hyuga Tennin’s attack and summoned an enormous golden skeleton between them.

Jing Xiu defeated Hyuga Tennin with his newly awakened Mangekyō abilities, but a golden beam from the moon transported him away. Izuna founded Rōran with Uzumaki Xiangnong and vowed to wait for Jing Xiu, who arrived battered in an unknown place and was mistaken for a shinobi sent by Konoha.

• Jing Xiu trapped Hyuga Tennin in his Yomi genjutsu, and Hyuga Tennin jumped into the abyss while Jing Xiu suffered severe strain to his eyes.
• Hyuga Tennin's dark-gold crystal hit the ground and triggered a golden beam from the moon, which destroyed Honnō-ji and made Jing Xiu disappear.
• Izuna awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan while rushing toward Honnō-ji, then ordered Uzumaki Xiangnong to guard the site until Jing Xiu returned.
• Uzumaki Xiangnong agreed to stay and proposed establishing a nation, and Izuna named it Rōran.
• Jing Xiu arrived battered in an unknown place after storing Hyuga Tennin's corpse, and a woman asked whether he was the shinobi lord Konoha had sent to help Rōran.

Jing Xiu recovered in the Rōran palace while Sara’s rule came under threat from Anrokuzan. He discovered that Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato had arrived from the future, and targeted Sakura for her medical knowledge.

• Jing Xiu accepted Princess Sara’s offer of shelter and spent days meditating in a palace guest suite, unaware of his surroundings.
• Anrokuzan confronted Queen Sara and sent puppet soldiers into the royal hall, but Jing Xiu sensed no immediate danger to her and did not intervene.
• Jing Xiu’s detection barrier revealed Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Yamato had traveled back through the Ryumyaku, along with other powerful chakra signatures.
• Jing Xiu decided to seize Sakura for her advanced Medical Ninjutsu, which could aid his research into Otsutsuki genes.
• When Sakura attacked a black shadow, Jing Xiu caught her Monstrous Strength Fist and made her vision blur.

Jing Xiu used Sakura’s memories to learn about modern medical techniques, then captured Yamato to study his Wood Release. He headed to the Ryumyaku and watched Minato, Naruto, and their allies fight Mukade, while remaining in the past for the twenty years needed for the Ryumyaku to recharge.

• Jing Xiu drew Sakura’s training memories from her in the Inner Landscape World and learned about the Strength of a Hundred Technique.
• Jing Xiu attacked Yamato, overcame his Wood Replacement, and put the unconscious ninja and his severed limbs into the Devouring Pouch Orb.
• Jing Xiu calculated that he would need to stay in the past for another twenty years before the Ryumyaku could return him to his original time.
• Jing Xiu reached the Ryumyaku and watched Minato, Naruto, Kakashi, and Shibi Aburame battle Mukade and his puppet army.
• Mukade’s expanding attacks reached Jing Xiu’s position, and Jing Xiu noticed someone looking at him.

Jing Xiu watched Minato Namikaze and Naruto fight Mukade, then intervened as Naruto and Sakura returned to their own time. After Yamato also vanished, Jing Xiu concluded that time travel depended on a marker tied to the Ryumyaku and decided to seek the Dark Gold Crystal and visit Konoha.

• Minato Namikaze and Naruto damaged Mukade, but the Ryumyaku continually restored him, so Sara led Sakura toward the underground control center to sever their connection.
• Jing Xiu collected Yamato's vital blood and belongings, then stored him in the Devouring Pouch Orb as the Rōran Sacred Tower began to collapse.
• Jing Xiu rescued Naruto from Mukade's tail and helped Minato Namikaze and Naruto strike Mukade's weakness with the Taikyoku Rasengan.
• Naruto and Sakura returned to their original time and space under a memory-sealing jutsu, and Yamato disappeared from the Devouring Pouch Orb as well.
• Jing Xiu deduced that returning through time required a marker from one's original time and space, then resolved to find Hyuga Tennin's Dark Gold Crystal and visit Konoha.

Jing Xiu reached the Land of Water front and witnessed three-year-old Uchiha Itachi save a wounded Kirigakure shinobi, only for the enemy to kill Itachi’s protector. After Itachi questioned the meaning of life and war, Jing Xiu mocked his assumptions and challenged how little he understood.

• Jing Xiu investigated the former Uzumaki Clan site and Whirlpool Island, concluding that this was a parallel timeline rather than the future of his own.
• Jing Xiu took a Death God Mask and went to the Konoha front against the Land of Water, where Uchiha Fugaku served as deputy commander.
• Uchiha Itachi gave water to the wounded Kirigakure Genin Hozuki Yawan despite his protector’s warning.
• Hozuki Yawan used his recovered strength to stab the Uchiha Chunin protecting Itachi, leaving Itachi shocked and grieving.
• Jing Xiu asked Itachi what he did not understand, then laughed at his questions about life and war and accused him of being self-righteous and ignorant.

Jing Xiu judged Uchiha Itachi as immature and criticized Uchiha Fugaku for his poor judgment and arrogance toward his own clan. After revealing his Mangekyō Sharingan, Jing Xiu made Fugaku appoint him First Elder, but an enemy attack interrupted their meeting.

• Jing Xiu dismissed three-year-old Uchiha Itachi after criticizing his pride and his tendency to ponder life without understanding it.
• Jing Xiu learned Uchiha Fugaku's location from Itachi's guard and entered the Uchiha command tent unnoticed.
• Fugaku received word that the Uchiha could compete for Fourth Hokage if they achieved glorious results, and he vowed to defend Konoha's coastline.
• Jing Xiu confronted Fugaku, criticized his conduct, and used genjutsu, prompting Fugaku to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Jing Xiu revealed his own Mangekyō Sharingan and ordered Fugaku to appoint him First Elder and prepare proof of identity.
• Enemy attack shouts rang out around the camp as Jing Xiu prepared to leave the tent.

Jing Xiu left the Uchiha camp to confront one of seven powerful Kirigakure ninja who had infiltrated the Land of Fire. After killing Suikazan Fuguki, he subdued Samehada with a talisman formation.

• Uchiha Fugaku retained his clan-head position while giving Jing Xiu veto power and the role of First Elder, then asked him to help fight the enemy.
• Jing Xiu sensed seven elite ninja carrying unusual weapons cross into the Land of Fire and followed Suikazan Fuguki into a forest.
• Suikazan Fuguki attacked Jing Xiu with Samehada, the Hidden Mist Technique, and Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, but Jing Xiu blocked his attacks.
• Jing Xiu exploited a flaw in Suikazan Fuguki's swordsmanship and killed him with the Arc Light Blade's Chidori Sharp Spear.
• Jing Xiu placed five talismans on the weakened Samehada and formed the Five Elements Heavenly Lightning Formation, drawing in natural chakra.

Jing Xiu rejected Uchiha Fugaku’s hopes of gaining power through compromise and left the Uchiha front, then stole Hoshigakure’s star while seeking materials to forge a Body Tempering Furnace. After months searching for Gelel Stones, he encountered a puppet user in pyramid ruins and was wounded by poisoned weapons.

• Jing Xiu returned to the Uchiha defensive line, dismissed Fugaku’s hopes of earning a Hokage candidacy, and obtained identification papers to leave Konoha.
• Jing Xiu infiltrated Hoshigakure in the Land of Bears and stole the star, planning to combine its power with Gelel Stones to forge a Body Tempering Furnace and experiment on Uchiha Izuna.
• Jing Xiu searched the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth for more than half a year but found no leads on Gelel Stones.
• While exploring pyramid ruins, Jing Xiu was confronted by a small, tailed puppet user who attacked him with concealed weapons and poisoned puppets.
• Jing Xiu’s golden protection was corroded by the poison, and he opened his eyes after sustaining numerous shallow wounds.

Jing Xiu captured Sasori, recovered the Third Kazekage puppet, and discovered a temple whose visions revealed Indra and Asura’s ancient battle. After witnessing Asura’s connection to senjutsu and the old toad, Jing Xiu concluded that he would need to help Madara awaken a Sage Body, as the temple statue shattered and two powerful auras erupted.

• Jing Xiu defeated and sealed Sasori before he could use the Third Kazekage puppet, then stored the puppet in his Devouring Pouch Orb.
• Jing Xiu and Sasori discussed mechanical constructs, and Jing Xiu considered using White Zetsu to make a chakra-absorbing Wood Release puppet.
• Jing Xiu found an ancient temple dedicated to Indra and saw visions of Indra defeating powerful beasts associated with senjutsu.
• Jing Xiu used his Mangekyō Sharingan to witness Indra and Asura's battle, including the old toad helping Asura master senjutsu.
• Jing Xiu decided he would need to help Madara develop a Sage Body, and the statue shattered as two powerful auras erupted.

Jing Xiu discovered two sacred treasures and began refining the Body Tempering Furnace with Sasori while the Third Shinobi World War intensified across the major fronts. As Konoha’s Sannin prepared for Minato’s deployment against the Third Mizukage, Jiraiya headed for the coast, leaving Orochimaru to look after Tsunade.

• Jing Xiu found the Yata Mirror and Totsuka Blade inside the shattered statue, then used the Amber Purifying Bottle, the Star, 108 White Zetsu, and Samehada to begin refining the Body Tempering Furnace with Sasori.
• The Third Mizukage, Yuki Shirakawa, defeated Uchiha Fugaku without forcing him to reveal his Mangekyō Sharingan, while Konoha reinforced the Land of Water front and Ōnoki shifted his target to Kumogakure.
• Rasa and Sunagakure’s leadership sent Pakura with a hundred ninja to infiltrate Kirigakure, while Karura urged her to return safely and Rasa privately resented both women and Granny Chiyo.
• At Kikyo Mountain, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru discussed Minato’s orders to take command of the Land of Water front and their doubts about Hiruzen Sarutobi’s political maneuvering.
• Jiraiya set off for the Land of Fire’s coastline to support Minato, asking Orochimaru to take care of Tsunade.

Jing Xiu and Sasori finished the Body Tempering Furnace, then traveled to the Land of Water, where Jing Xiu joined Konoha’s battle and defeated Kaguya Tiexue. His overwhelming strength and Senjutsu left Jiraiya concerned about the political consequences for Konoha.

• Jing Xiu completed the Body Tempering Furnace with Sasori and decided they would gather information before testing it on a target.
• Jing Xiu and Sasori arrived at the Uchiha camp in the Land of Water and saw Jiraiya, Minato Namikaze, Uchiha Fugaku, and others fighting Kirigakure’s forces.
• Jing Xiu criticized Fugaku’s performance, blocked Kaguya Tiexue’s bone sword, and sent Fugaku to support Ino-Shika-Cho against Hozuki Cangliu.
• Jing Xiu paralyzed Kaguya Tiexue with Lightning Release, then used his sword techniques and Sage Art: True Flame Annihilation to overwhelm him.
• Jiraiya witnessed Jing Xiu’s power and Senjutsu and realized the Uchiha Clan could no longer be pushed around as before.

Jing Xiu killed Kaguya Tiexue and preserved the Shikotsumyaku Relic Flower, then entered Yuki Shirakawa’s ice-mirror technique to study its apparent spatial movement. After realizing the technique distorted time through extreme cold, Jing Xiu struck the ice senbon with Light Thunder, prompting Minato Namikaze to recognize him.

• Jing Xiu watched Kaguya Tiexue die in the burning bone forest and secretly collected the Relic Flower left behind.
• Jing Xiu observed Minato Namikaze’s Flying Thunder God Technique and resolved to study the principles behind bloodline abilities and ninjutsu.
• Jing Xiu chose to fight Yuki Shirakawa and entered the Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, while Minato remained trapped inside.
• Jing Xiu used his Mangekyō Sharingan and knowledge of low temperatures to determine that Yuki’s apparent spatial movement came from a distortion of time.
• Jing Xiu swung Light Thunder and split incoming ice senbon, and Minato Namikaze recognized him.

Jing Xiu helped Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya defeat Kirigakure’s forces, capturing Hozuki Cangliu as the enemy retreated. Minato Namikaze then asked Jing Xiu to hand over the prisoner so Konoha could negotiate peace with Kirigakure.

• Jing Xiu and Minato Namikaze combined their techniques to melt Yuki Shirakawa’s ice mirrors, then attacked him together.
• Jing Xiu tested the mirror technique, pierced its copy and Yuki Shirakawa’s defenses with Sage Art: Palm Thunder, and Minato Namikaze struck Yuki Shirakawa with a Rasengan.
• Karatachi Yagura ordered Kirigakure’s remaining forces to retreat after Yuki Shirakawa was incapacitated.
• Hozuki Cangliu used Steaming Danger Tyranny to escape, but Jing Xiu pursued him and returned with him barely alive.
• Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze asked Uchiha Fugaku to hand Hozuki Cangliu over to them, arguing that the prisoner could help Konoha negotiate peace.

Jing Xiu refined Hozuki Cangliu into a strange solid and let Sasori test it as a puppet core, then challenged Uchiha Fugaku over the clan’s pride and his allegiance to Konoha. Fugaku refused to stand against Minato’s appeal to the Will of Fire, and Jing Xiu left with Sasori while Itachi questioned why Jiraiya and Minato had stood by as his father was injured.

• Minato Namikaze persuaded Uchiha Fugaku to smooth things over with Jing Xiu and support Hozuki Cangliu for the village’s sake.
• Jing Xiu refined Hozuki Cangliu into a blue solid, and Sasori proposed using it as a puppet core that could grant puppets the Hydrification Technique.
• Jing Xiu brought White Zetsu to camp and let Sasori test the solid; Sasori summoned the Ten Puppets and defeated Fugaku with poison.
• Jiraiya and Minato arrived, and Jing Xiu condemned the Hokage faction’s treatment of the Uchiha before urging Fugaku to prove his clan’s strength.
• Minato invoked Itachi and the Will of Fire, and Fugaku wavered instead of standing with Jing Xiu, who left with Sasori.
• Itachi watched his injured father and wondered why Jiraiya and Minato had not intervened to protect him.