Chapter Summaries

Retsuo, disguised as Baibian Huashan, disrupted Obito and Kisame’s confrontation by attacking Yagura while Konan fought Kisame. The battle continued as Konan recognized that Kisame knew Obito’s connection to Uchiha Madara, and Retsuo announced he would use his signature Genjutsu on the masked man.

• Obito ordered Kisame to stop Konan, but Retsuo held back his Yin Release Barrier and chose to intervene.
• Retsuo challenged Kisame, then abruptly left Konan to fight him and attacked Yagura instead.
• Yagura’s attempt to use Isōbu’s Chakra failed, and Obito countered Retsuo’s Great Fireball to protect him.
• Konan and Kisame fought in the air and then landed on the water, where Kisame questioned her Akatsuki robe.
• Konan accused Uchiha Madara of betraying the Akatsuki Organization, and Retsuo announced he would use his famous Genjutsu on the masked man.

Retsuo and Obito both unleashed powerful genjutsu, but their techniques collided and neither gained the upper hand. Obito retreated with Kisame and Yagura, leaving Retsuo to question Konan about the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara.

• Retsuo prepared to use his Pure Land technique and Yin Release Barrier against Obito, despite Chōmei warning that it could expose his secrets.
• Obito surprised Retsuo by casting Limited Tsukuyomi, and Retsuo answered with Limited Pure Land Technique as he released his barrier.
• The genjutsu collided and the Yin Release techniques annihilated each other, leaving Retsuo and Obito confused about what had happened.
• Obito withdrew, while Kisame escaped through the water and Yagura retreated.
• Konan descended, and Retsuo asked her why the man claiming to be Uchiha Madara had appeared and whether she had an internal feud with him.

Konan was captured by Obito after he ambushed her with Spore Technique and brought her to Kirigakure’s dungeon. The next day, Ringo Ameyuri went to find Yagura, who had returned to the village and descended into the dungeon.

• Konan warned Retsuo about Obito and Zetsu, but refused to abandon her mission and flew toward the eastern islands.
• Obito ambushed Konan with Spore Technique, drained her Chakra, restrained her, and sealed her abilities.
• Obito ordered Yagura to imprison Konan in Kirigakure’s dungeon and wear down the protection Nagato had placed on her mind.
• Yagura returned safely to Kirigakure, and the village began a purge of those who had spread rumors of his death.
• Ringo Ameyuri left the Mizukage’s loyal shinobi and descended into the dungeon, where she found Yagura among its mechanisms and Sealing Barriers.

Ringo Ameyuri reported losing the Lightning Blade—Kiba to Baibian Huashan and described Konan’s imprisonment to Retsuo. After learning Konan owed him two hundred million Ryo, Retsuo suddenly decided to rescue her.

• Ringo Ameyuri told Yagura that Baibian Huashan had defeated her and taken the Lightning Blade—Kiba.
• Yagura stopped Hozuki Mangetsu from summoning the Seven Ninja Swords and warned that provoking Baibian Huashan could bring trouble to Kirigakure.
• Hozuki Mangetsu explained that Konan was imprisoned because she had destroyed the Mizukage Building, while Ringo Ameyuri suspected another technique was tormenting her.
• Ringo Ameyuri visited Retsuo and reported what she had seen in Konan’s cell.
• Retsuo said he had no reason to rescue Konan until Ringo Ameyuri learned that Konan owed him two hundred million Ryo, prompting him to decide to rescue her.

Retsuo entered the Mizukage Building with Ringo Ameyuri and confronted Karatachi Yagura, using Isōbu’s resistance to challenge Yagura’s understanding of Tailed Beasts. The chapter ended as Retsuo began casting the Great Bright God Technique of the Abyss.

• Retsuo sent Ringo Ameyuri to draw Kisame Hoshigaki and Hozuki Mangetsu away from Yagura, then used a Stinging Insect to enter the Mizukage Building.
• Ringo Ameyuri questioned Yagura about the lack of guards, and Yagura accused her of betrayal over the loss of Thunder Sword—Kiba.
• Yagura revealed that he had regained control of the Three-Tails Chakra, but Isōbu repeatedly pulled the chakra back and ended his Tailed Beast Cloak.
• Retsuo appeared before Yagura and said Uchiha Madara had altered Yagura’s memories, while Yagura angrily denied it.
• Retsuo defended the Tailed Beasts as living beings rather than weapons, then began casting the Great Bright God Technique of the Abyss.

Retsuo used [Abyssal Great Bright God] to drive Obito’s Genjutsu out of Yagura and take control of his sense of self, then entered the dungeon to investigate Madara’s torture technique on Konan. He found Konan in severe pain, with negative emotions pouring into her own mental domain, and called for her to wake up.

• Retsuo’s Genjutsu expelled Obito’s influence from Yagura and took over Yagura’s mental domain.
• Ringo Ameyuri regained consciousness with her recent memories missing but her favorable feelings toward Baibian Huashan intact, and Yagura told her to leave.
• Yagura led Retsuo into the dungeon and explained that Madara had given him an unfamiliar technique meant to torture Konan.
• Retsuo found Konan bound and badly injured, and saw negative emotions flowing into her mental domain instead of toward him.
• Retsuo called out to Konan and told her to wake up.

Retsuo freed Konan from the torture technique and removed the mental defense Nagato had placed to protect her from Madara’s Genjutsu. He carried her away from the cell, but Konan warned that Madara could now control her as they prepared to escape.

• Konan woke as Retsuo arrived, and she told him not to touch the seal on her face or the curse in her mind.
• Retsuo removed the daggers from Konan’s wrists, catching her when her weakened legs gave way; she revealed that Nagato had recovered.
• Konan explained that Madara’s technique used Dark Chakra to torture her and erode Nagato’s mental defense, while Retsuo realized her screams gathered negative emotion.
• Retsuo placed Konan inside the Yin Release Barrier and broke the technique, causing the mental defense to vanish and the torture to collapse.
• Retsuo picked up Konan and prepared to flee, but she warned that Madara could now control her; he wrapped her in a tough membrane and said no one could ambush him.

Retsuo and Konan escaped the Mizukage Building’s secret chamber, while Karatachi Yagura secretly planned to attack Uchiha Madara after his false memories were broken. Yagura found Baibian Huashan fighting Kisame Hoshigaki, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Momochi Zabuza in the underground waterway, with Konan still on his back.

• Momochi Zabuza confronted Retsuo, who pretended not to know him and asked whether he had sided with Madara.
• Konan warned Retsuo that Madara might be coming, and Retsuo spared Zabuza before leaving.
• Karatachi Yagura reported that an enemy had bypassed the traps and barriers and rescued Konan, while Uchiha Madara questioned how it had happened.
• Yagura resolved to attack Madara alongside Baibian Huashan, but Madara left to investigate the rescue himself.
• Yagura entered the dungeon and saw Kisame Hoshigaki, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Momochi Zabuza fighting Baibian Huashan while Konan remained on his back.

Yagura joined the underwater battle in his Three-Tails form, forcing Kisame to flee while Retsuo faced attacks from Zabuza and Mangetsu. Isōbu then helped Yagura pursue Kisame, while Isōbu and Chōmei discussed Retsuo, the divided Akatsuki, and the threat of the Ten-Tails.

• Yagura called on Isōbu’s strength and transformed into the Three-Tails, then rolled toward the battlefield in his shell.
• Kisame used Thousand Feeding Sharks and fled on a summoned shark as Retsuo raised an Earth Wall and Zabuza and Mangetsu concealed their attack in mist.
• Isōbu dispersed the mist with Wind Release and continued after Kisame, who escaped with Mist Body Flicker Technique after thanking Zabuza.
• Yagura returned to human form and used Mist Body Flicker Technique to pursue Kisame.
• Inside Yagura’s seal space, Isōbu questioned Chōmei about helping Retsuo despite the Akatsuki faction that had killed Chōmei, then decided to trust Chōmei for now.

Yagura, Kisame Hoshigaki, Hozuki Mangetsu, and Momochi Zabuza clashed as Retsuo provoked the fighters and exposed details about their pasts and allegiances. The confrontation ended with Yagura asking Zabuza why he deserved respect.

• Kisame Hoshigaki fought Yagura, and Hozuki Mangetsu and Momochi Zabuza joined the battle.
• Mangetsu attacked with Water Release and Hiramekarei while Zabuza approached Yagura using the Silent Killing Technique.
• Retsuo stopped Yagura and taunted Zabuza, Mangetsu, and Kisame with information about their connections to Konan's organization and Uchiha Madara.
• Kisame defended Madara, while Mangetsu questioned what the name meant and Yagura asked Zabuza when he had decided to betray him.
• Zabuza said Yagura had insulted him by assigning him Kabutowari, and Yagura asked why he should have respected him.

Retsuo left Yagura to deal with Zabuza, Kisame, and Mangetsu, then learned that Kirigakure had branded them missing-nin while the Mizukage quietly changed course. He continued caring for the injured Konan, who begged him to escort her back to the Land of Rain, but he refused and served her disturbing seafood instead.

• Retsuo left Yagura with Zabuza, Kisame, and Mangetsu, and Mangetsu teamed up with Zabuza to fight Yagura.
• The next day, Yagura declared the three men missing-nin and claimed a Konoha envoy had helped uncover their crimes, while secretly ordering the elders to recall missing-nin.
• Retsuo learned that Konan's injuries were recoverable, but Nagato's Chakra Rod was gone and she could not return to the Land of Rain alone.
• Konan offered Retsuo another hundred million to escort her home, but he refused and said her predicament had nothing to do with him.
• Retsuo served Konan grilled eel and hagfish, leaving her disgusted by the food.

Retsuo ate blind eels to improve his ability to produce Insect Acid, then examined Konan’s sealing talisman and agreed to study fuinjutsu under Minato. After Konan shared some information about Uchiha Madara, Retsuo offered to escort her back to the Land of Rain for a hundred-million fee in exchange for the Akatsuki secret she had withheld.

• Retsuo and Konan ate blind eels, and Retsuo explained how their mucus could improve his Insect Acid production.
• Retsuo asked Minato to study Konan’s sealing talisman, and Minato insisted on teaching him fuinjutsu.
• Konan asked why Yagura had sided with Retsuo, and Retsuo said he had broken Uchiha Madara’s control over him.
• Konan recounted her history with Uchiha Madara and Zetsu but withheld Akatsuki secrets, including the Moon Eye Plan.
• Retsuo offered to escort Konan to the Land of Rain for a hundred-million fee, and Konan agreed to reveal why Pain had confronted Uchiha Madara.

Baibian Huashan and Konan infiltrated Amegakure to investigate suspicious changes and seek information about Nagato’s situation. After a failed attempt to reach the village’s doctor, they spotted Kurotsuchi gathering intelligence, and Baibian Huashan warned her that her disguise was inadequate.

• Baibian Huashan and the injured Konan transformed and entered Amegakure to investigate the village.
• Konan noticed that the civilians showed no apparent change despite the planned transfer of Amegakure’s elite forces.
• Baibian Huashan pretended to seek treatment from Shinnō, but an Amegakure Chūnin said the doctor was away and demanded money in advance.
• Baibian Huashan and Konan left Amegakure Hall and caught up with a little girl whom Baibian Huashan recognized as Kurotsuchi.
• Baibian Huashan quietly told Kurotsuchi that he was a Konoha ninja and urged her to improve her disguise while gathering intelligence.

Obito and Black Zetsu met Nagato on the moon after Obito defeated a puppet squad, and Nagato summoned them to discuss a hidden force inside a stone cave. The chapter ended with Nagato considering whether the Akatsuki should force the cave open, while Black Zetsu realized it held something he could not let Nagato or Obito obtain.

• Obito dismissed Black Zetsu’s suggestion that they could retake control of Yagura and questioned him about the mysterious puppet attackers.
• Black Zetsu warned that the moon was more valuable than Obito or Nagato understood and said he wanted to preserve his strength for the people behind the puppets.
• Kakuzu summoned Obito and Black Zetsu to Nagato, who asked for news about the Shinobi World, Orochimaru, Shinnō, and Konan.
• Nagato had Jūzō Biwa reread an ancient oath about the Tenseigan and the Moon Fist, and Black Zetsu sensed something extraordinary inside the cave.
• Nagato explained that an advanced force concealed the cave from sensory abilities and said the group needed to decide whether to force it open.

Nagato’s group approached a mysterious grotto on the moon, and Black Zetsu entered it to investigate. In Amegakure, Konan learned from Kurotsuchi that Iwagakure planned to attack only after Konoha did, while she worried about the Land of Rain’s future.

• Nagato agreed with Pain that the group should destroy any treasures they could not obtain and sent Black Zetsu to test the grotto’s defenses.
• Black Zetsu used the Mayfly Technique to push past the grotto’s warning-like resistance, relying on his Gozu Tennō, Nue, and Dark Chakra.
• At a meal in Amegakure, Kurotsuchi vomited after seeing a live hagfish, while Konan pretended to enjoy the sashimi despite her injury.
• Konan grew anxious after realizing that Kurotsuchi was an Iwagakure spy and considering the danger facing Amegakure’s civilians.
• Baibian Huashan asked when Iwagakure would attack, and Kurotsuchi said it would wait until Konoha attacked Amegakure.

Konan brought Baibian Huashan to a hidden chamber in Amegakure and awakened Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain to warn them of an impending attack. Nagato demanded that Retsuo die to protect the Akatsuki’s secrets, while Konan offered her own life in repayment; Retsuo refused to accept defeat and prepared to face the Pains.

• Konan told Retsuo she had a way to contact Pain, then guided him through Amegakure to a secret chamber containing six protected bodies.
• Retsuo briefly left before returning and activating a switch, allowing Konan to awaken one of Nagato’s bodies and summon the other Pains, including Hanzō of the Salamander.
• Konan told Nagato that Uchiha Madara had betrayed the organization and that spies had infiltrated Amegakure ahead of an expected attack by the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
• Nagato thanked Retsuo for saving Konan, then said he had to kill him to protect the Akatsuki’s secrets.
• Konan said she had repaid her debt to the Akatsuki and would give her life to repay Retsuo, but Retsuo insisted the Pains were weak and challenged them.

Retsuo attacked Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain with a senjutsu-enhanced Great Fireball, then used the collapsing tower and hidden Explosive Tags to turn the fight around. The blast left most of the Paths incapacitated, but Amegakure descended into chaos after Hanzō summoned Salamander Ibuse among its civilians.

• Retsuo activated Grandpa Minato’s Sage Chakra and launched a Great Fireball far more powerful than usual at the Hell Path.
• Hanzō of the Salamander shielded the Hell Path with Earth-Flow Rampart while the other Paths charged, but the tower collapsed under the strain.
• Retsuo collected the Asura Path’s severed fist with his space-altering ability and escaped the collapsing tower as the Paths pursued him.
• Konan warned Pain about the Explosive Tags Retsuo had planted, but the blasts tore her from the Hell Path and injured her severely.
• Retsuo used the explosion to knock out nearly all the Paths; Hanzō survived by summoning Salamander Ibuse, while the Asura Path remained intact but immobile.
• Amegakure fell into chaos as Salamander Ibuse’s appearance sent civilians fleeing in terror.

Retsuo and Konan escaped Pain’s attack after Baibian Huashan overwhelmed the battlefield, while Black Zetsu searched a protected graveyard on the moon. Nagato failed to ambush Obito, leaving the Akatsuki’s plans in disarray.

• Amegakure shinobi found Ibuse’s corpse after the fighters disappeared, and Konan collapsed from pain after Retsuo helped her escape.
• Black Zetsu entered a dark graveyard on the moon, found an old puppet, and left after finding no sign of what he sought.
• Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to ambush Obito, but Black Zetsu intercepted the pull and split away, letting Obito escape into Kamui Space.
• Nagato tried Planetary Devastation, but its power vanished before it could trap Obito.
• Pain told Kakuzu and Xiomi that Baibian Huashan had rescued Konan and destroyed Amegakure, and Kakuzu questioned Pain’s account.
• Nagato confronted White Zetsu, who warned that his secret was about to be exposed, while Nagato admitted he did not know how to silence Madara.

Nagato realized White Zetsu was provoking his anger and vowed to kill Madara and Zetsu. Retsuo tried to protect the badly injured Konan from Obito in Amegakure, while both men avoided drawing Pain into a fight.

• Nagato found that his Mind Layer Dive had no effect on White Zetsu, then crushed him after realizing he was provoking Nagato’s negative emotions.
• Retsuo decided to keep Konan with him and made soup while she slept, but Obito suddenly appeared through Kamui.
• Retsuo splashed boiling soup at Obito, then used a Great Fireball that bounced past Konan and exploded in the street, alerting Amegakure’s shinobi.
• Retsuo grabbed Konan and retreated as Obito confronted him, and the two traded taunts while sensing for Pain.
• Retsuo told Obito that Konan owed him three hundred million ryō and joked that she would pay with her body, while he kept her from seeing Pain.

Konan awakened while Baibian Huashan carried her and struggled with her embarrassment over their earlier exchange. After Obito fled from Retsuo and Kurotsuchi, Konan proposed that Baibian Huashan join the Akatsuki Organization.

• Kurotsuchi arrived looking for soup, recognized Konan, and saw Obito confronting Retsuo.
• Obito recognized Kurotsuchi and escaped by warping space before Ōnoki could arrive.
• Retsuo gave Konan soup, while Kurotsuchi declined to treat her and left.
• Konan reasoned that Obito had retreated after failing to strike decisively and reassured Retsuo that he was likely gone.
• Konan and Retsuo argued over the Explosive Tags he had used, and Konan urged Baibian Huashan to join the Akatsuki Organization.