Chapter Summaries

Retsuo and the others discussed improving his Dark Chakra Shield while Konan secretly investigated a meeting at Mount Myōboku. After learning that the Three Divine Princesses of Ryūchi Cave were there, Retsuo was summoned to the Toad Palace.

• Minato and Kushina discussed how Retsuo could strengthen his Dark Chakra Shield with Yin-Yang Release and sealing techniques.
• Hamura offered to teach Konan how to enter and leave the Yin Release world, then revealed that he wanted her to investigate whom Gamamaru was meeting.
• Retsuo opened the barrier for Konan, who slipped into Mount Myōboku and was discovered by the Great Toad Sage.
• Hamura taught Retsuo his technique for infiltrating hidden barriers, which Minato thought might help against the approaching Ōtsutsuki Clan.
• Konan returned and reported that the Three Divine Princesses of Ryūchi Cave were meeting with the Great Toad Sage.
• Toad Kōsuke summoned Retsuo to the Toad Palace, and Retsuo went to meet the Great Toad Sage and Sage Fukasaku.

Uchiha Retsuo visited Mount Myōboku, where the Great Toad Sage discussed the White Snake Sage’s death and explained how he had summoned Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki’s phantom to scare off the Masked Man. The Great Toad Sage revealed that Hamura had become the Pure Land, and Retsuo ended by asking whether the Sage still had the talisman connected to Hamura’s awakening.

• The Great Toad Sage recognized Retsuo from a dream and learned that Retsuo had met Hamura on the moon.
• Fukasaku explained that the Three Princesses of Ryūchi Cave had asked Mount Myōboku to help make Konoha hand over Retsuo, but the Great Toad Sage had refused.
• Retsuo and Fukasaku discussed the White Snake Sage’s missing Spirit Body, and Retsuo suspected that her disappearance had been deliberate.
• The Great Toad Sage revealed that he had summoned a distant phantom of Hagoromo to make the Masked Man flee.
• The Great Toad Sage explained that Hamura had transformed into the Pure Land, which would absorb Ōtsutsuki who died in the Shinobi World.
• Retsuo asked the Great Toad Sage whether he still had the talisman that had awakened Hamura.

Retsuo asked Sage Fukasaku about Mount Myōboku’s strength and stayed there with Konan to train in Sage Jutsu. After Mount Myōboku lifted its barrier to keep communications open, Toad Kōsuke arrived in Konohagakure and noticed Danzo.

• The Great Toad Sage fell asleep, so Retsuo told Sage Fukasaku about the Ōtsutsuki threat and the events on the moon.
• Sage Fukasaku urged Retsuo to exchange information with Jiraiya and said he would ask what decisive power the Great Lord and the Sage of Six Paths could offer.
• Retsuo asked to train at Mount Myōboku, and Sage Fukasaku agreed to lift the barrier temporarily for communication and summoning.
• Konan absorbed Natural Energy easily by turning into paper, while Retsuo continued training under Minato’s supervision.
• Jiraiya returned to Konohagakure and complained about missing a chance to explore the lunar castle as Tsunade demanded news of Retsuo.
• Toad Kōsuke told Jiraiya that Retsuo was training at Mount Myōboku and that its barrier had been lifted, then noticed Danzo in the room.

Jiraiya visited Mount Myōboku to ask Retsuo about the Moon Live Broadcast Incident, but discovered him practicing Sage Jutsu with Konan. Retsuo revealed that Jiraiya had been peeping, while Konan warned that his risky training could turn him to stone.

• Jiraiya told Tsunade that Retsuo was secretly pledging himself to someone for life and warned her not to tell Fugaku.
• Jiraiya used Reverse Summoning to reach Mount Myōboku and learned that Retsuo could train in Sage Jutsu all day.
• Jiraiya searched Mount Myōboku and found Retsuo and Konan together in a small wooden house.
• Konan guided Retsuo through Sage Jutsu training and warned him that his methods risked petrification.
• Retsuo told Konan that Jiraiya was outside peeping at them.

Kakashi convened Konoha’s leaders to discuss Uchiha Retsuo, but Jiraiya revealed that Retsuo was training at Mount Myōboku with Konan and ordered Konoha to stop targeting him. Jiraiya warned that the Ōtsutsuki threat was real, then clashed with the former advisers over whether he was being alarmist.

• Kakashi summoned Konoha’s leaders and asked Jiraiya where Retsuo was, only to learn that Retsuo had stayed at Mount Myōboku.
• Nara Shikaku explained that the meeting had been called over reports linking Retsuo and Konan, and Jiraiya said Konan had left the Akatsuki Organization and was helping Retsuo cultivate Sage Jutsu.
• Jiraiya ordered Kakashi to stop all operations against Retsuo and told Utatane Koharu that Danzo’s clone should be allowed to die naturally if it kept denying the Ōtsutsuki threat.
• Jiraiya explained that Nagato and Retsuo were preparing for powerful enemies, then Mitokado Homura accused him of being muddleheaded and alarmist.

Jiraiya warned Konoha’s leaders that the Ōtsutsuki Clan posed an existential threat and that shinobi needed Sage Jutsu to fight them. He announced that Mount Myōboku and Shikkotsu Forest would train outsiders, then ordered the other great villages to be informed before Katsuyu clarified that only two Sage Regions were opening their doors.

• Jiraiya explained that ordinary ninjutsu would be absorbed by the Ōtsutsuki and stressed the importance of Sage Jutsu and Taijutsu.
• Jiraiya said Mount Myōboku would welcome shinobi seeking Sage Jutsu, and Katsuyu announced that Shikkotsu Forest would do the same.
• Katsuyu revealed that Uchiha Retsuo had killed the White Snake Sage, and she and Shikaku discussed how Sage Jutsu could harm powerful Ōtsutsuki.
• Tsunade asked whether Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal could provide a solution, but Jiraiya said it was not Sage Jutsu and remained dangerous to use.
• Jiraiya ordered Konoha to inform the other four great shinobi villages that the Sage Regions were opening to them, and Katsuyu corrected him that only two were.

The four great ninja villages reacted intensely to Konoha’s decision to reveal the truth and call another Five Kage Summit, with Sunagakure eager to send candidates for Sage Jutsu and Kumogakure and Iwagakure suspicious and cautious. Killer Bee and Deidara defied their leaders’ orders to stay behind, and Deidara resolved to make a choice of his own.

• Sunagakure began selecting candidates for Sage Jutsu until Fukasaku imposed a limit on how many each village could send, while Yagura sent Ringo Ameyuri as a probe.
• Ōnoki and Raikage A suspected Konoha might be using the threat of the Ōtsutsuki Clan to make other villages risk their best ninjas, and refused to send anyone to the Sage Regions before the summit.
• Killer Bee begged A to let him cultivate Sage Jutsu, but Gyūki tricked him into believing that fools were guaranteed to succeed.
• Deidara argued with Ōnoki about adding Sage Jutsu to his art, rejected Kitsuchi’s warning that he was the village’s hope, and accused his elders of trying to make him a tool.
• After Ōnoki ordered Kitsuchi to stop Deidara from running away, Deidara removed his Iwagakure forehead protector and decided to act.

Kakashi discussed the coming Otsutsuki threat and his grudge against Uchiha Retsuo with Sage Fukasaku, who urged him to set aside personal disputes for the Shinobi World's survival. The chapter left Konoha facing alarming news, including Kumogakure's unveiling of a prototype Chakra Cannon aimed at the moon.

• Sage Fukasaku reviewed Konoha's sage-training candidates and received them at Mount Myōboku after Sage Shima used Reverse Summoning.
• Sage Fukasaku asked Kakashi why he seemed so cold, and Kakashi explained that Jiraiya had criticized his outlook and his hostility toward Uchiha Retsuo.
• Kakashi asked whether people could flee to the moon, prompting Sage Fukasaku to explain why the villages needed to unite against the Otsutsuki Clan.
• Sage Fukasaku challenged Kakashi for pursuing Uchiha Retsuo while not showing the same determination toward Danzo, then departed on Xiaoran.
• Konoha received news that Kumogakure was assembling a Chakra Cannon capable, in theory, of firing from the Shinobi World to the moon, though its prototype was difficult to aim and charge.

The Five Kage gathered in the Land of Iron, where they expected Uchiha Retsuo to explain the Moon Livestream and Otsutsuki Descent incidents. Nagato attacked the summit with a massive anti-teleportation barrier, trapping the leaders and their guards as Shinra Tensei approached.

• Iwagakure revealed its Akuta humanoid weapons, while several villages demanded that Uchiha Retsuo personally explain recent incidents.
• The Five Kage convened in the Land of Iron under Mifune's supervision, and Retsuo attended as a Hokage Guard alongside Jiraiya and Guy.
• Ōnoki confronted Retsuo about his missing disciple Deidara, and Retsuo suggested Deidara might have gone to one of the sage training grounds.
• The summit attendees sensed an immense threat, and Retsuo recognized that Nagato was about to use Shinra Tensei.
• Retsuo tried to teleport himself and Jiraiya to safety, but Nagato's anti-teleportation barrier trapped everyone in the meeting hall.

Retsuo and the other Kage tried to escape Nagato’s attack at the Summit, but Nagato overwhelmed them and seized Raikage A. Retsuo used Raikage A’s body to force Nagato to release him, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Retsuo used Flying Thunder God Kunai to plot a route through Nagato’s Anti-Teleportation Barrier and carried Jiraiya and Might Guy away.
• Rasa, Ōnoki, Yagura, Raikage A, and Killer B attacked Nagato, but Shinra Tensei crushed Yagura’s half-formed Tailed Beast Bomb and knocked the other Kage back.
• Killer B launched Raikage A into the sky, but Nagato used Banshō Ten'in to seize him and began extracting his soul.
• Retsuo asked Killer B to send him skyward, then stomped on Raikage A’s back as he dived toward Nagato.
• Nagato feared Retsuo would kill Raikage A, flung the Raikage away, and used Shinra Tensei.

Nagato Uzumaki attacked the Five Kage and revealed a new space-time dōjutsu that could swap the positions of two targets. As the battle continued, he demanded that Retsuo tell him where Konan was.

• Retsuo used a Dark Chakra shield to withstand Nagato’s Shinra Tensei, then deployed a Winged Glider to stay aloft.
• The Raikage and Killer B discussed forcing Nagato and Retsuo to fight each other, and Killer B quietly withdrew.
• Nagato landed and taunted the surviving fighters; Retsuo noticed that Kitsuchi had died in the attack.
• Jiraiya and Guy entered the battle zone, and Jiraiya condemned Nagato for fighting while the Ōtsutsuki Clan threatened the Shinobi World.
• The Raikage and Killer B charged Nagato with Lightning Release—Lariat Gale: Dancing Dragon, but Nagato swapped their positions with a new dōjutsu.
• Retsuo recognized the technique as a space-time ability, and Nagato demanded to know where Konan was.

Retsuo and Nagato traded threats as the Five Kage and their allies prepared to fight, but Nagato seized the initiative with a sudden attack. He used a new Rinnegan technique to swap places with Retsuo, leaving Minato to confront him through the space-time tear.

• Retsuo told Nagato he would kill him and argued that Nagato had treated Konan as a tool.
• The Fourth Raikage and Killer B returned, and the Raikage planned to attack Nagato with Hell Stab Four-Finger Hand.
• Nagato charged at Might Guy, drawing Retsuo, Jiraiya, and Guy into responding with attacks.
• Nagato abruptly targeted Retsuo with a Rinnegan technique, and Retsuo teleported away as he recognized the danger.
• Minato traced the space-time tear and found himself facing Nagato after Nagato swapped their positions.

Nagato Uzumaki used the Asura Path to fend off the Fourth Raikage, but Uchiha Retsuo unveiled Candle Release—Hell Diving Dragon, a Kekkei Tōta that overwhelmed Nagato’s Chakra Dragon. Nagato tried to evade the attack, then found himself trapped in a pitch-black night beneath a full moon, suspecting that Retsuo had put him under Genjutsu.

• Minato’s spatial technique sent Retsuo back to his starting point, while Nagato’s Rinnegan repelled Nagato and returned him to the attack’s landing zone.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei, giving the Fourth Raikage an opening to launch Hell Stab Four-Finger Hand.
• Nagato summoned the Asura Path, whose missiles and laser cannons blocked the Raikage’s strike as Retsuo teleported behind him.
• Retsuo unleashed Candle Release—Hell Diving Dragon, which blew Nagato’s Chakra Dragon aside and stunned the onlookers with its immense power.
• Ōnoki recognized Retsuo’s technique as a Yin, Earth, and Fire Release Kekkei Tōta, while Nagato retreated rather than face it head-on.
• The Hell Diving Dragon’s fireballs followed Nagato’s Body Flicker and struck the ground, after which Nagato saw a moonlit night instead of the snowy battlefield and suspected Genjutsu.

Uchiha Retsuo trapped Nagato Uzumaki in a Genjutsu that broadcast humiliating visions of his defeat by the Ōtsutsuki to the Shinobi World while harvesting his negative emotions. Nagato discovered that the Genjutsu was collecting his anger and retaliated with Dark Chakra, leaving Retsuo to conceal Little Black’s suffering as their confrontation continued.

• Nagato questioned Uchiha Retsuo’s Candle Release Genjutsu and became unsettled when Retsuo claimed time flowed normally inside it.
• Retsuo turned the moon into a screen and showed Nagato being defeated and killed by the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
• Nagato realized Retsuo was broadcasting the humiliating scenes to the Shinobi World and angrily demanded to know how Retsuo knew the Ōtsutsuki Main Family’s appearance.
• Nagato recognized that the Genjutsu was subtly collecting his negative emotions and sent Dark Chakra into the space to attack it.
• Retsuo severed the collection, but Little Black suffered from the Dark Chakra, and Nagato concluded that Retsuo could not use Dark Chakra himself.

Nagato’s attempt to use Dark Chakra against Retsuo backfired, allowing Retsuo to break the genjutsu and force Nagato to retreat. After escaping, Nagato questioned Shinnō about Dark Chakra techniques and asked Toneri about the Otsutsuki Main Family, hinting that Retsuo knew more about them than expected.

• Nagato used Spirit Absorption on Retsuo, but an overwhelming surge of Dark Chakra flowed back through their Mental Link and nearly destroyed Nagato.
• Nagato detonated the Dark Chakra inside his genjutsu body, rupturing Retsuo’s genjutsu space and leaving himself with a splitting headache.
• Retsuo used a pitch-black shield to launch Uchiha Madara’s Black Torpedo at Nagato.
• Nagato ordered the Human Path Pain and Toneri to open a space passage, then cut off his Chakra supply to the other Pains to help them escape.
• Nagato asked Shinnō to share every Dark Chakra technique he knew and questioned Toneri about the Otsutsuki Main Family’s appearance.

Nagato chose to prepare for the coming Otsutsuki threat while treating Uchiha Retsuo as his greatest danger. Retsuo returned to the ruined Five Kage Summit after broadcasting events on the moon, where the Kage demanded an explanation.

• Otsutsuki Toneri recognized the Otsutsuki figures shown on the moon, while Nagato dismissed the broadcast as Uchiha Retsuo's scheme.
• Shinnō taught Nagato the lunar Otsutsuki Clan's methods for using Dark Chakra and negative emotions, and Nagato considered adding Dark Chakra training to his Rinnegan studies.
• Nagato told Shinnō that he would face the Otsutsuki through intelligence and prepare for Retsuo by planning like a ninja rather than a god.
• Retsuo hesitated to pursue Nagato through the spatial passage, then teleported to the moon to use the Recorded Broadcast Jutsu.
• Retsuo returned to the ruined Five Kage Summit, where Killer B, Raikage A, Ōnoki, and Rasa questioned him, and he praised Yagura while mocking the others.

Retsuo learned that the Five Kage no longer trusted his intelligence and continued their summit without him. He then planned to find the Shinigami Mask to free Minato and the Yin half of the Nine-Tails, and returned to Konoha to locate the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Hall.

• Retsuo told Jiraiya how he had mastered Candle Release Kekkei Tōta while searching for the absent Obito with his sensory perception.
• The Five Kage resumed their summit, and Ōnoki explained that Retsuo's unpredictable schemes had made them distrust his intelligence.
• Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima told Retsuo that the Five Kage were sharing information sincerely because the threats to the Shinobi World demanded it.
• Retsuo told Minato and Kushina that he would find the Shinigami Mask and release Minato's soul and the Yin half of the Nine-Tails.
• Kushina and Minato questioned how Retsuo knew about the Mask Hall and the Shinigami Mask, while Kushina explained the requirements for releasing a soul sealed by the Reaper Death Seal.
• Retsuo said goodbye to Might Guy and returned to Konoha, where the Uzumaki Clan's Mask Hall was located nearby.

Retsuo visited the Uzumaki Mask Hall with Kushina, Minato, and Konan, hoping to learn how to release the Reaper Death Seal. When he called out Uchiha Madara, Obito appeared and tried to escape through his alternate space, but Retsuo called on Ōtsutsuki Hamura to stop him.

• Konan retrieved the genuine Death God Mask while Kushina admitted she did not know how to release the Reaper Death Seal.
• Retsuo explained that he had been gathering information from Uchiha ruins and distributing White Cloth People as rewards.
• Retsuo called out Uchiha Madara, and Obito appeared with Black Zetsu, surprised that Retsuo had supposedly detected him.
• Obito claimed he could keep Retsuo under surveillance and opened a space-time passage to escape.
• Retsuo awakened Ōtsutsuki Hamura, who dismissed Obito's space-time ninjutsu as crude.

Retsuo confronted Obito inside Kamui Space while exposing Black Zetsu’s connection to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and warning that Zetsu planned to use his Kekkei Mōra power. Konan stepped in to fight Obito, while Retsuo asked Hamura how to make Flying Thunder God work inside the space.

• Hamura sensed Obito’s spatial technique, and Retsuo entered Kamui Space to confront him.
• Konan revealed that she knew Obito recognized Retsuo as Baibian Huashan, and Obito realized his schemes had failed.
• Retsuo identified Black Zetsu as a retainer of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and exposed his plan to use his limited Kekkei Mōra power against him.
• Black Zetsu urged Obito to attack Retsuo, but Konan moved to face Obito instead.
• While Minato and Kushina watched from inside the barrier, Retsuo asked Hamura whether he could create a spatial opening for Flying Thunder God.

Konan used Retsuo’s invisible, remotely detonated Explosive Tags to trap Obito and Black Zetsu inside Kamui Space, while Retsuo revealed he could access Obito’s space through his inherited eye. The battle left Obito abandoning escape and Retsuo preparing to use golden chains.

• Retsuo explained to Hamura that Konan had learned how to conceal Explosive Tags and detonate them remotely.
• Obito attacked Konan with Wood Release, but her invisible Explosive Tags exploded along his path and forced him to abandon his assault.
• Black Zetsu warned Obito that the cramped Kamui Space made the Explosive Tags too dangerous, but Obito could not open an exit quickly enough to escape.
• Obito realized that Hamura’s inheritance had let Retsuo enter and leave Kamui Space, and Retsuo said he had been waiting for this moment.
• Retsuo extended countless golden chains from his arms and back as Obito and Black Zetsu prepared to fight to the death.