Recaps

Gekkō Raito fought Mei Terumi in a series of powerful Water, Ice, and Lava Release clashes while she tried to take him to Kirigakure. When One-Tail Shukaku rampaged through Konoha, Raito escaped Mei Terumi by flying away on a Nimbus Cloud to confront the beast.

• Gekkō Raito and Mei Terumi traded Water Release attacks, and Raito healed his wounds while matching her skill and copying her Water Gun.
• Mei Terumi attacked with Boil Release and Lava Release, while Gekkō Raito countered with Ice Release and summoned an enormous One-Horned White Whale.
• Naruto and Sasuke watched the battle from the Chunin Ninja Exams arena as Orochimaru attacked Hiruzen Sarutobi during their fight inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.
• One-Tail Shukaku broke loose in northern Konoha, prompting Gekkō Raito to break off his fight with Mei Terumi and head toward the rampage.
• Mei Terumi pursued Gekkō Raito with a water dragon, but he summoned a Nimbus Cloud and flew hundreds of meters into the sky toward Shukaku.

Raito raced toward One-Tail Shukaku on his Nimbus Cloud, rescued falling Konoha ninja with soft clouds, and blocked Shukaku’s attack with a cloud wall. He then trapped himself and Shukaku inside a vast Cloud and Mist Cage as Mei Terumi arrived and wondered about his abilities.

• Raito flew over the Chunin Ninja Exams arena toward Shukaku, drawing the attention of Naruto, Sasuke, Ao, Chōjūrō, Hiruzen, and Orochimaru.
• Raito caught ninja thrown into the air by Shukaku with soft clouds and told the others to clear out.
• Shukaku fired a Drilling Air Bullet at Raito, but Raito’s cloud wall stopped the attack without cracking.
• Raito created a huge Cloud and Mist Cage that swallowed him and Shukaku and kept the other Konoha ninja outside.
• Mei Terumi arrived and wondered whether Raito had awakened a kekkei genkai or developed a technique from Ice Release.

Gekkō Raito restrained the rampaging One-Tail Shukaku with Cloud Release and used Snow Cloud to freeze him before he could fire a Tailed Beast Bomb. He then activated Glutton to devour Shukaku’s chakra, sharply accelerating Great Sage’s analysis.

• Gekkō Raito trapped Shukaku inside the Cloud and Mist Cage and battered him with cloud fists.
• Gekkō Raito bound Shukaku with cloud locks that resisted his strength and sand, while the clouds eroded his Sand Armor.
• Shukaku began charging a Tailed Beast Bomb, so Gekkō Raito used Snow Cloud to envelop and freeze him, interrupting the attack.
• Gekkō Raito ordered Great Sage to analyze Shukaku and activated Glutton to devour his tailed beast chakra, causing the analysis progress to surge.

Gekkō Raito gained Magnet Release and Yin Release Nature Transformation from analyzing Shukaku, then discovered that Yin Release greatly expanded his Ice Release techniques. Glutton began consuming Shukaku and granted Raito regenerating Tailed Beast chakra with a sand attribute, while Raito considered seeking ice- or cloud-nature chakra.

• Gekkō Raito acquired Magnet Release and Yin Release Nature Transformation after the analysis of Shukaku finished.
• Raito used Yin Release with Ice Release: Ice and Snow Control and expanded its effective coverage radius to 970 meters.
• Glutton consumed 3% of Shukaku and gave Raito Tailed Beast chakra equivalent to about ten Jonin, which could regenerate.
• Raito learned that Shukaku's chakra had a sand attribute and connected it to Gaara's sand-control abilities.
• Raito tried to analyze how to acquire ice-nature or cloud-nature chakra, but the analysis failed.

Raito sealed the unconscious Shukaku with his newly created White Vine Seal, then encountered Mei Terumi, who chose to leave him alone. He flew to the Chunin Ninja Exams venue, where Kakashi told him Hiruzen Sarutobi was trapped inside the Four Violet Flames Formation.

• Raito stopped devouring Shukaku's chakra at 5% and used White Vine Seal to bind and suppress the tailed beast.
• Raito ordered the Konoha ninja to guard Shukaku's seal and warned them not to let it be damaged.
• Mei Terumi appeared, praised Raito's abilities, and left without fighting or taking him to Kirigakure.
• Raito rode Nimbus Cloud to the Chunin Ninja Exams venue, where Kakashi and Might Guy were gathered.
• Kakashi explained that the Four Violet Flames Formation blocked them from reaching the endangered Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Raito used Great Sage to analyze and destroy the Four Violet Flames Formation, allowing Kakashi and the ANBU to reach Hiruzen. Hiruzen was fatally wounded during the disruption, and Raito then trapped Hashirama and Tobirama inside a Smoke Prison while Orochimaru escaped.

• Raito analyzed the Four Violet Flames Formation and struck its weak points with precisely controlled Chakra Threads, collapsing the barrier.
• Orochimaru was distracted by the barrier’s destruction, and Tobirama pierced Hiruzen’s chest with a kunai.
• Kakashi carried the wounded Hiruzen toward Konoha Hospital while Might Guy stayed behind to face the reincarnated Hokage.
• Raito warned the ANBU away from rising white mist and formed a massive Cloud Release: Smoke Prison around the area.
• Orochimaru escaped the mist, and Guy jumped out of the prison while Raito remained inside with Hashirama and Tobirama.

Gekkō Raito trapped Hashirama and Tobirama inside his Smoke Prison, a Cloud Release barrier that also trapped him, while Orochimaru escaped. Outside, Might Guy and the ANBU prepared to attack Orochimaru, and inside, the reanimated Hokage warned Raito that he was risking his life for little chance of success.

• Orochimaru escaped the Smoke Prison, and Might Guy realized the barrier trapped its caster as well as its targets.
• Orochimaru taunted Guy from a nearby rooftop, while Guy told the ANBU they had to defeat Orochimaru to dispel the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.
• Guy ordered the ANBU to take down Orochimaru quickly before Hashirama and Tobirama could break free or kill Raito.
• Inside the prison, Hashirama and Tobirama examined the barrier, and Raito explained that his Cloud Release could hold them for at least half an hour if he kept supplying chakra.
• Tobirama and Hashirama warned Raito that the barrier would end if he died and questioned whether a young genin could survive against them.

Raito used Cloud Release to hold off Hashirama and Tobirama, blocking their attacks while testing his technique’s offensive potential. He caught Tobirama in cloud mist just as the Second Hokage’s Flying Thunder God strike nearly reached him.

• Raito told Hashirama and Tobirama he was confident he could hold them back while Great Sage analyzed them.
• Raito used Cloud Release to form solid cloud snakes and blocked Tobirama’s Water Shockwave with a cloud wall.
• Raito countered Hashirama’s Wood Release with cloud snakes that crushed the incoming roots and vines.
• Raito reinforced his cloud mist to withstand Tobirama’s Water Severing Wave, then attacked the Hokage with massive cloud fists.
• Tobirama teleported behind Raito with Flying Thunder God, but Raito enveloped him in cloud mist and stopped his fist just short of Raito’s head.

Gekkō Raito fought Hashirama and Tobirama alone, using his Cloud Release techniques while the Hokage tested and advised him. He revealed a self-developed healing technique and new cloud attacks, but the reincarnated brothers recovered from his strongest strikes as the battle continued.

• Raito tried to seal Tobirama, but Hashirama rescued him and attacked alongside Tobirama, leaving Raito badly injured.
• Raito healed himself with Cloud Transformation Healing Technique, impressing Hashirama and Tobirama with his medical ninjutsu research.
• Raito used cloud spikes and Cloud Coffin against the Hokage, but their Water Release and Body Flicker Techniques let them evade or block his attacks.
• Raito engulfed Hashirama and Tobirama in Acid Mist, corroding their bodies before their Impure World Reincarnation healing restored them.
• Tobirama urged Raito to immobilize the brothers before using his sealing jutsu, and Raito prepared to try another approach.

Raito fought Hashirama and Tobirama, using Snow Mist to freeze Hashirama before Tobirama struck him with Water Release and Hashirama's vines nearly caught him. As the battle grew desperate, the Great Sage requested control of Raito's body so it could fight for him.

• Raito used Snow Mist against Hashirama, freezing part of his body and forcing him to retreat.
• Tobirama struck Raito from behind with Heavenly Weeping, and Hashirama sent vines to restrain him.
• Raito escaped with his Cloud Release: Body Flicker Technique and began healing his wounds with Cloud Transformation Healing Technique.
• Hashirama praised Raito's Cloud Release and pointed out that Snow Mist spread too slowly, while Tobirama studied the technique.
• The Great Sage completed its battle analysis and requested control of Raito's body to face the threat.

Great Sage took control of Gekkō Raito’s body and used precise Cloud Release tactics to overwhelm Hashirama and Tobirama. It restrained Hashirama and severed his head, while the fight’s outcome remained unresolved.

• Gekkō Raito confirmed Great Sage’s takeover and set the objective of sealing and restraining the reincarnated Hashirama and Tobirama.
• Great Sage transformed Raito’s fighting style, then struck Hashirama with an explosive kick that forced him back.
• Great Sage trapped Tobirama with corrosive clouds and punched him into the Smoke Prison’s barrier.
• Great Sage filled the battlefield with mist and solid clouds, concealing the restraints and setting up attacks.
• Great Sage restrained Hashirama and severed his head with a ninja blade.

Raito used Cloud Release to defeat and seal Hashirama and Tobirama in under thirty seconds, then emerged from the smoke to the shock of the battlefield. He attacked Orochimaru, who escaped and decided Raito had to be killed before he grew stronger.

• Great Sage froze Hashirama and Tobirama, bound them with cloud-mist chains, and sealed them inside ice sculptures.
• Raito regained control and realized the battle had ended in less than thirty seconds, while Great Sage told him he could learn its cloud-and-mist control with practice.
• Raito released the Smoke Prison Technique, revealing the sealed Hokage to the stunned ANBU, Might Guy, and Orochimaru.
• Raito formed a giant white python from the remaining smoke and charged Orochimaru, who dodged the strike and landed outside the Chunin Ninja Exams Venue.
• The Sound Four gathered around Orochimaru, who resolved to kill Raito before he became a greater threat, as an angry roar rang out.

Raito and Might Guy cornered Orochimaru, but a fourth coffin allowed him to escape. The coffin revealed the dead Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, whose reanimation exposed Orochimaru’s deception and left Raito to answer Rasa’s question about Gaara.

• Raito joined Might Guy in trying to capture Orochimaru, and Orochimaru summoned a fourth coffin before escaping with his Sound Ninja subordinates.
• The coffin revealed Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, shocking the Sunagakure ninja still fighting Konoha.
• Raito told Guy and the Sand Ninja that the real Rasa had died, exposing that Orochimaru had impersonated him.
• Rasa explained that he could not control his reanimated body and asked Guy to spare Sunagakure’s ninja where possible.
• Guy ordered Konoha’s forces to subdue the Sand Ninja rather than kill them, and Rasa asked what had happened to Gaara.

Gekkō Raito faced the reanimated Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, alone while Might Guy led Konoha Ninja against the remaining Sand Ninja. Mei Terumi and her bodyguards watched from the shadows as Raito and Rasa began fighting.

• Raito told Rasa that he had sealed the One-Tail Jinchuriki, but Rasa’s reanimation orders drove him to attack the boy.
• Raito persuaded Might Guy to leave him to fight Rasa and lead the Konoha Ninja against the remaining Sand Ninja.
• Mei Terumi, Chōjūrō, and Ao watched the battle, and Mei decided not to seize Raito because she expected him to leave Konoha eventually.
• Rasa attacked Raito with a spear of gold dust, but Raito blocked it with ice and froze the weapon.
• Raito revealed that Kirigakure’s people were watching, then sent Cloud Vines at Rasa, who raised a gold-dust barrier to stop them.

Gekkō Raito defeated and sealed the exhausted Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, using Water Release to slow his gold dust before binding him with Cloud Release. After learning that the battle was over and Gaara had been subdued, Raito left with Naruto and Sasuke to visit the injured at Konoha Hospital.

• Raito found that his acid mist could not corrode Rasa's gold dust and used the Great Waterfall Technique to make it heavier and slower.
• Raito charged through the gold dust's defenses, bound Rasa with Cloud Release chains, and sealed him, causing the Kazekage to lose consciousness.
• Naruto and Sasuke reported that Kirigakure's forces had withdrawn and Sunagakure's troops had been routed.
• An Anbu ninja told Raito that Gaara had been subdued and was guarded by elite jōnin.
• Raito decided to go home after visiting the injured at Konoha Hospital, and Sasuke agreed to go with him.

After Hiruzen Sarutobi fell into a coma, Jiraiya arrived and announced he would search for Tsunade, frustrating Danzo’s bid for the Hokage position. Danzo decided to bargain with Orochimaru using Sasuke and eliminate Jiraiya, while also plotting against Gekkō Raito.

• Gekkō Raito and Naruto reached Konoha Hospital and confirmed their injured comrades were mostly safe.
• Danzo learned that Orochimaru’s neurotoxin had left Hiruzen unconscious and that only Tsunade might be able to cure him.
• Jiraiya arrived, said he would find Tsunade, and asked Kakashi to send Naruto with him the next day.
• Jiraiya praised Gekkō Raito as a possible future Hokage, angering Danzo.
• Danzo returned to Root and planned to offer Sasuke to Orochimaru in exchange for stopping Jiraiya.
• Danzo resolved to kill Gekkō Raito before his growing reputation could threaten his plans.

Danzo maneuvered Jiraiya into agreeing to find Tsunade within a month, while proposing a military alliance with Kirigakure. The chapter ended with Danzo revealing that the alliance would cost Konoha one person.

• Danzo told Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu that Konoha needed a leader while Hiruzen's fate remained uncertain.
• Jiraiya entered the meeting, refused to become Hokage, and offered to bring Tsunade back as a candidate for Fifth Hokage.
• Danzo gave Jiraiya one month to find Tsunade, warning that he would otherwise take the Hokage position himself; Jiraiya agreed and took the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki with him.
• Danzo told the advisers that Konoha needed a new ally because Sunagakure could no longer be trusted, and proposed an alliance with Kirigakure.
• Danzo claimed Kirigakure would accept an alliance in exchange for one person, leaving the advisers eager to learn who he meant.

Gekkō Raito discovered that a passive skill slot could cultivate Shukaku’s chakra into a Tailed Beast, and he planned to learn Sage Mode to speed up the process. Meanwhile, Danzo’s Root agents approached Mei Terumi, and the next morning Raito learned that Glutton’s devouring ability had grown stronger before Gekkō Hayate arrived.

• Gekkō Raito loaded Shukaku’s chakra into a passive skill slot and learned that it could grow into a complete Tailed Beast in about 1,000 days.
• Gekkō Raito decided to seek senjutsu chakra from Jiraiya so the Great Sage could analyze Sage Mode and help him accelerate the chakra’s growth.
• Root agents invited Mei Terumi to meet Danzo, promising a gift tied to Kirigakure’s future, and she agreed to stay in Konoha another day.
• Gekkō Raito trained his Cloud Release overnight, improving its speed and strength as Glutton’s repair progress rose to 20 percent.
• The Great Sage told Gekkō Raito that Glutton could now devour offensive ninjutsu in no more than two seconds, and he sensed Gekkō Hayate outside his door.

Gekkō Raito was summoned by Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, who fabricated a Kirigakure heritage for him and ordered him to leave Konoha as part of a political deal. He accepted losing his ninja status but rejected their attempt to recruit him as a spy, leaving the advisors speechless.

• Gekkō Hayate led Gekkō Raito to the Hokage Office, where Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu questioned him.
• Mitokado Homura claimed that Gekkō Raito's mother belonged to Kirigakure's Mugetsu clan and said Konoha would send him back to Kirigakure.
• Gekkō Raito recognized the supposed background file as fabricated and guessed that Konoha was trading him for a temporary alliance with Kirigakure.
• Mitokado Homura threatened to revoke Gekkō Raito's ninja registration if he refused to leave, and Gekkō Raito accepted the loss of his Konoha status.
• Mitokado Homura offered Gekkō Raito an S-rank mission to pass intelligence to Konoha after arriving in Kirigakure, but Gekkō Raito rejected the scheme and reminded the advisors he was no longer a Konoha ninja.

After rejecting Konoha’s attempt to sacrifice him in a deal with Kirigakure, Gekkō Raito met Mei Terumi and refused to accept the arrangement as made. He began negotiating directly with her, asking what Kirigakure could offer him.

• Gekkō Raito left the Hokage Building, while Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu worried that they had made a dangerous mistake.
• Ao escorted Gekkō Raito to meet Mei Terumi, promising that Kirigakure would value and nurture his talent.
• Chōjūrō eagerly admired Gekkō Raito when he arrived at the Mizukage’s guesthouse.
• Gekkō Raito told Mei Terumi he would leave Konoha but had never agreed to join Kirigakure, and he rejected the deal between the villages.
• Mei Terumi offered Kirigakure’s resources and a chance to stand out, and Gekkō Raito considered her proposal.

Gekkō Raito agreed to leave for Kirigakure with Mei Terumi after demanding the Mizukage seat, then said goodbye to Ino and Hinata before departing. He planned to claim power in Kirigakure and return to Konoha later to settle his score and bring the girls away.

• Gekkō Raito told Mei Terumi he wanted to become Mizukage, and she agreed to take him to Kirigakure after asking whether he thought she was pretty and liked her.
• Gekkō Raito visited Ino at Konoha Hospital, told her he was going to Kirigakure on a long-term mission, and left after she wished him well.
• Gekkō Raito met Hinata in Konoha Park, praised her progress, suggested she become a medical ninja, and told her he would be away for a long time.
• Gekkō Raito promised Hinata he would return and planned to leave her and Ino in Konoha until he became Mizukage and could bring them away openly.

Gekkō Raito led Chōjūrō and Haku across the sea to find the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata, using Ice Release and a cloud-based sensing technique. After trapping Utakata on an island, Raito challenged his belief that his master had tried to kill him, then attacked when Utakata refused to return to Kirigakure.

• Mei Terumi approved Raito's mission to capture Utakata and gave him a Kirigakure forehead protector, while warning him to return alive within a month.
• Raito froze a road across the sea with Ice Release and raced with Chōjūrō and Haku toward the Land of Lightning, startling a group of Kumogakure ninja along the way.
• Raito upgraded his Cloud Fish technique to sense chakra, searched the islands, and located Utakata with the Six-Tails.
• Raito used Cloud Realm Prison to seal Utakata's island, but Utakata refused to return to Kirigakure and dismissed Raito's promise to protect him.
• Raito argued that Utakata's master had likely tried to separate the Six-Tails from him at the cost of his own life, causing Utakata to doubt his past belief that his master meant to kill him.
• When Utakata rejected Raito's explanation, Raito drew Zangetsu and lunged at his throat.

Gekkō Raito overwhelmed Utakata with his speed and cloud-based techniques, forcing the Six-Tails jinchūriki to unleash Saiken’s power. As the battle intensified inside the Smoke Prison, Raito used Glutton to begin devouring the tailed beast chakra.

• Gekkō Raito cut Utakata and provoked him into releasing the Six-Tails’ chakra.
• Raito struck Utakata with a Water Release Body Flicker Technique and trapped him in a solidified cloud hand.
• Utakata broke free with a full burst of tailed beast chakra, and Raito filled the Smoke Prison with dense mist.
• Raito bound Utakata with cloud vines and attacked him with a spike-covered cloud wall.
• Raito used Glutton to absorb some of Saiken’s chakra, prompting the chakra around Saiken to turn an eerie blue.

Raito froze Utakata, defeated the Six-Tails, and sealed its chakra. After learning that Six-Tails Chakra could be converted into One-Tail Chakra and that Tailed Beasts eventually regenerate, he realized Utakata could serve as a renewable source of chakra.

• Raito adapted his cloud mist to resist the Six-Tails' acid and fought Utakata's Partial Tailed Beast Transformation.
• Raito used Shukaku's Power Enhancement and Boil Release: Hot Breath Blade to sever one of the Six-Tails' tails.
• When Utakata began charging a Tailed Beast Bomb, Raito froze him with Snow Mist and struck him with Flash Step.
• Raito used the Six-Tails Chakra Seal to stop Utakata's chakra flow, and the Great Sage reported that Raito had collected 1.5% of the Six-Tails' chakra.
• The Great Sage explained Glutton's chakra conversion function and told Raito that exhausted Tailed Beasts eventually regenerate, leading Raito to consider Utakata a renewable chakra source.

Gekkō Raito used the Great Sage to extract the Six-Tails from Utakata and seal it inside himself while keeping Utakata alive. The procedure succeeded, and Utakata woke free of the burden of being a Jinchūriki.

• Gekkō Raito connected a Chakra Thread to Utakata and asked the Great Sage to devise a way to extract the Six-Tails without harming him.
• Gekkō Raito told Haku and Chōjūrō that he intended to take the Six-Tails for himself, and Haku warned that doing so would bind him to Kirigakure.
• The Great Sage calculated a 50 percent chance of success, which rose to 80 percent when it took control of Gekkō Raito's body.
• Under the Great Sage's control, Gekkō Raito extracted the Six-Tails from Utakata and sealed it inside himself.
• Utakata woke up feeling free of the weight he had carried for more than a decade.