Chapter Summaries

Naruto continued training to control the Nine-Tails’ chakra on Turtle Island while Kakashi prepared to leave. Kakashi confirmed he would depart alone when Kumogakure’s transport boat arrived, leaving Yamato to supervise Naruto.

• Naruto emerged from the secret chamber and told Kakashi he had nearly beaten the Nine-Tails, then insisted he wanted to train again soon.
• Kakashi and Yamato urged Naruto to train carefully and reminded him that Shihōin Naraku had promised he could join the war only after controlling the Nine-Tails’ chakra.
• Motoi received a message from Owl Guard Gate and learned that Kakashi was leaving Turtle Island.
• Naruto excitedly asked whether he could leave with Kakashi, but Kakashi clarified that he would depart alone once Kumogakure’s boat arrived.

Kakashi left Turtle Island to command the Allied Shinobi Forces Combat Division, leaving Yamato to supervise Naruto’s training. Naruto learned that Kumogakure’s Killer B was a perfect jinchūriki who could control the Eight-Tails’ power, highlighting how Naruto had to master the Nine-Tails’ chakra on his own.

• Kakashi explained his new command and told Yamato he was leaving him in charge while Naruto had to finish his training before returning to the battlefield.
• Kakashi departed after reminding Naruto he would wait for him to complete his training, and Naruto immediately wanted to resume practicing.
• Motoi explained that Kumogakure had the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, whose jinchūriki were Yugito Nii and Killer B.
• Motoi told Naruto that Killer B was Kumogakure’s Fifth Raikage and a perfect jinchūriki who retained consciousness during a full tailed beast transformation.
• Naruto reflected on how the Nine-Tails’ negative emotions had once overwhelmed him and how the Waterfall of Truth had helped him accept his dark side.

Motoi told Naruto that becoming a perfect Jinchūriki required mutual understanding with the Tailed Beast, explaining that the Eight-Tails willingly shared chakra with Killer B. Naruto wondered whether the Nine-Tails also wanted acknowledgment, but when he tried to talk to it, it attacked him and Naruto prepared to fight.

• Motoi explained that Killer B was Kumogakure’s only perfect Jinchūriki and that Yugito Nii had not yet reached that state.
• Motoi recalled that Killer B said a Jinchūriki and their Tailed Beast needed to understand each other to become perfect partners.
• Naruto described how he had nearly been overwhelmed while taking the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and Motoi said the Eight-Tails now willingly gave chakra to Killer B.
• Naruto considered that the Nine-Tails might be lonely and might want acknowledgment, then entered the sealed space to talk to it.
• The Nine-Tails ignored Naruto, attacked him, and Naruto prepared to fight when he realized they could not talk calmly.

Naruto struggled to persuade the Nine-Tails in his seal until Kushina Uzumaki appeared and restrained the fox with Adamantine Sealing Chains. Meanwhile, Kakashi returned to Konohagakure and told Shihōin Naraku that Naruto’s training on Turtle Island was helping but had not yet let him control the Nine-Tails’ power.

• The Nine-Tails attacked Naruto with a Tailed Beast Bomb after recognizing that Naruto was holding back to try to reach an understanding.
• Kushina’s voice interrupted Naruto, and her Adamantine Sealing Chains bound the Nine-Tails and stopped its attack.
• Naruto turned to the red-haired woman and asked who she was.
• Kakashi returned to Konohagakure and observed that nearly a hundred thousand gathered ninja were tense but remained orderly under patrols and Shihōin Naraku’s authority.
• Kakashi told Naraku that Naruto could maintain his reason during Partial Tailed Beast Transformation but still could not truly control the Nine-Tails’ power.
• Naraku decided Naruto would join the battlefield only after gaining Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Shihōin Naraku told Kakashi that Obito had abducted the Third and Fourth Hokage and taken the Nine-Tails chakra, making the Ten-Tails’ revival likely and the war imminent. With three days left before the expected outbreak, Naraku briefed Kakashi on commanding the Allied Shinobi Forces’ Third Division and explained who would face the Ten-Tails.

• Shihōin Naraku reassured Kakashi that Naruto Uzumaki could remain on Turtle Island and revealed Obito had abducted the Third and Fourth Hokage.
• Naraku said Obito had obtained the Nine-Tails chakra from Minato and warned that the Ten-Tails was likely to be revived.
• Naraku told Kakashi that the war was expected to begin in three days and ordered him to prepare to command the Third Division.
• Naraku instructed Kakashi on coordinating the division’s sustained combat and reporting any signs of the Ten-Tails.
• Kakashi asked who would fight the Ten-Tails, and Naraku said he would lead the effort with support from the other Kage.
• Naraku reminded Kakashi that Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju were in Konoha, giving their side additional powerful fighters.

Shihōin Naraku and the Five Kage reviewed the Allied Shinobi Forces’ strength and formation progress as preparations for war continued. Naraku set the official force count at one hundred thousand and revealed that he had ordered an Infiltration Reconnaissance Unit formed.

• Naraku told Kakashi Hatake to take over the Third Division and accelerate its formation, giving him three days to familiarize himself with the division.
• Shikaku Nara reported that the Daimyo and village ninja were in position, and Mei Terumi said she would protect the Daimyo once the Allied Shinobi Forces had assembled and war began.
• Shikaku reported 99,372 registered members, and Naraku and the Five Kage agreed to announce the force as one hundred thousand ninja.
• Shikaku reported that the five main combat divisions were between 72 and 100 percent formed, and Naraku explained that Kakashi’s late arrival had slowed the Third Division’s progress.
• Naraku revealed that he had ordered an Infiltration Reconnaissance Unit established, and Gaara asked whether it would conduct operations behind enemy lines.

Shihōin Naraku outlined plans for an infiltration team to find Kabuto Yakushi and discussed the Allied Shinobi Forces’ preparations, including Tsunade’s medical corps. He proposed placing a field hospital inside the Land of Fire for protection, leaving Ōnoki questioning whether it would be too far from the front lines.

• Shihōin Naraku said the infiltration team’s target would be Kabuto Yakushi, whose capture could disrupt the Impure World Reincarnation army, though locating him would be difficult.
• Dodai suggested assigning sensory ninja to the team, but Shihōin Naraku noted that other units also needed them and said the mission would mainly use Konoha ninja familiar with Orochimaru or Kabuto Yakushi.
• Shikaku reported on the Allied Shinobi Forces’ units, and Tsunade said the medical corps had assembled and was training newcomers in first aid and simple medical ninjutsu.
• The allied leaders welcomed Tsunade’s efforts, which could improve medical care in their villages after the war.
• Shihōin Naraku proposed establishing a field hospital inside the Land of Fire to protect wounded ninja and medical staff from enemy attacks.
• Ōnoki asked whether the proposed field hospital would be too far from the front lines for convenient treatment.

Shihōin Naraku rejected Ōnoki’s plan to move the field hospital closer to the front, while Kabuto Yakushi prepared reincarnated shinobi for the war. After removing Minato Namikaze’s curse mark, Kabuto lost control of him, and Minato freed himself from the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

• Shihōin Naraku told Ōnoki that the field hospital had to remain safely behind the front, with battlefield casualties receiving emergency treatment before transport.
• Kabuto Yakushi summoned dozens of reincarnated shinobi, then sealed the reincarnated Jinchūriki into a scroll and sent it to Obito through White Zetsu.
• Kabuto Yakushi removed the curse mark suppressing Minato Namikaze’s consciousness and began forming seals to control him.
• Minato Namikaze regained consciousness, recognized that the Nine-Tails chakra had been taken, and struck Kabuto Yakushi with a Rasengan.
• Minato Namikaze formed the seals to release the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and broke free of Kabuto Yakushi’s control.

Minato Namikaze escaped Kabuto Yakushi’s control and raced back to Konoha, where he was shocked by how much the village had changed. Shihōin Naraku sensed Minato’s arrival and disappeared from the Hokage’s Office to meet him.

• Kabuto Yakushi survived Minato Namikaze’s attack by shedding his ruined body, then sealed it away when Obito Uchiha appeared.
• Obito Uchiha learned that Minato Namikaze had escaped, but Black Zetsu stopped him and Kabuto Yakushi from fighting; Obito declared that the war would officially begin the next day.
• Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God Technique and Body Flicker Technique to reach Konoha, where he was startled by the missing outer walls and unfamiliar buildings.
• Shihōin Naraku sensed Minato Namikaze outside Konoha during a meeting with Jiraiya, Kakashi Hatake, and Tsunade, then vanished using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Minato Namikaze returned to Konoha and mistook its rebuilt appearance for damage caused by the Nine-Tails, fearing for Naruto’s safety. He met Naraku, learned that Naraku had become the Sixth Hokage, and heard how Konoha had been led after Minato’s death.

• Minato surveyed Konoha’s rebuilt village and worried that the Nine-Tails had gone berserk and endangered Naruto.
• Naraku and Minato raced through the forest using the Flying Thunder God Technique until Minato stopped and recognized Naraku.
• Minato praised Naraku’s speed and learned that Naraku had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Minato noticed Naraku’s Hokage robe and learned that he was the Sixth Hokage, after Tsunade had served as the Fifth.
• Naraku told Minato that Hiruzen had returned as Hokage after Minato and Kushina died, and Minato approved of Hiruzen’s choice to stabilize Konoha.

Minato Namikaze asked Shihōin Naraku about Naruto and learned that Naruto was safe in hiding. Naraku brought Minato back to Konoha, where Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade questioned how he had escaped the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

• Minato Namikaze asked Shihōin Naraku about Naruto, and Naraku assured him that Naruto was safe and training in hiding.
• Naraku noticed that ninja were approaching and offered to take Minato into Konoha because his resurrection made it unwise for him to appear publicly.
• Minato and Naraku discussed Konoha's missing Flying Thunder God Formulas and learned that the village's barrier had been shut down due to the Allied Shinobi Forces gathering there.
• Naraku and Minato vanished and reappeared in the Hokage's office before Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Tsunade.
• Tsunade questioned whether Minato was still controlled by Kabuto, and Minato explained that he knew the hand seals for releasing the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu.

Minato Namikaze explained that he had learned how to release the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu’s restraints while serving as Hokage, and Naraku confirmed Minato was free of them. The discussion revealed that Naraku had mastered the forbidden technique but claimed he had never used it.

• Minato Namikaze explained that he had read about the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu while learning the Flying Thunder God Technique and gained access to its release seals after becoming Hokage.
• Naraku explained to Kakashi that the Hokage’s authority let Minato examine Konoha’s forbidden techniques despite Hiruzen Sarutobi’s ban.
• Jiraiya asked whether Tobirama Senju should verify Minato’s release, but Naraku said he had already checked that Minato’s restraints were gone.
• Naraku pointed out that Tsunade had also read about the technique, and she explained she had studied it to find a weakness after Orochimaru summoned her grandfather.
• Tsunade asked Minato and Naraku whether they had learned the technique; Minato said he had not, while Naraku admitted he had mastered it but never used it.

Minato learned that Obito had extracted the Nine-Tails' chakra from him and confirmed that Obito was the masked man behind the Nine-Tails' Attack. After discovering that Madara might be guiding Obito, Minato regretted failing to recognize his former student, while Naraku declared that the conflict would be settled on the battlefield.

• Minato told Jiraiya and the others that Obito had extracted the Nine-Tails' chakra and sealed it inside a monstrous creature.
• Kakashi confirmed that the enemy was Obito, and Minato explained that he had recognized him from information Obito let slip while extracting the chakra.
• Naraku asked whether Obito had been the masked man who released the Nine-Tails on the night Naruto was born, and Minato recalled the encounter.
• Naraku said Madara might have trained Obito, and Kakashi explained how Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan ability, Kamui, worked.
• Minato concluded that Obito had been the masked attacker and blamed himself for not recognizing his student; Jiraiya comforted him, and Naraku said the matter would be settled on the battlefield.

Minato Namikaze learned that Naruto was training on Turtle Island and was offered the chance to visit and help him. As the Allied Shinobi Forces prepared for an unexpectedly imminent war, Naraku predicted Obito would attack tomorrow, but still urged Minato to see Naruto first.

• Minato Namikaze asked about Naruto, and Jiraiya explained that Naruto was training on Turtle Island in Kumogakure.
• Naraku offered to let Minato visit Naruto and help him master Nine-Tails Chakra.
• Naraku warned that Minato's escape might prompt Obito to begin the war earlier than expected, and Tsunade ordered the intelligence department to watch the Mountain Graveyard.
• Naraku predicted that Obito would most likely launch the war tomorrow, and Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Kakashi agreed that an attack was near.
• Minato considered postponing his visit to serve the Allied Shinobi Forces, but Naraku urged him to see Naruto first and help strengthen their war effort.

As Konoha rushed to finish its war preparations, Shihōin Naraku learned that Obito’s forces would begin the war at five the next morning. Black Zetsu assigned Akame to lead thirty thousand enhanced White Zetsu on a coastal invasion of the Land of Fire after the surprise attack unit departed.

• Kakashi Hatake told Shihōin Naraku that the Third Division was nearly fully assembled, and Naraku ordered him to finish preparations by the deadline.
• Naraku ordered Shikaku Nara and the other villages’ Kage to complete their preparations as Konoha worked through the night.
• Black Zetsu announced that the war would begin at five the next morning and assigned Akame to lead thirty thousand enhanced White Zetsu along the coast toward the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire.
• Black Zetsu ordered Akame to prioritize entering the Land of Fire, inflict casualties if that failed, and use White Zetsu disguised as Allied Shinobi Forces members after nightfall.
• Black Zetsu said the surprise attack unit would move out by land first, after which Akame’s force would travel underground through the sea and follow its assigned route.

Obito ordered the Akatsuki to assassinate Allied Shinobi Forces intelligence operatives near the Mountain Graveyard to conceal his coming attack. After the Allied forces detected the killings, the Five Kage and their commanders reviewed plans to stop the enemy outside the Land of Fire, with Mei Terumi proposing they destroy them in the Land of Frost.

• Hozuki Suigetsu killed an Allied Shinobi Forces intelligence operative, and White Zetsu removed the body.
• Obito ordered the Akatsuki to eliminate intelligence operatives around the Mountain Graveyard before launching the war.
• The Allied Shinobi Forces discovered that operatives had gone missing and identified Sasuke Uchiha, Hozuki Suigetsu, Jūgo, Karin, and suspected Impure World Reincarnation ninjas as the attackers.
• Naraku ordered the remaining intelligence operatives to monitor the enemy and report unusual movements to headquarters.
• Shikaku Nara presented a plan to intercept the enemy force advancing through the Land of Frost or the Land of Rice Fields, while Tsunade and Dodai emphasized protecting the border hospital and supplies.
• Mei Terumi urged the commanders to destroy the enemy near the Land of Frost.

The Five Kage finalized a plan to stop the enemy outside the Land of Fire and began assembling the Allied Shinobi Forces before dawn. At the supply point, Tenten helped speed up the distribution of ninja tools as the army prepared to move out.

• Shihōin Naraku finalized the battle plan, assigning Gaara to lead a Long-Distance Combat Unit near the border and directing other units to move north, northwest, and northeast.
• The hundred thousand members of the Allied Shinobi Forces began assembling before dawn.
• The ninja distributing supplies struggled with a long line of people who had not yet collected their tools.
• Tenten and other experienced ninja arrived to help, and Tenten posted clear collection rules that quickly sped up distribution.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka distributed emergency medical supplies to Allied Shinobi Forces Ninja and discussed their battlefield assignments. Sakura remained in the Medical Logistics Division while also serving as the Third Division’s medical captain, as Ino prepared to join the Fifth Division.

• Sakura Haruno handed out emergency medical supplies until Ino Yamanaka arrived to help.
• Sakura cautioned Ino to check each supply carefully, and Ino helped distribute them as the line grew shorter.
• Ino told Sakura that she had been assigned to the Fifth Division alongside Shino and Kiba.
• Sakura explained that she belonged to the Medical Logistics Division and the Third Combat Division, where she would provide frontline medical care.
• Sakura told Ino that she had been appointed medical captain of the Third Division, and Ino congratulated her.

The Allied Shinobi Forces completed their supply distribution, but old grudges among its members quickly sparked arguments and clashes. Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju discussed how the Five Kage could contain the discord long enough for the forces to build trust through battle.

• The Allied Shinobi Forces finished distributing supplies before five in the morning and assembled into their assigned combat units.
• Ninja from the different villages argued over Shihōin Naraku’s appointment as Supreme Commander and accused one another’s villages of past betrayals and atrocities.
• Hashirama Senju lamented that the Allied Shinobi Forces had fallen into chaos, while Tobirama Senju explained that years of hatred could not be erased by slogans.
• Tobirama Senju said fighting a common enemy together could help the ninja form bonds, if the leadership could suppress the conflicts in the meantime.
• Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju expressed confidence in the Five Kage’s ability to coordinate and manage the crisis.

As the Allied Shinobi Forces faced mounting discord, Shihōin Naraku and the Five Kage prepared battle plans in response to enemy movements. Naraku headed to confront the arguing troops, leaving Shikaku to monitor the enemy.

• Tobirama Senju explained to Hashirama Senju why the Five Kage needed time to plan against Akatsuki and Obito Uchiha.
• The Allied Shinobi Forces received reports that White Zetsu were moving toward the Land of Frost and an Impure World Reincarnation unit was heading toward the Land of Fire.
• The Five Kage and Staff Department assigned the Surprise Attack Unit and Kurotsuchi's Second Division to intercept the enemy, with Ōnoki joining the force.
• After learning the troops were arguing but had not begun fighting, Shihōin Naraku ordered Shikaku to track enemy movements and led the others toward the Training Ground.
• As the leaders approached the increasingly volatile crowd, Shihōin Naraku told them to wait and walked ahead to address the troops.