Recaps

Liumu and Might Duy discovered a dead Hyuga Main Family member whose Byakugan had been stolen, and Liumu suspected Kirigakure was responsible. The theft sparked an uproar in Konoha as the Hyuga Clan and the Third Hokage launched efforts to recover the eye.

• Liumu explained to Might Duy that he had returned to Konoha using a clone, and they found a Hyuga Main Family member with one Byakugan shattered and the other missing.
• Liumu sent word to his original body, and he told Minato that the stolen Byakugan likely went to Kirigakure after the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist appeared near Konoha.
• Liumu and Minato decided to hurry back to the village after losing time searching for the owners of two footprints in the Land of Grass.
• Might Duy brought the body to Konoha and reported the theft to the Hyuga Clan and Konoha High Command.
• The Third Hokage issued a Gold wanted notice, and Hyuga ninja clones left the village for the front lines to recover the Byakugan.

Team 7 traveled to the Land of Rain to reinforce Konoha’s forces as the Third Shinobi World War intensified. At the battlefield, Shikaku briefed Minato on shifting alliances and a strange secret message, which he had just received.

• Minato restored a waterfall’s flow and explained to Rin that war left people with little choice but to protect what they could.
• A message from the Third Hokage sent Team 7 to the Land of Rain, where Liumu chose to bring Kakashi, Obito, and Rin along.
• Minato told Liumu that Yahiko was in the Land of Rain, and Liumu reflected on how small nations and their people suffered amid wars between great nations.
• Minato led Team 7 to Konoha’s defensive position, where they joined Shikaku and Choza at the battlefield.
• Shikaku told Minato that the Third Mizukage and Third Raikage had died, Kirigakure had vanished from the conflict, and Kumogakure and Iwagakure might turn against Konoha.
• Shikaku added that Konoha had received a strange secret message that morning.

Liumu learned that Pain had fought Sunagakure and went to the Land of Rain to check on Yahiko and Nagato. There he met Kongyu, a girl with the Rinnegan who was known as Pain, and found Nagato resting in a hidden room.

• Shikaku and Choza told Minato and Liumu that Pain had held off Sunagakure’s ninja with Rinnegan-bearing summoned beasts.
• Liumu recognized that the reports likely described Nagato’s Six Paths of Pain and asked Minato to keep the news from Jiraiya.
• Liumu traveled to the Land of Rain and slipped into the base using his Kizaru template.
• Konan introduced Liumu to Nakayama Kongyu, who said she was called Pain in the Land of Rain.
• Konan told Liumu that Nagato had found Kongyu in an abandoned village after Kirigakure killed her family, then led him to Nagato’s hidden room.
• Nagato woke and asked Liumu when he had arrived.

Liumu learned how Nagato had created Pain and shared what he knew about the future Six Paths. He then spent time with Konan and Kongyu before Konan called out his claim to be eighteen.

• Liumu asked Nagato about the Animal Path, and Nagato revealed that Kongyu was Pain's Animal Path and that another Pain existed in the Land of Rain.
• Nagato explained that he had discovered the black rods after summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and that using Pain for protection was draining his chakra.
• Liumu told Nagato about the Six Paths of Pain and warned him that controlling too many bodies would burden him.
• Konan told Liumu that Yahiko had gone to negotiate with leaders of the great nations and had Nagato's chosen guards protecting him.
• Kongyu playfully clung to Liumu while Konan watched, and Konan then questioned his claim that he was eighteen by recalling how he used to be afraid to sleep alone.

After Konoha recalled its frontline forces to repel Sunagakure’s attack near Kikyo Mountain, Liumu returned home and was promoted to Jonin. He visited Minato with Han to congratulate him on Kushina’s pregnancy, where they also met the Third Hokage.

• Minato confronted A and Killer B when their plan to sneak behind Konoha’s battle lines was exposed, and A accepted his challenge to fight.
• After two years of war in the Land of Rain, Kumogakure’s forces began withdrawing, but a secret message summoned Konoha’s troops home after Sunagakure attacked near Kikyo Mountain.
• Minato told Liumu that Orochimaru had helped drive off the attackers, while Liumu thought about the dangers posed by Kabuto.
• Liumu returned to Konoha, became a Jonin, and refused the Third Hokage’s offer to prepare to lead a Ninja Academy class.
• Kakashi told Liumu that Team 7 had been temporarily disbanded and that he had received a secret mission.
• Liumu and Han brought gifts to Minato’s home to congratulate him on Kushina’s pregnancy, where they met Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Liumu visited Minato and Kushina, helped choose the name Naruto for their unborn child, and then advised Hiruzen Sarutobi that Konoha needed new leadership. Hiruzen acknowledged that the village needed fresh blood and ideas, leaving his future retirement under consideration.

• Liumu, Han, Minato, Kushina, and Hiruzen gathered and chatted, and Han eagerly touched Kushina's pregnant belly.
• After rejecting Hiruzen's and Minato's naming suggestions, Liumu proposed Naruto, and Kushina approved the name.
• Hiruzen took Liumu aside and asked for his views on war, peace, and Konoha.
• Liumu criticized Hiruzen's leadership and told him that Konoha needed new leadership and that he should retire.
• Hiruzen accepted Liumu's honesty and agreed that Konoha needed fresh blood and new ideas.

Sarutobi prepared to step down as Minato Namikaze’s succession as Fourth Hokage was approved, while Liumu planned to leave the village to investigate a discovery in the Land of Crafts. Before departing, Liumu warned Sarutobi about Orochimaru and met Fugaku, who revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and showed Liumu a battlefield vision.

• Sarutobi told Liumu that Minato’s popularity had helped secure the daimyo’s approval for his succession as Fourth Hokage.
• Liumu said Jiraiya had found something in the Land of Crafts and that he would travel there, then warned Sarutobi that Orochimaru had changed and should be watched.
• At home, Liumu packed for his journey and apologized to Han for leaving her to care for Shisui, who had awakened his Sharingan during the Third Shinobi World War.
• Liumu visited Fugaku at the Police Force headquarters, where Fugaku revealed that his friend’s death during the war had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Fugaku cast a vision of a battlefield before Liumu, who saw dead Uchiha clan members whose eyes had been removed.

Fugaku told Liumu that the Uchiha Clan had lost their Sharingan and suspected Danzo, prompting Liumu to bring the matter to Minato. Minato demanded evidence before acting and offered Liumu a mission when he saw how frustrated he was.

• Fugaku showed Liumu an illusion of the Uchiha Clan’s losses, and Liumu broke free using the Heavenly Fox Heart.
• Fugaku explained why he had not reported the missing Sharingan to Konoha High Command and accused Danzo of taking them.
• Liumu agreed to raise the matter with Minato, while Fugaku said he still wanted to trust Konoha High Command.
• Liumu visited Minato and told him that someone from the village was likely responsible for the Uchiha Clan losing their Sharingan.
• Minato insisted that he needed evidence before acting against anyone, and offered Liumu a mission when Liumu showed his frustration.

Liumu investigated a hidden base in the Land of Sound and discovered Orochimaru injecting Danzo with another man's cells. After confronting them, he challenged both men and revealed that he possessed several sacred treasures.

• Liumu accepted Minato's mission to investigate Orochimaru's base in the Land of Sound and visited the Uchiha Clan before departing.
• Liumu slipped into a hidden underground base and followed a dark tunnel to a chamber where Orochimaru was treating Danzo.
• Orochimaru told Danzo that he had adapted to the cells faster than anyone except one child, while Danzo warned him not to endanger Konoha.
• Danzo detected Liumu outside the chamber and blasted the entrance with Wind Release, forcing Liumu to emerge from the smoke.
• Orochimaru recognized Liumu, drew his Kusanagi Sword, and told Danzo to leave, but Liumu declared that neither of them would escape.
• Liumu formed Ame no Murakumo and claimed he also possessed Yasaka Tomoe and the Yata Mirror, provoking Orochimaru's greed.

Liumu let Uchiha Fugaku confront Danzo while he faced Orochimaru outside the cave. After Orochimaru branded him with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, Liumu absorbed the seal and imprisoned Orochimaru in the Time House, then heard Fugaku’s Black Susanoo erupt from underground.

• Liumu brought Uchiha Fugaku to Danzo and let them settle their grievances while he took Orochimaru outside.
• Orochimaru revealed his interest in Liumu’s body as a vessel and attacked him with Snake Gaze Bind.
• Liumu activated the Saitama Template and broke free of Orochimaru’s snakes.
• Orochimaru struck Liumu with the Cursed Seal of Heaven, but Liumu absorbed the seal’s power with Taotie.
• Liumu sealed Orochimaru inside the Time House, then heard Fugaku’s Black Susanoo burst from underground.

Fugaku confronted Danzo over Kagami’s stolen Sharingan, but Danzo used Izanagi to survive Fugaku’s Genjutsu and wound him. As Fugaku awakened a towering black skeleton with his Mangekyō, Danzo launched another Wind Release attack.

• Danzo revealed the Sharingan implanted in his arm and admitted that he had killed Kagami to take his eye.
• Danzo trapped Fugaku in Kagami’s Genjutsu and moved to take Fugaku’s eyes, but Fugaku countered with a volcano-themed Genjutsu.
• Fugaku tried to destroy Kagami’s eye, but Danzo broke free with Izanagi and struck Fugaku with Wind Release, leaving him badly wounded.
• Fugaku’s black chakra formed a huge skeleton that burst through the stone chamber, while Danzo stared in shock.
• Danzo formed hand seals and attacked Fugaku with Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.

Fugaku fought Danzo with Susanoo while Liumu disrupted Danzo’s attacks and stopped his self-destructive seal. Fugaku was left with Danzo’s body for revenge, as Liumu walked away and prepared to deny knowing what happened.

• Danzo’s attacks failed against Fugaku’s skeletal Susanoo, and his Summoning Technique brought out Baku.
• Liumu hurled a huge rock into Baku’s mouth, then pierced Baku with a smaller stone and made it vanish.
• Fugaku strengthened Susanoo, restrained Danzo, and declared he would kill him eleven times in another world because Danzo had ten Sharingan and Izanagi.
• As Fugaku and Danzo weakened and their Sharingan closed, Danzo exposed the Reverse Four Symbols Seal on his body.
• Liumu absorbed Danzo’s chakra before he could activate the seal, handed Danzo’s limp body to Fugaku, and said he would claim he had never seen either man.

Liumu entered Otogakure to investigate the Sealed Bloodline he believed was Hashirama’s Cells, hidden in Danzo’s corpse. After slipping into a secret underground facility among a group of children, he was mistaken for someone named Shinichi.

• Liumu escaped a group of women in the Land of Sound and headed for Otogakure.
• Liumu recalled that Uchiha Fugaku had killed Danzo but left his corpse badly damaged, and decided to wait for Konoha’s team to recover the Hashirama Cells.
• Liumu entered Otogakure using the Kizaru Template and found that the village guards barely noticed him.
• A tall man ushered Liumu into a courtyard with nearly thirty children and led them through a hidden tunnel into an underground facility.
• The tall man noticed Liumu’s unfamiliar face, then called him Shinichi and joked that he had grown thin.

Liumu entered Orochimaru’s underground facility disguised as Shinichi and discovered Mitaraishi Anko imprisoned in a blood-stained room. After freeing her, he asked why she had been locked up there.

• Sanada mistook Liumu for Shinichi and explained that the children who received Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal had suffered severe reactions, while advising him to take his medicine.
• Liumu joined the group and entered an unoccupied room, where an imprisoned girl recognized that he was not Shinichi because Shinichi had died a year earlier.
• Liumu removed the hood from the restrained girl and identified her as Mitaraishi Anko, who bore the Cursed Seal of Heaven.
• Liumu tore through Anko’s restraints, and she revealed that the room’s walls had been stained red with blood.
• Anko peered through the door’s window, and Liumu asked why she had been imprisoned and tied up.

Liumu discovered that Anko was imprisoned because the Cursed Seal of Heaven made her dangerous and because she wanted to escape Orochimaru. He removed the seal, but Anko still believed she could not return to Konoha because she was Orochimaru’s disciple, and she playfully reached for Liumu as he panicked.

• Anko realized Liumu was not Shinichi, and he revealed that he was from Konoha.
• Anko explained that the cursed seal had made her lose control and that she had been confined after defecting from Orochimaru.
• Anko told Liumu she could not return to Konoha because the seal might endanger the village, but Liumu offered to remove it.
• Liumu absorbed the Cursed Seal of Heaven from Anko, leaving her exhausted.
• Liumu offered to take Anko back to the village, but she said she could not return because she was Orochimaru’s disciple.
• Anko grabbed at Liumu’s arm, and he shouted for her to stay away.

Liumu persuaded Anko to leave Otogakure, rescued her and the imprisoned children, and brought her toward the Land of Fire. The children returned to the village out of loyalty to Orochimaru, while Liumu and Anko continued on together and finally exchanged names.

• Liumu tempted Anko with dango and convinced her to leave, then smashed open their cell door.
• Anko defeated the Sound Ninja guards with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands, and Liumu freed the imprisoned children.
• Liumu and Anko escaped Otogakure, but the children returned to the village instead of leaving.
• Anko explained that Orochimaru had saved and cared for the orphans, who regarded him as a parent and would not abandon him.
• Liumu defended his choice to save them, grilled fish for Anko, and introduced himself as an ordinary Jonin of Konoha.

Liumu reported Danzo’s death to Minato and revealed that Danzo had stolen Uchiha eyes and implanted Hashirama cells, while Orochimaru remained imprisoned in the Time House. The chapter ended with Minato telling Liumu that Shisui had graduated early, a fact Liumu had not known.

• Liumu returned to Konoha with Anko, who was sent to the Interrogation Room for investigation.
• Liumu showed Minato and the two Special Advisers Danzo’s severed arm and claimed he had found it in the Land of Sound.
• After the advisers left, Liumu revealed Danzo’s corpse and explained that it contained Hashirama cells and Sharingan stolen from the Uchiha Clan, including Kagami Uchiha’s eye.
• Liumu told Minato that Orochimaru was locked in the Time House and said he did not know how Danzo had died.
• Liumu urged Minato to consider informing the Uchiha Clan about Danzo’s thefts, and Minato agreed to consult the Third Hokage about Orochimaru.
• Minato told Liumu that Shisui had graduated early and had credited Liumu with teaching him the Body Flicker Technique.

Liumu reluctantly agreed to take charge of Root temporarily, then returned home and gave Shisui a graduation present. After releasing Uchiha Fugaku, Liumu asked him how he would respond if peace were broken by those closest to him, and Fugaku affirmed both his clan leadership and his Konoha identity.

• Minato persuaded Liumu to inspect Root the next day, and Liumu agreed on the condition that someone else would replace him afterward.
• Liumu returned home, learned Shisui had graduated, and gave him a miniature kunai as a graduation present.
• An old woman returned the backpack Liumu had forgotten at the ninja tool shop, revealing that he had gone back late at night to buy the kunai.
• Liumu released the recovering Uchiha Fugaku from the Time House and told him to keep the matter secret.
• Liumu asked Fugaku what he would do if people close to him shattered the peace he hoped for, and Fugaku declared that he was both head of the Uchiha Clan and a Konoha shinobi.
• After Fugaku left, Liumu asked Han what she had been discussing secretly with Kushina.

Liumu told Han they should sleep separately after Kushina convinced her that sleeping with a man could lead to having a Naruto. He then went to Root headquarters and offered its members a choice of returning to ordinary village life, joining the ANBU, or leaving Konoha, but one member asked if they could follow him instead.

• Han said she wanted to sleep separately because Kushina told her that men and women who slept together would have a Naruto, and Liumu realized he needed to explain reproduction to her.
• Liumu went to Root headquarters and accidentally caused a Root member pain when he tried to undo a genjutsu, then learned Danzo's death had already ended the genjutsu.
• Liumu told Root's members that Danzo was dead and offered them the choice of going home, joining the ANBU, or leaving Konoha as potential rogue ninja.
• Several Root members chose to go home, while none chose the ANBU, and one asked Liumu whether they could follow him.

Liumu heard Root’s former members reject the choices of joining the ANBU or becoming rogue ninjas and ask him to lead a new organization. He postponed his answer, but Minato urged him to take charge of the ANBU, explaining that he trusted no one else with the role.

• Root’s former members removed their masks and told Liumu they could not accept any of his three options.
• A long-haired woman and a muscular man asked Liumu to establish a new organization for them, and he told them to return in three days for his answer.
• Liumu considered Kakashi as a possible leader but decided to discuss the matter with Minato instead.
• Minato supported forming a team and revealed that he had also been considering putting Liumu in charge of the ANBU.
• Liumu objected to taking on the ANBU, but Minato explained that he could not find anyone else he trusted who had the strength and intelligence for the position.

After discovering that the Orochimaru trapped in the Time House was only an empty shell, Liumu reorganized Root and sent teams to investigate the Land of Crafts’ Ninja Tools. As Kushina’s due date approached, Liumu prepared for the coming Nine-Tails incident, which he believed was imminent.

• Liumu realized Orochimaru had escaped by leaving an empty shell behind and told Minato that Orochimaru’s white snakes might have been his true body.
• Liumu took command of Root, reorganized its members into eight teams, and sent two teams to the Land of Crafts to follow Jiraiya’s instructions.
• Han showed Liumu baby clothes for Kushina and told him Naruto was due in less than two months.
• Jiraiya reported that the Land of Crafts’ chakra-absorbing Ninja Tools relied on rare materials and could not be mass-produced.
• Minato left to be with Kushina, who was due to give birth within days, while Liumu looked over Konoha and said the moment had finally come.

Liumu received warning of a coming disaster and investigated a dazed man outside Konoha, who revealed himself as the Three-Tails. Liumu absorbed the beast’s Tailed Beast Bomb, but the man’s body began transforming into a strange skeletal cloak.

• Liumu warned Fugaku that Konoha might face a disaster soon and asked him to protect the Uchiha Clan’s territory.
• Liumu learned Kushina was expected to give birth within a day or two, while Han prepared to stay with her.
• A Root report alerted Liumu to a dazed man wearing a Konoha forehead protector outside the village, and Liumu recognized the red chakra as belonging to a jinchūriki.
• Liumu sent Root members back to protect Konoha Hospital, then attacked the man and exposed the Three-Tails within him.
• Liumu absorbed the Three-Tails’ Tailed Beast Bomb, as the man’s flesh split and an enormous white skeletal cloak emerged.

A masked man released the Nine-Tails in Konoha and revealed a Mangekyō Sharingan, while Liumu fought the Three-Tails outside the village. As Konoha’s defenders battled the beasts, Minato summoned the Reaper and entrusted Naruto and the village to Liumu.

• Liumu realized the Three-Tails Jinchūriki had been bait and attacked the beast after seeing a Mangekyō Sharingan in its eyes.
• The Masked Man extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina at Konoha Hospital, and Han rescued Kushina and Naruto as the beast began rampaging.
• Minato moved Kushina, Han, and Naruto to safety, then joined Konoha’s fighters against the Nine-Tails.
• Liumu arrived with the Three-Tails, knocked the Nine-Tails and its forming Tailed Beast Bomb down, and Minato ordered the Three-Tails sealed first.
• Minato summoned the Reaper and asked Liumu to protect Konoha and take care of Naruto if he could.

Liumu stopped Minato’s Reaper Death Seal, knocked the controlled Nine-Tails unconscious, and fought the mysterious Masked Man, whose space-time ability resembled Kamui. After the Masked Man escaped, Minato realized Kushina was dying from the extraction of the Nine-Tails, and Liumu gave him a piece of Heluo’s body to save her.

• Liumu used Taotie's Gluttony to absorb Minato’s chakra and cancel the Reaper Death Seal, then told the Third Hokage to take Minato away.
• Liumu punched the Nine-Tails into a crater and knocked it unconscious, freeing Konoha from its attack.
• Liumu fought the Masked Man, who phased through attacks and controlled iron objects, while Minato explained their abilities to the Third Hokage.
• Liumu tried to drain the Masked Man’s chakra, but his hand passed through the man, who escaped through a space-time distortion.
• Minato discovered Kushina was dying after the Nine-Tails was extracted, and Liumu gave him a piece of Heluo’s body and urged him to have her eat it.

Minato and Kushina divided the Nine-Tails’ chakra between Minato and newborn Naruto, ending the attack on Konoha. More than half a year later, Liumu managed Root and the ANBU, arranged for Itachi to report to him after graduating, and received intelligence from the Land of Rain.

• Liumu proposed dividing the Nine-Tails’ chakra between two Jinchūriki, and Minato volunteered alongside newborn Naruto.
• Kushina used her chakra chains to split the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and Minato sealed the portions inside himself and Naruto.
• Izumi treated Itachi to dumplings, and Liumu told Fugaku to have Shisui teach Itachi until he graduated from the Ninja Academy.
• Liumu approved a new recruit with Transparent Release for the Combat Team and continued directing Root and the ANBU.
• Kakashi delivered the Fourth Hokage’s intelligence from the Land of Rain to Liumu before leaving to meet Guy.