Chapter Summaries

Obito planned to collect the eight tailed beasts he could reach before taking the Two-Tails from Lin Ze, and he prepared for the task by stealing corpses from Konoha’s cemeteries. At dawn, he left with five scrolls full of ninja remains for use in Impure World Reincarnation.

• Obito watched Naruto in a shop and reflected that Konoha had altered the boy’s memories and feelings.
• Obito decided to gather the other eight tailed beasts first, since the Two-Tails was in Lin Ze’s hands and the Eye of the Moon Plan required all nine.
• Obito and White Zetsu entered Konoha’s cemetery at night and sealed the corpses of numerous dead ninja into scrolls.
• Obito began with the Uchiha burial grounds and collected the bodies of Uchiha ninja, including Uchiha Fugaku, Konoha’s Fifth Hokage.
• Obito and White Zetsu raided the Hyūga and other clan burial grounds, then left Konoha at dawn with five scrolls of corpses.

The Chunin Exam finals began, and Haku faced Naruto Uzumaki in the first match. Naruto broke Haku’s ice mirrors with a mass of shadow clones, but Haku’s Ice Dragon Bullet forced him to dodge as the battle continued.

• Tsunade and Jiraiya learned that Konoha graves, including those of their loved ones, had been dug up, and Tsunade blamed the Masked Man.
• The finals contestants were announced, with Gaara withdrawn from the competition and his place given to another contestant.
• The electronic screen matched Haku against Naruto Uzumaki for the first bout of the finals.
• Haku used ice techniques to slip Naruto’s clones, trap him in Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals, and wound him with senbon.
• Naruto summoned dozens of shadow clones, which shattered Haku’s ice mirrors.
• Haku launched an Ice Dragon Bullet, and Naruto weakened it with Wind Release before dodging its attack.

Naruto fought Haku, awakened the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and managed to suppress its rampage before Haku revealed his own Sage Mode. As Haku began a powerful finishing technique, the Kumogakure representatives recognized similarities between his abilities and Genbu’s.

• Haku’s chilling strikes injured Naruto, who then drew on the Nine-Tails’ chakra and fought back with increased speed and strength.
• Naruto broke Haku’s Ice Prison Technique and suppressed the Nine-Tails’ voice before losing control.
• Haku acknowledged Naruto’s will and activated Ryūchi Cave Sage Art, alarming the gathered village representatives.
• The Kumogakure envoy and lead jōnin recognized similarities between Haku’s Ice Release and senjutsu and Genbu’s abilities from five years earlier.
• Haku’s Sage Mode-powered attacks pushed Naruto back, and Haku began Sage Art: Ice Release: Thousand Killing Ice Soaring.

Haku defeated Naruto with senjutsu ice blades, causing Shukaku to recognize Genbu’s feared technique. Dragon Release Village dominated the remaining matches and secured four of the twelve Chunin qualifications.

• Haku overwhelmed Naruto with a thousand senjutsu ice blades, and Naruto admitted defeat after Haku stopped the final blade short of his forehead.
• The Kumogakure representatives concluded that Dragon Release Village was likely the force behind Genbu and planned to report to the Raikage, while Shukaku recognized Genbu’s technique and remembered his defeat.
• Jūgo defeated Shangshui Liuying, Kurotsuchi forced Karin to concede, and Sasuke beat Hozuki Suigetsu with Lightning Release.
• Temari defeated Shikamaru after he conceded, and Rock Lee defeated Omoi while demonstrating the Eight Gates Released Formation.
• Genma Shiranui announced the twelve qualifiers, including Kimimaro, Haku, Jūgo, and Sasuke Uchiha from Dragon Release Village.

After the Chunin Exams, Sasuke tried to reconnect with Naruto, but Jiraiya and Shino Yamanaka suppressed Naruto’s returning memories and took him away. Sasuke left Konoha with Itachi and the Dragon Release Village group, while Haku and Tagitsuhime noticed Itachi concealing blood after a cough.

• Tsunade awarded the twelve candidates their Chunin certifications, and the visiting teams prepared to leave Konoha.
• Sasuke returned to the village and approached Naruto, whose memories began to resurface when they clasped hands.
• Jiraiya and Shino Yamanaka used a seal to suppress Naruto’s memories again, then carried him away despite Sasuke’s protest.
• Itachi stopped Sasuke from pursuing Naruto and explained that they could not risk a fight with Konoha or disregard Lord Lin Ze’s ties to it.
• At the border camp, Itachi quietly coughed blood, and Haku and Tagitsuhime noticed.

The Fourth Raikage feared that Lin Ze and Dragon Release Village might seek revenge, while Obito and Nagato began reassembling the Akatsuki and restarting the Eye of the Moon Plan. At his laboratory, Lin Ze tracked Youying’s accelerated progress toward the Rinnegan and received Nagato’s message arranging a meeting in the Land of Wind.

• The Fourth Raikage connected Haku’s technique and Dragon Release Village’s strength to Genbu’s past attack, then ordered Kumogakure to secretly prepare a reserve base and copy its ninja records.
• Mabui told the Fourth Raikage that Iwagakure’s envoy was demanding another reparations payment, and he ordered her to ask them to wait a few more days.
• Obito met Nagato and Konan in a cave in the Land of Rivers, learned that Black Zetsu would provide intelligence from the shadows, and announced that they would gather members to restart the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Lin Ze examined Youying’s accelerated Rinnegan evolution and estimated that it would reach the threshold in about six years.
• Lin Ze received Nagato’s message arranging a rendezvous in the Land of Wind three days later and welcomed Nagato’s return.

Lin Ze's White Tiger Clone attended an Akatsuki meeting in the Land of Rivers and was shocked to find Orochimaru alive. Obito introduced four new members and assigned teams, while Orochimaru left suspicious of White Tiger's familiar presence.

• White Zetsu redirected Lin Ze from the Land of Wind to the Akatsuki rendezvous in the Land of Rivers.
• Lin Ze arrived at the Hidden Cave and recognized Orochimaru, whom he had believed dead since their battle at the Valley of the End.
• Obito introduced Deidara, Zabuza Momochi, Hidan, and Orochimaru as new Akatsuki members.
• Obito assigned Deidara and Zabuza Momochi to a team, paired Orochimaru with Hidan, and kept White Tiger with Kisame.
• Orochimaru told White Tiger that he seemed familiar, and Lin Ze later told Kisame that Orochimaru was hard to kill.

Orochimaru and Hidan received a mission from Obito to capture the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki Fū alive, while Lin Ze’s White Tiger Clone and Kisame were sent to locate the Three-Tails and Six-Tails in the Land of Water. Lin Ze decided to let the Akatsuki gather the other Tailed Beasts, planning to stop them before they could revive the Ten-Tails.

• Orochimaru and Hidan discussed how they had survived and learned that their first mission was to capture Fū alive in Takigakure.
• Obito warned Orochimaru and Hidan about Takigakure’s Hero Water and told them to contact him if they needed support.
• Obito assigned Lin Ze’s White Tiger Clone and Kisame to locate Isobu and Utakata in the Land of Water, and the pair set off together.
• Lin Ze considered Akatsuki’s cautious movements and decided not to capture the remaining Tailed Beasts himself, since the Two-Tails was already in his hands.
• Lin Ze planned to wait until the Akatsuki had gathered the other Tailed Beasts, then stop them before they could revive the Ten-Tails without the Two-Tails.

Lin Ze experimented with the Ryūmyaku shell at Rōran’s Underground Altar to discover how its energy could enable time travel. He found that Time-Reversal Trace could activate a space-time passage, but without coordinates, he could not control where it led and feared he might not return.

• Lin Ze released the Ryūmyaku energy sealed inside the Sea Dragon Jade shell and brought it to the Underground Altar.
• Lin Ze tried using sealing formulas and the Flying Thunder God Technique’s spatial principles to activate the Ryūmyaku, but the energy barely responded.
• Lin Ze fitted Ryōta’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and used Time-Reversal Trace, causing the Ryūmyaku shell to erupt with energy.
• Lin Ze combined the ocular technique with the Ryūmyaku and opened a space-time vortex filled with shifting images of different times and places.
• Lin Ze stopped the experiment after realizing the passage had no reliable destination and that he might be unable to return if he entered.

Lin Ze postponed studying time travel and infiltrated Mount Sumeru to observe Hiruko’s attempt to fuse five kekkei genkai with the Chimera Technique. As Hiruko began the experiment, Lin Ze watched from hiding, expecting it to fail without the annular solar eclipse.

• Lin Ze decided to deal with threats such as Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and Black Zetsu before pursuing time travel.
• Lin Ze traveled to Mount Sumeru after learning that Hiruko had resumed capturing bloodline users and was preparing to use the Chimera Technique.
• Lin Ze’s clay clone infiltrated Mount Sumeru, passed modified guards, and found five captives with Red Eye, Storm Release, Dark Release, Swift Release, and Steel Release.
• Hiruko arrived at his laboratory and prepared the five captives and their extracted origin cells for the fusion experiment.
• Hiruko vowed to gain all five bloodline abilities and defeat Ryota Uchiha, Pain, and Lin Ze as Lin Ze watched from hiding.

Hiruko’s attempt to merge five kekkei genkai failed when the Demon Bud turned on him, killing the five subjects and threatening to consume him. Lin Ze contained the backlash with sealing and Sage Art, leaving Hiruko alive but badly injured and asking who he was.

• Hiruko activated the Chimera Technique, using the formation to draw out the five kekkei genkai powers from his subjects.
• Hiruko began fusing the five powers, but the unstable Red Eye chakra disrupted their balance and triggered the Demon Bud’s backlash.
• The Demon Bud growths engulfed Hiruko and devoured his two Modified Human Assistants, while the five kekkei genkai ninja died drained of their essence.
• Lin Ze emerged from hiding, trapped Hiruko and the Demon Bud in a rock prison, and used a sealing jutsu to slow the growths.
• Lin Ze entered Sage Mode and applied Purifying Corrosion Clay, suppressing the Demon Bud until it stopped moving.
• Lin Ze removed the prison and found Hiruko alive but badly injured; Hiruko asked who he was.

Lin Ze saved Hiruko from the Chimera Technique backlash and took his research data in exchange for his life. After Lin Ze left, Hiruko decided to recover and seek Sharingan in Konoha, hoping to complete the technique during the Golden Ring Solar Eclipse.

• Lin Ze explained that the Red Eye was too weak to serve as a stable substitute for the Sharingan and that Hiruko had attempted the experiment at the wrong time.
• Lin Ze demanded all of Hiruko's Chimera Technique research data, and Hiruko handed it over under pressure.
• Lin Ze warned Hiruko that the Sharingan was the best choice but difficult to obtain, then vanished into the ground.
• Hiruko recalled that Konoha might have stored Sharingan recovered after the Uchiha Clan Massacre and planned to take advantage of a future Akatsuki attack on Konoha.
• Hiruko began repairing his laboratory and decided to recover from his injuries before going to Konoha for Sharingan.

Lin Ze and Kabuto analyzed Hiruko’s Chimera Technique and concluded that balanced Yin and Yang foundations could stabilize the fusion, though Demon Bud backlash remained dangerous. Lin Ze planned a resurrection fallback and began considering how to raise Kimimaro to Six Paths-level strength using tailed-beast chakra stored in Sea Dragon Jade Shells.

• Lin Ze reviewed Hiruko’s three-stage Chimera Technique, and Kabuto explained that balanced Yin and Yang foundations and evenly matched elemental kekkei genkai could improve its stability.
• Lin Ze judged that his Yang Release Sage Body, Yin Release Rinnegan, and five balanced kekkei genkai clones gave his experiment a strong foundation, but he remained concerned about Demon Bud backlash.
• Lin Ze considered using Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique as a fallback and chose Kimimaro, rather than Karin, as the person most suited to resurrect him.
• Lin Ze examined the sealed tailed-beast chakra stored in Sea Dragon Jade Shells and planned to link the shells to create a miniature Ten-Tails that could strengthen Kimimaro into a Mini Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

Lin Ze summoned Itachi after learning he was coughing blood, and Kabuto examined him while preparing to bring Kimimaro to the laboratory. Kabuto found that Itachi’s illness had damaged both his body and soul, and Itachi asked whether it could be treated.

• Lin Ze asked Kabuto whether Kimimaro could survive becoming the jinchūriki of a mini Ten-Tails, and Kabuto judged it theoretically possible.
• Tagitsuhime reported that Itachi had coughed blood in Konoha, so Lin Ze ordered her to bring both Itachi and Kimimaro to the laboratory.
• Tagitsuhime brought Kimimaro and Itachi, and Lin Ze asked Itachi about his worsening cough, sluggish chakra circulation, and difficulty using the Mangekyō.
• Kabuto examined Itachi and found that years of Sharingan use and existing bloodline disease had burdened both his body and soul.
• Itachi asked Lin Ze and Kabuto whether his illness could be treated.

Kabuto told Itachi that damage to his soul left him roughly five years to live, or only two if he frequently used the Mangekyō; Lin Ze said he would not interfere with Itachi and Sasuke as long as they spared innocents. Lin Ze then announced that he would make Kimimaro a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and discussed how to prevent the transformation from being hijacked.

• Kabuto explained that modern ninjutsu could not repair Itachi's soul damage and estimated that Itachi had five years left, or two if he used the Mangekyō in combat.
• Itachi asked Lin Ze about his stance toward Konoha, and Lin Ze said he would not interfere with action against its leadership as long as innocents were not harmed.
• Lin Ze sent Itachi to rest and suggested he consult the White Snake Sage, while refusing Tagitsuhime's offer to secretly watch over him.
• Lin Ze told Kimimaro he would make him a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki using miniature Tailed Beast Chakra, and Kimimaro vowed to master Rinne Rebirth to revive Lin Ze if needed.
• Lin Ze and Kabuto turned to the risk of a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki being possessed or having their consciousness hijacked.

Lin Ze explained the risks and conditions for making Kimimaro a mini Ten-Tails jinchuriki, then sent him back to train for the next five years. Meanwhile, the Sage of Six Paths confronted a dragon-scaled being with Lin Ze’s face in the Pure Land, and their exchange revealed how it came to exist.

• Lin Ze told Kimimaro that he needed to avoid Black Zetsu, maintain an unwavering will, and grow strong enough to suppress the Ten-Tails’ chakra before they could begin the fusion plan.
• Kimimaro returned to Dragon Release Village to train, while Lin Ze and Kabuto resumed their research without noticing golden energy flowing into Nagato’s Rinnegan.
• The Sage of Six Paths faced a dragon-scaled Lin Ze in the Pure Land and recalled intercepting half of Lin Ze’s soul when it crossed into the Shinobi World.
• The Sage of Six Paths asked whether the dragon-scaled Lin Ze sensed the battle in the Land of Water three years earlier, and the figure confirmed that he had.

The Sage of Six Paths revealed that he gave Nagato Six Paths power to prepare against Black Zetsu and Kaguya, while secretly intending to retain control over him. Meanwhile, Obito infiltrated Kumogakure and urged the Fourth Raikage to cooperate by reminding him of the village’s many enemies and past losses.

• The Sage of Six Paths told Dragon Scales Lin Ze that Black Zetsu was likely Kaguya’s contingency and that he had empowered Nagato to help oppose them.
• The Sage of Six Paths concealed that his Six Paths power would leave a mark allowing him to influence its recipient.
• Obito entered Kumogakure using Kamui while the Fourth Raikage and Killer B trained.
• Obito offered the Fourth Raikage cooperation and listed Kumogakure’s concessions to Iwagakure, its conflict with Dragon Release Village, and its unresolved losses to Konoha.
• The Fourth Raikage fell silent as Obito described Kumogakure as surrounded by enemies.

Obito persuaded the Fourth Raikage to gamble on rebuilding Kumogakure through military mobilization and a major weapons project. On the moon, Black Zetsu approached Otsutsuki Toneri, hoping to use him and the Giant Tenseigan in his plan against Lin Ze.

• Obito met privately with the Fourth Raikage, who accepted his offer despite knowing he had ulterior motives.
• The Fourth Raikage ordered phase two of the Lightning Cloud Plan, recalled scattered ninja for training, and accelerated the Giant Chakra Cannon project, while Mabui worried about spies and finances.
• The Fourth Raikage returned to training with Killer B, determined to break his speed limit as Kumogakure began carrying out his orders.
• Otsutsuki Toneri, left alone after the elder's death, trained with the Giant Tenseigan and believed he needed a pure Byakugan to awaken his own Tenseigan.
• Black Zetsu emerged from hiding and approached Toneri, claiming he knew Toneri was a descendant of Hamura Otsutsuki.

Black Zetsu persuaded Toneri to awaken his own Tenseigan and eliminate Lin Ze, setting a three-month deadline to seize Byakugan. Three months later, unable to reach Naruto, Obito planned to use a message to trigger chaos in Konoha and implicate Dragon Release Village.

• Black Zetsu told Toneri that Lin Ze threatened the Shinobi World and the moon, then urged him to obtain Byakugan and awaken a Tenseigan.
• Toneri agreed to seize Byakugan and wait three months for turmoil in Konoha to create an opportunity.
• Three months later, Obito watched Naruto's heavily guarded residence and gave up on approaching him directly.
• Obito decided to have White Zetsu tell Naruto the truth so the Nine-Tails' seal might loosen and Konoha would fall into chaos.
• Obito ordered White Zetsu to contact Uchiha Itachi and tell him Konoha would move to replace Naruto as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in three days.
• Obito instructed White Zetsu to leave Naruto a note in three days without being detected.

Itachi found a mysterious note claiming Konoha would replace Naruto as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and suspected Obito had planted it to provoke a conflict. He decided to investigate Konoha, and Lin Ze sent Tagitsuhime with him.

• Itachi criticized Sasuke’s chakra control during training, and Sasuke confronted him about his worsening health.
• At home, Itachi found a note in his locked room warning that Konoha would replace the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in three days.
• Itachi brought the note to Lin Ze and said he believed Obito was trying to seize the Nine-Tails or turn Dragon Release Village against Konoha.
• Itachi asked to go to Konoha to confirm Naruto’s safety, and Lin Ze agreed and ordered Tagitsuhime to accompany him.