Chapter Summaries

Anyo defeated Pain after luring him into a close-range clash, while Minato outmaneuvered the Masked Man in Konoha. Minato struck the Masked Man with a Rasengan and marked him with Flying Thunder God, but the battle continued.

• Pain used Banshō Ten'in to pull Anyo toward another Pain armed with weapons.
• Anyo unleashed Iaido and the Blade-Breaking Technique, destroying the armed Pain and clashing with Pain's Shinra Tensei.
• Anyo pierced Pain's chest with Lightning Swordsmanship and pinned his Black Rods with Six Paths Sharp Edge.
• Minato questioned the Masked Man about his attack on Konoha, then used Flying Thunder God to evade his chain.
• Minato teleported to his kunai and struck the Masked Man from behind with a Rasengan, marking him with Flying Thunder God.

Anyo confronted Nagato and Konan, then rushed to Konoha after Minato stopped the Nine-Tails. He arrived as Minato and Kushina were fatally wounded protecting their child and used his Ultimate Dōjutsu on Minato, leaving the result uncertain.

• Minato used a Contract Seal to sever the Masked Man's control over the Nine-Tails.
• Anyo found Nagato and Konan; after Konan confronted him about Yahiko and Haku, he spared Nagato and left.
• Nagato concluded that Anyo was the enemy of God and agreed with Konan that they needed help to achieve Yahiko's dream.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha's ninja fought the Nine-Tails until Minato teleported it away from the village.
• Anyo arrived to find Minato and Kushina impaled while shielding their child from the Nine-Tails, then froze the beast with a glance.
• Anyo activated his Ultimate Dōjutsu, saying "Reversal," on the mortally wounded Minato.

Anyo saved Minato by exchanging Kushina’s soul for his in the Reaper Death Seal, but went blind from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan. He took Minato to Orochimaru, who kept him alive with Hashirama cells and the Nine-Tails’ chakra, though Minato remained unable to control his body without a power strong enough to suppress both forces.

• Anyo’s attempt to reverse time failed, leaving him blind, so he used Kushina’s soul in place of Minato’s when the Reaper claimed its sacrifice; the Nine-Tails was sealed into Naruto.
• Anyo pulled Minato’s soul into his own body and placed half of the Nine-Tails inside Minato’s failing body to keep him alive, then fled with Minato and Kushina’s body.
• Hiruzen found Naruto alone at the altar, while Obito and Nagato acknowledged that their plans had failed and Obito ordered Akatsuki’s expansion.
• Anyo reached Orochimaru’s hideout and begged him to save Minato; Orochimaru used Hashirama cells, balanced by the Nine-Tails’ chakra, to sustain Minato’s body.
• Anyo told Minato he hoped to retrieve Kushina’s soul and revive her, while Orochimaru explained that Minato needed a power capable of suppressing both the Nine-Tails and the Hashirama cells to regain control of his body.

After Orochimaru discovered that Anyo's blood was being consumed by an irreversible seal, Anyo left to entrust his plans to the Zero Organization before he died. In Sunagakure, he told Sasori, Kakuzu, and Mabui about his condition and arranged for Minato's soul to inhabit a puppet.

• Orochimaru examined Anyo's blood and warned that an invisible seal was killing him, leaving him at most three months to live.
• Minato explained why he had sacrificed himself for Naruto, and Anyo began teaching him the Spirit Transformation Technique so he could stay near his son without drawing attention.
• After the Nine-Tails' attack, Konoha mourned its dead, and Hiruzen Sarutobi named the infant Naruto Uzumaki.
• Anyo traveled to Sunagakure, where Sasori, Kakuzu, and Mabui learned of his blindness and his plan to collect the tailed beasts and prepare for the Shinobi World's progenitor.
• Anyo asked Sasori to infiltrate Pain's Akatsuki and carry on his plan if he died, then requested a soul-bearing puppet for Minato, which Sasori decided to make as a Bumblebee.

Anyo split off a small part of Minato’s soul and placed it in Bumblebee before returning to Konoha. He secured Sarutobi’s agreement to let him secretly rescue one person if Konoha and the Uchiha fought, then said he would watch the show.

• Anyo carefully split about one percent of Minato’s soul so it could keep Naruto company, though it could not use abilities or protect him.
• Anyo saw that Sasori and craftsmen from the Land of Crafts had built Bumblebee and were nearing completion of Megatron, which Sasori offered as a possible fallback body.
• Anyo merged Minato’s soul into Bumblebee, then left Sunagakure on Sasori’s new War Hawk Puppet after promising that the next time they met, the world would have changed.
• Anyo flew to Konoha, worried that the Nine-Tails Incident would intensify the conflict between the village and the Uchiha Clan and make it harder to rescue Mikoto.
• Anyo entered the Hokage Office and told Sarutobi he would support him continuing as Third Hokage if Sarutobi agreed to let him secretly rescue one person should Konoha and the Uchiha become enemies.
• Sarutobi agreed after Anyo confirmed that someone from the Uchiha Clan had controlled the Nine-Tails, and Anyo said he would watch the show if the two sides went to war.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with Shisui about the Nine-Tails incident, and Shisui awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan while struggling with a choice between his clan and Konoha. Anyo checked on Naruto, promised Mikoto he would take her away if she lost everything, and comforted Kurenai Yuhi after Shinku died, leaving her a message that he loved her and wanted her to wait for him.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Shisui that he admired his resemblance to Kagami Uchiha and urged him to consider what he had said.
• Shisui left the Hokage Office torn between his clan and Konoha, and his Sharingan awakened into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Anyo visited Naruto at Konoha Hospital and told Minato that a clone would remain in Konoha to help him.
• Anyo visited Mikoto and promised to take her away if she ever lost everything.
• Anyo found Kurenai Yuhi mourning Shinku, comforted her as she cried herself to sleep, and left a note asking her to wait for him.

Anyo left Konoha after saying goodbye to Yugao and returned to Orochimaru, who demonstrated that Anyo’s bloodline backlash could kill even a Uchiha test subject. Orochimaru explained that Anyo needed to raise his cellular vitality to Hashirama’s level and hinted that he knew a place where this might be possible.

• Anyo refused Yugao’s request to accompany him, hugged her goodbye, and promised to return after recovering.
• Anyo returned to Orochimaru’s laboratory and gave him more blood for his research.
• Orochimaru infused Anyo’s blood and medicine into a Uchiha test subject, whose Sharingan nearly awakened into a Mangekyō before backlash killed him.
• Orochimaru concluded that Anyo’s incomplete, mutated bloodline caused the backlash and that combining his blood with Hashirama cells would not help.
• Orochimaru said Anyo might survive by raising his cell vitality to Hashirama’s level and revealed that he knew one place where this could be possible.

Anyo sought Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu as a chance to overcome the seal weakening his body, despite Katsuyu’s warning that the practice was deadly and almost no one had mastered it. He reached the forest and plunged into its acidic training pool.

• Orochimaru told Anyo that Shikkotsu Forest’s senjutsu might help him break his seal and gain power like Hashirama Senju.
• Katsuyu warned Anyo that the training was exceptionally dangerous, but agreed to take him after discovering how weak the seal had made his body.
• Orochimaru gave Anyo a scroll whose effects he could not guarantee, and Anyo set out on the War Hawk Puppet without telling Tsunade.
• Anyo crossed the poisonous swamp and reached Shikkotsu Forest, where he met Sage Katsuyu in her full form.
• Sage Katsuyu directed Anyo to a year-round acidic rain pool, and Anyo plunged in to begin training.

Anyo tested the deadly hot spring in Shikkotsu Forest and discovered that its corrosive natural energy could loosen the seal on his blood, though it nearly killed him. As he began senjutsu training with Katsuyu's guidance, he entered a spirit-bearing skeleton and encountered Tsunade.

• Anyo endured the hot spring's acid until his body was nearly destroyed, then healed himself and felt the seal on his blood loosen slightly.
• Katsuyu warned Anyo about the dangers of Shikkotsu Forest senjutsu and began teaching him how to absorb and balance natural energy.
• Katsuyu drew natural energy toward the pool, raising a stone platform bearing two skeletons with hidden vitality.
• Anyo endured the acid rain until he was near death, then hid inside one of the skeletons and sensed its soul power.
• Anyo used the Spirit Transformation Technique to enter the skeleton and discovered that the soul within belonged to Tsunade.

Anyo met Tsunade’s parents in Shikkotsu Forest and received the undying quality of their skeletons, but his body continued to dissolve as he struggled to master senjutsu. He unsealed Hashirama Senju from Orochimaru’s scroll, and Hashirama healed him, giving Anyo a chance to refine the forest’s senjutsu energy.

• Anyo learned that the souls he met were Tsunade’s parents and told them that he was Tsunade’s man.
• Tsunade’s parents approved of Anyo and warned him to treat Tsunade well before giving their soul power to him.
• Their skeletons crumbled into energy that replenished Anyo, but his flesh continued to dissolve as he failed to sense a path to mastering senjutsu.
• Anyo opened Orochimaru’s scroll and released Hashirama Senju from the coffin sealed inside it.
• Hashirama used Ninja Art: Hand Seal-less Healing to restore Anyo’s body, and Katsuyu urged Anyo to refine the senjutsu energy into his chakra.

Anyo mastered Sage Mode in Shikkotsu Forest, which weakened the seal harming him and helped him survive, though Hashirama said it could only prolong his life. Hashirama then uncovered a second problem: Anyo’s soul power far exceeded his body’s, and he began explaining the danger this posed.

• Hashirama and Katsuyu discussed the Shinobi World Wars and Hashirama noticed that Anyo’s poor physical condition was not caused by ordinary injuries.
• Anyo carefully balanced physical, spiritual, and natural energy, fused them into senjutsu chakra, and activated Sage Mode.
• Hashirama praised Anyo for mastering Sage Mode in a month and revealed that it had weakened the seal inside him.
• Anyo learned that Sage Mode could prolong his life but could not cure him, leaving him worried he would be trapped in Shikkotsu Forest.
• Hashirama explained that Anyo’s soul power greatly exceeded his body’s and began warning that the imbalance could be dangerous.

Hashirama explained that Anyo’s body and soul were mismatched and suggested Yin-Yang Release might let him reshape his body, though Anyo did not know how to use it. He began developing his own senjutsu in Shikkotsu Forest, while events in Konoha grew increasingly tense.

• Hashirama identified Anyo’s likely Yin and Yang affinities and explained how Yin-Yang Release could create and restore forms.
• Anyo asked Minato about Yin-Yang Release, but Minato knew its purpose only generally and could not teach him how to use it.
• Minato taught Anyo Mount Myōboku’s sage arts, and Anyo decided to draw on them while working toward reshaping his body.
• Anyo spent time experimenting with senjutsu alongside Hashirama and Minato, relying on natural energy in Shikkotsu Forest to keep his body out of mortal danger.
• While Anyo remained absorbed in training, the situation in Konoha became fraught with intrigue and uncertainty.

As the Uchiha Clan grew increasingly isolated from Konoha, Shisui sought Anyo’s help to prevent a clash between the clan and the village. Anyo’s clone resisted Shisui’s Kotoamatsukami, then pointed him toward Sarutobi and Fugaku as possible mediators while secretly tracking him with a Wood Release Seed.

• Uchiha clansmen gathered at Fugaku’s home and voiced their anger at Konoha’s suspicion and mistreatment, while Fugaku stopped one of them from suggesting an uprising.
• Shisui decided to seek Anyo’s help and used a Body Flicker Technique to reach the mansion where Anyo’s Wood Release Clone remained.
• Shisui activated Kotoamatsukami on Anyo, but Anyo’s soul left the clone, leaving the dōjutsu with an empty shell to affect.
• Anyo explained that Shisui had targeted a clone and learned that his Mangekyō ability was Kotoamatsukami, which could alter someone’s will without their awareness.
• Anyo suggested that Sarutobi and Fugaku might be better suited to resolve the conflict, and Shisui left determined to consider that option.
• Anyo attached a Wood Release Seed to Shisui, suspecting he might make a reckless attempt to save the clan and village.

As tensions between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha worsened, Shisui resolved to use his Mangekyō Sharingan to prevent a coup, but Danzo ambushed him and stole one eye. Anyo prepared to intervene, and a voice confronted Danzo as he stared at the Sharingan.

• Shisui and Itachi discussed the worsening conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, and Shisui promised to find a way to prevent bloodshed.
• Shisui told Hiruzen Sarutobi that his Kotoamatsukami could alter the clan head’s will and stop a coup, and Hiruzen silently approved his plan.
• Anyo learned of Shisui’s decision through the Wood Release seed and sent his Wood Release Clone from the mansion.
• Danzo and Root ambushed Shisui, fought him until he was exhausted, and Danzo clawed out one of his Sharingan.
• Shisui escaped with the Body Flicker Technique, while Danzo ordered Root to pursue him and examined the stolen eye.
• A cold voice behind Danzo demanded that he hand over the Sharingan.

Anyo took the Sharingan Danzo had stolen from Shisui, then witnessed Shisui give his remaining eye to Itachi and die by jumping from a cliff. With the Uchiha crisis nearing, Anyo went to Orochimaru’s hideout to discuss changing his plans, where he met Kimimaro.

• Anyo used Wood Release to trap Danzo and forced him to hand over Shisui’s stolen Sharingan.
• Danzo pursued Shisui but found his Root operatives defeated, then vowed to obtain more Sharingan and take revenge on Anyo.
• Shisui gave his left eye to Itachi and jumped from the cliff, awakening Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan as he died.
• Anyo left Konoha and traveled to Orochimaru’s laboratory in Kusagakure to revise his plan to save Mikoto.
• Anyo met Kimimaro at the laboratory, asked him to contact Orochimaru, and learned that the contents of the rear laboratory had been moved.

Anyo agreed to help Orochimaru pursue Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu after arranging to make a clone so he could secretly rescue someone from the Uchiha Clan. Meanwhile, Itachi was accused of killing Shisui, fought the Konoha Military Police Force, and was interrupted by Fugaku as he spoke about his beliefs.

• Orochimaru explained that Jūgo could absorb Natural Energy but went berserk when it was strong, and asked Anyo to help obtain Ryūchi Cave’s Senjutsu inheritance.
• Anyo agreed to go to Ryūchi Cave after he handled another matter, then asked Orochimaru to help create a convincing clone so he could secretly rescue someone from the Uchiha Clan.
• Orochimaru agreed to explain how Anyo could make the clone and insisted that Anyo go to Ryūchi Cave afterward, then began examining how to suppress Jūgo’s violent power.
• Uchiha Clan members suspected Itachi of killing Shisui and confronted him with Shisui’s Letter of Testament, demanding that he ask the Anbu to investigate.
• Itachi confronted the three Konoha Military Police Force members and beat them after they admitted suspecting him.
• Itachi began explaining his views on the clan and organizations, but Fugaku arrived and stopped him, seeing his son as a stranger.

Fugaku suspected Anyo had controlled the Nine-Tails and blamed the Uchiha, while Mikoto worried that the accusation might be true. Anyo finished a clone modeled on Mikoto and secretly brought it to life using her chakra, then left with it.

• Fugaku told Mikoto he believed Anyo had released the Nine-Tails and left the clan to take the blame, while Mikoto refused to believe him and kept Anyo's earlier visit secret.
• Anyo shaped a white clone to resemble Mikoto and planned to activate its Hashirama cells with her chakra.
• Jūgo went berserk in Orochimaru's laboratory, but Kimimaro restrained him and brought him back to his senses.
• Orochimaru praised Kimimaro and confirmed that he intended to use him as a future vessel, while Anyo said he would not limit his ambitions to saving the Uchiha Clan.
• Anyo returned to Konoha and secretly placed a plant seed on Sasuke as Sasuke practiced shuriken and went home.
• That night, Anyo entered Mikoto's room, cast a genjutsu on her, used her chakra to complete the clone, and quietly left with it.

Itachi began the Uchiha massacre, but Anyo used Kotoamatsukami to make him believe he had killed Fugaku and Mikoto while secretly rescuing Mikoto and taking Fugaku’s Mangekyō Sharingan. Anyo sent Mikoto away from Konoha with Genno as Itachi continued the massacre.

• Hiruzen promised Itachi that Sasuke would be protected, and Itachi agreed to become a rogue ninja after the massacre.
• Itachi met with Obito, then began killing the Uchiha clan while Anyo prepared to intervene.
• Fugaku and Mikoto accepted their fate and asked Itachi to care for Sasuke, but Anyo cast Kotoamatsukami before Itachi could strike them.
• Anyo rescued Mikoto, replaced the Sharingan in Fugaku’s corpse, and left Itachi believing he had killed both parents.
• Anyo entrusted Mikoto to Genno, who drove her away from Konoha under instructions to keep her from leaving the village.

Anyo sent Mikoto away to Takigakure before traveling with Orochimaru to Ryūchi Cave to seek its inheritance. He rejected Tagorihime’s food and exposed her trap, leaving him in the misty realm with the trial still ahead.

• Anyo chose Takigakure as Mikoto’s refuge and watched her carriage leave Konoha.
• Danzo learned that many Sharingan were missing from the Military Police Force corpses, while Sarutobi inspected the massacre and found Anyo’s former residence deserted.
• Anyo followed Orochimaru to Ryūchi Cave, where Orochimaru told him to enter alone and offered no hints.
• Tagorihime welcomed Anyo, offered him food, and revealed that she wanted to consume his chakra when he refused to eat.
• Tagorihime’s building disappeared, revealing the surrounding mist and food transformed into bones.

Anyo passed Ryūchi Cave’s trials and met the White Snake Sage to learn senjutsu, despite being warned that his clone lacked enough chakra. After the Sage bit him and his body began transforming, she and the snake princesses expected him to die, but the Sage suddenly reacted in surprise.

• Anyo defeated Tagorihime, solved Ichikishimahime’s stone-wall trial, and resisted Tagitsuhime’s genjutsu with the Spirit Transformation Technique.
• Tagitsuhime acknowledged Anyo’s success and directed him to the White Snake Sage’s temple.
• Anyo asked the White Snake Sage to teach him senjutsu, and she warned that his clone lacked enough chakra to withstand natural energy.
• The White Snake Sage revealed her serpent form and bit Anyo, causing his body to swell and develop snake-like features.
• The snake princesses gathered to divide Anyo after he died, but the White Snake Sage suddenly exclaimed in surprise.