Recaps

Lu You returned to Kusagakure, killed Hanzō, and steered the village through a widening war while offering Yahiko’s Akatsuki a place in his vision for lasting peace. The arc ended with the Akatsuki and refugees preparing to settle in the Land of Grass, and Nagato appointed captain of its Third Division.

• Lu You helped restore Hatake Sakumo’s reputation, then left Konoha with Kana when Amegakure threatened the Land of Grass.
• Lu You rejected Abu’s cautious battle plan, defeated him before Kusagakure’s jōnin, and led three hundred Grass Ninja against Hanzō’s army.
• Lu You killed Hanzō and signaled Yamahara Kaede to attack, allowing Kusagakure to rout the Rain Ninja and secure a major victory.
• As Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Kumogakure entered the conflict, Konoha’s leaders deployed forces across its western and eastern fronts.
• Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan sought grain from Lu You, who agreed to help and invited them to join his plan for a world without national borders.
• Yahiko declined Lu You’s offer and returned with grain, but Amegakure ninja later stole the refugees’ supplies, and Nagato crushed them while Yahiko killed their leader.
• Yahiko and Nagato decided Akatsuki could not bring peace to the Land of Rain and contacted Lu You, who welcomed the group and refugees into the Land of Grass.
• Lu You named Nagato the Third Division Captain of the Land of Grass.

Lu You expanded Kusagakure by taking the Land of Rain and securing Takigakure, while the Great Nations’ war reshaped the balance of power. The arc ended with Kusagakure agreeing to cooperate tactically with Konoha but refusing a formal alliance as Lu You heard about Konoha’s worsening fronts.

• Yahiko brought Akatsuki and the refugees to the Land of Grass, where Lu You organized Kusagakure’s divisions as war escalated across the Land of Rain.
• Rasa became Fourth Kazekage and arranged for Danzo’s Root to ambush Pakura, but Nagato rescued her, and she joined Kusagakure as captain of the Fifth Division.
• Yahiko and Konan’s divisions captured Amegakure while Lu You defeated Ōnoki at Kannabi Bridge and forced Iwagakure and Konoha to withdraw from the Land of Grass.
• Abu oversaw the annexation of the Land of Rain as Konoha and Iwagakure continued fighting, and Obito Uchiha was reported killed after Team Minato’s mission to destroy Iwa’s supply route.
• Konan captured Sasori of the Red Sands, while Lu You secured Takigakure’s surrender and developed Perfect Sage Mode by studying the Hero Water.
• Lu You appointed Sasori captain of the Ninth Division and agreed to answer Konoha’s request for help, then welcomed Minato Namikaze’s delegation to Kusagakure.
• Shikaku Nara asked Kusagakure to ally with Konoha, but Lu You revealed that Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa had also sought Kusagakure’s support.
• Lu You agreed to tactical cooperation with Konoha but rejected a formal alliance, leaving Abu to negotiate the terms before privately hearing Minato’s account of Konoha’s strained fronts.

Lu You’s forces defeated the allied armies at Kikyo Mountain, and the Land of Grass expanded while the captured jinchūriki settled into new lives. After Obito and Black Zetsu triggered the Nine-Tails’ rampage and killed Minato, Kushina, and Fugaku, Lu You brought Mikoto and Sasuke to the Land of Grass as Konoha’s distrust of the Uchiha deepened and Shisui prepared a clan exodus.

• Lu You and the Kusagakure divisions joined Konoha’s forces at Kikyo Mountain, where Iwagakure’s betrayal led to a major battle against a combined army.
• Lu You defeated five Tailed Beasts with Sage Art: Dust Release, forcing the alliance to retreat, while Nagato and the Grass Ninja helped rout enemy forces, and Lu You then declared the Third Shinobi World War over.
• The Land of Grass secured reparations and expanded into the Land of Waterfalls, while Kana became Takigakure’s chief and Killer B began an unexpected career as an idol.
• Black Zetsu and Obito attacked the Uchiha family, killed Fugaku, stole his Mangekyō Sharingan, and used it to control the Nine-Tails during its attack on Konoha.
• Minato and Kushina sealed the Nine-Tails into Naruto and died, while Hatake Sakumo agreed to care for the child, and Konoha’s villagers blamed the Uchiha after the beast’s Sharingan control became known.
• Lu You returned to Konoha with Itachi, took Mikoto and Sasuke away despite Uchiha opposition, and later brought them to the Land of Grass, where Mikoto became an Academy teacher and Itachi joined the First Division.
• As distrust of the Uchiha grew, Orochimaru became the Fifth Hokage, Shisui led Uchiha conservatives to defect, and Sakumo left Konoha with Kakashi and Naruto.
• After Yashiro ordered the imprisonment of Uchiha moderates and conservatives, Shisui ordered them to flee with their families, awakened a new Sharingan, and prepared to confront the radicals as Sakumo kept their escape route open.

Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi, and Naruto found refuge in the Land of Grass as Shisui brought the Uchiha survivors there, while Lu You built the nation’s strength and the Five Great Nations prepared for war. The Land of Grass rapidly conquered the Land of Wind and Land of Earth, leaving the remaining villages to plan attacks on its captains.

• Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi, and Naruto fled Konoha, while Shisui killed the Uchiha who remained there and escaped Orochimaru’s pursuit.
• Hatake Sakumo defeated Jiraiya and brought Kakashi and Naruto to the City of Divine Descent, where they joined Shisui and the Uchiha refugees.
• Lu You took Haku in, tracked down Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, and later helped expand the Land of Grass as Itachi awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
• With Abu gravely ill, Yahiko took over domestic affairs as the Land of Grass raised a hundred thousand troops and the Five Great Nations agreed to use Impure World Reincarnation against it.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, and other powerful ninja, then explained that the Land of Grass sought to unify the world by conquest.
• Pakura and Sasori broke Sunagakure’s defenses, Pakura killed Rasa, and the Land of Grass defeated the Land of Wind and incorporated it within ten days.
• Lu You defeated the leaders of Iwagakure, accepted Ōnoki’s surrender, and leveled a mountain route, after which neighboring lands also surrendered to the Land of Grass.
• Orochimaru, the reanimated leaders, and other powerful figures decided to keep Konoha, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure on separate fronts and target the Grass Ninja captains.