Chapter Summaries

Yahiko led Akatsuki through an Amegakure ambush and won by refusing to abandon his comrades. As he spared the defeated commander, the Red Masked Man appeared, killed him, and warned Yahiko that his ideals would doom Akatsuki.

• Konan urged Yahiko to abandon some wounded comrades after Amegakure trapped Akatsuki, but Yahiko refused and charged to rescue them.
• Nagato and Konan followed Yahiko’s lead as Akatsuki fought together, rallied, and gradually turned the battle around.
• Yahiko defeated the Amegakure commander and chose to let him and the surviving shinobi leave with a message for Hanzō.
• The Red Masked Man appeared behind the commander and snapped his neck before Yahiko could lower his kunai.
• The Red Masked Man told Yahiko that sparing enemies endangered his comrades and that Akatsuki would never see peace if Yahiko held to his ideals.

Yubi, disguised as Yoru, intervened in the Akatsuki’s battle with Amegakure, then tried to join Yahiko’s group. After Yahiko refused, Yubi offered to sell them medicine from Sunagakure.

• Yubi killed the Amegakure leader while keeping his identity and signature abilities concealed, as White Zetsu watched from the woods.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato shielded the injured Yahiko, and Yubi quickly killed the surviving Amegakure shinobi with taijutsu.
• Yubi asked to join the Akatsuki, but Yahiko refused because Yubi’s ruthlessness conflicted with their path.
• Yubi assessed the trio’s strength and considered the risk that attacking Nagato would draw Madara’s attention.
• Yubi introduced himself as Yoru, said he meant no harm, and offered the Akatsuki a stockpile of medicine from Sunagakure.

Yubi gave Yahiko’s Akatsuki a large supply of Sunagakure medicine and sold it to them at market price, but Yahiko and the others remained wary of his motives. As the trio headed back to their base, they concluded that the masked man was powerful and likely not from the Land of Rain, then took precautions to avoid being followed.

• Yubi showed Yahiko several packets of Sunagakure medicine and summoned crates of supplies, offering them as a gift.
• Yahiko refused the free medicine, and the Akatsuki inspected the crates and paid Yubi at market price.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato left Yubi behind and discussed his suspicious access to medicine and apparent interest in joining them.
• Yubi noticed that White Zetsu had monitored him from the woods, then vanished after the observer withdrew.
• Yahiko warned Konan and Nagato that the masked man was strong and likely had come specifically for the Akatsuki.
• Yahiko ordered the trio and their comrades to split up and take detours before returning to their hidden base.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan returned to Akatsuki’s base and found Yubi waiting there, having tracked them despite their precautions. When Yahiko demanded to know his identity and purpose, Yubi said he wanted Akatsuki to replace Amegakure, and the three attacked him; he escaped their restraints and countered with Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears.

• Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan doubled back to make sure the Masked Man had not followed them, then returned to Akatsuki’s base.
• The three found Yubi at the base, where Akatsuki members had surrounded him, and Yahiko ordered them to stop.
• Yubi said he meant no harm and wanted Akatsuki to replace Amegakure, but Yahiko demanded his identity and ordered him detained.
• Konan wrapped Yubi in paper, and Nagato used Wind Release: Gale Palm to knock him from the roof while Akatsuki members pinned his limbs with kunai.
• Yubi tore free of the pinned clothing, leaped into the air, and used Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears as Yahiko rushed toward him.

Yubi deliberately let Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan capture him after testing their abilities in battle. The Akatsuki believed they had subdued the masked stranger, but Yahiko stopped trying to remove Yubi’s mask when it appeared that doing so would kill him.

• Yubi led Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan on a chase, then fought back as they attacked him together.
• Nagato used the Rinnegan’s repulsion and chakra absorption, while Yahiko and Konan combined their attacks to pressure Yubi.
• Yubi and Yahiko clashed with Water Release: Wild Water Wave, and Konan’s Explosive Tags blew up the tree Yubi stood on.
• Yubi decided the fight had shown him enough and let Yahiko and Nagato strike him, allowing the trio to capture and bind him with paper.
• Yahiko tried to remove Yubi’s mask, but stopped when blood seeped from Yubi’s cheeks and Yubi warned that removing it would kill him.

Yubi tried to persuade Akatsuki to accept his support in exchange for helping him seize control of Amegakure, but Yahiko rejected his offer and reaffirmed Akatsuki’s principles. Still held prisoner, Yubi planned to influence the conflict from within and use Akatsuki to advance Sunagakure’s interests.

• Yubi pointed out Akatsuki’s shortage of medicine and offered a steady supply if they cooperated with him.
• Nagato consulted Yahiko, who told Yubi that Akatsuki would release him after moving to a new hideout.
• Yahiko rejected Yubi’s proposal, saying Akatsuki would not sell out the Land of Rain and hoped to restore peace through cooperation.
• Yubi warned that Hanzo would see Akatsuki as enemies, but Yahiko thanked him and left with Konan.
• Yubi resolved to influence Akatsuki’s decisions, make Akatsuki and Amegakure weaken each other, and ultimately use Akatsuki against Madara’s plans.

Yubi persuaded Nagato to release him so he could treat the Akatsuki’s wounded, revealing his skill in medical ninjutsu. As Yahiko and Konan arrived, Yubi had saved several patients and impressed the Akatsuki leaders while a hidden observer watched.

• Yubi offered to treat the wounded, and Nagato eventually undid his restraints despite Yahiko’s earlier refusal to trust him.
• Yubi went with Nagato to the makeshift operating area and began treating the injured Akatsuki members.
• Yubi used the Mystical Palm Technique to stabilize the first patient, and the watching Akatsuki members celebrated until he ordered them to quiet down and move aside.
• Yubi continued treating patients while a hidden white face watched him and Nagato from the wall.
• Yahiko arrived with Konan, and the three leaders watched as Yubi saved several wounded comrades in succession.

Yubi treated Akatsuki’s wounded and used his position in the organization to earn positive experience while keeping his abilities and plans concealed. As Amegakure’s forces closed in on the hidden base, Yahiko ordered the members to lure them away and prepare to relocate.

• Yubi finished treating Akatsuki’s patients, and Yahiko thanked him while deciding not to recruit him outright.
• Yubi returned to his chamber with Nagato and checked the positive experience points he had gained from treating the wounded.
• Yubi considered the risks of Madara discovering his absence from Sunagakure and concluded that attacking Madara would be too dangerous for now.
• Akatsuki members reported that Amegakure’s forces had narrowed down the area around their base.
• Yahiko assigned squads to ambush and divert the pursuing forces while the rest of Akatsuki packed up to move the base.

Madara assessed the mysterious fighter who had approached Akatsuki and considered whether he could be the Fourth Kazekage, Yubi. As Amegakure launched an offensive, Yahiko and Akatsuki’s main force left to fight, and Yubi remained at the exposed base as its members prepared to flee.

• White Zetsu told Madara about the mysterious man who had fought Nagato and negotiated with Yahiko.
• Madara and White Zetsu considered whether the man was Yubi, weighing Sunagakure’s rapid growth and Yubi’s strength against the lack of evidence linking him to the Land of Rain.
• Madara told White Zetsu not to investigate Sunagakure directly and ordered him to keep watch on Yubi without disrupting their plan.
• Amegakure’s offensive prompted Yahiko to lead Akatsuki’s main combat force to the battlefield.
• Nagato left Yubi behind and allowed him to go, while the remaining Akatsuki members packed supplies to evacuate their exposed base.

Yubi warned the Akatsuki that Amegakure had surrounded their hideout, then joined the battle when the retreating support personnel faced annihilation. He drove off two Amegakure Jonin, but the fight remained underway.

• Yubi spotted Amegakure ninja closing in on the abandoned village and warned the Akatsuki leader to prepare for battle.
• Amegakure's forces attacked the fleeing Akatsuki, and two Jonin used poisoned senbon and the Black Rain Technique to overwhelm them.
• The wounded Akatsuki leader called on Yubi for help as his companions were killed and forced back into the village.
• Yubi blasted Akiyama through an abandoned house, then destroyed the other Jonin's Water Clone and struck him with explosive-tag kunai.

Yubi defeated the Amegakure force attacking Akatsuki’s base and warned Konan that their other bases had likely been exposed. Akatsuki withdrew to a mountain hideout, where Yahiko and Nagato eventually arrived, with Yahiko badly injured.

• Yubi used chakra-point strikes and a kunai to kill an Amegakure Jonin, then vanished as Konan hurried back with reinforcements.
• Konan and her companions found fallen Akatsuki members and Amegakure ninja, while the surviving support personnel explained that Yubi had helped defeat the attackers.
• Yubi warned Konan that Akatsuki’s three other bases were likely exposed and advised the group to withdraw or send Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato to raid the Amegakure camp.
• Yubi agreed to treat the wounded, and Akatsuki’s survivors withdrew into the mountains to wait for their leaders.
• Yahiko and Nagato reached the temporary hideout at night, and Konan’s group saw that Yahiko had suffered serious injuries.

Yubi stayed with the Akatsuki as an unofficial member, aiding its fighters while secretly feeding intelligence to Sunagakure. As the Shinobi World War and the Akatsuki’s conflict with Amegakure neared decisive battles, Yubi planned to make Nagato and Konan recognize Hanzo’s threat.

• Yahiko thanked Yubi for treating him but refused cooperation, allowed him to leave freely, and asked him to stop killing Amegakure shinobi.
• Yubi continued traveling with the Akatsuki, treating the wounded and gaining experience while keeping out of its decisions and watching White Zetsu’s movements.
• The Akatsuki’s growing popularity among the people of the Land of Rain made Hanzo take its influence seriously.
• Ōnoki sent Iwagakure’s remaining force of more than a thousand through the Land of Grass for a final assault on the Land of Fire, and Yubi recognized that the Battle of Kannabi Bridge was approaching.
• Yubi returned to Sunagakure every few months and passed along intelligence about Amegakure, while Rasa, Sasori, Shimizu, and others advanced the village’s preparations.
• Yubi concluded that Nagato and Konan increasingly trusted his judgment and planned to show them that Hanzo would not share their reluctance to cooperate with outside forces.

Yubi welcomed Mizuki Uzumaki into Sunagakure after Kusagakure found and delivered her, hoping to give her a safe home while studying her healing constitution. He planned to use her cells to advance research on the Kaguya Clan and looked ahead to recruiting future talents, including Kimimaro and Jugo.

• Yubi questioned Mizuki Uzumaki in the Kazekage's Office and offered her a place in Sunagakure.
• Mizuki agreed to join, though she distrusted Yubi and accepted mainly because she wanted safety.
• Yubi sent Arai to take Mizuki to Karura, who could help her feel welcome in the village.
• Yubi considered using Mizuki's cells to stabilize transplantable flesh cells for surgery on Kaguya Clan members.
• Yubi planned to recruit the Otogakure Sound Four, Jugo, and Kimimaro, and believed Sunagakure's next generation could rival Konoha's.

Yubi continued treating wounded in the Land of Rain while developing his abilities and researching Impure World Reincarnation. An Akatsuki member reported trouble in the Land of Grass, and Yubi realized the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had begun.

• Akatsuki gained strength as supporters joined, while Amegakure's forces weakened and suffered repeated defeats.
• Yubi reviewed his abilities and the experience points he had spent to obtain the Yin Seal.
• Yubi reflected on his incomplete Impure World Reincarnation research and his failed attempt to summon the Third Raikage.
• An Akatsuki member returned to the base and reported that something had happened in the Land of Grass.
• Yubi recognized the report as the start of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

As the Third Shinobi World War neared its end, Yubi tested his Impure World Reincarnation and learned that Hanzō wanted Amegakure to absorb the Akatsuki. Yubi persuaded Nagato that Konoha would help Hanzō eliminate the Akatsuki and guided him toward secretly seeking aid from Sunagakure, leaving Nagato ready to consult Konan.

• Yubi heard that Konoha had destroyed Kannabi Bridge and concluded that Iwagakure would soon withdraw and the war would wind down.
• Yubi tested Impure World Reincarnation on two summoned people, then released them and returned to the Akatsuki base.
• Nagato told Yubi that Hanzō had tried to recruit the Akatsuki, but Yahiko had refused the offer.
• Yubi warned Nagato that Hanzō would seek help from Konoha and that Yahiko could die in a plot against the Akatsuki.
• Yubi urged Nagato to secretly contact the Fourth Kazekage and seek Sunagakure's help, and Nagato decided to discuss it with Konan.

Konan traveled alone to Sunagakure to seek cooperation with the Fourth Kazekage on behalf of the Akatsuki. After witnessing the village’s formidable security and prosperity, she reached the Kazekage’s office, where he was waiting.

• After consulting Senior Yoru, Konan and Nagato decided she would travel to the Land of Wind to seek the Fourth Kazekage’s help.
• Konan left the Akatsuki base under the pretext of delivering intelligence, then continued to Sunagakure alone while Yubi also set out for the village.
• Sunagakure patrols detected Konan outside the village, and a Jonin escorted her through its defenses.
• Konan was astonished by Sunagakure’s imposing walls, thriving streets, and prosperous residents.
• A Jonin brought Konan to the Kazekage Building, and she entered the office to meet the Fourth Kazekage.

Konan met with Yubi to seek Sunagakure’s help against Amegakure and a possible alliance with Konoha. After White Zetsu was exposed and killed, Yubi demanded that Konan accept a Cursed Seal before Sunagakure would commit to helping the Akatsuki.

• Yubi identified the Akatsuki’s political position and asked Konan what she wanted from Sunagakure.
• Yubi detected White Zetsu spying on them, immobilized him, and destroyed him with his corrosive blood.
• Konan told Yubi that the Akatsuki wanted Sunagakure’s help against Amegakure and a possible Konoha alliance, but Yubi initially refused.
• Konan offered Sunagakure control of the Land of Rain as payment if the Akatsuki took power, and she agreed to accept a Cursed Seal to bind the deal.
• Yubi warned Konan that someone within the Akatsuki was being watched and might be targeted, and offered Sunagakure’s help against the threat.

Yubi secured Akatsuki’s cooperation with Sunagakure and placed a lethal Blood Poison Cursed Seal on Konan before she returned to the Land of Rain. He then reviewed village affairs with Arai, including recruiting the Fuma Clan, and prepared to move against the Land of Rain.

• Yubi sealed Konan with a Blood Poison Cursed Seal that would kill her if she betrayed him, and they agreed to exchange intelligence while limiting what Akatsuki disclosed.
• Yubi warned Konan to watch for someone secretly observing her and said Sunagakure would coordinate operations in the Land of Rain through private communications.
• Arai reported that he had adjusted to his transplanted Sharingan, though activating it consumed too much chakra, and that Mizuki was cooperating with the bone cell research project.
• Arai told Yubi that the Fuma Clan’s leader was eager to join Sunagakure, but warned that the clan was undisciplined and that only one branch was involved in the talks.
• Yubi ordered Arai to entice the Fuma Clan with benefits and bring them into the village, then told him, Sasori, and the others to prepare for an imminent move against the Land of Rain.

Konan reported White Zetsu’s surveillance and described the Fourth Kazekage’s abilities while she, Nagato, and Yubi discussed their alliance and the dangers facing Akatsuki. As Akatsuki’s struggle with Amegakure continued, Yubi recognized that Danzō was helping Hanzō conceal Amegakure’s strength and began preparing to settle scores with him.

• Konan told Nagato and Yubi that White Zetsu had eavesdropped on her negotiations with the Fourth Kazekage, and she explained why Akatsuki needed to prepare for possible attacks by Amegakure and Konoha.
• Konan described the Fourth Kazekage’s Blood Release, Space-Time Ninjutsu, and Dōjutsu, while Yubi silently joined their analysis of his own abilities.
• Yahiko summoned Konan and Nagato, interrupting their discussion, and Yubi kept White Zetsu’s infiltration secret while waiting for Obito to approach Nagato.
• White Zetsu continued disguising himself as Akatsuki members, while Konan maintained contact with Sunagakure and Akatsuki’s liberation operations continued.
• Yubi concluded that Amegakure was feigning weakness to lure Akatsuki into lowering its guard and identified Shimura Danzō as the one behind the scheme.
• With Konoha freed to focus beyond its other battlefronts, Yubi prepared to take revenge on Danzō.

Obito and Black Zetsu planned to infiltrate the Akatsuki, eliminate Yahiko, and bring Nagato under their influence, while Danzo met with Hanzō to secure their alliance against the Akatsuki and prepare for Sunagakure’s growing power. Danzo left Hanzō with the Akatsuki operation to finish and the threat of Sunagakure to consider.

• Black Zetsu told Obito that Yahiko threatened their plan and explained that Yoru was a trusted Akatsuki medic whose background remained unknown.
• Obito decided to approach Nagato and sound out Yahiko while he and Black Zetsu entered the battlefield to infiltrate the Akatsuki.
• Danzo met Hanzō privately and argued that Amegakure needed to cooperate with Konoha because Sunagakure could become a threat to the region.
• Danzo told Hanzō that Konoha would not openly help against Sunagakure and that Hanzō would have to work with him.
• Danzo left after telling Hanzō to settle the Akatsuki matter quickly and consider how to deal with Sunagakure.