Chapter Summaries

Senju Chen demonstrated a village-wide surveillance globe to Konoha’s clan leaders and convinced them to support the experimental class reforms. After the clans agreed, he learned that the Tatekura Clan and merchants planned to protest the reforms at the Hokage Building the next morning.

• Senju Chen used the globe to reveal that it could monitor clan compounds, forbidden grounds, and activity across the Land of Fire, overwhelming Hyuga Hiashi and the other clan leaders.
• Senju Chen explained that science could combine clan techniques with data and make battlefield tools accessible beyond bloodline-based abilities, while the globe required immense energy and advanced computation.
• Senju Chen told the leaders that the Uchiha Clan had already signed up, prompting Hyuga Hiashi and the smaller clans to declare their support for the reforms.
• Tsunade asked Senju Chen when he had installed the surveillance system, and he kept the details secret.
• A Public Security Department ninja reported that the Tatekura Clan and more than a dozen merchants planned to petition against the school reforms, and Senju Chen dismissed their threat.

Senju Chen responded to Iwagakure’s military buildup by ordering intelligence gathering, then faced a protest against his science reforms with a public forging challenge. He wagered that if his scientific creation lost to the Tatekura Clan’s traditional craft, he would resign and cancel the experimental class.

• Senju Chen ordered the Intelligence Division to document Iwagakure’s forces and supply routes and sent reconnaissance aircraft to observe them.
• Tatekura Gento led merchants and clan representatives in a protest outside the Hokage Building against Senju Chen’s science reforms.
• Senju Chen and Tsunade came out to address the crowd, and Senju Chen confirmed he would proceed with the reforms.
• Senju Chen challenged Tatekura Gento to compare a traditional defensive creation with a scientific one under equal ninjutsu attacks.
• Senju Chen promised to resign and cancel the science experimental class if his creation lost.

Senju Chen challenged Tatekura Gento to test traditional armor against his new alloy steel, wagering that the participating clans and shops would join his Konoha Industrial Federation if he won. The alloy plate withstood two Fire Release attacks while the armor was scorched, and Tatekura Gento angrily raised a hammer to strike it.

• Senju Chen wagered that the participating families and shops would join his Konoha Industrial Federation if he won the contest, and Tatekura Gento accepted.
• Tatekura Gento brought out his dark iron heavy armor, while Yamato set it beside Senju Chen's plain alloy steel plate.
• Tatekura Gento chose an Uchiha officer to attack both items with the Great Fireball Technique.
• The fire scorched the armor but left the alloy plate unchanged, so Tatekura Gento demanded a stronger attack.
• The Uchiha officer used the Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but the alloy plate remained unscathed, and Tatekura Gento grabbed a hammer and swung at it.

Senju Chen proved his alloy technology to the Tatekura Clan and recruited Tatekura Gento, then counseled Mei Terumi to wait for the experimental base’s plans before pursuing revenge in Kirigakure. The chapter ended with Konoha’s second advanced-training group arriving at the waterfall base, including two people Chen called monsters.

• Senju Chen demonstrated that his alloy plate could withstand Tatekura Gento’s hammer, then persuaded Gento to serve him and sparked villagers’ interest in the experimental science class.
• Mei Terumi asked Senju Chen when she could avenge Lord Genji, and he challenged her assumptions about defeating Yagura and changing Kirigakure alone.
• Senju Chen warned Mei that Kirigakure’s turmoil involved forces beyond Yagura and said the base was already planning for the village’s future.
• A researcher told Senju Chen that Konoha’s second advanced-training group had reached the waterfall base, and Chen went to welcome his junior schoolmates.

Might Guy, Kurama Yakumo, and Public Security Department elites arrived at the research base behind the Land of Waterfalls, where Senju Chen welcomed them and began showing them their new home. The group was left stunned by Chen’s distant clone and the base’s advanced, luxurious facilities.

• Might Guy praised the waterfall while Tokuma Hyuga led the group through a hidden passage behind it.
• Tokuma Hyuga opened a futuristic gate, and Senju Chen greeted the group from inside the base.
• Senju Chen explained that he was a clone while his original body remained in Konoha, shocking Might Guy and Kurama Yakumo.
• Senju Chen took over Kurama Yakumo’s wheelchair and led the new students on a tour of the base.
• Senju Chen showed the group the high-tech central hall and luxury residential area, leaving Might Guy bewildered by the accommodations.

Senju Chen showed Might Guy and the other trainees the advanced facilities at the training base, then began their admission physicals. Orochimaru discovered Kurama Yakumo’s exceptional soul and mental energy and asked Chen to let him use her as a vessel for the God Experiment.

• Might Guy objected to the base’s luxurious amenities until Senju Chen explained that the bathtub could be used for intense physical conditioning.
• Senju Chen toured the new trainees through the base’s training rooms, medical department, armory, and other facilities.
• Senju Chen arranged comprehensive admission physicals, and Might Guy eagerly prepared for what he assumed would be a test of willpower.
• Orochimaru examined Kurama Yakumo’s results and recognized her powerful mental energy, resilient main soul, and negative-energy secondary soul as ideal for the God Experiment.
• Orochimaru demanded that Senju Chen leave Yakumo to him, saying he could use her body to achieve the initial descent of divinity within two years.

Senju Chen persuaded Orochimaru to preserve Kurama Yakumo’s unusual spiritual abilities rather than possess her, then proposed turning the Eight Gates Released Formation into a puppet weapon. Orochimaru approved the project, and Sasori asked to lead it.

• Orochimaru admitted he wanted to possess Kurama Yakumo to gain her exceptional spiritual talent.
• Senju Chen explained that Yakumo’s negative entity, Ido, could serve as a source of spiritual pressure and power, and that possession would destroy it.
• Orochimaru agreed to oversee Yakumo’s enhancement instead of taking over her body.
• Senju Chen proposed embedding the Eight Gates Released Formation in puppets so operators could unleash its power without risking their own lives.
• Orochimaru praised the proposal, and Sasori volunteered to lead the puppet project.

Senju Chen assigned Orochimaru and Sasori to combine their expertise on a puppet powered by the Eight Gates Released Formation. Meanwhile, a masked stranger appeared before Hanzo of the Salamander and offered him a deal to eradicate the Akatsuki.

• Senju Chen divided the Eight Gates Released Formation puppet project between Orochimaru, who would develop its core, and Sasori, who would design its body.
• Hanzo of the Salamander learned that the Akatsuki had sabotaged another supply line and that his pursuit squad had gone missing.
• A masked man emerged from a space-time vortex in Hanzo's tower, accompanied by a half-black, half-white creature.
• The Masked Man offered Hanzo a deal that could help him eradicate the Akatsuki.

Hanzo of the Salamander attacked the Akatsuki’s temporary base, overwhelming Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan as the masked man blocked Kakuzu from reaching the battle. Yahiko was struck down while the Akatsuki’s comrades fell around them.

• After losing three comrades in a retreat, Yahiko planned to strengthen the Akatsuki when Hanzo’s forces launched a surprise attack on their base.
• The Masked Man appeared to block Kakuzu, whose fire and wind attacks passed through his opponent without harming him.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to repel the attacking Amegakure ninja while Konan and Yahiko tried to contain Ibuse’s poisonous mist.
• Hanzo slashed Yahiko across the chest, and Nagato used Bansho Ten'in to briefly pull Hanzo away and give Yahiko and Konan time to recover.
• Amegakure’s troops overwhelmed the Akatsuki members, and Yahiko charged Hanzo again before kunai pierced his body and he fell.

Hatake Sakumo arrived as Hanzo was about to kill Konan and the wounded Yahiko, then took on Hanzo and wounded him in a brief exchange. Hanzo's explosive technique failed to harm Sakumo, who revealed the protection of an Inertial Deflection Armor Belt.

• Nagato prepared to use a forbidden power as Yahiko lay dying and Konan faced Hanzo's attack.
• Hatake Sakumo appeared and blocked Hanzo's strike, protecting Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato.
• Hanzo recognized Sakumo as Konoha's White Fang and attacked him with his scythe and poisoned chain.
• Sakumo evaded Hanzo's attacks and slashed his right shoulder, leaving the surrounding Amegakure shinobi stunned.
• Hanzo set off an array of explosive tags around Sakumo, but Sakumo emerged unharmed behind an Inertial Deflection Armor Belt.

Hatake Sakumo defeated Hanzō while Kakuzu discovered the Masked Man had to become solid to attack him, but the Masked Man escaped. As Sakumo prepared to take Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato away, Black Zetsu killed Hanzō and dragged his body underground.

• Hatake Sakumo cut through Amegakure's defenses and mortally wounded Hanzō while he was forming hand seals.
• Kakuzu recognized that the Masked Man became solid when attacking, but the Masked Man escaped through spatial ripples.
• Hatake Sakumo approached Konan and told her to bring Yahiko and Nagato and follow him.
• Hanzō stood again and threatened Sakumo, but Black Zetsu appeared behind him and pierced his heart.
• Black Zetsu dragged Hanzō's corpse into the ground as the surviving Amegakure ninja watched in shock.

Senju Chen learned that Hatake Sakumo had defeated Hanzo of the Salamander, while a masked man and a plantlike creature interfered in the battle and Yahiko was gravely wounded. Chen sent his clone to the Land of Rain to secure Nagato and Konan, then saw an opportunity to advance his plans in Kirigakure while Obito was away.

• Kakuzu sent Senju Chen an emergency report that Amegakure's forces had attacked Akatsuki, Yahiko was near death, and Hatake Sakumo had defeated Hanzo of the Salamander.
• Kakuzu reported that a masked man with intangibility fought him and retreated, while a half-black, half-white plantlike creature killed Hanzo and took his body.
• Senju Chen deduced that the masked man was Obito and the plantlike creature was Black Zetsu, who had likely targeted Nagato's Rinnegan and killed Hanzo after their plans were disrupted.
• Senju Chen ordered his Land of Waterfalls clone to go to the Land of Rain and reassure Nagato and Konan, keeping them from exposing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Senju Chen realized Obito's absence from Kirigakure gave him a chance to advance his plans there.

Senju Chen arrived at the Akatsuki base while Yahiko lay near death and used a cellular vitality serum to heal his wounds. He warned Konan and Nagato that Yahiko’s consciousness had almost completely dissipated, leaving his survival uncertain.

• Konan tried to keep Yahiko alive as Nagato grieved for their fallen comrades and struggled with rage and despair.
• Senju Chen’s arrival gave Konan and Nagato hope, and he examined Yahiko’s critical injuries.
• Senju Chen injected Yahiko with a serum made from White Zetsu cells, rapidly healing his wounds and restoring some color to his face.
• The surviving Akatsuki members celebrated Yahiko’s recovery, but Senju Chen warned that Yahiko’s consciousness had nearly dissipated.

Senju Chen used White Zetsu to keep Yahiko alive and transport him, Nagato, and Konan to his research base. Nagato and Konan arrived at the unfamiliar facility, while Yahiko remained cocooned for treatment.

• Senju Chen warned Konan that Yahiko was gravely injured, poisoned, and close to losing consciousness, and said he needed to take him to his research base.
• Senju Chen summoned White Zetsu and explained that it could preserve Yahiko's remaining consciousness during the journey.
• Nagato asked to accompany Yahiko, and Senju Chen summoned two more White Zetsu to carry Nagato and Konan.
• White Zetsu cocooned Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, then carried them underground as Senju Chen left Kakuzu and Hatake Sakumo to manage the survivors.
• The White Zetsu brought Nagato and Konan to Senju Chen's research base, where they saw a brightly lit facility filled with equipment, data screens, and biological specimens.

Senju Chen brought Nagato and Konan to his laboratory and explained that Yahiko’s soul could not survive repairs to his failing body. With Orochimaru’s help, Chen began transferring Yahiko’s soul into a White Zetsu Puppet, leaving the fragile soul suspended between the two bodies.

• Senju Chen scanned Yahiko and warned Nagato and Konan that repairing his body could destroy his nearly extinguished soul.
• Senju Chen summoned his teacher Orochimaru to help prepare a soul-transfer ritual, and Nagato and Konan discovered Orochimaru was working in Chen’s laboratory.
• Orochimaru prepared the Soul Conversion Device and drew a ritual pattern beneath its platform.
• Senju Chen explained that Yahiko would temporarily inhabit a White Zetsu Puppet while his original body was repaired.
• Senju Chen connected to the device and used his Spirit Transformation Technique to carefully lift Yahiko’s soul from his mind toward the White Zetsu Puppet.

Senju Chen successfully transferred Yahiko’s soul into a White Zetsu Puppet, and Yahiko woke two days later confused by his new body. As Konan and Nagato struggled to face his blank white appearance, Yahiko discovered the puppet’s smooth, unfamiliar form and screamed.

• Senju Chen transferred Yahiko’s soul into the White Zetsu Puppet, and Yahiko’s original body stopped breathing.
• The puppet began breathing, confirming the transfer had succeeded, and Senju Chen told Nagato and Konan they could stay with Yahiko.
• Two days later, Yahiko woke in the puppet body and saw Nagato and Konan asleep beside a tank holding his original body.
• Yahiko asked what had happened, and Konan and Nagato woke and rushed to him.
• Konan stopped short when she saw Yahiko’s featureless white face, while Nagato avoided looking at him.
• Yahiko felt his smooth face and body, then screamed after discovering the rest of his form.

Yahiko awakened in a sexless White Zetsu Puppet after Senju Chen saved his soul, then tried to reshape the body into his original appearance. His first attempts horrified Nagato, Konan, and Senju Chen, and he ended the chapter with a muscular body bearing a made-up face resembling Konan.

• Yahiko awakened in a White Zetsu Puppet and panicked when he discovered the body had no male parts.
• Senju Chen explained that Yahiko's damaged original body was healing in nutrient solution and that he could reshape the puppet with his imagination.
• Yahiko tried to sculpt his original face but created a grotesque face with misplaced eyes, a sideways nose, and serrated teeth.
• Nagato and Konan recoiled from Yahiko's new face, so he tried reshaping himself again.
• Yahiko emerged with a towering, muscular body and a cute, heavily made-up face resembling Konan, making Konan shout his name in embarrassment.

Yahiko finally formed a face resembling his own after several disastrous transformations, and Nagato and Konan discussed his treatment plan. In Kirigakure, Kirisame Ryo prepared to move against Obito’s trusted subordinates while Obito was away in the Land of Rain, beginning with a covert sweep of the eastern coastline.

• Yahiko first transformed into an absurd face and then Hanzō’s, prompting Nagato and Konan to threaten him before he eventually shaped a face resembling his own.
• Nagato and Konan accepted Yahiko’s new appearance, and the group prepared to discuss his treatment plan.
• Kirisame Ryo reviewed a list of Kirigakure officials he had identified as Obito’s trusted confidants while Obito was in the Land of Rain.
• Kirisame Ryo summoned his instructors and ordered one of them to lead Team A on a routine sweep of the eastern coastline, using a list of targets to obtain leads.
• The instructor saw that the first name on the list belonged to Kirigakure’s deputy head of Intelligence.

Kirisame Ryo ordered a covert purge of Kirigakure’s departments and used genjutsu to crush Jonin Inoue Ryoma when he challenged him. As the purge began, Ryo looked toward the Mizukage Building and anticipated Obito and Black Zetsu’s return to a transformed village.

• Kirisame Ryo assigned squads to investigate and eliminate people loyal to the Fourth Mizukage across Kirigakure’s departments.
• Jonin Inoue Ryoma stormed into Ryo’s office and accused him of deploying squads without Yagura’s orders.
• Ryo reminded Inoue Ryoma that Instructor Tsukiki had died after challenging his orders, then trapped Inoue in a terrifying genjutsu that left him convulsing on the floor.
• Kirisame Ryo ordered his instructors to remove Inoue Ryoma and report the results of their missions before dawn.
• Kirisame Ryo watched the village’s purge from the High Tower and anticipated Obito and Black Zetsu’s reaction when they returned.

Senju Chen summoned the ninja scattered across the Shinobi World back to the underground base in the Land of Waterfalls for a major mission. By the third day, two or three hundred powerful fighters had assembled in the plaza as Chen surveyed the imposing ranks.

• White Zetsu messengers delivered Chen’s emergency assembly notice, ordering all personnel to return to base within three days for a major mission.
• Zabuza Momochi and Yukimura Ryota received the notice during an intelligence mission and set out for the base.
• Kisame Hoshigaki and Rin Nohara received their scroll in a tavern and prepared to return with dried fish for the journey.
• Mei Terumi and Chōjūrō received the notice while training, and Chōjūrō continued bandaging Mei’s injuries as they readied to leave.
• Hidan and Kimimaro received the notice at a Jashin altar and hurried back, eager to claim the mission before anyone else.
• Two or three hundred ninja gathered in the base’s underground plaza on the third day, and Senju Chen looked over the assembled force.