Chapter Summaries

Shin'yu pushed Nagato through a brutal sparring match, testing his Tailed Beast and Rinnegan abilities as Nagato grew more capable. Nagato unleashed Planetary Devastation, but Shin'yu escaped the stone sphere and defeated him with a devastating blow before restoring his body.

• Nagato used Almighty Attraction, a boulder, and six Tailed Beast tails against Shin'yu, but Shin'yu deflected the attacks and cut off the tails with his Palm Blade.
• Nagato absorbed Shin'yu's Sword Qi with the Preta Path, but Shin'yu broke through his shield and sent him flying.
• Nagato recovered, calmed his Tailed Beast aura, and trapped Shin'yu inside Planetary Devastation, forming a mountain-sized stone sphere.
• Shin'yu burst out of the sphere with a sword beam, destroyed it, and brushed aside Nagato's three cannon beams.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei, but Shin'yu's fist broke through and drove him deep into the ground.
• Shin'yu found Nagato near collapse in the crater and restored his body, leaving him terrified.

Shin'yu took Nagato for a walk after their harsh spar and helped him understand the power he had awakened through the Rinnegan. Nagato created a black rod and learned that the Rinnegan had given him access to Yin Release, leaving him with a new opportunity to develop his abilities.

• Shin'yu apologized for hitting Nagato too hard and scheduled their next spar for three days later.
• Nagato revealed that the extreme pressure of their fight had awakened another power within him.
• Nagato formed a black rod from his palm, and Shin'yu identified the ability as an initial awakening of Yin Yang Release.
• Shin'yu explained the principles of Chakra and corrected Nagato's understanding of Yin and Yang Release.
• Shin'yu told Nagato that the Rinnegan had enabled Yin Release to exist within him and described it as an opportunity to obtain Yang Release.

Shin'yu taught Nagato about Yin Yang Release and sent him to subdue a powerful Shinobi Beast as a Summoning Beast. Meanwhile, at Cloud-Lightning Gorge, White Zetsu reported to Lord Nian that he had found the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Shin'yu explained that Blaze Release and Wood Style contained Yin and Yang chakra, and that Yin Yang Release underlay the Rinnegan and the power of the Sage of Six Paths.
• Shin'yu showed Nagato a scroll describing Shinobi Beasts sealed by the Senju Clan and led him to their prison on the mountaintop.
• Shin'yu used Susanoo to smash the sealing wall and ordered Nagato to choose and subdue the strongest beast in the cave.
• Ni Wei Ren left his guard post at Cloud-Lightning Gorge, while Karum entered the cave and revealed himself as White Zetsu.
• White Zetsu told Lord Nian that he had located the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki after three days of investigation.

Nian gathered intelligence on Blue B and learned that the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki usually stayed close to the Raikage, making a discreet capture difficult. Ni Wei Ren returned with a lead: Blue B secretly trained away from the village and had a student named Hachi.

• Nian sent White Zetsu to investigate Blue B while he hid at Cloud-Lightning Gorge.
• White Zetsu reported that Blue B was Fukahi of the Yotsuki Clan, the Raikage’s nephew, and the third Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.
• White Zetsu explained that Blue B controlled the Eight-Tails and was deeply trusted by the Third Raikage, who rarely left his side.
• Nian considered ways to separate Blue B from the Raikage without exposing the mission or triggering an Eight-Tails rampage.
• Ni Wei Ren returned disguised as White Zetsu and revealed that Blue B secretly visited a secluded training ground through a hidden passage.
• Ni Wei Ren reported that Blue B had a student named Hachi.

Uchiha Nen and White Zetsu ambushed Blue B at the Waterfall Forest, using Hachi’s appearance and an illusion to catch the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki off guard. Nen trapped Blue B as Tailed Beast Chakra began to emerge, leaving his fate unresolved.

• Hachi walked through Hidden Cloud Village singing and dancing before heading to the Waterfall Forest for his daily training.
• Nen put Hachi under an illusion, and White Zetsu took his form to wait for Blue B by the river.
• Blue B arrived and was caught in Nen’s Four Directions Illusion Sealing Formation.
• White Zetsu stabbed Blue B from behind and revealed his true form, while Nen placed Blue B under an illusion.
• Blue B’s Tailed Beast Chakra began to surface, and Nen used Wood Style: Tree Binding Burial to engulf him in vines.

Kakuzu fought the rampaging Six Tails, Saiken, but the battle was interrupted by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He revealed that he was the vice president of the Merchant Association and accused the Mist ninja of using blades made with stolen Forging Blades Workshop technology.

• Kakuzu used his masks and lightning pillars to attack and restrain Saiken, while Saiken broke free and launched a Tailed Beast Ball at him.
• Kakuzu dodged the Tailed Beast Ball, but it destroyed a Barrier he attributed to Lord Shin'yu, so he intensified his assault on Saiken.
• A Hidden Mist ninja attacked Kakuzu with the Executioner's Blade, and Kakuzu countered with a Water Release technique.
• Another ninja released Hiramekarei, while Kakuzu opened the Fifth Gate of Limit and kicked Samehada in half.
• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist surrounded Kakuzu and questioned his attacks on the Three Tails and the Six Tails.
• Kakuzu showed the Forging Blades Workshop token and confronted the Mist ninja over their use of blades made with stolen technology.

Kakuzu refused the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's demands and fought them after the Six Tails broke free. He opened the Eighth Gate, subdued the Six Tails with Evening Elephant, and turned his burning fist toward the terrified swordsmen.

• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist confronted Kakuzu over his attacks in their country, and he offered each of them their own heart in exchange for letting him leave.
• Suikazan Fuguki refused to back down, and Kakuzu canceled the deal when the Six Tails shattered its final restraint.
• Kakuzu opened the Sixth and Seventh Gates, battering Raiga Kurosuki, Jinpatchi Munashi, Kushimaru Kuriarare, and Juzo Biwa with Morning Peacock and his tentacle fists.
• Kakuzu opened the Eighth Gate and struck the Six Tails with four Evening Elephant blows, pinning it in a crater until it stopped struggling.
• The three masked monsters merged back into Kakuzu, who turned toward the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and charged with a burning fist.

Nagato fought a giant three-headed hound whose heads multiplied whenever it was attacked, then restrained it with Adamantine Sealing Chains and prepared to tame it. Before he could extract its soul, the other giant hounds poured from the cave and charged him in a coordinated mass.

• Nagato pinned the giant hound with Chakra Black Rods and blasted off its newly formed fourth head with the Asura Path’s cannon.
• The hound grew seven heads, broke free of the rods, and lunged at Nagato, who knocked it aside with a Whip Kick.
• Nagato bound the hound with Adamantine Sealing Chains, stopping it from forming another head and forcing it onto its belly.
• Nagato summoned the King of Hell and planned to extract the hound’s soul and tame its body.
• The other giant hounds charged from the cave, and Nagato repelled some with Shinra Tensei as the rest continued their attack.

Shin'yu used a composite bloodline technique to stop the Hellhounds attacking Nagato, who then secured Summoning Contracts with them all. Shin'yu proposed merging their souls and bodies into a Hellhound that could split endlessly, urging Nagato to develop the Rinnegan's power so Old Madara could be resurrected sooner.

• Shin'yu formed a Wood Style bow and used arrows and wooden walls to capture the Hellhounds, burning the old dogs to ashes with a Blaze Release arrow.
• Nagato extracted the Hellhound King's soul into the King of Hell and signed Summoning Contracts with the Hellhounds.
• Nagato reported to Shin'yu that the Animal Path seemed to let him form an unlimited number of Summoning Contracts.
• Shin'yu advised Nagato to fuse the Hellhounds' souls and bodies with Yin Yang Release, creating a powerful creature that could split into independent copies.
• Shin'yu reflected that Nagato's faster mastery of the Rinnegan would help bring about Old Madara's resurrection sooner.

Nagato subdued a giant rhinoceros and completed its Summoning Contract while traveling with Shin'yu, who had rapidly learned most of the Flying Thunder God Technique. They continued toward the Land of Earth, where Nagato dreaded the nightly sparring practice that Shin'yu was about to begin.

• Nagato used his Rinnegan to pin down a giant rhinoceros and bound it through a Summoning Contract.
• Shin'yu appeared behind Nagato and revealed that he had learned about seventy or eighty percent of the Flying Thunder God Technique in less than a week.
• Shin'yu explained how the Flying Thunder God Technique worked and recalled Tobirama Senju's improvements to it.
• Shin'yu ended Nagato's daze by tapping his forehead and announcing their nightly sparring practice.
• Nagato recalled that he and Shin'yu had collected several Summoning Beasts while traveling toward the Land of Earth, and he dreaded their sparring sessions.

Nagato reflected on how much he had grown through life-threatening sparring with Shin'yu, while Shin'yu finally broke free of Planetary Devastation after completing his adaptation to the Rinnegan's Deva Path. Shin'yu demonstrated that he could resist gravity and fly by manipulating magnetic fields.

• Nagato reviewed his improved Rinnegan control, faster Deva Path cooldowns, and ability to draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra.
• Shin'yu burst out of Nagato's Planetary Devastation sphere using his Susanoo and revealed he could remain suspended in midair.
• Shin'yu announced that his adaptation to the Deva Path was complete and flew through the clouds and beyond the stratosphere.
• Shin'yu explained that he used his Sea God Body and magnetic-sensing ability to manipulate magnetic fields, counter gravity, and propel himself through the air.

Shin'yu strengthened his magnetic-field abilities and promised Nagato another pair of eyes, then traveled with him to Rain Country. As Nagato revisited the ruins of his childhood home, he repelled a charging giant panda and encountered Yahiko and Konan.

• Shin'yu returned to Nagato after mastering his newly strengthened magnetic-field power and thanked him for helping him advance.
• Nagato said he would not resent losing the Rinnegan and hoped to return to his family after repaying Shin'yu; Shin'yu promised him a preserved pair of Byakugan.
• Shin'yu and Nagato traveled into Rain Country, where Nagato revisited the site of his childhood home and the ruined village where his parents had lived.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to send a giant panda crashing into the mountain forest after it nearly struck him.
• Yahiko and Konan arrived and stared in surprise at the red-haired boy with strange purple eyes.

Nagato defeated the giant panda and used the King of Hell to complete a Summoning Contract, making the beast docile and obedient to him. He then faced Yahiko and Konan and asked if they had any other questions.

• Yahiko praised Nagato for sending the giant panda flying and asked where he came from, but Nagato told him and Konan to leave.
• Yahiko insisted they could not abandon someone in danger, while Konan warned him that Nagato did not need their help.
• The enraged panda attacked Nagato, who repelled it with his Tailed Beast Chakra and a powerful knee strike.
• Nagato used the Human Path to pull out the panda's soul, fed it to the King of Hell, and completed a Summoning Contract with the panda's blood.
• The panda became obedient, lifted Nagato atop its head, and Nagato asked Yahiko and Konan whether they had any other questions.

Nagato met Yahiko and Konan, who offered him their savings to help protect Qingmao Mountain villagers from violent panda Shinobi Beasts. After a mysterious voice urged him to go and a Guardian God Sword appeared, Nagato agreed to help without taking the money.

• Yahiko and Konan approached Nagato after he subdued a giant panda and introduced themselves as natives of the Rain Country.
• Yahiko offered Nagato five hundred thousand ryo to help drive panda Shinobi Beasts away from Qingmao Mountain and save its villagers.
• Yahiko explained that their master was holding the remaining pandas behind a Barrier, but could be forced to kill them if the danger continued.
• Nagato considered refusing until a faint voice told him to do what he wanted and take the sword, and Shin'yu's Frost Descent One Heart fell into his hand.
• Nagato returned Yahiko's money and agreed to help, prompting Yahiko to say he had been right about him.

Jiraiya fought four coordinated Giant Pandas on Qingmao Mountain until Yahiko and Konan arrived with Nagato. Nagato used Shinra Tensei to defeat the pandas and destroy the Barrier, leaving Jiraiya stunned by his eyes.

• Jiraiya used the Barrier and Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld to contain the four Giant Pandas as they attacked him and the mountain.
• Yahiko and Konan arrived with Nagato, whom they presented as reinforcements.
• Nagato refused Jiraiya’s offer to fight together and claimed he possessed the power of a god.
• The pandas broke free and charged Nagato, who used Shinra Tensei to blast them into craters and shatter the Barrier.
• Jiraiya stared at Nagato’s eyes in shock.

Nagato subdued four Giant Pandas, then rejected Jiraiya’s appeals to join him and help prevent another war. Shin'yu appeared, challenged Jiraiya’s belief in prophecy, and seized him by the throat, leaving Jiraiya to greet his former senior in fear.

• Nagato defeated and bound four Giant Pandas to his Summoning Contract, then sent them to live in another mountain forest.
• Jiraiya recognized Nagato as an Uzumaki and tried to establish a connection, but Nagato revealed he had known Jiraiya since Kushina was taken to the Hidden Leaf Village.
• Nagato told Jiraiya that Lord Mito had died a week earlier after separating the two tailed beasts within her and transferring them to the Cloud Ninja and Kushina.
• Jiraiya urged Nagato to help stop the coming war and called him the prophesied child who would save the Shinobi World, but Nagato refused to accept that fate.
• Shin'yu appeared, rebuked Jiraiya for imposing prophecy on Nagato, and used his Susanoo to lift Jiraiya by the throat.
• Jiraiya recognized Shin'yu and greeted him as his senior.

Shin'yu grilled fish with Jiraiya and challenged his belief that following a prophecy would save the Shinobi World. After suggesting the child of prophecy might already be near Jiraiya, Shin'yu left with Nagato, leaving Jiraiya with Yahiko and Konan.

• Shin'yu grilled fish beside a riverbank while Jiraiya explained that he had traveled to help people and save the Shinobi World.
• Shin'yu criticized Jiraiya for giving the villagers of Qingmao Mountain false hope by intervening in their fight against the pandas.
• Jiraiya told Shin'yu about the prophecy of the child of prophecy, and Shin'yu said Jiraiya should focus on protecting the people around him instead.
• Shin'yu suggested the child of prophecy might be beside Jiraiya, then shared grilled fish with Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.
• Shin'yu and Nagato disappeared, leaving Jiraiya with Yahiko and Konan, who offered him the last grilled fish.

Shin'yu took Nagato to the Hidden Rain Village, where he assigned him a mission to reinforce Hiruko and investigate the Dragon Vein in Rōran. The chapter revealed that Hiruko had confirmed the Third Kazekage was in Rōran's royal palace and sent the intelligence to his Master.

• Shin'yu entered the Hidden Rain Village with Nagato and took him to eat udon noodles and steamed mandarin fish.
• Shin'yu told Nagato that traces of the Third Kazekage had been found in the Land of Wind and sent him to reinforce his martial uncle against the Kara Organization.
• Shin'yu gave Nagato Frost Descent One Heart, explaining that its Flying Thunder God Mark would let him summon help, and tasked him with assisting Hiruko in Rōran to obtain the Dragon Vein if needed.
• Hiruko learned from two White Zetsu that Bunpuku was confined in the Hidden Sand Village, Rōsa and Pakura were leading Kazekage candidates, and Pakura had gone to Rōran.
• A White Zetsu reported that their clone had detected the Third Kazekage in Rōran's royal palace, and Hiruko ordered the information sent to his Master.

Orochimaru’s attempt to perfect the White Snake Cursed Seal ended in another test subject’s death, and Hiruko contacted him with news of new targets in the Land of Wind. Nagato was sent to assist Orochimaru, leaving the two apprentices bickering while Nagato longed to be with their master.

• Orochimaru tested the White Snake Cursed Seal on a condemned prisoner, but the man’s Sage Transformation stopped halfway and he died.
• Orochimaru reflected on how Natural Energy and the Cursed Seal could help him clone younger bodies and preserve his soul, though his research remained incomplete.
• Nagato and Hiruko contacted Orochimaru, and Hiruko reported the One-Tail, Pakura, the Ancient City of Rōran, and the Third Kazekage as targets in the Land of Wind.
• Nagato said he was already on his way to assist Orochimaru, while Orochimaru and Hiruko traded insults over the assignment.
• Nagato listened to them argue and silently wished he were with their master instead.

Hiruko exposed a puppet scorpion that had followed White Zetsu back to his cave and confronted its young puppeteer. The youth’s scorpion exploded, firing a poisoned needle into Hiruko’s forehead.

• Hiruko revealed that Han, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, was his final target for the Kimaera Technique and planned to devour his Boil Release.
• Hiruko decided to wait for Nagato before traveling with him to Loulan, where traces of the Third Kazekage had been found.
• Hiruko sensed that White Zetsu had brought a puppet back to the cave and captured the scorpion with chakra threads.
• Hiruko sent the two White Zetsu outside, where an unknown attacker quickly defeated them.
• A pale, light-red-haired youth entered the cave and threatened Hiruko, then detonated the scorpion puppet and shot a poisoned needle between Hiruko’s brows.