Chapter Summaries

Nagato reached the battlefield, absorbed Killer B’s chakra to restore Tobi, and confronted Izayoi in a battle that dwarfed the Five Kage. As Izayoi’s meteor shower descended, Nagato and Tobi answered with Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees.

• Nagato flew to the battlefield, ordered the Akatsuki to retreat, and took over the fight from Konan.
• Nagato used Wood Release to bind Killer B and drain his chakra, restoring Tobi to full strength before sending Killer B to Yugito Nii.
• The Fourth Raikage withdrew from the clash between Nagato and Izayoi after their repulsion powers blasted the surrounding terrain flat.
• Nagato and Izayoi traded gravity, ninjutsu, and taijutsu attacks as they tested each other’s abilities.
• Izayoi countered Nagato’s Planetary Devastation and Five Release Combination, then unleashed a meteor shower.
• Nagato and Tobi used Advent of a World of Trees to raise a wave of Wood Release against the falling meteorites.

Izayoi and Nagato fought a massive battle, using meteor strikes, repulsion, Wood Release, and other devastating techniques until their strength was nearly exhausted and neither could gain the upper hand. Izayoi’s Tenseigan entered a second fetal movement, forcing him to withdraw, while Nagato and the retreating shinobi were left facing a new era of power.

• Izayoi’s Meteor Shower and three Tengai Shinsei battered Nagato, who blocked them with repulsion, a giant wooden Buddha, and a Five Release Flame Pillar.
• Izayoi and Nagato compared their remaining Chakra and realized that neither could defeat the other without outside help or finding a weakness.
• Izayoi’s Tenseigan began a second fetal movement, restoring its Eye Power while leaving him in pain and unable to fight effectively.
• Izayoi withdrew, telling Nagato that their battle had only just begun, and the Cloud Ninja and spies from other nations fled the Rain Country.
• Hinata worried that Izayoi’s weakened Main Body might affect his Wood Clone, but Izayoi reassured her and led the team back to the Land of Fire.

The ninja world reacted to Nagato’s battle with Otsutsuki Toneri, while Izayoi recovered in secret and completed the Tenseigan’s Second Fetal Movement. He gained new abilities, including Yin-Yang Release, and ended the chapter sharing childhood memories with Hinata.

• The Five Great Shinobi Villages learned that Nagato had fought Otsutsuki Toneri and feared the power of the Rinnegan, Tenseigan, and Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Ōnoki, Mei Terumi, Chiyo, Tsunade, and Hyuga Hiashi considered what the battle meant for their villages and the origins of the Sage Eyes.
• Izayoi remained hidden in his underground base while Hinata cared for him, and he told her that his Tenseigan was growing stronger.
• After a week, Izayoi completed the Second Fetal Movement, gaining immense vision and the new abilities Yin-Yang Release, Spiritual Sphere, and Chakra Light Orb.
• Izayoi showed Hinata how the Spiritual Sphere could project his memories, and they watched scenes from their childhood together.

As Nagato’s reputation rose and Akatsuki prepared for Otsutsuki Toneri’s evolving Tenseigan, Nagato grew suspicious that Madara Uchiha had hidden motives for giving him the Rinnegan. He equipped Akatsuki with summoning rings and, after the others departed, asked Obito Uchiha for more Hashirama Cells, learning that someone else still possessed many.

• Jiraiya interpreted Nagato’s pursuit of the Tailed Beasts as a plan to protect the shinobi world, while the Five Great Nations placed a 1.5-billion-ryo bounty on Otsutsuki Toneri.
• Nagato appeared before Akatsuki, explained that Yahiko was the organization’s true leader, and distributed new rings containing a summoning formula for the Six Paths of Pain.
• Nagato warned Akatsuki that Otsutsuki Toneri’s Tenseigan had likely evolved and gave the members a way to summon the Six Paths of Pain and Nagato if they were attacked.
• Nagato privately concluded that Madara Uchiha might have ulterior motives involving the Rinnegan and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, making Madara his greatest enemy.
• After Akatsuki’s members left, Nagato asked Obito Uchiha for more Hashirama Cells, and Obito said he knew someone who still had many.

Sasuke Uchiha learned what the Mangekyo Sharingan could do and was told to master Sage Art or a Dust Release technique before seeking revenge on Itachi Uchiha. Izayoi then intervened when Nagato confronted Orochimaru for Hashirama Cells, ending by revealing that the silent masked figure was Obito Uchiha.

• Sasuke Uchiha defeated Izayoi's Wood Clone with Storm Release: Judgement, and Izayoi explained the Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo, and Itachi Uchiha's dwindling Eye Power.
• Izayoi advised Sasuke Uchiha to learn Ryuchi Cave's Sage Art or develop a Dust Release technique before taking revenge, then left after sensing trouble at Orochimaru's base.
• Nagato confronted Orochimaru and offered to spare him if he surrendered the Hashirama Cells, while warning that the Rinnegan could expose his secrets.
• Izayoi arrived in Wood Clone form and refused to let Nagato kill Orochimaru, who was impressed by Izayoi's defense and praise.
• Izayoi pointed out that Obito Uchiha's body contained Hashirama Cells and suggested Nagato take some from him, shocking Nagato, Black and White Zetsu, and Obito Uchiha.

Izayoi exposed Uchiha Obito’s identity, rattling him and making Nagato reconsider who the true mastermind was. When Obito tried to take control of the situation, Izayoi unleashed a vast Wood Release technique that transformed the grassland above Orochimaru’s base into a forest, leaving Black Zetsu worried that events had slipped beyond his control.

• Nagato questioned Obito after Izayoi called him Uchiha Obito, and Obito struggled to maintain his Madara persona.
• Izayoi taunted Obito with Kakashi’s killing of Rin, triggering Obito’s trauma and convincing Nagato that he was a frightened pawn rather than the real mastermind.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto pieced together Obito’s identity from his past as Kakashi’s teammate and the eyeholes in his mask, while Obito asked Izayoi how he had found out.
• Izayoi explained that Obito’s visits to Rin’s grave and his mask had made his identity easy to investigate, and Nagato held back rather than attacking while he searched for the hidden plan behind the Rinnegan.
• Obito used Mangekyō Sharingan genjutsu to control Orochimaru, but Izayoi unleashed Woodland Creation, tearing up the underground base and turning the grassland into a forest.
• Black Zetsu sensed Izayoi’s powerful Wood Release and worried that Nagato, Izayoi, Toneri, and the exposed Obito had made his plans harder to control.

Uchiha Obito was exposed as the man behind the Madara identity, so he pulled Nagato into the Kamui Dimension and tried to preserve their alliance by explaining the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. He revealed that it was the Ten-Tails and urged Nagato to become its Jinchuriki and cast a world-spanning Genjutsu.

• Nagato confronted Uchiha Obito about his identity, and Obito brought him into the Kamui Dimension to talk privately.
• Black Zetsu worried that Obito might reveal Madara's plan to Nagato and decided to prepare a backup plan.
• Obito recalled their first meeting and claimed that Nagato's Rinnegan could break the world's cycle of cause and effect.
• Nagato asked why Otsutsuki Toneri wanted the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Obito said it was the Ten-Tails, which could be restored by reclaiming the nine Tailed Beasts' Chakra.
• Obito told Nagato that becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki would let him cast a Genjutsu over the Ninja World, where everyone could live in a dream without war or hatred.

Nagato rejected Uchiha Obito’s dream-based peace and chose to pursue Yahiko’s ideals through overwhelming power, while Izayoi warned Orochimaru against betrayal and sent Sasuke to train at Ryūchi Cave. As March of Konoha Year 61 arrived, the Ninja World’s uneasy peace was disrupted by a major incident that drew every nation’s attention.

• Nagato dismissed Uchiha Obito’s Genjutsu World as a false dream and resolved to impose peace with absolute power, leaving Obito and returning to the Akatsuki.
• Izayoi told Orochimaru to relocate to Ryūchi Cave with Sasuke, promised him the Death God Mask after Sasuke learned Sage Arts, and threatened to destroy him if he caused trouble.
• Orochimaru realized that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the Tailed Beast Plan might reveal the connection between the great bloodlines and the Sage of Six Paths.
• Izayoi sent Sasuke to Ryūchi Cave and began taking B-rank missions with Hinata and Shino, helping the Eighth Squad build records for upcoming exams.
• Nagato used the Akatsuki’s growing mission income to prepare for the Three-Tails’ revival while the great nations avoided provoking him.
• In March of Konoha Year 61, a major incident stirred the Ninja World just before Konoha’s Chunin Exams began.

Hanabi attacked Izayoi with Gentle Fist, but he demonstrated his superior defense and taught her a more advanced way to control chakra. An urgent summons brought Izayoi to the Hokage’s Office, where he learned that Akatsuki was meeting inside Uchiha Obito’s Kamui Dimension.

• Hanabi struck Izayoi with Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms and Eight Trigrams: Air Palm, but his hardened body repelled her attacks and he caught her as she flew backward.
• Izayoi explained how Wood Release chakra strengthened his defense, then demonstrated a chakra burst that destroyed a wooden training post and described a path Hanabi and Hinata could pursue.
• Hanabi asked Izayoi to become her guidance Jonin, called him Teacher Izayoi, and hurried off to tell her father.
• Uzuki Yugao urgently summoned Izayoi to the Hokage’s Office, where he joined the Seventh Squad after noticing a ruined city and Sand Ninja searching across Wind Country.
• Izayoi received an image showing Nagato and the Akatsuki members entering Uchiha Obito’s Kamui Dimension for their meeting.

Izayoi and Eighth Squad traveled to Sunagakure to investigate the mysterious army attacking Wind Country, while the Akatsuki dispatched members to seize the army’s soldiers and technology. Izayoi discovered the army’s hidden River Country fortress and saw Sasuke Uchiha encounter Itachi Uchiha there.

• Tsunade assigned Eighth Squad to help Sunagakure locate a mysterious, chakra-less army attacking Wind Country with steel warships and armored soldiers.
• In Kamui Dimension, Deva Path Pain ordered Sasori, Deidara, Itachi, and Kisame to investigate the army and capture its soldiers and mobile fortress.
• Izayayo and Eighth Squad reached Sunagakure, where Chiyo sent Temari to guide them to the latest attack site; Temari thanked Izayoi for sparing Gaara.
• Izayayo’s Wood Clones found Sasori and Deidara near a hidden warship and discovered that the army’s main base was a disguised fortress in River Country.
• While searching for missing Uzumaki Naruto, Seventh Squad encountered Itachi Uchiha and Kisame; Sasuke Uchiha reacted with hatred upon seeing his brother.

Sasuke Uchiha confronted Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, revealing extraordinary strength and Wood Release as their fight escalated. Meanwhile, Izayoi and Nagato traded intelligence moves, and the chapter left Itachi activating his Mangekyo Sharingan against Sasuke’s attack.

• Sasuke Uchiha blasted Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki through a corridor with Storm Release: Judgement, then pursued them while Kakashi Hatake sent Sakura Haruno to find Naruto.
• Hyde studied a photograph of the caravan and suspected the old man’s ferret might connect to a bloodline he wanted to exploit, while White Zetsu reported the events to Uchiha Obito.
• Sasori of the Red Sands and Deidara fought Otsutsuki Toneri’s Human Puppets, prompting Nagato to send a coded message and a ring through a White Zetsu Clone.
• Izayoi learned of Nagato’s counterintelligence efforts and prepared to use Wood Clones to monitor him as their contest intensified.
• Sasuke Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha continued their battle while Kisame Hoshigaki flooded the mountainside; Sasuke revealed Wood Release, and Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Sasuke revealed Sage Mode and his self-created Storm Release technique during his battle with Itachi, while Izayoi discovered a connection between Wood Release, Sage Mode, and the enemy army’s use of Natural Energy. The chapter ended with Izayoi redirecting his investigation toward a caravan client and Nagato arriving at the Mobile Fortress through the Animal Path’s corpse.

• Itachi used Tsukuyomi against Sasuke, but Sasuke broke free by entering Sage Mode and revealed he had learned it in one week.
• Sasuke unleashed Sage Art: Storm Release: White Dragon, forcing Itachi to protect himself with Susanoo.
• Izayoi learned that Sasuke had developed the technique himself and discovered that Wood Release could absorb Natural Energy, explaining Hashirama’s ability to sustain Sage Mode.
• Izayoi realized the enemy army used Natural Energy through an outside medium and suspected their Wind Country attack was connected to finding it.
• Izayoi changed his target to the caravan’s elderly client, while Nagato summoned himself to the Mobile Fortress through the Animal Path’s corpse.

Nagato defeated Hyde, learned that the Gelel Stone contained powerful Life Force and Natural Energy, and captured Timushi while pursuing the stone’s source. As Nagato and Otsutsuki Toneri raced to secure the Gelel Stone Vein, Izayoi realized it could let him cultivate Sage Mode without the Three Great Sage Lands.

• Nagato ambushed Hyde inside the Mobile Fortress, repelled his Gelel Stone-powered attack, and sealed him before draining his energy and extracting his soul for information.
• Kakashi Hatake rescued Uzumaki Naruto, Timushi, and Sasuke Uchiha as Sasuke used Wood Release to cover Seventh Squad’s escape from Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki.
• Nagato learned from Hyde’s memories that the Gelel Stone came from an ancient Empire and found a photograph that pointed him toward the old man and his ferret.
• Nagato’s Wood Clone defeated and sealed Timushi, while Nagato sensed Otsutsuki Toneri moving toward Seventh Squad and resolved to search River Country and Wind Country for the Gelel Stone Vein.
• In Water Country, Izayoi obtained information about the Gelel Stone and concluded that its Natural Energy could let him cultivate Sage Mode on his own.

Izayoi outmaneuvered Nagato to locate and obtain part of the hidden Gelel Stone Vein beneath River Country. After testing the stone’s energy on a Wood Clone, he used it to master Sage Mode almost instantly.

• Temari thanked Izayoi, Hinata, and Shino for helping capture the Ape Man and Werewolf, and Izayoi returned to Konoha with his teammates.
• Toneri’s Human Puppet defeated Sasori and Deidara but spared them, while Sunagakure later searched unsuccessfully for the Mobile Fortress and withdrew its troops.
• Nagato and Izayoi searched for the Gelel Stone Vein, but Izayoi used Ranmaru and an ordinary person under his control to secretly find and extract part of it.
• Izayoi had a Wood Clone absorb the Gelel Stone’s energy, which briefly caused beastification before the clone formed Sage Chakra and entered Sage Mode.
• Izayoi absorbed Sage Chakra from the Wood Clone and concluded that mastering Sage Mode had been easy.

Izayoi discovered that Gelel Stones contained both Natural Energy and powerful Life Force, which could strengthen Wood Release and his body. After investigating Sage Body traits, he decided to cultivate true Sage Mode and keep Sage Chakra influencing his cells, then left to share his plan with Hinata and bring her a Gelel Stone.

• Izayoi absorbed a Gelel Stone and learned that its Life Force strengthened Wood Release, while its Natural Energy could be dangerous unless controlled.
• Izayoi examined Hagoromo Otsutsuki, Naruto, Sasuke, and Jiraiya, concluding that Otsutsuki Bloodline might make it possible to cultivate a Sage Body.
• Izayoi tested absorbing more Gelel Stones but had to enter Sage Mode when Natural Energy began causing physical changes.
• Izayoi and his Wood Clone decided he should master true Sage Mode and keep Sage Chakra affecting his cells to see whether he could develop a Sage Body.
• Izayoi left the underground base to find Hinata, share his discovery, and give her a Gelel Stone.

Izayoi shared his Gelel Stone-enhanced chakra with Hinata and Hanabi, triggering major growth in their abilities and Hinata’s Byakugan. He then mastered true Sage Mode in three days and began the far harder work of developing a Sage Body before Shippuden began.

• Izayoi showed Hinata and Hanabi his new Sage Mode and shared chakra infused with the Gelel Stone’s life force, leaving them flushed and dazed.
• Izayoi discovered that Hanabi had gained a Taijutsu Genius trait, while Hinata had gained several traits and her Byakugan had reached a golden level with a thirty-five-kilometer range.
• Izayoi resolved to prepare for another fight with Nagato, then used a Wood Clone to watch his home while he teleported to Jugo’s island and read Jugo’s memories for locations rich in Natural Energy.
• Izayoi chose a remote area with strong Natural Energy, checked for White Zetsu with Wood Clones, and absorbed Gelel Stone energy while meditating.
• Izayoi sensed Natural Energy and refined Sage Chakra, mastering true Sage Mode in three days.
• Izayoi continued training to make Sage Mode his normal state and develop the Sage Body, which he needed to unlock its corresponding entry.

Nagato mastered true Sage Mode and prepared for a coming battle with Otsutsuki Toneri, while Black Zetsu and Obito urged him to capture Izayoi to strengthen their forces. Wary of Izayoi’s potential Flying Thunder God Technique and the risks of opening another front, Nagato considered Black Zetsu’s backup plan: using Impure World Reincarnation to raise an army.

• Nagato mastered true Sage Mode by training atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and Black-White Zetsu recognized that his strength had risen to rival Madara’s.
• Nagato predicted that Otsutsuki Toneri had found the Gelel Stone vein and prepared for a second battle, warning that Izayoi’s Human Puppet Army could threaten Amegakure and Akatsuki.
• Obito proposed capturing Izayoi to obtain his Wood Release and strengthen the White Zetsu Army, but Nagato hesitated because Izayoi might know Flying Thunder God and provoke a dangerous two-front conflict.
• Black Zetsu suggested Impure World Reincarnation as another way to acquire troops, and revealed that they had the scroll and believed Nagato could master the jutsu.

Izayoi learned that Nagato planned to use the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and ordered surveillance of Konoha, then took advantage of the meeting in the Kamui Dimension to transplant Kakashi Hatake’s Sharingan. He gave Kakashi the Kotoamatsukami eye, equipped Shimura Danzō with Obito’s Kamui eye, and left his strengthened ally ready for the coming Endgame Battle.

• Nagato obtained the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu scroll, ordered Zetsu to gather famous ninja remains, and assigned Uchiha Obito to help spy on Konoha.
• Izayoi received the Wood Clone’s report and decided to act while Nagato, Zetsu, and Obito were meeting in the Kamui Dimension.
• Izayoi controlled Kakashi Hatake, removed his Kamui Sharingan, and transplanted the Kotoamatsukami Sharingan into him while restoring his strength with Yang Release Chakra.
• Izayoi transplanted the Kamui Sharingan into Shimura Danzō and used chakra to awaken its Mangekyō Sharingan, greatly increasing Danzō’s strength.
• Izayoi declared that the initiative was back in his hands and began preparing for the Endgame Battle.

Izayoi celebrated his thirteenth birthday with the Konoha rookies and received gifts, including a carefully crafted pocket watch from Hinata. Later, he cultivated in his hot spring and upgraded Sage Body to a red entry, which also sublimated his Wood Release talent, just as Hinata arrived to massage him.

• Izayoi hosted a lavish birthday banquet, where Jiraiya and Sasuke questioned his self-taught Sage Mode and Sasuke bristled at Izayoi's teasing.
• The rookies gave Izayoi gifts, and Karin, Hanabi, and Hinata presented him with a camera, an Omen Robe, and a personalized pocket watch.
• After Karin and Hanabi left them alone, Izayoi embraced Hinata and kissed her.
• In his hot spring later that month, Izayoi spent points upgrading his newly acquired Sage Body entry from white to red.
• The upgrade triggered the sublimation of Izayoi's Wood Release entry from purple to gold.
• Hinata arrived in a bath towel to give Izayoi a massage, and he reacted with flustered enthusiasm.

Izayoi gave Orochimaru the Death God Mask, which Orochimaru used with Guren’s sacrifice to regain his hands and release several souls. Izayoi then subdued Orochimaru, learned his secrets, and revived Minato Namikaze with the Yin Nine Tails, leaving the Yang Nine Tails inside Naruto alarmed.

• Izayoi gave Orochimaru the Death God Mask and explained that its summoner would need a trusted sacrifice to recover their soul.
• Guren willingly used the mask as Orochimaru’s sacrifice, restoring his hands and releasing five Chakra clusters, while Guren died.
• Izayoi, disguised as Otsutsuki Toneri, confronted Orochimaru, drained his Chakra, read his memories, and took him away.
• Izayoi and Orochimaru used Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu to revive Minato Namikaze in the misty region of the Water Country.
• Izayoi restored Minato’s other half of the Nine Tails’ Chakra, and the Yang Nine Tails inside Naruto sensed it and cried out in alarm.