Chapter Summaries

After negotiations failed over Kumogakure’s demand for half the Land of Fire, Konoha launched a desperate attack using the Nine-Tails. Kushina and Mikoto prepared to face the beast as Ziyun ordered Kumogakure’s lower-ranked ninja to withdraw.

• Minato Namikaze told Konoha’s leaders that negotiations had failed and Kumogakure demanded half the Land of Fire, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to choose the Nine-Tails as Konoha’s last resort.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi had the Uchiha Grand Elder use his Mangekyō Sharingan to control the newly released Nine-Tails, though the elder said he could hold it for only two hours.
• Konoha attacked Kumogakure with the controlled Nine-Tails, and Kumogakure’s ordinary Ninjutsu barely affected the beast.
• Kushina volunteered to fight the Nine-Tails, and Mikoto joined her while Ziyun and Tsunade watched.
• Ziyun ordered Kumogakure’s ninja to retreat from the battlefield, and they withdrew in an orderly manner.

Ziyun urged Mei Terumi to leave as Kumogakure withdrew, while Kushina and Mikoto fought the Nine-Tails and forced Konoha’s forces to retreat. Mikoto then controlled the freed Nine-Tails, leaving Ziyun determined to keep him for Kumogakure and Hiruzen Sarutobi fearing Konoha would lose its greatest weapon.

• Ziyun urged Mei Terumi to leave the battlefield, and she agreed before Kumogakure’s main force retreated.
• Kushina attacked the Nine-Tails, while Mikoto used her Perfect Susanoo to block his Tailed Beast Bomb and pin him down.
• Kushina battered the restrained Nine-Tails until the Uchiha Grand Elder lost control and Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Konoha’s forces to withdraw.
• The Nine-Tails broke free of the Uchiha Grand Elder’s control and attacked Kushina, but she defended herself.
• Mikoto used her Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to control the Nine-Tails, and Ziyun declared that Kumogakure would keep him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi realized the Nine-Tails had fallen into Kumogakure’s hands and stopped in dismay.

Mikoto’s Nine-Tails-led assault routed Konoha’s forces, forcing Hiruzen Sarutobi to retreat while Kumogakure kept control of the beast. Back in Konoha, Danzo blamed the Uchiha Clan for the defeat, and Hiruzen Sarutobi rebuked him as the village’s leaders faced the aftermath.

• Minato Namikaze refused to join Hiruzen Sarutobi’s attack, and Mikoto sent the Nine-Tails against Konoha’s ninja, killing hundreds with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• Ziyun asked Kushina whether she wanted to become the Nine-Tails’ Jinchūriki, and she agreed after learning it could help her reach Super Kage Level.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered a retreat as Mikoto’s Nine-Tails and Perfect Susanoo overwhelmed Konoha’s forces; Mikoto pursued them until they reached the village.
• Ziyun praised Mikoto, and Tsunade assured him she had severed her ties with Konoha and did not care what happened to it.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned Kumogakure was not attacking Konoha, then convened the Konoha High Command to discuss the defeat and the loss of the Nine-Tails.
• Danzo accused the Uchiha Clan Head of deliberately losing control of the Nine-Tails, and Hiruzen Sarutobi rebuked Danzo for blaming the clan.

Hiruzen decided Konoha had to surrender and led negotiations with Ziyun, who insisted Konoha had no leverage. The chapter ended with Hiruzen accepting Ziyun’s terms while asking for a promise that Kumogakure would not attack again.

• Hiruzen proposed surrendering after Konoha’s defeat, and Jiraiya questioned whether the village could afford Kumogakure’s territorial demands.
• Danzo criticized Hiruzen for halting experiments on Impure World Reincarnation and left the meeting with Root, hoping Hiruzen would lose the Hokage position.
• Hiruzen chose to negotiate with Ziyun and brought Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya, and Hatake Sakumo as guards.
• Ziyun told Hiruzen that Konoha had no standing to bargain and offered the choice of accepting his conditions or fighting until every Konoha Ninja died.
• Hiruzen accepted the first choice but asked Ziyun to promise Kumogakure would not attack again, and Ziyun blamed Konoha’s supplies adviser for providing unusable supplies.

Ziyun imposed three conditions on Konoha: ceding half the Land of Fire, handing over the Scroll of Seals, and paying Kumogakure twenty percent of its annual income. The daimyo agreed, ordered Hiruzen Sarutobi to step down after the war, and Hiruzen fulfilled the conditions by transferring the scroll and tribute.

• Ziyun demanded the Scroll of Seals and annual tribute after Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted the territorial cession.
• Hiruzen agreed to all three conditions and asked for time to secure the daimyo’s approval.
• Hiruzen persuaded the daimyo to accept the terms by warning that Kumogakure could threaten his life and remaining lands.
• The daimyo blamed Hiruzen for Konoha’s failures and told him he would be replaced as Hokage after the war.
• Hiruzen handed Kumogakure the Scroll of Seals and twenty percent of Konoha’s annual income.

After Konoha surrendered land and tribute to Kumogakure, Madara Uchiha worked to restart the war by urging Kirigakure and Sunagakure to attack Konoha. Konoha prepared to fight back as the conflict spread again.

• News of Konoha's surrender reached the shinobi world, and Rasa and Ōnoki announced a ceasefire between Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• Madara Uchiha blamed Ziyun for disrupting the war and ordered Kirigakure to approach Ōnoki and Rasa about attacking Konoha.
• Ōnoki agreed to the alliance but planned to let Kirigakure test Konoha's strength first, while Madara sent three thousand Kirigakure Ninja to declare war.
• Rasa secured Chiyo and Ebizo's support, blamed Konoha for the Third Kazekage's disappearance, and gathered Sunagakure Ninja along the Land of Fire's western border.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Danzo prepared Konoha to resist the attacks, and Konoha's denial of responsibility for the Third Kazekage's disappearance enraged Sunagakure.

After Konoha and Sunagakure fought to a costly draw, Chiyo urged an alliance against Konoha, while Rasa backed down under pressure from her and Ebizo. Rasa secretly began plotting to kill Pakura to protect his position, and Chiyo set out to negotiate with Ōnoki.

• Sunagakure and Konoha fought their first battle, where Uchiha Fugaku contained Shukaku and Minato Namikaze nearly killed Rasa before both sides suffered heavy losses.
• Chiyo told Rasa that Sunagakure should seek an ally before fighting Konoha again, noting that Kirigakure was too weak to help.
• Rasa rejected Chiyo’s advice and argued that Sunagakure should exploit Konoha’s shortage of ninja, but Chiyo and Ebizo warned that Ōnoki would take advantage of a prolonged war.
• Ebizo threatened to replace Rasa with Pakura, and Rasa agreed to let Chiyo and Ebizo handle an alliance while secretly deciding to arrange Pakura’s death.
• Chiyo went to discuss an alliance with Ōnoki, wary of his political cunning and recalling how Hiruzen Sarutobi had once manipulated the Third Kazekage.

Iwagakure joined Sunagakure’s war against Konoha while Kirigakure reduced its involvement, and Ziyun predicted Konoha would lose ground. After repeated defeats, Hiruzen Sarutobi concluded that Konoha had to ask Kumogakure for help, despite the risk of further humiliating demands.

• Chiyo persuaded Ōnoki to join the war, and he led 6,000 Iwagakure ninja to attack Konoha after receiving supplies from Sunagakure.
• Kirigakure reduced its forces in the war, and Ziyun suspected Madara Uchiha was preserving the village for a hidden scheme.
• Mikoto asked Ziyun whether Konoha might be destroyed, and he predicted it would likely be defeated but not wiped out.
• Iwagakure and Sunagakure used their forces and Tailed Beasts to defeat Konoha repeatedly, pushing the front toward the Land of Fire.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi decided Konoha had to ask Kumogakure for help, while Danzo expected the decision to damage Hiruzen’s standing and Hokage position.

Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Kumogakure for military support, and Ziyun demanded that Konoha hand over the Uchiha Clan Head and the Uchiha Grand Elder. Hiruzen returned to Konoha to consult its leaders, most of whom supported the exchange despite Jiraiya warning that it could alienate the Uchiha Clan.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi asked Ziyun to send Kumogakure reinforcements, and Ziyun invited Mikoto to name Konoha’s price for support.
• Mikoto demanded that Konoha hand over the Uchiha Clan Head and the Uchiha Grand Elder, but Hiruzen offered money and supplies instead.
• Ziyun rejected Hiruzen’s counteroffer, and Hiruzen left to discuss the demand with Konoha’s leadership.
• Ziyun told Mikoto that he would avenge her if Konoha refused, and Mikoto leaned into his embrace.
• At a Konoha meeting, Danzo, Orochimaru, the Hyūga clan head, and other leaders supported handing over the Uchiha leaders, while Jiraiya warned that doing so could leave the Uchiha Clan bitter and Konoha weakened afterward.

Konoha's defeats forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to surrender the Uchiha Clan Head and Grand Elder to Kumogakure, where Ziyun took their Mangekyō Sharingan. Ziyun then sent Kushina and Mikoto with Kumogakure forces to aid Konoha, alarming the other villages.

• Orochimaru argued that Uchiha Fugaku was unlikely to rebel, and Hiruzen Sarutobi postponed handing the Uchiha leaders to Kumogakure while Konoha fought Sunagakure and Iwagakure.
• After Konoha suffered another crushing defeat, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Minato Namikaze to persuade the Uchiha Clan to surrender its head and grand elder.
• Uchiha Fugaku convinced clansmen to help force the Uchiha Clan Head to comply, defeated him, and left the unconscious Grand Elder unable to resist.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered both Uchiha leaders to Kumogakure, where Ziyun gave the Clan Head to Mikoto and removed Mangekyō Sharingan from both men after killing them.
• Ziyun ordered the three eyes stored and sent Kushina and Mikoto, each leading a thousand Kumogakure ninja, to support Konoha against Iwagakure and Sunagakure.
• Ōnoki received news of Kumogakure's movements and summoned Iwagakure's high command to discuss its intentions.

Ōnoki chose to retreat rather than fight Kumogakure, but Rasa rejected Chiyo’s warnings and led Sunagakure into battle. Mikoto unleashed Perfect Susanoo against Rasa’s forces, leaving him badly injured and ordering a retreat.

• Ōnoki’s leadership decided Iwagakure would retreat if Kumogakure attacked, while Rasa dismissed Chiyo and Ebizo’s warnings and insisted Sunagakure would fight.
• Ziyun waited for Konoha to make the first move, then Kushina led a thousand Kumogakure ninja against Iwagakure.
• Ōnoki led Iwagakure in a breakthrough through Konoha’s position and withdrew, while Rasa’s forces attacked Kumogakure.
• Chiyo led Pakura and many Elite Jonin away from Rasa’s force, but Rasa remained determined to prove himself against Kumogakure.
• Mikoto confronted Rasa with Perfect Susanoo and killed hundreds of Sunagakure ninja with a single strike.
• Rasa defended himself with Magnet Release, was seriously injured, and ordered the Sunagakure forces to retreat.

Mikoto’s attack devastated Sunagakure’s forces, and Kumogakure captured Rasa alive. Ziyun forced Sunagakure to hand over its Magnet Release scroll and ten billion ryo, leaving Chiyo to pay to protect the village.

• Mikoto wounded Rasa and killed many Sunagakure ninja, allowing Hozuki Mangetsu to capture Rasa alive as Chiyo withdrew the remaining forces.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi thanked Ziyun for protecting Konoha, and Ziyun urged him to choose Minato Namikaze as Hokage while warning him of the consequences.
• Kushina beat Rasa until Tsunade treated his near-fatal injuries, and Ziyun threatened to kill him unless he revealed how to obtain Magnet Release.
• Rasa agreed to provide Sunagakure’s Scroll of Seals, and Ziyun demanded ten billion ryo as protection money.
• Chiyo delivered the scroll and payment to Kumogakure to prevent an attack on Sunagakure.

Ziyun secured protection money from Sunagakure and Iwagakure, then received powerful rewards after Kumogakure’s victory helped end the Third Shinobi World War. When Pakura infiltrated Kumogakure under Rasa’s scheme, Ziyun ordered his forces to let her enter so he could try to recruit her.

• Ziyun accepted a hundred billion ryō and Sunagakure’s Scroll of Seals, promised not to attack Sunagakure, and decided to have a Kumogakure ninja learn Magnet Release.
• Tsunade suggested demanding protection money from Iwagakure, and Ziyun collected a hundred and fifty billion ryō from Kitsuchi.
• Madara Uchiha arranged a Kirigakure surprise attack on Konoha, where Obito Uchiha was reported killed at Kannabi Bridge, before Konoha drove Kirigakure back.
• After Kumogakure returned home and the Third Shinobi World War wound down, Ziyun received Pluton, Ten-Tails Chakra, the Glint-Glint Fruit, and Perfect Sage Mode, then condensed a Truth-Seeking Orb.
• Mei Terumi reported that Pakura had infiltrated Kumogakure, and Ziyun deduced that Rasa wanted her eliminated and ordered the Anbu to let her enter so he could attempt to recruit her.
• Pakura slipped into Kumogakure and wondered why the strongest village’s defenses had seemed so weak.

Ziyun exposed Rasa’s plot to sacrifice Pakura and persuaded her to join Kumogakure, where she became Mei Terumi’s assistant. He publicly announced her defection, while Konoha named Minato Namikaze its new Hokage.

• Pakura infiltrated Kumogakure to gather intelligence, but Ziyun appeared and immobilized her with his killing intent.
• Ziyun offered Pakura a place in Kumogakure, but she initially refused because she would not betray Sunagakure.
• Ziyun revealed that Rasa had informed him of Pakura’s mission, and Mei Terumi brought in Pakura’s companions, who confirmed they had abandoned her.
• Pakura learned her village had betrayed her and chose to join Kumogakure; Ziyun assigned her to assist Mei Terumi.
• Ziyun announced Pakura’s defection and exposed Rasa’s scheme, while Konoha announced Minato Namikaze as its new Hokage.

Ziyun traveled to Konoha with Kushina, Mikoto, and Tsunade for the Five Kage peace talks, but he openly announced that he intended to recruit Orochimaru. The chapter left Hiruzen ordering Konoha to find Orochimaru and warning everyone not to provoke Ziyun.

• After receiving Hiruzen Sarutobi’s invitation, Ziyun decided to attend the talks and recruit a genius while in Konoha.
• Ziyun asked Kushina, Mikoto, and Tsunade to accompany him, and the four traveled to Konoha.
• Hiruzen personally welcomed Ziyun and assigned Jiraiya to guide him, but Ziyun refused and asked for Orochimaru.
• Ziyun openly told Hiruzen and the Konoha High Command that he wanted to discuss Orochimaru defecting to Kumogakure.
• When Jiraiya tried to follow Ziyun, Ziyun warned him off, and Hiruzen canceled the surveillance and ordered Konoha ninja not to provoke him.
• Hiruzen ordered someone to find Orochimaru immediately so Kumogakure could not recruit him.

Ziyun visited Orochimaru in Konoha and persuaded him to defect to Kumogakure with promises of access to forbidden jutsu and research. He publicly announced Orochimaru’s allegiance to Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s gathered forces, leaving them shocked but unable to oppose him.

• Ziyun sent Mikoto, Kushina, and Tsunade back to their lodging, then went to find Orochimaru in a hidden laboratory.
• Ziyun offered Orochimaru a place in Kumogakure and access to the villages’ Scrolls of Seals, and Orochimaru agreed to join after learning Konoha had authorized him to study Impure World Reincarnation.
• Ziyun required Orochimaru to accept a curse mark and promised him broad research privileges, while forbidding experiments on Kumogakure’s ninja and civilians.
• Orochimaru asked to leave Konoha, but Ziyun told him to stay at his side and led him out of the laboratory.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with Anbu, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze, and Ziyun publicly declared that Orochimaru now belonged to Kumogakure.
• Orochimaru confirmed his defection to the shocked Konoha group while Ziyun’s Six Paths Level aura deterred them from acting.

Orochimaru joined Kumogakure, and the Five Kage Summit opened in Konoha with Yeyue Ziyun demanding protection payments instead of relying on a peace agreement. Konoha agreed to pay, while Rasa and Ōnoki were left to decide whether to accept Ziyun’s terms.

• Orochimaru rejected Jiraiya’s accusations and left Konoha with Ziyun, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to assign Jiraiya the research into Impure World Reincarnation.
• The Five Kage Summit began in Konoha without the Third Mizukage, and the other Kage were intimidated by Kumogakure’s powerful delegation.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed a peace agreement, but Ziyun demanded either ten billion ryō upfront or twenty percent of each village’s annual income as protection fees.
• Kushina Uzumaki supported Ziyun’s demand, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to pay ten billion ryō on Konoha’s behalf.
• Ziyun asked Ōnoki and Rasa to choose whether their villages would accept his terms.

After extracting payments from the other villages and attending Minato Namikaze’s inauguration, Ziyun returned to Kumogakure, where Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato confronted him over collecting protection money. Ziyun rejected Yahiko’s plea to pursue peace and ordered guards to throw him out.

• Ōnoki and Rasa agreed to pay Kumogakure, and Ziyun had the Kage sign contracts and remain in Konoha until their villages sent the money.
• After receiving payment, Ziyun attended Minato Namikaze’s inauguration and told Mikoto, Kushina, and Tsunade that Minato would eventually join Kumogakure.
• Ziyun toured the Shinobi World with the three women, returned a month later, and gave Mei Terumi three days off for her hard work.
• Juzo Biwa reported that Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato had arrived, and Ziyun allowed them into the Raikage’s Office.
• Yahiko urged Ziyun to stop collecting protection money and use his power to bring peace, but Ziyun rejected his appeal and ordered guards to throw him out.

Ziyun punished Yahiko for lecturing him, then kept Nagato and Konan in Kumogakure to make amends. He assigned Konan to produce Explosive Tags and held Nagato for ransom, then went home to enlist Mikoto, Tsunade, and Kushina in selling the tags.

• Yotsuki A pinned Yahiko underfoot while Pakura and Killer B restrained Konan and Nagato, and Ziyun sealed Nagato's Chakra.
• Ziyun had Yotsuki A throw the injured Yahiko out the window, then offered to let Nagato and Konan leave if they paid for Yahiko's mistake.
• Konan agreed to make Explosive Tags for Kumogakure, with Ziyun setting her initial target at thirty billion ryo.
• Ziyun ordered Nagato held in Kumogakure until someone came to ransom him, planning to use him to pressure Madara Uchiha.
• Ziyun returned home and proposed that Mikoto, Tsunade, and Kushina sell Konan's Explosive Tags for a potentially enormous profit.

Ziyun assigned Mikoto to manage the Explosive Tag business and confronted Madara Uchiha over Nagato’s detention. Madara agreed to give Ziyun his Six Paths Ninjutsu and Yin-Yang Release knowledge in exchange for Nagato, leaving their deal poised for completion.

• Ziyun chose Mikoto to oversee Konan’s Explosive Tag business, with Tsunade and Kushina serving as her deputies.
• Madara Uchiha sent White Zetsu to Kumogakure to ask about Nagato, and Ziyun told him to come in person if he wanted Nagato back.
• White Zetsu reported Ziyun’s demand, and Madara absorbed life force from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path before traveling to Kumogakure.
• Ziyun told Madara that Nagato had come to him and demanded that Madara be more polite.
• Ziyun asked Madara to hand over his Six Paths Ninjutsu and Yin-Yang Release knowledge in exchange for Nagato, and Madara agreed.