Recaps

Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought the rampaging tailed beasts while Pakura joined the battle against the Two-Tails, Matatabi. Pakura used precise flame control to extinguish and destabilize Matatabi’s fire, leaving the beast collapsed on the ground.

• Tsunade and the Third Raikage clashed at close range, and their battle sent the Two-Tails flying when she approached.
• Jiraiya slowed the Eight-Tails with Sage Art: Goemon, while Gamabunta attacked and Jiraiya’s Hair Needle Senbon forced the beast to defend itself.
• Orochimaru and Manda evaded Matatabi’s attacks until she unleashed Rat Tail Ball: Barrage, and Pakura arrived to intercept the fireballs.
• Pakura manipulated the temperature and flow of Matatabi’s flames, making her fireball dissipate and extinguishing the flames on one of her tails.
• Pakura used Scorch Release: Flame Catalysis to cause extreme temperature changes in Matatabi’s body, weakening her until she collapsed.

Pakura captured Yugito and led her forces to flank Kumogakure while Tsunade and Minato fought the Raikage brothers. Tsunade knocked the Third Raikage unconscious, and Minato defeated A with a high-voltage trap.

• Pakura spared Yugito, ordered her guarded, and led the Death God Mecha Legion to flank the main Kumogakure forces.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya helped Tsunade send the Eight-Tails flying, and Tsunade charged the Third Raikage with her Strength of a Hundred Mecha.
• Minato blocked A from reaching the main battlefield and used Flying Thunder God Kunai and metal threads to surround him with a Chakra Metal net.
• Minato detonated three supercapacitors, sending a high-voltage discharge through A and leaving him collapsed and spasming.
• Tsunade struck the Third Raikage into the ground and left him gravely injured and unconscious.

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to restore Shimura Danzō’s authority as criticism of his leadership spread and Tsunade’s reputation grew. Danzō revealed that he had orchestrated the rumors and was conspiring with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu to seize control of Konoha.

• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned Hiruzen that Tsunade’s growing prestige and rumors criticizing his wartime decisions threatened his rule, and urged him to use Danzō’s abilities.
• Hiruzen decided that Danzō had reflected long enough and lifted the restrictions on him so he could serve Konoha.
• Danzō’s Root operatives reported that rumors praising Tsunade and condemning Hiruzen had spread among ninja and civilians, and Danzō ordered them to intensify the campaign.
• Black Zetsu and White Zetsu told Danzō that their hidden lord would help him become Hokage in return for a share of the Tailed Beasts’ chakra.
• A Root ninja informed Danzō that Hiruzen had lifted his restrictions and ordered him to silence the village’s dissenting voices, prompting Danzō to laugh.

Tsunade returned to Konoha as a celebrated hero, and public support for her as the next Hokage alarmed Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders. While Hiruzen told Danzo to temper the public reaction, Danzo secretly ordered Root to intensify it and undermine Hiruzen.

• Tsunade entered Konoha in a triumphant procession as crowds chanted for her to become Hokage, while Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders welcomed her without offering a reward.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru discussed Mukai's plan to credit Tsunade with the Allied Shinobi Forces' victories, and Minato Namikaze noticed Uchiha Fugaku and other Uchiha watching her.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that Tsunade's support was spreading among civilians and clans, and Hiruzen said she was not ready to become Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi instructed Danzo to guide public opinion carefully and prevent the village from falling into chaos, while the elders urged him not to repeat the treatment of Hatake Sakumo.
• Danzo rejected Hiruzen's approach and ordered Root to spread Tsunade's achievements, blame Hiruzen's conservatism for Konoha's losses, and stir up young factions in the clans.

Mukai returned to Sunagakure for his inauguration as the Fourth Kazekage after overseeing construction at the Land of Earth border. He declared a new era of peace, scientific progress, and an end to the old ninja-village and noble systems, leaving his ambitious vision before the villagers.

• Tsunade complained to Kushina and Minato that Mukai had anticipated the rumors and left her to handle them, then asked Dan to contact him about Kushina’s mecha.
• Mukai directed youths from the Land of Earth to level land and build waterways, then received word from an Anbu messenger that his inauguration was ready.
• Mukai used Flying Thunder God to return to Sunagakure, discussed Sasori’s training and the purpose of their mecha, and met with Chiyo, Ebizo, and Konan.
• Chiyo praised Mukai and urged him to rely on the country behind him as he prepared to face the villagers.
• Mukai took the Fourth Kazekage’s hat and promised Sunagakure a future free of war, exploitation, and the old ninja-village system.

At the Five Kage Summit, Mukai laid out Sunagakure’s terms for ending the war and ending the use of Tailed Beasts as weapons. The defeated villages accepted the proposal in principle, and Mukai left the detailed negotiations to Ebizo after demonstrating his power.

• Crowds across the region celebrated Mukai’s appointment as Kazekage while postwar negotiations began.
• Mukai told the assembled Kage that Sunagakure would make the Tailed Beasts its autonomous allies rather than use them as weapons, and Han, Roshi, and Yugito entered the hall after their extraction.
• Ōnoki protested the terms, but Mukai reminded him that the defeated villages had no leverage and set conditions for trade, student exchanges, and reducing their armies.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said Konoha supported the proposal in principle and would forgo reparations and a share of missions.
• Mukai handed negotiations to Ebizo and made a fist-sized hole appear through the conference room wall without an explosion or impact.

At the treaty negotiations, Danzo secretly conspired with the Dawn Organization’s leader to seize power in Konoha and obtain Tailed Beast Chakra. Meanwhile, Mukai and his allies planned to track the stolen Chakra and prepare a Space Fortress as the treaty was signed.

• The Third Raikage feared Sunagakure’s strange weapon, and Hiruzen Sarutobi compromised as the villages negotiated their treaty.
• Danzo secretly discussed with the Dawn Organization’s leader his ambition to become Hokage and their plans for Tailed Beast Chakra, while agreeing to leave the Nine-Tails alone.
• Mukai told Sasori, Konan, and Pakura that resonance beacons marked the Tailed Beast Chakra, so they could catch their enemies when they acted.
• Mukai gave Sasori blueprints for more than three hundred launch vehicles and a modular mecha called the Space Fortress.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Raikage, and Ōnoki signed the treaty as Danzo quietly welcomed Hiruzen’s concessions.

Tsunade visited the pregnant Kushina and delivered Chakra armor from Mukai while Minato went to quell violence within the Uchiha clan. Danzo exploited the turmoil to launch a plot to provoke Shukaku and drain his Chakra, and Shukaku sensed the approaching intruders as he did his homework in the Death Desert.

• Tsunade gave Kushina modified Chakra armor made from ultra-pure Chakra Metal and said Mukai had asked her to deliver it.
• Tsunade learned that Minato had gone to handle an Uchiha uprising while she stayed with Kushina.
• Danzo ordered three modified White Zetsu to infiltrate the Death Desert and absorb Shukaku's Chakra using a Chakra Anchor.
• Shukaku complained about doing gravity-correction homework, then sensed a strange presence approaching underground and called for the intruders to come out.

Shukaku fought three modified White Zetsu while allowing them to absorb some of his Chakra so Mukai's team could track it. The White Zetsu escaped with the Chakra-filled cube, and Mukai prepared to follow the signal to their base.

• Three modified White Zetsu attacked Shukaku with lava, ice needles, and Iron Sand while a hidden force began draining his Chakra.
• Shukaku unleashed his full power and let the black cube absorb his Chakra as Mukai and Sasori monitored the battle and traced the signal.
• Mukai told Sasori that he planned to outmaneuver the enemy rather than follow their pace in collecting the Tailed Beasts.
• The White Zetsu filled the cube with fifteen percent of Shukaku's Chakra and retreated underground amid a sandstorm.
• Shukaku pretended not to notice their escape, then returned to scratching equations in the sand, confident that Mukai could track them.

Madara Uchiha began using stolen Tailed Beast Chakra to prepare for reviving the Ten-Tails and restoring his Rinnegan. As he celebrated his plan, Black Zetsu sensed danger and cried out to warn him.

• Three fused White Zetsu reported that they had taken about seventeen percent of Shukaku's Chakra and given two percent to Shimura Danzō.
• Madara ordered the fused White Zetsu to repeat the Chakra-stealing plan with the other Tailed Beasts and sent Shukaku's Chakra into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Black Zetsu gave Madara refined Life Essence that he said would help awaken the Rinnegan, and Madara drank it.
• Black Zetsu reported that Shimura Danzō was planning to target Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, while Madara looked forward to reviving the Ten-Tails and enacting the Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Black Zetsu suddenly sensed danger and shouted a warning to Madara.

Madara sensed a deadly attack targeting his secret base and awakened the Rinnegan as he tried to defend himself. Mukai’s Space Fortress fired an overwhelming attack at the base, leaving Madara to meet it head-on with Perfect Susanoo.

• Madara and Black Zetsu sensed that an unknown force had locked onto the underground base, while White Zetsu found no nearby enemy.
• Mukai used the Space Fortress, powered by the Four-Tails, to aim a massive laser at Madara’s base after the flying troops cleared the clouds.
• Madara’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan transformed into the Rinnegan, and he escaped to the surface with White Zetsu.
• Madara used Chibaku Tensei and began summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but the incoming attack obliterated the black core and carved a blazing void through the sky.
• Madara manifested Perfect Susanoo beside the Demonic Statue and swung its Chakra Blade at the invisible attack, declaring that he had the power of a god.

Madara Uchiha’s underground base was obliterated by a sustained orbital laser, and he survived only by using Izanagi. As he reappeared beside the crater, another, wider beam descended toward him.

• A pillar of white laser light engulfed Madara Uchiha’s Perfect Susanoo and destroyed the nearby White Zetsu.
• Madara Uchiha fled beneath the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, but the laser vaporized his Uchiha Gunbai and began breaking down the statue.
• Madara Uchiha called for Black Zetsu to rescue him, received no answer, and activated Izanagi as the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path shattered.
• Madara Uchiha reappeared beside the crater with one permanently blinded eye and found his base and plans destroyed.
• A renewed laser beam, a kilometer across, descended toward Madara Uchiha.

Mukai used the Space Fortress’s laser to kill Madara Uchiha and destroy his base, then returned with Konan and Sasori to Konoha for Tsunade’s succession as Fourth Hokage. At the ceremony, Tsunade accused Shimura Danzō of stealing and implanting Sharingan.

• Mukai used the Space Fortress to hit Madara Uchiha with a second laser attack, killing him and erasing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Susanoo, and nearby underground base.
• Mukai confirmed that no one remained alive at the site, then left with Konan and Sasori to deal with matters in Konoha.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced Tsunade’s succession as Fourth Hokage, and Tsunade accepted the Hokage hat and robe before addressing the crowd.
• Tsunade accused Shimura Danzō of secretly stealing Sharingan and implanting them in himself, and demanded that he remove his bandages.

Shimura Danzō and Hiruko attacked the ceremony with reanimated shinobi, but Tsunade had prepared paper decoys and a trap. Madara Uchiha was summoned and began fighting the allied forces before Konan’s Flying Thunder God Formation transported the battlefield away, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade to face Danzō.

• Shimura Danzō revealed the Sharingan on his arm and attacked Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade while Hiruko began a reanimation ritual.
• Reanimated shinobi rose from the ground and attacked the villagers, but Tsunade revealed that the crowd consisted of paper decoys.
• Hiruko summoned Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha with Impure World Reincarnation.
• Madara Uchiha took control of Hashirama and Tobirama, learned from Black Zetsu that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and the base had been destroyed, and attacked the allied forces.
• Konan activated a massive Flying Thunder God Formation that transported Madara, the reanimated shinobi, and Hiruko away, leaving Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade fighting Danzō.

Tsunade, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru fought Danzo after Mukai and the others departed, countering his fused Wood Release and Sharingan techniques. The group surrounded the battered Danzo, but he insisted the fight was not over.

• Tsunade urged Hiruzen Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru to fight Danzo while she activated Creation Rebirth and her Strength of a Hundred Battle Armor.
• Danzo attacked Hiruzen with Wood Release and Wind Release techniques, while Jiraiya protected Hiruzen and counterattacked in Sage Mode.
• Danzo unleashed twisted wooden growths and poison against Tsunade, but she shattered them and Orochimaru swallowed the poison with his snakes.
• Orochimaru and his snakes created an opening, allowing Hiruzen to trap Danzo in an Adamantine Prison Wall and Tsunade to strike him with a Super Heavy Fist.
• Danzo used Izanagi to evade Tsunade's blow, then escaped Orochimaru's attack with a Wood Clone as Jiraiya's Frog Song Genjutsu briefly froze him.
• Hiruzen, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru surrounded the wounded Danzo, who claimed they had not won.

Danzo broke the restraint on his Hashirama Cells and Sharingan, transforming into a towering, rampaging tree covered in eyes and branches. Tsunade and the others used Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags to engulf the monster and the Four Violet Flames Formation in explosions.

• Danzo unleashed his Chakra and shattered the Life Essence shackle, triggering the uncontrolled fusion of Hashirama Cells and Sharingan.
• Danzo transformed into a forty-meter tree monster and attacked the surrounding ninja with branches, spikes, and Genjutsu.
• Tsunade confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi about the monster Danzo had become, and Hiruzen admitted that Danzo had turned into one.
• Tsunade threw a tag, revealing that the figures being attacked were paper decoys covered in Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• The tags began summoning and detonating more tags until explosions engulfed the Four Violet Flames Formation.

Tsunade told Fugaku that she had avenged the Uchiha and warned him to keep Itachi in line, while Mukai’s group repeatedly destroyed Madara with their techniques. Mukai then sent Madara and the Ōtsutsuki Clan newcomers to the core of the sun, ending the story.

• Tsunade thanked Fugaku for keeping Itachi in line and refused to help against Madara, saying Mukai could erase him again.
• Nagato crushed Madara’s Perfect Susanoo with Super Shinra Tensei, and Konan annihilated his Reanimated Body with expanding Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
• Sasori’s five blades trapped Madara in a grid of slashes, cutting him into 729 pieces before he reassembled.
• Might Guy and Shisō struck Madara from both sides, and Mukai used a Flying Thunder God Cursed Seal to transport him to the moon and then the sun’s core.
• Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki arrived near Konoha, but special seals transported them to the sun’s core as well.