Recaps

Didaze and Ōnoki held the advantage against Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru while Minato faced Gari elsewhere. Minato used his newly developed Rasengan to knock Gari unconscious, leaving Didaze to send a split body to rescue him.

• The Katsuyu Sage's nanoscale bodies returned to one location, while Tsunade attacked Didaze and he split into two to evade her and confuse Hiruzen Sarutobi's sensing.
• Orochimaru summoned the Formation of Ten Thousand Snakes, but Ōnoki's six or seven stone golems slaughtered the snakes as Didaze's bombs injured Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Didaze and Ōnoki kept the upper hand as Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru struggled to counter their attacks.
• Gari tried to destroy Minato Namikaze's Flying Thunder God Kunai, but Minato used a visual trick and Flying Thunder God to strike him from behind with the Rasengan.
• Minato knocked Gari unconscious, and Didaze directed his split body to rescue him.

Minato Namikaze joined Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tsunade in fighting Ōnoki while Didaze rescued Gari and merged with his split body. With his allies at risk from C4, Didaze unleashed clay bombs infused with Dust Release, leaving Ōnoki to recognize the familiar technique.

• Minato Namikaze left Gari after Didaze lifted him, then used Flying Thunder God to join Hiruzen Sarutobi and help him locate Didaze.
• Minato Namikaze went to Tsunade and helped her reach Ōnoki by having her throw a Flying Thunder God Kunai, but Ōnoki blocked her punch with his strengthened Rock Fist.
• Minato Namikaze and Tsunade kept Ōnoki occupied while Hiruzen Sarutobi attacked from below, preventing Ōnoki from using Dust Release.
• Didaze retrieved Gari with his split body, merged with it, and decided not to use C4 because it would kill his own people.
• Didaze infused his clay bombs with Dust Release and threw them, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to flood the battlefield and Ōnoki to recognize the Dust Release chakra.

Didaze and Ōnoki overwhelmed Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha fighters with Dust Release attacks, forcing Hiruzen to order a retreat. Minato Namikaze helped cover the withdrawal, but Ōnoki reached Konoha’s rear and attacked the retreating army with stone giants.

• Didaze bombarded Hiruzen Sarutobi, Minato Namikaze, Tsunade, and Ōnoki with Dust Release Bullets while Ōnoki added his own attacks.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi decided that the four could not endure the assault and ordered a withdrawal, which Minato Namikaze relayed to Dan Katō.
• Dan Katō and Konoha’s Kekkei Genkai fighters stayed behind to cover the retreat as the rest of the army withdrew.
• Didaze sent a Dust Release Giant Dragon after the retreating army, but Minato Namikaze intercepted it with a shadow clone and Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi used combination ninjutsu to keep Didaze occupied, but Didaze increased his Dust Release Bullet output so Ōnoki could fly ahead.
• Ōnoki summoned dozens of stone giants over Konoha’s rear guard, killing or wounding a tenth of the army before the Akimichi Clan helped contain them.

Minato Namikaze and the Konoha forces retreated after Ōnoki’s attack, while Didaze planned a solo sneak attack on Konoha. Back in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi arranged an alliance with Kumogakure and Kirigakure as Shimura Danzō expanded Root’s control and celebrated himself as Hokage.

• Minato Namikaze evacuated Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Hiruzen Sarutobi after Ōnoki killed an Akimichi Clan ninja and forced the Konoha army to retreat.
• Ōnoki estimated that Iwagakure had wiped out about a fifth of the enemy forces, and Didaze said he would sneak attack Konoha alone the next day.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered an Anbu to offer Kumogakure and Kirigakure ten percent of Konoha’s mission quota in exchange for an alliance.
• Shimura Danzō learned that Root had placed Tongue Eradication Cursed Seals on new recruits from bloodline limit and secret technique clans, and ordered further recruitment of talented orphans.
• Shimura Danzō asked a Root member whether he was a competent Hokage, and the member praised him as the greatest Hokage, surpassing the Third Hokage.

Shimura Danzō celebrated his success as Hokage while Hiruzen Sarutobi’s camp suffered a devastating acid attack by Didaze. Later, Didaze tried using Dust Release to weaken Nanako’s overpowering Wood Release and rouse her, and she groaned as he reduced it to ordinary Kage strength.

• Shimura Danzō dismissed Root members and congratulated himself on bringing Konoha’s clans into line.
• Didaze attacked Konoha’s encampment with acid-filled puppets, killing a third of its forces and wounding another third before Minato Namikaze could catch him.
• Didaze proposed injecting his Dust Release chakra into Nanako to counterbalance her Wood Release, and Ōnoki agreed to accompany him.
• Didaze found Reigyō and Watanabe Kawa training beside the unconscious Nanako, then channeled Dust Release into her body.
• Didaze gradually weakened Nanako’s Wood Release, and she groaned when he reduced its power to ordinary Kage level.

Nanako awakened Wood Release, recovered her strength, and learned the Wood Clone Technique as Didaze and Ōnoki prepared to launch an assault on Konoha. Meanwhile, Minato Namikaze discovered that the clans had rejected Hiruzen Sarutobi’s request for reinforcements because of Shimura Danzō’s actions.

• Didaze helped Nanako awaken and circulate her Wood Release chakra, which quickly restored her body after half a year of inactivity.
• Ōnoki taught Nanako the hand seals for the Wood Clone Technique, and she created a durable clone that ran half a kilometer from her.
• Didaze and Ōnoki agreed to launch an all-out assault on Konoha the next day, while Didaze urged Nanako, Watanabe Kawa, and Reigyō to stay safe.
• Minato Namikaze returned to Konoha to seek reinforcements, but the clans with kekkei genkai or secret techniques refused to see him, and only the Akimichi Clan let him in.
• Minato Namikaze learned that the clans blamed Shimura Danzō and held Hiruzen Sarutobi responsible, and they refused to send reinforcements.

Hiruzen Sarutobi imprisoned Shimura Danzō and tried to repair relations with Konoha’s clans, but Iwagakure launched an all-out attack the next day. As Minato Namikaze led Konoha’s forces into battle, Nanako revealed Wood Release and surrounded him with dozens of clones.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to Konoha, punched Shimura Danzō, stripped him of his position, ordered Root disbanded, and had him imprisoned.
• The clans’ captive members returned home, but the clans remained distrustful and offered Konoha only limited support.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi recruited more Jonin, then sent Dan Katō and Minato Namikaze to intercept Iwagakure’s all-out attack.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, and Tsunade engaged Didaze while Minato Namikaze led Konoha’s forces against the attackers.
• Nanako used Wood Release to create dozens of clones and sent them to surround Minato Namikaze.

Nanako and Gari overwhelmed Minato Namikaze with their attacks and captured him, turning the battle in Iwagakure’s favor. Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Minato being carried away and realized the tide of the war had shifted.

• Nanako used Adamantine Sealing Chains while Gari challenged Minato Namikaze, forcing Minato to summon Gamabunta for help.
• Nanako trapped Gamabunta in a Wood Release prison and sealed Minato Namikaze’s summoning contract.
• Gari endured Minato’s Rasengan, grabbed him, and struck him with Explosion Release: Landmine Fist, leaving both men injured.
• Nanako bound the unconscious Minato Namikaze and assigned Watanabe Kawa to watch him while Reigyō took the severely wounded Gari away.
• Didaze celebrated Minato’s capture as Hiruzen Sarutobi watched with unease.

Nanako and Iwagakure devastated Konoha’s forces, and Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to the village facing a worsening war. After Kumogakure and Kirigakure declared war, Didaze sent word that he would meet Hiruzen to discuss a ceasefire.

• Nanako captured Dan Katō and slaughtered Konoha’s other ninja while Hiruzen Sarutobi, Tsunade, and Orochimaru fled the battlefield.
• Ōnoki and Didaze finished off Konoha’s remaining forces, sparing only selected successors, Minato Namikaze, and Dan Katō.
• Didaze ordered Iwagakure to slow its advance through the Land of Fire and avoid harming villages, intending to seek a ceasefire and payment rather than conquer the country.
• Kumogakure and Kirigakure declared war on Konoha, prompting Hiruzen Sarutobi to decide to release Shimura Danzō and face the threat of the village’s destruction.
• Didaze sent a message inviting Hiruzen Sarutobi to meet at the Land of Fire–Land of Earth border to discuss a ceasefire as soon as possible.

Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed to surrender to Iwagakure and went alone to negotiate the return of Konoha's captured fighters. After Didaze accepted Hiruzen's ransom offer, he revealed that Iwagakure would also demand compensation for withdrawing its troops.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi convened Konoha's leaders, and they decided to surrender after a day of discussion.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi left Konoha alone to meet Ōnoki and Didaze at the agreed location.
• Didaze brought forward Dan Katō, Minato Namikaze, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Shibi Aburame, then demanded half of Konoha's mission quota in perpetuity for their release.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi offered a permanent tenth of the mission quota each for Dan Katō and Minato Namikaze, and a fortieth each for Inoichi Yamanaka and Shibi Aburame.
• Didaze pretended to reject Hiruzen Sarutobi's offer before accepting it, then demanded additional compensation for Iwagakure's withdrawal.

Didaze forced Hiruzen Sarutobi to accept Iwagakure’s demands, including compensation, forbidden jutsu, and a surrender and nonaggression treaty. After Hiruzen signed and handed over the jutsu, Iwagakure withdrew from the Land of Fire, leaving Konoha humiliated.

• Didaze demanded a quarter of Konoha’s mission quota, one-third of its annual revenue, and the Land of Whirlpools’ Sealing Jutsu and Wood Release Ninjutsu, and Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed.
• Didaze released Minato Namikaze and the others, and Hiruzen returned to Konoha.
• Two days later, Didaze tore up Konoha’s proposed peace agreement and insisted that Hiruzen sign a surrender and nonaggression treaty.
• Didaze punched Mitokado Homura when he objected, and Hiruzen signed the treaty and handed over copies of the requested jutsu.
• Didaze and Ōnoki patted Hiruzen’s head as Iwagakure’s ninja withdrew from the Land of Fire.

Didaze set out to find the Land of Whirlpools so he could obtain the Shinigami Mask and test whether the Reaper Death Seal could expel Jashin’s power from the Jashin Statue. He landed on an island inhabited by Nadeshiko Village ninja and was attacked just as he tried to leave.

• Didaze told Ōnoki to return to Iwagakure with the main force, then flew off alone and told Nanako to keep training in Wood Release.
• Didaze discussed with Saiken using the Reaper Death Seal against Jashin’s power, and Saiken agreed to help despite the risk of losing half its strength.
• Didaze searched the sea for the Land of Whirlpools without a map and landed on an island he thought might be the ruins.
• Several Nadeshiko Village kunoichi attacked Didaze, but he blocked their weapons, pinned them down, and learned they were waiting to defeat men and make them marry into their families.
• After Didaze knocked the kunoichi unconscious, one set off a firework, and a beautiful female ninja rushed in with Nadeshiko Style: Roaring Waves Violent Wind Fist as Didaze tried to fly away.

Didaze defeated Nadeshiko Harukawa and her companions, then learned that Nadeshiko Village’s customs required Harukawa to marry the man who defeated her. He declined the marriage but accepted her offer to guide him toward the Land of Whirlpools, stopping at the village for a meal.

• Didaze overwhelmed Harukawa’s Water Formation Wall with Great Fire Annihilation, knocked out another female ninja, and used the Mystical Palm Technique to wake Harukawa.
• Harukawa explained that Nadeshiko Village’s tradition required her to marry Didaze after he defeated her, but Didaze refused and asked for a map.
• Didaze told Harukawa he was heading to the Land of Whirlpools, and she asked whether he was a wandering ninja.
• Didaze showed Harukawa his Iwagakure forehead protector and agreed to stay for a meal before continuing his journey.
• Harukawa led Didaze to Nadeshiko Village’s palace, where he saw that most of its residents were women and the men had married into the village.

Didaze killed the family members who threatened him and challenged his authority in Nadeshiko Village, while Nadeshiko Harukawa welcomed his intervention. After eating, Didaze prepared to travel with Harukawa to the Land of Whirlpools.

• A boy who had been pursuing Nadeshiko Harukawa threatened Didaze, who broke his arm and threw him into a painting.
• Didaze confronted the boy’s parents, and they attacked him together with a powerful Wind Release tornado.
• Didaze used Wild Air Current Dance to take control of the tornado and killed the couple, then killed their son as well.
• Nadeshiko Harukawa led Didaze to the dining room and served him food, explaining that the family had been trying to seize control of Nadeshiko Village.
• Didaze checked the food for poison, ate, and planned to travel with Harukawa to the Land of Whirlpools.

Didaze and Nadeshiko Harukawa flew to the ruined Land of Whirlpools and searched for the Uzumaki Clan’s ancestral grounds. They found a sealed old man, but after Didaze freed him, the man alternated between seeming lucid and behaving like an animal.

• Didaze took Nadeshiko Harukawa from her village on the Clay Giant Bird, and she directed him southwest toward the Land of Whirlpools.
• Didaze and Nadeshiko Harukawa landed on the devastated island and searched together for more than a day.
• Didaze sensed Chakra near a shelter, destroyed its entrance with a Dust Release Bullet, and found an old man inside a weakening Sealing Jutsu.
• Didaze released the old man from the seal, and the man first pretended to be a swan before briefly seeming lucid.
• Didaze asked about the Uzumaki Clan’s ancestral grounds, but the old man began crawling and barking like a puppy, leaving Didaze helpless and Nadeshiko Harukawa struggling not to laugh.

Didaze exposed Uzumaki Hiko’s hidden seal and offered to reunite him with a survivor of the Land of Whirlpools in exchange for help finding the Shinigami Mask. After reaching the Uzumaki Clan’s ancestral grounds, Didaze learned how the mask summoned the Shinigami.

• Didaze attacked Uzumaki Hiko with Great Fire Annihilation, then revealed he had recognized the powerful seal used to preserve him.
• Didaze told Uzumaki Hiko that Kushina had survived and that another survivor was in Iwagakure, then asked him to help find the Shinigami Mask.
• Uzumaki Hiko agreed and led Didaze to the Uzumaki Clan’s ancestral grounds, explaining how the clan leader had sealed him away to preserve the clan’s sealing knowledge.
• Uzumaki Hiko followed the ancestors’ instructions to take down the Shinigami Mask, and he explained that summoning its Shinigami required a lengthy dance.
• The Six-Tails told Didaze that the mask summoned the Shinigami’s true body, unlike the Reaper Death Seal’s clone, and that a Tailed Beast’s chakra would draw it immediately.

Didaze returned to Iwagakure with Uzumaki Hiko and Nadeshiko Harukawa after retrieving the Shinigami Mask, and he began telling Nadeshiko about the Five Great Nations during the journey. He arrived to find Iwagakure celebrating Konoha’s defeat and learned that his reputation had grown enormously.

• Didaze sealed the Shinigami Mask, invited Nadeshiko Harukawa to travel with him, and set off with her and Uzumaki Hiko on the Clay Giant Bird.
• Uzumaki Hiko told Didaze that he had never had a girlfriend and offered him a secret Uzumaki Clan medicine to restore virility, which Didaze refused.
• The group reached the Land of Earth, and Didaze explained the Five Great Nations to an eager Nadeshiko Harukawa.
• Didaze brought the group to Iwagakure and noticed that the Tsuchikage Building seemed larger than before.
• A guard checked Didaze at the entrance and showed him respect, as Iwagakure celebrated Konoha’s defeat and regarded Didaze as its hero.

Didaze brought Uzumaki Hiko and Nadeshiko Harukawa to meet Ōnoki, who welcomed Hiko as Iwagakure’s highest-ranking Sealing Jutsu master. After arranging their stay, Didaze returned home to begin dealing with the Jashin Statue and Shinigami Mask.

• Didaze led Uzumaki Hiko and Nadeshiko Harukawa into the renovated Tsuchikage Building, where Kōdo guided them to Ōnoki’s office.
• Uzumaki Hiko introduced himself as an elder of the Land of Whirlpools and a living Scroll of Seals, and Ōnoki appointed him Iwagakure’s highest-ranking Sealing Jutsu master.
• Ōnoki learned that Nadeshiko Harukawa led her own village, then let the visitors go while he prepared to meet with Iwagakure’s higher-ups.
• Didaze gave Uzumaki Hiko and Nadeshiko Harukawa a million ryō each and directed them to the place Ōnoki had arranged for them.
• Didaze took the Shinigami Mask and Jashin Statue to the mountain behind the village, released the Yin Six-Tails, and handed it the mask to begin his plan.

Six-Tails used the Shinigami Mask to sacrifice Yin Six-Tails’ soul, but the Jashin Statue failed to counter the Shinigami. Didaze examined the statue’s powers and learned it could absorb kekkei genkai, turn kills into power, and cloak him in Jashin’s aura, leaving him to consider which kekkei genkai to claim.

• Six-Tails put on the Shinigami Mask and presented the Jashin Statue, whose black vapor the Shinigami devoured before swallowing Yin Six-Tails’ soul.
• Six-Tails told Didaze that Yin Six-Tails was a clone infused with his dark side, and that he had withdrawn its consciousness before the sacrifice.
• Didaze sensed the Jashin Statue and discovered that it could absorb a kekkei genkai at the cost of its owner’s life, convert kills into power, and use other abilities that were unavailable while Jashin’s true body was absent.
• Didaze absorbed the stored power from his Kirigakure kills and gained roughly one and a half Jonin’s worth of power.
• Didaze used the statue to take on Jashin’s aura and summon Jashin’s phantom, then ruled out the Sharingan as a kekkei genkai to absorb.

Didaze brought Uzumaki Hiko to meet Nanako, revealing that the older man was a fellow survivor of the Uzumaki Clan. As Nanako eagerly questioned him about his past, Didaze tidied her messy home.

• Didaze decided to wait before seeking a Kekkei Genkai that could improve his physical toughness, then left the mountain with the Shinigami sculpture sealed in a scroll.
• Didaze found Uzumaki Hiko alone at the temporary quarters and took him to meet Nanako.
• On the way, Didaze told Uzumaki Hiko that Nanako was his fifteen-year-old disciple, and Hiko thanked him for looking after her.
• Didaze introduced Uzumaki Hiko to Nanako as a fellow clan member, prompting her to ask about his former position in the Land of Whirlpools.
• While Nanako and Uzumaki Hiko talked, Didaze tidied her cluttered home and found several clothes hangers scattered under the furniture.

Nanako welcomed Didaze and Uzumaki Hiko into her home, where Hiko discovered her powerful Yang Release and offered to teach her the Uzumaki Clan’s Sealing Jutsu. After dinner, Hiko took Nanako to the training ground and asked whether she liked Didaze, leaving her startled by his suggestion that Didaze might already know.

• Didaze tidied Nanako’s home and cooked a meal for her and Uzumaki Hiko.
• Nanako told Hiko how she had awakened Wood Release, and he sensed her unusually powerful Yang Release chakra.
• Hiko offered to make Nanako his disciple, but Didaze explained that she already had a Sealing Jutsu master, Karen.
• Hiko agreed to teach Nanako as a fellow Uzumaki Clan member rather than as her master.
• After dinner, Hiko took Nanako to the training ground and asked whether she liked Didaze.
• Hiko told Nanako that her feelings showed in her eyes and that Didaze probably knew already, leaving her shocked.

Uzumaki Hiko urged Nanako to confess her feelings to Didaze, and she went to Didaze’s home that night and told him she loved him. Didaze accepted her confession, though he had first pointed out that she was still too young.

• Uzumaki Hiko teased Nanako about her feelings for Didaze and claimed Didaze had brought back a beautiful woman, making Nanako worry that he might love someone else.
• Uzumaki Hiko asked Nanako when her feelings began, and she recalled that Didaze had rescued her from a wild beast.
• Uzumaki Hiko encouraged Nanako to confess before she lost her chance, and Nanako resolved to speak to Didaze.
• Nanako visited Didaze late at night and told him she loved him, then asked whether he would marry her when she became an adult.
• Didaze questioned whether Nanako had thought it through, then accepted her confession after she affirmed her resolve.

Nanako learned that Didaze would formally accept her if she still loved him as an adult, while Iwagakure welcomed Uzumaki Hiko as an elder. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi struggled to find forces for multiple fronts as Shimura Danzō agreed to fight Kirigakure, and Hatake Sakumo warned Uchiha Fugaku that Sunagakure would soon commit its full strength.

• Didaze gave Nanako a doll and told her he would formally accept her if she still liked him when she was an adult; Nanako happily shared the news with Uzumaki Hiko.
• Iwagakure announced Uzumaki Hiko as a new elder, and he began training the Sealing Squad while Nanako studied Wood Release and Didaze practiced the Light-Weight Rock Technique.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi released Shimura Danzō and asked him to hold off a ninja village; Danzō agreed to lead forces against Kirigakure after demanding Orochimaru's help, more ninja, and public recognition.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that Konoha lacked troops to reinforce Uchiha Fugaku on the Sunagakure front after Didaze's earlier attacks had devastated its forces.
• Hatake Sakumo told Uchiha Fugaku that Sunagakure would likely soon fight with all its strength.

Bunpuku let Shukaku play on a sand dune, where Sasori spotted the One-Tail and coveted it as a potential puppet. As war engulfed the shinobi villages, Hiruzen Sarutobi spread Konoha’s forces across multiple fronts while Didaze’s plan left Iwagakure free to grow stronger.

• Bunpuku transformed into the fully manifested Shukaku and let him roll around on a dune, drawing Sasori’s attention.
• Sasori considered capturing Shukaku to make a Tailed Beast puppet, but withdrew because he was not ready to fight the One-Tail.
• The Konoha clan heads refused to serve under Shimura Danzō, so Hiruzen Sarutobi sent them with Minato and Tsunade to the Kumogakure front and tasked Danzō with holding off Kirigakure.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi left Uchiha Fugaku to defend against Sunagakure, while Konoha’s other forces struggled to hold their fronts.
• Didaze’s strategy left Iwagakure out of the war and able to develop while the other villages wore each other down.

Didaze traveled to Rōran to seek the Dragon Vein and found Naruto Uzumaki fighting Mukade. He knocked Naruto unconscious, then sent a Shadow Clone to have Sara shut off the Dragon Vein while he confronted Mukade.

• After two years of training and studying the Jashin Statue, Didaze discovered that its transformation let him command Jashin’s believers and decided to seek the Dragon Vein for its chakra.
• Didaze told Ōnoki he would become Tsuchikage after Konoha was defeated, then flew from Iwagakure and left money for the window he broke.
• At Rōran, Didaze found Naruto Uzumaki fighting Mukade while Yamato and Sakura lay gravely wounded; Naruto had already sprouted three tails and was nearing a fourth.
• Didaze knocked Naruto unconscious and created a Shadow Clone to tell Sara to shut off the Dragon Vein.
• Mukade attacked Sara, but Didaze created Number 18, and Sakura noticed that Didaze looked like Deidara.