Chapter Summaries

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.

Didaze defeated Mukade with C5: Annihilation after Sara shut down the Dragon Vein, then agreed to take the Dragon Vein and compensate Rōran. The chapter ended with Naruto Uzumaki waking and confronting Didaze, believing him to be Deidara.

• Didaze used C3 No. 18 to damage Mukade, who regenerated with the Dragon Vein and continued attacking.
• Didaze kept Mukade occupied until Sara shut down the Dragon Vein, then carried Sakura, Yamato, and Naruto Uzumaki into the sky on a Clay Giant Bird.
• Mukade tried to disrupt the Dragon Vein with his remaining chakra, but Didaze killed him with C5: Annihilation while containing the blast.
• Didaze told Sakura, Yamato, and Naruto Uzumaki that he knew they were not from this world, then told Sara he would take the Dragon Vein and pay for Rōran's development.
• Sara accepted Didaze's offer, but Naruto Uzumaki woke up and vowed not to let the Akatsuki missing-nin take the Dragon Vein.

Didaze used the Dragon Vein to return Sakura, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sai to the future, but was transported with them and could not travel back yet. He flew to Iwagakure, where the village mistook him for its Deidara and went on high alert.

• Didaze refined part of the Dragon Vein and sent Sakura, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sai back to the future, but he was transported with them.
• Sai attacked Didaze, but Sakura stopped him and explained that Didaze came from the past and was not the Deidara from their world.
• Didaze left the group and flew toward Iwagakure, while Yamato hurried to tell Tsunade that the Dragon Vein still existed beneath Rōran.
• Iwagakure's ninjas recognized Didaze's Clay Giant Bird and raised the alarm, while Kurotsuchi and Ōnoki reacted to his arrival.

Didaze arrived in Iwagakure and revealed to Ōnoki that he came from another world. After hearing about the other world’s powerful alliance with Konoha, Ōnoki asked Didaze to stay and become Tsuchikage.

• Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi mistook Didaze for Deidara as he landed in Iwagakure, but Ōnoki recognized that something was wrong and brought him to his office.
• Ōnoki questioned Didaze, who revealed his identity and proved he came from another world by demonstrating the Splitting Technique and showing copies of Ōnoki’s notes.
• Didaze described how Iwagakure in his world had received a share of Konoha’s income, mission quota, Wood Release Ninjutsu, Sealing Jutsu, and Dust Release.
• Ōnoki offered to step down and let Didaze become Tsuchikage, while Kurotsuchi protested that she wanted the position too.

Didaze settled in Iwagakure after learning that Sasori had died and the Akatsuki had captured the Kazekage, and he considered hunting this world's Six-Tails to merge with Saiken. In Konoha, Tsunade and Yamato realized Didaze came from a different past, while Naruto hoped he might help them fight the Akatsuki.

• Didaze refused Ōnoki's offer to return to his original world immediately and asked for a place to stay in Iwagakure.
• Akatsuchi told Didaze that the Akatsuki had captured and returned the Kazekage and that Sasori had died, helping Didaze place the events around year 66 of Konoha.
• Didaze asked Saiken whether versions of the Six-Tails from different worlds could merge, and Saiken said Didaze would need to defeat this world's version first to preserve Saiken's consciousness.
• Akatsuchi brought Didaze to the house where Deidara had lived as a child, and Didaze settled there.
• Tsunade learned from Yamato that Didaze's world was not their own past because the Dragon Vein had reappeared after they returned.
• Naruto told Tsunade that Didaze did not seem like a bad person and might help them deal with the Akatsuki.

Sakura realized Naruto’s mention of Sara could help the Konoha group learn when the Dragon Vein was sealed. Meanwhile, Didaze left Iwagakure to find Deidara and exposed Obito’s identity before inviting Deidara to work with him.

• Sakura suggested returning to Rōran to ask Sara’s people when the Dragon Vein was sealed.
• Didaze gave Ōnoki a copy of the Land of Whirlpools’ Sealing Jutsu collection and left Iwagakure.
• Didaze flew to Kirigakure, where Deidara and Tobi were transporting the Three-Tails.
• Didaze attacked the Three-Tails, prompting Obito Uchiha to reveal his Kamui and confront him.
• Didaze called Obito Uchiha Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha escaped through Kamui.
• Didaze invited Deidara to work with him.

Didaze impressed Deidara with the devastating power of his enhanced Sun Clay Bomb and recruited him to spy on the Akatsuki. Deidara agreed after Didaze promised to teach him the technique.

• Didaze challenged Deidara to judge his art after seeing an explosion, and Deidara agreed to follow him out over the sea.
• Didaze combined Dust Release, Explosion Release, and chakra from all five releases with Saiken’s chakra to create an enormous Clay Bomb.
• Didaze dropped the enhanced Sun, whose blinding explosion vaporized a vast stretch of seawater and left Deidara stunned.
• Deidara admitted that his art could not match Didaze’s and asked to become his little brother.
• Didaze asked Deidara to monitor the Akatsuki and report its actions, promising to teach him Sun in return.
• Deidara accepted the undercover assignment and declared that spying was his art.

Didaze sought out Hidan in Takigakure and used the Jashin Statue to recruit him by presenting himself as Jashin’s emissary. Hidan attacked Kakuzu for striking at Didaze, then accepted Jashin’s gift as the story left him empowered but not fully controlled by the statue.

• Didaze sent Deidara away with the Three-Tails and learned from him that Kakuzu and Hidan were in Takigakure.
• Kakuzu accepted another bounty mission, irritating Hidan, and the pair headed toward its target.
• Kakuzu sensed an enemy and confronted Didaze, who appeared in a black robe and claimed Jashin had sent him to reward Hidan.
• Kakuzu attacked Didaze with Fire Style, so Hidan stabbed Kakuzu for disrespecting Jashin’s emissary.
• Didaze brought out the Jashin Statue, and Hidan knelt as it poured black energy into him.
• Didaze determined that the statue could not fully control Hidan and gave him power drawn from roughly three Jonin.

Didaze killed Kakuzu and manipulated Hidan into believing that Jashin had ordered him to remain in the Akatsuki. Didaze then left Takigakure and arranged to target the Six-Tails after Pain captured it.

• Hidan gained strength by consuming the blood of three Jonin and confronted Kakuzu, while Didaze assured him Kakuzu would not escape.
• Didaze's split body struck Kakuzu with a C5 Clay Bomb, destroying him and all four hearts.
• Didaze told Hidan to blame Kakuzu's death on the Seven-Tails going berserk and ordered him to continue capturing it for the Akatsuki.
• Didaze placed Six-Tails chakra inside Hidan under cover of black mist, then vanished; Hidan eagerly set off for Takigakure to serve Jashin.
• Didaze contacted Deidara and asked him to report when Pain moved to capture the Six-Tails, planning to take it from Pain afterward.

Didaze raced to the Land of Water to intercept Pain’s capture of Utakata and used an explosion to destroy several Pain bodies. The Deva Path pinned Utakata down and confronted Didaze, who attacked with a Dust Release bomb that Pain repelled.

• Deidara told Didaze that Pain had left Amegakure to capture the Six-Tails, and Didaze urged Deidara to leave the Akatsuki and visit Iwagakure.
• Deidara agreed to visit Iwagakure, while Didaze flew toward the Land of Water to stop Pain and target the Preta Path.
• Didaze arrived as Utakata fought Pain and saw Utakata destroy the Preta Path and Human Path before the Naraka Path began reviving them.
• Didaze detonated a powerful clay bomb that obliterated the Naraka Path and the bodies being revived, while also severely damaging the Asura Path.
• The Deva Path pinned Utakata to the ground, then pulled Didaze toward him with Banshō Ten'in as Didaze threw a Dust Release bomb.
• The Deva Path used Shinra Tensei to destroy the incoming bomb and blast the surrounding forest.

Didaze baited Deva Path Pain into using Super Shinra Tensei, then attacked with C5: Sun while Nagato was weakened. Nagato sacrificed years of his lifespan to end the weakness and unleashed Chibaku Tensei, pulling Didaze and his bomb toward its core.

• Didaze used C4: Karura to make Deva Path Pain unleash Super Shinra Tensei, which annihilated the nanoscale bombs and left Nagato severely weakened.
• Didaze flew down with C5: Enhanced Version: Sun and hurled the seven-colored Clay Bomb at Deva Path Pain.
• Nagato sacrificed three years of his lifespan to forcefully end his period of weakness, while Konan tried to help him with chakra.
• Nagato and Deva Path Pain unleashed Chibaku Tensei, whose powerful attraction began pulling Didaze and C5: Sun toward the sphere.