Recaps

Jiraiya held Kitsuchi at bay while Iwagakure sent an elite force to raid Konoha’s logistics camp. The attackers reached the camp, where its defenders sounded the alarm and feared they could not stop them.

• Jiraiya used his varied Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and summons to keep Kitsuchi on the defensive, while Kitsuchi relied on Earth Release to hold him back.
• Kitsuchi’s elite Iwagakure force advanced toward Konoha’s camp, expecting little resistance because Kōki Itō and the Green Demon were gone.
• The Iwagakure captain encouraged his troops to raid the camp and erase the humiliation the Green Demon had brought them.
• Konoha’s defenders spotted the approaching force, sounded the alarm, and prepared for battle.
• Konoha’s outnumbered camp defenders feared the elite attackers would destroy their logistics and end the battle against Iwagakure.

Minato Namikaze returned to the Konoha position and faced an elite Iwagakure unit alone, hiding from the defenders that Jiraiya could not come to help. He killed or wounded dozens of attackers with his Flying Thunder God technique, forcing the rest to flee and leaving the Konoha ninja cheering.

• Minato arrived at the Konoha position and falsely told the defenders that Jiraiya would soon reinforce them.
• Minato stopped the Konoha ninja from charging and told them to guard the camp while he faced the Iwagakure unit.
• Minato used Flying Thunder God Kunai to flash among the attackers, killing or wounding dozens of elite Iwagakure ninja.
• The remaining Iwagakure ninja panicked, recognized Minato as a threat on Jiraiya and Kitsuchi's level, and fled.
• Minato named his technique Heaven-Soaring Swallow Dance, Flashing Light Afterimage Zero Style, and the Konoha ninja cheered his victory.

Minato returned to Konoha’s camp after killing dozens of Iwagakure elite ninjas, earning Jiraiya’s praise. Kitsuchi learned of Minato’s speed and strength, and Iwagakure began calling him the Yellow Flash, issuing orders that its ninjas could abandon missions if they encountered him.

• Konoha’s forces celebrated Minato’s victory, and Jiraiya proudly praised his disciple.
• Minato asked Jiraiya about the battlefield, and Jiraiya said Konoha had repelled Iwagakure’s attack on its logistics troops.
• Kitsuchi berated the surviving Iwagakure elites for failing their raid, but they explained that a lightning-fast yellow-haired Konoha ninja had routed them.
• Kitsuchi recognized the ninja as Minato Namikaze, a prodigy on Iwagakure’s assassination list, and questioned the survivors about his techniques.
• The survivors could only describe Minato as a yellow flash, beginning his Yellow Flash title on the Iwagakure battlefield.
• Iwagakure issued a directive allowing anyone who encountered the Yellow Flash to abandon their mission without punishment.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan helped Amegakure’s residents during a brief period of peace while Akatsuki was still only the three companions. Konan returned from the forest with Yusuke, a stranger who had helped her find safe ingredients, and Yahiko insisted on thanking him.

• Nagato told Yahiko he had repaired a damaged house, and Yahiko asked where Konan had gone.
• Nagato explained that Konan had gone to the forest to gather ingredients for lunch.
• Konan returned with a bag of ingredients and introduced Yusuke, who had become lost in the woods.
• Yusuke and Konan explained that he had guided her away from poisonous ingredients and taught her which forest plants were edible.
• Yahiko thanked Yusuke and tried to bow, while Yusuke repeatedly stopped him.

Yusuke joined Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato for lunch, then learned he had wandered into the Land of Rain while trying to reach the Land of Fire. Yahiko and the others began escorting him, and Yahiko shared his dream of bringing peace and happiness to his country, even if it cost him his life.

• Nagato reminded Yahiko that refusing Yusuke's gratitude would leave their guest hungry, so Yahiko invited Yusuke to lunch.
• Yusuke explained that his knowledge of wild ingredients came from books and that his poor sense of direction had led him away from the Land of Fire and into the Land of Rain.
• Yahiko offered to escort Yusuke toward the Land of Fire, and Konan and Nagato agreed to help.
• Yusuke asked why Yahiko was helping villagers, and Yahiko said he wanted to improve the country's poorest places.
• Yahiko described his dream of ending suffering and war and bringing peace to the world, saying he was ready to die for it.

Yusuke challenged Yahiko’s faith that he could achieve peace without sacrificing what he valued, then explained that resource struggles and survival—not hatred alone—drove conflict. Yahiko’s convictions faltered as he questioned whether his ideal of mutual understanding could bring peace.

• Yahiko said he would find a way to protect Konan and Nagato while pursuing peace, and Yusuke privately thought Yahiko had not yet faced the world’s cruelty.
• Yusuke questioned whether the three of them could achieve their ideal, and Yahiko admitted their efforts had not found a lasting path to peace.
• Yahiko asked Yusuke for advice, and Yusuke explained that shinobi conflict stemmed from competition over resources and survival.
• Yusuke said that regulating resources through personal strength would fail once Yahiko was gone, and described how hardship and revenge perpetuated a cycle of pain and hatred.
• Yahiko’s belief that people could achieve peace by understanding one another crumbled, leaving Konan and Nagato unable to comfort him.

Yusuke challenged Yahiko’s belief that people could achieve peace through mutual understanding and explained how human conflict and competition over resources fueled war. He argued that lasting peace between nations required one unified voice, leaving Yahiko and his companions shaken by the implications.

• Yusuke questioned whether Yahiko and his closest friends truly understood one another and argued that people’s different experiences made universal understanding impossible.
• Yusuke explained that the Sage of Six Paths had shared chakra through Ninshu to connect people, but human conflicts eventually turned chakra into a weapon.
• Yusuke advised Yahiko to observe the roots of disputes, travel beyond the Land of Rain, and test solutions in practice.
• Yusuke described competition over resources and strength as the cause of wars between nations, using the attacks on Konoha in the Third Shinobi World War as an example.
• Yahiko asked how to bring peace between nations, and Yusuke said lasting peace required making the world have only one voice, which frightened Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

Yahiko regained his resolve to pursue peace with Konan and Nagato’s support, then asked Yusuke to join them. Yusuke deferred his answer and continued into the Land of Fire, where he arrived at a secluded cabin and was greeted as Aizen-san.

• Yahiko doubted that he could achieve peace, but Konan and Nagato reassured him that they would stand by him.
• Yahiko renewed his commitment to peace, and Yusuke advised him to unite allies, build strength, and spread his ideals.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato asked Yusuke to join them, but he postponed the discussion until after his business in the Land of Fire.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato returned to the Land of Rain while Yusuke continued toward a secluded cabin in the Land of Fire.
• Yusuke removed his glasses, put on a mysterious white robe, and was greeted at the cabin as Aizen-san.

Aizen revealed that he had approached Yahiko to study Nagato’s Rinnegan and how its chakra might change the body, hoping to uncover a path toward Six Paths power. He planned to remain near Nagato while Jörmungandr and Setsugetsu watched over the Light Organization, and learned that Setsugetsu was dealing with uninvited guests.

• Aizen showed Jörmungandr hair he had collected from Nagato and Konan while explaining that he wanted to observe how his influence changed the Akatsuki.
• Aizen revealed that Nagato’s Rinnegan was his true interest and that he planned to study whether its chakra altered Nagato’s body.
• Jörmungandr warned Aizen that Madara Uchiha and the White Zetsu were protecting Nagato, but Aizen said he only wanted to study the Rinnegan’s effects up close.
• Aizen said he would stay away for a while and told Jörmungandr and Setsugetsu to look after the organization.
• Aizen asked where Setsugetsu was, and Jörmungandr said she was playing with a group of uninvited guests.

Setsugetsu fought a squad of Root ninja sent to capture her and used Ice Release to freeze and destroy them. As the survivors escaped toward Konoha on a summoned hawk, they launched explosive-tag kunai at her, leaving their reason for the conspicuous attack unclear.

• Setsugetsu realized the ninja surrounding her were Root rather than Anbu and welcomed the chance to fight without holding back.
• The Root ninja attacked Setsugetsu with weapons and then a barrage of elemental techniques, but she remained unharmed.
• Setsugetsu used Ice Release: Ice Time to freeze the Root ninja and the surrounding battlefield, then shattered the frozen scene.
• Several Root ninja escaped on a summoned hawk toward Konoha and threw explosive-tag kunai at Setsugetsu as they fled.

Setsugetsu, Aizen, and Jörmungandr defeated the Root ninja and left their bodies behind, prompting Konoha to investigate and report the Light Organization’s return. In Konoha, Danzo sought Hiruzen Sarutobi’s support, but Hiruzen demanded that he honor their agreement and relinquish Root if he had failed.

• Setsugetsu and Jörmungandr killed the fleeing Root ninja with Dark Release, and Setsugetsu revealed he had been ready to finish them himself.
• Aizen, Jörmungandr, and Setsugetsu left the battlefield, with Aizen planning to use the Root corpses for another purpose.
• A Konoha unit found the frozen battlefield and recognized it as evidence of the Light Organization’s Ice Release user.
• Jiraiya received the report and passed it to Konoha, while Hiruzen Sarutobi considered the news in his office with Danzo.
• Danzo asked Hiruzen to support Root against the Light Organization, but Hiruzen reminded him that their agreement required Danzo to surrender Root if he failed.

Danzo persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to send the Uchiha Clan against the Light Organization, arguing that their genjutsu and Fire Style could counter its Ice Release user. Hiruzen approved the plan but warned Danzo that Root would lose its support—and possibly its leadership—if Danzo failed to complete the mission or relinquish control.

• Danzo asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to send a powerful shinobi to help Root fight the Light Organization, but Hiruzen refused and told him to give up control of Root if he could not handle the threat.
• Danzo proposed using the Uchiha Clan, claiming their genjutsu and Fire Style could counter the Light Organization’s Ice Release user and suggesting that the mission could weaken the clan.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi considered Danzo’s warning that the Uchiha Clan’s wartime achievements might threaten Konoha’s stability and reluctantly approved the plan.
• Hiruzen ordered the Uchiha Clan to operate independently under its own command, limited Root to fighting the Light Organization, and warned Danzo that this was his last chance to receive support.
• Danzo agreed to Hiruzen’s conditions while showing little concern for the warning.

Danzo visited Uchiha Fugaku with Hiruzen Sarutobi’s order, seeking the Uchiha Clan’s help against the Light Organization. Fugaku agreed to provide manpower in exchange for Danzo persuading Hiruzen to let the clan return to the battlefield.

• Danzo arrived at the Uchiha Clan Compound with Root ninja and an order signed by Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Fugaku welcomed Danzo at his home, hoping to improve the Uchiha Clan’s standing and return them to the front lines.
• Danzo told Fugaku that Hiruzen had ordered the Uchiha Clan to help Root destroy the Light Organization.
• Fugaku hesitated until Danzo offered to persuade Hiruzen to send the Uchiha back to the battlefield.
• Fugaku agreed to provide manpower for the operation and said he would await Danzo’s good news.

Danzo secured Hiruzen Sarutobi’s approval for the Uchiha Clan to join the battlefield in exchange for an elite unit to help Root fight the Light Organization. At a clan meeting, Uchiha Fugaku revealed how formidable the Light Organization was, leaving the Uchiha to weigh the risks of cooperating with Danzo.

• Danzo persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to let the Uchiha Clan fight, in return for twelve Uchiha Jonin with awakened Mitsudomoe to support Root against the Light Organization.
• A Root ninja told Danzo that agents in the Land of Water had found no trace of the Light Organization’s Ice Release user, though Danzo ordered them to keep investigating the Yuki Clan connection.
• Uchiha Fugaku gathered the clan’s elders and senior members, who first welcomed the chance to return to the battlefield and earn merit.
• A senior Uchiha warned that Danzo might be setting a trap and asked Fugaku why Root needed the clan’s help against the Light Organization.
• Fugaku explained that a Light Organization member had fought Kōki Itō to a draw, and that the organization had defeated Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze and taken Roshi.
• The Uchiha recognized the danger of the mission and questioned whether they should cooperate with Danzo.

Fugaku agreed to Danzo’s plan to cooperate against the Light Organization and tasked Ryuko and Shisui with leading the Uchiha team. The clan prepared to act quickly, while Fugaku worried that its most promising young ninja were being risked for the clan’s future.

• Fugaku told the Uchiha leaders he had accepted Danzo’s invitation and that they needed to choose who would join the mission.
• Homura argued in favor of cooperation, while Kei’s concerns for the clan members’ safety were dismissed by most of the gathered Uchiha.
• Fugaku said the mission must proceed but insisted its leader be strong enough to bring the team back safely.
• Elder Sanada proposed that Ryuko and Shisui lead a group of ninja who had awakened the Mitsudomoe, and the Uchiha accepted the plan despite concerns about risking their two most talented young members.
• Fugaku ordered the team assembled quickly, and Ryuko and Shisui agreed to the assignment when they were notified.

Shisui and Uchiha Ryuko resisted Danzo’s attempt to place the Uchiha under Root’s command, and the two sides agreed to operate independently. Root and the Uchiha set out to confront the Light Organization, leaving Shisui worried that their lack of cooperation would doom the mission.

• Shisui challenged Danzo for arriving late at the Konoha Gate and prevented the Uchiha from lashing out, foiling Danzo’s attempt to damage the clan’s reputation.
• Danzo ordered the Uchiha to follow Root’s commander, Vulture, but Ryuko refused and warned that the clan would not be used as cannon fodder.
• Danzo accepted the Uchiha’s demand for autonomy while threatening them with responsibility for any failure and the loss of promised benefits.
• Danzo left to discuss the Uchiha’s battlefield assignment and duties with Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Vulture led Root toward the forest outside the village.
• Ryuko and Shisui led the Uchiha after Root, and Shisui worried that the two groups’ refusal to cooperate would undermine their mission against the Light Organization.

Vulture assigned the Uchiha to fight the Light Organization’s Ice Release user, hiding Danzo’s plan to use them as a shield. Despite Shisui’s growing unease, Ryuko agreed to the mission, and Shisui resolved to protect the Uchiha if the plan went wrong.

• Vulture told Ryuko and Shisui that the Uchiha would face the Ice Release user while Root handled the other two enemies.
• Vulture provoked the Uchiha by implying they feared Ice Release, and Seika insisted they accept the assignment.
• Ryuko suspected Root’s favorable offer concealed a trap, but Seika and the other Uchiha appealed to clan honor until Ryuko agreed.
• Shisui remained uneasy about Root’s plan and silently vowed to help Ryuko protect the Uchiha and bring them back to Konoha.

Root and Uchiha Clan ninjas prepared a surprise attack on Aizen, Setsugetsu, and Jörmungandr, while Shisui and Vulture sensed signs that something was wrong. Vulture eventually ordered the attack when the three Light Organization members appeared to fall asleep.

• The Root and Uchiha Clan teams found Aizen, Setsugetsu, and Jörmungandr resting beside a stream and waited for an opening to attack.
• Shisui suspected the Light Organization members were acting carelessly on purpose, and Vulture noticed that the Root surveillance ninjas had disappeared.
• As Vulture began signaling, he felt a hand on his shoulder, but his backward strike hit nothing and no one appeared behind him.
• Vulture cautiously sent his signal to the Root ninjas, and the Root and Uchiha Clan members prepared for an attack.
• When Aizen, Setsugetsu, and Jörmungandr appeared to fall asleep against a rock, Vulture ordered the ambush, and countless attacks flew toward them.

The Uchiha and Root ninja mistakenly believed their ambush had killed the Light Organization, only to discover they had attacked Root’s own hidden sentries. Aizen revealed the deception and his plan to draw out the Uchiha, while Uchiha Seika’s humiliation turned into a reckless desire for revenge.

• Uchiha Seika celebrated after the attacks struck the battlefield, but Uchiha Ryuko warned him not to assume the Light Organization’s Ice Release user was dead.
• The Uchiha and Root ninja found severed limbs in the crater, then a Root ninja identified them as the remains of their own sentries, including Kawai.
• Aizen and the other two Light Organization members appeared in a tree and revealed that they had lured the Konoha ninja into attacking their own men.
• Aizen reflected that he had engineered the Uchiha’s arrival to create a chance to obtain an Uchiha body.
• Uchiha Seika grew furious over being deceived and, without waiting for Uchiha Ryuko’s order, began forming hand seals to attack Aizen and his companions.

Uchiha Seika’s impulsive attack ruined the Konoha ambush, and the battle began with Aizen’s group quickly splitting the enemy forces. Jörmungandr overwhelmed the Root ninja in close combat, while Vulture ordered most of his forces to target Aizen.

• Uchiha Seika launched a Great Dragon Fire Jutsu before the ambush plan was ready, drawing angry reprimands from Root’s captain and Uchiha Ryuko.
• Aizen, Jörmungandr, and Setsugetsu dodged the fire dragon and landed before the Konoha forces, who divided their attention according to the original plan.
• Root ninja used Earth Release techniques to separate Setsugetsu from Aizen and Jörmungandr, while Uchiha Ryuko and Vulture moved to surround the groups.
• Vulture and the Root ninja attacked Aizen and Jörmungandr, but Jörmungandr’s taijutsu quickly injured or killed several Root ninja.
• Vulture ordered Squads A, B, and C to hold Jörmungandr back while he led the remaining Root ninja to attack Aizen.

Vulture believed Root had eliminated Aizen and Jörmungandr, then took the Light Organization’s Six Paths Secret Record and trained from it for three years. After gaining immense strength, he seized Konoha, conquered the four great ninja villages, and unified the Shinobi World under the Land of Washi.

• Vulture led Root in attacking Aizen, then used a costly tactic to kill Jörmungandr and reported the mission’s success to Danzo.
• Vulture found the Sage of Six Paths’ inheritance scroll among the Light Organization members’ belongings and decided its training method could make him powerful.
• Vulture followed the scroll’s daily exercise regimen for three years, grew bald, and gained tremendous strength.
• Vulture killed Danzo and Hiruzen Sarutobi, took over Konoha as the Fourth Hokage, and forced Konoha’s ninja to accept him.
• Vulture defeated the four great ninja villages, compelled them to merge with the other countries into the Land of Fire, and had the new superstate renamed the Land of Washi.

Vulture realized that Aizen had trapped him in a Genjutsu that made his imagined experiences and injuries affect his real body. After Vulture guessed that Aizen was connected to the Kurama Clan, Aizen remained silent, leaving Vulture increasingly certain of his theory.

• Vulture noticed inconsistencies in a vision of his old age, and the illusion shattered to reveal him surrounding Aizen with Root ninja.
• Vulture recognized that he had been caught in Aizen’s Infinite World Genjutsu, while Aizen explained that its effects carried over to the victims’ real bodies.
• Vulture discovered that his body had aged close to death, and his teammates suffered the varied injuries and deaths they had experienced in the illusion.
• Vulture connected Aizen’s Genjutsu to the Kurama Clan’s ability to make illusionary injuries affect the body.
• Vulture asked whether Aizen was from the Kurama Clan, and Aizen’s surprise led Vulture to grow more certain of his guess.

Aizen killed Vulture after Vulture guessed he belonged to the Kurama Clan, while Jörmungandr eliminated the surrounding Root ninja. Setsugetsu overwhelmed the Uchiha force, and Uchiha Ryuko ordered his surviving clansmen to retreat after realizing Root had gone silent.

• Aizen killed Vulture to conceal his Kurama Clan identity, then reflected that the encounter had tested his ability to control the senses and affect the body.
• Jörmungandr defeated the Root ninja around him, and Aizen said they should wait while Setsugetsu handled the Uchiha.
• Setsugetsu deflected the Uchiha's fire attacks with ice spikes and then struck them with a storm of ice spears.
• Setsugetsu killed seven Uchiha ninja, prompting the survivors to charge her in rage.
• Uchiha Ryuko stopped the survivors and ordered them to return to Konoha, judging Root likely defeated and their mission lost.

Uchiha Ryuko ordered Shisui to lead the surviving Uchiha back to Konoha while he stayed behind to face Setsugetsu. Setsugetsu revealed that the Light Organization had targeted the Uchiha Clan, and Ryuko was defeated after refusing to surrender.

• Uchiha Seika blamed himself for the deaths of his clansmen, and his Sharingan briefly began to change before returning to normal.
• Uchiha Ryuko rebuked Seika for disobeying orders, then chose to hold off Setsugetsu so the survivors could escape.
• Uchiha Ryuko entrusted Shisui with leading Seika and the remaining Uchiha back to Konoha, and Shisui led them away.
• Setsugetsu told Uchiha Ryuko that the Light Organization had come to the Land of Fire for the Uchiha Clan and that companions were waiting ahead for the fleeing survivors.
• Setsugetsu offered to spare Ryuko if he surrendered, but Ryuko chose to fight and was defeated.

Shisui led the remaining Uchiha toward Konoha, but they discovered they had been trapped in a genjutsu and returned to the battlefield. There, they found Aizen and the Light Organization had captured Uchiha Ryuko, while Uchiha Seika was defeated after charging to save his brother.

• Shisui led the Uchiha toward what they believed was Konoha, but the distant village failed to get closer as they ran.
• The Uchiha released the genjutsu and found themselves back at the forest where they had parted from Uchiha Ryuko.
• Aizen and the others appeared with Uchiha Ryuko bloodied beneath Aizen's foot, and Uchiha Seika charged to rescue his brother.
• Uchiha Seika's mysterious chakra pushed him to Elite Jonin, but Jörmungandr knocked him down and seized him by the throat.
• Jörmungandr mocked Uchiha Seika for charging at an enemy far stronger than himself and for squandering the chance his brother had secured.