Chapter Summaries

Yugito Nii’s surprise attack on Sunagakure failed when Rasa rallied his forces and drove Kumogakure into retreat. After learning of Kumogakure’s losses, Orochimaru ordered Konoha to attack the next day and push the front line into the Land of the Moon.

• Rasa used gold dust to hold off Yugito Nii and Kumogakure’s assault, forcing Yugito to order a retreat.
• Rasa did not pursue the retreating Kumogakure ninja because Sunagakure was too weakened by its battles with Konoha and the loss of its Tailed Beast.
• A smashed a desk in anger over the failed attack, but Dodai convinced him to prepare for Konoha’s expected advance.
• Shikaku Nara told Orochimaru that Kumogakure had been holding back its troops to attack Sunagakure.
• Orochimaru ordered Konoha to attack Kumogakure the next day, with Kōki joining him to push the front line into the Land of the Moon.

Konoha and Kumogakure fought as A clashed with Orochimaru and Kōki faced Killer B’s Eight-Tails. Kōki trapped the Eight-Tails inside a Wood Release Birdcage and escaped its grasp.

• Konoha launched an attack on Kumogakure, and A used Lightning Release Chakra Mode to fight Orochimaru.
• Kōki summoned a wooden giant and clashed with Killer B’s Complete Tailed Beast Transformation.
• The Eight-Tails recalled Hashirama Senju capturing him and attacked Kōki with renewed fury.
• Kōki used Wood Release: Birdcage to restrain the Eight-Tails and the Wood Golem.
• Kōki leaped away from the Wood Golem, freeing himself from the Eight-Tails’ entanglement.

A freed himself from Orochimaru and shattered Kōki’s wooden birdcage, allowing the Eight-Tails to escape and restrain the Wood Golem. As the Eight-Tails tried to crush the golem, Kōki struck its head with a Super Destruction Fist, knocking it down and sending it skidding across the battlefield.

• A struck the wooden birdcage with Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop, but it remained intact.
• A used Liger Bomb to crack and break open the top of the birdcage.
• The Eight-Tails destroyed the rest of the cage, then wrapped its tails around the Wood Golem and restrained it.
• A left Killer B to handle Kōki and returned to fight Orochimaru.
• Kōki hit the Eight-Tails on the head with Super Destruction Fist, making it release the Wood Golem and crash into the ground.

Kōki fought the Eight-Tails with the Wood Golem, dodging its Tailed Beast Bombs and trading blows as neither could gain the upper hand. A signal flare prompted A and the Kumogakure forces to retreat, ending the battle with heavier losses for Kumogakure.

• Kōki knocked the Eight-Tails to the ground with a punch, shocking both armies.
• The Eight-Tails fired several Tailed Beast Bombs, but Kōki directed the Wood Golem to evade them.
• The Wood Golem and the Eight-Tails clashed again, and Kōki used Wood Release: Wood Binding to counter its attack.
• Kōki considered using Sage Mode if the Wood Golem could not defeat the Eight-Tails.
• A signal flare appeared, and A, the Eight-Tails, and the Kumogakure forces withdrew from the battlefield.
• Konoha pursued the retreating forces before Orochimaru called off the chase and returned to camp; Kumogakure had suffered heavier losses.

Dodai explained that Kumogakure had retreated because its forces were suffering losses and lacked an advantage against Konoha, then revealed plans to ally with Iwagakure. Konoha’s ninja remained uneasy about the sudden withdrawal as Orochimaru warned them to stay cautious while the village investigated.

• A and Killer B questioned Dodai about why he had ordered Kumogakure to retreat.
• Dodai said Yugito had returned injured, Kumogakure had suffered losses, and the battle had turned against them, prompting him to prevent A and Killer B from fighting recklessly.
• Dodai told A and Killer B that the Third Raikage planned to meet Ōnoki and form an alliance with Iwagakure against Konoha.
• A and Killer B welcomed the prospect of Iwagakure’s support and looked forward to fighting Konoha again.
• A Konoha Jonin asked Orochimaru about Kumogakure’s sudden retreat, and Orochimaru said the village had no intelligence yet and urged caution while Anbu investigated.

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.