Welcome back. As promised, here is a not so quick rundown of everything that has happened in ABoaL so far. This ended up being A LOT longer than I anticipated, but so much has happened over the years and I wanted to be thorough.
Apologies to new readers or those that have already reread the fic— you guys don't need this refresher. I'll try to get out the next chapter ASAP.
Feel free to review.
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Chapter 65: Summary
Arc 1: Prologue/The Bet - Chapters 1-10
Naruto's impatience with the progress of his training reaches a boiling point. Heated words are exchanged, and suddenly Naruto finds himself agreeing to an interesting wager. If Naruto writes a book and gets it published, Jiraiya will devote every second of their time together to training. If Naruto fails, he has to give up on going after Sasuke. However, unbeknownst to Naruto, Jiraiya fully intends to train him to the bone regardless of the outcome of the bet.
During Naruto's struggles with writing a novel, he coincidentally stumbles across the Shadow Clone training method and uses this to his advantage when writing. Jiraiya urges him to use this technique cautiously, as it could have potentially harmful effects on his mind. Naruto writes a book titled 'The Weight of the World' unintentionally mirroring his own life and experiences. It gets published and becomes a best seller for its unique style and heavy, yet inspirational themes. It allows his friends back home to make the connection and glean insight into his life and what he's feeling since he is not one to talk about such things openly.
With the bet now over, training begins. Jiraiya gives Naruto everything he can handle and more. Jiraiya's intentions are to round out his skills and make him a more complete Shinobi who does not need to rely on the Nine-Tail's power. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki loom in the background and are plotting something sinister.
A mission to the Land of Hot Water with potential Akatsuki involvement comes to Jiraiya's attention. He accepts the mission from Tsunade and drops Naruto off at Tazuna's in the Land of Waves with a group of ANBU while he goes to investigate. Naruto meets Yamato for the first time, who is one of the ANBU assigned to his guard with Jiraiya away under the codename 'Uddo'. Upon reaching the Land of Hot Water, Jiraiya realizes that the Akatsuki set him up in hopes he would separate from Naruto and give them an opening to capture him. Jiraiya rushes back to the Land of Waves to save Naruto, but he does not make it in time to save Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari. They are killed by Hidan and Kakuzu who also collect Tazuna's head for an unrelated bounty. Tsunami and Inari's bodies are nowhere to be found. Naruto breaks down and laments that he is totally alone. No family, no friends, no nothing. Jiraiya tells Naruto that Naruto is wrong and that they are family. Naruto's parents made Jiraiya his Godfather before they died. This comforts him to a degree.
Naruto starts to question whether Jiraiya's ideology for peace is possible, or if it would be better to go in and snuff out the hatred with his own hands for the betterment of the world.
Arc 2: Training at Mount Myoboku - Chapters 11-22
After the events in Wave, Jiraiya brings Naruto to Mount Myoboku to continue his training. Naruto meets Fukasaku and Shima, who also assist with his training. With the past still haunting him, Naruto's growth is stunted by way of insomnia and nightmares.
Zetsu replaces a civilian whom Jiraiya granted asylum in the Land of Hot Water, leading to him infiltrating the village.
Jiraiya's intel leads to the discovery of who put the bounty on Tazuna's head. A businessman operating out of a port town in Land of Water, Jaaku Monsuta, had worked with Gato in the past to sabotage Wave Country's attempts to expand their trading ability. Naruto and Jiraiya infiltrate his town with different intentions. Jiraiya's plan was to get a confession out of the man and then have him brought up on charges in the Land of Water. Naruto has other ideas and kills Jaaku in cold blood— his rationale being that doing so makes the world a better place and that the Land of Water would not prosecute one of their own. This action causes his persona to split in two. Light (Hikari) and Dark (Yami) versions nestle their way into his subconscious. Killing Jaaku also clears Naruto's mind, restoring focus and allowing him to do an unassisted one-handed Rasengan for the first time.
From not being around when Naruto needed him as a kid, to now with his mismanagement of the situation in both the Land and Waves and the Land of Water, Jiraiya's guilt about his failings as Naruto's Godfather boils over. He decides to own up to them and devote everything to Naruto, officially retiring from writing as it only serves as a distraction in his life. Naruto's training continues, and his progress explodes.
The situation with Jaaku also effectively fractured his worldview. As a result, his feelings on the themes in his first novel have soured. In his opinion, 'The Weight of the World' is too childish and naive. A sequel is now in the works to correct what he believes are mistakes in the first. Something more gritty and 'realistic.'
Naruto becomes aware of the Nine-Tail's intentions to weaken the seal by periodically pushing chakra through the cracks. Naruto understands that humanity is cruel and that the Nine-Tails being sealed inside of him is likely a cruelty forced on both of them. The Nine-Tail's views have always been that humans act in their own self-interest no matter who they hurt along the way, and yet Naruto claims to want to protect him from the Akatsuki. The two seem to come to some sort of unspoken understanding that there is no reason to feud when there are much bigger outside threats at play.
Hinata asks for Ino's help to become more confident.
Sakura gets one-on-one training with Kakashi to widen her arsenal and learn her elemental affinity.
Naruto meets Hikari for the first time in his mindscape, but Yami is nowhere to be seen.
Jiraiya tells Naruto who his father is. They talk about it. Naruto is upset at first but then comes to understand Minato and Jiraiya's side of things. Naruto feels a powerful desire to make his father proud.
Training continues until it is finally time to return to the Leaf Village.
A quick rundown of the things Naruto learned during his time training:
Elite speed, strength, Taijutsu, espionage/infiltration tactics.
Exploding Clones.
Dark Swamp, toad mouth trap, needle jizo, spitting oil.
Water Style Jutsu: Mainly defensive Jutsu and lower-ranked offensive Jutsu.
Earth Style Jutsu: Mainly defensive Jutsu.
Wind Style Jutsu: Self-created Wind Wall, Wind Clones, various offensive Jutsu, nature manipulation.
Wind Style Rasengan (not Rasenshuriken).
Meditation (relevant later).
Advanced level Fuinjutsu: Includes a Jutsu allowing Naruto to transport his clones between scrolls marked with the same formula.
Arc 3: Return to the Leaf/Kazekage Retrieval - Chapters 23-34
The Akatsuki make a change to a couple of their two-man teams. Sasori and Itachi infiltrate the Sand Village to capture Gaara. Itachi defeats Gaara and kills Kankuro when he intervenes to try and save his brother.
Naruto's return to the Leaf is met with an immediate need for his services. With the Kazekage in the clutches of the Akatsuki, the Leaf's response is the formation of the Akatsuki Assault Squad "AAS" composed of Kakashi, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Sakura.
The joint team meets up with Temari on their way to the Sand Village. The Nine-Tails reaches out to Naruto and offers his tracking abilities to help locate the One-Tails. Shikamaru doesn't trust the Nine-Tails, so the team splits up to cover all their bases. Shikamaru, Hinata, Pakkun, and Temari go as planned to the Hidden Sand. Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura follow where the Nine-Tails' ability is directing them.
During their conversation, the Nine-Tails also reveal to Naruto that a man named Madara Uchiha was behind the attack on the village the day he was born. Naruto would keep this to himself and relay it to Jiraiya the next time he sees him.
The Akatsuki is made aware of Team 7 closing in on the extraction location well before they are scheduled to finish. Pain uses his Impersonation Jutsu to send forty-percent clones of Hidan and Kakuzu to combat Team 7. Those two were chosen in hopes their appearance would rattle Naruto enough to defeat them, finish the extraction, and capture the Nine-Tails. It does not work out that way. Kakashi defeats the Kakuzu clone, while Naruto and Sakura defeat the Hidan clone without too much difficulty.
Shikamaru's team opts to circle back and follow Naruto's plan instead of continuing to the Sand Village. Meanwhile, back at the village, Tsunade sends the rest of Team 8 as backup for the mission.
Team 7 finds the Akatsuki Hideout blocked by a boulder with a 5 Seal Barrier tag. Naruto uses his skills to deactivate the seal without triggering the built-in trap. Team 7 breaks into the hideout about halfway into the extraction process. Sakura and Kakashi take Gaara and retreat. Naruto stays behind as a distraction. Sasori stays behind to capture Naruto, which forces Itachi to pursue the other two and retrieve Gaara.
Tobi intercepts Team Shikamaru to keep them from getting involved. Kurenai meets up with Kakashi and Sakura to keep Gaara safe from Itachi, Kiba, and Shino assist Team Shikamaru with Tobi.
In the hideout, a fight between Naruto and Sasori ensues. When Naruto gains the advantage by destroying Sasori's Third Kazekage puppet, Sasori reveals that the Akatsuki had recovered Tsunami and Inari's bodies for Sasori to make them into Human Puppets for this very moment. Devastated, Naruto retreats into his mindscape where he is greeted by Hikari again, and Yami for the first time. Naruto embraces the darker side of his psyche and rejects his lighter side— convinced that this is the only way he can become the person he needs to be to win.
Naruto regroups and manages to defeat Sasori, though he is poisoned in the process. With Sasori's final breaths, he decides to give Naruto the antidote to his poison. Naruto agrees to give someone called Granny Chiyo Sasori's final words.
Sasori dies, and Naruto passes out.
When Naruto wakes up Itachi is there. He abandoned his pursuit of Gaara and circled back to speak with Naruto.
Zetsu informs Tobi of Sasori's defeat, they allow Shikamaru, Temari, and Team 8 to live and promptly leave.
Naruto is woken up once again, this time by Sakura. To his surprise, his body feels healed from Sasori's poison, though Sakura denies giving him any sort of antidote. His memories seem to be blocked, as he has no recollection of his confrontation with Itachi despite it just happening. When he tries to think about it, a pair of four-sided pinwheel Sharingan flash in his mind. Something within him compels him to not tell anyone about this.
With the threat seemingly gone, the Leaf squads, Temari, and the fully awake Gaara can return to the Sand Village. They are greeted by a relieved crowd of villagers, but Naruto ignores them. The only thing on his mind is finding this Chiyo that Sasori spoke up.
Naruto and Chiyo meet and discuss many things. One of them being Sasori and how he could have possibly ended up as twisted as he did. Naruto comes to the conclusion that, like many, Sasori was a victim who was taken advantage of by the Shinobi system and turned into a monster.
When Chiyo hears Sasori's final words "I'm sorry" meant for her, she convinces herself that her grandson's humanity can be saved. She uses her Reanimation Jutsu to breathe Sasori's consciousness from his core into his puppet body. The core's only use now is that it allows him to wield chakra. Without it, Sasori is extremely weak.
Chiyo dies, entrusting Sasori's life with Naruto against his will.
Naruto accepts this reluctantly but also acknowledges that Sasori could have invaluable intel about the Akatsuki. Naruto bargains with the Hidden Sand and exchanges Might Guy's services for the right to take Sasori back to the Leaf. The Leaf gets a prisoner they can extract for intel, and the Sand gets a highly skilled Ninja to guard Gaara in case the Akatsuki wants to take the other half of the One-Tails.
Naruto meets with the One-Tails when saying goodbye to Gaara after Kankuro's funeral service. Shukaku shares some of his chakra with Naruto and tells him that the Nine-Tail's name is Kurama, much to Kurama's displeasure.
The Leaf teams return home. Naruto runs into Kotetsu, who seems concerned with how Izumo has been acting lately. Sasori is handed off the Ibiki to hopefully extract intel.
After the mission, Naruto is promoted to Chunin for his efforts.
Arc 4: Tenchi Bridge/Zetsu Infiltration - Chapters 35-39
Naruto and his clones continue their work on the next book in the "The Weight of…" series. They allude to the tone of the sequel being much darker than the first book. Naruto also acknowledges he likes money and ramen. Shocking.
Naruto is summoned by Ibiki to go to T&I. On the way there, he stops at a Dango shop and runs into Anko. Anko confirms that she does not work within T&I and anyone who thinks otherwise is crazy. While at the shop, the nice old woman who owns it reminds Naruto of why he doesn't eat Dango often. Across the street from his apartment is a different Dango shop, but it is run by a wicked old woman who despises him for being the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. They had a particularly hostile run-in with each other when Naruto was a kid which had a lasting effect on him (This is relevant later).
Tsunade arrives at the site of Izumo's apartment. Kotetsu had not seen Izumo for some time, so he went to check in on him. When he opened the door to find the apartment a mess, he immediately reported it. Tsunade arrives on the scene shortly after to speak with Shikaku and Tsume Inuzuka on the status of the investigation. Tsume and her ninja hound claim that the scent of death surrounds the apartment and it has been like that for some time. Izumo was the only Shinobi tenant in the apartment building, which is likely why this was not noticed earlier.
Naruto meets with Ibiki, who tells Naruto that Sasori will only speak with him. Naruto accepts this mission and goes in to speak with Sasori. Sasori makes Naruto a deal— If Naruto kills Orochimaru for him, he will cooperate with the Hidden Leaf regarding intel. Sasori tells Naruto about his scheduled meeting with Kabuto at Tenchi Bridge, which means there is only a small window for getting to Orochimaru. Sasori suspects that the meeting may be a trap, so he urges Naruto to be careful. Naruto accepts on the condition that Sasori gives him a piece of intel to prove that what he knows has value. Sasori agrees and informs Naruto that Zetsu infiltrated the village two years prior shortly after their failed attempt to capture him in the Land of Waves.
Back at Izumo's apartment, they have his blood soaked into the floor but no body. From the scent, the blood is two weeks old. However, Neji claims to have seen Izumo alive less than one week ago.
Kiba finds Naruto after his meeting with Ibiki and insists he go see Hinata in the hospital. Naruto has been so caught up in everything that he wasn't aware Hinata was in the hospital from the Gaara Retrieval mission. He agrees to go see her.
Naruto stops by to see Tsunade and Shikaku to inform them of what Sasori told him. They immediately connect it to Izumo's disappearance and surmise that Zetsu killed Izumo and assumed his identity. Izumo was an ideal target due to his low battle strength and close ties to the Hokage. Since Izumo hasn't been seen in days, it's likely Zetsu has already moved on to a new body. Naruto uses the chaos as an opportunity to slip out of the village. He is likely the target of this Zetsu character, so if he leaves it could draw out their enemy in the confusion. Naruto plans to bury Inari and Tsunami's bodies in the Land of Waves, then use the time out of the village to head to the Tenchi Bridge for Sasori. Naruto does not tell Tsunade about the Land of Waves.
At the hospital, Naruto runs into Hiashi. Hiashi tells Naruto that Hinata cares for him much more than he realizes. Naruto and Hinata speak. Naruto tells Hinata that it is a mistake for her to feel that way about him and that they are just friends. Hinata gets upset with his phrasing and asks him to leave. Naruto apologizes, tells Hinata that he is about to go do something really stupid and things like that are part of the reason why he should be alone, then leaves.
Naruto finds himself on top of his father's stone head kicking himself about what just happened. A Shinobi named Sai attempts to ambush him, but Naruto easily subdues him. Sai claims to be the one tasked with accompanying him on his trip to the Land of Waves and did this to gauge his new teammate's strength. Sai seems strong enough to be his partner for the Tenchi Bridge, so Naruto accepts him as his new teammate.
Before leaving the village, Naruto resolves himself to kill Sasuke if it turns out his friend has been corrupted by Orochimaru. However, upon thinking that, and dull pain thumps in the back of his mind.
Naruto and Sai travel to Wave to bury Inari and Tsunami next to Tazuna, Zabuza, and Haku. Naruto, believing that it is too dangerous to leave out for anyone to take, seals the Executioner's Blade in a scroll and takes it with him.
Instead of going back to the village, Naruto diverts his path toward the Tenchi Bridge and forces Sai to follow him. Naruto sends a clone back to the village using his transportation scroll. Aoba, who is currently watching Sasori at T&I, releases the clone from the scroll. Sasori sees this process and gets an idea. He manipulates Aoba into getting his Father and Mother scrolls in the same room as him even though he is unable to use them without his chakra core.
Tsunade is concerned that Naruto is not back from his mission yet. Hinata bursts into her office and claims that Naruto told her he was about to do something stupid. This only deepens her concern for his well-being.
Naruto arrives at the Tenchi Bridge with Sai and transforms into Sasori's real body to fool Kabuto. His goal is to either kill or capture Kabuto depending on what he learns. Kabuto says that Orochimaru and Sasuke are nearby, which gives Naruto pause. If that is true, then it's possible he can fulfill his end of the deal with Sasori and kill Orochimaru today. However, his plan is ruined when Sasuke and Orochimaru show up to ambush him. Sasuke is aware that Sasori is Itachi's current teammate within the Akatsuki. Orochimaru wants to eliminate Sasori, but Sasuke is only interested in what he can tell him about his brother.
Naruto reveals himself, much to Sasuke's surprise, and claims that he was the one to kill Sasori. Naruto dismisses Sasuke and tells him he is only interested in killing Orochimaru. The two of them have a brief, somewhat evenly matched fight to gauge the other's abilities. Orochimaru is surprised that Naruto has progressed so far since the last time they met and considers him too dangerous to be kept alive. He tells Sasuke that he will handle Naruto going forward.
Before Orochimaru can make a move, Naruto notices something strange happening with his transportation scroll. He releases it and, to his shock, Sasori emerges from it ready to fight.
It is revealed that White Zetsu had killed and replaced Shizune after ditching Izumo's identity. 'Shizune' gets into T&I, kills Aoba with a surprise attack, and frees Sasori so the two of them can escape. With the Leaf aware of Zetusu's movements it would only be a matter of time before he is found out. Zetsu informs Sasori that he has been leaking intel slowly outside of the village to the Akatsuki for some time now. He even became aware of a lapse in the barrier corps defenses, which would allow someone to sneak into the village undetected if done correctly. In a surprising character move, Sasori sides with the Leaf Village and kills Zetsu. He then grabs his puppets and uses the transportation scroll Naruto left behind to go to the Tenchi Bridge.
Sasori offers his services to help kill Orochimaru. Naruto, who desperately needs the help, begrudgingly hands his core over to Sasori.
With the odds now stacked against Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto, Sasuke decides to make a new choice and joins Naruto's team. This shocks both Kabuto and Orochimaru, who are furious at Sasuke's treachery.
Sasuke reveals that he has always hated Orochimaru and had long since planned his betrayal. Naruto's appearance only ended up accelerating the inevitable. Sasori and Sasuke team up against Orochimaru, while Naruto is tasked with Kabuto. Sai simply wants to stay back and watch Naruto's back.
Naruto makes quick work of Kabuto but leaves him alive and has Sai watch over him while he chases down the other three. Before he can arrive on the scene, Sasuke and Sasori defeat and kill Orochimaru. Sasuke opts to absorb Orochimaru's power for himself for when he fights Itachi.
Naruto sealed Sasori back up and agreed to meet up with Sasuke in two weeks to join forces since their goals align. Sasuke leaves to go recruit two team members he met during his time with Orochimaru, and the four of them will hunt down Itachi. Sasuke will take Itachi, and Naruto will take whoever Itachi's new partner is.
Naruto returns to where Sai and Kabuto are. Sai is unconscious and Kabuto is nowhere to be found. Naruto suspects that Sai let their prisoner escape, but he keeps it to himself.
Sasuke and his new recruit, Suigetsu, are already in the Land of Waves in search of the Executioner's Blade. Suigetsu had demanded Zabuza's sword if Sasuke wanted him to join their little team. Through intel gathering, Suigetsu learns that Naruto had recently stopped by and swiped the blade. Suigetsu threatens to storm into the Laf and rip the blade away from this Naruto person. Sasuke says that he'll only get himself killed and to not worry. After they get a woman named Karin to join, they'll head to the Leaf for the sword and their last member, Naruto himself. Suigetsu begrudgingly agrees and they leave for the Southern Hideout.
Naruto and Sai return to the village and notice they are going through a lockdown. Just as Naruto thought when Sasori managed to appear through his scroll, something bad had happened while he was away. Naruto goes to see Tsunade to find her utterly distraught, which is also when he learns that Shizune was killed by Zetsu.
Arc 5: Team Hebi/Itachi Pursuit - Chapters 40-47
Shikaku and Tsunade debrief Naruto on what happened while he was out of the village. Naruto debriefs Shikaku and Tsunade on what happened on his mission outside of the village. Mainly that Orochimaru was killed by Sasuke and Sasori, Sasori returned to the village with Naruto after disappearing from his cell, and Naruto plans to join Sasuke's team to go after Itachi Uchiha.
Similarly to Naruto, Sai debriefs Danzo on what happened.
Meanwhile, Sasuke and Suigetsu finish adding Karin to their squad. Karin is worried that Sasuke will make bipolar Jugo their fourth member, but Sasuke shuts that down. Instead, they head to the Leaf to collect their final teammate who also is holding the blade that Suigetsu wants— Naruto Uzumaki.
Danzo decides to introduce himself to Naruto. They clash on ideals and beliefs, but Danzo insists that the two of them are not as different as Naruto believes them to be.
Alone with his thoughts, Naruto struggles with what Danzo said to him. While he immediately rejected the notion he is anything like Danzo, deep down, a part of him is afraid that he's right. Was he a bad person?
Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sakura knock on his door and drag him out of his apartment to eat dinner with the rest of the Konoha 11. Naruto looks back at his dark apartment and agrees. It was the perfect time to get out of his own head.
They eat, have fun, and Naruto insists on paying. Jiraiya's toad shows up to let Naruto know his Sensei is back in town.
Jiraiya is already at the Hokage tower discussing what happened while he was away. Jiraiya also alerts Tsunade to the fact that Naruto is in the Hidden Mist's bingo book for the murder of Jaaku. They surmise the Mist found out about this due to Zetsu leaking intelligence while inside the Leaf.
Pain informs the Akatsuki that Sasuke killed Orochimaru and is building a team to go after Itachi; in response to this, the team of Deidara and Kisame split up. Deidara is to pursue a lead on the Three-Tails, while Kisame goes to regroup with Itachi for when Sasuke seeks him out.
Konoha 11 split up after the meal. The clan heads have all instituted a curfew after the Zetsu incident. Naruto walks Sakura home and they talk about Shizune and everything that's happening. Sakura notes just how much Naruto has changed, which is leaving her confused about her feelings.
Naruto and Jiraiya reunite to discuss what's happened since the last time they spoke. During their conversation, both of them promise to the other that they will no longer go on dangerous missions alone. They fist bump, and Kurama uses this as an opportunity to pull Jiraiya into Naruto's mindscape.
Jiraiya asks why he was brought to that place. Kurama asked Jiraiya what he knows about Madara Uchiha, the Rinnegan, and the Sage of the Six Paths.
Kurama tells Naruto and Jiraiya about the origins of the Sage of the Six Paths, the nine tailed beasts, and even the Ten-Tails. He also informs them that the man in the orange mask has eerily similar chakra to Madara, the same man that battled the Fourth Hokage and unleashed Kurama on the Leaf Village fifteen years ago. Lastly, he claims that one of the members within the Akatsuki has the Rinnegan. This shocks Jiraiya to his core and makes him question Nagato's fate.
Before they part ways, Kurama shares that he believes the Akatsuki will target the Three-Tails next. He passes his tracking ability onto Naruto, and Naruto pinpoints the location for Jiraiya to send a squad out there to protect it.
Back at T&I, Sasori says he will start giving Ibiki intel if they set up a puppet workshop in his jail cell for him to pass the time with.
Back with Naruto, he's alerted by frantic ANBU movement within the village. He follows them to find Sasuke and his team at the village gates causing trouble. Naruto interjects himself and insists to the ANBU that Sasuke, Suigetsu, and Karin are not a threat and are on their way to see Tsunade.
Naruto and Suigetsu agree to settle things relating to Zabuza's blade. With that, the four-person squad of Team Hebi is born.
While traveling to the Hokage tower, Karin is shocked at how bright and vibrant Naruto's chakra is. She also notices a very dark chakra within him. Naruto notices this and tells her that he is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, much to her shock.
Team Hebi arrives in the Hokage's office where Jiraiya and Tsunade are discussing what Kurama told them. After their initial shock and anger wear off, Naruto convinces them to allow Team Hebi (Naruto included) to go after Itachi.
Naruto and Suigetsu battle over who will hold the Executioner's Blade. Suigetsu loses, but Naruto sees enough within him to entrust him with the sword. Though Naruto insists that if Suigetsu misuses the weapon, he won't like what Naruto will do in retaliation.
Once somewhat settled into the village, Naruto and Sasuke have a brief conversation. Sasuke asks Naruto what his goal is in all of this. Naruto tells him that he wants to save the world from itself, while Sasuke is left to ponder what exactly his old friend means by that.
Before setting out on their mission, Naruto and Sasuke stop by to see Sasori. Sasori recalls a conversation he had with Itachi while they were partnered together. This memory leads him to believe that Team Hebi should go to the abandoned Uchiha Hideout first in their search.
Just before Team Hebi is about to leave to go after Itachi, Sakura catches wind that Sasuke is back in the village and finds them. Sasuke dismisses her and goes on ahead, which leaves Naruto behind to pick up the pieces. Naruto explains the situation (Orochimaru's death, and Naruto and Sasuke's team up to go after Itachi), then explains that he isn't sure what Sasuke plans on doing if they manage to kill Itachi. Sakura believes that he will return to the village, which makes Naruto smile.
Sakura sprints back to Tsunade and insists they finish up her training on the One-Hundred Healings Mark. Before Tsunade hands her the book passed down by Mito Uzumaki, she notices that some of the pages were torn from the binding. Tsunade keeps this to herself, but it gives her a bad feeling nonetheless.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Kotetsu are stationed just outside of the lake where they believe the Three-Tails to be hiding.
Unbeknownst to them, Deidara is in the sky watching their movements.
Stationed close to the Uchiha hideout, Team Hebi's camp is suddenly raided by none other than Kisame Hoshigaki. Kisame tells Sasuke to go on ahead to the hideout to meet Itachi, while the rest of the team stays back to fight Kisame.
Sasuke obliges and quickly comes into contact with his brother.
Naruto fights Kisame while Suigetsu backs him up and Karin watches from afar. During the fight, Naruto feels something strange happen. Similar to the urge you get when you throw up.
Meanwhile, Itachi tells Sasuke that he is glad that Naruto fulfilled his role to bring them together. Sasuke is confused, so Itachi uses a Genjutsu to show him the conversation Itachi and Naruto shared right after Naruto 'killed' Sasori.
In the past, Naruto and Itachi speak. Itachi presses Naruto on what he would do if Sasuke were to stand against the village. Naruto, much to Itachi's surprise, says that he would stop Sasuke by any means necessary. Naruto also goes on to say that Sasuke is his own man, and he wouldn't try to force Sasuke to do anything against his will. Naruto believes that, no matter what, every person deserves to try and do what they think is right. This seems to sway Itachi to some degree and he responds by giving Naruto the cure to Sasori's poison. It is then revealed that during their conversation, Itachi placed Naruto under Kotoamatsukami and ordered him to find Sasuke and deliver him safely to this meeting. The Kotoamatsukami eye is within a crow that Naruto then swallows.
Back in current times, Naruto regurgitates Itachi's crows during his confrontation with Kisame. Even Kisame appears unaware of what is happening. Once Naruto snaps out of the Genjutsu, he seals away the crow. Kisame now allows them to pass and Team Hebi rushes after Sasuke. Kisame is left wondering what Itachi's plans are and why he's put so much faith in Itachi.
Itachi tells Sasuke that it is time to tell him the truth about 'that day', much to Sasuke's confusion.
Itachi drops the biggest bombshell of Sasuke's life and reveals that it was his mission from the Leaf Village higher-ups to eradicate their clan before they revolted. Sasuke does not accept this and attacks Itachi, running him through the gut with his sword. Itachi, much to Sasuke's shock, does not resist and even tells Sasuke to kill him.
Itachi tells Sasuke about his illness, Danzo, Madara/Tobi and the Nine-Tails attack, the Uchiha coup d'etat, why he remains loyal to the leaf, and the true meaning of a village and what it means to be a Shinobi.
Itachi insists that no matter what Sasuke tries to do with this information, he will always love him. Sasuke removes the blade from his brother's gut and tries to drag him back to the village so the Hokage can hear all of this. Once Itachi realizes Sasuke is not going to kill him, he takes out a kunai and slashes his own throat to avenge the Uchiha Clan. He then puts Sasuke in the Tsukuyomi and shows him an alternate timeline in which Shisui is able to delay the revolt with Kotoamatsukami just long enough for a peace agreement to be reached between the clan and the village. In this agreement, Itachi is to be named the Hokage when he turns 18 years old, an outcome both sides are happy with.
Just before Itachi dies from the neck wound, he tells Sasuke to take his eyes to achieve the eternal Mangekyo Sharingan so his eyes never lose their light. Sasuke responds by saying that he isn't sure he can do something like that. Itachi succumbs to his injuries, which triggers the activation of Sasuke Mangekyo Sharingan.
The rest of Team Hebi arrives on the scene. Naruto confronts Sasuke and demands what his intentions are. Naruto warns him that he will be cut down if he tries to raise a hand against the village, much to Suigetsu and Karin's confusion. Sasuke attempts to diffuse the situation and claims to finally understand Naruto. He won't harm the village, but there are still things he must do.
Save the world from itself.
Save the village from itself.
Naruto hadn't expected this— they want similar things.
Back at the Three-Tails location, Tobi/Madara joins up with Deidara watching Jiraiya, Kakashi, Neji, Lee, Tenten, and Kotetsu from above. Kotetsu is killed by Deidara's bombs, but the rest of Team Jiraiya is able to stall the situation long enough for Jiraiya to enter Sage Mode. Jiraiya kills Deidara, but Madara is able to escape. With the threat eliminated, their job is to guard the Three-Tails and wait for the Barrier Corp to arrive. Jiraiya also decides it is time to teach Naruto Sage Mode.
Team Hebi returns to the Leaf just in time for the release of Naruto's book as it makes waves within the village.
Arc 6: Revolution - Chapters 48-56
Naruto's sequel novel to the best seller 'The Weight of the World', titled 'The Weight of the System', sets its sights on everything. The book takes place in the same setting as the first book— a fictitious universe that mirrors their very own Shinobi world. Just like its predecessor, the story follows the main character, Menma, as he travels the world in search of peace. However, the conclusion he draws is that the system currently in place makes it impossible for such a thing to be achieved. The Five Dominant Domains constantly vie for power and superiority over one another at the cost of their citizens. Wars are started to protect 'national interests', innocent people are chewed up and spit out to keep the militaristic machine churning, and atrocities are committed in the name of one's country to continue the cycle of violence that spreads hate and pain across the world. Menma learns many things during his journey, and he chooses to air out the dirty laundry of every nation to open the eyes of the public to what is going on.
In his book, Naruto blatantly mimics real-life events to get his point across to his readers. They notice, and uproars are felt across the globe.
Land of Wind: Gaara is hurt by Naruto using his tragic childhood as material, but the village rallies behind their young Kage who is already working to change the village's culture.
Land of Earth: A potential revolt occurs in the Hidden Stone due to Onoki's questionable dealings with the Akatsuki, among other things. The current status of the Tsuchikage is unknown.
Land of Lightning: Ay is infuriated and uses the village's love of Bee as a way to turn the crowd back in his favor.
Land of Fire: Since Naruto also exposed Root's existence within the Leaf, he is able to bypass Tsunade and dump almost all of the heat onto Danzo's head.
Land of Water: Mei demands a Five Kage Summit to deal with this and also address the Jaaku incident. She is still viewed favorably for getting the village out of the Bloody Mist era.
The rest of the world is eager and hungry for change. The seeds have been sown.
Danzo, furious that Naruto would reveal the existence of Root to the entire world, used an agent to keep tabs on Naruto and Sasuke's movements. Karin spotted the man immediately, and Team Hebi captured him for questioning. With the aid of Sasuke's Genjutsu, Naruto asks the ANBU where Sai is.
Team Hebi locates Sai, and Naruto asks him to tell them everything they need to know about Danzo. In order to sway Sai to their side against Danzo, Sasuke tells him what they learned from Itachi. This shocks Sai, who reveals that even if he wanted to turn on Danzo, the Curse Mark on his tongue makes that impossible. Naruto offers to remove the mark so Sai can testify against Danzo in front of the Hokage and Jonin Council. Naruto gives Sai time to mull it over, and Team Hebi leaves.
Tsunade's ANBU finds Team Hebi. They bring Naruto to the Hokage Tower and escort the rest of the team back to the inn they have been staying at since being in the village. After a few hours, they are brought in to join Naruto and Tsunade.
Naruto had told Tsunade everything, along with their plan to use the anger and resentment generated from his book to bury Danzo and the other Elders once and for all. Despite her anger about the chaos he just caused, Tsunade puts her faith in Naruto one last time and agrees to arrest Danzo and the Elders on charges of treason.
Team Hebi drops Naruto off at his apartment after their meeting with Tsunade. Shortly after, Naruto realizes that his apartment is rigged to explode. He narrowly escapes out of the window before the explosion but is heavily injured in the process.
Team Hebi and Sai are both in the area at the time of the explosion.
Team Hebi rushes back to his apartment and finds him unconscious outside of the Tea Shop across the street. They grab Naruto and take him to see Sakura. Along the way, they are attacked by members of Root. Kurama lends Naruto the ability of Negative Emotion Sensing to help them identify who the enemy is while traveling through crowds in the using this, Naruto senses the ghastly presence of a woman. They were pure evil, and upon noticing him, the woman directed waves of bloodlust at him before disappearing into the crowd.
They get to Sakura's house in one piece and she administers treatment to Naruto. Afterward, while Team Hebi (Naruto included) and Sakura are discussing theories on what happened and who was behind it, Sai arrives at the house. They let him in. He agrees to help them in their cause. Naruto manages to remove Sai's Curse Mark and Uddo/Yamato shows up at Sakura's doorstep now.
In the Hidden Rain, Madara relays his failure to capture the Three-Tails and Deidara's death to Pain and Konan. Zetsu joins them and, to their great shock, informs them of Itachi's death. With the Akatsuki having been dealt a devastating blow, Madara is adamant that they need to go on the attack. Naruto and the Leaf are too dangerous to be left alone. Madara assigns himself the hunt of the Three-Tails, and tells Pain that it is finally time to initiate "Project Matsuura."
In the Leaf, the trial for the Elders and Danzo begins. Tsunade and the Jonin council are gathered in the courtroom. Naruto arrives and takes Neji with him toward the front. Danzo, Homura, and Koharu are charged with high treason, conspiracy to commit mass murder, and unlawfully operating outside of the scope set by the Third Hokage in regard to the Uchiha incident.
Naruto and Sasuke state their case on what Danzo has done. Danzo is even caught by Neji in the act of using Shisui's eye to try and put Naruto under Kotoamatsukami, which directly links him to the death of an Uchiha. Danzo attempts to fearmonger the council in hopes they will see his actions as a sort of necessarily evil, but that is shut down when Naruto brings in Sai to testify on the horrible things Root does to its soldiers. Sai makes the case that the ends do not justify the means, and the council agrees.
The three Elders are found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death by hanging.
After the sentencing, Tsunade visits Danzo in his cell. Despite being in this position because of him, Danzo praises Naruto and says the future of the village is in good hands. Tsunade urges Danzo to call off his men to avoid further bloodshed, but he refuses. Tsunade must prepare for a fight at the execution.
Naruto and Sasuke speak about the future of the village. Sasuke expresses his interest in one day being the Hokage, which Naruto supports. Naruto offers his services in a Jiraiya-like role, which Sasuke also accepts.
At the execution site, Team Hebi watches from a vantage point. Naruto gets a weird feeling that reminds him of when his apartment blew up. As if to answer his concerns, just as Root is about to storm the gallows to rescue Danzo, the gallows explode with the three Elders on top of them. Karin is able to sense the confusion of the Root soldiers and the complete eradication of Danzo's chakra to come to the conclusion that this is not a trick. Danzo and the other Elders were murdered.
Chaos ensues down at the execution site as Root ANBU clashes with Tsunade's Shinobi. As the battle rages, Naruto now realizes that it was never Danzo who tried to blow him up. Naruto asks that the rest of Team Hebi walk him through what happened just after the explosion at his apartment. Once Suigetsu mentioned the worried Tea Shop owner, Naruto left. This was the same woman who hated him as a child. There was no way she would be so concerned for his well-being. Sasuke stays behind to help against Root, but tells Suigetsu and Karin to follow Naruto wherever to keep him from doing anything stupid.
Naruto interrogates the Tea Shop owner about the explosion and Danzo. She doesn't seem to recall their encounter many years ago, which is how Naruto knows he's right. Suigetsu and Karin catch up with him just in time to see the sweet, innocent shop owner transform into another Zetsu.
It is revealed that a team of Zetsu rigged Naruto's apartment to explode, and they planned to drag his unconscious body off the street and into the tea shop before anyone ever realized what happened. That is where the woman radiating pure evil was headed when Team Hebi was dragging Naruto to Sakura's house. The Zetsus also rigged the gallows to explode so they could take out Danzo before the Leaf could gain the secrets to his body. Frustrated, Naruto snaps Zetsu's neck and declares he has a plan. Suigetsu sighs, he hates Naruto's plans.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Jiraiya subdue the rogue Root agents while Naruto initiates his plan. Meanwhile, Ibiki is interrogating persons of interest in the bombings, and Shikaku turns to Sasori for insight on whether this could potentially be an Akatsuki attack. Sasori reveals that Zetsu can, in fact, have copies stay alive even after the death of the original. Sasori also recalled the original telling him that there was a weakness in the barrier surrounding the village, which would explain how more Zetsus could have infiltrated the Leaf.
Naruto scouts the village with the help of Kurama's negative emotion sensing and finds there are fourteen Zetsu clones currently in the village impersonating various citizens/shinobi. With the help of Shikamaru and Shikaku's genius, and Naruto's ability to locate all the targets, the ANBU are able to apprehend all of the Zetsu's remaining within the village. They do it without incident, but a lot of the damage is already done.
After a successful mission, Naruto and Karin are waiting for Shikamaru outside of T&I. Naruto gets the sudden sensationthat he is being watched, but can't sense any negative emotions within the vicinity. Within him, Kurama floats the possibility that whatever he is feeling is happening inside his own mind.
Naruto, Karin, and Shikamaru go back to the tea shop where Suigetsu is still impersonating the owner. Sasuke and Kakashi are also there, and those three get debriefed on what happened with the Zetsu eradication. During this, Sasuke floats the idea of hitting the Akatsuki back by tracking down one of the last remaining teams and eliminating them. That meant Hidan and Kakuzu. Naruto wants in on the mission to avenge Tazuna and his family, but Kakashi shuts it down. Naruto is livid, but Kakashi assures him that Jiraiya has something else planned for him that is more important. Naruto relents, convincing himself that he can convince Jiraiya to let him go on the mission the next time they speak.
Jiraiya and Tsunade meet to discuss what is next. Jiraiya insists that they must be proactive, not reactive in regard to the Akatsuki threat. Jiraiya's plan is to take Naruto to Mount Myoboku to train in Senjutsu, then the two of them will infiltrate the Hidden Rain and cut the head off of the snake. Thanks to Kurama's intel, it is highly likely that the leader of the Akatsuki, who Jiraiya now knows is in the Hidden Rain, is none other than his old student Nagato. Normally Jiraiya would do something like this alone, but he couldn't break the promise he made to Naruto about neither of them doing anything alone going forward.
Listening to him talk, Tsunade realizes just how much Jiraiya has changed. She is worried for his well-being, but, at the same time, more open to a future with him than ever before. They kiss, and Jiraiya stays the night.
Pain learns that the Leaf has rounded up all of the Zetsu clones, though he appears unbothered— assured that the success of Project Matsuura will override the loss of his spies within the village.
Madara/Tobi closes in on the Utakata and easily captures him for the inevitable Tailed Beast extraction.
Arc 7: Akatsuki Suppression/Pain - Chapters 57-Ongoing
After Jiraiya's night with Tsunade, he finds Naruto and convinces him that training at Mount Myoboku is more important than being on the team going after Hida and Kakuzu. Naruto begrudgingly agrees and the two of them are reverse summoned there.
Fukasaku and Jiraiya tell Naruto about Senjutsu/Sage Mode, and the three of them begin training. To Naruto's surprise, Jiraiya is training alongside him since he has yet to achieve perfect sagehood. The training is grueling, but the two of them make good progress while simultaneously competing with each other.
Back at the Leaf, Tsunade officially accepts Sasuke, Karin, and Suigetsu as Hidden Leaf Ninja after the insistence of Naruto. All three are given the rank of Chunin. After that, she briefs the team she's sending after Hidan and Kakuzu. It is composed of Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Suigetsu (Karin, a non-battle type, is to stay behind and, with the help of Ino, ingratiate herself within the Medical and Sensory Corps). With intel gathered from Sasori and previous fights with the Akatsuki duo, they are expected to have the skills to be at a favorable advantage.
Just before their mission, Team Hebi is escorted by ANBU to Naruto's new five-bedroom house that he purchased. Naruto left a note behind congratulating them all on becoming official ninjas, and that his house had enough room for all of them to stay. Excitedly (except for Sasuke), they pick out their rooms. Shortly after, Team Kakashi leaves the village in search of a trail to locate Hidan and Kakuzu.
The Akatsuki finish sealing away the Six Tails, lamenting how long it takes with only seven members remaining (though their leader is strangely missing from the extraction). The seven members left by this point are Pain, Konan, Madara, Zetsu, Kisame, Kakuzu, and Hidan.
Team Kakashi closes in on a lead— a Land of Fire bounty collection agent named Zangei who has intel on Kakuzu's recent whereabouts. After some 'convincing' from Suigetsu, they learn Kakuzu's last known whereabouts are near a collection station in the Land of Earth. The team heads in that direction.
Naruto and Jiraiya continue their training. Naruto's doubts about whether he can do this are quickly erased by Fukasaku's reassurance. His progress is obvious— he just needs to believe in himself. Naruto also wonders if this training will be enough to defeat someone with the Rinnegan, but Jiraiya tells him not to worry about something like that right now. Their only goal should be to get stronger.
Team Kakashi tracks down the Zombie Duo and lures them into a trap. Just when they are about to take both of them out, Kisame swoops in and foils their plans. Now, it is 4 vs. 3. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and Suigetsu vs. the Monster Trio of Hidan, Kakuzu, and Kisame.
Team Kakashi strategically breaks up the fight to isolate each of the Akatsuki members. Suigetsu fights Hidan, Kakashi, and Sakura fight Kakuzu, and Sasuke fights Kisame.
Suigetsu is able to barely edge out Hidan with a surprise attack. He passes out shortly after managing to cut Hidan's head off with his Executioner's Blade.
While it was a fairly even battle with Sasuke using EMS and the Curse Mark, Kisame inevitably overwhelms him with his power. Suigetsu managed to recover from his fight and catch up with Sasuke. Suigetsu holds Kisame down and yells at Sasuke to hit them both with Kirin. Sasuke reluctantly agrees though he holds back enough to not kill his friend. This was a mistake, however, as Kisame is able to get back up and attacks an exhausted Sasuke. Just before Sasuke passes out from being choked to death, Orochimaru's voice leaks from the Curse Mark and offers him power. Orochimaru then emerges from the mark, instantly killing Kisame who was too close to dodge.
Kakashi and Sakura struggle against Kakuzu and his masked monsters. They manage to destroy three of Kakuzu's hearts before they were interrupted by the emergence of Orochimaru from where Sasuke and Kisame were fighting. The three of them agree that stopping Orochimaru takes precedence, and they team up to stop him.
Through a joint effort of Kakashi, Kakuzu, Sakura, and Sasuke (all of them are weakened significantly), Orochimaru is defeated. Kakashi sends him away with his Kamui and without a host to cling to, that version of him will die.
Kakuzu and Team Kakashi, who are both exhausted, agree to a ceasefire and Kakuzu leaves. Sasuke is able to recover Hidan's head that Suigetsu buried in the ground, but Hidan's body is nowhere to be found.
Kirin left Suigetsu in a comatose state, so Team Kakashi was forced to hide away in a nearby Orochimaru hideout and wait for a Team of Sakura, Karin, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata to come help extract them.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Jiraiya's sage training is progressing rapidly. Both of them start to utilize the experience transfer of Shadow Clones, which exponentially speeds up the process.
While Naruto is meditating in the forest to become one with nature, an unknown presence appears in his mind. The mysterious man is surprised that Naruto is aware of his existence. He even claims that Naruto is the first to do so. The man tells Naruto that his 'fate has changed', and that going forward he should be more cognizant of the effects his actions have on the things around him. This seems to bother Naruto, who shrugs off the words and sends the presence away.
Some good did come out of Naruto's meditation session in the forest. Becoming one with nature had worked— Naruto Uzumaki had become a Perfect Sage. Fukasaku, overjoyed, quickly sends Jiraiya off into the woods to do the same. Fukasaku and Naruto celebrate with a meal while Jiraiya tries to catch up with his student. Jiraiya does just that and manages to become a Perfect Sage in his own right. Naruto and Jiraiya begin sparring together to sharpen their skills against one another. Jiraiya's experience gives him the edge early in their training, but Naruto is quickly catching up to him.
Back in the Leaf, Tsunade is struggling with what to do about the Five Kage Summit. With the help of Gaara, they'd managed to postpone the summit as long as possible. However, the Tsuchikage has decided she has waited long enough. A letter is sent to Tsunade by Mifune, the Tsuchikage is threatening war if a summit is not convened as soon as possible. The Tsuchikage is determined to have Naruto's head put on a platter if it is the last thing she does.
A sudden presence in her office breaks Tsunade out of her thoughts. Pain (Deva Path), the leader of the Akatsuki, is standing right in front of her. Tsunade recognizes him as one of the Hidden Rain orphans, a boy named Yahiko. He wants to talk.
It is revealed that Pain was hiding away in the village after managing to infiltrate thanks to Zetsu's intel on the weakness that occurs in the barrier. This happened before Tsunade became aware of it from the second Zetsu infiltration and had the Barrier Corp quickly close it up. The feeling of being watched that Naruto had after Danzo's death was Pain watching him. Negative emotion sensing doesn't work on a Path of Pain, which is why Naruto couldn't sense him.
Pain tells Tsunade that if she leaves the village with him right now, then he will spare her people. Pain even will allow her to fight for her freedom once they are outside the village walls. To avoid further bloodshed, Tsunade agrees, and they leave. Once they are far enough away from the village, they fight. Tsunade is completely overmatched by the Deva Path and is defeated. However, when Pain is not looking, Tsunade manages to summon a small clone of Katsuyu to watch from afar and report any intel back to the village.
Pain immobilizes Tsunade and brings her to where Nagato and Konan are hiding. This is when Tsunade realizes that Jiraiya was right, and the one who unlocked the Rinnegan and is leading the Akatsuki is none other than Nagato. His body appears weakened and crippled. Corpses like Yahiko are used as puppets for him to fight and use Jutsu.
To Tsunade's horror, Nagato is able to activate the Mitotic Regeneration within her body, then proceeds to use his Rinnegan to absorb the Jutsu out of her for his own benefit. This restores his body from his emaciation back to his near physical prime. Tsunade is able to make the connection between Nagato knowing her Jutsu to the missing pages in the book she gave Sakura. It is revealed that when Zetsu posed as Shizune, he also stole pages from the book so that Nagato could learn the Jutsu to heal himself. When it became clear that he could not learn the Jutsu, Nagato decided the only option was to get it from the source.
That is how Project Matsuura was born.
Much to the horror of Katsuyu watching, Nagato, fully healed, kills Tsunade and takes her body back to the Hidden Rain. In Nagato's mind, she knows too much to be kept alive but her body could still be used as valuable bait to lure out Naruto and Jiraiya, Nagato intends to kill Jiraiya to further weaken the Leaf, and capture Naruto for Tailed Beast extraction.
In the Hidden Stone, Sakura, Karin, and Team 8 arrive to help out Team Kakashi. Sakura and Karin manage to heal Suigetsu to the point where his body can recover the rest of the way. After that is done, Sakura is reversed summoned to the Shikkotsu Woods by Katsuyu. This is where Sakura is informed of Tsunade's fate. She is devastated but is still able to go back and tell everyone back at Orochimaru's hideout what happened. They are all shocked, intent on heading back to the Leaf to inform Shikaku as soon as they are able.
Nagato and Konan return to the Hidden Leaf with Tsunade's body. This enrages Madara/Tobi, as killing Tsunade is not what they had agreed on and doing so this close to a Kage Summit could potentially trigger the Fourth Great Ninja War. Nagato is unbothered, supremely confident is his plan and abilities, and betrays Madara. Nagato and Konan have no interest in instituting the Infinite Tsukuyomi and instead want to initiate their original plan. Nagato plans to use the Tailed Beasts to create weapons of mass destruction for the ninja villages to use against one another. The pain this causes will stop all conflicts and usher in a temporary era of peace. Madara calls this foolish and tries to steal Nagato's Rinnegan for himself.
A fight ensues (Zetsu escapes immediately)— Nagato and Konan vs Madara. Nagato and Konan have been watching Madara for years in preparation for this moment. They know how Kamui works, and manage to get the upper hand on him. Nagato delivers the final blow and kills Madara. Nagato and Konan go to prepare for Jiraiya and Naruto's inevitable arrival in the Hidden Rain.
Back at Mount Myoboku, Naruto makes a deal with Kurama. If Kurama allows one of the Toads to fuse with Naruto for Sage Mode during their fight, then Naruto will unseal Kurama from his cage if it becomes apparent that Naruto is about to be defeated.
Team Kakashi and Team 8 return to the village and inform Shikaku of Tsunade's death. He is shocked and panicking, but insists that Naruto and Jiraiya must finish their training before being made aware. This upsets Sakura and she leaves the office. Suigetsu and Karin go after her and the three of them talk on the head of Tsunade's stone monument.
Sasuke drops off Hidan's head at T&I. Ibiki throws the head in Sasori's cell with him as payback for all the times Sasori pissed him off. This pisses Sasori off, and the cycle continues.
Naruto and Jiraiya gear up for their first all-out spar as perfect sages.
There you have it. That's 7.5 years of writing and roughly 500k words condensed into about 10k words. Did I miss anything important? New readers and re-readers feel free to let me know.
I won't do any review responses this time. I'll save those for the actual chapters. Reviews are always appreciated.
I'll see ya next time with Chapter 66: "Contemplate Pain"