Recaps

Jiraiya arrived at the battle between Issui and Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Minato’s group, but Issui’s overwhelming ice attack forced the Sannin to escape to Mount Myōboku. The attack froze the battlefield into a vast iceberg, while Chiyo and Ebizo discussed Sunagakure’s preparations for war and the Third Kazekage’s disappearance.

• Jiraiya sensed powerful chakra ahead, summoned Gamabunta, and rushed to the battle.
• Jiraiya joined Orochimaru and Tsunade, and the three prepared to face Issui’s ice attack together.
• Orochimaru’s Rashomon and Jiraiya’s Toad Mouth Bind Technique were destroyed by Issui’s freezing storm, so Gamabunta reverse-summoned the Sannin to Mount Myōboku.
• Issui’s attack erupted into a massive iceberg and changed the climate around the battlefield, astonishing Rin, Obito, Kakashi, and Minato’s group.
• At the Land of Wind’s defensive line, Chiyo and Ebizo felt the distant chakra and cold, then discussed Sunagakure’s readiness to fight Konoha.
• Chiyo and Ebizo concluded that the Third Kazekage was likely dead or missing, and that his disappearance served as the pretext for war.

After exhausting most of his chakra while fighting the Sannin, Issui reflected on his strength and negotiated with Jiraiya over whether he would help Konoha in its war against Sunagakure. Issui walked away after demanding six million ryō, while Jiraiya and Orochimaru argued over his price and the nature of the ninja world.

• Issui surveyed the enormous iceberg created during his fight with the Sannin and realized his strength came from his own talent and hard work as well as his Kekkei Genkai.
• Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru returned from Mount Myōboku, and Tsunade departed despite Jiraiya's attempt to persuade her to stay for the war against Sunagakure.
• Jiraiya asked Issui to help Konoha, but Issui said he would only fight as a paid ally and raised his demand from five million to six million ryō.
• Orochimaru urged Jiraiya to hire Issui, arguing that his strength could reduce Konoha's losses and help end the war quickly.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru argued about whether people acted for personal gain, with Jiraiya defending justice and mutual trust and Orochimaru calling the ninja world cruel and dark.

Issui met Kurenai at a ramen shop in Kikyo Castle and claimed to be a wandering ninja named Takuya Nakamura. Rin confirmed that he had defeated the legendary Sannin, and the chapter ended with her asking how he had become so strong.

• Issui encountered Kurenai at a crowded ramen shop and introduced himself as Takuya Nakamura, a wandering ninja whose parents had been Konoha ninja.
• Kurenai warned Issui to leave, but she dismissed his claim that he had fought the legendary Sannin as a lie.
• Rin arrived and told Kurenai that Issui had defeated the Sannin, confirming that she had witnessed the fight with Minato-sensei, Kakashi, and Obito.
• Kurenai struggled to believe Rin's account, then sat down to eat with Issui and Rin.
• Rin asked Issui how he had become so strong after having struggled with Ninjutsu as a child.

Issui explained his wish to create a ninja world without hatred to Minato, who promised to support him if he became Hokage. As Sunagakure prepared for war and considered a future Kazekage, Kurenai found Issui and began to develop a crush on him.

• Issui told Rin that finding a Ninja Way and something to protect could make her stronger, then left the ramen shop to rest alone.
• Minato asked Issui to fight for Konoha, but Issui explained that he wanted to change the ninja world's rules instead of adding to its cycle of hatred.
• Minato agreed with Issui's ideal and promised to help realize it when he became Hokage.
• Chiyo and Ebizo discussed the coming war and planned to have a promising young man lead Sunagakure's forces as a candidate for Kazekage.
• Kurenai confirmed that Issui had defeated the Sannin, found him on the hillside, and lay down beside him while imagining she was falling in love.
• Issui asked Kurenai about the Eight Colors of Konoha, learned they did not exist, and thought about returning to the future after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge.

Issui watched the battle at Kikyo Castle until Chiyo confronted him, forcing him into a fight despite his reluctance to join the war. He dodged her poisoned Senbon with a Substitution Technique while Jiraiya and Minato continued fighting nearby.

• Issui concealed himself and watched Konoha and Sunagakure clash at Kikyo Castle, spotting Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and Obito among the fighters.
• Chiyo confronted Issui, recognized him as a dangerous opponent, and challenged him to fight.
• Issui caught Chiyo’s Senbon, outpaced her in Taijutsu, and knocked her to the ground.
• Chiyo summoned a handmade puppet that attacked Issui and fired poisoned Senbon at him.
• Issui used the Substitution Technique to escape the Senbon, while Jiraiya watched and Minato joined him on the battlefield.

Issui and Chiyo fought with puppet techniques, hidden weapons, and elemental ninjutsu, with each countering the other's attacks. Chiyo acknowledged Issui's strength and composure after he froze her puppet and stopped its assault.

• Chiyo attacked Issui with a puppet's Senbon and concealed weapons, but Issui dodged the initial volley.
• Chiyo redirected the Senbon and followed with Shuriken, while Issui blocked the needles with an ice shield and smashed the Shuriken with an ice-spiked fist.
• Chiyo sent her puppet spinning with tachi blades, and Issui's Fire Style attack failed against its fireproof construction.
• Issui fired ice arrows at the spinning puppet, gradually freezing its joints and slowing it until it lost much of its combat strength.
• Chiyo accepted the loss and praised Issui, who credited her experience and admitted she had controlled the battle.

Issui and Chiyo continued their duel, and Chiyo trapped and sealed what she believed was Issui before realizing it was a clone. Seeing Issui as a future threat to Sunagakure, Chiyo unleashed her Sea of Lion Roars technique, leaving him caught in a deafening storm of roars.

• Issui challenged Chiyo to show him a technique powerful enough to match the Chikamatsu Collection of Ten Puppets, which she had not brought.
• Chiyo revealed that she had prepared a trap with her free hand while her puppet attacked, then used Sealing Jutsu-Lion Closing Roar to pin and seal Issui.
• Chiyo deduced that the sealed body was a clone, and Issui emerged from behind a rock, impressed by her insight.
• Chiyo decided to kill Issui because his talent and strength threatened Sunagakure, then performed Lion Closing Roar-Profound Mystery: Sea of Lion Roars.
• The technique unleashed immense roars across the battlefield, and Issui was overwhelmed by the noise and shock.

Issui unleashed Annihilating Light to counter Chiyo’s Sea of Lion Roars, and the uncontrollable space-based jutsu swallowed her attack and everything within a hundred meters. The battlefield returned to normal, leaving the fighters shocked by the destruction.

• Ebizo recognized Chiyo’s Sea of Lion Roars as a vast, simplified version of her theoretical sealing jutsu.
• Jiraiya refused to help Issui, while Minato worried and Jiraiya trusted Issui to handle Chiyo.
• Issui revealed the final stage of his Eye of Heaven and unleashed Annihilating Light, plunging the battlefield into darkness.
• The purple-black light swallowed Chiyo’s jade-white lion seals, and Chiyo retreated from Issui.
• Jiraiya identified Issui’s technique as an advanced power over space, while Minato compared it to his own developing jutsu.
• Annihilating Light swallowed everything physical within a hundred meters of Issui, then faded as the sky brightened.

After using Annihilating Light against Chiyo, Issui realized his spatial techniques were incomplete and rested in Kikyo Castle. He accepted himself as part of the Hokage World and decided to return to the future after saving Rin.

• Issui reasoned that Annihilating Light and Distorting Light were incomplete because he had not mastered the earlier stages of the Eye of Heaven.
• Konoha and Sunagakure agreed to stop fighting, while Chiyo disappeared after escaping Issui's attack.
• Issui returned to Kikyo Castle and went to an inn to recover from his battle with Chiyo.
• Issui reconsidered his reluctance to intervene in the world and decided to take responsibility for helping bring peace.
• Issui accepted that he was Issui Kanna of the Hokage World and resolved to save Rin before returning to the future.

Issui learned that Rin and Kakashi had been sent to the battlefield and decided to save Rin by restoring her after her destined death. He reached their camp and reunited with Rin, while Kakashi left to gather intelligence.

• Issui reflected on the wars weakening the shinobi nations and hid from the conflict while Konoha and its enemies fought.
• In a town tavern, Issui heard that Rin and Kakashi had gone to the battlefield and set out to save Rin.
• Issui decided he would let Rin die as history demanded, then use the Flesh Activation Technique to create a new body and restore her soul.
• Issui reached the Konoha camp and watched Rin and Kakashi prepare for their mission.
• Rin told Kakashi she wanted to join Konoha's Medical Team, and Kakashi agreed before leaving to gather intelligence.
• Issui emerged from hiding and reunited with Rin, who was saddened by Obito's death and the ongoing war.

Issui gave Rin a soul seal to protect her, then resurrected her after Kakashi killed her and revealed that he was a time-traveling Konoha ninja disguised as Takuya. Rin accepted him as her big brother, though she had only just learned his true identity.

• Rin confessed her fear and grief over Obito's death, and Issui placed a protective seal on her soul while asking her to keep it secret.
• Issui waited at an inn until Rin's soul appeared in his soul space, where she mourned what Kakashi had done.
• Issui used the Flesh Activation Technique to give Rin a new body infused with his bloodline, and she awoke with a strange, powerful ability she could not yet use.
• Issui revealed his true appearance after dispelling Thousand Transformations, and Rin accepted him as her big brother despite the deception.
• Issui told Rin that he had traveled from the future and was a Konoha ninja there.

Issui persuaded Rin to leave the past and return with him to the future, where she could reunite with her comrades and help stop Obito. After traveling through the Dragon Vein, Issui returned safely and released Rin from his Sumeru World, where she had aged several years.

• Issui told Rin that she had died in the past, explained that her return could disrupt history, and revealed that Obito had survived and become a threat to the world.
• Rin decided to accompany Issui to the future, hoping to see Kakashi and the others and help save the world.
• Issui took Rin to Rōran and placed her inside his Sumeru World before sealing the Dragon Vein with Minato's Flying Thunder God Kunai.
• Issui traveled back to the future and woke beside the sealed Dragon Vein, relieved that history appeared unchanged apart from Rin's survival.
• Issui released Rin from his Sumeru World and learned that the passage of time had aged her by two or three years.

Issui returned to Konoha with Rin, presenting her as his long-lost little sister, Utau. At the village gates, he learned that Kirigakure wanted him to help capture the Three-Tails, while Kurenai continued to avoid him.

• Issui and Rin reached Konoha, where Rin was delighted to see how familiar the village felt.
• Issui introduced Rin to Asuma and Kurenai as his sister Utau, and Kurenai warmly welcomed her.
• Ao arrived with a Kirigakure squad and explained that Kirigakure had requested Issui's help capturing the Three-Tails as part of a new alliance.
• Issui complained about being sent on another mission and planned to take Rin home before reporting to the Hokage.
• Kurenai left abruptly after Asuma asked why she had avoided speaking to Issui.

Issui brought Rin to live at the Hyuga residence, then accepted a mission to help Kirigakure capture the Three-Tails. Tsunade confronted him over his unexplained trip to the Land of Wind, and Issui insisted he had not betrayed Konoha.

• Issui introduced Rin as his long-lost younger sister to Hinata, Haku, and Xiao Zhixuan, and Hinata welcomed her into the household.
• Issui arranged a barbecue gathering with his former teammates and went to report to Tsunade.
• Tsunade told Issui that Konoha and Kirigakure had formed an alliance requiring him to help capture the Three-Tails; after arguing, Issui accepted the mission.
• Ao said Kirigakure's team would wait for Issui at Konoha's entrance in two days, and Tsunade had Shizune arrange their lodging.
• After Issui submitted his Land of Demons mission report, Tsunade questioned where he had gone afterward and accused him of lying.
• Issui admitted he had secretly handled something in the Land of Wind but angrily denied betraying Konoha.

Tsunade confronted Issui over intelligence Danzo had provided, leaving their trust damaged, while Konoha’s leaders discussed the growing Akatsuki threat. Akatsuki teams continued moving to capture jinchuriki as the nations had yet to fully respond.

• Tsunade questioned Issui about his secret activities, and Issui insisted he had only pursued private preparations for his Kekkei Genkai and remained loyal to Konoha.
• Tsunade dismissed Issui, and Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu warned her that Danzo’s accusations might be a plot and that Konoha needed Issui.
• Homura and Koharu discussed Danzo’s past actions, while Tsunade acknowledged the danger posed by Akatsuki and the possibility that Madara Uchiha was alive.
• Hidan and Kakuzu complained about the pressure to capture Tailed Beasts quickly in the Land of Lightning.
• Itachi and Kisame prepared to pursue the Four-Tails jinchuriki near the Land of Earth, while Kisame volunteered to fight him.
• Tobi refused to continue traveling with Deidara in the Land of Rivers, then ran when Deidara threatened to kill him.

Issui hosted a barbecue gathering where Kakashi mistook Issui’s younger sister Utau, who was actually Rin in disguise, for his dead teammate and broke down in tears. The meal continued after the others explained Kakashi’s history, but Kurenai’s repeated nausea left Issui wondering whether she was pregnant and whether the child was his.

• Issui welcomed the gathered shinobi to a barbecue meal and introduced Utau as his younger sister.
• Kakashi arrived with Team 7, saw Utau, and began crying because she looked exactly like his dead teammate Rin.
• Asuma and Kurenai explained Kakashi’s old team and Rin’s death, while Rin concealed her identity and reassured Kakashi.
• Issui introduced himself to Sai and Yamato, then watched the guests eat and Guy and Rock Lee make an extravagant meat-eating vow.
• Kurenai became nauseous, so Hinata took her home to rest, and Issui privately wondered whether she was pregnant with his child or Asuma’s.

Issui joined Mei Terumi’s Kirigakure team to capture the Three-Tails, despite Orochimaru and Akatsuki also pursuing it. At the lake, he summoned his immense black-and-gold Flame Demon God to draw the beast out, leaving the Kirigakure shinobi stunned by his power.

• Issui arrived in Kirigakure and received a briefing from Mei Terumi, who explained that Orochimaru and two red-cloud-cloaked strangers were also tracking the Three-Tails.
• Issui agreed to hold off Orochimaru while Mei’s forces handled other enemies, and Mei ordered the group to depart immediately.
• Mei, Ao, Chōjūrō, Issui, and Kirigakure’s sealing and Anbu teams reached the lake where the Three-Tails was hiding.
• Four sealing-team members used the Four Symbols Blessing Imprisonment Formation to temporarily cut off the lake from its surroundings.
• Issui volunteered to lure out the Three-Tails and summoned a towering black-and-gold Flame Demon God, astonishing Mei and the Kirigakure shinobi.

Issui helped Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure Anbu capture the Three-Tails by luring it to the surface, striking its eye, and knocking it unconscious with an ice hammer. As the group relaxed, a new group appeared from the forest, claiming they had arrived just in time.

• Issui used the Flame Demon God's Demon God Black Gold Cannon to hit the lake and draw the Three-Tails to the surface with flames that tracked and lured it.
• Mei Terumi ordered the Kirigakure Anbu to attack, and the Anbu used Earth Release techniques while Ao identified the Three-Tails' left eye as its weak point.
• Issui asked the Anbu to keep the Three-Tails occupied, then pierced its left eye with an ice arrow from the Eye of Heaven-Frost.
• Issui struck the Three-Tails on the head with an enormous ice hammer, knocking it unconscious, and withdrew the black-and-gold flames.
• A group emerged from the forest and said they had arrived at just the right time.

Orochimaru arrived with Kabuto and Guren to take the Three-Tails, while Mei Terumi and Issui opposed him and Akatsuki members Tobi and Deidara appeared. Issui began fighting Orochimaru’s group, leaving Guren wounded and Kabuto impressed after he evaded an attack.

• Orochimaru asked to borrow the Three-Tails, but Mei Terumi refused and warned that Kirigakure would become his enemy.
• Tobi and Deidara revealed themselves, and Mei Terumi sent Kirigakure’s ninja to fight them while Issui confronted Orochimaru.
• Guren attacked Issui with Crystal Release, but Issui shattered her blade and struck her chest before escaping with an Ice Clone; Orochimaru watched without warning her.
• Issui sprang from underground and tried to pull Kabuto beneath the earth, but he grabbed a Shadow Clone, and the real Kabuto appeared nearby.

Issui fought Orochimaru, Kabuto, and Guren, using his space-time technique to survive their attacks before summoning his powerful Kitsuchi War God. He challenged Orochimaru to set aside their allegiances and enjoy their final battle, leaving Orochimaru and Manda facing the war god’s overwhelming power.

• Issui unsettled Kabuto by suggesting he might outlive Orochimaru, then Kabuto escaped as a Shadow Clone while Guren attacked Issui with Crystal Release.
• Issui froze Guren inside a massive ice storm, blocked Kabuto’s surprise strike, and escaped Orochimaru’s exploding python by entering the Sumeru Space.
• Orochimaru realized he needed to use his full strength and summoned Manda, warning him that Issui might wield Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Issui activated the Kitsuchi War God, drawing power from the earth and alarming Manda with its immense danger.
• Issui invited Orochimaru to put aside their factions and fight each other, acknowledging Orochimaru’s complicated past.

Issui and Orochimaru fought a deadly battle while other clashes continued around the battlefield. Issui devastated the landscape and was wounded when Orochimaru stabbed him through Manda, then summoned dozens of earth dragons to attack Orochimaru.

• Issui and Orochimaru traded Earth Release attacks, using substitutions and deception to evade each other's strikes.
• Orochimaru unleashed a wall of snakes, and Issui answered with Heaven Crumbles and Earth Split, burying Orochimaru and wrecking the battlefield.
• Manda ambushed Issui and coiled around him, allowing Orochimaru to stab both Manda and Issui with the Kusanagi Sword.
• Issui pulled out the sword, threw Orochimaru aside, and watched Manda return to the spirit world with his wound.
• Issui summoned dozens of earth dragons and ordered them to kill Orochimaru.

Issui overwhelmed Orochimaru with earth dragons and the Water of Yomi, but Orochimaru escaped the deadly liquid in a small white snake form. Issui’s fire destroyed the snake, and after freeing Guren, he left her devastated by Orochimaru’s apparent death.

• Issui’s earth dragons smashed through Orochimaru’s Triple Rashomon and buried him beneath their attack.
• Orochimaru transformed into the Eight-Branch Orochi, and Issui summoned the Water of Yomi to wash him away.
• As the water submerged him, Orochimaru escaped from one of the snake heads and fled as a small white snake.
• Issui cast a vast sea of Amaterasu flames, which caught and destroyed Orochimaru’s white snake form.
• Issui withdrew the Yomi Water and freed Guren from the ice, and Guren collapsed after witnessing Orochimaru’s apparent death.

Issui accepted Guren as his subordinate and helped Kirigakure secure the Three-Tails after Deidara and Tobi withdrew. Tobi then revealed himself to Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure group, prompting Mei to attack him.

• Guren offered to serve Issui, who agreed and sent her to build up strength in the Land of Snow while declaring her dead.
• Issui arrived at the battle between Kirigakure and Deidara and Tobi, and Deidara fled with Tobi following him.
• Ao ordered the Sealing Squad to seal the Three-Tails, and Issui returned toward Konoha.
• Tobi left Deidara, revealed his Sharingan, and vanished using his space-time ability.
• Tobi appeared before Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure group and demanded the Three-Tails after Ao identified him as the man who had controlled the Fourth Mizukage.
• Mei Terumi attacked Tobi with Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique.

Tobi defeated Mei Terumi’s forces and stole the Three-Tails, then brought it to Deidara before Akatsuki began extracting it. The chapter left Akatsuki preparing to extract both the Three-Tails and the Two-Tails Jinchūriki.

• Tobi used his intangibility to evade Mei Terumi’s attacks, then struck the Kirigakure group with a spiraling fire technique and took the Three-Tails into his dimension.
• Mei Terumi ordered her injured forces to suppress the incident and send detailed information to Konoha.
• Tobi reappeared beside Deidara with the Three-Tails and claimed he had bravely stolen it from Kirigakure.
• Deidara grew furious when Tobi showed him a clay pig modeled after him, and the two chased each other away as Deidara’s clay bird carried the Three-Tails after them.
• At an Akatsuki base in the Land of Rain, the leader ordered the group to begin extracting the Three-Tails, then the Two-Tails Jinchūriki, using the Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals.

Issui returned to Konoha and learned that Asuma had died in battle, but announced that he had killed Orochimaru, lifting the village’s spirits. After Akatsuki stole the Three-Tails, Kurenai asked Issui to avenge Asuma and told him she would raise their child as Asuma’s, leaving Issui furious as the chapter ended.

• Issui arrived at the Hokage’s office, reported his mission in Kirigakure, and revealed that he had killed Orochimaru, prompting the gathered ninja to regain some morale.
• Tsunade shared intelligence about Akatsuki, then learned that a masked attacker had stolen the Three-Tails from Kirigakure’s Mizukage unit.
• Kurenai asked Issui to speak with her at the Memorial Stone, where she grieved Asuma and blamed Issui for disrupting their relationship.
• Kurenai told Issui she was pregnant with his child and asked him to kill Asuma’s enemy so they could settle what had happened between them.
• Kurenai said she would name the child Asuma and deny Issui’s paternity, so Issui grabbed her arm and objected.