Chapter Summaries

Might Guy taught Baiye about the Eight Gates and demonstrated how to open the Gate of Opening. Baiye located the gate in his own body and began forcing it open.

• Might Guy warned Baiye about the dangers of the Eight Gates, including the fatal cost of opening the Eighth Gate, but Baiye insisted on learning.
• Might Guy explained that opening the Gate of Opening removed the brain's suppression of the body's strength and demonstrated its effects.
• Baiye used his Reiatsu and Chakra to locate the Gate of Opening deep in his brain.
• Baiye gathered Chakra at the gate and forced open the restraint on his strength.

Baiye treated Minato’s healed injury and learned Kakashi was searching for the mysterious swordsman and healer who had defeated him. At dinner, Minato shared that he planned to marry Kushina next year and gave Baiye an introductory Sealing Jutsu scroll, while the approaching war weighed on Baiye’s mind.

• Baiye confirmed Minato had fully recovered as Kakashi asked him to help find a sword-and-healing expert, whom Baiye secretly knew was himself.
• Baiye and Minato discussed Kakashi’s suspicions, and Minato left the hospital to find Kushina.
• Minato was released from the hospital, and Baiye joined him for barbecue after villagers recognized Baiye as the Strongest Chunin.
• Minato said he and Kushina hoped to marry next year, and Baiye thought of the Third Shinobi World War beginning in Konoha Year 45.
• Minato gave Baiye a basic Sealing Jutsu scroll, told him Kushina had agreed to help, and revealed that Kushina had named his new jutsu Rasengan.
• Baiye walked home with the scroll and his Zanpakuto, calculating the time remaining before the war and quickening his pace.

Baiye waited outside the Ninja Academy for Hayate’s graduation and spoke with Shisui, who apologized for interfering in Hayate’s earlier conflict. After the boys made peace and acknowledged each other as rivals, two Uchiha Chunin from the Konoha Military Police Force confronted Baiye.

• Baiye waited outside the Ninja Academy and spoke with Uncle Uzuki while Hayate took his graduation exam.
• Shisui approached Baiye and apologized for stepping into Hayate’s earlier conflict without knowing what had happened.
• Shisui praised Hayate’s fundamentals and said further training could make him a stronger opponent.
• Hayate graduated, accepted Shisui’s apology, and promised he would win their next fight.
• Two Uchiha Chunin arrived with malice, and the man in front demanded to know what Baiye was doing there.

Baiye defended Hayate when two Uchiha Chunin confronted them, then urged Shisui to recognize how others might exploit his heritage. After Hayate admitted he wanted to surpass Shisui, Baiye promised to teach him a new technique and headed home with him.

• Baiye deflected an Uchiha Chunin’s attack and subdued him, while Shisui stopped the other Chunin from joining the fight.
• The first Chunin’s Sharingan Genjutsu rebounded against Baiye, leaving him in pain, and Baiye treated him before sending the pair away.
• Baiye reminded Shisui that people might approach him because of his identity and what stood behind him, and Shisui accepted the warning.
• As they left, Hayate realized Shisui had never fought him seriously and told Baiye he wanted to surpass him.
• Baiye promised to teach Hayate an effective technique, used a substitution to evade his eager grab, and called him home for dinner.

Baiye warned Shikaku that Rōran’s Dragon Vein could draw Sunagakure’s attention and secured a place on a reinforcement mission. He prepared to leave Konoha, while Hayate continued training in Shunpo.

• At Ichiraku, Shikaku told Baiye that Rōran’s former queen had died, leaving her daughter Sara on the throne, and that Minato’s team had already gone there.
• Baiye explained that Rōran’s Dragon Vein might provoke Sunagakure to investigate and volunteered to join a reinforcement mission.
• Baiye reviewed his progress in Sealing Jutsu, the Eight Gates, and his Shinigami powers as he prepared to pursue a chance to meet Shukaku.
• Baiye trained Hayate in Shunpo, and Hayate asked whether Baiye was leaving the village; Baiye told him to keep practicing until he returned.
• The Third approved the mission, and Shikaku assigned Baiye to Tsume Inuzuka’s five-person reinforcement squad, which planned to depart the next morning.

Baiye and Tsume Inuzuka’s team reached Rōran and found its entrance sealed by a powerful barrier that Baiye suspected was linked to the dragon vein. While they waited outside and watched for Sand Ninja, they were ambushed by five of them and surrounded.

• Tsume Inuzuka led Baiye, Yamada, Sugimoto, and Kuromaru from Konoha toward Rōran, and Baiye treated the border outpost’s garrison on the way.
• The team reached Rōran and discovered that an immense barrier swallowed a stone thrown toward the city, so Tsume Inuzuka ordered them to wait outside while Yamada sent word to Konoha.
• Baiye kept watch near the city, intending to find a chance to pursue Shukaku, while his team prepared for possible Sand Ninja scouts.
• Kuromaru detected people nearby, and Tsume Inuzuka led the team to investigate while keeping Rōran’s situation secret from the Sand Ninja.
• Baiye sensed a trap as a fireball attacked, injuring Tsume Inuzuka with molten sand fragments before five Sand Ninja surrounded the team.

Baiye rescued Tsume Inuzuka’s teammates by defeating Pakura and four Sand Ninja, then received Sajin Komamura’s Bankai through a lottery. As the Dragon Vein erupted over Rōran, Baiye headed toward Sunagakure.

• Baiye treated Tsume Inuzuka and sent Yamada, Sugimoto, and Kuromaru away while he stayed to hold off Pakura and her companions.
• Baiye killed four Sand Ninja and froze Pakura with Sode no Shirayuki, then gained Fate Points for their deaths.
• The Dragon Vein erupted near Rōran, triggering a lottery that brought Baiye face-to-face with Sajin Komamura, who lent him Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō.
• Baiye received Kokujō Tengen Myō'ō and additional rewards, then left for Sunagakure as the sandstorm swept over Rōran.

Baiye infiltrated the cell outside Sunagakure and met Bunpuku, the elderly monk who had peacefully lived with Shukaku sealed inside him. After entering their mental world and seeing Shukaku, Baiye achieved his goal and vanished, leaving the old monk and Tailed Beast watching him go.

• Baiye searched Sunagakure’s outskirts and followed his Zanpakuto’s response to the stone cell where Bunpuku was imprisoned.
• Baiye spoke with Bunpuku, treated his weakened body and soul, and learned that the monk did not resent his confinement or his bond with Shukaku.
• Baiye entered Bunpuku’s mental world and met Shukaku, whose suspicion and threats did not stop Baiye from calmly looking at him.
• Baiye’s Shikai progress reached 35% before he left the mental world, and the Zanpakuto’s red energy gained faint dark gold markings.
• Baiye bid farewell to Bunpuku and Shukaku and vanished from the cell, while Shukaku watched him leave through Bunpuku’s mental world.

Byakuya escaped the Sand Ninja search and found Shibi Aburame fighting Sasori, who had turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet. Minato arrived, and Sasori withdrew before the Sand Ninja search parties reached them, leaving Byakuya and Minato to report the discovery to Konoha.

• Byakuya inferred that the Sand Ninja were searching for the missing Third Kazekage and left the search area.
• Byakuya found Shibi Aburame struggling against Sasori and intervened, destroying Sasori's decoy puppet before locating Hiruko beneath the sand.
• Sasori revealed a puppet made from the Third Kazekage's corpse, and Minato Namikaze arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Byakuya warned Sasori that Sand Ninja search parties were approaching, and Sasori withdrew after learning Byakuya's name.
• Minato and Byakuya decided to return and report that Sasori had made the Third Kazekage into a puppet.

Baiye and Minato regrouped with their companions and escorted the Rōran survivors across the desert while Sand Ninja pursued them. The group reached the Land of Fire’s border, leaving the desert—and Rōran—behind.

• Minato carried the exhausted Shibi Aburame back toward Rōran with Baiye, and Baiye told him he had secretly visited Shukaku.
• Minato explained that he had sealed the memories of everyone in Rōran, including his own, and recalled feeling reluctant to part with someone close to him.
• Baiye reunited with Chōza, Tsume Inuzuka, Kakashi, and the others, treated the wounded and sick, and helped prepare the Rōran survivors to leave.
• Sand Ninja pursued the group three times, but Minato, Shibi Aburame, and Chōza repelled them until they stopped following.
• On the fourth morning, Shibi Aburame confirmed the group had reached the Land of Fire’s border, and Baiye turned away from the desert and walked into the trees.

Baiye welcomed Hayate home by testing his Shunpo and sparring with him, then carried him back and reassured him that he was not a disappointment. Hayate admitted he had used Transparent Release in the Anbu, and Baiye reminded him not to rely on it too heavily before the brothers settled in for the night.

• Baiye noticed Hayate was unusually quiet and took him outside to test his Shunpo, threatening to smack him with his scabbard whenever he caught him.
• Baiye chased Hayate to the training ground and easily defeated his attempt to strike back, hitting him whenever he missed.
• Baiye carried the upset Hayate home and reassured him that joining the Anbu proved he was a genius and that he had never let Baiye down.
• Hayate told Baiye he had used Transparent Release in the Anbu, and Baiye warned him not to rely on it too much.
• Baiye set Hayate down at home, reminded him to wash his clothes, and returned to sorting the medicine in his kit.

Byakuya realized Aizen had caused a genuine anomaly at Shin'ō Academy, then returned to Konoha Hospital and learned that Kakashi had injured a medical Jonin. Rin asked him to stop Kakashi from acting recklessly, while Tsunade's fear of an approaching war resurfaced.

• During Hakuda practice, Byakuya briefly perceived Aizen in a classmate before the strange impression vanished.
• After waking from Jinzen, Byakuya concluded that Aizen had caused a real anomaly at the academy and went back to work at Konoha Hospital.
• Byakuya heard that Kakashi had defeated and injured a medical Jonin, and Rin admitted that she had been supplying Kakashi with information about opponents.
• Rin asked Byakuya to stop Kakashi, explaining that Kakashi seemed to suspect Byakuya was the person he truly wanted to challenge.
• Byakuya considered Kakashi's growing suspicions and decided he would need to speak with him before Kakashi drew unwanted attention.
• Byakuya soothed Tsunade's restless soul with Kaido after finding her drunk, and she asked whether war was coming; he answered that it probably was.

Baiye faced scrutiny from Konoha’s leaders over his survival in the Rōran mission and demonstrated his speed with the Body Flicker Technique. The meeting then turned to Sunagakure’s missing Kazekage, and the Third deferred a decision on whether to attack while Baiye returned to the hospital.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi praised Baiye for holding off Sand ninja during the Rōran mission and rescuing Shibi Aburame, while Utatane Koharu and Danzo questioned how he had survived.
• Baiye claimed insight into the Body Flicker Technique and evaded Danzo’s shuriken, retrieving a pen from Danzo’s side of the table.
• Baiye confirmed that a Sunagakure missing-nin carried a puppet made from the Third Kazekage’s body, and the leaders discussed intelligence suggesting the Kazekage might be dead.
• Danzo urged Konoha to attack Sunagakure before it chose a new Kazekage, while Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura warned that other nations could exploit Konoha’s weakened borders.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered continued intelligence gathering and stronger border defenses, postponed a deployment decision until the next meeting, and dismissed Baiye to return to the hospital.

Kakashi confronted Gekkō Byakuya in the Dōjō and lost their sword fight, forcing him to face his guilt over avoiding his father after Sakumo’s disgrace. Sakumo comforted Kakashi, and Byakuya left as father and son reconciled.

• Kakashi learned from Hatake Sakumo that someone was waiting for him in the Dōjō.
• Kakashi found Gekkō Byakuya, who admitted he was the person Kakashi had been searching for and challenged him to draw his sword.
• Kakashi attacked Byakuya, but Byakuya repeatedly countered him, disarmed him, and stopped a punch just short of his face.
• Kakashi realized he had blamed Byakuya to avoid admitting his own failure to support Sakumo, and he broke down in tears.
• Sakumo found Kakashi, apologized for the hardship he had endured, and held him as Kakashi embraced him.
• Byakuya watched from beneath a tree, activated Transparent Release, and disappeared into the night.

Baiye prepared for the dangers of ending his six-year audit at Shin'ō Academy, then gathered the courage to face the system's next challenge. The chapter ended with him applying for early graduation, knowing he would have to confront an imitation of Sōsuke Aizen.

• Baiye told Kakashi the truth and made other preparations because he feared that ending his audit at Shin'ō Academy could put his life at risk.
• Jiraiya brought Baiye to an izakaya, spoke about the Child of Prophecy and his lost students, and offered to ask the elder sages about a Mount Myōboku summoning contract for him.
• Jiraiya's resolve to risk his life for peace gave Baiye courage, and Baiye returned home and placed letters to Hayate, Minato, Tsunade, and others in his wardrobe.
• Baiye entered the Shin'ō Academy classroom in the system and announced that he wanted to apply for early graduation.

Baiye applied for early graduation and was sent to face Sōsuke Aizen, who revealed that Baiye was the World Child in a world created for him. After they discussed Aizen’s origins and their hidden plans, they began the graduation exam.

• Baiye applied for early graduation, and the teacher arranged his exam for that day at the third dojo.
• Baiye followed a corridor to a tea room, where he met Sōsuke Aizen and greeted him as Aizen-sensei.
• Aizen explained that he had been testing Baiye and called him the World Child, revealing that the world had been created for him.
• Aizen deduced that the original Sōsuke Aizen’s plan had failed, and Baiye confirmed it.
• Baiye and Aizen acknowledged that each was keeping secrets, then prepared to fight for Baiye’s graduation exam.
• Aizen said he would match Baiye’s reiatsu and leave his Zanpakuto’s abilities unreleased, and Baiye drew his sword.

During his examination, Baiye discovered that Aizen was using their exchanges to assimilate his soul, forcing him to find a way around the system’s limits on Aizen’s power. Baiye unleashed the Eight Gates and struck Aizen hard enough to wound him, leaving the second round about to begin.

• Aizen transformed the tea room into an open stone training ground and explained that he could wield authority as part of the beings who created him.
• Baiye tested swordsmanship, Kidō, Shunpo, and Hakuda against Aizen, who matched his Reiatsu and calmly countered each attack.
• Baiye detected Aizen’s soul changing toward his own frequency and realized that their clashes were helping Aizen collect data for a process he called Assimilation.
• Baiye disrupted Aizen’s rhythm with reckless attacks, and Aizen admitted that he was assimilating Baiye’s soul while denying him details of his goal.
• Baiye deduced that the system would intervene if Aizen used excessive power, converted Reiatsu into Chakra, and opened the first three Gates.
• Baiye’s full-power Shunpo strike blasted Aizen through a stone pillar and split the skin on his hand, after which Baiye challenged him to begin a second round.

Baiye used the Eight Gates to battle Aizen and stopped Aizen’s attempt to fuse their souls with a Four Symbols Seal. As the world cracked around them, Aizen recognized that Baiye’s powers came from another world and congratulated him on graduating.

• Baiye opened the fourth gate and struck Aizen with Reverse Lotus, but Aizen emerged unharmed and released overwhelming Reiatsu.
• The system’s warning was disrupted, and cracks spread across the sky as Aizen explained that he had borrowed authority to resist the god behind Baiye and intended to fuse their souls.
• Aizen began merging his soul with Baiye’s, causing Baiye excruciating pain while he secretly completed hand seals.
• Baiye cast the Four Symbols Seal, locking his soul’s core and the part of Aizen’s soul that had infiltrated it, slowing the fusion.
• Aizen recognized Baiye’s abilities as powers from another world, and Baiye confirmed it.
• Aizen smiled faintly and congratulated Baiye on graduating.

Baiye completed the graduation examination after Aizen severed their soul connection and chose not to risk fusing with him. Once Baiye vanished from the illusion, the system identified Aizen as an extremely dangerous creation and erased him.

• Aizen cut the connection between his soul and Baiye’s, explaining that his borrowed authority was failing and that their fusion might lead the creator to destroy them both.
• Baiye questioned whether the system might sacrifice him, while Aizen admitted that resisting his creator had been his primary reason for involving Baiye.
• Aizen said he would stop pursuing fusion and declared that Baiye had graduated; Baiye bowed and thanked his teacher.
• The system announced Baiye’s graduation, and he disappeared as the illusion shattered around Aizen.
• Aizen addressed his creator, but the system marked him as Creation Number 8 and ordered his immediate erasure.
• Darkness engulfed Aizen as he stood with his hand on his sword, and everything fell silent.

Baiye woke after a feverish night to discover that his soul strength had surged to Captain-level and Aizen’s abilities had merged into him. He sent Hayate to handle errands while he began Jinzen to control his new Reiatsu.

• Baiye woke with Hayate beside him and learned that he had been feverish since midnight.
• Baiye’s uncontrolled Reiatsu forced Hayate to his knees twice before Baiye managed to suppress it.
• Baiye checked his system panel and found that his soul strength had risen to 1050, with all his Zankensoki skills at A rank.
• Baiye discovered that Aizen’s soul fragment had merged into him, bringing experience, skills, and Kyōka Suigetsu’s ability.
• Baiye asked Hayate to let their mother rest and to request a day off from the hospital for him.
• After Hayate left, Baiye placed his sword across his legs and began Jinzen to control his increased Reiatsu.