Recaps

Granny Chiyo mistook Kakashi for Konoha's White Fang and threatened Shinki when she learned he was treating Kankuro. After Shinki cured Kankuro's poison and puppet-related meridian damage, Chiyo apologized, and Shinki collected the requested ingredients as his medical fee.

• Granny Chiyo confronted Kakashi, then realized she had mistaken him for the White Fang and learned that Sasori had poisoned Kankuro.
• Chiyo demanded to inspect Kankuro, but Shinki came out of the hospital room after completing his surgery and challenged her criticism of his skills.
• Temari found Kankuro stable and free of poison, while Chiyo discovered Shinki had also repaired damage to his meridians.
• Chiyo admitted she was wrong and apologized to Shinki for underestimating him.
• Temari brought the medicinal ingredients Shinki had requested, and he stored them in a scroll as his medical fee.

Konoha and Sunagakure sent a small team to the Land of Rivers to rescue Gaara, while the Akatsuki continued extracting the One-Tail and prepared an interception. The chapter ended with Shinki’s group encountering two Akatsuki members at the border.

• Kakashi learned from Pakkun that the Akatsuki had taken Gaara to the Land of Rivers, and Might Guy, Granny Chiyo, and Temari volunteered to join the rescue.
• Sunagakure’s leaders kept Temari behind, so Might Guy, Team Kakashi, and Granny Chiyo set out as a group of nine.
• Granny Chiyo explained how Gaara had protected Sunagakure with a sand barrier, while Shinki questioned whether the village valued Gaara as Kazekage.
• The Akatsuki extracted the One-Tail from Gaara and decided to send four members using the Shapeshifting Technique to intercept the approaching ninja.
• At the Land of Rivers border, Shinki’s group met two Akatsuki members, and Kakashi warned everyone not to underestimate them.

Shinki faced Hidan and Kakuzu with a powerful new Multi-Release Shuriken and obliterated them in a massive explosion. The Konoha group saw how much Shinki had grown, while Granny Chiyo concluded that Sunagakure needed to maintain good relations with Konoha.

• Shinki prepared a giant chakra Fūma Shuriken as Might Guy urged his team to hang back, and the Konoha ninja retreated far from its expected blast zone.
• Kakuzu recognized Shinki and warned Hidan about his strength, but Hidan dismissed the danger and invited Shinki to join the Jashin Cult.
• Shinki pretended to accept Hidan’s invitation, hurled the shuriken, and used Flying Thunder God to teleport away as Kakuzu tried to flee with Hidan.
• The Multi-Release Shuriken exploded, leveling a hill and leaving a huge crater; Shinki explained that he had combined Wind, Fire, and Lightning chakra in the technique.
• Shinki said Hidan and Kakuzu had likely been burned and crushed beyond recognition, and Granny Chiyo voiced her agreement with keeping Sunagakure on good terms with Konoha.

Shinki’s group confronted Itachi and Kisame, and Shinki displayed his Mangekyō Sharingan, Susanoo, and Wood Release. Inside Itachi’s genjutsu, he confirmed that he had sent the crow that saved Shinki and asked him to protect Sasuke and guide him if he turned against Konoha.

• At the Akatsuki hideout, Hidan admitted that Shinki had defeated him and Kakuzu with a devastating explosion.
• Itachi and Kisame waited in the Land of Rivers, where Itachi warned Kisame that his health was worsening.
• When Shinki’s group arrived, Might Guy failed to remember Kisame’s name, provoking Kisame into attacking.
• Shinki greeted Itachi, activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, formed his third-stage Susanoo, and used Wood Release to create a forest.
• Inside Itachi’s genjutsu, Shinki asked whether Itachi had sent the crow that saved him, and Itachi confirmed it.
• Itachi asked Shinki not to hurt Sasuke and to guide him back to the right path if he acted against Konoha.

Shinki defeated the transformed Itachi and Kisame, then helped his group reach the cave where the Akatsuki had completed extracting Gaara’s Tailed Beast. He broke the Five-Seal Barrier and revealed three figures inside.

• Itachi gave Shinki a crow before collapsing, and his body changed into another person; Shinki then learned Kisame had created a lake for his fight with Might Guy.
• Shinki froze the lake with Ice Release, shattered the ice to kill Kisame, and discovered that both Kisame and Itachi had been transformed substitutes carrying part of the originals’ Chakra and will.
• In the Akatsuki cave, Sasori and Deidara discussed confronting Shinki as Gaara’s Tailed Beast extraction finished.
• At the cave entrance, Shinki explained the Five-Seal Barrier, sent four Shadow Clones to remove the distant seals, and had all five seals pulled at once.
• Shinki smashed the boulder blocking the cave, revealing three figures inside.

Shinki and the others confronted Sasori and Deidara in the Land of Rivers cave, where Deidara escaped with Gaara’s body. Shinki pursued him using Sai’s Scroll and summoned a fighter jet, then fired a missile that tracked Deidara as he fled.

• Deidara took Gaara’s body in a giant Clay Bird and flew out of the cave while Sasori attacked the group with Hiruko’s poisoned chain blade.
• Shinki used Kimimaro’s bone whip to pull Hiruko into the air, and Naruto shattered the puppet with a Rasengan, revealing Sasori’s real body.
• Granny Chiyo stayed behind to fight Sasori, while Shinki and Naruto went after Deidara; Shinki told Kakashi that Gaara was already dead.
• Shinki leaped after Deidara, shielded himself from the explosions of Deidara’s Clay Spiders, and used Sai’s Scroll to summon a fighter jet.
• Shinki fired a missile from the fighter jet, and Deidara discovered that it tracked him as he tried to escape.

Shinki fought Deidara, surviving his C4 Karura attack and using torrential rain to wash its microscopic explosives from the air. He found the badly burned Gaara afterward and worried that bringing him back in that condition would cost him the mission reward.

• Shinki's homing missile struck Deidara, who retaliated with Number Eighteen, but Shinki trapped its explosion inside an Ice Release cube.
• Shinki charged Deidara in his fighter jet, and Deidara unleashed C4 Karura before flying away from its blast radius.
• Shinki escaped the explosion with Susanoo, detected the microscopic explosive particles, and sealed himself inside ice.
• Shinki used Torrential Rain to wash the particles from the air, flooding the cave where Kakashi and his companions were sheltering.
• Shinki searched the flooded area and found Gaara alive but severely burned, then decided he had to find a way to save him to protect the mission reward.

After Granny Chiyo prepared to sacrifice her life to revive Gaara, Shinki proposed using a turtle’s life force and a Wood Release Clone in his One Life for One Life Technique. The Death God appeared to inspect the exchange, then vanished as color returned to Gaara’s face.

• Kakashi, Granny Chiyo, and the others found that Sasori had escaped capture because his core was still missing, while Shinki healed Gaara’s damaged skin.
• Granny Chiyo decided to use Sunagakure’s forbidden Reincarnation Technique, which would trade her life for Gaara’s.
• Shinki told Granny Chiyo he had a different plan and explained that he would transfer a turtle’s life force through a Wood Release Clone into Gaara.
• Shinki performed the One Life for One Life Technique, and the turtle died as its life force passed into the clone and then toward Gaara.
• The Death God appeared before Shinki to inspect the clone, then disappeared without being seen by the others.
• The life transfer neared completion, and color returned to Gaara’s face.

Gaara reunited with Shinki after being revived, and Shinki used Flying Thunder God to bring him and a huge crowd back to Sunagakure. The group arrived directly in the packed Kazekage's Office, leaving the village's higher-ups alarmed and Kakashi crushed in the crowd.

• Gaara awakened after Shinki's technique exchanged his life with the turtle's, and the gathered ninjas marveled at the successful revival.
• Gaara thanked Shinki, and the two shook hands for the first time since they had last met three years earlier.
• Temari, Kankuro, and nearly a thousand Sunagakure ninjas arrived to find Gaara safe, while Neji discovered an Akatsuki ring near the cave.
• Shinki used Flying Thunder God to transport the entire crowd to Sunagakure, placing them in the Kazekage's Office.
• The Sunagakure higher-ups panicked at the sudden arrival, while Kakashi complained that the crowd was crushing him.

Shinki returned from helping Sunagakure after placing a Flying Thunder God Mark in the Kazekage's Office, and Gaara affirmed the villages’ friendship and gifted him rare herbs. Back in Konoha, Shinki received an Akatsuki ring to investigate, while Sasori searched for his missing ring in the Land of Rivers.

• Sunagakure's senior officials confronted Shinki about the Flying Thunder God Mark, but Granny Chiyo defended him and reminded them that a Konoha Ninja had saved Gaara and helped revive him.
• Gaara declared Konoha Sunagakure's friend forever, welcomed Shinki to visit, and gave him a scroll of Sunagakure herbs, including Crystal Orchid and Dragon Worm Grass.
• Shinki returned to Konoha with his companions, and Tsunade warned him to stop using the technique that risked drawing the Death God's attention.
• Neji gave Tsunade a ring he had found near the battlefield, and Tsunade asked Shinki to study it at the Konoha Research Institute.
• In a cave in the Land of Rivers, Sasori searched for his missing ring as Tobi teased him and Deidara, prompting Deidara to attack Tobi with Deadly Scissor Legs.

Kakashi reported a possible meeting between Sasori and his spy at Tenchi Bridge, and Tsunade assigned Kakashi's team to investigate. Shinki used the Flying Thunder God Mark hidden on a letter to find Sasuke, interrupting Sasuke as he was about to burn it and leaving their reunion awkward.

• Kakashi told Tsunade that Sasori had revealed a possible meeting with his spy at Tenchi Bridge, and Tsunade ordered Kakashi to lead a team there.
• Shinki decided he could locate Orochimaru by teleporting to Sasuke using the Flying Thunder God Mark on a letter he had sent three years earlier.
• Naruto asked to go with Shinki, but Shinki refused and teleported away alone.
• Sasuke recalled that Orochimaru had chosen him as a substitute body because he could not get Shinki, and resolved to surpass Shinki and kill Orochimaru.
• As Sasuke tried to burn Shinki's unopened letter, the tube shattered and Shinki appeared on top of him, briefly catching his clothes on Sasuke's flame.
• Shinki greeted Sasuke, who struggled to respond after realizing their reunion made his vow to sever his bonds with Konoha difficult to maintain.

Shinki confronted Sasuke over his threats to kill him and Naruto, beat him, and burst into Orochimaru’s laboratory. Shinki trapped Orochimaru and Kabuto in mud and paralyzed them with lightning, but Orochimaru escaped with his substitution technique and summoned Manda.

• Sasuke told Shinki he had cut ties with Konoha and would kill Shinki and Naruto if it strengthened his resolve for revenge.
• Shinki slapped Sasuke, pinned him with his enlarged leg, and beat him while his Wood Human Clones dealt with the guards at Orochimaru’s base.
• Orochimaru and Kabuto discussed their experiment to restrict Shinki’s Wood Release and their plans to take his body.
• Shinki and the battered Sasuke crashed through the laboratory ceiling, and Orochimaru attacked Shinki with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
• Shinki blocked the snakes with Ice Release, then turned the underground base into mud and paralyzed Orochimaru and Kabuto with Lightning Release.
• Orochimaru escaped his paralyzed body with his substitution technique and summoned Manda.

Shinki cut off part of Manda’s body, then used Wood Release to frighten him into accepting a new Summoning Contract. Orochimaru escaped, unaware that Shinki had taken Manda as his summoned beast, and Shinki set his sights on pursuing him.

• Orochimaru summoned Manda to stall Shinki, but Shinki sliced off nearly a third of Manda’s body with a huge Chakra Scalpel.
• Shinki summoned a giant Wooden Man, and Manda discovered Orochimaru had fled without him.
• Manda offered to abandon Orochimaru and form a Summoning Contract with Shinki, who accepted and replaced Manda’s contract.
• Shinki ordered Manda not to eat people, then sent him back to Ryūchi Cave and said he would visit someday.
• Orochimaru realized his connection with Manda had vanished and resolved to develop drugs against Shinki’s Wood Release as he continued to flee.

Shinki tracked down Orochimaru, defeated him, bound him, and took the Kusanagi Sword before bringing him back to Konoha. The chapter leaves Tsunade and Shizune stunned as Shinki appears in the Hokage’s Office with Orochimaru.

• Shinki tracked Orochimaru using the Chakra traces he had left on him and fought him when Orochimaru drew the Kusanagi Sword.
• Shinki cut Orochimaru in half, restrained him with Wood Release Binding Technique, and took the Kusanagi Sword after sealing its connection to Orochimaru.
• Shinki carried Orochimaru away with Flying Thunder God and left Sasuke to continue wandering outside Konoha.
• Naruto told Kakashi that Shinki had gone alone to attack Orochimaru’s hideout, shocking Kakashi before the Tenchi Bridge mission.
• Tsunade worried about Jiraiya after he left Konoha, then Shinki appeared in her office with Orochimaru bound like a rice dumpling.

Tsunade punished Shinki, Kakashi, and Naruto after Shinki captured Orochimaru, then questioned Orochimaru with the Third Hokage. Orochimaru revealed that the Fourth Hokage was Naruto’s father, sending Naruto’s chakra into a dangerous surge as Tsunade tried to stop him.

• Tsunade ordered Shinki to serve three days of confinement and copy the Konoha Ninja code after he admitted he had let Sasuke escape.
• Tsunade sent Orochimaru to Konoha’s heaven-level prison and punished Kakashi for failing to report Shinki’s disappearance sooner.
• Tsunade told Kakashi that Shinki had already captured Orochimaru, and later punished Naruto for concealing what happened.
• Three days later, Tsunade and the Third Hokage questioned Orochimaru while Naruto and Shinki watched.
• Orochimaru told Naruto that the Fourth Hokage was his father and that his parents had died saving the village, prompting Tsunade to urgently tell Orochimaru to stop as Naruto’s chakra began to run wild.

Orochimaru revealed Naruto’s painful childhood and his parentage, driving Naruto into a Nine-Tails-fueled rampage. Shinki stopped him from attacking Konoha, then entered Naruto’s sealing space and beat Nine-Tails until the fox agreed to be called Xiaojiu.

• Orochimaru told Naruto that he was the Fourth Hokage’s son and described how Konoha had shunned him, causing Naruto to lose control to Nine-Tails’ Chakra.
• Shinki watched Naruto devastate the interrogation room, then teleported him away just before he could attack Ichiraku Ramen.
• Outside Konoha, Naruto fired a Chakra blast that destroyed half a mountaintop, and Shinki entered his sealing space to confront Nine-Tails.
• Nine-Tails refused to withdraw his Chakra, so Shinki summoned True Several Thousand Hands and forced the wooden Buddha through the seal to thrash him.
• Shinki’s beating made Nine-Tails withdraw his Chakra and surrender, asking Shinki to call him Xiaojiu.

Shinki and Naruto continued traveling through the Land of Demons while Konoha's leaders argued over whether to remove them from the Ninja registry. In the Land of Demons, Underworld revived Moryo and awakened the Ghost Army, and Shinki and Naruto went to investigate the resulting tremor.

• Naruto chose to keep traveling with Shinki rather than return to Konoha, and they set off for the Land of Demons.
• At a meeting in the Hokage's Office, Tsunade stopped the senior officials from removing Shinki and Naruto from Konoha's Ninja registry and ordered Yamato to clear the room.
• Underworld entered an underground palace, opened the sealed door, and summoned Moryo back into the world.
• Underworld offered his body to Moryo, then used Moryo's power to awaken the armored Ghost Army.
• Shinki and Naruto felt a tremor while eating grilled fish, and Shinki suggested they go investigate.

Shinki and Naruto discovered the Terracotta Warriors in the Land of Demons, and Shinki went to Konoha to warn Tsunade before confronting the army at a shrine. Shinki rescued Shion and the guards, but destroyed the shrine in the process, and realized the attackers were targeting the Land of Demons’ Miko.

• Shinki and Naruto saw thousands of Terracotta Warriors emerge from an underground door, and Shinki used Flying Thunder God to warn Konoha.
• Tsunade received Shinki’s message about the Terracotta Warriors and summoned the Anbu to investigate.
• Shinki and Naruto followed the Terracotta Warriors to a shrine, where the undead attacked the residents and guards protecting Shion.
• White-robed men set Shion and the guards inside a ring of flames, but Shinki extinguished the fire with rain and lifted the guards clear of a mudslide with Wood Release.
• The mudslide swept away the shrine and scattered the Terracotta Warriors, while Shinki saved the guards and met Shion.
• Shion argued that Shinki had a duty to save her, and Shinki recognized her as the Land of Demons’ succeeding Miko targeted by the Undead Army.

Shinki accepted a commission to escort Miko Shion to the Land of Swamps and seal Moryo, while Tsunade prepared Konoha to confront the approaching Undead Army. When Shion could no longer walk, Shinki summoned a helicopter and flew her and Naruto toward their destination.

• Taruho asked Shinki to escort Shion to the Land of Swamps and help seal Moryo, and Shinki accepted the mission for a deposit and future payment.
• An intelligence operative reported Shinki and Naruto's mission to Tsunade, who ordered Team Kakashi and Team Asuma to provide support.
• After learning the Undead Army was nearing the Land of Fire's border, Tsunade ordered the village's available Chunin and Jonin to join her in stopping it.
• Shion grew tired after walking less than ten kilometers and refused to continue, while Shinki declined to carry her.
• Shinki summoned a helicopter with Ninja Art: Steel Super Beast Imitating Drawing and flew Shion and Naruto toward the Land of Swamps.

Shinki flew to the shrine in the Land of Swamps and subdued more than ten thousand Terracotta Warriors, then escorted Shion and Naruto inside. The group reached the shrine’s magma-heated main hall, where Naruto pointed out a long-haired man and asked if he was Moryo.

• On the plane, Shion asked Naruto whether Shinki had a girlfriend, and Shinki wondered when he would earn a title of his own.
• Shinki arrived at the shrine in the Land of Swamps, where Kakashi, Asuma, and their team prepared to protect him and Shion.
• Shinki used Wood Release and Earth Release to trap more than ten thousand Terracotta Warriors in a giant swamp, then returned to the plane with Flying Thunder God.
• Ino worried that Shion was in love with Shinki, prompting Shikamaru, Sai, and Asuma to argue with her about romance during the mission.
• Shinki, Shion, and Naruto entered the shrine and reached its hot main hall, where Naruto pointed to a long-haired man and asked whether he was Moryo.

Shion attempted to seal Moryo but learned the ritual would merge her with Underworld, allowing Moryo to escape into the Sealing Stone Stele and reclaim his body. As Moryo attacked, Shinki realized Shion's bell had sealed her power, broke the barrier, and removed it from her collar.

• Shinki protected Shion as she approached Underworld and began the sealing ritual.
• Underworld revealed that the sealing would merge him and Shion, and Moryo escaped into the Sealing Stone Stele.
• Shion collapsed, grieving the sacrifices made to protect her, while Naruto and Shinki recognized the ritual had failed.
• Moryo reclaimed his body and attacked Shinki and Naruto with black tentacles inside the Shrine.
• Shion warned Shinki that the barrier would remain until Moryo or she was devoured, and Shinki realized her bell had sealed her power.
• Shinki shattered the barrier, embraced Shion, and removed her bell as chakra surged around them.

Shinki unsealed Shion’s power and sealed Moryo inside his palm, then stopped the Undead Army. After the Konoha forces celebrated his success and rumors spread about why he had left the village, Shinki prepared to return to the Land of Demons with Shion, who openly clung to him in front of Ino.

• Shinki released Shion’s sealed power, borrowed her special Chakra, and used an altered sealing array with eighteen backup seals to trap Moryo in his palm.
• Shinki explained that his seal would destroy Moryo if he died, then used the Curse Mark on his hand to stop the Undead Army.
• Tsunade and the Konoha Ninja saw the Terracotta Warriors stop moving and celebrated Shinki’s success while rumors circulated about why he had left Konoha.
• Shinki reunited with Kakashi, Asuma, Ino, Shikamaru, and Sai outside the shrine, where Ino and Shion exchanged jealous looks.
• Shion linked her arm through Shinki’s and urged him to return with her to the Land of Demons to meet the Daimyo.

Shinki and Naruto rejected Konoha’s invitation to return and traveled to the Land of Demons to collect a reward, where Shinki turned down a lucrative bodyguard offer before discovering his enormous bounty. Meanwhile, Tsunade learned that the Third Hokage’s body had been found, and she prepared Konoha for his funeral.

• Shinki refused to return to Konoha with Kakashi and Asuma, telling them that he and Naruto were heading to the Land of Demons to collect a bounty.
• Asuma revealed that he planned to marry Kurenai soon, but said he could not hold the wedding until his father, the Third Hokage, returned.
• Shizune told Tsunade that the Anbu had found the Third Hokage’s body near the border of the Land of Fire, and Tsunade ordered his funeral held the next day.
• After escorting the Miko back to the Land of Demons, Shinki received ten million and refused the Daimyo’s offer to pay him a hundred million a year as a bodyguard.
• Shinki and Naruto entered a Bounty Station, where Shinki found that his bounty was 250 million, higher than those listed for the Kage.
• Naruto loudly pointed out their names and bounties, drawing everyone’s attention to Shinki and himself.

Shinki and Naruto learned that the Third Hokage had died and returned to Konoha to attend his funeral. They mourned the elder as the rain fell over his tombstone.

• Shinki killed a bounty hunter who charged at him, collected the man's bounty with Naruto, and chose Kakuzu and Hidan as their next targets.
• Kakuzu and Hidan traveled through the Land of Lightning to hunt a bounty before capturing the Two-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Shinki bought information from a broker, who told him and Naruto that the Third Hokage's body had been found and that Konoha was holding his funeral.
• Shinki threatened the broker with his Kusanagi Sword and learned that Orochimaru was said to have killed the Third Hokage.
• Shinki and Naruto arrived at the funeral in mourning clothes, laid flowers at the Third Hokage's tombstone, and remembered his care for Konoha's children.

After the Third Hokage’s funeral, Shinki and Naruto traveled to the Land of Lightning, where the Raikage asked them to rescue Yugito Nii from Akatsuki. The chapter ended with Shinki learning that Kumogakure would pay for Yugito’s rescue and offer a much larger reward if they also saved Two-Tails.

• After the funeral, Shinki told Tsunade he planned to hunt Akatsuki members for their bounties, and Naruto chose to go with him.
• Tsunade warned Shinki to protect Naruto and mentioned that Jiraiya had gone to Amegakure.
• Shinki and Naruto disguised themselves and traveled to the Land of Lightning, but a Kumogakure ninja recognized them and brought them to the Raikage.
• The Raikage told Shinki and Naruto that Yugito Nii had disappeared and that Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu were suspected of taking her.
• The Raikage asked Shinki and Naruto to rescue Yugito, offering ten million for her return and four times that amount if they also saved Two-Tails.