Chapter Summaries

Bishamonten tried to persuade the military advisers that the destruction was a sign of the Evil God’s power, while Tobirama listened and weighed the cost of confronting them. After rescuing people and enduring their hostility, Uchiha Izuna used the Banana Palm Fan to blow everyone across the Land of Hot Water into the sky, where they remained until morning.

• Bishamonten ordered his steward to summon Benzaiten, then told the military advisers that the sea of trees and Giant were signs of the Evil God’s coming blessing.
• Tobirama’s clone listened as the advisers considered Bishamonten’s offer and decided he could not kill them without putting Konoha at risk.
• Izuna carried injured people and civilians to shelter, but nobles, Ninja, and ordinary people cursed him or tried to leave.
• Wūwū Liánběi accused Izuna of trying to subdue the Chinoike Clan, and Izuna denounced him and the surrounding people for their actions.
• Mokushō returned with the Six Paths Divine Artifacts, completing Izuna’s mission and earning him the Banana Palm Fan.
• Izuna raised the fan and sent everyone in the Land of Hot Water who was outside the formation spinning into the sky until the next morning.

After Izuna’s storm destroyed the Summer Festival grounds, he forced the survivors to clear the rubble and care for the injured and dead. He finally fell asleep under a tree while Hashirama and Tobirama continued organizing the recovery.

• After the storm ended, Izuna argued with Tobirama about blowing everyone into the sky and complained that he had nowhere to sleep.
• Izuna ordered the survivors to clear the ruins, and after he sent the nobles who refused to work spinning into the air, they joined the cleanup.
• Izuna assigned healers to treat the injured and ordered the survivors to gather the dead for burial.
• Madara helped the exhausted Izuna to a tree, where Izuna fell asleep as Madara watched the cleanup.
• Hashirama used a vine to wake a noble who was pretending to sleep and sent the nearby shirkers back to work.
• Tobirama directed the survivors to build a temporary base, sort the injured from the healthy, and ask merchants for food.

Hashirama persuaded the merchants to trade food and cloth for newly built houses while Tobirama recovered Jurōjin and Bishamonten from the ruins. Jurōjin exposed Bishamonten as the Jashin Cult’s leader, and Izuna confronted him about the cult’s teachings.

• Hashirama calmed a crowd arguing with merchants and built a row of houses in exchange for their grain and cloth.
• The merchants brought Hashirama building plans and supplies, while Tobirama organized their transport.
• Madara’s clone asked Tobirama why he had sent for him on the ship, and Tobirama said locals from the Land of Hot Water were behind many Summer Festival incidents.
• Tobirama brought back Jurōjin and Bishamonten, and Jurōjin identified Bishamonten as Seibei, leader of the Jashin Cult, who planned to slaughter the Summer Festival attendees.
• Some locals defended the Jashin Cult, but Izuna challenged Bishamonten to explain its teachings.
• Bishamonten said Jashin reflected the evil and hatred in human hearts and called for the old world to be destroyed; Izuna challenged the idea that the world contained only evil.

Izuna challenged Bishamonten’s plan to sacrifice humanity for the New Humans by asking the survivors what civilization meant to them. The crowd rejected Bishamonten’s teachings and surrounded him, while Izuna left him with his arguments defeated and the Jashin Cult’s ideology discredited.

• Izuna asked Bishamonten and the survivors to define civilization, and people described safety, food, shelter, rules, work, and hope for their children.
• Izuna explained that human lives and civilization gained meaning through people’s experiences and relationships, while Bishamonten insisted that Jashin would create a perfect world.
• Bishamonten admitted that his plan would sacrifice everyone in the Old World so he could become an immortal New Human and rule the world.
• Hiroyama Takebu and other survivors challenged Bishamonten, insisting that their lives belonged to them and that he had no right to sacrifice them.
• The crowd surrounded Bishamonten and rejected the idea of New Humans, while Izuna stopped Hiroyama from attacking and told Bishamonten that anyone who wanted what was best for the world would protect humanity.

Izuna exposed Bishamonten’s contradictions, removed the Evil God’s mark from him, and learned where the Evil God was hiding. As the Land of Hot Water began organizing relief efforts, Izuna prepared to confront the Evil God with Mokushō and Tsukimiyo, while the people watched the Ninja put their abilities to work rebuilding.

• Izuna challenged Bishamonten’s ideas about Civilization, and Madara restrained him while Kakuzu bound him.
• Jurōjin insisted the people of the Land of Hot Water should rebuild their country, and Madara agreed that he, Hashirama, and Tobirama would help.
• Izuna removed the Evil God’s mark from Bishamonten and pointed out the Evil God’s hiding place near the Rear Mountain of Bishamonten Shrine.
• Izuna and Mokushō decided to bring the people to witness the Evil God’s defeat and planned to enlist Tsukimiyo’s help.
• Izuna took a short nap while Madara kept watch, Mokushō secured Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and Hashirama, Tobirama, and Madara organized the rebuilding efforts.
• The people saw Ninja use their abilities to clear rubble and prepare the land, while nobles and merchants considered hiring them for construction work.

Ringo Hayato’s serious arm injuries led Yū to propose marriage, while Tamamo-no-Mae protected the Pleasure Quarter girls and checked on Zhen. In the Temporary Camp, the Tsuchigumo Clan Head disciplined his people, and Ise Haruto executed clan members tied to Bishamonten's Side before ordering an investigation.

• A medic examined Ringo Hayato’s injured arms, and he told Yū to leave because he might never wield a sword again.
• Yū refused to leave Ringo and asked him to marry her, while Satō Ken watched them and then walked away.
• Tamamo-no-Mae assigned Luotai to guard the Pleasure Quarter girls and went to check on Zhen.
• The Tsuchigumo Clan Head reprimanded his kneeling clan members, ordered punishments, and took Zhen to find Tamaro.
• Ise Haruto ordered Tamaro to kill seven or eight Ise Clan members who had dealings with Bishamonten's Side, then ordered a review of the clan’s outside contacts and transactions.

Tamaro learned that the Tsuchigumo Clan Head was building ties in the Land of Hot Water and told Tamamo-no-Mae about the Jashin Cult’s plot at the Summer Festival. After lunch, Izuna announced that he would take willing festival survivors to witness the Evil God’s destruction.

• The Tsuchigumo Clan Head introduced Shin to Tamaro, discussed his connections, and promised to build ties with him and Hiroyama.
• Tamaro told Tamamo-no-Mae that the Ise Clan and other clans had allied with the Jashin Cult to sacrifice the festival crowd and summon the Evil God.
• Enma, Luotai, and Jōtarō discussed profiting from demand for the Land of Whirlpools’ Barrier Ninjutsu, and Enma invited Shin to help their business.
• Izuna told the crowd that Bishamonten and the Jashin Cult had caused the previous night’s chaos and offered to take willing people to see the Evil God destroyed.

Izuna led a crowd to Bishamonten's Shrine, uncovered a hidden sacrifice chamber, and confronted the Evil God. The Evil God fled after Izuna cut through his illusion, but Tsukimiyo struck him with an explosion that left Izuna and Mokushō unsure whether anything remained to send to the Underworld.

• Izuna led villagers, merchants, nobles, and others to Bishamonten's Shrine while the foreign Military Advisors and envoys stayed behind.
• Uzumaki Enma recognized suppression and Sealing Runes on the Main Hall's banners, and Mokushō found a hidden chamber beneath the floor.
• Izuna entered the Sacrifice Chamber, faced the Evil God and his apocalyptic illusion, and cut through them with a blue Light Blade.
• Mokushō raised five protective shells to shield the crowd from the Evil God's attack, and Fukurokuju and the White-Haired Woman rejected their devotion to him.
• The Evil God fled and summoned Tsukimiyo, who struck him with an explosion that set the distant forest ablaze.
• Izuna and Mokushō wondered whether the Evil God had been reduced to ashes and whether they still needed to open the Gate of the Underworld.

Izuna and Mokushō purified the Evil God’s remnant, though Mokushō warned that similar threats would arise wherever human suffering and desire persisted. Hashirama reminded Madara that they were still pursuing peace together, even if it could only be fleeting.

• Tsukimiyo returned to the red crystal after defeating the Evil God, while Tobirama extinguished the burning forest and the Land of Hot Water’s people thanked Izuna for saving them.
• Jurōjin and the people knelt before Izuna, who accepted their gratitude and left them to deal with the Evil God’s followers themselves.
• Mokushō explained that gods could return through their followers’ faith, so Izuna used his Light Blade and a purification incantation to banish the Evil God’s remnant soul.
• Mokushō warned Izuna, Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama that suffering and desire could give rise to similar supernatural threats, and that Onmyōji could only maintain balance rather than create perfect peace.
• Madara struggled with the idea that lasting peace might be impossible, but Hashirama urged him to keep pursuing it and reminded him that they were still walking that path together.

Hashirama asked Madara to keep pursuing peace with him, and Madara agreed, including Tobirama. As reconstruction began in the Land of Hot Water, nobles worked alongside commoners and began reconsidering their assumptions about status and daily life.

• Hashirama asked Madara whether he would continue pursuing peace with them, and Madara agreed while teasing Hashirama about his clothes and hair.
• Izuna silently regretted not using his Sharingan to record their exchange, while Madara wondered what had made him act so strangely.
• Jurōjin registered the restrained Jashin Cult followers, and Hashirama used Wood Release to repair Bishamonten Shrine before reconstruction began across the Land of Hot Water.
• Nobles worked alongside commoners, learning practical skills and noticing how little they understood ordinary life and how questionable some accounts were.
• A young noble asked Tobirama why he was clearing a filthy water channel, and Tobirama told him that assigned work had to be done rather than passed to someone else.
• The young noble finished clearing his section, felt proud of the result, and ate a satisfying bowl of stew with the other workers.

Madara gave Izuna dango while Tobirama brought news that the Four Nations wanted a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron. After learning that the Three-Tails was inside the Jade Purifying Bottle, Izuna proposed establishing a Military Court to try the festival’s perpetrators, and the others decided Tobirama should oversee the idea.

• Madara gave Izuna Soy Sauce Dango, and Izuna happily ate it while Madara urged him to drink his soup.
• Tobirama received the Four Nations’ request for a Five Kage Summit in the Land of Iron and brought it to Izuna and Madara.
• Mokushō told Izuna and Tobirama that Hashirama had discovered the Three-Tails inside the Jade Purifying Bottle, prompting Izuna to want to leave and find the other Tailed Beasts.
• Tobirama stopped Izuna from leaving before the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Whirlpools were secure, and Izuna said he intended to kill the perpetrators after putting them on trial.
• Izuna explained the idea of a Military Court, and Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama considered using it to hold ninjas and nobles accountable.
• Izuna and Madara entrusted Tobirama with finding a way to prevent the Military Court from being abused, and Tobirama angrily protested.

Izuna negotiated the return of prisoners and Divine Artifacts, discovered Kakuzu had secretly killed several criminals, and gave Enma and Haruto advice on protecting and profiting from the Land of Whirlpools' Barrier Ninjutsu. Before leaving the Land of Hot Water, Izuna and the others visited Jurōjin and then met Kyōnosuke, where Hashirama watched the ruler coldly.

• The Land of Hot Water and the Land of Whirlpools became allies, and Yotsuki A collected Kinkaku and Ginkaku after bargaining with Izuna for three Divine Artifacts and trading rights to iron ore and rare metals.
• Izuna realized Kakuzu had killed several criminals and taken their hearts, and Kakuzu later gave Izuna preserved Ketsuryūgan as a gift from the Land of Waterfalls.
• Izuna gave Enma and Haruto business and defense advice, including using Barrier Ninjutsu for commercial services and preparing the Land of Whirlpools to deter invaders.
• Izuna drank with Haruto and Enma before he and his companions visited Jurōjin, who thanked them on behalf of the Land of Hot Water.
• Izuna and his companions went to meet Kyōnosuke, while Hashirama stared at him coldly.

Izuna and the others left the Land of Whirlpools and prepared to attend the Five Kage Summit while planning to speak with the Tailed Beasts. After releasing Isobu at sea, Izuna offered to return him to his former home, but Isobu remained distrustful.

• Kyōnosuke warned Izuna to be careful of those around him, and Izuna said he trusted others because he could withstand betrayal.
• Hashirama, Madara, Izuna, and Tobirama discussed the upcoming Five Kage Summit and decided to release Isobu before speaking with Kurama.
• The group visited Mokushō's newly rebuilt shrine, where Mokushō showed them the Amber Purifying Pot holding the Three-Tails.
• Izuna used Susanoo to carry a rented boat out to sea, then opened the pot and released Isobu.
• Izuna introduced himself and the others to Isobu and offered to take him back to his former waters, but Isobu questioned whether the Ninjas meant to capture him again.

Izuna and his companions freed Isobu and arranged for him to live near the Land of Rain, where Tobirama formed a Contract with him. That evening, they assessed Konoha’s growing influence and the nobles’ plan to use a Five Kage Summit to contain it, leaving Tobirama asking how they would face the Four Kage.

• Isobu admitted he did not know where his home was, and Izuna offered to find him a new place to live.
• Izuna rejected sealing Isobu in the Amber Purifying Pot, and the group settled on sending him to the waters near the Land of Rain.
• Tobirama made a Contract with Isobu, who then sank beneath the sea to wait for them.
• Izuna, Madara, Hashirama, and Tobirama returned to the Land of Hot Water and reviewed documents about Konoha’s political situation.
• Tobirama explained that the nobles planned to use a Five Kage Summit to turn the Kage against Konoha, then asked how they would face the Four Kage.

Izuna proposed using a game about ninja life to ease other countries’ fears of Konoha and secure the Land of Wind’s puppet technology. The group agreed that Konoha could trade help restoring the Land of Wind’s environment for the technique and build goodwill, while Izuna also hoped to recruit its puppeteers.

• Izuna rejected threatening other countries and suggested showing calculated weakness to make them willing to negotiate.
• Namikaze Sōichi and Yūko visited to thank Izuna for protecting their family during the storm, then departed for Konoha with a Flying Thunder God-marked kunai from Tobirama.
• Izuna proposed making a game that let nobles and ordinary people experience missions and life as ninja, arguing that safe exposure to danger would make them curious about ninja power.
• Izuna suggested obtaining the Land of Wind’s puppet technology, while Madara and Hashirama concluded that Konoha could win goodwill by helping restore the land and teaching locals how to cultivate it.
• Izuna revealed that he wanted the Land of Wind’s puppeteers to teach their techniques in Konoha, especially to the Hyuga Clan.

Izuna and the others discussed how to secure the other countries’ cooperation before traveling to the Land of Iron for the Five Kage Summit. After subduing Kurama and making him Madara’s Summoning Beast, they arrived at Sendai Hall, where Hashirama opened the conference room door.

• Izuna argued that the countries still needed to make deals, and the others anticipated another unusual proposal from him.
• The Kage of the Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, and Land of Water arrived at Sendai Hall, followed by Reto and Shamon of the Land of Wind.
• Izuna’s speeding carriage nearly hit Reto, and Izuna apologized before entering Sendai Hall with Hashirama, Madara, and Tobirama.
• Two days earlier, Hashirama and Madara had fought Kurama, while Madara subdued him with Genjutsu.
• Izuna proposed that Kurama become Madara’s Summoning Beast instead of being sealed, and Kurama was forced to agree.
• Hashirama led the group into Sendai Hall, and he opened the conference room door.

Hashirama proposed a peace agreement at the Five Kage Summit and argued that the nobles were turning people against Ninja. The Kage began debating whether Ninja should change their role in society, with Byakuren rejecting the idea.

• The Four Kage questioned Hashirama’s Uchiha guards and the red fox before the meeting began, while Izuna advised Hashirama to bow rather than kowtow.
• Reto and A traded barbs before Ishikawa steered the summit toward avoiding war, and Byakuren challenged Konoha’s growing strength.
• Hashirama bowed to the Four Kage, then proposed a peace agreement and said he wanted to negotiate terms that would help their countries grow stronger.
• Hashirama explained that the nobles had used the events in the Land of Hot Water to undermine Ninja and make the world fear them.
• Izuna said the nobles treated Ninja like dogs, and Hashirama called for changing their circumstances; Byakuren rejected abandoning the Ninja identity.

Hashirama presented the other Kage with plans for economic cooperation and an inter-village training exchange, arguing that Ninja needed to reduce their dependence on mission fees. The four villages agreed to send trainees to Konoha, while Byakuren warned that anyone who stayed there would be treated as a defector.

• Hashirama explained that nobles were using the Land of Hot Water crisis to pressure Shinobi Villages and that their control over mission fees left Ninja economically vulnerable.
• Hashirama proposed pilot business projects between Konoha and the other villages, offering technology and promising that Konoha would cover losses; the Kage examined the draft agreements and raised concerns about their scale.
• Hashirama offered to share non-core Ninjutsu and logistical techniques through six-month training exchanges in Konoha, and Byakuren, A, and Reto agreed to participate for their villages.
• Ishikawa requested guardians for younger trainees, and Hashirama added that students could earn mission commissions to cover their expenses.
• Byakuren warned that trainees who chose to remain in Konoha would be considered defectors, leaving Hashirama glancing toward Izuna for help.

At the Five Kage Summit, Izuna proposed reforming the Ninja’s public image so people would know their deeds as well as fear their power. The discussion left the Kage considering how distrust of Ninja could provoke future conflict, while Yuan Yusheng acknowledged that nobles had lost their former authority.

• Izuna inferred that Byakuren’s strict rules aimed to prevent skilled young people from leaving the Land of Water, and he devised a policy for assessing exchange students who wanted to stay in Konoha.
• Ishikawa eased the dispute between Byakuren and Hashirama, who then introduced Izuna and announced the Ninja Image Reform Plan.
• Izuna asked the Kage whether they wanted people to admire Ninja rather than distrust them, then challenged their willingness to remain feared and treated as weapons.
• Izuna argued that Ninja should publicize their deeds and distinguish themselves from nobles, prompting the Kage to consider his image-reform proposal.
• Yuan Yusheng read a nobles’ account of the Summer Festival and admitted to Minamoto Mansaku that the Ninja’s power had ended the nobles’ illusion of authority.
• Izuna warned the Kage that ordinary people’s fear could turn into hostility, and A dismissed the threat because ordinary people could not use Chakra.

At the Five Kage Summit, Izuna used A’s unusual rise to power to warn the Kage about outside forces influencing the shinobi world, then pitched improving the ninja’s public image. He left the Kage’s representatives preparing for makeovers while the Five Kage resumed drafting a peace agreement.

• A admitted that he had gained Chakra after being caught in a fight between Ninja, and that he had united the Shinobi Clans of the Land of Lightning by defeating them and winning their loyalty with food and wine.
• Izuna urged the Kage to make friends and improve the Ninja’s public image, and the Kage sent representatives to discuss his proposal.
• Izuna brought Madara to the smaller meeting room and revealed his face to demonstrate how appearance shaped people’s first impressions.
• Izuna declared that cuteness was justice, and Hozuki Gengetsu agreed while Shamon and Mū considered his argument.
• Izuna opened a chest of clothes and accessories and told the representatives to take off their clothes so he could give them makeovers.
• The Five Kage gathered in the main meeting room to discuss a draft peace agreement.