Chapter Summaries

Lin Ke defeated Sasori’s attack and gathered the Human Puppets left behind, while Gaara woke with unsettling new sensations. Sasori escaped with Deidara and Kabuto, vowing to remember Lin Ke, as Shimura Danzō arrived at the battlefield and considered using a jutsu to control him.

• Lin Ke’s attack and Temari’s techniques failed to stop Sasori’s flying dragon, but Gaara fell unconscious and was caught by his sand.
• Lin Ke found Sasori’s core had vanished from the Human Puppet, then collected the abandoned puppets while Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara recovered.
• Gaara struggled to explain what he had sensed during the blast, and Lin Ke told the team to prepare to return.
• Kankuro admired the Sasori puppet until Lin Ke named a price of 350 million ryo, which crushed his excitement.
• Shimura Danzō arrived with Anbu and considered using a jutsu to control Lin Ke.
• On the flying dragon, Sasori brooded over his lost puppets and savings, while Kabuto suggested cooperating with Orochimaru and Deidara teased him about a possible traitor.

Lin Ke told Shimura Danzō that Akatsuki had attacked him and the capital of the Land of Rivers, then left with his Sunagakure companions after Danzō withdrew. At dawn, Danzō found his plan to control the Land of Rivers ruined and blamed Akatsuki.

• Lin Ke identified Sasori of the Red Sands as the enemy and agreed with Shimura Danzō’s call to wipe out Akatsuki, while offering money and manpower.
• Lin Ke told Shimura Danzō that their mission was complete and that Akatsuki had attacked the capital of the Land of Rivers, prompting Danzō to leave.
• Lin Ke collected the scrolls from Kankuro and departed with his companions, regretting that Yakushi Kabuto had escaped and considering experiments with tailed beast chakra.
• At dawn, Shimura Danzō surveyed the ruined capital and the charred corpses, realizing the Daimyo's Son’s death had wrecked his plan to control the Land of Rivers.
• Shimura Danzō clenched his teeth and blamed Akatsuki, even though he knew someone else had wielded the organization as a weapon.

Lin Ke and Temari spent time together in a town near Orochimaru's Base while Gaara asked Kankuro why he had wanted to hug Lin Ke. Lin Ke and Temari met Naruto and Jiraiya at a ramen shop, where Naruto eagerly showed off his new technique.

• Lin Ke gave Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro a day of free time before they returned to the village.
• Temari invited Lin Ke to eat with her, and he accepted because she was paying.
• Gaara asked Kankuro why he had wanted to hug Lin Ke after Lin Ke patted him, and Kankuro encouraged him to try hugging Lin Ke next time.
• Kankuro decided he supported Lin Ke and Temari's marriage because he wanted to borrow Lin Ke's puppets.
• At a ramen shop, Lin Ke and Temari ran into Naruto and Jiraiya, and Naruto began to show off a new technique before Jiraiya stopped him.

Lin Ke met Jiraiya at Orochimaru’s destroyed base and exchanged intelligence about Akatsuki’s attacks and possible targets. That night, Gaara sought Lin Ke out because he could not sleep, then knocked on Kankuro’s door and said he had visited Lin Ke-sensei.

• Lin Ke found Orochimaru’s base destroyed and encountered Jiraiya, who had followed the same trail.
• Lin Ke told Jiraiya that Akatsuki had destroyed the Land of Rivers’ capital and had seemed to target him and the Jinchuriki.
• Jiraiya warned Lin Ke to leave the Land of Rivers if Akatsuki had targeted him and said he would gather more intelligence.
• Gaara entered Lin Ke’s hotel room with sand and admitted that he could not sleep; Lin Ke told him to knock before entering.
• Gaara left Lin Ke’s room, knocked on Kankuro’s door, and said he had gone to see Lin Ke-sensei.

Lin Ke reported the mission, evidence against Danzo, and information about Akatsuki to the Third Hokage, who ordered Konoha to coordinate with other villages. He returned to the hospital, helped Rock Lee recover, and accepted Temari's invitation to dinner.

• Lin Ke reported the mission, delivered materials from Orochimaru's Base, and showed the Third Hokage Danzo's coded scroll.
• The Third Hokage ordered Konoha to share information about Sasori with Sunagakure, arrange a meeting with the Kazekage, and contact Amegakure.
• Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu discussed Danzo's failure, and Koharu said they would meet with the Daimyo.
• Lin Ke checked Rock Lee's injuries and told him he could be discharged by the day after tomorrow if he rested.
• Tenten visited Rock Lee and reminded him of their cinema promise, prompting his emotional reaction.
• Temari invited Lin Ke to dinner with her and Kankuro, and Lin Ke agreed to go for barbecue.

Lin Ke sold Sasori’s puppets to Kankuro and trained his Summoning Jutsu by broadcasting a story about Akatsuki to the dead. A listener challenged his claim that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, then another voice asked about Akatsuki.

• Lin Ke told Kankuro to bring money the next day and choose one of Sasori’s puppets, then paid for the barbecue meal himself.
• Temari invited Lin Ke to a movie, but he declined and told the group to meet at the Seventh Training Ground the next morning.
• Gaara realized Temari wanted to get closer to Lin Ke and wondered whether she was competing with him.
• Lin Ke used Summoning Jutsu to tell the dead about Akatsuki, carefully limiting the information he revealed.
• A listener cursed at Lin Ke for claiming Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, and another voice asked whether Akatsuki recruited S-rank rogue ninjas.

Lin Ke contacted Yahiko through the Summoning Jutsu and offered information and resurrection in exchange for help, but Yahiko refused to commit to serving him. Lin Ke planned to use stories about Akatsuki and other enemies to draw more dead ninja into conversation and potentially summon them as leverage.

• Lin Ke learned that the dead ninja he had contacted was Yahiko, a former leader of Akatsuki.
• Yahiko questioned Lin Ke about his identity and his plan to bring the dead back, then explained that he would not fight against Akatsuki.
• Lin Ke offered Yahiko information and a return to the living world in exchange for ninjutsu, money, or service, but Yahiko withdrew to silence after hearing him out.
• Lin Ke considered summoning Yahiko as a ghost hostage if he later faced Nagato or Konan.
• Lin Ke decided to keep telling stories about Akatsuki and the Konoha Crush Plan to attract more dead ninja.

At the Seventh Training Ground, Gaara asked Lin Ke about friendship and love, prompting Lin Ke to explain that Gaara also had family who loved him. As Gaara confronted painful memories, Temari and Kankuro reached out to him, and the chapter left the siblings expressing their love through his Sand Shield.

• After arranging training for his subordinates, Lin Ke told Gaara they were friends beyond their shinobi roles, and Gaara asked what love was.
• Gaara explained that Kankuro had told him Temari wanted to develop love with Lin Ke, while Kankuro fled and Temari chased after him in embarrassment and anger.
• Lin Ke told Gaara that he had family affection as well as friendship, and that Temari and Kankuro loved him as their little brother.
• Gaara clutched his head as painful memories surfaced, and sand formed a cracked shell around him while Lin Ke rested a hand on his shoulder.
• Temari apologized for Gaara's loneliness and told him she had always loved and cherished him; Kankuro then joined her and said Gaara was his little brother.

Lin Ke helped Gaara reunite with Temari and Kankuro, then healed Rock Lee before leaving for Sunagakure. After hearing that Sasori had turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet, Chiyo decided to travel to Konoha with Ebizo to confirm what had happened.

• Gaara's Sand Shield and Sand Armor collapsed, and Kankuro embraced him as Temari watched with relief.
• Lin Ke tried to summon Karura but brought forth an unfamiliar fat civilian, then left after Temari and Kankuro thanked him.
• Lin Ke healed Rock Lee at the hospital, and Rock Lee rushed to obtain his discharge papers.
• The Fourth Kazekage told Chiyo and Ebizo that Sasori had turned the Third Kazekage into a puppet.
• Chiyo chose to go to Konoha with Ebizo, and Rasa assigned Yura to escort them.

Lin Ke sparred with Sasuke, discussed Naruto’s newly learned Rasengan, and invited Sasuke to dinner. Elsewhere, Orochimaru confronted Sasori over Kabuto and the organization’s ring, and they began fighting.

• Lin Ke praised Sasuke’s progress, and Sasuke credited Lin Ke’s technique while asking about Gaara and Naruto.
• Lin Ke told Sasuke that Naruto had learned the Rasengan and explained why the technique was difficult for him to master.
• Lin Ke invited Sasuke to dinner and left for the Jonin Waiting Room after their training.
• In the Land of Rivers, Orochimaru met Sasori, who had brought Kabuto and demanded the organization’s ring.
• Orochimaru and Sasori exchanged attacks, and Orochimaru remarked that Sasori’s puppets seemed weaker.

Lin Ke negotiated with Chiyo over Sasori’s puppet while Konoha and Sunagakure discussed pursuing Akatsuki and restoring order in the Land of Rivers. The next day, Lin Ke tested an unusual Earth Release swamp and summoned Baki to help investigate its weakness.

• Lin Ke showed Chiyo the Sasori and Third Kazekage puppets, and Chiyo asked to trade for Sasori’s puppet.
• The Third Hokage let Lin Ke decide the terms, and Lin Ke agreed to accept money or ninjutsu in exchange.
• Ebizo offered Sunagakure’s help pursuing Akatsuki, then discussed the Land of Rivers with Konoha while Lin Ke listened.
• Lin Ke tested Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld and found that even a rabbit could escape it.
• Lin Ke summoned Baki from the Pure Land and asked him to test the swamp.

Lin Ke tested the dangerous Underworld Swamp, discovering that it swallowed living creatures and objects while consuming much of his chakra, and that its destination was unknown. After resting, he considered his next training goals and planned to resume the Rasengan before applying to learn the Flying Thunder God and Eight Gates Formation Technique.

• Lin Ke tested the Underworld Swamp on Black Bear, but Baki refused to enter because he sensed an ominous aura.
• Lin Ke found that the swamp swallowed objects and living creatures, consumed a large amount of chakra, and permanently erased a shadow he sent to investigate.
• Lin Ke used the Underworld Swamp again and suspected it could swallow a person or soul, but he avoided human experimentation.
• Lin Ke rested in the Jonin Waiting Room, where other jonin increasingly respected him for healing Nara Yan Shui and Rock Lee.
• Lin Ke decided to resume training the Rasengan and later apply to learn the Flying Thunder God and Eight Gates Formation Technique.

Lin Ke continued his Pure Land storytelling before welcoming Second Pillar, who had moved next door and planned a dinner with friends at Lin Ke’s home. Later, Lin Ke helped Yurika investigate coded materials and suspected they concerned a body he had sealed with his secret technique.

• Lin Ke continued telling the dead about the Third Hokage’s battle with three Kage until a knock interrupted him.
• Second Pillar told Lin Ke he had moved next door and invited him to barbecue; they instead arranged a dinner at Lin Ke’s home with Yuan Wei, Xia, Sakura, and Kakashi.
• Lin Ke used his shadows to rearrange the furniture to make room for Second Pillar’s guests.
• At the Cipher Department, Yurika showed Lin Ke decoded words linking him to a prototype body and sealing.
• Lin Ke suspected the materials concerned a body he had marked with his Five Elements Sealing and told Yurika it was likely a sealed body.

Lin Ke studied medicinal techniques after applying to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Eight Gates Formation, and other Forbidden Techniques. That evening, he brought Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto to Sasuke’s apartment, where Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, Kakashi, Yuan Wei, and Xia joined them for dinner.

• Lin Ke left Yurika and Shiho working in the Cipher Department and went to the Medical Team library to study medicinal ingredients and medicines.
• Lin Ke reflected on his applications for the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Eight Gates Formation, and Forbidden Techniques, believing his constitution might suit dangerous techniques.
• Lin Ke summoned Rashomon and brought Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto to Sasuke’s apartment, where Mikoto prepared dinner.
• Sasuke returned with Haruno Sakura, introduced her as his teammate, and told Fugaku that she was just a teammate.
• Yuan Wei and Xia arrived, followed by Hatake Kakashi, and everyone ate dinner together while Yuan Wei and Xia shared stories from their missions.

Lin Ke experimented with a homemade Potent Pill, then accepted the Third Hokage’s invitation to serve as his guard at a Three Countries Alliance Meeting in the Land of Rivers. The Third Hokage also offered to help Lin Ke study some techniques and arranged for Might Guy to teach him the Eight Gates Formation.

• Lin Ke tasted his oversized Dark Green Pill, found its effects potent but its flavor unbearable, and set it aside to feed to rabbits.
• Lin Ke considered ways to make money and went to check on his subordinates as they worked on a C-Rank Mission driving away giant wild boars.
• After returning to Konoha, Lin Ke met the Third Hokage, who invited him to accompany him as his guard at next month’s alliance meeting with Sunagakure and Amegakure.
• Lin Ke accepted the assignment, and the Third Hokage told him Kakashi would also attend.
• The Third Hokage explained that Lin Ke could study some techniques at his home and that Might Guy would teach him the Eight Gates Formation.

Lin Ke used Summoning Jutsu to trick Gato and other dead merchants into revealing hidden assets, then considered how to convert their money into usable funds. After choosing a Tanzaku Street target for his next mission, he struggled to understand the Flying Thunder God development notes and considered Plan B.

• Lin Ke questioned Gato with Summoning Jutsu and learned that Gato had hidden money in a villa basement near the Redwood Forest in the Land of Waves.
• Lin Ke reviewed dozens of locations and identified five hundred thousand ryo deposited at a Tanzaku Street casino as an easy target to claim.
• Lin Ke considered how currencies tied to different ninja villages could be exchanged and how unusable money might work as material for his Body Binding Technique.
• Lin Ke circled the Tanzaku Street lead, put away his notebook, and studied the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God notes.
• Lin Ke found the development materials too difficult to understand and began considering Plan B.

Lin Ke developed a plan to help Sasuke awaken a custom Mangekyō Sharingan, then went to Tanzaku Street to recover five hundred thousand ryo from anonymous gambling funds. After treating Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro to dinner, he reflected that they might soon be sent back to Sunagakure as part of political negotiations.

• Lin Ke decided that Sasuke’s experiences and desires could shape his Mangekyō abilities, and resolved to pursue a custom Sharingan for him.
• Lin Ke sent Temari, Gaara, and Kankuro to search for a missing husband while he visited Tanzaku Street’s casinos to find anonymous funds.
• Lin Ke located five hundred thousand ryo in gambling chips and sold them at a discount because he could not gamble as a minor.
• The Sunagakure siblings returned without finding the target, and Lin Ke treated them to seafood hot pot with the money he had recovered.
• Lin Ke considered that Konoha’s leaders might send the three siblings back to Sunagakure after the Three Countries Alliance Meeting in exchange for political benefits.

Team 8 tracked missing villagers to the Kusagakure border, where Sasori and Deidara attacked and targeted Hinata and the others for capture. Lin Ke received a request for support and raced toward Tenchi Bridge with Temari and his subordinates, suspecting Orochimaru was the enemy.

• Team 8 followed the trail of abducted villagers to the border near Kusagakure, where Hinata detected two powerful approaching chakra signatures.
• Sasori and Deidara arrived and Sasori ordered his partner to capture Kurenai, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino alive for use as Human Puppets.
• Lin Ke received a coded message requesting support for Team 8 at Tenchi Bridge and set out immediately with Temari and his three subordinates.
• Lin Ke used a potent Soldier Pill and the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to prepare for the journey and manage the drug's strain on his body.
• Lin Ke warned his team that Orochimaru was likely the enemy, while worrying that Team 8 might not survive until they arrived.

After Yuhi Kurenai was captured, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba sacrificed themselves to help Hyuga Hinata escape and seek reinforcements. Hinata encountered Lin Ke and joined his pursuit of Sasori and Deidara.

• Deidara dumped the unconscious Yuhi Kurenai onto his bird while Sasori reflected on his weakened state and his desire to obtain Orochimaru's Original Body research.
• Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba sent Hyuga Hinata toward the village while they and Akamaru disguised themselves as her to distract the pursuers.
• Hyuga Hinata ran for help, and the insect Shino had placed on her shoulder died, signaling that her companions had likely been captured.
• Lin Ke arrived with three familiar figures, learned that Yuhi Kurenai had been captured and Sasori and Deidara were pursuing the team, then prepared to continue after them.
• Hyuga Hinata asked to join the pursuit, and Lin Ke allowed her to come along and ordered her to scout for the enemy.

Lin Ke arrived to rescue his captured companions and confronted Sasori and Deidara, but Sasori refused to retreat and abandoned Akatsuki to pursue his goals. Deidara escaped after an explosion, leaving Sasori to face Lin Ke’s forces.

• Akamaru collapsed unconscious, and Deidara realized Lin Ke was approaching with the One-Tail Jinchuriki, but Sasori refused to abandon his pursuit of Orochimaru and Lin Ke’s Five Elements Sealing.
• Lin Ke arrived on an Earth Dragon and found Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Yuhi Kurenai in enemy hands as Zetsu ordered Sasori and Deidara to leave.
• Akatsuki’s shadows rescued Yuhi Kurenai from Deidara’s bird before it exploded, and Sasori handed his ring to Zetsu and told it to leave.
• Deidara detonated a smaller dragon against Lin Ke’s group, but Rashomon shielded them, and Deidara escaped into the sky.
• Lin Ke chose to focus on Sasori, who tore off his robe, summoned his remaining Human Puppets, and prepared to fight.