Chapter Summaries

Jigen revealed Kara’s plans to avoid confronting the Akatsuki until it grew stronger and to investigate several mysterious clans. Meanwhile, Xiao Yun forced Asahi to bring him to Hot Water Village as a possible Child of Prophecy, where they arrived and reported to the clan.

• Jigen opened the hidden mountain entrance to the Ten-Tails’ prison and told Kara that the Ten-Tails was only an empty shell.
• Jigen ordered Amado to create artificial humans, Danzo to monitor the Akatsuki and investigate several clans, and Delta to guard the Ten-Tails; he also ordered Kurenai’s capture.
• Xiao Yun forced Asahi to reveal how to enter Hot Water Village and threatened her over Xinyan as they traveled there.
• Xiao Yun teased and harassed Asahi throughout their journey, while she wondered whether he might truly be the Child of Prophecy.
• At Hot Water Village, Asahi told a masked man to inform the Clan Leader that she had found someone who might be the Child of Prophecy.

Tsunade received a message from Xiao Yun and ordered Shikamaru to spread a discreet report that Kurenai had died from poisoning. Meanwhile, Asahi brought Xiao Yun to Hot Water Village and used her Curse Technique to take control of him after he resisted for an hour.

• Hyuga Baijie concealed her pregnancy symptoms while asking Tsunade whether Xiao Yun wanted a son or a daughter.
• Shikamaru delivered the glowing communication scroll, and Tsunade ordered him to circulate news of Kurenai’s death by poisoning without drawing attention.
• Asahi led Xiao Yun into Hot Water Village, where he sensed a vast power near the altar and learned her Curse Technique worked only inside the village.
• Asahi ambushed Xiao Yun in her private room and used her Curse Technique to overpower his mental resistance.
• Asahi emerged after controlling Xiao Yun and ordered him to stand up.

Asahi tormented Xiao Yun for weeks while trying to determine whether he was the Child of Prophecy, and she discovered his relationships with several women by reading his memories. When the Clan Leader returned to judge him, Xiao Yun spread a false rumor that he and Asahi were lovers and had a child, provoking an uproar among Asahi’s admirers.

• Asahi beat and deprived Xiao Yun of sleep, then found the Summoning Frog he used to contact Jiraiya and read his memories with her control curse.
• After learning about Xiao Yun’s relationships with Tsunade, Samui, and Hyuga Baijie, Asahi threatened to kill him unless he was the Child of Prophecy.
• Asahi took Xiao Yun to the underground base, where the Clan Leader greeted him and prepared to judge whether he was the Child of Prophecy.
• Xiao Yun claimed that Asahi had slept with him and that he would marry her and take her to Konoha.
• Xiao Yun invented a child named Xiao Mazi, prompting Asahi’s admirers to accuse the pair of breaking her vow to serve Lord Jashin.
• The Clan Leader silenced the crowd and glared angrily at Xiao Yun and Asahi.

Asahi faced the Hot Water Village Clan Leader after Xiao Yun accused her of bearing his child and exposed intimate details to make the claim convincing. The village summoned Lord Jashin to identify the Child of Prophecy, and Jashin recognized Xiao Yun as someone from his own homeland.

• Asahi knelt before the Clan Leader, while Xiao Yun pretended they had agreed to confess their relationship together.
• The Clan Leader demanded proof of Asahi's innocence, but the villagers rejected her offer to use Curse Technique: Control on Xiao Yun.
• Xiao Yun revealed private details about Asahi's body, leaving her unable to defend herself and prompting the Clan Leader to seek Lord Jashin's judgment.
• The Clan Leader and Hot Water Village villagers prayed before Jashin's statue, which projected an image of a burly Masked Man.
• Jashin identified himself and asked Xiao Yun whether Huang was doing well.

Jashin told Xiao Yun about the Otsutsuki threat and the Child of Prophecy, then gave him a powerful Curse Technique and a cryptic note. Xiao Yun claimed to be the Child of Prophecy, prompting the Hot Water Village Clan Leader to arrange his marriage to Asahi, who angrily refused.

• Jashin explained that the Otsutsuki Clan would return to drain the world's energy and said the Child of Prophecy could be identified by Karma marks.
• Jashin vanished after giving Xiao Yun the Curse Technique—Weaken and a note that made Xiao Yun break into a cold sweat.
• Xiao Yun told the Hot Water Village Clan Leader that he was the Child of Prophecy, leaving Asahi distraught and the Clan Leader delighted.
• The Clan Leader ordered Asahi to attend to Xiao Yun and congratulated her, while the other women envied her and discussed trying to have Xiao Yun's children.
• Xiao Yun assured the Clan Leader and the women's husbands that he loved only Asahi and asked for an immediate wedding, but Asahi furiously refused to marry him.

Xiao Yun agreed to keep Asahi at his side while pretending he would send away his other women, then left Hot Water Village with her after Jiraiya urgently summoned him. Jiraiya revealed that Kurenai's poison had flared up and she had died.

• Asahi demanded Xiao Yun send away the women around him, and Xiao Yun claimed he was willing while secretly planning to keep them.
• The Clan Leader welcomed Xiao Yun as his son-in-law and asked him to stay in Hot Water Village to train in the Curse Technique.
• Xiao Yun received nine urgent croaks from the Summoning Frog and left for Konoha, with Asahi accompanying him at the Clan Leader's order.
• Jiraiya met Xiao Yun and Asahi outside Hot Water Village, learned Xiao Yun was the Child of Prophecy, and told him Kurenai had died after her poison flared up.

After learning that Kurenai had died, Xiao Yun flew into a rage and forced Sasuke to reveal Orochimaru’s whereabouts. At Orochimaru’s Sound Village base, Asahi tried to lure him outside by offering to reveal the secret of the Curse Technique.

• Jiraiya told Xiao Yun that Kurenai had died, and Xiao Yun erupted in grief and anger, vowing to kill Orochimaru.
• Jiraiya summoned Sasuke and Xinyan; Xiao Yun demanded Orochimaru’s location and struck Sasuke when he refused to answer.
• After Jiraiya revealed Kurenai’s death, Sasuke agreed to disclose Orochimaru’s whereabouts.
• At a secret base in Sound Village, Orochimaru endured intense pain and told Kabuto to begin the reincarnation ritual as soon as Sasuke returned.
• Orochimaru questioned the bound Asahi and Xinyan about the Curse Technique, and Asahi offered to tell him its secret if he took her outside the base.
• Orochimaru agreed to Asahi’s condition but planned to keep the captives there overnight before handling his personal matters.

Xiao Yun attacked Orochimaru after realizing he had taken over Sasuke’s body, and their fight left them both pierced by the Kusanagi Sword. Xiao Yun unleashed devastating lightning to kill Orochimaru, while Jiraiya prepared to seal the energy before it killed Xiao Yun too.

• Xiao Yun sensed Orochimaru’s Chakra in Sasuke and rushed to attack, despite Jiraiya warning that Sasuke was not Orochimaru.
• Xiao Yun’s strikes exposed Orochimaru, and the two wounded each other with Xiao Yun’s palm and the Kusanagi Sword.
• Orochimaru recognized Xiao Yun’s Dragon Transformation, but Xiao Yun seized him and engulfed them both in violet-white lightning.
• Kabuto could not reach Orochimaru because Jiraiya and Asahi blocked him, while Jiraiya’s genjutsu had already controlled Sasuke.
• Asahi warned that the lightning could kill Xiao Yun even if he stopped, so Jiraiya spread out a scroll and prepared to seal it.

Xiao Yun used Curse Technique and his Mangekyō Sharingan to kill Orochimaru and free Sasuke from his stolen-consciousness space. After recovering, Xiao Yun allowed Sasuke to return to Konoha and tasked him with killing Itachi and infiltrating Akatsuki, giving him a sphere of Lightning Chakra to strengthen him.

• Xiao Yun used Curse Technique: Sever to end his Lightning Release, while the remaining Lightning Chakra continued to ravage Orochimaru.
• Xiao Yun revealed his violet Mangekyō Sharingan, entered Orochimaru's consciousness space, freed Sasuke, and destroyed Orochimaru's true body.
• Xiao Yun collapsed after avenging Kurenai, while Asahi knocked out Kabuto and bound him.
• One day later, Xiao Yun recovered and Sasuke, still injured, asked to return to Konoha and train with him.
• Xiao Yun agreed to Sasuke's return but ordered him to kill Itachi and join Akatsuki as a spy, then gave him a sphere of Lightning Chakra and warned him not to betray Konoha.

Xiao Yun, Jiraiya, and Asahi returned to Konoha, where Asahi’s clan caused a confrontation with Tsunade by claiming Asahi was carrying Xiao Yun’s child. After Asahi played along with the claim and Tsunade kicked Xiao Yun, he reassured Tsunade that he loved her, and they reconciled at her home.

• Asahi followed Xiao Yun and Jiraiya toward Konoha, while Xinyan returned to inform the others that she was safe.
• At Konoha, Tsunade confronted Asahi’s clan, whose members claimed Xiao Yun had promised to marry Asahi and that she was carrying his child.
• Asahi arrived and pretended to be Xiao Yun’s lover, making Tsunade furious enough to kick Xiao Yun away.
• At Tsunade’s home that night, Xiao Yun denied having anything with Asahi and reassured Tsunade that he preferred her.
• Xiao Yun swore that he was telling the truth, and Tsunade kissed him.

After learning that Kurenai was alive, Xiao Yun told Tsunade he had killed Orochimaru to avenge her, then spent the night with Tsunade. Meanwhile, the Hot Water Village Clan Leader tried to take over the Hokage Office, but Asahi revealed she was not pregnant with Xiao Yun’s child.

• Tsunade explained to Xiao Yun that Kurenai was alive, and Xiao Yun admitted he had killed Orochimaru believing he was avenging her.
• Xiao Yun and Tsunade reconciled and spent the night together, then Tsunade dressed him in Hokage outfits and asked him not to forget her.
• The Hot Water Village Clan Leader sat in the Hokage’s chair and demanded a seat for his daughter and Shikamaru’s dismissal.
• Shikamaru refused the Clan Leader’s demands and called for guards to throw him out.
• Asahi arrived with a Konoha Hospital pregnancy test report showing she was not carrying Xiao Yun’s child, and reaffirmed her devotion to Lord Jashin.

Xiao Yun oversaw Hot Water Village’s resettlement in the former Uchiha Clan area and addressed Konoha’s leaders about preparing for a coming catastrophe. He left the meeting having secured agreement to form a special operations unit, while tensions over who would become his wife remained unresolved.

• Xiao Yun gave the former Uchiha Clan area to Hot Water Village, whose people restored Lord Jashin’s statue and the Curse Technique formation, which enabled most of them to use their techniques only nearby.
• Hot Water Village’s Clan Leader tried to persuade Asahi to marry Xiao Yun, but Asahi reaffirmed her lifelong devotion to Lord Jashin and rejected Xiao Yun as a fickle womanizer.
• Xiao Yun arrived with Tsunade and Konoha’s leaders, and the Clan Leader urged him to marry Asahi and make her Hokage’s wife.
• Hyuga Hiashi confronted the Clan Leader over his claim, insisting that his granddaughter Hyuga Yumi should become Xiao Yun’s wife, until Xiao Yun silenced them with his powerful aura.
• Xiao Yun warned that a great calamity was coming, ordered each clan to provide elites for a special operations unit under Jiraiya, proposed a future Shinobi Allied Force, and announced a banquet welcoming Hot Water Village.
• Tsunade told Xiao Yun that Hyuga Baijie had been handling publicity and was unwell, and Xiao Yun agreed to visit her.

Xiao Yun intervened when Neji Hyuga attacked Hyuga Baijie and learned she was hiding her pregnancy with his child. After leaving her to recover, he was told that the Akatsuki Organization had captured Four-Tails Son Goku.

• Xiao Yun heard Neji Hyuga accuse Hyuga Baijie of betraying his father and insulting Xiao Yun and Tsunade.
• Xiao Yun burst into Baijie's residence, slapped Neji, and stopped him from attacking her, but Neji defaced his father's portrait and Baijie fainted.
• Xiao Yun brought Baijie to Teacher Kurenai's room, where she nearly revealed that she was pregnant with his child.
• Baijie asked Xiao Yun to visit her often, and he promised he would before leaving.
• Might Guy and Kakashi told Xiao Yun that Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had captured Four-Tails Son Goku.

Xiao Yun decided not to rescue the Four-Tails and planned to use the Uchiha Clan’s stone tablet to influence the Akatsuki Organization. Meanwhile, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki delivered the Four-Tails to Pain, who led the organization in extracting its beast and killing its jinchūriki.

• Konoha’s leaders argued over whether to rescue the Four-Tails, and Xiao Yun weighed the risks of confronting the Akatsuki Organization.
• Xiao Yun decided against rescuing the Four-Tails and ordered Konoha to spread word that the Uchiha Clan’s stone tablet revealed the Sage of Six Paths’ final words.
• Xiao Yun brought Kakashi to the Xiao Clan’s territory to discuss an important matter with the Clan Leader.
• Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki arrived in Amegakure with the captured Four-Tails, and Kisame threw him down in the Akatsuki Organization’s cave.
• Pain and the other Akatsuki members extracted the Four-Tails’ Chakra, leaving its jinchūriki dead, and Pain urged them to capture the remaining Tailed Beasts.

Pain learned that the chakra of several Tailed Beasts had vanished and suspected Xiao Yun was involved, while the Masked Man decided to investigate a new prophecy on the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Xiao Yun and Tsunade arrived in the Hidden Mist Village to persuade Mei Terumi to send the Three-Tails jinchūriki to Mount Myōboku, and a voice interrupted them after their night together.

• The Masked Man told Pain that he could no longer sense the chakra of the Two-Tails, Six-Tails, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails, and Zetsu reported that Hot Water Village had merged with Konoha.
• Pain agreed to capture the Tailed Beasts, while the Masked Man decided to investigate a new prophecy on the Uchiha Stone Tablet despite Zetsu warning that Xiao Yun might be luring him into a trap.
• Mei Terumi initially wanted to refuse the Konoha envoy, but an elderly gray-haired woman persuaded her to meet him the next morning.
• Xiao Yun told Tsunade he had come to persuade Mei Terumi to send the Three-Tails jinchūriki to Mount Myōboku, and Tsunade explained that she had come to keep Mei Terumi from seducing him.
• After spending the night together inside a Wood Release sphere, Xiao Yun and Tsunade emerged at dawn and talked about visiting his hometown before a seductive laugh came from the doorway.

Xiao Yun and Tsunade visited Mei Terumi to warn her about the Akatsuki and propose an alliance, but Mei rejected the proposal as naive. After their argument escalated and a powerful old woman calmed Mei, Xiao Yun began to explain his plan.

• Mei Terumi flirted with Xiao Yun, prompting Tsunade to warn her to stay away from him.
• Xiao Yun confronted Mei with evidence that she had hidden most of the Three-Tails' chakra within herself, and Mei revealed she knew about the Tailed Beasts going to Mount Myōboku.
• Xiao Yun proposed that the Five Great Nations form an Allied Shinobi Forces, but Mei dismissed the idea and ordered him and Tsunade to leave.
• Tsunade defended Xiao Yun, and he erupted in anger as Mei and Tsunade prepared to fight.
• A powerful old woman calmed Mei by touching her shoulder, and Mei resumed flirting with Xiao Yun.
• Xiao Yun agreed to explain his proposal, warning Mei that what he was about to say might sound outrageous.

Xiao Yun returned to Konoha with Tsunade and ordered the village to honor Itachi Uchiha after learning of his death. In a cave, Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, survived Itachi’s trap for the Masked Man, and heard the truth about his brother, which he could not accept.

• Mei Terumi and an elderly woman discussed Xiao Yun’s claims, and Mei Terumi decided to act after the woman confirmed sensing Sage Jutsu Chakra from him.
• Xiao Yun and Tsunade returned to Konoha, where Tsunade said a powerful woman could protect Mei Terumi from the Akatsuki Organization.
• Shikamaru reported that Sasuke Uchiha had killed Itachi Uchiha and joined the Akatsuki Organization, and Xiao Yun ordered Konoha to mourn Itachi as a hero.
• Sasuke awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan when the Masked Man revealed his Sharingan, triggering Itachi’s sealed Amaterasu and forcing the Masked Man to escape with Izanagi and space transfer.
• The Masked Man told Sasuke that Itachi had protected him and explained the truth about Itachi’s actions.
• Sasuke recalled that Itachi had spared him during their battle but screamed that he could not accept the revelation.

Sasuke joined the Akatsuki after the Masked Man convinced him that the Third Hokage had manipulated Itachi, and Sasuke vowed revenge on Xiao Yun. Xiao Yun received the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror from Itachi’s departing phantom, then visited the Xiao Clan to check on the cursed barrier, whose effects he could not detect.

• The Masked Man persuaded Sasuke that the Third Hokage had sent Itachi down a path of no return, and Sasuke agreed to join the Akatsuki.
• Sasuke blamed Xiao Yun for helping him grow strong and swore to repay him for the Uchiha blood he believed Xiao Yun had shed.
• Itachi’s phantom appeared to Xiao Yun and gave him the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, explaining that they came from Fugaku Uchiha’s Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Xiao Yun resolved to protect the Ninja World and promised to revive Itachi with Impure World Reincarnation someday.
• Xiao Yun visited the Xiao Clan, saw Asahi practicing with two greatswords, and asked his father-in-law about the cursed barrier.
• The Clan Leader told Xiao Yun to look around, but Xiao Yun could not see anything unusual.

Xiao Yun prepared to lure Obito and Zetsu into Konoha with a curse formation and planned to make Kakashi the Akatsuki leader. After a month of political shifts and Kurenai’s recovery, Xiao Yun found Hyuga Baijie ill, and she reacted with joy when he said he liked daughters.

• Xiao Yun learned that the Clan Leader had set a curse formation capable of restraining energy and preventing enemies from escaping, even with Space Ninjutsu.
• Xiao Yun explained that he had spread a rumor about the Uchiha Clan’s stone tablet to draw Obito and Zetsu to Konoha, and he resolved to capture them.
• Xiao Yun told Kakashi to prepare to become the leader of the Akatsuki Organization.
• Over the following month, the Hidden Stone Village cooperated with the Akatsuki Organization, the Hidden Mist Village stayed neutral, and Xiao Yun invited Gaara to negotiate with Konoha.
• After discovering Hyuga Baijie vomiting and weak, Xiao Yun helped her to bed, and she asked whether he liked daughters before embracing him.

Hyuga Baijie told Xiao Yun that she was carrying his child, and he promised to take responsibility. Later, Xiao Yun and Asahi trapped Obito and Zetsu in the Uchiha Clan’s underground chamber, where Xiao Yun revealed that he knew their identities.

• Hyuga Baijie revealed that she was pregnant with Xiao Yun’s child and explained that she had impersonated Tsunade that night.
• Xiao Yun promised to support Baijie, and she kissed him before he returned to the Hokage Office at dusk.
• Xiao Yun received a signal that the target had taken the bait and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave his office.
• Asahi used her Curse Technique to control the Uchiha Clan members while Xiao Yun sensed Obito and Zetsu nearby.
• Obito and Zetsu entered the underground chamber, where curse runes trapped them and blocked their abilities.
• Xiao Yun, Asahi, Clan Leader, and several curse experts confronted the pair, and Xiao Yun identified the Masked Man as Uchiha Obito and addressed the aloe-headed man as Zetsu.