Chapter Summaries

Pakura played Jiraiya’s genjutsu game, “Ninja Wind Story,” believing it held secrets about Konoha, and became captivated by its story and realistic gender-swapping experience. Rasa praised her apparent dedication while growing suspicious of the Third Kazekage, and Pakura ultimately kept the game instead of destroying it so she could continue investigating.

• Pakura noticed that “Ninja Wind Story” named Jiraiya as its producer and decided the unusual game might reveal hidden secrets about Konoha and genjutsu games.
• Pakura played the story as a male ninja, interpreted ordinary dialogue as coded intelligence, and was overwhelmed by the game’s intimate scenes and realistic sensations.
• Pakura returned to the game repeatedly, stayed up all night playing, and told her delegation that she had been researching Konoha’s games.
• Rasa praised Pakura’s apparent diligence and, recalling Sarutobi Mizuki’s management advice, began to suspect the Third Kazekage might keep controlling him after he became Kazekage.
• Pakura considered destroying the unmarked game scroll but remembered its story and characters, then decided to keep it and continue investigating.

Rasa learned that Konoha would recruit skilled people from across the Ninja World and mistook the policy for an easy way to infiltrate Konoha with spies. He decided to send Pakura into Konoha under a plan that would damage his own reputation, believing it would protect Sunagakure.

• Rasa paid Sarutobi Mizuki for advance details about Konoha’s Talent Recruitment Order and judged the policy a foolish way to expose Konoha to spies.
• Rasa sent the Third Kazekage a report on the recruitment order and his plan to exploit it, while concealing what Sarutobi Mizuki had taught him about officialdom.
• Rasa summoned Pakura and told her that Sunagakure would use the recruitment order to place spies in Konoha.
• Pakura questioned how she could infiltrate Konoha despite being known there, and Rasa explained a plan that astonished her.
• Pakura accepted the mission and promised to carry it out, even if it cost her life or damaged Rasa’s reputation.

Konoha’s recruitment drive drew recruits, spies, and political schemes from across the Ninja World, while Kazahana Sōsetsu’s journey to Konoha exposed his brother’s treachery. The chapter ended with Uchiha Qi facing the newly revived Tobirama Senju, who demanded to know why he was alive again.

• Ōnoki and the Third Raikage Ai dismissed Konoha’s recruitment drive as a sign of decline, while Kumogakure accepted escort missions and selected Sachima to infiltrate Konoha.
• Kirigakure’s rebellion drove several clan members into exile, and some defectors disguised themselves as applicants for Konoha’s recruitment program.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu decided to visit Konoha to discuss technology and left Kazahana Dōtō as regent of the Land of Snow.
• Kazahana Dōtō plotted to kill his brother and conquer the Ninja World, but escort-team ninja uncovered his scheme and brought him before Kazahana Sōsetsu.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu sent Kazahana Dōtō to Blood Prison for life, where Kazahana Dōtō later committed suicide.
• Uchiha Qi faced the revived Tobirama Senju, who demanded an explanation for his resurrection and surroundings.

Tobirama Senju fought Uchiha Qi, but after apparently killing him, he was trapped in a blood-soaked world of Dark Souls 3. Uchiha Qi watched as Tobirama Senju was welcomed by the Fire Keeper as an Ashen One.

• Uchiha Qi provoked Tobirama Senju, whose kunai broke against Qi's arm when he attacked.
• Tobirama Senju used the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, Water Release: Severing Wave, and Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, leaving what appeared to be Uchiha Qi's mangled remains.
• The remains exploded into red mist, transforming the landscape and forcing Tobirama Senju to flee a deadly blood fog into a strange land.
• Tobirama Senju witnessed visions of Aldrich, Devourer of Gods, the Watchers of the Abyss, and other terrifying beings before collapsing.
• The Fire Keeper supported Tobirama Senju and welcomed him as the Ashen One, while Uchiha Qi watched from the Spiritual Network and revealed that he had placed Tobirama in a Dark Souls 3 world.

Stripped of his chakra and trapped in Lordran as an Ashen Undead, Tobirama Senju rejected the duty to become a Lord of Cinder and set out to find a way home. After surviving a brutal fight with thirteen hollows and discovering that their souls strengthened him, he was effortlessly killed by Judge of Ashes, Gundyr.

• Tobirama Senju learned from the Fire Keeper that he was an Ashen Undead in Lordran, refused the mission to sacrifice himself for the First Flame, and left Firelink Shrine to seek a way home.
• Tobirama Senju encountered thirteen armed hollows and fought them without chakra, enduring severe injuries before defeating them.
• Tobirama Senju absorbed the hollows' soul remnants and realized that killing enemies made him stronger.
• Tobirama Senju drank the Fire Keeper's golden healing potion and rapidly recovered from his wounds.
• Tobirama Senju encountered Judge of Ashes, Gundyr, who easily killed him.

Tobirama Senju tried to escape the path toward Iudex Gundyr, but Uchiha Qi’s trial forced him to face the boss and endure months in a dark, increasingly real world. After the Fire Keeper became his only source of comfort, Tobirama resolved to find the Lords of Cinder and link the fire, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

• Tobirama Senju repeatedly died while attempting to bypass Iudex Gundyr and realized that defeating the boss was the only way forward.
• Uchiha Qi kept Tobirama trapped in Dark Souls 3 under accelerated time, and Tobirama spent nearly half a year navigating its world and gathering intelligence.
• Tobirama witnessed towns and villages fall to the Abyss and other dark powers, and his repeated attempts to save people failed.
• The Fire Keeper comforted Tobirama whenever he resurrected, and she gradually became his emotional anchor.
• Tobirama accepted the world as real and decided to defeat the Lords of Cinder, recover the First Flame, and become a Lord of Cinder himself.

Tobirama Senju continued fighting through Dark Souls 3, generating Golden Spirit for Uchiha Qi, who considered using revived Kage as game-bound Emotion Value sources. When Tsunade asked about summoning Tobirama, Uchiha Qi revealed he had already summoned him, leaving Tsunade worried about their encounter.

• Tobirama Senju grew stronger through six months of fighting and soul absorption in Dark Souls 3.
• Uchiha Qi gained Golden Spirit from Tobirama Senju's emotions and considered putting other revived Kage into games to generate more.
• Tsunade visited Uchiha Qi because the one-month deadline for summoning the dead had arrived and she hoped to see Tobirama Senju return.
• Uchiha Qi told Tsunade that he had summoned Tobirama Senju several days earlier and that Tobirama had been unfriendly toward him.
• Tsunade worried about how badly Uchiha Qi might have treated her second granduncle.

Tsunade learned that Tobirama Senju was being made to play through a punishing game while Uchiha Madara remained happily occupied with Genjutsu Games. As Uchiha Qi prepared to launch livestreaming and oversaw Konoha’s recruitment, Konoha used exposed spies as unwitting laborers and introduced visiting ninja to a provocative new magazine about the other villages.

• Tsunade saw Tobirama Senju’s struggle in Lordran, asked Uchiha Qi not to go too far, and confirmed that Uchiha Madara was still absorbed in games with Hashirama Senju.
• Uchiha Qi began developing a large-scale game and a Live Streaming System to bring online livestreaming to the ninja world.
• Uchiha Qi used four Shadow Clones to supervise Konoha’s recruitment reviews, while White Zetsu exposed most of the spies and scouts among the applicants.
• Uchiha Qi persuaded Konoha to keep useful spies under watch and employ them, while publicly arresting a few others to frighten the rest into obedience.
• Visiting ninja saw Konoha’s prosperity and bought the first issue of The Public Intellectual, whose stories highlighted alleged problems in other villages and Konoha’s strengths.

Sachima and Pakura read Konoha’s new magazine, The Public Intellectual, and reflected on its criticism of their homelands and praise of Konoha. Pakura left convinced that she should learn Konoha’s ideas and techniques for Sunagakure, while outsiders across the Ninja World reacted to the magazine’s seemingly impartial accounts.

• Sachima read an article criticizing Kumogakure’s violence and crime, recognized its claims from her own experience, and decided to send copies back to Kumogakure.
• Pakura read the magazine’s criticism of the Land of Wind and concluded that its systems were backward, though she did not know how they could be changed.
• Pakura read stories praising Konoha’s unity and care for its people, and compared them with the hardships and limitations of Sunagakure.
• Pakura reinterpreted her planned role as a spy, deciding that she should learn Konoha’s advanced ideas and techniques and bring them back to Sunagakure.
• Ninjas from other villages read the magazine and tended to trust its claims because it also criticized the Land of Fire, without noticing that its praise was reserved for Konoha.

Kakuzu had become a prosperous Konoha Gaming Guild agent and a devoted supporter of Uchiha Qi. After Qi ordered him to supply goods to young people from the Land of Rain, Kakuzu learned they belonged to a new organization called Akatsuki.

• The Public Intellectual spread Konoha’s stories across the ninja world, inspiring some ordinary people to become Konoha people at heart.
• Kakuzu reduced his bounty-hunting work after the Konoha Gaming Guild made him an agent and helped him build a profitable business.
• Minato Namikaze explained that Konoha wanted Kakuzu as a valuable black glove, reassuring him about their partnership.
• Uchiha Qi ordered Kakuzu to sell Konoha Gaming Guild goods at base prices to young people from the Land of Rain.
• Kakuzu met the young people and learned that they belonged to a newly established organization called Akatsuki.

Uchiha Qi met Yahiko and Konan, invested in Akatsuki, and arranged for Kakuzu to help them develop a practical plan for the Land of Rain. Yahiko returned home with the plan, uncensored Genjutsu Game, and funding, while Tobirama Senju finally cleared the enhanced version of "Dark Souls 3."

• Jiraiya told Uchiha Qi that Akatsuki had come to Konoha seeking support and an uncensored version of Genjutsu Game, so Uchiha Qi went to meet Yahiko and Konan.
• Yahiko asked Uchiha Qi for an autograph, and Uchiha Qi learned that the young Akatsuki members admired him and hoped to change the Land of Rain.
• Uchiha Qi arranged for Kakuzu to coordinate with Akatsuki and gave the group access to uncensored Genjutsu Game.
• Kakuzu criticized Akatsuki's crude approach, then created a detailed development plan after Yahiko and the others listened to his advice.
• Yahiko returned to the Land of Rain with Akatsuki's plan, uncensored Genjutsu Game, and funding from Uchiha Qi.
• Tobirama Senju finally cleared the enhanced version of "Dark Souls 3."

Tobirama Senju awoke after sacrificing himself to link the First Flame and learned from Uchiha Qi that his life as the Ashen Undead had truly happened. Reassured that the Fire Keeper would live out her natural lifespan, he was transported to an estate where Hashirama Senju, Nawaki, and Tsunade were waiting.

• Tobirama Senju linked the First Flame, sacrificing himself as the Fire Keeper stood beside him.
• Tobirama Senju awoke in a grassland and recovered his memories of life before entering the world of Dark Souls.
• Uchiha Qi told Tobirama Senju that his experiences as the Ashen Undead were real and that the First Flame would last around a hundred years.
• Uchiha Qi explained that the Fire Keeper would live out her natural lifespan, relieving Tobirama Senju.
• Tobirama Senju asked Uchiha Qi who he was, and Uchiha Qi introduced himself and described his ties to the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.
• Uchiha Qi transported Tobirama Senju to an estate, where Hashirama Senju, Nawaki, and Tsunade were waiting.

Tobirama Senju returned from Dark Souls 3 and reunited with Hashirama Senju, Tsunade, and Nawaki in New Konoha, but his distrust and battle trauma led him to attack Hashirama. After Hashirama’s Wood Release and familiar behavior convinced him the reunion was real, Tobirama questioned Uchiha Qi about why the dead had gathered and whether they were in the world of the dead.

• Hashirama Senju and Nawaki introduced Tobirama Senju to New Konoha, but Tobirama suspected the reunion was an illusion and used Body Flicker to distance himself from them.
• Tobirama discovered that his Dark Souls 3 soul power had been replaced by Chakra, and his uncontrolled power cracked the ground.
• Hashirama tried to calm Tobirama, but Tobirama attacked him, and Hashirama subdued him with Wood Release and sealing techniques.
• Tobirama recognized Hashirama through his familiar Wood Release and finally accepted that his elder brother was real.
• Hashirama sank into despair over the wars and losses that followed his choices, and Tobirama scolded him, restoring their familiar dynamic.
• Tobirama asked Uchiha Qi why he and Hashirama were present and whether they were in the world of the dead.

Black Zetsu grew anxious about Madara’s growing obsession with games and traveled toward the Land of Wind, prompting Uchiha Qi to suspect he was targeting Rōran’s Dragon Veins. Uchiha Qi gathered several allies in the Genjutsu Great World to discuss the possible threat.

• Black Zetsu concluded that Konoha’s growing power and Madara’s changed priorities threatened his plan to save his mother, so he left the Ten-Tails’ hidden base for the Land of Wind.
• Uchiha Qi learned of Black Zetsu’s departure and considered whether he meant to provoke a war before suspecting he was after the Dragon Veins beneath Rōran.
• Uchiha Qi ordered White Zetsu to track Black Zetsu and expand surveillance in the Land of Wind, then summoned allies through WeChat for an urgent meeting.
• Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Minato met Sasori in the Spiritual Network Great World, where Orochimaru explained Sasori’s recruitment and abilities.
• Uchiha Qi told the group about Black Zetsu’s movements and explained his concerns about Rōran and the Dragon Veins.

The group planned a trip to Rōran to investigate its Dragon Veins and disrupt Black Zetsu's unknown scheme, sending Sasori, Orochimaru, and a Nine-Tails-powered Minato Namikaze Shadow Clone. Meanwhile, Pakura's apparent defection from Sunagakure drew attention, but the chapter revealed it was a cover for her planned infiltration of Konoha, arranged by the Third Kazekage and Rasa.

• Sasori and Orochimaru agreed to travel to Rōran together to investigate the Dragon Veins, and the group chose Minato Namikaze's Nine-Tails-powered Shadow Clone to accompany them.
• Konoha sent an ordinary-looking supply-purchasing mission toward the Land of Wind as cover for the Rōran operation.
• News spread that Pakura had attacked Rasa and left Sunagakure after a power struggle over their competing ambitions for the Kazekage position.
• The Third Kazekage told Rasa that the fabricated conflict had convinced the ninja world Pakura was a rogue ninja, clearing the way for her to enter Konoha through its recruitment program.
• The Third Kazekage praised Rasa's sacrifice and declared him a qualified successor for the Kazekage position.

Minato Namikaze investigated the Country of Rōran and discovered its people were starving under corrupt nobles, prompting him to consider intervening with Uchiha Qi’s support. The chapter ended with Tsunade confronting the morality of using Rōran as a trial ground, while recognizing its people could still fare far better under Uchiha Qi’s management.

• Uchiha Qi confirmed that Sunagakure had staged Pakura’s rogue-ninja defection so she could infiltrate Konoha, and he accepted her as a valuable recruit.
• Minato Namikaze’s Shadow Clone infiltrated Rōran and found no Anrokuzan or puppet people; the young Queen Sara faced a power struggle with her ministers.
• Minato Namikaze discovered that famine had driven commoners to eat corpses while Rōran’s nobles remained comparatively comfortable, and that puppet techniques prevented ordinary people from rebelling.
• Minato Namikaze sent his findings to Uchiha Qi and wanted to help Rōran’s people, so Uchiha Qi encouraged him to intervene in disguise.
• Tsunade questioned whether Minato Namikaze should interfere in Rōran’s internal affairs, and Uchiha Qi argued that the intervention could serve as practice for governing while improving people’s lives.

Sasori, Orochimaru, and Uchiha Qi traveled to Roran to investigate its Dragon Veins and learn what Black Zetsu was planning. They discovered that Black Zetsu had recruited a powerful noble by selling him Orochimaru’s aphrodisiac as life-extending medicine, while Minato Namikaze’s Shadow Clone supported taking control of Roran to save its people.

• Sasori and Orochimaru used teleportation tools powered by the Nine-Tails’ Chakra to reach Roran, with Uchiha Qi’s Shadow Clone accompanying them and extending the Genjutsu Network’s range.
• White Zetsu told Uchiha Qi that Black Zetsu had contacted Roran’s nobles before traveling to the Land of Fire’s capital to approach its Daimyo.
• Uchiha Qi and the others followed White Zetsu to a powerful Roran minister, and Minato Namikaze’s Shadow Clone learned that the originals planned to take control of Roran and save its ordinary citizens.
• Uchiha Qi controlled the minister with his Sharingan, and the minister revealed that Black Zetsu had offered him medicine in exchange for future access to the Dragon Veins.
• The minister described how the medicine had restored his sexual vigor, and Orochimaru recognized it as his own aphrodisiac, which Black Zetsu had falsely marketed as life-extending medicine.

Uchiha Qi secured control over Rōran while Sasori and Orochimaru developed Dragon Veins-powered Puppet Clones, and Minato Namikaze began trying to reform the country. Meanwhile, Black Zetsu manipulated the Land of Fire’s Daimyo into fearing Konoha’s growing independence, and Uchiha Qi learned of the scheme from the White Zetsus.

• Uchiha Qi and his allies controlled Rōran’s ministers, while Sara remained resistant to his Mangekyō-level hypnosis because of her bloodline’s authority over the Dragon Veins.
• Sasori and Orochimaru studied the Dragon Veins and created Puppet Clones that could think like their originals, operate without constant Chakra, and assist with research.
• Minato Namikaze began experimenting with ways to reform Rōran, while Sasori and Orochimaru stayed to develop their research and improve the cross-dimensional network.
• Black Zetsu warned the Land of Fire’s Daimyo that Konoha was becoming independent and might threaten his power, deepening the Daimyo’s fear of Konoha.
• The White Zetsus reported Black Zetsu’s manipulation to Uchiha Qi, who wondered whether the Daimyo could be made water-soluble.

Uchiha Qi monitored Black Zetsu’s schemes against the Land of Fire’s Daimyo while Konoha waited for the old powers to provoke it and give reform legitimacy. Kazahana Sōsetsu arrived in Konoha and proposed deep cooperation that could leave the Land of Snow under Konoha’s influence, and Tsunade’s side accepted.

• Uchiha Qi had White Zetsus watch the Land of Fire’s Daimyo and Black Zetsu, who returned to the Naka River Shrine base after inciting the Daimyo.
• Uchiha Madara continued monitoring his base and pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan despite his growing enjoyment of life with Muzi.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu arrived in Konoha after turning back to resolve Kazahana Dōtō’s rebellion and assassination attempt.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu offered the Land of Snow’s railway, train, and other advanced technologies in exchange for deep cooperation with Konoha.
• Orochimaru’s clone assessed Kazahana Sōsetsu as a highly capable engineer, while Uchiha Qi recognized the potential value of his expertise to Konoha.
• Tsunade and the others accepted Kazahana Sōsetsu’s cooperation proposal, which would give Konoha extensive influence over the Land of Snow’s economy, culture, and politics.

Kazahana Sōsetsu decided to trade the Land of Snow’s technology for Konoha’s protection after learning that nobles at home and abroad supported Kazahana Dōtō’s rebellion. Konoha accepted the agreement, and Sōsetsu prepared to return with a team that would secretly secure the country while Konoha gained access to new technology.

• Kazahana Sōsetsu learned from Kazahana Dōtō that conservative nobles within the Land of Snow and powerful figures in other countries had backed the rebellion and coveted the Land of Snow’s technology.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu feared that defeat would cost him his life and leave his daughter vulnerable to the nobles, so he resolved to seek Konoha’s protection.
• Kazahana Sōsetsu reached Konoha and offered its leaders the Land of Snow’s technology in exchange for protection, and they agreed to the cooperation.
• Konoha arranged for a Gaming Guild team to travel with Kazahana Sōsetsu while Uchiha, Hyūga, and other ninja secretly established a military presence in the Land of Snow.
• Konoha began considering how the Land of Snow’s technology, especially railway technology, could support its industrialization.