Chapter Summaries

Baki explained Mukade’s history and abilities to Kagetsu’s team, revealing that the missing Sunagakure ninja had become a formidable puppet master. Trapped inside Rōran by a barrier, the team began considering how to locate the Chakra source powering it.

• Baki told Kagetsu that Mukade had defected from Sunagakure after stealing secret puppet arts and had once been considered a future Kazekage.
• Baki described Mukade’s Brown Secret Technique, which used regenerative Clay Golems fitted with concealed mechanisms, and warned that Mukade might exploit the powerful Chakra source in Rōran.
• Kagetsu explained that a barrier had sealed Rōran and that they needed to find Mukade or locate and disable the Chakra source to escape.
• Baki asked whether the team could infiltrate the guarded source through the shadows, and Kagetsu agreed while warning that it might not go smoothly.
• Kagetsu asked Itachi and Asuma how to find the Chakra source; Asuma proposed capturing and interrogating someone, while Itachi suggested infiltrating the ruler’s side and questioning the Queen.

Kagetsu, Baki, Itachi, and Asuma infiltrated Mukade’s underground puppet factory and found that it was powered by a vast energy source. At the source, they encountered four Konoha ninja who had suddenly appeared, leaving their identities uncertain.

• Kagetsu led the group through Rōran’s underground drainage tunnels toward the powerful energy source.
• The group discovered prisoners forced to operate a device beneath a factory where Clay Puppets were mass-produced.
• Baki recognized the puppet army as a major threat to Sunagakure, but Kagetsu said they needed to find Mukade rather than merely destroy the factory.
• Kagetsu guided the group past puppet guards to a vast chamber containing four stone statues and a glowing purple eye pattern.
• Four Konoha ninja appeared suddenly in the chamber, and Kagetsu revealed himself so the group could question them.

Nara Kagetsu and his companions encountered Yamato, Naruto, Sakura, and their team beneath Rōran, where a clash revealed that they came from different worlds and timelines. After Kagetsu explained his world’s history and their mission to stop Mukade, puppet figures burst in, one blazing with light.

• Naruto attacked Kagetsu with a spinning sphere of Chakra, but Itachi caught his wrist and threw him back.
• Kagetsu recognized Sakura’s Yin Seal and determined that the newcomers were Konoha ninja.
• Yamato said his team was in Year 67 of Konoha, while Kagetsu stated that his world was in Year 52 and had Orochimaru as the Fourth Hokage.
• Kagetsu introduced himself as a Nara and explained that the groups had crossed into different worlds under the influence of some power.
• Yamato confirmed that his team was also tracking Mukade, while Naruto and Sakura glared angrily at Itachi.
• Puppet figures rushed through the door behind them, and one blazed with light that drove away the darkness.

Kagetsu and the others fought off a swarm of puppets in the underground Dragon Vein chamber. Kagetsu used Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation to expose the Puppet Master and asked whether the trapped man was Mukade.

• The puppets attacked Kagetsu and his allies with Chakra explosive bombs and blades, but Kagetsu seized control of them with Shadow Puppet.
• Naruto and the others joined the battle against the incoming puppets, and Naruto was wounded before Sakura cleared a path to him.
• Kagetsu traced the puppet threads to their controller and entered Ryūchi Cave's Sage Mode.
• Kagetsu used Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation to pull a man encased in rock down from the darkness and trap him among Rock Giants.
• Kagetsu sealed off the man's space and Chakra, then asked if he was Mukade.

Mukade revealed himself as a future shinobi transformed into a Human Puppet and explained his ambition to rule the Shinobi World with the Dragon Vein and a puppet army. Naruto’s Nine-Tails Chakra briefly escaped before Mukade suppressed it, and Kagetsu prepared to fight Mukade and search his memories.

• Mukade trapped Naruto in a Chakra-devouring net, and Sakura and Sai failed to free him with their attacks.
• Mukade broke out of the rock as a Human Puppet, injured Sakura, and summoned his improved Chikamatsu Ten Puppets.
• Mukade told Kagetsu that he came from the future and had been inspired by Kagetsu’s teachings to pursue Human Puppet techniques.
• Naruto released the Nine-Tails’ Chakra, but Mukade used the Spirit Suppressing Stone and three puppets to suppress it.
• Mukade revealed that he had made the Queen of Rōran into a Human Puppet to retain her Dragon Vein powers and planned to conquer the nations and rule the world.
• Kagetsu dismissed Mukade’s ideals and said he would defeat him and search his memories.

Mukade used the Dragon Vein to create a powerful Puppet One-Tail and attacked Kagetsu and his allies. After Wood Release and other restraints failed, Kagetsu severed the puppet’s connection to the Dragon Vein, leaving Mukade shocked and unable to restore its power.

• Mukade sent seven puppets after Kagetsu, but Kagetsu’s shadow threads captured the female puppet while he protected Itachi from their attacks.
• Mukade revealed Puppet One-Tail, powered by the Dragon Vein, and it unleashed purple fireballs that battered the underground chamber and injured Baki.
• Kagetsu recognized that Puppet One-Tail could regenerate as long as it remained connected to the Dragon Vein, while Mukade boasted that it was invincible on his home ground.
• Yamato, Kagetsu, and Baki restrained Puppet One-Tail, but Yamato’s Wood Release and chakra-suppressing technique did not weaken it.
• Kagetsu drove a blade into Puppet One-Tail and severed or blocked its connection to the Dragon Vein, causing its energy nodes to dim and its body to falter.
• Mukade tried to restore Puppet One-Tail’s power with the Queen of Roran’s power, but an unseen barrier prevented him from reconnecting it to the Dragon Vein.

Kagetsu explained that Mukade’s Dragon Vein-powered puppet body had lost its balance and was suffering the Queen of Roran’s lingering influence. Mukade began Hollowfying as Naruto and the others regrouped, leaving them facing a dangerous transformation they could not interrupt.

• Kagetsu drove his blade into the Dragon Vein’s convergence point and told Mukade that using power beyond his limits had caused a backlash.
• Kagetsu revealed that the Queen of Roran, fused into Mukade’s puppet body, was resisting him as purple energy leaked from his body.
• Kagetsu used stone arms to free Naruto from the Spirit Suppressing Stone net, and Sakura dragged Naruto to safety.
• Baki recognized Mukade’s transformation as Hollowfication and feared its growing power.
• Kagetsu warned Yamato that Hollowfication could not be interrupted and that Mukade would treat anyone who approached as food.

Yamato and Baki learned from Kagetsu that the monstrous Hollowfied Mukade contained two opposing consciousnesses and could be left alone for the moment. Kagetsu suspected the Queen of Rōran had become a Hollow first, and wondered whether his interference with the Dragon Vein had caused the outbreak.

• Yamato asked what Hollowfication was, and Baki explained its danger and the need to seal Hollows or destroy their masks.
• Baki questioned Kagetsu about the Hollowfication masks, and Kagetsu confirmed they were linked to technology stolen by the Cloud Ninja.
• Kagetsu pointed out that Hollowfied Mukade was not attacking them and explained that Mukade and the Queen of Rōran had irreconcilable consciousnesses fighting within one body.
• Kagetsu warned that the two consciousnesses were contesting the Dragon Vein's energy and might evolve into a stronger Hollow or split into two.
• Kagetsu suggested the Queen of Rōran had become a Hollow in Rōran's Heavy Reishi Ground before Mukade, then wondered whether his own interference with the Dragon Vein had caused both transformations.

Kagetsu and the others sealed the Hollowfied Mukade with the Four Directions Sealing Formation, then prepared to send Yamato’s future team back by correcting the Dragon Vein’s distorted space-time power. The chapter ended with Kagetsu ready to unseal and reseal the Dragon Vein.

• Kagetsu asked Sai to inscribe the Four Directions Sealing Formation, then had Sai, Yamato, Haruno Sakura, and himself activate it together.
• The four sealed Hollowfied Mukade underground while Queen of Roran restrained him.
• Kagetsu explained that removing the medium that brought Yamato’s team to this world would send them back, and Yamato thanked him.
• Naruto called Kagetsu a good person, prompting Haruno Sakura to knock him down and explain that their world had a different history.
• Sai revealed to Itachi that he was an S-Rank Konoha Missing-nin who had slaughtered the Uchiha Clan in their world, leaving Itachi stunned.
• Kagetsu told Yamato that future knowledge would not matter across different timelines, then prepared to unseal and reseal the Dragon Vein.

Kagetsu restored the Dragon Vein and completed the mission in Rōran, while Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and Yamato vanished as they returned to their own time. After leaving Rōran with Baki, Kagetsu proposed that Konoha and Sunagakure cooperate to improve the Wind Country.

• Kagetsu drew the blade from the seal, restored the Dragon Vein’s flow, and cut a purple crystal from its energy beam.
• Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Sai, and Yamato dissolved into glowing particles and vanished, and Kagetsu chose not to investigate a change he sensed in Mukade’s seal.
• Kagetsu and Baki left the underground chamber and found Rōran’s streets littered with disabled puppets as its citizens emerged.
• The Dragon Vein’s barrier dissipated, allowing Kagetsu and Baki to leave Rōran, and Baki thanked Kagetsu while taking back Mukade’s stolen Puppet Secret Technique.
• Kagetsu offered to discuss cooperation between Konoha and Sunagakure, including using Wood Release and the Dragon Vein to improve the Wind Country.

Kagetsu persuaded Fourth Hokage Orochimaru to consider using the Dragon Vein and Wood Release to restore the Wind Country’s desert in exchange for money and resources. Orochimaru agreed to let him pursue the plan if he secured approval from the Wind Country and Sunagakure, while Kagetsu sought Tsunade’s and Kushina Uzumaki’s involvement.

• Orochimaru admitted that the Dragon Vein’s time-travel power tempted him, but Kagetsu argued that changing the past was futile, and Orochimaru decided to focus on the future.
• Kagetsu proposed supplying Sunagakure with food and trading for the Wind Country’s poisons, minerals, and Puppet Technique expertise.
• Kagetsu revealed his plan to make environmental restoration in the Wind Country a long-term mission, using Wood Release to create oases and attract investment from the daimyo and nobles.
• Orochimaru told Kagetsu to seek cooperation from Senju Wood Release users, and Kagetsu said he would speak with Tsunade.
• Kagetsu asked Orochimaru to let Kushina Uzumaki join as an advisor on using the Dragon Vein’s power, and Orochimaru agreed if Kagetsu secured the Wind Country’s and Sunagakure’s approval.

Kushina learned she was pregnant, prompting Konoha to prepare for the risks of a Jinchuriki’s childbirth while Orochimaru and Kagetsu reconsidered her role in a major mission. Itachi told Kagetsu and Fugaku about the future he had learned in Rōran, and Kagetsu explained that it belonged to another world and challenged Itachi’s belief that he could have carried out the Uchiha Clan’s massacre alone.

• Tsunade told Kushina she was pregnant, and Kushina arranged to inform Minato before the news reached Konoha’s leaders.
• Orochimaru asked whether Kushina should still take the mission, and Kagetsu left the decision to Minato and Kushina.
• Tsunade confronted Orochimaru and Kagetsu for neglecting their work on reviving Dan and Nawaki, then gave Orochimaru a list of Senju Clan members willing to help with the mission.
• Fugaku encouraged a troubled Itachi to speak with Kagetsu about the Rōran mission, and the next morning he accompanied Itachi to the Nara Clan compound.
• Itachi revealed to Kagetsu and Fugaku the future involving Minato’s succession, the Nine-Tails’ Attack, Orochimaru’s defection, and the Uchiha Clan’s extermination.
• Kagetsu explained that the events had occurred in another world and told Itachi that the village, likely including Danzo’s Root, must have helped enable the massacre.

Kagetsu helped Itachi separate himself from the version of Itachi in another world who had massacred his clan, then arranged for Kabuto to join his team and study Medical Ninjutsu. The chapter left Kagetsu heading to meet Nonō and take responsibility for Kabuto’s training.

• Kagetsu reassured Itachi that his world and circumstances differed from those of the other Itachi, and Itachi said the memories could no longer affect him.
• Fugaku walked home with Itachi and said it was wonderful that Orochimaru had become the Fourth Hokage.
• Tsunade told Kagetsu that his team needed another student and assigned Kabuto, an orphan adopted by Nonō, to study Medical Ninjutsu under him.
• Kagetsu found Nonō teaching children Medical Ninjutsu at Konoha Hospital, where Kabuto was among the orphans she had trained.

Kagetsu introduced Yakushi Kabuto as the new medical-ninjutsu specialist on his team with Itachi and Asuma. After the team welcomed Kabuto over barbecue, Kagetsu ordered them to prepare for a mission in the Wind Country and escorted Kabuto back to the orphanage.

• Asuma told Itachi that a new teammate would join them, but Itachi remained calm while they trained.
• Kagetsu introduced Yakushi Kabuto, recommended by Tsunade for his medical-ninjutsu talent, to Itachi and Asuma.
• Itachi welcomed Kabuto, and Asuma reluctantly shook his hand despite distrusting him.
• Kagetsu treated the team to barbecue and ordered them to leave the village soon for a mission in the Wind Country.
• Kagetsu packed barbecue for Kabuto and personally escorted him back to the orphanage.

Orochimaru won the Jonin Assembly's support for an ambitious plan to expand Konoha's resources and influence, despite objections from Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō. He assigned Minato and Kushina key roles and warned them to prepare the village's defenses for Uchiha Madara's possible attack during Kushina's childbirth.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō objected to Orochimaru's sweeping plan at the Jonin Assembly.
• Uchiha Fugaku, Tsunade, Hyuga Hiashi, Nara Shikaku, and other clan representatives supported the plan, while Shimura Danzō left in anger.
• Orochimaru assigned clans responsibility for food production and placed the Sealing Team under Kushina's command, asking Minato to help her maintain the Dragon Veins.
• Orochimaru warned Minato and Kushina that Uchiha Madara might attack when childbirth weakened Kushina's seal, so Kushina agreed to strengthen Konoha's barrier against the Nine-Tails.
• Orochimaru urged Kushina to seek out surviving Uzumaki Clan members and offer them safety in Konoha.

Kagetsu and Rasa discussed Konoha and Sunagakure's cooperation in Rōran, including economic aid and training support. Rasa welcomed the prospect of a medical system but rejected Konoha directly handling the One-Tail's seal, leaving Kagetsu to propose sharing sealing knowledge instead.

• Baki welcomed Kagetsu and his team to Rōran, where Rasa and Queen Sara were waiting.
• Kagetsu and Rasa watched the Sand and Konoha negotiators argue over cooperation terms while Queen Sara presided over the meeting.
• Rasa questioned why Konoha was sending Wood Release ninja to grow trees, and Kagetsu explained that ninja power could support economic development as well as combat.
• Kagetsu offered Sunagakure low-cost food and supplies, training for its young ninja, and help establishing a medical system; Rasa was deeply tempted by the proposal.
• Kagetsu suggested Konoha could assist with sealing the One-Tail, but Rasa refused to let Konoha's ninja handle the Tailed Beast.
• Kagetsu asked whether Konoha could instead share sealing knowledge for Sunagakure to study and adapt.

Kagetsu and Rasa advanced a Konoha–Sunagakure project to use the Dragon Vein to create lasting oases in the Wind Country. After the Wood Release forest quickly withered in the desert, the group extracted a Dragon Vein Energy Core to test the plan, leaving Rasa eager to see its potential.

• Senju Qi and four other Senju Clan members used Wood Release to grow a forest in the desert while other ninja watered it, but the technique consumed substantial Chakra and the trees began to wither.
• Rasa accepted closer cooperation with Konoha and asked when he could see a verification site; Kagetsu said Konoha would use the Dragon Vein’s energy to create an oasis.
• Kagetsu explained that a limited extraction from Rōran’s Dragon Vein could prove the plan without causing lasting harm, and Rasa approved the proposal.
• Namikaze Minato arrived and supported moderate use of the Dragon Vein, seeing Sunagakure as a potential ally that could help Konoha in future wars.
• Queen Sara helped release the Dragon Vein’s power, and Minato used a specially made Kunai to extract an Energy Core before Sara resealed the Array Eye.
• Rasa studied the extracted Dragon Vein Energy Core and wondered whether Sunagakure could use it to create powerful ninja.

In the Forest of Death, Orochimaru and Tsunade tried to persuade Jiraiya to undergo Orochimaru’s power-awakening process before leaving the village. Jiraiya agreed to spar with Orochimaru in Sage Mode, and their battle began with Jiraiya’s Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon striking Orochimaru’s Triple Rashomon.

• Jiraiya told Orochimaru and Tsunade that he planned to leave the village after Naruto was born, and Orochimaru accepted his decision.
• Tsunade and Orochimaru offered to raise Jiraiya’s potential with Orochimaru’s awakening technology, but Jiraiya initially refused because he feared being modified.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade challenged Jiraiya to face them in a spar, and Orochimaru suggested he summon the two Mount Myoboku sages and enter Sage Mode.
• Jiraiya summoned Shima and Fukasaku, who helped him enter Sage Mode while Orochimaru studied the flow of Natural Energy.
• Jiraiya attacked with Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon, and Orochimaru blocked the barrage with Triple Rashomon, which lost two gates before stopping it.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru sparred, with Jiraiya using Sage Mode to overwhelm Orochimaru before Orochimaru revealed a technique that copied Jiraiya. The fight continued as Jiraiya and his copy clashed, ending with the copy engulfed by the combined attack of Jiraiya, Sage Fukasaku, and Sage Shima.

• Jiraiya struck Orochimaru with Sage-enhanced attacks, while Orochimaru survived using Blut Vene and Snake Shedding.
• Jiraiya battered Orochimaru with Sage Art: Super-Massive Rasengan, and Orochimaru praised the technique Minato had created.
• Orochimaru used Sage Art: Spirit Recording Shadow Engraving Technique to create a copy of Jiraiya from his shed remains.
• The two Jiraiyas fought and their Super-Massive Rasengans collided, sending them both flying.
• Jiraiya and the two sages combined wind, oil, and fire in a powerful attack that swallowed the copied Jiraiya.

Jiraiya and the toad sages fought Orochimaru and his replicated counterpart, but Sage Poison disrupted their Natural Energy and forced Jiraiya out of Sage Mode. Orochimaru revealed that his Hogyoku granted him a safer, customizable power mode and a path toward becoming a perfect lifeform through replication, while his larger ambitions remained underway.

• Jiraiya used Sage Art: Goemon against the replicated Jiraiya, who survived the burning oil by shedding his charred body with Orochimaru's Ninjutsu.
• Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima detected Sage Poison disrupting Jiraiya's Natural Energy and dispersed it, forcing him out of Sage Mode.
• The replicated Jiraiya failed to escape with Snake Shedding Technique and petrified as the unstable Natural Energy overwhelmed him.
• Orochimaru approached Jiraiya using golden lightning and explained that Sage Poison, developed with Tsunade and Kagetsu, made Natural Energy violent and uncontrollable.
• After Jiraiya dismissed Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, Orochimaru explained that Hogyoku Mode let him control Natural Energy outside his body and described his plan to evolve through replication and the integration of Kekkei Genkai.