Chapter Summaries

Mabui realized she could identify the Lightning Fire Chicken thief by adding a harmless flavor enhancer to the chicken feed, while Asuka and Fei Fei debated what to do with the unconscious Samui. Asuka summoned Samui to Ryūchi Cave for a visit, leaving Mabui to wait for her return.

• Mabui decided to add a harmless flavor enhancer to the chicken feed and track down the thief by sampling dishes made with Lightning Fire Chicken.
• Fei Fei warned Asuka that Samui might try to poison him, and Mabui stepped in to protect her when they discussed what to do with her.
• Mabui proposed taking Samui with them or letting them both go, but Fei Fei rejected those options as risky.
• Asuka decided to send Samui to Ryūchi Cave, explaining that she would visit rather than undergo its dangerous trial.
• Asuka used the Summoning Technique to send Samui to Ryūchi Cave, and Mabui concluded that his word was reliable.

Tsunade and Mikoto discussed the rumors troubling Mikoto, Uchiha Asuka’s popular fried-chicken business, and the possibility of finding a wife for him among the Whirlpool Clan. Meanwhile, Samui awoke in Ryūchi Cave, where Rukin Hime offered her power to defeat Uchiha Asuka.

• Tsunade struck a civilian for gossiping about Mikoto and Fugaku, then promised Mikoto she would address the rumors.
• Tsunade and Mikoto saw the crowds at Uchiha Asuka’s fried-chicken shop and discussed how he could sell fresh chicken so cheaply.
• Tsunade proposed that Asuka marry a fiery-tempered woman from the Whirlpool Clan, while Mikoto wondered whether Kushina could be resurrected.
• Mikoto asked whether sages could marry humans after mentioning a story about the Six Paths Sage and the White Snake, and Tsunade suspected Asuka had made it up.
• Samui woke in Ryūchi Cave, where Rukin Hime told her she had been brought there and asked whether she craved power to defeat Uchiha Asuka.

Samui agreed to undergo Ryūchi Cave’s trial to learn sage arts and avenge her brother, while Rukin Hime prepared to make her paint walls in the dark. Meanwhile, Uchiha Asuka and Mabui reached the capital of the Land of Lightning, where Mabui explained how the First Raikage had persuaded the daimyo to fund Kumogakure.

• Rukin Hime told Samui that Mabui had not been found and claimed that Uchiha Asuka had never learned sage arts.
• Samui accepted Ryūchi Cave’s trial, whose first stage required her to paint a wall smoothly in the dark using her perception.
• Ichikishimahime and Tagorihime discussed hurrying Uchiha Asuka to the Land of Honey so they could summon the man painting the walls back.
• Asuka discovered that Mabui’s shortcut had brought them to the capital of the Land of Lightning, and Mabui explained that few ninja guarded the city because of the daimyo’s history with Kumogakure.
• Mabui recounted how the First Raikage had annoyed the daimyo into funding Kumogakure, and Asuka agreed that it had been for the village.

Uchiha Asuka and Mabui traveled through the Land of Lightning while discussing Jiraiya’s exploits and Asuka’s escort mission to the Land of Honey. Mabui revealed that she wanted to spare Samui from a futile quest for revenge, and the chapter ended with Asuka noticing possible ninja among the civilians.

• Mabui hurried Asuka onward as he admired the Land of Lightning and recounted Jiraiya’s romantic travelogue.
• A woman openly flirted with Asuka, prompting Mabui to abandon her defense of the Land of Lightning’s supposed reserve.
• Mabui guessed Asuka was escorting a noble to the Land of Honey and explained that Kumogakure had dispatched squads to hunt him without knowing his mission.
• Asuka and the Orange Cat discussed ways to deal with Samui, while Mabui objected and said Samui would eventually give up revenge because she could not defeat him.
• Mabui admitted she did not want hatred to ruin Samui’s life, and Asuka noticed that some of the passing civilians seemed to be ninja.

A Kumogakure captain explained that the village would deny the Konoha ninjas at the border were genuine and later negotiate with Konoha, while his subordinate kept making provocative remarks. In the Land of Lightning’s capital, Uchiha Asuka questioned Mabui’s disguise and traded insults with her about her figure and his rumored attraction to married women.

• A Cloud Ninja recognized Mabui, but his captain dragged him away and warned him not to create trouble during their mission.
• The subordinate revealed that even ordinary villagers knew about the Konoha ninjas at the border, and the captain said the Raikage planned to claim they were impostors hired to test the village’s defenses.
• The captain described Kumogakure’s retreat as a sacrifice for peace and said the village would later exchange opinions with Konoha, while he and his subordinate joked about obtaining the Byakugan.
• Uchiha Asuka watched the Kumogakure ninjas leave the capital and wondered why so many were there despite Mabui’s claim that the daimyo disliked them.
• Asuka criticized Mabui for disguising herself by changing only her height, and Mabui explained that she had chosen a flat-looking appearance to avoid drawing his interest.
• Asuka and Mabui traded barbs about her figure and his rumored preference for married women, ending with Asuka offering to show her old photos of Tsunade.

Asuka and Mabui traveled from the capital of the Land of Lightning toward the border of the Land of Honey, trading jokes about chickens and Tsunade. When Mabui tried to exchange chickens for Asuka’s costly body-enhancement recipe, he kicked her into the forest, and Fei Fei remarked that the medicine had no market.

• Asuka and Mabui joked about Tsunade and Mabui repeatedly offered him discounted Lightning Fire Chickens.
• Asuka recalled how Tsunade had transformed her figure after discovering a drawing he had made of her, creating their ongoing conflict.
• Mabui warned Asuka that Tsunade might become the Fifth Hokage and offered to teach him how to reconcile with her, but again suggested buying a chicken.
• Asuka and Mabui discussed her growth and his secret recipe as they traveled toward the border of the Land of Honey.
• After learning the recipe cost five hundred thousand, Mabui offered to trade her fattest chickens, and Asuka kicked her into the forest.
• Fei Fei comforted Asuka, saying the medicine had no market and that many ninja would find becoming as big as Tsunade inconvenient.

Uchiha Asuka and Mabui discussed the possibility of another war between their villages and whether they could remain friends if they met on the battlefield. Mabui wondered what Asuka would do, and he bluntly said he would take her to his house until the war ended.

• Mabui tried to reassure Asuka that his unsold folk remedy might eventually sell, while the Orange Cat echoed her encouragement.
• Mabui asked Asuka how long he thought peace would last, prompting him to reflect on past wars and the interests behind conflicts between villages.
• Mabui said she did not want to fight her friends or choose between them and her village if the Fourth Shinobi World War came.
• Mabui asked what Asuka would do if they met on the battlefield, and he seriously answered that she could stay at his house until the war ended.
• Mabui praised Asuka's unusual solution, realizing he had found a way for them to avoid fighting each other.

Asuka and Fei Fei traveled with Mabui toward the Land of Honey, while Fei Fei repeatedly teased Mabui about her figure and temper. At the Land of Lightning’s border, Asuka summoned a noble whose unexpected appearance left Mabui baffled.

• Fei Fei blamed the Land of Lightning’s thunder for its ninjas’ bad tempers, and Mabui argued that Konoha’s greed caused the conflict between their countries.
• Fei Fei teased Mabui about her figure and suggested she buy Asuka’s medicine, making her furious.
• Asuka calmed Mabui and learned they were less than half a day from the Land of Honey, where they would need a noble’s help to enter.
• Asuka summoned a haggard, overweight man holding a brush and paint bucket, and Mabui asked why he had summoned a plasterer.

Ono Jun emerged from Ryūchi Cave after failing its Wall Trial, which Mabui learned involved painting temple walls. He decided to return to the Land of Honey and pursue his claim to become daimyo rather than move his family to Konoha.

• Ono Jun recalled how the Land of Lightning and the nobles of the Land of Honey had repeatedly blocked his attempts to become daimyo.
• Ono Jun emerged from Ryūchi Cave, having failed to paint the temple in time and losing his chance to learn sage arts.
• Mabui asked Ono Jun whether he had seen Samui, but he said Ryūchi Cave was too vast for him to know whether she had entered.
• Ono Jun described his trial as restoring an ancient building’s spirit, and Asuka clarified that Samui’s Wall Trial was simply painting the temple walls.
• Ono Jun told Mabui he had considered moving his family to Konoha, but his experience in Ryūchi Cave convinced him to face the Land of Honey’s nobles and become daimyo.

After leaving Ryūchi Cave, Ono Jun explained how its teachings had shaped his plans to become the Land of Honey’s daimyō. He intended to ally with the Land of Lightning, invite its forces to defend his country, and spend the money saved on military costs to improve his people’s lives so they could flee when war returned.

• Ono Jun told Asuka and Mabui that Ryūchi Cave had taught him to join an enemy he could not defeat, and he revealed that Ichikishimahime’s story had inspired the lesson.
• Asuka explained that Ichikishimahime had become his Summoning Beast after opposing the Uchiha and being defeated by an old man, while Mabui privately suspected the man was powerful enough to subdue the Nine-Tails.
• Ono Jun announced that he planned to join the Land of Lightning’s camp and become the Land of Honey’s daimyō by first establishing ties with the neighboring power.
• Ono Jun proposed disbanding the Land of Honey’s armed forces and inviting the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure to station troops in the country.
• Ono Jun planned to use the military savings to raise living standards so the Land of Honey’s citizens could afford to escape when war came, leaving Mabui worried that he was exploiting the Land of Lightning.

Uchiha Asuka learned that Ono Jun planned to profit from the Land of Honey’s vulnerable position while protecting its people, inspired by Sage Ichikishimahime’s resolve to maximize her interests. Ono Jun left Asuka and Mabui with his belief that a daimyo’s interests were the country and its citizens.

• Ono Jun asked Asuka about Mabui, and Asuka revealed that she was a captured ninja from Kumogakure.
• Asuka praised Ono Jun’s plan to exploit the Land of Lightning’s military strength and acknowledged that the Land of Honey was vulnerable to becoming a battlefield.
• Ono Jun explained that his experience at Ryūchi Cave had changed his plans from fleeing with his family to making the whole country prosperous before war came.
• Ono Jun recounted how Sage Ichikishimahime had given up on fleeing and decided to maximize her interests while serving as a Summoning Beast.
• Ono Jun said a daimyo maximized his interests by protecting the country and its citizens, and that becoming a daimyo had been his childhood dream.

Asuka explained to Ono Jun and Mabui why the Land of Lightning could profit from the coming Fourth Shinobi World War, then the story shifted to Akatsuki’s finances and Kakuzu’s work. Kakuzu left to rest after learning the organization remained billions of ryo short, and Zetsu arrived to discover the startup-fund deficit had grown even larger.

• Asuka reassured Ono Jun that the Land of Lightning would benefit from the Fourth Shinobi World War and urged him to make the people of the Land of Honey prosperous with its support.
• Mabui recognized that the Land of Lightning could use the war to annex the Land of Honey, while Asuka reflected on possible ways the war might unfold.
• Kakuzu returned from a mission, reviewed Akatsuki’s ledger, and learned the organization still needed 12.0788 billion in funding.
• A bookkeeper explained that Akatsuki had bought food for Rain Country’s orphans, and Kakuzu left to rest after hearing how many missions remained.
• Zetsu arrived with a mission scroll and learned that the plan’s startup fund was still short 32.067 billion ryo.

Black Zetsu worried over Akatsuki’s mounting debt and Konan’s plan to spend heavily stabilizing the Rain Country, but decided to let her proceed as long as she strengthened the organization. Konan returned with money, checked Black Zetsu’s ledger, and suspected its commitment to the plan was self-serving.

• Black Zetsu recalled losing its wealth through currency changes and the Wind Country daimyo’s theft of its deposited gold.
• An Akatsuki member explained that Konan planned to use propaganda, aid, and force to unite the Rain Country and strengthen Akatsuki.
• Black Zetsu objected to spending its money on the Rain Country’s people, then decided to tolerate Konan’s strategy while it served the organization’s goals.
• The account keeper reviewed Akatsuki members’ debt targets and noted that Black Zetsu owed over thirty billion.
• Konan arrived with a bag of coins, had Shinichi record it, and inspected Black Zetsu’s ledger with suspicion.

Konan returned to Amegakure after a mission and told Pakura that Uchiha Asuka had become Jashin’s envoy, sparking a split among Jashin’s followers. Meanwhile, Black Zetsu and the White Zetsu original body discussed Akatsuki’s finances, recruitment plans, and Spiral Zetsu’s role in raising money.

• Konan emerged from the treasury and greeted the crowd that had gathered to see her, while Black Zetsu and the White Zetsu original body watched from a window.
• The White Zetsu original body reported that Obito was stirring up trouble in Kirigakure and hoped to recruit disaffected Mist ninja, but Black Zetsu doubted their value and dismissed the idea of recruiting Might Guy.
• Black Zetsu and the White Zetsu original body discussed Nagato’s next recruitment target, Uchiha Asuka’s unlikely prospects, and the pressure to raise thirty billion for their plan.
• The White Zetsu original body proposed finding a wealthy supporter to provide half the money, and Black Zetsu realized it meant Spiral Zetsu in Konoha.
• Konan returned to her room, where Pakura asked about her mission, and Konan explained that Uchiha Asuka had become Jashin’s envoy and divided the cult into opposing factions.

Konan and Pakura discussed a plan to attract Kumogakure factories to the Rain Country under the pretext of an alliance, then seize them later to help the country prosper. In Konoha, Hashirama persuaded Tsunade to take a break from her Hokage duties by visiting a new casino in the Land of Fire’s capital.

• Konan and Pakura watched television and discussed Kumogakure’s border conflict, which Konan suspected might involve Uchiha Asuka and Konoha.
• Konan proposed using an alliance with Kumogakure to attract its factories and jobs to the Rain Country, then taking control of the factories once the time was right.
• Pakura warned that the scheme could ruin the Rain Country’s reputation, while Konan argued that it could make the country a center of commerce; the two watched the sun break through the clouds.
• Tsunade complained about her workload, and Hashirama recalled how Tobirama helped him relax by taking him to a casino.
• Hashirama invited Tsunade to visit a new casino in the Land of Fire’s capital, telling her that relaxing would help her work harder afterward.

The Fourth Raikage tried to get Kumogakure’s elders to help calm the villagers, but they staged an exaggerated push for war to discourage him from provoking Konoha. After leaving the Raikage Building, the elders admitted their scheme and began discussing how to steal a newborn child from the Hyuga Clan.

• The Fourth Raikage questioned the elders’ sudden demands to invade Konoha, send ten thousand ninja to the Land of Earth, or move Kumogakure to the Land of Fire.
• The elders argued over attacking Konoha until the Fourth Raikage ended the meeting and said he would find another way to calm the civilians.
• Outside, the elders revealed that they had staged their demands to prevent the Fourth Raikage from sending a small force to provoke another border conflict.
• The elders discussed the newborn daughter of the Hyuga Clan Head and recognized that one of them intended to adopt—and steal—the child.
• The elders decided it was time to send people to Konoha to look around.

Asuka, Mabui, and Ono Jun spent the morning on the Land of Honey’s coast while Samui remained in Ryūchi Cave for her sage trial. They continued toward the capital, with Mabui trusting Asuka despite his admission that he had taken her and Samui captive.

• Asuka used a hidden thread to make a shuriken carry coconuts back to him, and he discussed Konoha’s flawed deployments during the Third Shinobi World War with Mabui.
• Mabui worried that Asuka might lead a unit against Kumogakure in a future war, then asked whether Danzo could handle tailed beasts; Asuka admitted he did not know.
• Mabui questioned Asuka about Ichikishimahime’s wink and Samui’s absence, and Asuka invented a story about Jiraiya’s sage trial before assuring her Samui was safe.
• Ono Jun thanked Asuka for escorting him and hinted that he would write to Tsunade, while Mabui offered to conceal Asuka’s kidnapping of her and Samui.
• Asuka wondered why no Cloud Ninja had searched for them, and Mabui explained that Kumogakure did not know they were missing and declared that she still trusted his character.
• Asuka headed toward the Land of Honey’s capital and complained that an old woman had once distrusted the same sort of innocent words Mabui believed.

Samui’s trial in Ryūchi Cave ended when Rukin Hime returned her to her companions in the Land of Honey. Samui believed she had failed, while Mabui kept quiet about the deception behind the trial.

• Ichikishimahime woke in Ryūchi Cave, counted the days Uchiha Asuka had been away, and argued with Rukin Hime about the smell of paint and her snoring.
• Tagorihime stopped Ichikishimahime and Rukin Hime from fighting, while Samui continued painting the temple as part of her sensory trial.
• Samui recalled Uchiha Asuka’s formidable history and vowed to pass the trial so she could avenge her brother.
• Samui heard surf and sunlight, then woke on a beach in the Land of Honey with Mabui beside her.
• Samui read Rukin Hime’s note saying the trial had failed and she had been returned to her companions.
• Samui collapsed in despair, and Mabui comforted her without revealing that the trial had been a scam.

After failing Ryūchi Cave’s trial, Samui recovered with Mabui’s help and abandoned the idea of becoming a Jinchuriki. She decided to travel with Kumogakure’s envoys to Konoha so she could learn Uchiha Asuka’s face and find his home for a future revenge.

• Samui grieved over failing the trial, and Mabui cheered her up by joking about Kumo’s Chakra Cannon and sharing a crab with her.
• Samui considered becoming a Jinchuriki, but Mabui warned that tailed beasts and their hosts had weaknesses that made the choice especially dangerous against Uchiha Asuka.
• Samui asked how Mabui had known where to meet her and what had happened when Mabui attacked the man, so Mabui falsely credited the sage of Ryūchi Cave for both.
• Mabui told Samui that Konoha’s forces had likely left the border and that Kumogakure would probably send envoys to Konoha.
• Samui announced that she would join the envoys to recognize Uchiha Asuka and find his home for her future revenge.

Hyuga Cha and his squad returned from the Land of Lightning after failing to infiltrate it, while Asuka had completed the mission alone. Asuka offered to share the mission reward, but the squad felt too guilty to accept it and came to sympathize with White Fang.

• Hyuga Cha and the squad captain lamented their losses and realized they had accomplished nothing during the mission.
• The squad captain compared their failure and trouble for Konoha to White Fang’s past mission, then apologized for throwing bricks at his house.
• Asuka emerged from the forest and told the squad he had completed the mission in the Land of Lightning.
• Asuka revealed that Ono Jun had increased the mission payment by 50% and offered to split the money with the squad.
• Hyuga Cha and the others refused the reward because they felt guilty, and the captain again apologized to White Fang.