Chapter Summaries

Chiba offered the Sage of Six Paths knowledge of the future, hoping to gain the Sage’s help, but worried that revealing the plot could provoke the anomalous world’s will. The Sage considered the offer and asked what he would have to pay.

• Chiba proposed telling the Sage of Six Paths about the future, knowing the Sage wanted to change the Shinobi World’s course.
• Chiba weighed the risks of revealing the plot to the Sage, fearing the World Will might oppose them.
• Chiba reminded the Sage of Six Paths that knowing the future could help resolve his unfinished business.
• The Sage of Six Paths asked Chiba what price the deal required.

Chiba asked the Sage of Six Paths to teach him Yin-Yang Release so he could harm Uchiha Nobuhiko’s Susanoo and save Kushina, offering his knowledge of the original story in exchange. The Sage initially refused, but then offered to teach him Yin-Yang Release.

• Chiba decided that learning Yin-Yang Release was his best chance to damage Uchiha Nobuhiko’s Susanoo and save Kushina.
• Chiba offered the Sage of Six Paths his knowledge of the original story in exchange for instruction in Yin-Yang Release.
• The Sage of Six Paths understood Chiba’s motive but decisively refused the transaction.
• Chiba accepted that he might have to rely on his incomplete knowledge of Yin-Yang Release and try to deduce the rest himself.
• The Sage of Six Paths unexpectedly said that he could teach Chiba Yin-Yang Release.

Chiba suspected the Sage of Six Paths had an ulterior motive when he offered to teach him Yin-Yang Release and Sage of Six Paths Jutsu. The Sage then revealed that the offer came with a condition, leaving Chiba wary of what he would be asked to do.

• Chiba questioned why the Sage of Six Paths would offer to teach him Yin-Yang Release without payment and suspected the World Will was involved.
• The Sage of Six Paths confirmed that he could teach Chiba Yin-Yang Release and added that he could also teach him Sage of Six Paths Jutsu.
• Chiba grew alarmed and decided he could not safely accept either technique, believing the offer was likely a trap.
• The Sage of Six Paths said he would teach Chiba the techniques only if Chiba did one thing for him.

Chiba weighed the Sage of Six Paths’ offer to teach him Yin-Yang Release and Sage of Six Paths Jutsu in exchange for finding the Sage’s heart. After learning there was no fixed deadline, Chiba fell silent to consider the dangerous bargain.

• Chiba realized the Sage of Six Paths’ offer was a transaction and considered the immense power being offered in exchange for his help.
• Chiba reasoned that the World Will must have approved the bargain because it needed him to do something it could not accomplish itself.
• The Sage of Six Paths asked Chiba to find his heart, which he sensed was somewhere in the world but could not search for himself.
• Chiba asked about the deadline, and the Sage of Six Paths said he wanted it done as soon as possible but set no specific time limit.
• The Sage of Six Paths gave Chiba time to consider the request, confident that he would agree.

Chiba weighed the Sage of Six Paths' offer to teach him Yin-Yang Release in exchange for finding the Sage's missing heart, but learned that neither the Sage nor the World Will had any clues. He asked how long it would take to learn Sage of Six Paths Jutsu, and the Sage clarified that he would not teach it to him yet.

• Chiba considered the risks and benefits of accepting the mission, which offered Yin-Yang Release but had no stated time limit.
• Chiba asked the Sage of Six Paths what information he could provide about the missing heart.
• The Sage of Six Paths said he had no information at all about where his heart had gone.
• Chiba hesitated over the danger of searching for something unknown even to the Sage and the World Will.
• Chiba asked how long learning Sage of Six Paths Jutsu would take, and the Sage said he was not going to teach it to him for now.

Chiba negotiated with the Sage of Six Paths over learning Yin-Yang Release and Sage of Six Paths Jutsu in exchange for finding the Sage’s heart. After understanding why the Sage would delay teaching the Jutsu, Chiba accepted the arrangement and asked what he needed to accomplish to learn it.

• Chiba realized the Sage of Six Paths’ offer to teach only Yin-Yang Release was insufficient, and considered refusing the deal.
• Chiba assessed their bargaining positions and began to reject the terms, arguing that the Sage could not threaten him and had no other choice.
• The Sage of Six Paths interrupted to explain that he would teach Chiba both Yin-Yang Release and Sage of Six Paths Jutsu, but the deal had no deadline.
• Chiba understood that the Sage was delaying the Jutsu to ensure Chiba would still help recover his heart, and asked what he had to accomplish to learn it.

Chiba agreed to find the Sage of Six Paths’ heart in exchange for learning Sage of Six Paths Jutsu, while the Sage explained that teaching it would not guarantee mastery. Chiba then questioned whether he was even qualified to learn the technique.

• Chiba asked whether the Sage of Six Paths feared he would break their deal after finding the heart and learning the jutsu.
• The Sage of Six Paths said he was not afraid and privately concluded that this Chiba was trustworthy enough to handle the task.
• The Sage of Six Paths warned Chiba that he might not endure what lay ahead, and Chiba recognized that greater power would not remove the dangers he faced.
• The Sage of Six Paths explained that Sage of Six Paths Jutsu could not be mastered merely by learning it, since Chiba would need talent, diligence, and time.
• Chiba asked whether he was qualified to learn Sage of Six Paths Jutsu, worrying that his ordinary clan and flawed body might make the offer a verbal trap.

Chiba questioned whether he could learn Sage of Six Paths Jutsu and whether the Sage of Six Paths was being sincere. The Sage revealed that he had been testing how much the One Who Knows Everything knew, and Chiba moved on to ask about Yin-Yang Release.

• Chiba explained that he was unsure he could learn Sage of Six Paths Jutsu because he had no evidence his body belonged to the required bloodline.
• The Sage of Six Paths assured Chiba that he could learn the technique and argued that teaching it served their mutual interests.
• Chiba admitted he did not know the requirements for Sage of Six Paths Jutsu and realized the Sage had been testing his knowledge.
• The Sage of Six Paths explained that Chiba's body could adapt to the technique, and Chiba decided to stop second-guessing him.
• Chiba asked what he should pay attention to with Yin-Yang Release.

Chiba learned to create Yin Release Chakra and Yang Release Chakra in the mental space after the Sage of Six Paths taught him their principles. The Sage summoned Chiba to demonstrate how to use Yin-Yang Release techniques through actual combat, revealing that his heart mattered more to him than Chiba had expected.

• Chiba realized that Yin-Yang Release drew out the spiritual or physical qualities of Chakra and could underpin powerful techniques.
• After about a day of instruction, Chiba created Yin Release and Yang Release Chakra simultaneously, impressing the Sage of Six Paths with how quickly he learned.
• The Sage confirmed that Chiba had mastered Yin-Yang Release and could use it in his physical body after a brief adjustment.
• Chiba asked how to use Yin-Yang Release, and the Sage told him to come closer because he could not explain its techniques without actual combat.
• Chiba understood that the Sage of Six Paths's heart was more important than he had imagined.

Chiba received mastery of Yin-Yang Release from the Sage of Six Paths, who revealed that he had been seeking his heart and then disappeared. Chiba turned his attention to the Light Orb, hoping to investigate it before confronting the Nine-Tails calamity, but touching it engulfed him in white light.

• The Sage of Six Paths transferred his knowledge of Yin-Yang Release to Chiba, who gained an instinctive command of it.
• Chiba noticed a fading symbol on his palm, and the Sage explained that it held some of his Chakra to help Chiba find his true body and search for his heart.
• The Sage revealed that another Chiba had anchored him with the Light Orb, then vanished from Chiba's spiritual space.
• Chiba considered how Yin-Yang Release could help him resolve the Nine-Tails calamity and decided to examine the Light Orb.
• Chiba pressed his hand against the Light Orb, and pure white light and warmth enveloped him.

After touching the Light Orb, Chiba found himself in an unfamiliar plaza and reviewed what he knew about the Orb’s powers and limits. A voice then addressed him from behind, startling him.

• Chiba awoke in a glowing circular plaza with a Light Orb at its center and three doors around its edge.
• Chiba realized the scene did not match his memories of what touching the Light Orb should do.
• Chiba recalled that the Light Orb came from a higher dimension, had strict limits, and had been forbidden for him to use again.
• Chiba wondered why he had arrived in a space that felt beneficial to his spirit.
• An unseen person spoke behind Chiba, and he spun around in alarm.

Chiba encountered a taller version of himself in a strange space and suspected the Sage of Six Paths or the World Will might be using it to investigate the Light Orb. The young man revealed that Chiba may have erased his own memories and asked to examine the mark on Chiba’s right hand.

• Chiba met a taller version of himself, who asked whether he had ever touched that part of his memories.
• Chiba realized he appeared as a boy in this space, unlike in his other mental spaces, and suspected the encounter might be a trap.
• Chiba considered how the Sage of Six Paths and the World Will feared the Light Orb and had negotiated with him rather than forcing him to act.
• The young man told Chiba to hold out his right hand so he could inspect the mark the Sage of Six Paths had left there.

Chiba questioned the identity of a young man who looked exactly like him after appearing in a strange space. Suspecting the young man was a backup created to protect him from the Sage of Six Paths, Chiba asked him to explain the Light Orb’s ability as proof.

• Chiba challenged the young man’s identity and asked how he could prove who he was.
• The young man said he was a backup of half of who Chiba was and admitted he could not leave the space.
• Chiba suspected the backup had been created to guard against the Sage of Six Paths or the World Will.
• Chiba asked what the Light Orb’s ability was, and the young man agreed to answer.

Chiba questioned a young man who claimed to be his backup, but neither trusted the other enough to verify his identity. Chiba found another way to test him by asking about the Big Three shonen manga and their protagonists.

• Chiba asked the young man what the Light Orb could do, but the young man refused to answer until he knew Chiba was safe.
• The young man asked to inspect the Sage of Six Paths' mark on Chiba, and Chiba worried he might tamper with it.
• Chiba and the young man recognized that neither would cooperate without the other proving himself first.
• Chiba realized there might be another way to verify the young man's identity and asked him to name the Big Three shonen manga and their protagonists.

Chiba tested the young man’s identity with questions about the Big Three and confirmed he was his other self’s backup. After the Light Orb inspected the Sage of Six Paths’ mark and found no abnormalities, Chiba suspected his memories of the Orb had been partially deleted.

• Chiba asked the young man to name the Big Three’s protagonists and describe One Piece’s ending to verify memories only he could know.
• The young man answered correctly, and Chiba accepted him as his backup and offered his marked hand for inspection.
• The young man used the Light Orb’s power to inspect Chiba’s Sage of Six Paths mark, and the Orb reported no abnormalities.
• Chiba interrupted the young man to ask what the Light Orb was and realized his other self might have deleted some of his memories about it.

Chiba questioned the young man about the Light Orb’s origin and name, then learned that the backup had been given three duties to carry out when he arrived in the space. The young man confirmed Chiba’s independence but withheld the final duty until Chiba had fully accepted all his memories, including a cruel segment.

• Chiba searched the other him’s memories and realized that he had deliberately erased the Light Orb’s origin and name.
• Chiba asked the young man about the Light Orb in his mental space, but the young man refused, saying it was outside his duties.
• The young man said his first duty was to confirm that Chiba was independent and had not been controlled or altered.
• The young man explained that his second duty was to ensure Chiba had fully accepted all the memories, including the cruel segment.
• The young man withheld the third duty until Chiba accepted the memories, and Chiba hesitated over that cruel memory.

Chiba realized his other self had secretly prepared a plan aimed at the Naruto World and asked the memory-bearing backup about it. The backup confirmed Chiba could not travel to other worlds, leaving him to remain in this Naruto World.

• Chiba deduced that his other self had split off a backup and hidden a plan aimed at the Naruto World.
• Chiba concluded that accepting the cruel memories was necessary to learn the plan and become the self his other self intended.
• The young man told Chiba that he could ask any question the backup was able to answer.
• Chiba asked whether he would have to travel through other worlds as part of his journey.
• The young man said there was only one Naruto World and Chiba could not leave it without being reduced to ashes.

Chiba reflected on his former life and realized that his strongest attachment to it was his mother, making him wonder if his other self had sought to return to their original world for her. The young man denied that the other self’s plan had anything to do with Mother.

• Chiba inferred that his other self had experienced multiple worlds and developed a theory about World Wills and world gods during cruel experiences.
• Chiba reconsidered his former self-pity and the way he had let isolation, slander, and social expectations shape his life.
• Chiba remembered his mother, who had raised him alone, and wondered how she was doing after his death.
• Chiba asked whether his other self had wanted to return to the original world.
• The young man said Chiba’s other self had not wanted to return that badly and bluntly stated that his plan was not because of Mother.

Chiba confronted his other self’s apparent lack of longing for his mother and questioned what that self was planning. As he realized his other self might have avoided those memories out of fear, the young man urged him to accept a segment of memory before revealing more.

• Chiba recognized that his devotion to Kushina had partly given an outlet to his buried desire to repay his mother from his previous life.
• Chiba recalled how his mother had supported and protected him, and felt angry that his other self seemed not to miss her or want to return to her.
• Chiba asked the young man what his other self was planning, but the young man said he could not disclose anything until Chiba accepted a segment of memory.
• The young man privately thought Chiba had recovered something essential, but still needed to merge completely with the original memories.
• Chiba wondered whether his other self had been afraid to face the memories of his mother.

Chiba struggled to understand why his other self had hidden a cruel memory and feared what accepting it might do to him. After weighing the risks, he decided to try accepting it, hoping it would explain his other self’s intentions and perhaps reveal how to return to his previous life.

• Chiba realized that accepting his other self’s cruel memory was the key to understanding his plans and his attitude toward their mother.
• Chiba considered that the memory could still be deleted from the Light Orb before it fused with him, but he did not want to erase part of his past.
• Chiba worried that personally experiencing the memory might change his personality and leave him unprepared to face the Night of the Nine-Tails and powerful enemies.
• The young man told Chiba that accepting the memory was the only way.
• Chiba decided to try accepting the memory, wondering if it held a way to return to his previous life.