Chapter Summaries

Uchiha Mei’s forces defeated the Guardian Ninja and forced the Fire Temple monks to surrender, while Tang Ping secretly saved Chiki Maru and arranged to ransom him. Tenshukaku began collecting the spoils of victory, having proved itself a major power, and awaited the ninja world’s response.

• Uchiha Mei killed the Masked Samurai and cornered Chiki Maru, then attacked him with her blade and Genjutsu.
• Tang Ping intercepted Mei’s blade and persuaded Chiki Maru to offer a hundred million in ransom.
• Uchiha Mei struck Tang Ping’s Shadow Clone with Chidori Sharp Spear, making their staged hostility appear genuine.
• The Fire Temple monks surrendered, while the remaining Guardian Ninja were killed or scattered.
• Uchiha Mei ordered Tenshukaku’s forces to collect the spoils and leave the fleeing enemies unpursued.

After the Tenshukaku easily defeated the Daimyo’s ninja army, Pakura stayed at Sunagakure’s camp to spite Rasa while Ōnoki welcomed the setback for Konoha. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi’s group discussed Uchiha Mei’s battlefield strength and chose to wait for the Daimyo’s envoy, while Tang Ping returned to the Tenshukaku under growing pressure.

• Pakura appeared at Sunagakure’s camp, where Rasa criticized her and she remained cheerfully unmoved by the awkwardness.
• Ōnoki celebrated the Tenshukaku’s victory because it would trouble Konoha, while the other major villages also saw reason to welcome its growth.
• Danzo demanded that Konoha attack the Tenshukaku, but Hiruzen Sarutobi questioned the intelligence about Uchiha Mei’s strength and possible Mangekyo.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura urged patience, and Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to wait for the Daimyo’s envoy.
• Tang Ping returned to the Tenshukaku and faced even greater pressure.

The Land of Demons delegation arrived at Tenshukaku, where Tang Ping learned that Miroku’s daughter Shion was his child and pleaded with Miroku to keep it secret from Hinata Cang Yue and Uchiha Mei. After Nohara Rin inferred the secret and asked Miroku how Shion had been conceived, Miroku gave Rin medicinal herbs and a recipe, leaving Rin blushing and insisting she only wanted to study them.

• Miroku arrived at Tenshukaku with Shion and introduced her as her daughter and the future Priestess of the Land of Demons.
• Tang Ping realized Shion was his child and begged Miroku to keep the truth from Hinata Cang Yue and Uchiha Mei; Miroku agreed.
• Nohara Rin noticed the odd exchange and visited Miroku at the delegation’s inn after Tang Ping returned to official duties.
• Rin confronted Miroku with her deduction that Tang Ping was Shion’s father, and Miroku denied it before asking her to leave.
• Rin explained that she meant no harm and asked how Miroku had conceived Shion; Miroku told her and handed over medicinal herbs and an upgraded recipe for her to study.

Tang Ping was drugged by Nohara Rin and woke the next day sore, with no clear memory of what happened, then nervously hid the evidence from Uchiha Mei. He went on to formally meet the delegation from the Land of Demons, but Shion’s presence left him unable to act tough.

• Nohara Rin brought Tang Ping medicinal soup, and its drug effect made him collapse before he could resist.
• Tang Ping woke the next day aching and recalled that Rin had brought him soup, then found she had cleaned away all traces.
• Uchiha Mei returned, noticed Tang Ping acting strangely, and went to wash without questioning him further.
• Tang Ping headed to the formal meeting with the Land of Demons, where he saw Miroku, Asari Kiyoo, and Shion among the delegates.

Miroku negotiated for the Land of Demons to become the New Trade Route’s terminus, and Tang Ping backed the agreement. Miroku also left Shion at the Tenshukaku to attend school, while Tang Ping remained unsure how to treat her.

• Uchiha Yashiro initially resisted the Land of Demons’ request, while Miroku argued that its alliance with the Tenshukaku outweighed the Land of Snow’s geographic advantages.
• Uchiha Mei questioned whether the Tenshukaku should sacrifice its interests for an ally, but Tang Ping said the Land of Demons was the only country currently seeking cooperation.
• Uchiha Yashiro agreed that the Land of Demons could serve as the New Trade Route’s terminus.
• Miroku asked for Shion to attend school at the Tenshukaku, and Uchiha Yashiro agreed that they would care for her there.
• Miroku returned to the Land of Demons, Shion was excited to stay at the Tenshukaku, and Tang Ping was left with complicated feelings about her.

The Land of Fire Daimyo turned to Konoha to mediate peace talks with the Tenshukaku, while Tang Ping prepared to travel to Konoha and join negotiations with Kumogakure. On the way, Tang Ping, Hinata Cang Yue, and Guren saw the Land of Fire recovering from war and reached Konoha by the autumn harvest.

• The Land of Fire Daimyo abandoned plans for another attack after other powers refused to join him and assigned Konoha to mediate peace talks with the Tenshukaku.
• Tang Ping agreed to negotiate with the Land of Fire and to join Konoha's talks with Kumogakure.
• Tang Ping checked the Tenshukaku's rising food yields and noted that Konoha had planted stolen Tenshukaku Number One rice seeds.
• Tang Ping, Hinata Cang Yue, and Guren disguised themselves as ninja escorting a merchant caravan and traveled leisurely toward Konoha.
• The three saw that nobles had expanded their landholdings during the war, and Guren was affected by the commoners' hardship.
• Tang Ping, Hinata Cang Yue, and Guren arrived in Konoha by the autumn harvest.

Konoha faced a severe food crisis after the rice seeds distributed by Danzo’s Root produced almost no grain, leaving the village needing to buy massive supplies. Tang Ping returned to Konoha and refused the Third Hokage’s informal summons, while the village leaders argued over how to respond to the crisis and the approaching Cloud Ninja Delegation.

• Konoha’s fields yielded almost no rice after most villagers planted the seeds distributed by the village, and the expected harvest fell below half of normal.
• Tang Ping arrived openly at Konoha with Hinata Cang Yue and Guren, and an Anbu told him that the Third Hokage wanted to see him.
• Tang Ping refused to attend until the Cloud Ninja Delegation arrived and used his aura to stop the Anbu from pressing him.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi dismissed the Anbu’s report, while Utatane Koharu complained and Danzo urged him to punish Tang Ping.
• Mitokado Homura redirected the leaders to the food crisis, and Danzo fell silent as Root was largely responsible for the failed seeds.

Hiruzen Sarutobi decided Konoha should buy food from the Tenshukaku rather than seek the Daimyo’s help, while Tang Ping showed Guren around Konoha and she clashed with Anko. The visit ended when Tang Ping and Guren returned to the Yamaa Clan, where Utatane Koharu had arrived.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu discussed the difficulty of buying food in bulk, and Hiruzen chose to have Koharu arrange a purchase from the Tenshukaku.
• Tang Ping showed Guren around Konoha, where she criticized the village and argued with Mitarashi Anko.
• Tang Ping separated Guren and Anko, noticed Anko’s Heavenly Cursed Seal, and understood why she was wary of speaking with him under Anbu surveillance.
• Tang Ping and Guren returned to the Yamaa Clan, where they found Utatane Koharu waiting for a visit.

Tang Ping negotiated Konoha’s grain purchase in exchange for its support in letting Tenshukaku claim territory within its defensive line. After securing the deal, he received Aburame Shibi’s pledge of allegiance and proposed a risky plan to deal with Root.

• Tang Ping offered Konoha fifty thousand tons of rice at a favorable price if it would not obstruct Tenshukaku’s expansion, and Utatane Koharu accepted on condition that the grain arrived within half a year.
• Tang Ping celebrated the agreement, which would give Tenshukaku room to expand its territory and population.
• Aburame Shibi secretly visited Tang Ping and pledged the Aburame Clan’s allegiance to Tenshukaku to protect them from Root.
• Tang Ping asked Shibi to let his clansmen take a risk in a plan to deal with Root, and Shibi agreed.

Danzo used Aburame Shibi’s absence to surround the Aburame Clan grounds and conscript the clan into Root, convinced the Hokage would not punish him. Shibi returned to find the clan grounds empty and shouted Danzo’s name in fury, drawing other clan heads who waited for the Third Hokage to respond.

• A Root spy reported that Aburame Shibi had left the clan grounds on a mission, and Danzo seized the chance to target the Aburame Clan for Root recruitment.
• Root Ninja surrounded the Aburame Clan grounds, and Danzo announced that the clan members were being conscripted by order of the Hokage.
• A Root Ninja used the Shadow Imitation Technique to immobilize an Aburame Clan member as Danzo entered the grounds to deliver his order.
• Aburame Shibi returned from his successful mission and shouted Shimura Danzō’s name in rage when he found the clan grounds empty.
• Clan heads rushed to the Aburame Clan grounds and waited for the Third Hokage to uphold justice.

Danzo forced every Aburame shinobi into Root, leaving Aburame Shibi as the clan’s only remaining ninja and drawing the other clan heads to confront Hiruzen. Tang Ping arrived to watch the dispute unfold, while Shibi used his grief to condemn Danzo and challenge Hiruzen.

• Hiruzen arrived at the Aburame Clan Grounds and learned from Shibi that all the clan’s shinobi were gone.
• An Anbu reported that Danzo had recruited the Aburame shinobi into Root, and Hiruzen ordered Danzo brought before him.
• Tang Ping arrived with Hinata Cang Yue and Guren, and Hiruzen allowed him to stay despite Homura’s objection.
• Danzo arrived and defended bringing the Aburame shinobi into Root, then agreed to return them after Hiruzen ordered him to.
• Shibi asked Hiruzen to let him join Root too, saying he wanted to remain with his clansmen.

Tang Ping confronted Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elders over Danzo’s Root after Aburame Shibi demanded that his clan members be returned and their Cursed Seals removed. The chapter ended with Tang Ping pressing Hiruzen to explain how he would punish Danzo, while the clan heads stayed silent.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi promised Aburame Shibi he would make Danzo return the Aburame clansmen, but could only vaguely assure him that the village would find a way to remove their Cursed Seals.
• Guren laughed at Hiruzen’s response, and Utatane Koharu threatened to make her leave until Tang Ping pressured Koharu with his aura and Hiruzen stepped in.
• Tang Ping suggested disbanding Root, but Mitokado Homura defended it, so Tang Ping countered that the Anbu should be disbanded instead.
• Tang Ping criticized the clan heads for staying silent and asked Hiruzen how he intended to punish Danzo, given that Danzo had apparently resumed commanding Root despite his confinement.

Tang Ping helped secure Danzo’s imprisonment and the Aburame Clan’s release, then hinted that he could remove their Cursed Seals. Aburame Shibi revealed the clan’s real aim: to move to Tenshukaku and seek Tang Ping’s help.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi sentenced Danzo to three years in Konoha Prison and ordered the Aburame clan members released.
• Tang Ping hinted that he might be able to limit the Cursed Seals, causing Danzo to realize the Aburame Clan might escape his control.
• The Anbu brought back dozens of Aburame clan members, who had been reduced to walking corpses.
• Aburame Shibi asked Hiruzen Sarutobi to let the clan take its members to Tenshukaku to remove their Cursed Seals.

Tang Ping helped Aburame Shibi secure the Hokage's permission for the Aburame Clan to leave Konoha, ending their ties to the village and Root. The clan awaited Uchiha Mei's escort, while the Cloud Ninja and Daimyo delegations arrived.

• Utatane Koharu rejected the Aburame Clan's request to leave, and Tang Ping exposed her double standard by asking whether the Utatane Clan would join Root.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi promised Aburame Shibi that Konoha would remove the Cursed Seals, but Shibi asked him to spare the clan and declared that they would leave.
• Danzo accused the Aburame Clan of betraying the village, but Hiruzen declared that ninja clans were free to leave and ordered Danzo to stop arguing.
• Danzo left under Anbu escort, while Tang Ping's plan succeeded and the Aburame Clan waited for Uchiha Mei to bring an escort.
• The Cloud Ninja delegation and the Daimyo's delegation arrived in Konoha around the same time.

Tang Ping used Tenshukaku’s battlefield advantage to pressure the Land of Fire into accepting a territorial deal. After the talks concluded with an agreement to release the prisoners in exchange for the right to purchase nearby wilderness, the Cloud Ninja delegation became the next focus.

• Tang Ping mocked Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura for allowing Asuma Sarutobi, a Guardian Ninja, to return to Konoha without being arrested.
• The Land of Fire minister accused Tang Ping of attacking the Daimyo’s ninja army, but Guren reminded him that Tenshukaku had won and captured hundreds of enemies, including commander Chiki Maru.
• Tang Ping threatened to end the negotiations and resume the war until Mitokado Homura urged him to sit down.
• The Land of Fire agreed that Tenshukaku would release all prisoners in exchange for the right to purchase nearby wilderness.
• The negotiations shifted to the Cloud Ninja delegation.

Tang Ping attended Konoha’s formal negotiations with the Cloud Ninja delegation, whose powerful display set the stage for a confrontation involving the Hyuga Clan. He remained sprawled at the table, watching events unfold and refusing to help unless Konoha paid him.

• Anbu member Akane summoned Tang Ping to the Hokage Building, where he met Konoha’s clan heads before the negotiations.
• Tang Ping joined Konoha’s leaders and clan heads in the conference room and ignored their disapproval of his casual behavior.
• The large Cloud Ninja delegation entered and took its seats, making a forceful show of numbers and strength.
• Tang Ping watched Hiruzen Sarutobi and the Cloud Ninja envoys as negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure began.

Tang Ping attended ceasefire negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure, where his strength helped Konoha resist the Cloud Ninja’s harsh demands. Afterward, he learned Hinata Cang Yue had refused to teach Sage Mode to the Hyuga main family and invited her to watch a spectacle that evening.

• The Cloud Ninja Head presented ceasefire terms that shocked Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other Konoha leaders.
• Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura condemned the terms and hinted that Konoha could send Tang Ping into battle, prompting the Cloud Ninja Head to soften his stance.
• Tang Ping slept through the negotiations while Konoha used the threat of unleashing him to push back against the Cloud Ninja’s demands.
• The negotiations ended in anger at dusk, and Tang Ping left after hearing Shikaku invite someone to his daughter’s birthday, anticipating a major spectacle that night.
• Hinata Cang Yue told Tang Ping that the Hyuga main family wanted her to teach them Sage Mode, but she refused because they were unworthy.
• Tang Ping invited Hinata Cang Yue to go watch the show, and she agreed.

Tang Ping and Hinata Cang Yue watched a Cloud Ninja kidnap young Hinata during her birthday celebration, then stage his own death to extort Konoha. They returned to the scene as the Uchiha Military Police and Anbu sealed it off.

• Tang Ping refused Hinata Cang Yue's offer to interfere with the Hyuga Clan and they waited to see what would happen.
• A Cloud Ninja slipped into the Hyuga Clan grounds and escaped with young Hinata while the clan celebrated her birthday.
• Hyuga Hiashi caught up with the kidnapper and struck him with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, killing him after he deliberately failed to protect himself with Chakra.
• Tang Ping realized the Cloud Ninja had staged his death to force Konoha to answer for a Ninja Head dying on Hyuga territory.
• Tang Ping and Hinata Cang Yue left briefly, then returned to find the Uchiha Military Police and Anbu securing the scene.

After a Cloud Ninja abducted Hiashi Hyuga’s daughter and Hiashi killed him, Konoha faced a crisis with the Cloud Ninja Delegation. The next morning, Tang Ping attended a small meeting where Danzo’s presence sparked a confrontation, and Hiashi arrived to demand answers.

• Hiashi Hyuga told Hiruzen Sarutobi that he had killed the Cloud Ninja who broke into the Hyuga grounds and abducted his daughter.
• The Cloud Ninja Delegation demanded an explanation, and Nara Shikaku advised Hiruzen to secure the scene and investigate before deciding how to respond.
• Hinata Cang Yue suggested that a Hyuga death could balance the Cloud Ninja’s loss, and Tang Ping hinted that someone else would arrange it.
• Tang Ping arrived at the Hokage Office the next morning and challenged Danzo for being there instead of in prison.
• Hiruzen stopped Tang Ping and Danzo’s argument, and Hiashi arrived furious as the small meeting began.

Hyuga Hiashi demanded that Konoha confront Kumogakure over Hinata’s abduction, but the Hokage’s advisers used the lack of proof and the Raikage’s threat to pressure him. After Hiashi left, Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Tang Ping to keep the Cloud Ninja Delegation in check, leaving Tang Ping questioning how Konoha would make the Hyuga Clan surrender the supposed culprit.

• Hyuga Hiashi accused the Cloud Ninja Delegation of abducting Hinata and demanded that Konoha make them answer for it.
• Utatane Koharu pointed out that Hiashi had killed a Cloud Ninja and had no evidence that Hinata had been abducted.
• An Anbu reported that the Raikage had led the Kage Guard to the Land of Lightning’s border, prompting Tang Ping to volunteer to fight Kumogakure.
• Danzo suggested offering Hiashi as the explanation, but Hiruzen Sarutobi rejected the proposal and sent Hiashi away.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Tang Ping to entertain the Cloud Ninja Delegation, while Tang Ping wondered how Konoha would persuade the Hyuga Clan to hand over the supposed culprit.