Chapter Summaries

Mimi reassured the little Priestess that she could act to prevent a foretold death, then asked her to describe the vision in which Mimi disappeared. The Priestess recalled a battle against a three-eyed horned woman and Mimi turning to foam, but the details remained unclear as Mimi asked about her earlier visions of Hitomi.

• The little Priestess admitted she was afraid of the deaths she foresaw, and Mimi told her a story about a prophet whose warning helped people survive a disaster.
• Mimi encouraged the little Priestess to oppose frightening futures rather than fear her prophetic ability.
• The little Priestess described a vision of a huge battle in which Mimi fought a pale, three-eyed horned woman and disappeared like foam while smiling.
• Mimi learned that the Priestess's mother had once seen visions too, but stopped after the little Priestess began seeing them.
• Mimi asked the little Priestess to recall the visions she had seen of Hitomi.

Mimi questioned the little priestess about visions of Hitomi, Mito, and Kushina, then realized Madara had placed the Rinnegan in Kushina. She concluded that Madara expected her to help protect and cultivate the Rinnegan’s host, and considered why he had made that choice.

• The little priestess described Hitomi fighting a crowd beneath a falling moon before turning into black light and flying toward it.
• Mimi learned that the huge Barrier around the tree had glowed continuously, while the little priestess could not see what happened afterward.
• The little priestess said Mito had been ill, the Nine-Tails had left her body, and neither Hitomi, Tsunade, nor Chiri had been present.
• The little priestess revealed that Kushina had been there with strange, many-ringed eyes, and Mimi recognized them as the Rinnegan.
• Mimi inferred that Madara had placed the Rinnegan in Kushina so she could help keep it safe until it matured enough for him to be revived.

Mimi returned from the war to find Hitomi repairing their home, and their conversation recalled the memories that bound them together. When Mimi pressed Hitomi about what she had done wrong, Hitomi admitted she felt watched by an eye in the sky, and Mimi recognized the possible threat of the Giant Tenseigan.

• Mimi returned home as an Insect Clone while the war was still ongoing.
• Hitomi showed Mimi the repairs she had made and said she did not want to move into new housing.
• Mimi remembered how Hitomi had always pushed herself through training and recalled their childhood together.
• Mimi confronted Hitomi, who confessed that she had been secretly training.
• Hitomi told Mimi she felt someone was spying on her from the sky, and Mimi narrowed her eyes at the mention of the Giant Tenseigan.

Mimi learned that Hitomi's Byakugan was beginning to awaken into the Tenseigan and explained its connection to the Hyuga and the moon-dwelling Hagoromo Clan. The chapter ended with Mimi ordering Hitomi to stay out of danger and promising to protect her, while Hitomi insisted she would not be left behind.

• Hitomi told Mimi that her Byakugan had developed extraordinary range and that she sensed a connection with the giant eye in the sky.
• Hitomi showed Mimi the eyes she had secretly taken from her dead father and described his plan to evolve the Byakugan by fusing it with pure eyes.
• Hitomi explained that she believed the giant eye was watching for something and that the Caged Bird seal protected the Hyuga from the moon-dwelling clan.
• Mimi identified Hitomi's developing eyes as the Tenseigan and explained how the Hyuga and Hagoromo Clan could each awaken it using the other's eyes.
• Mimi realized the Hyuga ancestor may have gone to the moon to search for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Mimi ordered Hitomi not to fight or leave home and promised to protect her, while Hitomi refused to be treated like a child or abandoned.

Danzo waited in Konoha Prison for Hiruzen to rescue him, but Uchiha Kama and the other inmates tormented him while the guards ignored the abuse. The chapter ended with Danzo being dragged away as the Third Hokage sneezed on his way to a transfer.

• Danzo paced anxiously, wondering whether Hiruzen would come to rescue him, until Uchiha Kama insulted him and slapped his face.
• Hiruko tried to calm Kama, but Kagutsuchi encouraged him to show Danzo no special consideration, and the fox-eyed Uchiha restrained Danzo.
• Kama slapped Danzo repeatedly and demanded that he acknowledge Kama as the boss, while Wind God, Thunder God, and White Zetsu reacted to the scene.
• A guard approached but pretended to have a stomachache and left, allowing the Uchiha to continue tormenting Danzo.
• The fox-eyed Uchiha dragged Danzo away as he clung to the bars and called for Hiruzen, who sneezed while being carried on a stretcher to a transfer.

The Third Hokage, badly injured after fighting the Third Raikage, learned that he was being sent to face the Third Mizukage instead of returning to the village. He was told only Tsunade could save him, but praise from the other ninja restored his confidence as the stretcher carried him toward the front.

• Mimi knew the Uchiha held a grudge against Danzo and saw no reason to stop them from taking advantage of his troubles.
• The Third Hokage learned that the village had ordered the force to advance to the Whirlpool Country frontline and counterattack the Land of Water.
• Senju told the injured Third Hokage that he would have to fight the Third Mizukage and explained that his injuries were life-threatening.
• Senju said Tsunade was the only one who could save the Third Hokage and warned him to stay awake until she treated him.
• The ninja accompanying the stretcher praised the Third Hokage as the strongest, and their admiration made him resolve to take down the Third Mizukage.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter opens with the protagonist, Mr. Harari, waking up hungover after a night of heavy drinking.
• He realizes he's late for work and rushes to get ready, trying to hide his condition from his wife.
• At work, his colleagues notice his state, and he struggles to maintain his composure throughout the day.
• Mr. Harari decides to ask his boss, Mr. Shapiro, for a day off, claiming he has a personal matter to attend to.

Character Developments

• Mr. Harari's alcoholism is highlighted, showing its impact on his daily life and work.
• He demonstrates a lack of control over his drinking and its consequences, as well as a growing realization of his problem.

Significant Themes

• Alcoholism and its effects on personal and professional life.
• The struggle with asking for help and admitting one's problems.
• The tension between maintaining appearances and facing reality.

Character Interactions

• Mr. Harari's interactions with his colleagues reveal their awareness of his drinking problem, though they avoid confronting him directly.
• His conversation with Mr. Shapiro is tense, as Mr. Harari tries to maintain his dignity while asking for a day off.
• The chapter ends with Mr. Harari's wife discovering his secret bottle of liquor, hinting at potential conflict at home.

Secretary announced the general’s reforms to the people of the Fire Capital, explaining taxes, welfare, currency changes, and new rules for samurai and monks. The merchants realized the costs of the reforms would ultimately fall on the public, while samurai began considering work under the general and their bosses feared losing their followers.

• Secretary explained the new taxes, including income tax and value-added tax, as merchants discussed falsifying accounts and passing costs on to buyers.
• Merchants learned they would have to register their businesses, and some shops would remain closed until they passed inspection.
• Secretary described monthly relief payments and measures for medical care and education, while wondering why the general did not redistribute all assets.
• Secretary announced that old Land of Fire currency would be replaced at a one-to-one rate through Mimi’s Gold and Silver Magistrate, and that private banks would close.
• Secretary outlined new taxes and service obligations for samurai and monks; samurai valued the general’s amnesty and began considering changing jobs, alarming their bosses.

Mimi completed her reforms in the Fire Capital and planned to expand the swarm through a symbiosis program that protected wildlife and aided human communities. She took Secretary to watch a free outdoor movie, where the screening opened with the title “The Destruction of the Land of Fire.”

• Mimi announced free nightly movie screenings as her press conference ended, while citizens and several power brokers considered their next moves.
• Mimi sent Secretary home to rest, then invited her to watch a movie and have dinner; Secretary eagerly agreed.
• Mimi reflected on the reforms completed in the Fire Capital and planned to grow the swarm through cooperation with farmers and the release of the Tailed Beasts.
• Mimi and Secretary watched the outdoor screening from a restaurant overlooking the square.
• The movie began with the title “The Destruction of the Land of Fire,” startling the gathered citizens.

Mimi showed a documentary exposing the city's wealth, poverty, and ordinary people’s suffering, then interviewed two ninjas about whether they were happy. The chapter ended with a captured bodyguard admitting he was unhappy after Konoha Ninja struck him while claiming they were gentle and civilized.

• Mimi’s documentary showed corpses lining the streets and palace, then revealed a vast treasure hoard that Mimi valued at 182.64 trillion.
• The film contrasted the nobles’ lavish lives with the misery of the city’s poorest residents.
• Wei Wei interviewed ordinary people, whose stories of hardship and happiness moved the audience to tears.
• An actor posing as a Konoha ninja said he was unhappy because he feared dying, had killed many people, and had been taught that ninjas were emotionless tools.
• The captured bodyguard admitted he was unhappy after a Konoha Ninja struck him, despite another ninja telling the audience that Konoha Ninja were gentle and never beat people without reason.

A Rogue Ninja described how killing turned him into a fugitive, and he accused Konoha Ninjas of being no different from him. Mimi explained that Konoha had to break free of the mission system controlled by nobles, while the film moved on to exposing the real crimes of someone already dead.

• The Rogue Ninja recounted hiding his best friend’s murders, killing him when he was attacked, and fleeing the village as a Rogue Ninja.
• During an interview, the Rogue Ninja argued that Konoha Ninjas and other hired killers were alike, then lunged at the interviewer and collapsed in despair.
• A Konoha Ninja told him that Konoha had taken off its leash and could now choose to be good.
• Mimi explained to Secretary that the mission system forced villages to compete and that ninjas had to seize control of their income to escape the nobles’ influence.
• Secretary cried over the suffering of ninjas and asked whether Mimi had ever carried out missions she did not want to do.
• Mimi recalled two failed dirty missions from her Anbu career, then watched the film shift to exposing the genuine wrongdoing of a dead person.

Mimi explained to Secretary that she had carried out the Flower District Tokiwa massacre, targeting its administrators, samurai enforcers, and customers. She said the operation had destroyed the district’s profitable industry, while its former protectors and patrons dispersed into the underground.

• As Secretary watched footage exposing the crimes, she asked Mimi whether shinobi encountered such darkness and heard about the village’s rule against causing trouble.
• Secretary recognized Flower District Tokiwa as the site of a notorious massacre where her second uncle had died, and Mimi revealed that she had led the attack.
• Mimi described how she used Summer Red Soldiers to target the district’s administrators, samurai, and customers while directing the crowd to escape.
• Mimi told Secretary that her second uncle had not been innocent and argued that she had struck at the demand and powerful interests sustaining the district.
• Mimi said the massacre had turned Flower District Tokiwa into a ruin, driving its noble patrons away and scattering its business underground.

Mimi told Secretary how she and her Uchiha companion chose to fight the system protecting the exploitation of women, even though breaking the village’s rules meant becoming enemies with the world. The movie ended with the iron house still swaying toward collapse, as some people tried to widen the opening Mimi had made.

• Mimi explained that the village’s rules and its ties to the daimyō had kept her from saving the women being sold in the streets.
• After Mimi’s companion killed an enforcer, Mimi argued that destroying one establishment would not end the system or its powerful backers.
• Mimi recalled choosing to fight rather than flee, and she used the image of an iron house to describe awakening people to injustice.
• Mimi said she smashed a hole in the iron house, but an old doorman beat and locked her up while the owner’s men patched the opening.
• The movie showed corpses in the streets, and the audience cheered as the iron house continued to sway while people tried to widen its opening.

The Ninja Magistrate launched an operation to dismantle the gangs and criminal networks exploiting workers in the factory slums outside the Fire Capital. As Ashigaru entered the shantytown, its residents and hidden fugitives began reacting to the raid.

• The factory slums outside the capital housed exploited laborers, wandering samurai, gangs, and fugitives, while the daimyō ignored the criminal activity.
• Mimi gathered information about the slums through turncoats, suffering civilians, and an anonymous tip box.
• The Ninja Magistrate sent squads of armed Ashigaru into the shantytown at night for the operation codenamed Eliminate Gangs and Wipe Out Evil.
• Residents hid or rushed into action as the raid stirred the shantytown, where Missing-nin and ninja village spies were also concealed.

The Ninja Magistrate raided illegal gambling dens and brothels, arresting or killing the samurai gangs who resisted. As the raid continued, its troops reached another guarded house and prepared to attack.

• Villagers gathered warily as the Ninja Magistrate announced it was shutting down illegal businesses, and some gang members fled or surrendered.
• The Ninja Magistrate bound surrendered gang members while clashing with those who resisted in the streets.
• Armed gang leaders barricaded themselves inside strongholds, but the Ninja Magistrate broke through a gate and stormed a building.
• Chakra training helped the Ninja Magistrate troops overwhelm their opponents, and they escorted captives away while carrying out the dead.
• At another house, the Ninja Magistrate shouted warnings at the closed gate and silently hoped the samurai inside would not open it.

After the raid in the city, Mimi prepared to reclaim the country while Konoha’s forces launched their planned assault on Kirigakure. Tsunade and Orochimaru waited aboard Angkor Fortress, where their banter briefly distracted them from the coming battle and Orochimaru’s mysterious coughing up of blood.

• The city operation ended with many people arrested, trapped laborers rescued, and wandering samurai enlisting in the Ninja Magistrate.
• Mimi warned regional guardians to surrender before her army arrived, while Konoha’s three ninja armies converged in River Country.
• Tsunade took the injured Third Hokage aboard Angkor Fortress and led the force toward Kirigakure, while Chiri advanced from the front.
• Konoha’s troops attacked Kirigakure from the front and rear, seized the coastal bridgehead, and established defensive positions.
• The Third Hokage urged Orochimaru not to abandon what mattered to him, but Orochimaru rebuffed him as Tsunade redirected the conversation with teasing insults.
• After Tsunade and Orochimaru stepped away from the Third Hokage, Orochimaru coughed blood and claimed it happened normally for a few days each month.

Chiri’s forces captured Uzushio Village, only to discover that Kirigakure’s main force had escaped through a tunnel, so Mimi ordered a retreat to defend Konoha. Meanwhile, the Five Kage Summit gathered under the Uchiha Mask’s call to form an alliance against Konoha, though its members distrusted one another.

• Chiri led Konoha’s troops through Kirigakure’s fog, recognized the attacks as Water Clones, and ordered the troops to advance at full speed.
• Konoha defeated the defenders at Uzushio Village and found that Kirigakure’s main force had escaped through a tunnel dug with Magnet Release.
• Mimi rejected Chiri’s suggestion to strike Kirigakure and ordered the forces to rendezvous with Tsunade and return to defend Konoha.
• The Five Kage Summit assembled in Demon Country, with Danzo representing Amegakure in place of the Hokage.
• The Uchiha Mask called for the gathered leaders to set aside their grudges and form an alliance against Konoha, but they remained wary and unconvinced.

Representatives of the nations and shinobi villages formed an alliance against Konoha, proposing new ways to build their forces and defeat Aburame Insect Princess. The meeting ended with support for war and a plan to target her, while the Mizukage pursued the Nine-Tails Capture Plan and the Priestess watched from afar.

• The Uchiha Mask warned the assembled nobles and Kage that Konoha’s strength, especially Aburame Insect Princess’s insect swarm, threatened to overwhelm them.
• The nobles pledged money and manpower for an allied army, and the Third Kazekage tested a gun before the leaders discussed equipping ordinary soldiers for battle.
• The Third Earth Shadow revealed a drug that could give ordinary people Chakra, while Chiyo presented her Human Puppet technology and claimed it could create an undying army.
• The Uchiha Mask proposed using the Tailed Beasts, and Hanzo offered Sealing Techniques to strengthen control over Jinchuriki.
• The gathered factions called for war against Konoha and discussed assassinating Aburame Insect Princess, while the Mizukage advanced her Nine-Tails Capture Plan.
• Jigen considered testing the waters, and the Priestess watched the meeting while anticipating the deaths of those present.

Mimi prepared the Ninja Magistrate for war by training samurai to use Ninjutsu through the Engraved Insect Crest System and sending a force of more than ninety-six thousand to subdue the country’s guardian temples and feudal remnants. As her army marched out, Mimi challenged Madara to make his move while Konoha continued its peaceful routine above a swarm preparing for war.

• Mimi used the Engraved Insect Crest System to help selected samurai master Ninjutsu and planned to restrict access to lethal techniques through a system of permissions.
• Mimi named the trained, armored samurai Shinobi Warriors and led an oath-taking ceremony urging them to fight and die for Konoha.
• Mimi sent the Ninja Magistrate, with more than ninety-six thousand troops, marching toward guardian temples and feudal remnants across the country.
• As the army departed, Mimi privately called on Madara to use whatever tricks he had so they could settle matters.
• Underground, the swarm continued producing and incubating weapons while Chiri, Hitomi, Minato, Kushina, the little Priestess, Tsunade, and the Third Hokage went about their lives in Konoha.

Key Plot Points and Events

• The chapter begins with the unnamed narrator, an alcoholic, waking up in a motel room after a heavy drinking session.
• He decides to take a day off from drinking, aiming to prove to himself that he can control his addiction.
• Throughout the day, he struggles with withdrawal symptoms, including shakes, sweats, and anxiety.
• He visits a bar to test his resolve but leaves without drinking.
• The day ends with him back in his motel room, having successfully abstained from alcohol.

Character Developments

• The narrator demonstrates a desire to overcome his alcoholism, showing a glimmer of self-control and willpower.
• His struggle with withdrawal symptoms reveals the physical and psychological grip alcohol has on him.

Significant Themes

• Addiction and Self-Control: The narrator's battle with alcoholism highlights the theme of addiction and the struggle for self-control.
• Willpower and Resilience: The narrator's attempt to abstain from alcohol for a day showcases his willpower and resilience in the face of his addiction.

Character Interactions

• The narrator interacts with a bartender, testing his resolve not to drink. The bartender, unaware of the narrator's struggle, offers him a drink, which the narrator declines.
• The narrator's internal struggle is the primary interaction, as he grapples with his addiction and desire to overcome it.