Chapter Summaries

Rin told Mei Terumi and Shizune why she wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu, and Mei comforted her as the girls spent the night together. Rin then learned that Tsunade and Rinto had married secretly in Amegakure, though Mei's account of their wedding left her with more questions.

• After Rinto and Tsunade left, Rin asked Shizune about traveling with Tsunade and learning from her.
• Mei Terumi told Shizune that Rin wanted to become a Medical Ninja, and Rin explained that her father had died without timely treatment and her mother had later died of illness.
• Mei Terumi and Shizune comforted Rin, then the three girls bathed and shared a bed for the night.
• Rin asked whether Rinto and Tsunade had left because she was visiting, and Mei assured her they often went out together when Tsunade was upset.
• Mei Terumi and Shizune told Rin that Tsunade and Rinto had married in Amegakure near the end of Konoha's thirty-eighth year.
• Mei Terumi described the small wedding and complained about Rie smearing cake cream in her underwear and Kagami making four-year-old Kakashi read Icha Icha Paradise.

Orochimaru continued his cloning research while investigating the unusual properties of Sakuta Rinto’s cells. After learning that Tsunade had returned to the village and was drinking with Rinto, he failed to uncover anything new about Rinto’s blood and returned to refining cloning technology.

• Orochimaru’s masked informant reported that Danzō had restarted the Wood Release project and that Tsunade had returned to the village to drink with Rinto.
• Orochimaru ordered the informant to stop watching Danzō and resume undercover work, then wondered whether Tsunade had lost her money again.
• Orochimaru entered a hidden laboratory and tested a withered weed grown from Rinto’s blood, finding that it was indistinguishable from ordinary foxtail grass.
• Orochimaru reflected that Rinto’s cells rapidly self-repaired and grew into foxtail grass outside his body, but behaved like ordinary human cells while inside him.
• Orochimaru decided to ask Rinto about his unusual cells another time and focused on improving the cloning technology for future funding.

Rinto reflected on Amegakure’s finances and the expensive research he continued funding while Tsunade, Shizune, Mei Terumi, and Rin visited Konoha Hospital. He planned to ease his financial strain by laying a trap for Konoha’s leaders and powerful clans.

• Rinto welcomed Rin Nohara and reminisced about her mother while thinking about the children’s futures and the approaching Third Great Ninja War.
• Shizune asked Tsunade to stay in Konoha longer, and Tsunade agreed to remain for a week.
• Mei Terumi took Rin to join Tsunade and Shizune on their visit to Konoha Hospital, leaving Rinto alone with the dishes.
• Rinto reviewed Amegakure’s income and expenses, including Orochimaru’s research costs and revenue from televisions made with Black Rods.
• Rinto decided to dig a pit for Konoha’s High Council and great clans to obtain money for his projects and ease Amegakure’s financial burden.

Rinto visited a bookstore, where he and Hatake Sakumo argued over a romance novel and embarrassed Kakashi. The two men made up and left together, while Kakashi remained mortified.

• Rinto went to Shueisha and found Hatake Sakumo and Kakashi browsing books.
• Rinto picked up "Me and My Two Idiot Men" and became absorbed in its romantic entanglements, with Kakashi quietly reading alongside him.
• Rinto and Sakumo disagreed over which character pairings made the novel interesting, and Rinto mocked Sakumo for imagining himself as the protagonist's master.
• Sakumo threatened to write "Me and My Young Daughter," prompting Rinto to cover his mouth and protest as Kakashi tried to hide his embarrassment.
• Rinto and Sakumo silently reconciled, linked arms, and walked out of the bookstore together.

Rinto received intelligence that Akatsuki was operating in Takigakure and learned the village chief was causing the group trouble. Jiraiya then pressured Rinto into teaching Minato the Flying Thunder God Technique and revealed he had already reserved Training Ground Nine.

• Rinto read a report from Amegakure’s intelligence network about Akatsuki’s activities and its hidden location in Takigakure.
• Rinto considered Takigakure’s strengths and resources before Jiraiya climbed into his courtyard to visit him.
• Jiraiya asked Rinto to teach Minato the Flying Thunder God Technique, claiming he was worried about his student and too busy with missions.
• Rinto refused, but Jiraiya used the Technique of Discontinuation and threatened to involve Tsunade until Rinto agreed.
• Rinto asked where they would train, and Jiraiya revealed that he had already arranged to use Training Ground Nine.

Rinto taught Minato Namikaze the Flying Thunder God Technique, using repeated high-speed space-time jumps to make him feel its effects firsthand. Minato endured the punishing training and began to grasp the technique, though he ended the lesson collapsed and severely dizzy.

• Rinto explained the Flying Thunder God Technique to Minato while Hiruzen Sarutobi watched them with a crystal ball.
• Minato demonstrated his impressive Body Flicker Technique by catching five Flying Thunder God Bricks that Rinto threw.
• Rinto repeatedly teleported with Minato between the flying bricks, pushing him to remember the strain and sensation of traveling through space.
• Minato fell to the ground trembling and pale, but agreed to continue training when Rinto asked if he wanted to try again.
• Rinto carried Minato through another series of jumps, and Jiraiya watched as Minato returned with spiraling eyes and collapsed on the ground.

Minato and Kushina met Tengen and Meichū Uzumaki, two survivors from Uzushio who had come to Konoha from Amegakure. During a visit to Kushina’s home, Tengen revealed that Uzushio had been destroyed and some clan members had died, while the rescued survivors now lived in Amegakure.

• After training with Rinto and Jiraiya, Minato met Kushina and took her to Ichiraku Ramen.
• Tengen and Meichū recognized Kushina at the ramen shop and introduced themselves as Uzumaki from Amegakure.
• Teuchi asked Tengen about Rie, the First Amekage, and treated the brothers to their meal.
• Tengen told Kushina he and Meichū had come to Konoha on a mission and promised to explain the past later.
• At Kushina’s home, Tengen said Uzushio had been destroyed, some clan members had died, and the rescued survivors lived in Amegakure.

Kushina reunited with Tengen and Meichū, but misunderstood their complaints about Amegakure as evidence that the Uzumaki clan was suffering. Tengen explained that Rinto planned to open an insurance company in Konoha, and Minato began suspecting the visit had a deeper purpose.

• Meichū mentioned that he and Tengen had fought in a previous war, but Tengen stopped him from revealing more after sensing Kushina's secret as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
• Kushina asked how the Uzumaki clan was doing, and Tengen and Meichū complained about the First Amekage and the village's chaotic fights.
• Kushina grew distressed, believing her clan members lived in terrible conditions, while Minato silently recognized that she had misunderstood their complaints.
• Tengen said he and Meichū were gathering information because the First Amekage planned to open an insurance company in Konoha and approach major clans about cooperating.
• Minato suspected that the insurance investigation concealed a broader plan to persuade Konoha's clans and began wondering what the First Amekage intended to accomplish.

Rinto pitched an insurance business to the Hyuga Clan head, using the clan’s reputation to overcome Konoha villagers’ distrust. The Hyuga Clan head considered the proposal, while Rinto left intending to let Konoha’s clans and leaders compete over it and keep his own businesses protected from future disasters.

• Tengen Uzumaki reported that Konoha villagers were wary of insurance and that the prestigious clans showed little interest in it.
• Rinto visited the Hyuga residence and explained life and retirement insurance to the Hyuga Clan head.
• The Hyuga Clan head grew interested in the potential profits and considered taking control of the business, possibly involving the Uchiha.
• Rinto offered the Hyuga Clan safety and retirement insurance while reserving Home Damage Insurance for himself.
• The Hyuga Clan head asked for time to consider, and Rinto left, satisfied that the proposal would draw Konoha’s leaders and clans into competition.
• Rinto reflected that he intended to use insurance as protection for his Konoha properties and businesses against disasters such as the Nine-Tails’ attack and Nagato’s destruction.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s elders discussed Sakuta Rinto’s insurance proposal after hearing the Hyuga clan head’s account of his meeting with Rinto. Hiruzen decided to involve the great clans, while Danzo secretly arranged a meeting with someone at Base Number 16.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi summoned the Hyuga clan head and asked him about his meeting with Sakuta Rinto.
• The Hyuga clan head recounted Rinto’s proposal and their discussion, leaving the elders eager to join the insurance venture.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi argued that more than half of Konoha’s great clans should share the risk, and the elders agreed.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent the apparently sleeping Danzo home without involving the Shimura Clan.
• Danzo left the office, summoned a Root member, and ordered him to arrange a meeting that night at Base Number 16 outside the village.

Rinto met Danzo in Root, where Danzo revealed that Hiruzen was trying to join the insurance venture and asked Rinto for a way to make money. Rinto encouraged Danzo to invest, hinted that the short term was a sure profit, and vanished before explaining how long it would last.

• Rinto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to appear in a hidden room where Danzo was waiting.
• Danzo told Rinto that Hiruzen had learned about the insurance plan and wanted to bring in more clans, but Danzo had refused to take advantage of Rinto.
• Danzo admitted he was short on funds because he had taken on Konoha research projects and asked Rinto for another money-making idea.
• Rinto urged Danzo to join the insurance project, and Danzo agreed after insisting he would not steal Rinto’s idea.
• Rinto told Danzo that the short-term investment was a guaranteed profit but refused to name its duration, then teleported away and left Danzo demanding an answer.

Rinto finished teaching Minato the Flying Thunder God Technique and left him at Mount Myōboku, then received Orochimaru’s report that the cloning experiments had succeeded. Meanwhile, Tsunade prepared to leave Konoha, leaving Shizune and Rin behind after teaching them medical care.

• After a week of training, Rinto told Minato to develop his own Flying Thunder God style and teleported him to Mount Myōboku.
• Minato realized Rinto had left him at Mount Myōboku and headed toward the village.
• Rinto welcomed Orochimaru home, and Orochimaru reported that the clones had survived in culture and their organs had shown no failure or notable rejection after transplantation.
• Orochimaru asked why Rinto had cloned several children, including an ordinary civilian girl, and Rinto answered with the saying, “The plum takes the place of the peach.”
• Tsunade taught Rin and Shizune how to treat Fire Release burns, then told them she was leaving them in Konoha.
• When a hospital worker urged Tsunade to stay and help the understaffed village, Tsunade refused and strode out of Konoha Hospital.

Rinto and Tsunade left Konoha and traveled to Takigakure so Rinto could investigate the Akatsuki organization. They reached the waterfall concealing the village and disguised themselves after landing nearby.

• Rinto told Tsunade he wanted to visit Takigakure and avoid being assigned to lead a team of rookie ninja.
• Tsunade scolded Rinto for scheming, then grabbed his ear when he criticized her grandfather’s gambling; Rinto surrendered and named Takigakure as their destination.
• Rinto and Tsunade traveled for a week and arrived at the waterfall outside Takigakure.
• Rinto lifted them over the waterfall on a cloud of Iron Sand and used Nurarihyon no Jutsu to conceal it.
• Rinto and Tsunade hid their luggage in a grove, used Transformation Jutsu, and walked out in disguise.

Rinto and Tsunade infiltrated the Akatsuki Organization under the names Jack and Quinn, joining its new-member dormitory after persuading Hatojo and meeting Yahiko. In Konoha, Kakashi heard rumors criticizing Sakumo for abandoning a mission to save a teammate, then returned home and found his father calmly preparing dinner.

• Rinto and Tsunade claimed they admired the Akatsuki Organization's ideals, and Hatojo escorted them to meet Yahiko.
• Yahiko accepted Rinto and Tsunade provisionally, and they were assigned a cramped dormitory for new members.
• Tsunade worried that Rinto had endured hardship during past infiltrations, while Rinto privately decided not to correct her.
• Kakashi overheard villagers discussing Sakumo's failed mission and the client who vowed not to bring missions to Konoha again.
• Kakashi hurried home and relaxed when Sakumo welcomed him from the kitchen.

Hiruzen Sarutobi suspended Sakumo’s missions and Danzo devised a plan to pressure him into joining Root by faking his death. After villagers began blaming Kakashi for the loss of missions, Danzo offered Sakumo protection and resources, and Sakumo asked for three days to make arrangements.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Sakumo to stay home while the village negotiated with clients, and Sakumo left the Hokage’s Office feeling rejected.
• Danzo proposed turning the villagers against Sakumo, then suggested using the comrades Sakumo had saved and Kakashi’s safety to force Sakumo into suicide.
• Three days later, Kakashi heard villagers insulting him and blaming Sakumo for the decline in mission requests.
• Kakashi secretly overheard Danzo offer Sakumo a chance to fake his death and join Root, promising Kakashi protection and training.
• Sakumo thanked Danzo and asked for three days to make arrangements, and Danzo agreed to wait before holding a banquet to welcome him into Root.

Sakumo weighed Danzo’s offer to fake his death and join Root, but worried about what it would mean for Kakashi. He promised Kakashi he would not die and said he would discuss his decision with Rinto in a couple of days.

• Kakashi entered the tea room after Sakumo called him in, and Sakumo asked whether he had heard the conversation.
• Sakumo considered joining Root, taking Kakashi to Amegakure, and other ways to escape the village’s condemnation, but feared each choice could harm Kakashi.
• Sakumo reassured Kakashi that he would not die and said he would consult Rinto before deciding what to do.
• Kakashi praised Rinto’s sneaky ideas, so Sakumo bonked him and worried that Rinto had already led his son astray.

After villagers confronted Sakumo over abandoning a mission to save his teammate, Rinto offered him a way to fake his death and escape Konoha. Sakumo killed a soulless clone as his stand-in, and Rinto urged him to leave for Amegakure while they considered what to do about Kakashi.

• Kakashi returned home and attacked the teammate who had publicly blamed Sakumo, but Sakumo drew his blade and drove the hostile crowd back.
• Anbu ordered Sakumo to come with them, but he ignored them and took Kakashi inside; Hiruzen watched the Hatake home, unaware Sakumo had already left it.
• At Rinto's house, a clone explained why Konoha's leaders and villagers would continue to target Sakumo, then produced a soulless duplicate for him to use as a death stand-in.
• Sakumo returned to his bedroom and killed the duplicate with his White Fang Short Sword, then asked Rinto whether it would pass as suicide.
• Rinto arrived and told Sakumo to leave for Amegakure, but Sakumo hesitated over Kakashi, so Rinto suggested waking him and pressuring Konoha's leaders.

Rinto and Sakumo countered Konoha’s treatment of Sakumo by faking his death and exposing the villagers’ cruelty through a letter of repentance. The letter left Hiruzen facing a village whose celebratory mood had turned to distrust.

• Kakashi confirmed that the man before him was Sakumo using a secret technique, and Rinto proposed a covert attack on Konoha while Sakumo offered a list of those who had harassed him.
• Konoha announced that Sakumo had committed suicide, and villagers celebrated his death while Hiruzen planned to diminish his reputation and care for his son.
• The Intelligence Division found suspicious details in Sakumo’s body, while Danzō tested its blood and confirmed it was Sakumo, then grieved that he had died before Danzō could recruit him.
• On the fourth night, a Tailed Beast Ball struck Hokage Rock, and villagers found Sakumo’s blood-written letter of repentance beside their beds.
• Rinto watched Konoha awaken as its villagers grew quiet and distrustful, while Hiruzen stared at the letter and realized that collecting the copies would not undo their effect.

After Hatake Sakumo's death left Konoha vulnerable, Hiruzen Sarutobi worried that Sunagakure would exploit the village's internal troubles. Rinto returned to Konoha, failed to get the Hyuga Clan Head to decide on insurance, and was summoned to a council meeting where Danzo feared the village's growing divisions.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi learned that Sunagakure had begun making moves and regretted not helping Amegakure when it faced them.
• Rinto brought Tsunade back to Konoha, and Tsunade told him she had learned that Konan secretly wrote novels.
• Rinto visited the Hyuga Clan Head to ask about insurance, but the Clan Head told him to wait for a decision.
• A Root Organization member summoned Rinto to the Hokage Building at Danzo's request.
• Danzo worried that the Hyuga Clan Head's actions would worsen distrust between Konoha's civilians and clans, while Hiruzen Sarutobi opened the meeting.
• Rinto entered the conference room and sat beside Danzo in the observers' section, joking that it was the kids' table.

At a Konoha meeting, Rinto appeared to give up Homeowners Insurance after an objection, prompting Danzo to imagine an elaborate scheme behind Rinto’s actions. Rinto then explained his supposed insight into Sakumo’s downfall, while privately admitting he had only guessed and had no idea when Sakumo might act.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced Homeowners Insurance, and Rinto claimed it for the Hatake Clan before a clan head objected.
• Rinto said the insurance was the objector’s and started to leave, making Danzo panic that the other attendees were driving Rinto away from the investment.
• Danzo connected Rinto’s insurance plans, Sakumo’s failed mission and death, and the attacks on Konoha, concluding that Rinto had orchestrated events to profit from insecurity.
• Danzo stopped Rinto at the door and admitted he understood the supposed scheme, though he could not explain how Rinto had predicted Sakumo’s downfall.
• Rinto described his method as reading the overall trend, and Danzo interpreted it as proof that Rinto had foreseen how the higher-ups would bring Sakumo down.
• Rinto privately acknowledged that he had not predicted Sakumo’s suicide and had only assumed Sakumo would tell him before taking his own life.