Chapter Summaries

Orochimaru forced Aburame Tetsumaru to join Konoha’s campaign against the Kiri Ninja, whose scattered attacks inflicted heavy losses despite Orochimaru’s command. Two months later, the Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist hunted three young Konoha ninja, and Might Duy raced toward them as they prepared to fight.

• Konoha’s advisers reinstated Orochimaru as commander and summoned Tetsumaru, who agreed to accompany him after Orochimaru admitted he feared leaving him alone with the aging Hokage.
• Tetsumaru joined Orochimaru’s army and marked Might Duy with a hidden Kikaichū so he could find and protect him.
• Orochimaru’s forces defeated a gathered Kiri Ninja army, but the Kiri Ninja scattered into squads and began ambushing Konoha patrols and attacking civilians.
• Over the following two months, Konoha suffered mounting casualties as the Kiri Ninja gained reinforcements, and the Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist joined the fighting.
• Might Guy, Ebisu, and Shiranui Genma stopped fleeing the Ninja Swordsmen and prepared to defend themselves as Might Duy raced toward them.

Might Duy arrived just in time to save Guy, Genma, and Ebisu from four members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. After Aburame Tetsumaru and Orochimaru tracked him to the battlefield, Duy resolved to protect his son and opened the Seventh Gate to face the Mist swordsmen.

• The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist cornered Guy, Genma, and Ebisu, and Suikazan Fuguki and Kushimaru Kuriarare attacked them.
• Aburame Tetsumaru sensed that the insect he had placed on Might Duy had died, inferred that Duy had opened the Eight Inner Gates, and set off with Orochimaru to find him.
• Might Duy burst onto the battlefield, kicked Kushimaru Kuriarare away, and knocked Samehada aside, saving Genma from being struck.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and Orochimaru reached the scene and followed the destruction left by Duy's passage toward the fighting.
• Duy urged Guy, Genma, and Ebisu to flee, then declared he would protect them and prove the value of his training.
• Duy opened the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist prepared to face him.

Might Duy opened the Seventh Gate and overwhelmed the Kirigakure Ninja Swordsmen, killing Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinin Akebino while Suikazan Fuguki also died from his wounds. Hozuki Mangetsu escaped, and Duy collapsed after closing the gates, leaving the surviving Konoha ninja with the battle won.

• Might Duy opened the Gate of Wonder and used the Reverse Lotus and Front Lotus to kill Kushimaru Kuriarare.
• Might Duy struck Hozuki Mangetsu, but Mangetsu survived by using Hydrification and attacked Duy with energy balls.
• Hozuki Mangetsu tried to seize Might Guy, but Aburame Tetsumaru protected him and Duy drove Mangetsu away.
• Might Duy unleashed the Tiger technique and killed Jinin Akebino, while Suikazan Fuguki died from his wounds.
• Hozuki Mangetsu escaped by liquefying and seeping into the ground, and Might Duy closed the Eight Inner Gates before collapsing and praising Taijutsu to Guy.

Might Duy killed three of Kirigakure’s Ninja Swordsmen, prompting Hozuki Mangetsu to seize the Mizukage position and seek peace with Konoha. After Sarutobi Hiruzen learned that Duy had won the battle, Konoha’s leaders struggled to promote the famously unsuccessful Genin and agreed to help him pass the Chunin Exams.

• Aburame Tetsumaru and Orochimaru returned to the command center with Might Duy and the three children after discovering Hozuki Mangetsu had escaped with the Ninja Blades.
• Hozuki Mangetsu’s return to the Land of Whirlpools spread panic among the Kiri Ninja, and Genji’s leadership decided to recall their forces and send envoys to negotiate with Konoha.
• Hozuki Mangetsu used his influence to become the Fourth Mizukage and directed Kirigakure to seek Konoha’s recognition, leaving Karatachi Yagura without the Three-Tails or enough support to challenge him.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen celebrated the report that three Ninja Swordsmen had been killed, then became dismayed when he learned Might Duy had accomplished it while still a Genin.
• Konoha’s leaders debated how to promote Might Duy despite his repeated failures in the Chunin Exams, until Nara Shikaku suggested helping him cheat and Sarutobi Hiruzen approved.

After witnessing Might Duy’s overwhelming power, Aburame Tetsumaru and his Avatars feared that the Sage of Six Paths could assemble a legion of powerful Heroic Spirits and target the Insect Swarm’s vulnerable main body. They approved a risky cloning project to create independent Avatars, then began planning bloodline research and celebrating the prospect of a Fourth Industrial Revolution.

• Aburame Tetsumaru learned that Kirigakure’s forces were withdrawing and that his Avatars remained divided over whether to pursue them into the Land of Whirlpools.
• The Aburame Tetsumarus concluded that Otsutsuki Hagoromo might be building a Six Paths Legion of Heroic Spirits, and they recognized that their irreplaceable main body was vulnerable to such a force.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and his 476 Avatars gathered in the Spirit Sea and voted to begin cloning and pursue independent Avatars; the proposal passed with 241 votes in favor and 98 against.
• Politician proposed that only Avatars with established self-anchors should receive bodies and become independent, and Grand Yang Fish proposed conducting bloodline research alongside the cloning project.
• The Avatars began exchanging technical knowledge, and three of them celebrated that they could enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s Industrial Group completed the Dragon Heart Reactor, a fusion power source that vastly outperformed fission reactors in electricity production. Meanwhile, Kirigakure envoys revealed that rogue shinobi had driven their village from the Land of Water, and Orochimaru realized Aburame Tetsumaru’s Giant Insects had secretly conquered it.

• Aburame Tetsumaru’s Avatar announced the Dragon Heart Reactor, which was integrated into the Mother Hive and produced as much electricity as seventy or eighty fission reactors, though fission reactors remained necessary to supply Chakra.
• Orochimaru received Kirigakure’s envoys, and Aburame Tetsumaru intercepted Zabuza Momochi’s thrown letter and knocked him unconscious.
• Orochimaru read the Fourth Mizukage’s letter and questioned Ringo Ameyuri and Ao, who explained that rogue shinobi had defeated Kirigakure and driven its forces into the Land of Whirlpools and the Land of Waves.
• Orochimaru learned that Kirigakure’s Mizukage, Genji, and major clans had been displaced, and he deduced that Aburame Tetsumaru’s Giant Insects had conquered the village.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s Avatars had flooded intelligence networks with fabricated, outlandish reports to hide the invasion of the Land of Water.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s intelligence deception was exposed, but Orochimaru chose to protect him because Konoha could not risk losing him and his powerful Insect Swarm. Meanwhile, Tetsumaru prepared for possible trouble and tested new advanced ninja tools before the Politician met young Uchiha Itachi, who asked why wars happened.

• A war veteran revealed the truth about Kirigakure’s civil war to Orochimaru, exposing Aburame Tetsumaru’s false intelligence operation.
• Orochimaru let Tetsumaru go and decided not to expose him, fearing that Konoha would lose him and face the Insect Swarm as an enemy.
• Tetsumaru secretly placed Flying Thunder God Sealing Arrays on his family, warned his disciples, and tested nearly indestructible ninja tools made with an Optical Tweezers Printer.
• The Politician arranged a set of shuriken for Uchiha Itachi and met him at their fishing spot, where he cautioned the three-year-old against training too early.
• Itachi told the Politician that his father had taken him to a funeral and asked why there was war; the Politician argued that wars began over interests and used grain shortages to explain why concessions could not end them.

Politician explained to Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui how unity could prevent war and traced the Uchiha Clan’s conflict with Konoha to a long history of mistakes and mistrust. After Politician abruptly vanished, he discovered that Aburame Tetsumaru, the original body, had disappeared.

• Politician told Uchiha Itachi that peace depended on people seeing one another as family and on a Hokage mediating disputes.
• Uchiha Shisui asked Politician how to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha, and Politician explained the clan’s founding role, its lost chance at the Hokage position, and the mistakes made by both sides.
• Politician warned Itachi and Shisui to keep his explanation secret, then left after sensing an unexplained danger.
• Shisui resolved to think of a way to settle the clan’s conflict with the village, believing Politician had already worked out a solution.
• Politician returned to the underground secret chamber, found that he could no longer enter the Spirit Sea, and learned that Aburame Tetsumaru had disappeared.

After Aburame Tetsumaru vanished during a summoning, his avatars searched for him while he found himself trapped in Shikkotsu Forest. He apologized to Katsuyu, explained his Bio-Armor, and formed a summoning contract with her before their relationship could continue.

• Aburame Tetsumaru's avatars determined that his failed summoning was a reverse summoning to one of the Three Sacred Grounds and mobilized satellites and insects to search for him.
• Aburame Tetsumaru found himself beneath the sea in Shikkotsu Forest, where Katsuyu revealed that she had summoned him to ask about the Bio-Armor made from her flesh and blood.
• Aburame Tetsumaru apologized to Katsuyu and described his Bio-Armor, but Katsuyu found the explanation too complicated and took him to a larger part of her body.
• Katsuyu invited Aburame Tetsumaru to form a contract, asking him to summon her at least once a year so she could see interesting things.
• Aburame Tetsumaru agreed to the contract, and Katsuyu greeted him through their newly formed bond.

After Katsuyu returned Tetsumaru to the Shinobi World, he reunited with his Avatars and recognized how dangerous it was for the Spirit Sea to depend on him. They planned new communications and investigations while Tetsumaru decided to learn Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu and use future trips there to study the Spirit Sea.

• Katsuyu sent Tetsumaru back to the Shinobi World, where he fell near a town and escaped before its residents and ninja could find him.
• Tetsumaru contacted his Avatars and confirmed that the Spirit Sea had returned, revealing that it depended on or was anchored to his original body.
• Tetsumaru gathered with all 446 Avatars in the Spirit Sea and rejected a proposal to restrict his freedom, calling instead for backup communications and greater individual strength.
• The Satellite Group reported two possible locations for Mount Myoboku and detected Turtle Island, prompting plans for terrain surveys and further investigation.
• The Avatars planned an artificial Star Ring to improve communications, while Tetsumaru proposed cultivating Shikkotsu Forest Senjutsu and using trips there to investigate the Spirit Sea.

Aburame Tetsumaru investigated why he could not form Senjutsu Chakra and learned that his Chakra Grand Circulation could cleanse Kaguya's imprint over time. Katsuyu took him to Emerald Lake, where he began absorbing its dense Natural Energy through the circulation.

• Aburame Tetsumaru's attempt to combine Natural Energy and Chakra failed when his released Chakra expelled both the Natural Energy and the Senjutsu Chakra he had formed.
• Aburame Tetsumaru unleashed and then reclaimed his immense reserves of Chakra with Katsuyu's help, discovering that the recovered Chakra had traces of Natural Energy.
• Katsuyu learned about Aburame Tetsumaru's Chakra Grand Circulation, praised its potential, and explained that it could gradually wash away Otsutsuki Kaguya-hime's imprint from Chakra in twelve years.
• Katsuyu guided Aburame Tetsumaru toward Emerald Lake and explained that its dense Natural Energy was purer than Chakra-tainted energy found in nature.
• Aburame Tetsumaru touched the lake, felt its violent Natural Energy enter his Chakra Grand Circulation, and realized he could train there.

Aburame Tetsumaru endured Emerald Lake’s overwhelming Natural Energy and completed his Senjutsu Chakra Grand Circulation. As Tsunade arrived in Shikkotsu Forest and watched the strange storm above the lake, Tetsumaru regained consciousness and confirmed that he had succeeded.

• Aburame Tetsumaru trained in Emerald Lake for three months, but learned from Katsuyu that completing his Senjutsu Grand Circulation could take up to 120 years at his current pace.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and his Avatars decided to increase his exposure to Natural Energy, and he gradually adapted to the pain and itching before submerging himself in the lake.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s Chakra Grand Circulation began converting into Senjutsu Chakra as he endured severe pain and guided Natural Energy through his body.
• Tsunade and Shizune arrived in Shikkotsu Forest, where Katsuyu told Tsunade that a ninja was nearing a Senjutsu breakthrough.
• Tsunade and the Katsuyus watched a storm form over Emerald Lake as Aburame Tetsumaru’s circulation completed its transformation into Senjutsu Chakra.
• Aburame Tetsumaru recovered from the breakthrough, used Insight to confirm his circulation had turned purple, and declared that he had succeeded.

Aburame Tetsumaru completed a new Senjutsu path and hid his identity from Tsunade when she arrived at Shikkotsu Forest. After Katsuyu treated Tsunade’s troubled mental state, she took her to recover in the forest, where Tsunade learned that Star Cluster had forged his own Senjutsu.

• Aburame Tetsumaru completed his Senjutsu Grand Circulation, while the resulting storm battered Shikkotsu Forest and forced Tsunade to shelter with Kato Shizune.
• Tsunade rushed to Emerald Lake, and Aburame Tetsumaru disguised himself as Star Cluster and restrained her when she attacked him.
• Katsuyu soothed Tsunade into a deep sleep and explained that grief over her brother and lover, along with her dissatisfaction with the Hokage, had worsened her mental illness.
• Tsunade woke, apologized to Star Cluster, and agreed not to press him about his identity before Katsuyu sent her to stay in Shikkotsu Forest with Shizune.
• Katsuyu told Tsunade that Star Cluster was a powerful ninja who had forged his own Senjutsu path, and Tsunade reflected on why she had struggled to learn Senjutsu.

Aburame Tetsumaru brought Katsuyu to the Space Station, where she saw the stars and the Shinobi World from space. Afterward, he and his Avatars planned research into the Spirit Sea’s Sealing Array and a new round of Clone Body descent experiments using Katsuyu’s genes.

• Tsunade returned to Shikkotsu Forest and told Shizune they would have to stay there for a while.
• Aburame Tetsumaru summoned Katsuyu to the Space Station and tested whether she could survive outside in the void.
• Katsuyu gazed at the Star Sea and the Shinobi World, then thanked Aburame Tetsumaru before returning to Shikkotsu Forest.
• Aburame Tetsumaru told his Avatars that Senjutsu had revealed a vast Sealing Array in his brain that might be replicated, and they decided to investigate quantum entanglement as a possible explanation.
• The Avatars planned to research the Sealing Array and create memory-rich, non-thinking Insects, while preparing new Clone Bodies containing Katsuyu’s genes for descent experiments.
• Grand Yang Fish, Politician, Dice, Station Master, and Man of Culture accepted that the five named Avatars would lead the dangerous descent experiments.

Aburame Tetsumaru’s attempts to place Avatars into Clone Bodies repeatedly trapped them in immobile bodies, while teaching the Uchiha boys exposed differences among his many selves. The chapter ended with Aburame Tetsumaru deciding to create a Superego in the Spirit Sea to coordinate their shared values.

• Katsuyu returned to Shikkotsu Forest, merged her memories, and decided to follow Lord Tetsumaru toward the stars rather than compete over the Child of Destiny.
• Dice descended into a Clone Body but could not stabilize himself, so Aburame Tetsumaru anchored him with Sealing Techniques and left him unable to move.
• The Station Master used a modified Mind Body Switch Technique to descend into a Clone Body, but lost control of his Chakra and became trapped inside it.
• Man of Culture also became immobilized during a descent experiment, while Politician struggled to find someone capable of teaching Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui mathematics.
• Politician selected an overlooked Avatar whose patience came from maintaining Mother Hives in the Land of Tea, revealing that distinct roles and abilities had emerged among the Aburame Tetsumarus.
• Aburame Tetsumaru decided to add a Superego to the Spirit Sea so every individual would share insights and coordinate their thoughts and values.

Namikaze Minato’s attacks weakened Sunagakure while Aburame Tetsumaru focused on his Avatar descent experiments. After five named Avatars succeeded and five unnamed ones failed, Dragon Heart began a new descent to test whether he could become independent.

• Namikaze Minato killed Suna Jonin and Puppet Masters, further damaging Sunagakure’s morale and military strength.
• Aburame Tetsumaru’s five named Avatars awakened in new bodies, while five unnamed Avatars failed and their Clone Bodies were cremated.
• Aburame Tetsumaru concluded that a clear sense of self might determine whether an Avatar survived descent, though he could not confirm the cause.
• Dragon Heart volunteered for an early descent despite Aburame Tetsumaru’s concerns, and the others gathered to see him off.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and Grand Yang Fish activated the Sealing Array and sent Dragon Heart into a Clone Body, beginning the fourteen-day fusion period.

Aburame Tetsumaru and the Station Master monitored Dragon Heart’s Advent until the Station Master observed its final transformation and Dragon Heart awakened successfully. At a gathering in the Spirit Sea, they shared the findings and established that Advent created independent lives, which they would call Advents.

• Aburame Tetsumaru observed the new Soul Orb grow brighter while the Station Master waited for the moment to inspect Dragon Heart’s inner world.
• Dice arrived at the Space Station’s Advent pod as Aburame Tetsumaru began to wake, and the Station Master used four combined Yamanaka techniques to enter Dragon Heart’s body.
• The Station Master returned six seconds later and announced that he had seen the key transformation, while Dragon Heart asked whether Advent had succeeded.
• Two days later, the Station Master explained that Advent transferred memories into the Clone Body and required a core of thought to endure millions of years of perceived time.
• Aburame Tetsumaru proposed that the six who had completed Advent be called Advents, and the gathering agreed.

Aburame Tetsumaru watched the wars of Konoha Year 47 and experienced a returned life in a war-torn world, which left him unusually driven. That resolve was interrupted when Star Explorer reported an approaching extraterrestrial fleet and recorded the enemy speaking the name Otsutsuki.

• The Third Raikage attacked Iwagakure, but nobles’ secret maneuvers led to his death in an encirclement while most Kumo Ninja escaped.
• Aburame Tetsumaru dismissed the ongoing positional warfare and waited for the Yellow Flash to usher in a new style of combat.
• Aburame Tetsumaru experienced the life of a boy who survived famine and war, joined an army with red stars on its caps, fought in Korea, and later served as a village Party secretary for fifty years.
• Aburame Tetsumaru returned from the life memory with a stronger drive to work, cultivate, and study.
• Star Explorer reported that he had destroyed an enemy scout ship, but its images revealed that a massive fleet was heading toward their Star System.
• Star Explorer played a recording of the enemy saying “Otsutsuki,” alarming Aburame Tetsumaru and the other Avatars.

Weary Bird survived a dangerous high-speed turn, returned to the Spirit Sea, and reported that an alien fleet was approaching the system. Aburame Tetsumaru’s forces mobilized for war and began devising insect-based tactics to overcome the fleet’s superior long-range firepower.

• Weary Bird jettisoned his spacecraft’s core cabin to redirect at high speed and returned safely forty minutes later.
• Star Explorer chose the name Weary Bird and reported that the enemy fleet would reach Fifth Planet’s orbit in about a month.
• Aburame Tetsumaru mobilized his forces and production facilities, including the construction of a super Mother Hive for space combat.
• Aburame Tetsumaru and Dice discussed the Mother Hive’s limits and considered using high-speed insect weapons against the enemy fleet.
• Politician proposed charging insects and dormant ambush units, and Dice expanded the plan to include roaming insects and dormant Mother Hives.

Aburame Tetsumaru's forces prepared for an approaching fleet, built the temporary solar weapon Radiance of the Sun, and learned the enemy's weaknesses from a captured corpse. After a successful weapon test, Aburame Tetsumaru sent an envoy to seek communication, with the fleet's arrival only eighteen minutes away.

• The Life Group Avatars revealed spores that could infect ships, control lifeforms, consume energy, and grow into new combat units, while the Aburame Tetsumarus divided their forces between traps and building the Spherical Sea's Mother Hive.
• Aburame Tetsumaru examined the returning Weary Bird and found its Bio-Armor beyond repair, while the Station Master used the Brain Probing Technique on an enemy corpse and discovered the enemy fleet's weapons and structural weakness.
• Dice realized the enemy fleet would have to decelerate near Purple Thunder Star, giving Aburame Tetsumaru's forces a chance to prepare an ambush.
• The Octopus Insect Swarm built 1.6 billion fog lenses, and Radiance of the Sun's test burned through fog, melted reflective armor, and vaporized ten meters of metal armor.
• With the enemy fleet due in eighteen minutes, Aburame Tetsumaru sent a weaponless Shadow Clone envoy toward the fleet to transmit a signal and try to open communication.