Chapter Summaries

Natsume accepted Kirigakure’s alliance and received Ao’s Byakugan, then gave it to Hyuga Hiashi. After agreeing to attend a Hyuga banquet, Natsume assigned Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga an S-rank mission to search Kusagakure for a divine artifact left by the Sage of Six Paths.

• Tsunade worried that Mikoto Uchiha had noticed their relationship, while Shizune overheard them and spent another sleepless night.
• Ao and Chojuro met Natsume in Konoha and offered a Byakugan as Kirigakure’s token of sincerity; Natsume signed the alliance agreement.
• Natsume gave the Byakugan to Hyuga Hiashi, who thanked him and invited him to a banquet celebrating Natsume taking Hanabi as his younger sister.
• Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Hinata Hyuga asked Natsume for a major mission, and he assigned them to find the Sage of Six Paths’ divine artifact in Kusagakure.

Natsume sent Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki to infiltrate Hozuki Castle and find the Box of Paradise, while Hinata Hyuga stayed with him. He later promised Uzumaki Ena that she could take revenge on Kusagakure, then spent the night with her before punishing Tayuya for confronting him.

• Natsume explained that the Box of Paradise was in Hozuki Castle and supposedly granted wishes, and Sasuke Uchiha volunteered to open it.
• Natsume assigned Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki to enter Hozuki Castle as prisoners and investigate the Box's location, while Hinata Hyuga would help locate it with her Byakugan.
• Natsume reassured Hinata Hyuga that Hanabi Hyuga becoming his sworn younger sister would not affect their relationship, and she fainted when he called her cute.
• Natsume visited Uzumaki Ena and promised to let her take revenge on the Kusagakure shinobi who had mistreated her.
• Natsume spent the night with Uzumaki Ena, then caught Tayuya confronting him the next morning and punished her by spanking her.

Natsume attended the Hyuga Clan's banquet to mark Hanabi becoming his sworn younger sister. The celebration exposed a brewing conflict between Hyuga Hiashi and Hiroshi Hyuga over the Caged Bird, while Natsume publicly asked Konoha's leaders to look after Hanabi.

• Hizashi Hyuga and Neji Hyuga discussed how Hanabi's connection to Natsume showed that strength could challenge the Branch House's fate.
• Rinka Hyuga helped Hanabi prepare for the banquet, and Hanabi and Hinata Hyuga teased each other before heading to the hall.
• Hiroshi Hyuga sent Takashi Hyuga to insist that Hiashi uphold the clan's rules, and Hiashi grew cold after hearing the elder's message.
• Natsume arrived at the banquet with Mikoto Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha, then entered the hall with Hyuga Hiashi.
• Natsume addressed the guests and asked them to look after Hanabi, his newly sworn younger sister.

Natsume sent Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki to Hozuki Castle as part of a plan involving the Box of Paradise, while he traveled toward Kusagakure with Naruto Uzumaki's mother. Along the way, he received a powerful new technique from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and began planning to investigate Kusagakure and expand his business there.

• Natsume arranged for Wind God and Thunder God to be handed over to Orochimaru and gained thirty Destiny Points.
• Natsume and Naruto Uzumaki's mother traveled by carriage toward Kusagakure while he learned about the village's factions and Mui's plans for the Box of Paradise.
• Natsume visited Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who gave him a modified Gentle Fist technique that he named Empty Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Strikes.
• Natsume proposed raising livestock and bringing the Land of Grass into the Thousand Sunny Merchant Guild, then asked Naruto Uzumaki's mother to locate a Kusagakure official.

Uzumaki Ena returned to Kusagakure with Natsume and avenged herself on the officials and ninjas who had abused her, while Natsume extracted information about the Box of Paradise. Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha arrived at Hozuki Castle under aliases, charged with attempting to assassinate the Hokage, and were placed under Mui’s Heavenly Prison curse.

• Uzumaki Ena and Natsume entered Kusagakure and confronted Monkey, whom Ena recognized as one of her former tormentors.
• Uzumaki Ena wounded Monkey and killed Kusagakure ninjas with her Adamantine Sealing Chains as they gathered around her.
• Natsume stopped Monkey from escaping, used the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to learn how to open the Box of Paradise and where Ryūsetsuna was, then subdued the surrounding ninjas with a water jutsu.
• Natsume found Goat, Horse, and Ox among the unconscious ninjas, searched their memories, and left Ena to kill them; Ena then embraced Natsume as she struggled with her feelings after the revenge.
• Mui received Naruto Uzumaki, listed as Musashi, and Sasuke Uchiha, listed as Kojiro, at Hozuki Castle on charges of attempting to assassinate the Hokage.
• Mui placed the Heavenly Prison Cursed Formula on Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, and the guards sent them to their cells.

At Hozuki Castle, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha discovered that Fire Style: Heavenly Prison had sealed their Chakra, while Natsume manipulated Mui into cooperating with him. The chapter ended with Mui attacking the weakened prisoners and singling out Sasuke Uchiha, who flew into a rage.

• Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha tried to escape but found they could not use their Chakra, and Sasuke Uchiha was burned when he attempted to activate his Sharingan.
• Naruto Uzumaki sought help from Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and Kurama, while Sasuke Uchiha was left without clothes after lending Naruto Uzumaki his shirt.
• Natsume confronted Mui, defeated his attacks with genjutsu, and offered him a chance to open the Box of Paradise if he cooperated.
• Natsume ordered Mui to torment the prisoners Musashi and Kojiro, especially Kojiro, and to capture Ryūsetsuna.
• After Natsume disappeared, Mui dispelled the genjutsu, dismissed his subordinates, and beat the powerless Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha with Taijutsu.
• Mui insulted Sasuke Uchiha, who lost control and threatened to kill him.

Jiraiya visited Myōboku Mountain, where the Great Toad Sage gave him new prophecies about the Child of Prophecy and the person who would destroy the mountain, both apparently connected to Konoha. After Shizune told Natsume what Jiraiya and Tsunade discussed, Natsume decided to send Jiraiya after Madara Uchiha and persuaded Mikoto Uchiha to agree to help; he then returned to the Hokage Building.

• Jiraiya told the Great Toad Sage that he suspected Natsume was the Child of Prophecy, and the Great Toad Sage said Jiraiya would have to judge for himself.
• The Great Toad Sage warned Jiraiya that a new prophecy placed the person who would destroy Myōboku Mountain in Konoha, and Jiraiya vowed to find him.
• At the Hokage Building, Natsume read that Shimura Danzō had appeared in the Land of Demons and considered whether he was pursuing Mōryō.
• Shizune told Natsume that Jiraiya had returned and was discussing Myōboku Mountain’s prophecies with Tsunade.
• Natsume decided to direct Jiraiya toward Madara Uchiha, then visited Mikoto Uchiha and told her Sasuke was doing well and that she could see him later.
• Mikoto Uchiha agreed to several things while with Natsume, who returned to the Hokage Building an hour later.

Jiraiya questioned Tsunade and Hiruzen Sarutobi about Natsume, then investigated Mikoto Uchiha’s account of the mysterious Wood Style expert who rescued her. Mikoto named Madara Uchiha as the expert and recalled a cloaked rogue ninja linked to Takigakure, giving Jiraiya a lead to pursue.

• Tsunade praised Natsume to Jiraiya, who decided to stay in Konoha and learn more about him.
• Jiraiya asked Hiruzen Sarutobi about Natsume’s character and strength, and Hiruzen described him as a genius who was slightly weaker than Hashirama Senju.
• Jiraiya suspected Natsume might be the Child of Prophecy but dismissed him as the one who could destroy Myōboku Mountain after Hiruzen said he could not rival the Sage of Six Paths.
• Jiraiya questioned Mikoto Uchiha about the mysterious Wood Style expert who had saved her, and she said he had sought the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Mikoto Uchiha told Jiraiya the expert had called himself Madara Uchiha, leaving Jiraiya shocked by the possibility that Madara was alive.
• Mikoto Uchiha recalled a rogue ninja wearing a black cloak with red clouds and a straw hat with wind chimes, and Jiraiya identified the forehead protector’s arrow as a sign of Takigakure.

Natsume's teasing conversation with Kurenai Yuhi was interrupted when Ino Yamanaka arrived to celebrate learning the Mystical Palm Technique, and the two grew closer on their walk home. Back with Tsunade, Natsume learned that Jiraiya had returned because he believed Natsume might be the Child of Prophecy.

• Kurenai Yuhi spoke with Natsume about her preferences in a boyfriend and asked whether he liked anyone, while Natsume praised his teacher's beauty, boldness, and figure.
• Ino Yamanaka told Natsume she had learned the Mystical Palm Technique, and he praised her and ruffled her hair.
• Ino Yamanaka took Natsume's hand to pull him away from a carriage, and they walked together until Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi approached.
• Ino Yamanaka invited Natsume to dinner at her house, but he declined and returned home using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Tsunade told Natsume that Jiraiya had been searching for the Child of Prophecy for Myōboku Mountain and had returned because he thought Natsume matched the description.

Natsume dismissed the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy and learned that Jiraiya was seeking someone who could destroy Myōboku Mountain, which might endanger Shikkotsu Forest. After capturing Ryūsetsuna and inspecting the Box of Paradise, Natsume detected Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha nearby.

• Natsume told Tsunade he had no interest in being the Child of Prophecy, and she revealed that Jiraiya wanted a shinobi capable of destroying Myōboku Mountain.
• Tsunade warned that a crisis at Myōboku Mountain could implicate Shikkotsu Forest, while Natsume considered the connection between the Three Great Sage Lands.
• Natsume shared dinner with Tsunade and Shizune, then spent the night with Tsunade before leaving for work the next morning.
• At Hozuki Castle, Mui told Natsume that Musashi and Kojiro had escaped and led him to the captured Ryūsetsuna.
• Natsume took Ryūsetsuna and Mui to the Box of Paradise, activated Sage Mode, and sensed its negative emotions and tempting whisper.
• Natsume called out Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha, and Sasuke dropped his disguise and confronted Mui.

Natsume revealed himself after sparring Sasuke and Naruto, then brought them, Mui, and Ryūsetsuna to a grassland to open the Box of Paradise. Naruto supplied the Chakra the box needed, and Natsume prepared to proceed with it.

• Mui recognized Sasuke and fought him while Naruto's Shadow Clones attacked Natsume.
• Naruto released Kurama's golden Chakra and challenged Natsume, who stopped his attacks and revealed his identity.
• Natsume told Sasuke the fight had been training and moved everyone away from the underground base with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Natsume instructed Naruto to put his Chakra into the Box of Paradise, which absorbed enough to open.
• Natsume split off three Shadow Clones and began forming hand seals as the box finished absorbing Naruto's Chakra.

Sasuke Uchiha wished for the Mangekyō Sharingan, but the Box of Paradise granted him only a temporary awakening while Wu possessed him. Mikoto Uchiha helped drive Wu out of Sasuke, leaving the monster revealed and Sasuke unconscious.

• Sasuke Uchiha wished for the Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Box of Paradise poured a torrent of emotions into him, awakening the eyes as Wu took control.
• Mikoto Uchiha confronted Sasuke after he questioned her failure to take revenge, and Natsume warned her that Wu could read emotions.
• Mikoto Uchiha attacked Sasuke with fire techniques, but his immense power overwhelmed her and he knocked her away.
• Sasuke Uchiha briefly resisted Wu after striking Mikoto, and Natsume told her to use Aka-no-Kashi to amplify Sasuke's emotions.
• Mikoto Uchiha activated Aka-no-Kashi, forcing Wu out of Sasuke; Wu emerged as a huge winged monster while Sasuke's Mangekyō vanished and he collapsed.
• Mikoto Uchiha caught Sasuke, while Mui despaired that the Box of Paradise had not granted its promised wish.

Natsume defeated Wu, learned that the Box of Paradise sustained its immortality, and had Wu sealed inside Sasuke before discussing the Land of Grass’s future with Mui and Ryūsetsuna. He then brought the box to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki to ask her to remake it as a bow, and she kissed him after he reassured her of his affection.

• Natsume protected Naruto Uzumaki and the others from Wu’s attacks, then restrained the monster with Wood Style after discovering its wounds healed with power from the Box of Paradise.
• Natsume arranged for Sagara Fu and the Sealing Team to seal Wu inside Sasuke Uchiha, and he told Mui and Ryūsetsuna that the box could no longer grant their wish to resurrect Muku.
• Natsume asked Mui and Ryūsetsuna to help control the Land of Grass and Kusagakure, then found that the Box of Paradise withstood his full-strength punch.
• Natsume took the box to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and asked her to reforge it into a bow for his Hyuga Clan student.
• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki questioned Natsume about the student, accepted his reassurance that he would always like her, and kissed him while Koyuki Kazahana watched.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki destroyed the Box of Paradise and crafted a powerful bow for Natsume, who agreed to attend the Wind and Snow Festival with her. After returning to Konoha, Natsume gave Hinata Hyuga a similar bow and a modified technique, and her test shot nearly overwhelmed Hyuga Hiashi.

• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki destroyed the Box of Paradise, gathered its souls and emotions into arrow fletchings, and crafted a bow that could fire an arrow dozens of kilometers.
• Kazahana Koyuki invited Natsume to the Wind and Snow Festival, and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki asked Natsume to take her there the next day.
• Natsume returned to the Land of Grass, confirmed Wu had been sealed, and brought Sasuke Uchiha back to Konoha, where Sasuke apologized to Mikoto Uchiha for attacking her under Wu's control.
• Natsume visited the Hyuga Clan and gave Hinata Hyuga a bow and a modified Empty Fist technique scroll.
• Hinata Hyuga tested the bow on Hyuga Hiashi, whose Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven barely blocked her arrow and left his hands trembling and bleeding.

After returning from Hozuki Castle, Natsume filed a mission report and spent the Wind and Snow Festival with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki in the Land of Snow. Kaguya drew him into a prolonged encounter in her time-controlling space, and the chapter ended with Natsume waking exhausted as she remained close beside him.

• Natsume asked Kurenai Yuhi to file an S-rank report that omitted Mikoto Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha’s involvement, then received Destiny Points after Hinata Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi’s fates changed.
• Natsume visited Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, made her breakfast, and took her to the Wind and Snow Festival.
• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki revealed that Kazahana Koyuki liked Natsume, gave him a protective omamori, and told him she would appear if he suffered a fatal injury.
• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki bought the novel Love Strategy and later asked Natsume about what men liked, leading them to share an intimate encounter.
• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki used Amenominaka to take Natsume to her Primordial Space, where she briefly controlled time and prolonged their encounter.
• A month later, Natsume returned to the Daimyo's Mansion and woke exhausted beside Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who was still keeping him close.

After spending nearly a month with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Natsume returned to the Hokage Building and rested while Kurenai Yuhi gave him a massage. He then accepted an S-rank mission to help the Land of Demons and decided to go himself.

• Kaguya Ōtsutsuki gave Natsume her clan’s Chakra, said she wanted to transform him into the branch house, and embraced him before he used Flying Thunder God to return to the Hokage Building.
• Natsume fell asleep on the office sofa, and Kurenai Yuhi gave him a massage while he rested.
• Kurenai Yuhi brought Natsume a mission request from the Land of Demons, which had contacted all five villages for help.
• Natsume agreed that Konoha would assist the Land of Demons and chose to undertake the S-rank mission himself because Iwagakure and Kumogakure might also participate.

Jiraiya visited Natsume to discuss the Child of Prophecy and report a lead on the organization behind the mysterious Wood Style user. After Jiraiya left to investigate Kakuzu and his organization, Natsume checked on Sasuke Uchiha, whose ocular power was steadily growing toward the Mangekyō Sharingan.

• Jiraiya praised Natsume and told him he believed Natsume might be the Child of Prophecy, but Natsume rejected the idea that one person could bring peace to the Shinobi World.
• Jiraiya told Natsume that the mysterious Wood Style user who took Shisui Uchiha belonged to an organization and identified Kakuzu as one of its members.
• Natsume authorized Jiraiya to investigate the organization and promised Konoha's support, then Jiraiya left the village office.
• Kurenai Yuhi checked on Natsume, offered to massage him again if he became tired, and returned to her office.
• Natsume used the Flying Thunder God Technique to visit Sasuke Uchiha, whose ocular power was increasing after obtaining Wu and could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan naturally.

Shion learned that Konoha and Kumogakure would help investigate the Yellow Springs Cult, while Shimura Danzō and Yomi plotted to revive Mōryō. In Kirigakure, Mei Terumi faced the imminent loss of Karatachi Yagura and the lack of a replacement Jinchuriki, and Natsume offered to help.

• Taruho told Shion that Konoha and Kumogakure had agreed to send shinobi, including Hokage Natsume and Yugito Nii, while the other three villages declined.
• Shion found Kikuri’s promise in the shrine maiden’s secret chamber and became reassured that Natsume’s arrival matched the prophecy; she also told Taruho that he would not die.
• Shimura Danzō urged Yomi to act, but Yomi said his subordinates had not yet found the sealed shrine; they planned to rely on Mōryō and the Undead Army.
• Mei Terumi learned from Ao that Karatachi Yagura’s body was failing and that Utakata remained missing, leaving Kirigakure without a clear replacement Jinchuriki.
• Natsume appeared in Mei’s office, heard about Kirigakure’s predicament, and offered to help her.

Natsume discussed replacing the Three-Tails' Jinchuriki with Mei Terumi, warned her that the Akatsuki might target the beast, and gave her a Sky Net device. After teasing and kissing Mei Terumi, he left their future cooperation and the Jinchuriki change pending.

• Natsume proposed finding a new Jinchuriki, and Mei Terumi insisted that the replacement had to be from Kirigakure.
• Natsume suggested Zabuza Momochi as a candidate and teased Mei Terumi before kissing her.
• Mei Terumi said she would replace the Jinchuriki after the Fourth Mizukage passed away, and Natsume gave her a wristband connected to the Sky Net.
• Natsume warned Mei Terumi that the man who controlled the Fourth Mizukage had joined an organization targeting the Tailed Beasts, and he identified the man as a rogue ninja who called himself Madara Uchiha.
• Mei Terumi asked Natsume to leave, then kissed him after he demanded payment for his help.

Natsume recruited Hinata Hyuga for an S-rank mission in the Land of Demons and brought her to meet Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. As they traveled toward the Land of Demons, Kaguya helped Hinata train, then pulled Natsume into an adjoining carriage.

• Natsume asked Hinata Hyuga to join him on a mission to help the Miko seal an otherworldly demon, and she agreed.
• Hinata told Hyuga Hiashi she was leaving for the Land of Demons; he approved after learning Natsume would protect her.
• Natsume took Hinata to the Land of Snow and introduced Kaguya Ōtsutsuki as a fellow clan member serving in Konoha's Anbu under the name Shinomiya.
• Natsume, Hinata, and Kaguya traveled by train toward the Land of Demons, and Kaguya gave Hinata pointers on Empty Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Strikes.
• Natsume asked Kaguya about Hinata's bloodline, and Kaguya wrapped herself around him and told him to sleep; he warned her not to use Amenominaka.