Chapter Summaries

Li Yao destroyed the Feudal Lord's Mansion and its gathered family, then reached Kirigakure intending to kill the Third Mizukage. Meanwhile, Madara learned that Obito Uchiha was the loving Uchiha he had been seeking and planned to turn him toward darkness.

• Li Yao detonated millions of Explosive Tags, destroying the Feudal Lord's Mansion and killing the daimyo's assembled family.
• The capital's people panicked, and nobles began considering the power vacuum left by the apparent extermination of the ruling family.
• Li Yao flew to Kirigakure and decided to hunt the Third Mizukage.
• White Zetsu told Madara that he had identified six-year-old Obito Uchiha as the Uchiha whose heart was filled with love for the world.
• Madara told White Zetsu to keep watching Obito, planning to guide him into darkness when his love became intense enough.

Madara learned that Li Yao had destroyed the Feudal Lord's Mansion clan and ordered him to protect Nagato and the Rinnegan instead of acting on his own. Before the order reached him, Li Yao began a massive aerial bombing of Kirigakure, leaving Mei Terumi and the village's ninjas struggling to defend it.

• White Zetsu told Madara that Li Yao had exterminated the Feudal Lord's Mansion clan in the Land of Water's capital.
• Madara worried Li Yao might attack Konoha and ordered him to infiltrate Nagato's side and guard the Rinnegan until further notice.
• White Zetsu sent a message toward Kirigakure, but the relayed communication had not reached Li Yao yet.
• Li Yao launched a swarm of clay flying birds from above Kirigakure's sensory barrier, triggering explosions throughout the village.
• Mei Terumi used Boil Release to destroy some of the birds, while Kirigakure's ninjas tried to defend the village and casualties mounted.

The Third Mizukage tried to protect Kirigakure from Li Yao’s Clay Flying Birds, first using mist and weak Lightning Release before shielding the village with a Black Water Lotus. Li Yao bypassed the defenses and continued bombing the village, leaving the Third Mizukage to evacuate survivors to the Underground Shelter Base.

• The Third Mizukage spread Hidden Mist across Kirigakure and ordered its Lightning Release users to electrify it, destroying the unprotected Clay Flying Birds.
• Li Yao coated his Clay Flying Birds in Wind Release armor, allowing them to pass through the mist’s electrical arcs unharmed.
• The Third Mizukage raised a Black Water Lotus that withstood a barrage of explosions, but Li Yao sent more birds around it from every direction.
• The Third Mizukage suspected Li Yao was attacking but remained unsure whether he could have survived Ōnoki’s Dust Style.
• The Third Mizukage ordered villagers to take shelter underground as Li Yao’s attacks continued.

Li Yao bombarded Kirigakure to exhaust the Third Mizukage, then ambushed and captured him with Black Iron Chains. Mei Terumi pursued Li Yao after he escaped with the Mizukage, leaving her resolve restored despite the danger.

• Mei Terumi and Kirigakure's ninja defended the shelter entrances from Li Yao's Clay Flying Bird attacks as the Third Mizukage spent Chakra intercepting the bombs.
• Li Yao sensed White Zetsu outside Kirigakure but disguised himself and attacked the weakened Third Mizukage before White Zetsu could interfere.
• Li Yao broke through the Third Mizukage's black-water defense, struck him down, and sealed his Chakra with Black Iron Chains.
• Mei Terumi attacked Li Yao with lava, but he cut through it with a wind blade that killed the person who saved her.
• Mei Terumi overcame her fear and pursued Li Yao as he flew away holding the captured Third Mizukage.

Li Yao escaped with White Zetsu after killing the Third Mizukage, while his Shadow Clone dealt with the pursuing Kirigakure ninja. White Zetsu reprimanded Li Yao for destroying the Land of Water's Feudal Lord's Mansion, and Li Yao began suspecting the Sage of Six Paths had shaped the Shinobi World's cycle of violence.

• The Third Mizukage fell dead, and Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure ninja rushed to protect his body while the others pursued the attacker.
• Li Yao sent a Shadow Clone to stop the pursuing Kirigakure ninja, who collapsed after being trapped in the Dark Room; the clone devoured their Chakra and destroyed their bodies.
• Li Yao, Uzumaki Yezi, and White Zetsu flew toward the Land of Rain, taking a route around the Land of Fire at White Zetsu's insistence.
• White Zetsu questioned Li Yao about destroying the Land of Water's Feudal Lord's Mansion and warned him that Madara would kill him if he caused trouble again.
• Li Yao abandoned his plan to attack the other Feudal Lord's Mansions and wondered whether the Sage of Six Paths had deliberately shaped the Shinobi World's violence and the Pure Land.

Li Yao accepted a mission to secretly protect Nagato’s Rinnegan while using his proximity to study its chakra and pursue the Perfect Transformation Jutsu. He and Little Yezi arrived in the Land of Rain after White Zetsu warned him not to expose his Spirit Transformation Technique, and they set out to find Nagato’s group.

• White Zetsu told Li Yao that Madara wanted him to infiltrate Nagato’s side and protect the Rinnegan, regardless of Nagato’s safety.
• Li Yao brought Little Yezi along, and she agreed after learning that Nagato was an Uzumaki Clan member.
• Li Yao, Little Yezi, and White Zetsu flew for a week to the Land of Rain, where White Zetsu warned Li Yao that the Rinnegan could see souls.
• Li Yao realized he could study and potentially copy the Rinnegan’s Pupil Power Chakra to sense differences in Spiritual Energy.
• White Zetsu left, and Li Yao and Little Yezi continued on to find Nagato’s group and join them naturally.

After the Land of Water’s Feudal Lord’s Mansion was destroyed, the nations panicked and strengthened their guards and hidden villages. In the Land of Rain, Li Yao found Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan protecting a village, where they easily repelled five rogue ninja.

• The Daimyo of the Land of Fire panicked over the destruction of the Land of Water’s Feudal Lord’s Mansion and demanded protection from Konoha’s Third Hokage.
• Daimyos across the nations increased security and funding for hidden villages, while the major villages sent Anbu to hunt for the culprit and stocked up on weapons.
• Li Yao made a plan to join Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan in the Land of Rain.
• After seeing the Land of Rain’s suffering and disorder, Yahiko chose to protect villages rather than join Amegakure, and the Trio began accepting commissions for food.
• Five rogue ninja confronted the Trio at a village they had been hired to guard, but Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato easily stopped their attacks.

Li Yao approached Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, hoping to join their peace-seeking group, and introduced them to Uzumaki Yezi. He explained Yezi’s history and why she had a bounty on her, leaving the trio wary and curious about the pair.

• Yahiko invited five hostile ninja to work with him for peace, but they left without joining and warned the trio about future danger.
• Li Yao and Little Yezi approached Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, who prepared to defend the village until Li Yao showed he meant no harm.
• Li Yao teased Yahiko about protecting villages without payment, then said he had come because he had heard of the trio.
• Li Yao gave Yahiko a wanted poster, and the trio recognized Little Yezi in the portrait and saw her thirty-million-ryo bounty.
• Li Yao introduced himself and Uzumaki Yezi, then recounted her clan’s destruction, capture and experiments in Kumogakure, escape, and eventual reunion with him.

After hearing Little Yezi’s story, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan welcomed her and invited Li Yao to join their pursuit of peace. Li Yao joined them despite doubting Yahiko’s ideal, and the chapter ended with the new group repairing villagers’ homes.

• Yahiko tore up Little Yezi’s wanted poster and promised to protect her, while Nagato and Konan agreed she could stay with them.
• Li Yao asked Yahiko what peace meant, and Yahiko said it meant orphans growing up without worries.
• Yahiko invited Li Yao to help build a peaceful world, and Li Yao accepted while admitting he did not believe such a world could exist.
• White Zetsu overheard their conversation and felt reassured by Li Yao’s apparent change of heart.
• Li Yao, Yahiko, Nagato, Konan, and Little Yezi repaired two villagers’ houses as their first work together.

Li Yao learned about Nagato’s Rinnegan and helped Little Yezi grow closer to Konan by offering to teach her Paper Explosive Tags. While keeping watch that night, he studied the Third Mizukage’s memories and uncovered the principle behind Dust Release and the Third Mizukage’s attempt to create his own Kekkei Tōta.

• Yahiko asked Li Yao about his strengths, and Li Yao said he knew all five Chakra natures, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu but had no particular specialty.
• Li Yao recognized Nagato’s Rinnegan from a book, though he could not explain its abilities to Nagato.
• Little Yezi told Konan she would teach her to make Paper Explosive Tags, and the two grew close and slept together.
• Li Yao volunteered to keep watch while the others slept and began reviewing the Third Mizukage’s memories.
• The Third Mizukage’s memories revealed that mastering Earth Style - Super Weighted Rock Technique provided the powerful Earth Chakra needed to fuse the other two natures into Dust Release.

After reviewing the Third Mizukage’s memories, Li Yao learned why Kekkei Tōta was so difficult to develop and formed a plan to pursue Kekkei Mōra through seven Chakra attributes. The next day, he stayed with Nagato in a sunny Land of Rain village, where Yahiko and the others returned from fishing and shared their catch with the villagers.

• The Third Mizukage’s memories revealed that he had developed Heavy Water, a Kekkei Genkai that let him fight the Third Raikage to a draw, but he never achieved Kekkei Tōta before Li Yao killed him.
• Li Yao realized the Third Mizukage’s research had revealed a path toward Kekkei Mōra, and planned to use seven Shadow Clones to refine seven Chakra attributes after completing the Perfect Transformation Jutsu.
• Nagato urged Li Yao to rest while Yahiko, Konan, and Little Yezi went fishing on the rare sunny morning, but Li Yao continued sensing the tangled Pupil Power Chakra in Nagato’s Rinnegan.
• Yahiko and the others returned with fish and firewood, then distributed them among the villagers, who invited them to share the fish soup they prepared.
• Yahiko waited for Li Yao and cheerfully recounted their fishing trip as they walked to the meal.

Li Yao and his companions faced twelve former Hanzō subordinates who attacked the village, while Yahiko insisted they protect the villagers without killing anyone. The battle began with Yahiko and Nagato countering the attackers’ first assault, but smoke from the explosions obscured the field and exposed the trio’s lack of combat experience.

• At Uncle Yujing’s home, Little Yezi sensed approaching ninja, but Li Yao waited to see whether Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan would detect them themselves.
• Yahiko and the others discovered the intruders when their village entrance traps were triggered, then hurried to confront twelve armed ninja outside.
• Yahiko warned the attackers to leave and ordered his group to protect the village without killing anyone, but the enemy charged instead of listening.
• Yahiko used Water Release—Water Chaos Wave, and the enemy leader raised an Earth Wall to shield his group from the surge.
• The attackers threw kunai fitted with Explosive Tags, and Nagato blasted them in midair with a powerful gust of wind, filling the battlefield with smoke.

Li Yao and Little Yezi protected Yahiko’s group from an ambush, and the enemy leader fled after judging that Li Yao would not pursue while Yahiko made the decisions. Li Yao explained that Yahiko’s refusal to kill left his words without the deterrence that came from overwhelming strength.

• The enemy leader used smoke, explosive-tagged kunai, and an underground attack to ambush Yahiko’s group while they were distracted by threats to the village.
• Li Yao deflected the attackers’ kunai with stones, and Little Yezi detonated the remaining explosives with her Paper Release technique, incapacitating the flankers.
• The enemy leader grabbed Yahiko from underground, but Li Yao struck his hands with stones and freed Yahiko before he emerged and retreated.
• Yahiko’s group confronted the enemy leader, who ordered his subordinates to escape under cover of smoke bombs as soon as Yahiko began speaking.
• Yahiko asked Li Yao why the enemy had not listened, and Li Yao said Yahiko was not strong enough to make his words carry weight.

Two years after Li Yao began training with Yahiko and the others, Hatake Sakumo’s fame led Konoha’s villagers and clans to regard him as the next Hokage, threatening Hiruzen Sarutobi’s position. Hiruzen sought Danzo’s help, and Danzo realized that a change in Hokage could end his experiments on Konoha Utsugi.

• Li Yao trained with Yahiko, Nagato, the other members of their group, and Little Yezi, using close-combat sparring to study changes in Nagato’s Rinnegan chakra.
• Hatake Sakumo’s wartime reputation as the Konoha White Fang made villagers and major clans support him as the next Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi promoted Hatake Sakumo to Anbu commander to diminish his popularity, but villagers interpreted the appointment as preparation for succession.
• The Uchiha Clan and other major clans backed Hatake Sakumo, leaving Hiruzen worried that he might be forced to step down.
• Hiruzen visited Danzo at the Root Base and learned that Danzo’s research on Hashirama Cell Adaptation Factor from Konoha Utsugi had not yet produced usable Wood Release.
• Danzo recognized that a new Hokage might stop his experiments on Konoha Utsugi and asked Hiruzen what he planned to do.

The Third Hokage arranged for Danzo to frame Hatake Sakumo with a disastrous mission so he could remove him as a candidate for the next Hokage. Meanwhile, Akatsuki Organization grew under Yahiko’s leadership, and Li Yao finally achieved his goal of perceiving the world within the Rinnegan.

• The Third Hokage told Danzo to send Hatake Sakumo to investigate Akatsuki Organization and arrange attacks that would force him to abandon the mission and return to Konoha.
• Danzo agreed to carry out the plan and privately considered using the Third Hokage’s scheme against Hiruzen someday.
• In Drizzle City, Yahiko and Nagato discussed Li Yao’s absence as they watched over the city from their base.
• Akatsuki Organization grew to two hundred members over two years as Yahiko’s ideals of peace attracted more followers.
• Li Yao walked through Drizzle City, sensed the distinct Spiritual Energy of its residents, and recognized that he was seeing the world within the Rinnegan.

Li Yao completed his Perfect Transformation Jutsu and tested it on a captured wandering ninja, matching the man’s body, Chakra, and soul fluctuations. However, Madara Uchiha’s Chakra remained within his own, leaving him under Madara’s control as he resolved to find another way out.

• Li Yao took an unpaid mission to protect a village near the Land of Earth so he could leave Drizzle City and test his transformation technique.
• Li Yao sent a Shadow Clone to the village while his real body hid on a Clay Bird with a captured wandering ninja.
• Li Yao used the Perfect Transformation Jutsu to copy the ninja’s body, Chakra, and soul fluctuations so precisely that even soul perception could not distinguish them.
• Li Yao discovered that Madara Uchiha’s Chakra fluctuations remained inside his transformed Chakra, so the technique could not free him from Madara’s control.
• Li Yao considered pursuing Kekkei Mōra but worried it could take decades, and decided he needed another way to escape Madara sooner.

Li Yao tried to create a clone that could leave Nagato’s side by combining Shadow Clone, possession, and Perfect Transformation. His experiment succeeded in giving a Shadow Clone a physical body, but it still lacked Spiritual Energy and would eventually vanish unless he found a way to give it a soul.

• Li Yao created a transformed Shadow Clone but realized it would be exposed because it could not eat and would need to devour Chakra to persist.
• Li Yao used Rinnegan Pupil Power Chakra to extract a captured ninja’s soul and discovered he could purify it into ownerless Spiritual Energy.
• The Shadow Clone used the Spirit Transformation Technique to possess the ninja’s soulless body, then imitated the ninja’s Spiritual Energy fluctuations to avoid rejection.
• The possessed Shadow Clone, whom Li Yao called “Harden,” confirmed that the possession felt like being reborn.
• Li Yao realized the clone could not create Chakra without Spiritual Energy and would eventually disappear, leaving him to consider how to give it a soul.

Li Yao captured seven Wandering Ninjas and tested whether a Shadow Clone could absorb purified Spiritual Energy and gain a soul. After the energy only temporarily let the clone produce Chakra, Li Yao tried to make the clone possess a memoryless soul, leaving the experiment in progress.

• Li Yao waited for the attackers, and his Shadow Clone confronted the seven Wandering Ninjas at the village entrance.
• The leader persuaded his squad to fight by claiming the Akatsuki Organization did not kill, but Li Yao's Shadow Clone easily sent them flying.
• Li Yao captured the fleeing ninjas and carried them into the sky while White Zetsu watched and chose not to interfere.
• Li Yao's Shadow Clone absorbed purified Spiritual Energy and possessed a body, briefly gaining the ability to condense Chakra before the energy ran out.
• Li Yao reasoned that the clone needed a soul to generate Spiritual Energy, stripped a ninja's soul of its memories, and began merging the Shadow Clone's Spirit Body with it.

Li Yao tested ways to make a Shadow Clone Spirit Body possess another person’s soul and discovered Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique Chakra could assimilate the soul’s will. Although the extracted soul collapsed after its will dissipated, he concluded that a body could preserve it and spent the next month capturing ninja to develop the Perfect Clone Jutsu.

• Li Yao altered the Shadow Clone Spirit Body’s Spiritual Energy fluctuations, allowing it to fuse with a ninja’s soul, but the soul’s will resisted his control, so he dispelled the clone and purified the soul.
• Li Yao realized he needed to eliminate a soul’s will without destroying the soul and identified Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique as a possible method.
• Li Yao used Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique Chakra to assimilate an extracted ninja’s soul, but the soul burst apart when its will dissipated.
• Li Yao tested the technique on a soul still inside its body and found that the body preserved the soul, though assimilation would take centuries.
• Li Yao decided to develop a way to combine Rinnegan Pupil Power Chakra with Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique Chakra and spent the next month capturing attacking and wandering ninja for experiments.

The Third Hokage sent Hatake Sakumo to the Land of Rain under false pretenses as part of a scheme to ruin his reputation and remove him from consideration for Hokage. Meanwhile, Sunagakure and Iwagakure also sent investigators to learn why Hanzō tolerated the Akatsuki Organization, and Kaitō secretly headed there despite Ōnoki’s orders.

• Danzo reported that the Akatsuki Organization had no major village backing and selected border towns as targets for the plot against Hatake Sakumo.
• The Third Hokage ordered Hatake Sakumo to secretly investigate a supposed connection between the Akatsuki Organization and Iwagakure, warning him never to reveal the mission.
• Hatake Sakumo accepted the assignment and left for the Land of Rain with an Anbu squad.
• Sunagakure sent Fūgyō and two elite chunin to investigate the Akatsuki Organization and Hanzō’s inaction.
• Kaitō persuaded her junior disciple Xiao Shi to keep her escape secret, then set off with him for the Land of Rain despite Ōnoki’s standing orders to bring her back.