Chapter Summaries

Li Yao tested his newly fused Will Purification Chakra by purifying a wandering ninja’s soul and using a Shadow Clone Spirit Body to take control of the body. He discovered and removed the traces of Madara Uchiha’s and Black Zetsu’s will from the clone’s soul, leaving him with a working method to cleanse those traces from himself.

• Li Yao used dark green Chakra to purify a wandering ninja’s soul, stripping away its will and distinct Spiritual Energy fluctuations.
• Li Yao sent a Shadow Clone Spirit Body into the purified body, where it merged with the soul and restored the body’s vitality under the clone’s control.
• Li Yao examined the clone’s soul and found will fluctuations from himself, Madara Uchiha, and Black Zetsu.
• Li Yao recalled discovering the traces in his own soul after fusing Rinnegan Pupil Power Chakra with Earth Grudge Fear Secret Technique Chakra, and learned through Memory Probing Technique that they had fused with him when he accepted the White Zetsu Cells.
• Li Yao named the dark green Chakra Will Purification Chakra and used it to erase Madara’s and Black Zetsu’s faint will traces from the clone’s soul.

Li Yao tested Will Purification Chakra and perfected his control over five Perfect Clones, then planned to use an Uchiha clone to take revenge on the Third Hokage. He still needed to solve how to conceal Chakra with his Perfect Transformation Jutsu, and returned to the village after Yahiko called him back over attacks on Akatsuki teams.

• Li Yao confirmed he could erase Madara and Black Zetsu’s influence whenever he wished, but chose to keep it in place while retaining Kimura Yao’s body and preparing his revenge.
• Li Yao turned the five wandering ninjas into clones, found that five was the limit his will could withstand, and dispersed their souls to verify his absolute control over Perfect Clones.
• Li Yao planned to develop Kekkei Mōra by assigning the five elemental Chakra natures to talented clones, with an Uchiha clone specializing in Fire Release and becoming Hokage to help him target the Third Hokage.
• Li Yao recognized that his Perfect Transformation Jutsu still could not conceal Chakra, so it could not yet fool Konoha’s Sensory Barrier when transforming into an ordinary object or animal.
• Li Yao burned the five corpses, met his approaching Shadow Clone, and prepared to return after Yahiko’s letters reported that unknown enemies had attacked several Akatsuki teams.

Li Yao questioned White Zetsu about the attacks on the Akatsuki Organization, then headed toward a familiar chakra signature despite White Zetsu's warnings. White Zetsu mistook Li Yao's confidence for a belief that he had escaped Madara's control, while the chapter ended with Kaitō and Shigan detecting an approaching enemy.

• White Zetsu confirmed that his will and Madara's Forbidden Curse remained in Li Yao's soul, then answered that ninjas from the Three Great Nations bordering the Land of Rain were investigating the Akatsuki Organization.
• Li Yao told White Zetsu he had been developing a Genjutsu and learned that the attackers suspected the Akatsuki Organization had secret support.
• Li Yao sensed a familiar chakra signature eight kilometers away and ran toward it, ignoring White Zetsu's warning not to draw attention to Nagato and the Rinnegan.
• White Zetsu suspected Li Yao thought he could escape Madara's control through the Spirit Transformation Technique, but Li Yao said he was only investigating attacks as an Akatsuki member.
• White Zetsu reflected that Obito Uchiha had not awakened his Sharingan yet and hoped Li Yao would avoid recklessness.
• Shigan warned Kaitō that an enemy was approaching, and Kaitō agreed that they were moving fast.

Li Yao defeated Kaitō and Shigan, then used Shigan’s soul to create a Perfect Earth Style Clone. The clone finished absorbing Shigan’s memories and convincingly acted like him, while White Zetsu remained unaware of the deception.

• Li Yao arrived and recognized Shigan’s powerful Earth Release Chakra as the kind he wanted for an Earth Style Clone, though Kaitō did not recognize him.
• Kaitō attacked Li Yao with Steel Release, but he moved behind her and knocked both her and Shigan unconscious with two kicks.
• Li Yao carried Shigan into the sky and created an Earth Style Clone using Shigan’s soul, then returned the clone to the ground beside Kaitō.
• The clone absorbed Shigan’s memories and temporarily forgot its identity as Li Yao’s clone so it could imitate Shigan convincingly.
• The clone woke, reacted to Li Yao and checked on Kaitō as Shigan would, while White Zetsu failed to notice the change.

Li Yao spared Kaitō and Shigan after learning that Iwagakure had sent them to investigate the Akatsuki Organization. Back in Drizzle City, he told Yahiko and the others that ninja from Sunagakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure had attacked their companions, and the organization’s members called for a fight to the end.

• Kaitō woke and, after Shigan explained the situation, told Li Yao that their mission was to investigate the Akatsuki Organization’s backers.
• Li Yao declared that the Akatsuki Organization was independent and warned that Iwagakure would face retaliation if it attacked them again, then let Kaitō and Shigan leave.
• Kaitō concluded that the Akatsuki Organization had a Kage-level fighter and likely was not backed by another hidden village.
• White Zetsu questioned Li Yao for sparing the pair, while Li Yao revealed he planned to target Kurotsuchi as revenge against Ōnoki.
• Li Yao returned to Drizzle City and told Yahiko and the others that ninja from Sunagakure, Konoha, and Iwagakure had attacked their companions.
• The Akatsuki members demanded a fight to the end, and Yahiko shouted for them to calm down.

After the deaths of twenty-six Akatsuki Organization members, Yahiko rejected revenge and resolved to seek an apology from the Three Great Nations, while three senior officers left the organization. Li Yao and Little Yezi went to meet Sunagakure, where they encountered Fūgyō and his team as they investigated the Akatsuki Organization.

• Li Yao told Yahiko and Konan that Iwagakure ninja had attacked because the Three Great Nations suspected the Akatsuki Organization was secretly backed by another great nation.
• Yahiko urged the organization to keep pursuing peace instead of taking revenge, and said he would negotiate with the Three Great Nations.
• Three senior officers left the Akatsuki Organization that night because they could not forgive the deaths of their companions.
• The next day, Yahiko sent Li Yao and Little Yezi to meet Sunagakure while he, Konan, and Nagato went to find the Konoha ninja.
• In a cave, Fūgyō’s team used Memory Probing Technique on an Akatsuki Organization member and learned the identities of its senior members.
• Li Yao and Little Yezi confronted Fūgyō and two Sunagakure ninja, who recognized them as core senior members of the Akatsuki Organization.

Li Yao fought Fūgyō, a Sunagakure shinobi whose Flowing Wind Armor made him exceptionally fast and slippery. As Fūgyō struggled to evade Li Yao’s relentless attacks, he feared that his chakra would run out and leave him unable to escape.

• Fūgyō activated his Flowing Wind Armor, and the Sunagakure shinobi with him expected him to capture Li Yao and Little Yezi.
• Li Yao sent Little Yezi to handle the two Sunagakure shinobi and engaged Fūgyō in close combat.
• Fūgyō used his armor to slide away from Li Yao’s punches and kicks, while Li Yao kept pace and pressed his attack.
• Little Yezi and the Sunagakure shinobi watched in amazement as Li Yao’s blows battered the ground and forced Fūgyō onto the defensive.
• Fūgyō recalled his escape from Hatake Sakumo and panicked as he realized Li Yao was faster and his Flowing Wind Armor would fail when his chakra ran low.

Li Yao captured Sunagakure’s Fūgyō and studied the exceptional cutting power of his Wind Release before sending his Wind Style Clone to develop it further. After Little Yezi killed Fūgyō’s two companions, Li Yao released Fūgyō and set out with Little Yezi to find Yahiko and protect Nagato’s Rinnegan.

• Li Yao incapacitated Fūgyō with the Perception Deprivation Technique, then carried him into the sky as Little Yezi killed the two Sunagakure chunin who attacked.
• Li Yao created a Wind Style Clone and examined how Fūgyō’s Wind Release could cut cells at a microscopic level, then ordered the clone to focus on making its wind attacks thinner and sharper.
• Li Yao hid his copied Steel Release by turning a steel sphere to ash, then injured the Wind Style Clone and left it behind to make the encounter seem credible.
• Little Yezi questioned why Li Yao had released Fūgyō after killing his companions, and Li Yao reassured her—and the watching White Zetsu—that he was not leaving Yahiko’s group.
• Li Yao and Little Yezi headed to find Yahiko and the others so Li Yao could keep watch over Nagato’s Rinnegan.

Hatake Sakumo’s Anbu team stumbled into a battle with enemy forces posing as the Akatsuki Organization while trying to warn Konoha of an attack on the Land of Fire. As his wounded comrades were surrounded, Danzo ordered a separate operation to begin in two hours, leaving Hatake Sakumo to choose between saving them and completing his mission.

• Hatake Sakumo overheard Akatsuki members discussing an attack on a town in the Land of Fire and sent Tu Mian to warn the border patrol.
• Tu Mian was attacked, and Hatake Sakumo’s team discovered that the supposed Akatsuki members fought like Anbu from a great hidden village.
• Hatake Sakumo killed the first group of enemies and stayed behind so his comrades could evacuate the wounded Tu Mian.
• Hatake Sakumo fought through more enemy forces to reach his injured comrades, who were surrounded by reinforcements.
• Danzo watched the battle and ordered Root to act in two hours, giving Hatake Sakumo a choice between rescuing his comrades and returning to report the threat.

Hatake Sakumo and three young Anbu were ambushed by Root, who tried to delay them from warning the Land of Fire about an attack. Sakumo used the Eight Gates to protect his companions, but Root held them back for ten minutes before they escaped, leaving Danzo to continue the Third Hokage's plan.

• The three young Anbu urged Hatake Sakumo to leave them behind, but he opened the Eight Gates and vowed to protect them.
• Danzo watched the ambush and recognized that the Third Hokage had chosen young comrades to force Sakumo into staying and shielding them.
• Root scattered and launched coordinated large-scale ninjutsu, forcing Sakumo to defend the three Anbu instead of breaking through quickly.
• After ten minutes of fighting, Root was exhausted but Sakumo still had strength to fight, and Danzo accepted that they could not kill him.
• Danzo ordered Root to let Sakumo and the three Anbu leave, then erase the battlefield traces as they hurried back to deliver the warning.

Li Yao witnessed Danzo’s plot against Hatake Sakumo and decided to turn the Konoha White Fang into a Lightning Style Clone. After killing Sakumo’s three Anbu companions and subduing him, Li Yao made him a clone and returned to the Land of Wind border.

• Li Yao watched Danzo’s Root frame Hatake Sakumo and chose not to kill Danzo, deciding instead to make Sakumo a Lightning Style Clone.
• Hatake Sakumo and three Anbu companions raced toward the border to warn the Land of Fire about a possible attack.
• Li Yao intercepted them, killed the three Anbu, and pinned the injured Sakumo to the ground.
• Li Yao used the Perception Deprivation Technique to immobilize Sakumo and carried him into the sky as White Zetsu watched.
• Li Yao made Sakumo his Lightning Style Clone, then returned with Little Yezi to the Land of Wind border to resume negotiations with Sunagakure.

Li Yao considered developing his Lightning Release Clone by fusing White Lightning and Black Lightning, while Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan returned to Drizzle City after reconciling with Jiraiya. Their reunion was interrupted by a boy accusing the Akatsuki Organization of abducting his brother, and the three realized Li Yao had taken the mission in question.

• Li Yao compared White Lightning with Black Lightning and decided to pursue fusing their properties in his Lightning Release Clone.
• Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan returned from the Land of Fire border after Jiraiya promised to explain the misunderstanding to the Third Hokage and end Konoha's hostility toward the Akatsuki Organization.
• A frightened boy confronted the three and demanded that they release his brother, Yayoi Dairou, who had disappeared with several other wandering ninja.
• The boy said he had traced the disappearances to the time Akatsuki members were carrying out a mission in Qifu Village.
• Yahiko remembered accompanying Big Brother Li to accept the Qifu Village mission, and Nagato and Konan feared Li Yao might be involved before insisting he could not have done it.

Yahiko confronted Li Yao about the missing wandering ninjas, and Li Yao admitted he had killed them. Yahiko ordered Li Yao to leave the Akatsuki, so Li Yao and Little Yezi headed to Amegakure and captured a young Jonin as they prepared for Madara's likely response.

• Yahiko promised a child he would investigate his older brother's disappearance, then returned to Drizzle City with Nagato and Konan.
• Yahiko asked Li Yao whether he had dealt with the missing people, and Li Yao admitted that he had killed them.
• Yahiko told Li Yao to leave the Akatsuki, while Little Yezi stood by Li Yao and Nagato and Konan called after them.
• Li Yao and Little Yezi flew to Amegakure, where Li Yao subdued a young Jonin and carried him away on the Paper Bird.

Li Yao prepared a captured Amegakure Jonin as a spare body and told Little Yezi to stay in the air before facing Madara’s orders. After Madara activated the Forbidden Curse, Li Yao escaped his dying body and possessed the Jonin, leaving him alive in a new body.

• Li Yao gave Little Yezi the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique inheritance scroll and warned her not to come down, even if his body died.
• Li Yao told White Zetsu he had left the Akatsuki Organization, and White Zetsu consulted Madara about his failed mission.
• Madara activated the Forbidden Curse in Li Yao’s heart and tried to seize control of his Chakra.
• Li Yao erased Madara and Black Zetsu’s will fluctuations, used the Spirit Transformation Technique to escape, and triggered the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique to destroy his body.
• Li Yao possessed the captured jōnin from the Rain Village on the Paper Bird and adjusted his Spiritual Energy until the new body accepted him.

Li Yao fused Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique Chakra with Storage Space Chakra to develop a spatial ability, knowing Madara and Black Zetsu would pursue him to protect their secrets. Madara sent White Zetsu and a Six Paths Clone to trap and kill Li Yao while he was low on Chakra, leaving a crisis approaching as Li Yao worked to master his new power.

• Li Yao used his experience of the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique destroying Kimura Yao's body to identify Spatial Chakra properties and began fusing them with Storage Space Chakra.
• Li Yao concluded that Madara and Black Zetsu would kill him to prevent him from revealing Madara's survival and Nagato's Rinnegan.
• Madara discovered that Kimura Yao's Chakra trace had vanished, but he and Black Zetsu could still sense Li Yao's general location through his soul aura.
• Madara transferred his Sharingan into a White Zetsu, projected part of his will into it, and sent it with three other White Zetsu to trap Li Yao with the Four Red Yang Formation.
• Madara rushed the attack because Li Yao had little Chakra in his new body, though Li Yao's strength and ability to use his mastered Chakra types remained intact.

Li Yao faced Madara’s White Zetsu clone inside the Four Red Yang Formation and fought back using stolen Chakra and several powerful techniques. The battle continued as Madara summoned Susanoo and smashed the ground around Li Yao.

• Madara trapped Li Yao and Little Yezi inside the Four Red Yang Formation, then sent a White Zetsu clone with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan to confront them.
• Li Yao absorbed half of Little Yezi’s Chakra, donned the Black Iron Feather Cloak, and descended to face Madara.
• Madara attacked Li Yao with Taijutsu and Great Fire Annihilation, but Li Yao blocked the flames with the Third Mizukage’s Black Water.
• Li Yao cut the ground with a Wind Release blade, and Madara countered with Storm Release—Laser Circus, which Li Yao dodged.
• Li Yao sent Black Iron Chains at Madara, who summoned Susanoo and shattered the ground with its Chakra fist.

Li Yao fought Madara’s White Zetsu clone, evading Susanoo and multiple ninjutsu while waiting for his Space Ninjutsu to finish developing. When Madara surrounded him with four Susanoo shadow clones, Li Yao revealed a much larger Three-Headed Six-Armed Susanoo.

• Li Yao decided to conserve his Chakra and stall Madara while the fusion of the sealing and storage-space Chakra progressed.
• Madara attacked with Susanoo, Earth Release, Storm Release, and Water Release, while Li Yao flew and dodged to keep the fight away from Little Yezi.
• Li Yao used his Black Iron Chains to escape Madara’s coordinated blade strike and countered with wind blades, but neither fighter could overcome the other.
• Madara praised Li Yao, created four shadow clones, and surrounded him with five Susanoo.
• Li Yao answered Madara’s taunt by summoning a larger Three-Headed Six-Armed Susanoo.

Li Yao copied Madara's Susanoo and survived the attacks of five Susanoo, convincing himself that Madara could not kill him. As Li Yao's newly fused Chakra awakened, Madara struck him with Storm Release—Laser Circus, and both Madara and White Zetsu believed Li Yao was dead.

• Li Yao formed a Susanoo with six circular shields and blocked the blades of Madara's five Susanoo.
• White Zetsu was shocked that Li Yao had copied Susanoo without Sharingan or Uchiha blood.
• Madara stopped attacking and tried to recruit Li Yao into the Moon Eye Plan, while Li Yao focused on fusing the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique Chakra with the Storage Space Chakra.
• The Chakra fusion succeeded, and Li Yao absorbed his Susanoo and floated in the air, absorbed in his new power.
• Madara and his clones fired Storm Release—Laser Circus at Li Yao, who did not dodge; Madara and White Zetsu concluded that he was dead.

Li Yao revealed his spatial ability, defeated Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo clones, and devoured a White Zetsu before flying to Madara’s lair in the Land of Grass. He found the lair emptied and cursed Madara for escaping with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

• Little Yezi feared Li Yao had been killed, but Madara’s Lightning Style attacks passed through him without harming him.
• Li Yao used five black spheres to trap and destroy Madara’s five Susanoo and Shadow Clones.
• White Zetsu tried to escape underground, but Li Yao grabbed him and devoured his body, soul energy, physical energy, and Chakra.
• The four White Zetsu maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation retreated underground, and Li Yao flew toward Madara’s lair in the Land of Grass.
• Li Yao attacked the underground lair with his black sphere but found that Madara had escaped with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Black Zetsu persuaded Li Yao not to destroy the Rinnegan by warning that the Shinobi World faced a future threat from beyond the stars. Li Yao agreed to leave Black Zetsu and Madara’s plan alone, then began considering whether the Mount Myōboku toads possessed Chakra.

• Li Yao confronted Black Zetsu, who revealed himself and warned that the Rinnegan could not be destroyed.
• Black Zetsu claimed that gods and demons would come to harvest the Shinobi World’s Chakra, and that the Rinnegan would be needed to defeat them.
• Black Zetsu explained that the Sage of Six Paths had once absorbed the world’s Chakra to defeat a harvester before dispersing his Chakra to help the world grow stronger.
• Li Yao agreed not to interfere with Black Zetsu and Madara’s plan, and Black Zetsu left believing the Rinnegan was safe.
• As Li Yao flew toward Little Yezi, he questioned whether Black Zetsu’s warning about Chakra attracting outsiders might be true.
• Li Yao wondered whether the Mount Myōboku toads had learned to use Chakra after a thousand years.