Chapter Summaries

Wu and Anrokuzan’s attack caused the Dragon Vein to erupt, scattering the fighters across worlds and bringing Sakura and Sai to Soseki’s side. Soseki protected them from Wu’s assault, while the sudden crossing raised the possibility of a stable passage between the two worlds.

• Wu exposed the underground courtyard and tried to reach the Dragon Vein, but Soseki blasted him away and redirected his energy spheres back at him.
• Anrokuzan struck the Dragon Vein altar with energy beams, destroying it; Soseki rescued Sara as the Dragon Vein erupted.
• The berserk Dragon Vein Chakra engulfed Sakura and Sai in another spacetime and pulled them through a vortex.
• Wu absorbed the leaking Chakra and fired more energy spheres at the shattered altar, while Yamato resolved to be more careful after Guy and Mizuki reprimanded him.
• Sakura and Sai emerged from the vortex on an ink beast, and Soseki wondered whether a fixed passage between the worlds had formed.
• Soseki used shadow clones and the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport Wu’s energy spheres away from Sakura and Sai.

Soseki used the Dragon Vein’s power to enter complete Sage Mode and overwhelmed Wu with two enormous Rasengan attacks. He sealed Wu in an ice coffin and then into a scroll, while the battle against Anrokuzan’s puppet remained ongoing.

• Sakura and Sai learned from Soseki that they were in a parallel timeline from twenty years earlier, then flew to join Naruto and the others.
• Sakura knocked Anrokuzan’s giant puppet down, but it regenerated, and Naruto explained that Soseki had defeated it before it could recover.
• Soseki told Wu he could use Dragon Vein Chakra and entered complete Sage Mode.
• Soseki struck Wu twice with a massive Sage Art Rasengan, devastating the surrounding area and leaving Wu unconscious in a crater.
• Soseki sealed Wu inside an ice coffin and then sealed him in a scroll.

Soseki defeated Wu, stopped Mukade from escaping, and learned that the Dragon Vein remained a danger to Rōran. Sara agreed to seal it and gave Soseki her pendant to help him control it, while Naruto, Sakura, and Sai regrouped with him.

• Soseki froze Mukade as he tried to escape the puppet, and the people of Rōran thanked Soseki for saving them.
• Soseki warned Sara that the rampaging Dragon Vein would continue attracting villains and monsters unless it was sealed.
• Sara agreed to seal the Dragon Vein, and Soseki offered to place a protective seal on it while doing so.
• Sara taught Soseki how to control the Dragon Vein and gave him her pendant to help summon it.
• Sakura praised Soseki, and he encouraged her by reminding her that she had only trained under their teacher for three years.

Soseki explained the time difference between the parallel timelines, taught Naruto and the others medical and sealing techniques, and helped rebuild Rōran. After two days of training, Naruto asked how he could grow stronger quickly, and Soseki promised there were several ways.

• Soseki learned that only seconds had passed in Sakura's timeline while half a day had passed in his own, and he agreed to teach Naruto and the others for a few days.
• Soseki sent Asuma and the others to report Wu's defeat and asked them to keep the parallel timeline secret, while Yamato used Wood Release to build houses for Rōran's refugees.
• Soseki spent two days teaching Sakura and Sai medical ninjutsu and sealing techniques, and showed Naruto new ways to use the Rasengan.
• Naruto asked Soseki for a way to grow stronger quickly so he could defeat Pain, and Soseki said there were several methods, though they involved some risk.

Soseki advised Naruto to grow stronger by mastering an S-rank technique, then used the Mind Transfer Jutsu to study and quickly learn Naruto’s Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. He left Naruto unharmed and demonstrated a miniature Rasenshuriken, astonishing Yamato, Sakura, and Sai.

• Soseki told Naruto that learning a powerful S-rank ninjutsu was the simplest path to becoming stronger, and Naruto resolved to perfect the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.
• Naruto demonstrated the technique while Yamato, Sakura, and Sai watched, and Soseki entered Naruto’s body with the Mind Transfer Jutsu.
• Soseki analyzed the Rasenshuriken through Naruto’s perspective and transferred its explosive attack away before it could injure Naruto.
• Soseki returned to his own body and showed a miniature Rasenshuriken, revealing that he had learned the technique in moments.
• Yamato and Sakura marveled at Soseki’s talent, while Soseki modestly claimed that learning was his strength.

Soseki explained three ways Naruto could make the Rasenshuriken easier to use: improve his Chakra control, reconcile with the Nine-Tails, or learn Sage Mode. Naruto resolved to master both Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Sage Mode to defeat Pain, and Soseki offered to let him experience Sage Mode.

• Soseki explained that Naruto could improve his Chakra control or use Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to help control the Rasenshuriken.
• Soseki presented Sage Mode as a dangerous third option, warning Naruto that a mistake could petrify and kill him.
• Naruto insisted he wanted to learn both Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Sage Mode so he could defeat Pain.
• Soseki said Naruto had the Chakra and unyielding will needed to become a Sage, then offered to let Naruto experience Sage Mode by borrowing his body.

Soseki demonstrated Sage Mode to Naruto and discovered Asura’s spiritual will within Naruto’s Chakra. After sending Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato back to their world, Soseki sealed the Dragon Vein while secretly leaving himself access to its power.

• Soseki entered Naruto’s body with Mind Transfer Jutsu, sensed Asura’s spiritual will, and used Sage Mode to demonstrate the power of a Sage Jutsu-enhanced Rasenshuriken.
• Naruto admitted he had been too distracted to learn how to sense Natural Energy, and Soseki reassured him that Mount Myōboku would teach him.
• Soseki said farewell to Naruto, Sakura, and Yamato, who thanked him before returning to their world.
• Soseki shut down the Dragon Vein source with the Queen of Roran’s pendant and sealed the shattered altar, secretly leaving himself a way to draw on its Chakra.
• Soseki considered improving the Yin Seal so he could activate and stop it at will, allowing him to use Dragon Vein Chakra and Sage Mode more readily.

Shimizu Soseki sealed the altar and the Box of Paradise before leaving Rōran, while considering how to obtain Wu's mind-reading ability. At the Leaf Village meeting, the Third Hokage chose to accept the Hidden Stone Village's peace talks and announced he would resign after the war.

• Soseki considered disguising the release of his Yin Seal as entering Sage Mode and decided to focus on obtaining Wu's abilities.
• Soseki sealed the underground altar, asked Sara about the Box of Paradise, and learned it had been found.
• Sara led Soseki to the Box of Paradise, which he sealed in a scroll before leaving Rōran.
• Danzo challenged the Third Hokage over accepting peace talks without reparations, while Homura noted anti-war sentiment in the village.
• The Third Hokage explained Ōnoki's terms, including the Hidden Stone Village's plan to declare war on the Hidden Cloud Village, and decided to accept the talks.
• The Third Hokage said he would resign after the war ended.

Soseki secretly took a Death God Mask from the Uzumaki Clan shrine and tested the Dead Demon Consuming Seal on bandits to extract Wu’s soul. He fused Wu’s soul with a weakened Death God and sealed the result in the mask, creating a tool that let him hear thoughts.

• Soseki bypassed Leaf Village’s barrier, entered the Uzumaki Clan shrine, and selected the mask linked to the weakest Death God.
• Soseki traveled to a bandit camp and used controlled bandits as sacrifices to summon the Death God and pull Wu’s soul from its sealed body.
• When Wu resisted the Death God, Soseki added five more bandit sacrifices, allowing the Death God to seal Wu’s soul along with theirs.
• Soseki summoned the Death God again, released the souls from its stomach, destroyed the bandits’ souls, and fused the weakened Death God with Wu’s soul.
• Soseki sealed the fused being in the mask and confirmed that wearing it let him hear the thoughts of the remaining bandits.

Soseki studied the Reaper mask and considered whether soul fusion could help him forge a Hogyoku, but he decided he needed more information and a way to avoid attracting the Sage of Six Paths’ attention. Back at the western front, he addressed the divided camp after Konoha and Iwagakure agreed to a ceasefire, urging the shinobi to stop the war while offering other ways to oppose Iwagakure.

• Soseki used the Reaper mask to extract a bandit's soul and analyzed how the Reaper absorbed souls and returned those of Uzumaki clansmen who had used the Dead Demon Consuming Seal.
• Soseki considered fusing powerful souls to forge a Hogyoku, but worried about the Sage of Six Paths and decided he might use information gathered about Black Zetsu to scheme against another world's Black Zetsu.
• Soseki returned to the western front camp and learned that both sides had agreed to a ceasefire, prompting disputes between war-weary shinobi and those who wanted to keep fighting.
• Soseki told the crowd he opposed continuing the war to prevent more deaths, then suggested they could retaliate against Iwagakure through missions, books, and economic sanctions.

Soseki returned to the Leaf after calming the western camp and reported Wu’s death and the sealed Box of Paradise to the Third Hokage. He then learned that Obito had died on the Kumogakure battlefield and that his body had vanished, leading him to suspect Black Zetsu and plan to hide Rin from its schemes.

• Soseki returned to the Leaf and reported Wu’s situation, presenting the sealed monster and Box of Paradise to the Third Hokage.
• The Third Hokage praised Soseki for calming the western camp and ordered the dangerous Box of Paradise sealed away permanently.
• Asuma told Soseki that Obito had died protecting Kakashi and left his eye to him.
• Kakashi revealed that Obito’s grave had been dug up and his body was missing, prompting Soseki to suspect Black Zetsu had taken him.
• Soseki decided he needed to move Rin out of the open and into hiding to protect her from Black Zetsu.

Soseki and his companions visited Obito’s grandmother to tell her of Obito’s death, and Kakashi vowed to carry Obito’s dream forward. At home, Fugaku learned that Itachi had mastered the Transformation Technique by watching him and realized his young son was a remarkable prodigy.

• Ryofu recognized Soseki at the Uchiha compound and told another clansman how Soseki’s command had improved the western front and saved Uchiha lives.
• Soseki and the others told Obito’s grandmother that Obito had died protecting his comrades, and she said she was proud of him.
• Kakashi apologized for Obito’s death, and Obito’s grandmother urged him to carry Obito’s dream forward; Kakashi vowed to become Hokage in Obito’s honor.
• Ryofu told Fugaku that Soseki had visited Obito’s home, and Fugaku ordered condolences and compensation for Uchiha families who had lost ninjas, especially struggling households with only elderly survivors.
• Fugaku discovered that Itachi had used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a table lamp, and Itachi explained that he had learned it by watching Fugaku form hand seals.

Fugaku discovered that Itachi could master a technique after seeing it once and decided to take him to the battlefield after his fourth birthday. Meanwhile, Soseki uncovered a control mark Hiruko had placed on Kakashi and explained that Obito’s Sharingan had bonded with him unusually well.

• Itachi copied Fugaku’s clone technique after watching him perform it, and Fugaku told Mikoto that their son’s talent worried him.
• Fugaku proposed bringing Itachi to the battlefield after his fourth birthday, while Itachi wondered what war was.
• After visiting Obito’s grandmother, Soseki asked Kakashi whether he had met anyone suspicious recently.
• Kakashi recalled encountering Hiruko while recovering from injuries, and Soseki revealed a puppet-control mark on Kakashi’s forehead.
• Soseki suspected Hiruko targeted Kakashi because of his Sharingan and said Obito’s desire to help Kakashi may have influenced the eye.
• Kakashi realized Obito’s Sharingan might have been a gift that allowed him to use it without losing control.

Kakashi told his teammates that he had contracted Ninja Hounds while trying to find Obito, and they resolved to track down Hiruko. Minato and Soseki joined the effort, while a later scene at Ichiraku Ramen showed Anko announcing that she had become Orochimaru’s student.

• Kakashi’s teammates rallied around him and agreed to hunt Hiruko, who had targeted Obito’s Sharingan.
• Kakashi revealed that he had contracted Ninja Hounds after failing to find Obito’s body, and Inuzuka Retsu agreed they could try tracking Hiruko’s scent.
• Minato returned from the western front, apologized to Kakashi, and insisted on accompanying him to punish Hiruko.
• Soseki volunteered to join the hunt, and Minato warned that Hiruko would not be forgiven for attacking his student.
• At Ichiraku Ramen, Asuma complained about being pushed toward blind dates, while Guy tried to recruit him for strenuous training.
• Anko arrived with Mizuki and announced that she had become Orochimaru’s student, then teased Mizuki about seeming to like Soseki.

Soseki and his companions visited the Ninja Academy during its School Festival and reminisced about their school days and lost friends. Anko introduced herself as the Psychology Club’s second president and named Uchiha Shisui as an unusually talented new student.

• Anko teased Mizuki about liking Soseki, then admitted she liked Soseki too and was distracted by his Genjutsu illusion of sweets.
• Kurenai and Shizune suggested visiting their old school, and Anko led the group to the Academy on its School Festival.
• Soseki and the others remembered their former classmates, including Shūnen and Obito, and reflected on how the war had changed their lives.
• Anko revealed that she had inherited the Psychology Club and become its second president.
• Anko listed several promising students and identified six-year-old Uchiha Shisui as an especially amazing newcomer.

Soseki and his companions visited a crowded gathering in the back mountain, where Kushina and Danzo secretly competed in Soseki’s mahjong game. After Kushina won, she told Soseki that Kurama was furious about people saying it could not play.

• Anko complained that an Uchiha boy’s Body Flicker Technique threatened her position as Second Generation president, while the others discussed their plans to visit Teacher Yagami.
• Soseki and his companions arrived at the lively back mountain gathering, where Anko boasted about her club’s success and Guy learned that his own club had disbanded.
• The group recognized Kushina and Danzo playing mahjong in disguise, and the two resumed their game after realizing their identities had been noticed.
• Kushina won the championship, and Soseki stopped Danzo from slipping away by asking why he was not stationed at the camp.
• Kushina greeted Soseki and explained that Kurama was angry because people claimed it did not know how to play.

Kushina, Danzo, and Anko got caught up in the School Festival’s crowds while students gathered around Soseki to praise him. Uchiha Shisui asked Soseki whether people could truly understand one another, and Soseki answered that understanding others began with trying to understand them.

• Kushina admitted she had entered the competition because she was bored, then fled when the crowd recognized her as the Lord of Trickery.
• Iruka rushed past Anko to meet Soseki and explained that Soseki’s Medical Scroll had saved his parents.
• Yagami Kei dispersed the students by warning them to return to class for a lesson on the Will of Fire, and Iruka vowed to study it.
• Uchiha Shisui approached Soseki and asked whether people could really understand one another.
• Soseki told Shisui that no one could fully understand the human heart, but people should first try to understand others if they wanted to be understood.

Shisui defeated Anko with Genjutsu after deciding he no longer needed to challenge her, while Soseki recognized his talent. The group learned Hiruko had likely placed a puppet curse on Kakashi to steal his Sharingan, and their proposed solutions left Kakashi facing increasingly disturbing forms of help.

• Shisui told Anko he had no reason to challenge her, then defeated her instantly with Mystical Bubble Genjutsu when she insisted on fighting.
• Minato and Kakashi returned from searching for Hiruko but found that his scent had disappeared.
• Soseki revealed that Hiruko had defected after conducting human experiments to transplant Kekkei Genkai, and the group concluded he wanted Kakashi's Sharingan.
• Kakashi said he would face the puppet curse alone, but Kushina rebuked him and made him retract the idea.
• Guy proposed staying with Kakashi constantly so he could knock him unconscious if the curse activated, while Shizune and Kurenai suggested disabling or tormenting Kakashi with seals and Genjutsu.

Minato and Soseki devised a plan with Fugaku to keep Kakashi’s Sharingan while luring Hiruko into revealing himself. Kakashi agreed to prove his worth on the battlefield, and Minato and Soseki arrived at Fugaku’s home to ask for his cooperation.

• Kakashi chose Guy’s suggestion, then heard Minato propose using the Uchiha Clan’s claim to the Sharingan to draw Hiruko out.
• Soseki suggested that Fugaku publicly require Kakashi to prove his worth on the battlefield, giving the Uchiha Clan a way to accept Kakashi keeping the eye.
• Kakashi vowed to carry Obito’s dream and prove he was not fighting alone, while Soseki joked that he might otherwise spend his life devoted to Guy.
• Minato told Rin that he and Soseki would handle the next steps, then Kushina distracted her with Flight Chess.
• Fugaku reflected on Danzō’s supposed refined interests before Minato and Soseki appeared at his home and explained that they needed his help.

Minato and Soseki asked Fugaku to help reclaim Obito’s Sharingan from Kakashi, and Fugaku agreed to handle the Uchiha clan. At the clan meeting, Fugaku exposed the hardliners by claiming he had made their demand in their names, leaving them scrambling to soften their stance when they learned Minato and Soseki would confront them.

• Minato and Soseki asked Fugaku to reclaim Obito’s Sharingan from Kakashi, and Fugaku agreed to raise the matter with the Uchiha clan.
• Fugaku called a clan meeting and introduced the question of Obito’s eye, prompting several hardliners to demand that Kakashi return it.
• Fugaku said he had already made the demand in the hardliners’ names and told them Minato and Soseki would soon arrive.
• The hardliners grew nervous at the prospect of facing Soseki and tried to make their demand more tactful.
• One clan elder insisted the Uchiha should stand firm, while the others thought that the times had changed.