Chapter Summaries

Rasa tried to hire Kaguya Otsutsuki to supply Sunagakure with water, but learned she could not use Water Release and arranged for Kana to teach her. Kaguya agreed to cooperate on one condition, leaving Rasa wondering what she would demand.

• Kabuto watched Kaguya Otsutsuki at the meal and showed an interest in studying her, while Rasa worried about his growing obsession with human experiments.
• Rasa offered to hire Kaguya Otsutsuki as Sunagakure's water supplier so she could earn money and search for her son.
• Karura urged Kaguya Otsutsuki to work and earn the village's acceptance, believing her son had abandoned and imprisoned her.
• Kaguya Otsutsuki told Rasa that she could not use Water Release, so he asked Kana to teach her.
• Kaguya Otsutsuki agreed to Rasa's request but insisted that he first agree to one thing.

Rasa welcomed Pakura and her exhausted troops back to Sunagakure after their long deployment, while the village’s ninjas rested and Ebizo secluded himself to study desert management. Pakura mistook the silver-haired Kabuto beside Rasa for his child.

• Rasa let Sunagakure’s ninjas rest after the war and gave Ebizo the rear mountain to research desert management.
• Chiyo taught Kabuto her White Secret Technique, and Rasa considered sending him away to learn Sage Art when he was older.
• Rasa waited at Sunagakure’s entrance to welcome Pakura and her returning troops.
• Pakura’s troops arrived battered after guarding the front until Kirigakure’s weakened state was confirmed.
• Pakura teased Rasa about his Kazekage outfit, then saw Kabuto beside him and asked if he was Rasa’s child.

Rasa welcomed Pakura back to Sunagakure and explained the village’s postwar recovery, including its food support for returning ninja. As he sorted their records that night, a knock at his office door reminded him he had forgotten something important.

• Rasa told Pakura that Kabuto was Chiyo’s student and that Karura and her children had been staying home, then invited Pakura to dinner.
• Pakura asked about Ebizo, and Rasa said the retired consultant was tending to the back mountain; Pakura went to confront him while Rasa welcomed the returning villagers.
• In November of Year 47 of Konoha, Rasa arranged treatment and food rewards for Sunagakure’s returning ninja as the village settled into a quiet winter.
• Rasa considered organizing Sunagakure like a corporation, delegating research on unusual seeds to Ebizo, and creating a human resources department.
• While Rasa sorted the returning ninja’s records, someone knocked, and he realized he had forgotten something important.

Rasa appointed Moomu captain of Sunagakure’s Security Squad to keep him occupied and away from Temari, but Moomu mistook the post for a sign of trust and promised to have his son keep following her. When Kaguya Otsutsuki arrived and reminded Rasa that Temari was upset about her forgotten birthday, he sent Moomu on a secret mission and left to celebrate with his daughter.

• Moomu asked Rasa about his appointment as captain of Sunagakure’s Security Squad and happily accepted the post, believing Rasa trusted him.
• Moomu promised Rasa that his son would continue protecting Temari, frustrating Rasa, who had created the job to keep the boy occupied.
• Rasa began praising Moomu and preparing to give him a secret mission when Kaguya Otsutsuki appeared at the door.
• Moomu made a suggestive joke about Kaguya and Rasa, and Rasa warned him to curry favor with anyone whose body was entirely black.
• Kaguya told Rasa that Temari was crying and hated her father, so Rasa sent Moomu away on a secret mission and hurried off to celebrate Temari’s birthday.

Rasa celebrated Temari’s birthday with his family and Kaguya Otsutsuki, who asked for the One-Tail as a gift. He then sent Moomu on a secret mission to help solve Sunagakure’s water shortage, but was called to the back mountain by Advisor Ebizo.

• Rasa gave Temari a gold bar after she rejected his birthday kiss, and the family celebrated with gifts and cake.
• Kaguya Otsutsuki asked Rasa for the One-Tail as a gift, but he brushed off her request and returned to the feast.
• Rasa secretly sent Moomu away on a mission to help Sunagakure overcome its water shortages, urging him to stay hidden and build a relationship with a black-bodied stranger if he met one.
• A sand ninja arrived and told Rasa that Advisor Ebizo needed him at the back mountain.

Rasa and Pakura discussed her feud with Ebizo, her wartime service, and Rasa’s personal life before she went to rest. Yashamaru then approached Rasa with Chunin Baki, who appeared to have a request.

• Rasa asked Pakura to stop tormenting Ebizo, and she agreed after explaining that she had only meant to frighten him and had accidentally burned down his house.
• Pakura thanked Rasa for preventing her from being handed over to Kirigakure and said she had fought ruthlessly to survive the war.
• Pakura praised Temari and teased Rasa about his relationships before warning him not to let Karura down.
• Pakura declined to discuss the academy until she had rested for a few days and walked away.
• Rasa noticed Yashamaru emerging from the shadows with Chunin Baki and asked what they needed.

Rasa approved Baki’s plan to sell sand as a gold-panning attraction and assigned him to develop the industry, while Sunagakure continued expanding its factories and trade. The chapter ended with Minato Namikaze becoming Konoha’s Fourth Hokage.

• Sunagakure’s growing water supply boosted the Alchemy Factory, and Rasa planned to build glass and cement factories the following year.
• Baki proposed mixing gold into sand and selling it to other villages as a gold-panning attraction, and Rasa praised the idea.
• Rasa raised the risk that dojutsu users could spot the gold, then told Baki to consult Kana about Fuinjutsu that could block vision.
• Rasa put Baki in charge of the new industry and left to replenish the Alchemy Factory’s Gold Dust supplies.
• In spring of Konoha Year 48, Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage after the Third Hokage stepped down.

Rasa oversaw Sunagakure’s new Gold Prospector Gift Package and ordered Baki to price it at 998 taels and prepare it for sale. When Ebizo arrived with another labor shortage, Rasa told him to find workers himself, leaving the village’s staffing problem unresolved.

• Rasa reviewed Baki’s gold prospecting package samples and instructed him to emphasize Sunagakure’s emblem and promote the product.
• Rasa ordered Baki to add a set of prospecting tools and sell the package for 998 taels, with the Alchemy Factory making the tools from scrap metal.
• Baki accepted Rasa’s orders and left to arrange production and revise the plan.
• Rasa lamented that Sunagakure had too few people as its growing industries strained the village’s workforce.
• Ebizo entered to raise a concern, but Rasa cut him off and told him to find workers for the engineering team himself.

Rasa and Ebizo discussed Sunagakure’s labor shortage, resource development, and whether the village should resume taking missions, then headed to the new academy to recruit construction workers. Elsewhere, Moomu volunteered to join the Akatsuki Organization.

• Rasa considered developing the Land of Wind’s Gelel Stone and the Dragon Vein but decided Sunagakure should wait and first investigate sealing jutsu.
• Ebizo asked Rasa for more workers, but Rasa refused to spare villagers or ninja and advised improving construction tools instead.
• Ebizo argued that Sunagakure should resume missions, while Rasa pointed out that no one was commissioning the village.
• Rasa told Ebizo that the new academy was complete and suggested its graduates could become construction workers; Ebizo agreed to visit.
• In a cave in the Land of Rain, Moomu recited a pledge volunteering to join the Akatsuki Organization.

Rasa inspected Sunagakure’s newly built academy and explained his plans to reform education, including opening a preschool for very young children. He left to visit Moomu’s family and meet the village’s future pillars.

• Rasa toured the expanded academy, which had new training facilities and grounds built with cement, and praised its readiness for enrollment.
• Pakura questioned the academy’s size because Sunagakure had few children, but Rasa insisted that the village must never economize on education.
• Rasa told Pakura he planned to check on Moomu’s widow and child while Moomu was away on a mission.
• Rasa said the academy would open a preschool to teach basic lessons and love for the village, while helping parents return to work.
• Pakura accepted Rasa’s plan and went to rest, while Rasa set off to visit Moomu’s family.

Rasa focused on rebuilding Sunagakure while spending time with his family and checking on Karura. He suggested that Kabuto travel with a merchant caravan to see the world and find his own direction.

• Rasa encouraged Daimaru to study and praised the teachers and educational facilities prepared for him.
• At home, Rasa played with Temari and Kankuro and learned from Kana that Karura was in good health.
• Kana explained that Kabuto was busy training with Chiyo and helping Yashamaru and Baki with work for the Gold Prospector Factory.
• Rasa asked about Kabuto's plans after graduating, and Kana said he still seemed uncertain about his future.
• Rasa suggested that Kabuto travel with a merchant caravan, and Kana agreed to discuss the idea with him.

Rasa saw Ebizo's composting experiment grow seedlings in cement pots, then attended Kabuto's graduation as Sunagakure prepared to open a new academy. The chapter left Kana approaching Kabuto to give him a graduation gift.

• Ebizo woke Rasa early and showed him seedlings growing in pots filled with composted sand.
• Rasa recognized the experiment's potential but warned Ebizo that the cement pots would not withstand the desert and urged him to bathe.
• In March of Year 48 of Konoha, Kabuto graduated after completing six years of lessons in two years.
• Rasa and Karura encouraged Kana to give Kabuto the graduation gift she had prepared.
• Kana approached Kabuto, who left his classmates to meet her.

Kabuto received a recruitment mission and a graduation gift from Rasa before leaving Sunagakure. In the Land of Rain, Yahiko died in Nagato’s arms, and a strange Red Potion appeared to revive him as a gigantic statue emerged on the battlefield.

• Rasa warned Kabuto that he could only travel with a merchant caravan, then assigned him to recruit workers and gave him a graduation gift.
• Kabuto accepted the mission and left to say goodbye to his family before departing.
• Yahiko died after telling Nagato and Konan that he believed their dream of peace would succeed.
• Nagato laid Yahiko down and charged at Hanzo of the Salamander and the Konoha ninja to avenge him.
• An Akatsuki member secretly fed Yahiko a Red Potion while a masked ninja and his companion watched Nagato and discussed their plan.
• A gigantic statue appeared in an explosion, and the Akatsuki member wondered whether the Red Potion had worked.

After Yahiko survived the battle, Nagato thanked Moomu for helping the organization, while Moomu learned they had known his identity from the start. Elsewhere, Jiraiya got distracted from searching for Orochimaru, who resolved to stay away and pursue his interest in Nagato’s Rinnegan.

• Black Zetsu decided not to attack after the battle, and the Masked Man asked to return to painting before Zetsu told him to get lost.
• Nagato found Yahiko alive and thanked Moomu for helping, but Moomu was shocked to learn the organization had investigated him a week after he joined.
• Jiraiya set out to find Orochimaru and bring him back, but a woman’s invitation distracted him into seeking material for his writing.
• Orochimaru declared that he would never return, even if Jiraiya begged him, and said he was curious about Nagato’s Rinnegan.

Rasa surveyed Sunagakure’s emerging industries and imagined turning the village into a tourist destination while its puppeteers pursued electricity and Ebizo experimented with pigs. Meanwhile, Tsunade bought a hundred supposed gold-bearing items and paid an extra hundred ryo for the shopkeeper’s broken table.

• Rasa patrolled Sunagakure and considered developing attractions such as an observatory, powered by wind and solar energy.
• Rasa noted that Sunagakure’s puppeteers were researching electricity, while Ebizo had secretly arranged to buy pigs.
• Tsunade confronted a shopkeeper about goods said to contain Gold Sand and decided to buy a hundred of them.
• Shizune objected when the shopkeeper charged one hundred thousand ryo, pointing out that the goods cost ninety-nine thousand nine hundred.
• The shopkeeper charged Tsunade another hundred ryo for the broken display table, and Tsunade told Shizune to pay.

Minato Namikaze struggled with the village’s hidden affairs and the Uchiha Clan’s strained position while considering a new approach to learning the Flying Thunder God Technique. In Sunagakure, Rasa watched Kaguya Otsutsuki practice an alarming array of techniques and was struck by water dragons before he could intervene.

• Minato reviewed the report on Orochimaru’s human experiments and decided to suppress the investigation after the Third Hokage told him not to interfere.
• Minato worried that the Uchiha Clan was trapped enforcing unpopular orders as head of the Konoha Military Police Force, and considered ways to address its worsening relationship with the village.
• Minato realized he might be able to divide the Flying Thunder God Technique into parts and decided to try the idea.
• Minato read Sunagakure’s request to establish trade with Konoha and wondered what they were planning.
• Rasa watched Kaguya Otsutsuki duel Kana with shuriken and kunai, then summon water dragons with a hand clap.
• Rasa tried to stop Kaguya Otsutsuki and Kana from practicing, but Kaguya Otsutsuki sent more than a dozen water dragons crashing into him.

Rasa reflected on Kaguya’s growing strength while dealing with Ebizo’s research plans and a report that Konoha had rejected trade with Sunagakure. In the Land of Rain, Yahiko refused to abandon leadership to Nagato, and the two resolved to recover together before Yahiko planned to visit Sunagakure over the Sand Ninja Moomu.

• Rasa recalled Kaguya’s improved fighting abilities and refused her implied request for a raise before asking Ebizo why he had brought piglets to the village.
• Ebizo explained that he was studying animal waste and its effects on plants, then raised the Jinchuriki experiment before leaving.
• Rasa read an urgent report stating that Konoha had refused to establish trade with Sunagakure despite the Fourth Hokage’s initial agreement.
• Yahiko mourned the Akatsuki members killed after Hanzo broke his word and blamed himself for their deaths.
• Yahiko asked Nagato to lead the Akatsuki, but Nagato refused and promised to support him; the two vowed to stand up again together.
• Yahiko remembered the Sand Ninja Moomu and said he would personally go to Sunagakure in a few days.

Rasa considered how Sunagakure could do business in Konoha after Konoha rejected his request to let sand ninja stay there long-term. He decided to use Shimura Danzō as Sunagakure’s agent in the Konoha region.

• Konoha rejected Rasa’s request to let Sunagakure’s ninja conduct unrestricted long-term business in the village.
• Sunagakure’s Jonin suggested espionage or war, but Rasa rejected their ideas and dismissed the meeting.
• Rasa learned that Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had agreed to the proposal before Konoha’s advisers persuaded him to compromise.
• Rasa decided Sunagakure’s merchants would have to give up some profits and chose Shimura Danzō as their chief agent in Konoha.

Kabuto tried to sell a Gold Prospector package to a broke Jiraiya, who recognized the Uzumaki-like sealing mark and began questioning him. Meanwhile, Shimura Danzō received a blunt letter from the Kazekage, and its opening words left him frozen.

• Kabuto pitched a Gold Prospector package to a drunken Jiraiya and warned him about counterfeit products.
• Jiraiya recognized the package’s anti-counterfeiting mark as resembling Uzumaki Clan Fuinjutsu and tried to buy one, but he could not afford the 998-ryo price.
• Jiraiya asked Kabuto about the Uzumaki Clan, and Kabuto’s smile vanished as he demanded to know who Jiraiya was.
• Shimura Danzō received a letter from the Kazekage and felt pleased that it had been addressed to him rather than Hiruzen or the Hokage.
• Danzō opened the letter and froze when its first words asked, “Bro, wanna get rich?”

As heat strained Sunagakure’s workers and factories, Rasa managed the village’s needs while Ebizo sought funding to expand electricity and research. The chapter ended when a Jonin brought Rasa an urgent message from Moomu.

• Rasa noted the heat’s effects on factory workers, the hospital, and the village’s water supply while considering Karura’s pregnancy and Kaguya Otsutsuki’s training.
• Rasa decided Sunagakure needed to arrange education and training for the Magnetic Release Kekkei Genkai to help locate buried Gold Sand.
• Ebizo told Rasa that wind power could generate electricity, but copper wire was scarce and full village electrification would take years without more resources.
• Rasa approved Ebizo’s request for funding for electrical wires and experiments.
• A Jonin entered Rasa’s office with an urgent message from Moomu.