Chapter Summaries

Masahiko confronted Sasori outside Sunagakure and used his Optimus Prime puppets to overpower him. After Masahiko escaped, Chiyo suspected the strange Hamura merchant was Lord Masahiko.

• Sasori attacked Masahiko with a poisoned kunai, but Masahiko pretended to succumb and then revealed he was unharmed.
• Sasori sent Father and Mother to attack, and Masahiko's Optimus Prime blocked them before Sasori recalled the puppets.
• Masahiko launched Optimus Prime's arm at Sasori, prompting Sasori to fire a signal flare and summon help.
• Masahiko's large and small Optimus Primes overwhelmed Sasori, then Masahiko left before the Sunagakure ninja arrived.
• Chiyo questioned Sasori about the fight and recognized the merchant's strange behavior as possibly belonging to Lord Masahiko.

Masahiko returned from the Land of Wind with gifts in mind, but learned that Akatsuki had seriously injured Minato. He identified the attacker as a Jashin Cult member and prepared to treat Minato, who was expected to recover.

• Masahiko left the Land of Wind and visited the Capital of the Land of Fire to look for a gift in case Nawaki's child was a girl.
• Sakumo told Masahiko that Minato had been injured and taken to Konoha Hospital.
• At the hospital, Tsunade told Masahiko that Akatsuki had attacked Minato, who lay unconscious with a severe wound to his waist and abdomen.
• Masahiko recognized that Minato had likely encountered an immortal Jashin Cult member and concluded that Minato's injury was not life-threatening.
• Masahiko told Kushina and the others to leave so he could perform special Medical Ninjutsu on Minato.

Masahiko used his unusual healing ability to save Minato after an Akatsuki member cursed and injured him. After learning how the attack happened, Masahiko discovered that Minato had awakened quickly, but Minato’s explanation for his moment of distraction left Masahiko unable to laugh.

• Masahiko healed Minato by having him bite his arm, and told Kushina and Tsunade to keep the ability secret.
• Masahiko learned from Kakashi that a seemingly unintelligent attacker had used Minato’s blood to curse him during a mission near Hidden Hot Water Village.
• Masahiko went to the Hokage Office Building, where Hiruzen told him Jiraiya and Orochimaru had gone after the attacker.
• Sakumo told Masahiko that Minato had awakened, so Masahiko returned to the hospital and questioned him about the fight.
• Minato said the attacker had called him “Big Brother Minato,” briefly catching him off guard, and Masahiko suddenly could not laugh anymore.

Masahiko joined Jiraiya and Orochimaru in Hidden Hot Water Village, where they traced the Akatsuki Organization to an underground Jashin Cult base. Inside, they found the cult’s followers dead and reached a bloodstained altar, leaving the cause and purpose of the killings to be investigated.

• Masahiko left Minato in Kushina’s care and flew to Hidden Hot Water Village to investigate.
• Masahiko met Jiraiya and Orochimaru, who had discovered a well leading to an underground passage.
• Masahiko, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru entered the hidden base and found nearly a hundred dead Jashin Cult followers.
• Masahiko buried the corpses after identifying wounds like Minato’s, while Orochimaru led the others deeper into the base.
• The three passed grotesque statues and reached a bloodstained altar in the innermost room.

Masahiko investigated the Jashin Cult altar and realized its technique forced the soul and body together, which could grant immortality to people with weak souls. After he destroyed the altar and started to leave, he unexpectedly gained a new ability called Curse Breaking.

• Masahiko suspected Orochimaru had joined the mission to study the Jashin Cult’s immortality, while Orochimaru and Jiraiya examined the altar.
• Orochimaru entered Sage Mode and found that the altar’s strange energy eroded Sage Chakra; Jiraiya experienced the same effect and said the force pressed against his soul.
• Masahiko stepped onto the altar and discovered that its power tried to bind the soul and body together, potentially preventing the soul from leaving a body that did not decay.
• Masahiko failed to identify the power or gain immortality, then used Earth Style: Opening Earth Rising Rock to shatter the altar.
• Masahiko noticed a new Special Ability, Curse Breaking, on his Attribute Panel as the group prepared to leave.

Masahiko returned to Konoha after destroying the altar and gaining the Curse Breaking skill, then resumed life as Hagoromo and reunited with Sara. He settled into a quiet routine until Obito brought him a Chunin Exams registration form, prompting a surge of Witness Points.

• Masahiko returned to Konoha with Jiraiya and Orochimaru after confirming that the Akatsuki Organization member was gone, and wondered whether Curse Breaking could free Mediator.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru reported the mission to Hiruzen while Masahiko checked on Uchiha Mikoto and spoke with Mito.
• Masahiko resumed his Hagoromo identity, visited Sara at Ichiraku Ramen, and met Teuchi's daughter Ayame, whom Sara called Caiyi.
• Masahiko settled into a peaceful routine as Minato recovered and trained the children, Sara's cooking improved, and Masahiko waited for Mikoto to give birth.
• Obito showed Masahiko a Chunin Exams registration form, and Masahiko saw a huge wave of Witness Points.

Masahiko assessed Obito’s chances of becoming a Chunin and gave him last-minute training before the exams. He taught Obito two underhanded tricks, leaving Obito more confident but suspicious that Masahiko had called him single-celled.

• Masahiko learned that Obito had registered for the Chunin Exams and questioned his confidence, since he knew only one ninjutsu.
• Masahiko tested Obito’s taijutsu, reactions, and Great Fireball Technique, deciding that Obito might pass if he was lucky.
• Masahiko taught Obito to stomp on an opponent’s toes as a painful combat trick.
• Masahiko distracted Obito by throwing a Kunai into the air, then tapped his forehead and suggested the trick might work on Might Guy.
• Obito chased after Masahiko, asking whether he had called him single-celled, and Masahiko told him to learn it himself.

Masahiko watched Obito attempt the Chunin Exams, but Obito failed the written test without Rin’s help and was knocked out by Might Guy in both the class battle and the individual round. His repeated failures earned Masahiko 3 Witness Points, and Masahiko stayed to watch Kakashi continue fighting while Obito sat beside him with a bandaged face.

• Masahiko learned that Rin had gone home to tell her parents about the exams, while Obito asked him for advice on pursuing her.
• During the written exam, Kakashi distracted the proctor and Rin secretly passed Obito a paper with answers.
• Obito arrived late to the class battle against Might Guy’s class, failed to use his Great Fireball Technique, and was knocked out by Might Guy’s kick while eating candy.
• Obito faced Might Guy again in the individual round, turned to grin at Rin, and was knocked out by another kick before he could use his tactics.
• Masahiko received 3 Witness Points for Obito’s failure and stayed to watch Kakashi fight as Obito sat beside him with a bandaged face.

After the Chunin Exams, Masahiko prepared a birth gift for Nawaki and Mikoto’s child as Konoha’s clans grew uneasy about the Senju and Uchiha becoming connected. He brought Optimus Prime and a kitten to the Senju compound, where the baby was expected within a week.

• Kakashi Hatake became the only Chunin Exam examinee promoted to Chunin, earning Masahiko 10 Witness Points.
• Masahiko noticed small clans watching the Senju and Uchiha more closely as Mikoto’s due date approached.
• Masahiko left Konoha and returned with Optimus Prime and a white kitten as birth gifts for Nawaki and Mikoto’s child.
• Masahiko’s gift announcement spread through Konoha, prompting the clans to prepare gifts of their own.
• Masahiko told Mito he might name a boy Ritian, Aotian, or Tianzhu, while Mito questioned the names.
• Nawaki said the child was expected in about a week, and Masahiko wondered what he would do with the kitten if the baby was a boy.

As Mikoto’s due date drew near, the Senju, Uchiha, and Konoha leaders gathered at the Senju compound and argued over the child’s future. Mikoto gave birth to a healthy boy, whom she and Nawaki named Senju Itachi, leaving Masahiko mortified.

• Kagami and three Uchiha elders came to the Senju compound to witness Mikoto’s birth and protect the child’s interests.
• Masahiko recalled the old marriage agreement involving Fugaku and learned that Meilin was pregnant.
• Hiruzen, Danzo, and other Konoha leaders arrived to negotiate with the Senju and Uchiha over village stability and the next Hokage election.
• Mikoto went into labor after midnight, and Tsunade delivered a healthy boy at the Senju compound.
• Nawaki told Masahiko that Mikoto had named their son Senju Itachi.

Masahiko wrestled with how the birth of Senju Itachi had changed the future he had hoped to guide, while Mito faced the end of her life. After Mito reminded him that their family was happy about the child, Masahiko accepted the unexpected change and said he was happy too.

• Masahiko wondered aloud whether the world's corrective force had caused Senju Itachi to take after his mother, then tried to imagine a future rivalry with Fugaku's unborn Uchiha Itachi.
• Masahiko rushed outside when he heard the clan members calling for Mito and found her aged and holding her newborn great-grandson.
• Mito asked Masahiko to prepare to transfer the Nine-Tails, but he said there was no rush and promised to keep her safe while she spent more time with Itachi.
• Mito asked Masahiko to protect Itachi and help the Senju prosper, and Masahiko recognized the child had a complete Sage Body.
• Masahiko sent the gathered clansmen away and set up a sealing barrier around Mito's room to contain the Nine-Tails' Chakra.
• Mito asked whether Masahiko was happy about Itachi's birth, and he accepted that the changed future could bring surprises and told her he was very happy.

As Mito’s health declined, Masahiko negotiated with Konoha over Uzumaki Kushina becoming the next Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Mito died on June 20th, and Masahiko carried her body to the prepared coffin tomb.

• Hiruzen and Danzo visited Mito and questioned Masahiko about the newborn Senju Itachi’s talent.
• Masahiko negotiated compensation with Hiruzen and Danzo for Kushina becoming the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and they agreed to keep her role secret.
• Iko negotiated supplies from Konoha, while Kushina praised Masahiko for securing a good price for her service.
• Mito’s relatives, disciples, clan leaders, and the Land of Fire Daimyo visited her as her health steadily worsened.
• On June 20th, Mito told Masahiko not to grieve, closed her eyes, and died; Masahiko carried her to the prepared coffin tomb.

After Mito’s funeral, Masahiko sealed the dead Nine-Tails’ chakra inside Kushina so she could gradually learn to control it before the tailed beast revived. He named the fox Uzumaki Kurama and joked that Naruto would have an older brother.

• Masahiko carved Mito’s name into Konoha’s Hero Monument after she was buried beside Hashirama.
• Masahiko led the people from the Land of Whirlpools away from Mito’s funeral to seal the Nine-Tails’ chakra inside Kushina.
• Masahiko explained that the dead Nine-Tails was an unconscious mass of chakra that would take over a year to revive, giving Kushina time to adapt.
• Masahiko used the Four Symbols Seal to confine the Nine-Tails’ chakra, and Nanako transformed Kushina’s seals into the Eight Trigrams Seal when Kushina neared her limit.
• Masahiko revealed that the Nine-Tails’ original name was Kurama and renamed it Uzumaki Kurama.

After Mito’s funeral, Masahiko returned to the Taobao Shop and wondered whether his actions had affected Teuchi or the future Third Shinobi War. Two months later, he received a Witness Points notification about Sasori’s defection, but could not figure out what it had to do with him.

• Masahiko told Kushina to inform Minato that she had become the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and Hiruzen came to confirm the sealing had succeeded.
• Iko returned to handle clan matters while Nanako and Hitomi chose to stay in Konoha.
• Masahiko left the grieving Senju Compound, gave Sara a day off, and questioned her about whether Teuchi seemed unusual.
• Masahiko trained the Gentle Fist and worried that Senju Itachi might surpass him, while speculating about the Third Shinobi War and Witness Points.
• Two months later, Masahiko received a notification that Sasori’s defection had altered a side storyline and spent an hour trying to understand why before giving up to find food.

After hearing that Kumogakure had been sending out frequent reconnaissance ninjas, Masahiko returned to the Land of Whirlpools and began preparing for possible war by stockpiling Explosive Tags. While Nagato trained alone, he discovered a strange boy hiding nearby.

• Sakumo told Masahiko that Kumogakure was making unusual moves and that Sunagakure's activity also seemed strange.
• Masahiko returned to the Land of Whirlpools, where Iko reported that Kumogakure had been sending out reconnaissance ninjas but did not appear to be preparing for war.
• Masahiko told Iko to ask Kumogakure what it needed and offer help for a fee, then said he would stay and watch its movements.
• Masahiko reunited with Nagato and Konan, then took Konan to help him produce Explosive Tags while asking Yuna to look after Calico Cat.
• Nagato trained alone in a forest and noticed a bronze-skinned boy with sunglasses and several swords, who stepped out and introduced himself in a strange song.

Masahiko checked on the village and learned Nagato had become obsessed with singing after meeting a wandering singer. He heard Nagato perform at the training ground and was stunned by the song.

• Masahiko gave Konan a break from making Explosive Tags and went to meet Iko, bringing along the now-chubby Calico Cat.
• Iko reported that Kumogakure had resumed normal activity, while Sunagakure was under martial law and Konoha was preparing for war.
• Masahiko decided to ask Hiruzen how many Explosive Tags Konoha wanted and to hold on to the rest.
• Iko told Masahiko that Nagato had held a concert for his wandering-singer teacher, prompting the clansmen to drive the singer out of the Land of Whirlpools.
• A patrol team reported Kirigakure ships near the sea route, and Masahiko ordered the guards to retreat if attacked and leave the cargo behind.
• Masahiko found Nagato training and asked him to sing, then was shocked when Nagato performed an enthusiastic song about missing his teacher.

Masahiko discovered that Killer B had visited the Land of Whirlpools and reported his actions to the Fourth Raikage, while continuing to retrain Nagato. When Masahiko prepared to take Nagato and Konan to Konoha after Kirigakure attacked the Land of Fire, he suddenly vanished without a trace.

• Masahiko recognized that the wandering singer who had taught Nagato rap was Killer B, and he told Iko to report the incident to the Fourth Raikage.
• The Fourth Raikage received Iko's letter, raged at Bee for visiting the Land of Whirlpools, then spared him when he learned it was time for his Eight-Tails appointment.
• Masahiko spent nearly two months correcting Nagato's singing and monitored Sunagakure, which showed no sign of acting.
• An Uzumaki Clan member reported that Kirigakure ninja had attacked the southern Land of Fire, and Masahiko decided to take Nagato and Konan to Konoha.
• Masahiko completed his final Gentle Fist practice and vanished before Nagato and Konan's eyes.

After Gentle Fist reached its maximum level, Masahiko gained an isolated Eight Trigrams Space and discovered that he could pull Fat Cat into it. While exploring the space’s abilities, he teleported through one of its nodes and ended up in an icy world, unsure where he was.

• Masahiko was pulled into a small, empty space marked by an Eight Trigrams formation after maxing out Gentle Fist.
• Masahiko found that the space suppressed other abilities and appeared suited to taijutsu, then named it Eight Trigrams Space.
• Masahiko used his thoughts to pull the sleeping Fat Cat into the space without touching it.
• Masahiko failed to leave the space by willing himself out and noticed many nodes within it.
• Masahiko chose a node and teleported to a world of ice and snow, where he wondered where he had arrived.

Masahiko struggled to control his new spatial ability, whose nodes sent him to isolated places and forced him back into his inner space whenever he used Chakra incorrectly. After a month of practice, he finally reached the outskirts of Konoha.

• Masahiko repeatedly jumped through spatial nodes and found himself in remote forests, near the sea, and other uninhabited locations.
• Masahiko spent days mapping the nodes, with Fat Cat disrupting his measurements before he replaced the branch with a tree.
• Masahiko emerged in a desert, sensed Chiyo among Sunagakure forces heading toward the Land of Rain, and was pulled back into his space after using Chakra.
• Masahiko realized his space was inside the Gate of Wonder and learned to enter and exit it by focusing Chakra on that gate.
• Masahiko practiced controlling the ability for a month and finally flew near Konoha's gates.

After returning to Konoha, Masahiko learned that Kirigakure had withdrawn after its controlled Third Mizukage attacked the village, but Hyuga Hiirashi had died and Kirigakure had taken a Byakugan. Hiruzen asked Masahiko to retrieve it, but Masahiko delayed the mission for a couple of months while continuing to develop his Space Ninjutsu.

• Masahiko mastered drawing on some of his Chakra without interference and improved his spatial movement after a month of training.
• Masahiko returned to Konoha and learned that Nawaki and Tsunade were away while Kushina and Mikoto remained at the Senju Clan Compound.
• Hiashi angrily left the Hokage Office Building after greeting Masahiko, who then found Hiruzen and Danzo waiting inside.
• Danzo told Masahiko that Hyuga Hiirashi had died in the war against Kirigakure, whose troops had withdrawn after the Third Mizukage was revealed to have been controlled.
• Hiruzen explained that Kirigakure had taken one of Hiirashi's Byakugan, prompting the Hyuga Family to refuse to fight, and asked Masahiko to retrieve it.
• Masahiko declined to go to Kirigakure immediately and said he would wait a couple of months.