Chapter Summaries

Kakashi’s squad pursued Kakuzu from Xiantai Residence and tracked him to a camp, where Kakashi sent Igumo to seek reinforcements. There, Kakuzu confronted Meiji over his delayed arrival and used the explosives he had planted to pressure Meiji into paying him.

• Yamanaka Ino warned Kakashi’s squad as Kakuzu ran down from the mountain, and Kakashi split the team to continue surveillance and pursuit.
• Kakashi rescued Igumo from Kakuzu’s explosive trap, while Itachi deflected the incoming kunai and kept tracking Kakuzu.
• Kakashi, Itachi, and Igumo followed Kakuzu to a camp, where Igumo sensed seven ninjas and Kakashi ordered her to request reinforcements.
• Kakuzu told Meiji he would hand him over to the Land of Fire unless they renegotiated, then revealed he had planted explosives around the camp.
• Meiji agreed to continue the journey with Kakuzu and paid him half the money upfront.

Ming Jing learned that Kakashi’s team was tracking the rogue ninja Kakuzu and went with Igumo to reinforce them. After catching up with Kakashi, Ming Jing identified his target and moved on to confront him, leaving the others to Kakashi.

• Igumo returned to Muchuan County and asked Ming Jing for reinforcements after reporting that Kakashi’s team had split up to track a powerful rogue ninja.
• Ming Jing recognized the description of the target as Kakuzu and flew with Igumo to follow the Anbu’s trail markings.
• Igumo used a Yamanaka technique to notify Kakashi that they were approaching, then led Ming Jing to his hiding place.
• Ming Jing told Kakashi that he had come to kill Kakuzu and left the others in Kakashi’s hands.

Ming Jing and his allies planned to confront Kakuzu, but Ming Jing went ahead and attacked Kakuzu’s camp himself. He activated Sage Mode and began fighting Kakuzu, who revealed that he had hidden explosive tags in his Earth Style wall.

• Ming Jing, Itachi, and Kakashi discussed how to deal with Kakuzu after Itachi warned that Kakuzu’s traps made a direct attack dangerous.
• Kakuzu led Meiji’s group to a campsite, threatened the Rogue Ninja who mocked him, and made Honzo take the first patrol shift.
• Ming Jing appeared at the camp and identified himself as Akira Kurama, while Kakuzu declared that he intended to collect the bounty on Ming Jing’s head.
• Meiji ordered the Rogue Ninja to kill Ming Jing, but a Flame Bullet struck the camp and Kakuzu blocked it with an Earth Wall.
• Ming Jing activated Sage Mode, struck Kakuzu, and smashed through his Earth Style defenses before an explosive-tag trap blasted him with debris.

Itachi fought Wo Ye and Wo Tu while they helped Meiji escape, using clone explosions, fire, and his Sharingan against their coordinated attacks. The battle continued inside Wo Ye’s chakra-laden mist, ending with explosive tags detonating beneath Itachi as he reformed from crows in the air.

• Yi Bei Shi ordered Wo Ye and Wo Tu to escort Meiji away while he, Farmer, and Mountain Eagle went to assist Kakuzu, but Kakashi blocked the three Rogue Ninjas.
• Farmer unleashed a barrage of shuriken at Kakashi, and Mountain Eagle followed with a powerful kick that shattered Kakashi’s substitute log.
• Wo Ye and Wo Tu encountered Itachi; Itachi detonated a clone to blast Wo Ye away, then Wo Tu used an Earth Style technique as Wo Ye covered the area in mist.
• Itachi realized that Wo Ye had thickened the mist with dust and Chakra, then blocked Wo Ye’s repeated sword attacks while Wo Tu dug holes and launched explosive-tagged kunai.
• Itachi evaded Wo Ye’s seven slashes by dispersing into crows, but explosive-tagged kunai then struck the soil beneath him and detonated.

Ming Jing used Genjutsu and powerful Wind Style attacks against Kakuzu, who survived by separating and reassembling his body. Meanwhile, Itachi defeated Wo Ye and Wo Tu by disrupting their coordination and binding them, leaving Ming Jing and Kakuzu’s fight unresolved.

• Ming Jing tricked Kakuzu into believing he had captured his heart, then shattered the illusion and attacked with Wind Style: Thousand Blades.
• Ming Jing followed with Wind Style: Storm Hammer, but Kakuzu escaped the attack using two Earthbound Spirits and had them reconnect his body.
• Kakuzu recognized Ming Jing’s skill with Genjutsu, while Ming Jing studied the Earthbound Spirits and challenged Kakuzu’s claim that Genjutsu would no longer work.
• Itachi trapped Wo Ye with a Sharingan illusion and knocked Wo Tu unconscious after pulling him from his underground tunnel.
• Itachi tied Wo Ye and Wo Tu together and explained that he had identified their attack signals as the tune of “Sakura” and disrupted their rhythm.

Ming Jing fought Kakuzu and survived a massive explosion before unleashing a towering pillar of fire as a new attack he named Sky Burning Sword. The attack descended toward Kakuzu, who braced himself behind his Earth Grudge Fears.

• Kakuzu attacked Ming Jing with his Earth Grudge Fears, while Ming Jing and Kakuzu's Wind Release turned the flames into a fiery tornado.
• Kakuzu's underground traps and Fire Dragon Flame Bullet ignited gas in the crater, causing an enormous explosion that engulfed Ming Jing.
• Ming Jing survived the blast and drew the flames into a towering pillar, leaving Kakuzu and the distant fighters stunned.
• Ming Jing named his move Sky Burning Sword and swung the pillar of fire down toward Kakuzu.
• Kakuzu positioned his Earth Grudge Fears to defend himself as the attack descended.

Ming Jing survived Kakuzu’s Fire Dragon Bullet by manipulating his central nervous system to form seals faster, then combined wind and fire to unleash a devastating sword strike. Though Kakuzu survived and tried to approach him, Ming Jing appeared and stabbed him through the heart.

• Ming Jing used Dynamic Vision and manipulated his central nervous system to complete his seals before Kakuzu’s Fire Dragon Bullet ignited the gas.
• Ming Jing used Wind King Barrier to withstand the explosion, then guided the wind and flames into a towering pillar of fire with the Azure Luan Blade.
• Ming Jing slashed at Kakuzu, destroying his Fire and Earth Grudge Fear defenses and leaving a massive sword scar in the ground.
• Kakuzu survived the strike despite losing three hearts and approached Ming Jing while his black tendrils tried to repair him.
• Ming Jing leaped from the crater and stabbed Kakuzu through the heart, declaring that he would take Kakuzu’s life.

After defeating the Rogue Ninja, Ming Jing became unable to move and grew increasingly exhausted. Before falling into a deep sleep, he entrusted Yuexi with the Land of Fire and Konoha, leaving her to manage matters in his absence.

• Itachi found Ming Jing paralyzed after his battle and carried him while dragging Wo Ye and Wo Tu behind him.
• Kakashi regrouped with the others, and Igumo brought back Meiji; Ming Jing explained that the harsh response was meant to deter future criminals.
• Masamune Yagyu met the group and urged them to return quickly after examining Ming Jing.
• Itachi and Masamune Yagyu brought Ming Jing back to the Canal Magistrate's Office, where Yuexi rushed to his bedside.
• Ming Jing told Yuexi to manage the Land of Fire and Konoha, watch over Yakumo and Hinata, and beware of Danzo and Akatsuki before falling unconscious.
• Masamune Yagyu vowed not to betray Ming Jing, and Yuexi confirmed that he was still alive and promised to handle everything.

Ming Jing wandered through an ancient palace complex where he could not use his Chakra, following a voice to the Treasury Room, the royal library associated with Li Er. Finding no one there, he began examining its ancient texts but struggled to read them.

• Ming Jing arrived in the palace complex and discovered he could not control his Chakra or leave by breaking through space.
• Ming Jing passed the Huangqi Apricot Grove, Armory, Nongji Official, and other courtyards, but none allowed him inside.
• Ming Jing followed the voice to the Treasury Room and recognized it as the Eastern Zhou royal library associated with Li Er.
• After waiting and hearing no response, Ming Jing asked permission to read the texts and picked up a bamboo slip he suspected was the Records of the Grand Historian.
• Ming Jing struggled to understand the Small Seal Script, then found another bamboo slip written in Great Seal Script and realized he needed a first step.

Yuexi tried to keep Kakashi and Igumo from revealing information about Ming Jing, offering them memory sealing or a confidentiality agreement. Kakashi escaped the attempted capture, and Yuexi sent the Police Department to find him.

• Yuexi and Zuo Yang Kurama demanded that Kakashi and Igumo either have their memories sealed or sign a confidentiality agreement.
• Kakashi refused, arguing that the Hokage had a right to know, while Yuexi warned that Danzo and foreign lands might learn the secret if the information spread.
• Yuexi trapped Igumo in an Ice Prison as Zuo Yang Kurama used genjutsu against Kakashi, but Kakashi escaped with the Transformation Technique.
• Yuexi ordered the Police Department to search for Kakashi, while Igumo remained trapped and worried that the order might lead to his death.
• After Yuexi and Zuo Yang Kurama left, Kakashi reverted from his transformed log and Igumo realized how he had escaped.

Kakashi lured Yuexi away from the Prime Minister's Residence, hoping to find someone who could calm her down, but she attacked him when negotiations failed. While Kakashi escaped and Yuexi pursued him, Igumo was released from the Ice Prison and agreed to Yuexi's second demand.

• Kakashi left the Prime Minister's Residence to lure Yuexi away and told Igumo she could agree to Yuexi's demands if necessary.
• Yuexi caught up with Kakashi and attacked him with water spears and Wind Cutters, cutting down the forest as he took cover behind a boulder.
• Kakashi used a decoy, a Summoning Jutsu, and his ninja dogs to trap Yuexi in a Water Prison, then fled while she froze her way out.
• Yuexi realized Kakashi's clone had vanished because it had gotten too far from his main body, then pursued him across the ground using a trail of frost.
• At the Prime Minister's Residence, Zuo Yang Kurama released Igumo, who recovered with hot soup and agreed to Yuexi's second option.

Kakashi and Asuma tried to stop Yuexi from confronting Kakashi, but she attacked them with Ice Release after demanding Asuma choose a side. The fight left Yuexi breaking free of Kakashi’s Genjutsu as four lightning clones closed in on her.

• Asuma questioned Kakashi about Ming Jing’s condition and agreed that Yuexi needed to calm down.
• Yuexi confronted Kakashi and demanded that Asuma help capture him, then attacked them with Ice Release.
• Asuma fought Yuexi with Flying Swallow and cut apart her Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals.
• Kakashi blocked Yuexi’s freezing orbs with an Earth Flow Wall and used his Sharingan to trap her in Genjutsu.
• Yuexi broke free just as Kakashi’s four Lightning Release clones reached for her.

Yuexi unleashed a massive Ice Release attack against Kakashi and Asuma, forcing them to defend themselves as it ravaged the forest. Qing Yan arrived during the bombardment and calmly stepped in front of Asuma to face the falling ice weapons.

• Yuexi evaded Kakashi's Lightning Clone with an Ice Mirror, but Asuma's Wind Severing Technique interrupted her attack on Kakashi.
• Yuexi summoned layers of ice weapons above the forest and announced that she no longer wanted to waste time.
• Sakai and Matsumoto sensed the sudden cold, and Qing Yan recognized the spectacle as Yuexi's ninjutsu before heading toward the battlefield.
• Yuexi sent the ice weapons crashing down, while Kakashi hid underground and Asuma endured the barrage behind his Sage Art defense.
• Kakashi raised Earth Flow Walls around Asuma, but the continuing ice assault broke through them.
• Qing Yan appeared before Asuma, turned his skin pale gold, and let the falling ice weapons strike him as he looked up at Yuexi.

Qing Yan stopped Yuexi's rampage by reaching her and reminding her of her bond with Ming Jing and her companions. After Yuexi recovered, she insisted on speaking with Kakashi, leaving them seated together to talk.

• Kakashi and Asuma used Earth Style techniques to launch Qing Yan toward Yuexi as she sent a torrent of Ice Weapons at him.
• Qing Yan activated his Indestructible Golden Body, endured the attack, and embraced Yuexi until she stopped the Ice Weapons.
• Qing Yan reassured Yuexi that he, Taichi, Mirai, and Kanon would help her, and urged her to decide what to do about Young Master.
• Yuexi regained her composure, apologized to Kakashi and Asuma, and asked Kakashi to talk with her.
• Qing Yan helped Yuexi sit on a wooden stump while he and Asuma withdrew, leaving her alone with Kakashi.

Yuexi negotiated with Kakashi to let him report Ming Jing’s coma to the Third Hokage while she explained the details herself after three months. After Kakashi returned to Konoha, Yuexi and Qing Yan prepared to leave, with Asuma taking responsibility for Igumo and Itachi.

• Kakashi and Yuexi agreed that Kakashi could report Ming Jing’s coma to the Third Hokage, while Yuexi would explain the circumstances herself after three months.
• Qing Yan told Asuma that Yuexi’s ninjutsu could theoretically be stacked infinitely, and Asuma realized it might have been developed using shadow techniques as references.
• Kakashi left for Konoha and asked Yuexi to look after Igumo and Itachi for a few days.
• Yuexi asked Asuma to watch over the two experts while she recovered, and Asuma ordered her to rest and write a self-reflection.
• Yuexi and Qing Yan set off after thanking Asuma for understanding.

Itachi visited Ming Jing, who remained unconscious, and suggested that his condition might be linked to the Mangekyō Sharingan and the Kurama Clan’s Control of the Five Senses. Zuo Yang Kurama left for Konoha to investigate, while Mirai and Yami arrived to examine Ming Jing and help care for him.

• Itachi visited Ming Jing and considered using Tsukuyomi, but hesitated because he could not yet control the Mangekyō Sharingan reliably.
• Itachi asked Zuo Yang Kurama about Ming Jing’s condition and the Mangekyō Sharingan, giving Zuo Yang a lead to investigate.
• Zuo Yang Kurama entrusted the residence’s security to Masamune Yagyu and left for Konoha.
• Mirai arrived with Yami, examined Ming Jing, and concluded that he appeared to be asleep despite remaining unconscious for eight days.
• Yuexi asked Yami to assist Mirai, and Mirai agreed to let Yami stay.

Ming Jing learned to read Great Seal Script and opened the ancient bamboo slips, discovering passages attributed to Liezi and Zhuangzi that linked Illusory Transformation to legendary figures. He continued unrolling the slips, curious about what other famous people had written.

• Ming Jing finished learning Great Seal Script and steeled himself to open the bamboo slips.
• Ming Jing read a passage attributed to Liezi about Old Chengzi mastering Illusory Transformation after contemplating Mister Yin Wen's words.
• Ming Jing wondered whether Laozi's understanding of the nature of things had led to Genjutsu and questioned how literally to interpret the passage.
• Ming Jing found a painting of Old Chengzi greeting a young man and read Zhuang Zhou's account of dreaming he was a butterfly.
• Ming Jing concluded that the young man was Zhuangzi and continued unrolling the bamboo slips, finding another painting of Zhuangzi speaking in a palace.

Ming Jing read the bamboo slips’ account of a lineage of Daoist knowledge, from Jixia Academy through Jiezi, Guiguzi, Zhang Liang, and Liu An, before encountering Wang Chong’s materialist philosophy. Wang Chong’s ideas led Ming Jing to wonder whether Genjutsu could be understood through the distinction between illusion and reality.

• Ming Jing learned that Zhuangzi had taught at Jixia Academy alongside scholars such as Jiezi and Guiguzi.
• Ming Jing discovered that Jiezi’s bamboo slips were later found by Lord Huangshi, who tested Zhang Liang by making him retrieve his shoes three times.
• Ming Jing read that Zhang Liang’s teachings passed to Liu An, whose Huainanzi compiled ideas from several schools before Liu An rebelled and died.
• Ming Jing encountered Wang Chong’s materialist views on nature, Heaven, and death, and considered how his reliance on facts might relate to Genjutsu.
• Ming Jing speculated that Zhuangzi and Guiguzi might have met at Jixia Academy and wondered whether false and true could be made to exchange places.

Ming Jing followed Wang Chong to Yun Jin Mountain, where Wang Chong met Zhang Daoling, a former Imperial Academy fellow student who had become a Daoist recluse. The two sat peacefully together over mountain spring water, leaving Ming Jing stunned by the meeting of men pursuing opposite paths.

• While reading about Wang Chong, Ming Jing was drawn into a vision and found himself following Wang Chong from Kuaiji Commandery to Yun Jin Mountain.
• Wang Chong climbed the mountain, dispelled its dragon-and-tiger energy and illusions, and arrived at a thatched hut where Zhang Daoling was cultivating.
• At Zhang Daoling's command, Wang Chang went out to welcome Wang Chong and escorted him to his master.
• Wang Chong recognized Zhang Daoling as the former Governor of Jiangzhou and greeted him as a fellow Imperial Academy student.
• Zhang Daoling welcomed Wang Chong into his hut, where they drank mountain spring water together as Ming Jing worried they might begin fighting.

Ming Jing met Zhang Daoling and Wang Chong across space and time, received a Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir, and was sent back to the Treasury Room. After completing a long night of work, Yuexi met with Lord Hyuga and Lord Yagyu to seek their support on an important matter.

• Zhang Daoling gave Ming Jing a Dragon Tiger Golden Elixir and explained that it could mend injuries, stop bleeding, relieve pain, and calm the mind.
• Wang Chong sent Ming Jing out of the unseen realm, then discussed the Genjutsu lineage with Zhang Daoling.
• Ming Jing returned to the Treasury Room with the brocade box and stopped reading to sort through what he had learned.
• Yuexi and her four assistants finished the day's work at the Prime Minister's Residence and went to rest.
• Yuexi woke early, visited Ming Jing, and then met Lord Hyuga and Lord Yagyu to ask for their support on an important matter.