Chapter Summaries

Ming Jing and Konan found the graves of three Kurama Clan members beside a field of poisonous Yingsu Flowers and met the surviving Takuo Kurama. After learning that Black Paste had destroyed the group, Ming Jing took Takuo and the bedridden Zuo Yang away and ordered the flowers burned.

• Ming Jing woke, ate breakfast with Qing Yan and Konan, and followed Konan to the location on Orochimaru's map.
• The group found a field of poisonous Yingsu Flowers and the graves of Junichi Kurama, Jiro Kurama, and Takeo Kurama.
• Takuo Kurama confronted them, then recognized Ming Jing as a member of the Kurama Clan and led them to the dying Zuo Yang.
• Takuo Kurama explained that Black Paste had led to Takeo's suicide, Sanaburo's death, and the Clan Head's fatal injuries, and that he and Zuo Yang had been unable to escape their addiction.
• Ming Jing ordered Qing Yan to take Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang away and declared that he would burn the Yingsu Flowers.

Ming Jing and Konan destroyed the opium flowers in the Land of Rain, then parted ways as Ming Jing took the two afflicted elders toward Muchuan County and Konan returned to Amegakure. Nagato noticed that Konan seemed different when she came back.

• Ming Jing told Konan about the destruction opium had caused in another world and said they should destroy the opium flowers.
• Konan prepared nearly a hundred explosive tags and detonated them, blasting the Yingsu Flowers from the mountaintop.
• Ming Jing carried the exhausted Konan down to Qing Yan and the carriage, then set out toward Amegakure despite Konan's warning that the two elders needed treatment.
• Konan flew back to Amegakure alone, while Ming Jing and Qing Yan redirected the carriage toward Muchuan County.
• Nagato saw Konan return through Deva Path Pain and sensed that something about her had changed.

Nagato considered recruiting Ming Jing to help fund his plan, but Konan opposed it, while Ming Jing brought Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama back to Muchuan County. Takuo awakened from his long ordeal, and Koji Kurama’s explanation of the clan’s abilities left Ming Jing wondering about his own Kekkei Genkai.

• Nagato asked Konan whether Ming Jing could be recruited to finance their plan, but she warned that their ideals conflicted and he could become their enemy.
• Ming Jing returned to Muchuan County with Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama, and Koji arranged rooms for the two emaciated elders.
• Ming Jing told Koji how he had destroyed the mountaintop and the Yingsu Flowers, leaving Junichi Kurama’s remains unrecovered; Koji reassured him that he had acted where it mattered most.
• Takuo awoke, mistook his thirteen-year absence for a dream, and became distraught when Ming Jing told him his Black Paste was gone.
• Ming Jing used Genjutsu: Nirvana Temple Technique to put Takuo to sleep, then learned from Koji that Takuo’s Visual Manipulation was a rare form of the clan’s Kekkei Genkai.
• Koji suggested Ming Jing might have awakened the clan’s Sixth Sense, and Ming Jing was surprised to learn that a legendary Seventh Sense also existed.

Ming Jing discussed his future with Koji Kurama, then revealed that Black Paste had damaged the Kurama Clan’s inherited bloodline. Zuo Yang Kurama confirmed that Junichi had discovered the harm but died before he could stop it, leaving Ming Jing determined to save the clan’s survivors.

• Koji Kurama urged Ming Jing to pursue strength and abandon politics, but Ming Jing reaffirmed his commitment to his own path and the disaster victims who trusted him.
• Ming Jing asked Koji Kurama about the clan’s declining bloodline, then pointed out that the fathers of the elders had used Black Paste.
• Koji Kurama realized that Black Paste’s side effects had likely impaired the next generation’s ability to awaken the Kekkei Genkai.
• Zuo Yang Kurama woke and confirmed that Junichi Kurama had discovered the harm through experiments on animals and tried to stop the clan from using Black Paste.
• Zuo Yang Kurama admitted he had continued using the substance because he believed he was beyond saving, while Ming Jing urged him to hold on and promised to find a way to save the survivors.

Ming Jing and Koji Kurama struggled to find a way to help the frail Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama recover from their drug dependence. Meanwhile, Orochimaru gave Deva Path Pain and Konan solutions refined from Well Water, and Konan decided to give one to Ming Jing, but her enhancement delayed her departure.

• Ming Jing admitted he had no medicine that could help Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama, while Koji Kurama explained that recovery required time and physical conditioning.
• Orochimaru brought Deva Path Pain nine bottles of solution made from Well Water and explained that it let users absorb Natural Energy to strengthen their bodies.
• Deva Path Pain drank a bottle, found that Yahiko's body had grown stronger, and smashed through a concrete wall with a punch.
• Deva Path Pain offered Konan three bottles, but she took two and decided to give the remaining bottle to Akira Kurama because Ming Jing had saved her.
• Konan drank a bottle and spent nearly an hour undergoing enhancement, so she flew away from the rooftop rather than leave for Ming Jing immediately.

Koji Kurama proposed using Ming Jing’s Five Senses Manipulation to make Takuo Kurama believe he was taking Black Paste during a relapse, and the family agreed to try it. After Ming Jing disciplined loafers at the canal worksite, he received Konan’s invitation and rode with Qing Yan toward their meeting place, carrying food for her.

• Koji Kurama suggested that Ming Jing manipulate Takuo Kurama’s senses during a relapse so he could be given ordinary food while believing it was Black Paste.
• Zuo Yang Kurama approved trying the plan, and Takuo Kurama volunteered to test it, but Ming Jing left and asked Koji to call him when Takuo had an episode.
• Ming Jing discovered that loafers were posing as refugees at the canal worksite and ordered them driven out, with a warning that food scroungers would be arrested and left unfed.
• Honma delivered a letter from Konan inviting Ming Jing to meet at a mountain pavilion at noon.
• Ming Jing prepared fish head soup and sweet-and-sour fish chunks, then set out with Qing Yan for the place where he had met Konan before.

Ming Jing brought Konan a meal, and she gave him a golden solution that could strengthen the body. He hoped to use it to save Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama, but they refused it and prepared to leave their knowledge behind; Ming Jing then recalled a formula and two finished pills.

• Ming Jing shared fish soup and sweet-and-sour fish with Konan, who gave him the last bottle of physique-enhancing solution made from the cave spring water.
• Konan left, and Ming Jing returned to Muchuan County with Qing Yan, excited that the solution might help Takuo Kurama and Zuo Yang Kurama withstand Genjutsu.
• Ming Jing explained the solution to Koji Kurama and the two old men, but Zuo Yang Kurama insisted it should go to Ming Jing, the future of the clan.
• Zuo Yang Kurama and Takuo Kurama asked Koji Kurama to arrange trustworthy secretaries so their knowledge would be preserved if they died.
• As Ming Jing and Koji Kurama left the courtyard, Ming Jing recalled a formula and realized he had two finished pills.

Ming Jing drank Konan’s solvent and discovered that it had strengthened his body and changed the golden threads in his Genjutsu. When Takuo Kurama’s drug addiction flared up, Ming Jing gave him Lamp Oil Endurance and went to ask Hizashi Hyuga what the medicine did.

• Ming Jing drank the solvent, found golden threads across his lit Genjutsu in the Option Hall, and discovered that his body felt lighter and healthier.
• Ming Jing tested his strength on Qing Yan and learned that his Chakra-powered punch could rival a Chunin’s.
• Ming Jing learned that Takuo Kurama’s drug addiction had flared up and gave Chiko a Lamp Oil Endurance pill to calm Takuo’s suffering.
• Ming Jing visited Hizashi Hyuga and asked what he had experienced after taking Lamp Oil Endurance.
• Hizashi Hyuga suggested that Lamp Oil Endurance might cultivate Chakra during a period of unconsciousness and that its antidote drew out that Chakra.

Ming Jing discovered the fasting pill had been designed to make Takuo Kurama appear dead, then used his Celestial Court state to strengthen Takuo with golden Chakra. After learning that both elders could be saved, Ming Jing heard Zuo Yang Kurama reveal the Kurama Clan's Sage Chakra training tradition and its legendary founder.

• Ming Jing found that Lamp Oil Endurance caused seven days of apparent death and realized the Celestial Court state helped him understand Genjutsu.
• Using the Celestial Court state, Ming Jing sensed Takuo Kurama's faint Chakra and went to examine him.
• Ming Jing guided golden Chakra into Takuo, exhausting himself, and Chiko noticed that Takuo's face had grown fuller.
• Ming Jing told Koji Kurama that Takuo and the other elder could be saved, then agreed to speak privately with Zuo Yang Kurama.
• Zuo Yang Kurama explained that Kyōmu Kurama, a friend and disciple of Hashirama Senju, developed the Kurama Clan's Sage Chakra cultivation path to address the clan's frail constitution.

Ming Jing learned the Kurama Clan’s Sage Chakra cultivation method from Zuo Yang Kurama and succeeded on his first attempt, though the effort nearly killed Zuo Yang. After the elders’ condition stabilized, Ming Jing considered leaving but began thinking about going to the Land of Rain to find Konan.

• Zuo Yang Kurama explained the Kurama Clan’s Sage Chakra method and used Auditory Manipulation to draw Ming Jing into a Genjutsu.
• As Zuo Yang Kurama chanted the Yin Fu Jing, Ming Jing’s golden light gathered in his Heavenly Court Acupoint and he entered Sage Chakra cultivation on his first attempt.
• Zuo Yang Kurama finished the chant but could not end Ming Jing’s cultivation safely, so he released the Genjutsu when his own strength was nearly spent.
• Ming Jing tried to save Zuo Yang Kurama with a Lamp Oil Endurance pill, then carried him to his room and called Chiko in.
• Koji Kurama explained that Uncle Sakyo had become the clan’s keeper of secrets, and Ming Jing reassured him that the two elders were stable.
• Ming Jing decided it was time to leave and thought about visiting Konan in the Land of Rain, wondering whether he could take her away.

Honma planned to assassinate Konan and manipulate Nagato into killing Ming Jing, while Ming Jing finished saving Zuo Yang Kurama and Takuo Kurama. The chapter ended with Honma delivering forged meeting arrangements and setting out to lure Nagato to the ambush.

• Honma told Shoko, Honda, Fukuyama, and Seto that they would target Konan and use her death to draw Nagato into killing Ming Jing.
• Shoko overcame her hesitation and agreed to the plan after Honda reminded her of Yuri and their duty to avenge Hanzō.
• Ming Jing finished seven days of treatment and told Koji Kurama that Zuo Yang Kurama and Takuo Kurama had survived.
• Honma gave Konan a letter inviting her to meet Ming Jing at the pavilion, then prepared a forged letter with a later meeting time for Ming Jing.
• Ming Jing accepted the meeting invitation Honma delivered, and Honma left to lure Nagato toward the planned ambush.

Konan was lured into an ambush by Shoko, Honda, Fukuyama, and Seto, who claimed Ming Jing had ordered her death. Realizing Honma was the traitor and that Nagato depended on her, Konan chose to stay by his side and fought back, leaving the four attackers down after an explosion.

• Konan arrived at the mountaintop pavilion and grew suspicious of Shoko, who had been sent there by Ming Jing.
• Shoko attacked Konan with a poisoned dagger, and Honda and Fukuyama joined the ambush, destroying the pavilion with a Water Gun and Explosive Tags.
• Konan recognized Hanzō's poison and concluded that the attackers were framing Ming Jing, leading her to suspect Honma instead.
• Konan decided she would never leave Nagato, since they were each other's only trusted companions.
• Seto trapped Konan in a hemp net, but she cut free and unleashed Paper Rain, injuring Honda.
• Konan detonated six Explosive Tags hidden among her paper, blasting the mountaintop and leaving Shoko, Honda, Fukuyama, and Seto lying on the ground.

Konan fought Beida’s group after they trapped her with sulfuric acid rain and water attacks. She killed Fukuyama and Seto, then faced the remaining Shoko, Honda, and Beida as Beida gathered the acid rain for another attack.

• Ming Jing left lunch with Koji Kurama to prepare nourishing fish soup for Konan, then rode out with Qing Yan to deliver it.
• Nagato watched Konan leave and decided he could not simply let her go, blaming Akira Kurama for her changes.
• Beida attacked Konan with corrosive sulfuric acid rain while Shoko, Fukuyama, Honda, and Seto coordinated their assault.
• Konan dodged Honda’s falling water spheres, but Fukuyama was caught in the attack and died.
• Seto cut Konan’s throat with a kunai, but her body scattered into paper, and her Paper Orchid Technique killed Seto.
• Konan told the remaining attackers she had grown stronger as Beida intensified and gathered the sulfuric acid rain.

Honma tricked Nagato into believing Konan was in danger, while Shoko fought Konan and sacrificed herself in an explosion. Ming Jing arrived to find Konan wounded and Pain accusing him of plotting her death through his supposed subordinates.

• Honma feigned a desperate return to Amegakure and told Nagato that Akira Kurama's people had attacked Konan, so Pain's Paths rushed to her location.
• Shoko swallowed poison and used her speed to attack Konan, then embraced her and detonated Explosive Tags, apparently killing them both.
• Ming Jing and Qing Yan heard the explosions and hurried to the meeting place, where they found the mountaintop devastated and Konan in Deva Path Pain's arms.
• Deva Path Pain blasted Ming Jing away when he tried to reach Konan, then accused him of trying to kill her.
• The Hell Path presented a captive as one of Ming Jing's subordinates, and the Asura Path accused Ming Jing of acting for Konoha and being Danzo's lapdog.

Konan revealed that she had survived by using a Paper Clone and asked Nagato to help her fake her death so Ming Jing would believe she was gone. Nagato staged the scene and accused Ming Jing of killing Konan, leaving Ming Jing bewildered as the deception began.

• Konan confronted Honma, who confessed that he had betrayed her over Hanzō's death, and Nagato killed him.
• Konan asked Nagato to make Ming Jing believe she had died, and Nagato transformed Honma's corpse into her likeness.
• Nagato and the other Paths killed Honda and Beida's companions, then prepared Honma's disguised corpse with wounds to make the death seem real.
• Akira Kurama and Qing Yan arrived as Nagato pretended to grieve over Konan's body.
• Nagato used Shinra Tensei to knock Ming Jing away and accused him of killing Konan, while Ming Jing denied knowing Beida.

Ming Jing fought Deva Path Pain to reach Konan, but was beaten unconscious with two broken ribs and carried away by Qing Yan. As the injured Ming Jing returned to the government office, Hizashi Hyuga offered to treat him.

• Ming Jing used sound and visual genjutsu to evade Pain's attacks while Qing Yan struck the Asura Path with his Indestructible Golden Body.
• Deva Path Pain handed Konan's apparent corpse to the Hell Path and fought Ming Jing, who demanded to see her before Pain knocked him unconscious with a blow to the chest.
• Qing Yan carried Ming Jing away, while Deva Path Pain told them to leave the Land of Rain; Nakamura later collected the bodies of the fallen team members and headed for the Land of Wind.
• At the government office, Zuo Yang Kurama examined Ming Jing and found that two ribs were broken, so Koji Kurama sent for Mirai and sought a local doctor.
• Hizashi Hyuga arrived and offered to try treating Ming Jing.

Hizashi Hyuga treated Ming Jing’s fractured ribs, and Ming Jing recovered enough to resume his work. Before leaving the Land of Rain, Ming Jing held an all-fish memorial for Konan and vowed to build an orphanage system in her name.

• Hizashi Hyuga used his Byakugan and Gentle Fist to set Ming Jing’s fractured ribs, warning that he needed a month of careful recovery.
• Ming Jing woke the next day, learned he had been unconscious for only one day, and ordered Qing Yan to keep investigating the people who attacked him.
• Ming Jing spent the following week recuperating and negotiating canal matters with Tamamachi Seiyo before preparing to return to the Royal Capital.
• Ming Jing brought ten fish dishes to the mountaintop in the Land of Rain and offered food and wine in memory of Konan.
• Ming Jing promised to establish an orphanage system in Konan’s name and said farewell before leaving the Land of Rain.

Ming Jing decided to spread his ideals beyond the Land of Fire by becoming prime minister in other countries, starting with the smaller nations. Before leaving the disaster-relief site, he taught the villagers to make Konan Fish Head Soup and asked them to remember Konan’s name.

• Ming Jing resolved to become prime minister in multiple countries and ordered Qing Yan to gather intelligence on the Land of Grass and the Land of Hot Water.
• Ming Jing argued with Hizashi Hyuga and Takuo Kurama that ordinary people could work across borders without provoking war, and named several smaller countries as his targets.
• At the construction site, Ming Jing told the disaster victims he would leave the next day and promised to teach them a dish before departing.
• Ming Jing had Qing Yan prepare fish, pots, and cooks, then taught ninety-nine housewives to make grass carp head soup.
• Ming Jing named the dish Konan Fish Head Soup, and the villagers repeated the name together.

Ming Jing left Muchuan County amid a huge farewell and told Asuma that he was engaged to Hinata Hyuga, while warning him that Hizashi Hyuga had joined the Prime Minister’s Residence. In the Royal Capital, rumors about the young Prime Minister’s political enemies reached Jiraiya, who decided he should meet Ming Jing.

• Tens of thousands of people lined the road to wish Ming Jing well as his carriage left Muchuan County.
• Ming Jing told Asuma about his engagement to Hinata Hyuga and received Asuma’s A-rank ninjutsu scroll as an engagement gift.
• Ming Jing asked Asuma to tell the Third Hokage that Hizashi Hyuga had joined the Prime Minister’s Residence and would not accept a transfer order.
• At a Royal Capital izakaya, Jiraiya overheard rumors that the Left Minister and other officials opposed the young Prime Minister, while the Third Hokage backed him.
• Jiraiya suspected the rumors were being deliberately spread and decided to find a chance to meet Ming Jing.

Ming Jing learned the Kurama Clan’s defensive Mind Barrier from Zuo Yang Kurama while returning to the Royal Capital, then reported to the Daimyo. The Daimyo privately revealed that he had chosen Ming Jing as a way to draw Konoha into the Land of Fire’s political structure.

• Ming Jing tested Itachi and Shisui’s improved Mirror Flower Technique on Zuo Yang Kurama, who broke free and showed him his Mind Barrier, the Crystal Wall.
• Zuo Yang Kurama taught Ming Jing that Mind Barrier was built from firm beliefs and could defend against most Genjutsu, though Mangekyō Sharingan techniques could overcome it.
• Ming Jing studied Mind Barrier throughout the journey, impressing Zuo Yang Kurama with how quickly he understood Genjutsu.
• After the convoy reached the Royal Capital, Ming Jing reported his work in Muchuan County to the Daimyo and left the mansion.
• The Daimyo praised Ming Jing in public, then told his hidden advisers that he had chosen him to help bring Konoha under the Land of Fire’s control.