Chapter Summaries

Aozora rejected Sarutobi Hiruzen’s attempt to restore his Konoha ninja status and asked to retire rather than remain vulnerable to the village’s control. Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed to revoke his status temporarily, and Aozora left the Hokage Building feeling free to choose his future.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen apologized to Aozora and blamed his lack of oversight on his other responsibilities, while Aozora urged him to let Torifu and Kosuke take on more village affairs.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen offered Aozora a Konoha Forehead Protector, but Aozora refused to wear it while the accusation against him remained unresolved.
• Kosuke, Torifu, and Shisui urged Aozora not to abandon his ninja career, but Aozora explained that he would stay in Konoha and accept retirement if the village could not clear his name.
• Aozora asked Sarutobi Hiruzen to cancel his Ninja Registration Card, citing his injuries and his wish to retire at thirteen.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen temporarily revoked Aozora’s ninja status, and Aozora handed him his slashed forehead protector before leaving the Hokage Building.

After leaving the village's ninja ranks, Aozora reviewed the political fallout and spent his remaining Golden Droplets trying to complete Manipulate Creation before focusing on Chakra Control. Shisui resigned from the Shadow Guard and continued serving Konoha, while Aozora settled into training despite losing his Flying Tigers post.

• Aozora concluded that Fugaku could challenge for Hokage after driving Iwagakure out, and that the Daimyo's threats were unlikely to endanger him as an ordinary villager.
• Aozora reviewed his gains, including freedom from ninja duties and Shisui's break with the Hokage faction, then spent Golden Droplets attempting to complete Manipulate Creation but stopped when it failed.
• Shisui returned home, told Aozora he had resigned from the Shadow Guard, and cooked him a bowl of noodles after Aozora pretended to be despondent.
• Shisui continued taking missions for Konoha while Aozora trained indoors, and the Third Hokage mediated an end to the Daimyo's pursuit of Aozora and the others.
• Jintai revoked Aozora's Head Instructor position with the Flying Tigers because Aozora was no longer a Konoha Ninja, and Aozora continued practicing Chakra Control toward Tsunade's standard.

Aozora visited Tsunade to fulfill their wager and learn Sage Jutsu, and she explained two cultivation methods with different risks and difficulties. After weighing them, Aozora asked to learn both.

• Aozora told Tsunade he had met the requirements for Sage Jutsu, and she warned him that the necessary traits did not guarantee success.
• Tsunade explained that Sage Chakra combined Nature Energy, physical energy, and spiritual energy in equal proportions.
• Tsunade described the dangerous Shikkotsu Forest method, which used Slug Sage fluid to draw in Nature Energy but risked petrification.
• Tsunade introduced a difficult, harmless method related to the Buddhist cultivation tradition, which relied on meditation and comprehending Nature Energy.
• Aozora considered the two methods and told Tsunade he wanted to learn both.

Aozora received an ancient Sage Jutsu scroll from Tsunade and began training with Slug fluid, which drew Nature Energy into his body. After Tsunade removed the fluid before it could transform his arm, Aozora recognized its resemblance to Hashirama's cells but chose to continue learning.

• Tsunade gave Aozora an ancient Sage Jutsu scroll annotated by Tobirama and allowed him to copy it.
• Aozora studied the meditation and manifestation techniques, then speculated that Susanoo might draw on Nature Energy.
• Tsunade applied Slug fluid to Aozora's hand, and Nature Energy began transforming his arm toward a Slug's form.
• Tsunade used the Delicate Illness Extraction Technique to remove the Slug fluid, ending Aozora's first training attempt.
• Aozora said the Slug fluid felt similar to Hashirama's cells, and Tsunade explained that Sage Region training could transform practitioners toward its sages' forms.
• Aozora chose to keep training, so Tsunade applied Slug fluid to him again.

Aozora unexpectedly cultivated a trace of Sage Chakra, and the Heavenly Book granted him Nine Breaths Qi Assimilation, a method for gradually refining Chakra into Sage Chakra. As Konoha and Cloud moved toward peace and Iwagakure withdrew to wait, Obito left Kirigakure.

• Aozora used Tsunade’s Slug Oil to cultivate, and a hair-thin trace of energy remained after the oil was removed before the Heavenly Book absorbed it.
• Tsunade gave Aozora two bottles of Slug Oil and said she and Shizune were leaving Konoha; Aozora urged Tsunade to stop drowning in the past, then left her residence.
• The Heavenly Book transformed its ancient characters and passed Nine Breaths Qi Assimilation to Aozora, teaching him to absorb Nature Energy and gradually refine it into Sage Chakra.
• Konoha’s peace delegation arrived in Kumogakure in March, and Cloud halted its offensive and withdrew most of its forces while negotiations began.
• Iwagakure sent the Four-Tails Jinchūriki to cover its main force’s retreat to the Land of Grass, while Obito left Kirigakure after hearing of the changing situation.

Obito approached Aozora in the forest and tried to recruit him by exploiting his apparent grievances with Konoha and the Uchiha Clan. After Aozora attacked and discovered Obito could turn intangible, Obito recognized the unusual power of Aozora’s Sharingan and wondered whether he had already fallen into darkness.

• Obito and Zetsu discussed recruiting Aozora, believing betrayal could drive him toward darkness and awaken his Sharingan further.
• Obito appeared before Aozora as he trained, and Aozora recognized him as a member of the Akatsuki Organization.
• Obito invoked Aozora’s lost Sharingan and treatment by Konoha and the Uchiha Clan, then offered to give him what he wanted.
• Aozora attacked Obito with shuriken and a Kunai, but the weapon passed through Obito’s body.
• Aozora activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan, and Obito sensed its extraordinary Dōjutsu Power and wondered if Aozora had already fallen into darkness.

Aozora fought Obito, was pulled into the Kamui Dimension, and pretended to be persuaded by his offer to join the Akatsuki Organization. The chapter ended with Obito agreeing not to harm Shisui, unaware that Aozora was concealing his true intentions.

• Aozora used an enhanced Great Fireball Technique against Obito, but Obito evaded it with his Hollowfication ability and seized Aozora.
• Obito used Kamui to drag Aozora into the Kamui Dimension and revealed his Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Aozora acted shocked by Obito’s Mangekyō Sharingan and played along as Obito claimed to be Uchiha Madara.
• Obito described his plan to create a world without deception or betrayal and revealed that he had founded the Akatsuki Organization.
• Aozora agreed to join the Akatsuki Organization on the condition that Obito would not harm Shisui, and Obito accepted.

Aozora agreed to join the Akatsuki Organization as a spy and was assigned to gather intelligence on Konoha, especially the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki. After learning that his Shadow Clone had negotiated with Obito, Aozora considered using his Outer Body Incarnation to share the risks and heard the incarnation announce its name: Taiyi.

• Obito introduced Zetsu to Aozora, confirmed that Aozora had Juzō Biwa’s “Minami” ring, and said Zetsu would notify him about an upcoming Akatsuki gathering.
• Obito told Aozora to keep his identity secret and gather intelligence on Konoha, particularly the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, while Zetsu questioned whether Aozora might inform Konoha.
• Obito rejected Zetsu’s suggestion to sever Aozora’s remaining attachment to Konoha, judging that Aozora’s strength was already sufficient and that his Fire Release made him dangerous.
• Aozora met his Shadow Clone at the site of his earlier battle with Obito, released it, and received its memories of surviving in the Kamui Dimension and agreeing to join the Akatsuki.
• Aozora decided that infiltrating the Akatsuki could provide intelligence, techniques, and access to tailed beasts, while his Outer Body Incarnation could impersonate him and share his burdens.
• Aozora’s Great Crow incarnation announced that it had chosen the name Taiyi.

Aozora tested whether Taiyi could use Reverse Summoning to retrieve Shadow Clones from Obito’s Kamui dimension, then received Fugaku’s order to resume Project Sleeping Dragon. He planned to investigate Kazuma’s group through the Black Market and take Itachi to inspect the Flying Tigers.

• Taiyi told Aozora he could sense a Shadow Clone inside Obito’s Kamui dimension, but his first Reverse Summoning attempt retrieved only half of it before it vanished.
• Itachi brought Aozora a letter from Fugaku and began his weekend cultivation lessons.
• Fugaku told Aozora to restart Project Sleeping Dragon, arranged for several assistants to return to the village, and asked him to spend more time teaching Itachi.
• Aozora decided to investigate Kazuma’s group through the Black Market, suspecting it supplied corpses for their resurrection Ninjutsu.
• Aozora told Itachi they would visit Training Ground 35 the next day so he could inspect the Flying Tigers and select members.

Aozora took Itachi to the Flying Tigers' training ground, where he watched their Kunai throwing exercise and clashed with Instructor Ryoichi after dismissing the trainees' techniques as simple. The chapter ended with Itachi agreeing that the exercise was very simple, provoking the Flying Tigers members.

• Aozora and Itachi arrived at the Flying Tigers' training grounds, where Yashiro welcomed them and agreed to accommodate Aozora.
• Ryoichi arranged twenty targets around the training ground and had the Flying Tigers test their Kunai throwing skills.
• The trainees scored between fifteen and nineteen hits, while Long Xian earned seventeen by choosing easy targets and was reprimanded by Ryoichi.
• Aozora reserved a place for Long Xian in the Crouching Dragon Squad.
• Ryoichi prompted Aozora to advise the trainees, and Aozora called their throwing techniques acrobatic tricks and said everyone had done all right.
• When Aozora asked Itachi whether the exercise was difficult, Itachi said it was very simple.

Aozora brought Itachi to the Flying Tigers training ground, where Itachi demonstrated Ninja Tool Throwing that astonished the instructors and members. After Aozora challenged Ryoichi over an undistributed training plan, Yashiro sent Mugen to show Itachi around while he stayed with Aozora.

• Itachi claimed the Flying Tigers' training test was simple, and Aozora suggested he demonstrate his Ninja Tool Throwing.
• Itachi hit all twenty targets with a flashy midair technique, leaving the Flying Tigers stunned.
• At Ryoichi's request, Itachi demonstrated Aozora's method, striking and shattering all twenty targets with fast, direct throws.
• Aozora criticized the Flying Tigers' throwing methods and asked Ryoichi why he had not shared the training plan Lord Jintai had given him.
• Aozora told Yashiro he had already seen Training Ground 35, so Yashiro sent Mugen to show Itachi around.

Aozora recruited five inconspicuous Flying Tigers members for a dangerous mission tied to the Uchiha clan’s future, persuading them with the promise of recognition and generous rewards. After Shūichi and four others returned to Konoha, Aozora prepared to gather everyone at a temporary base outside the village for training before Project Sleeping Dragon began.

• Aozora asked Yashiro to transfer five Flying Tigers members and selected candidates from their personnel files.
• Aozora tested the five members with his imposing presence, explained the mission’s danger, and convinced them to join with promises of pay, training, and a Sharingan Awakening Ritual.
• Aozora told the five to continue serving in the Flying Tigers until they were contacted.
• Aozora inspected the Patrol Police and Prison Guard Unit while waiting for Shūichi and four others to return secretly to Konoha.
• Aozora gave Shūichi and the others a day to rest, then prepared to establish a temporary base outside the village for unified training before Project Sleeping Dragon.

Aozora launched the first batch of the Sleeping Dragon Squad’s covert training, preparing twelve Uchiha members to adopt new identities and work as spies. He also arranged the squads’ training and tested Taiyi’s progress toward a reliable Reverse Summoning Technique before the upcoming Akatsuki gathering.

• Yashiro stripped Long Xian and four other members of their police status for poor training and retreating without authorization, while Qingming held a Patrol Police commendation ceremony and dismissed Uchiha Kazuo and Uchiha Kazuya for mistreating villagers.
• Tielan revised the guard unit’s casualty list, and Sekikō sent two Prison Guard Unit members on a mission.
• Aozora welcomed twelve recruits to Wild Mountain Fort, gave them new identities, and explained that they would become the first members of the Uchiha’s ANBU-like Sleeping Dragon Team.
• Aozora assigned Shūichi and Shingo to train the Samurai Squad in Land of Iron swordsmanship and Gen'an and Gen'ka to train the ninja squad in low-level ninjutsu.
• Aozora contacted Taiyi, learned that he had become the Ninja Crow Clan’s king, and told him not to provoke the Three Great Sage Regions.
• Aozora planned to have Taiyi practice Reverse Summoning with ten Shadow Clones before attempting to summon him, as the Akatsuki gathering approached.

Obito brought Aozora to an Akatsuki gathering, where Pain welcomed Aozora, Kisame, and Kito Ryuji as newcomers. When the others suspected Aozora of being a Konoha spy, he offered secret intelligence to prove his loyalty and claimed that the Third Hokage planned to pledge allegiance to the Fire Daimyo.

• Obito guided Aozora by boat to Akatsuki’s hideout and explained that its public leader was Pain, who possessed the Sage’s Eye.
• Aozora encountered Orochimaru in the cave, and the two exchanged guarded remarks before Obito hurried them onward.
• Pain gathered the Akatsuki members and welcomed Aozora, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Kito Ryuji after assessing their strength.
• Kisame and Kito proved their defection by revealing that they had assassinated their countries’ Daimyo, while Aozora said he had already carved his forehead protector and lost his ninja status.
• Orochimaru, Sasori, Kakuzu, and Kisame voiced suspicion or hostility toward Aozora, but Aozora offered to reveal secret intelligence to prove himself.
• Aozora told Pain that the Third Hokage intended to pledge allegiance to the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Aozora earned Akatsuki’s trust by revealing Sarutobi Hiruzen’s alleged plan to align Konoha with the Land of Fire’s Daimyo, then joined the organization as Vermilion Bird. Pain assigned the newcomers intelligence-gathering and bounty missions, and Konan took them to choose their first free scrolls.

• Aozora claimed Sarutobi Hiruzen had prepared for the Daimyo to take control of Konoha, citing Sarutobi Asuma’s secret role as a Guardian Shinobi, and Pain accepted the intelligence as proof of Aozora’s reliability.
• Aozora, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Kito Ryuji received Akatsuki cloaks, identifying nail polish, rings, and scrolls; Aozora became Vermilion Bird.
• Pain named the members and ordered Akatsuki to focus on gathering intelligence rather than large-scale war or noble assassinations, warning them not to slaughter nations or destroy cities.
• Pain assigned Aozora and Orochimaru to investigate Konoha’s defenses and Jinchūriki, Kisame to investigate Kirigakure, and Kito Ryuji to work with Kakuzu on bounty missions.
• Konan led the newcomers to Akatsuki’s scroll cavern and offered each two free scrolls; Aozora asked for Yin-Yang Release or S-Rank techniques, then requested two rare ninjutsu instead.

Aozora studied rare Akatsuki techniques while considering how to develop a powerful fire ninjutsu. Kisame confronted him on the Great River, and Aozora’s quick Great Fireball left Kisame burning even after he dived underwater.

• Aozora examined the Lightning Clone and Mysterious Peacock Method scrolls as he planned to improve the Shape Transformation of his Great Fire Dragon Technique.
• Kisame emerged from the river to challenge Aozora, while Obito and Zetsu watched from the riverbank.
• Aozora confirmed that he had killed Juzō Biwa and said Kubikiribōchō had been reforged into Blood Drinker.
• Kisame attacked, but Aozora interrupted his prepared ninjutsu with a Great Fireball Technique.
• Kisame’s Water Dragon Twister weakened the fireball but could not stop its Orange Fire from igniting him, and he dived into the river as the fire continued to burn.

Aozora battled Kisame across a river, using Blaze Release, swordsmanship, and his tough body to counter Kisame’s Water Release attacks. Kisame’s enormous wave and shark overwhelmed Aozora’s flames, but Aozora had already vanished in the steam.

• Obito and Zetsu watched Aozora’s Blaze Release send Kisame into the river, while Obito insisted Kisame had only been careless.
• Kisame burst from the water with Samehada, which had devoured the flames and helped him recover, and clashed with Aozora’s Blood Drinking Sword.
• Aozora drove toward shore, cutting Kisame’s water sharks apart with blazing sword strikes and enduring a rain of tiny sharks with little injury.
• Aozora taunted Kisame from a shore-side rock and secretly gathered Blaze Release Chakra, but Kisame stayed in the river and unleashed a giant wave and Great Shark Bullet.
• Aozora countered with Great Fire Annihilation, and the resulting clash filled the area with steam as Kisame’s wave overwhelmed the flames and Aozora vanished.

Obito and Kisame assessed Aozora’s dangerous, seal-less ninjutsu after their fight, while Aozora escaped through Reverse Summoning to the Summoning Realm. There, he confirmed Taiyi could summon him and potentially Shisui, then questioned why the Heavenly Book had not reacted to the Summoning Technique’s space-time properties.

• Obito arrived above the Great River and asked Kisame how his fight with Aozora had gone.
• Kisame explained that Aozora’s fast, seal-less Fire Release made him difficult to fight, and Obito considered the danger of Aozora’s abilities.
• Aozora appeared in Taiyi’s palace in the Summoning Realm and checked that his body was intact.
• Taiyi told Aozora that summoning him had consumed three-quarters of his Chakra and that summoning Shisui would require Shisui’s consent.
• Taiyi served Aozora fruit and complained about his primitive life among the Ninja Crows.
• Aozora and Taiyi wondered why the Heavenly Book had not responded to the Summoning Technique’s space-time transfer.

Aozora explored the Summoning Realm with Taiyi and considered investigating the sealing scripts behind Space-Time Ninjutsu. When they entered Mount Myōboku's territory and Aozora attacked a giant toad by mistake, he and Taiyi disguised themselves as Akatsuki members and fled.

• Aozora and Taiyi concluded that sealing scripts might be the key to Space-Time Ninjutsu, and Taiyi agreed to study Sealing Jutsu.
• Aozora chose to tour the Summoning Realm, and Taiyi took him aboard a goshawk and described the realm's dangerous beasts and competing powers.
• Taiyi admitted he wanted to unify the Summoning Realm for fun, and Aozora dismissed the idea as unrealistic.
• Taiyi showed Aozora the territories of Shikkotsu Forest, Ryūchi Cave, and Mount Myōboku.
• A giant toad attacked from a river, and Aozora fired a fireball before recognizing it; he transformed into Obito while Taiyi disguised himself as Pain and retreated on the goshawk.

Aozora and Taiyi lured Gamabunta away from Mount Myōboku and battled the powerful toad in the barren mountains. When Gamabunta broke through Taiyi’s defenses and brought down its sword, Taiyi was struck painfully in the waist and sent flying.

• Gamabunta pursued Aozora and Taiyi after they burned its tongue, dodging Taiyi’s fireballs as they fled from Mount Myōboku.
• Aozora and Taiyi landed in the barren mountains, where Taiyi attacked Gamabunta with a giant Fire Crow that Gamabunta extinguished with waterballs.
• Gamabunta recognized the pair as formidable opponents and launched another barrage of waterballs at them.
• Taiyi knocked aside the waterballs with his Fire Crow Technique, but Gamabunta leaped forward and slashed through six of Taiyi’s Earth Walls.
• Gamabunta’s sword descended toward Taiyi, but a sharp pain in Taiyi’s right waist sent him flying sideways.