Chapter Summaries

Sora’s partial Nine-Tails transformation sent him rampaging through the Temple of Fire, where the old monk Jōjin stopped him with the Wrathful Wisdom King technique. The monks saw Sora beaten into a crater, while Aozora watched the plan unfold.

• A crimson pillar of light alarmed the Daimyo, who ordered Musashi and another aide to support Abbot Jōjin at the Temple of Fire.
• Three-tailed Sora rampaged through the Temple of Fire, destroying buildings and injuring monks as they raised the alarm.
• Kyushin tried to protect a monk with the Thousand Hands Kill technique, but Sora shattered his Bodhisattva Manifestation and sent him flying.
• Hiroshi rescued the injured Kyushin and directed the monks toward safety, then Sora struck him and broke several of his ribs.
• Jōjin shielded Hiroshi with a huge Bodhisattva Manifestation, transformed it into a Wrathful Wisdom King, and pounded Sora into a crater.
• The monks found Sora lying nearly dead in the crater, with his three tails still moving.

Kazuma’s radical Guardian Shinobi fought Chiriku and the Lightning Four in Tengoku Gorge, where Hokone’s group unleashed the Forbidden Jutsu Raijin. The blast wiped out everyone trapped inside the Barrier, leaving Chiriku and the Lightning Four injured and the survivors’ fate uncertain.

• Kazuma’s faction and Chiriku’s group fought across the cliffs and gorge, with both sides sustaining injuries.
• Hokone told Chiriku to hold off the attackers while the Lightning Four prepared Raijin, and Natsuki warned the others to stop them.
• Chiriku’s defenses weakened, but the Lightning Four completed their preparations and used lightning to strike two Guardian Shinobi who had broken through.
• Hokone trapped Kazuma and the radical faction inside a triangular Barrier with the Lightning Release: Binding Technique.
• The Lightning Four cast Raijin, and the explosion reduced everyone within the Barrier to ashes before the Barrier shattered.
• Chiriku and the Lightning Four survived the blast’s shockwave, and Hokone saw that only a crater remained.

Chiriku escaped Kazuma and his Earth Release allies in Tengoku Gorge, while Natsuki confronted them and trapped them in an illusion. At the Temple of Fire, Sora transformed into a Four-Tailed Demon Fox and blasted through the temple’s Iron Wall Seal.

• Earth Release rocks buried the injured Lightning Four, and Chiriku fled Tengoku Gorge after three unfamiliar ninja attacked him.
• Kazuma revealed that the Daimyo had ordered him not to kill Chiriku, and Natsuki emerged from hiding and fired a signal flare.
• Natsuki used her Sharingan to trap Kazuma and his three subordinates in an illusion as crows filled their view.
• Sora revived as a Four-Tailed Demon Fox and unleashed a powerful wind attack that forced Jōjin to retreat.
• Sora’s wind attack destroyed the Temple of Fire’s main gate and shattered its Iron Wall Seal.

Aozora confronted Jōjin after luring Sora away from the Temple of Fire, killing the monk and attacking Sora with Susanoo. He detonated a golden Chakra arrow against Sora as Hiroki and Tsukahara Musashi hurried toward the Temple of Fire, alerted by a massive Chakra surge.

• Jōjin led Sora toward the back mountain, where Sora severely injured him and then charged toward a distant village.
• Aozora appeared beside Jōjin, who attacked him with the Wrathful King Acala Manifestation to keep him from revealing the Temple of Fire’s connection to Sora.
• Aozora summoned Susanoo and killed Jōjin with its Double-Edged Trident.
• Aozora fired a golden Chakra arrow at Sora, then detonated it in a tremendous explosion.
• Hiroki sensed the Chakra surge and urged Tsukahara Musashi to hurry toward the Temple of Fire, while Long Xian and the others followed behind.

Aozora defeated Sora, sealed the Nine-Tails Chakra inside him, and sent him to the Kyoto City base for transport to Konoha. At Tengoku Gorge, Itachi and the other Uchiha faced Kazuma’s group, and Itachi began declaring that the Land of Fire needed only one jade.

• Aozora’s left eye evolved into a Four Tomoe Sharingan after he absorbed the golden flames, while his restored right eye remained close to evolving as well.
• Aozora sealed the berserk Nine-Tails Chakra back inside the defeated Sora and used the Mystical Palm Technique to keep him alive.
• Aozora appeared near the Temple of Fire’s front mountain and ordered Shingo to take Sora to the Kyoto City base before sending him to Konoha.
• Shūichi told Aozora that Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki were coming as reinforcements, so Aozora and Shūichi hid in the forest.
• At Tengoku Gorge, Kazuma’s group retreated from Itachi’s Ninja Crows and attacked with a combined fire-and-wind technique, which Gen'an blocked with an Earth Wall.
• Natsuki, Gen'an, and Itachi revealed their Three Tomoe Sharingan to Kazuma’s group, and Itachi began saying the Land of Fire needed only one jade: fire.

Itachi and his allies fought Kazuma’s group inside Gen'an’s sealing barrier while Aozora allowed Shūichi five minutes to challenge the arriving sword master, Tsukahara Musashi. The chapter ended as Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki reached Aozora and Shūichi.

• Itachi killed Fudou with a feint and two hidden blades, then Gen'an trapped the six fighters inside a sealing barrier as Natsuki and Itachi joined the battle.
• Gen'an explained that Draw Ground as Prison was meant to create an arena where only the victor could leave alive.
• Shūichi asked Aozora for a chance to fight Tsukahara Musashi, and Aozora granted him five minutes before he would intervene.
• Aozora urged Shūichi to consider why he fought and drew his sword, prompting Shūichi to reflect on the way of the sword.
• Aozora sensed the newcomers, and Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki arrived.

Aozora and Shūichi confronted Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki inside a sealing barrier, and Shūichi engaged Musashi while Aozora attacked Hiroki. After Aozora forced Hiroki out of hiding, Hiroki summoned Corpse Soil and awakened a horde of Corpse Ninja to attack him.

• Aozora activated Draw Ground as Prison, trapping the forest and surrounding Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki with Shūichi.
• Tsukahara Musashi charged Shūichi, who blocked his strike and used Lightning Fire Golden Body to fight him at high speed.
• Aozora rushed Hiroki and punched him through several trees, but Hiroki escaped into smoke and hid underground.
• Aozora used Earth Rising Spear to force Hiroki out of hiding and impale what appeared to be his body, which then broke apart as a decoy.
• Hiroki appeared on a distant tree, summoned a mound of corpses with a scroll, and awakened Corpse Ninja that charged Aozora.

At Tengoku Gorge, Itachi, Gen'an, and Natsuki defeated and killed the grave-robbing quartet from Aozora's memories. Afterward, Itachi volunteered to impersonate Kazuma and accompany Aozora to the Daimyo's Mansion.

• Gen'an fought Kazuma, Natsuki battled Fuyuan, and Itachi clashed with Fufeng in a three-on-three fight at Tengoku Gorge.
• Itachi discovered that Fufeng's hair was her true body and burned it to ash with Great Fire Annihilation.
• With Itachi's help, Gen'an and Natsuki defeated their opponents, and Gen'an interrogated Kazuma with genjutsu before killing him.
• Itachi burned Kazuma's corpse to ashes, and the group discussed whether Aozora's team would be safe from Hiroki and his Corpse Soil technique.
• Gen'an asked who would impersonate Kazuma at the Daimyo's Mansion, and Itachi volunteered.

Aozora defeated Hiroki’s Corpse Ninja army, learned how its revival techniques worked, and discovered a corpse mountain that could become a Small Pure Land. He weighed the danger of keeping it before sensing someone approaching through the lightning.

• Aozora used Tōyū and Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu to inspect and destroy the weaker Corpse Ninjas, then tested Spirit Transformation and Spirit Summoning against stronger revived fighters.
• Aozora evaded the revived ninjas’ combined attacks, appeared behind Hiroki, and used genjutsu to interrogate him about Corpse Soil and the Earth Style Reincarnation Technique.
• Aozora released the Corpse Ninjas, sending them back into the corpse mountain, and recognized it as an incomplete Small Pure Land that he might develop into a personal underworld.
• Aozora considered the risk of challenging the Six Paths Sage by keeping the Small Pure Land, then sensed lightning flickering to his front left.

Shūichi and Tsukahara Musashi exchanged deadly sword techniques, leaving Shūichi gravely wounded and his blade broken. Aozora healed Shūichi as Tsukahara recovered and warned them that they had missed their chance to kill him.

• Aozora searched Hiroki, sealed Corpse Mountain into a scroll, burned Hiroki's body, and hurried to Shūichi's battle.
• Tsukahara Musashi criticized Shūichi for lacking faith in his sword, and Shūichi answered that he was a ninja rather than a samurai.
• Shūichi unleashed Secret Sword—Lightning Flash Slash, and Tsukahara Musashi countered it with Iaido Slash, breaking Shūichi's blade and inflicting a severe cross-shaped wound.
• Aozora used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Shūichi and heal his chest while rebuking him for clashing head-on.
• Tsukahara Musashi recovered from the lightning paralysis and told Aozora and Shūichi that they had missed their chance to kill him.

Aozora taunted Tsukahara Musashi and unleashed the Immortal Flame Dragon, which Musashi cut apart before it regenerated from the surrounding sea of fire. Musashi then attacked Aozora directly, only to discover he had struck a Fire Clone that exploded.

• Shūichi told Aozora he could handle the rest himself, then moved away to treat his wounds.
• Aozora provoked Tsukahara Musashi and summoned the Immortal Flame Dragon, which pursued Musashi through the air.
• Tsukahara Musashi used Iaido Slash to cut the Flame Dragon in two, but it re-formed from the flames.
• Aozora explained that the Flame Dragon could be destroyed only by extinguishing its sea of fire or eliminating the Spiritual Power within it.
• Tsukahara Musashi rushed Aozora and thrust his sword into his abdomen, but Aozora revealed himself to be a Fire Clone and detonated it.

Aozora defeated Tsukahara Musashi with his fire and sword techniques, then the Sleeping Dragon Team used transformations to conceal their identities and report to the Daimyo. The group reached the Daimyo's Mansion without exposing their cover.

• Tsukahara Musashi escaped Aozora's Solar Flare by sacrificing an arm, but Aozora cornered him with Sword Light Diversion and the Golden Flame Dragon until Golden Droplets appeared on the Heavenly Book.
• Shūichi asked Aozora about the technique and close combat, and Aozora explained that facing a Sword Saint at close range was too dangerous.
• Long Xian and the samurai rushed toward the forest, were scattered by a demon fox's Air Bullet, and later found the disguised team alongside the slain fox and the news that the Temple of Fire's abbot had died.
• Long Xian, Aozora, and Shūichi maintained their disguises as Tsukahara Musashi, Hiroki, and Long Xian, then led the group back to Kyoto City.
• At the Daimyo's Mansion, Aozora questioned Kazuma, ordered him to accompany the group, and sent the others away before Aozora, Itachi, and Long Xian entered to report to the Daimyo in disguise.

Aozora and his allies subdued the Daimyo in the Land of Fire after dismantling his forces and killing the hidden Miko. Aozora removed the Daimyo’s genjutsu-resistant pendant and summoned Shisui, leaving the Daimyo captive and his faction defeated.

• The Daimyo welcomed Tsukahara Musashi and Hiroki back and asked about the Temple of Fire, while Tsukahara Musashi stepped behind Hiroki.
• Hiroki signaled the attack, Kazuma put the guards and samurai to sleep with genjutsu, and Long Xian restrained the Daimyo as Aozora killed the Miko in a secret chamber.
• Aozora tried to trap the Daimyo with Sharingan genjutsu, but a jade pendant destabilized the illusion, so he removed the artifact instead.
• Aozora summoned Taiyi and asked him to bring Shisui, who arrived ready for battle but learned that the enemies had already been dealt with.
• The chapter recounted how Aozora’s intelligence and strength allowed him to defeat the Daimyo’s forces, including Tsukahara Musashi, Hiroki, and Jōjin.

Aozora persuaded Shisui that controlling the Daimyo could serve as the first step toward reforming the flawed One Village, One Country system and pursuing peace in the Shinobi World. Shisui used Kotoamatsukami on the Daimyo, then asked Aozora how to change his thoughts.

• Shisui worried that controlling the Daimyo would expose Konoha to the nobles’ united retaliation, but Aozora argued that the operation could not be discovered.
• Aozora explained that the One Village, One Country system would lead to renewed wars and proposed reforms to prevent the Land of Fire’s people from suffering through revolution.
• Aozora invoked the Uchiha’s descent from the Six Paths Sage, and Shisui agreed to proceed after learning the clan head permitted the plan.
• Shisui awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan and used Demonic Illusion: Kotoamatsukami on the Daimyo while Aozora observed its soul-level effect.
• Shisui entered the Daimyo’s soul and asked Aozora what thoughts he should implant.

Shisui used Kotoamatsukami to convince the Daimyo that he was Uchiha Keiji, a loyal Uchiha agent, and Aozora enlisted him to help the clan unify the Shinobi World. After assigning the takeover of the Daimyo’s forces and Hiroki’s stronghold, Aozora returned to the village with Shisui and Sora.

• Shisui implanted memories that made the Daimyo believe he was Uchiha Keiji, an undercover agent loyal to the Uchiha.
• Aozora introduced Ryūken as Tsukahara Musashi’s replacement and told Keiji to stabilize Kyoto City and cooperate with the clan’s plans.
• Aozora persuaded Keiji to support the Uchiha’s ambition to unify the Shinobi World, invoking the Land of Ancestors and its supposed ancient Uchiha heritage.
• Aozora told Ryūken to take over Tsukahara Musashi’s forces with Shūichi’s help, then ordered Shingo to seize Hiroki’s remaining stronghold.
• Aozora returned to the village with the unconscious Sora, Shisui, and the others.

Aozora reported how he and Shisui had taken control of the Daimyo, and Fugaku agreed to keep the operation secret while absorbing the Daimyo’s forces into the Sleeping Dragon Team. The meeting ended with Shisui taking leave to recover and train, while Aozora gained custody of Sora and was tasked with planning the takeover.

• Aozora told Fugaku and Kyūdai that the Daimyo was under Shisui’s genjutsu, and Fugaku asked how long the control would last.
• Aozora recommended secretly taking over the Daimyo’s armed forces, and Fugaku decided to absorb them into the Sleeping Dragon Team.
• Shisui requested a long leave, and Fugaku approved it and proposed that he later become a supervising Jonin.
• Aozora asked to take Sora after the medical ninja healed him so he could study the Nine-Tails Chakra, and Fugaku agreed.
• Fugaku assigned Aozora to prepare a plan for taking over the Daimyo’s forces.

Aozora reviewed his abilities and decided to seek a place rich in Nature Energy to improve his Sage Jutsu cultivation. Meanwhile, Pain and Obito began preparations to capture the tailed beasts and arranged to send Aozora and Kisame to the Land of Water, where Obito planned to kill Aozora.

• Aozora assessed the Divine Abilities he had learned and decided to focus on increasing the Nature Energy in his Chakra.
• Aozora planned to study the Nine-Tails Chakra first, then find a suitable Sage Jutsu training location with Shisui.
• Pain, Konan, and Obito agreed to begin capturing the tailed beasts, with Obito assisting from the shadows.
• Konan argued that Aozora would oppose the Akatsuki's capture of the Nine-Tails because of his ties to Konoha.
• Obito arranged for Aozora and Kisame to take a mission in the Land of Water so he could isolate and kill Aozora.

In an ANBU prison, Aozora convinced Sora to let him draw out the Nine-Tails Chakra sealed inside him, then absorbed and refined it using his cultivation method. The Heavenly Book absorbed the Chakra before whisker marks could fully grow on Aozora's face.

• Sora woke restrained in an ANBU prison, and Aozora showed him a genjutsu of his Tailed Beast Transformation destroying the Temple of Fire.
• Aozora told Sora the Temple of Fire still existed and promised to remove the monster inside him if he cooperated.
• Aozora released the Five Elements Seal and inhaled the Nine-Tails Chakra emerging from Sora's abdomen.
• Aozora heard chaotic memories and thoughts carried by the Chakra, then circulated it through his meridians with Nine Breaths Qi Assimilation.
• The Chakra turned scarlet and began causing whisker marks to grow on Aozora's cheeks before the Heavenly Book absorbed it all.

Aozora finished treating Sora and advised Tekka on training for Blaze Release before Pain summoned him for a mission with Kisame. After absorbing the Nine-Tails Chakra, Aozora discovered that the Heavenly Book had evolved and revealed the words “Deification,” leaving him wondering what the ability meant.

• Aozora resealed Sora's abdominal seal and told Tekka that Sora could be released once the Nine-Tails Chakra inside him was removed.
• Aozora advised Tekka to gather information about the Two-Tails, the Four-Tails, and mysterious flames to help the Uchiha break through their Blaze Release training bottleneck.
• Pain summoned Aozora and Kisame and assigned them a mission to assassinate a noble of the Land of Water.
• Aozora considered whether the mission might bring him into contact with the Fourth Mizukage and decided to see what the Nine-Tails Chakra had activated before changing his plans.
• The Heavenly Book consumed its Golden Droplets, turned gold, and revealed the two characters meaning “Deification.”
• Aozora wondered whether the Heavenly Book was the Investiture of the Gods and began meditating on what Deification meant.

Aozora learned that he needed to seize the Shinobi World's authority to use Deification, and he decided to seek the Three-Tails and Six-Tails on a mission to the Land of Water. While traveling with Kisame, he described a peaceful future where ninja used their powers to protect people from disasters, leaving Kisame inspired by the idea that he could have a place in that world.

• Aozora realized his Heavenly Book needed the authority of the nine tailed beasts to create divine positions, and he considered capturing the Three-Tails and Six-Tails.
• Aozora packed his ninja tools, informed Shisui, and left Konoha for the Land of Water mission.
• Aozora met Kisame on the eastern coast of the Land of Fire, and Kisame explained that their target was the Daimyo's third son.
• Kisame asked Aozora what kind of world he hoped to create, and Aozora described a unified, peaceful world without large-scale wars or exploitation.
• Aozora explained that ninja could use their abilities to warn people about hurricanes and floods and protect them from disasters, and Kisame began to see a role for himself in that future.