Chapter Summaries

Kakashi began training obsessively after Ye Zi defeated him, and Sakumo promised to teach him personally. Three days later, Nagato summoned the ring-wearing core members through the Illusionary Body Technique, leaving them gathered and waiting for him to speak.

• Kakashi trained through the night, and Sakumo caught a boulder before it could crush his exhausted son.
• Kakashi told Sakumo how Ye Zi had defeated him, and Sakumo admitted Ye Zi was powerful.
• Sakumo promised to begin teaching Kakashi the next day and said his son's growth mattered more than missions.
• Might Guy continued training desperately in the Death Forest, driven to become stronger despite his limited talent.
• Three days later, Nagato summoned the core members using the Illusionary Body Technique, and they waited for him to speak.

Nagato summoned Akatsuki's members, questioned Ye Zi about Orochimaru, and reorganized the group into pairs. Ye Zi denied knowing Orochimaru's whereabouts, and the new teams remained provisional as the meeting ended.

• Nagato asked Ye Zi where Orochimaru had gone, and Ye Zi denied knowing his whereabouts.
• Nagato ordered White Zetsu to search for Orochimaru and announced that Akatsuki's members would be divided into teams of two.
• Kakuzu objected to having a teammate, but he accepted Nagato's decision.
• Nagato assigned the teams, pairing White Zetsu with Ye Zi, but Scorpion and Jūzō Biwa objected and requested different partners.
• Nagato explained that the team assignments were provisional and ended the meeting; Ye Zi woke in the Land of Earth and noted that Akatsuki was still one member short.

Ye Zi considered how to fill Akatsuki’s final core position and decided Kotoha might become a suitable candidate if Hashirama Cells strengthened her. After accidentally walking in while she was changing, he proposed injecting the cells and asked whether she was willing to accept the risk.

• Ye Zi weighed possible candidates for Akatsuki’s final core position and ruled out Kotoha because her abilities were not yet suited to capturing tailed beasts.
• Ye Zi decided that Orochimaru and Nanako’s Hashirama Cell research might strengthen Kotoha and give her Wood Release.
• Ye Zi entered Kotoha’s room without knocking and found her partly undressed while she was changing her bandages.
• Ye Zi turned away and apologized, and Kotoha dressed before asking what he wanted to discuss.
• Ye Zi offered to have Hashirama Cells injected into Kotoha to help her master Wood Release, warned that the procedure carried risks, and asked whether she was willing.

Ye Zi brought Kotoha to Orochimaru and Nanako so she could undergo an experiment to master Wood Release, despite its uncertain success and serious risks. As they prepared to improve the procedure using Orochimaru’s Cursed Seal, Orochimaru offered a potential Wood Release user: the boy Ye Zi had once tried to take from Root.

• Kotoha agreed to risk the experiment because Ye Zi needed her help, and Ye Zi brought her to Orochimaru and Nanako.
• Ye Zi asked Orochimaru and Nanako to help Kotoha master Wood Release, and Nanako warned that the procedure remained dangerous and unreliable.
• Orochimaru estimated that preparation would take at least half a year, and Kotoha agreed to wait while Nanako worked to raise the success rate.
• Orochimaru revealed that combining the Cursed Seal with Hashirama Cells might improve the experiment’s success rate, though he withheld details from Nanako.
• Orochimaru told Ye Zi that he knew a suitable Wood Release user—the boy Ye Zi had once wanted to take from Root.

Orochimaru explained that Ye Zi’s cells could enhance Hashirama Cells in Shin, potentially creating a new First Hokage, and demonstrated Shin’s unusual compatibility with transplanted tissue. Shin awakened in rage and broke free of his restraints, but Ye Zi bound him with wood-style.

• Orochimaru told Ye Zi that his cells had helped Nanako regrow her severed arms and could strengthen Hashirama Cells in a compatible host.
• Orochimaru claimed that Shin could host both Ye Zi’s and Hashirama’s cells, making him a candidate to become a new First Hokage.
• Orochimaru revealed that he had given Danzo Shin’s arm, which had five implanted Sharingan, and warned Ye Zi that Danzo might add more.
• Orochimaru injected Shin and explained that a transplanted Sharingan had evolved from one tomoe to three without external stimulation.
• Shin woke, recognized Orochimaru, transformed his eyes into three-tomoe Sharingan, and snapped his restraints.
• Ye Zi used wood-style to bind Shin to the examination table again.

Ye Zi subdued Shin by demonstrating his overwhelming power and offered to teach him to become strong. Shin agreed to follow Ye Zi, bringing his recruitment plans closer to completion.

• Orochimaru explained that Shin's implanted Sharingan could function normally, and Ye Zi asked whether the same might be possible with the Rinnegan.
• Ye Zi challenged Shin's resentment toward Orochimaru, pointing out that Shin had volunteered to become a test subject and had gained extraordinary power.
• Shin tried to escape, but Ye Zi sealed the exit, broke through Shin's genjutsu, and bound him with Wood Release that drained his Chakra.
• Ye Zi asked what Shin wanted, and Shin admitted he wanted to become as strong as Ye Zi.
• Ye Zi invited Shin to follow him, and Shin agreed without hesitation.
• Ye Zi considered how to develop Shin's abilities and thought Kotoha could also benefit from learning Wood Release.

Years after the war, the villages struggled to recover while Sunagakure and Iwagakure continued to focus on the unidentified Akatsuki member Ye Zi. In Konoha, Minato practiced the Rasengan until Jiraiya arrived to question him about agreeing to Kushina’s request.

• Sunagakure recovered from its wartime losses but lacked the resources to pursue the person who had freed Shukaku, whom it suspected was Ye Zi.
• Ōnoki rejected his advisers’ demands to stop spending manpower gathering intelligence on Ye Zi and insisted on keeping his order in place.
• The Third Raikage and A watched Killer B at Cloud-Thunder Gorge and agreed that keeping him there was a precaution against danger.
• Yagura listened as Kirigakure’s leaders debated how to secure funding and rebuild the village’s strength.
• Minato practiced the Rasengan in the Hokage’s office, and Jiraiya entered to ask whether he had agreed to Kushina’s request.

Minato agreed to Kushina’s departure to help Tsunade hunt Akatsuki, while Jiraiya prepared to continue investigating Orochimaru and asked Minato to wait for his word about Ye Zi. Elsewhere, Kushina led Team 7 on a mission, and Ye Zi set out with Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to target the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Jiraiya warned Minato about the danger of Akatsuki and Kushina leaving the village, but Minato defended her choice and praised Kakashi’s strength.
• Jiraiya gave Minato a scroll of their progress and said he would keep searching for information about Orochimaru and watching over Tsunade.
• Minato told Jiraiya he had made his decision about Ye Zi and asked him to wait for his word.
• Kushina, Kakashi, Rin, and Obito cooked a deer during their mission, bickering over the fire and who would get to eat first.
• Ye Zi left a cave with Kotoha and Uchiha Jin and announced that their target was the Four-Tails Jinchuriki.

After years of preparation, Nagato began Akatsuki’s Tailed Beast collection plan, choosing the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, Roshi, as its first target. Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin found Roshi soaking in a remote hot spring and prepared to attack.

• Nagato began the Tailed Beast collection plan and selected the missing-nin Roshi as Akatsuki’s first target.
• Ye Zi set out with Kotoha and Uchiha Jin for the Land of Hot Water, planning to draw Roshi’s attention while Jin used Water Release and Kotoha prepared poison.
• Ye Zi led the group into remote mountain hot springs where Roshi was known to wander.
• After resting overnight, Ye Zi and the others found Roshi bathing in a valley, unaware of their presence.
• Ye Zi ordered Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to follow the battle plan.

Ye Zi, Uchiha Jin, and Kotoha launched an ambush to capture Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, in an unnamed valley. Ye Zi wounded Roshi but failed to restrain him, and the chapter ended with Ye Zi swept away by Jin’s water technique.

• Ye Zi attacked Roshi in a hot spring, but Roshi’s Lava Armor blocked Blood and his magma counterattack burned Ye Zi’s clothes and face.
• Ye Zi used Wood Release to bind Roshi and struck him with Lightning Release and Blood, piercing his chest before Roshi completed the Scorching Flow Technique.
• Uchiha Jin joined the fight with the Great Waterfall Technique as Ye Zi used wooden logs to cross the lava and close in on Roshi.
• Roshi activated his first-stage tailed-beast transformation, combining his red Chakra cloak with his Lava Armor.
• Ye Zi sent his spirit body into the steam to restrain Roshi but missed and was swept away by the rushing water.

Ye Zi and his allies fought Roshi, the Four-Tails Jinchuriki, as they tried to capture him alive. After Roshi entered the Tailed Beast’s second stage, Jin and Kotoha retreated while Ye Zi prepared to face him alone.

• Roshi pursued Uchiha Jin through the steam, but Kotoha pulled Jin out of danger with her Wood Release.
• Ye Zi ambushed Roshi and severed his right arm with Blood, but Roshi blasted Ye Zi away with his Chakra tail.
• Roshi realized his opponents meant to capture him and, urged by the Four-Tails, entered the Tailed Beast’s second stage.
• Chouxing urged Ye Zi to devour Roshi, but Ye Zi refused because the Tailed Beasts were part of his plan and he wanted to restrict Chouxing’s growth.
• Ye Zi sent Jin and Kotoha farther away, directing Jin to support him with Water Release while Kotoha covered him.
• Roshi’s second-stage transformation intensified the heat around him, but Ye Zi remained confident that Wood Release could suppress his Tailed Beast Chakra.

Ye Zi used Lightning Prison, Blood, and Wood Release to subdue Roshi and capture the Four-Tails. As rain began to fall, Ye Zi reflected that he had finally taken his first step.

• Roshi charged Ye Zi in his second-stage Tailed Beast transformation, but Ye Zi used Lightning Prison to ensnare him.
• Ye Zi hurled Blood through Roshi’s chest, pinning him to a rock wall and briefly paralyzing him.
• Ye Zi bound Roshi with Wood Release: Myriad Phenomena, and the growing wood began absorbing Roshi’s Chakra.
• Kotoha and Uchiha Jin watched Ye Zi capture Roshi, while Kotoha noticed the burn on his cheek.
• Rain began falling, and Ye Zi silently regarded it as he acknowledged taking his first step.

Ye Zi and his companions brought the captured Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi to Akatsuki’s hideout, where the members began extracting the tailed beast’s Chakra. After the three-day sealing, the statue opened its first eye, and Ye Zi turned his thoughts to the next target.

• Ye Zi captured the unconscious Roshi, and Kotoha treated his wounds and drugged him before the trio erased traces of their fight.
• Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin carried Roshi to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and summoned Nagato and Akatsuki’s core members.
• Nagato ordered the members into position, and they began the Nine Phantom Dragon Sealing to extract the Four-Tails’ Chakra from Roshi.
• After three days, the statue opened one eye, Roshi died, and Nagato declared the sealing complete.
• Ye Zi watched the opened eye and thought that the first tailed beast had been dealt with.

Ye Zi abandoned Ku as a trusted summoned beast and urged Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to grow stronger by handling missions themselves. In Amegakure, Konan questioned whether Ye Zi could be trusted, and Nagato admitted he had never trusted him either.

• Ye Zi decided Ku could no longer be relied on and considered finding a replacement summoned beast, possibly by signing a contract with Manda.
• Ye Zi told Kotoha and Uchiha Jin that they were too weak and needed to grow stronger quickly; both resolved to keep up with him.
• Ye Zi ordered Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to complete future missions without his help so Jin could gain combat experience and Kotoha could improve her offensive ability.
• Nagato watched Amegakure recover and told Konan that extracting the Four-Tails Jinchuriki was the first step toward their goal.
• Konan admitted she still found Ye Zi difficult to trust, and Nagato said he had never trusted him and would remove anyone who obstructed his plan.

Ye Zi returned to the base with Kotoha and Uchiha Jin, checked on Nanako’s completed medicine, and then went to find Orochimaru. He found Orochimaru preparing a mysterious jutsu ritual around an unconscious Stone ninja.

• Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin returned to the base, where the gathered orphans greeted Ye Zi with admiration and respect.
• Ye Zi sent Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to rest before visiting Nanako in the main laboratory.
• Nanako told Ye Zi that the medicine now took effect in one point five seconds and lasted between six minutes and thirty seconds and seven minutes.
• Ye Zi said the children could choose whether to use the fatal medicine if battle required it, then left Nanako to return to her work.
• Ye Zi entered Orochimaru’s private laboratory and found an unconscious Stone ninja lying in the center of a black jutsu array.

Orochimaru demonstrated the Impure World Reincarnation to Ye Zi, using a Stone ninja as a sacrifice to resurrect Dan Katō. Dan Katō awakened and recognized Ye Zi, who had killed him, leaving the two facing the unresolved question of Dan Katō’s feelings.

• Ye Zi asked Orochimaru about the forbidden jutsu, and Orochimaru explained that it could summon the dead in physical form while retaining their former abilities.
• Orochimaru prepared a Stone ninja as a sacrifice and used decaying flesh belonging to the person he wanted to resurrect.
• Orochimaru performed the Impure World Reincarnation, transforming the sacrifice into Dan Katō’s cracked, reanimated body.
• Dan Katō awakened, recognized Ye Zi, and recalled that Ye Zi had killed him.
• Ye Zi asked Dan Katō whether he hated him, while Orochimaru watched with interest.

Ye Zi and Orochimaru tested the Impure World Reincarnation on Dan Katō, who objected when Orochimaru described using the dead to attack Konoha. Ye Zi asked Orochimaru to teach him the technique, and Orochimaru then asked why Ye Zi had come to find him.

• Dan Katō told Ye Zi that Konoha had wronged him, and Orochimaru confirmed that he had defected from the village.
• Orochimaru explained that the Impure World Reincarnation could be used to make Konoha’s dead fight against the village, enraging Dan Katō.
• Orochimaru suppressed Dan Katō with a talisman-covered Kunai and stored him in a coffin within the summoning space.
• Orochimaru said Dan Katō could counter Tsunade, and Ye Zi asked to learn the technique.
• Ye Zi considered using the Impure World Reincarnation on Madara Uchiha, and Orochimaru asked why he had come looking for him.

Ye Zi signed the Ryūchi Cave summoning contract with Orochimaru and went to a secluded ravine to summon Manda. He bound Manda with Wood Release and began forcing the rebellious snake to accept his terms, ending by shocking him with lightning.

• Ye Zi told Orochimaru that his former summoning beast could no longer be used and signed the Ryūchi Cave contract.
• Orochimaru warned Ye Zi that Manda demanded a hundred living sacrifices for his help, but Ye Zi said he would make Manda obey.
• Ye Zi left the base and chose a deep ravine where Manda’s enormous body could remain hidden.
• Ye Zi summoned Manda and immediately bound him with Wood Release before he could demand sacrifices.
• Manda recognized Ye Zi and resisted his demands, so Ye Zi sent powerful lightning through Manda’s body.

Ye Zi forced Manda to submit, then traveled to Shi’s desolate world and confronted him about returning to his original world. Shi insisted Ye Zi would never make it back, but Ye Zi remained resolute.

• Ye Zi used Wood Release and Lightning Release to overpower Manda and demand his submission.
• Manda surrendered, and Ye Zi released his bindings and sent him back to Ryūchi Cave.
• Ye Zi used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to travel to the world where Shi resided.
• Ye Zi told Shi he had signed a summoning contract with Orochimaru’s Manda, and Shi suspected he meant to stop him from returning to Earth.
• Shi mocked Ye Zi’s goal and claimed no one in this world could help him return, but Ye Zi declared that he would go back regardless.

Ye Zi returned to the base after confronting Kotoha about their Soul Contract and collapsed from exhaustion. After three days of sleep, he woke in terror from a nightmare and learned from Kotoha how long he had been asleep.

• Ye Zi refused to give up on returning to the ninja world, while Kotoha warned him not to die and refused to explain how to end their Soul Contract.
• Ye Zi returned to the original world, leaving Kotoha furious and lamenting her lost strength.
• Ye Zi reached the base, told Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to rest, then went to bed, exhausted from days without proper sleep.
• Ye Zi dreamed of falling into darkness and entering a room with a veiled photograph; when the photograph was revealed, his body shattered.
• Ye Zi woke in a panic, and Kotoha told him he had slept for three days.