Chapter Summaries

After waking from a three-day sleep and a nightmare, Ye Zi shared an awkward meal with Kotoha, whose cooking turned out to be much too salty. He sent her away after eating everything, unaware that the shadow in his heart had disappeared.

• Ye Zi woke after sleeping for three days, and Kotoha told him it was seven in the morning.
• Kotoha offered to reheat the meal she had made, and Ye Zi got up to brush his teeth before eating.
• Ye Zi tasted Kotoha’s food and realized she had added salt with a cooking spoon, making the meal unbearably salty.
• Ye Zi ate all the food despite its taste, while Kotoha was pleased that he finished it.
• Ye Zi told Kotoha to clean up and leave, then wondered how to satisfy his hunger as the weight in his heart quietly faded.

Ye Zi inspected the children training at the base and considered how to give Uchiha Jin more experience in deadly combat. Nagato then summoned the core members and announced their next targets: the One-Tail and Three-Tails Jinchuriki.

• Ye Zi visited the training ground, where Uchiha Jin instructed the children, and left after telling them he would teach them another time.
• Ye Zi reflected on the children’s training and Orochimaru’s still-imperfect cursed seal and Hashirama Cell experiment.
• Ye Zi planned to find opportunities for Uchiha Jin to fight in bloody battles before the next mission.
• Nagato summoned the core members and named the One-Tail and Three-Tails Jinchuriki as their next targets.

Nagato assigned Akatsuki teams to capture several Jinchuriki, and Ye Zi's team was tasked with capturing the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, the Fourth Mizukage. After White Zetsu revealed that the Mizukage would travel outside Kirigakure with only close guards, Ye Zi and his teammates set out for the Land of Water.

• Nagato assigned Scorpion and Kakuzu to capture the One-Tail Jinchuriki, using Scorpion's pawn to help them infiltrate Sunagakure while Chiyo and Ebizo were away.
• Nagato assigned Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin to capture the Three-Tails Jinchuriki, the Fourth Mizukage, and White Zetsu promised them intelligence about his abilities and route.
• Scorpion asked about capturing the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, and Nagato postponed that mission because Kumogakure protected her closely and the Third Raikage was a major obstacle.
• Nagato ended the Illusionary Body Technique, and Ye Zi told Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to prepare to leave immediately.
• Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin departed for the Land of Water, while Kakuzu and Fish headed for the Land of Wind and Fish took over teaching the children.

Ye Zi and his companions set out through a violent storm to ambush the Mizukage, while Yagura prepared to travel with an elite escort. The chapter ended with Kirigakure unaware that Ye Zi was heading toward them.

• Ye Zi demanded intelligence from White Zetsu, then took Kotoha and Uchiha Jin aboard a wooden ship bound for the Land of Water.
• White Zetsu and Black Zetsu discussed whether Ye Zi could be trusted to find a way to revive Madara.
• Ye Zi drove the ship through the storm, using Wood Clones to row as he hurried toward the Mizukage’s route.
• Yagura questioned Chōjūrō about the large escort assigned for his meeting with the Daimyo and entrusted the village to him before departing.

Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Uchiha Jin ambushed Yagura’s escort in the forest, but Ao detected them and both sides prepared to fight. Elsewhere, Kakuzu and Shakuro crossed a Sunagakure passage after killing its defenders, and continued toward their delayed targets, Chiyo and Ebizo.

• Yagura left Kirigakure with ten Anbu guards, including Mei Terumi, Ao, and Kisame Hoshigaki, while Suikazan Fuguki stayed behind.
• Ye Zi sensed Yagura’s group approaching and told Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to hold off the ten guards while he captured Yagura.
• Ao used his transplanted Byakugan to detect the three ambushers, and the two groups abandoned stealth and faced off in the forest.
• Yagura recognized Ye Zi and questioned him about Suikazan Fuguki’s death and Samehada as the fighters readied their weapons.
• Kakuzu and Shakuro killed more than a dozen defenders at a Sunagakure passage and advanced after waiting for Chiyo and Ebizo to leave.

Ye Zi summoned Manda and led an assault to separate Yagura and the Mist ninja Anbu, then fought Yagura while Kotoha and Uchiha Shin engaged the others. The battle left Yagura flying through the trees and the teams divided, with Kotoha and Shin each facing multiple enemies.

• Ye Zi summoned Manda and ordered him to help Kotoha and Shin separate the Mist ninja Anbu while he targeted Yagura.
• Kisame used the Great Waterfall Technique, but Ye Zi countered with Fire Release and used the steam to rush toward Yagura.
• Ye Zi cut through Kisame's second wave, clashed with Yagura, and blew the surrounding Mist ninja away with Wind Release.
• Yagura released Three-Tails Chakra and blasted Ye Zi backward, but Ye Zi chose to trust Kotoha and Shin and charged back at Yagura.
• Kotoha restrained the Mist ninja with poisonous Wood Release thorns while Mei Terumi countered them with her corrosive technique.
• Uchiha Shin used genjutsu to kill one Mist ninja and confuse Kisame, but Kisame dispelled it and charged him as he faced three opponents.

Ye Zi pursued Yagura away from the battlefield while Kotoha and Uchiha Jin fought to hold off the Mist ninja. Yagura lured Ye Zi across the plains, then suddenly fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at him as he was airborne.

• Kotoha resolved to take down more Mist ninja before the poison in one opponent’s body took effect, while Uchiha Jin focused on stalling Kisame.
• Ye Zi trusted Kotoha and Uchiha Jin to hold their opponents back, kicked Yagura away, and pursued him to capture him alive.
• Yagura entered partial Tailed Beast transformation, then ran from Ye Zi to draw their fight away from the other battles and avoid harming his subordinates with a Tailed Beast Bomb.
• After leading Ye Zi several kilometers to the plains, Yagura abruptly turned and fired a Tailed Beast Bomb at him as he leapt from a tree.

Ye Zi battled Yagura, who escalated from partial Tailed Beast transformation to fully becoming Isobu after Ye Zi survived his attacks and trapped him with Wood Release. As Ye Zi prepared to use a more dangerous technique, an Anbu observer recorded the battle and sent the intelligence away by eagle.

• Yagura fired a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Ye Zi survived inside a battered wooden samurai figure created with Wood Release.
• Ye Zi dodged Yagura's second Tailed Beast Bomb, then used a lightning dragon and rooted wooden walls to attack and restrain him.
• Yagura broke out of the wooden spiral tower by fully transforming into Isobu, while Ye Zi prepared to fight the Three-Tails despite his dwindling Chakra.
• An Anbu member with Byakugan watched the battle, wrote down the intelligence, and sent it away on a summoned white eagle.

Kotoha used poisonous Wood Release thorns to hold off Mei Terumi, Azure, and the Mist ninja while Ye Zi faced the Mizukage. After her final attack killed two more Mist ninja and trapped the others, Kotoha was left nearly out of Chakra, smiling as Mei Terumi and Azure prepared to finish her.

• Kotoha's poisonous thorns killed two Mist ninja, and Azure warned Mei Terumi and the others that even a small scratch was deadly.
• After seeing the Mizukage transform completely into Isobu, Azure sent two Mist ninja to support her while Mei Terumi and Azure covered their escape.
• Kotoha unleashed Strangling Vines, but Mei Terumi and Azure escaped while the two Mist ninja were trapped, poisoned, and strangled.
• Exhausted and nearly out of Chakra, Kotoha faced Mei Terumi and Azure as they decided to kill her before supporting the Mizukage.
• Kotoha smiled, thinking of Ye Zi and accepting that she could only delay the Mist ninja, while Mei Terumi and Azure grew grave.

Ye Zi used Wood Release to bind Isobu and capture the unconscious Yagura. He hurried toward Kotoha and Jin, unaware that a rat was watching from afar.

• Manda returned to the battlefield, attacked Kisame, and bit him, but Kisame turned out to be a water clone and stabbed Manda before being flung away.
• Yagura fired a powerful tailed-beast cannon at Ye Zi, who reappeared and dodged a barrage of water bullets while closing in.
• Ye Zi used Wood Release: Wood Forest to bind Isobu, then tightened the roots with Wood Release: Deep Forest Burial until Yagura lost consciousness.
• Ye Zi carried Yagura toward Kotoha and Jin, not noticing a rat watching him from far away.

Kotoha risked her life to hold off Mei Terumi and Ao, even after Mei’s acid mist badly corroded her. Ye Zi arrived carrying the Water Shadow, stopped Mei’s Water Dragon Bullet, and launched a wooden attack at the Mist ninja.

• Manda kept Kisame occupied while Uchiha Jin gained the advantage against two Mist ninja, leaving Kotoha to face Mei Terumi and Ao.
• Kotoha charged through Mei’s acid mist and threw eight poisoned senbon, but Ao kicked Mei aside and helped her evade them.
• Despite her severe burns and depleted Chakra, Kotoha struggled to her feet and prepared to keep fighting as Mei formed a Water Dragon Bullet.
• Ye Zi arrived carrying Yagura over her shoulder and stopped the water dragon with a wooden hand.
• Ye Zi expanded the wooden hand and sent its growing spikes toward Mei Terumi and Ao.

Ye Zi passed along Bei Xingye’s Tanabata invitation to Kushina, who declined but invited both boys to dinner instead. The meal ended in a chase after Ye Zi spat out Kushina’s excessively salty cooking, while Bei Xingye watched them together beneath the moon.

• Bei Xingye asked Ye Zi to invite Kushina out for Tanabata and promised him barbecue in return.
• Kushina turned down Bei Xingye’s invitation but asked Ye Zi to bring Bei Xingye to her house for dinner the next evening.
• Kushina served four dishes and soup, but Ye Zi spat out the unbearably salty meat and splattered it onto her nose.
• Kushina chased Ye Zi around the courtyard with a kitchen knife while Bei Xingye watched with envy and hoped they could spend Tanabata together again next year.

Ye Zi escaped the Mist pursuers with the injured Kotoha and his allies after capturing Yagura, then sent Yagura away with a White Zetsu clone. The group continued toward the Land of Water’s border, with Kotoha refusing to slow their retreat despite her burns.

• Ye Zi drove Mei Terumi and Ao back with Wood Release and fled with Kotoha and Yagura toward Manda.
• Ye Zi reached the battlefield, where Uchiha Jin had defeated the last Mist ninja and Manda was fighting Kisame.
• Ye Zi ordered Shin to stop the bleeding from his arm and cauterized the wound with his flaming hand.
• Ye Zi told Manda to cover their retreat, then sent Yagura to the original body through a White Zetsu clone.
• Kotoha refused herbs to avoid delaying the escape, so Ye Zi picked her up and continued toward the border with Shin.

Ye Zi fled across the Land of Water with the injured Kotoha and Shin while Ao, Mei Terumi, and Kisame pursued them. As the chase continued over the sea, Kushina and Team 7 arrived on a nearby island to search for Ye Zi.

• A Hyuga Root member sent Danzo intelligence about Ye Zi and secretly continued tracking the group with his Byakugan.
• Manda vanished after holding off Ao, Mei Terumi, and Kisame, and the three Mist ninja resumed pursuing Ye Zi.
• When Kotoha offered to stay behind, Ye Zi angrily told her to shut up, and she stopped arguing.
• Ye Zi, Kotoha, and Shin reached the beach and began crossing the sea, with the Mist ninja close behind.
• Kushina led Kakashi, Obito, and Rin onto an island in the Land of Water and began searching for Ye Zi.

Ye Zi, Shin, and the unconscious Kotoha raced across the sea while Mei Terumi’s team pursued them, and Ye Zi weighed whether Shin should stay behind to buy time. They landed on an island only to find Kushina and Team 7 blocking their way, leaving them surrounded.

• Kotoha lost consciousness from her injuries and exhaustion as Mei Terumi and the other two pursuers closed in on the group.
• Shin offered to stay behind so Ye Zi could escape with Kotoha, and Ye Zi agreed as they reached an island.
• Ye Zi, Shin, and Kotoha stopped on the island, where Mei Terumi and her companions halted their pursuit.
• Four figures emerged from the forest: Kushina and Team 7, who had tracked Ye Zi’s Chakra signature.
• Kushina addressed Ye Zi, and Shin realized that their group was surrounded and that Kotoha remained in danger.

Cornered between the Mist ninja and Kushina’s Konoha team, Ye Zi refused to surrender and used Shin’s brief visual disruption to seize Rin. He left Kushina and the others facing a hostage as he threatened to kill her.

• Ye Zi weighed escaping alone against protecting Kotoha and Shin, then handed the unconscious Kotoha to Shin.
• Ao demanded to know where Ye Zi had hidden the Mizukage, while Kushina insisted she would take Ye Zi back to Konoha.
• Kakashi urged Kushina to cooperate with the Mist ninja and execute Ye Zi, but Kushina refused.
• Ao offered to let Konoha take Ye Zi after the Mist ninja learned the Mizukage’s whereabouts.
• Shin briefly disrupted the Konoha team’s vision with his Sharingan, allowing Ye Zi to use the Body Flicker Technique and take Rin hostage.
• Ye Zi tightened his hand around Rin’s neck and threatened to snap it.

Ye Zi held Rin hostage to control Kushina, Kakashi, and Obito while Shin carried the unconscious Kotoha to her. After Obito stopped Ao from seizing Shin, the Konoha group stood against the Mist ninja, and Kushina faced Ye Zi in sorrow.

• Ye Zi tightened her hold on Rin, and Kakashi restrained Obito before he could charge at her.
• Ye Zi warned the group that she could kill Rin and ordered Shin to bring Kotoha to her.
• Ao attacked Shin, but Obito awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and kicked Ao away.
• Kakashi joined Obito in blocking the Mist ninja, while Ye Zi loosened her grip enough for Rin to speak.
• Shin carried the unconscious Kotoha safely to Ye Zi, and Kushina lowered her head in sorrow before facing her again.

Kushina confessed her feelings to Ye Zi, then accepted his demand to treat Kotoha in exchange for sparing her friends. She resolved to protect Obito and Kakashi, even as she and Ye Zi accepted that they were now enemies.

• Kushina used her golden chains to bind Ao, Kisame, and Mei Terumi as they attacked Obito and Kakashi.
• Kushina recalled how she had grown close to Ye Zi and confessed that she liked him, but declared that she no longer would because he was her enemy.
• Ye Zi demanded that Kushina treat Kotoha and promised to spare her people.
• Kushina agreed to treat Kotoha and assured Obito and Kakashi that she would protect them.

Kushina treated the badly injured Kotoha while keeping the Mist ninja restrained and trusting Ye Zi to honor their agreement and release Rin. As Kotoha recovered, Ye Zi and Kushina remained on opposing paths, with their unresolved feelings left buried.

• Ye Zi ordered Shin to watch Obito and Kakashi while Kushina approached Kotoha to treat her in exchange for Rin's release.
• Jin pressed Feng against Kushina's neck as she began healing Kotoha, and Kushina stopped Obito and Kakashi from intervening.
• Kushina treated Kotoha's injuries with medical ninjutsu while maintaining her golden chains, and Rin watched in guilt and worry.
• Kotoha's condition improved, and Ye Zi's tense expression eased when he sensed her breathing had steadied.
• Kushina continued treating Kotoha as exhaustion set in, while Ye Zi reflected on how their choices had led them onto separate paths.

After Kushina healed Kotoha, Ye Zi kept Rin hostage and negotiated ten minutes for himself and his companions to retreat. Kushina agreed to remain behind with Team 7, trusting Ye Zi to keep his word as he left a Shadow Clone to watch them.

• Kushina finished treating Kotoha and told Ye Zi to release Rin, but Ye Zi refused to let her go immediately.
• Kotoha woke and joined Ye Zi, while Shin pointed out that their side had Kushina and Rin restrained; Obito vowed to kill anyone who harmed them.
• Ye Zi ordered Shin to lower his weapon and demanded that Kushina and Team 7 stay in place for ten minutes while he retreated with Rin.
• Kushina accepted Ye Zi's terms despite Kakashi's objection, and Ye Zi left a Shadow Clone behind as he, Kotoha, and Shin carried Rin into the forest.
• Kakashi called Kushina's decision careless, but she said Ye Zi would keep his word; Obito said he trusted Kushina even though he did not trust Ye Zi.