Chapter Summaries

After reviving Kotoha with Impure World Reincarnation, Ye Zi prepared to move the base and told Orochimaru that he needed his power and would give him everything. Kotoha accepted that she could remain only by Ye Zi’s side, while Ye Zi learned that White Zetsu had collected nineteen pairs of Sharingan.

• Ye Zi brought Kotoha out of the room, and Orochimaru urged him to begin transferring the base.
• Ye Zi assigned Uchiha Jin and Kotoha to notify the children and prepare for the transfer.
• Ye Zi told Orochimaru that he could not accomplish his plans without him and promised to give him everything.
• Uchiha Jin told Kotoha that Ye Zi had attacked Konoha for her, and Kotoha said she was satisfied to stay beside Ye Zi despite knowing they could never be together.
• White Zetsu reported collecting nineteen pairs of Sharingan, including eleven pairs with three tomoe and eight with two tomoe, as he accompanied Ye Zi toward Nanako’s laboratory.

Ye Zi and Nanako prepared to relocate the base while discussing the twenty-one pairs of Sharingan he had gathered. Ye Zi revealed that the eyes were for the children and ordered Nanako to make Hashirama Cell implants as safe as possible within a year.

• White Zetsu stored nineteen pairs of Sharingan in glass bottles, and Ye Zi added the two pairs he had obtained from Danzo, bringing the total to twenty-one pairs.
• Ye Zi sent White Zetsu outside to guard the base while he checked that Nanako had finished preparing for the move.
• Nanako stopped Ye Zi from handling her carefully sorted documents, then packed them herself as Ye Zi waited.
• Nanako proposed testing a Sharingan transplant in a clone body after the relocation, but Ye Zi told her the Sharingan were intended for the children.
• Ye Zi ordered Nanako to reduce the risks of Hashirama Cell implants within a year so every child in the base could receive them.

Ye Zi ordered the children at his base to undergo Hashirama Cell implantation in a year, accepting the likely deaths because he believed the survivors would be stronger and safer in battle. He moved his group toward the Land of Waterfalls to establish a new base as news of his devastating attack on Konoha spread across the shinobi world.

• Nanako warned Ye Zi that Hashirama Cell implantation would remain extremely dangerous, but he insisted the children would undergo it in a year and she agreed to oversee the procedure.
• Ye Zi decided that children who survived the implantation would receive Sharingan transplants, and he kept the plan from them until the time came.
• Ye Zi had Fish help Nanako prepare the laboratory, then led the group to relocate after erasing their underground base with the Inorganic Reincarnation Technique.
• Ye Zi chose the ruins of Takigakure in the Land of Waterfalls as the site for his new base and sent White Zetsu's Wood Clones ahead as scouts.
• News spread that Ye Zi had inflicted heavy losses on Konoha and escaped unharmed, leaving Konoha in sorrow while other villages quietly rejoiced.

Konoha mourned its dead and began recovering from Ye Zi’s attack as Minato and the elders planned to merge Root into the Anbu. The chapter ended with Minato preparing to discuss Kakashi’s assignment and Uchiha Itachi’s application to join the Anbu.

• Nearly a thousand ninja were buried after Konoha’s attack, and Uchiha Itachi resolved to become stronger and join the Anbu.
• Konoha’s leaders abandoned plans to rebuild the destroyed eastern district and decided to turn its crater into an artificial lake.
• Minato, Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Koharu, and Homura debated Root’s future after Danzo’s death.
• Minato proposed bringing Root members loyal to Konoha into the open and merging the rest with the Anbu, and the others agreed.
• After Koharu and Homura left, Minato set aside discussions about Kakashi’s assignment and Uchiha Itachi’s Anbu application.

Minato and Hiruzen planned Anbu’s recruitment as Anbu and Root merged, approving Shisui as a captain and Itachi as a new member. After joining Shisui’s squad, Itachi studied Ye Zi’s records and declared his intention to surpass him.

• Minato and Hiruzen discussed recruiting Kakashi, Shisui, Itachi, and other young talents to help integrate Anbu and Root, and approved Shisui as a captain and Itachi’s application.
• Itachi told Fugaku he hoped to become a pillar of the village, then left home to train with Shisui after turning down Sasuke’s request to practice shuriken.
• Shisui defeated Itachi repeatedly in training, corrected his mistakes, and welcomed him into Anbu the following day.
• Itachi joined Shisui’s Eighth Squad at age ten and devoted himself to Anbu training despite the other members’ doubts.
• Itachi read Ye Zi’s mission records, was astonished by his S-rank mission count and 99.5 percent completion rate, and vowed to surpass him.

Ye Zi destroyed Takigakure and established a new base for his group in the Land of Waterfalls. After resting, he woke to find Kotoha waiting with a hot meal, and their familiar routine left him unable to ask her to eat with him.

• Ye Zi led his group to the Land of Waterfalls and attacked Takigakure, using Sage Mode and Yin Lightning Chakra Mode to wipe out the village.
• Ye Zi cleared the ruins and corpses, then used the Inorganic Reincarnation Technique and Wood Release to build a new base.
• Nanako, Kimimaro, and Kotoha competed for rooms while the children began their own room-grabbing contest; Uchiha Jin let them treat it as training.
• Orochimaru and Nanako set up the laboratory and began separate research into cursed seals and Senjutsu, and the risks of implanting Hashirama Cells.
• Ye Zi woke to a hot meal Kotoha had prepared, but he could not bring himself to ask her to eat with him.

Ye Zi returned to the base, checked on its residents and research, and told Nanako that Danzo was dead. He then shut himself away to organize his new abilities and study the Sealing Jutsu scrolls from the Land of Whirlpools.

• Ye Zi repaired the base and made wooden furniture and sculptures with Wood Release before checking the children training, including Kimimaro sparring with Uchiha Jin.
• Ye Zi visited Orochimaru, who explained that fusing curse marks with Senjutsu Chakra might create an incomplete Sage Mode without making users lose their reason.
• Ye Zi visited Nanako, told her Danzo was dead, and listened as she reflected on her uncle and the knowledge he had forced her to learn.
• Ye Zi asked Nanako what he could give her, but she said her devotion was not a transaction and asked him not to feel burdened by it.
• Ye Zi locked himself in his room to organize the abilities he gained from attacking Konoha and study the Sealing Jutsu scrolls from the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools.

Ye Zi studied Sealing Jutsu and considered using the Contract Seal to dissolve his bond with Fish. He planned to seal her inside himself as a Jinchuriki and draw on her Chakra, but first needed to learn more about the process with Orochimaru’s help.

• Ye Zi read scrolls on Sealing Jutsu and became interested in the Contract Seal’s ability to sever a summoning contract.
• Ye Zi considered using the Contract Seal to remove his bond with Fish, whose survival remained tied to his own.
• Ye Zi feared Fish might grow powerful and threaten the ninja world if freed, so he devised a plan to seal her inside himself as a Jinchuriki.
• Ye Zi studied Sealing Jutsu and considered combining it with Thunder Prison to make a seal activate when an enemy broke a Lightning Clone.
• Ye Zi decided he needed Orochimaru’s help to learn about Jinchuriki before attempting to use the Contract Seal on Fish.

Ye Zi left for the Land of Rain with a plan to persuade Nagato to resume collecting the tailed beasts within a year, then exploit Nagato’s attack on Konoha to seize the Rinnegan. Meanwhile, Iwagakure’s leaders confronted Ōnoki over his pursuit of Ye Zi, and Ōnoki finally recognized that he could not defy them.

• Ye Zi set aside sealing the Devourer and traveled alone to the Land of Rain to convince Nagato to resume the tailed beast plan.
• Ye Zi planned to capture the Two-Tails, Six-Tails, and Eight-Tails himself, then use Nagato’s attempt to capture the Nine-Tails as an opportunity to take the Rinnegan.
• Iwagakure’s higher-ups demanded that Ōnoki stop targeting Ye Zi after Ye Zi devastated Konoha and escaped unharmed.
• Ōnoki angrily rejected the higher-ups’ warning, smashed his desk, and insisted he could kill Ye Zi if he attacked Iwagakure.
• The higher-ups admitted they feared Ye Zi, and Ōnoki realized he could not overcome their united opposition.

After Ye Zi escaped Konoha, shinobi across the villages compared his Lightning Release with the Third Raikage’s, who dismissed him as an unworthy rival. The Third Raikage and Dodai discussed how Konoha’s losses could create an opening for Kumogakure, while expecting Konoha to avoid a major move against the Land of Rain.

• Ye Zi’s fame spread after his attack on Konoha, and shinobi began comparing his strength with the Third Raikage’s.
• Cloud ninja argued that the Third Raikage’s Lightning Release, offense, and defense surpassed Ye Zi’s.
• Dodai asked the Third Raikage whether Kumogakure should suppress the comparisons, but the Third Raikage dismissed the topic.
• The Third Raikage said Kumogakure could exploit any major Konoha move against the Land of Rain, despite the ceasefire treaty.
• Dodai and the Third Raikage regretted missing the chance to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and imagined using it alongside the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails to attack Konoha.

After Ye Zi returned to Amegakure, Konan urged Nagato to kill him, but Nagato kept him alive until the tailed-beast collection plan was complete. Ye Zi proposed restarting the plan, and Nagato demanded a reason.

• The great villages weighed their positions on Amegakure, while the Sand ninja and Mist ninja waited for Konoha to take the lead against it.
• Ye Zi arrived at Amegakure, where Nagato was waiting in the hall.
• Konan urged Nagato to eliminate Ye Zi, but Nagato said Ye Zi was still useful for collecting the tailed beasts and could be killed afterward.
• Ye Zi told Nagato that the tailed-beast collection plan could be restarted.
• Nagato coldly asked Ye Zi to give him a reason.

Ye Zi persuaded Nagato to restart Akatsuki’s tailed-beast plan, proposing that he capture the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails in Kumogakure within a year while the others target the Six-Tails. Nagato agreed, viewing Ye Zi’s mission as a way to weaken Kumogakure and help complete the plan.

• Ye Zi told Nagato he would handle the Two-Tails, Six-Tails, and Eight-Tails, but fell silent when Nagato asked whether he could capture all three within a week.
• Ye Zi proposed leaving the Six-Tails to other Akatsuki members while he captured the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails in Kumogakure.
• Ye Zi gave Nagato a one-year deadline and urged Akatsuki to focus on intelligence gathering and preparing for the captures instead of developing Amegakure.
• Nagato doubted Ye Zi could defeat Kumogakure’s forces, but agreed to the plan after Ye Zi said he would die if he failed.
• Ye Zi planned to use the year to prepare, including sealing Chi inside himself so he could extract Chi’s Chakra during his mission.

After leaving Amegakure, Ye Zi returned to the Land of Waterfalls stronghold and focused on mastering Sealing Jutsu to strengthen himself and prepare for Nagato and Kumogakure. He began developing ways to combine sealing with Wood Release, while White Zetsu gathered intelligence on Kumogakure.

• Ye Zi left Amegakure, determined to kill Nagato and obtain the Rinnegan, and trained his control over Natural Energy during his journey.
• At the stronghold, Kimimaro trained obsessively, Uchiha Jin and Kotoha instructed the children, Nanako researched Hashirama Cells implantation, and Orochimaru studied Sage Mode and cursed seals.
• Ye Zi practiced Sealing Jutsu on an Impure World Reincarnation body and confirmed that the Contract Seal could sever and restore a summoning contract.
• Ye Zi focused on combining Sealing Jutsu with Wood Release, reasoning that it could restrain spiritual bodies and address a weakness in Soul Transformation Jutsu.
• Ye Zi remained at the stronghold to train while White Zetsu gathered intelligence on Kumogakure and three Byakugan-implanted clones guarded the area.

Ye Zi and Orochimaru developed a Jinchuriki sealing technique that would give Ye Zi complete control over Ku and let him extract Ku’s Chakra. After memorizing the technique, Ye Zi entered the desolate alternate dimension to confront Ku and prepare to seal him inside his body.

• Ye Zi finished developing Wood Release sealing techniques and asked Orochimaru to help create a Jinchuriki seal for Ku.
• Orochimaru agreed, and he and Ye Zi spent half a month modifying the sealing technique to grant the Jinchuriki complete control while avoiding fatal risks.
• Ye Zi memorized the technique, rested, and used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to travel to the alternate dimension.
• Ye Zi crossed the barren land toward Ku, who opened his eye and watched him approach with intense killing intent.

Ye Zi used Sage Mode and a wild boar corpse to subdue Ku with Sealing Gates. With Ku pinned and fed, Ye Zi prepared to test whether he could cancel their contract and take Ku’s memories.

• Ye Zi entered Sage Mode and struck Ku, then dodged Ku’s retaliatory slap.
• Ye Zi showed Ku a wild boar corpse, lured him toward it, and trapped him with five Sealing Gates.
• Ye Zi threw the corpse to Ku, who swallowed it while remaining pinned by the seals.
• Ye Zi told Ku he had found a way to cancel their contract and planned to take Ku’s memories afterward.

Ye Zi canceled his contract with Kū and sealed the massive creature inside his body, intending to use its Chakra. He then entered the sealing space to invade Kū’s memories and find the method for breaking through space.

• Ye Zi used Contract Seal to sever his connection with Kū, then reminded Kū that his Spirit Transformation Jutsu could threaten his soul.
• Ye Zi activated the Jinchuriki Seal and compressed Kū into a yellow sphere, then sealed him inside his body.
• Ye Zi returned to his base and entered the sealing space, where he demonstrated that he could extract Kū’s Chakra.
• Ye Zi warned Kū to keep refining Chakra so he could draw on it later, and Kū resigned himself to the one-sided seal.
• Ye Zi began invading Kū’s memories to learn how to break through space.

Ye Zi observed Chi’s memories, from the day Yun and Xiao found him as a young War Beast to the destruction of their tribe. The memories ended with Chi and Xiao trapped at a canyon as their pursuers closed in, while Ye Zi watched as a powerless projection.

• Ye Zi used Soul Transformation to observe Chi’s memories without being influenced by them, and began at the earliest memory.
• Yun and Xiao found Chi inside a cracked shell, brought him to their tribe, and named him for his enormous appetite.
• Chi grew into a powerful War Beast and promised to protect Xiao and the tribe.
• A stronger tribe destroyed Yun and Xiao’s home, forcing the survivors to flee while pursuers hunted them down.
• Yun stayed behind to cover Chi and Xiao’s escape, but a heavy spear pierced his chest.
• Chi fled with Xiao to a bottomless canyon, where Ye Zi watched their pursuers close in.

Through Ghou’s memories, Ye Zi witnessed how Ghou lost Xiao and became the last life in his world, then learned that breaking space required immense energy. Ghou revealed that Ye Zi’s soul could guide him back to Earth, leaving Ye Zi with a possible way to ensure his return.

• Ghou jumped into a bottomless canyon with Xiao to escape their pursuers, but she died during the fall.
• Ghou survived underground by devouring swarms of blood-red worms, then awakened his inheritance and resolved to live by consuming all life.
• Ghou devoured Xiao’s killers and every species in his world, eventually becoming its sole remaining life, but stayed there instead of breaking through space.
• Ye Zi emerged from Ghou’s memories with knowledge of the immense energy needed to break space and asked why Ghou had remained in his world.
• Ghou told Ye Zi that his soul was the coordinate that could guide him back to Earth, though Ye Zi would have to try to confirm it.

Ye Zi learned from Kuu how to shatter space and planned to gather the tailed beasts and obtain the Rinnegan, while deciding to use Madara Uchiha only as a pawn. He sent five young guards to Muzi to fulfill an old promise, but she refused to give them money unless Ye Zi came in person, prompting Uchiha Jin to use genjutsu.

• Ye Zi learned that Kuu's soul could guide them to Earth when space was shattered, and he resolved to gather the tailed beasts and obtain the Rinnegan without honoring his agreement with Madara Uchiha.
• After waking from memories of escorting Muzi, Ye Zi decided to make good on his long-forgotten promise to provide her with guards.
• Ye Zi had Uchiha Jin choose five young guards and sent them to Muzi in the Capital City of the Land of Fire.
• Ye Zi trained to extract and use Kuu's Chakra, suppressing a growing urge to eat as he practiced Lightning Release and Wood Release.
• Uchiha Jin and the five youths reached Muzi's residence and explained that Ye Zi had sent them to fulfill the deal; Muzi accepted the guards but refused to pay unless Ye Zi came himself.
• Uchiha Jin activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, intending to use genjutsu to make Ye Zi appear before Muzi.

Uchiha Jin used genjutsu to make Muzi believe Ye Zi had visited her, and she agreed to pay one hundred million taels in exchange for a night with him. Jin returned to the stronghold with the money and Muzi’s letter, whose contents left Ye Zi asking what genjutsu Jin had used.

• Uchiha Jin cast genjutsu on Muzi and left her guards unaware while he departed for an inn.
• Inside the illusion, Muzi confronted Ye Zi, then offered a night with her as the condition for the one hundred million taels.
• The next day, Muzi gave Uchiha Jin the money and a handwritten letter, and he left five youths behind as her guards.
• Several days later, Uchiha Jin returned to the stronghold and handed Ye Zi the money and letter.
• Ye Zi read the letter, frowned, and asked Uchiha Jin what genjutsu he had cast on Muzi.