Chapter Summaries

Aoba examined the Seven Ninja Sea Pirates battle-puppet bracelet, complained about its exorbitant costs and bizarre figurine designs, and decided to use it as a source of extra strength. He went to sleep excited to earn money, but woke from a nightmare in which the puppets demanded trillions of ryo for physical bodies.

• Aoba discovered that using the Seven Ninja Sea Pirates battle puppets required steep fees and that the seven-figure bundle cost one million ryo.
• Aoba inspected the bracelet and found that its figurines depicted familiar characters carrying mismatched ninja swords.
• Aoba reasoned that the puppets could still imitate enough of their models' fighting styles to make seven elite-jonin-level fighters useful.
• Aoba learned that he could recharge the bracelet by placing money in the Space Folding Ninja Tool Bag, then hid the bracelet under his sleeve and went to sleep.
• Aoba dreamed that Hancock asked him to spend a trillion ryo to give her a body, while the other puppets demanded six trillion more and threatened him.
• Aoba woke drenched in sweat and was relieved that Jinbe's frightening dream voice had only been a nightmare.

After Yagura's death, Mei Terumi blamed Kumogakure, provoking widespread condemnation and bringing the villages close to war. Kumogakure denied the accusation and Kirigakure agreed to wait for the truth, leaving Kirigakure with time to recover and Kumogakure under suspicion.

• Mei Terumi publicly accused Kumogakure of infiltrating Kirigakure and assassinating Yagura, prompting villages across the ninja world to condemn Kumogakure.
• The Raikage nearly mobilized Kumogakure to attack Kirigakure, but Dodai persuaded him that war would worsen their position and could confirm the accusations.
• The Raikage left Dodai to manage the crisis and vented his fury by fighting Killer B and the Eight-Tails for a day and night.
• Dodai issued Kumogakure's denial, offered condolences, and warned that Kumogakure would fight if Kirigakure continued to blame it.
• Kirigakure said it would temporarily accept Kumogakure's account and seek the truth, defusing the immediate crisis while buying time to recover.

Naruto defaced Hokage Rock with portraits of himself and Shimiya Aoba, dragging Aoba into trouble with Hiruzen. After Aoba agreed to take Naruto to clean the monument, he offered to demonstrate Naruto’s newly developed technique, and Hiruzen eagerly encouraged him.

• Naruto painted portraits of himself and Shimiya Aoba on Hokage Rock and declared himself the Sixth Hokage and Aoba the Fifth.
• Ninjas caught Naruto fleeing the scene and brought him and Aoba to Hiruzen’s office.
• Naruto explained that he had copied Aoba’s example, while Aoba denied encouraging him and Hiruzen reprimanded them both.
• Aoba accepted responsibility and agreed to take Naruto to clean Hokage Rock after Hiruzen threatened to halve his mission pay if it happened again.
• Aoba suggested Naruto demonstrate his new technique, and Hiruzen encouraged Naruto to perform it.

Aoba and Naruto caused trouble for Hiruzen and cleaned up Naruto’s painting on Hokage Rock before Naruto’s class exam results were announced. Aoba was promoted to jonin, leaving him able to take higher-ranked missions for better pay.

• Naruto used Sexy Jutsu and Harem Jutsu on Hiruzen, who collapsed with a severe nosebleed, and Aoba covered for them by calling it an accident.
• Aoba and Naruto cleaned Naruto’s painting from Hokage Rock, and Aoba teased Naruto about his drawing while sharing more troublemaking advice.
• Uchiha Sasuke ranked first in the Ninja Academy examination, while Naruto’s poor shuriken and written test scores kept him from overtaking Sasuke despite strong results elsewhere.
• Aoba received news that he had been promoted to jonin at thirteen, giving him authority to take A-rank and S-rank missions and earn more money.

After Hiruzen sent Aoba to investigate Orochimaru, Aoba used a video call with Pain to contact Orochimaru and Sasori about trading for Yagura’s corpse. The bargaining turned into a rivalry between the two Akatsuki members, while Aoba kept his focus on Orochimaru.

• Hiruzen assigned Aoba an urgent mission to investigate possible traces of Orochimaru, hoping the search might help bring Jiraiya back to Konoha.
• Aoba ignored the reported location and used his mobile phone to call Pain, who invited Sasori and Orochimaru to join.
• Aoba asked Orochimaru and Sasori what they would offer for Yagura’s corpse, and Sasori proposed paying up to one hundred million.
• Orochimaru decided he could not compete with Sasori’s wealth and offered to show Aoba his research achievements instead.
• Sasori angrily challenged Orochimaru for competing with him.

Aoba arranged to meet Sasori and Orochimaru over the Fourth Mizukage’s corpse, hoping to win Sasori’s support. When Sasori demanded the corpse for two hundred million or threatened to take it by force, a system mission required Aoba to defeat him with a puppet.

• Orochimaru drew Aoba into his rivalry with Sasori, but Aoba proposed meeting in person to preserve his chance of gaining Sasori’s support.
• Aoba learned Orochimaru’s whereabouts and traveled to one of his hidden bases, where Orochimaru and Sasori had brought the Fourth Mizukage’s corpse.
• Sasori demanded two hundred million for the corpse and threatened to take it himself, challenging Aoba to prove his strength.
• Aoba prepared to fight Sasori, and the system issued a mission requiring him to defeat Sasori in a puppet-versus-puppet battle within an hour.

Aoba provoked Sasori into a puppet contest, wagering the Mizukage’s corpse against Sasori bowing whenever they met. He summoned seven elaborate puppets modeled on the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, leaving Sasori fascinated by his claims that they were eternal human puppets.

• Aoba challenged Sasori to a puppet battle and promised to leave the Mizukage’s corpse if he lost.
• Sasori summoned his puppetized Third Kazekage, while Aoba warned that his own set contained seven puppets.
• Aoba used his bracelet and the dog system to summon seven lifelike puppets wielding Kirigakure’s Seven Ninja Swords.
• Aoba claimed the puppets were powerful pirates refined with the blood of seven hundred people and were indestructible and eternal.
• Sasori became eager to learn the puppets’ secrets, suspecting they might reveal how to achieve true eternal beauty.

Aoba’s [Seven Ninja Sea Pirates] fought Sasori’s Third Kazekage puppet in a fierce battle, gradually overwhelming it through coordinated attacks. Sasori unleashed Iron Sand World, and Enel answered with a deadly lightning technique as the two forces clashed overhead.

• Hancock’s chakra cannon and Sasori’s Iron Sand Wall opened the battle, but the [Seven Ninja Sea Pirates] dodged and broke through his iron-sand needle barrage.
• Hawkeye clashed with the Third Kazekage puppet, Jinbe tried to cut its chakra threads, and Law freed Hawkeye while Doflamingo pinned the puppet down at the cost of being skewered.
• Tyrant Bear damaged the puppet before its iron-sand attack destroyed half his body, while Enel’s lightning disrupted its defenses and Hancock blasted a hole in it.
• Sasori’s counterattacks destroyed Doflamingo, Tyrant Bear, and Law, but the remaining pirates continued to pressure the damaged Third Kazekage puppet.
• Sasori unleashed Magnet Release: Iron Sand World, and Enel used Lightning Release: Lightning Burial to try to break through the iron sand, intertwining lightning and iron sand in the sky.

Aoba used his money-powered revival technique to restore the Seven Ninja Sea Pirates and convince Sasori to admit defeat. Sasori became eager to learn the technique, and Aoba began inventing the Blood Moon Cult and its ranks to keep bluffing.

• Aoba revived the six destroyed puppets and spent another million ryo to restore the Seven Ninja Sea Pirates.
• Sasori admitted defeat and asked Aoba to teach him how the puppets were made.
• Aoba discovered that Sasori's Recognition gave Sasori a chance to believe anything he said.
• Aoba claimed the puppetry technique belonged to the Blood Moon Cult, and Sasori offered fifty million ryo to join.
• Aoba invented cult ranks and Contribution Points, telling Sasori he would need three to five years at the fastest to become a Sect Emperor.
• Sasori asked whether there was a faster way, and Aoba warned that it required an extremely difficult situation.

Aoba recruited Sasori into the Blood Moon Cult by offering him the Fourth Mizukage’s corpse, then tried to draw Orochimaru into working for him by pointing him toward the Land of Rain. After secretly photographing Orochimaru’s base and reporting it to Konoha, Aoba stayed nearby to keep up his act while Orochimaru remained hidden.

• Sasori agreed to join Aoba’s organization, paid him a fifty-million deposit, and received the sealed corpse of the Fourth Mizukage.
• Orochimaru approached Aoba, who offered him protection and hinted that the Land of Rain held what he wanted if he returned alive.
• Sasori spotted something suspicious and fired poisoned needles at a rabbit, but left after finding no sign of an intruder.
• Aoba retrieved the camera hidden near the rabbit, then reported Orochimaru’s base location and photographs to Konoha and requested reinforcements.
• Aoba returned to watch the base for several days, but Orochimaru never appeared and the entrance stayed closed.

Aoba joined an Anbu team led by Kakashi to investigate Orochimaru’s abandoned base, but a trapped passage collapsed around them. Aoba protected the group with Immortal Fortress, and they waited for reinforcements to dig them out.

• Aoba met Gekko Hayate and Uzuki Yugao, then briefed the Anbu team about Orochimaru’s base and disappearance.
• Aoba joined the team as they entered the base, where they found a secret passage Orochimaru had likely used to escape.
• Gekko Hayate led the way into the passage, but Aoba spotted the Explosive Tags and pulled him back.
• Aoba shielded everyone with Immortal Fortress as explosions collapsed the passage and buried the base.
• Kakashi explained that the team had only been sent to confirm the intelligence, so they waited for reinforcements to rescue them.

After returning to Konoha, Aoba reported that Orochimaru had escaped, and Hiruzen praised his work while probing him for information about Tsunade. Aoba realized Hiruzen would not consider him for Hokage soon and wondered whether letting Orochimaru carry out the Konoha Crush Plan could improve his own chances.

• Aoba left Gekko Hayate after their rescue, and Hayate told him Hiruzen hoped to find Orochimaru so he could bring Jiraiya back to Konoha.
• Several days later, Aoba reported the mission to Hiruzen, who praised his discovery of Orochimaru’s base, his photographs, and his confirmation that the Akatsuki had taken Black Hoe Raiga’s sword.
• Hiruzen questioned Aoba about how to contact Tsunade, but Aoba denied knowing and warned that Tsunade had ordered him not to reveal anything about her.
• Hiruzen gave Aoba a few days off and sent him to the Ninja Academy to deal with Naruto causing trouble.
• After leaving the Hokage Building, Aoba concluded that Hiruzen would not consider him for Hokage in the near future and wondered whether allowing Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush Plan to proceed would help him become Hokage.

Aoba went to the Ninja Academy after hearing Naruto had injured three upperclassmen, then learned Naruto had fought them for insulting Aoba after he defended a girl. Aoba reassured Naruto that he had done the right thing and prepared to settle the dispute with the injured students’ parents.

• Aoba met with Iruka, who explained that Naruto had injured three upperclassmen and their parents demanded one million ryo and Naruto’s expulsion.
• Aoba asked Iruka to bring the parents and Naruto together so they could resolve the matter.
• Naruto told Aoba he had fought the upperclassmen after they insulted Aoba while he was defending a girl they had made cry.
• Aoba told Naruto he was proud of him and that standing up for a friend was the right thing to do.

Aoba taught Naruto to deal with bullies through force when several parents confronted them over the beaten students. After crippling Special Jonin Tengchuan and frightening the others, Aoba left Naruto with a lesson in making wild dogs fear him.

• Several parents arrived with Iruka and demanded money or the chance for their children to beat Naruto.
• Aoba accepted a system mission to make the parents submit and told Naruto that fists could solve problems with bullies.
• Special Jonin Tengchuan attacked Aoba, who caught his punch and broke his wrist.
• Tengchuan attacked Aoba with a kunai, but Aoba disarmed him, injured his mouth, broke all four of his limbs, and threw him aside.
• Aoba warned Naruto that bullies feared strength and told him to kill them if possible or cripple them so they would not return.

Shimiya Aoba crippled the people who had attacked Naruto and threatened to report him, then forced them to pay compensation. Naruto watched Aoba protect him and came away with a new understanding of when violence could be used.

• Iruka tried to stop Aoba from punishing the attackers, but they threatened to report him to Lord Hokage and demanded that Iruka and Teacher Kangcun testify.
• Teacher Kangcun denied seeing anything, while Aoba crippled the attackers and threatened them with his connections to Uchiha Itachi and the Hyuga Family.
• The attackers finally showed they were convinced, triggering the system's mission-completion notification.
• Aoba tossed one million ryo to the injured attackers and left Iruka to handle the aftermath.
• Naruto decided that violence could protect the people he cared about when reason failed.

After the Academy incident, Hiruzen punished Shimiya Aoba by assigning him to guard Konoha’s gates for a month, disguising the punishment as a special mission. Aoba settled into the post and reflected on his newly upgraded Thorn Halo and the strange critical-hit effects of his Violent Enforcement Badge.

• Hiruzen heard that Naruto and Shimiya Aoba had beaten up a child and the child’s parents, then ordered a crackdown on families abusing their status and gave Aoba a month of gate duty.
• An Anbu member delivered Hiruzen’s order, and Aoba learned he could not refuse the transfer to Konoha’s gates.
• Aoba took over the post alongside three Chunin, invited them for drinks, and let them handle the gate checks while he planted his Perception Eye and smoked.
• Aoba considered the punishment minor and reviewed how an Intermediate Skill Card had raised his Thorn Halo to LV5.
• Aoba tested the Violent Enforcement Badge and found that its one-percent critical-hit chance could double his attack power, though it might work better with the Fate Coin.

Aoba identified Uncle Suzuki as a hostile spy at Konoha’s gate and captured him after he tried to flee. The spy was left unconscious with a scroll of intelligence exposed in his shattered bamboo basket, and Aoba sent for the Interrogation Department.

• Aoba stopped Uncle Suzuki as he was leaving Konoha and questioned him about his identity and hostility.
• Aoba used the Perception Eye’s deep-red reading to conclude that Uncle Suzuki was either a spy or mentally unwell.
• Uncle Suzuki dodged Aoba’s attack, knocked down a guard, and tried to escape, revealing that he was no ordinary herb gatherer.
• Aoba used Thunder Breathing First Form: Thunderclap and Flash to knock Uncle Suzuki unconscious and break his bamboo basket, exposing a scroll.
• Aoba told the guards to notify the Interrogation Department and take Uncle Suzuki away.

After Aoba caught a Sunagakure spy at Konoha’s gate, Ibiki reported the investigation to Hiruzen, who rewarded Aoba but kept him on gate guard duty. A new system mission tasked Aoba with earning and donating one million ryo within a month, leaving him debating how to target wrongdoers without extorting honest people.

• Ibiki told Hiruzen that the fake Suzuki Takamoto was a Sunagakure spy who had replaced the real man and leaked intelligence three times.
• Hiruzen ordered an investigation into the Anbu member who had drunkenly disclosed information, and decided Aoba would receive a reward but continue guarding the gate.
• Aoba earned the gate guards’ gratitude and the villagers’ admiration after exposing the spy, while their inspections became easier because people cooperated more.
• The system gave Aoba a one-month mission to earn at least one million ryo through his gate-guard position and donate it, or lose all his Konoha reputation.
• Aoba considered extorting wealthy merchants but resolved to target only cruel or immoral people, then worried that he had no way to know whose money was dirty.

Aoba tried to earn money for his mission by selling vegetables he had obtained with 7's Gaze, then spotted a wealthy merchant at Konoha’s gate and set out to fleece him. The merchant paid him several times, but Aoba still held out his hand and refused to let him pass.

• Aoba sold vegetables he had obtained from passersby, and the sale advanced his mission progress by one-thousandth.
• A young lady offered to support Aoba, but he demanded a million ryō and sent her away when she could not provide it.
• Aoba turned away several more young ladies before the [Perception Eye] revealed a red dot on a portly middle-aged merchant.
• The merchant slipped banknotes to the guards, and Aoba put on his Konoha Headband and accepted another payment as a supposed token of appreciation.
• Aoba kept staring at the merchant and holding out his hand after the man paid him again, leaving the merchant frustrated and unable to pass.

Aoba exposed a middle-aged merchant as a suspected spy and pressured him into paying 100,000 taels before letting him leave with his shipment. Ibiki Morino arrived afterward and went to apprehend the merchant, who was still outside.

• Aoba ordered the guards to hold the merchant's shipment and demanded one million taels to let him pass.
• Aoba accused the merchant of being a spy and warned him about the Interrogation Department, making him fear that his identity had been discovered.
• The merchant handed Aoba 100,000 taels and transferred the goods to him; Aoba returned only 100 taels and let the merchant leave.
• Aoba told the guards that the merchant was gone, then Ibiki Morino arrived and led his men after him.