Chapter Summaries

Mingren told Ying she could compete to become his disciple and planned to train her to inherit his will. Meanwhile, Mei Terumi arrived in Amegakure with Ao and Suiren, whose injuries and hoarse voice drew her attention.

• Mingren told Ying she was special to him and could compete for a chance to become his disciple.
• Ying eagerly accepted Mingren's challenge, and he promised to begin rigorous training that afternoon.
• Mingren considered Ying a suitable candidate to wield the Dark Chakra Jutsu after developing her abilities and emotions.
• Mei Terumi met Mingren in the meeting room with Ao and Suiren, surprising him with her early arrival.
• Mei Terumi questioned Suiren's strange walk and hoarse voice, then sent her away to rest.

Kimimaro came to Amegakure to negotiate for Otogakure, and Mingren demanded compensation in exchange for overlooking Orosuke Hime’s actions. Kimimaro offered a Kusanagi Sword for the Fūma Clan to study, and Mingren tested its strength before agreeing to return it afterward.

• Mei Terumi left Mingren and Kimimaro to talk, and Kimimaro introduced himself as Otogakure’s village chief and claimed Sound had been expelled as a rogue ninja.
• Mingren demanded benefits from Kimimaro, who promised Otogakure would stop capturing test subjects and would protect their lives.
• Kimimaro guaranteed Otogakure would not target the Tsuchigumo Clan or the Fūma Clan or invade Amegakure, then offered a Kusanagi Sword for study.
• Mingren tested the Kusanagi Sword with increasing strength, but Guren interrupted him when the room’s barrier began to crack and the others reacted in shock.
• Mingren said he was satisfied and agreed to return the Kusanagi Sword after the Fūma Clan finished studying it.

Mingren negotiated for Orosuke Hime’s Kusanagi Sword and hinted that he could cure Kimimaro’s Bloodline Disease in exchange for a sincere offer. He then assessed Ying’s Natural Energy combat mode and assigned her a demanding training plan while studying Shennong’s Eight Inner Gates scroll.

• Mingren told Kimimaro to bring him Orosuke Hime’s Kusanagi Sword for the Fūma Clan to study, and said Orosuke Hime would need to offer something sincere if she wanted him to cure Kimimaro’s Bloodline Disease.
• Mei Terumi and Ao surveyed Amegakure, and Ao remarked that its development surpassed their expectations; Mei planned a month-long investigation before challenging Amakawa Mingren.
• Ying fought Mingren using Natural Energy, impressing Jūzō Biwa, Pakura, and Ringo Ameyuri with her growing power.
• Mingren struck Ying’s forehead, then divided her training between mastering Tsuchigumo Clan secret techniques and Natural Energy and undergoing grueling basic training without secret techniques.
• Mingren read Shennong’s Eight Inner Gates scroll to study the physical requirements for using the technique.

Mingren rejected Mei Terumi's proposal for a political alliance between Kirigakure and Amegakure, insisting Kirigakure must submit. He agreed to let her challenge him in the Aerial Fortress's training room, and the fight was about to begin.

• Mingren gave Ying training based on the entry-level standards of the Eight Inner Gates to strengthen her body and will.
• Mei Terumi asked Mingren to spar, saying she wanted to test his strength and secure her villagers' support for a decision about Kirigakure's future.
• Mingren rejected an alliance based on compromise and demanded that Kirigakure become Amegakure's vassal, by submission or defeat.
• Mingren agreed to Mei Terumi's challenge on the condition that she pay a price, then took her to the Aerial Fortress above Amegakure.
• Mingren brought Mei Terumi to a small, enclosed training space and took his stance, preparing to begin the spar.

Mingren defeated Mei Terumi after surviving both of her Kekkei Genkai attacks and began turning her into his Dark Weapon. Meanwhile, Ying trained relentlessly in Amegakure to become Mingren’s disciple.

• Ying pushed herself through intense training while Tsuchigumo Cocoon brought her lunch, and Ying wondered what Mingren was doing.
• Mei Terumi attacked Mingren with Boiling Release: Skillful Mist Technique, but his Dark Chakra Mode left him unharmed.
• Mei Terumi used Lava Release: Melting Monster Technique, but Mingren blasted away the corrosive substance and declared her defeated.
• Mingren struck Mei Terumi with dark flames and taijutsu, leaving her powerless as she tried to fight back.

Ying continued her rigorous training as Mei Terumi’s trip preserved Kirigakure and Amegakure’s truce while secretly placing her under Mingren’s control. Amegakure’s smiths began work on reproducing the Kusanagi Sword, and Ying’s growing strength impressed the people watching her spar.

• Mingren repeatedly struck Mei Terumi with Dark Taijutsu atop the Aerial Fortress until she was defeated, and her final surge of power brought torrential rain.
• Ying kept following her training plan as Mei Terumi toured the Land of Rain and other lands, then returned to Kirigakure without signing an alliance treaty.
• Mei Terumi had secretly become Mingren’s Dark Weapon, while she and Suiren remained unaware of each other’s role in his plans for Kirigakure.
• Amegakure’s and the Fūma Clan’s blacksmiths began replicating the Kusanagi Sword after gathering two of the swords.
• Ying sparred at high speed in the training room, and Jūzō Biwa remarked that her strength already rivaled that of most Jonin despite her age and inexperience.

Mingren accepted Ying as his disciple after testing her combat ability, and prepared to teach her the Dark Chakra Jutsu. The Land of Rain had begun embracing greater equality between ordinary ninja and bloodline users, but Mingren considered his revolution unfinished until he defeated Prince Naruto.

• Mingren sparred with Ying and told her that his taijutsu had matched the power of the Fourth Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
• Ringo Ameyuri praised Ying's strength, and Mingren declared her his disciple after she vowed to endure the training ahead.
• The crowd congratulated Ying, while Pakura was absent and struggled with the limits of her Scorch Release bloodline.
• The Land of Rain's people had begun treating bloodline abilities as talents rather than grounds for superiority, though Mingren still aimed to defeat Prince Naruto.
• Mingren asked Ying if she was ready to receive the Dark Chakra Jutsu, and she eagerly accepted him as her master.

Mingren discovered that Ying’s Dark Chakra only surfaced when Jūzō Biwa and Ringo Ameyuri embarrassed her, and he brought her along to meet Mei Terumi. While waiting in Amegakure, Mei considered forming a marriage alliance with Mingren.

• Jūzō Biwa and Ringo Ameyuri retold Ying’s embarrassing first meeting until black aura began seeping from her, but they found that she produced very little Dark Chakra.
• Mingren took Ying to meet the visiting Mei Terumi, who had arrived with Suiren, Chojuro, and Byakugan Ao.
• Mei Terumi told Suiren she was considering a marriage alliance with Mingren because he was too powerful to defeat and no other man in Kirigakure caught her eye.
• Ying waited nervously in Amegakure’s meeting room, determined not to embarrass her Master while receiving the foreign guests.

Mei Terumi visited Amegakure and raised the subject of marriage with Mingren, while Ying grew jealous and unknowingly fused Natural Energy with negative emotions to create Dark Sage Chakra. By the third day of Mei Terumi’s visit, Ringo Ameyuri had noticed Ying’s rapid progress and identified her new power as resembling Sage Mode.

• Ying saw Mei Terumi arrive with Mingren and reacted with jealousy, causing Dark Chakra to emerge from her negative emotions.
• Mingren introduced Mei Terumi to Ying, and Mei revealed that Kirigakure had found the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata.
• Mei asked Mingren about marriage, then invited him to share a meal and walked around Amegakure with him.
• After Mei left for the evening, Ying went to the Training Room and unknowingly fused Natural Energy with negative emotions into Dark Sage Chakra.
• Ying punched through an iron training dummy with her new power, and Ringo Ameyuri witnessed the feat.
• On the third day of Mei’s visit, Ringo observed Ying’s rapid progress and concluded that she had combined two energies into something like Sage Mode.

Ying developed Dark Sage Chakra and questioned her mother about love, while Mingren met privately with Suiren and offered to strengthen her Dark Chakra. The chapter ended with Mingren preparing a tool to help Suiren endure the pain of the process.

• Ying combined Natural Energy with Negative Emotions to create Dark Sage Chakra, though she still needed to increase her Dark Chakra reserves.
• Jūzō Biwa worried that Ying had changed mentally, while Ringo Ameyuri said Dark Chakra naturally amplified darkness.
• Ying asked Tsuchigumo Cocoon how she had met and fallen in love with Ying's father, then concluded that her own interest was in a man.
• Mingren met Suiren after she left Mei Terumi and asked about Kirigakure's diplomatic direction; Suiren explained its strategy.
• Mingren reassured Suiren that Mei Terumi's advances did not mean he would enter a political marriage, then offered to raise Suiren's Dark Chakra level.
• Suiren worried that Mei Terumi might hear them next door, so Mingren produced a tool to help her endure the pain.

Mingren spent the night helping Suiren improve her Dark Chakra, then publicly accompanied Mei Terumi the next morning, stirring jealousy among the women around him. Ying later told the others that Mei’s two Kekkei Genkai made marriage to Mingren impossible because he hated Bloodline Theory, leaving Pakura troubled by her own Scorch Release bloodline.

• Mingren left Suiren unconscious and went to Mei Terumi’s room, then escorted Mei to breakfast while Ying watched in distress.
• Ying’s negative emotions strengthened her Dark Chakra as she silently followed Mingren and Mei.
• Ying watched the Amegakure higher-ups spar in the Training Room, where Pakura placed first and Asuka Young Lady came second.
• Ying told Asuka, Pakura, Guren, Ringo Ameyuri, and the others that Mingren and Mei Terumi had grown close.
• Ringo Ameyuri argued that Mei’s beauty, power, and status made her a strong marriage alliance candidate, but Ying said Mei’s two Kekkei Genkai meant Mingren would never marry her.
• Pakura grew irritated and discouraged because she also possessed a Kekkei Genkai, which she believed made a relationship with Mingren impossible.

Ying developed a powerful Dark Sage Chakra technique after becoming jealous of Mei Terumi, prompting Mingren to end his interactions with Mei Terumi. He went to her dormitory to talk, while Chojuro heard strange noises from behind her door and was told she was fine.

• Ying grew jealous of Mei Terumi, trained to become stronger, and created a piercing Dark Sage Chakra attack.
• ANBU reported Ying's new technique to Mingren, who judged her strength sufficient and ended the surveillance.
• Mingren went to Mei Terumi's dormitory and invited her to enjoy the night view, then grabbed her wrist and said they needed to talk.
• Ao scolded Chojuro and sent him on patrol to protect Mei Terumi.
• Chojuro heard repeated bangs from inside Mei Terumi's room and accepted her explanation that she had tripped.

After Mei Terumi left Amegakure, Ying resolved to help Amakawa Mingren achieve his dream and trained relentlessly. Two years later, now twelve and widely admired, Ying prepared for the upcoming Chunin Exam.

• Mei Terumi appeared at her door to reassure Chojuro, then returned to Mingren, who attacked her and called her a Dark Weapon.
• After Mei Terumi departed, Ying found Mingren asleep and resolved to help fulfill his dream of liberating humanity.
• Ying nearly approached Mingren while he slept, but an ANBU arrived with a mission and interrupted her.
• Ying trained intensely and decided that Master’s will would guide her choices as she prepared for the Chunin Exam.
• Over the next two years, Ying gained strength and recognition, developed an idol image, and launched entertainment projects.
• A year and a half after Mei Terumi’s visit, the twelve-year-old Ying crossed Amegakure’s skybridge, ready for what was coming.

Ying and Mingren prepared for a major gathering as Amegakure’s plans to challenge the Five Great Nations moved forward. Hanzo awakened from his long coma in a rejuvenated body, and Asuka guided him through the transformed village toward the Barrier Department to register.

• Ying arrived at Amegakure’s central high-rise as her fame as a ninja idol and advocate against Bloodline Theory grew.
• Mingren examined experimental katana replicas and went to the conference room, where he waited for the absent Asuka.
• Hanzo awoke from his coma in a youthful body thanks to Dark Chakra and Dark Medical Ninjutsu, and he reunited with Asuka.
• Asuka explained that Amegakure had grown powerful enough to challenge the Five Great Nations and intended to conquer the Ninja World.
• Patrolling ninjas failed to recognize Asuka and Hanzo, then directed Hanzo to the Barrier Department to register his identity.

Hanzo reunited with Amegakure and challenged Amakawa Mingren to a fight, prompting the village to gather at the coast to watch. As they prepared to face off, the villagers debated their strength and whether Hanzo’s return threatened Mingren’s authority.

• Asuka registered Hanzo and herself at the barrier department, then showed him Amegakure’s towering central building and its entertainment broadcasts.
• Asuka brought Hanzo into the conference room, where Mingren introduced him as the Demigod and the villagers reacted with shock and joy at his return.
• Hanzo greeted Mingren and challenged him to a fight, while the gathered villagers wondered whether he meant to reclaim authority over Amegakure.
• Mingren accepted Hanzo’s challenge, and the group headed to the coast as they discussed which of the two would win.
• Jūzō Biwa noted that the coastal battlefield suited Hanzo’s abilities, but Ringo Ameyuri argued that Mingren had chosen it to crush him at full strength.

Hanzo challenged Amakawa Mingren to test his strength and secure Amegakure’s loyalty, then fought him with powerful Water Style techniques. Mingren withstood Hanzo’s attacks and shattered his Water Clones with a punch that cleared the clouds over Amegakure, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• Pakura explained that Hanzo challenged Mingren to assess him, settle doubts among Hanzo’s former followers and politicians, and give Mingren a way to assume leadership.
• Mingren opened the fight with a Compressed Air Fist, but Hanzo sensed and dodged it before using Body Flicker and Senbon Shower.
• Hanzo unleashed a massive Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave that engulfed the coast, but Mingren emerged completely unharmed.
• Mingren countered with powerful air punches that forced Hanzo to dodge and left a bloody mark on his cheek.
• Hanzo created over a hundred Water Clones, but Mingren’s Super Active Fist destroyed them and blasted a hole through the clouds, letting sunlight reach Amegakure.

After defeating Hanzo, Mingren reaffirmed him as Amegakure’s leader and declared his ambition to rule the Ninja World. He planned revenge against Konoha and Sunagakure at the upcoming Chunin Exam, assigning roles to his allies as they prepared to secure an invitation.

• Mingren defeated Hanzo, but said Hanzo would remain Amegakure’s leader and Asuka could serve as its second village chief.
• Mingren told the assembled leaders that he intended to become ruler of the country and the entire Ninja World, then set the Chunin Exam in the second half of the year as the time to strike Konoha.
• Mingren announced that he planned to kill the Hokage and Kazekage to avenge Amegakure and Akatsuki; Hanzo volunteered to target the Hokage, and Pakura claimed the Kazekage.
• Mingren assigned Ying to defeat foreign examinees and ordered Guren to wager more than half their funds on Ying defeating Naruto Uzumaki.
• After Ringo Ameyuri questioned how Amegakure could enter the exam, Mingren said he would persuade the Land of Rain’s Daimyo and named Hizashi Hyuga among those who would attend.

After the meeting, Mingren prepared to release Uzumaki Kushina and take her to see Naruto, while the chapter ended with Naruto vandalizing Hokage Rock in Konohagakure. Kushina woke in Ankbandian’s Black Prison and came face to face with Mingren.

• Mingren announced that everyone should prepare for the Chunin Exam in half a year and the future Fourth Great Ninja War.
• Ying, Pakura, Asuka, Hizashi Hyuga, and Shennong each chose their next training or personal goals.
• Mingren went to the Black Prison aboard Aerial Fortress Ankbandian and released Uzumaki Kushina from her Life Support Pod.
• Kushina woke and recognized Mingren, who greeted her and planned to take her to see Naruto.
• Naruto Uzumaki covered Hokage Rock in graffiti, prompting Iruka to shout at him to get down.

Mingren and Kushina disguised themselves as tourists in Konoha so he could observe Naruto’s life and ensure events followed the original story. After Kakashi mistook Kushina’s distress for heatstroke and directed them to an inn, Mingren told her what had happened in Konoha, including the Uchiha Clan’s destruction.

• Hiruzen approached Iruka as Iruka caught Naruto and dragged him back to the Ninja Academy, while Kushina watched their reunion from afar.
• Mingren told Kushina to compose herself and explained that he planned to stay in Konoha to observe events and make minor corrections.
• Mingren and Kushina disguised themselves and toured Konoha without being recognized.
• When Kushina appeared unwell, Kakashi offered directions to a nearby inn, unaware of their identities.
• At the inn, Mingren recounted Konoha’s history to Kushina, and she reacted with shock when he mentioned the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out.

Mingren told Kushina that Naruto was approaching his third graduation exam attempt and later brought her to see Naruto eating ramen with Iruka. Kushina chose to stay in Konoha for a few days, while Mingren watched over her and Naruto’s development.

• Mingren explained that Naruto would review the Clone Technique and take his third graduation exam attempt the next day.
• After Mingren left, Kushina grieved for Minato and Naruto, resolving to endure for her son and help him face the Nine-Tails someday.
• Mingren returned after seeing Naruto and Iruka at Ichiraku Ramen, then took Kushina to watch them from outside.
• Kushina heard Naruto declare that he would become Hokage and surpass every previous Hokage, but she could not approach him.
• Mingren offered Kushina the choice to stay in Konoha or return to Amegakure, and she chose to stay for a few days.
• That night, Mingren remained by the window while Kushina eventually fell asleep beneath the bedding.