Chapter Summaries

Shimizu struck a deal with Harvey Dent to take over Two-Face Gang territory and receive cash, weapons, and vehicles, while learning that Victor sought only to cure his wife. After upgrading Black Gold and expanding Hogg United, Shimizu planned to use the incoming resources to recruit more capable members.

• Shimizu refused Harvey Dent’s offer to invest in Black Gold, and Harvey revealed Victor’s research base and his wife’s rare neurodegenerative illness.
• Harvey agreed to withdraw from Rosanya Street, Shock Street, and Aylesbury Community and deliver a million dollars, weapons, and vehicles to Shimizu.
• Shimizu ordered Keman Cole disposed of and sent the accountant to take over the newly acquired territory.
• Shimizu upgraded Black Gold with synthetic rubber biomimetic muscles, improving its power and flexibility.
• Hogg United’s expansion raised Shimizu’s fortune bar to 54.6 percent, and he decided to use the incoming money and supplies to recruit more capable members.

Kazakami Senran evaluated Shimizu’s team and advised them on improving their reconnaissance skills. Shimizu then asked Miyuki how to begin learning Medical Ninjutsu, and she gave him a study list and recommended Hemostasis Jutsu, though Sunagakure lacked an available instructor.

• Kazakami Senran praised the team for completing their mission but advised Baki, Shimizu, and Pakura to improve their intelligence gathering and sensing.
• Kazakami Senran recommended Earth Sensing Technique for Baki, Wind Viewing Technique for all three, and sensory Summoning Beasts for Shimizu and Pakura.
• After returning to Sunagakure, Shimizu visited the trial Medical Ninja training class and found Miyuki practicing the Mystical Palm Technique on a lizard.
• Shimizu asked Miyuki how to start learning Medical Ninjutsu, explaining that he wanted more ways to survive battlefield emergencies.
• Miyuki gave Shimizu a reading list and recommended Hemostasis Jutsu, but warned that the village had no available teacher besides the busy Suzuna.

Shimizu met Reina, a respected Medical Ninjutsu instructor in Sunagakure, and suspected she was the Wandering Miko because she resembled Yakushi Nonō. Meanwhile, Ebizo and Kazakami Senran discussed the young Puppet Force members’ progress and Sunagakure’s precarious position after Hanzo allied with Konoha.

• Miyuki told Shimizu that Reina was a gifted Chunin from a family of doctors who guided the medical training class when Chiyo was absent.
• Shimizu met Reina at the classroom entrance and watched her patiently advise Miyuki on the Mystical Palm Technique.
• After leaving, Shimizu suspected Reina was the Wandering Miko and decided to investigate her in secret.
• Shimizu went to the Puppet Force base to continue his daily Puppet Technique training.
• Ebizo and Kazakami Senran agreed that Shimizu and his two teammates should train rather than take too many missions, while noting that war might prevent Sunagakure from giving them years to grow.
• Ebizo lamented that Hanzo had allied with Konoha instead of killing the Third Hokage’s three disciples, undermining Sunagakure’s original plan.

Chiyo and Ebizo weighed whether Sunagakure could join Iwagakure in another campaign in the Land of Rain, despite dwindling troops and supplies. Chiyo decided to put Shimizu’s squad in reserve and take him as her disciple, while Ebizo also expressed interest in teaching him puppet crafting.

• Chiyo presented Iwagakure’s alliance offer and argued that the Land of Rain was Sunagakure’s best chance to gain resources and threaten Konoha.
• Ebizo calculated that Sunagakure had only twenty jonin-level combatants available and warned that its forces and logistics could not sustain a prolonged campaign.
• Chiyo insisted that Sunagakure needed to win resources for its next generation, despite Ebizo questioning how much she believed her own argument.
• Kazakami Senran advised giving Shimizu, Pakura, and the others time to grow stronger.
• Chiyo said she would place Kazakami Senran’s squad in reserve and take Shimizu as her disciple, and Ebizo said he also wanted to teach Shimizu puppet crafting.

Shimizu became the joint disciple of Chiyo and Ebizo, rapidly advancing his fortune progress and nearing the opening of another world. Before he and Sasori left for dinner at Chiyo’s home, Sasori revealed that Chiyo had praised Shimizu’s political thinking, though Shimizu’s squad was due to return to the front in three days.

• Chiyo and Ebizo asked Shimizu about his ideals and his vision of the strongest, most perfect puppet.
• Ebizo offered Shimizu joint discipleship under himself and Chiyo, and Shimizu accepted after Kazakami Senran signaled him to agree.
• Shimizu’s fortune progress bar rose to 91% after he became Chiyo and Ebizo’s disciple, while his squad prepared to return to the Land of Rain front in three days.
• Chiyo invited Shimizu to bring Sasori to her home for dinner, and Shimizu joked that he would call Sasori his martial nephew.
• Sasori told Shimizu that he had asked Chiyo about the war and resource inequality, and that she had praised Shimizu for thinking like a Kazekage at eleven.

Shimizu and Sasori shared dinner with Chiyo and Ebizo before Chiyo invited the boys to spar with her. Their coordinated puppet attack challenged Chiyo’s two Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu, and the fight continued with Shimizu engaging the Ox-Face Puppet while Sasori redirected Black Ant against the Red-Faced Cat Puppet.

• Chiyo, Ebizo, Shimizu, and Sasori ate dinner together and discussed Sasori’s childhood friend Little Bug.
• Chiyo invited Shimizu and Sasori to the back mountain for an after-dinner sparring session.
• Chiyo summoned the Ox-Face Puppet and Red-Faced Cat Puppet, while Shimizu and Sasori deployed their puppets and attacked together.
• The Ox-Face Puppet blocked Fatty’s Pneumatic Fist as Chiyo assessed the boys’ strength and coordination.
• Shimizu fought the Ox-Face Puppet at close range while Sasori reassembled Black Ant and sent its barbed limbs against the Red-Faced Cat Puppet.

Chiyo tested Shimizu and Sasori in a puppet battle, evaluating their abilities while keeping them from being defeated too quickly. She became satisfied with both of them, then intensified her control and began dismantling Sasori’s Ibuse as the battle turned against them.

• Chiyo used the Ox-Face Puppet and Red-Faced Cat Puppet to suppress Shimizu’s Fatty Puppet and Sasori’s Black Ant, assessing Shimizu’s strength and puppet-control skill.
• Sasori mounted Ibuse and charged at Chiyo, but turned back to help Shimizu when Ibuse could not catch her.
• Sasori attacked the Ox-Face Puppet with Ibuse’s tail, creating an opening for Shimizu’s Fatty Puppet to strike.
• The Ox-Face Puppet blocked the attack and resumed overpowering Fatty Puppet, while its auxiliary limbs attacked Ibuse.
• Chiyo increased her Chakra Thread control, then hurled Fatty Puppet aside and leaped onto Ibuse to dismantle it.

Chiyo evaluated Shimizu and Sasori after their spar, pointing out their weaknesses and advising Shimizu how to survive if his armored puppet failed. She taught them the Mechanism Shield Seal and her Swift Wind Technique, leaving them with training methods for both and an unfinished vision of a full Wind Release Chakra Mode.

• Chiyo praised Shimizu and Sasori, then warned Sasori about poor planning and hesitation in battle.
• Chiyo identified Shimizu's lack of experience against stronger opponents and asked what he would do if an enemy broke through his armored puppet.
• Shimizu said he would flee if Fatty and Little Boy were defeated, and Chiyo approved of his reasoning.
• Chiyo gave Shimizu and Sasori scrolls describing the Mechanism Shield Seal and her Swift Wind Technique.
• Chiyo explained the Swift Wind Technique's stages and said a complete Wind Release Chakra Mode would require exceptional Wind Release mastery and a powerful body.

Shimizu studied Chiyo’s survival techniques and prepared with his squad for deployment to the battlefield. Kazakami Senran added taijutsu and swordsmanship to the squad’s training, and Shimizu began practicing swordsmanship alongside his puppet training.

• Shimizu studied the Swift Wind Technique and Mechanism Shield Seal, then decided to have his DC World incarnation learn the Swift Wind Technique first.
• Kazakami Senran told the reassembled Ninth Squad they would head to the battlefield in two days, and Baki and Pakura asked Shimizu about becoming Chiyo and Ebizo’s disciple.
• Pakura asked Shimizu to get Chiyo’s autograph, and Kazakami Senran advised the squad to prepare supplies for the battlefield.
• Kazakami Senran guided the squad and told Shimizu and Pakura to strengthen their taijutsu and learn swordsmanship alongside their other skills.
• Shimizu returned to his daily Puppet Force training and added swordsmanship practice.

Shimizu prepared to leave for the front lines and asked Sasori to investigate Reina, a Medical Squad member he suspected was a Konoha spy. Sasori agreed to look into her while Shimizu was away.

• At the training ground, Shimizu told Sasori that swordsmanship and Medical Ninjutsu were ways to improve his chances of survival, and Sasori wondered whether someone could live forever.
• Shimizu said he was leaving for the front lines in two days, and Sasori asked him to come back alive rather than make him wait forever.
• Shimizu gave Sasori a photograph of Reina and asked him to investigate her because he suspected something was wrong with her.
• Sasori reviewed Reina’s background and agreed that she could have learned Medical Ninjutsu in Konoha before infiltrating Sunagakure’s Medical Squad.
• Shimizu explained how a spy in the Medical Squad could sabotage treatment and pass along intelligence, then asked Sasori to continue the investigation while he was away.

Shimizu developed Swift, a protective trench coat that could help him escape danger, then went to the Iceberg Lounge to meet Penguin about a business deal. The chapter left them greeting each other before their discussion began.

• Shimizu stored the remaining Titan Serum and told Two-Face to ask Mr. Freeze about a substitute for a missing material.
• Shimizu used Wayne Enterprises fibers and Kevlar to make Swift, a protective trench coat that could connect with Black Gold and launch him to safety.
• The accountant reminded Shimizu that Penguin had invited him to the Iceberg Lounge to discuss a business deal.
• Shimizu brought Black Gold along in the car and arrived at the Iceberg Lounge, where Penguin greeted him and praised his outfit.

Shimizu met Marone at the Iceberg Lounge, where Marone tried to take over the deal Shimizu had made with Harvey Dent. Marone revealed that the deal involved a powerful force connected to Batman and believed Shimizu might possess its last remaining seed.

• Penguin told Shimizu that Marone had a history with Two-Face and arranged their meeting at the Iceberg Lounge.
• Marone greeted Shimizu and offered him expensive cigars and wine as gifts, which Shimizu accepted to take home.
• Marone said he wanted to complete Shimizu's deal with Harvey Dent on Harvey's behalf.
• Shimizu questioned whether Marone knew what the deal involved, and Marone pointed to a newspaper about Batman fighting Titan Joker at Arkham.
• Marone claimed the deal concerned a force powerful enough to defeat Batman and said Shimizu might possess its only remaining seed.

Shimizu considered Carmine Falcone’s offer to betray Harvey Dent, then rejected it and tried to bargain for hush money. He used his modified Wisdom Tooth No. 1 to disarm Marone, but Marone’s men rushed in with guns as the fight continued.

• Marone revealed that Falcone wanted Shimizu to betray Harvey Dent in exchange for 100 million dollars and a share of the Two-Face Gang’s territory.
• Shimizu weighed the offer and decided that keeping the Two-Face Gang intact would better serve his long-term plans.
• Shimizu refused Falcone’s offer and asked Marone how much he would pay to keep the proposal secret.
• Marone drew a pistol and threatened to kill Shimizu, who warned that Penguin and Two-Face might retaliate.
• Shimizu sent Wisdom Tooth No. 1 into Marone’s gun hand, seized the pistol, and beat Marone against the table and wall.
• Marone’s men burst into the room and raised their pistols.

Shimizu captured Marone and negotiated with Penguin before taking him away, while Harvey Dent pursued research into Titan Serum with Mr. Freeze. Shimizu then offered Harvey information about a traitor and a deal involving Marone in exchange for a major robbery.

• Shimizu used Marone as a shield, warned that he had been poisoned, and forced the suited men to let them pass.
• Shimizu’s men tied up Marone, and Shimizu persuaded Penguin to let them leave by promising him twenty million dollars from Harvey Dent.
• Shimizu injected Marone with an antidote, while Marone’s weakened muscles caused him to soil himself in the car.
• At the Central Warehouse, Mr. Freeze told Harvey Dent that he needed a more powerful electron microscope to study Titan Serum and asked about Flash Wade’s promise to help Nora.
• Shimizu called Harvey and revealed that Marone was in his hands, Falcone had ordered Marone to set him up, and a traitor had exposed their deal.
• Harvey answered that he would rob the vault at Gotham First National Bank that afternoon.

Shimizu and Sunagakure’s main force reached the Land of Rain, established a camp, and assigned Shimizu’s squad to logistics. The camp came under threat from Hanzo’s Rain Hidden Ninja, so Shimizu was ordered to prepare gas masks and Antidote Pills.

• Shimizu discussed the Land of Rain’s abundant water and the potential benefits and risks of building a canal with Pakura and Baki.
• Kazakami Senran reported that Gray Rain Town had no ninja and held only a few refugees, whom Chiyo ordered supplied with two days’ rations and sent north.
• Chiyo assigned Shimizu’s squad to manage the warehouse and inventory the logistical supplies after they helped build the camp’s defenses.
• Shimizu received orders to inventory and distribute gas masks and Antidote Pills when Hanzo and the Rain Hidden Ninja arrived.

Chiyo organized the Sand Ninja defenses and confronted Hanzo as Amegakure attacked, while Shimizu witnessed the scale of the battle. Sand Ninja forces repelled the first assault and dispersed Ibuse’s poison mist, but the fight between Chiyo and Hanzo continued.

• Chiyo assigned Sayama, Sada, and Senran to lead the Puppet Force, defensive line, and reserve troops while preparing the Ten Puppets of Chikamatsu to face Hanzo.
• Hanzo and Amegakure launched a Water Release flood, but Sada directed the Sand Ninja Earth Release unit to raise a wall that blocked it.
• Chiyo’s puppets halted Ibuse and engaged Hanzo, who fought back with his sickle and Water Clone technique.
• Amegakure attacked the Sand Ninja fortifications while the larger Sand Ninja force held its defensive advantage.
• Ibuse spewed purple poison mist, and Kazakami Senran led Shimizu, Baki, Pakura, and other Wind Release ninja in blowing it away.

Sunagakure and Amegakure fought to a stalemate while both sides awaited reinforcements, but Orochimaru and Jiraiya led Konoha forces into the battle. When Konoha’s arrival was detected to the east, Kazakami Senran sent reserve squads to defend that flank.

• Shimizu suspected the Rain Hidden Ninja were holding back, and Kazakami Senran explained that Konoha reinforcements were expected while Iwagakure's Explosion Release Unit guarded their route.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya encountered the Iwagakure ambush in a valley, then planned to open an escape route, with Jiraiya delaying Iwagakure while Orochimaru joined Hanzo to attack Sunagakure.
• After more than an hour of cautious fighting, Hanzo and Chiyo prepared to disengage, but sensory reports revealed Konoha Ninja approaching from the east.
• Hanzo renewed his attack on Chiyo to keep Sunagakure occupied, while Kazakami Senran sent reserve squads one through six to reinforce the eastern flank and ordered squads seven through ten to guard the warehouses.

Orochimaru and Hanzo attacked the Sunagakure camp, but Rasa and Karura arrived with reinforcements and forced them to retreat. After the battle, Chiyo thanked the pair and introduced Shimizu to them.

• Orochimaru broke through the eastern defenses with Manda and pressed Kazakami Senran and the other Sunagakure Jonin.
• Karura and Rasa arrived and attacked Manda and Orochimaru with Sand and Earth and Magnet Release: Great Sand Golden Burial.
• Orochimaru ordered the Konoha Ninja to retreat, while Hanzo used Ibuse's poison mist to cover the Rain Hidden Ninja's withdrawal.
• Shimizu, Pakura, and Baki helped clear the battlefield and count casualties after the fighting ended.
• Chiyo hosted Rasa and Karura, introduced Shimizu as her new disciple, and they exchanged greetings over fruit juice.

Shimizu learned that Rasa and Karura had come to the Land of Rain to support Chiyo’s forces, and he considered whether he could someday compete with Rasa to become Kazekage. Later, in Gotham, Shimizu met Two-Face to exchange a person for money stolen from a bank.

• Karura explained that Rasa and she had failed to kill the injured Hatake Sakumo during a surprise attack.
• Rasa said Sunagakure had occupied the Land of Rivers and that Third Kazekage had sent him and Karura to aid the Land of Rain front.
• Chiyo estimated that Rasa and Karura were still below Kage level but could approach it within three to five years, and she promised to support Shimizu if he proved capable of becoming Kazekage.
• Shimizu considered that Third Kazekage’s continued survival could give him time to grow strong enough to compete with Rasa.
• In Gotham, Two-Face presented Shimizu with twenty-two million dollars stolen from Gotham National Bank and demanded the person he had paid to receive.
• Shimizu had two underlings bring forward a person wearing a black hood.

Harvey Dent tortured Marone and revealed that he had acquired a weaker version of Titan Serum. When Dent tried to test Shimizu’s strength by sending serum-enhanced men after him, Shimizu fought back using Black Gold.

• Harvey Dent flipped a coin, then dripped concentrated sulfuric acid on Marone and had him taken away by the Two-Face Gang.
• Harvey Dent showed Shimizu Titan Serum and explained that Dr. Victor had made a weaker, less addictive substitute.
• Harvey Dent injected three underlings with Titan Serum and challenged Shimizu, intending to reclaim his money and control the results.
• Shimizu opened Hogg United’s truck with Chakra Thread and sent Black Gold to confront the transformed men.
• Shimizu fought the serum-enhanced men himself, and Black Gold struck one of them in the ribs with a powerful elbow.