Chapter Summaries

Satoru used Arcane Empowerment and arcane spells in a spar with Jiraiya, leading the toad sages to mistake his power for a self-awakened Sage Mode. The sages left to report Satoru to the Old Master, while Jiraiya asked Satoru to buy him lunch.

• Satoru used his enchanted staff and Arcane Empowerment to fight Jiraiya, then explained how the staff let him freeze targets and teleport to it.
• Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima mistook Satoru's Arcane Empowerment for Sage Mode and praised him for awakening sage arts on his own.
• At Jiraiya's request, Satoru demonstrated Arcane Barrage and destroyed a small hill, then realized Arcane Power could be dangerously addictive.
• Satoru regained his composure after The Book of Medivh warned him to master himself, and the toad sages decided to tell the Old Master about him.
• Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima vanished to return to Mount Myōboku, and Jiraiya asked Satoru to treat him to lunch.

Satoru taught Jiraiya the Meditation Technique, a secret method that let him refine Sage Chakra continuously and enter Sage Mode instantly. After the three children defeated Jiraiya’s Shadow Clone, Jiraiya decided it was time to leave, while reconsidering the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy and Satoru’s influence on the future.

• After sharing a meal with Jiraiya, Satoru claimed his secret technique could automatically refine Chakra and offered to teach it to keep Jiraiya from revealing the secret.
• Jiraiya endured grueling training and mastered the Meditation Technique, which Satoru named as part of his Arcane series of secret techniques.
• Satoru showed Jiraiya his Arcane techniques, including Prismatic Shield, and Jiraiya celebrated being able to enter Sage Mode instantly and replenish Sage Chakra.
• Satoru told Jiraiya that the three children had defeated his Shadow Clone, and Jiraiya acknowledged that they could protect themselves and decided to return to the village.
• Jiraiya recalled the Great Toad Sage’s prophecy and Satoru’s words about changing destinies, then chose to leave while remaining open to changing his mind about the Child of Prophecy.

After Jiraiya and Satoru left the Rain Country children, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan committed to building peace with the skills Satoru had taught them. Back in the village, Satoru discussed his new arcane techniques with Mitokado Homura, who compared him to the village’s rising talents and teased him about Nonō.

• Satoru reassured Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan that he and Jiraiya would return each year, then departed with Jiraiya using Flying Thunder God.
• Yahiko urged the others to work toward peace, while Nagato held his pendant and Konan demonstrated a healing technique she called the Bandage Technique.
• Jiraiya reported to Sarutobi Hiruzen, who accepted that Satoru had independently mastered Sage Mode after hearing that the Mount Myōboku sages had confirmed it.
• Jiraiya went to find Minato and planned to take him to Mount Myōboku to begin training for Sage Mode.
• Satoru ate hot pot with Mitokado Homura, who told him that Tsunade had developed Rank S Creation Rebirth and was considering studying Sage Mode at Shikkotsu Forest.
• Mitokado Homura teased Satoru about pursuing Nonō, but Satoru insisted that girls would only slow his casting speed.

Satoru watched Konoha’s gifted young Academy entrants, including Kakashi, Guy, and Obito, before learning that Nawaki had been attacked by a bounty hunter. Hiruzen assigned Satoru to investigate how the enemy discovered Nawaki’s secret Anbu mission and to deal with the intelligence leak.

• Satoru reflected on Kakashi, Guy, Obito, and Rin as the four-year-olds entered the Ninja Academy, and considered how the coming war might shape them.
• An Anbu messenger told Satoru that Takumi had run into trouble, so Satoru immediately used Flying Thunder God to reach Hiruzen’s office.
• Hiruzen explained that Nawaki had been seriously wounded after someone accepted a black-market bounty on his arm, though he was recovering in the hospital under Nonō’s care.
• Satoru and Hiruzen realized the attacker had likely obtained confidential information about Nawaki’s Anbu mission.
• Hiruzen ordered Satoru to investigate the attack and intelligence leak and act if the source could be dealt with, and Satoru accepted the mission.

Satoru investigated the attack on Nawaki and discovered that Kakuzu had carried out the mission for an unknown client. He captured the Exchange Shop manager for Konoha’s Intelligence Department, then confronted Kakuzu as the bounty hunter reflected on his mission.

• Satoru visited Nawaki in the hospital, heard how a green-eyed opponent with black material had fought him, and suspected Kakuzu.
• Satoru questioned the nearby Exchange Shop manager, learned that Kakuzu had come through, and took the manager to Konoha for interrogation.
• Satoru ordered the Intelligence Department to keep the interrogation secret and report its findings directly to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Kakuzu walked toward a bank, pleased that he had vented his anger at a Wood Release user despite failing to bring back the requested arm.
• Satoru appeared behind Kakuzu and remarked that the mission had been changed.

Satoru confronted Kakuzu after Kakuzu defeated Takumi, and taunted him while asking for money to buy Exploding Tags. Their fight left Kakuzu badly injured, but his five hearts and surviving masks meant the battle was not yet over.

• Satoru found Kakuzu with a box of money and offered to spare him if he explained what had happened to Takumi.
• Satoru asked Kakuzu for a secret stash to fund Exploding Tags, but Kakuzu refused and challenged him to fight.
• Kakuzu attacked with Tentacle Fist, but Satoru evaded and struck him with Dragon's Breath; Kakuzu survived by using Earth Release's Hardening Technique and revealed his four masked monsters.
• Kakuzu's monsters attacked with water and lightning, while Satoru hit him with Pyroblast; Kakuzu escaped the blast with an Earth Substitution and countered with Flame Wind Mayhem.
• Satoru stabbed Kakuzu in the chest with an ice blade, then unleashed Magic Explosion Technique, blasting away much of Kakuzu's body and the four masked monsters.

Satoru defeated Kakuzu and questioned him about the attempt on Takumi, then spared him by marking him with an improved Flying Thunder God formula. He sent Kakuzu to the Land of Wind to work as a guard for Ito Mining and learn business and financial management.

• Satoru's Arcane Explosion destroyed Kakuzu's four Earth Grudge Fear masks and left him barely alive.
• Kakuzu told Satoru that the mission's lower limit was a piece of the target's flesh, suggesting the employer wanted Wood Release, and identified Takumi as the target.
• Satoru inferred that information about Takumi had leaked from within Konoha and offered Kakuzu a chance to live in exchange for cooperating.
• Satoru placed an improved Flying Thunder God formula on Kakuzu, giving himself a way to contact him and potentially kill him.
• Satoru told Kakuzu to take a ruby to Ito Mining in the Land of Wind, serve as Mr. Ito's guard, and learn the business; Kakuzu agreed.

After Hiruzen ended Satoru’s investigation into the plot against Nawaki, Satoru learned that Mito’s failing condition made the Nine-Tails’ transfer the village’s highest priority. The sealing preparations began with Satoru and the village’s leaders ready to respond, as the transfer’s outcome remained uncertain.

• Hiruzen terminated Satoru’s mission and ordered him to keep the matter quiet, prompting Satoru to warn Danzo through Mitokado Homura not to target Nawaki again.
• Mitokado Homura told Satoru that Mito Uzumaki’s condition was poor and that the village needed to prepare Kushina to become the Nine-Tails’ Jinchuriki.
• Hiruzen summoned Satoru and Minato to support the transfer, assigning Satoru as a mobile response force and Minato to stay beside Kushina.
• Three days later, Hiruzen and Konoha’s senior forces gathered at a concealed ritual site while Anbu, Sakumo, and Jiraiya secured the area.
• Nawaki used Wood Release to suppress the Nine-Tails’ leaking Chakra as Satoru assisted, and Hiruzen arranged the sealing formula around Mito and Kushina.

Mito Uzumaki prepared for the Nine-Tails sealing and asked Minato and Kushina to have their first child inherit the Uzumaki surname. As the sealing was about to begin, she entrusted Nawaki to Satoru’s care.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen reported that the sealing preparations and Four Red Yang Formation were ready, with Jiraiya, Hatake Sakumo, and Mitokado Satoru able to provide Kage-level Chakra.
• Mito Uzumaki praised Konoha’s young shinobi and warned Kushina to be careful during the Nine-Tails sealing, while Kushina promised she would be fine with Minato beside her.
• Mito Uzumaki asked Minato to promise that his and Kushina’s first child would inherit the Uzumaki surname, and the flustered pair agreed.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen congratulated Mito on the Uzumaki Clan having successors, while Satoru kept Nawaki’s Wood Release suppression technique supplied with Chakra.
• Mito Uzumaki asked Satoru to look after Nawaki, and Sarutobi Hiruzen prepared to begin the sealing.

Mito Uzumaki began transferring the Nine-Tails into Kushina while Sarutobi Hiruzen, Nawaki, and Satoru helped suppress the beast. As Mito collapsed and Kushina pulled the Nine-Tails toward herself, it turned its attention to Satoru and gathered Chakra to attack.

• Mito Uzumaki released her Yin Seal to regain strength and began compressing the Nine-Tails for transfer into Kushina.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen activated the sealing array, and Kushina used her Adamantine Sealing Chains to bind the Nine-Tails.
• Nawaki's Wood Release technique failed to put the Nine-Tails to sleep until Satoru used the Book of Medivh to amplify Nawaki's Chakra.
• The Nine-Tails pulled the last of its Chakra from Mito Uzumaki, leaving her collapsed, while Kushina continued dragging it toward herself with Minato cheering her on.
• The Nine-Tails ignored its other suppressors, stared at Satoru, and began gathering violent Chakra in its mouth.

Satoru redirected Kurama’s Tailed Beast Ball through a portal, allowing Kushina and the others to seal the Nine-Tails safely. After Kurama hinted that Satoru’s Arcane Chakra might save Mito Uzumaki, Satoru used it to stabilize her collapsing sealing space, and she regained consciousness.

• Kurama fired a Tailed Beast Ball at Satoru, who opened a portal and sent it across the sea to explode harmlessly away from the sealing group.
• Kurama recognized Satoru’s unusual Arcane Chakra, and Kushina completed the Four Symbols Seal to imprison the Nine-Tails within herself.
• Mito Uzumaki collapsed after the extraction, but Satoru recalled Kurama’s words and proposed using Arcane Chakra to save her.
• Satoru infused Mito’s sealing space with Arcane Power, replacing the Nine-Tails as its energy source and stopping the space from collapsing.
• Mito Uzumaki opened her eyes and regained consciousness.

Satoru used Arcane Power to keep Mito Uzumaki alive after the Nine-Tails was extracted, then entered Kushina's seal to speak with Kurama. Kurama denied helping Mito but showed interest in Satoru's Arcane Power, which he thought looked delicious.

• Satoru's Arcane Power stabilized Mito Uzumaki after the Nine-Tails was extracted, and the group celebrated her survival.
• Mito Uzumaki asked what Satoru had done, and Sarutobi Hiruzen explained that he had infused her Four Symbols Seal with Chakra.
• Satoru explained that he viewed Kurama as an intelligent being rather than a monster, comparing him to a stray cat and a lonely, tsundere fox.
• Kushina sensed that Kurama was angry at Satoru's words, so Satoru prepared with Mito Uzumaki and entered the Nine-Tails' seal.
• Kurama raged at being compared to a stray cat, denied giving Satoru a hint to save Mito, and asked whether Satoru was connected to the Sage of Six Paths.
• Satoru showed Kurama a sphere of Arcane Power, and Kurama said it looked delicious.

Satoru fed Kurama solidified Arcane Crystals and learned how the Nine-Tails had been controlled and sealed by Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Mito Uzumaki, and Kushina Uzumaki. After Kurama explained his hatred of humans who treated him as a tool, Satoru asked what he thought of Arcane Power.

• Satoru gave the Nine-Tails solidified Arcane Crystals, and the pleased tailed beast began speaking with him more openly.
• The Nine-Tails recalled how Madara Uchiha had controlled him with the Sharingan and how Hashirama Senju had defeated Madara and sealed him inside Mito Uzumaki.
• The Nine-Tails remembered being sealed again inside Kushina Uzumaki and blamed humans for treating him as a tool or pet.
• The Nine-Tails told Satoru that he was different from other humans, while happily eating another Arcane Crystal.
• Satoru said he had not come just to feed or chat with the Nine-Tails and asked what he thought of Arcane Power.

Satoru questioned Kurama about Arcane Power and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path before leaving him with an Arcane Crystal. Meanwhile, Madara and Black Zetsu learned that Konoha had secretly transferred the Nine-Tails to a new Jinchuriki and discussed their plans for Nagato and Kirigakure.

• Satoru asked Kurama whether Arcane Power was closer than Tailed Beast Chakra to a Truth-Seeking Orb, then asked if it could destroy the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
• Satoru vanished from Kurama’s presence, leaving behind an Arcane Crystal and prompting Kurama to wonder who he was and what he wanted.
• Mito Uzumaki attended Konoha’s New Year celebration after the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki transfer, while Konoha kept the ritual secret from most people.
• Madara rejected reports that Mito’s survival proved the transfer had not occurred, reasoning that the Nine-Tails had entered a new sealing environment and gained a new Jinchuriki.
• Madara and Black Zetsu discussed Nagato’s progress toward awakening the Rinnegan and planned to find someone to guide him, while also considering their cooperation with Kirigakure.

Minato asked Satoru for advice while developing a close-range ninjutsu based on the Tailed Beast Ball, and Satoru suggested using rotation to shape ordinary Chakra. Satoru then revealed that people had been disappearing around the time Nawaki was hospitalized and asked Minato to secretly help investigate, leaving them prepared to catch whoever was responsible.

• Minato explained that he wanted to create a powerful close-range ninjutsu and asked Satoru about the principles of the Tailed Beast Ball.
• Satoru explained that ordinary Chakra could be shaped without Tailed Beast Chakra and suggested rotation as a way to compress it.
• Satoru told Minato that records showed several people, including genin, had disappeared around the time Nawaki was hospitalized.
• Satoru suspected Danzo's research was behind the disappearances and said the Third Hokage might not act without conclusive evidence.
• Satoru asked Minato to help watch genin missions near the village so they could catch whoever was taking people, and Minato agreed.

Satoru teleported to Ryūchi Cave to collect Orochimaru, who had returned from studying sage arts with an altered appearance and unresolved problems. Orochimaru revealed that someone had infiltrated his private laboratory, and Satoru suspected the intruders were connected to their Hashirama Cells research.

• A messenger snake told Satoru that Orochimaru needed him to pick him up from Ryūchi Cave, so Satoru teleported there.
• Satoru teased Orochimaru about his horned, scaled appearance, and Orochimaru explained that it was a temporary side effect of his sage-arts experiments.
• Satoru advised Orochimaru to use Shadow Clones to refine Sage Chakra and nourish his body without entering Sage Mode.
• Orochimaru sensed that Satoru had grown far stronger and realized that his arcane arts resembled a unique Sage Mode.
• Orochimaru told Satoru that a mechanism in his private laboratory had been triggered and that the lab had been infiltrated.
• Satoru asked whether the lab contained materials from their Hashirama Cells research, and Orochimaru realized Satoru might have a lead.

Orochimaru joined Satoru and Minato in exposing Danzo’s secret experiments and attacks, forcing Sarutobi Hiruzen to punish him and shut down Root’s laboratories. The chapter ended with Orochimaru alone with Sarutobi Hiruzen in the Council Hall.

• Orochimaru discovered that intruders had tampered with his research, and Satoru told him Danzo had sought a bounty on Nawaki’s arm.
• Orochimaru agreed to join Satoru’s plan to stop Danzo, and the three captured Root ninja involved in abducting genin.
• Satoru, Minato, and Orochimaru presented evidence against Danzo to Sarutobi Hiruzen, with Mitokado Homura supporting the investigation.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered Homura, Satoru, and Minato to seal the human-experiment laboratories, rescue the victims, and secure the evidence.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen stripped Danzo of his Assistant Hokage position and confined him to the village for three years, while leaving him as Root Leader for the time being.
• Utatane Koharu left to handle the victims, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen and Orochimaru alone in the Council Hall.

Orochimaru and Satoru accepted that Hiruzen would not dismantle Root, while Danzo escaped the raid with his most important research untouched. Danzo and Hiruko continued their secret Hashirama Cell experiments, believing they were close to granting themselves powerful Wood Release.

• Hiruzen told Orochimaru that Root remained necessary to Konoha, and Orochimaru warned that he would respond if Danzo caused trouble again.
• Satoru and Minato exposed Danzo’s operation and rescued its captives, but Satoru found little of value in the raided laboratory.
• Homura explained that Hiruzen would not move against Danzo because Root’s accumulated secrets and ties to the Hokage made it difficult to dismantle.
• Danzo and Hiruko hid in a secret laboratory containing their essential research, which had survived the raid.
• Hiruko said their Hashirama Cell transplant experiments were nearing success, and Danzo agreed they would continue working toward powerful Wood Release.

Satoru showed Orochimaru his new construct, the Arcane Cat, which combined mechanical armor with arcane energy and could respond intelligently to commands. The cat recognized Orochimaru as a senior scholar, then hailed Satoru as its creator and declared its faith in his will.

• Orochimaru complained that Jiraiya had mastered Perfect Sage Mode and vowed to break through Sage Mode on his own.
• Satoru told Orochimaru that the reinforced armor was nearly ready for limited use and that he had made a miniature Construct Energy Core.
• Satoru produced the Arcane Cat from his Space Backpack, impressing Orochimaru with its compact design and capabilities.
• The Arcane Cat scanned Orochimaru and welcomed him to the laboratory as a senior scholar with Level One access.
• Orochimaru asked the Arcane Cat to identify Satoru, and it declared Satoru its honored creator with Rank Zero laboratory access and Rank A+ contribution.

Satoru completed a protected Private Space and then explained Sage Arts training to Minato after Minato qualified to learn it. Minato accepted that Sage Mode could make up for the limits of his Chakra and help him deal enough damage against powerful enemies.

• Satoru expanded the Space Backpack into a protected Private Space and began working to enlarge and stabilize it.
• Minato developed the Rasengan, completing another part of his combat style, though he still wanted to add Nature Transformation to it.
• Minato told Satoru that Jiraiya had sent him to discuss his next training after his Chakra reserves met the standard for Sage Arts.
• Satoru explained Sage Mode and how Sage Chakra could improve Minato’s endurance and increase his output power.
• Minato considered the Tailed Beasts and agreed that he needed to learn Sage Arts.