Chapter Summaries

Tao Yu recognized that he had arrived in an EVA world with a red ocean and strong World Will suppression, then assessed his chances of surviving and exploiting its Apostles and EVAs. Unsure where he was or whether the ocean was safe, he summoned Little Claw and sent it into the red water to investigate.

• Tao Yu identified the world as likely connected to EVA and recalled how the First and Second Impacts had changed Earth.
• Tao Yu tested his suppressed strength by cutting a massive boulder with his fused sword intent, then judged that he could defend himself against many ordinary threats.
• Tao Yu considered heading to Third New Tokyo to obtain Apostle abilities or pilot an EVA, while deciding that directly seizing Lilith or Unit-01 was too risky for now.
• Tao Yu altered his appearance to look younger and suspected that the red ocean might be separated from the wider ocean or connected to another world.
• Tao Yu summoned Little Claw and sent the shadow-and-black-mud creature flowing into the red ocean to test what lay within.

Tao Yu reached the coast near Third New Tokyo, sent Little Claw to search underwater, and learned that the city appeared undamaged and the Angels had likely not attacked yet. Airi Suzuki stopped to give him a ride into the city, where he joined her and her soldiers in a military jeep.

• Tao Yu summoned Little Claw, found it had shrunk but survived, and rode on its head while searching for a place to get his bearings.
• Following his divination, Tao Yu reached the coast near Third New Tokyo and recognized the surrounding area as Hakone.
• Tao Yu sent Little Claw into the sea to search for clues and considered whether to reveal himself to attract NERV's attention.
• Tao Yu observed that Third New Tokyo was intact and heavily fortified, suggesting the Angels had not yet attacked.
• Airi Suzuki stopped her military jeep, offered Tao Yu a ride, and overruled her subordinate's objection to taking him along.

Tao Yu entered Third New Tokyo, registered himself as fourteen-year-old orphan Namikaze Minato from Takigakure, and received housing and relocation benefits. After exploring the vast underground city and sensing Lilith beneath NERV Headquarters, he decided to secure a fallback before attempting anything risky and planned to start with the Water Angel.

• Airi Suzuki explained Third New Tokyo’s relocation support, and Tao Yu followed the newcomers to register his identity.
• Tao Yu registered as Namikaze Minato, a fourteen-year-old orphan from Takigakure, and received an identity card and a residence in District Seven.
• Tao Yu asked to delay attending school, then learned he had a week to settle in before reporting there.
• Tao Yu reviewed the city map and traveled by rail into the expansive underground city, where he saw its forests, lakes, combat modules, and NERV Headquarters.
• Tao Yu sensed Lilith beneath NERV Headquarters but held back from approaching her and chose to prepare for the Water Angel first.

Tao Yu met Airi Suzuki again and discovered she was a Taki Village ninja working as an agent for the Human Instrumentality Committee. After learning that Taki Village had been assimilated into the world following Second Impact, he asked Airi about the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, but she knew nothing about it.

• Tao Yu reunited with Airi Suzuki in the underground area and brought her back to his apartment.
• Airi Suzuki drew a gun and accused Tao Yu of not being human, but he subdued her and used his abilities to make her explain herself.
• Airi Suzuki revealed that she was a Taki Village ninja and an agent assigned to the UN forces, with orders to infiltrate NERV after the Angels attacked.
• Airi Suzuki explained that Taki Village had arrived during Second Impact, lost most of its chakra and ninjutsu, and gradually assimilated into the world.
• Tao Yu asked Airi Suzuki about the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki, and her surprised response showed she did not recognize the name Namikaze Minato.

Tao Yu revealed to Airi Suzuki that he was Namikaze Minato and explained SEELE’s role in Second Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project, persuading her to help stop Third Impact. Airi arranged to bring him into NERV headquarters, where Misato Katsuragi met him as Airi’s supposed cousin.

• Tao Yu identified himself as the Golden Flash, Namikaze Minato, and offered to help Airi Suzuki return to the ninja world.
• Airi Suzuki chose to remain in her current life, and Tao Yu told her that the Angels could cause Third Impact and that SEELE had caused Second Impact.
• Tao Yu explained the Human Instrumentality Project, and Airi Suzuki became furious and agreed to help him oppose it.
• Tao Yu asked Airi Suzuki to use her influence to get him assigned to NERV headquarters, and she agreed to introduce him as her cousin.
• Misato Katsuragi met Tao Yu and asked Airi Suzuki whether her handsome cousin Namikaze Minato had a girlfriend.

Misato Katsuragi brought Tao Yu to NERV for work experience, where he took a preliminary Evangelion pilot screening. The simulated synchronization test produced an impossible 120% reading, leaving Ritsuko Akagi stunned.

• Misato Katsuragi introduced Tao Yu to NERV employees and agreed to let him take the Core screening.
• Tao Yu asked to take the test, and Misato brought him to Ritsuko Akagi.
• Ritsuko explained the simulated synchronization test and led Tao Yu to a testing laboratory.
• Tao Yu entered the simulation pod and tried to keep his synchronization rate from drawing attention.
• MAGI reported Tao Yu's simulated synchronization rate at 120%, shocking Ritsuko.

Gendo Ikari approved Namikaze Minato as a backup EVA pilot after his unusually high synchronization result, while Misato Katsuragi questioned him about the Second Impact. Before Misato could collect Shinji Ikari, an Angel attack began, forcing Tao Yu and Airi Suzuki to respond.

• Gendo Ikari and Kouzou Fuyutsuki discussed Namikaze Minato's 120% synchronization rate and decided to make him a backup candidate pending further checks.
• Misato Katsuragi told Tao Yu that NERV would cover his expenses but impose greater restrictions, then confirmed there had been one giant of light during the Second Impact.
• Misato invited Tao Yu to join her mission to pick up Shinji Ikari, and he agreed.
• An air-raid alarm sounded before Shinji Ikari arrived, and Tao Yu realized the Angel attack had begun.
• Misato picked up Tao Yu and sent Airi Suzuki to report to the UN forces.

Tao Yu was brought to NERV headquarters as an early-arriving Angel attacked Third New Tokyo, and Kouzou Fuyutsuki asked him to fight it. The Angel brushed aside the UN forces, leaving NERV convinced that conventional weapons could not stop it.

• Tao Yu descended underground with Misato Katsuragi as the city sounded an alarm and its civilian buildings sank beneath the surface.
• Misato Katsuragi took Tao Yu to NERV's command room, where UN officials oversaw the response to an Angel emerging from the sea.
• Kouzou Fuyutsuki revealed that NERV knew about Tao Yu's village and offered him anything he wanted in exchange for killing the Angel.
• Tao Yu agreed to help but asked what he was expected to do and whether he could familiarize himself with the equipment.
• The Angel fired a cross-shaped beam that destroyed nearby defenses, swatted helicopters from the sky, and repelled the UN's artillery, rockets, and missiles with its AT Field.

After an N2 mine failed to destroy the Angel, NERV took command and prepared Tao Yu to pilot Unit-01. The synchronization test registered zero, but inside the cockpit Tao Yu sensed the soul of Yui Ikari resonating with his own.

• The Angel survived the N2 mine and began healing, prompting the UN commanders to transfer command to NERV.
• Fuyutsuki sent Ritsuko and Misato to prepare Tao Yu to pilot Unit-01.
• Tao Yu climbed onto Unit-01, changed into a plug suit, and entered the cockpit.
• The crew began the neural synchronization test, but Unit-01's synchronization rate remained at zero.
• Tao Yu sensed Yui Ikari's soul resonating with his own from inside the cockpit.

Tao Yu sensed Yui Ikari’s dormant soul inside Evangelion Unit-01, then achieved instant full synchronization and launched it against the Water Angel. Unit-01 destroyed the Angel with a golden cross, leaving Gendo Ikari convinced that his plan could succeed.

• Tao Yu sensed Yui Ikari’s instinctive soul inside Unit-01 and considered the EVA’s power and potential.
• Ritsuko Akagi investigated Unit-01’s unexplained sync reading as it shifted from zero to 100 percent.
• Tao Yu requested launch, and Unit-01 shot to the surface through the launch shaft.
• Unit-01 blocked the Water Angel’s AT Field with its own barrier, astounding NERV’s staff.
• Tao Yu pierced the Water Angel with a golden cross, and Gendo Ikari declared to Fuyutsuki that they had won the war.

Tao Yu used Evangelion Unit-01 to defeat the Water Angel, then realized the Eva had absorbed Wish Power and began planning to claim future Angels’ remains and Adam’s embryo for himself. SEELE praised Gendo Ikari’s victory but discussed secretly restraining Tao Yu, while Gendo ordered Misato summoned for a mission involving his plans for Shinji.

• Tao Yu discovered Evangelion Unit-01 had absorbed Wish Power from the Water Angel and decided to incapacitate future Angels before finishing them himself so he could claim their resources.
• Misato confirmed the Water Angel was dead, and Tao Yu considered targeting Adam’s embryo when Asuka brought it to Japan in Evangelion Unit-02.
• NERV personnel welcomed Tao Yu as a hero, and he modestly credited them while wearing Homelander’s signature smile.
• SEELE discussed secretly implanting a microbomb in Tao Yu, searching for other children, and continuing the Human Instrumentality Project under Gendo Ikari’s leadership.
• Fuyutsuki questioned Gendo Ikari about involving Yui’s child, and Gendo said they could not rely on one person before summoning Misato for a mission.

Misato and Airi discussed their new roles after Tao Yu’s battle with the Angel, while Airi relayed SEELE’s orders to keep Tao Yu emotionally attached to her. Misato drove Tao Yu to Second Tokyo to meet Shinji Ikari, leaving Shinji to join them in the car.

• Misato remarked that Airi looked well-rested despite NERV’s recent personnel changes, and Airi said she felt safer now that the Cores’ safety was handled by others.
• Airi told Tao Yu that a Human Instrumentality Committee member had ordered her to maintain an emotional hold over him by any means necessary, and she had already reported the order to him.
• Misato invited Tao Yu to accompany her to collect Shinji Ikari, who might become his partner and pilot Evangelion Unit-01.
• Tao Yu agreed to meet Shinji, and Misato drove him to Second Tokyo while they discussed the damage to Third New Tokyo and Tao Yu’s thoughts about winning Unit-01’s cooperation.
• Misato found Shinji waiting by the roadside, called him over, and Shinji got into the car beside Tao Yu.

Tao Yu detected an ambush while Misato drove him and Shinji to meet Gendo, then took the wheel and escaped the attackers. He realized the assailants were Explorers working for the Ou Family, while they planned to seek support from SEELE.

• Misato asked Shinji whether he knew why Gendo had summoned him, and Shinji said he did not.
• Tao Yu sensed an ambush, seized control of Misato's car, and dodged an RPG that exploded beside them.
• Tao Yu shot several off-road riders and escaped their attack, then recognized the fallen assailants as Explorers injecting themselves with medicine.
• Tao Yu suspected the Explorers had infiltrated NERV and might have contacted SEELE as part of a scouting mission arranged by the Ou Family.
• The surviving Explorers discussed contacting their employers again and offering SEELE information in exchange for assistance.

After Gendo Ikari questioned Tao Yu, Misato, and Shinji about the attack, he left them in charge of the Cores and arranged for Tao Yu to undergo testing. Tao Yu suspected that shinobi from Takigakure were watching them, while the group went shopping in a city still shaken by the attack.

• Misato recounted the attack to Gendo, who told the group to stay in the city, keep away from school, and take responsibility for the Cores before sending Tao Yu for testing.
• Gendo and Kouzou Fuyutsuki concluded that SEELE might be seeking contact with an outside power and that the attack could have been aimed at capturing someone to learn about NERV's weapons.
• Gendo told Kouzou Fuyutsuki that he had brought in skilled shinobi from Takigakure to handle the situation.
• On the railcar, Tao Yu noticed people watching them and suspected they were capable shinobi from Takigakure, while deciding to wait and learn more about the Trailblazers.
• Misato handed Tao Yu her sidearm and asked him to protect the group as they went to a nearly empty supermarket, where residents were stocking up on emergency supplies.

Takigakure shinobi and Breakers clashed while protecting Tao Yu’s group, then began negotiating after the Breakers’ sniper was killed. When the Breakers learned Tao Yu was Namikaze Minato, Tao Yu attacked their command room to prevent them from spreading information about the Abyss.

• Shui Yan watched Tao Yu’s group and recognized Namikaze Minato as a possible outsider from Konoha.
• A Breakers sniper shot a Takigakure shinobi, but the sniper was killed by two grenades thrown by Takigakure shinobi.
• Shui Yan used the dead sniper’s radio to begin negotiations with the Breakers’ commander.
• Tao Yu left Misato and the others, knocked out a shinobi guarding them, and moved toward the confrontation.
• The Breakers learned Tao Yu was the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and their commander contacted a teammate to report it.
• Tao Yu broke into the Breakers’ command room and slit the throats of the two men inside.

Shui Yan reported to Gendo Ikari that Namikaze Minato came from another world, prompting Gendo to reconsider how he dealt with him. Tao Yu met with Gendo to discuss matters after learning about the Seven-Tails, and the chapter left them beginning their conversation.

• Shui Yan concluded that Takigakure should avoid opposing Namikaze Minato and seek an alliance with him.
• Shui Yan told Gendo Ikari that Namikaze Minato came from outside their world and that Takigakure did too.
• Gendo thanked Shui Yan for the information, offered Takigakure assistance, and asked him to bring Namikaze Minato to meet.
• Gendo addressed Tao Yu as either the Fourth Hokage or Namikaze Minato, and Tao Yu asked him to call him Minato.
• Tao Yu prepared to see what he could learn from Gendo after making contact with Takigakure and learning about the Seven-Tails.

Tao Yu offered Gendo Ikari a way to try to free Yui Ikari from Evangelion Unit-01 in exchange for access to the world’s source. After Tao proved he could communicate with the dead, Gendo and Fuyutsuki agreed to help him investigate Adam, Lilith, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

• Tao Yu told Gendo that he had communicated with Yui Ikari through Evangelion Unit-01 and had agreed to look after Shinji.
• Tao Yu suggested that learning more about the power behind Evangelion Unit-01 might let him pull Yui’s soul free.
• Gendo agreed to work with Tao Yu if he could prove his ability by speaking with someone recently dead.
• Tao Yu summoned the soul of a Third Angel victim in the morgue, convincing Gendo and Fuyutsuki of his power.
• Tao Yu explained that he wanted to study the world’s source and believed Evangelion Unit-01 contained only part of it.
• Gendo and Fuyutsuki decided they would need to show Tao Yu information about Adam, Lilith, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Tao Yu discussed using his powers to resolve the conflict with Adam and Lilith, then met Rei Ayanami and watched Shinji struggle through EVA training. As another Angel appeared unexpectedly, Tao Yu decided to obtain an AT Field before pursuing the Adam embryo.

• Gendo Ikari and Fuyutsuki agreed to test Tao Yu’s proposal by bringing Adam’s Egg to Japan aboard a ship escorted by Unit-02.
• Misato introduced Tao Yu to Rei Ayanami, and Shinji anxiously asked whether Gendo had given Tao Yu trouble.
• Misato reported Shinji’s one-hundred-percent synchronization rate and arranged a full simulated training session for him in Unit-01.
• Shinji stumbled and fell with Unit-01, then performed clumsily despite quickly learning to move and fire.
• Tao Yu considered piloting Unit-00 or Unit-03 and decided to seek an AT Field before dealing with Adam’s embryo.
• The base alarm sounded as another Angel appeared, and Tao Yu sensed that events were unfolding unusually quickly.

A new Angel appeared soon after the previous battle, and Tao Yu chose to pilot the repaired Unit-00 while Shinji took Unit-01 into the launch area. As Challengers watched from nearby, the Angel shrugged off the military barrage and Unit-01's rifle fire, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Ritsuko and Misato prepared to launch against a newly arrived Angel, but Tao Yu volunteered to pilot Unit-00 instead of switching Shinji out of Unit-01.
• Tao Yu tested Unit-00's limits, judged its AT Field weaker than Unit-01's, and planned to preserve the Angel's remains for possible drops.
• Tao Yu launched in Unit-00 alongside Shinji in Unit-01, and they saw the Angel floating over the sea.
• A nearby group of Challengers watched the Angel withstand the defense turrets and discussed the chance of obtaining its drops.
• Unit-01 grabbed an Assault Rifle and fired at the Angel, but the rounds only rippled across its AT Field as explosions obscured it with smoke.

Tao Yu took over Evangelion Unit-00 and demonstrated how to break an AT Field, defeating Day Angel while preserving its S2 Engine. NERV agreed to give him the engine, while the Awakeners planned to approach SEELE about trading for an EVA.

• Shinji Ikari struggled against Day Angel in Evangelion Unit-01, and Misato asked Tao Yu to step in.
• Tao Yu used a compressed AT Field to sever Day Angel's tendril, then reassured Shinji and moved in front of him.
• Tao Yu demonstrated how to tear through an AT Field and dismantled Day Angel while preserving its S2 Engine.
• Gendo Ikari agreed to give Tao Yu the S2 Engine and said he would handle SEELE as Adam's embryo and Evangelion Unit-03 were brought to NERV.
• The Awakeners watched the battle, analyzed the AT Field, and decided to report to Lord Ou Cong and pursue a trade with SEELE for an EVA.