Recaps

Cao Ge, now called Kusana, led the rebuilding of Kusagakure as its daimyo and village head while trying to change the village’s ingrained habit of siding with whoever was strongest. When Konoha asked Kusagakure to join the war, Mujie proposed a way to appear cooperative while avoiding real commitment and revealed that they had located a target for Kusagakure’s plan.

• Kana woke Cao Ge and told him Mujie had requested an urgent meeting.
• Cao Ge went with Kana to the meeting room, where Kusagakure’s leaders discussed Konoha’s request for help in the war.
• Longzhi rejected joining the fighting because the Land of Grass needed to focus on reconstruction, while the others argued over whether to side with Konoha or Iwagakure.
• Mujie proposed cooperating with Konoha in name while negotiating with the Rain Ninja Village Leader to keep Kusagakure out of the battle.
• Mujie handed Kusana documents and said Kusagakure had found the target named by its leader in the Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun Plan.

Kusana laid out plans to strengthen the Land of Grass through education, medical care, defenses, construction, and public welfare, despite the country’s dwindling funds. He ended the chapter by naming a newborn Jian Guo to mark the rebuilt nation’s new beginning.

• Kusana rejected Mujie's plan to draw Iwagakure into war and assigned him to negotiate with Konoha and the Land of Rain.
• Kusana prioritized education and a medical system, then ordered Kusagakure to establish its foundations within five years.
• Kana privately warned Kusana that the Land of Grass was running out of money, and he said he would find a solution by working late.
• An old man and his son asked Kusana to name the child born soon after his return.
• Kusana named the baby Jian Guo to represent the rebuilding of the Land of Grass, and the gathered people praised the name.

Kusana wrote and sold a new erotic picture book to raise money for the Land of Grass’s reconstruction and arrange a grain purchase. After securing a better royalty deal, he prepared to leave for the Land of Rain.

• Kusana returned home with Kana and told her not to disturb him while he worked on stories to earn money.
• Kusana exchanged for an erotic picture book under the pen name Ooki.
• Kana assumed Kusana was exhausted from working and resolved to care for him with dinner and a bath.
• Kusana presented the book to a manager at the largest bookseller in the Land of Fire.
• Kusana negotiated a five-point increase in his share and asked the bookseller to purchase grain for the Land of Grass.
• Kusana left after settling the deal and began preparing to depart for the Land of Rain.

Kusana learned that Mujie had negotiated with Hanzo of the Salamander to keep Amegakure from attacking Kusagakure, and he slipped into the Land of Rain after receiving Mujie’s report. There, he found a little girl lying motionless and wondered whether he had arrived too early or too late.

• Hanzo of the Salamander ended the war with Konoha after his battle with the Three Sannin.
• Kusana arranged for grain to reach the Land of Grass and learned that Mujie had already departed.
• Mitokado Homura told Hiruzen that Kusagakure wanted money to support its reconstruction instead of joining Konoha’s war effort.
• Hanzo of the Salamander rejected Kusagakure’s demand for thirty million and offered five million, threatening war if Kusagakure refused.
• After receiving Mujie’s message, Kusana entered the Land of Rain and found a motionless girl with light blue-purple hair.

Kusana found Nagato and his mother Fusang in the Land of Rain after Nagato’s father was killed, then tried to persuade them to immigrate to the Land of Grass. The chapter ended with Fusang misunderstanding his serious proposal and falling silent after he clarified that he meant relocation.

• After Konan finished eating, Kusana took her toward Nagato’s home in the Land of Rain.
• Kusana and Konan found Nagato’s home invaded and arrived too late to save his father, but they saved Nagato and his mother, Fusang.
• Kusana, Konan, Nagato, and Fusang buried Nagato’s father and stayed at the house overnight.
• Kusana spoke with Fusang about leaving the war-torn Land of Rain and moving to the Land of Grass.
• Fusang misunderstood Kusana’s proposal and began to undo her collar, so he stopped her and explained the immigration offer.
• Fusang froze in silence after Kusana described the Land of Grass’s jobs, housing, food, and free schooling.

Kusana escorted Fusang, Nagato, and Konan toward the Land of Grass as the war in the Land of Rain escalated. After evading Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade, he reunited with Mujie and declared that they were going home.

• Fusang told Nagato they were leaving to seek a safer life, and the family ate breakfast before visiting Nagato's father's grave.
• Kusana led the group through the Land of Rain as Konoha's forces advanced and Amegakure prepared for battle.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade confronted Kusana, who switched his Amegakure forehead protector for a Kusagakure one and claimed to be escorting his secretary's relatives.
• Tsunade warned Kusana that the area would soon become a battlefield, and he invited the three Konoha ninja to visit the Land of Grass before continuing onward.
• Kusana spotted Mujie and other Kusagakure ninja, realized their plan had succeeded, and told Fusang, Nagato, and Konan they were going home.

Kusana brought Fusang, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko to the Land of Grass, where Fusang reunited with Kana, another Uzumaki survivor. As Kusana prepared to take Nagato and the others as students, he learned more about the scattered Uzumaki and decided to build a school and search for the clan's remaining members.

• Kusana brought Fusang, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko to the Land of Grass and offered to take Nagato and the others as his students.
• Kusana introduced Fusang to Kana, and the two Uzumaki women reunited and shared their grief over the destruction of their homeland.
• Nagato asked Kusana about his Uzumaki heritage, and Kusana explained that the clan had scattered to evade those who feared its abilities.
• Kusana realized Kusagakure needed a school and decided to arrange an investigation into the scattered Uzumaki survivors.
• Kana told Kusana that a Konoha ninja had taken a clan girl, the Fifth Elder had been killed, and the Third Elder had gone north.

Kusana oversaw the Land of Grass’s reconstruction while wars raged elsewhere, and he ordered workers to build a ninja academy. Their construction broke through into Madara’s underground cave, exposing the hidden base.

• Kusana organized winter preparations and directed the Land of Grass’s reconstruction, telling Mujie to skip work on Kannabi Bridge.
• Kusana went home to eat with Fusang, who said Kana, Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko were occupied with their work and studies.
• Mujie considered the academy’s lack of teachers and resources, then urged the workers to build its foundations firmly.
• The construction noise disturbed Black Zetsu and awakened Madara, who demanded to know what was happening.
• The workers broke through the cave ceiling, and a voice above asked whether there was a cave below.

Madara Uchiha learned that the Land of Grass was being rebuilt above his hidden base, but chose to wait until construction ended rather than expose himself. Meanwhile, Kusana prepared teaching materials for the new school, and Kana arrived with news that Mujie had found members of the Uzumaki Clan.

• Madara Uchiha learned that the Land of Grass’s reconstruction was causing the noise and that the boy with his Rinnegan was living well there under its leader’s care.
• Madara Uchiha ordered the White Zetsu to hide the hole in his base, leave the builders alone, and continue searching for suitable people and guarding his eyes.
• Kusana worked on school materials, planning morning reading, exercises, and recreational activities, and worried that the Land of Grass lacked qualified teachers.
• Kana told Kusana that Mujie had sent word that they seemed to have found members of the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki Yangzheng and the surviving Uzumaki clansmen arrived in the Land of Grass, where Kusana welcomed them and offered them a home. As they prepared to settle in, Hinoka noticed a white speck on her hand and thought it was snow.

• Uzumaki Yangzheng reassured his granddaughter Hinoka that they had reached safety, though he feared the Grass ninja wanted the Uzumaki clan’s abilities.
• Kusana arrived to welcome the Uzumaki refugees, but they stared at Uzumaki Fusang instead of reacting to his speech.
• Yangzheng recognized Fusang, and she welcomed him and the other clansmen home after Kusana accepted them.
• The Uzumaki clansmen cheered at the promise of a home, then Hinoka pointed out a white speck on her hand and said it looked like snow.

At the Land of Grass’s winter meeting, Kusana outlined plans to grow the country’s economy and population. After the meeting, he told Uzumaki Yangzheng that the Uzumaki Clan should focus on having children, leaving Yangzheng stunned.

• Kusana convened the Land of Grass’s first early-winter meeting, where Mujie proposed selling fabricated intelligence to raise revenue.
• Kusana rejected Mujie’s suggestion and proposed developing livestock, promoting the Land of Grass, and making a movie called “Gambling Shadow.”
• Kusana ended the meeting by ordering the attendees to write reflections of at least eight thousand words.
• Uzumaki Yangzheng asked Kusana how the Uzumaki Clan could help the Land of Grass, and Kusana told the clan to have more children for the nation’s future.

Kusana learned that the Uzumaki Clan had hidden treasures and agreed to help them relocate to the Land of Grass. Meanwhile, Yahiko and Nagato mistook a risqué book for a cultivation manual, while Jiraiya discovered that Teacher Ooki’s work had eclipsed his own.

• Uzumaki Yangzheng told Kusana about treasures hidden in Namen Hall and asked him to help move the Uzumaki Clan to the Land of Grass.
• Kusana and Kana caught Yahiko and Nagato sneaking into a grove with a book Yahiko had taken from Father Mujitsu.
• Kana opened the book, and Kusana warned Yahiko and Nagato that it was an evil technique that would harm children who read it.
• Jiraiya learned that his book had become outdated and bought Teacher Ooki’s popular work after seeing its cover.

Jiraiya bought Teacher Ooki’s books and decided to travel to the Land of Grass to study writing, while Tsunade prepared to leave Konoha with Shizune. In the Land of Grass, Kusana dismissed reports of strange sounds near the new academy and ordered the school to open.

• Jiraiya hid his newly purchased books when he met Tsunade and learned that she had taken in Shizune, Dan Katō’s niece, and planned to leave Konoha the day after tomorrow.
• Jiraiya told Tsunade he intended to travel to the Land of Grass to pursue writing, but she cut him off and walked away with Shizune.
• After Tsunade left, Jiraiya wished her strength to keep going and concluded that Teacher Ooki must live in the Land of Grass.
• Kusana reviewed reports that workers had heard strange noises beneath the new academy and suspected a White Zetsu might have made them.
• Kusana dismissed the threat and wrote that school would begin.

Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko began school in the peaceful Land of Grass, where their homeroom teacher, Jiang Yi Uzumaki, led the children through introductions and morning reading. Beneath the academy, an old man woke to the noise and cursed.

• Nagato left for school with Konan after his mother wished him luck, and they met Yahiko in their classroom.
• Yahiko told Nagato and Konan that the academy stood above a mass grave, frightening them before class began.
• Jiang Yi Uzumaki introduced himself as the homeroom teacher and invited the students to introduce themselves.
• Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko introduced themselves and spoke about their hopes for peace, protecting loved ones, and becoming powerful ninjas.
• Jiang Yi began morning reading from a textbook compiled by the leader, and the children recited its lesson about repaying kindness and resentment.
• An old man beneath the academy woke as debris fell into his cave and angrily cursed the noise.

Madara was kept awake by the newly opened Land of Grass Ninja Academy and ordered the White Zetsu to make Kusana part of Nagato’s bonds. After Kusana celebrated the school’s opening, he turned to plans for the Uzumaki Clan and proposed making a movie.

• Madara learned that the Land of Grass academy’s morning reading and lessons were disturbing his sleep, then ordered the White Zetsu to monitor his eyes and cultivate Nagato’s bonds.
• After hearing Kusana’s loud opening address, Madara told the White Zetsu to make Kusana one of Nagato’s bonds.
• Kusana delivered a speech urging the academy’s students to help rebuild and strengthen the Land of Grass, and the children applauded enthusiastically.
• Kusana left the academy and went to meet Elder Yang Zheng to plan for the Uzumaki Clan’s return and the recovery of its treasures from the Land of Eddies.
• Kusana suggested that he and Elder Yang Zheng make a movie.

Kusana asked Uzumaki Yangzheng and the Uzumaki Clan to help make a movie that could draw scattered clansmen to the Land of Grass. After Yangzheng recognized the script’s echoes of the Uzumaki Clan’s destruction, Kusana promised to protect them and send Grass ninjas to search for their kin.

• Kusana explained that he wanted the Uzumaki Clan to help film Gambling Shadow, and Yangzheng agreed to read the script.
• Yangzheng read the story of Uzumaki Jin’s betrayal and concluded that Kusana knew the Uzumaki Clan suspected Konoha had orchestrated their destruction.
• Yangzheng asked whether Kusana feared other villages discovering that the Land of Grass had taken in the Uzumaki Clan, and Kusana vowed to defend them.
• Kusana proposed using Uzumaki performers to alert scattered clansmen and said Grass ninjas would search for them.
• Yangzheng agreed to begin filming the next day so the clan could finish the movie before the New Year.

Kusana traveled to Hell Valley to recruit the Chinoike Clan into the Land of Grass. He offered them a chance to leave their harsh refuge and gain safety and a stable life, but Oyakamon had not yet accepted.

• Kusana learned that Kusagakure scouts had discovered the Chinoike Clan and decided to approach them himself.
• Kusana met his scouts in the Land of Hot Water and received intelligence that the clan numbered about a hundred and might have noticed the surveillance.
• Kusana reached Hell Valley, identified himself as the leader of the Land of Grass, and was escorted to meet Oyakamon.
• Oyakamon said the Chinoike Clan would not leave Hell Valley because he feared Kumogakure would hunt them down.
• Kusana urged Oyakamon to join the Land of Grass, promising recognition, missions, safety, and a comfortable life.

Kusana persuaded Oyakamon to bring the Chinoike Clan into the Land of Grass by promising citizenship, protection, and rights, but learned that a group of Uzumaki clansmen in the Land of Fire was under surveillance. Meanwhile, Tsunade and Shizune came across a Grass Film screening advertising Uzumaki Jin.

• Kusana warned Oyakamon that Hell Valley’s oppressive atmosphere could drive the Chinoike Clan toward extinction and secured their loyalty to the Land of Grass.
• Kusana offered the Chinoike Clan citizenship, homes, protection, education, and the rights and obligations of ninja citizens, and Oyakamon agreed to join.
• A Kusagakure ninja reported that Lord Mujie had found around fifty Uzumaki clansmen in the Land of Fire but could not remove them because mysterious ninjas were watching them.
• Shizune urged Tsunade to stop gambling, but Tsunade insisted she had plenty of money and headed toward a gambling hall.
• Tsunade noticed a crowd gathered for a Grass Film screening and froze when she saw an advertisement featuring Uzumaki Jin.

Tsunade and Shizune watched a movie in Kusagakure, while Uzumaki Jianghe and another refugee secretly hoped to learn what had happened to their scattered clan. The film showed their kin living safely in the Land of Grass, leaving Jianghe convinced he needed to tell the elders.

• Tsunade and Shizune entered the theater, where Tsunade ate the free popcorn and wondered why Kusagakure ninja were present.
• Uzumaki Jianghe attended the screening with a companion, recognizing Uzumaki Jin and hoping the movie would reveal news about his clan.
• Tsunade and Jianghe watched the film portray Konoha deceiving Uzumaki Jin and destroying his family, and Jianghe reacted with anger.
• The movie ended with Uzumaki Jin living peacefully in the Land of Grass and briefly showed Elder Yang Zheng and Jiang Yi living safe, happy lives.
• Uzumaki Jianghe and his companion realized the scenes might mean their clan could stop fleeing and decided to tell the elders.

Mujie and the Uzumaki Clan were ambushed by masked elite ninjas while trying to reach the Land of Grass. Just as the clan prepared to fight to the death, the Land of Grass’s leader arrived and attacked the ambushers with paper swords.

• Mujie learned that elite ninjas were closing in on the Uzumaki Clan and prepared to face them.
• Masked ninjas surrounded the group and ordered the Uzumaki Clan to come with them.
• Uzumaki Haruhito fought the ten jonin despite his injuries, until a massive boulder struck several attackers and gave him a brief reprieve.
• The group was surrounded again, and the Uzumaki Clan prepared to fight rather than surrender.
• The leader appeared in the sky and launched his Infinite Paper Sword technique at the masked ninjas.
• Elsewhere, a figure walked through a dim street, yawning as he wondered who the attacker was.

Kusana used Paper Release to defeat the assassination ninjas targeting the Uzumaki Clan and led both the Uzumaki and Chinoike clans toward the Land of Grass. After welcoming them, he left them hopeful about their new home.

• Kusana attacked the encircling assassination ninjas with Paper Swords and a massive Paper Dragon, knocking several jonin down.
• Mujie urged the Uzumaki and Chinoike clans to retreat while Kusana stayed behind to fight.
• The assassination ninja leader identified water as the paper technique’s weakness and ordered the ninjas to unleash Water Release.
• Kusana revealed that his paper was waterproof, turned the scattered paper into swords, and detonated Explosive Tags to finish the assassins.
• Kusana kicked Mujie down after he joked that Kusana would run from danger, then welcomed the Uzumaki and Chinoike clans to the Land of Grass.

Nagato and Yahiko prepared for the Land of Grass’s New Year festivities, while a strange academy ghost rumor reached Kusana. Amang returned to the Land of Grass with the Uzumaki Clan as the Third Hokage began a grave meeting in Konoha.

• Nagato shoveled snow and Yahiko pulled him away to enjoy the holiday and hear about the supposed ghost student.
• Yahiko invited Nagato to join the Akatsuki Organization, which had formed to investigate the academy rumor, but Nagato refused.
• Konan told Nagato and Yahiko that Amang had returned, and they went to meet him.
• Kusana learned that a mysterious student who asked strange questions had been appearing at the academy and suspected White Zetsu was behind it.
• Amang arrived near the Land of Grass with the Uzumaki Clan and called out that he was back.
• In Konoha, the Third Hokage asked the assembled leaders what they thought about an unspecified matter.

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konoha’s advisers discussed a devastating explosion, suspected Uzumaki refugees, and Kusagakure’s theater criticizing Konoha. Kusana accepted Konoha’s condemnation without changing Kusagakure’s conduct and turned to the Uzumaki Clan and Chinoike Clan joining.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Konoha’s advisers that a large explosion had destroyed evidence in the Land of Fire, and that red-haired refugees had recently appeared nearby.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that Kusagakure had registered a commercial theater whose plot alluded to Konoha’s role in the destruction of the Land of Eddies.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Konoha to condemn Kusagakure and told its ninja to stay away from Konoha and avoid ninja operations in the Land of Fire.
• Kusana dismissed Konoha’s condemnation, and Mujie expanded the brief reply into a formal apology without changing Kusagakure’s behavior.
• Kusana turned to the matter of the Uzumaki Clan and the Chinoike Clan joining.

Kusana organized the Uzumaki and Chinoike Clans into roles in the rebuilding Land of Grass and discussed the Uzumaki Clan’s research into sealing barriers and a Chakra Capacitor. He left confident in the country’s future after Mujie praised his leadership, though Mujie denied having once resisted him.

• Kusana appointed the Uzumaki Clan to handle sealing and assigned Oyakamon and the Chinoike Clan to help establish the Land of Grass Guard Department, emphasizing that it would serve the whole country.
• Kusana reflected on the risks of making the Chinoike Clan the Land of Grass’s guards and considered how education and cultural exports could strengthen Kusagakure.
• Kusana asked Uzumaki Yangzheng about his research, and Yangzheng admitted that the sealing barriers and Chakra Capacitor were not yet complete.
• Kusana told Uzumaki Yangzheng to settle his clan’s affairs and rest over the approaching New Year before continuing his work.
• Mujie asked about the Chakra Capacitor, and Kusana explained that it was a Scientific Ninja Tool that could help ninja and ordinary people.
• Mujie praised Kusana for rebuilding the Land of Grass and said he believed it would become powerful, while Kusana recalled that Mujie had once refused to surrender and Mujie denied it.

Kusana’s day off was interrupted when Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan visited to investigate rumors of a mysterious ghost student. Yahiko revealed that he had founded the Akatsuki Organization to investigate the sightings, and Kusana tried to redirect the children from discovering Madara by assigning them test papers.

• Konan brought Yahiko and Nagato to Kusana’s home, where Yahiko repeated Mujie’s claims that Kusana was lazy.
• Yahiko told Kusana about rumors of a ghost student who liked poop and explained that he had founded the Akatsuki Organization to investigate.
• Yahiko showed them a drawing as evidence, but Nagato argued that it was fake because it used ordinary paint and pens.
• Yahiko insisted the ghost student was real and prepared to keep investigating, while Kusana worried that he might discover Madara.
• Kusana stopped Yahiko from leaving and offered the children two test papers from the Grass Ninja Secret Scrolls.