Recaps

The hidden villages expanded their influence through poverty relief and maritime ambitions while Sunagakure built a fleet and gave Sasori new responsibility. Black Zetsu’s attempt to turn Nagato against Ayu failed, as Orochimaru’s experiments advanced and Yunqing grew increasingly uneasy.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Mina Uchiha persuaded Konoha’s leaders to invest in neighboring regions, prompting the Five Great Hidden Villages to pursue poverty relief and purge Dark World members.
• Ayu’s forces and the three little ones drove Dark World ninjas from the Land of Rain, while Yunqing explained that the villages’ investments were intended to control and profit from the region.
• Yagura returned his battered expedition to the Land of Water, and the other villages began planning fleets after hearing reports of the voyage.
• Sasori returned to his family, then became deputy captain under Suke as Yunqing put him in charge of helping form Sunagakure’s fleet.
• Yunqing confronted the Sage of Six Paths over Nagato and their opposing views of peace, fought him through the night, and left the ruined land behind.
• Black Zetsu built White Zetsu forces and seized control of the Land of Fields, but Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan rejected his attempt to make them rebel against Ayu.
• Rasa secured land and funding in the Land of Fields, while Hiruzen Sarutobi supported Orochimaru’s experiments and Hatake Sakumo guarded bloodline samples for him.
• Orochimaru arranged a contract between Nawaki and the Wood Dragon, then watched Hatake Sakumo defeat Nawaki in a spar as Yunqing struggled to explain his growing irritation.

Yunqing used Konoha’s Wood Dragon research to launch Sunagakure’s own genetic research, then reshaped the village’s administration and communications plans. As he created regional governorships and a retirement path for overworked officials, the old guard began preparing to leave their posts.

• Hatake Sakumo returned to Konoha after defeating bandits, while Orochimaru declined to train Nawaki and considered pitting him and Wood Dragon against Rasa.
• Rasa and Karura gained the upper hand against Nawaki’s Wood Dragon, and Orochimaru used Fourfold Rashōmon to cover their escape.
• Yunqing took Orochimaru’s Wood Dragon research and enlisted Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hiruko’s cooperation, prompting Konoha to pursue genetic engineering and Impure World Reincarnation more aggressively.
• Yunqing gave Wood Dragon research materials to Aizawa Uzumaki and Uzumaki Kōshi, persuading them to pursue research under his direction to accelerate the evolution of living beings.
• Yunqing inspected Sunagakure’s growing storage base and enjoyed a night overlooking the village with Pakura, while Ye Nan and En Uzumaki’s reunion caused a commotion in the cafeteria.
• Yunqing appointed Senra to lead communications research and established Four Regional Governors, naming Shatu, Sasori, Rasa, and Suke to the posts.
• Yunqing began transferring officials who wanted to retire, but discovered that far more were leaving than expected and that his young replacements were insufficient.
• Ebizo left work on time for the first time in years, and Chiyo encouraged him to let go of his routines as he prepared for retirement.

Yunqing prepared Sunagakure’s next generation to take over while bringing the Otsutsuki Clan down from the moon and integrating them into the village. His conflict with the Sage of Six Paths ended with the Sage withdrawing, but Yunqing confirmed that he opposed Yunqing’s plans to unify the Ninja World by force.

• Ebizo and Yunqing shifted administrative work among themselves and the Elders, while Yunqing explained to Pakura that he wanted to retire without leaving Sunagakure in danger.
• Yunqing and the village leaders discussed their limitations over cards and learned that Sasori was building Harbor City’s navy and maritime trade.
• Yunqing sent Sasori to Harbor City to build his own team and establish the achievements and prestige needed to become a future Kazekage.
• Yunqing recalled his rise to power and met the Sage of Six Paths, who asked him to act as a liaison with the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon.
• Yunqing defeated the Otsutsuki Clan’s challengers and brought hundreds of them to Sunagakure, where the village offered them housing, stipends, jobs, and ways to contribute.
• The Otsutsuki Clan proposed selling its Chakra, helping with Byakugan inspections, and joining the military, and Yunqing approved plans to test the proposals.
• Yunqing told the Sage of Six Paths that his handling of the Otsutsuki Clan depended on treating them sincerely, then rejected the Sage’s warning that the Ninja World should remain divided.
• The Sage of Six Paths disappeared during a confrontation with Yunqing, and Sunagakure’s fighters gathered outside the office before Yunqing confirmed that the Sage opposed his possible use of force to unify the Ninja World.

Yunqing oversaw the successful development of a Gene Potion that restored vitality and strengthened Sunagakure’s senior fighters. As Bunpuku and Shukaku joined the research and Yunqing’s companions contributed rare clan treasures, the work expanded toward studying longevity and bloodlines.

• Yunqing threatened to stop the Sage of Six Paths if he attacked Sunagakure or civilians, while Hiruzen Sarutobi proposed using Impure World Reincarnation to bring back the First Hokage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hatake Sakumo pressed Orochimaru for research updates, approved his Gene Potion work, and sent him out of Konoha with supplies.
• Hatake Sakumo confined Jiraiya after his drunken outburst, and the two argued over Konoha’s experiments and the treatment of enemies’ dead.
• Yunqing tested Aizawa Uzumaki and Uzumaki Kōshi’s Gene Potion on Little Scorpion, whose health, Chakra, and strength improved without detected side effects.
• Yunqing gave the potion to Sunagakure’s senior fighters, and Suke, Shatu, Rasa, Karura, and others experienced increased vitality and strength.
• Bunpuku attained enlightenment after recognizing his enduring affection for Shukaku, then offered himself and Shukaku to Aizawa Uzumaki’s research.
• Aizawa Uzumaki and Uzumaki Kōshi began studying Shukaku’s Chakra and lifespan, while Sunagakure’s leaders supplied rare materials, research notes, and Kekkei Genkai bodies.
• Yunqing reviewed the contributions from his longtime companions, including a Senju Clan Kekkei Genkai body acquired through decades of fighting Konoha.