Chapter Summaries

Yunqing pressured Sunagakure’s leaders to develop distinctive products and events that would strengthen the village’s reputation across the Ninja World. He left them energized by generous rewards, while Sāmon questioned whether the promised benefits were too large.

• Yunqing criticized Sunagakure’s executives for lagging behind Hatake Bookstore and relying on middlemen instead of building their own businesses and stores.
• An Elder proposed making products unique to Sunagakure, and the executives suggested holding and recording events to promote the village.
• Yunqing promised an advisor position, family policy support, and the right to represent Sunagakure to those whose plans or products succeeded.
• Sunagakure’s officials and clan leaders began pursuing business opportunities and designing promotional events, while Chiyo sought the advisor position for her family’s future.
• Sāmon warned Yunqing that the promised rewards could be excessive, and Yunqing defended rewarding powerful families so they would commit themselves to Sunagakure.

Chiyo persuaded Senra and his wife to revise their plans so Senra could compete for an advisor position and help clear the way for Sasori's future bid to become Kazekage. Meanwhile, Ye Xiu warned Ye Wen that Sunagakure's new commercial ventures posed a deeper concern than the scramble for influence.

• Chiyo explained that she wanted Senra to become an advisor so she could retire, Ebizo could later pass his post to Rasa, and Sasori could pursue the Kazekage seat.
• Chiyo convinced Senra and his wife to change their plans and work together to secure Senra's advancement and support Sasori.
• Sunagakure's other powerful figures also began maneuvering to win advisor positions for members of their families.
• Ye Wen reported the meeting to Ye Xiu, who said the advisor offer was meant to push Sunagakure out of its complacency.
• Ye Xiu pointed out that Konoha businesses and grain had entered Sunagakure, then gave Ye Wen books, paintings, and videotapes to study and warned him to think like a ninja, not a merchant.

Ye Wen prepared to expand the Ye Clan’s sauna business into other hidden villages while the Ninja World’s clans grew stronger and Konoha’s political balance shifted. He partnered with Aizawa Uzumaki to open a wellness sauna program alongside Whirlpool Hospital’s planned Konoha branch, which Kushina’s influence helped clear of opposition.

• Ye Xiu favored Ye Wen as the Ye Clan’s rational new patriarch and noted the clan’s growing strength under its cultivation plan.
• Yunqing planned a Ninja World news channel and television rollout, while Ye Wen prepared to contact other hidden villages about opening Ye Clan sauna hot springs.
• Ye Wen partnered with Aizawa Uzumaki to launch a wellness sauna program alongside Whirlpool Hospital’s expansion into Konoha.
• Kushina’s reputation and support from Konoha’s leadership discouraged officials from obstructing Whirlpool Hospital’s approval.

Kushina Uzumaki pressured Hiruzen Sarutobi into approving land for the Uzumaki Clan, while Jiraiya and Tsunade backed her up. After they left, Hiruzen explained that he was studying the Uzumaki Clan’s history and its former nation.

• Kushina Uzumaki presented Hiruzen Sarutobi with a land purchase contract and demanded his approval.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi teased Kushina about the cost and location of the land, but signed the document when she pretended to cry.
• Minato Namikaze apologized to Hiruzen Sarutobi and hurried after Kushina as she left with the approval.
• Tsunade apologized for arriving with Jiraiya, explaining they had thought Kushina needed help.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi said he was studying the Land of Whirlpools and the Uzumaki Clan because they had been the only ninja clan to establish a nation.

Hiruzen Sarutobi explained the old agreement between Konoha and the Uzumaki Clan and urged Jiraiya and Tsunade to keep their side jobs as the Ninja World shifted toward peaceful development. Meanwhile, Aizawa Uzumaki gathered his clan in Sunagakure to discuss expanding beyond the Land of Wind.

• Tsunade asked Hiruzen Sarutobi what he thought of the Uzumaki Clan, and he said neither clan owed the other anything.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that Konoha had protected the Uzumaki Clan through their marriage alliance and secret agreement, then allowed them to migrate to Sunagakure.
• Jiraiya questioned why the Uzumaki Clan would come to Konoha, and Hiruzen Sarutobi said mutual compromise could resolve old grudges.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told Jiraiya and Tsunade to maintain their side jobs as force became less necessary in the changing Ninja World.
• Aizawa Uzumaki praised the clan’s growth in Sunagakure and called for members to expand their business and influence beyond the Land of Wind.

Aizawa Uzumaki won the clan’s approval to invest in hospitals in other hidden villages, with volunteers signing up for the first phase. That night, he told En Uzumaki he planned to visit Konoha and meet Kushina Uzumaki, leaving the clan’s joint wellness project with the Ye Clan in En’s hands.

• Aizawa Uzumaki explained that the clan would build hospitals abroad with the other Four Great Hidden Villages, and En Uzumaki added that the plan would support medical cooperation and protect hospitals during wartime.
• Uzumaki Kōshi and other clan members asked questions about the proposal, including whether it had Kazekage’s approval and whether workers would travel to Konoha and Kirigakure.
• Aizawa Uzumaki called for a vote, and more than half the clan agreed to invest in medical development in other villages while a minority abstained or disagreed.
• En Uzumaki invited volunteers to join the first phase, and several clan members with medical skills signed up to work abroad.
• Aizawa Uzumaki told En Uzumaki he planned to visit Konoha and meet Kushina Uzumaki, and En encouraged him to reconnect with his cousin.
• Aizawa Uzumaki left En Uzumaki in charge of their wellness project with the Ye Clan and urged him to make it profitable.

Aizawa Uzumaki’s wellness program promised customers the Uzumaki Clan’s longevity, prompting Pakura to seek treatment to preserve her youthful looks. Yunqing offered to develop a sealing-technique series for her and quickly deduced the Tai Chi Series Sealing Technique.

• Aizawa Uzumaki promoted the Uzumaki Clan’s long lifespan to attract customers to its wellness program.
• Pakura showed Yunqing the program brochure and said Ye Nan had told her wellness care could preserve youth.
• Yunqing told Pakura he did not need wellness care, and Pakura envied his unchanged skin and lack of calluses.
• Yunqing offered to develop ninjutsu to preserve Pakura’s appearance and combat strength, and asked her to study sealing techniques.
• Yunqing used the Void Engine to deduce a sealing-technique series and named it the Tai Chi Series Sealing Technique.

Yunqing tested the Tai Chi Seal and found that it slowed his body's natural depletion, while Pakura discussed her marriage and the technique with noblewomen in a sauna. The chapter ended with Pakura agreeing to teach them a weaker version of the Sealing Technique.

• Yunqing used the Tai Chi Seal to gather Chakra and confirmed with the Void Engine that it slowed his vitality depletion.
• Pakura bragged to Ye Nan and the other noblewomen about Yunqing, then admitted she saw their relationship as a transaction and feared his coldness.
• The noblewomen said they envied Pakura because Yunqing's behavior was open and he had rarely pursued other women since confirming their relationship.
• Ye Nan asked Pakura to teach them the Sealing Technique, and Pakura agreed after suggesting Yunqing might have developed weaker versions suitable for them.

Pakura and Ye Nan discussed the unhappiness and compromises in their marriages over drinks, and Yunqing carried a drunken Pakura home. In Konohagakure, Kushina reunited with Aizawa Uzumaki, whom she said was her cousin, and broke down over how long she had gone without seeing family.

• Pakura asked Ye Nan why everyone seemed tired, and Ye Nan described the burdens of married life and the unhappiness of their political marriages.
• Ye Nan told Pakura that she had accepted her life with En Uzumaki, while Pakura reflected that she was fortunate to have Yunqing.
• Pakura drank until she was drunk, and Yunqing carried her home as onlookers gossiped about the couple.
• En Uzumaki picked up Ye Nan and took her home.
• In Konohagakure, Minato Namikaze hosted Aizawa Uzumaki, whom he said was Kushina's cousin, while Kushina cried about being separated from her family.

Aizawa Uzumaki reunited with Kushina in Konoha, promised to stay for three months, and gave her shares in Whirlpool Hospital’s Konoha branch along with lavish wedding gifts from the Uzumaki Clan. The next day, Minato’s friends marveled at the gifts and teased him for living off his wealthy wife.

• Kushina broke down in tears after meeting Aizawa Uzumaki, and Minato Namikaze comforted her until she calmed down.
• Aizawa agreed to stay in Konoha for around three months and thanked Kushina for helping establish a hospital there.
• Aizawa gave Kushina an agreement for twenty percent of Whirlpool Hospital’s Konoha branch and presented her with boxes of valuable wedding gifts from the Uzumaki Clan.
• The next day, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Hiruzen Sarutobi were astonished by the valuables filling Minato and Kushina’s home.
• Minato explained that the gifts came from the Uzumaki Clan and joked that his stomach was bad after Tsunade teased him for living off his wife.

Minato Namikaze despaired over the wealth and support Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki could offer him, while Kushina and Aizawa Uzumaki discussed the political necessity of sharing him with Mikoto. The Uchiha Clan decided to match the Uzumaki Clan’s financial support and use Minato’s rise toward the Hokage position to advance their own interests.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi tried to comfort Minato Namikaze, but Tsunade’s teasing about Mikoto Uchiha teaching him Fire Release plunged him back into despair over living off women.
• Kushina Uzumaki asked Aizawa Uzumaki what to do, and he told her she had to accept Minato Namikaze marrying both her and Mikoto Uchiha if she loved him and wanted him to become Fourth Hokage.
• Kushina Uzumaki accepted that Mikoto Uchiha could offer Minato Namikaze support comparable to her own, and Aizawa Uzumaki promised the Uzumaki Clan would send her more money.
• The Uchiha Clan Head, Mina Uchiha, and Fugaku Uchiha agreed to match the Uzumaki Clan’s move and transfer some assets and shares into Mikoto’s name.
• The Uchiha Clan Head ordered Mina Uchiha to arrange the asset transfer and Fugaku Uchiha to spread the matter among Clan Members, aiming to bring the clan closer to the Hokage position.

The Uzumaki and Uchiha Clans competed to lavish dowries and new villas on Kushina and Mikoto, leaving Minato Namikaze humiliated by his reputation as a freeloader. He resolved to find a way to become rich himself, though he knew refusing to marry either woman could provoke a dangerous political crisis.

• The Uchiha Clan learned of the Uzumaki Clan’s massive dowry for Kushina and began preparing an equally extravagant dowry for Mikoto.
• The Uzumaki Clan persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to approve land for Kushina’s enormous villa, and the Uchiha Clan built a villa for Mikoto.
• Minato Namikaze heard about the clans’ gifts and villas, then lamented that he would never escape being called a pretty boy and freeloader.
• Minato Namikaze considered robbery as a quick way to make money, but recognized that he already had income from land in the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Fire.
• Minato Namikaze concluded that he could not refuse to marry Kushina and Mikoto without risking a conflict between the great clans, so he decided to pursue wealth through his own efforts.

Yunqing watched events across the Ninja World while Sunagakure’s enterprises expanded, then met with Ebizo, who said his sister planned to retire. Yunqing questioned the timing and hinted that he might create another consultant position.

• The Uchiha Clan’s changed approach to gaining influence relied on Fugaku Uchiha’s marriage to Hiruzen Sarutobi’s niece rather than on achievements.
• Yunqing watched Yagura and the others on a screen in his office while enjoying popcorn and Sprite.
• Ebizo brought Yunqing reports on Sunagakure’s expanding enterprises, and Yunqing set them aside to review later.
• Ebizo told Yunqing that his sister was preparing to retire because she was old and her family was around her.
• Yunqing asked why she would retire before Sasori returned and said he might add another consultant position.

After Chiyo tried to resign so her son Senra could become an advisor, Ebizo explained why the timing would undermine Sunagakure’s leadership. Yunqing approved Chiyo’s resignation and appointed Aizawa Uzumaki in her place, leaving Chiyo to accept the decision and tell her family.

• Yunqing decided Senra could not immediately replace Chiyo and chose to give the vacant advisor position to someone else.
• Ebizo confronted Chiyo and explained that a mother-to-son succession would damage the advisors’ standing and Yunqing’s authority.
• Ebizo persuaded Chiyo to complete her resignation smoothly, predicting the Uzumaki Clan would receive the position and that the decision could improve public opinion of Sasori.
• A messenger delivered Yunqing’s approved documents, naming Aizawa Uzumaki as Chiyo’s successor and announcing Chiyo’s resignation as a front-page headline.
• Chiyo accepted the outcome, left to inform her son and daughter-in-law, and Ebizo privately thought she was foolish.

Chiyo resigned as Sunagakure’s consultant, and Aizawa Uzumaki was expected to replace her rather than Senra. Yunqing and Sāmon discussed Chiyo’s judgment and her past support for Yunqing, leaving their old favor acknowledged but neither holding the other accountable.

• Sunagakure’s news and newspapers reported Chiyo’s resignation and the expectation that Aizawa Uzumaki, not Senra, would succeed her.
• Sāmon asked Yunqing whether he understood why Chiyo was sometimes suppressed, and Yunqing said she could lose perspective when family was involved.
• Yunqing reflected on Chiyo’s past support for his rise to power and her influence in Sunagakure, including her support for Gaara.
• Yunqing recognized that he could not judge Chiyo’s actions because she had once helped him, and that both had preserved each other’s dignity over the resignation.

Yunqing and Sāmon discussed the missing ship carrying Sasori and Suke, while Kirigakure faced accusations over the crew’s disappearance. The Third Mizukage ordered an urgent sea search, and Kirigakure ninja sailed out to find the missing people and whoever was responsible.

• Sāmon questioned Yunqing about Sasori and Suke, and Yunqing assured him they were safe and had a backup plan.
• Sāmon remained concerned about the ship’s long absence, while Yunqing dismissed the danger and trusted Suke to escape with Sasori if necessary.
• The Third Mizukage received four letters demanding answers and angrily ordered Kirigakure to find the missing crew, alive or dead.
• The Hozuki Clan head sent elite Kirigakure ninja to search the sea and instructed them to kill anyone who got in their way before interrogating them.
• Kirigakure concluded that the other villages blamed it because its people and ships had formed the mission’s main force, and it launched an investigation.

Kirigakure launched a massive search for the vanished ship, prompting the other hidden villages to recognize how much power they could mobilize. In Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi and his confidants began discussing how to assess and use the Land of Fire’s resources, leaving Hiruzen considering deeper control of the country.

• Kirigakure committed its shipyards and elite ninja forces to finding the missing people, with the Kaguya Clan Head and the Hozuki Clan Head leading the operation.
• The other hidden villages watched Kirigakure launch thousands of ships and realized they might possess similar untapped strength.
• Yunqing laughed at the villages’ surprise, while Hiruzen Sarutobi convened a meeting in Konoha to discuss Kirigakure’s mobilization.
• Shimura Danzō urged Konoha to assess the Land of Fire’s reserves and think like administrators as well as ninja.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi reflected on Konoha’s limited involvement in governing the Land of Fire and considered taking fuller control.

Yunqing ordered a sweeping investigation of the Land of Wind’s resources and officials, using corruption charges to justify the searches. Rasa’s audit of Harbor City exposed five officials, while Lord Nakajima narrowly escaped punishment.

• Yunqing ordered Rasa to investigate the Land of Wind’s stockpiles and officials, and tasked Bunpuku with keeping order.
• Rasa mobilized five thousand ninja to search the Land of Wind, beginning in Harbor City with Fūsa’s cooperation.
• Lord Nakajima hurried to the administrative district after learning that Fūsa and Rasa were auditing the accounts.
• Rasa’s auditors found thirteen unclear accounts and signs of falsified bookkeeping involving five officials.
• Rasa had the five named officials taken away and warned Lord Nakajima to govern properly before leaving.
• Lord Nakajima collapsed from fear and wet himself after Rasa departed.

Fūsa explained to Rasa why Sunagakure distrusted officials from the Daimyo’s era and why local ninja connections mattered more than administrative convenience. Rasa accepted Fūsa’s guidance and decided how to handle the officials on the list, while recognizing the influence Fūsa’s senior allies held.

• Fūsa gave Rasa a list of former Daimyo-era officials and said most would be eliminated in a corruption investigation.
• Rasa worried that they might kill capable people, but Fūsa said the officials were untrustworthy and that the village’s support came from ordinary people, not administrators.
• Fūsa told Rasa to contact local police captains because ninja trusted their own allies, while officials from the Daimyo’s era remained outsiders.
• Rasa tore the list in half, returned one part to Fūsa, and said he knew what to do.
• Rasa reflected that Fūsa’s influence came from his longstanding ties to Sāmon and Yunqing, and that challenging those senior ninja could damage his future prospects.

After Rasa completed his mission in Harbor City, Sāmon revealed that he had put Rasa forward to counter the growing arrogance of Sunagakure’s Puppet Master faction. Yunqing worried that the factional conflict could block Sasori’s future, but Sāmon intended to use Rasa’s success to challenge the Puppet Masters’ influence over the next Kazekage.

• Rasa killed several more people in Harbor City before leaving, and Fūsa reported that he had performed well enough to pass Yunqing’s test.
• Sāmon told Yunqing that tensions had grown between the ordinary shinobi and the Puppet Masters aligned with Chiyo.
• Yunqing and Sāmon recalled how a drunken Puppet Master had mocked the older shinobi faction and loudly claimed Sasori was the designated next Kazekage.
• Sāmon explained that he had pushed Rasa forward to prove that his faction had viable candidates and could obstruct the Puppet Masters’ bid for the Kazekage position.
• Yunqing warned that the move could ruin Sasori’s chance to become Kazekage, but Sāmon insisted that the Puppet Masters needed to be checked.