Chapter Summaries

Pakura and Yunqing enjoyed a moonlit evening and regretted not being able to share pictures of it on social media. Elsewhere, Ye Nan and En Uzumaki openly showed affection in the cafeteria, infuriating Sha Zhi and the other diners.

• Pakura told Yunqing she regretted being unable to record their beautiful night together and make Ye Nan jealous.
• Yunqing decided he wanted to unlock technology skills such as smartphones and social media so he could post pictures and flaunt their relationship.
• Ye Nan reunited with En Uzumaki and abandoned her meal with Sha Zhi to spend time with him in the cafeteria.
• Ye Nan and En Uzumaki fed each other and exchanged sweet words for half an hour, angering Sha Zhi and the surrounding diners.
• Sha Zhi complained that Lord Shatu was absent, while the chubby girl avoided joining the argument and ordered another steak.

Ye Nan and En Uzumaki’s public displays of affection drove the cafeteria crowd away from their steak, while Sha Zhi worried that their reunion would leave her without a place to sleep. Sha Zhi ended up planning to sleep on an office cot, then went back to eating after the cafeteria lady replaced her cold steak with hot ones.

• Ye Nan and En Uzumaki asked the cafeteria lady for more steak, but she angrily sent them away for showing off instead of eating while it was hot.
• After the couple left, the cafeteria lady offered the crowd plenty of steak, and everyone eagerly lined up for more.
• The chubby girl gave Sha Zhi a steak, and Sha Zhi worried that Ye Nan and En Uzumaki would take up all the room in the dorm.
• The chubby girl explained that Sha Zhi would have to sleep on a hard cot in the office because the dorm beds were all occupied.
• Sha Zhi complained about Ye Nan until hunger made her ask the cafeteria lady to heat her cold steak, and the cafeteria lady replaced it with several hot ones.

Sha Zhi learned from the cafeteria lady why people bought leftover beef and heard about the hardships of starvation. Shatu told her he could not stop En Uzumaki and Ye Nan from occupying her lodging, but reassured her she would only have to wait a few days.

• The cafeteria lady teased Sha Zhi for pitying people who bought leftover beef and explained that poverty drove them to it.
• Sha Zhi described her work as a hardship, but the cafeteria lady told her about famine, starvation, and people going years without meat.
• Shatu joined them and described going half a month without food, leaving Sha Zhi and the chubby girl shaken.
• Sha Zhi complained that En Uzumaki and Ye Nan had left her without a place to stay, but Shatu said he could not interfere with their reunion.
• Shatu told Sha Zhi that Aizawa Uzumaki would soon go into seclusion and that she only needed to endure a few days.

After sleeping for a week on a hard bed, Sha Zhi returned to the dormitory to recover while Ye Nan went back to work and delegated most of her backlog. Shatu brought Ye Nan news of sweeping reforms that made them local governor and deputy governor, with Shatu's appointment granting him a vote in choosing the next Kazekage.

• Sha Zhi took leave after a week on the hard bed, and Ye Nan teased her before promising to bring her something delicious.
• Ye Nan returned to work, scolded her department heads, and divided the accumulated government affairs among them.
• Shatu told Ye Nan that the rear wanted a list of needed supplies and a report on self-sufficiency, and that they had both been promoted.
• Shatu explained that Lord Kazekage had assigned Senra to lead a new technology research department focused on communications.
• Ye Nan read Shatu's appointment letter and learned that local governors could help select the next Kazekage, while Shatu confirmed their new rank and voting rights.

Yunqing proposed communications research and created the Four Regional Governors to train future Kazekage candidates and give them regional authority. His decisions left Shatu among Sunagakure’s most influential figures.

• Yunqing convened Sunagakure’s leaders and proposed investing heavily in long-distance communications technology.
• Yunqing nominated Senra to lead the research, and he overruled objections favoring Sāmon.
• Yunqing proposed establishing Four Regional Governors with administrative and military authority and votes in Kazekage elections.
• Ebizo and Chiyo questioned the plan, but Yunqing argued that candidates needed practical experience governing regions.
• Yunqing said candidates who successfully developed and governed their regions would prove their suitability to lead.

Yunqing persuaded Sunagakure’s leaders to establish four regional governor positions as a test of whether future Kazekage candidates could earn broad recognition and control the village. After appointing Shatu, Sasori, Rasa, and Suke, Shatu explained to Ye Nan how their new political position would protect their people and planned to keep Sha Zhi under his wing.

• Yunqing argued that a Kazekage must be able to command the village and win the country’s recognition, and Sāmon, Bunpuku, and Chiyo supported his proposal.
• Yunqing established the Four Regional Governors, appointing Shatu, Sasori, Rasa, and Suke, then transferred Suke away from Harbor Port.
• Shatu explained to Ye Nan that the governors had become a relatively independent force within Sunagakure and asked her to prepare a supplies report.
• Shatu told Ye Nan that he would keep Sha Zhi with him and arrange a secure, comfortable position for her after the next Kazekage took office.
• Ye Nan decided to remain with Shatu and take things slowly, and Shatu offered to transfer her if she had greater ambitions.

Ye Nan declined Shatu’s suggestion that she pursue a position in the Kage struggle, choosing instead to enjoy her peaceful life. Shatu explained that the retirement district would soon receive capable officials who had chosen to leave their posts, while Yunqing arranged their transfers and prepared them to train their replacements.

• Ye Nan told Shatu she had no ambitions left and wanted to live quietly with Yan rather than compete for power.
• Shatu congratulated Ye Nan on joining the retirement district and recounted how Yunqing had described it as a place for officials who refused to work or lost political contests.
• Shatu told Ye Nan that the district would soon receive a group of people, and Ye Nan realized that many highly capable officials would be transferred there.
• Yunqing reviewed mid-level officials and discovered that many who complained of exhaustion had been secretly handling their duties efficiently while longing to retire.
• Yunqing arranged the first batch of transfers, and many officials agreed to help train newcomers and hand over their responsibilities before retiring with their benefits unchanged.

Yunqing reviewed the officials’ reassignment list and discussed with Ebizo why many veteran officials wanted to retire. He realized their numbers far exceeded his expectations, leaving him short of replacements and forcing him to reconsider how to manage the transition.

• Ebizo gave Yunqing the regional reassignment list and prepared appointment documents.
• Yunqing asked Ebizo how he felt about the departing officials, and Ebizo said they were making their own choices and wanted peace and safety.
• Ebizo explained that he would leave if he was no longer needed, rather than cling to his position under a new Kazekage.
• Yunqing considered letting the old guard depart in batches so they could temper the newcomers before leaving.
• Yunqing discovered that far more officials planned to leave than he had expected, and his prepared young replacements would not be enough.

Yunqing finished his work and left the Kazekage Building after checking on Sunagakure’s research and personnel, while Ebizo unexpectedly left work on time. His departure shocked officials throughout the building, and the three night-duty Elders were the only ones who could partly guess why.

• Yunqing watched Ebizo leave, complained that the Elder wanted to retire, and decided to leave work rather than stay late.
• Yunqing checked on the night-duty Elders, Senra's research, and Uzumaki Kōshi and Aizawa Uzumaki before buying fruit and heading home.
• Ebizo left the Kazekage Building at quitting time instead of working his usual extra hours.
• Young officials saw Ebizo leaving and rushed to the windows, stunned that he had gotten off work on time.
• Older officials checked Ebizo's office, confirmed he was gone, and joined the building-wide discussion about his unusual departure.
• The three night-duty Elders were the only people who could partly understand why Ebizo had left on time.

The three Elders and Ebizo adjusted to Yunqing’s quiet transition toward the next generation by preparing to step back from work. Chiyo helped Ebizo see that retirement meant letting go of his rigid routines, and he began considering how to spend his free time.

• The three Elders discussed Yunqing’s plans for the next generation and began making clear that they intended to retire peacefully rather than seek more responsibility.
• Ebizo went home early, found himself bored without work, and learned that Chiyo had brought him dinner in Linda’s place.
• Ebizo told Chiyo he was preparing for retirement but did not know how to fill his free time.
• Chiyo suggested square dancing, fishing, and playing cards with Sāmon and their friends, but Ebizo worried that staying up late would make him late for work.
• Chiyo told Ebizo that stepping down required him to let go of his old routines, and he realized he had been overthinking the change.

After abandoning his punishing work habits, Ebizo stopped handling his subordinates’ work and shifted his hours, forcing Yunqing to face the backlog Ebizo had previously managed. Ebizo then devised a new document-sorting system and assigned the task to a persistent young clerk.

• Ebizo told his housekeeper his new work hours and began letting his subordinates handle their own work while passing some of his duties to them.
• Yunqing found his desk piled with miscellaneous documents that Ebizo had previously filtered and handled.
• Yunqing sent half the documents back to Ebizo, claiming he was too busy to process them all.
• Ebizo kept some documents, then instructed the young clerk to sort them and distribute them among himself, Yunqing, and the Elders.
• The young clerk accepted the ongoing task of sorting and delivering documents, and his persistence eventually earned Ebizo and Yunqing’s recognition.

Yunqing explained to Pakura why Sunagakure’s prosperity depended on meeting the people’s needs and why leadership should pass to a new generation. He admitted that he wanted to retire because his power could provoke devastating retaliation against the Land of Wind.

• Yunqing and Ebizo kept shifting work onto each other until they settled on a compromise that burdened the document clerk.
• Pakura remarked that Sunagakure was prospering despite Yunqing and Ebizo avoiding their responsibilities, and Yunqing credited the reforms and his projections for the coming years.
• Yunqing told Pakura that leaders had to satisfy the common people’s needs and that leadership should eventually pass to a new generation.
• Pakura asked whether Yunqing’s ideas explained his desire to retire, and he said he wanted to avoid leaving a disaster behind.
• Yunqing warned that rival villages could retaliate against Sunagakure and the Land of Wind even if they could not defeat him directly.

Yunqing reflected that he had no ambition to remake the Ninja World and was content with his privileged life. That night, he and Pakura joined Ebizo, Chiyo, Sāmon, and Kakuzu for a fiercely competitive card game.

• Yunqing admitted to himself that he wanted a comfortable family life rather than the burden of saving everyone or unifying the Ninja World.
• Pakura asked Yunqing what he was thinking, and he guessed Ebizo would invite them to play cards again.
• Pakura agreed that Ebizo would likely host a game, since cards had become one of his main pastimes after he began slacking off.
• Ebizo gathered Sāmon, Chiyo, Yunqing, Pakura, and Kakuzu at his home for a six-person card game.
• Yunqing patiently counted the cards and played a winning hand that carried Pakura to victory for the round.
• The group continued playing late into the night, unaware that their image as admired leaders would shock the younger generation if exposed.

After the card game, Chiyo proposed using Yunqing’s Space Ninjutsu to create stable passages, but Yunqing explained that he could improve the technique without making it easy for others to learn. Sāmon clarified Yunqing’s limits, and Kakuzu reflected on how repeated challenges against Yunqing had ended in beatings.

• Chiyo and Kakuzu argued over the final round of cards until Sāmon calmed them down.
• Yunqing brought out watermelons, and Chiyo asked whether his Space Ninjutsu could be used to establish stable passages.
• Sāmon said Space Ninjutsu was too rare to make Chiyo’s proposal practical, while Yunqing admitted he lacked the ability to simplify it for widespread use.
• Sāmon explained that Yunqing could master and improve techniques but could not make them accessible to others, and the group understood his limitation.
• Kakuzu recalled how his strength had grown in Sunagakure, but his attempts to challenge Yunqing had repeatedly ended with him being badly beaten.

Yunqing explained why the Ninja World could not yet build stable space passages and why Flying Thunder God could not serve as a practical foundation. The group concluded that spatial travel technology remained out of reach, while Minato Namikaze’s skill showed how Flying Thunder God could still excel in the right hands.

• Sāmon confirmed that Yunqing was not omnipotent, prompting the group to discuss his limitations over tea and fruit.
• Chiyo asked who could create a stable space passage, and Yunqing recalled that only Kinshiki Otsutsuki had opened one in the Ninja World.
• Ebizo asked whether Konoha’s Flying Thunder God could be used as a foundation, and Yunqing explained that its marks, physical strain, and demanding reflex requirements made it unsuitable for civilian transport.
• Yunqing pointed out that Konoha had not made Flying Thunder God widespread despite decades of experience with it, and Chiyo dismissed the technique as useless.
• Yunqing defended Flying Thunder God by explaining how Minato Namikaze had built a personal combat system around it and developed the Rasengan to increase his attack power.

Yunqing and the others discussed Minato Namikaze’s combat system before Chiyo pressed Yunqing for news about Sasori. Yunqing reported Sasori’s success building a navy and working with Harbor City, leaving Chiyo proud of her grandson.

• The group agreed that Minato Namikaze had built a combat system around Flying Thunder God, though it had not become a transportation system.
• Chiyo asked Yunqing how Sasori had been doing, and Sāmon urged Yunqing to share what he knew.
• Yunqing reported that Sasori had matured and was training Harbor City’s naval forces, establishing regulations, and improving recruitment by publicizing the navy’s benefits.
• Yunqing explained that Sasori had worked with Harbor City to transport goods and sell surplus fish, supporting the local economy.
• The others praised Sasori’s accomplishments, and Chiyo proudly boasted about her grandson.

Yunqing reflected on how Sasori had proved himself as a commander and how Sunagakure had built a strong roster through years of training and secret efforts. He left the story resolved to keep his strongest assets protected from the other hidden villages.

• Chiyo proudly showed off Sasori's achievements, while Yunqing judged that Sasori had successfully subdued the navy and earned greater responsibility.
• Yunqing compared Sunagakure's forces with the powerful roster of Hiruzen Sarutobi's era and recognized how much his village had improved.
• Yunqing considered how his secret efforts to strengthen Sunagakure could provoke other hidden villages if discovered.
• Yunqing kept Rasa and Karura protected because he feared rival villages would assassinate Sunagakure's promising young talents.
• Yunqing recalled arranging failed assassinations of other villages' favored geniuses, including Nawaki Senju, and reflected on how leaders sacrificed the old to preserve the young.

After walking home together, Pakura told Yunqing that her wish was to live peacefully and safely, but she realized it could never be fulfilled in the Ninja World. Yunqing agreed that neither strength nor freedom as a rogue ninja could guarantee the life she wanted.

• Yunqing and Pakura walked home together after the gathering ended.
• Pakura sat down at home and reflected on how her wish could never come true.
• Yunqing asked Pakura what she wished for, and she said she wanted to live peacefully with an ordinary-looking man.
• Yunqing explained that civilians, nobles, and ninjas all faced danger and burdens that made a safe, peaceful life difficult.
• Yunqing suggested becoming a rogue ninja for freedom, but Pakura rejected the idea because rogue ninjas lived in constant danger and hardship.

After being banished to the sofa by Pakura, Yunqing slept poorly and shifted much of Sunagakure and the Land of Wind’s administrative work to the elders and Ebizo. Reviewing their work, he realized the older generation was passing tasks to younger officials, and he wrote to Sasori to prepare him to build the achievements and prestige needed to become Kazekage.

• Pakura refused to let Yunqing sleep in her bed or the study, so he spent the night on the sofa and woke with an aching waist.
• Yunqing avoided work after sleeping badly and delegated Sunagakure and the Land of Wind’s administrative matters to Ebizo and the Council of Elders.
• Yunqing caught up on sleep in the comfortable bed in his office, then reviewed documents that mostly required his approval.
• Yunqing noticed that the elders had passed some work to younger officials, whose proposed solutions seemed immature.
• Yunqing read Sasori’s work report and wrote him a letter explaining that he needed achievements and prestige to establish himself as a future Kazekage.

Sasori managed the growing navy in Harbor City and submitted a military budget proposal, while learning how Sunagakure’s elders expected him to handle the navy’s profits. Ebizo’s explanation of Yunqing’s cryptic reply left Sasori reflecting on his inexperience and the advantages of his family and good fortune.

• Sasori struggled to keep up with the expanding responsibilities of developing the navy and its maritime trade.
• Sasori accepted that the navy had to turn over part of its revenue after Ebizo warned him against keeping all its profits under his control.
• Sasori read Yunqing’s casual remarks in an official dispatch and wondered why Yunqing had included them.
• Ebizo explained that Yunqing’s message meant the older generation was preparing to retire and had paved the way for the younger generation to take over.
• Sasori recognized that his family’s support had protected him and given him access to Chiyo’s Puppet Technique.