Chapter Summaries

Mukade used the Dragon Vein to transform into a giant Spider Puppet and overwhelm Naruto, but Aoba disabled most of the Puppet Soldiers by destroying the chakra pipelines. Naruto struck Mukade with a Rasengan, but Mukade rebuilt himself from the scattered Puppet remains and emerged as an even larger threat.

• Mukade absorbed Naruto's chakra, but Naruto burst out of the Puppet and punched Mukade, whose shattered face quickly regenerated.
• Mukade transformed into a giant Spider Puppet and attacked Naruto and Sara until Minato, Akimichi Choza, and Aburame Shibi arrived to protect them.
• Aoba led Yamato out of the underground passage and destroyed the chakra pipelines, causing nearly all the Puppet Soldiers to collapse.
• Naruto created a Shadow Clone and hit Mukade's Spider Puppet with a Rasengan while Sara fled to evacuate the people.
• Mukade absorbed the scattered Puppet remains and reconstructed himself into a larger, more powerful Spider Puppet as Aoba observed the process.

Aoba and Minato’s team fought Mukade’s Spider Puppet, but the Dragon Vein-powered enemy rebuilt itself into an even larger monster. Minato planned to have Sara seal the Dragon Vein, while Naruto rescued her from Mukade’s threads.

• Aoba treated Naruto’s thigh wound and secretly collected his bloodstained bandage as Choza and Shibi helped bring down Mukade’s Spider Puppet.
• Mukade used the Dragon Vein to gather the Puppet wreckage and transform it into a colossal Spider Puppet.
• Aoba told Minato that Anrokuzan could keep regenerating while the Dragon Vein supplied chakra, so Minato went to have Naruto protect Sara as she sealed it.
• Mukade’s chakra threads captured Sara and forced her to strangle herself, but Naruto broke the threads and handed her his Chakra Blade.

Naruto, Minato, Choza, and Shibi fought Mukade while Sara led Rōran’s people to the Dragon Vein and sealed it. Minato and Naruto defeated Mukade with a fused Taiji Rasengan, leaving Aoba wondering whether the events were fate or coincidence.

• Sara tore up her queen’s gown, rallied Rōran’s people, and led them toward the Dragon Vein’s core.
• Choza and Shibi stayed behind to fight Mukade while Minato urged Naruto to protect Sara.
• Minato discovered Mukade’s weak point, then joined Naruto in forming a blue-and-green Taiji Rasengan.
• Sara sealed the Dragon Vein, causing Mukade’s purple chakra to vanish.
• Naruto struck Mukade’s core with the Taiji Rasengan, and Aoba wondered whether the battle’s events had been predestined.

Aoba and Team Minato survived Mukade’s Dragon Vein explosion, sealed the energy, and returned to Konohagakure after Minato erased their memories of the time-traveling encounter. At camp, Aoba reviewed the valuable materials and secrets he had gained in Rōran, especially Sunagakure’s Sand Control Secret Technique.

• Aoba restrained Minato, Naruto, Sara, and Yamato as Mukade detonated the Dragon Vein, and Minato sealed its rampaging energy with a Flying Thunder God Kunai.
• Minato erased everyone’s memories of the time-traveling encounter, but Aoba secretly restored his own memories using a system backup.
• Team Minato escorted Rōran’s people to the surface, said goodbye to Sara, and began the journey back to Konohagakure.
• Aoba treated Choza’s side effects, and Choza thanked him by offering to buy him barbecue when they returned to the village.
• At camp, Aoba reviewed his gains, including Naruto and Yamato’s blood samples, Mukade’s Human Puppet Modification Technique, and a backup of Sunagakure’s Sand Control Secret Technique.

After realizing that Sunagakure’s Sand Control Secret Technique relied on Fuinjutsu, Aoba showed its scroll to Minato and steered their conversation toward learning sealing theory. Minato agreed to discuss basic concepts with him during their return journey, leaving Aoba with a chance to build his Fuinjutsu knowledge.

• Aoba realized that the Sand Control Secret Technique used Fuinjutsu to bind chakra and sand, and recognized the skill its creator had needed to develop it.
• Aoba approached Namikaze Minato during the night watch and showed him the Sand Control Secret Technique scroll he had found in Anrokuzan’s Modification Workshop in Rōran.
• Minato told Aoba he could keep the scroll as mission spoils, but said he could not teach him the complete formula because Aoba was only temporarily assigned to his team.
• Minato agreed to discuss basic Fuinjutsu theory with Aoba, and taught him about Yin-Yang Release and sealing symbols over the next two days of their return journey.

Aoba learned Fuinjutsu from Minato on the journey back to Konoha and used the lessons to carve a seal into a tree with his finger. After hearing Minato's mission report, Sarutobi Hiruzen upgraded the mission to S-rank and reviewed an old report about medical ninja.

• Minato taught Aoba the fundamentals of Fuinjutsu, and Aoba quickly grasped the concepts and asked incisive questions.
• Aoba used his chakra control and knowledge of combining Spell Scripts to carve the character "Seal" into a tree with his fingertip.
• Minato led the team back to Konoha, where Choza proposed celebrating their return with barbecue.
• Minato reported Anrokuzan's defeat, the resealed Dragon Vein, the Puppet army, and the mysterious time-Sora events to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen upgraded the mission from A-rank to S-rank and praised Aoba's contributions.
• After Minato left, Sarutobi Hiruzen took out a dust-covered report about the role of medical ninja within a team.

After completing an S-Rank mission, Aoba returned to Konoha, celebrated with his teammates, and rested. He told Shinku about the mission and his interest in Fuinjutsu, and Shinku encouraged him to seek guidance from Minato.

• Aoba, Choza, Shibi, and Minato celebrated the mission's successful completion over barbecue, and Minato said the Hokage had raised its rank to S-Rank.
• Aoba returned home late, slept in the next morning, and went to Shinku's House for lunch.
• Aoba startled Kurenai with a false warning about a caterpillar, and she chased him through the house.
• Aoba told Shinku that the mission had gone smoothly and named Minato, Choza, and Shibi as his teammates.
• Aoba praised Minato and mentioned asking him about Fuinjutsu, so Shinku encouraged Aoba to learn from Minato.

Aoba set aside human puppet research as too dangerous and directed the Chip to upgrade his Sand Control Secret Technique. After testing the new technique, he left with a sand gourd he could control and reshape.

• Aoba cleaned the crow coop, then reviewed the slow analysis of the encrypted data and human puppet techniques in his mind.
• Aoba considered making prosthetic limbs for injured shinobi but postponed the plan, wary of attracting the attention of Konoha's authorities.
• Aoba concluded that he needed greater control and chakra efficiency to match Gaara, then ordered the Chip to focus on Sand Control Secret Technique Version 2.0.
• Aoba used an upgraded sealing formula to break open his dark-red gourd and release the sand within it.
• Aoba controlled the sand as a giant hand, mixed it with ordinary sand, and formed it into an earthy-yellow gourd marked with dark-red sealing runes.

Aoba returned to Konoha Hospital, resumed his work, and used the quiet days to study the data he had collected from his mission. Three nights later, he decoded the Dragon Vein data packet and discovered it contained the Impure World Reincarnation technique.

• Aoba returned to Konoha Hospital after three days of rest and gave Yumiko a chibi Nine-Tails Puppet to soothe her resentment.
• Aoba reported to Ueno, reassured her that Minato had kept him safe during the mission, and resumed his hospital duties.
• Aoba studied Mukade’s experimental records and learned that Mukade had extensively modified himself to counter the Dragon Vein chakra’s petrifying effects.
• Aoba sealed away the Human Puppet technology and devoted the Chip’s freed processing power to decoding the Dragon Vein data packet.
• Three nights later, Aoba discovered that the packet contained the Forbidden Technique: Impure World Reincarnation.

Aoba studied the Sharingan Reincarnation Jutsu and decided to test Impure World Reincarnation. After honoring his deceased parents, he secretly left Konoha and completed the ritual in a hidden cave, summoning a young Konoha Jōnin.

• Aoba read that the Sharingan Reincarnation Jutsu required an undamaged Mangekyō Sharingan and worked alongside Impure World Reincarnation.
• On the anniversary of his parents' deaths, Aoba visited their graves and secretly sent strands of sand into the soil.
• Several nights later, Aoba used his knowledge of Konoha's barrier to slip out through a hidden route in the Forest of Death.
• Aoba flew to a bandit hideout, defeated the bandits, and took one captive as a living sacrifice.
• Aoba performed Impure World Reincarnation in a concealed cave, and the ritual transformed the captive into a cracked-skinned young man wearing a Konoha Jōnin vest.

Aoba summoned Dan Katō with Impure World Reincarnation and asked him to teach the Spirit Transformation Technique. After showing Dan his connection to Jiraiya and Tsunade, Aoba described Tsunade’s suffering and warned of a catastrophic future, leaving Dan to consider Aoba’s plea.

• Dan Katō awakened in an Impure World Reincarnation body and questioned Aoba about summoning him.
• Aoba asked Dan to teach him the Spirit Transformation Technique, then demonstrated Jiraiya’s Wild Lion’s Mane Technique and Tsunade’s monstrous strength.
• Aoba told Dan that Tsunade had developed hemophobia after his death and planned to leave Konohagakure with Shizune.
• Aoba recounted meeting a future ninja through the Dragon Vein and warned Dan that war, Jiraiya’s death, and Konohagakure’s destruction awaited them.
• Aoba asked Dan to teach him the Spirit Transformation Technique so he could change the future and protect his loved ones and village.

Aoba persuaded Dan Katō to teach him the Spirit Transformation Technique and promised to help him see Tsunade again. Back in Konohagakure, Aoba discovered that his inability to use the technique came from system incompatibility and began considering how to adapt it.

• Dan Katō agreed to teach Aoba the Spirit Transformation Technique and explained its principles, hand seals, and combat applications.
• Aoba promised to take care of Tsunade, then told Dan he would seal him temporarily and later let him meet her and urge her to become Hokage.
• Aoba resealed Dan Katō in a wooden coffin, erased the cave traces, and returned to Konohagakure before dawn.
• Aoba reviewed the technique and tried its hand seals, but his chakra produced no effect.
• Aoba used the Chip to analyze the technique and concluded that he needed to alter its operating code or create a compatible environment.
• Aoba decided that he might need to release Dan Katō more often to help him work out how to use the technique.

Aoba continued his hospital routine as tensions with Iwa rose and Kakashi’s harsh mission-first behavior isolated him from his teammates. After secretly healing Might Guy, Aoba witnessed Uchiha Itachi’s birth and heard rumors about the young Uchiha Shisui.

• Aoba overheard nurses say Kakashi had abandoned another injured teammate and had been removed from seven teams in half a year.
• Aoba found Might Guy injured after challenging Kakashi again, healed him secretly, and sent him away with homemade liniment.
• Aoba saw Uchiha Fugaku and other Uchiha gathered outside the delivery room as Mikoto gave birth to Uchiha Itachi.
• Two Chunin discussed rumors that four-year-old Uchiha Shisui already had Genin-level strength and an exceptional Body Flicker Technique.

Aoba and Dan Katō tested Aoba’s theory for making the Spirit Transformation Technique easier to learn by externally guiding spiritual energy away from the body. Their attempt partially succeeded, but it further damaged Dan’s Impure World body.

• Aoba summoned Dan Katō and explained his plan to use the Spirit Transformation Technique to gradually guide another person’s spirit out of their body.
• Dan agreed to help after Aoba reassured him that he trusted him, and Dan entered Aoba’s body to begin the experiment.
• Dan connected their chakra and carefully pulled Aoba’s spiritual body outward while Aoba’s Chip monitored the intrusion.
• Aoba’s spirit emerged as a phantom overlapping his body, showing that his spiritual and physical energies had begun to separate.
• Dan returned to his Impure World body and found that it had shed dust and developed denser cracks.

Aoba perfected the Spirit Transformation Technique with the Chip’s simulations and successfully separated his spirit from his body. He discovered that the Chip could make his defenseless body counter attacks automatically, then returned to his body while Dan Katō questioned how it worked.

• Dan Katō urged Aoba not to obtain a stronger sacrifice or use Impure World Reincarnation more than necessary, and Aoba agreed.
• Aoba spent nearly half a month refining the Spirit Transformation Technique until the Chip’s 121st simulation produced an 81.3 percent success rate.
• Aoba summoned Dan Katō and used his revised thirteen-seal technique, with the Chip activating its hosting and auto-defense modes as his spirit left his body.
• Dan Katō tested Aoba’s motionless body, which countered with a Chakra Scalpel and sand spikes while Aoba watched as a spirit.
• Aoba’s spirit returned to his body, stopping the attack, and Dan Katō asked how Aoba’s body could act independently.

Aoba explained how his younger brother’s spiritual imprint took control of his body during the Spirit Transformation Technique, reassuring Dan Katō and sending him back into his coffin. As tensions rose between the shinobi nations, Konoha prepared for war while Aoba worked in the hospital laboratory.

• Aoba told Dan Katō that a younger brother absorbed before birth had left a spiritual imprint that could control his body when his own soul departed.
• Dan accepted Aoba’s explanation, praised his talent, and asked him to send him back to rest until the future changed.
• Aoba sealed Dan in the coffin and promised to bring Tsunade to see him when the time came.
• As border friction with Iwa stopped and war seemed imminent, Konoha sent shinobi to reinforce its borders, including Yuhi Shinku.
• Aoba gave Yuhi Shinku a scroll of medicine and supplies before Shinku left for the Land of Hot Water border.
• With the hospital busy preparing supplies for the front, Aoba was assigned to extract concentrated medicinal essences in the laboratory.

Aoba used Shadow Clones to produce medicinal potions efficiently while preparing for the likely Third Shinobi World War by training his Spirit Transformation Technique. He drifted toward the Uchiha compound to investigate Naka Shrine and its altered stone tablet.

• Aoba used Shadow Clones and the Chip to produce potions with perfect yields, then deliberately lowered their quality and controlled his deliveries.
• The village's leaders lowered the graduation requirements for senior Academy students, including Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, Shizune, Uchiha Obito, and Nohara Rin.
• Aoba decided to intensify his training in the Sand Control Secret Technique and Spirit Transformation Technique as war approached.
• Aoba explained that spirit bodies evaded most sensory ninjutsu but could be detected by animals, instinctive people, and barriers.
• Aoba recalled triggering a search by Root ninja after his spirit body touched a barrier in Konohagakure's back mountains.
• Aoba's spirit body headed toward Naka Shrine to see whether he could perceive the Uchiha stone tablet's contents.

While spying on the Uchiha compound, Aoba found and took over a White Zetsu watching Obito, then collected a sample and sealed its body away. The chapter ended by showing the frail Uchiha Madara connected to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

• Aoba detected a White Zetsu hidden in a tree near Obito’s house and realized Madara was watching Obito.
• Aoba invaded the White Zetsu, destroyed its chakra consciousness, and took control of its body.
• Aoba discovered the White Zetsu’s Root Concealment ability and used it to move through trees and underground.
• Aoba returned to his own body, drew white fluid from the White Zetsu, and sealed its body in a scroll.
• Uchiha Madara sat deep beneath the Graveyard Mountains, sustained by tubes connected to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Madara ordered White Zetsu to keep monitoring Obito while leaving Nagato’s new Akatsuki organization alone. Aoba avoided interfering with Obito’s fate and began studying White Zetsu Cells, realizing they could be useful as a medical material.

• White Zetsu told Madara that the clone monitoring Obito in Konohagakure had vanished, and Madara ordered a replacement to watch Obito more carefully.
• Madara asked about Nagato, learned that he had started Akatsuki to pursue world peace, and chose not to interfere with him.
• After two days without further incidents, Aoba relaxed when another White Zetsu appeared near Obito and decided to keep watching rather than change Obito’s fate.
• Aoba continued his hospital work while studying White Zetsu Cells, testing how quickly they absorbed nutrient solution and his blood.
• Aoba concluded that White Zetsu Cells could serve as biological material to improve medicine without being transplanted into a person.

Aoba discovered that White Zetsu cells greatly improved talisman paper’s chakra conductivity, but decided to keep the discovery secret until he had the power to use it safely. At Konoha Hospital, he learned that the Third Hokage had approved Tsunade’s plan to assign medical ninja to combat teams, a decision Aoba believed would damage the village’s medical system.

• Aoba tested talisman paper soaked in White Zetsu cells and found that it transmitted chakra at least twice as quickly as ordinary paper with almost no loss.
• Aoba abandoned thoughts of selling the improved paper because powerful clans controlled the market, and planned to use the material secretly for his own scrolls and Explosive Tags.
• Aoba noticed unusual commotion at Konoha Hospital and found a notice announcing the wartime medical reform plan and its three principles for medical ninja.
• Aoba recognized that the Third Hokage had expanded Tsunade’s proposal into a full rollout after the Dragon Vein mission and Minato’s praise of him.
• Aoba judged the plan impractical because medical ninja took years to train and could become liabilities in combat teams, citing Rin’s inability to save Obito as an example.