Chapter Summaries

Akaseki developed the Awakening Seal, which could trigger a sealed Sharingan dojutsu at the moment of death, but Jiancheng rejected sharing it with the clan. Fugaku then reported that Clan Elder Lanyu had fallen, and Jiancheng ordered a clan meeting while asking Akaseki to stay.

• Akaseki identified benevolence and righteousness as the emotional stimuli for Yang Style and Yin Style, and reflected on why Uchiha struggled to cultivate Yin Style.
• Akaseki completed the Awakening Seal, which sealed a Sharingan dojutsu and activated it automatically when its conditions were met.
• Akaseki told Jiancheng that the seal could let Three-Tomoe Sharingan users activate Izanagi at the instant of death, but Jiancheng refused to tell the clan, arguing that sacrifice strengthened the Uchiha.
• Fugaku rushed in and reported that Clan Elder Lanyu had fallen, leaving Fuyouwen and Caozhen's status unknown.
• Jiancheng ordered Chunin-ranked and higher clansmen to gather at Naka Shrine in two hours, then told Akaseki to stay.

After Lanyu’s death, Jiancheng brought Akaseki to meet the imprisoned Setsuna Uchiha, hoping Akaseki could copy his Water Release techniques. Setsuna began demonstrating ninjutsu and discovered that Akaseki had extraordinary dojutsu power despite having awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in one eye only a little over a month earlier.

• Jiancheng warned Akaseki to keep the Awakening Seal secret and use it on himself as a fallback, then led him to the Naka Shrine to discuss the Water Style inheritance.
• Jiancheng revealed Setsuna Uchiha, who had survived the civil war and was being concealed in a dungeon beneath the shrine.
• Jiancheng told Setsuna that Lanyu had died and asked him to let Akaseki copy his Water Release Ninjutsu; Setsuna agreed to demonstrate techniques for Akaseki.
• Setsuna demonstrated Earth Style and Water Style ninjutsu while Akaseki copied them, and Akaseki revealed he had chakra natures beyond fire, water, and earth, including Yang Style.
• Setsuna learned that Akaseki had used only a third of his dojutsu power and had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in one eye just over a month earlier, leaving Setsuna baffled by his strength.

Setsuna questioned Akaseki’s unusual dojutsu growth while the Uchiha leaders gathered to discuss Lanyu’s death in Yugakure. Jiancheng withheld the suspected cause from his clan and went to confront Konoha’s leaders, leaving the circumstances of Lanyu’s death unresolved.

• Setsuna asked Akaseki how he had repeatedly stimulated his dojutsu, and Akaseki denied relying on anger before describing himself as having eyes of benevolence and righteousness.
• Fugaku explained that Akaseki had not been summoned to the Uchiha meeting, where Jiancheng addressed the death of Lanyu, who had been sent to help establish Yugakure.
• Uchiha clansmen argued over who had conspired against Lanyu, but Jiancheng said the enemy was mysterious and had not come from within the village.
• Jiancheng told the clan to prepare for battle without explaining Lanyu’s cause of death, then went to the Hokage Building to meet Sarutobi, Danzō, Homura, and Koharu.

Jiancheng reported Lanyu’s coded warning about the Jashin Cult, immortality, and Rashomon, prompting Konoha to arrange a mission to Yugakure. The team was set to depart in ten days with Akaseki, his former Team 7 teammates, and Dan Katō, while Jiancheng rebuffed Danzo’s probe about the Uchiha’s Water Style inheritance.

• Jiancheng told Sarutobi and the advisers that Lanyu had died and relayed the three terms from his coded message: the Jashin Cult, immortality, and Rashomon.
• Sarutobi rejected the idea that Orochimaru had attacked Lanyu, and Danzo suggested sending Akaseki to investigate the Jashin Cult.
• Jiancheng requested that Akaseki’s former Team 7 teammates, Minato Namikaze and Ranwu, accompany him, and Sarutobi agreed to the team arrangement.
• The advisers proposed Dan Katō as support, and Jiancheng arranged for the mission to leave in ten days so Akaseki could finish recording his Water Style ninjutsu.
• Danzo asked whether the Uchiha still had another three-tomoe Sharingan user skilled in Water Style, and Jiancheng refused to discuss the clan’s inheritance plans.

Jiancheng sent Akaseki to investigate Clan Elder Lanyu’s death in Yugakure, where a coded message had pointed to the Jashin Cult, an immortal body, and Rashomon. Akaseki consulted the Hell Yama King about possible demon gods and their sealed locations, but the chapter ended before he received a clear answer.

• Danzo warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the Uchiha Clan might still have powerful fighters in hiding.
• Jiancheng told Akaseki to travel to Yugakure in a week and investigate Lanyu’s death, while prioritizing his own safety and finishing his ninjutsu copying.
• Akaseki and Setsuna copied several high-ranking ninjutsu, and Akaseki summoned Tanuki Treasure to send messages to Ranwu and Minato.
• Akaseki summoned the Hell Yama King and asked whether he knew of the Jashin Cult and immortal beings that Rashomon might counter.
• The Hell Yama King called himself the god of immortality, and Akaseki asked whether other demon gods had been sealed in the Land of Rivers, the Land of Rain, or the nearby rainforest.

Akaseki learned that the Cursed God’s followers used curse techniques and that Rashomon could block them, then passed the warning to Clan Head Jiancheng for Konoha. After Lanyu’s gruesome death in Yugakure was reported, Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the remaining Konoha ninja to avoid conflict and wait for reinforcements, intending to let Sunagakure and the Jashin Cult clash first.

• Hell Yama King told Akaseki that the Cursed God’s followers used sin-based curses and that Rashomon’s true body could block them, while the formless Cursed God itself could only be sealed.
• Hell Yama King warned Akaseki that the one who stole the Six Paths power had obtained complete Six Paths Eyes, increasing the threat of his control over Hell Yama King.
• Akaseki shared the curse intelligence with Clan Head Jiancheng and asked him to inform Hiruzen Sarutobi, who passed the warning to the Konoha ninja in Yugakure.
• Jiancheng learned that the other Konoha ninja were alive and that Lanyu had died in his room with burst eyes and severe wounds, though there were no signs of a fight.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered the Konoha ninja in Yugakure to avoid disputes and wait ten days for reinforcements, intending to let the Sunagakure ninja and the Jashin Cult fight each other.

Akaseki completed copying the Uchiha Clan’s Water Style techniques and joined Minato’s team for a mission to Yugakure. There, they met Dan Katō and learned that a Jashin Cult had likely cursed and killed both Uchiha Lanyu and a Sunagakure jonin.

• Setsuna taught Akaseki the final Water Style technique and asked him to visit again in three months.
• Akaseki met Minato near Kushina’s home, where Kushina briefly lost control of the Nine-Tails before calming down.
• Akaseki, Ranwu, and Minato traveled to Yugakure and met Uchiha Fuyouwen and Caozhen at the village entrance.
• Dan Katō told Akaseki that a Sunagakure jonin had died in the same manner as Uchiha Lanyu after attacking Jashin Cult members.
• Dan Katō explained that the cult was secretive and hostile toward ninja, and he suspected its members had inflicted a curse on both jonin.

Akaseki learned that the Jashin Cult’s curses required large-scale sacrifices and decided to coordinate a strike with Sunagakure. Meanwhile, cult leader Gou Zang hired Kakuzu to defend the hideout, and the chapter ended as Akaseki prepared to meet Sunagakure’s commander, Zong Xuan, and his wife, Zhen Sha.

• Dan Katō told Akaseki that the Jashin Cult sacrificed many followers to curse its targets and that a high-ranking cultist’s body had disappeared from Yugakure.
• Dan Katō explained that the cult gathered often, had ninja contacts inside Yugakure, and that Hiruzen Sarutobi had ordered him to follow Akaseki’s command.
• Gou Zang hired Kakuzu to guard the Jashin Cult’s hideout for ten days and offered him extra money for killing Jonin.
• Gou Zang revealed that he had faked his death when Lanyu attacked and sought to create a saint by sacrificing nine ritual officiants.
• Akaseki asked Dan Katō to arrange a meeting with Sunagakure’s commander, Zong Xuan, who had arrived with his wife, Zhen Sha.

Akaseki challenged Zong Xuan and Gumu over whether to abandon Yugakure’s establishment or confront the Jashin Cult, then arranged a joint strike on a gathering site. After Zong Xuan agreed to the plan and secretly prepared to use trigger-type puppets, Dan Katō told Akaseki about ancient murals at a preserved ritual site, which Akaseki decided to inspect.

• Dan Katō introduced Akashi Uchiha to Zong Xuan and Gumu as a key participant in Yugakure’s establishment, while Akaseki provoked Zong Xuan with jokes about his ancestry.
• Akaseki asked whether Sunagakure would relocate or abandon the plan, and Zong Xuan argued that the allies should confront the Jashin Cult rather than retreat.
• Akaseki proposed that Konoha and Sunagakure jointly attack a Jashin Cult gathering the next day and split responsibility for dealing with its believers, while Gumu asked to join.
• Zong Xuan agreed to the strike and told Zhen Sha he would use his uncle’s trigger-type puppets to kill without being traced.
• Dan Katō told Akaseki that a preserved ritual site held ancient murals about the Jashin Cult’s origins, and Akaseki chose to visit it that day.

Akaseki examined the Jashin Cult’s cave mural and confronted the Hell Yama King about his role in its events. He learned that the mural had been altered to conceal the Sage of Six Paths’ defeat and sealing of Jashin, and he vowed to bring down the cult.

• Caozhen led Akaseki, Ranwu, and Minato into the cave where Lanyu had fought the Jashin Cult, and Akaseki examined its ancient mural.
• Akaseki recognized figures in the mural as the Hell Yama King and another being, and realized the Hell Yama King had withheld details about fighting Jashin.
• Akaseki summoned the Hell Yama King and questioned him about the mural, prompting him to explain the six paths and his former role as a vessel for the Sage of Six Paths’ power.
• The Hell Yama King revealed that he and the Shinigami had lost to Jashin before the Sage of Six Paths intervened and subdued the Cursed God.
• Akaseki concluded that Jashin’s followers had altered the mural to recruit worshippers by hiding the Sage’s victory, and he declared that the cult’s days were numbered.

Akaseki led the joint force toward a Jashin Cult cave while Dan Katō and Hell Yama King revealed that they could see each other’s spirit forms. After Hell Yama King warned that Jashin might have detected Dan Katō’s earlier scouting, Akaseki halted the advance, but tentacles suddenly erupted from the ground and attacked Minato.

• Akaseki divided the Konoha and Sunagakure teams between the cave’s two entrances and warned the joint force not to kill Jashin Cult followers before he summoned Rashomon.
• Akaseki and Dan Katō discovered that they could see each other through Hell Yama King, who explained that Dan Katō’s Spirit Transformation Technique was a Chakra-based form of the Reaper Technique.
• Akaseki questioned Hell Yama King about its former followers’ strange regenerative abilities as the group approached the southern cave entrance.
• Hell Yama King warned that Jashin could detect spirit bodies, leading Akaseki to suspect the cult had discovered Dan Katō during an earlier scouting mission.
• Akaseki stopped the force and warned them to assume the cult knew they were coming, but tentacles burst from the ground and lunged at Minato.

Akaseki’s group fought Kakuzu, a Takigakure rogue ninja whose body contained living masks and multiple Chakra cores. After Kakuzu’s attacks failed to finish them, Akaseki’s combination ninjutsu exposed Kakuzu’s face and left Caozhen recognizing him.

• Kakuzu ambushed Minato from underground, but Minato evaded his tentacle attack after Akaseki detected him.
• Dan Katō’s possession attack failed to harm Kakuzu, and a mask emerging from Kakuzu’s neck used Fire Release: Intense Pain to repel Minato.
• Hyuga Fengyi identified Kakuzu’s inhuman body and five Chakra cores as Akaseki sent Mirror Clones to test him.
• Kakuzu’s masks unleashed a fire-and-wind combination attack, while his tentacles blocked Minato’s Gale Palm.
• Akaseki’s Mirror Clones countered with Lightning Fang Severing Wave, electrocuting and tearing away Kakuzu’s two masks.
• Kakuzu’s mask fell away, and Caozhen recognized his green eyes and ash-yellow complexion as Ranwu reacted to his strange appearance.

Akaseki and Minato battled Kakuzu while their allies fought his masked tentacle monsters, and Akaseki learned that Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear was a chakra-based technique fueled by resentment. Kakuzu realized Akaseki had uncovered the secret and forced the attackers back, demanding to know how he had figured it out.

• Caozhen recognized Kakuzu as the Takigakure assassin who had once tried to kill the First, and Kakuzu proudly announced his name.
• Kakuzu blocked Caozhen’s fire attack and sent two masked tentacle monsters after Ranwu and Hyuga Fengyi, who struggled against their unusual bodies and fighting styles.
• Akaseki ordered Fuyouwen and Caozhen to help Ranwu and Hyuga Fengyi while he and Minato attacked Kakuzu’s main body.
• Akaseki learned through Hell Yama King that Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear was a chakra-based technique whose tentacles were likely formed from resentment.
• Kakuzu unleashed three thick tentacles to drive Akaseki and Minato back, then demanded to know how Akaseki had discovered the secret.

Akaseki used Kakuzu’s resentment and a bluff about a Sharingan genjutsu to unsettle him, then exploited the arrival of Sunagakure forces to turn the confrontation against him. He left Kakuzu facing a possible joint attack while Konoha retreated under Sunagakure’s cover.

• Kakuzu revealed his masks and prepared attacks with all five Chakra natures, but Akaseki confronted him with a claim that Uchiha genjutsu could make him abandon his obsession.
• Kakuzu’s lie-detecting tendrils sensed that Akaseki was telling the truth, and Kakuzu tried to force Akaseki to choose between letting him kill two subordinates or risking his eye.
• Sunagakure’s puppets arrived with Zong Xuan, and Akaseki described Kakuzu as a rogue ninja who had assassinated the First of Konoha.
• Akaseki urged Zong Xuan to kill Kakuzu’s employer, Gou Zang, and Zong Xuan offered to hold Kakuzu back while Akaseki did so.
• Akaseki accepted Zong Xuan’s proposal and led the Konoha personnel to retreat under Sunagakure’s cover, leaving Kakuzu furious and uncertain.

Akaseki entered the Jashin Cult’s cavern and used Rashomon and the Hell Yama King to test the believers, driving most of them to flee while killing those who truly welcomed death. He questioned Gou Zang about the Sage of Six Paths and the altered mural, and Gou Zang’s recognition of the Hell Yama King suggested someone had explained the mural to him.

• Zong Xuan stayed behind to hold Kakuzu off while Kakuzu sent masked clones after the puppeteers, and Akaseki led the Konoha ninja into the cavern.
• Akaseki summoned Rashomon to block Jashin’s power and used the Hell Yama King to expose believers who lied about being willing to die; he let those who feared death escape and killed those who genuinely embraced death.
• As the believers crowded toward the narrow exit, Akaseki questioned Gou Zang about how he found the sealed demon god and whether he had altered the mural in another cavern.
• Gou Zang denounced the Sage of Six Paths and recognized the Hell Yama King as a figure from the mural, leading Akaseki to suspect someone had explained the mural to him.

Akaseki tested Gou Zang’s immortality, learned that Jashin’s followers could be killed by fire or starvation, and sealed Gou Zang’s surviving head for study. While searching for Dan Katō, Akaseki discovered a hidden sealing place behind a mountain wall and found Dan’s unconscious spirit body before a gate.

• Akaseki cut off Gou Zang’s head and burned his body, then sealed the still-living head to take back for interrogation and research.
• Akaseki asked Hell Yama King about the Sage of Six Paths’ mother, but Hell Yama King avoided answering.
• Akaseki searched nearby for Dan Katō with Tanuki Treasure and found discarded puppet fragments from the battlefield.
• Tanuki Treasure detected a damaged, concealed seal and transformed into Sky Serpent form to carry Akaseki through a hidden mountain wall.
• Akaseki found Dan Katō unconscious before a gate resembling the Gate of the Great God, and Hell Yama King warned him not to approach before pulling Dan’s spirit body away with its tongues.

Akaseki summoned Rashomon to repair the Gate of the Great God’s Sealing and silence Jashin, then met the Sage of Six Paths. The Sage revealed he was only a lingering Chakra remnant and offered Akaseki a reward, while leaving his surname unanswered.

• Akaseki learned from the Hell Yama King and Tanuki Treasure that Rashomon could repair the Gate of the Great God’s Sealing.
• Akaseki summoned five Rashomon gates, and Jashin tried to tempt and curse him before its voice was cut off.
• The Sage of Six Paths appeared and introduced himself as Hagoromo, but did not answer whether his surname was Uchiha.
• Akaseki learned that the Sage was only a lingering Chakra remnant and asked whether he sensed any unusual Chakra or curse on him.
• The Sage said he sensed nothing, then offered Akaseki a reward for repairing the Sealing and putting the Demon God of Chaos back to sleep.

Akaseki met the Sage of Six Paths and chose a bloodline enhancement instead of help evolving his Sharingan into a Rinnegan. The Sage strengthened Akaseki’s eyes and marked his Uchiha Gunbai with the Ame-no-Hoko’s pattern before vanishing, leaving Akaseki and the others outside the mountain.

• Akaseki asked the Sage of Six Paths to evolve his Sharingan into a Rinnegan, but the Sage explained that the Rinnegan came from the power of the Six Paths and could not be granted.
• The Sage offered to enhance Akaseki’s bloodline or give him a Six Paths Tool, and Akaseki chose the enhancement while asking for the Ame-no-Hoko as a gift.
• The Sage marked Akaseki’s replica Uchiha Gunbai with the Ame-no-Hoko’s pattern and used his remaining Chakra to strengthen Akaseki’s bloodline, concentrating the effects in his eyes.
• The Sage of Six Paths vanished, and Akaseki discovered that he, Hell Yama King, Tanuki Treasure, and Dan Katō’s spirit body were outside the mountain.
• As Dan Katō began to wake, Akaseki wondered whether to tell the others that the Sage of Six Paths had been an Uchiha.

Akaseki arranged for Gou Zang’s recovered wealth to fund relief for victims of the Jashin Cult, while securing Yugakure’s agreement to let Konoha supervise how the money was spent. Dan Katō was sent back to Konoha to recover, and Akaseki continued coordinating Konoha’s forces in Yugakure.

• Dan Katō woke on Tanuki Treasure’s back, then entered Akaseki’s body and learned that Akaseki had resealed Jashin.
• Akaseki concealed Dan Katō’s spiritual injuries and arranged for a Konoha support squad to escort him back to recover.
• Akaseki told Gumu that Konoha had found Gou Zang’s hidden fortune and proposed using it to aid people harmed by the Jashin Cult.
• Akaseki persuaded Gumu to have Yugakure manage a relief fund under Konoha supervision, creating a long-term mission for Konoha ninja.
• Akaseki reported Jashin’s resealing and the relief fund arrangement to Konoha, while leaving out the Sage of Six Paths.

Danzo failed to block Akaseki’s appointment to Yugakure, where Akaseki’s team helped Konoha gain influence before moving to a medical branch in the Wetlands. After three months away, the team was sent home to rest as Konoha prepared another jonin promotion conference.

• Danzo urged Hiruzen Sarutobi to replace Akaseki with Root, but Hiruzen kept Akaseki in charge of Konoha’s mission in Yugakure.
• Akaseki’s team stayed in Yugakure through May, then met Zong Xuan as Sunagakure withdrew and three Uchiha chunin remained under a long-term cooperative mission.
• Akaseki’s team went to the Wetlands, where Akaseki commanded a medical branch and the trio treated wounded Konoha ninja while surviving attacks from Suna and Ame forces.
• After two months, the command center disbanded the branch and sent Akaseki’s team back to Konoha for rest.
• Akaseki expected to have a strong chance at promotion during the upcoming jonin promotion conference.