Chapter Summaries

Akaseki discussed Dan Katō's behavior with Orochimaru, then invited him to help develop Swamp Release. Orochimaru was appointed commander-in-chief and planned a cautious two-year campaign against Sunagakure, while Danzo argued that the strategy favored the Uchiha Clan and continued defending Ninja Academy reforms.

• Orochimaru told Akaseki that Dan Katō had taken his frustration out on Tsunade, discouraging Akaseki from visiting him.
• Akaseki explained that he was developing Swamp Release, and Orochimaru agreed to advise him despite lacking the ability to use it.
• Orochimaru received orders to become commander-in-chief and told Hiruzen Sarutobi he would reduce Konoha's losses while slowly wearing down Sunagakure over two years.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi accepted Orochimaru's strategy after weighing the risks of rushing the campaign.
• Danzo warned Hiruzen Sarutobi that the prolonged campaign would strengthen the Uchiha Clan, then defended Ninja Academy reforms while criticizing Hatake Sakumo.

Akaseki stayed in Konoha to develop Swamp Release while Orochimaru led the Uchiha forces to the front. Ranwu returned to the village, and Akaseki agreed to accompany her to visit Dan Katō.

• Akaseki learned that Orochimaru had asked the Third to keep him in the village so he could grow stronger and develop Swamp Release.
• Orochimaru suggested Akaseki take missions to the Land of Water, where he could find swamps, and Akaseki continued training after Orochimaru left.
• Ranwu returned to Konoha on March 15, and Forest Street’s neighbors held a welcome-home gathering for her.
• Ranwu asked Akaseki how he had voted on early enrollment and graduation, and he admitted he supported the proposal after trying to avoid answering.
• Ranwu asked about Tsunade and said she wanted to visit Dan Katō, so Akaseki offered to go with her.
• Akaseki met Ranwu outside Konoha Hospital the next morning, and they headed to Kato House with gifts.

Akaseki and Ranwu visited Dan Katō, then were summoned by Sarutobi for a confidential mission in the Land of Water. Konoha would help Kirigakure recapture the Six-Tails, a task that could bring them into conflict with other Mist Ninja.

• Akaseki and Ranwu visited Dan Katō with get-well gifts and found him physically frail but apparently recovering emotionally.
• Akaseki and Ranwu ate at the Pine Deer Pavilion, where an Anbu member summoned them to meet Sarutobi.
• Sarutobi told Akaseki and Ranwu that Kirigakure had asked Konoha to help recapture the Six-Tails in the Land of Water.
• Sarutobi explained that the Six-Tails had been roaming free for years after its jinchuriki died, while the Three-Tails had recently been sealed inside Karatachi Yagura.
• Akaseki realized the mission could pit them against other Mist Ninja amid the Third Mizukage's struggle with Karatachi Xuancang's faction.

Akaseki, Ranwu, and Shinnosuke received a classified mission to help the Third Mizukage capture the Six-Tails and disrupt the alliance between Kirigakure and Sunagakure. After preparing for the dangers of the mission, they reached the coast and prepared to sail for the Land of Water.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi explained that the Third Mizukage wanted their help capturing the Six-Tails while facing opposition from Karatachi Xuancang's faction and cooperation between Mist Ninja and Sand Ninja.
• Hiruzen assigned Akaseki, Ranwu, and Shinnosuke to the S-rank mission, and Shinnosuke joined the team hoping to face Karatachi Yagura again.
• The three discussed the mission over ramen and agreed to depart the next morning; Akaseki also informed Clan Elder Chizuru about the unrest in the Land of Water.
• Chizuru warned Akaseki not to trust the Mizukage or Mist Ninja and gave him the Forked Deity Sharingan to carry for protection.
• Two and a half days later, Akaseki and his companions reached the East Sea coast and chartered a ship to cross to the Land of Water.

The Akaseki Squad traveled to the Land of Water to help the Third Mizukage capture the Six-Tails amid Kirigakure’s internal turmoil. Akaseki grew wary of the mission’s strange atmosphere, and he ended the chapter meeting Karatachi Yagura, who appeared unchanged since they last met.

• Akaseki promised Ranwu he would visit the Land of Whirlpools with him on the return journey.
• Akaseki’s squad met Suikazan Fuguki, Ao, and Hishi at the Land of Water’s port and verified their mission credentials.
• Ao warned Akaseki to avoid clashes with the Sand Ninja, deepening Akaseki’s suspicions about Kirigakure’s factional conflict.
• The Third Mizukage asked the squad to help recapture the Six-Tails in Azure Water Marsh, and Akaseki told Ranwu and Shinnosuke to follow his orders because something felt wrong.
• Akaseki met Karatachi Yagura and noticed that he carried a tailed beast and looked just as young as he had five years earlier.

Akaseki and Konoha’s representatives met the Sand Ninja and traveled with Kirigakure’s factions to capture the Six-Tails. As the joint team set out, Akaseki grew suspicious of the apparent harmony between the factions and ordered his allies to follow his lead.

• Yagura and Akaseki exchanged taunts with the Sand Ninja, and Gari mocked Akaseki over Dan Katō’s injuries before Yagura calmed the group.
• Ao escorted Akaseki’s group to the Third Mizukage, who said they would search for the Six-Tails the next morning alongside Karatachi Xuancang’s people.
• The Third Mizukage told the hired teams to avoid hindering one another and said whoever secured the Six-Tails first would decide what happened to it.
• Ao identified the baby and Zabuza, Momochi Senzan’s young son, as jinchuriki candidates, while Akaseki frightened Zabuza and drew Senzan’s anger.
• As the twenty-two-person team departed, Gari provoked Akaseki with a comparison to Kumogakure’s coup, and Akaseki loudly asked whether Kirigakure planned one too.
• Shinnosuke questioned the factions’ apparent friendliness, and Akaseki warned his Konoha companions to follow his orders because he suspected something was wrong.

Akaseki traveled with the Kirigakure factions toward the Six-Tails, mocked Momochi Senzan, and agreed to use the Mizukage’s tracking technique through a summoned snake. While searching the wetlands with Ranwu and Shinnosuke, he revealed that he had awakened Swamp Release and demonstrated his so-called Uchiha Sage Mode.

• Akaseki teased Momochi Senzan about giving Zabuza a shared name character, and Yagura defended Senzan’s choice.
• The Mizukage located the Six-Tails within a large forest and swamp region, and the Kirigakure factions split up to search separately.
• Akaseki had the Mizukage place a tracking seal on his summoned snake instead of on himself, then searched with Ranwu and Shinnosuke.
• Akaseki told Ranwu that he had awakened Swamp Release by using her great-uncle’s Wood Release as a reference.
• Akaseki entered an open swamp, frightened away a giant crocodile, and revealed his Red Lion form as Uchiha Sage Mode.

Akaseki arrived at the Six-Tails’ location and discovered the Karatachi Faction fighting the beast while Sunagakure’s ninjas secretly attacked them. The Third Mizukage then ambushed Akaseki, who realized the Mizukage had conspired with Sunagakure to eliminate the Karatachi father and son.

• Akaseki followed the projection signal toward the Six-Tails and sent his snake back to Ryūchi Cave to avoid revealing his position.
• Akaseki found Karatachi Xuancang and Karatachi Yagura trying to seal the Six-Tails, with Rasa and the other Sunagakure ninjas present.
• Pakura struck Xuancang during the sealing, and the freed Six-Tails smashed him into the swamp.
• Rasa and Gari attacked Yagura, forcing the Three-Tails to take over his body, while Karura and Yashamaru shielded the Sunagakure ninjas.
• The Third Mizukage’s concealed party attacked Akaseki, who protected Ranwu and Shinnosuke with Susanoo and recognized the Mizukage’s plot against the Karatachi family.

Akaseki realized the Third Mizukage and Sunagakure had conspired to kill Karatachi Xuancang and his son, and he fought to help the Karatachi faction escape. The battle remained unresolved as the Third Mizukage countered Akaseki’s techniques and Ranwu and Shinnosuke struggled against the Mist and Sand Ninja.

• Akaseki inferred that the Third Mizukage had allied with Sunagakure to eliminate Karatachi Xuancang and his son, then ordered Ranwu and Shinnosuke to help the others escape.
• Akaseki used Swamp Release and Uchiha Sage Art to attack the Third Mizukage across the marsh, forcing him to take the threat seriously.
• The Third Mizukage sealed most of Akaseki’s Swamp Monster with his Water Mirror Sealing Technique, then fired water bullets at Susanoo.
• Akaseki destroyed the water mirror and freed the Swamp Monster, restoring his standoff with the Third Mizukage.
• Ranwu and Shinnosuke joined the Karatachi faction’s Jonin, but the Three-Tails and Six-Tails attacked them as well as their enemies.

Ranwu and Shinnosuke battled the Three-Tails while Akaseki held off the Third Mizukage. Akaseki caught the Mizukage with a surprise Mangekyo genjutsu and struck him into the swamp, leaving the battle’s outcome unresolved.

• Ranwu attacked Harusame with Water Style, but the Three-Tails’ sweeping tails threatened to interrupt her assault.
• Shinnosuke used the Enma Great Staff to deflect the Three-Tails’ tails, giving Ranwu an opening to attack Harusame with Water Severing Wave.
• The Six-Tails focused much of its aggression on Rasa, while Akaseki kept the Third Mizukage occupied and taunted him during their fight.
• The Third Mizukage slipped through the swamp and entered Akaseki’s Susanoo to launch a close-range assassination attack.
• Akaseki’s snake tail revealed its Mangekyo Sharingan and caught the Mizukage in Giant Snake Stare genjutsu.
• Akaseki struck the stunned Mizukage with an elbow, sending him crashing into the swamp.

Akaseki defeated the Mizukage but could not kill him before Sunagakure’s elite arrived and rescued him. As Shinnosuke escaped with the still-living Karatachi Yagura, Akaseki stayed behind to hold off Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo.

• Akaseki knocked the Mizukage into his swamp, while the Three-Tails’ transformation ended and the Six-Tails escaped beneath the mire.
• Shinnosuke caught the falling Karatachi Yagura, but Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo arrived and helped rescue the Mizukage.
• Akaseki accused the Gold Clan of wanting Yagura alive, while Luo Yan ordered Rasa to kill him as Rasa and the others pursued Shinnosuke’s group.
• Akaseki summoned Tanuki Treasure to engage Ebizo and used Swamp Release and Inorganic Reincarnation against Rasa while facing Chiyo in Susanoo.
• Akaseki began recovering chakra as he stalled the three Sunagakure elites, intending to hold them off for half an hour.

Akaseki escaped the Sand Ninja after exhausting much of his power, but Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo continued pursuing him across the sea. Near the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, Akaseki changed direction, and Luo Yan persuaded Chiyo to keep chasing.

• Akaseki used palm Sharingan and Substitution to evade Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo, then summoned Vermilion Bird Tanuki Treasure and flew away.
• Luo Yan chose to prioritize killing Akaseki over pursuing Yagura, calling him a possible future Asura of the Ninja World, and Chiyo agreed to continue the pursuit.
• Akaseki flew west over the sea, recovering his chakra and dojutsu power while repeatedly fighting his pursuers with Susanoo.
• After a night and a day, Akaseki reached the waters near the Land of Fire, where Chiyo warned that Konoha reinforcements might arrive.
• Akaseki changed direction toward the former site of the Land of Whirlpools, and Luo Yan convinced Chiyo to follow despite Ebizo's concerns.

Akaseki fled three Sunagakure pursuers to the Whirlpool Sea and released the person sealed there, hoping to turn the situation around. Instead of the powerful Uchiha Nanashi he expected, a mysterious young Uchiha girl emerged, and he escaped with her as she questioned his need to flee and his ability to use Susanoo.

• Akaseki reached the Whirlpool Sea with Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo close behind, and ordered Tanuki Treasure to undo a seal there.
• Tanuki Treasure raised a wrapped figure from the whirlpool, and Akaseki claimed she was his most important companion while preparing to flee.
• Akaseki discovered the figure was a young girl rather than the powerful Uchiha Nanashi he expected, then grabbed her and flew away beneath Susanoo.
• Luo Yan and Chiyo attacked Akaseki as he escaped with the girl, but their strikes missed or were blocked by Susanoo.
• The girl noticed Akaseki's Uchiha eyes, asked why he was running, and questioned whether his fighting ability deserved Susanoo.

Akaseki tried to send the Mysterious Girl away while he faced Luo Yan and the other Sand Ninja, but she refused to leave and revealed her Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo. She pursued the fleeing Sand Ninja and killed Luo Yan with a spear of black flames.

• Akaseki summoned a sea snake, gave the Mysterious Girl instructions for reaching Konoha, and sent her toward the water while he turned to face Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo.
• The Mysterious Girl stayed behind and asked the Sand Ninja to let her leave, explaining that she had no quarrel with them and would not fight for the Uchiha Clan.
• When the Sand Ninja refused, the Mysterious Girl activated her Mangekyō Sharingan and used black flames to reveal her second-stage Susanoo.
• Luo Yan tried to escape as the Mysterious Girl pursued him with Susanoo wings formed from black flames, while Akaseki followed.
• The Mysterious Girl pierced Luo Yan’s gold dust with a spear of black flames and burned him to ashes.

Akaseki killed Ebizo after Luo Yan's death and realized that Hikari was far stronger than he had expected. He followed her across the sea, trying to persuade her to stay, and began explaining how the Uchiha had changed since she was sealed.

• After Luo Yan's attack sent the Gold Dust falling, Chiyo and Ebizo escaped on gliding puppets, and Akaseki pursued them.
• Chiyo and Ebizo split up, so Akaseki chased Ebizo, killed him with the Thunderfire Greatsword, and sealed his corpse for the Analysis Corps.
• Akaseki recognized that Hikari was the real Uchiha Nanashi and suspected she was stronger than even the Third Raikage.
• Hikari told Akaseki her name was Hikari and said she wanted nothing to do with the Uchiha, but Akaseki discarded his clan-marked clothes and followed her.
• When Hikari said her family was dead, Akaseki claimed that she still had him and then tried to relate his own parents' deaths to her past.
• Hikari questioned Akaseki about being controlled as a weapon, and he began explaining that the Uchiha had lost their ancestral lands and the Mangekyō Sharingan during her three-hundred-year absence.

Akaseki told Hikari the Uchiha Clan’s history and tried to recruit her to help take control of it, but she chose to see the modern Shinobi World before deciding what to do. After Hikari knocked Akaseki unconscious and removed his transplanted eyes, he woke to discover his chakra was draining even faster than before.

• Akaseki recounted the Uchiha Clan’s defeat, migration, and return to the Naka River region, while Hikari connected his account to her memories of being controlled as a weapon.
• Akaseki urged Hikari to join him in taking control of the Uchiha Clan, but Hikari said she would first explore the modern Shinobi World and decide what it should be like.
• Hikari stumbled while walking across the sea, questioned why Akaseki’s chakra was so weak, and activated her Mangekyō Sharingan against him.
• Akaseki woke beside a campfire and found that Hikari had removed his transplanted Towa and Forked Deity and sealed them in a scroll.
• Akaseki realized that, despite the eyes’ removal, his chakra was draining as if he were maintaining several Mirror Clones or carrying multiple foreign Sharingan.

Akaseki and Hikari struck a truce after Engraving began draining his chakra, and they returned to Konoha together. Hikari agreed to stay with him while seeking a way to replenish her chakra, but her arrival immediately caused trouble at the village gate.

• Akaseki entered Sage Mode and discovered his senjutsu chakra could interfere with Hikari through Engraving, so they agreed that she would drain his chakra while he gave her a senjutsu chakra Cursed Seal.
• Hikari agreed to accompany Akaseki to Konoha, hoping to learn about the modern shinobi world and see whether the Uchiha were still hateful.
• On April 8, Konoha Year 41, Akaseki confirmed Ranwu and Shinnosuke had returned safely before he and Hikari reached the village.
• Uchiha Jie and Uchiha Yang welcomed Akaseki and registered Hikari as a guest of the Uchiha Clan.
• When Uchiha Jie and Uchiha Yang teased Akaseki about Hikari, she used her dojutsu to slam them face-first into the ground, and Akaseki stepped between her and the approaching Uchiha patrol.

Akaseki returned to Konoha with Hikari, explained her origins to Grandma Chizuru, and learned that the Mizukage had died after their fight. Hiruzen Sarutobi awaited Akaseki, hoping to learn what had happened to Sand Ninja leaders Luo Yan, Chiyo, and Ebizo.

• Akaseki took Hikari to Grandma Chizuru and told her that Hikari had been sealed for more than three hundred years.
• Grandma Chizuru offered to make Hikari her honorary granddaughter so she could move around Konoha, and Hikari did not object.
• Grandma Chizuru told Akaseki that the Mizukage had died and blamed Konoha, while naming Karatachi Yagura and Akaseki as targets for succession to the Mizukage's title.
• Grandma Chizuru sent Akaseki to the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi was waiting to hear about the Sand Ninja leaders' fates.

Akaseki returned to Konoha and reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Danzo tried to cast suspicion on him and Hikari. After Akaseki described his battle and revealed his losses inflicted on Sunagakure, he produced Ebizo’s corpse, leaving Sarutobi and Danzo stunned.

• Danzo urged Hiruzen to distrust Akaseki and argued that the Uchiha should not guard Konoha’s gates.
• Akaseki told Hiruzen that Hikari was an Uchiha who had lived apart from the clan, and Hiruzen approved her registration as a Konoha Ninja.
• Akaseki recounted defeating the Mizukage and explained that Luo Yan and Chiyo had pursued him after he was weakened.
• Akaseki complained that Orochimaru’s request for help had not brought support, and Hiruzen explained that Konoha had been stretched thin by its offensive against Sunagakure.
• Danzo accused Akaseki of making a deal with the Sand Ninja, but Hiruzen defended him.
• Akaseki claimed he had killed Luo Yan and Ebizo, then released Ebizo’s corpse from a sealing scroll.

Akaseki reported Ebizo’s death to Sarutobi and discussed how Konoha should respond to the Third Mizukage’s scheme. After reuniting with Ranwu, Shinnosuke, and Minato, Akaseki prepared to introduce Hikari to them and found her leaving the Uchiha clan grounds.

• Akaseki told Sarutobi that he had lured Luo Yan, Ebizo, and another enemy to Uzushio Village and killed them, while concealing the truth about Luo Yan’s death.
• Akaseki criticized the Third Mizukage’s accusations and suppression of the Hozuki Clan until Danzo defended the Mizukage, prompting Sarutobi to send Danzo home.
• Sarutobi asked Akaseki whether Konoha should reveal the Third Mizukage’s scheme, and Akaseki left the decision to him.
• Akaseki met Ranwu, Shinnosuke, and Minato outside the Hokage Building, then agreed to take Guan Ze to register Hikari before meeting them for a meal.
• Akaseki explained Hikari’s prepared backstory to the others and decided to let her meet them, but found her leaving the clan grounds to look around.