Chapter Summaries

After registering Hikari as a Konoha ninja, Akaseki tried to convince her that the shinobi world had improved while arguing that ninja protected civilians during the war. Hikari remained skeptical, and Akaseki defended the village’s policies as he explained why he believed the world’s problems came from the loss of ninshu, not from ninja.

• Guan Ze gave Hikari her forehead protector, Ninja Handbook, and Ninja Code, and Akaseki offered to teach her in place of a Jonin or Chunin leader.
• At the Pine Deer Pavilion, Akaseki acted unusually considerate toward Ranwu and Minato, hoping to show Hikari that relations in the village had improved.
• Minato asked Hikari for her ninja registration number, and Akaseki realized that Konoha had registered thousands more ninja during the war as children entered service early.
• Ranwu reminded Akaseki that Iwagakure’s betrayal and Nawaki’s death had made the war worse, while Hikari took the rising registration count as evidence that the shinobi world remained unsettled.
• Akaseki argued that more ninja were needed to protect people and declared that the world’s problems came from the loss of ninshu rather than from ninja.

After dinner, Akaseki planned to visit Kushina with Minato and Ranwu, hoping to learn about Hikari’s lingering sealing problem. Hikari decided to come too after learning Kushina was a jinchuriki, leaving Akaseki uneasy about what the visit might reveal.

• Akaseki offered to walk Ranwu home, then agreed to visit Kushina the next day with Ranwu and Minato.
• Akaseki worried that Hikari still could not replenish her chakra normally and planned to ask Kushina indirectly about Uzumaki sealing techniques.
• Minato noticed Hikari might be far stronger than Akaseki claimed and resolved to ask Akaseki about her privately.
• Hikari told Akaseki that Minato had been observing her, and Akaseki said he trusted Minato enough to help her if needed.
• Akaseki explained that Kushina was a jinchuriki, prompting Hikari to criticize the treatment and fear surrounding jinchuriki.
• Hikari announced she would visit Kushina the next day, and Akaseki reluctantly agreed to take her along.

Akaseki brought Hikari to Kushina’s home, where Hikari and Kushina quickly formed a bond through their shared understanding. Akaseki then asked Kushina for advice on space-time sealing, leaving her wondering whether he had come because of Minato’s talent.

• Akaseki brought Ranwu, Minato, and Hikari to Kushina’s residence without seeking prior permission, and an Anbu reported their arrival to the Hokage.
• Manako greeted Akaseki, while Hikari recognized Kushina as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and offered her a handshake.
• Minato initially moved to protect Kushina, but Kushina sensed Hikari’s goodwill and welcomed her.
• Hikari and Kushina spoke privately and developed a close rapport, while Kushina continued to notice the Nine-Tails growing restless.
• Akaseki interrupted them to ask Kushina about space-time sealing, and Kushina glanced at Minato with suspicion.

Akaseki learned that Hikari’s inability to replenish chakra came from being displaced from her original space-time, and he argued with her over whether the shinobi world could be changed. Later, Konoha’s forces occupied Sunagakure, and Hiruzen announced that the Third Kazekage had opened peace negotiations after Bunpuku’s stand enabled the Sand Ninja and civilians to escape.

• Akaseki told Hikari that Kushina’s knowledge of sealing was limited and that they should ask the married-in son-in-law about her space-time condition.
• Akaseki realized Hikari was being rejected by the present space-time, and he tried to comfort her as she voiced her resentment toward the shinobi world.
• Akaseki argued that generations of ninja had worked to improve the world and that he would keep trying rather than imagine peace without ninja.
• An Anbu summoned Akaseki to a meeting where Yamanaka Sansan reported that Konoha’s forces had occupied Sunagakure and driven back the Third Kazekage.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi announced that Bunpuku had held off Konoha’s forces while Sand Ninja and civilians escaped, and that the Third Kazekage had contacted Konoha about peace negotiations.

Akaseki met Orochimaru in occupied Sunagakure and received a mission to investigate Rōran and its space-time-affecting Ryūmyaku, bringing Hikari, Ranwu, and Minato along. After learning Minato was studying the Flying Thunder God Technique, the team prepared to leave for Rōran that night.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi ordered Akaseki to choose an Uchiha with an awakened Sharingan and join Orochimaru in Sunagakure, so Akaseki brought Hikari.
• Akaseki and Hikari reached Sunagakure, where Konoha ninja inspected them and hinted that Guan Ze had spread word about Hikari.
• Orochimaru explained that Rōran’s Ryūmyaku powered puppet-part production and could affect space-time, then tasked Akaseki with investigating Rōran and disrupting Sand’s chance to resupply.
• Orochimaru added Ranwu and Minato to the mission, and Minato revealed that he was learning the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Akaseki told Ranwu that Hikari’s Sharingan had space-time properties, then decided the team would depart for Rōran that night.

Akaseki Squad traveled to Rōran to meet its ruler and address the Sand Ninja presence. They learned that another group posing as Konoha ninja had arrived first and been captured as impostors.

• Minato explained that his cheek guards helped him aim his Space-Time Body Flicker Technique, while Akaseki and Ranwu discussed their new looks.
• On April 26, Konoha Year 41, Akaseki Squad reached Rōran, where Akaseki planned to approach its ruler diplomatically and fight any Sand Ninja they encountered.
• Rōran's gate guards said another squad of four Konoha ninja had arrived that morning, describing people who resembled Akaseki Squad and included an Uchiha, a yellow-haired ninja, and a white-haired ninja.
• The guards escorted Akaseki Squad through Rōran's tower-filled city to the Royal Tower, where they learned the Regent had declared the earlier visitors impostors and imprisoned them.

Akaseki’s team met Queen Sara and Regent An Lushan in Rōran, where An Lushan pledged peaceful cooperation with Konoha while keeping the team from learning much about his ties to Sunagakure. Afterward, Akaseki and his teammates wondered why four impostors had approached the royal family and decided to investigate them.

• Akaseki learned that An Lushan, a wandering puppeteer, had taken control of Rōran’s government after Queen Sara’s mother died, and that Sara could barely use the Dragon Vein.
• Akaseki’s team met Sara and An Lushan, and Akaseki inferred that Rōran’s royal family might be related to the Uzumaki Clan.
• An Lushan welcomed Konoha’s envoys, distanced Rōran from Sunagakure, and explained that Sara’s limited control of the Dragon Vein had prevented Rōran from fulfilling Sunagakure’s requests.
• An Lushan said he had once known Uchiha Hou Xuan, and Akaseki revealed to his teammates that Hou Xuan was his father, though he had never met him.
• After An Lushan arranged lodging for the team, Minato questioned whether the four captured impostors had really come only to freeload, and Akaseki proposed meeting them the next day.

Akaseki and Minato investigated an attack on Queen Sara in Rōran, where An Lushan claimed to have captured one of the escaped thieves. Minato found a blade resembling Hatake Sakumo’s White Fang, leaving the group unsure whether the weapon was a replica or its owner had appeared in Rōran.

• Akaseki, Minato, Ranwu, and Hikari rushed to the Royal Tower after hearing an explosion and fought their way past its automated puppets.
• Akaseki found An Lushan with the shaken Queen Sara and learned that one attacker had been caught while three others escaped.
• An Lushan promised identification tokens for the visitors after Akaseki complained that the puppets kept attacking them.
• Minato returned with a short blade from the blast site, and Akaseki confirmed that it could form a chakra edge like the White Fang.
• Ranwu suggested the weapon might be a replica or an attempt to frame Konoha, while Hikari raised the possibility that the blade’s actual owner was present.

Akaseki and his companions investigated the impostors who attacked Rōran, confirming that the captured white-haired man was not from Konoha and questioning witnesses about the rest of the group. The clues pointed to a poorly disguised plot involving fake clan crests and an imitation of White Fang, while Minato and Hikari went their separate ways to investigate the Ryūmyaku.

• Akaseki failed to summon a messenger because the Ryūmyaku disrupted long-distance Space-Time Ninjutsu, and Minato insisted the group visit An Lushan together.
• An Lushan gave the group identification tokens for Rōran’s automated puppets and showed them the captured white-haired man, whom Akaseki confirmed was not Hatake Sakumo or a Konoha ninja.
• Ranwu examined the unconscious prisoner and found brain damage, while Minato observed that An Lushan seemed calculating but had not appeared to lie.
• Akaseki and Ranwu questioned the gate guards, who described a white-haired leader carrying a blade behind his neck and three younger companions with yellow, white, and black hair.
• The guards identified a red Uzumaki crest on the yellow-haired impostor and a misshapen Uchiha fan crest on the black-haired one, deepening Akaseki and Ranwu’s suspicions about the group’s purpose.

Akaseki and Ranwu captured a white-haired girl who claimed to be a Konoha ninja and discovered that she came from a future era after being swept through the Ryūmyaku’s power. As Konoha described how her team arrived in Rōran and was captured by An Lushan, Ranwu asked who her parents were, and Konoha said she did not know but had been told they were great heroes.

• Akaseki and Ranwu lured their pursuer into a secluded area, where Akaseki subdued her ninjutsu and Sharingan while Ranwu bound her with a Water Flow Whip.
• The white-haired girl claimed she was a Konoha ninja, and Akaseki and Ranwu checked her Ninja Handbook and found its registration number and dates belonged to a later era.
• Ranwu explained that the Ryūmyaku had space-time properties, and Konoha recounted how her team was swept through its power while pursuing Mukade.
• Konoha said An Lushan had captured her team after he usurped Rōran’s throne, while Kakashi helped the others escape by drawing away their pursuers.
• Akaseki recognized Kakashi’s name and realized Konoha carried the White Fang, while Ranwu asked about Konoha’s parents and Konoha said she did not know them.

Akaseki and Ranwu learned more about Konoha’s future as they regrouped with Minato and Naruto, while Hikari captured an Uchiha attacker. The gathering ended with Hikari revealing that the Uchiha Clan would be massacred, a claim Akaseki furiously rejected.

• Konoha told Akaseki that she had exposed Danzō and helped disband Root, while Ranwu grew uneasy about Konoha’s unknown parentage.
• Minato rescued Naruto from the city’s puppets, and Naruto identified himself as a Konoha ninja.
• Hikari defeated and captured a three-tomoe Uchiha who attacked her near a lake west of Rōran.
• Akaseki and Ranwu brought Konoha to their hidden meeting place, where Minato introduced Naruto and Akaseki sensed the Nine-Tails’ chakra inside him.
• Naruto’s mention of Sasuke led Hikari to reveal that the Uchiha Clan had been massacred in Konoha Year 58.
• Akaseki declared the massacre impossible and threatened to torture the others for the truth.

Akaseki questioned Sasuke about the future Uchiha Clan Massacre and concluded that Sasuke knew only part of what had happened, while signs pointed to a powerful traitor in Konoha. The group then discovered Minato was the Fourth Hokage, and Akaseki accused him of refusing to change the future before Ranwu and Minato tried to calm him.

• Sasuke revealed that Hikari and Itachi had been involved in the Uchiha Clan Massacre, and Akaseki grew furious at the thought that he had died and the clan had been destroyed.
• Akaseki questioned Sasuke about Chizuru, Setsuna, the clan compound, and the absence of Uchiha members on outside missions, exposing gaps in Sasuke's knowledge.
• Akaseki, Minato, and Ranwu suspected that a high-ranking traitor in Konoha had helped conceal the massacre, while Sasuke said the village had only issued a wanted notice for Itachi.
• Akaseki condemned Hiruzen Sarutobi for failing to choose a Fourth Hokage, and Naruto revealed that the Fourth had died and Hiruzen had returned to the role.
• Konoha recognized Minato as the Fourth Hokage, and Akaseki accused him of clinging to the title and avoiding changes to the future before Ranwu and Minato tried to calm him.

Minato discovered that Naruto, Konoha, and Sasuke could not leave Rōran because the Ryūmyaku’s power was sustaining their time travel, while Akaseki and Ranwu faced severe chakra loss outside its range. The group suspected An Lushan was the future rogue ninja Mukade and set out to find him and rescue Kakashi.

• Minato tested whether Naruto, Konoha, and Sasuke could leave Rōran, and an invisible barrier pushed them back.
• Minato explained that the Ryūmyaku’s power kept the time travelers in Rōran and suggested that Akaseki and Ranwu erase their future knowledge to avoid space-time rejection.
• Akaseki proposed taking the Ryūmyaku with them, while Minato pointed out that Mukade had traveled through it before the others.
• Minato connected An Lushan’s recent arrival and new puppet technology to Mukade, and Ranwu realized An Lushan was likely the rogue ninja.
• Akaseki suspected An Lushan had also caused the Previous Queen’s death, and Naruto urged the group to expose his plot and rescue Kakashi.
• Akaseki questioned Naruto about growing up without parents, but Minato interrupted and Akaseki led the group to find An Lushan.

Akaseki and Minato confronted An Lushan in Rōran and realized he was refusing to cooperate while the Third Kazekage and other Sand Ninja negotiated with him over the ryūmyaku. The chapter ended with An Lushan warning the Sand Ninja that Rōran would not take responsibility for their conflict with Konoha as they insisted on proceeding with a transaction.

• Akaseki and Minato returned to Rōran disguised with Naruto and the others, sensed unease among the guards, and went to meet An Lushan while Hikari stayed behind with the children.
• Akaseki asked An Lushan to interrogate the captured impostor, but An Lushan claimed the prisoner had died, making clear he would not cooperate.
• Akaseki and Minato detected several elite ninja at the Royal Tower and suspected the Third Kazekage was there to negotiate for the ryūmyaku.
• The Third Kazekage and Kanaro confronted An Lushan in the Royal Tower, and An Lushan warned them not to involve Rōran in a conflict with Konoha.
• The Sand Ninja insisted they would resolve matters themselves and told An Lushan that Rōran should prepare for their transaction.

The Third Kazekage delayed confronting Rōran and planned to ambush the Konoha ninjas, while Akaseki’s squad split up to rescue Kakashi and draw out the Sand Ninjas. Akaseki, Ranwu, and Konoha encountered Sand Ninjas outside the city, setting off a fight.

• The Third Kazekage rejected Kanaro’s suggestion to seize An Lushan and the Queen of Rōran immediately, choosing to deal with the Konoha ninjas first and ambush them when they left the city.
• Naruto’s Nine-Tails chakra failed to emerge, and Akaseki and Minato suspected that the Ryūmyaku could suppress Tailed Beast power.
• Minato proposed infiltrating the Royal Tower to rescue Kakashi while Akaseki and Ranwu drew out Sand Ninjas; Naruto, Sasuke, and Konoha joined the mission.
• Akaseki assigned Naruto to accompany Minato, Konoha to help fight the Sand Ninjas, and Sasuke to remain behind as backup.
• Akaseki worried that Ranwu might have had a child with an unreliable man in the future, while Ranwu angrily rejected his speculation.
• Akaseki, Ranwu, and Konoha headed toward the city outskirts and were confronted by several Sand Ninjas.

Akaseki fought the Third Kazekage at Rōran, using Inorganic Reincarnation to contest his control over iron sand and the surrounding rocks. Meanwhile, Ranwu and Konoha held off the Sand Ninja, and Akaseki waited for Hikari to arrive.

• Akaseki taunted the Third Kazekage, who attacked with Magnet Release: Iron Sand World Method.
• Akaseki entered Sage Mode and used Inorganic Reincarnation to bend the Kazekage's iron sand away from him.
• The Third Kazekage broke apart his iron sand prism to disrupt Akaseki's control, but Akaseki raised a Rock Giant and continued attacking with the terrain.
• The Third Kazekage scattered his iron sand and used it to evade the Rock Giant, realizing gathered iron sand could be turned against him.
• Ranwu created a miniature ocean that split the battlefield while Konoha and Ranwu fought the Sand Ninja, and Akaseki waited for Hikari to arrive.

Minato and Naruto infiltrated the Regent's Tower to find Kakashi and discovered An Lushan was draining him with the Box of Bliss. Minato attacked An Lushan but was struck in mid-teleport, leaving him bewildered by his opponent's abilities.

• Minato and Naruto found Kakashi missing from the dungeon and learned a soldier had seen him taken to the Regent's Tower.
• Minato knocked out the soldier, then he and Naruto entered the deserted tower and uncovered a sealed passage underground.
• An Lushan discussed Sunagakure's proposed move to Rōran with Sara, insisting that events in Rōran would soon be over.
• Minato recognized an Uzumaki sealing technique in the tunnel before he and Naruto found Kakashi unconscious beside the Box of Bliss, which was draining his chakra.
• An Lushan confronted Minato and Naruto, and Minato told Naruto to use a Shadow Clone to rescue Kakashi.
• Minato teleported behind An Lushan, but An Lushan anticipated the attack, struck him with an elbow, and sent stone spikes after him.

Kanaro and the Third Kazekage struggled against Akaseki while Ranwu and Konoha fought off the Sand Ninja, until the Kazekage ordered a retreat. After Akaseki sensed trouble, he found Naruto, Sasuke, and an injured Kakashi returning without Minato or Hikari; Kakashi revealed that An Lushan was not Mukade.

• Kanaro brought out two giant puppets to help the Third Kazekage, but Akaseki’s Inorganic Reincarnation disrupted the first and the second could only tie down the rock giant.
• Ranwu and Konoha fought the four Sand Ninja Jonin in the water, while Konoha wondered whether Ranwu might be her mother.
• Akaseki pressured the Third Kazekage with a combined lightning-and-fire technique, and the Kazekage ordered his forces to retreat while he stayed behind to cover them.
• Akaseki taunted Pakura about Sunagakure and the Karatachi faction, but she followed the Kazekage’s order to leave.
• Akaseki sensed trouble and returned with Ranwu and Konoha, where they found Naruto and Sasuke supporting an injured Kakashi without Minato or Hikari.
• Kakashi said Minato had stayed behind to face An Lushan, and then told Akaseki that An Lushan was not Mukade.

Akaseki learned that Minato had apparently died fighting a future version of himself, who possessed the Rinnegan and planned to use the Nine-Tails, the Box of Bliss, and the Ryūmyaku to escape Rōran. Akaseki prepared to send Naruto and the others through time, but a battle erupted in Rōran before they could move.

• Kakashi told Akaseki that the masked An Lushan had Akaseki’s face beneath his disguise and a Rinnegan, while Sasuke reported that Hikari had spoken amiably with the impostor.
• Kakashi gave Akaseki Minato’s blood-written scroll, whose broken seal indicated Minato’s death and whose clues revealed the impostor’s plan to use the Nine-Tails and the Ryūmyaku.
• Akaseki decided to send Naruto and the others back through time, but Naruto insisted on fighting, so Akaseki began preparing Mirror Clones instead.
• Kakashi questioned whether the future Akaseki could also be making Mirror Clones, and Akaseki said he was not.
• Hikari and the future Akaseki began fighting in Rōran, where two enormous armored chakra warriors rose above the city as Akaseki recovered his chakra and prepared.

Hikari and future Akaseki fought a destructive Susanoo battle over Rōran, with Akaseki countering her copied Mangekyō abilities using his Rinnegan. The Third Kazekage fled, while Konoha’s party watched from a distance and Sasuke pressed Naruto and Konoha about their hidden powers.

• Hikari attacked future Akaseki with black thorns, a mist defense, and a water-based Mangekyō ability, but he countered each technique with his spiritual weapon and Rinnegan.
• The Third Kazekage used a Sand Eye to glimpse the two chakra warrior gods, then ordered his party to flee rather than return to Rōran.
• Konoha’s party watched the battle from afar and fell silent at the fighters’ overwhelming strength.
• Sasuke asked Naruto to release the Nine-Tails fully, but Naruto refused and questioned whether it could match the battle’s destruction.
• Sasuke asked whether Konoha could use a similar power, leaving Konoha confused and Akaseki wondering what Sasuke meant.