Chapter Summaries

Akashi defeated Suikazan Fuguki with a concealed Lightning Style Shadow Clone, then summoned Vermilion Bird Tanuki Treasure to recover his depleted Chakra during his next match against Rock Flow. As Akashi won over the spectators, Danzo grew more convinced that the Uchiha was dangerous, while Akashi finished recovering and the fight with Rock Flow remained unresolved.

• Karatachi Xuancang rescued Suikazan Fuguki from Akashi’s Great Dragon Fire Technique, and Hatake declared Fuguki eliminated after Akashi had already paralyzed and knocked him out with a Lightning Style Shadow Clone.
• Akashi explained that he had anticipated Fuguki’s Blowfish Bullet and used the explosion to conceal his Lightning Style Shadow Clone.
• Karatachi sent Rock Flow to fight Akashi, who admitted his Chakra was nearly depleted and summoned Vermilion Bird Tanuki Treasure instead of attacking.
• Akashi rode Tanuki Treasure around the spectator stands to recover Chakra, and the audience cheered his display while Danzo called him evil and dangerous.
• After two circuits, Akashi had nearly restored his Chakra, while Rock Flow’s match against him was still underway.

Akaseki defeated Rock Flow and faced Yakushi Nonō, who used Chakra Scalpel and an implanted healing curse seal to keep fighting despite severe injuries. He subdued her without killing her, while the arena’s officials and spectators recognized that her refusal to surrender was part of a dangerous scheme.

• Akaseki overpowered Rock Flow with taijutsu and a Great Fireball Technique, forcing him to forfeit.
• Akaseki chose Yakushi Nonō as his next opponent, and she attacked with Chakra Scalpel while he fought using Mirror Clones.
• Akaseki struck Nonō with the Roar of the Thunderfire Dragon, but she survived because a curse seal consumed her life force to heal her wounds.
• Tsunade identified the curse seal, while Minato’s concern that Nonō was being driven to die in the arena became clear.
• Akaseki’s Mirror Clones repeatedly struck and restrained Nonō, but she continued refusing to surrender, and Akaseki avoided killing her to prevent falling into a trap.

Akaseki exposed Yakushi Nonō’s apparent suicide curse mark, then tried to turn their match into a public lesson about the Will of Fire. Nonō instead struck him from behind, leaving Konoha’s spectators shocked; Akaseki survived with less serious injuries than expected and pretended to be unconscious when Tsunade arrived.

• Akaseki claimed that Yakushi Nonō’s curse mark would kill her if he used Genjutsu, prompting spectators to suspect she was an Anbu operative and leaving Hiruzen and Danzō under scrutiny.
• Akaseki proposed settling the match with a contest of words and began reciting the Will of Fire while Yakushi Nonō stood behind him.
• Yakushi Nonō attacked Akaseki with a Chakra Scalpel, and Ranwu rushed to treat him as Minato moved between the fighters.
• Hatake declared Akashi Uchiha eliminated and carried him away for treatment while the shocked audience struggled to process the attack.
• Ranwu discovered that Akashi’s injuries were less severe than expected, and he explained that he had defended himself by concentrating chakra at the point of impact.
• Tsunade entered to check on Akaseki, but Ranwu insisted she could treat him, and Tsunade promised to make the old man answer for what happened.

Akaseki recovered from his injuries and learned that Root’s missions had been suspended, while its newly selected recruits were transferred to the Anbu. He proposed moving Root’s existing suicide soldiers under Kagami’s command, then received a Jonin-level allowance and a nominal, paid post in the Konoha Military Police Force.

• Akaseki heard that Shibi Aburame won the fourth arena after Yakushi Nonō surrendered, while Akaseki and Suikazan Fuguki took the losers’ bracket spots.
• Ranwu told Akaseki that Root’s missions were temporarily frozen, its newly selected recruits had been transferred to the Anbu, and Jiraiya would lead their team on a mission in three days.
• Akaseki visited Jiancheng and Lanyu, who wanted the Third Hokage to explain Shimura Danzō’s actions and have Root’s suicide soldiers executed.
• Akaseki persuaded Jiancheng and Lanyu to support transferring the suicide soldiers into the Anbu under Kagami’s command.
• Jiancheng and Lanyu raised Akaseki’s allowance to the Jonin level and gave him a nominal paid position in the Konoha Military Police Force.

Akaseki used an “Immersion” scenario and sleep products while preparing for Team 7’s mission to the Land of Iron. Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed the mission involved a chakra metal transaction near a possible invasion by Hanzo’s forces, and Orochimaru arrived as team leader with Yakushi Nonō, prompting Team 7’s distrust.

• Akaseki found that a quilt from [Wonderful Old Ma] had raised his Wind Release chakra awakening to 8%, then began another “Immersion” scenario about Hong Yan and forgotten surgical gauze.
• Akaseki experienced Hong Yan’s painful surgery and repeated attempts to have his wound examined while Shen Qiushui dismissed his concerns and prioritized Ling Xiao.
• Akaseki, Minato, and Ranwu assembled with Jiraiya on August 6, and Jiraiya led them to meet Hiruzen Sarutobi.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned Team 7 to escort a chakra metal transaction in the Land of Iron, where Hanzo and Rain ninja might be fighting.
• Orochimaru arrived to lead the mission and explained that Yakushi Nonō would join as a medical ninja, prompting Akaseki and Ranwu to object because she was from Root.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi revealed that Orochimaru was overseeing Root’s reorganization, which he hoped would keep Shimura Danzō under control.

Orochimaru led Jiraiya, Akaseki, Ranwu, Minato, and Yakushi Nonō on a mission to the Land of Iron to trade grain for chakra metal. After forcing a formal reconciliation between Akaseki and Nonō, Orochimaru explained how a recently coup-struck hidden village might be using Hanzo and Amegakure to attack the Land of Iron and open a route toward the Land of Fire.

• Orochimaru’s team left Konoha with the mission supplies stored in his sealing scrolls.
• Orochimaru stopped the group to address Team 7’s exclusion of Yakushi Nonō from their traveling formation.
• Nonō delivered a scripted apology and bowed until Akaseki told her to stand; Akaseki, Ranwu, and Minato then shook her hand despite doubting her sincerity.
• Jiraiya asked whether Orochimaru had removed Nonō’s cursed seal, and Orochimaru assured him that he had.
• Orochimaru prepared a meal and questioned the group about the Land of Iron’s geography, samurai, neutrality, and chakra metal trade.
• Orochimaru outlined how an unnamed hidden village might be encouraging Hanzo to attack the Land of Iron in exchange for territorial gains and a route to invade the Land of Fire.

Orochimaru explained how Konoha would use supply transports to support the Land of Iron’s samurai while avoiding direct intervention in the war. During the journey’s preparations, Akaseki and Ranwu struggled to eat Orochimaru’s egg dishes, while Minato and Yakushi Nonō ate theirs without complaint.

• Orochimaru showed Akaseki, Jiraiya, and the others a route that would take Konoha’s supply squad through the Land of Iron’s combat zone, letting them hinder the Land of Rain’s offensive under the guise of trade.
• Orochimaru’s real body revealed that he had been cooking while his shadow clone explained the mission, and he served the group his egg dishes.
• Akaseki pretended to enjoy the food and used his Sharingan to cast genjutsu on himself, while Ranwu claimed that the Senju descendants disliked eggs and gave Akaseki her portion.
• Orochimaru prepared additional food for Ranwu and Jiraiya, and Akaseki learned that his hastily made non-egg stew tasted delicious.
• Orochimaru declared that he had changed Akaseki’s opinion of egg dishes and said they would be the only ones enjoying them from then on.

Akaseki discovered the rare Stillness emotion during an immersion dream, then traveled with Orochimaru and Jiraiya to the Land of Iron. The group found a village massacred by Rain Ninja poison and rescued four children who had survived in a sealed well.

• Akaseki experienced a dream in which Shen Qiushui had eighteen hours left to discover gauze, producing Stillness before the immersion ended.
• Orochimaru noticed Akaseki's emotional turmoil while he slept, and Akaseki stopped immersing himself for the rest of the night.
• After three days of travel, Akaseki's group crossed the Cold Screen Mountains from the Land of Rice Fields into the Land of Iron.
• Orochimaru and Jiraiya sensed trouble near a village, and Minato used the Thousand Worlds Awareness Technique to detect survivors.
• The group entered the village and found corpses and lingering poison gas, which Orochimaru dispersed before ordering a search.
• Minato rescued four children from a sealed well, and Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō treated their poisoning while Akaseki examined the village houses.

Akaseki investigated a village where poisonous mist had killed nearly everyone, and Jiraiya explained how Hanzō’s poison-based tactics had transformed Amegakure into a major military threat. The chapter ended with Jiraiya reassured by Akaseki’s reaction to the history of Hashirama and Madara.

• Akaseki found that poisonous mist had killed the villagers while the attackers searched their homes for food, and he helped confirm that four surviving children had recovered.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru explained that the Academy’s information about Amegakure was outdated and described how Hanzō gained salamander poison and reshaped Rain ninja combat around poison mist.
• Jiraiya described Hanzō’s poison techniques as war-grade ninjutsu because they could shape battlefield tactics and change the course of a war.
• Akaseki explained that the Senju clan had once built its battles around Hashirama’s Wood Release, while Ranwu said she wished she could use it and Akaseki wished he were stronger than Madara Uchiha.
• Jiraiya felt relieved that Akaseki showed frustration about the Uchiha bloodline’s defeat rather than resentment toward Madara as an individual.

Orochimaru’s team investigated an Amegakure raid and concluded the enemy had not yet advanced to the village. After the Land of Iron samurai mistook them for looters, Akaseki used his Sharingan to prove their sincerity, and the samurai led them to another supply point.

• Orochimaru explained that the Amegakure ninja had seized food in haste and left, suggesting the village was still behind enemy lines.
• Minato and Orochimaru inferred that the enemy had retreated quickly, and the team decided to continue to the next supply point.
• Four samurai arrived and suspected Orochimaru’s team of looting the village despite Jiraiya and Ranwu’s explanations.
• Akaseki used his Sharingan to subdue the samurai, who recognized him as Uchiha and agreed to lead the team to another supply point.
• The samurai carried the four rescued children, and the villagers at the next mountain village received the Konoha group.

Orochimaru learned that Rain Ninja forces and poison-mist squads were pressing the Land of Iron, while Akaseki used the chance to resume Immersion and pursue Wind Release. Immersion brought Akaseki through Hong Yan’s final ordeal, where Ling Xiao’s fraud was exposed after Hong Yan developed sepsis, and Shen Qingqiu suddenly began to repent.

• Orochimaru learned from Tetsuji that the Rain Ninja front had advanced quickly and their poison-mist squads were attacking the Land of Iron’s rear.
• After Orochimaru’s offer failed, Jiraiya asked Tetsuji where Konoha could help, and Tetsuji gladly told him where support was needed.
• Orochimaru prompted Akaseki to stop hiding Immersion, and Akaseki decided to use the rest break to advance his Wind Release against the Rain Ninja’s poison mist.
• During Immersion, Hong Yan reached Stillness as Ling Xiao covered up the surgical problem, falsified test results, and increased Hong Yan’s painkillers.
• Hong Yan developed sepsis and signs of multiple organ failure as Ling Xiao’s false credentials and actions were exposed and he was arrested.
• Akaseki estimated that Stillness would greatly advance his Heavy Rock transformation, while Shen Qingqiu abruptly began to repent.

Akaseki used the Immersion System’s Air Quilt to awaken Wind Release while sleeping, and Orochimaru recognized the change. After Akaseki woke, Jiraiya urged Orochimaru to teach him Wind Release ninjutsu for their mission in the Land of Iron.

• Akaseki bought the Air Quilt after completing the Immersion storyline and began using it to develop Wind Release.
• Orochimaru stopped Jiraiya from waking Akaseki and explained that he was awakening Wind Release Chakra nature transformation while dreaming.
• Ranwu recalled Akaseki’s unusual dreaming habits, and Jiraiya and Minato realized they might explain his difficulty waking.
• Akaseki slept for more than ten hours until his Wind Release talent fully awakened, while Orochimaru watched.
• Jiraiya asked Orochimaru to teach Akaseki Wind Release ninjutsu, arguing that it was important in the Land of Iron.

Akaseki copied several Wind Release techniques from Orochimaru, who explained how Wind Release interacted with Hanzō’s poison mist. Minato grasped the lesson and demonstrated a hand-seal-free Gale Palm, impressing Orochimaru and drawing Jiraiya out of hiding.

• Akaseki copied practical C-rank and B-rank Wind Release techniques and the A-rank Airflow Wild Dance and Wind Blade from Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru explained that Wind Release manipulated air movement, so using it from inside poison mist might only churn the poisonous air unless the technique was strong enough to overwhelm it.
• Orochimaru used eggs to illustrate how Wind Release could disperse poison mist from outside but struggle to clear it from within, and Akaseki concluded that range was important.
• Minato emerged from his thoughts and used Gale Palm without hand seals, carving marks into a distant tree.
• Orochimaru praised Minato’s talent, and Jiraiya revealed he had been watching from the shadows and argued with Orochimaru over his assessment.

Orochimaru tried to teach Akaseki about the essence of chakra transformation, while Minato quickly grasped the lesson and detected Rain Ninja at a supply point. Akaseki used a powerful Wind Release to clear the poisonous mist and began to understand how his technique moved the air.

• Minato understood Orochimaru's explanation of Wind Release, while Akaseki struggled with Orochimaru's lesson and Jiraiya blamed Orochimaru for being a poor teacher.
• Orochimaru fed Akaseki an unusually large breakfast of egg cuisine before the group set out for a heavily defended supply point in the Land of Iron.
• Yakushi Nonō explained that the Land of Iron's swordmasters were generally weaker than Konoha's Jonin, while their armor chiefly helped lower-ranked samurai.
• Minato detected Rain Ninja near a northern supply point with the Thousand Worlds Awareness Technique, and Orochimaru led the group toward them.
• At the entrance to a river valley filled with purple poisonous mist, Akaseki used Wind Release: Airflow Wild Dance to clear the air and noticed that his technique drew surrounding air toward its starting point.

Akaseki and his team fought the Rain Ninja who had poisoned River Valley Village, killing the three Chunin and driving their Jonin leader to flee. Orochimaru trapped the giant salamander before it could be dismissed, while the team treated and organized the poisoned villagers.

• Akaseki's team confronted Miasma Wind and his Rain Ninja at the supply point, and Akaseki refused to leave after learning they had poisoned the villagers.
• Akaseki blew away the salamander's poison mist as Minato and Ranwu charged, while Yakushi Nonō remained behind to watch.
• The Rain Chunin used underground attacks and visual clones, but Akaseki and Yakushi Nonō exposed the deception and Akaseki killed all three with Wind Release: Wind Blade.
• Miasma Wind fled underground, but Orochimaru sealed the giant salamander inside the Four Black Mist Formation and prevented its summoning from being dismissed.
• Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō treated the villagers while Akaseki and Minato gathered them and sorted them by the severity of their poisoning.

After rescuing a village, Akaseki and his companions learned that the Rain Ninja’s campaign in the Land of Iron faced severe supply problems and that Konoha was moving against them in the Land of Rivers. Jiraiya found a gathering point for Rain Ninja supply teams, prompting Orochimaru to split the group so he and Minato could join the attack while Akaseki stayed behind.

• Akaseki and his group received the rescued villagers’ thanks, while Orochimaru emerged with the Giant Salamander’s venom sac.
• Orochimaru explained that the Rain Ninja had invaded the Land of Iron to obtain supplies, and Akaseki concluded their advance would falter once Iwagakure and Konoha disrupted their plans.
• Orochimaru revealed that Tsunade had gone to the Land of Rivers to prevent Sunagakure from claiming the mission of liberating it.
• Minato summoned Gamaken, who relayed Jiraiya’s message that at least six Rain Ninja Jonin and their teams would gather behind the battle lines to send supplies to the front.
• Orochimaru ordered Minato to join him in attacking the Rain Ninja rendezvous point and told Akaseki to remain with Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō until they met in Severed Mountain City.

Akaseki guarded a village supply point, then secretly followed Yakushi Nonō after catching her sneaking out before dawn. He found her treating poisoned children, but remained suspicious as he led Ranwu and Nonō toward Severed Mountain City; a blizzard forced them to shelter at another supply point, where Akaseki presented himself and his companions as the only Konoha ninja present.

• Akaseki created Mirror Clones to keep watch while he and Ranwu rested, and one clone spotted Yakushi Nonō slipping out before dawn.
• Akaseki followed Yakushi Nonō underground and saw her quietly treat the poisoned children in a granary, but he still suspected she might be recruiting them for Root.
• Patrolling samurai arrived, and Akaseki warned them to watch the children before setting off with Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō toward Severed Mountain City.
• A blizzard forced Akaseki to change their route and seek shelter at a cave village, where he used a Mirror Clone to scout ahead.
• At the cave supply point, Akaseki showed the guards Orochimaru's token and said that only he, Ranwu, and Yakushi Nonō were there to rest.

Akaseki finished the Immersion drama The Truth Behind Favoritism, whose family accepted Father Hong’s accounting of years of loans as the explanation for his unequal division of the demolition money. Furious at the drama’s absurd ending, Akaseki gained a boost to his Dojutsu Power, reported the show, and received compensation that automatically topped up Sacred Spire; he decided to try climbing its tower despite disliking the game.

• Akaseki watched Hong Yan’s family receive only 200,000 yuan from the demolition compensation while Hong Hong received 9.5 million, and Hong Yan repeatedly insisted that Father Hong knew what he was doing.
• Hong Hong’s family gambled away their money and returned to ask Father Hong and Hong Yan for another two million, prompting Father Hong to reveal records of their past loans and claim the 9.5 million had repaid their debts.
• Hong Yan’s family accepted Father Hong’s explanation and settled in to wrap dumplings, while Akaseki woke from the Immersion furious enough to punch the stone wall and awaken his Sharingan.
• Akaseki reported the drama as artificial stupidity and received 10,000 yuan in compensation, which the platform used to top up his Sacred Spire account and unlock VIP benefits.
• Akaseki complained that the bonus had gone to Sacred Spire rather than a more useful game, but decided to play more runs and climb the tower.

Akaseki used Sacred Spire to develop Wind Release: Wind Pressure Technique, a C-rank ninjutsu designed to clear poison mist and other mists. As he experimented with a mixed Wind and Lightning deck, six Rain Ninja carrying sealing scrolls headed toward Mountain Hollow Village.

• Akaseki unlocked the Wind Release deck and experimented with its transformations, then used Fire Style runs to improve his understanding of ninjutsu.
• Akaseki built a deck around [Vast Expanse] and defeated the third-spire boss, creating Wind Release: Wind Pressure Technique to clear mist over a wider area than Great Breakthrough.
• Akaseki started another run, replaced three Wind Release transformations with Lightning Style transformations, and quickly advanced through two spires with the mixed deck.
• Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato failed to capture the Rain Ninja mobile unit’s full force, as six Jonin escaped with the sealing scrolls.
• The six escaped Rain Ninja traveled through a blizzard toward Mountain Hollow Village, intending to stop there.

Six Rain Ninja attacked Mountain Hollow Village with poison mist after learning Konoha ninja were inside, while Akaseki’s Mirror Clone fought their sickle-wielding Jonin in the fog. The clone vanished after being wounded, leaving two gunbai-wielding copies facing the enemy’s spinning blades.

• Yin Yan killed a villager after learning that Konoha ninja were staying in Mountain Hollow Village, and the six Rain Ninja decided to attack.
• Akaseki tested a Lightning and Wind combination in his game before his Shadow Clone warned him that the village entrance was filling with poison smoke.
• Akaseki woke Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō and sent his Mirror Clone to investigate the Rain Ninja attack.
• The Mirror Clone blocked three chained sickles with the Uchiha Gunbai but was dragged off balance and struck by a sickle Jonin.
• The wounded Mirror Clone vanished, and two gunbai-wielding figures appeared as the sickle Jonin spun around with both blades.