Recaps

Akaseki revealed that he had used a shadow clone to foil Yomi’s attempt to separate him from Miroku, then confronted Yomi in the hub dimension. Yomi invoked a powerful chakra entity he called Ninshu, and the chapter left Akaseki fighting it as it began to seethe.

• Akaseki explained that Miroku’s inherited bell had concealed the transformation chakra of his shadow clone while his real body stayed with her.
• Yomi refused to explain his actions and used a sealing technique as Akaseki attacked with Susanoo.
• Yomi’s black-purple chakra shield stopped Susanoo, and he claimed its power came from the legendary Ninshu.
• The Hell Yama King warned Akaseki that the dimension connected to eight outer dimensions and might let its controller absorb chakra from outside.
• Akaseki used Susanoo, Ame-no-Hoko Gunbai, and the Thunderflame Greatsword to cut through the chakra entity’s dragon-like appendages.
• Akaseki challenged Yomi’s claim to Ninshu, and the black-purple chakra began to seethe.

Akaseki fought the eerie chakra Yomi had awakened, but it possessed Miroku and revealed itself as Mahashri, the Third of Ninshu. Mahashri planned to purify humanity, while the Hell Yama King warned that accumulated corruption had driven her mad.

• Yomi's chakra surged toward Miroku after Akaseki suppressed him, and Miroku tried to seal it inside her bell.
• The chakra burst free, merged with Miroku, and transformed her before she blocked Susanoo's palm and blasted Akaseki away.
• Mahashri identified herself as the Third of Ninshu and said Miroku's line carried her reincarnated chakra.
• The Hell Yama King recognized Mahashri as Hamura's daughter and warned Akaseki that the corrupted chakra had overwhelmed her mind.
• Mahashri declared that she would purify humanity, and the surrounding space began showing images of the other eight spaces.

Akaseki fought corrupted Mahashri, who overwhelmed his Susanoo with Hyuga-like Taijutsu and an unexplained gravitational force. Mahashri assumed a stance resembling one used by the modern Hyuga Clan, while the battle outside the ruins began to spill toward the exit.

• Gongzhi Jiu, A Yang, and Yuchi Jiong saw the puppets destroy a seal and prepared to fight them.
• Akaseki mocked Mahashri for judging humanity after absorbing its negative emotions, and Mahashri attacked him with a Taijutsu Body Flicker and chakra-point strikes.
• Akaseki used Uchiha Sage Mode to withstand Mahashri's attacks and keep his chakra pathways from being sealed.
• Mahashri used an unexplained gravitational force to misdirect Akaseki's sword, then struck him again.
• Akaseki recognized Mahashri's opening stance as an ancestor of a stance used by the Hyuga Clan.

Akaseki used two sensory-disrupting techniques to weaken Mahashri, then entered her mind to reach Miroku and turn the fight in his favor. He found Miroku withdrawn and surrounded by dark chakra, while an ominous shadow formed behind her.

• Akaseki used the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique to obstruct Mahashri's vision and dojutsu, then attacked her with the Heavenly Marsh Sword.
• Akaseki followed with the Sage Art: White Rage Technique, further disrupting Mahashri's sight and hearing.
• Mahashri defended herself with Rotation, blocking Akaseki and his Mirror Clones while she waited for her senses to recover.
• Akaseki reclaimed chakra from his Shadow Clone and entered Mahashri's mind to awaken Miroku.
• Akaseki found Miroku sitting in a cave, unresponsive as black-purple chakra surrounded her and an evil-looking shadow appeared behind her.

Akaseki challenged Mahashri’s claims about humanity and used the Immersion Platform to make her experience a scripted corporate world. He and Miroku entered the scenario together, where Mahashri was cast as a blatantly selfish employee, leaving her furious and bewildered.

• Akaseki argued that Mahashri had failed to understand humanity and blamed people for the damage caused by her own misguided attempt to purify their darkness.
• Mahashri engulfed Akaseki and Miroku in her shadow to show them the darkness she had witnessed, but Akaseki activated the Immersion Platform and selected a year-end bonus scenario.
• Akaseki entered the scenario as Great Virtue Group president Hong Yan, while Miroku appeared as his secretary, Liu Yan.
• Akaseki and Miroku searched the company for Mahashri and found her playing Liu Ru, an employee who slacked off and manipulated her colleague Xiao Lin.
• Hong Yan confronted Liu Ru and separately scolded Xiao Lin for doing her work, while Liu Ru pressured Xiao Lin to take her to an expensive restaurant before his year-end bonus arrived.
• Akaseki smugly watched Mahashri struggle with her one-dimensional villain role as she wondered what kind of Genjutsu she was experiencing.

Mahashri experienced Liu Ru’s malicious workplace scheming through an illusion and watched it turn Hong Yan’s Project Department against him. Liu Ru summoned online streamers to smear Hong Yan, leaving Mahashri appalled by the internet’s role in spreading their lies.

• Mahashri was forced to experience Liu Ru exploiting and humiliating her coworkers, especially Xiao Lin, for her own pleasure.
• Liu Ru stirred the Project Department against Hong Yan by claiming the dried sweet potatoes were their bonuses and that he had hired them for selfish reasons.
• The employees followed Liu Ru to confront Hong Yan, missed him on the way, and cornered and struck Liu Yan instead.
• Liu Ru accused Hong Yan of mistreating the staff and threatened to ruin his reputation online, while Hong Yan tried to explain and showed them bonus contracts worth at least one hundred thousand each.
• Liu Ru dismissed Hong Yan’s contracts and summoned online streamers, who arrived to broadcast vicious speculation about him.

Hong Yan exposed Liu Ru's attempt to stir up a protest, demoted her and Lin Yong, and sent Liu Ru to clean toilets. After half a month, Liu Ru rallied employees against Hong Yan again, but Mahashri recognized the familiar setup as Chairman Wu was expected to arrive.

• Hong Yan revealed the cash and phones prepared as bonuses and holiday gifts, then reduced the project department's bonuses and had the legal department pursue the protesters and streamers.
• Akaseki demoted Liu Ru and Lin Yong, and Liu Ru was assigned to clean toilets before deciding to pursue Chairman Wu.
• Akaseki extended the Immersion with side quests until half a month had passed and Liu Ru announced that Chairman Wu would come to support her.
• Hong Yan and Liu Yan arrived at the conference room, where Liu Ru mistook Hong Yan for an impostor and slapped Liu Yan as she tried to explain.
• Liu Ru persuaded employees to pin Hong Yan and Liu Yan down and force them to their knees while they waited for Chairman Wu.

Akaseki and Miroku watched Mahashri play Liu Ru, first as she helped expose a fake chairman and then as she turned villagers against Hong Yan, who had come to fund a bridge. Hong Yan canceled the project after the villagers threatened him, and Mahashri realized the stitched-together illusion might continue indefinitely as Liu Ru faced another chance to cause trouble.

• Fatty Wang admitted he had pretended to be Chairman Wu, and the real Chairman Wu freed Hong Yan and fired Liu Ru and the employees who had attacked him.
• Chairman Wu announced that Hong Yan would become the company’s chairman, while Liu Ru lost her job and eventually returned to her village.
• Hong Yan traveled to Liu Family Village to fund a bridge, but Liu Ru and the villagers accused him of hurting people and tried to force him to sign a document.
• The village chief recognized Hong Yan as their benefactor, but Hong Yan canceled the project and tore up the construction contract after the villagers threatened him.
• The villagers blamed Liu Ru for losing the bridge, and Mahashri feared the illusion would keep forcing her into the villain’s role.
• Three days later, Liu Ru urged the villagers to confront Hong Yan after learning he planned to build a bridge in a neighboring village instead.

Akaseki forced Mahashri through another Immersion, and she retreated into Miroku’s consciousness, where Miroku’s Miko power sealed her beneath the Bell. After they escaped the Eight Trigrams Space, Akaseki found the Puppet Army had swept across the surrounding region before its puppets crumbled.

• At Liu Ru’s trial, Hong Yan refused to write her a letter of forgiveness, and Mahashri’s Immersion as Liu Ru ended.
• Akaseki began a new Immersion with Mahashri, but she fled into Miroku’s body when she saw the roles available to her.
• Miroku explained that her Miko power had resealed Mahashri, and Akaseki reminded her that she was Miroku, not Mahashri or the Sealing Demon.
• Miroku opened a gateway out of the Eight Trigrams Space, and Akaseki found that Ranwu and the others had left to confront the Puppet Army.
• Akaseki and Miroku flew toward the Wind Capital and found that the puppets had crumbled, leaving chakra-free material behind after sweeping across an area with a radius of nearly five hundred li.

Akaseki and Miroku met the Third Kazekage, confirmed that Miroku had sealed Moryo, and learned that Konoha and Sunagakure had both mobilized after discovering records of the ancient threat. At Konoha’s advance position, they found that Feng Qi had been possessed by Moryo’s chakra and had attacked A Jie and two others, but Ranwu stopped him and Orochimaru sealed him for study.

• The Third Kazekage told Akaseki that Sunagakure had come to investigate Moryo after receiving a request for help from the Wind Capital.
• Akaseki confirmed that Miroku had sealed Moryo and questioned the Third Kazekage about the Daimyo of the Land of Wind’s role.
• Akaseki and Miroku parted from the Third Kazekage and traveled to Konoha’s advance position, where Orochimaru and the others were gathering information.
• Ranwu told Akaseki that Feng Qi had attacked A Jie and two others after Gongzhi Jiu noticed Moryo’s chakra inside him.
• Ranwu explained that she had stopped Feng Qi, and Orochimaru said he had sealed him and was studying him.

After the Moryo crisis ended, Orochimaru maneuvered to transfer devastated territory to the Land of Demons and weaken Sunagakure’s influence in the Land of Wind. When the Daimyo of the Land of Wind died by supposed seppuku, Orochimaru sent Akaseki to the Wind Capital to influence the succession while delaying peace negotiations.

• Akaseki proposed that the Land of Wind cede the devastated border territory to the Land of Demons, and Orochimaru supported the plan.
• Orochimaru explained that the daimyo’s faction had secretly contacted Sunagakure, but the Third Kazekage had offered him up as a bargaining chip.
• Two days after the Akaseki Squad left the seal, the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was reported to have committed seppuku; Akaseki suspected he had been silenced, while Orochimaru suspected power struggles in the Wind Capital.
• Orochimaru delayed peace negotiations with Sunagakure to keep it out of the Land of Wind’s succession, then assigned Akaseki to the Wind Capital.
• Akaseki understood that he was meant to stall Sunagakure and help choose a new daimyo before the negotiations ended.

Konoha’s leaders debated Iwagakure’s proposed truce and the terms for giving up Kannabi Bridge, while also considering Akaseki’s proposal to send three Konoha jonin as guardian ninja to the Land of Wind. The leaders accepted the guardian-ninja arrangement in principle and began choosing candidates, while Akaseki and Ranwu planned to help Yakushi Nonō leave Root.

• Hiruzen Sarutobi, Mitokado, Utatane, and Danzo debated Ōnoki’s offer of war reparations in exchange for Kannabi Bridge, but delayed a decision until Konoha’s forces withdrew from the Land of Wind.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi told his advisers that the new Daimyo of the Land of Wind had requested guardian ninja, and Akaseki had proposed sending three Konoha jonin, including Uchiha Soku.
• Mitokado and Utatane discussed choosing two clan ninja to accompany Uchiha Soku, while Danzo’s suggestion to send Root members was rejected.
• Danzo blamed Akaseki inwardly for bringing Yakushi Nonō and Ranwu to the Wind Capital, where Ranwu openly welcomed Nonō.
• Akaseki and Ranwu began planning how to help Yakushi Nonō leave Root.

Akaseki and Ranwu secretly planned to remove Nonō’s Root Cursed Seal and secure her release, despite the risks to themselves and the Uchiha Clan. Meanwhile, Danzo persuaded Hiruzen to reconsider Akaseki as a Hokage candidate, until a later incident involving Root left Hiruzen promising only a reprimand.

• Akaseki and Ranwu brought Nonō to a sealed stone house and told her they would help remove her Cursed Seal and get Hiruzen’s approval for her to leave Root.
• Nonō warned Akaseki and Ranwu that interfering with Root could expose secrets and bring serious consequences, but Akaseki insisted they should use their achievements to protect her.
• Danzo warned Hiruzen that approving Akashi Uchiha’s achievement would make it too great, then argued that an Uchiha Hokage could endanger Konoha’s future; Hiruzen reluctantly reconsidered Akaseki as his successor.
• A few days later, Danzo accused the Uchiha Clan of prying into Root’s secrets after receiving news of an incident, but Hiruzen called it impulsive personal behavior and promised to reprimand all three people involved.

Miroku removed the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal from Yakushi Nonō after the Hell Yama King pulled out her tongue, then restored it intact. While Nonō recovered, Akaseki and Ranwu prepared letters demanding action against Danzo and asking that Nonō be transferred out of Root.

• Miroku examined Yakushi Nonō’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal and warned that removing it carried some risk, but Nonō agreed to proceed.
• Akaseki summoned the Hell Yama King, who questioned Nonō and tore out her tongue after she denied wanting to choose Akashi Uchiha.
• Miroku removed the seal from Nonō’s tongue, and the Hell Yama King stitched it back on with its muscles and nerves intact.
• Nonō felt the seal’s restraints disappear, and Miroku gave her time alone before letting Akaseki and Ranwu return.
• Akaseki and Ranwu wrote separate letters to the village: Akaseki demanded Danzo be punished, while Ranwu asked that Nonō be transferred out of Root.

After Nonō revealed Root’s secrets, Akaseki and Ranwu learned that Danzo might be conducting experiments on orphans using the First’s cells. Akaseki convinced Ranwu to keep the discovery quiet while they searched for solid evidence, leaving them poised to investigate Root in secret.

• Nonō told Akaseki and Ranwu everything she knew about Root, including its mistreatment and brainwashing of orphans from neighboring countries.
• Akaseki explained that Danzo would consider Nonō a threat regardless, and Ranwu agreed that Akaseki would warn the Third about Root’s orphan policies.
• Nonō revealed that Root was secretly conducting human experiments on children, possibly using the cells of a powerful Wood Release user.
• Ranwu erupted in anger and wanted to send a joint letter and alert her uncles, but Akaseki warned that they had no proof and Nonō could be punished.
• Akaseki persuaded Ranwu to send their planned letters, conceal what Nonō had told them, and investigate Root until they found solid evidence.

Akaseki and Ranwu kept their accusations against Root limited while waiting for Konoha’s response, wary of exposing what they knew about its human experiments. The Third allowed Yakushi Nonō to leave Root and ordered Akaseki and Ranwu back to Konoha after their handover, leaving the conflict unresolved but temporarily contained.

• Ranwu followed Akaseki’s advice and wrote the Third about Yakushi Nonō without mentioning the wood release experiments, while Akaseki warned her not to discuss sensitive matters by letter.
• Akaseki told Nonō that the Second had likely begun studying Hashirama’s cells, but argued that Root’s human experiments were the real offense and would not be excused by blaming the Second.
• Akaseki asked Miroku whether there was only one future, then resolved with Ranwu not to leave Root’s threat unaddressed.
• The Hell Yama King told Akaseki that Nonō had answered no when asked whether she would choose him as a mate, but that answer was false if she had to choose someone.
• Guan Ze delivered the Third’s reply on October 20: he rebuked Akaseki and Ranwu, ordered them to return to Konoha after handing over their duties, and approved Nonō’s departure from Root.
• Akaseki accepted the handover to Guan Ze, recognizing that the Third had made a limited compromise and that they lacked enough evidence to bring Danzo down.

Akaseki introduced Soku, Guan Ze, and Aono to the young Land of Wind Daimyo, Fūkeishō, who accepted them as his Guardian Ninja. After explaining Fūkeishō’s fragile political position and his hostility toward Sunagakure, Akaseki prepared to return to Konoha after seeing Miroku off, while keeping her away from Danzo’s suspicions and schemes.

• Akaseki met Uchiha Soku and Guan Ze, then brought them and Aono to meet the new Daimyo, Fūkeishō.
• Fūkeishō accepted the three Konoha ninja as his Guardian Ninja and ordered them to protect him and the other nobles in the Wind Capital.
• Akaseki told the Guardian Ninja that Fūkeishō was the former Daimyo’s illegitimate son, had gained power through factional compromise, and distrusted Sunagakure.
• Akaseki said he needed to see Miroku, the Miko of the Land of Demons, off before returning to Konoha, while Soku challenged Guan Ze’s authority and Aono suggested inviting Miroku to Konoha.
• Akaseki decided not to take Miroku to Konoha, where Danzo might target her over the breaking of Root’s Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu.

Akaseki returned to Konoha with Ranwu and Yakushi Nonō, where he protected Nonō from Root’s attempt to summon her and provoked Shimura Danzō outside the Hokage’s office. The three went on to meet the Hokage, leaving Danzō wary but without knowing how closely Ranwu and Nonō had allied with Akaseki.

• Miroku said she would visit Konoha in three to six months to discuss passing on the Miko’s legacy, and Akaseki agreed to help.
• At Konoha’s gate, Root ninja tried to take Yakushi Nonō to Danzo, but Akaseki blocked them and frightened them into fleeing by threatening to undo their Cursed Tongue Eradication Jutsu.
• Akaseki reassured Nonō and told her to ignore Root, then led her and Ranwu to the Hokage’s office.
• Akaseki refused to yield to Shimura Danzō in the Hokage Building corridor and quietly warned him about the possibility of the Uchiha Clan being wiped out.
• Mitokado summoned Akaseki, Ranwu, and Yakushi Nonō onward, while Ranwu guarded Nonō as they passed Danzō.

After the Third reprimanded Akaseki and Ranwu for interfering with Root, Nonō left Root and joined the effort to establish Konoha’s first orphanage. The chapter ended with Danzo confronting Hiruzen, who challenged him to disclose Root’s secrets, while Danzo hid the full extent of the Wood Release Experiments.

• The Third reprimanded Akaseki and Ranwu for breaking Root’s cursed seal, ordered them not to interfere in Root’s affairs again, and offered Nonō a place in the Anbu.
• Nonō agreed to serve Hiruzen and proposed running an orphanage for Konoha’s orphans and other screened children; Hiruzen approved her joining the planning group.
• Akaseki offered the Military Police Force’s support for the orphanage, and Ranwu invited Nonō to stay at her home.
• Danzo confronted Hiruzen about Root’s investment in Nonō, but Hiruzen demanded to know which secrets she supposedly knew.
• Danzo falsely claimed Nonō might have told Ranwu about the Wood Release Experiments, while concealing the deadly trials conducted in Root’s outside laboratories.

Ranwu told Canglan, Songluan, and Lanjun that Nonō had uncovered Root’s renewed Wood Release Experiments and the deaths of many orphans. Lanjun drove Root’s surveillance teams away from Forest Street, and Danzo ordered Root to withdraw while worrying about what the street’s Jonin had learned.

• Ranwu returned to Forest Street, calmed her neighbors, and brought Nonō to meet privately with Canglan, Songluan, and Lanjun.
• Nonō explained that her investigation into missing orphans had led her to secret laboratories and revealed Root’s Wood Release Experiments.
• Lanjun ordered Root’s operatives to stay ten li from Forest Street and used a Water Flow Barrage to drive away two watchers in public.
• Danzo blamed Ranwu and the Uchiha for turning Forest Street against him, then ordered Root to withdraw from the area.
• Danzo worried that Forest Street had learned which of Root’s secret activities had provoked its Jonin.

Akaseki informed Jiancheng that Root might be conducting wood release experiments on orphans, and the two connected that suspicion to a growing string of missing young ninja. Jiancheng sent Akaseki to investigate the newest disappearance on Forest Street, where signs of angry resistance suggested the experiments had already stirred trouble.

• Akaseki told Jiancheng that clues pointed to Root using orphans for wood release experiments, while warning against confronting Root without evidence.
• Jiancheng told Akaseki that six squads of young ninja had disappeared during missions in the Land of Fire, and Akaseki noticed each squad included someone from a ninja clan.
• Gongzhi Jiu reported a seventh missing squad, and Akaseki recognized Yukimi as a descendant of the former Senju Clan from Forest Street.
• Jiancheng assigned Akaseki to investigate the disappearance, telling him he could claim he was searching for Sarutobi Rin.
• Akaseki traveled to Forest Street and heard reports of mysterious ninja damaging public property, then recognized signs that the street had reacted fiercely to the wood release experiments.

Akaseki told Lanjun and the Forest Street elders that Kōken’s team had vanished, then outlined a timeline-based investigation to identify suspects behind seven missing ninja teams. Forest Street assigned Ranwu to assist the Konoha Military Police Force, and Akaseki’s method could point toward an individual culprit or raise suspicion of an organization if no individual fit the evidence.

• Akaseki informed Lanjun that Kōken’s team had disappeared, and Lanjun brought him to meet Canglan and Songluan.
• Ranwu joined Akaseki’s investigation after learning that Kōken was missing, and Canglan appointed her as Forest Street’s representative to assist the Konoha Military Police Force.
• Akaseki proposed examining who had access to mission details and an opportunity during each of the seven disappearances.
• Akaseki mapped the mission and attack windows for all seven incidents and argued that a single culprit would need to fit every window.
• Lanjun raised the possibility of an organization being responsible, and Akaseki said that if no individual met the conditions, organizations would become more suspicious.

Akaseki, Ranwu, and Nonō investigated seven recent disappearances by reviewing Konoha’s mission records and identified Hiruko, Kurama Murakumo, and Might Duy as possible suspects. Akaseki suspected Hiruko was preparing another attack near the northern border, so the three set out to find Kurama’s team.

• Danzo ordered Aburame Ryoma to deal with Hiruko, whom he suspected of causing the disappearances and feared would expose him.
• Akaseki, Ranwu, and Nonō used clones to examine mission records and narrowed their suspects to Hiruko, Kurama Murakumo, and Might Duy.
• Akaseki learned that Kurama and Might Duy were patrolling near the Valley of the End while Hiruko was transporting goods to the nearby Fire Temple.
• Akaseki decided the locations might be connected and led Ranwu and Nonō toward the Valley of the End to find Kurama’s team.

Akaseki, Ranwu, and Nonō tracked Hiruko to the Valley of the End, where Might Duy was fighting him over the unconscious Kurama Murakumo. Akaseki helped Hiruko escape so he could secretly track him to his hideout, while Duy revealed that Kurama Murakumo had deliberately used himself as bait to draw out the attacker.

• Akaseki and Ranwu agreed to prioritize Kurama Murakumo’s safety while suspecting Hiruko was behind the disappearances.
• Akaseki, Ranwu, and Nonō found a fresh distress signal and followed the trail of destruction to a battle at the Valley of the End.
• Might Duy fought Hiruko after Hiruko attacked Kurama Murakumo, and Akaseki recognized that Duy had opened the sixth gate.
• Akaseki and his companions pretended to fight Duy and let Hiruko carry the unconscious Kurama Murakumo away.
• Akaseki secretly tracked Kurama Murakumo with the Hell Yama King as the group followed Hiruko toward his hideout.
• Might Duy explained that Kurama Murakumo had recruited him and accepted the border patrol mission to lure out the suspected attacker.

Hiruko fled toward his secret base after Might Duy exposed his attack on Murakumo, while Akaseki discovered that Hiruko’s beast-fusion ability came from Chimera. As Akaseki’s team raced to stop someone from silencing Hiruko, Aburame Ryoma ambushed him outside the base, but noticed Akaseki’s group arriving.

• Hiruko decided to abandon Konoha and hide in remote mountains after Might Duy thwarted his attempt to silence him.
• Might Duy recounted how Hiruko had tricked Murakumo, and Akaseki identified Hiruko’s fusion power as the Demon God Chimera’s ability.
• The Hell Yama King warned Akaseki that someone was waiting at Hiruko’s hiding place, so Akaseki, Ranwu, Nonō, and Might Duy hurried there.
• Hiruko reached his secret base carrying Murakumo and found that someone had tampered with its entrance.
• Aburame Ryoma emerged and claimed Danzo had sent him to take Hiruko away, but then unleashed a swarm of Kikaichū against him.
• Aburame Ryoma spotted Akaseki’s group approaching through the air.