Chapter Summaries

Plot and key events

• On August 20, Konoha and Kusagakure formalize the Shinobi World’s first mission-outsourcing agreement. Konoha earns a share of Grass missions while gaining influence and a steady way to turn income into combat strength.
• Akaseki is assigned to oversee the system’s rollout in Kusagakure, alongside Ranwu, Minato, Nonō, and Guan Ze. Though surprised to be chosen—especially when the Uchiha Military Police Force might seem better suited—he learns the assignment was proposed by Orochimaru.
• Akaseki applies Konoha’s strict standards to Grass missions, steers Kusagakure’s strongest ninja toward Konoha-sponsored work, and uses poor performance elsewhere to encourage clients to hire Konoha. Konoha also takes on high-profile jobs, while Grass Ninja handle minor tasks and labor on larger ones.
• Over six months, the Land of Grass stabilizes, its people develop a favorable view of Konoha, and the subcontracting system becomes firmly established. Akaseki remains in charge as the others rotate to new duties.
• Konoha oversight teams increasingly include Uchiha, giving them more opportunities to work with other ninja. Meanwhile, Akaseki trains, saves money, secretly restores both of Grandma Chizuru’s eyes, and learns to open the third gate of the Yin Style Eight Gates.

Character developments and interactions

• Akaseki proves adept at administration and political strategy, building a system that benefits Konoha while shaping public opinion in the Land of Grass. He also advances his abilities and helps restore Chizuru’s strength.
• Orochimaru supports Akaseki’s appointment, presenting it as a chance for the battle-worn team to rest. His backing improves his standing with Akaseki’s circle.
• The Uchiha Clan gradually gains a better reputation through joint assignments. Their abrasive behavior still irritates teammates, but their courage in danger earns respect and begins easing their isolation.
• Akaseki and Chizuru share a closely guarded secret: her combat ability has been restored, known only to her and Jiancheng within the clan.
• The initial team’s rotation underscores Akaseki’s growing responsibility: what began as a small assignment becomes a system he has effectively built and continues to oversee.

Significant themes

• Economic power as military power: Outsourcing profits matter because Konoha can convert them into trained personnel and greater combat strength.
• Influence through service: Konoha secures loyalty and leverage by delivering better results, not merely by imposing terms after victory.
• Cooperation and reputation: Working alongside other ninja helps the Uchiha overcome isolation, even if their personalities remain difficult.
• Long-term strategy: Akaseki prioritizes capturing the Land of Grass’s mission market and building lasting relationships over immediate efficiency.

Key plot points and events

• Akaseki reflects on a recent Deep Immersion in which “Hong Yan” gave blood to save a romantic rival and sworn enemy. The memory enrages him, though its extreme emotional impact helps him break through in his training.
• He has paused saving money for eye-repair surgery: Grandma Chizuru now holds Clan Elder Dongzhuo’s damaged Sharingan, which Akaseki may eventually restore. Chizuru has cautioned him not to neglect his training.
• Drawing on Might Duy’s experience with the Eight Gates, Akaseki has been pursuing a more intense form of mental training to open the Yin Style Eight Gates. The Immersion’s emotional strain finally opens his third gate, the Gate of Life.
• The gate greatly improves his hearing and ability to interpret sound, sharpens his combat instincts, and activates the brain’s temporal lobe. It also intensifies his emotions—especially Sorrow, his most developed emotion.
• Sorrow boosts several associated chakra transformations by roughly two thresholds. Akaseki notes that different emotions affect different qualities of elemental chakra: Anger tends to increase force, Happiness range, and Sorrow specialized effects.
• Closing the gates leaves his hearing temporarily muffled and his mood colored by Sorrow, but he concludes neither effect is serious or lasting.

Character developments and interactions

• Akaseki grows more confident in his original, mind-focused approach to the Eight Gates. He sees himself as a counterpart to Might Duy: both work hard, but Duy trains his body while Akaseki trains his mind.
• Grandma Chizuru continues to guide Akaseki, arranging for Dongzhuo’s eye to be repaired while protecting Akaseki’s secret and insisting he maintain his training.
• Akaseki trusts Chizuru’s judgment about Dongzhuo, despite knowing little about the elder beyond his former allegiance to Setsuna and his combative criticism of the clan.
• The chapter also contrasts Akaseki’s Uchiha identity with his “benevolent” actions in Immersion, which he finds emotionally unbearable.

Significant themes

• Discipline and innovation: Akaseki adapts the Eight Gates to his own strengths rather than copying Duy’s physical regimen.
• Emotion as power—and risk: Strong feelings can enhance chakra, but they are not fully controllable and can affect the user’s state of mind.
• Trust and secrecy: Chizuru’s judgment shapes the eye-repair plan, while Akaseki’s unusual ability remains hidden from the wider clan.
• The cost of growth: His breakthrough brings powerful sensory and combat gains, but also temporary discomfort and emotional influence.

Plot points and events

• Hong Yan confronts his cousin Hong Feng over the profits from their restaurant. Though they had agreed to share ownership, Hong Feng offers him only 20,000 and claims there is no contract. His girlfriend, Xiao Li, belittles Hong Yan; Hong Feng then offers to lend him another 20,000 rather than pay what he is owed.
• Hong Yan realizes Hong Feng has replaced him in the kitchen with A-Xing, takes the money, throws it back, and leaves, warning Hong Feng that the restaurant’s success depended on him.
• Akaseki relives this painful memory and finds that the sorrow pushes his Subterranean Infusion technique to 50%—about the normal limit of Deep Immersion. Further progress will be extremely difficult, so he begins considering other paths to greater power.
• He sees Wood Release and the Uchiha clan’s Sage Mode as a potential new “key” to breaking his limits. His existing routes are the Sharingan and Susanoo, and the Yin Style Eight Gates.
• An urgent letter from Orochimaru reports a major strategic reversal: Iwagakure has allied with Amegakure, whose leader Hanzō joined an assault on Konoha’s forces. The Sannin could barely hold him off, and Konoha lost the battle, though its main force escaped with limited casualties.
• With Konoha’s line at Lingering Rain Mountain broken, Akaseki’s post at Kannabi Bridge and the Land of Grass is now dangerously exposed to attacks from both Iwagakure and Amegakure.

Character developments and interactions

• Hong Yan moves from suspicion to open defiance when he sees that Hong Feng intends to cheat him and replace him. His departure marks a break in their relationship.
• Hong Feng has grown prosperous and self-serving after recovering from debt, abandoning the promise that helped him recruit Hong Yan. Xiao Li reinforces his contemptuous treatment of his cousin.
• Akaseki is ambitious but increasingly aware that ordinary training has reached a ceiling. He weighs several possible routes to further growth, while remaining wary of Orochimaru’s experimental medicines.
• Orochimaru remains a source of both strategic direction and suspicious “medicines”; his urgent report now forces Akaseki to confront an immediate military crisis.
• The Sannin cooperate to delay Hanzō, enabling Konoha’s main force to retreat even though they cannot prevent its defeat.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and exploitation: Hong Feng breaks a family and business promise once he no longer needs Hong Yan.
• Limits and the search for breakthroughs: Akaseki recognizes that effort alone cannot overcome the plateau facing powerful shinobi; advancement requires a new “key.”
• Strategic reversals and fragile security: Konoha’s gains are undermined by shifting alliances, leaving Akaseki’s front isolated and vulnerable.

Key plot points and events

• After receiving Orochimaru’s confidential letter, Akaseki secretly gathers all Konoha ninja in Kusagakure, including Yamanaka Sansan’s independent mission team. Orochimaru’s force in the Land of Rain has been disrupted, and Konoha reinforcements are still about three days away.
• Akaseki warns the Kannabi Bridge outpost about the approaching Iwagakure threat but orders it to hold until night, when he plans to arrive with support.
• Sansan argues that the Konoha forces should withdraw to the Land of Fire and defend the exposed border rather than risk being cut off. Akaseki acknowledges the danger but chooses to try to hold Kannabi Bridge, partly because abandoning Kusagakure could undo Konoha’s recent gains there.
• Akaseki asks Sansan to remain in Kusagakure, prevent the Grass Ninja from aiding Iwagakure, and be ready to lead a withdrawal if Kannabi Bridge falls. Sansan agrees and promises to keep Cao Bao close.

Character developments and interactions

• Akaseki acts decisively and accepts responsibility for making the battlefield decision Orochimaru left to him. He is willing to risk holding the bridge to protect both Konoha’s position and its influence in Kusagakure.
• Yamanaka Sansan is cautious and pragmatic. He repeatedly makes the case for retreat, then accepts a supporting role once Akaseki gives him a clear contingency plan.
• Yuchi Jiong, a young Uchiha Chunin, mocks Sansan’s caution and argues that holding out will thwart Iwagakure. Akaseki rebukes him formally, though the exchange highlights the tension between Sansan’s realism and Uchiha bravado.
• Akaseki relies on Sansan’s Yamanaka abilities to receive signals from Kannabi Bridge and on his judgment to keep Kusagakure secure.

Significant themes

• Duty versus prudence: Akaseki must choose between a safer withdrawal and a risky defense.
• Leadership under uncertainty: Orochimaru leaves the final decision to Akaseki, who must act before reinforcements arrive.
• Strategic interests and reputation: The decision is shaped not only by military survival but also by Konoha’s standing and its valuable arrangements in Kusagakure.
• Clashing temperaments: Sansan’s measured caution contrasts with the Uchiha characters’ confidence and impulsive reasoning.

Key plot points and events

• As Konoha’s main force retreats after Iwagakure’s attack, Akaseki refuses to abandon the Land of Grass. He takes twelve ninja to reinforce the Kannabi Bridge outpost, while Yamanaka Sansan stays in Kusagakure to recall scattered Konoha ninja and prepare a possible retreat.
• Akaseki leaves a Mirror Clone behind. The clone summons Kusagakure leader Cao Bao and his aides, then invents a birthday celebration to keep them occupied—and prevent the wavering Grass Ninja from turning against Konoha.
• Akaseki’s party reaches Kannabi Bridge safely. His earlier warning has given the outpost time to prepare, and no attack has begun. Akaseki argues that distrust between Ōnoki and Hanzō likely prevented them from coordinating simultaneous assaults.
• Outpost commander Gongzhi Jiu reports that more than a hundred Stone Ninja, including a jinchūriki—likely Roshi—are approaching and may attack the next day. Konoha reinforcements are still two and a half days away.
• The outpost hopes its defenses can hold, but a transformed jinchūriki could break through. Akaseki reveals he can use the first stage of Susanoo, improving their prospects, though he has not awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Akaseki senses an approaching Stone Ninja squad using an Earth Style technique to move stealthily underground. He opens the Yin Style Gate of Life, enhancing his perception, and prepares to respond.

Character developments and interactions

• Akaseki shows strategic judgment and commitment to the mission, balancing reinforcement at the bridge with precautions in Kusagakure. He also demonstrates a new level of sensory ability and access to first-stage Susanoo.
• Yamanaka Sansan remains behind with responsibility for rallying Konoha’s scattered personnel and managing a potential withdrawal.
• Cao Bao is wary of Akaseki’s suspicious “birthday feast,” but the clone effectively keeps him and his aides from leaving.
• Gongzhi Jiu is determined to hold the outpost but privately fears they lack someone capable of facing a transformed jinchūriki. He places considerable hope in Akaseki’s Susanoo.
• Akaseki and Gongzhi discuss the threat candidly; their exchange also highlights the absent support of Ranwu and Minato.

Significant themes

• Preparation and perception: Akaseki’s warning and heightened sensing give Konoha a chance to prepare against threats that might otherwise go unnoticed.
• Political distrust: The rivalry between Hanzō and Ōnoki may prevent coordinated attacks, while Kusagakure’s shifting loyalties make it necessary to keep Cao Bao under watch.
• Duty under pressure: Akaseki chooses to reinforce a vulnerable position despite limited numbers and delayed reinforcements.
• Power and uncertainty: Susanoo offers hope, but without Mangekyō abilities, the defenders still face serious risks.

Plot and events

• Before dawn on February 14, Stone Jonin Gajarin leads a covert force toward Konoha’s Kannabi Bridge outpost. The group includes Roshi, the Four-Tails jinchuriki, and Gajarin’s student Kitsuchi. Their plan is for Roshi to burst from underground and attack the outpost’s central sealing formation.
• Gajarin’s Earth Style lets him conceal the team and sense movement through the ground. But Akaseki, flying overhead with Gongzhi Jiu, detects them. Gongzhi recognizes Gajarin as the “Rock Eel” and concludes the Stone force is preparing a surprise attack.
• Akaseki uses a Mirror Clone to unleash Underworld Gate, a Water-and-Earth combination technique that turns a wide area of soil into a toxic, corrosive swamp. The attack catches the tunneling Stone Ninja off guard.
• Roshi’s involuntary Tailed Beast Transformation lets him escape the worst of the attack, carrying Kitsuchi and three other Jonin. Gajarin also survives, but another Jonin, Gray Rock, is killed, while the four rescued men suffer severe injuries.
• Akaseki retreats into the air as his Mirror Clones distract Roshi with repeated Air Style techniques. The clones’ attacks are ineffective, but they appear to be building up dense air around Roshi.
• A final clone snaps its fingers, triggering a chain of explosions. Four-Tails is badly injured but begins regenerating; Roshi shields the four men he is holding. Gajarin’s fate is left unresolved at the chapter’s end.

Character developments and interactions

• Akaseki demonstrates careful preparation and growing versatility, using Water and Earth techniques rather than his expected Fire-and-Earth combination. He also uses clones as decoys to set up a concealed explosive attack.
• Gajarin is shown as a capable infiltrator and sensor, but his confidence in underground concealment leaves his team vulnerable to Akaseki’s terrain-altering technique.
• Kitsuchi worries that the operation may exceed his father Ōnoki’s orders, which were to force Konoha to withdraw. Gajarin and Roshi rebuke him, urging independent judgment and strategic vision.
• Roshi becomes a destructive force under sudden threat, but retains enough control to protect Kitsuchi and the other survivors. His exchange with Four-Tails reveals that the beast can warn him, though too late to prevent the blast.
• Gongzhi Jiu supports Akaseki by identifying Gajarin and interpreting the Stone Ninja’s presence as evidence of a larger ambush.

Significant themes

• Perception and countermeasures: Gajarin’s specialized sensing is powerful but limited; Akaseki exploits the fact that the team is underground and changes the very terrain they depend on.
• Judgment and ambition: The disagreement over Ōnoki’s cautious orders contrasts with Gajarin and Roshi’s willingness to pursue a more decisive attack.
• The cost of warfare: The surprise assault causes a death and severe injuries even before the main battle begins, while Roshi’s transformation endangers allies as well as enemies.
• Strategy over brute force: Akaseki’s clones cannot meaningfully harm Roshi through direct attacks, but use misdirection and preparation to create a much more damaging final explosion.

Key plot points and events

• Akaseki’s Underworld Gate trap devastates the battlefield, but Roshi’s warning keeps the other Stone Ninja from entering the blast zone; they are instead sent to attack the Kannabi Bridge Outpost.
• Gajarin is mortally wounded despite Roshi’s attempt to shield him. Before dying, he warns the Stone forces not to use earth-burrowing techniques against Akaseki, who ambushes from underground.
• The explosion tears into Roshi’s fully transformed Four-Tails body, but its powerful regeneration prevents serious lasting damage. Akaseki realizes ordinary attacks will not be enough.
• Gongzhi Jiu attempts to disrupt Roshi’s connection with the Four-Tails through mental interference. Roshi and the beast are unusually well synchronized, however, and resist the effort.
• Akaseki activates a more complete Susanoo and faces Roshi directly. Susanoo survives a full-force punch, but Akaseki recognizes that trading blows would eventually wear it down.
• Akaseki switches to evasive tactics and taunts Roshi, keeping him focused on the fight instead of the outpost. Roshi carries four wounded men—including Kitsuchi—in one hand, limiting his attacks.
• Akaseki spots Kitsuchi as a possible target, thinking that killing him would avenge Nawaki.

Character developments and interactions

• Roshi shifts from rage at Gajarin’s death to treating Akaseki as a serious opponent. His bond with the Four-Tails is strong enough to resist Gongzhi Jiu’s interference, though his anger makes him easier to provoke.
• Akaseki demonstrates tactical ingenuity: he uses the terrain and explosive gas to create an enormous blast, then tests Susanoo’s limits and adapts rather than fighting head-on. His taunt is calculated, and his focus on Kitsuchi reveals a personal desire for revenge.
• Gongzhi Jiu takes a dangerous role by attempting mental interference, but cannot quickly separate Roshi and the Four-Tails.
• Kitsuchi is severely injured and grieving Gajarin; Roshi carries him alongside the other wounded, which constrains Roshi during the battle.
• Roshi and Akaseki now regard each other as genuine opponents. Their fight combines Roshi’s overwhelming power with Akaseki’s strategy and provocation.

Significant themes

• Strategy versus raw power: Akaseki’s trap and evasive tactics can damage and distract a tailed beast, but cannot overcome its regeneration through force alone.
• The cost of war: Gajarin’s death and Kitsuchi’s injuries underscore the human toll even amid spectacular techniques.
• Control and emotion: Roshi’s anger makes him easier to manipulate, while his strong connection with the Four-Tails resists outside interference.
• Revenge and escalation: Akaseki’s desire to avenge Nawaki may lead him to target Kitsuchi, risking a wider conflict.

Akaseki used Susanoo and his newly developed Wings of the Void to keep Roshi from reaching the Kannabi Bridge Outpost while Gongzhi Jiu helped hold off the Stone Ninja. After the fighting lasted until dawn and both defenders neared their limits, the Stone Ninja retreated and Akaseki and Gongzhi Jiu withdrew safely.

• Roshi erupted magma across the battlefield, but Akaseki used Susanoo to withstand the spray and evade the molten ground.
• When Roshi turned toward the Kannabi Bridge Outpost, Akaseki took flight with Wings of the Void and harassed the hand holding the injured jonin, preventing Roshi from advancing.
• Akaseki and Gongzhi Jiu kept Roshi and the other Stone Ninja occupied while the Konoha defenders held the outpost, leaving the Stone Ninja with only two jonin able to fight.
• The battle continued from early morning until dawn, draining Akaseki and putting Gongzhi Jiu in danger while Roshi remained capable of fighting.
• The Stone Ninja retreated from the outpost, and Akaseki and Gongzhi Jiu withdrew without Roshi pursuing them.

After the Stone Ninja’s failed dawn raid, Akaseki learned that enemy Jonin could recover quickly and decided to infiltrate their river-valley camp before they were ready. He left alone with two Mirror Clones, opened the Gate of Life, and used his Earth Style to locate vibrations inside the valley.

• Gongzhi Jiu reported that Konoha had lost four Chunin while the Stone Ninja had lost twelve Chunin and two Jonin, and noted that an Uchiha survivor had awakened a Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Akaseki worried that the Stone Ninja Jonin could recover from their injuries and attack again by nightfall or the next morning.
• Akaseki told Gongzhi Jiu that his dojutsu power had fully recovered and his chakra was at ninety percent, then rejected the suggestions to send a clone or support squad in his place.
• Akaseki created two Mirror Clones and traveled with them toward the Stone Ninja’s river-valley camp, switching to Hidden Fish Technique near the valley.
• Akaseki opened the Gate of Life, continued infiltrating alone, and used Earth Pulse to pinpoint vibrations in the valley.

Akaseki infiltrated the Stone Ninja camp and killed their medical ninja, then escaped Roshi’s pursuit. He returned to Konoha’s position, leaving the Stone Ninja without effective medical support before their next battle.

• Akaseki used a Mirror Clone to draw out the Stone Ninja and confirm that their most important wounded target was Kitsuchi.
• Akaseki changed his target when he discovered the Stone Ninja medical ninja treating Kitsuchi, then burst through the ground and killed the medic with Susanoo.
• Roshi transformed and pursued Akaseki, but Akaseki escaped with help from his Mirror Clones, which disrupted the Stone Ninja guarding the valley entrance.
• Akaseki returned to Gongzhi Jiu and reported that he had killed the Stone Ninja medical ninja and likely several Chunin.

Akaseki and Konoha held the Kannabi Bridge Outpost until the Stone Ninja withdrew, and Torifu Akimichi arrived with reinforcements. After six months of stalemate in the Land of Grass, Akaseki received orders to oversee operations in the ravaged Land of Rain, where he and the Sannin encountered several strange children.

• Roshi's assault on the Kannabi Bridge Outpost failed, and the Stone Ninja retreated under Akaseki's harassment.
• The Stone Ninja launched one final attack on February 16, then withdrew completely as Konoha reinforcements approached.
• Torifu Akimichi arrived with an elite force, and Akaseki remained in command of the outpost and the Land of Grass operations.
• Konoha established the Grass Support Force, and Akaseki spent six more months in the Land of Grass before receiving transfer orders to the Land of Rain.
• Akaseki and the Sannin began their new assignment in the Land of Rain, where they encountered several strange children who approached the Konoha ninja.

Akaseki traveled to the western Land of Rain to meet Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, while reflecting on his newly awakened Swamp Release and completing another deep-immersion storyline. He found the Sannin confronting three war orphans and learned that the children, Yahiko, Nagato, and Xiao Nan, wanted to become ninja to change their country.

• Akaseki reported to Mitokado Homura and learned that Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade were on an S-rank mission in the western Land of Rain.
• Akaseki told Nonō that he had awakened Swamp Release and went to find Orochimaru, allowing Guan Ze to inspect other missions while Nonō accompanied him.
• While traveling, Akaseki completed a deep-immersion story about lacquer-fan maker Hong Yan and processed the experience.
• Akaseki found Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade facing three children, and he warned Nonō not to harm them.
• The orange-haired boy introduced himself as Yahiko and named the other children Nagato and Xiao Nan after saying they wanted to become ninja and change their country.

Akaseki revealed that Nagato’s parents had been killed by Konoha ninja and urged Jiraiya to take the children to Konoha for protection. Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato refused, so Jiraiya decided to stay with them in the Land of Rain.

• Akaseki recognized Nagato as the child of parents whose bodies he had found, and Jiraiya recalled that Konoha shinobi under his command had killed them by mistake.
• Orochimaru exposed the incident, and Akaseki told Nagato that the shinobi world, rather than Konoha, had killed his parents.
• Akaseki suggested bringing Nagato to Konoha as an Uzumaki orphan, while Jiraiya offered to take all three children there and raise them as children of Konoha.
• Yahiko refused to leave the Land of Rain because he wanted to make it peaceful, and Konan and Nagato chose to stay with him.
• Jiraiya accepted their decision and resolved to look after the three children in the Land of Rain.

Akaseki questioned Nagato about his parents’ deaths and warned the children about a mysterious ninja with ringed eyes, while Jiraiya arranged to stay in the Land of Rain and care for them. Back at the Konoha outpost, Akaseki and Orochimaru discussed Akaseki’s newly awakened Swamp Release and why it was not Wood Release.

• Akaseki asked Nagato what happened after he saw the two Konoha Chunin, and Nagato said he had passed out and awakened outside the village.
• Akaseki apologized for Nagato’s parents’ deaths and warned Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko to report anyone with ringed eyes to him or Jiraiya.
• Jiraiya agreed to stay and look after the children, with Nonō helping, while Akaseki, Orochimaru, and Tsunade returned to the Konoha outpost.
• Akaseki wondered how Nagato had ended up outside the village and suspected Madara Uchiha had a hidden scheme, while Konan’s reaction made him suspect she had seen Madara.
• Akaseki told Orochimaru he had awakened Swamp Release, and Orochimaru explained that Akaseki had focused on conversion and overlooked Wood Release’s essential vitality.

Akaseki recovered and removed a Sharingan eye, then sent it to the Uchiha Clan and received another blind clan elder’s eye in return. He visited Jiraiya and the three children in the Land of Rain, where his attempt to impress them with his cooking ended in disaster.

• Orochimaru suggested stimulating Akaseki to awaken Wood Release, but Akaseki refused and promised to try again after six months.
• Akaseki underwent surgery to restore his right-hand Three-Tomoe Sharingan, removed the eye, and sent it to Naka Shrine with Tanuki Treasure.
• Seven days later, Tanuki Treasure returned with Uchiha Nanfeng’s blind left eye, which Akaseki transplanted.
• Akaseki followed Jiraiya’s trail marks to his hut in the Land of Rain and met Nonō, Konan, Nagato, and Yahiko.
• Akaseki cooked for the group using skills he had gained during Immersion, but served them several unappetizing dishes.

Akaseki taught Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan table manners and told them a strange story about favoritism, leaving Konan with a nightmare. Nonō arranged for Akaseki to impersonate her so he could hear Konan’s secret without putting her at risk of having to report it to Danzo, and Konan began explaining that Nagato might be in danger.

• Akaseki forced Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan to finish his inedible cooking while lecturing them about table manners.
• Akaseki questioned Nonō about the children, then told them a fable in which A Luo inherited the family legacy while Yin Luo left.
• Konan woke from a nightmare about Akaseki’s story and went to Nonō, where she hinted that she had an important secret.
• Nonō asked Akaseki to transform into her and listen to Konan, so she would not learn a secret she might have to report to Danzo.
• Akaseki impersonated Nonō, and Konan said she needed to tell her because Nagato might be in danger.

Konan told Nonō about seeing rings in Nagato’s eyes, prompting Akaseki to suspect the Rinnegan had once controlled Nagato and that Madara Uchiha might still be watching him. Nawaki’s refusal to take the Rinnegan was revealed, while Akaseki left Jiraiya’s group to continue training.

• Konan recounted seeing rings in Nagato’s eyes after a nightmare, and Akaseki reassured her that it had probably been a dream.
• Akaseki and the Hell Yama King suspected that Madara Uchiha had controlled Nagato through the Rinnegan and wondered whether any Six Paths power remained.
• Nawaki revealed that he had sealed Nagato’s Rinnegan with Wood Release instead of taking the eyes, despite Black Zetsu urging him to claim them.
• Akaseki examined Nagato with his Sharingan, found nothing unusual, and warned Nonō to report any sign of someone following them.
• Akaseki left Jiraiya’s group and resumed training by eating and digesting stones to strengthen his dōjutsu.

Akaseki returned to Konoha with Nonō, Orochimaru, and Tsunade as the village struggled with wartime trauma and shortages of Medical Ninja. He proposed that the Hyuga Clan’s aptitude for chakra control and vision could make its members valuable medical personnel, while Orochimaru pointed out the political obstacles.

• Akaseki, Nonō, Orochimaru, and Tsunade traveled back to Konoha while Jiraiya remained in the Land of Rain to care for local orphans under Sarutobi’s emergency conditions.
• Tsunade described the psychological strain on Konoha’s shinobi and the growing burden of caring for wounded comrades, while Orochimaru argued that expanding the number of Medical Ninja would not solve the rear’s shortages.
• Akaseki criticized Danzo and the Shimura Clan elder for invoking the Warring States Period to encourage shinobi to keep fighting.
• Tsunade explained that chakra control mattered more than bloodline talent for training Medical Ninja, but Orochimaru warned that Konoha could not spare additional personnel from the front.
• Akaseki suggested recruiting the Hyuga Clan as Medical Ninja, and Orochimaru challenged him to win the Main Family’s cooperation and secure the Hokage’s acceptance of their control over those medics.

After Orochimaru moved into the Uchiha Clan compound, Konoha speculated about the political meaning of his marriage into the clan. At the Jonin Meeting, Tsunade proposed expanding medical ninja training, and Jiancheng and Orochimaru suggested recruiting combat-ready ninja with medical aptitude, hinting that the Hyuga Clan should help.

• Akaseki visited Obito and reassured Obito's Grandmother that Orochimaru could be a good father to him.
• Orochimaru moved into the Uchiha Clan compound, prompting speculation about his ties to the clan.
• At the Jonin Meeting, Tsunade proposed training more medical ninja and assigning one to every Four-Man Combat Team.
• Dan Katō supported Tsunade's proposal, and Akaseki voiced support on Jiraiya's behalf.
• Jiancheng and Orochimaru proposed training combat-capable ninja with medical talent and suggested that the Hyuga Clan should contribute.

Orochimaru and Jiancheng pushed the Hyuga Clan to become Medical Ninjas, using Tsunade’s proposal to challenge the clan’s rules, but Hyuga Jisuke rejected the plan as impractical. Orochimaru then asked Yamanaka Weiyi for his clan’s position, and Weiyi agreed that the Yamanaka Clan would try if the village needed it.

• Orochimaru argued that the Hyuga Clan should help ease Konoha’s burden by training as Medical Ninjas, alarming Hyuga Jisuke and Hyuga Shiyan.
• Jiancheng and Orochimaru accused the Hyuga representatives of resisting village cooperation, while Tsunade and Dan Katō realized their proposal was being used to pressure the clan.
• Dan Katō warned that Hyuga ninja were already priority targets, but Akaseki argued that their Gentle Fist skills would help protect them if they became Medical Ninjas.
• Hyuga Jisuke asked how long Tsunade’s training would take, then dismissed the plan because the Hyuga Clan’s ninja had no time to study Medical Ninjutsu.
• Orochimaru asked Yamanaka Weiyi for his view, and Weiyi said the Yamanaka Clan was willing to try if the village needed it.