Chapter Summaries

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.

Akaseki and Hikari struggled against future Akaseki’s Sage Mode-enhanced Susanoo, with Akaseki cautiously feeding senjutsu chakra through Engraving so Hikari could strengthen her own Susanoo. As both sides neared exhaustion, Kakashi prepared Team 7 to attack and buy Akaseki time to recover, while the battle remained trapped in Rōran.

• Future Akaseki transformed his Susanoo by incorporating senjutsu chakra, then severed one of Hikari’s Susanoo’s arms.
• At Hikari’s insistence, Akaseki slowly supplied senjutsu chakra through Engraving, allowing her to add snake markings to her Susanoo and narrow the power gap.
• Akaseki repeatedly exhausted himself supplying Hikari, while she drained her own chakra and his Mirror Clones as the battle devastated Rōran City.
• Future Akaseki urged Hikari to stop as her Susanoo weakened, revealing that he still held the advantage.
• Kakashi recognized that Akaseki could recover chakra while not fighting and rallied Team 7 to create an opening for him.
• Akaseki tossed Kakashi White Fang as Ranwu realized that neither group could leave Rōran.

Hikari sacrificed her life to seal Future Akaseki’s eyes, but he projected his remaining power onto the moon and cast a vast genjutsu over Rōran. As Akaseki recovered and rushed to the battlefield with his Mirror Clones, Ranwu and the others confronted Future Akaseki, who admitted Minato was dead and attacked them.

• Ranwu ignored Akaseki’s order to leave and prepared to stay and buy time.
• Hikari used Kushihachigyoku to seal Future Akaseki’s eyes at the cost of her life, but he preserved his vision and cast a genjutsu across much of Rōran.
• Akaseki realized Hikari’s chakra absorption had ended, resisted the moon’s genjutsu, and recovered enough chakra to create twelve Mirror Clones.
• Ranwu and the others found Future Akaseki sealing Hikari’s body, and Kakashi pieced together his plan to use sacrifices to awaken the Ryūmyaku and escape Rōran.
• Future Akaseki told Ranwu that Minato was dead, and she attacked him with Water Style: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade.
• Future Akaseki raised a giant hand from the ground and struck Ranwu away as she tried to hold him off.

Future Akaseki defeated Kakashi and Naruto, suppressed Sasuke’s awakening, and faced the present Akaseki as he arrived with his Mirror Clones. Their clash left Akaseki shaken by his future self’s resolve and afraid of what the future held.

• Future Akaseki pierced Kakashi with stone spikes, then struck down Naruto as he charged.
• Future Akaseki used the Eye of the Moon’s genjutsu to suppress Sasuke’s Sharingan awakening, while Konoha awakened her Sharingan with two tomoe.
• Akaseki arrived with his Mirror Akasekis, shielded the wounded Konoha and Ranwu, and sent them away before attacking with twelve second-stage Susanoos.
• Akaseki’s Sage Mode disrupted future Akaseki’s Inorganic Reincarnation, but future Akaseki cut through several Susanoos with his Ame-no-Hoko Gunbai.
• Akaseki’s own Ame-no-Hoko Gunbai shattered against future Akaseki’s, and Akaseki began to fear the future.

Akaseki defeated his future self after rejecting his belief that the shinobi world could not change, and his future self revived the dead before dying. Akaseki’s eyes recovered, and he was left with unanswered questions about the future.

• Future Akaseki killed Akaseki twice, but Izanagi and a hidden Sharingan kept bringing Akaseki back.
• Future Akaseki explained that the shinobi world’s own failings caused its tragedies, and Ranwu broke free from his stone grip using Strength of a Hundred.
• Akaseki charged with his restored Ame-no-Hoko Gunbai, shattered Future Akaseki’s weapon, and fatally wounded him.
• Future Akaseki used Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to revive the buried victims, including Kakashi, Naruto, and Hikari, while restoring Akaseki’s sight.
• Future Akaseki died after urging Akaseki to face the future with everyone, leaving Akaseki unable to ask him about the Immersion System.

Minato calmed the unstable Ryūmyaku after it revived Rōran’s people and sent the four visitors from the future back, but he warned that the survivors could not leave without losing their memories. As the Akaseki Squad helped rebuild Rōran, Akaseki urged Sara to focus on mastering the Ryūmyaku and continued criticizing the demands placed on Kage.

• The Ryūmyaku’s power ran wild, so Minato took Naruto and the others underground to seal it while Akaseki and Ranwu protected and rescued Rōran’s newly revived people.
• After half an hour of tremors, Minato returned and said everyone had survived; he speculated that the Ryūmyaku had reacted to the resurrection and said he had temporarily reinforced it.
• Minato sent the four visitors from the future back, but explained that the others could not leave unless they were willing to erase their memories.
• Akaseki asked Ranwu whether she had seen Konoha awaken her Sharingan, then the Akaseki Squad helped rebuild Rōran over the following days.
• Akaseki told Sara to prioritize controlling the Ryūmyaku and delegate government affairs, then criticized Kage who were poorly suited to administration.

Akaseki received Sunagakure’s delegation and learned that the Third Kazekage wanted to approach him before formal peace negotiations with Konoha. He proposed that the Uchiha Clan oversee Sunagakure’s mission assignments and reviews, leaving Pakura to report his offer to the Kazekage.

• Akaseki advised Sara to focus on controlling the ryūmyaku and offered to find her an administrator, while Sara said she would look for someone in Rōran first.
• A messenger reported that Sunagakure’s representatives had arrived seeking Akaseki, and Akaseki invited Minato and Ranwu to meet them with him.
• Akaseki greeted Pakura by taunting her about how the White Fang and he had helped change Sunagakure’s leadership, but Pakura said the Kazekage wanted to discuss peace negotiations with him first.
• Pakura raised Sunagakure’s share of missions in the Land of Wind, but Akaseki said those arrangements were settled and proposed that the Uchiha Clan oversee Sunagakure’s mission assignments and reviews.
• Akaseki told Pakura to relay his proposal to the Kazekage, framing it as a way to preserve long-term stability in the shinobi world.

Akaseki secured the Third Kazekage’s agreement in principle to an outsourced ninja village agreement and realized that future events might point to another devastating war. He left the chapter urging Konoha to strengthen alliances and prepare carefully rather than provoke a conflict.

• Akaseki argued that Sunagakure’s defeat and internal strife would push the Third Kazekage to accept outsourcing, and the Kazekage agreed in principle after two days of negotiations.
• Pakura relayed the Kazekage’s decision, and Akaseki told her to have him discuss the agreement’s details with Orochimaru.
• Akaseki reconsidered Minato’s prospects of becoming Fourth Hokage and deduced that another major war might explain Minato’s future rise and the Third Hokage’s return.
• Ranwu and Minato worried that Konoha’s leading figures might have died, while Akaseki blamed Kakashi for not knowing better and speculated about the Third Shinobi World War.
• Minato warned Akaseki against provoking a war based on guesses, then recommended strengthening ties with Sunagakure and Karatachi.

Akaseki, Minato, and Ranwu visited Hikari and Sara beneath Rōran to learn what Hikari had discovered about the Ryūmyaku. Hikari explained how it connected chakra across space-times and suggested a way they might stop their chakra from draining and escape.

• Minato proposed shaping Sunagakure into a lasting ally, and Akaseki praised his practical advice.
• Minato reminded Akaseki and Ranwu that they were still trapped, so the three traveled underground to check on Hikari and Sara.
• Hikari explained that Rōran's royal family could control the Ryūmyaku because their chakra resonated with it across different space-times.
• Akaseki theorized that chakra connected versions of people across space-times, causing their chakra to drain away when they left the Ryūmyaku.
• Hikari suggested that establishing a connection to the Ryūmyaku could slow their chakra loss and possibly help them recover their chakra faster.

Akaseki used the Immersion Platform to search for inspiration about space-time techniques, but the story he experienced mainly involved Hong Yan’s disastrous romance and poverty after discovering a portal to ancient times. Back in Rōran, Akaseki considered how the Rinnegan might be awakened and asked Ranwu whether chakra could be obtained by connecting people.

• Akaseki immersed himself in My Supermarket Connects to Ancient Times and reviewed Hong Yan’s years of serving a princess who kept him poor and dependent.
• Akaseki continued the immersion and saw Hong Yan struggle in both worlds, even receiving his own donated instant noodles at a food-relief line.
• Ranwu brought Akaseki beef noodles, and Akaseki asked her about the timing of pregnancy and sex, prompting her to tell him to study the Rinnegan.
• Akaseki reasoned that awakening the Rinnegan might require combining Indra and Asura’s chakra rather than simply possessing Yin Style and Yang Style.
• Akaseki asked Ranwu whether connecting people could let someone obtain chakra from members of the Senju Clan, and Ranwu responded with a fist.

Akaseki finished the first half of Hong Yan’s memories, where Hong Yan was executed after years of helping the Princess and Great Yong, and then entered the rebirth portion of the immersion. Reborn only a few months earlier, Hong Yan accepted a lucrative demolition deal but delayed signing it so he could send aid for one last disaster.

• Hong Yan was executed after the Dingguo Duke’s heir provoked a street brawl, and Akaseki completed the first thirty-two hours of immersion.
• Akaseki discussed Hikari’s chakra problem and Minato’s Flying Thunder God research with Ranwu, then sparred with her and gained a boost to his yang release chakra from the immersion’s benevolence.
• Akaseki entered the next immersion and found that Hong Yan had been reborn only a few months before his execution.
• Hong Yan agreed to sign the demolition contract for ten million but insisted the date be postponed by a week because he knew a disaster was coming.
• Hong Yan planned to use his final week to send one last shipment of supplies before cutting ties with the women in Great Yong.

Akaseki endured Hong Yan’s final immersion, which ended with Hong Yan demolishing his own supermarket and the Space-Time Gate, then learned that Hatake had failed a mission in the Land of Wind’s ancestral ruins and faced criticism in Konoha. The chapter left Akaseki angry and confused about the mission’s failure and the forces blaming Hatake.

• Akaseki alternated immersion sessions with Taijutsu training alongside Ranwu as he experienced Hong Yan’s final days before demolition.
• Hong Yan gave the Princess disaster-relief supplies, dismissed her promises, and watched her leave with their daughter to visit Young Lord Cheng.
• Hong Yan demanded to demolish his supermarket himself, drove an excavator through it, and destroyed the attached Space-Time Gate.
• Akaseki saw memories of the Princess and her daughter arriving at Hong Yan’s door after he moved away, then complained about an apology after the fact.
• Ranwu told Akaseki that Hatake had withdrawn from the Land of Wind daimyo’s ancestral ruins to protect his team, triggering the ruins’ self-destructing seal and drawing criticism in Konoha.
• Akaseki suspected the daimyo had acted deliberately, while Ranwu suggested some shinobi clans might be concerned about the outsourcing agreement and future infiltration of Sunagakure.

Akaseki persuaded Uchiha Jie that the criticism of Hatake Sakumo was part of a conspiracy against the Uchiha and sent him rushing back to Konoha. Minato then worried that the backlash might have contributed to Sakumo's eventual death, while Akaseki endured the final scenes of Hong Yan's story.

• Akaseki guessed that Orochimaru had sent Uchiha Jie to alert him about the criticism of Hatake Sakumo.
• Akaseki convinced Uchiha Jie that Shimura Danzō was exploiting the controversy to threaten the Uchiha Clan, and Jie hurried back to Konoha to warn the Clan Leader.
• Minato told Akaseki that Naruto had said Kakashi and the other members of his Team 7 were orphans, leading Minato to suspect that Hatake Sakumo had died while Kakashi was young.
• Minato worried that public pressure after the vote of no confidence might have driven Sakumo to his death, and he accelerated his research into the Ryūmyaku.
• Akaseki watched the end of Hong Yan's story, in which the Princess chased after him as he drove away.

Hikari found a way for herself, Akaseki, and Ranwu to leave Rōran, while Minato revealed an extraordinary talent for the Flying Thunder God Technique. Akaseki's squad departed on May 16, and Hikari remained in Rōran with Sara.

• Hikari explained that she could use the Ryūmyaku to help Akaseki and Ranwu leave, while Minato could return with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Minato revealed that he could sense Flying Thunder God formulas at about ten times his maximum sensory range and could not detect them naturally expiring.
• Sara declined Hikari's invitation to go to Konoha, saying that remaining as Rōran's queen was her responsibility.
• Akaseki realized Hikari and Sara might help one another, and accepted that Hikari would stay in Rōran.
• Akaseki, Hikari, and Minato set out on their return journey on May 16.

The Akaseki Squad returned to Konoha after Minato demonstrated the Flying Thunder God Technique’s enormous range and learned that White Fang was being blamed for abandoning a mission. They heard a report of a suicide at the village gate, but Hatake Sakumo was alive, leaving them unsure who had died.

• Minato used the Flying Thunder God Technique to travel back to Rōran and return, impressing Akaseki and Ranwu with its range and low chakra cost.
• The squad learned that Wangjie Chouzhen had publicly blamed Hatake Sakumo for abandoning their mission, worsening the pressure on White Fang.
• Akaseki, Minato, and Ranwu hurried back to Konoha after hearing rumors that someone had committed suicide.
• At the village gate, Akaseki confronted a gossiping man, who blamed the supposed death on the victim, and Minato and Ranwu stopped Akaseki from escalating the confrontation.
• The squad went to the Hatake home, where Kakashi greeted them and Hatake Sakumo emerged to say he was no longer a squad leader, leaving them puzzled about who had died.

Akaseki tried to lift Hatake Sakumo’s spirits after Wangjie Chouzhen’s suicide, while Kakashi left home to keep fighting with Obito. In the Hokage Office, Jiancheng deflected blame from the Uchiha Clan and turned Hiruzen’s attention toward the forces attacking Hatake through public opinion.

• Akaseki learned that Wangjie Chouzhen had killed himself after the Uchiha Clan turned against him, while Hatake Sakumo remained dispirited and Kakashi left home to fight alongside Obito.
• Akaseki challenged Hatake Sakumo’s self-blame and his decision to quit being a ninja, and his retort about suicide eased Hatake’s own suicidal thoughts.
• Jiancheng denied that the Uchiha Clan was responsible for Wangjie Chouzhen’s death, and Hiruzen Sarutobi blamed the Konoha Military Police Force for mishandling its inquiry.
• Jiancheng accepted Hiruzen’s demand for the force to review its procedures, then asked how the village would address the unidentified groups attacking Hatake through public opinion, angering Danzo.

Hiruzen and Danzo weighed the Uchiha Clan’s responsibility for Wangjie Chouzhen’s death against Root’s role in persecuting Hatake Sakumo, leaving the clan with only a self-criticism report as punishment. Back home, Akaseki discussed the clan’s prospects and put off Jiancheng’s attempt to arrange his marriage by warning that another major war could come within a few years.

• Jiancheng agreed to deliver a self-reflection report at the next Jonin Meeting after Hiruzen held the Uchiha Clan accountable for Wangjie Chouzhen’s death.
• Danzo challenged Hiruzen’s decision, but Hiruzen argued that punishing the Uchiha Clan too harshly could expose Root’s actions against Hatake Sakumo.
• Akaseki visited Granny Chizuru, explained why Hikari had stayed in Rōran, and learned that Chizuru had already explained the matter to Jiancheng.
• Jiancheng told Akaseki that the Hokage Building might suppress Uchiha promotions, while Akaseki said the clan did not need official Elite Jonin titles to earn recognition.
• Jiancheng urged Akaseki to marry, but Akaseki warned that another major war could break out within three to five years and persuaded him to wait.