Chapter Summaries

Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade joined the battle in the Land of Rain but were overwhelmed by Hanzo, who spared them and named them the Three Ninja. At Angkor Fortress, Uchiha Sou watched the battle and considered how the title and its humiliation could shape their futures.

• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade arrived on the battlefield and helped reverse Konoha’s collapsing defenses.
• Hanzo fought the three shinobi and their summons, overpowering them as Konoha’s casualties mounted.
• Hanzo chose not to kill the three and declared them the Three Ninja before withdrawing with the Amegakure forces.
• Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade regarded the title as a humiliating reminder of their defeat and the comrades they had lost.
• Uchiha Sou observed the battle through his Netherworld Manifestation vision and assessed the title’s potential effects on the Three Ninja and Hanzo’s future.

Jiraiya rescued Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato from Rain ninja bandits and offered them food and shelter, while discovering Nagato’s Rinnegan and his deep hatred of Konoha. Uchiha Sou watched as Jiraiya resolved to earn the children’s trust, unaware that his kindness would deepen the bond between Nagato and the hatred Sou had planted.

• Jiraiya spotted the starving Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato among the ruins and recognized Nagato’s unusual purple eyes as the Rinnegan.
• Several Rain ninja bandits threatened the children, and Jiraiya defeated them with his Wild Lion's Mane Technique.
• Jiraiya introduced himself as a Konoha ninja and noticed Nagato briefly react with intense hatred.
• Yahiko and Konan accepted Jiraiya’s offer of food and shelter, while Nagato stayed silent and wary.
• Jiraiya led the children toward an abandoned house and resolved to earn Nagato’s trust through patience and kindness.
• Uchiha Sou observed Jiraiya’s sympathy and believed his efforts would bind Nagato more tightly to the hatred Sou had planted.

Uchiha Sou observed Jiraiya struggling to master Sage Mode and used his failures to develop a theory for his own Sage Art training. He left with plans to test his ideas, while Jiraiya remained unaware and continued practicing.

• Jiraiya repeatedly attempted to enter Sage Mode in a secluded valley, but unstable natural energy caused him to fail and develop frog-like traits.
• Uchiha Sou focused his Netherworld Manifestation on Jiraiya and studied how natural energy interacted with his Chakra and spiritual energy.
• Sou speculated that Hashirama Cells could make him a better vessel for natural energy and used Omoikane no Mikoto to simulate Sage Art training methods.
• Sou devised a personal Sage Art theory based on his dōjutsu, Hashirama Cells, and precise computational control.
• Jiraiya survived another near-transformation, collapsed exhausted, and decided he had lasted one second longer than before.

Jiraiya continued training Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato when Orochimaru and Tsunade encountered them and dismissed the children as an insignificant distraction. Uchiha Sou watched from Angkor Fortress and noted Nagato’s faint desire for power as Jiraiya prepared to teach him a powerful jutsu.

• Jiraiya taught the three children basic Chakra extraction and taijutsu while searching the Land of Rain for safe places and supplies.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade arrived at the abandoned town, and the children huddled nervously behind Jiraiya.
• Orochimaru mocked Jiraiya for caring for the children and warned him about Hanzo’s active patrols, while Tsunade expressed concern over wounded soldiers and scarce supplies.
• Orochimaru and Tsunade left without offering help, and Jiraiya encouraged the children by promising to teach them a powerful jutsu.
• Nagato briefly looked up at Jiraiya with a faint longing for power, which Jiraiya noticed.
• Uchiha Sou observed the encounter from Angkor Fortress and considered how Nagato’s desire and the newcomers’ indifference might shape future events.

Uchiha Sou studied how natural energy responded to Mōryō Chakra and shrine maiden Chakra, then proposed using it to slow Uchiha Madara’s declining life force. Madara rejected the idea, so Sou returned to researching natural energy and its use in improving his vessel.

• Uchiha Sou tested natural energy on simulated Mōryō Chakra and shrine maiden Chakra and concluded that a user’s will shaped its effects.
• Uchiha Sou sensed Uchiha Madara’s life force draining faster and contacted him through a remote communication formation.
• Uchiha Sou suggested natural energy could nourish Madara’s body and slow the effects of frequent Rinnegan use.
• Uchiha Madara dismissed natural energy and refused Sou’s offer, insisting that resurrection would resolve his condition.
• Uchiha Sou ended the communication and continued studying how natural energy could be integrated with Hashirama Cells.

Uchiha Sou expanded his natural-energy research by establishing surveillance of the Jūgo Clan and the Tsuchigumo Clan. With new data flowing to Angkor Fortress, he began analyzing possible foundations for his own All Things in Nature Sage Mode.

• Uchiha Sou identified the Jūgo Clan and Tsuchigumo Clan as new sources of natural-energy data and prepared Observation Seeds for both.
• Uchiha Sou sent a shadow clone to study the Jūgo Clan’s mutations and plant an Observation Seed at the village’s violent natural-energy source.
• Uchiha Sou ordered Kagami Uchiha to control a Tsuchigumo Clan leader with genjutsu and gather records about the clan’s natural-energy technique and its cost.
• Kagami Uchiha controlled the Tsuchigumo Clan leader and planted an Observation Seed to monitor the clan’s technique.
• Uchiha Sou watched data from the Jūgo Clan and the Tsuchigumo Clan join his existing samples and began analyzing them for his All Things in Nature Sage Mode.

Uchiha Xiyue experienced his first bloody battle and began questioning the cost of becoming a ninja, while his hidden father, Kagami Uchiha, watched over him. After finding evidence that Shimura Danzō and Root might be stealing Sharingan from dead Uchiha, Kagami vowed to protect his family and make Danzō pay.

• Xiyue fought Kusagakure rogue ninja during a border patrol, survived with minor injuries, and was shaken by killing for the first time.
• Xiyue resented his absent father, Kagami Uchiha, and wondered whether there was another way to gain power without sacrificing his life.
• Kagami secretly watched Xiyue's battle and chose to keep guarding him from the shadows rather than reveal that he was alive.
• Kagami investigated Danzō and Root, finding signs of surveillance of the Uchiha and suspicious cases involving missing Sharingan and unrecovered bodies.
• Kagami watched Xiyue train at the clan grounds and vowed to make Danzō pay if he threatened his family.

Uchiha Sou studied Hashirama Cells and developed a stable White Zetsu–Hashirama composite cell mass as a buffer for integrating them into his own body. The breakthrough gave him a foundation for pursuing an ultimate Sage Body, though his evolution remained at an early stage.

• Uchiha Sou analyzed Hashirama Cells and found that they absorbed and converted violent natural energy without conflict or mutation.
• Uchiha Sou chose White Zetsu cells as a buffer after direct fusion attempts failed because Hashirama Cells overwhelmed them.
• Uchiha Sou extracted energy stabilization and guidance runes, then inscribed them into White Zetsu cells to improve their energy tolerance.
• Uchiha Sou strengthened the modified White Zetsu cells with Gelel Stone extract, allowing them to absorb trace natural energy.
• Uchiha Sou fused a small grain of Hashirama Cells into the enhanced White Zetsu cells, creating stable White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells.
• Uchiha Sou placed the composite cells into a cultivation device and planned to use them to gradually replace and fuse with his own cells.

Uchiha Sou achieved a breakthrough by creating White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells and shared research on the Tsuchigumo Clan’s Heaven’s Fury technique with Uchiha Madara. Madara accepted its limited value as a disposable weapon, while Sou archived the data and turned his attention to the Dragon Vein as his next research target.

• Uchiha Sou created glowing White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells and recorded data for applying them to his own body.
• Uchiha Sou contacted Uchiha Madara and explained that the Tsuchigumo Clan stored and compressed natural energy to create the single-use weapon Heaven’s Fury.
• Uchiha Madara dismissed Heaven’s Fury as crude and self-destructive but suggested the White Zetsu army might imitate it as a one-time deterrent.
• Uchiha Sou archived the technique’s structures and energy-compression data, reflecting that Madara’s reliance on the Rinnegan and the Eye of the Moon Plan left him blind to other forms of power.
• Uchiha Sou incorporated the findings into his research and set his sights on the Dragon Vein as a vast source of natural energy.

Kagami infiltrated the Rōran Ruins to help Hikari extract a sample of Dragon Vein Chakra for Sou’s research. After the successful operation, Kagami sensed that Xiyue remained safe and headed back to Angkor Fortress.

• Sou ordered Kagami to infiltrate the Rōran Ruins and obtain a Dragon Vein Chakra sample with Hikari’s help.
• Kagami traveled to the Land of Wind, concealed himself near the Dragon Vein altar, and signaled that he was ready.
• Hikari established a remote energy link and extracted a sufficient sample while Kagami maintained the barriers.
• Kagami erased signs of his presence and reported that the mission was complete.
• Sou analyzed the sample at Angkor Fortress, while Kagami sensed that Xiyue was still safe and continued his return.

As the war strained the Hidden Leaf Village, Jiraiya left Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato in the Land of Rain, where their efforts began to draw followers to Yahiko’s vision. Danzō secretly took control of Wood Style experiments, while Kagami gathered evidence and warned Uchiha Sou, who watched the growing turmoil as an opportunity.

• The Hidden Leaf Village faced heavy losses on several fronts as war pressures exhausted its forces and resources.
• Jiraiya said goodbye to Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato and left the Land of Rain to travel and investigate his own questions.
• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato helped refugees and fought criminals, and Yahiko’s ideals began attracting other young people.
• Danzō persuaded Hiruzen Sarutobi to approve limited Wood Style research, then secretly placed the experiments under Root and used forbidden test subjects.
• Kagami Uchiha tracked Root’s secret activity, feared Danzō might target his son Xiyue, and sent encrypted information to the fortress.
• Uchiha Sou received reports of the war, Akatsuki’s beginnings, and Danzō’s experiments, and regarded the upheaval as useful data.

Akatsuki expanded its efforts in the Land of Rain while Danzō’s Wood Style experiments continued to fail, deepening Kagami’s alarm over Root’s surveillance of the Uchiha. At Angkor Fortress, Sou assessed the reports and prepared to test Dragon Vein Chakra with composite cells, leaving Akatsuki and the wider conflict to develop under his watch.

• Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato helped villages in the Land of Rain and gradually attracted young ninja to Akatsuki.
• Danzō ordered Root’s researchers to intensify their failed Hashirama Cell experiments, sacrificing more test subjects.
• Kagami infiltrated Root’s facilities, discovered increased surveillance of the Uchiha and young Sharingan users like Xiyue, and encrypted his intelligence for Angkor Fortress.
• Sou reviewed Kagami’s report and monitored Akatsuki, deciding not to intervene directly in either situation.
• Sou began preparing small-scale experiments to test whether composite cells could carry Dragon Vein Chakra.

Uchiha Sou tested Kagami and Hikari in combat, then implanted them with White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells to enhance their abilities. Both adapted successfully, and Sou prepared to focus next on his own transformation.

• Sou fought Kagami and Hikari for two hours, analyzing their teamwork and exposing weaknesses while effortlessly countering their attacks.
• Sou judged Kagami and Hikari capable of fighting or retreating against ordinary Kage-level opponents but still vulnerable to top-tier experts.
• Sou injected Kagami and Hikari with White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells as a preliminary enhancement test.
• Kagami gained vitality, chakra recovery, and sharper perception, while his Sharingan briefly strained; Hikari gained steadier Yachihoko control and heightened energy perception.
• Sou monitored and calmed their mild rejection reactions with Yin–Yang Release chakra, then ordered them to report abnormalities during a three-day adaptation period.
• Sou recorded the successful implantation as useful data for the main body's final fusion and turned his attention to his own transformation.

In the Angkor Fortress laboratory, Uchiha Sou investigated Hashirama Senju’s unusually perfect Sage Mode and discovered evidence that a lingering will connected to the Sage of Six Paths had intervened during Hashirama’s battle with Uchiha Madara. Sou resolved to understand and control the world’s rules himself, without relying on that intervention or inherited power.

• Uchiha Sou reviewed Hashirama Senju’s cells, Sage Art records, and data from the Valley of the End to investigate the origins of his Sage Mode.
• Sou concluded that Hashirama’s instant, stable Sage Mode and its seamless fusion with Wood Style could not be explained by talent or bloodline alone.
• Omoikane no Mikoto isolated a subtle fluctuation during the Valley of the End battle, when natural energy shifted in Hashirama’s favor.
• Sou inferred that the Sage of Six Paths had left behind a will or rule that could tip crucial moments toward Asura’s side.
• Sou vowed to master natural energy and the world’s rules through his own understanding and will, regardless of the Sage of Six Paths’ plans.

Uchiha Sou tested a new method for controlling Dragon Vein Chakra and fusing it with White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells while under the Sage of Six Paths’ apparent scrutiny. After the simulation succeeded, he prepared to travel to Rōran for the full operation.

• Uchiha Sou concluded that the Sage of Six Paths’ intervention showed that the world’s rules could be studied and potentially exploited.
• Uchiha Sou used Omoikane no Mikoto to test guiding a small strand of Dragon Vein Chakra and found that his new Sage Art Chakra model controlled it more effectively.
• Uchiha Sou fused the tamed energy with White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells, raising their activity but causing dangerous strain and spacetime-related changes.
• Uchiha Sou sensed an invisible scrutiny, deliberately displayed his control of the experiment, and saw the presence withdraw without intervening.
• Uchiha Sou completed the several-hour simulation, recorded key data, and decided to carry out the final operation in Rōran.

Uchiha Sou observed Jiraiya battle the Third Kazekage and Garaga, studying how mature Sage Art systems used natural energy. He refined his own goal of mastering natural energy and decided to optimize his Sage Art Chakra model before going to Rōran.

• Uchiha Sou used Netherworld Manifestation to observe Jiraiya, the Third Kazekage, and Garaga fighting at the Land of Rain and Land of Wind border.
• Jiraiya combined Sage Mode with Fukasaku and Shima's support to counter the Third Kazekage's Iron Sand and Garaga's attacks.
• Jiraiya used Frog Kata to break an Iron Sand pyramid and deflect the Third Kazekage's spears, keeping the battle at a stalemate.
• Uchiha Sou compared Mount Myoboku's harmonization, Ryūchi Cave's plundering, and Shikkotsu Forest's possible fusion approach to natural energy.
• Uchiha Sou concluded that he would pursue absolute control of natural energy and ordered further optimization of his Sage Art Chakra model before traveling to Rōran.

Orochimaru blinded and poisoned Garaga during the battle between Konoha and the Sand Village, prompting the Third Kazekage to retreat. Uchiha Sou then redirected Garaga’s summoning passage, allowing Kagami and Hikari to capture it so Sou could study Ryūchi Cave’s natural energy.

• Orochimaru’s reinforcements arrived, and Manda joined Jiraiya, Bunta, and Katsuyu in fighting Garaga.
• Orochimaru struck Garaga’s eye with his poisoned Kusanagi Sword, driving it into a rampage.
• The Third Kazekage withdrew with the Sand Village forces and abandoned Garaga as its summoning return began.
• Uchiha Sou redirected Garaga’s return passage, and Kagami and Hikari subdued and sealed it in a scroll.
• Jiraiya and Orochimaru investigated the disturbance but found only a crater, scales, and bloodstains.
• Uchiha Sou examined Garaga in his laboratory to study its body and Ryūchi Cave’s use of natural energy.

Uchiha Sou fused White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cells into his body and used his Dojutsu to erase the causal rejection response. The procedure succeeded, giving him a perfected body and new perception of natural energy, but he still needed to learn to control it and develop Sage Art before targeting Jiraiya.

• Uchiha Sou began the White Zetsu–Hashirama Composite Cell infusion in the Myriad Phenomena Unity Furnace, and his body’s strength and affinity for natural energy increased.
• Uchiha Sou detected a persistent microscopic rejection response that external harmonization could not eliminate.
• Uchiha Sou used Omoikane no Mikoto and Yomotsu Okami to identify and rewrite the causal roots of the rejection, making the fusion seamless.
• Uchiha Sou emerged from the Furnace with a transformed body and eyes that could perceive microscopic detail and the flow of natural energy.
• Uchiha Sou realized that he could see natural energy but could not yet absorb or control it, and he identified Rōran’s Dragon Vein as a needed catalyst.
• Uchiha Sou ordered Mirror and Light to archive the data and declared that he would develop a complete Sage Art before targeting Jiraiya.

Uchiha Sou ambushed Jiraiya to test his Dark Release Sealing Formula and extract a sample of Mount Myoboku Sage Art Chakra, then used Yomotsu Okami to erase the encounter’s traces from Causality. Back at Angkor Fortress, Sou began analyzing the sample as he resolved to avoid entangling himself with key figures in the future.

• Uchiha Sou’s hidden attackers wore down Jiraiya until he summoned Fukasaku and Shima and began gathering Sage Art Chakra.
• Sou struck Jiraiya’s forming Sage Art Chakra with Dark Release Sealing Formula: Trace the Source, extracting a sample and causing Sage Mode to collapse.
• Kagami Uchiha planted a covert mental imprint in Fukasaku and Shima, while Uchiha Hikari marked the extracted sample with a Yachihoko beacon.
• Jiraiya’s declaration of his ninja way stirred Causality, but Sou used Yomotsu Okami to make the encounter seem like an illusion and erase its causal record.
• Fukasaku and Shima returned to Mount Myoboku, and Jiraiya continued through the Land of Rain, believing his weakness came from backlash and exhaustion.
• Sou returned to Angkor Fortress with the Sage Art sample and placed it in an analysis instrument.

Uchiha Sou analyzed Mount Myoboku’s Sage Art and incorporated its Harmonization rules into his All Things in Nature Sage Art model. Hikari successfully infused natural energy into Susanoo for a short, unstable test, while Sou continued preparing for a breakthrough at Rōran’s Dragon Vein.

• Uchiha Sou analyzed Jiraiya’s Sage Art sample and compared Mount Myoboku’s Harmonization with other natural-energy methods.
• Uchiha Sou began integrating Mount Myoboku’s Harmonization rules into his All Things in Nature Sage Art model.
• Uchiha Sou ordered Hikari to use her Yachihoko mark to guide natural energy into Susanoo rather than into her body.
• Hikari fused a strand of natural energy into Susanoo’s arm, briefly increasing its power but making it unstable and costly to maintain.
• Uchiha Sou recorded Hikari’s results and told her to keep practicing as he focused on Rōran’s Dragon Vein.