Recaps

Lin Qing exposed the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water’s plan with Gato to addict and poison the country through its salt, then killed him despite his samurai’s loyalty. Pain left Konan behind for ten days, and the chapter ended with Lin Qing telling Pain that the people’s relief was “the happiness brought by pain.”

• Konan told Pain she wanted to stay with Lin Qing for a few more days, and Pain agreed to return for her in ten days.
• The Feudal Lord of the Land of Water ordered Pain to finish off the rebels, but Lin Qing stopped him and kicked over his palanquin.
• Lin Qing projected memories showing the Feudal Lord and Gato plotting to mix the addictive D-drug into salt and poison the country’s population.
• The samurai chose to defend the Feudal Lord despite seeing the evidence, so Lin Qing used Star Platinum to strike them down.
• Lin Qing asked whether the Feudal Lord had an heir, then beheaded him as Kirigakure watched.
• Lin Qing told Pain that the people’s relief at the Feudal Lord’s death was “the happiness brought by pain.”

After Lin Qing and his allies defeated Yagura and the Daimyo, Mei Terumi became Mizukage and began rebuilding Kirigakure. Lin Qing revealed his final condition for helping her, then asked her to reconsider who their enemy was.

• The surviving samurai either committed seppuku, fled, or took the Daimyo's head away after Lin Qing allowed him to do so.
• Mei Terumi embraced Lin Qing as survivors across the village celebrated the end of the Bloody Mist, while Pain left hoping they would not become enemies.
• The shinobi rescued survivors from the ruins, and Lin Qing rested at a hot spring inn instead of joining the reconstruction effort.
• A week later, Mei Terumi visited Lin Qing as the new Mizukage, invited his group to a victory banquet, and asked for his third reward.
• Lin Qing asked Mei Terumi to ensure Kirigakure's shinobi served ordinary people and to maintain friendly ties with other villages, then asked who she thought their enemy was.

Lin Qing explained to Mei Terumi, Konan, Sasuke, and the others that the real enemies were not rival villages but the Daimyo, their officials, the world’s unjust rules, and the possibility that they themselves would be corrupted by those rules. His speech stirred the group and triggered a world deviation, earning him Soul Shards and a Dimensional Ascension Star Core.

• Mei Terumi assessed Konoha, Iwagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Akatsuki, and the new Daimyo as possible threats, but Lin Qing rejected each guess.
• Lin Qing traced the hidden villages’ origins to Hashirama Senju, arguing that he distributed the Tailed Beasts to stabilize the new villages and help ninjas negotiate with the Daimyo.
• Lin Qing explained that Hashirama could not simply overthrow the Daimyo because ninjas lacked governing knowledge, would likely become tyrants themselves, and might worsen the burden on common people.
• Lin Qing said the Daimyo and the officials behind them had undermined Hashirama’s ideal, then identified them, the world’s rules, its underlying problems, and the group’s own potential corruption as their enemies.
• Lin Qing’s words stirred the listeners, triggered a world deviation, and awarded him 1,000 Soul Shards and 1 Dimensional Ascension Star Core.

Lin Qing used the Dimensional Ascension Star Core to begin Star Platinum’s evolution trial, which sent him to fight Dio Brando in Cairo. The chapter ended as Dio stopped time to counter Lin Qing’s Ripple-charged attack.

• Lin Qing examined the costly Special Draw and decided to evolve Star Platinum and Whitesnake before considering it.
• Lin Qing used the Dimensional Ascension Star Core on Star Platinum and received a trial requiring him to defeat Dio Brando alone in Cairo.
• Lin Qing accepted the trial and found himself facing Dio while the real world’s time was stopped.
• Dio’s The World struck Star Platinum, but Lin Qing healed his leg and rushed Dio with Ripple energy.
• Dio recognized the Ripple and shouted, “Za Warudo!” as Lin Qing’s fist approached.

Lin Qing fought Dio during Time Stop and adapted his body to resist Dio’s Vaporization Freezing Technique. After Dio pierced his heart and throat, Lin Qing healed instantly, melted Dio’s fingers, and struck before Dio could stop time again.

• Lin Qing moved for an instant during Dio’s Time Stop and punched him through a building, but Dio blocked the Ripple with ice from his Vaporization Freezing Technique.
• Dio attacked Lin Qing while The World and Star Platinum exchanged blows, freezing Lin Qing’s arms and body to disrupt his Ripple.
• Lin Qing’s body transformed, growing thick white fur and adapting to the cold, then he punched Dio hard enough to injure him despite the ice.
• Dio stopped time, threw daggers, and fired his Space Ripper Stingy Eyes at Lin Qing’s heart and throat.
• Lin Qing’s wounds healed immediately, his touch melted Dio’s fingers, and he grabbed Dio by the neck before Dio could stop time again.

Lin Qing fought Dio Brando through Cairo, abandoning his trial mindset after Dio slaughtered hundreds of civilians. He used his instant of movement during stopped time to drag Dio into a fuel tanker explosion and destroy him, completing the Star Platinum Trial Stage and unlocking Star Platinum: The World.

• Lin Qing shattered Dio’s skull and arms, but Dio used Time Stop to reach Joseph and steal Joestar blood, then killed the gathered onlookers to heal.
• Dio led Lin Qing into downtown Cairo and cut hundreds of people in half with Space Ripper Stingy Eyes; Lin Qing declared that their fight was no longer a trial.
• Lin Qing and Dio fought across Cairo, and Lin Qing forced Dio to spend his increasing Time Stop duration recovering between attacks.
• Dio hurled a fuel tanker at Lin Qing and ignited it, expecting the explosion to kill him, but Lin Qing used his instant to pull Dio into the blast.
• Lin Qing and Star Platinum shattered Dio and The World in the flames, and the Star Platinum Trial Stage was completed, unlocking Star Platinum: The World.

Lin Qing assessed Star Platinum: The World’s new time-stop ability and rested after his gains in the Land of Water. At Kirigakure’s victory banquet, Mei Terumi noticed others were eager to meet him and found Samui with him on the rooftop.

• Lin Qing learned Star Platinum: The World could stop time for five seconds when used alone, and considered raising its level to extend the duration.
• Lin Qing reflected on his growing strength, then covered the sleeping Mei Terumi with her Mizukage robe.
• Mei Terumi hosted a victory banquet attended by Kirigakure’s factions and visitors, including Kumogakure’s Samui, who asked where Lin Qing was.
• Mei Terumi and Zabuza discussed Lin Qing’s influence and his plans to transform Kirigakure and the Land of Water.
• Sasuke told Mei Terumi that Lin Qing had skipped the banquet to eat roast chicken on the rooftop, where Mei Terumi found Samui standing beside him.

Lin Qing turned down Samui’s offer to join Kumogakure and reaffirmed his commitment to Mei Terumi and Kirigakure. Before Konan left, he gave her a detailed notebook of ideas for developing Amegakure, and she departed to rejoin Pain, Itachi Uchiha, and Kisame.

• Mei Terumi joined Lin Qing on the rooftop, and he explained that he preferred helping Kirigakure preserve peace over joining Kumogakure.
• Mei Terumi drunkenly told Lin Qing she would seek him out after stepping down as Mizukage, then hurried home through the rain.
• Lin Qing traveled around Kirigakure and studied why its technology had not improved roads, land development, or people’s living conditions.
• Lin Qing gave Konan a notebook of agricultural and industrial ideas as a parting gift before her release.
• Konan thanked Lin Qing and left to reunite with Pain, Itachi Uchiha, and Kisame.

Lin Qing established an open-air night school in Kirigakure, teaching practical knowledge and ideas that began to draw ordinary villagers and earn him Soul Shards. After Samui departed with a notebook full of lessons, Zabuza told Lin Qing that the Daimyo's people had arrived, but something was wrong.

• Lin Qing refused to begin developing Hope Village and instead set up a night school in the clearing where he had killed the Daimyo.
• Lin Qing taught Hope Village survivors and gathered villagers practical skills, basic sciences, Ninja World history, and political ideas, while most spies and ninjas stopped attending.
• Samui recognized the value of Lin Qing's lessons, asked what he gained from teaching, and prepared to return to Kumogakure with her notes.
• Lin Qing realized that spreading his knowledge could both change the Ninja World and earn him Soul Shards, and he told Samui to practice smiling before their next meeting.
• After Samui left, Zabuza told Lin Qing that the Daimyo's people had arrived and that something was not right.

Saito Ayaka brought gifts and an offer of high office from the new Feudal Lord of the Land of Water, but Lin Qing rejected them and recognized the political trap behind them. Ayaka then challenged him to face the swordsman Miyamoto, and Lin Qing accepted as their duel began.

• Kakashi watched Saito Ayaka arrive in Kirigakure with her young son, samurai guards, and five wagons, and the procession headed for Lin Qing's school.
• Saito Ayaka and her son knelt before Lin Qing, praised him for restoring order, and presented books, treasure, weapons, fine clothes, and the robes of Grand Minister.
• Saito Ayaka asked Lin Qing to return to the capital as Grand Minister, but Lin Qing refused the gifts and position, judging them a way to draw him into the ruling establishment.
• Saito Ayaka offered to abolish taxes across the Land of Water if Lin Qing defeated Miyamoto, the country's finest swordsman.
• Miyamoto revealed that he had orders to kill Lin Qing with one strike, and Lin Qing accepted the fight, summoned Star Platinum, and challenged him to attack three times.

Lin Qing defeated Miyamoto in three exchanges, using Star Platinum: The World to disarm him and mark lethal points with chalk. He spared Miyamoto and invited him to teach Sasuke and Xiaotao, then secured a year without taxes in the Land of Water from Saito Ayaka.

• Miyamoto drew both swords and attacked Lin Qing with Niten Ichi-ryu techniques, but Star Platinum blocked and countered him.
• Miyamoto’s Soul Sever cut Lin Qing’s face, and Star Platinum’s barrage overwhelmed Miyamoto despite his Still Water No-Thought technique.
• Miyamoto burned his strength into a final crossed slash, but Lin Qing stopped time, returned Miyamoto’s swords to his waist, and marked his throat and heart with chalk.
• Lin Qing spared Miyamoto and asked him to stay and teach Sasuke and Xiaotao, and Miyamoto agreed to become stronger through training.
• Lin Qing asked Saito Ayaka for the promised tax exemption, and she confirmed that taxes in the Land of Water would be waived for one year.

Kakashi told Lin Qing that Sarutobi Hiruzen planned to step down and name Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage, then asked Lin Qing to help find her. Lin Qing used Hermit Purple to locate Tsunade, whose image appeared on the television badly wounded and bleeding from her heart.

• Kakashi arrived in Kirigakure and told Lin Qing that Sarutobi Hiruzen intended to step down and ask Tsunade to become the Fifth Hokage.
• Kakashi explained that Jiraiya had sent him to ask Lin Qing to find Tsunade, and warned him that the Great Snake Sages of Ryūchi Cave had been active.
• Lin Qing asked Konoha to send people to attend his lectures and observe Kirigakure's reconstruction as payment for his help.
• Iwao Genyako told Kakashi that she deeply respected Lin Qing because he made life seem beautiful.
• Lin Qing used Tsunade's die and Hermit Purple to locate her on a television screen, where she appeared gravely wounded and bleeding from her heart.

Lin Qing and Kakashi traced Tsunade's repeating chest wound to the Land of Hot Water and set out to find her. Meanwhile, Sarutobi Hiruzen sent Naruto toward Kirigakure and walked into the darkness with Naruto carrying a torch beside him.

• Lin Qing saw Tsunade's wound repeatedly heal and reopen, and he and Kakashi identified the Land of Hot Water as her likely location.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen approved Lin Qing's fee and told Naruto to travel to Kirigakure to see the New World.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen said he was too old to travel, but Naruto took a burning log and promised to bring him along as he pursued his dream of becoming Hokage.
• The next day, Asuma, Guy, and Ebisu led a fifty-person group toward Kirigakure while Lin Qing and Kakashi headed for the Land of Hot Water.

Lin Qing and Kakashi found Tsunade in the Land of Hot Water, where a curse-resistant wound had led her to investigate the Ghost God Murder Case. After Tsunade agreed to consider becoming Hokage, Lin Qing used Hermit Purple to trace the curse to the Jashin Cult.

• Lin Qing and Kakashi searched for Tsunade and learned from an elderly woman that she had left town while bizarre, seemingly random deaths were spreading across the Land of Hot Water.
• Tsunade ambushed Lin Qing and Kakashi, mistaking them for the murderers, but Lin Qing stopped time and redirected her attack before anyone was hurt.
• Kakashi explained that the Third Hokage planned to step down, and Tsunade described her incurable cursed wound and her hunt for the people who had inflicted it.
• Tsunade recognized Lin Qing as the one who killed Orochimaru and overthrew Yagura, then invited him to work with her if she became Hokage.
• Lin Qing touched Tsunade's wound and used a Polaroid to reveal a ritual scene marked with the name Jashin Cult.

Lin Qing discovered that the Jashin Cult was using a corpse and a ritual to curse Tsunade from afar, then upgraded Hermit Purple to track the curse’s direction as the group headed toward the cult. The cult leader planned to capture Lin Qing and Tsunade and use their life force to empower Hidan.

• Lin Qing showed Kakashi and Tsunade a photograph linking Tsunade’s wound to a corpse used in the Jashin Cult’s curse ritual.
• Lin Qing spent 300 Soul Shards to upgrade Hermit Purple, which gained the ability to point toward targets through cause and effect.
• Lin Qing, Kakashi, and Tsunade set out toward the Jashin Cult’s lair, hoping their movement would draw out the cultists watching them.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader identified Lin Qing, Kakashi, and Tsunade as threats and discussed their approach with the Left and Right Protectors and the Saintess.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader ordered the others to retrieve Lin Qing’s blood, planning to offer him and Tsunade as sacrifices to increase Hidan’s life force.

Lin Qing deduced that the Jashin Cult used blood as a medium for its killing rituals, but its members still managed to collect blood from him and Kakashi. The cult’s attempt to kill Lin Qing failed when his blood killed their chosen believer, leaving the Left and Right Protectors terrified.

• Lin Qing reasoned that the Jashin Cult’s killings might let it gather life energy and that it needed a medium, while Tsunade’s worsening condition forced the group to stop at a hot spring inn.
• The Saintess disguised herself as an inn employee and drew a drop of Kakashi’s blood during a massage, while the Left and Right Protectors posed as children and pricked Lin Qing’s hand with a Blood-Drawing Needle.
• Kakashi exposed the Saintess with his Sharingan and restrained her before she could complete her ritual, but she insisted the other cultists had already obtained Lin Qing’s blood.
• The Left and Right Protectors delivered Lin Qing’s blood to a believer at an abandoned warehouse, where the drop pierced his skull and exploded, killing him.
• The Left Guardian called Lin Qing an evil spirit and recoiled as someone with a faint rose fragrance approached from behind.

Lin Qing confronted the Jashin Cult's Left and Right Guardians and survived their death curse, then learned from the Left Guardian's Memory Disc how the cult used its belief in death to justify murdering loved ones. The chapter ended with Tsunade furious at the cult and ready to fight.

• Lin Qing revealed that he had followed the Guardians to their hideout, and the Left and Right Guardians transformed and attacked him.
• Star Platinum seized the Right Guardian while Lin Qing struck the Left Guardian, who cursed Lin Qing with Jashin's life-draining power as he died.
• Lin Qing cut off his cursed fist and regenerated it, while Whitesnake extracted the Left Guardian's discs before he died.
• Kakashi and Tsunade arrived, and Lin Qing, Whitesnake, Kakashi, and Tsunade examined the Memory Disc.
• Lin Qing learned that the White-Haired Cult Leader preached the cult's doctrine in the Land of Hot Water and that believers killed loved ones to supposedly save them from life.
• Tsunade confirmed her hemophobia and said she was eager to fight the cultists.

Lin Qing, Tsunade, and Kakashi tracked the White-Haired Cult Leader to a village secretly filled with Jashin cultists. The leader activated the village-wide Divine Kingdom formation, trapping them amid lethal weapons and a mass curse, and demanded that he and Lin Qing die together.

• Lin Qing used Hermit Purple to track the White-Haired Cult Leader to a village, where its lock-on became disrupted.
• Lin Qing drew attention to a drop of blood and stopped time, identifying the disguised White-Haired Cult Leader by noticing who avoided looking at it.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader revealed his disguise and attacked Lin Qing with help from the disguised cultists; Lin Qing snapped his neck, but Whitesnake's Disc revealed that other cultists could transform into him.
• Lin Qing realized the leader could not die while surrounded by cultists inside their formation, as the cultists repeatedly transformed into him.
• The cultists activated the village-wide Jashin Formation, sealing the village and filling it with steel needles and blades that threatened to curse anyone who bled.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader welcomed the attacks and challenged Lin Qing to die with him so the Holy Son could be born.

Lin Qing, Tsunade, and Kakashi fought the Jashin cultists, whose formation grew stronger as their followers died. The dead cultists’ spirits took control of the falling weapons and directed them at Lin Qing.

• Kakashi raised an Earth-Style Wall while Tsunade summoned Katsuyu: Victory Healing to shield them from the rain of weapons.
• Lin Qing used his speed and strength to kill the White-Haired Cult Leader repeatedly, but the cultists grew stronger as Jashin rewarded them for their dead followers.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader said Tsunade’s life force and bloodline were strengthening him through the Jashin Formation.
• A cultist wounded Kakashi and tried to consume his blood, but Lin Qing stopped time, wiped the blood away, and healed Kakashi’s leg with Ripple power.
• The White-Haired Cult Leader survived having his skull shattered as the remaining cultists became harder to kill.
• The spirits of the dead cultists possessed the falling weapons and sent them hurtling toward Lin Qing.

Lin Qing and his allies defeated the White-Haired Cult Leader by disrupting his link to the Jashin Formation, ending the village’s slaughter and breaking the barrier. Afterward, Hidan killed a kind old farmer and his donkey with his curse.

• Lin Qing used Hermit Purple to weaken the White-Haired Cult Leader’s connection to the Jashin Formation while Tsunade and Kakashi fought off the cultists.
• The cultists’ tiny flesh fragments blocked Lin Qing, Tsunade, and Kakashi’s blood vessels, but the three forced their way through the attack and resumed fighting.
• Lin Qing rejected the White-Haired Cult Leader’s offer of Jashin’s embrace and, with Tsunade and Kakashi’s help, battered him into the village barrier.
• Lin Qing and Star Platinum delivered the final blow, killing the White-Haired Cult Leader and shattering the barrier as the Jashin Formation and its cultists collapsed.
• An old farmer saw Lin Qing, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the bodies, then fled in his donkey cart.
• The old farmer offered Hidan a flatbread, and Hidan’s curse killed him and his donkey as he called them good people.

Hidan escaped the Jashin Cult’s destruction with a new ability and followed the cult leader’s advice to choose his own direction. Lin Qing, Tsunade, and Kakashi left the village, and Lin Qing used his accumulated Soul Shards to max out Star Platinum: The World.

• Hidan read the cult leader’s letter, discovered he could pass death to someone by touching them, and followed an arrow’s direction after bowing to the village.
• Lin Qing told Kakashi and Tsunade that Hidan had likely escaped and explained his theory that Jashin was a disaster formed from people’s despair and Natural Energy.
• Lin Qing urged Tsunade to return to Konoha, but she chose to celebrate their victory by going gambling with him and Kakashi.
• The three left for town, and Lin Qing checked that he had 6,714 Soul Shards before telling the system to max out Star Platinum: The World.

Lin Qing upgraded Star Platinum: The World and speculated that the Tailed Beasts embodied humanity’s urge to destroy others. In Kirigakure, Naruto was bullied by local students until Sasuke intervened and greeted him with a teasing compliment.

• Lin Qing examined Star Platinum: The World’s new 9.99-second Time Stop and wondered whether a Requiem upgrade was possible, but decided to keep collecting Soul Shards.
• Lin Qing theorized that the Tailed Beasts were projections of humanity’s destructive impulses and concluded that Nagato’s plan to use them as weapons could never bring peace.
• Tsunade asked Lin Qing for a loan after losing badly at the casino, but he refused and prepared to return to Kirigakure.
• Konoha’s students attended classes and joined Kirigakure’s reconstruction and evening lessons, while Naruto was mocked and beaten by local students for claiming he would become Hokage.
• Sasuke arrived, drove off the bullies with his sword, and offered Naruto a hand, saying he was still as dashing as ever.

Sasuke encouraged Naruto to pursue his dream of becoming Hokage without waiting to feel fully prepared, and Naruto embraced the idea of unity of knowledge and action. Meanwhile, Samui saw changes taking root in Kumogakure before she and Killer B were summoned to an emergency meeting.

• Sasuke discussed dreams and preparation with Naruto, explaining that people had to act as they learned rather than wait to become perfect.
• Naruto thanked Sasuke and memorized the phrase "Unity of knowledge and action" before asking about Sasuke's dream.
• Sakura approached Sasuke while Xiaotao offered her a tangerine, and Shikamaru warned Ino that she and Sakura might not fit in with the group.
• Samui reflected on the changes she had helped introduce in Kumogakure, while Killer B said the village smelled like snakes.
• Two ninja arrived and summoned Samui and Killer B to an emergency meeting called by the Fourth Raikage.

The Raikage ordered a covert operation to capture Sasuke from Kirigakure, with Ryūchi Cave’s Snake Sages helping Kumogakure infiltrate and escape. Yugito accepted command of the mission, which was set to begin the following night.

• A convened Kumogakure’s leaders and announced plans to capture Sasuke before Lin Qing returned, with Mayuri as an optional target.
• Killer B reassured Samui that attacking Kirigakure would be risky, while A said he and Killer B would kill Lin Qing if he came to rescue Sasuke.
• Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime arrived as Ryūchi Cave allies, offering support to make the Heavenly Transfer Technique safe and seal the target area with a genjutsu barrier.
• A asked Samui to lead the operation, but Killer B said she was unwell, so A assigned Yugito to command the team instead.
• Yugito asked what to do if the targets resisted, and A ordered her to kill everyone except Sasuke; the mission was scheduled for the next night.

Samui tried to warn Kirigakure about Kumogakure’s planned raid, but Darui stopped her and she was imprisoned. Yugito’s team infiltrated Kirigakure to capture Sasuke, but Miyamoto and more than thirty Hope Village residents confronted them, forcing Yugito to turn the raid into a full-scale assault.

• Samui sent a secret letter, but Darui intercepted and destroyed the carrier pigeon before arresting her for suspected treason.
• Killer B listened to Samui’s reasons in prison and said he would ask the Raikage to spare her after the operation.
• Yugito and ten Kumogakure ninja arrived in Kirigakure with two Snake Princesses, who concealed the group’s presence and healed their injuries.
• Yugito’s team moved to capture Sasuke and planned to claim the Ripple Technique was a secret art of Kumogakure.
• Miyamoto confronted Yugito, and Sasuke, Xiaotao, Naruto, Mayuri, Haku, Amber, and more than thirty Hope Village residents emerged.
• Yugito changed the plan and declared that the surprise raid would become a full-scale assault.