Recaps

Yugito’s attack on Kirigakure was disrupted by the village’s defenders and Konoha allies, but she escaped with Sasuke, Amber, and a Ninja Mouse through the Heavenly Transfer Technique. Stranded in an unknown forest, Sasuke ran to search for a landmark while Amber stayed behind to face Yugito and the Snake Princesses.

• Sasuke, Naruto, Xiaotao, and Haku held Yugito off until she transformed fully into Two-Tails, Matatabi, and broke through Kirigakure’s barrier.
• Mei Terumi and the Kirigakure ninja joined the battle, while Might Guy, Asuma, and other Konoha ninja came to their aid.
• Yugito tried to escape with Sasuke using the Heavenly Transfer Technique, but Guy attacked and a Ninja Mouse disrupted the transport coordinates; Sasuke, Amber, the mouse, Yugito, and the Snake Princesses vanished together.
• Hayato Kamihara revealed that the Ninja Mouse had disrupted the transport, and Mei Terumi and the others planned to contact Lin Qing for help.
• Yugito recovered in a forest and prepared to fight Sasuke and Amber; Sasuke ran toward a mountaintop to find a landmark, while Amber stood his ground to hold off their pursuers.

Sasuke lit a forest fire to give Lin Qing a landmark while Amber held Yugito off. Lin Qing arrived in time, defeated Yugito and the Snake Princesses, and killed Yugito on the beach.

• Sasuke found himself on an uninhabited island and set the forest ablaze so Lin Qing could locate him.
• Amber endured Yugito’s attacks and grabbed her ankle, but Yugito prepared to kill him before Lin Qing arrived.
• Lin Qing followed the fire and descended on Yugito, who transformed into Two-Tails Matatabi and used the Snake Princesses’ Natural Energy to attack him.
• Lin Qing knocked Matatabi into the sea, pulled Ichikishimahime from her ear, and trapped Yugito in seawater.
• Lin Qing battered Yugito with water blades and Star Platinum’s fists until Matatabi’s form faded and Yugito died on the beach.

Lin Qing returned to Kirigakure after defeating Ichikishimahime and rescuing Amber, then rejected Mei Terumi’s plan to attack Kumogakure and set out to confront Ryūchi Cave and Kumogakure. He reached Ryūchi Cave with Sasuke and began drawing its inhabitants out with a missile barrage.

• Whitesnake killed Ichikishimahime and took her Memory Disc, while Tagitsuhime escaped; Lin Qing found Amber alive and returned to Kirigakure with Sasuke.
• Mei Terumi welcomed Sasuke and Lin Qing, learned Amber was receiving emergency treatment, and proposed destroying Kumogakure’s farms and factories through Kirigakure’s informants.
• Lin Qing stopped Mei Terumi from activating the informants and said he would visit Snowfall Village before confronting Ryūchi Cave and Kumogakure.
• Pain wondered whether Lin Qing would abandon his belief that ninja were comrades, but Konan cited his claim that civilians were not the enemy and that only extremists deserved blame.
• Lin Qing and Sasuke reached Ryūchi Cave; Lin Qing refused to enter and used Aero Smith to fire missiles at the cavern.

Lin Qing attacked Ryūchi Cave while searching for the people its snakes had killed and demanded to know whether they had eaten humans. Manda went out to kill him but was killed within minutes, leaving Lin Qing at the cave’s breach facing the White Snake Sage and the other snakes.

• Lin Qing bombarded Ryūchi Cave, and Aoda emerged before fleeing underground after Lin Qing asked whether he had ever eaten a human.
• Aoda warned the White Snake Sage that Lin Qing had arrived, but none of the snakes volunteered to confront him.
• Manda agreed to fight Lin Qing in exchange for the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb and fresh food from the storeroom.
• Manda charged out, but Lin Qing killed him and dragged his shattered body back through a collapsed section of the cave.
• Lin Qing asked the White Snake Sage and the gathered snakes whether they had eaten humans, and she replied that she had.

Lin Qing defeated Garaga after discovering that the Snake Sages had eaten humans, then rejected White Snake Sage’s offer to settle their grudge. The chapter ended as White Snake Sage revealed her true form and Lin Qing summoned Star Platinum—the World to fight her.

• White Snake Sage summoned Garaga to attack Lin Qing after he demanded to know whether she had eaten humans.
• Garaga’s venom failed to petrify Lin Qing, and Star Platinum stopped its charge and beat it to death, earning Lin Qing 800 Soul Shards.
• White Snake Sage offered Lin Qing Garaga and Manda’s corpses, along with valuables, to end their conflict.
• Lin Qing asked again whether White Snake Sage had eaten humans, and she transformed into her giant white-snake true form.
• White Snake Sage challenged Lin Qing’s ability to kill her, and Lin Qing summoned Star Platinum—the World.

Lin Qing discovered that the White Snake Sage drew her life force from the earth and could not be killed by ordinary attacks. She unleashed a natural-disaster-scale assault, forcing Lin Qing to flee with Sasuke into the sky, and challenged him to kill her.

• Lin Qing used stopped time to cut the White Snake Sage apart and sever her tail, but she regenerated by drawing on the earth.
• The White Snake Sage attacked Lin Qing with White Rage Technique and Inorganic Reincarnation, disrupting his senses and sending living earth after him.
• Lin Qing used Ripple to trace the White Snake Sage’s regeneration underground and realized that she was fused with the earth.
• The White Snake Sage expanded her control over the ground within three kilometers and attacked with a towering wave of earth.
• Lin Qing grabbed Sasuke and flew a thousand meters into the sky to escape the earth’s reach.
• The White Snake Sage explained her power over Ryūchi Cave and taunted Lin Qing after admitting that she ate people.

Lin Qing and Sasuke worked together to cut the White Snake Sage off from the earth and exhaust its life force. Lin Qing defeated it in the sky and claimed 3,000 Soul Shards.

• Lin Qing sent Sasuke into the air and charged the White Snake Sage with the Blade of Ruin.
• Lin Qing launched the White Snake Sage high above the ground, while Sasuke used Ninjutsu Nullification to interrupt its Inorganic Reincarnation.
• The White Snake Sage grew claws, hurled its scales at Lin Qing, and tried to escape back to the earth as Lin Qing and Star Platinum battered it.
• Whitesnake tricked the White Snake Sage with an illusion of a stone pillar, delaying its return to the ground by a crucial second.
• Lin Qing used Star Platinum: The World and the Blade of Ruin to destroy the White Snake Sage, leaving its head intact.
• Lin Qing received 3,000 Soul Shards for slaying the White Snake Sage.

Lin Qing defeated the White Snake Sage, rescued the people she had kept as food, and discovered her death had triggered a scattering of snakes carrying her memories. After claiming her treasure, Lin Qing reviewed his Soul Shards and decided to draw.

• Lin Qing confirmed the White Snake Sage was dead, found Tagitsuhime had died in the collapsing cave, and spared Aoda after verifying he had never eaten a person.
• Aoda led Lin Qing and Sasuke to a pool holding more than two hundred kidnapped people, whom Hermit Purple revived and Lin Qing promised to take home.
• Lin Qing found the White Snake Sage's treasure and a shattered golden egg, then used Spirit Photography to locate dozens of snakes carrying her life force and memories.
• Lin Qing concluded the White Snake Sage herself was gone and had left the snakes as a means of returning, while Aoda hauled her treasure out of the cavern.
• Lin Qing checked his total of 6,477 Soul Shards and chose to draw.

Lin Qing spent 400 pulls seeking abilities to address his weaknesses and obtained Zeppeli’s Steel Ball, Burning Down the House, and Killer Queen. He ended with the idea of combining the Golden Spin with Killer Queen’s bomb ability.

• Lin Qing began spending Soul Shards on pulls, hoping to obtain a useful Stand or ability.
• On his 180th pull, Lin Qing obtained Zeppeli’s Steel Ball and learned the Golden Spin technique.
• After thirty more pulls, Lin Qing obtained Burning Down the House and explored its Ghost Room, which resembled the Uchiha Old House where he had died.
• Lin Qing spent the remaining pulls without finding anything, then made one final ten-pull and obtained Killer Queen.
• Lin Qing looked at Killer Queen and the Steel Ball and wondered about using the Golden Spin as a first bomb.

After finishing his upgrades, Lin Qing left Ryūchi Cave with Sasuke and prepared to negotiate with Kumogakure. He sent the survivors and treasure toward Kirigakure under Aoda’s protection, then set off carrying the White Snake Sage’s head and intending to demand the Raikage’s abdication and an arm.

• Lin Qing spent his remaining Soul Shards to raise Whitesnake and Killer Queen to level 3, then reviewed his arsenal and saved his remaining pulls.
• Aoda told Lin Qing that he had moved all the treasure, and Lin Qing brought him and Sasuke back to the surface.
• Lin Qing gave the survivors strips of Manda and Garaga’s skins to cover themselves and told Sasuke they would talk to the Raikage rather than kill him.
• Sasuke signed a Summoning Contract with Aoda, who swallowed the treasure and carried the survivors southeast toward the coast, where a Kirigakure ship would meet them.
• Lin Qing wrapped the White Snake Sage’s enormous head in Hermit Purple and left Ryūchi Cave with Sasuke, planning to make Kumogakure’s Raikage abdicate and cut off one arm.

Lin Qing traveled down the river toward Kumogakure after defeating the White Snake Sage, while spies inferred that he might soon confront the village. At the Akatsuki base, Pain introduced Hidan and announced that capturing Tailed Beasts would become their top priority, funded by the Five Great Nations.

• Lin Qing rescued fishermen who fell into the river and gave them fish as he continued downstream with Sasuke and the White Snake Sage's head.
• Shi and other spies recognized the White Snake Sage and concluded that Lin Qing had defeated Ryūchi Cave, prompting them to send the news to their organizations.
• Obito discussed the coming conflict with Pain, who gathered the Akatsuki members and introduced Hidan.
• Pain announced that the Akatsuki would focus on capturing the Two-Tails and Three-Tails while they were outside their villages.
• Kakuzu questioned how the Akatsuki would fund its operations, and Pain said the Five Great Nations would provide the money.

Kumogakure mobilized for war after Lin Qing approached with Sasuke and the White Snake Sage’s head, and Samui learned that the village was preparing to fight him. Lin Qing arrived openly to demand an explanation, but A ordered an attack, and Lin Qing vanished from the boat as the battle began.

• Killer B told Samui that Lin Qing was nearing Kumogakure and that A had ordered full war mobilization.
• Killer B joined A at the riverfront, where A said Kumogakure would fight unless Lin Qing agreed to join them.
• Lin Qing arrived by boat with Sasuke, the White Snake Sage’s head, and animals following along the river.
• A accused Lin Qing of stealing Kumogakure’s secret technique and killing its Jinchuriki, then signaled the village’s forces to prepare their defenses and weapons.
• Lin Qing stood and drew the Blade of Ruin, unnerving the assembled ninjas before asking whether anyone wanted to leave.
• A ordered the Ninjutsu Squads to attack, but Lin Qing disappeared from the boat and spoke from behind them as Sasuke remained to make tea.

Lin Qing battled the Fourth Raikage, A, and Killer B, using Time Stop and Killer Queen to cripple A before Gyuki intervened. As A and B attacked together, Lin Qing unleashed Aerosmith’s guns and bombed Gyuki.

• Lin Qing shattered the Ninjutsu Squad’s formation, and A ordered his men to scatter before challenging him directly.
• A charged Lin Qing in Lightning Release Chakra Mode, but Lin Qing stopped time and struck him hundreds of times with Star Platinum before throwing a Steel Ball at him.
• Killer B used Gyuki’s tentacles to pull A away from the Steel Ball, but Killer Queen detonated it and destroyed the tentacles.
• A forced himself back to his feet as Killer B transformed into Gyuki, leaving the brothers to face Lin Qing.
• Killer B fired a barrage of small Tailed Beast Bombs while A prepared to attack, but Aerosmith opened fire and Lin Qing’s bombs struck Gyuki.

Lin Qing used Killer Queen and Aerosmith to wound Gyuki, then exploited his brief recovery windows to sever Raikage A’s arm and gain the upper hand. As A refused to surrender, Killer B intervened to protect him.

• Lin Qing’s explosive bullets struck Gyuki five times, disrupting his chakra, while Aerosmith vanished and Raikage A prepared to attack.
• A launched Lightning Oppression Horizontal Chop, but Lin Qing detonated a bomb on Blade of Ruin and cut off A’s arm.
• Killer B attacked Lin Qing with Gyuki’s hand, but Lin Qing dodged, climbed onto it, and brought Aerosmith back.
• Lin Qing hid his explosive bullets in Aerosmith’s magazine, forcing Gyuki to stay defensive while he fought A with his sword.
• Lin Qing forced A onto one knee, but A refused to admit defeat, and Killer B sent several tails toward Lin Qing to save his big brother.

Lin Qing defeated Kumogakure’s Raikage A and Eight-Tails Jinchuriki Killer B, then demanded compensation, a Ninja Academy course, and an end to the arms race. Killer B refused the third demand and revealed that Kumogakure’s military buildup was tied to a mysterious figure on the moon.

• Lin Qing used Star Platinum to beat Raikage A into submission, and Killer B surrendered to save his brother.
• Lin Qing took A’s memory and Ninjutsu Discs, then offered Killer B tea and began negotiations.
• Kumogakure accepted Lin Qing’s demands for compensation and a new academy course, but Killer B refused to stop the arms race.
• Mabui showed Lin Qing a telescope photograph of a human-shaped shadow on the moon, and Killer B said the world once had no moon.
• Lin Qing realized Kumogakure had been building its military to prepare for a possible fight against aliens.

Kumogakure agreed to keep investing in military research and establish a joint laboratory with Kirigakure, with Lin Qing offering Orochimaru's biotechnology. Killer B became acting Raikage, and Samui was assigned to coordinate with Kirigakure, leaving her to face Lin Qing with her usual cold expression.

• Killer B and Mabui explained that Kumogakure had kept its preparations for moon-dwelling aliens secret because other villages might pursue their own interests or side with the aliens.
• Lin Qing pointed out that Kumogakure also sought power and dominion, then proposed continued military investment focused on research and a joint laboratory with Kirigakure.
• Lin Qing offered Orochimaru's biotechnology, and Killer B agreed to form a joint research team; Lin Qing decided he would return A's memories and the Ninjutsu Disc depending on Kumogakure's cooperation.
• Lin Qing arranged for Kirigakure, Kumogakure, and Konoha to teach the Awakening Ideology course and planned to expand it to Sunagakure.
• Darui told Samui that A had lost and Killer B had been appointed acting Raikage, then brought her to the conference room and assigned her to coordinate with Kirigakure.
• Samui saw Lin Qing again but could not smile at him, keeping her expression cold as always.

After leaving Kumogakure, Lin Qing discovered a Dragon Pill inside the White Snake Sage’s head but returned it to preserve its life essence. He arrived back in the Land of Water to a public welcome, then walked into town among the civilians, leaving Saito Ayaka feeling out of place.

• Samui explained to Killer B that she had accepted the difficult Kumogakure assignment to help her village, and Killer B gave her a song he had written.
• Lin Qing found a Dragon Pill inside the White Snake Sage’s head and realized removing it would cause its life essence to dissipate, so he put it back and planned to consult the Great Toad Sage.
• Sasuke told Lin Qing that he had enjoyed visiting Kumogakure, though the attention from local women had annoyed him.
• Saito Ayaka and a crowd of civilians, shinobi, samurai, and attendants welcomed Lin Qing home with gifts and a carriage for the White Snake Sage’s head.
• Lin Qing took the carriage and walked toward town among the civilians, while Saito Ayaka watched him go and felt that she had been left behind.

Lin Qing returned to Kirigakure and celebrated with a small group of friends after the fighting against Kumogakure. At the banquet, Iwao Genyako asked to teach at the Night Class, and Lin Qing welcomed her as Teacher Iwao.

• Kirigakure villagers gathered to welcome Lin Qing, and Tsunade, Kakashi, and Shizune watched him arrive with the White Snake Sage's head.
• Tsunade discussed the sages' powers and told Kakashi and Asuma that Lin Qing would not attack Konoha without cause.
• Lin Qing held a small celebration at Iwao Genyako's izakaya, where Sasuke entertained the guests with an exaggerated account of their battles.
• Iwao Genyako asked Lin Qing for permission to teach at the Night Class so she could take a step forward and help protect others.
• Lin Qing poured Iwao Genyako a drink and called her Teacher Iwao, moving her to tears.

Lin Qing upgraded Whitesnake, reflected on the rewards from Kumogakure, and saw Tsunade’s group off as they departed Kirigakure. He then traveled to Mount Myoboku, where the Great Toad Sage revealed that Lin Qing had rewritten the future he had watched for centuries.

• Lin Qing spent 2,000 Soul Shards to upgrade Whitesnake to level four, giving him the ability to force animals and weak-willed people to obey commands.
• Lin Qing reviewed his notes on Kumogakure’s military technology and considered how it could support industry and construction.
• More than half a month later, Tsunade and Kakashi led the Konoha group away from Kirigakure, and Lin Qing said goodbye to Tsunade.
• Kosuke the Toad arrived with a scroll, and Lin Qing used its summoning array to travel to Mount Myoboku.
• The Great Toad Sage told Lin Qing that he had spent centuries peering into the future, but Lin Qing’s arrival had rewritten it.

The Great Toad Sage explained that Lin Qing had disrupted the future he once foresaw and asked where Lin Qing intended to lead the world. After Lin Qing suppressed the White Snake Sage’s Dragon Pill, he swallowed it despite the Great Toad Sage’s warnings.

• The Great Toad Sage said Lin Qing’s arrival had made the future chaotic and asked where he intended to lead the world.
• Lin Qing declined to explain his goals, saying the Great Toad Sage should see for himself how far he could go.
• The Great Toad Sage created a sealing barrier, and Lin Qing removed the White Snake Sage’s Dragon Pill.
• The Dragon Pill tempted Lin Qing to become a dragon, but Lin Qing subdued it with Ripple and golden lightning.
• The Great Toad Sage warned that swallowing the Dragon Pill could turn Lin Qing into a mindless mass or the new White Snake Sage.
• Lin Qing decided he could handle the risks, tossed the Dragon Pill into his mouth, and swallowed it.

After consuming the Dragon Pill, Lin Qing resisted the White Snake Sage’s attempt to take over his body, absorbed its power, and discovered new possibilities for his Ripple and Natural Energy. Three months later, after training at Mount Myoboku and sharing the Dragon Transformation Technique with the toads, he succeeded in producing a wisp of golden flame.

• Lin Qing’s Dragon Pill awakened the White Snake Sage’s remnant, which tried to claim his body as Natural Energy shook Mount Myoboku and drew Jiraiya and the toads to the Great Toad Sage’s house.
• Lin Qing’s Ripple and Natural Energy devoured the White Snake Sage’s scales and power, and he snapped off the dragon horns that had begun to grow.
• The White Snake Sage’s consciousness vanished, and Lin Qing sensed that contact with the earth could strengthen his Ripple, Natural Energy, spirit, and recovery.
• Lin Qing began commuting between Kirigakure and Mount Myoboku to train, and he shared Ryūchi Cave’s Dragon Transformation Technique with the toads.
• Over the next three months, Jiraiya’s legs recovered, Tsunade became Hokage, and Terumī Mei sent an Awakening Course team to Sunagakure led by Iwao Genyako.
• Lin Qing finally produced a wisp of golden flame while floating above the ground.

After breaking through to the third stage of Ripple Qigong, Lin Qing returned to Kirigakure and learned that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water had invited him and Mei Terumi to the Water Garden Festival. He agreed to go to Kyoto and meet Oda Ieyasu.

• Lin Qing demonstrated the condensed golden flame he gained from absorbing the Dragon Pill and left Mount Myoboku after thanking the White Snake Sage.
• Kosuke the Toad told Lin Qing that the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water had invited him to return and discuss something with Mei Terumi.
• Lin Qing returned to a festive Kirigakure and met Mei Terumi in the Mizukage's Office.
• Mei Terumi showed Lin Qing Oda Ieyasu's letter inviting them to the Water Garden Festival in Kyoto and explained why she thought the invitation was not a trap.
• Lin Qing decided to attend the festival and have a proper talk with Oda Ieyasu.

Pain sent Akatsuki members to capture the Three-Tails while Kakuzu accepted a private commission that Pain suspected involved Lin Qing. On the journey to Kyoto, Lin Qing’s group encountered a strange fog that concealed a county seat, which Lin Qing revealed with a gale.

• Pain reassigned Deidara and Sasori to the Three-Tails mission after Kakuzu said the Conglomerates had privately commissioned him and Hidan.
• Pain told Konan he suspected the Land of Water and Land of Fire Conglomerates wanted Kakuzu and Hidan to deal with Lin Qing, whose teachings were inspiring workers to demand better conditions.
• Lin Qing, Mei Terumi, Hayato Kamihara, Zabuza, and Chojuro traveled toward Kyoto, while Sasuke and Xiaotao stayed in Kirigakure to help with evening classes and Amber’s rehabilitation.
• Lin Qing and Mei Terumi reflected on how power could serve either the people or their oppression as the group traveled under the protection of the Oda Clan’s crest.
• Chojuro realized the group had become lost in a disorienting fog, so Lin Qing used Ripple to send a gale through it and reveal a hidden county seat.

Lin Qing arrived in Yuma County after a bandit attack and learned the bandits could create a disorienting mist. He rode toward their stronghold with Mei Terumi, where they encountered bandits abusing a woman and invoking their supposed ideals of fairness.

• County Magistrate Shirakawa begged Lin Qing to save Yuma County, and Lin Qing asked to hear the whole story.
• Sakamoto explained that the bandit leader's mist trapped people in illusions, and admitted he had once fought against Lin Qing before repenting.
• Lin Qing encouraged Sakamoto to live with a clear conscience, then rode toward the bandits with Mei Terumi while Hayato Kamihara kept Zabuza and the others with Shirakawa.
• Shirakawa's samurai warned him that the bandits called themselves Lin Qing's followers, but Shirakawa refused to tell Lin Qing.
• Lin Qing used Ripple power to harden the marshy ground as he and Mei Terumi rode toward the mist-covered mountain.
• The horses stopped when Lin Qing encountered bandits dragging wagons, and a bandit struck a woman while declaring his twisted version of equality.

Lin Qing and Mei Terumi confronted bandits who claimed their crimes were justified by a struggle for fairness, and Lin Qing forced them to take him to their leader. The leader recognized Lin Qing and fled into the fog, leaving Mei Terumi to restrain the bandits and consider the danger of enemies driven by twisted ideology.

• Lin Qing questioned the bandits about their captives and severed the arm of the man who threw an axe at him.
• A bandit defended the kidnappings and theft by claiming the group sought fairness, then boasted that their boss had studied Lin Qing's lectures in Kirigakure.
• Lin Qing overwhelmed the bandits with his presence and ordered them all to take him to their boss.
• The bandits summoned a towering asura illusion, but Lin Qing dispelled the fog with a golden flame and revealed their leader.
• The leader recognized Lin Qing and fled into the fog, so Lin Qing pursued him while Mei Terumi pinned the one-armed bandit with a kunai.