Chapter Summaries

Lin Qing agreed with Tsunade's decision to reject Itachi Uchiha's request to return to Konoha, while Kakashi sought Elder Chiyo's account of his father. After drinking her tea, Kakashi collapsed, leaving it unclear whether she had poisoned him.

• Lin Qing read Itachi Uchiha's application and agreed that Tsunade should refuse his return to Konoha.
• Tsunade rejected the advisors' proposal to bring Itachi back as a prisoner and asked Lin Qing whether he objected.
• Lin Qing accepted the decision and said he would leave Itachi for Sasuke to deal with.
• Kakashi visited Elder Chiyo and asked what kind of person his father had been.
• Elder Chiyo described Hatake Sakumo as a terrifying ninja and a coward for abandoning his son and dying.
• Kakashi drank Elder Chiyo's tea, asked whether she had poisoned it, and then collapsed.

Lin Qing and his companions found the damaged Dragon Vein in the ancient Rōran Ruins and met descendants of Roran who guarded it. As they prepared to leave, Obito’s explosion killed the group, and he crushed the brass hairpin Blind City Official had bought as a gift for his wife.

• Lin Qing sensed the Dragon Vein beneath the desert, and Blind City Official identified it as a source of natural chakra.
• The group reached the ancient Rōran Ruins, where Lin Qing found that the Dragon Vein was damaged and intermittent.
• Sara’s descendants arrived from a nearby oasis to check the Dragon Vein’s seal, and Kakashi explained that it could not be used until it repaired itself.
• Blind City Official traded with the locals and bought gifts, including a brass hairpin for his wife.
• Obito’s explosion burned Lin Qing’s companions into charred corpses, and he crushed the hairpin beneath his foot.

Lin Qing fought Obito at the Rōran Ruins after discovering that the explosion had killed Blind City Official and the Rōran survivors. Obito’s explosions countered Lin Qing’s attacks, while Kakashi and Elder Chiyo faced Sasori elsewhere in the ruins.

• Lin Qing found that the explosion had killed Blind City Official and every Rōran survivor, then attacked Obito in a rage.
• Obito phased through Star Platinum’s punches, and matching explosions tore into Lin Qing when he struck Obito’s clothing.
• Lin Qing noticed patches of white clay on Obito’s clothes just before another explosion erupted.
• Kakashi, Elder Chiyo, Rasa, and Amber were driven apart by two gusts of wind and separated across the Rōran Ruins.
• Sasori confronted Elder Chiyo and asked why she had chosen to stand beside the son of her enemy.

Lin Qing fought Obito, whose Kamui-and-Deidara strategy used explosions to keep Star Platinum at bay while he hid underground to restore his ability. Lin Qing uncovered the Dragon Vein beneath the desert and detonated it with Killer Queen, revealing a powerful counterattack as the battle continued.

• Elder Chiyo fought Sasori while Kakashi faced his focused attacks, and Rasa and Amber battled Hiruko while protecting Gaara.
• Obito used Deidara’s Clay Bombs with Kamui to trigger explosions whenever Star Platinum struck him, forcing Lin Qing to retreat from close combat.
• Obito hid deep underground to restore his intangibility, while Lin Qing rejected fleeing because Obito could threaten his allies and Kirigakure.
• Lin Qing used Killer Queen to blast through the earth and expose the buried Dragon Vein.
• Lin Qing touched the Dragon Vein with Killer Queen, set First Bomb, and detonated it.

Lin Qing unleashed the Dragon Vein’s energy to devastate the desert and trap Obito in a battle of endurance. After Obito’s escape attempts and an Izanagi revival failed to shake him, Lin Qing chased him toward the surface, where Obito fled to Hiruko for help.

• Killer Queen detonated the Dragon Vein, sending underground fire and earthquakes across the desert and destroying the Rōran Ruins.
• Lin Qing absorbed the Dragon Vein’s Natural Energy, regenerated through Obito’s Clay Bombs, and pursued him underground as his leg began to petrify.
• Obito tried to escape deeper into the earth, but Lin Qing’s Star Platinum caught him after he dropped his intangibility and pummeled him during stopped time.
• Obito used Izanagi to survive, but Lin Qing manipulated gravity to keep him within attack range and continued chasing him toward the surface.
• Obito fled from Lin Qing and ran to Hiruko, hoping his teammate would protect him.

Kakashi awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan after confronting his past and resolved to move forward, while Lin Qing fought Obito and the other Akatsuki members at the central battlefield. Deidara unleashed his ultimate self-destructing bomb, leaving the battlefield devastated and Kakashi using Kamui to shield himself from the blast.

• Kakashi broke through Sasori’s Iron Sand defenses and nearly struck Sasori’s core, but Sasori countered and Kakashi was left facing a fatal attack.
• Kakashi reflected on the losses that had kept him trapped in the past, then awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan and declared that a new beginning was coming.
• Obito reached Hiruko while fleeing Lin Qing, but Lin Qing punched Hiruko unconscious and prevented Obito from escaping by using him as cover.
• Lin Qing moved Gaara, Rasa, and Amber out of the blast zone as Deidara broke free of the genjutsu and demanded to unleash his C0 self-destructing bomb.
• Obito released Deidara, and Deidara detonated an enormous explosion that destroyed the Rōran Ruins; Lin Qing endured it through regeneration while Kakashi used Kamui to absorb the shockwave.
• Obito escaped into the Kamui Dimension, only for the explosion’s white light to reach him there.

After Deidara died in his final explosion, Sasori escaped while Lin Qing chose to save the gravely injured Kakashi. The survivors gathered amid the ruined battlefield, mourning Blind City Official as Lin Qing prepared to head for the royal capital with Hiruko captured.

• Kakashi struggled to stand after the explosion, and Sasori said he would not fight him again until Kakashi had a work of his own.
• Sasori split his body into pieces and fled in different directions, while Lin Qing abandoned pursuit to treat Kakashi.
• Lin Qing used ripple power and earthfire to replenish Kakashi’s life force and chakra until Kakashi regained consciousness.
• Lin Qing released Rasa, Amber, and Gaara from the Ghost Room, and they surveyed the battlefield and mourned Blind City Official.
• Lin Qing held Blind City Official’s broken hairpin, then said they would go to the royal capital with Hiruko captured.

Lin Qing used his Soul Shards to draw new Stands while recovering from petrification, and found a way to turn the seemingly useless Cheap Trick into a weapon. He also drew the dangerous Grateful Dead, leaving him with powerful new abilities for the journey ahead.

• Lin Qing decided to help Hiruko complete a fifth Kekkei Genkai fusion at the Research Institute after the negotiations in the Land of Wind.
• Lin Qing reviewed his Soul Shards and recognized that Deidara and Obito had exposed vulnerabilities in his fighting methods.
• With his limbs partly petrified and Warsaw City ahead, Lin Qing spent his Soul Shards on Stand draws.
• Lin Qing drew Cheap Trick and realized he could use his regeneration to survive its attack while it transferred to an enemy.
• Lin Qing drew the five-star Stand The Grateful Dead, which released mold that destroyed living creatures moving downhill.

Lin Qing drew Cheap Trick, The Grateful Dead, and the Stone Mask, then considered their dangers and how the mask might help him advance his Ripple. He and Amber arrived at a village damaged by the Dragon Vein’s explosion, where Queen Sara saw him use sand to rescue buried villagers.

• Lin Qing confirmed that The Grateful Dead’s mold attacked everyone except its user and could spread without limit, making it dangerous to use near allies.
• Lin Qing drew the five-star Stone Mask and considered using it with an Aja Red Stone and a perfect Dragon Vein to become an Ultimate Lifeform.
• Lin Qing decided the Stone Mask could not be used to turn his people into vampires and noted that the Dragon Vein and Aja Red Stone were still missing requirements.
• Lin Qing finished his 420 draws, judged the three new prizes useful despite their risks, and closed the system interface.
• Amber told Lin Qing they had reached a village damaged by the explosion, where Queen Sara directed rescue efforts.
• Lin Qing used sand to lift collapsed houses and free the villagers trapped beneath them, and Queen Sara turned to look at him.

Lin Qing told Queen Sara how her daughter died, and Sara asked him to preserve her memories and Dragon Vein-sealing abilities for the next successor. At the Akatsuki base, Sasori returned furious over the failed mission and demanded to know where Tobi was, openly challenging Pain when he tried to stop him.

• Lin Qing described the deaths at the Rōran Ruins, and Queen Sara mourned her daughter while revealing that she was near death.
• Queen Sara asked Lin Qing to extract and preserve her memories and abilities so the Dragon Vein seal could be passed on, and Lin Qing agreed.
• Lin Qing left Queen Sara and Elder Chiyo to speak privately.
• Sasori arrived at the Akatsuki base, where Pain had captured Fu and an Uzumaki Clan member after the Seven-Tails and Two-Tails missions succeeded.
• Sasori blamed Tobi for the loss of Hiruko and Deidara and demanded to know where he was.
• Pain warned Sasori against killing another Akatsuki member, and Sasori deployed his weapons and asked, “So what if I am?”

Pain allowed Sasori to pursue Tobi and gave him Hanzo the Salamander’s corpse, while Akatsuki’s surviving members faced a likely conflict with Lin Qing. Lin Qing and Kakashi reached an oasis city in the Land of Wind, where officials awaited them with hidden motives.

• Sasori declared he would take revenge on Tobi, and Pain tacitly allowed him to hunt the impostor calling himself Madara.
• Pain gave Sasori a scroll containing Hanzo the Salamander’s corpse and told him he had worked hard over the years.
• Konan and Pain discussed Akatsuki’s dwindling membership and the inevitable battle with Lin Qing over Shukaku.
• Kakashi woke after two days unconscious, described dreaming of his father and the dead, and accepted water from Lin Qing.
• Lin Qing, Kakashi, and Elder Chiyo arrived at an oasis city where officials and a ceremonial welcome waited, and Lin Qing led the group inside.

Lin Qing, Rasa, Elder Chiyo, and their companions arrived in Warsaw City, where its wealth and ruthless social order exposed the inequality that had driven Rasa to rebel. After Lin Qing refused the Grand Minister’s attempt to make him kill young nobles who had mocked Gaara, the chapter left the minister wary as Lin Qing hinted that his true target lay beyond the nobles.

• Lin Qing and Rasa surveyed Warsaw City’s extravagant wealth, and Elder Chiyo explained that her husband, the First Kazekage, had wanted land and funds rather than Tailed Beasts.
• Lin Qing compared the city’s relentless pursuit of profit to a mad train, then rode in with his group to meet the Land of Wind’s officials.
• When ceremonial cannons startled Gaara, some young nobles mocked him, prompting samurai to pin them down and the Grand Minister to offer Lin Qing a sword to execute them.
• Lin Qing refused to kill the nobles, explaining to Rasa that he would not follow the Grand Minister’s chosen terms or take up another person’s blade.
• Lin Qing said he had come to uproot the nobles’ foundation, then asked the sweating Grand Minister who would be worth killing.

Shiratori Uemon stole money in Warsaw City while Lin Qing arrived, then brought his earnings to Kurosaki, who secretly plotted with two rogue Sunagakure ninjas. The conspirators saw Lin Qing’s arrival as their chance to put their plan into action.

• Shiratori Uemon stole wallets from the crowd awaiting Lin Qing, then was kicked by a samurai who mistook him for a nuisance.
• Shiratori returned underground and gave his earnings to Kurosaki to help pay for sick children’s treatment.
• Shiratori told Kurosaki that Lin Qing had arrived in Warsaw City, but left without interest in meeting him.
• After Shiratori departed, Kurosaki revealed his ambitious nature and summoned Monk Fayi and Mukade, two rogue ninjas from Sunagakure.
• Kurosaki, Monk Fayi, and Mukade agreed that Lin Qing’s arrival gave them an opportunity and declared, “Long live Awakening.”

Lin Qing’s group gathered intelligence in Warsaw City ahead of talks with the Land of Wind, while Daimyo Tokugawa’s Grand Minister accidentally stabbed him during a panicked show of loyalty. Kakashi reported that Warsaw City’s underground informants had all disappeared.

• Daimyo Tokugawa reassured the Grand Minister that Lin Qing would not kill him, but the Grand Minister’s blade accidentally stabbed Tokugawa when the Daimyo collapsed onto him.
• Lin Qing’s group returned to their courtyard to compare intelligence before the evening banquet and next morning’s negotiations.
• Rasa reported rising unrest among workers and an increasingly fanatical spread of Lin Qing’s Awakening Ideology among the lower classes.
• Elder Chiyo reported that Warsaw City’s officials were divided between appeasing Lin Qing and fighting him, while Tokugawa seemed resigned to his fate.
• Amber shared flyers from recruiters who had mistaken him for a suitable escort or film actor, prompting the group to laugh.
• Kakashi revealed that Warsaw City’s underground informants had all disappeared.

Lin Qing and his companions prepared to attend Tokugawa Shingen’s banquet, while Gaara stayed behind with Rasa and Elder Chiyo. Lin Qing treated the lavish reception as a test to ignore and arrived at the Feudal Lord’s Mansion, where Tokugawa Shingen greeted him with a deep bow.

• Lin Qing reasoned that the missing underground rats had either been captured or hidden somewhere difficult to find, and Rasa proposed investigating after the banquet.
• Elder Chiyo and Rasa briefed Lin Qing on Tokugawa Daimyo and the Land of Wind’s political factions while Kakashi cared for an unwell Gaara and Amber trained outside.
• A lavish carriage convoy arrived to take Lin Qing and his group to the banquet, but Rasa and Elder Chiyo stayed behind to look after Gaara.
• Lin Qing told Amber that the carriage and other extravagant gestures were tests, and said he would focus on the treaty negotiations instead of reacting to them.
• Lin Qing gave the attendants pastries when he arrived at the Feudal Lord’s Mansion, and Tokugawa Shingen welcomed him with a deep bow.

Lin Qing attended Tokugawa Shingen’s banquet in Warsaw City while wondering what the Conglomerate was planning. The city plunged into darkness as cloaked figures announced an attack on the Daimyo’s mansion, and Tokugawa Shingen calmly raised his glass.

• Tokugawa Shingen welcomed Lin Qing to the banquet, where the wealthy guests greeted Lin Qing warmly.
• Lin Qing observed Tokugawa Shingen enjoying the performances and dancing while Amber guarded the hall.
• Lin Qing considered the missing Rat, the bureaucratic infighting, and the Conglomerate’s unknown plans.
• Yukino Tokugawa invited Lin Qing to dance and proposed showing him her “Dark Forest,” but Lin Qing was interrupted when the lights went out.
• Cloaked figures emerged across Warsaw City and announced that they would bring bloodshed to the Daimyo’s mansion, while Tokugawa Shingen raised his glass and smiled.

Kurosaki led a drug-fueled uprising in Warsaw City to force Lin Qing into either suppressing the people or killing Tokugawa Shingen, serving the Conglomerate’s interests. As the rebels charged toward the Daimyo’s Mansion, Kurosaki sent Mukade to help Monk Fayi with the uprising’s final step.

• Kurosaki and the Rats attacked Warsaw City’s wealthy district, killing civilians and clashing with the arriving samurai guards.
• Wearing Puppet Armor that injected life-draining drugs, the rebels overwhelmed the samurai and surged toward the Daimyo’s Mansion.
• Kurosaki switched off the radio and explained that the uprising was designed to leave Lin Qing choosing between crushing the rebellion and killing Tokugawa Shingen.
• Mukade revealed that the Puppet Armor’s drugs would cost the rebels their lives, while Kurosaki said their deaths would help him rise to power.
• Kurosaki told Mukade to go assist Monk Fayi because he feared something might go wrong with the uprising’s final step.

With Gaara feverish and his Tailed Beast Chakra unstable, Rasa took him to seek Lin Qing’s help, but Monk Fayi offered to trade Gaara’s life for a chance to kill Daimyo Tokugawa Shingen. As Rasa rejected the scheme and prepared to fight, Lin Qing faced Tokugawa Shingen’s question about whether to suppress the rebellion or kill the Daimyo.

• Rasa tried to take Gaara to Lin Qing, but Monk Fayi plunged the courtyard into darkness and revealed his plan to use Shukaku’s rampage to delay Lin Qing.
• Monk Fayi offered to hand Gaara over in exchange for Rasa’s chance to kill Tokugawa Shingen, and Rasa lowered his son from his back.
• Monk Fayi used his music-activated sealing jutsu to send chains toward Gaara, but Rasa caught them and declared that Monk Fayi would die there.
• Inside the Feudal Lord’s Mansion, Tokugawa Shingen remained composed as chaos spread and explained his situation to Lin Qing.
• Tokugawa Shingen clinked his wine cup against Lin Qing’s and asked what he would choose.

Lin Qing rejected Tokugawa Shingen’s attempt to test him and resolved to stop Warsaw City’s riot before killing the schemer behind it. Meanwhile, Rasa and Elder Chiyo confronted Mukade’s forbidden Living Puppet Technique, and Chiyo prepared to fight her former student.

• Lin Qing told Tokugawa Shingen he would stop the riot, save the deceived commoners, and kill the person who had incited the uprising.
• Lin Qing asked for a large amount of water to put out the fires spreading through the city.
• Rasa and Elder Chiyo fought off attackers who rose again, and Chiyo recognized them as living puppets.
• Mukade revealed his puppet army and defended his use of the forbidden technique to make up for his lack of talent.
• Elder Chiyo summoned her ten puppets and challenged Mukade, who sent his living puppets charging at her.

Shiratori confronted Kurosaki after discovering that Kurosaki had drugged the children and manipulated the rebellion, but Kurosaki cut off Shiratori’s remaining arm and escaped. Shiratori exposed Kurosaki over the rebels’ communicator, yet the battle continued, and as Shiratori lay dying, he saw someone standing above him.

• Shiratori watched his old friend charge a samurai captain and keep fighting after being cut in half, until the captain beheaded him.
• Kurosaki fled toward his secret escape route, believing his plan had secured him a chance to rise in status and escape Lin Qing.
• Shiratori confronted Kurosaki and asked what he had done, while Kurosaki pretended he would fix the situation.
• Kurosaki cut off Shiratori’s remaining arm, took the key to his secret chamber, and admitted he had drugged the children for years to profit from Shiratori’s thefts.
• Shiratori revealed that he had used the confrontation to expose Kurosaki to the rebels, but the fighting resumed more fiercely, and Shiratori began to die from blood loss.
• As Shiratori’s vision faded, he glimpsed someone standing atop the heavens.