Chapter Summaries

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.

Hori Masashi tried to escape Lin Qing with the Giant Clam’s illusion mist, but Lin Qing trapped him in his room and confronted him over the ideals he had betrayed. Hori Masashi killed himself, and after Mei Terumi brought the bandits to the hideout, Lin Qing killed them and turned to question the Giant Clam.

• Hori Masashi used the Giant Clam’s mist to hide his escape and packed his wealth and Awakening Course notes.
• Lin Qing appeared in Hori Masashi’s room and questioned why he had abandoned his ideals for wealth and status.
• Hori Masashi admitted he did not regret hurting his former self or his victims, then stabbed himself with a Kunai.
• Lin Qing found Mei Terumi leading the bandits to the hideout, and Star Platinum killed them all.
• Lin Qing asked the Giant Clam whether it could talk.

Lin Qing investigated how Giant Clam became Hori Masashi’s summoned beast, then signed a summoning contract with it for Mei Terumi. After questioning County Magistrate Shirakawa about the bandits, Lin Qing suspected the Feudal Lord Oda Ieyasu had arranged events, and the group reached Kyoto for the Water Garden Festival.

• Giant Clam explained that strangers had attacked it and Hori Masashi had treated its injuries, after which it signed a summoning contract with him.
• Lin Qing signed a summoning contract with Giant Clam after consulting it and Mei Terumi, making it Mei Terumi’s partner.
• County Magistrate Shirakawa hinted that the bandits’ deaths had been destined, leading Lin Qing to suspect Oda Ieyasu was behind the events.
• Lin Qing continued practicing the Golden Spin on the journey but remained unable to progress beyond its first lesson.
• Mei Terumi pointed out Kyoto as the group arrived for the Water Garden Festival.

Lin Qing attended the Water Garden Festival banquet with Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato Kamihara, where Oda Ieyasu treated him as an equal. In a private meeting, Oda called the bloody note marked “Awakening” an act of goodwill and began asking Lin Qing his own questions.

• Lin Qing and Mei Terumi agreed to watch the festival fireworks together as they explored Kyoto.
• Lin Qing, Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato Kamihara traveled to the Feudal Lord's Mansion for the Water Garden Festival banquet.
• Oda Ieyasu welcomed Lin Qing warmly and seated him beside himself, while envoys from several nations presented gifts.
• Lin Qing and Oda left the banquet for a private talk, and Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato followed them into the study.
• Lin Qing showed Oda a blood-smeared note reading “Awakening,” and Oda described it as goodwill before saying he had questions of his own.

Lin Qing defended the Awakening Ideology against Oda Ieyasu’s challenge about human desire, arguing that many desires were imposed by the existing social order and that people needed to awaken as technology and production advanced. Oda Ieyasu then sealed the study in a Crimson Barrier and arranged to die in an explosion that would frame Lin Qing, but Lin Qing stopped time as the blast erupted.

• Oda Ieyasu questioned how Lin Qing’s ideals of equality and distribution according to need could contend with limitless human desire.
• Lin Qing argued that many desires were created by the era’s rules, and that changing those rules and awakening people could guide society through upheaval.
• Oda Ieyasu asked why Lin Qing pursued his cause, and Lin Qing answered that the suffering he had witnessed was wrong.
• Oda Ieyasu sealed the study with a Crimson Barrier and revealed that he intended to die in front of Lin Qing and Kyoto’s millions of tourists, making Lin Qing appear responsible.
• An enormous explosion erupted beneath the study, and Lin Qing activated Star Platinum and stopped time.

Lin Qing rescued Oda Ieyasu from the explosion, but the Conglomerates’ plan had already made the Daimyo appear dead and framed Lin Qing. After persuading Oda to help undo the political trap by promising to find his son, Lin Qing used Spirit Photography and saw an Akatsuki Cloak.

• Lin Qing broke through the Crimson Barrier and carried Oda Ieyasu, Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato Kamihara to safety before the explosion went off.
• Kurenai Yuhi and Shi saw the shattered barrier and wondered whether Oda Ieyasu would become the next Danzo or Lord Raikage.
• Oda Ieyasu told Lin Qing that the Conglomerates could make even the real Daimyo seem like an impostor, leaving Lin Qing’s innocence impossible to prove.
• Lin Qing asked Oda to help break the trap and promised to find his son, whom Oda’s wife had used as leverage for the Conglomerates.
• Oda agreed to help Lin Qing, who used Spirit Photography through Oda’s bloodline and saw an Akatsuki Cloak.

Lin Qing tracked Oda Hideyoshi through Spirit Photography and discovered that Kakuzu had hidden the boy’s soul and heart inside a scarecrow. After defeating Kakuzu’s decoy, Lin Qing realized the real target was Oda Ieyasu and raced back to protect him.

• Kakuzu received orders to kill the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water, Oda Ieyasu, while keeping Oda Hideyoshi in their hands, and Hidan noticed another order targeting Lin Qing.
• Lin Qing left Mei Terumi and Zabuza to protect Oda Ieyasu and flew after the trail to Oda Hideyoshi.
• Lin Qing found a masked ninja carrying a scarecrow and learned that Oda Hideyoshi’s soul and beating heart had been concealed inside it.
• Lin Qing ordered Star Platinum to attack the masked decoy, recognized Kakuzu’s Earth Grudge Fear, and destroyed its heart.
• Lin Qing used Spirit Photography to trace the scarecrow’s connection back toward Oda Ieyasu, then flew off with the Blade of Ruin glowing with golden Ripple flames.

Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and Hayato Kamihara defended Oda Ieyasu while waiting for Lin Qing to rescue Oda Hideyoshi, but Hidan, Kakuzu, and a vast force of shinobi and samurai found them first. The battle began, and Hayato recognized Hidan as a Jashin Cultist whose blood-based abilities posed a threat.

• Hayato Kamihara reassured Mei Terumi, Zabuza, and the anxious Oda Ieyasu that Lin Qing would find Oda Hideyoshi soon.
• Hidan and Kakuzu arrived with hundreds of shinobi and samurai, including the unconscious Oda Hideyoshi, and threatened Oda Ieyasu.
• Mei Terumi and Zabuza refused to retreat, and Mei Terumi summoned Giant Clam as Hidan summoned bloodsucking insects and bats.
• Kakuzu launched a combined fire-and-wind attack, while Mei Terumi countered with the Great Waterfall Technique.
• Hayato Kamihara spotted Hidan's necklace and warned the others not to let Hidan take their blood, identifying him as a Jashin Cultist.

Mei Terumi’s forces fought Kakuzu and Hidan while protecting Oda Ieyasu and his son, Hideyoshi. After Oda Ieyasu was poisoned and learned that Hideyoshi’s heart had been removed, he prepared to attack the enemy, but an unseen arrival stepped forward as thunder and golden fire clouds approached.

• Mei Terumi dispersed the mist with a Lava Release attack, while Kakuzu escaped and Zabuza trapped Hidan in a Water Prison before igniting oil around him.
• Kakuzu’s underground tendrils hurled Oda Ieyasu toward a lightning attack, but Oda Ieyasu sealed it with a scroll, killed the samurai holding Hideyoshi, and rescued his son.
• Yamanaka Fu used Hideyoshi’s body to stab Oda Ieyasu with a poisoned kunai, then returned Hideyoshi’s soul to his body.
• Mei Terumi injected Oda Ieyasu with an antidote, and he saw the stitches on Hideyoshi’s chest and realized his son’s heart had been removed.
• Oda Ieyasu cursed Kakuzu and Hidan and prepared to charge, but someone put a hand on his shoulder and said, “I’ll go first,” as thunder and golden fire clouds approached.

Lin Qing rescued Oda Ieyasu and confronted Kakuzu and Hidan, destroying most of Kakuzu’s hearts before Kakuzu restored himself with the hearts of nearby soldiers. Yamanaka Fu immobilized Lin Qing with Mind Transfer Jutsu, leaving him vulnerable to Hidan’s scythe.

• Lin Qing promised Oda Ieyasu he would restore Hideyoshi’s heart and used Ripple energy to heal Oda Ieyasu’s body.
• Hidan charged Lin Qing while Kakuzu tried to flee, but Lin Qing stopped time, knocked Hidan aside, and pursued Kakuzu.
• Lin Qing used Star Platinum to destroy Kakuzu’s head and three hearts, then ended Time Stop to locate Kakuzu’s remaining heart.
• Kakuzu realized Lin Qing was targeting him and used Earth Grudge Fear to take four hearts from the gathered ninja and samurai, restoring himself.
• Yamanaka Fu used Mind Transfer Jutsu to freeze Lin Qing as Hidan attacked from behind with his scythe.

Lin Qing defeated Kakuzu and Hidan after Yamanaka Fu’s Mind Transfer Jutsu briefly disrupted him, then captured most of Hidan’s scattered ashes. After rescuing Oda Ieyasu’s son and stopping the assassins, Lin Qing asked how Oda Ieyasu planned to return to power, and Oda Ieyasu said he would first see his wife and then kill her.

• Yamanaka Fu infiltrated Lin Qing’s consciousness with Mind Transfer Jutsu, where Lin Qing’s summons attacked him and killed him.
• Lin Qing caught Hidan’s scythe, blocked Kakuzu’s Final Shot with the Blade of Ruin, and killed Kakuzu and Hidan with Killer Queen’s explosions.
• Summoned mosquitoes and bats carried away some of Hidan’s ashes, but Lin Qing stopped time and collected the rest in a snack bag before sealing it in the Ghost Room.
• The surviving ninja and samurai surrendered in fear, while Oda Ieyasu praised Lin Qing’s overwhelming power.
• Lin Qing told Oda Ieyasu that his son had been rescued and the assassins dealt with, then asked how he would come back to life.
• Oda Ieyasu said he wanted to see his wife before killing her.

Oda Ieyasu confronted Saito Ayaka at Saito Mansion, where she drank poison and died after revealing that both cups were poisoned. Grief-stricken, Oda Ieyasu joined Lin Qing’s Awakening plan and vowed to help transform the Land of Water.

• Oda Ieyasu, Lin Qing, and their companions entered the empty Saito Mansion after hearing Saito Ayaka play the Shakuhachi.
• Saito Ayaka admitted she had betrayed Oda Ieyasu because she was a daughter of the Saito family, then asked him to choose which of two cups she should drink.
• Oda Ieyasu pushed one cup toward Saito Ayaka, thanked her for their years together, and left with Little Hideyoshi.
• Saito Ayaka drank the cup and revealed that both cups were poisoned; Lin Qing saw her lying dead as they departed.
• Oda Ieyasu offered to help Lin Qing advance the Awakening plan in the Land of Water, and Lin Qing welcomed him aboard.
• Lin Qing received 1,000 Soul Shards and 1 Dimensional Ascension Star Core from the system.

After the clans tried to announce Oda Ieyasu’s death and blame Lin Qing, Oda appeared alive and unveiled sweeping reforms. Lin Qing and Oda planned how to carry them out, and Oda left to comfort Hideyoshi while Mei Terumi waited for Lin Qing.

• The Grand Councillor began announcing that Oda Ieyasu had been killed and Lin Qing was the culprit, but a samurai stopped him and said Oda was alive.
• Oda Ieyasu appeared before the crowd, calmed them with playful remarks, and announced reforms in technology, diplomacy, education, and other fields.
• Lin Qing, Mei Terumi, Hayato Kamihara, and Zabuza watched Oda’s speech as they discussed how he had negotiated with the great clans.
• Lin Qing and Oda spent hours planning how to implement the reforms and deal with those who might obstruct them.
• Oda asked whether they could use assassination or seduction against their opponents, and Lin Qing rejected assassination outside wartime in favor of acting with integrity.
• Oda went home to comfort Hideyoshi, while Lin Qing saw Mei Terumi waiting for him outside.

Mei Terumi and Lin Qing shared sparklers and took a photograph after the Water Garden Festival fireworks were canceled. At the Akatsuki base, Nagato prepared to continue his plan despite losing Kakuzu and Hidan, and asked Konan whose side she would take if he fought Lin Qing.

• Mei Terumi told Lin Qing she was disappointed that the canceled fireworks show had ruined her chance to enjoy Kyoto in her yukata.
• Lin Qing brought Mei Terumi sparklers, and they watched them burn while Oda Ieyasu played the shakuhachi for Little Hideyoshi.
• Lin Qing praised Mei Terumi's appearance, and they took a Polaroid photograph to remember the night.
• Nagato finished sealing the Three-Tails into a Jinchuriki and planned to capture the One-Tail before moving against Sunagakure.
• Konan told Nagato that Kakuzu and Hidan were dead, then asked whether he intended to confront Lin Qing; Nagato asked whose side she would take.

Nagato explained to Konan how he might someday kill Lin Qing, while Lin Qing returned from Kyoto and helped Oda Ieyasu carry out reforms amid mounting unrest in the Land of Water. As the resistance continued to grow, Amber asked Lin Qing for permission to form a military corps.

• Nagato told Konan that he might use the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, supported by Planetary Devastation and elite jōnin, to seal Lin Qing if they became enemies.
• After the Water Garden Festival, Oda Ieyasu began a purge, and Lin Qing left Kyoto with his group after handing responsibilities to Kirigakure's civilian staff.
• County Magistrate Shirakawa declined to join Lin Qing's cause, then warned his county to stockpile food and hire wandering samurai because he expected chaos in the Land of Water.
• Conglomerates and other opponents fueled unrest across the Land of Water, while Lin Qing and Oda Ieyasu worked to suppress resistance and advance their reforms.
• Lin Qing estimated that the conflict's breaking point was about a month away, and Amber asked him to let her form a military corps.

Lin Qing helped establish the Extermination Army and brought the Land of Water under his control, then spent his accumulated Soul Shards to prepare Killer Queen for evolution. The system assigned him an extremely difficult trial: travel alone to Morioh and kill Yoshikage Kira.

• Amber persuaded Lin Qing to let Hope Village residents help fight the unrest, and Lin Qing approved forming an army equipped with Ripple and combat discs.
• Amber named the force the Extermination Army, which grew into an 89-person First Division after Whitesnake vetted its recruits.
• Over four months, the Extermination Army helped Lin Qing end the unrest and bring the Land of Water under his control.
• Lin Qing reviewed his 15,497 Soul Shards and chose to evolve Killer Queen, then used 10,000 shards to max out Killer Queen and Whitesnake.
• Lin Qing used the Dimensional Ascension Star Core on Killer Queen and learned that its extremely difficult trial required him to travel alone to Morioh and kill Yoshikage Kira.