Chapter Summaries

Iwao Genyako and Blind City Official infiltrated Gelin City’s barrier, discovered it was gathering and extracting the city’s negative emotions, and destroyed its core. As the released emotions engulfed Iwao, Lin Qing arrived and reached out to take her home.

• Iwao Genyako and Blind City Official used explosions to damage the barrier and slipped past the samurai guarding it.
• Blind City Official identified their attackers as members of the Sky Ninja Village, and the group lost their comrades as they fought toward the barrier’s core.
• Iwao Genyako photographed the core and discovered that the barrier collected residents’ negative emotions and carried them away through underground pipelines.
• When the Sky Ninja Legion surrounded them, Iwao Genyako sent Blind City Official away with the camera and sacrificed herself to destroy the core with Explosive Tags.
• Lin Qing arrived after the barrier shattered, knocked aside the incoming kunai, and tried to save Iwao as the released emotions swallowed her.
• Lin Qing thrust his hand into the murky emotions, burned them away with golden flames, and told Iwao he had come to take her home.

Lin Qing rescued Iwao Genyako from the shattered barrier and used golden flames and Star Platinum to destroy the rampaging dark tide. After subduing the Sky Ninja Legion survivors, he decided to search the city lord’s memories for clues about who was funding the Legion.

• Lin Qing pulled Iwao Genyako from the dark tide and held her as it surged toward them.
• The Sky Ninja Legion recognized Lin Qing, and he summoned Star Platinum to smash the ghostly faces with flaming punches.
• The squad captain ignited the Explosive Tags on his body and charged Lin Qing, but Whitesnake extracted his Memory Discs and knocked him into the pit, where he exploded.
• The remaining Sky Ninja Legion members surrendered, and Lin Qing and Iwao Genyako descended to meet Blind City Official.
• Iwao Genyako told Lin Qing the Legion had partnered with Gelin City and based itself in the desert between two oases.
• Lin Qing chose to find the city lord and obtain his memories for clues about the Legion’s backer.

As Lin Qing’s forces tore through Gelin City’s defenses, Arima Hikaru tried to flee and begged Shinnō for rescue, but Shinnō abandoned him. Shinnō activated Sky Fortress Unit Two and sent it toward Gelin City, where its cannons opened fire on the city.

• Arima Hikaru gathered valuables and tried to escape through a hidden passage as Gelin City officials and assassins hunted him.
• The passage collapsed amid the destruction below the city, and Arima Hikaru called Shinnō to beg for help.
• Shinnō refused to rescue Arima Hikaru and explained that he had lost his value after the barrier’s exposure.
• Shinnō ordered Sky Fortress Unit Two to launch, intending to punish Lin Qing.
• Sky Fortress Unit Two rose into the air, flew toward Gelin City, and fired its cannons at the city.

Shinnō ordered Sky Fortress Unit 2 to fire on Gelin City to force Lin Qing into a deadly choice. Lin Qing took the destruction beam head-on to protect the residents and, despite the attack overwhelming his defenses, challenged Shinnō to do more.

• Shinnō announced that Lin Qing had infiltrated Gelin City, then ordered Sky Fortress Unit 2 to target residential districts.
• Workers in a Gelin City workshop faced the incoming attack as their supervisor ordered them back to work, until a young man spotted someone in the sky.
• Lin Qing caught a massive blade and used it to delay the destruction beam while Killer Queen and Aero Smith intercepted other artillery fire.
• Shinnō increased the beam's power to 150 percent after Lin Qing refused to dodge it.
• Lin Qing endured the beam as it tore through his clothes and skin, then looked up at Sky Fortress Unit 2 and asked, "That's all?"

Lin Qing broke through Unit No. 2’s defenses, destroyed its main cannon, and fought his way inside while the city below fell into chaos. He reached the central control room and found Shinnō.

• Lin Qing used the Blade of Ruin to shatter the Sky Fortress’s destructive ray, then broke through its defensive barrier with Killer Queen’s help.
• Lin Qing severed the main cannon, inspiring a young factory worker and other laborers to leave work and rush home to protect their families.
• Iwao Genyako and the rats rescued civilians as shells ignited parts of Gelin City, and she declared her faith that Lin Qing would win.
• Lin Qing entered Unit No. 2 and advanced through the fortress, while the Sky Ninja Legion tracked him by the sound of his blows.
• Lin Qing broke through the central control room ceiling, looked at Shinnō, and said he had found him.

Lin Qing killed Shinnō’s disguised substitute, but Shinnō activated the Zero-Tails Core and confronted him on the falling Sky Fortress. Shinnō opened the Eight Inner Gates and charged at Lin Qing above Gelin City.

• Lin Qing attacked Shinnō in the central control room, but discovered he had killed a transformed substitute while ink-black arms emerged from below.
• The Sky Fortress began falling after its flight engines lost power, leaving both Lin Qing and the Sky Ninja Legion soldiers unsure why it was happening.
• Shinnō activated the Zero-Tails Core, transformed into his youthful Zero-Tails form, and forced his way onto the deck.
• The backup fuel power stopped the Sky Fortress’s fall, and Shinnō told Lin Qing that his arrival had helped him gain everything he possessed.
• Lin Qing challenged Shinnō, who unleashed hundreds of black hands, opened the Eight Inner Gates, and charged at him.

Lin Qing tested Shinnō’s Eight Inner Gates and Zero-Tails power, then used the Golden Spin: Rasengan to overcome his defenses and regeneration. He left Shinnō defeated and exposed, with Lin Qing smashing him into the deck.

• Shinnō activated the Gate of Wonder and charged Lin Qing, but Star Platinum shattered his arm with a single exchange.
• Shinnō regenerated and fought Star Platinum in a rapid barrage, claiming the Zero-Tails gave him nearly limitless chakra and recovery.
• Lin Qing prepared a Golden Spin: Rasengan inside the Ghost Room while Star Platinum kept Shinnō occupied.
• Lin Qing stopped time and battered Shinnō until his Zero-Tails armor cracked, then struck him with the Golden Spin to disrupt his chakra control and regeneration.
• Lin Qing seized Shinnō by the head, pulled him out of the Zero-Tails chakra, and smashed him into the steel deck.

Shinnō detonated the Zero-Tails Core to escape, sending the Sky Fortress crashing apart over Gelin City. Lin Qing chose to save the city rather than pursue him, then stopped the falling debris and captured and killed Shinnō.

• Shinnō detonated the Sky Fortress and broke free by smashing part of his own skull, escaping with the remaining Sky Ninja Legion soldiers.
• Lin Qing abandoned his pursuit of Shinnō and used the Dragon Snake Treasure Orb and his earth power to raise golden sand that melted and pierced the falling wreckage before it could destroy Gelin City.
• After saving the city, Lin Qing used Hermit Purple to drag Shinnō back, and Star Platinum defeated him when he tried to attack.
• Shinnō's forbidden technique made him rapidly age, and he begged Lin Qing for his life while his adjutant, seeing his surrender, detonated himself in the air.
• Whitesnake pierced Shinnō and removed his discs, and Lin Qing killed him.

After Lin Qing defeated Shinnō and saved Gelin City, the Conglomerate watched the footage and resolved to kill Arima Hikaru. Arima escaped into the crowd but was killed by a woman corrupted by the city’s leaking negative emotions.

• The survivors of Gelin City watched Lin Qing with gratitude, while Sasuke stopped a woman from kneeling before him.
• The Conglomerate’s six members watched Lin Qing crush Shinnō and discussed his growing strength and the need to kill Arima Hikaru.
• Arima Hikaru fled through the crowd with his valuables, regretting that he had misjudged Shinnō and crediting him with buying his escape.
• A textile worker tainted by negative emotions demanded Arima’s suitcase, and Arima kicked her down before she stabbed him with scissors.
• The woman took Arima’s empty bag and left, while Arima died alone as his money and documents blew away.

After defeating Shinnō, Lin Qing examined his memories and discovered the Sky Fortress technology, then decided to seize Gelin City and break its ties with the Land of Wind. The chapter left Kakashi realizing he was witnessing a turning point in history.

• Lin Qing counted his gains from the battle and reviewed Shinnō's Memory Disc, concluding that the Zero-Tails Technique and the other forbidden techniques were dangerous and impractical.
• Lin Qing found the Sky Fortress and flying ninja tool manufacturing technology in Shinnō's memories and hoped the Research Institute could use it to prepare for threats from the moon.
• Lin Qing asked Iwao Genyako whether Gelin City could support its millions of residents without funding from the Land of Wind, and Iwao said it could if the rules of distribution changed.
• Lin Qing announced that Gelin City would sever ties with the Land of Wind that night and that the Extermination Army would arrive in a week.
• Kakashi understood that Lin Qing's decision to take the city made him a witness to history.

Rasa led Sunagakure to break away from the Land of Wind and join Lin Qing’s faction after arguing that the Land of Wind had exploited the village. Four days later, Rasa arrived in Gelin City with support forces and found Lin Qing at a factory, where an arrogant official from the Land of Wind was waiting.

• After receiving news from Gelin City, Rasa called an emergency meeting and announced that Sunagakure would join Lin Qing’s ranks.
• When the jonin and advisors questioned whether Lin Qing had controlled Rasa, he argued that the Land of Wind had betrayed and impoverished Sunagakure.
• Rasa showed the meeting documents about Lin Qing’s faction and Gelin City, persuading Sunagakure to break away from the Land of Wind three hours later.
• Four days later, Rasa brought Sunagakure’s support forces and supplies to Gelin City, where he saw that relief stations and essential services were already operating.
• A Rat Corps member guided Rasa to a factory, where he found Lin Qing with Sasuke, Xiaotao, Kakashi, and Iwao Genyako facing an arrogant official in the uniform of the Land of Wind.

Lin Qing rejected the Land of Wind envoy’s demand to return Gelin City and announced he would visit the feudal lord in half a month. Rasa revealed that Sunagakure had joined Lin Qing’s faction, and when the Extermination Army arrived in Gelin City, Lin Qing prepared to head to the Land of Wind’s capital with Amber.

• Lin Qing intimidated the Land of Wind envoy into returning immediately with a message that he would visit the feudal lord in half a month.
• Rasa told Lin Qing that Sunagakure had decided to join his faction, and Lin Qing welcomed him and thanked him for the support.
• Two days later, Amber led two hundred members of the Extermination Army into Gelin City.
• Lin Qing gave Amber half his flatbread and said they would set off for the royal capital of the Land of Wind.

Lin Qing prepared to travel to Warsaw City to negotiate with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and address the trade problems caused by taking Gelin City. Kamikawa Yui recovered from her injuries and learned that Blind City Official planned to join the expedition, which he described as an attack on the royal capital.

• Lin Qing explained that he planned to talk with the Daimyo of the Land of Wind about keeping trade routes open between Gelin City, Sunagakure, and the rest of the country.
• Oda Ieyasu sent Lin Qing a draft unequal treaty, arguing that taking Gelin City had helped turn people against Shinnō and opened the way for the Awakening Ideology.
• Lin Qing welcomed County Magistrate Shirakawa, newly appointed to serve in the Land of Wind, and Shirakawa asked where he could find food.
• Kamikawa Yui woke at the Arima Estate, realized she had lost both legs, and proposed divorcing Blind City Official because she could no longer care for him.
• Blind City Official refused to divorce Kamikawa Yui until he had cared for her for twenty years, then told her he was going to Warsaw City to kill the daimyo, behead the bureaucrats, and break the royal city.

Kakashi struggled with Elder Chiyo’s taunts and the ghosts of his past as Lin Qing prepared to travel to Warsaw City for negotiations. Though Kakashi had planned to return to Konoha, he changed his mind and joined Lin Qing’s convoy.

• Rasa heard a rumor that Lin Qing planned to kill the Land of Wind’s Daimyo and seize the Conglomerate, then hurried off to find him.
• Elder Chiyo taunted Kakashi through a puppet, comparing him unfavorably to his father, and Kakashi stabbed the puppet with a kunai.
• Lin Qing assembled a convoy to Warsaw City with Amber, Rasa, Elder Chiyo, Blind City Official, and Gaara, while Sasuke and Xiaotao left with Shinnō’s discs for the Research Institute.
• Kakashi arrived with his pack just as Lin Qing’s convoy was departing, and Lin Qing invited him to get in.

Sasuke and Xiaotao returned to the Research Institute with Shinnō’s memories and the Ninjutsu Disc, and Samui explained how the technology could support a new aerospace research project. The institute’s researchers were growing soulless Hidan bodies for dangerous work, while a surviving piece of Hidan stirred in an underground cave.

• Sasuke and Xiaotao returned to the Research Institute after surviving three assassination attempts and handed Shinnō’s memories and the Ninjutsu Disc to Samui.
• Samui designated the disc as the basis for a fourth research direction, the aerospace project, and brought Sasuke and Xiaotao to the Hidan Research Lab.
• Samui explained that Hidan’s ashes could grow soulless organs and bodies, which researchers planned to control remotely for space travel and other dangerous work.
• Samui said the researchers could currently extract life force from cockroaches, with tardigrades as a possible future source.
• Sasuke wondered where the missing parts of Hidan were, while an underground fragment of Hidan opened its eye and shouted before a white snake tail struck him quiet.

Kabuto Yakushi, Hidan, and two White Snake Sage fragments infiltrated the Research Institute to retrieve Orochimaru’s discs and Hidan’s body. They found Orochimaru’s Memory Disc, but Number Two stopped Kabuto from taking it.

• Kabuto Yakushi and White Snake Sage Number One revived Orochimaru as an empty shell, then joined forces with Hidan and White Snake Sage Number Two to seek revenge against Lin Qing.
• The group named itself the Jashin Great White Snake and agreed to infiltrate the Research Institute for Orochimaru’s discs and Hidan’s body.
• Kabuto remotely controlled Orochimaru’s body as the group entered the Institute through a wastewater drainage pipe and disguised themselves as researchers.
• Hidan warned the group to hurry because Samui was watching over his body, and they made their way to the computer room.
• Kabuto found Orochimaru’s Memory Disc and reached for it, but White Snake Sage Number Two stopped him.

Kabuto Yakushi, Hidan, and White Snake Sage No. 1 obtained Orochimaru's Memory Disc after No. 2 sacrificed herself to replace it in the Research Institute's database. While fleeing to recover Hidan's body, they were discovered by Sasuke and Aoshe, and Kabuto prepared to fight.

• No. 2 explained that removing Orochimaru's Memory Disc would trigger an alarm, then offered to replace it with her own brain and remain behind.
• No. 2 transferred her sage chakra to Orochimaru, connected herself to the database, and gave Kabuto Yakushi the disc before bidding them farewell.
• Kabuto Yakushi, Hidan, and White Snake Sage No. 1 headed for Hidan's body but encountered Samui, Sasuke, and Xiaotao.
• The group hid in a warehouse to evade Sasuke's Ripple detection, where they met Aoshe.
• Aoshe summoned Sasuke and exposed the intruders, triggering the alarm.
• Kabuto Yakushi prepared Orochimaru to attack Sasuke and escape the Research Institute within one minute.

Sasuke overwhelmed Kabuto Yakushi’s controlled Orochimaru, forcing Kabuto to restore Orochimaru’s memories with a Memory Disc. Orochimaru briefly revived and tried to escape by triggering a sealing technique, but Sasuke’s Ninjutsu Nullification stopped him, and Sasuke killed him again.

• Sasuke attacked Orochimaru with lightning, fire, and a water-conducted Black Panther while Kabuto defended him using summoned snakes and Sage Arts.
• Kabuto inserted Orochimaru’s Memory Disc, briefly restoring Orochimaru’s consciousness and memories.
• Orochimaru realized he could be revived again later and tried to kill himself while activating the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing Technique.
• Sasuke’s Ninjutsu Nullification froze Orochimaru and his senjutsu chakra before the sealing technique could activate.
• Sasuke stabbed Orochimaru through the neck and throat, knocking the Memory Disc free and killing him again.

Pain gathered Akatsuki to welcome Hiruko and plan the capture of the remaining Tailed Beasts. Itachi revealed that Lin Qing intended to help turn Shukaku into a disc after bringing Gaara to Kirigakure, prompting Akatsuki to move quickly.

• Pain introduced Hiruko as the new member replacing Kakuzu and assigned him the North ring.
• Konan explained that Hidan was still alive after the others wondered why Hiruko was not replacing him.
• Pain announced that Akatsuki would split into three teams to capture the One-Tails, Two-Tails, and Seven-Tails simultaneously.
• Itachi Uchiha explained that Lin Qing planned to take Gaara to Kirigakure and work with the Research Institute to separate Shukaku's chakra and turn the One-Tail into a disc.

Pain formed Akatsuki squads to capture the One-Tail through Seven-Tails before Lin Qing could interfere, while Lin Qing traveled toward Warsaw City and received letters from Samui and Tsunade. Tsunade’s letter revealed that Itachi Uchiha had applied to return to Konoha.

• Itachi warned Akatsuki that Lin Qing could hide the Tailed Beast discs in his alternate dimension, and Pain ordered an immediate capture operation.
• Pain assigned squads to capture the Two-Tails, Seven-Tails, and One-Tail, but Obito asked to replace Pain on the One-Tails squad and claimed he had found a way to kill Lin Qing.
• Lin Qing’s team changed its desert travel schedule to travel by day and rest at night as they approached Warsaw City.
• Blind City Official identified Samui’s and Tsunade’s temperaments from the scents of their letters, which Amber confirmed were from those two women.
• Lin Qing read Samui’s report about Akatsuki’s failed Research Institute invasion and then learned from Tsunade’s letter that Itachi Uchiha had applied to return to Konoha.