Chapter Summaries

Taiichi Matsushita accepted the Land of Hot Water’s mission to investigate mass disappearances and reached the daimyo’s mansion within half a day. After reviewing the case files, he suspected a high-ranking mole and began investigating while keeping his movements secret.

• Minato assigned Taiichi to investigate the disappearance of at least five hundred civilians and eliminate whoever was responsible.
• Taiichi used Flying Thunder God and flew to the Land of Hot Water’s capital, where the daimyo and his sons received him.
• The Eldest Young Master described how entire villages had vanished and said the enemy seemed to know the mansion’s plans.
• Taiichi noticed the Second Young Master’s hidden hostility and learned that he had handled the earliest disappearance report as provincial governor.
• Taiichi reviewed the files, suspected a high-ranking mole, and told the Eldest Young Master to secure the mansion and keep his movements secret.

Taichi investigated the disappearances in the Land of Hot Water, found signs that the latest crime scene had been tampered with, and traced hidden clues toward the northeastern mountains. Meanwhile, the Second Young Master and Blood Crow ordered the Jashin Cult to lie low, though Blood Crow remained determined to continue his experiments and eventually defy his supposed partner.

• Taichi sent eight Shadow Clones to search the disappearance sites while he investigated Tsukimi Village, but they found only faint traces of violent chakra and no clear route to the enemy's hideout.
• The Second Young Master ordered a subordinate to warn Blood Crow that Taichi had arrived and demanded that the Jashin Cult conceal its operations and explain its failed experiments.
• Taichi rushed to a new disappearance site and discovered that the scene had been deliberately altered by someone among the Land of Hot Water's investigators.
• Taichi sensed traces beneath freshly turned soil that pointed toward the northeastern mountains and kept his discovery from the suspicious officials.
• Blood Crow rejected the Second Young Master's authority, but ordered his cultists to stop abducting people temporarily while insisting that the experiments needed more sacrifices.

Tsunade fumed over Taiichi Matsushita’s mission while Taichi Matsushita investigated disappearances in the Land of Hot Water and uncovered signs that a powerful insider was helping the mastermind. Taichi staged a public falling-out with the Eldest Young Master to fool the suspected conspirators, leaving the Second Young Master convinced their alliance had collapsed.

• Tsunade learned Taiichi had left for an urgent mission and angrily resumed her paperwork, planning to make him handle more work when he returned.
• After four days of searches and misleading help from officials, Taiichi concluded that a high-ranking person in the Land of Hot Water was warning the mastermind and obstructing the investigation.
• Taiichi secretly met the Eldest Young Master and proposed pretending the investigation had failed so the insider and mastermind would lower their guard.
• The next morning, Taiichi presented a report claiming the mastermind had likely left and announced he would return to Konoha, prompting the Eldest Young Master to publicly denounce him.
• Taiichi stormed out, and the Eldest Young Master acted devastated while the relieved Second Young Master believed they had truly fallen out.

Taichi secretly returned to the Land of Hot Water and began tracking the Jashin Cult while its leaders believed he had left. After Obito ordered Zetsu to investigate the cult, Taichi found evidence that it was spreading Shin’s faith and removed the bewitchment from a flyer.

• Taichi returned to the Land of Hot Water, sent eight Shadow Clones to search for suspicious activity, and monitored covert messages from the Daimyo’s Mansion.
• The Second Young Master believed Taichi had crossed the border and told his allies to wait several days before resuming their plans.
• Blood Crow ordered the Jashin Cult to lie low while worrying that its remaining offerings would not last.
• Obito learned from Zetsu about the Jashin Cult’s experiments and apparent connection to ancient beings, then ordered Zetsu to investigate whether it could be used.
• Taichi disguised himself as a scholar and found townspeople discussing strange incidents and a flyer promoting the evil god’s promise of immortality.
• Taichi confirmed the flyer carried chakra connected to the Jashin Cult and erased its bewitching influence.

Taiichi uncovered the Jashin Cult’s plans and raced to Frost Moon Village, where its elites were abducting villagers for sacrifices. He arrived in time to devastate the raiding party, leaving its leader and a few survivors wounded and terrified.

• Taiichi read Momotaro’s mind and learned that a gray-robed cultist was preparing for the Evil God’s descent.
• Blood Crow ordered an elite team to capture fifty people in remote Frost Moon Village so he could obtain offerings and create an Undead Legion.
• The Eldest Young Master received an alert that suspicious figures had appeared near Frost Moon Village and sent Taiichi a warning through his special chakra mark.
• The Jashin Cult’s elite hunting party abducted and killed villagers, gathering sixty-two survivors and three dead before preparing to withdraw.
• Taiichi detected the cult’s evil chakra and arrived above the threshing ground as the abductors finished their raid.
• The cultists attacked Taiichi, but his Wind Style: Thousand Face Wind Kill shredded most of them and left the leader and a few others gravely wounded.

Tsunade struggled with the paperwork Taiichi had left behind, then examined Kushina and confirmed that her pregnancy and the Nine-Tails seal were stable. Meanwhile, Taiichi uncovered the Jashin Cult’s atrocities in Frost Moon Village, found its hidden lair, and began an assault to purge it.

• Tsunade lamented Taiichi’s absence as she worked through the hospital paperwork, then welcomed Minato and Kushina for a prenatal checkup.
• Tsunade confirmed that Kushina and the baby were healthy and that the Nine-Tails’ seal remained stable, then warned Kushina to rest and take care.
• In Frost Moon Village, Taiichi stopped the cultist leader from taking poison and used Genjutsu to interrogate him, learning enough to resolve to destroy the Jashin Cult.
• Taiichi created two Shadow Clones, assigning one to protect and resettle the villagers and the other to contact the Eldest Young Master in the Capital of Hot Water.
• Taiichi used a Flying Thunder God coordinate to reach the mountain range, discovered the concealed entrance behind a waterfall, and infiltrated the cult’s lair.
• After sensing the sacrifices, corpses, and cultists inside, Taiichi began his purge by using Earth Style: Rock Lodging Collapse to tear through the underground base.

Matsushita Taiichi attacked the Jashin Cult headquarters and defeated its immortal warriors before Blood Crow summoned a giant possessed by the evil god’s divine consciousness. Taiichi used Sage Mode and sealing techniques to extract the divine consciousness into a scroll, leaving Blood Crow barely alive.

• Matsushita Taiichi stormed the Jashin Cult headquarters and killed the cultists who tried to stop him while avoiding the cages of sacrifices.
• Taiichi discovered that the immortal warriors regenerated rapidly, then learned that severing their heads stopped them and destroyed the remaining fighters.
• Blood Crow summoned the evil god’s divine consciousness, which fused with the remains of the warriors and formed a towering giant.
• Taiichi activated Sage Mode, bound the giant with Adamantine Sealing Chains, and burned it away with senjutsu flames.
• Taiichi sealed the evil god’s divine consciousness into a scroll and left Blood Crow alive but gravely injured.

After destroying the Jashin Cult’s hideout, Taichi returned to the Daimyo’s Mansion and stopped the Second Young Master’s coup. The rebellion ended, but Obito Uchiha escaped with the captured Blood Crow Cult Leader.

• Obito Uchiha and Zetsu watched the ruined cave and judged Taichi’s strength too dangerous to confront, deciding to look for an opportunity after he reached the Daimyo’s Mansion.
• The Second Young Master ordered his men to release twenty undead samples and feed them Mad Blood, then led a coup against the Daimyo and the Eldest Young Master.
• The undead overwhelmed the mansion’s guards and drove the Old Daimyo and the Eldest Young Master into the Tenshu Tower.
• Taiichi arrived with Blood Crow, cleared the attackers from the tower gates, and defeated the remaining undead after the Second Young Master confessed to the rebellion.
• A samurai discovered Blood Crow missing, and Taichi sensed that Obito Uchiha had taken him away using Space-Time Ninjutsu.

Obito and Zetsu rescued Blood Crow, while Taichi returned from the Land of Hot Water and reported the space-time threat to Minato. Back in Konoha, Tsunade handed Taichi the hospital paperwork and escaped to rest and gamble.

• Obito and Zetsu took the injured Blood Crow away, and Obito told him they shared an enemy in Taichi Matsushita.
• Taichi explained to the Daimyo and the Eldest Young Master that Blood Crow’s rescuers had escaped using space-time ninjutsu, and he urged them to commission Konoha for protection.
• The Daimyo and the Eldest Young Master thanked Taichi and arranged to send trusted men to Konoha to request help.
• Taichi reported the mission and the suspected Madara Uchiha rescue to Minato, who ordered the investigation and village defenses against space-time intrusions accelerated.
• Tsunade seized Taichi after he left the Hokage’s Office, dumped hospital paperwork on him, and left to sleep, gamble, and drink.

Taiichi entered the sealed space of the Evil God's divine-sense incarnation and questioned him about ancient cultivation, the Otsutsuki, and the God Tree. The Evil God offered a mix of truths and deceptions, while Taiichi recorded the information and kept the divine sense sealed for further study.

• After finishing the cleanup at home, Taiichi prepared his underground laboratory to study the Evil God's sealed divine sense.
• Taiichi used Sage Mode and Adamantine Sealing Chains to enter the scroll's seal and confront the bound Evil God in an illusionary palace.
• The Evil God tried to intimidate and tempt Taiichi with threats, wealth, power, beauty, and immortality, but Taiichi remained unmoved.
• Taiichi questioned the Evil God about ancient divine cultivation and the Otsutsuki's arrival, and the Evil God described Natural Energy, the God Tree, and the decline of the ancient gods.
• Taiichi listened to the Evil God's partly false account, withdrew from the sealing space, and recorded the information while keeping the divine sense sealed.

In June of Konoha Year 49, Minato’s reforms opened the Military Police Force to other clans and freed Uchiha ninja to take ordinary missions. Taiichi continued studying the sealed Evil God’s divine thought, then met Yohei on the street and joined his lively conversation with Konoha’s residents.

• Minato’s Military Police Force reforms ended the Uchiha monopoly and gave lower- and middle-ranking Uchiha ninja more work and freedom to join squads.
• Taiichi used Sage Mode to study the sealed Evil God’s divine thought, recorded its latest effects on Natural Energy, and noted that his Sage Mode duration had nearly doubled.
• Taiichi left his laboratory to find food because his household’s helpers were working at the hospital and Konoha’s capable ninja were busy on missions.
• Taiichi spotted Yohei entertaining a crowd, while two Uchiha officers looked embarrassed and an Inuzuka ninja watched with amusement.
• Yohei greeted Taiichi loudly, bought him food, and let a vendor tell the crowd stories about their friendship.

Taiichi watched Yohei and Guy finish their thirty-second Taijutsu duel, then sparred against them both and offered advice on their fighting styles. After the exhausting match, Yohei asked Taiichi to check Guy for hidden injuries.

• Yohei explained how the Military Police Force had become more approachable, and vendors praised the squad as they patrolled with Taiichi.
• Guy arrived and revealed that he and Yohei had become friends through training, then challenged him to their thirty-second Taijutsu duel.
• At Training Ground Eight, Guy defeated Yohei with a well-timed knee strike, earning his ninth victory.
• Taiichi sparred against Yohei and Guy together, effortlessly countering their attacks and stopping the match after less than five minutes.
• Taiichi advised Yohei to vary his movements and Guy to use more feints and tactical variation, then Yohei asked him to check Guy for hidden injuries.

Taiichi treated Guy’s training injuries and eased the strain on Yohei’s Mangekyō Sharingan, then joined them for dango. In Iwagakure, Obito used the controlled elder Toki Kengo to stir distrust between Rōshi and Ōnoki and began preparing to exploit the Five-Tails Jinchūriki.

• Taiichi found and treated Guy’s minor training injuries, then used Yang Release Chakra to ease Yohei’s eye strain and improve his vision.
• Taiichi, Yohei, and Guy left together to eat dango after Taiichi warned Yohei that his eyesight was worsening.
• Obito arrived at Toki Kengo’s residence in Iwagakure and argued with White Zetsu and Black Zetsu about his motives for targeting the village.
• Obito questioned the genjutsu-controlled Toki about Han and Rōshi, learning that Rōshi resented Ōnoki for restricting his power.
• Obito ordered Toki to spread untraceable rumors that would deepen mistrust between Rōshi and Ōnoki, and to watch for chances to destabilize Rōshi.
• Obito planned to use the resulting discord to weaken Iwagakure and create an opportunity to capture the Five-Tails.

As Kushina Uzumaki’s due date approached, Minato asked Taiichi to guard her during childbirth, and Taiichi agreed while preparing for a possible attack. In Amegakure, Obito won Pain’s approval to infiltrate Konoha and unleash the Nine-Tails, leaving the impending birth poised to become a deadly confrontation.

• Taiichi noticed Konoha’s patrols and Anbu presence increasing as Kushina’s due date drew near.
• Minato visited Taiichi and asked him to guard Kushina and her child during the birth; Taiichi agreed to remain on standby.
• Taiichi wondered whether Obito would repeat history and resolved to stop him from destroying Konoha.
• Obito told Pain, Konan, and Zetsu that he planned to seize the moment Kushina’s seal weakened, release the Nine-Tails, and summon it into Konoha.
• Konan objected to Obito’s plan, but Pain approved it and assigned Zetsu to find the exact date and location of Kushina’s childbirth.

As Kushina went into labor, Minato and Konoha’s leaders prepared defenses while Taiichi warned his household and the orphanage to protect themselves if the village came under attack. Obito arrived in Konoha and learned where Kushina was being taken, setting his sights on the birth that night.

• Minato gathered Hiruzen, the advisors, Jiraiya, and Taiichi to assign defenses for Kushina’s childbirth, with Taiichi warning Minato about the threat of Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Taiichi ordered Mizuki to bring the household home and evacuate people to shelters if a major disturbance occurred, then sent a Shadow Clone to warn Nonō.
• Nonō prepared to activate the orphanage’s emergency plan and accepted Taiichi’s Flying Thunder God Kunai for contacting him.
• Obito entered Konoha through a space-time distortion, and Zetsu reported that Kushina had been moved to a guarded site northeast of the village.
• Obito rejected White Zetsu’s taunts and focused on his plan to attack Kushina’s childbirth and remove Minato.

Taiichi and the Anbu guarded a decoy while Minato and the others waited at a concealed cave for Kushina to give birth. The baby was born safely, but a masked intruder appeared through a space-time vortex and seized him.

• Taiichi equipped himself and joined Wolf and three other Anbu at Minato's empty home, which was being used as a decoy.
• Taiichi kept watch from the roof and worried that Obito might attack Kushina's hidden delivery site.
• At the cave, Kakashi and Jiraiya waited outside while Tsunade helped Kushina through labor and monitored the weakening seal on the Nine-Tails.
• Kushina gave birth to a boy, and Tsunade announced that the child was safe.
• An orange Spiral Mask figure emerged from a spatial vortex, killed the nurse carrying the newborn, and took the baby.

The Masked Man broke Kushina’s seal and unleashed the Nine-Tails, while Minato rescued Naruto and returned to Konoha. Taiichi promised he could save Kushina, and Minato left her and Naruto in his care before going to confront the Nine-Tails.

• The Masked Man threw Naruto to distract Minato, then disrupted Kushina’s seal until the Nine-Tails burst free.
• The Nine-Tails emerged in its complete form and began ravaging the area as Jiraiya and the others prepared to fight.
• Minato returned home with Naruto and told Taiichi that the Nine-Tails was free and Kushina’s life was in danger.
• Taiichi urged Minato to bring Kushina to him, and Minato returned with her as her life force rapidly faded.
• Taiichi urged Kushina to hold on and promised she would survive to raise Naruto, while Minato left them in Taiichi’s care and went to face the Nine-Tails.

Taiichi used the Dyad Seal to stabilize Kushina while the Masked Man fought Minato, as Zetsu summoned the Nine-Tails into Konoha. Hiruzen drove the beast beyond the village and organized a defense, but the Nine-Tails’ Sharingan triggered suspicion against the Uchiha just as it prepared to attack again.

• Taiichi began the Dyad Seal to restore balance within Kushina after the Nine-Tails was extracted.
• Konoha raised its highest-level alarm, and Black Zetsu summoned the Nine-Tails into the village center.
• The Nine-Tails devastated Konoha and killed and injured civilians and ninja until Hiruzen Sarutobi struck it out of the village with his Adamantine Staff.
• Hiruzen organized the surviving ninja to delay the Nine-Tails, rescue civilians, and coordinate their attacks.
• The ninja saw the Mangekyō Sharingan in the Nine-Tails’ eyes and suspected the Uchiha, prompting Fugaku to deny his clan’s involvement and Yohei to recognize the frame-up.
• Shibi Aburame warned that the Nine-Tails was about to attack.

Yohei used Susanoo to prove the Uchiha had not controlled the Nine-Tails, while Orochimaru and his giant snakes helped hold the beast back. Taiichi arrived in time to destroy its nearly completed Tailed Beast Bomb, then used Sage Art Water Style to drive the Nine-Tails away from Konoha to an open wasteland.

• Yohei activated Mangekyō Sharingan and Susanoo to fight the Nine-Tails, and Hiruzen declared that Yohei was not controlling it.
• Fugaku rallied the Uchiha, and Orochimaru arrived with five giant snakes to restrain the Nine-Tails.
• The Nine-Tails began forming a Tailed Beast Bomb, but Taiichi struck it with an Ultra Big Ball Rasengan and disrupted the genjutsu controlling the beast.
• Taiichi entered Sage Mode and used Water Gun Technique to stagger the Nine-Tails while Orochimaru and the Konoha ninja supported him.
• Taiichi lured the Nine-Tails away from the village to an uninhabited wasteland.

Taiichi subdued the Nine-Tails with White Flame and Adamantine Sealing Chains as Konoha celebrated. At the cave, Minato and Kakashi struck down the Masked Man, but the battle’s outcome remained uncertain.

• The Nine-Tails rejected Taiichi’s explanation and unleashed a shockwave that sent rocks hurtling toward Konoha Ninja.
• Taiichi burned the Nine-Tails with Sage Art: Fire Release: White Flame Incinerates Heaven and bound him with Adamantine Sealing Chains, prompting Konoha Ninja to cheer.
• At the cave, Obito evaded attacks from Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and the Anbu, killing more of them with his Space-Time Ninjutsu.
• Minato returned and used a Rasengan to hit Obito as he tried to become intangible, creating an opening for Kakashi.
• Kakashi pierced Obito’s chest with Chidori, and Minato and the others believed the Masked Man had been defeated just before everything changed.