Chapter Summaries

Kou released the seal on a mural and used his Mangekyō Sharingan to absorb the ocular power hidden within it. As he absorbed it, he discovered information about the source’s Mangekyō technique, Eternal World.

• Kou activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and released the seal on the mural.
• A crimson hand burst from the mural and struck toward Kou, but he used Inari God to break it into motes of ocular power.
• Kou realized the mural and its hidden power came from a Mangekyō ocular technique, and wondered what an Indra reincarnation had done a thousand years earlier.
• Kou drew the crimson ocular power into his right eye and felt it strengthen his reserves.
• As Kou absorbed the power, he received fragments revealing the source’s Mangekyō technique, Eternal World.

Kou discovered that his Mangekyō dojutsu, Inari God, could absorb ocular power and reveal the principles behind other dojutsu, possibly allowing him to learn techniques he did not possess. As he examined the absorbed power from Eternal World, he detected a tiny but immensely potent trace of Otsutsuki Indra’s chakra.

• Kou understood that Eternal World used ocular power to create tangible objects with special abilities, but consumed it heavily.
• Kou absorbed more ocular power and learned detailed information about how Eternal World was constructed and controlled.
• Kou realized Inari God might let him analyze and learn Mangekyō dojutsu without transplanting eyes or stealing powers.
• Kou noticed a faint trace of chakra within the absorbed ocular power and recognized it as Otsutsuki Indra’s chakra.

Kou absorbed a trace of Otsutsuki Indra’s chakra and discovered that it could elevate his Mangekyō Sharingan, offering a possible path toward its evolution. As the remaining ocular power continued to flow, he saw a vision of the Ninjutsu School’s headquarters in the Land of Lightning a thousand years ago.

• Kou carefully guided Otsutsuki Indra’s chakra into his Mangekyō Sharingan and felt its essence begin to elevate.
• Kou realized that absorbing Indra’s chakra might help evolve his Mangekyō and thought of Uchiha Sasuke as Indra’s reincarnation.
• Kou turned back to the crimson ocular power, but the chamber vanished and a vision of towering mountains and ancient buildings appeared.
• Kou recognized the vision as the Land of Lightning a thousand years ago and identified the enormous tower as the headquarters of Otsutsuki Indra’s Ninjutsu School.

The chapter recounts the rise of Otsutsuki Indra’s Ninjutsu School, its early conflict with the Ninja Sect, and the origins of tensions that would divide both organizations. After the Ninjutsu School retreated to recover from defeat, the Ninja Sect’s growing influence began to alarm surrounding rulers.

• Otsutsuki Indra traveled to the northeastern Ninja World, subdued the surrounding nations, founded the Ninjutsu School, and ruled it through strict strength-based hierarchy.
• Otsutsuki Indra expanded the Ninjutsu School but avoided confronting the Ninja Sect, building its laws and High Heaven Pavilion while ignoring Asura’s repeated overtures.
• Otsutsuki Indra and Otsutsuki Asura died in Year 85 of the Ninja World Calendar, and border disputes and competition for talent and ore began the following year.
• The Ninja Sect and Ninjutsu School welcomed the children who would become their fourth and third leaders as conflict spread between the organizations.
• The Ninja Sect defeated the Ninjutsu School, whose second leader retreated into the Cloud Thunder Mountain Range to recover and develop.
• The Ninja Sect’s influence among ordinary people and military strength fueled suspicion among surrounding nations, laying the groundwork for future divisions.

The chapter recounts the centuries-long conflict between the Era of Ninshu and the ninjutsu school, from their first war and the founding of the Alliance to the Alliance’s eventual defeat. It leaves the Ninja Sect diminished and submitting to the ninjutsu school, with descendants sent to High Heaven Pavilion as hostages.

• The ninjutsu school exploited divisions within the Era of Ninshu and invaded, but an overlooked descendant of Otsutsuki Asura united neighboring nations and led them to victory.
• The Era of Ninshu and the neighboring nations formed the Alliance, while the second leader of ninjutsu began reforms and pursued peace with the Era of Ninshu.
• An assassin killed the second leader, and the new third leader stabilized the ninjutsu school while continuing reforms but rejecting diplomatic outreach.
• The two sides fought for nearly twenty years, and both leaders died in their final large-scale battle, deepening their generations-long feud.
• Over centuries, the Alliance weakened through internal disputes and ultimately lost its final war against the ninjutsu school, then dissolved after its nations surrendered.
• The defeated Ninja Sect submitted to the ninjutsu school and sent descendants to High Heaven Pavilion as hostages under the pretense of an exchange for study.

On Cloud Thunder Mountain, Zhi endured abuse from three privileged boys before the frail Kou came to help him. Watching them leave, the black-haired Kou realized the boy might be the ancient figure from the memories forced into his mind.

• Three black-robed boys mocked Zhi and burned his arm while using him as a living target.
• Zhi charged at the lead boy, but the boys retreated after hearing he might be protected by a member of the Clan of Gods; the lead boy knocked Zhi to the ground before leaving.
• Kou hurried over, coughing from exertion, and Zhi helped him recover while scolding him for leaving his room.
• Kou explained he had come because he heard Zhi was in trouble, and the two boys supported each other as they left the plaza.
• A black-haired Kou watched them with the Mangekyō Sharingan and wondered whether the frail boy resembled the elderly figure from his memories.

Kou observed Otsutsuki Ori and Otsutsuki Kou growing close, then realized Black Zetsu was manipulating their bond and using Ori’s blood to treat Kou’s illness. Kou used Heaven Manufacturing to fast-forward several years, turning the boys into fourteen-year-olds.

• Ori endured painful wounds while Zhi treated him, and the two boys reaffirmed their friendship and promised to explore together once Kou recovered.
• Kou studied the boys’ identities and recognized them as the reincarnations of Asura and Indra, whose lives were entangled by a thousand-year fate.
• Kou suffered a violent coughing fit, and Zhi gave him ancestral medicine that eased his symptoms.
• Kou noticed blood on Zhi’s bandages and deduced that Zhi had been adding his life-filled blood to Kou’s medicine for years.
• Kou concluded that Black Zetsu had engineered the boys’ circumstances and relationship as part of a long-term experiment.
• Kou activated Heaven Manufacturing and fast-forwarded several years, causing the boys to become fourteen.

Otsutsuki Ori returned to the Ninja Sect as the Ninjutsu School launched its purge, but the nations betrayed the Sect and Ori became a monstrous weapon in its desperate final battle. After the devastation ended the Ninja Sect, Kou learned how Ori had been transformed and set out on a separate path as the surviving disciples formed the group later known as the Demon Slayer Corps.

• Ori rejected the shadowy figure’s offer to escape and returned to the Ninja Sect, while Kou stayed behind and staged a fight that let Ori appear to have defected after wounding him.
• The Ninjutsu School attacked the Ninja Sect, but Ori rallied its forces and rebuilt the Ninja Sect Alliance until the allied nations betrayed them for the Ninjutsu School’s promises of sovereignty and access to the Sect’s technology.
• As the final encirclement began, Kou found Ori transformed by the God Tree branch into a crimson monster whose attacks devastated the armies and killed nearly every top combatant; Kou awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• After the catastrophe, Kou temporarily led the Ninjutsu School and learned from a surviving Ninja Sect representative that Ori had volunteered to become the first human host of the branch’s power.
• The Ninja Sect dissolved, Kou refused the disciples’ request to help him hunt Ori, and they set out on their own as the group later remembered as the Demon Slayer Corps.

Kou remembered how he and the Demon Slayer Corps sealed Ori beneath the Land of Whirlpools, where Kou stayed behind and died beside him. Centuries later, Kou opened his eyes in the secret realm and saw the stone statue of Ori looming over his own kneeling skeleton.

• During the Dark Age, Kou pursued Ori for decades while the Demon Slayer Corps developed a sealing technique.
• The Demon Slayer Corps and Ninja Sect forged Kagutsuchi from a God Tree branch, inherited techniques, and Kou's right Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Kou and the Demon Slayer Corps confronted Ori on a desolate island in an Osmanthus Forest and sealed him beneath the Land of Whirlpools.
• After entrusting Kagutsuchi to the Demon Slayer Corps, Kou used his final ocular technique to protect the seal and died beside Ori.
• The descendants who guarded the seal became the Uzumaki Clan, and centuries later they sensed Ori's life pulse cease.
• Kou opened his eyes in the secret realm and saw Ori's stone statue towering over his kneeling skeleton.

After hearing Mei Terumi's report, Kou considered how to use the gains from the Land of Whirlpools mission and planned to approach Orochimaru for help finding the graves of past Indra and Asura reincarnations. His memories of Orochimaru's child experimentation made him hesitate, just as a spatial distortion appeared in the room.

• Mei Terumi reported that her Land of Whirlpools mission succeeded with help from Uchiha Kou and brought back a scroll, while Kou hid his distraction behind his Sora identity.
• Kou reassured Mei Terumi that they were comrades and sent her to rest before turning his attention to the scroll and the mission's gains.
• Kou planned to study the Eternal World ocular technique, find the Great Ori Cutter, absorb chakra from Second Pillar and Uzumaki Naruto, and search for the remains of past Indra and Asura reincarnations.
• Kou considered partnering with Orochimaru, whom he believed could locate ancient graves, but recalled the child experimentation he had witnessed in Orochimaru's laboratory and recoiled at the idea.
• As Kou continued to hesitate, a vortex-like spatial distortion appeared in the center of the room.

Obito told Kou that Orochimaru had defected from Akatsuki after losing a fight with Itachi. He revealed that Orochimaru had fled toward the route Kimimaro was taking, leaving Kou alarmed for the returning mission operative.

• Kou hid the scrolls on his desk and acted casual when Obito appeared through a spatial vortex.
• Obito told Kou that Orochimaru had left Akatsuki after challenging Itachi and suffering a crushing defeat.
• Kou concealed his relief that Orochimaru had defected and questioned why Obito had come to tell him in person.
• Obito pointed out that Orochimaru had fled toward the direction Kimimaro had gone on his mission, and Kou’s expression shifted to killing intent.

Orochimaru attacked Jūzō Biwa and sought to take Kimimaro, but Kimimaro stood between them until Shiina Sora arrived and blasted Orochimaru away with Hiramekarei. The chapter ended with Sora emerging from the mist as Kimimaro called out to him.

• Orochimaru defeated Jūzō Biwa and prepared to kill him with Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
• Kimimaro returned to protect Jūzō Biwa, restrained Orochimaru’s snakes, and explained that Mist Village reinforcements were on their way.
• Orochimaru praised Kimimaro’s body and vowed to reshape his ideals before an attack interrupted him.
• Shiina Sora struck Orochimaru with Hiramekarei’s released chakra, sending him flying hundreds of meters away.
• Kimimaro recognized Shiina Sora as he emerged from the mist carrying Hiramekarei.

Kou stabilized Jūzō Biwa’s injuries and sent him away with Kimimaro before confronting Orochimaru. After Kou displayed a powerful Water Release slash with Hiramekarei, Orochimaru recognized a resemblance between his fighting style and that of someone who had once interested him.

• Kou used medical ninjutsu to stabilize Jūzō Biwa and asked Kimimaro to take him to the medical ninja.
• Kou reassured Jūzō Biwa and Kimimaro, then said he would deal with Orochimaru.
• Orochimaru emerged unharmed after shedding an outer skin and questioned how a powerful figure like Kou had remained unknown.
• Kou attacked Orochimaru with a massive Water Release chakra slash from Hiramekarei, but Orochimaru dodged it.
• Orochimaru judged Kou’s strength to be at least Kage-level and noticed his fighting style resembled that of someone who had interested him.

Kou fought Orochimaru while disguising his true strength as Shiina Sora, then used Orochimaru’s arrogance to lure him close. The chapter ended as Kou revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan and shocked Orochimaru.

• Kou judged that Orochimaru’s injuries and ignorance of Kou’s identity gave him a chance to seize control of the battle.
• Orochimaru attacked with Wind Release—Great Breakthrough, and Kou countered with Hiramekarei before filling the battlefield with the Hidden Mist Technique.
• Orochimaru saw through Kou’s mist tactics, but Kou used Bone Extract and Skin Pull to trap and strike an Earth Clone.
• Orochimaru bound Kou with giant snakes and threatened to trade him for the Kaguya Clan child, believing Kou was a sheltered novice.
• Kou pretended to rage at Orochimaru and let him approach, then revealed his Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Orochimaru recognized the Mangekyō Sharingan and cried out in disbelief.

Uchiha Kou used his Mangekyō Sharingan to subdue Orochimaru and make him a mindless puppet. After ordering Orochimaru to wait outside Mist Village, Kou sensed someone approaching as a masked man emerged from a space-time vortex behind him.

• Orochimaru recognized Kou and seethed with disbelief and jealousy that the man he had dismissed had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
• Kou mocked Orochimaru and declared that he would exploit his knowledge before killing him for good.
• Kou's Mangekyō Sharingan stripped Orochimaru of his self-awareness, and the snakes restraining Kou withdrew into Orochimaru's sleeves.
• Kou ordered Orochimaru to leave Mist Village and wait in the countryside southeast of the village that night.
• A masked man wearing a Black Cloak with Red Clouds emerged from a vortex of warped space behind Kou.

Kou and Obito discussed Orochimaru’s escape and Obito’s warning about Konoha’s recent movements before Obito departed. Kou returned to Hidden Mist’s duties, leaving the Anbu and patrol members to clean up the battlefield as he headed back to the village.

• Obito emerged from Kamui and asked Kou whether Orochimaru had escaped, then reassured him that avoiding exposure mattered more than capturing Orochimaru.
• Obito told Kou that Mist remained an important tool in weakening Konoha and the other ninja villages, and Kou reflected on his role as Shiina Sora.
• As Mist Anbu and patrol squads approached, Obito prepared to leave, and Kou thanked him for warning him that Orochimaru was coming for Kimimaro.
• Obito said he should be the one thanking Kou, then warned him of movement in Konoha and left through Kamui.
• Kou assigned the arriving Mist Anbu and patrol members to clear the battlefield and submit a restoration plan, reminding them to claim overtime pay.
• The Mist members thanked Kou and urged him to rest, and he headed toward Hidden Mist while briefly pausing in the mist.

Kou and Mei Terumi rejected Kimimaro’s request to train his Shikotsumyaku until his bloodline disease was cured, but Kou promised he had found a possible cure. Kimimaro then reported that Jiraiya was likely returning to Konoha, where Jiraiya arrived and reflected on his long absence.

• Kou discovered that Obito had stolen nearly all his red bean cakes and angrily cursed him.
• Mei Terumi checked on Kou after his fight with Orochimaru, and Kou reassured her that she had needed to remain in the Mist Village.
• Kimimaro asked to focus his training on the Shikotsumyaku, but Kou and Mei refused because of the bloodline disease.
• Kou told Kimimaro he had found a possible way to cure the disease and promised to prepare him for harsher training afterward.
• Kimimaro reported that he and Jūzō Biwa had met Jiraiya in the Land of Waves and believed he was heading back to Konoha.
• Jiraiya arrived at Konoha’s gates and quietly reflected on his return.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha after seven years and resolved to become the Fifth Hokage, but hearing villagers speak cruelly about Naruto left him furious. Before he could confront them, the terrified crowd fled from Naruto, whom Jiraiya then watched beat a fleeing man into submission.

• Jiraiya surveyed the rebuilt Konoha, looked at Minato's face on Kage Rock, and vowed to take responsibility for his mistakes and change the future.
• Jiraiya overheard villagers discussing Naruto as a demon fox and learned that Naruto had been staying close to the last surviving child of the Uchiha clan.
• Jiraiya moved to confront the two women, but a warning that Naruto was approaching sent the villagers fleeing and left the street deserted.
• A bruised man ran down the street begging for help, and Naruto struck him with a wooden club and stepped on his head.
• Naruto refused the man's plea for mercy and punched him while Jiraiya stared in shock.

Naruto beat a villager who had insulted the Uchiha clan, while Minato and Kushina argued in Naruto’s inner world over whether he should stop. Sasuke interrupted Naruto, and Jiraiya finally introduced himself as Naruto recognized him as his father’s teacher.

• Jiraiya saw Naruto beating a villager while hidden Anbu watched without intervening.
• Minato urged Naruto to stop, but Kushina told him to keep beating the man, prompting the Nine-Tails to roar at them.
• Naruto asked the villager what he had done wrong and confronted him for saying the Uchiha clan deserved to be wiped out.
• Sasuke arrived and told Naruto it was enough, so Naruto left the beaten villager and went with him.
• Jiraiya called after Naruto, and Naruto recognized him as Jiraiya-sensei.

Jiraiya met Naruto and learned from Kakashi’s words that Minato and Kushina might still be alive, then headed with Naruto to meet the Third Hokage. Sasuke left on his own, insisting he did not need to be treated like a child.

• Jiraiya introduced himself to Naruto and Sasuke, while Naruto’s parents recognized him from inside Naruto’s inner world.
• Kakashi arrived, lifted Naruto by the collar, and greeted Jiraiya, who was stunned by Naruto and Kakashi’s references to Minato and Kushina.
• Kakashi told Jiraiya that the Third Hokage was waiting and assigned Naruto to escort him there, which Naruto eagerly accepted as a mission.
• Sasuke walked away alone, telling Kakashi not to treat him like a child and declaring himself an avenger.
• Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Naruto headed for the Hokage Building as Anbu removed the injured man and villagers cautiously returned to the street.