Chapter Summaries

Manji revealed his overwhelming power to Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, then invited them through a portal. In Shikkotsu Forest, Wanzhao mastered Immortal Art in half a month, while the Slug Sage recalled that a mysterious young man had learned it in half a day.

• Manji’s divine pressure convinced Orochimaru that he was the real Sage of Six Paths, while Kabuto Yakushi watched in shock.
• Manji told Orochimaru that he still saw him as the little Orochimaru, opened a portal, and invited him to bring Kabuto Yakushi along.
• Wanzhao mastered Shikkotsu Forest Immortal Art in half a month, and Tsunade warned him to use it to protect himself and others.
• The Slug Sage said the First Hokage had taken three months to master Immortal Art, then recalled that an unnamed young man from over a thousand years ago had learned it in half a day.

Wanzhao impressed the Slug Sage and Tsunade by mastering Senjutsu in half a month, then returned home with Manji and Tsunade. At the Akatsuki base, Uchiha Itachi joined the organization, cut his Konoha Forehead Protector, and was paired with Biwa Juzo.

• Wanzhao proudly told Manji that he had learned Senjutsu in half a month, and Manji praised him.
• Manji explained to Tsunade that Minato had sent him to investigate Orochimaru, while Wanzhao overheard Tsunade's flirtatious suggestion.
• Obito Uchiha assured Pain and the Akatsuki members that their new recruit was not a spy and had no way back to Konoha.
• Uchiha Itachi arrived at the Akatsuki base, accepted Pain's invitation, and slashed his Konoha Forehead Protector.
• Pain gave Itachi the Vermilion Bird ring and assigned Biwa Juzo as his partner.

At the Konoha Ninja Academy evaluations, Wanzhao tested his Shikkotsu Forest training against Sasuke and won their sparring match with a single powerful punch. After they reconciled, Iruka declared Wanzhao the winner, and Ino rushed to offer him water.

• Iruka announced the first match between Sasuke, called Second Pillar, and Wanzhao as their classmates gathered to watch.
• Sasuke charged at Wanzhao and opened his one-tomoe Sharingan, but Wanzhao struck with Strength of a Hundred Fist without using Sage Mode.
• Wanzhao moved too quickly for Sasuke to follow and sent him flying with a punch that used only part of his strength.
• Wanzhao offered Sasuke a hand, and Sasuke got up, admitted he had not been prepared, and formed a reconciliation seal with him.
• Iruka announced Wanzhao as the winner, and Ino hurried over with a bottle of water for him.

Wanzhao accepted Ino’s invitation to spend time together, and three years later he asked Manji to arrange for them to be on the same team. Manji agreed to negotiate with the Ino-Shika-Cho clans and promised to put Wanzhao and Ino together.

• Wanzhao invited Ino to study the First Hokage’s ideas about the Will of Fire at the library, and she eagerly accepted.
• Three years later, Manji found Wanzhao hiding in his room with Ino’s photo and teased him before asking which class he wanted to join.
• Wanzhao rejected Might Guy’s class and Team 7, then told Manji he wanted to be in the same class as Ino.
• Manji proposed a team with Wanzhao, Ino, and Torune Aburame, and Wanzhao agreed on the condition that he and Ino were assigned together.
• Manji promised to negotiate with the three clans and split up the Ino-Shika-Cho generation so Wanzhao could team up with Ino.

Manji arranged for Wanzhao and Ino to be placed on the same team, overriding the Ino-Shika-Cho clans’ objections. Wanzhao, Ino, and Torune joined Team One under Yamato, while Shikamaru and Choji were separated from Ino.

• Manji reassured Wanzhao about his relationship with Ino and said he would handle their team placement.
• Manji informed Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and Choza Akimichi that Ino would team up with Wanzhao and Torune, and they reluctantly agreed.
• At the placement ceremony, Team One was announced as Yamanaka Ino, Torune Aburame, and Wanzhao.
• Ino happily joined Wanzhao, while Shikamaru and Choji reacted to being separated from her.
• Team One gathered to meet their instructor, Yamato, and discussed their roles and teamwork.

Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi arrived at Mount Myōboku and discovered a highly advanced society that offered them access to powerful scientific knowledge. In Konoha, Wanzhao reflected on the Ninja World's cruelty and blamed chakra for its troubled path, leaving Ino to ask what was wrong.

• White Zetsu welcomed Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi, gave them identification cards, and explained that they could no longer interfere in worldly affairs.
• White Zetsu showed Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi Mount Myōboku's advanced institutions and suggested they visit its library to learn lost knowledge and the truth of the world.
• Wanzhao recalled the violence he had witnessed on missions and contrasted the Ninja World with the peaceful society his father, Manji, had described.
• Wanzhao concluded that chakra had led the Ninja World toward cruelty and wished he had been born in his father's world.
• Ino approached Wanzhao at the training grounds and gently asked why he seemed unhappy.

Wanzhao wondered whether a world without Chakra could be better, and the thought led him to imagine taking Chakra away from everyone before he rejected the idea because his loved ones possessed it. Meanwhile, Gamamaru dreamed of a figure who would bring upheaval to the Ninja World, but Manji dismissed the warning and Gamamaru suspected his teacher might be planning another purge.

• Wanzhao and Ino discussed a world without Chakra, and Ino imagined helping at her mother's flower shop.
• Wanzhao considered reclaiming all Chakra or killing its users, then reminded himself that his parents and Ino had Chakra and pushed the thoughts aside.
• Ino named Hashirama Senju, the Second Hokage, Madara Uchiha, and the Third Hokage among the strongest living figures, and identified the Sage of Six Paths as the strongest in legend.
• Gamamaru woke from a terrifying dream about someone who could bring new life or destruction to the Ninja World and sent a warning to Manji.
• Manji reassured Gamamaru and dismissed the prophecy, while Gamamaru wondered whether Manji would launch another Six Paths Demon Purge.

Jiraiya returned to Konoha and asked Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō why Orochimaru had left the village. After learning Orochimaru had fled out of fear of Manji’s new regime, Jiraiya hid his concern behind jokes and wondered whether Mount Myōboku could help him find Orochimaru.

• Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō discussed Manji’s leadership and Konoha’s peaceful development while playing Go.
• Jiraiya returned from traveling and greeted Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō.
• Jiraiya asked Shimura Danzō why Orochimaru had left Konoha, and Danzō said Orochimaru had feared being implicated after Danzō lost power.
• Sarutobi Hiruzen regretted Orochimaru’s departure, while Jiraiya reflected on their close bond.
• Jiraiya joked about visiting a massage parlor, then left while privately wondering whether Mount Myōboku could help him find Orochimaru.

As Tsunade and Manji shared a private moment at the hospital, Namikaze Minato decided to investigate Amegakure’s suspicious activity near the Land of Fire. Hatake Sakumo accepted the infiltration mission and planned to go alone.

• Tsunade visited Manji in his hospital ward, and the two flirted and kissed.
• Namikaze Minato reviewed intelligence about Amegakure’s unusual activity near the Land of Fire and considered who could investigate it.
• Minato ruled out several candidates and chose Hatake Sakumo as the most suitable operative.
• Minato briefed Sakumo on the suspected deployment of an unidentified ninja force in Amegakure.
• Sakumo accepted the mission and said he would infiltrate Amegakure alone.

Hatake Sakumo infiltrated Amegakure on a mission from Minato Namikaze and discovered the village under the control of Deva Path Pain and Akatsuki. Sasori went after Sakumo to avenge his parents, while Pain prepared additional forces to ensure the intruder was stopped.

• Hatake Sakumo left Konoha without disturbing Manji, Ino, and Wanzhao, then said goodbye to his wife and departed on his mission.
• After two days of travel, Hatake Sakumo reached Amegakure and noticed that rain seemed to fall only around the village.
• Hatake Sakumo infiltrated Amegakure and found the village unusually subdued, with origami angels displayed outside its shops.
• When Hatake Sakumo asked a fish vendor about Hanzō of the Salamander, the vendor and nearby residents reacted with fear and suspicion.
• Deva Path Pain identified Hatake Sakumo as Konoha's White Fang, and Sasori insisted on confronting him to avenge his parents.
• Deva Path Pain allowed Sasori to attack and revealed that he had also mobilized the Animal Path, Preta Path, and Human Path.

Hatake Sakumo fought Sasori and his puppets in the rain while Deva Path Pain and Konan watched from a tower. In Konoha, Manji learned from Tsunade that Sakumo was on a classified S-rank mission and wondered where he had gone.

• Hatake Sakumo dodged Sasori's poison-coated attacks and recognized Sasori as the son of the people he had killed.
• Sasori unleashed his Performance of a Hundred Puppets and then sent more puppets to surround Hatake Sakumo.
• Hatake Sakumo fought through Sasori's assault, cutting strings and destroying puppets while avoiding their poison.
• Deva Path Pain told Konan not to intervene yet and continued watching Hatake Sakumo fight.
• Tsunade told Manji that Hatake Sakumo was on an S-rank mission, and Manji asked where he had gone.

Hatake Sakumo was trapped and killed by Sasori, Pain, and Konan in Amegakure after his attempt to flee failed. Obito Uchiha arrived afterward and warned that Konoha might send Manji next, while Pain refused Sasori’s proposal to attack Konoha.

• Hatake Sakumo tried to escape Amegakure, but Konan destroyed his Ninja Hawk and its message before it could reach Konoha.
• Hatake Sakumo fought Sasori and the three Pain paths, but poison and repeated attacks overwhelmed him.
• Sasori killed Hatake Sakumo with a poisoned puppet blade, and Animal Path Pain warned that Konoha would send more people.
• Sasori urged Pain to attack Konoha, but Animal Path Pain refused because the Tailed Beast plan had to continue without provoking the nations.
• Obito Uchiha arrived, acknowledged Sakumo’s death, and questioned whether the group could face Manji if Konoha sent him next.

After learning that Hatake Sakumo had been sent to investigate Akatsuki in Amegakure, Manji feared he was dead and decided to go there himself. Tsunade broke down at the prospect of losing Manji too and begged him not to leave.

• Obito told Pain that Jūzō was dead, named Kisame as Itachi's new partner, and suggested recruiting Hidan and Deidara.
• Manji asked Minato about Sakumo and learned he had been investigating Akatsuki in Amegakure for a week.
• Manji warned Minato that Sakumo was likely lost, citing Akatsuki's Rinnegan-wielding leader, and stopped Minato from rushing to Amegakure himself.
• Manji promised Minato he would go to Amegakure, then told Tsunade he might have to recover Sakumo's news or body.
• Tsunade grabbed Manji and pleaded with him not to go, fearing he would never return.

Manji and Tsunade traveled together to Amegakure after learning that Hatake Sakumo had died. They entered the village under the rain, which Manji revealed was a sensory technique, and he deliberately let its caster detect them.

• Tsunade insisted on accompanying Manji to Amegakure, and he agreed.
• Manji and Tsunade said goodbye to Wanzhao and left for the Land of Rain.
• White Zetsu informed Manji that Hatake Sakumo was dead before the pair reached Amegakure.
• Manji and Tsunade recalled their earlier encounter with Hanzō of the Salamander as they approached the village.
• Manji explained that Amegakure's rain was a sensory technique and said he had allowed its caster to detect them.
• Manji spotted someone from the original story near a lively tavern.

Manji and Tsunade entered Amegakure and were confronted by six Akatsuki members while Pain prepared to face them. The chapter ended with Animal Path Pain declaring himself Amegakure’s leader and god.

• Manji and Tsunade spotted a woman who resembled Tsunade as they walked through Amegakure in the rain.
• Deva Path Pain sensed Manji and Tsunade, then ordered Konan to send the Akatsuki members to meet them.
• Konan announced the intruders’ identities in the basement, prompting Itachi, Kakuzu, and A-Fei to privately consider their ties to Manji.
• Manji and Tsunade entered a dead end, where Sasori, Kisame, Kakuzu, Itachi, A-Fei, and Zetsu surrounded them as Obito watched from hiding.
• Animal Path Pain dropped in front of the group, introduced himself as Amegakure’s leader, and declared, “I am god!”

Manji and Tsunade confronted the Akatsuki to retrieve Hatake Sakumo’s remains, but Pain refused and ordered the group to attack. Manji’s crimson Rasengan overwhelmed their jutsu and destroyed Pain’s Stone Panda, and the chapter left Pain summoning the Preta and Human Paths to face him.

• Manji demanded that Pain return Hatake Sakumo’s remains, but Pain refused and declared that Manji and Tsunade would die.
• Itachi, Kisame, Sasori, A-Fei, and Kakuzu attacked Manji together with their jutsu.
• Manji unleashed an Ultra-Big Ball: Deep Crimson Rasengan that swallowed the Akatsuki’s attacks and raced toward them.
• Pain summoned a Stone Panda to block the Rasengan, but it cracked apart and crumbled under the attack.
• Pain summoned the Preta Path and Human Path, forming a triangle with Animal Path as Tsunade prepared to fight beside Manji.

Manji and Tsunade searched Amegakure for Hatake Sakumo’s body and confronted Deva Path Pain and the full Six Paths of Pain. Manji unleashed Rasengan Uzuhiko and destroyed four Paths, leaving Deva Path and the remaining Paths facing him.

• Manji used Flying Thunder God to escape with Tsunade, and Pain ordered Konan to search for them.
• Manji and Tsunade agreed to retrieve Hatake Sakumo’s body and found Deva Path Pain waiting outside the hidden warehouse.
• Tsunade recognized Deva Path as Yahiko and argued with him over Konoha’s role in the wars.
• The other five Paths joined Deva Path, surrounding Manji and Tsunade.
• Manji struck down Asura Path with Chidori and destroyed Human Path with a Rasengan.
• Manji’s Rasengan Uzuhiko exploded inside Animal Path and Preta Path, destroying both before he reappeared beside Tsunade.

Manji defeated four of Pain’s paths in Amegakure and escaped with Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo’s body. Obito Uchiha resolved to accelerate the Tailed Beast capture plan, while Pain began questioning why he had not intervened.

• Manji destroyed four of Pain’s paths, carried away Hatake Sakumo’s body, and fled with Tsunade using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
• Nagato used the Naraka Path to restore the destroyed paths while Konan ordered the Akatsuki members to withdraw and secure Amegakure.
• Obito Uchiha and White Zetsu arrived and reacted to Manji’s overwhelming strength; Pain speculated that Manji had used a life-consuming forbidden technique.
• Obito considered reviving Madara Uchiha, Uchiha Izuna, and Tobirama Senju, but resisted becoming their pawn and ordered Pain to speed up the Tailed Beast capture plan.
• Pain asked Obito why he had not appeared to stop Manji.

Manji withdrew from his clash with Akatsuki, then secretly met with Kakuzu and Uchiha Itachi inside the organization’s base. After hearing Itachi’s report about Pain and the man calling himself Uchiha Madara, Manji told Itachi to stay undercover and reassured him about his younger brother.

• Manji used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape with Tsunade and Hatake Sakumo’s corpse, explaining that he had withdrawn to avoid Akatsuki reinforcements.
• Kakuzu received a hidden message from Manji and met him in the restroom, where Manji teased him before sending him back to the lounge.
• Uchiha Itachi sensed a hidden fluctuation, met Manji, and reported that Pain led Akatsuki publicly while the man calling himself Uchiha Madara controlled it behind the scenes.
• Uchiha Itachi told Manji that Akatsuki was divided and that Uchiha Madara had Kisame monitor him.
• Manji ordered Uchiha Itachi to remain undercover, reassured him that his younger brother was doing well, and Uchiha Itachi left the restroom in high spirits.
• A-Fei hurried into the restroom after Uchiha Itachi left.

Manji told A-Fei that his assessment had been passed and promised body modifications for the White Zetsu, then reassigned the pitcher-plant White Zetsu to Mount Myōboku’s Sage Hall. After Manji and Tsunade reported Hatake Sakumo’s death to Namikaze Minato, they advised Konoha to avoid conflict with Akatsuki for now.

• Manji told A-Fei that he had passed his assessment and would finish his mission in about four years.
• A-Fei reminded Manji of his promise to modify the White Zetsu, and Manji said Mount Myōboku had begun preparing the changes.
• The pitcher-plant White Zetsu told Manji that he had served under Kaguya and Hikari, and Manji assigned him to the Sage Hall after the mission.
• Sasori grew suspicious when the two White Zetsu entered the restroom and sent a miniature puppet to investigate, but it found the room empty.
• Manji told Namikaze Minato that Hatake Sakumo had died and advised Konoha to avoid a major conflict with Akatsuki.
• Tsunade supported Manji’s account, and Namikaze Minato agreed that Konoha should endure and stabilize the situation.