Chapter Summaries

Shiro summoned Minato to share intelligence about Akatsuki and request help returning to Konoha. After learning that Tobi was using a living Uzumaki clansman’s body, Minato considered a rescue plan involving Shiro’s disciple Ayue and prepared to take Shiro back to the village.

• Shiro infused Minato’s Flying Thunder God kunai with Chakra and studied magecraft while waiting for him to arrive.
• Minato reached Shiro’s base near evening, and Shiro explained that he had summoned him mainly for a ride back to Konoha.
• Shiro told Minato that he had located Akatsuki members, including Tobi, who possessed a living Uzumaki clansman and was strong enough to make a rescue difficult.
• Minato agreed that they should try to rescue the clansman and considered how to capture Tobi without harming him.
• Shiro shared Ayue’s abilities and his plan for her to participate, and Minato said her involvement needed the Third Hokage’s approval.
• Shiro asked when they would return to Konoha, frustrating the exhausted Minato, who would have to transport him as well.

Minato returned to Konoha and, with the Third Hokage and Elder Mito, arranged a mission to rescue an Uzumaki clansman. The village prepared to send Elder Mito, Minato, Shiro, and Ayue, while the elders also began planning support for the Uzumaki Clan.

• Minato declined to take Shiro back to the village, agreed to meet him later, and returned to Konoha to seek suitable mission companions.
• Shiro returned to his Workshop, instructed Azu to gather intelligence and Ayue to prepare for battle, then resumed magical research.
• Minato reported Shiro's situation to Kushina and the Third Hokage, who decided to ask Elder Mito to lead the mission because Konoha lacked suitable personnel.
• Elder Mito agreed to go on the A-rank mission, and she and the Third Hokage approved Ayue's entry into the village under Anbu surveillance.
• The Third Hokage and Elder Mito decided the four-person team would depart at noon and tentatively set aside part of the Hawk Plan's benefits to support the Uzumaki Clan.

Minato and Mito waited at an inn in the Land of Rain for Shiro, who contacted them through a little girl’s coded question about Green Flash and Bloody Habanero. Minato noticed the innkeeper’s efforts to protect the girl, while Shiro watched the inn through a bird and received a report of the events.

• Minato and Mito settled into an inn in the Land of Rain but received no reply from Shiro despite waiting for him.
• A little girl arrived and asked the innkeeper about Green Flash and Bloody Habanero, alerting Minato that Shiro had arrived nearby.
• Minato searched for the source of the girl’s appearance but found no clues and accepted a scroll from the innkeeper.
• The innkeeper suspected Minato was probing for the girl’s location and went to prepare a hidden passage to protect her.
• A bird outside the inn recorded the scene and flew away after a blue flash appeared in its eyes, sending the information to Shiro.

Minato and Mito went to meet Ayue, the little girl sent by Shiro to assist them, and watched her set up a concealing barrier. When Ayue summoned a living puppet, Mito concluded that Shiro was conducting soul-related research and silently ruled him out as a Hokage candidate.

• Minato found strands of hair on the stairs and decided to tell Mito about the little girl before approaching her.
• Minato used Flying Thunder God to take Mito to the room where Ayue was waiting.
• Ayue activated a barrier that concealed the room from outside perception.
• Ayue greeted Minato and Mito, then summoned Xiao Yu, a small living bird puppet, to prove she was Shiro's disciple.
• Mito recognized signs of soul research in Xiao Yu and crossed Shiro off the list of Hokage candidates.

Ayue showed Minato and Mito Shiro’s message and detailed intelligence about the Land of Rain, then demonstrated the power of her Mystic Eyes. Her ability left both experienced ninja unable to move or use Chakra, and destroyed the barrier around them.

• Xiao Yu projected Shiro’s recorded message, directing Minato and Ayue to go to Amegakure and wait for his signal while he checked an enemy’s identity.
• Mito questioned whether Ayue could fight alongside them and insisted she prove her abilities before joining them.
• Minato and Mito reviewed Shiro’s detailed intelligence, set aside the Shopkeeper’s less complete information, and prepared to leave the next day.
• Ayue removed the Mystic Eye Killer and opened her eyes, binding Minato and Mito and causing the barrier to shatter.
• After about two seconds, Minato and Mito regained control of their bodies and stared at Ayue in alarm.

Ayue revealed her Mystic Eyes to Mito and Minato, who arranged to take her with them toward the Land of Rain. Meanwhile, Shiro joined Tobi’s group for a mission and met Kakuzu.

• Mito and Minato learned that Ayue’s Mystic Eyes could restrict both movement and Chakra, and Mito resolved to bring her to Konoha.
• Ayue stayed behind with Xiao Yu while Minato gave her a Flying Thunder God kunai for emergencies.
• The next morning, Mito, Minato, and Ayue left the inn quietly and traveled toward the Land of Rain while avoiding populated areas.
• Shiro explained his departure to Ayue and the others, then joined Tobi and Jingxia after being stopped on his way back from buying equipment at the Black Market.
• Tobi introduced Shiro to Kakuzu, who showed little interest in him while Jingxia awkwardly tried to smooth their relationship.

Shiro learned that the enemy camp had fewer people and attacked it to save lives and end the war. After the camp fell, Tobi proposed they wipe out the small country, and Shiro agreed while hoping to confirm Tobi’s identity.

• Shiro asked Tobi which side had more people, explaining that he wanted to sacrifice the minority to save the majority and end the war.
• Tobi said the enemy side had fewer people, but Kakuzu claimed the targets for himself; Shiro rushed into the camp after promising Kakuzu the payment.
• Shiro slaughtered the camp’s poorly trained defenders and found that most of its combat forces had likely left on another mission.
• Tobi said the mission counted as a success and proposed that they wipe out the small country; Shiro agreed, while Kakuzu left to pursue other bounty targets.
• Shiro told Tobi to lead the way, intending to see him fight and confirm his identity.

Shiro watched Tobi and Jingxia destroy a small nation, then agreed to join their group in exchange for intelligence about wars. Tobi gave Shiro the ring and codename “Azure Dragon,” leaving Shiro uncertain when they would go to Amegakure.

• Tobi and Jingxia attacked the small city, combining Fire Release and Wind Release to collapse its wall.
• Tobi fought the city’s ninja while Jingxia faced its lone jonin, and Shiro joined in when samurai surrounded them.
• Tobi unleashed a massive water wave that swept through the city, while an ally’s Wind Release shattered the jonin’s defensive wall.
• After the water receded, Shiro returned and thanked Tobi for his help; Jingxia complained that Tobi had nearly drowned him.
• Shiro agreed to join Tobi’s group if they provided intelligence about wars, and Tobi gave him a ring and the codename Azure Dragon.
• Shiro asked whether they were still going to Amegakure after Tobi handed him the ring.

Shiro realized he had wrongly assumed Akatsuki had taken over Amegakure, and he prepared a Flying Thunder God marker while worrying about Minato, Mito, and Ayue inside the village. Minato detected the marker, and Ayue confirmed its location as the group prepared to move.

• Shiro learned that Amegakure was only a cover and that Akatsuki had no intention of opposing the demigod there, making him reconsider his assumptions about Hanzo and Akatsuki.
• Worried that Minato, Mito, and Ayue might be in danger in Amegakure, Shiro projected a Flying Thunder God kunai and secretly activated its marker.
• Minato sensed Shiro's marker while eating with Mito and used their chopstick code to discuss the danger and their suspicions.
• Ayue noticed Minato and Mito communicating, set up a small barrier, and asked what was wrong.
• Minato showed Ayue a map, and she confirmed that the marker was near her master's location before Minato said they might need to move immediately.

Minato, Mito, and Ayue left Amegakure after learning Shiro might not arrive, then discovered they had no Flying Thunder God markers along the route to reach him quickly. Ayue proposed using Xiao Yu to carry a marker forward, leaving the group with a possible way to continue the urgent mission.

• Minato used the Flying Thunder God to take Ayue and Mito out of Amegakure after Ayue dismissed the barrier.
• Ayue contacted a little bird and learned that Shiro was in a particular direction, but Minato had no markers along the route.
• Mito worried that delays could jeopardize the mission, harm Minato's prospects, and prevent Ayue from joining Konoha.
• Ayue showed Minato a Flying Thunder God kunai and asked whether placing it midway would let him travel onward.
• Ayue brought Xiao Yu out of her pouch, intending to use the fast-flying bird to carry a marker, though Xiao Yu looked timid.

Shiro entered the Akatsuki’s Magic Lantern Body gathering while Ayue sent Useless Bird to deliver a Flying Thunder God kunai to Minato’s group. Shiro assessed the gathered members and discovered an Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan, but chose not to report him to avoid worsening tensions between the Uchiha and Konoha.

• Ayue sent Useless Bird flying with Minato’s Flying Thunder God kunai, and Minato was impressed by its speed.
• Minato, Mito, and Ayue waited and rested while Useless Bird headed toward the designated location.
• Shiro reached the stone, activated its formula, and entered the Magic Lantern Body gathering as he continued to look for a way to stall.
• Shiro examined the gathering and identified Nagato, Konan, Tobi, Kakuzu, and an Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
• Shiro decided not to report the unknown Uchiha to Konoha because doing so could worsen relations between the village and the clan.

Shiro attended an Akatsuki meeting, where Tobi introduced him as Wangquan and Nagato asked about his plan to end war. Shiro shared a force-based concept of justice to stall for time, then learned little from the introductions before Yao and Kakuzu left.

• Nagato asked Tobi to introduce Shiro, and Tobi presented him as Wangquan, noting his recent victory over Kameda Jiro and his wish to create a world without war.
• Shiro concluded that the Uchiha speaking to him was not Uchiha Madara, while Kakuzu silently indicated that he had already dealt with Shiro and expected to profit from partnering with him.
• Nagato asked Shiro how he planned to end war, and Shiro described a concept of justice that Nagato judged too similar to his own approach and likely to cause many deaths.
• Tobi introduced Yao, Kakuzu, Konan, Nagato as Zero, and himself, while Shiro gained no useful intelligence from the projected figures.
• Yao complained about the meeting and left, and Kakuzu departed without saying anything.

Shiro tested a genjutsu on Jingxia and Tobi while they cleaned up the battlefield, then lured them into a confrontation with Minato and Konoha. As pitcher plants rose around Shiro and Jingxia, Shiro called out to Ayue.

• Nagato dismissed Wangquan’s approach as impractical but kept him and Kakuzu on the team while he continued training.
• Shiro joined Jingxia and Tobi in gathering money from the battlefield, then used a genjutsu to make Jingxia believe in his gentle nature.
• Tobi recognized that something was wrong and broke Jingxia out of the genjutsu, prompting Shiro to admit he had been testing ninjutsu.
• Shiro revealed that he had kept Tobi talking to draw him out until Minato Namikaze and Mitokado Homura arrived.
• Jingxia panicked and activated a technique that raised pitcher plants around himself and Shiro, who calmly called to Ayue.

Shiro, Ayue, Mito, and Minato captured Tobi and Jingxia after Shiro used Enkidu and Rule Breaker to expose Tobi’s disguise and sever his possession. Tobi lost consciousness after sending information to Madara’s side, leaving Shiro to consider what he could do with the two rings.

• Ayue froze Tobi and the others with her mystic eyes, while Shiro used Enkidu to bind Tobi and Mito kicked Jingxia free and sealed him.
• Shiro asked Mito and Minato to help restrain Tobi, then stabbed him with Rule Breaker and exposed the white-faced figure he had possessed.
• Tobi prepared to flee with Levitation Technique, but Enkidu pierced him before he could escape.
• Minato and Mito sealed Tobi unconscious as he managed to send information to Madara’s side, including that Mizuki was captured and his Transformation Technique was exposed.
• Shiro looked at the two rings and considered what he could do with them.

Shiro arranged for Minato to take Elder Mito and Tobi back to Konoha while he continued his own work with Ayue. He then headed toward the village with the rescued Uzumaki Tiezhu, leaving his strength and abilities still uncertain.

• Shiro offered to take the Uzumaki Clan elder with Ayue and asked Minato to collect him later, and Elder Mito approved the arrangement.
• Elder Mito praised Shiro, told him to clean up the matter of his mask before returning to the village, and gave him a remade forehead protector.
• Minato recovered and used the Flying Thunder God to take Elder Mito and Tobi away.
• Shiro summoned a giant bird, loaded the sealed Jingxia and unconscious Uzumaki Tiezhu onto it, and set off for Konoha with Ayue.
• Shiro recalled that Uzumaki Tiezhu was a talented seal user and Earth Release practitioner, but reminded himself that Tiezhu was not an enemy.

Shiro brought Ayue back to the Magecraft Workshop and set aside his other plans after gaining inspiration for the magecraft he had been developing. Over the next half a year, he refined it and integrated his magecraft knowledge, then demonstrated its power against a group of samurai.

• Shiro and Minato handed Jingxia and Uzumaki Tiezhu over near Konoha, and Shiro brought Ayue back to the Magecraft Workshop.
• Shiro refused Minato's proposal to keep Ayue in Konoha, deciding that her Mystic Eyes made the village too dangerous for her.
• After gaining inspiration from the Magecraft Scroll, Shiro postponed Heroic Spirit Synchronization and resumed developing magecraft in the First Experimental Zone.
• Over the next half a year, Shiro learned from repeated beatings, improved his magecraft, and spent most of his mission reward rebuilding the First Experimental Zone.
• Shiro used his completed magecraft, which he called "Return to zero," to withstand the samurai's attacks and defeat or cripple many of them before telling someone else to handle the rest.

Over six months, Shiro established his magecraft system and developed an attack-canceling technique, then tested it while taking part in a small-country war to improve his combat skills and Heroic Spirit Synchronization. The chapter also revealed that Shiro had destroyed part of Amegakure and framed the Akatsuki organization for the attack.

• Shiro developed magecraft that could cancel ordinary attacks and some unenhanced C-rank ninjutsu, then tested it in six small battles.
• Shiro fought on the side with greater numbers in a small-country war and learned to coordinate with the main force instead of trying to win battles alone.
• Shiro used the Heroic Spirit Synchronization plan and his Heroic Spirit Card while participating in battles and cultivating his skills.
• Shiro controlled a ninja, disguised him as his wounded self, and sent him into Amegakure to draw out Hanzo.
• Shiro made the controlled ninja detonate Explosive Tags in Amegakure while claiming to be an Akatsuki member, leaving the village in flames and blaming the organization.

Shiro used his apparent death as the Smiling Wind Demon to escape suspicion, while intelligence groups and the village treated his alternate identity as dead and erased records connecting him to it. At camp, he trained Clairvoyance and searched for a Noble Phantasm that could teach him High-Speed Incantation.

• Shiro left Hanzo and Nagato believing he had died as the Azure Dragon, though both suspected the death was staged.
• Other intelligence organizations concluded the Smiling Wind Demon was probably dead after he vanished for half a year, while keeping open the possibility that he had survived.
• Mito and the Third Hokage arranged to erase village intelligence linking Shiro to the Smiling Wind Demon.
• Shiro trained Clairvoyance at camp and considered which skills he could develop through projected Noble Phantasms.
• Shiro chose to seek High-Speed Incantation to help him use his future Reality Marble, but had not found a Noble Phantasm that could teach it.

A year passed as Konoha prospered through its Bird Puppet transportation system, while Shiro’s intervention kept Kakashi studying and changed the lives of his friends. Shiro finally returned to Konoha after years away.

• Konoha expanded its civilian Bird Puppet transportation network and invested its profits in the Ninja Academy to avoid alarming the Daimyo.
• Shiro’s guidance kept Kakashi at the academy, where he developed Chidori and worked to address its drawbacks, though his resentment toward Shiro grew.
• Kakashi grew closer to Obito, Might Guy, and Rin, while Obito began to win Rin’s affection after Kakashi’s idealized image faded.
• Duy became an Elite Jonin, and Might Guy’s improved training and support helped him rise above the bottom of his class, leaving Obito there alone.
• Shiro arrived back in Konoha after a long absence.

Emiya Shiro returned to Konoha with his disciple, Emiya Yue, after a year of training, but the changes to his appearance made the gate guards unable to verify his identity. They waited outside the village while Konoha sent for someone who knew Shiro.

• Two cloaked figures arrived at Konoha's gate, and the guards watched them warily while preparing to raise the barrier.
• Emiya Shiro and Emiya Yue removed their hoods, and Shiro identified himself as a former trainee returning with his disciple.
• Shiro asked the guards to contact Kushina or the Hokage, and they agreed while keeping him outside the village.
• Shiro reflected on his year of training, which had greatly improved his abilities but turned his hair white and changed his appearance.
• The guards sent for a sensory ninja familiar with Shiro, while Shiro and Ayue waited at the gate.