Chapter Summaries

Kakuzu’s Sunagakure squad ambushed an Iwagakure camp and found Ōnoki there, leading to a clash between the two veterans. Kakuzu trapped Ōnoki in a transparent cube barrier, but the fight’s outcome remained unresolved.

• Ōnoki rushed out of the burning Iwagakure camp as Kakuzu’s squad attacked.
• Kakuzu rejected Ōnoki’s offer to switch sides and declared his loyalty to Rasa.
• Kakuzu launched black threads at Ōnoki, who raised an Earth Core barrier to stop them.
• Kakuzu’s Wind Release destroyed the barrier, and his Lightning Release struck Iwagakure ninja in the dust.
• Ōnoki avoided Kakuzu’s attack and enclosed him in a transparent cube-shaped barrier.

Ōnoki defeated Kakuzu’s body with Dust Release but let him and the Sunagakure team leave, then challenged Rasa to a duel at the Land of Birds border. He prepared for a fight he believed he had only a thirty percent chance of winning and named Kitsuchi the designated Fourth Tsuchikage if he died.

• Ōnoki used Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique to destroy Kakuzu’s left arm and Wind-Attribute Mask, costing Kakuzu one life.
• Kakuzu rebuilt his arm with Earth Grudge Fear threads and warned Ōnoki that defeating him completely would risk serious injury.
• Ōnoki asked Kakuzu to compare his strength with Rasa’s, and Kakuzu said Rasa was beyond the limits of a shinobi and on par with Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha.
• Ōnoki released Kakuzu, Baki, and the others, challenging Rasa to a duel at noon three days later at the border of the Land of Birds.
• Kitsuchi asked Ōnoki about his odds, and Ōnoki said they had fallen to thirty percent and named Kitsuchi the designated Fourth Tsuchikage if he died.

Kakuzu and Baki reported to Rasa that Ōnoki had challenged him to a duel in three days. Rasa accepted without concern and explained to Pakura why he believed Ōnoki was already afraid of him.

• Kakuzu and Baki returned to the command tent, where Rasa recognized that Kakuzu had encountered Ōnoki.
• Kakuzu told Rasa that Ōnoki had challenged him to a duel at the Land of Birds border in three days.
• Rasa ordered the Special Operations Team to pause its missions and dismissed Kakuzu and Baki to rest.
• Baki cautioned Rasa about Ōnoki's Dust Release, but Rasa insisted that Ōnoki had no chance of winning.
• Rasa told Pakura that Ōnoki's choice of location and offer about guards showed that he feared facing Rasa.

As Rasa and Ōnoki prepared to duel, spies from across the Shinobi World gathered to watch, and Orochimaru judged Rasa the clear favorite. Rasa arrived at the battlefield on his Gold Dust Throne, leaving Kisame with a strange sense of déjà vu.

• For three days, both armies held back while Rasa and Ōnoki prepared for their decisive duel.
• Ōnoki told Kitsuchi to lead Iwagakure home and become the Fourth Tsuchikage if he failed to return by sunset.
• Orochimaru told Minato that Rasa would win, citing his varied victories and continued growth, while privately hoping to obtain Ōnoki's cells.
• Kisame and Mei watched with the other gathered spies, and Mei admired Orochimaru and Minato before Kisame spotted Rasa approaching.
• Rasa arrived on a Gold Dust Throne with Kakuzu's special operations squad serving as his guard, and Kisame felt he had seen the scene before.

Rasa arrived at the battlefield with a commanding presence, and Orochimaru recognized that his body had become a perfectly balanced human physique. Ōnoki acknowledged Rasa’s greater strength but refused to call off their duel, and Rasa asked why he had challenged him despite having little chance of winning.

• Rasa made a dramatic entrance, captivating Mei Terumi and drawing the attention of the gathered observers.
• Minato Namikaze asked Orochimaru why Rasa seemed unlike an ordinary person, and Orochimaru explained that Rasa had become the Perfect Human.
• Orochimaru recognized Rasa’s flawless physique as evidence of the Celestial Organization’s power and eagerly studied him.
• Rasa scanned the onlookers and asked Ōnoki whether they should clear the battlefield, but Ōnoki let the spectators stay.
• Ōnoki sensed that Rasa had grown much stronger and lowered his estimate of his own chance of winning to twenty percent.
• Rasa asked Ōnoki why he had challenged him despite having no realistic chance of victory.

Rasa fought Ōnoki in the sky while Ōnoki tried to learn his limits and find a chance to use Dust Release. Rasa revealed his overwhelming speed and strength, leaving Ōnoki battered and asking whether he would keep using Earth Style.

• Mei Terumi admired Rasa, while Kisame warned her against pursuing a marriage alliance with him.
• Ōnoki admitted he had little chance of defeating Rasa but intended to risk his life to take him down, and Rasa challenged him to attack first.
• Ōnoki used Rock Fist attacks to test Rasa’s strength and speed, while Orochimaru explained his strategy to Minato Namikaze.
• Ōnoki reinforced a giant Rock Fist with Added-Weight Rock Technique, but Rasa blocked the strike with Gold Dust arms and Electromagnetic Force.
• Rasa suddenly struck Ōnoki with a propelled punch, then used Electromagnetic Force to catch up and attack him with a metal fist from his Mecha Technique.
• Ōnoki protected himself with rock armor and Light-Weight Rock Technique, survived the blow, and Rasa asked whether he would continue using Earth Style.

Rasa and Ōnoki fought in the sky as Rasa’s metal mecha overwhelmed the Tsuchikage. Ōnoki trapped the mecha in Dust Release, but Rasa escaped before it could hit him.

• Rasa raised metal stakes from underground, and Ōnoki was wounded before splitting the earth to destroy the metal forest.
• Rasa formed a metal mecha and attacked Ōnoki with six rapid punches while Minato Namikaze admired the technique’s name and Orochimaru considered its connection to Susanoo.
• Ōnoki’s back cracked as he struggled against the mecha, but he hardened his body to survive a devastating punch that drove him into the ground.
• Ōnoki emerged behind Rasa and trapped the mecha inside a Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu barrier.
• Mei Terumi wondered whether Ōnoki had killed Rasa, but Minato Namikaze and Orochimaru saw Rasa escape by dismantling the mecha’s back.

Rasa continued to overwhelm Ōnoki, avoiding Dust Release and breaking Ōnoki’s arm. He rejected Ōnoki’s refusal to surrender and explained that he would not try to unify the Shinobi World until Sunagakure’s forces were strong enough to govern it.

• Ōnoki used Dust Release to destroy Rasa’s Mecha, but Rasa emerged unharmed and explained how he rebuilt it from metal atoms.
• Ōnoki trapped Rasa with the Mountain Earth Technique and hurled a giant boulder, but Rasa broke free and shattered the boulder with his Mecha’s fists.
• Ōnoki tried to catch Rasa in another Dust Release barrier, but Rasa escaped and kicked him, breaking his left arm.
• Orochimaru and Minato Namikaze concluded that Ōnoki could not defeat Rasa, while Ōnoki made one more failed Dust Release attack.
• Rasa offered to spare Ōnoki if Iwagakure surrendered and ceded territory, but Ōnoki refused and accused Rasa of seeking to unify the Shinobi World.
• Rasa said Sunagakure lacked the forces to govern a unified world and kicked Ōnoki away again.

Ōnoki unleashed a life-consuming Dust Release technique to kill Rasa, but Rasa escaped and defeated him. As Rasa prepared to honor Ōnoki’s choice to die, Kitsuchi and Baki arrived with urgent news.

• Ōnoki resolved to stop Rasa and enclosed the battlefield in a barrier before unleashing his massive Limit Removal Technique.
• Rasa used electromagnetic propulsion to break through the stone wall and escape the Dust Release barrier, which then detonated.
• Rasa sensed that Ōnoki had survived underground, pulled him from the crater, and estimated that the technique had cost him decades of life.
• Ōnoki admitted defeat and chose death rather than living on in a weakened state.
• As Rasa raised his sword, Kitsuchi and Baki rushed up with urgent warnings.

Kumogakure’s invasion of the Land of Earth pushed the dying Ōnoki to his limits, and he died after securing Kitsuchi’s release. Rasa kept Ōnoki’s body as collateral, then learned that Kumogakure was also invading the Land of Wind, leaving Sunagakure under threat.

• Kitsuchi told Ōnoki that the Third Raikage had invaded the Land of Earth, and the news worsened Ōnoki’s condition.
• Ōnoki asked Rasa to let Kitsuchi go, and he died after Rasa agreed.
• Orochimaru signaled Rasa to keep Ōnoki’s body, so Rasa let Kitsuchi leave only after he accepted the body as collateral.
• Orochimaru sent Minato Namikaze back to report Ōnoki’s death, while Rasa sealed the corpse in a scroll.
• Baki told Rasa that the Third Raikage’s son was leading an invasion of the Land of Wind, and Rasa recognized Kumogakure’s simultaneous attacks as a grave threat.

Rasa left Baki and Kakuzu to lead Sunagakure’s forces against Kumogakure, then met Orochimaru and traded Ōnoki’s remains for research into Dust Release. The meeting ended when Minato Namikaze reported that Kumogakure was also attacking Konoha.

• Rasa learned that Kumogakure had four to six thousand troops and assigned Baki and Kakuzu to command Sunagakure’s more than four thousand shinobi.
• Rasa followed Orochimaru to a lakeside meeting and admitted that the Celestial Organization had transformed him into a Perfect Human.
• Orochimaru agreed to research Dust Release within two years in exchange for the chance to have his body improved, and Rasa gave him samples from Ōnoki’s corpse.
• The Five-Tails appeared, and Rasa arranged for it and Orochimaru’s snakes to serve as messengers between them.
• Minato Namikaze returned and warned Orochimaru that Kumogakure was attacking Konoha as well as the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

After returning to Sunagakure, Rasa upgraded his Electromagnetic Force Precision and discovered he could recombine metal at the atomic level and manipulate visible light. As his powers reached a godlike level, he felt increasingly isolated from ordinary people.

• Rasa returned to Sunagakure with Pakura and promised to train her so she could eventually face Kage Level opponents.
• Sunagakure celebrated after news spread that Rasa had killed Ōnoki, and Rasa handled village business and began preparing to marry two women.
• Rasa spent 2,000 points upgrading Electromagnetic Force Precision and learned to recombine metal, allowing him to create seamless metal constructs and improve his Mecha Technique.
• Rasa took Pakura to his training ground and used his new Visible Light Manipulation to leave her unable to see.
• Rasa realized he could block, capture, and bend visible light, then felt his growing power deepen his loneliness.

Rasa perfected his ability to bend visible light, trained Pakura, and celebrated his wedding before receiving Orochimaru as a visitor. Orochimaru delivered a generous gift from the Third Hokage and asked Rasa not to lead Sunagakure into war against Konoha.

• Rasa discovered that he could not yet create a powerful laser, then mastered bending light after nearly half a month of practice.
• Pakura trained with Rasa and learned to think more effectively during combat despite his deceptive attacks.
• Rasa and Pakura stopped training before the wedding, while Rasa's reputation and Sunagakure's confidence continued to grow.
• Rasa married his two brides in a grand celebration, with Chiyo helping prepare the wedding.
• Yashamaru told Rasa that Orochimaru had arrived from Konoha, and Rasa let him enter the village.
• Orochimaru gave Rasa a wedding gift from the Third Hokage and asked him to keep Sunagakure from attacking Konoha.

Rasa secured Sunagakure’s agreement to a defensive alliance with Konohagakure and advised Orochimaru on how to improve his chances of becoming Hokage. After escorting Orochimaru out, Rasa spotted Konan wandering outside Sunagakure’s gates.

• Orochimaru told Rasa that Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted a defensive alliance, and Rasa agreed on Sunagakure’s behalf.
• Orochimaru explained how Konohagakure’s leaders had voted and said Rasa’s recent victories had convinced him and Minato Namikaze to support the alliance.
• Rasa warned Orochimaru that Hiruzen Sarutobi would not choose him as Hokage because of his differences with Hiruzen and his ties to Shimura Danzō.
• Rasa advised Orochimaru to act more gently, distance himself from Danzō, and keep his experiments discreet and away from people in Konohagakure.
• Rasa escorted Orochimaru out of Sunagakure, then noticed Konan looking lost outside the village gates.

Konan told Rasa that she and Yahiko had failed to stop a puppeteer attacking the Land of You, and Rasa identified the enemy as Sasori of the Red Sands. Chiyo realized Sasori might also have killed the Third Kazekage, leaving the village to confront her grandson’s return.

• Konan told Rasa that Yahiko had accepted a mission to save the Land of You, where a puppeteer with at least a hundred puppets was slaughtering people.
• Konan explained that she and Yahiko had fought the puppeteer, lost, and escaped; Rasa recognized the description as Sasori and his Hiruko puppet.
• Konan said Yahiko’s strength had stalled while he studied, and Rasa comforted her in the Kazekage Office.
• Chiyo entered, learned the attacker was Sasori, and recognized him as her grandson.
• Rasa reasoned that Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage and fled with his body, and that he had now appeared again in the Land of You.

Rasa traveled to the Land of You under the alias Rako Mako to hunt Sasori after learning he had slaughtered the country’s people. He found Sasori attacking Nagato in Amegakure and revealed himself as a Celestial Organization ally sent to help.

• Rasa arranged for Konan to stay in Sunagakure while he finished his honeymoon, then left a Sand Clone to manage the village and headed to the Land of You in disguise.
• Rasa found the Land of You’s capital ruined and discovered a dying survivor, who said Sasori had gone east.
• Rasa promised to kill Sasori and hurried east, sensing chaos in Amegakure.
• Rasa arrived as Nagato and Tobi fought Sasori, who was controlling a hundred puppets through Hiruko.
• Rasa identified Nagato as a peripheral member recruited by Takizawa Luo Yamato and introduced himself as Rako Mako, captain of the Fifth Division of the Jingluo Court Thirteen Divisions, sent to help.

Rasa claimed to be a captain of the Celestial Organization’s Thirteen Court Guard Squads and revealed his supposed Soul Reaper powers while facing Sasori. He crushed Sasori’s hundred-plus Human Puppets with Reiatsu and overwhelming swordsmanship, leaving Nagato and Yahiko stunned.

• Rasa told Nagato that Jingluo Court housed the Celestial Organization’s headquarters and that Rasa and Nagato’s teacher Luo Yamato held captain-level strength.
• Rasa introduced himself as a Soul Reaper from Soul Society and revealed that Sasori had turned himself into a Human Puppet.
• Sasori sent over a hundred Human Puppets after Rasa, but Rasa released Reiatsu that made the fighters struggle to breathe and disrupted Sasori’s control.
• Sasori regained control of his puppets and launched another attack, but Rasa charged into their ranks and smashed every puppet in seconds.
• Nagato praised Rasa’s power, while Yahiko wondered how Rasa’s swordsmanship compared with Himura Kenshin’s.

Rasa defeated Sasori of the Red Sands while presenting his abilities as Shinigami disciplines, deepening Nagato and Yahiko’s belief that an organization was guiding him. After Rasa destroyed Hiruko, Sasori’s shell, the chapter left Sasori exposed in his youthful true appearance.

• Rasa destroyed Sasori’s Performance of a Hundred Puppets and explained his swordsmanship as a Shinigami skill called Zanjutsu.
• Sasori attacked Rasa with Hiruko’s poisoned scorpion tail, but Rasa used Flash Step to evade it and then shocked Sasori through the tail with Binding Lightning.
• Sasori severed the tail and took Rasa’s sword, but Rasa used hand-to-hand combat to smash Hiruko’s head and destroy the shell.
• Nagato and Yahiko concluded that Rako Mako and the Celestial Organization had helped Rasa become so powerful.
• Rasa dismantled Hiruko and revealed Sasori’s youthful true appearance, while warning that Sasori had lost most of his human emotions.

Sasori revealed his Human Puppet body and defended his pursuit of eternal life, but Rasa overwhelmed him with philosophical questions until Sasori destroyed his own body. Sasori survived by transferring his core into a Human Puppet made from the Third Kazekage and prepared to fight Rasa again.

• Sasori revealed that he had transformed himself into a Human Puppet and explained that puppets could achieve eternal life by replacing damaged parts.
• Rasa challenged Sasori's beliefs about identity and immortality, then confused him with a barrage of questions about who he was and his place in the Shinobi World.
• Sasori concluded that he had killed himself and used his Spiral Blades to tear apart his body, earning Rasa more than 500 points.
• Nagato warned Rasa as Sasori's core escaped the wreckage and transferred into the Third Kazekage Human Puppet.
• Sasori accused Rasa of destroying his precious body and declared that he would show the power of his finest puppet, made from the Third Kazekage.

Rasa confronted Sasori over his assassination of the Third Kazekage and used his Zanpakuto, Sakanade, to trap him in an inverted world. Sasori unleashed massive Iron Sand attacks, and Rasa answered with a powerful Kido blast that struck him as the chapter ended.

• Sasori admitted that he had killed the Third Kazekage after blaming him for the deaths of his parents.
• Rasa released Sakanade and reversed Sasori’s perception of the world, causing Sasori to attack in the wrong direction.
• Rasa stabbed Sasori while he struggled to orient himself, then explained that Sakanade’s layered inversions distorted his view of the battlefield.
• Sasori unleashed Iron Sand Drizzle in every direction, but Rasa and Nagato watched from a safe distance.
• Sasori formed Iron Sand wings and launched Iron Sand World Method across the battlefield.
• Rasa chanted Hadō #63: Raikōhō and blasted through the Iron Sand toward Sasori.