Chapter Summaries

Aizen faced the Divine Tree’s renewed attack while badly wounded, but Otsutsuki Kaguya stopped its giant arms by invoking her status as an Otsutsuki princess. Aizen admitted he had been careless and asked Kaguya to leave with him, though he remained curious about her power.

• The Divine Tree formed countless giant arms and sent them crashing toward Aizen as he prepared to escape.
• Otsutsuki Kaguya ran in front of Aizen and ordered the Divine Tree to stop, then invoked her status as an Otsutsuki princess.
• The Divine Tree halted its giant arms in midair, surprising Aizen and leading him to suspect Kaguya had a special status in its eyes.
• Kaguya warned Aizen that he could not defeat the Divine Tree and urged him to flee while she watched over it.
• Aizen acknowledged his mistake and asked Kaguya to leave with him, saying he had a way to get them both out.

Aizen tore open a spatial passage and escaped the Divine Tree’s attack with Otsutsuki Kaguya. They arrived on a distant hill, where Kaguya began healing Aizen’s injuries as he recognized her healing power as chakra.

• Aizen opened a spatial void and cut through a giant wooden arm to reveal White Snake.
• Aizen persuaded Otsutsuki Kaguya to leave with him, and they stepped through the spatial void as the Divine Tree attacked.
• The Divine Tree’s arms destroyed the battlefield after Aizen and Otsutsuki Kaguya vanished.
• Aizen and Otsutsuki Kaguya emerged on a verdant hill, beyond the Divine Tree’s reach.
• Otsutsuki Kaguya treated Aizen’s wounds with a green healing glow, and Aizen realized the sensation was chakra.

After the Divine Tree’s rampage, Lord Sensui’s people discovered the wounded Ancestor Country troops and learned that their Emperor was with them. Vermilion Bird hoped to discover how to control the Divine Tree, while Aizen recovered and questioned whether Otsutsuki Kaguya knew about ninjutsu.

• Lord Sensui ordered his people to bring the battered Ancestor Country troops to safety after spotting them in a ravine.
• Sensui learned that Ancestor Country’s Emperor was among the injured and went to meet him.
• Vermilion Bird threatened Zuo Nara with death unless he investigated what caused the Divine Tree’s disturbance.
• Vermilion Bird secretly dreamed of controlling the Divine Tree’s power and making the other countries submit.
• Otsutsuki Kaguya confirmed that Aizen’s arm had healed, and Aizen wondered whether she knew about ninjutsu.

Aizen learned that the Divine Tree came from Otsutsuki Kaguya’s world and that her clan had fought over its use in wars between worlds. After Kaguya shared her wish for peace, Aizen said he also wanted a world without war, leaving her excited by their apparent agreement.

• Kaguya stopped Aizen from leaving by clutching his trouser leg, worried he would fight the Divine Tree again.
• Aizen asked Kaguya about the Divine Tree, and she revealed that it came from her world and was revered by her clan.
• Kaguya explained that her clan split over using the Divine Tree to seize other worlds, and that her father’s side lost a war against the war faction.
• Kaguya asked whether Aizen supported using war to preserve a race, and he said he had been lamenting that every world faced conflict.
• Aizen told Kaguya that he wanted a world without war, and she eagerly asked whether he shared her hope.

Aizen and Kaguya agreed to learn about the world as they pursued their hope for a world without war. After arriving in the Land of That, they met farmers who warned them that Kaguya’s beauty could bring trouble.

• Kaguya told Aizen she believed in a world without war, and Aizen encouraged her to pursue that goal.
• Aizen proposed that he and Kaguya observe the world to understand it, and Kaguya agreed.
• Aizen and Kaguya walked past farmers in the Land of That, drawing their startled attention.
• Aikawa asked whether they were outsiders and warned them to leave the Land of That.
• Aikawa told Aizen that Kaguya’s beauty might bring them trouble there.

Aizen explained to Kaguya that inflated desire lay at the root of war as Lord Shikada arrived to seize Xiaoli and then targeted Kaguya. As Shikada’s warriors attacked Aizen, he proposed a game to test desire and war, and one attacker burst into a cloud of blood.

• Aikawa warned Aizen and Kaguya that Lord Shikada was approaching, while Aizen asked Kaguya why wars occurred and explained that human desire caused them.
• Lord Shikada demanded that Aikawa hand over Xiaoli, then kicked Aikawa aside when he pleaded for her safety.
• Shikada and his warriors fixated on Kaguya, and Shikada ordered them to seize Aizen by accusing him of being an enemy spy.
• Aizen told Kaguya that a small-scale war had begun from a single inflated desire, then proposed a game to test desire and war.
• A warrior swung his blade at Aizen, but the attacker suddenly burst into a cloud of blood.

Aizen began his game to test human desire and war by offering the people of the Land of That a chance to overthrow their rulers. After Aizen manipulated Aikawa into killing Shikada, Kaguya questioned humanity’s cruelty, and an anxious young girl hurried into the fields.

• Aizen killed a charging warrior with a mysterious power, then asked Kaguya to join his game; she accepted, hoping they would find a world without war.
• Aizen asked the villagers of the Land of That to become the country’s new rulers, while Shikada ordered his warriors to kill Aizen and Kaguya.
• Kaguya used her Byakugan to make the archers collapse and immobilize Shikada, and Aizen told her to spare them.
• Aizen whispered to the injured Aikawa, who attacked Shikada and hacked him to death with his own blade.
• Kaguya asked Aizen why people committed such cruel acts, and a young girl hurried toward the gathered villagers.

Aikawa accepted Aizen’s mission to rebel against Lord Vermilion Bird, convinced he had to secure protection for himself and Xiao Li. When the villagers refused to join him, he killed Karasawa, leaving Aizen to watch with interest.

• Xiao Li arrived and found Aikawa beside Shikada’s corpse, and Aikawa reassured himself that killing Shikada had been necessary to protect her.
• Aikawa asked Aizen whether his offer was genuine, and Aizen tasked him with persuading the villagers to overthrow their country’s rule.
• Aizen reminded Aikawa that the villagers had not helped him when he was threatened, and Aikawa agreed to rally them against Lord Vermilion Bird.
• Aikawa urged the villagers to rebel, but they recoiled in fear as Xiao Li pleaded with him to stop.
• Aikawa ordered Karasawa to kill one of Shikada’s men, then attacked him with a sickle and cut his throat when he refused.

Aizen used Aikawa to force the villagers to kill the fallen warriors, then promised to help them overthrow the Land of That. A month later, with most of the land engulfed in rebellion, Kaguya watched the stars and told Xiao Li she was remembering her homeland.

• Aikawa threatened the villagers into killing the unconscious warriors, and they soon joined in with apparent relish.
• Kaguya questioned Aizen about the killings, but he argued that the villagers faced death either way and called the violence part of his game.
• Aizen promised Aikawa and the villagers that he would help overthrow the Land of That and make them its new rulers.
• One month later, more than half of the Land of That had fallen amid a widespread uprising.
• Xiao Li brought Kaguya hot tea and asked why she watched the stars, and Kaguya said she was looking at the homeland where she had once lived.

Kaguya worried that she and Aizen had brought suffering and war to the Land of That, but Xiao Li reassured her that they had given the people hope and earned her support. Kaguya smiled, while Aizen studied an old record about the Divine Tree and received an urgent report from Aikawa.

• Kaguya told Xiao Li that her former world had been no better, then wondered whether she and Aizen were sinners for bringing war to the country.
• Xiao Li insisted that Kaguya and Aizen had given the people hope and courage to resist Vermilion Bird, and said she had always stood by Kaguya.
• Kaguya was moved by Xiao Li's support and smiled, delighting Xiao Li.
• Aizen examined an old scroll depicting the Divine Tree and asked White Snake if it was the key to defeating the tree.
• Aikawa arrived at the palace hall and knelt before Aizen to report a matter.

Aikawa sought Aizen’s help against a growing alliance, but Aizen urged him to pursue the throne himself by contacting the Emperor of Ancestor Country. Kaguya challenged Aizen’s view of the war as an experiment, and he left her questioning whether humans could ever restrain their desires enough to create a peaceful world.

• Aikawa reported that Vermilion Bird had allied with This Country and the Emperor of Ancestor Country, and pleaded with Aizen to intervene.
• Aizen refused to join the war and told Aikawa that the insurgent force and the throne of the Land of That could belong to him.
• Aizen advised Aikawa to contact the Emperor of Ancestor Country, believing that doing so could break apart the alliance.
• After Aikawa left, Aizen said he wanted to see what power desire could produce, while White Snake hid as Kaguya arrived.
• Kaguya explained that Xiao Li’s words had made her see their actions as an opportunity for people to change their fate, then objected to Aizen treating lives as a game.
• Aizen called humans test subjects for determining whether they could restrain their desires, and suggested that his own existence might already have disproved the possibility of Kaguya’s ideal world.

In the third year before the Divine Tree Era, Aikawa Nobunaga led a peasant rebellion against Vermilion Bird while facing an alliance of Vermilion Bird and Sensui. When Quchi Mitsuhide urged him to seek help from Aizen, Aikawa accused him of disrespecting the divine lord and ordered him removed, but Mitsuhide’s challenge stirred unease among the other leaders.

• Aikawa Nobunaga’s rebellion swept across the Land of That, though other separatist forces did not submit to him.
• Aikawa persuaded the Emperor of Ancestor Country not to join Vermilion Bird and This Country, but Vermilion Bird allied with Sensui anyway.
• Quchi Mitsuhide urged Aikawa to seek help from Aizen as their enemies approached.
• Aikawa accused Mitsuhide of harboring disrespectful thoughts toward Aizen and stripped him of his post.
• As guards dragged him away, Mitsuhide called Aikawa a puppet and urged the other leaders to demand an audience with Aizen.
• Aikawa ordered the guards to release Mitsuhide, rose, and approached him.

Aikawa killed Quchi Mitsuhide and claimed the Divine Tree had appointed him the Sixth Heaven Demon King to purge evil. His story spread through the armies and countryside, swaying rebels to join his cause as Vermilion Bird and Sensui’s forces advanced.

• Aikawa told Quchi Mitsuhide that his authority came from his lord, then killed him with a single sword strike when Mitsuhide charged.
• Aikawa declared Mitsuhide corrupted by evil and announced that Lord Aizen had named him Sixth Heaven Demon King to defend the Divine Tree against Vermilion Bird, Sensui, and their followers.
• Rumors of Aikawa’s title and victory spread through his rebel army, raising morale and convincing soldiers they were fighting for the Divine Tree.
• Soldiers in Vermilion Bird and Sensui’s approaching forces heard that their leaders were controlled by evil spirits and worried that they might be branded as enemies of the Divine Tree.
• A rebel leader in the Land of That ordered his troops to march through the night and join the Sixth Heaven Demon King.

Vermilion Bird and the Emperor of Ancestor Country suspected that Aikawa Nobunaga’s rise was tied to the visitors from beyond the heavens, while the Battle of Bimu began between the monarchist forces and the rebels. On a cliff overlooking the battlefield, Kaguya mourned the deaths their involvement had helped bring about.

• Vermilion Bird ordered a reward for whoever captured Aikawa Nobunaga and learned from Zuo Nara that two visitors from beyond the heavens had met the Emperor of Ancestor Country.
• Vermilion Bird suspected Aikawa Nobunaga was one of the visitors and vowed to make the Emperor pay if he retook the Land of That.
• The Emperor of Ancestor Country worried over the coming battle and wondered whether Aizen was the Divine Tree Great Luo Bright King.
• Vermilion Bird and Sensui led the monarchist forces into the Battle of Bimu against Aikawa Nobunaga’s rebels.
• Kaguya watched the armies clash from a cliff and lamented that their actions had caused so many people to die.

Aizen convinced Kaguya that absolute power could suppress humanity’s desires and create peace, directing her attention toward the Divine Tree as a source of strength. As the battle below reached a critical point, countless souls began surging toward Aizen.

• Aizen told Kaguya that only overwhelming power could restrain human desires and imprison war.
• Kaguya embraced the idea and thanked Aizen, believing she could create peace if she became unrivaled.
• Aizen privately considered how Kaguya’s ambition might fade and focused on absorbing the Divine Tree’s power to leave the world.
• Aizen suggested the Divine Tree’s power could help bring peace, and Kaguya reacted with hesitation and bashfulness.
• As the fighting below intensified and many people died, pale-blue souls surged toward Aizen.

Aikawa Nobunaga faced a losing battle against Vermilion Bird and Sensui, then took off his armor and marched onto the battlefield in a loincloth, declaring that the Divine Tree’s Great King Daluo had made him the Sixth Heaven Demon King. His soldiers followed him, while Aizen watched with interest as the Hogyoku absorbed the souls from the slaughter.

• Aizen observed the battlefield from a cliff as the Hogyoku devoured the souls of the dead.
• Aikawa Nobunaga learned that Vermilion Bird and Sensui’s forces were overwhelming his rebels, removed his armor, and insisted that no fiends or heretics could harm the Sixth Heaven Demon King.
• Aikawa Nobunaga walked toward the battlefield in a loincloth, and his soldiers overcame their doubts and followed him.
• Sensui and Vermilion Bird watched Aikawa Nobunaga’s bizarre entrance from the high ground and wondered what he was doing.
• Aizen and Otsutsuki Kaguya watched Aikawa Nobunaga, and Aizen wondered how far his powerful desire would carry him.

Aikawa Nobunaga arrived on the battlefield claiming to be the Sixth Heaven Demon King appointed by the Divine Tree Great Dharma King, and his overwhelming strength turned the battle in his favor. As the warriors of the Land of That began to believe the rumors and the rebels rallied behind him, Aikawa prepared to press his advantage.

• Aikawa Nobunaga confronted the rebels and the warriors of the Land of That, demanding they stop following Sensui and Vermilion Bird and harming the Divine Tree.
• Aikawa charged into battle wearing only a loincloth and killed a warrior of the Land of That with a single strike.
• The rebels cheered for Aikawa as several warriors of the Land of That attacked him, and he killed four of them in an instant.
• The warriors of the Land of That grew afraid and began to believe Aikawa was the Sixth Heaven Demon King, while the rebels' cheers grew louder.
• Aikawa reflected that Lord Aizen's power had helped him unsettle the battlefield, then raised his tachi and called for the extermination of evil.

Aikawa Nobunaga led the rebels to defeat the Land of That’s numerically superior army, earning their cries of “Sixth Heaven Demon King.” Watching from a cliff, Kaguya chose to descend to help the suffering people, while Aizen let her follow her conscience.

• Aikawa Nobunaga rallied the rebels, whose renewed charge broke the Land of That’s warriors’ morale.
• Sensui and Vermilion Bird ordered the Land of That’s forces to retreat, and Aikawa Nobunaga halted the rebels’ pursuit to avoid a counterattack.
• The exhausted rebels realized they had won and hailed Aikawa Nobunaga as the Sixth Heaven Demon King.
• Kaguya told Aizen she could not bear to watch the suffering and leaped down from the cliff.

Kaguya descended onto the battlefield after the battle and began healing the wounded, while Aikawa Nobunaga knelt before her in reverence. She left the soldiers amazed by her power as she continued treating them.

• Kaguya descended from the sky onto the battlefield, astonishing the survivors with her appearance and Byakugan.
• Aikawa Nobunaga rushed through the crowd, knelt before Kaguya, and worried that his soldiers might have offended her.
• Kaguya told Aikawa she had come to ease the wounded people's suffering and said she felt responsible for drawing them into the war.
• Aikawa ordered the soldiers to clear a path as Kaguya approached a badly wounded man.
• Kaguya used a warm white glow to heal the soldier's injuries, and he knelt to thank her as she moved on to help others.

Kaguya healed the wounded rebels after their victory, while Aizen worried that her efforts would hold her back. News of Aikawa Nobunaga’s victory and Kaguya’s arrival spread across the land, leading neighboring rulers—including Ancestor Country’s warriors—to fear the Divine Tree’s power and avoid helping Vermilion Bird and Sensui.

• Kaguya healed the wounded rebels one by one despite Aikawa Nobunaga’s attempts to persuade her to stop.
• Aizen watched Kaguya from a cliff and murmured that her healing work would only hold her back.
• News spread that Aikawa Nobunaga had defeated the larger army of the Land of That and was recognized as the Sixth Heaven Demon King.
• Reports that Kaguya had descended and healed the rebels led neighboring rulers to reconsider their ties with Vermilion Bird and Sensui.
• Warriors in Ancestor Country urged the emperor to sever ties with the Land of That and This Country after learning Aikawa Nobunaga was alive and in the Land of That.