Chapter Summaries

Ryōken asked Hyuga Hiashi to search the Land of Fire for a cave, then reunited with Konan and Yahiko and brought them to Ryūchi Cave to meet Orochimaru. There, Konan and Yahiko explored the laboratory and marveled at the enormous dead White Snake Sage.

• Ryōken showed Hiashi that Hiwa's Byakugan had grown powerful and asked the Hyuga Clan to find a cave in a dense forest near a river and waterfall within the Land of Fire.
• Hiashi agreed to organize the search, then ordered his clan to gather and describe the two visitors who claimed to be Ryōken's students.
• Konan and Yahiko met Ryōken and Hiwa at the Hyuga compound, and Ryōken took them on a tour of Konoha before heading to Ryūchi Cave.
• Hiwa clung to Ryōken in fright when she saw snakes at Ryūchi Cave, while Konan and the others laughed at her.
• Ryōken startled Orochimaru with his speed, then Konan and Yahiko explored the laboratory and saw the dead White Snake Sage.
• Konan flew onto the White Snake Sage's head and ordered Yahiko to pay his respects.

Ryōken learned that Orochimaru had developed a natural-energy cultivation method for youths cleansed of chakra, and he invited Konan and Yahiko to try it. Konan was recognized by heaven and earth as exceptionally gifted, while Yahiko entered Orochimaru’s care for the chakra-removal process.

• Orochimaru explained that the youths were cultivating natural energy after the Life Source Elixir removed their chakra, and that their bodies had gained vitality and longevity.
• Ryōken saw that the youths’ fortune guided their cultivation and noticed that Orochimaru’s fate had changed, while his own fortune appeared purple.
• Ryōken told Konan and Yahiko that the new cultivation method could lead them beyond the limits of the chakra system, and both agreed to pursue it.
• A radiant crown formed above Konan, marking her as extraordinarily gifted in the new path.
• Ryōken sent Yahiko to Orochimaru for chakra removal and took Konan into another room, with Hiwa following close behind.

Ryōken watched Konan and Yahiko complete chakra cleansing and begin cultivating the Sage Path, then gave Orochimaru a basic Qi Refining Method and discussed ways to transform his body. The chapter ended in an ancient golden world where blue chakra covered most of the God Tree, while a faint golden light resisted at its roots.

• Konan emerged from cleansing with her chakra gone, a powerful body, and new True Qi abilities that let her conjure a fireball and strengthen her Paper Release.
• Yahiko emerged exhausted after Orochimaru cleansed him, and Ryōken urged both him and Konan to cultivate while their energy was active.
• The children watched Konan and Yahiko cultivate, then renewed their determination to train and repay Orochimaru.
• Ryōken gave Orochimaru a simplified Basic Qi Refining Method and suggested Sage Mode or Godly Power as possible ways to modify his body.
• In an ancient golden world, blue chakra covered most of the God Tree as a tiny golden glow near its roots struggled to spread.

Ryōken absorbed natural energy in Ryūchi Cave so rapidly that he depleted its aura, then took Hiwa and Konan to find another place to cultivate. They reached Mount Myōboku, where Konan began leading the way through its confusing mist.

• Ryōken devoured natural energy in Ryūchi Cave, greatly stimulating his Tenacity talent and strengthening his life force.
• Ryōken stopped when the cave’s natural energy had weakened, then decided to find another place to cultivate.
• Konan showed Ryōken that she had reached a cultivation bottleneck, so he took her and Hiwa along while Yahiko stayed behind.
• Konan tested her Fireball Jutsu on bandits and petty thieves as the group traveled east, while Ryōken assessed her and Yahiko’s cultivation levels.
• The group entered a misty mountain range that Ryōken identified as Mount Myōboku, and Konan volunteered to lead them through its maze.

Ryōken, Konan, and Hiwa explored Mount Myōboku until his cultivation disturbed the natural energy and drew Gamabunta’s attention. After Ryōken summoned the Swamp Toad and a chaotic fight broke out among the toads, he suppressed them all and waited for someone in charge to appear.

• Konan led Ryōken and Hiwa through Mount Myōboku’s mist into a lush forest filled with dense natural energy.
• Ryōken drew in the natural energy, alerting Gamabunta, who leaped toward them to investigate.
• Ryōken bound Gamabunta with soul power, sent him crashing to the ground, and tripped him when he charged back.
• Ryōken summoned the Swamp Toad, prompting the gathered Mount Myōboku toads to attack it and start a chaotic brawl.
• Ryōken overwhelmed the entire group with soul power and chakra pressure, then looked toward Mount Myōboku’s depths for someone in charge.

Fukasaku and Shima arrived to find Ryōken had immobilized Mount Myōboku’s toads while cultivating natural energy, and they realized he might be developing a Sage Body. They were further astonished to discover Konan cultivating natural energy without chakra as Jiraiya rushed toward the scene in Sage Mode.

• Fukasaku and Shima raced to investigate the disturbance and found the toads immobilized while Ryōken stood among them.
• Ryōken told Fukasaku he had come to Mount Myōboku to cultivate natural energy, prompting Fukasaku and Shima to question how he absorbed it without petrifying.
• Fukasaku suspected Ryōken was cultivating a Sage Body after seeing the vast amount of natural energy his body absorbed.
• Fukasaku and Shima noticed Konan cultivating natural energy despite having no chakra and were left deeply shaken.
• Jiraiya activated Sage Mode and hurried toward Ryōken, eager to fight before asking questions.

Jiraiya challenged Ryōken after entering Sage Mode, but Ryōken effortlessly countered his attacks. Jiraiya and the two great sages trapped Ryōken in their powerful Toad Confrontation Singing genjutsu, leaving his response unknown.

• Jiraiya arrived on Gamabunta's head in Sage Mode and declared Ryōken the strongest man of the era.
• Fukasaku used Sage Art: Wind Dust, but Ryōken stopped the storm with his soul power.
• Jiraiya attacked with Needle Hair Thousand Needles, but Ryōken immobilized his hair.
• Jiraiya, Fukasaku, and Shima unleashed Sage Art: Goemon, and Ryōken cut through the inferno with one sword strike.
• Jiraiya raised the ground with Earth Flow Core as Fukasaku and Shima used Toad Confrontation Singing to trap Ryōken in a genjutsu barrier.

Ryōken broke free of Jiraiya’s Toad Confrontation Chant, proving the genjutsu could not overcome his immense soul power. The Great Toad Sage allowed Ryōken to cultivate on Mount Myōboku, while privately weighing the threat his natural-energy cultivation system posed to summoning beasts and deciding to wait for Hagu’s coming clash with him.

• Jiraiya believed Fukasaku and Shima’s Toad Confrontation Chant had defeated Ryōken, but Ryōken’s sword intent shattered the genjutsu.
• Jiraiya admitted defeat, and Ryōken asked Fukasaku and Shima whether he could cultivate on Mount Myōboku.
• A messenger announced that the Great Toad Sage had said the toads no longer needed to concern themselves with outsiders.
• The Great Toad Sage recognized the danger Ryōken’s natural-energy cultivation system could pose to summoning-beast habitats and chose to wait for Hagu to clash with Ryōken before deciding what to do.

Ryōken cultivated at Mount Myōboku for a month, absorbing natural energy until his vitality and recovery ability increased dramatically. He left with his Tenacity talent awakened and believed the new life force would help him complete the Five Elements Body Tempering Method.

• Ryōken and his group reached the oil waterfall at Mount Myōboku, where Konan discovered that the oil enhanced natural energy absorption.
• Ryōken tested the oil, found it unnecessary for his own absorption method, and began cultivating in Mount Myōboku’s densest natural energy.
• While Ryōken cultivated for nearly a month, Konan and Hiwa toured Mount Myōboku with Jiraiya, and Gamabunta marveled at Ryōken’s ability to absorb natural energy continuously.
• The natural energy vortex over Mount Myōboku collapsed as Ryōken finished cultivating and rose with his body brimming with vitality.
• Ryōken tested his newly awakened Tenacity by cutting himself and watching the wound heal instantly, then considered how his life force could aid the completion of the Five Elements Body Tempering Method.

Ryōken led Hiwa and Konan through a hidden cavern passage to the Moon, where he planned to help Hiwa awaken the Tenseigan. The group encountered a giant crab Summoning Beast, which Ryōken killed so Konan could cook it.

• Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga waited at the cavern and told Ryōken that the pool was strange and opaque to the Byakugan.
• Ryōken revealed that the pool led to the Moon, then sent the Hyuga Ninja back while he, Hiwa, and Konan prepared to go through.
• Ryōken led Hiwa and Konan through underwater passages, warning Hiwa not to touch bubbles that could trap her in a genjutsu.
• A giant crab Summoning Beast attacked the group with genjutsu bubbles, but Ryōken froze it and destroyed its soul.
• Ryōken told Konan to cook the dead crab, and she cheerfully lit flames in her hand.

Ryōken, Hiwa, and Konan explored the abandoned Otsutsuki clan grounds on the moon and learned how the main and branch families went to war. After they emerged from a graveyard, hundreds of flying puppets attacked them with golden chakra spheres.

• An elderly man on the moon awakened puppet troops and ordered them to exterminate the intruders.
• Ryōken, Hiwa, and Konan crossed the sea to the desolate Otsutsuki clan grounds and found a hidden passage beneath a temple.
• A blind old man showed them a memory of the main and branch families' war, ending with the enormous Tenseigan wiping out one side.
• Ryōken explained that the families had fought over whether to cleanse or protect the Shinobi World, and Hiwa vowed to confront those responsible.
• Hundreds of puppets on flying mounts descended on Ryōken, Hiwa, and Konan and rained golden chakra spheres upon them.

Ryōken destroyed the moon clan’s puppet forces and brought Hiwa and Konan through a passage to the moon’s interior. As the old man awakened the Eternal Tenseigan, its golden eye appeared in the starry sky and turned its attention toward Ryōken.

• Ryōken crushed the first puppet army with soul power and tore open a passage to the moon, taking Hiwa and Konan with him.
• The old man in the divine hall sent Toneri Shikan to stall the intruders while he began activating the Eternal Tenseigan.
• Toneri Shikan confronted Ryōken’s group among the moon’s floating islands and summoned another puppet army.
• Ryōken destroyed the bombers with sword light, leaving Toneri Shikan shocked and afraid.
• The sky darkened as the Eternal Tenseigan emerged amid endless starlight and fixed its gaze on Ryōken.

Ryōken faced Toneri Shikan and the Ōtsutsuki elder wielding the Eternal Tenseigan, then followed the battle onto the moon. As the elder unleashed an immense sea of stellar power to crush him, Ryōken charged through the attacks toward the Eternal Tenseigan.

• Ryōken assessed Hoshimiya's nation-destroying power while Toneri Shikan insisted that no one could withstand the Eternal Tenseigan.
• Ryōken flew toward the Eternal Tenseigan, and the Ōtsutsuki elder fired a stellar beam that Ryōken split with Starry Night.
• Ryōken followed the beam's passage onto the lunar surface, where the Eternal Tenseigan rose to confront him.
• The elder sent a storm of starlight at Ryōken, who dodged and cut through the attacks as he charged toward the Eternal Tenseigan.
• The elder struggled to control the Eternal Tenseigan's power, then sent the vast sea of stars crashing down over the moon.

Ryōken destroyed the elder’s stellar attack, killed him, and claimed the Otsutsuki bloodline essence from the Eternal Tenseigan. He gave the essence to Hiwa so she could awaken the Tenseigan, and she fell asleep as Konan watched over her.

• Ryōken broke through the sea of stars and severed its power with a sword strike, making it collapse into starlight.
• Ryōken reached the Eternal Tenseigan and killed the elder with a blow that destroyed his phantom and true body.
• Ryōken annihilated the consciousnesses inside the crystalline Byakugan and took the golden essence of the Otsutsuki Clan’s bloodline.
• Ryōken brought the essence to Hiwa and explained that absorbing it could awaken her Tenseigan.
• Hiwa agreed, and Ryōken merged the golden light into her body; she glowed, then fell asleep as Konan held her.

After Hiwa awakened the Tenseigan, Ryōken and Konan left the Otsutsuki grounds with her and headed for the Land of Iron. Hyuga Hiashi and other Hyuga ninja encountered them, but Hiwa refused their request to become clan head, choosing instead to remain with Ryōken.

• Ryōken told Toneri Shikan that he had promised Hamura to spare the Otsutsuki Clan’s bloodline, then left Toneri to decide what to do.
• Hiwa awoke and tested her Tenseigan, lifting a boulder and learning to fly by controlling repulsion.
• Ryōken, Konan, and Hiwa left the Otsutsuki grounds and set out for the Land of Iron.
• Hyuga Hiashi and a group of Hyuga ninja recognized Hiwa’s Tenseigan and asked her to become the Hyuga Clan Head.
• Hiwa refused the clan leadership, saying she was Ryōken’s wife, but offered to help the Hyuga if needed.

Old Hett bought a powerful Avarosa puppet as Ryōken, Hiwa, and Konan arrived in the Land of Iron and saw how Ashe’s prosperous city protected ordinary people. Ashe told Ryōken she planned to attend the War College and revealed that Black Market forces were stirring up trouble, so they went to investigate.

• A burly trader showed Old Hett an Avarosa mechanical puppet, and Old Hett decided to buy it after seeing its strength.
• Konan asked why bandits had ninjas among them, and Hiwa explained that others opposed the Land of Iron’s prosperity but avoided open conflict.
• Ashe welcomed Ryōken, Hiwa, and Konan to Avarosa, where city guards and Anti-Magic Stones kept the city orderly and safe.
• A black-clad ninja heard people identify Ryōken as the Ninja God and hurried toward the Black Market outside the city.
• Ashe told Ryōken she intended to go to the War College to grow stronger and said Black Market forces had been causing trouble; she and Ryōken agreed to investigate together.

Ryōken confronted Black Zetsu in the Land of Iron and learned that the figure he cut down was only a clone, which destroyed itself before he could stop it. After Ashe dealt with Black Zetsu’s scattered followers, Ryōken returned to her palace and prepared to cultivate within the earth.

• Ryōken and Ashe arrived at a Black Market outside the city and spotted Black Zetsu attempting to flee.
• Ryōken intercepted Black Zetsu, revealed her identity, and named Kaguya Otsutsuki and other secrets he knew.
• Black Zetsu refused to explain her purpose, and Ryōken cleaved her apparent body in two with the Void Sword.
• Black Zetsu tried to escape into the ground, but Ryōken blocked her; she burned up her consciousness and vanished, leaving behind a corpse that Ashe found strange.
• Ashe went to handle the rogue ninja fleeing the Black Market while Ryōken returned to her palace to prepare for secluded cultivation in the earth.

As the Third Great Ninja War pushed Konoha toward destruction, Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Hatake Sakumo to seek help from the Land of Iron. Hiwa and Konan agreed to consider assisting Konoha, hoping to see Ryōken again as he neared the end of his seclusion.

• The four great nations attacked Konoha, forcing its forces to retreat toward the village despite Tsunade repelling Wind Country's assault and Jiraiya delaying Kumogakure's advance.
• Hiruzen Sarutobi sent Hatake Sakumo to the Land of Iron to request aid from Ryōken.
• Hatake Sakumo discovered that Hiwa had suppressed a Kumogakure force that tried to cross the Land of Iron.
• Hatake Sakumo told Hiwa that Konoha would accept any conditions for Ryōken's return, even as Hokage.
• Hiwa asked Konan whether they should help Konoha, and Konan said she wanted to see their teacher.
• Hiwa agreed with Konan and said Ryōken should soon emerge from seclusion.

Ryōken emerged from years of secluded training beneath an extinct volcano as a violent eruption shook the region. With a single snort, he stopped the eruption and calmed the sea, leaving Hatake Sakumo astonished by the scale of his power.

• Hiwa, Konan, and Hatake Sakumo waited outside the volcano for Ryōken to finish his training.
• Deep underground, Ryōken’s five elemental lights merged into a gray radiance as the ground and nearby volcano began to shake.
• Hiwa and Konan flew farther away while Hatake Sakumo retreated as the volcano erupted and magma flooded the area.
• Ryōken appeared above the crater, unharmed as magma struck him and split around his body.
• Ryōken snorted, turning the magma to ash, silencing the volcano, and calming the sea.
• Hatake Sakumo wondered whether Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha could match Ryōken’s effortless power.

Ryōken agreed to help Konoha after Hiwa urged him to protect its people, while Jiraiya’s forces struggled to hold back Kumogakure and the Eight-Tails. The chapter ended with Ryōken appearing above the battlefield to test his newly forged Primordial Power against Gyūki.

• Ryōken showed Hatake Sakumo his Primordial Power and heard his plea for help defending Konoha.
• Ryōken asked Hiwa to decide whether they should help Konoha, and she agreed because its ninja were not at fault.
• Jiraiya and Konoha’s jonin ambushed Kumogakure’s assault unit, inflicting heavy losses before Gyūki arrived.
• Jiraiya ordered a retreat and used Sage Art: Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld to slow the pursuit.
• Gyūki fired a Tailed Beast Ball at Jiraiya’s retreating forces, but Ryōken appeared above the battlefield and announced he would use the Eight-Tails to test his power.