Ch. 901A dragon's past, a dragon in shallow waters

Ubiji told Yu about Ryushiki’s return to his hometown, where the Branch Family shunned him for his extraordinary power. Ryushiki found a friend in Tensato, but the Branch Family patriarch ordered Tensato to kill him and take his eyes.

  • Ubiji began recounting Ryushiki’s past in Takamagahara, where the Branch Family lived under the control of the Head and Main Families.
  • After returning to Watatsumi Village, Ryushiki was mocked and rejected by Branch Family members despite his immense power.
  • Tiansha Dou drove off Ryushiki’s tormentors and invited him to join the Hard Fist Style, but Ryushiki refused.
  • Tiansha Dou continued meeting Ryushiki, and the two became friends; Ryushiki did not join the Eight Gates fighters.
  • The Branch Family patriarch, Ōtsutsuki Xuanli, told Tensato that the higher-ups had ordered him to kill Ryushiki and take his eyes.

Ch. 902The dragon's past: the hidden dragon must not act

Ryushiki agreed to spar with Tiansha Dou after realizing that fighting could help protect someone important to him, and he revealed that his left eye automatically let him evade or counter attacks. As Ryushiki tried to switch off the technique, Tiansha Dou recalled Xuan Li’s order to kill him and take his eyes, then opened the Eighth Gate of Death.

  • Tiansha Dou urged Ryushiki to fight, and Ryushiki agreed when Tiansha Dou suggested it could protect someone important to him.
  • Tiansha Dou opened the Seventh Gate and attacked, but Ryushiki automatically dodged every strike with his left eye’s Fudouni Fate technique.
  • Tiansha Dou told Ryushiki to turn off his ocular technique so he could develop his own fighting instincts.
  • Tiansha Dou recalled Xuan Li ordering him to kill Ryushiki and take his eyes, threatening his younger brother Masato if he refused.
  • Tiansha Dou remembered that Prince Duochimo had given the order and opened the Eighth Gate of Death as he prepared to die alongside Ryushiki.

Ch. 903A dragon's past, a battle dragon in the wild

Ryushiki’s first battle against Tiansha Dou ended with the Shikigami taking control and killing him, after which Ōtsutsuki Xuanli’s forces tried to capture Ryushiki. Ryushiki awakened Shikotsumyaku, drove Xuanli away, and slaughtered the attackers on Mount Hiba.

  • Tiansha Dou opened the Eighth Gate and struck Ryushiki with Calamity Hound, but Ryushiki’s chakra release nearly stopped the attack.
  • As Ryushiki lost consciousness, Fudouni Fate’s Shikigami took over and pierced Tiansha Dou’s heart with Ryushiki’s claw.
  • Ōtsutsuki Xuanli arrived with Branch Family experts, ordered Ryushiki’s execution, and had Adamantine Sealing Chains wrapped around him.
  • Ryushiki broke the attackers’ assault, protected Tiansha Dou’s body, and revealed Shikotsumyaku, killing two elites with gray bones.
  • Xuanli fled into the void, and Ryushiki unleashed All-Killing Ash Bones: Rain, turning Mount Hiba’s summit into a sea of ashes.

Ch. 904A dragon's past: A leap from the depths

Ryushiki cremated Tiansha Dou, then returned to the Heaven-Piercing River and waited for the punishment he expected to receive. Instead, Ubiji arrived, settled his trouble with the higher-ups, and offered to take him as a disciple.

  • Tiansha Dou asked Ryushiki to cremate him, and Ryushiki granted his final wish as they spoke about death and reincarnation.
  • Tiansha Dou's body and soul vanished in flames, and Ryushiki returned to the Branch Family's territory.
  • Ryushiki tested the boundary between life and death at the Heaven-Piercing River and asked the Shikigami Fudouni Fate why it had chosen him.
  • After Ryushiki waited three days for his fate, Ubiji arrived and said he had settled the trouble with the higher-ups.
  • Ubiji offered to make Ryushiki his disciple, and Ryushiki asked the stranger his name.

Ch. 905A dragon's past, a wild goose reaches the shore

Ubiji took Ryushiki from the Branch Family and brought him into the Head Family, where he began guiding his new disciple through the clan’s lands and its dependence on Chakra Fruits. They reached Onogoro Island, where Ryushiki’s training was to begin, and encountered a girl leading three Ten-Tails.

  • Ubiji took Ryushiki away from the Branch Family, while Masato shouted that he would kill Ryushiki someday.
  • Ubiji told Ryushiki to claim that the Progenitor Gods had promoted him to the Head Family in recognition of his father’s contributions.
  • Ubiji explained that Chakra Fruits drained entire lands of life and warned Ryushiki about the consequences of the clan’s unchecked desire for power.
  • Ubiji and Ryushiki crossed into the Main Family’s domain on Onogoro Island, where Ubiji said Ryushiki would train at Takachiho Sacred Peak.
  • Three Ten-Tails charged toward Ubiji and Ryushiki, led by a mischievous girl whom Ubiji introduced as the most mischievous child on Onogoro Island.

Ch. 906Ryushiki's Past, Crossing Great Rivers

Chapter Summary: “Ryushiki’s Past, Crossing Great Rivers”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • One of the three Ten-Tails breaks free from its restraints while Ubiji warns that controlling all three simultaneously is too dangerous.
  • The berserk Ten-Tails fires a Tailed Beast Bomb toward the nearby girl. She deflects it with a massive Chakra weapon, but the blast heads toward Takachiho Sacred Peak. Ubiji immediately leaves to intercept it.
  • The Ten-Tails attacks Ryushiki. Lacking combat experience and basic Six Paths abilities despite having awakened his eyes long ago, Ryushiki instinctively activates his innate dōjutsu.
  • His right eye summons Yamato Takeru, a gigantic bronze Chakra warrior. The construct catches the Tailed Beast Bomb and redirects it into the Ten-Tails’ mouth, severely damaging the beast and ending its berserk state.
  • The girl reveals her own powerful construct, Susanoo, which pins the Ten-Tails to the ground. Ryushiki realizes that she possesses eyes similar to his own.
  • Yamato Takeru automatically attacks the girl after sensing her hostility toward Ryushiki. Susanoo meets it in battle, and their clash sends Ryushiki flying.
  • The girl challenges Ryushiki to fight personally, arguing that battle begins from the moment one survives birth. Ryushiki admits that he does not know how to fight.
  • Ubiji intervenes and identifies the girl as Ōtsutsuki Sana, the youngest member of the clan’s main house and Ryushiki’s senior.
  • Ryushiki introduces himself as a former branch-family member who was promoted to the main house and accepted as Ubiji’s disciple.
  • Ubiji dismisses the three Ten-Tails through spatial gates and chains. He then attempts to leave with Ryushiki, but Sana reveals that she destroyed her own residence and intends to stay at Ubiji’s home.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki: His lack of training becomes clear, but he demonstrates enormous latent power through Yamato Takeru. He is cautious, inexperienced, and easily intimidated, yet his instinctive use of his dōjutsu allows him to protect himself and defeat the Ten-Tails’ attack. Meeting Sana also exposes how sheltered he is from the clan’s more aggressive worldview.
  • Ubiji: Acts as Ryushiki’s protector and mentor, rescuing him from Sana’s challenge and managing the Ten-Tails crisis. He is perceptive enough to suspect that Sana’s apparent obedience is a trick, though he cannot prevent her from imposing herself on his household.
  • Sana: Introduced as a wild, fearless, and battle-oriented Ōtsutsuki. She is blunt but not malicious, openly curious about Ryushiki’s abilities and eager to fight him. Her destructive and mischievous personality is emphasized when she casually announces that she has destroyed her home.
  • Ryushiki and Sana’s relationship: Their first meeting establishes a contrast between Ryushiki’s timid, inexperienced nature and Sana’s aggressive, battle-loving personality. Sana immediately takes an interest in him, while Ryushiki is unsettled by her strength and the similarity between their eyes.

Significant Themes

  • Innate power versus learned ability: Ryushiki possesses a formidable natural technique but lacks the training and practical knowledge needed to use his broader abilities effectively.
  • Different views of battle: Ryushiki sees combat as something unfamiliar and frightening, while Sana views it as the fundamental condition of existence, beginning with survival at birth.
  • Family and status within the Ōtsutsuki clan: Ryushiki’s unusual promotion from the branch family to the main house reflects the clan’s rigid hierarchy and the importance of ancestral recognition.
  • Control and danger: The Ten-Tails symbolize the risks of using overwhelming power without sufficient control, while Yamato Takeru demonstrates that even Ryushiki’s abilities can act independently according to hostile intent.
  • Opposites attracting conflict: Ryushiki’s restraint and weakness in combat are set against Sana’s reckless confidence, foreshadowing a complicated mentorship, rivalry, or friendship.

Important Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and the Ten-Tails: Ryushiki survives through instinct, using Yamato Takeru to counter the beast’s Tailed Beast Bomb.
  • Ryushiki and Sana: Sana provokes and challenges him, while Ryushiki responds nervously and formally. Their shared eye abilities create immediate intrigue and possible rivalry.
  • Sana and Ubiji: Ubiji treats Sana as a troublesome junior and tries to maintain order, while Sana ignores his authority in a playful but disruptive manner.
  • Yamato Takeru and Susanoo: The two autonomous Chakra constructs engage in a powerful battle after detecting hostility between their users.
  • Ubiji and the Ten-Tails: Ubiji reasserts control by opening spatial gates and forcibly returning all three beasts, demonstrating his superior mastery over space and Chakra.

Ch. 907The Dragon's Past, Out of the Blue

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, Out of the Blue”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki arrives at Takachiho Palace with his teacher, Ubiji, and Sana. The palace is staffed by more than a hundred Tenseigan-created puppets, who welcome Ubiji and serve the household.
  • He meets Subichini, Ubiji’s younger sister and the mistress of the palace. Her warmth immediately makes Ryushiki feel more comfortable, and she invites both him and Sana to treat the palace as home.
  • During dinner, Ryushiki discovers that Ubiji and Subichini grow and prepare their own food. This surprises him because the Ōtsutsuki no longer need to eat, and most of them simply plunder prepared food from the lower realms.
  • Ubiji announces that Ryushiki’s training will begin the following day. That night, unable to sleep, Ryushiki encounters Sana sitting alone in a tree beneath the moon.
  • Sana questions him about his thousand-year imprisonment in Dragon Palace City. Ryushiki also asks why she released the Ten-Tails earlier. Sana explains that she did it because she was bored and wanted something exciting to happen.
  • The conversation turns to Ryushiki’s past and his guilt over killing his best friend, Tensato. Sana dismisses his ideals of protecting others, arguing that someone too weak to protect himself cannot truly protect anyone else.
  • Offended and determined to prove himself, Ryushiki challenges Sana to a bet. Ubiji interrupts and creates a structured competition: he will train both of them together, and they will compete daily. The loser of each contest receives a punishment, while the overall loser must fulfill one unconditional request from the winner.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki: He is introduced as shy, sheltered, and emotionally affected by his long imprisonment and Tensato’s death. Although inexperienced, he possesses pride and a strong desire to protect others. Sana’s criticism exposes his insecurity but also motivates him to assert that he is not weak.
  • Sana: Her carefree, gluttonous, and teasing personality contrasts with the loneliness she reveals while sitting alone at night. She is bored with the stagnant Ōtsutsuki society and values excitement over sentimentality. Her harsh worldview challenges Ryushiki’s ideals.
  • Ubiji: He is shown as both refined and practical. His cultivation of food reflects patience and independence, while his decision to turn Ryushiki and Sana’s argument into a formal training rivalry demonstrates his role as a thoughtful mentor.
  • Subichini: She provides a welcoming, maternal presence and helps make Takachiho Palace feel like a home for Ryushiki.
  • The puppets: They reinforce the palace’s orderly, luxurious atmosphere and reflect the advanced power of the Tenseigan.

Significant Themes

  • Isolation and loneliness: Ryushiki’s thousand-year confinement and Sana’s boredom reveal different forms of isolation. Both characters struggle with lives that have been cut off from ordinary emotional and social experiences.
  • Strength and protection: The chapter questions whether good intentions are meaningful without the power to act on them. Sana’s harsh criticism forces Ryushiki to reconsider what it means to protect someone.
  • Freedom versus stagnation: Sana’s release of the Ten-Tails is driven by her need to escape endless routine, while Ryushiki’s imprisonment symbolizes the loss of freedom and personal development.
  • Family and belonging: Subichini’s hospitality and the palace’s domestic environment contrast with Ryushiki’s lonely past, offering him the possibility of a new home.
  • Rivalry as motivation: The bet transforms personal conflict into a framework for growth, setting up a competitive relationship that may help both Ryushiki and Sana develop.

Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and Subichini: Subichini warmly welcomes him, and Ryushiki responds shyly but respectfully by calling her “Aunt Teacher.”
  • Ryushiki and Sana: Their relationship begins with curiosity and teasing. Their nighttime conversation becomes more serious as Sana mocks his inexperience and challenges his belief in protection, prompting Ryushiki to stand up for himself.
  • Ryushiki and Ubiji: Ryushiki views Ubiji with respect and surprise, especially after learning that his teacher farms and prepares food. Ubiji guides him not only through training but also by managing his conflict with Sana.
  • Sana and Ubiji: Ubiji treats Sana as a familiar visitor rather than a subordinate, while Sana accepts his authority when he establishes the rules of their competition.
  • Ubiji and Subichini: Their shared cultivation and preparation of food reveal a cooperative sibling relationship and distinguish them from the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Ch. 908The Dragon's Past, the Divine Dragon Swings Its Tail

Summary

  • Sana accepts Ubiji’s mentorship: After Ubiji provokes her pride by suggesting she is afraid to become his disciple, Sana agrees to remain and train under him. She maintains her rebellious, mocking attitude and threatens Ryushiki with harsh punishment, while Ryushiki feels both nervous and excited about learning from her.
  • Ubiji begins training through Go: Rather than immediately teaching combat, Ubiji introduces Sana and Ryushiki to Go, explaining that true talent requires strategy, judgment, and vision—not merely physical strength. Ryushiki quickly demonstrates extraordinary intelligence, partly because he remembers seeing the same game in a mysterious prenatal dream. He narrowly loses to Ubiji, who is impressed by his exceptional calculations.
  • Sana defeats Ryushiki through distraction: Ryushiki initially gains the upper hand in his match with Sana, but she distracts him through playful physical teasing. His concentration collapses, allowing her to reverse the game and win. Ubiji observes that Sana’s greatest skill lies in “off-board” tactics and tells Ryushiki that losing may teach him a broader kind of vision. As punishment for losing, Ryushiki must run ten thousand laps without using Chakra.
  • Ryushiki’s physical weakness is exposed: Although Ryushiki possesses unusually powerful Chakra, his body has not been trained or strengthened enough to withstand it. He completes the exhausting punishment and collapses, then recovers in the hot springs at Takachiho Palace.
  • Ryushiki reveals his auspicious form: While alone in the spring, Ryushiki transforms into a small horned koi, an animal form granted to rare Ōtsutsuki with Auspicious Power. He enjoys swimming freely but is caught by Sana, who immediately recognizes him despite his disguise. Embarrassed, Ryushiki changes back into human form.
  • Sana continues teasing him: Sana mocks Ryushiki’s fish transformation and deliberately embarrasses him with provocative teasing. Ryushiki becomes increasingly flustered and inexperienced, while Sana remains amused and in control of the interaction. Her behavior reinforces their mischievous, antagonistic dynamic, leaving Ryushiki confused but clearly affected by her attention.

Character Development and Themes

  • Ryushiki is shown to possess remarkable intelligence and latent power, but also physical weakness, emotional inexperience, and susceptibility to distraction. His training begins to broaden from raw ability toward discipline, strategy, and self-control.
  • Sana accepts the role of mentor without surrendering her rebellious personality. She relies on psychological pressure, humor, and provocation as much as formal instruction.
  • Ubiji acts as a balanced teacher, emphasizing wisdom and adaptability over brute force. His Go lesson symbolizes the importance of long-term planning and understanding situations beyond direct combat.
  • Major themes include intelligence versus strength, strategy and perspective, the value of failure, physical discipline, and the contrast between formal training and unconventional teaching methods.
  • The chapter also develops the playful but uncomfortable power imbalance between Sana and the much more naïve Ryushiki, with Sana repeatedly using teasing to unsettle him.

Ch. 909The Dragon's Past, Brush Like Dragons and Snakes

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, Brush Like Dragons and Snakes”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • After the hot spring incident, Ryushiki avoids Sana out of embarrassment. Sana exploits his discomfort, repeatedly defeating and tormenting him during their Go matches.
  • Determined to overcome this weakness, Ryushiki invents a mental technique based on the stillness of a candle flame: Mirror Mind, Still Water, which forcibly restores his emotions to a calm state whenever he becomes disturbed.
  • His plan to use the technique against Sana is interrupted when Ubiji replaces their Go lesson with instruction in brush painting.
  • Ubiji explains that, because Ryushiki and Sana can perfectly reproduce anything they see, they must instead paint what exists within their hearts. He demonstrates by painting an emotionally expressive portrait of himself.
  • Ryushiki paints “Mona Lisa’s Smile,” reproducing an image from a dream without adding his own feelings. Sana paints a deliberately vulgar but vivid portrait titled “Ubiji’s Testicles.” Ubiji renames it “Ubiji’s Rise” and judges the contest a draw because Sana’s work, despite its subject, was sincere.
  • As a punishment and exercise in cooperation, Ryushiki and Sana are ordered to run a three-legged race together.
  • That night, Ryushiki paints Sana running beneath the moonlight, revealing that he has begun to express personal feelings through art.
  • Over the next hundred years, Ubiji and Subichini train the pair in music, Go, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, tea, and other cultural arts. Ryushiki masters nearly everything except singing: his catastrophically bad voice knocks Sana unconscious and even forces Ubiji to suspend lessons.
  • During this period, Ryushiki and Sana’s rivalry gradually develops into mutual respect and genuine, though unacknowledged, friendship.
  • Meanwhile, major political changes occur in Takamagahara: the Head Family and Main Family merge, while the original twenty-eight Main Family members retain special status as the Original Main Family. Ryushiki remains unaware that he has officially become part of the Main Family.
  • Ubiji finally decides that Ryushiki and Sana are ready to leave the island and takes them out for a walk.

Character Development

  • Ryushiki: Initially ashamed and emotionally vulnerable, he learns to manage his reactions through Mirror Mind, Still Water. His artistic development shows a shift from mechanically reproducing images to expressing his own emotions, particularly his growing affection for Sana. He also becomes extraordinarily accomplished in noncombat disciplines.
  • Sana: Continues to be mischievous, provocative, and competitive, but her sincere painting and repeated interactions with Ryushiki reveal emotional depth beneath her teasing. She gradually becomes his equal, rival, and friend.
  • Ubiji: Acts as both teacher and judge, using lessons in the arts to develop the pair’s emotional awareness, creativity, discipline, and ability to cooperate. He balances humor with serious guidance.
  • Subichini: Although less prominent in the chapter, she participates in the long-term education that shapes Ryushiki’s broad mastery of the arts.

Significant Themes

  • Emotional control versus emotional expression: Ryushiki first seeks to eliminate vulnerability through perfect calm, but painting teaches him that sincere feeling—not mere technical perfection—is what gives art meaning.
  • Growth beyond combat: The chapter emphasizes that mastery includes culture, creativity, cooperation, and emotional intelligence, not only strength.
  • Rivalry becoming friendship: Constant contests and teasing gradually create mutual understanding and affection between Ryushiki and Sana.
  • Sincerity and individuality: Ubiji values art that reflects the artist’s genuine feelings, even when the subject is inappropriate, over flawless imitation without personal emotion.
  • The passage of time and hidden change: A century of training transforms Ryushiki and Sana while political changes reshape Takamagahara beyond their isolated world.

Important Character Interactions

  • Sana repeatedly exploits Ryushiki’s embarrassment, prompting him to develop Mirror Mind, Still Water.
  • Ubiji challenges both students to reveal their inner feelings through painting rather than simply copying what they see.
  • Ryushiki and Sana’s contrasting paintings expose their personalities: Ryushiki is restrained and imitative, while Sana is irreverent but emotionally direct.
  • Their forced three-legged race teaches cooperation and strengthens their bond.
  • Ryushiki’s private painting of Sana beneath the moonlight quietly signals his growing affection, though neither character openly acknowledges their changing relationship.

Ch. 910Ryushiki's past: The dragon appears in the field

Ubiji took Ryushiki and Sana through Takamagahara, revealing the history of the sage houses and the Eight Ancient Clans. He then showed them the Sacred Tree Forest, where tens of billions of White Zetsu had been created.

  • Ubiji brought Ryushiki and Sana to the ruins of the Three Sage Houses and explained how the sage ancestors had fallen in the battle against King Chui­gen Ōtsutsuki.
  • Ryushiki copied the Toad Sage Ancestor's encoded prophecy onto Heaven's Secret Scroll, while Ubiji hoped he would decipher it as the Child of Prophecy.
  • Ubiji described the Eight Ancient Clans, their powers, and how Root King's Divine Tree Fruit helped the Ōtsutsuki clan establish supremacy.
  • Ryushiki asked what had happened to Takamagahara's vast human population, and Ubiji led him to the forbidden Heavenly Rock Cave.
  • Ubiji revealed the Sacred Tree Forest, where the Progenitor Gods had used Infinite Tsukuyomi to create tens of billions of White Zetsu.

Ch. 911The dragon's past, clouds without rain

Ryushiki learned that the Otsutsuki clan had trapped Takamagahara’s survivors in Infinite Tsukuyomi and tried to rescue as many as he could. After traveling with Ubiji and Sana to Jianzhou Country, he learned that its seers had repeatedly thwarted the clan’s attempts to plant Divine Trees, and asked why the land had remained peaceful.

  • Ubiji explained that the Otsutsuki clan had used Infinite Tsukuyomi to reclaim humanity’s chakra and turn survivors into White Zetsu.
  • Ryushiki used Sokyu Gate to free two hundred partially transformed humans, preserved them despite their lost consciousness, and asked Ubiji what humans were.
  • A hundred years later, Ryushiki traveled with Ubiji and Sana across the Heaven-Piercing River on a Heavenly Giant Turtle to Jianzhou Country.
  • Ubiji explained that Jianzhou Country’s seers had destroyed the clan’s Divine Tree saplings and defeated their guardians.
  • Ryushiki questioned how Jianzhou Country could have avoided war despite chakra’s role in conflict, and Ubiji said the land had special circumstances.

Ch. 912The dragon's past, the first traces of moonlight

Ubiji brought Ryushiki and Sana to Mitsuki Country, where he explained that Princess Consort Ming Ye Zhu had sacrificed her body to create the moon and spare its humans from the Divine Tree. Sana revealed her ties to the Kaguya Clan and its destruction before the group continued toward the humans.

  • Ubiji tested Ryushiki’s ideas about destabilizing Jianzhou Country and concealed that the clan had already begun Prince Duochimo’s plan to do so.
  • Ubiji opened Yomotsu Hirasaka and showed Ryushiki and Sana a centuries-old Divine Tree in Mitsuki Country.
  • Ubiji explained that Ming Ye Zhu had dispersed her body to form the moon and ease the Divine Tree’s burden, leaving her daughter Kaguya frail and earning banishment from the Root King.
  • Sana said the Kaguya Clan had been exterminated after refusing to help cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, and revealed that she was King Zhenruo’s granddaughter and had Kaguya Clan ancestry.
  • Ryushiki apologized to Sana, and Ubiji led the group onward to see Mitsuki Country’s humans.

Ch. 913The Dragon's Past, Loss Brings Trust

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, Loss Brings Trust”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki, Ubiji, and Sana spend time in Mitsuki Country at the Heaven Winehouse, a luxurious establishment created by Ryushiki.
  • The winehouse’s three supernatural treasure tools are introduced:
    • The Heaven Wine Gourd, which produces endless wine.
    • The Bubble Tea Teapot, whose tea dispels malice and promotes peace.
    • The Heavenly Fragrance Pot, which creates any named dish instantly.
  • Ryushiki explains that the tools are based on a quantum-theory-inspired principle: their function depends on remaining unobserved, so opening them would destroy their mysterious power.
  • Ubiji asks Ryushiki to assess Mitsuki Country and its people. He concludes that the country is primitive, divided into tribes, militarily weak, and easily conquerable by the Ōtsutsuki.
  • Ryushiki recalls rescuing an abused girl from tribal soldiers. He killed the attackers with only a trace of his aura, but questioned whether saving one victim could truly change the widespread suffering caused by humanity’s violence.
  • His despair briefly leads him to consider exterminating humanity, though he rejects that idea.
  • Ryushiki and Ubiji discuss the Ōtsutsuki’s superiority, humanity’s weakness, and the clan’s pursuit of Chakra Fruits.
  • Ryushiki decides that he wants to protect humanity—not by opposing the Ōtsutsuki outright, but by helping humans grow strong enough to command the clan’s respect.
  • He ultimately states that, if humanity and the Ōtsutsuki become irreconcilable enemies, he will prioritize the interests of his own clan.
  • Impressed by his balanced judgment, Ubiji decides to pass on her full inheritance, including the cultivation methods for the Diamond Body and Infinite Sage Art.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki confronts his growing disgust toward weak and brutal humanity. His encounter with the abused girl forces him to reconsider whether isolated acts of rescue are meaningful.
  • He develops a more mature political and moral outlook, recognizing that the conflict between humans and Ōtsutsuki is rooted in resource scarcity and unequal power rather than simple good and evil.
  • Ryushiki chooses a long-term solution: strengthen humanity so that it cannot be casually exploited.
  • Despite his sympathy for humans, he remains loyal to his Ōtsutsuki identity and places the clan above humanity in a final, unavoidable conflict.
  • Ubiji acts as both mentor and philosophical guide. She validates Ryushiki’s darker thoughts while encouraging him to think realistically about power, survival, and desire.
  • She recognizes that Ryushiki’s reasoning has matured beyond her own expectations and decides to teach him the clan’s greatest techniques.
  • Sana remains a relaxed, indulgent presence, drinking wine and casually requesting food, contrasting with Ryushiki and Ubiji’s serious philosophical discussion.

Significant Themes

  • Power and compassion: The powerful may feel only pity toward weaker beings, making genuine equality impossible without strength.
  • The cycle of exploitation: The Ōtsutsuki seek Chakra Fruits because of their own survival and ambitions, while humanity remains vulnerable because it lacks the strength to resist.
  • Desire and survival: Ubiji and Ryushiki agree that desire cannot simply be eliminated; the more practical solution is to resolve the scarcity that fuels conflict.
  • Moral ambiguity: Ryushiki is neither wholly pro-human nor blindly loyal to the Ōtsutsuki. He seeks coexistence while accepting that he may ultimately side with his own people.
  • Individual rescue versus systemic change: Saving one victim cannot end widespread suffering, so Ryushiki turns toward empowering humanity as a whole.
  • Knowledge and observation: The treasure tools introduce the idea that observation can affect reality, blending advanced theory with supernatural power.

Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and Ubiji engage in a mentor-student debate about humanity, the Ōtsutsuki, and the possibility of coexistence.
  • Ubiji challenges Ryushiki to define whether he truly intends to protect humanity and how he would act if human and clan interests conflicted.
  • Ryushiki’s honest answer earns Ubiji’s approval and deepens her trust in him.
  • Sana’s drunken behavior and casual affection toward Ryushiki provide comic relief amid the heavier philosophical conversation.
  • Ryushiki’s brief encounter with the abused girl and her attackers becomes the emotional catalyst for his decision to seek a broader solution to humanity’s suffering.

Ch. 914The Dragon's Past, the Divine Dragon Reveals Itself

Chapter Summary

Heavenly Wine Abode and Sana’s drunken confession

Ubiji discovers the Abode’s hidden second floor, while Sana becomes heavily intoxicated. Ryushiki cares for her, giving her sobering tea and agreeing to stay when she drunkenly asks for his company. Her usual unruly personality changes into a gentle, affectionate one, and she confesses that she wants to remain in the human world rather than return to Takamagahara. She suggests staying with Ryushiki and promises to do anything if he agrees. Although Ryushiki is deeply moved, he repeatedly uses Mirror Mind, Still Water to restrain himself, refusing to take advantage of her drunken state. He carries her to the Dream Couch, kisses her forehead good night, and leaves her to sleep.

Discovery of the future Three Sages

The next morning, Sana appears to remember nothing unusual, while Ubiji announces that their journey through Mitsuki Country is over. Before departing, Ryushiki senses an aura connected to the sacred lands and investigates a distant valley. He finds three eggs containing the future descendants of the Three Sage Houses: a toad, a White Snake, and Katsuyu. These beings will eventually become the Toad Sage Gamamaru, White Snake Sage Medusa, and Slug Sage Miao Miao.
Rather than destroy them and end the Three Sage Houses’ legacy, Ryushiki protects them. Using the Heaven-Sealing Chessboard and its Hidden White Formation, he hides the valley from humans and future Divine Tree guardians, giving the creatures centuries to mature. He hopes they will one day guide the land toward a better future.

Ryushiki’s decision to pursue strength

After returning to Takachiho Sacred Peak, Ryushiki asks Ubiji to teach him how to become stronger. His experiences in Mitsuki Country have convinced him that weakness is the source of much suffering and that he needs overwhelming power to accomplish his goals. Ubiji explains that his previous lessons—focused on skills, discipline, character, and “punishments”—were intended to prepare Ryushiki for advanced cultivation.

Ten years of training and new artifacts

Ubiji teaches Ryushiki everything he knows. In only ten years, Ryushiki masters the essential combat techniques and undergoes a dramatic increase in strength. He also creates several powerful combat artifacts, including:

  • Heavenly Totem, which blocks long-range ocular techniques
  • Heaven’s Dance Floor, which activates techniques through rhythmic dancing
  • Heaven’s Ruin Blade, a weapon with extraordinary cutting power
  • Heaven’s Wrath Fang, which grows stronger through anger
  • Human Cannon, an exceptionally powerful long-range weapon
    Since many are not suited to him personally, Ryushiki stores them in Dragon Palace City for future wielders.

The Ten-Tails and Huiyue’s condition

Ubiji eventually presents Ryushiki with a Ten-Tails—the same one Ryushiki fought when he first arrived on Onogoro Island. He explains that Ryushiki must absorb it to learn the clan’s supreme Diamond Body and Infinite Sage Art, the latter requiring the Ten-Tails’ Six Paths Sage Art. Because Ryushiki is not yet old or accomplished enough to receive one normally, this is a conditional gift from Second Princess Huiyue. In exchange, she expects Ryushiki to serve her in the future. Recognizing the Ten-Tails and accepting the significance of this opportunity, Ryushiki agrees.

Character Developments and Interactions

  • Ryushiki grows emotionally and morally. He is tempted by Sana’s affection but demonstrates restraint and responsibility. His encounter with the hidden sage descendants also shows compassion and long-term vision, as he chooses preservation over destruction. After confronting the consequences of weakness, he becomes determined to pursue greater power.
  • Sana briefly reveals a vulnerable, affectionate side while drunk, expressing her dissatisfaction with Takamagahara and her desire to remain with Ryushiki.
  • Ubiji acts as both mentor and evaluator, recognizing Ryushiki’s maturity and finally passing on his complete knowledge. He also negotiates the conditional Ten-Tails inheritance that will advance Ryushiki’s cultivation.
  • Ryushiki and Ubiji’s relationship deepens from teacher and pupil into a more serious master-disciple bond, with Ryushiki finally understanding the purpose behind Ubiji’s long-term training.
  • Ryushiki and Sana’s relationship becomes more emotionally charged, though Ryushiki leaves her confession unresolved because she is intoxicated.
  • Ryushiki and the future Three Sages are connected through his protective intervention, establishing him as a hidden benefactor of their eventual rise.

Significant Themes

  • Restraint and moral responsibility: Ryushiki refuses to exploit Sana’s drunken confession.
  • Strength and vulnerability: His journey convinces him that power is necessary to protect hopes and achieve meaningful goals.
  • Preserving hope and legacy: Protecting the three eggs ensures that the Three Sage Houses’ traditions survive.
  • Fate and interconnected destinies: The Ten-Tails Ryushiki receives is the same one he encountered years earlier, reinforcing the chapter’s emphasis on providence and returning connections.
  • Mentorship and preparation: Ubiji’s seemingly indirect lessons are revealed to have prepared Ryushiki for his next stage of cultivation.

Ch. 915Dragon's Past, Riding the Six Dragons Through Time

Chapter Summary

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki absorbs the Ten-Tails through his Root Chakra, transforming into a robed Six Paths-level being surrounded by a black halo and Truth-Seeking Orbs.
  • He studies the differences between several forms of Sage Art under Ubiji’s instruction:
    • The three foundational Sage Arts are Mutative, Silent, and Harmonizing Sage Arts.
    • Combining them produces Unrestrained Sage Art, which can develop into Ultimate Sage Art.
    • Six Paths Sage Art requires mastery of a Sage Art and the power of the Ten-Tails.
    • Consuming a Divine Tree Chakra Fruit grants Limitless Sage Art and establishes a deeper connection with the Divine Tree.
  • Because Ryushiki did not consume a Chakra Fruit, he must earn the Ten-Tails’ willing cooperation rather than control it through force.
  • Ryushiki meditates for ten years and successfully reaches an understanding with the Ten-Tails, which he calls “Ten Evils.”
  • Ubiji then explains Infinite Sage Art, a technique that exponentially amplifies the user’s power by repeatedly merging personal Chakra with natural energy.
  • Infinite Sage Art requires a powerful “fulcrum” to support this amplification. The known options are:
    1. Consuming three Chakra Fruits and gaining the ability to let Dao Law follow nature.
    2. Perfecting the Diamond Body, an exceptionally difficult body-tempering technique.
  • Ubiji explains that the Diamond Body has ten levels, each increasing its effects tenfold, but normally requires around ten thousand years to perfect—far beyond the natural lifespan of most Ōtsutsuki.
  • Ubiji reveals that Ryushiki’s third Shikigami, Pinye Heqiming, can create a clone with equal talent that cultivates automatically and synchronizes its progress with Ryushiki. This makes it possible for Ryushiki to train the Diamond Body and Infinite Sage Art without losing most of his lifespan.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki demonstrates exceptional talent by quickly understanding Truth-Seeking Orbs, mastering the concepts behind advanced Sage Arts, and successfully gaining the Ten-Tails’ recognition after a decade of meditation.
  • He develops from someone who merely absorbs and controls the Ten-Tails into a practitioner capable of harmonizing with it, an essential step toward Infinite Sage Art.
  • Ubiji takes on the role of teacher and mentor, sharing knowledge that he himself has been unable to fully realize. His admiration for Ryushiki grows as Ryushiki succeeds where Ubiji failed.
  • Ubiji’s own history is clarified: despite his immense strength and genius, he abandoned perfecting the Diamond Body because the time investment was too great.
  • Sana remains confident and dismissive, rejecting the need to rely on the Ten-Tails and viewing it merely as a pet or tool.
  • The Ten-Tails changes from a subdued source of power into a cooperative partner through Ryushiki’s efforts.

Significant Themes

  • Knowledge versus experience: Ubiji can teach Infinite Sage Art despite not mastering it himself, suggesting that understanding and instruction can surpass personal achievement.
  • Harmony versus domination: Ryushiki’s progress depends not on overpowering the Ten-Tails but on reaching mutual understanding with it.
  • Time and lifespan: The chapter emphasizes the enormous temporal cost of cultivation and the limitations imposed by Ōtsutsuki lifespans.
  • Talent and ingenuity: Ryushiki’s unique abilities, especially his Shikigami clone, allow him to bypass limitations that defeated even Ubiji.
  • Power through exponential growth: Infinite Sage Art is portrayed as fundamentally different from ordinary Sage Arts because it continually expands its own power base rather than adding a fixed amount of natural energy.

Character Interactions

  • Ubiji patiently teaches Ryushiki the hierarchy and mechanics of Sage Arts, treating him as both disciple and potential successor.
  • Ryushiki listens seriously, asks precise questions, and identifies the practical weaknesses in the requirements for Infinite Sage Art.
  • Ubiji sincerely encourages Ryushiki to succeed in gaining the Ten-Tails’ recognition, revealing personal regret over his own failure.
  • Sana mocks Ubiji for teaching a technique he cannot use and rejects dependence on beasts, creating a contrast between her self-reliance and Ryushiki’s willingness to cooperate with the Ten-Tails.
  • The chapter ends with Ubiji revealing the crucial advantage that makes Ryushiki’s seemingly impossible training plan feasible.

Ch. 916The Dragon's Past, Dragon Soaring in the Heavens

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, Dragon Soaring in the Heavens”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki creates an automatic cultivation clone after learning the Diamond Body and Infinite Sage Art from Ubiji. The clone possesses his talents but lacks consciousness, fatigue, and distractions, allowing it to cultivate more efficiently.
  • For the next 1,500 years, Ryushiki enjoys himself while cultivation clones continue training in his place.
  • After more than 120 years of instruction, Ubiji declares that he has taught Ryushiki everything he can and urges him to leave Takachiho Sacred Peak to pursue his own path.
  • Sana returns and reminds Ryushiki that their long-standing competition remains unresolved. Their record stands at 520 wins, 520 losses, and 1,314 draws, requiring one final contest.
  • They agree to settle the matter through a real battle, with the loser obligated to fulfill one request from the winner.
  • Their fight takes place at Kusuba Ferry Crossing on Onogoro Island, where they first met and where Ubiji had previously interrupted their battle.
  • Sana summons two Ten-Tails, while Ryushiki paints two equally powerful Ten-Tails using Ubiji’s Primordial Brush technique. The creatures clash, destroying one another.
  • The battle escalates as Sana manifests Susanoo: Shikigami Form and Ryushiki manifests Yamato Takeru: Shikigami Form. Their colossal constructs wield enormous swords and devastate the surrounding area, ultimately causing Takachiho Sacred Peak and Takachiho Palace to collapse.
  • Sana and Ryushiki separate their giant avatars from their personal duel, continuing the massive battle while they rise into the starry sky.
  • Sana activates True Moon-Worship Sage Art, drawing power from the moon and creating twin crescent blades. Ryushiki uses Six Paths Sage Art, forming All-Killing Ash Bone weapons enhanced by Truth-Seeking Orbs.
  • The chapter ends as the two rivals charge toward one another for the decisive final confrontation.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki: Completes his formal training under Ubiji and reaches a turning point in his life. He has grown immensely in skill, particularly in painting-based techniques, sage arts, and combat, though his small stature remains a source of humor. He also demonstrates greater confidence and resolve by choosing to accept Sana’s challenge without relying on Ubiji’s judgment.
  • Sana: Reveals that she has spent the last 120 years remaining at Takachiho Sacred Peak partly to preserve her promise to Ryushiki. Her return shows that their rivalry and emotional connection remain important to her. She has also matured from a self-taught prodigy into a highly experienced fighter.
  • Ubiji: Completes his role as Ryushiki’s teacher, recognizing that Ryushiki must now leave the safety of his tutelage. His “wandering dragon” metaphor emphasizes Ryushiki’s transition from student to independent powerhouse.
  • Subichini: Observes the emotional significance of Sana and Ryushiki’s relationship, understanding that their bond is deeper than a simple rivalry.

Significant Themes

  • Independence and growth: Ryushiki must leave his teacher and forge his own path after mastering everything Ubiji can teach him.
  • Rivalry as connection: Sana and Ryushiki’s competition has become a lasting bond that motivates both of them and draws them together.
  • Loneliness among geniuses: Ubiji notes that extraordinary individuals often find companionship in one another because few others can understand them.
  • Mastery and innovation: Both fighters demonstrate how their original abilities have evolved, with Ryushiki using artistic creation as a weapon and Sana wielding advanced ocular and lunar powers.
  • Transition into a new era: The destruction of Takachiho Sacred Peak symbolizes the end of Ryushiki’s sheltered training period and the beginning of his journey into the wider world.

Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and Ubiji: Their farewell is respectful and emotional. Ryushiki bows in gratitude, while Ubiji encourages him to stop relying on his teacher and “soar into the heavens.”
  • Ryushiki and Sana: Their playful teasing reveals familiarity and affection beneath their competitive rivalry. Their final contest is presented as both a battle for victory and a culmination of their shared history.
  • Ubiji and Subichini: They discuss the significance of Sana’s long stay and recognize that her relationship with Ryushiki has brought the two geniuses together.
  • Ryushiki and Sana in battle: Their escalating techniques reflect mutual respect, with each matching the other’s power and refusing to be outdone.

Ch. 917The Dragon's Past, Graceful as a Fleeting Swan

Ryushiki and Sana escalated their duel in space, pushing their ocular powers and transformations to their limits. The chapter ended as their ultimate attacks, Great Taishihō Truth-Seeking Tear and Bayana Battle Spear, flew toward each other.

  • Sana overwhelmed Ryushiki with Moon-Worshiping Flow Sword Dance, then intensified her assault with Strong-Willed Mad God as he increased Fudouni Fate's power.
  • Ryushiki restrained Sana with his Truth-Seeking Orbs but stopped his bone blade before it could wound her, and Sana injured herself before unleashing Strong-Willed Mad God at full power.
  • Ryushiki and Sana fought over control of a mass of asteroids using gravity, then Ryushiki activated Limitless Sage Art while Sana transformed into Bayana Battle God.
  • Ryushiki formed a droplet-shaped weapon from twelve Truth-Seeking Orbs and manipulated strong force, while Sana gathered energy from nine moons into a golden spear.
  • Ryushiki and Sana launched Great Taishihō Truth-Seeking Tear and Bayana Battle Spear toward each other.

Ch. 918The Dragon's Past, Graceful as a Swimming Dragon

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, Graceful as a Swimming Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki and Sana’s ultimate techniques—the Great Taishihō Truth-Seeking Tear and Bayana Battle Spear—collide, creating a black sphere that destabilizes space.
  • Their clash accidentally breaks the dimensional barrier between Takamagahara and the Netherworld, releasing Nether Lightning and triggering a catastrophic explosion.
  • Unable to escape because space has frozen, both fighters are protected by their respective Shikigami: Yamato Takeru shields Sana, while Susanoo shields Ryushiki. The Shikigami are destroyed, and both combatants crash onto Onogoro Island.
  • Despite their injuries, Ryushiki and Sana immediately resume their battle. Their final techniques, True Dragon Bodhi and Evil Light Dharma, neutralize one another.
  • Sana lands the first punch, but Ryushiki counters with a decisive blow. Both are knocked unconscious, though Ryushiki ultimately wins.
  • Their long-running contest concludes with Ryushiki holding a record of 521 wins, 520 losses, and 1,314 draws, while Sana finishes with 520 wins, 521 losses, and 1,314 draws.
  • After the fight, Sana initiates a romantic and intimate relationship with Ryushiki, marking their mutual love and coming-of-age.
  • Following this moment, they discuss their futures. Sana reveals that she intends to betray the clan because its actions led to her parents’ deaths. She wants to abandon the clan and begin a quiet life elsewhere.
  • Ryushiki cannot abandon his own ideals, ambitions, and connection to the clan. Sana therefore decides that they must separate, despite acknowledging that he was her first and will be her last love.
  • Several days later, Kokusho and Shōtan arrive on behalf of Second Princess Huiyue and order Ryushiki, a member of the main family, to serve her.
  • Ryushiki initially remains silent, but his ominous Rinne Tenseigan gaze suggests that Sana’s departure and the new order may provoke a major reaction.

Character Development

  • Ryushiki: His rivalry with Sana evolves into deep love. Although he wants to remain with her, he cannot abandon his principles or ambitions. His inability to stop her departure leaves him emotionally stunned, and his final cold expression hints at anger, resolve, or rebellion.
  • Sana: She accepts defeat with maturity and takes control of both the battle’s outcome and their relationship. Her love for Ryushiki is sincere, but her resentment toward the clan remains stronger. She chooses independence and commits to leaving rather than compromising her beliefs.
  • Kokusho and Shōtan: They appear as authoritative agents of Huiyue, but their confidence falters when Ryushiki responds with threatening power and silence.
  • Huiyue: Though absent from the chapter, she exerts influence by claiming Ryushiki’s service and potentially disrupting his life after Sana’s departure.

Significant Themes

  • Love versus loyalty: Ryushiki and Sana love each other but remain committed to opposing paths.
  • Freedom versus duty: Sana seeks freedom from the clan, while Ryushiki remains bound to his ambitions and responsibilities.
  • The consequences of violence: The battle’s destruction mirrors the emotional damage caused by the clan’s past actions and the lovers’ eventual separation.
  • Acceptance and fate: Both understand that their separation is unavoidable, even though neither truly wants it.
  • Rivalry transforming into intimacy: Their repeated combat serves as both competition and a means of expressing trust, affection, and equality.
  • Foreshadowing of conflict: Ryushiki’s ominous reaction to Huiyue’s command suggests that the personal tragedy may lead into a larger political or clan confrontation.

Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and Sana continue their playful but fiercely competitive rivalry even after surviving a near-apocalyptic clash.
  • Their post-battle conversation exposes Ryushiki’s hesitation and Sana’s willingness to make the decisive emotional choice.
  • They share a brief period of intimacy and tenderness, holding hands beneath the moon and discussing whether they can remain together.
  • Sana directly challenges Ryushiki to abandon the clan with her; he refuses, causing their painful separation.
  • Kokusho and Shōtan attempt to assert authority over Ryushiki, but his silent, threatening response reverses the power dynamic and ends the chapter on a tense cliffhanger.

Ch. 919The Dragon's Past, a Ram Butting a Fence

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, a Ram Butting a Fence”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ryushiki returns to Takamagahara with Kokusho and Shōtan, who report their failed attempt to bring him before Ōtsutsuki Huiyue. Huiyue reprimands them for treating him rudely and dismisses them.
  • Huiyue privately establishes a relationship of service with Ryushiki. She claims him as hers in name, but agrees that he must complete ten tasks—one for each tail of the Ten-Tails—before the debt created by her gift is repaid. Afterward, he may freely choose whether to remain with her.
  • Ryushiki settles at the Watatsumi Divine Palace on Awazaki Plain, named after his homeland. He regularly visits Huiyue, studies techniques and treasures, and investigates the ruins of Mount Myōboku for clues about Immortal Script.
  • Isshiki ambushes Ryushiki, attempting to seize his Rinne Tenseigan using red chains and the Heavenly Pillar, a weapon capable of suppressing multiple Ten-Tails. Ryushiki effortlessly breaks free, defeats Isshiki, and nullifies his Sukunahikona technique.
  • Isshiki reveals that desperation drove him to attack: his three-thousand-year lifespan is nearing its end, and he has little chance of obtaining a Chakra Fruit. He bargains for his life by telling Ryushiki about Torashiki and Shinshiki, two disadvantaged clan members who may need help. Ryushiki spares him after recognizing that Isshiki’s information concerns people he would not abandon.
  • Over the next 580 years, Ryushiki successfully deciphers the ancient stone tablet. He learns that the Toad, Slug, and White Snake Sage Ancestors each left teachings behind.
  • Using these teachings, Ryushiki develops:
    • Elixir Release, which extends Ōtsutsuki lives and strengthens their Chakra.
    • Divine Revelation, which gathers faith from lower-world beings and offers the clan an alternative to indiscriminate slaughter.
    • Karma, a reincarnation technique that uses a lower-world person as a vessel, allowing an Ōtsutsuki to overcome the normal three-thousand-year lifespan limit.
  • Ryushiki interprets the Toad Sage’s prophecy—“Heaven and earth become one; the cosmos turns in reverse”—as inspiration for Karma, though he cannot fully understand its true meaning.
  • Just as Ryushiki celebrates his breakthrough and prepares to share it with his teacher Ubiji, he learns that Ubiji and Subichini have rebelled together on Onogoro Island’s Uda Blood Plain.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki becomes increasingly powerful, independent, and confident. He refuses to be treated as Huiyue’s possession, yet accepts a limited service arrangement based on clear terms.
  • His research develops him from a powerful warrior into an innovator whose inventions could transform Ōtsutsuki society and extend its members’ survival.
  • Ryushiki retains a strong moral code. Although he protects his own clan’s interests, he also seeks to preserve lower-world humans by creating alternatives to mass slaughter.
  • Huiyue shows a possessive interest in Ryushiki. Beneath her regal and lazy demeanor, she intends to obtain him fully, while still respecting his strength and unusual boldness.
  • Isshiki is revealed as calculating but desperate. His attack stems from fear of death and exclusion from Chakra Fruits rather than confidence in his own superiority. His encounter with Ryushiki leaves him permanently terrified and humbled.
  • Ubiji and Subichini’s rebellion creates a major unresolved crisis, especially because Ubiji is Ryushiki’s teacher and benefactor.

Significant Themes

  • Freedom versus possession: Huiyue attempts to claim Ryushiki, while Ryushiki insists on boundaries and negotiated loyalty.
  • Desperation and survival: Isshiki’s gamble and the Ōtsutsuki’s reliance on Chakra Fruits reflect the clan’s fear of mortality and scarcity.
  • Innovation as an alternative to violence: Ryushiki’s Elixir Release and Divine Revelation provide ways to extend life and reduce the need to exploit lower worlds.
  • Morality and responsibility: Ryushiki balances loyalty to the Ōtsutsuki with concern for innocent humans, seeking practical rather than purely idealistic solutions.
  • Legacy and prophecy: Ancient teachings inspire new techniques, but the prophecy remains mysterious and may foreshadow a major cosmic upheaval.
  • Power and hierarchy: Ryushiki’s dominance over Isshiki challenges established clan rankings and demonstrates that conventional status cannot measure his true strength.

Character Interactions

  • Huiyue reprimands Kokusho and Shōtan for mishandling Ryushiki, then negotiates a formal but possessive arrangement with him.
  • Ryushiki respectfully but firmly challenges Huiyue’s claim over him, earning her admiration rather than anger.
  • Isshiki attempts to ambush and overpower Ryushiki, but Ryushiki defeats him effortlessly and criticizes his reckless shortcuts.
  • Isshiki appeals to Ryushiki’s compassion by mentioning Torashiki and Shinshiki, successfully convincing him to spare his life.
  • Ryushiki’s final emotional focus is on Ubiji, whose rebellion abruptly interrupts his triumph and threatens to turn his former alliance into a dangerous conflict.

Ch. 920The Dragon's Past, the Regret of the Soaring Dragon

Chapter Summary: “The Dragon’s Past, the Regret of the Soaring Dragon”

Key Plot Points and Events

  • Ubiji and Subichini launch a rebellion against their clan, driven by Ubiji’s opposition to the exploitation of lower-world humans for Chakra Fruits.
  • Ryushiki learns of the rebellion and rushes to Onogoro Island, gradually realizing that Ubiji’s actions are the fulfillment of a plan he conceived centuries earlier.
  • At the ruins of Takachiho Palace, Ryushiki finds the aftermath of a devastating battle. Shōtan is dead, while Kokusho is mortally wounded after fighting Ubiji.
  • Kokusho uses his final power, Yumotolu, to briefly reverse Shōtan’s death, allowing Ryushiki to extract the Ten-Tails from Shōtan’s body. Kokusho then dies, revealing that nearly all of the Main Family experts who joined the battle have been killed.
  • Ryushiki confronts Ubiji in the bloody battlefield. He explains that he invented the Karma reincarnation method, which could extend their clan members’ lives for thousands of years, and begs Ubiji to abandon the rebellion.
  • Ubiji refuses, arguing that true continuation does not require immortality. Passing on one’s skills, convictions, and will to others is another form of survival.
  • Ubiji asks Ryushiki to kill him and Subichini, claiming that doing so will prove Ryushiki’s loyalty and protect him from further suspicion by the clan.
  • Ryushiki struggles emotionally but ultimately attacks Ubiji with his self-created technique, Dragon Abyss Palm, a powerful fusion of Hard Fist and Gentle Fist.
  • Inside the Clear Void Mindscape, Ryushiki reveals his Soul-Sealing Tower, which can preserve only one soul. Ubiji chooses to have Subichini’s soul preserved rather than his own.
  • Ryushiki delivers the fatal blow. Ubiji dies smiling, proud of his disciple despite their opposing beliefs.
  • The chapter concludes with Ryushiki returning mentally to the present, remembering Ubiji, Subichini, and the people connected to their legacy.

Character Developments

  • Ryushiki is revealed as both a prodigious inventor and a deeply conflicted disciple. His invention of Karma gives him hope that Ubiji’s rebellion is no longer necessary, but he is forced to confront the limits of technological progress when Ubiji rejects immortality on moral grounds.
  • Ryushiki’s loyalty to the clan clashes with his love and respect for his teacher. Killing Ubiji becomes a traumatic act of obedience rather than a victory.
  • Ubiji is portrayed as a revolutionary who accepts death as the price of challenging a corrupt system. He does not seek personal survival and instead values the transmission of ideals.
  • Ubiji’s decision to preserve Subichini’s soul demonstrates his love for her and his willingness to sacrifice himself even after choosing rebellion.
  • Kokusho and Shōtan embody the human cost of the rebellion. Their deaths emphasize the destructive scale of the conflict and the clan’s willingness to treat even powerful warriors as expendable assets.

Significant Themes

  • Immortality versus meaningful legacy: Ryushiki believes extended life can create opportunities for reform, while Ubiji believes that principles and teachings matter more than physical survival.
  • Rebellion against exploitation: Ubiji’s uprising is motivated by outrage over the clan’s use of lower-world humans as sacrifices for the Chakra Fruit.
  • The conflict between ideals and institutions: Ryushiki wants to change the clan from within, whereas Ubiji believes extreme action is necessary to expose its corruption.
  • Teacher-student loyalty and betrayal: Both men love and respect each other, yet their opposing convictions force them into combat.
  • Sacrifice and regret: Ryushiki regrets failing to understand Ubiji sooner, while Ubiji accepts his own death to protect Subichini and advance his message.
  • The meaning of living on: Ubiji argues that influencing future generations can be a form of immortality more valuable than endless physical life.

Character Interactions

  • Ryushiki and Kokusho: Kokusho entrusts Ryushiki with recovering the Ten-Tails and urges him to stop the rebel leaders, recognizing Ryushiki as the clan’s only realistic hope.
  • Ryushiki and Ubiji: Their confrontation shifts from explanation and persuasion to an emotional duel. Ubiji deliberately provokes Ryushiki into killing him, framing the act as necessary for both Ryushiki’s future and the clan’s stability.
  • Ryushiki and Subichini/Ubiji’s legacy: Although Subichini is not directly present in the confrontation, Ubiji’s final choice forces Ryushiki to acknowledge the bond between the two rebels and preserve Subichini’s soul.
  • Ubiji and Ryushiki as teacher and disciple: Their final exchange shows mutual pride and affection despite their irreconcilable political and moral positions.
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