Recaps

Nene accepted rare medicinal herbs from Yayoi’s planned trade with Sunagakure before he interrupted her experiments. Several days later, Yayoi and Shamon watched Kakuzu test his techniques against three Sunagakure Jonin, whose combined Wind Release overwhelmed his attacks.

• Yayoi offered Nene a list of medicinal ingredients supplied by Shamon, and Nene selected the rare herbs she needed.
• Yayoi explained that he was arranging a medicinal herb trade with Sunagakure, while Nene criticized his profiteering from the destruction of the Land of Medicines.
• After several days, Yayoi brought Kakuzu, Yaya, Shamon, and their forces to a snowy forest outside Nightview City for a demonstration.
• Kakuzu attacked three Sunagakure Jonin with Lightning Release: Lightning Whale Technique, but their Wind Release: Sky Net sliced through it.
• Kakuzu raised an Earth-Style Wall to block the advancing net, which shattered the wall before finally losing momentum.
• Shamon recognized Kakuzu’s impressive Lightning and Earth Release skills.

Yayoi and Shamon exchanged Sunagakure’s advanced Wind Release techniques for the Land of Night’s Puppet Technique, then agreed to establish an exchange student program. They planned to begin the program after spring the following year, with Sunagakure training Wind Release ninja for Yayoi and Yayoi teaching Puppet Technique to Sunagakure ninja.

• Ten Sunagakure Jonin used Wind Release: Great Sky Net, devastating the frozen terrain and impressing Yayoi.
• Yayoi demonstrated how he controlled a legion of 257 puppets, using them to attack and frighten a Sunagakure Jonin.
• Yayoi and Shamon began their trade, exchanging Sunagakure’s Wind Release system for Yayoi’s Puppet Technique system.
• Yayoi examined Sunagakure’s Magnet Release research materials and found extensive experimental records that could help the Land of Night develop a Magnet Release Kekkei Genkai.
• Yayoi proposed an exchange student program, and Shamon agreed that Sunagakure would send puppet apprentices while training Wind Release ninja for Yayoi.
• Yayoi and Shamon agreed to launch the program after spring the following year.

Yayoi received photographs and a report about Izayoi, prompting Yaya to jealously accuse her of trying to seduce him. Kicho and Irori accepted the idea of Izayoi joining Yayoi’s household, while Yayoi realized he had been avoiding Hisana.

• Yaya grabbed Yayoi’s report and accused it of carrying a dangerous scent before Irori froze her hands and took it back.
• Yayoi and Irori looked through photographs of Izayoi, and Irori teased Yayoi about bringing her back to work beside him.
• Yayoi reassured Yaya that she would keep her guard duties after Irori’s suggestion upset her.
• Kicho said Aoi and Rinko were doing well in their pregnancies and recognized Izayoi in the photographs.
• Kicho and Irori agreed that Izayoi could join Yayoi if he wanted her, leaving Yaya dismayed.
• Kicho asked about Hisana, and Yayoi admitted to himself that he had been avoiding her.

Yayoi reconciled with Hisana after she mistook his business with Nene for deliberate neglect, then traveled to Konoha with Hisana and Kicho on a diplomatic visit. The group arrived at their renovated guest residence, where Hisana was expected to meet Mito and Kicho planned to visit the Hyuga Clan.

• Hisana accused Yayoi of ignoring her, but he explained that he had been discussing medicinal ingredients with Nene and planned to spend his leave with her.
• Yayoi comforted Hisana until she forgave him, while Oboro left the room and found Yaya peeking through a hole in the door.
• At the end of February in Konoha Year 4, Yayoi traveled from the Land of Fire's capital to Konoha with Kicho and Hisana for a diplomatic visit.
• Kicho admired Hashirama Senju's stone face as Yayoi observed how Konoha had grown into a bustling city.
• The group settled into the renovated residence for foreign guests, and Yayoi reassured Hisana about meeting Mito before Kicho prepared to visit the Hyuga Clan.

Kurama gathered the Tailed Beasts and planned to use a meeting between the Nine-Tails’ and Seven-Tails’ vessels to break their seals, though Chōmei knew it was not sealed at all. Meanwhile, Yayoi met with Tobirama in Konoha to negotiate trade, including a purchase of Ninja Academy textbooks.

• Kurama told Chōmei that Hisana would soon visit Konoha and proposed that they release their chakra together when their vessels met to escape their seals.
• The other Tailed Beasts urged Kurama and Chōmei to rescue them, but Chōmei grew resentful at being overlooked and left the gathering.
• Yayoi arrived in Konoha with a small delegation and met Tobirama after resting for half a day.
• Yayoi asked to buy introductory Ninja Academy textbooks, and Tobirama agreed that Konoha could provide some materials while withholding its core secrets.
• Yayoi handed Tobirama lists of goods available for trade, and the two continued talking after their negotiations went smoothly.

Kicho visited the Hyuga Clan and confronted the legacy of her father’s influence while reconnecting with Xueyi. Meanwhile, Hisana arrived at the Senju Clan grounds and began a polite visit with Mito Uzumaki.

• Kicho noticed how much the Hyuga Clan’s living conditions had improved as Xueyi escorted her through the grounds.
• Kicho and Xueyi discussed their marriages and children, and Kicho suggested that Xueyi’s second daughter become engaged to her son.
• Kicho reminded Xueyi that she had originally been chosen to marry the general of the Land of Night, then asked to meet Xueyi’s daughter.
• Kicho entered the courtyard to see her father, Hyuga Hideto, while Hisana and Oboro arrived at the Senju Clan grounds.
• Mito Uzumaki welcomed Hisana and Oboro with refreshments, and Hisana gradually relaxed during their conversation.

Mito invited Hisana to discuss their shared Uzumaki background, then tried to inspect the seal she believed contained the Seven-Tails. She discovered Hisana was not the Land of Night’s Jinchūriki, and Oboro treated the beast’s whereabouts as classified information.

• Mito told Hisana she had wanted to get to know her because they were both Uzumaki women who had married outside the clan.
• The Nine-Tails planned to exploit Mito’s examination of Hisana’s seal to communicate with the Seven-Tails and escape.
• Mito lifted Hisana’s clothing to inspect her seal, but found no sign of the Seven-Tails.
• Hisana asked Mito what she was doing, and Oboro said the Seven-Tails’ circumstances were classified.
• Mito concluded the Land of Night’s Jinchūriki was someone other than Hisana, while Oboro decided to report the encounter to the General.

Kicho returned to the Hyuga Clan and easily defeated her father, Hyuga Hideto, before speaking with her younger brother Kiyoharu and deciding to stay at home. Meanwhile, Yayoi finished trade negotiations with Tobirama and went to see a puppet show in Konoha, where its title shocked him.

• Kicho overwhelmed Hyuga Hideto in a training fight and knocked him unconscious after he attacked her.
• Kiyoharu reassured Kicho that their family was well cared for and explained that Hideto had been drinking heavily since losing his council position.
• Kicho asked Kiyoharu to arrange a room so she could stay at home for a few days and look after Hideto.
• Yayoi and Tobirama finalized the trade agreement between the Land of Night and Konoha.
• Yayoi accompanied Tobirama to a puppet theater and saw that its upcoming show was titled Senju Romeo and Uchiha Juliet.

Yayoi confronted Oboro over the Uzumaki Clan’s secret attempt to inspect Hisana’s seal, then gave her a chance to prevent the Land of Night from suspending joint projects. The next morning, Oboro stayed close to Hisana as she went to study Sealing Jutsu with Mito, while Yayoi visited the Hyuga Clan and discovered the surprising state of his father-in-law’s household.

• Oboro told Yayoi how Hisana’s visit to Mito had led to misunderstandings and how the Uzumaki Clan had secretly asked Mito to inspect Hisana’s seal.
• Yayoi said he would suspend some projects with the Uzumaki Clan but offered Oboro a chance to make amends by returning to the Land of Night prepared to act.
• Oboro woke exhausted and insisted on accompanying Hisana to meet Mito, resolving to guard against any further disclosure of the Land of Night’s secrets.
• Yayoi visited Hyuga Tenjin and then met Kicho and Kiyoharu at Hyuga Hideto’s residence.
• Kicho explained that Hideto had gone back to sleep after morning training, and Yayoi saw that several of his young maids were pregnant; Kiyoharu said their future siblings would help him in the clan.

The Tailed Beasts realized Chōmei had never been sealed and had been secretly observing their gatherings, while the Seven-Tails ignored Kurama’s furious messages and napped. After spending a week meeting Konoha’s clans and leaders, Yayoi left with his group for the Land of Night.

• The Tailed Beasts concluded that Chōmei had likely never been sealed and had treated their gatherings as entertainment.
• Gyūki told Kurama to stop sending signals, but Kurama kept demanding that Chōmei show itself.
• The Seven-Tails drank honey lemon tea, ignored Kurama’s messages, and fell asleep beneath a tree.
• Yayoi met Kicho’s younger brother Kiyoharu and observed the Hyuga family’s comfortable circumstances.
• Yayoi spoke with A of Hidden Cloud Village and met several Konoha clan heads, including Sasuke Sarutobi.
• After about a week in Konoha, Yayoi notified Tobirama and departed for the Land of Night with his group.

Izayoi left the Black Mountain Mining District and headed back to Nightview City, while Hisana spent a quiet day at the General’s Residence. The chapter ended with Hisana leaving Oboro alone in her room as a strange, plaintive song began to sound.

• Convict miners worked in the Black Mountain Mining District, earning wages and resolving to turn over a new leaf after seeing how they were treated.
• Izayoi insisted on leaving the district, and Sirius signed her transfer papers before she departed for Nightview City.
• Hisana indulged in snacks at the General’s Residence and went to Kagura Hall to look for more, only to find her stash empty.
• Hisana checked on Oboro, who said she felt unwell and urged Hisana to leave her alone to rest.
• After Hisana’s footsteps faded, a faint, mournful song echoed from Oboro’s room.

Hisana met Uchiha Izayoi while buying snacks, but her vague answers to Izayoi’s questions about the Uchiha and Senju clans left Izayoi convinced that she was dangerous. After returning to the General’s Residence, Hisana confronted Oboro about what had happened between her and Hisana’s husband, and Oboro worried about Hisana inspecting her ninja tools the next day.

• Hisana bought thumbprint cookies and wandered through the commercial street, where Uchiha Izayoi approached and asked to speak with her.
• Izayoi questioned Hisana about her opinions of the Uchiha Clan, and Hisana said she knew little about either the Uchiha or Senju clans.
• Hisana’s distracted, vague replies made Izayoi suspect that she was deliberately evading the questions and held the Uchiha Clan in contempt.
• After talking for about an hour, Hisana escaped the conversation and returned to the Inner Court of the General’s Residence by evening.
• Hisana asked Oboro whether she had just been with Hisana’s husband, and Oboro admitted she had no choice while worrying about Hisana inspecting her rope ninja tools the next day.

Yayoi received Konoha’s first batch of ninja teaching materials and assigned Izayoi clerical work in Nightview City. Meanwhile, the Uchiha branch decided Izayoi should enter the general’s household and oppose Hisana, whom they mistakenly viewed as a dangerous schemer.

• Yayoi learned that Konoha’s delivery contained only the first batch of teaching materials, with more advanced volumes due next month.
• Yayoi assigned Izayoi to help with clerical work while Aoi and Rinko were on maternity leave.
• Meirou told Uchiha Hokuto that Konoha had delayed his return because he lacked a ninja identity record.
• Izayoi described her conversation with Hisana to the Uchiha clan and portrayed her as a hostile, manipulative threat.
• Hokuto decided Izayoi should become the general’s secondary wife and compete with Hisana, and Izayoi confidently accepted.

Izayoi began her new general affairs job at the Tenshu Tower, hoping to make a good impression on Yayoi. After Yaya tried to turn her away, Irori intervened and brought her to Yayoi, who assigned Irori to train her in the work.

• Izayoi dressed for her first day at the Tenshu Tower, ate breakfast, and practiced throwing ninja tools before leaving home.
• Izayoi asked Iori to clean up the training ground and promised to bring back premium dried fish.
• Yaya blocked Izayoi at the Tenshu Tower and demanded that she strip for a weapon check, then told her to go home and change.
• Irori rebuked Yaya, apologized to Izayoi, and escorted her to Yayoi's office.
• Yayoi welcomed Izayoi and asked Irori to explain her duties and show her how to handle them.

Izayoi proved highly capable at clerical work in the General's Residence, though her attempts to flirt with Yayoi left her embarrassed. The next day, Yayoi welcomed Sunagakure's exchange students and met the young Chiyo, who openly rejected Puppet Technique and demanded to learn Medical Ninjutsu instead.

• Izayoi finished the office's paperwork with exceptional speed, then awkwardly blurted out flirtatious remarks to Yayoi and heard him and Irori suppressing laughter after she left.
• Yayoi and Irori greeted Izayoi normally the next day, while she worried that her romance-book lines were not helping her mission.
• Irori told Yayoi that Sunagakure's ten exchange students had arrived, including Chiyo and Ebizo, and Yayoi went to meet them with Irori, Yaya, and Izayoi.
• At Training Ground Seven, Chiyo challenged Yayoi's decision to teach Puppet Technique, calling it a cowardly circus trick and saying she had come to study Medical Ninjutsu.
• Yayoi refused Chiyo's request because Medical Ninjutsu was not part of the exchange agreement, and Chiyo accused him of fearing that she would surpass him.

Yayoi demonstrated Puppet Technique to Chiyo and the nine other Hidden Sand exchange students in a sparring exercise. The students were mostly defeated, but Formless destroyed his puppet and Chiyo began to see the technique’s value.

• Oishi rebuked Chiyo for dismissing Puppet Technique, and Yayoi announced that he would teach the exchange students through a demonstration battle.
• The ten Hidden Sand youths introduced themselves, including Chiyo’s quiet brother Ebizo and the older Formless, whose tattoo resembled Shamon’s.
• Chiyo charged the puppets, prompting the other students to join her, while Yayoi matched each puppet’s speed and strength to its opponent.
• Three students were quickly pinned, and Chiyo struggled to get past the puppets as their unnatural movements and concealed weapons thwarted her attacks.
• Formless destroyed his puppet by turning the surrounding ground into yellow quicksand, while Ebizo was defeated by the two halves of his own puppet.
• Yayoi stopped the battle and called Chiyo’s contest a draw, leaving the Hidden Sand students impressed by the puppets’ resilience and surprise attacks.

Yayoi discovered that Formless had extraordinary talent for Puppet Technique and ordered Irori to raise his monitoring level to A-rank. He then traveled with Izayoi and Yaya to Spider Mountain, where Tsuchigumo showed them the Chakra Tree that had drained the Third-Generation Tsuchigumo’s life force for Yayoi’s third life embryo.

• Yayoi found that Formless had progressed faster than Chiyo and the other Hidden Sand Village exchange students, mastering combat with one puppet and beginning to control a second.
• Yayoi suspected Formless might be the legendary puppeteer Monzaemon and instructed Irori to monitor him at A-rank.
• Yayoi set out with Izayoi and Yaya for Spider Forest, the hidden territory of the Tsuchigumo Clan.
• Izayayo was astonished by Spider Forest’s Chakra Trees and natural genjutsu barrier before the group reached Spider Mountain’s isolated sanctuary.
• Tsuchigumo led Yayoi, Izayoi, and Yaya to the barren Chakra Tree whose life force had been drained while cultivating Yayoi’s third life embryo.

Yayoi checked Komurasaki’s developing Chakra Crystal Core and visited Tsuchigumo, who eagerly sparred with Yaya. After watching their destructive fight, Yayoi offered Izayoi a summoning contract with the Tsuchigumo Clan and flustered her with a teasing explanation.

• Yayoi retrieved Komurasaki’s Chakra Crystal Core and estimated that she would finish taking shape in less than a year.
• Tsuchigumo said its Senjutsu training had stalled at fusing natural energy with its Chakra, then invited Yayoi and Yaya to spar.
• Tsuchigumo asked whether it and Yayoi could challenge Hashirama Senju, and Yayoi told it to drink less alcohol.
• Yaya and Tsuchigumo fought hand-to-hand for nearly ten minutes, wrecking the ground around them as Yayoi and Izayoi watched.
• Yayoi offered Izayoi a contract with the Tsuchigumo Clan, and she blushed when he said it was because she was cute.

Yayoi brought Izayoi into the Tsuchigumo summoning contract, then studied the clan’s ancient records and uncovered accounts linking Kaguya Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths, and Yin-Yang Release. The chapter ended with Yayoi resolving to transform himself into a being like the Tailed Beasts, returning all that he was to primordial chakra.

• Izayoi signed the Tsuchigumo summoning scroll using only her given name after Tsuchigumo urged her to grow stronger.
• Tsuchigumo told Yayoi that Yaya’s strength had barely changed, and Yayoi explained that he was trying to overcome the limits of Yaya and Irori’s Chakra Cores.
• Yayoi returned to Nightview City with Yaya and Izayoi after spending two days at Spider Mountain and borrowing the Tsuchigumo Clan’s historical records.
• Yayoi read accounts identifying the Sage of Six Paths as Otsutsuki Hagoromo, son of Kaguya Otsutsuki, and describing his defeat of a ten-tailed monster.
• Yayoi connected Yin-Yang Release to the Sage’s power to create life and concluded that it was a simplified form of a greater chakra ability.
• Yayoi decided to pursue the source of chakra and become a Tailed Beast or something beyond one.

Yayoi made the Hidden Sand Village exchange students practice Taijutsu despite their desire to focus on Puppet Technique, then used a match between Formless and Tuo Luo to demonstrate why puppeteers needed close-combat skills. Tuo Luo accepted the lesson after Formless defeated him with a sudden charge, though he protested that the fight had not been Puppet Technique at all.

• Yayoi criticized the students’ Taijutsu and assigned extra practice to those with poor fundamentals.
• When a student questioned the need for Taijutsu, Yayoi called Formless and Tuo Luo forward to demonstrate a match.
• Formless and Tuo Luo fought using their puppets, with their blades clashing in midair.
• Formless blocked Tuo Luo’s puppet and charged in, knocking him down and holding a kunai to his neck.
• Yayoi declared Formless the winner, and Tuo Luo admitted Taijutsu mattered while complaining that the fight was not Puppet Technique.

Yayoi explained why puppet masters needed Taijutsu and began sorting Konoha’s new teaching materials with Irori and Izayoi. After burning books he considered propaganda, he invited Izayoi to visit the Inner Court and hinted that her clan would expect her to accept.

• Yayoi taught the exchange students that puppet masters needed Taijutsu to survive and evade attacks, since their lives were more important than their puppets.
• Yayoi assigned Formless and Chiyo to begin learning how to dismantle, assemble, and modify puppets the next day.
• Yayoi, Irori, and Izayoi sorted Konoha’s new teaching materials and burned books about the Will of Fire and the Hokage that Yayoi considered unnecessary.
• After sorting books for half a day, Yayoi took Izayoi for a walk and said they would visit the Inner Court.
• Yayoi told Izayoi she could enter the Inner Court and asked whether she wanted to disappoint her clan, leaving her flustered.

Yayoi showed Izayoi around the Inner Court, revealing its hidden Puppet Samurai guards and puppet-run kitchen. Izayoi learned that Hisana’s unusually large appetite was behind the kitchen’s enormous food preparations.

• Yayoi led Izayoi through the Inner Court, where Izayoi admired its orderly buildings and gardens.
• Izayoi noticed there were no visible guards, and Yayoi showed her that Puppet Samurai patrolled the grounds and watched the skies.
• Izayoi realized the Inner Court held a large force of armed Puppet Samurai and asked Yayoi whether it was safe to show her them.
• Yayoi took Izayoi to the kitchen, where cooking puppets prepared a huge quantity of food.
• Yayoi explained that Hisana was probably urging the kitchen staff on because she ate more than an ordinary person, and Izayoi wondered if she belonged to the Akimichi Clan.

Yayoi took Izayoi to the Inner Court training ground and sparred with her, where she used Shuriken, Fire Release, and her Sharingan but could not land a decisive attack. The fight eased Izayoi’s tension, and she left the spar feeling more confident and touched by Yayoi’s consideration.

• Yayoi showed Izayoi the training ground, where she saw the Seven-Tails sleeping beside a glass of fruit drink.
• Yayoi invited Izayoi to spar, and she opened with Shuriken before following with two Great Fireballs.
• Izayoi charged through the steam and tried to use her Sharingan, but Yayoi avoided her gaze and countered her attacks.
• Yayoi matched Izayoi’s strength in close combat until she grew exhausted, then stopped the spar.
• Izayoi recovered her confidence and realized Yayoi had sparred with her to ease her tension.

Yayoi confronted Izayoi about her mission to approach him, and she admitted that her clan had sent her to become his concubine despite not being in love with him. After accepting their political arrangement, Izayoi revealed that the Uchiha Clan distrusted Hisana, prompting Yayoi to enlist her help against Hisana.

• Yayoi asked Izayoi whether she wanted to live with him, and she grew flustered as he questioned her motives.
• Izayoi admitted that the Uchiha Clan had assigned her to approach Yayoi and agreed to fulfill her duties as his concubine.
• Yayoi asked why Hokuto and the others wanted Izayoi in his household, and she revealed their suspicions about Hisana's ties to the Senju Clan.
• Yayoi recognized that Hisana had used advice he had given her to evade the Uchiha Clan's questions, then pretended she was dangerous and asked Izayoi to help suppress her.
• Izayoi agreed to show Hisana the strength of the Uchiha Clan.

Izayoi told Hokuto and the Uchiha clan that Yayoi planned to take her as a concubine and wanted her to help suppress a woman from the Uzumaki Clan, prompting the clan to prepare for danger. Later, Uzumaki Kano came to resign and asked to see Hisana, whose meeting was interrupted when Yayoi discovered she was wearing Oboro's ninja gear.

• Izayoi told Hokuto and the Uchiha clan that Yayoi had chosen her as a concubine and wanted her to help keep the Uzumaki woman in check.
• Hokuto and the others suspected Yayoi intended to use the Uchiha against the Uzumaki and Senju-linked forces, and he urged Izayoi and the clan to stay alert.
• Uzumaki Kano visited Yayoi to resign after helping establish the Land of Night's Medical Ninjutsu system, and Yayoi thanked him for his service.
• Yayoi asked Hisana to meet Kano, and she reluctantly agreed before setting out with Oboro.
• Yayoi saw Hisana wearing Oboro's ninja gear and reacted with disbelief as she collapsed onto the floor.